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  I made my way through the Lear Estate. The estate wasn't one of the new mega estates like the Mulberry; it was one of those old-world ones that actually pretended to treat people like humans and not rats piled on top of each other. There were only two flats in the entire estate; the rest were small, pokey little houses in cul-de-sacs, shaped like a cauliflower. It did have that warren-like planning structure that any self-respecting estate should have. However, there were no rooftops for me to skulk about on, so instead, I was on foot, darting through the dark alleys. This was fine because the estate was mostly silent at this time of night, and it didn't take me long to find the Lear Street Thugs.

  Sherbert was right on the money as usual. Their hideout was a former community centre turned pool hall turned abandoned building at the heart of the estate. It was an ugly, squat rectangular building covered in pebbledash, with small, grimy windows that barely let any light in. It looked more like a place where you'd be sentenced for crimes rather than a place where children were supposed to hang out.

  Either way, it was a good hideout. It had completely clear lines of sight around it, with one main door and a fire exit at the back. If I knew the layout of these old types of community centres, it would basically just be one big hall in the middle, maybe with a few rooms shooting off it. This meant that whoever was in there, I would have to take them all on at the same time. There would be no divide and conquer here, but I was feeling good, I was feeling strong. Hell, I was feeling almost invincible with the carapace strapped on and my Grandad’s bat on my back. I hadn't realised how exposed and naked I'd felt without it; now I felt like a tank.

  As I approached the hideout, I debated with myself whether to just kick the door in and go in all guns blazing until I remembered that these boys had submachine guns, so I'd probably end up going out all guns blazing. No, I needed to be smarter. I needed to catch them off guard and do something to nullify their numbers and weaponry. It was a simple plan, but I just had to figure out how to make it work.

  I crept up to the community centre. I had to give the Lear boys a bit more credit because they actually had a lookout stationed out front. It was just a shame that the lookout seemed to be high and barely awake. He lounged on a rusted railing staring out at the road while he puffed on a spliff. I circumnavigated him, sticking to the shadows and using my cloaking charm to smother myself in darkness. Once I got around the back of the building, I dropped the cloak and searched around until I found what I was looking for. These old buildings, for some reason, always had exposed electrical boxes. I suppose back in the day when things were simpler, you needed more access to such boxes for repairs and things. I crept up to the electric box and could hear the hum of energy running through it. The box had a simple keylock on it, which fell open almost instantly using the lock-picking feather. I pulled open the box, looked around for a second, shrugged, and then pulled out a Bang Rock and my Wrist Rocket. I checked the back door and saw that it was locked too, so I picked it first, walked back around to the electric box, drew back my Wrist Rocket, and fired. The box exploded. There was a shower of sparks and suddenly the lights went out inside the building. The sounds of confused voices and yelling filled the night air.

  I hid myself in the shadows around the back of the jungle-like overgrowth and reactivated my cloaking charm while loading up another Bang Rock. Two goons burst out of the back door, and I could hear more yelling inside, so that made three, including the sentry out front, and more inside. Not the worst odds I'd faced.

  "What the fuck happened?" one of the goons yelled at the sentry.

  I recognised him. He was tall with long hair and wore a sleeveless leather vest. So the gang I’d jumped in the park were the Lear Street Thugs. The two in front of me had matching leather jackets and leather trousers with long hair and bandanas. They stood staring at the smoking box, flashing torches on it.

  "What's happened?" one of them asked. "Has it blown?"

  He gargled and flew backwards as the Bang Rock hit him, slamming face-first into the wall. The second one turned and took a Rock to the chest, flying backwards into the darkness. I wondered if these lot were stupid enough that I could just stay here and pick them off one by one, but I didn't want to set them on alert. There was too much artillery in there. If they came out shooting, even by accident, they might kill me. It was better I caught them before they started picking up weapons. So I ghosted around the building ready to take out the sentry but he was gone. I looked around and shrugged before stepping into the building.

  It was pitch black, but I kept my charm up just in case. This would have been far less terrifying if I still had my see-in-the-dark goggles. I could hear heavy footsteps and panicked voices. I made out at least three, maybe four different voices in there, but there could easily be more. I heard footsteps all around, echoing in the large hall. Then I heard a sound I definitely didn't want to hear: the clicking of a gun being loaded.

  "What's going on? Where have those two idiots gone?" a harsh voice barked. "Mad Dog, go check on them. Jayboy, get those fucking torches turned on. I want to know if we're under attack right now. Hurry up, move, move!”

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  That was my invitation to strike before the torches came on. I fiddled around in my pockets and managed to pull out the last of my Flash Coins. I closed my eyes and focused my will into them, praying they worked. I threw two coins down. One didn't go off as expected, but the other did. I pulled my hood low and turned my face with my eyes closed. The flash was powerful but short. It lit the entire room, and I got a quick glance at a stockpile of weapons in the middle of the room and maybe six different men in there.

