The Eleven

by Adrian Popa

  "If he changes location tell me immediately"

  Looks like this is gonna be fun. I grappled my way onto a nearby roof and began the pursuit. It wasn't long before I reached the location. I was standing on top of a store, and had a clear view of the arcade. If I did anything drastic during the daylight, it could spell trouble, but if I contained it within that arcade, than it might work out. It's a stretch but I have done it before, it wouldn't be impossible. I called Lily to reconfirm his location.

  "So, he still there?"

  "Yeah, but it's broad daylight, planning to cause a scene?"

  "Hah, hopefully not, he's in an old arcade, if I can just finish him off there, than it's gonna be fine"

  "You're gonna try and contain him in there? Need any help?"

  "It might be a stretch, but he doesn't know that he has a hit on his head yet, so I don't think I will have to worry that he'll set up a welcoming party for me"

  "If you need help, you could always ask"

  I sigh, I know, but right now, I think I can do this, he might be a problem but, if I play my cards right, it might not be all that difficult.

  "Yeah, but I think I'll be fine"

  "Alright, good luck"

  "See ya"

  I hang up and proceed to grapple my way onto the building besides the old arcade. I slowly and quietly make my way on top of the arcade. There doesn't seem to be a top entrance. I slowly made my way to the back of the roof. There's a back entrance. I peek over at the side of the roof, there's also a side door. If I attacked from the back he could easily out run me from the side. That is unless he wouldn't be expecting something in exchange for running away. Heh, this is a long shot but it might work. I open up my grappling arm and take out a few pieces from the back. I take out a touch grenade and tied it onto the body so that it wraps around firmly. I laid forward reaching down. The door had a big sign above it.

  "Side door"

  It was probably a neon sign that was lit during the night. It made for a perfect vantage point. I tied one end of the string onto the top of the sign with the grenade facing down, it reached towards the door, and if it were to open with a lot of force it would set off an explosion. I carefully tied another piece of string on both sides of the sign so that the grenade would be firmly in place. If he did choose to run, he better hope he can survive a grenade. I made my way to the back of the roof and slowly reached the back door. I leaned it, can't hear a thing. I quietly checked the door knob. Locked. I better hope he isn't anywhere near range of this back door. I take out my door opener and carve a nice circle on the center of the door. I slowly push it out and took a peek at the inside. Looks like this is a small hallway. I entered, and slowly walked across. There was a door leading into the main arcade section and another door leading to a second floor. If I were him I would crash on the second floor, the side door being connected to it as well. I check the door leading into the main arcade. It's open, I slowly open it and peek in. There's no one here, just rows of broken down machines. Doesn't look like anyone came through here either. I made my way up to the second floor, there was another long hallway. I looked at one of the door plates, "Administration". Strange that they would need such a long hallway for this kind of stuff in an arcade. I slowly walked down the hallway with my guns ready. It was halfway through, and I never noticed it, maybe I was just focused on what was ahead, and I never noticed, but during this long slow walk, I had heard a small clicking sound. It was the sound of a gun. And before I knew it, I was standing with my hands in the air, and turned around to a voice and a familiar face.

  "So, are you also a criminal?"

  Chapter 19

  I turned around to face Jack Frost. His expression remains strong. He's trying to figure me out. I ask him.

  "And if I was?"

  He pulls back his gun and spins it on his finger. He then whips it back into his hand with his finger on the trigger and says in a confident tone.

  "Then you might sport a new hole in your head"

  "You're pretty popular around Courtlyn, ex-police man, Jack Frost"

  He lowers his gun a little, but doesn't remove his finger from the trigger, he's lowered his guard a little, and replies with a playful tone.

  "Oh, so you've heard of me"

  "Hard to miss, a guy hungry for power, it may not be that important, but you actually had the trust of the people on your side, and now look at you"

  "This city needs fixing, and that's why I'm here"

  "Hurting innocents and stealing guns"

  "You wouldn't understand true justice"

  "I wouldn't, your right, but at least I know that what you're doing right now is complete shit"

  "And who are you, some lowly hit man who was hired to kill me, are you any better than me?

  "Hah, I'm leagues ahead of you buddy"

  "This has gone on long enough"

  He raises his gun towards me once again, but this time I say with a calm voice.

  "You contradict what you do, you kill criminals yet you allow yourself to live"

  "I'm not a criminal, I'm what this city needs, I'm completely just"

  "If that's what you think, than you need to rethink your standards, assaulting random innocents and running away from the police, doesn't that sound like something a criminal would do?"

  "Shut up!"

