Second Wind

Chapter 15: Blending In Once More

By the time Blake and the bartender returned back to Brightmoor, it was already relatively early into the evening. Thankfully, they were able to get to their destination from Saint Clair without much trouble - they only really had to deal with the roadblocks, and nothing more. When they arrived at the bar, the two got to work by transporting the sacks of grenades from the pickup truck to the bar itself, with the sacks hidden under the bartender's table for the time being, at least until they could figure out a better spot to hide their grenades in. Once the job was done, the two remained seated at their usual spots by the table, with the bartender huffing and puffing slightly - a reflection of his somewhat weakened state that was forced upon him by his age. As for Blake, her eyes were fixated on the wooden countertop, her mind filled with doubts and thoughts that clouded her conscience.

She was quick to snap back into reality though, when the bartender addressed her. She blinked her eyes a few times, stopping herself from zoning out any further as she had her attention shifted towards him now whilst he spoke to her.

"Well, now that we have the firepower we need...just what do you plan on doing?"

The vigilante could only let out a sigh, her eyes lowering a little as she provided him with a response.

"I initially planned on sticking the C-4s and sticky bombs to the outside of the target buildings and triggering them remotely...the buildings collapse, all the drugs are destroyed. End of story. But now it seems like that is not an option right now...and I hope to attack quickly as well. Who knows what could happen over the course of over twelve hours."

"You're bothered by the fact that they might change up their locations of operations."

"Bingo. If I don't act quickly, then I'll have to restart the process of seeking out their new places of work all over again...I'm certain that she'll try and escape me by any means necessary. After all, I did threaten her that day..."

"Hmm...no rest for the wicked, huh?"

"Mhm. No rest for the wicked."

"At this point...I know I cannot stop you. As much as I want you to relax and cool off, I just know that destiny isn't allowing you to do so. It's a shame that this is the kinda life that you have to live, but I guess it's not so bad if you want to keep living this life."

"...I don't really want to. At some point in time, I know I have to stop. But I don't know when that day will arrive..."

"Give it time. Someday, you'll find the release that you're looking for. With the Pathfinder here, you're not getting the closure that you're desperate for. Once the dust settles and the wind ceases blowing, then you'll find your moment of solace."

"Heh...since when did you become so philosophical?"

"...I've talked to a lot of people during my time as a bartender. I've heard countless stories. Stories of excitement, sadness, depression...but never have I ever found someone who gave a story about hope."

"What are you even saying, dude?"

"There's people out there, Blake. People who are suffering, living utterly terrible lives. But some still choose to keep living and fight the torment that continuously hits them where it hurts. You know why? It's because they want to see another tomorrow. They want to live to see another day. And maybe, when that day arrives, that tomorrow is a lot better than yesterday."

The vigilante, left completely stunned by his words, could only respond with a blank stare as she looked at him with slight surprise and confusion before finally managing to speak up, further displaying her perplexed state of mind.

"What does that have to do with me, man?"

"Just think about it for a second. Despite all the torment that you've had to live through all your life, you still chose to live to see another day. You didn't let the dark times get the best of you, nor do you choose to let it get the best of you now. That speaks volumes of who you are. And people see that, you know. Maybe you don't notice it, but all of us do. All of us who are trying to live the tale that you're currently living. And just seeing you try your hardest to make things right...it gives us a feeling of hope. It goes to show that not everything is evil in the world. And that kind of assurance can do wonders for the most ordinary of people."

"...I see."

"Lost for words, huh?"

"I mean, what the hell do you want me to say, man? Not every day someone goes into full thespian mode on me, you know."

"Heh...I remember when you told me about how much you enjoyed theater back in the day."

"I'm surprised you still remember that."

"A bartender never forgets what the customer says, my friend."

Upon hearing his quip involving the life of a bartender, she could only stare at the countertop again for a while before cracking a smile and letting out a small chuckle as she mumbled out a few words.

