Riftmoor.
A city of jackasses and idiots.
You've got three dipshits running this city, each trying to outgun each other, although they'd call it "outsmarting."
The leader of the Ivory Eagles, often shorthanded to just the Eagles, is called, "The Indominable" by outsiders. His real name is Montague Whittemore and he's a real tough motherfucker. He was once thrown off the roof of a four-story building onto cold concrete. He survived with only some sore muscles. He then walked back into the building and threw the man who threw him off, off the building. And he's just a regular ol' human. He's just a monster of a man, a freak of nature, if you will.
Next up is Avery Holmes Sr. This guy's a complete idiot, just not in the conventional sense. You see, Mr. Senior here, who had a boatload of cash, saw what was happening in Riftmoor and decided, yeah, I want some of that. It was the same as saying, "Oh, this dog is eating that other dog's shit. I want some of it too."
Just an absolute moron.
Then, the other dogs pinned his ass down when he realized he was eating shit. But of course, he's trying to get out. And because he's an asshole, he's making his kid take his spot, of course without telling him the implications of the position.
Lastly, "Mr. Moneybags" himself. If Avery Sr. had a lot of money, Roderick "Moneybags" Overture had him beat by more than a mile. He's the leader of the Crimson Wolves, much like the Eagles, it's often just shorthanded to the Wolves. Now, the Wolves are an entirely different beast compared to the Eagles, in fact, they've crushed the Eagles more than once. So much so that some of the members have started calling the Eagles cockroaches. This is all thanks to Roderick, the only person here who almost just might be able to refute the previous claim of being a dipshit. Almost.
To Mr. Moneybags, there's a price for everything, and that includes stupidity.
The 26th, at 9:28 A.M.
In a quiet little deli shop by the name of Martin's Meats a few people bustled about. A thirty-year-old man was the only person currently running the shop and he was working through the orders rapidly. Eventually, everyone had left with their orders and a little less change. They all quickly ran to their cars to avoid the rain that always seemed to be falling in the city.
The worker, Timmy, while waiting for more customers cleaned his cutlery.
*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*
The man heard the bells of the shop door ring out and he turned around. The customer who had come in was slightly overweight and balding. Adorned on him was a few small golden necklaces and a golden watch. He walked with a slight limp as he made his way over to the counter.
Timmy stepped forward towards the counter and took the man's order with a slightly aggravated face.
"Hey, tell Tony he's gotta pay up still. He hasn't paid me back after last time and I ain't serving 'im until he does." Timmy spoke as he started preparing the food.
"Timmy, he's ya fuckin' brother. Why do I gotta fuckin' tell him?"
"Look, you're always hangin' out with him. He never picks up his phone unless it's one of his girlfriends."
"I'll see what I can do, but I'd be hell of a lot more motivated if you gave me a little discount…" The man adorned in gold, Freddie, chuckled a little while rubbing his fingers together.
"You start this shit again you ain't gettin' no meats."
"Alright, alright, calm your horses, I was kidding." Freddie raised his arms in a fake defense while laughing.
But then he continued, "But it is my little girl's birthday-"
"Every time with this shit… Man, you don't have a daughter, and what did I just say? You're not getting a discount. Especially after what happened last time I gave you a discount."
"'Ey! That was an accident! Tony, did most of it anyway!"
"My brother's a fuckin' idiot, but he's still my brother. You on the other hand, are not an idiot. Yet, you still did it. What? Did ya expect me to not be pissed?!"
"Look, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It was an honest mistake. Look, you don't have tah give me a discount. I'll pay up, and look, if it'll stop you being mad at me, I'll pay for Tony too."
"Alright!" Timmy shouted before catching himself and saying calmly, "Alright. Look, just keep him in check. He's an idiot but he's still my brother. I don't know what I'd do with without his stupid ass."
"Of course, you don't gotta worry about him. I've got it handled." Freddie raised his hands assuredly.
While the two men were talking, they were oblivious to a red muscle car with a single black stripe that drove to the deli at a slow pace. It eventually pulled over to the curb and a man stepped out.
He had a muscular build hidden away beneath a red puffer jacket. They wore black jeans that were ripped apart slightly at the knees. He had an undercut with slicked back, black hair. His handsome face was clean, and his right ear had a slight piece of it missing towards the back near the top.
