Ch.240Side Story 3: Ladies Night (End)

# 03_Ladies Night_3

Boston is one of the most historic cities in America.

The older a city is, the more inevitable the emergence of criminal organizations becomes.

Boston’s criminal organizations have existed since the Prohibition era, with genuine Irish mafia holding a significant share of the underworld.

However, the man near Himena was somewhat different.

He was closer to what you might call a “thug,” clearly lower in rank than the actual mafia criminal organizations.

Yet there was exactly one reason why this man approached the four women with such confidence.

‘Because I’ve got big brothers I can call on.’

The man had a bit of money, most of which was spent enjoying entertainment with “Somerville,” Boston’s Irish mafia gang.

By spending time that way, the man had managed to elevate himself to the position of a sucker who bought drinks and meals for the mafia.

But even a sucker, if he’s fed them enough, could borrow a few muscle-bound gang members when needed—and that was why he could throw his weight around.

And right now, the man was furious.

‘What did she call me? My face would get smashed?’

The man approached the four women with a scornful laugh. He’d never encountered women who treated him this roughly before.

Usually, he frequented clubs with ear-splitting music, but this time he’d chosen this old-fashioned bar hoping to find some different kinds of women.

And then he spotted the four of them.

It all started when he saw four women clustered together—a rare sight even in a metropolis like Boston—all tipsy with flushed cheeks, chatting away and having fun.

He’d been brutally insulted and called names he’d never heard before in his life.

‘You bitches dare to insult me?’

Enraged, the man had called in members of Somerville, which led to the current situation.

‘I’m sure once they threaten them with knives, they’ll piss themselves and do whatever I want.’

Unaware of the man’s sinister thoughts, Himena gripped her brass knuckles firmly. In her palm was also something that looked like a battery.

Though she kept the hand with the knuckles hidden, Himena crossed her arms and looked at the man, saying:

“Oh, it’s the guy who got cursed out by our friend earlier.”

“You think you can insult me like that in a bar and get away with it?”

“Um, sorry, but did you lose something? I think you left something behind.”

Jesse, who had been leaning against the building wall, furrowed her brow and pretended to look for something. The man, not expecting this reaction, asked:

“…What? What did I leave behind?”

“Your balls, asshole. You didn’t think you could handle four women on your own, so you brought a bunch of pathetic losers just like you? Hey, why do you even bother carrying those balls around? Just cut them off.”

Jesse openly grabbed at her crotch area as she spoke, causing the man to freeze for a moment.

“Y-you fucking…!”

“Is ‘fucking’ all you can say?”

Jesse, who had learned only bad things from Dexter, wiggled her fingers and said:

“Come on in, boys. Big sister’s gonna stomp all over you.”

“Ah, Jesse… we should discuss these things first…”

Himena sighed. She had prepared for a fight, of course, but she hadn’t expected Jesse to provoke them so blatantly.

While Himena sighed and fitted the battery-shaped object into her knuckles, the doors of the van behind the man burst open.

Gang members poured out of the van. Even for mafia, they couldn’t just pull out guns in the middle of the city anytime they wanted, so blunt weapons were their main choice.

Jesse quickly counted the number of gang members and said:

“Let’s handle two each. I’ll take care of that ball-less bastard as a bonus.”

“Are you sure?”

“When I wasn’t street racing, they called me the Monkey Wrench of Columbus. Don’t worry.”

“What about Emily?”

“Are you worried about me?”

Emily was holding the end of a long sock with a round object inside it.

“It’s an improvised flail.”

Though it looked quite makeshift, it was actually quite powerful. Knowing that prison inmates used such weapons and that many people had died from being hit by them, Judy put her hand to her forehead.

“This is why they say prisons breed crime…”

“But we can take down those guys with this, right?”

As the four women continued their conversation with no sign of tension, the ignored man shouted:

“What are you waiting for! Get them now!”

Though not in a hierarchical relationship with the man, the gang members moved in unison since they had accepted the request.

The long rod Judy was holding emitted a small spark from its tip when she pressed a button on it. It was a stun baton for self-defense.

With this, all four women were ready for battle.

Tadadat!

As the gang members charged, Himena gripped her knuckles tightly. Through several transformations, the knuckles changed into a blaster.

