Ahh, 'tis the next chapter in this rather drawn-out story of how the canon may have been. How are you all? I for one have gotten my inspiration back (finally!) and am cranking out words faster than usual. Maybe we can actually get a few chapters out this time!
Now, without further ado, here is the story.
Secondo
Gritting his teeth, Jack heaved open the door of Carly's apartment, grocery bags dangling off his arms. He shook his long bangs off his sweat-drenched forehead and pushed the door closed again with his leg. He had expected her to come up and relieve him of his burden immediately, but she wasn't there. Instead, he could vaguely hear her voice talking in the living room.
Jack frowned and shoved open the door to the living room. She was there, alright, talking on the phone. With an unhappy expression, Jack dropped the bags on the low table next to her with a bang. Surprisingly, she didn't even appear to notice him. Her handbag lay next to the phone, all packed and ready as if she was in the process of leaving. Jack crossed his arms and watched as she continued her conversation.
"Ah… Yes, Yes. I see." Carly was nodding away, her long black hair moving up and down as she did so. "I understand. So, what do you suppose we do?... Ok. Ok, I see. Yes, I'll be there immediately."
Did she really not see Jack coming in with that small mountain of grocery? Jack frowned deeper when she hung up the phone, picked up her bag, and literally rushed towards the door. She ran straight into his chest and froze when she saw the irritation written on his face.
"Ah. Jack." She seemed to be at a loss of words. Stuttering was her habit, that he knew, but for some reason he thought she was stuttering more often when he was around. "You… you're back. Would it be alright if I ask you to wait for a bit more? I need to go out on a job now. I'll be back soon! So, if you'll excuse me –"
"No." He flat out refused. Although it was not yet pitch-black outside in late summer, the last traces of dusk were quickly sinking beneath the western horizon. The air had already chilly, and the sea breeze had sent shivers down his spine when he drove past the seashore. And who knew what may be lurking in the night streets, with all the odd things that have happened so far?
Besides, he was hungry.
Carly's face became troubled. "But I –" She bit her lip, as if hardening her resolve, then made a run to get past Jack.
"Not so fast!" She was no match for him. His quick reflexes, honed over his years in the slums of Satellite, instantly allowed him to catch her arm in a vice-like grip. She flinched and tried to throw him off, but it was useless.
"Where are you going?" He demanded. He didn't remember her ever being so eager for a job before.
She swallowed and paused but didn't reply.
"Where?" He asked again.
She tried again to wrench his hands away. He grabbed her other hand as well to keep her in place.
"Tell me." He demanded for the third time. She had never been this unreasonable before just for an errand.
"Jack, let go!" She kept struggling. "If I don't get there on time, then Mikage-san will –" Realising she had probably said too much, Carly clamped her mouth shut immediately.
"Mikage?" The name sounded familiar to him. Jack gave it a quick thought. Right. Yusei's secretary.
"Has this got something to do with… Yusei?" He questioned tentatively.
Carly gave a slow nod. "Yusei… still hasn't returned from Satellite."
Jack blinked.
"Is he missing?" He said in a low voice. "Is Yusei out of contact?"
Carly gave another reluctant nod. "Since when?" Jack demanded again.
"Since this morning," Carly answered tentatively. "Soon after he entered Satellite. His Security bodyguards didn't return… either."
A sickening feeling crawled up from inside Jack's stomach. This couldn't possibly be a coincidence. An old fear crept up as he recalled Yusei was going to pay Rosewood a visit. Although Jack didn't keep up with Kiryu after the incident, rumours about Rosewood had inevitably drifted to his ears. Moreover, Kiryu was a radical; he could have done anything to achieve his dream, even before he had cracked. Who knew what he had turned into after all those years in that place?
"I'm coming with you." He told Carly, his gazed locked onto hers.
"No!" Her first reaction was to refuse. "Mikage-san only called me because I knew Yusei and Aki. If I bring you along –"
"I may not know Yusei as well as you do, and I may have never met Izayoi Aki," Jack wasn't backing down, "but I know the people from the other side damn well, don't I?" He grumbled. "At least that's what everyone here in City seems to think."
