The chapter opens with James and Mercury on a boat in the middle of the lake
James (young)
Mercury, what are we doing here?
Mercury (young)
It's nice to be outside and feel at one with nature.
Aren't you enjoying it?
James (young)
It's not that, but aren't there other things we could be doing right now?
Mercury (young)
What did I say about resting?
James (young)
Sorry, you're right.
I just want to control my Manifesto as soon as possible.
Mercury (young)
Don't worry, I'm sure things will all work out.
As long as you have the heart and dedication to follow through with your ambition, you can achieve anything.
James (young)
Thank you, for everything, Mercury.
2 years later
James (young) is sleeping, however images from his parents' deaths start to flash through his head, as he wakes up, drenched in a cold sweat
James goes outside and looks out at the stars as they reflect on the lake
James (young)
Mom, dad, I'm sorry…
I'll make sure something like this never happens again.
Mercury (young)
Can't sleep?
James (young)
No, I saw their faces again last night, and so I came out here to watch the lake
Something about seeing the stars, calms me down
I'm not sure how else to explain it
Mercury looks at him as he sits down on the porch and pats the place next to him
Mercury (young)
You know, I've heard in some cultures, they believe when a person dies, they get reincarnated as a star.
I'm not sure how much I believe in that, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?
Knowing that somewhere out there, your parents are still watching over you.
James (young)
Yeah, it is.
Thanks Mercury, I'm not sure what I would've done without you.
You're such a nice person.
James hugs Mercury, as Mercury hugs him back, tears beginning to well in his eyes
Mercury (young)
Thanks, James…
Morning
James (young)
Do you really have to go?
Mercury (young)
Sorry, James.
Gotta work if we want to eat.
James (young)
What even is your job?
You've never talked about work outside the fact your boss is a really important person.
Mercury (young)
Well, it's kind of hard to explain.
Maybe I'll tell you one day when you're older.
James smiles before waving
James (young)
Bye, Mercury!
Mercury (young)
Bye, James.
I promise, I'll be done with this soon.
Mercury's eyes are obscured with shadows as he puts up his hood.
Cut to a dark room as a man is stuck,tied to a chair with Deacon standing over him
Deacon (young)
Mercury, where have you been?
Do you know how much work it's been trying to keep this fool chained up?
He's far stronger than he looks
Mercury (young)
I was busy.
But I'm here now, isn't that what matters?
Deacon (young)
Off playing pretend family again with that monster?
Mercury snaps as he pins Deacon up against the wall
Mercury (young)
He's not a monster.
Leave the boy out of this
Deacon (young)
Wow, how far you've fallen.
Back in your prime, there was nothing that could upset you, yet all it takes now is one child and you become sensitive and weak.
Mercury (young)
We all have things we want to leave out of our work, like that "saviour" of yours.
Deacon glares at Mercury, his eyes glowing through the mask
Deacon (young)
How dare you speak of my master with your insolent mouth, you sentimental fool!
There's no way a muscle-brained neanderthal such as yourself could comprehend his holy mission.
Mercury (young)
My point is proved.
Now, what's the deal with this guy?
Any Manifesto?
Deacon (young)
No manifesto, other than that he borrowed money from the boss, lost it all again, tried to run, but my Apus caught him before he could do that.
Well, I should say I caught most of him.
He might be missing a few limbs.
Mercury (young)
You always have such crude methods.
Deacon (young)
Now's not the time to judge nor place to judge my methods.
Mercury (young)
So what is it the boss wanted us to do once we caught him?
Deacon (young)
The boss just said to "teach him a lesson"
Mercury (young)
So just "do whatever we want, as long as he's not dead"?
Deacon (young)
Sounds about right.
Mercury (young)
From the looks of it, I think he's learned his lesson, wouldn't you agree?
Deacon (young)
Mmm, yes, it looks like he's learned his lesson…
…but there's one last thing to do.
Apus manifests, as it does, it drops a feather onto the man's legs.
