It wasn't enough.
A roar ripped from his throat. His fists pounded flesh like hammers, raining repeated blows. The world span around him in dizzy circles. He didn't care.
The click of a shotgun hammer instantly brought his world back into sudden focus. The barrel was inches away from his head. The bartender peered down the sights, the same bored expression on his face.
"Can't let you kill the man up in here. Bad for business. Take your little gal and get the hell out."
Jett blinked. "Okay."
He slowly stood up. Patrons of the establishment emerged from their rooms, most in various stages of undress. They looked at him as if he were a snake in the middle of the floor. Even Mira looked shaken, staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.
I guess I did. He glanced down at Freddy Flava, whose bloody and swollen was barely recognizable. Don't know what got into me.
He nodded to her. "Let's go." Pulling his hood over his head, he stepped out into the cold.
Mira exploded when she followed him out. "The hell was that, yo? You supposed to get him to talk, not beat him to pulp. Knew you was seven-thirty. Fool to trust a gas-brain like you."
She jumped back when he whirled around. "I blew it, okay? It was a stupid plan, anyway. We'd have to talk to a hundred Freddy Flavas to find one who knows about the people that took your sister."
She stuck out her chin. "Oh yeah? You got better idea?"
He folded his arms. "As a matter of fact, I do."
LeBlanc stared at Jett. "Have you lost your mind?"
They stood in the back alley of Kermit's Bar. Flakes of snash powdered their jackets, accumulating on the blackened concrete. LeBlanc lifted a vape to his chapped lips, eyeing Mira, who squatted down a few feet away, rolling the dirty powder into snowballs.
"Word of advice? Lose the brat. You start taking charity cases, you make bad decisions. That'll get you killed quick, mark my words."
"She's just a girl, LeBlanc. Her sister was taken."
LeBlanc spread his arms. "Little boys and girls are taken every day in this dumpster fire of a city. You really wanna dive into that? You should know how this ends, Jett. I do. I used to take those cases. It's always someone looking for their kid, their brother, their sister. I dig in the muck a while, usually find a dead body. You ever see a dead kid, Jett? After some sick animal has done every filthy thing a person can think of, and worse?"
Jett met LeBlanc's gaze without flinching. "Yes."
LeBlanc stared at him. "Hell. You have, haven't you? You were there when everything broke down."
Jett nodded. "No rules. No civility. Every person for himself. People… changed. Did things. Horrible things because they knew they could get away with it. There was a particularly vicious clan of outlaws. Called themselves Deviants. Led by a psychopath named Holden. They called him the Deacon. Never did catch him. Never laid an eye on him. He had a hold on his… followers. Murderers, rapists, cannibals. Preyed on the weak. Once we found an entire chamber of bodies. Many…" Jett winced, closing his eyes. "Many of them were children."
LeBlanc shook his head. "Things haven't changed much. The RCE tries to keep some semblance of law and order, but they're a Band-Aid on a festering wound. The citizens are too afraid to stand up for themselves. Haven Core doesn't give a damn what goes on outside their walls. And Troubleshooters like me? Hell, we just wanna get paid."
"It sucks. I get it. Right now, I just want to know where I can find a little girl who got snatched."
LeBlanc sighed. "Diabolis."
"Who are they? Another gang?"
"Worse. Some sort of secret society. Most of the members of are punks like the average tough, but Diabolis is well-organized. No one knows who their leader is, or how their inner circle works. But they have their fingers in a lot of pies. Contraband, guns, extortion, murder-for-hire, Sensync distribution…"
"Sensync?"
"You haven't heard? Hottest drug on the market right now. Only it's not a narcotic. It's mental stimulation via memory insertion. Most Haze clubs specifically deal Sensync to their regulars."
"Sounds like nirvanic. In my day, addiction to it ran rampant. Turned the eyes electric blue at the point of no return."
"Yeah, we still got that. But this Sensync is even worse, trust me."
"Noted. Diabolis also deals in the sex trade, I'm guessing."
"Yeah. Big underground scene for those wanting to avoid paying the tax."
"And to perverts looking for underage sex."
"Yeah."
"Where?"
LeBlanc took another look at Mira, who stared back at him with accusing eyes. He scrubbed a hand through his disheveled hair and took a long drag on his vape.
"Look, you get into this, you won't come out clean. Understand?"
"Where?"
"Underbelly. Hellhole District. Deep inside. You'll know if it's a Diabolis spot by the marking. A heart with a stake in it."
"I'm coming with." Mira folded her arms and gave him a severe stare.
"No chance." Jett unlocked his boxpad, held up a hand. "Stay here a minute."
He went inside, letting the door click shut behind. Moving quickly, he unlocked the hidden latch and removed the carrier bag containing the Vigil gear. Slinging it over his shoulder, he went to the door and reopened it.
Mira's eyes immediately zoomed on the bag. "What'cha got in there, yo? Guns? Bombs?"
"None of your business. You get inside and wait for me to get back."
"No chance."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and thrust a finger in her face. "I'm not playing, girl. You wanted my help. Well, this is it. You're smart, fast, tough. I get that. But the word is out by now that a little girl is asking all the wrong questions. I can't risk anyone spotting you. And I damn sure won't take you to the Underbelly. Even you know the rep that place has."
She swatted his hands away. "What you want me to do? Wait around in your smelly ol' box?"
He sniffed. "It doesn't smell in here."
"Does too."
"You said it was nice. So sit tight and wait. Better than the streets, remember?"
"No. I leave. Look for sister on my own."
"No, you'll wait." He knelt down to her level. "Listen, I know you're hurting."
She looked away. "Not hurt."
He ignored her rebuttal. "I know what it's like to lose someone. To want them back more than anything. I know that ache inside, the pain that won't go away because that person isn't there. I'm trying to make that pain go away for you. But I need you to trust me, and do what I say for once."
"Fine. I wait." She looked up at him, eyes glistening. "But you better come back."
"I will."
"Promise?"
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Yeah. I promise."
For once, she didn't shove his hand away.
Chapter 10
Jett descended into the darkness of what used to be the famed subways of New York. That was ancient history. In Neo York, what remained was called the Underbelly. Dark, perilous caverns of vice and violence. The Underbelly was inhabited by fugitives, drifters, gangs, hardened criminals, and thrill seekers looking for contraband, Haze clubs, or any of the numerous underground casinos, vice dens, or fight rings.
He reached the bottom of the stairs, entering the half-crumpled remains a subway lobby. Vines hung from the ceiling and threaded across the walls. Water streamed down from numerous leaks, pooling on the floor. Moans and cries rippled around him.
Arms stretched out, reaching for him, grabbing hold on his clothes, tugging. He stood in a sea of gaunt, grimy, undernourished bodies. Beggars, wasted from the grind of life, driven from above the city to the underground where no one could see them die. Junkies, eyes burned out from drug use, arms riddled with needle marks, teeth rotted, gums blackened. Some hissed at him, thrust out fingers hooked like claws.