SHADOW QUEEN: THE RISE OF JENNA BROOKS. Chapter 3: Blood Oaths and Broken Codes
556 Words
Victory had a sound—thunderous, primal, deafening. And Jenna Brooks heard it every night. The crowd chanted her name now, “Scrap Queen! Scrap Queen!” like a war cry. She moved through the underground circuit like a storm—unrelenting, unforgiving. Her fists weren’t just weapons; they were promises.
Fighters respected her. The bosses cashed in on her. And the streets started whispering her name in corners thick with smoke and danger. But fame in the underworld was a double-edged blade. And soon, Jenna felt its sharpness cut close.
After a particularly brutal match where she dropped a champion twice her size, a man in a charcoal-gray suit approached her dressing room. He didn’t knock. He simply stood in the doorway, calm, composed, and far too clean for a place that reeked of blood.
“I’m here on behalf of Vargo,” he said, placing a card on the table. It was black, with a silver V etched into its surface. “He’s impressed. He wants to meet.”
Bones’ reaction was instant when she told him. He stiffened, like a dog smelling something rotten.
“Vargo doesn’t ask. He owns. If you go in, you better know the cost.”
But Jenna already knew. Protection. Power. A chance to climb higher.
Vargo’s world wasn’t built on bruises—it was layered in secrets, deals, and blood. He was a ghost in the criminal empire: no photos, no trail, just a name spoken like a myth.
Their meeting was in a rooftop lounge lit by flickering neon and rain-slicked shadows. He wore no mask, but his face was forgettable. That was his gift. He looked like everyone and no one.
“I see fire in you,” Vargo said. “You’re wasted in the pit.”
“What do you want from me?” Jenna asked.
“A partnership. You work for me. I protect you. No one touches you unless I allow it.”
“And in return?”
“You break bones, deliver messages, remove problems. You’re already a weapon. I’ll just point you.”
Jenna didn’t hesitate. She took the deal. Not out of trust—but out of necessity.
At first, it was simple. She collected debts. Intimidated rivals. Her name carried weight, and Vargo’s shadow loomed behind her. But as the jobs grew darker, the lines blurred. She was sent into safehouses with a knife and told to leave no survivors. She followed orders—but not blindly.
Then came the twist. She was sent to eliminate a rival enforcer—only to find Bones waiting. Bloodied, cornered, betrayed.
“Vargo knew,” Bones rasped. “He wanted this.”
Jenna’s stomach twisted. She realized then—she wasn’t the queen in this game. She was a pawn.
Back at her apartment, she stared at her reflection. The bruises had faded, but her eyes… they had changed.
She wasn’t just surviving anymore.
Now she had to choose: keep playing Vargo’s game—or break it entirely.
And Jenna Brooks didn’t like being used.
- Writer
