Tribal sacrifice - Living in a Dark Future, part 3

--1

I waited 3 days for Bloodshot's men to get over here; seems that the guy who threw me on the street was in charge and couldn�t find my house. No idea why Bloodshot hired such a dumb arse, but every crime lord has to have his minions, so to say. When they did get here, they did everything to the way I wanted to; I got a TV, a comfy bed, a bookcase (even though I don�t read), even a fridge. I was getting kinda hungry lately anyway. Bloodshot sure knows how to make sure his friends and clients live in luxury. I got a call from Bloodshot himself, asking me to meet him in his office to repay him. He said to bring plenty of ammo and alotta guts. What he�s got planned for me, I don�t know. But it�s gonna be pretty fun if Bloodshot has organized it, everything usually is...2

--3

Vertigus travelled through town again, meandering through more pedestrians and houses, taking his time in order to build up a worse case scenario in his mind on what he will have to do to repay the person who reconstructed his house to it�s former glory. 20 minutes later, he found himself knocking on the same door. He expected the large guy who threw him onto the pavement before, but he wasn�t the one who opened the door. There was another guy; similar in build, but his face was noticeable different and he was taller. He also had a degree more of manners in his system.4

�Are you expected here?� He said politely.5

�Yeah, I am. What happened to the other guy? About your height, but a bit smaller.� Vertigus showed this with a hand gesture showing smaller height.6

�Yeh, fired or somethin�7

�Bloodshot fired him for giving me shit?�8

�Nah, he got fired another way. He got it in the chest with a shotgun. Anybody who disobeys Bloodshot gets fired in an different way, ya get me?�9

�Sounds just like him� Vertigus said, worrying tone in mouth. He cautiously entered the house, afraid that he too might end up with a cavity in his chest.10

He strode up 2 stairs a time until he got to the door, and with a quick twist, opened it with ease and wandered in. Bloodshot faced him this time, one hand overlapping the other on the desk and staring quite menacing into Vertigus� eyes.11

�I�ve been waiting for you. You know why you�re here, right?�12

�I have to repay the debt, right?�13

�You sure do. But don�t worry, I don�t want you to go into any gang wars or anything.�14

�That�s good, last time I was in one, me and Terry were the only survivors, and now I�ve lost him� He gave a slight chuckle, but noticed that Bloodshot eyes was not amused, so his laughter and spirit died down.15

�This is serious. I�ve got something that you�d like to do, I�m sure you�d oblige to do it. There�s some enemy dealers moving in on my turf, trying to take my cash and my clients. I don�t stand for this kinda stuff. I�d send one of my guys down to sort it out, but I know you�d get the job done better and quicker.�16

�That means I have to kill all these dealers? How many of them are there?�17

�Not all of them, don�t worry. There�s about 10, you can take them. I�ve got my trust in you. You�ve got 3 days to do this starting from tomorrow, and all debts are paid. You�ll know they are enemy dealers because they�ll all have a tribal tattoo up their face. You got that?�18

�Sure, I got that. I can do that, but I�m gonna run out of ammo sometime soon. You got any spare rounds?�19

�Most of my men get what they�re given. But, seeing as it�s you, go down to the store room and pick up a few clips and anything else; Armour, guns, bombs. But don�t take much, we need everything we got.�20

�Don�t worry, I just need a few clips. I don�t need anything else.� He pushed himself out of the chair and shook hands with Bloodshot to show mutual respect. He started to walk out, but before he could exit the doorframe, he heard a voice behind him.21

�If I see Terencentanio, I�ll give ya a ring, ok?� Vertigus turned half way around, smiling, and sincerely, he said �Thanks.� He closed the door behind him, spinning the doorknob back round to close the door with it�s distinctive clicking sound. He hastily ran down the stairs, eager to get on the job so that he can finally live in peace without any more crime and killing. The last stair�s banister took the weight of Vertigus as he slid down it, rather like a child on the last day of school. Looking around at the people on the ground floor, he found the nearest person towards him and tapped him on the shoulder before asking, �Hey, do you know where the store room is?� The man pointed towards a door and said �Down the corridor, third door on the right�. Vertigus patted him on the shoulder and said �Thanks.� Before walking through the double doors and finding where he needed to go. 22

He opened the door and to his amazement was the largest storage of weapons, ammunition and explosives he had ever seen before this day. Row upon row of lead bullets, rack upon rack of riffles, pistols, shotguns and any other gun that sprung to mind, Armour stacked up the walls like crates of beer in a bar. Stable explosives in one room, unstable ones further down the basement to avoid spontaneous explosions and damaging the building. He looked in awe, trying to find a few rounds of ammunition for his Desert Eagles. Sifting through the large amount of illegal weaponry, he found a crate of bullets, and stored them in his trench coat, which had special loops that could hold the clips and wouldn�t fall out unless he wanted them too. 10 new clips of ammo were in his coat, and he escaped the barrage of guns to leave and get started on his work.23

A member of the house took an apple from the dish and polished it with a clean cloth, making it gleam in the light that dangled above him. He looked at its reflected surface, hoping for a reflection, but only got back a shade of white upon the red, sweet skin of the apple. He raised it to his mouth, expecting to let the sugary juices flow into his mouth as well as chunks of the apples flesh. Before he had this privilege, Vertigus, who took it hastily as he left the building and speedily, snatched it from his unsuspecting hand before chomping into the side, which the man had once dreamed of taking a bite into.24

�If he weren�t Bloodshot�s friend, I would have stopped him in his tracks.� He said arrogantly, trying to look macho in front of the other crewmembers.25

�You�re over your head, I�ve seen what he can do. He�s a tough guy, much tougher than you.� Said a man with a Scottish tinge in his voice, trying to reassure his cocky friend.26

