Controlling Interest 2

This chapter was commissioned by ToxinVictoria!

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Chapter 2: Skinhead Rats

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♦Topic: Hookwolf Captured!

In: Boards ► Cape News ► East North East ► Brockton Bay

Insiteful  (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie)

Posted on May 14, 2011:

PRT took Hookwolf into captivity today after he got absolutely demolished by two solo capes last night.

Statement from ENE HERE

 They haven’t released the names of the independants yet, but I’m still stanning a good team up story. The PRT hasn’t given out a date for the Birdcage transfer yet but they’ve confirmed Hookwolf is getting caged! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer Nazi.

(Showing Page 24 of 40)

► JonJons

Replied on January 9, 2000:

I don't care. I dont care if their "human beings" I don't care if they have certain unalienable rights. They're nazi's and nazi's belong in the garbage.

 Only problem is that the newbies didn't go far enough. The Protectorate can't go full lethal but Indies should save all of us some trouble and fall them down some stairs

► SeaLyon (Temp-banned)

Replied on January 9, 2000:

> Their

 Okay, so you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

 Can anyone else answer why Hookwolf gets sent to the Cage, even though he (and the rest of the Empire) routinely participates in endbringer fights?

 Still wondering why we have a rapist, sex trafficking, drug lord running free around the bay but the PRT is focusing all of their effort on the lesser evil?

► CaMa1989

Replied on January 9, 2000:

Ding dong the bitch is dead!

(Moderator Warning: Use of Profanity. Keep it clean people.)

► That Username Is Taken  (Veteran Member)

Replied on January 9, 2000:

@SnowShine

hmu we can definitely make it work

@DavidBusters

Yep, gotta stay strapped out here.

@SeaLyon

Okay I wasn't sure before but you're definitely a nazi alt. Mad your boy go pinched?

@CaMa1989

Technically a b*tch is a female dog and Hookwolf won't be one until he's in prison

► SeaLyon (Temp-banned)

Replied on January 9, 2000:

@That Username Is Taken

I didn't know you were going to call names but now I do. If you can't address my arguments directly don't address me at all.

Lung is much worse than anyone in the Empire, especially now with his new bomb-bitch turning what's left of the Bay into a shithole.

(Moderator Warning: Use of Profanity

This is my angry font) 

► SnowShine

Replied on January 9, 2000:

@That Username Is Taken

Pm'd

► xXGeminiXx

Replied on January 9, 2000:

imho you don't get to whine about tolerance if your whole shtick is not tolerating other people

► jvz88

Replied on January 9, 2000:

@SnowShine

Can a random get in on this? I can spring for a few cases. Pm'd too

► 田中晋三  (Kyushu Survivor)

Replied on January 9, 2000:

@SeaLyon

Lung is a criminal and should be held accountable, but there is only one group in Brockton that makes me feel unsafe to walk down the street at night, and no amount of propaganda is going to change that.

To answer your question, the Protectorate did not capture Hookwolf, instead independant capes fought and defeated him. I guess he was not so that strong. If he did not want to be captured, he should not have been running illegal dog fighting rings in a residential neighborhood.

Empire 88 participating in Endbring fights does not forgive them for the crimes they commit every day, no matter how much you say it. I hope Hookwolf spends the rest of his life behind bars so that the rest of us can be safer.

► SeaLyon  (Temp-banned)

Replied on January 9, 2000:

Oh so because the chink says it, it must be true. You're the ABB alt account here, ruining our country when you can't even type your name right.

(This user has been temp banned

Take a day off)

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 ... 38, 39, 40

I clicked off the thread. I should have stopped reading a few pages ago when the discussion veered off topic, but…

I liked seeing what people said about me. Not me, explicitly. Even though I’d followed Glory Girl’s advice and set up an account over the weekend, I hadn’t had the confidence to post on the thread. What would I even say? “Hey guys, I’m the one who took out Hookwolf, I appreciate the kind words”? The thought made me wince.

