A Matter of Principle
Time had passed since leaving Black Orchid. Jack drove Eve, along with Ruby and Shadow in the backseat to what appeared to be Eve's hideout. They had Silt in the trunk. Although Jack wanted answers from Silt, it appeared that Eve had more of a bone to pick with him. The question was why. Jack had a reason to get some answers because it was said that he worked for Sanderville, as well as had connections with Mayhem Inc, with one of the top assassins having killed Blatz and also left Jack to get arrested. Why that one hitman didn't just eliminate Jack was anyone's guess, but he was still alive and still determined to solve his father's murder.
The car pulled up. Eve's hideout looked like an abandoned fairground park. Even Jack and Ruby wondered who this woman was. She definitely couldn't have been one of the girls working at the brothel/massage parlor. With Grant City right near water, it was definitely chilly at that time of the night. She wore the same Chinese gown but also managed to get her beige and brown jacket before they took off from the place. Jack had opened the trunk. He and Eve pulled Silt right out of the trunk and he got to his feet as the two pointed their guns right at him.
"Inside, now," Eve said.
"Yes, ma'am," Silt said. Jack looked at this guy with a touch of confusion. For someone who was connected to a longtime crime boss of Grant City, this guy certainly seemed timid at the sight of a gun. He was even intimidated when Jack barged into the room while he was having sex with Ruby.
Shadow got out of the car. Ruby knelt down and pet the dog.
"Hi, Shadow, remember me?" Ruby said.
Eve pointed her pistol right at Silt's head, with his arms in the air and everything. Jack was about to follow, but turned around and saw Ruby with Shadow. He walked up to her.
"Ruby, the hitwoman and I need to get some answers," Jack said. "I need you to stay with Shadow. You and I are to going to have a little chat soon, but I need you to sit tight for now."
"Can't I go inside? I can't be out here like this," Ruby said.
Eve turned around and turned her attention directly towards Ruby. "You and the dog come on in. I will find a place for you two to sit down."
Ruby nodded. This woman gave her a weird feeling. The way she just went in and fired her weapon and barely missed Jack and Marvin, that didn't seem like she missed by accident. She could have easily shot one of the two, but she didn't. This woman gave Ruby an aura that she was deadly, like this woman had a body count on her, and not the kind of body count that signified sexual partners.
A light came on. There were plenty of cardboard cutouts of cartoon characters and layouts that are drawn to look like building exteriors. It looked like a funhouse. How long this fairground was abandoned was anybody's guess. It would seem that Mayor Pinnacle didn't bother to have his construction company try to tear it down. A staircase was seen. It seemed that lead to Eve's inner sanctum. Eve faced Ruby and Shadow, and signaled for the blonde woman and the dog to go upstairs and just sit tight but also not to touch anything. Eve told Jack to come with her.
It wasn't long until Eve and Jack brought Silt into a room with a chair in there. There were plenty of red stains on the floor and on the walls. It wasn't hard for Jack to see what this room was used for. Eve shoved Silt to the floor.
"Get in the chair, now," Eve said with so much authority in her voice and while holding her gun right at him and turned to Jack. "Okay, handsome, go and tie his hands up."
Jack nodded his head and went ahead to do it. He wondered what this woman's deal was, but at the same time his focus was on this guy. After he was done, he went back to stand before Silt with Eve standing right next to him.
"What the fuck do you guys want from me?" Silt said.
"Hey, we ask the questions here," Eve said. "I want to know-"
Jack signaled to her to cut her off, because with him being a fugitive on the run with nothing to lose, he felt that he deserved to ask him first.
"Okay, Silt," Jack said. "I want to know this. Who hired you to run me over at the prison?"
"I already told you," Silt said. "That was nothing personal. I was only told to run over anybody other than Tattoo and maybe his friends to give them the run-over. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"That may be, but I want to know this," Jack said. "Who gave you those instructions?"
"A guy named Gofer," Silt said.
"Wait, Gofer?" Eve said. "So you are working for Mayhem Inc. Tell me, Silt, where the fuck is Patch?!"
"Wait, did you just say Patch?" Jack said to Eve. "Is he some tall guy who dresses all dapper, purple hair, and has an eye-patch, as well a gold Luger?"
"That's the one," Eve said and she turned to Silt again.
