Chains of Peace and Intent

Marla slips inside. The door clicks. Rain hisses on the sedan.

Two masked men surge out of the entry shadows and slam hands against the windows. Elias flinches hard beside Thadeus.

The Delivery Man throws his door open, bolts into the alley, and disappears fast. The attackers yank at the handles, trying to pry the car open.

Thadeus shifts toward the center console, putting his body between Elias and the nearest door as another fist thuds against the glass.

One masked man reaches under the handle again while the other scans the back seat, hunting for the brother's legacy. Thadeus has the car, Elias, and the contents all in one trapped, rain-soaked frame.

Thadeus steps in and drives the wooden sword straight into the masked man's chest. The blow lands hard, and the man folds backward into the rain-slick lane.

His grip slips from the car door, and the prying bar clatters onto the asphalt beside the tire.

Elias stares through the window, then fumbles for the lock with shaking hands, the driver’s door rattling under the impact.

The second masked man lunges toward the fallen bar instead of the car, his attention broken by the dropped tool and the man at his feet.

Rain hammers the hood and windshield, and the sedan’s door swings open on Elias’s side, inviting the next move.

Thadeus steps in front of Elias, planting himself between the open door and the lane. His boot snaps out, and the pry bar skitters under the sedan with a wet scrape.

The second masked man lunges for the tool and finds only spinning rain and darkness beneath the chassis.

Elias pulls back from the wheel well, using Thadeus’s shoulder as cover, his breathing still ragged but steadier now.

Rain lashes the lane. The fallen man stays down, and the remaining attacker starts toward the front of the sedan, empty-handed.