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Oriphiel · 03-19-2015, 08:30 AM

I'm back again, with another chapter!

Chapter Nine

The sun had risen above the streets of the city by the time that Luke arrived at the Blue Shirt's main hideaway, and left a soft haze above the asphalt as the small amount of rain from last night began to evaporate. He walked past a small group of people gathered around a large boombox as he approached the abandoned building that had become all too familiar to him in the past weeks; it used to house two different businesses, with a restaurant on the bottom floor and the headquarters of an independent record label on top, and it was comprised of the kind of old, mossy bricks that seemed to sweat during the hot days of summer. Of course, there were Blue Shirts throughout the surrounding area, many of them visibly wounded from the festivities of the night before. Luke nodded to the Blue Shirts by the front door as he entered, and he was almost immediately hit by the stark contrast of the burning day outside and the cold and dark interior of the building. Though the only lights within the building were dim lamps, glowing pinball machines, and haphazardly placed neon signs, he knew the way through the building well enough to avoid getting lost. It wasn't long before he reached his destination, which was a large office on the top floor. The two guards standing watch beside the door let him in without much trouble, and he brushed his hair back and cleared his throat as he entered.

There was a man sitting at the desk in the middle of the office as Luke entered, frantically writing something down across a yellow piece of paper. "Hey, Boss," said Luke as he sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. The man at the desk let his pencil slip out of his hand as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the piece of paper with an expression of examination. After a few seconds had passed, he looked at Luke and smirked as he said "You're not gonna put a bandage on that?" Luke looked at him with a questioning glance, before remembering the scar across his face, and he raised his hand towards it as he said "Oh, the cut? It's fine. I mean, I cleaned it, and it stopped bleeding, so..." "Don't worry about it. You do whatever you feel you need to do, Luke," interrupted the Boss, "but if you want my advice, cover it up. It's almost always the little things that end up destroying you. Anyway, why don't you tell me about last night's war, specifically about why over fifty of my men decided to take up arms without my consent?" Luke opened his mouth and tilted his head as if searching for an answer, before shaking his head and saying "We got carried away. The Red Sleeves put two of our boys in plasters earlier that night." The Boss picked up his pencil and started writing again, as if a great idea had just struck him and he was trying to quickly capture it before it disappeared. Without looking up from his work, he replied "So it was a matter of revenge, then?" Luke shrugged, saying "Yeah, I guess." The Boss smiled, though he still was focused intently on his writing, and replied "Do you know why i'm the leader of this outfit?" Luke shook his head, and after a moment of silence the Boss continued. "It's because I earned it. And do you know what happens when someone gains power without earning it?" Once again, Luke shook his head. "They get disgraced, and they lose it all, because they never truly understood what power was to begin with. Last night, you led my men into battle. You tried to take my place. And though your intentions were reasonable enough, you've put us even further from attaining the revenge that you craved." "We ****ed up, I know, but..." said Luke as he nervously prodded the cut on his face. The Boss let his pencil drop once again, and laughed as he sat up straight. "Luke, there's something that I learned quite awhile ago. There is no revenge, there's nothing sacred, and there's nothing personal. In the end, it's all just numbers. All of it," he said as he folded up the piece of paper into a compact triangle. Luke gave him a puzzled look, and said "Yeah, sure. Again, i'm sorry, but there's something that I think you should know..." The Boss sighed as he fell back into his chair, before setting the triangle on the desk and flicking it into one of the open drawers of a cabinet, saying "And what's that?"

Obviously, Luke wanted to tell him about what had occurred last night, but he couldn't quite find the words. He decided to give it a shot anyway. "I, uh... well, I met some people last night. They're new to the city, and I showed them around. Anyway, they're really great with electronics, so I thought maybe they could..." The Boss interrupted him with laughter, saying "You ran into a group of tourists? Luke, what exactly is the point of you telling me this?" Luke shrugged, replying "I thought you'd want to meet them, is all. You'd have gotten a kick out of them. And like I said, they're amazing with technology. They could really help us with... you know what? Just forget it. You're right. It's, uh.. it's not important." The Boss leaned back in his chair and stared hard at Luke, saying "Look, I've got something to tell you. I'm not the kind of man that likes to do things in the shadows." Luke tilted his head and smiled as he looked around the very dimly lit office, and the Boss smiled as he continued. "You know what I mean. Anyway, I like to say exactly what's on my mind, and to always do things in the open. Being completely blunt, you damaged my reputation when you led my men into battle without first consulting me, and you further insulted this outfit when you went on to lose that battle. I've always believed in the value of respect, and to regain the amount that this city holds for me I must now take certain actions. I'm going let you walk out of this place, and in the near future i'm going to send three assassins to collect your head. By doing this, the world will know that nobody can disrespect me without expecting consequences. Now, if the assassins kill you, then obviously the city will fear my hand. But if you manage to kill them, then it shows that I've made misjudgments of talent; of the assassins, and of yours. If that's the case, then I'll welcome you back into this outfit, giving you another chance. And so the city will know that I have compassion for those with skill. Do you understand?" Luke felt a cold sweat across his skin, but tried to remain calm. "Yeah," he replied, "I get it." "Good," said the Boss. "Now feel free to leave my office." Luke rose from his chair and slowly walked towards the door, when the Boss suddenly called his name. "Yes?" answered Luke. The Boss smiled and said "Don't lose hope. When the boys inevitably open a pool over whether you or the assassins will survive the days to come, I'll be sure to put twenty down in your favor." "Thanks," said Luke in a dry voice, and his body felt the strange mix of calm and alarm that adrenaline produces as he slowly walked through the dark hideout.

