Second Wind

Chapter 28: Past the Breaking Point

One building down, three to go. Although Jaguar and Blake were successful in their mission, they still had a long way to go - there was still the other manufacturing ground that they needed to conquer. Once the weapon quantities were stagnated, then they could prey upon the storage units. Things were now starting to heat up in terms of intensity here.

It was now morning - much time had passed since the explosion which occurred during the dead of night. The duo were, once again, in the vigilante's motel room - however, instead of celebrations, the two were practically silent. Blake, as always, was sitting by her bedside, while Jaguar was leaning against the wall next to the room door. After a few moments of silence were shared between the two, the vigilante soon spoke up, deciding to give her input on what had happened back at West Warren Road.

"Well, that should be enough to provoke them...now they'll definitely take more efforts to find us."

"It's so weird for you to say that...usually that means it's a bad thing."

"I mean, you saw how their security is like. They were completely focused within the heart of the neighborhood...now that we've hit the hornet's nest, the hornets will start spreading out."

"Huh. That's some analogy you got there."

"I know, right? I managed to think that one up myself. But enough about that - we need to think about how to deal with our other three targets. And we have to think fast...we cannot allow them any time to recover. If they do manage to shake off the destruction we have caused, they'll try to get away from us by changing their bases of operations...and honestly, I am not keen on going for another search again. I'm sure you think the same."

"I'm honestly not bothered...after all, I don't think they have suspected me of anything yet. It's you that's got problems here."

"Hmph...still acting self-centered here, I see..."

"That's because I got reasons to act that way. I don't think you're that fortunate yourself, you know."

"Ugh, I can't even argue with that logic of yours, either...well, it does not matter. I should go out and see just what the situation there is like at the moment. As for you...well, do whatever you want. We'll sting into action once night arrives. That I can somewhat guarantee. Anyways, I'm outta here."

"Eh, suit yourself. I think I'll stick around here a little while longer."

Blake merely shrugged in response to Jaguar's words before swiftly departing as she left her room, leaving Jaguar alone inside. Just before she got herself out of the building, she put her mask on once more before heading out - she still had her disguise on, so she was not too worried about what she was wearing right now. After getting her motorcycle out from her hiding spot, she pulled her vehicle back onto the asphalt as she got on her ride before making her move as she hit the streets. Her mind was filled with distractions while she was out on the road as she pondered over her thoughts.

"I can't believe I've made it this far...it's all so weird to me. There's still a long road ahead of me, but the fact that I've managed to tread on it for this long...it feels so strange. I guess this is what it feels like when one grabs the bull by the horns. For once, I actually feel like a threat to an evil that has been the threat for what feels like an eternity..."

She was not allowed any more time to remain within her conscience, however, as she suddenly snapped back into reality when the tires on her bike suddenly exploded, causing her to lose balance of her vehicle in an instant - this ended up flinging her off her seat as she was hurled down to the ground, causing her panda mask to be thrown off her head while the bike fell to the asphalt soon after. Although she was concussed due to the impact that she had received, she was able to quickly recover from her momentary state of weakness as she got herself back up to her feet. She glanced behind her so that she could see what is it that her bike tires caught, and when she spotted a bunch of caltrops scattered on the road, she promptly surmised that her tires had been punctured by them. Realizing that she could have avoided the incident had she focused on the road, she let out a rather irritated sigh before shaking her head side to side whilst placing a hand to her hip.

And then, something came to her mind.

There was no way those caltrops were there by chance. This was definitely planned. Upon coming to such a conclusion, she quickly stung into action as she moved her arm towards her back, intending on taking her shotgun out - however, when she felt nothing but her back, she began looking around with desperation evident in her movement, hoping to find her firearm somewhere. Sure enough, she did find her weapon, which was close to the fallen motorcycle - looks like it had fallen off her back when she was hurled off her bike not too long ago. Just before she could reach out to her gun, however, she suddenly felt something pierce the back of her neck as she flinched in response to the momentary pain before reaching out towards the source of the stinging sensation that soon ensued - when she felt something lodged against her nape, she pulled it out without much trouble before inspecting just what had hit her.

A dart.

It was at this moment where she realized she was being watched, and after it dawned on her, she quickly retrieved her shotgun before attempting to escape, but she could only manage a few steps away from her dirt bike before suddenly losing control over legs, causing her to collapse onto the floor. This was not a good situation for her - the vigilante was trapped with no way out while her body was beginning to fail her, implying that the dart must have been a paralyzing dart fired by someone. She could not force herself to pull herself away from the scene as well, since she soon lost control over her arms and hands just as quickly as she lost her legs. At this point, she was now completely numb and unmoving, and if that was not bad enough, she was beginning to lose consciousness rapidly as well as her vision began to blur at an exponential pace while her breathing grew more labored - a reflection of her worsening state. The last thing she ended up seeing was a bunch of figures approaching and surrounding her before her consciousness caved in and she passed out on the spot.

