Message written in Blood

    A phone 'click' away and i began packing my stuff, few minutes more and i was running over the small park area toward the subway station. As much as Jay creates chaos and havoc around himself and no matter how much i have get used to it, I hated this 'need to know missions', beside that I was really getting interested in who will be my driver and I was most pleased to know that Jay was recruiting while i had my fun in Metropolis. Jay grows, heh, that's good to know.

    Somewhere in the middle of one of my freestyler jumps i remembered that i was out of smokes, that beautiful addiction that will probably be the death of me one day, but in this moment I didn't give a damn, smoking only that much as it pleased my tastes. Sal's drugstore was overlooking at the basketball courts and as soon as he saw me running in his direction he put his curly head through the window and yelled at me.

    '' What's the hurry dude! I don't see nobody running after you with a shotgun blast bro! Slow down you gonna get a heart attack! ''

    Sal always had that approach with the folks he knew. A 2.10 meters tall, ex-basket ball player with a fucked up knee cap, a goatie beard that could barely be seen and wit a lennon shades on you just had to love that guy.

    - Hey man, whass up? Do you have my brand of smokes and something cold to drink?

    '' Yeah, I have all you asked for. What did you think this is a china store with everything but the good stuff? ''

    - How much do i owe you?

    '' Nuthin' put that money away ok, this one's on me. So tell me, what's with the bag and the running like the ghost army is after your ass? You in some trouble? ''

A brief and small flash i could feel from behind my eyes and a confused expression on Sal's face let me know that he's awake and listening

    - Nah i just got a call from a colleague of mine back home, he has some things he wants me to help him with. Dunno what to tell you the truth but i could use some time visiting folks there as well. Tell me big guy, could you do me a favor?

    '' If i can do something to help you just ask the damn question aye? ''

    - Can you watch over the kids at the court?

    '' I can but, i don't follow you...'' - with a confused voice he started cleaning his shades slowly. Only then did i saw how he look tired. His eyes were blood red and his hair cut was having a serious bad hair day. In comparison to his bad hair day mine was a young spring flower while his was chaos and destruction after tornado flew by in a hurry.

    - Well, I'm possibly overreacting but lately i saw some shady typed movin' around the court. I don't wanna see the kids go down the fubar road if they don't need to ok?

    '' Yeah dude, no problem. This hood is my home man some of the kids here are friends of my li'l bro. Thanks for the heads up, my eye sight is probably get worse each day. I wonder how i haven't heard anything from the kids. Yeah sure I'll keep my eye, my good eye on them. I let you know when and if i hear somethin'. You keep yourself frosty ok? ''

    - Thanks man i will try. See you in a few weeks.

    Few jumps away and i was underground, waiting for the sub and smoking my cigarette with my travel bag fixed between my feet. I walk the streets every day and i see old folks begging for change, begging for food, you can see needles on the street pavement, drugs and other shit and you easily get the feel that everything slowly circles down the drain. I know I'm slightly different but sometimes i hate people around me, i hate them and i want to see them gone but as that initial wave of aggression passes over my i want to get involved, i wanna save them, wanna go and be a guardian of the weak and unlucky. Sure, I know that no matter how hard you try to help people you can't do jack shit about it if people don't want to help themselves. Sub woke me up from my flow of thoughts and soon i was to be on the bus station. I feel my cell vibrating in my pocket and as i thought it's Jay. Without even sayin' hello or anythin of that sort he started shooting questions in my ear

    '' Where are you man? ''

    - Just stepped off the sub, rush hour shit and stuff. What car am i lookin' for?

    '' Green family station wagon. Diver has read hair and goatie, russion hockey jersey, can't miss him. Name's Proxy.  I'll be waiting you guys at the Pit, our old place. Mock knows you're coming. See you when you get here. Jay out. ''

    - Green station wagon hmmm, can't see it from here - muttered to myself

    '' You Malus? '' - voice came behind me '' No need to alarm yourself mate''

    - You Proxy?

    '' Sure thing man, I'm your ride home, Jay sent me to get you. Nice to meet you old samurai. Can we go now? I don't like this city. ''

    - Done deal, lead the way.

    Out of precaution i walked step behind him, slowly checking the area for prying eyes and i found none.

    '' Some blue collar cop came to warn my hide that i was parking on the wrong spot. I don't like their attention so it would be best to speed up the pace a little aye? ''

    Proxy talked with such ease as he mimicked gangsta walk. Low pants, too wide for my taste with baseball cap turned on the side.

    - There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers, right?

    '' This ain't the place for such talk mate, here's my ride ''

I shot my travel bag on the back seat and as Proxy brought his car to life i lit my smoke.

    - You mind?

