No one has a gun in Nambour, it’s just not a thing

It was 2:30 by the time Velvet was ready.

Makeup covering her bumps and bruises from the night before, hair piled high in a thick ballooning bun.

She wore a light cotton dress, dusky pink, with bright red lipstick and dangly green earrings. She opted for pale white sandals and a little white bag, no room for her water bottle on such an important date.

She stood in front of the mirror, hand outstretched.

"Hi," she said seductively, "I'm Velvet… and you are?"

She shook her head and tried again.

"Hi, I'm Velvet." She said matter-of-factly.

She leaned against the bathroom sink, acting coy.

"Sup," she nodded at herself, "I've heard you've been looking for me."

She brushed wisps of hair from her face, mesmerised by the person she had transformed into with the layers of powder and paint.

At 2:45 she swung out of her apartment and into the alleyway that ran behind the deli, out onto the road next to the laundromat.

It was hot and humid. Sweat already running from Velvet's hairline and down her back.

She turned left onto Howard and shielded her face from the glaring sun above. She walked half a block before dipping into a bus stop for a reprieve from the fresh hell that was an untamed sunbeam.

Though busy on a Saturday, the trade around town died off by this time of day. Leaving street people milling about, waiting for their pretend loads of laundry to be completed; waiting for something fun to happen.

The occasional car pulled to a stop to pop into the chemist, returning laden with prescription pills and soft drink.

Velvet stepped back out into the sunlight, movement across the road piquing her interest.

It was the man in black, crossing the road in front of the deli, moving fast.

Has he come to collect me for the date? Velvet wondered, her heart racing as she watched him.

She reached up an arm to wave him over but stopped as he ran up the alleyway.

He definitely wasn't dressed for a date, still wearing the same outfit of running shorts, black tee, and brand name sneakers. Ball cap pulled tight over his head, shielding his face from view.

Velvet picked up her pace as she returned to the alleyway, trying to find the man in black.

He wasn't in the alleyway, nor was he in her backyard.

The door to the deli stood open despite the girls having locked up hours ago.

Velvet stuck her head through the door, expecting to see Jasper or Lacey.

There, in the middle of the kitchen looking under benches was the Ratman from the night before.

"Oi!" Velvet shouted, "what the fuck are you doing?"

He jolted upright, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun.

CLICK!

He pointed the gun at Velvet, sneering through the bandage across his broken nose.

Velvet gulped.

"You!" he growled, "you're gonna come with me, Boss would love to meet you."

Velvet snorted, taking a step towards the Ratman.

"Is this a movie or something?"

She laughed.

"No one has a gun in Nambour, it's just not a thing."

She stepped closer.

The man put his finger on the trigger.

"Just tell me where it is." he spat.

Velvet stopped.

"Where what is?"

The Ratman reached out and grabbed Velvet by the front of her dress, pulling her towards him until his gun was jammed up against her jaw.

"You know what I mean, bitch." his eyes grew wider.

Velvet grimaced, thinking of how far her brains would travel across the deli, and how long Jasper would need to scrub them off the nice white walls.

The air pressure in the room changed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate." the man in black leaned against the back door, looking at his fingernails.

Velvet's eyes tried to turn further right so that she could see him.

"That isn't Boss, is it?" Velvet whispered, unable to see who it was.

The Ratman let go of Velvet, fixing his gun on the man in black.

The man in black let out a sigh, turning his cap backward and preparing to take a step forward.

Velvet, eyes rolling around in panic, snapped.

"You fucking twat!" she screeched, driving the palm of her hand upwards into the underneath of Ratman's jaw.

The man in black stopped, flipping his hat back round to the front.

WACK!

The Ratman's head snapped back.

Velvet stomped her foot down hard on his left dress shoe.

She grabbed his arm with one hand and spun around to elbow him in the stomach.

The Ratman groaned, gun flailing in the man in black's direction.

"Ah," the man in black dodged the line of the gun, "shit what is this?"

Velvet looked up, now facing the man in black, holding onto the Ratman by his gun hand.

She froze and let go of the Ratman.

He fell over backward, out cold.

"Hello," she walked towards the man in black, hand outstretched, "I'm Velvet."

The man in black looked at her incredulously through hooded eyes.

Velvet stopped, waiting for him to shake her hand.

A beat.

A beat.

A beat.

"I thought you needed help," the man in black looked around the room, "but it seems you can take care of yourself."

Velvet looked around and shrugged.

"Not bad for a first date." she smiled, looking at Ratman on the floor.

She turned back to the man in black, but he was gone.

"Not bad for a first date." she mocked herself, stomping her feet in frustration.

"He didn't even tell me his name." she sighed.

"Oi," she nudged Ratman with her foot, "time to fuck off."

He groaned, eyes now open but unable to move.

A black town car idled at the curb in front of the deli, two suited men in the front looking in.

Velvet threw open the door to the deli, waving the Ratman's gun at the car.

"You can come get him now!" she shouted.

The suited men ran into the deli and scooped up the Ratman.

Velvet trained the gun on them as they stopped before her.

"Is there um, any chance you'll tell us where it is?" one asked.

Velvet laughed maniacally.

"Not a chance."

She waited until they were a block away before she slid down the wall uncontrollably shaking.

She threw the gun across the other side of the room and sobbed in a heap on the floor.

Across the road, the man in black watched on.