Hilo leaves Wen’s apartment after another argument about her safety. Hilo wants Wen to move into the secure Horn’s residence on the Kaul estate because violence between No Peak and the Mountain is worsening, but Wen refuses to live with Hilo before marriage and insists she can protect herself despite being a stone-eye.

Hilo responds to a frantic call from Mr. Pak, a grocer in the Armpit. Two young Green Bones have smashed the Paks’ store for not paying tribute to the Mountain, damaging No Peak’s standing with local Lantern Men. Hilo promises protection and later identifies the vandals as Yen Io and Chon Daal, who are expected to be at the Super Joy arcade.

Angry at Lan’s restraint and determined to show No Peak’s strength in the Armpit, Hilo decides to handle the matter personally with the Maik brothers. Kehn stays in the car because of a sinus headache while Hilo and Tar approach the arcade. Kehn’s position saves Hilo: when motorcycle-riding assassins open fire, Kehn senses the danger, shouts a warning, and lays on the horn.

The shooting becomes a coordinated ambush. Hilo deflects bullets, fights blade-wielding Mountain Green Bones, and recognizes one attacker as Gam Oben, Second Fist to Gont Asch. Hilo narrowly avoids being disemboweled, while Kehn drives the Duchesse into the street, striking Chon Daal and disrupting the attack. Hilo kills one assassin by Channeling into the man’s heart, and the Maiks kill Yen Io, but Gam and Chon flee.

Tar is badly wounded by bullets that Hilo had deflected, and Kehn can only slow the bleeding. Furious, Hilo orders terrified bystanders to spread the word that anyone who reveals the fugitives’ whereabouts will be No Peak’s friend, while anyone who shelters them will be Hilo’s enemy. Before rushing Tar to the hospital, Hilo strips jade and weapons from the dead attackers, then drives away in the damaged car.