Out of the Shadows

Iri-futable

A Spin-Off

~Out of the Shadows~

*Warning: Characters May Be Completely Different*

If I remember correctly, there was someone who made a request for a story where Fang wasn’t able to go on a mission and it was up to Shadow to lead the team.

Sorry I wrote so late, I’ve only had time now. Sorry!

Shadow’s breath got caught in his throat. His hands shook as he tried to think of the most logical thing to do. The ringing in his ears made him deaf to the gunshots around him. He looked around briefly to see where the others went.

Alister crouched behind a toppled desk and loaded his gun. Their eyes met a moment before Alister resumed firing upon their current targets. He targeted the upper balcony as much as he could. Penelope was near Alister using one of her crafty inventions to stun her targets. Her glasses were broken and hung only over half of her face. She crouched down as a bullet flew at her. On the opposite end, Lumin picked off several snipers on the balcony with a water made bow and arrow. Arisa beside him, snapped her fingers causing a blaze of explosions. Her face was marked as a bullet had grazed her cheek earlier.

“Shadow?” Raven called him.

Shadow forced himself to look at Raven. She looked at him from under the cowl of her cloak. Raven’s face was still an emotionless but her eyes betrayed her fear and panic.

“What do you want us to do?” she asked.

Shadow looked down. His hands were covered in blood as he pressed against Fang’s injury to stop the bleeding. Blood continued to flow from between his fingers. He looked at Fang. Fang’s breathing was shallow and his eyes had lost their usual focus.

“Shadow, you idiot, get down!”

Shadow could still feel Fang pushing him out of the way as the bullet flew at him. A few seconds, that was all it took for the bullet to strike Fang in the chest. Shadow saw Fang collapse to the ground. He dropped to his knees by Fang’s side and started putting pressure on the wound.

Raven looked at him expecting an answer. Shadow took a deep breath and tried to think clearly.

“Give me you’re cloak,” Shadow demanded.

Raven unclipped her cloak and handed it to him. Shadow wrapped the cloak around Fang’s chest. He pulled it tight stopping most of the flow of blood. Shadow looked over his shoulder at the gunfight behind him.

“Arisa!” Shadow called, “Take care of the upper level!”

Arisa looked over her shoulder and smiled. She stood up and snapped both of her fingers. The upper balcony exploded and burst into flames throwing everyone forward away from the blast. Shadow looked at Raven.

“You can go with Penelope and get some help,” he said.

Raven turned to Penelope, “Penelope!”

The girl turned.

“Let’s go!” Raven called. “Take care,” she said before she ran off.

Shadow returned his attention to the battle, “Lumin, do you see the man we’re looking for?”

Lumin shook his head.

“Alister, would you clear a path, please,” Shadow managed a small smile.

“Well, Fang said that the landmines I wanted ta bring would weigh me down,” Alister smiled back, “but I think I could make do with these grenades.”

Shadow sighed, “How do you not blow yourself up?”

Alister grabbed a grenade from his belt, flipped the retainer pin, and pulled out the pin with his teeth, “Fire in the hole!”

The grenade tumbled and struck the ground. Sure enough people tended to run out of the way toward cover. Shadow crouched behind a metallic box and listened to the explosion. For a moment the rain of bullets stopped. Shadow looked over his cover and looked around. His shoulders fell when he didn’t see the face he was looking for. Lumin was right. Their target was no longer in the building.

“Will you guys be alright by yourselves?” Shadow asked.

“We’ll be fine,” Lumin stated.

“Hey, what are my parameters ‘ere?” Alister asked.

Shadow looked at Alister, “What?”

“I mean when Fang’s in charge he says that I can’t do this an’ I can’t do that, do I have to follow those under you?” Alister fired at a couple of people hiding behind a forklift.

Shadow thought a moment, “I think you can let loose this once. Just don’t get the rest of us killed.”

A crazed smile spread across Alister’s face, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Keep at it,” Shadow said.

Amber saluted, “Okie-dokie!”

Shadow almost immediately regretted his decision but it was too late and he had places to be. He vanished into the floor and reappeared outside. The lot was empty except for the occasional car. Shadow narrowed his eyes looking for any sign of where their target went or even any sign of Raven or Penelope. He heard the sound of something metal dropping to the ground. A car engine started up and started to drive off.

The only entrance and exit was past where Shadow stood. He walked out a few steps and saw the black car careening down the lane. Shadow smiled and stood in place. The driver of the car continued on its path determined to run the shadowy figure over.

