by Jamie Wang
The Dragon pulled Prince back onto his feet. Prince gasped for air and immediately coughed it all out. Every cough felt like a flame erupting from his throat, but Prince couldn’t stop himself. He coughed until his insides were thoroughly burnt.
The Dragon stepped in front of Prince, a deep frown on his face. “Are you The Slasher?”
“Bite me.”
The Dragon stared at Prince, scrutinizing every twitch to see if he was lying. “Do you know who The Slasher is?”
“I thought it was you.”
“There was a girl with you,” The Dragon said. “If you don’t know, then I’m going to have to ask her. And I promise you, I won’t be as pleasant as I’m being now.”
Prince looked up, his eyes widening. “We don’t know anything.”
The Dragon sighed. “Then I suppose, you’re no use to me at all.” He held the flask over Prince, spilling its contents onto Prince’s head.
Prince almost dry heaved at the smell of it. The liquid poured down his hair and over his broken lips. It seeped into the cracks and burned.
“What we have here,” The Dragon said as held up a match, “is a mix between gasoline, acetone, diesel, and a few more fun things. Basically, it will burn for hours. Let me ask you again, do you know who The Slasher is?”
Prince stared at the match in The Dragon’s hand. He shook his head.
The Dragon lit the match and held it to Prince’s face. “Who is The Slasher?”
“I don’t know.” Prince said. He inched away from the fire, straining his neck to its limits. But the further he pushed away from the match, the closer The Dragon brought it.
“Liar,” The Dragon growled. “You know! Who is The Slasher?”
“Fucking bite me!”
The match burned mere centimeters from Prince.
“You know!” The Dragon roared.
“Fuck!”
The Dragon threw the match onto the ground and stomped it out. He sneered and turned toward the door. “Salib, bring me the other Mouse.”
As soon as he shouted the order, the feint sound of scuffling feet and high-pitched protest resounded from the door. A spectacled man walked in dragging Flower by her hands. When he crossed the doorway, he shoved Flower onto the ground.
Flower glared at the spectacled man. “Fuck off.”
Prince grinned.
LAO
Children are so troublesome.
Lao took out his revolver and cocked it. At the sound of the metallic click, Prince and Flower kept still. Both eyed the gun.
“Prince, if I’m anything, I’m a man of my word.” Lao raised the gun until its nose pointed at Flower’s forehead. “Did I not say that I would be unpleasant to your friend?”
Prince was no longer smiling. “She doesn’t know anything,” he said.
Lao chuckled. “Then I guess it shouldn’t matter to me whether she lives or dies. But that’s not my choice to make, it’s yours.”
“I don’t know anything either.”
Lao shook his head. “Is that your final answer?” His finger twitched on the trigger.
Prince, who was usually quick to respond, no longer had any words to say. He looked from Lao to Flower, his mouth moving but no words came out.
Lao shrugged. “Alright then.” He pulled the trigger.
“No, no, no! Wait!” Prince screamed.
Flower jerked away from the gun, her eyes squeezed shut.
The cylinder spun and clicked into place. The hammer swung down and produced a metallic clang, but the gun didn’t fire. Through the entire process, Lao didn’t take his eyes off Prince.
“I’m not sure how many bullets are in this thing. Perhaps it’s none, perhaps it’s five, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Prince stared at him wide-eyed. His breaths were ragged. “No we won’t, I’ll tell you everything I know. Just put the gun—”
Lao pulled the trigger again.
“Stop!” Prince screamed. “Don’t fucking—”
Lao fired again.
Flower squealed.
“Stop it! I know who The Slasher is! I’ll tell you everything you want to know!” Prince shrieked, leaning toward Lao. His eyes were wet with tears and he was leaning so hard that the rope had started choking him.
Lao smiled and lowered the gun. “First question, who is The Slasher?”
“A Mouse named Maverick,” Prince said. “He did drops with us.”
