Justice Keepers Saga - Books 1-3

Chapter 3-3

The man on the ground looked up.

His face was marked by a nasty gash just above his eyebrow. He winced, letting out a groan. “I"ll get it, Tyler,” he said, pushing himself up. “Twenty-four hours. Just give me twenty-four hours.”

Tyler"s lips peeled back, revealing crooked teeth. He narrowed his eyes as he stared down at his victim. “ "Twenty-four hours!" ” he mocked. “How many times are you gonna make me listen to that line?”

Jack dropped the t-shirt – Anna would just have to deal with being short-changed – and retrieved his cell phone. Someone would have to put a stop to this before they were looking at a homicide.

Tapping at the screen with his thumb, he brought up the dialling menu and hit 9-1-1. The b****y thing took a moment to dial before he heard an operator"s voice. “Emergency Services.”

“I"ve got an assault at two thirty-one O"Connor,” Jack barked. “Looks to be of the aggravated variety and I"m pretty sure one of them has drugs.”

“Thank you, sir,” the operator replied. “Units on the way.”

Would they get here soon enough? Tyler was already kicking poor Josh in the ribs. The man seemed completely unconcerned by the fact that any passing pedestrian would witness his felony. And why should he be? There was no one on the sidewalk but Jack, and the motorists were focused on the road.

The smart thing to do would be to leave and pretend he hadn"t seen a damn thing. A good thing Jack Hunter wasn"t famous for doing the smart thing. “Hey!” he shouted. “Get away from him!”

Tyler glanced in his direction. “f**k off.”

Clenching his teeth, Jack squinted at the man. He shook his head in disgust. “Now would be a good time to move on,” he said, striding forward. “Before I have a chance to memorize your descriptions.”

Tyler spun around to face him.

The man lifted his chin, his nostrils flaring as he sized Jack up. “You"ve got to be kidding me,” he shouted, moving toward him. “You"re really gonna stick your nose in my business for a piece of s**t like Josh?”

Jack flashed a grin, sweat matting dark hair to his forehead. “Well, it"s more about sticking it to you,” he said, eyebrows rising. “But I"d be happy to see Josh there get out of this in one piece.”

Gritting his teeth, the other man snarled at Jack, his face growing redder and redder by the second. “That was a mistake,” he said, shaking his head. “Who the b****y hell do you think you are, kid?”

He threw a punch.

Jack brought an arm up to hit the man"s wrist and knock the blow aside. He ducked and drove a fist into Tyler"s chest.

The man seized him by the shoulders.

Wincing hard, Tyler let out a hiss and slammed a vicious headbutt into Jack"s face. Stars floated in his vision and the ground seemed to fall away. He fell, a flash of hot pain racing through him.

He landed on all fours.

Clenching his teeth, Jack felt his face heat up. He blinked back tears. “All right then,” he said, pushing himself up. “First round to you. Better back off, boyo, now I"m mad.”

Tyler stood over him, a towering giant that blocked out the sun. He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “Stay down, you little shit.” He delivered a hard kick to Jack"s ribcage.

Pain flared.

Jack fell flat on his face, stretched out on the pavement. A fat lot of good he"d done here. Poor Josh was probably in for twice the beating now that Tyler was pissed. A part of him wanted to shout that cops were on the way – that would surely send the d**g dealer running – but the larger part of him wanted Tyler to stick around. A piece of filth like him deserved the jail sentence that would come sooner or later.

“Kicking a man while he"s down,” Jack managed. “Who says chivalry is dead?”

Tyler jerked backward, his eyes widening in shock. He stood there, slack-jawed and confused. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he growled. “You want me to kill you right here in the parking lot?”

wrongSomewhere in the haze of confusion and pain, all the pieces fell into place for Jack. Defiance: that was what it all came down to. When you got to the heart of the matter, Tyler wasn"t so different from a caveman defending his supper with a club.

Regardless of the danger, if he turned and ran, he would be lessened in the eyes of his peers. This wasn"t over until Jack decided to yield to a superior foe…which meant it wasn"t going to be over anytime soon.

“Why won"t you just stay down?”

