The easiest way to reach Beach Street is to go left at the corner and then head straight for about three miles. That’s not going to work here though. Ryaan’s dad isn’t the most trusting guy and he’s nervous he’ll watch him as he leaves. Jesse’s house is in the completely opposite direction so he’s at least going to need to go around the block.

While making his way to the corner, Ryaan pops his headset into his ear and gives Mina a call. She answers on the first ring sounding like she’s already drunk a whole pot of coffee. “Are you there yet? Is anything going on?”

Suppressing a laugh he says, “Calm down, nothing to worry about yet. I’m actually just leaving my place. Are your parents home? I need somewhere to change into my stuff and I don’t really want to do it in an alleyway.”

“They are but even if they weren’t, do you want to change into it right now? You don’t know where you’re going and if you stumble upon these guys, they’re going to get suspicious if they see a vigilante walking around. Not so much if they see some guy from their school just happens to be walking through the area.”

“Good point, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I’ll just have to change out there.”

“If you need somewhere to change back when you’re done though, there’s a shed behind my house. It’s never locked and my parents never go out there. We don’t have any lights in the back yard so it’s really dark at night. If you want to sneak back there it shouldn’t be a problem. Just don’t say it was my idea if you get caught.”

“That could work. Would I possibly be able to sleep back there if I need to? I told my dad if I come home late I’m just going to stay over at a friends’ house. I don’t know how late it will be though and I’d really rather not try to sneak back in.”

Mina hesitates before she says, “Sure. I can’t really go out there and put anything to sleep on down though. If I’d had some notice maybe but this late at night my parents are going to be suspicious if I go sneaking out into the back yard.”

“That’s okay, I don't really need anything special. Just somewhere to go so I’m not literally sleeping on the street. I appreciate it.”

“Alright, well I’m here if you need support. My phone’s right by me on vibrate so it’ll wake me up even if I fall asleep; just let me know if you need anything.”

Ryaan ends the call and after crossing a few streets and circling around the block he backtracks to where he needs to be. He’s then able to head toward Beach Street. It’s only a couple miles and he walks along quietly, his arms wrapped around himself to stay warm. He knows where to start but even once he gets there, Beach Street is several miles long. There’s not many spots that make sense for a meeting though so he can narrow it down. It could be in the main shopping area where there’s a bunch of stores, or over in the warehouse area. Those are only about a half mile apart so it shouldn’t be too hard to locate. He’ll just walk that stretch and hope he sees something.

By now it’s after eight and starting to get dark. The area he’s headed to isn’t the best and while he isn’t worried, he wishes he had a couple of throwing knives easily accessible. Until he gets his suit on they’re in his bag and it’d take way too long to get one if he runs into trouble. He’ll have to put pouches in his jeans for nights like this.

Ryaan passes a few people on his way. He smiles at them as he passes but most avoid his gaze, hurrying to wherever they’re going. People in Chicago can be friendly but that mostly disappears at night. That’s when the city gets tribal. By the time he arrives on Beach Street it’s already eight fifteen. He doesn’t know how far from here those guys live but if they aren’t here yet, they should be soon. Ryaan walks down the street until he reaches the main shopping area. A few small shops are still open but most places have closed. There’s just enough people walking the streets that he doesn’t feel alone but most people seem to have gone home for the night. The spacing of the street lights helps you never feel too isolated.

After pacing up and down this stretch for twenty minutes Ryaan doesn’t see any sign of either guy from his high school or anyone else who seems suspicious. He decides to head toward the warehouse district and see what he can find. Time’s starting to become a concern. A part of him was clinging to hope that he might see what he needed fast and make it home before his dad’s curfew. If whatever this is turns out to be serious, he certainly won’t be making it.

Heading to the warehouse area he sees even less signs of people. A few people crowd around a crappy old warehouse that’s been converted into cheap loft apartments but for the most part this area dies when the work day does. The lights here are far more spread out with large stretches of darkness which could make anyone feel vulnerable. That’s why it kind of stands out when Ryaan starts noticing a variety of cars parked along the road the further he goes. They aren’t all together, but there seem to be too many for this time of night. All the businesses are closed.

