As Austin was halfway through his drink, the lights in the vi flickered and then went outpletely, plunging the house into darkness.


    Leaning against the bar, Austin frowned. Was there a power outage?


    He downed the rest of his drink, set the ss on the bar, and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it, turned on the shlight, and made his way toward the fuse box to see if the circuit breaker had tripped.


    But as he got closer, the beam of his phone''s shlight revealed a figure standing against the wall, dressed in ck and wearing a metal mask.


    The light reflected off the mask, giving the figure a menacing, almost supernatural appearance.


    Austin gasped, nearly dropping his phone. The buzz from the alcohol evaporated instantly, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating. "Wh-who are you?" he stammered.


    His words came out in a panic as he backed away, his free hand iling in search of something-anything-to defend himself with.


    The masked figure let out a sneer and stepped closer, holding a baseball bat that he slowly raised. "Looking for this?"


    Austin''s body shook, and he bolted, but the total darkness and the jittery light from his phone were no help.


    He soon tripped and fell, losing his grip on the phone, which ttered to the floor. He didn''t dare retrieve it, his eyes fixed on the approaching figure.


    "Do you know who I am? If you touch me, the Cunningham family wille after you," Austin blurted out, hoping the name would intimidate the intruder.


    Instead, the mention of the Cunningham family elicited a scoff. "The Cunningham family? Who do they think they are?" The man''s eyes, peering through the mask, red down at Austin as he swung the bat down forcefully.


    Austin''s pupils dted, bracing for impact, but at thest second, everything seemed to freeze.


    Staring at the bat, now inches from his face, Austin broke into a cold sweat, his body slumping to the ground, drained of all energy.


    The man in the mask slung the bat over his shoulder and stepped forward leisurely, his leather-shoed footing down hard on Austin''s ankle, drawing a scream of pain.


    "Trash like you, I could crush by the dozen every day, got it?"


    With those words, Austin felt a sharp pain in his other ankle and screamed again.


    The vi''s doors and windows were shut, and the soundproofing was excellent; no matter how loud the noise inside, it wouldn''t be heard outside.


    Perfect for a beating.


    Ten minutester, the masked man strolled out of the vi as if nothing had happened. A sedan drove up the driveway, perfectly timed.


    He opened the door and got in. As the car window lowered, the man removed his metal mask, revealing the rugged face of As.


    He nced once at the vi, then directed the driver to go, his thoughts already on whaty ahead.