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Step 9: Backlash
In her homemade purse, Anika had quite a few can of pre-made pastas with sauce and meatballs in them. It was quite easy to steal them in the supermarket, and she figured that it would feed at least a few of her friends today. One can was for Hugo, that was certain, another would go to Merritt, a third one for herself, and anybody who would want some could pick in remaining cans. She could only steal so many cans without getting caught, and feeding the whole crew was definitively impossible with a single food run. Utthat wasn't a problem, Jenna would probably make a food run today too, as well as a few other slender thieves in the crew. Food was never a problem around with these people. They always stood by each other and nobody ever went hungry.
As she walked back towards her home, she saw police sirens lighting up the walls around her from far away. As she got closer, she saw an ambulance along with police cars, and Merritt talking to a police officer!Tim was talking to another police officer... there were stains of blood on the pavement. And Hugo was nowhere in sight. She feared the worst.
« HUGO! » she screamed, tears starting to blur up her vision as she dropped her purse to the pavement and rushed over to the scene.
Merritt looked up and pushed the cop aside and ran towards her.
« Where is he? » she cried to her mentor.
He grabbed herand held her tightly, putting her head on his chest. Preventing her from seeing the whole scene.
« WHERE IS HUGO? » she screamed.
« He went to look for some people, he'll be back soon enough Ani, he'll be back soon enough... »
« What happenned Merritt? » she said sobbing.
« The Speed Demons want us out of here.. They organized a drive by... Vic didn't make it... » he said softly.
The news hit her like a bullet in her forehead. Her eyes widened, and for a few moments there, she was certain that she didn't know how to breathe anymore. It couldn't be...Just a few hour ago, she had seen him, he had given her one of his cocky smiles, he was teasing her like he always did. It made no sense whatsoever. The whole world was spinning around her and she felt nauseous. She wanted to force more tears out of her purple eyes, but none would come. None would come because tears were a part of reality and this situation was unreal, it was every bit as traumatizing as the death of her parents. The death of her family had kept her silent for years, the death of a member of her newfound family could very well do the same thing.
« Anika! » screamed someone from behind her.
Merritt let her go and she turned around to see Hugo.
«Hugo! » she screamed as she ran towards the spikey haired boy she had such deep feelings for. He was her anchor to reality, he was her knight in shining armor, he was the only person who could manage to free her from the prison of silence she locked herself in for years, and it looked like he was doing the same thing all over again. Perhaps silence wasn't an option after all.
« Why did this have to happen? » she asked, sobbing.
« I don't know , but I'm not goingto bother finding out the reason.. Tonight, the Speed Demons will bleed hard. » he said in a cold tone.
The contrast between the coldness of his words, and the warmth of his touch were striking.
« What do you mean? You're not going to take this conflict to them... are you? What would it bring you? It's not going to bring Vic back! »
He let her go softly...
« I'm sorry Anika, I have to do this.. They just hit my family, and I'm not going to let them get away with it. We'll be sending them a message, we'll be telling them that we are not easy prey and that they can't just do as they wish with us... » he answered with an icy voice that defied everything she ever thought she knew about him.
« So If you're not goingto listen to me, why did you tell me about it? Don't you see, Hugo? I don't want to see you hurt... I don't want you to die! »
« I'm already hurt, and part of me died when they killed Vic... He was like a brother to me... I have to do this, I'm sorry... »
« Then I'm gong with you! »
He pushed her away gently , shook his head and turned her back on her, walking away slowly. Never before had she felt so powerless. But in a certain sense, she knew he was right. They had to defend their home, and the cops certainly weren't going to do it for them. The tears wouldn't come out, but she knew that they shoud have. The only thing she could do here was hope that he would com back to her, and that he wouldn't change too much.
David Fairchild felt a lump form itself in his throat as he checked again the semi-automatic machine gun he held in his hands. He had never shot anybody in his whole life before, much less killed anyone, and he was about to go with Hugo and a few more of his friends on a drive-by to knock down the Speed Demons. He was sad for the loss of his friend Vic of course, but he was grieving for what he was about to lose even more : his innocence.
Of course, he understood that the sacrifice was necessarry, the Speed Demons were closing in on their homes and their turf, they were threatening friends he felt he had been having for a lifetime now.
One way or another, he had always told himself that he would follow Hugo all the way to hell and back if needed, and that was exactly what he was going to do now.
He was going to follow his friend to hell, to ensure a better future for the people he cared for and loved.Onecould say that he was going to hell to ensure a future, period, for his loved ones.
