Subsequent Fall Part 25.5: Ballad of a Songbird

Dante walked down the street as he was happy his friends were back, the same ones he grew up protecting. There was a man on the side of the street covered in rags as Dante opened his wallet and handed the man one hundred dollars. "Go buy yourself a good jacket. After, go to the restaurant down here on the corner and tell them Dante sent you." He kept walking as the old man smiled at the kid's generous act.

Dante turned the corner and looked at the restaurant's sign. "Alastos." He opened the door as the crowd inside cheered at his sight. He made his way to the counter as everyone commented to him that he was such a good kid. "Hey, can I get my usual bulk order?"

"Dante, does that mean they are safe?" The lady behind the bar smiled. "You still haven't called me about coming over." She was writing down the order of chicken risotto, loaded shrimp pasta, broccoli and cauliflower stir fry, sweet and spicy pork rolls and the hot turkey sandwich.

"Yeah, between me and my dad, we are busy with so many things, the last few days we have been making propaganda for a martyr campaign. It's useless now however." Dante got served his standard drink of peach lemonade. "But I'd much rather have my friends alive than have to use them as a tool."

"That's great to hear." She smiled as she pushed her long brown hair back. Two men came up to the bar next to Dante as he looked over.

"You two know you are going to lose! Fire away but once my food is done, I gotta go." Dante pulled out a set of darts from the inside of his jacket as him and the two well dressed men played darts for thirty minutes as the man from earlier walked in with a new warm winter jacket.

"Miss, that man sent me here." he stretched out a brittle finger pointing at Dante as he was throwing a set of darts winning the game.

"Ah, what can I get for you?" She filled up a glass of water as she handed him a menu.

"Chocolate milk if you have some." The man looked at the menu as Dante was having a good time. His food was almost done for the rest of them. The lady behind the bar handed him a glass with the milk as he slowly sipped it.

"Dante, your food is done!" One of the cooks shouted from the back as Dante missed his throw. He grabbed his darts and watched as the other man won the game. He congratulated them as he put his darts away. Walking over to the kitchen window he bobbed his head in.

"You guys do it like normal, extra spice and extra shrimp?" Dante asked as the cooks laughed.

"No, we licked each one before we sent it out." The short stubby cook cackled as the other laughed a little bit. "We made extra of everything. Enjoy your night and keep doing what the rest of us won't!"

"Atta boy's, thank you!" Dante grabbed a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and put it in the window for the two of them as he grabbed his food and waited at the bar. "Hey Belle?" She looked over to him. "Whatever he orders I'm buying, don't feel free to be cheap either or buy a couple of meals." Dante pulled out three hundred and fifty dollars. "Twenty for you and the rest for his and my food?"

"You are too nice." Belle gave him a kiss on the cheek as he walked out the door and waved goodbye to everyone. He started walking fast to make it home to have the food be fresh. Looking at his watch it had already been an hour. He wanted to get back and spend more time with James and Angel before they had to go.

As he was running a van pulled alongside of him at the same place where he met the homeless man he bought the jacket for, it pulled in front of him along the sidewalk as the side door opened and three men jumped out. Dante drew three steel darts from his coat pocket and jabbed each one of his targets with them as he set the food down.

"Leave me alone, I haven't done anything!" Dante backed up as the three of them charged at him. No one else was on the street as the sun started to set. He grabbed the bat from his bat as he swung down on the first man's skull. Knocking him out as the other two pushed him down the alley as a second van pulled up on the other side of him.

The two men threw punches at him as he blocked them with the bat. Swinging it all over the place and blocking their attacks as the other four men from the other van stood at the end of the alley. "Dante Lark, you are charged with treason and terrorism."

"What for! We have a right to free speech, stop trying to jump me you fucks, haven't you learned!" He threw a small ball in the air as he pointed the bat at them. Pressing the trigger as a shotgun blast spread across their aura. Swinging the ball into them as it detonated into an icy mist. The six of them charged down the alley at him as he was ready.

Dante saw the first person come out of the mist as he wound up and was able to swing with full power and knock him back into the mist as it was a direct chest hit. Caving in his chest, the next two came out as he took two steps back and tossed another ball upward.

The burly dude on the left launched a punch at his skull as Dante blocked it upward with the bat, firing it as he exploded the man's hand off. Using the momentum to block the second person's attack in a spinning move. Shattering the hand going for his side.

Dante kept backing up as the two men were in agonizing pain as three came out of the mist as the ball came down. Dante sent it right at the three of them as it exploded in an electric web and shocked the five of them. Turning around he saw the last thing he wanted to. Bane. Standing at six feet and six inches tall weighing three hundred pounds of muscle with an ability to not feel pain he was the best.

"Cat got your tongue?" Bane launched a punch straight through Dante's bat as he used it to block. Bane reached over and grabbed the bat and snapped it the rest of the way. Dante froze in fear of the best silencer in the world. "Aww, what will you do now?"

Dante hit him hard on the shoulder as he backed up and looked behind him. They were slowly getting up behind him. "Go down swinging." He realized it was better to shut up and be taken rather than sell out his friends.

"We will let you go if you tell us where they are. We caught you on camera with them earlier today." Bane grinned as his voice reeked of evil. Dante wasn't having it as he sucker punched Bane in the side as it did nothing.

Bane grabbed him by the skull as Dante threw endless punches as he cracked a rib. Bane finally jabbed him in the abdomen as Dante lost his wind, being held by Bane he would ask again. "Certainly a pretty boy doesn't want to suffer more now does he?" Dante sent a kick with what strength he could muster left into the broken rib.

"Shame." Bane let go of his skull as he punched him with the opposite arm in the face. Dante's body fell lifeless to the ground as the men looked at each other then Bane. "Grab the kid and interrogate him." The men nodded as they grabbed Dante's body and threw him into the van as they left the area.

The plastic darts lie on the ground in the alley next to the shattered bat as the food sat next to the box where the homeless man lived. All was quiet on the street as the songbird was captured.