CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 7: INITIATION

I applied to become a police officer behind my uncle's back and was accepted. I even started the police academy training without my uncle's knowledge. My plan was to figure out who the biggest players in the mafia were and take them down. Then my life would actually mean something.

When initiation day came, Uncle Blade drove me to the city. I had paid the mechanic a lot of money to get my car fixed, but I apparently wasn't allowed to know the destination. I had to be blindfolded while Uncle Blade drove.

"When can I take this blindfold off?" I asked my uncle.

"When we get there and we're in the building, then you can take it off," he said.

"Will I have to put it back on when we leave?"

"No. If you pass the initiation, you can know where we are."

I took a mental note to pay attention to where I was when I left so I could report it or at least know where they met for initiations.

"And if I don't pass?" I asked.

"Then you die."

"Wow. That's pretty extreme," I said. "So are you gonna tell me how to pass?"

"You do as your told."

"Is that all? Sounds simple enough."

"One of the things you'll be told is to shoot someone."

"I don't think I can do that. I'm not a murderer."

"Don't worry. There won't be a bullet in the gun."

"Oh, I see. So it's a trick to see if I'm willing to do whatever is asked of me."

"Exactly."

My uncle brought me into a building and sat me down into a chair and then he finally took the blindfold off. I was in a small room that looked like a basement with a single light hanging from the ceiling. In front of me was a long table with a few animals standing around it. Across the table, at the far end, was a huge pink and green stegosaurus.

"Is this a joke?" I asked. "This is a joke, isn't it."

Uncle Blade shook his head.

"Tell me, Crypto," the stegosaurus said, "why do you want to join us?"

I shrugged. "I got nothing better to do."

The animals around the table chuckled.

"How do you feel about murder?" the dinosaur asked me.

"Not a problem," I said.

"Have you ever murdered someone before?"

"Of course."

"Is it on record?"

"I've never been caught."

"Any eyewitnesses, such as your uncle?"

"Nope."

"Tell me about the murder."

"Which one?"

The crowd chuckled again.

"Any of them."

"Well," I began, "I shot one guy in the chest."

"How many times?"

"Uh, I don't know. I lost count."

"Why did you shoot him?"

I shrugged. "Just for fun."

"You can't pass this initiation if you aren't going to be serious."

"Alright. Fine. I shot him because he took the girl I wanted."

"So you're the jealous type."

"I guess so."

"Alright. Well, we are a secret organization called The Honored Society. My name is Spiney and I am the leader of The Honored Society. Everyone here refers to me as the Boss." He stood up and everyone got out of his way as he made his way toward me.

He handed me a piece of paper and I took it.

"Those are a list of rules," he said. "Go ahead and read them."

I read over them. The rules were pretty basic.

You must not tell an outsider about this organization. You must avoid fights with other members at all costs. You must never be seen with cops. You must never show up to work drunk or high. Always be available to do a job. Never be late to work. You must treat other members and their families with respect. You must never take another member's wife. You must never lie to your boss. You must never steal money.

Not being seen with cops was going to be a hard one to keep.

"Got it?" the boss asked.

"Yep."

"Good. Now give me your paw."

I gave him my paw without a second thought and he cut it with a sharp blade.

"Ouch!" I yelped.

"Crumple this paper with that paw," he ordered me.

I did as he said so my blood was all over the piece of paper.

"This is a sign of your commitment to us. Your blood is now our blood and our blood is yours. Should you betray us..." he said, lighting the paper on fire, "you betray your own flesh and blood and you will surely die."

I held the crumpled paper in my paw until it was completely consumed. It left a bad burn on my paw pad. I made another mental note to look for others with the burn mark to know if they were in the mafia. I wondered if I should become a detective instead of a cop.

"One last thing," Spiney said. He gestured to one of the animals with gloves on and they brought a gun over. "To prove you are loyal to The Honored Society, shoot that coonhound."

Two big cats on each side of the coonhound grabbed him.

"Wait! Wait!" the coonhound exclaimed. "Not me! What did I do?"

Spiney stepped behind me. "Whenever you're ready, Crypto."

I aimed at the hound's head and hoped my uncle was telling the truth as I pulled the trigger.

BANG!