The Deadman

The Pera Clubhouse had an interesting location. It’s a boating place where various folks dock their boats. There’s a man-made river that they use to move their boats to the sea.

There were few warehouses where they store the parts for their boat.

Pera Clubhouse was the main clubhouse. It’s quite big with a lot of folks coming in and out. Robert had introduced himself as the new guy that Thomas introduced.

His voice was meek and submissive. His hands clasped as if his tongue was ready to lick their boots. Robert knew that he didn’t have time to spend here. He acquainted himself with the clubhouse while keeping an eye on Bo.

The thing was that William wanted it to be discrete. Obviously, he already failed when he burned Thomas’s place and shot on the back of his head. His thugs should be hurrying to Bo the moment they found Thomas dead.

Robert had already identified where the thugs are. He couldn't enter their space beneath without some noise so he was planning to improvise by finding the ventilation of their basement and making sure that’ll they will come out on their own.

It wasn't easy to find materials in a place like this. Not to mention that the thugs guarding the clubhouse were seriously strapped.

He could use magic but that wasn't enough to turn the tide to his side.

Robert could use three elements. He could throw wind bullets, a ball of fire that produces a small explosion, and threw a sharp blade of water that could cut through steel. The use of it was limited because he was in the city so he rarely used them and preferred  sealing and binding.

Not to mention he recalled that there was a problem with magic being in the close vicinity of technology – specifically complicated machines such as engines that makes magic fail to activate.

He wasn't really fond of using his elemental magic either

At best he could only use an elemental spell ten times before his energy was emptied out. The thing was Robert specialized more in sealing and binding. He could throw strings made of light with the tip of his fingers that he could use to grab supernatural creatures and tether them down. He could also combine the strings he made to form a bundle of rope.

Other than that there wasn’t really much use other for it than fighting Cultists and Spawns who he doesn’t mind using it too. Sealing takes time and he'll need a medium and a place where there wasn't interference to make full use of it.

Robert would rather avoid using them against people. He could only use his elemental abilities ten times which he’d rather not utilize unless he really was in a pickle and had no choice but to do so. Not to mention that although he was more proficient in using the binding light and sealing methods, it takes a toll on his stamina.

He couldn't enter the basement easily so he prepared to lure them out of their hole. He started a fire near the vent. After that, he waited in the room closest to the entrance and waited for them to come out. They had a lot of goons around, but it didn’t matter to Robert.

Robert continued burning anything that might upset them while pulling on the fire alarm. Didn’t take long for him to make a mess of everything. Lots of things were burning and since then he had been careful enough to make sure that he was discovered as the bastard who was playing around with fire.

Gaining entry, he went to the armory where two guards were guarding. He drew his gun and shot them dead. He puts another bullet in them, searched them, and took one of the AKs they were using. It was fascinating to him how the AK was always everywhere.

He slung the AK on his shoulder and took a look at their armory. It was  pretty okay. Most of them were old and used guns. They have bundles of dynamites and grenades so he procured some for himself. He looked around the building and got an idea to rig the building with explosives just in case.

He started planting the dynamite on the foundations and rigged them to blow. It seemed overkill, but Robert liked to make sure that the people who he was after were usually dead. It couldn't hurt to light them if the guys prove to be a problem.

Not to mention it would either scare or anger Dayton who was hiding somewhere. He wanted them to come out of their shithole and what better way there was than to blow up their favorite clubhouse? Of course, that was if he decides to blow this place to pieces.

“William’s going to nag me about this.”

Robert finished double-checking his rigging and moved down where he heard the thugs calling out to Buster.

Bo Sottosanti was a large man.

He was full of muscles and had this commanding presence and was standing seven feet tall.

“I want every single one of you to find the fucker and gut him! Shit! It must be the same guy who put a bullet on Thomas!”

Robert reached out inside his jacket's pocket and started recording with his tape recorder.

He knocked on the door and shouted.

“Boss! We have a problem! Someone raided the armory!”

“Fuck you useless fucks! Come here and explain! Who did it? You saw who did it?”

Robert pulled the charging handle of the AK and calmly pointed it at them.

“It was actually me, Boss.” 

Robert dumped his magazine on the thugs inside.

Flicking the magazine out of the AK, Robert looked at the thugs sprawled on the ground and executed them with a bullet to the head.

Bo Sottosanti kneels. Robert could tell that he was bidding time. He was probably planning to get Robert to lower his guard. But Robert can tell that something deflected the shot from Bo's body and although he was bleeding. This man was not badly injured. Not to mention that William already warned him of a Halfbreed roaming around the city. And a seven-foot-tall guy full of muscles who could withstand bullets seemed like a good guess who this Halfbreed was.

Was he underestimating him? Robert didn’t look professional at all so that might be the case. Robert shot Bo in the stomach. The big guy pounced at him. Robert jumped back using Bo’s face as he tried to tackle him.

Robert emptied a mag on Bo’s legs before throwing the AK away.

Drawing his butterfly knife.

He started cutting Bo’s armpits and the back of his knees.

Robert then sidesteps to his right and weaves a binding of light around Bo’s unmoving arms. The moment he saw the strings of light holding his arms back. Bo stuttered and his eyes shook.

“I thought you CASE Enforcers aren’t going to interfere!?”

