Rothester

Chapter 5: Ringleader

A pull of the trigger, and a man drops dead. Another trigger pull, another falls. No more than five seconds, and a bloody fight concludes. That's how quick a firefight can progress.

Ken's finger is itchy, and he doesn't know what to do. He points his gun at two men, who in turn had theirs points at him. From one moment to the next, any one of them could be on the floor a lifeless body.

"Who are you!"

Ken stares coldly, his finger at the ready, and remains silent at the question thrown at him.

"Answer me!"

The two men are just about ready to fire. In their eyes, Ken is a dangerous stranger. With three dead people in the alley, they wouldn't dare think what their companion could have experienced had they not arrived.

"Ross—"

"Stop."

A soft voice echoes behind Ken. The woman referred to as Ross steps forward beside Ken and stretches her hand out in front of him. He ignores this action and maintains eye contact with the two men.

"Don't harm him! This man saved my life."

"Oh, I bet he did!"

"Please. Just stop. There's no need to fight. Lower your weapons."

The two men hesitate but eventually begin to lower their flintlocks slowly. The woman then turns to Ken, who notices her glare and lowers his gun as well.

"Ross, what happened."

"He—"

"I saved her. That's what happened," Ken says.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" snaps one of the men.

"I don't remember needing permission," Ken retorts.

"You want help remembering?" The man steps forward with anger before being held back by the other guy.

Ken holds up his gun slightly at the man's aggressive behavior. The woman notices this and motions Ken to restrain himself.

"Ross," says the other man who hasn't yet said anything.

"I'm fine. These guys here cornered me, but this man arrived and killed them."

Satisfied, the man looks at Ken. "What's your name?"

Ken glances at 'Ross', then back at the man. "Ken," he says as he puts his gun back in his holster. Crisis averted, he relaxes but remains vigilant for anything.

"You killed these men?"

"That's right."

The man simply nods. "We should get out of here. You caused quite a commotion."

He turns to leave. The other more aggressive guy sneers as he looks at Ken with suspicion and doubt. 'Ross' tugs at Ken's coat and looks at him.

"You should follow us. We need to leave."

"Who are those guys?" Ken asks.

"They are my brothers. Pay them no mind. They are always protective of me. Now come, follow me. My name is Eleanor, by the way. Only my brothers call me Ross." She smiles.

Before following them out, Ken takes a few seconds to pick up the spent casings off the floor. As he does so, he finds something peculiar. Something metallic is on the ground, painted black. He almost missed it. He picks it up and examines it further. It is a small iron emblem. Like a badge or pin, it is in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. It is entirely black, and no wording of any sort is written on it. He thinks it is strange; perhaps it means something. It must have fallen from either the thugs or Eleanor, most likely the thugs. He puts it in his pocket for safekeeping. Maybe he can ask Marc or someone else if it means anything.