Chapter Eight:

Evil Unmasked

The racing Stadium was busy this particular morning, due to the amateur races that were taking place over the next few days. Jak and Erin, dressed as normal citizens, approached the garage section of the Stadium. Many people traversed the area, going from the Garage to the stadium seats and back again. They both had to act quickly as not to draw attention.

They followed the crime rings instructions exactly. Erin reached the third trash can and waited for Jak to signal to her that the coast was clear. Once Jak gave her the sign, Erin quickly removed the lid from the trash can and ripped off the note that was taped inside. It was there, just like the man had said.

Erin gave Jak the thumbs up to let him know it was there, and they headed slowly out into the crowded entryway of the Stadium. Once she was sure no one was close enough to read over her shoulder, Erin unfolded the note. Inside was a short message. If she hadn't known it's origin, she may have thought it harmless.

"Bring me that lost KG helmet."

There was nothing else. If someone off the street had found it, it wouldn't have been insidious. If a Krimson Guard had found it they would have thought it was a note from a commander that had been discarded, harmless. Jak and Erin knew differently. The crime boss wanted them to kill a KG and bring his helmet as proof. Perhaps he would use it as blackmail. If they killed a Guard, the crime leader would have the perfect key to keep them on his side. If they dared to betray him, he would have the evidence he needed to get them thrown into prison with him.

Jak and Erin looked at each other, as if in conversation.

"Torn, can you hear me?" Erin asked as if speaking to Jak.

"Affirmative," Torn's voice answered through her earpiece.

"They want us to kill a Guard, and bring proof," Jak spoke as if answering Erin. To anyone passing by out of ear-shot they could have been discussing the races.

Torn was silent for many minutes, obviously coming up with a plan.

"Go to the remaining Slums, I'll have a Guard meet you there," Torn commanded, then the line went off.

Both Jak and Erin turned from the Stadium, they made a point to look at the Guards, as if trying to find the perfect target. Neither of them knew if the crime boss was having them followed, so they acted as they would if they were truly planning to jump a KG.

Jak led the way to the newly constructed section of town. They passed the crowded streets and headed to the small part of the city that still needed reconstructed. They walked through many blocks of the new buildings until they reached the place where the streets turned dirty and the buildings turned rotten. There was only a few blocks of the old, tired city remaining, and most people avoided it because it brought up painful memories.

"Halt," a voice said. "This area is dangerous, no citizens allowed."

Both Jak and Erin turned to watch a fully masked and armed Krimson Guard march forward. He quickly caught up with them and pulled up his mask. "Hello again."

Erin recognized Cass, the man who had been hitting on her back at base when she first arrived. Jak recognized him too, Erin could tell by the scowl on his face.

"You're the Guard we're supposed to jump?" Jak asked. Translation, what the hell are you doing here?

"I volunteered," Cass gave a cocky grin and turned to Erin. "I couldn't pass up the chance to help out our newest recruit."

Suddenly Jak was overeager to get to the jumping part.

"What's the plan?" Erin asked, hoping to divert Cass from seeing Jak's look of hatred.

"Right to business, huh? I admire that in a woman," even Erin couldn't ignore the completely male look he gave her. Erin was in such a state of shock that she didn't even feel when he grabbed her hand and pressed it lightly to his lips. Erin snapped her hand out of his as if it burned.

"Alright, my lady, the plan," Cass continued, seemingly oblivious to the look of rage on Jak's face and Erin's discomfort, "is you two jump me, we pull a few fake-punches to satisfy anyone who could be following, then you take my helmet, covered in fake blood, to this crime leader. A troop of KG's will be here in a few minutes to find my 'dead' body and call up the alarm, to be as realistic as possible."

"Let's get started," Jak said through gritted teeth, and without waiting for his agreement, Jak jumped forward and pushed his morph-gun across his throat and pushed Cass against the nearest, crumbling building. Jak pushed a little harder than he had to, not too hard, but just enough to get his point across. Stay away from her.

