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Pitch Black is the second arc of The Underground series

Chapter 14 of 22

The Essence of Fear

Could I ever say these things to you? Would you care even if I could? Or is it that you already know, like we speak to each other without using words? Maybe that's why you're afraid of being the person you're capable of. Because you've never had anyone to let down.

The world taught you the only person you could depend on was yourself. But I can feel the struggle inside of you. I read it in your eyes. I sense the firestorm the blows through your soul. If you'd only let go of the anger you hang on to so dearly.

The Invisible War and The Underground had many dangers. At any given moment, one could be the subject of an assassination, abduction, or any number of atrocities. One couldn't operate in The Underground without making enemies. Eventually, someone would want you dead. Sometimes you could get lucky and get the drop on whoever was coming after you. But most were not so lucky.

Knowing what was going on in The Underground was half the battle, but finding out such information was difficult and dangerous. However, doing the jobs that no one else wanted to do generated a pretty penny. One red fox in particular found this vice to be all too tempting. Ian Miles made a living in the information trade business. It was dangerous work because he knew secrets that some would kill to make sure never made it to light. But the money he made more than made up for that risk.

The middle-aged fox sat down on a bench at the curb of the road. It was the dead of night, and of course, was freezing. Ian Miles's contact watched him wait for a minute, stretching out on the bench. Miles's contact slowly walked up behind him and stood with his paws in his jacket pockets.

"You come alone?"

Miles didn't pay him the courtesy of turning around to face him. "Of course." He replied as if his contact was stupid. "What do you expect?"

"I take it you've got what I need?"

"Let's talk turkey first." Miles snapped. "What you're asking for is nothing that was easy to get a hold of. So, I'm thinking that-"

Ian never even got to finish his sentence as Alias brought his pistol down hard on the back of the fox's skull. After Alias backtracked Ian's email address, he found out that he was a professional rat. He traded information to the highest bidder. Naturally, Alias posed as a client to draw him out.

Alias had sent Ian on some bullshit information errand, but in reality he had no interest in the subject matter at all. What he was interested in was Ian Miles, and what he knew. And by God, he'd get what he needed by the end of the night. Whether Mr. Miles wanted to cooperate or not was up to him.

Alias threw the hapless fox over his shoulder and walked down the dark streets of Arcadia. The night was late, and cold enough that there weren't many people on the streets. Those people that were, Alias simply avoided them by taking back alleyways. He walked until he came upon an old storage warehouse. Alias wasn't sure what it had been used for in its prime, but he was sure that it was now abandoned. It would serve his needs well.

It was easy to pick the lock, and the place was so old it had no alarms to trigger. The broken down mess was basically falling apart and only offered refuge to hobos. However, as he stepped across a broken sign reading "CONDEMNED" it was clear why there were no hobos around.

Once inside, Alias walked to a rusty metal chair he had placed in the center of the warehouse earlier that evening. Taking the unconscious fox, he slammed Ian's body harshly onto the chair. The old, graying fox murmured incoherently as Alias worked to secure his arms and legs. Looking around, Alias realized he was alone with his hostage.

Or so he thought.

More than once Jenna had considered turning around and going back home. But she had to know. Like a splinter in her mind, she couldn't drive the questions from her head as to what Alias kept leaving in the middle of the night for. She had a sinking suspicion that she wouldn't like what she found.

"You know," Alias's voice shattered the silence, "a long time ago I made it a personal thing that I wouldn't go after foxes." He said in an acidic tone to Miles who seemed to be coming back online. "But because of you, I have to go against my own standards!"

"Who the fuck are you?" Miles asked, his eyes in a state of panic. "What do you want?"

Jenna hid in the darkness of the warehouse behind a stack of skids. She had a clear view of Alias and Miles. Front row tickets to a live horror show.

"You know Jenny Ursprung?" Alias taunted, walking around behind Miles. "I was her date."

"You?" Miles asked in shock and disgust. "Then that means-"

"Yes." Alias confirmed, his dark tone sounding increasingly terrifying even to Jenna. She could only imagine what Ian was thinking. "I've visited Mr. Preston as well. Charming guy."

"Look man," Miles said quickly, trying to plea for his life, "I don't know what the others told you but-"

"You're going to tell me where I can find one Dr. Rob Openshaw." Alias explained. "Because I know you don't know where Waverly Hill is."

"I might!" Miles squealed in desperation. "Let me go, I'll see what I can do!"

