Strict Bargain

Another drip of water echoed throughout the alleyway making her twitch and guard go up higher. She was reacting to everything, her hand now bruised from clutching the pistol so hard. Charlotte couldn't see the vigilante's face well, but she could tell that the woman was practically laughing at her for being so out of her own territory.

Sure, it may be that way, but she wasn't going to give up without a fight if the vigilante wanted to start something. Although the best idea would just be to run and take cover until Vincent sent her another message.

Maybe it was already over for her either way. But she wouldn't know if the vigilante in front of her has loonies still hidden behind the scenes. She pointed the gun at the woman and tilted her head to the side.

"Get lost, and tell the rest of them to leave."

The woman lifted a shoulder. "What makes you think that you can come in here and think that you own it? Go back to your tiny square piece of living where your life is sucked out of you out there in the bright lights."

Charlotte breathed a silent sigh of relief and tried to not show it in her face. This woman wasn't a vigilante if she was speaking as if she was an outer circle citizen. Then again, those living this far out weren't even considered as such by those overlooking from the Centennial Center.

It wasn't still a good situation for her though since she might have walked into a territory that was marked by hostile vampires as she did months ago. Judging by this lady, she had definitely seen it all.

The scattering marking of rats that were digging through for their meal within the trash made Charlotte's attention diverge for a second. She didn't know what to do. This woman was making it hard to get past, but she didn't want to hurt anyone. There might not be another option if the woman still wouldn't let up.

Luckily, the woman smirked over at her. "I saw another one wander through here. I wonder where he is going."

Charlotte bit down on her lips and shot straight at the vent that was pumping above the woman's head. Her hand was numb, but her stance was strong. "Show me where he went."

"You're running hot and cold, miss," the woman snarled. "Get out. You're attracting unwanted visitors that will only harm my own."

"I need to find where he went," Charlotte stated coldly. "When he leaves so will I."

"Did your play date become a little too frisky, miss?" the woman taunted. "What made you come crawling in?"

"I think that we're close enough to call each other by our names, aren't we?" Charlotte breathed.

The woman ripped out her weapon within a second; the glint in her eye was menacing and dangerous. Charlotte shot again without thinking twice. The shock rippled down her body, and she swallowed thickly when she knew that she had already gone too far to turn back.

Charlotte took a few steps closer to the woman who was uninjured but had retreated further into the shadows. She stuck out her hand and tilted her head to the side. "Charlotte."

The woman glanced up into the sky that had already been blurred out by the beaming lights. "This is too funny."

"Please lead the way," Charlotte said slowly. "I would rather not spill blood on the streets that you call your very home."

The woman pushed herself off her relaxed position from the crumbling building and came into the dim light that her phone provided. She pulled down her black hood to reveal bright lavender hair that came down in rolling waves.

"Lucia," the woman answered quickly before shoving her small knife away.

One that would prove deadly as Lucia clearly knew how to use it in the right way to disarm a man and seriously harm them. Charlotte was going to take her answer as a yes to her demand, so she would have to tread carefully from here on out.

Charlotte couldn't tell if the woman was still going to be violent though, so she distanced herself a bit. Lucia was certainly a beautiful woman from her pretty hair and fair eyes yet it was her disposition that was off-putting and jarring.

She had always been kind to the outer circle's people who lived near she once was as she saw them as her neighbors instead of irrelevant homeless individuals. The lively children held so much hope, but the light in their eyes slowly diminished with time. The older folks sit outside their run-down houses doing nothing yet their life seems full.

Charlotte sighed and showed how she placed her gun back into its place back on her thigh. "If you don't touch me, I won't touch you."

Lucia gave her a humorless smile. "Sounds like a great deal."