Fight!

" 'Old on there." Sparks said to the man who'd spoken. "There ain't no need for this. Your boss''ll get 'is money, we done good this trip. A couple of days when I get my cut and 'e'll 'ave what I owes 'im in full."

The tough looking gang facing Calvo and the two pirates smirked. In their hands mean looking automatic weapons were ready and they were confident that they had the drop on the merc crew.

"Too late for that old man." Their spokesman sneered. "You're long overdue and we've got orders to take you somewhere quiet and make an example of you."

"You with the bandages." The debt collector called out to Calvo. "You and your whore can go, our quarrel ain't with you."

Calvo had studied the man's face as he'd spoken, though the words had seemed reasonable Calvo was certain that the man was lying and that a slug in the back was planned for Gypsy and himself. If they were allowed to leave the loan sharks would realise that they'd soon have a vengeful ship's crew out to even the score. He glanced across at Gypsy and saw that the beautiful pirate was as tense as a coiled spring., she moved her eyes quickly to the right and raised an eyebrow. Calvo gave a slight nod of understanding, when she made her move she would be heading in that direction.

"Hey that's cool with us." Gypsy replied. "The old man means nothing to us. If you want the old fool you can have him, isn't that right Handsome?"

The toughs automatically looked to Calvo when Gypsy addressed him. At the instant that their attention wavered the pirate woman leapt to her right, drawing and firing a pair of snub nosed blasters in mid-air. One of the would be assassins spun backwards with smoking holes blasted into his chest. Calvo dived to the ground to his left and rolled as he hit the floor with slugs ricocheting from the walkway scant inches behind him. The assailents were scattering to cover as Calvo snatched his blaster from it's holster and snapped off a shot, hitting one of the thugs in the back of the head as he tried to run behind a market stall.

Rounds whistled through the air in the narrow confines of the mall as the two groups exchanged gunfire from behind cover. Calvo had crawled under a metal bench loaded with boots and he tipped it over to serve as a barricade as a hail of automatic fire was directed at him. Mercifully the table appeared to be constructed from a salvaged section of hull plating and as Calvo cowered behind it the fusillade was deflected harmlessly. Sparks had duck into a shop doorway and pulled a heavy calibre weapon from beneath his coat. He bust out from shelter pulling the butt firmly against his scrawny hip and pulled the trigger. There was a screaming flare as a rocket propelled grenade flew across the passageway and struck a pile of crates that two of the gunmen were crouched behind. Debris and body parts were scattered as the makeshift emplacement was blown apart. The last of the opposition had had enough and turned tail and fled into the tunnels of Port Morgan. Calvo and Gypsy emerged from hiding to join Sparks.

"Aah, shipmates." The Engineer cried. "I shoulda known you wouldn't abandon your old pal Sparks. Done me proud so you did, I owes the pair of you me life."

Crowds were starting to gather to gawp at the wreckage and bodies that littered the scene of the brief gunfight.

"Never mind that you old fool." Gypsy said. "Let's put some distance between us and this place. I don't want to be stood here when those pigs that escaped return with reinforcements."

"We won't be 'earing from those trash again today." Sparks said. "But to be on the safe side old Sparks knows a place we can lie low to be on the safe side till we 'eads back to the ship."

The old pirate scuttled of down the passageway, Gypsy looked at Calvo and shrugged and they hurried after the engineer.