Jace Thompson walked into the dark stone room deep in one of the jungles in
Galbadia, a black trench coat enveloping him completely. He walked up to
one of the guards, and stopped in front of him, who started shaking.
"Is he in?" asked Jace.
"Y-y-yes sir. He's...uh, he's expecting you," replied the guard in obvious terror. Jace nodded, then stepped quickly towards the guard, who flinched. Smiling, Jace walked past the guard, who kneeled on the ground and started hugging himself in terror. He entered the room through the door and walked up to the large table in the center.
"How nice of you to make it, Mr. Gerardo. I'm surprised. You're only an hour late."
"Yeah, it's incredible," said Jace. "What do you want, Sentaro?" Victor Sentaro, drug running, war mongering coke baron, smiled at Jace.
"Why are you so eager to find out?"
"I don't like staying in one place for a long time. What do you want?" Sentaro smiled again.
"I have a job for you," he said. "It will pay very well, and I want you to know that I feel you're the only one who can do it."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sentaro. Now tell me about the job." Sentaro sat back in his chair.
"It involves assassination."
"I kind of figured that part out, given my chosen profession."
"True," conceded Sentaro. "The person I want you to get is a man called Hshyan Madogo." Jace stared harshly at Sentaro.
"You want me to kill another drug baron for you?"
"Yes. I would get one of my people to, but none of them would be fit to undergo the procedure that is needed to get in."
"What do you mean by procedure?" asked Jace suspiciously.
"Uh uh. You know I need some kind of knowledge that you wont tell anyone if you want to hear about this before agreeing to the contract." Jace sat down in one of the seats and leaned in close to Sentaro.
"You'll just have to trust me, wont you? Otherwise, I'll never agree to your contract." Sentaro leaned back and sighed.
"Of course. I should have known you'd say that. This hurts me to say, even to someone as trustworthy as yourself, Dominic, but Madogo is far above me. I have to take him out just to survive."
"I understand. And I can understand your reason for choosing me, so I need to know what this procedure is so I can understand fully."
"Alright. It is an operation that would focus your emotions – or more specifically, your anger – into strength in a fight. I have heard stories of your strength when you get angry, and with this you would become an unstoppable man."
"What does this surgery involve?" asked Jace.
"It is an implant, placed in your head, just behind your ear. It's a very quick operation, and you'll be back up and around in less than an hour."
"Alright. I'll do it, but if anything happens to me, then you're screwed, you know that, don't you?" Sentaro nodded, obviously relieved.
"Good. Please, follow me." He got up and exited the room, Jace following quietly behind. As he walked through the corridor, he glared at the guard he met previously, who dropped to the floor again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what happened after that?" asked Sonya, sitting down against the wall of the training room, Jace's head resting in her lap, staring at the ceiling.
"Well, if you didn't interrupt me, then I might be able to tell you." Sonya laughed, then patted Jace on the forehead.
"Continue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jace woke up and got off the bed. He walked into the corridor, trying to remember where he had fallen asleep, as a couple of people walked up to him. Then he remembered about the operation.
"Need some help buddy?" asked the first man.
"Can you show me the way to Sentaro's office?" The man shrugged.
"Nope."
"No?" asked Jace.
"Nope," replied the man behind the one in front of Jace.
"Don't make me make you show me the way." Both men laughed.
"You can try," said another man behind Jace. Jace spun around and found the man wrapping a huge metal chain around his fist.
"Fine." Jace shot forward, and smacked his fist into the man's face. The man dropped to the floor, while the other two men came up and grabbed Jace, holding him in place. The man with the chain stood up and grinned.
