The Chronicles of Elsweyn: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 5

     He had done it again; let her get away. He knew he was in it deep with the boss now, and that this time, the consequences would be worse than ever before, considering he let the child go, too. He knew his mistake; he had struck out two times already, this was his third. A second chance is a blessing, and the third chance was just pure luck; the boss was in a rare good mood then.

     He and his men stormed out of the manor, down the disintegrating steps, and to the sleek black SUV awaiting in the old circle driveway. The windows were tinted black, reflecting the skeletal trees. His stressed mind strayed as the wind picked up, making the barren trees sway. The image of his lifeless body hanging from the branches as crow food filled his imagination. He shivered, and opened the back door of the SUV, the other men walking towards the front.

     His most trusted friend and hit man, Tiberius, took the driver seat, his short-cropped blonde hair grazing the high ceiling of the vehicle. He was a tall, muscular brute, and a great resource to cause mayhem when needed. The other man, a shorter guy with short, high-cropped black hair, Samuel, took the passenger seat, immediately pulling out a disposable Blackberry, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

     Samuel looked back at the man with the scar, and frowned.

     "Yeah boss?" His gruff voice grunted.

     The man in the back seat smiled grimly at the title Samuel unconsciously called him.

     "I'll call him. It's my skin at risk, not yours." He said gravelly. Samuel looked to Tiberius, who nodded, then back at his superior.

     "Alright boss. Whatever you want." With that, he set his phone down, and turned back to the front, staring out of the windshield. The tension in the spacious vehicle was thick enough to make even Tiberius, who was used to cramped spaces, shift in unease.

     The man sighed, and took out his own Blackberry, pulling up his contacts and hovering his finger over the only number besides Tiberius and Samuel. He hesitated, and sighed again, knowing this was not going to go over well as he pressed his finger against the contact, the screen signaled that it was dialing. He placed the phone against his ear, and waited as the dull tone of the operator connected to his boss.

     It rang a few times before a nasally, yet, sinister voice picked up on the other end.

     "Mr. Bush, so glad to finally hear from you." The voice drawled out, no hint of any sort of happiness from it at all. Bush swallowed a lump in his throat, and grunted.

     "Sorry it took so long boss. Things went very-"

     "I don't want excuses, Bush." The voice growled, causing a terrified shiver to travel down his spine.

     "Yes sir." He answered quietly.

     "Good Now, tell me, is the boy dead?"

     Bush closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, but no words left his tongue. The voice on the other end sighed also, though, with evident malice.

     "I take your silence as a negative, am I correct?"

     Bush nodded, but caught himself, knowing the boss couldn't see him.

     "Yes sir. We didn't kill him."

     "And by the boy still being alive, I assume the dragon and its rider are alive as well?"

     "Yes sir." Bush wiped a bead of sweat off of the bridge of his nose, staring out the window and at the passing houses. This was probably the last time he would ever see the sky, the trees, the flowers...