the vultures are beaten back

Since I missed Brom’s death I felt I had to do something. Lots of people were feeling the same way. He was a big badass who wasn’t afraid of zombies or flame or skittering darkness. Willem became the leader of the Brutes and immediately withdrew into the HQ. Sure, the gang was making appearances to collect from their businesses, but they weren’t wandering the streets looking for trouble. They seemed weak. And the scavvies took advantage.

Decay has been terrorizing Stacksburg. They maraud and steal and generally harass any civilian they can find, and then melt away when a gangster tries to stand up for them. It’s despicable. People were getting demoralized, and the lack of comment from anyone in the Brute Squad wasn’t helping. It was like everyone had just been abandoned.

So I decided they needed to throw a party.

Willem and I argued about it a bit but it was important for people to, if not actually see Brom laid to rest, to celebrate what he meant. Finally Willem agreed. We set up in Bugs’, sealed up the hole in the roof and proceeded to reminisce with a few dozen civilian representatives.

And then the Pan-Africanists struck. They hadn’t been seen since they beat up the Furies a while back. Now this gang has had some serious problems. Back in the day Jomo Kenyatta was kidnapped and sold into slavery and I don’t think they ever really recovered. They’re poor and for the most part not very effective fighters. There’s a lot of envy there for the Van Saars who are almost the exact opposite I guess.

In any case, the PAs tried to take out the sentries that had been posted around the party, with their leader sitting out. They struck from cover but were spotted by eagle-eyed Frode. Shots were fired a grenade was thrown and everyone had ducked for cover. Willem bolted out of the bar while Cornelus tried to fight his way through the crowded party. The Pan-Africanist heavy was covering the main exit and Willem showed his different approach from Brom. He grabbed a party-goer for use as a human shield against stubber fire which proved ineffective. The fire proved ineffective I mean.

The young pan-africanists did their best to injure the sentries but when one of them got webbed and the heavy was out of ammunition, they decided to run. The party had been disrupted so if that was their only goal I guess they succeeded. It was a shame to see them attack a party though.

Happily, it seems like this shook Willem out of his shell and means the Brutes will be back on the streets. The webbed PA was brought back to Brute HQ for safe keeping.

-KRJ