Coke, Crime, Carnage: The three C's of the Cartel
The sky was a thick blanket of darkness, stars sewn into the fabric created by God himself, a interconnected network of celestial tapestry. The streets were running with color, noises of late night partying and mischief broke through the silence of the once quiet midnight air. Crime festered in the shadows of every alley and basement apartment from the Eastside to the Westside, it was ready to make its home under the skin of even the safest neighbourhoods, the city was being swallowed whole by sin, the criminals loved it.
Humphrey sat in the dimly lit suite he had purchased when he had arrived to Little Jasper, smoke covered the room in a cloud of grey, the light flickered ominously as the men sat around discussing the plan for the next month. It was simple, each week the men would head to certain drop off points, each point was tightly secured by cartel thugs, because at each point there was a great treasure, four kilos of pure Columbian Cocaine. The Cartel's have been fighting for control of the lethal drug trade that plagues the city, Humphrey was one of the big players, part of the new "Big Three" of Little Jasper's horrific underground economy.
Blood slowly trickled out of Humphrey's nostrils, dripping onto the finely crafted, imported rug from Italy. He picked up the straw in front of him and did one more hit, his head swirled with visions of grandeur, murder, women, it all came rushing toward him, he shook it off quickly, taking in the new sense of focus that clouded his thoughts.
Slowly, he got up and walked to the large window that covered the farthest wall from his desk, the city silhouetted against the shining lights that brightened up of the sea of darkness, it was his city. Humphrey slumped down in the chair again, signalling his men to leave the room, tears forming in the pits of his eyes as he started to remember her.
"Humphrey you are the sweetest guy ever, I knew there was something special about you, I love you Humphrey Omega…", the words echoed in his head as if she had been right beside him, sadness and anger mixed inside him, two warlords of emotion battling for dominance of a man torn asunder.
"Kate…..I'm sorry…..I never meant for anything to hurt you, I…I'm so sorry", the tears were flowing like a river, down his face, covering his fur and turning it to a darker grey pigment, he just sat in the chair and cried. He couldn't remember the last time he had poured out all the pent up rage and anger and just let the tears fly, it must have been years ago, in the orphanage where he toiled during most of his childhood days, before she rescued him, like the angel she was.
He stopped his crying, reminiscing was only making him weak, the thoughts of yesterday were a thing of the past, he was don now, there was no room for emotional breakdowns. But his heart ached too much for him to deny himself this one last chance for redemption, he had to kill that son of a bitch, he had to kill his Father.
Humphrey's father, Grayson, was a contract killer, one of the best in the world. He never cared what the contract was for, as long as the payout was big, and the kill brought more fear to his name, he thrived on fear. His father once mercilessly slaughtered a convent of children, the war in Iraq brought more opportunities for contracts than he was offered in his whole life. Humphrey's decision was made, it was time to kill the bastard that created him, the one that left in that hell of an orphanage, the one that cursed him with an existence that lived off of pain.
Opening the small compartment under his desk, he pulled out his signature dual M 1911. Pistols, the two tools that would help him bring down an empire, and bring his father to his knees.
Clenching a locket in his hand, Kate's picture hung loosely in the tattered and worn old frame, he softly whispered " This is for you Kate, I'll make him pay for what he did to you, think of it as the gift I could never give you….". He turned and faced the window one more time, looking out into the nightlife that made Little Jasper "The most lively place in the world!" as the signs usually say, slowly, dark snake heads slithered out from his back. "Yes Humphreeeeey, show him no mercy, make him know pain….."
Humphrey pulled the pistols from their holsters, he checked his ammunition, he was all set, slowly he crept up towards the opening to a small warehouse that lay directly on the far Southside of the city. The area seemed quiet, almost sleepy in the wake of the partying and mayhem that usually dominated the city's nightlife, but here it was dead silent. Moving carefully, he spotted a guard to his right, madly inhaling the cigarette that lay gently pressed between his lips, it seemed like he was enjoying himself, too bad the enjoyment had to be cut short.
Humphrey shot one round at the light that hung directly above the guard, the sound of glass shattering and sparks flew all over the place, he had to make sure he was shrouded in complete darkness. The guard looked around in confusion, his cigarette dropped to the ground and the last bit of light died, that was Humphrey's cue. He rushed in, the snake heads drew back their faces into a snarl, wanting to feed on the flesh and bone of their unsuspecting victim. Before the guard could even react, one of the snake heads had smashed its way right into the back of his head, blood spurting from the massive wound, brain matter hit the concrete with a splat.