Besides, he wanted information. He understood why Kiryu would want to speak to him but could not see a reason for Yusei to be hunted down. Was it all because of Izayoi's displeasure? That would be a little too rough, wouldn't it?
Carly blinked at his strange insistence, but he was already walking out of the door before she had recovered her mind enough to move.
"I'm going," he called out to her. "Hurry up."
"I – wait, Jack! I didn't even tell you where we're going!" Hastily closing the door, Carly ran out after Jack, who was already making his way towards the garage. Carly fumbled for the keys in her bag as she kept up with Jack's quick strides. It seemed like she would have to do the driving.
"Tell me what's going on." Jack said as he popped into the back seat and Carly started the car.
"I'll fill you in while we're getting to the Security Maintenance Bureau." Carly hit the accelerator. "Hold on."
The situation turned out to be worse than he had expected. Jack sat unmoving as he listened to Carly informing him of what had happened in Satellite today. What little was left of Rosewood hospital had been completely destroyed in a suspicious dust storm at the same time Yusei and his Securities cut off contact. The Security contingent stationed at Satellite had thoroughly combed the area in response. To their horror, they had found the mangled and crushed remains of most of the Security retinue.
There had been no evidence of Yusei's whereabouts, alive or dead. Nonetheless, it wasn't the news that everyone was waiting for. Mikage and Goodwin were understandably distressed and have summoned Carly, since they believed she had been very close to Yusei in the past few days and may have some information that can help the search effort.
"So… what do you think, Jack?" After she had told him of the situation, Carly gingerly asked the passenger in her car. She wouldn't say that she completely trusted Jack, not for now, but she felt the interest that Jack exhibited towards Yusei wasn't one of ill-intent.
Her gaze wandered to Jack's face. There was something that was connecting everyone together. Based on his persistence, she was sure of it.
"Would you say Izayoi Aki was someone powerful enough to destroy an entire building?" It wasn't the answer she was expecting. She blinked.
"Er… yes, I'd say she was." She fumbled a reply. "But you're not saying that –"
"Yusei told me an interesting proposition before he left." Jack interrupted her. He had thought of this issue many times over the course of the day and had decided to tell her after all. It could well have been the truth. "He thinks Izayoi might have been overcome with her experiences while she was held in Satellite. He thinks there was a connection between Izayoi and –" Jack paused and reminded himself that Carly didn't know the truth of Rosewood, "that ruined hospital."
"So – what?" Carly yelled out so loudly Jack jolted in the backseat. "You're saying that Aki may have hurt more people while there – and she may have done this today to prevent Yusei from confirming it?"
Jack raised his eyebrows. "A clever one, aren't you? Yes, that's what I think may have happened today." He sighed. "Although I'm willing to bet that Kiryu was the one manipulating Izayoi Aki in some way as well."
"Kiryu…" It was that name again, the name that kept creeping up. But this time, Jack started talking before Carly asked him anything.
"I suppose I do need to tell you this sooner or later, if I'm gonna stay in the City." Jack gave a grimace as he turned his head sideways. The expression that Carly spied in the rear mirror could almost be called bitter. "To cut a long story short, Kiryu and Crow and I all grew up in the same orphanage in Satellite. When we grew into teenagers, we created a duel gang with a few of our other friends. Satellite was, and still is, full of such gangs. We conquered turfs from other gangs and gradually expanded ourselves." He chuckled in reminiscence. "We dreamt of ruling over the entire Satellite as the strongest duel gang, dreamt of liberating Satellite, even. Ridiculous. We did manage to conquer all of Satellite at the end, mind you, but in exchange Kiryu had lost something far more important."
"What… do you mean?"
"I daresay… he lost his sanity." Jack narrowed his eyes as if that hidden, buried memory was being played out before him. Carly cast a quick glance backwards. For one moment, the usual haughty and threatening air surrounding Jack disappeared in those unfocused purple irises, replaced by a hazy shade of forlorn resignation.
"He gave us a dream. He gave us something to look forward to in our youth, when we felt we were just going to waste our lives locked up in Satellite. He wanted to literally liberate Satellite. He wanted to drive out the Security. He was our leader. Very charismatic, idealistic, and powerful. We all followed him unwaveringly, until…" Jack paused, "until that day when he actually killed a Security officer with his own hands."
