The silence was deafening, which was fitting given she couldn’t hear shit. The morning hours had bled into the evening in a flurry of questions, medical checks, and other assorted visits from various individuals. Ashe knew she was lucky, given how close some of those bullets had passed over her head to only lose her hearing. Keiko was firing an anti-tank rifle, and those rounds were known to kill people if they passed close enough.
Lucky was an understatement.
Laying back in the hospital bed, Ashe could accept that. What she couldn’t accept was Robbie being arrested just because he needed urgent medical care that the Viuda couldn’t provide. She’d wanted to scream and yell when she saw him being handcuffed to the stretcher, but her mom had been adamant that she keep her mouth shut and head down. It was the only way to avoid punishment.
The Tangled Web was cleared out before the first emergency responder arrived. The bar was swept by a small assortment of SWAT members they pulled to the scene, and the only thing they found was Robbie, being tended to by someone that had zero record, and the general bar staff that had no tattoos noting their affiliation. All known Viuda members were long gone, including Ashe’s crew.
Looking across the room, Mother was standing by the window, while Mom was flicking through her phone. Their official statement being that Ashe had agreed to work with the criminals in an effort to save her mom and that she had broken no laws otherwise.
Mother had scrubbed any and all hints that Ashe might have been Inferno from the record. Her persona was considered among the dead, though no name had been ascribed to her. That still bothered her, and Ashe wanted to protest it, but to do so would see her arrested as well, and that would mean her death for little to no reason. She would have died to protect her people, but making that stand now would do them no good.
She was alive and free, which meant that even if she couldn’t be Inferno anymore, she could still be there for them, in another capacity. That would have to wait until she recovered, because at the moment she was next to useless between her injuries and lack of hearing. Ashe was scheduled for surgery in just a few short hours to try and repair what they could of her ear. Her hearing on the other hand just had to recover the long way.
The doctors said she might recover up to twenty percent of her hearing, if she was lucky. The only upside to that was that her insurance would cover assistive devices, assuming any of them actually worked. That too was hanging in the air, another unknown in the pile of shit that was the aftermath of Alejandro’s attempted takeover.
Getting Robbie free would be her priority, which would mean attacking a police transport at some point, likely when he was moved from the hospital to County. Just like with Lowell, it would be when he was most accessible. Ashe would make sure that her people were ready to go, and with Inferno clearly out of sight.
A gentle prod had Ashe almost jump out of her skin. Mom was looking across the gap at her, concern writ upon her face.
“You’re brooding,” Mom signed.
Ashe sighed, her hands in motion, if for no other reason than to avoid eavesdroppers. “You could say that. I’m just worried about everything that happened.”
“The important thing is that you’re safe now,” Mom signed. “We can worry about other things later.”
“Not good enough,” Ashe snapped, literally. “Robbie was arrested. My people are left to pick up the pieces and you’re expecting me to just walk away from it all?”
Mom’s concerned visage morphed into one of anger. “You never should have been involved in the first place! You lied to us, Ashe. You went behind our backs and took justice into your own hands. That much I could understand, but you didn’t get out after that. Why?”
Ashe wanted to match the anger being directed her way, but she just couldn’t. Her mom’s ire was earned and fully justified. Letting herself get caught up in a criminal life was a choice she made, knowing full well what might come from walking that path. She hadn’t gone into it blindly, hadn’t been tricked.
She walked the road into hell willingly, with eyes unclouded.
“After taking down the last bastard to escape justice,” Ashe signed, and her mom winced at the reminder of the police’s failure. “I had over a dozen girls on my hands. I offered them a choice, take a large payout and leave the state with our help, or stay and work for me.”
“You asked them to work for you?” Mother asked, but Ashe didn’t catch it until Mom signed it out for her.
“I did,” Ashe answered, fingers moving hesitantly. “Jessica refused to leave, as did others. I couldn’t just leave them without support, and that escalated from there.”
“So you formed your own gang,” Mom signed.
