16 Danev

I knew better than to wake Riu.

He would chew me out the next morning for not having told him sooner, sure, but it was better than the reaction I'd elicit from him should I choose to wake him from what little sleep he did manage to get.

That left me alone with the understanding that we were standing on the precipice of a bloody conflict once again. The only other people within these walls who knew of how close we were to a violent confrontation were me, Aden, Meeko, and those who had returned.

Of course, Fluke of all people needs to be one of them.

I supposed it made little difference. It wasn't as though Shaalin's death was some secret to sweep under the rug. Word spread quick, and it wasn't as though Shaalin had gone alone. The Rats would know, probably already did.

Damnit.

I thought I was doing the smart thing in keeping Bee this deep in our territory. How could I have known the Rats would make a move this deep into our territory?

They were getting bolder as of late. First, it had been our business, finding what few active businesses still operated in Taisho that we happened to be offering 'protection' to, and stealing them away from us. Then it had been recruitment, raids, and now this, an attempted robbery.

They were growing in numbers too, I knew.

It's the Lawmakers all over again, but it's us at the stake this time.

We couldn't afford war, not yet.

It had taken everything for me to convince Riu to lay off trying to raid Fire Nation caravans and strike a deal with them instead. We turn our attention to other gangs, not them.

That had been the arrangement, and we'd benefited from it. Food, clothes, weapons, but at the cost of pride.

I knew part of Riu still resented me for having talked him into it. Maybe I did as well.

It was what needed to be done.

I slept well enough, no worse than most other nights. After enough time being the chief muscle of a gang, one grew acquainted enough with the constant fear of being attacked to learn to sleep with it.

I'd doubled the guard, kicked Laohi and Chote awake to add to the watch. They'd thought with our stash house gone, they'd be spared of needing to watch over it and get to sleep in. That, of course, would prove not to be the case. I couldn't have them thinking idle hands were anything short of unacceptable.

With the entrance blockaded, the guard doubled, I had to be capable of assuring myself that we wouldn't be snuck up on, slaughtered in the middle of the night like lambs by a vengeful mischief of rats.

You did everything you could.

But it wasn't enough.

Bee had still killed a Rat, and we'd be seeing the consequences of it soon, I was sure. What they would be, I had no way of knowing, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.

It was an inevitability. Bee's anger and burning vengeance had been nigh impossible to reign in after what the Rats had done to her. Riu choosing that as his time to cut all ties with her hadn't helped either. In the span of just a few hours, everything and nearly everyone in the world had turned against her. Even some of the Hornets themselves had chosen to put some distance between her and them seeing as how they too had thought her just like them, a cock between her legs rather than a twat.

For one reason or another, I hadn't felt that same inclination to treat her as a stranger, not like even Riu had–a decision I still could not fathom. No. A decision I refused to fathom. I knew why. Associating himself with her, after the reputation she'd earned in the span of a night, in such a matter that he had been, it was only a disservice to himself. And, in addition, if she had been able to pass off as a boy before, she certainly reminded nobody of a girl now. The Rats had taken care of that, now one of the least easy people in the slums to look at.

I don't think it had been pity that drove me to not isolate her the way the rest of the world had. It was just a reluctance to forget what she was above all else–a Hornet.

One of us.

And here we were for it, on the brink of war.

I fell asleep on the lice-ridden mattress tucked away in the corner of my quarters easily enough after forcing myself to remember that it would do no good to let these questions drag me any further into the night.

When morning came, I could work out a solution.

And soon enough, it did come, and I still didn't have one. All I did know was that I had to tell Riu.

"Bee killed Shaalin."

If there was one thing I'd learned with Riu, it was that he didn't fancy pleasantries. If there was something he needed to know, he wanted it to be told to him plain and clear. Would it increase the likelihood of him resorting to anger? Sure. Could he lash out at times? Yes. Was it what he needed, however? That was an affirmative answer as well.

It was fortunate that I caught him alone as he ate alone outside his quarters, watching over the empty courtyard of the Hive. Much of the Hive still rested. There was still time to act before word spread on its own, and questions began being raised on why the entrance to the Hive was blocked off.

I don't know if I should have expected him to be surprised. If anybody knew Bee after all, it was him. "Huh," was all he responded with, until asking further, "That so? What happened?"

"From what they told me, Rats attacked our stash house in the night. Didn't go their way."

Riu scoffed. "Serves 'em right. 'Bout time they be reminded we're still in charge around here."

So he didn't understand. No, of course he did. This was Riu after all. He knew what was on the line. Was he begging for war?

"You know what they'll demand of us," I tried to remind Riu.

"Blood for blood," he confirmed. "I remember the rules, don't worry. I say fuck 'em. They attacked us, we defended ourselves."

"You know it'd mean war."

"We're already at war, Danev."

"You know what I mean."

"Then fuck it. Let 'em come." He turned around as though the matter was settled, almost gladdened by the news, searching for whatever excuse he could get to finally be the gangster he'd been waiting to become ever since the Lawmakers had been disposed of. He wasn't one to deal with peacetime well.

"Riu!"

"What?! We have people, we have weapons and supplies, we-."

"We're not ready."

