Chapter 103: Chapter 103: A Storm in Pendleton

Chapter 103:

A Storm in Pendleton

The Sparrows. They were a tightknit group of individuals that mainly operated in Pendleton. Their brick buildings reminiscent of those in The United Kingdom. From their appearance to the winding alleyways and passages. It was the trademark of Pendleton and made The Sparrows who they were. Cutthroat and dangerous in small spaces.

The thing was, they weren't exactly the kind to take up kidnapping as a pastime. They were one of the gangs who ran legal businesses from gambling to prostitution. Though they also dealt in drugs, they never forced anyone into them. It was one of their most redeeming qualities.

That wasn't to say they were clean. Far from it. They were not above extortion or murder, though they had lines they never crossed. One of them for the longest time was no kids. So, hearing that they not only kidnapped someone, but it was a child? Either there were changes Jace wasn't aware of or it was an outlier trying to stir things up.

Either way, Jace wasn't going to let this go. Not only was it a personal request, but Jace wasn't a fan of involving kids in what goes on in the streets. It was unfortunately not completely unavoidable in this city. However, if he could diminish the impact, he'd do all he could.

He wasn't bothering trying to blend in this time. He was on a mission. Those who got in his way would meet the same fate as those before if they weren't smart. The chill of winter bit at him as he walked, but truth be told it was kind of refreshing. With his hood up and scarf underneath, wrapped around his face, the clear, crisp air helped clear his mind.

People walked by on the street, going about their business. Jace made his way along just like anyone else. The crunch of the snow underfoot mixed with the sound of the city. People yelled, vehicles drove and flew by, music played from some lurkers on a stoop to a building, and somewhere a dog barked. There was always some kind of sound to be heard in the city.

It was why Jace listened to his music. Too many sounds and it was overwhelming. This helped to drown it all out. He smiled to himself as he felt the beat through his entire body. It resonated with him as he turned a corner down an alley.

The thing about this job was that he knew exactly where he had to go. Evelyn had a tracker on her. A precaution that was unfortunately needed in today's society. The information had been sent to him shortly after accepting the job. He still couldn't believe that the Elder Council wouldn't make a move.

The Nobles were people who looked out for others, especially their own. To think they wouldn't do anything after one of their own had their child kidnapped was strange. Were they really that afraid of war? Truth be told, The Nobles weren't a pushover.

If Jace had to rank the strength of each gang, the Nobles would be at the top. They had the most Ascended among their ranks, and they had the resources since they practically ran Westview, which was one of, if not the biggest district in the Barrens. Which meant a lot of income.

Since it also shared territory with The Spiders, they often went hand in hand. Meaning they had the backing of skilled hackers. It just didn't make sense to Jace that they were afraid to agitate The Sparrows. His head was spinning with all the different possibilities.

Chances are, there were gang politics going on. Jace knew a bit about it, but honestly it just made his head hurt to think about. Whatever the case was, he knew for a fact that The Nobles wouldn't put a kid in danger. Since they believed like Jace did. No kids.

It was one of the reasons Jace tried to avoid fighting The Nobles. He owed a lot to their members, but also, they weren't as bad as most. Jace could only believe that The Sparrows knew about what happened and petitioned The Nobles so that they were spared, while whoever did this was taken care of.

Usually, The Sparrows would be given a chance to take care of this problem themselves to avoid a war, but because of the circumstances revolving around the child of one of their members, it was more than likely that The Nobles didn't trust them to do so. Evelyn could get caught up in the fight. One wrong move, and she would be injured. A chance they wouldn't take.

So, they sent one person. A roughly neutral party. Jace. Someone who wouldn't bring too much attention and was relatively well-known on the streets. This worked for him.

He didn't need too many complications. Tapping into the mana within him, he felt the power surge. Looking around, there was no one nearby. Flowing the mana down into his legs, a swirl of teal energy began to surround his feet, encompassing them and his calves.

Tensing his muscles, he pushed off from the ground. A flurry of snow was kicked up as he launched himself above the buildings. There, he was suspended for a brief moment. Surveying the area, he saw his destination. A ten-story brick building that looked to be abandoned.

Smirking to himself, he gathered just enough mana to boost him forward. Landing upon the roof of a nearby building, he began to make his way across the rooftops. It wouldn't be long before he was there. "Evelyn...Hold on. I'm on my way." Whatever nest of Sparrows did this would find their wings clipped and thrown from their tree.

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The building was musty, decrepit. To think they would keep a small child here was insane. Of course, when you knew you fucked up, you didn't have a lot of choices of where to hide.