"Of course..."

The bartender may not know this, but his words really did look like it stuck to her - even death could not stop her. Sure, the circumstances did not stem from her own volition, but what choice did she have? Still, she considered this as a very strange calling from fate itself - it was like Fate felt that she was not done yet, and that she still needed to get something done. Perhaps this was what she needed to accomplish. It was hard for her to say, but that was all she could remember. Reinvigorated by a newfound feeling of hope, she got herself off her chair, letting out a sigh as she looked back up at the bartender, still maintaining her smile as she momentarily gave him a few words.

"Well...if the people of the city need a hero, then I'll be their hero. I don't know if I'll fit the role well, but...I guess it's worth a shot, right? I mean, how hard can it be?"

"You know, you don't have to be what the people want you to be. I'm sure you wouldn't want something forced upon you. You just have to do the right thing. The people will see you as the hero in their eyes either way."

"Huh...I guess I never really thought of it like that."

With that, the vigilante decided to end the conversation there as she turned away from the bartender before making her way back to the entrance, but just as she placed her hand against the door handle, she looked over at him with a rather concerned look on her face as she decided to clear up the one thing that was bothering her throughout her momentary stay within the bar. Besides, she still needed at least a sack of grenades for her to use before heading out.

"...am I really doing the right thing, though?"

"I'm certain that you are. Yes, you are taking an extreme route by taking lives in your goal...but at the end of the day, in this cruel world, it may well be a necessary evil that you must partake in. To rid the world of violence, one must first indulge in it. Very little can be done peacefully nowadays...fight fire with fire, as one would say in times like these."

"...I guess you're right in that regard. Come on, hand me some of those grenades. I need to get to work."

The bartender nodded in response to Blake's request, and from there, he momentarily got under the table as he pulled a sack of grenades out before placing it on the countertop, waiting for her to take it from him.

"Good luck. And I know I've said this countless times, but...be careful."

"Heh...don't mention it."

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Nightfall arrived. Blake had been on the prowl, making sure to keep herself hidden so that she would not be spotted - she was quick to notice that Pathfinder activity had increased in light of recent events, which meant that she was beginning to see more armed gangsters out on the streets, no doubt trying to seek her out. Because of this, she was constantly on the move so that she could escape their growing field of detection. However, because of this, she was growing more aware of the fact that she was starting to run out of places to hide due to the increasing severity of the mobster presence on Brightmoor's streets. Despite the growing tension, she knew that she needed to keep herself straightened out and her mind undamaged - the last thing she needed was for her to lose it and go deranged, which would almost certainly mean certain doom for her and her aspirations.

Later into the night, the vigilante was seen hiding within an undetermined alley with her motorcycle parked close by, the vehicle shrouded in the darkness - she could see lights on both ends of the alley, but they were never flashing directly down the alley itself. Even during these late hours of the night, they were still not letting up in their wild search for Blake, much to her chagrin. She knew that she needed to get herself out of this very sticky situation, but to step out when there's so many personnel surrounding her was definitely suicide. She needed to find a way to blend in again. With that thought in mind, she decided to take a bit of a risk here - she began moving towards the edge of the alley before hiding herself behind a dumpster situated there so that she could get as close to her pursuers, and from there, she merely lied in wait, anticipating anyone to get as close to her current location as possible.

After spending roughly five minutes continually hiding herself at the edge of the alley, she finally found herself her target - there was a lone mobster who was walking down the sidewalk opposite her which could also lead them right into where she currently hid herself at. Sure, they were armed with a knife in their hand, but they were also distracted with their cellphone flashlight on their other hand. To top it all off, they were wearing a cat mask. Although she knew this was an opportunity that she needed to take advantage of, she also knew that she had to be careful as well - one wrong move and everyone would be alerted to their location, which will mean the end. Not wanting to take the risk, she decided to wait until the gangster was close enough for her to make her move, which did not take very long. Once they were close to the junction which allowed access to either the main road or the alley, the vigilante stung into action by kicking against the ground, creating a noise that immediately caught the goon's attention.

