Chicago could be described in many ways. City of hope, dreams, futures. It could also be called the city of demons, failures, and killers. Seth called it by the second group. He hated the city, the smell, the feels. Everything about this city pissed him off. Maybe that was why he did what he did. Purged it of the monsters who roamed it.
He hadn't been able to do it on his own though. He had to have a teacher, one who knew Chicago and how to take it back. Aiden. The crazy old hacker had taught him everything he knew. How to shoot, drive, steal, kill, fight... and the most important; Hack.
In a city where things, all things, were getting to be electronic in some way shape and form he had to know how to break the systems. It was funny, he was referring to Aiden as some old man. In truth the man was only on his late thirties. He had just 'retired' so as to keep his family safe and happy. That was why he needed Seth. Without Aiden, the city would be in danger from the criminals and other people who roamed it.
Seth wasn't sure exactly why Aiden retired but he knew it had something to do with the Marlaut job... something along those lines. Seth wasn't alone though. He had grown up on the street with his twin sister. Both looked similar despite the gender difference. Blonde hair that almost looked white. Small figures that made it look like they never ate, which always caused Seth to chuckle seeing as his sister was almost always eating. He just didn't know where it went.
They had both decided to try pickpocketing as a means to survive. It had worked for a while. Selene would pretend to either get hurt or would ask if they had seen her parents. Then Seth would strike. Not hit them, but sneak up behind them and take their wallets. When he had done that he would grab his sister and tell her their parents were worried about her and they would walk away like nothing happened.
As per how Aiden mostly dressed the two adorned similar outfits but with enough difference to confuse them between one another. Selene's was a large black over coat with a black long sleeve underneath, though most people didn't know this. She had a black cap with the symbol commonly associated with hackers on the front. She always had her hair tied in a pony-tail and through the back of the cap.
Her black coat had a strange insignia on the back right shoulder that looked like an exclamation mark in a triangle. Ironically this was the symbol she used when hacking other people. Her hacker name was written underneath it. Alon3. Her pants were black with grey stripes running down them. Her mask was black, with grey stripes that zig-zagged across it. Her gloves were black and dull.
Her boots were slightly heeled but not to an extent that would trip her or cause problems. All in all she looked just a bit overdressed but that was the point. She was definitely strong. Far stronger then Seth. She had also learned with Seth and excelled in using a baton. She had been attacked by three armed men once. She walked out of the alley without a scratch and the men were sent to the ICU. They were still there if Seth's memory was correct.
Seth wore a much different set of clothing. He had a dark blood red hat with a flat top and flat bill. He had a black coat over his white hoodie, the hood popping out the back of the coat. The bottom of the hoodie was visible under the coat and a grey and white paint-like splat was visible. The inside of the coat was the same dark red as his hat and had similar coloring at the pockets and buttons. On his left arm he had a patch with both his hacker name and his logo.
It had spider legs connected to a skull that had one eye blackened. The words, "Sp1der T4nk" written underneath in red. His pants were simple dark grey jeans with a chain by his waist. His mask that concealed his face was black with red zig-zags that started low and then crept up the mask.
They had enjoyed their new 'jobs' as the protectors of Chicago and knew they wouldn't have it any other way. To keep from getting exhausted they had a system set up. Selene would patrol during the day while Seth watched over the city at night.
Seth was almost finished with his shift as he watched the sun starting to rise in the sky. He was certainly exhausted now and let out a tired yawn. He sat down on a nearby bench and closed his eyes while leaning against the back in the cold, calm morning air of Chicago. But, such things almost never last.
"Kid, hands up where I can see them." Seth opened his eyes to see a man with a 9mm pointed at his face. Seth blinked at it a couple of times before looking straight at the man.
"Is this a fucking joke?" The interesting part was how calm he was. Not just with what he said and how he said it but the fact that he wasn't panicking at the gun that was pressed into his face.
"No, hand over your wallet and phone." Seth yawned and looked at the gun.
"Safety's on." The man turned the gun sideways to look at the safety and no sooner had he done that, Seth stood and knocked the gun out of the man's hand. Seth kicked his knees and knocked him to the ground. He then took out his baton and gave it a flick to open it and delivered a swift strike to the man's chin.
Seth closed the baton by pushing it against his hip like he had done a thousand times and then walked away, hands in his coat pockets.
"Dumbass." Seth started the walk to his car and eventually his drive back home. He and his sister stayed at the Owl motel where their mentor Aiden stayed. Birds of a feather flock together and all that jazz. At least that's what his sister would always say. When he reached his car he smiled.
The old Ram Dodge that was grey with black stripes running from the front to back made him happy. He had worked on the truck for a while and had earned the money needed to make it how he wanted. Well, earned is putting it nicely. More like hacking a couple ATMs and people's credit cards and bank accounts to get money for it. Nobody got hurt at least. Nobody lost any money. Except the banks, but nobody cared about them anyways.
Seth sat in the drivers seat and tapped his phone, causing the truck to roar to life. He put it in gear and started the drive back to the motel. The short drive gave him time to think back over the night. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. A few muggings, an attempted murder stopped. All in all it was a normal night for him.
He pulled into the motel parking lot and put the truck in park. He pushed down the E-brake and then walked out of the car. He clicked his phone and simultaneously locked and turned the truck off. He walked upstairs to his motel door. He tapped his phone and heard the click as the lock came undone. He turned the knob and walked into the simple home he had.
It was just like Aiden's but with his own flares. It had a couple posters of the band Smashing Pumpkins as well as some pictures of crime bosses he was after. The most notorious was Lucky Quinn. He knew it would take him a long time to even get close to Lucky, but he would relish that day. The mobster had claimed dozens of lives and it angered Seth. To think someone would so willingly kill people for personal gain made his blood boil.
