She anxiously tapped her fingers on the counter, her head turning side to side to make up for the lack of peripheral version from her gas mask. Her contact was late, and she didn't like the feeling of it.
The location had been carefully chosen, the dilapidated dance club was out of the way enough that patrols were unlikely to come by, but distinctive enough to be found if you were looking for it. The dΓ©cor also provided a bit of security, nobody in their right mind would fire a focused light weapon in a room full of mirrored orbs. Her reflective suit served a similar purpose, but the thin fabric could only deflect a small part of the blast, maybe enough to keep her alive. The heat had also forced her to unzip the suit down past her navel, making it even less effective.
"Five more minutes," she thought to herself as she started counting off the seconds in her head. She had gotten up to 137 Mississippi, when she heard footsteps approaching. She ducked behind the counter and readied her laser rifle, rising far enough to keep watch.
A man entered her view, similarly dressed in reflective suit and gas mask, cautiously sweeping the room with his laser rifle, a worn satchel hanging at his side. She waited until he was facing away from her and rose, keeping her laser rifle train on him. "You're late." she called out.
He swung around, fixing his laser rifle on her. "I was being trailed," he replied, "Had to lose 'em."
The who stood there for a moment, guns uneasily pointed at each other. Eventually she spoke again, "Sorry to hear about your dick."
"Yeah", he replied, "Shot clean off."
They both slowly lowered their weapons, code words were a necessity in her business, and she liked to have a little fun with them. "Alright," she said, "Let's see it."
He approached her and reached inside his satchel, removing the item and placing it on the counter. She began examining it, it was a power converter alright, a little dirty, but there didn't seem to be any damage. She looked up at him, "How do I know this is any good?"
"How do I know your merchandise is?" he responded.
Their eyes locked, they had no reason to trust each other and every reason to be suspicious. Eventually she spoke, "Okay."
She reached inside her suit, pulled out a small metal container, and placed it on the counter. He picked it up and cautiously peeked inside. There they were, just as promised, five tomato seeds. He snapped the container shut before the radiation could destroy his precious new cargo. "Well," he said, "I guess our business is done he..." Suddenly he was interred by three serpentmen crashing through the door, and apparently they weren't in their right mind as they began firing wildly in the two humans' direction.
She ducked behind the counter and he hit the ground as laser blasts bounced wildly around the room, each clutching their new acquisitions. He scrambled over to join her behind the counter and turned to her, "Does this place have a back door?"
There was a back door, and she knew exactly where it was, but she was also kinda hoping he'd provide enough of a distraction for her to use it. She tried to come up with a reasonable argument that would get him to cover her escape, but came up dry. "Yeah," she finally said, "Follow me and stay close." At the very least she figured he could be a shield.
She pressed up against the counter as lasers ricocheted around the room, waiting for a chance to run. Eventually one of the serpentmen cried out and the firing ceased. She peeked over the counter to see one serpentman lying on the ground, obviously felled by one of their ricocheting blasts, and the other two looking down at him confusedly. "Now," she said before taking off running from their cover. He stumbled to his feet, taking off after her as the serpentmen return their attention to them and resumed firing. Lasers shot around the room as they jumped over debris running for the exit. She led him into a narrow halfway, around a few corners, and finally through a door and out into the daylight.
She immediately felt the sting of the sun on her bare chest, hastily zipping her suite back up, hot was better than dead. They took off down the street, occasionally looking over their shoulders to see if they were being pursued. Not too far behind them the serpentmen popped out of the door, surveying their surrounding for their prey. Eventually they were spotted and the serpentmen took off after them.
Laser blasts hit the street and buildings all around them, he quickly spun around firing off two of his own, hitting one serpentman and not even distracting the other. While his back was turned she spotted an alley and ducked inside, gesturing to him to follow her, against her better judgement. "Fuck," she hissed trying to catch her breath, "the streets are going to be swarming with those bastards in no time."
"I've got a little hideout near here," he replied, "We should be safe there for awhile."
She silently considered his proposition, if he was dumb enough to trust her maybe he was too stupid to be a threat. "Okay," she said eventually, "Lead the way." After taking another moment for them to both catch their breath, he started down the alley, signaling her to follow.
He led her through winding streets, in and out of buildings, and down secluded alleys until they reached a grate in the ground. He pulled a hooked tool out of his satchel and pulled the metal covering aside. "Get in," he said, gesturing towards the hole while anxiously scanning his surroundings. Once again against her better judgement she did as she was told and squeezed through the narrow opening. A moment later he followed, sliding in and lifting the grate back into place.
He led her through twisting tunnels ankle deep with stagnant water, it was near pitch dark and she could tell he was navigating from memory rather than sight. Eventually they came to an old rusted door, he jammed his tool into the frame and began prying it open. She grabbed hold and helped him pull the door until the opening was just wide enough for them to squeeze through.
Once inside, they both pulled the door shut, leaving them in complete darkness. She could hear him moving around in the dark, tightening her grip on her laser rifle in case it was some kind of trap. Soon a soft light flickered on, illuminating the space.