Ryaan starts to notice a few people standing around. They’re spread throughout the area, in alleys, doorways and any place darkness can be found, trying to look inconspicuous while standing around doing nothing in an area they have no reason to be in. He hasn’t noticed the guys from his high school but they probably aren’t the only ones standing watch.

At this point Ryaan figures anyone unknown in the area’s going to stand out so he might as well be prepared if something goes down. He starts looking for a place he can change into his outfit. He finds one but kind of wishes he hadn’t. He doesn’t like it but there are a few port a potties sitting right outside one of the warehouses and they aren’t locked. He grumbles a bit that the vigilantes back in the day probably never needed to change in a port a potty but he closes himself in.

The smell makes his eyes water. He doesn’t know when this place was last cleaned but it wasn’t today. He quickly starts to change but finds it difficult to concentrate. This thing was designed for quickly doing your business. Getting in and out. It definitely wasn’t designed for standing around changing. There’s no room so he repeatedly slams his elbows and knees into the walls. Yelps are stifled to avoid drawing attention. After a few minutes of work he manages to change clothes, get into his boots, put all of his throwing knives in place and strap his staff to his back. The final touch is putting his mask over his face. He’ll kind of miss this thing if Mina makes him something better. It’s a terrible mask and doesn’t fit the image he wants at all but it’s actually pretty comfortable.

Stepping back outside, Ryaan’s glad not to find an army of goons surrounding him. He can see a guy further down the street but if he sticks to the shadows he shouldn’t be noticed. Still no sign of either of the people he’s looking for. He shakes the mask out a bit, trying to get rid of the funk that was trapped inside when he put it on.

After making a few laps around the area it starts to become clear what these people are watching. They’re situated around a specific warehouse and the few blocks away from it in any direction. They don’t seem to be armed and most are either alone or in pairs. They seem to be trying to spread people out as much as possible.

He could call the police and wash his hands of the whole situation. This many people will seem weird to any cops who come into the area. They’ll have to investigate. With this many people on guard though, it seems likely someone will be able to warn whoever’s in charge if the police show up. That’s the whole point of having watch people. If he’s going to prove anything, he needs evidence. If it seems too big once he has a better idea what’s going on, he can always call the cops at that point and tip them off.

It takes a few laps around the area and he has to change his route multiple times but he finds a path through all these people to reach the warehouse without being seen. It isn’t that hard. They’re looking for police, not a single guy. Once he gets close though, he can’t see a good way into the building without being noticed. He considers taking out a guard but he’s afraid that will make too much noise. There’s also a chance if someone doesn’t check in they’ll come looking for them. He wants to stay undetected as long as he can, which doesn’t leave a ton of options.

After almost a half hour of circling the building watching from the shadows, Ryaan sees the guy watching a side door look both ways before slipping inside. He’s not far away and the door could be unlocked. Trying to stay in the dark as much as he can, Ryaan approaches the door. Slowly reaching for the handle, he almost jumps up and down when it turns without a sound. He quietly lets himself in. As soon as he steps inside, he sees the door to a men’s room on his left. Pushing the door open a crack, he can hear noises he’d rather forget. He’s solved the mystery of why the man left his post.

A staircase is right across from the bathroom and Ryaan decides to head up. Maybe from there he’ll be able to get a good vantage point of whatever’s going on. He’s worried about getting caught but there will hopefully be less people up there as well. Once he reaches the second floor he finds all the lights upstairs are off and as far as he can tell he’s alone. Apparently they figure their security outside’s good enough and they don’t need anyone watching from above.

The center of the second floor’s open with only walkways going around the sides of the building leading to dark rooms that appear to be offices. The lights below are on and they’re bright enough that he can see a ton of people scurrying around beneath him. With no lights on up here they shouldn’t be able to see him.

