Burning Phoenix - Saga 1

(Quintiles 22, 59 / 4:32PM)

(Boris) God damn…

A huge black and white TV showcased the evening news, in a room where three men and one woman gasp in shock for what their eyes let them see.

(Jenny) Is that in front of the Zirardge bank and tower?!

(Jerry) So they're now calling Lagefor home huh?

(Boris) No, they’re just returning to their roots…

As the news displayed the events of the aftermath of the shootout, Jerry placed his hand over his mouth, looking downward as the news wasn’t sensitive to the information they showed. Seeing many officers injured and shot, Jerry looked towards David who was eating a cone of ice cream.

(Jerry) Hey David, do you think the government is going to send us to clean up the Blood Eagles once again?

(David) Gwen and the others were always hot on their trail right when they all got their blessings, but…

David looked towards the TV, his eyes focusing on the many men and women making testimonies to the shootout. Gently gripping his ice cream cone with his right hand, he put his left hand on his chin.

(David) Why did they return here? To Lagefor of all places?

A phone call was heard towards the back of the room the adults were in. Boris, who was the only person to touch that phone, got up slowly and walked towards the phone, his limping much more noticeable.

Picking up the phone, he listened to what the person from the other side had to say.

(??? person) Are you seeing the news?

(Boris) Yeah.

(??? person) You know what to do.

(Boris) sighs … I’ll let them know…

Hanging up the phone on the wall, he looked at his employees.

(Boris) Someone called, they want the Blood Eagles gone.

(David) You know how they operate, their boss is too much of a weasel to be caught! No matter what city they go to, we always have shit luck in trying to get him.

(Boris) It was always in other cities, so the budget was relatively smaller. But here in Lagefor, we have a home-field advantage in terms of money.

Walking up to the TV, Boris looked at the news that was still showcasing the horrifying aftermath of the shootout, placing his hand on the screen with a gray lining in his eyes.

(Boris) I remembered after The Array when I showed my face to the lucky seven … I remembered how they all looked like they wanted to kill me …

As his palms were starting to sweat, they started to stain the TV screen. Not only his palms, but his face started to form droplets of sweat dripping down from his forehead.

(Boris) Not just the lucky seven, but Stan and his friends also wanted me dead, same went for Gwen. Hell, nobody talked to me for a week straight ever since The Array, but there is one thing though…

Boris pulled back his large fat hand, leaving behind a huge stain.

(Boris) Even if they did want to kill me, I know they wouldn’t, because …

Boris looked down at his hands, his hands sticky and clammy as he continued to look deep into his palms.

(Boris) They never experienced having blood on their hands.

Putting his hands down, he relaxed.

Boris then walked quickly towards David, his limping noticeable as he tried to run. His breathing became more rapid, followed by his sweat. Reaching to where he was in front of David, he looked up towards him, his eyes barely open.

(Boris) I’m done letting Gwen put in every Blood Eagles raid as a game, I’m going to force her soldiers to be rough with them.

(David) You know Gwen isn’t going to go through with it—

(Boris) If she refuses, then I’ll put in Luke to do it alone. You know how she is in terms of Luke’s safety.

David put his hands on Boris’s shoulders, his eyes glaring towards Boris as his legs started to quiver back and forth.

(David) Boris, this isn’t you. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.

(Boris) Even if I don’t know what I’m dealing with, it’s obvious that Gwen doesn’t take her job seriously. If she tried, she could’ve put an end to the Blood Eagles if she wanted to.

David let go of Boris’s shoulders, taking a couple of steps back as he looked at Boris with wide eyes. Sitting down on the couch, he put his hands to his face.

Boris remained standing, looking at his sturdy bodyguard and then giving out a sigh. Walking slowly towards David, he now towered over him with his chubby body and black fedora hat.

(Boris) Stop acting all hippie and nice, out of all of us you have the most blood on our hands. You were in the Beast-Human skirmishes, right? You weren’t all that nice to beast people when you were Luke’s age.

(David) Why the hell are you bringing that up?

(Boris) You can’t deny that you’ve killed people.

(David) But the people I killed were killers themselves.

David remained on the couch, looking up towards Boris who was still towering over him. Putting his full-back on the couch, David then started to slouch, leaving Boris to turn around and head to look at Jerry and Jenny who saw the conversation unfold.