"That's the guy who fucking shot me," Jack said and turned right to Silt. "Tell me, who is this Gofer guy?"
Silt sat there in silence. If this guy gave a name on who hired him to give the run-over to Jack, then this guy was not really much of a criminal. So why was he keeping quiet?
"Answer the man, damn it!" Eve said and swung her right hand to his face to give him a hard slap.
"Ow! That really hurt," Silt said.
"Just answer his fucking question," Eve said with so much brooding rage in her voice.
"Just know this, Slate," Silt said to Jack. "If you're thinking about going after Gofer, he'll send the rest of Mayhem Inc after you. Shit, if the Sandman finds out about this, he'll send his fucking men after you. That guy doesn't fuck around. He ain't no joke, man."
"I get it, but I got nothing to lose," Jack said. "I just want to know where I can find Gofer or Patch."
"I ain't saying shit," Silt said. For that, Jack looked at his right fist and delivered a hard right hand to Marvin's face. He hit him right in the jaw.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Jack said. "Where is Gofer? Or even better, where is Patch?"
"What the fuck do you want from them?" Silt said. "All Gofer did was just hire me for a fucking job! That's it!"
"That's not it in my opinion," Eve cut in. "I know Gofer fixes all of Mayhem Inc's jobs. I know he is the organization's fixer, as well as handles other matters for them. You see, I know who you work for, work with, and that you're doing business with different organizations. It was so easy to find you."
"What do you want from me, lady?" Silt said.
"Does it really matter?" Eve said. "I just have some personal stuff to deal with, and that is with Patch."
"We both want to know where Patch is," Jack said.
"Look, I don't know where he is," Silt said.
Eve looked at Silt with an expression saying, "he's hiding something." Eve saw a table nearby with a tray consisting of some tools.
"Maybe this'll help," Eve said and picked up some pliers. She looked at Silt's face and saw his eyebrow piercings, as well nose and septum, and also his labrum. She got her pliers and clipped them onto his left eyebrow rings.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Silt said. Eve said nothing but let her technique do the talking as she pulled the piercings right off. Silt howled in pain. Jack got closer to Silt and grabbed him his chin.
"Tell us, Silt, where is Patch?" Jack said.
"You don't understand, do you?" Silt said, trying to catch his breath after enduring the pain from having his eyebrow rings yanked directly from his eyebrow. "You don't find Patch. He finds you. He is one of Mayhem Inc's top assassins, as well as one of the bosses of the organization. And when he finds you, you're already fucking dead."
"I have been ready, ever since the night he shot me," Jack said. "I'm just surprised he didn't kill me when he had the chance. Now that you mention it, maybe I should try to find Gofer. If this guy's the fixer, then maybe he'll lead me to him, and maybe to the guy who set me up."
"Why the fuck should I give a shit?" Silt said.
"Because ever since I broke out of jail, I've had my own problems to solve," Jack said.
"Look, if you fuck with Mayhem Inc, you're fucked all the way, dude," Silt said. "Gofer, Patch, they'll send some other guys after you. Shit, Slate, if the Sandman finds out what you're doing, you're even more fucked!"
"What makes you think I give a shit?" Jack said. "I'm a wanted man. I'm already as good as dead, but I won't let that stop me, because like I said, I have nothing to lose."
Eve looked at him when he heard that. She remembered that she was hired to do a hit on Jack, but considering his motivation, she realized that it's akin to her own personal motivations.
"I don't know where to find Gofer or Patch," Silt said.
Eve said. "Perhaps this should jog your memory, baldy."
She picked up the same pliers from before and clipped them onto Silt's septum ring and quickly pulled it off and in quick succession, she went right for Silt's labrum ring. Silt screamed some more, enough that barking was heard from above. The only dog that was nearby was Shadow, but the screams were so loud that Ruby likely heard them as well.
"I told you guys everything!" Silt said, with his face bleeding from the wounds. He trembled so much that it was only a matter of time that a thud was heard. It was loud enough that it caught the attentions of both Jack and Eve. Jack moved in close to the floor right beside where Silt sat and picked up the item. It was a cell phone.
"Well, maybe this could clue me in on where to find Gofer and Patch," Jack said. "I think I'm done here."
As he was about to walk away, Eve told Jack to wait. She walked up to him and said, "Look, if you ever want some more information, here is my card."
