Second Wind

Chapter 20: Evergreen Roadkill

Blake was quick to reach the Evergreen Road - once she arrived at the scene, she immediately stormed down the asphalt, hoping to get to Warrendale as quickly as she could manage. She really was pushing her dirt bike to its limits, given how loud the engine currently was right now. Despite the deafening noise of the engine, she quickly caught the sounds of other motorcycles behind her as she looked over to the side to see where the noises were coming from. To the vigilante, she only saw a bunch of seemingly normal-looking people. However, she knew that something was up. There was no reason for them to be after her. Knowing that she needed to get away from them, she cranked up the speed of her motorcycle as she attempted to make some distance between them. However, Kata's spies proved to be rather stubborn, and in response to Blake's burst of speed, they too would do the same as they inched ever so closer to her with each passing second.

This was not good - she knew that she could not take all ten of them on in combat. She had to figure out a way to shake them off, and if she really had to engage with them, then she needed to figure out a way to whittle their numbers down to more manageable levels. Admittedly, all this felt rather...familiar to her. She could not help but feel a sense of déjà vu amidst the heat of the moment, but she ultimately chose to shrug off the thought, knowing that she had other things to worry about right now. As the ten spies began to close in on her, the vigilante was desperately trying to formulate a plan to deal with her assailants. And then, an idea sprung in her head. Not the best idea, but...an idea nonetheless.

Once the spies were comfortably close enough to the vigilante, they quickly brought out their firearms as they readied themselves to take aim and fire. As for Blake, she quickly brought out her shotgun while her other hand remained tightly gripped onto one half of the motorcycle handle. She knew that using her signature weapon would be the best course of action, seeing how they were now relatively close to her. One shot should be enough to take out at least one of the spies.

All she had to do was maintain her balance.

From the spies' perspective, it seemed that reason was no longer an option as soon as they noticed her whipping her shotgun out - she was clearly going on the offensive here without any consideration for diplomacy. They momentarily looked at each other before nodding to one another in agreement - looks like they were planning on taking her down for good, no holds barred. With that, everyone got their pistols at the ready before taking their shots and firing at her. With how fast they were going, it was rather difficult for them to accurately hit their target, which bought Blake a bit of time for her to reconsider her approach to this predicament after she felt a bullet whizz right past her ear. Going on the offensive was not the best choice at the moment...she needed to be more pragmatic here. With that thought process in mind, she quickly slung her shotgun behind her back once more before grabbing onto the bike handles. Before the spies could fully concentrate on her, the vigilante began to move side to side in a rapid and dizzying motion, causing their line of sight to be momentarily broken as they were distracted by her attempts to hinder their accuracy.

The plan did work - most of the bullets that they fired ended up missing since they were unable to focus down at all due to her rapid and constantly changing movement. As soon as she heard the rain of bullets come to a halt, she immediately decided to shift towards a more offensive stance as she readied herself for a rather daring maneuver. She knew they were not in a position to be able to reload their weapons - this was the perfect opportunity to sway the tides to her favor. With the vigilante choosing to take the leap of faith, she suddenly hit the brakes whilst making an intensely sharp turn towards her right, causing the dirt bike's to perform a sharp semicircle drift - that was not the only thing that happened, too.

Because of the force generated from the drift and due to how quickly she had stopped her vehicle, the tail of her bike was thrown up into the air as the motorcycle stood on one tire. The spies were unable to react to what had just happened, and because of this, they immediately blazed past her as the motorcycles went by the vigilante, leaving her practically unharmed in the process. Her attackers needed a second to process the fact that she was no longer in their line of sight, and by the time they quickly stopped their vehicles and looked around, they soon found out that they had lost Blake, leaving all of them rather frustrated, especially one in particular, who looked to have completely lost their cool as she threw their pistol onto the asphalt in a fit of rage.

"God dammit! All of you, split up! She must've escaped into one of the streets which connects with this road! As soon as you spot her, finish her off by any means necessary! NOW GET GOING!!"

Her anger-induced instructions were enough to sting everyone into action in a split second as the team got a move on, with nine of them spreading out into the streets that could be found on both ends of the Evergreen Road while one of them began driving down the aforementioned road back and forth so that he could see if Blake was in one particular street or not.

However, finding her proved to be a lot more difficult than they had anticipated.

