Disruptor

Night time. The streetlights were on, illuminating the streets of the pier. The waves of the sea could be heard loudly due to the windy weather, making it difficult to hear any other thing except for the loud noise provoked by the opening of a rusty door in one of the nearby warehouses. A young man went out limping and grabbing his right arm in pain. He walked with difficulty towards the other end of the road, looking behind every now and then, until he reached a small park.

“I… can’t believe what happened…” He whispered as he used a telephone booth and dialed a number.

“Hello?” A woman replied on the other side of the phone.

“Jennifer? I-It’s me… Mark”

“Mark?! Is something wrong?” She asked clearly worried.

“It’s… a long story. Can you pick me up? I’m afraid I’m… we’re in serious shit…”

“O-ok… where are you?” He told her the address and hung up. Mark was feeling so tired. He left the booth and walked for a bit before collapsing on the floor, dyeing it with the color red.

-2 days ago-

“Auch” Mark said as every other morning in his entire life after violently turning off the alarm of his clock. He yawned as he was getting up in a very clumsy way, heading for the shower and to his breakfast. It has been a week since the incident with Danny Rand and now it was fixed. Shit has been happening to him ever since he came back to New York. From time to time he could have spoken to him and maybe help him but Jennifer advised him not to get into trouble with someone of his condition. At first he didn’t know what she meant but after all this commotion now he understood.

“At least he can’t complain that he is bored” He said innocently, eating his toasts for breakfast and looking at the front page of the newspaper. This time was the newspaper that depicted the innocence of Danny Rand of the charges he had. Mark knew that he was not the kind of guy to sell drugs. Why come back to New York and become the CEO of the company only to sell drugs? Preposterous.

He finished breakfast and headed towards his workplace. He was especially happy because after weeks and weeks of training, his headache miraculously disappeared. His radiant smile cheered up and puzzled bystanders alike. Also there was the important thing. Not that healing the headache was not big deal but there was something more incredible to that. For what he could recall, it all started the day he had a blackout on the office. Since then he has been having these weird sensations out of people. After three or four days he finally understood what happened.

“Good morning Mr. Williams” Clarissa said with a happy tone.

“Good morning Clarissa” Mark replied with a smile. From what he could tell Clarissa is not in the mood for chit chat. Curious right? She seemed totally fine and yet he knows that she is angry with a hint jealousy. Better stay away from the secretary.

“Good morning Mark” Sarah said when she saw him entering the office.

“Hi Sarah. How are you doing?” He asked as he left his bag on the back of the chair.

“A bit tired but I’m managing. Still preparing the therapy for Ms. Homes.” She sat on her desk and started organizing some of the documents she had scattered.

“Oh, the woman that was totally lying about her mother abusing her?” Sarah raised her head perplexed about what Mark just said.

“H… How do you know she is lying?” She asked with curiosity.

“At first I didn’t know why but I think she wants to send her mother away by saying she is mentally ill or something like that. The combination of anger, exhaustion and what I like to call ‘evil intent’ revealed me that much” Sarah got up and in an instant was in front of his apprentice looking at him with narrowed eyes, making him very nervous.

“W-What?”

“What do you know Williams?” That really made him shiver.

“W-w-well… I just… know?” He tried to back up with his chair but he stumbled with the bookcase behind. Fortunately for him Clarissa entered the scene.

“Ms. Porter, they called from floor 13. They say they require your presence.” She announced before going back. Sarah was perplexed about the call so she headed towards the door not before giving Mark a death stare. He sighed in relief when she left the room.
“One less problem in the world” He said to himself as he turned on his laptop. Since he had this ‘free time’ he was going to spend it looking at cat videos on the internet until his phone buzzed. Morgan sent him a text.

[Hey Mark! Can you escape from your office for a few minutes? I have to show you something AMAZING] 

What was he talking about? Is this another one of his inventions?

[If only it’s for a few minutes. My master is busy with something and I don’t know how much time do I have] After sending that he grabbed his bag and headed outside, not before telling Clarissa that he will come back.

He entered an elevator full of people with difficulty and hit the button for the ground floor.

“Did you hear that Mr. Rand is on vacation? His secretary told me that he is going to Europe” Ugh he hated gossiping even though he liked to do it with Jen.

“That’s weird because I heard that he was on a business trip. The cleaner is a friend of mine and told me that one time he was eavesdropping on his office he heard that he was planning to take down some organization.” That… is really weird indeed. Maybe he meant to beat the competence? Still sounds wrong somehow.