“Wow, you get all the good stuff?”

“Jesse, you can just beg Dexter for one too!”

Jesse extended her three-section staff downward and swung it toward the temple of the closest approaching gang member.

Thwack!

Though Jesse appeared delicate at first glance, combined with the effects of the nanobots that assisted in combat, she could exert the strength of an average adult male.

As the gang member staggered after being hit in the temple with the three-section staff, non-lethal ammunition shot out from Himena’s blaster.

The fast-flying non-lethal round hit the gang member directly in the head, causing him to collapse while clutching his throat, unable to breathe.

“Kuh, kuhhh…”

Judy, also aided by nanobots and trained from working out with Dexter, was more than capable of subduing gang members.

Whoosh!

Using her small frame to her advantage, Judy ducked to avoid a metal pipe swung by a gang member and then leaped upward.

Thwack!

“Owww!”

Judy’s crown collided forcefully with the gang member’s chin. As the gang member’s brain rattled and he lost his balance, Judy grabbed her own head with her left hand and pressed the stun baton against his solar plexus.

Bzzzzzzt!

“Eeeeek!”

The second gang member collapsed with a strange scream.

Emily wasn’t one to care about other people’s feelings.

But there were exceptions. She only cared about people important to her, like Himena, Jesse, Judy, and Dexter.

If someone was a stranger and targeting her with ill intent, she showed no mercy.

Emily began swinging her sock flail vigorously, aiming for the shoulder of one of the gang members approaching Judy.

Whoosh, whoooosh, whooooosh, THWACK!

“Aaaaargh!”

Something was definitely broken. Whether it was a collarbone or his spirit didn’t matter.

Emily’s lips curled up slightly at the gang member’s scream echoing through the alley.

“W-what the! F-fuck, what the!”

In an instant, three gang members had been taken down.

If they had been facing a similar gang, it might have been different, but seeing seemingly powerless women each taking down a man left the leader with his mouth hanging open.

The remaining gang members hesitated at this unexpected turn of events, but the four women weren’t about to stop.

Divide and conquer.

Gang members with broken bones or knocked unconscious were sprawled across the ground.

The alley was filled with groaning sounds, and the man who had been standing in front of the four women began to tremble.

“Hey.”

Jesse, once known as a crazy bitch, smiled as she looked at the man.

She beckoned him with her index finger, but the man shook his head vigorously.

“P-please spare me, please…”

“Who said I’m going to kill you? Hurry up and come here. I’ll count to ten. 10, 9, 8…”

When the man approached Jesse, trembling like an aspen leaf, she crossed her arms and pointed to the ground with her eyes.

“Kneel.”

“What?”

“I said kneel, asshole.”

As the man somehow managed to kneel, Himena whispered to Jesse:

“What are you, Dexter now?”

“Be honest.”

“About what?”

“You want to hit this bastard too.”

“…I’m a civil servant. How could someone whose main job is protecting American citizens possibly…”

“Is there anyone here who’s not a civil servant except Emily? We’re all civil servants. I’m a civil servant too.”

“C-civil servant?”

“Ah, I said something unnecessary and now this bastard heard it.”

As Jesse frowned, the man, still kneeling, pointed at the four women and said:

“What kind of behavior is this from civil servants who are supposed to protect citizens! Huh! Which department are you from? Tell me!”

“See, I knew this bastard would react like this.”

Just as Jesse was about to smack the back of the man’s head, Himena’s foot moved first.

Thud, THUD, THUD!

Himena’s sleek legs gleamed in the moonlight as she thoroughly stomped on the man, creating quite a spectacular sight.

“Ugh, what is this! C-civil servants! Killing people! Help! This is excessive force!”

“Excessive force my ass!”

She stomped on him thoroughly, conveying her frustration that what could have been a pleasant evening had been ruined because of him.

Jesse glanced at Himena with surprise, then joined in on the beating Himena was delivering to the man.

“S-stop…!”

Judy and Emily also watched for a moment before simultaneously stomping on the man.

Eventually, after the continued beating, the man lost consciousness with a strange scream.

“Gyaaaak!”

Himena, who had been staring blankly at the scene, let out a deep sigh.

“Haaa… there’s really never a quiet day, is there?”

