The man approaching in the dark blue armor cut an imposing figure, and he had a face that matched in severity. A stern expression combined with a long, beakish nose gave him the impression of a hawk, and his presence alone made it clear that he was the one in charge.

The silver duo behind him didn’t quite match his stature, but they wore machine guns at their side and a similar type of blocky armor that made all three look like human tanks. Damien wondered how that could even move with such gear.

Unsure of why they’d decided to approach the two of them, Damien performed a scan on the human tanks, just in case things were about to get heated. He scanned the silver ones first, and they both revealed the same information.

NPD Officer

Level: 10

Weapons: NPD Standard Issue SMG

Armor: NPD All-Purpose Guard

The dark blue figure gave a different reading.

NPD Lieutenant

Level: ?

Weapons: ?

Armor: ?

Even though the scan didn’t reveal much, Damien felt like he’d received the message loud and clear: These guys were not to be messed with.

A forced, crooked smile grew on the Lieutenants face and he extended his arms out in an almost welcoming gesture. “Marcus, my boy. How’ve you been?” He spoke with an arrogantly condescending tone that immediately made Damien want to punch him in the face.

“Just fine, Jerkoff. Never been better.”

The unnatural smile instantly vanished from the Lieutenants face. “It’s Lieutenant Zhurkov,” he said with an emphasized slowness before pointing to Marcus’ damaged arm. “You don't look so fine.“

“Trust me, I’m doing great.” Marcus said with a shrug. “And you know that’s just my speech impediment, Jerkoff. Can’t help how I pronounce things.”

Zhurkov scoffed. “You been staying out of trouble, boy?”

“I try to. Some people take my speech impediment the wrong way. They think I’m being a sarcastic asshole or something, and they get really testy about it. Bunch of pussies if you ask me.”

“Mhmm, well nobody asked you. I got a call about a shootout at the Flying Saucer. Happened about twenty minutes ago. Know anything about it?”

Marcus put on a thoughtful face that looked like he was trying too hard to think of something. Damien wasn’t sure if he was actually trying to act his way out of it, or if he was just mocking the cop. It was likely the latter.

“Afraid not,” Marcus finally said after a few seconds. “I’ve been at this market here all day. You should see the… things they have on sale.” He turned to Damien. “You remember the thing? It was a great thing. Totally worth spending the entire day here.”

Damien’s eyes sprang open, and he tried his best to give a low key shake of the head to signal that he did not want to be a part of this.

“Is that so?” The Lieutenant kept his stern eyes fixed on Marcus. “Well you match the description of one of the parties involved.”

“Lots of people look like me. Few look as good-”

Zhurkov interrupted the boast. “Witnesses say there was a purple crown on the hood of the car. You know what that means, right? Royals. Last I checked, you aren’t the best of friends. Plenty of motivation for a little fire fight. That gives me enough grounds to arrest you right now.”

“Yeah? So why don’t you do it?”

The strained smile returned to the Lieutenant’s face. “You know why I let dogs like you run free. I admire you doing your best to make the most of a tragedy. The changing tides of street politics claim many lives.”

For the first time, it looked like Marcus had run out of things to say. He simply stared the Lieutenant down, jaw clenched and eyes spewing with fury.

Zhurkov shrugged. “Oh well. People get what they deserve in the end.”

“Shut up!” Marcus finally blurted out. “I’ll kill you, bastard!”

The silver officers drew their guns, and Damien instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, but a heavy hand on his shoulder stopped him from drawing it.

Zhurkov casually raised his hand and the officers slowly lowered their weapons, bringing the tension down just as quickly as it had spiked up. “We both know you won’t kill me… because we both know you can't. No. Instead, this is what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna pay me a little extra on top of the regular fee for your freedom. If you don’t do that, I won’t even bother locking you up. That little threat of yours is enough justification for me to kill you in self defense. Not that I needed it in the first place to take down a rabid dog like you.”

This motherfucker… Damien clenched his fists and fought back his desire to drive his katana through this armored piece of shit. It was one thing to be an asshole, but he couldn’t stand seeing the way he spoke to someone who’d effectively taken him under their wing. But he couldn’t do anything about it; these guys were surely too strong. The fact that Marcus of all people had held him back was proof enough.

A twinkle of satisfaction and twisted joy emerged from within Zhurkov’s cold eyes as he pulled out a rectangular device and handed it to Marcus. The pirate looked like he was boiling with rage, but he gritted his teeth and tapped his damaged wrist on the device before throwing it back to the Lieutenant who effortlessly caught it.

“See? Now that wasn’t so hard. As long as you learn to stay in your place, we can all get along.” Zhurkv turned toward Damien, who felt the full brunt of the Lieutenant’s intimidating gaze. “This is your friend, huh?”

Damien glared back at him, not bothering to hide the violent intent in his eyes.

A few seconds passed before Zhurkov broke his stare and cracked his forced smile. “I guess it’s true with they say. Trash attracts trash.” He gave a signal to the officers and they turned to retire to their truck.

Every fiber of Damien’s being begged him to run up behind that smug asshole and catch him off guard with his blade, but his fantasy was interrupted when Marcus let out a long sigh. “Sorry about that, Dame. I almost lost control back there.”

“Sorry about what? Fuck that guy.”

“You don’t have to tell me… What I’d do to drive a bullet through his skull.. But he runs the city center, and he’s as dirty as they come. He could kill us at any time with no repercussions. I may be a little crazy, but even I’m not dumb enough to go against a Lieutenant of the NPD.”

Damien gritted his teeth, their comparative lack of strength frustrating him deeply. “I guess I should thank you for stopping me. If I’d have drawn my sword they might have fired at us.”

“It’s fine,” Marcus said, “forget about Zhurkov. He’ll get what’s coming to him some day. Let’s get back on track. We got another two hours to kill before our meeting with Zero. Let’s go see the loot we stole from the Royals.”