“And she was with a woman! They spend a lot of time together and, check this, I saw them kissing.” Mark looked at his feet. He knew the idea of hearing the gossips was going to backfire at him in one way or the other. He clenched his fists trying to stabilize his breathing. Those gossiping women always manage to piss him off. A minute passed before he could run away from the elevator and head to the entrance.

“Over here buddy!” A young man waved at him near the main door. Morgan Turner had spiky dark hair, long nose and eyebrows and green eyes. He is a tall and slim person who usually wears leather jackets and black clothes which is shocking since that’s the stereotype for people who are into metal but he was more into pop. Also he wasn’t in any band, didn’t have excessive long hair and no tattoes. Talking about crushing expectations.

“Hey Morgan! What is it so special that you have to drag me out of my work?” He took Mark’s arm and headed outside as the latter was complaining about literally being dragged this time. They went to the park near the building and there Morgan showed him a bag.

“Tell me this isn’t explosives…” Mark prayed with all his faith.

“Of course not! Take a look inside!” He complied and grabbed some kind of tubes that were the size of a finger.

“Care to explain oh mighty pyrotechnician supreme?” He mocked Morgan making him pout.

“Aim at the air and press the button on the side” Mark reluctantly aimed it at the sky and pressed the button. A lid opened on the other end of the tube and a missile kind of firework was fired towards the air until it ran out of… whatever fireworks were made off. The bystanders of the park were clapping while Morgan was bowing to them.

“And that, my boy, it’s my newest invention. The FW Shooter” Mark looked at him like he was high on drugs.

“Don’t give me that look! It’s a brilliant masterpiece that will be revolutionary!” Morgan stated with pride and triumph.

“I must admit that it’s awesome… so it’s a gun that uses fireworks as ammo or what?” Mark asked piqued with curiosity.

“Great analogy. But unfortunately it’s a one-time use and the mechanism to shoot the firework it’s useless after use. I still have to think how to preserve the trigger so you can reload it…” Mark nodded in surprise as his friend was explaining it to him. He could understand why crafting such a thing was complicated… and he actually made it real.

“Congrats man! I’m sure you can overcome that obstacle” Morgan smiled at his friend as he was giving back the bag with the prototype.

“Thanks Mark. This is just a sample I’m afraid, we’re still deciding the ideal materials and stuff… Before you go back to work, have this.” He grabbed one of the FW and gave him to Mark.

“Consider yourself a beta tester… or an alpha, whatever.” Mark looked at the shooter with a perplexed look and then to Morgan.

“Do you realize that you are giving something that can fire things up to someone that almost burns his kitchen twice on the same day?” Morgan laughed.

“Sure thing. And who knows when it can become handy…” For a few seconds he remained silent. “Nope, I can’t think of any situation.” Now Mark was the one laughing.

“Well Morgan, I gotta go. See you later” He bid farewell to his friend.

“Alligator” Morgan finished with a chuckled and waving at Mark, going separate ways for today.

Jennifer was on her office inside the district’s prosecutor office working when someone knocked on the door. The office have a rectangular shape with only one door and one window leaving a view of a nearby chinese restaurant. There were bookshelves almost in every available space on the walls except from the window for obvious reasons. The desk and chairs were sophisticated enough to say that it’s a bit baroque and not in detriment of comfort and besides the door was a leather sofa for a quick nap.

“Come in” She announced. A police inspector entered her office with a worried face. He’s a tall and thin man. He has short brown hair and have round glasses. For the look of it one could say that he cares about his looks since there is not a wrinkle in his uniform.

“Excuse me Ms. Sanders. You wanted to see me?” Jen nodded in a seriouse demeanor.

“Yes, Inspector Mendez. Have a seat please.” She showed him with the hand as she finished signing some papers. When the inspector sat down she started explaining.

“The General Prosecutor is preoccupied and, let’s be frank, restless due to some events that have been happening since last week. There are reports stating that there is a sudden increase in burglars and thefts in some of the districts of New York.” She made a pause to read out loud one of the papers on the table.

“The victims claim that no money or valuables were taken from them. In fact, they were robbed of documents and papers regarding all kinds of information. Economy, politics, private investigations, affairs, deals and trades…” Inspector Mendez kept silent as she was getting to the point.

