Chapter One

Morning Before the Dead

Location: Tokonosu City South West Sector -

Cheap and Shady Inn Room #3D

Time: 11:00 AM

Date: Z-Day Minus One

I stood at the open door way of my potty mouth partner's room before knocking. She had fallen asleep in her black cropped tank top which exposed her midriff and dark purple hip-hugger panties after our heavy drinking session last night. Who would've known that a cute girl with a petite frame of 5'3'' from Hong Kong would be able to knock back six cans of Heineken and top it off with a full bottle of Smirnoff Vodka?

After being partners for two years there was no form of modesty between us, but we had known each other since our adolescent years. Several of our teammates came to the conclusion that the two of us were actually shagging based on our sexually fueled teasing and flirting. Being the pranksters that we are, we decided to go along; however the gag is getting old. Despite all this, our relationship is platonic.

Casually walking towards her bed I spoke loudly. "Queen. Get up. It's time for work."

Queen shifted around in her bed with her sheets wrapped around her legs before muttering something incoherent. Queen's habit of twisting and turning in the midst of her sleep usually left her cocooned in her bed sheets whenever she woke up. Leaning over her I yanked window shutters open to let in some natural light. Queen's natural response was to writhe and moan from the sudden intrusion of light before turning her aggression towards me.

"Ah god damn it Jack! It's f_cking bright you f_cking asshole! Was five more minutes too much to ask for?"

She continued her tirade of curses until I sat down on her beside and offered her a morning cigarette from my pack of Newports. Placing a hand on my right shoulder for support, she pulled herself up into a sitting position on the bed with her legs crossed. Queen then leaned over and plucked the cigarette from my fingers with just her lips before I gave her a light. She took a long hard drag before exhaling deeply to let me know that she was still agitated with my sudden interruption of her sleep.

With the morning stoge hanging loosely from her lips she murmured.

"F_ckin' A. I didn't know they sold Newports in Japan."

Before answering her question, I lit one up for myself and took a puff. "They sell almost everything in vending machines in this country. Hell, they even have condoms in the one downstairs if you want to sample the local flavor."

Queen scratched her hair violently from her morning frustration before continuing to whine about the heat.

"Out of all the places. Out of all the god damn f_cking places in this shitty city. Blackie just had to book a shitty room in this shitty inn without air conditioning and the bloody ceiling fan doesn't even spin at full speed like it's supposed to! It's f_cking hot as dicks! I thought Japan was located further North on the map than New York!"

Blackie is one of the four founding members of our company, apart from Dan, Techie and my-self. His real name is Alan, but he received that stereotypical nickname for having the darkest skin tone in the crew as well as being the fastest sprinter at our old company with the Original Six. Despite the stereotypical nature of the name, he was actually of Malaysian descent. Yet, the name stuck. Whenever Alan was the butt of a joke or if there was a complaint that involved him, he is always referred to as Blackie.

Everyone gets their fair share of being insulted at the company, but sometimes it gets pretty bad. Our in-house insults is enough to turn civil rights groups into lynch mobs demanding that our tongues be cut out before we're hanged, but to hell with them. We don't tell them how to raise their kids, so they can piss off since our insults are kept in-house, it's none of their business.

Now as to what our company does or is, let's just say we're unlicensed contractors. Most of our jobs entails transporting and providing security for contraband. We do legal work too from time to time, but that doesn't pay too well nor is there an abundance of it for us since we're not licensed. In a sense we're very much like the legal operators out there minus the hard core ex-military training most of them have received; however most of us in the company did grow up holding guns in one hand and drugs in another just to put food on the table.

Don't get me wrong, we don't go out looking for fights, it's just a part of the job when you're providing security. Fighting means we're expending ammunition, and we risk losing personnel. Both of these factors are considered to be expenses that cut into our maximum profit and we're all about making money at this company.

Queen leaned over me before flicking her cigarette ash into the empty can of Heineken located on top of the end table. Putting her head on my right shoulder lazily she asked me about our meeting with the Yakuza representative while taking another drag.

"Their car will be here to pick us up in an hour, so hit the shower. You reek of alcohol."

As she proceeded to rummage through her suitcase for a clean towel I stared out at the cesspool of Tokonosu City. No matter where I went, every city had a part of town that was concealed from the tourists and middle classed bourgeois. Culture, race, none of that matter when it came to the slums of a city. The stench of gutter mud and blood was the same all over. The same foul stench almost everyone in the team had grown up inhaling since we exited our mothers' wombs. Yet, here I was wearing a white collar business suit. Ironic isn't it. Scanning the block from the third story window, I saw the legs of a poor bastard being dragged down a dark alleyway with a trail of blood being left behind.

Same shit. Different place.

The weight of soggy clothes landing on my lap brought my attention back inside the room. Queen had just thrown her sweat soaked tank top and panties on me while she stood completely nude while finishing her cigarette.

