[b]Edward Vates – Present Time – In the old school [/b]
“He’s helped us out Jeff, we could at least do the same for him. You don’t want to cross us Monroe. Chiefs a nasty guy and a conduit, anyone we bring him he kills to make himself stronger or whatever it is they do. Do yourself a favour: take your friends and get away from here.” Came the voice of Marvin, one of the two men that Vates had been talking to. Vates had tracked a group of men from the market to an old derelict school and had approached them for answers. Vates had managed to confirm they were from the same gang that had caused him trouble months ago but that they were under a newer and much more hostile leadership. In return Vates, who was posing as ‘Monroe’, told the men where they could roughly find him. This way he would know where his hunters would be and prepare accordingly; and perhaps more importantly it meant he would know where they [i]wouldn’t be[/i]. 

Vates nodded and did his best to look taken back by the man’s comment and was about to reply when he was interrupted by another voice close by, “Jeff? Marvin? Where are you? The other building was a bust! Let’s regroup!” Vates was surprised at the close proximity of the voice and realised they would probably see and recognise him; although Marvin and Jeff had been new faces to him, the others were from the old group. Vates made the split second decision to take out the merciful Jeff and Marvin as they turned towards the call. Vates lightly pounced forward and placed his right hand on Marvin’s metal pipe and with his left hand dealt a kinetic jolt to his head, knocking him out (a move Vates has come to call the ‘Night-night Palm’). Jeff saw the movement in the corner of his eye and responded quickly… but not quickly enough, taking a pipe to his face as he spun round. Having dispatched of the two for the time being Vates quickly crossed the room to the door he estimated the others to come through. He pressed his back up against the wall and waited for the others to come in. 

“What the fuck?!” gasped a figure rushing through the doorway. The man came in with a rapier held ahead of him and his side was left completely vulnerable to Vates who stepped in to him and delivered a night-night palm. Vates turned to face the next two men who stood on the other-side of the frame in a tight corridor. The first of the last two was about the same height as himself but far more muscular and he held in his hand a bowie knife. Vates had a glancing vision, seeing how the opponent would strike at him. Keeping a firm posture and good footing the man lunged forward with the knife in his right hand and aimed to stab Vates in the chest. Rotating to his right slightly, Vates chopped down on the attacking arm with his left hand, sending the thrust reeling off to the right of him where his right hand was able to quickly grasp the wrist. Keeping a hold of the attackers thrusting arm, Vates put his body weight behind a strong left elbow to the attacker’s straightened elbow snapping the bone and causing a vicious open fracture. The man attempted to scream in pain but Vates left hand then quickly swiped at the man’s throat, not quite collapsing it but causing the sound to come to an abrupt halt. Vates then shoulder barged the man backwards before running up his body and leaping off towards the attacker behind, using his light gauntlet to emit a quick series of disorienting flashes as he did so. The second man was not at all prepared for the unorthodox assault and dropped his hammer as Vates used the man’s blindness to tackle him to the ground. The man landed on his back with his legs open enough to allow Vates to deliver a bursting knee to the groin. As the man sat up and yelled in pain Vates fell into the man’s jaw fist first, knocking him out cold. 

[i][b]‘Well that was unpleasant. If only you could have dealt with than demonic child in the same way.’ [/b][/i] commented Janus, whom believed and acted like he was above such violence (although secretly finding such encounters disturbingly thrilling). 

Vates completely ignored Janus’ remark. Climbing to his feet he turned to the man whose arm he had broken. The man had passed out (possibly from the fall, but Vates couldn’t be sure which of the attacks had caused it) and was clearly in medical need. Fortunately the bleeding, although bad, could have been worse. Vates quickly cut off the man’s sleeve carefully and used most of it to restrict the blood flow at the top of the arm. With the little left he placed it carefully over the wound as best as he could and used the man’s other limp hand to apply a tiny bit of pressure. Having done this Vates quickly looked through the possessions of the others to find a radio or something similar to get help for the man. No radio could be found, but he did find a flare launcher on one of the others. Vates then went outside and fired it into the air, sending up a green trail of smoke. [i]‘If they didn’t already hate me enough they certainly will now’[/i] thought Vates.