"Sounds good," Junebug agreed, "when do we get started?" The Stinger laughed an indulgent laugh at the question, which brought sycophantic smiles from the various hangers on within ear shot. It was clear that despite her outwardly pleasant persona, the thugs she surrounded herself with were rightly terrified.

"So eager," the Stinger chuckled lounging back on her chair to display her generous assets.

"The morning will be soon enough, around here we know that there is more to life than work, can I offer you lodging?" she asked with an arch look in Neil's direction.

"That won't be necessary," Junebug replied in a tone so devoid of emotion that if you didn't know her well you might have thought meant disinterest. No one who had seen Junebug in action would make that mistake.

"Well then my men will find you in the morning when we are ready to start the operation." 

After a few more pleasantries they were ushered out of the building, past the drunken partying guards and back out into the city. Once they left the saftey of the armed compound, the situation deteriorated rapidly. With the addition of alcohol durgs, and the general degeneracy that seemed to come from sharing poor behavior in crowds the town had descended into more or less general chaos. Gunfire could be heard in the distance but in the random an intermittent patterns that were usually associated more with drunken good spirits rather than combat. At the dividing line between the two gangs territory thugs still shouted and posture and random civilians were being shaken down, and in the case of the women, groped, if they dared leave their dwellings. Several men staggered drunkenly towards Junebug and Taya but they weren't so drunk that Sayeeda an Neil simultaneously pulling their side arms didn't send them running.

"I had thought to sleep on the ship," Junebug said as she glanced down the street. The gangs had barricaded cars in with their bodies and the owners had abandoned them at least for the night. It didn't seem likely that any attempt to travel the few kilometers to the ship was likely to be particularly successful. Junebug took a cigarette from an ammunition pouch on her belt and sparked it alight, shielding the flame from the gentle wind with cupped hands until she got it going.

"Might not be the best idea anyway," Neil put in, "Our new employer might not think to well if it looked like we were skipping town right away. Or going to inform her insectiod buddies as to the fact that her shipment is going out to... wherever tomorrow."

"Please, if she has told anyone at, the whole city knows by now," Junebug replied, leading them away from the main boulevard without any particular destination in mind. The side streets were dark and lined with low adobe houses, many had kitchen gardens and some which might once have been prosperous. Small kitchen gardens grew behind low walls, many of which were topped with broken glass, though Junebug didn't see how that was a real deterrent. A sudden scream interrupted further conversation as a young boy, perhaps no more than thirteen years old burst from an alley, pursued by two thugs in the colors of the Scorpions. One of them whooped with glee as he kicked the childs legs from under him, sending the boy toppling to the ground. A brown paper bag spun from his hands and the boy lunged after it only to be kicked in the ribs as the second pursuer caught up.

"What have you got here street rat?" one of them laughed, snatching up the bag and shaking it like a birthday present.

"No! Please that is my fathers medicine he needs it!" the boy wailed, curling into a ball to avoid a further kick that tore the skin on his arms.

"Whoa their friends," Junebug called out taking a step towards them.

"Stay out of this bitch!" one of the thugs screamed, spinning to shriek at her with speed and fury borne of whatever drug he was strung out  on. Junebug stepped within his reach before he could bring the pistol in his hand to bear, catching his wrist and delivering a punch to his stomach that drove the air from his lungs. As he doubled over she drove her elbow into his face breaking his nose with a spout of blood and pulling the gun from his hand. His partner, yelled a curse and grabbed for his own gun. Neil's shot took his hand off at the wrist a heartbeat before Junebug emptied his left eye socket with the stolen pistol.  The boy shouted something that sounded like a cry to his mother as he curled up in the dirt wishing the incident to be over but psycologically unable to take any action to end it.

"Watch..." Taya shouted as a third thug, hastily pulling up his trousers from where he had been reliving himself, stepped from the alley with a sub machine gun raised. His chest exploded in bloody ruin and he tumbled to the ground, finger clamping the trigger of the weapon and blowing chunks from the adobe wall of the alley with a long spasmodic burst. Junebug shot him through the head to be certain.

"Get away from him!" a woman snapped running out of the alley with a smoking shotgun. She was in her middle years, dark of hair and dressed in the conservative garb of the locals.

"Jose get up," she told the boy, presumably her son, while she waved the shotgun in the general direction of the mercenaries. Junebug lifted the stolen pistol skyward and spread her hands to show she had no ill intent.

"Who are these people," she asked Jose as he collected the bag and scrambled to his feet, eyes darting over the now dead thugs. The one at Junebug's feet was crying, clutching at his bloody nose.

"They killed the men who attacked me, I know I should have gone out mama but papa needed his medicine an..."

"Run home Jose," the woman snapped turning and thrusting her boy off in the direction he had been running when the thugs had jumped him. The woman turned still brandishing the shotgun. Sayeeda didn't think the woman would shoot, but saw no reason to encourage it.

"Is that true, did you kill these filth?" the woman demanded, hatred evident in her voice.

"Well, that one," Junebug told her indicating the dead man laying in the middle of the alley.

"Think I have to give you credit for the one you shot though, I just dont like to take chances," Junebug explained, "Speaking of which..." she leveled the pistol at the crying man and put two shots into the back of his neck, silencing his cries. The woman jumped back wide eyed as Junebug safed the pistol and dropped it on the corpse.

"Why did you do that?!" the woman demanded. Junebug shrugged her shoulders and reached down to recover her cigarette. She gave it a mournful look and then flicked it away into the night.

"Well you used your son's name, cant take chances with people like this," Junebug advised. The woman eyes widened with understanding and she finally raised the shotgun.

"I am Magdelena," she told them, "and I owe you a great debt for saving my sons life. How can I repay you?"

"Well you dont need to..." Junebug trailed off glancing back at the almost riot going on in the main street.

"Actually, my friends and I cant get back to our ship tonight and we need a place to sleep is it possible..."

"Of course! You must stay with us, come, come," Magdelena said gesturing them to follow her. Junebug had merely intended to ask if there was a safe place she could recommend for them to find rooms but this was an acceptable alternative.