The empty bottle in her hand was mocking her. Ashe understood why she was holding an empty bottle, Crystal insisted she only got the one. She wasn’t allowed to get drunk, because she was too emotionally fragile to be trusted with alcohol. At least they offered her some weed which was helping take the edge off.

What it wasn’t doing was helping her forget the warm brown eyes of a family friend as she mercilessly ended his life for no reason other than he knew who she was. It churned her stomach that she was capable of that, and yet, she didn’t regret it. That was the part that bothered her most, just how casual that murder had been. She was too used to killing, too callous about it. Murder was just another tool she could employ on a whim.

She should have known that the moment she killed someone who simply owed her money, but it hadn’t truly clicked until she pulled that trigger barely an hour earlier. Right in front of her mom at that! Inferno was cemented as a cop killer now, which meant they would be coming for her in greater force than ever, and right when she was trying to earn some good will with them too.

Well, at least she hadn’t expended too much effort in that pursuit, but it still stung.

Crystal returned with a cup of steaming tea, Ashe almost threw it, she really considered it, but it wasn’t fair to take her anger out on her girlfriend. Instead, she took a sip and her eyes widened. She’d put something alcoholic in it, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it was Irish Breakfast too, which was amusing enough that she actually laughed.

“See, you can still smile,” Crystal whispered, pulling her close.

Yeah, she could, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to.

Where would Ashe go from here? Retiring the Inferno persona completely was something she considered, but enough people knew who she was that she couldn’t just walk away. That wasn’t an option anymore, which meant she had to live with that, make it work for her. Reputation could be leveraged, and she certainly had one now. The whole reason the TV was off was because the local stations were playing nothing but tributes to Kendall.

Reynolds was even featured in one of them, arm still in a sling despite it having been months since he was shot, giving a speech about his partner’s life. That was when the bottle was brought out, and why she was now thankful for the tea. She was being rationed alcohol, to ensure she didn’t get too drunk, but at least she wasn’t being coddled.

Too much, that is.

Keiko was laying down on the second couch, her ankle wrapped in an ice pack, and a heating pad on standby. Given she had taken a beanbag round to the chest, that wasn’t all that bad for injuries. The armor Alejandro provided was exceptional, but they would all need several panels replaced. Such was the price for quality armor and she hated every bit of it.

Had the man set up the entire situation to ensure that she would be forced to kill an officer and cut off another avenue of her life? It would fit with what she had seen of both sides that the man possessed. He was certainly the type to manipulate her like that, but it also didn’t quite add up. She was still missing something, she just didn’t know what.

Whatever, Ashe would just have to worry about it later. She took another hit of the joint, thankful it had been cut with some pure tobacco. Keiko’s personal preference, but it was quickly becoming her own as well. She’d considered just taking some of her pain meds, but she knew how addictive those could get, even if the haze they left her in might have been welcome.

Which was why she asked Crystal to hide them.

Actually, she should probably take some before bed, just to make sure she got some sleep. Her injuries were doing better, but she’d pulled something along the way that she hadn’t noticed in the heat of the moment. Even if it had been weeks since her brush with death, she wasn’t back to a hundred percent yet.

Maybe if she had been, Kendall wouldn’t have needed to die.

Crystal wandered back over to Keiko after a moment, and swapped the gel pack for the heating pad. Keiko barely acknowledged her, opting to tap away on her phone instead. Ashe didn’t miss the scowl on her face either, there was something she was pissed about, but she wasn’t saying it and Ashe wasn’t about to pry.

A set of speakers came alive with some soft music that wasn’t in English, Ashe was almost certain she had heard it before, but couldn’t place where. Crystal was back on the couch, sitting beside Ashe and soon she was resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Despite everything, the moment was borderline nice, relaxing in its own way. It was almost enough to get Ashe to forget that she had killed someone she knew for the better part of five years.