“I request your assistance in this matter. I would like to have all the reports involving thefts and burglary since the beginning of the month and see if there is a connection between all these.”

“That’s… a lot. Believe me, you won’t be able to go through all of them. You’re asking for dozens of dozens of boxes full of reports. By the time you finish with them there will be five times that amount back at the station.” Jennifer sighed at the sound of that. She knew it was going to take a long while to sort everything out but she would have appreciated that the inspector lied about the amount of paperwork she has to look at.

“Then it’s better that I start sooner than later. Could you send someone for them? I’d like your perspective for this case due to your spectacular rise through the ranks to become an inspector.” He widened his eyes in surprise.

“M-my perspective Ms. Sanders?” She nodded like it was something unimportant.

“Please, call me Jennifer. And yes, I believe your assistance in this case will be essential. I’ve seen and prosecuted most of your cases and you have the talent to keep on rising.” She got up and stood beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And I think you want to redeem yourself for what happened with the banana…” She said containing his laugh as Mendez was facepalming, not believing that she still remembers that horrible fact.

“… Now I can’t say no right? Please don’t divulge it to the general public.” He joked as Jen chuckled.

“I won’t, promise. Now let’s get to work”

Mark’s day continued smoothly as he dodged Sarah’s questioning and CEOs on the elevators even though that last one was never going to happen if the CEO in question was travelling. He shook his head trying not to imagine him as he was reaching out for his keys in his pockets to open his door’s apartment when he noticed two odd things.

“… It’s open” That was the first odd thing. Maybe he failed to close it properly when he left home but he recalled actually closing it. Or was that memory from yesterday? He pushed the door with his finger without making a squeaking sound. The second odd thing was the most frightening one. He could feel someone in there.

He tried to keep calm and breathe as he was entering his dining room when he saw a silhouette in the dark. In an instant Mark knew that they were aware of his presence so Mark quickly turned on the light to see the culprit of the forced entry. A person in… ninja robes.

“A NINJA?!” Mark yelled before the actual ninja jumped through the window. He quickly looked outside and saw no trace of the runaway person.

“… What the hell?” He rubbed his head, turning around to see his flat. It would seem that this man or woman did not steal a thing. Until he noticed that something new was on his table. A note. He walked fast to grab it. It was a plain paper with nothing remarkable, except of its content of course.

Be ready for your tests.

“Tests? Why did someone say a freaking ninja to deliver a piece of paper?!” At the same time he was formulating the question he came up with the answer. If it was delivered by normal means he would think of it as a prank. Ninjas involved? Serious business. He rubbed his temple as he sat down on the sofa. He isn’t able to determine anything from the handwriting, the paper or the ink they used to write this.

“… What is the meaning of this?” He grabbed his phone and started dialing Jennifer’s number but he paused before pushing the call button. If this was really something serious… Does he want to involve his friends in it? Not a chance.

“But if something happens to me… “The light bulb on his head turned on. Mark went to his room and while he was searching for a notebook, he tried to determine if the ninja put something else on the bedroom but it would seem that it was not the case. He opened it up and started writing what happened that night with all the details he could remember.

“I believe this should be enough.” He hides the notebook in one of the shelves.

“That should do the trick” He reassured himself as he went back to the dining room to close the window. He sat on the sofa for a while trying to make sense to the scene he just saw develop before his eyes but to no avail. A ninja delivering a note. A note that says to be ready for tests…

“… I’m going to bed.” It was an unreasonable thing to do given the circumstances but in all seriousness. What is he supposed to do? Call the cops? With what evidence? And it’s not like the day was going to pass in an instant like in the tv shows so he went to bed much to his dismay.

“Auch” he yelled as he pressed the button of his alarm. He showered, he wore his usual clothes involving a combination of shirt, t-shirt and denims and headed to the kitchen to make his toasts.

“Ñam ñam ñam” He smelled the toasts as he buttered them. When he sat on the dining table he saw the note on top of it and rolled his eyes. For a moment he thought it was a really bad and surrealistic dream.

“God dammit” He sweared as he eats his breakfast. It was no use on wondering about it without proof, hints or evidence so for now he decided to park that mystery aside. With that problem away from its head, he went to work. Nothing particularly interesting until he got a message from the group he shared with Jen and Morgan.

[Guys guys! I have to see you both. I have news! > Morgan texted with a lot of happy emojis. Saying that Mark was perplexed was an understatement and so was Jen.]

