Uptown. Dan’s Neighborhood.

Two goons, Altin and Savas, drove through Dan’s neighborhood expecting to see the wanted math teacher. They were aware that Dan escaped death from the first crew sent after him downtown earlier today.

“We’ve circled this block three times. Let’s park near his building,” said Savas from the passenger seat of the dark grey Toyota Camry they prowled in.

“Yeah yeah, he’s gotta come home at some point,” Altin replied while driving to a parking spot a few cars away from Dan’s building.

The two men's boss, Lazlo Kenny, instructed them to take Mr. Dan Capra alive if possible.

“If they wanted him alive why did they shoot at him earlier today?” Altin asked.

“Heh heh, you didn’t know?” Savas teased as he checked his weapons, to include a taser. “First of all, it was that asshole Varbic’s men who shot at this Dan guy earlier. This was before any of the three bosses found out that he embezzled all of their money from the laundered accounts and closed the accounts.”

“What?” Altin gripped the steering, “How do you know all of this, Savas?”

“Because Boss Kenny trusts me more than he trusts you, you dickhead, hahaha!”

Altin scowled, “Shut up!”

“Heh, don’t be a bitch about it, Altin, or I’ll make you wear a skirt!”

"Yeah, see what happens to you!" Altin pouted.

"Haha!"

Savas teased Altin, but the two men kept their eyes on Dan’s building. The block grew quiet as the sun went down until a wailing siren broke the silence.

“That's a fire engine. It’s nearby and getting closer,” said Altin, turning to check for commotion on the street.

Savas faced forward, keeping his eyes on the building. Then something strange happened.

“Altin?”

“Ya?”

“Why is smoke coming from our engine?”

“What?”

Altin spun in the driver’s seat as white smoke billowed from the hood of the car, and quickly filled the vehicle interior.

“Oh, *Cough* What the hell?” Savas cursed.

The two goons, unable to breathe, were forced to exit the vehicle. Savas could no longer see and inhaled too much of the smoke. He stepped out to the sidewalk but only heard his own coughing and the approaching fire engine siren growing louder.

“*Cough* Altin, I-”

Surrounded by blinding white smoke, a small framed person on the sidewalk grabbed Savas’ arm, pulled him close, and stabbed him twice in the heart.

"Wha-"

Savas never had a moment to react before his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. With black-gloved hands, the attacker rummaged through Savas' pants, stealing his mobile phone while the goon tried desperately to gasp for air.

Who did this to me? He thought. In a last attempt at dignity, Savas grabbed the gloved hand, pulling it and the attacker closer to him. And that’s when he saw her. A pretty little black-haired girl wearing a black hoodie, black jeans. He gripped her hand and opened his mouth to speak. But as he said nothing, the girl obliged him with a smile and stabbed him again.

“Aah!” he grunted.

The girl responded to his cries with a whisper, “Too bad for you," before she pulled away, and vanished in the smoke, without a second look. Savas lay bleeding out on the sidewalk. His phone was now gone while fire engines and police descended on the scene.

As his eyes closed and his breathing stopped, Savas would never know that an anonymous person called the fire department to say two men were trying to set a car on fire. Or that his partner Altin was arrested on the spot, charged with arson, and carrying an unlicensed handgun. After his initial arrest for arson, the police charged Altin with first-degree murder after finding Savas dead and a bloody knife tossed in the back of the Camry.

Aftermath

Multiple police cars, fire engines, and emergency vehicles lit the street like a runway. But around the corner, out of sight, a teenage girl dressed in black entered her mother’s BMW.

“Mom!” the girl cried as she closed the car door.

“What baby?”

“Nothing, look!” She displayed the mobile phone she stole from Savas to her mother, “Yee, I'm awesome, right!”

“Hee hee!” The mom squeezed her daughter’s cheek, “Baby, I didn’t expect anything less from you, do you know why?”

The teen girl knew the answer. It never changed. But she wanted to hear it, “Why?”

The mom cupped her daughter’s chin and spoke in a cute baby voice. “Why? ♪ It’s because you’re Mommy’s clever girl, is why ♪ hee hee!”

“Nya!” Cheered the little girl as the mom screeched the tires of the BMW. Racing the two of them out of Dan’s neighborhood.

Midtown Manhattan Three hours later

In a spartan one-bedroom apartment in the middle of the city, Dan sat at a small kitchen table correcting student homework. He stopped shaking as he focused on the tasks he needed to complete. But his mind wandered back to the earlier shooting.

