《Urban Wolf: On The Run》Onboarding
Advertisement
The next morning comes without event. I carefully inspect the room with my eyes as I wake up, making sure they don’t have any conveniently placed traps on the floorboards next to me. My left arm still feels slightly stiff, though the worst of the damage is now gone, as I stop to check my shoulder under my shirt. I set my feet on the floor to find no change in the room, except for the light coming in through the window.
I get the rest of my outfit back on, and stuff my daisho through my belt as usual. I step through the bedroom door, admittedly not knowing what time it was, to find the old man and the other man, the one in the suit, waiting for me. I slip my hand in one of my pockets. “Alright, let’s have your elevator pitch.”
“If you join us, you will be able to learn from us, but you will also be called to do certain… tasks.” The old man tilted his head near the end of that sentence, apparently trying to be verbally discrete even in his own safehouse.
“Such as?”
“Well, traditional mobs get money off of protection rackets. We’re the ‘counter-protection’ kind of players, since the cops don’t seem to care too much themselves.” Counter-protection? That’s actually a viable business strategy? Hard to believe for a mafia to be making money just off of protection.
“So you’re just a Yakuza with window dressing?”
This got a laugh out of the old man. He displays a wry smile, and I catch the other man smirking.
“You’ve got it backwards, darling. We don’t pursue the fine art of swordsmanship to discipline mobsters into loyal goons, no, we simply take action to pick fights with the more traditional mobs to further our understanding of the true art of combat. Though, there is a more perilous component of the reasons why we do what we do.”
Advertisement
“Then the money is of no interest to you?”
“Oh, the money also helps keep us afloat. But, unlike a normal mob, I see little value in indulging myself in the finest cigars and luxury suits like you’d see normal mobsters do. You see, it is merely a matter of putting our theory into practice.” As goofy as that sounds, it makes sense; swordsmanship is widely considered to be a ‘dead art’, at least in the sense that it’s rarely ever used anymore.
“Very well, then… I suppose I’ll join, just to see what it’s like, and to see what you have to offer.”
“I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lenny, take her to the other recruits.”
I’m taken along, past several streets and alleys, to what appears to be a dormitory by the man in the suit, but… outside of a college, for some reason. There are others inside, some roughly my physical “age”, but most much younger than that, all apparently recruits of the Haracrein.
Lenny walks along with me, past the first floor hallway which is dominated by two large rooms; one with cafeteria-like tables and one dominated by a large training mat instead, and up the stairs to the second floor, a hallway filled with many doors to different rooms. I notice some of the doors are open.
The open doors had a varying number of people in the rooms. The most I saw in one room was four people, all relatively young, ranging from early teens to early 20s at the most. We finally reached one room at the end of the hallway, and Lenny opened the door for me. “You’ll be allowed three hours here to get situated, but after that we’ve got our first task lined up for you. I’ll tell you more about it once the time comes.”
Advertisement
I inspect the room I’m handed. There’s nobody else assigned to this area, and it has a small living room, a relatively cramped mini-kitchen, a few bedrooms, and a bathroom. I look into the bathroom, and sure enough there’s an actual shower, a relief for me to be seeing after how long I’ve been on the run without a change of clothes. Speaking of clothes, I walk around for a little bit longer and find a small washer and dryer. What I don’t get, though, is how four people—that’s the most I’ve seen assigned to one room—are supposed to cohabitate in a unit with only two beds, unless sleeping on a couch is just normal here.
One shower and a change of clothes later, I meet with Lenny on the first floor to go on our first assignment.
“So, our first assignment is gonna be pretty simple, but it will require some subtlety.”
“What, a burglary? Pickpocketing?”
“No. Eavesdropping.”
If I was being sent to eavesdrop on someone, they had to be someone important, probably someone big, right? “So you’re just gonna send me up to go sit next to a big crime boss for my first mission?”
Lenny chuckled, then rolled his eyes. “No, you’re going to be listening in on a turncoat for our first mission.” He searches within his jacket, and finds a picture of what seems to be a group of Haracrein recruits, with one face circled in black marker, adorned with blond hair.
“Turncoat, huh? What did he do? And why?”
“He drugged a group of his friends, we’re not sure why. Predictably, he ran away, but after a short interrogation of his victims, we’ve got a lead that I want to use your help to pull on.”
“Why not go sniff around yourself? You look like a perfectly capable PI to me.” I admit, this particular question felt a little bit impetuous, but I wanted to know exactly how the higher-ups thought in the Haracrein.
“Don’t you know how to ask a lot of questions.” Lenny sighed. “If I do it, he’ll definitely recognize me, and if I sent anyone else there’s the risk he recognizes them, too. You, however, are a completely fresh face in need of a test drive, and your timing could not have been better for this.”
“Alright, sounds straightforward enough, but when and where are we gonna catch him?”