As if undisturbed by the rain, he leisurely walked to his trunk and popped it open. He moved something large out of the way with a push and grabbed a handgun. He checked the magazine before sliding a round into the chamber. He shut the trunk, but it was blocked slightly so he opened it and slammed even harder. He waited a moment to see if it would pop open again and it didn't. He shook his head slightly in annoyance and made his way to the deli's entrance.
He opened the glass door and flipped off the small neon 'open' sign. At the same time the bells slightly rang out and he stood casually at the door, the gun resting in his crossed arms.
It took a moment for Timmy to look at the entrance due to his conversation. Once he noticed the man, he froze, and a cold sweat broke out instantly along his back.
Seeing his non-responsiveness and noticing his attention was behind him, Freddie turned to face the door. Upon turning, his eyes met the man's and a lump formed in his throat. He struggled to swallow for a moment as he raised his arms.
Before he could say anything, the man raised his hand to silence him, "Shhh. Let's sit, my friends." He motioned over to a corner in the deli.
Freddie nodded although it was clear he struggled a bit to do so. He quickly walked over to a small table in the corner. At the same time, Timmy stayed behind the counter.
Seeing this, the man looked at Timmy with a faint smile, "Come on, you too."
Timmy slowly walked out from behind the counter, his eyes pleading towards Freddie to do anything, but Freddie ignored all his desperate signs. Timmy arrived at the chairs and turned towards the man, but they just urged towards the chair again. Timmy struggled to find the conviction necessary to do such a simple task, but in the end, reminded himself of the man before him.
The two sat in their creaking chairs at the slightly wobbly table as the man stood tall, partially blocking the dim light.
"Now. What're your names? I think," the man looked towards Freddie, "you're Fred. Am I right?"
"Y-yes sir."
The man nodded happily and turned towards Timmy, but was interrupted, "Most people call me Freddie though."
"…Is that so? Well, Freddie, I'm gonna talk to your friend here for a moment." The man smiled once more before turning towards Timmy, "And you're Tony's brother, right? Timmy, I think it was."
Timmy nodded but remained silent.
Silence descended in the deli before getting broken by Freddie, "You're Max right? Maximillian Overture?"
"Just Max is fine." Max said as he wiped some dust off of Freddie's shoulder. He took a moment before looking at Timmy, "So. Timmy. I heard your brother Tony decided to get involved with the Wolves not that long ago. How's he doing?"
Timmy gulped slightly, "J-just fine sir."
"No complaints so far?"
"None that he's told me sir…"
Max nodded, pleased with the answer a smile was plastered upon his face when he asked his next question, "So why'd he rob me if he had no complaints?"
Freddie froze and Timmy's eyes widened. Timmy urgently stood and asked, "H-he did what?! You're joking right sir?!"
Max raised his hand slightly to stop Timmy before urging him to breath and take a seat.
He spoke with an oddly upbeat tone, "Unfortunately not, it's pretty conclusive. We've got video evidence and pretty good evidence at that. Luckily, my cameras aren't as poor as the banks or else the Wolves would be out of business." He chuckled slightly.
Freddie shrank slightly in his chair as if trying to erase his presence completely. Unfortunately, he was not a magical man, so it was for naught.
Max saw this and spoke to him, "Chin up Freddie, nothing bad is going to happen to Timmy here. It was his brother who did it."
Freddie nodded.
Max placed his gun into his jeans and took out his phone. He pulled open his photos app and swiped a bit casually. Eventually he stopped on a photo and showed it to Timmy.
"This is Tony, right?"
Timmy's lips trembled slightly, and he covered his eyes with his hand. He took a moment but nodded. Max patted him slightly on the back and turned to Freddie who was sitting rigidly in his chair.
Max walked around the table slightly, allowing the atmosphere to simmer. Eventually he stopped at Timmy and told him to just go home. Timmy nodded while hiding his face. As Timmy left Max pushed away his chair and stood in its place. That place happened to be just opposite of Freddie.
Max took out his gun and held it casually at his waist. "Freddie, Fredrick, Fred, whatever the fuck your name is, explain to me why you were at the café the same time as Tony."
"I-"
"Mind you, it was after closing hours." Max cut him off. "That's pretty suspicious, ya know?"
"I-"
"Why'd you do it?"
"I-"
"Get up."
"Wha-"
"Get. Up. Freddie." Max uttered ominously in a condescending tone.
