"Killer.... you son of a bitch!" Lance held the pool table and flipped it over with one hand, all the different colored balls scattering around the room and creating a tremendous noise.
Killer's smile widened as he picked up a snooker cue and snapped it in half, pointing the jagged end to Lance's face.
"It's been a while you bastard!"
Boris didn't react at all, just watched with an unreadable expression.
Eliza went on her knees and started praying that she'll survive whatever cwad going to happen next, her entire body quaking with fear.
Killer and Lance were locked in each other's gaze, the history they shared could almost be felt by anyone witnessing the stand off between the two warriors.
"You know what you did you cunt" Lance walked towards Killer in a menacing manner, an air of danger surrounding his entire being.
"I'm not the only one with regrets...Last Resort..." Killer smirked as he made his way to Lance, both of them coming closer and closer till they were face to face.
Eliza peeked at them through her fingers, from the looks of it they were going to start trading blows in a matter of mere seconds.
Boris was still watching both of them without the slightest bit of interest, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
"You...." Lance cocked his arm backwards, setting up for a devastating punch.
"Heh...."Killer did likewise and reared his own arm back too.
Eliza just started saying the grace.
"You still owe me 10 bucks you bastard!" Lance patted Killer on the back and Killer slapped him on the shoulder, the tense atmosphere instantly vanishing as the two of them began laughing and yukking it up.
Boris was smiling now while Eliza looked like she just might faint.
*********************
"What is this...card? Is this one of those action RPGs?" Killer snapped his fingers as he eyed the grey and red card that Boris had just given him.
They were all sitting in the leader's quarters, Boris and Lance at the very end of the room, behind the now uprighted pool table while Eliza sat on a beanbag and Killer just lay on the floor.
It had the same details as the ones he put in the original sign up sheet at the table in the gym, but now it had been made into a card and had a few other extras added to it.
'Name: Killer
Alias: Demon of the Fields.
Age: 16
DOB: 4/20
City: Tallahassee, FL
School District: Leon County High
Gang: Taitanzu
Gang Position: 3rd Branch Head
Strength: ?/10
Intelligence: ?/10
Speed: ?/10
Endurance: ?/10
Stamina: ?/10'
"That's your Gang ID Card. It's something they give you as soon as you join or create a gang" Boris explained, his voice cool and calm as he showed Killer his own card.
"Who's they? And why are my stats all question marks?" Killer asked.
"They, refers to the group of people who made gang fighting legal in the first place. They don't have a name for they're group yet but they're the ones who oversee everything involving the gangs in Florida and any other state, including the creation and issuing of these cards!" Lance, who had taken off his durag and revealed his wild green hair, explained from his seat right next to Boris.
"Yes. And the reason your stats are full of question marks is because the people making these cards are unsure of how to correctly measure your strengths and weaknesses from the Initiation footage sent to them" Eliza spoke up from somewhere within the red beanbag (she had sunk a little too deeply into it).
"That's all cool I guess but how'd I become 3rd Branch Head? They can't possibly be in control of that"
"Oh I'm the one who requested it as the initiation footage was sent to them" Boris picked at the sliver embroidery on his eye patch as he stared at both of them intently, his gaze eventually falling on Eliza.
"But I'm afraid I don't remember seeing this girl before. Or even giving a Gang ID to her at all"
"What? You have to remember me! I joined two days ago! The girl who detached someone's arm from it's socket?" Eliza tried defending herself, but her voice came out in a small and pitifully shaky manner.
"Oh you're the one who got her face scraped on the ground..and then dislocated someone's bones. They sometimes call you Vice right?" Lance pulled at his beard (actually 4 barely visible strands of hair) and hummed, like an ancient witch doctor deep in thought.
"Yes. That would be me" Eliza's voice went back to normal, relief washing over her as she realized she wasn't forgotten by Taitanzu's leaders and didn't have to go through another Initiation.
"I requested for you to be a Branch Deputy the day you came. Your stats are almost as good as a Branch Head's so why not? I actually forgot about it since I've never actually seen you before. Good thing too because now you can be the deputy of the brand new 3rd Branch, headed by Killer" Boris spoke in that same authoritative tone he always seemed to have.
