2021-05-13 11:22 - Thursday
Balthazar's Building
He tried to scream, but nothing came out. He just kept falling…
Falling….
Falling…
Logan’s eyes burst open as he woke. His heart was racing from the dream…nightmare…what was it? He tried to grasp at the images, but the dream just slipped away, his conscious mind unable to hold onto it. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for Logan. Since he moved into Balthazar’s building he’d often wake in a panic. Did I always have these dreams?” he wondered, trying to think back to when he didn’t live there.
“Arghh” he grunted, his head instantly throbbing from a sudden migraine. What was I thinking about again? The pain quickly subsided, but he had lost his train of thought - ah well.
Pushing off the covers he stood, stretching out the morning kinks. The late morning sun was pouring through his floor to ceiling window, gently bathing him in it’s warm glow. Enjoying the feeling, Logan let out a big yawn as he began to examine his wounds from Tuesday’s battle. Wow, not bad at all. The cut on his shoulder was hardly visible and the burns were just about gone as well. Balthazar must have done some hocus pocus he thought, as he realized, embarrassingly enough, that he was standing in in front of the massive window, wearing only a pair of white briefs. Logan let out a chuckle, a second later Oh yeah, tinted windows. Relaxing again, he took another mighty stretch.
It was rare he got to sleep in, but the boss had been really sympathetic about the whole thing and gave him some time off to heal up. He didn’t even complain about the fact that Angus hadn’t given an answer to whatever it was written in the note. Although, Balthazar wasn’t too happy when he had mentioned the cops got involved. ‘Keep a low profile and avoid Sandoval,’ is what Romano had said. Funny, Logan had a good impression of the guy, given that he had saved his life and all, but he wasn’t going to question the boss.
He stripped off his underwear and headed for the shower when he heard the familiar beep of his cellphone.
‘Office’
It was one of Balthazar’s templated text messages which he would send when he needed something fast.
“Guess the shower is going to have to wait,” he sighed, hurrying to change into a fresh pair of clothes. “At least it’s the world’s shortest commute” he mused, as he opted for the stairs up to the 13th floor.
“THAT’S IT!? A Fucking name?”
Logan could hear Balthazar’s familiar voice booming from down the hall. Whoever was with him was really getting their ass chewed out.
“I paid you for info, not just a fucking name! The Eye of St Vigeous, what the hell am I supposed to do with that? Ah, Logan, there you are,” Balthazar said as his body guard quietly slipped into the room. “Rob, this is my associate Logan, Logan this is Rob. Rob here is a Verbati demon, a bit of a shape shifter now aren’t you Rob. Now I, knowing Rob has been a little down on his luck these days, was kind enough to give him a job. I fronted this little shit five thousand big ones to get me info on something of interest to me and all he comes back with is a fucking NAME!” he barked again, causing the man to flinch.
Logan could sense the fear emanating from the young demon. He looked no more than 18, maybe 19 years old, wearing a dark hoodie and big, loud high-top shoes. What are you playing at kid Logan thought dismally, knowing what was expected of him. He’d probably have to rough the guy up, if not worse.
“I..I..I told you, that’s all I could find,” Rob stammered, “I swear, I hit up all my contacts and asked around everywhere. “The Eye, it kept coming up.”
“YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT DOES!” Balthazar was practically frothing at the mouth now. “I am going to say this one more time, I. Want. My. Money. Back”.
The kid shuffled uncomfortably, but said nothing.
Balthazar’s voice suddenly became chillingly calm. “Do you have my money Rob?”
“N..No”
“Logan, did you hear that?” Balthazar said, looking at his body guard. He didn’t need to say more, Logan had got the message loud and clear.
“That’s bad news for you Rob,” Logan said flatly, as he planted a punch in the kid’s gut.
With a loud groan, Rob keeled over.
“You shouldn’t have spent my money Rob.” Balthazar was practically grinning, enjoying the spectacle in front of him. He really couldn’t care less about five thousand dollars, this was about principle. Do not fuck with Balthazar Romano.
Logan gripped onto the back of Rob’s neck and practically dragged him back up to his feet. He was about to lay into him again, when the kid shifted, keeping the same form, just making himself a bit smaller. Wriggling free, Rob wasted no time as he bolted out of the office and headed for the stairs.
“Teach him a lesson Logan, and bring me whatever money he has on him” Balthazar ordered, a wide smile now plastered on his face. He loved these little unpredictable moments in life.
Like a jungle cat, Logan sprung into action, racing down the hall and into the stairwell. The kid was fast, real fast and was already down a few flights. “Come on Rob, don’t make this harder than it has to be!” he called out, taking 3 steps at a time to catch up.
It wasn’t long before they both reached the ground floor. He had managed to gain a bit of ground, but the Verbati was still just out of reach.
“Fuck off! Just fuck off ok!” the kid called back, terrified that Logan would eventually catch up. Willing his legs faster, Rob charged through the lobby and out into the street. “MOVE! MOVE!” he screamed frantically, as he raced between flocks of people.
And I just wanted a shower Logan huffed, following Rob as the kid headed into Central Park.