The man lets out a muffled scream as his legs disappear in front of him
Mercury (young)
That's cruel, he can't see Manifestos, so for all he knows, his legs just exploded on their own.
Deacon (young)
Look at it this way: Now, he'll never be able to run away again.
Mercury (young)
Your sense of humour emerges at the worst times.
Sinatra (young)
Well, if it isn't my best enforcers.
How did it go?
Deacon (young)
Hello, boss, we dealt with the problem.
I doubt he'll cause trouble anytime soon.
Sinatra (young)
Good, good.
Sinatra glances over at Mercury, who has a distressed expression painted across his face
Sinatra (young)
Mercury, can you join me in my office for a few minutes?
Deacon (young)
We'd be honour–
Sinatra (young)
I said "Mercury," or do your ears not work, Deacon?
Do you wish to become my newest "Sparring partner"?
Deacon recoils in fear as he lowers his head
Deacon (young)
No, sir…
Sinatra (young)
That's what I thought.
Mercury, come.
Inside the office
Sinatra (young)
So, Mercury, have you read any new books recently?
Mercury (young)
No, sir, I've been…busy
Sinatra (young)
Is that so?
Can't help it then.
I read a german text written by a "Marx," apparently, the Russians love it, I haven't seen the appeal of it so far.
But that's just my personal opinion.
I'd love to know your thoughts on it.
Oh, but I wouldn't suggest taking it with you, the cops aren't very big fans of the ideology.
The two sit in silence, as Mercury begins to sweat
Mercury (young)
Boss, I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I'd like to leave this—
Sinatra (young)
How's the boy doing?
Mercury (young)
?
Boy? What boy?
Sinatra (young)
Why James Spectre.
You've been raising the boy, haven't you?
Mercury (young)
!?
Who told you?
Sinatra (young)
A little birdy told me.
Mercury (young)
Deacon…
Sinatra (young)
The boy's been progressing well, hasn't he?
His skills are already those of a veteran in terms of his usage of his Manifesto.
His academics are also progressing well, are they not?
He has amazing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and he already has a grasp of English, French, and Greek.
The boy reminds me of myself in a lot of ways.
I'm very grateful for all the training you've given the boy.
He's turning into quite the suburb soldier.
He'll be a wonderful asset to the gang.
I'm even willing to look over your transgression of lying to me for the last two years.
I already taught Taylor a lesson for trying to help you.
Mercury (young)
!?
Taylor?
Sinatra (young)
Didn't you ever wonder why he stopped speaking with you outside of work?
It's because I taught him what happens when you lie to me.
Now, why don't you go and collect my monster for me, and your mission will be finished.
I'll even give you some time off as a reward.
Doesn't that sound wonderful?
Mercury hurriedly leaves the office, and as he does, Sinatra turns towards the window
Sinatra (young)
Taylor, bring in Deacon as well as our newest member.
Taylor, Deacon, and May enter
Sinatra (young)
As I'm sure you've all just seen, Mercury wants to betray us in pursuit of his selfish desires.
Your mission is to take the boy, by any means necessary.
The boy must be taken in alive, or else he won't do us any good as a pawn or as a hostage.
Be warned, while Mercury's Manifesto is fairly weak, his physical strength is nothing to joke about.
Add in the fact adrenaline will be flowing through his body due to the stress of the situation, we'll need to exercise caution around him.
The boy himself is the antithesis, his body is small, however his Manifesto possesses immense power.
Do not approach either of these two half-hazardly, if you find one, call out to the rest of us.
Only operate in teams of two.
Keep in mind this mission will serve as the initiation of May into our ranks.
Deacon (young)
Boss, what should we do about Mercury?
His treachery cannot go unpunished.
Sinatra (young)
Trust me, Deacon.
Taking that boy and making him into one of us will cause more harm to Mercury than any physical wound we could ever inflict.
This is the dawn of a new era for our group.
No longer are we common thugs, today, we become kings.
All that we need to do to achieve that mission is train a few wild mutts and make them into loyal hounds.
Now, Mercury, put on a good show for us, will you?