The following morning
Soon after midnight
Sunday
The man was slammed against the wall.
He was shaking from head to toe, with fear. This fear was probably very understandable, considering who was standing in front of him.
"Hit Girl! I know what you're after, but I don't know anything; believe me I'm not that brave!"
"You know the consequences of lying to me, worm!" She growled, inches from the man's face.
"I'll do what I can - I have contacts…"
"You do that… When I return you had better have something for me… Or…."
The man closed his eyes and then fell to the floor of the dark alley.
When he opened his eyes again, he was alone.
The following night
Western Chicago Bratva
"Boss, we have a problem and by problem, I mean problem!"
"He's not kidding, Boss; Hit Girl is on the fucking warpath! She is determined to get to those who killed the cops and I don't think she cares if she treads on us all to get to them. She is totally inhuman, that girl – none of us stands a fucking chance!"
"Kick-Ass holds her leash, he controls her."
"Nah! Kick-Ass is pissed, too! He's like a fucking battle tank; nothing gets through his armour!"
"Their little pal, Shadow; she's just as inhuman as Hit Girl and just as pissed. She attacked one of Georgi's men and shot him, in both fucking knee caps!"
"The only solution is to find who killed the Cops… What the fuck!"
An arrow had just embedded itself into the conference table. The men looked upwards, but not before the arrow had exploded in a dazzling white light and an enormously loud bang. Once the men around the table, had picked themselves up they looked at where the arrow had been, but instead found their worst nightmares.
"Oh fuck!"
"You don't mind if we drop in?" Hit Girl growled.
Behind Hit Girl was the large armoured form of Kick-Ass. Beside Hit Girl was her protégé: Shadow. You could see the vicious snarl on Hit Girls face, but what was somewhat more unnerving, was not being able to see the faces of Kick-Ass or Shadow at all.
"That skylight was new!"
"Bill me!" Hit Girl growled.
"Yeah, send it to: hitgirl !" Shadow added.
I ignored the cocky vigilante!
"I know why you are here, Hit Girl; but we cannot help you. I wish we could..."
"I need to be sure..."
"We do not kill Cops; well, not like that – we have rules and you know that."
"Yes, I do," Hit Girl replied, somewhat reluctantly.
"We pledge our assistance to you and your team, during this time," I said.
"Я уважаю Братва, пока они не неуважение меня!" Hit Girl replied. ['I respect the Bratva, until they disrespect me!']
"Ваше здоровье!" ['Your health!']
"Sorry about the mess!" Kick-Ass growled as the three of them left, the same way that they had come.
..._...
"You just allied us with Hit Girl and Fusion!"
"Better than being her enemy!" I replied and received several enthusiastic nods.
Two days later
Wednesday night
Safehouse F
I had noticed earlier in the evening that Shadow had been struggling.
She was very tired, as were all of us. We had been operating for over eight hours every night for the past three nights, but Shadow was tired to the point of being dangerous to herself and others. I had tried to get this across to her earlier that afternoon, but had failed miserably, so I tried again.
"Chloe, you are tired and need a rest..."
"Like fuck I do!" Chloe responded, just as I had expected her to.
"Right now, Chloe, you are knackered. You would be a danger to others and yourself if you went out...
"Try and fucking stop me, bitch!"
Suddenly, I saw Chloe grabbed by the scruff of her neck and hauled backwards, then dropped rather unceremoniously onto the mat.
"I'm calling a fucking end to this!" Dave announced, anger in his eyes. "Don't you dare speak to Mindy like that, EVER, and definitely not when it's you that is in the wrong!"
Chloe looked mad and her eyes flared.
"I need to find the people who attacked Josh and Jack and Natalie!" Chloe yelled back.
"Chloe, calm down, please..." I tried.
"I will not calm down!"
"Calm down, or I will put you down and get Mommy to sedate you!"
Chloe just sat there breathing heavily and then after a minute she started to sob. I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
"We'll get the people who did this – but not at the expense of anybody and definitely not you. You all mean a hell of a lot to me and I don't want to lose a single one – not when it can be avoided," I said quietly.
"Come on, let's get outta here. Marty and Abby are fine on their own – let's go home," Dave said and helped Chloe up off the mat.
"Thanks Dave!" Chloe said and gave him a tight hug.
"Not a problem, Chloe – we stick by each other, it's the only way we all get through tough times like this."
"Don't tell Josh or Mom – they'll just yell at me!" Chloe pleaded.
"Our secret, kid!" I said.
The following morning
Thursday
West Ridge
We all awoke late that morning, not far short of lunchtime! We must all have been very tired.
I found Megan and Paige in the kitchen, when I got downstairs.
"Hi guys!"
"Hi Chloe, you look a little worse for wear this morning!" Paige observed.
"You look like shit!" Megan added and received a disapproving frown from Paige.
"That will cost you a dollar, you foul-mouthed little varmint!" Mindy said as she came into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas.
"Does the word 'hypocrite' mean anything to you?" Megan retorted.
"It's too early for word games, Megan!" Mindy growled. "What are you guys doing here, anyways?"
"Marcus asked us to check on you lot, as you did get back late," Paige explained.
"The old man does worry!" Mindy replied.
