The Phantom
Chapter nine: Routine
Everyone has a routine, a little ritual to start the day. Danny for example wakes up at six in the morning every day even if he stayed up late at work, he would then head over to the shower and walked back to his bedroom all nice and clean.
Danny would then make his bed and head over to the kitchen after putting on some clothes as he had learned the hard way not to fry bacon in the nude. His favorite breakfasts consisted of either hotcakes with liters of honey or a couple of over-easy eggs with bacon.
The boy constantly asked for Vlad to hire a maid to help him keep the house clean and to make his three meals along with doing the laundry. Yet the older man always refused as that would be spoiling Danny too much in his opinion.
"A young boy should learn how to do the house choirs, like cutting wood for the fire and picking up the eggs from the chicken coop"- Danny said in a mocking tone. "Why the hell do I need wood for the fire and where's the chicken coop."- he added in annoyance.
Right after breakfast, Danny would then pick up his school backpack and head over to Casper High to get his mind prepared for an uncertain future. Tucker would be waiting for him at the train station as they would make the rest of the way together.
School was always the same routine, Tucker sleeping during the first three periods, then they would head over to the cafeteria for an unhealthy slice of plastic pizza and some almost spoiled milk, every now and again someone would approach Tucker who didn't learn his lesson and was still selling weed though on a very small scale now.
The two would then head over to the Dancing Bear and see if Vlad had anything for them to do, mainly Danny who was now addressed as Phantom by most of the "employees" though most treated as a childish nickname.
It was on Wednesday afternoons that he would go down to the laundry which is just a few blocks down the street, Danny would frown upon looking at his clothes twirl within the machine and once more cursed that Vlad didn't want to hire him a maid.
"Cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry isn't a man's job… that's what women are for!"- Mr. Jones suddenly said making Danny turn over to him.
The boy mildly agreed with Mr. Jones who was the laundromat's owner and who was already in his late sixties. The colored man was old school and didn't believe in divorce or men doing what he considered a woman's job.
"What can I do about it, Mr. Jones. Dad's divorce and always working."- Danny repeated his well-rehearsed lie. "Someone gotta make dinner and keep the house clean."- Danny added while taking a magazine which was on the seat next to his.
"A girlfriend! That what you need."- Jones continued making Danny giggled.
The mental image of Paulina Sanchez suddenly popped up in his head, the girl was indeed a beauty but as luck would have it, she was already taken by the school's idiot, Dash Baxter. They hooked up days after she finally joined the cheerleader team.
"I doubt the relationship would last if I make her cook and wash my dirty socks."- Danny commented as a couple of older ladies chuckled.
"If you get a girlfriend then maybe you stopped wearing makeup and those tight clothes. Just look at you prettying yourself up and showing off your butt."- Jones continued.
"For the millionth time, I don't wear makeup and gear is whack."- Danny replied as his machine ring announcing that his cloth was finally dried. "And why the fuck are you looking at my butt, man."- Danny continued.
Despite their most unusual and borderline defiant conversation, they were both on very good terms, often joking or talking about random things. The old man often forgot that he was talking to a mere kid and not an adult.
Danny found himself walking back to his new house while carrying both his and Vlad's laundry, the boy enjoyed a pizza dinner which made just in time for his favorite show, "Josie and the pussy ghouls." Danny loved watching the singers-detectives running around in their thong leotards solving crimes.
His gaze set over a commercial once his cartoons were over, Danny saw with wonder as a couple of beautiful women in skimpy bikinis ran across a sandy beach under a hot sun with long smiles as they soon sat down on a beach bench to enjoy a cold beer.
The boy couldn't help but to imagine himself running down that same beach wearing his official "Josie and the pussy ghouls" one-piece swimsuit, the very same he took to the public pool just a couple of weeks ago and which for some strange reason, neither Tucker nor Johnny liked.
Danny walked into his bedroom and using his magic pulled out a box which contains a variety of weapons and blade. Of course, his ever so trusted Colt Super 38 but also took a brand-new Mac-10 with extra clips.
Once the clock struck eight pm, Danny stepped out from his house right after making sure to have turned off the gas, the light, and television. The faint smell 0f lavender coming from cloth softener embrace his nose as he locked the door.
It was then that he looked up into the sky and saw how the snow had once more started to fall covering his already dried-up garden. In the little more than two years he had lived in Amity Park, Danny couldn't remember ever seeing a sunny summer which kindly reminded him of the motherland.
Some people blamed the climate change on the many nukes drops during the war across Japan and several cities in Europe between 1945 and 1950, others said it was due to the gates of hell being left open when the monsters broke into the human world.
Such abominations were always present at some point in human history though more so now which threw much blame on the government and their weapons of mass destruction, the people firmly believe that the use of such weapons allowed for the demons to escape from hell.
(XXXXX)
"Evening, Vlad."- the boy said in his native tongue once he boarded the black four-door sedan that was already waiting for him outside.
