Chapter 3B2: The More They Stay The Same



Year 30

You knew this damn day would come.

You had to make up an excuse to Yvette and Trinity of why you had to meet with him, but you're fairly certain that they didn't think anything more of it. Just bonding with an in-law over security advice of the newest and best locks right?

Your daughter Trinity did want to come with you, but you told her it would be boring adult stuff and she could visit grandpa another time. You hate lying, but what choice do you have?

You hoped and thought that you probably wouldn't ever be important enough for him to call on you for help, but here you are about to knock on his door.

You knock on the door and it opens right away.

"Took you long enough. Come in." Franklins says turning his back to you to as soon as he opens the door.

He takes a seat and for a change he tells you to do likewise.

"Okay, since I don't want you here any longer than necessary, let's get to it. I need you to break into some place."

You didn't expect this.

"What?" you ask.
"You got fucking wax in your ears? I need you to break into a place and steal something important." Franklins remarks.
"You do realize I haven't done that in years right?"
"Yes, I'm fucking aware. You're an average slob with a regular job and family. However, I know damn well you aren't out of practice because you're a fucking locksmith by trade."
"True, but…I'm not understanding this. I thought you didn't approve of my previous occupation."
"I don't, but desperate times call for desperate measures and besides all that, YOU owe me a favor and this is probably the only way I'm going to be able to call it in. Besides, you'll be going up against pure evil, so what you're doing is for the greater good…well I hope Joachim sees it that way at least."
"Wait, pure evil? What the fuck? Look, I don't want to step out of line here, but I need to ask some questions."
"You don't want to step out of line, but you're already stepping out of fucking line by asking damn questions!"
"Yeah, and I think it's fucking valid if you're sending me up against pure evil! I mean as you've pointed out several times in the past, I'm not a damn hero. I was a lowly criminal who is now a working class slob. I never was a fighting type to begin with and tried to avoid it if possible. Nevermind the fact that I'm married to YOUR daughter and father to YOUR grand daughter and I've made sure to never hurt either one of them. Seems like this is asking me to potentially do just that at best and just getting myself killed at worst."
"(Sigh) Fine, I suppose you should know in case you need some extra preparation."

Franklins pours himself a glass of wine and takes a drink before continuing.

"Okay, do you know who Mr. Reynolds is? Surely you must have heard of the man given that you were a thief at one time."
"Yeah, he's a loan shark. My family actually was in debt to him once when they owned an inn here. Never met the man personally though since I tried to avoid being in debt."
"Hmm, interesting. Well in any case, the man is more than just a loan shark. He's an embodiment of evil in this city and needs to be stopped from getting on the Klyton Council which he's been making plans to do."
"Okay? So if he's all that bad, why don't you have him arrested or something? You're always telling me you have connections."
"Yeah well those connections aren't good enough to get him and he's got connections of his own. Doesn't help that anyone that might speak out against him aren't just intimidated by him, but are also intimidated by those two goons he hangs around with. One of them being his equally demonic son and weird looking ogre."
"You really don't like this guy do you?"
"No, because despite him being an obvious evil piece of demon shit, he has been gaining a following that genuinely likes him now. In fact the asshole is probably more popular than I am among people who actually pay attention to politics."
"That's hard to believe."
"Ha ha. But make no mistake, this is no laughing matter, which is why in the next few days, you're breaking into his place of business and stealing a hexagon shaped container that he keeps a record of all his dealings in. Don't bother trying to open that though, you'd need magic. Just bring it back here."
"Okay, so got any idea where he keeps it?"
"No, but I imagine he'll probably have it in some sort of safe. Don't know where that would be either, but it has to be close since I can't imagine he'd keep it in a bank and would definitely want it close to him.

You start laughing.

"What?" Franklins asks.
"You're asking me to go steal something that is apparently magical and you don't have any idea where this item is in the place. Not to mention if this container is magically sealed, I have to believe he's probably got it in some sort of safe that has magic protection as well if its that important. That means I'm going to need special tools for that job and more time to acquire them." You answer.
"You work as a fucking locksmith!"
"Yeah and while the old guy I work for doesn't ask me too many questions, I can't just start taking specialized magic lock breaker from the job without some explanation, unless you're asking me to steal those too…"
"Look I don't give a shit what you gotta do! You need to get into that evil fucker's office and grab the container and get it back here!"
"I dunno, you keep going on about evil, but all of this seems pretty fucking shady. I mean granted I don't doubt that Reynolds isn't an asshole given the stories I've heard, but how is what you're planning to do any better? Seems pretty hypocritical that you gave me grief about my background and here you are a self proclaimed follower of Joachim scheming to…"
"DAMNIT MAN DON'T YOU KNOW ANYTHING? I just told you the man is DEMONIC SHIT!" Franklins stands up to shout at you.
"Wait…you weren't just saying that as a casual description of how much of an asshole he is?"
"NO. He's a fucking DEMON. Okay, perhaps half demon, but he's demonic shit and MY kind have been fighting his for a lot longer than you could ever think about!"