Ashe nodded hesitantly. “I did. At the time, I had evidence that suggested the Viuda were involved with the trafficking scheme. It turned out to be misinformation spread by Alejandro and the Patriots, but when one of the girls that you rescued insists they overheard it…”
“You tend to listen,” Mom signed, an air of resignation to her form. “Regardless of all that, you’re out now. The matter is settled which means you’re done with that, full stop.”
“I can’t just walk away,” Ashe signed. “Robbie saved my life, he nearly died saving you. So no, I’m not done yet.”
“The man is in police custody,” Mother said, being relayed once more. “Are you suggesting you would attack a police transport?”
Ashe chuckled bitterly, the reverb all she could feel of it before her fingers were once more in motion. “Me? No. I’m in no condition to do that, but the Viuda would do it. He’s one of them, and you know as well as I do how protective they can be. They will come for him, the only question is how damaging the attack will be.”
Her parents stared at her, one slack jawed, the other wide eyed. Ashe didn’t dare look away, putting every ounce of defiance she could into her glare. She needed them to understand that she wouldn’t just abandon those she cared about, that these people were important to her now and she wasn’t going to just turn her back on them.
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“Are you asking us to help in his escape?” Mom asked with sharp eyes.
Ashe shrugged. “I mean, you might have spoken of it at home, but there was no way your daughter would pass something like that along to the very gang that broke him out.”
“She really is suggesting it,” Mom mouthed, no longer signing. “Cat, I don’t know what to do here.”
“I told you,” Mother said, again without the signing. Ashe was having to strain to watch their lips in the darkened room. “This is why our undercover agents have handlers. We have one in her little gang, though he isn’t fully involved, he does have the ear of one of her people.”
“You’re talking about Combs,” Mom said, her lips barely moving, she then angled herself away so that Ashe couldn’t see her directly, but her face was being reflected in the glass. “Ashe mentioned him as a leak, how true is that?”
“He’s in the process of getting close,” Mother said, sitting down beside Mom. “Once he is where they want him, he’s to be ‘fired’ and fold in with them.”
Ashe was careful to school her expressions there. They obviously didn’t intend for her to learn that, and there was a good chance this was a test to see if contact was broken with the man, or worse. The trust between them was thoroughly dismantled, and might not ever be repaired. Still, she would be warning Brie the first chance she got that her boy toy was working to get their trust and had a handler. They could still use the man regardless.
It made Ashe itch to grab her phone, but she wasn’t allowed to have one at present. They were attempting to isolate her, even Crystal had been barred from contacting her, or visiting. She felt trapped, as though she were being forced to dance to the expected tune, and she hated it.
That absurd thought was almost enough to make her laugh. She really was looking for any and all loopholes to slip the net that her parents had set for her. Just four months prior, she would have been appalled by who she had become. Ashe hadn’t been wrong though, her current self really could use the hug.
What Ashe could only assume was a knock at the door silenced the conversation. Both her parents said something, looking off as one of the night nurses admitted herself with a smile. She said something to her parents, then turned her attention to Ashe, her hands moving as she did. That brought a smile to her face, albeit a weak one, that the hospital would be considerate enough to assign them someone who could sign.
It was all basic pleasantries, asking how her pain was, if she needed more water, or something to eat. Despite the mundane nature of it, she still appreciated the effort. Just as the nurse was about to leave, Ashe decided to take a chance.
“Excuse me,” she said, the nurse almost startling at the sound of her voice. “There was a man brought in. Tall, African American, mangled leg. He’s currently under arrest somewhere in the hospital. Would it be possible to get an update on his condition? He did help save my mom in the end, even if his reasons were selfish.”
Selfish nothing. Robbie had been right there with Ashe, his intention to help rescue her mom never once in doubt. He’d paid a price for his assistance, and Ashe was prepared to ensure that he didn’t have to foot the bill. She knew her parents were likely glaring from behind, or even telling the nurse that Ashe didn’t need to know.
