The red-haired youth walked through the alleyway with his hands in the pockets of his red jacket, an indifferent look plastered on his face. Soon, he reached a corner that opened on a wide square hidden at the center of the surrounding buildings.
The space seemed to have been previously used as an outdoor dining area by one of the nearby restaurants. There was a small fence separating it from the rest of the alley, with the interior covered in flooring panels that had a woody pattern.
The tables must’ve been cleared and stored inside the garage connected to the area, but two old couches remained in one corner. Either the restaurant owners didn’t care and left them there, or the rats who made the place their hanging spot had brought them there.
Currently, those rats were in the middle of a mating ritual, trying to impress the females they invited to hang out in the hope of their relationship advancing. One could tell who among the males was getting lucky tonight at a glance. Unfortunately for them, the party was going to reach its end a lot earlier than expected.
"Hey! The hell do you want!!?"
When he stopped to look at the bikes parked near the exit, the red-haired youth knew that he would draw the attention of the teenagers. Their laughter died down the instant the first one called out to him, and as if suddenly alert, they all turned their gazes his way.
Whatever went through their minds, they probably never expected him to smile and start walking toward them.
"There you are!" He called, a look of recognition on his face.
Confusion struck the teens and their growing hostility seemed to recede. Did he know one of them? The friendliness he was showing said so, but when they looked at each other and saw that no one recognized him, the confusion only increased.
Before they could figure it out, he reached their small gathering and approached one of them in particular—the brown haired kid whose clothes seemed of a higher quality than the rest.
"How’re you doing, Derick?" The youth patted him on the shoulder. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Wha-" His eyes turning into saucers, Derick went completely still.
The new guy ignored his reaction and walked to the others, or to be more specific, to the cooler they had resting on a nearby crate. Without care, he grabbed one of the cans buried in the ice and popped it open.
Taking a few gulps, he raised the can and spoke with a wide grin, "Hah! This is the good stuff!"
Seeing him invite himself to their drinks was enough to wake them up a little. Coming back to his senses, Kevin turned to Derick with a questioning look.
"Hey, do you know this guy?"
Derick opened his mouth to answer, only to close it a second later. His eyes swam left and right as he tried to recall, but try as he might, nothing came to mind. Shaking his head, he turned his sight back to the red-haired intruder.
"Never seen him before."
Stopping the hand that raised the can to his mouth, the red-haired youth turned to him and smiled.
"Well, obviously." He took a sip and exhaled. "We never met before."
It took them a moment to understand, though they still looked even more bewildered than before. Eventually, Kevin looked at their new guest with a scowl.
"Then who the hell are you?"
"Oh, that’s very simple." Walking over to Derick, the youth placed an arm over his shoulder, then pointed at him with the hand holding the beer can. "I’m the guy his father hired to kill you all."
Once again, confusion permeated the place. The others were equally bewildered, unsure how they should react to the ridiculous revelation, but not Derick. His face was as pale as a corpse, and the way he looked at the red-haired youth differed from the others, almost as if he believed what they were just told.
"Haha..." Kevin laughed weakly. "That’s... funny, really..."
"I know, right?" The youth chuckled. "I mean, talk about an overreaction! Your kid doesn’t do his homework, and your first thought is to kill his friends?"
Another awkward laugh came from Kevin, then the others followed. It was just a joke, they all realized. It should have been obvious from the start. A little at a time, Kevin seemed to shake off the confusion. Allowing himself to relax, he laughed some more then asked
"So... are you gonna do it? Kill us, I mean?"
The girl sitting on his lap chuckled.
"Of course not." Smiling, the youth raised his can. "Usually, I don’t really care why someone wants it done, but this is just ridiculous." Taking a gulp, he glanced at the boy beside him. "Well, I might not do it, but who knows what the next guy would think. Better solve the problem right now."
"Oh yeah, and how are you gonna do it?"
Facing the rest of the group, the youth motioned for Derick and said, "I will beat this guy to a bloody pulp, and you’re gonna watch and do nothing."
"You heard me." Raising the beer can so it would be in his line of sight, the youth shook it slightly and spoke in a less humorous tone. "If you try anything, I will do my job as I was told, and only he will get to walk away."
A shiver rolled over Derick and he snapped into action, quickly pushing himself from the stranger and backing away.
"The f-fuck are you talking about!!? You think I will just-"
For a moment there, Derick must’ve thought he had reacted quickly. Anger coursed through his veins, and he prepared for a fight, but then a fist came flying at him and instantly buried itself in his stomach, knocking the idea out of him along with the air in his lungs.
As the boy crumbled to his knees, the red-haired youth straightened himself and brought the can to his mouth.
"Now, what will you choose?"