Chapter 1035

Chapter 1035: My hardwork

‘Talented taken by vices,’ observed Kul, ‘-what a waste,’ she kept her strain narrow. A tall winding metal chute, lined against the walls, had particular drops and turns, the whole structure was a bad slide. Further down, the tunnel grew to accommodate the flat’s chutes. And there, in the end, on her taking another step, came the decrepit site of decomposing meat and its associated foul stench. The odor lit up the whole underground area, she pinched her breath at times, squinting her eyes as a reaction to the awful stench. Across laid a cabinet, a small box with four glass panels turned at the four cardinal points. Inside sat an unbothered frame – large forehead, receding hairline, and a resting face that sagged. Handprints, bullet holes – the dried color of blood, add the slightly dim lighting, it was a murder house disguised as parking. ‘-Damn,’ she tiptoed over the garbage bin, “-you alive there?” Moans and painful cries escaped, “-hey, wake up,” she kicked, the noise resounded akin to a gong.

“DON’T WAKE THE PATIENTS!” thundered from the cabin, “-I said no NOISE!”

“My bad,” she rose her hand, “-won’t happen again.”

“Better not,” the window slammed louder.

Muddied fingers clambered from the depths. Long and menacing stained by blood and gore gripped the bin’s edge and pulled.

“That hurts,” the free hand reached for the back of his neck, “-he has guts,” he stared at the chute, “-getting shot sucks.”

“Are we done?” she blinked, “-tumbling down the metallic chute wasn’t hard, was it?”

.....

“Don’t know,” he vaulted, “-my clothes are soaked in death. Why do I always get my share of fun in the worse places imagined.” Ripples brushed, and the sound of gunfire whispered from above, “-guess the raid is underway?”

“Majesty, why would you get involved in the Order’s operations?”

“Elixia,” he said, “-got a message when we were at the theater. She asked for a favor and I obliged. We should get out of here.”

“...please,” came from behind, “-help me...”

“Oh, survivors?” he curiously inched over and scanned, “-say alive if you’re alive.”

“Alive,” came a few grunts and inaudible sounds.

Kul waited with, ‘-what now?’ loaded. Curiously enough, Igna threw inviting regard at the man inside the cabinet, “-what do you do with them?”

No response, for only a glare returned. “-Cold,” she commented.

‘Looking at the remnants, the bodies are burnt indiscriminately,’ a dark mass was spotted directly above the bin, ‘-clear signs of fire.’

The cabinet door shot outward and slammed as if a hammer to a nail. He dawned on square prescription glasses and limped over, “-I said no noise.”

“Didn’t make any noise,” added Kul.

The receding hairline passed under Igna’s chin and tiptoed over the edge, “-survivors?”

“I think so.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he reached around the back, pulled a Jerrycan, then lathered the inside, “-today’s going to be a hot night,” said a distant comment, “-kill then burn, burn then bury, what fucking life is this...” the swiping motion stopped, he turned and grabbed Igna’s hand, “-there are survivors here, why don’t you plea for the lives?”

“Do I look like a saint?”

“A weird one, aren’t you,” he flicked a lighter and pressed it against Igna’s chest, “-do the honors, tough guy.”

“Why use a lighter?” *Burnt eternally, for I, the devil, call forth flame of which purges gods and demons alike. Set ablaze and never wake, crumble to ash, and be vanquished by the wind of change: Abyssal Wrath,* “-when you can use magic.” The container erupted. The flames howled, melting body and surrounding, the chute turned smooth and dripped, *Clap,* nothing was left.

“Holy hell,” the man blinked with confused laughter, “-cruel, I like it.”

“Psycho,” whispered Kul.

“Tell me, what’s your name?”

The glasses rose, “-they call me Lenny. Lenny the cleaner.”

Kul shoved Igna aside in awe,”-Lenny the cleaner?”

“That would be me.”

“This couldn’t have come at a better time. Lenny, how would you like a job working for us?”

“What kind of job?”

“Lenny, I’ll ask this once,” she pointed at the gunfire, “-the OFN just raided. It would be great to settle it here.”

“I clean, that’s my only job. Why would you be interested in my work?”

“Lenny, don’t know if you understand but, the name, Lenny the Cleaner, is spoken of like a hero, a living legend. Your work is immaculate.”

“Right, taking out the garbage is the job of a garbage man. What do I need?”

“Your skill and a new change of clothes.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, you’ll for us, for Raven.”

“Don’t care who I work for,” he shuffled, “-long as I get paid and have food, I’ll do just about anything – no cleanup for children, even I get nauseated sometimes. Hidros and their child predators are the worse I’ve seen,” the voice trailed, “-insane fucks.”

“Lenny the Cleaner?”

“Master, look, the man’s renowned for his prowess. He can make any dead body vanish. Raven and Snow had a shootout a few months in Plaustan. There were at least twenty bodies piled in one room. Support was out and local authorities were called. I immediately reached out to someone with ties there, but the response was late and dispatch was out. Guess what, when they arrived – the bodies were gone and the place immaculate. No trace of evidence, it was clean. I couldn’t believe my eyes – neither could our associate. With power like that, making more aggressive deals would be Childsplay.”

“Well, Raven is your department, who am I to interject?” Forty-five minutes passed, the flat was fully raided, narcotics seized and hostages freed. Ernesto and Syion were taken into custody. The siren rang to not much attention. Fireworks blasted in the distance – the muted melody and loud cheers reached the curb where Ishta sat with a cigarette.