Vlad muttered a greeting before going completely silent again as their driver, Skulker drove away from the house. It was only Danny, Skulker, and Vlad who rode the car, no one else was following yet Skulker made sure to give a few turns around just make sure.
Soon they crossed the bridge into High Town which still made Danny smile long and wide with all the bright lights and well-kept streets free of potholes and vagrants, the sight never ceased to amaze him, not even for a second.
The car parked in front of a two-story wooden house, the trio casually walked into the garden as they gave a quick glance around and noticed there were very few people in the streets but gave them no real mind at all.
Danny quietly took hold of the doorknob and used his magic to make the lock intangible and open it with laughable ease. The first thing they noticed was a short hallway going across the house into the garden, just midway was a set of stairs leading to the upper floor.
The walls were painted in red and the wooden floor was impeccable, more notable were the old lamplights on the walls which gave it a more Victorian semblance, perhaps an attempt to make it seem more elegant.
To the left was the living room where a child not older than five was busy reading a comic while the television provided some background noise, on the opposite side, was the kitchen where a young blonde woman was busy cooking.
Danny ran up the stairs with astounding speed yet more impressive was how silent he was, his long and heavy boots made no sound at all, in the meantime, Vlad headed into the living room while Skulker walked inside the kitchen.
"Is dinner ready?"- a man in his mid-forties asked upon feeling a hand over his left shoulder.
"Doctor Charles Jameson?"- Danny asked while tightening his grip on the man's shoulder.
Vlad turned his attention towards the stars as the good doctor rolled down, his face filled with terror as he searched for his wife and son who were both sitting over the couch in silence in the living room.
Doctor Charles quickly crawled over to his wife who was hugging their son but Danny took hold of his ankle and yanked him back. The boy forced the older man into a kneeling position with so much ease that it made it seems as if the man weighed nothing.
The man looked over to Vlad who was clearly in charge judging by how he was sitting on the couch, Vlad silently took hold of a mug with steaming hot coffee which he drank while watching over the kneeling terrified doctor.
Despite Vlad's calm and collected demeanor along with the graceful manner in which he drank his coffee made it seem like a casual visit, but his eyes were filled with homicidal fury, one that neither Danny nor Skulker hadn't seen before.
"Who are you?"- Charles spoke with clear terror in his voice. "What do you want?"- the man continued while looking at the window and seeing the curtains closed.
"Good evening Hauptsturmführer Otto Weber"- Vlad said while crossing his leg.
"What are you talking about, I'm not Otto Weber… my name is Charles Jameson"- the doctor continued.
Both the woman and child were shaking in terror as they had never been in such a dreadful situation in their entire life. All the violence they had experienced had always been in through the television and in the safety of their house.
"Naturally you wouldn't remember me, why would you? I was only eight years old after all… but I remember you… back then you used to wear a black uniform."- Vlad continued.
"Please, I swear. I don't know what you're talking about. I've lived here my whole life."- Michael begged.
Vlad let out a long sigh more out of frustration than anything else. It was then Vlad noticed how Danny was pouring him another cup of coffee and handed him some recently made cookies he took from the kitchen.
"Spasibo tovarishch"- Vlad said making the doctor open his eyes even further. "Seems like you started to remember.
(Thank you, Comrade)
"Please, let my family go. I got money, it's all yours, just don't hurt."- the doctor offered.
The offer didn't even cross his mind as both the doctor and the mafia boss looked down at each other. They were no different from two Pitbull's ready to attack each other, all the fear in the older man's face was suddenly gone.
"Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time during the last months of the Great Patriotic War, the glorious Red Army was liberating the country from the Nazi vermin, my father, a noble soldier answer Comrade Stalin's call and fought to save our country but died a glorious death."- Vlad said while taking a cookie.
The woman looked at her husband wanting to ask what was going on, she desperately wanted to know but Vlad had duck taped their mouth and even shoved a piece of cloth just to make sure they would speak. Their legs and arms were bound together.
"Please let them go. You can do whatever you want with me."- the doctor implored.
"Mother knew it was far too dangerous to stay within the city, with all the bombs and shooting, so she took me and my two older sisters to the countryside, to our grandparent's farm. All was good until one night, that cold December night."- Vlad ignored the doctor completely.
Danny was aware that Vlad had lived through the war when he was just a child but never told him anything about it. Their relationship was beyond business, the man loves him like a son and even treats him as such, therefore, felt ashamed for not prying deeper into his past.
"Ded Moroz didn't arrive but four sick Nazi dogs, cowards who deserted their own army once they fought against real soldiers. Mother fought them like a brave soviet woman and caused you that scar and the one in your belly."- Vlad continued.
The good doctor lowered his gaze though before he could even utter a single word. Danny pulled him up like a ragdoll and tore his shirt away showing a large scar on his fat belly. Vlad moved his hands making Danny dropped the doctor with a loud thud.
"Please, I'm sorry… I'm sorry."- the man begged as tears streamed down from his wife and son.