  The screaming began almost instantly. They clutched at their eyes and howled. Then I was on them, with Grandad’s bat in my hand. I sent energy racing through my single Zap Knuck, which provided me with a small globe of flickering blue light to work with. I dropped the cloaking charm and flew at them. I swung Grandad’s bat in the dim light and caught one of them around the shoulder blades. The Rune activated, and he was sent flying across the room. I spun and caught another one across the back, and he too went flying.

  "Someone's in here! Someone's in here! Get him! Fucking shoot him!”

  "No! No shooting, we can't see!" screamed another one.

  Then there was the rip of automatic gunfire. I threw myself to the floor, and in the muzzle flash of the weapon, I saw one of them with his hands clamped over his eyes, blindly firing.

  "Stop, stop!" roared the same one that had been barking orders at the beginning. "Stop fucking shooting, you idiot!”

  The gunfire stopped, and I was on the shooter in a second. I threw a punch blindly and I think I hit him in the face. It was only a glancing blow, but the Zap Knuck went off and fried him. He gargled, screamed, his fingers spasming, and he let off another rip of gunfire. This time, he hit the pile of weapons. Bullets zinged everywhere, and I felt one hit me in the spine. I grunted and fell flat on my face, hastily feeling around my back to where the bullet had hit the carapace. It had held. I sighed a deep breath of relief, groaning as pain radiated throughout my lower back, and pulled myself back up.

  I could hear more panicked shouting and yelling. Then someone ran straight into me, our heads collided, and I hit the hard wooden floor again.

  "He's here, he's here!" a voice right next to me screamed. "I just fucking ran into him!”

  Boots ran towards me, and I heard the sound of metal being drawn, possibly blades or bats. I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I rolled backwards, took a Bang Rock out of my pocket, and hurled it down at the floor blindly. There was an explosion, and someone screamed. Staggering backwards, I blindly swung the bat in a wide arc. Eventually, on the third swing, I hit flesh, the Rune activated, and sent someone flying.

  "Fucking get the lights on! Get the fucking lights on!" It seemed to be the fella in charge barking again.

  A torch suddenly flickered to my right. One of them, a female, had finally managed to get hold of a torch and turn it on. The beam filled the hall. It wasn't a particularly bright light, but in the absolute darkness, it was enough to illuminate the entire hall in half-light. I turned and looked at the chaos around me. Four men were on the floor. One looked like he'd been shot and was bleeding from his back. There were bullet holes all across the walls and in the ceiling. The idiot who had been shooting was now lying on the floor, cradling his bloody hand. I realized that the Bang Rock must have gone off close enough to tear flesh from his hands.

  I looked up and saw there were three left in the hall with me, and between us was a literal pile of weapons. These lot hadn't even bothered to stack them nicely, they just dumped them in the middle of the hall. I locked eyes with the tallest gang member. He had black hair, a thick black beard, and small dark eyes. Those eyes flicked to the pile of weapons and then back at me, and I knew exactly what that meant. Suddenly, all three of them dashed for the pile of weapons. I reached into my pocket and hurled a Bang Rock at them. It went off, but the explosion wasn't powerful enough to deter them. They grabbed for guns, and I leaped, rolling to my side as the first chatter of gunfire began, but then it stalled. The goon had been in such a rush, he'd misloaded the gun and now it jammed. He pulled the trigger, screaming in frustration, while the other two struggled to load theirs. That was my chance.

  I completed my roll, leaped back to my feet, and snapped out my Grapple Cord at one who just about managed to get his gun loaded. He raised it towards me as the Cord snaked around the barrel and I yanked it from his hands. He looked down in surprise and then up at me before diving at the pile again and trying to grab another weapon. I closed the distance on the moron that was still fiddling with his jammed gun and punched him in the side of the neck, zapping him. His body went stiff, and he fell face-first into the pile of weaponry. Then the leader managed to get his gun loaded. He spun and ripped automatic gunfire across the hall. The woman holding the torch shrieked; the windows above her smashed, and she dropped the torch, curling up on the floor in terror. The hall was bathed in darkness again.

  I threw myself down as the bullets ripped past me, and then I heard the man in front of me, the one whose gun I'd snatched, cry out and fall to the floor hard.

  "You shot me! you fucking shot me!" he screamed, but his leader either didn't care or didn't hear him because the gunfire started again.

  Bullets ricocheted around the hall as he sprayed madly. After only a few seconds of deafening madness, I heard the click of an empty gun.

  "Shit, shit," the leader growled as he began fumbling in the dark for another clip, but he would never get to it.

  Using my Jet Boots, I shot forward, covering the distance between us in just a second, and swung Grandad’s bat at him. I caught him full in the chest and sent him flying into the pile of guns, scattering them everywhere in a rain of metal.

  The leap had taken me too far, and I flew, smashing painfully into the wall behind the leader. I groaned as I slid down to the floor, my knees breaking my fall painfully. I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs, and then stood up and looked around. The hall had fallen silent, save for a few groans and some crying, but there was no more gunfire, thankfully. Then I heard the sound of screeching tires outside. The window shattered and before I could figure out what was happening, the hall was on fire.

  Someone had thrown molotov cocktails through the window!