In the days following their disagreement, Luke avoided the club. He had far too many things to do to be able to allow for distractions and Charlie had joined Hunter at the top of that list.
Rather than training, he opted to hone his fighting skills in a whole new arena: barroom brawls. In the evenings after work, he would infiltrate the local clubs and seek out opponents and deliberately antagonize the patrons.
It was due to these evening rounds that word eventually found its way back to Hunter, which sent him reeling with anger. That bloody punk, it was bad enough he was avoiding the club but now, he was out there with the Soldiers colors stirring up a racket. he was going to end up starting a turf war if it continued.
Hunter didn't hesitate to put a tail on the kid. Of course, the only one who could possibly take the job was Cage. Cage was the only other person aware of the kid's true identity, Hunter couldn't afford to have anyone else find out the punk was actually a girl.
Cage had been following Luke for some time over the last few weeks before he was finally able to catch up with him. He followed her into a seedy nightclub on the south end of town and sat near the back of the club to observe Luke carefully.
Luke would enter the club, and at first, the atmosphere would seem relaxed. He would sit down, have a few drinks and chat amongst the other patrons. At first, the chatter seemed inconsequential and meaningless. But the longer Cage listened the more he realized these discussions were more like casual interrogations. Luke was, in a roundabout way, gathering information and as Cage listened in it became more apparent he was searching for someone.
After a few hours of casual information gathering, he would begin to drink. The more he began to drink, the more Luke would then seek out his targets. And this was not done lightly. He wasn't just picking his targets at random. He would search for the toughest, meanest men he could find and make it a point to get under their skin. Moreover, he seemed to know exactly what to say to get under their skin in order to initiate the brawl.
Luke in the meantime was unaware he had a shadow. He hadn't noticed that Cage had managed to slip in amongst the patrons there. Nor did he notice him sitting near the back when he began his game of cat and mouse with the other bikers present in the bar.
Three shots of whiskey into the evening and Luke had managed to find enough courage to begin. He had marked his target upon entering earlier and was already prepared to begin his assault.
Sauntering over, his fourth shot in his hand, he came to stand at their table with a cocky smile curling his lips as he shot the whiskey down his throat.
"Hey Fellas. I heard this guy over there, he was totally whispering about you. Something along the lines of 'those two men over there can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag'...but don't worry! I got you covered. I told them, of course, you could fight your way out of a wet paper bag. But, you know a dry one, on the other hand, would be an entirely different matter.."
The whole speech was given in complete deadpan, a look of mock sincerity adorning his features. Like he had literally tried to do his absolute best to defend their honor. When the two men in front of him seemed to flush red with anger, the expression turned to one of complete and utter confusion.
"Hey..hey...It's ok! I know I'm not that smart..but really they understood! They even laughed a little. Obviously, it's been sorted out, why so angry?"
The taller of the two. A man in his thirties with a thick muscular build began to push back his chair as he glared at the kid in front of him. Who was this kid? How dare he mock him in front of an entire room of bikers. His eyes went immediately to his coat seeing the colors he wore as they narrowed. It wasn't just the Soldiers' colors he sported, but their insignia too.
Seriously? This had to be a joke right? How could this little pipsqueak possibly be a Foot Soldier? Wasn't it passed his bedtime already?
In the meantime, while this guy was sizing Luke up, he was doing the same. His eyes took in everything from his build to approximate weight with a grin. He looked to the two of the men. This was going to be a lot of fun.
"Oh come on now! You don't need to stand just to thank me. I don't need a hug." Luke laughed.
The other of the two men rose from the table at this point. There was no telling whether it was the laughter or his repeated jabs at their skill which had pushed their buttons. It was anyone's guess. It was evident though they were not going to stand for his mockery.
In a matter of seconds, the shorter of the two of them grabbed him by his jacket without a shred of caution.
"Hey Kid, you mocking us?" He spat, shoving him into his partner. His hand instantly went for his knife which just made Luke all the more amused. Really? Seriously? He wasn't even going to try hand to hand? He reached for his weapon before he had even tried swinging. Luke couldn't keep the disdain from showing on his face. Etched upon his features was a look that said he truly believed this guy to be a waste of skin.
"Aww look at you all big and mighty with your knife. Did your mommy show you how to use that?" He taunted.
It didn't matter that the bigger of the two men now had him pinned by the arms. The minute his buddy swung that blade Luke instantly raised his leg to kick it from his hands. The minute idiot number 1 was disarmed he focussed his attention on number two. Having his arms pinned made it difficult, but that just made it that much more entertaining.
His left foot came down hard with enough force to break toes. Taking advantage of the opening he had created with the first assault, he used the second man's retreat to provide a means of secondary attack. Luke swung his elbow back hard into his solar plexus. As the man doubled over in pain, his body went somewhat limp. Luke then took hold of his arm and used the momentum of his stance to help propel him over his shoulder.
The bigger of the two was now laying doubled over in pain on the floor. His primary opponent, who had been previously disarmed, now came charging at him. Seeing him run toward him, Luke ducked. Doubling over, his right fist was sent barrelling into Idiot number one's stomach. He chuckled watching him clutch his stomach in pain. Who needed to spar at the clubhouse when the dummies here were so much more entertainin? he thought.
While Idiot number one was desperately trying to catch his breath, Luke took him out with a roundhouse kick to his head. His opponent fell backward onto Idiot number 2. Luke stood glaring down at them triumphantly.
This had almost been too easy.
Luke stood there tapping his chin, deep in thought. Had he gouged their skill inaccurately? He sighed. It was like they hadn't even tried.
While Luke was busy trying to sort out this dilemma of boredom behind him, Cage slipped out of the bar unnoticed. Somewhere a few blocks away he made a call. It was time to report to the boss. He wasn't sure what the kid's angle was, but he was definitely up to something.