The first day back at school had been surreal enough already. Hookwolf was a one of the most active capes in the Empire 88, and knocking him out had shaken Winslow. The E88 kids were acting out, starting fights. That meant pushback from the school, but it also meant Sophia was getting in fights with them too.

As much as I hated her, I could respect someone willing to throw down against wannabe gang bangers. I thought she was just a classic bully, only picking on people who couldn’t fight back, but she’d been going out of her way to run across the Empire kids. Emma went along after her, smiling at teachers and making sure no one was dumb enough to snitch. As long as it kept them busy, my life was almost livable. Today, Madison hadn’t even bothered dumping pencil shavings on my desk. It let me focus on getting my work turned in, and by the end of the year, my grades might be good enough to apply for a transfer.

Ms. Kayden had mentioned that Clarendon had scholarships available for kids like me, so with a little bit of luck, I might be able to escape Winslow before they remembered I was here.

I’d given up on hoping that the bullying would ever stop. Being a hero was more important, which is why I came to the library after school and signed in on the one computer table tucked away in the back corner so I could check the news. I’d expected something about Hookwolf’s capture, but what I hadn’t been looking for was a private message as well.

♦  Private message from All Seeing Eye:

All Seeing Eye New Message: Hey, New Girl. Great work last night.

DM me if you're down to take out some more white trash.

I’d gotten a message from another account. Clearly it was from either Bitch or Glory Girl, since who else would message a random verified cape account out of nowhere? I hadn’t even set my location yet.

I worried at my lip. On one hand, the thought of going out again after my fight with Hookwolf was terrifying.

On the other, I couldn’t name anything I wanted more.

The only reason I hadn’t replied was because I couldn’t tell who this was, and I couldn’t think of a way to ask. It didn’t sound like Bitch at all, but Glory Girl had a different account. Maybe this was a private account? All Seeing Eye would make a good name for her since she could see the entire bay when she was flying.

I weighed the embarrassment of asking who it was, before deciding that it didn’t matter. Even if Glory Girl was part of a bigger, more established hero group, Bitch’s power worked really with mine.

I typed out a reply before I could talk myself out of it.

♦  Private message from All Seeing Eye:

Weaver: I'm interested. Where and what time?

I stared at the screen for a full minute before I realized she wasn’t online. I blew out a sigh; of course neither of them would be glued to the computer. I’d just have to check later, like a normal person.

I stood up and then the screen flashed again.

♦  Private message from All Seeing Eye:

All Seeing Eye New Message: Tonight. Empire’s still reeling from losing Hook.

Weaver: Is that a good idea? Won’t they be ready for it?

All Seeing Eye: Believe me, they have bigger problems.

I bit my lip harder. My first cape fight only proved that I was better off with some support, and if now was the best time to hit the E88, then how could I turn that down and call myself a hero?

♦  Private message from All Seeing Eye:

Weaver: Okay

All Seeing Eye: Perfect. Come to the corner of 11th and Price at 10pm. Be dressed to dance.

Weaver: Got it.

All Seeing Eye: Oh, and you like dogs right? Might want to check out a book on them. Just a heads up.

All Seeing Eye is Offline

I blinked twice in surprise. “Dogs?” Wait, did that mean this was Bitch?

Maybe she also had a team?

Either way, I’d meet them tomorrow night. I’d get a book on dog training; it couldn’t be worse than reading baby books.

I made sure to check a map before I left as well. The Z3 bus would get me to 11th street.

Dad was still gone when I got home. It didn’t bother me anymore, really. With a sigh, I went down to the basement. Since neither of us came down here, I’d done a bit to convert it into my own little hideout: spare silk fabric and gear hidden in the old coal chute, and a few boxes moved around so I had a place to sit. Termites had gotten into one of the walls. If not for my power, that could have been a real problem, but now I could use that space to store more of my own bugs instead.

If I was going to hit the E88 tonight, I would need to do more to prepare. First, I remembered how useful swarms of bugs were in the fight, black walls that blocked out vision, and nearly invisible trackers I could put on allies and enemies.

