Things were getting tense in the
Elevens' headquarters. With their top member in the hospital after
their last job, it was only a matter of time before one of them took
the reins. Most of the heavy hitters had gathered in the common area,
and were eyeing each other.
One of them, a large man known as Big
R, made the first move. “The man's gonna be here in a couple
minutes!” he shouted. “Anyone says they deserve it more than me,
better say so now!”
Another man, Shadow, stood up from the
crate he'd been sitting on. “I'm sayin' so,” he answered, and
strolled confidently to the other man. Big R took a swing, but Shadow
ducked and struck back with body blows.
While the fight went on, another man
slipped into the room. He wore a light blue suit, and carried a
briefcase that was handcuffed to his wrist. He took up a spot in the
back and watched the rest of the fight.
He didn't have to wait long. Big R got
in a lucky shot, then punished Shadow with repeated punches, finally
knocking him out with an elbow strike. He stood up and wiped the
blood from his mouth, though some had already spilled onto his red
and white shirt.
“Very impressive,” the man in the
suit said. “Looks like I picked the right time to show up.”
Big R turned to face the speaker. “Damn
right you did, English. Now gimme what I earned.”
Mr. English gave an insincere sigh,
like you get from bad customer service. “It's not that easy,
friend. Fistfights don't decide who's in charge. Our boss does, and
he has his eye on someone else.”
“What?! That's bullshit, man!” Big
R got up in English's face, almost shoving him.
“Well, if you have a complaint, I
suppose I can get you a word with the boss. Of course, you'd have to
get through Eight first...”
Big R's will to fight vanished almost
instantly. Nobody wanted any part of Eight. That guy was bad news.
“I thought not. Now then...which one
of you is Natalie Pierce?”
A woman with long black-and-red hair
stepped forward. “Call me Nat.”
English smiled as he opened the case.
Inside was an ornate medallion on a golden chain. “If it's any
consolation, Big R...as soon as you took a rest from the fight, she
was going to steal it. That was why she talked you two into fighting
in the first place.”
Big R said nothing, but he did stare
daggers at Nat. She stared them right back.
“That's the kind of creative problem
solving that impresses the man in charge. Your reward is this—a
medallion of Xiuhtecuhtli, taken directly from a temple in southern
Mexico.” He held it out and, when Nat bent her head down, hung the
chain around her neck.
“How does it--” she started to ask,
then went silent as power surged into her. Balls of flame formed in
her hands, burning her gloves and singing the sleeves of her red and
white jacket.
“I'll pay you back for this, Nat,”
Big R growled.
“If you're going to issue idle
threats,” English shot back, “at least get her name right. She's
called Eleven now.”
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