The exit at the back of the store opened into an alleyway.
The trio had picked up any article of clothing that they found necessary to alter their outward appearances, even if it was just mild alterations to their attire. In less than five minutes, they were done. They didn't bother changing into their new clothes. They simply added them over what they were already wearing. Epona bought extra items. When Maitho looked at her, she simply responded, "For Bevan."
Maitho pulled a grey hoodie over his shirt. While the trio picked their clothing, the store attendant simply watched in a state of amazement, probably because three people had purchased items in record time. Perhaps it was time for him to get that long-awaited promotion after all.
Once they were in the alleyway, Maitho looked up at the roofs of the buildings, hoping to spot any remarkable features. He would use that feature to guide Bevan towards them. He opened the call history on Epona's phone and dialed a number. The call was picked up immediately.
"I'm glad you called. I was getting worried here." Bevan's voice broke through.
"We're okay, so far." Maitho kept searching, hoping that some object, color or shape might stand out. "Bevan, we're in the alley and we're trying to guide you. Can you see us from where you are?"
"Give me a moment," said Bevan. There was the sound of hasty footsteps. It barely lasted a couple of seconds. "Nothing on my end."
Maitho looked around and spotted an empty bottle. Picking it up, he hurled it towards the wall as far away from him as possible. The bottle shattered, tossing bits of glass everywhere. "Did you hear that?" asked Maitho.
"That was actually close." More footsteps that lasted just a few seconds. After a quick pause, Bevan spoke again. "Up here."
Maitho looked up. He didn't have to search too long. Bevan was leaning over the edge of a roof a short distance away, waving his arm.
"I see you," said Maitho. "Now we need to find a way to get to you down." He looked around for inspiration. "I think we could—"
"Don't sweat it," said Bevan. "Here I come."
Saying that, Bevan jumped into the alleyway. He didn't hang off the roof and let himself fall to the fire escape landing below. He didn't shimmy down a drainpipe. He didn't even evaluate the height of the building. He just launched himself towards the concrete path below and allowed gravity to do its job.
Maitho watched in amazement as Bevan hurled towards the ground. The Celtic Guardian's shirt fluttered behind him like wings waiting to unfurl themselves. He had spread his arms on either side of him and pulled his knees closer to his chest, a pose that was meant to help him soften the landing. Maitho took a step forward, the worst possible scenarios running through his head. Bevan with a broken leg. Bevan splattered on the ground. At no point did it occur to him that he was watching someone who had displayed superhuman strength less than 12 hours ago.
Bevan landed in a crouch. But he instantly lifted himself to his feet and began walking, as though he hadn't jumped off the roof of a nearly 60-feet building.
"Show awf," said Epona, who had appeared besides Maitho.
Brigid walked over to Bevan, meeting him halfway on his journey. "You okay?" she asked, a clear tone of concern gracing her voice.
Bevan nodded, scratching the back of his head and appearing sheepish. "I have done that plenty of times before, you know?"
Despite his reassurance, Brigid squeezed his shoulder and turned around. "We are heading straight for Quinn now."
"Not yet," said Maitho. "Caution before any decision."
When Brigid faced him, he could see her face morph into displeasure. But no sooner had she revealed her distaste than her expression switched to impassivity. It was like she had flipped an internal switch, instantly changing her reaction to one that she deemed appropriate. "We can't wait here."
"I know, but we can't rush out either," said Maitho, looking at each member of the Celtic team. "Up until now, Raiden has been one step ahead of us. He's got the backing of a powerful, and not to mention rich, individual with an army at his back. We can't take chances."
"What chances are ye talking aboot?" asked Epona.
"For starters, we shouldn't stick together. It's the reason I haven't asked Quinn to just pick us up in front of this store. Four people getting into a car is the first thing they might be looking out for."
"That does sort of make sense," said Bevan.
"We split up. Groups of twos." Maitho scanned both directions of the alleyway to check for anyone suspicious. He found no one. "One group is in the lead and the second is a little distance away. We walk on both sides of the street and head towards the park. We don't run. We should look like we are taking a casual stroll."
"This is not going to work for long," said Brigid, her tone as striking as the snap of a whip.
"Yes. But at least we confuse them," said Maitho. "We become unpredictable. It's not the best solution, but I don't want us all together."
"If you split us apart, we can't attack in force," said Brigid.
"There's nothing to attack. We're simply getting out of here, not engaging in violence."
There was a moment's silence. Epona handed Bevan the clothes she had got him, which consisted of a beige fedora and sunglasses. They were good choices, as they might make him look like a tourist out for a stroll. Eventually, she broke the silence. "Am tired o' waiting. Let's go already. Am wi' Maitho."
Once again, Maitho was surprised by her response. If he had a dollar for every time she had shown him support since the morning of that day then, well, he'll have maybe a few dollars. But that was still a few dollars more than he would have yesterday night, when she had openly revealed her disgust at his presence. It was a welcome change. Her reaction even surprised Brigid, but the leader simply pursed her lips and gave a curt nod. Perhaps she didn't want to argue with her teammate. Or maybe she knew that they had wasted enough time. For whatever the reason, she chose to simply put the plan into action. "Fine, then let's start walking."
Less than a couple of minutes later, Maitho and Epona were making their way along the alleyway. Brigid and Bevan had decided to exit through the store, since they were just two people now. The group had decided that they wouldn't all exit into the main street together. For as long as possible, they will try to stay just far enough to not be in each other's visible field.