"So when will we be?!"

He was frustrated, I knew. I'd been saying the same thing for months now, tempering Riu's dreams of open warfare. Sometimes I wondered if he would have been better had he not killed his recruiter, gone instead to the Fire Nation. No, who was I kidding? Bloodshed that wasn't by his own command was pointless. When it was him who demanded it, however, it was all he could ever dream of. He would never take a life simply because somebody had told him to. Would more likely turn his own blade against whoever deigned to try and command him in such a fashion.

Hell, the same likely went for whoever would restrain him for the bloodshed he did deem essential. I worried I was approaching the point of being that very person, having held him at bay for months now? How much longer can I go?

"Not yet," was all I could say.

"Been saying this shit for months, Danev. The longer we wait, the more their numbers grow."

That much was true. The same way the Hornets had initially gained support in opposition to the Lawmakers, the Rats now did in response to us. We'd gained strength because the enemy had leaned into the fight, made our efforts that much more admirable. Even in a place as devoid of spirit as the slums, who could deny a good underdog story? Now, instead of us, it was the Rats, and I knew what would arise should we make the same mistakes as our predecessors. "They're just a reaction. We lean into it, they'll just curry that much more support. You know how it works, Riu."

"Yes, dammit. I know! So you're saying we should just give in to whatever demands they make of us? Let them have one of our own?"

Sacrifice one of our own? I've had my fill killing our own. A part of me still resented Riu for having given the order. No part of me was eager to do so again. "Of course not. I'm just suggesting we don't rush into this. We pull our men back, fortify our positions, and wait for a response from the Rats."

"So we wait?"

"We wait," I confirmed.

And we did not wait long.

"Company at the gate!" called Laohi from where he'd been stationed at the entrance of the Hive.

So soon?

Riu's look said it all as a hand slip to his waistband where his dagger waited eagerly, a spoil of the last war, having once belonged to the leader of the Lawbringers, the history behind the blade one of local legend, most of it likely mere fiction, not that it mattered much. Well, his smirk seemed to say. You said 'wait for them to make the first move.'

I held up a hand to him, doing what little I could to temper the fiery bloodlust that waited behind his eyes. We didn't know what they were here for, and to simply kill another on sight would only escalate the situation more than we were prepared for.

"How many!?" I returned to Laohi!

"Just…just one! It's Ai Chen!"

Then it's not an assault. Just a single runner.

Riu's disappointment was palpable. Please, I could already see him imagining inside his head. Give us a reason!

I would make sure that there would be no reason on either side. If there would be, it would not be us responsible. "Hold all fire!" I yelled out.

I turned in time to see Laohi and Chote atop the reception building, sling ready to hurl rocks, suddenly turn to me as though verifying to see it was somebody of high enough standing indeed giving them the order to stand down. That it was.

They lowered their slings.

"Unblock the entrance!" I called to Raomi, the night's usual guard, none too pleased judging by his tired eyes for such an occurrence to be happening so close to the end of his graveyard shift.

His look was one of both exhaustion and hesitation. His guard was up, and so was mine, to be sure. I was taking no chances. The possibility that Ai Chen, skinny little brat that he was, was some form of bait for an ambush was unlikely. It wasn't the Rats' style, but still, the probability was never quite zero.

I stood before the entrance as Raomi pushed the heavy shelf aside, unveiling the Rat who stood there, hands in the air, the horror on his face, fresh sweat accumulating at the tight collar of his tunic, all clear signs that he had drawn the shortest straw.

The shortest straw for what? What is this?

The second wasn't up before, behind me, Raomi, Chote, Suzee, and Riu had whatever excuses they possessed for weapons raised, just daring Ai Chen to make a single misstep. The boy in question, frozen in terror, had to be called at twice by me before he seemed to forget jusst enough of the danger he was in to utter a response. "The Rats," he mumbled. "Miro, The Rats, they want to meet to negotiate."

Negotiate?

I could hear the confused shuffle of steps behind me as the same wonderment and confusion went through the heads of the Hornets to my back. Those behind me who at least possessed some degree of knowledge about the dire circumstances we faced, had all seemed to have expected our next encounter with the Rats to be one of direct conflict and unquantifiable bloodshed, not an offer of negotiation. No part of me doubted that, behind me, at least somebody was already loading a sling, readying a spear to throw, or otherwise preparing to end the life of the man, no, kid in front of me who had been so bold so as to even put negotiation on the table.

No. We can't kill him.

I would have turned to say just as much to the Hornets behind me before Ai Chen got to it first, uttering a line that seemed to be taught to him rather than spoken by his own comprehension of the situation. "Word's already got out. About the death, and that we came here to talk."

I thanked the spirits Riu wasn't an idiot, smart enough to know just what was meant by that. Miro, you clever bastard. So word was out about the death. Miro actually took that risk and let it get out, fully aware of what the streets would expect from the Rats, from them to likewise shed our blood, but no, Miro was willing to put the Rat's dignity and reputation on the line in order to meet with us. Should we kill Ai Chen here, we'd be nothing more than murderers reigniting a conflict that nobody on the streets beyond the bloodthirsty and the extremely bored desires; if Miro could work out a deal beneficial to him, the Rats would be seen as both de-escalating tensions and being the bigger person. We'd been backed into a corner, and Riu could see just that.

