They did. Almost.

One of them stayed in the pickup and had it right where we’d been hoping to block them in, according to what Mike relayed.

“Shoot their tires?” I suggested.

“Might do that once things heat up.”

I was way back in the maze of alleyways, already astride the bike. Thruor was up in one of the buildings, all ready to come down the fire escape.
We’d decided I was likely to be more obvious than she was. A lot more obvious. The other two came sauntering into the alleyway, to where the young woman – her name was Raina – was smoking an e-cig she shouldn’t have had.

I don’t think it had actual tobacco in it.

“Hey, lady, how about a good time?”

She blew smoke in his face. “No thanks.”

“Don’t waste your time, just grab her.”

And that was their cue. Seb and Kanesha came out of doorways they’d been flattened into, drawing their weapons.

Unfortunately, one of them managed to grab Raina, slipping a knife across her throat.

She cursed and tried to cast a spell, it fizzled, but distracted him enough to swear, “Take the other two while I deal with her.”
Of course, they couldn’t and didn’t want her dead.

I didn’t care at this point if we killed them. Advantage us, I thought as I powered the bike, swinging around into the alleyway.

The one not holding Raina swore again and started to charge me, but found Kanesha and Seb smoothly in his way. That freed me to head towards her.

She cast again, and this time it worked, turning the knife blade into rubber. Or apparently doing so. Real or illusion, he threw the knife away, and she twisted out of his grip right as I slammed into him.

I assumed the gunshot was Mike shooting out their tires. I didn’t have time to worry about it beyond that.

He was as strong as I was and more experienced, and he managed to get my wrist and twist my sword out of my hand, although he didn’t catch it. I stepped into him, shoving my hip into his solar plexus and trying to send him to the ground that way.

“You. Why is it always you?”

“I’m a bad penny,” I said as I managed to get my elbow into his ribs. He retaliated by grabbing me and throwing me into the wall.

Bricks cracked.