He growled at him. Robert tethered Bo and took the AK he threw on the ground and reloads it.

“You know us. So that means you folks are really involved.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s common sense. You knowing us means you know how we work. So it’s safe to assume that you’re the Halfbreed. Well, you can make it easy for yourself and talk. Then again, I don’t really need to know what you know. Got a lot of evidence here.”

Robert took a picture of Bo with his recon camera.

“My guys will come here.”

“They might. Doesn’t matter. I’d break you first.”

He searched the ledgers and the books that Bo was keeping in his office. He patted Bo’s pockets and takes his phone out. He read through his messages, and emails before placing them in his bag. He shot the computer when he dumped the magazine so he just took the hard drive from it.

Bo watched Robert empty his office.

The lack of need for him made Bo’s eyes dilate.

Why was he being kept alive?

Was he really not needed?

Anxiety flooded inside Bo's head.

“What do you want?”

“Hmm? Like I said, not much from you. You don't seem like you ain’t going to talk so why bother? I already have all that I need here. An associate can trace the call and we can just make a guess on where Dayton was through all these books you’ve been keeping. It’s actually good of you to keep them.”

“I’ll talk. Just let me live.”

Robert stopped moving. He placed the notebook inside his messenger bag.

“You don’t understand, do you? Like I said. I’ve no need for you. I already have all the things that I need here. And you understand that if you know what we do. We can’t let people like you exist.”

“I didn’t want to be like this.”

“Not interested in your story, bud.”

Robert checked another notebook. Bo’s lower jaw shook badly and he started speaking.

“You can find Dayton in Hanzek. He had a compound that he uses to handle all the smuggling. If CASE was sniffing around then you know that we’ve been dragging folks to do OTS’s bidding. I can make a confession. Get you, folks, some proper evidence.”

Robert pressed the button on the tape recorder hidden in his jacket. He looked at Bo and then called out to William who was probably listening to him.

“W. You heard that?”

“Got it. Remember what I said about discretion? You could have called for backup, you know?”

“Then call now. Lots of things here. Already secured some of the rest here. They are selling people here. I might need to dump all of this to you.”

Robert looked at the one monitor. Some people were in cages waiting to be sold. They were emaciated. Ribs showing and hollowed cheeks.

Robert’s face remained blank. Not a single twitch of emotion can be found on his face.

“Don’t kill Bo. We need him alive and talking.”

“Sure.

Robert turned around. He stood behind Bo and started tearing the tendons of his foot and wrist.

“You’re a Halfbreed so stop squirming.”

“I’ll kill you for this! I’d kill you for this!”

Robert grabbed hold of the barrel of his pistol and started hammering Bo’s neck until he heard a crack. Dispelling the light bindings. He looked at Bo’s bloodshot eyes and stomped his head unconscious before leaving.

The thugs who came to see Bo started firing at Robert after seeing Bo's bleeding head on the floor. They were a rather good shoot so he took cover. Robert might have the confidence to start a fire and take them on unnoticed. But he was still not bulletproof.

He exchanged fire with the thugs.

After ten minutes of quick exchanges with his rifle. Robert came out of the basement with a half-empty magazine. He spotted the black sedans coming to the clubhouse and surrounding it.

Wilson walked up to him glaring.

“I told you to be discreet.”

Robert shrugged quietly. He took out the hard drive, tapes, notebooks, and ledgers that he found in Bo and Thomas’s office.

“Here are the documents I found in their office. I got a lead where Dayton was. He probably knows we are coming so he’s probably going to either defend or flee his compound.”

William gritted his teeth. He took his radio out.

“This was Agent William Wilson. Requesting people to secure the area of Hanzek. We are looking for a man called Dayton. If you spot him, try to arrest him. I repeat. Do not kill the man. We need him alive.”

Willian puts away his radio.

“Use the car. Head out there and see if you can find Dayton. Look, we need to know what he knows.”

“My backup?”

“We’ll have the local police try to open up the compound. Is Bo alive?”

“He should be. He’s a Halfbreed so he’s tough to kill. Tore his tendons and broke his neck so he wouldn’t move.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“If you want me to magically subdue him then you’re looking at the wrong person, Wilson.”

“You seem used to this.”

“Not really. I’m actually shaking right now.”

Robert rested the AK on his shoulder.

“Can I keep the AK for now?”

“I’ll be taking it back for evidence later.”

Robert groaned.

“You guys should really let me keep some of the stuff I get.”

“Just go will you?”

Robert took the car that William rode. He stopped for a moment and shouted at him.

“Oh yeah, the scooter of the guy I borrowed was parked there. Can you get it back?”

“I will. Just go okay?”

Robert drove the car out of the area. William looked at the car and kneaded his forehead. So much for asking to be discreet. Then again, he expected this work from the Commission’s Enforcers.

“They must really want these bastards to be this reckless. Or it could be just him.”

William had learned one thing when dealing with them. You can do all kinds of things in this city. You can peddle drugs, women, and all sorts of contrabands, but the moment you ever touch their side of the world. Then they’ll come at you like rabid dogs who wouldn’t think twice about tearing you apart.

And if there was one thing that CASE hates the most.

It’s bastards who ritual sacrifice people for whatever spawn of hell they are trying to pull into this world.

And William would rather not have a creature walking around this city.