Shadow extended his arm out to his sides and smiled. “Come on, I know you want to,” he said to no one in particular.

The car increased its speed almost as a response to Shadow’s taunting. Shadow stared into the eyes of the driver.

“Let me give you a lift,” Shadow laughed.

The car didn’t hit him. He used his powers to sail through it unaffected. Shadow grabbed the driver and pulled him through the car. Without anyone controlling the vehicle, the car lost control, turned sharply and somersaulted into a fiery blaze. Shadow had not moved from his spot. He held their target by the back of the man’s collar. The man sat facing the burning car while Shadow really paid in no mind.

Shadow sighed with annoyance and crouched down, “You know, you shot my boss. Did you know that?”

The man, terrified and in shock, shook his head.

“If you had stuck around to see where your bullet struck you would have known. You’d better hope he pulls through because I’d gut you if he didn’t,” Shadow looked at the man and smiled, “Got it?”

The warehouse wall blew up collapsing part of the roof as well. Shadow barely flinched as he stared at the man with cold unfeeling eyes. Alister’s insane laughter echoed from the half demolished warehouse just over the riddling sound of bullets hitting the metallic walls. There was an audible hiss as a wave of water swept through the warehouse picking up several men and washing them away. There were a few more explosions but they were not as large as the one before. The wind occasionally carries Arisa’s giggles to Shadow’s ears. Several men ran out into the fresh air. Some caught sight of their leader in the hands of the enemy and raised their weapons to rescue their leader.

Shadow looked at them with annoyance in his eyes. He was already prepared to take him and their target away from there in a blink of an eye. Something stopped him and he decided to wait a moment longer. The men fired upon him but instead of striking him, the bullets were parried. Raven stood between Shadow and the assailants. She carried her sword in her hand, the blade reflected the sunlight. Surprised, they reloaded their guns. But before they could get off another shot, Penelope appeared carrying two guns. She shot stun and sleep bullets from the guns. When they were down for the count, Penelope looked back at both Raven and Shadow and smiled.

“Paramedics are right behind us,” Penelope reported.

Something shot out of the rubble narrowly missing Shadow and exploding a ways behind him. A muscular man walked out of the chaos that was the warehouse carrying, among other things, a rocket launcher, machine guns and a few shot-guns. He was ripped in every sense of the word. He could be his own arsenal with his muscles alone. Raven took a fighting stance, holding her sword in front of her. Penelope vanished temporarily and reappeared beside Raven.

A spout of fire rose from the warehouse and landed to the man’s right. Arisa stood with big and innocent looking eyes. Lumin appeared out of a pool of water near Arisa. He stayed in a transparent water state instead of taking a physical form. Alister walked out of the rubble to the man’s left. His laughter and the crazed look in his eyes persuaded Shadow that he was near or past the line of insanity.

The man yelled and that was all the others needed. Penelope raised her weapons while Raven shot forward. The man raised his guns at her. She zigzagged easily, dodging his bullets. Arisa took a step back and snapped her fingers. She had the biggest carefree smile on her face. Raven jumped into the air and attacked with her sword. The man pushed her to one side in midair. She flew into Arisa; the explosion Arisa caused blew them back further.

Lumin threw out his hand. Water rose from around him and shot towards the man. Some of Penelope’s stun bullets struck the man angering him even more. Penelope shot again but he swatted them away. The stun bullets struck Lumin instead. The electricity rippled through Lumin’s body. He dropped to one knee assuming his physical form once again.

Alister reached for his belt and grabbed a grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it. The man raised a gun and shot at the grenade. The explosion blew Alister off his feet. The man glared at Penelope who was the only one still standing. Petrified, Penelope smiled, dropped her guns and raised her hands high in the air. The man then reached for the rocket launcher that he had.

Shadow looked around for what he could do. He needed to figure out the man’s weakness. Shadow was about to sink into the ground when there was a single gunshot. The man fell to his knees crying out in pain. Shadow stood up as he saw a shadow come out of the smoke and dust of the warehouse. Fang looked annoyed beyond anything Shadow had ever witnessed in their time together. Understandably so, getting shot is enough to put anyone in a bad mood. Fang leaned against a metal bar.

“His type always have knobby knees,” Fang stated as the ambulance sirens grew louder, “They aren’t so scary when you shoot out their knees.”

“Fang!” Arisa cried out.

