Kay walked into the room. “Freeze!” he anded.

  The thugs turo him, eyes gleaming in shock as they were sure they had been caught by the police. But no. It was some kind of purple liquid thing. They were relieved it wasn’t the police but as they took the eyes on the being, they were captured by its bewildering form.

  Something lit up in Jung-han. A purple water thing? With a shirt and pants? It was the creature that he heard about from Richie.

  “What the–?” said Daytona, nearly dropping his key-breaker.

  “Oh,” said Jung-han, straightening up his stahis guy. He’s the ohat broke up the shake-down at West Queens.” Jung-han edged towards Kay, hands out and ready to hurt. “Let’s deal with him quick.”

  Daytona eyed his partner, pig up the breaker and putting it bato the lock. “ we hurt it?”

  “Apparently,” said Jung-han, eyes gring at Kay. “Let’s find out for sure!”

  Philly crept up to the loan agency’s door to keep an eye on Kay. Not half a minute in the room and Kay was already feeling the heat with Jung-han approag him like a tiger ready to pounce.

  Kay looked around his enviro– the office had a few desks and the water cooler in the er beside a few chairs. Empty floor space was not a on thing. Was this the best enviro for a battle?

  Kay looked over Jung-han’s body and even Jung-han’s stance signified more fighting prowess than Kay could ever have.

  It was time for Kay to try out actual fighting. As Jung-han closed in, Kay took a swing at the guy’s head but the attack was obvious and Jung-han ducked uhe attack with ease. Jung-han took a jab at Kay and grazed the water d’s cheek, causing him to fall back. Kay caught his head.

  Jung-han patted his knuckles. “Yeah. Made of water.” He looked back at Daytona. “e over here and help me waste this sucker.”

  Daytohe breaker in the door. “How are we supposed to beat a water thing?”

  Jung-han watched as Kay stroked his cheek, soothing the pain that Jung-han’s blow left him. “By making him regret ing here.”

  Jung-han rushed Kay. Kay was still for a split sed but his nerves kicked in and he hopped out of the way. Jung-han traced him, reag out to grab Kay’s watery arm. There were easier ways to break free but being grabbed startled Kay so he panicked and lifted up a foot to kito Jung-han’s stomad pry himself out of the man’s grasp. Jung-ha go and Kay fell back.

  Jung-han toppled back, Daytona having to catch his partner. Jung-ha out a singur chuckle. “Slippery!”

  Kay got up auro a defeance– his mind focused on dodging. Philly wasn’t sure if this was going to go Kay’s way. Both of the crooks looked ready for a fight and Kay was on the backstep.

  Daytona and Jung-han spread out and Daytona came from Kay’s side and took a swing at his head. When Kay stepped back, he bumped against a desk and en for arike. Daytona threw his other fist at Kay’s fad khe water d back, but Kay shook off the pain and had a quick recovery. He snapped his body out of the way of another one of Daytona’s punches, and threw a big at Daytona’s head, smag him with with the force of a crashing wave!

  Daytona stumbled bad took a hand down his wet scowl. Water dripped from his hair. “You weren’t kidding. This... thing is the real deal!”

  Kay put his dukes up. When Jung-han took a step forward, Kay lifted a mighty kick at the guy. Jung-han slid bad Daytona exploited the opening Kay left on himself. Kay let the momentum of his kick twirl him around ahrew a blistering punch at Daytona, smag him in the jaw.

  Daytona was thrown against the desk. He shot a deathly look at Kay and growled.

  Philly watched from the door, smiling wide! Maybe the kid could hold his own!

  “What did you say this thing was?” asked Daytona to Jung-han.

  “I don’t know,” said Jung-han, “only that it ain to fight.”

  Kay was feeling unparticipative so as he stood there, log eyes with his two oppos, he took a fident stand gave a judgmental point. “Cease your robbery on this pce!”

  Jung-han charged at Kay. “Not a ce, brat!”

  He took a fury of swings at Kay, but was having trouble nding any on the creature. Kay slid out of the way, keeping his bance even as he had to shift his steps with quick fashion. Jung-han chopped into Kay’s tre but the water boy squealed and loosened his structure and the ha right through.

  Sweet! thought Kay, surprised at his own finesse.

  After handling a fury of punches, Kay readied a powerful stand punched Jung-han in his chest. The man was throttled back, but recovered quickly.

  Kay knew he had to turn up the volume.

  The waterboy fused his arms together to form a hammer of liquid. He swung at Jung-han but was too slow andthe crook dodged out of the way. Daytona saw and opening and rushed at Kay, cheg him into the er with the water cooler. Kay plummeted to the floor, pushing over the water cooler and knog it down. The tank fell off and water began to pour all over the carpet.

