What it Takes Pt. 02

"Possibly more after." Somehow it was Jack that suggested that.

"Let's just not make it weird."

"Thanks for not being weird." Eva had to say.

Mark was about to leave when the boyfriend noticed something being absent.

"Hold up... Eva, aren't you gonna offer him some nudes?"

"I... uhm... forgot. And it feels a bit off if I gave you some."

"You're not gonna put the same idea behind them. Now, offer our friend some tasteful nudes of yours."

She felt like the girl was being shamed into doing the right thing. Heck yeah, Mark wanted some nudes. He so carelessly forgot to take any pictures. Or abstained because it might feel off. The card he was offered did not have a printed display, just a request for him to message her.

The boy was far more swift in requesting them. But Eva did have a different attitude to them. And the fact that Jack took them gave this extra layer of permission. He did not masturbate to the sight of those, but it was sure a nice thing to have.

For now, the two would abstain from telling him the bigger secret.

*

Home invasion was such an ugly phrase, but it looked like she had to do this. Close to ten PM, the woman walked the streets of this less pleasant neighborhood. It had been getting a bit safer to be out at night, in no small part due to her actions.

The astorian checked her link for the address given, dossier tucked neatly to her back. A bag would ruin the image. Now for the final touch. Projection enabled to give the very real image of the burgundy coat on her curves, followed by the face diffusion to make her identifying features a mere blob. Her team had covered every base. When the reinforcement implant was on, she would leave nothing behind... no hairs, no skin cells, sweat, blood or even fingerprints. Activating the tracking blocker showed her phone to be wherever the hell she wanted to... specifically at her apartment and indicating in no way for her to have moved.

True, their actions here were mostly sanctioned... but some people might get an idea to teach them a lesson, leak the info and let some less lawful people take action. This part of the agreement was vague, but one to be done. Another look at tonight's target. A woman... not so rare. The not so respectable Mrs Williams was a very irascible person, something they could possibly punish with minor bothers, but she had started to cross the line.

A list of several instances in which she had straight up assaulted people for refusing to serve her. That was because she never paid enough and half of the time her money was fake. Even a nice video that made it online of her flipping the tables of a stand and threatening the shopkeepers with death should they try anything, destroying their stand before storming off. Her boyfriend was in jail for assault as well, but people here were so damn lenient with women. Tonight's visitor would not be.

The street was deserted at this hour. This was not a nice neighborhood. Muffled arguments were heard from some of them, screams of people obviously not getting a good treatment... or very loud TV. The midnight vigilante walked up to the door with no intention of knocking the traditional way. Time for today's song. Implant activated with a bit more volume to clue her in before it was time to come in.

"I've been around these vicious lies too

Too long to be neglecting the truth

I'm getting closer and I'm fully armed

I'm about to hunt you down through

The big black hole right behind you

And I'm about to cut your wings away"

As a person believing the world revolves around them, the inhabitant of the establishment started shouting from inside as she got closer to the door. This would need timing to get it right and... Leg pushed forward to outright demolish the entry in her way, the red-coated person being revealed in the thundering sound of property damage. They were getting a reputation... but still this person thought they could fight back.

"Get out! I'll kill you, bitch!"

She came at the vigilante with a knife which was slapped aside, adrenal implant making the perception of the act go in slow motion, flawless disarming while pushing her back to stumble through the living room and into the kitchen. A last moment of unredeeming defiance.

"'Cause I've been finding out

Where you've broken in

And I will take you out

When I close you in."

The slow approach had the value of intimidation. Like a slasher villain. It was like these people were trained by such media. Just a few more steps until her color changed and tonight's victim decided to run, turning back to bolt out the back door. NOW the woman in red could also run. Easy with her physical boosts. That singing implant could keep her voice steady even through this. It was demoralizing to hear it as she approached.

"I'm killing them all

I put my soul on the line

I purify sins that I've committed in life

I'll follow them all and I'll be bringing them down

Wherever they go I'm right behind

There's nowhere to go, your head on the line

There is no rope, you're running out of time

So where will you go when I will murder your soul?"

Nobody would want to help her. They liked to keep some illusion of community, but these people would drop each other for pocket change. Some would witness the blur of dark red following after that one loud person that some were glad to be rid of... others would just turn their head down and not get involved. She might have wanted to see that only to be proven wrong.

The condemnation continued as they made good distance, a clear hunt of this woman as she ran for dear life. Just a bit of pausing, slowing down... give her a bit of hope to crush. It felt cruel, but this person had no concern for others, not an ounce of humanity. She was an animal hurting others for any gain... for any scrap of food she could growl at others to give up, for any bit of luxury she could pull away to indulge in to not linger on her deeds. The vigilante would enjoy this.

"I'm about to do it your way

I will make your world unsafe

I never thought you'd get this far, it's insane

You don't believe what all the signs say

You don't believe in Judgment Day

But you won't be leaving here unharmed"

The outsider taught them a year ago to not tolerate such people. And this was indeed trying to emulate that. And as that first fortune experiment showed... to improve a place, sometimes you have to remove some people. She was chased for as far as her legs would take her. Cries would not be answered in this place that not even taxi drivers wanted to come to, where police avoided and the local "protectors" cared more about filling their pockets than doing a job.

Finally did Mrs Williams collapse to hear the final repeat of the chorus. No more breath... lungs were burning, legs had given up. She could not even say those words again. NOW the pain started. Those arms have been used for ill, so now she would have to do without hands... precise boot stompings to render them useless for at least a month, two punches to the chest to make her feel it the next time she decides to shout threats. And as a final gift... a nice cross to her jaw to crack it and make speech a lot harder. Perhaps she might appreciate people better after being at their mercy for a while.

Consciousness left the victim. The dossier of her crimes was brought from the back and dropped on her body. A very anonymous call to the emergency line specifying the need for an ambulance at the location. Burner phone set on the ground before she'd start to walk away. A dash through the streets until she was far away enough to not be involved. Coat dropped and diffusion removed.

And Eva lit herself a smoke to hold her over until her ride would be here.