When Rain Rises

Chapter 24

Rain felt the light drizzle slowly begin to pick up as it pelted his head while he stood still in the alley. Despite for whatever reason, he had been named after it, he didn't much care for rain. It was wet, cold and only ever came with a bleak, cloudy day. Now it seemed like the weather was messing with him, almost like it knew the situation he was in. If he was feeling poetic, Rain may even say the sky was weeping for him, or more ominously, over what was to come.

But he wasn't feeling poetic.

"Walk towards us slowly," the leader of the group of Justicars ordered. They were about a dozen yards before and they all were standing deep within a narrow alley "And keep your hands at your sides."

Rain complied. Having left his utility belt with Aiden before leaving to come here, he was completely unarmed. The Justicars watched Rain intently as he slowly moved towards them. They were obviously expecting something to happen. He could see how nervous they truly were behind their thin fronts of confidence.

He could see it most obviously in their stance. They were prepared to fight, and even though the pistols they held in their hands were pointed towards the ground, they were shaky, their fingers lightly pressed against the trigger. It was a safe assumption that their pistols' safeties were off as well.

Rain stared back with a blank expression as he finally reached and stopped in front of them. The last Justicar on his right promptly swept behind him. He soon felt the cool steel of handcuffs digging into his wrists.

"Where's my family?" Rain asked them calmly, once they were finished arresting him. "I've done as you asked."

The Justicar who handcuffed Rain began to carefully pat him down and they all ignored his question. "What's this?" the man asked in a demanding tone as he grabbed Rain by the left wrist and inspected his metallic glove.

"A fashion statement?" Rain replied.

The man tried to pull it off but couldn't even get a grip of it.

"Leave it be," the apparent leader spoke. "Let's move quickly."

Just like that, they were escorting Rain even further into the alleyway. The Justicars were still tense—their eyes watching the rooftops.

"So I noticed none of you answered my question about my family," Rain began again as they walked. "They're safe, right? They've got nothing to do with whatever you want from me. Which I somehow feel isn't exactly justice related—or legal."

"You are under arrest as an enemy of the state," the leader replied harshly. "That's all you need to know."

"Yeah, but even if that was true, you wouldn't threaten to execute my family if I didn't come along, if this was crime related. That's a gang tactic—but then, you guys practically are a gang, aren't you?"

The man behind Rain shoved him hard from behind but he just smiled back. "Hey, it's alright—I'm not judging you. It's just that letter you gave me after you kidnapped my family would look more legitimate if a three-year-old wrote it." He snickered softly to himself before continuing, "So, yeah, I'm pretty damned sure this isn't 'official' Justicar business."

They all stopped in front of a manhole cover and Rain immediately cringed. "We're, uh—not going down there, are we?"

One of the Justicars began to pull open the heavy metal manhole and peered down inside the darkness.

"Why are you so nervous?" the leader grunted. "Afraid your friends won't be able to follow you?"

"No, it's just—uh—you know, there could be mutants down there. That's why I don't want to go."