Jake didn't have the most pleasant sleep.
Since he didn't have a room on the ship, he slept behind some cargo boxes on the deck, so he wouldn't be found by the guards. He peeked over the edge of the crate, and found no one in sight.
He got out and stretched, cracking his back as he did so. "Man, pray I never go through that again." He mumbled to himself. He looked into the horizon, towards the sun. "Hm. Should lay low until the other passengers are up. Easier to blend in." Then he heard footsteps behind him.
"Freeze! Stop right there!" Ordered a guard of the ship, pointing at him. Jake raised his arms up slightly, lowering his head so his hat covered his face. "What's your name?" Asked the guard, pulling out a checklist. Jake only opened his mouth slightly before charging the guard with the help of his semblance.
Time seemed to slow down, the guards face slowly turning into one of shock. Jake clapped him in the ears as he slowed down, stunning him. He then grabbed the back of the guards head and smashed his knee into the guards face, making him fall to the floor limply.
"Aw crap." Thought Jake. "Got a body to take care of. He thought about dumping him overboard, but he didn't need a missing persons case, so he decided to tie him up and gag him. He placed the guard where he stayed, hiding him from plain sight. He checked the guards pockets, and found a wallet and a keycard.
He looked into the wallet, and found about a hundred lien in it, so he pocketed it. He also found a I.D. "Chris King. Age 29, born in vale." He threw the I.D. away, for it had no use to him, and threw the wallet onto the guard. He examined the key card. "Special clearance." He read with a grin. Then the over speakers of the ship turned on.
"Arriving in vale in one hour." Now being cut short on time, laying low was not an option, especially with the key card. He grabbed his backpack and duffel bag, and looked over the side of the ship and saw that two more guards were coming up. He quickly then moved down the other side of the ship, avoiding the two.
He peeked through the window of a door before entering, finding himself in a large hallway, a couple of windowless doors on either side. "Alright. Eenie, meenie, miney...moe." He pick a door on the far right and used the keycard to enter.
When he entered, he found himself in some sort of armory. "Well shit. They going to war?" The wall were lined with an assortment of firearms and blades. He walked up and down the room, examining them, before a pair of blades caught his eyes.
They were a peculiar set of blades. Both were horrid, not in condition or style, but that they looked terrifying. The handles were dark black, grooves for hands formed into them for better grip. There was no guard between the blade and the handle, which was both odd yet understandable, considering the blade.
The blade itself was pure white, with red designs on it, which reminded him of a grimms markings. The blades gradually got bigger as they moved from the base of the blade to the point, where they also curved inwards slightly. They had hooks jutting out of the dull end, so it ripped as well slashed.
He picked them up, feeling the weight. "Nicely balanced." He thought, starting to like the blades. He found the sheaths of the blades and strapped them on. They were on the middle of his back facing outwards, for easy access to the blades. He sheathed them, and found that they were concealed pretty well in his coat.
After leaving the room, he entered the one on the other side of the one he exited.
It was also an armory, but more emphasis on the armor. Different styles and types of armour lined the wall on either a manikin, or hung on the wall. He examined them, like he was checking out new shirts and pants at the store. He then found a set of armor he seemed to like.
It was a strong but flexible piece of black and red fabric unknown to him, in the form of shoulder guards that fitted nicely on him, as well did the greaves and gauntlets that came with it, both folded over each other, keeping their flexibility as well maneuverability. He fitted them on underneath his jacket and pants, which didn't reveal the armour that much at all, since the pants were baggy to begin with. Making sure that everything was seemingly untouched.
He left the room and looked into the next one, and froze at what he saw. The room had an assortment of mechanicals parts lined up, with a construction table ment for machinery. He closed the door, swearing to come back there with his ride.
He entered the last door, and grinned from ear to ear. "Oh baby, this is it." The room had locked cubby doors covering the walls, names on the ones Using the cubbies on the onesie use. But that's not what caught his attention. What caught his attention was the safe embedded Into the wall on the other side of the room. He took a step before stopping.
"This is too easy." He thought. Alarms could set off. Then he realized that maybe they already did, but they were silenced ones, to alert whoever this ship was being piloted by. "What IS this ship anyways?" He thought to himself. The place had weapons, armor, and cash. Come to think of it, the passengers seemed to be like they've seen battle, and no children in sight.
