Takeout (And Taking People Out)

Takeout

It was just your regular Tuesday.

Birds chirping, the big city glittering in the sunlight...if Kel was running any slower, he could have probably pretended to be in one of his morning jogs.

As it was though, he couldn't slow down at all, lest a bullet pierced his head.

And he liked his head, thank you very much.

Kel dodged another clueless passerby as he entered the suburbs of the city, sweat glittering on his skin and his legs aching. He couldn't slow down though, his partner needed him. He just needed to lose those clowns before backtracking all the way to their main location, where a car was waiting just for him. Plus, he was technically still on the testing period. He couldn't let the organization down, not while they had such high hopes for him.

A bullet whistled past his ear. Kel bit back a curse and jumped nimbly over some crates, deciding to enter a building instead of endangering people on the streets.

...

Kel had always dreamt of being a superhero, ever since he was little.

He'd been absolutely taken by Captain Spaceboy's comics since they released–and let's face it, who hadn't– and had eagerly read every issue alongside Sunny, with wonder in his eyes and safely tucked at home on rainy days. He dreamt of being as cool as his favorite hero. To be just like Captain Spaceboy, defeating enemies and taking risks...it was all that he wanted. He even got the fake eyepatch to play pretend.

...Now, at seventeen, dodging speeding cars while doing his best Ryan Doyle impression, all while being chased by three bloodthirsty men, that dream seemed kind of overrated.

How long are they gonna keep chasing me?! 

Kel quickly crossed the area and got out to the other side, and ignoring the startled looks from pedestrians, started climbing the rusty stairs at the side of the building. Another shot, and more fearful screaming. Kel didn't worry too much about people, since he knew the three men would be going after him, but it still made his stomach flare up with nerves at the thought of a careless casualty. He reached the top of the building just in time to see a glimpse of one of the man's faces–there were only two now, good– before quickly jumping to the other rooftop and sliding down precariously down the edge, hands resting on the building's water pipe. He tried to commit the man's features to memory, since his partner always said even the slightest bit of information was useful, but he couldn't quite manage to think about that while also formulating a half baked plan–as his plans often were–to get away in his head.

Alright.

Kel sprinted down a narrow alleyway and took a garbage can in his hands, throwing it across the street, far from him. Then, not following the flying trash's trajectory, he ducked down one of the bigger dumpsters, uncaring of the smell and praying with all his might for the men to fall for his bluff. Slowly, he curled into as tight of a ball as possible.

Sure enough, two pairs of footsteps grew louder and closer. Kel breathed through his nose, unwilling to move. His fingers twitched close to his gun, tucked into his waistband, just in case.

But just as he intended, the men saw the dirt and bags still floating in the other direction, and thought Kel had gone ahead, concluding he must have knocked over a garbage can while making his escape. They lowered their guns again as they left, shouting directions in a foreign language and leaving Kel in the dust.

Sweet, sweet dust.

The boy couldn't contain a smirk of victory as he straightened from his position, joints aching. His calf burned with pain from where a bullet brushed against him early on the chase, but otherwise, he was unharmed. Kel couldn't stay there though. One of the most important rules was to always keep moving, so that's what he did, running a hand through his windswept hair and trying to appear normal as he walked down the street, chest bursting with pride. No one would probably notice his bloody leg, too absorbed in their phones and daily lives to worry for a carefree looking boy going past them. Kel himself wouldn't notice until later, when the adrenaline had worn off, and by the look of things, there was still plenty to burn through.