(Boris) Don’t look at me like that. You’re not innocent Jenny, and especially not you Jerry.

(Jerry) I’ve killed people who needed to be killed, same as David.

(Boris) Hmmm…

(Jenny) I’ve never killed a person Boris…

(Boris) Yet.

Walking towards the door, his limping caused Jerry and Jenny to look at Boris as their eyes noticed his horrible right leg that looked more and more swollen as time went on.

Reaching the door, he grabbed hold of the handle, slowly opening the door. Turning his head towards where David was, he was still placing his hands over his eyes, his slouching causing his head to caress the edge of the couch.

(Boris’s thoughts) Sometimes, to defeat your enemies, you must become like your enemy.

Putting his chubby body out in the hallway, he gently shut the door and walked through the old hallway, different than it was six to two years ago.

______________________________________________________________________________

(Quintiles 22, 59 / 10:40PM)

(???) Congrats. You all did it.

The man appeared to be the same age as Jack, his youth ever present as he looked at all of his closest blood eagle soldiers. Seeing every one of them, he noticed that there were two that stood out to him.

(???) You guys were that fast huh? Number 1 told me that you guys were having your intimate time on the second floor, well, before I went to the restroom.

(Luke) Number 1? Intimate time…?

Despite being masked, it was clear that the rest of the masked men and the boss noticed that “Number 3” was nervous, as “Number 3” looked away with his face sideways to the boss.

(???) What’s the matter Number 3? Don’t want to pry into the details?

Walking up towards where Luke was, his height towered over the masked boy as he folded his arms. Looking down at him, the boss swiped away a bit of hair that was blocking his eye.

(???) Now tell me Number 3, I thought you were my most confident soldier yeah? Did the blood eagle bike, Number 4, turn you soft?

(Luke) N-no…

(???) Look into my eyes 3.

Extending his right hand to Luke’s masked face, he grabbed a firm grip on his chin, feeling the unusual youthness and lack of hair inside of the mask. Luke, who had his head up, had his face contorted with frustration as his fists started to quiver.

(???) I don’t need soft soldiers. I don’t care if you were submissive to the bike, but if you ever look away when I’m talking to you…

The boss pulled out a long double-edged kitchen knife. Its black handle and white crystal edges made it so that by touching it, one would simply be cut.

Putting the knife close to Luke’s right ear, he leaned it close to Luke’s ear.

(???) I’ll cut off your ear and wear it as a decoration.

Someone then gripped the boss’s hand, their hand squeezing tightly as their fingers dug into the boss’s left wrist. Noticing the pain, the boss looked to see “Number 4” focusing her attention on him as he started to clench his teeth.

The rest of the main group stood up and had their eyes on “Number 4”, having all of their hands in their pockets as they continued to deathly glare at her despite wearing masks.

(???) Woah number 4-ow … I never expected you to have this strength before. Are you-ow-ow-ow … are you this secretly ripped?

As Luna still had her grip on the boss’s left hand, the boss took a couple of steps back away from Luke. As he now turned his attention towards Luna, he used his right hand to put away his crystal knife, tucking it inside of his black fabric jacket.

Luna still had a tight grip on the boss, even when he started to tower over her. Licking his lips, he put his face close to the black mask that Luna wore.

(???) Because I love strong women…

Bringing his right hand on top of Luna’s, he also gripped with enough force to take Luna by surprise. Caressing her knuckles with his fingers, Luna’s left fist clenched hard as she shook her body, which became noticeable to the boss.

Letting go of her hand, Luna also put her hand close to her body, clearly focusing all of her attention on the boss.

(???) Your unusually feisty Number 4? Did he let loose too early? Was it too small? Were your expectations of him causing you to feel this way?

The boss continued to walk backward, not looking back as he managed to bump into a coffee table. Glancing at the coffee table filled with mugs and homemade little plants, the boss picked up a plant and extended his arm to the both of them. The plant that he was carrying was plastic, lifeless, with the white glass showcasing the fake dirt that it had.

(???) You’re too … I just feel like something is amiss here, you know? Both of you I trust for a long time … yet you guys are acting so—

At the drop of a hat, the boss then threw the plant straight at the TV, causing the screen to be destroyed as it managed to go inside it. With all of the Blood Eagle members on standby, they took a couple of steps back, their body movements calm and challenging.

