The rumble of motorcycle engines rose to a crescendo, then quickly faded as the bikes passed by. Leaning against the wall, near the mouth of the alley Nadir and I were lurking in, I saw them pull up to the house that had been shot up this afternoon. Neither of us expected them to be here this soon after the shooting, but we couldn’t afford to delay making our move. I heard a retch from behind me, Nadir’s nerves had been playing up since the motorbikes started appearing.

  “Take a breath,” I said gently, keeping my eyes on the street. “We’re okay, just take it easy.”

  “Hooo,” Nadir huffed, bent over with her hands on her knees. “Shit. Sorry.”

  “It’s all good,” I replied, keeping my voice level. “I’ve been there. Want to run through the plan again? The better you know it, the easier it’ll go.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” she said, nodding slowly. “Uh, so, you lead right?”

  “Right,” I said with a nod. “Good, keep going.”

  “We uhh…” She paused and swallowed, straightening up. “We approach quiet, sabotage the bikes so they can’t get away, then...get them?”

  “That’s the long and short,” I said, reaching out and gently patting her shoulder. “And keep me between the house and you at all times. We have help on call, but I’d rather we not need her at all.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Nadir agreed. “Uh, okay, so we’re just waiting until no more bikes are showing up right?”

  “You got it,” I confirmed, narrowing my eyes as a sedan with darkened windows pulled up. Even from here, and despite the gloom, I could see the guys getting out were better dressed than the bikers, wearing some kind of suit or uniform. Three of them of them approached the gangsters without fear. After a brief conversation I couldn’t hear, the bikers headed in with the suited men in tow. “Hmmm.”

  “What’s up?” Nadir asked. “Something going on?”

  “Company,” I said, frowning. “Some suited fuckers just went inside, looked like they were pretty friendly too.”

  “Shiiit,” she groaned. “Who do you think it was?”

  “I’m hoping it’s not the Ambassadors,” I muttered, clenching my knife. “Because if it is, we’re going to have a problem with Tattletale.”

  “Tattletale, the Undersiders leader?”

  “One and the same,” I said.

  “Why?”

  “Not important,” I said, grimacing. “If it is, we’ll deal, but I’ll just hope to hell it’s not.”

  “Okay, plan still the same?”

  “No changes,” I said with a nod. “Except we’ve got more tires to slash.”

  “Cool,” Nadir said, breathing out slowly. “Just stay behind you, sabotage the bikes, slam them with my power when I see them. Easy.”

  “No, it’s not,” I countered. “But it’s doable, as long as we work together.”

  “Right, okay,” she sighed.

  “We’ve got this,” I said, maybe a little overconfident, but Nadir needed to know that I was confident. “Taken down a lot of gangsters already. This time they won’t even be ready for a fight, okay?”

  “Even when they got shot up just today?” she asked, surprised.

  “Okay maybe they’ll be expecting something,” I hedged, feeling my cheeks warm. “But not us.”

  “Fair, I guess.”

  We quieted down as another rumbling engine passed our hiding place. It was all I could do to stand still, not fidget like my usual spazzy self. Keeping an eye on the house helped a little, but my mind was racing as quick as my heart. I’d seen more than ten go in already, that was apparently more members than they had total according to Tattletale.

  How old was her info? I probably should have asked before buying, and by fucking god I would next time because this was asinine. I took a breath to settle my nerves and refocus. I could deal with Tattletale’s bullshit in the future, right now I had to make sure I survived to give her crap about it.

  The motorbikes were mostly parked together, on the driveway of the duplex. A few were parked across the road, along with the sedan that had pulled up. The street leading up to the house was totally open, though the lights were in poor enough condition that we probably wouldn’t be spotted til we were close; if they were looking out at all.

  “You start across the street,” I said after fifteen minutes waiting, with no more bikes or cars stopping at the house. “Hit those bikes and cut their brake lines, slash the car’s tires. I’ll go out front of the house and do the same, so I’ll be the first one they see. You can probably even hit them from there, can’t be more than five meters from the house across the street right?”

  “Double that,” Nadir said flatly.

  “Huh, really?” I cocked my head and shrugged. “Well, you’re the expert. Still, not that far, so backing me up shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Sure.” It didn’t sound like she believed me. “Uh, how do I know where the brake lines are?” I blinked.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never ridden a bike.” We started at each other for a moment, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. It wasn’t remotely funny, we needed to stop the gangsters from getting away. But holy shit… “Okay, okay,” I managed, breathing deeply. “Probably the tubes that go up to the handlebars, right? Just cut them.”

