This Chapter is the continuation of Curse of the Raven, Chapter 10...

The following morning
Wednesday

North Central Chicago

I was astride my Alpine White BMW R1200-GS Adventure, but dressed in a dark-blue set of motorcycle leathers with a black full face helmet.

I had watched from a block away as my target emerged from the warehouse before she walked the half mile to the nearest main road and hailed a yellow cab. I had followed that cab, from a distance, relying on Abby tracking the cab's GPS. I wanted to meet Raven and attempt to figure out what she was...

I had no idea what shit-storm I was about to cause.

..._...

After an hour, the cab pulled over and the girl climbed out after paying her fare. She must have been hungry as she headed directly into the McDonald's twenty yards away on the 600 block of North Clark Street. I parked up, removed my helmet and entered, finding myself standing four people behind her in the queue.

Morgan ordered a cheeseburger, large fries and a large Coke – hungry, as I thought. I watched her sit down at a table by the window and start to eat. I ordered the same and headed for the same table.

"May I join you, Morgan?"

I saw the weirdest expression ever as the girl studied my face – but she nodded and I sat down facing her. She was still scrutinising my face.

"I know you..."

"You do?" I asked a little surprised.

"New York – a little over two years ago... Grand Central Parkway..."

..._...

I froze, a cold feeling shooting up my spine – I reached for my concealed pistol. Then comprehension dawned on Morgan's face and she suddenly went very white and she dropped her cheeseburger to the table.

"You're here to kill me?" She asked quietly.

I blinked hard at that.

"If you believe me to be who I think you do – then you know that would not be true. From one New York vigilante to another – let's be friends..."

I stood up, leaving the shocked girl to her food – I left mine, along with something else.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I was still shaking as the young blonde girl walked out the door without giving me another look. It had taken me only a minute to recognise her – it was Hit Girl! I remembered vividly that day in September 2013 – the girl on the van, what was her name?

Mindy – Mindy Macready.

I finally saw the envelope on the table – she had left it. I opened it – inside was a photo; it was the photo of a tattoo – a raven tattoo. But not just any raven tattoo...

It was the one.

That night

"You sure about this?"

"Yes, Dave – I am... I know, we never go out alone; but this time I must and I saw something in that girl's eyes – she's safe. Only problem is, I see that same look that Chloe gets when she's after something – right before she fucks things up!"

Dave looked resigned to my actions – despite that fact that I knew he was unhappy; I knew my husband – so I had no need to worry.

..._...

I was out on my Panigale, cruising the Chicago streets. I knew where Raven was – we had planted a tracker on her motorcycle the other night. I had argued with Special Agent Gibbs, earlier that day. I knew that Raven wanted to get revenge, and I knew that she needed the closure. Gibbs understood, but he didn't want an investigation that might implicate his team, should things go wrong. Nor, could NCIS just walk away, leaving a murderer in the hands of vigilante justice.

We had agreed to disagree – for the moment!

Thirty minutes into my solo ride, I was annoyed to have my silence interrupted by a radio call from Hal.

"Worm would like an audience with your purpleness!" Hal said with a barely concealed snigger.

"Where is he?" I growled – then paused as a destination flashed up on the inside of my visor. "Oh, never mind!"

I ignored the laughter back at the Safehouse as I turned right, onto 50th Avenue and headed north. I then turned down an alley, just south of West 22nd Street.

There was Worm...

Stop shaking, she won't harm you... Bullshit!

Damn, she' got nice curves – she'd kill you out of hand for thinking that if she knew... Why do I risk my life seeing her? Because you are under her protection – nobody dares touch you, you dick! She didn't even climb off her purple Ducati – she just sat there, the engine idling smoothly.

She turned her head to follow my approach. I kept my hands visible at all times – I knew how the game was played, and I knew that Hit Girl liked her little games...

"Hi, Boss!" I tried.

No movement, just the blank stare of the helmet. I couldn't help it, but my eyes focussed on the pistol that hung on her left hip, the razor-sharp throwing knives on the same thigh – such lovely thighs. The twin swords on her back – I had seen her in action... I knew of men who had died at her own hands. Nobody knew her age, some said twelve – some said in her twenties. Me? I went with late teens.

Many played the game; was she blonde, brunette, red-haired? We spent many hours discussing Hit girl. I had a bet in place that she shaved her... Not that we would ever find out – pity... There were other bets: 'Hit Girl and Kick-Ass were shagging', 'Wildcat was their offspring', 'Kick-Ass was fucking Shadow', 'Petra and Mist were an item'. Unfortunately, so far, there had been no confirmations nor denials.