03-19-2015, 08:30 AM	#14 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,354	I'm back again, with another chapter! Chapter Nine The sun had risen above the streets of the city by the time that Luke arrived at the Blue Shirt's main hideaway, and left a soft haze above the asphalt as the small amount of rain from last night began to evaporate. He walked past a small group of people gathered around a large boombox as he approached the abandoned building that had become all too familiar to him in the past weeks; it used to house two different businesses, with a restaurant on the bottom floor and the headquarters of an independent record label on top, and it was comprised of the kind of old, mossy bricks that seemed to sweat during the hot days of summer. Of course, there were Blue Shirts throughout the surrounding area, many of them visibly wounded from the festivities of the night before. Luke nodded to the Blue Shirts by the front door as he entered, and he was almost immediately hit by the stark contrast of the burning day outside and the cold and dark interior of the building. Though the only lights within the building were dim lamps, glowing pinball machines, and haphazardly placed neon signs, he knew the way through the building well enough to avoid getting lost. It wasn't long before he reached his destination, which was a large office on the top floor. The two guards standing watch beside the door let him in without much trouble, and he brushed his hair back and cleared his throat as he entered. There was a man sitting at the desk in the middle of the office as Luke entered, frantically writing something down across a yellow piece of paper. "Hey, Boss," said Luke as he sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. The man at the desk let his pencil slip out of his hand as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the piece of paper with an expression of examination. After a few seconds had passed, he looked at Luke and smirked as he said "You're not gonna put a bandage on that?" Luke looked at him with a questioning glance, before remembering the scar across his face, and he raised his hand towards it as he said "Oh, the cut? It's fine. I mean, I cleaned it, and it stopped bleeding, so..." "Don't worry about it. You do whatever you feel you need to do, Luke," interrupted the Boss, "but if you want my advice, cover it up. It's almost always the little things that end up destroying you. Anyway, why don't you tell me about last night's war, specifically about why over fifty of my men decided to take up arms without my consent?" Luke opened his mouth and tilted his head as if searching for an answer, before shaking his head and saying "We got carried away. The Red Sleeves put two of our boys in plasters earlier that night." The Boss picked up his pencil and started writing again, as if a great idea had just struck him and he was trying to quickly capture it before it disappeared. Without looking up from his work, he replied "So it was a matter of revenge, then?" Luke shrugged, saying "Yeah, I guess." The Boss smiled, though he still was focused intently on his writing, and replied "Do you know why i'm the leader of this outfit?" Luke shook his head, and after a moment of silence the Boss continued. "It's because I earned it. And do you know what happens when someone gains power without earning it?" Once again, Luke shook his head. "They get disgraced, and they lose it all, because they never truly understood what power was to begin with. Last night, you led my men into battle. You tried to take my place. And though your intentions were reasonable enough, you've put us even further from attaining the revenge that you craved." "We ***ed up, I know, but..." said Luke as he nervously prodded the cut on his face. The Boss let his pencil drop once again, and laughed as he sat up straight. "Luke, there's something that I learned quite awhile ago. There is no revenge, there's nothing sacred, and there's nothing personal. In the end, it's all just numbers. All of it," he said as he folded up the piece of paper into a compact triangle. Luke gave him a puzzled look, and said "Yeah, sure. Again, i'm sorry, but there's something that I think you should know..." The Boss sighed as he fell back into his chair, before setting the triangle on the desk and flicking it into one of the open drawers of a cabinet, saying "And what's that?" Obviously, Luke wanted to tell him about what had occurred last night, but he couldn't quite find the words. He decided to give it a shot anyway. "I, uh... well, I met some people* last night. They're new to the city, and I showed them around. Anyway, they're really great with electronics, so I thought maybe they could..." The Boss interrupted him with laughter, saying "You ran into a group of tourists? Luke, what exactly is the point of you telling me this?" Luke shrugged, replying "I thought you'd want to meet them, is all. You'd have gotten a kick out of them. And like I said, they're amazing with technology. They could really help us with... you know what? Just forget it. You're right. It's, uh.. it's not important." The Boss leaned back in his chair and stared hard at Luke, saying "Look, I've got something to tell you. I'm not the kind of man that likes to do things in the shadows." Luke tilted his head and smiled as he looked around the very dimly lit office, and the Boss smiled as he continued. "You know what I mean. Anyway, I like to say exactly what's on my mind, and to always do things in the open. Being completely blunt, you damaged my reputation when you led my men into battle without first consulting me, and you further insulted this outfit when you went on to lose that battle. I've always believed in the value of respect, and to regain the amount that this city holds for me I must now take certain actions. I'm going let you walk out of this place, and in the near future i'm going to send three assassins to collect your head. By doing this, the world will know that nobody can disrespect me without expecting consequences. Now, if the assassins kill you, then obviously the city will fear my hand. But if you manage to kill them, then it shows that I've made misjudgments of talent; of the assassins, and of yours. If that's the case, then I'll welcome you back into this outfit, giving you another chance. And so the city will know that I have compassion for those with skill. Do you understand?" Luke felt a cold sweat across his skin, but tried to remain calm. "Yeah," he replied, "I get it." "Good," said the Boss. "Now feel free to leave my office." Luke rose from his chair and slowly walked towards the door, when the Boss suddenly called his name. "Yes?" answered Luke. The Boss smiled and said "Don't lose hope. When the boys inevitably open a pool over whether you or the assassins will survive the days to come, I'll be sure to put twenty down in your favor." "Thanks," said Luke in a dry voice, and his body felt the strange mix of calm and alarm that adrenaline produces as he slowly walked through the dark hideout. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------