Salo Canbar's ears rang furiously as he stepped away from the spirited crowd. Women and men, children and their grandparents all chanted and sang off key as loud as they could, swinging their hands wildly in the air. Salo shook his head, laughing to himself. He wanted to join them, live freely for one night, but the weight in his pocket was too heavy to allow that.

He quickly started down the stone steps leading to a narrow path between two large houses. It was the place him and his client had agreed to meet in; quiet yet still visible. A hooded figure sat against the wall, his fingers picking at a stray thread on his thick wool cloak. Once he caught sight of Salo, he stood up straighter and gave him a sharp nod.

"I've got your bundle, sir." Salo pulled a small brown bag from his coat pocket and held it out. His hand trembled slightly, still not used to deliveries. The man's eyes glimmered in the moonlight. He had either been drinking or crying. Or maybe both. The people of Sevin were unstable enough.

The man pulled down his hood. His silver eyes were entirely visible now, and the rest of his features; square jaw, narrow eyes, and a familiar faint scar above his eyebrow. He took the package from Salo's hands and peeked in it, using his hand to touch the contents. After a minute, he looked up and gave Salo a satisfied smile.

"Wait a minute... Do I know you?" Salo inquired, squinting his eyes to see past the happy facade. His was a common face in Sevin; most people there had pale skin and symmetric faces and scars all over their bodies. But this one was different. He stared at Salo with empty eyes, his grin never faltering, as if challenging him to say his name. Salo would recognize that provocative smug look anywhere, and once he realized his client wasn't the typical Fryan junkie, his whole body recoiled. "Vera?"

Arden Vera's smile disappeared the moment his cover was blown. Not that he was planning otherwise; the boy would have never removed his hood if he really wanted to stay hidden. His hand weighed the bag, his expression changing to a contemplative one. "Tell me, Canbar. What is it that you put in this little bundle that makes it so addictive?"

"You... you know me?" Salo's eyebrows reached his hairline. He wasn't sure whether the fact that the Arden Vera knew who he was made him want to boast or hide in a corner and pray for protection. "Man, that's why you ordered from us?" he laughed, patting Arden's shoulder. "Let's leave this humid hell and go—"

"Don't be flattered. We do our research before we meet someone, as opposed to Blom's Vices. But that is beyond the point." Arden pushed back his coat, revealing an impressive couple of daggers hanging from his waist. Salo stepped back, whipping his hand back to his side. "I have no intention of wasting my precious time analyzing this when you can just tell me what's inside."

Salo's features shifted in a matter of seconds. A terrified grimace replaced his cheerful expression, his heart banging violently against his ribcage. Vera was trying to get information out of him, and judging by the various people moving away because of his gang and its cruelty, it would not end prettily. Then again, how could he betray Lephar Blom? The man who had basically raised him? Salo shrugged, fighting with himself to be as impassive as possible. "I don't make this. I just deliver it."

"Wanna repeat this tied to my electric chair?" Alder pulled out one of his knives from its sheath. A warning shot. Nobody ever messed with the Black Spades, except for some foolish gang leaders that thought a kid fresh out of puberty was harmless. Spoilers; they were wrong.

Salo stepped back, almost tripping over some pebbles behind his foot. He raised his hands and tried his best to stop them from quivering. "Listen, I don't want trouble. I'm just a dealer. I'm not even allowed to talk to the people farming this thing!"

"Right. Which of your two eyes do you treasure the most? Just wondering." Arden caressed the tip of the dagger, eyeing Salo through hooded eyes. Something had changed in his glare, something that resembled a blood-thirsty vampire and not a boy out of his teens.

Salo felt the weight of another object in his pocket. After a few seconds, he remembered; it was just a canister some drunk guy in the Vices' HQ had pushed into his hands, no matter how many times Salo kindly refused, saying it worked miracles. He had never heard of anything like it before; a smoke bomb that made people cry? It sounded ridiculous at first, yet the dagger in Vera's hand had drastically changed his mind. For all he knew it could just be an empty beer container, but he was running out of options. Without giving it another thought, he clasped the can as discreetly as he could.

Arden glanced at his coat. "Don't try anything you might regret. There are children five meters behind me. Not sure Blom will appreciate it if you miss."

But Salo was beyond convincing. Those kids would just cry a little, that's all. He pulled out the cylinder and shoved it at Arden's feet. For the first seconds, nothing happened. Salo's heart sank as a sneer covered Arden's previous expression. A sudden, clammy sweat occupied his forehead, crystal drops running down his cheeks. It's all over. His knees wobbled and his stomach turned, but he forced himself to stay still for the sake of saying he tried. He felt foolish for thinking he could beat a walking legend.

