Red Eye

Chapter 1: Vex City

Vex City was unusually empty for a Friday night. The buildings with neon pink and green lights stood tall against the seemingly eternal night sky. The rain that hit the ground was loud enough to overwhelm someone's senses, making it impossible to hear your own thoughts. The moon shined down on the city, illuminating even the darkest alleyways. Clubs and bars cover a certain corner of the city, with each being seen at every corner.

Yet, there were no citizens on the streets in Vex City. Not even the homeless could be seen on this night.

The only person that could be seen was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a black tie. His face was white which complemented well with the black hair on his head. The black shoes on his feet were soaked from the endless amounts of rain that was falling. He held a cigarette in his hand, which had been put out due to the rain. He throws his cigarette into a puddle and walks into a small coffee shop which went by the name of "Vexing Coffee Shop".

He sits down at the long brown counter on a red seat. Vexing Coffee Shop was a small shop with only five seats at the counter and four booths. The bathrooms were small and cramped and the lights flickered on and off. Yet, the man refused to have his coffee anywhere else. The Barista who was looking at a magazine, turns around, magazine still in hands and glances at the man. His black eyes stared into the man's soul. It didn't help that he was a tall, imposing and muscular man. Brown covered the entirety of his skin except for a massive pink burn mark on his left arm. The barista uniform somehow made him look more imposing.

After glancing at the man for about two seconds, with his deep voice The Barista says, "You know the rules." The man nods and takes a gun out of his interior suit pocket and sits it on the counter. The Barista had a rule where he required all firearm carriers to keep their guns out, that way he wouldn't be surprised if someone took one out. After the man sits his gun on the table, The Barista finally sets down his magazine.

"Rex Black," The Barista says. "The usual?" Rex nods. The Barista turns around to make the drink. Rex looks down at his gun. Thinking about the state of the city, he becomes lost in all of his thoughts. Minutes later, The Barista sits his coffee in front of Rex.

"One Red Eye," "Enjoy your drink." Rex continues to stare off into the distance. 30 seconds later The Barista snaps him out of his thoughts.

"Don't let your coffee become cold Rex." Rex looks at his coffee, then up at The Barista, then back down at his coffee.

In his low and extremely raspy voice, he states, "Regardless of the temperature, a Red Eye still thrives." The Barista chuckles slightly.

"You always had a way with words." Rex picks up his coffee and takes a sip. The strong flavor keeps him awake. "You seem even more down and depressed than usual," The Barista points out. "The job troubling you?" Rex sighs.

"You could say that."

"What happened?" Rex sets his coffee down.

"I just picked up a new case," he explains. "An infamous figure in the criminal underworld was just found dead outside of the Vex City Police Station," "Given my past, my superiors think I'm the best choice to deal with and investigate the murder." He picks up his cup and takes another sip.

"How come I haven't heard about this in the news?" The Barista asks. "The department is actively trying to cover this situation up as their goal is to find the killer without letting anyone know" "They claim they're protecting the city from mass panic but they're actually protecting themselves," "The entire department is full of dirty officers and executives."

"Seems like an impossible situation."

"It is an impossible situation," "They're just taking orders from criminals and not even the higher ranking variety, only the lowlife."

"You can tell?" Rex takes a gulp of his coffee.

"When you're in the underworld for long enough, especially in the position I was in, you tend to familiarize yourself with the types of people who surround you." Rex finishes his coffee.

"So at what point do you think things will be back to normal?" The Barista asks. "When do you go back to being less moody than you are now?" Rex stands up from his seat, takes out his wallet and hands a ten dollar bill to The Barista.

"I'm afraid that in the criminal underworld," "Once you involve yourself, things never go back to normal." Rex grabs his gun and stares into The Barista's black eyes. "Over the course of the investigation my visits here might become less frequent," "And as shitty as this situation is, it's still my job and I need to keep it." He turns around and walks towards the front door. The Barista, clearly uneasy and lacking words to respond, manages to croak out a sentence.

"Thank you for stopping by again Rex." Rex opens the door with one hand and stands there, staring at the rain, listening to the rain. His senses overwhelmed by the rain's volume. He glances back.

"Thanks again for the drink," "Hyde." Rex walks out the door and lets it slam shut. He puts his handgun in his interior suit pocket and takes a left down the street.

A buzzing feeling occurs in his left pocket. Rex pulls his phone from his pocket and turns it on, only to be bombarded by messages. All from his boss. Each and every one of them were a variation of "GET THE FUCK BACK TO THE STATION BLACK." Rex sighs and puts his phone back in his pocket. He stops at a crosswalk and immediately crosses as there's no one on the roads. He reaches the other side and ponders.

In the moment, the only thing that was running through his head was, "What the hell has this city come to?" Rex feels his socks starting to soak, and movies faster through the rain. As he runs, he turns on an alley, a shortcut towards the station. Even though the feel and sound of the rain overwhelmed him, nothing could overpower the smell of a dumpster.

Before he approaches the end of the alley, he glances to his right and immediately stops. Rex, with a straight face, looks down to find a pale white man with only slacks on, slumped up against the wall, dead. Knowing there's nothing to do to help the man without his superiors provoking him, Rex sighs and kneels down on the wet ground, makes the sign of the cross, stands up, and leaves. Rex exits the alley and is confronted by a massive building.

It was about half the height of the statue of liberty and was beige in color. On the building were massive letters that spelled out "Vex City Police Department."

Rex takes a deep breath, prepares himself and utters, "Bullshit awaits the fool that's gullible enough to fall for it," "And the fool is the person who's stupid enough to believe in their ideals," "Don't let yourself become the fool Rex." He finishes talking to himself, walks up the stairs, and opens the massive doors to the station.