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It took her quite a while for her to wake up, and when she did, she had no idea where she could possibly be - she was surrounded by nothing but light blue walls which had its color mostly faded, and she looked to be completely bound to a chair as well, with duct tape and chains keeping her body forced to the chair while her wrists and ankles were kept together, rendering her unable to move anything but her neck. She was in front of a long steel table, and on the other end of the table lied another chair, where someone else was already sitting on. Their gaze was completely fixated on her, though she was unable to recognize who was staring at her.

It was Matthew himself, though there were some...differences.

He had a stun baton slung behind his back, and he was wearing a pair of gloves in his hands. There were two weapons holstered by his sides, but the vigilante could not make out just what he had on his person. He practically retained his standard attire, though there were some minor changes made in the mix - he was now wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face while also wearing a a jacket over his already existing set of clothes that covered his body. With the vigilante now managing to regain at least a fraction of her consciousness, Matthew merely let out a sigh before getting off his chair and placing his hands against the table before speaking to Blake, all while his gaze remained focused on her.

"...I see that you're awake, vigilante..."

"Ugh...who...are you...? Where...the hell am I...?"

"I don't need to answer your questions. But I will do is ask some of my own. And believe me when I say that I have a lot of questions involving you, vigilante."

"Hmph...as if I need to answer you, anyway..."

"Ah, I know you would say that, which is why I have done something to make things interesting..."

Upon saying those words, it was safe to assume that the vigilante was rather...unnerved now. Nevertheless, she still attempted to hold onto her wits here as she watched Matthew walk towards a metal door that was situated at the right hand side of the room, and after knocking against it, he began speaking through the door, implying that they were not the only ones here.

"Bring him here."

With the command relayed, he then grabbed onto the handle of the door before pulling against it, causing the door to open - although she was unable to see what was beyond the door due to Matthew obstructing her vision, she did see who was being brought into the room when he moved out of the way to let two people inside. There was a mobster wearing a goose mask who was wheeling in someone who wore a rat mask on a wheelchair - it was Max, and upon realizing that he had been captured, she immediately shifted her attention towards Matthew, who had closed the door shut once the goon departed from the room and left them be.

"What the hell is he doing here?! He's got nothing to do with this!"

"Ah, but he does. I had this sneaking suspicion that he was involved with whatever you were doing, and so, I ordered some people to snatch him off the streets so that he could end up here. And from there, I...did some things."

In order for him to show just what he was talking about, he grabbed onto the mask that Max was still wearing before pulling it off, revealing his current state to the vigilante - he looked to be badly and brutally beaten, with his nose bleeding profusely while a mixture of blood and saliva dribbled out of his mouth. There were rather severe bruises and cuts evident on his face as well. He was unconscious at the moment due to the thrashing that he had received, but he was at least breathing, even if it looked like he was having difficulties doing so. His head was tilted down, and his hands looked like they had been burned by something. Matthew really did torture him badly...it was a miracle that he was still hanging on.

Seeing Max in this pitiful state was enough to set her off as she struggled in place in an attempt to get herself out of her bindings, but to no avail. No amount of strength or brute force could free her right now, and while she was aware of this, her current state of blind fury meant that her sense of judgement was rather cloudy at the moment. Blake's aimless attempts at trying to break herself free did piss off Matthew considerably, and thus, he immediately pulled out his pistol before pressing its barrel right against the back of Max's head, causing her to suddenly stop moving, though judging by her expression, she only did this just to keep the rookie safe and away from the danger that Matthew was now posing as. While Blake was left seething in place, he let out a chuckle before speaking up.

"Now...let's talk, shall we? If you comply to all of my questions, I may be able to let you live."

"Psh, now I know that's a lie..."

"Attitude will not get you anywhere, friend. Now, first question - what reason did you have to blow up the buildings in Brightmoor, and the building here? And make your responses snappy."

Blake merely spat on the table in response to his question, but with the vigilante not keen on having Max's brains blown to bits, she let out a reluctant huff before speaking up, with her voice displaying restrained anger.

"You scum...have been taking this city for granted. For years, you have tortured its people...forced them into a way of life that they never wanted to be a part of...and you have been poisoning its streets for long enough..."

Matthew looked at her with a partially dismissive expression on his face upon hearing her words, and when she finished talking, he walked up to her whilst pulling his stun baton out, which he had slung behind his back. After stopping himself just behind Blake, he then posed the second question to her, all while retaining his clearly serious tone of voice.

"Second question. How did you somehow manage to stay alive after what happened at the Davison Freeway?"

"Hmph...now you know I can't give out trade secrets..."

"Trade secrets, now? It won't remain a secret for long."

In that moment, Matthew immediately pulled his arm back before swinging the baton right to the side of her head - before she could even react to this sudden surge of aggression, she felt the baton smash against her cheek and ear as the sheer force of his strike caused her to lose balance before falling down to the floor with the chair in tow. While Blake was reeling from the attack, Matthew stood over her before repeating his question.

