Dragan did, indeed, lead them right back to the bear-man’s building. Shaggy figured that the kid would slow up and let either him or Isabel go first. But nope, Dragan rushed ahead and blasted a spray of super-glue in the bigger hybrid’s furry face. What followed was a short, bloody battle that took them from the front stoop and up two flights of stairs. Shaggy even had to stop and re-up Isabel’s claws. Apparently, she could only hold the transformation for so long.
Luckily, Ulf and Otto picked up the slack while they handled that. The fact that the abandoned building was some kind of hangout spot for the Bunch made things trickery. It was full of animal-human hybrids running around screaming and even returning some of Otto’s gunfire with their own. Shaggy had to physically shove Dragan back to stop the dumb kid from getting shot. He used his own body as a shield as Otto fired over his shoulder.
Eventually, they cleared the second floor. But instead of looking proud, Dragan looked sullen, even a little anger at everyone else. But they didn’t have time to unpack all of that, mostly because Shaggy didn’t want to. Instead, he had the kids spread out and loot while he watched the front door. That took another thirty minutes, and then they were back on the street again. Happy and healthy.
“Seriously, what’s your problem?” Isabel asked.
Well, some of them were happy.
“It’s nothing.” Dragan replied in a voice that convinced no one.
“He’s pissy cause he thinks his power sucks.”
“DUDE!?”
“What?! It’s true. You’ve bitched about it since you awakened.” Ulf created a long, red pointer stick and waved it under Dragan’s nose. “What we have here is a typical case of Power Envy. The subject, hereafter named The Bitch, continues to complain about its underwhelming power.”
Shaggy snorted as the others chuckled at the red-faced Dragan. “He literally took out the big bear dude at the start of the fight. Jammed enough glue in his face to choke him.”
“Not to mention you broke that Bird-dude’s jaw,” Isabel added.
“Least you have powers.” Otto said softly.
Dragan looked at all of them before groaning. “Argh! I know, but it still sucks. I mean, Shaggy tossed that hamster-looking guy across a room. Besides, that bird guy probably had hollow bones. A stiff wind could’ve broken him. Even you, Otto, shot more people than I glued up.”
Otto spun as they continued walking away from the building. Shaggy angled them southward and figured they could circle the block and then head one over.
“Look, your power is weird. But, again, at least you have one. Not to mention the general physical boost you get from awakening. You’re tougher than I am, stronger than I am, and you have a literally super power. Stop bitching.”
Dragan threw up his hands. “You don’t get it.”
“No, I don’t. But you don’t get what it’s like to be way past puberty and not get your powers yet. It goes beyond just being annoying. Other mutant families look at you like you’re some kind of failure. Your family tells you it’s okay while bad-mouthing you behind your back.”
Otto took a large breath and spun back around to face forward. Shaggy spared the kid a glance and saw he was shivering with a film of water in his eyes. Shaggy brought them to a stop so Otto could collect himself. It was the most the kid had said since they left the cave and even Dragan looked a little surprised.
“Look I’m so-” Dragan started.
“Don’t. Just don’t.”
Dragan nodded, and they stood there in silence as Otto continued to breathe hard. In fact, the breathing seemed to get worse. Shaggy glanced up at the boy’s face and noticed a look of shock. It looked like the kid was having a panic attack. Shaggy rushed to help, but Otto put a hand out even as he panted like a race horse trying to catch its breath. As they all watched, Otto fell to his knees on the sidewalk and clutch his head. Shaggy looked around for something, anything, to help the kid. But he noticed that Dragan, the others, were all smiling. Ulf slapped Dragan’s shoulder and cackled.
“HA! If all people need to do in order to Awaken is get mad at you, we’ll be full of Mutants by tonight!”
Isabel smiled as Dragan looked both annoyed and happy. Shaggy glanced between the kids and Otto. The young boy was still panting, but it had gotten less ragged and he had sat on the sidewalk. His eyes darted around wildly and if Shaggy didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn that the kid was reading a menu. After a few minutes, Otto’s breathing returned to normal, and he stood, sweat now covering the front of his shirt. Shaggy gave the kid a once over, but it didn’t look like anything changed.