Fang looked around, “I’m out for a couple minutes and everything goes to hell. More importantly, who’s the idiot who got me shot?”

Shadow tried to maintain an emotionless face. If Fang had truly forgotten then all would be well for Shadow’s immediate future. Unfortunately, Fang noticed the smallest of smiled on Shadow’s face.

“Shadow! Was it you!?” Fang pushed himself off the pole and started to walk toward Shadow.

Shadow let go of their captive and raised his hands in front of his body, “What? Why would I do something stupid like that? I’m pretty sure Alister did.”

Alister got to his feet, “Hey! I’m not taking the blame for this one! It was Shadow! All him! Come on, back me up guys!”

“He’s right,” Penelope muttered.

“Shadow did it!” Arisa smiled.

Lumin looked up, “I’m sure it was an accident. He didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Apparently, his timing was off,” Raven crossed her arms.

Fang raised his gun and before Shadow could react he fired. The bullet passed through his body avoiding any vital organs. Shadow fell to the ground and gripped his gunshot wound. Fang sat down on the ground beside him.

“Ow,” Shadow muttered.

“You idiot,” Fang stated.

Shadow looked up at Fang and smiled, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Fang looked down at Shadow, “You think I was going to let you get away with getting me shot. I would have come back from the dead to shoot you.”

Shadow listened as the ambulance pulled up nearby, “We might need to look into this at out next counseling session. You don’t just go around shooting people.”

Fang sighed, “Man, I need to retire.”

The Turn: Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Turn

Chapter Twenty-Eight

~Someone’s Out There Watching~

Two Years Before The Turn

Chaud stood outside of the hotel where Fang and the others were staying. He smiled as the little smoke bomb that he sent up to one of the rooms, via room service, made its way safely. Chaud watched as the hotel was evacuated. He saw the one named Alister ranting about how it wasn’t his fault and that the food just exploded. The others didn’t seem to believe him. Chaud sighed with relief that he managed to send it to the right room. He had made an educated guess that Fang would have his own room from what he remembered reading about the man. He also did a little digging on the house that they lived in together. Apparently the boys were separated from the girls. After hacking into the hotel’s system he was able to find the three most recent rooms that were occupied. From there he made a reasonable guess.

He watched them carefully and how they interacted with each other. He noticed the youngest and the one with blue hair, Arisa and Lumin if his memory served him, talking to each other. Correction: the girl was doing most of the talking. Alister, he knew, was well known for blowing things up. Chaud looked carefully at the girl with the broken glasses. He would remember to tell Naru about Penelope. Raven and Shadow stood around Fang as he visibly tried to keep his emotions in check.

“Chaud,” Zara said through the earpiece in his ear.

“Yeah, what?” Chaud’s lips barely moved, “I’m a little busy.

“Oh sorry, Mr. I’ve-got-better-things-to-do-than-help-out,” Zara muttered, “I won’t bother you again.”

Zara walked from one thing to another. At one moment she looked over Naru’s shoulder trying to understand the computer code that scrolled across the screen. The next, she was instructing the others on their tasks.

Deontay was collecting any weapons and supplies they would need while Vicky pulled out any duffel bags she found to store them in. Hina sat beside her brother and tried to help out when she could.

Zara was in a hurry to get going. From what Chaud had told her, her team was being pursued by one of the best Black teams used by the Tower. Sirius wanted them back pretty badly and Zara was determined not to get caught before they had to be.

“I am helping out,” Chaud sighed, “I’m just doing some field research. I’ll be back soon. You want me to pick up groceries while I’m out?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone and started recording. His eyes dropped from the scene in front of him to the screen.

 “No, Mr. Smarty-pants,” Zara said, “Just don’t blow your cover!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chaud answered.

“Naru, what do you have?” Zara asked.

“Something about a thing called the Metamor,” He said casually as he typed at the computer.

Hina looked over her shoulder at Zara, “Apparently, it’s on some island somewhere. It never says.”

“Try to find a general location,” Chaud commented, “We can figure it out when we get in the air.”

Zara looked back at Deontay, “How is the packing?”

“Getting only what we need and can carry,” Deontay answered.

“It’s kind of weird,” Vicky stated, “We’re fighting against the people who really stopped Zero.”

Deontay nodded, “Pretty crazy, right? How did Chaud find out?”

“Who knows how he knows things,” Hina shrugged, “Frankly I don’t really care all that much. As long as he’s on our side, I’m good.”

