WARNING: ANIMAL ABUSE
There was no plan. Nike was just reacting. She got to be there now and get rid of the problem.
I don't care about Ross or any of the others. I'm just concerned about my secret.
But it didn't explained the tightening of her chest, the slamming of her heart against her ribs. It didn't explain why she was racing towards certain danger without thought.
I can fix this. I can still fix this. Nothing a couple of good punches can't solve.
Her breath hot as her lungs heaved. Her legs burnt as she tore down the streets. Burger was keeping pace easily. It was dark now, late. Night walkers were out in force, bare skin tantalising underneath lace and leather. Giggles and laughter erupted from a group as she passed them. Her red hair was a beacon under the yellow glow of the few working street lights.
"Hey Nike!" one called out. "What's the rush?"
She was friendly with the men and women strutting their stuff down in the Underbelly and out on the streets. Sometimes she chatted with them when she was loitering the streets after dark. Other times she shared a cigarette or two while they waited for customers. They always say her red hair helped to boast their business. Another shook his head before the first could stop her.
Nike's face was frozen in an expression of barely suppressed anger. The snarl she had in the ring, while on raids was stiff over her skin. All that was missing was a blue corona sheathing her body.
By the time the Strays' place were in sight, she was covered in sweat. The chilly night air prickling at her skin. When did it went from my training ground to their place?
A growl rumbled low in her throat as she pushed the stray thought aside. This wasn't time to examine her feelings. She had a fire to put out. The lone light along the street flickered. The blocks were dark. Layers of shadows shrouding the familiar nooks and crannies, turning them dangerous, making them all potential ambush point. She stopped, taking cover behind a low concrete wall. Burger leaned against her leg. Her keen eyes scanned her surroundings.
On raids Tenner would provide intel, Frank would formulate a plan. Her job was always to be the spear of their offence. Nike faced her problems head on or not at all. She didn't know any other way.
Taking a deep breath, Nike stepped towards the blocks. Burger followed silently behind. It was exactly where she found the three boys, who pretended they were part of the Dowager's crew harassing Ross. There was no doubt these were their friends seeking them.
Her night vision sharpening as she stepped away from the light. A gust of wind whooshed through the hollowed out structure. The blocks with its empty apartments howled. Trees rustled as the leaves danced while the birds that nested on them screamed their displeasure. Nike shivered.
Her breath was caught in her throat. There in the distance, black against shadow was the outline of a figure lashed to one of the non-functional lamp post.
"Ross."
Beaten, broken and bruised, he sagged against his bonds, head lolled forward. He was completely out. Someone, many someones, had taken their fists and feet to him. Fuck.
Nike ran over immediately, her hand already reaching for her blade when she heard the tell tale noise of a pistol being cocked. The only warning she had was Burger's growl. She froze.
"None of that." a voice spoke.
Nike kept her hands up and turned around slowly. A shadow peeled off from a corner. It was a girl. Her eyes narrowed. "Who the fuck are you? And why are you doing this?"
The girl flinched as her eyes narrowed, darting to Nike's hair. Again with the hair. "I'm surprised. I didn't believe her," she said.
Nike realised the girl was unarmed. Is she stupid or just over confident? Who is holding the pistol that I've heard?
A yelp drew Nike's attention to the 2nd level. "Nike, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I had to tell them," Emma cried. Two guys were flanking her, one of them had a gun pressed against her temple. There it is… Even in the gloom, Nike could see the blood trickling down Emma's face, the fear in her eyes.
"Who the fuck are you?" Nike snarled as she glared at the girl.
"I'm the boss here. Where are my guys?" she demanded.
Nike's blood ran cold. Her fears were confirmed. Hickory, Dickory and Dock didn't operated on their own. They were part of a gang. And they had come seeking.
"How should I know?" she countered. "This isn't your place to claim. Go and I won't pursue this. You know who I am. You don't want me as your enemy."
Nike itched to reach for her pistol, it was just tucked at the small of her back. Her biotics hummed invitingly, a siren song of temptation, in her ears. She could take the girl down so easily. But there were two holding Emma at gunpoint. She was fast but not faster than a speeding bullet.
"I know you, Champion," the girl said dragging the title out almost in a comical mimicry of what the Night Walkers had perfected.
Nike's jaw tightened, fighting against the need to lash out. "I don't know you," she pointed out. "Care to enlighten me?"
"Get a move on, Camila," one of the guys from the second level shouted.
Camila bared her teeth at him. "You've just fucking spoilt my introduction to the great Champion of the ring. You don't get to do these things twice, Xavier."
"We're trying to find our people, Camila. Not make friends," the other guy growled. "Get this done or I will."
Nike took a deep breath and lowered her hands slowly.
"Camila, what the fuck are you waiting for?"
