Page 2 of Urban Justice

The rumor of an individual fighting criminals in Chicago had reached his attention, even if most of the media dismissed the rumors as fabrication. Social media had different views, as blurred images and videos reported sightings of the mysterious figure everywhere.

The legend fascinated Luke on so many levels. His breath caught at seeing him in the flesh. From his angle, it was clear the Vigilante didn’t have a direct view of the three men, but Luke did. The wounded man wasn’t moving much, but while one of his companions crouched by him, gun out, ready to shoot, the third one had disappeared.

The silence hurt his ears more now than the gunfire as he watched the progress of the Vigilante toward two of the armed men. Where was the third one? He got his answer when a new shadow shifted from around the far-right wall. Unaware of the situation, the Vigilante would soon be caught in a trap.

Adrenaline flowed through his system so fast, Luke reached for his gun without realizing it. Who were the good guys and who were the bad guys? Should he help or not intervene, and if he fired, who would be his target?

Unless he made a decision, the Vigilante would be dead within seconds. Just as the black-hooded figure attacked, Luke fired.

It turned into carnage within seconds. When the Vigilante leaped to drop the first two men, Luke killed the third with a bullet to the head. The Vigilante whipped his head in Luke’s direction for an instant but returned to the task at hand. Luke was stunned by the attack—everything happened so fast. The Vigilante was precise and ruthless until the noise within the reservoir reduced to complete silence leaving three bodies on the ground.

The Vigilante looked toward Luke once more. The distance meant it would be impossible for the masked man to see his face or get to him, but Luke would be a fool to stick around and confirm his theory.

With as much speed as he could muster, he dropped through the hatch to the lower level and ran. Only the keen memory of his surroundings allowed him not to trip and fall on his face in the almost complete darkness. He didn’t dare switch on his headlamp and instead relied on the faint streams of lights coming from outside through the cracks and grids. If the Vigilante had trouble opening the steel door and Luke could reach the outer one in time, he might make it out alive.

Just as he saw the light streaming from the exit, his stomach dropped. A feeling he knew too well from the tours he’d done overseas as a Marine made him skid to a stop. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Despite being only a few feet from the exit, he turned and lifted his gun to see the Vigilante had done the same. The faceless figure was standing just outside the shadows, gun aimed at him.

For the longest moment, they remained there, facing each other, neither willing to stand down.

To Luke’s surprise, it was the Vigilante who slowly lowered his weapon. Luke did the same but remained on guard.

In the weirdest, most astonishing moment of his life, Luke saw the Vigilante bow his head, maybe in acknowledgment or thanks, before stepping back into the darkness and disappearing. Only the faint sound of footfalls disappearing in the distance told him what he’d seen wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

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