The Deadman

William Wilson studied the person that had recently arrived in front of him in a Café in Trade Plaza. 

Robert Oswald. 

Recently promoted High-Grade Enforcer.

His recent files showed that he had success in exposing the hellish activities underneath the sewer system. 

Other than that he was normal like others.

Though there seems to be a shift in his personality after he got out of the sewers.

William could guess that the change came to the Enforcer after witnessing that hellish sight below the city.

They’ve counted over five hundred dead and the disposal of the bodies had recently become a problem for the City. Most of the media had been sniffing around and the rest of the world was interested in hearing how they found hundreds of bodies underneath the sewer system of the City of Saint Lucius. 

Even the host country became alarmed when various organizations who knew the existence of the supernatural and the occult started asking about this tragedy and why CASE allowed it to happen.

They could ignore a Spawn, a mythical creature running around. But when bodies drops it becomes a problem. 

A massacre like this will not go unnoticed and with the amount of dead buried in the sewers of the city.

It  would be very hard to hide it.

“I understand that you have recently spent your earnings on building a computer?”

“That’s right. I had to take the Tram to get here. It’s free. It’s neat.”

William sized him up. Robert Oswald was well-built and sharp-looking. His arms are solid and the way he carries himself made William think before criticizing him for his tardiness. He walked silently and breathes so slowly that it’s like he wasn't breathing at all.

“We will be operating quietly. That means we don’t shoot first until it's a need. So try to keep it quiet.”

William handed over the suppressor with strange lines on it.

“This will make sure that your shots are quieter. I had someone make that just in case.”

Robert inspected the linings on the suppressor and pocketed it.

“We’ll try to intimidate them. We've recently made to believe that a man called Two Fingers had recently taken over some of the businesses gathering associates. A guy named Jovan was handling the smuggling business here until this one came. Dayton Amuso was Two Finger’s full name. And get this.”

William showed a picture of Dayton wearing a Templar's necklace around his neck while mingling with a girl on a beach. Robert’s eyes went to the necklace.

“He’s part of the OTS?”

“Could be. We don’t have direct evidence. It could be that he just likes wearing a red cross around his neck.”

“So we asked him.”

“How are you when asking questions?”

“I’d need a knife. Have one?”

William took his butterfly knife out and placed it on the table. 

Robert took the knife and played with it. 

William raised a brow at how he handled the knife.

“Will that do?”

“Good enough. Anything sharp usually does. Hmm, I should have kept that ceremonial dagger I got from them. It was quite sharp. Had watery patterns on the blade as well.”

“I’d leave it to you how to handle it. You have a radio?”

“I do.”

“We’ll use this frequency then. Got a wire and earpiece here so you can listen to me. Just plug it in, switch the frequency and tune it. Working?”

Robert fiddled with his radio and then hangs it on his belt.

“It works. Clear as well. So where’s this Dayton?”

“Not around. We need information on him first. The guy you’ll be after for now was Bo Sottosanti. They call him Buster. He’s a tough guy. Had played boxing in his high school and spent years working with thugs like Dayton. He knows how to brawl and can shoot well enough. Can you handle him?”

“Can you?”

“I’m not the Enforcer here, bud.”

Robert shrugged. He tapped his index finger on the flat of the table. His eyes focused on William.

“How will you help me here exactly? Is this it? Or are you after something as well?”

“Have you heard of Halves?”

“What?”

“They are people who received powers through mingling with Demons.”

“And?”

“Demons have higher intelligence than humans. Those that appear here, who are summoned and spawned are lesser demons. True Demons are monstrous and our current world would need Agents of the Commission to fight them. Then some Halves are half-breeds. The Halves, we believe them to be the offspring of women who copulated with a demon or a lesser demon and gave birth to an irregular human being.”

“And? They are rare, right?”

“Yes. And we believe that the one who facilitated the killings underneath was a Halfbreed.”

“The point?”

“Watch out for them. These brutes are strong and although bullets work on them. They don’t go down with one shot.”

Robert hovered his finger above the table.

“You’re expecting them then. Are these Halfbreed people working for them?”

“They should be. Halves get their strength from their fathers. But they don’t inherit their intelligence mostly. It’s not perfect copulation either and only a few are truly monstrous.  We think there was one among them.”

“Okay. Hmm, do we have any information about where they are?”

“None. They have businesses here in Trade Plaza. Sniff them out. Find them and we’ll have leads. Nothing attracts these bastards more than their business being bothered. Once the cash stops flowing. I’ll drag them out of whatever shithole they are hiding and take care of them personally. I have a few folks who'll be willing to get you some leads. If I find anything I’ll radio you.”

Roger nodded his head and stood up. William stood up and opened his mouth.

“That’s the mission. You find them. Make them spill. And we find the fuckers who are running things here so we can get to Two Fingers.”

“Got it.”

William observed Robert.

“You don’t have any questions?”

“Not for now. I’ll have them when I start getting lost. Thanks for the butterfly knife.”

He left quietly while twirling that butterfly knife. William raised a brow and sat back down drinking his cup of joe. He took his notepad out and wrote something down on his note before putting it back inside his coat.

 

***

 

Robert got the address and location of the Informant. It was a cigarette stand located near the stairway leading to a subway. He was by the entrance. Robert got there and handed over a note. The Informant, after confirming that he was an Enforcer, allowed him to sit on the stool inside of the stand to be out of sight from prying.

