Elena got ahold of Rodin and managed to borrow one of the few messenger bikes used to get around in the city by Sabin’s crew. Not many had them, but he told her he could make it work. Before long, she was cruising through the main streets, making good time. She had received the mystery address from the hooded girl. Assuming she had been with the Sisters of the Wind, Elena didn’t want to waste any time.
Along the way, she wondered about the Civilized Gentlemen and their connection to Alex. If he was in trouble, she would have to find a way to intervene. First things first, but Wendy was her friend and, by proxy, so was Alex. Even if he was a bit of a turd.
She reached her destination and got off her motorcycle. Taking a breath to regain her focus, she glanced up at the roof, then eyed a reflection in a window to spot behind her. Without a doubt, she was being followed. For now, she would let it go, wait for them to reveal themselves.
With a quick check of the address, she instead went for the building right next to it. Halfway there, she had another idea. She wanted to see about getting a better look at her follower after all and give them a chance to see her.
Off to her right was what one little boy apparently thought was a park. Rusted metal and old trash made it quite the adventure, and he was balancing on a couple of bricks when she approached. She found an MRE cracker in her bag and handed it over.
“Take it.”
He looked at her like she was going to kill him, then a moment of hope before he snatched it and ran off.
“You’re welcome,” Elena muttered.
She glanced back at the rooftop, then slipped behind a tree. Possibly two followers, she realized, certain she had seen the silhouette of someone up there, along with the one she had seen in the reflection. Another glance, and then she went into the wrong building. She darted up the stairs and to an abandoned room on the next floor, then used the balcony to jump over to the correct building. Maybe they wouldn’t see that.
From there, she climbed to the next balcony over and entered. She snuck through a small condo that seemed lived in but unoccupied for the moment, then darted into the hallway to find the apartment on the address.
The door was cracked, as if it had been busted in once or twice and then repaired. She checked the paper with the address to confirm. This was the place. A long hall of apartments, a flickering light overhead. It budged open easily enough.
She was poking her head in, when a face appeared, eyeing her with beady eyes, barely visible in the darkness. Wild hair outlined it, like that of a beaten-down lion.
“You alone?” he asked.
She hesitated, then nodded.
“The Sisters of the Wind said you’d be by.” He motioned her in. “The name’s Rat. Next time, try knocking.”
The dark apartment smelled like old sneakers and wet dog—or rat—and had a pile of broken-down boxes in one corner. What for, Elena couldn’t imagine. Elena glanced around the room. Run down. Needles scattered on the floor.
He turned to her, motioning to a kitchen chair. “Also said you might have some goodies for someone with information.”
“I don’t deal in those sorts of goodies.” A noise from the back. “Are you alone?”
Rat smiled as the door opened and two figures emerged. One was a lady who looked at the point of starvation, the other a guy who had apparently eaten all the food she had missed out on. He carried a crowbar.
“The problem is, the girls said you could help,” Rat said. “And we need that help.”
Elena eyed him, feeling her rage burn. “You help me or don’t, but I don’t deal in your kind of goodies.”
“I have information,” he said, leering, taking a step toward her. “The type you want.”
Shit. Somehow, she needed to make this work. “What sort of info?”
“I know who you are. Know why you left, and—”
With a massive thud the door slammed open, soldiers entering the room with batons drawn. Behind them, Elena would recognize the large form of her father any day.
“The HELL?!” Rat shouted, and dove. He wasn’t running, though, but going for a weapon. What followed was Elena backing up, eyes darting between her father and the fight that was commencing. The soldiers versus Rat and his two in a storm of punches, kicks, batons, and blades.
The woman and her large friend didn’t last long, as soon the soldiers had them on the floor, beating them bloody. Except, the woman managed to pull herself out of their grip, rolling to a stand and then bounded into the kitchen. A soldier pursued, a second later blown back and out as she emerged with a black-market blaster. Not so different from the one Alex had been tinkering with.
“Holy shi—” another soldier started, but she shot a hole in his face, another into the hand of the soldier at his side.
The next shot missed, and then the blaster jammed with two loud clicks. The scrawny lady hit the side, hoping that would do it, but never got a chance to find out. Instead, a soldier had her by the legs, slamming her to the ground. She managed to get the blaster up and squeeze the trigger. Instead of firing, though, it exploded to send body parts of both of them flying.
The fat guy freaked out at this, gaining extra strength that he used to bash two soldiers’ heads together. He turned on Kevin, but her father moved around this guy like an old MMA fighter, a knee here, an elbow across the temple, and a quick take-down followed by a ground-n-pound that shook the room. There was something unnatural about the way he moved. Too fast, seemingly guessing the movements of his opponents.
She knew that advantage first hand—he had to have his own stash of New Gold! He had always been a badass, but this was next level. Too bad, too, because she had started to think she might be the only one with access in the city.
His soldiers stared in awe as blood spurted, the fat guy twitching… then dead. But her father kept going.
“Dad! DAD!” Elena tried to pull him off, but Kevin shoved her back so that she slammed into the far wall before falling to the floor with a groan. Sharp pain ran up her side, but it wasn’t anything serious.
Finally, Kevin sat back, hands bloody. His eyes went from the corpse to her, then he grunted and stood. One of the soldiers found a jacket and brought it over for him to clean his hands.
Elena pushed herself up, totally caught off guard by all this. “What was all this for? This was my deal, right? Sabin himself gave me the order to figure this out.”
Two soldiers emerged from the side room holding Rat between them. He was beaten bloody as well, breaths coming raspy and forced.
“This one gives us answers,” she said. “We need him.”
“What makes you think—” Rat started, though he seemed mostly out of it.
Ignoring him, she continued. “This one gives us answers, and you let him live, got that?”
Kevin eyed her, brushing himself off as if the blood was just a bit of dust. “These folks are scum. They have nothing for us.”
“I disagree.”
A tense father-daughter stare down followed. Rat lifted his head, eyes darting between Kevin and Elena, uncertain.
Elena turned to Rat. “You do realize your mouth is the only thing keeping you alive right now, right? I’d advise you start using it.”
Rat breathed deep, shoulders sagging. “What you’ve seen so far... It’s nothing compared to what’s about to hit Wicker City.”
“So, what? Someone’s taking out Sabin’s men to...?”
“That was just the opening act. They made a move to distract Sabin, so they could take him down directly. They mean to kill Sabin, then take over this hell-hole of a city.”
“But you don’t know who.”
Rat shook his head.
Elena waved a dismissive hand to the soldiers to let him go, which they did, but only after Kevin nodded.
Rat disappeared out the window with one last horrified glance into the room. She had wanted more information, but not with her father in the room. Not with him acting the way he had.
Staring up at him, she shook her head in disgust. “This is bad.”
Kevin put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, but she pulled away from him.
“We’ll take care of it from here, quietly,” he said, almost a whisper. “Just sit back now and let me take care of it.”
Another moment of offended glaring, then she stormed off.
“Elena, that’s an order!” he called after her.
She was pissed, realizing her father hadn’t changed one bit. He was still a beat-’em-bloody-and-hope-that-leads-to-results kind of guy. The bloody mess she had witnessed was undoubtedly going to be one of many.
For now, at least, she needed to simply be as far away from him as possible. Get some rest, then get back at it when she’d had a chance to clear her mind. This was a shit show, and for some reason her father had been following her.
She was going to have to have a talk with him about boundaries.