“How about this one?”

Ashe nearly jolted at the sudden volume. “Yeah, fuck. Heard that.”

The doctor chuckled. “That’s good. It should serve as a stop gap until your eardrum finishes healing.”

She nodded almost robotically. The last week had been a rush of doctor visits, interviews with investigators, and so much underhanded dealings with police that Ashe was just thoroughly done with it all. Inferno was officially declared dead, having been one of the casualties at what was now being called the Night of Flame.

She really wanted to punch Reynolds for coming up with that name in an interview.

The thing was, no body had been attributed to her old identity, and all of the Viuda, as well as her own gang, knew the truth. The official reasoning for not identifying the person behind the mask was listed as avoiding the creation of a martyr.

Only an idiot would believe that, yet the Chief of Police had eaten it up.

Inferno was a monster, and a hero. The woman who stood against the insanity that claimed the beloved Mayor of the city. That thought alone made Ashe want to puke. With many of her prominent murders being laid at the feet of Alejandro in a clear cover up, it left her a much lower priority for the police.

And all it cost was her parents’ integrity.

“Alright,” the doctor said, once again startling her as he ripped off a sheet of paper from his pad. “Take this to the pharmacy, they’ll get you fitted for a proper hearing aid.”

“Okay,” Ashe said, and the device was removed from her ‘good’ ear, the world falling silent once more, aside from the dull ringing. “Thanks for that, doc. I appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it,” he signed. “I’m always happy to help someone hear the beauty of the world once more.”

She couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sappy as hell line. After all the platitudes and hollow sympathy spewed at her for the last week, something flowery was a nice change of pace. She hopped off the bench, everything turning wobbly for a moment, her arms stretched out to steady herself.

“Easy now,” the doctor signed. “Your equilibrium is going to be shot for at least another month, especially with some of the meds you’re on. No sudden movements, avoid loud noises, drink lots of water. Your hearing aids will also serve to suppress overly loud noises while you recover.”

“The joys of technology,” Ashe said, still smiling.

Being back on Oxy wasn’t something she reveled in, but with her body being more black, blue, and purple than her usual skin tone, she probably wouldn’t even be walking without the help of the medication. Looking down at her exposed arms, she really did look like hell had worked her over with their worst.

She was directed to the pharmacy counter, and handed over the slip, the technician read it over, then vanished into the back. Ashe sighed, leaning against the counter off to the side and turned her attention to the TV. The subtitles were on, not that she needed them to know that the broadcast was covering.

The national guard had been called into the city, and most of the gangs were forced to go underground. Even the Patriots were keeping their noses clean, which would no doubt give some of the smaller gangs down south time to gather strength and resources while they didn’t have to worry about a lynch squad dropping on their heads.

Ashe’s own territory was no exception to the crackdown. The apartment building did come under some scrutiny, but seemed to be past the worst of it, and the martial lockdown the governor had demanded was eased by Federal order after not one protest arose against the obvious political crackdown.

None of the heavy enforcement was in Patriot controlled areas after all. Uptown alone had over half the deployment, soldiers on almost every street corner. Brie had sent her pictures of some of them, both in uniform and without. At least that part of her business seemed to be booming even with her unofficial step down.

She wasn’t acting in good faith, Ashe knew that, but she couldn’t just walk away. It just meant she wouldn’t be acting as Inferno on the public stage. Not unless something major cropped up.

The easing of restrictions was why Ashe planned to stop by the apartments for a visit for the first time since that fateful night, especially now that she wouldn’t need a fucking interpreter to hear in a pinch.

Luckily for her, almost all of her injuries were cosmetic, and her surgeon was hopeful that she would be able to go under the knife as planned in early July. She was still terrified that there might be a delay, because the next opening they could slot her in for was over a year away barring a cancellation with enough advanced warning.

Sure, she still had access to some of her funds from her old job, but the plane tickets were already paid for. Crystal had also bought a ticket, and would be spending the full duration with her, giving her mother a bit more time to stay with Mom while her own recovery continued. Caring for two injured family members was difficult enough on her mother, more so with the secret they were keeping from everyone else.

All to make sure that Ashe would live long enough to get to become herself in full, to fix the one thing that still gave her dysphoria. She’d long considered it that elusive pipe dream, the one thing that she would strive for, yet never obtain. After that first attack, she doubled down on it being something she would never get, which made it easier to risk her life in the field.

Now it was looking to become a reality and Ashe wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, kept expecting a shoe to drop that provided evidence that she was the MIA gang leader that lived up to her name.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The broadcast swapped to the governor delivering a speech about how he was restoring law and order, and blamed illegal immigrants for all of it. The worst part was, Ashe knew he wasn’t quite wrong given Alejandro was very much in the country illegally. That was how the Patriots were exploding as a religious movement and political party both. She hated that they had made it through most of the mess with barely a blemish, and a martyr to their name.

They would use this as a rallying cry, and Theodore Ellington would only see his popularity rise ever higher. He was already proposing new laws in Washington, most of which had no chance of passing, but he knew that. He was looking for the sound bites that his support base would just eat up, things he could point to that proved his supporters were being ignored.

Ashe nearly jumped as a finger tapped at her shoulder, a man smiled back with a box in hand. He set it down, and promptly opened it, revealing a single black device. It resembled those clip behind the ear wireless headphones, but were a bit bulkier in design. The man then began to sign, explaining that it was already charged and ready to go.

