Stricken by Grief

It had been almost a couple of weeks. Jack had been grieving over his father's death. Jack's father, Frank was murdered while investigating a case for a client of his. The client was mayoral candidate, Gloria Exner. Jack had been distant from his friends lately, as well as any family who he may have had.

The previous week, Frank was buried at Peaceful Shores as a funeral was held. Many officers of the Grant City Police Department had attended, such as Captain Inness, Dick Hennessey, Chief Redwater, among others, such as Mayor William Pinnacle, accompanied by his bodyguard, former boxer Rafshoon Diggs. Others who had attended were Chris, Hildy, Ruby, and of course, Jack. Even though Frank wasn't a cop for the GCPD at the time of his death, he was still honored with a 10-gun salute and had a special funeral for a cop.

At the service, Chris, Ruby, and Hildy tried to comfort Jack, who wasn't having it, not even in the least bit. Even around that same time, whether it was in the wake of Frank's murder, Jack had been put on leave because he needed to grieve his father. He had watched news reports, which had some interviews with the mayor, Hennessey, and the one person Jack did not expect to be interviewed. Jack was steamed when he saw a man with shoulder-length hair and glasses, as well as expensive clothing. This man was Augie Blatz, a man whom Frank had quite a history with. When Jack saw that man on TV, he threw a glass to the wall.

To the citizens of Grant City, Blatz was known as a philanthropist who helped give back to the community, whether it's rebuilding playgrounds, or paying for some equipment at elementary schools in underprivileged communities. But Jack had a feeling that the money he paid to help give back, he had gotten it through illegal means, such as drug-dealing, arms-dealing, racketeering, among other things.

Jack sat in his apartment. He fed Shadow. He had a bottle of alcohol placed in front of him. He was so consumed by grief that he had taken up drinking and had been working out less lately. Even when he did exercise, he went a little harder when it came to punching a bag in the gym. He wasn't just sad, but also full of rage.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Jack looked up. Shadow whimpered. Jack picked up a pistol he had. He walked over to the door and raised his gun just in case.

"Who is it?" Jack said.

"It's Hildy," she said.

Jack lowered his gun and went ahead to open the door. Hildy walked into the apartment.

"Hi, Jack, how are you feeling?" Hildy said.

"How do you think I feel?" Jack said and sat on the couch.

Hildy didn't say anything. Even though it had been almost a full two weeks, he was still not completely over the death of his father.

"Jack, listen, I came by because I wanted to see you," Hildy said. "I tried to call you a few times recently, but you didn't pick up. I know what you're going through. I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"Do you, really?" Jack said with so much derision in his voice.

It was really hard to even try to talk to Jack in that moment. Chris had tried to reach out to him a few times. It was clear that their partnership wasn't just professional, as they were actual friends given their relationship and that Jack also knew Chris's father, who was incarcerated. Ruby even tried to reach him, too. Jack was just that distant to everyone around him.

"Jack, I'm really trying to help you here," Hildy said. "I don't want you to go and do anything stupid that you'll regret doing."

"What makes you think that I will go do something stupid?" Jack said.

"Come on, Jack, I'm not stupid," Hildy said. "You may be grieving for your dad, but I have a feeling you're about to go kill someone who may or may not have been involved."

"Shut up, you don't know shit!" Jack said.

"Oh no?" Hildy said. "You don't remember that my dad died when I was younger? Or even that my mom and I don't have the greatest relationship? But I still kept my head up high and kept doing my thing. I just don't want to see you do anything stupid. Besides, I had heard about the bullshit surrounding your dad getting fired from the force, but I never believed any of it."

Jack was at a loss for words. There was no denying that this woman was right. Even though they weren't as close as they were when they were younger, Hildy showed that she still cared for Jack.

"I know what you're thinking," Hildy said. "You think Augie Blatz had something to do with Frank's murder, don't you?"

"Now why the fuck would you say that?" Jack said.

"Come on, Jack," Hildy said. "Don't think I don't see shit. I know that when your dad was cop, shit, even when I was working for him, your dad was the one man who Augie could never buy off. He had wanted to bring Augie down for all the shit your dad went through."

"Not as much as I wanted to take that fucker down for what he put Dad through," Jack said. "But I'm going to see for myself, one way or another."

