The Nocturne member bowed at the shoulder to them. It was an oddly polite gesture given the setting. Additionally, the voice was distinctly masculine. Jack focused his hearing a bit; nothing else caught his ear so either the stranger was alone or the ones hiding were beyond his ability to perceive without letting his enhanced hearing run at full force. Thankfully, whether or not there were more, they didn’t seem to be hostile.

Jack adopted a confident stance that disguised his aching body and took long deep breaths to lower his heart rate. The mask proved a boon since it hid his strained facial expression lending credence to his self-assured posture. It helped that Alindal had lightning dancing between his fingertips, ready to fire at a moments notice. Walking up to stand beside his friend, Jack addressed the Nocturne ganger with an impatient tone, “Name’s Atlas, pleasure to meet ya. Now, we’ve got business elsewhere so I hope you don’t plan on holding us up as these fellows did.” He casually gestured at their fallen opponents. “I wouldn’t recommend it though.”

For his part, Alindal was stone-faced though Jack knew the elf well enough to understand that his demeanor was partly due to his displeasure with the execution of the ogre. The ganger stepped forward a bit more revealing a masculine jawline underneath his heavy cowl. “Nocturne has no quarrel with you and yours, outsider. Nocturne simply wants these snakes that have slithered into our domain. In fact, we would be grateful to you for apprehending them should you choose not to get in our way.”

The woman’s eyes went wide as she looked at the man from Nocturne. “Please no, I’m not with the Snake Eye!” She pointed to the mage in the back and added, “He hired me and the others. He said all we had to do was help ‘im collect from rich westies and we’d get a cut. Please, I needed the credits for food! I had no choice!”

“But there is always a choice,” the man said. He walked forward unconcerned with Alindal and placed his hand on the side of the woman’s face. At first, Jack thought fear stopped the woman from recoiling; however, he caught a glance of something strange. Lines of shadow had extended along the ground connecting to the woman’s shadow. Was that some kind of control skill? He didn’t know but he eyes the rest of the shadows suspiciously. The man continued, “This is Nocturne’s domain. By the looks of it, you have a thief class designation— you could have come to use for help. Our shadow is long and our embrace cold, but we do not bite our own. You chose to bargain with the snake because you fear the darkness. A pity.” The man let her go and she fell to her knees, trembling.

Tears in her eyes, she turned her face to Alindal and said, “Please, don’t let them take me. You don’t know what they do to the people they take. Please.”

The Nocturne ganger watched her plead with an amused smile. He snapped his fingers and three more figures jumped from the rooftops above landing silently in the alley: one by the mage, one by the acid-burned man, and one by the woman. Jack suppressed a shiver. Even more so then the first man, something was off about these new arrivals. He couldn’t put his finger on it but they seemed cold and hollow like they were missing something. Based on what he had seen, Jack understood why the Weeds had been wiped out. If Nocturne had guys like these, then the average designation rank of their members must’ve been C at least, possibly higher. Most gangs in The Warrens were lucky to have an average designation rank of D with most falling into E or F. The first man looked at Jack and said, “Now, I assume our business is concluded. As thanks, you may keep their equipment as we have no use for it.”

Jack looked to Alindal as the strange figures stepped forward, each grabbing their charge. He saw the conflict in his friend’s eyes as the woman struggled weakly but couldn’t break her captor’s grasp. He met the star elf’s silver eyes and shook his head ever-so-slightly. It didn’t do any good. Alindal started to lift his hand and Jack cursed his friend’s damned sentimentality. He gripped Alindal’s arm, startling him and breaking his concentration on the spell. Before the elf could turn his flare on him, Jack stepped forward.

“Wait,” he said. The man who had started walking away with his captives turned back to them, a smile still on his face.

“Is there a problem?”

Mind working quickly, Jack answered, “You said Nocturne’d be grateful and all, but who said we wanted their gear? It’s all small change, not even worth the trouble of dropping the bodies for it. You, on the other hand, get an officer in the Snake Eye.” The man’s smiled waned slightly and Jack pressed the opportunity. “That’s right. I know they only mark their officers. I imagine you’ll be able to get some tender info from him. That for some cheap grade gear? Not exactly a fair trade.”

“And? You are either a madman or a fool to seek fairness in Fracture,” the Nocturne ganger responded.

“Did I say fair? I meant mutually beneficial?” Jack said, chuckling and spreading his arms.

