Chapter 9 - Connecting Bridges

Drizzle filled the morning air, joining the murk and pollution, corrupting the senses of everyone who ventured out into the dim light. A toe prodded him in the side, a gruff voice telling him to wake up, swearing at him to wake up. Mystikal grumbled something, feeling iller than ever, not the day old food, but something different, the feeling of wanting to throw up but knowing you can't lingering in his stomach as he opened one blood-shot eye, swivelling upwards towards a hunched over figure in a rain coat.
''What you want Spiv?'' He grumbled, ignoring the snoring tramp he was sharing the ancient doorway with.
''Boss wanna see yeh. Now. 'e ain't impressed wi' you fer some reason.'' Jonas said, stuffing his paws in his pockets.
''The most I've done to annoy him is try and drown myself. Anyway, I couldn't give a flying frack about what he wants. He never gave a frack about me, why should I give a frack about him?'' He curled up tighter and shuffled to face the other way, trying to ignore the spiv and the lingering shadow by the old dumpsters.

''You're very 'ard t' come by, Jin, so Imma bring you in kickin' an' screamin' if I ave' to, got it? An' I like you, so I don't wanna do that.'' He said. ''Yer pissed off 'nuff as is already.'' He mumbled at the end.
''Yeah well, you can tell your boss, that if he wants to see me, he can come out here and find me.'' He stood up, slinging his tattered pack over his right shoulder and pushed past the spiv, making for the end of the alley, the clicking of nails splashing through ruddy water puddles and across uneven paving to keep up with the crossbreed. The streets were busier than usual, the past few weeks the rain had been keeping pretty much everyone secluded from the outside world. Hood up, wings tucked in tightly, with the spiv and shadow in tow, he walked across the street, no care for whether he got hit by a car or lorry or not, ignoring the few dirty looks and lavishing the ignorance of the others; invicible in plain sight. How he liked it, what he was used to.

''I don't think th' boss'd appreciate commin' out t' look fer yeh, y'know.'' He wheezed.
Mystikal shrugged. He didn't care. He didn't know what the CEO wanted, nor did he care.
''He's had his chance to talk to me. He's had fracking years to talk to me.''
The spiv, Jonas, nearly tripped over his own feet and tail, trying to keep up with Mystikal as he crossed a junction on a red light.
''Well, yeah, but, y'see, 'e's a complicated man our boss is. There's no tellin' what he's gonna do next.''
''Look, this conversation, if it can be called one, is getting neither of us anywhere. So, tell him that if he wants to see me so badly, he can come and find me. He obviously knows where I am, so it should be a sinch.'' Mystikal said suddenly, looking over his shoulder at the short western following him behind.

The spiv's face paled and he swallowed hard. No one had refused the CEO before, unless they were his enemy, and the young crossbreed, the CEO's own blood and flesh was making him an enemy, seemingly determined to cross blades with him.
''Oh shoot, boy. He's gonna have both our hides now.''
''It's me he has a problem with, not you.''
''You ain't got a damn clue what yer gettin' yerself int', lad!''
The spiv ran off back towards Melbourn after a moment's terrified hesitation, obviously not wanting to go back empty handed, the bearer of bad news. Mysterious things had happened to those who brought the CEO bad news. People had gone missing, limbs had come off and entire families had been wiped off the face of the planet.


The first joining bridge; one of the three suspended above the wide river, the only two ways for haulage to gain access to either side, always one or the other crossing into enemy territory for the sake of business, money, all of which Mystikal had no care for. He'd lost near enough everything except for his tattered worn pack and his ragged sharp mind. The rain insisted on continueing it's downpour, drowning the twin city in salty droplets of water from the sky. The boats moored up tightly on the river, clinging to the wooden and metal moorings as if their life depend upon it, patiently waiting for the monotonous weather to give up, to give the sun a chance at life, quietly creaking and clumping patiently as rain tried to sink them. Over the many hundreds of years, the twin city had become an island, cut off from the rest of the world by the ocean, the only links to the mainland; the bridges, the water and the sky.

He looked north, a dark horizon peeking through between the mounstrous sky scrapers of the western's part of the city. Trees, mountains, lakes, valleys and plains all stretched out, villages, towns and cities of their own waiting for someone brave enough to leave the downtrodden twin that was quickly being cut off from it's roots. There was no doubt about it. He hated this city and near enough everything in it. He wanted out and if Death didn't permit that, then he'd find another way, back to the secondary plan of getting a boat, either hiring or stealing. He was good at stealing, lived all his live on the prowl for something decent to steal, from bread to jewels plucked from a woman's wrist on the street for a bit of cash from the pawn shop. Looking behind himself, head craned, eyes fixed over his shoulder, the shadow stood, patiently waiting, the hardening drizzle falling through it, the now familiar feeling of hollow eyes fixed on his own, boaring into his soul, searching for clues.