    '' No, smoke as much as you want... where the fuck did i leave my pack? Aaaaargh jesus fucking christ shit i hate when this shit happens! ''

    - Have one of mine

    '' Oh geeez man, that's too strong for me ''

    - Well since you smoke it doesn't really matter what cigarette's are you burning, you are eventually going to be reduced to ashes right? - i said with a broad grin on my face.

My eyes again responded with a quick flash of his mind lurking in me

    - Light?

    '' No neeeeed brother i got fire of my own. Check this '' - he said just a second before he put his cigarette in his mouth and few secs after his cigarette was lit

    - Nice trick, care to teach me?

    '' Hehhehehehehe  I dooon't think you can do it. It's just reserved for us, hot blooded types''

    - Good to know. Tell me how did you end up mixed in Jay's crew?

    '' Oh it's not a great story to be told. We know each other from the race tracks. But let's just say i like the chaos fiber he leaves behind him. ''

He turned his eyes off the road and smiled at me, his eyes turning red.

    - Nice eyes. You surely have some problems with finding the right shades to cover the glow?

    '' Mmmm not really. Shades are cool, but my shine can come and go how i chose. So Malus, Jay tells me you are like us. What's your catch? ''

    - I track and I run among other things

    '' You're what? A hound? ''

    - Of sorts

    '' Now that's a ton of info you just gave me. I on the other hand like fire, very much ''

    - Well then i see why Jay likes you. Where's smoke there's always fire to be found

    '' Huh? Say that again? ''

    - Nevermind mate just keep your eyes on the road ahead of us. Jay tells me you bring informations about fubar shit in the Garden?

    '' Yeah, 'bout that... Well i have just the info of what happened to our guys the other stuff you'll need to hear from Jay and Mock. One evening there was something in the air, that one of Jay's contacts picked up. Soon after they ended their conversation over the secure line of his hell breaks loose in 'the Shipyard' discotheque and in the area around.

    - What? Few freaks appear out of the blue and Jay brings the armor in? I thought that you guys can deal with types like them?

    '' This is just a prologue my friend and there are dire and troublesome things that follow. These freaks put Alan on intensive care with heavy concussion, fucked up his jaw, broke rib cage that punctured his right lung. Jay's brother, they drove him off the road. Both of his hips crushed, knee caps are both smashed from the impact his car took, multiple fractures on both arms. They left him to die until some civil found his burned and crashed car in the field, that guy saved his life by dragging his body out of the fucked up car. Alan and Jay's brother are in the same hospital on the same floor, we have some security personnel watching over them. If you thought that this is all, it gets better. Shipyard was a scene of a gun fight. Marcus brothers were both injured, if you can call it that way. John was shot with a shotgun, luckily none of his vital organs were injured which is a fucking great luck, but he'll be out of the action for a month after doctors perform several surgeries on him. His brother was beaten up heavily and has short term memory loss, Mock hopes their regenerative factors will get them better but chances are slim. The only girl in among us and her mother were burned by something... ''

    - Burned by something? Define something. How can you burn someone...

    '' Lemme continue please. We don't know, initial tests show that they were burned from the inside, something like spontaneous combustion. Yeah, I know it's a rare phenomenon, they were sent  to Rio Hospital after their condition was stabilized in our hospital. Jay sent Raven and Frosty, they are taking guarding shifts at the place. Thaj has some contacts with the news folks and she persuaded editors to postpone and to filter as low as possible info they can, meanwhile we are cooperating with our guys in P.D.

    - How could you let all this happen for Christ sake?! Those guys that were taken down were heavy hitters among us. Who except me was drafted? Who do we have...

    '' Who do we have on alert status, jacked up and ready to go on a moments notice? Five, maybe ten guys without you, Jay and me and those that are watching over our guys in hospitals. ''

    - How many of them?

    '' So far we have four confirmed targets. Mock and Jay suspect that there could be more of them. Raven and Frosty are phoning around our contacts in Rio, searching for similar accidents of any kind in Rio area. I don't know if they have any news brought to Jay and Mock.

    - What about Marino, Giovanni, Nathan, Doorman, Andy...?

    '' Marino is being put in stasis because he would probably blow the whole city apart to find those creeps and we don't want that yet. Giovanni sent his family to Padova in some safe house of his family, I don't know about Nathan. Frosty said he'll escort him with Raven back to our domain as soon as they can. Doorman holds the gates shut for those that are critical and Andy is drafting from his father's ranks. ''

    - I forgot about Andy's father? He's old as far as i know from the last conversation Andy and me had. He mentioned something about daemon ancestry his family has so i think i have a pretty good picture about who will he bring with him and trust me on that when you see those guys your eyes will seem like a candle flame comparing what those guys pack under their shades.

    '' Hehehehe, how things are standing at this point, any backup and any help will be greatly needed if we gonna flush those freaks in the open. ''

    - One more question. Was this shit pulled all at the same time?

    '' Yes ''

    - So this is a...

    '' Message, yes ''

    - Great.