The thug, who was now feeling a sense of panic momentarily overwhelming them, was quick to bring this incident up as they alerted the others who were close by.

"Guys! I heard something down the alley!"

"You go check what's inside! We'll keep looking for her around here!"

Realizing that they had to venture into the alley alone, they peered into it to see what was down the street - during this time, the vigilante continued keeping herself shrouded behind the dumpster as she waited for him to take the bait and go inside. Admittedly, around the same time, she was beginning to feel her patience dwindle with each passing second. The fact that they just kept standing there with their cellphone out was rather irritating, but after what felt like an eternity in her conscience's perspective, which was merely a few seconds in real time, they finally decided to see just what is going on in the alley as they made the turn and ventured in.

Finding this to be the perfect opportunity to strike, she slowly made her way out from behind the dumpster as she began tailing the gangster, who was still unaware of her presence. However, the longer they ventured deeper into the alley, the more terrified they started becoming - they could not help but feel like they were being watched, and that there was someone behind him. However, not wanting to lose their composure, they merely pressed forward, looking side to side to see if there was anything that may have caused the noise. All this was going on while Blake inched ever so closer towards the goon, with the vigilante trying her hardest to make her footsteps as quiet as she could manage.

When the goon reached the end of the alley, they realized that they were not able to find anything at all - this left them rather frustrated, sure, but before they could even turn around so that they could return to the others, Blake swiftly made her move as she disarmed them on the spot, snatching the knife right off their hand before driving it right towards the side of their neck - the sheer speed of the deed was more than enough to catch them off-guard, and before they could even react to what was going on, they found themselves unable to even do anything as their entire body seized up in response to the knife attack. The thug attempted to scream for help whilst thrashing about to free themselves, but the vigilante had that covered as well as she had her hand against the lower half of their mask, covering their mouth in the process as she attempted to stifle their cries while also restraining them. She continued holding them down whilst maintaining the knife as deep into their neck as possible, and just like that, after a minute or two had passed, the thug finally perished as they stopped moving due to the high blood loss, their body going completely limp and lifeless.

With the unfortunate goon taken care of, she can now focus on the main part of her plan - not wanting to waste any more time, and perhaps with virtually no shard of shame in her conscience, she quickly got herself a change in clothes as she stripped the dead thug until they were only left with their underwear. Once that was out of the way, she began wearing the goon's clothes over her already existing attire, and once she got the mask on, she let out a huff as she fidgeted about in place in an attempt to rid the discomfort of wearing two sets of clothes at the same time.

With her disguise now in effect, she quickly rushed towards her motorcycle, now wanting to get herself out of the alley so that she could make her way towards the buildings that needed attacking. Once she got on her ride, she powered it on as the bike engine roared with life - something which immediately caught the attention of the mobsters that surrounded her on both ends of the alley. As soon as the lights were flashed into the street, she promptly revved the engine before barreling right towards the gangsters that were before her. By the time they fully processed the fact that they found the fugitive they were looking for, Blake flat out ran over some of them that were in the way while the more fortunate ones were able to back off in time, with the dirt bike barely missing them as the vigilante stormed off. Believing that they had found her, some of the unharmed goons on the other end of the alley quickly yelled out, their voices resonating throughout the streets as everyone within the surrounding area had been alerted.

"We found her! She's near the Citadel of Praise! We gotta intercept her, NOW!"

The vigilante was quick to overhear what had been relayed to the thugs, and because of this, she cranked her speed up a notch as she sought to reach the Citadel of Praise, which was one of the spots that Lettie had mentioned when it came to where the Pathfinder operated for their drug activities. Although she noticed how there's no convoy near the church building, she was also aware of the fact that it was not past midnight yet, which was when the drug supplies and their escorts usually start operating. The vigilante was now relying on a gamble here - she had to hope that Lettie had not changed their bases of operations yet. Knowing that she needed to find a place to hide herself in, she decided to head over to the street behind the church before parking her vehicle by the sidewalk, and once that was out of the way, she immediately made her way towards the back of the building itself, shrouding herself within some thick shrubbery that she was able to spot whilst seeking out a hiding spot. After she managed to get herself a decent enough cover, the only thing she had to do now was wait.