“What does he hope to accomplish?”
“He wanted to protect Sasha.”
“Oh?” Lao raised a single eyebrow. “Now that she’s dead, what will he do?”
Prince was slow to answer. “I don’t know.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. I swear I don’t.”
Lao frowned and raised the gun to Flower’s head once again. “You’ve lied to me before.”
“I really don’t know. He ran off after telling us Sasha died.”
“Unfortunate.” Lao squeezed ever so slightly. The hammer of his revolver inched its way back.
“I swear to God if you pull that fucking trigger I’ll bite my own tongue off!”
Lao gave him a disinterested stare while continuing to squeeze.
“I can find him for you!” Prince screamed in defeat. “Just stop. I'll find him and bring him to you.” He said with his head down.
This caught Lao’s attention. “And how are you going to do that?”
“I know him better than anyone in this city. I can do it.”
“Alright.” Lao nodded. He holstered the gun and stepped toward Prince. “Now, go back to sleep.” He grabbed the black hood and put it over Prince’s head.
PRINCE
Prince awoke feeling like his head had split in two. With every heartbeat, a dull pain pulsed from his cheek to his forehead. He stared at the black mesh covering his face trying to pick out anything familiar. There was nothing.
He sat in what felt to be a very nice chair. His bottom sunk into the cushions and the back of the chair melded into his figure. There were lights all around him, but through the hood, he couldn’t make out what produced the light.
“Hello Prince,” said The Dragon. “I see you’re finally awake.” A shadow in front of him moved.
The hood came off. Prince squinted into the light of chandeliers. He recognized the place. Hawk’s Lair.
He looked down, surprise to see his broken hand wrapped in clean bandages. All around him were men in suits. Each stood like a soldier at attention, back straight, eyes forward, and hands at their sides.
The Dragon sat across from him in a curling oak chair. The wood resembled crashing waves. In between them was a table polished to the point that it was practically a mirror. On the table sat a chess board and a bottle of water.
Prince eyed the water and licked his lips. He peeled his gaze off. “I already told you everything I know,” he said in a raspy breath.
The Dragon nodded. “I believe you. We’ll be working close together for a little while so I thought we should get to know each other. I heard you liked chess.”
“Where’s Flower?”
The Dragon smiled. “I released her, she’s probably back home.”
“Why?”
“By the end of our game, you’ll understand.”
Prince stared at the chess board, already set up. The pieces were carved from solid oak and their bottoms had fine felt. Inscribed along the edges of the chessboard were dragons.
“Chess?” Prince asked.
The Dragon nodded and held out his hand to motion at the water bottle. “And please, help yourself.”
“What are you trying to pull?”
“I already told you, for you to get to know me. You should feel honored, I even closed down Hawk’s Lair for this occasion.” The Dragon motioned to the water once again. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I don’t have to resort to cheap tricks to do that.”
Prince snatched the bottle and squeezed the water into his mouth. With
in seconds, it lay crumpled and dry in his hands. “So all you want is a game of chess?”
The Dragon nodded.
“What happens if I win?” Prince asked.
The Dragon chuckled. “I’d be more concerned with when you lose.”
Prince stared at Lao, motionless.
“I do love gamblers.” Lao leaned back in his chair. “After all, I’ve built a shrine to you guys. How about this, if you win, I’ll tell you the reason Sasha died.”
Prince’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth but no words came out. At last, he asked, “and if I lose?”
“I simply want a game of chess. But for the sake of gambling, let’s say you’ll work for me. I’ll let you take the first move.”
“I already agreed to,” Prince said.
“I mean regardless of The Slasher. You have talent, Prince.”
Prince stared at the chessboard. At last, he pushed his pawn forward. “Fine.”
As soon as Prince’s hand left the pawn, The Dragon moved his own pawn. The game continued like this with Prince taking minutes to move only for The Dragon to do so in seconds.
