Crimson

Going up

"Don't peek"
"I'm not peeking"
I squish my eyelids down even further to prove to Jason that there actually closed.
His hand guides me through the rumbling city.
I stumble a couple of times as we cross multiple streets and cut through the flamboyant city.
Countless cars honk as Jason thrust me forward rampantly; as soon as we made a stop he took no time in warning me and just pulled me around like a rag doll.
We slow a little bit and Jason turns my body towards the roaring hustle and bustle of tonight's commute.
"Okay open e'm"
My eye flutter open and gaze upon a dark and ornate building.
It's at least 15 story's high and seems more aged and rich than it's newer and sleeker predecessors. The light that seeps through it's thick frame is a soft orange and yellow liquid that just seem to pour out onto the pavement below onto all the busy men and women rushing past it's unique beauty to return home to there first world problems and there middle class  family life.
The building has no spectacular  architecture to gawk at and just happens to blend in with the night sky.
"How do you like it".
I realize that I've been starring at this building for a couple of minutes with my mouth hanging opened like an idiot. Jason steps into my peripheral vision and aligns himself with me, starring at me waiting for some verbal response.
"It's beautiful, too beautiful to put into words."
I recive his signature smirk as he once again takes my hand.
"Then you'll love the inside".
We push pass the enraged cars and reach a stainless glass door with shimmering gold handles.
I peak through the glass and see what looks to be the inside of 5 star hotel lobby.
He pulls on the handle and swings the door open for me
I follow his lead into a small dark room with cameras filling the tight spaces. The 5 star lobby was merely a poster taped to the thick glass; the room was filled with a thin red light that scanned our bodies up and down. After a couple of noises that resembled grinding chains and churning gears a thick metal door slides open, there was 3 burley men pulling the door into a long upright socket in the wall. They all grunted in pain and thrusted the door angrily the rest of the way. The lobby looked as if it hadn't been used in centuries; the walls where crumbling, the floor boards were ripped out, and a crystal chandelier was smashed to pieces in a pool of glass and assorted crystals.
At least 50 men where scattered amongst the room in different position fulfilling different tasks; each man had a gun in their waist band and most had cigarettes in their mouths.
Their was a group gambling in the corner screaming bets and throwing money in each other's faces, another group was silent counting ammo and unpacking duffle bags of money, the rest of the men made a circle in the center chanting and hollering,
"KILL KILL KILL!!!"
At the top of their lungs.
Jason stepped into the room and immediately walked differently; he threw his shoulders back and held his head high with every muscle in his body tensing. His brow furrowed and his face became stern and emotion less.
He nodded at the group of men counting and their stern expressionless body's nodded back.
Jason strides over to the circle of men and tugs the collar of his leather jacket making himself look like a badass whose going to shank everyone in this place.
He taps one of the men on the shoulder who looks like he's only 19 and just stares at him with shaking eyes. The kid steps to the side and the whole circle parts like Red Sea.
Jason looks over his shoulder and nods his head in the direction of the men.
I walk towards the inner circle and watch as the men close in behind us.
The men shout together as two men fight.
Both men are shirtless and are drenched in blood.
Brutal punches are thrown and the sound of snapping bones echo threw the room driving the men berserk.
One guy throws an uppercut and sends his opponent flying into the audience.
The crowd latches onto him and throws him back down into the center of the floor.
He rests on his hands and knees and coughs up a mouthful of blood .The other guy shows no sign of mercy and kicks the man in the stomach multiple times until he resides into fetal position, but that just makes him kick the man more.
The guy slumps down and begins stratal punching the bloodied man and is filled with a power hungry rage. The man on the ground no longer struggles and goes limp, his head sways back and forth with each punch. His arms and legs are sprawled at his side and he shows no signs of breathing.
The men stop cheering and just stand and watch. A couple of men stop the fight and pull him from the butchered man. The men patted him on the back and gave him a shirt.
Jason stood there emotionless lighting a cigarette.
"Get the next one"
I was surprised as those words so effortlessly soared out of Jason's mouth.
A man reentered the room with two men blind folded and bound in chains.
One of them looked younger than the boy Jason had tapped on the shoulder just a minute ago and his face was smeared with shitty clown paint.
The other seemed to be my age and had a white penguin spray painted on his bullet proof vest.
Both of them had mouth gags on and were screaming through mumbled cloth.
The joker kid was squirming and crying violently.
He made eye contact with me with his red rimmed eyes and  began shaking his hand cuffed fist at me as if begging me to end this madness.
He shuffled on his kness in my direction and began pleading and practically kissed the ground next to my leathery black boots.
He was only a foot away from me when he swung a piece of broken handcuff metal into my leg.
A loud clank echoed through the room as his metal merely bounced off mine.
His green eyes filled with horror and the man who had dragged him into the room grabbed a fistful of his bleached hair and whipped his head back, fully exposing his quivering Adam's apple. The man barked at him and held a switch blade to his throat making tears poor out of the boys eyes.
I was surprised to see Jason step into the circle; he waved his hand brushing off his own man and stood In front of the quivering boy who looked at the ground and let his arms go limp at his sides.
The room grew quiet and the men playing cards and loading guns had even joined the circle.
The only noise was the sound of Jason boots leisurely walking circles around the sniveling boy.
Jason abruptly stopped and the boys shaking head lifted slowly to meet his eyes.
Jason took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew the white smoke into the boys red eyes.
"Wanna hear something funny?"
The boys eyes filled with more tears and shook back and fourth internally screaming no over and over again.
"I'm sure your used to hear a lot of jokes while you worked for HIM!"
Jason's voice ends in a bitter hiss and he grabs the boys face and squishes his jaw.
"There once was a boy
He wore paint on his face
He cried and cried
He begged his mommy for help only to stab her In the back"
Jason looks up at me and turns the boys head toward me as well ,sending cold chills down my spine.
"He pleaded for mercy for he was only a boy,
He had to be innocent for his age right?!
But he was anything but and everyone saw through his pathetic tears but himself."
Jason lifts his hand and gestures to all the smug men that circle around this horrific performance.
"For he had killed four of our own
Isn't it FUNNY how this boy thinks he even has a chance at MY SYMPATHY!"
Jason stands up and throws his cigarette to the ground stomping it into the decaying concrete.
He then pulls a gun from the back of his waist band and begins unloading it.
He hands me the long magazine and keeps only two bullet to himself. He places the bullets into the chambers and spins the revolver.
He points the gun to the boys head and shoots with no hesitation. But there's no bullet only a click.
Dissatisfied Jason barks at the man with the penguin on his chest.
"Up!"
The man stands up as quickly as possible and catches the revolver.
"I have a little game,
You shot him you join my army
I shot him and I let my men do what ever the hell they want with you.
Now shoot, your life depends on it "
The penguin goon shoots and once again hears a dissatisfying click.
He tosses the gun to Jason and he once again shoots with no hesitation. But another click rings through the gun.
Jason chucks the pistol at the man who then aims the shaking gun at the boys back.

