Chapter Twenty - Teamwork

'This is the address." Tyler told the team, un-crumpling the piece of paper Thomas had given him that morning. In front of him was an old barn, worn and broken, only sheltered by a flimsy metal roof that barely kept the rain back.

"Well, where is he then?" Charity asked calmly.

"He should just meet us here, I guess?" Roxy chimed, uncertainty in her voice. Then, suddenly, a thud echoed across the area from the roof; looking up in unison, there stood Thomas, or as he prefered, Prometheus. Blending into the dark, his black outfit became one with the night sky behind him.

"So? These are your team?" He asked accusingly, his voice distorted by a voice modulator hidden in his hood.

"Prometheus, meet Charity, Max, Elvie and Ava. These four are the best team we've got." Tyler explained.

"We'll see about that." Thomas retorted, jumping down to greet them. "Prometheus." Before turning his attention to Tyler, he coldly said, "I thought she wasn't getting involved?" He asked, his finger extended over to Roxy's position.

"She's just getting the debrief before she hops on comms. So let's turn our attention to the main fugitive today?"

"Yes. Let's." Thomas sounded cold, his voice like ice, "The target is Ramone Pearson. A drug dealer in the area. Number one goal is to take him down." He turned to Charity, Ava, Max and Elvie, "NOT take him out." The three looked at each other confused. "His dealer is linked to a large supplier. Normally, I'd do this alone, but I wanted Tyler's help with this one. As for the rest of you, you're just accessories to him."

"Hold up, so we aren't needed?" Max asked.

"You will have your assets, I'm sure. I told Ramone to meet in exactly five minutes, so Tyler up here with me, you three, move over to that position and wait for our signal." He pointed to nearby shrubbery and indicated to hide. "We are going drop-down, frighten him, then it'll be a chase. That's when you three come in. You chase him down; Tyler and I will take a shortcut and trap him on the east side. Got that?" He asked.

They all nodded, and Roxy retreated to an immediate shelter out of view.

Tyler and Prometheus climbed up the fragile barn and perched on the roof, waiting for their prey like poachers.

Not so long after, a tall man began walking down the path and towards them. Hair and eyes to match, he was carrying a black rucksack slugged over his shoulders.

He stood around, expecting someone to approach him for the drug deal.

Tyler and Prometheus looked at each other and nodded. Then, in unison, they jumped down.

"Ramone Pearson." Tyler shouted, his hood and mask covering his face and disorientating his voice, "You are at this moment found guilty of drug trafficking and selling." Tyler extended his wrist blade, intending to scare.

"What the fuck?—" Ramone shouted, his body filling with fear. He sprinted as fast as his skinny legs would carry him.

"NOW!" Prometheus called, sending the trio sprinting after him. Then, he turned to Tyler, "This way!"

Elvie was hot on his trail, just close enough to reach for his hoodie and throw him against the wall. "Ramone Pearson?" She asked coldly, her words like ice.

"Who the fuck are you people?" He asked with a whimper.

"We are the Hunters. But it's not us who wants to have a little chat." Saying this, she moved out of the way and allowed Prometheus to come into his vision.

"Shit! No! Don't let him get me! You have no idea what he's like!" He screamed. Prometheus grabbed Ramone by the scuff of his collar and pinned him high against the wall.

"Your supplier! WHO IS HE!"

"I-I don't know!"

"We'll see how much you remember after I break every one of your fingers." Prometheus reached out for Ramone's hand, shifting Tyler's face into fear.

"I can't tell you, man! He'll kill me!"

"Whoever you fear?" Thomas said softly, "FEAR ME MORE!" Then, dropping Ramone to the floor and began beating Ramone till his blood was filling the cracks of the streets, causing Tyler to step in.

"Prometheus, that's enough!" Tyler called, grabbing him and throwing Prometheus into the wall behind. Thomas started at Tyler, anger in his eyes.

"Mike Rapposh! That's the guy you're after! I swear! Just leave me alone." Tyler turned to look at Prometheus, who was walking close to him.

"You, me. My hideout. Now!" He told quietly but never lost the authority.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing back there?" Thomas shouted, "You had no reason to pull me off him!"

"You were going to kill him, Thomas!" Tyler screamed back, "This isn't you! You are out of control! I don't know if you were trying to prove something to the others, but you are not a killer! You got the information you wanted from him without needing to go full-blown death mode!"

"I got my information by interrogating! I don't know how you Hunter's do it, but that involves a bit of help in my line of work."

"There's interrogating, then there's a full-blown assault on a kid younger than us!"

"Tyler. You are the last person to be lecturing me about assault and murder. How many people have you and your girlfriend killed? How many do you remember? Those were people of all ages, races and genders. YOUR CREED HAS NO BOUNDARIES! The way I do things keeps people safe. You add another reason to be scared when things bump in the night."

"I make people scared? You just beat the shit out of a sixteen-year-old boy! A student at our school! If he wasn't scared before, he is now!"

Before either could get another word in, footsteps could be heard behind them. Then, as the light shone clearer, they could see Roxy slowly moving towards them.

"537." She told bluntly.

"What?" Thomas asked.

"537 people. That's how many I've killed. I could list them all if you want. I guess what I'm trying to say, Thomas, is when you kill someone, that's a boundary you can never come back from. I remember every single person I've killed. And Tyler here, he remembers the people from his entire ancestry. We took that bar and crossed it. What Tyler is saying is you don't need to. I didn't want Tyler to end up in this life, but he chose to. You, too, can choose to, but you shouldn't. Think about why Batman doesn't kill. Once you cross that threshold, you can't come back."

"And what about your friends out there? Did they choose it?" Thomas asked.

"All of them, yes. We all have a choice to be better in this world, and it's down to you to make the right one." She placed her hand on Thomas's shoulder. "I get this brooding Vigilante act you are trying to do, but you can let your guard down around Tyler and me."

"If you can make the world better by your choices, why did you join the Hunters?" He asked.

Tyler was the first to pipe up, "I joined because I wanted something more in my life. I never knew my history, and now I know everything. Plus, I can help keep people safe outside of Hunter's boundaries now. So I joined it to be a better person."

"By killing people? Seems counterproductive."

"The people I've killed have been massive threats to people's lives or monsters like you took on with us, mate!"

Roxy spoke up, "We take on the bad to give light. And usually, it's monsters we hunt. It's the odd occasion that we take on people. You know, for someone who said they did their homework on the Hunters, you don't seem to know much about us." Thomas went silent before turning his gaze to Roxy, "And you? Why did you join?"

"I joined because I was born into it. My parents were both Hunters, so I was legible by blood. But, unfortunately, they were killed by something. I'm yet to find out what, but that's me."

"Hasn't your council or whoever told you why?"

"No, never. I haven't had the time to ask. I'm always running missions or training people."

Thomas stood in-between them all and held out his hand.

"Maybe if you want to find out, you'll join me. Do some real good for the people who live here."

Both Tyler and Roxy looked at each other hesitantly, unsure what to do.