There was definitely an unspoken agreement that whatever happened was tomorrow’s problem. Ashe wanted to dig into things, to focus on figuring out what the fuck happened that turned a simple rescue op into a three way firefight. Obviously Alejandro had fucked them, which she would be paying the man back for in short order.

The question was, who called the police?

Ruminating on those thoughts, she drifted, not quite asleep, but close to it.

A knock at the door made her jump, there wasn’t a clock and a check of her phone only confirmed that she’d lost another hour. Crystal smiled softly, then planted a kiss on her forehead before extricating herself from the couch and making her way to the door.

Keiko had stopped with her phone, one hand tucked between her and the couch. Even with the haze still lingering in her mind, Ashe didn’t miss that Crystal had her gun at the ready even before she peeked out the peephole.

She sighed, shoulders losing the tension that Ashe had just come to accept when it came to such situations. Even half stoned, she’d barely even realized that she too had a hand on her holster which currently lacked a firearm due to her current mental state. The latches were removed and the door was pulled open and Crystal was quickly engulfed in a crushing hug from her little brother.

“I saw the news,” Jason said, stepping back. Todd was right behind him, looking through the room until he had spotted Ashe, then he too slouched in relief. “Everyone made it out in one piece?”

“Mostly,” Crystal said, looking back at Keiko, who paused just long enough to flip her off.

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She didn’t seem in a mood to join in now that it was confirmed they weren’t in danger, still tapping away at her phone for whatever reason. Maybe she was getting them the answers that she wanted. She trusted Keiko, despite how she had almost walked away before. She had stayed with them, even as a Viuda liaison, and someone having your back in a life or death situation tended to forge a bond that wasn’t dissolved lightly.

While Crystal was busy reassuring Jason that she was indeed alright, Todd slipped past them, sparing a passing glance for Keiko before sitting down on the table across from Ashe. He gave her a wan smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“You look like shit.”

She couldn’t help it, she snorted.

“I’ve been told worse,” Ashe said, cracking a smile before it melted back into a scowl. “I sure as hell feel it though.”

Todd sat there in silence, and for that Ashe was grateful. What could the kid say, really, that might help her feel better? Hell, the fact that the media already knew about Kendall’s death was a breach of infosec among the police. She could only imagine how his family felt, learning about his death from the news.

Worse, she had gotten a message less than twenty minutes after the shooting that simply said that her parents were fine, and to call before watching the news. Ashe hadn’t done that, the guilt was too strong. If they asked, she would tell them that she took a nap that got out of hand.

The moment would be seared into her mind, more so than any other killing she had taken part in. Ashe had killed more than a dozen people since she set out on the path that led her to that moment, but none resonated quite like that, not even her first. She had two choices before her. Let that moment rule her, or rule it in turn.

“Have you actually watched the broadcasts?” Todd asked after a moment.

Ashe nodded, her lip quivering. “A bit. I had to turn it off after a few minutes, it was too much.”

“Then you probably didn’t notice, but Inferno hasn’t been named once,” Todd said. “Riptide or Hanabi either.”

Ashe’s head shot up, eyes blinking but her mouth wasn’t cooperating. How was that even possible, she’d been sure she called Riptide by name in front of her mom. Was there something she missed? Were the police just not releasing the information to prevent the gangs from kicking off hostilities on the streets?

Or had her mom really not heard who they were? They weren’t wearing their usual gear, just the generic armor that Alejandro had provided. He knew that she was involved, so what was the game being played? Nothing ever seemed to be simple when it came to her life, even when it did work in her favor. Regardless, there was no way this wouldn’t bite her in the ass at the worst possible moment.

“We need answers,” Ashe said, absently. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts and hovered over the one person she wasn’t ready to talk to, but there was no avoiding it. Before she could rethink herself, Ashe pressed the call button. It connected after barely the first ring. “Hey mom.”

Ashe hadn’t needed to put much effort into sounding drowsy, because she still was despite everything.

“Were you sleeping?” her mom asked, her voice clipped.

Ashe grunted an affirmative. “Yeah, Crystal and I passed out while watching a movie, sorry about that. Your message said it was urgent?”

