“Thank fuck it’s not raining,” I said, suppressing a shiver. “But god damn.”

  “I know,” Nadir said, huddling against me. “Swear I’m gonna smack Z if he—”

  “Heee’s here.” I whipped around, barely avoiding drawing my knife. “What’s good Nads?”

  “You need to stop sneaking up on us,” I snapped. “Going to get hit one of these days. Why not just come out with Nadir, you know her don’t you?”

  “Shit, I got stuff to do,” Zeke said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’ll try and be a little quicker, cool?”

  “Fine,” I said, not wanting to delay any further. “Quick talk because we need to move. You remember staking out a drop point on the weekend?”

  “I remember being bored and cold,” he mumbled.

  “Right, well, we’re hitting them,” I said. “Three in total. We’re going to have to move quick, and I need you to do exactly what I tell you if we want this to work.”

  “You’re the boss,” he said with a sigh.

  “Don’t worry, we’ve got this planned,” Nadir said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You ready, got stuff in case we need to fight?”

  “Oh, I’m all over that,” Zeke said, reaching behind his back and drawing a shiny, black pistol. I felt my eye twitch as Nadir gasped.

  “Are you a fucking dipshit?” I demanded, holding out my hand. “You’re not carrying that on patrol, give it.”

  “What? Fuck off, get your own gat,” he said, shooting a glare my way.

  “Then go the fuck home,” I retorted, clutching my knife, though not drawing it. “In enough shit with the Protectorate, I don’t need a shooting charge.”

  “Z, seriously, what the fuck?” Nadir asked shakily. “Dude you know we’re heroes.”

  “I can’t do what you guys can,” he said. “Like shit, you know? Going up against gangbangers with my fists?”

  “Then I’ll trade you,” I said, pulling out my knife and knuckle. I held them out and held his gaze. “I actually have experience with those, and frankly I don’t trust you not to panic and put a bullet in me or Nadir.”

  “Do it,” Nadir said firmly. “Shit Zeke, I don’t even have a weapon besides my powers.”

  “Man this is bullshit,” Zeke complained, taking my weapons and slapping the pistol in mine. “You take care of my girl, get it?”

  “Obviously,” I snapped, pressing the slide and clicking my tongue. “One in the chamber, no safety. Christ alive.”

  “Gotta be ready,” he said, looking at what I’d given him. “This ain’t much.”

  “Ideally, you won’t actually be doing anything,” I replied. I wasn’t familiar with the model, but flicked the safety when I found it and put the pistol in my pocket. I’d have to be careful with that. “Nadir, brief him while we walk.”

  I let her explain the fairly basic plan while I kept my eyes out for trouble as we headed up to the first drop point. It’d be a quick one-two-three, running the three to four blocks between each spot. I was confident that between Nadir and I, we could take them down fast enough to have this done within an hour; hopefully before the first of their customers arrived.

  The streets were clear, lucky for us. It was near midnight, so that made sense, and it was pretty cold too. Our pace was quick enough that I had started to sweat by the time we reached our destination. The intersection was ahead, a flashing red light indicating a four-way stop. No cars yet, so I steered us between a pair of shops and pressed my back against the wall so I could watch the road.

  “Okay,” I huffed, keeping my voice low. “When the car pulls up, we give it two minutes; enough time for them to get comfortable. Nadir, you’re going to follow me out. Stay right behind me, and use me for as much cover as you can.”

  “Got it,” she said, nodding sharply.

  “Uhh, what if you get shot?” Zeke asked.

  “I’ll be fine, trust me,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

  “Z, forcefield?”

  “Oh right.”

  “Okay, so when we get close enough I hit them and hold til you get to the door right?” Nadir continued, shaking her head.

  “Exactly,” I said. “Trusting you to hold til the last second, keep them from going for their phones.”

  “No problem,” she said confidently.

  “And what’s my job?” Zeke asked.

  “Lookout,” I replied. “And if civilians come up the street, or one of their customers does, you keep them away; and please don’t beat up civilians.”

  “I’m not stupid,” he griped.

  “Once me and Nadir secure the bad guys, we’ll call the cops and then we’re running,” I continued, ignoring him. “Follow us close, and once we’re at the next place same thing. We’re gonna do this fast. Everything goes to plan, we’ll have bagged a bunch of bad guys in hopefully less than an hour.” Zeke started at me quietly for a minute.

  “You make it sound easy,” he said, his voice betraying a bit of nerves. “Ain’t these guys part of a Nazi gang?”

  “Oh I have plenty of experience with Nazis,” I replied with a dark chuckle. “Trust me, we can handle this. Okay, game faces, I see lights.”

  I licked my lips and watched the car come up to the intersection, stop, then turn left and drive off. A sigh escaped my lips. False alarm, an unfortunate start. Still, we were a little early so a wait was expected. I shifted the pistol to a more secure position and leaned back against the wall. While waiting, I ran through the planned route in my head.

