The Hinomoto Rebellion Read Online Free PDF Page A

around as soon as Bear had touched Tony. She jumped up immediately, her fists slamming down on the bar. “Bear!” she barked over the loud music.
    The entire place became quiet at the drop of a hat. The music ended and all conversation ceased, as though Tiger’s raised voice was enough to demand instant silence from every patron. Kanjou and Roni watched curiously.
Bear looked over at her, still clutching Tony’s shirt. “What do you want, Tiger?” he slurred. He was obviously drunk.
     
“Take your drunk, dead-beat ass out of here, Bear, before I take it out for you.” Her voice had all the warmth of a glacier.
    Bear released Tony, more interested in beating up on the bar’s current champion than its proprietor now. “Why don’t you mind you own business, Tiger?”
“Shut up! You know the rule: no one messes with Tony.” Her eyes narrowed.
     
“I can take you, Tiger. Right here, right now.”” Bear stood up, swaying from side to side.
    The woman chuckled. “You think you can take me? You’re drunker than an otter, Bear. Foxfire didn’t even touch me, and he was dead sober.” She started walking toward Bear, while people scrambled to get out of her way.
    “Now,” she commented as she stopped right in front of Bear, dwarfed even more than she had been when facing Foxfire, “Get out of here before I have to ruin Tony’s nice clean floor.”
    The two faced each other for a long moment, then Bear lunged at her suddenly. It was a wide, off-balance swing but it didn’t distract Tiger from the gleam of metal in his hand.
    She jumped straight up, tucking her legs under her and letting Bear’s swing go beneath her. Then her right leg shot out and she snapped it down as she came down from her jump. Her foot connected with the top of Bear’s head, which sent him straight to the floor.
    The thud of Bear hitting the solid wooden planks was drowned out by the sound of the door slamming open and hitting the opposite wall. The Tiger landed with one foot on either side of Bear’s prostrate body and looked up.
“Police! Nobody move!”
     
Tiger rolled her eyes. “One interruption after another tonight.” she sighed in disgust.
     
“You’re all under arrest!” the front cop yelled.
    That set nearly everyone in the bar start running in panic while others attacked the cops in an attempt to get away. The cops shouted a warning, bringing their guns up to their shoulders as the crowd rushed them.
“Andrea! Run!” Tony yelled.
    Tiger looked over at him. “What about you?!” she cried. “Don’t worry about me! Go!”
    Andrea nodded quickly as she turned and ran toward the back of the bar just as the police opened fire on the crowd. A few of the bar patrons in the back booths were pulling out guns of their own as people began to drop to the floor under the bursts of bullets. The guns roared as return fire started, making some of the police either duck for cover or go down as they were hit.
    Roni screamed as Kanjou swooped down and picked her up. He turned and followed a few yards behind Andrea, praying that they wouldn’t get hit by any stray bullets. Andrea disappeared into the back room, and Kanjou came running around the corner just in time to see her drop through a trap door cut into the floor. He ran over and jumped through as well, landing knee-deep in rancid, slimy sewage.
“Oh, gross.” he muttered.
     
“What’s that smell?” Roni inquired, choking back a gag of disgust.
     
“You don’t want to know.”
    Every few feet a dim light illuminated a small bit of the sewer. Kanjou followed the sound of splashing and saw Andrea hurrying down the sewer pipe, foul water spraying from every step. He swallowed his disgust, tightened his grip on Roni, and followed.
    They hadn’t gotten far when they heard splashing behind them. A shot came from behind, ricocheting off the walls nearby. Andrea started running even faster, swerving back and forth a little so they couldn’t target her. The tall, brown