There were flies and gnats everywhere, but bigger ones like beetles and wasps were harder to find. I’d picked up two wasp nests on the way here and smuggled them into the basement. Tonight, the plan was to rig some silk enclosures for them in some of the old metal boxes dad kept in the basement. Then, I’d head out and sweep for more fliers before heading to the meetup place.

I sat down on the old chair in the corner and flipped open my book on dog training.

At 9pm, I left a note for dad that I was out babysitting for Kayden. Mondays had been really busy for Dad recently. With the Empire pushing, he was working twice as hard to keep the Dockworkers Union employed. I remembered hearing about a few guys every week who stopped showing up, or worse, started showing up with new tattoos and new points of view.

Tonight, I’d be helping him fix it.

Once again, I’d slipped my bodysuit on under my hoodie and baggie jeans. The collar just looked like I was wearing a turtleneck. Mostly, I was counting on no one paying attention to me.

That was usually what happened anyway, might as well use it to my advantage.

My leg wouldn’t stop jittering on the bus. Even though I was using the time to pick up as many flies and wasps as I could, I kept tensing every time someone glanced at me. After the fifth time, I tried pushing that feeling of anxiety off into my gathering swarm.

It felt like I was stretching myself over the air. I winced at a sharp spike of pain in my head, and then suddenly it clicked into place. I breathed out a sigh of relief as the feeling of anxiety lessened. I could still feel it buzzing at the back of my head like a swarm of bees, but I felt so much less need to act on it.

My head slowly started to throb as the bus ride went on, though, and I let my emotions slip back into me right as we came to my stop. Didn’t want to have a migraine during a fight.

And if All Seeing Eye was telling the truth, tonight would have fights.

Once again, I swept an alley with my bugs before quickly slipping off my hoodie and jeans and tucking them behind a dumpster. Normal, unassuming Taylor walked into one side of the alleyway, but Weaver came out the other side.

I took a deep breath before heading down the street. This time, there were even less people on the street, less lights. It made getting to the meeting place unseen easier. Meanwhile, I spread out my swarm of bugs around me, letting them spiral through the air like the normally would.

Just over a block away, I spotted a group at the meeting place. Only they weren’t at the corner.

Instead, I felt four figures on top of a four-story building right across the street. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except for the hulking shapes I recognized as Bitch’s dogs. I guess she had messaged me after all.

Or someone from her team who wanted to scout me out first…

I frowned. Peeking around the corner, I could see the corner of their building. It was too dark to see anyone that high up, but based on where they were standing, at least one person was looking over the street and waiting for me to arrive.

I frowned. Was the plan to show off by dropping in on me when I showed up?

It would be better if I got the drop on them.

Pulling back, I circled around the other way. None of them were watching the back of the building, and I found the fire escape already down. With a grin, I started to climb, quiet as my spiders.

I slowed down at the fourth story, sidling up to the edge of the roof. I could tell where they were with my bugs, but not which way they were looking. I frowned.

I peeked over the lip of the roof, sighing in relief when I saw all three of them all turned towards the street. Bitch, for her part, was busy with one of her dogs. The other I could barely make out against the skyline. One broad figure all in black, and then two others leaning against the edge of the roof. This close, I could barely make out their conversation.

When the next car ripped past below, I pulled myself onto the roof. Then I paused. I hadn’t thought this far.

No. I shook my head. No time for me to panic. One of them could turn around any second. I cleared my throat. “L-looking for someone?”

One of them jumped, swearing. “Jesus H Christ!” Her voice came out muffled.

All four of them spun to face me. I swallowed nervously, but held my ground.

“Bitch.” I forced myself to nod at the only person I recognized. “Good to see you again.”

She grunted and turned back to her dogs.

One of them sniffed the air, massive head tilting towards me. The roof started to thump as his tail wagged.

That was probably pretty noticeable, if I had to guess.

“Brutus,” Bitch said. “Stand.”

The massive dog rose, tail still waving in the air like a massive fan.

But at least it wouldn’t wake the neighbors.