He took a step forward, now at my side, having no desire to allow such an exchange to fly right past him. "When and where?" he asked.

The boy, Ai Chen, froze. I don't think he'd expected to be alive this long, much less be asked a question. "Wha-what?"

"Fuck's sake," Riu mumbled beside me before calling out again, "Where does Miro want to meet, and when?! Must've told you that much, at least."

"Th-this noon. The hanged man's wall!"

An intriguing choice of locale, one that could hold symbolic imagery for both parties involved, where the Hornets had strung up the remaining Peacemakers, overthrowing the, at the time, dominant gang of the Slums. Truly neutral territory.

Damn did Miro have a sense of imagery.

I turned to Riu, who was now directly beside me. I had little doubt that he would let the boy go. As for what would come after, that remained to be seen.

"Go," he said to Ai Chen, whose eyes shot up in horror, wondering if the command had been directed to him, or to the other Hornets as though siccing them on the defenseless boy. "What, you didn't hear me? I said 'go'!"

The message had finally been understood and who it had been directed towards. The boy took a moment to remember how to move his legs before, finally, making a mad dash away, no part of him willing to find out if Riu would change his mind should he stick around any longer.

The other Hornets remained where they were, as though a part of them still anticipated a Rat swarm to ambush us at any moment.

That moment did not come.

"Alright!" I called out, knowing it best to clear the crowd so Riu and I could discuss what came next. "Fun's over. Get back to your post. Guards, your shift is over, we got it from here."

If there was one thing, however, that mattered more than killing Rats, it was sleep, and so the prospect of their shifts being over was more than enough to get those still here, Riu excluded, to lay down their arms, and call it quits here. Sooner or later, Aden and Meeko would be up to take the day shift, but until that time came, it was just me and Riu, doubtless with a good amount to talk about.

"We're not going."

Damnit. "Riu,-" I started.

"They attack us, we fight back, one of them dies in the process, that's the end of it. Why the hell is it getting to this point?"

"There are rules, Riu."

"Rules the Lawmakers made up. They're gone now, so why should we still play by them?"

"Because the Rats let the word get out. People on the streets know, and if we refuse to meet, we'll just be the Lawmakers all over again."

"The streets understand strength, Danev. Nothing more. I say we get out there before that shit Ai Chen can run too far and send him back to the Den crawling."

Two broken legs for arriving unannounced. So Riu is content to play by some of the Lawmaker's rules, but not others.

"Don't give me that look," he said.

"Riu, we're not ready for war."

"So we walk right into Miro's hands?"

"The Rats aren't going to try anything there, you know that, even if it means taking out our leadership. If there's one thing people won't tolerate, it's people who break the rules. Much as you may not like it, the old way still remains."

A harsh reality for Riu, that even when their remaining leadership had stopped kicking, the air finally driven from their body by the ropes tied tight around their necks, things had remained the same. At the time, all that had mattered to him was that the streets were his, but as the time between his takeover and the present grew, so had his ambitions and his desire to erase any memory of a time when they weren't.

"I've listened to you before, Danev. Streets still aren't any closer to being ours as before."

I knew where the resentment lay. We'd made the deal with the devil, for all intents and purposes swearing off of being a thorn in the Fire Nation's side. I doubted he would ever forgive me for that.

"We will, but not by starting a war we can't win."

"Can't we?"

Can we? Perhaps we could, but was I willing to wage everything on it in exchange for an outcome that would only leave them, us, and the streets as a whole in ruin?

"Not yet."

Riu sighed. "You know what they'll ask of us."

"Blood most likely."

"We can give them Fluke," he suggested. "He was there, can pin it on him."

"You think they'll buy it?"

"I think they'll be just as glad to get him off the streets as us. We can make it work."

Give up Fluke for Bee? I would have been lying to say that the idea hadn't crossed my mind. It wasn't the fate I would have liked for the young boy, especially after he'd managed to prove his loyalty to some small degree over this last week, but if it meant saving one of our own, one who truly was a Hornet, then it was no choice at all. It was a given.

"Maybe," I answered. "Guess we'll find out."

"Hmph," Riu grunted with a small grin. "Guess I shouldn't be so down about it. We held onto our stash and took one of their own. That's a victory if I've ever heard one." He turned back towards his quarters, his mind likely already drifting to whatever excuse he could find to once again bust open the Hive's booze stash. "Should celebrate if anything."

"We'll celebrate once this is over." I certainly had no intention to do so too early, especially if the chance was still there that we would need to choose between sacrificing one of our own and war by day's end.

For now, we had to keep things on the downlow, stop the word from getting out. If worse did come to worst, the rest of the Hornets couldn't know what it was that transpired. As it stood, only Aden and Meeko, save from those who were there themselves, knew the full details of what transpired. While I could trust the former two to not say a thing, it was those who had been there themselves who I was afraid of, Fluke especially.

I would make it work. I would think of something. I had so far, and so long as it was the survival of the Hornets that was concerned, I would continue to do so.

I had to.