For Favoredfallen

[doctricis]

Los Angeles was always bustling as if the City of Angels never slept, be it because of the club nightlife or because of illegal activity lurking in the city's underbelly. Derek hoped tonight would be just like any other on-call shift, patch up a few idiots with bullet wounds and call it a night and swing into his day job at a local clinic in the morning. Rinse and repeat. There was a relatively new nightclub he had been dying to visit but the line to get in was always a mood killer especially when he didn't have much time to spare beforehand to wait in it in hopes of getting in.

Instead, he daydreams about getting into Lux one day as he sits on a metal, old school operating table with his legs dangling over the edge, his face hidden as he waits for something, anything to happen. He glances at the bodyguards that stand on either side of the main door out of here while some of this gang's goons sit around a table, playing poker with a ridiculous pot at the center.

A usual sight these days, Derek tunes out the laughter and the tv in the corner as he jams to songs on his phone, the earbuds hidden behind the mask he wore. And just when he thought tonight would be boring, the building shakes and the lights flicker for a second. At first, he thought it was only a typical California earthquake. They happen all the time so it wasn't a huge deal demanding attention and for the moment, everyone shrugged it off until there was another and the sound of muffled gunshots.

That's when things really kicked off. A man at the table waved off for a guard to check what the commotion was, only for someone from outside to bust through the door instead. "You guys need to leave. We've been hit and the cops will be here any second!" They shouted before disappearing and the room scrambled, hands grabbing at the pot at the table while others rushed out the room.

Derek found himself grabbing his backpack that he used for this job and bolting out the door with the others, he knew he couldn't escape to the roof because something like this was bound to attract news helicopters so he opts for running through some narrow streets towards his car, shoving his mask in the backpack before racing off to get a better look at the damage.

A few buildings on the small block were on fire, including the building the gang operated out off with its shop front. A few storefronts to either side were hit as people were engaged in a firefight, the sound of sirens not too far off. Derek guessed the LAPD would be here in a matter of minutes and he couldn't risk getting caught. Just as he's about to speed off, he spots one of the goons for the gang he works for take a hit and as much as they were a little higher on the food chain, he couldn't just stop and help, pretending to be an innocent bystander.

He averts his gaze and stares on ahead, seeing the police cars zoom on past before he pulls off in some nearby residential looking neighborhood. Turning off his lights and sitting idle, he could always go back to see, just join the crowd behind the police tape, and he wants to but he also wonders if it would blow his cover in a way. Knowing he shouldn't risk it as he runs his hands down his face and turns the lights back on before driving home just a few miles away.

This will be all over the news in the morning, that's when he'll see the damage to all of this and who was really affected by it.