All good things

Chapter 10

Jace ran on the rooftops, jumping over the gaps and landing easily and gracefully, like a cat, on the other side. He reached to a particularly large gap between two buildings. Thank god that the one he was on was higher than the one he needed to jump to. He watched as the man in front of him, dressed in all black except for the red jacket that fluttered in the wind, looked back at him, smirking disdainfully, and jumped over to the next building, landing like the pro that he was. Jace reached the edge and watched as the man mockingly saluted him and ran forward. "Here goes nothing." Jace mumbled and quickly backed up a little, taking a longer run and lunged at the edge. The wind gushed by and he felt weightless for a few seconds, before he landed on the other side, rolling over and then standing up quickly.He felt pain in his right leg but shook it off. He saw the man climb down from the side of the building, using ledges and window panes. He rolled his eyes - what a show off.

He squinted his eyes, spotting a red ladder - a fire escape. He rushed to it and climbed down. Just as his legs touched the ground, he saw the man run towards and alley way. He smirked and took another way. He rushed into a small take out place, running in and ignoring the frightened shouts of the waitresses as he jumped over the counter. He ran through the kitchen, zig-zagging through the personnel and the fryers that smelled like grease and got out the back - just in time for the runaway man to stumble headfirst into the door. He groaned as he fell down and Jace went down next to him, pushing a knee against his throat. "Let me-go!" the man tried saying, although it sounded distorted, because air was cutting short in his lungs. Jace smirked. "Nah. I think I won't do that. You've wasted an hour of my time and I don't like that.I have other things to do than catch murderers and traitors." he said, taking out a gun and screwing on a silencer. The man's eyes were now wide and he was terrified.

"Traitor? I don't know what you're-" he started babbling but Jace sighed and stared at him, straight in the eyes. "Raphael Santiago sends his regards and asked me to give a message to you." Jace said, his voice now cold and hollow. The man stilled, his mouth gaping and his eyes so fearful and full of horror, Jace almost let him go. Almost. He pushed the gun to the man's temple and willed his breathing to be even. "Los hombres muertos no hablan." he whispered, before he pulled the trigger.

***

When he sneaked to the old market place, that was now abandoned, Jace saw the building with a roof that had fallen in. There were old wind chimes still hung outside, where the door used to be and they made an eerie sound in the night, the wind carrying it to Jace's ears. He approached the building, looking all around him in the rain and made his way in, quietly. Holding his right hand inside his coat, his fingers around the hilt of a knife, he sneaked around. The old staircase had almost completely fallen apart, but he didn't mind. He didn't need to go upstairs. He turned to what used to be the kitchen, he supposed, and the floor was slick with grime. There was a broken window, from where the rain and wind could break in, making the whole house cold and forgotten.

He stopped abruptly, when he heard a very small, almost soundless breath behind him and a shuffle of feet. He turned, immediately grabbing the intruder by his hands, holding them behind his back. "Dios, soy yo! It's me!" came a squeaky voice and Jace let go, the smaller boy stumbling a little bit when he was released. The boy was very skinny, a little shorter than Jace but his face betrayed his youth and the way he had been out and about on the streets for years. "Jose. Fucking hell, don't sneak up like that." Jace said, rubbing his tired eyes. The black-haired boy stared at him, wide blue eyes defiant. "What, so I was supposed to just scream 'hey, over here!'?" he asked with a Spanish accent and Jace couldn't help but chuckle. The kid had spunk. He took him gently by the arm and led him further into the kitchen, away from the window. He leaned on the counter, that looked like it couldn't be cleaned not even with a pressure washer. Jose's eyes gleamed in the dark, as the street lamp illuminated them and Jace pushed his shoulder, making him squat down and he lowered himself to his level as well. They were now both behind the counter, concealed from prying eyes.