"You and your dogs beat my mother to near death and took turns raping her, she fought but you cut her hands off and continued anyways, even when she passed."- Vlad continued oddly calm. "Not satisfied, you took my sisters and rape them in front of me, you and your friends left them to die in the pigsty. They were only twelve and fourteen."
The horrible image of his murdered family was still fresh in his mind, Vlad felt like a hypocrite for wanting revenge for his family while having killed many people both as a soviet soldier and as a criminal.
It was then that Vlad stood up and slowly unbutton his jacket and shirt, which he left laying over on the couch. He then lifted his wife-beater showing some recently made tattoos that Danny hadn't seen before but more importantly was a scar on his chest.
Danny had shared a bath and the bed with Vlad many times before and so had seen such scar but never got an answer whenever asking about it. The boy simply assumed; Vlad got wounded during combat back in the army.
"You gave me this many years ago."- Vlad said poking his finger on a semi-circular scar. "Put him over the table. I wanna play doctor."
Danny put the doctor in a tight chokehold preventing him from screaming though his wife and son tried to scream only muffled sounds came from their lips. Skulker then tied his legs and arms to the table while Danny muffled the man with a piece of cloth.
Vlad pulled down the doctor's pants and underwear while unsheathing his old AVS-36 Soviet bayonet, the doctor's wife tried to hold her son while her husband shriek as Vlad castrated him. Blood gushed out like a faucet as the old man squirmed.
"That was quick"- Danny said once the man stopped moving.
Skulker was pale and on the verge of passing out once he laid eyes over the massive wound on the man's crotch, his genitals were resting by the head now. A large puddle of blood stains the once spotless floor.
"What do we do with them?"- Skulker asked pointing over to Otto's family.
"Well, you can always make money out of a woman."- Vlad said while cleaning his blade on the woman's dress.
(XXXXX)
The alarm clock rang exactly at six in the morning making Danny groan as he had forgotten to turn it off due to it being Saturday and wanted to sleep in a little more, the boy snuggled under his warm bedsheets after hitting the off button on the alarm clock.
It was then that Danny noticed an arm around his waist making slowly rolled over to see Vlad was by his side which was most unusual as he preferred to stay at the office most of the time than being at home. Stranger was how he refuses to let go of Danny all throughout the night, hugging him tightly.
Even going as far as to asked the boy to sleep in the nude like he always does. Danny didn't mind at all as his "dad" had just opened a very crude chapter in life, one that he had hoped to leave locked up forever.
"I guess even the big bad wolf needs to cuddle once in a while."- Danny gave a private thought as he gently pushes Vlad's arm away.
The boy didn't mind the cold surrounding his body as he made his way towards the bathroom for his morning shower. Once Danny was done showering and drying himself with a towel, he took hold of Vlad's pants and wife-beater which rested inside a plastic bag, both covered in blood from their crime.
There was no point in washing it as Danny had been ordered to burn them away as to avoid leaving any traces of their presence. Skulker would have the car fully cleaned but had Otto's wife sold to another syndicate in Dimmesdale. Vlad didn't want her to escape and run off to the police yet Danny wondered why he didn't have the woman killed.
Vlad woke once he couldn't feel Danny's presence anymore on the bed and so, made his way into the living room where he noticed the main door leading to the garden was ajar allowing for some cold air to venture inside.
"Little badger… what are you doing?"- Vlad asked upon seeing the boy squatting in front of a still smoking ash.
"Burning what you asked."- the boy replied as he piled some dirt and snow over the hole made to burn away Vlad's blood-stained clothes.
"I'll go wash up."- Vlad said after a moment of silence. "Can you fix breakfast?"-
"Sure, we're having waffles."- Danny replied with a long smile.
"By the way, it's freezing out here, put on some clothes."- Vlad added before walking into the comfort of his house.
Danny soon followed without even showing the lightest goosebumps on his almost pale skin as she shoves the snow off his slender shoulders. Long ago had Vlad become accustomed to seeing him parade naked within the house.
It was awkward at the beginning but he didn't seem to mind in the least. Vlad was more than grateful for how handsome and fit his little badger is, had the boy been overweight and ugly, then Vlad would have move earth and sea to cover him up.
Much to his dislike, Danny was like a walking work of art. Fair skin and hair as black as night with hypnotizing green eyes that were already a rarity among people, his body was almost feminine in nature but still masculine, well tone but never reaching a bulking size.
It was from Vlad that Danny had learned some degree of table manners that match with his outer appearance. Small bites and graceful manners made Tucker lose his mind given how slow Danny ate whenever they visit the Nasty burger.
"Don't forget that tonight is that meeting."- Vlad said as he cut a large piece of waffle.
Danny frowned upon recalling a gang meeting that Tucker told Vlad about shortly after they were attacked by Pariah Dark's men, it was supposed to be a secret gathering at the Devil's Dinner involving most of the larger gangs in Amity.
"I think we should focus more on finding out where this Pariah Dark is and whack him."- Danny refuted.
"I already got men looking into that nutjob."- Vlad replied.
The man had to agree that Danny was right and they needed to figure out who Pariah Dark is and where he is at, but more importantly, how did he find out about them, it was also very likely that he was spying on them as they ate in the living room.
