[REND] B2. 8.1 - The Gangsters and the Sister

I had made a very impressive acquisition earlier—a wristwatch that glows in the dark. Since I left my phone at my condo, I didn’t have anything to check the time with. I could’ve bought a digital watch. Or a regular watch, and I’d just shine a flashlight on it.

But I thought this glow-in-the-dark one was really funny. I was an easily amused girl.

And the reason I needed a watch was to meet up with Overdrive and the rest of the gangs before midnight, our scheduled attack on Overdrive’s former base. I couldn’t be too early, given that I was the head honcho. Totally lame if I stood around, twiddling my thumbs while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. However, I also wasn’t going to be super late because that was against my nature.

I decided to show myself to the gangsters around ten minutes past midnight.  

I reached Marsh Row half an hour before midnight to give myself enough time to look for our meeting place. I also had to wait for the right moment to reveal myself to the group—a badass entrance was paramount.

Thankfully, I managed to find Overdrive’s old base by following the vehicles I spotted. Who else could be roaming this area other than the gangsters who were part of the raid? This was supposed to be a surprise attack, but these guys weren’t being subtle on the approach. Oh, well.

I found the gathering place a block away from our target. The gangsters were super noisy, blasting music from their cars, loudly talking while drinking, and comparing their guns. This would be on their performance reviews.

“These idiots,” I muttered while looking down on them from a nearby rooftop. It was like they weren’t going to fight another armed group with a possibility of dying themselves.

Maybe they thought that they weren’t going to fight at all. Red Hood would handle everything. They were just here to show support as the cheering squad. They’d look all tough in the background, flashing guns, while I did the hard work. This was more of a spectacle to them than an actual fight. And was that guy collecting bets? Were they betting on how fast I’d kill the PCM guys or something else? These gangsters weren’t taking this seriously at all.

But their leaders seemed to have a semblance of organization. I spotted Overdrive, Teflon, Dulce Maria, and Kelp huddled behind a pickup truck, away from the rest of the rabble. They were arguing amongst themselves. Overdrive had spread out a map on the truck bed, shining a flashlight on it.

The map must be the layout of his base. Overdrive scribbled with a red marker on it. I transferred to a building closer to them to eavesdrop. Five minutes to midnight; I should time my perfect entrance.

“If everyone could just shut the fuck up,” Overdrive loudly said while banging on the side of the truck. “Concentrate on the planning. Unless you plan on just charging headfirst and getting shot.”

“Is Red Hood even going to show up?” Dulce Maria asked, her many piercings glinting in the meager light. “Shouldn’t she be here by now so we could talk about what to do? I’m not going to have my men die taking back your stupid base. We didn’t even defend our territory. Why would we fight for yours? This isn’t about stopping any damn Purple Bloom.”

Overdrive pointed a marker at Dulce Maria. “Why did you come here if you’re not going to fight?”

“We came here to not fucking die. If fighting will cause our deaths, then we’re not doing that. No, sirree!”

“To be candid, OD,” Kelp said, hesitantly scratching his mane of red, “we were under the assumption that Red Hood’s going to be front and center. That’s what we’ve talked about last time. We’re not going to war with the PCM on our own. That’s downright suicidal and gutter-brained, despite all the hate I have for those zealous morons.”

“Red Hood’s testing us,” Overdrive said. “We have to show our worth. It’s not the big boss’s place to be on the frontline.”

Dulce Maria stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. “If that’s the case, then count me worthless. I can’t regenerate bullet wounds, the last I checked.”

“Maybe we’re not against that many people,” Kelp said in his calm narrator-like voice. “We might pull this off without firing a single shot if we intimidate them, rightly so. Surround the place and demand their surrender. Shock and awe.”

“They’re going to shoot at us while we do a little parade,” countered Dulce Maria. “Shocking, right?”

“If you’re so afraid of attacking,” said Overdrive, “then my team is going in first. We even have a little tank prepared over there. Just make sure you follow my lead. I’m going to ram straight at this door and—”

“We’re not going to follow you to your deaths,” said Dulce Maria, already half turning away.

Teflon held Dulce Maria’s shoulder. “We should wait,” he said in a calm voice. “Red Hood’s not gonna ditch us.”

This is my moment! I jumped off the building and landed on the back of the truck, one foot stepping on Overdrive’s map. The camera should zoom in on the symbolism that the base would be under my boot. Uh, shoes. I never wear boots because they look weird given my height.