  Jung-han gave Daytona a high five. Pain burned across Kay’s body, and his pride was shook, too. He slipped his hand trying to get up on his feet.

  “He might be water,” said Jung-han, “but he takes a punch like cardboard!”

  Water poured around Kay’s feet, but then he trated felt a e to the water below. Drawing the water into his body and fog that energy down his arm, he extehe arm at the crooks and grinned.

  They didn’t know what was going on until a burst of water fired out of Kay’s hand, dousing the men. The spray owerful as a fire hose and it khe men back, Jung-han toppling over a chair and Daytona falling against a desk. Kay drehe room with his attack, and a maniacal ugh came over him.

  The water beh him dried up, though, and the spray slowed. Kay dropped his arm. The fun was over but Kay mugged for the criminals, water dripping off of them like they just came out of a pool.

  They gred at the water boy, though, and Kay’s fidence disappeared.

  Jung-han and Daytona stomped across the damp floor, Daytona slipping for a sed but catg himself. When they ered the water boy in the er, Kay tried jumping over the chairs but Jung-han grabbed him and Kay toppled to the floor.

  “Gottem!” said Jung-han.

  Jung-han drove a fist at Kay but Kay rolled out of the way. He was still in Jung-han’s grip, though, and couldn’t roll far. He tried kig at Jung-han, but Jung-han toughed the blow a his hand around Kay’s limb.

  Jung-han sneered while Daytona ran around and grabbed Kay’s shoulders. The two hoisted the water boy to his feet. Kay struggled to get free, eyes full of terror, but Daytona wouldn’t release the boy.

  Kay was about to get it; Philly had to intervehe fox ran in and stood behind Jung-han while the punk was distracted. Philly was unnoticed, so he tried to scare Jung-han with a loud yap!

  Jung-han flinched and looked down to see the fox behind him. He was too preoccupied with the water boy to be fused why a fox was in a loan agency but he had a feeling it was going to be a problem so he swung a boot in Philly’s dire before the fox could do anything, knog Philly back a few paces.

  The foxwhimpered and colpsed on the floor.

  Kay gasped in horror, then ched his brow and growled.

  His dissolved his shoulder to get out of Daytona’s grip and then leaned forward to raise a kick up to Daytona’s face. He did a flip and turned around to face his oppos. Daytona shook off the kid he and Jung-han charged the water d. Kay was shook, all his fury blown out of him.

  He closed his eyes and braced himself, and when he heard them getting close, he put mass into his arms and threw out his arms at his oppos. He pushed both of them into each other and their heads kogether with a loud bonk. The tension in their bodies drained out of them and they fell to the floor.

  Laying by Kay’s feet, they were unscious.

  Kay stepped away from the meared at them on the ground. Was that it?

  Philly groaned. Kay ran over and came to the fox’s side.

  “Philly!” Kay reag out to help his friend up but hesitated. His fox’s body might be sore aive after such a blow. Kay said, “Are you okay?”

  Philly blinked and shook his head. “Yeah. Just got the wind knocked out of me.” He shook his head and winced. He looked over at Jung-han. “What– does this guy practice kig foxes?”

  Sirens came r in. Philly and Kay looked out the door into the hall where red and blue lights blinked on the windows. The cops were here.

  “Let’s get out of here!” said Kay.

  Kay ran with Philly out into the hall. They crept low when they got close to the window and they went over to pick up the backpack. Philly slipped i Kay khe cops were just below so he ditched the idea of heading out the door they came in earlier.

  The door below opened. Kay zipped up the backpad put it on his back. He heard footfalls– the cops ing up the stairs. Kay took off running the other dire towards the door oher side of the building; the side of the building that was still active.

  “Screw it,” said Kay.

  He ran. He ran towards the other wing of the building where many people were still at work. They heard the noise– more than a few of them called the cops– and then they went out into the hall to see what was going on.

  And what did they see? They saw Kay ing their way, so if excitement was what they were looking for, they had found it. Many gasped and screamed! Kay locked eyes with the crowd of several men and women, and saw how horrified they were at the sight of an abomination running through the building.

  Kay never liked to expose his watery self to the public, but he had no other choice, though. He ran dowher hall and whe close to the end he went down a staircase to the first floor. The doors were right there and there were no cops around outside, so he smmed them open aurned into the p rain.

  The cop car was at the other end of the building, its lights shining through the storm. Kay didn’t see any cops, but he wasn’t going to stay around to check. He ran around the building’s er to a back. A fence separated the back lot from a group of trees. Kay jumped over the fend into the grove.

