Intro: Lianna Gerthy

Aliyel ran like she had never run before. The flames beneath her feet scorched the pavement, leaving black marks throughout the construction complex. Her pursuer refused to give up, following with superhuman speed and agility. Aliyel rounded the next corner and jumped off the incomplete second floor, and landed in the traffic below. Cars collided around her, and she jumped into the air, hurtling over the fence on the other side. Gangsters in purple outfits drew their weapons and aimed, but Aliyel had passed before they could fire. As Aliyel hurtled down the alley, she glanced behind her and saw her pursuer land in the same place she had. No resting yet. At the end of the alley, Aliyel turned right, down a smaller street. The street dead ended at a pile of rubble. Aliyel scaled the rubble about halfway, before jumping through a window into a building to her left. Without pausing, she rushed out of the hotel room into the hallway adjacent, and raced to the end. Near the end of the hallway, she glanced back again. Her pursuer was gone. ''I did it. I got away.'' Aliyel thought, breathing a sigh of relief. She turned her attention back to where she was going—

--And collided headfirst with the barrel of an assault rifle. Aliyel hit the ground, hard.

“Special Forces! Stay on the ground!” a woman’s voice screamed at her.



Renaissance Center, Millennium City

Fifteen minutes earlier

Colonel Lianna Gerthy of the United States Special Forces sat in a chair outdoors, sunglasses covering her face, sipping a cold soda. This is the life. She thought. ''Nobody to kill. No enemy fortresses to infiltrate. No superhumans to exterminate.'' For the first time in three years, she was off duty. Her blue and blonde hair was slicked back behind her ears, her assault rifle on the chair next to her. And she had no intention of feeling the rifle’s cold grip in her hand anytime soon.

She dozed off for a few minutes, the warm breeze brushing her like a lover’s gentle caress. But she wasn't going to be able to relax long.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Across the plaza, a fire broke out on a kiosk, and it’s owner screamed curses at a red-blonde woman dressed in black. The woman turned and ran northeast amidst the chaos. Lianna glanced around, looking to see if anyone would pursue. After thirty seconds, she stood up and sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Looks like I’m doing the dirty work. Again.” Lianna slung her rifle over her back and ran off. Apparently, the woman was unaware she was being pursued at first, for Lianna caught up with no problem. The redhead looked back, as if noticing Lianna for the first time, and jumped onto a rooftop in the lower-elevation part of the city. Lianna laughed. ''Westside? You plan on losing me in Westside? I live there, for fuck’s sake.'' The redheaded woman turned northward.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The chase continued for ten minutes before the redhead woman wound up on a dead end road, scaling a pile of ruin. There’s only one place she can go. Rather than chasing after the redhead, Lianna ran to the other side of the building, entered the opposite window, and waited. After about thirty seconds, footsteps came down the hallway. ''One motherfucker… two motherfucker…. HERE MOTHERFUCKER! ''She thought to herself, and swung her rifle out into the walkway. The redhead collided with the rifle with enough force to nearly knock it from the Colonel’s hands, before she hit the ground. Without hesitation, Lianna aimed the rifle at the fallen woman.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Special Forces! Stay on the ground!” Lianna yelled, louder than she meant to. The redhead backed into a corner, cowering. Well, that’s different. A few hotel residents stuck their heads out of their doors at the commotion. “Colonel Lianna Gerthy, Special Forces. I’ve got things under control. Please return to your rooms. Thank you.” Lianna turned her attention to the squirming, cowering woman. “What’s your name, Ma’am?” The redhead uncovered her face and looked at the colonel fearfully.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Aliyel.” she said weakly.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Well, Ms. Aliyel. Why did you light that kiosk on fire?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“I… I don’t know.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“You don’t know. Do you make a habit of committing arson for no reason?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t know.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, well I envy your knowledge. Or lack thereof… So, where do you live?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“I… I…. I don’t know.” Aliyel looked terrified, and on the verge of tears. “I… There’s a saloon in the desert… I sleep in a corner.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t think there are any deserts around here, honey.” Lianna said, taking pity on the woman. “You wanna come back to my place? It’s not too far from here.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Uh, I uh… I don’t know. I can’t trust you.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Honey, I don’t even trust me. Come on, let’s get you something to eat. You look starved.”