The screams echoed through the alley as the steps drew closer and closer. Pressed against the dead end was a man, perhaps in his late forties. “Please,” he begged, “I’ve got a wife! And a daughter! She’s only seventeen!”
The steps did not stop. The knife glinted red beneath the single streetlight. “Oh?” came a raspy voice from the direction of the steps. “High School?”
The man relaxed slightly at the question, his eyes still full of panic, “Yes! She’s at Lowenel High School! She’s a Senior this year!”
The voice did not reply with words, instead, it stepped forward. The father pressed himself closer to the wall as if he could suddenly phase through it. He did not. “Why are you doing this?” he asked, in a voice full of hysteria.
The voice sighed this time, “Jasper, stop playing victim please, we know who you are.”
Jasper, the man pressed against the wall, relaxed his body and sat up. He grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth, “No more hiding huh? Which gang are you?” he asked, “Lotus? Fantoccini?”
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The voice hissed, “We aren’t a gang, how dare you!”
Jasper smiled, “So, Scoria then?”
The owner of the voice stepped into the light. Their hood covered their faces, but the presence of a white mask was noticeable. It was intricately made and well-carved. It covered the top half of their face. The mask itself was made to mimic the skull of what appeared to be some kind of cattle.
Jaspers's smile disappeared, “Savanna?” he asked, “You must the be infamous Gazelle then. I thought you were a girl.”
“Whose says I’m not?” asked Gazelle., “Now, I’m here to give you-”
Suddenly, Jasper leaped towards her, his fist ready to punch. It glowed slightly blue in the dark alley. Before he could get close enough, Gazelle flicked her wrist sending the knife towards his heart. It struck true. He collapsed at her feet and made a bubbling, choking noise, bits of blood dripping out of the wound and his mouth. Then slumped to the floor and went still.
“An offer…” finished Gazelle.
Then, Gazelle grinned, her mouth curved upwards into a sneer, “You would have made a good double agent. Oh well,” she sighed, “Lowenel's our next target you know? The biggest school in SF, out of three thousand students, there's gotta be at least a few more Phenominals like us. Who knows maybe your daughter's one, despite half that Mere blood in her veins.”
Gazelle looked down at the body and the blood pouring out of it. She reached down and flipped it over. Then, she pulled out the knife and returned it to the sheath by her hip. “Mission report,” buzzed an earpiece in her right ear.
She rolled her eyes and replied, “He’s dead.”
“Alright, leave the body for the feds to find. We’ve got a high school to raid.” Click.