Beneath The Shadows
Chapter 11
The restaurant was practically empty. Not too many people went out anymore. Morrison sat at the bar, waiting for his arrival. The phone call didn't particularly shock him; he figured his discontent would eventually get the better of him, though he did wonder why now.
Regardless, he hoped some sort of resolution might come of it. A rogue cop was apparently in the equation as well. A pragmatist, Morrison felt that if the three sides could come to an accord, the demons could be disposed of. That's the only reason he even agreed to this meeting in the first place. Still, something felt eerie.
He knew it was him when he sat down next to him. That particular stench of smoke exclusive to Ricky himself was too strong to not recognize.
"Morrison," He greeted.
"Hi, Rick."
"How've you been?"
"What do you care?" Morrison wouldn't look at him.
Ricky tried to ignore the awkwardness.
"… You want a drink?"
"Just get to the point. What do you have?"
"Chance."
Morrison rolled his eyes.
"Aw, finally figure out that you fucked up?"
"You can say that…"
Morrison looked at him.
"It's like he's planning some fuckin endgame or something. I don't know, man, I just don't like it."
"Took you this long to figure that out?"
"Not until recently. He took out a smoke. "Some of the shit he wants me to do anymore... It's starting to-"
"So really you're just tired of being his bitch."
Ricky sighed.
"To be frank, yes."
"Then say it. Don't stammer around like a fuckin idiot and waste my time."
"Hey, Morrison," Ricky took a sharper tone. "You wanna sit here and piss and moan, I'll leave, and you can help yourself. I joined up with Chance because it was either that or death, so you, and everyone else for that matter, can get the fuck over it."
"Did I say anything about Chance?" Which really translated to, "Someone feels guilty."
Ricky didn't respond. Rather, he couldn't.
"Now what's this brilliant plan you have?"
"To end this shit between Chance and the cops so we can focus our efforts on the demons."
Morrison smirked and shook his head.
"And how the hell do you plan on doing that? Gonna' write 'em up a treaty?"
"I'm going to kill Chance." He almost whispered.
Morrison paused, and took a long draw on his cigarette.
"Well, keep going." He said.
"Can't tell you more here. Who knows where Chance has guys placed at any given time."
"So…"
"Meet me on top of the parking garage overlooking the Alriolto Building in three hours. The cop'll be there, too."
Ricky got up to leave.
"Damn that's it?"
"You told me not to stammer around." Ricky rebuked, and left.
Morrison stayed seated, and ordered a drink.
The huntress readied her equipment in her room, getting ready for the night watch. Her mind, which used to be mostly blank before going out on missions as to focus, was now filled with thoughts of Dante and Vergil. She didn't want to think of the possible outcome should they face each other. She wasn't there when they fought each other on Mallet, nor was she aware of the implications of the fallout from everything that happened there.
Her train of thought escaped her when the groan of the wooden stairs split the silence of the apartment. She went out into the hallway, and saw that the elder twin had just entered his room.
She stood there for a moment, wanting to speak with him. There were certain things she needed to tell him about he and Dante, and she wanted to do it sooner rather than later. She just couldn't decide how to approach him.
"How long do you intend on standing there?" He decided for her.
The huntress rebuked by entering the dim room."
"Funny, I can't seem to remember the last time you came to me for a chat."
"That's because it never happened, and it never will again."
"Should make for an interesting conversation."
He turned to face her.
"To what do I owe the honor, miss Lady?"
"Look, I'm –"
"Or should I call you Mary?"
No sooner did his words end than her gun was in her hand.
"Don't call me that."
He grinned.
"Does he bother you that much?"
"Not anymore."
"No?" He turned around. "Your own eyes are a constant reminder of what he did to you… your mother…"
The huntress felt her rage rising.
"Then again, it must be nice to see your father every time you look in the mirror."
"I'd rather stare at a steaming pile of shit for a day straight." She surprised herself with her response; how composed she was.
"I haven't seen my father in a long time." He mockingly compared, ignoring her statement.
"Look, I'm here to tell you one thing." Her tone forced the half devil to turn. "Whatever your plans are with Dante, forget them. You go after him, you're dealing with me."
Vergil broke out in laughter.
"And what makes you think that you would so much as survive for ten seconds if you faced me?" He approached her. "You're nothing but another lowly human."
Lady smirked.
"I think you know that's not true." She glared at him. "And who says I have to face you to defeat you?"
Although Vergil was somewhat stumped from her words, it didn't matter.
"You seem so sure of my intentions."
"That's because I am."
He grinned in response.
"And even if I weren't here to stop you, it wouldn't matter."
"No?" He rebuked, genuinely intrigued.
