Ashe had plenty of time to plan things out, given she kept waking up from nightmares all night long. The insomnia was second fiddle, however, to her growing trepidation when she thought about the bastards getting away with things. She could have stalked the halls, seeking out her tormentors, but that would waste precious time if they weren't at their lockers.

They weren't of course, so Ashe was waiting outside Rachel's first class of the day instead. That seemed to have been the correct call, as the girl herself approached almost ten minutes early. Her face was crestfallen, eyes swollen and red despite the heavy makeup. If she wasn't such a colossal cunt, Ashe might have given a shit about her feelings.

Heaving out a sigh, Ashe steeled her nerve and walked right up to her bully. "Rachel, a word."

The girl blinked in bewilderment, but that was inconsequential. Ashe held a notorious drug lord at gunpoint less than a day prior, her bullies were nothing in comparison. She walked back to the entrance of the school and out the front door. Rachel followed behind her, looking very much out of her usual element.

Out front, Crystal was waiting for her, yawning in the morning sun. Ashe pushed her thoughts on how cute she looked aside, more concerned with making sure the coming confrontation went off without a hitch. Crystal spotted her and grinned wide before holding up a shoulder holster that now held her Beretta.

Ashe accepted it without a word and quickly secured it and tossed her flannel jacket on. When she turned back to Rachel, all the color had drained from the woman's face. Oh right, she had just brandished a gun in front of her, on school property no less.

Oops.

"Sorry about that," Ashe said, not meaning a word of it. "We'll be doing something potentially dangerous after this and I might need it."

Crystal chuckled. "Ashe, that isn't nearly as reassuring as you might think it to be."

She shrugged, because she truly didn't care. Rachel's comfort was a distant concern at best, but she had information they might be able to make use of.

"Rachel, we're fairly certain that the people that took Jessica are working with the same group that tried to snatch me," she explained, staring coldly at the girl. "You told my parents that she was taken, not just missing. We need everything you know about this so we can find the bastards."

"Bit of a time crunch here," Crystal added. "So please don't waste ours."

"I'm not sure…"

"Don't fuck around with this," Ashe said, stepping forward. Rachel flinched back. "Those bastards assaulted and molested me. They've had Jessica for at least a day now. The trail's already cold enough, don't make it harder on us by holding back anything just because it might look bad on you bitches."

"Jessica said she talked to some people to scare you," Rachel said, her voice hesitant. "Didn't go into detail, just that we needed to do something to delay you leaving school on time. The glue was Heather's idea." Ashe stared at her for a moment, then gestured for her to continue. Rachel swallowed heavily. "The next day, Jessica seemed shaken, and a bit jumpy. You didn't come back so we just assumed she was worried about potential charges you might try to file. Then, Monday happened…"

"What happened Monday?" Ashe demanded.

Rachel flinched back. "I don't know. Jessica called me, asked if she could stay at my place, but I was visiting my aunt in Gainesville. She seemed frantic, said Heather wouldn't let her stay because of something, but was really vague."

"Sounds like she knew something was up," Crystal said. "Has Heather said anything to you about it all?"

"Nothing," Rachel said, shaking her head. "She got really distant following Jessica's disappearance. She even stayed home today."

"Interesting," Ashe said. If Heather knew more than she let on to Rachel, she might be someone worth questioning. "Got her address? We might just pay her a visit."

"Uh…"

"We won't kill her," Crystal said, matter of factually.

"Now who's being reassuring?" Ashe teased. "Look, I don't give two shits about Jessica, but I have a really good idea what these people had planned for me, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. If Heather has information, we need it."

"Why you?" Rachel asked, though she seemed to deflate. "Your parents are cops, so why are you asking? Can't they do something?"

"One of the guys that attacked me was killed in custody yesterday," Ashe said. "He was their best lead. The other guy isn't cooperating. My mother is on TV all the time, Mom is SWAT. Neither can really ask questions without significant risk."

"You're fairly well known too," Rachel muttered.

Ashe snorted. "Not really. Look, are you going to help us, or are we going blind?"

Rachel took a deep breath, her whole body shuddered as she breathed out. Then, she rattled off an address. "Heather might be planning to skip town, but I don't think she's left yet."

Ashe turned, Crystal nodded and began to secure her helmet. "Alright. We'll check it out. If anyone asks about me, you said some nasty shit and I left the school for the day, got it?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, her shoulders sagging as some of the tension bled away. "Good luck… And thanks for not ignoring everything."

