I willed my heart to calm down as I for a split second considered sprinting in the opposite direction.
Looking around, I knew the streets around here pretty well, and I should be able to find my way to the main road pretty quickly. But would that be enough to get me out of their reach?
Deciding against it, I instead turned around to face them. They already knew what I looked like. No purpose in hiding.
In that moment, my mind was made up. There was no turning point from here on out. If I got in serious trouble, I would have to fight my way out. At least, that was the plan as of now.
«You lost?» The man on the right asked suspiciously, looking at me with a cocked head. The caps on his head did well in hiding his expression.
I could take him.
I didn't answer right away, still wondering how I should play around this situation.
A part of me wanted to act nonchalant.
Just a confused passerby who just happened to end up on the wrong side of town.
I didn't know what people I was dealing with yet. There was still the chance of me getting beat up and left to bleed out if I were to act innocent. Based on their track record, they didn't seem like a crew who would refrain from physical violence on people they didn't even have direct association with. They wouldn't have wanted her getting away.
«I don't enjoy repeating myself, lady,» he warned.
«You guys know Cole?»
They halted at my words, surprised that I would bring up that guy's name.
«What's going on over there?» Someone yelled from behind them, the rest of the crew still lingering by the thrift store.
«It's just a girl,» one of the two men shouted back. «Seems like she knows Cole.»
Another man rounded the corner of the container and joined the conversation. «Is that one of Cole's friends?»
My pulse picked up again. The first two men looked at each other in confusion. «'One of Cole's friends'?»
The unfamiliar man approached us. Blonde hair stuck out from under the beige hoodie covering his head. «Cole mentioned sending over a couple of his friends to help us out with the next part of the plan.»
He stopped next to the other two and appraised me with a raised eyebrow. «Didn't know he would send over a girl, though...»
«Oh, right!» One of the other men remembered. «That's odd. And where's the other guy? Cole talked about sending two over. He coming?»
I couldn't stay silent like this for much longer, and I already looked suspicious.
Not giving myself any more time to think it through, I played along. I needed to be quick on my feet if my act were to seem believable. «He won't be joining after all. It'll be just me for now.»
JE LEEST
The Mystery Fighter III
ActieAfter getting into college, Cassie has no intentions of going back to her old habit of street fighting- but as the streets of her hometown would have it, her combat days are far from over. ...