“You do know I’m still listening right?” Chaud said as the others were talking about him.

“So how do you do it, man?” Deontay asked, “Where do you get all this info?”

“You know the saying ‘Curiosity killed the cat?’” Chaud glanced up from the camera.

Deontay walked with a back over his shoulder, “Yeah. What about it?”

“Don’t be the cat. I’d hate to have to kill you,” Chaud said with an eerie seriousness.

“Let’s not go killing each other just yet,” Zara jumped in.

“I was just giving fair warning,” Chaud said.

Zara looked at the computer screen, “Just get back here without getting spotted.”

“Roger,” Chaud turned off his earpiece so he could concentrate.

He looked at the screen. The fire department was at the scene now and had entered the building. They instructed people to stand back. Fang guided his group to the other side of the road. Chaud pulled down his hat so it covered more of his white hair. He took a mental note to dye it sometime.

Though the Black team members were no longer the subject of the recording, Chaud continued to record just like any teenager would do with a cell phone. He looked at the group through the corner of his eye.

“Alister!” Penelope groaned, “My computer was in there! Now it’s probably wet and shorted out! I was so close to finding their inside source too!”

Chaud raised an eyebrow. It would be safer to deter communication with Miwa from then on.

“But I didn’t do it! I swear!” Alister insisted.

“I leave you alone for two minutes and you manage to blow the place up,” Shadow sighed. He looked at Fang, “Oh, and those papers you wanted me to read. I was so frightened and startled that in the commotion I dropped them. Too bad they might be soaking wet by now…”

“Not now, Shadow,” Fang sounded dangerously angry, “Did you see anything, Lumin?”

Lumin shook his head.

Arisa raised her hand, “Lumin was with me in the hallway at the soda machine. The thing wouldn’t give me my quarter back!”

“What are we going to do?” Raven asked, “All our things are in there.”

“I could get it!” Penelope raised her hand, “I can pop in and pop out in no time flat!”

“No,” Fang sighed, “We’ll stay out here for now.”

Fang had and itch that he couldn’t quite scratch. There was something he felt he was missing. He looked around and saw a boy not too far away looking at the goings on. Fang narrowed his eyes. For a moment, the scene in front of him disappeared and the kid was walking down another street. This time his hat was off revealing his white hair and blue eyes. Fang came back and looked at the boy with a new light.

“Shoot,” Chaud put away his cell phone and made his exit.

He walked down the street. Chaud turned the corner and was lost from Fang’s direct sight. Fang looked at Shadow.

“Follow me,” he said to Shadow.

Shadow followed. The others stayed and looked curiously as Fang and Shadow walked off.

Chaud walked down a street and crossed to the other side to an alleyway. He needed a place to lie low before he could go back to where he and the others were hiding out. Shadow suddenly appeared from the alley wall. He smiled slyly.

“So, your Chaud, I presume,” Shadow said.

Chaud stopped and said nothing.

Fang stood in the mouth of the alley way, “Nice to finally meet you, Chaud.”

Chaud took a glance behind him. He said nothing. Chaud took off his hat and tossed it on to the ground.

Fang narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t read Chaud’s future actions though he tried. Fang walked closer to Chaud.

“Your father would very much like you home,” Fang stated.

“I don’t think I’m quite ready to head back just yet,” Chaud’s eyes turned gold as he shot his arm out at Shadow.

A bolt of electricity shot from his hand. Shadow managed to barely dodge the attack. He threw three daggers in Chaud’s direction. Chaud crouched and avoided the attack. Two wings grew from Chaud’s back and he jumped into the sky. Shadow disappeared into the wall and appeared on to the building roof. He looked around but saw no sight of the boy.

“Do you see him?” Fang asked from the alley.

“No,” Shadow responded, “It’s like he just disappeared.”

“We need to find them,” Fang stated, “Now.”

The Turn: Chapter Nineteen

The Turn

Chapter Nineteen

~Called Out~

Two Years before the Turn

Zara stepped out of the black vehicle and started walking briskly toward the building. She wore a black business suit with a skirt and black two inch heels. Her hair recently brushed up into a bun. There was no makeup on her face except for a slight coloring of her lips. She wore a pair of glasses and a clip on ID on her coat. Her strides were long and even as her heels clicked on the walkway. She walked confidently with a clipboard in her arm.

There were quicker uneven clicks as Vicky walked slightly behind Zara to her right. She tried desperately to keep up with Zara, often almost tripping over her own feet. She wore a similar suit to Zara’s. Thick rimmed glasses donned her face and her hair was in a single ponytail.

