Mike tapped his earpiece to call HQ. “Caleb, where is that van headed now? Are they leaving the Playground?”
“No. They’re driving to the other side of the district, away from the bridge connecting the island to East St. Louis proper.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Stardust. “They’re probably making sure they’re far enough away that we can’t run them down on foot again.”
“Good thing we have wheels.”
Mike nodded in agreement. “If we hustle to get our rides, we should be able to catch them with Caleb guiding us.”
∞ ∞ ∞
Two minutes later, Stardust was bent low over his bike as he whipped through traffic, following Caleb’s directions. Mike was behind him in his SUV, engine roaring every time he accelerated to keep up with Stardust’s bike.
“Next street over. Turn left at the light,” Caleb said in his earpiece.
They turned left, tires squealing, arriving at an acrobatic show taking place on an outdoor stage in time to see the van leaving the scene. But they’d left a few of their members behind to cause mayhem. Stardust parked his bike and Zielinski pulled up next to him, immediately jumping out of the SUV. Stardust cracked his knuckles. He was determined to get some real action this time.
“One thing about those all-white outfits, it makes them easy to spot.” He unsheathed his sai, gaze locked onto the three white shirts headed for the crowd watching the show without any clue that trouble was coming their way.
He and Mike sprinted across the street, determined to stop the white shirts before they could cause any harm. Mike took one out as soon as they hit the scene, his blast sending him hurtling back and crashing into a big trash can. The can tumbled over, waste spilling out onto the white shirt as he rolled on the ground, groaning in pain.
Stardust grinned at the man’s plight. He deserved to be covered in garbage. The other two stopped and turned to face them. Stardust hoped like hell they wouldn’t run and they didn’t. Both of them aggressively moved into their space. Zielinski took one on and Stardust started fighting the other.
A few seconds into the fight Stardust realized something was off. He’d fought plenty of people—regular humans, enhanced humans, and humans on Croton. The strength with which this guy swung on him was beyond that of a regular human. He’d think he might be enhanced, but the wide eyes were a dead giveaway. This guy might not be in the middle of a Croton rage like the group they’d faced in the Loop, but he was definitely on the drug. That didn’t deter Stardust from the ass-whipping he was about to hand out. In fact, he was glad that the fight might be more even-handed now. Deciding to have a little fun, he half-turned to Zielinski, catching a confused frown on the big man’s face as he squared off with his opponent.
“If you’re wondering why that guy is so strong, he’s probably hopped up on Croton.”
The frown cleared from Zielinski’s forehead. “That explains it,” he said as he threw another punch.
Stardust flipped backward, out of range of a barrage of punches coming his way. “I bet I can take mine down before you beat yours.”
“What do I win if I beat you?” Zielinski asked.
It was on the tip of Stardust’s tongue to say anything you want. But he remembered his promise from earlier—he would keep it professional—which meant no flirty bets. “Bragging rights,” he said instead.
“You’re on. Any stipulations?”
“No powers or weapons. Hand to hand only,” Stardust said as ducked to avoid a kick aimed at his head.
“Agreed.”
Stardust popped back up, sliding his sai back into their holsters in one smooth motion. He faced off with his opponent, fists raised and ready to engage.
“Are you gonna chat with your boyfriend or are you gonna fight?” the man growled impatiently.
“He’snotmy boyfriend,” Stardust snapped before he spun around with a round house kick. The move connected to the guy’s jaw with a satisfyingcrack. But the white shirt worked his jaw back and forth, shaking off the blow with ease.
“You’re gonna have to hit me with more than that, sweet thing.”
The taunt upped Stardust’s anticipation for this fight. He bounced twice on his toes. “Oh, baby. You shouldn’t have said that. I’m about to make youhurt.” He sprinted forward, gunning straight for the white shirt. His opponent punched out hard in a blow that would undoubtedly have caused serious pain if it had connected. But Stardust hit the spin move, and the white shirt’s swing went wild with a miss, while Stardust ended up behind him. He grabbed the man’s shoulders and jumped up, using his strength and momentum to drag the man down with him. Stardust drew his legs up so that when they hit the ground, he stabbed the white shirt in the back with his knees. Something in the vicinity of his ribs cracked and the man yelled out in pain.
“Aaaagh!”
The white shirt rolled free of Stardust’s hold, clutching his side, but only managed to make it to his knees. Without an ounce of sympathy, Stardust snapped his foot forward and kicked him on the chin. Those wide eyes went impossibly wider before they fell shut and the man crumpled to the ground in a heap of defeat.
Stardust turned around, ready to gloat that he’d won their challenge. But Zielinski was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, his opponent out cold at his feet.
Stardust tilted his head to the side, a grin tugging at his lips. “I’m going to choose to believe that your guy didn’t fall at the exact same time as mine and give you the win on this one.”
