"Damn it, Danto! Why did I have to burn so much juice just to get here?" He cursed himself internally, battling to control the ragged edge of his breath.
"But there was this one guy who followed us…" Michael stopped walking and turned to face the tall man, his hand still pinching his nose shut.
"Who? You talking about that Mugi turd?" Lerni nudged his head sideways, disinterested.
"Yeah," Michael answered.
"What about him?" Lerni rudely groused, dragging his foot through more trash.
Michael stared at the taller man in silent confusion. Lerni returned the favor, his expression equally blank.
. . .
Michael's lip curled into a sneer, then broke into a short, harsh chuckle.
"So you didn't even notice?" He burst out laughing, waving his hand as the taller man scoffed, refusing the jab.
"How oblivious are you, really?" Michael asked, still choked by residual laughter.
"Why, you…" Lerni growled, clenching his fist.
The skin over his knuckles tightened until a thick vein ridged against his forearm.
"You mean to tell me you didn't see the dude dragging like five people with him?!" Michael's voice spiked with the sheer absurdity of Lerni's oversight.
"When and where did he find people?! Here?! In this dump?!" Lerni's shouted question stretched his face, his eyes wide with genuine shock.
"He apparently caught them from the Harlow district, just close by." Michael finally released his aching nose.
The putrid stench rushed his nostrils, so foul it felt like the hair inside his nose was searing away. He coughed repeatedly, wondering why they were still in this cursed alley.
"But how did he manage it? Without raising any alert?" He muttered to himself.
He concluded they must have been homeless people---outskirts wanderers. But they certainly hadn't smelled like the destitute.
He recalled the sight: a rugged man with a slouched back dragging five struggling but tightly bound bodies behind him.
"Then why didn't he just do the needful right then and there?" Lerni asked, genuinely perplexed.
"I don't know, he's just weird. Never wanted to get too close to the bastard." Michael frowned.
"Well, any idea where they went? Sounds like the newbie has already prepped up something for me." Lerni grinned, a hungry, anticipatory look washing over his features.
"I'm not sure I can keep holding back my hunger much longer." His stomach rumbled loudly, and he patted it roughly.
"At this rate… I might just eat you," he sneered at Michael.
The shorter man, Michael, was already walking back towards Lerni, his back slightly lowered, his face drawn.
"The same goes for you." He flared his eyes, the glare holding a cold, hollow menace easily carried off by the draft.
"But I hope it just doesn't come to that." He closed his eyes and relaxed his stance, instantly defusing the sudden enmity between them.
Lerni smirked and chuckled. "Any idea where he might be?" He asked.
"Yeah. You didn't hear him bending metal not too long ago?" Michael replied, throwing the tall man a look of withering contempt.
Lerni went silent, looking the other way. "I'm hungry, man…" he mumbled under his breath.
"Yeah, right." Michael scoffed, walking past Lerni and taking the lead.
Seems like they're leaving…
Danto let out a careful sigh of relief, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders.
Maybe this is my cue to leave, too.
He slowly shifted away from the wall's cold, rough embrace and began to retreat, moving with painstaking, silent caution.
But his body locked up.
What about those five people?
The thought hammered against his skull, forcing his eyes of worry over his shoulder and back toward the alley.
"No. No." He shook his head sharply, trying to dislodge the foolish idea. "I don't even know where they are. And I'm outnumbered. Three-to-one are suicide odds." He whispered, his brows tightly wrinkled.
I should just call for help. Send someone stronger and more capable to handle this. He fumbled in his trouser pocket, retrieving his flip-phone.
He propped it open, his finger hovering over the Cabonari hotline.
But what if they're already dead… Or about to be dead?
Yes! That's even more reason to call!
Danto then second-guessed himself again.
But wouldn't the time it takes for someone to arrive be too long?
And it'll also be a dead giveaway that I abandoned my patrol.
He mentally pictured the cold, interrogative stares of other Cabonari officers once they pieced together why he was at Mera District.
"Arghhh! I'm wasting time just contemplating!" He groaned, pressing his hands over his eyes, his head tilted back in frustration.
What would Maki feel if she found out her brother couldn't save just a few people?
No… How do I feel right now, knowing I can't even choose?
Danto slowly lowered his hands, his mind growing still, focused.
If this is how I act when trying to save their lives…
Then how can I ever be of any use to her?
He stood back to his full height, his slouch banished.
You know what.
He grabbed the hilt of the sheathe strapped to his hip. With a decisive, clean motion, he drew the blade---a tachi, its curve more pronounced than a katana, its lethal steel cold in his grip.
"Fuck it." He turned, facing the empty alleyway and the pervasive stench. His eyes, clear and fixed, staring into the darkness of the Mera District.
---The End of Chapter 2---