Chapter 10: Street Fighting

  Inside the Iron Boar, loud and bawdy music raved in the background as individuals drank, danced and even fought in different parts of the bar.

  Some were gambling on cards, others at dice, but the atmosphere was the same.

  Rowdy and messy.

  The banging of hands to tables and bustling of feet to music played by what seemed to be a ragtag band with various instruments.

  Ale and beer pungent in the air, drinks spilled and bottles smashed.

  There were some couples who were hidden having some ‘private time’; albeit unseen to the unobservant.

  Alberto and Michele walked in, garnering the attention of some of the crowd.

  Michelle wasn't comfortable with their gazes, her skin crawled as she took a seat. She wouldn't be caught dead in this environment if not for Alberto insisting vehemently.

  Alberto on the other hand walked to a table and sat on a chair, signalling Michelle to sit.

  “Do you have any idea what you're doing? That inspector is useless, we haven't gotten anything done today at all”

  “That's what it seems, but it may not be the case”

  Alberto knocked on the table thrice, getting Michelle's attention.

  “The Inspector, he's quite smart!” The young man said as he kept knocking on the table in beats. These beats were in the form of Morse code that every officer had basic knowledge about.

  She could hear them. Alberto’s clenched knuckles whitened as he tapped on the table in rhythmic bursts, carrying a message she slowly began to unfurl in her mind.

  Michelle's eyes widened, her understanding enlightened. The more Alberto tapped, the more her face scrunched up. Immediately he was done, she took a serious look and scanned the bar. Her gaze swept from one end to the other, checking to see if they were being watched.

  And watched they were. Some men, hidden in a corner, seemed to try not to make it obvious, but Michelle's keen sense proved helpful.

  Then she leaned into Alberto and whispered

  “How did you know all this?”

  Alberto leaned into her and replied in a brisk and off handed manner.

  “He gave some hand signals. You probably wouldn't understand them if you weren't brought up here in East End”

  Michelle’s mind went to when Abel was to leave with the scamp. His left hand was being held, but his right hand.

  Then she realized it.

  “We need to move quickly!” she said calmly and stood up. Alberto nodded and walked towards the bar.

  He placed two Rash notes on the table, facing the dark skin giant of a bartender, who looked him up with a lifted brow.

  “Oi, we want to use the back exit”

  The bartender snorted and tapped the cash notes. Alberto’s face crumpled in a frown, but he didn't say what was in his mind.

  Time was of the essence…

  Five minutes worth at best.

  He added another two notes, making a total of Four Rashes.

  The bartender snapped at a young lady barmaid, who quietly led them to the back entrance.

  “Strap up, this might get messy” Michelle spoke suddenly as she grabbed her gun from under her jacket.

  And in fact, it already has.

  Bang!!!

  ***

  A few minutes earlier, Abel was surrounded and unarmed. He kept his hands out of his pockets to keep in good faith with these gangsters.

  ‘Well well, what have I gotten myself into?’

  Their leader lowered the barrel of his gun and relaxed when he was sure that Abel was unarmed.

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  “Alrighty then officer, seems you're new in these parts ere. So here's the gist of it” the leader said.

  He opened his palms apart, as if signifying that there wasn't any escape.

  “See, the case you're on, it's uhhh, quite sensitive see. My higher ups don't like ya Blue Yaks snooping around and all that”

  “Yeah! You yaks spoiling our payday” one of the gangsters behind said begrudgingly.

  Abel chuckled as his gaze wasn't on anyone. Instead, he was looking for an opening to escape from.

  As long as he could buy time, his backup would arrive. But if they were held up for any reason, he could always find a way to escape easily.

  Just then, time seemed to slow down as even the leader of the gang's voice seemed to crawl like a cracked record.

  A thought soon took root in Abel’s head. Could this be…

  So the trigger wasn't just reading. It was extreme concentration.

  He was seeing and hearing at slower speeds, but his thoughts were moving faster.

  In that instant, he decided to test something.

  ‘Was this just adrenaline pumping in his veins? Or could he actually think and even react faster?’

  He ‘quickly’ lifted a palm and waved as he concentrated.

  And the reaction…

  Nothing.

  It was like no one could see his hand move.

  ‘So, is it that I can move faster or am I slowing down time?’

  ‘Is this what they call, Transcendence?’

  Abel suddenly gained some confidence, he let his mind return to its normal pace, time speeding up.

  Then he looked directly at the leader who wore a rough green jacket and shorts with high socks and flat brown shoes.

  “Let's not waste our time, who’s asking?”

  The leader was taken aback. Seeing the confidence of the Blue jacket before him, he felt a little perturbed.

  “That's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know”

  Then he waved the gun at Abel and spat on the floor.

