Nameless District

2| Black District

"Hey, Boy!" said Kay. "I've never seen you before here. Are you new to this district? My advice, you'd better hand over the backpack, and we'll let you go free."

The baseball-cap figure shifted slightly in place; his hands gripped the backpack straps tightly and slung them over his shoulders.

Malvinn, standing behind the baseball cap figure, took a step forward while dragging his sword across the floor. The sound of blades scraping was very piercing to the ears of the baseball-caped man.

"Don't get in my way!" shouted the baseball cap figure, ducking deeper to hide his face. His breath sounded rough. "This stuff is mine. I got it first."

Kay grinned as he tilted his head to the right. "What did you say? Your voice is as small as a girl's. I can't hear it."

Click!

Kay pulled the trigger and pointed it at the boy in the baseball cap. "You better put down the backpack and get out of here. As long as I'm still kind to you."

Kay was ready to shoot the gun at the young man, but from behind, Malvinn suddenly raised his right hand and asked Kay to stop.

"You want to take it, Malvinn? Are you going to play with this little mouse? This is less challenging for you." Kay chuckled.

To their surprise, Kay thought Malvinn would slash the baseball cap figure's neck with his sword. Instead, Malvinn sheathed the blade and walked up to the trembling young man in the hat.

The figure in the hat gritted his jaw and lowered his head even further to hide his face. "I said you don't come any closer!" he threatened Malvinn.

On the other hand, Kay burst out laughing at the cuteness.

"Malvinn, you made the little mouse tremble with fear! Look, he's probably peed his pants. Isn't it embarrassing? We're like snatching candy from a child!"

Malvinn didn't answer, nor did he listen to Kay's sarcasm. Malvinn kept advancing toward the baseball cap figure and gripped his hand very tightly.

"Let me go!" He started kicking Malvinn's muscular body. But that kick felt very weak. Even Malvinn didn't react at all because he didn't feel anything.

The hand of the figure in the baseball cap was lifted high by Malvinn, so he had to stand on his tiptoes so as not to break his arm bone. He groaned in pain.

Malvinn's grip grew more assertive. Just as roughly as with his left hand, Malvinn snatched the backpack from the baseball-capped boy's shoulder and threw it at Kay.

"Let me go! You guys are really shameless brats. You take other people's things." The young man sounded like a whimper.

Kay, who had turned around and was about to leave the parking lot, stopped. He turned the gun back on his index finger and glanced at Malvinn.

Malvinn nodded and started pulling on the hat the young man was wearing. But unfortunately, a kick flew towards Malvinn's face. No less agile, Malvinn dodged. The tip of the young man's boot scraped Malvinn's cheek until it bled.

At the same time that the young man rolled onto the floor to get free, Kay shot his gun at the baseball caped young man's head.

Bang!

The atmosphere instantly froze. Malvinn and Kay stood silently, staring at the boy in the baseball cap sprawled on the parking floor.

"You kidding me?" Kay's face paled as he stared at the figure.

At the right moment, Kay managed to shoot the tip of the young man's hat off.

The baseball cap figure that had lost its cap rolled over and curled onto the parking lot floor with a thumping chest. She thought her life was gone. But when she realized she was okay, she glanced at Kay and Malvinn, who looked at her coldly.

The figure snapped out of shock; she saw that her hat had fallen off, and her long black hair had fallen to her chest.

"Let's get out of here!" said Malvinn as he walked away from the location.

Kay, who was still shocked, could only freeze there. Malvinn tapped him on the shoulder. Kay immediately tucked both pistols under his coat and muttered, "She's a girl?"

The girl panicked and groped the floor for her hat. She was so ashamed and scared because her identity as a woman was exposed.

"If you need money, take it from the corpses' wallets!" shouted Malvinn, waving without looking back. "They're quite wealthy, it seems."

Malvinn pushed Kay's shoulder to walk away from the location. They left the underground parking lot with the backpacks they had managed to get their hands on.

"A girl?" Kay repeated his question. "You knew she was a girl from the start?"

Malvinn ignored Kay's question. He was back on his motorcycle, wearing a helmet, and ready to leave. But Kay still didn't accept it because the question just hung up. He raced ahead and blocked Malvinn's path outside the building.

"I told you before," Malvinn said irritably. "She's just a kid."

"More precisely, a girl!" Kay hissed. "And her face... full of bruises! Someone has beaten her," shouted Kay to Malvinn, who was still silent.

***

An hour earlier...

Slap!

"My! I beg you, Henry, spare me! I will definitely bring you more money."

The sound of blow after blow echoed again from an alley near an old flat. The walls are about to collapse. The area is very seedy. Flats, former offices, and closed shops all lined up and stuck to one another. Each block is separated by a narrow alley passable for two people.

