"Inertia of motion. I wasn't gonna stop moving until you smashed that crate against my head." The Jack of Clubs says, slowly approaching us.
"That's not a good example of that." Bayani retorts, delivering a kick to his side.
"So you don't even know your own obsession?" I remark.
"Shut your mouth."
In that instant, a flaming chain is flying at my head. I duck down and rush forward, toward the Jack of Clubs.
"Your name is Darren, right? Heard it earlier." I say as I pivot, then dart to position myself behind him.
"That's not relevant."
So the answer is yes. Got it.
For some reason, he isn't turning around; that man's focus is entirely on Bayani.
I mouth to Bayani: "Keep him occupied."
Bayani looks over at me, slack-jawed, but he quickly pushes it back up and nods. Bayani rushes in toward Darren, wrapping strings around the chains and yanking them left, spinning him around.
I take that opportunity to run off into the storage container where we initially spotted Darren, pulling out my phone and turning my volume up so it will ring the loudest it can.
I swipe over to my text messages with Jane; she's the most likely to respond quickly, as to my knowledge, she never leaves her lab. And in the past, she's always responded to me in five seconds at the most. I can assume this will work.
I text her, "So, I toss my phone aside and then create a portal in front of me, no harm since I'm out of sight. I step into the portal, and the other side is opposite where I once was, now to the left of Darren and Bayani instead of the right.
"Huh, just noticed. Parker's gone." Darren remarks, pausing mid swing toward Bayani.
"He is? Didn't notice." Bayani sputters nervously. Looking around.
"I doubt he's the type to run, so…" At that moment, my phone dings loudly, likely Jane's response to my message. Darren turns to his left.
"Trying to sneak up on me, huh? Sadly, the mechanical waves gave you away-"
SHUNK!
A wet, grating sound rings out, the sound of the dagger I picked up earlier sinking into Darren's back.
"You're just trying too hard to sound smart at this point. Did my comment get to you?" I remark, pulling the dagger right back out of him, blood spurting out of the fresh wound as I do.
"Clever." He coughs out as he staggers. The two flaming chains start to dissipate.
At the same time, I hear two pairs of footsteps approach from behind us.
"Getting tricked into temporary power loss by two children? Really, Darren?" A female voice rings out.
"Oh, like in my situation, the same wouldn't have happened to you, Val." Darren retorts, dripping with disdain.
"Do you two have to bicker and fight every second?" says a man with the weird voice. He's quite bulky, not as big as the King of Hearts, but bulky. That contrast makes his voice all the more humorous to me. But I'd rather not agitate him by laughing.
His piercing grey eyes and shoulder-length brown hair make his face a little more intimidating. Maybe that's how he gets people to take him seriously.
"So, today was the day you decided to attack." The woman, Val, speaks up.
"Not at all! Just checking the place out!" Bayani shouts, waving his hands. It seems the reality of the situation is getting to him, regardless of his resolve.
We can't take all three at once with just us two. Well… unless I revealed myself, but that's not happening. I will settle this entire gang mess as Parker.
"The girl isn't with you." The man with the odd voice remarks. I spot a king of clubs insignia tattooed on his left shoulder. So he's the guy. I assumed so because of his voice. Mr. Eun-ji said he can make clones of himself.
"She isn't," I reply.
"Then this couldn't have been an attack. You wouldn't do it without her."
"You don't think they're that cocky?" Val asks the King of Clubs.
"No. They're not stupid, or else Mr. Perfect wouldn't be wary of them, and that psycho wouldn't be so interested in Parker."
That psycho… Probably the King of Hearts. That tracks.
"We will attack in a few days," I tell them.
Bayani's eyes widen at that, "We are?!"
"Bayani will take down Darren. Kara will wipe the floor with Val, and I'll take you down myself, Mr. King of Clubs."
"Why would I allow you to prepare for that?" The King of Clubs asks as he splits into three, all three versions of him rushing at me.
They move to different sides of me. I wasn't able to keep track of the original.
I kick the one to my right, but it feels… hollow?
"I'm right here," The one behind me says, kicking me and knocking me prone.
"Did Eun-ji pick a crappy apprentice? I feel as though with your power, you should be able to tell who the original is."
"Pft! Why is Mr. Perfect even scared of you?!" Val cackles, a pistol appearing in her right hand. She points it directly at my head. I feel a small shiver go down my spine as I stare down the barrel.
I hear a loud bang as my ears began to uncontrollably ring. I see a small bullet right next to me, and strings attached to Val's arm.
"Parker! We gotta run!" Bayani shouts, dragging me back to my feet with his string.
I nod, I dart to the side to grab my phone quickly, and then I follow him as we dart away from the docks. I look behind me, and for some reason, none of the three are pursuing. But I won't complain.
It feels like an eternity that we're running. I feel my chest heaving as my lungs empty. When we stop, we're right outside Mr. Eun-ji's ice cream stand.
"Perfect alibi," I say, turning to Bayani.
"What?"
"We were out getting ice cream."
"How does that explain our bruises?!"
"We sparred."
"That's so dumb."
"Okay, but can Mr. Eun-ji say for sure that we're lying?"
"No…" Bayani sighs, "Fine. Let's go with that. Could use something nice after that mess anyway."
Bayani and I walk up to the register and see a rather bored teenage boy. He has a buzz cut, wearing a green turtleneck and these light khakis with a brown belt that I find to be tackier than Miss Claire's buttoned couch in the lair. He's wearing a hat with Mr. Eun-ji's face on it. I assume it's the work uniform.
His face perks up with interest, "You're Parker, and the boy next to you is one of the apprentices of that dead ranker."
I see Bayani's face tighten as his fists clench. "His name was Ironhide," he corrects.
"Same thing." The boy yawns, pulling out a card and handing it to me. It's just "your welcome" in Mr. Eun-ji's handwriting. I don't know what's worse: his handwriting or the fact that he used the wrong "you're."
"You're the owner's apprentice. So you get a ten percent off discount."
I nod curtly and glance toward Bayani, motioning for him to order first, "I got the discount, so I'll pay, just pay me back for your scoop."
Bayani nods in return and mouths, "Thanks."
He orders a scoop of strawberry ice cream, while I order myself a scoop of rocky road. It totals to about $98 dollars.
I forgot how expensive Mr. Eun-ji has made this place.
Bayani and I walk to a nearby bench and sit down. If I'm not wrong, this is the same bench that Mr. Eun-ji and I sat on when he first took me out. Funny how long ago that feels.
We are eating and chatting unti a loud ding from my phone rings out. I pick it up and check it. It's Mr. Eun-ji. He texted me that the meeting is almost over.
"Crap. We gotta run back."
Bayani nods as I turn my phone back to a lower volume. We both stand up and make a run back to HQ.
Let's hope nobody finds out about any of this.