As Maitho made his way past broken bottles, discarded boxes and all manner of objects that littered the alleyway, he couldn't help thinking that no matter what they did, they would also be two steps behind Raiden. The descendant of the God of Thunder was smarter and had much better resources at his disposal. There was little that a group of four could do against such an overwhelming force.
Epona took out her smartphone and dialed a number. She didn't have to wait long before the line went through. "Quinn, Brigid 'n' Bevan are oan thair wey tae ye. Pick them up 'n' find another place tae wait. Let me know where ye are once ye dae." She disconnected the call and looked at Maitho. "Just so he does nae pick us up at th' same spot."
Maitho nodded. "That's a good plan."
It would have been a great plan if only three men hadn't entered the alleyway.
For all intents and purposes, they were dressed like civilians. Each one sported a t-shirt and body hugging cargo pants. They had close-cropped hair except for one of them, a dark-haired man who had tied his hair in a short ponytail. Their muscular arms and broad chest gave away the amount of time they spent in a gym. Either that or it was an indication of how much excessive muscle-enhancing supplements they consumed.
The men had fortunately looked the other way, giving Maitho enough time to react. He quickly pulled the hood over his head and stuffed his hands in his jacket. He inclined his head towards the ground. It was enough to hide his face partially, but it did not hinder his view entirely. He could see a short distance in front of him, enough space to help him react should he require it. He realized that his reaction would prevent him from catching danger from afar, such as if the men decided to shoot at them with guns. Yet he wanted them to keep guessing his identity as much as possible. If he revealed his face entirely, even for a moment, he might not take two steps before a bullet might head his way. That is, assuming that the men had guns on them. It was a fair assumption and Maitho didn't want to discard it.
Taking a quick glimpse to the side, he noticed Epona had pulled on a beanie over her head, covering her short hair almost completely, except for a couple of locks that protruded from the back of the headwear. Large sunglasses covered the upper part of her face, almost rendering her unrecognizable to casual viewing.
He then pushed…
...and found the men hadn't slowed their paces. They weren't looking directly at him or Epona. But that could mean any number of things. Maybe they were feigning inattentiveness. Perhaps they were planning something. Maybe they were just regular civilians and because of their buff appearance, they looked intimidating.
One of the men swiped his hand across his head. As he did so, he dropped a quick glance at Maitho, who wouldn't have caught it if he hadn't looked up to see the muscular trio. The reaction was odd. It made Maitho wonder if the man was trying to reach for a hidden weapon.
The clicking sound made him whirl around, alarm bells going off in his head. He hadn't stopped to consider that there could be a fourth person as well. That was probably his biggest mistake.
But it was too late to do anything. By the time he had completed his rotation to face the person behind, all he saw was a woman pointing a gun at Epona and pull the trigger, at which point...
...Maitho found himself back to the present, walking towards the men.
Should he turn around right now? That would definitely catch the woman behind him off-guard. But then it would mean he could end up in a struggle with her. It would give the men too much time to react. Should he warn Epona? But how could he let her know of the danger behind them without making it too obvious?
Maitho kept his eye trained on the man in the middle, since he would be the one to perform the action from the vision. It didn't take too long.
The man ran his hand across his head. Maitho waited for the sound.
As soon as he heard the click, he turned around. The woman had her gun trained on Epona. She pulled the trigger.
But not before Maitho slammed his palm into the woman's wrist. Her aim was redirected. The shot went clear of Epona and found its mark on the alleyway wall. Yet there was something odd about the gunshot itself. There was no resounding boom. Instead, it sounded like strings that were held at the apex of their tension and were just released.
Maitho didn't have time to ponder about that. He leaped towards the woman, elbows held out in front of him. He connected with her solar plexus, hearing a cough emanate from her. He caught her arm—the one holding the gun—and twisted it sharply. The woman released the gun and Maitho caught it in midair.
During this time, the men had already drawn their own weapons, bringing them to aim at him and Epona.
At this point, he knew that he would not be able to fire at all of them. While he was fast, he might not be that fast. More importantly, he didn't want to kill any of them. That thought presented him with a problem. Can he truly rely on his reactions to simply injure the men before they let off one shot?
He never got to find out.
Epona raised her hand, pointing it at the men. She pointed her other hand at the woman, who was now doubled-down on the ground and grabbing her wrist.
Four horses leaped out of the ground. Three of them appeared behind the men while the fourth appeared behind the woman. The horses were pale, yet ghostly. Their forms were translucent, but they held a certain glow about them. Wisps of what seemed like steam rose from their bodies, disappearing into the air quickly.
The whole scene was so mesmerizing that everyone were rooted to the spot, watching the sudden appearance of spectral horses. All they did was stare at the majestic beasts, who simply snorted and watched them all with their pitch black eyes.
The woman was the first to react. She launched a punch at Maitho, who deftly caught her fist before it could find his face. She was surprised by his quick reaction. Before he could respond, the horse behind her caught her shirt with its teeth. The beast jerked its head to the side, sending the woman flying into the alleyway wall.
Maitho heard the sound of neighs behind him. When he turned around, the three horses had spun around. They shot their hind legs outwards, causing the hooves of their feet to connect with the men. The three attackers were tossed backwards. They landed hard on the ground, each man clutching a part of their body that received the painful kick from the horses.
The alleyway was silent. Epona lowered her hands. The horses slowly began to fade away in tendrils of smoke, as though they were evaporating out of existence.
She looked at Maitho. "Looks like the coast is clear.