And wait she did.

Although she ended up keeping herself hidden for a few hours, her cover allowed her to evade detection, and although she had a few close calls when a few search parties found her motorcycle, they were never truly able to find her, leaving her with much needed relief. By the time it was close to 1 AM, the searching finally ceased, allowing Blake to momentarily bask in the peace that she had been deprived of for a good amount of time. However, she was not out of the woods yet. Just as she was about to get herself out from the bushes, she immediately overheard the sound of driving as she looked just about ready to hide herself yet again - however, another thing that she noticed soon afterward was the fact that the noise was not coming from the street that she was hiding herself at, but rather, at the street that was facing the church.

Upon realizing this, she immediately came to the conclusion that the convoy was back to doing its business as usual, something which made her feel even more relieved than ever - it would seem that Lettie was taking the risk by carrying on with her work. However, when the vigilante went to take a closer look by peering from behind the building, she realized that her mission was going to be a lot harder than she had imagined. Sure, there was a convoy heading towards the church, but it looks as though the legion of vehicles had doubled in number, which meant that there would be more mobsters within the vicinity. That was just great.

Perhaps she was being too hopeful if she thought that nothing would change - Lettie was not that stupid. If she was going to blend in amongst them, she needed to make sure that she had to be ready for anything. When she recalled her last attempt at trying to disguise herself, she ended up getting exposed, and yet, she could not figure out how she got her identity revealed as an impostor...she only knew that she got attacked whilst under the influence of the drugs that they were cooking within the Grace Refuge Chapel. Maybe that was it - after all, it looked like only she was affected by the fumes...there had to be something that they were wearing that she was not. A gas mask, perhaps? That might be the most likely option.

Well, there really was only one way to find out, and that was to blend in amongst the hostiles and figure out on her own. And so, as she watched the cars, minivans and trucks park themselves by the sidewalks on both sides of the road, she decided to ready herself as she headed back to her ride before popping the motorcycle booth, which was under the bike seat, open - quite convenient. After getting her weapons out of the booth, she began to fully reload them whilst sliding a few extra clips and shells into her pockets. Once that was done, she also got herself some grenades that she had brought along with her so that she could use them to blow up the buildings that she was seeking out once the time and occasion was right. She soon shut the booth afterward before continuing to bide her time behind the church, wanting to make sure that everyone had gotten out of their vehicles and headed inside - something which admittedly took a bit more time than usual due to how many people had showed up for their nightly operations this time round.

Nevertheless, once everyone was inside, she slowly walked down the side of the building until she finally made it to the front of the church itself. She knew that if she were to step inside, suspicions would be immediately raised towards her, and given how brash these mobsters tend to be, she was not entertaining the idea of going in there. She had to think of another way to attract attention towards her without risking her well-being. She was now questioning the idea of 'going in and figuring out herself'. There had to be another way, surely. As her mind kept thinking about what she must do in order to grant herself an opportunity that she could fully take advantage of, her sight slowly drifted away from the church and towards the convoy behind her, just by the corner of her eye.

And then...it hit her. An idea popped up in her head. It was going to be violent, it was going to be catastrophic, but it sounded so insane that it might just work in her favor. Not wanting to waste any more time, she quickly rushed towards the convoy, making sure to hide herself behind the vehicles by keeping herself on the sidewalk that they were parked by. From there, she began to inch backward, with the vigilante not stopping until she was a few meters away from the convoy. As she brought a grenade out, it soon became very clear on what she was plotting.

She was going to blow the convoy sky high.