Post by Preecha Kamon on Sept 24, 2017 15:39:09 GMT -6
Armand De La Fontaine and Preecha Kamon are haunted by ghosts. Ghosts of memories, ghosts of guilt, ghosts of ‘it might have been’. In their escape, running, and hiding, they have left a trail for these ghosts to follow; spiritual footprints linked in a four by four rhythm performed in the tempo of prison escapees. It is when they attempted to sleep, that the haunting vestige of their former lives would pierce into their thoughts of un-recanted aims. So they no longer slept…
Were they unable to let go of the past or was the past just that vengeful? It did not matter for these horrific memories - innocent in their time - were to stay, transparent until the breath of idleness exhaled and then once again they would be revealed. So they no longer stop…
Armand swarmed himself with stimuli. Never letting his eyes linger, aimlessly, on the ambient world beyond his screen. Always focused on a pinpoint obsession of objective and purpose. He strategized until he had too many options and he researched until he had too many enemies. Chicago was the entanglement he would work in forever, trying to unknot the crime and corruption of an unbearable structure. But it did not work.
The harder he fought, diving into the chaos, the harder the spirits of regret grabbed hold. It was the manifestation of a horseshoe: having tried so hard to distance himself, he found that he was closer than ever to the memories. ‘A curse, /avoir une mémoire d'éléphant!/’ he would say at times when he found himself tortured into tears.
Preecha would choose to tackle his pains differently but not so differently as to have any success. He walked the rooftops, watching the city; swearing to protect innocence; driven by the dissatisfaction he felt to never leave anyone behind as he left behind those closest to him on the day of The Wave. He kept his regrets close to him so they could never surprise him but also in hope that they would eventually leave him over time. But even with this leashed spector at his side, still memories would arise to strike him tenfold. Those moments of recalling what he had incidentally forgotten; bemoaning having lost it for a period of time than its recurrence. ‘How could I have ever let it go’ he thought to himself.
Despite the two differences in method, the feeling was all the same when they stood face to face. They knew they were alone...alone with their ghosts. They shared the weight and empathized with their partner in crime even though their opposing grieving processes would offend the other and sometimes end in visceral disputes between the two. Though, they never held it against one another and once the dust settled they were back to work protecting the only home they had left…
Armand De La Fontaine
I think I really fucked up this time, pal…
Armand laid across the ground with a small trickle of blood rolling down from his lip. His right eye was swollen into a deep red and there was a small gash across his left cheek. His hair was in tangles and covered in mud. Looking around, he saw that it was night and he was in the middle of a thick forest. The ground was soft with mud and moss - Armand was starting to wonder if he was still in Chicago. His white dress shirt was caked with dirt and blood. He attempted to get back up to his feet but was swiftly met with a kick to the gut, knocking him onto his back. There was no Preecha in sight.
Coughing fiercely into the darkness of night, Armand held out a hand in a request to cease the onslaught of strikes he had been receiving from the five silhouetted figures before him. He rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees. Waiting a moment to catch his breath, he peeked out his good eye to observe the cold stares of his assailants. Men of the Russian mob. ‘God damn Russians’... As long as Armand was alive, he’d always hate Russians. Texas or Chicago, he found them unsavory, cheap, and chickenshit. Even with the people they worked with, they tried to fuck over. It was even a Russian that ended his reign in Austin...That is why he had to topple them first.
Armand De La Fontaine
Now, you probably want to kill me. I don’t blame you in the slightest. It is what I would do. But, if you could give a dying man the chance to get some things off his chest, make things right with his God, it would be much appreciated. I don’t have any weapons and you basically have my back up against the wall. No harm in allowing me this…
The Russians talked amongst themselves. Armand knew very little of the language but what he did know, he could tell they were mocking him. That was fine. He was hoping that in their condescending perspective, they would feel pity for him and let him speak. After a moment of deliberation, one of the Russians kneeled down in front of the beaten and battered Frenchman and smiled with a grace of sympathy.
?.?.?.
I’m not as needlessly violent as my friends here...Mr…
Armand De La Fontaine
Fontaine...Mr. La Fontaine, if you want to be proper about...Armand De La Fontaine.
A small chuckle came from the Russian as he nodded.
Valentin Konov
Mr. La Fontaine...Why does that sound so familiar...I’m Valentin Konov...But I have a feeling you knew that already...Anyways, I’m not as needlessly violent, but I am also not as dumb. They don’t speak english but they think you are just some overachieving street urchin. But, trying to break in and infect high security servers by yourself is not something a unprepared man does.