“I took the liberty of interrogating some of his friends, and one of them mentioned that he said he was gonna meet a ‘really cool guy’ at the Genn-Keele bar today at about 2 PM. That being said, we’ll just case the joint all day if we have to.”
“Very well, then. Let’s get moving.”
Advertisement
Lone: The Wanderer [Dropped Version (includes original draft of the rewrite's first volume)]
Nine-to-five. The daily grind. Life. Painful years of school. Working as a slave for some undeserving corporate big-wig. The monotonous life of unemployment. We all experience this in one way or another, and we can all conclude one thing: it's dull. Such a fact rings true even for the fabled Lone Immortus, a powerful nine-tailed Golden Foxkin. However, what would you do if your monotony was suddenly ground to a halt and you were thrown out of your comfort zone along with a young girl forgotten by time? Perhaps you might have done things differently, been more organised, immediately died, gained control of the world in a matter of days, but this is Lone's tale, not yours. Watching two insecure people struggle to survive and find their place in an unfamiliar land just might be enjoyable to witness. Who knows? One thing's for certain: it won't be an easy path for them to tread, and what could possibly be more entertaining than watching people endure hardships and grow? I know of at least eight gods that would answer with, 'Absolutely nothing.' I wonder, after seeing this journey from start to finish, how would you answer? [Goal of 2 chapters per week, the only exceptions being announced breaks or emergencies] A/N: This story is in the middle of a rewrite, so please forgive any noticeable plot holes and wonky chapter numbers. I am working on it every day, so understanding would be greatly appreciated. The new cover art is a courtesy of the very kind and talented ssddx. This novel is a participant in The Writer's Pledge
8 798Eusocial
There's a reason people made the word improbable. Just because something would never happen based on common sense or reason, doesn't mean it can't happen. For example, a soul maintaining their memories through the River of the afterlife, a stream of ethereal energies that remove and store memories from the recently departed only to return when they die again. Another example, a soul by it's sheer will maintaining awareness during the process of a new body's development; nearly infintesimile chances of happening, but there is still a chance. Hi, you can call me Esseu (S U) and I managed to do both of those nearly impossible things back to back. My reward for such a feat? I was turned into a glorified bee keeper. [Updates thursday every 2 weeks] ( I do not claim ownership of the image of the Cover, it is under public domain)
8 132The Humanity Initiative (discontinued)
Virtual gaming has been around for ages. Many live their entire lives online, not caring about what’s left of the real world. The few who do, fear nuclear annihilation. The risk of an unfortunate chain reaction is too large to ignore, but as of now, prevention is impossible. Humanity, in its biological form, would never survive as it is. That’s why the UN has its full focus on “The Humanity Initiative”. The field of genetics shows promising results, but are years from ready. If bombs were to fly tomorrow, something must survive. Recent VR technology has a potential candidate for that something.Farah Al Farzha never plays online, she loathes the very idea of it. She is in love with reality, and competitive fencing is her way to prove it. But when she reluctantly went online, she couldn’t exit, or at least a copy of her consciousness couldn’t.Human, but juridically speaking no more, Farah struggles in a game that would’ve been illegal. To her only consolation, the game is modeled after reality, a place foreign to the gaming brats around her. But what demands do the UN put on potential ‘human’ survivor candidates, and how will natural selection be replaced, when reality is no more? _______________________________________________________________________
8 244The Mystery Fighter II
With her deadly secret out in the open, Cassie must fight even harder to protect not only her sister but her own heart. *****Cassie has never been in a tighter spot. In an unexpectedly grim fight, Julian, her annoying yet charming tutee, uncovers her deadly secret! With the threat of homelessness pressing down on her, she has no choice but to move in with him to keep her and her sister safe. But when the past continues to catch up with her, rival gangs ramp up their challenges, out for her head. And as Julian's family's dark past comes to haunt Cassie, a mysterious stranger's return could challenge everything she has built to protect.*Sequel to The Mystery Fighter*Content and/or trigger warning: scenes depicting violence[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]
8 861970
Elora Horowitz thought her life would be just as uneventful as her sister Carina's. Eventually, she would get married and have children, and live in the shadow of her soldier sister. However, is this really the case? Flynn Nash, the young son of her family's late commander, Kurt Nash, walks into her life. Leading her parents and sister in battle, along with her South Vietnamese husband turned American soldier, Mihn. Elora and Flynn spark the moment they see each other. However, when Elora finds herself in the middle of a fight between a white gang and an innocent, young black teenager, Flynn may be her only link to survival. With the KKK on their tails looking to avenge the death of their younger members, Elora and Flynn are chased around the country. Will they make it through this ordeal, or will it crush down and drag them with it? *Book 3 of the Soldier Series*
8 122BLIND LOVE ✔{Completed}
||❤COMPLETED❤||This is my first fic.I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies.✖This fic is written with only imagination✖[♥Taɛҡօօҡ Yօօռʍɨռ Naʍʝɨռ J-ɦօքɛ♥]~~~~~~~THANKS❤~~~~~~~
8 307