The Ancient's Vendetta
Chapter 1: Joaquim
Joaquim
Joaquim glanced down at his phone’s dark screen and tapped it once. The clock read 3:00am, he wasn’t surprised it was so late. He didn’t plan on staying so long, but he wasn’t bothered by it either, he loved this spot. Not only did it not close, but it stayed interesting. He always thought there was no sense in going to a place that gets boring after 1:00. All those people who say nothing good happens after 2:00, just have early bedtimes.
His alarm was set for 5:30am, and Joaquim knew he had to be careful. Even now, at this asinine hour he could get carried away by the club’s energy. The music put him in a trance, and a good time was his kryptonite. But, he made a promise to show up at the main event, otherwise he’d be responsible for their failed mission. Joaquim set his alarm to vibrate, put the phone back in his pocket and took a sip from his glass.
The last 90 minutes were a blur, some of it he spent at the table conversing with other patrons, and some of it he spent nodding to the music. Two of his favorite things in one place, philosophy and beats. It’s common knowledge that the philosophical quotient of most humans rises exponentially after 2:00am, even if you don’t include the intoxicated. Which was perfect for Joaquim because he loved to talk.
Joaquim was a skilled communicator, and it was a craft he loved to hone. He loved to discuss anything and everything, but his loquaciousness wasn’t completely harmless. At an early age Joaquim discovered he had a knack for persuasion, and naturally, the more he practiced influencing others through words, the better he got at it.
Joaquim ’s phone vibrated in his pocket, so he gestured to the D.J. and walked out. The early morning air was surprisingly warm and the pleasant temperature was energizing. Still though, he’d need some coffee if he was going to be of any use during today's operation. He crossed the street to a coffee truck and ordered a black coffee with enough room for two scoops of sugar.
He took up a position at a side table and stirred his coffee as he watched a guy in a suit and tie hail a cab. Joaquim smiled and approached the man, arriving just before the taxi stopped.
Joaquim tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “mind if I take this cab buddy?” He knew this was the kind of request that at best would get you cursed out, or at worst reserve you a trip to the dentist to repair the damage of a swift punch to the jaw. It was a gamble, because new teeth were expensive.
The man’s neck flushed with anger as he comprehended Joaquim’s request, but that changed when their eyes met. The flash of anger was replaced with a look of confusion, and almost as if he wasn’t in complete control of his faculties the man offered Joaquim a halting nod, ‘yes’. Joaquim gave the man a friendly slap on the back, hopped in the cab and took off. They left the man there on the curb in a state of confusion.
“Where to?” the driver said, amused by Joaquim’s antics.
“That’s a great question. You’d think I’d know since I’m headed to ‘work’.” The problem was Joaquim honestly couldn’t remember where he was headed. He sent one, short text, ‘where are you?’. Almost as if the recipient expected this query an address was sent in quick reply. Joaquim shared the address with the driver, and ten minutes later he was knocking on a door.
The door opened quickly and another man silently handed Joaquim a comms device and walked back into the interior of an absolutely majestic townhouse. Joaquim followed him inside and there in the center of the living room sat a giant replica of the city route for the operation and an intricate drawing of their target building’s interior.
Joaquim gawked as he walked around the table and stopped to stare at the blueprints.
“Wow this all looks really official!” he said fidgeting with his comms device. He never could remember how to wear the thing.
When he finally donned it correctly he heard Pyotr complaining about waiting, and said, “You have no chill at all.”
Despite the fact Joaquim was extremely sleep deprived he was having a good time, until Pyotr told him to shut up. He never did understand Pyotr’s intensity, and he’s pretty sure Pyotr didn’t understand his joviality. Pyotr’s aggressive outburst threw a blanket of boredom on the early morning mission and left him feeling distracted. He must have been out of it when he saw a hand frantically waving at him and pointing.
Joaquim raised his hands in a ‘what do you want’ motion, when he saw his partner's finger tapping a door on the blueprint, the south side entrance of the building. So he quickly answered, “okay all joking aside, that door isn’t alarmed, I figured that out during recon the other day, bonus points for contingency planning. You’re good to go.”
Pyotr’s comms were still silent when all of a sudden he saw the room’s other occupant jolt and silently stare, as if he was watching something Joaquim couldn’t see. Disturbed, he walked over and yelled, “hey, he..”. The word caught in his throat. All he could feel was heat, it felt like a flame snaked its way up from his collarbones to his nose, but moments later the burning was gone.
‘Bam!’
Joaquim felt a hard slap on his right shoulder. He turned and was handed a folded piece of paper. “Get over to this address…now, Pyotr needs us.” Joaquim knew there was no room for debate, the other man’s face wore a mask of desperation. He stumbled backwards and headed for the door, when he reached the street he hailed the first cab in sight.
For once Joaquim wasn’t in a talkative mood, and he didn’t spare the cab driver a single word during the seven minute ride. But, he wanted to know what was going on, so he spoke quietly into his comms, “what the hell is going on?”
“I…I don’t know yet.” muttered the other voice.
Joaquim slapped his knee in frustration, “this isn’t good, there’s been way too much silence on Pyotr’s end. We should have tested this new equipment before we sent him down there.”
Well we’re in the thick of it now, until we hear back from him we have to believe everything is working out.”
Joaquim was starting to lose his patience with ‘mr. cool’, “do you ever get…”
At that moment, Pyotr’s comms kicked back on, and it sounded like he needed help, and fast. Joaquim arrived at the building’s entrance just in time to see a squad car pull up and park outside the door with the broken lock.
“This is good”, he muttered to the cab driver. Handing over far too much for the fare, but not waiting around for his change. As the cab driver drove away, Joaquim’s instincts told him to go and have a chat with the officer at the door.
So, in as friendly a way as he could, he shouted, “hey officer! Nothing to see here, you can be on your way.” Joaquim stopped in utter shock when the officer immediately got back in the car and drove away, cheerily. Joaquim gawked at the departing vehicle and spoke into his comms, “I really need to know what’s going on.”
The person on the other end of the line ignored his plea, “get inside that building now.”
Joaquim walked through the door with the broken lock and sleuthed his way down the hall, stopping at the puddle of blood in his path. After about 5 feet the blood stopped, and Joaquim wasn’t quite sure which way to walk. Until he heard the distinct sound of fist meeting flesh. He took some deep breaths to try and banish the queasiness making its way up from his stomach.
His pulse quickened but his stride slowed; he was in no hurry to see the scene that matched those noises. Only the thought of Pyotr in trouble kept him moving forward. He followed the noise down the hall and stopped at a corner, the sounds were close enough that he knew that all he had to do was peek around the edge to see what was going on.
When he did, he saw Pyotr. He was bloody and brawling with two of the biggest people, if you could call them that, that Joaquim had ever seen.
He stepped into the hall and yelled, “hey!”.