Franklins suddenly sits back down and begins cursing to himself and you feel like you've heard more than he meant to tell you.

"What exactly do you mean your kind…wait, are YOU human?"
"Yes! No! Fuck! I hate to lie! (Sigh) Damnit, I didn't want to get into this…I'm half celestial."
"Celestial? So like an angel? YOU'RE an angel?"
"No you idiot. I just told you I'm only half. Just like Reynolds is only half demon. Doesn't matter though, we are mortal enemies as has always been the way."
"Wow. You don't hear about angels too often."
"Well maybe if you attended the church of Joachim, that wouldn't be the case you faithless heathen. As I said, I am only half celestial. My foolish father gave up his otherworldly home to be with my mother…but we're getting off topic…"
"Wait a moment! Then that means Yvette…"
"Yes, she has celestial blood as well. It's probably why she has magic potential. It's probably also why she was always a bit on the trusting side. I never got any of that, all I got was a strong sense of right and wrong and fairly good health all throughout my life. Never been sick once. Better than nothing I suppose and before you even ask, no she doesn't know any of this and you better keep it that way."
"I don't get why you wouldn't tell her though."
"Because it's a fucking burden knowing that's why! Because I know I have to live up to some damn ideal that I can't hope to achieve. Hell, my own father didn't achieve it and HE was a full blood! I know Yvette and if she knew about all this, she would have wanted to go out on a crusade to right wrongs and all that bullshit with her magical powers and promptly gotten herself killed in the process. Better that she be a good person in her own small, but safe way."
"She might have surprised you and done great deeds or something."
"Oh and you're the expert on good behavior now?"
"Okay, fine I don't know shit about it. But what about Trinity?"
"She would have celestial blood too obviously. Though in her case, I'm sure it's been diluted so much with your lowborn mortal blood that she isn't going to have any potential powers and will most likely just live as a normal human. Lucky her."

You can't believe all this new information that's been dumped on you. It doesn't seem real, but Yvette's dad has never been one to lie and if he is indeed half angel like he claims, you guess it's hard for him to even do so directly. (Omitting the truth and spinning it, is a different story apparently)

All of this still doesn't change the fact that he's asking you to do a job, because he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Still seems hypocritical to you, not to mention dangerous now that you're apparently going to be involved in some secret holy war.

It occurs to you that you could just refuse. He just admitted all this stuff to you. Now you have a secret. What's he going to do? You know he not going to kill you or even set it up in such a way that would happen. Have you exiled or get rid of you in some way? You don't see that happening either. Not now.

You refuse to help

If this was something reasonable maybe you'd be more willing to help, but this hypocrite is going to get you killed. Hell, maybe even on purpose.

"I'm not doing your dirty work, especially given how the way you treat me. I've already proven myself to you for years now anyway." You say.
"(Snort) So you want credit for acting like you should be acting anyway? Franklins replies.
"No, I'm just saying I'm not going live in fear of your blackmailing anymore. You want this done, you need to do it yourself, hypocrite."
"You should watch how you speak to me."
"Or what? You'll expose my past to Yvette? I'll take that risk, then she can find out everything that YOU'VE been keeping from her. You two are only just now on better speaking terms thanks to me. What happens when she finds out the truth? You think she'll ever want to have anything to do with you again? I mean shit; you knew about me being an ex-criminal and didn't tell her immediately. That would be grounds alone for her to be pissed at you, let alone this new information about her being part angel. You going to also deprive your grand daughter of her father as well?"

Franklins just sits in silence with a stare that could kill if it could. (Fortunately, he didn't say he had those sorts of celestial powers)

"Now you got two options. You either let me go out that door and leave me alone in peace where upon we will never speak about this ever again or you can go ahead and try to kill me at some point and if you go that route, you better make sure you get it right. What is NOT going to happen is you telling me what to do like a puppet."

