Frozen Flame

Chapter 45: City of Criminals

Ice: Criminal Corps

Tall, grey and brown buildings lined the paved road beyond the giant grey gates obscuring the entrance to the Criminal corps. The gates opened wide on their large hinges, creating a screech that filled the air and screamed in the party's ears. Only two guards stood at the gate, the ones that had recently collected their fake IDs that would allow them entry to the bustling city.

They didn't suspect a thing, of course. The IDs were Bob's doing from several years ago, ones he'd made for emergencies. And, just like he always did, Bob had created far too many IDs for far too many creations.

Jared smiled, raising his hands slightly to indicate that the others should come in closer. "Stay close, raise your hoods and let me do all the talking. Got it?"

The others raised their hoods, moving closer but not surrounding Jared. He could see the electricity crackling through the air between and across their bodies, the nerves emanating from them. But he was calm. He was comfortable. It seemed that the closer he got to the centre of Criminal Corps, the more relaxed he became. Oh, he was so ready for this.

His smile widened.

As one, they walked into the large city, people rushing to-and-fro, buying things, conversing, rushing – it looked just like a normal city.

And then, that normality was broken.

Ice rushed up into the air from all directions and burst like fireworks. A loud voice crackled through the air, tinny and bored, "Blacksnake and Icejiry fight on eleventh street. Estimated: one hour."

With one announcement, a crowd of people surged through the street in a singular direction, breaking up the small hooded group. Each of Jared's group split off to the side in order to avoid the sudden rush.

One hooded figure made their way over to a girl sitting on the sidewalk, beginning to ask them about the mess.

The girl smiled, holding her hand out expectantly. "You must be new here..."

Jared, spotting what was happening, quickly rushed over and grabbed the hooded boy, pushing him back. The boy's hood fell, revealing Larcens standing there in confusion and shock.

Jared clicked his tongue, you idiot. Then smiling, he turned back to the girl, "I'm sorry about my friend there: he has memory loss. No, we've lived here for a little while now, but we're not from this area." He placed some money into her hands and smiled, winking at her. "You wouldn't happen to know why those two gangs are fighting on eleventh street, would you?"

She smiled back at him, adjusting her weight distribution. "Well mister, it just so happens it's your lucky day. They're having a knife fight. Blacksnake's changed over command recently and Icejiry isn't liking the new leader. So," she stood up, brushing her hair back and placing a hand on Jared's shoulder, "You don't need to worry your pretty little face about it, no territory trespassing is happening."

He grinned, brushing her hand off his shoulder. "That's great, thanks."

Seeming not at all disheartened, she spun around him, scanning his figure, "Which one are you going for?"

Following her with his eyes, Jared merely shrugged, "The winning side, of course. I don't have a preference unless the leader of Criminal Corps is involved... And I don't have any weapons on me, you can stop checking me now."

Her steps halted, "Smart. The C.C. leader wasn't involved though, obviously. They're just minor gangs fighting, no reason for the leader to get involved."