Mina's words echoed in Frizz's mind: 'You should kill Baron right now.' He cracked open a root beer and leaned against the chair, considering her violent proposal as she waited for his response.
Frizz rubbed his chin. "So you want me to kill Baron and his entire team? To give peace to this town and stop the harassment?"
"I never expected you to be so vindictive." He added, snickering.
Mina's voice hardened. "You're powerful; I'm not. It's easy for you to stay detached—you can afford to. I don't have that luxury. I can't fly or shoot lasers."
"So? I can't fly and shoot lasers either?" Frizz shot back.
Mina rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Didn't you say that you want his whole empire to crumble? Back when we escaped?"
"Yeah, the whole drug empire in this city, Baron is just some lousy leader selected to lord over this town. He has no empire," Frizz corrected.
"Lousy leader?" Mina questioned, pulling out a cigarette pack.
"Yeah, because he shares territory with a rival gang that he can't erase and also me," Frizz answered, sipping his root beer.
"Aren't drug gangs ruthless? Why aren't they killing their rivals and competition?"
Frizz paused, thinking of a possible reason. "Well, either Baron is incompetent or things are just difficult to handle without attracting a lot of heat." Mina lit up a cigarette, offering one to Frizz, but he declined.
"Basically, even if we remove Baron, we won't be removing the drugs in this town. That rival gang will just take over," he reasoned, waving away the smoke.
"Then we deal with them," Mina asserted, lightly slamming the table.
"You mean I deal with them," Frizz countered, raising a brow. "You're not the one getting shot, tortured, and maimed."
"Then teach me this power of yours; let me have abilities too," Mina pleaded, reaching for Frizz's hand.
Frizz pulled away. "What's with the complete one-eighty? You went from terrified to genocide. That's not fitting for a woman like you."
(A woman like me!?) Mina recoiled, stung. "Because of you, I am stuck in this situation. A situation where I have to look behind me every time I walk alone. A situation where I wake up every day, worrying if my parents or siblings are okay. A situation where the possibility of getting violated looms over me."
"A situation where I have to look outside the window for any threats. A situation where I have to accept the fact that I have a huge target on my back that won't go away so long as you're either dead or they are."
Mina leaned closer, her chest bumping the table. "I know that you'd prefer them to be dead over you, wouldn't you?"
"What? You think I don't have those kinds of worries?" Frizz pointed out, causing Mina to pause.
"In a flood, the rich worry about their properties, whereas the poor worry about their lives." Mina muttered a phrase she heard from a politician. "You can stand up to them; I can't."
Frizz exhaled, breaking eye contact with Mina, pausing for a moment. (This girl is crazy; I don't want to die, but I do want to test out my new powers.)
(Also, unlike before, I'm not as stressed thanks to my perks. Maybe with a clearer mind, I can finally put Baron down for good.)
(However.....) Frizz coughed, clearing his throat. "I'll take down Baron, but no killing."
Mina's smile faded as soon as she heard the no-killing rule. She facepalms, muttering. "Fine, so long as they're behind bars with several broken bones and are never breaking out. I can accept that."
(No one deserves to have their bones broken but for them, I'll make an exception.) Frizz stood up and stretched, preparing to go to Baron's house.
"Okay, let's go," Mina declared, determination coursing through her.
Frizz jolted, slightly opening his mouth. "Huh? Who invited you?" (This girl thinks she's on the team.) "You don't have any powers; leave everything to me."
Mina clicked her tongue, visibly disappointed. "Please let me come with you? You owe me that much since I can't go home because I might get attacked. Let me come with you; I'll stay away and just be in the sidelines."
(I could just take you home, you know?) Frizz sighed but ultimately relented. "Fine, but stay away." (Oh well, after she realizes the danger, I'm sure she will not think about joining again.)
The door creaked open, grabbing their attention. "Mr. Sim?" Mina called, but no one answered. "Probably just the wind," Frizz commented, opening the door, finding no one.
"I have something that can help you," Mina announced, holding something.
Thirty minutes later...