"Let's go watch some tv."- Vlad said after their meal was over.
(XXXXXX)
Danny looked out Vlad's car window later that day watching the snow-coated city flash before his eyes, the sun was going down allowing for the bright moon to take its place up in the sky, Skulker was once more on driver detail, Danny eyes set over Vlad who was sitting next to him, he couldn't help but to go over the events of the previous night.
Despite Vlad being a cold-hearted murderer and mafia boss, Danny was more than sure that he was by no means a cruel man, even the thug's Pariah Dark send didn't meet with such cruel fate as Otto Weber and his family. The two men were brutally beaten by Skulker and a couple of his henchmen but not even after the beating did either of the men spoke, they simply smile as if in a trance.
It was only then that Vlad orders them to be shot seeing that it was a waste of time, he saw in them the difference between the common criminal and a religious fanatic. These men didn't fear pain nor death, on the contrary, they embrace it with delight.
Danny wasn't entirely sure as to how Vlad came across Otto Weber but from what he learned, Vlad had been searching for him and his crew for nearly twenty-five years. It was one of his lifelong projects and which he had finally completed along with being the second main reason for coming to Amity in the first place.
"We're here."- Skulker said after parking the car inside an alleyway.
The boy climbs out of the car and into the cold streets, yet Danny couldn't help but wonder if anything were to happen to Vlad, would he spend the next twenty-five years hunting down his murderers? Or just forget it and live on? Thankfully, it was a question he didn't need to answer at the moment.
Danny felt a sense of nostalgia upon striping down in a semi-dark alley while Vlad watched him trade his regular clothes for a pair of baggy blue pants with knee-high black boots, a thick grey coat complemented with golden buttons and white gloves that were kept hidden in the car's trunk.
"You know where to meet us, send a pager once it's done."- Vlad ordered before driving off.
Danny gave a deep sigh as he covered his head with a wool bag soon to put on a white color cowboy hat. The boy felt like nothing more than a fool for wearing the same costume of the Klan Kalvary but even his own "gang" clothes made him feel like a dork.
It was then that he quietly walked down a couple of blocks making sure to parade his costume in front of several colored men until reaching a large parking lot filled with all kinds of cars and further down was an old and abandon hotel, three stories high with broken windows and far too many graffities for it to belong to one particular gang.
"So much for a secret meeting"- Danny whispered upon entering the parking lot of the old hotel.
There were three distinct groups, starting with the Diablos mainly formed by Latinos and whose costumes consisted of black pants and matching boots along with a black leather trench coat neatly decorated with flames but more notable was the devil-like mask they all wore.
Standing a few meters away was the Black Guard, composed exclusively of black men who dressed in an impromptu eighteenth-century military-like fashion, knee-high boots, white waistcoats and camouflage long-skirted coats along with black berets that broke the illusion of antique soldiery.
Danny ignored the Klan Kavalry as he made his way into the hotel where there were dozens among dozens of scary looking men and women spread out in the lobby and further into the halls, it was more than strange to see color men rubbing shoulders with Kavalry men and not trying to kill each other.
"Now where are these cheese weasels at?"- Danny whispered as he looks at an empty liquor bottle, he took from a nearby trash can.
The boy smiled long and wide upon seeing a plaque reading "Conference room" accompanied by an arrow pointing to the upper floor. A few members from different gangs looked at him but gave him no mind due to his size and the fact he was carrying a bottle which made them believe he was just bringing the boss something to drink.
Danny continued walking up to the third making sure that everyone saw him, it was something that in reality hated doing. He felt that it went against all that he was thought about being an assassin, little by little he noticed there was a much smaller gang presence but well-armed unlike the ones at the street level.
Tucker had presented a most unique opportunity for Vlad's organization to gather proper intel on the local gangs and their leadership, though in Vlad's opinion, all gangs hardly amounted to the worth of a rat.
Unorganized and needlessly violent with no true sense of loyalty, only ever following some made-up street code that often causes more troubles than it ever solved. Acting upon some macho instinct and getting killed in the process if not falling into drug addiction.
According to Tucker who heard from a fellow gangster, the four main gangs with the exception of the Tears who refused to answer to the call were to rally for a peace meeting as the local government was beating hard on all gangs and their operations to which Vlad could only laugh about.
"Hey little man, wanna have some fun?"- a prostitute in her early twenties asked.
Danny gave her a sideways glance as he took notice of the heavy bags under her eyes and despite the cold along with the lack of a heater, she wore only a miniskirt and a tank top which showed the bones of her ribcage, most likely to be the product of the lack of food and drug addiction given the needle scars on her arm.
He simply shook his head and continued further into the hallway wondering what kind of a hotel this was before being abandon. From what little he could see; the rooms were spacious and seemingly had a hint of elegancy.
There were at least a dozen armed gang members marching around the hall, most of the gangsters were acting as some sort of bodyguards for the representatives yet it didn't take too long for Danny to reach the conference room where there stood only six men at the door. Two for each of the present gangs.