“Ah. Mmm.” The one in all black stepped forward. This close, I could make out the skull painted on the front of his helmet. He came to a stop a few feet away from me, arms hanging loose by his sides. “So you’re our fifth?”

I nodded. “That’s me. Weaver.”

“Grue,” he replied. “How’d you spot us?”

“My bugs.” I waved my hand; a wave of beetles buzzed through the air behind me. “They’re good at scouting.”

“Told you she was perfect,” Bitch said. “Can find more dog fights.”

I tilted my head. Had Bitch vouched for me? It didn’t seem like her, but…I appreciated it.

“Saw you up here,” I replied. “Figured I’d come up instead of waiting for you to drop onto my head.”

The girl leaned over, punching the last cape in the shoulder. “Told you it was a stupid idea,” she said. I realized her voice was being filtered through a gas mask. “Nobody wants to get those things dropped on them.”

“It was that or wait on the street,” he replied.

Grue nodded. “Sorry about that, we would have gone for a casual meet up, but we wanted Bitch powered up already.”

That brought me up short. In my head, I’d worked myself up about the potential ambush, but instead they just wanted to be safe this close to Empire territory. I pushed through the surge of embarrassment as quick as I could.

It was… not that quick.

“Yeah, uh…” I shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. So uh, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’ll get to that in a second,” Grue replied. “First, Bitch said you were new, so I wanna make sure you know the rules of engagement.”

“The rules?” I asked.

He folded his arms. “Capes are serious business; a lot of us can do serious damage before anyone else could stop us. There are rules that we all try to follow, make sure people don’t go to far. Figured no one has explained it to you.”

I nodded.

He quickly broke down the rules of cape fights, which felt like it essentially boiled down to don’t try to find out another cape’s secret identity, and don’t kill people if you can help it.

That ‘if you can help it’ part felt like it was doing a lot of work.

“That said,” Grue continued, “the Empire has been throwing their weight around. They’re playing by the rules less and less.”

“Then why’d you explain them to me?” I asked.

“Because,” he replied. “I need you to know what to look for. If they go over the line, we need to swing back hard. That’s part of tonight.”

“Swinging back?”

He nodded. “the rules don’t apply to the rank and file. As far as the law and as we are concerned, the only rule with the gang bangers is try not to kill them. Normally, I’d say because it’s too much heat.” He laughed once. “But the Empire’s been bringing all the heat down on themselves.”

I blinked in surprise. “What do you mean? I heard they’ve been causing problems, but…”

“More than causing problems,” The masked girl grumbled.

“The Empire used to pretend to be different,” Grue told me. “All made up, but they played at being ‘saviors’ of the ‘white race’. You know the type.”

I nodded. I went to school with some of the type.

“These days, they’ve let the mask slip, either because Lung has been taking too much territory with his new tinker, or else because Kaiser got tired of playing politics.” Grue shrugged. “Either way, because of them, we’re inching closer to an all-out gang war.”

“Wouldn’t the protectorate do something?” I asked.

“Doesn’t look like it,” he said. “Instead, we’re the ones who have to do something. Knock ‘em down a few notches, that kind of thing.”

I nodded slowly.

“Now that you know the rules, you know what to look out for,” Grue continued. “So like I said, if we run into trouble, be ready for it.”

I paused, shifting from foot to foot. “Are we going to run into trouble?”

“Not if everything goes according to plan,” he replied. “Now let’s finish introductions.”

“…Right,” I said.

“You control bugs, and you already know what Bitch’s power is,” he said. “Let me give you the rundown on what we do and the rest of the plan.”

“S-sounds good.”

“I can generate darkness,” he continued. “We’re going to be hitting multiple Empire stash houses tonight, and I’m our exit strategy.”

“Stash houses?” I asked. “Not capes?”

The other guy laughed by the edge of the roof. “Not if we can help it.” He waved a hand, letting his poofy sleeves fluttered in the breeze. Between the frilled shirt and his mask, he looked like he was getting ready for ren faire. “I’m Regent, we’re gonna be on crowd control or something.”

