We’re standing in front of the Hanging Dutchman, a nightclub-like venue with a pink neon sign up top prominently featuring a palm tree, and a somewhat more modern-though still classy-overall aesthetics relative to the surrounding buildings, the building having a coat of snow white paint over it that made it stand out. It was starting to get dark out, lending a hint to how well the sign would stand out at night. A black car runs idle at the sidewalk behind us.

Lenny looks behind him to the 5 recruits he had brought with us for this assignment. The ‘recruits’ in question were dressed in simple, usually black cloaks with katanas in black sayas stuffed through their belts. The average age among them, if I had to guess, was probably 15-16 years old. “Gentlemen, surround the back door and get ready to take him in alive.” The small squad of recruits go around the side of the building and out of sight.

“So you’re serious about just walking in and trying to muscle him while he’s still inside the joint?” I raise an eyebrow.

Lenny showed a wry half-smile. “This might seem like an overly bold play, but I’m confident it’ll work out in our favor. Independent contractors in the underground tend not to make many friends anyway.”

“Very well.”

We step inside, as I take in the atmosphere. It’s a little quieter than I imagined, to be honest. Lenny trails behind me as we walk around, the dim lights of the walkways and tables encircling a much brighter dance floor as we walk around. It’s got about the right amount of activity; not desolate, but not stuffed to the seams. The sound seemed to reflect this as well; it was but a dull roar so far as the festivities of the night were yet to go into full effect.

It doesn’t take too much wandering, though I try to be careful and appear authentic, to find a familiar head of hair coupled with hands adorned with a set of fingerless gloves, at the bar. He seems to mostly be concerned with his own drink at the moment. I step back two paces and look over(with my eyes, but not moving my head) to find Lenny nearby, currently leaning against a nearby pillar which concealed him from the hobo’s sight-lines.

“Bad haircut with the gloves. That’s the one.”

Lenny casually looks out from behind the pillar. “Right, then.” He pushes himself off the pillar, rounding the corner and making to walk over to him.

Just as Lenny’s about to step up to the man himself, it seems he’s more perceptive than he looks, as he suddenly snaps out of his borderline stupor of a state, his vision snapping up at Lenny briefly before he leaves his glass unattended as he gets up in a hurry, making for the back-door which had a fire exit light above it.

“You go flush him out that exit, I’ll be joining the boys out back.”

“On it.”

I linger enough to hear Lenny’s feet on the floor darting away, as I draw my tessen from my pocket. I wait for the bum to leave the room before advancing to the door. I can see the barkeep give me a less than welcoming look on the way out.

I follow him through one door, and then another, waiting a few seconds at each door to make my approach less obvious. I can hear footsteps pound on the pavement outside, getting closer, as I raise my tessen over my shoulder and open the door just in time to see him turning around, scrambling in a panic towards the door he had just left. He recognizes my presence just in time to attempt to slow down as I step forward, striking across his nose with the tessen and flowing naturally into jabbing his guts with both hands on the tessen. The man grunts and doubles over as I shove him back towards Lenny and the others. On the way, I caught a glimpse of his now-bloodied nose before he covers it with his hand.

“Agh, you little shit-” He’s unceremoniously cut off by Lenny pulling him back by his hoodie, shoving him towards two of his recruits who seize the hobo by his arms as he tries to thrash against them, lashing out at their shins with his own feet to no effect. They move and ram the hobo face-first into the Hanging Dutchman’s outer wall. He lets out a yelp as his forehead slaps the painted brick, his torso now actively being pinned to the wall by one recruit as the other zip-ties his wrists.

“I don’t remember cops being so serious as to manhandle decent folk like this. Have you bastards been riding another doughnut shortage or something?” He lets out a cackle at his own joke.

“Very funny, asshole. We can get into the details later.” Lenny looks to me shortly, and then back to the recruits. “Well, let’s bag him and bring him back-gag him first, fellas.”

“Don’t you touch my mouth, you bastards-” They gagged him, slipping a red ball with a leather strap into his mouth as he lets out a muffled scream and thrashed again. Lenny walks to the side of the alley facing the main street, as I move slightly behind and to the left of him. I catch the other recruits changing their facing to match us as I walked up, almost like an army getting in formation for a march.

We start walking out of the alley with Lenny leading the pack as the hobo is walked forward by his captors. Another recruit steps over and pulls out a black fabric bag, throwing it over his head and cinching it around his neck. In reaction to this, the hobo redoubles his efforts, with an audible sound of exertion.

Lenny stops, snapping his sights behind him as I stop a step later. I turn around to see the two recruits almost letting the man’s arms slip out of their grasps, before wrapping their arms around his, pulling his arms taut like a clothesline. “Bitch, do you need a pimp or something?” Lenny had an eyebrow raised, raising his voice in a display of annoyance. The hobo doesn’t respond at all, continuing to struggle and thrash despite his incredibly hopeless situation.

Lenny walks closer, cracking the knuckles of his right hand as he cocks his fist back. He slings an uppercut right into his stomach, rotating his hips into the strike with savage force. The hobo lets out a muffled noise, his knees buckling and going limp, his head lulling from side to side as the recruits are now forced to drag him to the car, Lenny exhaling as they walk the rest of the way back to the car. He’s shoved in, as Lenny and I board the vehicle, alongside one other recruit; the recruit and I are forced to pull our katanas out of our belts to be able to sit inside the car.

“Take us to the interrogation building.”