23 Slip up [2]

"It's been a whole fuckin' day lad!"

"I know."

The two men were currently sitting within a diner. The place was full and lively during the evening, families would come and take their children for a quick and filling dinner.

"How long are we supposed to be out here? When the hell is our shift over?"

"There are no shifts."

The scrawnier man instantly paused while shoving a piece of steak into his mouth. He put down his fork and looked at the man with tattoos with disbelief in his eyes.

"No shifts?! Fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"Means we're on the job 24/7. Also be quiet would ya?"

"Well fuck me… has anybody found the kid yet?"

The scrawnier man slouched back in his seat and looked at his half eaten steak in solemn.

"We actually got a tip from one of our guys in Forn Street, he said he saw a kid with white eyes tryna sell a necklace."

"Forn Street? We got lads over there too?"

"Oh trust me that "lad" we got over there isn't like any lad you've seen."

The man with tattoos leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

"That "lad" you refer to is no other than Darius Hashim."

"Darius Hashim?! THE Darius Hashim?"

The man with tattoos flashed a grin before continuing.

"Yes, that Darius Hashim. One of our S Rank Riftwalkers that goes by the name "Midas" with his relation to gold."

"Well shit…I didn't know they assigned Midas to Forn Street. Why the hell did they do that?"

"It was his choice, he prefers the lighter atmosphere rather than doing the dirty work for the boss."

The scrawny man's eyes widened at the facts spoken by the man with tattoos.

"He can just do that as he pleases?!"

"He's strong enough to garner the respect of our boss, so yeah he can do as he pleases."

Both men finished talking about Midas and his strength within the span of another five minutes. The men started to finish the food in front of them before the scrawny man spoke up once more.

"So what are we gonna do about the kid?"

He said while shoving mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"We'll see if the kid matches up from the footage on our cams, if not we'll let him be."

"Well what if it is the kid we're lookin for?"

"Then we take him to the boss, we'll have our orders by then."

The two men finished their meals and made their way out of the diner. The city streets were bustling with activity and the cars zoomed past them. They walked down in the direction back to the black market.

"So this kid, where did Midas send em off to?"

"Oni."

"That shop?"

The men continued to talk as they made their way through the bustling city streets and night life.

"Yeah the shop, we're headed over there right now to see if we can intercept the kid."

The man with tattoos had determination in his eyes. He would be waiting for the boy to land within his grasp.

In order to confront him.

****

"Woah kid you can't come in here like that."

"Oh, of course."

I nearly walked into the black market without anything to obscure my identity.

"Come back when you have a mask."

"Will this work?"

I pulled out the mask Jonathan gave me and presented it to the man standing at the entrance.

"Hmmm- that'll do."

He nodded his head and gestured me to head inside.

I attached the mask to my face, which only covered my nose and mouth like a regular face mask but it would work for now. Heading inside the market, it was exactly like it was before the incident.

People hiding their identities were scrambling around buying products from various vendors from all around the world. They even had vendors that sold rare objects from the rifts.

"Get your rare potions here!"

"Come check out our stock of weaponry!"

"Hey let's give this ride a spin!"

Vendors were advertising to the people walking down the market pathways from people selling potions, weapons, and even entire vehicles.

"Hey you, wanna buy some gear?"

All of a sudden, a woman approached me and started selling her products.

"Where'd you get these?"

I asked.

"That's a trade secret, but I can assure you that these will satisfy your needs. Whether that be for collecting or use."

I looked at the tray she was holding in front of me. Nothing seemed of use to me as of now, but I could use her.

"Where's Oni?"

"Oni? The shop?"

"Yes, the shop. Where can I find it?"

It didn't hurt to ask for directions unless of course; she gave me a false answer.

"Take a left down this pathway and keep going for around 5 minutes. You should be able to see the sign by then."

She pointed me in the direction with her long nails and when she looked back at me her short black and green hair swayed.

"Thank you. I'll see you around."

I shrugged her off and followed her directions.

Not long after getting her directions, I found myself in front of a rather flamboyant shop. There was a large neon Oni sign at the door and it was guarded by two large men. Both of them had weapons on their hips and looked like knights guarding a castle.

I looked at the two giants standing guard before I walked into the shop. The place itself was decorated in a Japanese fashion with shoji sliding doors and many other traditional decors.

The place smelt like burning incense, and the man at the countertop was lighting a cigarette.

"What can I do for you kid?"

He exhaled his breath, and a cloud of smoke enveloped his face.

"I wanna sell this."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the necklace as the man put on his glasses. He put on his white gloves and took the necklace out of my hands. Observed it closely and kept on exhaling his cigarette.

"I'll take it. How much do you want for it?"

"At least 140,000 CR."

I bluntly said, while staring straight at him.

"140k? You're brave kiddo, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, so there's no negotia-ah."

The air in the room instantly got heavier, it got harder to breathe, and it slowly got harder to stay standing. My throat instantly dried and my neck felt as if I were being strangled, and when I looked up at the man, he had a terrifying grin on his face.

"What? Cat got your tongue kid?"

"W-what the hell is this?"

I strained, and I struggled to even speak.

"It's bloodlust. Get used to it if you're gonna be around here kid."

The air went calm again, and he slouched down into the chair behind him.

"Phewww-"

He exhaled the cigarette that was between his fingers and closed his eyes.

"140k right? Deal."

"Really?"

"Yeah really, now take this card full of credits and go. I suggest you leave quickly kid."

He slid me a black card with the Berith sigil on it. I took it and placed it on my smart watch before it created a distinct sound.

Beep-

The man glanced in my direction after taking a hit of his cigarette after seeing me place the card near my watch.

"The hell are you doin?"

"..."

"Hey kid-"

"I'm just checking if you're lying or not. Thankfully, you aren't."

|140,000 CR|

The holographic display on my watch said.

"Pleasure doing business."

I tossed him the necklace before walking out of the building until the man suddenly spoke up.

"You better hurry up kid! They're coming after you hahaaa!"

He said while laughing maniacally.

"RUN KID! FUCKIN' RUNNNNN! HAHHAHAHAH!"

I looked back at him with horror in my eyes.

'What the hell is he talking about?'

I looked around me in all directions until I spotted someone. A large muscular man with tattoos walking in my direction followed by a smaller man with a gun. The larger man looked as if he were walking in slow motion.

Or was that just my heart racing?

Either way, I knew this wasn't good for me. The man could clearly be seen glaring in my direction with bright, glowing red eyes. He was about 15 feet away from me before I could sense It, the feeling I experienced only a few moments beforehand.

Bloodlust.

"Shit."

As the man took one more step, I knew I needed a way out. This couldn't happen like last time.

'What are you standing around for?'

'Run.'

'Run Keir.'

A voice rang out in my head.

Suddenly, my body shot forward and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Seeing me suddenly burst off of the ground, the two men instantly ran after me.

Hot in pursuit.

"Shit he's running!"

The two men gestured for the two other guards standing at the door to run after me as well. They followed their orders and now I had even more pursuers.

I kept on running and running with the four men not so far behind until I found myself in front of an obstacle.

A fucking lamppost.