Carly remained quiet. Jack shut his eyes as his final memory of Kiryu re-surfaced.
What he remembered the most was the deafening noise, the roaring rain and screams of thunder in that pitch-dark night sky, shattering his ears as if some divinity had finally decided to grace the poor district with His unstoppable wrath.
Jack remembered running in that rain on instincts alone. His destination was that narrow alleyway beside their hideout. The freezing water was soaking into his clothes, etching the coldness into his skin. His lungs were struggling for air as he continued to run, and each breath came out frosty white in that lightless night. He could even recall the wet sound his booted feet made while splashing through the puddles that lined the road, and the way the water roared down the drains, merciless carrying all the debris of Satellite down into the endless sea.
In his memory, it had seemed that he ran for ever. When he got to their hideout, that long journey smeared the glistening white walls of the tall apartments that lined the alleyway into oblivion. In their place were black claustrophobic structures looming above the men below.
The thin alleyway where Kiryu stood had become a running stream full of gurgling water. The men in the gang were surrounding Kiryu, not close, but distant as if they were held there against their will. In their midst – and all around Kiryu – was a red puddle, slowly spreading, slowly staining the streaming water that flowed towards Jack. The red blood that crept toward him was so bright in that monochrome and chthonian night that it burnt itself into Jack's sight.
Then he saw the body of that Security officer lying face down next to Kiryu's feet. The Security helmet was cracked and stained with mottled scarlet blood. Kiryu was standing over the body, baseball bat in hand, and laughing. Laughing maniacally, adding his own crazed voice into the shrill shrieking of the wind and the rain.
Jack had stood there, frozen with dread. Even Crow, who usually had no fear towards Kiryu, was standing aside, his grey eyes wide with horror and incomprehension. The lesser underlings of their gang had taken one look at Jack when he arrived, and then all bolted away in terror.
"Kiryu." Jack had tried to approach his friend and leader. "What are you doing?"
When those unreasonable golden eyes turned on him, Jack felt the usual chill that Kiryu emanated to have multiplied tenfold. The bloodstained baseball bat still in hand, Kiryu only leered at Jack. What happened after had been a blur.
Jack recalled that Kiryu ran out towards the Securities that came searching for him, with Jack and Crow on his tail. They had tried to talk some sense with Kiryu, but it was completely futile. It was as if something had possessed their familiar old friend and turned him into an inhuman fiend, one that did not understand speech or logic, but only the thrill of the kill. As he chased Kiryu's running figure towards the Security vehicles Jack had felt utter despair as the cold rain drenched him, body and soul.
He never wanted to experience that ever again. When Kiryu was dragged away by the Securities, kicking and screaming even when he was inside the truck, Jack turned away. He had lost his faith. He no longer wanted that dream which threatened them all with its madness. He chose to be the King of Satellite in his own way, abiding by that murky district's old dark rules. He didn't want to remain a revolutionary. He had vowed to live for himself on that night, not for some ideals, not for anyone else. He would rather endure that emptiness than to face such terrors.
He decided to spare Carly of the details. With a light cough, he went on.
"Kiryu was arrested, but not killed." He caught Carly's startled look as she understood the connection. "Yes, he was treated in the same way as Izayoi. I didn't keep in touch with him, but somehow Crow did." He looked away, out of the window. "Kiryu was a very charismatic person. He could talk anyone into joining his cause. Izayoi," he paused for a thought. The girl had just been sent to Rosewood from the City. She must have been mentally weak, stubborn, and yet proud, and felt that she was discarded by the City in which she was born. She must have been easy for Kiryu. "She would have made a nice target for him."
"Do you think it's vengeance that he wants? Or that he's still out there to destroy Security and 'free' Satellite?" Carly said in a small voice as she kept driving.
"Vengeance, conquest, liberation. Does it matter to us at all?" Jack muttered. "I can't imagine what goes on his head. Not anymore."
