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   They stood there, all of them. In formation, like a battalion of soldiers, armed with clubs, baseball-bats, pipes of iron or steel, knives or anything else they had found during their years of prowling the streets. No-one said a word nor moved a muscle. They just stood there, staring into the distance.
   – “This, my friend, will be a war to remember…” McAllen said for himself.
   – “Have you done stuff like this before?” a teenager who was next to him asked.
   – “Stuff like this?” McAllen asked surprised, turning to the teenager. “Nah… No-one has…”
   McAllen turned to stare down the road again. The teenager looked at him with a scared look.
   – “Are you scared?” McAllen asked.
   – “Yes, sir… Scared for my life…” the teenager replied.
   – “So am I, kid…” McAllen said, still staring into the distance. “But it doesn’t matter… This will all be over, sooner than you can imagine…”

   – – –

   “…we can clearly see from here hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of, what seems to be thugs, criminals and lower-class citizens! Most of them seem to be armed, but they’re all just standing still, as if they were waiting for something! As our news-chopper flies above the pack, we can clearly see that they’re all staring towards the east, down the road! Wait! There seems to be more of them!? We… Wait, what’s that? Oh my God…”

   – – –

   A piece of paper flew around the city, circling around, being played by the wind, ending up in front of the front row. Suddenly, it fell down to the ground, and never moved again.
   – “The wind died…” the teenager said.
   – “The silence before the storm…” a woman said.
   …Complete silence…
   – “This is it…” McAllen said. “Brothers, sisters… Prepare…”
   A man clutched his baseball-bat tightly. The silence was deafening. Everything was silent, everything was still. The men and women just stood their ground, firming their feet to the ground…

   – – –

   – “So how does it feel not being on top of the food chain anymore, Bridge?” a man wearing a leather trench-coat asked amused.
   – “Shut up, mercenary!” another man, obviously high-ranked, wearing a fancy suit and an expensive golden watch said in anger.
   The mercenary walked up to a mini-bar.
   – “Someone… Or dare I say something, perhaps?” the mercenary started as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. “Someone seems to be taking over the streets! Am I right?”
   – “Yes…” Bridge said, looking at the glass that was filling up in the mercenary’s hand. “You don’t happen to know anything about it?”
   – “As a matter of fact I do!” the mercenary said, putting down the flask on the table again.
   – “You wouldn’t mind sharing that little information with me, mercenary?” Bridge said as he walked up to the other man.
   – “Maybe…” the mercenary replied. “You wouldn’t mind calling me by my real name, would you?”
   Bridge walked back to his chair. He wanted to take the glass away from the mercenary, but he knew he couldn’t. Even in his own office, the mercenary tested his temper.
   – “So, how’s your family, by the way?” the mercenary asked, taking a sip of his glass.
   – “Good, I suppose…” Bridge replied as he sat down. “Julie, my oldest daughter, is sitting in jail and my favorite nephew got shot yesterday.”
   – “Oh yea!” the mercenary said as if he suddenly remembered something. “I heard of that… A guy I know took care of the assassination!”
   The mercenary knew that Bridge couldn’t touch him, not as long as he held the information to himself.
   – “Well, in any case…” the mercenary said, taking another sip. “The streets aren’t yours anymore, Bridge… Better sit comfortable, as what I’m about to tell you will surely give you quite a shock!”

   – – –

   The ground started to shake.
   – “What’s this?” the teenager asked. “An earthquake?”
   – “If it only was an earthquake…” McAllen said. “If only…”
   And as of a given mark, the piece of paper which was lying before them flew sky-high, in a single gust of wind.
   – “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some…” McAllen said for himself as the sky turned from pitch-black to burning red and a stormy wind started blowing from the east. “What a way to make a living…”