Jace was alone on this job. The girls were back at the loft spending time together, so Kiera wasn't helping him like last time. Though he knew she would if he asked, and he was tempted, but chose to keep focused. If Kiera was in his head, he wasn't sure he would be able to focus.

He chuckled to himself thinking back to the previous job she helped him with. Her little messages were adorable but distracting. "Though, I wouldn't mind having her watch my back in the future..." He made a mental note to talk to her about it later. He looked forward to it.

Right now, however, he looked forward to ending these Sparrows. Two of them were patrolling the hallway below him. This building seemed to have once been a factory of sorts that was turned into apartments. Much like the loft he stayed in with the girls.

This allowed him to skulk in the rafters after he had made his way inside from the roofs access hatch. They walked in a pair, both looking nervous. They wore flat caps and tailed winter coats. Jace listened in as they spoke.

"We shouldn't be here, mate," A thick Glasgow accent of one of them spoke, deep and gruff, "The boss has gone crazy."

"Shut up," The other glared at him, their voice held a slightly lighter accent, "Listen, pal, if the boss catches ya saying that..."

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"Aye, I know," The gruff man grumbled, "Who the fuck would have thought he'd take a child?"

"The Court won't sit still, ya know," Their companion muttered, "Ya reckon we should do something?"

"Like what?" They scoffed, turning back around on their patrol path, "They're fanatics, the lot of 'em. Thinkin' they can change things. We. Don't. Do. Children."

"I know," The other sighed, shaking their head, "Should we chance it and run?"

"Better than waitin' to die," They agreed, coming to a stop below Jace, "When's a good time?"

"Shift change is in an hour," The man leaned against the wall, "We need ta eat. Pop out for a bite, don't come back."

They nodded, their plan in place. Jace felt a little guilty, but also relieved. It seemed he was right. This was an outlier group. These two just caught up in their fanatics. The guilt came from interrupting their plans as he jumped down beside them, eyes aglow.

Looking towards him in surprise, Jace didn't give them time to react. Electricity crackled around his arms as he channeled power into them. The mana flowing freely. Holding his hands up to them, fingers pointing in their direction, he gave them a steady look of warning.

"You have two choices, friends," Jace's eyes flickered as he looked between them, "Raise an alarm and die. Or...you tell me where the girl is and I let you walk away after I'm done."

Holding their hands up in surrender, the two looked at each other before nodding. Jace tilted his head as if to warn them not to do anything hasty.

"Hey, pal," The one with a light accent spoke up, "We want nothin' ta do with this."

Getting a closer look at them, the one with a light accent had signs of cybernetics on his face. Lines leading from his cybernetic hazel eyes ran down his cheeks. His pale skin was a bit rough, and he appeared to be bald, though Jace couldn't tell with his flat cap on. He was rather skinny compared to his partner.

The deep voiced man was taller than Jace and looked to be well built, but not as large as Balek. He had a slightly sun-kissed complexion with green eyes. No signs of cybernetics, but that meant nothing.

"Yeah, we ain't got beef with The Nobles," Their gruff voice pleading, "The girls on the floor below."

Jace already knew this because of the tracker. The reason he asked them was simple. He wanted to see what they knew, and it was easier when they were scared. The fact they also gave up where the girl was, meant that they weren't too involved. Jace wasn't above sparing people.

"So, you know who the girl is?" Jace narrowed his eyes, causing both of them to swallow hard.

"Not entirely," The hazel eyed man spoke, his voice trembling a bit, "We were just told she's a Noble's kid. Honest. We had nothing ta do with grabbing her."

"Mate's right," The gruff man explained, "We were just at our old spot when they grabbed us. Stated there was an important job. They were our old mates, so of course we'd help, but-"

"Enough," Jace put power in his voice, "Your mates have crossed a line. How many are there?"

They hesitated for a moment before they nodded to each other.

"'Bout ten," Gruff man answered, "They'd be twelve with us, but they're no mates of ours."

"We don't touch kids," The other told Jace, "Honest. Let us go."

Jace looked between the two of them, a smile curling his lips.

"Thank you," Jace told them as they sighed in relief, "However...You'll need to take a nap for now."

"Wait-!" They exclaimed, but Jace wasn't listening.

Placing his hands upon them, he knocked them out with a jolt to their system. He would keep his promised. They'd wait here until he was finished, but he couldn't risk them having another change of heart. They should be unconscious for the next hour, just enough time for them to wake up and go get a bite to eat.

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