  We were starting at the drop furthest out from the city, the longest the cops would have to drive. Ideally, as we got closer, it would take less time for them to arrive. If we were lucky, which I wasn’t counting on, they’d all arrive to the scenes around the same time. Not likely, but it shouldn’t matter too much in the grand scheme.

  Fortunately, we weren’t waiting too long for our mark to arrive. Like every night we’d watched them, the same car pulled up to the curb, stopped, shut off its lights and idled. It was across the road from us, a little ways away. Only problem was we’d be approaching from the front, which actually could pose a problem if they saw us coming.

  “Nadir, come here,” I said, keeping my voice low and patting the wall next to me. She came over and flattened herself against the bricks. “See it?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Shit,” Nadir muttered. “Facing us.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “We’re going to have to move fast, but we’re going to wait a few more minutes okay?”

  “Yeah, makes sense,” she said, nodding.

  “You guys good?” Zeke hissed.

  “Fine,” I said. “When we move, you do, got it?”

  He nodded and I settled back against the wall, checking my watch. We could spare a few extra minutes, so it wasn’t the end of the world at least. Just meant we might have to push the pace for the next one a little. I stared at the car, trying to see through the tinted glass. Vague silhouettes moved about, but I couldn’t make out any detail.

  When we’d waited long enough, I took a deep breath and tapped Nadir’s arm, then raced from the alley. I felt her grab my belt, but she didn’t slow me down. About halfway across the street, the car slammed down hard on its suspension, and I knew we were in business. Nadir let me go and I poured on the speed, slamming my elbow into the driver’s window to smash it.

  Two white guys were slumped against their seatbelts, either unconscious or too dazed to notice the glass flying at them. I fiddled with the lock inside the door, then popped the latch open and clambered over the guy to reach the buckles. Nadir went around the other side and got to work getting the passenger out while I did the same for the driver. I rolled him on his belly and ziptied his wrists, then rose and took a few deep breaths.

  “Nadir, cops,” I barked, getting back into the car and popping the trunk.

  A glance in the back seat told me I didn’t need to bother. Two bricks of green leaves and dozens of bags of white powder were laid out on the cushions, along with a compact pistol. Jesus were they really that confident the cops wouldn’t pull them over? Well, plenty of evidence at least. I got out and went around the back, tutting as I opened the trunk. Nadir came around and cursed viciously.

  “That’s some firepower,” I said.

  “Is that a fucking rocket launcher?” Nadir asked shakily.

  “I don’t think we need detective skills to figure that one out,” I said flatly. “Well, guess we know what they’re selling.”

  “Should we just...leave this here?” she said, staring at it with wide eyes.

  “Leave wha— Is that a fucking rocket launcher?!”

  “Yes, yes it is Z,” I replied, slamming the trunk shut. “And yes we are, we don’t have time to sit around playing with RPGs. Call the cops back and tell them what we found, maybe it’ll light a fire under their asses.”

  It took a minute to get through, but as soon as Nadir had given them the info we were off and running. Downtown’s lights glittered in the distance, miles away. I led us left at an intersection, then right after two more blocks. I swore under my breath as we approached the drop point; our mark was there and facing us.

  Nadir saw it too, fortunately, and ducked behind me. Speed and surprise were the only two things we had on our side ride now. Seconds after the lights of the car came on, it bounced hard on its shocks. Like before, I ran up to the driver’s side and put my elbow through the window and popped the door open from inside. I dragged the driver out and restrained him, head snapping right at a clatter of plastic. The sight of a cell phone, open, screen lit, and squawking made my stomach plummet.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I swore as Nadir came around the side of the car.

  “What’s up?” she asked nervously.

  “They made a call, I assume to the next drop point,” I said, pointing at the cell that had now gone dark.

  “Fuck!” Nadir echoed, kicking the door of the car hard enough to dent it.

  “What’s good?” Zeke asked, jogging over.

  “Bad guys got warning, we need to go,” I said.

  “Shit no way we make it on foot,” Nadir groaned.

  “Let’s drive then,” Zeke said, gesturing to the car. “We got wheels right here.”

  “Carjacking?” I asked, arching a brow. He shrugged and I considered it for a second, then gave a single, sharp nod. “Fuck it, we’re not letting these guys get away. Nadir, drive, Z help me get the bad guys in back.”

  “Uhh, I can’t drive,” Nadir said sheepishly.

  “You serious?” I said, feeling my eye twitch.

  “Don’t sweat, I got this,” Zeke said with confidence that made me nervous.

  There was no time to argue though. I gave him a nod and he got behind the wheel as Nadir and I shoved the bad guys into the back seat. She got into the passenger side while I hopped in the back. Like that, we were off with the roar of the engine and squeal of tires. The bad guys stirred briefly as we took off, but a quick punch made sure neither of them would cause us trouble.