"Then… does anyone in the City know about this? About Kiryu?" Carly queried. She didn't know if this knowledge would make Jack an enemy or a friend of Security.
"Only Yusei knows." Jack replied. "I told him before he left, since Kiryu being alive was proof that a containment institute for prisoners existed in Satellite. Other than him… I don't think anyone else would know, not without a thorough investigation."
"So, as for tonight… do you think it'd help Yusei?" Carly questioned hesitantly.
I don't know and I don't care, Jack almost replied as such. Realising it was probably his hunger and irritation talking, he stopped himself in time and simply shook his head. Carly, who probably saw he was no longer in the mood to talk, left him alone for the rest of the ride.
They pulled into the underground carpark of the Security Bureau after a little while. Being one of the tallest buildings even in Tops, the Bureau's imposing height and the almost inconceivable tilt in its architecture was impossible to miss whenever anyone was looking toward Tops. Carly and Jack got out of the car and entered the elevators without any hindrance from the guards, thanks to Carly's 'Frequent Visitor' pass. Jack gave her an impressed look. He didn't know she got along so well with Security.
"Come on… I'm a reporter. I get into contact with Security all the time." She tried to explain when she noticed his look. He looked away. Carly pouted and lowered her head and remained silent all the way till they knocked on the door of Goodwin's office.
"Carly!" Ushio's booming voice rang out as he pulled open the door. "We've been waiting for you, Carly… and Jack Atlas?"
The Security officer's face was understandably instantly clouded with puzzlement. He stared at Jack as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
"I… brought him along." Carly tried to placate things. "He is one of the few people in the City who are from Satellite, after all. So…"
"That's quite alright, Carly. Ushio, let them in." An aged, but commanding voice sounded deeper in the room as Ushio remained standing in one spot, effectively blocking Jack and Carly's entry.
Ushio gritted his teeth but couldn't bring himself to object to that order. He let out a long breath. "Alright, Director."
Rex Goodwin sat behind his table that faced the door. Mikage stood beside him, looking apprehensive at the unexpected new arrival. Contrary to the woman's troubled expression, Goodwin was perfectly at ease with Jack's unannounced entry. However, it did not mean his gaze toward Jack was any less piercing than anyone else's in the room.
"Jack Atlas, isn't it?" Goodwin nodded toward the young man. "I've heard a lot about you recently."
"I'm honoured." Jack gave a calm response and crossed his arms. He looked like he was about to say more, but Carly didn't want to put off the main purpose of their visit.
"Director, what's going on? What's happening to Yusei?"
Goodwin gave a small frown. "That's what we've called you here for. Here, you all take a seat." He nodded at the chairs scattered around the office.
Jack, Carly, Mikage, and Ushio each found a chair and sat. The sky outside had just become campletely dark, with only a slight rim of lingering orange left on the horizon. Goodwin turned on the fluorescent light as they sat down and shut the blinds with the press of a button. The room was instantly bathed in a cold and white light. The outside was shut out so completely it might as well have been a sunny day. After pulling over some files to have another quick look, Goodwin started to speak.
"As we all know, Yusei went into Satellite early this morning." A flurry of nods followed his statement. "His destination was a hospital in Satellite called Rosewood, about seven kilometres from the isthmus. He took a Security retinue with him, most of them Satellite Security officers who knew the land. Now, it seemed like they reached Rosewood within an hour of entering Satellite. After that…" He crossed his hands. "We lost contact."
Mikage and Ushio looked understandably downcast, and Carly twisted her hands in her lap. Jack, however, was thinking.
"I assume Yusei brought his D-Wheel along?" The blond man spoke in the silence that followed the end of Goodwin's sentence. Mikage and Ushio looked up in surprise.
"Ah. You're thinking of the video call ability built into every D-Wheel, Jack?" Goodwin shook his head. "We tried. It wasn't on. Or should I say… the vehicle wasn't on. It was turned off and – parked – somewhere."
Left lying somewhere. Those were the words that Goodwin didn't speak but echoed loudly in the room.
"So, what do we do now?" Ushio grumbled. "Send in another team of Securities to look for them?"