“So what did ya get?” Isabel asked excitedly.
Otto grinned even as more sweat poured down his face. But instead of saying anything, he pointed at the pavement. Shaggy and the others waited, but the sidewalk stayed the same. Meanwhile, Otto’s face was turning red.
“Uhh, Otto? Maybe you should just tell us?” Shaggy said worriedly.
But he was ignored. Instead, Otto gestured with his other hand and the pavement. Shaggy could see the veins on the kid’s neck bulge as he tried to accomplish whatever he was doing. He was about to force the kid to stop when the sidewalk slab shifted upward and Otto sighed loudly. With his hands still held aloft, he yanked them backwards and the piece of pavement shifted again. Shaggy caught sight of a brown clump moving toward Otto’s hands. Once it stopped moving, Shaggy realized it was a clump of dirt. Otto stared at the ball of dirt in amazement.
“Dirt control?” Ulf asked.
Otto gulped and nodded.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Isabel burst out laughing as she shook her head.
Otto glared at the girl and looked ready to throw his clump of dirt. But the young lady shook her head and pointed downward. The bit of sidewalk Otto had pulled the dirt from was tilted slightly upward and Shaggy could see the sub-soil beneath. He glanced back at Isabel, confused. A look mirrored by the other men standing around. Isabel coughed and explained.
“Do you know how deep dirt is beneath a sidewalk? No wonder you nearly burst a vein dumbass. There’s like four layers of crap above a standard sidewalk slab. Next time, wait for a potted plant or sidewalk tree or something.”
Isabel fell about herself laughing again as Otto went pink in the cheeks. Shaggy shook his head and turned back down the street. They needed to hurry along. There was more to patrol and more Wild Bunch Thugs to slaughter. Behind him, the kids started up an excited conversation about Otto’s new power. Dragan opined his own power again, but Otto didn’t care half as much as he had before. Which meant Shaggy had to listen to the glue-thrower complain for half a block. He was almost excited when he spotted a group of hybrids across the street to the west.
They were on a street corner, looking shifty. Shaggy didn’t want to judge, but four men standing on a corner holding dufflebags and backpacks looked off. More so when three men walked off in different directions. All of his TV knowledge told him they were all drug dealers. But he figured it was better safe than sorry. Behind him, he heard Otto mutter excitedly.
“I bet I could hit that guy from here.”
Shaggy sighed. “With your clump of dirt?”
“Hey! I can pack it pretty solid. Bet it stings like hell,” Otto defended.
Shaggy shook his head as his eyes followed a man with bee wings headed their direction. This one was carrying a duffel bag that only seemed half full. The man was quickly approaching and Shaggy had an awakened mutant with an itchy trigger finger. He turned to his four charges.
“I’m going to distract. Dragan, you immobilize and Isabel and Ulf circle around. Otto, cover me for now.”
“But I-”
“Kid, you literally just got your power. Let’s not chance it. Okay?”
Otto looked like he wanted to argue, but the bee-man was drawing even with them across the street. Shaggy ignored Otto’s look and raced across the street. Thankfully, no cars were out, so Shaggy had a clear shot all the way. He called out to the bee guy and tried to slur his words a bit.
“Hey, dude. Youse got any of that good shit, man?!”
Bee-guy looked him over for a hot second before he hurried his walk. Shaggy angled to get in the bees’ way as he tried again.
“Aw come on mansh. I know you got me some good stuff.”
“Sir. I don’t know what you want. But I assure you I don’t have any.”
The hybrid’s proper tone and polite speech made Shaggy almost slide to a stop. He thought he had gotten the wrong impression from the four men. Or maybe he had just chosen poorly. But before he could call everything off, Dragan hit the bee-man in the back with a spray of glue. The man’s wings sputtered and died as Isabel and Ulf charged. Shaggy grimaced as he rushed forward to put a stop to things. That’s when the bee-man pulled a glowing sub-machine gun from his bag.
