“I’m on a rampage, totin’ a fuckin’ twenty-gauge, Mossberg pump for you suckas wanna jump,” Zeke sang along, tapping on the wheel of his car. “Wassup with you bitches now, wassup with you hoes? The D-I-R-T-Y done clicked so y’know how the story go.”

  The engine rumbled as he turned up the street where he was meeting Joy and Lia. It was a little later than he expected, would have to push the whip if they wanted to make it by the time Lia had said. Nadir had sent him a text earlier telling him to wait, and even if he’d never admit it he was a little nervous.

  They were intense, way more than even the roughest OGs Zeke knew. The shit they pulled was way harder than anything his old gang had too. Driving for a drive-by didn’t compare with kicking down doors and popping heads. But he wasn’t a little bitch, he could hang with them no problem. After all, he had a fat blunt sitting at Papa’s with his name on it for later. He slowed the car when he saw two familiar figures sitting on the curb, rolling down his window.

  “Yo, yo, yo!” Zeke called out, waving to them. “What’s good?”

  “Shut up Zeke,” Lia spat, rising and coming around the front of the car. Joy gave him an apologetic shrug and got in behind him.

  “Yo, you okay boss?” he asked hesitantly. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were wet. Shit, something was going on.

  “Fine,” she said bitterly. “Get moving, wasted enough fucking time.”

  “Alright.” He turned his attention to the road and started driving south. Whatever it was, Lia didn’t want to say shit, and he wasn’t about to try and drag it out of her.

  “Hey, Lia, it’s okay,” Joy said gently. “You don’t—”

  “Shut the fuck up Nadir,” Lia cut her off, wrapping her scarf around her face. She pulled her gun out of her bag and started fiddling with it. “In fact, neither of you say a fucking word to me until we’re there.”

  Zeke glanced over his shoulder and shared a worried look with Joy, then turned his attention to the road. Whatever happened, he wasn’t getting an answer. Shit, had someone died? That would make sense, if she was crashing out this hard. Damn, hopefully wouldn’t mess things up too much tonight.

  This was big, he got that. Guns, drugs, and all sorts of shit going on. The way Lia was acting though, it was something personal. He’d seen shooter with a dozen bodies go down because they did something stupid when their cousin got whacked. It was a cold game, and Lia was running hot.

  But that wasn’t his job to deal with, Zeke was just a driver and sometimes muscle. She was a hero anyway, with some crazy forcefield that let her shrug off all sorts of shit. That’d keep her safe, probably. Wasn’t like he’d seen her hurt bad before, even though she had some gnarly scars that spoke to some bad shit. After all, how did a kid lose three fingers?

  “Turn this shit off,” Lia barked, point a finger at the stereo deck.

  “Sorry boss, ain’t your call,” Zeke said, licking his lips. “Driver calls the shots on that.” She scoffed, but turned her head and stared out the window as he suppressed a sigh.

  It was going to be a long night…

  “Get back here you little rat shit!” Amaranth screamed as a half-dressed banger sprinted away up the street.

  “Amaranth, behind you!” Nadir yelled.

  She whirled and smashed her fist into the face of a guy running up on her, descending with him as he fell and hammering his face repeatedly. Zeke ziptied the guy he was bagging, then ran over to help her. Amaranth rose and kicked the guy in the side before returning to the entrance of the house they were raiding.

  It was a big, fancy place; or at least it had been at some point. The paint was chipped, the siding was rotten, and more than a few of the windows were boarded up. He had only gone into the first floor, but Nadir had said there was a huge lab in the basement. She joined Amaranth a moment later, leaving him alone to keep watch on the guys they’d arrested.

  There were four in all, a girl and three dudes. All of them were injured in some way, laying face down and groaning with their arms behind their backs. Zeke kept his knife in hand and his head up, wishing he’d bought a piece off Papa before coming out. Sure Lia might be a little pissed about that, but it wasn’t like he had anything that could handle the big stuff they were after tonight.

  Lia had only given them a short briefing on the capes that might be coming their way. Of all of them, Victor sounded the scariest. Zeke wasn’t ready to lose what few skills he’d managed to gain over the years, definitely not to some bitchass cracker. But he knew his job was to shout for the others whenever backup arrived.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Fortunately, by the time Amaranth and Nadir came out of the house, it was still all clear. Amaranth walked over a dumped a bag filled with something on the ground, then kicked one of the restrained gangsters in the side.

  “Get this shit to the car,” Amaranth said sharply, pointing at the bag. Nadir dropped a second one next to it.

  “What...is it?” Zeke asked, despite himself.

  “Don’t worry, just cash,” Nadir reassured him. “Go, before the villains show up. Don’t want you in the crossfire.”

  He swallowed hard and nodded, grabbing both bags and jogging back towards the car. They’d parked a couple blocks up so they weren’t spotted, so it was a bit of a trek. Still, this was all part of the plan, and it meant he finally got to put all that god damn running they did to use.

  It only took a few minutes, and Zeke offloaded the bags in the trunk as quick as he could. Damn he was really missing his gat. Being around here with a nice car put a target on him, to say nothing of being a black guy in Naziwood. But he could handle himself no problem, he just kept his knife in hand and his eyes and ears open.

