“I’ve got nothing to say to you, Markus,” Jay responded with clear annoyance before receiving a punch in the gut from the man holding him. Jay leaned forward with the wind knocked out of him but was held up by his assailant. ‘Getting hit with a prosthetic first ain’t no joke,’ he thought to himself.
Beatrice’s eyes blazed with fury at seeing her mentor get stuck like that. “Do that again and I’ll fucking end you,” she yelled out, straining against the other man holding her.
“Now, now people let’s all take a deep breath,” Bando spoke. “Liam now that was unnecessary. He’s an old friend, we can let the formalities slide this time.”
“Now where were we,” Bando began. “Oh yeah, catching up. So how have you been these past few years? Heard you made a name for yourself during that skirmish in the middle east all those years ago. Even went on to become a good ole boy in blue.”
“Seems like you got the gist of it,” Jay wheezed out slightly just getting the air back to his lungs.
“Looks like all those survival skills I imparted to ya really did the trick. You should be thanking me, partner,” Bando said to the man.
“I’m not thanking you for shit,” Jay hissed back glaring up at the man.
“Still trying to burry your rootes,” Bando responded
Jay was getting tired of this. “Fuck off Markus.”
Bando looked brought his clasped together hands to his face as he closed his eyes. “You know I have to say though Jay, I am disappointed. All that potential and you squandered it on being some stand-up lawman,” Bando uttered to Jay. “We could’ve revolutionized things down here.”
“Fuck you and this shit hole! People like you are the reason why I do what I do,” Jay shouted back His restraint was reaching a boiling point.
“People like me are why you’re even breathen shit for fuckin brains,” Bando returned his shout tenfold. Startling everyone in the room slightly except Jay.
“You think you would’ve had even a fraction of the opportunities that have come knocking at your door if it weren’t for me,” Bando went on, shoving his right thumb into his chest for emphasis. “I made you, you little shit. I made you into the ruthless, efficient killer that you are. I made you into the man that always gets the job done. If it weren’t for me, the military would’ve never taken interest in your abilities, and you still would be in the same place you were when we first met. A shit stain lost in the Underground and on the verge of death cause mom and pop tossed you in the fuckin garbage.”
Jay lost it. He lunged forward, catching the man holding him off guard and head butting him in the nose before moving to grab Bando by his shirt collar and pulled out his pistol, shoving the barrel under his jugular. The room erupted into chaos as the man who was holding him and the larger man at the door pulled their weapons on him while the one who still had a good grip on Beatrice stuffed his barrel behind her skull.
“Now listen here motherfucker,” Jay began with a furry that Beatrice has never seen before from him. “I didn’t come here to listen to you spew shit about our past, I came here to find that fuckin AD! You are going tell me where it is, or I swear to whatever deities lie above I will splatter your brains all over your office!”
Bandos' expression went from serious to amused. “Nice to see you haven’t lost that venomous edge of yours, but do you really think that would be wise.”
He gestured to the men behind him pointing their guns at him and Beatrice. Jay let out a low growl but didn’t drop his firearm.
“Jay,” Beatrice uttered. The man glanced back at her and saw the fear and worry in her eyes. But those emotions weren’t due to the gun behind her head, at least not entirely. It was due to the man who stood before her. The man who never seemed to lose his edge, lose his cool during a mission. The man who always seemed to have his emotions in check and who would never put those closest to him in harm’s way if he could help it. That look she was giving him was because of his own actions.
Beatrice shook her head slightly as she stared at the man. His expression softened as he slowly lowered his gun.
“Smart girl, you should take notes from her sometime partner,” Bando said. “That temper of yours isn’t going to do you any good in the long run.”
Jay turned back to the man. “Enough. You know something about the AD. I won't ask a second time Bando.”
Bando and Jay stared each other down in silence for a moment. It was like watching two alphas having a stand-off to see who was more worthy to lead the pack. Beatrice couldn’t read Jay’s mind but with how his whole demeanor has been since they began this mission, she could tell that if things didn’t go his way their situation would get ugly, real fast.
“Very well, but only because I still owe a debt to you,” Bando sighed as Jay released his grip on him and he leaned back into his chair whilst taking a long drag from his E-cig. Beatrice audibly sighed but they still weren’t out of the clear if the guns being pointed at their heads were any indication.
“Their have been multiple sentient AD’s that have passed through here as of late,” Bando begins, breathing out a cloud of smoke. “For the most part, they come down here seeking asylum from the nuances of the top side world. For the most part, they don’t cause me and my boys no trouble, so I just let them be,” Bando clasped his hands together and leaned forward as he continued.
“Though as of late I’ve been hearing strange whispers in the din of a good bit of those AD’s forming some sort of religious cult dedicated to the worship of something or someone they revere. I don’t think too much into nor ask questions. Not gonna bother trying to figure out the data processors of a bunch of malfunctioning AD’s. Especially if it isn’t bringing bread to the table or taking it away.”
Bando took another drag from his cigarette before continuing. “They apparently meet within an abandoned shack that used to be a supply depot during the war. Semi large building just north of here. Can’t miss it.”
Jay slid his weapon behind his back as the man holding on to Beatrice let her go. She stood up and stared daggers at him. She was tempted to shoot him, but she knew that wouldn’t help the situation especially since they still had weapons pointed at them. Jay began to walk off gesturing Beatrice to fallow before Bando called to him.
“One thing before you go. Regardless of what you tell yourself, Jay, you’re no better than anyone else down here in the slums. The Undergrounds, they’ll always be your home whether you like it or not.”
Jay chose not to respond nor look back at the man. He walked out of Bando’s office with Beatrice not too far behind. Once they were outside of the pub Beatrice let Jay have it.
“What the hell’s your problem, Jay,” she said to him with folded arms.
“Not now,” he uttered back to her as they walked through the area and into a small marketplace with various signs hanging from wires and booths advertising the shops.
“You could’ve gotten us killed,” she continued. “I understand you had it rough here but you risking our job and our lives like that behind some twenty-year-old vendetta is unacceptable.”
Jay was beyond over with everything at this point. He stopped suddenly causing Beatrice to almost bump into him. He turned to face her as he said his next words. Venom laced all in his sentence.
“You of all people don’t have the god damn right to talk to me about my personal shit Beatrice. Not by a long shot.”
She stared it him with wide eyes as what he said and who he said it to slowly sunk into his mind. Beatrice looked away from him holding back tears as the memories of her fathers' murder played out through her mind.
“I hate you,” she said barely above a whisper. A look of regret formed on his face. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her like this. But because of his anger, his guilt, his own trauma in regards to the past that he couldn’t move on from he did just that.
“Betty,” he began but she moved past him hiding in the direction of the supply depot. She didn’t spare him a glance, nor any words. Jay palmed his head and shook his head.
“Genius Jay, real genius,” he muttered to himself as he followed her.
Comments (0)
See all