As the minutes wound down, their patrolling bore no visible result as all of them were unable to find her. Although the team were maintaining strict communication through their walkie-talkies to ensure that the others would be alerted of her location should one find the vigilante, the fact that no one could find her meant that this was rather pointless. After 30 minutes had passed, after a rather long and arduous search for the vigilante who looked to have flat out vanished into thin air, everyone ultimately chose to regroup for now so that they could figure out what must be done next.

However, there was a problem.

When all of them returned, only nine of them showed up back to the Evergreen Road, while one was nowhere to be seen - it was something that one of the spies immediately brought up after he had done a body count.

"Hey, where the hell is Jeffrey?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? We were all alone, dingbat!"

"Maybe he didn't get the memo?"

"Now why in God's green Earth would he do that?"

"...something is up. I don't know if you guys noticed, but I did not hear his voice a few minutes into our search for the vigilante...I got a bad feeling about this whole situation here."

"You don't think she got him, do ya?"

"There ain't no way...otherwise we would've learned about her current location!"

"...unless she's making sure no one knows about it."

The spies looked at each other in response to that last sentence there - admittedly, some of them did feel rather unnerved, though they ultimately chose to mask their current state of displeasure as they attempted to fixate their attention on the issue at hand. After a few moments of silence were shared between the group, one of them finally broke the silence as a suggestion was made to the team.

"There's only one way for us to find out, and that is to find Jeffrey ourselves. We should split up again, but this time, I think we should split in duos. Two people find Jeffrey, six people continue finding her, and one of us continues to patrol the road, just in case. That sound good? Because it looks like neither of us got any better ideas right now."

Once again, more moments of silence - this time, however, everyone looked to be in agreement with the idea posed by one of the spies as they nodded at one another in approval. With that, after they split themselves up into four groups, they immediately took to the streets once more as the same person who kept watch of the Evergreen Road carried on with their patrolling.

Yet another half an hour had went by, and despite their efforts, they were still unable to find the vigilante. However, not all of their efforts were in vain as a voice soon appeared from their walkie-talkies.

"Guys! I found Jeffrey!"

"You did? What's up with him?!"

"He...he's dead. His damn head's been blown wide open..."

"Jesus...where is he?"

"He's over at-"

All of a sudden, her walkie-talkie suddenly disconnected, cutting her off with the rest of the team as everyone began yelling through them, with some of them sounding rather frantic as they grew fearful for her wellbeing.

"Celia, you still there?! Respond, dammit!"

They were only met with silence as they desperately tried to get in contact with her - however, just as it looked like they had given up, a voice finally spoke through the comms, but it is not a voice that they are familiar with.

It was Blake.

"Celia...that was her name, was it? Damn...what a shame. At least she can join her friend, I suppose. I don't know where the other one is, seeing how they're hiding like a total coward, but I'll find out eventually. For now, though...just keep searching. You'll find me. Just know that if you do spot me, you won't live to tell the others about it."

After the vigilante had aired her threat to the spies, everyone was now automatically on high alert. They had now learned of her intentions, and because of this, they needed a change of plan. Badly. With that, one of the spies quickly relayed her orders to the others who were still active.

"Everyone, get back to the Evergreen Road! We need to figure out how to deal with this!"

The order was followed as quickly as it was given, as the spies immediately regrouped just minutes after they were told to head back to the road, and just as they had feared, only seven of the nine spies returned back to the Evergreen Road. With their numbers dwindling and the vigilante still nowhere to be seen, it was clear that they were left very shaken by what had been going on.

"Guys, this isn't good...our numbers are dropping like flies..."

"Yeah, no s**t, Sherlock..."

"How is it that we've not found her yet?! She's constantly evading us everywhere we go! She's like a ghost or something!"

"It certainly did not help that she openly taunted us like that...she really is confident."

"I'm pretty sure she has good reason to be confident right now...none of us knows what's even going on at this point."

It was obvious that they were at a complete loss on what to do, and as they just remained there, deep in thought, their walkie-talkies were at work once again as the vigilante's voice could be heard talking to them. In that instant, everyone's vigilance skyrocketed as they huddled together, believing that the vigilante will not attack such high numbers.