Cass seemed to get the message, judging from the wide-eyed look and his gasp of surprise. Jak released some of the pressure on Cass's neck to be sure he could breathe, and watched as the man faked that he was loosing consciousness. Cass gasped and coughed realistically, as if he was truly dying of a lack of oxygen. Jak had to give him some credit, he was a good actor. Perhaps that's why women flocked to him, he pretended he was a nice guy, when he was really a womanizer.

Cass went limp and slid along the building and fell to the floor. Both Jak and Erin looked around frantically, as if terrified that someone would come along and witness them. Jak kneeled down and removed his helmet, which had been covered in fake-blood on the inside. Cass gave a wink as Jak stood up. The plan was in motion.

The duo quickly left the filthy alley and headed south in the city. They had to act as if they had really committed a murder, and after a murder a smart person would find a place to hide until it was safe and the Guards had given up their search. After many minutes of quick walking, they reached the Bazaar. Erin and Jak separated. Jak found a dark corner to hide in and Erin went to buy something they could hide the helmet in. It only took a few minutes to return with a bag. Jak quickly stashed the 'bloody' helmet into the folds of the bag.

Once the incriminating evidence was hidden, Jak and Erin found a crowded area to hide in as the KG went into red alert, trying to make the hoax realistic in every way. They both lost themselves in the crowd, but made sure to keep sight of each other.

Jak could tell the instant that the red alert started. In a matter of moments he noticed the Krimson Guard patrols march quickly to and fro searching for the culprits of the 'murder.' Jak knew that it was broadcast as a drill, but to anyone looking for the signs, such as the crime boss, it would seem like the real thing.

It took about fifteen minutes for the alarm to calm down. Jak and Erin met up again after the many Guards cleared the area. The hard part of the plan was over. They had the helmet, and with the fake blood matted on it, it looked like they had to beat the guy to death. All they had to do was present it to the criminals to be fully accepted as trustworthy.

They both took their time in reaching the old Hip Hog. If they showed up too soon it would look obvious that it was a set up. They had to act cautious to a fault and show up in a reasonable amount of time. If anything looked even slightly suspicious they might just kill them, just in case.

The smell of sea water hit them like a wall as they entered the Port. The bar once called the Hip Hog was on the other end of the "U" shaped bay area. Jak paused.

"Is something wrong?" Erin asked.

"Are you sure you're ready to go in there?" Jak asked, worry evident on his face.

Erin nodded.

Jak sighed, "We're going to have to be very careful from now on. When they accept us, we probably shouldn't leave too much or they'll get suspicious. Our duties as Krimson Guards will be downsized as we try and learn the identity of who's running the show, and we must be careful of everything we say."

Erin smiled, "We'll be fine."

Jak smiled back, but something inside him told him that the hard part of their mission was just beginning. Part of him didn't even want to enter the old bar…

"Come on," Erin prodded quietly. She was also aware of the urgency of the situation. They walked side by side down the sparsely populated street. The overwhelming smell of salt also had a stench of decay and rot in the air. Most people avoided this part of town as well. This end of town went to hell while Ashelin was busy rebuilding the rest of the city.

Jak had never really liked the Port. When he had worked for Krew back before the death of Praxis he had hated the mingling smell of salt and filth. It reminded him of the smell of Mar's tomb when he was holding Erin, bleeding, in his arms.

Erin had never liked the Port either. Perhaps because of how dirty it always was. No matter how much money someone would throw into cleaning the place, the wind would just blow in more sand and other irritants from the sea.

Once they reached the door to the bar, they hesitated for a moment, gathering their wits. They couldn't let anything slip, or they were toast. The door soared upward out of their way as they took the final step forward. Inside, the sour sent of cigars and alcohol filled their lungs. Erin was wondering why the guard wasn't posted at the door this time.

They had just walked in the door when the slimy character who had confronted them last time met them. "You complete the mission?"

Jak tossed the bag containing the KG helmet at the man's feet.

The man smirked as he crouched down to retrieve it. With quick hands he pulled loose the tie holding it together and the helmet fell onto the floor. "Nice work." He commented as he retrieved that as well. The snake-like man rolled the red and dark gray helmet in his hands.

