Dante's apartment was on the third floor of one of the few nice buildings on that side of town. It was a wonder he kept the place despite not having a job.
When he rented out the apartment, I remembered him filling in 'Private Investigator' as his occupation. Since the cash always came in on time, the landlord ignored all of his eccentricities.
His job as 'Private Investigator' wasn't total bullshit, to be fair. When he was sober, he was the guy you call when you had a demon problem or needed somebody bad to disappear. Most clients didn't ask what happened to the body, so Dante never told.
I shrugged. At least the quality of his work spoke for itself, even though he was mouthing off every second sentence.
I saw the Santos cars parked in front of his apartment, so I knew there was going to be a fight.
Halfway up to Dante's room, I considered summoning Rebellion. Dante had killed with it before, and since his signature pistols were not an option, a stylish long sword was a close enough substitute.
'But won't that just escalate things?' Committing multiple homicides was not my ideal way of kicking off my second life. That was bound to draw the attention of the police and other dangerous factions.
My problem solved itself when I arrived on the third floor. I found a bat sitting to the side and picked it up. I gave it a few practice swings before inspiration struck me, and I tried out a few different swings, flipped it over, and caught it like I'd used one for years.
I found myself grinning despite everything.
Okay, maybe emo-Dante wasn't so bad after all.
Rounding the corner up to my apartment, I saw two look-outs, checking for people as I heard the Santos go through Dante's place, breaking shit and tearing up the place.
Those fuckers.
The bat resting on my shoulder creaked from the pressure of my grip.
I stepped out into the corridor, hiding the bat behind me as I stalked towards them. They didn't notice my approach until it was too late.
"Hey, it's Dante!" the first guard shoved the second and pulled his gun, but I swung out, batting his wrist before he got off a shot. The gun went flying.
I rammed the butt off the bat into the mid-section of the second panicking guard as he stepped away, desperate to draw his gun. Gauging the distance between both men, I swung out in a vicious diagonal arc, knobbing both men on their heads. They were out cold before they realized I'd even attacked.
I whistled in appreciation of Dante's skill… my skill.
"The fuck is going on out there!" A husky voice yelled.
I recognized it. It was Lorenzo, the Santos boss.
"Take a wild guess."
"Dante? I thought you were out cold in that crack den by the diner. Shit. Saves me the trouble of finding you. I heard about your recent windfall. Some congratulations are in order. That said, I want the rest of it. Where's the money you got off that agent?"
"Agent?" I muttered in surprise.
. "You didn't know. He had a fucking government badge and everything. Didn't you even bother patting the guy's body down before you robbed and killed him?"
"Shit," I cursed. Reviewing Dante's memories, I did notice the guy who tried to jump him was particularly skilled. Dante had to summon Rebellion and use the flat side to punt him guy across the alleyway to make him stop. He'd hit his head hard and never gotten up.
Dante simply looted the guy like a good video game character would. He'd not seen the badge or had been too drunk to recognize it.
Dante killed a government agent.
I was in even hotter water than I realized.
"The way I see it," Lorenzo started before he suddenly yanked the door open and shoved a gun in my face. Three other mooks stood beside him, their hands resting on their weapons.
"You've put our entire operation at risk, bringing down whatever SHIELD is down on our ass. If we frame you nice and clean, they can pick you up at whatever police station is closest and save themselves the trouble of snooping around. With what you got here, that shouldn't be too hard," he grinned.
"SHIEL--D?"
I stood there, frozen for a second, my mind frantically connecting the dots. Dante had been making a name for himself as a Demon hunter lately.
It only stood to reason that someone was bound to come looking eventually. But attacking him out of the blue, alone? Either SHIELD had mighty confidence in this dude, or he was a Hydra double agent, which was even worse.
'I just fucking got here!' I mentally screamed.
Either way, Lorenzo could get fucked. I swerved to the left while I grabbed his hand and wrenched the gun from it.
He yelped, and I jabbed him in the throat with the pointy end of my bat. He crumbled to the floor gasping for air.
The three men raised their guns, but mine pointed at their wriggling boss faster.
"Ah ah ah, Fellas. You don't want to do that," I said.
"Kill him, and you'll never make it out of LA alive," the largest man said.
"Move, and I'll beat the ever-living shit out of you all after I'm done with your boss," I seethed. "I don't want to have to kill him. But I will if I have to. Gents, you don't want to test me after the day I just fucking had. I just want my shit and to be done with this town. When the cops come knocking, tell them I went to New York."
They all shared a look, but none of them seemed to be backing down, so I pulled off the safety and pressed the gun against Lorenzo's head.
"Well!" I demanded.
The big man gritted his teeth but eventually lowered his gun.
Lorenzo, in his infinite wisdom, chose that exact moment to find his voice again and ordered.
"Light up this fool!" he wheezed, and like automatons, the idiots raised their guns again.
My gun went off, and Lorenzo's head exploded.
The eyes of the thugs grew a little bit wider, and the world froze.
A red and black display invaded my sight, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"You got to be fucking kidding me."
Flashing before my eyes was a game message.
Congratulations on claiming your first soul. You've earned 2 red orbs.
Red orb -- A soul of a low-rank human or demon of little renown and power. Can be used to improve your physical parameters, unlock weapons, and shop at Shin's Dimensional Emporium (eventually.)
Shin shoved a game into my head!