"Fuck off, Johnny reb!"- a member of the black guard ordered Danny.
"Easy there, nigger."- a Klansman challenge though set his eyes on Danny. "What'cha doing here?"- the man asked.
"The grand wizard asked for a drink"- Danny replied begging to have gotten the name right.
The two Black Guards laughed upon hearing the word "Wizard" making the Klansman turn over to them and defiantly asked what was so funny. The two Diablos smirked under their masks hoping to see a fight break out.
Danny didn't wait to be given access and walked into the conference room while the men argue, his eyes laid over nearly twenty men dressed as if they were going to a Halloween party, but the guns on the table said otherwise.
"I'm only asking to form a truce until we can make the cops back off!"- a black man wearing a beret said.
(XXXXXX)
Word on the street was that the Diablos and the Black Guard had formed an alliance to fend off the police and make the drug traffic easier within their territories, the Klan Kalvary didn't take kindly to this new friendship but were being talked into a truce.
There were at least six "officials" debating among each other at the table. It was by the left window that Danny saw five Black Guards watching over their leader, directly in front was the Wizard and five more Klansmen, and finally a "Devil" who led the Diablos gang.
Danny placed the bottle on the right-side corner table while pretending to take some paper cups, though his hand gently and most discreetly opens his grey jacket and his slender fingers touched a Mac-10 which he kept hidden.
"Fucking die, niggers!"- Danny screamed as he pulled out his weapon.
An array of bullets impacted on the Black guard representative, Danny's deadly automatic fire then moved towards his only lieutenant sending them to an early grave, using the reminding bullets, he took out the guards. Members of the Diablos opened fired only for Danny to cast his intangibility.
In a matter of minutes, all of the representatives were lying dead within puddles of their own blood over the floor. The table and walls were all covered with bullet holes while Danny didn't even have a scratch over his body.
"A rat is but a nuisance, a dozen of them is a problem but a whole horde of rats is a Mischief and I can't have that."- Danny recalled Vlad saying earlier that evening. "I want my rats killing each other, not getting organized." – Vlad continued.
Vlad couldn't allow the gangs to form a truce much less allow them to form an alliance as that could greatly hinder his plans, the mafia boss needed these "animals" fighting each other and keeping real estate prices down along with distracting the police.
The man was a fan of simple planning, he would have Danny sneak into the meeting dressed as a Klansman and killed off key members of the gangs while putting all the blame entirely on the Klan Kalvary hence restarting their little war.
Men quickly broke into the conference and gaze with horror at the sight before them, dozens of dead laid over the table, chairs and the floor. A Kalvary woman fell to her knees upon laying witness to the imperial wizard whose body rested over the chair.
"Those niggers killed the wizard!"- Danny said while pressing his back against the wall and faking terror.
The Klanswoman had no reason to doubt Danny who dressed in their colors and so pulled out her handgun and place a slug on the nearest Black Guard she could get her hand on. The second guard shot her on the shoulder but she still managed to shot him in the stomach.
The two Diablos who stood guard outside took hold of the wounded man and dragged him away while shooting into the conference room, Danny smirked under his mask knowing that his job was complete and just needed to walk out to the back door.
Soon the animals would be biting at each other and things would go back to normal. Danny calmly picks up and reloads his Mac-10 while the Klansman rushed over to his fallen leader while pulling out a two-radio and checking for any vitals.
"Where are the others!"- the Klanswoman demanded to know upon seeing only two dead Diablos.
"Damn Spicks ran out after shooting the Wizard and the niggers."- Danny added while pointing towards the side door which ironically, no one guarded.
Danny didn't expect them to have the common sense to both sentries on both doors, though had Danny a little more time to prepare he could have used that door to kill off all of the members without anyone seeing him but that would have beaten the purpose of Vlad's plan.
"Let's go after them."- the woman ordered not caring for her bleeding shoulder as she rushed out the door.
"Go with her!"- the man ordered.
"Are you crazy?! Those niggers are gonna catch us and they're gonna rape me until I die!"- Danny replied almost laughing.
It was then that Danny aimed his favorite Colt Super 38 at the back of the Klansman head though before he even could pull the trigger a bright light broke in illuminating the conference room, the boy put out his hand to cover some of the light.
"This is Amity Park police department. You are all under arrest"- a police officer ordered through his megaphone. "Drop your weapons or we will open fire."- the man continued.
(XXXXXX)
Danny looked with disdain at the police chopper as it slowly rotated on its side showing a series of letters, "A.T.A.G.D" which made Danny tilt his head to the side as he could have sworn to have seen those acronyms before but couldn't make out from where.
The helicopter's door suddenly slides open revealing a police officer in tactical gear wielding a massive rifle of sorts, without any further warnings, the officer opens fire. Danny quickly cast his intangibility spell and could see the room being torn to pieces.
Hundreds of bullets rained over the building as gang members answer with their own firearms, forcing the police chopper to move away. Soon the hallways were filled with screams and more gunfire as Danny regained his physical form.
