The remaining Union men backed off when they saw Vic get into a low stance by extending one of his legs straight. He bent his staff at two separate angles, holding the two end sections in opposite directions. The Union man to his left reached down for his tool that he had dropped, only to have Vic swipe away at his hand, striking it before he could get close enough to the pick up the steel pipe. He fell to the ground and held onto his hand while writhing in pain from the sting. The other two stepped back, still staring at Vic. 

"Come on now, you guys had a whole lot more confidence just a minute ago!" Vic mocked. He did a short feint with his weapon, only moving it a short distance without committing to closing in on his aggressors. Both jumped back and placed their arms in front of them despite the swing not following through. "Made ya flinch!" Vic exclaimed with laughter. They continued to retreat, with the disarmed one taking longer steps back. He began to turn around, readying himself to flee. 

Vic swung his weapon across the ground, holding onto one section with both hands. The furthest rod clipped the fleeing man's ankle, tripping and toppling him on his side. With Vic still holding his weapon by one section and attention on the person he just hit, the last man leapt forward. His crowbar travelled in a downwards arc as he sprinted forward. Vic noticed the movement and raised the section of his sanjiegun that he was holding horizontally. The two weapons clashed, putting the swing to an abrupt stop and sending a clang that rang out through the construction zone. 

"That's a start," Vic said as his eyes met those of the Union member. His entire face had a look of nervousness as he struggled to press down and break through Vic's guard. Vic slid his weapon up. The length of the sanjiegun's rod fit into the curvature of the crowbar's hook, allowing him to pull the tool out of his enemy's hand with a fierce pull. The weapon soared in the air and landed somewhere behind Vic with a thump.

"Bring a real weapon next time," Vic said as he shifted his hands back to holding opposing sections in opposite hands. He attacked low first with his right rod, smacking the man in the side of shin. The Union member leaned down one knee and let out a yelp as the sting from the blow sank in immediately. While kneeling, Vic followed up with downwards swing from the opposite side with the other section of the staff. Like the first hit, it struck the man with a hefty smack on the shoulder. He fell backwards before rolling over to his front side. His arms struggled to find a way to latch onto the aching limbs on opposite sides of his body. 

Vic took a more relaxed stance once he realized that his last opponent wasn't going to be standing up any time soon. He looked at the floored Union men with disappointment, shaking his head as he let his weapon rest on his shoulder. He walked to the one that he had hit in the hand and watched him rub the spot where he was injured. "You going to try to fight again?" Vic asked, looming over. "Because I've still got plenty of fight in me." The Union man didn't reply. Instead he limped away, shaking out the soreness in his fingers. 

"That was a bust," Vic said to himself, turning his back to the men he just fought. He sighed before flicking the hairs that dangled in front of his face with a swift nod. He then looked over towards the other two battles being waged. To his left, Fátima and Selene were staring each other down. The kendoka kept her bokken angled towards Selene who remained still, keeping her tonfas close to protect her body. The scene to the right was more aggressive. Hudson thrust the end of his hammer towards Quang's direction. Quang stepped to the side, avoiding the attack completely.

"You two got a personal beef or something?" Vic called out to the women to his left. They both looked at him, keeping their determined looks despite their attention having been pried from their duel. 

"Kinda!" Selene shouted back. Both her and Fátima returned to their stare down. 

"Alright!" Vic replied. "I'm uh... gonna help Vic. Mostly because it looks like Hudson is trying to kill him."

"Sounds like a good idea!" Selene shouted back, this time not removing her eyes from her fight. 

"Quang! Hold on, I'm coming!" Vic sprinted to the other fight and placed himself behind the Union leader. Hudson turned his around just enough to get a full view of Vic.

"Useless! Every last one of 'em!" Hudson said as he watched his men continue to squirm in the distance.

"You should think about getting some new folks to work for ya!" Vic said as he got back into his low stance.

"Too bad they're Union!" Quang shouted back. Both Vic and Hudson looked at him with the same look of disappointment. "Right?" Quang said. "You can't just... fire Union. Because they're... Union."

There was a silence in the area as both Vic and Hudson continued to stare at Quang. "So it's going to take the two of you to deal with just me?" Hudson said, breaking the quiet. His head shifted from both sides, jumping his attention between the two. 

"Kind of like how it took you and Fátima to deal with Rodney?" Quang replied. He leaned in with his left leg, holding his nunchucks in one hand while his other hand was open with his palm facing Hudson. The Union leader raised his weapon, ready to go in for another wide swing until he noticed Vic approaching from his vulnerable side. 

"You're the one that wanted to fight so bad," Hudson said to Vic. "Don't seem like the type to take on a lone opponent in a tag-team match!"

"I'm not. But I'm more than willing to team up with a good friend to dish out some well-deserved revenge!"

Hudson positioned his hammer in front of his body, using the length of its handle as cover. Both Quang and Vic slowly approached while Hudson began retreating backwards. With a large step he put himself far enough away from the intruders so they were no longer on opposite sides of him but instead facing him from the front.

"You're quick to back out when numbers aren't in your favor!" Quang said. 

"Is it alright I make the first move?" Vic asked of Quang. Quang affirmed with a nod. 

Vic attacked with a low ankle strike with one segment. Hudson was forced to deflect the attack by angling his hammer down so the end of the sanjiegun would be deflected by the head of the tool. With Hudson's weapon pointing downwards, Vic used the other section in his opposite hand to swing at Hudson's now vulnerable side. A loud smack shot out as the Hudson was hit in his torso. He wobbled to the side, letting out a grunt as he pressed his arm against his ribs. 

"Not bad!" Vic said with a smile. "Your boys would have toppled over like dominos if they had taken the same hit!"

Hudson let out a deep, animal-like grunt. His entire body shook. The man's eyes widened. His mouth was wide open as he took in deep breaths. His fingers clenched onto the handle tighter. The white of Hudson's teeth could be seen as he gritted them together while moving forward with short but deep steps.

"I think you made him mad, Vic," Quang whispered.

"That was the plan."

The hammer moved like a baseball bat with the head of the tool streaking past Quang and Vic. Quang's entire body moved backwards. Vic only moved enough to be out of the attack's range. Hudson ended the swing with the hammer on the other side of his body and held in one hand. Vic slashed at Hudson's chest with one of the sections of his staff. There was a clunk. Then a grunt from Hudson. The Union leader took one hand and pressed against his chest, seething with anger as the pain began to sink in.

"I'm gonna—" Hudson ended his thought when he noticed Quang and Vic's eyes were no longer on him. Instead, they were both staring at something behind him, evident by the way the way their angered faces turned into one of bewilderment. 

"Is that the guy in the mask you were talking about, Vic?" Quang whispered, remaining focused on the figure that approached through the darkness.

Vic nodded. "Oh yeah..."