First Things First

Fresh out of prison, Jack had things on his mind. He wanted to find the man who killed Blatz and set him up. The problem was he didn't have any leads. Sure, there was the man who almost ran him down on the road back, who seemed to be Tattoo's contact. However, there may be a way to start looking.

Jack woke up at around 10 AM. He took a much-needed shower after running through the sewers. There were two people he wanted to reach out to, but with him on the run and still in the city, he needed to keep himself out of sight. Chances were very good that Hennessey or even Redwater would get a lot of the GCPD on him, maybe even the Grant City Anti-Crime unit, better known as GAC.

What was odd about all of this was that a lot of Blatz's penthouse apartment was never cleared out in the seven months after his death. So many things were on Jack's mind in that moment.

That guy with the eye-patch and purple hair, why didn't he kill me? He had his chance. He may have said that "killing cops was 'bad business.'" But I had nothing to lose. What really got me was who tipped him off, both to kill Augie and to set me up. He had his chance to kill me, but he didn't. He even spelled it out for me.

He was the one man I had to look for. Who was he working for? Why did he off Augie? He could have put a slug in my head and the problem would have been solved for whomever.

Jack found a black undershirt and put on a blue button-down shirt, along with boots and jeans. Oddly enough, Augie's clothes fit him. Jack may have kept in shape during his time on the inside, but he also built some more muscle. One jacket that stood out to him in the closet was brown and made of leather, and had a winged symbol on the back.

Damn, Augie, you had some taste. Jack took it out and put it on. Being that the GCPD were likely to arrest him the moment he would be seen, he grabbed a fedora hat and a pair of shades. He had to disguise himself somehow.

If he needed to feed himself, he found that there was a stash of money in a safe in the bedroom, as well as other money in another stash, much to Jack's surprise.

However, there was one person he had to call at that very moment. He picked up the landline phone. It was a wonder that a lot of things were still operational despite the original tenant was deceased. Jack dialed the number. The number rang until a call went through with a man saying, "This is Officer Jones."

"Chris, it's Jack."

"Jack?!" Chris said through the phone. "Shit, Jack, you're all over the news."

"Hennessey and Inness aren't around, are they?" Jack said.

"Nah, they're handling their own shit in their offices," Chris said. "Man, I heard you escaped the electric chair."

"Listen, you got to help me," Jack said. "I'm already in deep shit, but I have things to do. I want you to look up a license plate number that reads 'MSILT.'"

"Why? What's going on?" Chris said.

"Last night, I was almost run over," Jack said. "Someone was probably hired to pick up someone during the big break. I think he might know someone who set me up."

"Okay, I'll help you out, but you need to lie low," Chris said. "You might want to get out of Grant City until the heat dies down."

"No, I have to find out who was behind my father's murder," Jack said. "I will find the man who did it."

"Where are you staying?" Chris said.

"I have a hideout of my own," Jack said. "I'm staying at Blatz's old place. Look, call this number that is on your caller ID. If you need to call, make sure it's either on a payphone or your cellphone."

"Way ahead of you, brother," Chris said. "Is my pops okay?"

"The Preacher is fine," Jack said. "I have a guard in there who will make sure no one touches him."

"Good, good, I'll talk to you soon, Jack," Chris said. "I will make sure to give you that info back on that license plate."

"Thanks, man, later," Jack said and hung up.

There were only a couple of people whom Jack wanted to reach out to. Considering he wasn't at his old apartment, and he was certain that his place was cleared out and someone had now moved in since his incarceration, it was good that he remembered the numbers. Jack went ahead and dialed the number. The phone rang a couple of times until a female voice said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Hildy," Jack said.

"Jack? What the…?" Hildy said. "You're all over the news. What's going on?"

"A lot of things," Jack said. "Are you busy right now?"

"Well, I got work in a few hours," Hildy said. "I'm working at The Oar House part time. You need to tell me what's going on. I heard you escaped the fucking electric chair!"

"I'll explain it to you later," Jack said. "I'm going to lie low for now."

"You need to do more than that," Hildy said. "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of Grant City, or even the country."

"Not until I take care of unfinished business," Jack said. "Is Shadow there?"

"Yes, he is, why?" Hildy said.

"Just wanted to check if he is okay," Jack said. "I might come by in a bit."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hildy said.

"I'll manage to get by without being seen," Jack said.

"Look, be careful, okay?" Hildy said.

"I will," Jack said. "See you in a bit."

