-6 Months Before-

Eli hops onto his bike and pushes off the pavement. It’s his turn to patrol, and he has his music on (quietly) and his purple coat on (loudly), so he takes off. The streets are mostly empty, save for a random cat or grandma taking a walk at 11 pm. He really likes patrol duty, more than the other members.

They’re technically a gang, but the only people that call them that are white soccer moms that are scared they’re going to corrupt the children and smoke weed in the parks. They made themselves for protecting the streets, so the kids can play outside and not be afraid of some creep snatching them. So far, it’s worked. And thank God for that, Eliseo thinks, or we might have been reported. All five of them, the members, are really just friends that decided to do their neighborhood a service, but no one seems to get that. Which is why Eliseo likes patrolling, especially at night. He doesn’t feel like he’s bothering anyone, and he can do his job for the Cinco Leóns without any backlash.

The neighborhood is quiet, only the occasional person down on their luck sleeping on a street corner, who Eli leaves alone. They’ll clear out by the time morning comes around; the Leóns have made sure of that.

Eliseo cruises slowly, checking the darker spots between houses for lurkers. All seems calm; there’s no one at the more popular hideout spots, like the playground. He lowers his guard just a little and relaxes on the seat of his bike, dropping one hand from the handlebars and patting his pocket. His knife is present, as well as his pocket watch. He removes the latter, and checks the time. It’s 11:30. After 10:30 tends to be uneventful, but he decides to do another circle anyway, and then stay camped by the playground. It’s the smart decision, and if he gets asked about it later he can answer truthfully.

The neighborhood is quiet, until something unexpectedly barrels into Eliseo, knocking him clear off of his bike. He rolls to his feet, vision swirling. The person is standing in front of him, their face hidden by a black hoodie, dark sunglasses shadowing their eyes. Eli scans the scene, and sees no one else, only a silvery glint in the person’s hand, reflecting the light of a nearby streetlamp. He whips out his own knife, holding it aloft. Maybe I can win this one through intimidation. This person doesn’t look too tough. They’re just… standing there? He blinks. The person now seems to be… laughing. They toss back their hood, and he looks into the eyes of the leader of the Leóns, Hernán.

“That was a test, esé.”

Eliseo lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I thought I was actually going to have to fight someone.”

Hernán grimaces, “You might. It was also a show. Now maybe the moms won’t say that we don’t do anything. That’d be good, right, esé?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you passed. Keep going. You get to stay.”

Eli grins at that one, and pulls Hernán into a one-armed hug. “See you at school, bro.”

Hernán melts into the shadows in his sweatshirt, and is gone. It’s getting later by the minute, and Eli just wants to go home and sleep for a year.