Street Side- The Narrows
Wind Wild Kirane
Day 1, Afternoon
Kirane was leaning against a wall and pretending she wasn’t part of what seemed to be a rather conspicuous group of people – despite the mostly civil attire they stood out, especially considering that Crow and Markus worked close to each other and were clearly up to no good. Miriam was close to them and sure to react to anything that came too close but chances of people walking down the street between the Knights seemed slim. The individuals who crossed, or worse yet – lived in – the Narrows were attuned to trouble. They could sense something was off even without knowing what said something was. A survival mechanism, really, as the Stygians were even less likely than the official authorities to hand anything down to the most disadvantaged in this area.
Luckily the street they were on wasn’t the busiest one – with a bit of luck the few passer-by would assume that the Knights were just another gang tinkering with the CCTV for their own purposes. It was almost true, she reckoned.
She twisted her umbrella and looked up – Megelis stood out in his armour and heavy weaponry but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let the dogs know not to come too close. Kirane was, really, a second line of defence should he – for whatever reason – be unable to dispose of any immediate threats. She stood a bit further away from the Knights – just far enough to seem like a woman waiting for someone. As Megelis contacted her she cocked her head to the side and glanced up at him again: “Got anything good for me?”
He was on edge, she could tell, although he was good at hiding it. She would be too if she allowed herself to think about everything that could go wrong. But they both recognised that being alert and being jumpy were different things. Their nerves had to be steady.
“The title of a good movie I saw recently.” She smiled, trying to convey the gesture through the microphone. “It’s called ‘Benny and me’. I’m not sure if it’s your sort of thing but it’s about a stray dog and its owner who was struggling with drugs when he encountered the mutt. It’s based on a true story.” The man hummed with casual interest that Kirane suspected may have been faked. Her eyes went back to Markus and Crow, both busy with their own stuff, and beyond them to scan the people walking along the pavement opposite.
She had to admit, she had never appreciated Crow better than today. Last time they’d met, she had been naked and wheezing for air, a nude man beside her on the damp grass of her clinic. For obvious reasons, they had not talked since and today, when he saw her, he not only refrained from any remarks but treat her with his signature ignorance too. She hadn’t stopped blushing for a long while after but she had felt a real weight lift off her shoulders. Hm. Though… when she thought about it, Crow had probably seen more people naked than all the masters and mistresses in the tower combined. Still, his professionalism was very much appreciated.
So was Miriam’s for not kicking her out of the team as soon as Kirane confessed about her condition. She had done so away from the rest of the group and hopefully that meant that herself, Miriam and Crow were the only people aware of her condition. Markus…. Well, one could never be sure how much
he knew. Mainly because of his constant confusion about what he was
supposed to know and what he
actually knew.
“What sort of movies do you enjoy watching?” She continued. Chatting calmed them both – a tried and tested coping mechanism, even if nobody really gave a shit about movies. Better pretend that this is a routine operation. The alternative was far grimmer.
“I like romances.” Megelis said, causing her to almost bite her tongue. “Pfft, wha--?” She tried not to laugh, caught her impoliteness and apologized. “That is surprising. You have to recommend something to me.” She hadn’t seen a romantic movie – of any kind – in years. And listening to old romantic jazz and swing songs was a secret.
Nevertheless, her eyes were keen on everyone around. Kirane had a good visual memory which was only made better through her work. So was her perceptiveness.
A woman, middle-aged and dressed all in black, was walking down the street towards them and on their side of the road. Shortly before reaching them she paused, then suddenly turned left and disappeared into the nearby alley. It struck Kirane as odd and her back came off the wall “Rat, 4 o’clock. Engaging.” She warned, making her way to the alley. She didn’t pause before she entered, momentarily assessing the situation – they were alone, hidden from the street; the woman had her phone out and was dialling someone. It was a perfect setting for an assault. Brutal, yes, because chances were she was innocent – but under these circumstances Kirane wasn’t about to gamble with anybody’s life. She saw the woman’s eyes widen as she spotted the paladin, just as she was lifting the phone to her ear. The umbrella flew off Kirane’s grip and with a lightning-fast motion her right hand landed on the woman’s torso, her glove releasing 220 volts into it. The woman’s body went rigid and the phone slipped off her fingers – landing comfortably in Kirane’s palm. The person on the other side of the line still hadn’t picked up which was perfect as far as she was concerned. Hanging up, Kirane put the phone in her pocket and kneeled next to the woman. A quick search produced a gun – for self-defence? – but it wasn’t what Kirane was after. She found the woman’s wallet which she stuffed in her other pocket but what she was really hoping for were handcuffs. Why hadn’t she brought any handcuffs? Or at least some rope? Sloppy. She still had so much to learn….
The only string she had was the shimenawa she was using to tie back her hair – which was just long enough to bind the woman’s hands behind her back. It struck her as perverse to use what she considered a sacred item for such a purpose, but there you go…. Her bandana was hastily stuffed into the woman’s mouth which would have to do for now.
“Neutralised.” Kirane reported to Megelis as she picked her umbrella back up. “Megelis, look for anyone staring at or taking pictures or videos of our team. Also note any cars and jets driving too slowly as if they’re looking for something, anyone peeking from their window without pulling the curtains after or anybody who otherwise seems too intrigued by us. It’s probably false alarm.”
With that she quickly dialled the Tower and instructed Archive to run a check on the last number dialled by the misfortunate woman’s phone. “If you can’t find anything, please ask an Artisan to check for any connections this number may have to anyone operating in the Narrows.” Kirane flexed her hands and walked out of the alley, reclaiming her position by the wall. The unpleasant chill in her spine indicated that Crow had started his process. If they were lucky, whoever had failed to receive that call was unrelated to the Tower in any way and the woman in the alleyway would go about her life twice as cautious when entering small alleyways. In the worst case…. Well, let’s not worry about that for now.
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