"We have the fucking Champion helpless against us, the fucking shittiest gang I've ever been a part of. Of course I'm going to savour it, Mateo!"
The three of them were too absorbed in their petty little squabbles to notice what she was doing. Her eyes darted between the three. If there was anything to learn her last encounter with them, it was they were all liars. They only a single bullet each the last time, did they have any ammo this time? Could she take the chance? Emma's life was on the line and Ross needed to see Stitches sooner rather than later.
"Don't be stupid, you can't take her down. Let's just take their stuff and go," Xavier said.
Burger growled menacingly, spittle flying. Inch by inch, she reached behind her. Fingers brushing against fabric till eventually reaching the cool grip of her pistol.
"I'm the fucking lead-"
Sorry, Emma.
Nike flared blue and sent a wave of biotics towards Camila mid-sentence. The force sent her crashing into the nearest pile of rubbish and debris. Burger took off towards the second level. With Camila sorted, Nike aimed her pistol at the pair. Mateo, who was holding the gun, screamed, "Don't move or we'll blow her brains out."
Nobody in the Slums postured if they had the ability to make good on a threat. She ignored his warning, took careful aim and fired. Mateo fell with a yelp, but she was sure he fell before the bullet hit. Xavier must have pulled him into cover. Cursing, she ran after Burger. Snarls and cries rang out. "Good boy," Nike growled under her breath.
She took the stairs two at a time but still it felt too slow. By the time she got to them, Emma was nowhere in sight. Burger had his teeth in Mateo's arm, the gun forgotten on the ground while Xavier was taking a foot to Burger's ribs. Nike snarled. Nobody fucking got to hit her dog.
"Burger!" she shouted.
Immediately, he let go and ran to her side. Once he was clear, Nike let loose. Wave after wave of biotic energy sizzled across the air, throwing the pair against the walls till they crumpled to the ground groaning.
"No!"
Nike whirled in time as biotics slammed into her chest. She expected to feel pain as she got thrown back. Instead, gravity upended itself as she started floating. Up was down, and down was up. She twisted and flailed. Frustration made her movements jerky, but the air provided no purchase.
Camila was a biotic she realised with a sinking feeling. She had been overconfident, she never considered she wasn't the only biotic running around. She thought she knew them all.
Burger lunged at Camila, white fangs closing down on flesh. With a flash of her arm, she sent him crashing into the nearest wall.
"No!"
The crunch of bone against concrete was unmistakable. If it was possible for hearts to break, Nike's did.
Blood oozed from the boys crumpled on the ground was something she could ignore easily. They were nothing to her. But not Burger. Red, dark and thick, trickled from his nose, his eyes blinking as he craned his neck looking for her. His whimpers of confusion and whines of pain cut her to the core.
"Stay down boy!" she shouted. "You did good."
Camila laughed. "Some champion."
Nike screamed in impotence. Floating in a bubble above the carnage, she had her pistol in her hand, biotics at her beck and call but there was nothing she could do. The Stasis held her fast.
"You killed them, didn't you? My guys. That boy, Ross I think, refused to say anything. He claimed he didn't know what I was talking about. He was such a bad liar. After me and my boys broke a couple of his ribs, the girl told us they ran away. You see, I'd believed them if I haven't seen the bloodstains on the ground," Camila sneered. "Tit for tat. Rule of the streets. The boy, your dog and the girl for my guys. Then, I'll be back for you."
Nike struggled, pushing against the Stasis field. It was like swimming in honey, everything was slow and heavy. She reached out with her biotics, flinging them impotently at the field but they all fizzled out.
"Kiss your dog goodbye."
"No!"
Nike twisted to find Emma barreling at Camila. Where Emma had been hiding all this time, Nike had no clue but she never felt more relieved. As Emma crashed into Camila, the Stasis field dropped. Nike fell heavily but pushed herself to her feet quickly. She took aim but the tangled mess of limbs and hair made it impossible to pull the trigger. She snarled, "Emma out of the way!"
Emma screamed as Camila clung onto her hair. Nike waded in with fists swinging. She was an experienced biotic fighter, she was a seasoned warrior of the ring, she was an enforcer of the Reds. And Nike was without mercy
The first punch took Camila at the ribs. She gasped, air rushed out of her lungs. The second connected solidly with her head. She rocked backwards, tipped off balanced. The third grazed her jaw as she rolled to avoid it. Emma scrambled out of the way when Camila was finally forced to let go.
"Ross, now," Nike shouted, tossing Emma her blade.
That gave Camila time to recover. She snatched up the fallen pistol and pointed it at Nike, while Nike held hers up. It was a stalemate. Does her pistol have any ammo? The three assholes barely had any.