Eve handed him what appeared to be a business card, a bit odd considering she appeared to be a hired killer. The card read, "Eve Adams, professional assassin" with her phone number written at the bottom.
Eve Adams? That can't be your real name. Jack thought. "Okay, I'll hold onto this. I'll call if I need something. But what about him?" Jack referred to Silt.
"Don't worry, I got my own shit to get out of him," Eve said. "Call me soon. Maybe we can work together or something."
"I will," Jack said.
After Jack left the room, he went up the stairs and called for Ruby and whistled for Shadow. It wasn't long until they left the abandoned fairgrounds. The rain continued to fall from the night sky. It wasn't even that late, either, as it was only after 10 pm.
Jack got into the driver's seat while Ruby rode shotgun and Shadow was in the backseat.
"I'm taking you home, are you still at the same apartment as before?" Jack said.
"No, I moved out of there," Ruby said. "But I can't stay there tonight."
"Well, this is a good time as any for you to tell me what happened to you when I got put in jail," Jack said.
Ruby sighed. "Look, I'll tell you really soon. Can I stay with you tonight? I always feel safe when I'm with you."
Jack sighed as well. "Sure, I'll take you to where I'm staying right now."
The car started up. Jack was headed back to the Bay Bell Hotel in the penthouse suite where he was hiding out in.
Meanwhile, Eve was not done with Silt, who looked at her with so much fear.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I thought you were one of the girls at Black Orchid," Silt said.
"I'm not like those whores over there," Eve said. "I have questions of my own."
Right then, Silt started to realize who she was. "You, I know you. You used to work with Mayhem Inc, didn't you?"
"For a little bit," Eve said. "There is question I have on my mind, baldy. Does the name Danny Yang ring any bells?"
"Can't say that it does, why?" Silt said.
"Danny Yang was my brother," Eve said. "You see, I know it was Patch who killed him. Gofer went ahead and fixed any problems that were left. I have my own beef with Patch, as well as any other people involved, including your uncle."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't go involving my fucking uncle! He ain't got shit to do with this," Silt said.
"I'm not stupid, baldy," Eve said. "I know my brother got into some shit with Mr. Sanderville, as well as Gofer. So Patch was hired to do the job. I'm willing to make things right."
"Good luck with that, bitch," Silt said.
"Oh, ho, now you're calling me a bitch?" Eve said. "I wasn't the one screaming and crying like a little bitch just now."
"Whatever, you got what you want from me," Silt said. "So did that asshole. Now can I go?"
"Oh, you'll go," Eve said and pulled out her pistol, but with no silencer on it this time. "Just not where you want to go."
"Oh shit, what the f-?!" BANG! Eve shot Silt right in the head at point-blank range, leaving quite a hole on his forehead and blood trickling down his face, even more from the wounds of the piercings.
After listening to what Jack said, she realized that she shouldn't go through with the hit after all. She saw that he had a motivation similar to hers. For that, she got out her cell phone and made a call.
"Mr. Sanderville, it's Eve," she said. "It's done. Jack Slate is dead. Yes, just put the money in the account. Thank you."
It was clear that she lied and ripped off the crime boss, but she was now more ready than ever.
Back at Jack's hideout, Jack and Ruby sat in silence right in front of each other at the dinner table. Jack looked at her like he was waiting for her to say something, while Ruby looked really reluctant in even talking about what had happened seven months prior.
"So tell me, Ruby, what happened after I got arrested?" Jack said. "Why weren't you at my trial?"
"You really want to know, don't you?" Ruby said.
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't," Jack said. "On the night I got arrested, one of the Volkoff brothers told me something about how I didn't know what you were up to. While I was in jail, Hildy came to visit me and told me that you were also taking part in shooting porn videos."
A big sigh came out of Ruby. It was time for her to share her story.
"When your dad was killed, you got really distant, but there was something that I didn't mention about that guy Boris. He wasn't just stalking me. He…also…forced himself onto me once."
"He WHAT?!" Jack said.
"I'm getting to that," Ruby said, looking away and paused a bit. "Sometime before you killed Augie Blatz, Boris and Dimitri introduced me to this new boss in the area. He was this buff dude with a man-bun and tattoos. He looked like he was from the Middle East and had these twin bodyguards."
"What's his name?" Jack said.