  The drugs once stored on the seat had fallen to the floor, one of the bags splitting and filling the cabin with the pungent reek of marijuana. I ignored it as best I could, focusing on giving directions to Zeke and hanging on as he raced down the streets of Brockton Bay, probably breaking a dozen laws each second he did. I couldn’t be worried about that right now, instead I kept my eyes out for our target.

  As we rounded the final corner, I saw the brake lights of a car just passing through the intersection. When our lights lit up the windows, its tires screamed and it raced off. Our car’s engine gave a throaty roar as Zeke pushed it with a mad cackle.

  “Z, slow down!” Nadir yelled, hanging onto the handle just above the door.

  “Can’t we’ll lose them,” he replied.

  “Keep going!” I barked, shuffling over to the window. “I’ll try and stop them.”

  “How?!” Nadir demanded.

  I wasn’t totally sure, but I had an extremely stupid idea that just might work. As Zeke raced to close the distance to our target, I drew his pistol from my pocket and rolled down the window. As I did, I saw flashes from the car ahead, and Nadir shrieked as rounds struck the windshield. Zeke swerved and my head smacked against the door frame.

  I shook it off and told him to get closer. As he did, I leaned out the window and grabbed the frame of the car. My projection made the metal buckle, letting me hang on as the chase raced on through the streets. I saw a silhouette appear from the passenger side window of the other car, and more flashes from his gun.

  Zeke swerved into the oncoming lane, fortunately empty for now, narrowly avoiding the shots. As I hung on, I took aim as best I could. It wasn’t easy, but we got onto a straight stretch and I managed to line up the sights with the rear wheel of the car. The pistol barked as I fired shot after shot into our target. On the third, I was rewarded with a spray of sparks from the wheel as the tire shredded.

  The car fishtailed and rode up on the sidewalk before slamming into a fire hydrant and coming to a stop as water fountained up. I ducked back inside the cabin as Zeke slammed on the brakes, halting us half a block away from our target.

  “Z, call the cops,” I ordered as I opened the door and took off running towards the wreck, Nadir right behind me.

  The water was frigid and soaked me to the bone as I got to the driver’s door. The frame was twisted, so I had to jam my arm in and pop the door out of it. The driver was slumped against his seatbelt, and the passenger’s head lolled to one side. I got the first one out as Nadir came over to my side, then clambered into the car and awkwardly worked the other guy over the center console. Neither were conscious, so we left them laying on their backs, away from the spray of water.

  “Cops are coming,” Zeke said as he ran over to us. “What do we do?” I started at the utter shitshow our night out had become and sighed.

  “You two need to leave,” I said sharply, drawing Zeke’s pistol and handing it back to him.

  “What?” Nadir balked, eyes wide. “Fuck that, Amaranth I can’t just—”

  “The PRT knows I’m a troublemaker,” I snapped, cutting her off. “You’re new, can’t afford to have you getting all caught up in this bullshit. And Z...they’d probably throw the book at you, no offense.”

  “You sure?” Nadir asked as sirens began blaring.

  “Yes, now run,” I demanded.

  Fortunately they listened, taking off down the street at a headlong sprint. I sighed and walked back to the car we had ‘borrowed’ for the chase. I got the two guys in the back out, now conscious and cursing at me. It didn’t help when I shoved them face down on the ground and searched them. I found a pistol and glanced at the wrecked car. They’d know I was shooting, but if they didn’t find a gun that had been fired…

  I walked over to the wreck, around to the rear. There were two bullet holes by the wheel well, where I’d blown out their tire. I put the muzzle of the gun to them and fired through the existing holes. Once that was done, I set the pistol on the trunk and got to waiting for the cops to show as I considered what to actually tell them.

  The flashing red and white lights raced around the corner, followed by the green and white of a PRT van. Well, I guess they knew who was involved… I rose and raised my empty hands, waving them down. They pulled to a stop just down the street, and the containment van stopped just ahead of them. As the cops got out of their cruiser and started taking in the scene, I saw a familiar masked face get out of the van and march furiously towards me.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Amaranth?” Miss Militia demanded, the rifle in her hands not quite aimed my way.

  “Taking down the Varangians,” I replied, glancing over my shoulder. “And...making a bit of a shitshow of it.”

  “I’m going to need you to come with me,” she said gravely as a pair of officers came up and flanked her. I looked between the three of them, muscles tensing.

  “Arresting me?” I asked, fists clenched.

  “We’ll see,” Miss Militia said as one of the officers brandished a pair of handcuffs. “Now are you going to cooperate?” I sighed and let them slip the cuffs around my wrists, then clambered into the back of the van.

  At least it was only me.