  “Okay,” Nadir huffed as she recovered. “Uhh, can I borrow your knife?” I took it out and passed it to her. “Thanks, power doesn’t work on things without a heartbeat, you know?”

  “Got to be a little annoying,” I commented.

  “A little,” she said, shrugging. “But it’s not that bad, I can hit the important stuff you know?”

  “Fair I guess.” I took a deep breath, licking my lips with a sticky tongue. “Ready?”

  As soon as she confirmed she was, we got moving. I bolted across the street and bent low as I jogged towards the house, sweat already beginning to prick at my back despite the chilly night. On the opposite side, Nadir moved quickly and quietly towards the car, the blade of my knife catching in the faint light from the flickering lamps.

  I ducked behind a car, just two houses up from the gang’s hideout. The porch was empty, as was the driveway beside the half-dozen bikes parked out front. I wiped a drop of sweat from my eyes, then sprinted the distance up the sidewalk and hid behind the motorbikes. I glanced up at the handlebars and clicked my tongue. Okay, no brake lines for me.

  That was fine, I had plenty of options. I jammed my hands into the spokes of the front wheel and crushed a number of them into twisted scrap. One of the shocks was next, giving way with a muffled groan of tortured metal. Like that, it was done, and I hopped to the next one and continued my sabotage work.

  A muffled commotion across the street made me whirl, just in time to see the sedan bounce hard on its springs. I glanced at the house and bit back a curse, hoping they hadn’t heard. When no one came out, I ran across the road and ducked behind the car, breathing hard.

  “What happened?” I hissed as Nadir dragged an unconscious, suited man from the driver’s seat.

  “Driver was still there,” she whispered. “Got him before he called for help, I think.”

  “No one came out of the house,” I replied, glancing out from behind the car and double-checking I wasn’t a liar. “You got him?”

  “I got him,” Nadir confirmed. I heard the sound of zipties, then a satisfied huff. “There, not so hard.”

  “Okay, going to keep working on the bikes,” I said, then ran back to the driveway.

  Sweat stung my eyes as I started on the third bike, destroying the chain that ran to the rear wheel. My gaze kept flicking to the house, heart hammering in my chest as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I slipped my left hand into my pocket, threading my fingers into the knuckle hidden there. I’d just started destroying the next bike when I heard the latch of the door click.

  “Hey! The fuck’re you doing?”

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  I didn’t answer, didn’t hesitate. The burly, bearded biker cursed and reached into his waistband as I flew up the stairs, two at a time despite my short legs. Whatever he was reaching for, I didn’t give him the chance to show me. I struck him hard in the sternum with my brass knuckle, then again across the chin. He slumped against the door frame, clinging to it with a white-knuckle grip until I booted his face and knocked him straight out.

  Inside the house, through the open door, I could heard angry voices growing louder. I risked a look behind me and saw Nadir charging across the street. She slid behind the parked motorbikes as rapid bootsteps echoed up the hall towards the door. I turned and raised my fists, catching a wild blow on my forearm.

  My attacker pulled back too fast for me to grab him, a long, thin knife in his hand. I lowered my left arm slowly, like I was forgetting to keep my guard up. He fell for it, thrusting his blade out at my newly unprotected kidney. I snapped my hand back and caught his wrist as the knife struck and stuck, crushing it in a heartbeat. I kept my grip on him and drove a knee into his groin twice before letting him fall to the floor.

  Gunfire erupted and I shielded my face as rounds pelted off my projection. I focused on standing still, yelling over the shooting and praying Nadir heard me. A second later, I heard a series of meaty thuds, and the fire slackened, then stopped. I lowered my arms, breathing hard, and took in the scene.

  Three bikers in the hallway, the one I’d taken down and two more beyond laying face down with guns in hand. Nadir ran up the steps and asked what was next, and I directed her to secure the three bikers while I went in to find the rest of the gangsters. She gave me back my knife, and with that and my knuckle in hand I crept further into the hideout.

  The house was in shit condition overall, with cracked floorboards, peeling wallpaper, and what looked like mold setting in. I paused before a pair of doors, one on either side of the hall. I poked my head in the one to the right, finding an empty kitchen that was shockingly clean considering the rest of the house so far.

  A muffled groan filtered from the door I hadn’t gone through, and I whirled, sprinting in with weapons ready. A suited man knelt over a pair of fallen bikers, stirring them out of the state Nadir had knocked them into. My wild kick aimed at his head missed by a mile as the man leaped back, drawing a silvery pistol from inside his jacket.

