SMOKING CLOUDS

People are out on the town, spending their typical day in the evening light. The air is crisp and clean in Tepid Town. Birds flutter through the sky as a body slammed through the front glass of the grocery store.

Bodies fly left and right as customers try their best to avoid the chaos. Nieko kicked back the oncoming attack, sending a brute to the ground.

"You know, this is starting to feel like fun," Nieko said as she completed a spinning back kick against another brute attempting a surprise attack from behind.

"Your boys are starting to get sloppy. How about one of you three come and teach me a lesson. I'll make it worth your while!"

Nieko stared devilishly at the Trio standing watch as she wiped the floor with their men.

"What do we do?" Jay asked, "we don't have the skills to take on such a strong fighter!"

"Calm down," Jae said, "I'm not afraid to take down a wanted criminal! Maybe then I can finally get some respect around here!"

"Maybe, but how do you expect to take down someone so skilled and dangerous like her?" Jey wondered.

"No worries. I got this!”

Jae pulled out a small knife from his jacket pocket.

"I'm well aware of my disadvantages, but if there is one thing the streets have taught me, it’s to be aware of your shortcomings and strengths. Trying to act like you're the best will only get you killed. That's why I keep this baby on me at all times." Jae explained.

"Geez, Jae," Jay said, "You must've had it rough growing in your neighborhood."

"No time to talk. We need to end this now," Jae said.

Jae started walking towards Nieko as she knocked down another henchman. Jae approached with his knife, ready to strike.

"A knife, huh? You know how to use that little man?" Nieko said condescendingly.

"You got jokes, but this here may just be what I need to slow you down. You shouldn't underestimate someone you barely know," Jae warned Nieko.

"Oh no, you're giving me lessons on life? I've been in far worse situations than this one," Nieko stated confidently as she regained her posture.

"I don't doubt you, MISS REDHOT. You’re not notorious for nothing." Jae said with a smirk.

"Hmmm…If your boss, Bossman, wanted me so bad, why couldn't he come to get me?"

"Good question. You can add that to your list of questions to ask Bossman when we take you to him."

"Tsk, You'll have to catch me first."

"If you insist!”

Jae raised his knife and charged for the ongoing attack on Nieko.

"I hope you're ready for these hands! Just because you're a girl doesn't mean I will—

SMACK!!

Nieko roundhoused Jae upside his head, sending him flying into the shelf near his two brothers. 

"Jae!" Yelled both Jey and Jay, going to his aide.

"Finally, a hollow in the crowd! I can finally make my escape and get out of here!"

Nieko ran past the brothers on the ground, heading towards the store's front entrance.

The remaining henchman chased behind her.

"She's going to get away, isn't she?" Jay said in defeat, helping Jae off of the ground.

"Bossman is going to be really upset with us! I'm not ready to be banned from his delicious cooking again!" Jay stressed, with his mouth-watering and silent crying eyes.

"Is that all you think about?" Jey noticed.

"We still have a chance to get her," said Jae. 

"I may have been knocked down, but I still got some satisfaction from the whole situation."

"What do you mean, Jae?" said Jey.

"Let's go!" Jae said, ignoring his brother's words.

Nieko ran as a mob of men followed her every step.

"I need to get out of here fast."

She spotted a buggy in the middle of an aisle and jumped inside. The force accelerated her towards the front of the store. She used a mop to keep her speed. Henchmen started to have a hard time keeping up.

"Oh yeah, I need to get the groceries," she thought.

"Hey Jeffery, get my groceries ready for me!

"Yes, ma'am Miss Beautiful, they'll be waiting for you at my register!" Jeffery yelled.

"Along with my heart," he mumbled. [Jeffery, stop it]

Meanwhile, Mika is storming down the sidewalk to the grocery store.

"Thaspirit said Nieko was in trouble, but how could they possibly know that?"

"Either way, I need to get to her before something bad happens. I wonder what Thaspirit meant about trusting that naked shadow man that keeps stalking me."

Mika recalled his naked form again. She blushed from memory. 

"Ahhhhh! I must focus on the matter, not the naked shadow man stalking my dreams. Why did Nieko have to park so far from the grocery store?"

Back to Nieko; she's nearing the front exit of the grocery store. While surfing on the buggy, she passed Jeffery's register. Nieko swiftly grabbed her backpack of groceries and dropped the cash on the counter.

"Keep the change, Jeffery. Thanks for the help!" Nieko said as she flew by the henchmen trying to block her path. 

"No problem, Miss Beautiful!" Jeffery said, looking down at the payment on the counter.

He noticed a silver 100 E-Koin was left as payment.

"Oh wow! A real 100 E-Koin! Getting one of these coins is difficult unless you have some serious cash flow or…."

"Ahh, I finally made it to the store entrance," Mika said as she stopped to catch her breath.

"I feel like I'm…about to fall over…at any moment."

"Huff, huff! Okay, no more time to waste."

Mika rushed to the automatic double doors of the store—

BAM! Bing-Bong!

"What in the—Nieko?!"

Nieko rushed through the double doors knocking down more henchmen. She looked over to see Mika standing near the entrance.

“Mika!”

“Nieko, what’s going—Ahh!”

Nieko jumped out of the basket, grabbed Mika by the arm, and took off down the sidewalk, away from the incoming chaos behind them.

Mika took a peek behind them and noticed the stampede close behind them.

"Friends of yours?"

