Hey all. Chapter 2 here, and a note about my update schedule. I no longer have one.
I'm under the effects of some serious writing burnout, with four different writing projects all ongoing. I'll be updating chapters whenever I finish them, which means it could be a chapter a day, or no chapter for a week or two. I am writing, so I haven't abandoned anything, don't worry.
Okay, so I might have overestimated my skill level when I'm only allowed to use the weapon Grey had given me.
The stun baton hovered in front of me, my hand grasping the handle, thumb occasionally pushing the button to discharge the electricity from the Dust crystal embedded in the painful end.
The men had quickly shifted their weapons into melee forms, and had surrounded me.
That wasn't a problem, really. What was a problem was the unconscious girl that I had slung over my shoulder. That would make fighting significantly more difficult.
Even so, they weren't skilled fighters. They were obviously not expecting a person to be here, and were relying on the element of surprise to overwhelm the girl's Aura.
One of the men engaged first, lunging forward, blade pointed at my chest. I side-stepped, and my stun baton met his arm, discharging a painful amount of electricity into his arm.
Something interesting that I had never witnessed happened.
Electricity, in non-lethal amounts, can apparently overwhelm Aura temporarily. In the case of a situation like this, where I followed up my first blow with a knee to the chest, it was very useful, as the man crumpled like a sack of wet potatoes.
One down, six left, and everything was working rather smoothly so far. All they needed to do was keep coming at me from the front, one at a time, and I'd have no problems.
If only I could be that lucky.
Three of the six remaining men surrounded me, and as a trio, lunged, attempting to pierce me from three different sides like triplets fighting over the last slice of cake.
A quick leap at the one in front of me had them off guard, and I quickly raised my other hand, grasping his dagger by the blade, the metal grinding against the metal plating in the palm of my glove.
This glove was the only weapon of mine I was actually allowed to keep on my at the SDC Vale Branch. Grey had made the assumption that it was non-lethal, and allowed it.
I pulled, and the man in front stumbled forwards, and before a moment had even passed I had effectively swapped places with him, his allies blades striking him instead of me.
Now with only one person still blocking my access to the rear door, I took the initiative, adjusting the position of the girl on my shoulder.
I lunged forward before feinting left, throwing a sharp right hook, supported by the stun baton, before my fist collided with his chest. His Aura flared, and I slammed my left fist down on his head, the metal plating hardening over my fingers as I struck.
He hit the ground, hard, and I left him there, leaping over his collapsed form, and pushing through the door.
The door squeaked on its hinges as I shoved it open, and I ran, with the girl still over my shoulders.
I was faster than the men, and considering how I'd left them, I doubt they were too willing to pursue me, especially in broad daylight.
I needed to get some space from them regardless, and I kept running, not paying any attention to my surroundings as I sprinted through alleyways, the girl over my shoulders still unconscious, despite the jostling of my movement.
I don't even know how far I'd gotten when I decided to stop, but I could tell I'd lost them, if they even followed to begin with.
Quickly and carefully, I lay the girl down, and checked her pulse. It was steady, beating evenly, so that was good news.
I took my hand away from her neck, and looked at her for any signs of injury.
Thankfully, there was no injury, but there would soon be on mine as her eyes burst open and her hand grabbed me around the throat, the other scrambling about for a weapon.
"Urrk! Friendly!" I grunted out, making sure to keep still and not make any sudden moves.
She released her grip on my throat, and I stepped back, keeping my hands in her view.
She quickly clambered to her feet, checking around for something. She glanced back up to me, and mimed an umbrella.
"I was a bit busy saving you, sorry." I replied, completely unapologetic.
A frown graced her admittedly pretty face, and she shattered.
I'm not kidding. She quite literally exploded into thousands of glass shards, sprinkling across the pavement with a loud series of tinkling noises.
I looked around, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Huh." I said aloud, pulling out my scroll.
'Shit.'
"Shit, Grey, I'm sorry I'm late! I got attacked whilst getting lunch!" I exclaimed, stumbling into his office, out of breath.
Grey just sighed. "Caramel, I know. Unfortunately, you're fired-"
I didn't let him finish. "What! I didn't have a choice!"
He held up a hand, and I quickly silenced myself.
"I know, kid. I would've commended you, and told you to take a paid day off, but upper management somehow already know, and word from above is that you are no longer employed. I'm sorry." Grey explained, and I frowned.
"How did they know?" I asked, concerned.
"No idea, Caramel. At least you didn't get settled in, if that's any consolation." Grey said, and I could hear the frustration in his voice.
I sighed, placing the stun baton on his desk. "Not your fault, Grey. For what it matters, you were a pretty damn good boss, even if it was for not even a day."
He laughed at that. "Good to see you aren't taking it to hard, Caramel. I'd say stop by tomorrow for lunch and I'd pay, but I'm not on shift for the rest of the week. It's Anthra', and two more assholes. You were supposed to be on tomorrow with them, so I'm not sure if this isn't a blessing in disguise."
"Thanks for the job, Grey. Maybe I'll see you around." I said, giving a wave as I left his office.
"Sorry, kid. Good luck with the future!" He called out, as I closed the door behind me.
As I walked out, Carbon gave me a solemn nod, and I returned it, before noticing Anthracite by the far corner, smirking.
I ignored him, walking out of the building.
I had some other things to take care of anyway, and my schedule had miraculously cleared itself up.
