The Parasite

Chapter 14: The City of the Pagans

Commandeering the carriage that Maverick had arrived in, Henry and Jack set off toward the city. As Henry drove Jack sat on the rear bench as the rumbling of the carriage caused his wounds to grow sore, causing a torrent of complaints to spew forth from inside the carriage, as they approached the outskirts of the city they would have to abandon the carriage as the bright guild insignia that adorned the sides would draw too much attention.

Henry, with Jack slung over his shoulder, trekked into the city, the streets now littered with trash as guilders endlessly patrolled them, searching for suspicious persons and ransacking buildings as they went. The two kept to the alley ways until passing a specific street corner where Jack chimed in. "Hey, I think my place is around here somewhere." he said, pointing at the intersection ahead of them. Whilst it took a moment for Henry to realize, he would eventually recognize the street corner, however bare it was, as one he would pass every day while on his way to the guild's headquarters.

Once again passing through side streets and alleyways Henry and Jack eventually found themselves in front of the building they both reluctantly called home, the queen Mary's delight. "I always hated this place." Henry groaned looking at the beat up wood sign. Jack shook Henry's shoulder with his free hand and chuckled. "Let's get a move on before you get all sentimental."

Inside, the building seemed to be abandoned as papers and apartment keys littered the floor and the receptionist was nowhere to be seen. Moving up through the decrepit building, Henry and Jack found signs of the guilds presence as some doors laid on the floor whilst others barely hung on their hinges, their latches smashed into pieces. On the fourth floor Henry and Jack came up to their rooms and as the two looked at their neighboring doors Jack struggled to hold back his laughter while Henry exuded a sense of disappointment that was almost entirely directed at himself. After regaining his composure, Jack fished his key out from a hole in the wall and unlocked his door, jokingly asking. "How about we have a look through mine?"

Without a word Henry dropped Jack on the floor and marched inside. Jack staggered to his feet and braced himself against the counter before shutting the door behind him. "Lighten up already, it's not like our lives are in danger." Jack said while grabbing a broom stick to use as a makeshift cane. "Our lives are in danger, now check your wounds so we can get out of here." Henry said, as he looked out the window.

Jack limped his way to the sink, swung the curtain shut behind him, and flipped on the light over the mirror. Peeling off his shirt to get a better look at himself, Jack found the bullet hole in his gut to be no further than an inch from the large parasite bound to his chest. The parasite which clung to Jack, in a form that resembled a cross, shifted and morphed as he prodded it's leathery surface with his finger.

After making sure the parasite was in good health, Jack used a small knife to dig out the bullet still lodged in his hip. Jack grunted as he yanked out the bullet and soon after a slight plink could be heard as he dropped it into the sink. In lieu of any actual medical technique, Jack simply stuffed the open wound with cotton balls and wrapped bandages around it. As Jack went about his makeshift medical treatment, Henry reached down to the holster on his hip only to find his gun missing from it. He thought about how he might have lost it, concluding that the Psychic in the attic must have taken it when he was knocked unconscious. In fact Henry didn't even know what day it was or for how long he was out of the city, long enough for this neighborhood to be abandoned, he thought to himself. Henry removed his holster, he didn't trust Jack with Maverick's revolver but he realized that taking it would be more trouble than it's worth and would likely cost him the only ally he had at the moment.

Jack emerged from the bathroom, draping a shirt over himself, but before he or Henry could begin discussing what to do next they were interrupted by a knock at the door which sent both of them into high alert. Jack cocked Maverick's revolver as Henry creeped over to the door, looking through the peephole to see an unexpected but familiar face.

On the other side of the door stood Myers, waiting patiently for it to open. Henry relaxed his posture and signaled for Jack to lower the gun. "Friend of yours?" Jack asked in a hushed tone. "No, it's more that I know the gun is useless now."

"Henry, I know you're in there, I wanna talk." Henry looked over to Jack who shrugged, not knowing what to say. After a moment Henry finally cracked the door open to greet Myers. "I'm gonna be honest I thought you would try marching into your apartment first, so I uh, I guess I wasted my time picking that lock." he said, wedging his foot between the door and frame. "Can I trust you?" Henry asked, pushing the door into Myers' foot. "No, but you also don't have any other options, so you might as well let me in." Myers said, pressing against the door with his hand.

Henry relented, allowing Myers to step into the room, closing the door behind him. As Myers walked into the room he looked over to Jack before reaching the far end of the room and turning around. "So how long have you two been working together?" Henry stepped forward and, dodging the question, asked "Why are you here?" Myers let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned against the window sill. "Officially, I accepted an assignment to keep an eye on your apartment, unofficially, I'm here to warn you about Marshal and whatever the boss is doing." Henry and Jack looked at each other before Henry looked back at Myers and asked. "What do you mean warn us about Marshal?"

"More Importantly, who's Marshal?" Jack asked as he drew in closer. "Jackson O'conor, small-time gangster, known to have aggressive tendencies, and a former guild experiment." Jack growled as his demeanor shifted from unease to anger. "You're pushin' your luck guild trash." Myers crossed his arms and eased his tone. "I'm only listing off your rap sheet so you know that you've lost the element of surprise, same goes for you Henry. You have my condolences for what you went through, Jack, I understand your actions however brash they are." Jack's finger twitched on the trigger of the revolver as he remembered what Henry said when he saw Myers, even if shooting him was useless it should hurt, help give him a piece of Jack's mind in the form of a bullet.

Henry noticed Jack fingering the trigger of the revolver and decided to stop things from escalating any further. "Can we get back on topic before you two start trying to kill each other." Henry quietly lamented having to be the only adult in the room even though Myers held seniority over him. Myers' demeanor darkened as he asked. "You know that Marshals nickname is the shark, right?" Henry shifted around, uncomfortably as he replied. "Y-yeah, you told me a while back." Myers leaned in. "Well it's time you found out how he got that name. You see, Marshal didn't grow up in the states, he grew up in London, where no matter where you went you were surrounded by criminals. So one day he decided to become a cop and clean up the streets himself, and he was really good at it too, but one day on a drug bust he got sold out and a bunch of thugs beat him in an inch of his life and cut a smile into his face. After that, the guild came to him with a job offer, wanted him for enforcement, next thing you know bodies start piling up in the streets, so many in fact the guild starts catching flack for it and decides to ship him off to America, and a few years later I got assigned to keep an eye on him."

Jack chimed in, growing concerned "If you're the one keeping an eye on him then where is he now?" Myers looked at the broach hanging around Jack's neck. "Right now Marshal's chasing any lead he can find to track you down, so you two better have a plan to get out of this." Henry sat and thought for a moment before proclaiming. "We need to get into the mansion!"

"No can do." Myers interrupted. "You're all out of favors Henry and there is no conceivable way you can get in there on your own." After a short moment of silence Jack spoke up. "I think I know someone who can help us get in." Both Henry and Myers looked to Jack with a mixture of curiosity and doubt. "They'll be able to find us a way inside." Before Jack could continue, Myers got up and walked over to the door, and as he opened it to leave he said. "Whatever your plan is I'll take no part in it, just remember the entire guild is against you so if I ever see you again I'll have no choice but to drag you back to the mansion." and with that Myers left Henry and Jack behind in the room with the feeling of complete loneliness lingering over them.