“And now, I’m here,” I said, my voice muffled by my mask. I had thought of dropping onto the ground, but no way I’d crack the concrete with my weight. Better land on the truck so I could look down on my subordinates.

“See, I told you Red Hood was testing us,” said Overdrive, his face beaming. He gestured to me like I was the grand reveal of a magic trick. “Our boss isn’t going to abandon us. I can’t say the same for the others here.”

“I wasn’t abandoning anyone,” Dulce Maria quickly said, pulling away from Teflon. “I was looking out for my men. We’ll follow Red Hood into your shitty base, Overdrive.”

“With the boss here,” said Kelp, “everything is back on track.”

I nodded at Overdrive. “Has anyone checked our target?” Come to think of it, I should’ve done that as the responsible boss. But I was so pissed when I passed by the gangster ruckus caucus that I forgot to scout ahead.

“Some lights, some cars,” said Overdrive. “Most of them are inside. Not that many, I’m guessing. They’re not expecting our attack. I got men watching the other roads. No movement, so far. We got this in the bag.”

“What’s your plan?” I asked. “Do you have one?”

“Of course, I do, boss. We’re not going to totally rely on you.” Overdrive pointed at a van parked on the other side of the road. It was covered in random metal sheets cobbled together into armor. Even the tires were protected by a sort of screen-like steel skirt. “Presenting Fister 2000, our tank and battering ram!”

Dulce Maria snorted. “Looks like it has a junkyard piled on it.”

“Make fun of it all you want,” said Overdrive, “but it’s going to help us clear out the parking area. Its armor isn’t the fanciest, but the windshield is bulletproof. I got it installed earlier. Fister 2000 will lead our convoy—it has gun ports along its sides. Once we reach the building, we’ll ram Fister 2000 through the main doors, and pile out inside. Once we get control of the first floor, everyone else comes, and we’ll fight through the basement and upper floors.”

“I’m impressed that you’re prepared,” I said, keeping my voice neutral to hide my giddiness. I couldn’t believe I was participating in an action scene like this. “What’s my part in the attack?”

“Well… boss… since you’re, uh, very, very, very strong. And tough. Amazingly tough, way tougher than Fister 2000. I bet you’ll just shrug off anything the PCM throws at you. I—we were hoping you’d, uh, lead us.”

“Just say it straight,” said Dulce Maria. “We’re going to hide behind you, boss.” Funny how she was calling me ‘boss’ now. “Correction: Overdrive’s team will hide behind the boss, and we will hide behind Overdrive.”

“This should be as easy as giving drugs to a baby,” Kelp said. We all looked at him. “What? It’s easy, isn’t it? Babies will accept anything you give them. Similarly, it’ll be easy to take Overdrive’s place with our boss. The bent-legged PCM assholes won’t have anything to stop an Adumbrae.”   

They actually do, I thought in my head. Which was why I wanted the gangsters to join the assault.

When I first ordered the raid, I thought of going in alone, with everyone staying outside to await my triumphant return. That way, I could transform into Blanchette inside—I’d get hairy in case things would get hairy. It’d also keep my clothes clean if I transformed.

I had imagined opening the doors of the building after massacring everyone inside and calling for Overdrive and the gangsters to come in. They’d be horrified to see the shredded bodies of PCM members. Both an opportunity to intimidate and show off.

But it might be more prudent to have backup, just in case anti-Adumbrae machines were inside. I also decided to stay as cute and lovable Erind. Too risky to be Blanchette.

Overdrive got into the driver’s seat of the Fister 2000, and I rode shotgun.

“Do you have a shotgun?” I asked Overdrive as several of his men climbed into the back of the van. 

“A shotgun?” Overdrive looked over his shoulder as his men bickered about who’d sit closest to me. “Hey, quit that! Sit the fuck down! Any of you have a shotgun? Red Hood wants one.”

“Uh, here you go, boss.” A scrawny guy with green hair handed me a sawed-off shotgun.

Wow, no questions asked? I thought Overdrive would wonder why I’d need a gun. Instead, he complied immediately. Now that was a proper minion.

I placed the shotgun on my lap. I pointed the barrel away from Overdrive and kept my finger off the trigger. Some time back, I had researched why sitting on the passenger’s seat was called ‘riding shotgun.’ It turned out that during the Wild West times, stagecoach drivers had bodyguards by their sides to shoot at bandits.

The van lurched forward, leading the line of vehicles carrying a few dozen gangsters. And here I was, riding shotgun with a shotgun. This was what dreams were made of.

“No one outside.” Overdrive leaned over the steering wheel, almost pressing his face against the windshield. His eyeballs glowed blue while twitching in their sockets.