"Why did they shoot first?"- Danny asked out loud though the only living person had now turned into swiss cheese.
The police gave a single warning but they didn't wait for anyone to surrender nor did they repeated their warning as Danny had seen before, it was then that he came to understand that it wasn't a warning but an order to open fire.
Danny looked out the window as patrol cars parked around the building and quickly open fire, soon the gangs and the authority were violently going at each other like wild dogs. The boy wasn't expecting the police to arrive at all but given the large number of people that rallied, it was to be expected.
"I hope those Diablo pricks made it out"- Danny muttered.
Police officers suddenly broke into the room through the window as another helicopter flew away. Danny took a few steps back looking at the men in their almost military equipment which consisted of a bullet proof vests, helmets and large caliber rifles.
"Light him!"- The police officer said upon seeing Danny in a gang costume.
"Vlad did say to make a mess of things."- The boy added as his eyes glow green.
Six cops in tactical gears emptied their clips on Danny but the boy was still standing, unscathed. None of the men could believe what their eyes were showing them, they were absolutely sure to have shot the Kalvary man.
"My turn."- Danny said unsheathing his soviet M1940 knife bayonet.
The boy dashed at an insanely fast speed beheading the nearest officer in a single movement, a second officer had his throat slashed before he even knew what hit him. The other four backed off trying to put distance between themselves and this little monster.
They were sure to be facing a demon from the other side as no one could move at that speed nor survive being shot at such close range. The officers quickly reloaded their rifles and resume shooting at Danny who instantly became invisible.
"My god help me!"- A cop screamed in horror as he was lifted in the air brutally slammed against the wall.
The three remaining men saw the blood stain left on the concrete wall which cracked upon being hit by their now-dead fellow. Slowly they retreated into the hallway keeping control fire over the invisible creature unsure if it was still there.
Blood suddenly splattered over one of the officers forcing him to turn to the source, he could see the shape of a blood cover blade protruding from his squad leader's eye. The man fell on the ground unable to take his eyes of the twitching body of his peer.
The man felt fear like never before as he tried to crawl away only to see his fellow officer already half way into the hall. A gunshot to the head courtesy of Danny dropped the coward dead on the spot as the final officer turned around defeated to see the Kalvary man lowering his weapon.
"Bye-bye, officer." Danny said before splattering his head over the floor.
(XXXXXX)
Gunfire echoed all throughout the hotel accompanied by horrific screaming as Danny looked out the window and seeing dozens among dozens of policemen shooting into the building. It was then that he took hold of the M16 rifle and a colt .45 long slide along with all the ammo the officers had, including a couple of grenades.
"This isn't a bust…"- Danny muttered upon looking at the explosives. "This a hunt."
Danny phased through the floor in order to reach the lower section where he saw dozens of gangsters fighting against the forces of order. They were outgunned, and grossly outclass, worst yet was the infighting as word of a Kalvary man shooting the black guard representative already spread.
The police force had already formed a perimeter around the hotel and was shooting through the window, mercilessly gunning down anyone who had the disgrace of walking into their iron sights. Their orders were to slay all the gang members they came across.
Barricades were improvised by the stairs with old furniture and men kneeled by the windows to shoot at the police forced which stood on the other side of the street. Their revolvers, sawn-off shotgun and Tommy-guns couldn't compare to the more modern firepower the police wield.
The helicopter dashed in front of the second floor unleashing automatic fire which pierced the concrete wall with ease, gang members fell like flies to bug spray. Danny was spared thanks to his ghostly magic.
"This ain't no cops."- a Diablo yelled out as he tried to shoot out the window.
"They're the fucking Amity Tactical Anti-Gang Division!"- A Black Guard replied using the full name.
Danny who was standing by the stairs was quite surprised to hear that the Anti-Gang division wasn't a publicity stunt as he had predicted, there was hardly any mention of them on the local news but there they were, butchering men and woman.
Without moving an inch from his spot, Danny took hold of an aluminum bat from a Diablo who tried to hit him in the head. Despite the man muscular body, he couldn't move the bat away from Danny's mighty grip.
"What the fuck!?"- The Diablo muttered in frustration.
It was then that boy yanked the Diablo closer to him and slammed his head on the wall leaving both blood and brain matter behind. Danny had absolutely no intention on the side with any of the gangs, much less to help them out.
"Wow, I've never cast a spell for so long…"- Danny said as more gangsters rushed to the windows.
The boy rushed down to the ground floor hall keeping both his invisibility and intangibility magic active which was extremely demanding on his body, sweat was starting to drenched his clothes as he reached the back door.
A powerful explosion destroyed the back door sending splinters all over the hall as the shockwave took everyone by surprise. Danny fell to the ground while regaining his physical form, his eyes laid over dozens of anti-gang police officers who rushed inside.
Police officers quickly open fire upon seeing him getting up, Danny had no time to recast his spell and was forced to roll back just to dodge the bullet putting several meters between him and the incoming police force before jumping into the hallway.
