Jack Cage: Troubled Ones

TEN

Cage woke up drowsily. He didn't sleep well. He had recurring nightmares. But he survived. He made breakfast for himself. He looked around and saw his mom and dad weren't home. He barely saw them at all. Nevertheless, it was the day of gambling. He had to assume he was right and if he is, he could use information which he was quite certain they won't give him.
He would make them.
Then again, he already showed what he was capable of. Cage touched his knuckles. They still hurt. So did his ribs and his face wasn't in the best condition. His school is gonna ask questions again and Cage would just say he fell. Protocol. He wasn't just gonna say, "Oh I shot someone dead."
He'd be arrested.
He changed and got ready for the day, still thinking about Mavean, strangely.
*

Mavean got up and ate breakfast. She was banking on the fact that Cage might want information. She had to approach him as Mavean, not Crimson. Cage doesn't trust Crimson but he'd probably trust Mavean. She was gambling. She had to bank on the fact that Cage would trust Mavean and not know she was Crimson. She felt strange when she thought of Cage. Didn't know why.
Get it out of your head Mavean. Get what you need and dispose him later, she thought.
    She got dressed and went to school, not knowing if she was prepared for what she had to do.
*

Cage kept his eye on Mavean without her noticing. Cage was left alone. As usual. He kept waiting, staring at the clock. Waiting for the 'end of school' bell to ring.
A few hours later, it rang. Cage took his time. He walked past her class and caught Mavean's eye. Mavean knew it was now or never. She said goodbye to her friends and ran after Cage.
Cage was casually walking out of school. Mavean followed. She was betting on the fact that he would find a bus stop. She kept her eye on the nearest bus stop. But Cage went a different route. He went towards the HDB blocks. Mavean was confused but she had to follow. Cage probably knew she was coming, and now he is making things hard for her, and to Mavean it was frustrating. She saw Cage walk toward a garden and she hurried after him in case he got lost in the trees, which given his personality, was very possible.
When she got there, she saw Cage, staring right back at her with only around 3 trees separating them. They walked toward each other and Cage stopped around a metre away from her. Mavean stopped too, ready in case Cage did something dangerous.
"You don't have a Beretta 92F in your pocket do you?" He asked.
Mavean froze. He knew, and that meant he doesn't trust her.
"How'd you figure?" She asked, calmly.
"I knew for sure while I was walking. You followed me. And you were looking at the bus stop thinking I would go there. And you knew I would cause you've followed me before when you were Crimson," he replied.
Shit, Mavean thought.
"You probably thought that by being you I would trust you but you were wrong. You gambled, it didn't pay off. Now, are you gonna kill me?" Cage asked, raising his eyebrow.
    "You really don't care if you live or die do you," Mavean replied.
    "Death comes for us all, we can only evade it for so long. Besides, now I know your identity, it makes you vulnerable. So you're gonna wanna kill me, which I'm confident you can do without hesitation."
    "Do you not have anyone?"
    "As you've probably figured, I'm alone. I've got no friends, hardly a family. I have no siblings and I barely see my parents so I doubt they'll even know I'm dead. But you have people. Those girls there," Cage said, referring to Celine, Gladys and Ella.
    "Family, friends. You have them. And that alone makes me a threat. Cause you'd never know if I'm working with The Forsaken. You can't take a chance with me. For the sake of your loved ones, you can't. So go ahead, kill me," Cage said, then took the Glock 17 out and Mavean stepped back. Cage tossed it to her.
    "Use it and shoot me in the chest. No one will know. There's a silencer. Call your gang, they're gonna want to help you. And probably, with me dead, The Forsaken can leave you guys alone," Cage said, raising his hands.
    "How close are you to bringing them down?" Mavean asked.
    "Close enough. Enough to bring them ground under," Cage said.
    "Then I can't kill you. I need you," Mavean said.
    "No point. I won't tell you anything."
    "And why is that?"
    "Well, we may be fighting a common enemy, but our intentions are different. I am fighting for justice for all the people that have been hurt because of them. You guys are fighting for power, which will result to more bloodshed. Maybe even a gang war, and innocent lives will be put on the line. Can't let that happen."
    "You know you cannot defeat them alone. And as long as you are alive, they will declare war on every gang. Worse, they might force us all to look for you. That's what I can predict."
    "Then they are dumb. Cause I'm a lone drifter. And they have numbers. Why should they be scared of me? If anything it supposed to be I'm scared of them."
    "But you aren't. And that makes you dangerous."
    "The way I see it you have 2 options."
    "Really? And what's that."
    "First is you shoot me here and now. I die and that weighs less on you guys and can breathe a sigh of relief. But the problem is you guys need to beat them, for power, and without me, you'd be back to square one, where none of you know anything about The Forsaken on the inside."
    "Quite true. Second one?"
    "Second one is the one I'd recommend. Let me take The Forsaken. Alone. You guys stand down. I'd probably die in the process but it will be worth it. This way, you guys don't have to do the dirty work."
    "I would turn that down."
    "Cause you feel like you'd be missing out? Trust me. I've got nothing to lose. You guys do. All of you have people you care about. Tell everyone to stand down. Call me stubborn but I'm not telling you anything. I have my reasons. But I can't say as they would make me vulnerable and I can't afford that. Not right now."
    Mavean pointed the gun at Cage. But then she took it down.
    "Cage... I'm really begging you... you have to tell me what you know, or else bad things will happen to you, and it won't come from just The Forsaken," Mavean urged.
    At this point Cage had stopped talking. Cause he saw a yellow Chevrolet pull over, and a man with a gun stepped out. A rifle, to be precise. And he was walking right towards Cage and Mavean.