Chapter 66

            On Zorb’s ship, Siro uses his light ropes as part of rehabbing his leg. He runs 20 feet from side to side, equal to a pro-wrestling ring. As he goes side to side, he counts every time he bounces off the ropes.

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five… Six…”

He grumbles and slows to a stop. He uses Code Yellow’s Analyze to check his leg.

[Leg: 80% Health]

Siro grumbles more as he shakes the leg. He does some squats, then jumps, but it is still sore around the knee. The pain only makes him hate The Spektrum more.

He leaves the open room used for training to go to the living room. He goes to the kitchen area and looks around to see Zita and Zorb being cutesy on the couch, again. They nuzzle noses and he groans while opening the refrigerator door.

“Is your leg still bothering you?” Zita asks.

“No,” he says. “It’s just not back to 100% yet. I’m more bothered by you two.”

“What?” Zorb says, annoyed in return. “What’re we doing to bother you?”

Siro brings out a can of generic cola and looks at the lovey-dovey couple as he pops it open.

“You’re kidding me, right?” he says.

“Oh, sorry,” Zita says with a small smile. “I forgot, no, uh, how did you say it? ‘Public displays of affection?’”

She scoots away from Zorb while Siro walks over to sit on the chair.

“Y’know…” Zita says as she leans towards Siro. “Just because your Earth holiday, ‘Valentine’s Day,’ has come and gone doesn’t mean romance dies. I can still hook you up with a friend of mine.”

“Please don’t,” both Siro and Zorb say.

“Hey, hold on,” Zita says. “Siro saying no is one thing, but why’re you against me matching him with one of my friends?”

“Because when you try to match up one of your friends, you screw it up.”

“Excuse me,” Zita says before smacking Zorb’s chest with the back of her hand. “How was I supposed to know one species could be allergic to another?”

Zita takes out a rectangular object with rounded edges. It looks like a bigger smartphone, or maybe a shrunken flat screen TV.

“What is that?” Siro asks Zita.

“Relax, it’s a computer,” she says. “We call them ‘slabs,’ like old stone slabs people would write on. Earth had those, too, right?”

“Yeah. Long, long time ago.”

Zita turns her “slab” on and moves things around with her finger.

“So, what do you like?” Zita asks. “From how you look at that feline girl and at me, you clearly like females. But what else do you like?”

“How do you mean?” he asks.

“What’s your type?” she says. “Though, again, judging from the feline girl…”

Zita swipes things around again.

“Okay, here’s a nice group photograph,” she says as she turns the slab around. “Me with my friends Iorara, Aditani, and Sylvil.”

Siro looks at the photo, and he blushes just the tiniest bit because they’re in skimpy swimsuits. And then he notices one of them is blue.

“Her skin is blue,” he says with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s Iorara,” she says. “You like blue skin?”

“Um,” he says. “I don’t dislike it.”

“How about the other two?”

Siro looks at Aditani and Sylvil. Like Zita, they have skin colors more closely related to human skin tones. Sylvil has golden yellow eye’s, like Catgirl’s.

Siro stops looking at the picture and stands up, turning towards the door.

“What’s wrong?” Zita says. “You don’t like them?”

“It’s not that,” he says. “I just…”

“Oh, I should’ve realized,” Zita says. “You like the feline girl. Of course! And she’s… With The Spektrum.”

“Told you you’d screw it up,” Zorb says.

Zita frowns at Zorb but gets up to follow Siro to the door.

“All the more reason to find someone else then,” Zita says. “So, do you like Iorara, Aditani or Sylvil?”

“I’m not worried about that stuff right now,” Siro says, annoyed. “I don’t need a relationship to distract me.”

“It doesn’t have to be a relationship,” Zita says. “It can just be for fun every once in a while.”

“I don’t need ‘fun,’ either,” he says. “I just need to beat the crap out of The Spektrum so I can focus on what we’re doing in New York.”

“And how do you plan on doing that with a bad leg?” Zorb says. “He’ll just get you again like he did last time.”

“No, he won’t,” Siro says. “I have a way around that.”

Siro sips his cola and returns to his room to pick up his video camera.

 

In New York, a flash of teleporter ray sends Zorb and Zita down on the roof of a square apartment building. Zorb arms his golden gun and Zita has two rose gold colored pistols.

