Hired Helpless (Bow)

Few businesses thrived in the slums. They would not be the slums if this was not the trend. Yet Su Lynn's did. It billed itself as a self-defence academy, with a generic silhouette of a karate kick on its logo to suggest this would be achieved via instruction of the martial arts.

It was not frequented by residents of the slums. Its clientele were more up market. Two times a week after school, parents could be found dropping off their children, or the child trudging their own way through the careworn streets. A knock at the hefty steel door was answered first by grate then by several disengaging locks. The building itself was cramped and compacted, with not much care for sunlight, prioritising protection. Although there was an open roof space that students could be heard taking their lessons from. It used to be an escape room facility before going out of business.

What many in the slums knew, and preferred to not know, was that this institution was a front for a small local gang. The gang operated as a resource to other regional criminal interests. They specialised in providing extra hands and skilled muscle at a moment's notice. They were henchmen farmers.

Where as most providers of henchmen took an agency approach - acting as representatives for professional thugs, usually of a military or similar vouch-safe background - this local gang provided pure chaff. Cheap, fast, no questions. They managed discipline, keeping their own members in order. And this was achieved by hiring entirely teenagers.

Kids were always on the lookout for ways to rebel. Ways to feel important or wanted. They were invited to learn fighting skills ranging from the physical to weaponry. They were also promised opportunities to put that knowledge to the test and be paid for their troubles. Establish a reputation. Come up in the world from below. And so by headhunting from schools, the gang formed a steady workforce.

Su Lynn's acted more like a territorial army base than a gang. And so they billed themselves the Territorial Syndicate. On Tuesdays they drove their members out to the country to a proper shooting range. On any evening they could give their instructees paid assignments. Instructions to meet unnamed clients, usually supervillain, at marked addresses and follow their orders.

Occasionally a member didn't make it back. But there would always be more to recruit.

The Syndicate were especially on the lookout for undiscovered metahumans. Many superpowers developed during adolescence. Those that they could cultivate to their side were eventually sold on at high value to more traditional gangs. And so the cycle continued.

The rumors and flyers had been circling around the highschool ever since that accursed "self-defense academy" had opened its doors. So many of the students had already signed up. Now it was obvious to everyone in the school what that place really was. These kids were desperate to find their place in the world and this was like a silver platter to most of them. But the cost was too high.

Dangerous missions, unnamed clients with nefarious tasks, it was a fucking gang! No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Kate had been approached personally a few times by some rough looking men to join. Apparently having a star athlete would really help things out, and she could "make a name for herself" if she put in the work. She said no each time, a shiver running down her spine.

Who on earth could fall for that shit? The answer was unfortunate as more and more students came to school with black eyes, broken bones, or didn't come back at all. No one talked about it, but everyone knew where all of these injuries were coming from, and Kate had had enough.

She hated getting involved with anything and she knew this place was going to be crowded, but she had to see it for herself. The speedster sighed to herself as she packed her books for the day and made her way to Su Lynn's. On the way she thought about how she would be going about this.

Play it off as she wants more information for now. They wanted her to join so it shouldn't be too hard. See what she can find out and then proceed from there. It wasn't much of a plan, but it's what she had. When she got to the doors, she breathed to collect herself and knocked.

The grate drew back. Eyes flashed down at her, "Wait there." The grate snapped shut. More clanking. The scrape of a chain. Two clicks. The door swung inwards. The man was bristled, plain of face, and sporting a western made gi uniform which suggested he was a black belt. His tone was pleasant, a polite smile came easily.

"New? Are you looking to join? Don't stand out there. It's not a nice neighbourhood."

He was stood in a narrow corridor with a welcome mat. Certificates of professional approval lined the white plaster walls. Ten metres on the passage expanded into a foyer brimming with life. Dozens of teenagers were milling about, stashing their coats and backpacks into lockers. Only a bleak few were moving doggedly on through the next doorway. The rest were doing what kids did - wasting time.

