After tryouts were over, everyone was in the mood to celebrate, especially Chase. Alicia, Caitlin, and Lindsey decided a night on the town was in order.

“Woohoo! What better way to celebrate you making the squad than a night at the movies, eh Chase?” shouted Alicia as they walked into the movie theater—specifically, the one at the mall.

“What the hell are we doing here?!” demanded Caitlin. “The mall? Are you kidding me?”

“Wait, what's wrong with the mall? I don't understand,” asked Alicia sunnily as they got in line for tickets.

The black-haired girl looked around urgently, her ponytail almost whipping Alicia in the face, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Chase killed somebody here! They probably got it all on surveillance cameras! We'd have to be insane to come back here!”

Lindsey laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, Caitlin. Haven't you ever heard that a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime?”

“That's what cops say when they CATCH the bad guy, you idiot! It isn't some kind of criminal credo!”

“It is for THIS criminal!” Lindsey cheerfully replied, jerking a thumb at herself.

Despite Caitlin's protests, the group found themselves at the ticket counter. Alicia, Caitlin and Lindsey wanted to see a romantic comedy, but Chase wanted to see one with 'fight'. Since the whole outing was for her, they got four tickets to Muscle Marty: Inferno of Guns. This came to over fifty bucks, but Lindsey flirted it down to an even thirty.

They then moved along to the right side of the lobby to get their snacks. A soda machine and a noisy, lively popcorn machine loomed over the concession counter, which contained a variety of candy behind a glass panel. Chase's eyes lit up.

“Choc!” she exclaimed, crouching down and pressing her nose against the glass. “And nug nug!”

Alicia giggled fondly. “That's right! A whole lot more different kinds than they have at school.”

“These are snacks we can buy to eat during the movie. Want some?” asked Caitlin, digging into her purse.

“Want lot!” Chase confirmed.

They bought her a couple of tasty-looking chocolate bars, some popcorn, and a soda, after explaining to her that the guy behind the counter wasn't for sale. Then, they got their own snacks, which consisted of much the same things, except in the case of Alicia.

“No choc?” repeated Chase, astonished.

“Nah. I'm allergic to it,” said Alicia. She looked over the more sugary candies thoughtfully.

Chase was confused. “Lur jic? What lur jic?”

“It means it makes her really sick,” explained Caitlin.

Alicia decided on gummi worms, and from there all that was left was to find their seats. Leading out the left side of the lobby was a long,wide hallway, which served as a trunk for the theaters to branch off. They found the one playing Muscle Marty and went inside.

The trailers had already started, and they were surprised to see the room was nearly at capacity. The lights were down and the volume was way, way up. It was so dark and noisy you could easily sneak up on someone, snap their neck, and carry them away to bake in a casserole without the people around them even noticing. Chase noticed this right away and shared this information with her friends.

“Hold her hand and don't let go until we get back outside,” Caitlin told Alicia.

…..

“They're in the theater now, sir,” reported Johnson, into a handheld two-way radio. He peered at the four high schoolers through night vision binoculars from his perch up in the projection room. An unconscious projector operator was slouching in the corner. Two other police officers, dressed in full uniform, were guarding the door. “They're sitting down.”

“Where?” crackled McBride's voice over the radio.

“Near the back. Three rows in front of me.”

“Good. That makes our job easier,” said McBride. He paused, then added, “I mean, your job.”

“I knew what you meant, sir,” answered Johnson powerlessly. On the screen, the last trailer gave way to the main feature. The production company logos started to roll. “How should we proceed?”

McBride's assured smile was audible in his response. “No need to hurry. Let her get comfortable. Give her time to drop her defenses, enjoy the movie. I think half an hour should do it. Wait half an hour, then send in Officers Holt and Delgado.”

Johnson was shocked. He glanced over at the two cops who guarded the door. They were two of the SCPD's finest, their burliness only topped by McBride himself. With routine calm, they screwed silencers onto the ends of their handguns.

The young cop gripped the radio nervously. “B... But sir!” said Johnson. “We can't engage the target in a crowded theater! We'd be endangering civilian lives!”

Holt jammed a clip into his gun as if to interrupt the rookie's protest. “Nonsense, Johnson,” he said in a gruff voice. “We'll be operating at point blank range. No room for error.”

“Holt and Delgado have been in situations more sensitive than this, Johnson,” said McBride. “They'll get the job done.”

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Johnson looked back at the two cops. Holt's biceps bulged like overinflated soccer balls, and Delgado's arms were so thick he looked like he could break a telephone pole in half by giving it a bear hug. They also had other physical attributes, possibly facial features of some kind, but Holt and Delgado were the sort of men whose arms made the rest of their bodies seem inconsequential.

Sensitivity, to put it bluntly, did not seem like their strong suit, but at the same time, Johnson felt that if there was anyone at the SCPD who could pull this off, it was them. They had once been city cops, transferred to the boonies of Sunnycrest County as punishment for some sort of Miranda-related snafu, the details of which were hazy. As soon as they arrived, they had become the stars of the department, putting their big city skills to some high profile arrests.

Also, they weren't Johnson.

Still, though... “Is... this really the right thing to do, Chief?” Johnson wavered. His binoculars returned to his eyes, and he aimed them at scene below. “She's just a kid.”

“What do you want us to do, Johnson? Bring her in?” laughed Delgado, mirthlessly. “Her being a kid will just make it easier for her to duck out of a proper sentencing.”

“She's killed people. A lot of people,” said Holt. “You really want her to get five months in juvie for that?”

McBride's voice returned. “This is the ONLY thing to do, Johnson. Now keep your eyes on the target and quit asking questions.”

