Nocturnal Gale

Chapter 6: The Gang

Dusk jumps behind the nearest dumpster and squats down out of sight, listening hard, hand stealing to the handle of her knife. The group is loud, telling her immediately that it's Carakter. Only a gang in its own home relaxes like that, especially since it's a small group—only ten men, judging by the sound of their footsteps.

They get closer and Dusk can hear their conversation.

"Hey, boss, that theft last week was epic."

"Yeah yeah Freddy. You hotheads have so much fun on the job. I miss being young."

"And the police didn't know how to stop us, 'cause we rule!"

There's raucous laughter and the footsteps turn into the alley where Dusk is hiding. She presses herself farther against the dumpster. They robbed a place. Again. She keeps listening.

"Yeah, but the police aren't the only justice department here. Don't forget...her." This is a different voice and he snarls the last word.

There's a tense silence and then some nervous laughter.

"Yeah. You heard about the explosions in Guttermouth. I heard their main shipment facility got blown to bits."

"And you think that was her?"

"I'm sure of it! She hasn't been seen lately so maybe..."

"Shut up! You don't now anything about that Nightmare. Best stop talking about her."

There's a snicker. "Afraid?"

There's a roar and smack of fist against face, and a guy stumbles into Dusk's view, nose bleeding.

"Shut your trap or you'll lose it! That's no way to talk to your boss!" Another gangster steps into view and grabs the first guy's collar, shaking him hard, then pressing a gun to his head.

The guy with the bleeding nose goes pale. "Got it. Sorry, boss."

The boss grunts and lets him go and the rest of the group shuffles into view, continuing down the alley. When they reach the end, they turn right and Dusk slips silently out of hiding and follows them. She needs to find out who they stole from, and what they stole.

As she follows she keeps listening.

"Let's go back and divide the spoils from that jewelry store," the guy who got punched suggests to the group.

"Why, you the scared one now?"

"Haha very funny."

They keep chatting but Dusk knows everything she needs to know. She steps into the open and purposefully scatters some gravel over the concrete with her foot.

The group whirls and they freeze, staring at her with open mouths and wide eyes.

No one speaks and Dusk slowly draws her knife, holding it loosely in her left hand. "Hey, boys," she says calmly.

The men slowly compose themselves and draw their weapons—knives, one gun, and two machetes. She raises an eyebrow and shifts. "So, tell me. What did you steal again?"

The boss steps slowly forward and grips his pistol with white knuckles. "You." He bares his teeth at her and snarls. "You blew up our shipment facility! And now..."

Dusk clears her throat and crosses her arms. "Don't you mean Guttermouth's facility?"

The guy falters as he realizes he just told her that Carakter has an alliance with Guttermouth. "Um...I..." He shuts his mouth and points at her. "Take her men!"

There's a split second of hesitation, and then two guys charge. Dusk sidesteps the first swing and kicks the knife out of the second guy's hand, before jumping up and roundhouse kicking the first guy in the head. Both of them crash into the concrete and lie still.

She steps closer to the group. "So, mind showing me the jewelry store you guys robbed?"

The rest of the guys rush at her all at once. She ducks, then grabs a guy's arm and breaks it over her shoulder. He yells and she throws him over and onto the concrete, then kicks him in the head. A warning shoots through her and she whirls around, avoiding a kick and rolling to the side before running up the nearest wall and pushing off from it. She drives her knees straight into the chest of the nearest gangster and lands on top of him as he falls, unconscious. From there she jumps to her feet and knocks the heads of two guys together and punches a third in the face. They go down.

Only three left. Suddenly, she gets an arm around her throat and she snaps her chin down, protecting her windpipe. There's another guy coming at her from the front and she brings her legs up to her chest before smashing them into his stomach and he falls back, crashing into the wall and sliding down to the ground. Dusk snaps her legs back down and throws her weight forward, catapulting the gangster holding her over her head. He flips over her head with a shout and lands on his back, groaning. Dusk kicks him in the head, then executes a back handspring and lands behind the last guy standing—the boss.

She presses the blunt edge of her knife hard against his throat and brings her lips close to his ear. "Show me."

He's shuddering with anger and fear, but shuts his mouth and starts walking. She switches her knife from his throat to his side, making sure he knows it's there, and her grip is tight on the back of his neck. They walk for a few hours and get closer and closer to the edge of the gang territories, closer to the inhabited parts of town.

Here, the gangster stops. "The jewelry store is down the road," he grunts.

"Right," Dusk replies. She spins him around and smacks his head back against the wall.

The guy slides to the ground, dazed.

She squats down in front of him and makes him look into her eyes. "You stay right here until I come back, or else I'll hunt you down. You know I will be able to find you no matter where you go. Understood?"

He swallows and nods, and Dusk gets up and starts walking. She takes to the street—an actual street with occasional cars rolling passed—and there is the store, just like the gangster said.

The truth for once. Amazing. Dusk rolls her eyes.

She turns around and goes back to the guy. He's still sitting there. Fear works wonders. He looks up with wide eyes as she comes up. She grabs his collar and hauls him upright.

"Did you hurt the owner?" Her voice is deadly ice.

He shakes his head emphatically. "No. He wasn't there."

She raises an eyebrow and stares at him. He shakes his head again. "He wasn't there. Honest."

A strange word for a gangster to use. "Good." It's getting close to dawn, four in the morning. She looks at the gangster again.

"You'll be back here tomorrow with all the Jewelry you stole and return it. I'll meet you here and make sure you don't try anything. Or else I'll do more than blow up your little shared shipping facility, got it?"

He nods. She quickly rakes her knife down the outside of his arm, leaving her customary two inch cut, not deep, but enough to leave a scar—an eternal reminder to him and any gang that he'd crossed her and paid for it. "Let this hold you to it."

The guy grimaces and she lets him go.