He set his phone on the charger and then took off his hat and coat. He put both on the rack by the door and fell onto his bed. He would have fallen asleep had he not heard the door opening. He instantly jumped up on reflex and held his silence 1911 towards the perpetrator.
Selene.
His sister had her hands up in mock surrender and was grinning.
"Please, don't shoot me." Seth put the gun back in his hood pocket and then aimed a gun he had made with his hand at her. He dropped his thumb like that of a hammer and then softly said, "Bang." His sister clutched her chest and pretended to die.
Seth let out a chuckled and lowered himself back onto his bed. He heard his sister approach him and sit on the bed next to him.
"You ok?" He nodded, not having the strength to talk.
"Good. I'm heading out soon. You want anything before I leave?" He shook his head and let out a sigh. His sister leaned down and gave a kiss to his forehead. They both cared deeply for each other and knew that in their line of work any day or night could be their last with each other.
"Love you, bro." Seth mumbled it back to her though it was barely audible through the blankets of the bed and the fact that he spoke quietly. She rose up and left his room, locking the door behind her. Seth just relaxed and let himself will away to sleep.
Seth woke up to his phone vibrating. Nobody called him unless something happened. He reached over, not bothering to look over and grabbed the phone. He answered it and brought it to his ear.
"Ya?" He listened and then shot up and grabbed his coat and hat, throwing them on quickly. He rushed down the stairs to his truck and got in as fast as he could. He immediately drove to the hospital. When he arrived he rushed to the front desk and went to ask where the room was.
"Seth!" He turned to see his sister making her way to him, tears streaming down her face. Seth hugged her and tried to comfort her.
"It's alright. What happened?"
"T-They... Why!?" Seth just held her closer with a hand stroking her hair and another rubbing her back. He lead her to the chairs and sat her down.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to find out what I can." Seth went to the front desk and gained the attention of the women.
"I need information on Pearce, Aiden Pearce." The women looked at the documents and then back to him.
"Can't give those out, hun." Seth got closer to her and was getting slightly desperate.
"Ok, Jackson Pearce." The women shook her head.
"No can do." Seth backed away and nodded.
"Alright." He made his way back over to Selene who was trying to keep it together. When he sat she practically clawed all over him.
"Did they tell you anything?" He shook his head and pulled out his phone.
"No, but I'm going to find out." While his sister was stronger then he was he certainly had more finesse then she did. Sure she could hack better then most people but when it came down to her and her brother Seth was far more superior.
He saw a camera down the hall and connected to it easily. Simple ctOS systems and their foolish firewalls. Simply overload them with data to slow them down and then slip right past. Nothing could be traced so long as he kept data flowing, which certainly wasn't a problem. He could send them enough cat internet videos to keep them busy for years.
He then looked through the camera's eyes and down the hall. He found another camera and connected to that one. He then looked down the hall and saw a room with people in it. He immediately made out one of them.
"Nicki." He found a camera in their room and connected to it. He saw Nicki in a room with Aiden. He let out a sigh at seeing he was ok. He saw that Aiden had a brace around his arm and was covered in bruises though. His sister noticeably flinched when she saw this. On the bed Seth could make out a beat up, but breathing Jackson.
"Thank God. Wait, where's-" A man with a white coat walked in and both Aiden and Nicki rose up. Seth turned the audio on and he and Selene leaned closer.
"Mr. and Mrs. Pearce?" They both nodded.
"You're siblings correct?" They nodded again and the doctor looked at his pad. He then sat down and placed the pad on a table. He looked over to Jacks who was asleep. He then motioned for them both to follow him outside. Seth changed cameras and followed them as they went to a different room.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but, Lena... Lena didn't make it." Nicki collapsed and started to cry while Aiden wrapped his arms around her. Seth could see the tears running down his face, though he didn't make any noises to betray his crying. Selene was up the moment he said those words and went outside.
Seth closed his phone and ran after her. He found her outside clinging to a pole and crying. While they hadn't been as close as Aiden, the twins had become very close family friends to the rest of the Pearce family. Selene and Lena had been the best of friends while Seth, much to his sister's enjoyment, was close friends with Nicki. They had met one time when Aiden had invited them over to discuss plans on taking care of crime. Nicki had stopped by his motel and they were introduced as business partners.
They had grown closer after that and helped each other a lot. But now? Seth didn't know what to do. What to say. Hell, he hadn't been taking it very well himself. He held his sister close as she cried into his shoulder for what felt like hours. For all Seth had known it might have been hours.
They eventually made their way back inside and waited. Aiden and Nicki emerged, both teary eyed. When they saw the twins they approached. Selene hugged Aiden and started to cry again while Seth hugged Nicki who struggled to keep it in.
"It's ok to cry." Nicki's breathing picked up until she started to sob, then she started to cry. Seth could faintly hear her in between sobs murmuring to herself, "Why, why, why?" over and over again. The rest of the day had passed just like that. People attempting to comfort each other while others cried. When things had calmed down, well, calm down was too nice a word. When everyone had stopped crying Seth looked into his sister's eyes.
Most people would say that his eyes were a grey almost sleepy blue, his sister's were a more excited electric blue. But now they look at dead and sleepy as his. He could only imagine how he looked right now considering how awful his sister was. He kissed her on the forehead and held her close.
"It's alright." His sister nodded solemnly and then sighed.
"It wasn't an accident." Seth looked down at her and his eyes widened.
"What?" She looked up at him and her eyes were vibrant again, though this time they were filled with rage.
"Somebody ordered a hit on Aiden, and they killed Lena." Seth looked away and then his gaze hardened.
Whoever they were, they were going to pay dearly.
There's chapter one for all y'alls out there. Hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for chapter two.