            Meanwhile, up in their ship, Siro sits on the couch, mask off so he can wear a headset with a microphone. He uses Code Yellow’s Analyze while watching the screen displaying a satellite video feed. Zorb and Zita are highlighted on the screen as gold and rose gold so Siro can always see them.

            “Mic check,” Siro says. “Mic check. Count together.”

            “Three, two, one,” Siro, Zorb and Zita all say together.

            “And visual check,” Siro says.

            “Visual check,” Zita says, “hugging Zorby.”

            Zita wraps her arms around Zorb then lets him go.

            “Okay,” Siro says. “Connection is clear and there’s no lag in the video. Ready to go in there?”

            “Ready,” they both say.

            Zorb and Zita find the door to the roof and Zorb busts the knob off with a kick.

 

            It was a few days ago that Zorb, Zita, and Siro were having a conversation with the New York criminal underworld.

            “Thank you, Mr. Shǒuxiān,” Zorb said. “We’ve got your shipment on the way. Then we’ll pick up Mr. Vtoroy’s and Mr. Tercero’s together, so both crews need to make sure they’re on location at noon.”

            “What kind of teleporter can’t be used more than three times a day?” Tercero asked with a frown.

            “The kind that’s real and not in some movie,” Siro said, also frowning. “It has its weak points, sure, but remember that its strong point is that it’s a teleporter.”

            “Alright, alright,” Tercero groaned. “My men will be there.”

            “Mr. Perascorso,” Zita said while checking the inventory. “Your contribution seems to be lacking about 30%.”

            Perascorso wiped some nervous sweat from his forehead with the end of his tie, then cleared his throat.

            “My, uh… My son, Marco, has decide to no longer accept the agreement. He doesn’t want our family to settle for being equals with our rivals or subordinate to an outsider from outer space. And it seems a good portion of my own people agree with him.”

            “Oh, is that so?” Zorb said. “Ironically, I completely understand that. But at the same time, a deal is a deal. And if you can’t keep your son in line, Mr. Perascorso, I’m afraid we’ll have to pay him a visit.”

            “Mr. Zorb, please,” Mr. Perascorso said, hands together like a prayer. “Let’s be reasonable. I’m sure he’ll come around if I can talk to him.”

            “He has three days,” Zorb said. “Good day.”

            Zorb pressed a button on the remote control and the video feeds shut off.

           

The three days came and went, and Marco Perascorso did not change his mind. That Monday, his father pleaded with Zorb, but the deadline was up, and it was decided that Zorb and Zita would handle things.

“Why only you two?” Siro asked them.

“Because you still need to heal up,” Zita said. “There’s still a month more before your fight with The Spektrum, and you need to be at 100 percent.”

“Not only that,” Zorb said, “you can be overwatch.”

 

Following that decision, Zita pulled out her entire wardrobe to look for just the right outfit.

“Remember,” Zorb said as she filed through tight fitting dresses, “we need to be stealthy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “Ooh, of course! My body suit collection!”

“Your… what?” Siro asked.

Zita pulled out one coat hanger with a black leotard covered in glittery sparkles.

“Uh, you’re going to have something cover up your legs, aren’t you?” Siro asked.

“Why?” Zita asked. “You don’t like my legs?”

Zita modeled her legs as they were in her pink tights. Siro blushed and looked at the clothing rack. He could spot the same leotard in other colors, some with sleeves and some without.

“He does have a point, though,” Zorb said. “How about one of your full body outfits?”

“Yeah?” Zita said with a bright smile.

Zita turned back to her collection and brought out a case she hadn’t yet. She opened it up, and right up front was a dark purple spandex body suit with long sleeves and legs.

Zita left the room with the outfit and returned dressed in it.

She looks like a recolored Samus Aran, Siro thought.

“There we go,” Zorb said as Zita modeled all sides of her body. “That’s perfect!”

 

Back in the present, Zorb and Zita walk down the stairs to enter the twelfth floor. The ship’s computer has a layout for the floors that they discovered online. The camera looks through the ceiling and uses those images to enhance what is shown onscreen.

“Each floor is basically a ring,” Siro says. “Twelve floors, 85 units, however that works.”

“He wouldn’t be up here, would he?” Zita asks.

“Would make things a lot easier,” Zorb says.

“I’ll check the rooms,” Siro says as he has the camera move. “South corner, no Marco. East corner, no Marco.”