Chaud was on Zara’s left. He wore a simple suit and dyed his hair black. In his left hand he carried a briefcase. Unlike Vicky, he wasn’t a complete mess.

Zara walked confidently up to the guards at the door. They looked confused as to her presence but they didn’t question. Zara found that if you acted like you belonged somewhere people rarely asked questions. She walked directly up to the front desk.

Hina sat at the desk. She spun in her chair as she talked to someone on the phone. Once her eyes fell on the coming threat and her entourage, she sat up hung up the phone and organized things on her desk.

“Where’s your boss?” Zara asked.

Hina rolled her eyes and picked up the phone, “Mr. Peterson, sir? The Health Inspector is here. I know they’re a week early but they’re here. Alright,” she hung up the phone, “He’ll be right with you. If you care to sit down—hey! Where are you going!? You can’t go that way!”

Zara walked away from the desk and started walking down one of the hallways that looked like a main artery. Her people followed her. People gathered at the doors of their offices to see what the commotion was all about. The elevator door at the far end of the hallway opened. A bald man walked out in a blue suit.

“Hello,” he seemed a little surprised. He held out a hand to shake hers, “You’re the Health Inspector?”

“Names Ross,” she said only giving their last names. She also did not take Peterson’s hand, “This is my assistant Vang and my partner Banks.”

“Sup,” Banks muttered on Zara’s left.

Peterson awkwardly pulled back his hand. He smiled, “We weren’t expecting you until next week.”

“Of course you weren’t,” Zara turned around and started walking back the way she came. Peterson walked quickly after the group of three, “That’s the whole reason; catch you off your guard. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that sorry excuse. ‘We weren’t expecting you until next week’. It means they have something to hide and they haven hid it yet.”

“You look a little young to be a Health Inspector,” Peterson tried to make conversation.

Another thing Zara learned was that if you acted older than you were, people tended to believe whatever age you told them you were, within reason of course, “I’m 29 and I plan to stay single, Mr. Peterson.”

“Ouch,” Banks muttered.

“Banks! Start your search down there! I’ll take this section!” Zara commanded.

Banks nodded and walked down a hallway. Mr. Peterson tried to stop him but Zara called his attention to another matter. Vang stumbled after the two taking notes on all the things that Zara saw wrong. Chaud walked down the hallway. He could feel the eyes of the employees on him. When he reached the end of the hallway, there was a stairwell. The door was code locked. Earlier Chaud had hacked into the system and found out all the codes. He typed in the code and opened the door.

Casually he made his way down a flight of stairs to an electrical box. He set down his suitcase and opened it. It carried a lot of different things; one being a pair of latex gloves. He slipped on the gloves and pulled out a bobby pin. It wasn’t the most advanced weapon but it was all he could scrounge up in less than twenty-four hours. He picked the lock and opened the electrical box. He took a moment to look at the wiring then he nodded to himself and got to work. Chaud browsed through his suit case and pulled out a small electrical device. He put an ear piece in his ear and started moving wires around.

Outside, an electric van drove up. Deontay got out of the van and walked into the building. Hina told him that one of the outdoor cameras weren’t working and he got to work. He set a ladder against the building. As he was up there, he pulled out a small satellite and attached it to the cords coming from the camera. Deontay aimed the little satellite toward the coffee shop across the street.

Across the street, Naru walked into the small coffee shop where he ordered a latte. He sat at an outside table. He brought his laptop out of the backpack on his back. Slowly, he sipped the coffee. His computer screen was blank. A white square blinked off and on in the upper left hand corner. Naru sat back in his chair and waited.

Naru noticed a man in a black suit and a wide brimmed hat walk to a phone booth. There was something strangely familiar about him. The man briefly looked over his shoulder. He picked up the receiver and dialed 911. He waited casually as the call connected.

“Hello? What is your emergency?”

The man turned his back to Naru, “There are men with guns. There are also six kids.”

“Okay? Wait? Do the kids have guns? Where are you now, sir?”

“You’ll figure it out. Oh, and don’t forget the one at the coffee shop,” the man hung up the phone and walked away.

“There we go,” Chaud muttered as he attached the device.

“Got the satellite up,” Deontay muttered as he played with the wires.

Naru sighed, “Bout time.”

“You worried, bud?” Deontay smiled.