Because it was clear that with him not only being an escaped convict, but also back in Grant City, Jack grabbed a fedora hat and a pair of shades. With Blatz having worn eyeglasses at the time of his death, it took him a bit but he found a pair that was non-prescription. It was a pair of aviator sunglasses with mirrored lenses. Not something that Augie Blatz seemed to wear, but the jacket that Jack wore was something that wasn't Blatz's style. Augie Blatz was a man of various tastes that was for sure. He even looked around and found some car keys to a Jaguar. If the police didn't bother to clean out this room in the past seven months, it was likely that the car was still close by.

Jack got out of the penthouse and went down the elevator to the parking garage at the bottom of the Bay Bell Hotel. He got out. Some cars were parked, but the moment Jack pushed the clicker button of the keys, the car drew his attention. It was black. It looked dirty, like it hadn't been washed in months, but no damage was seen. On top of that, there were also tinted windows.

Someone must have not given a shit. Jack thought. If Augie's shit was still in the room, and the car was still here, there must be someone who had inherited Augie's stuff to keep it where it was. Whatever the case was, at least I found something to have me get around.

Jack quickly went into the car and started it up and went on his way.

It wasn't long until Jack pulled up to the Cutler Apartments, an apartment building somewhere in Milton, a district of Grant City. Jack parked the car and got out with the fedora, sunglasses, and jacket on. It may have been May, but weather was mixed at that point, as it was cool that day.

He went up some stairs and knocked on a door. He knew where he was going and was certain that this person still lived there.

"Who is it?" a female voice said.

"It's Jack," he said as he stood outside the door. It wasn't long until the door opened. It was Hildy, wearing a black leather jacket zipped up midway, a somewhat low-cut baby blue shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. Hildy looked both ways outside and signaled to Jack to come in.

Jack walked in, took off his hat and shades. The moment he did that, barking was heard, as well as fast crawling. Jack looked before him. Shadow came up and got on his back paws as he stood and put his front paws against him.

"Hey, boy!" Jack said with so much glee in his voice. "Shadow, I missed you."

Shadow got his front paws on the floor as Jack went up and started to pet him.

"Jack." Right when he heard his name uttered from behind, he got up and saw Hildy, who quickly went and gave him a hug.

"I was so scared, I really thought you were going to die," Hildy said, with her voice cracking a bit.

"I'm still here," Jack said as he hugged her.

"What are you doing?" Hildy said. "If the cops find you, you'll go back and you won't make it out this time. I mean, shit, Jack, you're all over the news."

"You know I didn't kill Augie Blatz," Jack said. "Seriously, for the past seven months, I had to watch my own ass to make sure I wouldn't get shanked or worse."

"So what are you going to do?" Hildy said.

"I'm going to finish what I fucking started," Jack said. "I'm going to find the motherfuckers who had my dad killed."

"How are you going to do that?" Hildy said.

"I have my ways," Jack said. "But first I need to get some weapons. I still think that something was up when Dad was killed."

"Look, I'm still sad that Frank died," Hildy said. "But you do this, you're either back in jail or worse, dead. I'm serious, Jack. Shit has gotten fucking worse since Augie's death and since you've been in jail."

"I was only in jail for six or seven months," Jack said. "Besides, you're talking to a former cop here. I may not be working the GCPD anymore, but at least now I have more of a reason to look for Dad's killer without my captain or the chief giving me shit about it."

"I just don't want you to do anything stupid, okay?" Hildy said as she looked down. "But you can't stay here."

"Relax, I found a place to hole up for now," Jack said.

"Okay, but just remember, if you need anything, you know I'm here for you," Hildy said. "I took good care of Shadow while you were locked up. Watch yourself out there."

"Don't worry, I will," Jack said.

Jack and Hildy looked each other in the eyes. They moved closer as their eyes were locked. It was clear to Jack that Hildy still cared about him, and deep down he knew that he still had feelings for her. But Jack quickly turned away. This was not the time to get distracted. But in the meantime, the two hugged each other once again.

"Come on, Shadow," Jack said. Shadow immediately followed his newly-free master.

"Hold on, Jack," Hildy said. "I know you want Shadow to help, but don't you think he should stay with me for now? You don't have any money to pay for food and stuff."

"Oh, don't worry, I got that covered," Jack said. "Anyway, I'll call you later if I need something."

"Okay, Jack, be careful out there," Hildy said. "Watch your back."