With her hands on her hips, Himena was looking at the battered man when she turned her head toward a bright light slowly appearing behind her.

“Oh, a taxi?”

What appeared behind them was a white taxi characteristic of Boston.

With a thick Russian accent, the taxi driver poked his head out from the driver’s seat.

The taxi driver made a gesture to hurry up and get in without saying anything about the gang members sprawled on the alley floor.

“…What a cool driver? Let’s go quickly.”

The four women left the alley in front of the bar without hesitation and headed home in the taxi.

* * *

Independence Day.

1:20 AM.

“Hey everyone, I’m home!”

As soon as he entered the front door, Dexter hung his coat on the rack and looked around, calling out.

“Honey, you’re back?”

Himena peeked her head out from the second-floor staircase, drying her wet hair with a towel.

“What’s this, did you go somewhere?”

“We had some fun while you were gone. The other three aren’t sleeping yet either.”

“Really?”

Dexter was actually pleased that the four women had enjoyed themselves while he was away.

‘It’s a miracle they didn’t get into a catfight.’

As Dexter approached Himena, he sniffed the air.

“Hmm.”

“What? Do I smell? I just showered?”

“Gin and tonic.”

“Huh?”

“You drank gin and tonic.”

“…Honey, are you a ghost or something?”

“If I can’t even get this right, I should retire.”

Himena knew that her body still smelled of alcohol, which is why she had showered just before bed, but she stuck out her tongue at Dexter for detecting the faint remaining scent.

While Dexter went upstairs to change clothes in the bedroom, Jesse appeared, applying her nighttime skincare products, and raised an eyebrow as she spoke:

“You’re back? Everything okay?”

“Oh, Jesse. Well, nothing special except being a bit tired.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

While Jesse applied cream in front of the vanity, Judy, who had been reading a book in her room, took off her glasses and snuggled into Dexter’s arms.

“Everyone’s being clingy today. What’s going on?”

“Is it not allowed?”

“No, it’s just that I haven’t even showered yet and you’re all cuddling up. I heard you went out today?”

“Yes. We had a really fun time.”

“Doing what?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret?”

“If you know everything, it’s not fun, right?”

As Judy looked at Jesse while nestled in Dexter’s arms, Jesse looked back at Judy through the mirror and said:

“Of course, telling everything would ruin the fun.”

“Huh. If it was so much fun that you won’t even tell your husband, how fun was it exactly?”

“It was super fun.”

Emily, who had appeared out of nowhere, was holding onto the doorframe and looking at Dexter.

“Feeling left out? You come back from work and find out the four of them had all the fun?”

“Even if Dexter had been there, I don’t think it would have been as fun as today.”

“That’s right, Emily’s exactly right.”

Dexter was puzzled by what the four women were talking about, but decided to let it go.

“Well, I’m sure there’s a reason.”

Though his body wasn’t tired thanks to the nanobots, he was mentally exhausted from being awake since early morning.

As soon as Dexter lay back on the bed, he spread his arms.

At that gesture, the three women except for Judy, who was already in his arms, dived into Dexter’s embrace.

Hugging the four women tightly in his arms, Dexter looked up at the ceiling and said:

“Oliver, who works with me, knows someone in charge of the fireworks festival by the Charles River. He said he reserved some good seats for us. Want to go together?”

“Really? Awesome, a prime spot would be even better.”

“Should I prepare some lunch boxes? It would be nice to eat while watching.”

“Judy, if you’re preparing lunch, um, I’ll prepare the ice cream.”

“If Judy’s preparing lunch, hmm, I’ll prepare some drinks. What do you think, honey?”

As the four women chattered away, Dexter closed his eyes slightly and smiled.

“Anything is fine with me.”

Dexter took a deep breath and then exhaled.

It was an ordinary return from work, but today was particularly satisfying.

Perhaps that’s why, although it wasn’t something he said often, he felt like saying it today.

“Everyone, good job today.”

At Dexter’s words, the four women glanced at his face and each said one thing.

Himena:

“You worked hard too, honey.”

Jesse:

“Thanks for going all that way.”

Emily:

“Today was fun.”

And Judy:

“I hope tomorrow will be fun too.”

It had been a satisfying day for everyone.