After the Explosion
1200 Words
The blast left Julian's ears ringing. He shook his head, the taste of liquor and dust thick on his tongue, and turned to Victor.
“You good?”
“Barely—thanks to Dominic and his boys showing up,” Victor panted, wiping sweat from his brow. “Or we’d be done. Gotta say… those guys are hardcore.”
Julian saw Victor was unhurt and shoved him aside. He scanned the chaos, then hissed at a nearby officer cowering behind an overturned table. “Gun. Now.”
The man’s terrified eyes flicked to Julian, blank with shock.
“Gun!” Julian growled again.
The officer snapped out of it, slid his sidearm across the floor without a second thought, then ducked back down.
It was an A2911—built on the old M1911 frame but modified for police use, higher capacity, nine rounds. Julian had never fired one, only seen pictures in magazines. But the fundamentals were the same. He dropped the magazine to check it, racked the slide, reloaded—smooth, practiced motions honed in the wasteland.
Gun in hand, he rose in a low crouch, sidestepped for a better angle, left arm braced as a rest, right hand steady.
Crack-c***k-c***k.
Three shots. The grenade thrower’s head snapped back, a red mist blooming. He dropped.
Julian didn’t hesitate—he aimed to kill. All four were armed and ruthless. Mercy meant someone else died.
He ducked immediately.
Bang-bang-bang.
Return fire chewed the wall behind him, plaster exploding in clouds.
Julian listened, shifted, popped up—two quick shots toward the window. Missed. The remaining two runners were fast, professional—one covering, one kicking out the glass and vanishing into the night.
They avoided the front door—smart, in case backup waited outside. The window gave surprise.
Julian didn’t pursue. He bolted up the stairs toward the rear exit instead.
Downstairs, Dominic sat clutching his bleeding ass, staring in stunned silence at Julian—who’d executed a man without blinking.
“Holy s**t, the new guy’s ice cold,” Victor muttered, scrambling up. He shouted at Dominic’s crew, “Move! Help Julian—he’s going alone!”
Dominic glared murder at Victor, lungs burning with rage. Everything bad tonight traced straight back to this i***t.
…
Second floor.
Julian reached the back window, peered down through the grimy glass. The short middle-aged man was already dragging the girl across the street, disappearing into an alley between crumbling buildings.
Julian weighed it, cursed under his breath. “Damn it… no backup? Just one left. Worth the risk.”
Crash.
He kicked the window open, cold wind howling in, and leaped.
He landed hard, rolled, then sprinted—crossing the road in seconds. Alone, he posted up at the alley mouth, gun raised slightly.
Crack-c***k.
Two warning shots into the dark.
From the shadows, the short man pulled the girl behind cover. He checked his weapon and answered in halting Chinese. “Unplanned Zone, brother?”
“Yeah,” Julian called back. “Outside’s frozen hell—I get it. You came in for a meal. But I’m wearing this uniform, and I saw what I saw. Can’t let it slide.”
“I’ve got scrip in my bag,” the man said, licking dry lips. “Name your price—I walk.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Cold out there, sure. But rules are rules. Scrip’s no good. Leave the girl.”
A pause. “I’ve got a gold piece too. Girl comes with me—take both.”
“Can’t do it.”
“…Fine. She stays.” The man shoved the girl forward. “Walk slow. Three seconds, then run. Disobey—one shot.”
Julian licked his lips, glanced deeper into the alley. “Come on.”
The girl stepped out hesitantly. Footsteps echoed chaotically behind her.
Three seconds.
She bolted.
Julian moved in, waving her on. “Faster!”
She looked up at him, eyes desperate. “He’s still there—”
The short man stepped from the shadows, gun rising.
Crack-c***k-c***k.
Muzzle flashes lit the night. The girl screamed, hands over her ears, dropping to a squat.
A thud. The man fell.
Julian stood in front of her, cautious, not advancing. He raised his arm and put two insurance rounds into the body.
The girl kept screaming.
Julian ignored her, walked over, nudged the corpse with his boot. Only then did he glance at the graze on his shoulder and exhale. “Cunning bastard. Too close.”
“f**k—he’s dead?!”
A familiar voice from the alley mouth.
Julian turned. Dominic, clutching his wounded ass, stood under the dim streetlight. “Where’s Victor and the others?”
“Chasing the runners left side—gunfire scattered them,” Dominic gasped.
Julian blinked, stepped closer, then suddenly yanked Dominic into the alley.
“What the hell—?”
“You wanted a word earlier?” Julian asked, face blank.
Dominic froze—remembering why he’d come to the tavern.
“Right here’s fine.” Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Talk.”
“What’s your game?”
Julian pressed the barrel to Dominic’s forehead. “You ever been in the Unplanned Zone? Military convoys through Three Ridge Pass—even the Grim Reaper pays tolls. I came out of there alone, gun in hand. You think you’re teaching me rules here?”
Dominic went pale.
Crack.
A shot rang out—into the air.
Dominic collapsed, gasping, eyes wide.
Julian tossed the gun onto him. “Next time there’s dangerous work, we do it together. Don’t f**k with me again—or when I’m scared, who knows where the barrel points.”
He walked to the girl. “What mess did you get into, miss?”
…
Ninety minutes later. Police Department Hospital.
Dominic lay on the operating table, phone to ear. “Captain Vale.”
“Where are you?” Marcus Vale’s voice was ice.
“Hospital.”
“You hit a case at the tavern?”
“Yeah.” Dominic launched into full bullshit mode. “Routine patrol—spotted out-of-district hardcases at Second Sister’s. I knew something was off, moved in for ID check. They pulled guns. Big case. We engaged… main perp and one accomplice KIA on site, two fled. District’s on alert… Heh, Captain—word is the main guy was some ‘Matsushita,’ wanted four years, multiple bodies. We not only ran into him—we dropped him. Cleared a cold case. Captain, you gotta put in a word with the chief. Two years secondary officer—time for promotion. And it’s our team’s collar—brings glory to the whole department!”
“Glory my ass.”
“Captain, why—”
“Because I want to put one in your skull.” Vale snarled. “Matsushita was my brother’s contact. Job was almost done—you and your ‘heroics’ f****d it.”
“Wait—Captain, listen—”
Dominic scrambled to explain. “I was bragging earlier—real story: I went to rough up Julian, ran into that i***t Old Cat saying there was a case—”
Beep-beep.
Vale had hung up.
- Writer