"My turn," he said, driving his fist into Jace's stomach. The air disappeared from Jace's lungs, and the man punched him another time. Jace felt the anger building up inside him as the man hit him again. Something dark was pulsing inside Jace, trying to make it's way out. He grunted, trying to hold the dark thing in check, but it was too strong. The man hit Jace again, and he dropped to his knees, his eyes clamped shut. Suddenly, an incredible pain shot through Jace's body, making him fall and shake uncontrollably. He opened his eyes and flames shot out of them, making the three men around him step backward. No longer in control of his emotions, he shot forward and grabbed the chain right out of the man's hand, literally ripping through the skin. The man screamed and fell to the ground, while Jace spun around and whipped the chain into another man's head. Then he kicked out at the remaining man, launching hi right through the stone wall behind him. Several other men walked into the room at all the noise, but quickly ran out again when Jace smacked one of them into a barred window. Jace turned and ran down the corridor, quickly finding Sentaro's office.
"What the hell is this?" he yelled. Sentaro looked up flinched at the sight of the flaming man.
"That is your implant working."
"Any particular reason why I'm on fire?" yelled Jace.
"That is a shock tactic. So, are you ready to get Madogo now?"
"Go to hell," said Jace. He lifted his wristwatch to his wrist. "Bring 'em in."
"What are you doing?" asked Sentaro.
"Victor Sentaro, you're under arrest, for drug running, murder, extortion, and a shitload of other things that I can't be bothered listing. Now stand up," said Jace, the flames dying out from his eyes.
"No," replied Sentaro. Flames shot out of Jace's eyes again.
"Want me to make you?"
"I'm going, I'm going," said Sentaro. Jace grabbed his and tied up his wrists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you were undercover?" asked Sonya.
"Yep," replied Jace.
"Did your superiors ever find out about the implant?"
"No one but you and me knows about it now."
"What do you mean now? What about Sentaro?" Jace smiled.
"Sentaro pissed off the wrong guys in prison. He was stabbed a couple of weeks after he was put in."
"So my father doesn't know about this?" she asked. Jace shook his head.
"Nope. I was going to tell him, but I think he has more to worry about now that a man who can turn into a flaming psycho whenever he gets pushed." Sonya shrugged.
"I think you should tell him anyway," she said.
"Later," he said. He was about to continue when an alarm blared out and lights dropped from the ceiling, flashing everywhere.
"RED ALERT!" came a huge voice. "INCOMING FIGHTERS!" Jace looked at Sonya, and the two of them ran to the cockpit.
"Is he in?" asked Jace.
"Y-y-yes sir. He's...uh, he's expecting you," replied the guard in obvious terror. Jace nodded, then stepped quickly towards the guard, who flinched. Smiling, Jace walked past the guard, who kneeled on the ground and started hugging himself in terror. He entered the room through the door and walked up to the large table in the center.
"How nice of you to make it, Mr. Gerardo. I'm surprised. You're only an hour late."
"Yeah, it's incredible," said Jace. "What do you want, Sentaro?" Victor Sentaro, drug running, war mongering coke baron, smiled at Jace.
"Why are you so eager to find out?"
"I don't like staying in one place for a long time. What do you want?" Sentaro smiled again.
"I have a job for you," he said. "It will pay very well, and I want you to know that I feel you're the only one who can do it."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sentaro. Now tell me about the job." Sentaro sat back in his chair.
"It involves assassination."
"I kind of figured that part out, given my chosen profession."
"True," conceded Sentaro. "The person I want you to get is a man called Hshyan Madogo." Jace stared harshly at Sentaro.
"You want me to kill another drug baron for you?"
"Yes. I would get one of my people to, but none of them would be fit to undergo the procedure that is needed to get in."
"What do you mean by procedure?" asked Jace suspiciously.
"Uh uh. You know I need some kind of knowledge that you wont tell anyone if you want to hear about this before agreeing to the contract." Jace sat down in one of the seats and leaned in close to Sentaro.
"You'll just have to trust me, wont you? Otherwise, I'll never agree to your contract." Sentaro leaned back and sighed.
"Of course. I should have known you'd say that. This hurts me to say, even to someone as trustworthy as yourself, Dominic, but Madogo is far above me. I have to take him out just to survive."
"I understand. And I can understand your reason for choosing me, so I need to know what this procedure is so I can understand fully."
