Contract

Chapter 1: Out of All the Other People...

Rawen's P.O.V

"You alright, bud?" I asked Rilee. He nodded. We walked along the almost empty sidewalks, the moon resting high above our heads, stars littering the sky. Every now and then a fur would walk past us. Otherwise the streets were pretty vacant. For some odd reason, people just couldn't stop looking at me. It's like I'm an alien. Well, I guess dragons aren't that common here in Miami. Especially ones as big as me. I knew something was bothering Rilee, I just knew it.

"Hey, Rawen, have you had any... flashbacks from when we were in war or when you trained in the Spetznas?" he asked. We were getting close to his house in the suburbs. He started to fish his keys out of his pocket.

"Yea, I mean, not often. I do sometimes," I said. We continued walking on the silent sidewalk. The air smelt of fresh cut grass.

"Why do you ask?" I asked him. He took a moment before replying. We arrived at his front door.

"Well, I've been having them for a while and I was just wondering if it was normal." I had to think about that. Normal. Is it normal? Are we supposed to have these memories? They're so vivid. He was having troubles with the door. He started to ram it with his shoulder. I decided to help.

"Here, let me try," I said. He backed up and let me try. I turned the key. I pushed but it wouldn't budge. I pushed again, a little harder. It still didn't budge. I stood back a step, prepared my shoulder, then rammed the door hard as I could.

2008, April 27

7 years ago

Iraq

"Shit, it won't budge," Rilee said. Charlie Company was sent out again for a search and rescue operation. Not too long ago, Delta squad went missing. They were thought to be inside of a town on the Southern side of Baghdad. We found the building that supposedly had them in it. An old stone house. Why they were thought to be here, I don't know. We were trying to break the front door down. He rammed it again, though this time, I could hear something.

"Rilee, push on the door," I said. He pushed it with his paw and it hit something. It was locked, probably with multiple locks.

"Here, let me try," I said. He stepped aside and let me try. I placed my right hand on the door handle. The team got ready to clear the room if need be. I rammed it with my shoulder as hard as I could. The door flung open, all of the locks snapped. I stood back. The squad rushed into the room, it was empty.

"It's empty, Katy, call it in," Rilee said to her. She nodded and reported to the F.O.B that it was all clear.

"Hey, wait a minute. I found something," Captain Matthews said, motioning us over. He was stepping on an entrance to a hidden room under the house. We all stepped toward it and stacked up for entry.

"On my go," Matthews said, he grabbed a handle that was connected to the door. He used his hands to count down. Three, two, one. He lifted the door up and Rilee took point. He walked down the step stool that led to the undiscovered room. Matthews went next, then Katy. Finally, I went in. I barely fit in the small underground room. This seemed like some kind of surveillance post. We went further in and Rilee gasped. It looked like he was going to vomit. He walked forward a bit to let Katy and Matthews look. They both gasped as well. It was my turn to look. There was a room to the right in the hallway. Rilee went on his own to check out the hallway. The sight was horrific. Delta squad was in there... partially. There were four disfigured bodies, legs cut off, beaten and bloodied. No doubt they were dead. There were some tools and bone saws sprawled out across the bloody floor.

"Well, at least we found them," I retorted. I was not easily disturbed. I've seen worse. A lot worse. Rilee came back.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Rilee said. I was the lead now. I went up first, the rest of the team followed. I felt like they were hiding behind me, just waiting for something to pop out. I went through the door in which we entered. To my surprise, there were two Humvees waiting outside. It was November Company. They gave us a ride back to the F.O.B where we got some food and rest. Though, the images of Delta squadron never left my mind.

Current day

His door finally opened up. He thanked me and went in.

"I'll see you later Rawen," he said, I nodded then left. Once again, I walked along the silent sidewalk that led to my house. I lived about a block away, not that far. Though, on my way to my house, I felt like I was being followed. I turned my head a little bit to see if anything was behind me. There was what seemed like a husky following me; he was wearing a black hoodie with black sweats. Then a German Shepard stood in my path about ten feet forward. He too was wearing all black. The German Shepard took a few steps closer.

"Alright man, give all of your money," he ordered. I casually kept walking.

"Sorry, I don't have my wallet on me," I said. I was going to walk past him when he placed his hand on my chest to stop me.

"Now," he demanded. It was rather amusing. He was a little shorter than me so he had to reach a bit to place his hand on my chest. What? Wasn't he intimated by my appearance? I figured that out when his friend put a gun to my head behind me.

"Look, I don't want trouble. Go mug someone else. Tonight's not the right night." The German Shepard shook shook his head.

"No, fork it over. Otherwise we'll make you pay another way." At that moment I got really irritated. Why don't people like this just keel over? Or at least just leave me alone. I mean, out of all the people they could've mugged, they had to choose me. The Shepard pulled a knife to my chest.

"Look here you fucking twats, you are going to let me through or else shit will get ugly," I warned them. The husky pushed the barrel of his pistol to the back of my head. I grabbed the Shepard's forearm, pulled the knife away, and made him stab himself in the chest. The husky shot at me but missed and instead hit his friend in his stomach region. I took my elbow and hit his face with it. He fell to the ground, gun still in hand. I kicked him in his side before he could get his barrings. He winced in pain as I kicked him again and again. I stopped after five kicks. He had let go of the gun so I picked it up. I prepared to pistol whip him then swung. The handle of the M1911 made contact with his muzzle. I think I saw a few teeth fall out. He laid on the ground, moaning in pain. I could feel my eyes return to a normal sapphire blue. I took a look at the scene that I created. People were watching through the windows of their houses.

"Fucking bitches. I swear, some people need to just get a paying job and leave others alone," I muttered to myself as I continue to walk to my house. I arrived and unlocked my front door. Once I got inside, I leaned on a wall and let out a deep sigh. I don't like fighting. It reminds me of what I am. A killer. A murderer. It's how I make a living though. Contracting is a good form of business. Dangerous and exciting. It's been a while since I've last received one though. I decided to take a break from the Scalegence. When I kill one too many people, I start to think about it. About who I'm killing. About their families afterwards. About me as a person. I am a murderer. But I'm not ashamed of it. It's my job. My fucked-up job, and I like it. I went upstairs to make sure everything was in its place. Lamps, dressers and such. I unlocked my gun locker which is concealed under my bed. A neat invention if you ask me. I lifted my mattress, entered the ten digit code to open the metal locker, and opened one of the two doors to it. I took inventory.

H&K MP5SD: Check

H&K P30: Check

Colt M4: Check

Katana w/ sheath: Check

Belt of throwing knives: Check

My beloved Blackout SS bow: Check

Cheytac M200 Intervention: Check

Though it was a small list, it will grow. Eventually. For now I must sleep. I laid in my king size bed and prepared to drift to sleep. As I fell asleep, a thought crossed my mind.

I should get back into the business.