After the feeding, Humphrey entered the warehouse, it belonged to Eddie Valento, a local wise guy who loved sex, the fat pig was about to be gutted and hung, along with the rest of the idiots brave enough to tangle with the harbinger of darkness. Once again he drew the pistols, the guards quickly lined up in a row in front of him, assault rifles at hand, ready to completely annihilate him. Before they could fire, Humphrey shot out the lights, he moved at almost a lightning fast pace, each light going faster than the previous one, smoke and sparks flying everywhere, the guards were heavily disoriented.
Not giving them a second to think, Humphrey continued hi firing, the bullet casings tapping against the ground as each shot brought another gangster to the ground, trying to save themselves from being massacred any further. It was no use, what was once a room filled with Eddie's soldiers was now nothing but a room covered in their blood, soaked in the gore of the wicked, the sinners, the saints….
The last soldier died off quickly, an empire had been shaken tremoundsly in one fell swoop, the enemy compound was destroyed, the soldiers, killed. Suddenly a massive beam of light broke through the darkness, parting it like the biblical story that surrounded the red sea. The light shined directly on Humphrey, weakening him, burning his flesh and causing more pain than he had ever thought possible.
``My son….My dear son, do you realize who you are dealing with? You have just made an attempt on the most powerful assassins life, you made a stupid move, I should have expected that my seed would only create something as stupid as you, you fucking idiot!" Grayson yelled from the balcony of the warehouse office, his face and form were covered by the light that continued to beat down on Humphrey.
" You bastard! I wish you had never created me, you are nothing but a cold blooded killer!" Humphrey retorted.
Grayson only chuckled slightly, "Have you ever bothered to take a look in the mirror? Look around you! You just took the lives of thirty men, each with their own families loved ones, and you think you are special? I think we all know who the killer is here."
Humphrey tried to stay calm, beads of sweat were present on his face, dripping to the ground in front of him. Mustering all the energy he could, he broke free of the lights hold, he darted up the stairs and chased Grayson, jumping over obstacles to keep himself upright.
Finally he was cornered, a nice dark hallway, Humphrey felt at home here.
"Wait, you have no right, I brought you into this world, I can take you out of I-…" He was cut off as Humphrey held him in the air, clenching his throat and squeezing the air right out of him.
"You should have realized who you were messing with, ever since that fateful day when I watched you blow my girlfriend's brains out with a fucking revolver, how do you think I feel huh?", the only response Humphrey got was a muffled wheeze, followed by the coughing up of blood.
" I loved her, but your pride wouldn't let you allow your son to have even the slightest bit of happiness, you selfish prick! She was so young, so sweet, and you ripped it all away from her, why didn't you kill me? Why? I was the one that wronged you, not her!", Humphrey threw Grayson to the ground, blood covered his hands, the floor, and Grayson continued to cough up whatever fluids he had left.
" She made you weak, all that love, support, it always brings a smart man to his downfall, you were too blind to see it, you are no son of mine, you bastard child", Grayson pulled a desert eagle from his jacket, the weapon gleamed proudly in the moonlight, the muzzle flashed amazingly, sending a cascading bullet towards Humphrey, knocking him straight to the ground.
"NO, THE HOST CANNOT DIE, WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!", instantly Humphrey was back on his feet, the bullets continuing to hit him, one by one, pounding his chest until his organs were strewn out across the ground in a confetti of Anthro matter.
" I would do anything to bring her back, but that won't happen anytime soon, the least I can do is give her this parting gift." Humphrey, with his last bit of energy, his last round, he fired the pistol one last time, Grayson trembling in a series of spasms before descending into a puddle of his own blood.
" It was all for you baby, I finally did what needed to be done, I-…" Humphrey never got the chance to finish what he was saying, he had dropped down onto the cold floor of the warehouse beside his father, two titans of Little Jasper's underworld had fallen. As Humphrey hit the ground, a small case flew out of his jacket and crashed to the ground, a small tag that read For Kate hung off the package, it slowly clicked upon and inside hid a small diamond ring, the words All for you baby girl engraved in the rings center.
He had given her the parting gift that he had wanted to present for a long time, she could finally rest in peace, while his own fate, rested in hell…..