Helmet vs Frying Pan

Before the sun rose, the night sky gave way to a blue of the early morning. Before the doors swung open, coats and jackets were put on in expectation of the day. And then the doors swung open. People in coats and jackets streamed out the doors of their buildings and houses, a tiny mist forming with their exhales.

It was getting cold.

As they got around the city in their puttering cars, on their roaring two-wheelers (as well as the ones with a tiny bell) and the like, most of them headed for cafes and donut spots, hoping to get in a quick snack for the day, before the hustle and bustle began. Some headed upstreet, some headed downstreet, some every which way, an organized force of chaos moving but never interacting.

One spot which some headed to was Uncle Poe's cafe, which was now open as the smell of pastries and coffee wafted around inside the dining area. Nora was busy holding the fort, handling a batch of pastries one moment before moving to the register the next and trying to figure out the coffee machine at the same time. She was fielding orders and handling food without breaking a sweat. She was at the register, taking the usual for a woman in green, who couldn't decide between ice coffee or black coffee.

And it was getting on her nerves.

If I don't get paid for this...'

And then, from outside, a sudden screech of brakes, a loud "Hey!" and a thud that resounded out.

Everyone's head jerked over to the sight, some of the closer ones on the street letting out a gasp as it happened. Nora craned her neck around the unbothered customer, peering through the glass windows of the cafe. She saw a bike stopped outside, a black bag wildly swaying off the broken headlight. Her blood ran cold.

Immediately, she slammed the register and quickly bolted into the kitchen, grabbing a stray cast iron pan from the rack before rushing out through the dining room onto the street, not bothering with her apron.

The moment she stepped out, a cold gust blew past her but she remained resolute as she briskly stepped up, recognizing the lying and breathless blond figure on the road.

'Idiot.'

The biker had long since gotten off and was angrily gesturing at Ryan. Nora was having none of that, her eyes said so to everyone.

"Hey!"

She raised the pan over her pink hair, the biker turning to look at her steely eyed, much like all the other bystanders.

"Back off!"

The helmet visor reflected her curved face back at her but Nora stood her ground. Everything was a standstill, drivers were peering out their windows while some had their phones out, camera aimed and ready.

The biker looked around… and visibly sighed. Shaking their head, they looked at the ruined headlight on their black bike and grabbed the bag off, tossing it to the fallen Ryan on the road, who groaned at the impact. They got back on the bike and started it up, revving it many times before speeding along their way.

Nora lowered the pan and bent down to help Ryan up.

"Blind idiot, didn't you ever cross a road before?"

"Bag caught most of it."

Ryan groaned, heaving the bag over to her in response. She simply took his arm over her neck and helped him inside. The bystanders seemed to suddenly remember that they had a day to get to and their hustle began again, momentarily stopped by the incident. They began to pocket their phones, dejected but busy, as they moved to their spots in the cafes and donut places and more.

Inside the cafe, there was a silence as Nora entered with Ryan and led him inside the kitchen. A common thought was that they would now be late. Once Nora was inside the kitchen, most of the line left through the door, not wanting to stick around.

The others didn't say much, just quickly moving along into the freed spots as they waited for someone to come over and take their orders.

In the kitchen, Ryan sat down on a chair, clutching his sides in exaggerated anguish.

"Are you okay?"

Nora inquired, a concerned look on her face. Ryan didn't respond, just making pained noises before going silent for a moment and opening his eyes at Nora. He closed them again and continued.

Nora punched his shoulder and he let out an "ow" before beginning to laugh loudly.

"Fucking… Clown bastard!"

She angrily said to him, while he continued laughing.

"I already told you, bag took the brunt of it."

He sighed.

"Well… what is in this clown sack?"

"My stuff… Jeez that bike came out of nowhere."

"You must be blind."

"Well... I was thinking too so maybe, yeah. Jeez, I couldn't have paid for the headlight even if I wanted to."

"Huh? Oh yeah… Did I just..."

"Possibly aid in a crime? I think so."

"I…"

"For this clown bastard? How touching."

And then there was a vibration. Ryan's eyes went wide.

"My phone!"

Nora quickly handed him the bag as he unzipped it and pulled out his phone. There was… no damage on it. The screen lit up with a random number, he had no clue who it was.