The nurse smiled faintly, then signed out that she couldn’t tell her because of confidentiality laws. Ashe ground her teeth, until she saw the hand at her side sign something short but reassuring. Yellow, two three seven. He was stable, but at risk, and in room two-hundred thirty-seven.
That was when she shifted her sleeve and Ashe just barely caught sight of a black spider with a red spot on it, before the tattoo vanished back up her sleeve. Just like that, Ashe’s mood improved drastically and the tension left her body. The Viuda were in place and keeping an eye on Robbie, which meant that she didn’t have to stress nearly as much as she had been.
With that, Ashe laid back, putting her own stress as far out of mind as she could. She just had to trust in her team to manage things without her for a while, and she knew they could. Everyone had stepped up over the course of the evening from hell, and she was damn proud of all of them. Moreover, the Viuda were now firmly back into ally status, something she was happy about after all of Alejandro’s deceptions were unraveled.
Caralina would need to be dealt with, but that was a problem she could put off for the future. She’d been found in one of the cars Alejandro’s men arrived in, and had surrendered without comment. Last she heard, Brie was bringing her back to the apartments as they left. Laying back, Ashe changed the news out for some inane cartoon and settled in, waiting for the hours to pass.
Unfortunately, it came sooner than she expected, having seemingly blinked and hours passed.
The first thing Ashe caught sight of was a badge glinting in the morning sun, hanging from the waist of a detective. She must have slept for at least eight hours after laying back, which she probably needed given how little she had slept over the previous day. The detective was neck deep in a spirited conversation with her parents, none of which she could hear.
Ashe knew that there would be more interviews about what happened the previous night, but she had hoped for some reprieve. She was due for surgery before noon, which was probably why they were present, hoping to get in one last round before she was too high on painkillers to be of any use.
If there was one thing she could count on, it was her parents stalling them, feeding them information that she had mentioned in conversation. Much of it might even be true, if lacking in detail. Eventually there would be a narrative they would all stick to, but there was a part of Ashe that wanted nothing more than to admit to everything and high tail it back to the streets.
The Inferno identity was something she had made for herself. It was something that was earned through her own blood and deeds. To just cast it aside, to pretend she had died, it felt wrong. Ashe wouldn’t just give up everything she had created, she wouldn’t abandon her friends. No, Ashe would do what she could, even with the added scrutiny placed upon her.
Another nurse entered, her black hair almost to her waist. She barely warranted a passing glance by the trio of bickering adults. Ashe eyed her carefully, wondering if she too was someone with the Viuda. She stopped beside the bed, refilling her water before setting down a small bar of her favorite chocolate. The same chocolate that Crystal had shoplifted for her on what might as well have been their first date.
Glancing up, familiar green eyes greeted her, and Ashe’s heart leapt into her chest at the sight of her girlfriend. She winked, then set a phone down where her parents wouldn’t be able to see it. A set of messages were on the screen and Ashe read through it as Crystal checked her readouts believably enough, and made sure everything was in order.
Keiko was the one having nurses keep them apprised of Robbie’s status as well as her own. There was also a promise that they would make sure he never saw the inside of the jail, and neither would Ashe should she decide to say fuck it and go career criminal. All of her friends had left messages, encouraging her to get better first and foremost. They were waiting for her.
Crystal paused for a moment, then leaned in close and her lips moved slowly. “Stay strong, we’re behind you no matter the outcome.”
That was almost enough to move her to tears, but she wouldn’t let it show, even as Crystal picked the phone back up and pocketed it. She wanted to call out, to pull her girlfriend in tight and kiss her silly. Crystal had taken quite the risk just for a courtesy visit, and Ashe wouldn’t dare expose her like that.
Watching her girlfriend leave was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but it filled her with a fresh resolve. One that she hoped would carry her into the future. She knew what she had to do, and would follow through no matter the risks. Regardless of her parent’s machinations.
She had friends now, and she refused to abandon them.