“You know,” Crystal began, her voice laced with amusement, “for someone complaining about too many fires, you sure like to set them.”
Ashe glanced into the mirror, the rising flames from the manor casting the sky in a crimson glow. The day felt like a never ending series of distractions all meant to drain her. Someone wanted her worn down, either to make the next attempt more likely to see her dead, or to soften her further for some other purpose.
With the mayor dead and no answers from ransacking the man’s office she wanted nothing more than to turtle up back at the apartments, but she still had the mystery of what happened to Caralina. Then there was the mysterious armored figure that had bailed her out of the mall ambush. She had no clue what was up with that, why one of Alejandro’s guards was going to such lengths to keep her safe?
That didn’t discount that the man himself wasn’t involved in the night’s events, but it did mean that more was going on than she should assume. Given what she had seen, maybe Yessina had the right idea about riding out the evening in the confines of a jail cell. Ashe didn’t have that option, enough people knew she was Inferno as it was.
“At least we got out before the black vans arrived,” Keiko said. “Seriously, who did you piss off this time?”
“Want me to write a list?” Ashe snapped, then sighed. She’d been doing that a lot. “Sorry, I’m just… This night needs to be over.”
“Yes, it does,” Linda said softly.
Ashe’s stomach twisted at the somber tone. Her mom was seeing the worst of her all at once. She knew that there were still lines that wouldn’t be crossed, but they were few in number now. It was hard to believe that just four months prior, Ashe wouldn’t have even considered doing any of the things that she had done so casually tonight.
Once it was all said and done, she could take a hard look at who she had become and reevaluate some things. Later, as right now she needed to be Inferno, the hardass gang leader that didn’t hesitate to do what was needed to protect her people.
Ashe’s phone vibrated and she pulled it out, frowning at the message from an unknown number.
“You are welcome, fires can be pesky to escape from. I’ll be at your stronghold, waiting.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ashe said. “Back to the apartment, asap. That armored asshole is there waiting.”
“Fuck,” Crystal exclaimed, slowing the car so she could take a turn and get them heading back in that direction. “Are they attacking?”
Ashe messaged Brie, asking for an update, but the girl only sent back a picture taken from one of the upper floors of the man sitting on the hood of a car in the parking lot. His armor was battered, but otherwise intact as he sat there, and the cheeky bastard was even waving to the camera.
“No, he’s waving to his adoring fans,” Keiko said, having looked up from the back seat at the screen. “Kinda want to punch him just for that.”
“Any idea who he is?” Ashe asked.
Keiko shrugged, then dropped back into her seat. “No clue. Yessina doesn’t have many contacts inside his funhouse in the first place. While I don’t think she kept things from me, your continued contact with him probably forced her to omit some details for opsec reasons.”
“Fair enough,” Ashe said. “Alright, we hear what this guy has to say, then decide what to do from there.”
“It’s times like this that I miss Robbie,” Keiko grumbled. “He was always so much better at navigating the city’s politics than I was. He knew who to talk to if he needed answers, and we could really use that right now.”
Crystal chuffed. “I miss him too. He’d probably already have the heads of half the bastards responsible in boxes ready to ship.”
Keiko snorted. “He did that one time, and everyone still gives him shit for it.”
“You’re talking about Headhunter?” Mom asked.
Keiko actually jumped in her seat. “Fuck, forgot you were there for a moment.”
There was a beat of silence as Ashe’s mom looked between each of them, biting her lip as she did. Crystal nodded when their eyes met, confirming they were indeed talking about one of the most well known killers in the city. Her mom’s eyes sparkled with fear and apprehension as they settled on Ashe.
“I think it’s finally sinking in that the three of you are actually the criminals I’ve been hunting. Inferno came out of nowhere, jumping up the most wanted list almost overnight, but the dates line up now that I look back.” She laughed mirthlessly. “Fuck, it makes so much damn sense now. My daughter really did go out and try to fix the world that wronged her. The worst part of it? I can honestly say she did a better job of it than we did.”