He took up a seat on a drenched bench on the river front, ignoring the sound of the various vehicles passing by on the bridge a mere thirty foot to his right, eyes fixed on the shade.
''Why are you following me?'' He asked, aware that he may be only talking to himself.
The shade stood, watching.
''Can you even hear or understand what I'm saying?''
It continued to watch. Mystikal worked his mouth around a jumble of silent words, wondering what to say, wondering if he should say anything else.
''Jin.'' Came a voice he recognised all too well.
He didn't take his eyes off the shadow. Just watched it.
''Jin?'' The CEO said again, impatience lining his tone.
He looked back towards the road. He hadn't heard the black four by four pull up to the roadside. The rear tinted window was rolled down, the CEO sat in the back of the leather interior, watching the crossbreed.

''What do you want old man?'' Mystikal growled.
''You.'' He replied simply, a smile tilting the corners of his lips slightly, not a pleasant smile, not welcoming, not friendly in anyway.
''I don't want to work for you, I've already said, now piss off and leave me alone.''
He got out of the back of the car, an umbrella spread out above his head and walked through the puddles towards Mystikal on the bench.
''Who were you talking to just a minute ago?'' The CEO asked curiously.
Mystikal stayed silent, defiant, refusing to answer his question.
''Fine then. About the other day; I should have told you before you left.''
''You should have told me years before instead of leaving me behind.'' Mystikal growled angrily.
''I didn't leave you behind. I put you into care, for your own good. Your mother's family didn't approve of me and threw a shootfit when they found out she was pregnant with you. As soon as she had you, you went to an orphanage.''

''For my own good? Is this what you call for my own good?'' He shouted, standing up, gesturing at his surroundings, tossing his pack off his shoulder and holding it up infront of the CEO before letting it drop to the ground where it landed with a wet slap in a puddle.
''I had no idea you were going to end up like this, otherwi-''
''Otherwise you'd have done something sooner? You've had twenty one years of spying on me! Isn't that enough? Were you enjoying the show?''
The CEO bowed his head, closing his eyes briefly and looked up into the crossbreed's eyes, seeing the hate and anger there, ready to be released.
''It's hard to explain, son.''
''Don't ever call me that.'' Mystikal growled, taking a step forward.
The driver in the car looked at them, eyes now fixed on Mystikal, warily watching and studying him, cautious of the homeless crossbreed's next move.

''You may have had a hand in creating me, but that's all. You were never my father in any other way, got it? As far as I'm concerned, the only family I ever had is the old eastern that took me in.'' A bitter snarl now, his words dripping with hatred, whiskers curling slightly with each breath he took, fighting the urge to beat the man in front of him death.
''Now tell me what you want so I can get on with my life or frack off and disappear again.''
''I want you to come and work for me. Your skills are valuable to the side business.''
''Didn't I make it clear that I didn't want to work for you?'' He said in a low growl. ''I never want to work for you. For all I care, you can drop dead right now, I'll happily dump your body in the river with the rest that are there.''
The CEO frowned. ''I'll have to take that as a threat.'' He said.

''Take it however the hell you want. One day, you'll be dead, and I'll be there to dance on your grave.'' Mystikal snarled and turned away, scooping his pack up into his paw and slinging it back over his right shoulder.
''I shan't blame your mother for your current situation. She wanted to keep you. She fought for you tooth and claw and it ended up killing her.''
Mystikal ignored him and carried on walking away from the CEO, away from his shiny, expensive car and towards the bright lights of the bridge, towards the small, hidden set of stone steps that led down to the moorings.
''You've made a powerful enemy today Jin. I have ways of getting to people even beyond the grave.''
That sent a chill up and down his spine, but he didn't stop, he didn't hesitate, he just continued walking.

An old western of green and blue scales knotted a rope, securing his small vessel to the wooden morrings as the wave on the river slapped hungrily at the banks, drinking in the rain.
'' 'scuse me!'' Mystikal called. The western looked up.
''Can I 'elp?'' He replied raggedly.
''D'you know of anyone who'd take me across to the mainland?''
The old sailor thought a moment, looking Mystikal up and down.
''You're a strange specimen.'' He cooed, eyeing up the wings, purple mane and long whiskers of the crossbreed. ''Hmm... I've seen some strange things in my life, but never summon like you.''
Mystikal sighed.
''I'll take yeh across t'the mainland if yeh want. But it'll cost yeh.''
''How much?''
''Hundred an' fitty. No less.''
To his surprise, Mystikal nodded. ''I can get you the money by tomorrow noon. Is that ok?''
''That's fine by me laddie. Jus' don't be late, otherwise I'm shoving off without yeh.''

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