Chapter 104
Golden First Market Plaza near Fremont Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2036, Planet: Grimoire
Of all the stupid things to try pinning on his gang...Jameson frowned. "So, you recognize this person?" That was a complication he hadn't foreseen arriving on his doorstep. Of all the times this had happened, this was the worst.
Troy nodded with ashen features. "Yeah, he's one of my year mates." He shivered convulsively. "I heard he was rejected from Cornell Academy in favor of Tinroy. Seems he never got over that insult."
Oh, jeez, it was a personal grudge, then? Jameson grimaced. Man, he hated these types. It was the most common death toll for a gang if taken. Though that might be the entire point of sending it to Lifter now that Jameson thought about it. The hell if he was going to fall into such an obvious trap.
Troy looked as if he wanted to tear out the hair on his head by the roots, and he was so distressed now.
Jameson shook his head. "Hmm, I know how to handle this then." He will accept the client's request. Jameson decided. Now, then, to notify certain officials of what was going on. He forwarded the request promptly to people who would want to see this.
That way, his ass was covered so that he could avoid having to actually kill the kid. It also meant Jameson and his gang would have no reason to do more than chase him all over the back alleys. "Oh right, when going after him, make sure we head to wherever he's supposed to run his errands."
Troy grinned with relief when he realized what Jameson had in mind. "Fine, I like that better than what that psychopath wanted from our gang." He clearly hadn't been on board with murder either. That wasn't part of Lifter's reason for being in existence.
"Oh, right," Brier winced. "It seems we won't be the only ones after him." He gestured to the monitors. "Evidently, some other gang went after him," Jameson shook his head and added wearily. "I think this went viral because that jerk must've caught wind of something going wrong."
"Huh?" Troy looked and froze. "Oh damn, the Crow's Heights gang was deployed?" He turned ashen and nearly passed out.
"Sheesh, what a weakling." Raven Montes dumped a bucket of lukewarm water onto him. "That should do the trick." He glanced at Jameson. "So, what is the deal now?"
"That." Jameson gestured.
Raven looked and then shook his head. "Hmm, well, Caleb's been itching to knife a few of those Locusts and Crows." He shrugged very calmly. "I wouldn't mind leading them off on a spin either."
Jameson blinked when he stared at Raven. This was the first time he'd shown aggro over something. "I'm not going to ask, but please do it separate from this task." He pointed to what they would have to do without killing Grifton Tinroy.
"Hmm, give me about twenty minutes." Raven grinned because he clearly had something in mind to deal with the situation. "Maybe you all could chase down the Locusts since they're idiots enough to chase him alone?"
Jameson nodded. "Yeah, we can let them tire themselves out first." He liked that.
"Sounds like fun," Troy was back to functionality as he listened to the discussion. "I think that'll work." He shrugged when Jameson eyed him with irony. "Hey, why do the hard work of chasing when someone else can lead us straight to him?" Troy grinned. "This way, we can warn Grifton offhandedly of whom else is chasing his rear end."
True, Jameson hadn't considered that possibility. "I just hope nothing else goes wrong with our plan." Such as figuring out a way, Brier grimaced, to subtly warn that hothead Tinroy of who else was after him.
Jameson rubbed his jaw with a sigh. Sometimes, Tinroy was dense as a brick when it came to self-awareness. He shook his head in amusement.
~*~
Several hours later, Grifton cursed his bad luck at having run afoul of that Lifter Gang. "I should've known one of those bastards would sic an authority figure on me." Only this time, the authority in question hated his guts.
Officer Crisante Rojas made Grifton's life hell. He wasn't from the probation sector, either. No, he was from the hard-core prison center. Evidently, Rojas caught wind of what was happening and decided it was time to crack down on the homeless street kids. Funny enough, he'd gotten Grifton's tracks rather than the others.
Damned Locusts and the Lifton gang, what were they thinking? They should've known that Rojas would go after them, too. But, nooo, they had to drag someone else into this little feud.
However, now that he had considered it, Rojas stopped following him. The realization sent chills down his spine.
It didn't matter. Grifton would still go down an area that Rojas wouldn't dare follow if he valued his life, which he knew that rat did.
"I can't believe someone got those Crows' Heights killers involved in this." Grifton was cursing under his breath as he sprinted into a series of alleys that not even Rojas would tempt fate. He was hated in those places; cutthroats would slice and dice him if he ventured into their turf.
As for the Crow's Heights gang members, Grifton shook his head. He didn't know what to make of their involvement in this mess.
They must've wanted revenge because Mr. Carter singled him out after they'd burned his shelter down. Tough shit for them. They should've left Grifton alone in that case.
It's too late for anyone to regret this situation now.
It was late afternoon as Tinroy ran agilely through several rewinding alleys, creating a delivery route to market stalls and Golden First Market Plaza vendors.
Grifton sighed because, most of the time, he didn't choose to affiliate with any gangs. However, once again, he had no choice but to pick a gang to work with. Fortunately, that second stint lasted only a fortnight at best. That was when he'd sent all fifteen members to the nearest emergency clinic. He hadn't escaped without some severe injuries either.
"After all, it is the only way to ensure I don't leave that Locust Boys' Gang and go independent before that latest incident," Grifton grumbled at the timing. "Well, sucks for them because I did manage to get free of their clutches."