"Come with me to reception. If you wish to join, we'll need your details and to talk of membership fees. Do your parents know you're here?" The air of civility never left him.

Kate looked up at the eyes and blinked, not able to even get a word out before the grate was shut again and she heard the locks doing what they do when someone turns them. She bit her lip and covered her ears from the loud noise and shuffled through her backpack. When he opened the door, he would find her shoving cotton balls in her ears. She blinked and quickly put her backpack back on, biting her lip. The girl nodded and walked in. "Right. Thanks."

The girl looked around at the different certificates and seemed a little confused by them. Were they real? Were they forged? Maybe from a different academy under the same name? Whatever it was, it was kind of weird to her. The girl noted the distance from the door to the foyer and blinked again when the place came to life. "Wow... I didn't expect it to be so busy..."

When he spoke to her again, she looked up at him and shook her head. "I can't expect that most parents know their kids ar-... I take that back. But no, my parents don't know I'm here... And I'm not exactly sure I want to join. I just got curious and wanted to come check it out..." The girl was definitely not a good talker.

The doorman listened to her with the slight humouring expression teachers could summon with a lift of an eyebrow. A few of the teens had heard as well. They nudged each other and pointed animatedly in her direction. One of them voiced loudly, "Quig!" producing raucous laughter from their group. Whatever that meant, it seemed to be evidence of an apt and timely wit.

The doorman had ignored it, "Take a class with us. I'll wave the fee for today. You've come all this way. You might as well see what we do. We will, however, still need to take some details. Health and safety. We need to know who's on site."

Kate would also notice now that some of the attention she'd drawn were from students of her own school. They knew who she was. One of those kids held a pair of knuckle dusters forgotten in his hand. A girl was wrapping bandages around her waist. There was a bruise there she was trying to cushion.

"Is this everyone?" The adult addressed the room.

"Yes Mr Lynn!" Came a droning response. Only to be contradicted by one voice at the back, "Where's Tyler?"

"Tyler's membership has run down. Never you mind. Hurry up. We started five minutes ago." A placating smile turned back to Kate, "Follow me." If she chose to, he would lead her through the second door the rest of the kids weren't using and up a narrow flight of stairs sandwiched between two different patterns of wallpaper.

Kate blinked when she heard the name the other teenagers called her and looked confused, but was quickly drawn back to the man leading her around and looked up at him as he continued to talk and she nodded slowly. "That sounds reasonable."

When she saw that there were kids from her own school here, she bit her lip and hoped that they were doing okay. The girl saw the bruise and growled to herself. That is the exact reason that she was here to get more information and hopefully put a stop to this entire organization. With her resolve set firm, she looked back forward and heard the person, Mr. Lynn, had to remember that, speak to everyone in the room.

Membership had run down? That certainly didn't sound ominous at all. She nodded up to the man who was still leading her deeper into this "business". The narrow flight of stairs made her a little anxious, but she tried not to think about it right now.

The stairs ended in a large room which looked to be some kind of viewing station cum staff-room. There was a large one-way mirror looking down into a hall which the kids were now assembling in. There must have been a second locker room on the way for those children because they were now decked out in combat armour. The kind the police used in response to metahuman disturbances. Visors covered the faces of the children much like a riot helmet.

In front of that mirror was some kind of console that's most immediate purpose had to involve the microphone sticking out of it. The rest of the room was crowded with table, chairs, kitchen facilities, filing cabinets, and a barred window at the far end.

Lynn spoke to a pair of older men playing cards, "Hey. New one. Take her details. Give her a chair. Let her watch from here. Would you like a drink, dear?" He asked her.

The men finished their hand and sullenly got up to do their jobs. They didn't have any veneer of civility like Lynn. And after they began responding to the tasks, Lynn made his excuses and returned back the way he'd come, intent on beginning the lesson.