Freddie slowly stood up from his chair. Suddenly he flipped over the small table, but as if expecting it, Max simply knocked it off course.
He clicked off his gun's safety and fired a single round, illuminating the dim corner. The sound, near deafening the two inside the building.
Freddie fell to the ground, clutching his crotch, "Ah, fuck! Fuck! D-did you just… shoot me… in the dick?"
"Yes, now get up before I fire a round into your ass as well."
"P-phrasing. Boom… Ugh, fuck." Freddie muttered as he stumbled up, still tightly clutching his bleeding crotch, muttering obscenities all the way.
As he got up, Max held him and escorted him outside. Luckily, the deli was in a rather secluded place and most people avoided his car anyway, meaning nobody was outside. Max then proceeded to practically drag Freddie to his car and once they got there, they kept walking until they reached the trunk.
"Aw, com' on man. You shot me in the dick, can't you at least let me ride up front? And what the fuck's even in here? It smells like shit."
Max clicked a button on his keys and the trunk popped open. He then looked at Freddie and said, "Because my seats weren't prepared for someone bleeding everywhere."
Inside the trunk was a severely tortured individual who was obviously dead. Their nails were removed, an eye was missing and so were their ears. Their body was laying on a clear tarp that blocked the blood from ruining the lining.
It was the body of the very dead Tony.
"If I wasn't in a rush, you wouldn't have to deal with the body. But so much shit happened yesterday, I just know today will be a clusterfuck, so hop in." Max spoke with slight urgency.
Freddie stared at him in disbelief but eventually hopped in before Max decided to shoot him again. Of course, the entire time he cursed under his breath, something which Max ignored.
After making sure he got into the trunk and it was closed all the way, Max got into the driver seat and sighed. He rubbed his forehead and leaned back in his seat. Eventually, he composed himself and turned the ignition, the engine roared to life, making the quiet street become lively for a moment.
Timmy stared at the car for a moment before closing his eyes and closing the store. He slowly left through the back with heavily slumped shoulders. Tears falling from his eyes.
He muttered under his breath, "Tony, you idiot."
Max after a slight pause started driving. It was then when he received a phone call. He answered it quickly after seeing the name, wedging his phone between his shoulder and ear.
"Max, I told you to let it go. No-Thumbs said you just picked up Freddie and caused a big ruckus while you were at it."
Max slightly clenched his steering wheel, "Dad, they stole my money!"
"You doing this will get the police involved! I don't need them snooping around our businesses."
"Dad, they didn't steal your money! They sole mine! My clean money! From the café!"
There was a pause on the phone and the other side just muttered a single, "Oh."
"They robbed it, Tony said they didn't know it belonged to me, but he can't lie for shit. But surprisingly he also didn't give anything up either. I'm gonna go head-"
Max stomped on his breaks and his car screeched to a stop, causing many onlookers to take note of the commotion. He was staring out the window into an alleyway on his left.
He spoke softly into his phone to his dad, "Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back…"
Out to his left were two individuals, one was heavily injured as the other help carry them through the streets. The other was also injured, but it was only a few scrapes and bruises. They were a great friend of Max's who also disappeared off of the face of Lulo a year ago.
It was of course, Leonardo, and they were carrying a dying Faust.
A few hours later, the day remains the 26th.
In a musky, dark room, two figures sat underneath a dim light. The tiled floor was slightly sticky with a thin coat of dust and dirt sitting on it. The metallic chairs had sufficiently scrapped them, creating deep marks around the room, especially near the table. A slight smoke rose from the table, vaguely obscuring the already inadequate lighting that came from a single dim and flickering bulb.
One of the figures was calmly smoking while flipping through a file which was overflowing with papers. Every so often his gaze would shift to the laptop next to him and he would type or scroll a bit before returning to the files in his hand.
The man was disheveled looking, and his messy dark brown hair lacked any care. Slight bags under his eyes revealed his recent lack of sleep and the coffee next to him help alleviate any tiredness the man might feel. His chin had scruff which needed to be shaved away but it seemed like the man didn't have any time to do so. But the most distinct feature of the man was his smile.
On his face, in contrast to his general tired look, was a smile. It was the smile of a man who had achieved satisfaction after so many years of it being denied. It contained pure, unbridled joy.
Behind the man, there was a one-way mirror and looking into it revealed the other figure in the room. The second figure sat opposite to the first, in a rigid and cold metal chair. They were handcuffed to the table between the two, which was bolted to the floor.