Neither had lost a piece, but the board was so packed that it became inevitable. Prince hovered his hand over his pawns, unsure of which to choose. The Dragon placed his cheek on a bored fist.
“You know; chess is my favorite game. Do you want to know why?” The Dragon asked.
Prince ignored him. At last, he moved a pawn into a defensive position.
This time, The Dragon was in no rush to make his move. He looked at Prince, a smug smile on his face. “Every piece has a value.” He said. “A queen is worth more than a rook and a rook more than a pawn. Any pawn would gladly give its life for the queen.”
“Who are you to say how much a pawn is worth?” Prince shot back.
The Dragon leaned forward as if divulging a secret. “I’m the king,” he whispered. “The game ends with my death. Every single piece must be sacrificed to protect me. My only job is to determine the order in which these pieces are sacrificed.”
He moved a pawn into danger.
Prince stared at the pawn and then back at The Dragon. With a small smirk, he took the pawn. “Are you trying to prove a point?”
The Dragon exposed a second pawn to Prince’s pieces.
Prince took that one as well. “If all a king can do is hide behind his pawns then he’s no king. Right now, even your pawns are more deserving of the crown.”
The Dragon chuckled. “Those are fine words, coming from a pawn. But a pawn will never see the bigger picture. A king makes plans for thousands, while the pawn does so for himself. What are the dreams of one pawn compared to that of an entire city?”
Prince glared at The Dragon. When he spoke, it sounded like he had to keep himself from yelling. “It may not matter to you, but don’t look down on our dreams. The few things we have are worth more than any of your bullshit plans.”
“Ridiculous,” The Dragon scoffed. “If sacrificing one pawn means saving two then I’d cut the pawn down myself. If sacrificing all my pawns means winning the game, then it’s an easy choice.” He moved another pawn into an undefended space.
“The king is the last person who can value pawns. You’ll never understand what we go through, what we feel, what we want!”
“But if not the king, then who? Every pawn thinks it’s a king. Because that’s what it means to be human, to be arrogant enough to believe your dreams have meaning.”
“Mine do.” Prince wore a look he had seen so many times before. It was a look of unparalleled confidence, the one perfected by Sasha.
The Dragon smiled. “And this is why humans are so worthless. You think your life has so much importance, don’t you? You think it’s all been so grand. Unfortunately, that’s a lie. Even the proud title you wear as a Mouse is a lie.”
Prince squeezed his fist. “You’re full of shit.”
“You see, drops are just another game we kings play.” The Dragon leaned back in his chair. “We gamble on your drops. Your lives mean nothing but to entertain us. We give you pills just to see if you’ll deliver them. And why can we do this? Because pawns will always miss the bigger picture!”
LAO
“You’re lying.” Prince shook his head as if in a trance.
“I have the footage if you want to see. I also have all records of the bets made including who made them, how much, and when. Your group was a crowd favorite. You won’t believe how many people around the entire world rooted for you. Leaders of countries, businesses, even religions. When they watched Sasha die, some even cried.”
“You fucking monster!” Prince’s face flushed red. “Is it really so fun to torture children?”
“I hate it.”
“So then why?” Prince shrieked. He slammed his palm against the table and shot out of his seat.
Lao kept calm. “If this city was a person, then money would be its blood. We can’t afford hospitals, we can’t afford schools, we can barely afford electricity. The only thing of value we have to offer is entertainment. In exchange for the lives of a few Mice, I can give life to this city. Don’t you think it’s a good trade?”
Prince lunged across the table, his hand outstretched. His fingers stopped mere inches away from Lao’s throat. A guard had slammed Prince’s head into the chess board. Wooden pieces scattered to the floor.
“Fuck,” Prince growled through grit teeth. “I’m going to kill you!”
Pawns will never understand.
Lao looked into Prince’s azure eyes. “You can try, but not before bringing me The Slasher. I own this city, everything in it is mine. I shape this city at will.”