He heard footsteps coming from behind the door, a voice accompanying it. "What's with these doors being unlocked?" Jake opened the door slightly, just enough to see into the hall. A man, who looked like he was part of the Atlas military, stood In front a now open door, which led to the weapons, with a scowl on his face.
"Hmm. He seems like a fighter." Thought Jake, taking off his backpack and duffel bag. He pulled out one of the blades and spun it in his hands, so the point faced away from him. Slowly opened the door and made his way to the man. The floorboards under his feet cracked, making the man spin around, reaching for a pistol at his side.
"Who's th-" was all he uttered before Jake lunged at him and drove the blade into the mans chest, striking the heart. He slumped over jake's shoulder, dead. Jake then hurredly carried the man into the room with the safe and closed the door.
"Shit shit SHIT!" Whispered Jake angrily as sat against the door. This wasn't just some cruise liner like he thought. It was a MILITARY ship, atlas too, making it all the more dangerous. Which also perked his interest of the safe. He searched the dead militant, and found a can of spray deodorant.
"Who keeps these on themselves?" He asked to no one In particular. Then he got an idea. He took off the cap and sprayed into the rest of the room, filling it with spray, much to his dislike. "Ugh, that reeks...Well, no lasers." He said, covering his mouth and nose so he didn't breath in the overdose of body spray.
He walked over to the safe and examined it. "Hm. Standard rotary combination lock. Easy." He cracked his fingers and got to work. After a couple of minutes of trial and error, he got it open. "Longer than I thought, but eh." He opened the safe, and his jaw dropped.
A note. That what was in the safe. A note. Nothing else, just a note. "Un...believable." He said out loud. He started to get angry, then looked back at the dead body. "I killed a man for THIS?!" He said in almost a yell. Still angry, he grabbed the note and pocketed it. "Because fuck you military." Now he needed to get off the ship. He thought of a couple ways, but then looked at the body, then back at the safe. "But first things first, evidence."
He leaned around the corner of the hallway. No one was there, so he advanced, making his way to the vehicle transportation deck. He entered, and heard laughing coming from around the middle of the area.
He made his way over to the laughing, and almost just straight up started shooting the ones laughing. Three clearly drunk individuals, all of them wearing a military uniform, but less flashy as the one he killed. And they had beers in their hands, that they kept spilling on...
"My bike..." He growled, just low enough that they couldn't hear it. He got closer, grabbed both knives, and waited for an opening. Then one of them threw up onto the bike. "Fuck this." He said, standing up and throwing the knives, hitting two of the drunks, one in the back and the other in the side of the neck. The other one dropped his beer in shock as he watched his two drinking buddies fall dead.
He barely got time to look up, before he saw a pair of hands going for his face. Jake tackled the last guy, mans smashed the back of the mans head against the ground with both hands. After that, he started to punch the guys face, making blood splatter from his mouth. "Throw up on my bike? EAT SHIT!" When he finished, his hand was covered in blood, and the man's face was bloody and misshapen, a puddle of blood forming around his head.
Jake wiped his hand on the man's shirt to clean it, leaving a smeared bloodstain on the man's uniform shirt. He got up and pulled his knives out of the other two, slashing them through the air to throw off the blood. He sheathed his blades and went to a control panel near the hangar doors. He pressed some buttons, and the doors folded outwards, into the open air.
He looked down, and saw that the ship was a good 200 feet above the streets of vale. "Higher than its altitude cap." Jake mumbled worryingly. He sighed and made up his mind. "Screw it." He walked back to his bike and and turned off the stasis. He got on and revved the engine. "May dust help me." He drove off at full speed and out the hangar into the open air, free falling on his bike.
Jake turned on the bikes flying mode, but when it activated, it blared its warning that altitude height was to critical. They sped towards the ground, the bike still not giving in. "Come on...work dammit. WORK!" With that last word, the alarm went off and the bike changed into its flying mode, but only partially slowed the descent. Jake pulled at the handles, urging the bike to put more thrust into its thrusters.
The fall slowed, but not enough. Then Jake got desperate. "Fuck it." He brought his wrist pad to his face, saying the only voice code It knows. "Activate Helios version one." Then he felt the force it created.
The thrusters blasted out ten times the amount of power then they did originally, coming close to the ground by just meters. "Disengage operation Helios!" He yelled quickly, feeling himself rise. The output went back to normal, and he looked down.