Abruptly he turned from Jak and Erin and spoke into a communicator strapped to his wrist. Jak strained, trying to catch what the man said.

"Yes, Boss, they're here. I have the proof in my hands that they finished the mission."

There was silence as a reply spoke into the man's ear through his earpiece, "Are you sure, Boss?"

Again the room went quiet as the "Boss" replied into the man's earpiece.

The snake-like man turned back to Jak and Erin. "The Boss would like to meet you."

Jak got a slight sense of foreboding. When they had both joined the Underground it took many missions to prove their worth before the young Samos would meet with them. Why would this guy be so eager to meet them? Was he that confident in his position? Whatever it was, Jak was sure he wouldn't like the answer.

"He's coming down," the man continued. Many of the men in the corners of the bar perked up, making it look like they were actually doing something. Many of them gathered around the bar counter, where Erin and Jak were standing. It was obvious that the Boss was coming from the back of the establishment. Erin and Jak exchanged glances, what was going on? Something didn't feel right.

It took several minutes before the back door to the back opened. Every person in the place grew silent as the man entered the bar. Jak gathered from the looks of the men in the bar that this was the man running the show. Both Jak and Erin tried to gather anything they could from his appearance, they knew that Torn would want a full description of the man.

He was just a bit taller than Jak, but was quite a bit older, judging from the many scars on the small amount of skin that they could see. Jak noticed one particular scar across his neck, as if someone had tried to slit his throat. There were also many thin, long scars up the man's arms. The man himself wasn't very impressive. He hardly had any shoulders, and he was slightly overweight in the midsection. He wore a helmet over his head that covered up any hair he may have had, along with his ears. One thing Jak did notice was the man wore sunglasses, even in the dark bar, as if he was trying to be mysterious.

But the first words the man spoke chilled Jak to the core. "Long time no see, Jak."

Jak instantly went for the morph-gun strapped to his back, but before he could even reach the grip every gun in the place was pointed at him and Erin. Even the Boss seemed to have an interest in pointing a small blaster pistol into Jak's chest.

As Jak raised his hands away from his morph-gun, two men came up behind him and Erin and relieved them of their weapons. Jak cursed himself, the entire thing had been a set up from the beginning! He had felt something was wrong but had ignored his instincts. His mistake may have just cost them both their lives…

Once they were weaponless, everyone else put their weapons away. "Now that we're sure you're not going to crash the party," the Boss commented as he put his own weapon away, "Let's get down to business."

It was at that moment that Jak realized that he was trying to disguise his voice. He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if hiding an accent. Jak tried to pinpoint the vague familiarity about the man, but couldn't grasp it. This man knew him, but Jak couldn't figure out how.

"I have a mission for you," the man mocked as if it was optional. He had them weaponless and knew who Jak was, at least, and he was acting like he was asking nicely for a favor. Jak hoped that he didn't know who Erin was, maybe he could get her out of danger.

"I'll do whatever you need, but let the girl go, she has nothing to do with this," Jak replied. He spoke of Erin like she was just following his orders, not a connection to Jak at all, all in the hopes of getting her out of this mess.

The Boss man laughed, and again Jak tried to place why it seemed familiar. "Erin's as much a part of this as you are, Jak."

Jak's heart plummeted, the man knew who Erin was as well. Jak was going to have to think of a plan fast…

"Have you still not recognized me, Jak?" Again the man known only as the Boss laughed. "It's amazing what a little plastic surgery can do."

Both Erin and Jak held their breaths as the man reached up for his sunglasses. Slowly he pulled them off of the bridge of his nose. "'ow about now, eh?" His voice dropped into a drawl.

Behind the sunglasses his eyes were stark and recognizable. His left eye was a normal brown, but his right was a cold, milky white and obviously blind. Jak's heart lurched, realizing just how much trouble they were in.

Jak spat one word through his clenched teeth. "Krew!"

Erin gaped, "But you're supposed to be dead."

"I might say the same to you two," Krew said, returning to hiding his drawl. "You were supposed to die when Kor attacked you," he pointed at Erin. "And you were supposed to die in a little accident over the wasteland," he pointed at Jak.