"The clown phone is ringing, pick it up."

Nora said, disdainful. Ryan picked it up,

"Hello?"

There was some voice on the other end. Ryan nodded along.

"I'll be right there."

The dial tone rang out and Ryan practically bolted out the backdoor, leaving a dumbfounded Nora behind. The door swung around a bit before coming to a close.

"What about the… coffee?"

-----

A bike cruised along the street, coming to a turn into a tall building's parking. The biker handed their token to the guard who pointed towards the headlight.

"Bad day?"

The biker simply nodded their head as the barrier lowered and they continued forward. Finding their spot, the bike came to a puttering halt before the key was twisted and the bike shut off. The biker got off, sighing. The helmet was unbuckled and pulled up, revealing a pale face with long hair.

She rested the helmet on the bike as she gave one look at the headlight. She sighed, picking up her phone. Pulling up her recent calls, she swiped on the one labelled "Niz (6)", all outgoing. The phone rang for a bit but then eventually, nothing.

She put it back in her pocket and headed to the elevator, taking her bag off her shoulders and into her hands.

The doors slid open with a creak and she stepped inside as the doors closed behind her. Her gloved finger hovered over the 3rd floor button. Ultimately, she decided on something else and held the button of the top floor as she pressed the 1st one three times.

Instantly, the lift began to descend, the orange display showing her going down into the basement… and then further before coming to a halt.

The creaky doors opened, revealing a bare concrete expanse, the size of the entire inner parking. She stepped out, walking forward to the center where a bloodied and mangled figure remained bound on a chair. Beside the chair was an empty metal table.

Her footsteps echoed around the bare chamber as she walked forward, dropping the bag on the table, waking the bloodied figure with a start. His head was shaved and he was sans clothes, save for a bloodied underwear.

"As promised, here I am! Again!"

The figure struggled against their ropes, violently shaking their head. They were desperately saying something but the duct tape muffled their voice.

"Oh you wish to talk? No can do, I brought my favourite now."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a chisel, a file and a rusted pipe wrench. The figure screamed, ultimately muffled by the tape, still struggling. The chair shifted backwards a bit and the figure placed her foot on the edge of the seat.

Grabbing the pipe wrench, she swung it down hard on the figure's knee twice, making him scream against the tape. With a sigh, she said,

"Let's try this again, introductions and all."

Pointing to herself,

"I am Marie."

She waved her hand over to they crying and bleeding figure,

"And you are the poor bleeding dog."

She then leaned in and said,

"A dog that bared its fangs to the impounder having a bad… fucking day."

Saying that she grabbed the man's chin and ripped the tape off his mouth, his pained scream echoing around the empty basement.

He began to sob.

"Please i-"

She shushed him and placed her gloved finger on his bloody lips. Taking her foot away, she went around behind him, her boots clacking on the stone floor.

"A dog that doesn't recognize the hand that feeds it…"

She continued until she was standing behind him. The man grit his teeth in pain, trying to keep himself from crying out. The only sound was of his quickened and heavy breathing as he bled freely from his shattered knee.

Marie put her hand to her ear, cupping it.

"There, that's better. Now, I will not ask again..."

She picked up the pipe wrench from the table and lashed her hand out to grab the man's hair and pulled his head back. Placing the pipe wrench to his teeth as she looked deeply into his eyes with her own hollow ones,

"Is there a bounty out for Niz?"

The man lightly nodded his head, his bloodies spit covering some of the pipe wrench. She pushed the pipe wrench a little harder to his teeth.

"And is it from the Bazaar?"

He nodded again, holding away the pain as best as possible.

"The Crow's Talons, is it?"

He stopped answering, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She smiled.

"There's my answer."

She brought herself close to the man's face, kissing the bridge of his broken nose. He remained still.

"Good dog."

And she brought away the pipe wrench.

"Sleep."

His eyes went wide.

"No nonono-"

The pipe wrench came smashing down onto his face.

"AAAAgh-"

It smashed down again. And again. And again.

Blood exploded with each hit. As his legs shook against the tied ropes. His hands jittered around as blood choked his throat and nose, pain taking over his head.

Then…

Nothing.