He slowed the van to a crawl as we drove up the street leading to Overdrive’s building. It felt eerie, as if there was something off. We passed by a couple of cars, but no people. Most of the area was dark except for a few windows of the building ahead displaying dim lights.

I leaned back on my seat, pretending to be nonchalant even as my body tingled with excitement. “Maybe they know you’re coming with how loud all of you were. Did any of your men see the PCM guys earlier?”

“Biter,” Overdrive called in a loud voice. “You told me that you saw people here?”

“The lights are on in the building, boss. Should be people in there.”

“But did you actually see them?”

“Uh… No, boss. I didn’t hang around for them to see me.”

Overdrive exhaled, shaking his head. “Any reports from Mosh or Dave?”

“They saw no people passing their way.”

How odd. I raised a brow while watching the lighted windows. No moving shadows. And we weren’t getting shot at. Someone should be on the watch. If none were, they should’ve been awakened by our clanky Fister 2000 and the other vehicles behind us.

“Is this a trap?” I wondered aloud. “Like, they rigged the place with bombs to explode when we enter?”

“Should I floor it, boss?” Overdrive asked. “I’ll ram the—”

“I’ve just said that the place might be boobytrapped, and you want to rush inside? Call the others and tell them to stay here. We’ll head closer. Keep careful watch with your night vision.”

Overdrive followed my instructions. The street grew dimmer as the other vehicles stopped following us. We reached the space in front of the building. Three more vehicles. No one, despite the van’s engine loudly groaning from the weight of the armor. 

“They must’ve cleared out,” Overdrive muttered. “Just left a couple of guys who drank themselves to sleep.”

“What about the other cars, boss?” asked Biter.

“They’re using the place for parking. They just cared about driving us out, not holding this place down.”

“The cars…” I said, sitting up for a better view. “They’re parked… wrong. Just like someone randomly left them there.”

“It’s a big parking space,” said Overdrive with a shrug. “Should I ram the doors?”

“No. There’s something odd about this.” I shuffled through my brain for possibilities.

If one of the gangsters ratted us out to the PCM, then either the PCM would be more prepared, or they’d retreat beforehand. It was the same two possibilities if the PCM alerted their members here about the possibility of an Adumbrae attack, either by us Three Bs, or their escaped Adumbrae prisoner. It would appear that the PCM chose to abandon the place, leaving a few lights on in a hurry.

But the oddly parked cars were really odd. I shone my handy-dandy flashlight through the window on my side. Difficult to get a good view because the upper and lower thirds of it were covered by metal strips.

The bumper of the car we passed was slightly crumpled, its left side bending forward. Rather than the result of a collision, it looked like it was pulled. Then I noticed the dark patch under the car.

“Overdrive,” I said. “Did you have anyone observe this place much earlier, like in the afternoon or something?”

“Ah… No. Sorry, boss. We should’ve done that. My guys got here when it was already dark.”

I couldn’t really blame them for being careless because I hadn’t thought about scouting and stuff earlier. I figured I’d just mow down everything here. “I’ll go outside first,” I said. “If no one shoots at me, then all of you come out, too.”

I opened the door and jumped out. Taking a deep breath, I noted a smell that was already familiar to me. I walked over to the car with the bent bumper and kicked it a couple of feet away to see what it was covering. With the flashlight, I revealed dried blood and minced meat on the ground.

“Okay, the coast’s clear, boys!” Overdrive shouted from inside the van. “Go out! Everyone, out!”

“Go back inside!” I yelled. “Back in the van, all of you!”

Overdrive had already gotten out, rounding the front of the van. “But why are we—?”

“There’s an Adumbrae here. Take your men and leave. I’m going in alone.” I started to summon my Blanchette mask as Overdrive’s group hastily retreated.

(Author's Notes: Erind actually succeeded in leading the gangs to attack. But their target isn't what they expected. Good for Erind keeping her minions away from danger. They really need to organize themselves better. And yep, this is Kelsey here. It's going to be interesting to see what she has been up to. However, Kelsey might not be willing to talk or be friends with Erind.

Thankfully, I was able to finish this chapter on schedule. Another storm hit my country, this time a super typhoon. Fortunately, the center was far from my area, but electricity was still knocked out for a day because repairs from the previous storm weren't done. The good thing was that I spent that day without electricity, thinking about the plot of Book 2 and cobbled together an outline that's full of insane twists. I'm targeting 60 chapters. Many, many thanks for your support!)