"You're the one who shot down my Hellcat over the desert," Jak thought aloud, "and you've been attacking the KG officers."

"Very good, my boy," Krew laughed.

"What do you know of Kor?" Erin asked, her voice hateful.

"I know plenty. Me and the Metal Head were in business together. I provided weapons to the smarter Metal Heads in his army, and he thanked me with generous contributions."

Erin recalled how most of the Metal Heads that didn't walk on all fours had weapons, she had assumed that they gathered them from the Krimson Guards they had killed.

"How could you betray the city like that?" Erin snarled.

In his anger Krew forgot to mask his drawl. "What has this city done for me, eh?!"

Krew quickly regained his composure, his face returning to the mocking smile he had been using before.

"How did you manage to escape the Prison?" Jak asked, trying to buy more time to think of a plan.

"Any person can be bought, for the right price," Krew snarled. "After you testified against me in the trial, I was thrown into that dirt hole of a prison. After some time, a man came to me with a generous offer. I took it and he paid off the guard on shift to say that I had died, and I slipped off into the night."

Jak's mind raced, still trying to buy more time. "What about a body?"

"The guard simply said that since a man of my stature couldn't fit in the morgue, he just dumped my body in the furnace. Clean without any sticky evidence to say the contrary. But of course that meant I had to change my look, dead men cannot just be walking the streets, you know."

"So you got plastic surgery?" Jak still was trying to buy time. Jak didn't say extensive plastic surgery like he wanted to because angering Krew wasn't going to help them get out of there.

"Yeah," Krew snarled, "and what a pain that it, literally."

Jak didn't bother to ask why Krew had come to him for his dirty work. It was obviously for revenge, Jak had helped throw him in prison, after all.

"Now that I got you here, I have a little…favor to ask," Krew snarled dangerously.

"Never!" Both Jak and Erin yelled in unison.

"Now, now," he said as he pulled out his pistol and started twirling it, "we wouldn't want any more accidents to claim the lives of more Krimson Guard officers, would we?"

When Jak and Erin remained silent Krew continued. "I didn't think so. What I need from you, Jak, is access into the catacombs deep within the core of the planet."

Jak remembered hearing about the catacombs from Seem and that stranger in the Precursor Temple. Are these things connected? Jak thought. "And what if they don't exist?"

Krew snorted, "Then my employer would be very disappointed. He's certain they exist, but I need you to find them for me."

Jak had managed to get more information. Krew was the one doing the dirty work, but someone else was calling the shots. It was one person, and a man, considering Krew had said his employer was a 'he.' Perhaps it would help narrow down their search. That's when Jak realized that Krew had said it was his job. "What about Erin?" Jak asked, dreading to hear the answer.

"Her job is simple, her mission is to make sure you complete yours." Krew's face broke out into an evil smile, "Her life depends on it."

Erin yelped and Jak turned quickly to help her. With quick movements Jak dispatched one of the two guards who grabbed her. Krew stepped forward and aimed his pistol. Jak was about to kill the bastard when he realized he hadn't been pointing it at him. Jak stopped dead in his tracks.

"See how much more obedient you are when she's in danger?" Krew laughed as he stepped closer to Erin and jammed the pistol into her temple. Erin flinched but refused to yelp. Jak could tell by the set of her jaw that she was scared, and he wanted nothing more to transform into his darker self and rip Krew limb from limb.

"Bring me the information I need and I'll return her to you, but not a moment before," Krew's smile was genuine now. He had the upper hand and he knew it. Jak couldn't say anything, he didn't have anything to say.

With a flick of his wrist, Krew ordered the men to grab Erin and take her away. One guard grabbed each of her arms at the forearm and the elbow. Erin struggled but the burly men were much bigger than her. Jak felt like his heart was being wrenched in two. He took a step forward, wishing he could help. Krew placed his hand on Jak's chest, forbidding him from stepping closer to her. The guards holding Erin stopped for a moment, listening to what Jak had to say.

"You better not lay a finger on her," Jak's voice was low and feral.

