Well the town wasn’t in flames, or even smoking… yet. But looking out over the place from my wooden vantage it was clear something was drastically sideways. There was no one on the streets – but that wasn’t unusual for dusk. Windows were boarded up and doors all shut; again, not that unusual. If pressed I couldn’t really point to any one thing in particular, but it was obvious all the same.
It looked clear to proceed however. No visible danger at all. I shimmied down and started in, picking my way carefully along pre-scouted routes that would give me the best chance of evading anyone looking for me.
Now there was a bad sign; Al’s was closed, and for all the Wardens apparent laid back demeanor, their gate was closed and locked. It was probably electrified too; the wardens all seemed to be staying well away from it.
I straightened up and walked casually across the street; unless I wanted to use the sewers (and I wouldn’t unless pressed) I had to risk.
Al opened his door as I came close, gesturing me inside silently. He shut and locked it almost on top of me.
“You picked a bad time to show up, Roy.”
“Heard things had finally taken a turn for the worse here and decided to see what I could see.”
That and I had an investment which needed protecting; if it hadn’t happened already, this riot or war or whatever would be used as an excuse to loot. I had much still in this town I wanted to keep.
“Well things are at a slow simmer now, but if you look carefully you can still make out the bloodstains. Both camps are too close to each other for this, really. I’m surprised it’s this quiet.”
“The real fun will start once the sun finally starts,” I told him. He knew, but he didn’t actually know. “Can you tell me what started it?”
“Not really. I could see some of it; a group of cats and a group of wolves, they got close and argued about something, and a cat stabbed a wolf. All hell broke loose from there.”
Well, it had only been a matter of time. “Seen anyone on the streets since?”
“No, not a single soul.”
There was still a chance then. “Alright, wish me luck and lock up after me, keep your head down and windows trapped.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Al said, hefting the door bar I had no real chance of moving. “Good luck.”
I strolled casually to my hardware store, giving the wardens a jaunty wave. It was just as Sal had left it, nice and locked up. There weren’t even any new holes in the windows. I unlocked it and found everything where it should be… and turned in time to see a group making there way through the alleys. A group of Mark’s people, heading this way while remaining hidden from sight from anyone on the other side of the street; which would mean Carey’s people.
The first tap on the door as one of them – I think I recognized him as a Jim – tried to set the crowbar. “We’re closed.”
“Oh, is that you, Roy? Good, how about you make this easier for us all and just open the door?”
It seemed Jim wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack. “We’re closed. How about you come back during normal business hours?”
“How about no?” He answered, because of course he would.
“Good luck then, and I won’t be responsible for any accidental injuries or missing limbs you incur.”
“Sure thing!” He responded cheerily.
That was fine, he would learn.
While they wasted their time trying to pry open my back door I ran around arming traps. This wasn’t a concerted attack, but a hit and run, and the defenses I had in place should repel it easily. Then I simply gathered up few choice close quarter weapons and pulled up a chair out of view of the windows to wait.
I had to wait longer than I should have for the group to figure out that trying to pry open a metal reinforced door both locked and barred from the inside on two points just wasn’t going to work; were they drunk?
Well, they were wolves; unless they changed they as a whole had more beer in stock than food. Of course they did eventually remember the windows. This wasn’t a good thing for them. The first one to try to force a window nearly lost a hand; I’d have to clean up all that blood later, and if the guy wasn’t careful he could create a real slipping hazard just by holding his arm right.
“Ahhh! My hand!”
“Shut up, Reynolds!”
“But my hand Jim!”
Jim pulled on Reynold’s now bum arm, and the almost shriek was ear splitting. “Shut up Reynolds! Go to the back, we’ll handle this.”
Apparently Jim only thought there would be one trap per window. That was silly; who would only place one trap on an entry? That just left you vulnerable if your enemy had people to spare. Mine did, and I wasn’t stupid.
The weighted window sash I’d made into backup guillotine didn’t have an edge; it was just heavy. Gravity cracking the thing against someone’s head would put them out for awhile though. The body blocking the way long enough for me to reset the guillotine was a nice bonus.
“Damn you Roy!”
Jim wasn’t dumb enough to go through himself it seemed. “We’re closed Jim. Come back during business hours.”
Jim’ response was to throw a bottle at me. Now contrary to popular belief, bottles do not make the best of weapons, and they tend not to fly straight. Which was why Jim missed by a country mile. I didn’t need another hint though, and ducked behind the counter – where one of my bows happened to be.
“Jim no one has gotten badly hurt, yet. Why don’t you take your friends and leave?”
“Hey fuck you, man! You almost cut off my hand!” Reynolds piped up.
“Shut up Reynolds,” I told him. “It could be, and it can get, a lot worse.”
Reynolds shut up. Well, except for the groaning and crying. Too bad Jim didn’t.
“I’m going to get you, Roy. I won’t kill you, but I’ll make you wish I had!”
“Shut up Jim, we both know your master would be very angry if you killed me, and that’s why you won’t be killing me, even if you manage to get in here. I’ll give you a hint though; you’ll need more men for this.”
I mean seriously, four? Just four, and one of them hurt?
Jim did manage to disable the guillotine trap, which was a plus for him, but I had to take points off because he sent his last two able bodied minions away… towards the other windows. I could probably just ignore them, at least for now.
Jim was halfway through the window, an evil looking grin pasted on his face, when I put a shaft beside his head.
The reaction was priceless. “Jesus Christ!” he yelled as he shoved himself back out the window, catching his flabby gut on the sill just long enough to make it painful before popping out of sight, probably rolling around in the gravel and trash of the alley.
A crash and a yell of pain announced one of the minions had found another of my falling weight traps; this one in the back. store room. This kinda sucked, because I was going to have to switch things up – they would be expecting that sort of thing next time.
I’d also have to start in on the more deadly options. Hopefully at least Mark would figure it out and decide not to test things. Some scuffling and noise; my new best friends were leaving. I risked a peek outside and found out why; there was a group of people crossing the street under the cover of the new darkness… from the opposite side of town.
They could only be cats, because Carey was at their lead. They snuck up, their bellies almost on the pavement, found the nearest window out of sight of the street… and Carey straightened up and knocked on it.
“Anyone there?”
“We’re closed, Carey.”
“Right, I know, but we heard some… noises, and we wanted to see if everything was alright.”
Well that was interesting; my opinion of Carey rose a notch or two.
“Everything is fine. Well, for me anyway. I had some fairly aggressive customers I was forced to convince to come back during business hours.”
“I… see.” Carey claimed, looking around. Perhaps he did.
“I hope you understand why I won’t be inviting you in to talk, but I have to ask; what caused the shitstorm?”
“I understand completely. One of the wolves thought it would be a good idea to offer money for Emily. When Corey refused, the wolf decided he could just take what he wanted; Corey of course objected… strenuously. Anyway, I assume you’re sleeping over; if you are and need help, just shout.”
My opinion of Carey rose another notch. “The worst is probably over for me, at least for now. You take care.”
He hunched down and went back the way he came. He didn’t even test the windows, which was something I wouldn’t have held against him. He was playing the long game and betting everything on me; only time would tell how that would work out.
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