center Brooklyn: Mortals

By Keza: Queen of Procrastination

/center AN: This chapter is pretty short, because it's basically a bridge for the next stuff. If you read, please review, because it's a good way for me to know who's reading! Oh, and spontaneous plot twists are the best!

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"Didn't take you long," Silent spat, his gaze full of loathing. "And you'd better have some original begging up your sleeve."

Mouse stood silent and shaking, his eyes wide and fearful. "Even mice have voices," Silent said after a moment. Mouse tumbled to the ground, felled by a hit to the head. Cringing, he rose again, trying to avert his eyes from Silent's own injuries from the previous night. "Tell me," Silent said, "what reason do I have for not laying upon you myself?"

"I-I can still work!" Mouse said, his pulse quickening.

"HAH!" Silent shot. "Just look where that's gotten you! Look! Look!"

Mouse finally forced his eyes to meet Silent's, and cringed. His face was covered in bruises, with an ugly gash by his collarbone. Mouse had seen worse that morning - but the pure hate that radiated from Silent's body made him shudder. Silent watched him with disgust, then stood up and walked by him, paused for a second, his back to Mouse, then spoke again.

"Where's Taffy?"

"Gone," Mouse mumbled. "I had to reveal him to cover myself up."

Silent didn't flinch. "Oh?"

"But they don't suspect me now, especially not Spot, I'm sure of it!"

"Well that's good," Silent said slowly. "Maybe you will still work…" He turned and paced slowly. "…but getting a chance like the one last night won't happen for awhile yet.." He stopped and met Mouse's eyes. "Will you still be able to get me the information?"

Mouse nodded quickly. He started moving to leave, then realized that Silent was still talking - he was in one of those moods, and Mouse decided he'd better stay and listen. Though it might not be the best choice for his health, he could gain some useful information. Contrary to his nickname, when Silent got in a talkative mood, he was hard to shut up. Mouse stayed quiet, ready to ride out the storm.

"Because you know, it's not just some petty disagreement," Silent was saying. "I don't care about Brooklyn. I've got Harlem." Mouse nodded again. Silent glanced around the warehouse proudly, then shook his head and chuckled, "but oh, revenge, yes, I have a love of revenge." He paused and looked pointedly at Mouse. After a minute Mouse understood and cleared his throat nervously, then asked-

"And… uh, what revenge do you have with Spot?"

"You see," Silent said, returning to his chair and leaning back, "Spot took away the one thing I loved the most. He tore it apart and threw it away… the one thing that kept me alive and living this rotten life beneath the streets - gone… of course revenge keeps me up now," he added fondly, then his voice turned somber again. "And what does Spot love more than anything? Brooklyn," he sneered at the word. "Everything is about Brooklyn, a dirty piece of land that he doesn't even own. But he's infatuated with it. I take Brooklyn away from him, maybe he'll feel a shred of what I still feel, even now."

Silent relaxed, done with his speech. Mouse bowed his head with mixed emotions, still confused. He chanced a question.

"What… what did Spot do?"

"What did he do? Yes, what did he do," Silent's tone changed abruptly, full of bitterness. He had barely waited for Mouse to ask the question. "You think dear old Spot Conlon is too young and innocent to do anything? Well I guess this life makes you grow up fast. Fast enough that some people turn hard, you know? They lose their feelings, their sense of their own mortality. Or maybe they just go insane. I don't even remember what he was mad at me for. For all I know, I might have just won a few games of poker and cleaned him out." Silent's breathing was becoming steadily heavier, his eyes were scrunched shut as he thought of the past. "He raped my little sister, Mouse. My little sister. And it was all because of some petty problem between us, he found her, raped and beat her and left her on the street."

Mouse's mouth was a gaping hole. Silent's voice rose to a fevered pitch.

"And you wanna know where she is now, Mouse? Yeah? Well I'll tell you, they took her away from me! They took her away from me because they thought I had done it! And now she's gone! Some babbling mess in an orphanage!"

"I'm sor-"

"LEAVE!"

Mouse backed away, stumbled, turned and fled from the warehouse, ignoring the kicks and punches that slowed him on the way out. He didn't stop running until he was out of Harlem, heading towards Brooklyn… he halted and leaned forward with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He jumped, surprised when a hand landed on his shoulder. Spinning around he saw Ore's worried frown surveying him.

"Mouse, you alright?"

Mouse stared at him for a few moments, the shook his head, as if that would scatter his thoughts.

"Yeah…. Yeah, sorry, fine," he mumbled.

"Well… ok," Ore adjusted his papers and walked off the opposite way, shaking his head, suspicious conclusions already jumping to mind. Mouse watched him go and shuddered. Only yesterday he had been wondering which side he fought for - good or bad? Only yesterday he had had no cause, he had just done what he was told without much feeling - except fear. Everything had changed so fast… and for the first time, a new feeling rose up in his throat as he thought of Spot… no, not fear, never again fear - only a deep disgust, a taste of contempt.

He continued to Brooklyn, his mouth set in a hard line.

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"Jesus, boy! They done you up somethin' good, they have!"

Taffy forced his eyes open, coughed violently, and stared up into a small child's nightmare.

The face was owned by a boy, probably around sixteen years of age. A wide grin revealing a few crooked and chipped teeth stretched his whole face, and his one eye was a cloudy blue that always seemed to be staring past you. The other half of his face - Taffy winced - was a red, purple, and pocketed scarred mess, and his nose was permanently bent, probably having been broken many times before. He was dressed in a multitude of colorful rags, all of them grimy and crudely sewn together. The effect was dizzying.

The boy stuck out a dirty hand, a nail missing from his thumb.

"Need a lift, do ya?"

Taffy shook his head painfully, and managed to croak his decline.

"Well they call me One-eye, fittingly," One-eye said, sitting back on his heels and brushing a hand over the ruined side of his face. "And the truth is that I'm known Midtown's most famous gambler, that I am. Not to be gloatin' a'course." He chuckled. "Off in Brooklyn on a whim, I suppose, though I miss the tracks already, I do. Nah, I'm just pullin' your leg, ol' Spotty boy Conlon was needin' a visit, though he had a fit when I called him that, he did! Mayhap that's why I'm havin' a spot - hah! Spot! Of trouble findin' him, and let me tell ya, I am!"

After blinking lazily up at the strange townie for a few minutes, Taffy found himself dozing off again. A few moments later One-eye noticed this and shook his head.

"Tsk. Well boy, you hold on while I find someone else to carry ya out, I'll do that, I will!"

One-eye stood up, placed some crates to shield the Taffy from view, then slipped out of the alley. Taffy slept on in his own painful, dreamless sleep.

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"What, did you think I was just going to forget, Kid?" Silent asked, stroking his brass knuckles lovingly as he talked. Kid Blink quivered and shrank down in the grip of Briar, the thug-like teen who was holding him firmly in place. "He helped him, you know," Silent told Briar, still in his talkative mood. He glanced back at Blink. "Didn't ya, Kid?"

"Silent, I-"

A blow to the stomach 'silenced' him. Blink doubled over, gritting his teeth. Without hesitating Silent punched upwards at his chin, bringing his head back up with a sharp crack.

"Didn't you?" he whispered again, his face an inch from Blink's own. This time Blink didn't answer, and Silent nailed him again. "Well?!"

"You're insane!" Blink finally managed to gasp out. Surprisingly, Silent drew back, a twisted smile lingering on his face.

"You know, you're right," he said. "But that's not my fault, is it?" He didn't wait for Blink to answer. "Regret your actions now, Kid?"

Blink finally cried out as the blows rained down.

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