“Uh.”

“I make people trip.” He waved at me. “You swarm them with bugs.”

“Right.” I nodded.

“That leaves our last,” Grue said.

The girl stepped forward. Her costume was tight, the skyline backlighting a figure that almost made me blush. “Spitfire,” she said. “After we take out the guards. I’ll burn the drugs and anything else we can’t take with us.”

“Then we get out, rinse, repeat, taking down as many Empire locations as we can hit before they can muster a response,” Grue said.

“That…” I paused. “That sounds like a good plan.” Much better than mine when I first went out, but I guess that’s what a professional hero team did. “Any reason why we’re avoiding their capes?”

“They won’t be traveling alone,” Grue replied. “And like I said, they’re spoiling for a fight. Instead, we’ll hit them where they’re softest.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded. “An army marches on its stomach. Cut off the supplies…”

“Cut off the army. Exactly” Grue crossed his arms. “We have a fifth who’s not a close combat type, but they provided us with rough locations to hit. We’ll be counting on you to pinpoint the stash houses when we get close. Can you handle that?”

“Yeah!” I shifted. “I mean, yeah. It’ll be easy.”

“Good. If you realize a problem, or you can’t figure out where the target is, you tell me.” He stepped forward. “Bitch said you could handle this gig, so I’m willing to trust you. Don’t make me regret it.”

I straightened, stepping forward as well. “I won’t.”

We stayed like that for a moment, close enough to touch.

Grue nodded. “Then let’s move.”

“Hey boss, don’t forget about me!”

I swore, almost jumping out of my skin as my bugs whirled up into the air as—

“What?” I paused, looking around. Most of my swarm was in the air, my heart was pounding in my chest, but I didn’t know why.

“Jeez,” someone said. “You’re jumpy.”

I spun again.

“Hey, easy.” Grue held up a hand. “Easy, everyone. I forgot.” He turned, looking at another figure leaning against his shoulder. “To mention our sixth member. Weaver, this is Imp.”

“…And what’s Imp’s job?” I asked.

“I’m insurance!” She grinned, teeth visible from beneath her mask. “I’ll make sure no one gets the drop on you guys. Don’t worry about me. Oh wait, you can’t!”

“What do—” I paused, blinking, before looking back at Grue. “What do we do next then?”

“We mount up and head out.” Grue nodded toward the dogs. “Regent, you’re with Spitfire. Weaver, you’ll ride with Bitch.”

“Got it,” I said.

Bitch stood. “Fucking finally.” With a whistle, all three of her dogs lined up on the edge of the roof. When they crouched, I could just about haul myself onto one’s back using the spikes as a ladder. Bitch jumped up in front of me, swinging her legs over Brutus’s massive back.

“Uh,” I paused, hands outstretched. “Where do I.”

“Hold on.” Bitch grunted. “Or you’ll die.”

My arms snapped tight around her waist.

“Our first target is four blocks away,” Grue said. “We know where this one is, so use it to practice locking in! Remember, we go in fast and put down any nazis hard, then we get out of there. Got it?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

Bitch grunted in front of me. Spitfire let out a whoop.

“Sure thing, boss dude,” Regent said.

Grue nodded, leaning forward on his mount. “Let’s ride.”

Bitch whistled. The dogs jumped.

We fell so fast the wind shoved my scream back down my throat.

The three dogs hit the ground hard enough to crack pavement and raced down the street. I gathered my swarm as Spitfire started cheering. Once again, we moved so fast I started leaving my slower bugs behind, concentrating of fliers.

Four blocks. Once I got in range, I started combing through buildings with gnats. At first, nothing stood out to me, but then—

“I found it!” I shouted. “Next street over, fifth house down!” I paused, before an idea came to me. “Follow the lights!”

 Ahead, I pulled a group of fireflies together, making them blink in the air. Between two streetlights, it was more than dark enough to make the out. The group pulsed over the house as we tore around the corner. Bitch whistled again, a short staccato.

