Felicio

Making Connections

Felicio

I made my way to the docks. It was late at night. The water in the bay glistened under the silver moon. There was a huge cargo ship dominating the landscape. Cartons and crates were waiting to be loaded and a huge crane hung over them all but it was late at night and all the workers at the docks had gone home. There were other boats moored in the harbor as well, some commercial ones and some private. The private boats were sleek yachts. I could never even dream of owning something like that. The water looked as black as the night, its surface unbroken. I had a feeling it was deathly cold as well and I wouldn't want that chill seeping through my bones. But I was here on a mission. I crept around the docks until I found the Baylis, then I found a place to hide. I jumped up on the roof of a warehouse. It gave me a good vantage point of the entire docks and my black suit blended into the night.

I believe that Jack was telling me the truth and I knew that he wasn't going to be the entire brains of the operation. It amazed me how people got mixed up in situations like this but then again I ended up wearing this suit and fighting crime, so I can't really comment on how people can get mixed up in crazy situations. I'd heard all the warnings in high school about how drugs were bad and I'd seen all the films. It didn't seem like a smart move by Jack to do what he was doing but then again I guess it was a lot of money, and probably made him feel important. Like I said, in college he was a man among boys and he was probably trying to grow up all too quickly. But who was behind it? I fount it difficult to believe that college was the only place where Kaos was prevalent. I imagined it must be making its way through the underworld and I'd have to stop it before it got any further. Being Felicio wasn't always as easy as just punching out some muggers. There were a lot of complications along the way. The more I learned about the city the more I realized that it was a corrupt cesspool and there were moments when I didn't think there was any hope for it at all. It actually gave me even more respect for the police. Plenty of people thought they weren't doing any good in the city but I could see just how much they were accomplishing. It was just a shame that they were too concerned with stopping me rather than the real criminals.

I waited patiently until I saw Jack's car pull up. He looked nervous when he got out. He was looking around at the rooftops. I hoped that he wasn't going to blow my cover. Another car pulled up soon afterwards. A man walked out. He wore a business suit. He didn't look like the type of person who usually spent time at the docks but who was I to judge? He was thin and wiry with pale skin, and he wore black leather gloves.

“Are you okay? You look nervous,” the man said.

“No, no, I'm good,” Jack replied, although he couldn't stop himself from looking around everywhere. I muttered under my breath. If he wasn't careful he was going to give the game away. It was a little ironic how Jack now resembled Nathan, but I didn't have time to be amused. “Do you have the new batch? It's going well at college. I think I might even nee to increase the order.”

“You'll have as much as we give you and no more. We are managing the distribution of Kaos carefully. There is a strict plan in place and all you need to do is trust that everything is going according to that plan.”

“Who is 'we' exactly? I mean, I was just wondering about the actual hierarchy of the whole thing.”

“It's unlike you to be asking so many questions Jack. Part of the reason why I like dealing with you is because you do not ask questions. You do not need to know anything more than I am telling you.”

Again Jack looked around. The man stepped back.

“There's someone else here,” he yelled. A few guards ran from the car and surrounded Jack. “Who did you bring? Who got to you?” the man asked. Jack fell to his knees and held up his hands in surrender

“Nobody, I swear it, I was just admiring the scenery,” he said. Jack wasn't a very good liar. The man walked up to Jack and got one of the other men to hold a gun to Jack's head. It didn't take long for him to break. “Okay okay okay,” he said, “it's Felicio. I don't know how but he found out about Kaos at college. He threatened me earlier and I didn't know what to do. He put a dent in my car! I'm sorry. I should have told you.”

The man threw back his head and laughed. “That masked maniac does not frighten me. But you have compromised your integrity and you can no longer be trusted with us. Kill him when I am gone,” he said and turned away. He walked back towards the car. Jack pleaded, crawling on his hands and knees for mercy but it was not going to be given to him this night. I could have chased after the car but for all his faults Jack did not deserve to die. He whimpered on the ground as I sprinted across the rooftop and launched myself forward. I landed on my two legs and hand, spreading the impact around my limbs. Thankfully my increased strength made me able to withstand such heavy impacts.

My presence disturbed the guards. There were three of them standing around Jack. Two of them came towards me. The other one was ready to fire. I quickly ran towards the two and dodged the bullets that came my way, although a couple came closer than I would have liked. I kicked one gun out and then elbowed the other guy, driving the air from his lungs. I stamped down on the first guy's foot and heard him howl out in pain. His bones cracked. He fell to the floor cradling his wound. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the guy nearest Jack torn between wanting to carry out his orders and wanting to help his allies. I roared and unsheathed my claws. The guy nearest me had recovered quicker than expected and tried to whip me with his gun. I grabbed his hand and twisted his wrist until he screamed in agony. His gun fell free. I took it and launched it at the man towering over Jack. The gun hit him square in the forehead and dazed him for a moment. A moment was all I needed. I raced towards him and slashed at his mid-section, dragging his body down and slamming him against the floor. Jack was still shivering with fear. I placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It's okay, but they won't be out forever. You need to get out of here,” I said.

“What have you done?” he said, stupefied.

“Probably made a new enemy. But I also saved your life. Come on. Are you going to be okay to drive?”

Jack nodded. I led him to his car. Before he got in he thanked me. I repeated what I'd told him earlier. He should try and be a better person. He nodded again. I don't think he had quite processed everything that had happened. I didn't want him around to be found by the guards again so I pushed him in the car and made him drive away. I then ran as fast as I could to see if I could catch up to the mystery man's car but he had already gotten out of my sight. There was definitely something big going on and I had to find out what it was, but I didn't know where else to start. I was sure that they wouldn't be using the docks any longer now that I knew about it but at least I had seen the man's face. I would just have to take my time.

I still hadn't heard from Steph so on my way home I decided to drop in and pay her a visit. I crawled up to her bedroom window and gave the secret knock. It took her a few moments but she answered although she was looking tired. I slipped into her room and sat on the bed.

“There's something definitely creepy about the place,” she said before I could ask her anything, and then relayed to me everything she'd seen while she'd been in the Shaw building. “I hope you know what a risk I'm taking by telling you this. I'm not supposed to say anything. They made me sign this long NDA and it's only because you're my best friend that I'm doing this, but I have to admit that I'm scared. If something goes wrong, if they find out then I don't know what they're capable of.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” I said, trying to reassure her even though I wasn't exactly confident of that myself but I knew that I would never let anything happen to Steph. She was my best friend. I'd die before I'd let anything happen to her.”

“To top it all off I had some reporter come up to me as soon as we finished and tried to get me to blow the whistle. I couldn't tell her that I was doing it for her.”

“What was her name?”

“Ariel Blake. She said she was from The Bulletin.”

“She's been writing about me. She wants an interview.”

“If she knows something about Shaw then maybe you should take that interview.”

“Steph...no. I can't handle that.”

“I'm just saying. Maybe you need to start making some connections in the city. I know you like the idea of doing this on your own but you need help, especially if you're going to take on something as big as Shaw. Maybe it would help get the police off your back about Emma as well.”

Maybe it would. Perhaps a conversation with this Ariel Blake wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. I soon decided that I would get in touch with the reporter. It was time for Felicio to be given a voice.