The Underground…

  “Sir.”

  Ze took a long drag from his vapor stick and slammed his fist down on his makeshift, plywood tabletop. “What is it, Liam?”

  “We think we’ve found her.”

  “You think? What took you so long?”

  “The Republic Guards have made tracking her much more of a challenge. And whoever is helping her clearly knows the area very well.”

  Ze gripped the vapor stick in his fist before throwing it against the cold, cinder block wall in an explosion of metal and plastic. “That’s not good enough. She’s my property. I want her back NOW! Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” Liam shifted uneasily, remembering the last time Ze's "property" had gone missing. The screams… he pushed the memory away.

  “You better, or I’ll take it out of your flesh. Where the hell is she?”

  “She stopped in the sewer.”

  Ze’s face widened into a crazed grin and a wicked twinkle flashed across his eyes. The sewers… they were his domain. He could almost smell the damp earth and the metallic tang of old blood. This was where he belonged. He remembered his first kill down there, a scrawny kid barely older than Liam, whimpering as Ze tightened his grip… The memory sent a thrill through him. They had stepped onto his turf, and it would be the last mistake they ever made.

  He stood, the gleam still in his eyes, “Come on. We’ve got goods to catch.”

  ***

  The smell of ammonia and raw sewage burned Ze’s eyes, but he didn’t care. It smelt like home to him. The place of his childhood, his training, his initiation to the literal underground. He remembered the initiation: the cold, slimy feel of the sewer water up to his chest, the roar of the older boys’ laughter echoing off the concrete walls, the sting of the first blow… It had been brutal, but it had forged him. There was no other place he’d rather be. It gave him a freedom that the overworld never would. He started his career the way the bosses before him had done. Illegal weapons and drugs. Underground animal fighting. But that all changed when Stanton came into the picture. With his backing, Ze crushed anyone who stood in his way. Of course, that support was always hidden behind a curtain of sludge and grime, but Ze didn’t care. He was happy to stay in the shadows, ferrying the Doctor’s special subjects.

  He never asked what Stanton did with the people he provided, even when curiosity nearly got the better of him. Instead, Ze pocketed the money and went about his merry way, the King Of The Underworld. A real life Charon, on his own, personal River Styx.

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  Ze sighed impatiently, his hand coming to rest on the butt of the revolver strapped to his hip, “How much longer until we reach them?”

  Liam looked up from the small device in his hand and spit a wad of black tar from his mouth. He hesitated. He knew Ze was volatile, but lately… lately, he seemed even more on edge.

  Maybe I should find another job after this, he thought, then immediately dismissed the idea. Ze wouldn't let him leave. He’d seen what happened to those who tried. “They should be right up here.”

  A picture of smashing the revolver against his prey’s face flashed through Ze’s mind, causing him to tap the weapon in excitement, “Good.”

  The men walked in silence, the only sound the drip of unseen water and the echo of their footsteps, until they came to a rusted, circular door, not much bigger than the manhole covers that dotted the streets above their heads. It was welded to a hinge on the wall to their left. Ze shot Liam a look, eyebrows raised and Liam gave a quick nod in response. With a flick of his chin, he directed the strongarm towards the door as he slipped the gun from its holster. Ze pulled the hammer back, took aim, motioned for Liam to open the door. For a moment, nothing happened. The round passage, not much longer than a body length, appeared empty. A cold draft wafted from the opening, carrying the scent of damp earth and something else… something metallic. Ze's senses prickled.

  “What in the hell?”

  Liam stuck his head in the opening. “Wait. There’s something in here.”

  “What is it, you idiot?”

  When Liam turned around, he held a large, fat rat in his hands. On the rat’s back, lashed in place by twine, was a small black box. Ze stepped forward and removed the box from the animal’s back. It was heavier than it looked. He spun the smooth object in his hands, held it to his ear, and gave it a quick shake.

  “What is this…”

  A buzzing sound cut Ze off. He pulled the object away just in time to see two taser prongs fly towards his face. He tried to duck, but it was too late. The prongs embedded themselves into his skin, one landed in his right cheek, the other landed just above his right eyebrow. An instant and painful shock tore through his face, like being stung by one hundred bees all at once. Ze collapsed to the sludge covered ground and tried to pull the wires from his skin, but it was no use. His arms were useless. Time passed like molasses as Ze flopped on the ground like a fish out of water until Liam was able to free Ze from his torture.

  Ze allowed the cool breeze to wash over him before he opened his eyes. For a brief moment, it filled him with relief, but the feeling was quickly replaced with rage. A rage so fierce he could feel heat in his fingers. His eyes snapped open, but what Ze saw didn’t compute in his brain. His left eye was covered in a film that only allowed him to see in splotches of light and haze. Ze’s right eye was completely black, like a lightbulb that had popped out. The world was a blurry mess of shadows and distorted shapes. He could hear the drip of water echoing from unseen corners of the sewer, each drop a hammer blow against his skull. The stench of sewage was overwhelming, a thick, suffocating blanket. Ze dug at his face, trying to remove the sewage that blocked his vision. But no matter how much he dug, his vision never cleared.

  “Sir…” Liam’s frantic voice echoed off the surrounding walls, “Your face.”

  “Don’t just stand there. Help me up.”

  Liam cringed at the singed flesh, like streaked soot, that smeared over his boss’ right eye. He held out a hand, but Ze never took it, “I…”

  “You piece of shit. Help me up.”

  Liam took Ze by the hand and pulled him to his feet. “I’m trying.”

  “I swear, when I find that girl, I will make her suffer. She’ll beg for death.” He clinched his jaws until his teeth threatened to shatter. “And anyone who helped her, I’ll force them to watch the whole thing before I put a bullet in their skull.”