Zach nervously got off the motorcycle, arching a brow at Valerie who had cocked her head in an odd questioning stance.

“Something wrong, Saki? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Zach pointed to Vinnie without raising his hand, disappointed to see the man had definitely noticed him. He was seated on the hood of one of the black sedans, smoking a cigarette and staring at Zach without breaking eye contact.

“That guy tried to have sex with my sister..”

“Vinnie Sonetti? Yeah, he does that…”

“My thirteen year old,” Zach specified.

“Val!” one of the Greymalkins yelled, “Tell the nip Vinnie wants to talk to her!”

Val waved her understanding to the girl, then frowned at Zach, “Thirteen, you say? Then what?”

“me and Yuki there, we burst in on him and her, kicked him in the nuts and got my sister out.”

Val laughed, “Good girl. Listen, if he gives you any trouble, just shout. Me and the girls have your back.”

“Thanks, Valerie.”

Zach sighed, hung his helmet from the handlebars and pushed through the crowd. He noticed a few mocking words, but mostly the others were telling him he’d do better after some practice. Had he not been about to meet with Vinnie, it most likely would’ve cheered him up, but he arrived in front of the man with heavy shoes.

“You’re a hard woman to find,” the man said, taking a long drag from his cigarette after.

“Maybe you looked in the wrong place,” Zach retorted, somehow managing to keep his voice from breaking.

“You owe me a video, girl,” he said, his voice low, “The customers are waiting.”

“I owe you jack shit.”

“You took my model.”

“Saved your ass from a lawsuit more like…”

The man pushed his cigarette out, though he seemed to be slightly taken aback at the words. He was about to ask something when a noise startled the crowd.

Vinnie, more apt at reading a crowd than Zach, was already in motion.

“Fuck!” somebody yelled, “Everyone split!”

It took Zach a little longer than most to gather what was going, that’s when he heard it; Sirens.

The man that had been keeping Yuki trapped was about to close the door, attempting to lock her in the car, but Yuki was having none of it. A bright white sneaker shut through the air and connected with the man’s groin so hard he doubled over. Yuki got to her feet, planted a fist in the man’s stomach, ducked under Vinnie’s grabbed arm and headed for Zach, who took her hand and guided her towards his motorbike.

He got on and felt Yuki get on the back. In his mirror he could see Vinnie debating to pursue or flee the crime scene. Much to Zach’s relief, pragmatism won. He flipped off the two, pushed his hurt compatriot in the back of the car and got behind the wheel himself. It was moving before the passenger had had a chance to properly shut the door. The car became one of many scrambling to be the first off the parking lot, leaving Zach trapped in a whirlwind of motor vehicles.

He looked around, desperately trying to find a way out, the feeling of urgency only increased by the ever growing sound of sirens. He was about to give up, when he noticed Valerie gesturing him into an opening between herself and another of the Greymalkins, whom he assumed to be Julie by the sidecar on her motorbike. He nodded his gratitude, pushed in and was glad to feel the safety of numbers as they headed onto the highway. It took him a moment to realize they were leaving the city and he started to wonder if he hadn’t traded a bad time with Vinnie for a bad time with the Greymalkins.

Their choice became clear however when they had escaped the crowd. The leader of the pack sped off and the others followed. The highway was quiet at this hour and they ended up only passing a single cop car, which was heading in the other direction. Its sirens and lights flared to life, but it had to wait for the nearest break in the safety to barrier to turn. Zach watched the red and blue in the mirror, which seemed to be the signal for the group to both speed and split up.

Valerie waved for Zach to follow her, and unsure what else to do, he did as told, watching Val shoot off the first off-ramp they approached. He was glad she went first, as Valerie clearly hadn’t accounted for the sharp turn at the bottom. She braked, skidded across the asphalt, then slammed into one of the bridge’s pillars. Hadn’t it been concerning, it might have been funny the way she looked confused at her motorbike standing still before it slowly toppled over.

Zach halted, made sure Yuki was okay to keep the bike up, then sprinted to check if Valerie was, if not okay, at least alive.

The bike’ wheels were still spinning, seeming to protest against their sudden abandoning of the road and Zach had to hold the brakes tight as he pulled the vehicle off Valerie.

“You okay?” he asked when the bike was straight up again, only to fall over to the other side. He flinched as he heard one of the mirrors shatter, but there were more important things.

He squatted down next to Valerie and moved to help her up, “You okay?”

“What?” was the only reply.

