Eros

Blood Bath - 27

Gasper and another thug in black clothes crossed the street in a rushed stride. The stride of a crime waiting to occur.

The people who noticed them hurried to clear the way. And those who didn't were shoved from it.

The Syndicate got a tip about a man they were after, and Gasper willingly picked the task. Backstabbing was his specialty.

They reached the tavern just as he walked out of it, wearing the blonde ponytail and the handsome face they were to recognize him by. He swayed slightly in his steps. Good, drunk targets are the easiest.

"Hey, get going! I wanna get home to Niki..." He called over his shoulder. William looked forward again just as they came at him.

Gasper didn't see the punch coming. It bashed in his nose, the crack of a bone echoing inside his skull. He stumbled backwards, shocked. Damn it, I can't fucking fail. If I fail, I'm as good as dead.

He regained balance and blinked the tears out of his eyes. The blonde man's back was exposed as he was tied in a brawl with his accomplice. Gasper drew his dagger, stepped forward, and thrust it in with all his might. He tore out the blade, and William collapsed to his knees.

"Hey!" A feminine voice yelled. Gasper was about to secure the kill when an elf and a man emerged at the other end of the corridor. The man sprinted towards him, his dark green eyes seething with murderous intent.

Without a second thought, Gasper turned his back and ran into the street. A minute of the fastest running he could manage had passed before he dared to look over his shoulder.

His accomplice was not far behind him and no green eyed man was after them. He had probably stayed back to help his friend. It didn't matter though, his success was guaranteed – he had felt the dagger breaking right through a rib.

-

"Shit..." William cursed, his breath stolen. "They got me..."

Kaido rushed to him and fell to his knees by his side, catching him right before his body hit the floor.

"Alora," His voice assumed the same commanding tone it had back at the prison they escaped together. "Check the wound."

"Don't bother," William spat a mouthful of blood to the floor. "He pierced a lung."

"Where's the nearest Church?" Kaido asked immediately. William winced in laughter.

"We are in Deadmen's Bay. There are no Churches."

Kaido cursed.

"I lied to you, Kaido.... The men in the carriage... I made you kill them for my own sake, they were after me..."

"Like I give a fuck, you should know I would kill for you." Kaido's words brought a weak, but genuine smile to William's lips.

"Listen Kaido-" He began to speak when his head shot forward in a violent cough. Blood sprayed out of his mouth and dripped down his chin. Kaido put a hand at the back of his head, holding it up gently.

"It hurts me to ask this of you..." William said slowly, and Alora could hear the pain in his voice wasn't solely physical.

"If I could ask the gang I would... but they can't do it... not even I could-"

"Ask." Kaido commanded.

"When we moved here... I couldn't let my wife and son live in these fucking lawless streets. The neighborhoods across the mountain-ridge... They have nice houses there, and the Black Prince guarantees protection. I had no money for it, but the Syndicate let me take a loan-"