“We’ll check the other two,” Zorb says. “Try to look into the lower floors.”

Zorb and Zita go to the west corner while Siro looks at the camera’s remote for other options.

“No, that’s zoom,” he mumbles while pressing a triangular button. “Wait, this might be something.”

He presses a circular button, and the x-ray feature goes to the eleventh floor.

“They seem pretty active downstairs,” he says. “They might’ve realized what the flash was all about.”

Zorb busts into the west corner apartment. The lights are off so he feels around for a light switch. He flips the lights on and sees no one.

“No Marco, or anyone else in here,” Zorb says.

Zita sees light coming from under the door of the north corner apartment. She picks the lock to open the door and peers inside. There’s a trio of young girls watching television on the couch. A woman, presumably their mother, is working in the kitchen. Zita carefully closes the door so as not to make a sound.

“No Marco in there either,” she says.

Zorb and Zita regroup at the stairs and hear footsteps down below. They take aim as they start stepping down. They make it to the eleventh and a man comes around the east corner. He spots them and raises his arm, but Zorb shoots first, hitting right in the shoulder! Others rush up after hearing the noise, only to get shot down by both Zorb and Zita.

“Keep advancing or they’ll flank you,” Siro says. “And make it quick, the tenth floor is starting to send people.”

Zorb and Zita step over the men they shot down, kicking guns down the hall. Zorb watches the rear as they make their way to the other staircase. A man rushes up from the southside and takes aim. Zorb hits the man in his right ear and that makes the man turn away. Zorb then shoots the man in the hip so he can’t stand up.

Zorb and Zita make it around the corner but between the men at the stairs and the men coming back around from the west side, they’re about to be cornered.

“Jump on ‘em!” Zorb says as he clips two men in the leg.

Zita jumps from the top of the steps to tackle the first man and topple him over onto the rest. They have a rough landing where the stairs make the hairpin turn, but Zita’s fine because the men were all a crash pad.

Zorb hurries down the steps, helps Zita up off the pile, she shoots each of them in the leg, then the two hurry down into the tenth floor.

“I can hear them coming up from the ninth,” Zita says.

“Can we get to an elevator?” Zorb asks.

“It’s on the opposite end of the building,” Siro says. “But they’re barricading both routes. Back track to the eleventh floor and ride it from there.”

“They’re catching on,” Zorb says.

“Then we’ll pull off the same move we did on Espenneos,” Zita says.

Zorb smiles and nods as he remembers Espenneos.

The two head back up, stepping on those they already shot down. They go to the elevator, enter inside, and press the button for the ninth floor.

The gangsters notice the elevator is on the move. Someone on the 10^th floor calls to someone on the ninth floor and that someone hurries to get to the elevator doors. When those doors open, no one is inside!

The gangster looks inside the elevator and then looks up. A panel in the elevator’s ceiling is open!

“They’re on top of the elevator!” the man shouts down the hall. “Open the doors to the tenth floor!”

The others act as he said, but when this man turns back, Zorb and Zita drop back into the elevator! Zita kicks this man in the knee and Zorb boots him down. The man clutches a broken nose while Zorb and Zita move on.

“The guys you fooled just found out they got fooled,” Siro says. “They’re going back to the stairs.”

“And we played our hand, we can’t use the elevator again,” Zita says.

“Then we need to get to the point,” Zorb says.

He drags the man with the bloody, broken nose along and pins him against the wall.

“Is Marco Perascorso here?” Zorb asks the man.

“I’m not telling you!” the gangster sputters through his bloody nose.

Zita digs her Stiletto heel into his eyeball!

“OKAY, OKAY!” he shouts in pain. “He’s here! He’s here!”

Zita steps away from his eye.

“Marco’s on the seventh floor. He’s superstitious like that.”

“What?” Zita and Zorb say.

“The number seven is considered lucky in a few cultures on Earth,” Siro explains quickly. “Just get down to the seventh floor, and I’m just assuming to go to the apartment numbered seven.”

“Alright,” Zorb says.

He and Zita stand up, and then Zorb boots the gangster in the face to knock him out. Zorb and Zita hurry to the stairs, opening fire as soon as they see men storming up the way.

“Let’s conserve ammo and use what they’ve carrying,” Zita says.

“Good call,” Zorb says.

They holster their golden guns to take the grey metal from the downed gangsters.