Frizz bid his goodbye to Mr. Sim and Yani. As Frizz was emptying the trash bins, he remembered Yani's request to talk earlier in the day and reminded her, but she called it off, telling him to save it for tomorrow since it wasn't a priority. Mina then impatiently hollered him from the road.
Frizz pressed the lock on his keys, and the electric-bike beeped to life. "Oh no, we're not getting on that thing," Mina complained, raising Frizz's brow.
"There's barely any room, and the seat is slanted. If I ride, I'll be leaning against your back," Mina explained.
"How is that a prob—" Frizz stopped, glancing at her chest and realizing the issue. "Fine, let's walk."
"Is it far?" Mina asked, crossing her arms. "Rather cold tonight."
"A bit, so keep up," Frizz added, barely feeling the breeze.
"Slow down. Your steps are too long," Mina complained, trying to catch up.
Thirty-two minutes later...
Frizz sighed. "Here we are, the shittier part of this big town of ours."
"You said it was only a bit of a hike," Mina complained, huffing and catching her breath. (This guy...) She was about to think something negative but shrugged it away. "Here, your weapon."
Frizz accepted the item. "You know, when you told me earlier that you had something for me, I didn't expect a pipe wrench."
"It's bulky, but it can be concealed. I'd rather not have you carrying a blade or an axe," Mina said, huffing. She turned around, looking for any threats. "Do you think they know we're coming?"
Frizz's eyes bulged in surprise. (Crap! I didn't think of that. What if when we arrive, they have several assault machine guns aimed at me?)
Mina sensed his anxiety and fear. "Seriously? You never considered that?"
"You keep distracting me with all your complaints; I never had some time to think."
Frizz clicked his tongue, scratching his head. "Ah, whatever. We're here anyway. Let's go," he declared, momentarily glancing at Shane's computer shop.
(I miss this place in its prime, before all the drugs. Hiking for roughly an hour just to play here.) He reminisced about his late elementary school days.
"It's like a ghost town," Mina muttered as she periodically looked behind, still wary, and after some time walking, they've finally arrived.
"Here we are," Frizz declared, crouching by a tree.
Frizz focused his gaze on Baron's house, noticing a car parked beside the house along with several motorcycles. He takes out the pipe wrench while Mina hid behind him, cowering in fear.
"You know, if all of this turns out well? I have something to say." Mina spoke softly.
"Sure," Frizz replied, focused on the reason why there were several vehicles. "I don't know why, but for some reason, the whole place is packed."
"Like you can hear murmurs from here," Frizz commented, slowly sneaking forward. "Stay behind me." The both of them managed to sneak and hide behind the car, noticing four armed people guarding the gate entrance. (Two on the outside and two on the inside.)
"This seems like a bad idea; we should go back; there are way too many of them." Mina whispered as Frizz held out both of his hands, telekinetically gripping the legs of the two closest guards and pulling hard.
"Shit!" Both guards cursed, falling hard on the rocky ground on their backs. *Thud!*
"You two okay? What happened?" the guard at the gate questioned, unlocking it, and approaching the groaning guards. "Did they slip?" The other guard inside added, not bothering to help the two.
Frizz then made the pipe wrench float and spin, telekinetically flinging it at the approaching guard, hitting him on the face and knocking him out. *Thack!* (Crap, I hope they're not dead.)
*Thud!* The loud thud alerted the other guard behind, and just as he was about to rush forward, he was hit with another pipe wrench in the face. *Thack!*
Frizz then approached the two groaning guards and punched their heads, knocking them unconscious. He then picked up the two pipe wrenches. "I didn't expect you to bring another one."
"It was for me, not you." Mina snatched the other pipe wrench.
[System]
New Perk Acquired: [Telekinetic Hurler] via Milestone.
Achievement: Speeding towards you!
[Telekinetic Hurler] Description: When an object is telekinetically thrown, it is imbued with additional kinetic energy, increasing its speed and impact. The greater the telekinetic prowess, the more force is applied to the object.
Frizz frowned. "Crap, this makes my throws lethal."