Jack nodded his head as he put on the sunglasses and fedora, and then opened the door as he and Shadow left the apartment. It was still only the daytime. There was a lot of work for Jack to do. This was only the beginning of his journey.

In Chinatown, a dark red corvette pulled up in front of a bar called Phillies. Out came a stunning Chinese woman in black shoes, tight black jeans, a red leather jacket that was closed over what looked like a tight black shirt, and round sunglasses with red frames. To top it off, this woman had her red hair done in a ponytail and also wore black gloves. It was the one and only Eve Adams.

It was midday. Eve was there to meet with two men to discuss a potential contract. She walked in and looked around. Considering the time of day, it wasn't that busy, not even for the lunch crowd. She looked around until she saw a booth with two men sitting next to one another in the seat. One had dark hair and was slightly tan. The other had blonde hair. It was Dutch and Palmer, respectively.

Eve walked towards the booth, still with her shades on.

"Eve Adams?" Dutch said.

"That's me," she said. "So what are we looking at?"

"Wow, you get down to business quickly," Dutch said.

"I just want to know who you want me to ice," Eve said.

Palmer replied. "Well, the Sandman found out that Jack Slate had escaped from Iron Point Penitentiary. He has a major bone to pick with Slate, especially for arresting some associates of ours, as well as killing some other associates of ours."

Dutch handed Eve a folder with information on Jack Slate. Eve opened it up and looked at the photos. Some photos had depicted Jack's mug-shot, as well as a picture from graduating the police academy, as well as earning a medal of valor for a bust he took part in.

"The Sandman had told some stuff about you," Dutch said. "You have quite a way with trapping your targets, as well as skills with guns and knives."

"I have my ways," Eve said. "It all depends on what I'm working with."

Over near the bar, a rack holding a 20-inch CRT TV had the news on with Marla Bales covering the story.

"More on the story of the Iron Point breakout later on in the program," Marla said. "In recent news, the body of 23-year-old Richard Morgan was found in a room at the Pink Starfish Motel. Reports have said that he had been poisoned. All that is known right now is that a motel maid had found the body on the bed when she was going to clean the room and reported it to the Grant City Police Department."

Eve continued to look at the pictures of Jack, as she examined how she could do this job, whether it's with a simple gunshot, slashing him, poisoning him in some way, or other. She reflected on her job on the late Richard Morgan from the night before, how she thought it was too easy of a job since she used her sexuality and allure to trap the young man. The man was accused of sexually assaulting a poor girl and it was likely that he got off. But the girl's father had more money and power than the young man's parents and likely paid a good price for Eve to do the job.

"Okay, how much is Mr. Sanderville willing to pay me?" Eve said.

"He knows your reputation as a hired killer, especially your skills," Dutch said. "He suggests somewhere in the realm of $25,000."

Eve's eyes shifted towards the two men. It was clear as her shades had slid down her nose a bit and her eyes locked directly in the eyes of Dutch and also Palmer.

"So, tell me, why would you need to employ my expertise to take down this man?" Eve said.

"This man broke out of jail," Palmer said. "We don't know where he would go, but the Sandman tells me that you can try to find him."

"Well, finding the man might rack up the price a bit," Eve said. "If you want me to find him and then kill him, then maybe you can double or triple the amount."

"If this guy has gotten out of jail, then he's likely to be found at a certain place in Chinatown," Dutch said. "I mean if I was getting out of jail, I'm sure that I would be hoping to pulling some ass."

Eve's eyes squinted a tad, as well as her lips straightened and then curved a bit. It seemed liked she knew what Dutch was getting at. Palmer looked at his partner and shook his head and signaled to him that they needed to excuse themselves.

"We'll be back, we need to talk right now," Dutch said. The two men got up from the booth as Eve sat there and continued to look at the pictures and also think about the potential job.

Palmer and Dutch went over the hallway where the restrooms were. They both went to a stop as they stood in front of a payphone.

"Dutch, what the fuck did you say that for?" Palmer said.

"The fuck are talking about?" Dutch said.

"Come on, I know this woman is attractive, but you really think that she would be capable of trapping Slate? You really think that Slate would be looking to fuck a woman because he just got out of the pen?" Palmer said.

"Come on, look at her," Dutch said. "She'd probably blend in with those girls at the Black Orchid."

Palmer's eyes widened when he heard him say that. Meanwhile, as Eve sat there with the restrooms being not far from the booth. She looked up right at them. Even though the conversation was not that loud, she heard some of what was said. The bar was not busy at this hour, and aside from the audio on the TV, the only audible sound she could hear is the conversation from the two mobsters.