“Careful with that one,” Siro says as he gets a closer look. “Shotguns have massive blowback.”

“Really?” Zorb says.

Zorb aims up at the tenth floor’s line-up of gangsters and they all get wide eyes as they turn to run!

*BLAM* Zorb shoots the shotgun, but with his superior strength, he barely budges! However, the wood banister and many of the gangsters are peppered with the pellets.

“Oh, of course,” Siro says. “Just gotta show off somehow, don’t you?”

Zorb reloads with the pump action and leads the way downstairs. As soon as they reach the eighth, Zorb aims at the first cluster he sees.

*BLAM* Zorb still doesn’t budge, but he practically sends one gangster flying into the corner edge.

“Whoa…!” Siro says. “Is he still in one piece or what?”

Zorb looks closely at the downed gangster.

“He’s wearing body armor,” Zorb says, “he’ll be fine.”

Zorb pumps again but nothing happens.

“Cover for me, I need to reload,” he says.

He opens the shotgun up and the used shells pop out. Zita lays down cover fire with her confiscated Uzzi. She shoots to the right, but gangsters appear from the left, and Zita quickly draws one of her pistols to shoot that way.

Zorb takes shells off the side and uses them to load the shotgun, then he closes it up.

“Ready,” he says.

Zita fires along down the stairs and they descend to the seventh floor.

“Umm,” one up front says.

“You all know we don’t have to do this,” Zorb says. “You guys and Marco just have to play by the rules.”

“Hell no,” someone in the back says. “We were doing just fine before you space aliens showed up and started acting like you can do whatever you want.”

“You know what?” Zorb says, lowering the shotgun. “That’s fair. It was a bit of a hostile takeover.”

*BLAM* Zorb shoots the group in the legs!

“But I’m still in charge,” Zorb says before reloading.

Zorb and Zita look around at the numbers on the doors.

“I’m still not good at reading Earth numbers,” Zorb says.

“Seven is the upside-down Ela,” Zita says. “We’re on the seventh floor, so that’s why all these start with seven and have another number. Find the one with two sevens.”

“Right, right,” Zorb says. “Double Ela.”

“Hold on,” Siro says. “I think I can use the floor plans to find unit 77.”

Siro has the screen adjust imagery so that the floor plan is more highlighted against the camera feed.

“Okay, go to your left,” he says. “It’ll be the third room on that side.”

Zorb and Zita walk as directed and they see for themselves, 79, 78 and then 77.

“What’s the floor plan like?” Zorb asks.

“It’s a good-sized apartment, open floor plan. Actually, it’s a bit like in here, just square. The floor plan doesn’t give furniture, but I believe the living room will be in front of you when you get in, with everything to the right.”

“Got it,” Zorb says.

Zorb shoulders into the door and busts it off the hinges. Zita enters in, staying just behind Zorb. They quickly spot the armed thug just standing around in the kitchen, and another by the apartment hallway. Zita shoots at the thug in the hallway while *BLAM*, Zorb blasts the kitchen area!

The thug in the kitchen is peppered with porcelain shrapnel on top of buckshot, but he is still on his feet. Zorb runs over to clobber him with the butt of the shotgun and down goes the thug. As for the thug in the hallway, he’s taking cover in the doorway of the bathroom. Zita is using the refrigerator as cover, and Zorb takes a moment to reload.

Zorb and Zita look at each other, and they both nod. Zita uses the Uzzi for cover fire, backs off, and as the thug comes out, Zorb blasts him with the buckshot! The thug falls over, Zorb and Zita storm up the hall and they both grimace at what happened to the thug’s face.

“It’s alright, we can get you some reconstructive surgery,” Zita says to the thug.

“Wha…?” the thug says, very confused.

Zorb and Zita move on and find the bedroom. They bust in again, and they startle a woman in the bed.

“He went out the window!” she says quickly, pointing.

They look at the window and see it’s wide open. They go to the window, but then the woman reaches under the covers. Zita turns and aims the Uzzi and the woman brings her hand out. Zita snatches the covers away and spots the little revolver that was hiding there.

“Zorby,” Zita says.

Zorb looks and sees the gun. Zorb takes that from the bed while Zita keeps her eyes on the woman. Zorb unloads the revolver and brings it with him as he goes out the window and to the fire escape. Zita follows, still watching the woman until she’s outside.