But the figure seemed completely undisturbed, even though they were completely caked in dried blood from head to toe. The only places that lacked blood were the figure's teeth and eyes, which seemed oddly bright compared to the rest of him.
Their hair was stuck together at the tips and certain spots on their face where the blood had streamed down were caked in more blood than other spots. The bloody figure had a playful look on their face as they stared at the only other person in the room.
Suddenly the man opposite of the bloody figured inhaled deeply and look at the person with smug eyes. Their smile only grew wider as they stared at the cuffed and bloody figure.
The man spoke calmly, "So… the Rat of Riftmoor makes their return."
He leaned in closer to the bloody figure and spoke, staring the bloody figure directly in the eyes,
"Welcome home, Mathias."
Leo, the bloody figure, crossed his legs and made himself comfortable in the metal chair, before looking at the man opposite of him who had manic eyes and a shit-eating grin.
"Hello Daniel." Leo replied with a hint of boredom and mockery.
Daniel's face contorted and he quickly scoffed and glared at Leo. He tossed the file onto the metal table and scooted his chair in. He inhaled sharply and placed his elbows on the table, lifting his hands to his face.
"You really don't know how much this means to me Mathias. I've waited so long for those fucking Wolves to fall, and who would've thought that you of all people would cause it to happen. With your history with them, I thought you'd help them out. But, not only did they fall, but I caught you."
He drove his finger into Leo's bloody chest.
"I caught the Rat of Riftmoor."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Leo said as he leaned back slightly and stretched his legs.
"Hah! You little shit, I've got so much evidence on you, I wouldn't be surprised if you were locked up in Trixlum Penitentiary!" He paused slightly and smiled, "Permanently."
"Oh no, Trixlum? Oh boy, I'm so scared Daniel! If only I had actually done anything!" Leo leaned back with a truly solemn expression.
"Mathias my boy, this isn't like last time-"
"Oh yeah, congrats on being promoted back to detective!" Leo said with a large smile.
Daniel paused and looked at Leo with an irate expression. He breathed in and out slightly before continuing, "This isn't like last time Mathias. We've made backups upon backups. I even buried a few sets of copies around the city."
"Pffft. Getting serious now, are ya? You guys must've had a break in or something." Leo said with mocking eyes.
"Yeah, it was a shame-"
"I heard someone got sacked too."
"…"
"Oops, I've said too much. Probably a sore spot." Leo smiled slightly.
Daniel leaped forward and hit Leo across the face, slightly scrapping off some of the dried blood. Leo's head, which was now looking towards the wall due to the force of the slap, cocked slightly to the side.
"Definitely a sore spot." Leo declared with a snicker.
Daniel glared at Leo before opening a file, "One day ago, three firefights broke out across the city. Today, a café was blown up, there were two more shootouts, this time at a nightclub and a bar. There was a slaughter in a warehouse by the docks, around two dozen dead there alone. In less than twenty-four hours, you managed to plunge this city into chaos. Did you really think there wouldn't be evidence?"
"I still don't know what you're talking about, I've just been visiting Riftmoor since I left."
Daniel looked at Leo's dead serious face and could only wonder if Leo thought he was an idiot. The answer to that question, by the way, is yes, Leo does think Daniel is an idiot.
"Alright, let's start at my first confirmed sighting then." He flipped through the file and showed photos of a tired looking but clean Leo, and a heavily injured Faust. Andrew and Luke were nowhere in sight.
"When I first saw this photo, I was in disbelief. Then everything clicked. Only an asshole like you could cause this much shit to happen in a day. This photo was taken early this morning. Mind explaining?"
"I would officer, I mean detective, I truly would. But sadly, I wasn't there, we live in a magical place you know? That could be anybody."
"Uh-huh. So, you just show up after disappearing for a year-"
"Disappearing for a year? I won't deny that I left for a year, but that implies you actually know enough about me to know that I left. Which I know you don't." Leo was serious when he said this in contrast with his previous playful mood.
"…" Daniel just watched Leo, causing the room to fall into silence.
Daniel spoke up with a sigh after the silence grew some more, "Mathias, everyone and their mom knows you're the Rat."
"Oh yeah, and the evidence for that is where?"
Daniel pointed towards the file.