The blast of the engine generated enough heat to melt the cement below him, earning more than enough stares from the surrounding citizens. He then turned on the ground mode of the bike and sped off. Making some people jump out of his way.
He drove until he was in a more quiet part of vale, the more townish area. He got off and parked it in a alley way. He punched in some codes, ordering it to hide, and it spun around and drove off. Jake then walked into the street, looking at the scenery.
"Smaller than atlas, that's for sure..." He thought to himself. He got so used to the massive building and factories of atlas, that he forgot all about vale, which isn't hard if your earliest memories are from when you are three.
He walked into a convenience store, hoping to buy something to eat. He grabbed a bag of chips and a soda, and went for the register. A girl, clad in a red hooded cape, with neck long hair with red highlights towards the ends of her hair, stood In front of me a the counter. She wore a black t-shirt with blue jeans, and combat boots. He looked at what she was buying, and it was a couple of magazines on weaponry and a plastic case of cookies.
When the cashier handed the girl her changed, she quickly turned and bumped into me. She fell to the ground, dropping her items. "Owww." She whined. He sighed and knelt down, picking her stuff up. "Honestly, this is on you. You should really watch where your-" He looked up at her face, and his blood ran cold. She looked up, a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry..." She said weakly as she got up.
Jake kept a composed face, though my eye twitched ever so slightly. He handed out here items to her. "Just...take it." She nodded, and grabbed the magazines and cookies. "Thank you sir." Jake looked at her funny. "I'm 19 years old." Her eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, it's just that your hat covers your face, and your voice sounds kinda low-" He held his hand up to silence her. "Ok, I get it." He said, slightly annoyed.
She took that as a message to leave, which is what she wanted, and left, a sad look on her face. He turned to the cashier, keeping his head turned down so his hat covered his face. Jake placed the chips and drink onto the counter, and the cashier pressed away at the cash register. "So, who was that red one?" Jake asked him. The cashier stopped what he was doing and turned to him. "What's it to you?" Jake shrugged. "I recognize her from somewhere, family I think."
He grunted. "Her names Ruby Rose. If you're talking about her looking like someone, you're then thinking of her mother, summer rose. That name rang in jakes head, a burning sense of hatred growing in him. "She...she..." The cashier gave him his change, and he left with his food.
He turned into the nearest alleyway and kicked a trash can over in anger. "THAT...BITCH!" He yelled as he kicked it again, denting it. "She abandons me and dad, then just starts a new family!? I'm gonna..." He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down his boiling rage. "That doesn't matter right now. First, find employers." He called in his bike, and drove to where the buildings became more city like.
Jake soon came across a building, which apparently was a popular club, according to the locals. He walked in, and wanted to walk out. The place was a rave, with techno music going on and people fistbumping the air while jumping. He saw a bar to the side, and made walked over there, pushing some people out of the way, knocking one person onto their front.
Jake sat at a stool at the bar, and a man with a close cut beard and rather formal clothing came over to him washing a glass. "What will you be getting having." He asked. "Some whiskey." Jake said, barely raising his head. He cocked up a eyebrow and reached under and grabbed a bottle.
"Shots or glass?"
"Glass."
He poured Jake a glass of whiskey, and he drank half of it in one go. "Rough day?" Asked the bartender. "Naw, just a honest man looking for honest pay." He barely noticeable twitch came from the bartender, which is what he wanted. "Well, I got someone that could use an extra hand in his line of work. He's down a couple seats."
The bartender pointed his thumb towards a man in a white over coat and a black bowler hat, swirling around a shot of alcohol in his hand while a cigar stood out of his mouth, staring lazily at the glass..
Jake went and sat down next to the white coated man. "So, I hear your hiring?" He asked, waving for another drink. The man turned his eyes onto jack and sized him up before taking the cigar out of his mouth and blowing smoke into the air. "What makes you think you're qualified for this line of work?"
Jake opened his mouth to speak, but a voice called from behind in drunk anger. "Hey, you shitbird!" Jake turned around and saw the man he knocked over stumble towards him. He got up in jakes face, his eyes glazed over and his breath reeking of alcohol. "You think you can push me around like that?!"
Jake sighed and turned back toward the one in the white coat, the bartender placing another glass of whiskey in front of him as he did so. The drunk then grabbed one of Jakes shoulders and spun him around. "Don't you ignore me, you brat!" Jake then smiled and handed the man the glass of whiskey. "I'm sorry. I meant no harm. Here, have a drink." The man stared confused at the glass. "Uhh...thanks man."