Not far from them, police sirens approached and Zach felt all his muscles tense, then was glad to hear the squad car continue on the highway, following the main group. He was less thrilled to hear another coming…

“Can you stand?” he wanted to know.

“What?” Valerie asked again.

“Yuki,” Zach called, “Put my bike in the bushes, then help me with her.”

Yuki didn’t need much instruction, though Zach would have liked if she had been a bit gentler with his bike, but there was no time for care. He and Yuki picked up Valerie, who seemed to find the whole thing rather comical, and dropped her in the bushes, just in time. Flashing lights came down the off ram. They dropped into the bushes, keeping as quiet as they could.

The officer got out, kicked the motorcycle and spoke into his radio, saying something that sounded like ‘ten thirty-seven’, followed by a request to pick up the motorbike.

“My baby,” Valerie whimpered.

Zach put his hand over her mouth. The officer turned on a flashlight and swept it across the bushes.

“Anybody there?” he called, reaching for his gun.

Yuki put her hands to her mouth and imitated a cat’s meow. It wasn’t very good, but it seemed to satisfy the officer. The flashlight turned off and a moment later the car was heading back onto the highway.

When they were sure he was gone, Yuki and Zach popped up from the bushes, stepping back into the road and leaving Valerie where she was for now.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Yuki asked.

“Don’t!” Val called, “I’ve got a warrant!”

“Of course she does,” Zach sighed.

“Is that our problem?”

Zach shrugged, “She’s helped up. Would be a dick move to turn her in.”

“Do you know how to make a splint?”

“Do I look like a boy scout?”

“You barely look like a boy.”

Zach smirked.

Val sat up from the bushes to talk, “To go the bar! Ask for Ana.”

Zach sucked his lips in, not sure if he wanted to go back into that wasp’s nest, but in the end he simply shrugged.

“Fine, what do I tell her?”

“The fuck you think, Saki? Tell her Val’s under the bridge with a broken...is it broken?”

It was quiet for a moment as Valerie pushed her wrist and ankle, wincing each time, “Broken wrist and broken ankle.”

“The girls won’t kill me?”

“Probably not. Probably…”

“Great,” Zach mumbled, pulling his bike from the bushes, “Back in a flash…”

Zach was glad not to see a single living soul on his race to the bar, as it also meant there were no cops to stop him. He was less thrilled however when the absence of people extended to the bar. Not a single motorcycle was parked out front, but at least the front door was open.

He pushed in, finding nothing but the bartender cleaning a glass. The glass was obviously sparkling clean, as was the next and she was clearly just doing it to keep busy.

“Oh,” she said and waved to Zach, “Welcome.”

“Beer?” she called as Zach headed up to the counter.

Zach shook his head, “No, I’m driving.”

He leaned down on the bar and looked around. The bartender gave an apologetic shrug, sending her bobbed curls dancing, “Sorry, honey. Everyone’s out for the night. Racing. It’s just me and the cat holding down the fort.”

Zach, who saw no a cat, didn’t care, instead getting straight to the point, “That’s fine. I’m looking for… Shit, I forgot her name.”

“Want me to slap you to jog your memory?”

Zach cocked his head, wondering if that was a normal offer in her circles.

“No...thanks?”

“Just a joke, honey. What did you need this mystery woman for.”

“I need a doctor…”

“Have you tried the hospital?”

“...for one of the Greymalkins.”

As soon as the word left his mouth, a shaggy black cat, fatter that the poor animal should be, leaped onto the counter and loudly meowed.

“Looking for doctor Ana?”

Zach nodded.

The woman scratched the cat behind the ears as she sighed deep, then bent down to pick something up.

“Which of the idiots this time?”

“Valerie,” Zach said, “Broken ankle and wrist…And that’s the bits we know.”

“Fucking dumb asses, the lot of them,” the woman sighed, “Well, I’m Ana. Let me close up and show me the way, girl.”

“You can’t walk that far…”

“I have a car, sweetie…”

She gave the cat a last pet, then turned off the lights, after which she hid the keys in the mouth of an ugly horse statue that stood in front of the door.

“Shouldn’t have shown you that,” she shrugged, “You’re not one of the girls after all, but you can’t be that bad if you’re going through all this trouble…”

Zach nodded, then stared blankly as the woman headed into an alley next to the bar, getting into the driver’s seat of a hearse.

“Getting ahead of herself, isn’t she?” he mumbled to himself, getting onto his bike.

He waited a moment for her to be parked out, then led her into the balmy summer night.