  “You know what, fuck this… break his legs boys. I ain't no man of talking”

  “Thought you'd never ask!” One of them replied with a wide grin. He swung the metal pipe in his hand at Abel's head with such force that it whistled.

  At that moment, Abel concentrated hard. Time slowed down to a crawl, and the pipe that came with the force of a bullet slowed down.

  Abel could see it…

  He could touch it…

  And he could definitely…

  Dodge it…

  He ducked his head, his combat instincts whilst in the force kicking in.

  He swung his right fist into the man's jaw with great force.

  Then he let go of his concentration.

  Time sped up…

  Bang!!!

  Abel’s uppercut landed squarely on the man's jaw, followed by a visceral crunch, sending him crashing to the wall behind him.

  The others were stunned for a bit, but then regained composure.

  “Jump this fucker and cripple em!” The leader shouted the order.

  The remaining three swung their pipes and knives at Abel.

  Abel began to focus again. Dodging here when he was cornered, even with time slowed down, was seemingly impossible.

  So he would block.

  He decided to take out the most dangerous person here.

  The guy with the knife.

  He deftly ducked under one of the pipes and then sent his elbow to block the other.

  Suddenly, time sped up to its normal rate.

  The pain of blocking the second attack shot up into his brain, breaking his concentration.

  ‘Bollocks!’ he groaned as he rolled towards the floor to dodge the knife swing going for his stomach.

  ‘That was close. So getting hit breaks my concentration?’

  “Fucker, I'm going to send you to the hospice with this one” one of them taunted as he swung downwards.

  Abel lifted his hands and blocked the attack, before sending a kick into the man's groin.

  And he felt it…

  The man doubled over, giving Abel ample time to kick him right into the temple, knocking him out.

  Biffff!!!

  The other three, including the one that was taken down first, all shuddered when they heard the sound of his boot swiping at their friend's skull.

  Suddenly, one of them pulled out an object from behind his belt.

  It was Abel’s gun.

  He cocked the hammer, took aim and fired with one swift motion.

  Abel immediately pushed his brain to the limit, concentrating hard.

  Time slowed to a crawl as he saw the bullet flying towards him.

  Even in slowed time, the bullet moved fast, but it was slow enough to dodge, if barely.

  Abel sidestepped the bullet, nicking his shoulder slightly.

  The pain from the graze jolted his concentration, reminding him of how close he was just now to sudden death.

  Had he not dodged, it would have gone through his jugular. But now, he had gone past the major danger.

  Then he dashed forward, grabbed the gun by the muzzle and pushed it upwards.

  The gunner didn't have the time to react, as Abel sent his open left palm into his throat, causing him to reel over.

  Abel disarmed him, sending his elbow up his jaw.

  Crunch!!!

  The force of Abel’s elbow landing made one wonder whether anyone could take the hit.

  The man flew a few inches into the air, before crashing down, unconscious.

  “Fuck! This guy is good, kill em quick let's get outta here” the leader said, now terrified on how Abel was able to take out two of his men with ease.

  He pointed his gun at Abel and fired twice, shots ringing in the air.

  Bang!!! Bang!!!

  Abel rolled away, dodging behind a trash can nearby. Then he pointed his loaded revolver and pulled the trigger twice.

  Two shots

  Bang!!! Bang!!!

  With his concentration and time dilation, he was able to make two perfect shots, aiming for the knee caps of both assailants.

  He aimed at their leader, who was now frightened.

  The leader ducked behind a wall just next to him for cover.

  “Hey Yak, you know this isn't Westminster. You're in Gang lands now. No backup will get here anytime soon for ya”

  The leader poked his head slightly, trying to find where Abel was hiding.

  “Just surrender now, or you might not make it outta here alive”

  Crack!!!

  A cracking noise suddenly echoed in the dimly lit alleyway. The gang leader grabbed his pistol and jumped out from cover, firing four shots in quick succession. He thought that Abel had rushed out to try and get in melee range.

  But he had fired into empty space.

  Abel wasn't there, or anywhere.

  Then suddenly, a force rammed into his back and sent him tumbling over. It was as if he was hit by a speeding horse.

  Abel was behind him.

  ‘How the Hell… when did he get behind me?’

  He fell over, his gun tightly gripped; he aimed his pistol directly at the descending Abel’s skull.

  Abel froze for a second, then he smiled.

  He pointed his gun at Terry and spoke with a cold gaze and a dark smile.

  “Surrender now! It's over Terry”

  The man froze, and then began to shake visibly in fear.

  “How? How did you know?”

  “You made one mistake!” Abel said as he kicked the gun from the distracted Terry's hand.

  “You looked into the abyss, but instead of looking back… you blinked”...