"Fucking girl! Your presence is of no use to me at all. I already lost my precious million coll to buy you. It turns out that you are completely useless."

"Forgive me, Henry! Please, don't kill me. I will do an excellent job tonight. I'll be right back and bring the money to you."

The sounds of fists and punches echoed again from the dark alley. No one dared to see, let alone help. No one cares who is hurting whom. The screams and cries of pain competed with raindrops falling, inundating the slum streets along the black district, better known as the Nameless District.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The telephone ringing continued to blare from one of the buildings in front of the dark alley. Malvinn was standing by the window with a katana sword. He ignored the ringing phone and was more interested in the wet street below.

***

Underground parking...

Malvinn came back from his memory an hour ago. "Yes, and the man who beat up the young girl is our new neighbour—Henry," Malvinn replied casually.

"What?" Kay shouted while opening the visor of his helmet. "So you're saying the girl just now was the one Henry beat up in the dark alley in front of our house?"

The girl, whose face was covered with bruises from being hit, managed to get her baseball cap which was already full of holes from Kay's shot. Her eyes and lips were swollen, and she couldn't see clearly. The throbbing still filled her head. She picked up the hat with trembling hands.

The girl curled her long hair and tucked it under her hat. Tears began to fall and wet her shabby jacket. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and walked quickly out of the underground parking lot, filled with corpses and blood.

The girl shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. She gripped tightly the roll of Coll money she managed to collect. She glanced sideways at the lying corpses and their empty wallets.

"You have to pay for what you did," muttered the girl as she stepped out of the underground parking lot and headed for one of the payphones across the street.

Inside the phone booth filled with dirty words, the girl picked up the receiver and glanced at the emergency numbers line. The girl's bruised and cut fingers were still shaking. The adrenaline in her bloodstream had not decreased. Fear and shock still ambushed her body.

"But you do have to pay for it. You guys have ruined my favourite hat," muttered the girl as she pressed the phone button.

***

Several groups of luxury cars arrive at a club outside the Nameless District. They escorted each of their leaders to meet in the VIP room.

The room was dimly lit. The smell of cigarette smoke, perfume and alcohol mixed together. The narrator's room looked empty. Only a man was leaning against a sofa, playing with his cigar box.

The door swung open, and two men with bodyguards appeared. One man was fat, bald, and wore an expensive white suit; the other was wearing a dark blue suit. His body is quite muscular, with many tattoos adorning his open arms. Each of them sat in a different place and formed a circle.

"You guys are late. Where is Miss Frey?" asked Marco, the bearded man who had arrived first. He started cutting the end of his third cigar.

The bald man answered while pouring alcohol into a crystal glass. "I heard she just got into trouble. A bunch of new mafias come and make trouble in her area." He sipped his alcohol. "Wasn't that what you did, Ramones?"

"Don't accuse me recklessly, Pablo!" replied the tattooed man.

Ramones called out to his bodyguard, who was standing behind the couch. The young man with a scar on his cheek came carrying a small black suitcase. He placed the briefcase on the table in front of the Ramones.

Ramones pulled his sleeve a little higher to reveal a snake tattoo wrapping around his arm. He started to open the suitcase in front of him. He showed Pablo and Marco the contents of the suitcase.

"Finish those hooligans with this money," Ramones said. "I don't care what method you will use. I just don't want my business destroyed because of that brat! After ruining Miss Frey's business, they can come to my territory."

Pablo took another quiet sip of his whiskey. He sat lazily on the couch. His fat body was a bit of a hindrance, but he didn't care.

"Better use a neutral party to finish off these thugs," suggested Pablo. "If our men are directly involved, it's not impossible that the district will turn into a battlefield."

"I agree with you, Pablo," Marco said as he pressed his cigar against the surface of the ashtray until it went out. He took out his cell phone and called someone.

***

Kay and Malvinn drove their motorbikes at top speed down the deserted district streets. Occasionally they see smoke from bonfires made by homeless people on the side of the dirty and smelly streets.

That night, the rain just let up. The cold air is getting tense. The streets were filled with puddles. They raced, sometimes Malvinn was ahead, and sometimes Kay caught up first.

From a distance came the sound of a police car siren wailing like a baby crying. Kay and Malvinn glanced at each other from behind their helmets.

At the next crossroads, two police cars from opposite directions tried to block their motorbikes.

"Fuck!" cursed Kay.

They managed to avoid the patrol car with ease.

"Malvinn, do you want to have fun tonight?"

"Yokai!" shouted Malvinn over the howling wind. "I need fresh air to nourish my lungs. How far are we going to go and toy with them?"

Before Malvinn and Kay slid away from being chased by two police cars, a beam of white light from the front blinded their vision.

"What the hell is that?" shouted Kay angrily.