"I've already dispatched a team. They would report in later this evening." Goodwin replied. "I and the Security Maintenance Bureau are doing our best to find them. That," he paused, "was not the reason why I brought you all here."
Jack shivered. Call it instinct gained from living in Satellite, but he knew something was coming for him. He focused on Goodwin.
True enough, the Director's steel grey eyes shifted towards Carly and Jack. "Carly, Jack, did you know Yusei was going to Rosewood beforehand?"
Carly looked stunned. Despite her connections in Security, she had probably never heard of that name. No, she wouldn't have known. Jack frowned. "Why does it matter, Goodwin?"
Opposite the room, he saw that Mikage cringed at the rude way he had replied. The Director himself, appearing completely unperturbed, merely gave an icy smile and continued.
"Did you know of Rosewood, Jack Atlas?"
The blond young man wondered about this sentence's dual meaning. Many people in Satellite knew of Rosewood as a hospital, but that wasn't what Goodwin meant. The Director obviously wanted to know if he knew what Rosewood truly was – a place where the condemned were hidden away from public sight.
"It was a charitable hospital, wasn't it?" Jack decided to throw back the bait. "A lot of people in Satellite knew about it, including me."
"Oh?" Goodwin lifted his eyebrows. "Then was anyone you know ever admitted into Rosewood?"
The Director was fishing. With a sickening feeling, Jack suspected that Goodwin may know about Kiryu. "There have been a few. Everyone gets sick once in a while when they were kids." He narrowed his purple eyes. "Why are you asking?"
"I was told that someone you know very well was admitted into Rosewood a few years ago. Long term." Goodwin ignored Jack's question. "Apparently, he was a very good friend of yours, wasn't he?"
He knew. "Does this matter at all?" Jack said in a low, almost threatening, voice.
"Yes, it does." Goodwin casually shifted in his seat. "Did Yusei... know?"
Jack paused. He quickly went through the possible choices in his head. There didn't seem to be any point in keeping up the denial. Goodwin seemed to know everything about Kiryu. Moreover, Jack couldn't see the benefit of covering up for Yusei. In fact, the faster Goodwin managed to find Yusei – preferably alive – the better Jack's prospects would be in the future.
"Yes." He answered Goodwin's question. "He did know."
The Director sighed. "I see."
"What – what is going on, Director?" Carly realised she was being left in the dark. Mikage and Ushio's faces were gloomy in a way that revealed they knew exactly what was going on in the enigmatic conversation between Jack and Goodwin. Carly was agitated. Wasn't this supposed to be about saving Yusei? Why was everyone so fixated on this random hospital?
"Carly," Goodwin turned to her, "since you're a good friend of Yusei's, I assume you knew of the suspicions he had concerning Izayoi Aki's fate?"
Carly swallowed. "Ye – yes."
Goodwin let out a long breath. "Enough hiding around. We might as well lay everything out in the open by now. I know that Yusei had, somehow, started to suspect that Izayoi-kun's sentence was not carried out. And he would be right. Izayoi Aki is still alive."
Goodwin paused and looked around the room. Not a single person seemed to be surprised.
"Izayoi-kun may have caused the death of Misty-san's brother," the Director continued, seeing that all of his listeners knew of the situation, "but I do acknowledge the fact that she was provoked. Nonetheless, it was a diplomatic necessity to appease Misty-san, who is arguably our most famous citizen on a global scale, and to show the impartiality of our justice system to other governments within Japan and around the world. To spare Izayoi-kun of her punishment would have reflected poorly on Neo Domino City, and therefore she was an unavoidable sacrifice."
"However, she is Senator Izayoi's only child, after all. Hideo and I have been friends for decades. Neither I, nor the High Judge, could bring ourselves to execute her. So, we came to a compromise." Goodwin narrowed his eyes. "We sent her to Rosewood in Satellite, where the City had been for a long time storing condemned criminals whom we could not kill."
"What?" Carly almost stood up from her chair. As a reporter, she instantly caught on the importance of this piece of information. "How could this have been happening? Director… what do you mean? Where does that leave our justice system?"
"Calm down, Carly." Goodwin's look was cold as ice. "All cities have their secrets, and this one is no exception. It's not for us to judge."