I sighed again.
I wasn't stupid. I'd lived in Vale for a year and a half by now, and I lived in one of the shadier parts of town.
Benefit to that; rent was cheap.
Detriment to that; gangs.
Nothing I couldn't handle, evidently, but I could recognize them by smell at this point. Some of them in particular.
Junior's Red Axes were rather distinct, even if the men I'd fought weren't actually using axes. What made them so easy to recognize was the red sunglasses they used to conceal their identities.
It would've been smarter to wear a rival gang's colours, but no doubt that plan, if it had even been suggested, would've been shot down, for two reasons.
Reason number one is that they weren't expecting any resistance, and that was pretty obvious considering how fast they'd taken the girl down.
Reason number two is much more easily summarised: Heresy.
That rather long-winded line of thinking is what brought me to one of the seediest places in the entirety of Vale.
Junior's.
The club, not Junior himself. I hadn't gotten that far yet. I hadn't even gotten inside the club.
"You ain't old enough, kid." The bouncer said, one hand on a rather distinct red hatchet, the other on my shoulder.
"I'm older than I look." I replied, already annoyed.
"Sure you are kid." The bouncer replied, shoving me backwards.
"Look, man. I have had one hell of a day. I got fired because I helped a woman, and it was my first day. Gimme a break, I just want a drink." I said, pretend exhaustion flooding my voice.
"Then get something to drink where there aren't cops prowling around." The bouncer said, once more reaching out to shove me.
I caught his arm as it was outstretched, and pulled, quickly putting my strength to work as I flipped him over, wrenching his arm out of its socket.
Aura can't stop physics.
I released my grip on his arm, and it flopped uselessly next to the bouncer.
I didn't even wait to see what he would do, as I strode through the door, and up to the bar.
"Something strong." I said to the bartender, who frowned at me.
"Get out, kid. I'm trying to run a business here, not get arrested." The bartender said, placing the glass he was in the process of drying in front of him, folding his arms.
"Junior, just get me something to damn drink." I said, glaring at him.
"So, you know who I am." Junior said, grabbing a bottle of whisky from beneath the bar, filling up the cup and sliding it over.
"Junior, you named the club after yourself, then told me you were trying to run a business. One plus one equals two, and all that." I said, before downing the entire cup in one massive gulp. "But yes, I do know who you are." I gasped out, the whisky stronger than expected.
"Well, I don't know who you are, kid." Junior said, raising an eyebrow from behind the bar.
"Let me give you a hint. Some of your boys tried to kill me and a girl in an ice creamery earlier today." I deadpanned, swirling the dregs of whisky in the bottom of my glass.
"What my boys do in their spare time is none of my business." Junior rehearsed.
"Except it wasn't spare time, was it. Who ordered the hit, and who was the target?" I asked, placing the glass in front of me.
Junior didn't answer, his attention drawn away towards the entrance. I swivelled on my bar stool, and looked at the approaching person, who was twirling a cane with a menacing expression on his face, cigar smoking beneath his bowler hat.
"Gimme a minute, kid. We can get back to this really interesting conversation when I'm done with actual business." Junior said, as the man sat down at the bar a couple stools down from me.
I frowned, expressing my frustration by reaching over the bar and grabbing the unattended whisky bottle, pouring myself another couple fingers.
I also figured I'd listen in.
"Roman, what do you want. We've already agreed to send you a group for tomorrow." Junior said.
"I'm here 'cause a couple of your mooks decided to test their might against Neo." Roman replied, tapping the cigar against his finger, ash spilling across the bartop.
"Huh. Wouldn't happen to have been in an ice creamery, would it?" Junior asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"So you did send some-" Roman began, before Junior interrupted.
"Kid, I know you're listening. Get over here." He called out, looking pointedly at me.
"Oh no, you caught me eavesdropping, how dreadfully sorry I am." I said sarcastically, before once again downing the glass of whisky. I stood up and took a barstool next to Roman.
Roman gave a quick chuckle at my sarcasm, but the expression on his face remained mostly neutral.
"Kid, the sooner the two of you figure this out, the sooner you get out of my hair. Explain what happened." Junior said, and I obliged, explaining what happened.
"So someone high up in the SDC fired you because you stopped a bunch of gangsters?" Roman asked, laughing.
"I doubt it. Someone fired me 'cause I was late, and some shitbag I was working with ratted me out." I said, before moving onto more prominent topics.
"So, the girl's name is Neo?" I asked.
"Yep, but she doesn't speak. I gave her the name, for a variety of reasons." Roman replied, lighting a second cigar and promptly sticking it into his mouth.
"Who wants her dead, and doesn't want to be found out?" I asked, but was met with a frown.
"None of your business, kid. I appreciate the help, but you're not involved anymore. Professional courtesy dictates that I warn you before kicking your ass six ways to tuesday." Roman said, taking the cigar out of his mouth to down his third glass of whisky.
"I'd love to see you try, walking stick." I replied with equal heat.
This had Roman laughing, and I a little nonplussed.
"You know what, kid? I like you, you got fire, and I do feel the tiniest bit guilty about you getting fired. Want a job?" Roman asked, smirking.
I raised an eyebrow at him, before responding. "Sure thing, boss."
Look at that. We have plot movement.
Chapter 3 will be out tomorrow.
Hope you enjoyed, and as always, see you next chapter
~AFatFlyingWhale