Still a dismal lack of feedback, but there's a new follow, so that's something.

Starting with a nice long section in flashback, to make up for the cliff-hanger. :p This update on 10/14/2017

Twelve: Outnumbered

I wanted to think what we heard was just a neighborhood kid sneaking around for the fun of it, but I remembered the man we had spoken to saying with certainty that they didn't allow the kids in this area anymore, even in the daytime. I steeled myself, trying to get ready in case we encountered an armed hostile. I didn't check my gun until I saw Levi's hand drop to unfasten his holster; then I did the same.

I was extra conscious of the fact that I still wasn't feeling completely well. If we had to run, I wouldn't be able to keep up. If it came to a fist fight, I would definitely be in trouble.

We hadn't moved since hearing the footsteps, and Levi was listening intently. Finally, he reached back to me; touched my wrist lightly. "Radio in our position," he said.

I got out my radio, glad that my hands were still steady. This might be nothing. No need for alarm yet. I radioed our dispatcher and let him know where we were, using jargon wherever possible to deliver my message more efficiently. The dispatcher told us to report back within ten minutes, or as soon as we had cleared the area.

We moved forward again, and when we turned the next corner to our right, I found that we were in a little rectangle between buildings. It was an accidental shape left when buildings of various size were built around it at different points in the neighborhood's history. The four alleys went off from the corners almost in a swastika pattern. Across this clearing, maybe twenty feet from us, stood a young man. He was leaning on the building behind him and looked unconcerned.

"Good morning," Levi said, but there was no cordiality in his voice.

"Good morning," the other answered, and I couldn't tell if he repeated the same words in a similar pitch to mock Levi, or if he was being genuine.

Although we were both in uniform, Levi took out his badge as he said, "What's your name?"

"You can call me Smoke," the young man said, taking a cigarette from the pocket of his leather jacket, as if it were his ID, and putting into his mouth.

"You live around here?" Levi asked.

"Around," 'Smoke' said unhelpfully.

I heard something and looked behind us to see two more men coming into the open space. I was starting to think our wandering in here hadn't been an accidental meeting. "Two more," I told Levi, who hadn't looked.

He nodded minutely and said in a voice so low I could barely hear him, "Radio it and watch my six."

I had heard the term "I got your six" from a radio ad about supporting our troops. I vaguely wondered where Levi had picked it up as I looked back at the newcomers and started to reach for my radio.

Maybe if I hadn't been sick and a little overwhelmed, my reflexes would have been faster, but even so, I'm not sure what I could have done differently. Before my hand was halfway to my radio, the nearest stranger to me reached behind himself like lightning and pulled out a gun. He didn't aim it at me, but at the ground in front of me. I thought that meant he didn't want to hurt us if it wasn't necessary, and that turned out to be true, but what I didn't think of right away was that it wasn't because he was nervous—it was because he was well-trained.

"Suppose you two drop those belts," Smoke said, as if nothing had happened and he were just shooting the breeze with us.

When Levi began unbuckling his gun belt, I did the same.

"Very nice," said Smoke. "My boss would like to see you, captain Levi," he said, and there was something besides sarcasm in his tone, but I couldn't quite place it.

"I'm a little busy right now," Levi said. "There's a gang war going on."

I wished I were as cool as him. Nothing seemed to get to him.

"I'm sorry, but I gotta insist. If you stay around here, your little friend there could get absent-minded and start... losing things. So to speak."

I'd never been threatened in this way before. It felt creepy. I wondered how many minutes had gone by since I talked to dispatch.

Levi took only a few seconds to assess the situation. "I'll go with you," he said, "but on two conditions."

"You're not in a position to make demands!" said the one facing me who had not drawn the gun.

"Chill," said Smoke. To Levi, he added in a light tone, "Him, you can call 'Steam.'"

I saw the other guy was pretty ticked off at that, which only drove home how appropriate the nickname was.

"What are these conditions?"

"First, you leave my subordinate here. You can tie him up, gag him if you want—just as long as you don't hurt him."

"Touching. And the second?"

I wanted to interrupt, to say there was no way in hell they were taking Levi somewhere without me, but before I could form a sentence in my mind, Levi was talking again.

"Second, I'll go quietly if you can beat me in a fight."

What was this? I decided Levi must just be stalling for time. But once the ten minutes were up, then dispatch would try to contact us. These goons would hear them asking us if anything was wrong... at best, they'd run off and escape. At worst, the pressure of possible backup coming might up their aggression level. They might even decide to kill us right there.

"If I win," Levi was saying, "you'll have to kill me to get me to your boss. And I'm guessing he doesn't want to see me dead. Not yet, anyway."

How did Levi know their boss was a he? If they were Titans, their boss was still technically Annie, wasn't it? But I realized they didn't look like the typical Titans. They looked athletic, but not tall or very heavy. Smoke had a shaved head and a little tattoo near his eye, which was gutsy for someone intending to pursue a criminal career. Face tattoos made you easy to identify.

"I don't know about this," the unnamed one said to Smoke. "It's not what we planned."

"The boss does want him alive," Smoke admitted. "And he never said we had to bring anyone else. You thinking you can take me in a fist fight?" he asked Levi.

I could hear the smirk in Levi's voice. "Oh, I meant all three of you. But yes, a hand-to-hand fight."

My mind was screaming. What the hell do you think you're doing? You may be good and really strong and crap, but you're small and three against one is never a good idea!

"Rules of the fight?" Smoke asked as the other two goons grinned, clearly thinking they would have an easy win.

"Street rules," Levi answered calmly. "Anything goes, but no weapons of any kind."

"And he stays out of it?"

I couldn't see Smoke at the moment, but I knew he meant me.

"Yes."

"You are effing crazy. But I agree."