"Alright. It is an operation that would focus your emotions – or more specifically, your anger – into strength in a fight. I have heard stories of your strength when you get angry, and with this you would become an unstoppable man."
"What does this surgery involve?" asked Jace.
"It is an implant, placed in your head, just behind your ear. It's a very quick operation, and you'll be back up and around in less than an hour."
"Alright. I'll do it, but if anything happens to me, then you're screwed, you know that, don't you?" Sentaro nodded, obviously relieved.
"Good. Please, follow me." He got up and exited the room, Jace following quietly behind. As he walked through the corridor, he glared at the guard he met previously, who dropped to the floor again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what happened after that?" asked Sonya, sitting down against the wall of the training room, Jace's head resting in her lap, staring at the ceiling.
"Well, if you didn't interrupt me, then I might be able to tell you." Sonya laughed, then patted Jace on the forehead.
"Continue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jace woke up and got off the bed. He walked into the corridor, trying to remember where he had fallen asleep, as a couple of people walked up to him. Then he remembered about the operation.
"Need some help buddy?" asked the first man.
"Can you show me the way to Sentaro's office?" The man shrugged.
"Nope."
"No?" asked Jace.
"Nope," replied the man behind the one in front of Jace.
"Don't make me make you show me the way." Both men laughed.
"You can try," said another man behind Jace. Jace spun around and found the man wrapping a huge metal chain around his fist.
"Fine." Jace shot forward, and smacked his fist into the man's face. The man dropped to the floor, while the other two men came up and grabbed Jace, holding him in place. The man with the chain stood up and grinned.
"My turn," he said, driving his fist into Jace's stomach. The air disappeared from Jace's lungs, and the man punched him another time. Jace felt the anger building up inside him as the man hit him again. Something dark was pulsing inside Jace, trying to make it's way out. He grunted, trying to hold the dark thing in check, but it was too strong. The man hit Jace again, and he dropped to his knees, his eyes clamped shut. Suddenly, an incredible pain shot through Jace's body, making him fall and shake uncontrollably. He opened his eyes and flames shot out of them, making the three men around him step backward. No longer in control of his emotions, he shot forward and grabbed the chain right out of the man's hand, literally ripping through the skin. The man screamed and fell to the ground, while Jace spun around and whipped the chain into another man's head. Then he kicked out at the remaining man, launching hi right through the stone wall behind him. Several other men walked into the room at all the noise, but quickly ran out again when Jace smacked one of them into a barred window. Jace turned and ran down the corridor, quickly finding Sentaro's office.
"What the hell is this?" he yelled. Sentaro looked up flinched at the sight of the flaming man.
"That is your implant working."
"Any particular reason why I'm on fire?" yelled Jace.
"That is a shock tactic. So, are you ready to get Madogo now?"
"Go to hell," said Jace. He lifted his wristwatch to his wrist. "Bring 'em in."
"What are you doing?" asked Sentaro.
"Victor Sentaro, you're under arrest, for drug running, murder, extortion, and a shitload of other things that I can't be bothered listing. Now stand up," said Jace, the flames dying out from his eyes.
"No," replied Sentaro. Flames shot out of Jace's eyes again.
"Want me to make you?"
"I'm going, I'm going," said Sentaro. Jace grabbed his and tied up his wrists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you were undercover?" asked Sonya.
"Yep," replied Jace.
"Did your superiors ever find out about the implant?"
"No one but you and me knows about it now."
"What do you mean now? What about Sentaro?" Jace smiled.
"Sentaro pissed off the wrong guys in prison. He was stabbed a couple of weeks after he was put in."
"So my father doesn't know about this?" she asked. Jace shook his head.
"Nope. I was going to tell him, but I think he has more to worry about now that a man who can turn into a flaming psycho whenever he gets pushed." Sonya shrugged.
"I think you should tell him anyway," she said.
"Later," he said. He was about to continue when an alarm blared out and lights dropped from the ceiling, flashing everywhere.
"RED ALERT!" came a huge voice. "INCOMING FIGHTERS!" Jace looked at Sonya, and the two of them ran to the cockpit.