Rogue: From The Shadows

Chapter 1

A hyena hustled down the street in the dark as a light rain fell, throwing a glare in the direction of anyone who looked as if they would even think to walk his way. He stuck to the streetlights and kept his head down, the last thing he wanted was an unnecessary altercation. On an ordinary night, he might have hidden in the shadows, preferring not to be seen. He hated the Inner Ring; the abundance of pompous and self-important rich assholes meant more security. More security meant Imperials, and Imperials meant trouble. Imps always made things more difficult. They cared little for anyone's actual safety and more for padding their pockets. They were easily paid off and would gladly look the other way for the right amount of coin. The armed soldiers in the street are what made him cautious, he wasn't about to get complacent, so long as none of them stopped him he'd be alright.

Turning a corner, he flicked the water off his black leather jacket and popped the collar up, his boots clicking with every step. His destination was in sight, 'The Dynasty'. A black sign with neon-lit yellow letters on a stark white building with glass doors and a massive, opaque, circular window at the top level. He was familiar with the place but hated being there, it felt too upper class. This put a smile on his face but was quickly replaced with a frown as he remembered the frantic call, he had received it only mere hours ago. He ran a hand through his soaked ginger hair, he did so purely of a calming habit, the last thing he needed was a courser tailing him and running his ID.

"Rae, chill- slow down, what the hell are you talking about?"

The hyena set his revolver down on his bedside table, as he had been cleaning the weapon. But the sound of the hushed voice on the other end made him nervous, was something wrong?

"Kota, I got something big. I don't care what you got to do but I need you down at Dynasty ASAP. We need to talk, business."

"Why can't we meet in the Outskirts? Fewer Imps and it's safer."

An exasperated sigh was the response, which was to be expected. There was no arguing with Rae. "Trust me, you won't want to be there. Now get your ass here. Don't tell anyone and trust nobody."

Before he could get another word in edgewise, Rae had already hung up.

As far as he knew, nothing spooked Rae and knowing now that something could get to even the strongest mind was intimidating although he would never admit it. It had to be important.

It had to be.

Before he knew it, he was in front of the nightclub's glass doors with golden trim. Knowing her it was probably real gold or something close to it, she was never one to skip on quality. With a deep breath, he patted the holster on his thigh and marched into the crowded venue. Under normal circumstances, Dynasty was a strictly 'No-Iron' policy but this was not normal circumstances and he wasn't leaving his piece at home. Upon entry, the strong smell of alcohol and smoke among other smells hit him. As nice as this place was from the outside, nobody would guess that Dynasty was a strip club. As a matter of fact, one of the few that existed in the Maelstrom Helix. Rae's father had connections, those connections all served a purpose that even Dakota wasn't going to pry about and the place kept the Imperials away, serving as a money maker and a safe haven. Often, fixers and mercs could be found milling about or sharing a booth. It was a mutual safe zone, meaning no blasting anybody on the premises. For a bunch of crazy mercenaries and paid assassins, they followed the rule with no issue. It made things easier to meet without worrying about a messy Imperial sting or a rival shootout. Kota swam through the crowd of drunken patrons with a look of disgust as dim lights flashed, music boomed, and bodies moved. He'd never understand how Rae could stomach a place like this.