As one, all three dogs turned, following Brutus.

I clutched her tighter as the dogs leapt through the air one more time.

Inside the house, my swarm bubbled up just in time for us to crash through the roof.

After that, screaming.

I fell more than jumped off Brutus, scrambling for my baton. One unlucky gang banger had been hit by the falling roof top. The rest I had tagged, but most of my swarm was still flying in.

I saw one go for his gun, before staggering to the side.

I surged forward, baton cracking him in the hand. Then again. Behind me, another nazi staggered over, borne down under a mass of my flies and hornets.

“Three more in the next room!” I shouted.

“I’m on point!” Grue stepped towards the door, arms out. A billowing cloud of darkness rushed into the next room, cutting out what remained of the ceiling lights. I darted in a step behind him, using my bugs to map the room.

In seconds, the rest of the guards were out.

I hunched over, gasping for air. Even then, it took me a moment to realize I was out of breath. Grue caught my arm, and I let him lead me out of the fog. “You good?”

I nodded. “Just…it’s always so fast.”

He clapped me once on the shoulder. “Fast is the goal. Good work back there, didn’t think you’d be able to follow me.”

“My bugs,” I replied. “I can tell where they are.”

“Can you tell where the money is?” Regent called.

I frowned. That didn’t sound very heroic.

“Down here,” Imp said.

I swore again, and she laughed at me, before darting back down the stairs.

“Imp’s right,” I said. “They’re—I found the money in the basement. Drugs too.” I wrinkled my nose. “Lots of drugs.

“Grab a duffle, fill up as much as you can.” Grue pulled two bags off of the dogs, tossing one to me. “Spit, don’t burn down the neighborhood.”

“I’ve got more control than that,” she replied.

I paused, glancing back at the Nazis. Most of them lay groaning on the floor, Bitch and her dogs standing menacingly over them. “What about them?”

“What about them?” Spitfire asked. “Bastards wanna play hardball, this is what they get.”

“We can’t just burn them alive!” I said.

“Turnabout is fair play,” Regent replied.

I stared at him, aghast.

Grue placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Weaver, normally I’d agree with you,” he said. “But the Empire’s been expanding hard, and they’re targeting us.”

“What?” I asked.

He rolled back his glove, revealing dark skin. “It’s like Spitfire said. They’re playing hardball, we’re just showing them we can punch back.”

I nodded numbly. Leaving people in a potential housefire was the opposite of heroic, but what was I supposed to say to that?

“Relax, hero,” Spitfire said. “I won’t burn ‘em to death on purpose.”

“Save that for the camps,” Regent called as he went down the stairs.

“C’mon.” Grue tugged my shoulder. “We have to keep moving.”

I followed them down the stairs, but Regent and Imp had already filled their bags with all the cash on hand. I helped pile the drugs in the middle of the concrete, where hopefully it wouldn’t catch anything else.

Spitfire lived up to her name by spitting out a stream of white-hot fire over the pile. It started smoking and spitting immediately.

“Let’s move.” Grue started up the stairs. “Weaver, we’ll be relying on you to locate the next targets. Are you good for it?”

I paused at the top of the stairs, sucking in a deep breath.

I thought back to the dogfighting ring, the filthy kennels stacked against the walls. And here, drugs, protection money.

These people were the worst the bay had to offer, pretending to be anything other than the scum of the earth.

I breathed out.

“I can find them.”

“Good.” Grue nodded. “Mount up!”

He let loose a cloud of smoke, hiding our escape from the house until we burst out of it. Bitch led the dogs up onto the rooftops in another gut-wrenching jump. This time, I located the stash house even quicker.

The fight happened lightning-fast, with my heart lodged in my throat. Again, we crashed into an unsuspecting hideout, bugs and darkness washing over the room. I called out targets and Regent tripped them up for Grue, Rachel, and I to take down.

