Chapter
1 – An Extra Ordinary Man
“Where are you really working for?!
Tell me!” I hear being said from a nearby house.
Rushing over to the source, I enter
the back of the house and see someone tied to a chair and being beaten up by
four people. Immediately drawing my gun, I shoot two of the people through the
head with one bullet, and the other two with the rest of the clip as they
scramble for cover. I load a new clip into my pistol while looking around,
unsure if there are any more criminals here.
“What the hell, man?” the guy tied
to a chair says.
“What? I thought you needed help,”
I ask.
“Yes and no. One of those guys that
you shot was an undercover cop.”
“Oh, shit. From the Dominion or the
Columbian Union?”
“Which does it matter? They’re both
the same at this point. What kind of vigilante are you? Who are you? Blindfold
Man?”
“I call myself The Cross.”
“Because of the cross on your
blindfold? That’s stupid.”
“It was all I could come up with.
Who are you, and why were you working with an undercover officer?”
“Because he was going to give me a
way out, or rather, he forced me to because I would’ve gone to jail if I
didn’t. I work for a usurer and get a little kickback for helping them with
their operations. Now, I know you work for justice, and all that, but
independent heroes like you need money. If you let me go, I’ll get you all the
cash I have on me.”
“What?”
“I owe it to you for freeing me
from that double agent. The cops might be on me now more, but at least I won’t
be suspected of being a traitor anymore and killed for it. Come on, we’ll cross
swords later, if you let me go now.”
I look around and think for a
moment. Screw it. I quickly press my gun to the man’s forehead, shield my eyes,
and pull the trigger twice. The sight of death and the feeling of other men’s
blood on me still disgusts me. I report the incident to the hero association I
work for, give them my vigilante name to confirm it’s legit, have authorities
clean up the scene, and get paid for my work. Taking one last look at the dead
bodies, I cross myself and leave, and continue my nightly patrol.
Undercover work is morally dubious,
but I still feel bad for what I did. I’m not even sure what the purpose of
undercover work is anymore, since the Dominion is spreading all over the world
and making sure that every inch of it is crime-free and free from evil. They’re
even going to be in this city soon and absorbing the hero association I work
for into their ranks. Still, a usury ring in this city is a problem. I should
know since my family and friends were in debt to banks, loaners, and credit
card companies for generations.
It’s only recently that the
Dominion has done something about the predators who have made an industry
taking advantage of the poor and common man. They tried to legally discharge
the debts of honest people who struggled to pay them, but after a lot of back-and-forth,
the Dominion chose to force a solution. Discharge the debts, go to jail, or be
executed if you resisted arrest. Some of the loaners discharged the debts, some
went to jail for resisting the change, and the others are being hunted. The
Castigators, a subsidiary of the Dominion, is doing a lot of the hunting, but
the Compassionate, another subsidiary, is doing the most. The Compassionate are
known for their mercy; however, they are also known for caring for the poor and
common man. As a result, they show no mercy to the usurers.
Replacing the loaners is the
Dominion, which uses taxpayer dollars to give honest, poor, and common men the
money they need when they’re desperate or hit with tragedy, such as accidents
or deaths in the family. In the event of further need, the loan will be
forgiven within the same year or years after, depending on the given situation.
The system isn’t perfect, but loans that expire and a zero-percent increase in
taxes are better than nothing. Due to their kindness, the poor and common men
of the world easily give up the names and locations of the usurers, and the
Dominion continues to grow in membership, reach, and popularity. As for my part
in this, I’m a part-time hero who works a full-time job as a car mechanic when
I can make time. My actual full-time role is that of a husband and father.
The reason I’m a registered
vigilante is my family and neighbors, and my desire to protect them all. All I
have to my name is a pistol, a lot of ammo, a knife, a blindfold to cover my
face, and a visor beneath it, which makes me see through it and see in the
dark. It’s not much at all compared to superhumans and other vigilantes, but I
still get the job done. In my patrols today, I’ve managed to come across other
crime scenes; however, more capable heroes and vigilantes get to the criminals
and villains faster than I or are more capable than I of tackling them, so I
call in backup to have them handle it. I still get credit and am paid for it,
just not as much.
By the end of my personalized shift
today, I think the only good thing I did was that first encounter and reporting
a usury ring in the city. Seeing what time it is, I make sure that I’m not
followed home and head back to it for some well-earned rest. My house is a
humble, two-story house with a garden in the back and a cross and statue of
Mary and St. Joseph in the front window. Going inside, I say hello and am
immediately met with the smell of a freshly cooked dinner.
“Welcome home, Oliver. I’m relieved
you’re back,” my wife, Jennifer, says.
Walking out of the kitchen, she
goes up to me with our son, Lucas, in her arms and gives me a tight hug. Jennifer
is wearing a red and pink shirt and a red skirt. Her brown hair smells like she
just washed it, and her green eyes are just as pretty as ever. Lucas has my
blue eyes and black hair, and seems to be on the verge of falling asleep.
Hugging and kissing them, I thank God that I came back home to them. We sit
down for dinner, and I tell Jennifer how my day was at both my jobs.
“How about you? How was school?” I
ask.
“The kids were being kids like they
usually were,” Jennifer says with a cute giggle. “Hearing about a usury ring in
the city is concerning. I hope no one has been desperate enough to take their
money yet.”
“I’ll take care of it. I just hope
I don’t accidentally shoot any officers again.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t
know. Does your hero association know about it?”
“No, I didn’t tell them about it.”
“Then, there’s nothing to worry
about. We’ll pray for their soul later.”
“Are we still taking a trip out to
the countryside? I could use some fresh, country air and a break.”
“We will during spring break.”
“Who’d think that I have to wait
for spring, summer, and Christmas break all over again as an adult?”
“You’ll make it, Oliver. Come on,
let’s rest for the day. You’ve earned it.”
I sit on the couch with Lucas in my
arms and Jennifer next to me watching TV and talking about the shows and movies
we watch, relating them to other things we’ve watched and memorable events in
our lives.
“You only say that you don’t like
awkward romances because it was awkward for you to ask me out and talk to me on
our dates,” Jennifer says.
“I eventually got comfortable with
it,” I say.
“Yeah, after like five dates, you
were comfortable.”
“But I proposed to you after a
month of dating. That has to mean I’m a little brave.”
“You were brave because your
parents and mine knew you had a ring for me after our first couple of weeks
together, and kept pushing you to propose, and stop waiting for what you
thought would be an appropriate moment.”
“It still makes me cringe that I proposed
in public with people watching us and me stuttering my words.”
“I’ll forever remember it.”
Lucas whines a bit, making Jennifer
and me stop talking and letting him rest. He’s right. We should be silent and
simply enjoy the rest of the night together. If the rest of my life were just
this moment, I wouldn’t mind it all because this is my Heaven on Earth.
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