Two biotics stood facing each other. Auras of blue flickered and curled. Flames of purple writhed and danced. Nike growled, biotics sparking at the ready. Camila's lips curling, teeth bared, finger pulled ever so slowly against the trigger.
Pistols bucked, muzzles flashed. Nike unleashed her biotics, uncaring and fearless. It was anger and fury made manifest. She stiffened ready for the pain but it didn't come. Instead, a flash of brown fur jumped in front of her and a yelp of pain followed.
"Burger!" She rushed towards her dog, knees skinned against the rough concrete, sparing only a glance at Camila to make sure she was down for the count.
No, no. Stop the bleeding. Stop bleeding. Burger, you can't do this. I told you to stay down. You're supposed to listen.
Blood, red and wet, coated her hands as she pressed against the hole that pierced his chest. Tears, hot and desperate, streaked down her face. Snot bubbled and choked with every breath.
"Please, not Burger. Please."
Nike didn't know who she was begging. All the screaming and cries she had done in the past never reached anyone. She was the only one who could help herself. This was the Slums. Not even the gods would deign to come here.
She forced herself to stand, casting an eye on the fallen trio. The boys were unconscious, but Camila was decidedly not. Her eyes widened as Nike approached.
Nike didn't know what Camila saw but whatever was on her face, she was sure it was ugly. She lifted her gun, regretting giving Emma her blade. How she wished she could feel the resistance of skin against its sharp edge. To part Camila's skin like it was paper, to spill her life blood like she did Burger's.
Camila gulped. "Let me go, I'll never come again."
Nike snorted. If it wasn't begging, it was bargaining. Everyone had a price but Burger's life wasn't negotiable. "No deal."
"Let me go, you can take these two," she offered, pushing herself up to a sitting position.
There was a scuff of rubber against concrete, Nike stiffened.
"You can't take us all," a new voice said.
"Took your fucking time, Mia," Camila growled as she tried and failed to stand. "Shit, I think she broke something. Aaliyah, come help me."
Two more. Two fucking more people. How many are there in this fucking gang?
Nike flared, but she met resistance, an opposing biotic field. It was weak but it was enough to deflect her Push. The wave of energy went wide, whipping up dust and debris. The two newcomers rushed her. Her amp flared red hot and her vision white out. Before she recovered, punches and kicks rained down on her. Jaw clenched tight, Nike curled into a ball and endured, gathering the tattered edges of her wavering biotics for a chance to retaliate. Her stamina was flagging, without the couple of chocolate bars back at Meg's, she'd had no chance of getting herself out of trouble.
The moment Nike had a good grip on her biotics. She Pushed. Her will was force made manifest. Mia and Aaliyah were thrown off of her. But she noted it lacked the strength from earlier, she should have eaten something more when she had the chance.
Camila screamed, drawing her attention. A sharp inhale through clenched teeth she saw Camila reaching towards the pistol that laid forgotten on the ground. She wrapped her fingers around the pistol and fired. It roared. Pain was the white hot fire that streaked across Nike's ribs.
Fear rushed through her veins. Use it. Use it all!
Nike fired her pistol without care. The trigger pulled again and again. Agony ripped through her mid-section as recoil sent tremors up her arm, down her body. Ache like she had never felt pierced her heart as she looked at Burger's pain glazed eyes.
Her pistol beeped angrily. Its heat sink spent. But Nike kept pulling the trigger, the fire in her gaze wouldn't fade, the unbearable throbbing in her chest threatened to crush her heart. Her tears wouldn't stop, her skin raw, her heart flayed.
Tears blurred her vision when the beeping finally reached her ears. She stiffened and let her arm fall. Out of the three girls, two stood shakily, groaning with fear flash frozen across their faces. Camila alone remained on the ground, eyes stared sightlessly. Her body was riddled with holes. With one supporting the other, they stood, clutching their wounds. They were on their last legs, neither were in any great shape.
"Please, I just want to live. We'll never come back here again." one begged.
Nike didn't know who was who. Truthfully, she didn't care. Her hand wouldn't stop shaking. She couldn't tell it was from overdoing her biotics or it was just fear at what she'd find when she looked at Burger.
"Go, take the boys with you," she muttered. "Go before I change my mind."
She released her grip on her biotics. Without it, she felt like a puppet with her strings cut. Her ribs screamed bloody murder with every small motion she made. Her shirt was bloodstained and wet, stuck to her skin. "Shit," she cursed.
They quickly dragged the boys to their feet and the four limped away. Nike's finger itched to finish them off. But it was her choice to kill Hickory, Dickory and Dock that put them all down this path. Maybe this was the better one to take. She didn't know, all she had left was the weariness in her bones.
A wheezing huff of breath jerked Nike's attention to Burger. She gritted her teeth and bent to wrap the dog in her arms. "We'll going to get you help. Don't worry. Stitches will help you."
