The declaration hung in the air and Ashe was so very tempted to just shoot the man and be done with it. She was tired, and wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and curl up in bed with her girlfriend before school the next day. It didn’t seem she was going to get that and it was a bit sad that a gang war with Alejandro might be preferable if it meant she got some damn sleep.

Shaking those intrusive thoughts off, Ashe relaxed slightly, but still kept her finger on the trigger. Just because he was claiming truce didn’t mean he would honor it, or that he was actually alone. Movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she was relieved to see Keiko was back, and suited up for whatever this happened to be. It was reassuring to have most of the old crew back together.

If only Robbie wasn’t…

“Deliver the message,” Crystal said sharply, stepping up beside her. “We’ve had a busy night and don’t have the patience for all of this.”

Well, at least they were on the same page.

“He wishes to deliver the news in person,” the man said. “I am just his messenger.”

“And if we refuse?” Ashe demanded.

The messenger shrugged, turning to leave. “Then you can deal with an army of pissed off Iron fuckers on your own instead. Your call.”

God fucking dammit.

“Fine,” Ashe hissed. She would need to make sure the girls were all on high alert in the event this was just a distraction. Also, there was no way in hell she was letting one of Alejandro’s men drive her to the meeting. “Hanabi, you’re driving this time.”

She could practically feel Keiko rolling her eyes from her position beside the parked van.

“Yeah, yeah,” Keiko said. “You’re probably overreacting, you know that?”

“Rather be over prepared and not need it, than to be caught unawares,” Ashe said. “Lead the way, we’ll follow.”

“Very well,” the messenger said with a nod. “The meeting point is just over the river, we won’t be gone long.”

That would put the meeting within Viuda territory, not Alejandro’s. The implications of that were more than a little disturbing, and either confirmed the theory that Yessina was working with him, or was a coincidence. The joys of overthinking every little thing.

Ashe backed up, not turning her back on the man, and he just chuckled, apparently not having the same concerns as he just turned around and made his way over to his own vehicle. Ashe sighed, and hopped inside, settling back into her seat.

“This is the day that doesn’t end,” she half muttered, half sang.

Crystal chuckled, sitting down beside her. “It goes on and on my friends.”

“Some people started singing, never knowing quite why,” Keiko finished, hopping into the driver’s seat and starting up the van once more. “Think we’re about to be asked to help with a joint offensive against the Patriots?”

“Maybe,” Ashe said, her arms crossed and eyes closed. “Also the chance this is a trap.”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. The feeling had been there for a few days now, and even with her being mostly healed up after her latest injuries, she was still a bit sluggish compared to before. Add in the anxiety that was still building to a crescendo following the execution of the deadbeat…

Given the way her stomach was twisting over itself, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she spent half the night throwing up once her nerves started to settle. Ashe knew her life was swiftly turning into a never ending series of crises, but she was in too deep to just walk away. It didn’t help that each and every day she stayed in, she just dug the hole deeper.

It really wasn’t a wonder that once people got involved with crime that they couldn’t get out. Sure, she had circumstances preventing her exit, but she wasn’t about to leave her girlfriend to face those alone, and until everything was taken care of, she would be in the thick of it with her.

She felt that way about all of her girls, and would do whatever was necessary to keep them safe. Crystal would remain her priority, but that didn’t mean she would turn her back on those under her protection. Ashe wished she had the time to go back inside and grab something bigger from the armory, but her Beretta would have to do.

The same pistol she had used to execute a man less than an hour ago.

Sighing, Ashe leaned against her girlfriend and settled in for whatever fuckery was to come. She just had to hope that it wasn’t something that would take all night, she did have school in the morning and wasn’t that a bitch that she would rather be there than heading into whatever bullshit this was going to end up being.

“Anyone else got a sense of foreboding right now?” Ashe asked, more to pass the time with conversation than to get an actual answer.

“You’re just being paranoid,” Keiko said.