Ashe hopped on the bike behind Crystal, putting her own helmet on. "Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you or anyone else for that matter."

"Doesn't change that you're actually doing something," Rachel said.

Ashe wrapped her arms around Crystal, holding on tight as they sped off. She tried to avoid dwelling on Rachel's words, but they still lingered in her mind. She was doing everything for selfish reasons, and yet… Rachel seemed grateful that someone was at least trying.

Ashe wasn't sure how she felt about that. Her bullies ground her self esteem and self worth down for her entire time in high school, and now she was helping them even if she was doing it to help settle her own worries. Whatever group was snatching girls, didn't care about grabbing people with wealth or connections, and she had a suspicion neither she nor Jessica were targeted at random.

That was the primary reason she decided to look into things, if it was a conspiracy of sorts, then the odds were good that Ashe would be sought out again. She knew the risks were high, but just living was proving equally dangerous and she refused to cede volition to this nebulous enemy.

They pulled to a stop at a red light, waiting for it to change. Crystal relaxed, both feet on the ground as she looked back. "You good back there?"

She smiled, not that Crystal could see it under the helmet. "Yeah. Just lost in thought."

"I figured. This has to be really weird for you."

Ashe snorted. "Unbelievably so."

"Just so you're aware," Crystal said after another moment. "I lied to that bitch. If this other cunt tries anything, I will drop her if it keeps you safe."

Ashe wasn't surprised by that admission, but she still appreciated the honesty. The idea of someone casually killing for her should have hit harder, or set off alarm bells in her mind, but it was a distant concern at best.

She gripped Crystal tighter for a brief moment. "Thanks for telling me. I won't be happy if it comes to that, but better than either of us getting hurt."

Crystal nodded and the light turned green. She revved the bike and soon they left the rest of the traffic behind them. Ashe loved the rush that brought, and was already considering purchasing a bike of her own. Maybe one in blue to match Crystal's own hair, or purple, to avoid any clues to her street name.

Riptide was admittedly a badass name, and she could only hope that whatever she earned matched it. Ashe just wasn't looking forward to the act that would inevitably cement it in the eyes of the others. It wasn't like she could just pick one. No, the tradition seemed that someone else had to name you. It was rare for such names to change, but on occasion they did.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Robbie wasn't always Headhunter, not that she had learned what his old name was, but apparently it was embarrassing as hell and stemmed from his time in county lockup when he was still a teenager. Ashe checked her phone at the next light, then looked down the street where the indicated address was. She grinned, because Heather was outside, loading something into her car.

"There she is," Ashe said, pointing. "Looks like she's getting ready to skip town."

"Hmm, should we follow her, or stop her here?" Crystal asked.

Ashe looked around the area. It was a nice part of old Jericho, not far from main street, which meant lots of people related to the old blood that founded the city. Those would make for lots of nosy bitches with nothing better to do than watch soap operas and spy on their neighbors, and the pair of them stood out like sore thumbs.

"Follow her," Ashe said after a moment. "Better safe than picked out in a lineup."

Crystal nodded, then pulled off to the side. It was another twenty minutes until the car finally departed and Crystal was quick to fold into traffic a few cars back. They drove through the city towards the outskirts near Otter Creek when she pulled into a rundown looking gas station. Crystal parked around the side where she couldn't see any cameras while Heather got out to gas up. She swiped her card then headed inside.

"I got this," Ashe said, getting off the bike.

"You sure?" Crystal asked. "I don't think you have much experience questioning people."

"No, but she seems like good practice," Ashe said. "Watch my back?"

Crystal smiled. "Of course."

Ashe put her hair up in the bandana, then followed Heather inside while Crystal stayed with the bike, she would follow after another minute or so. She grabbed a black mask from her pocket then added her sunglasses on top of that. A poor makeshift disguise, but it would be good enough to prevent a solid ID on the cameras. Ashe wasn't sure she actually wanted to do this, but she needed to get over those hang ups if this was what she intended to do.

Heather made her way to the restroom and just as she moved to shut the door, Ashe stuck her foot inside, forcing her way in even as Heather shrieked. Ashe felt a rush of adrenaline at the sight of Heather shrinking away in genuine fear.