"Your father was a good man, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to see you like this, Jack," Hildy said.

"You don't get it, do you?" Jack said.

"Try me, Jack," Hildy said. "I also know you've been fucking Ruby. You see, that night at the strip club? She came up to me and asked me how we knew each other. She told me that you two have been seeing each other, but I think there is something up with this."

"Ruby doesn't have shit to do with this," Jack said.

"Oh really?" Hildy said. "You know that Augie has a hand at the Den of Iniquity and the Flaming Mamba Lounge, and I'm sure he has a hand at the Blue Fly Club, too. Ruby dances at those places. So why do I get the feeling that you have her trying to provide some intel to you on Augie?"

Jack quickly shot her a look of suspicion. He should have seen this coming, as he and Hildy have a history. Jack had been seeing Ruby for months, almost a year. It was about as long as Hildy working as Frank's assistant. What was odd for him was that with Hildy being somewhat back in his life like this, he had conflicting feelings, especially with Ruby being in the picture.

"Hey, do not go there!" Jack said. "Are you jealous or something?"

Hildy sighed. She really wanted to tell Jack something. Jack had suspected that Hildy was a bit jealous, especially with her expression at the Den of Iniquity that night. In the back of Hildy's mind, she wondered if Jack was using that poor woman, almost as if she wondered if Ruby was a criminal informant of his and because she knew who owned that club, as well as other spots in Grant City, suspicion flowed through her veins. Hildy had told Ruby that they dated when they were younger, but also told her that Ruby could have Jack.

"I just wanted to come by and check in," Hildy said. "I see you've been drinking and you need to relax and cope some more. I will call you again soon to see how you're doing. And please, Jack, I'm really worried right now for you."

Hildy walked out the door. Jack sat there with a scowl in his eye. All he could do is think about what she had said.

Could Hildy be right about this? Chris even told me that I could probably do better than Ruby. Yes, Ruby is gorgeous and I do like her, but I look at a woman like Ruby and think that she could go for anybody, like an older rich guy, maybe become a trophy wife. Yet, she chose me, a cop with a vendetta against a powerful crime lord. It wasn't like Ruby was some kind of saint, either. I busted her for taking part in a robbery and caught her in the act for trying to crack a safe. Yet, I couldn't just let go, either.

Jack was conflicted. He realized that his best friend, Chris had a good point, as did his ex-girlfriend/old friend, Hildy, especially in both of their perspectives.

Was I just taking advantage of this woman? She has commitment issues, and I wouldn't be surprised if she is seeing other men, yet Ruby seems to care about me.

So much went through Jack's mind in that very moment. Was Augie Blatz really behind Frank's murder? Was Hildy right about everything? Even with the criminal element in Grant City, there were plenty of organizations that ran various districts. Yet, Jack only thought of Augie Blatz, who was Frank's nemesis. It couldn't be the Sanderville Family, nor could be the triads. Blatz had a connection with the Russians, at least the faction led by Robert Blanjov. In fact, they were partners in crime. On top of that, they were also connected to John Sanderville, the oldest and one of the most powerful bosses in Grant City. But Frank never really had any issue with the other organizations besides Blatz's.

The next night, Jack took off to a bar called The Beer Barn in Traintown, which was in the industrial parts of Grant City. It was a place full of roughnecks and bikers, with motorcycles parked in a line out front, as well as a bar fight taking place quite often. Not exactly a place a cop would be welcome, but in Jack's case, maybe that was the point. Even then, he had been drinking at home, so maybe he needed to get out, but to a biker bar?

Jack arrived at the place. The place was filled with cigarette smoke polluting the ambiance, rock music blaring, as well as people shooting pool, or throwing darts, not to mention some women dressed a certain way in the hopes of meeting someone. Jack was a fish out of water.

He walked up to the bar, with a bartender named Andre, a bald and burly man with a handlebar mustache similar to former US president Chester A. Arthur, as well as Lemmy, frontman of the metal band, Motorhead. Jack sat before this man. Andre looked at him with a glare. It was as if Jack had a familiar look to him.

"Hello, what can I get you?" Andre said.

"I would like a shot of Jack, please," Jack said. He just realized that he just said his first name, but he didn't tell the bartender that was his name.

