Page 42 of Gunslinger Girl

“What’s the matter?” he said. “You don’t like—”

A shout sounded ahead of them. An instant later a young man careened around a corner, three Old Reds on his heels. The nearest Red got close enough to shove him, and he went sprawling into a wall. Trapped, he pressed his back to the dirty brick as the pursuers closed in around him.

“Nowhere to go,” one of them taunted.

“Please,” the young man pleaded. “I don’t have anything to steal!”

“We’ll see about that.” All three pulled knives.

Pity reached for her guns. Max grabbed her arm to stop her, then turned and let out a piercing whistle. One of the Old Reds looked around at the sound. It was the blond girl who had painted the bloody smile for Pity.

“Shit,” she said. “Tin Men, incoming.”

“What?” The taunter spotted Max. “Oh. Selene’s lapdogs.” He grinned and raised his hands. The knife disappeared into his sleeve. “We weren’t doing anything.”

“So move along, then.” Pity shook Max off and drew but kept her barrels pointed down. “Go.”

“Aw, she wants to play.” The blonde giggled. “Good. Pretty girls have pretty guts.”

Pity kept her eye on the girl. The way she held her knife was off. Like she’s gonna throw. She risked a glance back. A pair of Tin Men were approaching at a quick pace, rifles raised, but they were still far away.

The girl flinched.

Bang!

The knife went flying.

Pity took aim again. “Next one to try that loses a hand instead of their weapon.”

But as the Tin Men closed in, the gang members bolted. Pity watched them as they retreated, her guns still drawn, while Max checked on the young man they had cornered.

“Hey, are you okay?”

The young man—a boy, really, Pity saw as she drew closer—stared at them, wide-eyed and clearly terrified. She spotted a bandage around his arm and a cut on his forehead, though neither looked fresh. But he nodded.

“What’s your name?” Pity asked.

“A-Ari,” he stammered. “I… I got lost.”

Max looked him over, concern tightening his features. “Lost from where, Ari?”

Tears gathered in his eyes. “I don’t… I’m not…”

“He’s one of them.” Pity turned to see that Tye had returned, though he had already stashed the gifted oranges somewhere. “The group by the smoke dens.”

“C’mon,” Max said, signaling to the Tin Men to follow. “We’ll get you back there.”

Whether it was the Tin Men’s uniforms or Max’s calm authority, Ari obeyed, following closely as Tye led them down a side street. The buildings turned noticeably rougher, and Pity kept her hands close to her gun belt. Under Selene’s protection or not, the encounter had left her apprehensive.

“I’m starting to question your definition of the word safe,” she said to Max as they walked.

“Cessation is as safe as it gets for us,” he said. “Everyone else… Well, outside Casimir the gangs run their fair share of gambling halls and goods trafficking. They know not to cause too much trouble, and so long as they pay their dues, Selene lets them be.” He paused. “The Old Reds need a reminder from time to time. They’re run by a man named Daneko. Let’s just say that if he had his way, Selene wouldn’t be the one in charge of Cessation.”

“Doesn’t sound like a very smart position to take,” said Pity as they rounded a corner and walked straight into a war zone.

CHAPTER 13

Once, when Pity was young, a man on the commune took a fall from his motorcycle while out hunting alone. For two days he walked back on a badly injured leg, and that was the only reason she knew what infected flesh smelled like.