"I see that all of you are trying your hardest to find me...must be tough. I'm not far, you know. I understand that you're doing your job, but I'm trying to do mine as well. And seeing how you're in the way, I need to deal with anyone that tries to stop me. And hey, you just experienced a taste of that. If you know what's good for you, I'd suggest running away and to never bother me again. However, if you choose to continue with this wild goose chase, then...well, all I can say is that it will be all the more enjoyable for me, and all the more unsettling for you."

With the threat aired, all was silent once more - at this point, some of them were genuinely considering fleeing. In fact, some even voiced out that thought themselves, though they attempted to disguise it as a tactical retreat of sorts.

"I really don't know about this...but I think we need to back off for now and report what we've experienced to Kata. We cannot afford more casualties here, and it's obvious that she's not going to back down until we're out of her hair, our until we're dead."

"Are you being serious right now? We're so close to finally taking her down for good, and you want us to retreat?!"

"Ophelia, you gotta think of this from a more logical perspective. I don't know what kind of background this vigilante has, but I know that she's very, very dangerous. She's been able to constantly avoid us throughout her stay in Brightmoor, and has been able to destroy the drugs within the neighborhood while also killing everyone who has been facilitating its circulation. Don't you think that's a red flag in on itself?"

"I hate that I have to say this, Ophelia, but Jack is right. It's so obvious that she's a huge threat...we've already lost three of our team to her. That alone should send the alarm bells ringing, you know."

"But...she's right here! We already know that she's here! If we let her slip through our fingers, then who knows what she'll do next! If we don't stop her now, then we'll probably never stop her again until the damage is already done in another of the Pathfinder's area of operations!"

With the team clearly at the crossroads, all of them were left wondering on what needed to be done - although some wanted to leave, it was also clear that others were on Ophelia's side, even if her suggestion to continue with the search seemed rather rash at face value.

The frustrations ultimately boiled over for one of the spies as he voiced out his concerns over the idea of carrying on with this search, which looked like a suicide mission at this point.

"I really don't know what to tell you guys...it's so obvious that if we split up, she'll try and pick us off group by group while remaining hidden...but if all of us go together, then she'll just continue hiding while continuing to play with our patience! We really can't do anything here!"

"That's why we're trying to think of a plan, dammit! You think we're just sitting here and daydreaming?!"

"You're out here trying to jeopardize our entire safety with your violent tendencies, Ophelia! You're so certain that we can take her down, but she's been doing more taking down than we ever have over the past hour!"

"Okay, okay. Let's just think this over for a moment. We both know that we need strength in numbers here. But at the same time, we have to split up so that we cover more area...maybe this time, we could go in threes, with one carries on with patrolling the road. Surely she'll have some difficulty in taking down three people at once. At least one of us will definitely spot her that way. That sound good enough for you guys?"

They took a moment to think over the plan, and after a few seconds of silence, one of them voiced out their agreement over the idea.

"Well, it doesn't look like we have other options on our hands here..."

"Then it's decided. We'll split up into two groups, and as for you, Jamie, you continue keeping watch over the road. If you spot anything suspicious, be sure to alert us if you're unable to deal with it yourself."

"Got it."

Now that the commands had been relayed, everyone got to work as the two trios made their move. With this being an indication that they were carrying on with their search, Blake's voice appeared on the comms just minutes after their search continued.

"You guys really want to put yourself into an early grave, huh..in that case, so be it. I'll make sure that none of you live to tell anyone what happened here."

Another one of Blake's threats. This time, however, this taunt in particular had some of them wondering - the fact that she was saying these things meant that she could hear them...which also meant that she was always close to a member of the team.

Just who was she actively tracking, though?

Knowing that this kind of info needed to be relayed to the others who had not thought of this yet, one of the spies quickly got on their walkie-talkie as she expressed what she thought about this whole scenario.

"Guys. I have this feeling she's watching us."

"Where did you get that from?"

"I don't know about y'all, but you notice how she talks after we've made our decisions?"

"Hmm...you do have a point...but where is she watching us from?"

"She must be tailing one of us. That sounds like the most probable likelihood."

"In that case, everyone needs to be very careful. Who knows where she might be."

After the warning had been given, they carried on with their search for the vigilante, which went on for yet another 30 minutes. Although they've been doing this for almost two hours now, they were nowhere closer to finding her, much to their chagrin.

However, things were only going to get worse from here.

As one of the groups carried on with their search for Blake, they soon reached a street which was surrounded by countless alleys from beginning to end - surely she had to be hiding in one of these alleys, right?