Carly pouted and looked like she wanted to say more. Jack caught her hand, signalling her to stay quiet. She reluctantly slumped back into her chair.
"Now comes the news. A few weeks ago, Rosewood had been destroyed, by fire. Many of the prisoners and staff have perished – no, we may actually say that all of them perished. However, coincidental to the destruction of Rosewood, a new powerful duel gang rose up in Satellite."
"Those damned duel gangs," Ushio grunted. "Always obsessed with their turf battles. Did they fight over the ruins of Rosewood? I imagine it may be some hot property after all."
"Amusing though that may be, no." The ends of Goodwin's lips twitched. "In fact, this new gang was headed by a hooded woman, whom others called the Black Witch." He looked around at all the occupants in the room, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Do you still consider that as a coincidence?"
Mikage drew in a sharp breath. Ushio jolted up straight. Carly's hands went to her mouth. Jack sat still.
Goodwin closed his eyes. "Your suspicions are well grounded. The Security Maintenance Bureau suspects the same. In fact, we've been hunting for her in Satellite for a while." He sighed. "And we have every reason to suspect that she caused what had happened to Yusei today."
Mikage bolted up. "Then, Director, what are we – "
"Patience, Mikage-san." Goodwin opened his eyes and gave her his characteristic stern look, then he re-directed his gaze to Carly. "Carly, I've called you here as you are one of the few reporters whom I can trust. Yusei's disappearance is being kept secret for now, but it may leak out. I hope you can use the influence of your paper to quell such rumours before they become uncontrollable, and also hope that you can make appropriate judgements on this matter based on the facts that I have just told you. We will most certainly find Yusei, but the last thing we want is for the City folks to panic in the main time. Is that clear?"
"Er – yes." Overawed by Goodwin's glare, Carly shrank back and simply nodded.
Goodwin sighed again. "I had hoped to bring you here, Carly, simply to have a quick meeting and tell you the above. I did not expect… certain uninvited parties." He gave a quick look at Jack. "If you don't mind, you may leave now. I have further business with Mikage-san and Ushio-san."
Carly and Jack exited without further ado. Mikage and Ushio did not pay attention to the other pair, even though Jack gave a long hard look at everyone else before he left. As soon as the door closed shut behind the reporter and the Satellite-born man, Goodwin stood up from his chair.
"I have dispatched a search and rescue team this afternoon, and I'll dispatch another one tomorrow." The Director said softly. "One of their goals was to recover Yusei. Can you guess their other goal?"
Mikage swallowed. Ushio lowered his head and mumbled, "Izayoi Aki."
"Correct." Goodwin narrowed his eyebrows. "The team's order was to detain Izayoi-kun in any way possible. If she resists, they have orders to eliminate her. She had overstayed her welcome, even as a Senator's daughter." His voice lowered. "I have told the team to report to you two if I am too busy to personally communicate with them. I want you two to know the gravity of this situation, especially with Izayoi Aki's power in mind. Moreover, if Hideo or any other politicians come probing, I want you two to handle them as well. Placate them the best you can. Under all circumstances, tell them Yusei is fine. Understood?"
Mikage and Ushio gave each other a look. They have been working together for a few years now, helping Yusei, helping each other. They knew what the Director was asking them to do. They understood the Director's intentions. Goodwin wanted to protect the City – even if it means discarding Yusei and lying to the world. If there was anyone in the Security force who would be concerned with Yusei's current fate at a personal level, then it had to be Mikage and Ushio. They would surely have raised objections if the Director gave someone else the order to make such fake reports to the media. Goodwin had been prudent in telling them the truth – now the question was whether they would choose the welfare of their friend or the prestige of the City.
It was Ushio who answered first. "Well, we're Security officers, Director." He stood up straight. "We gotta do what you tell us."
"I see." Goodwin nodded. "Mikage-san?"
"I – I am the same as him, Director." Mikage also stood up straight. "I will follow your orders."