The device went into her left ear, her right was still an unknown prospect until it healed back up. She’d had basic reconstructive surgery at the hospital, but she knew that they could only do so much. Plus, she was coming to appreciate the scars that she carried, they told the world what had come for her, a clear message of what she had survived.

A challenge to all comers that she didn’t back away when pressed, that she rose to the occasion. She wore them all with pride, and already had a few tattoo ideas that would incorporate them into the design. One would be a direct reference to her name, the one that was dead, yet not the one she was born with.

No, Inferno was just resting, waiting until the city needed her again.

Until then, Ashe would have to be enough.

It was why she was leaving her arms on display, and wearing shorts. It showed the world that she had been hurt and she was still carrying on despite that. A giant middle finger to everything that had stood in her way. Her hair too was such a message. The side where the bullet grazed was shaved short, her stitches on display. The rest of her hair had been trimmed to look more presentable than the blaze had left it. It was far closer to Crystal’s cut than Ashe ever imagined it would be.

“Is there anything special I need to do with this?” Ashe asked, tapping her ear.

He signed back, then reached up and showed her the power and pairing buttons, helping to walk her through getting it set up with her phone. The news broadcast from earlier wasn’t even playing audio, now that she could hear again, just the subtitles for those interested and bored in the waiting room.

“Thank you,” Ashe said with a genuine smile.

She was quick to set her phone back to audio notifications, having left it on vibrate for the last week while she couldn’t hear anything. With that, she was told that her insurance, or rather, Mother’s insurance, would be billed and she would get her own bill for the remainder at a later date.

The great insurance scam strikes again.

Ashe gave another passing glance at the TV, grimacing at the footage of the burning construction site, the memory of how close to death Ashe came that night. People were lamenting the loss of the megachurch, but now it stood as a beacon to those that might follow the Patriot movement. It was sickening how much of what she had done was being spun to help those bastards. Ashe hurried outside to get away from the reminder, only to pause at the sight of that familiar blue hair.

Outside, Crystal was waiting beside a bespoke silver car, her blue hair fluttering in the breeze. It was a purchase made in Ashe’s name, using some of her rainy day funds and a fair bit of laundered cash. Given the state of her ears and eminent surgery, a bike wouldn’t be an option for several long months.

Much to her dismay.

She loved the freedom a bike brought with it, even after the crash just a week before. The bike was more of a memento of a fun moment that nearly turned to tragedy, she mourned its loss, but she still had the girl that she had shared the moment with, and she was all too happy to pull her into a hug and kiss her senseless, witnesses be damned.

She was grinning within seconds, and could feel the returned smile on her girlfriend’s lips when someone walking by muttered something about their ‘sinful display’. Twin middle fingers were raised in response, sharp glares turned upon the mouthy bastard, their lips still locked.

He practically wilted, scurrying away. It probably helped that Crystal’s jacket had fluttered open, revealing her hidden gun. Even after everything, nothing had really changed in the city at large, but on the back end, everything was different. There was a solidarity that had come from the struggle against Alejandro, and the Patriots were still reeling from the blows that came from the revelation that the Mayor was behind the attempt on Jason’s life.

Okay, so only a few people actually bought that rumor, and the media refused to report on it. That was where the Viuda came in, making sure the rumor spread as far as it could over the last week, and Ashe’s girls were working with them hand in hand. That was actually part of why she needed to go see them.

“Guessing your ears are working then,” Crystal said.

“Yeah,” Ashe said brightly, turning to show off her newest gadget. “Works great too, though it’s only the one ear for now.”

Crystal winced. “Wish I could just kiss you to make it all better.”

“I dunno,” Ashe said, wrapping her arms around Crystal, over her shoulders. “That’s a lot to kiss.”

A grin came to her girlfriend’s lips as she leaned forward, barely any distance between them. “I think I can manage.”

Ashe feathered a kiss over those warm lips, the piercing tasted metallic. She loved the flavor, sharp and tangy. She then trailed lower, nibbling on Crystal’s neck and getting a hiss out of her girlfriend before abruptly pulling back.

Crystal almost whined at the loss of contact, but they would have time for that later, there were still several things they needed to get done that night.

“Not fair,” Crystal said with a pout.

Ashe leaned back in and pecked a kiss on her nose. “I know, but we have a full day ahead of us. We can try some fun stuff later tonight.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Crystal said.

“I’m counting on it, mistress,” Ashe said cheekily, getting into the car. “Just be gentle, I am still healing.”

She was certain she heard Crystal muttering something about all the spankings as she climbed back into the driver’s seat and pulled back onto the road.

“Sure you’re up for this?” Crystal asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“Not really,” Ashe said, leaning back with a heavy sigh. “But it needs to be done and I’d rather get it out of the way than have it continue to loom over us like this.”

“Ready to go?” Crystal asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Ashe grinned. “Yeah. Kinda nervous about this, but it needs to be done.”

“It will be fine,” Crystal said, booping Ashe on the nose. “After everything, I think it’s safe to say that they’ll support you.”

Ashe swallowed, nodding as she did. She wanted to believe that, but even now, insecurity bloomed in her chest.

“Only one way to find out,” Ashe said, hopping in the passenger seat. “Take us home.”