She didn't get more than two steps in when she realised Emma was standing stock still barring her way.
Blood drained from Nike's face. She had forgotten all about Ross. She scanned Emma for injuries. Her pale face was whiter than usual, darken patches of skin running all over her arms and neck promised to be magnificent bruises tomorrow. Her lip was split, nose obviously broken, but most of telling of all was the tremor in her hands.
She's crashing.
Nike grunted, clenching her own hands, feeling them shaking as well.
I'm crashing too.
"Come on," she murmured, hefting Burger to get a better grip, whispering her apologies. "We've got to hurry."
There was no time to be gentle. She took the stairs down as quickly as she could without actually falling. Emma followed woodenly. Gingerly, she put Burger down on the ground. She pressed her lips on his forehead before moving quickly over to Ross.
If it was possible to be more physically broken, Nike had never seen it, not in her years fighting in the ring. Emma had cut him loose. He laid on the ground, eyes closed, body so still she wondered if he was still alive. "Fuck," she hissed.
Ross' lip tugged upwards without opening his eyes. He groaned even from that slight movement. "I might need a doctor."
Nike's jaw tightened. Ignoring his attempts at humour, she looked at his wounds. Red stained bones jutted through his skin. His laboured breathing was no doubt due to his misshapen ribs. His face was covered in bruises and cuts, one of his eyes had swell shut.
"You're bleeding," he pointed out. "And you look like someone just killed your dog."
Nike stiffened. "Burger took a bullet for me."
Ross' face grew even more ashen than it already was. "Sorry," he muttered.
"Medi-gel is not going to help."
He chuckled before wheezing. Nike looked at Ross, then at Burger. Both of them needed help. She couldn't possibly carry them both. Emma had to help her. But the girl was in shock, standing stock still, eyes looking but not seeing.
"Emma," Nike called, she didn't have time to coddle the girl.
Emma lifted her head but not quite reacting. The immediate emergency was over and she had slid into a state of disassociation. But the danger hadn't passed. Nike was frustrated.
"Emma!" she shouted, getting up to shake the girl.
That got her attention, the glaze over her eyes faded. "I need your help," Nike went on, "I can't carry both Ross and Burger. You need to carry Burger, can you do that?"
Emma glanced about as if realising where she was standing for the first time. Tears spilled from her face as her breaths quickened. She bit her lip and nodded. Nike moved quickly to pick Burger up.
"Hold out your arms," she ordered and placed Burger gently in them, studiously ignoring the pool of blood on the ground, dismissing how wet his fur felt. "Do not drop him."
The younger girl flinched at her tone but nodded, fingers tightening over blood matted fur.
Nike turned to Ross and considered the problem. "Can you stand?"
Ross chuckled. "I don't think so. They broke my toes, I think."
"Fuck, I should have killed them."
"Like you did the others?"
Nike flinched. Her hands curled into fists. Her jaw clenched. My fault. I killed them, their mates came seeking. I fucking did this. She didn't answer. Instead she rolled Ross onto his side, ignoring his groans, and hefted him onto her back. Her legs trembled from the effort, but she locked her knees and started walked.
"Emma, follow."
"Ross."
Step by step. Laboured breaths thundering in her ears. Her head pounded as her joints and muscles screamed in protest.
"Ross, wake up. We're almost there."
Nike's head was spinning, her amp remained alarmingly warm despite the relative calm since the fight. Her side was ablaze in fire. Her shirt was completely soaked through. She prayed it was merely sweat and not blood.
"Come on, you can do this."
Ross remained silent beyond weak groans and grunts. Eventually even that too stopped. The weight on her back was the only way she was sure she didn't drop him somewhere along the way.
"I didn't carry you all this way for you to die now."
She stopped, panting. Shifting Ross' weight, she turned back to check on Emma and Burger. The ground marked with a trail of red.
Shit. Hers? Ross? Burger?
Her eyes found Emma's. Burger was slipping from her grip, but she re-adjusted and put one foot in front of another. Nike gave her a tight nod.
"Almost here," she exhaled. She wasn't sure who it was a reminder for.
The sun was peeking out from between the low buildings. Birds tweeting and chirping as they rose to seek their meals. The streets stood empty. The morning dew clung to green leaves as the night's chill hung lingered. The dawn promised hope, renewed vigour and strength, but Nike felt none of it. Her body was lead, her chest ached, everything weighed heavy. How she longed to race Burger to Stitches but there was no way Emma could carry Ross.
And this is my fault.
It didn't matter how hard every step was. It didn't matter how heavy Ross was getting with every passing second. It didn't matter her vision was tunnelling, her muscles trembling from exertion, from weariness.
Stitches' was nearly in sight.