Payment (revised)

Chapter 30

Sweeping her legs out, the man ended up flat on his back and would never get back up as Allison lodged her knife into his chest.

To Derek's right were Scott and Lydia.

Scott moved with precision. He was a machine that never stopped running. Every punch was hard and heavy; he attacked one after another, every shot hitting its destined target. Kindness came easy to Scott, a quick smile or laugh could disarm anyone he came in contact with. It could almost succeed at making Derek forget Scott was the first one to be targeted in all of this. Here and now, what had been building for months began to overtake him. Vengeance,

Lydia fought with prestige. She had never been one to get down and dirty in a fight. She viewed combat as a test of strategy. It wasn't about who was stronger, or faster, or had better aim. It was about whether or not you could use those assets to outsmart your enemy. She knew where pressure points on the body were, this allowed her to deftly paralyze her assailant, almost being merciful with a quick end. Her bandaged hand was barely a hindrance.

They always underestimated Lydia's ability as at first glance she seemed harmless. They all learned soon enough that she was nothing of the sort.

Derek almost smiled at seeing the men's eyes move frantically from side to side as they found their entire bodies numb and unresponsive. Derek knew from experience it would take at least half an hour for the beginning stages of movement to return.

Compared to them all, it was Erica that stood out the most. She was lightning as she went from one brute to the next, adrenaline and skill a deadly mix within her. Erica moved savagely about, fueled with the anger of her loved one being so close but just out of reach.

She threw cheap punches, breaking noses and popping shot after shot. If she ran out of ammo she just picked up a dead man's strewn gun and continued on, clearing a path through the battle.

Derek was proud to call them his family.

But he couldn't waste much more time admiring their actions, not when the majority of Theo's men came straight for him.

Meanwhile, Theo flashed Derek a set of white teeth before disappearing into the disarray.

Derek swore.

Couldn't Theo's men see that he was using them as a distraction? Didn't they see they were expendable to him as he used their deaths to cover his escape?

Derek felt a twinge of annoyance as six men circled him. The Alpha sheathed his gun, might as well give Theo a head start.

Besides, he was rusty.

"This will be fun," he said, and attacked.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dead.

Every last one of them was dead.

Theo's men's bodies lay scattered across the floor.

Derek had left his pack to clean up the mess before following the boy.

He had stepped through the pooling blood, and limp limbs, hearing his boots squelching with each step. Even though he was long gone from the bar by now, Derek would be easy to follow with the bloody footprints trailing on the pavement in his wake.

The Alpha had given chase to Theo the moment after he had snapped his last challenger's neck, reveling in the raw crack beneath his hands. The body had dropped, as if way down under was calling a lost soul home.

Derek didn't pity them, not a single one. They had brought this upon themselves. Derek was simply a reaper fulfilling his calling.

It didn't take long for Derek to track Theo and finally catch up. Theo ran fast, Derek ran faster. Every pounding footstep beneath him propelled him forward, and he felt hot spikes of adrenaline from the chase. Derek hadn't had someone try him like this in a long time. None of them were that goddamn stupid.