Chapter 9: We Did It!

Scott was frustrated because there hadn't been any incidents in over a week. Why? What had changed?

Obviously, he didn't want bad things to happen at his club but he needed more evidence. He wouldn't be able to get that unless they tried to strike again.

What were they after? How did they choose their targets aside from those who spiked drinks? What exactly was their goal? Were they trying to cause trouble for those they deemed deserved it or did they need the money?

What they did was really clever. Rather than stealing the whole wallet, they only took cash and a couple of cards. That would give them enough time to rack up charges on them before the victims even noticed anything had been stolen. Truly, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Scott wouldn't care what they were doing if it wasn't disrupting things at his club. Guys who spiked drinks probably did deserve to have their credit cards stolen.

He went over the security footage again. Some of the victims were significantly older than the women. Did that play into things at all?

But what about the others? He couldn't think of a single reason some of the other victims would be targeted based on their system of vigilantism. He was definitely missing something here and he didn't like it one bit.

Not being able to do anything went against his nature. He was a man of action.

Scott had a hard time falling asleep in the morning because he had so much on his mind about that group of women targeting men in clubs so he was tired when he woke up but he had to eat something quickly and go meet Sherry at the arcade. He didn't want to break his word to a kid.

They were impressionable. Goodness knows he had been let down enough by adults when he was that age. It was why he eventually turned to the gangs.

Not that he thought a little girl like that would get involved with a gang but still. He wasn't the type to break promises.

So off Scott went despite how tired he was. When he arrived at the arcade, she was in the middle of playing that game that involved jumping over spinning lights like a jump rope. She was very good at it but he didn't want to distract her so he wasn't going to say hi until she lost. He didn't think she would appreciate that.

The lights spun faster and faster and she was practically a blur at this point with how fast she was jumping. He was undeniably impressed. That had to take a lot of practice.

How often did she come here, anyway? It had to be a regular occurrence for her to be so good at multiple games. Maybe she hung out here after school while her parents were still at work.

She managed to go all the way to the jackpot and pumped her fist while kicking the air in victory before turning around and staring at him not unlike a deer caught in headlights. "How long have you been here?!"

"I dunno, a few minutes? I didn't want to interrupt your game. I've never seen anyone get the jackpot on one of these things before. Well done," Scott told her.

Her face turned as red as her hair. "…it's not that big a deal."

"If you say so. Are you ready to get to work on Ms. Pac-Man? I think the machine is open unless that's changed since I came over here."

The machine was taken but only for a few minutes because the person playing it lost and didn't want to try again. Sherry eagerly moved forward and swiped her game card. She was in much better form today than she had been yesterday and didn't die at all before making it to level 127.

She had a look of fierce concentration on her face and scrunched her nose up as she squinted at the screen. It was surprising seeing that sort of fire from someone so small but somehow it fit her.

Scott ended up giving her instructions as she went and (though she did lose one more life) she made it all the way to level 133 and happened to win it, solidifying herself in the top spot on the leaderboard. She squealed in excitement and jumped up and down, her pigtails bouncing.

"We did it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"…no problem."

He wasn't used to being thanked so profusely. Most of the time, he didn't do anything worth that.

Sherry grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the prize area. "Go on, pick something! It's the least I can do since you helped me."

"I don't want to use your tickets!" Scott protested.

"I insist! Anything you want."

He decided to get something small so he didn't waste her hard-earned tickets. He would feel lousy doing that to a kid. He ended up getting a miniature candy bar and she narrowed her eyes at him, likely guessing what he was doing, but said nothing.

"Thank you for your generosity," Scott said with a smile. "I should get going now. Take care, Sherry."

"Bye!" she called after him with a cheerful wave.

Well, at least he had done something right recently. He was pretty sure he made that kid's whole month. There were worse ways to spend his time.

Scott certainly could have used someone doing something nice for him when he was that age. But it was water under the bridge now. Richie had done plenty for him once he was older. He would always owe him for that.

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