Levi took my arm and forcibly walked me toward the longest wall surrounding us.

"Levi," I said urgently.

"There's no time," he cut me off. "If you run or try to interfere, they'll see it as a breach of the terms we just agreed to. They'll probably kill you, and they'll never trust me again."

"They trust you now?" I asked, bordering on hysterical. "Who are these guys?"

"There are things you don't know," Levi said sharply. "Assuming we get out of this all right, I'll tell you about it, but for now I need your word: You won't try to run or interfere. Promise me."

The unnamed man was moving our belts to the opposite side of the clearing where they would be out of the way. I tried to swallow the fearful lump growing in my throat. "You can't fight them all at once," I started.

The look he gave me could have withered kudzu. "Promise," he repeated.

I felt like I was going to faint or throw up at this point. There was no good option. All I could do was try to trust him. "Y-yes, sir."

He put his hand on my shoulder for a moment. "Good man," he said. Then he turned away from me, took two long strides back toward the middle of the clearing, and punched Steam in the gut.

I let Jean take the lead when we question the single mom who reported the break-in. I'm still pretty distracted by our visit with Erwin that morning, and eager to have lunch with Levi later on. I manage to keep my head in it enough to take good notes while the lady leads us around and Jean asks questions about the things she points out.

"I didn't call right away, because I didn't want Jay to be scared, especially since he has school today," she explains. "But I did as soon as he got on the bus."

"That's understandable," I say. Then I'm off thinking about kids again, and after a while, it's time to go. We give her our station's switchboard number and our desk extensions before going, telling her she can call if anything else happens, or if she thinks of something that could help.

"It's sad when crap happens to single moms," I say as we get back into the squad car.

"It's sad when crap happens, period," Jean says.

"Yeah, but you know what I mean. She's already got to do everything on her own—then she gets robbed."

"It sucks. But burglars don't usually abandon a target for the sympathy card."

"But they do for the 'poor card,'" I say, realizing I might be on to something. "You know, she's not rich or anything. They took some obvious stuff that any burglar would, but they missed other things. What if it was actually someone she knows? Maybe they had another motive to break in."

"Guess we should go back and ask her the 'known enemies' questions," Jean says with a sigh. He doesn't want to go back and bother her again, or take the time with a witness he thought he was done questioning.

I check the time. "Eh, how about if we just call her from the station," I say. "We don't really need to be there, right?"

"I guess not." He brightens a little. "OK, we'll call."

I'm happier that way, too. Now I'm sure not to be late for lunch with Levi, as long as we don't get sent out again in the near future.

They were all startled by Levi's sudden attack, and, doubled over in pain, Steam was defenseless against the kick Levi gave him to the groin. One down, and they were only a few seconds into the fight.

Of course, Smoke and the other guy were the more experienced ones, and instead of running at them, Levi let them come to him. As they began jabbing at him experimentally, Levi dodged like some kind of wild animal, his smaller size giving him maneuverability. I was afraid they would back him into a wall, but he always somehow found an opening to lead them away from it again.

"Stop running away!" the unnamed one complained, but Levi refused to be baited and Smoke just smiled grimly, seeming to be catching on to Levi's strategy. The larger men were expending a lot of energy and getting nowhere.

Finally, the unnamed man got tired of trying to hit Levi and went for a kick instead. It seemed to be what Levi had been waiting for. He took a small step back and smacked the other man's ankle away with his hand, causing the would-be kicker to land off balance and turned away enough for Levi to move in and punch his lower back. I knew that had to hurt. Down he went, though he wasn't done, and Levi couldn't finish him, because Smoke was coming in with fists flying.

Levi dodged the first fist and managed to block the second, though the sound of their arms colliding made me wince. Then Levi feinted an attack before backing away again, back to his strategic retreating.

Smoke didn't press him hard, having caught on that chasing Levi was a waste of energy. He bided his time, circling slowly. The two of them tried to fake each other out several times. I was so distracted that I didn't see the unnamed one getting up until he was almost back over to them. I nearly yelled to warn Levi, but remembered my promise at the last moment. I would hate to see him lose this fight, but I knew they wouldn't kill him. I could have no such confidence for myself if I interfered.

Fortunately, Levi spotted him in time to dodge, and received only a glancing blow to the head that seemed to hurt his attacker's hand as much as it did him. He literally somersaulted to the side, and the other guy wasn't quick enough to do anything but follow him. Levi was back on his feet in an instant. He faked a punch to the stomach with his right fist, and then his left landed on the guy's nose. Blood went all over the place, and it was pretty clear that guy number two was out of the fight.

Once it was one-on-one, things went differently. I realized that Levi had actually been a genius to suggest fighting all three of them. They weren't used to fighting three-against-one. They had gotten in each other's way a lot, allowing Levi to lead them on a chase that tired and frustrated them, while he barely broke a sweat. Now that it was down to just Smoke, the thug was pretty winded and starting to get psyched out by the defeat of his cohorts. Here in the last few minutes, Levi's dodges seemed to get slower, like he was tiring, and he took some minor hits. But then I realized he was letting Smoke hit him. He was making smaller dodges to save more energy. He acted like the bruising he received was nothing, which unnerved Smoke even more.

When his opening finally came, Levi swung his fist around and landed a hard one Smoke's ear, making him yelp. He put his arms up to block more attacks to his face as he backed away to recover, but Levi just aimed his punches lower, getting him in the stomach a couple of times before he darted back again to reassess his enemy.

Smoke made a last desperate attack, but Levi dodged him more easily than ever and slipped in to stomp on Smoke's foot, causing him to cry out a second time. Levi hooked his leg around Smoke's good one and jerked back. He was on the ground. Levi had won.

Levi three, thugs zero. Please spare a moment to comment. Thanks!