[What did you burn this time? I’m not going to back you up AGAIN!] It was almost like Mark could hear her saying that out loud.

[It’s not that lol. Just meet me up at the usual after work.] Mark just sent an Ok to let them know he agreed and got back to business. After hours and hours of writing reports, hearing people complain about their stress and being tested by his master Mark could run away from the building and meet with his friends. Fifteen minutes passed before Jen arrived and, another couple minutes later, Morgan. They sat at their usual spot and asked him about his important news.

“You know that I’ve been… tampering with some of the devices and fireworks at the workshop right?” Jennifer face palmed at the statement. She could already picture Morgan being in jail for burning hundreds of houses.

“Go on” Mark urged him. Morgan was the kind of guy to keep the suspense all he can and more.

“My boss saw the FW Shooter and… well… other ‘prototypes’ I was making” That made Mark and Jen shiver with terrible thoughts. “And he thought that my ideas could benefit from the I+D department so now I’m a researcher!” Both friends smiled and congratulated his friend for his promotion. He has been working on the Kulber Fireworks Company for about 4 or 5 years and now he will be developing new devices and techniques to make fireworks even brighter and prettier. That’s a good improvement and they all agreed in that.

“How about the three of us celebrate tonight with a couple of beers? Jennifer suggested. Mark looked at his friends with a suspicious stare when Jen quickly clarified.

“Also there will be non-alcoholic beverages for people who don’t like alcohol” Mark raised his fist in triumph as Morgan chuckled at his friend.

“Dude, we have to do something with your healthy lifestyle”

“Yeah, sure, you clearly didn’t see him eating hamburgers almost 3 times a week” Jennifer joined the teasing flustering Mark in a comical way.

“You didn’t complain after all the times we ate together and you ate my french fries!” He counterattacked Jennifer ending with all laughing a bit loudly. They continued chatting for a while until Jen had to go back to work. They planned to meet at 9 on a new pub so after that they all went separate ways.

A gigantic white room with a few desks, chairs and a board full of documents and reports. A young man sitting on one of the chairs clearly bored due to the yawning and playing with his hands and an older man looking at the board with great curiosity. The man in the chair almost falls off the chair and decided to stop playing an get up.

“Are the reports satisfying enough for you Mr. Thompson?” The young one asked with a sarcastic tone being answered with the silence treatment.

“Oh come on. The subjects have suffered different symptoms from subject to subject but in the end they stabilized. Also there are the reports from our spies that say that they have developed interesting ‘abilities’ over the time their condition was stabilizing. This is proof that the project is going well.”

The older man put a disgusting face when his partner finished talking.

“You say that, but the real problem is not that they develop abilities. The problem is to prove that their powers are shit or something worth for, get them in our team as we see fit and control them. We’re not exactly looking for an army” The younger man bluffed annoyance as he grabbed a folder and gave it to him.

“What is this?” He asked as he grabbed the papers inside and read it.

“It’s killing like a dozen of birds with only one stone” As Thompson kept on reading the new documents, his face shaped into a variety of expressions culminating in a really creepy smile.

“This is brilliant. Carnage… but brilliant” The younger man grinned.

“Does it take care of every worry you had?” He asked Thompson as they looked at each other.

“Don’t speak too soon… we still have to gather everyone for the meeting.”

“I thought she had it all covered?” The young man asked as he was getting up and leaving the place with Thompson.

“Yes, but I have a hunch that everything will go to hell…”

“I can’t believe what happened” Mark said out loud with a gasp as he was watching a show on the television.

“They murdered the protagonist!!??” He kept on screaming while rolling on the sofa before he checked his phone. It was the group he had with Jen and Morgan.

[Are you ready to party party? =D] Asked Morgan.

[Omw now! Still I can’t be partying all night. Got work tomorrow u know?] Jennifer added five seconds later.

[Me too, but I’m willing to make a sacrifice only for this night] Mark typed as he was adjusting his pants and went to look at the mirror. He believed that informal was the new formal and since this wasn’t a company related dinner or anything like that he didn’t put much thought on his clothes. Brown hoodie with denim trousers and black trainers. He wasn’t gifted with the superpower of being stylish but he didn’t mind.

