See? I told everyone that I wouldn't spend a month working on this chapter and I kept to my word for once! Also, it might just be me, but for some reason I feel that the first half of this chapter is much more well written than the latter half. I don't know. I'll leave it up for you readers to decide.
"Why should I be accepting random job offers from a stranger in the middle of a dark alleyway?" I scoffed. "Seems shady, doesn't it?"
"You just killed a man in cold blood and you're asking me why my employers are offering you employment?"
"It wasn't in 'cold blood'; it was in defense, alright?" I snapped at him.
"Please, there was no remorse for that man. A normal person would be trying to grip onto the fact they just took another human life; you, you casually kicked the dead body and mocked it. Do you see what's wrong with this picture?"
I clenched my fists, "There's nothing wrong with me!" I screamed at him.
He raised an eyebrow, "Did I hit a nerve there?"
"Shut up!" I perilously rushed at him with the full intention of knocking a few teeth out of his mouth.
He reacted almost unnaturally, grabbing both my hands and twisting my right arm behind my back, ramming me up against one of the walls.
The man whispered in my ear, "You think you could take me on?" He let my left arm go and took a hold of the back of my head, pushing my face harder into the brick. "You're too predictable; I'd have a knife in your back before you could pull out that little gun of yours."
I staggered to keep balance as he shoved me away. He tossed a manila envelope at my feet.
"If it were up to me, you'd already have been silently disposed of. Alas, its not. You have a week to come up with a response. I'll see you then." With that he disappeared into the shadows.
I picked up the envelope. The front was marked with an emblem in the shape of a bomb with the word RED in the center. Underneath in smaller letters it read: Reliable Excavation Demolition. What kind of job did these people want me for?
I decided that I would open it up and see for myself when I got home. Shit. I forgot about home. Alex and Ma would be wondering where I had been and I didn't have anything to put this envelope in. They'd wonder where I got it from, more so wondering what's in it if I told them I got it from a suited stranger in an alleyway. I'd have to hide it between my jacket and shirt. I pulled my brother's cigarettes out from my pocket. The package was crushed. Dammit. It must have happened when that man shoved me up against the wall.
I started the grueling walk home. The rain had started pouring down. I sunk into my hood and stared down at my feet, continuously maintaining caution so the envelope didn't fall out. I thought about what that stranger had told me, did I really have no regard for that man's life inside the store? It was a reaction, he had someone I knew at gunpoint. I stopped a robbery, but could I really cry that it was self-defense? I was in no true danger that I knew of at that point. The gun wasn't aimed at me, but yet I pulled out my own and sent a bullet through his head, taking his life in an instant. What seemed to really bother me was how I callously kicked at his limp body after it was done. I did mock him, how he wasn't able to turn and pull the trigger faster than I was able to. As the stranger said, normal people don't do that; normal people cringe in guilt at severity of their actions. I felt nothing, nothing but ecstasy. It felt exhilarating to determine if one deserved to continue existing in this world or not, to watch their body fall to the ground, mocking them as if their very existence was beneath me...
I shook my head. I wasn't a psychopath. I wasn't going to kill other humans for mere pleasure. I dismissed the entire thought. I was almost home and walking in with a worried expression would be a red flag.
The rain slammed against the front of the house's aged brick exterior. Nothing heralded my return. The only things that assured me this was my place of living was the worn bronze plaque that read "Fitzpatrick" and my ma's potted petunia garden that sat just outside the windowsills. At least the plants enjoyed the rain. I started up the stairs, ready to take off these drenched clothes. I hesitated shortly before opening the front door.
The familiar pungent aroma of smoke mixed with the scented candles Ma burned to try and mask the smoky smell was the first thing to greet me. She always complained about Luc and Alex smoking in the house but never did anything to try and get them to quit. She always dreamed big; most of it was about remodeling the house though, replacing the wallpaper in the entryway was the gripe she had most. Lord knows we needed it. Red and white floral print; it was tattered in many a place, aged yellow, and showed signs of water damage along the bottom.
