While the five were drawing out as many people as possible, Cardin had slipped like a shadow around the warehouse and in through a backdoor, a padded bag slung around his torso and a retractable baton strapped around his thigh. He'd had to put two guards to sleep, grabbing one in a chokehold until he crumpled, then kicking the gun out of his buddy's hand before delivering a hard blow to his solar plexus, followed by a swift strike to his temple that knocked him out cold.
He had no idea how he had known to do that. His body simply moved by instinct.
Inside, he crouched behind stacks of cartons and pallets, listening keenly for signs or sounds of people, as he distributed orbs from the bag into the stacks and shelves around the warehouse. As he turned a corner, a large pile of rectangular packages wrapped in white and brown paper and tape caught his eye.
Bingo. This is probably the delivery that they were supposed to intercept. Cardin exhaled deeply. Looks like drugs. Good thing I came prepared.
Carefully, he extracted two taped canisters from the bag, then placed it among the packages, doing his best to hide it from plain sight. That should do it. For good measure, he decided to place the remainder of his stash of orbs among the pile, being very careful to make sure each of them were securely placed and wouldn't roll and drop on the floor. That would ruin the surprise.
He was just done when he heard a shout behind him.
"Oi, there's another of them here! Get him!"
Oops. Time to go. He rose and darted through the rows of shelves, just managing to evade the handful of men who had stayed behind. Best to get them out of here though. He turned at the door to make sure they were still on his tail, then wagged his fingers in front of his face in a mocking gesture. "Catch me if you can!" he sang, before dashing out of the main entrance.
Finneas was the first to see him, lowering his whip for just a beat to call out to Nigel, "Joker! He's out!"
Nigel spun to see Cardin making a beeline for them. Clad in the same black suit as the rest of them, his golden hair tied back above the black mask around his nose and mouth, he smoothly dodged the hands that reached out to grab him. In his right hand, he grasped a small black gadget with a red button, and he was shouting something at Nigel.
"What? I can't hear you!"
"I said–" Maintaining his sprint, Cardin yanked his mask down to holler, "You're too close! Get out of range!"
Eyes widening, Nigel called out to the rest, who started to edge their fights away from the warehouse. But as the redhead focused on his comrades in the foray, he didn't notice the man running up behind him with an axe.
Cardin knew he was too far away to intercept the attack, and there wasn't enough time to call out. With only a split second to make a decision, he grit his teeth, said a quick prayer, and pressed the button.
The warehouse exploded. Bodies flew. Pressing the button had detonated the pipe bomb which he had placed among the packages, the force of the blast breaking the fragile orbs filled with gunpowder that Cardin had planted throughout the warehouse, causing a chain reaction.
A distance away, Cardin groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground. His cheek smarted, and the back of his hand came away with patchy red stains when he touched it to his face. The rough concrete had not been kind to him when he had been thrown forward by the force of the blast.
But it was not safe yet to nurse his wounds. He heard a yell behind him, and instinctively rolled aside, barely dodging an attack. He rolled again and gained his footing, baton extended in his hand, and managed to counter before whirling to deal with the ones that followed.
Around him, the other five were rapidly going through the swarms surrounding them. Mikka and Kumiko were the first to clear theirs, and stood holding their weapons with crossed arms as they watched Cardin fight.
After awhile, Kumiko remarked, "He's actually really good."
"Yeah, not bad," Mikka sniffed.
"Whatcha watchin'?" Nigel came up behind them, casually flicking a poker card sideways, which extracted a responding scream of pain from an oncoming attacker.
Gaze unmoving, Mikka jerked her chin. "Blondie there. Seems he really was holding back with us."
Earlier at the house, there had been an argument when Cardin had presented his strategy to go back within the same night, to re-establish their dominance and maintain their reputation. They had hesitated.
"But Keary's down," Shun had stated quietly. "He's our best fighter. If Morningstar is still there, we're dead without him."
"I'll go with you."
"Nope." Nigel's response had been immediate and flat.
Cardin had spun to face him. "Why not?" he had demanded. "I held off all four of them on my own before you arrived!"
"To be fair to us, kiddo, we didn't go full out on you," Mikka had said.
He had shot her a nasty smile. "Neither did I." Tone softening, he had added, "Besides, it's not about that. Look at how they hurt him. Surely we're not just going to take it lying down?"
Nigel hadn't been distracted by Cardin's appeal to their emotions. "None of us here went into our first mission without being fully prepared for it. That included a tonne of training and planning. But we're short on time right now, and we can't bring you in impromptu like this. You'd be a lamb to the slaughter." And Keary will have my head for breakfast, he had added silently.
The cerulean eyes had stubbornly tried to stare him down, but then reluctantly gave in, rolling towards the ceiling. "Ugh, fine. I'll take the infiltration role, and leave the frontline battle to the rest of you."
A compromise. "One of us will go with you."
Cardin had looked ready to scratch his eyes out. "Just listen to my plan! They already know the five of you, but they won't be expecting me. If you distract them well enough, they'll all be out dealing with you, and I'll be in the clear. There shouldn't be anybody left for me to fight. We blast the place, then we get out. Happy??"
Now, they looked on as Cardin, a blur of gold and black, relentlessly battered his opponents into submission one by one with efficient, precise blows. His stance spoke of years of training, his movements fluid, swift and sure.
"He's dancing." Shun and Finneas had joined them. None said it, but they were all reminded of the only other person they knew who fought with such fearless grace and skill, just far, far deadlier.
...
When Keary woke to the cold grey light streaming in through the windows, it took him a moment to realise where he was. As the fight from the previous night drifted up in his memory, he tried to move his arm, and grimaced as his body screamed pain in answer. The painkillers must have worn out. He made a sound of exasperation. If that Joker and Snake were going to dose him, they should have at least done it properly.
Gingerly, he sat up, and was startled to find Cardin's head resting on the covers beside him. The boy had fallen asleep sitting on the floor next to the bed.
Still here. Somberly, Keary reached out to trace his fingertips on the golden locks that spilled freely down his neck and onto the blanket. For now. But in time, he'll leave… just like everyone else. And then I'll be–
His thoughts cut short as Cardin shifted in slumber, face turning toward the light. At the sight of the dried blood on the boy's cheek, Keary's heart flew to his throat.
What…?!
"Cardin." He shook the boy's shoulder as gently as he could in spite of the blood pounding in his ears. "Cardin, wake up. What happened to your face?"
Cardin stirred sluggishly. "Hmm? Kear?"
"What happened?" Keary repeated, urgency spilling into his voice. "Did someone attack you again?"
"Kear… You're awake." He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Keary saw more abrasions on his hand, and his jaw clenched tight. "Not really… more like we attacked them."
"What??"
"Yeah…" He dropped his hand to smile at Keary, blue eyes still heavy with sleepiness. "We got them, Kear. I finished the job for you. Blew up the warehouse. It's all good now."
Silence fell as the meaning of his mumbled words sank in and incomprehension fled. Cardin blinked, adjusting to the light, then looked up to find Keary's silver eyes glaring down at him, sharp as daggers and filled with wrath.
"What did you just say?!"
...