Crystal however, shook her head. “No, I’m feeling it too. Something stinks about all this, and I just know we’re in for something.”

“Just don’t be the one to start shit,” Keiko bemoaned. “Tonight was supposed to be simple, catch a movie, have dinner, get laid…”

“Wait, were you actually on a date with Caralina?” Ashe asked, her head snapping up. “We were joking about that!”

“What?” Keiko asked with a snort. “Girl knows what she’s doing, can you blame me for wanting more of her?”

Crystal snorted and started to move to offer a high five when she realized the vehicle being in motion would conflict with that. She sat back down with a huff, and Ashe retook her spot resting against her girlfriend.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Well, as long as you’re having fun,” Crystal said instead. “Just be safe about it. We’re doing what we can for them, but they can’t test all their clients beforehand.”

“It’s a good thing she doesn’t really take clients like the others then,” Keiko said dismissively. “Being pregnant does tend to turn off most buyers.”

Ashe hummed, but chose not to comment. What Keiko did with her money was her own business. If she wanted to pay the kind of money Caralina was no doubt asking, more power to her.

“It’s your money,” Crystal said with a shrug.

“Fuck off,” Keiko retorted, flipping her off without looking away from the road.

Unfortunately, that exchange all but coincided with their arrival at the meeting point. Some parking lot that was vacant at the late hour. If they were planning an ambush, it was a rather open space for one. Lots of sight lines, but sneaking up on them would prove difficult.

Ashe got up and looked out the windshield, spotting a handful of vehicles parked across the lot, a few people milling about around them. Worse, most of the lamps were out, casting everything in inky black that was only broken by the headlights of the vehicles idling in a loose half-circle. Their escort pulled up along one of the groups and Keiko followed, taking up a spot a short distance away. There really wasn’t any reason to delay things further, not without pissing people off.

“Once more…”

Crystal patted her on the back, then threw the side door of the van open and hopped out. She hadn’t drawn her gun, but she’d positioned her hands in such a way that it would be a simple matter to do so. Ashe waited for Crystal’s signal, then hopped down with her. A few of the people shifted, but no weapons were raised.

The atmosphere honestly reminded her of several movies, and she was just waiting for a white camper van loaded down with terrorists or something to come around the corner and start some shit. Then again, she was meeting the crazy criminals and was quite firmly in the same camp. No, the far more likely possibility was that the cops would be the ones to come calling.

Ashe walked forward, eager to get whatever this was going to be over with. Keiko fell in with them a moment later, and soon they joined the gathering. It took Ashe a moment to spot Alejandro, he was milling about with the armored guys from their last meeting. Their escort took a moment to rejoin his group, leaning close to Alejandro for a moment before the man laughed

And then the bag of angry cats dosed on meth was giving her his undivided attention. Alejandro hadn’t changed in the month since she last saw him, his eyes were still wide and taking everything in, manic and full of promised pain. She still wasn’t sure if the crazed madman or the calm and calculating monster was the true face, or hell, maybe he was plural and both were aspects of the leader of the Reapers.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite aspect of arson herself!” Alejandro cheered, arms wide and practically skipping along. “Heard you got up to some barely an hour ago! Let nobody say you aren’t doing your name proud, Inferno.”

Once again, Ashe found herself exasperated at the display, wishing she didn’t have to be the stoic badass for the crowd. She couldn’t groan, couldn’t let her eye twitch, or hell, she couldn’t even allow herself to be amused by the absurdity of it all. No, she needed to keep calm and be a leader, all to ensure that she didn’t give one of the most dangerous men in the city a reason to declare war on her and those who follow her.

“I do try,” she said, making a show of looking about. “This seems a bit conspicuous for a meeting. Are you expecting someone else?”

“Not at present,” he said. At that, Ashe did narrow her eyes. “Right now, I just wanted to give you a heads up that the Iron dildos are putting themselves on war footing.”

