The city lights shone brilliantly on the cloudless night, the skyscrapers towering up and illuminating its pitch black depths. Businesses that lined the streets were nearing their closing time as the hours ticked closer to midnight, their lights fading from the inside as the owners closed up. Police patrol cars were still out, for the exception for one or two extra patrol cars to keep the extra amount of club goers under control. The club goers, dressed in colorful and exotic clothing generally paid no mind to the police cars that drove by keeping a strict watch, as one passed a small group of some of those folk though, and the leader spat in the direction of the passing vehicle.
"Damn cops", he grumbled loudly, mostly to himself, but his two friends heard his annoyed comment. He sharply turned a corner, making his studded black jacket flap slightly in the quick gust of the turn. The jacket didn't have any sleeves and revealed the hawks' flame-tattooed arms, which were pumping fiercely against his sides.
Both his friends half ran, half jogged to keep up with their leader, who was walking at a much faster pace than they could keep up with. "Jet..." the one to his left said between soft pants. She kept pace next to him and tried to start a small conversation. "We can't just say things like that you kno-"
Jet walked ahead quicker; displeased with being told this again by his maroon feathered comrade. His red and black flame boots made heavy ker-punk sounds as they hit the pavement in his frustration. "I KNOW Wave. I'm not a thoughtless child. I just hate when they ruin our fun" he said with an angry huff, his feathers fluffing slightly in annoyance.
The friend on his left said in-between gasps for air "Yeah boss, they really kill the entertainment." He suddenly tripped and fell flat on his beak as they made another sharp turn.
Jet continued walking but shouted behind at the large gray albatross, "Just get up and keep moving Storm, we can NOT be late for this." He continued to walk fast.
Wave shot an apologetic look at Storm, but did not help him stumble up as they continued their swift pace to keep up with their leader.
All three stayed silent after that, knowing that Jet would have to calm with silence and thought. They passed various night clubs on their way to their stop. Music poured out onto the streets and the neon lights illuminated them as they rushed by. Yelling and cheering could be heard inside and body guards stood just within the entrance of several places to prevent any further chaos. The section of the city they were heading to had many of these clubs that the trio frequently visited. It was less for entertainment and more for business with the people that ran the establishments.
The three continued on, the sound of their feet being the only thing echoing in the night after a while as the city started to filter out into the suburbs. There were less clubs that they walked by and more apartments. The quality of living in this area also notably went down. Trash lined the corners of the sidewalks and dark figures could be seen in the alleyways between the complexes where the streetlights did not reach. Every once and a while when they passed apartment buildings the trio would hear drunken yelling, sometimes loud moaning or people arguing. The leader of the three ignored them, but the other two cast wary looks to each other. Generally, the group did not go into this area of the city. With their reputation it made it more dangerous than it would for a normal person. But Jet was steadfast in his mission to make it to their destination, so they continued onwards.
After about another half an hour of silence and swift walking, Jet sharply turned into an alleyway, his friends close on his green feathered tail. The alleyway was lined with trash bags, but down the center it was generally swept clean and clear as a pathway for the people that lived on either side. He stopped about halfway down underneath a streetlight that was the back entrance to a restaurant.
Another man approached him out of the darkness.
"So you're finally here," he said with a smirk. The dark feathers on the strangers' head shone gray underneath the florescent light and the dark clothes he wore looked inconspicuous and were black as well. The figure leaned against a large dumpster that was filled to the stop with trash bags that reeked of a foul odor.
Jet rolled his eyes. "Enough acting like this is some sort of dramatic movie deal. Just give me the keys and we can be done with this." He placed his hands over the opposite green flame tattoos on his arms in an impatient stance.
The other man's shoulders drooped in disappointment. He scuffed his feet on the cracked concrete and mumbled something that the people standing across from couldn't hear, and tossed the keys to the young man standing across from him.
The green hawk smiled as he caught them in his left hand. "Now you don't owe me anymore. So thanks, I guess, for getting my ride out of the pound."
The dark dressed sparrow muttered something and walked away, an aura of defeat and annoyance coming off of him as he disappeared into the back of the alleyway's shadows.
Jet spun on his heel and faced the other two. "Well that's that," he said cheerfully, his previous bad mood completely gone now. "I'm sure it's in good condition, and if for some reason it's not, I'm sure you can fix it up Wave." He paused. "Or... we could talk to that sparrow again and be a little more… rough with him." He glared ahead at the spot where the bird once stood. But his dark flash passed and he turned back around not waiting for a response from her or Storm.
He spun the keys on the index finger of his right glove as he continued forward in the alley. He took a sharp left turn down a smaller branch of the alley that was generally short and lead into an enclosed parking lot with a single car in it: Jet's car.