Danny didn't hesitate a single second to open fire with his M16 rifle, unlike the rest of the gangsters, Danny knew how to shoot and manage to quickly kill three officers with well-placed headshots forcing the rest to seek cover.
"Be careful! This guy knows what he's doing!"- a voice cried out.
Danny didn't feel like fighting his way out but with the police force already storming the building and the helicopter gunning down people made him tossed a grenade down the hallway and rushed out once it exploded.
Rather than foolishly heading out the back door where the forces of order where gathering, Danny headed towards the basement in hopes of using the dark to his advantage. There was no point in heading out into the open.
There were many gangsters already rushing down while some commented about using the sewer tunnels to escape once he saw the manhole in the middle of the kitchen to which Danny considered a vastly good idea considering that it came from braindead Klansman.
Danny was starting to wheeze as he had never been in the need to use so much magic at once, he couldn't hold his invisibility for too long and now needed to use it more sparingly. He could hear the fighting as it continued on the upper floors.
(XXXXXX)
The foul stench of shit combined with urine made more than one man vomit, all were too tired but kept on moving as they came to understand that the police force didn't come with orders to arrest anyone but to kill everyone in sight.
"Man, that shit had to be illegal."- A black guard suddenly said breaking the silence.
Danny had to agree with the man as there was no way anything that just happened was legal in any way or form. The gangs had pushed the authorities too far and for too long, and now the law was pushing back but to indiscriminately shot people wasn't right.
The boy sigh upon looking at a piece of human excrement flooding next to him made want to puke, he couldn't understand why the city would even bother in building such an absurdly large sewer tunnels but then recalled his home room teacher mister Lancer who spoke about there being a massive cave system underneath Amity.
"Yo, this place gives me a bad juju."- another black guard added.
"Afraid there might be a crocodile like in Africa?"- a Kalvary man said clearly taunting.
"There's shit much bigger and with more teeth in these filthy waters than a croc."- Danny said though no one challenges his words.
The men couldn't hear the police on their trail which gave them some relief, there were literally hundreds of manholes spread throughout the city and the police wouldn't be able to keep an eye on all of them at once.
Danny knew this for a fact as he had previously used the same method to escape the "man." The sewers were nothing short of a maze and even the city workers refused to go into the tunnels whenever possible.
"Who the fuck builds shit like this."- A Diablo said though started to gag once the putrid stench broke into his nostril.
"Lazy workers and cheapskate politicians."- Danny replied despite the question not being meant for him or anyone in fact. "My teacher said that the city was built over a series of caves and tunnels, they just replastered the tunnel with concrete once the sewer was made. A lot cheaper I guess."- he continued.
It was strange to see how the men were actually paying attention to him and even added their own thought about the sewer tunnels. Rumors said that if one were to walk into the deepest parts they would come across the city of the dead.
A place where all the demons and monsters live, older account of Victorian era explorers spoke of a stone city guarded by knights in rusted armor at the deepest point, of horned giants and terrible beasts lurking in the dark tunnels.
So far no one had ever come back from the depths to confirmed if the legends were true, it was a common belief that the monsters were the result of horrible malformation or wicked evolutions, the church spoke of demons and the lack of faith.
Danny turned around upon feeling a sudden though very light tremor coming from the dark tunnel they came from, everyone turned around shining their torches into the dark as the tremors continued.
Everyone including Danny looked in horror as a gigantic beast walked towards them, so large that his body left hardly an inch between himself and the tunnel walls. The creature resembled a disgusting and morbidly obese man.
Several fat folds formed around the neck disappearing any semblance of there ever being a chin, its large belly extended down to the knees, a large and singular green stared at them with evil intend. Within its large hand was a large kitchen knife about the size of a man, golden like bracelets hand at each wrist.
"What tasty snacks do we have here?"- the creature suddenly spoke.
Danny and all the gangsters were suddenly without words for no monster could speak as far as they were aware, there was no record of any sort of demonic creature ever speaking in human tongue or ever showing any basic level of intelligence beyond that of an animal.
The War Dweller was nothing more than an amalgamation of flesh and steel, born from the battlefields but even with all the mechanical parts, it held hardly any sort of intelligence. There was no mental difference from a street dog.
(XXXXX)
A Klansman was suddenly hit and tossed to the floor by an obscenely large tongue, the man screamed horrified as he was pulled towards the creature. Danny watched in disbelief as the monster's belly open wide revealing a series of long and sharp fangs.
Within seconds the man was cruelly being chew by the beast forcing the rest of his companions to escape in horror and terror. The horrid sounds of his bones breaking echoed within the sewer tunnel filling each of the criminals with fear never felt before.
Danny was the first to start shooting as he had no intention of becoming his next meal yet even after being penetrated by more than a dozen bullets, the monster didn't even show a hint of pain which made the boy growl in anger.
The monster walked shaking the ground as Danny and his fellow criminals shot at it though their bullets even in large quantities couldn't harm the monster, or so they thought. Danny knew that if it bleeds then it can die.
