The leader returns (Part 1)

Naomi was standing behind the counter with her hand covering her mouth. She was in disbelief at what had happened right in front of her. She hadn’t been running the bakery for a long time, but to be honest, these people that would ask for protection money every once in a while were getting to her.

The woman was aware that having to pay protection money was simply a necessary evil if one wanted to work in any town, but the frequency with which those gang members were harassing her about it, was simply getting out of hand. At times she had wanted to slap these members herself, but Naomi knew that it wouldn’t end with that. The Howlers weren’t just any gang in Slough, but the biggest one, so doing any such thing would only make it worse in the end.

The woman had merely resisted today because she was out of options, never expecting for someone to intervene on her behalf, much less to witness one of the gang members slump over on her floor with blood dripping out from his mouth.