It took me half the night to finally locate the crew of thugs again. I'd been going from rooftop to rooftop, skulking around the dark alleyways and parks of the Mulberry Estate, trying to find them. I was ready for them this time, full of vengeful anger and geared up with the bat strapped to my back in a makeshift scabbard. Finally, I found them hanging around one of the broken-down swing parks.

  I watched them carefully, determined not to rush in without a proper plan. As I formulated my strategy, a long black car with tinted windows pulled up. It was one of those old diesel powered cars. I had learned from my surveillance on the rooftops that criminals liked these older cars as they lacked all the computer tracking systems of the new electric models. The driver’s side window rolled down and Goldilocks bent over to speak with the driver. After a few seconds, he nodded to his gang and all four of them clambered in. The diesel engine growled to life and they drove away.

  It had been a hard chase, but fortunately, they hadn’t gone far, and I was able to keep track of them from the rooftops. I'd gotten good at scurrying around the roofs of the Mulberry Estate and I’d learned all the shortcuts.

  Breathing hard and sweating profusely, I crouched on top of an abandoned flat and watched as the four men exited the car and walked into a small parade of rundown houses. They knocked on one of the doors. There was a round bellied man inside waiting for them, and he didn’t look happy. They walked in, and the door slammed shut behind them.

  I'd sat on this roof for nearly an hour waiting for them to come back out. I was tired, I was starving, and my arm and hand were still throbbing angrily. I put that out of my mind and checked my equipment again for the fifth time: tightening the brace on my arm, fidgeting with my gloves, counting my Blast Rocks and my Chalk Bombs, adjusting the strap of the scabbard around the bat, and even practicing drawing it a few times.

  Finally, just as pins and needles had almost completely eaten away at my lower body, the door opened and the four men came out. They looked unsteady on their feet. I’m guessing they'd been drinking and partying, which was perfect for me. They didn’t get back in the car this time. I watched them stumble down the alleyways, meandering, going nowhere fast. They laughed and screamed at each other like they were the only four people in the whole world, or at least the only four that mattered.

  I felt my anger rising in my chest as I remembered what they did to Mark and the threats they had made. I used that to focus my mind on what needed to be done. I just had to pick the place carefully. I needed somewhere where I could nullify their numbers, somewhere that my Chalk Bombs would be most effective. It had to be clean and quick. The longer the fight went, the more it went in their favour.

  They finally came to a stop by a row of garages at the end of a dilapidated cul-de-sac. That was perfect. It was secluded enough, and there was only one way in and one way out and small enough that the Chalk Bombs would be effective. I reckoned if I threw all three of them at the same time, I could do damage before they cleared. I took a few steadying breaths while I watched them. They had a black backpack that they were very interested in. They pulled it open and were looking inside, talking to each other excitedly.

  I used this moment of distraction to start working my way down the building. As I got closer, I heard their excited chatter.

  "This is it, boys," Goldilocks said. "This is it, this is the big time for us.”

  “We're gonna be rich," The Urinator said.

  "Yeah, I'm gonna buy me one of them fancy rail cars, the electric ones," Pumpkin said, guffawing stupidly.

  "I'm gonna buy diamond teeth," Zombie murmured.

  "Yeah, yeah, you can all dream about how you're gonna spend your money after you've made it. Right now, we need to get this shit chopped up ready for sale. If we fuck this up Brick will cut us into bits." Goldilocks said as he threw the garage door open.

  I hugged the shadows of the alleyway and watched them pulling open the rusty door to the garage. They laughed and jostled each other as they walked in making no efforts to be discreet.

  I had to move, and I had to move now. Nervous energy pulsed through my body. Was I really doing this? Before I could chicken out, I pulled two Chalk Bombs from my pocket and sprinted across the open space. Zombie saw me out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head slowly. I saw his red eyes widen as his drug-addled brain tried to figure out what he was seeing. Just as he opened his mouth to yell, I hurled the Chalk Bombs straight into this dumb face. Both bombs actually exploded! I yanked down my goggles as I closed in on them.

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  "It's him again!" The Urinator screeched.

  "Fucking get him! Kill him! Kill him!" Goldilocks screamed.

  And then I was on them. I barreled past Zombie who was choking and gasping for air, and slid under the half opened garage door. I peered through the greenish tint of my goggles and yanked the bat from its scabbard. It stuck for a moment, but then I pulled it free, accidentally hitting the garage door above as I did. There was an explosion and the door groaned and screeched metallically, half of it collapsing and hitting Zombie in the back of the head. He grunted and fell to the floor. The goons were in disarray, but this time they were better armed. I saw two knives and a metal pole appearing in their hands.