"You know me!" Nieko said with a smile.

They came across a motorcycle in a parking lot.

"Here, put this on," Nieko said to Mika.

"Wait, are we stealing this motorcycle?" Mika asked, "shouldn't we ask the owner to borrow it first?"

"We don't really have time for formalities. We need to get out of here now!" Nieko said as she noticed the stampede getting closer and closer.

"Hey! That's my bike!" yelled the motorcycle owner out of a nearby store.

"Sorry for the inconvenience of your bike! Here is some compensation for the troubles!" Mika threw a purse of coins toward the owner of the bike.

"Wow, I can buy two new bikes with this kind of Koins! The bike is yours, ladies! The man yelled.

"Satisfied, Miss Mika?" Nieko asked with a smirk.

“I’m delighted; now my mind can relax.”

The girls took off down the street at full speed.

“I think we lost them,” Mika said in relief.

“We’re not in the clear just yet,” Nieko said.

Suddenly the revving of other bikes and vehicles emerged behind the girls. The motorcycles gained enough speed to reach Mika on the back of the bike.

“Drive faster, you fools,” Jae said to Jey in the car further behind

“I’m doing the best I can! It’s not my fault the Bossman didn’t give us a faster car.” Jey argued back with Jae.

“He probably would have if somebody didn’t mess up the last car we had.” Jae glared at Jay.

“Hey! How was I supposed to know that the ice cream would melt fast with the heater on hell?!” Jay whined.

“Regardless, you should have placed it in a cooler or something and put it in the trunk!” Jey yelled while driving the car with skill.

“Stop bickering. We have work to do! If we get that little traitor, the boss will be pleased with us.” Jae said with greedy eyes and a smirk.

He picked up his walk-in-talk communication device.

“Numbah 317, get closer and try grabbing the mystery girl on the back of the bike. Jae ordered.

“Yes, Sir!”

“I’m sure Miss REDHOT would comply if we had her little friend in our care.” 

Numbah 317 grabbed Mika by her wooly dark blue hair, attempting to pull her off the bike.

“Ahhh, Nieko! He’s got my hair! Mika cried out.

“Lean back a little more, Mika!”

Mika leaned back toward her assailant as Nieko kicked him in the face multiple times. He tumbled to the right, rolling off the cliff and into the glistening waters below.

“There, that’s one problem solved,” Nieko said as she got her bearings again, taking control of the motorcycle. They continued down the road as the rest of the crew followed behind them.

“Thank you, Nieko. I thought I was gonna fall off!”

Mika touched her hair and face to ensure everything was still in one piece. During her discovery, she noticed that something essential was missing.

“Uh, Oh!” She said, holding one of her ears.

“Uh, Oh? What do you mean uh-oh?! What happened?!”

“I think I lost one of my earrings when that jerk grabbed my hair a moment ago….”

“Dammit! I told you losing those earrings was gonna be problematic, Mika,” Nieko said out of frustration.

“Hey! It wasn’t my fault that he grabbed me so suddenly and shook me around for a bit,” Mika said as she held her head down in embarrassment.

Nieko took a moment to think about her actions.

“You're right, Mika, and I’m sorry. I actually need to tell you something about those earrings.”

“What is that, Nieko?”

“Geez, okay, I guess I deserved that…well, those earrings are—”

“No, Nieko! What is that on the road?!” Mika said, diverting Nieko’s attention to the front of the bike.

“Huh?’

A strange figure was standing on the road, far ahead of them. The figure wore a hoodie and a mask that resembled a fox-wolf character.

“Huh, could it possibly be Zeth? Is that you?” Nieko wondered to herself.

The figure suddenly pulled out a long-range weapon with a big-round barrel aimed at the girls.

“Wait, is he aiming that towards us?” Mika questioned with wide eyes.

“Well, this can’t be good,” Nieko added.

“Hey! What’s that on the road ahead of us?” Jae noticed.

“It looks like someone who’s about to cause more trouble in these streets,” Jey said while dodging potholes.

“What should we do? Are they one of our guys?” Jay wondered.

“It can’t be,” Jae said briefly while staring at the mysterious figure on the road.

The figure pressed a button on its weapon. A loud whirring sound began to start up. They braced themselves for a significant impact as they aimed for their target.

“Ahh, crap! Mika, put your head down!” Nieko yelled while hugging the motorcycle, bracing for the incoming attack.

The weapon fired with great force, causing the gunner to lose balance and fall backward. The giant grenade-sized ball twirled toward the ladies’ direction.

“Wait,” Nieko mumbled, “that looks like a—“

The grenade ball flew past Nieko’s face and winded through her luscious blonde hair as she froze up in fear. The grenade continued towards the chaos behind them.

“Something is coming this way!” Jay screamed!

“Huh?”

“Oh-No!”

“Get Down!” Jae screamed.

BOOM! BAM! CRASH!

The grenade landed a hit on the crowd of men, causing a colossal cloud of smoke on the narrow highway. Cars stopped to avoid the chaos, and henchmen were tossed all over the place. The pursuit had come to a halt.

“What a mess,” Nieko said.

“I wonder if that guy— huh?”

Nieko noticed the gunner was gone without a trace.

“Could that have been you, Zeth?”

She got lost in a daze for a moment.

“Nieko, are you okay?!” Mika yelled.

“Yeah, I’m fine….”

 “Let’s get out of here.”