For some strange reason, we just could not find anybody brave enough to go up to Shadow and ask her if she was being poked by Kick-Ass!

..._...

"You had something for me?"

She growled – sent a shiver down my spine! Don't ask...

"You lookin' for the raven tattoo?"

The silence could have meant anything... To me though, it meant continue or die!

"He's here – in Chicago, I mean – he has a thing for killing, more particularly, he has a hard-on for killing Marines..."

"I hate to say it..." Hit Girl growled. "... But you done good, Worm..."

Thank God!

Hit Girl kicked her motorcycle into gear.

"There's more!" I called out.

The blank look and silence meant 'get to it – or else...'

"He's been seen working at the CTA place on 54th Avenue..."

Hit Girl nodded and threw me something before speeding off. It was a roll of bills – it was a roll of singles! But then I smiled, only the top five were dollar bills; the remaining twelve were Benjamins!

She did love her little jokes!

The night was still young, so I thought that I might just enjoy myself for a minute or two...

I hit the McDonald's on West Cermak Road, which caused a bit of a stir, I can tell you... It was not every day that a fully-armed vigilante walked in and calmly queued for a quarter-pounder with cheese! I tried to be nonchalant about the whole thing – maybe it was the pistols, blades and swords – or it could have been the laughter back at the Command Centre, whatever it was, I felt a little uncomfortable...

"Welcome to McDonald's, err... Hit Girl..."

"Quarter-pounder with cheese..."

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Yeah... I'll take a Dr Pepper too, please."

"Will you be eating in?"

"Yeah, why not..."

..._...

Surprisingly quickly, I had my tray and I sat down in a distant corner – not that it made a difference... I was being watched, actually 'stalked' was probably more like it! Despite it being after eight at night, there were still some kids in the restaurant. One, a few inches short of four-foot and with short blonde hair, was watching me and she was steadily getting closer. I was half way through my burger when a little face appeared beside my table.

"May I help you, little lady?"

"Are you the real, Hit Girl?" She demanded.

"How could you tell?" I countered.

"I don't know..."

"Well, I 'ain't gonna kill anybody in here!"

Just then, there was a lot of shouting and several youths poured into the restaurant, shouting and swearing. I placed my burger down on the table and glared at the youths.

"You dare disturb these diners or me..." I growled loudly, leaving the rest unsaid, but very clear.

All seven stopped dead and went very silent and very white.

"Time to leave – wrong place..." One said and they all bolted for the door.

I lifted my burger back up for another bite.

"You're the real Hit Girl, all right!" The girl stated loudly.

Just for some peace and quiet, I gave her one of my cards.

"Mommy, mommy, look what Hit Girl gave me..."

..._...

"Please tell me you did not just give a little girl one of those damn cards..." Kick-Ass growled from the Safehouse.

"Am I that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so..."

"Why do I put up with your shit?"

"Because nobody gets you off better..."

It suddenly felt very hot under my mask and the laughter over the comms was not helping! I finished my burger, fries and Dr Pepper, then waved goodbye to my fans... I had barely pulled on my helmet, when I saw the indicator showing where Raven was – she was not far off.

Time for some more fun!

I turned left out of the McDonald's before heading east along West Cermak Road.

There was a tense moment as I drove past the Cicero Police Department – they were not as pro-vigilante as the CPD, but I just received the odd nod from the cops present. At South Cicero Avenue, I made a right turn, heading south. Raven was stationary, only a short distance ahead, on West Ogden Avenue. Half a mile later, I took a right and then another right onto West Ogden Avenue. That was when the whole evening went to shit...

I could see Raven – she was off her motorcycle and standing in the road, just before the junction with West 25th Place and West 26th Street. She had her pistol out and aimed at a man on the ground. As far as I could tell, she had hauled the man out of his car and he was lying on his back, arguing with the New York vigilante.

Then I saw the flash followed by the sound of the crack as Raven shot the man in the head.

Safehouse F

"Holy fuck!"

Battle Guy suddenly sat up straighter as he saw the blatant murder before him. The full colour, high-definition image was being sent directly from the camera on the front of Hit Girl's Ducati Panigale motorcycle.

"Snuff film!" Psyche commented.

"Nobody kills in my City!" Hit Girl growled.

