| Chapter 5: "NEW LEAF", Part 1
Randy screams as a man reaches from the alley and pulls her in. Her screaming is silenced as he covers his mouth and pins her slim body to the wall. "Shut up!" the muscular young man demands as he draws a .38 revolver from his leather motorcycle jacket. "Another peep out of you and I'll pull the trigger. What's a little more noise if you keep screaming?" He slowly drops his hand from over her mouth. "Here," Randy says breathlessly holding out her purse, "just don't hurt me." The attacker smiles and knocks the purse from her hand. "That's not what I want," he says looking Randy over. She is young and very attractive. He licks his lips and continues, "How much it hurts is up to." He throws his forearm across her throat and fumbles with his belt. "Please," Randy whimpers, her eyes fixed on the gun, "don't do this." The attacker just smiles again and unzips his jeans. Before he can make another move a large, green trash dumpster at the end of the alley begins to shake. The assailant turns to look. Randy uses the distraction to push his forearm away and kick him in the shin. The attacker howls in pain and Randy makes a move to run. The attacker lunges at her and pushes Randy to the ground. She falls to her stomach and he kneels on her back, pushing one of his knees into her spine. He thrusts the gun into the back of Randy's skull and uses his thumb to ease back the hammer. "Nice try, Bitch!" he shouts. The dumpster at the end of the alley bursts into the air with an explosive bang. The attacker watches as the dented steel container crashes to the ground a few yards away. When it lands, Randy's attacker sees the silhouette of a slim muscular man walking toward him. The attacker shoots at the shadowy figure. He can see the sparks as the bullets make contact, but the dark figure continues advancing toward him. Randy is still lying on her stomach, unable to see the action behind her, when she hears her attacker scream. Randy feels the weight lift from her back. She rolls over to see what is happening, but the action is already over. Randy looks across the alley and sees her attacker face down, fifteen feet away. His body is twisted and he is not moving. She watches as her rescuer disappears into the darkness. She sits up and shouts after him, "Hey! Wait!" Finally she mumbles under her breath, "Thank you." Randy sits quietly at a Sergeant's desk while the policeman brings her report to the Captain. "We've got another one," the Sergeant says. "You're kidding," the Captain replies. "Says she saw a man in camouflage fatigues leaving the scene," the Sergeant reads from the report. "She claims the guy really saved her ass." The Captain takes the report and scans the details quickly. He leans to one side and looks out the window of his office at Randy. "Well, she certainly didn't break that perp's back herself," he comments. "That's seven," the Sergeant says. "Seven?" "Seven young girls, in three nights who claim to have been 'rescued' by a blond guy dressed like a soldier. Seven dead perps. Five fired guns, but no sign of a wounded vigilante." "Well, it looks like a funny-book super-hero has graced our fine city." "Whoever he is, he's in a rotten mood. Those dead perps were all killed in very unpleasant ways." "It reminds me of those crime boss killings six months ago. The ones where they thought a mob enforcer was using a wild animal to knock off syndicate heads." "They never proved that." "They never caught the bastard, either. The Agency pulled rank and they told us they had the guy, but I never bought it. The specialize in cover-ups." "What should I do with the girl?" "She's no suspect. Get someone to drive her home. Then check the files on those hits I was talking about." "These perps weren't syndicate members. They were all run-of-the-mill slime. Low on the food chain." "I still think things are connected. How many bullet-proof wild animals can there be in this city?"
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