  "Don't let him near the stash! Get him, get him!" Goldilocks barked.

  I swung the bat as hard as I could at The Urinator. I hit him somewhere around the mid-thigh, and there was a whoosh of power. He was taken clean off his feet, and sent flying halfway across the garage.

  The bat held together, but the shock of it ran through my hands, and I almost dropped it. I turned just in time to see Pumpkin lumbering towards me in the darkness, swinging his pole madly in front of him. He hit me on the shoulder, but I managed to parry the second blow with the side of Grandad’s bat. He was too close for me to use it effectively, and I realised that fighting them in such close quarters was going to be a problem. I swung Grandad’s bat in a low arc and clipped Pumpkin on the shin, sending him sprawling.

  Goldilocks was keeping away and screaming at his men to get me. Zombie had staggered back to his feet. He was disoriented and wobbly but he still charged in my general direction. I steadied myself, lined him up and swung. I hit him square in the chest. He rocketed backwards and slammed into the wall sending dust and broken chips of brickwork up before crumpling to the floor unconscious.

  I took the time to grin foolishly and that was a mistake. Pumpkin was back on his feet. He fumbled in the chalk fog and managed to grab hold of my jacket. I turned in time to see his head flying towards my face. I screwed my eyes up as his forehead crunched into my goggles, cracking one of the lenses. My head snapped back, and everything went dark for a moment. He headbutted me so hard that my jacket ripped in his hand, and I fell backwards, banging my head on a wall.

  Shaking my head, I blinked a few times, feeling blood dripping down into my eye. I could only see out of one of my goggles now; the other half of my vision was just a cloud of chalky grit and blood. I swung the bat wildly, trying to keep them back. I was completely disoriented, my legs felt weak and unsteady. The end of the bat made contact with something, but the Rune didn't land; there was no satisfying explosion of power, just a grunt of pain. I stabbed at the figure with the bat, forcing him back, reached into my pocket, and hurled a Bang Rock at him. I missed and hit something behind him. There was another loud bang, and some of the smoke cleared enough for me to see Goldilocks.

  "I'm gonna fucking kill you, you little…" he charged at me with his knife raised.

  I didn't have time to use the bat. Instead, I shot out my left arm. The Grapple Cord whipped out, but instead of wrapping around Goldilocks or his knife, this time it just sort of flew at his face and hit him square on his cheek. The power and the whip of the cord cut his cheek open and spun him around.

  I charged his back and tried to kick him as hard as I could, but in the smoke, I didn't see the prone body the Urinator splayed out on the floor. I tripped and went down hard, banging my chin on the floor, Grandad’s bat flying from my grasp. I was completely disoriented. Groaning, I spat blood out of my mouth.

  "Where is he? Where's he gone?” Goldilocks said.

  “He's disappeared.” Pumpkin replied.

  "He has not disappeared," Goldilocks snapped. "People don't just vanish, you idiot."

  "Where's he gone then?"

  "I don't know. Look around. Try and clear this damn smoke."

  Goldilocks and Pumpkin waved their arms, trying to clear the smoke. I lay perfectly still, watching them stumble around. Silently, I wound the Grapple Cord back around my wrist, took a deep breath, and then whipped it out and caught Pumpkin by the ankle.

  "Ahh, he's got me!"

  I yanked as hard as I could, which turned out to not be hard enough. Pumpkin stumbled, his foot pulled out from underneath him, but he didn't fall as I hoped he would. He regained his footing and then reached down and felt the cord around his ankle.

  "He's lassoed me," Pumpkin said, confused.

  "What?" Goldilocks said. "Hold him there!”

  And that's when I realized I had just attached myself to one of these killers and shown them exactly where I was. I did the only thing I could. I pulled myself to my feet and ran at Pumpkin, deciding to repay him for the headbutt. I charged at him, skull first, and butted him straight in the chin before he saw me coming out of the smoke. He stumbled back enough for me to yank his foot out from underneath him. He fell with a garbled cry and cracked the back of his head off the concrete floor. I quickly loosened the Grapple Cord, wrapping it around my wrist as fast as I could, ignoring the searing pain in the top of my head. I spun around, but I couldn't see Goldilocks. I waited, breathing hard. My good eye searched wildly back and forth in the smoke. But he was gone. He must have escaped.

  Shit!