As we watched, the car – a yellow Mustang – bolted forwards with the rear wheels spinning on the blacktop before gripping and sending the car down West 26th Street at speed. Raven seemed oblivious to anything around her and she did not seem to have seen Hit Girl as she swung herself smoothly onto her Yamaha Super Ténéré.

She took off after the Mustang. For a moment the camera wobbled as Hit Girl applied power and the Panigale shot forwards in pursuit, rapidly passing through 20mph, 30mph, 40mph and on to 70mph.

"What the fuck is going on?" Psyche enquired.

"No idea, kid, but I'm sending their position to Kick-Ass and his team..." Battle Guy replied.

West 26th Street

The Mustang was snaking through traffic with Raven glued to its ass...

I hoped the kid was good, otherwise she was going to die at the speeds that we were riding. What was so important about that dead man? Who was he and who was in that Mustang?

"Battle Guy – get Rhino up to find out who that dead guy is..."

"Psyche's talking to him now..."

All covered as usual! I had to concentrate on avoiding obstacles – I had to stop her before she killed herself and... Oh fuck! I almost T-boned a bus at the junction of South Pulaski Road… I lost precious time as I was forced to come to a snatch clenching stop before accelerating away again. At least I had no need to keep the bitch in sight – the tracker provided her position for me.

The only good thing to say for the entire chase was that West 26th Street was very straight... We raced for three miles before the road angled from its easterly course towards northeast and became South Blue Island Avenue at South Western Avenue. By that time, I was level with Raven and I tried to wave her down, but she ignored me, or she just plain did not see me. She seemed very intent on finishing the chase.

..._...

I was getting more and more concerned by the chase – hey I loved speed too, but I was not stupid! By this time, the CPD had become involved and a car tried to head off the Mustang, but it was smashed off to one side by the driver. As I flashed past, I was glad to see that the two officers were unhurt.

The South Ashland Avenue junction with West Cermak Road and South Blue Island Avenue was a five-point junction and busy at most times of the day. The Mustang driver leant on his horn and swerved through the traffic attracting similar horn blasts from the other drivers. He narrowly avoided colliding with a CTA bus and was forced onto the grounds of Juarez High School, where he took off through the park heading for West 21st Street.

Raven weaved in between the cars and I tried to cut her off, but she turned and looked directly at me, but then accelerated away.

"I'm gonna fucking kill her!" I growled.

"Let's just try and find out what's goin' on first..." Kick-Ass cut in quite reasonably.

"The way she's going she'll kill herself, Hit Girl..." Battle Guy reasoned.

The Mustang blazed out of the park and straight over West 21st Street narrowly avoiding passing cars. Raven slowed, as did I, as we continued up South Blue Island Avenue in a north-easterly direction.

..._...

At West 18th Street, Raven's luck began to run out as she swerved and skidded into the side of a CTA bus, but she seemed uninjured and she continued her pursuit after the bus had moved out of the way. The Mustang's luck also seemed to running out as it was driving slower than before and I could see steam coming from under the bonnet and there was an oil trail on the road – which I was doing my best to avoid.

Raven was close to the Mustang's tail and I was close behind her as we blazed under the railroad at West 16th Street. The sound of our exhausts echoed and reverberated around as we shot through the underpass. On the other side, I received a warning.

"District 12 has a stop-stick deployed ahead of you!" Battle Guy called.

The District 12 Headquarters was approaching on the left and I could see flashing blue lights as the Mustang approached. I saw the cop with the stop-stick and he caught the Mustang on the front left tyre by the looks of things. The same cop rapidly pulled the stop-stick out of the way when he recognised me approaching and he waved... he had also pulled it away before Raven was caught.

..._...

Everything in my brain kept saying: 'Danger, Hit Girl, Danger!' For once, I was going to listen to my own instincts before the wrong people died.

"Standby for lights out!" I called, seeing that both Jackal and Shadow were in place.

As expected the Mustang turned right onto West Roosevelt Road, losing speed as it struggled to steer with one destroyed tyre. We were approaching the 'University of Illinois at Chicago' campus when I accelerated ahead of Raven and cut in front, forcing her to slam on her brakes. Jackal and Shadow moved to box her in.

"Lights out!" I growled and several miles away a button was pushed at the Safehouse.

What the fuck was she playing at?