Krew just laughed again. "I wouldn't dream of hurting the only thing that keeps you working for me." Suddenly Krew's voice lost the fake-pleasantness. "Don't get any funny ideas. You tell one soul what's going on and your girlfriend will return to you missing a finger or two. Get me?" Krew snarled the last words.

Jak took a painful pause, he had no way out. "I get you," Jak answered, beaten.

"Good," Krew seemed very pleased with himself. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of her until you get us the information."

With another wave of his hand, Krew ordered his men to drag Erin away, and for the second time in his life, Jak couldn't stop them from taking Erin away from him. Jak caught her eye just before she was dragged into the back room. She looked terrified and her eyes had been slightly glossy. Jak tried to look strong for her, trying to silently say that he would get her out of there. When Erin disapeared, Jak tried hard to keep his knees from buckling. He had just found her again, and now someone else was taking her from him.

Jak turned his gaze to Krew. Jak had hated Kor with such intensity, he never imagined he could hate someone more. He had found someone he hated even more, and Jak swore he would make Krew pay. Somehow he would find a way to get Erin out of his clutches and make him pay.

Krew's smile was still on his face. "One more thing before you go, don't forget we are watching you." Krew's gaze shifted to somewhere behind Jak. Jak followed Krew's eyes and was met with a figure in the shadows.

The man was tall and wearing the Krimson Guard uniform. Jak took in his face and found another person to hate. "Cass," Jak said under his breath.

Cass took a step forward. His smile was no longer nice, it had a harshness to it that Jak had never seen before. "What can I say?" He laughed sardonically. "I liked the freedom that Praxis gave to those under his command."

"So you betrayed Krimson Guard officers?" Something clicked in Jak's head, "You led them into traps, didn't you?" Jak spat at the man, sick of taking this lying down. Jak hated it even more that he seemed unaffected by his barbs. "What, is this some pathetic attempt to rise into the higher ranks of the KG?"

"This is about more than rank," he answered, "this is about profit."

"So tell me," Jak snarled, "how much did you get paid to slip the poison into Ashelin's drink?"

That last one seemed to crack the evil mask Cass had been hiding behind. Jak hadn't known for sure if he had been behind it, but by the look on his face Jak could tell it had been him. Cass regained his composure quickly, but didn't answer the question.

"Do your job," Krew continued, cutting off the silence, "and if anything happens to jeopardize Cass or I, you may find that Erin is a corpse when she's returned to you."

Jak thought he was going to be sick. All he could do was nod. He turned away from Krew and Cass and headed out of the old bar. His mind reeled from everything he had learned. He wished that they had never entered that damned bar. Jak was clenching his fists so hard he was sure they were bleeding.

Behind him, Jak could hear the sound of Cass's boots. No doubt from this point on he would be following him everywhere, keeping a very close eye on him. Jak clenched his fists even harder. It was going to take all his strength not to kill the man. Jak hated Erol with such intensity, but at least he didn't hide his nature. Cass had been hiding behind a mask, which made Jak hate him so much more. Wisely, Cass didn't say a word to Jak. Otherwise Jak was sure he would skin the snake alive.

Jak knew he must have looked like a mad man when he entered the Krimson Guard headquarters. Torn seemed to have been waiting for them to return. "What happened, why didn't you contact me?"

Jak quickly thought of an excuse. "After we met up with the crime ring, we spilt up and said we would meet at the Stadium. She didn't show up," Jak lied, letting some of the worry go into his voice.

Torn turned somber, "I'll alert all who are on duty." Torn quickly returned to his office to send out the warning over the radio.

Jak turned to leave HQ. If he was absent everyone would think he was out searching for Erin, but they didn't know what had really happened. Jak didn't think that Krew would keep his word and return Erin if he got him the information, but he was being watched. He had to at least pretend he was trying to get what Krew needed.

Jak stepped out into the street, Cass followed, shadowing him.

Author's Notes: Well, I hope it wasn't painfully obvious who the bad guy was, or who the spy was... Krew plays a more pivitol evil role in my story! I also created a man you can hate more than Erol, Cass! Well, as I always say during this time... review!