However, the dark fox shook his head. "Deniability." He hissed behind Miles. "It can be a double edged sword, can't it?" Alias walked over to a stack of skids behind Miles. Jenna couldn't tell what Alias had placed there.

"Now, you're going to tell me where Openshaw is, because only he seems to know where Waverly Hill is, understand?" Alias explained walking back into the light carrying a small metallic box. "You'll tell me, or I'll open this box." Miles's eyes went to the silver box. "Trust me, Ian," Alias growled, "you don't want me to open this box."

"Why should I tell you?" Miles cried out. "So you can do the same thing to Rob?"

"Don't give me that shit." Alias rejected, sounding disgusted. "You, all of you, knew what you were getting into. It didn't seem to bother you when the Shadow Player paid you off. You've had just as much a paw in this as he has." Alias got down in Mile's face. "You do not know who you are fucking with!"

"Yeah, okay!" Miles yelled back at Alias. "I did know! Probably more than any of the others!" Ian shook his head in exasperation as he confessed. "I knew because I set up the deal. I convinced Rob and Jenny to go in on this, and I knew what the Shadow Player was all about! I didn't think anything like this would happen!"

Jenna watched as Alias listened to Miles spill his guts. However, Alias seemed so desensitized as he paced the floor considering Miles's words. Jenna understood why Alias didn't want her to come with him. Not when he was butchering those responsible.

"Just leave Rob out of this! He's a good man!" Ian pleaded.

"Openshaw's in on this as much as anyone!" Alias roared. "The question is, how much are you willing to suffer for this "good man"?" Alias making quote signs with his fingers. "I'll open this fucking box! You're in for a world of pain if I do!"

"Do you not know who Openshaw is?" Miles asked in disbelief.

"Never heard of the bastard!"

Miles shook his head. "He's done amazing things! He's been on the forefront of medical breakthroughs! He really didn't know what was going on! You can't just kill him!"

"Bullshit!" Alias spat. "You're lying to cover his ass!"

"I swear!" Ian appealed. "Grider Syndrome! He's who discovered the vaccine for it!"

"You know, you're begging me to open this box!"

"He's telling the truth!"

Alias tossed the box he was holding to his left paw, while his right went for his pistol. Jenna slowly walked out from behind the stack of skids, paws in the air.

"Oh my God." Alias snarled in disbelief at Jenna, lowering his gun. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Look, Alias." Jenna replied as calmly as she could. "He's telling you the truth. Openshaw did discover how to beat Girder Syndrome. That alone has stopped epidemic outbreaks around the world."

Alias looked from Jenna to Ian, then back to Jenna. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Your bank account lists, the one you cross-referenced from Hets, I pulled each of their jackets. Openshaw, Ursprung," She glanced to Ian, "even he was on there. It was some kind of payroll list. After everything, you never had time to look into it, so I did." She paused for a moment, looking up at Alias who looked infuriated. "Alias, Openshaw's not Underground. He's just a doctor. He's known around the world."

"Openshaw might be able to help you if you give him the chance!" Miles suggested.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Alias snarled, silencing Ian. His attention then went to Jenna. "It was stupid of you to follow me here tonight!"

"Alias, how much of the wrong blood has to spill?" Jenna asked him sympathetically. "Jenny forced your hand, Plaz was complicit in the Shadow Player's agenda, but Openshaw's not done anything!" She pointed to Miles. "And he'sjust some poor sap who got in over his head. There's a real enemy out there, Alias. This isn't him."

Alias went quiet for a second, and then turned to Ian Miles. Jenna watched as the black fox looked down on Ian who, even though quite terrified, kept his chin up.

"You got anything you want to tell me?" The Mercenary asked in a normal tone.

Ian didn't look so sure. "What are you going to do to Rob?"

"I have to find Waverly Hill." Alias explained. "If he tells me what I need to know, then he's got nothing to worry about."

"What guarantee do I have you won't kill him anyway?" Miles asked skeptically.

"None." Alias replied. "But I will find him. No one stays hidden forever."

Ian nodded slowly, considering Alias's offer. "Rob's unlisted. Lives upstate on an estate under the name Edison; his ex-wife's maiden name.

Alias nodded his head in confirmation.

"Your newfound honesty is redeeming." Alias said quietly, to which Ian sighed in relief.

"But it's not enough to save you."

Jenna watched in horror as Alias raised his pistol level with Ian's forehead, and pulled the trigger.