"Fill out this form. Don't lie. S'illegal to lie." The man grunted, thrusting a pen and application form into her hands. Another brought her a chair and the drink if she'd wanted. But given they'd returned to the table, the only thing Kate had to lean on was the control console itself.

Very soon a door opposite the one she'd arrived from opened. Pix strode into the room in all his pixelated spriteliness (ò_ó). This operation was a nightmare for the claustrophobic. He imagined any time you had to pass someone on the stairs you got to second base with them. He knew child enterprises had to take precautions against Kardiak these days, but this was ridiculous.

"You put your proceeds back into the building I see." Pix had deliberately stood in the doorway and now his guide had to ask him to move aside so that she too could enter.

A woman in her thirties with purple-tinted hair covering one eye and a raw grizzled look about her came through, "It all goes on equipment. And external security."

The sprite took in the room, "I saw your parking lot. I know where it goes. I didn't think you could fit that many hummers in a space that size. Who's the girl?" (o__o) He deliberately looked away from everyone and out the mirror when he asked, already trying to figure out the scope of activities down below.

He heard his same question being asked of the two lackeys in the back. Nice to know communication was key around here.

Kate looked around the expansive room and blinked, honestly surprised that the cramped stairwell they were just walking actually exited into such a nice space. Though, she was using the word nice a little loosely. The room might be large, but the space was not utilized efficiently and she immediately started to think of ways to improve it.

The girl was brought out of her thoughts when Lynn spoke again, this time to the two men playing cards on a cluttered table. She blinked when she heard him direct a question to her and looked up at him for a brief second before looking down again and shaking her head with a quiet, "No thank you..."

As Lynn turned to leave and the others seemed to get stuff ready, Kate's attention finally turned to the one-way mirror and peered through, going wide-eyed at seeing the change of uniform within the ranks of all the kids in the hallway below. That was insane. Was it actually police uniforms they had gotten somehow for whatever they were doing here?

Just as she was starting to theorize, one of the men walked up to her with an application and the other brought a chair. She just nodded and sat down, looking around for a moment for something to write on, and settling on the side of the console. Hope she doesn't break anything or press any buttons on accident.

The girl was busy reading everything carefully when a metahuman entered through another door on the opposite side of the room. It took her a moment to realize he was there and his voice made her jump, causing her to flub on the form. "...shit..." She shrugged and pretended to keep working as she listened to the newcomer's conversation. He seemed to be talking some pretty interesting tidbits.

Finally, she was addressed, sort of. The girl blinked and looked up at him and then back to the lackeys. They didn't remember her either? Interesting... How could she play this up? Too bad she wasn't great at talking or deceiving or any of that stuff. This wasn't a spy movie or some shit. She decided just to shrug and speak quietly. "I-I'm just a newbie t-told to fill out some forms up here... Who are you two?" A simple question?

The woman quickly gave Kate an appraising look, taking in her physique with raking glances. Even whilst sat down, it was evident the girl was in good fettle. It coloured the woman's response. Probably decided whether she got a response at all, "I'm upper management. Taking care of your needs. Arranging opportunities for you to get paid using what you've learned here. You like easy cash, don't you?" There was something condescending in that last remark.

"Lynn said she should watch." One of the men claimed, both still engrossed in the last card hand they'd dealt. It appeared to be a form of two player poker.

"Just because his name's on the building, doesn't mean he gets to fob off his charges on you two." The acerbic comment was punctuated by Lynn arriving in the room downstairs, immeditately getting the attention of his students by rapping a baton against a riot shield. He was no longer in his karate outfit, but had instead changed to something more urban, "They're just starting. I'm sorry for our... guest. But if you wanna watch, you do it from here."

Pix was leaning over the console, he now turned back to his host, "Chair?"

"Use the girl's."

"That's not very welcoming." Pix would reach down to pin Kate's application form to the surface she was using to write upon, twisting it slightly in his direction, "She's not signed up yet. Get her signature before you start pulling chairs from under her."