There was no getting around that in New Orleans. The average person wouldn’t notice them, but Scarlett was not a typical woman. The hole-in-the wall nightclub in New Orleans was hopping as Scarlett entered, sauntered through the place and began to take account of potential threats.

She was dressed in a skintight black leather outfit, a one-piece bodysuit, with spiked-heel boots and a black leather duster. Tucked under each armpit in a double shoulder holster rig were two MK23 MOD 0 45-caliber offensive handguns with extended magazines. The bullets in each weapon, as well as the additional magazines inside compartments built into the coat, were silver hollow points filled with liquid garlic extract. The rounds would kill a human, likely kill a vampire or werewolf and would at the very least piss off a demon. There was also a wakizashi short sword under her coat and a couple of silver throwing knives in her boots.

Her red hair flowed behind her as she walked through the club, navigating with almost choreographed precision around the surging crowd on the dance floor. Her eyes were trained on a table toward the back of the club where a group of men and women were congregating. Scarlett saw at least two bodyguards materialize from the crowd and move in a direction to intercept her and she just grinned. Looks like this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d expected.

The first thug came between her and her objective. He was a burly human, Japanese, maybe six-foot-two and bulked up with muscles that bulged under his fancy suit. Scarlett had already assessed him and determined he was human – what she’d expected from Nakamura. These were typical yakuza soldiers. No surprises here.

“Where do you think you are going?” the thug managed to exclaim over the throbbing music and loud voices filling the club.

“To see Mr. Nakamura,” she said with a sweet smile, just before Scarlett struck the soldier in the face with her right palm, smashing his nose. As he staggered back, reaching under his jacket for a gun, she finished him with a blow to his throat, dropping him to the floor in a gasping, convulsing heap.

The redhead continued uninterrupted toward Nakamura’s table. She saw the yakuza sitting on the other side of the table, his eyes locked on her as she approached. He drew casually on a vaping pen in his left hand, his right undoubtably under the table grasping the butt of a pistol.

The other thug on the floor lunged at Scarlett when she came within range and he grabbed her by the left arm. She yanked him off his feet with one sweeping motion of her arm and drove a powerful punch into his solar plexus. The yakuza exhaled sharply and fought to catch his breath as Scarlett flipped him, landing him hard on his back.

Leaving him behind, she continued to almost float across the club and came to Nakamura’s table. Three more bodyguards were up, all had drawn swords similar to Scarlett’s. That was good. She preferred fighting with swords – guns were so clumsy and caused too much collateral damage. There was more risk for her though, if one of these fools got lucky and took her head off…there’d be no coming back from that.

The first yakuza who came in range was dispensed with haste. He didn’t even see her wakizashi clear the sheath and come streaking at him, propelled by Scarlett’s enhanced strength and speed. Before he could even attempt to block, she had lopped his head off with the flash of her blade.

Suddenly, panic erupted all around them. The first two yakuza she’d dispatched had drawn little attention in the crowded nightclub, the music and lights keeping notice of the incident to just a few surrounding people. But when the yakuza’s head flew in the air, the screams that went up from the people sent a panic through the club.

Scarlett swung around and blocked another incoming blade, then attacked that sword wielding thug who did a good job blocking her advancing attacks. She sensed the other yakuza coming from behind and she pivoted, blocking his blow, before launching a kick at his midsection, which connected and drove him back.

She came up out of the kick in time to parry another strike by the yakuza who was still standing. After a series of strikes and parries, she managed to run him through with her sword and pulled the blade back out, leaving him to slide off onto the floor. Scarlett came back from dispatching that yakuza, to face the remaining bodyguard who was nearly on her.

He swung his blade viciously and the tip of the wakizashi sliced through the shoulder of her outfit and cut into her flesh. Scarlett barely flinched from the injury, returning the gesture by slashing the goon across the chest, opening a serious wound from his right shoulder to the bottom of his left ribcage.

Goro Nakamura was now standing, the rest of his party fleeing for their lives with the rest of the patrons, as the yakuza boss joining his bodyguard and attacked the redhaired vampire. Scarlett took turns fending off attacks by both men, her body a whirl of motion, until she finally managed to swing her sword and took off the head of the remaining bodyguard. As the headless corpse hit the floor, she pivoted and faced Nakamura.

“You are a dead woman,” he muttered, squaring off in a fighting stance. “Who sent you?”

“Does that really matter?” she hissed. “I want to know about the kid found dead on Bergen Street a few days back. Heard he was an associate of yours?”

Nakamura smirked, “Lucas Rhames? That punk? Who cares about him?”

“His parents,” she said. “He was dealing for you. You had him strung out to keep him loyal. Someone butchered him and I want to know why?” Scarlett said.

“I heard you were asking questions around town about him,” Nakamura growled low. “I know what you are. I’ve heard of you. I have a treaty with your people. You can’t touch me.”

Scarlett came at him and he fended off several blows from her sword as she circled him. “Then I guess you haven’t heard of me, because I don’t give a shit about treaties. Tell me who killed the boy.”

“There are worse things in this world than vampires,” he said dryly. “The kid is dead. Just another junkie. Forget about him and move on.”

Scarlett shook her head and he came at her low, trying to drive the blade into her gut, but she sidestepped his attack and fed him an elbow to the face. As he staggered back, she swung, slicing his left cheek, and he blurted out profanity.

“You are the Outcast?” Nakamura gasped. “Your death will gain me great favors among your people.”

Scarlett parried another attack and then came at him aggressively, challenging his ability to keep her at bay. As their swords clanged off one another, he faulted in his defense and Scarlett ran him through, the sword piercing his shoulder and pinning him to the wall.

“Looks like your ass is writing checks it can’t cash, Goro,” she said with disgust.

Nakamura stared at her in disbelief as he felt the sword pierce his flesh. He dropped his sword and stood there, his entire left side stuck to the wall behind him..

“You stupid…bitch…I didn’t kill him!” Goro groaned, looking at the sword buried in his shoulder. “It was something else…not human…I don’t know what…it wasn’t worth me…getting involved.”

Scarlett considered him a moment, then leaned closer to his face. The smell of the blood was getting to her quickly, so she knew she’d have to make this fast.

“A name. Someone who knows who or what killed Lucas!” she demanded.

“It had an associate,” Goro said through clenched teeth. “A human…a handler of some kind. He said the boy owed a debt and his master was collecting. I was advised to stay out if it…after seeing what it did to Lucas I wasn’t about to get involved.”

Scarlett stared at him a moment, gauging his reactions, then she pulled the blade from his shoulder and Nakamura slid down the wall to the floor.

The redhead flicked the blood from her sword and then she turned and looked around the club. It was mostly empty, save for a few patrons huddled in corners and under tables, seeking refuge from the battle.

Scarlett turned and headed toward the door. As she approached, another bodyguard, Nakamura’s driver, stepped inside with a pistol in hand and fired off several shots at her. She evaded the shots with lightning speed and when she reached the man, she knocked the gun from his grasp before slamming him against the wall and baring her fangs.

“Sorry, but I seem to have worked up a hunger,” Scarlett hissed, before sinking her suddenly extended fangs into the driver’s neck. She drank quickly, knowing the police or reinforcements from the yakuza, would soon be coming through the door. When she’d finished, she drew the sword and ran it through his neck, severing the head and making sure the yakuza would not turn.

Scarlett dropped the driver to the floor and headed out the door. Parked in the alley behind the club was her motorcycle, which she mounted and fired up. As she drove off into the night she pondered where this case was ultimately going to lead…but so far it didn’t sound good.