Ashe wasn’t sure what to say to that. On one hand, her mom almost sounded like she approved of what she had set out to do, but Ashe knew better than to assume. Just because she agreed, didn’t mean that she would support her actions. Ashe was a killer, and there was no way that her mom could just ignore that, not if she was going to hold tight to her own values.
That begged the question, what would Ashe do if her mom did decide to oppose her at the end of the day? Would she fight back? Just the idea of raising a gun on either of her parents with the intent to cause harm sickened her. She had killed Kendall just to avoid this very scenario, and all it had done was bought her a few days. The man wasn’t even buried yet for fuck’s sake, and his death was already pointless.
Fuck.
“After tonight…”
“Don’t,” her mom said sharply. “I hate it, but I get it. What you’re doing is horrible, but it works. I’m not going to bury you just because you had second thoughts thanks to my presence.”
Ashe swallowed heavily. She couldn’t keep going like this, but her mom was right. She couldn’t afford to go soft in the middle of what might very well end up being the opening act of a city wide war. Someone wanted her off the board and was trying damn hard to see it done. No, until the fighting was done, she would continue to hone her edge.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Alright,” Ashe said. “But you know we’re probably going to do worse before this is done.”
Her mom smiled bitterly. “I know.”
Ashe nodded, content to leave that entire gordian knot to rest for the moment. She needed to be centered for the coming conversation with their mystery helper. His motivations were unknown, and for all she knew, he was just there to manipulate her into place for Alejandro to spring whatever he had planned for them.
The apartments were a sight for sore eyes, as were the sight of the girls lurking in the windows, watching for trouble. The armored man was still seated on the hood of a car, not one of theirs, and waited patiently as they pulled into the lot. Crystal parked the car in the usual spot and Ashe was the first out and did her damndest to not wobble on her own feet.
Crystal and Keiko were soon to follow, and fell in step behind her as she walked over to the waiting conundrum. Up close, she could see where he had been riddled with bullets, and the dark fabric showed signs that his protection hadn’t been as perfect as she originally assumed.
“Inferno,” he said, hopping off the hood with a heavy thump. “Good to see you intact after everything.”
“Thanks to you,” she said, stopping a dozen feet from the man. “Sorry if I don’t shake your hand or whatever, but usually when people let me live it’s because they want something from me.”
A rumbling chuckle was her answer.
“I see you’ve learned some lessons since we last met,” he said jovially. “I’m glad the naive girl has wisened up.”
A frown pulled at Ashe’s brow.
“If all you’re looking for is company, now isn’t the best time,” Ashe said, crossing her arms. “I have people that are missing, and half the city seems to be after my head.”
“Indeed,” the man said. “You’ve become a thorn in a great many sides. Including those of my current employer. It seems he’s finally playing his hand.”
Ashe tensed, her hand reached for the gun tucked in the holster within her jacket. She wasn’t sure what she could do against a wall of armor that held off an entire mercenary squad, but she was willing to try, if only to give her girls a fighting chance. Hopefully someone was up top with the fifty, ready to offer support.
The man snorted. “Still got that iron nerve, I see. Come, we should talk inside, away from prying eyes and ears. Once you’ve heard me out, I’m sure you’ll understand the need for privacy.”
Ashe scowled. There was something about the man that seemed off, as if he were afronting a persona. If he was some mook hoping to earn a name for himself, he would be sorely disappointed. Either he was there for some purpose that Alejandro had, or he was stabbing the man in the back. Hell, it might even be both. A double gambit like that would be a risk and hedging bets at the same time.
Audacious, but Ashe had made her rather short career off of audacity.
Sighing, she gestured for Crystal and Keiko to follow. What Ashe hadn’t expected was for her mom to join them, now wearing a cloth mask of her own as she stepped up with the group. That earned a raised eyebrow, which got a shrug in response.
“No point showing off,” Mom said.
No disagreement there. The last thing her mom needed was to be recognized in the presence of known criminals. It would mean the end of her career in the best case scenarios. The police might have been useless in a city like Jericho, but her parents were the best bet the institution had at becoming something better.