"Shit!"- Danny yelled upon being hit by the large tongue.
Filthy water entered into Danny's mouth as he was slammed underneath by the beast, but the creature's meal was to be delayed as Danny stood up in the water. None of his criminal peers noticed that Danny cast his magic to escape from the clutches of death.
One by one they're were being eaten by the horrible monster who wasn't even fazed by the hot bullets. Danny knew it was only a matter of time before he too was swallowed whole by this ungodly creature.
Out of the fifteen men that managed to escape into the sewers, only four were still alive including Danny who kept on fighting despite not causing any harm at all. Surrender didn't form part of Danny's vocabulary.
"Help me!"- a Black Guard yelled out once he caught by the long tongue.
Danny rushed towards the man taking hold of his arm which cracked given the two mighty strengths that held him in place. Blood started to gush out from his mouth due to the massive constraint that held, his skin was peeling off.
It was then that Danny pulled out his last grenade which he stole from the police officers he murdered at the old hotel. There was no point in tossing the explosive in front of the monster as that would do nothing at all.
"Try this for size"- Danny said looking at the demon who was about to rip the man's arm off.
The gang member of the Black Guard looked in revulsion as Danny placed the grenade on the overly sticky tongue and pulling the pin before letting go of him. There was no scream, there was no time.
The grenade exploded inside the fat demon with a thunderous clamor sending chunks of meat and teeth all over the tunnel, the abnormally long tongue hangs from a newly formed hole around what should be the mouth at its belly, yet the beast was not dead but atrociously wounded.
His single glowing green eyes gazed upon Danny with mighty hatred as it was a meal so hard to obtain, and yet, seemingly so delicious. Even so it wasn't worth his life or the pain he was forced to endure.
It was then that the monster turned around trying to return for whatever hole, he dug himself out but the wound was mortal. The demon fell over its fat belly and green blood poured out cutting on the filthy water as if it were oil.
"Holy shit that amazing kiddo!"- A Klansman said as Danny cocked his Colt Super .38.
"Shame you're with those assholes."- A Diablo added with a smirk.
The last two men had formed an unexpected bond after facing hell on earth but on the streets and underneath them. The diablo commented that they should be just near Backman street as he saw a Diablo gang tag on the wall.
There a clear sign of discomfort on the Klansman's face as he didn't fancy getting lynched by a group of Latinos gangsters, he was more than sure they would skin him alive once he popped up in his Kalvary clothes.
"Hey, kid once we get back, I'll put in a good word for you with the imperial wizard." The Klansman said
A powerful gunshot echoed within the tunnel forcing the Diablo to fall into the water as the Klansman floated away with a bullet hole on the side of his head. The man turned over to where the shooter was only for him to be shot as well.
(XXXXXX)
A black sedan cruise down the nearly empty street, not a single car was to be seen or even a single person for that matter. Everyone was at home watching the aftermath of the police raid at Devil's Diner, seeing the gangster being paraded into patrol cars.
"Are you sure he's here?"- Skulker asked extremely worried that Danny might have been capture by the police.
"He sent me a pager with this address."- Vlad continued while looking all around.
All around were empty streets as far as the eyes could see, close shops protected by a steel curtain and thick iron bars. Random cars without tires or completely vandalized, but so far, no signs of Danny anywhere.
The sounds of a distance police siren made both men jump on their seats as they had not expected something of this magnitude to take place. Vlad wasn't sure but as far as he could tell there were over two hundred police officers present and the Anti-gang division.
For all he knew and expected, the Amity Tactical Anti-Gang Division was supposed to be nothing more than a publicity stunt, something to ease the tension between the police and the civil population but there they were, gunning down all suspected criminals.
"There he is!"- Skulker suddenly yelled out pointing towards his right.
A lonely figure stood under the light of a streetlamp, Vlad and Skulker's mouth were both wide open as they laid eyes over a naked Danny who was covered not only in the cold snow but also in strange brownish substance waving at them.
"Looking for a good time?"- Danny teased while shaking his butt.
"Get in!"- Vlad ordered fearful of someone seeing them picking a naked fourteen-year-old boy.
Skulker walked into the bathroom later that night carrying more soap while Vlad was busy scrubbing Danny's back while the boy applied shampoo over his black hair. The stench of shit was still powerful on the boy.
Both men couldn't believe that Danny would walk into the sewer and even swim in the filthy waters for scores of minutes, worst yet, was to fight another of the monsters as if the police weren't bad enough.
"I think we're almost done here, Skulker."- Vlad said as he opens the faucet, "Danny and I need to relax a bit."
Skulker tilted his head to the side upon seeing Vlad taking off his clothes once the bathtub was nearly filled, the long-haired man thanked Skulker for his help and to go to sleep on the couch assuring him that it was very comfy and to help himself to some beers.
This was Danny's daily routine, wake up early in the morning, shower, make breakfast, go to school, laundry on Wednesdays, go to work and repeat. Every so often there a minor change but it was all in a day's work.
The bathroom door close.
To be continued.