The Courier – Yeah, Write Speakeasy #137

Art by: Darkness

The Courier

I should’ve been happy at returning to Earth, but the mean streets of Ellis City held little safety for me. As possibly the most wanted Human in the entire Churri spiral arm, I wouldn’t be free until I escaped from neutral Ellis City and into the Human-controlled city of Corpus Christi.

Oppenheimer waved frantically, indicating I should hide behind the dumpster in the alley. The 5’5″ alien was a dead-ringer for the Giant Otters of South America, except for the utility belt and braces full of gizmos and weapons. His species was known for it’s scientific technology, but he was an operative tasked with helping me escape back into Human hands.

I watched as a squad of Ri’ipin marched past the alley mouth. They were the danger. The ones hunting me. If they found me here, it wouldn’t only be bad for me, it might be considered a violation of the peace treaty, and start the Human/Ri’ipin war all over again. Oppie peered around the corner and gave another hand signal. I flattened against the wall beside him as directed. He seemed to relax and turned to me. “Stay calm,” he said. “We’re going to a drinking establishment.”

I thought about the mean and sometimes dangerous people in bars. “How does a hyper-space drive designer stay cool in bar?” I scowled. “Do I talk about wave functions?”

“It’s where our contact is!”

I relented and followed him. Just two doors down, he opened the door to an espresso bar. I relaxed. Nothing bad could happen in a cafe.

I expected students in jeans. Instead, the place held mostly aliens swigging mochas and talking loudly. A crowd of birdlike aliens sang songs off-key. Another wobbled uncertainly to the bathroom. Oppenheimer directed me to the only empty table. “What’s wrong with these aliens?” I asked.

“We’re in a bar. What do you expect?”

“But they’re drunk.”

Oppie scowled. “Chocolate makes non-humans drunk. You don’t know this?”

“Hello! I’ve been off-planet the whole war. Ellis City didn’t exist before the treaty.”

Before he could reply, a human woman abruptly sat across from Oppie. She wore a clingy harem outfit with artistic slashes. They revealed a toned, yet curvaceous body. A face like an angel’s smiled through her dark, swirling locks. “Need company boys?” She winked at Oppenheimer.

Oppie glared. “Piss off. We’re waiting for a friend.”

“I can be a friend,” she winked more obviously.

“Another time, sister.”

She whispered huskily. “Oppie! It’s me. The courier.”

Oppie grinned with recognition and blurted loudly, “Oh hi! Hey, I did it. He’s safe! Don’t you feel stupid now?”

“Inside voice, Oppie!”

A chair suddenly fell over and a large scarred man plowed through the crowd towards them, carrying a vicious-looking gun.

“Did I do it again?” cringed Oppie.

“Bounty hunter,” grated the courier. And then she moved suddenly. From a sitting position, she leaped over seven feet into the air and flipped backwards. Her unusual maneuver caught the scarred man by surprise. Her high-heeled boot smashed into his forehead. The other boot cracked the gun out of his grip. She plucked up the exotic-looking weapon from the unconscious man and expertly cocked it. Moving like a blur, she grabbed my hand and hauled me through the stunned crowd to a hallway. She swung open the door at the far end and shoved me and Oppie out.

She ran out last to find a Ri’ipin leveling a gun at me. “Jackpot,” he grinned. A three shot burst hummed just as the courier leaped in front of me. She collapsed to the ground, her shoulder mangled from the high energy blasts.

“Hannah!” shrieked Oppie. He began firing from the hip before I saw him move. The Ri’ipin went down in a cloud of orangish blood.

We huddled over the courier, Hannah, and worried as she closed her eyes. I watched, amazed, as her wounds began to close. Soon, she smiled up at me.

I could not imagine a more incredible, more beautiful woman, She saved my life. She was the first woman I’d seen in years, and my mouth spoke of it’s own accord. “I want to give you children.”

“First, let’s get you out of here safely, loverboy,” she quipped. “Men!”

Within hours, I stood on the street corner outside the protective dome surrounding Ellis City. The beautiful courier, Hannah, was fully and incredibly healed. I never saw her again. From that day forward, every time I drove past that street corner, I thought of her.
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This is my first stab at the Yeah, Write Speakeasy. The idea is to write no more than 750 words (I came to a screeching halt at 750), and the last line must be: “From that day forward, every time I drove past that street corner, I thought of her.” Here’s the original prompt: http://www.yeahwrite.me/speakeasy/137-open/