She cut me up! Two more motorcycles appeared and every time I swerved to get around Hit Girl and her purple motorcycle, I was blocked by Jackal or Shadow. Then all of a sudden the dash before me cut out and then the engine began to surge and cough before dying and nothing happened when I hit the starter. I coasted to a stop on the median of West Roosevelt Road – it was them – they fucking did this!

"What the fuck did you do?" I yelled, pulling out my pistol and pointing it directly at Hit Girl.

She did not even look at me, she just looked at Jackal.

"Sort your bitch out!"

With that, Hit Girl was gone in a squeal of rubber and I turned my pistol on Shadow.

..._...

I climbed off my motorcycle and placed it onto its stand. Jackal and Shadow did the same.

"Cut it the fuck out!" Shadow growled and she ripped the pistol from my hands. "You'll get it back when you learn to behave and grow the fuck up!"

"Fuck you!" I retorted.

I was beyond angry – this fucking Fusion had lost me my fucking trail! I reached for my sword.

"Don't..." Jackal said with a shake of his canine head.

I punched him, hard in the chest and he almost fell backwards but he braced himself. That was when Shadow flipped me over and I crashed to the ground on my back.

"Hey, Raven – calm the fuck down..." She hissed.

Jackal made to help me up, but I ignored his offered hand.

"Stay the fuck away from me, Jackal – why the hell should I trust you?"

..._...

I saw Jackal hang his head for a moment and then he reached up to the base of his mask before speaking again, only this time the electronically altered voice was gone.

"Because... Because, I'm somebody who cares for you... I know who you are Raven; I have for a while now..."

Joshua! I stared at him for a moment before replying. He knew who I was – no big deal and he had given away his own identity to help me. I reached out with my gloved hand and allowed him to pull me to my feet.

Just then, Shadow came into my line of sight and I studied the slim figure in the combat suit – it had to be Chloe.

The Mustang had managed to travel another two-thirds of a mile before expiring.

I found the car at the side of the street, near to the South Branch of Chicago River. I stopped and parked my Ducati, removing my helmet. A large man appeared from the Mustang. He seemed pissed some reason!

"Who the fuck are you and why is Raven after you?" I growled angrily.

"How would I know – she killed my partner..."

"You are coming with me – dead or alive, but preferably alive; I like to play with my food before I kill it..."

"Fuck that!" The man said loudly.

He turned to run, but his jaw came into contact with a very ridged gauntlet.

"Oops!" Kick-Ass commented as he gazed down at the unconscious man.

"Is my motorcycle fucked?"

"Nah..." Jackal replied. "It'll be back to normal in a few minutes."

He was right – within five minutes the engine was running as if nothing had happened.

"Neat trick!" I growled as I pulled on my helmet.

Shadow and Jackal did the same. My mind was reeling as I considered what had just happened. I had lost that man, but I had discovered a big secret. What would my Aunt and Uncle say? Maybe, they would not have to know...

"Okay," Jackal said as he started the engine on his Triumph motorcycle. "Time to see inside your Safehouse – you leading, or am I?"

"I'll lead!"

A half hour later

Raven Nest

I led the two vigilantes into the warehouse and parked alongside the RV.

I saw my Uncle appear with a pump-action shotgun in his hands and aim the weapon directly at Jackal. I quickly stood directly in the line of fire and raised my hands. My Uncle looked pissed, but he lowered the weapon.

"You had better have a damn good reason for this..."

"I do," I said as I pulled off my helmet, wig and domino mask.

My Uncle's eyes went wide as I exposed my identity to the two vigilantes who after a moment's hesitation did the same, removing their own helmets and masks. Aunt Em appeared beside her husband with obvious concern etched into her expression.

"Uncle John, Aunt Em – please meet Joshua and Chloe..."

"That Joshua?" Aunt Em enquired.

"Yes, the Joshua from New York..."

"The one you used to talk about in your sleep?" Aunt Em persisted.

"Yes – that one – can we change the subject, please?"

"You are Shadow and Jackal," Uncle John stated.

"We are – Marcus said that we could trust you both," Josh said conversationally.

..._...

After handshakes were exchanged, I took a moment to examine the Fusion body armour up close, including the weapons.

"You two are awesome vigilantes..." I commented and I was surprised to see Chloe blush.

"I don't know about awesome..." She muttered.

"Mr Newton, our boss has invited you to bring your, err..."

"... Raven Nest..." I interjected and Chloe chuckled.

"... Raven Nest, to a more secure location. We should leave it for another half-hour and then move out – can you pack up that quickly?" Josh finished.

"Yes, we can."