Zone C -- Megacity One

[Harlan Higgs]

Unknown Gloom

Rapid clicks echoed around the room, coming from all angles as the vampire reloaded his revolver.


Harlan's voice echoed in the abandoned shop as he spoke to Sergeant Estes. "You know, you've got me all wrong. Pegged me all according to your own rules, your own life. Lemme ask you something, buddy; How long have you been here?"

A final click as Harlan loaded the last bullet, and then footsteps, echoing in the gloom. His voice still ringing out, an omnipresent murmur, impossible to pinpoint the direction it was coming from as he went on. "I've been here about two months. You? What, a week? Two weeks? You shoulda SEEN what it was like before me."

Mad Bull had had enough of this shadow dance, and he let the vampire know it. "I don't give a good goddamn what you have to say, you parasite! All I know is I'm gonna put you down!"

"Funny you should say parasite." The lawman would feel hands on his shoulder, one covering his mouth and jerking his neck upwards to expose the soft, blubbery flesh. "You're gonna be fattening, I bet." Harlan quipped, before hissing and sinking his teeth in Mad Bull's collar from behind. 

But the man was far too burly to be overpowered like his usual victims, and the two wrestled with each other, trying to gain the upper hand as they smashed into clothing racks and mannequins. Mad Bull slammed himself back against a display mirror wall hard enough to loosen the Ravnos's grip. With a mighty exultation, he grabbed Harlan's free hand and flung him one handed over his head. 

The conman sailed through the already broken windowpane, but he was lighter on his feet than he looked. As he hit the ground, he rolled and brought up his revolver, aiming it at the charging bulk of Mad Bull as the man jumped over the windowsill, meaty hands outstretched.

BLAM BLAM BLAM

His first shot went wide, but the next two went straight into the policeman's jiggling gut, eliciting a painful gasp as his charge was robbed of momentum. Harlan rolled out of the way and sprung to his feet, backing up and shaking out his sleeves as he performed a complex gesture with his fingers, producing a deck of cards. As the man staggered to his feet, the Ravnos continued his lecture. "Take a drive around Little New York sometime. Watch the citizens walk around, safe and secure. The gang I got rid of? Violent fucks. My hands are clean of all the bullshit, Officer ."

He folded the deck with a loud shuffling noise and grinned. "When you wake up at the Nexus, go talk to the Westside. Ask them about the Ork Mafia."

He threw the cards into the air and instead of fluttering to the ground ineffectually, they picked up speed and began to whip around him in a vortex. The plaza was filled with a sound like a hundred blackjack dealers starting a round, and Harlan reached into his pocket and slid on his brass knuckles. "Let's dance, Cowboy."

He flung out a hand as Mad Bull advanced on him, nightstick drawn. A salvo of razor sharp cards shot towards the large lawman, an expression of surprise on his face as he tried to bat them away, grunting in pain as a few of them tore slices out of his flesh and cut his uniform. He powered through the assault, and Harlan brought up his fists in time to deflect a sharp rap of the nightstick. The whirling card vortex continued to circle him, shredding Mad Bull's pockets, uniform, and giving his hair a trim as they danced around each other. Meaty thwacks and "Oofs" of pain rang out through the stucco roofed stalls, each man giving as good as he got. 

Mad Bull's punches, when they landed, made Harlan's head ring-a-ding-ding. The guy was strong, even stronger than a beefy bastard his size should be. Harlan's kidney shots and gut smashes weren't having too much effect, although he could tell the man was starting to get winded.

It was time to finish this.

"You a gambling man, Officer? I am, most wholeheartedly so. But it's always best when you can stack the deck!"

Harlan dodged a swipe and danced backward, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the tribal necklace. "Don't know what this does, but I like to live dangerously. You ready to meet the Big Cruller in the sky? Gahahahah!"

And he slid the necklace on over his head.

799/800 words (HAH)
Harlan reloaded his gun and used his illusions to disguise his location.
Harlan tried to use Feed, but Mad Bull's high attack allowed him to break the grapple.
Mad Bull threw Harlan back outside into the mall plaza
Harlan used Chimerstry: Card Sharp and had a furious punchup with Mad Bull, slicing him with the AoE.
Mad Bull soaked most of Harlan's hand-to-hand combat. 
Harlan uses Artifact: Red's Memento (It's a mystery what it does, Alex will post an update detailing the effects)