Ashe had to keep believing that, because she couldn’t stand the idea that everything was so broken that it couldn’t be repaired. Call it naivety, but she wanted to hold onto the hope that there was the possibility that one day her particular brand of justice wouldn’t be needed. She feared it was farther off than she hoped.
Wistful musings aside, Ashe gestured for the man to step inside. She could almost imagine the smirk that had to be on his face at the moment as he moved towards the entry. Ashe’s girls were there, two of them holding weapons. They weren’t the same girls from a few hours prior when she had left to go after Caralina, who was still in unknown danger, or worse. She tried not to think about that, how she was failing one of her oldest supporters.
Losing the bike was nothing in comparison to losing a friend.
She put those thoughts into a box in the back of her mind. One crisis at a time, and she had a juggernaut of a problem in her lap at the moment. The man casually strolled inside, taking in all the armed women around him as if they weren’t a threat. Which, given the layers that the man was wearing and the clear damage from combat his armor bore, they probably weren’t.
“Stay alert,” Ashe said as she passed through the entry. “Unfortunately, I fear we are far from finished with this evening.”
One of the armed girls nodded, her face set in hard lines. Ashe wasn’t sure how much older the woman was, but somehow she also felt younger. She looked like a child playing soldier, which was probably how most veterans looked at new military recruits. Ashe didn’t want to think like that, but the comparison felt far too on the nose to ignore.
The five stepped into the elevator, each of the women claimed a corner while the armored man stood in the center. She could faintly hear him humming something familiar, but couldn’t place it. When the elevator arrived, they escorted the man straight to what had become Ashe and Crystal’s apartment, as well as the high level meeting room. Brie was inside waiting for them, holding a shotgun with a practiced grip.
“Interesting place,” he said, looking around the still unfinished apartment, completely unconcerned with being shut inside with five armed women. “I think I liked Crystal’s home better, but this has potential.”
Ashe’s hand twitched, itching to reach for her handgun. No, that wouldn’t be productive and she was certain they couldn’t take the man even with the four of them and no visible weapons hidden among the armor. She didn’t believe for a second that the man was unarmed.
Even if he knew who they were, that didn’t mean she was going to relax. She didn’t know who he was, though Ashe was reasonably certain that the man wasn’t Alejandro, if nothing else. It would have been easy enough to swap out who was under that armor, but his voice was distinctive in a way that would be difficult to fake.
She hadn’t offered him a seat, but he claimed the big recliner anyway, which meant that Ashe would need to deep clean it before she and Crystal got to curl up together with a pair of books and some wine. A glance to the others was enough to communicate what came next as Ashe pulled her mask down.
“You obviously know who we are, so let’s dispense with the pleasantries.”
Keiko walked around his chair, taking the man in. “We’ve met before. That much is obvious, and there are few people that know who we are under the masks.”
“Still struggling with the chemistry set?” he asked.
Keiko froze in place, and Ashe frowned. That joke sounded familiar, and oh so personal. Unfortunately, Ashe hadn’t been around long enough to understand the significance of it.
“Who are you?” Ashe demanded.
“I’ll be blunt,” the man said, leaning forward, “The reason I broke ranks and came here is that Alejandro intends for Yessina to reveal your identity to the police before having the woman killed.” Ice flooded Ashe’s veins at the blunt admission, dozens of scenarios raced through her mind as she tried to think of a way out if it came to that. “He wants you beholden to him when you take over the Viuda.”
“We had no intention of doing that,” Crystal said with narrowed eyes. “Though, my uncle might just want that.”
“Your uncle?” Mom asked.
“Silver Cross,” Ashe said absently. “We think the old bastard was pulling some strings to make that happen. Might have to give him a call, though I imagine he’s already ahead of things.”
“Interesting to hear that old fuck is still kicking,” the man said, reaching up for his helmet. “As for who I am, I’m a bit insulted that you haven’t figured it out yet.”
The latches came loose, and the heavy helmet and neck cover came off, finally letting the assembled women see his face.