Shaggy had a split-second between seeing the gun and putting himself between Isabel and Ulf. He didn’t think he just moved. The front of the small weapon glowed red and the next thing Shaggy felt was burning pain. It started in his torso and slowly climbed up toward his face. The strange electronic noise of the weapon filled his ears, and he barely registered anything else. He tried opening his eyes, but large coronas of red light nearly burned his retina’s out. It seemed like forever as the barrage of energy turned his shirt to ash and burned his flesh. But with a torrent of noise and a loud thud, the pain stopped and Shaggy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Jeezus, boss. What is all that?” Isabel’s voice rang in Shaggy’s ears.
Shaggy cracked an eye and tried to look around. But his eyes were still stinging from the light of the weapon. Shuffling went on nearby as Shaggy felt his skin knit itself back together. He figured the kids were stealing from the bee-hybrid. He hoped the sonofabitch was part of the Bunch. Otherwise, they just killed a heavily armed pedestrian.
“Looks like some weird armor plating made of... muscle... bone? Yeah, what the fuck is that?” Ulf asked.
Shaggy guessed that the kids were seeing his dermal plates beneath his skin. Which meant the whole top-layer of his skin was gone. Shaggy grimaced. That was going to make moving around a pain in the ass. He focused on blinking the bursts of light out of his eyes before he answered.
“Whoa, this dude was holding a shit ton,” Dragan said from somewhere ahead of Shaggy.
“Leave it.” Shaggy croaked, his throat feeling raw.
“Boss, these drugs go for a lot on the street.” Dragan argued.
“Do you know where and how to sell it?”
“Well no. But we can’t just leave money on the table, can we?”
“Don’t care. We are not getting into drugs. Now check the bee. I bet he had a load of credits on him.”
There was some shuffling and grumbling, but Shaggy heard them following his orders. When he tried to open his eyes again, he saw that Ulf and Dragan were standing near the bee-man’s prone body while Otto kept watch. Isabel was standing to his side, watching his skin heal in wide-eyed fascination. Shaggy ignored her as Ulf pulled a gold credit chit from the bee-man’s pocket.
“Jackpot! It’s the only one he’s carrying, but I bet it’s worth a lot.”
“Great.” Shaggy groaned. “Grab his gun and let’s go.”
“Uh, about that boss,” Ulf hedged.
The tone of the boy’s voice made Shaggy search the sidewalk for the weapon. He found it lying in two parts just off the curb. He sighed. It looked like Dragan had glued the thing up too. Bending down, ignoring the screaming of his nerves in his still-raw chest, Shaggy wrenched both halves from their glue cocoon. He straightened up with a hiss of pain and tossed the weapon to Dragan, who was holding the Hybrid’s bag.
“Dump the drugs and put the guy’s money and weapon in there.”
Dragan looked ready to argue, but Shaggy spun around and checked the street. Showing that he was done with the conversation. He heard the teen grumble but follow his orders. Shaggy checked down the street where the other member of the bee’s little crew had been. But they were long gone. Shaggy glanced between Isabel and Otto.
“Did either of you see where the other dealer went?”
Isabel shrugged and shook her head as Otto pointed westward. Shaggy nodded as the pain in his chest stopped. His skin was red and raw, but it finally seemed to cover his muscle and nerve endings again. He cautiously rubbed his chest, which drew Isabel’s eyes back to it.
“That is some wicked healing, boss.”
“Yeah. Still hurts though.”
“But it’s worth it, right? I mean, you just tanked some high-powered energy shots from a machine gun at point-blank range,” Dragan said as he finished dumping the cascade of drugs from the bag.
Shaggy noticed various bags of white powder and vials of multi-colored liquid. He didn’t know what the Bunch was dealing in, but it made his new skin crawl.
“Sure, but if you kids weren’t here, I’d have been toast. He essentially stun-locked me in place. I might have held on long enough for the gun to burn out. But then I’d still be a sitting duck. Energy weapons are a pain in my ass. Although… How did the Bunch get them?”
