Same Business, New Location: Introduciton
#1 of Same Business, New Location
Here's a short introdution before the series begins. This story takes place after the "In the Life of the Cat" series. All characters' copyrights belong to me.
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It takes ten years to make a reputation. It takes ten seconds to break it.
-Unknown
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I grunted as the large ursine slammed his meaty paw into my face yet again. He reared his paw back to deliver another blow, but he didn't get to land it.
"Stop." A voice behind him said nonchalantly.
The bear released the grip he had on my shirt, and I immediately slumped to the ground. The alley we were in was quite dirty and smelled awful, due to the numerous dumpsters lining either side. My assailants were laughing quietly. Besides the bear, there was a wolf and a human. They were all young and dressed like street-punks, and oddly enough, the human seemed to be the leader. It was he who said stop.
"Where's your money, kitty cat?" The man asked for the third time. "I know you have money. I watched you pull into the parking lot in a Mustang. I know you have money."
They had already searched my pockets for a wallet and found none. I would have shot all three, but my gun was in the car and I was out of ammo. I stared at the man in utter contempt, refusing to answer his questions.
"Fine," he said, "I'll just give your face one more hole."
He pulled a Glock from the back of his pants and aimed it right at my head. I reacted quickly. I threw an open-pawed slap and extended my claws, slashing his cheek open. My other paw grabbed the gun as I kicked him in the gut. He let go of the weapon and fell over. The wolf had a knife out, but neither he nor the bear moved a muscle. I had a gun, now. Standing up, I wiped away the blood that was running from my nose with my sleeve.
"Go ahead!" the man yelled. "Shoot us! We're in with the Wild Dogs! They'll kill you!"
"Let them try." I said.
I leveled the gun out with the man's head and pulled the trigger. His left eye seemed to explode, blood gushing from the cavity. The man's two friends turned and ran down the alley. I could have killed them both, but I didn't. When I look back on it, I still don't understand why I didn't. I guess I just got soft.
I took off my shirt and pressed it against my nose. The bleeding was starting to stop. I grabbed the man's body and dragged him out of the alley, across the street, and into the parking lot. It was dark out and the area wasn't brightly lit, so I didn't worry about someone seeing me. I pulled my duffle bag and a full plastic gasoline container out of the trunk of the Mustang, then put the man's body into the driver seat.
I pulled the cap off of the gasoline container and stuffed half of my shirt down into it. Opening my duffle bag, I pulled out some duct tape and a cigarette lighter. I duct taped the opening on the container so that the fumes wouldn't catch fire while I was too close. Then, I lit the tip of the shirt on fire and put the home-made gas-bomb under the car. I walked over to my duffle bag, put the duct tape and lighter back into the bag, and jogged away from the car. I had just reached the other end of the empty lot when the flames got into the container. There was a large explosion, but I didn't turn to look. I just pulled a pack of Newports out of my pocket, put one in my muzzle, and lit up.
"I think I'm gonna like Chicago." I said to myself, grinning.
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And that's how the story begins. I hope you stick around for the real action. The real story is full of violence, sex, drugs, and prostitution. Will the Cat ever find peace?