Heavy breathing is coming from Markus. He's staring out the window as the argument in the street below escalates. A nervous feeling is growing inside him as he watches Gus and Abel slowly get surrounded. Abel seems aware of their situation, but Gus is too heated to take notice.

From the other side of the Evergreen building, Luca the sheriff finally arrives. He's flanked by two young deputies following him. The commotion outside begins to calm down slightly as everyone starts noticing his presence. However, instead of continuing toward both groups, he stops at the corner of the street. Luca folds his arms, and just stands there watching the arguing continue.

“What's the sheriff doing?” Eclair asks out loud.

“Nothing really. Maybe he's scared to jump in?” Aurora responds back. “It would fit what we've heard before... but maybe Gus did something? A debt owed or a bad deal. It's hard to tell.”

Markus silently listens to the girls as they chat about what the sheriff is doing. It's clear he isn't doing anything to stop the arguing or deescalate the situation. The man has fellow deputies as backup, but still won't step in. Something is wrong with the situation.

“Hey, both of you get your belongings ready.” Markus says with a serious tone. Eclair and Aurora look at him with confused faces. “We might need to leave quick. Get everything ready now.”

After Markus finishes talking, he moves his hands to the edge of the window. He opens it a few inches, enough to allow noise from outside to enter the room. Angry voices and yelling can be heard immediately.

“Get moving. I'll get my things ready too. We can listen to how things shake out outside.” Markus says to the fae. They both nod in agreement and fly back to their respective drawers. Markus also moves away from the window as he starts quickly gathering all his belongings.

In the street below, the argument between Gus and the woman in red have reached a boiling point. Both sides are yelling and cursing loudly. Neither side is backing down from their dispute.

“You damn witch! I have nothing to do with you! I've said it before and I'll say it again! I will not give you my truck or supplies!” Gus is angrily yelling at the woman in red. “Robbery! I came here to meet the sheriff and this is what I get!?”

“Do not offend me with words fat man! The Crimsons work with all of your clients in Montillo! You've been dealing with them without giving us our cut! We're just taking all the back pay at once!” The woman in red yells back to Gus.

“Extortion then! The answer is still the same!” Gus responds, but then notices Luca several yards behind the woman's group. “Luca! Finally! Get over here and cease this madness!”

Luca simply smiles back with his arms folded. He doesn't move, and his deputies stay in their places too. A confused look forms on Gus' face, but then he realizes what's occurred.

“You... you dirty bastard! You set me up!” Gus yells while shaking his fist towards Luca.

Abel grabs Gus' arm while saying “This is bad. We need to go now. Jump in the truck as soon as there's an opening.”

Markus is standing by the open window while listening to everything outside. Both sides have gone back to yelling at each other. At his feet, the overloaded backpack sits with a front pouch open. The fae fly over to drop their off bags inside the pouch. He zips it up, then loads his backpack onto his shoulders.

Eclair and Aurora have anxious looks on their faces. Their gazes keep drifting out the window at the unfolding crisis. They heard the exchanging of words just like Markus. Gus and Abel are in serious trouble.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Markus glances at the girls. They have all their armor being worn, with Eclair's sword sheathed and Aurora holding her spear in both hands. Markus does a quick check on his equipment too. The combat vest is on, and the war hammer sits on his waist. Slung across his chest is his folded assault rifle still wrapped in the blue cloak.

A pat down reveals Markus forgot his pistol. He sees it still on the night stand. Walking over, he grabs it and puts it back into the vest holster. One last look around reveals a disheveled room, with all the dresser drawers pulled out. Satisfied he's got everything, Markus walks back to the window where the fae are waiting.

Suddenly, the argument outside turns violent. A Crimson thug rushes Abel from behind, grabbing him in a bear hug. Abel smashes the back of his head against the face of the man. The thug lets go, allowing Abel to reach for his dagger. In one swift motion, he turns around and plunges the dagger into the neck of the thug. It kills him instantly.