"She could take care of Slate like that," Dutch said and snapped his fingers. "Job done, like that."

"Yeah, and Fat Chow would find out about a dead body at his massage parlor," Palmer said.

"Fuck that fat fuck," Dutch said. "Besides, Fat Chow usually would have his men, Horse or Hong-Tse handle their own shit. We both know the triad runs that fucking place."

"Part of me thinks that we should have just used one of those Mayhem Inc. guys," Palmer said. "Maybe Patch would take care of that Slate asshole, or any of those other guys."

"Man, fuck that, Patch has his own way of handling shit," Dutch said. "Looks at his killing as art and all that shit. Besides, I heard that Marvin's been hanging with those Mayhem Inc. assholes lately."

"What does it matter? They're just a bunch of hired guns," Palmer said. "Besides, Silt is only around because he is the Sandman's nephew. He doesn't know shit, nor does he do shit for our organization. Shit, Dutch, he takes off to Black Orchid all the fucking time to go fuck one of those girls. Besides, why the hell should we give a shit about Slate?"

"You know that Slate whacked Augie Blatz," Dutch said. "He may have a deal with Fahook right now, but I'm sure that Slate knew that Augie worked with us as well. Even though there are many organizations around, the Sandman still runs this fucking city. What he says goes. Remember that. And as for Marvin, well, I wouldn't be talking. I hear you go to the Black Orchid a lot, too."

Meanwhile, Eve continued to listen to their conversation. The moment she heard them mention Mayhem Inc. and Patch, that caught her attention some more, as well as Marvin Silt.

Over near the restrooms, Palmer nodded his head at what his partner just said. "Let's go back and discuss the job with Eve."

The two gangsters walked back to the booth and sat back down. Eve sat before them and looked them in the eye.

"Okay, I thought it over, and I'll do it," Eve said. "I want to triple the price. I would like $75,000 for the job."

"75K? Oh, that's a little much," Dutch said. "How about double the original price? Like $50,000?"

"65," Eve said.

"60K," Dutch said. "We can give you half the money for this and then the other half after you finish him off."

"Deal," Eve said and then put her hand out. Dutch locked his hand against hers and they shook on the deal.

"We'll talk to the Sandman about wiring half the money to your account," Palmer said. "Call us when you finish the job and then we'll talk about the other 30K."

"Got it," Eve said. She got up from the booth with the folder in hand and was on her way. It was not long until Eve left Phillies and went into her car. Something about the conversation between the two mobsters sparked her interest some more. Sure, she expressed some aversion to Dutch's sexism and racism a bit. However, when Mayhem Inc. was mentioned, it actually drew her interest. In the meantime, she had a job to do.

Author's note: And that was it for that one. I will lay down a few things here.

One, when I mentioned Hildy's outfit, that was actually the outfit that Faith wore in Dead to Rights: Retribution. I had made a note before that in this version, Hildy is a composite character with Faith, to some degree anyway. I even have a theory that Faith was probably supposed to be different version of Hildy in Retribution, as that one was set in a different canon than the 2002 original. For those who have played the games, it's not hard to grasp, especially since they had similar looks to each other. But with this being a retelling of the original game, enough that I am using characters from that game, along with some from DtR2, Retribution, as well as the comic tie-in, I'm doing things my way.

Also, I must mention Eve's outfit. I used Mona Sax's outfit from Max Payne 2 as inspiration, with the addition of shades. I'm going to level with you about Eve's model and outfit from the original game. When the game was released, I get that she was designed to be a sexy female assassin with a rather revealing outfit, complete with a miniskirt, thong showing from the waistband, open long coat revealing a bra top and showing some skin, I thought that was a very unorthodox outfit. It was a game from the early-2000s and it really shows its age with its design choices. I know I described it a bit in the previous chapter, mostly as a nod and also to show that she was posing as a sex worker while on a hit. If Eve was to wear the outfit depicted in this chapter, I might go more in the route of having the jacket open, but it would reveal a black shirt, like how Mona's shirt was in Max Payne 2.

I also must note that when I mentioned the CRT TV and the payphone in the bar, I had implied in a past chapter that I have this story set in the early-2000s. I mean I have my True Crime story set in the mid-2000s, except that story is tied to the two True Crime games.

I have an idea for the next chapter. Stay tuned for it.