Ulf and the others shrugged. “They’re bound to have a guy.”
“A guy?”
“Yeah. Y’know? A guy. Someone who they buy their weapons from. Or maybe they have someone making their own.”
“I bet they buy them from someone.” Isabel said. “I mean, with K-Tech and the other big companies in Austin, it’s probably easy for a few of them to go missing from time to time. Then whoever has them turns around and sells them to the highest bidder. Probably not a bad scam overall.”
Shaggy gave a noncommittal nod as he pulled a mass of melted chocolate from his pocket. He groaned as he ate what he could and discarded the rest. The kids stayed silent until Shaggy finished. Then he had them turn southward again until they got to the end of the block. He explained they were going to circle the block and then head back to Nuc’s shop. Once they had checked on the Goblin/Gnome hybrid, they would head home.
“We’re going to hit any Bunch patrols we see, okay? Otto hold off on the dirt throwing until we get back. Then you can practice all you want.”
The teens all grumbled about the patrol being over so soon. But Shaggy figured they had done enough for today. Maybe a few more fights and then they could call it quits. As they started walking again, Shaggy asked what the kids would’ve done if that Bee-man had been a civilian.
“I mean, it was pretty obvious that he was a thug for the Wild Bunch.” Ulf said.
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“What?”
“How was it obvious?” Shaggy asked, seeking clarification.
“I mean, he was a hybrid, looking sketchy, in this part of town. Chances were high he was with the Bunch or some other gang.”
“That seems like profiling.” Shaggy argued.
All four teens gave him a look before they shrugged simultaneously. Dragan scratched the back of his head.
“I don’t know, boss. It just seemed like he was a bad guy. But if he wasn’t, then we just wash the blood off our hands and move on.”
Shaggy turned that thought over in his head until he had to shake it off. That was a dangerous way to think. He would have to talk to the others about target assessment later. Maybe find a better way to identify local gang members. Instead, he turned to what happened to the bee-hybrid again.
“So what happened to the bee-guy, anyway? I mean, I saw the body, but who killed him?”
Ulf pointed two thumbs at his face. “This guy. Slashed into his stomach while he was lighting you up, boss.”
“Well, next time be faster. I only have so much skin and regrowing it itches.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know if we could move around you without drawing fire. It wasn’t until Mr. Gluetastic jammed up the gun. That’s when I moved.”
Shaggy snorted as he looked at Dragan. “Still feel useless?”
Dragan shrugged. “I still think it’s a limited power. But I’ll use what I got. Especially if you are there to tank the hits long enough for me to aim my spray, probably.”
The conversation fell into amiable chit-chat as Shaggy led them around the corner and up the south-side of the block. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the kids saw it, they made it all the way back to Nuc’s store with no trouble. In fact, Shaggy felt that some of the Bunch had retreated from the streets.
It was weird. Civilians popped out of their homes and stared at the empty streets. The thugs on corners and stoops disappeared entirely. Shaggy guessed or hoped that the Bunch was rallying their forces to push their patrol out of the neighborhood. If they hurried, they could rush back home before any of the Bunch mobilized. Nothing better than a paranoid enemy.
The conversation with Nuc was short and to the point. The hybrid had already known what she wanted to do and was ready to light Randall’s old store on fire before she left. Shaggy had to literally take the matches out of her hands. It wasn’t until she explained she could claim the insurance money and blame the Bunch that Shaggy finally relented. So, after some insurance fraud and arson, the six of them made the trip back toward the deli.
Shaggy grinned as he mentally marked off the patrols events. He learned a bit about the kids, got a new business partner. Although she didn’t have a business yet. Otto awakened to his Mutant abilities, and they made a decent chunk of change. It was a very productive patrol, all things considered. Shaggy couldn’t wait to learn what the other members of his pack had been up to. And maybe Levy was on her way back from the Fae realm. He grinned as thoughts of the two of them getting up to mischief filled his head. So much to do, so little time.
