How did it end up like this?
The operation was supposed to be simple. Use Benji Keyes to introduce him to Derek Keyes as a potential buyer to help expand his market into the North Side. Mouse rigged him up with a built-in camera in his suit; all he had to do was record Derek doing the deal and arrest him. Get him off the streets. His unit was ready to capture him, it was supposed to be a simple operation. But it all went to shit.
"...geh!"
Jay Halstead let out a grunt. Blood was spat out onto the ground. The cuts that covered the inside of his mouth stung. Looking up, he saw his arms bound over his head. His wrists were red and raw. Any attempts to escape were in vain. Looking down at his shirtless body, he saw all the bruises and blood caused by his beating.
"Fucking psycho."
Jay looked back to his meeting with Derek Keyes. The memories of what happened continued replaying in his mind. It started with Derek being immediately suspicious of his brother. Questioning his whereabouts the night he and his team captured him from his home. No matter what Benji said, Derek looked unconvinced. Derek then had two men drag one of Benji's bodyguards and drop him nearby. He was covered in injuries; they tortured the man.
Derek then pulled out a silenced pistol and shot his brother. Zero hesitation. Jay remembered trying to run away but was intercepted by Derek's men; he struggled against them but was then tasered. The shocks from the device caused him to go unconscious. When he awoke, he saw that he was tied up inside a small, poorly lit room. Pipes lined the dirty and old walls. If he had to guess, they were probably in some abandoned warehouse or factory.
In front of him was Derek himself, alongside two of his men. They stood and waited for him to wake up. Behind them stood a camera on a tripod. For the next hour, the men beat and repeatedly tasered him. All he could do was grit his teeth and yell in pain. There was nothing he could do but wait for his team to rescue him. At some point, he remembered Derek talking on the phone. He said he wanted all of his unit's CI files in exchange for him. After giving instructions to the other person on the phone, Derek hung up and left the room with his men. They would come back once they gathered all of their stuff together. Leaving him hanging alone in the room.
"There has to be something I can do."
•••
"They're here."
'Yes, four of them.'
"To have killed someone just because they accidentally saw them." Harvey spoke as he looked up at the warehouse. He sat on his Kawasaki motorcycle behind the building's shadows. "Whoever these people are. They have sins hanging over them like clouds. Especially the one in the middle."
'That one has committed great evils in his life. Hm? There's a soul in a separate room. He feels different from the rest.'
"You're right. I can feel it too. This one feels different from the people we usually deal with." Harvey spoke. "A hostage?"
'Who knows?.'
"Let's get to it."
Harvey pulled over his hood and dismounted from his bike. He ran forward and jumped up to grab a pipe from the side of the building. Climbing up the pipe, he reached the third floor, where he sensed everyone. Jumping from the pipe to the window sill, Harvey slowly shimmied to the side. Pulling himself up, he grabbed the bottom of the window and lifted it open. After pulling himself inside the window, he silently approached the open door.
'One of them is in the next room.' Sprit told Harvey.
Harvey nodded and walked towards the man. The man was preoccupied with placing items into a box, unaware of his surroundings. Harvey then walked behind, silent as a ghost. Placing his hand over the man's mouth, Harvey then wrapped his arm around his throat and used his great strength to bring the man to the ground. The man struggled and tried to fight him off, but his hold on him made the task impossible. Harvey waited for the man to pass out, ensuring he was unconscious. Harvey pulled out some fishing string and tied the man up.
'The next one is two rooms over.'
Making his way to the next room was easy. The shadows from the abandoned warehouse gave Harvey the advantage of the dark. Once he reached the room, he evaluated the situation. His next victim was talking on the phone. Once the man was done, he ended the call; he turned around but was immediately grabbed by his jacket. The man had a shocked look in his eyes until they both made eye contact; slowly, the man fell into a catatonic state. Harvey elbowed the man on the side of his head before he could start crying and begging like they all did. Knocking him out.
'You have gotten a good handle on performing the penance stare without speaking.' Spirit said. 'Impressive.'
"Do it enough times. It becomes second nature."
'Don't get cocky, there's two left. The most sinister one and the possible hostage.'
Harvey agreed and walked up to the one with the greatest evil radiating off his being. Peeking around the corner, he saw a man in a dark leather jacket. It seemed like the man was staring off into the city. Walking into the room, Harvey stood behind the man and waited. The man turned his head slightly and finally noticed him off the reflection on the window. Turning around, the man looked at him and smiled.
"Hmm, you must be that vigilante everyone is talking about. What are you doing here?" The man said. "You know who I am?"