But then it worked. Gas emitted from the can rapidly, like a smoke bomb without a wick. It spread all around them, blocking Salo's vision. A sudden sharp sting in his eyes forced him to move forward. His previous weakness was left behind, a wave of energy overwhelming him. He stumbled past what he assumed was Vera's figure against the wall, yelling curses and calling Salo not very flattering names. He darted towards the pool of people, desperate to escape the pain that was tormenting his poor eyeballs. A hand closed around his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going, Canbar?" Arden snarled in Salo's face. With a kick on his shins, his cheek was forced against the wet floor. He thrashed around like a little kid, but Arden's grip was firm on his back and head. "Next time you try a bomb on me, make sure you don't stand staring around like an idiot."

Salo considered giving up at that moment. He would just tell him his formula, and then he would be free. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet he could already imagine Lephar Blom's face when he told him he just announced their ingredients to the leader of a rival gang. Besides, nothing guaranteed him Arden would let him go after he put his cards on the table, not with so much more to confess.

I'm afraid of you, Vera. But I'm afraid of Lephar Blom a little more.

The used canister of tear gas lay only a meter away from him. The burst hadn't been intense at all, despite what that drunken sailor had promised. An idea popped in Salo's head, crazy but efficient. It was a risk he would take if it meant he got to keep all his parts intact.

The boy swiftly reached out towards the can. Arden noticed his movement and, being much quicker than him, kicked his leg forward. But it was too late. Salo brought his fist down on the container with all of his might, his hand enduring the sharp kick of Vera's foot instead. As a painful cry escaped his mouth, the real tear gas emerged from the cannister. Arden didn't budge, but his grip felt slightly weaker. Salo elbowed his shin, causing the boy to lose his balance, and pushed him off of his back. Blind and with nothing to lose he threw a punch in the air, which landed on something soft. He didn't wait for a reaction; he grabbed the now dirty bag from the ground next to the silhouette before him and ran away. His legs ached severely, his head buzzed with a thousand thoughts, his heart wanted to leap out of his chest. I just landed a punch on Arden Vera. I escaped him. I survived him.

Salo could see nothing. His cheeks were wet with tears and his eyes felt terribly itchy. He clutched his right hand in the left tightly. But, unlike Arden, he wasn't after something; it didn't matter where he went as long as that was away from that monster. He stumbled across the crowd, earning scoffs and curses. He did not give much of a crap, though.

The boy found himself in yet another dark alley, a louder and less creepy one. He managed to fully open his eyes just to read the sign in front of him. Ilez Street. He was some squares north of the Vices' HQ. He didn't realize he had run long enough to reach the brothel-fest Ilez Street was. That was where most of the pleasure houses were located, gathered for the convenience of the tourists.

Salo began walking back home. He needn't look at where he was going to find his way around; he knew Sevin like the back of his hand. He had been wandering in these streets for the past nine years, half of which he got lost and the locals had to call Lephar Blom to pick him up. Although his mother was alive and well, she was too weak to babysit him. Since the sudden death of his father, she had become physically frail due to a blood condition she developed mysteriously. There were no real doctors in that part of Sevin, only gang medics that could just treat a scratch and take all your money. Salo simply couldn't afford that. His debt was high enough already.

The porch of the Vices' HQ appeared in the next turn. Salo had been able to open his eyes halfway up by the time he finally reached it. Naria sat on the steps, curled into a tight ball, but with Salo's noisy stomps, she peered her head up curiously. She contorted her face in a mix of disgust and amusement. "What happened to you, dude?"

"Arden Vera happened."

Naria's eyes widened, her mouth forming a perfect O. She laughed excitedly. "Man, that is so cool. I never thought a wimp like you would ever walk away from Vera in one piece."

Salo was tempted to kick her, but he reminded himself that hitting ladies was not proper. He ignored her remark and walked inside. Lephar Blom was sitting on one of the tables, rubbing his freshly shaved chin in silent contemplation. The door closed behind Salo with a click and the man's eyes snapped to him as if he was going to pounce on his poor employee. His cold gaze traveled to the package in his hand and then back to his face.

"I didn't send you to the carnival to smoke the whole bundle. You were supposed to deliver it." Lephar Blom wasn't amused easily. Surely telling him about his encounter would cause some kind of reaction, whether it'd be a pat in the back or a punch in the jaw.

"I didn't smoke. I was crying."

Blom's face went blank for a brief second before he burst out laughing. He slapped his knee multiple times, wheezing like he had heard the best joke in the world. "Who broke your heart, boy?"

Salo was too tired to yell at him. "Just a question; do you ever do background checks on your customers?"