"What. Happened."

Despite him clearly displaying his lack of restraint to attack her, the vigilante continued egging him on as she let out a pained chuckle before speaking to him, her voice now reflecting the pain that she was currently feeling.

"You're...gonna have to try harder than that...to get anything out of me..."

"It's a good thing you said that, then!"

With the vigilante displaying her stubbornness, he began to savagely beat her with the stun baton that he was wielding as his aggressive spiked with each swing he made. As for Blake, she had to tank the hits that she was receiving as she gritted her teeth in an attempt to fight off the pain that he was dealing - a task that was growing increasingly difficult with each hit he landed on her. There was also something involving the baton he was using as well. Along with the blunt force that she took from the baton striking her, she could also feel herself getting zapped with a light, yet clearly noticeable electric current everytime he struck her, which only served to magnify the pain that she was taking.

After what felt like an eternity, Matthew soon came to a halt after landing one final, forceful strike on her head. Here he was, huffing and puffing as he stared down at her, revelling at the damage that he had unleashed. Blake had been beaten very badly, and her injuries reflected on that - she was bleeding very heavily from her head, and her nose looked to be broken as well. Her entire body was aching, and her lips were badly bruised, with her cheeks and neck displaying those same bruises as well. Her ears were ringing loudly, which only worsened her state of suffering which she was currently experiencing. She definitely felt like a bone or two had been broken as well, but it was hard for her to tell with how she was currently feeling - everything was painful.

But it was only going to get worse.

In a fit of fury, Matthew grabbed onto her before propping her back up, and once she was back in her seating position, he set the bloodied baton down on the table before cracking his knuckles as he repeated his question yet again.

"You're really not making this easy for me. All I'm asking you is a question. A very, very simple question that will most likely have a very, very simple answer. Why are you choosing to make this very difficult for me?"

"Even if...I told you...you wouldn't even believe it..."

"Is that right?"

Matthew merely scoffed at her response before placing his hands on the sides of her head - once he had his hands on her, he gave her one final warning for her as a display of what little mercy he had left at this point.

"Last chance."

"I...should be the one saying that...hehe...you don't know just what you're getting yourself into."

"Is that a threat? When your own life is on the line? I knew you were violent, but I was not expecting you to be this brazenly stupid. Your confidence is just a foolish way to mask your lack of intelligence."

"That's...what you think..."

She cracked a smile after saying those words - an indication of her defiance. With Matthew's patience officially thrown out, he gripped onto the vigilante's head before committing his next act of suffering.

Electrocution.

As soon as his grip on her head tightened, she felt a powerful eletric current course its way right into her head as she began to violently convulse in place - no amount of pain resistance could stave this off, and as a result, she began to violently scream as she jerked about wildly. Her eyes started to turn a blood red, and she started frothing from her mouth as well. Despite her desperation to break herself free, she was just unable to - and so, all she could do was just...take it. After about a minute or two had went by, Matthew finally pulled his hands away from her head, with her suffering coming to an end at last. However, it seemed like he may have stopped his torture session a second too late.

Blake was now completely still, with her body limp and unmoving. She looked completely fish-eyed, and there was smoke coming out of her head as well. Deciding to check on her, Matthew grabbed the back of her chair before pulling it, causing it to fall down to the ground in a backward manner along with the vigilante as he began checking for her vitals once she hit the floor. Upon finding out that she was not breathing while also possessing no signs of a pulse, he came to the realization that he had electrocuted her to death. Admittedly, this discovery made him incredibly frustrated as he smashed his fist against the wall in a fit of exasperation - sure, it was a good thing that he was able to finish her off, but it was obvious that he had to figure out how she came back, especially after the injuries she had sustained back at the Davison Highway.

Either way, it did not matter now.

He let out a defeated sigh before walking towards the door once more, and after knocking on it, he began relaying commands to the people who were on the other side of the door.

"Hey. The deed is done. Take the rookie and the vigilante out back and make sure they're never seen again. And be sure to make it quick - the kid should die a painless death. Don't want him to be conscious while you guys get rid of them."

After the command was given, a group of five mobsters would be seen waiting on the other side once the door was opened. The group walked into the room, mostly ignoring Matthew but following his orders regardless as two of the five goons took Max and the presumably dead Blake out of the room while the remaining three followed suit. Once Matthew was left alone in the room, the door was closed shut once again. Finding no reason to continue being here, he began to pack his things as he took his gloves off before cleaning his baton of the blood that stained it with a rag that he had brought with him.

Meanwhile, as Max and Blake were taken out of the building in which they were trapped in, which was revealed to be some kind of warehouse, something was brewing...the five goons were not aware of it, and neither was Matthew. Max was nowhere close to waking up, and from the goons' point of view, Blake was already dead, and thus, she was no longer a threat to them.

Only one thing was clear now.

Things were about to get really, really bad.

But not for the two who were about to be sentenced to their deaths.