He watches the crowds below. Most of them are wearing ski masks and they look like stereotypical robbers from a movie. They’re working to load a bunch of boxes into a large storage truck. They seem to be in a rush. Standing to the side are a smaller group who grab Ryaan’s eye. There’s someone in a blue and pink striped dress and a couple of people in what appear to be expensive suits. They’re also wearing ski masks despite their nicer outfits. The main reason they stand out though is that unlike everyone else, they aren’t doing anything. One of them looks away from his companions long enough to say, “Hurry up, we need to have this loaded and be out of here in twelve minutes. We are on a clock.” He then returns to his conversation.

The man’s comment seems to provide a deadline but Ryaan doesn’t have even the start of a plan. He doesn’t have a clue what these guys are doing, though he can guess it’s probably not good. People up to good things generally don’t wear ski masks while they work. They also don’t tend to walk around with assault rifles and unlike the guys outside, the majority of those down below are heavily armed. He can’t justify jumping into the middle of this without knowing more, especially when he has no clue how he’d take down at least twenty guys with guns. He might tag a few with his knives before they fill him full of holes but that doesn’t sound like a good night.

He really wants to just call the police and get out of here. If they’re really only going to be here another twelve minutes though that won’t do any good. He’s not even sure what he’d tell them. He doesn’t remember the name of the business in this warehouse. A bunch of guys are putting boxes in a truck? No problem, they’ll send the entire department.

Instead of doing anything Ryaan watches. Looking for any clue to figure out what’s in the boxes, to find some information which might give him a next move. Nothing stands out. The people don’t say anything, the boxes are generic wooden boxes, he can’t even place the guns. He notices a small stamp on a few of the boxes but they’re too far away to read.

These guys are ahead of schedule. After only about ten minutes the final boxes are loaded and the truck’s slammed shut. He can hear the engine start but it doesn’t go anywhere. The man who told everyone to hurry steps in front of the crowd. “Great job everyone. Our leader would like to address you.” He steps aside.

The masked person in a dress steps to the center of the room. She looks back and forth over the crowd. In a voice that cuts through the noise of the truck she says, “Great job everyone. We did exactly what we needed to. This shipment will get us everything we need to take things to the next level. We’ll be able to hire the vigilantes we need, grease the wheels we need to and generally run this town like we should. When you go home tonight I want you to know that you’ve set in motion a plan which will take this city back. Now go home to your families.”

With that she turns and walks away. The doors to the factory open and the truck drives out. Everyone starts streaming out through a variety of exits. Ryaan considers following but there’s still too many around and he really doesn’t want to die tonight. It hurts to let these guys walk away but he still doesn’t have any idea what they were doing. They’re transporting something for cash and plan to run things, whatever that means. The cops would just roll their eyes if he called.

Glancing at the time, Ryaan realizes it’s almost the time his dad wanted him home by and he still hasn’t called. He certainly can’t do it here. He texts his dad instead, letting him know he probably will be back tonight but is running a little late. He might get chewed out for it but at least he’ll get to sleep in his bed. He watches until the place is mostly empty and lights start shutting off. All he can do is listen for any noise. After not hearing any footsteps for a minute he decides to get out of here and see if he can find someone to tell him what he just watched.

With the lights out it takes Ryaan longer than he’s proud of to make his way downstairs to the exit. He rushes toward the door and pushes but finds it locked and it’s not as simple as just unlocking the door from the inside. There’s nothing to turn. He starts to feel his blood pressure rise but tries to stay calm. Surely there’s another door he can get out through. One where he’ll just need to unlock the door. He turns his phone’s flashlight on and starts searching the building.

Three exits later Ryaan decides it might be time to panic. It’s already ten thirty and he needs to get home. A few minutes late will get him yelled at. A few hours will get him a lot more. He also doesn’t look forward to people showing up to work in the morning and finding him there. Hard to explain that. As he paces back and forth trying to figure out what to do Ryaan notices there are offices around the edges of the first floor as well. Making his way over to one, he’s glad to find it isn’t locked. When he gets inside he finds salvation. The office has a window. It’s a few feet off the ground and there’s a small drop to the ground outside but he can make it. He’ll have to leave it unlocked but whoever has this office will probably assume they forgot to lock it.