The gun sounded off it's deafening explosion of violence as Ian's eyes went wide with horror. They were frozen in that state as the .45 slug passed through is head and exploded out the other side. The force of a point blank range shot flipped Ian backwards onto the floor, blood pooling around his head. Jenna watched as Alias stood there with gun smoke wafting up about him, and Ian's foot twitched as the last of his nerves fired.

The Mercenary then let go of the small metallic box he still held in his left paw. It dropped to the ground and on impact popped open. Jenna's eyes went to the box, and saw that it was... empty. Jenna then realized that Alias had used an interrogation technique on Ian Miles that was the essence of his very nature.

Fear.

"You killed him..."

The words left Jenna's lips before she realized she was even speaking them. It had been more of a thought that echoed in her head that somehow escaped the confines of her mind.

Alias, holstering his pistol, looked over at Jenna. She could see the familiar, angry look that flashed in his eyes.

"Yeah, I did." Alias replied simply. He walked away from the dead fox, not bothering to clean anything up, or even move the body. "When they find him like this, hopefully it will get a message across." Alias shrugged. "At least that's the idea."

Jenna's eyes were still on Ian, who's mouth hung open, tongue exposed. Alias had killed him. Not in self-defense, but in cold blood. He was tied to a chair, and he had given up everything he could and Alias executed him without a moment's hesitation.

"Jesus, Alias..." Jenna shrugged, a scowl forming across her brow. "He was tied to a chair!"

Alias started walking to the door. "And if we had just left him, what do you think he would have done?"

"That's not the point!" Jenna shot back hotly.

"Then what is your point?" Alias barked, letting out a growl of frustration.

"My point?" Jenna asked, exasperated. "You just killed someone who was completely helpless!"

Alias let out a harsh laugh. "Are you for real?" He asked her, looking at the vixen as if she was an idiot. "Are you seriously that naive? I can't believe you're feeling guilty about what just happened here. I did what I had to do!"

"Alias, there are a thousand and one different ways this could have gone down! There's always another option, but you chose this way!" She shouted at him. "What for? How does this make you any better than the bastards who did the same thing to Mick?"

"Don't!" Alias snapped pointing his paw at her; Jenna silenced immediately. She could see a new form of rage in his eyes. "Don't you dare compare me to them!" He growled at her as he stepped forward, their faces inches away from each other. "You listen to me." Alias commanded, his voice now about as loud as a whisper, but as disturbing as walking alone at night down a dark alley. "I didn't choose this! I didn't want any of this! But I'm not going to sit around and let my world fall apart around me! So, don't start condescending on me!" Alias's paw grabbed Jenna's arm roughly, spinning her around so that she was looking at Ian's dead body. "Look at it!" He snarled. "That could have been Mick!" He paused for a second, and looked at her. Jenna could see Alias staring at her from the corner of her eyes. "That could have been you."

He continued in a much more hushed tone. "Understand something, right here, right now." He explained, his tone still harsh and unforgiving, she could feel his anger like a physical darkness that saturated his body. "You chose to come with me. You chose The Underground. And I tried to warn you! If you had any clue why I'm doing this, then maybe you'd thank me! Only you still got your head caught up in your old life and how they do things in a reality that you don't belong to anymore!" Alias locked eyes with her. "Christ! This isn't paradise! You need to accept things are different and if you can't then you don't need to be here!" Alias leaned in closer to her, where his muzzle was against her ears, lowered in shame. "You're not doing me any favors staying here, you got that? I never twisted your arm to keep you here, and I don't plan on it. To be honest, I'm getting sick of having to carry your ass through all of this!" He hissed to her. "Because you're right, there is always another option, and you can exercise that right to leave any time you feel the desire. Believe me, I won't throw myself in front of the door."

His words cut like knives through Jenna. She felt her eyes begin to burn, and the harder she tried to fight the onslaught of tears she was sure were to follow, the harder it became to keep them back. Had she really been that much of a burden on Alias all this time? Did she really mean so little to him that he regarded her as some annoyance? Maybe Jenna had been being naïve about certain things; Alias being one of them. Maybe her sense of belonging here, in The Underground, was a delusion. Perhaps the blue vixen didn't belong here either.

Alias took a step away from her, his eyes still harsh and unforgiving. "Don't you compare me to them." He told her as he started walking out of the old warehouse. "Don't you dare..."

Jenna stood there in the singular light of the warehouse, looking at the open door leading outside. Her whole body began to tremble slightly, as she felt a warm wetness fall down her face. Blinking, her vision blurred as more tears began to fall from her eyes.

Jenna had a hope, a dream, and now that dream was gone from her