He wasn't as strong as some of his subordinates but damn did he know how to command respect.
Eliza was practically crying tears of joy. Three days ago she was about to become gang fodder and now she was going to be the Deputy of an entire Branch of future gangsters? The Duke was going to be so proud.
"So what does every school gang do exactly? I still don't understand this entire concept" Killer, who had been surprisingly quiet all this time spoke up again.
"Well every gang protects their territory aka their School, district and headquarters. And in a few months... Brawlhalla shall begin..." Boris explained it in the simplest terms he could think of.
"Brawl...Halla...?" Even Eliza's ears peeked up at the sound of that. She'd never heard of such an event either.
"Yes. It's a tournament for all the gangs in Florida and any other participating states. I don't know the exact details about it though" Last Resort.
The next few minutes were filled with the three boys reminiscing about their childhood together, Eliza listening in admiration with each story getting wilder and more exciting than the last; from fighting construction workers to stealing bikes from motorcycle gangs and even climbing to the top of a ferris wheel, there seemed to be no end to the trios adventures.
Eventually Boris and Lance had to attend to what they called 'official gang business' and Killer figured he and his new Deputy should get going too.
"Well Killer. We'll find a way to contact whenever Taitanzu needs you. It could be any time so be ready..." Boris walked over to him slowly and put his hand on Killer's shoulder before pulling his head next to his and becoming even more serious than before, something the grey haired boy didn't think possible.
"Don't think we forgot about...her... we've been searching too..."
*********************
"Tell me!"
"No"
"Come on tell me!"
"No"
"You have to tell me! I'm your Deputy now! I should know everything about you!"
Killer stopped walking and sighed, knowing fully well the red head next to him wasn't going to back down anytime soon. Hell that's how he ended up leading her to his 'home'
"Boris told me he'd been searching for my sister too. He said she moved out of Tallahassee the week I got arrested. He hasn't heard from her since but he and Last Resort have still been searching...." Killer pulled a candy cigar out of his own pocket and stuffed the entire thing into his mouth. Clearly he was getting addicted to them also, though he preferred anything that wasn't mint.
"Do you know the city she moved to? It'll make it easier for my brother to find her" Eliza chewed on a cigar of her own and toyed with her hair.
"LR(Last Resort) said it was Fort Lauderdale..." Killer continued walking down the cracked sidewalk that led to his old and once populated neighborhood. It was nothing but a hangout for wannabe thugs and hobos now.
"Hol the fuck up. You said your sister's name is Amber right?" Eliza's eyes widened like a sudden realization had hit her in the head.
"Yeah so?"
"That means your sister is THE Amber "Bodyparts" Alvarez! She's one of, if not the most fearsome gang commander in the entire state of Florida! She's probably only second to The Last Resort himself!!!!!!" Eliza clutched her wooly hat and squealed at a pitch Killer thought Opera singers could only dream of reaching. He was pretty sure he heard glass shattering from somewhere.
"My sister? You serious?" Killer chuckled at the idea of his sister being a gang member, talkmore of a fearsome gang commander.
"Yes I'm serious! Look at this headline from a few weeks ago!" Eliza pulled out her sparkly pink phone and scrolled for a few seconds before shoving it into Killer's face.
On the screen was a full color picture of a girl with grey hair with multiple strands of it dyed red and black with bright blue eyes, her ears bedazzled with at least 3 piercings each. She had a tattoo across her left eye and another of a sort of bull head on her neck and three black tattoos on her left temple. Her skin was the exact same shade as his and she was practically grinning in the same way he did while flipping the bird at the camera.
Underneath the picture the headline spelled out in bright, red font:
"Amber Alvarez and her gang, the Fort Lauderdale Warriors are the first group to publicly announce their desire to participate in and win Brawlhalla. Gang leader tells all other gangs to get ready to be sent home in coffins"
Killer's eyes watered as he handed the phone back to Eliza who had been watching him patiently.
Finally, after 7 years of separation, he was finally going to meet his beloved kid sister for the first time since that day.
Killer blinked away the tears and slammed his fist into his palm, a wide smile on his face.
"Alright then. We're going to win Brawlhalla...and bring my sister home!"