Ryaan throws his bag out the window first and follows after it. He uses his staff to close the thing. Just glad to be outside, he starts heading back to the port a potty. He can at least get changed before heading home. Getting there will take another half hour at least so he’s going to be very late. A glance at his phone shows he’s already missed a few calls from his dad.

Walking back, Ryaan doesn’t see a lot of people. The time it took him to get out of that building gave them plenty of time to get away. As he nears the port a potty though, he sees a sight he can’t believe. There’s the two guys from school, standing next to a car and leaning against a building. They’re eating burgers and are seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Moving fast, he grabs a couple of throwing knives from his side. He wants to let them know he means business so they give him what he needs. Keeping to the shadows as long as he can, he makes his way close. By the time he’s within throwing distance he’s managed to duck behind their car. He counts to three and pops out throwing, managing to snag each of their shirts with a throw, attaching them to the building.

One of the men lets out a shout when they see him. His eyes are wide and he puts his arms in front of his face. “You can have our wallets man, it’s cool. No more knives.”

Ryaan draws his staff and points it at one of their heads. He tries to speak with a deeper voice than normal, wanting to sound intimidating and not be recognized. “You’re going to give me the information I need or you’re not going to like what I do here. Nobody has to get hurt.”

“Information?” the other one asks. He’s shaking and glancing around for help. “I don’t know what you mean. We don’t know anything about anything.”

“Why don’t I believe that?” Ryan asks. “You were standing guard at that warehouse. I saw you myself. Give me what I need and no one will ever know. Who are those people? What are they transporting?”

The first one says, “We don’t know anything man. We were just asked by some guys to keep watch out for anything that might be going down. That’s all we know. You gotta believe us man. We don’t do anything illegal.”

Ryaan would almost believe them if he didn’t know they were lying. He slams his staff into the man’s gut and gets a wet gasp as a gift. He quickly puts it in the other man’s face. “If I don’t get some answers you’ll both be getting a lot worse than that. I have plenty more knives.”

The teenager’s bawling at this point. “Alright man, I’ll tell you. You can’t let them know it was us though. They’ll mess us up. We’re just doing this to make a few bucks.”

His friend interrupts. “Man, don’t tell him. I don’t need those crazy people after us.”

“This guy seems crazy too and he’s right freaking here. So ya, I’m going to tell him. Just shut up, at least then if it comes down to it you can say it was me.” He turns back to Ryaan. “I don’t know what they’re doing in that warehouse and I don’t know who most of them are.” As Ryaan pulls back his staff, ready to strike, the teenager says, “I swear to god that’s true man. I swear to god. They don’t let any of the outdoor watch people inside. I don’t think they trust us. They just hire a bunch of young guys to keep an eye out is all. I do know who recruited us though and I know where you can find him.”

After a few seconds of silence Ryaan says, “I’m listening.”

“There’s this guy Eddie. He works at the flower place over on Cicero. What’s it called?” He turns to look at his friend but the second guy looks away. “Lovely Flowers or something. He’s been recruiting people out of there for awhile. There’s a couple other guys recruiting out of there. They work for some older lady. I don’t know why but check that place out and talk to Eddie. He’ll know a lot more than I do.”

The look of fear and defeat on the other man’s face tells Ryaan he has everything these two have to give him. He returns his staff to his back. He walks quickly up to the men and pulls both knifes he threw out of the wall simultaneously, slipping them back into his suit. He’s glad to see his throws went right where he wanted. Their clothes have holes in them but there’s no blood. Even now that they’re free neither makes a move to attack him. “Get out of here. Get in your car and drive. If I find out you held anything back I will find you and you will regret it.”

The two are speeding into the night before Ryaan can count to ten. With that out of the way he sneaks back into the port a potty and changes into his regular clothes. Glancing at his phone he realizes it’s now after eleven. He shoots his dad a text to let him know he’s okay and they got distracted but he’ll be headed home in a few minutes. It’s a tall order but if he runs he can probably make it by eleven thirty. His phone almost immediately starts ringing again, but he doesn’t answer. His dad’s punishment will still be waiting for him when he gets home.