Free Midnight Sun by Basil Sands Page B

recognizable gang-style gesture. The other punks probably thought looked cool, but anyone with half a brain would ’ ve thought looked like an underfed, hairless orangutan waving his arms at a bunch of flies.
    “ Hey, baby, ” he said with a generic “ urban” accent that was not native to any part of Alaska, an obvious imitation something he'd seen on television. “ Whatcha' doin' in my yard? ”
    “ Two hot chicks like you parking out here at night? ” another said. “ Must be a couple of lezzies left over from the fagot parade getting it on in there. ”
    “ Ooh, I wanna watch. ” said a third man.
    “ How ’ s about I give you some man flesh, ” said the leader, a pistol hanging loose in his hand. “S how you what you ’ re missing. ”
    The men's lustful glares twisted Hilde's stomach into sickened knots. The leader stepped closer, and Lonnie stared back at him with her practiced evil Korean ajumma glare. Once he was within ten feet of the truck, she raised her badge to the open window. Hilde did the same. The gang leader paused in his tracks. A look of confusion crossed his face, but vanished right away, replaced by a serpent-like smirk.
    “ Boys, we got us a couple of dyke police officers here. ” H e sneered at them. “ Two horny bitch cops all by themselves in our territory. ”
    “ Hey, Snake, ” said a nearby man, “ I think they got tired of playing with their night sticks and came looking for some real gangsta thang. ” He grabbed his crotch and shook it at Lonnie.
    The men encircled the truck. Someone smashed a heavy metal pipe against the tailgate, and a metallic crash echoed against the buildings. Hilde flinched at the sudden noise. She struggled to mask her fear with an unconvincing snarl. Seeing herself in the side view mirror, she thought her expression looked less like she was fierce and more like she had indigestion. She caught a glimpse of Lonnie's expression, her eyes sparked with violence that rivaled that of the gang bangers surrounding them. A loud hiss sliced through the tension and the back of the truck sank as two of the thugs pulled short knives out of the sidewalls of the tires. Lonnie gripped her pistol tightly, but kept it out of sight just below the window. The front tires went next.
    “ Leave us alone, ” s he said. “ Just turn and go. ”
    “ Or what, bitch? ” said the leader from about three paces away. “ You gonna arrest me? ”
    “ No, ” she said. “ I ’ m going to kill you. ”
    Her pistol slid into view, and she trained it on his chest. Hilde raised hers into view as well. Everyone stopped in their tracks. The leader stared at her, a mixture of fear and hatred smoldering in his eyes.
    “ You ain ’ t got the balls to kill me. ”
    “ You ’ re very observant, ” Lonnie said. “W omen don ’ t need balls. We ’ ve got hormones, and if you take one more step, I am going to hormone your ass straight to hell. ”
    “ There ’ s seven of us. ” H e gestured around the group with a sweep of his hands. “Y ou can ’ t get us all. ”
    “ Maybe not, but you ’ ll die for sure. ” H er eyes remained locked on Snake's like a snare that trapped him, choking him with her stare. She continued, her voice a low growl filled with unbridled menace, “ And at least three more will die before you can stop me. I'm really good with this thing. ”
    Hilde glanced in her side mirror and caught a man sneaking along the side of the truck toward her. A creepy grin stretched his lips as he glared up at her. Right handed, she couldn ’ t swing her gun hand toward him, and he seemed to know it.
    A sudden yelp burst the air like a popped balloon. The wet smack of flesh, followed by a thump of bone on metal, echoed from the back.
    “ You dented my brand-new truck, ” Marcus's voice boomed, shaking the air. He jammed a fist into the man ’ s gut, then let him drop to the ground, “ and you slashed my tires! ”
    The next man's left leg snapped sideways as