I quickly took a right up the stairs to drop off the envelope on my bed. The sounds of the TV could be heard from down in the living room. I assumed that was where Alex must have been, but I was wrong. At the top of the steps, coming out of his room, was my oldest brother.
Ma always found it interesting, how much the two of us contrasted each other. Whereas my hair was brown and straight, his was ginger and curly; I was of smaller frame and had a smooth and feature-less face, Alex was larger, more broad, and had freckles on his cheeks and orange stubble around his chin. My eyes were a light blue, his were emerald green. He somehow had employment, I technically didn't, until now at least.
"Hey hey, look who's finally back. You get my cigs?" He stretched out a hand.
I pulled the crushed pack out of my pocket. "They're a little squished, hope you don't mind?" I nervously smiled and winced. I hated being on his bad side, not being able to run away. Alex was twice my size, and easily angered.
"What the fuck did you do?! I can't smoke these!" He clenched his fists.
"Look, before you hit me, I didn't do anything. I was at the store minding my own business when a robber walked in. He slammed me against the counter and it must have crushed the pack, alright?" I decided to leave out the killing and alley parts, it wasn't any of his business anyways.
"Real convenient excuse, Nathan. There something you want to prove? It isn't like you had to use your own fucking money. Not like you have any anyways. Must be real nice to sit around and call me a mooch when I'm the one with a job, I'm the one supporting Ma when Luc isn't around. Maybe if you weren't a complete dumbass, you'd still be in college."
"I tried, alright? You, Ma and Luc all know I fucking tried! I even tried switching to an easier major! I get it, ok? I'm a good-for-nothing retard and you just love rubbing it in my face, don't you? You want to know something? I got a job offer tonight." I unzipped my jacket and pulled out the envelope. "That's right, a job. Sure, some stranger gave it to me in a dark alleyway, but it's employment, isn't it Alex? That's what you're always telling me, work doesn't matter as long as I'm employed."
He snatched the envelope from my hand, "Give me that." He read the front. "I've never even heard of this company, its probably just a damn scam." He opened it up.
There was a letter and a few files to accompany it. Alex started to read the letter:
Dear Mr. Montierré-Fitzpatrick,
If you are reading this, then our agent is doing his job. That aside, we've been searching quite awhile for someone with your particular... talents. We do not wish for you to be alarmed, but our recruiters have been keeping their eye on you for many a time now. You may or may not currently be aware of the ongoing Gravel War that is taking place in the southwestern United States. With war comes destruction; destruction we at Reliable Excavation Demolition do not wish to incur. This of course, requires the need for protection from the ongoing hostilities. Many of our operations can be found in the northern region of New Mexico, near the heart of the continuing war. This is why we are pursuing talented individuals such as yourself. You can rest assured that you will be adequately compensated for your ongoing participation. You have a week from the handing over of this letter to come to a decision, at which the end a recruiter will come to you for an answer. We thoroughly hope you will consider employment with Reliable Excavation Demolition.
Sincerely,
Administrator Helen
"So like a bodyguard?" I asked.
"Still, it seems suspicious..." Alex took out the other files. They were mostly about the company and its subsidiarys.
I snatched the envelope and files away from him, "It's a job, alright? And if it means I can get away from you and Luc, all the better."
I went into my room and dropped down on my bed, exhausted. What a night, I thought as I silently watched the pitter-patter of the rain against the foggy pane of my bedroom window. I'd have to tell Ma tomorrow before Alex brought it up. Then she'd want me to wait and discuss it with "her and my father" once Luc came home later in the week. That was really the part I looked forward to the least.
"Nathan, darling, would you mind coming into the living room?" I heard my mother call from the bottom of the steps. I assumed she had finished privately discussing the employment offer with my step-father and wanted to have a group discussion of sorts about it. I had already talked with her about it beforehand, to which she surprisingly supported my decision and even had a pair of dogtags made, "if something were to happen to me".
"Yea, Ma, I'll be right there." I put down the comic I was reading and hastily made my way downstairs, my mother's most recent present lightly tapping against my upper chest with each step I took.
Luc sat in his chair, his long, aged face showing me a look of indifference while Ma stood next to him, hers' easily full of disappointment. Sitting in the musty olive couch across from them were two police officers.