  The first shot hit my forehead, the second went into the ceiling as I lashed out and struck his wrist. He was fast though, not letting me grab him as he backpedaled towards a closed door. The room wasn’t too large, and totally devoid of furniture; he had nowhere to go but back into the hallway where Nadir was. I didn’t let him get there, feinting towards him, then sprinting at the door when he tried to make it.

  My fist struck his back, just above the kidney. He let out a yell, but I had felt some resistance in the jacket; armour? When he turned, I nailed him in the cheek with the knuckle. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed like an unstrung marionette. I quickly secured him as Nadir joined me in the room, helping with the other two.

  A gunshot and shriek made my blood freeze. I whipped around and saw Nadir on the ground and a biker standing in the door that just a second ago had been shut. The man seemed to turn in slow motion, and I was on him before he could aim his gun at me. My fist crashed into his face twice before he stumbled back out of reach. I followed with a furious bellow, lashing out with my knife and cutting his arms as he shielded himself.

  I flinched as a blow struck my back, yelping. I turned and found two more bikers, and another man wearing a suit behind them. I was breathing hard, sweat was stinging my eyes, but I dove straight in. The pipe that I’d been hit with became a twisted piece of scrap, along with the wielder’s hand. His friend stabbed my side rapidly, earning a broken wrist and elbow as I grabbed his arm in two places.

  The suited man’s gun roared, and in the flash of its muzzle I could see more people inside the room the three had come from. How many fuckers were there?! I didn’t have time to take account, reaching out and—

  I slammed into the floor with a grunt of surprise, landing on top of a fallen biker I’d stepped over. Something crunched under me, but then the pressure holding me in place was gone. I pushed myself up and stumbled back, falling against the wall as my vision faded out. When I could see again, I saw Nadir propping herself up on one arm, breathing hard.

  “Ama...ranth,” she panted. “You okay?”

  “Fine,” I said, wincing as my back flared with pain. “You?”

  “Shot,” she huffed.

  “Oh fuck.” I stumbled over, dumping my backpack on the floor beside her and digging through it for the first aid kit. “Where? How bad?”

  “Arm, dunno, it hurts,” Nadir said through gritted teeth.

  “Let me take a look,” I said, brandishing a square of gauze. I sucked a breath through my teeth as I saw the cut on her arm, blood soaking into her sleeve. “Okay, this might hurt.” She groaned as I pressed the gauze in place. I peeled it back to get a look and sighed with relief as I replaced the gauze. “Okay, okay it’s not a hole.”

  “It’s what?”

  “Not a hole,” I repeated, pressing the gauze down firmly. “It looked like a cut, I think you got grazed.”

  “Fucking hurts like I got shot,” she spat.

  “Here, can you hold this?” I asked. “I want to go make sure we don’t get ambushed again.”

  “Should we call the cops?” she asked shakily.

  “Shit, yeah, hold on.”

  I dialed 911 on my phone, then put it on speaker and left it beside Nadir as I went to secure the gangsters. First the three in here, then I headed into the next room. A large table was laid out, surrounded by chairs. A few pistols lay scattered on the table, and around it there were four people laying face down. Three were obviously bikers, with their Blood Wolf patches proudly displayed. The third was an unassuming man wearing a suit like the others had been.

  Who the fuck were they? Once I’d bound all of the criminals, I searched them. Plenty of weapons, some ammo, wallets with cash. No IDs though, at least not for the three suits in here. I dragged the prisoners into the room with Nadir, leaving their weapons behind, then did the same with the others we’d taken down.

  Nadir told me the cops were on their way, so I helped her tie more gauze in place to stem the bleeding. I texted Amy, telling her to call the PRT and have them bring her to the address we were at. I got a terse ‘okay’ and sighed with relief; at least Nadir wasn’t going to be hurting for long.

  I left Nadir to keep watch on the prisoners, bringing a chair from the other room for her, then started searching through the rest of the house. The walls between the two duplexes had been knocked down, opening up the space a lot more. Most of the rooms were empty, but when I headed upstairs I hit the jackpot.

  The first room I searched was an armoury. It wasn’t exactly the PRT’s, just a collection of a few hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols, but there was enough to arm at least twice the number of guys that we’d taken down tonight. I made a mental note of the room, then continued my search. Two doors later, I found white blocks of plastic wrap, cocaine was my guess. Some green as well, probably marijuana. God only knew what all the equipment around it was though, so I continued on until I reached the master bedroom.

  “Holy shit,” I swore as the door swung open.