One time, I missed that one guy had a gun, and he spun out into the corner. The first shot went wide, and then he crumpled to the ground as a laughing figure tasered him in the back. I had just enough time to recognize Imp before—

The third house, someone got the word out, but that was also when our teamwork clicked into place. I’d finally realized that I could ride along a bunch of my swarm on Bitch’s dogs, their skin was so thick they didn’t even notice.

With enough bugs to blanket the room right away, Grue and I took away all their visibility, while I marked targets with fireflies and strategic gaps in the swarm. It wasn’t just about winning; it was about winning as fast as we could.

And I was starting to get very fast.

“Atta girl!” Spitfire slapped my on the back after I finished off two gang bangers with a hard strike from my baton. “Feels like you don’t even need me here!”

“How would we burn the drugs?” I asked.

Spitfire laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

By the fourth house, we’d filled up our bags with cash, and Spitfire started burning the money too. It felt insane, dumping banded wads of twenties on the floor to light on fire, but this would deny resources to E88 as well.

I found myself whooping as well when Bitch’s dogs raced us from target to target.

“Skip this one!” I shouted as we came up to the fifth house. “I count twenty!”

“They’re moving people around!” Grue shouted back. “Bitch, head towards Lord Street! We’ll throw them off!”

Bitch whistled, and the dogs spun, sprinting across the road.

The next house was not ready for us. Bitch crashed through the ceiling on two guys screaming into a cellphone.

“Fuck! They’re here!”

“Send—” The nazi jerked, dropping his phone. I leaned over and cracked him across the head even as my swarm sent his friend screaming under a mass of chitin.

“One in the kitchen!”

Grue hit the floor in a roll. “On it.” He sprinted into a cloud of darkness, and a moment later, the flailing gangster hit the ground as well. Only he didn’t get up.

I canvassed the place quickly with my bugs, frowning when I realized that the basement was mostly empty. “There’s nothing here!” I told Grue. “They must have moved everything!”

He paused, turning to stare at me. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah!” I nodded. “The basement is empty, there’s only powder on the shelves.”

“That means they—”

“Sniper!” Imp screamed.

I dove, Grue blasted out a wall of darkness.

I heard the crack of a bullet, then silence as the black washed over me.

I scrambled to my feet, away from the opening in the ceiling. Frantically, I waved at Grue, before pointing at Spitfire in the cloud. I couldn’t see, but I knew where every member of the team was.

After a second, Grue started moving towards Regent, and I tapped Spitfire, ducking a wild punch before tapping her again. She calmed down, letting me lead her back towards the dogs.

In the back of the house, Grue opened a small circle of clean air for us to see. “Get on the—”

We all winced as another bullet ripped through the air, passing out the other side of the smoke.

“Fuck. Get on, we’re out of here. Weaver, have you found the sniper?”

I shook my head. “I’m looking, but I don’t even know what direction he’s shooting from!”

“Probably the direction of the gaping hole we made for him.” Regent leaned over as another shot raced over our heads. “Just a thought.”

“Not the time. Up!” We clambered onto the dogs. “Weaver, make—make your swarm head that way, we’ll break the other direction.”

“Got it.”

“On my count.” Grue raised his hands. “Three. Two.”

I moved my swarm into position.

“Go!”

My bugs raced out from the hole we’d entered from, as thick and dense as I could make them. A breath later, we broke out of the other side of the building in a cloud of pure darkness. The sniper took the bait, I felt a line of bugs die as a bullet ripped through the swarm.

It hit surprisingly few, but enough for me to get a sense of direction. As we broke out of the darkness and around the nearest corner I pointed. “That way! He’s up there!”

“Bitch, take us east!”

Bitch whistled, and the dogs turned the opposite direction.

“What?” I waved my hand. “We can take him! I can swarm him so he can’t get a shot!”

“I love running into bullets!” Spitfire shouted. “But what if he has backup?”

“We’ve done enough tonight!” Grue said. “Let’s go! We’ll stop in four blocks!”

Then darkness.

I bit my lip in frustration as the sniper left my range. At the very edge, I noticed two hulking figures striding towards the building.

