Page 72 of Retaliation

Poison drove into chaos as she entered her territory. Storefronts displayed hues of orange and red as flames licked out of the windows. Cars were flipped on their sides, and the whole block was in disarray. People scrambled in every direction, trying to get away from the chaos.

Between the masses, she could spot her crew members helping the Normals to safety and trying to control the damages.

She parked her bike in the middle of the street as Skel came running up to her.

“What the fuck is going on?” she yelled over the sound of the mayhem.

“It’s the Dune Demons!” he screamed, reaching her, blood, sweat, and grime covering his face.

“Where are they?” she demanded, searching the flame-tinged darkness.

“Down Fourth,” he said, pointing down the street. “Seems like they’re moving as a unit to cause havoc on the territory.”

“Has any other crew stepped in?” Her mind immediately went into strategizing mode as she and Skel rushed down the street.

“No,” he shook his head. “It seems like this is a singular crew attempt to gain territory.”

“And their leader?” she asked, fearing the answer.

Guilt tightened her chest. She had brought this to her people. It was her morally fucked up past that caused them suffering, and she’ll be damned if she didn’t do something about it.

“We got one locked up in a cage at The Grave Bar. They seemed to have skipped it entirely. It’s the only place they seemed to have skipped. But according to him, neither their leader nor second is with them.”

She nodded. Scorpion was a fucking coward for sending his crew without him.

“Who’s got eyes on the captive?”

“Cat, Marty, and his shotgun. He’s secured.”

Her mind raced as her heart pounded in her ears, but she forced herself to stay calm. She had to. She couldn’t lose her shit for the sake of her crew and her territory.

“How many are there?” she asked.

“They’re about twenty,” Skel answered, and she signaled her crew members she could spot to follow.

They all fell into step behind her as they marched down the street, ready to face the Dune Demons.

“We can take them, but we’ll need everyone. We can help the Normals once this shit is dealt with.”

Skel nodded and turned to face their crew, barking orders to find everyone in the chaos. Poison pulled out her phone and sent an alert to everyone through the encrypted app she coded for them. She was about to put her phone back into her pocket when a text message caught her eye.

I’m coming for you

“Son of a…” she mumbled and hit the call button.

He had gone too far. She needed to put an end to it once and for all.

The phone started ringing—once, twice, again, and again—but no one picked up. By the time the voicemail tone beeped, she was biting down venom.

“You absolute fucking coward!” she screamed. “Come at me if you fucking want, but leave my people the fuck alone. They did nothing to you.”

Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she took the last corner into the heart of the chaos. About twenty Dune Demons trashed everything down the street, leaving devastation in their wake. They cheered and howled as they set another building on fire, throwing a flaming bottle through the window.

“That’s enough!” she roared, coming to a stop with her whole crew behind her.

Every Dune Demon turned to her, sickening smiles contorting their faces. She could practically feel every spine behind her stiffening as they all braced themselves for the inevitable battle ahead.

One of them stepped forward, his oily hair plastered to his scalp, and his face reminded her of a ferret.

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