Leo retorted, "This is the evidence against me, whether or not it is true, from the past twenty-four hours. You're saying, that in this file, there is enough evidence to claim decisively that I'm the Rat of Riftmoor?"
"Well, no, but-"
"No buts. I am not the Rat, nor did I commit any crimes in the past twenty-four hours, or any hours, days, weeks, months, or years, prior to that."
Daniel leaned back in the chair and rolled his eyes, he then looked at Leo with a pondering expression, "You know, I've always wondered… You were that serial killer, the Rainy-Day Killer, right? It would fit your M.O. perfectly. An annoying slippery cunt who's as quiet as a church mouse. Slips in, slips out, leaves no trace."
"No, but I'll take it as a compliment even though I'm not the Rat or the murderer."
"Tsk. Whatever, back to the photo." He pointed to the photo in the file once more, the one of Leo and Faust.
Daniel spoke, "I must admit, I was really surprised when I saw you. At first, I thought you were a look alike, but you've also got that stupid scar on your jaw. I was following Max, building the case that somebody erased," he glared at Leo, who shrugged innocently, "and bam! You appear from a random alleyway. Truly rat-like behavior, I must say."
Leo cringed slightly at the last part before speaking, "What, you've never walked through an alley before?"
"Not carrying a nigh dead person, no."
"Well, how is Faust?"
"…They're dead." Daniel said with a deadpan expression.
Leo leaned back slightly in his chair and stretched his arms as much as he could, trying to shake off their tiredness. Then he shrugged, "Oh well."
"…" Daniel observed Leo's reaction with his expression hidden away, "Let's get back onto topic. In regard to Max, I've got to set the story up right. I've combined all of the evidence from yesterday and today, and I think I've got a pretty conclusive story."
"Sure, go ahead, I'll judge your storytelling. I hope it's not as bad as your investigation skills or else you might get demoted again."
Daniel clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "It is a shame I can't start from the beginning; those angel dickwads wiped the scenes before leaving. But I know that Avery Jr. isn't missing for no reason, the question is who took them?"
"I don't even know who that is."
Daniel rolled their eyes, "Avery Jr, who was taking over Myer's Munitions from his father after he managed it for a single year. Also, Myer's Munitions previous owners, the Myer family were murdered in their home by the Rainy-Day Killer, you know anything about that?"
"Dude, it's impossible for me to give any less shits than I already do. Just because three people are good at sneaking around a city doesn't mean they're the same person."
"Hmm… Alright, well, let's start from the first sighting, I guess. Right before the café explosion."
Max slammed onto his breaks causing everyone in the street to instantly look over, including Leo.
"Ah! Oh lords! Ughhh!" Freddie groaned out loudly from the trunk, "What the fuck'd you do that for?! Tony's goddamn blood went into my fuckin' mouth!"
Max ignored Freddie and rolled down his window. "Mathias?! Where the hell you been?!" He yelled.
Max quickly drove over to the two, "You and your friend hop in, I'll take you somewhere safe!" He obviously wasn't blind and noticed that Faust was heavily injured and that the two were running from something.
"Wait, wait, wait. How did you hear this nonexistent conversation between me and this Max fellow?" Leo suddenly asked, interrupting Daniel.
"I bugged his phone." Daniel said simply as if it was obvious.
"His phone. Max's phone. You bugged that? Max, the very, very personal angel who never lets his stuff out of his sight for a second. That Max's phone?"
"Yes, that Max's phone."
Leo leaned back genuinely impressed, "Well, congrats on doing the first notable thing in your career."
"I've done other things you know."
"Pfft. That's not what your file says."
"You know Mathias, if some asshole didn't erase all the evidence on the Wolves and everything I've done, I'd probably have some more stuff on there."
"Oh man, I can't believe someone did that, you guys must've had some really bad security and everything only on paper with no digital backups. Must've been behind on the times, computers and the cloud are pretty useful you know."
"I'm legally not allowed to say this to a citizen, so lucky me you aren't one, so, Mathias, I'm going to kick you in the balls if you don't shut the fuck up."
"Hey man, don't threaten me with a good time." Leo said without missing a beat.
This, of course, caused Daniel to literally do a double take. "Excuse me?"
"I'm messing with you, continue your stupid story."
With eyes shrouded in disbelief and confusion, he hesitated slightly before talking once more.
Max quickly drove over to the two, "You and your friend hop in, I'll take you somewhere safe!" He obviously wasn't blind and noticed that Faust was heavily injured and that the two were running from something.
