Chapter 1: Explosion

‘Get out the car!’

‘Pardon?’ I said.

He gave me a stare that could have melted granite. I sighed and leant my head on the headrest.

Welcome to Sapphire City. Police may search cars at will. Human rights not an issue. Well not usually. This time I was going to make them an issue. Familiar black anger curdled my stomach. A small part of my brain shouted a warning. But I ignored it.

I stepped out the car and thrust myself in front of the black riot-armoured police officer. Time to take this loser down a peg or two.

‘Is there some kind of problem mate?’ I growled, daring him to say yes.

He gave me a smarmy smile. ‘Just a routine search,’ he said with the same kind of bravado that was mirrored on my own face.

‘Not any more,’ I said and punched him in the ribs. Hard.

He fell away from me rolling further from my reach. I cursed and strolled forward in pursuit. He started to rise. I raised a fist. And a voice behind me said, ‘Hands on your head!’

I spat at the floor. I turned to face the noise, knowing what I would see before my eyes registered. I stared at the second police officer eye to eye. He held a gun pointed at my chest level. Triple barrelled and water cooled to be exact. One big hole in the chest.

I tried to think of something big and clever to say. But words failed me.

He raised the barrel another inch. Head shot. I grimaced. But like a bad horror movie I couldn’t look away. Death held a cruel kind of fascination. I watched his finger start to curl on the trigger.

A series of bright orange flashes illuminated my entire field of vision. My first thought was ‘I’m hit, I’m hit’. But the flashes were far too big for a gunshot. The whole world twisted with my flailing body.

Explosion.

Darkness.