[Omw too!] He replied before heading to the place in question. It was a subway station away from home so he actually managed to arrive before his friends. Seeing that it was a bit chilly outside he entered the pub. Devil’s Disruption. What a weird name. It was a very spacey room with the bar and tables at the beginning of the room and then a big circle on the end to dance at the DJ’s rhythm. It was dimmed illuminated with lampposts and blue neon all over the place and the dance floor had the typical ball with holes that shine with all different colors. He looked out for a free table and sit on there. Luckily for them, it was near the bar so they could fetch up the drinks quite easily. Mark grabbed his phone and texted Jen and Morgan that he got a table.

“You want something to drink?” A bartender asked from behind the counter loud enough to be heard by Mark. He jumped and turned around to see the speaker and headed towards him.

“Not yet. I’m waiting for some friends to come. We are celebrating a promotion.” Mark said failing at looking away from the man. He was… handsome.

“Oh really? Congrats man!” The bartender replied with a happy tone. It was hard to appreciate the man in person due to the poor illumination but he could say that he has brown curly hair, pointy kind of face and from the dark shirt and the apron he was wearing… he is a bit bulky.

“It’s not my promotion actually but I appreciate the sentiment.” He grinned at the bartender as he tried to get a subtle yet better look at him. He just chuckled as he was preparing a cocktail for another table. Mark clears his throat to keep on talking with him.

“Will I offend you if I ask about why you called the pub Devil’s Disruption?” Mark asked when he came back from delivering the drinks. He laughed for a moment before replying.

“Not at all. When you drink and have fun, you disrupt the devil’s intention to wear you down. This is a place of solace and leisure for those in pain or having a bad day.”

“You’re dreamy.” Mark said out loud without realizing it at the sound of his voice and, of course, the pretty message that he transmitted.

“Thanks! Some people laugh at me about it.” He told as Mark silently gasped realizing way too late that he expressed his thought out loud.

“Y-Y-you’re welcome…?” He trembled as he puts a strange face making the bartender snort.

“I’m Chris” He introduced himself ready for a handshake.

“I-I’m Mark” He shakes his hand sweating. Was it hot or it was him?

“Nice to meet you. I hope you become a regular here.” Chris expressed at the sound of mixing drinks for a cocktail.

“I’m not the pub type but who knows?” He replied looking at the door silently wishing for Jen or Morgan to appear. This situation was draining him of common sense and intelligence and was becoming stupid and with too much hormones on his bloodstream.

“We’ll see…” Chris got himself busy with some tables long enough for Mark’s friends to actually show up.

“Hey buddy! Did you get drunk before we arrived?” Morgan joked punching him on the shoulder.

“You know I don’t drink. Let’s go to the table.” They sat on the seats and waited for the bartender to go back behind the counter to order their drinks.

“The vibe of this place is nice. I needed something like this to log off work.” Jennifer said stretching her arms.

“Busy stuff huh?” Morgan asked playing with his fingers.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. But if I manage to solve everything I’m sure I’ll get a raise or something.” Jennifer replied with confidence mixed with tiredness.

“Do you want us to help you with any-“ Mark started suggesting before Jen shushed him.

“Can’t discuss ANYTHING with you and you know it! Stop trying to be wannabe detectives you children!” The three of them laughed loudly as the mood in the pub started to lighten up with life and laughs.

“Oh oh! Talking about detectives. Is there anything new about the Devil of Hell’s kitchen?” Asked Morgan with the curiosity of a child wanting to learn about his superhero.

“Nothing. Since The Punisher escaped we didn’t get any reports regarding his activities. Maybe he just retired, after all he has already beaten a lot of the most nefarious criminals ever.” Jennifer shrugged with a tired face.

“If there is no overpowered criminal out there, I can totally see him retiring until someone comes up” He replied as he signaled his friends of the bartenders position with the head.

“I-I’ll go. Two beers right?” Mark volunteered. Jen on the other hand was giving him the suspicious stare as he walked away shivering towards the counter.

“H-Hey Chris.”

“Hey Mark! What do you and your friends want?” Chris asked as he leaned on the counter approaching Mark’s face.

“T-Two beers and… what do you have that don’t have alcohol on it?” He expected Chris to laugh at him but instead he got into a thinking pose and looked behind the counter and before Mark could know it, he had a drink in a tall glass. It was a colorful drink that started from the bottom with a light red and slowly turning orange towards the top.

“A San Francisco for the fine gentleman. I hope you like it” Mark blushed as he grabbed the two beers with one hand and on the other the San Francisco.