  Money. Lots of money. Holy shit that was more money than I’d ever physically seen. Wrapped up like the drugs were bundles of bills, piled in a stack as tall as me. I grabbed one off the top, eyes wide. The notes I could see were only twenties, but the bundle must have weighed ten pounds. I carried it down to the room where I’d left Nadir, dropping it on the ground in front of her.

  “Holy shit,” Nadir said.

  “That’s what I said,” I replied. “There’s more up there. This must have been what that guy meant, that they hadn’t been paying their dues. Lots of guns, and some drugs too.”

  “What do we do with it?” she asked, eyes flicking between me and the cash.

  “I guess...turn it in,” I said, shrugging.

  “What, to the cops?”

  “You got a better idea? It’s probably drug money or something.”

  “I mean...I could use some.”

  “That’s…wouldn’t that be theft?” I frowned. “Like, this is evidence.”

  “Didn’t you say there are guns and drugs?” Nadir countered. “Look we don’t have to take it all, but like...I don’t know. I need this.” I pursed my lips, staring at the money.

  “One bundle,” I said with a sharp nod. “Quick, let’s get it packed up before the police arrive and catch us.”

  I took my knife back and cut the saran wrap holding the bundle together. With Nadir’s help, we stuffed it into my backpack, hiding it under our changes of clothing. She wasn’t wrong about needing it. My relative windfall when it came to money meant I sort of didn’t consider it...ever. But she was unemployed and living on someone’s couch, she really did need it; certainly more than the cops did considering the orgy of evidence in here.

  It was only fair, really. Nadir had been fighting bad guys for nearly a month now without a thin dime to show for it. She deserved at least something for her trouble, and well...taking from the bad guys was probably the most ethical way to get paid in this business. By the time we were done, sirens were beginning to echo up the street, so I helped Nadir up and we walked out onto the porch to wait. Only a minute later, a pair of police cruisers and a van raced up the street, lights flashing. Officers piled out, weapons drawn, and began to approach the house.

  “Hey,” I called, raising a hand to them and pointing across the street. “One suspect down in the car, more inside, plus a shitload of guns and drugs.”

  “Identify yourselves!” the officer nearest to us yelled, making me roll my eyes.

  “Amaranth and Nadir, we’re heroes,” I answered, pointing to my masked face. “The bikers are part of Blood Wolf, guys in suits...dunno.” I perked up as I saw flashing green lights coming up the road. “Oh thank fucking god. Hey, we’re coming down okay? Nadir’s been shot, needs help.”

  Fortunately the cop decided that I was, in fact, on his side and lowered his weapon. I helped Nadir down the steps as more ran up and into the house behind us. PRT officers gathered around the back of the van, where Triumph and Amy as Pandora were sitting.

  “What the hell did you do?!” Pandora demanded as we came over.

  “Hey Pandora,” I said. “Nadir got grazed. It’s not life-threatening but—”

  “Nadir, right?” she cut me off.

  “Uhh, yeah?” Nadir said nervously.

  “Give me your hand,” she said, holding out her own. A moment later, Nadir took it and Pandora clicked her tongue. “Grazed my ass… Hey, you want this healed?”

  “Yeah, please,” Nadir said.

  “And what about you?” Pandora asked as Nadir sighed with relief. “Hurt?”

  “My back aches, that’s about it,” I replied, shaking my head. “Check me out later, okay?”

  “Fine,” she said tersely, then looked back at Nadir. “You’re done. Eat a good meal and sleep in, you’ll be okay.”

  “Shit damn,” Nadir cursed, poking at the tear in her sleeve. “I...just like that?”

  “Just like that,” I said, patting her shoulder, then looking over to Triumph. “Uh, hey Triumph. It’s been a while, how are you?”

  “Surviving,” he said with a shrug. “You?”

  “About the same,” I agreed with a smile. “Good to see you though. How are things going on patrols?”

  “I can’t disclose that information to a parahuman who’s not affiliated with the PRT,” he replied flatly.

  “Come on,” I groaned. “We just took down a gang that you guys have been ignoring. You could at least say thank you or something.”

  “Still can’t share,” Triumph said, shaking his head. “But...good work. Wish you were still with us.”

  “And if I was, this never would have happened,” I retorted, then sighed. “Forget it. You want to take our statements before we go home?”

  “The police will handle it,” he said.

  “Whatever. See you Pandora.” We turned and headed back to the house. Frustrating as that was, I couldn’t help the smile creeping onto my face. The info was good, we’d successfully taken out a violent gang.

  And we weren’t done yet.