A Drowned Whelp

Chapter 16

"Miri, get your shoes on!" Hill roared in the direction of the room.

"You ain't skipping out on us," Xin hissed, pistol out and ready as yells filled the tight space. The patch members herded the customers out back as the bloodied members took up positions to fight. The girls helped get the older customers moving and in safety. People who'd come for lunch to pay off their debts or to show they weren't opposing the wolves. The shielding worked well but would eventually fall under the relentless hail of bullets.

Brazen didn't convey the stupidity that was taking fire on a home base as well known as the wolves. Especially with how many innocent people came to eat every day in Ma's restaurant. The wolves wouldn't be the only ones out for blood over this.

"Miranda needs to be far from here, and I know the layout of the city far as well, if not better than any of you!" Hill growled, flicking open a cabinet and pulling out one of the spare guns hidden within. Xin caught his wrist to stop him as he loaded up the magazine into the pistol. "We don't have time  to argue about this!"

"Ma," Xin protested.

"Miranda!"

"I'm coming!" Miranda yelled from the other room but didn't appear.

"Let go of him and get your weapon," Ma ordered Xin, taking over his grip to stop Hill from vanishing. Xin snarled but obeyed, hopping a table and down a corridor to where a different stash of weapons sat. The older woman waved at Jun to check on the girl. "Jonah."

Whatever Ma planned to say got lost in a crash of metal and glass. One of the kitchen girls glanced around the corner and ducked back at another wave of bullets pinging against the walls. Someone slapped her head for being an idiot. Someone else yelled. The pinging got louder as the shield fluttered. They didn't have long before it fell. 

"They are here for her; I have to get her out," Hill forced out in a half-remembered language, forgotten in the frills that bound them together as tightly as the wolves were bound to him. It was the same. They shared blood between their teeth, dirt under their fingers and a cold chill tied them in brotherhood and battle. The measurement of any bond formed at the end of a gun or the crack of a fist, was never forgotten and never lost, not completely. 

"You are our blood too. Do not forget yourself," Ma said, eyes piercing into his with an intensity that few people managed. "A day, Hill. Get your girl out or bring her back with you but be back within a day. Is that clear?"

"Until the Dark one walks again." An oath he'd proven once before and had the scars to prove it.

"Until he walks again." An acceptance that went beyond

Hill pressed a kiss to her cheek and moved. Jun and Miri were in the doorway to Ma's room, keeping out of the way as patch members moved through the corridor. Xin shot some bullets in the doorway but was quick to follow. "Upstairs, now." Hill pushed Miri ahead of him as some bullets started bouncing in the space. 

"There's no way out that way!" Jun pointed out tagging along. 

"We're heading to the roof. Easier to access it from the balcony," Hill waved off, squeezing them through bodies and into one of the guest rooms. "Miri, your chip will be hacked. We need to get it out," he warned, pausing long enough to shove his feet into some trainers. They were tighter, but better than nothing.  "We don't have the means here; we'll run for now and go to one of my old holes to see if my backup kit is there."

"That's not a plan," Miranda said

"Better than waiting for the shields to fall. The wolves can take care of themselves. Plus, when your signal shifts, they'll move too," Hill ignored Xin's protests as he led them onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. He jumped over the railings and ran across the ledge to the other building. Miranda followed. Xin cursed behind them.