“Thanks” He stormed away with his face more red than the drink he carried.

“What did just happen Mark?” Jennifer asked when he came back all blushed.

“N-nothing” He quickly replied taking a sip of the cocktail. Mark widened his eyes as he was taking a longer sip. That drink was really good!

“What happened to Mark?” Morgan entered the conversation after exchanging messages with someone. Jennifer judged him with a killer stare before returning the gaze to Mark making him shiver. She narrowed his eyes and then looked at the counter. It would seem that the bartender kept looking at their table from time to time and then lightning came to her light bulb, unleashing a loud gasp as Mark trembled with a scary face and Morgan was just unaware of what was happening.

“Oh my god Mark, really? I mean… REALLY?!” She approached him with the looming danger of spilling the beer. Mark kept his silence. Morgan was just poking Mark to explain things to him and the three of them noticed that Chris was staring at the table too.

“Doesn’t he have more tables to check?” Mark looked at him really blushed and Jennifer with a disappointment face.

“How?! How did this happen? Was it when before we arrived?!” Jen started firing her questions without letting Mark catch his breath after choking with the drink.

“Jeez Jen chill out. It’s nothing!” She made another gasp resulting in a facepalm from his friend.

“Sooooo is he promising?” Jen asked with a smirk. Mark took a look at Chris who was busy cleaning up glasses and then looked at his friend.

“Oh yes. He’s dreamy.” The prosecutor grinned and punched him gently on the shoulder.

“Tell me EVERYTHING.” At this point Morgan finally caught what was happening and joined Jennifer in her gossiping quest for romance.

“Nothing really happened. I was on the table… he approached me and we started talking for a few minutes before you arrived.” He explained between sips of beer and San Franciscos.

“He seems interested in you. Or he just wants to ensure that he has clients. Either way you should go for it!” She cheered him to pursue his true love.

“I don’t think so. And maybe he is straight!”

“You don’t know until you try!”

“Do I need to remind you that I didn’t have any boyfriend because every time I tried to hit on someone they were ALL straights?” Morgan almost spills his beer due to the statement.

“Really dude? Wait…” Mark narrowed his eyes towards Morgan knowing what he was going to ask. “You’re a virgin?” He instantly got punched to the shoulder but not in a gentle way.

“Ouch.” He yelled rubbing his shoulder.

“That’s what you get for asking inappropriate questions.” Jennifer tried to calm both of them and started regretting drinking alcohol. If they are sober and do these kinds of things, she could only wonder what would happen…

“We were supposed to celebrate YOUR promotion, not gossiping into my non-existant sex life.” Mark looked the other way in a childish way.

“I will give you another firework.” Morgan said rolling his eyes only to be welcomed by Mark’s happy face.”

“Yay!” He yelled as the three of them chuckled.

The three friends continued having fun with drinks and fun stories of college included until it was 10. So after paying and Mark blushing at saying goodbye to Chris they went all separate ways to their respective homes. Mark decided to stroll his way home to reflect on the past events.

“It’s not like I wouldn’t like to see what would happen with Chris but…” He bit his lips as he was talking to himself in the middle of the solitary streets.

“Bah, I’m not going to that pub again so who cares? It’s better this way… although I thought that in this stage of my life I would have a relationship with someone…” He sighed as he was reaching for his keys.

“… Something is wrong.” And it was not only that there were no souls on the street. It was not THAT late. But the sensation of restlessness was almost palpable. He looked around for a moment when he realized what was happening. He turned around only to see a ninja knocking him out with the hilt of a blade. As he was falling he could see that it was not only one ninja but four or five more.

He regained consciousness with a terrible headache and one of many problems. The first of all he couldn’t see anything and at first he thought that he couldn’t open his eyes only to realize they were already opened. Second problem? He had trouble breathing and after a few breathes he realized his head was in some kind of bag that didn’t let him see anything. One mystery solved.

“What th-“ He started speaking but he was hit by somebody on the head before he could finish the sentence. In another situation he would have complained loudly about the pain but this time was complicated to say the least. At least he was sitting in some chair but the fact of being cuffed to it was not a pleasant one. Wait a second… now that he was deprived of the sense of sight he could focus on the emotions surrounding him. Unfortunately for him… there are a lot of things going on emotionally. The least he could say is that there were about 10 or 15 people in the same condition as him and like 20 or 30 emotionless. Wait… people can be emotionless? What kind of people are they?