…..

“Oh! Ha ha! Wow! Boom! Boom!” cheered Chase, waving her arms wildly. Her eyes were transfixed by big-screen scenes of explosions, gunfire, sweaty shirtless guys, napalm and teeth pulling the pins out of grenades. She mimed Muscle Marty's actions, and Alicia, still firmly gripping her hand, found herself being yanked around like rag doll.

A man sitting behind them cleared his throat and tapped Lindsey on the shoulder. “Excuse me. Could you PLEASE tell your friend to quiet down?” he asked, teeth clenched. “Some of us are trying to watch the movie.”

“And some of us are succeeding in watching the movie,” responded Lindsey, gesturing at Chase. “Maybe she has the right idea? Think before you pass judgment.”

Alicia dug her heels in and tried to pull Chase back into her seat. “I-I think we'd better sit down, Chase! They'll throw us out if we're too wild.”

This was the right thing to say, as Chase definitely didn't want to be thrown out. She forced herself to sit down, although she was clearly still vibrating with energy. “Sure, Leash!” she piped. “My fault, not be loud now. Film just so good! Things do fast! Day one scene, then night in next! How?”

“Things tend to do fast in movies,” said Caitlin. “In real life there's tons of waiting and sleeping and so on, but movies cut all that out, leaving just the good stuff.”

While Chase pondered the existence of this reality warping magic and its ramifications on her understanding of actuality and linear time itself, she was unaware of Holt and Delgado quietly dropping into the theater from the projection room. Handguns drawn and ready, Holt gave the signal to split up. Holt crept down the aisle and Delgado climbed and vaulted over rows of seats. The idea was to flank her. Delgado would initiate the confrontation, and if she tried to get away, Holt would be waiting for her in the aisle.

And then, Delgado was there. One final leap landed him in the row right behind Chase.

“ExCUSE me,” said the guy Chase had previously annoyed. Delgado was blocking his view of the screen, and he squirmed in his seat trying to look around him. “I'm trying to watch the—”

Delgado knocked him out before the man could give away his position. Calmly, Delgado turned back to Chase, and leveled his gun at the back of her head. He felt a little disappointed. The chief had hyped up this target as an extremely dangerous and deadly one. But this... was almost too easy. Even Johnson could have done this.

His finger tensed on the trigger, and then...

She moved. Her head jerked to the left, and suddenly he was aiming at nothing. Before he could adjust, she yanked her hand free of Alicia's grip. Chase seized his wrist and pulled his bulky arm forward over her right shoulder. She bit down on it. Hard. Jerking and tearing from side to side like a wild dog.

The cop screamed. “Aaaaarrgghhh!” His hand involuntarily twitched open. The gun clattered to the floor.

Alicia stood up in shock. “Wh-whoa! What's going on?!”

Chase looked up from Delgado's arm, blood dripping off her mouth and teeth. “Him want fight! Have gun, try kill!”

“It's the fuzz!” shouted Lindsey.

“W-w-we better get out of here!” stammered Caitlin.

“Wait!” called Chase. “Them no work lone! At least two!”

Holt's voice was bold enough to cut through the sound of the movie as well as the growing murmurs from the surrounding moviegoers. “Hold it!” He stood in the aisle, his gun trained firmly on Chase. “Do not move!”

Chase froze. Her hunting experience had made her faster than a lot of things, but it also made her smart enough to know she wasn't faster than a bullet. Holt smirked and advanced on her. “Looks like you got your last meal out of the way... so how about some last words? Go on, let's hear 'em.”

Caitlin thought fast. She shouted at the top of her lungs: “He's got a gun!”

The effect of this exclamation was immediate. Panic spread out from her like a shockwave. Screams filled the theater and people jumped to their feet, flooding towards the exit.

In the chaos, Holt momentarily lost the girls. “Smart, Cait!” praised Chase. She grabbed Delgado with both hands by his collar and his belt, and flung him up into the front rows somewhere. “You all go now! Get safe! Chase stay and fight!”

They were reluctant to leave her, but they knew they would be of little help to her. They joined the current of people and were soon swept away, out of sight.

Holt struggled to get a clear shot around the moving civilians, but by the time he did, it was too late. Chase had closed the gap between them. He trained the gun on her, but just as he squeezed the trigger, she kicked his arm upwards. A bang and a brilliant flash left a smoldering bullethole in the ceiling.

She elbowed him in the ribs, then followed up with a punch in the gut. Holt doubled over. There was enough force to make him drop his gun in surprise.

Even while she fought, Chase looked around for a weapon. She had the much larger man on his heels now, but she knew if she let up long enough for him to mount an offensive, he could easily overpower her. She saw nothing, though. Just some candy and cups the moviegoers had left behind, and the chairs, which were firmly bolted to the floor.

She gave him a mighty kick in the stomach, which sent him careening backwards, slamming him against the back wall. Ten or so feet above him was the window to the projection room.

Johnson watched in horror as this all unfolded. The plan had been completely derailed. “Johnson!” shouted Holt as Chase pounced on him again. “Shoot her! Shoot her!”

The rookie quickly drew his gun and aimed, but the knot the two combatants had tangled themselves in was making things difficult. “I... I can't get a clear shot!”

Holt heard him, and his priority became trying to put some distance between himself and the savage young lady. Finally, he managed to shove her away. Johnson aimed and shot.

And missed. The bullet hit the floor at Chase's feet. She jumped in surprise, then looked up in the direction the shot came from. Seeing Johnson, she narrowed her eyes. With a growl, she jumped onto the wall and started climbing up to the projection room.