A smiley face mask was torn off a young man while he was held on the ground by several men. “I’m sorry!,” his shouts fell on deaf ears as Mano tied a noose around his neck. “No, you don’t have to do this,” the man began to panic, “You don’t have to do this!” Mano smiled, “I know I don’t…,” then he tapped the trunk of a nearby car which peeled off down the street, dragging the former Laughing Boy by the neck. “…I could’ve just shot you,” he said in Spanish, which earned quite a bit of laughter from his men.

****

David Tyrell was a senior member of the Metro Knights as well as the adult instructor giving wushu lessons at the YMCA. With the murder of DJ, he opted to hold a therapy session with the students. They sat in a circle, most of them with their arms or ankles crossed as they slouched in their chairs; none of them spoke.

“I guess I’ll start,” he began, “I feel disgusted by what happened to DJ. I think that, for what faults he had, he was improving and could have been beneficial to the Knights. Before I continue, I’ll just open up the floor to the rest of you. How do you feel about what happened last week?”

“Yolanda was talking shit about DJ on tik tok,” one of the students finally spoke up, “That’s how they found him here.”

“Shut up,” Yolanda shouted, “We don’t know that.”

“Let’s watch the crosstalk,” David reminded them, “There’s a lot of things we don’t know for sure. Besides, we’re not here to blame anybody.”

“I blame the Costa Tristans,” another kid spoke up, “It’s like that whole country is -”

Another student cut him off, “My parents are from Costa Triste, assface. Not everyone there is-”

“Whoa, time out, everyone,” David brought his hands up in a T-shape, “Let’s also watch the stereotyping. We’re all from different -“

“I think those Costa Triste dudes got the right idea, anyway,” Yolanda shouted over him, “My sister’s friend got stabbed by a Laughing Boy. Why don’t we load up on guns, find where they at and…,” she made a shooting motion with her hand, “Pop! Pop! Pop!”

“That’s not what the Knights are about and you know that,” another student shouted back.

“It should be!”

“Ok, we’re done here today,” David raises a hand, “There’s a lot of heated emotion right now and I get it but this conversation is not productive the way it’s going. In fact, it’s getting toxic so we’re all gonna go home and take some time to chill.”

“I’m gonna go home,” Yolanda stood up with her bag in hand, “But I ain’t coming back.”

Near another dojo across town, Michael caught up with Terry on the street, “Terry! Hey!”

“Hey, Michael,” he turned, an obvious look of disappointment on his face.

“I’m so sorry I had to cancel last minute. I just wanted to let you know I’m still interested. I am.”

Terry smiled a bit, “Well, I’m available after our session if you are.”

Michael clenched his hand and frowned but before he could get a word out, Terry stated the obvious.

“… Busy, huh?”

“I’m interested,” Michael let out an embarrassed chuckle, “I am but yeah, I got a thing later tonight.”

“It’s fine. How about this weekend?”

“This weekend… promise.”

Michael had been lurking on obscure Laughing Boy forums, trying to determine where and when attacks might occur. As there was no clear chain of command or organization, predicting any future moves were difficult. It didn’t help that, despite their bravado, they had been reluctant to hold any “Laugh Riots” due to the actions of the Cavalier, Metro Knights, the police or, more recently, the Costa Tristans. Michael knew of at least two Laughing Boys who planned to seek revenge that night by targeting a bodega run by an elderly couple from Costa Triste. In order to save lives, he couldn’t afford to waste time on a date.

One of the Laughing Boys was shot in the head about a block away from the small store, prompting his partner to duck into a nearby alley. Two men walked casually toward the alley entrance, guns at their sides. “Laughing Boys… come out and plaaaay,” one of them said jokingly. As they turned the corner, they were confronted with a knight’s faceplate and red eyes. Michael had mostly been taking down the Laughing Boys of late who were internet bullies. He nearly forgot that the Costa Tristans were professionals, so when he punched the first one to the sidewalk, he didn’t expect the kick to the mid-section from the second man. Not taking any chances, he backed away and fired a shield-disc that struck him in the forehead and dropped him to the sidewalk next to his stunned partner. The surviving Laughing Boy had been hiding behind a garbage bin up to this point and decided to come out of his hiding spot long enough to wrap a bicycle chain around Michael’s face mask. He angrily turned and hit him with a backfist, “I saved your life, dumbass!” and dropped him to the alley floor. With three men down, he raced back to the first Laughing Boy to check on him but he was too late. He had already bled out on the sidewalk. “Dammit,” he muttered to himself.

After the police were called to the scene, Michael went to visit Paul Kwon to discuss the situation. They stood on top of an apartment building, overlooking the streets below. “Reins told me about the guys I caught today,” Michael explained, “They weren’t even from Costa Triste. They’re apparently new recruits, which means they’re getting more powerful.”

“The Costa Tristens have been growing stronger and taking more and more lives,” Paul said sadly, “It’s hard to convince my students that their way doesn’t work and that they’re being exploited.”

“They won’t keep getting away with this,” Michael said, “Everything will come to light soon.”

“Yeah, well, in the meantime, at least one of our students quit the Metro Knights and there’s a chance she’ll join up with the Costa Tristens before long,” Paul paused for a moment, then turned to Michael, “Reins said you had a run-in with these guys not too long ago.”

“Yeah, if it’s the same organization we think it is. It was a big international cartel run by someone called Nadie. Or ‘Nobody’. He had some pyscho working for him that kicked the shit out of me. They sent a shipment of drugs to New York and were working with a major dealer named Big Fun. Things went south and they killed Big Fun then left the country. I’m not gonna lie, these people are highly trained and very dangerous, but don’t worry, we’re taking them down. I’ve been wanting some payback for a while.”

“My group was designed to inspire and help people, not get involved in gang warfare.”

“I’m well aware,” Michael nodded, “But sometimes, protecting our community means getting our hands dirty.”

“At what cost?”

Across the city, Mano and several of his men met with gang members in a skating park covered in graffiti. “My cousin was chased down the street by those laughing dudes,” the leader began, “I been trying to catch their asses slipp’n but you did the job for me. I heard about some of the cold blooded shit you did like tying them to the back of a car and shit.”

Mano nodded, “We live here, too. There’s no reason to let these savages continue attacking our people.”

“So… whatcha want with us?”

“A small fee for our services. Only a little percentage of your profits just to ensure we can continue to protect your loved ones.”

“Man, what do you need money for?,” the leader’s voice rose slightly but Mano remained nonplused.

“Weapons, ammunition, lawyers… I think you understand what’s needed if we are to continue protecting people like your cousin. As I said, it’s a small fee.”

“Yeah, I get it,” the gang leader conceded, “Let’s talk numbers.”

One of Mano’s men entered the park, interrupting the discussion to whisper in Mano’s ear. He politely held a hand out to the gang leader, “Excuse us for a moment, please.” Then the two men walked a couple of yards away for privacy.

“Two of our men were arrested,” he told Mano, “No one that isn’t expendable, but you should know the Cavalier was involved.”

“He’s been after those idiots longer than we have. It was only a matter of time before we crossed paths.”

“What to do we do now?”

“It’s business as usual. Eventually, he’ll get deep enough to find me and when he does, I’ll finish what I started.”