What's That Smell?

Nightlife

(This isnt written as script. It's normal story this time woo-hoo)

Clive clocked out of work, heading out early for the day from feeling a bit sick. It was sundown, and he said goodbye to Skuggy before leaving. Skuggy and Clive had grown much closer over the few weeks they'd spent together, and Skuggy knew when there was something up with him. He could tell that Clive wasn't feeling too good, but he decided not to worry too much. He'd be more worried if Clive was driving, but Clive never drove to work.
Instead, he walked. And he started walking home on his own. Through the city streets, the only sound that was heard was the tap of his own boot's heels. Cars had mostly cleared out already. People in his city has grown afraid of nightlife, with the high count of murders that it held. But Clive liked the quiet, and it helped ease his aching head. He fixed his glasses and rubbed a hand over the bandage on his jaw. He needed a new one, his was starting to lose its stick.
Clive yawned and turned down into an alleyway, taking a shortcut to another street. He pulled a mask from his inside jacket pocket once he was alone, readying himself to slip it on. It was a black half mask, with three smiley faced suns printed on. He went to pull it over his head, until he was cut off by a pair of shadows looming from the exit. He stopped dead in his path, his eye widening.
Two similar shadows blocked off the path behind him, and suddenly he was shrouded in darkness, trapped. Four men, all dressed in the same outfit, led by a single one with his iconic golden tie, approached him. He knew these men, and suddenly he didn't feel too well about his night.
"Sunshine. The notorious killer.. Thank God we finally found you. It was taking too long," the leader spoke in a familiar voice. Clive had come across him before, in the past. There was something mocking and irritating upon hearing it again.
"Jacque.." Clive mumbled, coughing and moving away from him.
"You know, out of all of the people I would've suspected, I never thought you would've been the killer. How's your eye? I see you're still wearing your eyepatch. Never grew out of it, did you, kid?" Jacque sneered, fiddling with his wrist cuffs.
Clive didn't respond. He simply growled lightly in his throat, not wanting to say anything else to attract a strike. Jacque was from his past, the past he tried to forget so long ago. For some reason, Jacque never went away. He was always there in the background. Mocking, shoving, hurting. He never left, and Clive was never able to forget. Now he was back, staring Clive in the eye he had left.
"Let me ask you this, kiddo," Jacque started again, his voice suddenly lowering as he dropped a bloodied hat onto the ground, "That's your marking, ain't it?"
He gestured to a smiling sun, drawing out in splattered blood on the brim of the hat.
"That's Dave's hat. You killed Dave, Sunshine? You're the one who left his body mangled and destroyed in his own bed? Blood on the walls and windows, unable to tell where it all came from?"
Jacque was speaking in an almost friendly tone, but it had a sharp cutting edge to it that made Clive shiver.
"You left our brother in pieces. The cops couldn't even tell who it was. And we weren't allowed to go and visit him, because do you know what we are?" Jacque suddenly had a growl to his voice, anger obviously biting through. Clive said nothing, instead he whined and looked down at the hat almost in shame.
"We're criminals. We kill people. We're one of the top crime organizations in the city. Godfather wasn't very happy with what you did, either. Thank god I'm his right hand man, so I can watch as I finish you off and avenge my brother myself," Jacque snarled this time, whipping out a pistol from his belt and aiming directly at Clive's forehead. Clive gasped lightly and his eye widened again. He was shocked cold, almost unable to move at all. He wanted to beg, he wanted to plead for his life but his body wouldn't allow it. He was trembling, staring straight into the barrel of what could end his life instantly, and his mouth went dry.
Jacque wasn't hesitating, he was watching Clive squirm. The other men surrounding snickered to themselves, eventually going quiet as Jacque lowered the gun. Clive looked up, almost hopefully, to Jacque, but that disappeared as a deafening crack sliced through the quiet of the city, ringing out, followed by a bloodcurdling scream as Clive dropped to the ground. The noise rang in Clive's head, making him dizzy, and a blinding pain shot from his side, all the way down to his toes and up to his jaw. He felt the pain through his head, and he quickly pressed a hand over his soaked sweater, trying to contain the bleeding.
"Aw baby.. You thought it would be over just like that? Poor thing, you have no idea," Jacque chuckled menacingly, nothing but anger and revenge in his voice.
