The robbers huffed and panted heavily as they sprinted through the back streets behind the massive shopping mall, their boots slapping loudly against the pavement.
Sweat soaked through their dark clothes, chests heaving with every desperate breath while they struggled to keep up with the strange, unmasked man leading the way.
He moved with surprising endurance, never once looking back, as if he knew exactly how much distance they needed to put between themselves and the two dangerous women inside the mall.
The group stayed close behind him because he seemed far more knowledgeable about dealing with people like Chiyo — the kind who could make hardened criminals run for their lives with just a few words and a glare.
They soon slowed to a stop in a narrow, well-hidden corner tucked away from the main roads — a secluded alleyway behind the mall where overflowing dumpsters lined one wall and faded graffiti marked the brick surfaces.