The implications crashed into her with full force, her mind racing to try and figure out what the hell she would do if they attacked the apartment. It wasn’t built to withstand a siege, and she didn’t think the girls were up to the task of repelling any sort of determined attack if it came their way. Worse, they would be out of their homes even if they did, the police would poke too deep if there was a major conflict on her doorstep.

That wasn’t the extent of it, however. She didn’t think that Alejandro would go to all this trouble just to warn her that they might be taking a swing in her direction, no, there was something else to it. She needed to try and see things from the other side even if it made her queasy. The biggest point being why they would attack her? Her holdings were not worth even attempting to take just yet, it would be far better for them if she were to build it all up for a year or two first, then attack and take it from her.

No, there was a deeper play.

She couldn’t just ask Crystal or Keiko for input without surrendering the posturing game to Alejandro, something they needed to work out in the future. So, if they were preparing to wage war, would she be their target, or would it be someone else?

“You’re looking for allies,” Ashe said. “That’s why you invited me here.”

Alejandro grinned wide, and internally, Ashe cursed. Of course that was what he was after. Everyone on the board knew that she was keeping her head down, biding her time. If the Reapers and Iron Patriots started shooting one another, it would allow her to gather power in relative peace while her enemies bled each other. She could sit back as her competition grew weak, and her new group fattened from the void left in their wake.

“Indeed I am,” Alejandro said. “Your brand of arson is quite on point and would be fun to see thrown around more. I realize your little group of girls is not a combat force, but the two at your side are proven fighters.” He snapped, and two men stepped forward, a case held between them that they dropped to the ground, then opened. “I would be willing to lend you one of my own men for any operations we send you on to bring you back up to strength, as well as provide you private-military grade equipment, much the same as what my men wear.”

Looking inside, Ashe couldn’t help but whistle at what she found. Three heavy duty vests were the centerpiece, along with some type of cloth under clothes and full on tactical armor for each limb. Ashe wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it certainly looked impressive as hell, but something like that could also just be a cosplay prop repurposed to look like real armor.

“Impressive as this is,” she said, taking a step back from the case. “How do I know this stuff isn’t fake?”

Alejandro shrugged, and grabbed one of the vests before tossing it to the big man that had been their escort. Then Alejandro pulled his gun—Ashe already reaching for her own—and fired off three shots. All three struck the armor in the man’s hands, he stumbled, dropping the armor as he did and cursed in a distorted voice.

“Show them the damage,” he said.

The man finished shaking off his wrist and picked the vest back up, bringing it over to her. Ashe, resecured her pistol, then accepted it. The bullets were embedded in the outer weave, and whatever the vest was made of, there was no sign of damage on the inside of the armor. That alone sent warning bells ringing in her mind, because armor that effective couldn’t have been cheap. Had he somehow managed to get his hands on some prototype bullshit that would just put heat on them that they didn’t need?

No. His men wore the same stuff. If his possession of it was going to cause problems, it would have already come up. Which meant, if he could buy something like this, then so could the Iron Patriots.

So could she.

“This is certainly a step above your standard SWAT armor,” she said casually, passing it over to Crystal for her to inspect. “You had to have spent a fortune on it, so why offer it to us?”

“Simple, my favorite felony,” This time her eyebrow twitched. “You’ve proven yourselves to be capable of that much and more, and I want you pointed at the right targets rather than sitting pretty on the sidelines. I’m prepared to offer you access to my suppliers for drugs, and more gear where that came from, if you just do the odd job for me during this coming squabble.”

There was that dull ache in her hand again, not quite real, but felt all the same. Her fist clenched, because as much as she hated it, he was offering her everything she wanted and needed, all on a silver platter. It was too good to be true, she knew he was just using her for his own goals. The problem was, could she afford to not let herself be used?

She knew she was damned, even before she reached out to shake his hand, sealing the deal with the devil she hoped she knew.