Ashe shut the door and locked it, knowing Crystal would soon be standing guard outside. Heather was doing her best to look nonplussed, composing herself well given the situation, but the tension in her frame was obvious. She was clutching her purse, with one hand stuck inside as if she was reaching for a weapon. Ashe sighed then drew her own Beretta, doing her best to hold it steady in her weak grip and hide her own nerves.

"You seem to be going somewhere," Ashe said, pitching her voice lower, though not as low as she had done with the 911 call. "I wonder why that might be?"

"I was told it was safe to leave," Heather said, her arms trembling. "He promised as long as I…"

"Many things are promised," Ashe said with a shrug. "The circumstances have changed, however. I already paid Rachel a visit, and she pointed me towards you."

"That bitch," Heather hissed, looking away. "Look, this is a misunderstanding. It wasn't my fault that Jessica sent those guys after that tranny."

Ashe's blood ran cold at the admission. Well, she wasn't doing this for Jessica in the first place, but now she had a good reason to ensure that Jessica didn't come out of the experience unscathed. Heather too for that matter, given how little she seemed to care about the welfare of her supposed friends. Rachel at least showed some concern, unlike the monster at her mercy.

Her hand snapped out to grab hold of Heather's purse and ripped it from her hand, tossing it aside. Heather's hand came up, a dark object clutched in it. Ashe shouldered her into the wall, the air dryer kicking on with the impact as the girl fell to the ground, whimpering. The taser dropped to the tile, crackling once as it skidded along.

Ashe hauled her up, then pressed the barrel of the Beretta to her forehead. The girl screwed her eyes shut as she began to plead incoherently for her life. "Give me one reason not to paint this wall with what few brains you seem to have."

Heather was close to hyperventilating, and truth be told, Ashe wasn't far behind her. As cathartic as all this was, she needed to wrap it up soon before anyone pieced together that she was holding a girl hostage in a fucking gas station restroom.

"I want Jessica, and you seem to be the only one left to question, so talk," Ashe snarled, pressing the gun harder. "I SAID TALK!"

The girl was a slobbering mess of tears and drool as words spilled forth in a never ending torrent of useless drivel. There was a name that stood out and was repeated several times, one Ashe didn't recognize but Crystal might.

"Who the fuck is Grisham?"

"He's the guy she talked to," Heather said, sobbing. "I never met him, but she and Gray brought him up a bunch when we were planning this. I think he was her weed dealer or something."

That was a start, but what could she do with such limited information? The only person that might know more would be Jessica's now ex-boyfriend, Gray. Intimidating him would be trickier, even with a gun. He was a roided out monster and spent three years as linebacker before becoming quarterback of the football team. No way she wanted to be in anything resembling a physical interaction with him.

"Got an address or phone number?" Ashe demanded. "I'm losing patience."

"I don't know!" Heather cried, falling limp. "I don't want to die… Please…"

"Useless," Ashe snarled before shoving her to the filthy tile. "Get the fuck out of Jericho. If I find out you came back, or the police come sniffing, I'll kill you myself. Understood?"

The girl nodded frantically and Ashe stepped back, then knocked once on the door. It opened and Crystal poked her head in, her identity similarly concealed. "Finished?"

Ashe looked back, trying to ignore the puddle on the floor under Heather. Her nerves were completely shot, and her arms felt like jelly as she returned her Beretta to its holster. "Got a name. Grisham. Ring any bells?"

Crystal paused, her head swiveling slowly back. "Are you certain?"

"It's what she said," Ashe confirmed, fighting against the sudden weariness that always came in the aftermath of a tense situation. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug after all.

Crystal stood frozen for a moment, then turned on her heel and marched out of the station. Ashe followed, more than a bit confused as they did. Crystal hopped on her bike without preamble, putting her helmet back on and Ashe hurried to do the same.

"What's with the reaction?" she asked, hopping on the bike as Crystal revved the engine.

"You don't get it," Crystal said, voice barely audible over the sound of the engine. "Grisham isn't a person, it's a place."

"Okay…" Ashe wasn't sure why that was so significant.

Crystal let the engine idle for a moment, tension building to the point that Ashe's irritation was starting to override her adrenaline crash. Without warning, Crystal popped the kickstand and peeled out, setting off back in the direction they came.

"Grisham is the street where Yessina runs her operations," Crystal said as if that explained everything. "She's the elected matron of the Viuda. She's the one everyone answers to." That sounded bad, yes, but— "You were in her bar just yesterday."

Oh.