"I'm not done," Ruby said. "This guy kidnapped women for his own little sex slave operation. Whether it's here or overseas, I had been all over the place. The two brothers even bought me out as their little slave and pimped me out. They even went to Hector Cruz at the Blue Fly and got me to take part in porno shoots, and then later on got me to work at Black Orchid."
"So you became a sex slave?" Jack said.
Ruby nodded. "I felt so dirty. Look, I know things weren't that serious with us, but you were one of the few good guys I ever knew. You actually treated me well. After you were gone, all I became was just a blow-up doll. Not surprised, though. It seems that every guy who I meet just wants to fuck me."
"What's the guy's name?" Jack said.
"His name is Fahook," Ruby said.
"Fahook, huh? I've heard of him," Jack said.
Ruby looked down a bit. Jack took a closer look. It was clear that Ruby wanted to cry when she told him this. It didn't help that he came to a realization that although he cared about Ruby, he also had her look into stuff for him because he was more interested in gaining intel about his dad losing his job as a cop.
Jack went forth and gave her a hug. She stood up and hugged him as well. The two looked at each other in the eyes and leaned in closer to kiss each other. Jack went forth pull Ruby's jacket off of her. Ruby did the same with Jack's jacket. The two continued to kiss and the heat started to rise between the two. Ruby unbuttoned the collar on her gown and raised her arms as Jack started to pull up her cheongsam, as she was now in her rather revealing lacy lingerie.
"God, I missed you," Ruby said and kissed him again as she started unbuttoning Jack's shirt and undoing his belt before unbuttoning his pants. Jack started moving his face to kiss her neck and then down to her breastplate before reaching behind her to unhook her bra. It wasn't long until Jack got more of his clothes off. She even reached for purse to grab a condom for Jack to use.
So much heat and passion was in the air. Was it really a long time coming? Or was Jack doing this he had been around hardened criminals for seven months. He could have gotten his freak on at Black Orchid and was willing to do it, too, but he was mainly focused on his agenda in that moment. There was so much heat that Ruby jumped up and wrapped her legs around Jack as he guided her to a counter while she was fully in the nude. They went on for a bit before reaching the bedroom where it continued to go on for a bit.
After a bit, they finally finished. They lied in bed, naked, and stared at the ceiling.
"Man, that was good," Ruby said. "I meant it when I said that I missed you."
"I missed you, too, and I can't believe that you got caught up in that stuff," Jack said.
Ruby paused a bit. "I've been struggling a bit lately, but I'm trying to get by. I didn't really have much a good life growing up. I'm only 23, but shit's been hard for me."
"Well, I hope things get better for you, Ruby," Jack said. "But I want to know something. Has Fahook been trying to get more girls for his sex slave operation?"
Ruby quickly turned towards Jack. "Is that really what you care about right now? You're not a cop anymore. You're a wanted man. There's really not a lot you can do about this whole situation."
"I'll manage to help," Jack said.
"Look, Jack, I understand you want to help, but you can't," Ruby said. "There's nothing you can do. And I'm really sorry about your father's death, but you need to realize that things aren't going to get any better around here. I'm really sorry that I didn't visit you in jail, but if you knew, you would understand."
Jack nodded his head at that comment. "Do you have any places you can stay at?"
"Not sure, but I'll figure it out," Ruby said.
"You know, you can stay here for a bit," Jack said. "Nobody would even bother looking for you here, or you can stay with Hildy."
The moment Ruby heard that name, she looked at him slight aversion to that idea. "Yeah, right, I don't think I could do that. Let me ask you something, Jack. Do you still love her?"
"Why do you ask?" Jack said.
"Even though it's been months, I was able to tell that she still feels something for you," Ruby said. "You even mentioned her twice this whole night. I think you still want her."
"Not sure about that," Jack said.
"Come on, I'm not blind," Ruby said. "I know things weren't that serious between us. And if you think I was fucking other guys while we were dating, I will admit that I was, but just know that some of it was because they paid me or because things got hot in the moment. I didn't lie to you that you were one of my better boyfriends. It wasn't that serious, yes, but that didn't mean that I didn't care about you. But for Hildy, it was different. It seemed like you two were in love back in the day, huh?"
