At the back of the long grass lawn, having just tackled her, Deagon kneels over Avery’s torso, slamming the back of her head into the dirt. Avery snaps an arm up to the side of Deagon’s head, hurling him over her side. A searing bruise makes its way onto her face as she catapults herself into his ribs. The two stumble away from each other, each staring down the other just feet away. Deagon clutches his chest.

“Why the hell do you think this is any of your business?!”

“My business is whatever the fuck I make it!”

Flynt leans against the back of the house, watching Avery and Deagon with tired eyes. Avery and Deagon charge at each other, striking at each other with clenched fists and shuffling through dense shrubbery. Blood pours from his bruised lip. Avery presses her hands into her pockets, ripping them out a moment later, equipped with a pair of brass knuckles.

“Jack is my goddamned problem!”

“Do you even hear yourself?! He’s going after your boss; he’s going to get fucking killed!”

“Don’t you think I know that?! I’m trying to stop you two dumbasses from doing the same damn thing!”

Despite the onslaught, Avery creeps closer to Deagon, closing the gap between them. A few times, Deagon nicks Avery, leaving faint bruises overtop her skin. At once, Avery drives a volley of strikes into his gut. In doing so, Deagon stumbles backwards. Avery does not let up, crashing her knuckles into him with ever-increasing ferocity. The distance between Avery and Deagon widens, and Avery leans further and further forward to reach Deagon. In an instant, Deagon raises his arm, bashing her upside the head. She lets up, standing dazed for a moment, before collapsing onto the lawn. Deagon steps toward her. Deagon jerks his head up toward Flynt, still leaning against the side of the house.

“I’m not letting you two dumbasses die for something you don’t understand.”

A red truck pulls up over the curb, into the lawn a few feet away from Avery and Deagon where it idles. Avery peaks up toward Deagon, cracking one eye open. At once, she swipes her leg along the ground, sweeping Deagon out from under his feet before popping up, driving her fist into the side of his head. She stands over him for a moment. Deagon pushes his arms under him, he steps back onto his feet, and he stands tall, pressing his hand up against the side of his head. Avery flinches backward as Deagon extends his hand out toward her.

“Truce.”

Avery narrows her eyes, grimacing at him.

“You know… I’m not gonna give up on that whole Jack thing.”

“I know. I won’t stop you.”

Avery extends her arm out as well, and they shake hands.

“Truce…”

Deagon walks up the concrete steps, cracks open the back door, and slides into the house, letting it slam back into place behind him.

Behind them, the truck nearby honks its horn. Avery jerks around to face the vehicle while its front window rolls open. A pale woman leans out the window, wearing a disheveled suit, hanging her arm out of the car with a pistol in hand.

“Hey… I remember you! Is Braellyn with you?”

A woman with blonde hair, a tidy suit, and a beak leans over the front seat, sticking her head out the window with the other woman.

“Hi, Braellyn.”

Braellyn waves. The other woman sticks her gun up toward Avery and squints at her.

“Curious! Where did you hear that name?!”

“Uh, you told me.”

She closes her eyes for a second and shakes her head.

“Try again! While you’re at it, you can tell me where Jack is!”

“Oh… Your job was to get Jack back. That makes sense! I thought you were just a prick.”

As she stares at Avery, the pale woman slides her finger across the gun, clicking off the safety. Avery stares back at her.

“I’m serious, though… You’re the one who told me. Also, I don’t know where Jack is, either. He left before we got to him.”

“Oh! Why didn’t you just say so?!”

She motions with her gun toward the back of the car, points her gun back toward Avery, then at Flynt. The woman shows off a toothy grin.

“You two! Why don’t you get back there and help us look for Jack?”

Avery shrugs.

“Alright… Sounds good.”

Flynt shakes his head and follows. Braellyn crawls up into the front seat, sitting back down in the passenger seat. Flynt and Avery pace into the backseat of the truck.