“The Lions,” Prince muttered.
“The pedestrians as well. Both were a nuisance to my game so I took them out of the equation. Don’t tell me you think it’s normal for strangers to simply watch children suffer?”
“And the cameras. They were made to watch Mice.”
“Otherwise, they were rarely on.”
“You trash.” Prince pushed against the table to raise his head. His arms shook, battling the hand pressing against his head. “Worthless piece of shit.”
“For every life I take, I save ten more. For every Mouse that dies, our future is secured a tiny bit further. I am the king. It is my job to decide the order of which to sacrifice my pieces. You just need to stand in line.”
Prince spat a streak of saliva onto Lao’s cheek.
A guard slammed Prince’s forehead into the table, pressing it against the wood.
Lao wiped the spit from his face. “Listen closely Mouse, even if it means making the entire world my enemy, I will save this city. Soon, the same people that reveled at you Mice will be begging to save us.” He turned toward the guard. “Put him back in his chair, we still have a game to finish.”
The guard unhanded Prince and pulled him back into his chair. Fury danced in Prince’s eyes. Under Lao’s orders, the guard set the chessboard back up exactly as it had been.
Lao motioned to Prince, “your move.”
Prince crossed his arms and receded into the chair.
Lao sighed. “I told you all this because I will be giving you a certain amount of liberties to find me The Slasher. Remember, you still have everything to lose.”
It worked. Though it was only a slight twitch on the corner of Prince’s mouth, Lao knew that he had delivered the message. Prince uncrossed his arms and made his move. He took the lone pawn Lao had sent to die.
Lao placed his hand on his queen. Because of the three pawns he had sacrificed, there was now a clear lane of attack. “Prince,” he said. “You can hate me, but do not misunderstand me. Though I will always sacrifice my pawns to win the game, I would never take light of their lives.” He moved his queen. “Check.”
Prince moved to defend his king with a knight.
Though Lao knew the next move, but he didn’t make it. Instead, he spoke. “Before my time, this city was on the verge of tearing itself apart. Gangs on every c
orner, Mice shot for a few cents, boys stolen from their mothers to fight for sport. I spared you from all from that.” He took Prince’s knight. “Check.”
Prince countered Lao’s advance. “Someone who so easily sacrifices his pieces can never save this city.”
Lao’s brow furrowed. “Look at the world around us. What do you think become of those too scared to sacrifice? Chances don’t come often for us, so unless we bet it all when it does, we’ll never win the game.” He moved his queen again. “Check.”
“This isn’t a game,” Prince said. “It’s our life you’re toying with.”
A window shattered. Lao twisted his head to see a flaming liquor bottle smash into the carpet. Fire sprouted from where it broke. A steady rhythm of shattering glass followed as flaming bottles flew in, one after the other.
Guards scrambled from the fire. The receptionist screamed a piercing note and made a mad dash through the front door. Lao scanned the pandemonium before returning his gaze to Prince.
“Leave Mouse, you are useless to me dead. Come back when I’ve dealt with this. And remember, you still have everything to lose.”
VLAD
If there was ever a day to die…
Vlad tossed the glass bottle into the air and caught it. Inside the bottle was a concoction of chemicals used by The Dragon himself. A dozen more bottles laid by Vlad’s feet.
The day was perfect. Not a single cloud overlooked the city. All the guards had gone inside and at the sight of his mask, any potential bystander had turned and ran.
I should’ve done this a long time ago.
Around him, a crowd of Lions threw flaming liquor bottles into Hawk’s Lair. They had rallied behind him. Word that The Slasher would lead the uprising had brought Jynx a small army. They wore blank masks and green hoods with the exception of Vlad who wore his usual red smile.
Vlad played with the spark wheel of his lighter. Everything he had was given to him by Jynx. She had told him the secret about Hawks and Mice. It was too cruel, to have Sasha’s pride be trampled in such a way. The Dragon had to pay.