BUS ATTACK

Andrew didn't want to travel by his police car today. It was too open, and if he showed up anywhere there would be instant suspicion. He left the house early the next morning while everyone stressed about Chloe and her disappearance and opted to take the bus. A change of transport and scenery might do him good in these troublesome times, after all. Well, that was what his father would say at least. He waited in the morning chill at the bus stop, the surroundings unfamiliar to him from this point of view. He checked his watch. The bus was four minutes late so far, which wasn't surprising. The buses were never, ever on time. They were always at least five minutes late, making Andrew groan impatiently. He supposed he could pull out his phone and check the news, but then that would mean he might become too distracted and miss the bus completely.

So, he waited in the cold, rubbing his hands together firmly for minutes on end to gain the heat that he currently lacked. The bus didn't come for many more minutes as Andrew desperately rubbed his palms together. Then, the bus came down the street, slowing down before finally pulling into the bus stop. Andrew let the doors slide open, paid his fare and then moved to the back of the bus, quietly sitting down in his seat before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the news stories. Someone had leaked Chloe's kidnapping, because it seemed to be all over the news with the caption: KILLER STRIKES AGAIN. Andrew sighed and began reading the story, frowning as he read the many inaccuracies compared to Nicola's story. For example, it claimed the killer had burst in and Nicola had fled, which wasn't true considering Chloe had knocked out Nicola.

The bus came to another stop sharply, making Andrew rock in his seat. Andrew looked up to the empty bus, wondering who on earth could be wanting to get on at this time. Someone trying to get to their job, maybe. Andrew watched as five teenagers got on, and he felt his heart sink. He recognised two. Danny and Livia. Which meant the other three were Oscar, Olivia and Turk. Andrew didn't say anything but kept watching as they stopped and sat down near the front of the bus. It appeared they hadn't realised Andrew was sitting at the back, because they spoke in loud voices and didn't check to see if anyone was listening in. Andrew ignored them and continued scrolling through the multiple stories on his phone, trying to make sense of it all, but then he heard something. "Well, he won't tell us where he's hiding, but he manages to get back to his place unnoticed after making a kill," Livia said.

Andrew looked up, his eyes gazing at the unsuspecting teenagers as Turk slowly nodded. "Well, if we're going to do some of his dirty work for him, we should at least know where he's based. Who made the last kill?" Livia raised her hand, "The woman in her house. I have to say, I made quite a mess." The others chuckled, and Andrew clenched his fists tightly. So, Rachael's ex-girlfriend and her friend's were also responsible for the deaths. Andrew looked around at the ceiling, but to his dismay saw no cameras at all. It would make evidence incredibly hard. Deciding, Andrew slowly stood from his seat and walked past the teenagers, who went quiet when they recognized him. He walked right up to the female bus driver and muttered under his breath, "Pull over." The driver pulled over, and Andrew gently undid her seatbelt, opened the door and tugged her out.

"Wait one moment," he grumbled as the driver protested loudly, and he shut the doors again before turning back to the teenagers, who eyed him carefully. Andrew stared them down, his fists clenched at his side. "What do you want, prick?" asked Livia venomously, and Andrew chuckled. "I want to put you all six feet under," he said calmly, and the others glanced at one another in surprise. Danny slowly stood and turned to Andrew, an expression of rage dominating his features as he charged forward. Andrew was caught off guard, and the fist flew into his face, making him stagger backwards. Danny advanced, and Andrew suddenly lashed out, striking Danny in the mouth twice before grabbing him by the shoulders and smashing him against the wall. The bus shuddered, and Andrew stepped towards the others. Oscar and Olivia both ran at the same time, teeth barred as they ran to meet Andrew.

Andrew ducked a blow from Oscar, rammed his fist into Olivia's stomach, turned, uppercut Oscar in the chin and finally brought his knee up into Olivia's face. The two fell back, both bleeding at the mouth as Turk punched wildly through the air, trying to land his massive fists against Andrew's face. Andrew stumbled back as he dodged, quickly slamming his left fist against Turk's side twice and then kicking the back of his legs. Turk hit the ground, and Andrew followed, straddling him quickly before lifting his right fist and punching down hard. The blow glanced off the side of Turk's face, and Andrew went again, punching down furiously, each blow landing against Turk's cheek as Turk struggled to escape. A foot landed against Andrew's side, and Andrew fell back, panting as Livia stood above him, fists raised. Andrew snarled and kicked out, catching Livia by surprise as his foot collided with her thigh.

She tripped backward, and Andrew climbed to his feet. A sudden blow came to the back of his head from Danny, and Andrew immediately thrust his elbow back, smashing it into Danny's gut, spinning and clubbing him over the side of the head with his knuckles. Danny fell to the side, and Andrew spun back, Livia's fist smashing against his chest and sending him staggering into the window of the bus. Turk was on his feet again and charged towards Andrew, fists raised as he rushed. Andrew swung forward, uppercutting Turk in the stomach, grabbing him by the back of the neck, turned and tossed him through the air, watching as Turk smashed through the window of the bus and hit the concrete outside hard. Olivia, Oscar and Turk were all down for the count, leaving only a struggling Danny and furious Livia standing.

Danny charged from the side as Livia punched, and all Andrew did was step aside, watching as Livia struck a surprised Danny fully in the face. Danny turned to Livia, bleeding heavily at the nose and mouth, and Livia looked shocked. Suddenly Danny fell to his knees, and then a foot to the back made him pitch forward and sprawl messily onto the floor of the bus. Livia stared down at him, eyes wide, and a fist flew into her chest. She stumbled, and the fist came again, now hitting her face. She backed up against the wall of the bus, and Andrew was upon her, throwing fist after fist. Olivia spat blood as the brutal beatdown knocked her senseless. She fell to her knees, unable to stand, and Andrew forced her to stand by grabbing her by the hair and lifting her to her feet.

"Touch my daughter or her friends again…you will wish I gave you mercy," Andrew hissed, and Livia whimpered. Andrew lifted a knee into her gut, making her double over in pain, and then smashed his elbow onto the back of her head, watching as Livia collapsed and slapped onto the floor. Panting and holding his aching ribs, Andrew opened the doors to the bus and stepped off, ignoring the angry yells of the driver as he staggered into the bright of day, now making up his mind to head back home. He could search a crime scene another day…but for now he had to make sure everyone was safe.

***

A bloodied and bruised Andrew stumbled through the front door and into the living room, where he found everyone gathered. Everyone except two people. Chloe, who was kidnapped, and Darcy. "What the fucking fuck did you fucking do!" Rachael yelled when she saw Andrew, but Andrew waved her away. "Where's Darcy?" he asked, and Jacob slowly stood, "He thinks he knows where they took Chloe." Andrew groaned and looked around at them all, slowly nodding to himself before saying, "Where?" The others shrugged. "He said something about taking a few smoke grenades," Luke said, a frown on his face, "And a warehouse."