  He shoots, but his aim is off mark, I easily dodge the bullet and rush towards him, I punch him in his face. He staggers back a little, I immediately follow up and throw another punch at his stomach. He raises his gun but his aim is off mark for each shot. I raise my gun and shoot his arm. A splatter of blood erupts as he drops his gun and holds his wounded arm. He breaths heavily, he takes out his knife and shakes off the pain, he charges at me. He slashes horizontally towards me, I quickly pull out my second pistol and block with both of them. I push him back and shoot his other arm. He endures this one and rushes at me like nothing happened. I drop my guns and get ready for his stab. His injuries make it hard for him to pull attacks but he manages to throw a stab towards my chest. I quickly dodge to the side while grabbing his arm and slamming him behind me. He quickly gets back up and tries again. He throws a stab towards my chest. I quickly grab onto his wrist. To my surprise he takes out a secondary knife and throws a stab towards me with his free arm, I dodge quickly but he managed to slightly get my shoulder. I quickly back off. Although both of his arms suffered injuries and after taking my hits in, he's still standing and holding two knifes like nothing happened. This might be a problem. If I go for my guns, he's gonna have the advantage and charge for me. At this range It might not be the best option. And I don't have confidence that I could beat two knives with one, especially if he's not even budging. He charges at me , I dodge his first slash, he follows up with another, I grab onto his wrist and push him back. He staggers but regains his momentum quickly. This might be risky but it could work. I aim my grappling arm towards him and fire. He takes the bait and hits it away with his left arm, I quickly pull out my knife and threw it towards him. With his right arm he attempt to intercept it, he misses slightly and my knife lobs itself into his right arm. He drops the knife in his right arm but charges at me once again. He throws a stab towards my chest but this time I intercept it with my grappling arm. Looks like I'm gonna have to do extra maintenance tonight. With my left arm I throw a punch towards his face and push him back. I quickly go for my guns, it doesn't take him look to recover and rush at me. With my guns in my hand I fire a barrage of bullets towards him. He stops in his place.

  He had a look of surprise covering his face and managed to mutter a few words before he fell in his pool of blood.

  "See, your no better, than I am"

  Mission complete. I make my way back to the back entrance of the arcade. I defuse the trap I had set and headed back to the base. I was greeted by Lily.

  "So, you sure got beat up"

  "Heh, does it look that way?"

  "But you managed to get him didn't you"

  "Yeah, sor
ry, I couldn't ask him about the Blue Mitts incident"

  "Nah, It's alright, I have to move on sooner or later"

  "I'm gonna rest up for now"

  "Alright, I'll go finish up some of my work then"

  "Oh by the way, here"

  I throw Lily the pistol that Jack Frost had. It was worthless to me, but maybe she could find some kind of use to it. She seems surprised, I quickly add.

  "It's Jack Frost's, or WAS, his. Do whatever you want with it"

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah, I already have my pair of my guns, I figured it wouldn't hurt if you had yours as well"

  Lily's face lights up and she replies with excitement.

  "So does that mean I can give it my own cool customizations like yours?"

  "Hey, do you know how much that costs, your already getting this gun plus you kept the one from before, that should be enough"

  "Haha, I knew you would say that"

  "Also, I know that you're getting the gun of the person who could of killed your dad but, it's not the gun that matters, it's the person using it, and right now, that person is you, just when you practice, don't waste all my ammo"

  "Thank you"

  She walks out of my room with a smile on her face and heads to her room. I laid my head on my bed and looked at the ceiling. Time flew b y fast and before I knew it, I had fallen, asleep. I was awoken abruptly by my phone. Dammit, that was fast. I checked the caller. Private. I picked up.

  "Here to give me another target?"

  "Oh, usually when you pick up the phone you greet a person first"

  "Just get on with it"

  "How very hostile, but nevertheless you are right, your performance is quite excellent"

  "Is that so"

  "Yes, you've gotten quite far, from the many before you, I can say that you might be the best"

  From the many before me? What does that mean, did he play his little game with others before? Speaking of which, Jack Frost, does he have any connection with John? If there's eleven of them and I'm at number six, I might have my answer soon. I better just go with it, it looks like if I get him pissed off at this point he might do something drastic. He continues.

  "You're next target is Steve Jole, I'll trust you can deal with him at great efficiency"

  "Hold on, I've got a question for you"

  "A question? Very well"

  I don't think I can get much out of him if I just ask him like this, but I may be able to get some information. It's worth a shot, and I got nothing to lose anyway. It's a gamble without any money being put in the first place. If I play my cards right I can get a lot out of him. But I probably shouldn't hope for too much. I continue.

  "Since I've already done so much for you, being involved in this game of yours, I figured the least you can do is tell me something"

  "I am listening"

  "What, exactly are you planning?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't believe you simply put me through these tasks just for fun, did you"

  "And If I did?"

  "Then I wouldn't have a problem, but you see, I have a feeling that this isn't just a twisted way to pass time, what's the point of giving jobs to a person who already does that exact same job, without you I would still probably sniff out these criminals"

  "Oh, you might still be chasing your little criminals but, there is a reason for all of this, I give you that, but that is all I can tell you"

  "That's a little vague"

  "Unfortunately I cannot tell you at this moment but do not worry, you will find out soon enough"