Fenja and Menja, the Valkyrie twins who grew in size until they were three stories tall.

Maybe it was a good thing we’d left when we did.

After a brief stop a few blocks away. We broke towards Captain’s Hill without any further trouble. As we slipped from the city limits and into the dense trees on the far side of the hill, Bitch finally pulled her dogs to a stop.

They were all panting, heaving big breaths through their massive jaws.

Slowly, I realized that I felt just as exhausted. My legs were sore and my tailbone ached as well.

I slipped gingerly off of Brutus’ back and onto the ground as Grue pulled out some flashlights. “Weaver, check the perimeter.”

“Uh.” I paused, flaring out my bugs again. “We’re clear. No one else within a block of us.”

“Good work tonight then.” He tossed Regent a flashlight. It hit the middle of his frilly chest, before falling to the ground.

Regent sighed. “If I must.”

“Last order of business, diving up the spoils and splitting up.” Grue pulled off a duffle full of cash, before tossing it to me.

For my part, I managed to catch it.

Then my brain caught up with what he said. “Wait, so—”

“That’s your share,” he nodded. “One bag each. Weaver, the rest of us planned to our route from here. Are you good?”

I grimaced. “It’s…a bit of a walk.”

“Bitch can drop off closer then. If that works.”

“Yeah, uh.” I nodded. “Yeah. I can use my bugs to make sure I’m clear?”

Grue nodded. “Everyone else, you know the plan.”

“Miles to go before I sleep.” Regent placed a hand against his mask. “And in my new shoes.”

“Stop whining.” Spitfire bumped his shoulder. “We killed it tonight.”

Bitch grunted.

“Weaver.” Grue stepped over towards me as the other two bickered. “You were an asset to the team. I’ll admit, I was worried about a job this complex with a rookie cape, but you overperformed.”

“Oh,” I said. “Well, uh, thanks?”

“Overperformed?” Spitfire laughed. “Boss, she carried us after the second house. Great working with you Weaver. Hope we can beat up some more Nazis together.” She held out a hand for a high five.

I lurched, managed to slap her weakly on the palm.

“Look at you.” She nudged my shoulder. “Never would have guessed you were a dyed-in-the-wool badass with how you were acting.”

“Yeah.” I managed a nod. At least my mask hid my blush. “Uh, you too.”

Grue shook his head. “No, she’s right. It was good to have you. Listen, we talked about it beforehand, and we agreed that if you performed, we’d offer you a spot on the team.”

“Oh,” I said again. “I…that’s.”

“Think it over,” Grue said. “You have a way to contact us, and either way, we’re open to teaming up again if you want some quick cash and to help us kick the Empire where it hurts.”

“I—I’d be open to that at least,” I replied. “Definitely.”

“Nice to hear.” He paused for a moment, looking at Bitch. “You want to tell her about the dog, or me?”

“The dog?”

Bitch shrugged. “Dog you rescued. Tell you on the way.”

“…Okay?” I said. “Wait, you mean the dog I saved at first? You found him?”

Bitch nodded and hopped up on Brutus once again. I found myself leaning forward, waiting for more information, but she just leaned back, head turned towards the Bay.

After a moment, I let out a huge breath and slugged the duffle bag over my shoulder. “Alright.” I turned back to Grue. “Anything else we need to go over?”

Grue paused for a moment, patting his jacket pockets once. “Swear I’m forgetting something,” he said.

“If you can’t remember, it probably wasn’t important,” I said.

*~ * ~*

“I can’t believe they forgot me!” Imp leaned back on the bench, feet kicking in the air. “Awful! Ignorant!”

Sure, maybe she’d been busy trying to find the sniper, and maybe she could have stuck with the team instead, but that Weaver girl was kicking ass and taking names, and Imp wanted her own piece of the action.

She huffed, letting her feet collapse. With her knees just on the edge of the bench, she could barely touch the ground. “I hope the busses run this late…”

She’d check the schedule, but Brian had all the flashlights. And also she’d left her phone at home.

“I really don’t want to walk...”