  Kay looked bao one was following him and he had more than another ability to escape pursuit if they tried. As far as he could tell, he was home free.

  “Alright,” said Kay, not sure if Philly could hear him over the rain. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Kay, with Philly in tow, vanished from the se.

  O’Malley was waiting for the guys to get back.

  The van arked in the back lot, radio off so O’Malley could hear anything he o hear. His mission was to wait irud get it going as soon as the guys had the safe in the back. All three of them could have gone up to retrieve the safe, but they weren’t sure hoeople would be around up there and didn’t wao draw as little attention as possible. Jung-han wasn’t even sure two people were needed, let alohree. So O’Malley stayed in the van.

  A distant sound made O’Malley’s ear twitch. Then the sound got loud and O’Malley k was a siren. A police siren. He choked on a gasp, looking round the lot to see if there was a back exit. No. Fence around the lot as far as O’Malley could see.

  Then the cop car sped across the street in front of the van and O’Malley could hear the car pull into the front. O’Malley froze, options jumbling in his head. What was he going to do? What could he do?

  Jung-han and Daytona weren’t back yet, and there was no time to wait for them. O’Malley had to get out of there.

  He turhe engine on, cursing how loud the old van was. He hoped the cops didn’t hear him as he drove up to turn into the parking lot.

  But the cops were right there! He could see the red and blue fshing against the rainy pavement in front of him. The car was right around the er!

  He looked ahead. All that was between the back lot and the road was a sb of grass and sidewalk. He could drive over it. He pulled up slowly, keeping a around the building to see if a cop was there. It was too risky to pull up without cheg where the cops were looking.

  O’Malley gritted his teeth and took his foot off the gas. He got out of the van into the onsught of rain, and snuck up to the er of the building to see if any cops were around. He didn’t see any– they had gone inside. O’Malley got bato the van.

  Water dripped on the seat. O’Malley pulled the van up to the curb and was rocked forth wheire went over. O’Malley put his seat belt on as the car slowly wheeled across the grass and then the sidewalk. Another rock forward and the van sptted down onto the road.

  O’Malley turned into traffid drove into the night. No cops were following him. He had gotten away home free.

  “Suys,” he said to no one.

  The van faded into the night.

  Dead Head’s office– like the warehouse itself–was just as dim during the night as it was during the day.The light was a shade darker than what table to most people. With a couple guys w on the van and Dead Head and Strike hanging out in the office, it ractically w hours for the dubious anization.

  Upon O’Malley returning to home base with two partners missing, Dead Head khat the job had gone badly. He was in the middle of short meeting with Strike when the vehicle rolled in. He had O’Malley seated in the office while Dead Head paced around the small walking space, scowl chiselled into his face.

  O’Malley knew he was in trouble.

  “What went wrong?” asked Dead Head.

  “Uhhhh...” O’Malley took his eyes around the room. “I’m not sure. It musta been only ten minutes after the guys went in– Jung-han and Daytona– that a cop car pulled in. I waited as long as I could have but I had to get outta there!”

  Strike scoffed and leaned up against the wall in the er. “One of those idiots must have triggered the arm.”

  O’Malley tossed his hands out, shrugging. “I did what I had to do.”

  Dead Head s him so hard his lip folded a sharp angle. He wao yell at the goon, but what good would that have done? He could have messed the idiot’s face up but it was getting te and Dead Head was tired. “Get out of here,” he grumbled at O’Malley.

  O’Malley was still worried about his job with the gang but he didn’t leave there with any wounds so he thought he got lucky. He got up ahe office without a word.

  Dead Head brushed his hair back, his hood falling off before the man put it back up.

  “What do we do about Jung-han and Daytona?” asked Strike, thrusting herself off the wall with arms still crossed.

  “They won’t talk,” said Dead Head. “Nothing to ect them back to this operation.”

  Strike nudged a head at O’Malley, seen through the office window walking across the floor. “What about him?”

  “Leave him for now,” said Dead Head. “He’s on probation.”

  “Alright,” said Strike. He stretched her arms up and yawned. “I’m heading home. Whatever dumb thing that those s tripped up, we’ll find out tomorrow in the papers, I bet.”

  Dead Head groaned and pinched some fingers around his eyes, fighting the irritation of a headache. “Don’t remind me.”

  Strike walked out of the offid headed to the exit. Dead Head dragged his hand over his face again. Tomorrow was going to be a troubling day but it was te and he needed sleep, too. He walked out of the office, turning off the light. When he first started the gang, he hoped things would go smoother than they had been going.