The Red Crow

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I stroll into the Nest with my knife back in its sheathe and a smile on my face. Lee walks by my side, sulking. "For once," he says with a pout. "Could you let me win?"

"Nope," I say, popping the "p".

"Not even once?"

"What's that?" I ask, raising my hand to cup my ear. "I can't hear you over the sound of your own ego deflating."

Lee clutched at his chest. "Oh how you wound me, Jess." He suddenly falls to the floor dramatically, still clutching his chest. "I'm dying," he croaks out. "Tell...my family...I hate them." The last words are wheezed out in puffs of air. He then "dies" and stares at the ceiling.

I roll my eyes and walk away, knowing that this was normal behavior from Lee. My boots echo off the dark wooden floor of the old abandoned warehouse we call the Nest. But the warehouse wasn't as abandoned as it may have seen. No it was home to the Butch gang, and we didn't even have to hide in the shadows. The Nest was in the middle district of town, and nobody dared mess with us. We had the city of Ashvale wrapped around our finger with enough blackmail to make a convicted criminal blush.

           Ashvale was a town east of the Coal Flats border, with Valmoor to the North, and ocean to the south, which contained the Southern Islands. Travel beyond the Southern Islands had been banned, due to the fact that no expeditions had ever returned. It was rumored that deadly sea monsters created by the Fae inhabited those waters. No one really argued with this, seeing as  none would want to become dinner for the Fae's creations. 

The dark wood walls of the two story building I stood within contained all of your thieving needs. Need weapons and gear? Look no further, the place is stocked for the end of the world. Need a place to train? Again, look no further. Need to meet with a client? The conference rooms on the second floor can accommodate for all your needs. Need a place to live? Actually, no, that's where you have to provide for yourself, you lazy bum.  

Butch was looking for me, and I knew not to anger him from the way he treats his sons and from personal experience during my training. I had seen the bruises Lee tries to hide under his sleeves, and the limping he sometimes covers up. It would always break my heart, but I couldn't do anything about it. Lee told me not to worry about it, and I trusted him.

I didn't even bother to change out of my dirty fatigues, just headed to the spiral staircase at the opposite end of the room that would lead me to the upstairs conference rooms. The place was buzzing with activity, with people rushing from place to place. But that didn't stop the stares and glares from finding me as I walked in their midst. I brushed it off and ignored all of them, putting on a look that just begged someone to mess with me. I made my way through the crowd, all of them avoiding me, like it was a crime to be in the same two-foot radius as me. Ah it was good to be home, where everyone wanted you dead. You can just feel the hate in the air. Home sweet home.

I finally made it to the staircase and climbed the worn steps two at a time only to be left staring at Butch dead in the face. He had the posture of a wild cat that thrived in the jungles of Valmoor, poised and ready to strike if need be, but also relaxed. It terrified me. His dark hair was peppered with gray, and as aforementioned, his eyes were dark holes in his face. He towered over me, leaving me feeling like a speck of dust compared to him.  "Good, you're here," he said dully. "Come with me."

"Y-yes sir," I nodded and followed him down the hall lined with doors that led to different conference rooms. I pulled my bandana back up over my face to not only hide my identity, but to put a layer between me and the world.

Butch led me to the door at the end of the hall on the right, his office, which was reserved for special clients. This was serious mission. This wasn't a petty stagecoach robbery or burglary. No this was something bigger. Something that called for the gang's biggest asset, me. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I put up the walls that have always been my biggest asset in all of my 17 years. Those walls shut out all emotion as I locked myself away in a tower of logic and reason that had been my home for all my life.