Unfortunately, most of the people he brutalized hadn't actually seen anything, but it sent a message that the Syndicate didn't mess around and he made sure everyone knew that it was the Syndicate that he represented.
Then he broke the shin of one man that saw several men he didn't recognize carrying an unconscious woman out of the alleyway and down another alleyway to the right.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
He strode out of the broken in doorway and located the alleyway.
It came to a dead end but he didn't enter the alley immediately.
If it's someone nobody recognized it was probably Clydus' men.
And they were probably keeping watch if they were hiding.
Out of habit he pulled out his case of cigarettes and opened it, but he pursed his lips in disappointment as water ran out of it.
He dumped the ruined cigarettes on the ground and considered his next move.
Finding which building they were hiding in wouldn't be difficult, but finding out before he was spotted was another matter entirely.
He glanced down the alley to take note of the terrain.
Some clothes lines criss crossed the upper floors, those windows remained open so he could assume those houses were inhabited and inconsequential.
That narrowed his options down to two.
Alright, it was time to put his street rat tracking skills to work once again. They we're so deep in the slums that there weren't any cobblestone paths, so that made tracking difficult, but not impossible.
He bent down to examine the stones, a tell-tale skid mark, a dragged foot.
The path went around this same alley corner and went wide to make sure the watchman could see them... That told him that they were in the house closest to him, which meant he could effectively approach unseen until it was too late.
When he stood up again he picked something up from the ground and entered the alleyway. He clung to the shadows close to the building, he was dressed in white and stood out plainly, but every little bit counted in his favor.
He stopped beside a window and listened for a moment. He heard some muffled conversation and a slap, and then muffled words that sounded like threats.
Inara was probably being an idiot and trying to intimidate her kidnappers, a slap would do her good for that.
--------------------------------
Inside the house the watchman craned his neck to see the entrance of the alley, but the window provided only a limited view further obscured by filth and grime.
He did finally detect movement and tried to learn forward more to identify it without pressing his face to the dirty glass.
The next moment a loose brick from the cobblestone path came crashing through the window, striking the man full in the teeth and sending shards of glass into his face.
The door was kicked open another moment later and Max strode into the room.
His face stony to hide exactly how much he loved his job.
Exempting the maimed man on the floor he counted four guardsmen in leather armor, easily concealed beneath cloaks to blend in with the slums.
A white night serving the forces of evil stood against the dark knights representing the forces of good and justice. Irony just didn't cover it.
"Fucking windows, am I right?"
The man closest to him let out a war cry and charged with his sword.
Max caught his wrist with his left hand before he could bring down his sword and he delivered his steel knuckled punch to his throat with his right, crushing his Adams apple and dropping the man as he choked on his own blood.
He backed up immediately as two of the remaining three charged him simultaneously, driving him out of the house and into the street. The last stood guard over Inara.
Max ducked and weaved to avoid the sharp blades as they flicked out at him, but only long enough to gain the advantage. He kicked and connected with a knee, stunning the guard and giving him an opening to deliver a punishing blow to the side of his temple, knocking him out cold before he hit the ground.
The second swordsman slashed out and missed, but didn't put the same effort into the back swing. Max punched his wrist, shattering the bones and making him drop the sword.
There was a zipping sound as Max pulled out a garrote wire hidden in his belt. He had the wire around the guard's neck in an instant, he crossed the wires and pulled, blood squirted from his neck before he could bring his hands up, and he was bleeding out before he could do anything.
Max dropped the man, leaving the tightened wires on him as he bleed out on the cobblestones.
He then dragged the unconscious guard over to the sidewalk, positioned his teeth against the corner and delivered a kick to his head. Teeth and blood flew across the street and into the house...
He did all of this purposely in front of the open doorway.
One guard left.