"He cares, that's all!" Dave said, giving Mindy a cuddle and a kiss.
"I think you guys should take a day off and get some rest – please!" Paige insisted.
"A good idea, my love!" Dave said.
"Yeah, we won't accomplish anything tired and yeah, I feel like shit!" I said, smirking at Megan who scowled back.
"Would you both take Sophia for a walk?" Dave asked Paige.
"No problem!"
"Cool!" Megan added.
After lunch we just lazed around the house. Dave was busy upstairs chatting with Josh, while Chloe and I lay on the couch together and watched TV.
At about two, there came a knock on the side door. I pushed Chloe out of the way and headed over to the door to see who it was. It was Erika and...
"Did you arrive on that?" I demanded, as I threw open the door.
"Yeah, why?" Erika asked, somewhat confused.
"It's a fucking Ducati 1299 Panigale S!" I growled.
"Bang on! I wanted a Multistrada, but Daddy helped me get this – long story, but I bet it would look better in purple!" Erika said, whispering the last part.
"Get in here!" I growled, pulling her in and closing the door.
..._...
"Why do you look like somebody just stole your Ducati?" Chloe asked.
"This bitch, here, has a goddamn Ducati 1299 Panigale S!"
"Oh that would explain everything!" Chloe chuckled.
"Okay, joke over! I want to help – I know that you guys are in the middle of something big, something to do with those Cops getting killed!" Erika said, sitting down.
"We are short on people, right now. Josh is upstairs recovering from a bullet wound!" I said.
"What? When? Oh my God!"
"Saturday morning!" Chloe said.
"How is he?"
"Sore from a bullet just above his backside, but he managed to fight off a lot of men and save himself. He's a really brave kid," I explained and saw Chloe smiling at my praise.
"You must really love him, Chloe," Erika said quietly.
"What! Yes, I do! Thanks, Erika."
"I'm sorry if I insulted you and Josh before - I just saw you both as young kids who couldn't do very much. I just wanted to say that..."
"Not necessary Erika, but thanks anyway," Chloe said with a smile. "Let's go see the little shit!"
"Oh good - girls!" Josh said with a stupid grin.
"Don't get any ideas, idiot – you're supposed to be resting!" Chloe said.
"You did all the work last time!" Josh teased with a dirty smirk.
Chloe blushed slightly.
"How are you Josh?" Erika asked.
"I suppose it could have been worse!" Josh grimaced in response.
"True!"
"I'll leave you three together," Dave said, getting up off the bed. "Now, girls, Josh isn't up to a threesome, so go easy!"
Erika and Josh both glared at Dave as we both went downstairs.
"He seems in good spirits!" Mindy commented.
"He is in pain, though, and he tries to hide it – hence all the bravado and attempted flirting!" I replied. "I'm gonna speak with Cathy, as I'm a little worried about him."
"Good idea! Erika wants to help and I think we should let her – we are a bit short handed!"
"I'll leave that up to you, beautiful!" I replied.
My cell beeped with a text message. I checked it and looked back at Dave.
"So much for a restful day!"
"A snout?"
"Yeah – a slimy one!"
"Just us?"
"Yeah – Chloe needs her rest; I'm not kidding about that."
That evening
Safehouse F
"You guys ready?" Marty called over the comms.
"As ever!" I responded.
"Let's roll!" Kick-Ass replied and we both accelerated up the ramp.
Once out in the open we headed towards my snout, cruising through the dark streets.
..._...
"You have information for me?" I growled, inches from the man's face.
"Yes, yes, I do, Hit Girl!"
"Well!"
"I know who killed those Cops – now, what is that worth to you – what will you do for me?"
"I'll let you live!" I growled back, menacingly.
The man though fast: "That sounds fair!"
"I'm getting bored!"
"Montfort – Richard Montfort, he stays in Milwaukee – he's working with some gangster – that's all I know, Hit Girl – I promise!"
"You've done well – assuming the information is correct! Now, where did you get this information?"
..._...
Fifteen minutes later, I was satisfied the information that the little worm had provided, was genuine and had come from an acceptable source, meaning this probably wasn't a trap!
Kick-Ass was keeping an eye on the surrounding area, in case of any nasty surprises. Which proved to have been a very shrewd move.
I was just climbing onto my motorcycle, when I heard a gunshot and saw my snout being gunned down, which in itself seemed to tell me that the information he had provided was pure gold! I pulled a pistol and fired half a dozen rounds down the alley, dropping one man while another ran off.
"Hit Girl, Kick-Ass – I'm under attack!"
I holstered the pistol and started the Multistrada before accelerating towards Kick-Ass who was a block over.
"Battle Guy, we need backup!" I called.
"Battle Guy and Hawk are scrambling!" Hal called. "ETA four minutes!"
The display in my visor changed to show my location, Kick-Ass' location close by and another dot over to my left, with an arrow and some numbers showing it heading towards me at sixty-two miles per hour – Battle Guy was not holding back with Beast! I was only fifty yards from the end of the block when the world came apart.
"Oh fuck!" I heard Kick-Ass shout and then I heard a thud over the comms.
Ahead of me I saw a burst of orange flame and then heard the explosion and saw sections of what had once been a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, fly across the street.
"Oh my God!"