“Because…” Jack replied in a breathy rasp, “you hit like a girl.” Defiance: that was what it all came down to. In the end, it didn"t matter if the bad guy was stronger. It didn"t matter if resisting cost you your life; it was better to spit in death"s eye than to live in a world where such injustice went unchallenged.

He braced himself for another flash of pain.

The map of bus routes that these people used to navigate this city was a convoluted mess. True, she could not yet read their language, but it wasn"t difficult to determine the meaning behind the maze of colourful lines that spread out over the page. How they got anywhere in reasonable time was a mystery to her.

Anna sucked on her lower lip, her eyes flicking back and forth. “This is getting us nowhere.” She tilted her head back, staring up at the sky. “These people have the worst transit system I"ve-”

theThe Nassai within her stirred.

Anna frowned, glancing over her shoulder. She squinted into the distance. What do you sense? she thought at the symbiont. Danger? It would really help if you would deign to be more specifi-

What do you sense?Danger? It would really help if you would deign to be more specifi-Only then did she notice it.

Around the side of the thrift shop, a woozy Jack stood with his back to her, facing a rather nasty-looking man. A few paces beyond him, a darker man stood next to one of those waste-disposal units with his foot pressed to the back of some other fool who was stretched on the pavement.

They were too far away for Anna to hear what was going on, but she had the distinct impression that young Jack had decided to put himself at risk to protect the battered man. Young? she asked herself. He can"t be more than a year younger than me. Carrying the weight of the world doesn"t make you a crone.

Young?He can"t be more than a year younger than me. Carrying the weight of the world doesn"t make you a crone.She ran.

When she got within fifty feet, she was able to make out their conversation. “Why won"t you stay down?” the nasty man barked.

“Because…” Jack replied, “you hit like a girl.”

Well, that was offensive; but she would let him get away with it on account that he was standing up to an obvious thug. “Tyler, don"t,” the dark man put in while keeping his victim pinned.

that“Shut up, Dave!”

Tyler lunged at Jack, driving a fist into his belly. The impact made him double over and Tyler shoved him. Jack landed hard on his knees, staring up at his attacker. “That all you"ve got?

“Enough!”

Anna strode toward them, dropping the bag of clothes she had purchased. She drew herself up to full height – which, admittedly, was not very impressive – and closed in on the three men. “Leave! Now!”

Maybe it was the threat in her voice. Tyler backed away until he was standing just in front of Dave and the fallen man. A moment later, he regained his nerve. “Well…look what just came our way.”

Dave frowned at her, then wrinkled his nose as if he detected something foul. “I don"t like this,” he said, stepping away from the fallen man. “Tyler, let"s get out of here before someone sees us.”

“You hear that, Josh?” Tyler mocked. “You have two guardian angels.”

twoPressing her lips together, Anna lifted her chin. She narrowed her eyes to thin slits. “You think you"re strong?” she began. “You don"t even understand the concept. Let these men go, and I will let you go.”

you“You can go, Josh.”

Pain or no pain, the fallen man got to his feet and bolted off across the parking lot at a quick lope. Such cowardice. Not even enough integrity to stand beside the one who had come to his aid.

Tyler"s grin deepened as he studied her, and for a moment, she wondered whether an ordinary woman would feel fear. It had been a very long time since she had cringed at the sight of a common street thug. “This one,” he went on, “this one needs someone to teach her a thing or two about manners.”

“You"re welcome to try,” Anna replied. She was cognizant of Dave moving around her left side. No doubt he intended to hold her while Tyler did the pummelling. A good thing she had eyes on the back of her head. “Come on, Tyler,” she mocked, “show me what a big, strong man you are.”

“You stupid little b***h!” he growled, face reddening until it looked as though he would burst a blood vessel. His fingers curled into a fist and he stepped forward. Well… here it comes. He threw a punch.

Well… here it comes.Anna ducked.

She punched him in the stomach with one fist then the other, then rose and drew back her arm. She slammed her open palm into his nose. The man"s head snapped back, blood dripping.

Footsteps behind her.

