Be careful what you wish for

Norbert sat upon a splintery crate on the dock nursing a bottle of ginger beer, even at three AM, the heat and humidity of a New Babbage Summers night, sent rivulets of sweat running down his body under his woolen Militia coat.

not for the first time on tonights shift did he mull over his decision to join the Militia,he, and several other young bucks,had joined in the aftermath of the Songbird Killings, and the Prometheus incident, hot blooded and bent to follow in the footsteps of the much loved, and acclaimed Captain Hienrichs, but the heroic Captain almost immediately departed on some rescue mission in distant lands, leaving her lesser officers to shift for themselves,many of Norbert’s superior officers were no older than him, and not much longer in the company, he was sworn in, given an ill fitting uniform, a whistle, truncheon, and an old pistol, and sent off with little training to patrol the docks at iron bay, there to harass the skulkers and foot pads, and back alley doxies trying to make a living off the dregs of humanity that lurked on the quays at night.

he had been told of the dangers of working in the Militia, of the crazed murderer Mr Eliot, just recently escaped from Canergak’s asylum and still at large, of murderous gangs of wolf moreau slaughtering their way across Port Babbage, and the apparent dangers of a single Rabbit, whom the captain couldn’t even prove was guilty of any crimes.

Norbert leaned back against the sooty wall and pondered his future as a Militia man, already many of the men he had joined up with were taking small bribes, and little “favors” from the working girls to look the other way, and the worst crime he came across was the Urchin he caught breaking into a crate to steal some canned food, he sent him off with a warning and a few coppers, only to find out later that the little brat had nicked his wallet,all in all not the adventuresome life of service the Militia was made out to be.
“just once ” he mumbled “i wish something big would come my way,something that will make my name in the Company”

it was at that moment that he heard the sound of womans footsteps walking in the alley, and a figure in a shabby looking womans ruffled cloak and hood walked out onto the road, and headed towards the water taxi landing.
he sighed and thought to him self “time for another glorious adventure rousting out streetwalkers,

he got to his feet walked up behind her, grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, and spun her around to face him,”here deary shouldn’t you be safe at home instead of out here whoring it on the streets?”

the sound of the pistol, and the agony of the bullet ripping through his thigh and shattering his femur drove the rest of the thought out of his head.

as he crashed to the ground in pain, he looked up into the barrel of a pistol, and into the murderous eyes of the very angry Rabbit  above him ” can a lady not even take a walk without being harassed by you damned Militia!”

the moreau bent down and stuck the barrel against his fore head and grabbed his coat lapel to haul him to a sitting position “well Im sick of it, you tell your Captain Hienrichs this is going to stop now! one way or another!”