Aloud spark rings through the room and deafens all those in the circle.
The boy wails and bashes his skull into the concrete as his body collapses to the floor.
The penguin goon instinctively throws the gun up after his perfect shot and aims it between Jason's eyes.
"Is that really the best idea you could come up with"
Jason laughs at the thug that has him at gunpoint.
I immediately think back to when Jason was loading the gun and I picture the two bullets side by side In the pistols metallic chamber.
I tense my muscles in rage and feel the thick leather harness on my hip; holding my ridged dagger.
My foots the first thing to enter the circle and catches everyone's attention.
I walk forward with no expression on my face and
death stare my opponent.
He doesn't move the gun off Jason but his eyes bulge out as I get closer to him
"Back up! Back the fuck up!"
He barks into my face and I keep walking;
Until I can feel his panting breath and the gun in my collar bone.
Slapping my hand on to his, I spin his wrist breaking it instantly.
With my other hand I rip the gun from his clutches and shoot his knee at point blank range shattering every bone and muscle in his leg.
A blood curdling screech sends him to his knees and with no hesitation I rip my dagger from my harness and viciously ram it into the side of his skull.

I turn to see everyone gasping even Jason.
Then a sudden applause fills the room and I can't help but feel completely empty. I don't regret it but I didn't enjoy it either.
Jason comes over to me and pats me on the back as if I was a hero or just scored the winning touchdown for our team.
"Gentlemen this is your new commander, I couldn't have introduced her better myself."
All the men salute me at once and Jason wraps his arm around my shoulders. The men step aside and Jason leads me thought their part to the elevator in the back of the room.
I step inside and face the elevators back wall refusing to face Jason and his army.
He closes the doors with the push of a button.
And simply says "Going up"