That question really hit Jack hard. Hildy was Jack's first love. Even Jack was able to see that Hildy still felt something for him. It didn't appear that Frank, Jack's father, hired Hildy as his assistant as a means for her to get closer to Jack, as he also considered her an old friend as well.
It wasn't too long until the two fell asleep in bed. It was late at night and after their moment of passion, it was exhausting enough that it tired them out.
Morning came. Jack woke up, all alone in bed. Ruby was nowhere in sight. Jack went and put on his underwear and pants, and called for Ruby's name. Shadow barked as he sat next to the coffee table near the same couch where Blatz was shot. On the table looked to be a note of some sort. Jack picked it up and it read.
Jack,
If you read this, just know that I'm sorry for taking off like this. I know I poured everything out to you last night and I meant it when I said that you were the only good guy I knew and that I still cared about you, even if I was fucking other guys.
Just some advice, but get the fuck out of Grant City while you still can. Shit has gotten worse since you've been in jail and don't worry about me. I will find my own way out of this hole I'm in. Good luck to you. You're probably the only guy I've ever come close to actually loving.
Take care and good luck,
Ruby
After Jack read it, he crumpled it up.
While that was a well thought out note she wrote, Ruby has no idea what lies ahead for her. She may have poured out her heart and soul, but something tells me that there is more to this. My work is not done here, not even close. I even wondered what the deal was with Eve Adams, if that's even her real name.
Jack reached for the phone and made a call to the one man he wanted to talk to in that moment. The phone call went through and a woman's voice answered with "hello."
"Melissa?" Jack said.
"Yeah, who's this?" the woman said. It turned out to be Melissa, Chris's girlfriend.
"This is Jack, is Chris around?" Jack said.
"Jack?! Oh my god, I can't believe it," Melissa said. "Yeah, Chris is around. He just got out of the shower. I'll give him the phone. Just wait a bit."
As Jack stood there, it wasn't long until a male voice got on the phone. "Hey, Jack, what's up?"
"Chris, I found the guy with that car last night, but there is also something bothering right now," Jack said. "Are you familiar with anybody named Eve Adams or something?"
"Can't say that I do, why?" Chris said.
"I met this female assassin last night," Jack said. "She's of Asian descent. Something tells me that this is not her real name. She might have some connections. She gave me her card. I am wondering if when you get to the station if you and Powell, or Inness can try to run something on this number."
"Okay, give me the number and I will see what I can do," Chris said. Jack read the number to Chris.
"Hey, something you need to know," Chris said. "I hear Hennessey is going to try to get the GAC Unit to hunt you down. You better watch your back out there."
"You don't have to tell me, besides I got nothing to lose," Jack said.
"Don't say that, I'm still your boy, and like my old man says, you got to have faith," Chris said. "I may not be as into religion as my old man, but in this case he's right."
"Thanks, Chris, that means a lot," Jack said. "Please get that information to me soon."
"I will, later, bro," Chris said.
It was only the morning. Jack had to keep a low profile, but he remembered that he had this cell phone on him. The flip-phone had text messaging on it. It appeared that Silt had received some messages from The Sandman, as well as Gofer, calling for meetings at either the docks or even at Sawyer Greens Driving Range. Jack couldn't wait until later to search, but he had to prepare himself for what was to come.
Author's note: And that was it. This isn't the last we'll see of Ruby, by the way. I will touch more on her soon. Regarding her age, I am writing her to be younger than Jack by a bit of a gap. In the original game, it was implied that Jack and Hildy are around the same age range, like late-20s, so I'm writing them to be in the range of 27-29, but here I am writing them as either 28 or 29, whereas with Ruby, she's around 22-23. Keep this in mind that there is a seven-month gap in between. Also, with this story being set in the early-2000s, texting was in its infancy during that time.
As for Eve, well, the part about Jack questioning her name was also in the original game. Not to say that Asian people couldn't have surnames like that, but even a name like that didn't really feel like it was her real name. Hence, why I mentioned her brother's name being Danny Yang. Her brother's murder was an angle for her character in the original game, but the difference was that she didn't know who it was who killed him. Here, she either knows or has a good idea who did it. I will also reveal her real name at some point.
Also, Eve's hideout is also another reference to Max Payne 2 as it was similar to Mona's hideout as she was staying in a funhouse. As for her killing Silt, while that happened in the original game, it was too sudden and I wanted to give Silt some more characterization.
I will do more soon.