Well, that was what they had to find out.

"Get ready, you guys. Who knows what may happen here."

With the advice given, everyone got their pistols at the ready as they began to slowly drive down the road, with two of them focused on the alleys which surrounded them both left and right while the spy in the middle focused on what was in front and behind them.

Although they attempted to search through the alleys with the best of their ability, they were unable to find her, leaving the trio intensely frustrated by the time they reached the end of the street.

"This is getting ridiculous...where the hell can she possibly be?"

"We've been looking everywhere, and yet she's nowhere to be seen...does this mean that she's not tracking us?"

"That might be it."

Upon coming to such a conclusion, one of them got their walkie-talkie out as he began talking into it to warn the others of their findings.

"We've not found her yet, you guys. But be careful. She might be close to-"

Before he could even finish, however, a gunshot suddenly rung in the air, breaking the silence as the trio were caught off-guard by the noise. Two of them immediately turned around towards the presumed source of noise, but they only found themselves staring at the road behind them. It was safe to say that confusion and paranoia now began to take root in their minds.

"This isn't good..."

And if that was not bad enough, that was not the only thing that happened - just mere moments after the shot was fired, one of the spies fell off their motorcycle as he collapsed into the asphalt with the bike in tow, revealing a bullet wound on the back of his head.

Realizing that Blake was here, one of the two spies got their walkie-talkie out in an instant as she alerted the others on what happened.

"We got a man down! She's somewhere at the West Chicago Road! We need back-"

She ended up being rudely interrupted by another gunshot, which effectively cut the woman off in an instant as her body remained completely still for a moment before falling over to her left and dropping to the ground, with the bike losing balance and toppling as well. With only one person left alive in the group, it was safe to say that he was now on his wit's end as he frantically looked all around him in hopes of spotting her somewhere. Amidst his panicking state, he began calling out to Blake as well in a bout of exasperation.

"Where are you?! Show yourself if you're not a coward!!!"

"Ah, but I'm right here."

As soon as those words were spoken, he felt his entire body seize up on the spot as he sensed the barrel of a pistol pressing against the back of his head.

"Ciao, loser."

Without even a second thought in her mind, she pulled the trigger.

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It felt like an eternity had came and went for Jamie. He was growing increasingly frustrated with his current situation here as he continued going back and forth on the Evergreen Road. Another thing which greatly bothered him was the fact that he had not gotten any update from the rest of his team yet. Despite him fearing the absolute worst, he was desperately trying to keep himself optimistic by mumbling words of reassurance to himself, even though in reality, there was nothing to be optimistic about.

"Maybe they're being quiet on purpose so that they can't alert the vigilante on where they are...yeah, that's probably it..."

He just kept repeating himself until he reached the end of the road - when he turned himself around, however, he noticed a lone bike just down the horizon, and upon spotting someone on the motorcycle, he let out a huff as he loudly relayed a few words to the driver.

"Hey, you think you can get out of the way? I'm kinda doing something here."

However, when he did not get a response from them, momentary exasperation ended up getting the best of them as Jamie quickly drove down the road so that he could approach them. While he was doing this, he repeated himself to the driver.

"Did you not hear me? I said to move-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, his motorcycle's headlights finally shone down on the figure, revealing who they were.

It was Blake, and she had her pistol aimed right at him. When Jamie fully processed who he had just spoken to, a wave of unimaginable panic struck him on the spot as she fired her shot once he had gotten close enough to the vigilante.

Bullseye.

With Jamie headshotted, his life was cut short in an instant as his now lifeless corpse harmlessly drove past her before collapsing onto the road while the bike ground itself to a halt after joining Jamie in the collapse just moments after.

Blake remained completely silent and still for a few moments before letting out a sigh and shaking her head as she holstered her pistol back to her side whilst mumbling a few words under her breath.

"I did warn you..."

After saying those words, she quickly got herself a move on as she continued driving down the road in order to get to Warrendale. The bodies of the ten spies that tailed her were scattered all over Weatherby and Franklin Park, with six of them in particular being in West Chicago Road - the first group's deaths meant that she could use them to bait the second group into coming to the same spot, where she was able to pick them off one by one ever so carefully.

This was something that was not in the vigilante's plans, but at least the issue was now over.

Warrendale awaits.