With a smirk on my face I asked her, "What? You want me to sniff your panties like a panty otaku?"

Queen responded in kind to my smart ass remark with a fake British accent and an air of nobility in her voice.

"You know you want to you bloody pervert. They probably smell more marvelous since it was I, the Queen who has graced those garments with my delicious feminine aroma."

After delivering those lines, she shut the shower door and the muffled sound of running water was heard.

I muttered quietly to myself as I put her laundry into a plastic bag before tossing it into her open suitcase. "Feminine is the last thing you are, you sloot."

"THE F_CK YOU SAY?"

How the hell did she… you know what, never mind. "I said I'm going to grab some Starbucks! You want the usual?"

The sound of running water and the closed shower door did little to muffle her response, "Yep! Thanks boss!"

Phew crisis averted. She's been hanging out with Meg too much. Girl said bloody twice this morning.

Location: Tokonosu City, South West Sector

Time: 11:21 AM

I walked into the sun-lit street which was no more than two and a half cars wide. This street does have a nostalgic view to it. It reminds me of Chinatown in New York. Mainly the intersection of Pell and Doyer Street. I wonder how business is for "Go Loh" in his barbershop. I'm due for a cut anyways. Damn hair is getting too fluffy. I'll visit him as long as he doesn't screw with my goatee. This thing took me a year to grow properly.

The crunching of bones from the dark alleyway brought my day dream to a close. The noise came from the alley I had observed earlier. It was pretty dark because of the shadow the surrounding buildings cast on it. The trail of blood was still there, but I assume someone would clean it up eventually. The sound of body parts being ripped didn't disturb me too much. Just another cleaner doing their job. Somebody has to get rid of the body somehow.

Upon exiting the small street I came into a fully packed two way street as people rushed about. I'd almost fit right in, until someone spoke to me in Japanese. I might be a jack of all trades, but I am garbage when it comes to any type of Asian language even with a Chinese-American background. Two blocks to my right across the street I spotted my target. The familiar logo of Starbucks coffee stuck out sore thumb in the midst of all the Japanese shops. Coincidentally muscle memory kicked right in as I speed walked towards my destination. Old habits die hard I guess.

Thankfully there wasn't much of a line in the coffee shop, I stood behind two people who were quickly serviced before the tired male employee in his early twenties beckoned me to come forward to the counter.

"Uh, let me get a grande Pike and a Caramel Frap." I said quickly.

That specific order has been forged into my memory after a specific incident with Queen. I accidentally ordered a Vanilla Frap for Queen by accident after a Starbucks run for the office. The moment I handed her the drink she went ape shit and emptied both her Beretta 92FS above my head. I might be her boss, but she is called a Queen for a reason and in a stack of cards, I am but a knave.

The man apologized and possibly asked me to repeat my order. We might be speaking different languages but as human's we communicate more with our body's than just words. I repeated my order again but this time in a clearer and slower manner while pointing out the size of the cup and the beverages I wanted.

"So you American?" The employee asked in a heavy English accent as he made my drinks.

"Yeah."

"How you like Japan? Your family move there from Japan when you little?" The employee asked further as he handed me my drinks with a contemptuous look on his face.

"I'm indifferent about Japan. Feels almost like home here in the big city. By the way, I'm Chinese." I gave the employee a quick smile and noticed the emotion of contempt changed to bewilderment on his face before leaving the coffee shop hastily.

Location: Cheap and Shady Inn Room #3D

Time: 11:56 AM

Queen greeted me with a snide remark as soon as I walked through the door without even looking at me.

"Sure took you long enough boss."

Queen was applying her make up as I placed her drink down on the table before sitting down on her bed. I sipped my dark coffee with no milk or sugar added cautiously before reaching into my breast pocket for my pack Newports. Queen was dressed in a black skirt short enough to capture the gaze of almost any man by just moving her legs. She also had a red button up blouse which revealed a generous portion of her cleavage by leaving a few buttons loose. I know it's rude to stare but I was curious. Something was slightly off about her bust so I had to ask.

"They sure look a lot bigger. You got push up on?"

Queen turned around in her chair to face me with her legs crossed over each other before giving me an alluring look and answering my question. "I might be a C-cup, but it's always good to have insurance to make sure that the deal goes quickly and smoothly."

"Stand up and turn around," I beckoned.

Queen stood up and twirled around in her thee inch heels as her wavy hair with neon purple highlights spun around with her. A small sadistic grin formed along my mouth as I walked towards Queen and pulled her in by the hip. Giving her my worst perverted look I mouthed off in my old gutter rat vernacular, "Dayum girl. Yous is fine. Come holla at'chur boi."

Responding in kind, Queen took the cigarette hanging from my mouth and took a drag from it before pushing me onto the bed. She leaned over me while her left index finger caressed my black tie. Queen gave me her best amorous look before licking her lips once and asking in a husky voice, "Would you like me to puff the magic dragon... sir?"