"No matter how powerful you think you are, you'll never defeat him. He's not you."
"Isn't he?"
"No. Unlike you, he's embraced his humanity."
"So… he was embracing his humanity the night he slaughtered those people?"
"As a matter of fact, he was. I've realized that there are certain demons in this world that I would kill certain humans for any day."
"… Then you finally understand." His words left Lady confused as he approached her. "I can see now why he's so attracted to you."
The distance between the two closed, his presence now making her a bit uneasy.
"More courage than most of the other pathetic humans out there…"
Lady's attraction to Dante made it difficult for her to ignore the elder twin's advances. All of the physical qualities were shared, the same type of presence… she couldn't deny the familiar feelings that were burning in her gut.
And he knew it.
"And I see now what else he sees in you…"
"Back off." She demanded.
"And whatever you see in him, you must see in me."
She looked up into his eyes.
He closed the distance even further. She lowered her gun.
"So, what is it?"
He seductively whispered.
He moved in, his lips nearing hers.
She didn't budge, her eyes slowly starting to close as he drew closer.
"We really aren't so different, he and I…"
He went in, ready to taste her…
However, he instead felt the cold barrel of her gun on his throat.
"You're wrong…" She whispered. "What I see in him, you don't have…" Her lips went to his ear. "… And you never will."
Vergil was almost turned on by her sly cunning. "Such a devilish trick," he thought to himself.
"You're right." He reassured her, walking away after. "Oh, and…" He stopped at the door. "… For the record, I do intend to face him…" He exited with an evil smirk.
A perplexed Lady stood there, trying to analyze what this little encounter meant. But unfortunately, time to idle and think was a luxury she wasn't currently afforded. She left to begin her nightly rounds.
Dante and Trish walked along the streets, finishing off any surviving demons from their hunt. It was a sad commentary on how life was now. They mundanely walked up and down the road, shooting anything that was still moving. But it was the setting that was truly depressing. Nobody was in sight. The buildings were abandoned and falling apart. It looked more like a ghost town with each passing day. With all the death, it almost was. Anyone with sense got as far away from the city as possible, while those who insisted on staying their ground usually wound up paying the piper.
"How much longer do you think we'll have to do this?" Trish jokingly asked.
"Hell, we've been doing it for how long already." Dante laughed.
"Good point. It just wasn't so damn constant a year ago."
"Tell me about it."
They finished off the rest and headed back to the apartment, the musty air filling their lungs.
"Anything about this all seem strange to you?" She asked.
"Of course." He replied. "But fuck me if I have a clue."
"Well maybe apply some critical thought to it?" She snapped.
"There's about half a dozen different variables in this equation, and I prefer to let them play themselves out."
"That's because you're lazy."
"I save my energy for the important shit."
"Like your brother?"
He paused.
"Yeah. See, that's usually how that plays out."
"What are you gonna' do?"
He looked at her.
"Oh, I'm gonna' call a shrink, schedule a 2:30 for me and Verg, sort everything out for a couple grand so we can have a heartwarming-"
"Dante."
"Well, Christ, what do you think I'm gonna' do? You really don't know?"
Trish stopped.
"… What?" Dante asked.
"You're really that callous about it? About your own blood?"
"What else should I be?" He insisted. "He hasn't changed, Trish."
"I know. But…"
"… But what?"
She hesitated, but ultimately asked.
"What if he isn't-"
He stepped towards her.
"He is."
She realized he didn't even want it discussed, and she abandoned the conversation quickly. It wasn't something she particularly wanted to think about, either.
"I'm gonna stay out for a little while longer." She said.
"Come on, Trish."
"No, Dante, I'll be fine. Just go back and get some rest. I'll be back later."
Dante didn't want to leave her out here alone, but he knew she could take care of herself.
"Be careful."
"I always am." She put on her shades as the moon ascended into the night sky.
She flipped up onto the rooftops, and Dante started back.
However, his thoughts were now riddled with what she said. He could hear it…
Ricky waited impatiently atop the parking garage, chain smoking as he looked over the ledge. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes. The rain didn't make it any more enjoyable, though.
"Ricky," He heard a voice that was accompanied by a shadowy figure.
Ricky flicked his smoke, recognizing the voice. He had met with the chief's top sergeant, the rogue cop in the equation, earlier. He knew through Biker's undercover work that the sergeant was unhappy with how the PD was running things, and reached out to him specifically.
He then looked to see Morrison's car coming to the top level.
"Well, looks like we're all here for your important meeting." He said as he got out. "So this is the cop?"
"Actually," the man began. "I'm a cop undercover."
"So an undercover cop?" Ricky asked.
"No." The man laughed. "I've been undercover as a cop."