Dragan did, indeed, lead them right back to the bear-man’s building. Shaggy figured that the kid would slow up and let either him or Isabel go first. But nope, Dragan rushed ahead and blasted a spray of super-glue in the bigger hybrid’s furry face. What followed was a short, bloody battle that took them from the front stoop and up two flights of stairs. Shaggy even had to stop and re-up Isabel’s claws. Apparently, she could only hold the transformation for so long.
Luckily, Ulf and Otto picked up the slack while they handled that. The fact that the abandoned building was some kind of hangout spot for the Bunch made things trickery. It was full of animal-human hybrids running around screaming and even returning some of Otto’s gunfire with their own. Shaggy had to physically shove Dragan back to stop the dumb kid from getting shot. He used his own body as a shield as Otto fired over his shoulder.
Eventually, they cleared the second floor. But instead of looking proud, Dragan looked sullen, even a little anger at everyone else. But they didn’t have time to unpack all of that, mostly because Shaggy didn’t want to. Instead, he had the kids spread out and loot while he watched the front door. That took another thirty minutes, and then they were back on the street again. Happy and healthy.
“Seriously, what’s your problem?” Isabel asked.
Well, some of them were happy.
“It’s nothing.” Dragan replied in a voice that convinced no one.
“He’s pissy cause he thinks his power sucks.”
“DUDE!?”
“What?! It’s true. You’ve bitched about it since you awakened.” Ulf created a long, red pointer stick and waved it under Dragan’s nose. “What we have here is a typical case of Power Envy. The subject, hereafter named The Bitch, continues to complain about its underwhelming power.”
Shaggy snorted as the others chuckled at the red-faced Dragan. “He literally took out the big bear dude at the start of the fight. Jammed enough glue in his face to choke him.”
“Not to mention you broke that Bird-dude’s jaw,” Isabel added.
“Least you have powers.” Otto said softly.
Dragan looked at all of them before groaning. “Argh! I know, but it still sucks. I mean, Shaggy tossed that hamster-looking guy across a room. Besides, that bird guy probably had hollow bones. A stiff wind could’ve broken him. Even you, Otto, shot more people than I glued up.”
Otto spun as they continued walking away from the building. Shaggy angled them southward and figured they could circle the block and then head one over.
“Look, your power is weird. But, again, at least you have one. Not to mention the general physical boost you get from awakening. You’re tougher than I am, stronger than I am, and you have a literally super power. Stop bitching.”
Dragan threw up his hands. “You don’t get it.”
“No, I don’t. But you don’t get what it’s like to be way past puberty and not get your powers yet. It goes beyond just being annoying. Other mutant families look at you like you’re some kind of failure. Your family tells you it’s okay while bad-mouthing you behind your back.”
Otto took a large breath and spun back around to face forward. Shaggy spared the kid a glance and saw he was shivering with a film of water in his eyes. Shaggy brought them to a stop so Otto could collect himself. It was the most the kid had said since they left the cave and even Dragan looked a little surprised.
“Look I’m so-” Dragan started.
“Don’t. Just don’t.”
Dragan nodded, and they stood there in silence as Otto continued to breathe hard. In fact, the breathing seemed to get worse. Shaggy glanced up at the boy’s face and noticed a look of shock. It looked like the kid was having a panic attack. Shaggy rushed to help, but Otto put a hand out even as he panted like a race horse trying to catch its breath. As they all watched, Otto fell to his knees on the sidewalk and clutch his head. Shaggy looked around for something, anything, to help the kid. But he noticed that Dragan, the others, were all smiling. Ulf slapped Dragan’s shoulder and cackled.
“HA! If all people need to do in order to Awaken is get mad at you, we’ll be full of Mutants by tonight!”
Isabel smiled as Dragan looked both annoyed and happy. Shaggy glanced between the kids and Otto. The young boy was still panting, but it had gotten less ragged and he had sat on the sidewalk. His eyes darted around wildly and if Shaggy didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn that the kid was reading a menu. After a few minutes, Otto’s breathing returned to normal, and he stood, sweat now covering the front of his shirt. Shaggy gave the kid a once over, but it didn’t look like anything changed.