For a second the room was silent except for the crackling of the lit cigarette in her hand. Queen broke the silence with her usual demeaning jokes.

"Well it's a shame since you can't even get it up."

Another moment of silence, but it was quickly broken with the two of us staring at each other quietly snickering before we broke into boisterous laughter. Our team mates would say that the two of us have a awkward taste in sexual humor or perhaps, even childish. Sometimes our sexual jokes even had Alan stumped. He didn't know whether to scream at us or just completely give up after receiving our field reports which were covered with ornately drawn male genitals.

Apparently Queen and I thought it would have been a funny to deface each other's field reports without the other's knowledge. After Alan and Dan called us over to their desks with agitated looks and our reports covered with an assortment of male genitals open on their desks, Queen and I just shook hands and complimented each other with fake British accents saying: "Well played good sir. Well played."

Not long after that, everyone at the office started to doodle male genitals on each other's property. Alan and Dan were pretty pissed off when that happened so they invited Queen and I out for a drink. The two of us woke up at the office the next morning to find ourselves covered with sharpie drawn male genitals and pictures of us passed out on the couch. While I laughed it off, Queen went berserk around the office. Apparently someone had specifically outlined her nose and made it look like the male reproductive system.

The moment Alan and Daniel stepped into the office that morning she had them tied up and hanging from the ceiling before she used them as demonstration in front of everyone of how to properly draw male genitalia. Then it became the unwritten rule around the office that you can prank Queen however you want but you don't mess with face. Do that and she'll discover ways to crucify the perpetrator that will impress Jesus Christ himself.

As our laughing died down, I wiped a stray tear from my right eye before I spoke again.

"That's real harsh partner. Saying that I can't get it up. As if you would know."

"I do though," she quickly responded.

Continuing our usual banter I teased her by asking if she wanted to try. As usual she flipped me off without a second thought.

"You can't afford me boss. Anyway, how's my acting?" Queen asked as our playful banter came to a close.

"Terrible, but it should be enough to mess with their heads so we can seal the deal with quickly," I answered, while readjusting my tie before throwing on my midnight blue blazer.

Queen then hung a long white scarf off my neck before handing me a pair of black tinted shades.

"You trying to kill me in this heat?" I asked while raising my right brow.

"There you go. Now you look more like a crime boss!" Queen said as she turned me towards the mirror. "Oh wait I forgot one thing. There! Now you definitely look the part."

"Shit. This is some Chow Yun Fat get-up from the eighties." I muttered with a unlit cigarette hanging loosely off my bottom lip that Queen had just placed there.

I have to admit, I did like how I looked, even if it was just for a day. Tomorrow I'll be flying back to Thailand and the day after that I'm going to back in my usual grey jeans, a flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves, a combat vest and a New York Yankee fitted baseball cap worn backwards. The sound of two honks downstairs told us that the Yakuza vehicle was here to pick us up.

"Let's get this over with quickly. I f_cking hate heels." Queen muttered with agitation. "You on the other hand look great in a suit. Should wear that for work more often."

"You kidding me? This is my best suit! As much as I would love to, I'd hate to damage it in the line of work."

"Bloody hell, you sound more like a woman every day boss." Queen said with a face-palm before she slapped my rear to tell me to get a move on.

Author's Notes:

It's been a very long time since I have returned to this very specific site to do some writing. I have to admit, I missed it, but after 2008 I just sort of lost my drive for writing. I've had the idea of Private Contractors in the HOTD setting for quite a while since reading translated manga from SCANS OF THE DEAD. The particular idea hit me after reading the Dead Night and the Dead Ruck chapter in the series and playing Army of Two the 40th Day.

After taking two courses in creative fiction writing, I decided to pick the idea up again. Of course before starting on this I decided to go through what everyone else has written. I stumbled across Last Alarm written by FireManJim in early 2014 and I fell in love with his story, even though I did not leave reviews. I felt if I didn't have anything significantly helpful to contribute then there is no point in giving an empty opinion.

Although Jim has taken a more serious and dramatic tone in his story along with the idea of private military contractors I felt that it was not going to stop me from pursuing my idea. Quite the contrary it was the final inspiration I needed to actually start.

While writing, I went through some of my older work that I have done for the Runescape genre to reassess my writing. I asked myself, what can I do differently this time, how can I create more tangible characters, and the most important question: what can I do to improve dialogue and human interaction? In addition, unlike my early years on this site, I actually started to edit and craft my story instead of doing everything in one go and posting. I want to craft a story that would be enjoyable to readers and to do that, revisions upon revisions are mandatory.

Now to end this note, I would like to give FireManJim my thanks for giving me the inspirational spark of creative writing that I once lost. So Jim, if you're reading this. Thank you. For those who of you who have not read Last Alarm yet, I highly suggest you to do so. It's an extremely well crafted piece of fiction.