"We survived, but barely."  The others looked at her with respect.  Mer felt warm inside as they always had her back.  Leen reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"We did, and yes, it was barely, but we did survive.  The question is...what do we do now?"  Leen asked as they huddled around the lit fire barrel.

Shyla smiled from the darkness.  She had put them around the barrel earlier, and dawn was about to break.  It had been months since they were outside, but they were not aware of it.  These were her girls.  She didn't want them to suffer in the least.

"You work for me."  Shyla spoke out of nowhere.  They turned and saw a person emerge from the shadows of the alley.  They formed a defensive wall in front of Leen and Mer, but heard a chuckle.  "Loyalty.  I love it.  Here.  I have a job for you."  The figure threw an envelope in front of the group, and watched as one of the girls picked it up.  Leen opened it and whistled.  She handed it to Mer.

"What's the job?"  She asked, now a bit more eager.  It's been a long while since they've seen this much cash, and that time, it wasn't theirs.

"A high school student, just turned eighteen, needs to be taught a lesson.  She likes to talk, and set people up.  Film them.  Blackmails them."  Mer lifted an eyebrow.

"You want us to muscle her to give your stuff back?"  They heard a chuckle.

"I'm not stupid enough to be filmed doing something that I need to hide.  No, she also talks too much.  Inside this envelope, there are two targets.  The father.  Break his arms, legs, ribs, and whatever else you can without killing him.  He did nothing, but his daughter has.  He will pay the price.  Once they ditch her due to her ongoing stupidity, she is yours.  Do with her as you please."  She tapped a box at her feet.  "Weapons to break bones with.  Also, you'll find a toy inside that you may enjoy, along with the operating instructions.  The address in the envelope is an old biker's club that will be turned over to your gang as your base of operations in this area.  Once the job is completed."  The figure then disappeared into the shadows, and when they went to look, no one could find her.  Mer was focused on the box, and the envelope.  For some reason, the girl felt familiar to her, and she wanted to trust her.

"Mer?"  Leen, her second in command, looked her worriedly.  "That chick was dangerous!  I didn't even know she was there, and we can't find her now!"

"Leen, read this."  She handed her the sheet she pulled out of the envelope.  Leen quickly scanned through it, and didn't question how quickly she could read it either.

"Is this for real?  We have a backer now?"  Leen looked at the rest of the gang, then back at their leader.  She has kept them together since their early teens, and they survived because of it.  None of them were kidnapped or sold into slavery.  They were hungry and cold a lot of the time, but it was better than what other homeless girls endured.  Mer had their loyalty.

"Open the box.  See what she left us."

"There he is, just like she said.  He is punctual, and should be ready to go back to work any moment.  That means he'll return home at the same time as on the sheet.  Should we do it then?"  Leen asked her.  Mer nodded.

"He's always the last one to leave as he locks up."  Mer read the sheet again.  "Says no theft.  Masks.  Toss his keys over the gate, and use his phone to call an ambulance.  She even has his access code.  This girl is scary."  Mer took out her new phone, looked at the message their new backer left for her, and put it back in her pocket.

"We have a backer who is scarier than any biker gang, and she's a girl."  Leen grumbled.  "What a messed up world we live in."

Jim closed the gate, but as he turned, he felt an impact on his legs.  He cried out and fell to his knees.  Then the pain started.  Several impacts that landed on various places, and he couldn't get to his feet to get the pain to stop.  After he fell onto his front, he was turned over, and his ribs hit several more times.

"Why...."  He said weakly after the beating stopped.  There were several masked people, and he could tell they were young women.  The dark clothing didn't hide their feminine features.  Mer leaned down.

"Your daughter has some high and mighty ideas.  She bullies, blackmails, and films some of the students in her school.  But that isn't what pissed off our boss.  She has a big mouth.  Plug it, or next time you see us coming...."  She took out a large blade.  "We'll carve up your son, younger daughter, and wife before we finish the job on you."  She retrieved his phone from his jacket.

"What are you....."  A pointless question he wanted to ask was quickly answered.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, send an ambulance to the mill at the corner of Conner and Gregor.  A man is badly wounded from an attack."  She hung up the phone.  "This is your only warning.  She doesn't want your life.  Yet."  He shivered as the shock set in, and as the message hit home.  The gang disappeared before the ambulance arrived.

"Where is she!"  He said in a strong voice, then cringed as the pain wracked his body.  Almost all his ribs were broken, both arms were broken badly, and his legs were fractured.

"Downstairs in the ER.  She has a broken arm."  His wife said softly.

"How..."

"A girl broke it.  Said she had a big mouth, and needed a lesson."  His wife's eyes narrowed as he rolled his eyes.  "What?"

"This is the lesson they taught her.  They did this to me to teach her to shut that mouth, and stop causing trouble.  That broken arm was just to put an exclamation point on it."  Her husband seldom got upset, but she could see the anger in his eyes.  His spoiled daughter had caused them a lot of trouble.  "Do you know what they said?"

"No."

"Next time this lesson is taught, they will kill you, and our two youngest in front of me.  Then kill me."  Jim could barely suppress the pain, even with the drugs the company paid for.  The wounds were still fresh, the bones just set and covered in a cast.  She paled.

"Did you tell the police?"  She watched him nod.  "What did they say?"

"No face, no fingerprints, no ID of the attackers, and if they had to guess, the one who did this to us is not part of the gang.  They were hired muscle only.  In other words, no way to locate them.  The officer told me that if I was a smart man, I would do as I was told, and take care of my daughter.  He wanted to say the normal BS they tell every victim, but he didn't.  He was honest.  They can't stop the one who planned this out because there is no way to find them."  He had to tell her the truth.  Their daughter screwed them badly.

"What about who she offended?  Won't that give them any leads?"  She asked quietly.

"Any leads to potentials all disappear as she won't fess up to her crimes.  If they can find who she offended, that will still leave them with hundreds of potentials from that school alone."  He groaned.  "She likes to cause trouble quietly, and under the radar.  Plus, it's a school for upper middle class people, and wealthy families.  They will not want their dirty laundry aired in public.  You know the only reason we got her in is because the boss likes me."  The door opened as he finished.

"Daddy!"  His eldest daughter walked in the door, fully intending to cry and wail, to ask her father to punish the girl who broke her arm.  She never expected to see him on a hospital bed in worse condition then she was.  The looks in their eyes was enough to shut her up.

"Who the fuck did you piss off?"