"Of course not, we value privacy above all else." Blom shook his head, his brows nearing together. The naïvetè this man possessed often surprised Salo; how could one of the toughest gang bosses in all of Sevin think for a second that nobody would take advantage of his privacy policy?

"You should begin then, old man. That anonymous buyer I was delivering to was Arden Vera."

Blom's eyebrows furrowed even further, his lips forming a thin line. He looked almost annoyed. "Don't tell me you started crying at the sight of Vera! My gang will be dragged through the mud!" For such a careless boss, Blom seemed to care ridiculously much about what people thought not of his gang, but of him.

"No. A sailor gave me a container with gas that makes people cry. Vera wanted info on the drugs so I used that to stun him," Salo explained and flinched, expecting Blom to scold him. It had become almost an instinct after all the curses he'd hear after every failed delivery. Although the old man wouldn't admit it, Salo knew he was ashamed of him.

Instead of spitting out some nasty remark, Blom's lips curved up into a broad grin and his eyes lit up. He stood up, wrapping his hand around Salo's shoulders. The boy was crushed between Blom's chest and fist as he was squeezed into an awkward side hug. But Lephar Blom didn't look uncomfortable at all. He was suddenly laughing again, not to make fun of Salo, but to congratulate him. "Boy, I can't believe it! You outsmarted Arden Vera! Nobody has ever even tried that before, nevermind achieve it," he roared happily as he twirled Salo around the room like a rag doll.

"That can't be it. He's supposed to be legendary, but today he was slower than I expected. Something must be on his mind." Salo would usually brag about what he just accomplished to all of his crew and ask for a promotion of at least five gold pieces. Then he would take his mother out for a fancy dinner and let her sleep in a luxurious hotel while he returned to the HQ's to discuss their next move on Arden. But that wasn't the case that night. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and he felt like being real for once.

"Don't underestimate yourself, kid. I knew you had it in you! Now that we know someone can compete against that boy, we'll bring him down once and for all." Blom ignored Salo's statement and smiled in triumph, sitting back on his chair. He was completely oblivious to all the different possibilities, all the things that could go wrong, blinded by his small victory. Salo promised himself he would never become like him, that he would never get his head so far up his ass that he wouldn't be able to see past his successes. But deep down he also knew that tired Salo was talking; energetic, cocky Salo the next morning would have forgotten all about that.

"See you tomorrow. I'm exhausted." Salo stepped away from Blom and limped up the stairs. After pushing the heavy door to his room, he fell on his bed, unable to move anymore. He tossed the brown bag on the floor next to him and brought his knees to his chest. The rest of the beds were empty, making him wonder what time it was. Midnight? Past midnight?

The Vices barely came back home. They would usually spend the night at a brothel or passed out in a casino. He silently thanked Blom, who had placed him in the same room as many of the wildest members. It was a blessing and a curse, definitely.

The boy turned to his back, staring at the dark ceiling. Mold was beginning to grow on it, hiding the ivory paint that was applied to it years ago. Maybe he would have to repaint it. He wasn't sure anyone in that house knew how to remove it without getting poisoned, even his mother. Would Lephar Blom let him do it? Was he the smart one now? Salo wasn't sure he felt confident. His boss was under the impression he had outsmarted Arden Vera, that he was a hero. In reality, something had been bothering Vera. He could sense it. His movements, although still quick, were slightly sloppier than he had anticipated. But Arden wasn't his problem to think about. The only thing he was good at was beating people up.

A quiet yet noticeable sound reached his ears. It almost sounded like a clock - a loud and broken one. Salo sat up, placing his weight on his elbows. Had someone left their pocket watch behind? He almost slapped himself for thinking that. Of course every reputable gangster carried a fancy, conspicuous watch with him. For a moment, Salo considered checking the bathroom, just to make sure the tap wasn't running. Or was the ceiling leaking again? A thousand possibilities, yet only two outcomes. One was not something he wanted to think about.

Salo exited the dorm. The crackling wasn't audible in the hallway. Was he simply tired? Everything could be a hallucination for all he knew. He paced back and front, his confusion overpowering his fatigue. Anxiety started building up inside of him, filling his mind with horrible thoughts and images.

His mother lying lifeless on the debris of what used to be their home. Lephar Blom's disappointed glare when he found out he was wrong.

I can't let this happen.

Salo burst back in his room. That's when it was blown to kingdom come.

***

Yes, yes. It's quite smaller than the first one. What can I do ;) Weekly reminder to vote if you enjoyed and comment your thoughts; the good, the bad, the ugly and all that crap. Thank you for reading!

PUBLISH DATE — 19/05/05

EDIT DATES — 19/07/15 | 19/09/04