It was the police chief's top sergeant, or so the chief thought.
"So what are you, from the velvet underground or something?" Morrison asked.
"I'm a fed."
The other two paused.
"You're fuckin FBI?" Morrison blurted.
"Well this is something new." Ricky added, taken by surprise.
"It's a good thing you got ahold of me when you did."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Morrison asked.
The fed pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Morrison.
"I've been in there for almost a year now. My job was to initially to uncover any unethical practices the department was committing. We had reports of corruption, displacement of evidence, bunch of nickel-and-dime crooked cop shit. But the things I've found out over the last seven months or so…"
"What?" Morrison asked.
"I'd tell you, but it's more believable if you read it."
"What is that?" Ricky asked.
"The 302 for the case."
Morrison began looking it over. It was all there, the answer to everything that had been going on. All in the conversations and interviews. Morrison could hardly believe it.
"You have to look at this."
He handed Ricky the paper after a few minutes.
Ricky began going over it.
"Jesus," He said, somewhat unsurprised.
"Why the hell haven't you people done anything yet?"
"Believe me, we're finalizing the indictments now. These fuckers are going down. All of them."
"That's very good work, agent." Ricky said, putting the 302 in his coat pocket.
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
Ricky's hand resurfaced, but with something other than the 302.
Morrison's heart leaped as Ricky planted one right between the agent's eyes, dropping him where he stood.
"Jesus Christ!" Morrison yelled as Ricky focused the gun on him. "Ricky, what the fuck are you doing?"
"My job." He calmly replied.
"You son of a bitch." It dawned on Morrison that it was a setup.
"Don't take it personally," Ricky began. "Given that you really didn't know anything, I wasn't gonna' kill you… but you just had to read that 302."
"… You knew?"
"Of course." He smiled. "Chance just needed to know what Dante and the cops knew."
"So why don't you just let them come out with it? Sink them all just like Chance wants."
"Well, that's not exactly what he wants…" Morrison gave him a puzzled look. "Morrison, you have no idea how deep this goes." He raised the gun.
"So what do you think?" Morrison glared at him. "He's gonna' be your salvation? You think he's gonna' save you?"
Ricky didn't answer.
"Wake up, Ricky. You're just another means to an end."
"No… you are." He pulled the trigger, dropping Morrison next to fed.
He stood there for a few minutes, seeing if he felt any guilt about what he had done. Nothing came to his senses, though. He just felt empty.
Trish moved back towards the apartment. She hadn't seen any more demons in her time out. It was still strange, the amount of demons, or lack there of, that had been surfacing. It had only been a week since it had died down, but she felt that it meant the culmination of something else. And just then, her feelings began to become confirmed.
A horde of flyers was just above her, and without letting them know that she aware of it, she continued down the street until there was a better opening above. As soon as she was out of the alley, she sent a blast of lightning up, striking down the demons, and forcing the others to reveal themselves. She was soon surrounded by demons, and had no option other than to continue to attack. She maneuver around them because there were simply too many. Instead, she rotated and pivoted on her, feet, spinning a nova of lightning that was fending them off. However, despite her best efforts, the circle of demons only got tighter. More gliders were above to prevent her from an exit leap.
"Fuck." She thought. "Should have just went back with Dante.
Then, a flash went through half of the demons, cutting them all in half, while the remaining flyers fell to the ground.
She thought to herself, "Speak of the devil." Which was true, but not the devil she thought.
After the rest of the demons had been disposed of, she stood face to face with Vergil.
"Well, I guess I should be glad you finally decided to do your rounds."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Without warning, Yamato was thrust into her abdomen. She couldn't tell what she felt more; the pain, or the shock. Exhausted from the day of hunting, she couldn't even muster an attempt to escape, not that her efforts would have been successful anyway. Vergil moved towards her, pushing the blade in further until he was right in front of her. His hand went to her neck, feeling around for a few moments until he found what he wanted. Trish breathed heavily, her sight starting to dissipate, the pool of blood at her ankles now rather large.
He stared right into her eyes as he ripped it from her neck, showing no remorse or pity. He tucked it away, and withdrew Yamato for a final slash across his victim. She fell to the ground. The elder twin grinned, and moved back down the street.
Alright alright alriiiiiiiiiight. This chapter turned into more of a mix between my last chapter and the next chapter I have lined up. Not as much action as I probably led on, but there was a bit more suspense I wanted to toss on. Next chapter is going to be the biggest chapter in the story so far, will answer a lot of questions, and, I promise, will bring back the real action. However, it is far from over...
"Randy, you better fuckin go on with yer perm coupon, you know'm saying, Gut Cassidy and the Sundance Cheeseburger.