« I'm taking the wheel! » said Hugo. « And my car will be the one opening the way... Dave, you're jumping in with me in the back seat! »
« Sure thing! » replied Dave.
They were all in a parking lot in one of the poorer parts of Central District. The night sky covered them all, and the fear that people had of children of the streets made them go their way without looking at the group.
« Ray, you and Eddie follow us in the back... I don't care wich one of you shoots, and wich one drives, just as long as you take out as many of these fuckers as possible! »
« Alright!» replied Ray.
Dave didn't know either Ray or Eddie to well, but if Hugo trusted them, then it was fine with him.
« Let's go to work gentlemen! »
Hugo lockpicked one of the cars and started to hotwire it...
« Are you ready, Dave ? » asked Hugo as he looked in his rear view mirror to see if Ray was still parked behind him.
« As ready as I'll ever be, Hugo... » replied Dave.
Hugo could feel the fear in his friend's voice, and felt guilty for asking the gentle Dave to do this with him. But he had to ask someone he trusted fully to be in the back seat of his car, and Tim, who would have been more suited for this job, was still too shaken to do anything. Meaning that Dave was his only option left.
Hugo looked at the Speed Demons that were reunited in parking lot a few meters away from them, around their motorcycles, drinking some large format beers and laughing. He recognized one of them as one of the more prominent figures in the gang; Jeff Foreman. The whole gang wasn't there, but this would do for the now, he would be able to send them his warning with this lot. Whose friend would he kill tonight? What mother would grieve for her dead son because of his revenge? It was better not to think about that right now. Not now, not ever. He was doing this for his own family. He didn't start this, but he was going to end it for sure.
"Let's go.." said Hugo grimly as he started up his car. In his rear view mirror, he could see Ray starting up his.
Dave lowered his window and he put his feet down on the accelerator. As the car advanced, he could feel Dave pulling down his window.
Any moment now, any moment now...
And the roaring sound of Dave's machine gun rang in his ears.
Hugo's heart skipped a beat.
From the corner of his eye, he could see members of the Speed Demons gang fall like flies to Dave's shots as well as Eddie's...
Tears ran down Hugo's cheeks as he realized what he had done, but he also knew that he had no choice whatsoever. He could make U-turn and have Dave send another burst of bullets to his opponents, but something in his heart told him that it wasn't right, that he had to take this fight up close and personnal... He slammed down on the brakes. And saw Ray's car avoid his and pass by him, dissapearing quickly into the night. He wiped his tears and got out of the car, drawing his pistol from his jacket.
"What..What are you doing?" asked dave in a nervous tone.
" Stay in the car and cover me..." he replied grimly.
He counted quickly half a dozen or so Speed Demons lying on the ground in expanding pools of blood, two of them trying to crawl away from the scene, wounded. One of the two wounded survivors was Foreman.
As he passed by the first survivor, Hugo aimed for his head and pulled the trigger once.
Blood rushed up to his head and roared in his ears.
"Come back in the car! We're going to get caught!!" screamed Dave behind him.
Hugo ignored his friend and went straight for Foreman.
"Give me your cel phone!" he said in an icy cold tone, his gun pointed at Foreman. With each passing moment on theis scene, Hugo could feel a part of his humanity slip away.
"What?" asked Foreman, obviously frightened and struggling to get his words out. he was wounded in the legs.
"Give me your goddamn cel phone!" repeated Hugo " I'm not gonna ask a third time! And do it real slow"
Foreman struggled to reach in his jacket and took out his cel phone. Hugo noticed the butt of Foreman's handgun sticking out of his pants, but the wounded young man obviously didn't want to risk reaching out for it...
Foreman handed Hugo his phone, wich he took violently. Keeping an eye on his victim, he checked out for the numbers in memory and found Colyn Francis' cel phone nuber. Francis was the alledged leader of the Speed Demons, and hugo wanted to talk to him personnally. he pressed on the number and two rings were heard.
"Yeah?" said a voice at the other end of the line.
"Francis, you have no idea who I am, but check on your phone's screen and you'll know from whose phone I'm calling...and by that logic, you'll know who I'm shooting as well..."
Hugo aimed for Jeff's head, who opened his mouth to say something, but the spikey haired boy pulled the trigger before he could say anything, popping open the Speed Demon's head.
"That was Jeff Foreman I just popped, and if you don't leave the crew of Sector 16 alone, then I'm talking to a fucking empty line , because at the other end of this phone line, there would be nothing but a dead man."
He was pretty sure Francis was about to say something, but Hugo hung up and ran back towards the car. He didn't feel as if revenge had satisfied him. He felt rather... empty...
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