He went and brought it to his lips and started to drink, before Jake slammed the glass into the mans face, lodging glass into his flesh, and the alcohol in the wounds, burning them. The man fell back, screaming in pain as he held his face while rolling around. Jake turned back to roman, who watched him with a curious expression. "So, back to business."
The man placed the cigar back into his mouth and got up. He motioned his hand to Jake to follow him, and Jake did. He followed the man out back to a waiting limo. It was black, with tinted back windows, preventing outside sources from seeing in. Someone in a hood with a metal mask waited at the drivers seat, like a chauffeur. The man got into the limo and motioned his hand towards me. "Get in." The man ordered.
Jake got in, and sat across from the white coated man. "First things first. I'm Roman Torchwick, and I could care less who you are, but your name is...?" He said, motioning his hand for him to speak. "Jake Simmons, at your service." Said Jake, tipping his hat to roman, a smirk on his face...
Roman narrowed his eyes and tapped his cigars ashes into an ashtray next to him. "I'm not the one you're serving. I'm just bringing you my boss." Jake raised his hat up, his eyes widening slightly. "You work for a mob boss?" Roman gave him a confused look.
"What, no I don't work for some high end sleaze bags. Where you from?" Jake smirked slightly, leaning back. "Atlas, the iron fist. Also known as the kingdom with the highest military AND highest concentration of collectors in all of remnant." Roman nodded and smoked his cigar.
"And home to the strongest mafia families as well. The Black Hand, High Order, and some other smaller factions." Jake smiled, impressed. "You know the families? You're not an ordinary person, are you?" Roman laughed darkly. "I was also a collector before, but then got recruited into a new line of work."
Jake leaned forward, confused. "What line of work would make you stop being a collector?" Roman smiled and leaned back. "You'll see."
The limo pulled up to a warehouse in an empty part of vale. Roman got out and dropped his cigar, crushing it under his foot. "Time you meet my boss." Said Roman as he looked back at Jake, showing a devious smile.
Jake got out and fixed his hat, tilting it lower so a shadow castes over his face. Around the warehouse, he noticed armed individuals, all in matching uniform. They wore black sleeveless shirts with hoods on them, metal masks that covered the upper portion of their faces, showing only the mouths. They wore white chest armor, metal gauntlets, black pants with metal greaves. What made him recognize them was a logo that was infamous in Atlas.
"Your boss leads the white fang?" Asked Jake, surprise in his voice. "More like, manipulates them. Makes them do the grunt work." He said, just above a whisper. Jake laughed to himself, finding the idea funny. "Fight for freedom from humans as they're being controlled by one."
They walked through a door into the warehouse, and Jake whistled. "Lot of dust here. Kinda dangerous." Roman smirked. "Yeah, if you're stupid." They kept walking until a voice called from above. "Who is this, Roman?"
They looked up to see a women in a red dress looking down at them from a catwalk from above with Amber eyes, which seemed to glow slightly. "Ah cinder, just looking for you." Said roman, who noticeably straightened his posture.
Cinder wore a red long sleeved dress that went down to about the middle of her legs, and was longer in the back. Her sleeves has gold design on them that traveled up her arms and around her neck line. Her hair was black, and traveled in a swirl down her left shoulder. Her shoes were glass slippers, making a clicking noise as she walked.
She walked up to a elevator on the catwalk and entered, descending to ground level. "And what might be the subject of your need to talk to me?" She said, a tint of annoyance in her voice. "This guy here is willing to do some jobs for us, if needed."
"At a price." Jake said, lifting his head so his face was more visible. Cinder began to slowly walk around him, examining him. "And why would I pay you to do jobs I can have men here do for free?" Jake smirked. "You want it done right or sloppy? Not my first time doing this." He followed her with his head as she walked. "Assassination, framing, robbery, kidnapping. And many more little deeds."
She turned to him fully, looking him straight in the eyes. "You boast about your skill? Then here's your first job. If it's not done perfectly, then you are done here."
She pulled out a scroll and showed him a picture of faunes with Intel and objectives. He read it over, and smiled.
"A hit and run. Doesn't need to look like an accident, but can't be seen?" He handed it back. "Consider him done."