As for the errand he ran for Carter, Grifton sighed. He had several small coin purses to deliver to some local enforcers, or else he'd die no matter what happened.
Now, he had two gangs chasing after him, possibly a third if he counted those killer rogues from Crow's Heights. How'd he wind up in this ugly situation? Grifton didn't recall running afoul of Crow's Heights in his past business.
When he thought about it, Grifton figured it wasn't the Lifter gang that set Rojas on him. No, it was more of the style of the Locust Boys' gang, he recalled sourly. They generally went after the independent kids who disliked other gangs. He happened to be one of the latter now.
However, this situation didn't look good for him.
It might be the first time he could not beat his deadlines. "Idiots don't know when to quit." Grifton paused in a small niche to catch his breath. He might have to dive into one of the waterways. Which one was the safest to use? He pondered what was nearest to him, and his nose wrinkled. "Geh, well, at least it is a choice and will help cool me off." He was starting to overheat in this weather.
~*~
The Locust Boys' gang was caught in a bad pincer point. They had set off after Grifton, believing he would be easy prey. Unfortunately, another group seemed to be targeting him. Garrett Rojas knew he wasn't going to win if he went up against the Lifter Gang.
He and his boys took shelter in an abandoned warehouse. "Damn, this is unbelievable." Garret Rojas cursed his unbelievably lousy luck.
It was time to call in the big guns to get rid of this nuisance. "Officer Rojas, I have a great tip for you." He smirked when he contacted his uncle.
Lately, Crisante has been pestering him to give up gang life and a proper career. Why would he want to do that when he could bully stupid, gullible brats and get paid for it? Nah, he'd stick to this life.
Not only that, but Crisante ordered him to keep an eye out for that Tinroy brat, too. Garret recalled belatedly.
Oh yeah, Crisante would thank him for this later. Or that's what he believed until his uncle answered his call with a pithy, "What trouble have you landed into this time, nephew?" The tone warned Garret that he'd better have a good reason for calling.
Garret frowned slightly. "First off, I found Tinroy." He rattled off the coordinates. "Second, it seems I'm not the only one going after him. The Lifter gang is after his ass too."
There was an exasperated sigh. "Unfortunately, I can't help you with either subject," Crisante informed Garret, much to his shock. "You're on your own this time. Get out of there while your hides are intact."
A loud buzz made Garrett wince. "Well, he's not the only one I can contact." Although he was embarrassed, he was determined to cash in on this opportunity. He thought of whom to contact.
"Hey, Rojas, check this out." Anteros waved at him. He pointed to a new notification that just came out. "I think we should beat feet while the getting is good."
Garret looked at it, and he immediately felt nauseous. "Oh shit, those dudes are coming out?" He grimaced. "Yeah, no, we're out of here. Let those Lifter dudes take the heat on this mess."
With that, the Locust Boys gang took off in a hurry. In this instance, Tinroy was too much trouble for them to handle. None of them wanted anything to do with the Crow's Heights gang, which was really bad news. They were notorious for killing other gangs that intruded on their turf.
~*~
Unfortunately for Grifton, when he'd been around elevenish, he'd fallen prey to some opportunistic assholes who'd viewed him as an easy target. They were still determined to get him back into their fold, and Grifton is still resisting. Now, they held a serious grudge against him.
The notorious Locust Gang ran roughshod over a portion of the back alleys within this sector of Three-Pronged Fork.
"Where is that damned brat!" The leader bellowed. "How hard is it to capture one draconic human hybrid for hell's sake?"
He was immediately catcalled. "Then why haven't you managed to grab him?"
Someone else snapped. "Tinroy's wings are defective."
"We should've been able to catch him by now."
One of the lackeys snapped. "Certainly, we've thrown nets that should've torn them apart."
Someone else complained. "Instead, Tinroy tore the nets apart with his bare hands."
"Yeah, blood and flesh will make a good profit." Someone else commented with a sneer.
"That won't make for a good commentary on our inability to catch one illiterate thief." The leader snarled. "Do you want to explain why he remains uncaught even now?"
His disgusted comment made the others glance at each other uncomfortably.
"Boss, why are we choosing him as the target this time? All the other times, we've ignored the purple and green-haired, blue and white-scaled loser. What changed?"
At that point, all of them stopped chasing the boy.
"Ah shit, this isn't worth the fame of grabbing him. Let's go. We've got better targets to acquire." The leader snarled. "As for that dude, he's definitely dead meat now." Unholy glee echoed from him as he snickered while they took off.
"Okay, what's with that reaction?" That's when an odd turn of events occurred. Much to Grifton's bemusement, he watched the Locust Boys take off in a flurry.
The Lifter Gang's members were next to arrive. "Bah, he has to be somewhere around here." The gang leader was there, too, which was definitely a new twist. Jameson Brier rarely showed his face when a chase was on.
"Damn, what is this, a convention of gangs?" Puzzled, Grifton took that moment to hide in a niche and listen. He fished around a pocket and found a piece of bread that was still edible and nibbled upon it. He, too, wanted to know the reason. After all, it wasn't as if he'd invited this trouble on himself. As far as he knew, he'd done everything right. So, what had changed, indeed?