Revel City - situated a hundred miles outside of the city of Fresno, California, many often referred to it as the New York of the west coast. It rivaled most major US cities in size and population, but none compared to the advancements in technology that came out of it, thanks to the corporation that was founded and based in the city more than 70 years ago: Korvin Enterprise.
Jared could see it as he rode over the mountains. It was still an hour's drive away, but even from here, the city was a wonder to behold. Its skyscrapers rose from the center like massive spikes of crystal pasted against the canvas of the pacific ocean, and Jared could see the rail systems winding throughout the city like dozens of serpents. He was used to seeing it at this point. Ever since his discharge from the military, this was where he spent much of his time, and where he made most of his living.
As expected, it took him a little over an hour to finally reach the city limits. Revel City was surrounded on nearly all sides by suburban residences that seemed completely detached from everything else. Once beyond, the true spirit of the city ignited. The traffic was as horrendous as ever, but Jared weaved in and out of it without care for all the drivers honking their horns at him.
As Jared made his way deeper into the interior, he eventually came to a large parking garage. After slipping his parking pass into the automated gate, he rode up to the uppermost level and parked in a section designated for motorcycles. It was almost like having his own personal parking space, plus the security was top-notch, courtesy of Korvin Enterprise, so Jared never worried about leaving it.
The corporation practically ran the city as far as a lot of people were concerned, but it was a two-sided coin. The technological advancements boosted the city's economy, and even the police force had recently contracted their funding and equipment from Korvin. Everyone thought this would put an end to all the crime, but it only seemed to drive a wedge between the middle and upper classes and the city's bottom tier underbelly. For people like Jared, that was where the money was.
On the top level of the garage was a station for one of the many monorail systems that winded throughout the city. It was only 2:00 in the afternoon, so there were few people waiting for the train in the garage. Jared passed through the automatic sliding glass door that led to the small station. There was a single bench that ran along the wall of the station opposite the rail. The only person sitting on the bench was a young mother holding a whimpering infant while her older child ran restlessly around the area.
In the middle of the station stood several pillars with automated kiosks that required payment to ride the monorail. A young man, around Jared's age, was standing next to one of them and arguing loudly with a security officer about a failed payment. He was dressed like a bottom of the barrel gang member, wearing a red and black bandana on his head and a tight-fit, sleeveless shirt with a symbol on the back that vaguely resembled the shape of a Great Dane's head. Having seen as much of Revel City as he had, Jared recognized it as the mark of the Watchdogs, the most powerful street gang in the city. As the police force's presence and funding expanded, so had the gang's ruthlessness. The unruly hoodlum was screaming endless profanities in the security officer's face and throwing threatening hand gestures at him, but never got so close as to touch him. Nevertheless, the officer just stood firm and refused to be intimidated. Jared tried to ignore them, as he presented his parking pass for the garage to the kiosk, which lit up with a green light as it accepted it without issue.
The gang member turned his head at the soft dinging of the kiosk. This only seemed to infuriate him further as he screamed on about how unfair it was, blindly blaming the city's systemic oppression. Jared just leaned back against the pillar, crossed his arms and shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the woman's older boy run within an arm's reach of the Watchdog, who swatted at him and yelled at him to get away from him. He did not hit the child, but it was enough to cause a dramatic shift of atmosphere.
Jared flinched uncomfortably as though a wave of rage suddenly sprung from deep within his being. The woman gasped and called out for her son to come and sit at her side. Even the security officer broke his composure as he shouted at the gang member to keep his hands to himself or he would have him detained. Jared remained where he stood, his heart racing as he tried to control himself. Getting in trouble with the authorities was the last thing he needed right now.
About five minutes later, the monorail showed up in the station, coming to a quick stop and opening its doors. Several people stepped out and dispersed before Jared pushed himself off the pillar and headed toward the nearest car, with the woman and her child following behind him. Before he could step inside the train, he saw the gang member make a sudden break for the monorail.
"Hey!" the security officer called after him.
Everything happened so fast, but Jared was on edge at this point. Just before the Watchdog could bound past him, Jared swung his leg around and forcefully tripped him. The motion was so strong that the scrawny gang member flipped over through the doorway and landed hard on his back. As he did so, the frame of the monorail's doorway flashed red and beeped several times, indicating the attempted entry of someone who was not authorized. As soon as he landed, Jared was on top of him, pinning him with a knee to the chest as he raised his fist.
"Keep your hands away from children!" Jared hissed through his teeth.
"That's enough, sir!" the officer said as he caught up to them. "Please take a step back."
Much of him wanted to ignore the order and simply break the man's face, but realizing he had already gone too far, Jared pulled himself back to his feet. The gang member let out an exaggerated exhale of pain and clutched at his chest. The security officer grabbed the Watchdog by the arms, pulled him up and escorted him away. He continued to resist and curse, but a lot quieter after the quick beating Jared had put him through.
Jared leaned against the far end of the car. The woman led her older child with her free hand inside, her eyes jumping back and forth from the man who almost hit her son. She sat down on a small bench at the front end of the car and tried to comfort her infant. She glanced up at Jared, the only other person on board. At one point, Jared looked her way and locked eyes with her.
"Sorry you had to see that," was all he could think to say, if only to release the tension and return to minding his own business. The woman just returned an awkward smile and looked away. In a matter of seconds, the doors shut and the train sped off down the rail.
Jared and the woman were the only people to board the monorail from the parking garage. After a few minutes, however, it came to a much larger station where a crowd of people poured in. Most of them were wearing suits and other business attire. Jared knew exactly where they were headed, as he was going to the same place.
The ride from the last station was much longer as the train sped toward the center of the city. Eventually, the older child of the woman pushed his way through the crowd to see through the window and called for his mother to look ahead of them. Jared looked up to see their destination straight ahead. It stood in the heart of the city, shaped like a massive, five-sided star with a tower that stretched higher than any of the surrounding skyscrapers. Painted down the side of the central tower was the bold, red name of the legendary corporation. Even after all he had seen, Jared never got used to seeing the spectacle that was the corporate headquarters of Korvin Enterprise.