Harvey stood in place and said nothing. Grabbing his chain, he swung it out and whipped it to the ground. A loud crack echoed in the room. Harvey wasn't here to talk. But he always made sure to have the ones with souls as evil as his suffer the most. The man lost his smile and frowned deeply; he then looked down at the gun resting on a nearby chair. The man dashed to his weapon, only to be stopped by Harvey, who swung his chain and wrapped it around his hand. Harvey spun and pulled the man towards him. The man landed roughly on the ground.
"Argh! Damn you!"
Harvey bent down and punched the man in the face, breaking his nose. Wrapping the chain around the man's neck, Harvey focused and ignited the chain in Hell Fire. The evil man then started screaming in pain. Harvey never relished in the pain he inflicted on his targets. But once he used the penance stare on them and witnessed their sins and the horrible acts they performed, it only made him wish he had done more.
"GAAAGHH!"
Once Harvey decided the man had enough, he let go of his chain, extinguishing the Hell Fire amp. Grabbing the man by the throat, He made eye contact with him and performed the penance stare. The man, Derek Keyes, Yelled as his sins and evils were all turned on him. When it was finally over, he let Derek go and walked out of the room.
A while back, he heard that his first target, John Jenkins, had been reduced to a walking zombie. Apparently, his weakened version of the penance stare causes more than just incoherent crying. At some point, his victims start confessing to all their crimes when prompted; this was confirmed once the police began arresting all of his many targets once they admitted to everything sinful they've ever done. Meaning it ranged from any crimes they committed to even cheating in middle school. Once they did that, they lost all sense of human emotion.
Spirit revealed to him that souls need sins to make them what they are; Sins aren't always bad. They make you who you are. But punishing a soul through a prolonged weaker penance stare eventually causes people to lose their wants and needs. Leaving them as a walking emotionless robot, a shell of a human being. Harvey was okay with these results. It was a fitting punishment for all those he targeted.
"Now for the last one."
•••
Jay Halstead looked up at the opening door. But to his surprise, he didn't find Derek Keyes or his men. No, this was who he and his team had been tracking down for the past month. It was none other than the vigilante himself.
"Vengeance."
The hooded figure stood there and stared at him for a while. He then turned his head and looked up at his restraints. Walking forward, Vengeance stood a foot away from him, just staring at him. Jay felt himself start to sweat.
"Why... are you here?"
Vengeance said nothing. Unexpectedly, he grabbed his face and made him stare into the darkness of his hoodie. Jay tried to fight back, but due to his current condition, he was too weak and tired to do anything. Two glowing orbs shined through the darkness of his hoodie. Jay could only stare back as if he was in a trance. Eventually, Vengeance let him go.
"...Innocent."
Vengeance then grabbed his bindings and undid them. Before he could fall to the ground, Vengeance caught him and lowered him down slowly. Jay was confused but accepted the help. Once his hands were freed, Vengeance stood and looked down at him. The two men stared at one another until Vengeance pulled a phone from his pocket. Throwing it down at Jay's lap, Vengeance turned around and made to leave.
"Call your team. Derek Keyes and his men are still here for you to detain."
Vengeance said in a low, muffled voice. He then walked out of the room and disappeared. Jay was stunned for a second but immediately called Voight. While waiting for the call to be picked up, he heard a man yell and start crying. Getting up slowly, Jay walked outside the room and headed toward where he heard crying and whispers. Derek Keyes was on the ground, a shell of his former self.
"...Keyes?"
"Voight... It's me."
"Jay!" Voight yelled. "Where are you? What happened?!"
As Jay was about to answer, he heard the roar of a motorcycle; looking out the window, he saw Vengeance riding away.
"He was here."
"Who?"
"Vengeance."
•••
VROOOM
Harvey was driving his Kawasaki bike, still dressed as Vengeance. The street lights illuminated the dark city streets; traffic was lighter this time at night. Perfect for driving around aimlessly. This has become one of his favorite pastimes. It allowed him to become one with his bike—just him and the open road, nothing else. Harvey smiled and enjoyed the roar of the engine.
"That detective, Jay Halstead." Harvey spoke. "His soul was complex. He's taken lives and killed plenty. But he was still innocent."
'It was to protect and serve. What he's done and what the people we punish have done is different.' Spirit exclaimed. 'The penance stare punishes evil and reveals whether you are guilty or innocent from deep inside your soul. It's a complex power.'
"Like a judge."
'Yes. In our case, we are truly the Judge, Jury, and Executioner for all souls.'
"...That's a heavy responsibility," Harvey said as he increased speed. "It's not easy... being the spirit of vengeance."
'...it never is.'
Speeding down an empty street, Harvey drives around two cars, leaving behind angry drivers. The roar and rumble of his bike causes a few parked cars to blare their alarms. Suddenly, his head twitches. Turning left, he heads south, and a too-familiar feeling invades his mind.
"Let's get to work."