�Yeh, well... I�d wipe the floor with him someday, but he�s Bloodshot�s friend, remember?� The attempt to make him seem like he was still tough failed, as he hung his head over the table in shame, before noticing the bowl of apples on the table. He picked up another and started to fixate with it again, hoping this one won�t be plundered.27

A discarded apple core littered the floor, which was Vertigus� path; he had no time to stop with pleasantries such as bins or somebody�s window to dispose of the apple core. He started a widespread search of the town, asking random kids on the streets if they�d seen anybody with a tribal tattoo up their face, but to no avail. He had asked for an hour, and he was getting tedious, but a young girl came up with some good answers.28

�I saw a man with a tattoo up his face. He was on West Street.�29

�Thanks girl.� He said, now determined to meet his acquired target. He ran to West Street, almost out of breath as he hurried to get there and repay the debt.30

Staggering to keep his lungs from shutting down, he almost collapsed to the floor. �That�s the last time I run for the rest of my life.� He said to himself, wheezing for breath and clutching his chest. He waited until he caught his breath again, before searching the area for his new friend. After a minute of searching, he found him. As he predicted, the tattoo crawled up his cheek like a bad scar. Reluctantly, the dealer walked up to him and asked, �What�s your business?�31

�Nothing, I was just wandering around.� He said, playing innocent.32

�You look familiar, have we met before?�33

�No, but I�m pretty sure we won�t meet again.�34

�Alright, take it easy buddy. Geez...� The dealer sighed, and slowly walked away.35

�Wait a minute, why do you have a tribal tattoo up your face like a bad rash?� The intention of making fun of him had sunk in, and he turned around, irate and ready to kill.36

�Take that back!�37

�Gonna make me?� Vertigus was provoking him to fight, eager to test his strength. The dealer withdrew a knife from his pocket, armed it and was ready to fight. �I�m gonna make it easy on you, I won�t use a single weapon. You deserve a handicap, seeing as you�re not gonna beat me.� The dealer couldn�t take anymore, and with precision, trusted the knife in the direction of Vertigus� heart. To his dismay, he missed. Like a fish escaping capture, Vertigus darted to the side and out of the way. The dealer went into a blind rage, slashing and slicing in any direction in order to tear away at the flesh of his mysterious opponent. Not one single attack hit Vertigus, but in an attempt of raw power, missed his target and put a hole in his coat. This didn�t amuse Vertigus, as he ducked under the next attack to stab his face and leaped towards his enemy, using his elbow to administer a destructive blow to the stomach of his enemy. He staggered back, looking at his chest, winded and defeated, he turned around to flee, but Vertigus had stopped his path, managing to get in his way yet again. �You know what�s shinier than that bald head of yours?� He said with the confidence that he always held; smiling sinisterly as he fell to the floor, blood and smoke oozing from the hole pierced in his head. �That bullet that rests with it.� Discarding the body in a dumpster, he kept the jacket and rummaged through it, finding some drugs and money, which he deposited in his coat. He started to walk away, but voices halted him, yet again.38

�Did you just kill that guy?� He turned around and scanned them with his eyes. 2 of them, both had the same tattoo engraved on their right cheek.39

�What guy?� He said, playing innocent again.40

�The guy whose� coat you got in your hand.� He looked at his hand and assumed a shocked look on his face.41

�I just found this on the floor next to the body.�42

�You�re lying to us!� They spitted back at him.43

�Don�t take this the wrong way, but you�re not worth my time. Even if I did kill him, I�ve not got a scratch on me or a bit of blood. What makes you think you�ll last?� Before they could come up with a rational solution, they jumped in and pulled out their pistols.44

�You did kill him! You�re gonna pay, you bastard!� They both took aim, and before Vertigus had a chance to escape, one of them let loose a shot that was aimed with precise accuracy.45

They looked in amazement, as he stood their, looking at his coat that had another tear in the fabric.46

�Do people in your crew hate trench coats or something? This is the second time today, I only got this coat this week!�47

�How did he do that? I never miss! I shoulda hit him in his groin!�48

�Well, you got my coat. Your friend in that dumpster, the dead one? He did the same. You know, I really like this coat!� He ran towards them, taking out both Desert Eagles and giving them a chance to fight back. Bullets soared through the air, and they still couldn�t hit him, even at point blank, just before Vertigus darted behind them and facing backward with the guns pointing towards their heads. They were frozen in fright; How could they miss and how could he move that fast? Was it even possible? The guy who let off the first shot stuttered, �How can... he do... that? I... never miss!�49

�Easy� Said Vertigus, tilting his head in his direction, �You may never miss, but I never get hit� He pulled the trigger on both; they only just caught the answer before falling into death itself. He rooted through their clothing, took what he found was useful and walked on. He put the guns back in his coat, leaving the blood stained corpses to rot onto the concrete.50

As he extracted his new trophies, he looked at the bags of white powder, which were once the other dealers. He put his index finger into one of them, sniffed it. He mumbled, �This is cocaine. It�s so nice of the other dealers to give me this for free, and give me my money back. I�d really like them, if I didn�t have to kill them.� He strode on home, the navy sky that signified the beginning of the night faded into black as the moon rose and bestowed the world with it�s quicksilver glow.51

As he opened his house and turned on the main light in the living room, he looked around his new house and felt proud of the once abandoned and ruined property. It looked the way he wanted it to, nothing was out of the place and he looked forward to living life like he did before he got involved in crime. He took himself upstairs and got unchanged; ready for the best night sleep he would have had in weeks.52

As he lied on the bed, about to fall into the realm of unconsciousness, he thought to himself �3 down, 7 to go. This maybe the easiest house I�ve ever earned.� Before falling asleep, waiting for the next day and what would be in store for him.53