“Are you sitting?”

“Yeah, still on the couch,” Ashe said, her voice turning sharp, trying to not overplay her hand. “Who got hurt?”

There was a moment of silence. “I’ve got a few bruises and a ruptured eardrum. Elkins broke an arm when a wall collapsed. Kendall however… He’s dead.”

“How,” Ashe asked before she could really stop herself.

“Executed by a masked woman,” her mom said. “There were three of them, and one of them already had a gun to his head. I… I failed him.”

Ashe had to fight to keep her mouth shut, the urge to offer some platitude that would sound sincere but be anything but was almost overwhelming. It was a habit to be empathetic when someone was hurting, but she was the last person that deserved to say shit right then. He wouldn’t be dead if she hadn’t made the decision to pull the trigger.

“I almost feel like it was my fault,” her mom continued softly. “I’d shot one of them and I can’t help but feel they did that in retaliation.”

Ashe took a shuddering breath. “Any suspects?”

That was the question she wanted answered, the whole reason she called. Where were their leads, and did she dare attempt to point them in the wrong direction? Could she actually do that? Could she lie to her parents about her own actions to that degree?

“We have suspicions, but nothing concrete,” Mom said. “I was actually hoping you could reach out to Jessica, since she has some ties to Inferno, maybe she heard something?”

“Do you actually trust them to tell the truth?” Ashe asked.

A heavy sigh followed. “Not in the slightest, but we are lacking leads other than the group we arrested, which aren’t saying a word.”

“I’m sending the text now,” Ashe said, actually sending a text to Jessica. The girl was literally down the hall at the moment. “Sent, I’ll send you what I get back. I… Fuck…”

“Yeah,” he mom said softly. “I’m sorry. I know you were closer to him than most of my coworkers. Hell, he helped you after the attack, and now he’s gone.”

“He was a good man,” Ashe said, tearing up once more. “He didn’t deserve that.”

“No, he didn’t,” her mom almost whispered, then someone came in but Ashe couldn’t hear what was being said. “Okay, thank you. Ashe, I’ve got to go. They’re giving me two weeks off, but I still have a report to finish. If you need anything whatsoever, call your mother. Regardless of whatever disagreement we had, know that we love you.”

“I know,” Ashe said, choking out a sob. “Message me when you’re home safe.”

“I will.”

The call ended and Ashe almost doubled over, wailing as she did. Her fists balled on her pants as she let it all out once more. Crystal was back beside her in an instant, pulling her into a hug. It wasn’t fair, she shouldn’t be getting away with what she had done. Worse, she was now in a position to spin the story however she wanted.

“It isn’t fair,” she said, her voice muffled by Crystal’s soaked sleeve. “I killed a good man, and I’m going to get away with it.”

“Oh sweetie,” Crystal said, gently massaging Ashe’s scalp. Pity she was too distraught to enjoy it. “I…really don’t know what to say here.”

The wailing cut off, replaced by almost manic laughter. “Fucking hell. It’s no different than when those bastards got away with trying to kill me!”

“Either die a hero,” Keiko said, surprising her for a moment.

“Or live long enough to become the villain,” Ashe finished. “Yeah, I’m not a hero, even if I sort of felt like one at the beginning.”

“Welcome to this life,” Keiko said, scowling. “So, ready to have another bombshell dropped, or should I wait a bit?”

Ashe blinked the tears away, rubbing her face on her own sleeve before turning her full attention onto her friend. “Fuck it, I’m already down in the dumps, lay it on us.”

Keiko bit her lip, glancing between Ashe and Crystal for a moment, then looked at the two boys. She seemed conflicted, but they were essentially part of her inner circle at this point along with Jessica, Brie, Rachel, and Caralina. She trusted them with her identity, so whatever this was, they could be trusted with it too.

Finally finding her resolve, Keiko’s face smoothed out into a grim sort of determination as she dropped a proverbial bomb on the group.

“Someone has infiltrated your inner circle.”