[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] [i]“Hayden…there’s some men out there.” Hayden’s brow furrowed. He quickly rinsed the juices of the raw meat off of his hands and came to Natalia’s side, wiping his hands dry on his pants. She scooted to the side, pointing through the shudders anxiously. Wooden bars pressed against Hayden’s face as he peered outside. His parents, who had just left for the doctor, were in the street in front of their house. But two men blocked their path. They were clad in bulky sets of armor, and each carried a gun. “Light!” Hayden cursed, starting to panic and rushing for the door, “Nat, stay here!” The door slammed behind him almost as soon as the words left his mouth, and he was in the street. Noticing the sound, his parents and the two men looked to him. Hayden checked his pace, slowing down so that he wouldn’t aggravate the men as he closed the distance between them. He hadn’t grabbed his coat, but he ignored the cold and let out an icy breath, focusing on his feet crunching in the sheet of snow covering the ground. Flats was an exposed town, easy to find and plagued by all kinds of trouble. Bandits, warlords, and the aliens all used the area as their playground, and violence was common. Lady Jel had died ages ago, had been replaced by a new Lord, who died shortly after, and the struggle for power continued. There was never any shortage of power-hungry men or people trying to kill each other. The two men in front of Hayden were from a set of five who had taken up residence in Flats. To Hayden they were little more than the most recent of a long, unending line of tyrants. Hayden took his place by his parents’ side, facing the gunmen. One was young, and the other’s face seemed to be permanently fixed in a tired expression. Both had the same dangerous look in their eyes. The young one sneered, and the other spoke, “Whaddaya want, kid?” “Jus’ wonderin’ what’s goin’ on, sirs,” Hayden replied politely, careful not to upset the gunmen. He tried not to let it show, but he was scared stiff. The older man snorted in amused disbelief while the young one answered, “We’re collectin’ payment, for our protection.” Hayden bit back a retort. The only thing Flats needed protection from were the tyrants occupying it. The young man’s eyes lingered on him for a moment, and Hayden hoped he hadn’t let his anger show. “An’ we have nothing to give,” Alexei negotiated, “You know how it is in this town, an’ you’ve already got what we could give you.” “Then you better find somethin’ new to pay us with,” the older one grunted, swinging a thumb over his shoulder, “Strauss saw a four-arms this mornin’ at the edge o’ the woods. A scout. Proba’ly woulda put a hole in his head if he hadn’t seen it first an’ slipped away. You want us to protec’ you from those beasts, you’d better ‘ave somethin’ to make us stay.” This time Hayden couldn’t hide his frown. Even if the gunman was telling the truth about the aliens, paying them wouldn’t guarantee they’d stay. They probably planned on taking what they could then leaving Flats to burn. It had happened many times before, with bandits just like these men. The young one saw Hayden’s frown and scowled back, “Got a problem?” “We ain’t got nothin’ to pay you with, sir,” Hayden said, forcing himself to keep a level tone. The young man flourished his revolver with a sinister smirk, “Didn’t you hear Laurence ‘ere? Find somethin’, or we’ll take it.” Hayden glared at him, opening his mouth to speak, but Alexei cut in, “We’ll go find somethin’, then. You gentlemen can carry on with your business.” The older man, Laurence, chuckled and pointed from Hayden to Alexei, “I like this guy. Willin’ to grovel. Take notes, boy.” No one spoke for a moment, and tension filled the air before Gwen spoke up, “Let’s all be on our way, then.” She started herding Alexei and Hayden away from the gunmen, but the young one hefted his revolver up to rest on his shoulder, “Hold on. We ain’t lettin’ y’all off that easy. We’ll come in with ya an’ help ya find somethin’ suitable.” “Good idea,” Laurence mumbled, waving everyone along. “No.” The word slipped out of Hayden’s mouth before he could stop himself. He couldn’t let them into the house, or they’d destroy the place and steal whatever they wanted. And Natalia was in there. Hayden didn’t know what the two men might do if they found her. He wasn’t worried about his mother -who could probably chokehold them if they tried anything with her- but Natalia couldn’t defend herself and the Yegorovs were being held at gunpoint. “No?” The young man spat, bringing down his revolver so that the barrel stared straight at Hayden’s chest, “I wasn’t askin’.” “Sorry, sir,” Hayden squeaked, “Said it without thinkin’.” “Darn right you weren’t thinkin’,” Laurence commented. The young man stepped closer to Hayden until the nozzle of his weapon pressed against Hayden’s chest, over his heart, “I think we need to teach this guy a lesson.” “That won’t be necessary, sir,” Alexei soothed, “He didn’t mean nothin’ by it.” “Bloody lie!” The young man spat, “I’m no idiot! Y’all’ve got somethin’ to hide, don’t ya? Somethin’ valuable. Maybe a nice piece, or a stash o’ stolen food?” The barrel was jabbed repeatedly into Hayden’s chest, but he resisted the urge to move and stayed silent. The young man was technically right. The Yegorovs did have food from their freshly-caught rabbit, and a pistol that Gwen kept safely wedged between her bed and the wall. “We ain’t got nothin’ to hide, sir,” Gwen insisted calmly, “You can come in an’ see. Please put the gun down.” The young man ignored her, prodding Hayden again, “‘Ave anythin’ to say, eh?” “We don’t want any trouble, sir,” Hayden muttered, locking eyes with the man. “Sounded like you were lookin’ for it a second ago. Where’d that attitude go?” “Ease off, Godrik,” Laurence sighed, batting at the young man’s shoulder, “You sound like Beshni.” Hayden tried shifting away from the pressure of the pistol, but Godrik moved forward to keep it up as he turned his head to Laurence, “Hey, let me handle this.” Gwen stepped forward, reaching for Godrik’s gun, “Please don’t point that at my-“ The pistol whipped around to face her, and Godrik pulled the trigger.[/i]