  He hangs up before I could ask him anymore. Mysterious as always. I will find out soon enough huh. I hope that's true. Well whatever I guess the only thing I can do right now is finish this up. Steve Jole huh, well let's see what he's got. I begin surfing the net. Well looks like this guy doesn't have much of a presence. Can't find a single thing. I don't suppose he gave me a cold case, but there is one other thing this could mean. He's an informant. It's a pain but I guess I have to. Informants get a special treatment, although they can easily get information, getting information on them is hard in return. Luckily I know a place that deals in underground information like this. I haven't been there in a while but hopefully they don't charge me too much. Information like this can be quite expensive. I pack up some of my equipment and get ready to head out. I walk by Lily's room. She's asleep. I write her a little note telling her where I would be. Hopefully she won't follow me, but the chances of that are pretty low, although I won't have to worry too much with the place I'm going to. Thankfully I slept through the day, that makes it all the more easier for me. I head to the nearest sewer entrance and take out my flashlight. I pull the entrance open slightly. I turned on the flashlight once, I held the light for ten seconds until I turned it off. I turned on the flashlight once more, but this time after five seconds I quickly turned it off and back on. I followed up by turning it off and dropping my flashlight. Instead of hearing my flashlight drop onto the sewer floor, I hear the sound of a person catching it. I descend and when I reach the bottom, I see a man in black cloths holding my flashlight. He says to me.

  "We don't see you here often"

  "Yeah, thanks"

  I take back my flashlight and put it in my bag. It's a strange thing but after day has passed, the sewers take a huge change. It's almost like a whole different place during the night. I look ahead to see an array of lights on top of many doors. A lot of people are walking around and the sewers are filled with talk. This place might as well be a night market. I walked forward and made a right. There was one place that could supply me with what I needed. Although it was a little old fashioned, it still did its job. I stopped at a place with a sign board above it saying.

  "Cafe"

  It had dark lettering and had a sword in the middle of the "f". I opened the door and sat down. The waitress asked me my order. I answered.

  "Something you can't get above"

  She nodded and left. After a while she came back and put down a newspaper in front of me. It differed greatly from the ones we used in the city, this newspaper although following the same format, showed me all the underground information I needed. The headline read as.

  "Rogue cop shot and dead in the old arcade "

  I flipped the page and looked for the informant box. There it was. I skimmed through it looking for the name of my target, Steve Jole. Found him, alright, let's see what he's got. Looks like he went rogue a while back. His accuracy isn't the best but he has reasonable enough prices to get customers. His crimes aren't that bad either, but if he is an informant, his ability to gather information will be his trump card, fighting against an informant isn't the best thing to do. It says here that he may have an actual goal for going rogue like this but it's unknown. There isn't a picture attached here but I guess that's what you get for trying to scoop out info on an informant. I know his deal but finding him is another question. This may take a while, but I guess I gotta rely on an informant’s biggest enemy, another informant.

  Chapter 20

  I leave the sewers and head back to my base. I pick up my phone and make a call.

  "Sorry it's a bit late, Rat"

  "Oh no worries, if you have money, then I'll be here"

  "Then I guess I better make it quick"

  "Go ahead"

  "I'm looking for Steve Jole"

  "Heh, funny, I was just about to look for him"

  "You were?"

  "Yeah, since this is a little of my own business, I'll tell you this for free, that man, Steve Jole, is actually someone I know"

  "Someone you know huh, that's an understatement , considering your an informant"

  "That may be true, but either way, if you've come to me than you must already know that he's also an informant"

  "A rogue informant"

  "He wasn't the best, but he's pretty decent either way, but when he gets serious, in a situation like this, he can be quite devastating"

  "You're
trying to stop him?"

  "He hasn't done much recently, just stole some guns and supplies, never even shot at people or injured anyone"

  "I feel like there's something I'm missing here"

  "There is, but you don't have to worry about that, this is his problem, I'm just going to confirm something with him"

  "Well either way, I'm looking for him as well, where are you going to meet Steve Jole?"

  "Knowing you, you have a death contract with him, well I can't say that I'm going to stop you or anything, that's a little too righteous for me, I have a hunch about where he's staying at right now, he isn't being heavily hunted so he's got it pretty easy, it's at the river side down at Lake Rile , there's an old building that was used before as a fishing shop."

  "Thanks"

  "I need to talk to this guy, so it would be much appreciated it if you didn't kill him in a blink, It may be troublesome for me"

  "I'll try"

  He hangs up, I put down my phone and begin packing. Lake Rile huh, haven't been there before, but I guess now's a better time than any. I walk over to Lily's room, still sleeping. I guess it's better if I leave it at that, it's gonna be a long night. I start grappling my way to Lake Rile. I soon see the river side Rat was talking about. I slowly begin scoping out the walk way. I see an old building up ahead. There are no lights on. I creep up towards it with my gun ready. As I near closer to the building I can see well placed cameras scattered throughout the perimeter. There doesn't seem to be traps, but he's got an eye on who approaches this area. I reach the building and make my way around. There's a back door, this one is easy, I can tell, he already knows that I'm here and Rat's probably there as well, probably told him that I was coming, it makes my job a lot easier, but I guess it won't hurt if I join them on their little tea party. I knock on the front door. Rat opens the door for me, and I enter. From the outside you would think that this was just an abandoned fish store but from the inside Steve Jole did some crazy renovating and this place is practically an apartment room. He has his computer and work area at the left side of the building while he sat near the right side. A monitor is placed on the wall opposite of him, he can see the outside with no problem. A few of the equipment he stole were still scattered on the table near the middle of the room. Rat gestured me to the seats and said.