Mercen's words woke Ridka from his critical thinking. He paused for a moment and turned towards Mercen's direction.
Mercen stared at him with a blank look,
"you're not listening, are you"
Ridka noded a 'no'
Mercen sighed,
"Talia broke up with me" he said with a downcast face.
Ridka chuckled,
"That's how poor girls behave, I thought you would learn your lesson after what Suzzy did to you"
Mercen sighed and stared at nothing in particular. Ridka looked up at him 'no way this guy was a murderer, there had to be some logical explanation for this case....but what?'
In a dark alleyway...
"Ah! Mr. Thompson, glad you finally made it" a young man on green leather suit said snuffing a cigarette as Thompson approached him
"I'm not here to joke around" Thom said in a low maniacal voice, he streched forth his hand
"Pay me my money for the job done and we can both forget each other's face, Mindassa"
"Job done?!" Mindassa spat
"You seem to be forgetting our deal.....you screwed up everything!"
Flashback
"Make sure the job is done" Mindassa instructed Thom
"Remember, his name is Mercen" Mindassa said, pulling out a picture of Mercen and handing it over to Thom.
"He'll be attending a conference in the late hours of tomorrow, afterwards, he'll be going to a concert, he has a white hair dye on so it will be easy to spot him...trail him down from the concert and do what needs to be done, I want him dead no matter what"
MI. Concert
Across Ginvel hill
Mercen stood outside the building, making a phone call unaware of the the dangers around him. He suddenly paused when he heard a rustle behind some bushes across the street leading down the hill. Curious as ever, he walked down the path but suddenly, a cold hand grasped him from behind, he turned around slowly and met the piercing gaze of Ridka.
"Jeeze man, you scared the crap out of me"
"Really? And yet you were walking down a creepy pathway all by yourself" Ridka asked with a bit of sarcasm, Mercen shoved his hand off,
"What are you, my Bodyguard?!"
"I'm not coming back until I'm sure you've lost your job, this Detective work is driving you crazy"
As both friends walk back into the building, they bumped into a lone figure wearing a long dark cloak with a hood veiling his face, white strands of hair flowing from the sides of his hoodie.
Mercen sneered at him and turned to Ridka,
"who still wears that... He looks like a nightmare"
"I almost thought it was Halloween" Ridka joked.
Thompson came back from where he bought some drinks, seeing Mercen, his eyes lit up "a costume can't hide you away from me Mercen, I know it's you"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ro walked down the alleyway feeling very confused, he had never felt so defeated before his cousin Purvkka had taken everything away from him... First, it was his Father's love
Then it was his title and now his respect?! He envied Ridka's peaceful nature with Mercen
"If only I could be like those mortals in terms of my cousin, then maybe Purvkka wouldn't hate me that much" he thought. Purvkka, a silver-haired man just like Ro had almost all the powers there is in the underworld and that made him better than Ro in every way, including youth.
Lucifer, Vintaskii's Father loved Purvkka more than Ro and hated Ro's weakness. Ro protested and Lucifer decided a Duel be upon them and the loser has to do as the winner says. And of course, Purvkka won. Ro could still remember every bit of what Purvkka had told him.
"You can only return when you get a better mindset, perhaps the cruelty of Earth will make you understand...that there is no use of a good heart....., Lil Bro!".....
....Purvkka had said, his voice dripping with contempt.
Ro's thoughts were a jumble of emotions, his mind torn between his desire to prove himself to Purvkka and his own sense of self-worth. He felt like he was walking in the shadows, always living in the darkness of his cousin's disapproval.
As he turned a corner, Ro stumbled upon a group of people gathered around a street performer. The musician's music was hauntingly beautiful, and Ro found himself drawn to the sound. He closed his eyes, letting the melody wash over him, and for a moment, he forgot about his troubles.
But the peace was short-lived, as Ro's thoughts soon turned back to Purvkka and their complicated past. He remembered the duel they had fought, the outcome of which had left Ro feeling defeated and humiliated. Purvkka had won, and Ro had been forced to flee.
The memory still stung, and Ro's eyes snapped open, his gaze scanning the crowd with a mixture of anger and frustration. He spotted a figure watching him from across the street, a figure with piercing eyes and an unfamiliar face.
It was Thompson, the same man who had been hired to kill Mercen.
As Ro watched, Thompson disappeared into the crowd, leaving him with more questions than answers. The music had stopped, and the street performer was packing up his instruments. Ro felt a sense of unease, a feeling that his life was about to become even more complicated.
He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come...