  Not a minute after he’d arrived, Zeke heard a loud blast from the direction of the lab. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and he gripped his knife tighter. That didn’t sound good. Shit he couldn’t just wait around here while his friends were in danger. Even if he wasn’t made for taking on capes, he could help with whoever they brought with them.

  He charged up the road, sweat making his balaclava sticky. His heart was racing, muscles tense. Back on his block, he knew to duck anytime he heard wheels screaming or gunshots, but he couldn’t do that anymore. After all, he was getting paid.

  Zeke rounded the corner just in time to duck under a chunk of flying debris. He raised his head and saw Amaranth squaring off against a shirtless cracker, so heavily inked he barely looked white, and wearing a tiger mask. Nadir was laying on her back, staring up at the sky. He felt his heart sink and sprinted towards her, heedless of the fight just meters away.

  “Nadir, shit,” Zeke exclaimed falling to his knees and examining her. “Shit shit shit.”

  “Hmm? Zeke?” Nadir turned her head slowly and he saw blood soaking part of her face visible through her mask. “Wha’s goin’ on?” He flinched and bent over her as another blast echoed out. He felt something patter off his jacket and prayed Amaranth was holding her own.

  “Bad guy, right there,” he panted, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the fight.

  “Ohhh, shit,” she groaned, rolling onto her side. She coughed and pushed herself up, and he slipped an arm under hers to help. “Gotta hit him, just gotta hit him once.”

  She shrugged him off and started limping forward. Amaranth couldn’t lay a finger on the villain, he could tell that much. He saw her charge at him, only for the bad guy to lash his hands out and knock her off her feet. A glint caught Zeke’s eye and he saw her pistol skitter away across the pavement. Oh no.

  “Lia!” Nadir shouted, voice ragged.

  The shirtless villain turned to her and raised his hands as she raced forward, then slammed face-first into the ground. He started to push himself up, then dropped back down. Zeke had never felt what it was like to be hit by Nadir’s power, but it sure looked bad.

  “Fuck!” he heard a muffled curse as Lia rose shakily. “Fucking fucker.” Her head twisted back and forth, and when she spotted her gun she tottered over to retrieve it. “Hit him again Nadir!”

  The villain grunted as Lia limped towards him with her pistol in hand. She paused a few feet back, raised the gun, and fired it at the villain until Zeke could hear the hammer clicking against the empty chamber. He jogged over and grimaced at the grim sight of the bad guy, full of holes and bleeding in the street.

  “Lia the fu—”

  “Let’s go,” she barked, cutting Nadir off. “No time!”

  They ran off as Zeke felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Even though this was a win, it sure didn’t feel like it to him.

  “Hey Papa,” Zeke called as he led the way inside the man’s house. “It cool if my friends crash here tonight?” The older guy raised his head and studied Joy and Lia, then shrugged.

  “Shit, they better not cause trouble,” Papa replied. “First aid’s in the bathroom.” They both limped off while Zeke joined Papa on the couch, letting out a long sigh. The old man looked over, arching a brow. “You in trouble, boy?”

  “Nah, ain’t trouble,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, kinda trouble, but nothing big, y’know?”

  “You out driving in a crew again?” Papa asked. “Don’t try and bullshit me now.” He winced.

  “Look man I can’t talk about it,” Zeke said nervously. “Confidential and shit.”

  “I wanna know who I’m letting under my roof,” he said sharply. “Now you tell me—” They both jumped at the sound of shattering glass and screaming.

  Zeke bolted up from the couch and ran to the bathroom, with Papa hot on his heels. They both cursed at the sight in the bathroom. Lia was bleeding from a nasty cut on her neck, struggling as Joy frantically tried to stop the flow. Shards of the shattered mirror crunched underfoot as he pushed into the room, grabbing Lia’s flailing arms to try and give Joy an easier time.

  “Noo,” Lia groaned. “Fucking let me fix this! Let me fix it please!”

  “Lia calm down!” Zeke said, gripping her tightly. Shit it was hard. “Hey, hey! Chill out!”

  Her resistance slackened as she began sobbing, a reedy, whiny noise that made him shiver. Joy worked feverishly, and by the time Lia was no longer bleeding the ground was covered in discarded, bloodied bandages. She gave Zeke a nod, and he let go of Lia’s arms, letting them fall to the ground. Joy picked her up and cradled her, turning to Papa.

  “Needs sleep,” Joy said tersely. “Got a spare bed?”

  “She can have mine,” Zeke offered quickly. “Second door on the left, just up the hall.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a nod.

  “The fuck you bringing into my home?” Papa demanded after the girls had left.

  “Bro chill, she’s just having a hard time,” Zeke said, even though his stomach was twisted up in knots. “Can we just talk it out tomorrow? Dunno how much more any of us can handle tonight.”

  “Fine,” Papa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But we’re sharing that blunt.” Zeke sighed and nodded, too tired to argue.

  With any luck, it’d wait til the morning.