“So what did ya get?” Isabel asked excitedly.
Otto grinned even as more sweat poured down his face. But instead of saying anything, he pointed at the pavement. Shaggy and the others waited, but the sidewalk stayed the same. Meanwhile, Otto’s face was turning red.
“Uhh, Otto? Maybe you should just tell us?” Shaggy said worriedly.
But he was ignored. Instead, Otto gestured with his other hand and the pavement. Shaggy could see the veins on the kid’s neck bulge as he tried to accomplish whatever he was doing. He was about to force the kid to stop when the sidewalk slab shifted upward and Otto sighed loudly. With his hands still held aloft, he yanked them backwards and the piece of pavement shifted again. Shaggy caught sight of a brown clump moving toward Otto’s hands. Once it stopped moving, Shaggy realized it was a clump of dirt. Otto stared at the ball of dirt in amazement.
“Dirt control?” Ulf asked.
Otto gulped and nodded.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Isabel burst out laughing as she shook her head.
Otto glared at the girl and looked ready to throw his clump of dirt. But the young lady shook her head and pointed downward. The bit of sidewalk Otto had pulled the dirt from was tilted slightly upward and Shaggy could see the sub-soil beneath. He glanced back at Isabel, confused. A look mirrored by the other men standing around. Isabel coughed and explained.
“Do you know how deep dirt is beneath a sidewalk? No wonder you nearly burst a vein dumbass. There’s like four layers of crap above a standard sidewalk slab. Next time, wait for a potted plant or sidewalk tree or something.”
Isabel fell about herself laughing again as Otto went pink in the cheeks. Shaggy shook his head and turned back down the street. They needed to hurry along. There was more to patrol and more Wild Bunch Thugs to slaughter. Behind him, the kids started up an excited conversation about Otto’s new power. Dragan opined his own power again, but Otto didn’t care half as much as he had before. Which meant Shaggy had to listen to the glue-thrower complain for half a block. He was almost excited when he spotted a group of hybrids across the street to the west.
They were on a street corner, looking shifty. Shaggy didn’t want to judge, but four men standing on a corner holding dufflebags and backpacks looked off. More so when three men walked off in different directions. All of his TV knowledge told him they were all drug dealers. But he figured it was better safe than sorry. Behind him, he heard Otto mutter excitedly.
“I bet I could hit that guy from here.”
Shaggy sighed. “With your clump of dirt?”
“Hey! I can pack it pretty solid. Bet it stings like hell,” Otto defended.
Shaggy shook his head as his eyes followed a man with bee wings headed their direction. This one was carrying a duffel bag that only seemed half full. The man was quickly approaching and Shaggy had an awakened mutant with an itchy trigger finger. He turned to his four charges.
“I’m going to distract. Dragan, you immobilize and Isabel and Ulf circle around. Otto, cover me for now.”
“But I-”
“Kid, you literally just got your power. Let’s not chance it. Okay?”
Otto looked like he wanted to argue, but the bee-man was drawing even with them across the street. Shaggy ignored Otto’s look and raced across the street. Thankfully, no cars were out, so Shaggy had a clear shot all the way. He called out to the bee guy and tried to slur his words a bit.
“Hey, dude. Youse got any of that good shit, man?!”
Bee-guy looked him over for a hot second before he hurried his walk. Shaggy angled to get in the bees’ way as he tried again.
“Aw come on mansh. I know you got me some good stuff.”
“Sir. I don’t know what you want. But I assure you I don’t have any.”
The hybrid’s proper tone and polite speech made Shaggy almost slide to a stop. He thought he had gotten the wrong impression from the four men. Or maybe he had just chosen poorly. But before he could call everything off, Dragan hit the bee-man in the back with a spray of glue. The man’s wings sputtered and died as Isabel and Ulf charged. Shaggy grimaced as he rushed forward to put a stop to things. That’s when the bee-man pulled a glowing sub-machine gun from his bag.