Bending her knees, Anna jumped and rose into the air. She back-flipped over the man"s head, then uncurled to land poised on the pavement. She brought her fists up in a guarded stance.

Dave spun around to face her.

Anna kicked him in the belly.

Driven backward by the impact, he stumbled and collided with Tyler, the two of them falling down. In a heartbeat, the i***t pushed himself up and stood on wobbly legs. He doubled over and charged at her like a bull.

Anna seized his shoulders, stilling him.

She jumped and flipped upside-down over his head, using her own weight to force him to the ground. Flat on his face. Anna flipped upright, then brought up her fists. How I hate slow learners.

How I hate slow learners.Tyler lunged at her.

Anna kicked him in the chest. She spun and hook-kicked, her foot whirling around to strike him across the cheek. The impact was brutal. Tyler fell over sideways, stretched out on the pavement.

Glancing over her shoulder, Anna smiled down at him. “I trust you understand your predicament,” she said, eyebrows rising. “I hit like a girl.”

Behind her, Dave was moving, trying to stand. Some people just refused to learn a very simple lesson. “Stay perfectly still,” she spat. “I"d rather not have to knock you both into senseless oblivion.”

She turned away.

Jack was sitting with his back pressed to the wall, head lolling. The poor kid must have been exhausted. You"ve got to stop doing that, Anna scolded herself. Thinking of him as a child.

You"ve got to stop doing that,Thinking of him as a child.Using her Nassai to keep an eye on the other two, she went to him. She checked his wounds and tried to ignore the worry gnawing at her insides. Concern for a man she barely knew?

His face was fine with the exception of a bit of blood that dripped from his nose. If Tyler had harmed it, the bruises were likely concealed by his clothes. “You"re going to be all right,” Anna whispered. “I"ll get you to a hospital.”

The harsh wail of a siren filled the air. Even as an outsider among these people, she knew that was a sign the authorities would show up soon. If she stayed, there was a good chance someone would connect the story of a tiny blonde woman who had beat up a pair of thugs with the story of a tiny blonde woman who had beat up a trio of guards. I can"t just leave him!

I can"t just leave him!She lifted Jack"s shirt to reveal an ugly purple bruise over his rib-cage, but no major cuts or injuries. No sign of blood on his pants. There was no real chance he"d bleed to death. Time to go, Lenai. Fortune favours the prudent.

Time to go, Lenai. Fortune favours the prudent.Jack"s breathing was slow and steady.

She stood.

Anna frowned and tilted her head to one side, a lock of blonde hair clinging to her cheek. “I"m sorry to leave you,” she said softly, “but some things are bigger than any one man…no matter how brave he may be.”

She turned and ran.

The narrow alley behind the building was just large enough for three men to walk abreast, surrounded by the store"s back wall on one side and a wooden fence on the other. Tyler and Dave were already hobbling away, the fair-skinned man limping with his arm around his companion"s shoulders. Neither one saw her. Anna decided to let them go; if fortune was kind, the local authorities would find them.

She called on her Nassai and used its power to lessen the pull of gravity. That came without too much difficulty for the symbiont. With over twice the strength of an average human being – symbiosis had its advantages – she wouldn"t need much assistance.

Let"s go.

Let"s go.Bending her knees, Anna jumped. She somersaulted over the fence, then uncurled to drop to the ground on the other side. She fell into a crouch, releasing her Nassai"s hold on local space-time.

Anna stood and listened to the sound of automobiles pulling into the parking lot. A moment later, voices started barking orders and footsteps hit the pavement. Half a dozen of them if her instincts were right.

Pressing her back to the fence, Anna shut her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. He"ll be alright, she thought, nodding to herself. The police will take Jack to a hospital, and they will see to his wounds.

He"ll be alright,The police will take Jack to a hospital, and they will see to his wounds.But would they?

Anxiety clawed at her chest when she considered the question. On her world, Jack would be guaranteed medical treatment, but she had to remember she could not take anything for granted. If these people were willing to allow their own citizens to starve on the streets, there was no reason why they would feel compelled to treat any young man who came through the door – and unless she was very much mistaken, Jack did not have much in the way of currency. There was only one conclusion.

She had to follow.