“Majesty,” he puffed, “-I heard much from Elixia. You two are one of the same,” he shook his head and tapped Kul’s shoulder, “-you and I have a job to do. Elixia will take it from here.” Loud cheers came from the truck – an operation well done.

“Let’s catch up some other time, master,” said Kul, “-Elixia, I’ll leave it to you.”

“My pleasure,” a tram passed overhead, a distant screech told of drifting cars. The truck slowly headed towards the main street, indicators pointed left and gone – the headlights joined the sea of yellow, red, and white.

Igna had his back against the chain-linked fence, “-Elixia, tell me, what have I missed in the two years?”

“Should I summarize now?” she joined his side and lit a cigarette of her own. He watched as her long lashes slowly blinked, she’d raise her head and puff, striking a nonchalant side-glance and smile, “-checking me out?”

“You’ve changed?”

“I guess so. About the past two years... where do I begin,” she flipped, drawing inspiration from the cityscape, “-the terrorist attack was blamed on the war. Evidence pointed at Alphia and their faction. It was the first of many bombings that would take the continent by storm. Economically speaking, we weren’t suffering the brunt of the battle. Sending supplies and arms was enough to take hold of the battle. We rallied an army of our own on foreign soil and turned Elendor into a warring state under Hidrosian rule. Juvey and Ezel were amazing in leading their troops. Juvey ruled the seas with an iron fist, and Ezel took guerrilla warfare to another level. They did hit and runs, took supplies, overruled major cities, and uprooted political influence. Estral, Yian Dho, and Konak reacted as we expected. In the following months, they’d wage their efforts in taking the principal province of the late Empire, they did so with ease as the borders linked. It was decided then that we’d strategically allow them the province. That was a mistake, the principal province was well protected by the natural geography. Alphia’s discovery of Maicite threw them onto the map – they got to research and entered the market we cornered for so long. Wasn’t looking too good – but hey, a few incidents do happen. Most notably, the meltdown of Jenya Plant in the province of Legrury. About then, the Order of Nightwalkers gained worldwide renown as a skilled agency. Nothing of great importance happened – a war was being fought. The city was captured, liberated, then recaptured. We sought to fortify our hold on the remnants of the Empire, and currently have control over the whole of Elendor and part of the Empire’s state. Emria’s still as dangerous as ever – Cimier’s influence has turned half of the province, divided by the Great Alps, into a hotbed for crime and drugs. We found ourselves on the receiving end. Drugs are being imported into Hidros – the money that went to us is being sucked. When money is involved – well, a state can turn vindictive. Arda’s response was increasing the manufacturing of God’s ale and Angel’s dust – the price was lowered and Alphia was taken, hostage. Snow replied with their God Powder. It’s at a point where deadlocks have been reached all over the world. The balance of power is being settled and the natural order of things are resting.”

“Drug trade is at an all-time high and Hidros’ taking strides in hunting produce that isn’t native?”

“Yeah,” she said, “-to the horror of our usual customer, involvement of law enforcement’s turned eyes on various factions. I don’t know how long we have before a choice has to be made. Either we support the drug trade and gain on the side or stop and hunt down the aggressors. Either way, money will be drained and crime will rise.”

“What about the population, how do they hold?”

“Population’s skyrocketed in the last decade, more and more immigrate and follow their dreams. As for their standing, opinion is split between the factions. Some are for, others against, I’d say it’s pretty standard.”

“I see,” he blinked, “-it’s nothing like I imagined. Here I thought we’d have missiles flying into one another, I mean, mutual destruction is one way to stop all the nonsense. Lucifer, how is he?”

“Emperor Lucifer has united Yian Dho, Konak, and Alphia into a monster of equal measure. As for us, Hidros is joined by Arda, Easel Run Gard, Elendor, Emria, the kingdom of Greenwhoot, and Marinda.”

“Guess we don’t like violence yeah?”

“We’re bound by our reputation of diplomatic approach. If no one bothers to fight for peace, the world’s gone. This is why we take the foolish ideal. Lucifer forced our hands and now we have to live up to expectations. Too big a military response and we can have the shaky balance turn awry.”

“Good news, are there any?”

“Hidros happier than ever,” she smiled, “-the common folk doesn’t feel the pressure of war or the outward aggression. Plaustan’s boomed, and the beaches and high-rolling lifestyle have taken the rich and famous. Our economy is greater than it’s ever been. People have more money than they know what to do with; that to is a problem as vices such as drugs are the unfortunate end of many. It always circles back to it.”

“Didn’t imagine the concoctions I made desperately to raise money for my companions so many decades ago would take the world into such an age. I have questions about Phantom – surely the nefarious stories have been disclosed.”

“Phantom’s criminal association is known but without proof. There’s no evidence linking them to the underworld, far as it looks, the giant is as clean as it comes. The Dark-Guild, they’re still a shadow, whispered on the street and feared by local ruffians. To be honest, master, the world is fine as it is. We’ve done what we could and have nurtured and strong mindset. Being from Hidros is pride – a badge of honor. Centuries of hard work, centuries of being thought as the worst of the worse.”

“Is it over?” he breathed, “-did my hard work better Hidros?”

“Look around,” she smiled, “-there’s no greater place on earth than here.”

‘Two years go fast,’ he looked at the cityscape, ‘-I guess my hard work did pay off.’