Hi. I know, I know - what's a Resident Evil writer doing over here in the King of Fighters fandom? I don't have a good answer to that. Anyway, whatever. A couple of quick notes before we get started:

Content warning: violence (duh, it's KOF, but still) and a spot of rape. Sorry about that. Please turn back now if you're not comfortable with that stuff. Not that anyone ever truly is, but you know what I mean.

Wardrobe choices: Please imagine the ladies wearing something other than their fighting clothes. Seriously. Also, do not come at me with any rubbish like, "King would never wear a skirt!" She has canonically worn skirts and/or dresses on more than one occasion, bruh.

Peep the end of the chapter for more notes. Onward!

The woman known only as King gasped as somebody grabbed her from behind and firmly pressed a gun against her jawline.

"Try anything else and I blow your head off. Get in," came a stern order.

Despite the warning King momentarily entertained the thought of screaming, or even trying to break free, but there was no doubt in her mind that pulling any risky stunts would get her seriously injured — if not outright killed. She took a deep breath and grudgingly allowed the man behind her to walk her to a white sports utility vehicle, where she was forcibly shoved into the backseat. The stranger climbed in next to her, never once lowering his gun as he shut the door.

"Hey, man — you okay?"

He called out to his partner, who was wailing loudly from the driver's seat as a heavy stream of blood poured from both of his nostrils.

"That bitch! That bitch broke my nose!"

The driver turned to look into the backseat; his bloodied face was bruising rapidly.

"You're dead, you hear me?! You're DEAD!"

There was something about the look in his eyes that instantly filled King with an almost overwhelming sense of unease, which caused her to involuntarily shrink back against the seat and look away from him. She turned toward the window next to her which was, predictably, tinted as dark as the law would allow, and hoped that somebody outside had seen what happened and called the cops. After all, it wasn't exactly common for a nearly six-foot tall, kickboxing bartender to be attacked by a couple of random jerks in the middle of broad daylight.

King backed herself into the corner as the driver aggressively pulled out of the small outdoor lot. Being kidnapped and held at gunpoint was an all-new experience for her that was quickly messing with her head. On one hand, she was absolutely terrified: one wrong move and she could get shot. On the other, she was beyond angry about being rendered helpless by guys she could easily take in a fair fight.

"What do you want?!"

King wasn't sure if talking was a good idea; the question just sort of came out.

"What do I want?!" The driver bellowed from the front seat, "What I want is to bash your head in, you fucking whore!"

King pressed her lips together in a thin line; anger was starting to overshadow absolute terror. Who even was this asshole? She wanted to kick him in the face again, but she knew she had to focus on escaping instead of daydreaming about doing more violence. Her cell phone was in her purse; if she could find a way to dial 911 without them noticing her, then, maybe —

"Come here," the gunman spoke up.
"What?"

The unexpected request caught King off guard.

"Move over here, and give me your bag," the gunman said slowly.

King didn't have much of a choice: Refuse and probably get shot in the face without ever knowing why she was in this situation to begin with, or comply and maybe live for at least a little while longer. She slowly moved to the middle seat before pulling her purse off; she reluctantly handed it to the gunman, who took the bag and placed it near his feet.

"There are people waiting for me," King stated as she nervously glanced at the pistol that was still pointed at her. She didn't know what to do with her hands, so she smoothed her skirt, which had torn a little during her short brawl with the driver.

"If I don't show up they'll —"
"They'll what? Nobody knows where you are."

That was an excellent point. Yuri and Mai were probably already at the restaurant stuffing their faces with nachos, blissfully unaware that their friend was in peril. It was depressing, really.

"You fucking…" The driver growled from his place up front, "I should pull this car over right now and show you what happens to —"
"Then do it!"

King's temper flared. Although she knew she needed to keep a level head, she couldn't help herself. She was pissed, and the very thought of getting a rematch and inflicting more pain on this guy was intensely desirable.

"Fight me without your bro and see what else I can do to your face!"
"Shut up!"

Before King could react the gunman struck her with the handle of his gun. She let out a low groan as she fell sideways on the leather seat; blood started to flow from her forehead as she sunk into a sleepy haze. Her captors were talking, but she couldn't process anything they were saying. King desperately wanted to stay awake, to listen to what these men were discussing, but it wasn't looking too good. She could sense the gunman peering down at her, checking to see if she was still conscious.

"You think Big'll be mad?"
"At what? He said to rough her up a bit!"

King's eyes flew open. Big?! What about Big?! Years had passed since she worked as the bouncer at the infamous crime lord's restaurant-slash-club-slash-breeding-ground-for-illegal-activity and betrayed him. What did he have to do with anything? Was this some kind of punishment for her actions all that time ago? If so, a better question was: Why now?

King tried to will herself to get up, but she was in too much pain and she was too sleepy anyway. Her eyes closed once more.

That does it for this bit. So, just a couple of really little things:

*The decision to not capitalize the driver and the gunman is intentional. Take from that what you will.

*It's totally summer, so "broad daylight" is about 5:00 - 5:30 PM. Somewhere in there.

*According to the SNK wiki, Southtown is in Florida, but that's rubbish b/c A) it's never stated anywhere, and B) KOF: Kyo, although only partially canon, states that Southtown is in California (there's even a map). There are good reasons to think it might be based on Florida, but those same reasons apply to the San Diego area, too. With that being said, if you've been to SD then I hope you found some humour in the bit about the SUV being white.

Okay, I think that wraps it up. Don't be afraid to let me know your thoughts and feelings. Cheers!