Except for Luna and Luke.

(???) IT’S NOT RIGHT!! IT’S NOT RIGHT!! I’M NOT RIGHT!! NOTHING IS RIGHT!! FATHER!! FATHER!! FATHER!! FATHER!!

The boss went on a berserker frenzy, picking up all of the fake plants and mugs and crashing them onto the TV and wall behind it. He grabbed each plant, throwing them with ease as his arm didn’t have any expansion or muscle to them. As he yelled, his vocals were shrouded with pain and agony, his voice sounded like a plea for help as he went off the deep end.

Once he was finished throwing all the fake plants and mugs, he lifted the table and flipped it over, as adrenaline filled his arms with pure strength. Kicking the wooden coffee table over and over again, he managed to cause two to three holes by just merely kicking the table a couple of times.

Taking a step back from the table, his breath became raspy and shallow, not wanting to follow the simple rhythm of breathing.

(???) pants … pants … I think … pants … you guys should sit down … now …

Looking at the two of them with snake eyes, the boss used his hand to gesture to them to sit down with him. Keeping his eye on the two of them, he walked towards a chair that was in a corner of the room and gently placed it in front of the broken TV. Positioning the chair, he sat so that the back of the chair was touching his stomach, having his hands positioned at the top.

Seeing that the two Blood Eagle members were hesitant to sit down on the couch, the boss sharpened his eyes as he put his right hand onto his left knee, bending down gently.

(???) Sit down!

Pushing his vocals again, the two members quickly found a seat in the middle of the couch, both Luke and Luna sitting side by side as the blood eagles stood behind them. For eight of the blood eagles looking down, Luke started to breathe in and out more rapidly, his chest feeling heavier by the second.

Luna had her left arm holding onto Luke’s right arm, making sure her body was close to him. As the boss saw the two Blood Eagle members feeling heavy, he straightened his back and used his right hand to pull something out of his jacket pocket. Instead of pulling out his crystal knife…

(???) I think I know what’s going on…

He pulled out a M1911 pistol.

Having the pistol in his right hand, he pointed it towards Luke, pushing his face down as his eyes narrowed at his suspects. With a bit of hair covering his right eye, he didn’t care to put it in place, as he put his finger on the side of the gun.

(???) I could tell that nervousness from anywhere! You’re Luke Fenix huh?

The tall masked blood eagle member’s hands started to shake violently, looking away as his head started to shake softly. Seeing that Luke didn’t want to look at him, the boss turned his attention to a woman, licking his lips in the process.

(???) And you’re the swordswoman Luna Guerra huh? Are you still the hellfire of the group? You look as if you want to kill me right now under that mask.

Luna had her fists clenched as she focused her entire attention on the boss who held the handgun in his right hand. As her body shook with vigor, the boss continued to eye Luna, his lips trying to keep themselves moist.

(???) I’ll take it as a yes. You know, when I first met you, you took my breath away. You’re strong, you’re loyal, you’re a fighter! You can cause many men to gaze upon your beauty yet the moment you show your inner demons, they scatter off in the wind.

Luna used her legs to force her body to stand up with a snap of a finger. With her eyes behind the mask deathly glaring at the boss, the rest of the blood eagles took out their weapons, already loaded, and pointed them toward the fiery woman.

The boss slowly stood up and put his handgun on his black jacket, walking towards Luna as he signaled his men to stand down. Upon receiving the boss’s order, all the men put their weapons in their holsters, with handguns and shotguns being the most prevalent.

(???) Hit too close at home? You know Luna, we make a perfect match? Do you wanna know why?

The boss then put his hands on Luna’s mask, prying his way to see the beauty behind the mask.

Fully having the mask off, what the boss saw was Luna’s face, her forehead showcasing bulging veins. The boss put his left hand on her left cheek, her fists on the verge of breaking.

(???) We both have anger issues…

Leaning his face closer to hers, the boss’s lips opened slightly as he slowly moved his way toward Luna’s lips.

Just as he was about to seal her lips, a flash of light was radiated out the window.

Noticing this, the boss slowly turned his head towards the window.

(???) She’s here…

The wall surrounding the window exploded from the outside, raining dirt and debris amongst the blood eagles.