“No,” Naru shook his head, “it’s just that this thing—”

“Makes you feel edgy?” Chaud finished his sentence, “Yeah, I’ve heard it before.”

“How’s it looking?” Deontay asked.

“Should be about seven minutes,” Chaud reported.

Naru gripped his latte, “Seven?”

“I’m working with sub-par equipment here,” Chaud defended himself, “Just keep busy for seven minutes. We’ll be fine.”

I hope, Chaud thought to himself. He couldn’t help think of the man he saw in Zara’s hotel.

The device started blinking. It made a whirr sound as it kicked into gear. Data started showing up on Naru’s computer screen. It was all in computer language but Naru could pick up excerpts here and there. He sipped his latte and sat back and let the data from the building get sent and stored into the computer. Anything electrical that happened in that building was being duplicated. While he gave off a disinterested vibe, he was always watching for any suspicious behavior.

A man pulled up in a limo. The driver got out and walked into the building. The passenger sat in the back and waited. Naru tried to get a good look at the man but couldn’t see very well through the tinted window.

The driver walked in as Zara was discussing about the conditions of the building. Mr. Peterson looked surprised at the coming man and interrupted Zara as she was speaking. Mr. Peterson looked around the shadow of a man.

“Is Mr. Scar not with you?” he asked.

The driver smiled. He shook Mr. Peterson’s hand and whispered something in the man’s ear. Zara shifted uneasily as she saw the exchange.

“We may have just been made out,” she said quietly.

The driver and Zara briefly made eye contact before the man left. When the doors closed behind him Mr. Peterson turned around. He was obviously not happy.

“So you work for the legendary Tower?” he said, hands on hips, “What a shame. I was beginning to like you.”

The guards that were scattered around the place ran at her and Vicky. Two of them ran up to the front desk toward Hina. Hina stood up, hands in the air.

“What are you doing?! I work here, you—!”

One of the guards brought out his gun and shot at her. Hina fell against her chair and to the ground. Upon seeing that, Zara reached behind her and pulled out a gun from a harness strapped to her back. She fired at two guards, wounding one in the leg and grazing the other in the arm. The injured one got his gun and fired back. Zara and Vicky jumped apart. Zara hid behind in a small inlet in the wall and Vicky dove behind the desk. Vicky quickly checked for Hina’s pulse before taking out her gun. She fired her weapon at a few guards that were coming at her.

“We’re on our own,” Zara said into her ear piece. It was code for ‘to each his own’ meaning they were now individually responsible for escaping. She had no plan B.

Deontay started to make his way down from the ladder. He collapsed it and headed for his van. The two guards at the door walked after him, guns drawn. Deontay placed the ladder in the back of the opened truck. He climbed in and closed the door behind him. The engine revved up and the van started to speed away. A police car, its sirens blaring, crashed into the truck. The guards fired at the truck as more police cars came.

Police officers got out of their car and threatened to fire. The guards placed their weapons down. A few officers turned their attention on Deontay. He groaned and raised his hands off the steering wheel.

Naru saw the ordeal in front. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small thumb drive. Naru plugged it in and started typing feverishly. When he was done, he closed the laptop and tucked it under his arm. He dumped the laptop in the garbage and popped the flash drive in his mouth.

“Hold it right there! Let me see your hands!” a female officer shouted.

Naru sighed and put his hands in the air. The female officer handcuffed him and dragged him to a police car. Officers stormed the building demanding that the guns be put down. Zara swore under her breath as she placed down her gun and kicked it away from her. Vicky looked at Zara for guidance as an officer handcuffed her but Zara didn’t look in her direction. Chaud heard the footsteps of officers coming down the stairs. An officer threw him into the side wall as they handcuffed him and pushed him up the stairs.

A block away, a limo sat and watched the goings on. The driver scowled.

“How did those Tower nobodies get on out tail this quick?” Scar complained.

“I left a few bread crumbs,” the driver muttered, “How did the police get here so fast?”

“Bread crumbs?” Scar raised an eyebrow, “I thought you said that was a bad idea.”

“I guess I just wanted to see who I was up against,” the driver pulled out and drove off.

Scar though he heard something he didn’t like, “What? What you were up against?”

The driver looked in his mirror, “Did I say that? I meant ‘we’, what were ‘we’ up against.”

Scar shrugged it off, “I guess they aren’t going to be that much trouble for the New Order.”

“I beg to differ,” the driver smiled, “I think we’ll have to be very careful here on out.”