Rocko is dead because of me. Tommy’s in the hospital and I can’t visit him. No, don’t think negative. Remember, you decided to double down instead of running. So you see this through, and you fix this, Dan!

As he corrected the papers, the locks on the apartment’s front door clicked and clacked before the door opened. Reyna Rai walked in the small space carrying plastic bags. She smiled when she saw Dan.

“Hey, I bought Chinese,” she said holding up the bags.

His spirit lifted as she entered, “Great, I’m starving.”

Over Food

The couple sat down to eat at a small kitchen table. But Dan had questions, and so did Reyna.

“So, is this your place?” he asked, biting down on an eggroll.

She smirked, “It’s mine, but I don’t live here. This is just a safe apartment no one knows about, except for Rica.”

“Where’s Rica now?”

“Riding around with her two brutes! Misbehaving, I suppose.” She looked at him. “She’ll be fine. But right now what’s important is your next move, Dan.”

He paused, glancing down at his plate. “I um. I think I’ll stay the course-”

“Why?” She glared at him.“Daniel. Look at me!”

He raised his head as Reyna continued with a calm, deliberate tone. “You’re playing a game that I don’t think you’re prepared for, Dan. And you will more than likely be killed if you continue doing what you’re doing.”

Dan didn’t answer right away. He just nodded, accepting what he believed to be, Reyna’s concern.

“Do you have a deathwish, Daniel? Is that what this is about? Or is it your ego wanting to prove that you can go against these organized crime punks because you’re some kind of idiotic patriot, hunh? Is that what this is Dan? A dick swinging contest?”

Dan smacked his fork against his plate and glared at Reyna. Silencing her. He had enough.

“Yes, yes, and hell yes to everything you just said, Reyna. Yes, I am a patriot and I told you before that my reasons for doing what I do are dumb beyond belief but they’re my reasons. And your friends, Bad Tara and Kitty think my reasons are good."

Reyna’s eyes widened, “Tara and Kitty? Those two reckless bitches don’t give a damn about anything but taking over this city-”

“It seems they’re almost there,” he shot back.

“Yeah, and you’re gonna help them, in a body bag, along with the rest of their crew!” she growled.

“Tara and Kitty stand for something,” he said quietly.

“No, they don’t! Those two girls stand for them and them only!”

“That’s not true!” he slammed his fist on the table. “Except for them not caring whether or not I died, I find them to be charitable, love children, and hate the three slavers that put a contract on me!”

The dining room fell silent. Reyna toyed with her food before raising her eyes to Dan.

“Daniel, what do you think you know about the men trying to kill you?”

Dan nodded, composing his words. “I know they’re monsters, profiting off of misery.”

“Go on.”

He took a breath. “Their names are Lazlo Kenny, Emil Chedomir, and Leo Varbic. They’re wanted traffickers who enslave women and children from eastern Europe and the middle east and smuggle them here. I’ve poured through the details of their operations on Frank’s books and I discovered that they're keeping one hundred and twenty slave women in captivity in six brothels throughout the city.”

Reyna’s eyes narrowed.

“So what are you gonna do, rescue all of them?” She shook her head, “You can’t even protect yourself, Daniel.”

The truth stung him.

“I know, and I'll try to get better at that. And to answer your question, yes, I want to save them. And that’s why I asked for Tara’s help.” He looked up, “ And that’s why I asked for your help.”

She leaned back in her seat. “You ask for too much.”

“Right,” he agreed, “That’s why I’m going to pay a lot to make this happen.”

She shook her head. “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

“I know, but what good is all this money if I can’t be a fool with it?”

“What? Haha, Daniel. You just don’t care, do you?”

“No, I care very deeply, that’s why I’m willing to do something I believe is right.”

“Even if it costs the lives of others willing to work with you? And your life?” she snapped.

“I’m not putting a gun to anyone’s head to help me,” He smirked, “And yes, it wouldn’t be the first time I put my life on the line for what I believed in.”

“Oh right, mister combat veteran himself.” She jabbed her fork into her General Tso’s chicken. “I mean, everybody knows God loves the infantry, Dan!”

Dan beamed with pride, “Yes ma’am, he does!"

Reyna sighed and kept her eyes on her plate, before quietly reciting a quote she remembered:

“Daniel, never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. If you don’t believe me, then ask the infantry, and ask the dead.”

Dan lowered his eyes and said nothing. But he heard her. For he knew that quote from Ernest Hemingway better than anyone.

"I know, Reyna. But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try."

Reyna nodded her head, accepting his answer.

They finished their meal in silence.

….