“Siro,” Zorb says as he and Zita make their way down. “You need to look around outside for Marco now. He left the building with this ladder balcony system.”

“It’s called a fire escape,” Siro says. “And I can’t believe we didn’t think of this possibility.”

Siro gets the computer and satellite working to look around outside the building now. The computer uses some facial recognition to make the search incredibly easier.

“He went around the back,” Siro says. “And I think he’s got friends.”

Zorb and Zita carefully approach the corner. They peek around and see Marco and a couple thugs getting into a car.

“Marco!” Zorb shouts as he and Zita storm out.

The two march forward as they open fire on the vehicle, shredding up the tires. The thugs spill out the other side of the vehicle, return fire, but Zita and Zorb take cover behind some other vehicle.

“I’ll cover you,” Zita says.

Zita opens fire with the Uzzi again and Zorb slips around the other side of the cars. Zorb gets up alongside the thugs and *BLAM*, he clips their legs! He storms up but notices Marco isn’t among them. Zita joins Zorb and they find the back door of the building. They hear barking headed their way and they spot a couple Rottweilers running up. And yet Zita has adoration in her eyes.

“Go get ’em!” Marco shouts to the dogs.

The dogs run at full speed from hallway to parking lot, fury in their eyes and slobber flying from their jowls!

“STOOOOOP!” Zita shouts back.

The Rottweilers skid to a stop and even Marco is startled. Zita’s now the one baring her teeth with rage in her eyes.

“How… dare you!” she says to Marco. “How could you use these darlings as weapons?!”

Zita kneels to look the Rottweilers in the eyes, petting their heads and scratching their chins.

“These darlings?” Zorb repeats. “They were about to eat us a second ago.”

“You can’t use animals like this,” Zita says to Marco, ignoring Zorb. “They don’t know right from wrong, just what someone tells them to do! We’re sentient creatures. We chose this life!”

“Oh, don’t get on some high horse over my dogs, you crazy bitch,” Marco says. “Speaking of which, what’re you two doing? Get her! Get her!”

The Rottweilers just look back at Marco with blank stares and some whimpers. Zita stands up, still glaring at Marco.

“Zorby,” she says, holding out her hand. “Give me your gun.”

“Uh…” Zorb says with obvious hesitancy.

“Give me your gun,” she says again sternly.

“Zita, what’re you up to?” Siro asks. “You can’t shoot Marco if you still want his father to be on good terms with us.”

“Yeah, he’s got a point, Zita,” Zorb says.

“GIVE IT!” she snarls.

Zorb sighs and hands over his golden gun, and she aims right at Marco!

“Zita,” Siro says urgently. “Zita!”

*BLAM BLAM* Zita shoots twice, startling the dogs!

“Zita!!” Siro shouts. “What’re you doing?!”

Zorb winces and even turns away.

“She just shot his stuff off,” he says.

“What? His what?” Siro asks.

“His stuff,” Zorb says. “Y’know. Uh, what’s a word you Earthlings use for… reproductive…”

“She shot his nuts off?!” Siro blurts.

“If that’s the word, yeah…” Zorb says.

Siro buries his head in his hands while he groans.

“Alright, let’s go,” Zita says as she holds the gun out to Zorb.

Zorb takes his gun back and holsters it.

“And let’s find these two a much better home~,” Zita says to the dogs with a cutesy tone. “Yes~! You deserve much better than Marco, don’t you? Don’t you?”

The dogs respond well to the baby talk as Zita leads them and Zorb away. Zita tries to ask the people still out on the street this late at night if they want the Rottweilers, but no such luck. A nice older woman points them to a shelter and the dogs are put up for adoption before Zorb and Zita teleport back to their ship.

 

Naturally, word of what happened in the apartment complex gets back to New York police, units are sent to investigate, and ambulances are called. Medics attend to the wounded, especially Marco. There are also arrests made, as police find guns, drugs and money all over the complex.

Word of all that gets back to Marco’s father, who curses up a storm. But then there’s a knock at the door.

“What?!” Mr. Perascorso barks.

“Sir, there’s someone hear to see you.”

“Who?” he asks, still fuming. “I don’t remember scheduling anything!”

“It’s Mr. Tercero.”

Mr. Perascorso’s anger starts to subside, and he composes himself.

“Let him in,” Mr. Perascorso says.