“Ladies and Gentlemen” Mark is startled by the sudden announcement of the male voice.

“Don’t be alarmed. None of you will be harmed nor killed. This is just a… mere formality” The tone was getting cocky and Mark only wanted to throw him something blunt… like a giant anvil.

“I would introduce myself but this is not the time for names. You have been chosen for a noble and sole purpose. Serving life itself.” Mark just could raise his eyebrow but because of the bag in the head, the facial expression was meaningless.
“Every one of you will be tested in order to see your capabilities. You will receive instructions about your different tasks and if you fulfill them, you will enter the next stage. I don’t think I have to mention that failure isn’t an option.” Mark could sense some people getting angry, which will be a huge mistake if everything heats up.

“Of course you won’t do this from the kindness of your heart no. I must say that I’m quite happy with our intel gathering. We know every piece of information about all of you. In fact, I could say that I know you better than you do yourselves. I don’t think I have to explain myself. Your loving ones know.” Asshole. Now he could understand the increasing rage of the people around him. It was a very messy situation but if he had something clear, is that he would kick that bastard in the nuts.

“We have eyes everywhere, so don’t try anything funny or you will face the consequence. You don’t want to anger us. After all… we are the most powerful people in this world.” Just when he finished the sentence Mark could hear doors opening loudly and a lot of footsteps.

“The Chaste!” The shout was heard all over the place before the fight started. Mark could only hear punches, complains, screams of pain and all sorts of ruckus. At one moment he felt his hands free and his sight restored. The sudden change of illumination startled him as his eyes tried to adjust.

“Hurry, you must leave now!” Mark could hear the voice of a woman behind him. He was pulled off the chair quite violently and pushed away, leaving him on the floor as chaos was intensifying.

“Ouch.” He said looking to his surroundings. Now he could tell that he was in some sort of giant warehouse and, as anyone could deduce, there were fighting everywhere. People with poles, swords, katanas and all kinds of melee weapons one could get from Bruce Lee’s movies.

“I would have brought a gun…” He said before managing to get up. As soon as he did, he saw someone wielding a katana going towards him with an obvious angry face.

“Oh no no no.” He started yelling as he was backing down, he turned around and saw that another person noticed him and was ready to strike him with a stick of sorts. His enemy tried to lunge him with his weapon but Mark reacted fast and step aside, grabbing the end of the stick and pushing with all his might towards the wielder managing to hit him on the stomach and getting a new weapon at the same time. Mark then used the weapon’s length to hit the first attacker before he could reach him successfully. He landed a hit on the arm of his adversary but he recovered quickly enough to do a horizontal slash that could have cut Mark in two if he didn’t crouch in time. In his new position Mark hit his feet making him fall.

“Time to run!” He yelled to himself as he stood up and ran towards one of the exits. When he opened the door he was welcomed by the blade of someone new. Mark tried to step aside but his opponent was fast enough to make a cut on his left arm and to kick him out to the floor. He was readying the coup de grace and Mark, in a moment of revelation, reached out for one of his pockets and shot at him with a green firework. With the greatest luck, he managed to hit him in the face stunning him long enough to get up, push him away and finally get out of the place.

He was in some kind of pier and the ruckus of inside was silenced by the loud waves of the sea. The wind also helped to cover up the fighting noises coming from inside the warehouse. But his priority was to get the hell out of that place so he started running, covering his bleeding arm with his remaining hand in a vain attempt to ease the pain and the bleeding.

He finally reached a small park and was happy to see that there was a phone booth. He didn’t know if he lost his phone back on the warehouse or when he was kidnapped but he didn’t care about those petty details right now.

“I… can’t believe what happened…” He whispered to himself as he used a telephone booth and dialed a number.

“Hello?” A woman replied on the other side of the phone.

“Jennifer? I-It’s me… Mark”

“Mark?! Is something wrong?” She asked clearly worried.

“It’s… a long story. Can you pick me up? I’m afraid I’m… we’re in serious shit…”

“O-ok… where are you?” He told her the address and hung up. Mark was feeling so tired. He left the booth and walked for a bit before collapsing on the floor, dyeing it with the color red.

He had a few moments of consciousness in which he could hear Jennifer’s voice over the engine of a motorbike. And also some kind of siren… and then inside what he thought it was an ambulance.

And he finally fell asleep.