Six Months 7

As Tora walked down the street, a chill ran up her spine, and it was not because the air was chilly. Someone's eyes stung the back of her neck. Over the past few weeks, she felt eyes watching her. Since her car accident, she became more vigilant of her surroundings.

Tora focused on her ears, listening to any footsteps. It is already twenty-two hundred hours. There was not a lot of foot traffic in the neighborhood as most of the area were small businesses. There were not many cars either. Since someone was following her, it would be best for her to get out onto the main road, where she could take the bus home.

Tora took off running. She heard quick footsteps behind her and loud voices as she turned the corner. Tora came to a complete stop when she reached a dead end.

However, Tora did not panic. She inhaled deeply to calm her racing heart as her lips curled up. Well, this is fine too. She dropped the duffle bag and turned around to the entrance of the alleyway.

The moment her eyes landed on the group, she counted all eight of them as they walked into the alley. Two remained standing at the entrance to cut off her exit as six others approached her.

"Well, well. To think you had the balls to follow me." Tora asked. She untied the black silk sash around her waist and wrapped each end around her knuckles in a noose.

"It seems that there is someone you shouldn't have made an enemy of." The rest of the thugs snickered at the implication as Tora frowned. As the four guys lined up in front of her, the one who spoke -most likely the leader- approached her first.

Tora's eyes narrowed at the man's words as she did not make enemies easily. The only people that came to mind were... "Who sent you?" she asked.

"That doesn't matter. What's important is that we teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

Tora's skin crawled as his haunting eyes scanned her figure. To think those people would go to such lengths. She closed her eyes to delete the disgusting imagery before they completely formed in her head.

"Yes. There will be a lesson learned tonight," Tora said with a smirk as she opened her eyes. She scanned the space around her. The alley was quite narrow, which forced her enemies into a line as they approached her. "But I won't be the one on the receiving end."

As the first guy reached for her, she held his arm to the side before striking him square in the face with her knuckles. He groaned when she kicked him in the groin before throwing him over her shoulder. Tora counted: one down. She punched her leg forward, kicking the second one in-line into the third behind him. She made a sidekick to her left, hurling a fourth into the wall, making sure she heard the crack when his head hit the wall. She turned back to the third one behind her, who already pushed his unconscious friend off him.

Another one was charging at her from the front of the alley and Tora became surrounded on all sides. As they charged at the same time, Tora ducked down, sweeping the leg of the fifth one before punching the second one in the crotch. He groaned as he held his gonads in his hands and stumbled back before receiving a kick to the face. Tora quickly went to the fifth one as he stood up, bending him over to knee him in the abdomen. She kneed him in the pelvis like his friends for good measure.

Tora would be lying if she said she did not enjoy kicking men's balls and asses.

She let him drop when she saw his other friends approaching.

Tora bobbed and weaved out of the way of the attacks but suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. He held her under her arms, holding her head as the guy with the knife approached her. She saw the man who held her was the first one who approached her. "You."

The one guarding the alleyway ran forth from the background.

Tora lifted her legs up kicking the man with the knife in the sternum, then kicking him in the face. She elbowed the man who was holding her repeatedly in the stomach. As he loosened his grip, she turned her waist to deliver a high roundhouse kick to his head.

Six down.

She pranced down the alley to meet the last two as they ran toward her. Dropping herself low to the ground, she swept the legs of the first one, neutralizing him temporarily before facing the other. The man threw a jab and cross that she blocked but neglected to block the low kick from the other. The seventh man had recovered faster than she anticipated.

Tora reeled when the kick struck her in the stomach, then took a punch to the face. She fell to the ground and shook her head before she felt a sharp pain on her scalp. Those bastards were dragging her back into the alley by her hair.

As she roared in pain, using her waist as a spring, she launched her legs above her head, catching the guy off guard as she kicked him in the chin. The moment he released her, she charged at the other guy, grabbing him at the waist until they hit a wall. Tora pushed his head out of the way before she kneed him in his jewels.

The guy howled as he grabbed his crotch, slowly lowering himself to the floor. Tora unwrapped her knuckles and delivered a powerful punch to his face, instantly rendering him unconscious.

And that makes eight.

When Tora caught her breath, she looked around the alley, at the scattered thugs. As she turned around, her eyes caught the glare of a knife that she barely dodged as it scraped the side of her arm. She backed away from her attacker.

Was there another one in hiding? She looked around again. Seven on the ground. She looked at the face of her attacker. It was the second guy she kicked, seemingly the leader of the group.

"Bitch," he said.

Tora looked at her arm, where the knife had scrapped her skin, causing some superficial bleeding. She growled before she took a stance with her fist at her hips. "Bring it, asshole" she taunted.

The guy ran up to her and swung his arm wide with the knife. Tora moved on the outside of his strike, grabbing and trapping his arm before she elbowed his joints, forcing him to drop the knife. She kicked the back of his legs, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his knees. As he fell, she delivered a deadly knee to his face, making sure to knock him out.

The alley was silent as she stood between the bodies of her enemies.

Tora did not pause to catch her breath. She used her sash and anything she could find to bind the eight men together.

She searched the men, emptying their pockets of knives, cell phones, and wallets. She found an old model cell phone in the leader's pocket with only one number in the call history.

Based on the leader's words, Tora had already assumed the identity of the individuals responsible for the attack. She predicted Rouen and the S7 would surely try to neutralize her, but she thought they would use much subtler methods. Sending street thugs to attack her was quite forceful and overt. Although to law enforcement, it would seem like a crime of opportunity. They were a small gang that took advantage of a young woman traveling alone at night.

She pressed the send button to dial the number as her heart returned to its resting rate. Her heart thumped once more when she heard the voice on the other end.

"I told you never to call me. I only need you to follow her. I'll call when I need something done," said the woman.

Tora recognized her voice. She paused for a moment, then smirked. "Laura Lamont. Did you really think these losers could hurt me? Next time, send bigger guns." The line went dead.