All hell breaks loose. Abel's action causes all the other Crimson members to pull out their own weapons. Daggers, clubs, and swords are being drawn out. The Crimson man that was near the truck runs at Abel now. With a short sword, he takes a slash at him. Abel ducks and then kicks the legs out from underneath the attacker. The attacker falls on his back, letting Abel to jump on top of him. He stabs the man several times in the chest before he can recover.

Gus holds his own in the fight. With a powerful punch, he sends the buddy of the scarred Crimson thug flying backwards. The scarred man himself is then grabbed by Gus and thrown hard against a lamp post. Abel sees Gus in trouble, and grabs a second dagger from the man just killed. He starts running towards his friend.

Out of the blue, a crossbow bolt hits the back of Abel. Then another, and then another. Abel staggers for a few steps, his daggers drop to the ground, and he collapses face first. Gus sees the death of his friend, and immediately gives up. He raises his arms up while yelling to the woman in red “Stop! I give up! Just take everything!”

“Jesus Christ! They fucking killed him.” Markus says loudly. He looks over to the right side of the window. On a nearby rooftop, three Crimson men with small crossbows can be seen. They were not there earlier, and must have only just arrived.

The front door swings open at the Evergreen restaurant. A man dressed in an all black suit with a matching fedora hat calmly walks outside. He strolls over to the woman in red standing in front of Gus. Markus can't see the face of the man, but he whispers something to the woman in red.

The woman in red nods in agreement at something. She then pulls out her dagger and walks towards Gus. The man in the all black suit disappears back inside the Evergreen restaurant. She says to Gus “We're going to take everything mister Augustus... but there is a loose end. Where is your friend? The one with the fairies?”

Gus takes a deep breath before responding “I've got a family... but you're just going to kill me anyway aren't you? Why would I give up a friend?” Thinking for a moment, Gus then gives a big smile towards the woman in red. He says to her “I've got a feeling you're going to regret chasing that man.”

An angry scowl forms on the face of the woman in red. She suddenly plunges her dagger into the heart of Gus. She repeats the process numerous times as he falls to the ground. Blood is covering her arm before finally stopping.

“Nooo! Monsters... Fucking Monsters...” Markus yells from inside the room. He couldn't hear the last exchange of words, seeing only the death of Gus. An angry fist smashes the wall beside the window.

“Alright! That's enough!” Luca yells out as he starts walking toward the woman in red. When he reaches her, Luca begins putting on a performance to the witnesses in the area. “Put your weapons away! This was a clear act of self defense, seeing as mister Augustus' bodyguard attacked first! Everyone go home, we'll take over from here!”

“Motherfucker... he's really working with them.” Markus says under his breath. “They didn't have to die like that.”

After his announcement, Luca quietly talks to the woman in red. He says “Monica, this was way too dirty. You need to double the finders fee for the man with the fairies now.”

“Luca, it better be worth it. Tell me again why you deserve one anyway?” Monica responds.

“My boys have this town locked down with who's coming and going. That fella came from the East. Nothing that way except ruins and fairies. He comes from nowhere and tells me about a body he just so happens to find. My boys say the dead man was robbed of nearly everything.” Luca says with serious tone. “Far as I can tell, he's a crook or a killer or both. Gods know, maybe he's even from the other world.”

“Alright, fine.” Monica says with a dismissive sigh “We lost two men today, and if he's as you say then he'll be a good addition. Even if we need to do some persuasion. Still... I'm curious why such a person was involved with Augustus.”

“Good. By the way, he's in the Mountain View Inn. I don't know which room so have fun looking.” Luca says with a smile. He turns around and walks back to his waiting deputies.

The conversation between Luca and the woman in the red is too soft to be heard from the room. Markus looks at the bodies of Gus and Abel. He can't believe what he's seen. A feeling of guilt forms inside him. Could he have done anything different?

“Alright boys! Go across the street to the inn! The man with the fairies is in there somewhere! Don't rough him up too bad!” The woman in red yells out to the nearby Crimson members.

Markus immediately turns to Eclair and Aurora. He says to them “Shit, that's us. We need to go now!”