He must have caught his interest because the man tilted his head and smile. He snapped his fingers against causing the other three figures to halt with unnerving abruptness. “Very well, fool. Nocturne will hear you.”

“I want her,” Jack said pointing to the woman. For her part, she looked between Jack and the shadowed man with eyes full of fear and uncertainty. Alindal was eyeing him as well but his posture relaxed a bit.

It was the man’s turn to chuckle, “You would spare her, but not the ogre. Did her pleas pull at your heartstrings? What would the ogre have said had you not choked the breath from him, I wonder? What of his pleas, hm?” Now that his anger had abated, Jack felt a knot of self-loathing twist in his stomach as he thought of how he’d snapped the ogre’s neck. The cloaked man looked the woman up and down and tilted his head back and forth. “Or, perhaps, are your desires more carnal? She is not unattractive. If you wish a toy to warm your bed, I could offer you better, less contentious options.”

Jack fought hard to keep the disdain out of his voice when he responded instead keeping an even tone of cold practicality. “I have no interest in her wishes nor her body. I only care about what she could do for me.”

“And what, dear fool, would that be?” the ganger asked; his smile wide with amusement.

“I can tell your operation is a step above the usual riff-raff in The Warrens, so I want an in. You could tell me whatever you want about friendship and gratitude, but I’d prefer having someone inside who owes me. I want her. You said you could use her. Put her to work. She’ll owe you her life so she’ll tell you whatever you want to know, you get an eager-to-please lackey, and I get someone in your gang who owes me a favor. Of course, I don’t intend to use her against you. Doubt I’d get far there if you all are as good as I suspect, but having a contact in one of the top up-and-coming gangs could be pretty useful.”

The Nocturne ganger cocked his head to the side and his lips pursed pensively. “You place much faith in the competence of a woman who barely put up a fight and the honor of an organization you know nothing about.”

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. “Call it a hunch.”

His answer was met with cold laughter as the man doubled over in his mirth. When he looked at Jack again, he said, “You may be mad as well, Atlas the Fool. However, Nocturne is amused. We will humor you.” He walked over to the woman and gestured to Jack. “You have been given a choice to step into the darkness. Do you accept?”

She shook her head furiously, eyes wide but filled with hope. Abruptly, the figure holding her arms released her and stepped away. She stumbled though she managed to keep her feet.

Jack asked, voice still cold, “What’s your name?”

“T-Therese,” she responded shakily. “Therese Rovman.”

He took a good look at her, memorizing her dirty blonde hair, her angled facial features, her body shape, and even the sound of her heart heartbeat. Then, he turned and walked away.

“I’ll be in touch, Therese. Don’t disappoint me.”

Alindal lingered for a moment then followed behind.

***

They entered Weston in silence walking shoulder to shoulder. Jack kept his mind on the job, partially to distance himself from the events that transpired in the alley. The ogre hadn’t been the first instance of his “no mercy” policy— just another addition to an ever-growing list that proved he was no better than those he hated. At one point, he had fought against the unfairness and injustice in Fracture, only to be beaten down until his will to fight withered away. For every face of people killed by his hand, there were two more of people who he’d cared for— people killed by his kindness and mercy. Alindal was the only one left.

“You are not evil, my friend,” Alindal said. He glanced sidelong at the elf; his scowl deepening.

“You think so?” he responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Alindal pressed on undaunted by his attitude.

“Yes, I do. Saros efin sol, ys moros el. Even in death, a star sheds light. You hurt but you are not dead, my friend. Your light yet shines even as you try to douse it.”

“I’m dousing other people’s lights too,” he said, chuckling darkly. Thankfully, the side street they traveled down wasn’t very crowded. Overall, Weston had a much smaller population than The Warrens since the cost of living was much higher. A cruiser passed overhead and the sound of the Asylum Express, a train running from Weston through Elysium into Nortos, echoed through the streets. A haggard-looking half-dragon trudged past them causing Jack to duck slightly to the side to avoid getting clipped by the creature’s folded wings. Alindal waited until they were alone to respond.

“Yes, but sometimes—,” he began to say before Jack cut him off.

“Stop,” he said raising his hand to forestall the elf’s explanation. “I don’t need you or your pretty elven bullshit speak to make me feel better. I only spared that woman because you were about to get us killed, no other reason. Now, drop it and focus. We’ve got a job to do and I don’t need to be distracted when we get there.”

The elf fell silent. Jack didn’t bother looking back at him or seeing if he followed as he continued to his destination.