"Jack, huh?" Andre said and pulled out a bottle, along with a shot glass. He poured the alcohol into the glass and slid it towards Jack.

Out of the blue, a man with a cowboy hat, mutton chop sideburns, as well as a black leather vest over a T-shirt and dark pants walked in with some other men of a similar style. They were bikers and the man with the cowboy hat was Steve Houstown, leader of the Death Riders. The Death Riders were a one-percenter biker gang that was mostly about being all-around outlaws and raising hell.

"Andre, what's going on?" Steve said with a southern accent. Andre looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Steve, what the hell are you doing here?" Andre said. "Don't you have a different bar now, the South Star?"

"What? I can't come by and see how the old place is going?" Steve said. "We were just in the neighborhood."

Steve walked up towards Andre while Jack sat there and hadn't touched his shot yet.

"Listen," Andre said to Steve. "Last time you were here, you caused a lot of shit and we don't want no more trouble, ya hear?"

"Come on, Andre, we ain't gonna start shit," Steve said and looked to his fellow Death Riders. "Are we, fellas?"

The other bikers shook their heads and said no. The bikers all looked around. Jack sat and finally took his shot.

"Want some more?" Andre said to Jack.

"Maybe," Jack said.

Steve turned around and saw Jack and went up to him.

"Hey, I know you," Steve said.

"No, you don't," Jack said.

"Yeah, I do," Steve said. "I saw on you on TV last week. You took down that terrorist attack that the Scorpions tried to pull."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack said. He didn't even turn to look at Steve. He didn't shift his eyes, either.

"Oh, okay, but I just want you to know that a place like don't take kindly to cops," Steve said.

"You got the wrong guy," Jack said.

Andre sighed. "Steve, not now."

"What?" Steve said. "I'm just making conversation. I know you serve food here, but I didn't think that I smelled bacon in this place."

Steve looked at Jack with such suspicion. Either Steve was trying to start something here, or maybe he was just making conversation, like maybe he had encountered Jack before.

"I don't have time for this, I think I'll go," Jack said and got up to walk away.

Steve and his cohorts looked at him some more. Steve quickly walked right up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder to turn around, which caused him to meet a fist right to the jaw. Jack laid that right hand hard to the biker leader's face.

"You motherfucker," Steve said, holding his right hand against his jaw.

"Hey, Steve, if you're going to do this, take it outside," Andre said. "I'm trying to run a business here."

Jack thought nothing of it and just walked outside, but Steve and his Death Riders would have nothing of it. The second Steve walked out the door, he tried to attack Jack, but Jack quickly clocked him with a punch to the stomach and an uppercut, knocking Steve down.

"Get him, boys!" Steve said. The fellow bikers quickly complied to beat Jack down. Jack didn't back down. He put up a fight and laid a few hits onto the fellow bikers. He even drove a biker's face to the wall and even twisted the arm of one. But that wasn't all, as a couple of others proceeded to beat up Jack. One grabbed Jack by the arms from behind and another biker punched him in his chest, stomach, and then his face. Jack started to bleed from his mouth and nose and suffered a black eye. If that wasn't bad enough, he got to the ground and they proceeded to kick him.

Except Jack wasn't about to give up and swept the leg of the biker who kicked him. He may have been beaten, but he wasn't going down without a fight and still managed to lay a few hits on them.

Meanwhile, a cop car on the vicinity got a report saying, "Attention all units, we got a disturbance in Traintown at the Beer Barn. Someone said that we're experiencing a man getting beaten up by bikers outside of the bars. Proceed with extreme caution."

The two cops in the car were Chris and his partner, Michelle Powell. The two were working together while Jack was on his leave of absence. Chris reached for his radio.

"This is Jones, I'm close to that area, Powell and I will go check it out, over," Chris said.

"What do you think is going on?" Powell said. "If I'm not mistaken, she said Traintown and the Beer Barn. That's where some bikers hang out, right?"

"Whatever it is, we need to check it out," Chris said.

Chris drove and turned on the lights and siren. With this bar being located near a train yard, they really needed the lights and siren. Both cops knew that they were going into a territory that they likely weren't wanted, but if there was a disturbance, they needed to do their jobs.

The squad car crossed into the train yard where that bar was. From a distance, one of the Death Riders looked up and saw the blue and red lights flashing.