Meanwhile, only a few blocks away, Skuggy heard the gunshot. The restaurant was screaming, as everyone quickly rushed around to get cover. Soon, the people calmed down once no more shots were fired, but Skuggy got a sinking feeling in his gut. He clocked out, rushing outside and ditching the car there, only concerned for his friend. He took off down the street, not caring about the sidewalk or safety. Even his own laziness didn't catch him this time, he sprinted down the street with no sign of stopping.
Clive was bleeding vigorously from his wound, but ended up taking many more punches and kicks before the end. Jacque kicked him down as he was trying to get back up, making sure to always hit the gushing hole in his side to make it that much more excruciating. Clive cried out at every kick, every punch. They knocked his glasses off with the force and smashed them onto the ground, rendering him blind. They left him bleeding from the mouth. They crushed his mask, and Jacque held him by the throat against the brick walls of the alley.
"Before I completely destroy your face, I want a good look at your scar. What happened to you that left you so.. Traumatized?" Jacque snickered as he tore the tape from the eyepatch. He ran a finger over the still red scar and gave Clive a sinister grin.
"And what can I do to help you relive it?"
Clive couldn't speak past his sobs and exasperated sniffling, but Jacque could hear the change in his cries at the mention of his scar. One of the other grunts handed Jacque a golden butterfly knife, and Jacque skillfully snapped it open.
"Let's see... Don't squirm now. I want to be precise," Jacque pressed the end of the blade against the top of the scar, drawing a slight bit of blood. Clive tried to kick, screaming, and Jacque only lifted him further up the wall, choking him harder. This cut off his screams and instead Clive responded with panicked chokes and whimpers. His breathing was sped up severely, shaky from adrenaline and fear, and he kicked weakly against Jacque, but to no avail.
"Hey! What the hell?! What do you fuckers think you're doing?!" a new voice shouted down the alleyway. Jacque moved the knife away, and Clive's eyes widened in surprise. Skuggy wasted no time. He barreled down the alleyway, coming at the grunts full force with his cleaver. He slammed into one of them and instantly sank his cleaver into their chest. They let out a gargled hack and went limp. The other two recoiled slightly in fear.
Jacque growled and moved the blade, instead taking the past bit of time he had to bury it deep into Clive's chest, ignoring the screams and running off. He let Clive drop to the ground and yelled at the other two grunts to follow. They didn't hesitate and ran after him.
Skuggy instantly dropped his cleaver and ran to Clive, kneeling beside him and quickly pulling him close. Clive's face was red and puffy, blood dripping from his mouth and nose over multiple bruises. He was left in a trembling heap of dry coughing, sobbing and strained, shaky breathing. Skuggy shushed him quietly, assuring him that he would be okay. He made sure to keep speaking softly to him, to comfort him through his blindness, and looked over his wounds.
"Bear with me for just a few more seconds, okay?.." Skuggy's voice was strangely gentle, and he held Clive close, trying to offer some sort of comfort as he grabbed hold of the knife and pulled it out carefully. Clive responded with yet more agonized screams, causing Skuggy to flinch, and the second the knife was removed he threw it against the wall, far away from the both of them. He pressed a hand over the gunshot wound, trying to somewhat contain the bleeding. He pulled off his butchers apron carefully and used it as temporary bandages, tying it around Clive's abdomen over the wound. The thing was already covered with blood anyway.
He pulled Clive close again after he was done, trying to help calm him down the slightest bit in any way possible. Clive clung on as if his life depended on it, still letting out shaky, terrified sobs. He didn't want to die here.
Skuggy, keeping Clive close, gathered up the bits of the shattered Sunshine mask and shoved them into his jacket pockets so no one would find them. Then, being as gentle as he could, picked up the still sobbing Clive and carried him out of the alleyway. He pulled his phone from his pocket with one hand and dialed 911, almost yelling into the phone for them to send help. After waiting around five to ten minutes, Clive's sobs eventually came to a near stop, just turning into soft, dry chokes and coughs. His skin was pale now, and he'd lost a lot of blood before the ambulance showed up. The paramedics wouldn't allow Skuggy into the ambulance with him, which irked and seriously worried him, but they did offer him a ride home in one of the cop cars. He accepted, reluctantly.
For a week the apartment was left worried sick. There were no updates. Albi was struck with anxiety and grief, terrified that his partner had been murdered. Skuggy barely spoke a word to anyone, and ended up taking a few days off from work to take just to try and sleep away the empty feeling in his stomach. Dexter got physically sick from worry. Finally, after 8 days, they finally got a call from the hospital. Skuggy and Albi raced each other to the phone. To everyone's relief, Clive was finally awake and beginning to recover.