Prologue - Chapter Two
Trouble is Brewing
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
It was now 3:35 in the morning. At the top of the cul-de-sac was a car parked on the corner, overlooking the neighborhood. It was slightly covered in snow with the windshield continually being cleared by the wipers.
"What are you talking about?" a second voice asked scornfully.
In the car sat two men looking down on the quiet street.
"I meant what I said: I don't have a good feeling about doing this," the first voice replied with a hint of irritation in is voice.
The only light source inside the car – a softly-lit cigarette – only slightly illuminated the faces of these two men. The second voice let out an annoyed sigh, which was followed by a puff of smoke.
"God dammit Mike, what the hell is your problem this time?" The first voice that was called Mike hesitated for a moment, possibly due to his friend's hostility. But whatever the reason was for his hesitation, it did not stop him from voicing his opinion.
"It's just that....Doesn't it feel bad to you that we're stealing from people, especially on Christmas? I mean, we could be stealing from a kid for all we know, Bob."
The second voice, now identified as Bob, merely chuckled as if that had little meaning to him.
"Relax, Mike. I'm not that fucked up."
Mike did not seem to have been satisfied. "But don't you feel any guilt for stealing from people at all?"
Bob removed the cigarette from his mouth, irritated, and sighed, resulting in another puff of smoke. "Listen, I dislike this as much as you do -"
"Bullshit."
Bob ignored his associate, despite his rise in irritation. "- but because of the hole I'm in, its kinda necessary."
"Like how its necessary to kill cops?" That comment went too far for Bob's tastes and his irritation exploded to anger.
His hand flew out and grabbed the collar of Mike's shirt.
"Now listen here, you damn idiot! I don't enjoy killing people, especially cops! The only reason why I shoot them was because they were IN...THE...WAY! YOU GET IT NOW, YOU FUCKING RETARD!?"
Mike, despite being surprised by his friend's anger and aggression, kept a stoic expression on his face. "That's not how I look at it. We had at least two options of escape back there. What you did was unnecessary and only brought us unneeded attention. We're on the police's hit list right now because of you. We even got the best cop in town personally hunting us down."
Bob, for some reason, seemed to calm down slightly after that was said. "Well that's why we're hunting him down too. And we'll kill him before he kills us."
Mike blanched and his eyes widened. "Kill?" And then Mike's eyes grew even wider. "What do you mean 'we'?" he asked alarmed.
"That's right. You weren't told anything."
"Told what?"
Mike was incredibly fearful by now. Whatever he was going to be told, Mike had a feeling that he was not going to like it.
"The boss ordered the two of us to hunt down and kill that Lazarus cop and his family, if necessary." Mike's heart practically jumped out of his chest.
"What? No. No, no, no, I am not killing this guy!" Mike said, almost yelling.
"Relax. The only reason why you're here is to fight the guy if it ever comes down to it. If it does, then all I need you to do is knock him out, then I'll snuff him out!"
"Why me?" Mike asked, not calming down in the least.
"Because you're the best fighter in the organization."
"I'm not the be-." Mike paused. Then he realized something. "Wait. What happened to the other guy?"
"He's rotting in prison right now," Bob replied nonchalantly. He was completely calm know - back to the state he was in before the conversation started. Bob took another puff from the cigarette.
"What? How?" Mike asked, not completely believing what he was hearing.
"The arrogant son of a bitch that he is was picking fights and causing general trouble. Eventually, somebody reported him to the police and that Lazarus cop showed up. The two ended up in a bare-knuckled brawl and he got his ass kicked by the cop. Hence the current position he's in."
Bob removed the cigarette from his mouth, blew out another puff of smoke, and added: "Personally, I've never really liked the guy."
Mike released a long and heavy sigh.
'Great. What a wonderful predicament I've somehow fallen into.' Mike thought.
"You do realize that I have nothing to do with this and that I don't want to get involved, right?" Mike asked.
"And you do realize that the orders were from the boss himself and that you cannot possibly hope to refuse them without suffering some form of consequence, right?" Bob asked back.
Mike sighed again. "Yeah, I know." Mike, who was sitting in the driver's seat, turned the keys in the ignition and the car hummed to life.
'Well, might as well get started.' Mike thought. "So were should we start?"
Bob just simply and randomly singled out a house on the cul-de-sac.
"Lets start with that house down there."