"Shit, we got fucking cops!" the biker said.

Steve looked up as the car was still at a distance. "Shit, let's get the fuck out of here."

All of the Death Riders ran right to their bikes, started them up, and got out of there. Jack was left lying there, beaten, but not badly. The bikers did manage to beat him up, but he did put up a fight and it wasn't like he couldn't move. He lied face down and crawled a bit. Jack looked up and saw the GCPD vehicle come to a stop with the headlights on him. Chris and Powell got out of the car.

"Shit, Jack, is that you?" Chris said.

"Yeah, it's me," Jack said.

"What are you doing here?" Powell said.

"Trying to get a drink," Jack said and made a slight chuckle.

"No time for jokes, we need to get your ass home," Chris said and helped get Jack to his feet.

"Fuck that, I'm not leaving my car here," Jack said.

"Give me your keys," Chris said and looked to Powell. "Follow us, Powell. I'm driving Jack to his house."

"Got it," Powell said.

Jack handed Chris his keys and helped him get to his car. They got in and Chris got in the driver's seat and started up the car. All cops got out of there.

"Are you fucking crazy, Jack?" Chris said.

"Why?" Jack said.

"Jack, I know you're going through a lot right now, with your father having been murdered," Chris said. "But going out to a biker bar like this, I think you have a death wish. I'm really worried about you. I went through the same shit when my pops got locked up."

"Your dad's still alive," Jack said.

"That doesn't matter," Chris said. "I may have to talk to Hennessey or Redwater to try to see if you need an extended leave or to talk with a counselor."

"I'll be fine," Jack said.

"Are you sure about that?" Chris said. "Listen, I'm taking you home. I can't leave you alone, either. Call Ruby or something."

Jack was at a loss. He got out his flip cellphone. He could try to call someone right now to help keep him company. It was either Ruby or Hildy. He thought about calling the latter, but then thought that maybe he could try to talk to Ruby, especially after he remembered what Hildy told him. He called Ruby.

"Hey, Ruby, are you almost off?" Jack said. "Listen, I got into some shit, and I really need you to look at some stuff. I just need someone to talk to. You know I've been going through a lot lately. Okay, I'll see you in a bit."

The call ended. Chris proceeded to drive Jack home to his apartment. As soon as they got there, Chris asked if Jack can walk right, but Jack was able to move just fine. As Jack walked towards the door, he looked on as he walked to the squad car where it was stopped.

"You think he'll be okay?" Powell said.

Chris sighed. "I hope."

Jack went up the stairs and saw Ruby right by the door.

"Jack?" Ruby said and took a closer look. "Oh shit, Jack!"

"I'm fine, Ruby," Jack said.

"Let's get you inside," Ruby said. "I need to put ice on you."

Jack and Ruby walked in. Shadow crawled to both people and barked. Ruby went to the freezer and got some ice and put the cubes in a plastic bag. Jack sat there and watched as Ruby did this for him.

I sit here and Ruby just gets me some ice. Jack thought. Since last night, I asked myself if Hildy had a point. I couldn't believe this. It's like I thought before – Ruby could go for a rich guy or some shit like that, but she chose a guy like me. Am I really using her?

Jack couldn't help but think this. He saw that Ruby genuinely cared for him, even though she won't commit. Jack got hurt and needed some company. But it wasn't over for him. He still needed to see if Blatz had any involvement in his father's murder.

Author's note: Steve Houstown and the Death Riders were featured in Dead to Rights II. I thought maybe I could bring them in.

Speaking of Dead to Rights II, I have been comparing Jack's portrayals in the original game, Dead to Rights II, and Dead to Rights: Retribution, and I could see that there are differences in how he was portrayed. With DtR2 being more of a balls-to-the-wall action game, there really wasn't a story and Jack spouted a bunch of cheesy one-liners. He did the same in the original, but the narrative tried to be like a crime story, except there were issues with the writing. Only Retribution had a much grittier story going for it, as it felt different than the previous games. Keep in mind, Retribution was a reboot and I suppose in some areas, it tried to be as gritty as Max Payne, except that one was all-around gritty with some more consistent writing and good narratives. Hell, people called Dead to Rights a Max Payne knock-off back in those days.

I will continue with this soon.