The trio approached the car, from afar it looked unscathed, and as they approached, the judgment stood. Jet took in the beauty of his vehicle while Wave went around and made sure that there wasn't any damage to the mechanical aspects of the car. Storm stood watch to be sure no one approached them while the quick inspection was being done in the dim light.
The car showed no chips on its silver paint, and the stripes that ran vertical from front to the back of the vehicle remained intact. The Babylon Rouges symbol on the trunk of the ride still stood, and in fact, seemed polished and reflected light nicely off of its golden surface. The sides of the car had stripes that integrated with the others that ran along that formed the shape of a hawks wing along the doors and they seemed unharmed and almost as if they had gotten a touch up of black paint. Each window was tinted a shade where no one could see in, but the passengers could see out. The hub caps on the wheels had a special, custom ordered design from Jet himself which featured a small hawk in the direct center of the cap, and small bird wings on each of the branches out to the edges.
Jet unlocked the car and checked the interior for any damage. The seats inside were still the unscratched black leather that he had expected to see and the odor of the car still retained the new smell that vehicles normally contained. The idle lights that turned on when doors were open coated the inside of the vehicle with a warm shade of yellow, and the armrests and cup holders were all left with barley a speck of dusts on them; perfectly clean. Near the gear shift, all of the additions that he placed on the car over the years he had it still stood, polished and erect with the shifts that the car would've had normally. He sat in the driver's side seat, the leather gently giving underneath his light weight, and inserted the key to turn the car on.
It rumbled to life in a powerful grace, the lights switching on and illuminating the parking lot in their impressive radiance. Jet reached under the right side of the wheel and flipped some switches to test the other features of the car to be sure they were still working while Wave got into the passenger's side and did an inspection on the mechanics on the inside of the vehicle, giving the outside a passing grade. One switch that he turned on activated the lights that Wave had installed beneath the car. They made the ground glow green within a small radius of the vehicle. Another switch and loud music cascaded out of the car, filling the parking lot with a fast paced rock rhythm.
Jet smiled. He was satisfied that his car made it out of the compound in perfect condition. If anything ever happened to his car, he didn't know what he'd do. He put so much time and money into it, the vehicle really felt as if it were a huge part of his life; or all of it. He cleared his thoughts about the car though, and shouted at Storm.
"Storm, hop in the back let's get going." Then he turned to Wave. "You get in the back too, just in case I need to do yelling at some wisecracker on that side of the car."
Wave rolled her eyes, but complied, "Okay Jet, if that's really what you want." The leather squeaked slightly as she got up, closed the door to the passenger's side, and entered again on the right side in the rear of the car.
With both of his comrades in the back of the car, he placed his hand over the shift stick. He knew its shape well from the many times he'd driven the car he'd worked so hard on, but he spent the extra second to take in the feel of the shift stick again. With his fingers, he gently rubbed the silver metallic surface of it; he then let his hand fall down the smooth length that ran down into the leather, connecting the shift stick to the rest of the car. He loved the feeling, he would never get over the beauty that this vehicle had within it, and outside it.
"Um, Boss, what are you waiting for" Storm asked carefully, trying not to set Jet off on another tangent, as his temper was much shorter earlier in the night.
Jet snapped out of the thoughts he was having and said in an irritated tone, "Nothing, I was just thinking about where we should drive to first." He glared ahead and brought his attention back to the car and found the exit of the parking lot with a quick look around the premises.
He huffed and slammed the door shut, stepping on the gas. He sped the car out of the tiny parking lot and whipped out onto the street, the wheels screeching on the black pavement of the city limits. Jet laughed to himself, and Storm and Wave both smiled. All three of them loved when he was in a good mood. He then sped forward down the small street, going as fast as the car could push itself. Jet's heart soared at the speed he was able to achieve with his beloved car. The scenery of the apartments whipping by them in a blur, the trees becoming a single green mass at the edge of his vision, it gave him a thrill like nothing else did. He let his foot off of the gas and began to slow down. The road had to end sometimes, and it happened to be coming up fast.
He pulled the shift backwards into their lowest gear and pressed hard on the breaks, making the car wheels screech and leave skid marks on the pavement as it turned to face the main road, now with almost no cars on it besides people who had late night jobs or were going to parties.
Leaves rushed passed the car in the guest of wind that was just now catching up to the trio in their car. Wave smiled and said "Okay Jet, but you know now that we have to get right back to business, you are the leader after all." Jet rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever Wave." He said, annoyed at being reminded of his responsibilities as leader. Now pissed off and barley stopping at the traffic lights and speeding in-between, Jet swiftly guided the car towards their final destination:
The Babylon Rouges' Base.
Hi! This is my first ever fanfic so it would be really cool if you could give me some review and feedback! This is only the prologue so there is more to come
Thanks for reading!