Shaggy had a split-second between seeing the gun and putting himself between Isabel and Ulf. He didn’t think he just moved. The front of the small weapon glowed red and the next thing Shaggy felt was burning pain. It started in his torso and slowly climbed up toward his face. The strange electronic noise of the weapon filled his ears, and he barely registered anything else. He tried opening his eyes, but large coronas of red light nearly burned his retina’s out. It seemed like forever as the barrage of energy turned his shirt to ash and burned his flesh. But with a torrent of noise and a loud thud, the pain stopped and Shaggy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Jeezus, boss. What is all that?” Isabel’s voice rang in Shaggy’s ears.
Shaggy cracked an eye and tried to look around. But his eyes were still stinging from the light of the weapon. Shuffling went on nearby as Shaggy felt his skin knit itself back together. He figured the kids were stealing from the bee-hybrid. He hoped the sonofabitch was part of the Bunch. Otherwise, they just killed a heavily armed pedestrian.
“Looks like some weird armor plating made of... muscle... bone? Yeah, what the fuck is that?” Ulf asked.
Shaggy guessed that the kids were seeing his dermal plates beneath his skin. Which meant the whole top-layer of his skin was gone. Shaggy grimaced. That was going to make moving around a pain in the ass. He focused on blinking the bursts of light out of his eyes before he answered.
“Whoa, this dude was holding a shit ton,” Dragan said from somewhere ahead of Shaggy.
“Leave it.” Shaggy croaked, his throat feeling raw.
“Boss, these drugs go for a lot on the street.” Dragan argued.
“Do you know where and how to sell it?”
“Well no. But we can’t just leave money on the table, can we?”
“Don’t care. We are not getting into drugs. Now check the bee. I bet he had a load of credits on him.”
There was some shuffling and grumbling, but Shaggy heard them following his orders. When he tried to open his eyes again, he saw that Ulf and Dragan were standing near the bee-man’s prone body while Otto kept watch. Isabel was standing to his side, watching his skin heal in wide-eyed fascination. Shaggy ignored her as Ulf pulled a gold credit chit from the bee-man’s pocket.
“Jackpot! It’s the only one he’s carrying, but I bet it’s worth a lot.”
“Great.” Shaggy groaned. “Grab his gun and let’s go.”
“Uh, about that boss,” Ulf hedged.
The tone of the boy’s voice made Shaggy search the sidewalk for the weapon. He found it lying in two parts just off the curb. He sighed. It looked like Dragan had glued the thing up too. Bending down, ignoring the screaming of his nerves in his still-raw chest, Shaggy wrenched both halves from their glue cocoon. He straightened up with a hiss of pain and tossed the weapon to Dragan, who was holding the Hybrid’s bag.
“Dump the drugs and put the guy’s money and weapon in there.”
Dragan looked ready to argue, but Shaggy spun around and checked the street. Showing that he was done with the conversation. He heard the teen grumble but follow his orders. Shaggy checked down the street where the other member of the bee’s little crew had been. But they were long gone. Shaggy glanced between Isabel and Otto.
“Did either of you see where the other dealer went?”
Isabel shrugged and shook her head as Otto pointed westward. Shaggy nodded as the pain in his chest stopped. His skin was red and raw, but it finally seemed to cover his muscle and nerve endings again. He cautiously rubbed his chest, which drew Isabel’s eyes back to it.
“That is some wicked healing, boss.”
“Yeah. Still hurts though.”
“But it’s worth it, right? I mean, you just tanked some high-powered energy shots from a machine gun at point-blank range,” Dragan said as he finished dumping the cascade of drugs from the bag.
Shaggy noticed various bags of white powder and vials of multi-colored liquid. He didn’t know what the Bunch was dealing in, but it made his new skin crawl.
“Sure, but if you kids weren’t here, I’d have been toast. He essentially stun-locked me in place. I might have held on long enough for the gun to burn out. But then I’d still be a sitting duck. Energy weapons are a pain in my ass. Although… How did the Bunch get them?”