He offered him a cigarette while he spoke up.

“If you want to get to Dayton. You need to get to Bo. I’m sure our mutual friend already told you about Bo. Now to get to Bo you need to find Thomas Goss. Tall guy. Dresses neat and you can tell who he was by that brown trilby he had that had a card stuck on it.”

“Got any pics of him?”

He took a picture of Thomas Goss.

“How tall was this guy?”

“About six-foot and five, I think.”

He handed over the address.

“You guys… you don’t look like the usual guy.”

“Hmm, we’re on a need-to-know basis here. Our associates will pay you.”

“I see. How do you plan to approach him?”

“Patience.”

Robert walked out of the cigarette stand. He took the tram while speaking to William through the radio.

“How’s the place this Thomas Goss had? Any people that I should worry about?”

“Lot. Be careful. A lot of goons are around. Got any wiretapped around the area?”

“Might.”

“Just radio me if they decided to have pizza or any order.”

“Oh, I’ll get to you when that happens.”

Robert stopped next to the small park where the businessmen of the city stopped to think or smoke. Two hours passed by. William finally radioed him that they order a delivery to their location.

He moved to the address of where the store was located. He located the guy that was about to do the delivery and asked him kindly with his friend named 1911 Semi-Automatic to let him deliver it for him and that he needed to take off his uniform.

The delivery friend was nice enough to help him. He said that he needed the break anyway. Robert drove his scooter to the location where the delivery was and parked his scooter just on the side of the alley. 

Robert took the delivery to the front door.

“You ain’t the usual delivery guy.”

“He took a break. Can you just let me deliver this? Got more to go.”

“Put it on the kitchen’s counter and fuck off.”

Robert acted and speaks like a dead-inside guy working forty hours a week. His hunched walk. His ‘don’t talk to me and let me do my job’ face made the rest of the goons inside ignore him.

He counted eight of them. The ninth was in the kitchen wiping his face. Robert placed the delivery on the kitchen’s countertop and took the note that the delivery guy gave him alongside the delivery and checked it.

He thumped the shoulder of the guy washing his face on the sink.

“Hey, can you tell where my tip was?”

“Fuck off.”

“Just hand over the fucking tips so I can fuck off then.”

Robert spotted a vein popping. The guy turns around, opened his mouth, and holds his throat as Robert jabs his fist at his throat. He grounds his teeth and looked at Robert.

Robert followed it with a hook to the jaw. Robert looked around. He found a pantry and drags the guy inside. He checked the guy's pockets and found his flip phone. He searched the inbox and skimmed through the messages. After that, he tore the back of his flip phone, took the sim card, and walked out of the pantry. 

He took the gasoline and kerosene and all flammable materials and spread it in the kitchen to start a fire. He walked out of the kitchen. Walked up to the second floor and entered the bathroom. He waited for a minute before hearing Thomas Goss shouting at his men to stop the fire. He took his pistol out, attached the suppressor to it, and aimed at his leg.

Gunshot. Blood spilled. Robert entered the office. He locked the door calmly while still pointing the pistol at Thomas Goss’s head. Thomas Goss tried to reach for his pistol.

Robert shot his trigger finger off.

“Guess I’m a better shot here, huh.”

Robert circled around Thomas Goss before taking his knife out. He dragged Thomas Goss to his table and inserted the edge of the blade on Thomas’s nail.

“What do you want, you psycho?”

“Bo. Location and address. Mister, I’m good at detecting lies. You can tell me, you know? Of course, not that I’d need you to tell me where he was. Think of this as a double-check since it’d be easier for me.”

Robert pushed the knife's edge, taking the nail off his thumb. He pushed the suppressor's barrel into Thomas's mouth.

“Hmm, I actually don’t seem to need you.”

“Fuck. Fuck. I’d talk. You don’t have to do this shit to me! You think I’m that loyal to that fat fuck!?”

“Sure. Tell me. Where was Bo?”

“He’s in Pera’s Clubhouse.”

“Write down the address. Call him. Tell him that you got a newcomer that you recommend. Try to expose me and you know what’s going to happen right?”

“O-okay.”

Thomas wrote down the address. He ran his finger on his dial and calls Bo.

“Y-yo Bo got a newcomer here. Have potential. I’ll be sending you to him. Make him do some good work. That's okay?”

“You sound rough. Any problems?”

“Some asshole lit up the stove in the kitchen.”

“Oh. Send me the guy before you burn. Oh, and don’t forget the cut. You hear me?”

“Got it, Bo.”

Robert took his phone and pocketed it. He slammed the butt of his pistol on Thomas’s head thrice and then pulled him down on the floor. just below his desk. Robert went to the security room next to Thomas’s office. He took the tapes on the recorder and put them in his messenger bag. He inspected the computer parts. Unplugged them and pried them open using the screwdriver on the side.

“Shit parts.” 

He ripped the chipset, and RAM out of his computer, and plucked the hard drive from the computer. After that, he went back to Thomas’s office. Took the hard drive off his computer and puts a bullet on the back of Thomas’s head.

Opening the window, he dropped down from the second floor, walked to where he parked the scooter, and drove away while the fire in their kitchen scattered, heading to Pera's Clubhouse.