Ma couldn't keep her composure any longer. Tears started flowing from her eyes.
"How could you..." She covered her smeared face, sitting down on the arm of the chair, crying.
"What do you mean? Why are the police here? What happened?"
Lucian shook his head, "You know full well what you did."
My heart started to race. They were here because of the murder.
"Look, I swear it was an accident. Er, I mean self-defense. Uh..." Shit. I couldn't even get my story straight.
"Stop self-incriminating yourself kid. We're here to take you into holding. Your father claims you to be a flight risk."
"What?!" I glared at Luc.
"It's for your own safety." He merely said.
I wanted to kill him; to blow that smug look off his face. A flight risk? Fuck him. I would've hit him square in the jaw if Ma and the cops weren't here. And I must have. I remember screaming profanities; watching him wipe blood from the corner of his mouth as I was tackled to the ground. I must have hit my head off the coffee table because I remember waking up in a holding cell.
"Get up kid, you've got a visitor." I sat up and rubbed my forehead. It stung at the slightest touch.
As the guard walked away I was able to see who was visiting me in my current predicament. She wasn't anyone I knew. She wore a dark lavender dress with black accents. It matched her silky black hair which was tied back into a bun. She propped up her glasses as her emerald eyes scanned me over.
She checked the clipboard she was carrying, "Nathaniel Montierré-Fitzpatrick, I presume? Mind if I call you Nathan?"
"Everyone does." I smirked.
"I'm Miss Pauling, assistant to the Administrator. I came as soon as I heard you were in holding."
"The one who sent the letter; Helen, right?"
"She would very much prefer if you didn't call her by her name. Now, about your employment with RED, I'll assume you're still interested?"
"And if I'm not?"
"Then I very much hope you enjoy rotting in jail. The only way you'll be getting out of here a free man is if you come with me."
I shook my head. "Heh, count me in then."
"Great. Welcome aboard, Scout." She smiled.
"Scout? Listen Pauling, that's not my nickname and its not gonna be."
"But its your class title. You're now a mercenary for Reliable Excavation Demolition; more specifically, a scout. Sorry, I'm more comfortable called our mercs by their class name and not their actual one. It allows for more confidentiality too."
"Wait, a mercenary? You expect me to kill people? I didn't sign on for this!"
"Sure you did. You read the letter, correct? And as our spy witnessed, you had no issue killing the bait."
"You set me up?"
"Of course. It's not like people just go around everyday killing others. We had to see how you'd react when felt threatened. Punching your step-father was an added bonus." She lightheartedly giggled.
"So the robbery, the envelope, the cops showing up at my house. This was all a setup?!"
"Hey, don't go clenching your fists. Remember there's a wall of metal bars separating us. I'm sure you don't want to meet the Medic because of broken hands. And yes, it was all an elaborate ploy for you to join us. And it worked!"
"If I don't sign on your men are just going to keep me in here?" I was furious with her.
"No, no. We'll let the real police take over from there. The Administrator must really want your employment. Tricking you into having to choose between jail time or mercenary work. I'd personally choose the latter."
"And I've got no choice but to also." I muttered.
She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the cell door. "If you'll follow me, Scout. We've got a train to catch."
"What about my parents? They'll still think I'm here in this cell."
"No they won't. We've already sent a letter out from you explaining everything. You can trust me that it'll be to your likeness. Oh!" She took something out of the bag she was carrying. It was the pistol Lucian had given me. "I believe this is yours."
I took it in my hand. It felt odd, knowing I'd be the demise of more people.
"We'll get you something better once we're back at the base. But for now, if you'll do the honors..." She opened another cell and gestured to the frightened man inside.
I hesitated before walking in.
"Don't be worried. He's someone who we were going to dispose of anyways."
I aimed and shot him point blank between the eyes.
Well would you look at that? A flashback chapter! Didn't see that one coming did you? (You probably did...) Anyways, yea, we get some more background info on our wonderful Scout. I made the names up, obviously. I worked hard on this one so you know what? I'd really appreciate it if you all left a review. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks and see you next chapter!