From Dusk to Dust (Destiny Fan Fiction)

1-Karma Always Finds You

AN: Welcome to the first chapter! I have songs to go along with the story, so if you wish to listen, I will include the video above. Enjoy the first chapter! :D

Present Day...

Crowds of people filled the busy street. Some talked to each other, others were on the phone, most weren't paying attention. People were late for work, some rushed to pay bills, others hung out with friends. Loud noises rang in Malachi Hartwell's ears. Cars honked. Civilians yelled from across the way. Dogs barked. Birds chirped. Kids ran around unsupervised by their parents. Fragrances of freshly cooked meals hung in the air and mixed itself in with the aroma of gasoline and excessive perfumes.

He didn't care about any of it. He just had one thing on his mind. Malachi walked in the middle of the crowd with his shoulders hunched over and his head slightly down. His dark brown eyes scanned the area, trying to predict which establishment to hit. The wind rustled through his short brown hair. He wrapped his red sweatshirt around him tighter to keep warm. Malachi checked the small silver watch on his wrist. Six in the morning. He watched a man stroll into a side street and head towards home. Right on time.

Adolf Veinstrucken, a German worker that disobeyed his boss. He let a few of the cargo boxes go missing, along with the cargo still inside. The boss did not appreciate that. He's been suspected of purposely disrupting the business and giving out inside intelligence to other companies. This issue had to be dealt with.

That's where Malachi came in.

He stalked him cautiously, walking behind a group of people to keep Adolf from noticing. This mission had to be handled discretely and without suspicion. He kept his head down low or occasionally pulled out his cell phone to keep on the down low.

Adolf unlocked the apartment complex's front door and strolled inside. Malachi stalled a few seconds before catching the door. He followed the man inside the loud building. Babies screaming, TV's loudly announcing talk shows, music blaring from speakers, this environment was perfect.

When Adolf opened his door, Malachi grabbed him from behind and pushed him inside. He shut the door behind him with his foot and immediately covered Adolf's mouth to keep him from yelling. The man tried to throw him off, but Malachi held him steady. He grabbed the first thing he saw, a small elephant statue, and hit him over the head with it. The blood splattered forward as the man hunched over in pain. Malachi swung again, breaking the statue on the poor man's head. Adolf collapsed onto the ground with a thud, his blue eyes open and blonde hair stained red.

Malachi let out a breath of relief and set the broken piece of statue down. The small stains of blood matched the red on his sweatshirt, so he shrugged off the concern. He glanced in the bathroom mirror before leaving to make sure he didn't have blood on his face. It was only on his black leather gloves, so that wasn't a problem. He took his gloves off after leaving the apartment and placed them in his sweatshirt pocket.

Malachi strolled down the street and walked for half an hour. He left his car at home. He didn't want the cops to be able to pull his license plates off of the street cameras. His hood was up and he ducked away from all the cameras he came across. His face could not be caught on tape. That would mean the police would have a suspect.

He calmly walked behind an apartment building and into the basement. His boss was there for a few hours of every day, just waiting to see the workers he's hired to do his dirty work. Being a human trafficker wasn't easy, but it also wasn't the cleanest work. That's why he hired guys to do it for him.

He entered a small room with a table in the middle. A small fridge sat in the corner next to a sink. A fan whirred on the table, blowing heat around the room. It didn't cool anything off, but it sure tried. A man sat at the table, idly staring at the newspaper in his hands. He had blanked out for a while, lost in the thoughts going through his mind.

Malachi spoke up, "The job is done." The man nodded and wrote down an I-O-U note for Malachi. Malachi shook his head. His anger flared up and he disagreed quite loudly, "You will give me my money now, or I go to the cops. I don't like to be kept waiting every time I deserve my pay."

Mr. Hyangaua stood and pulled out a pistol. Malachi didn't hesitate and brought out a small sawed off shotgun. His brown eyes watched his every move, Malachi twitching his finger around the trigger if the man moved the slightest inch. "Go ahead. Try me," he challenged. The man hesitated. I have the upper hand now. He narrowed his eyes and aimed the gun straight at his chest.

Mr. Hyangaua's hand shook for a second. Live or die. Those were his only choices. He set the gun down on the table and sat back down.

He chose right. He holstered his gun in the pocket of his jacket. "For that threat, I want more money," Malachi demanded.

His boss chuckled whole heartedly and wiped away a fake tear. "You're funny, Mr. Hartwell. You're getting what I originally proposed."

"You just threatened my life," Malachi retaliated and pointed an index finger at his own chest for emphasis. He set his hand down and stepped closer. "How good would that look to your customers, who are, by the way, buying fake merchandise for much higher prices? If word got out th-"

"Fine. You get a third extra for emotional damage," Hyangaua remarked and handed the money over. Hyangaua eyed him as Malachi thumbed through the cash to make sure he hadn't cheated him. Mr. Hyangaua grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl in the center of the table. He tossed the peeled orange skin to the side, chewed on one slice, and said, "There's something that I need you to pick up for me. My intel says it's some new technology that could help improve my business by three thousand percent."

Malachi scoffed, "Why the hell would I do that for you?"

The corners of Hyangaua's lips instantly curled up into a sly smile. His dark eyes glistened in the dim light. "You love a good challenge. A lot of high officials are going to want that piece of equipment."

"Why?" This was starting to sound like a trap. They both knew Malachi was wanted in several states, so giving him up might include a nice sum of cash. Or...Hyangaua was telling the truth. If that was the case, Malachi could easily put the object up for auction and sell it to the highest bidder. That gave Malachi the advantage.

"It's something they have never seen before."

Malachi's eyes formed slits as he contemplated the offer. He had to seem like he was thinking about it, even if he had it all planned out already. He could definitely haggle more money out of Hyangaua. After his little incident a minute ago, he couldn't refuse. He crossed his arms over his chest to make himself seem defensive. "This sounds dangerous. I might even become wanted by the feds."

Mr. Hyangaua scowled until he realized he needed this device. If he was willing to get it, more money would flow into his pocket. A hired freelancer was less expensive than a bounty hunter, and way more productive on their journey. "I'll pay you triple of what you just got since it's a long journey. I want this mission executed quick and without notice from the government. Are we good?"

Malachi grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah. Sure. Give me the coordinates."