Ulf and the others shrugged. “They’re bound to have a guy.”
“A guy?”
“Yeah. Y’know? A guy. Someone who they buy their weapons from. Or maybe they have someone making their own.”
“I bet they buy them from someone.” Isabel said. “I mean, with K-Tech and the other big companies in Austin, it’s probably easy for a few of them to go missing from time to time. Then whoever has them turns around and sells them to the highest bidder. Probably not a bad scam overall.”
Shaggy gave a noncommittal nod as he pulled a mass of melted chocolate from his pocket. He groaned as he ate what he could and discarded the rest. The kids stayed silent until Shaggy finished. Then he had them turn southward again until they got to the end of the block. He explained they were going to circle the block and then head back to Nuc’s shop. Once they had checked on the Goblin/Gnome hybrid, they would head home.
“We’re going to hit any Bunch patrols we see, okay? Otto hold off on the dirt throwing until we get back. Then you can practice all you want.”
The teens all grumbled about the patrol being over so soon. But Shaggy figured they had done enough for today. Maybe a few more fights and then they could call it quits. As they started walking again, Shaggy asked what the kids would’ve done if that Bee-man had been a civilian.
“I mean, it was pretty obvious that he was a thug for the Wild Bunch.” Ulf said.
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“What?”
“How was it obvious?” Shaggy asked, seeking clarification.
“I mean, he was a hybrid, looking sketchy, in this part of town. Chances were high he was with the Bunch or some other gang.”
“That seems like profiling.” Shaggy argued.
All four teens gave him a look before they shrugged simultaneously. Dragan scratched the back of his head.
“I don’t know, boss. It just seemed like he was a bad guy. But if he wasn’t, then we just wash the blood off our hands and move on.”
Shaggy turned that thought over in his head until he had to shake it off. That was a dangerous way to think. He would have to talk to the others about target assessment later. Maybe find a better way to identify local gang members. Instead, he turned to what happened to the bee-hybrid again.
“So what happened to the bee-guy, anyway? I mean, I saw the body, but who killed him?”
Ulf pointed two thumbs at his face. “This guy. Slashed into his stomach while he was lighting you up, boss.”
“Well, next time be faster. I only have so much skin and regrowing it itches.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know if we could move around you without drawing fire. It wasn’t until Mr. Gluetastic jammed up the gun. That’s when I moved.”
Shaggy snorted as he looked at Dragan. “Still feel useless?”
Dragan shrugged. “I still think it’s a limited power. But I’ll use what I got. Especially if you are there to tank the hits long enough for me to aim my spray, probably.”
The conversation fell into amiable chit-chat as Shaggy led them around the corner and up the south-side of the block. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the kids saw it, they made it all the way back to Nuc’s store with no trouble. In fact, Shaggy felt that some of the Bunch had retreated from the streets.
It was weird. Civilians popped out of their homes and stared at the empty streets. The thugs on corners and stoops disappeared entirely. Shaggy guessed or hoped that the Bunch was rallying their forces to push their patrol out of the neighborhood. If they hurried, they could rush back home before any of the Bunch mobilized. Nothing better than a paranoid enemy.
The conversation with Nuc was short and to the point. The hybrid had already known what she wanted to do and was ready to light Randall’s old store on fire before she left. Shaggy had to literally take the matches out of her hands. It wasn’t until she explained she could claim the insurance money and blame the Bunch that Shaggy finally relented. So, after some insurance fraud and arson, the six of them made the trip back toward the deli.
Shaggy grinned as he mentally marked off the patrols events. He learned a bit about the kids, got a new business partner. Although she didn’t have a business yet. Otto awakened to his Mutant abilities, and they made a decent chunk of change. It was a very productive patrol, all things considered. Shaggy couldn’t wait to learn what the other members of his pack had been up to. And maybe Levy was on her way back from the Fae realm. He grinned as thoughts of the two of them getting up to mischief filled his head. So much to do, so little time.