Franklins continues to stare at you in silence. You half expect him to get up and try to kill you with his bare hands, but he doesn't.

"Fine. Go. This is my fault for placing trust in someone of your low moral fiber anyway. Oh and don't worry, your miserable life is safe." Franklins says dismissively.

You aren't sure about this at first, but given that Franklins isn't even prepared to kill Reynolds who is a mortal enemy and demon to boot, you get the impression that he's telling the truth.

You head back home and try to forget about everything that transpired. Even though you're supposedly in the clear now, you still have a feeling of worry for the next few months.

Still, you try to keep your mind occupied with your every day family life, which continues as normal with no odd deviations.

By the time a year passes, your concerns of any reprisal by Franklin are nearly gone.

Year 32

You have mixed feelings about all this.

Most of them negative about this situation of course, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you always knew this day would come. Maybe not like this, but something like it.

"Stop here." Franklins remarks to the carriage driver and two of Franklins men grab you and throw you out of the carriage.

You have no idea where you are all you do know is you've been riding for quite awhile, so you can't be anywhere near Klyton anymore. Maybe somewhere to the north? The air is a lot colder, but then you're naked so it would be slightly chilly no matter where you were.

You hear the sounds of footsteps approach as you attempt to stand back up. A boot to your side kicks you back down, followed by a hand roughly taking off your blindfold. You see Franklins staring down at you, even in your beaten and naked state you'd try to attack him if you could, unfortunately your hands are firmly tied behind you.

"I should have known after reading about Reynolds winding up dead a year ago that you decided to abandon your so called code completely. Guess you took my advice and decided to do your own dirty work after all."
"Well let's just say I saw the point of view on one of your crude arguments that fateful day. Plus as you pointed out, he was part demon and killing him was after all in my duty as a being of higher morality and conscience." Franklins responds.
"Still deluded I see. Snatching me up with nobody around and dragging me way the hell out…wherever we are just to kill me seems a bit complex though. Couldn't you have just had me killed quietly in the city? I'm sure you have the means of disposing of a dead body." You say.

Franklins smiles a bit and pulls out a knife.

"You still don't get it. I didn't abandon any code and you're not dying here…well at least not by my hand." He says and tosses the knife next to you before continuing.

"This is exile. I told you I'm no murderer. I'm giving you a chance to live."
"A chance to live? I'm fucking naked in the wilderness!" you shout.
"Yes, but you still have a chance. Call it punishment for all those years you freely stole from hard working folks. If you live, well then I guess Joachim has seen fit to absolve you of your sins."

You shake your head.

"You're right. You haven't changed at all. You're still a fucking hypocrite hiding behind some code to justify your actions."
"…perhaps…but then I am only part human. I have my flaws that Joachim will surely judge on that day of reckoning."
"You might want to be on the safe side and just kill me, because if I DO survive this, I'm coming back for you."

Franklins at this point chuckles.

"No, I don't think you will. First of all if you do come back to Klyton, I'll definitely know about it and I WILL have you killed for the punishment for returning from exile is death in accordance with the law. Second, even if you do manage to sneak in, don't think you're going to somehow get my daughter on your side. I've already taken care of that. Right now she knows everything about you and believes you've fled the city due to being under suspicion of several crimes."
"She'd never believe it!" you exclaim.
"She already does. Thanks to you, I have a better relationship with her now and she's never known me to be a liar. Besides, it's not lying…you were a thief."

You start cursing Franklins out, but he's unmoved.

"I'd save your strength. Night will be coming soon and there are worse than wolves out here. Goodbye son in law and don't worry about Trinity, I will of course make sure she, along with my daughter are well looked after."

With those last words, Franklins gets back in the carriage and takes off.

The first thing you do as you watch the carriage disappear in the distance, is maneuver yourself to try to cut your ropes with the knife that Franklins provided.

You still have no idea where you are; there isn't even a road nearby. Franklin's carriage apparently had heavy duty wheels to endure the rough wilderness.

You struggle to cut your ropes, but it's a tedious process and not easy. The cold is nipping at you and the light is going out. To top it all off, you think you hear something making noises in the distance and it doesn't sound like a wolf.

By the time you get your hands free, what was making that sound has gotten closer.

You don't know what it is, but all you see is its eyes and teeth before it manages to chase you down and devour you.