Believe it or not, the highway wasn't that far away from the down town part of the city. Like most successful towns and cities, where ever this was had a major road acting like an artery that the city was based around. That meant, even though I was technically on foot, it did not take too long for me to find my way downtown.

So as the gravelly ground underneath turned into concrete sidewalk, so too did the nightlife become more and more lively. At first it was only the homeless or the addicts, they payed me no mind. But the crowd slowly became denser, the 'normal' folk became more prevalent. A few people seemed to stare, causing me to worry that I wasn't hidden enough. So I pulled the purple hood down in an effort to hide what I was sure was a swirling black mass.

I tried to keep to the alley ways and shadows after that. It wasn't like I had any reason to be afraid of some homeless man with a knife, I was fairly confident that a knife or a gun would be next to useless in dealing with a sentient gas cloud. So long as I kept up Gaseous Form, I was safe.

I checked the time on my stolen phone. 9:23. Shit what time had I texted 'Jefe'? I still had to act like they were my superior and had the power to ruin my life.

Jokes on him though.

I could do that perfectly fine by myself.

I made my way down a few more side streets and alleys, doing my best to avoid the bustling crowds of people just going about their life, parties of friends on a bar hop, families heading to restaurants before they closed, pairs of lovers on a romantic night walk.

Despite my time crunch, I stopped and leaned against the corner of a building, watching one such pair of lovers as they walked by on the opposite side the street. They were young. Younger than Lucas had been. Maybe even High School aged. But they were happy. How they held each other's hands... How they talked to each other so easily... How they occasionally snuck quick smooches on each other's face...

I felt what should've been my heart tighten with emotion.

I stood back up and turned the opposite way they were heading. Who cared if my detour was the longer route?

The Mexican restaurant on the corner of Fifth and Washington was a quint place. It wasn't a large franchise chain, nor did it pretend to be. I could so easily imagine the father figure of a family, working with his wife in the kitchen, or one of their older children at the cashier. Maybe the youngest would sit at a secluded table and do their homework throughout the evening as the family bustled around, earning a living that kept them all alive.

But I could also easily imagine the guillotine hanging above their head, in the form of cartel soldiers looking to make an example of anyone who didn't obey their rule.

Hmm... How was I going to do this?

The restaurant was a single floor building. It was a mix of 1950's café and 2010's "DIY" décor, like it was bought as a dinner and repaired with duct tape engineering. Most importantly, it was relatively full of customers. I counted at least three families with young children through the front windows. Although there were more than a few "rough and tumble" men who hung out in various groups, and alone by themselves. Some of them looked like they had gotten off work only a short while ago, but with the cartel that was not proof of innocence. This was a set up for sure.

If I walked in through the front door and pretended to be Juan... My ruse wouldn't last a second under the close scrutiny a brightly lit, and cramped enclosed space provided. It would be akin to going in guns blazing, and that wasn't an option with so many witnesses.

Could I somehow lure 'Jefe' out? Which one was he anyway? Surely he was here already? I glanced across the restaurant again, seeing if anyone stood out. The only one who did was a solo man in a shirt with tropical print, staring at a phone in his hand. A closer inspection also revealed a few "oddly" bulging pockets, particularly amongst a group wearing purple clothing just like the hoodie I wore.

Definitely a setup.

I pulled out the phone again and snapped a quick picture of the place. I then pulled up the text conversation with 'Jefe' and attached the image.

Might be followed. Too many witnesses?

Send.

Come on out fucker...

Inside the building, the man who seemed obsessed with his phone finally reacted to it, his eyes reading across something on the screen. Then he got up from his seat and walked towards the window. He then covered his eyes and peered in my direction.

Hello 'Jefe'.

With the phone still on the messenger app, I turned the bright white screen around so the little white square could be seen across the street.

'Jefe' seemed placated by my display and looked back down and his phone and began to type.

You were followed? How?

Came the reply a second later.

Kept seeing a weird white van. Unmarked.

Send.

Come on out... Come on out, I'm alone can't you see?

'Jefe' read his phone again, his eyes swiftly glazed over in thought.

Come on out into this dark alley where no one can see you...

Alright fine. A few of us will come out to talk. When was the last time you saw the van?

Roughly a week and a half ago if I could trust the date on the phone, November 14. But he didn't need to know that.

Just a few minutes ago.

Send.

'Jefe' waved at a group inside the building, prompting two of them to get up and follow him as he left out of the front door. He glanced at his phone as he stepped off the curb to cross the street.

Here we go.

I turned my back on the approaching group and went deeper into the alley, to "get away from the unmarked van".

The alley was dark enough that I didn't need to worry about my gaseous form being seen, so I shed most of my cloud's mass towards the side of the alleyway, keeping only a token presence in the otherwise empty clothing, just enough to maintain its shape. The shed mass I pressed against whatever cover and detritus I could find, it may have been dark enough to be able to hide in plain sight, but I couldn't account for any flashlights or freak reflections from headlights. I stopped the barely held up mass of clothing at the very end of the dead end alleyway, keeping its back towards the oncoming 'Jefe'.

'Jefe', and his cronies entered the alley very shortly thereafter, with the cronies flanking 'Jefe' on both sides.

"Juan?" 'Jefe' called out, his voice low and gruff, glaring at the back of the stolen clothing. I watched from almost every angle as he steadily walked deeper into the alley. "Talk to me Juan, what went wrong?"

Of course I couldn't answer, so I waited for the trio to walk deeper into the alley. Out of sight.

One of the mooks must've felt something was off, because he drew a pistol out of his waistband, keeping his thumb on the safety and his offhand on the slide.

"Boss?" he called out.

"Come on Juan don't fuck with me..." 'Jefe' scurried forward and put a hand on the shoulder of "Juan".

Eh... Close enough.

I let the suspended clothing fall.

"What the-?!" 'Jefe' began to exclaim, but I was already moving. A tendril of shadow reached up, and pushed the goon closest to the mouth of the alleyway into his friend. Another tendril reached for said friend, wrapping around his head and jerking violently. He was already dead by the time he collided with his tripped buddy. As for 'Jefe', several smaller tendrils rushed from the shadows, muffling the man's shouts of confusion and snapping his neck as well. I made sure to catch his still unlocked phone with a waiting tendril. The tripped man flopped about in confusion, wrestling with his friend's limp corpse. He wasn't left waiting for long as tendrils redirected from their completed goals to target his form.

He died with his mouth held shut, and his throat pressed closed.

Deeper and deeper we go!