-\-\-\-\-\-
Carly literally ran back toward the house as soon as they got out of the car, leaving a long string of profound apologies behind her as she hurried to make the delayed dinner Jack had been waiting for. Jack sighed as he watched her run off. After checking that her car had been locked, he casually turned on his D-Wheel, parked next to her car. He checked his D-Wheel at least once a day, a habit left from the days when he needed the machine to be always ready so he could take on enemies or escape at a moment's notice.
The screen lit up as the computer gradually started. He did a quick mechanical check. The engine was good, the seat hadn't been tempered with, and the giant monowheel remained in good shape. Satisfied, he shifted his attention back to the screen and was ready to turn it off.
Beep. A soft sound indicated that he had a new message sent to his D-Wheel.
Jack was baffled. Who could possibly send a message to his D-Wheel? It wasn't even registered with the City's database. The only database that may be holding his D-Wheel's online account had been left at Satellite, in a little local network that Jack and his friends set up years ago when they were still kids, tracking each other so they wouldn't lose one of their members in a Security pursuit.
Only someone who knew that network can send him messages.
Jack shivered. The garage suddenly seemed so cold and quiet. But he refused to back down from his fear.
He opened the message.
"Recovered Stardust. Met Witch and got away. Leader still bent on his goal. Need information. Need help.
-Bullet"
"That devious bastard," Jack swore under his breath.
It was Crow. His nickname had been "Crow the Bullet" back in the days. Had Crow been here in person, Jack would have smacked him in the face for scaring the blond man like this. For one second, Jack had genuinely thought that the sender might be Kiryu. Of course, Jack's relief had been instantly replaced by a feeling of immense humiliation. It was as if Crow had tricked him into being scared.
Jack furrowed his brows and chased away that thought. He studied the message again.
So, Crow had saved Yusei. What luck, having Yusei in Crow's possession while the entire Security force was in upheavals, and even the Director himself was ready to sacrifice Yusei to keep the City folk in check. Jack marvelled at Crow's brilliant timing. Perhaps his old friend had been waiting for Yusei and had saved the City-born young man right on time? Then again, it seemed Crow had met both Izayoi and Kiryu and walked away unscathed, too. He had definitely got something up his sleeve.
If so, then why would he ask Jack for help?
Crow knew that Jack was currently in the City. He also knew how dangerous it was to send clandestine electric messages from the Satellite to the City. Though many had considered Crow to be a reckless sort of fellow, Jack knew better. Crow wasn't an idiot.
He would not risk getting caught if he had anyone else that he could rely on.
Jack massaged his temples and half-resented for having been placed into this situation. It was all because of Crow, wasn't it? He was the one who told Jack to flee, and now he was telling Jack that he needed help. How contradictory. And to think that the two of them had barely exchanged more than ten sentences during the years since Kiryu's imprisonment, Jack couldn't help but feel suspicious at Crow's sudden and renewed interest in him.
Crow was a child of Satellite through and through. He was rough, rowdy, loud, disobedient, and had more than one violent bone in his body. But the word that described him best would be passionate. He loved Satellite despite its poverty, and Jack knew that Crow was bringing up a few poor orphans at his own hideout. Had Kiryu been more roundabout with his method of attaining his goal, Jack was certain that Crow would have followed their leader unconditionally.
There was something big that his friend had involved himself in, something that really endangered the things that Crow loved, perhaps even the wellbeing of Satellite itself. Otherwise, the orange-haired man wouldn't be going this far. Jack was sure of that one fact.
Well, he had followed Crow's first piece of advice and he came out of that one in damn good shape. Jack didn't see the need to disobey his second advice.
Navigating through his touch screen to bring up the reply menu, Jack's long and dexterous fingers quickly typed up his answer.
"What can I do to help?"
He paused when he realised he needed to give himself a codename, since the local network that they had set up made all D-Wheels anonymous. It had to be something that Crow recognised. With a bitter grin, Jack typed up the first thing that came into his mind.
"- King"
The blond man sent the message with a sigh.
It seemed his future was about to take another abrupt change.
So, what do you think? Was the change in tone too abrupt? Was the plot too convoluted? This story is a sort of literary experiment for me, to see if I can hold such a colourful cast and mind-boggling timeline together. Therefore, I'd appreciate any kind of comments on that ^^
Until next time.