"Max?!" Leo questioned incredulously.
"Yes! Get in! Your buddy doesn't look too good!"
Leo thought for a fraction of a second before carrying Faust over to the car. He popped open the passenger seat and carefully place Faust in it. Since the car only had two doors, despite having seats in the back, Leo had to squeeze himself into the back. He wasn't aware that he could've just leaned the seat forward.
Max quickly started driving away.
"What the hell happened to you two?!"
Faust was practically nonresponsive and was bleeding on the seats, clutching his shoulder. Max apparently had double standards when it came to friends and friends of friends bleeding in his car.
Leo simply asked, "I'm assuming you know what happened yesterday?"
"Who the fuck doesn't?! Half of Riftmoor descended into a firefight!"
"Well, that's what happened…"
"You have got to be shitting me…" Max took a turn and started driving down another street.
"I wish I was." Leo eased himself back into the comfortable seat, relishing the moment.
Max pulled out his phone and quickly texted something while at a stop, then not much later they arrived at a building.
"Your café?" Leo asked.
"I own the building so its fine, we'll head upstairs through the back. Is he doing alright?" Max asked looking at Faust.
"I'm… I'm okay…" Faust said weakly.
"Good. I'll help you carry him inside Mathias, after we patch him up, I'll need to talk with you."
"…Alright." Leo responded after a slight pause.
Leo slung one of Faust's arms around his neck and carried him while Max was inspecting the wound.
"Was he shot?"
"Yes."
"It seems like it's still in his shoulder…"
Max separated himself for a moment and unlocked the back door and they all went inside. Leo lifted Faust carefully as they went up the stairs, making sure not to move him all that much. After getting upstairs, they found themselves in a small office.
"Cliff?" Leo asked when they saw someone in the office preparing medical supplies.
"Shit, Mathias? You still owe me 10k." An average looking man with light brown hair said while preparing their gloves. Their name was Cliff, and they were an expert doctor.
The room froze slightly.
"Um… Well, I'm poor so, uh, good luck with that." Leo said sheepishly.
"I'm just fucking with you, I don't need it. It's not like you've never helped me out before." Cliff said casually as he prepared his tools in a tray to the side.
"Alright, Mathias, I need to speak with you in private, let's go to the car." Max said suddenly, Leo of course complied. It's not like he could help Faust any more than Cliff.
They quickly headed down the stairs and left the building. The two walked to the car that rested a very short distance away and they went to its trunk.
Without any fanfare, Max popped it open, revealing a horrified Freddie still clutching his bloody crotch, clinging to life. Max rolled his eyes and held his hand near that area, and it glowed slightly. After a few moments, the bleeding stopped for the most part.
Max was adopted by Roderick Overture a long time ago. Roderick is just a regular human, but Max is an angel. In terms of his soul realm and the powers he can output out from it, it's weak. He can perform healing magic but its very weak. But something is better than nothing, but that's not true in Max's case.
Sometimes when he uses his healing power it actually makes the problem worse. Hence him not doing anything for Faust, which Leo understood. There was also the fact that the bullet was still in his shoulder, even if his magic did work, the bullet wouldn't've fallen out.
Upon discovering his crotch was bleeding less, his worries ceased slightly, but Freddie wasn't stupid enough to forget his situation. He also still remembered that he didn't have anything down there anymore.
Max looked towards Leo and asked, "Do you know who he is?"
Leo shook his head, "No, I don't remember seeing him before."
"His name is Freddy, I think, and he's relatively new to the Wolves. He joined not that long before you disappeared. He and someone who was very new, the guy Freddie is sitting on, decided to rob my store. I was taking him to a warehouse to figure out why when I saw you."
"I see…"
"But!" Max lifted his finger, "We're friends Mathias, but I need to know why you disappeared for a year and what the FUCK happened yesterday!"
"Look, Max, calm down. I left because I was dying." Leo looked to be hesitating for a moment and he said, "I'm half angel, half demon, Max. Then some things happened that caused some stuff to change, and I had to leave." Leo purposefully didn't elaborate much here.
Max was silent as he thought quietly.
Leo continued, "As for yesterday, I'll start at the beginning. But you should know I enlisted with the demons."
Max's eyes widened and he stared at Leo with his mouth slightly agape.
Leo ignored him and started his story.
The 24th, two days prior…