Armand De La Fontaine
In my better days, I would have gotten away with it.
Valentin Konov
In your better days, Mr. La Fontaine, I am sure you were king from wherever you were from. But here, you are not. And if you were, I would have killed you already.
Armand bellowed out a laugh that surprised the other four Russians. There was a clacking of guns being cocked but Valentin raised his hand to call off the reactionary offense. The frenchman stared down his new acquaintance in on flinching manner with blood still seeping from his cuts.
Armand De La Fontaine
If I was the king here, you’d have to ask my permission to shit your pants in fear of me.
Valentin volleyed back with his own joyous laugh before shaking his head. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief which he handed to Armand. Armand hesitated before taking the rag. He then proceed to wipe away the blood from his lip and cheek.
Valentin Konov
I have no doubt of that comrade...I think, in a past life...before all this, you were quite a man to be feared. But this is, again, to my point. Even the other gangs in our great city don’t know what they are really doing. Everyday, they come at us with guns and bombs and yet it does not weaken us. But, if even just one of them knew to take down our cyber operations, we would soon fall. You...a man, alone...knew that very fact without ever raising a gun against us, without ever making your presence known, without ever so much as moving on our territory. You tried to go for the heart. And so, I say again, I am not as dumb as my fellow men. I’ll let you speak, but only because I want to know more. I want to know who is this man that has so little yet aims so high…
Armand De La Fontaine
Got a smoke?
Valentin turned to one of his subordinates.
Valentin Konov
Cигарета…
One of the silhouettes fumbled around before pulling out a pack of Беломорканал cigarettes and handing it to Valentin. Valentin broke open the softpack and handed one to Armand before taking one out for himself. He offered to light it but Armand pulled out his own lighter which surprised the other Russians who had searched him earlier. After a deep drag followed by a billowing of smoke, Armand snort and unconsciously snarled.
Armand De La Fontaine
How do you enjoy this shit?
Valentin Konov
We find away. Soon Russia will weed out all tobacco sales, so we enjoy it while we can. Soon we will be forced to buy these American brands like everyone else…
Armand De La Fontaine
I can’t fault you for that. Though, I don’t think France will ever stop smoking. A man from Paris once told me that ‘we smoke so much because France as a country wants to die. It would be just like us to be the first country to end on our own terms in such a dramatic fashion.’ Half the reason I had quit at one point, to be honest. Nothing more cliche than a Frenchman who smokes. But, faced with my death, my need to go out like a true Frenchman comes back to me. That is what this all is really. The need to return to who I was.
Armand paused to take another drag before letting out another cloud into the night sky. A random thought passed through his mind.
Armand De La Fontaine
Remember when September nights were cool?...Look, The Wave might have tough on you guys here in Chicago. You have a bunch of people migrating north, competition gets stiff, and it seems like everyone and their grandma owns a gun now. But you have no idea what it was like down at the border. But I do. I was there when the Mexico incident happened. Austin was my hometown and it was torn to pieces. Everything I worked for was gone. The Cartels were everywhere and thirsty for blood. I was only lucky enough to get out alive. But, not everyone was so lucky. A lot of my men - and I had a lot of men in my employment - were killed. My base of operation - The Masters and Margaritas, as an ode to your people’s literature - was torn down to the ground. People don’t get the true gravity when I say my life was taken away from me.
I had gotten up to the top because I was smart. I hustled everyday. It is true what they say: If you don’t want to work, then that becomes your job. There’s a lot of overtime and very few days off. You could consider me Employee of the goddamn century! But, the funny thing, the tragic fucking joke, is that no matter how hard you work, it all can be taken away from you in a blink and there is nothing you can do about it. Do you know what it is like to have your whole past erased? It is almost like never having existed in the first place except you are fucking exhausted. But, that is how I had to live; like I didn’t fucking exist! Back in Texas, anytime I stepped out of the house, I had an incidental entourage following me with cameras and crews circling us. And the cops would watch us at a distance, waiting for us to slip up, but we never did…
Now, here in Chicago, I step out the hole I dug for myself and these piss ant part-time criminals try to mug me! These fuckers used to beg me for a job and now they threaten me for whatever I have in my wallet. They don’t get shit from me either way, but it really puts things into perspective. I know I have fallen far and I know that I have next to nothing to my name, but that didn’t ever change who I was…
Valentin lit his cigarette then scratched his bald head as he blow the smoke out his nose.
Valentin Konov
A criminal?
Armand smiled with his cigarette hanging from his lips.
Armand De La Fontaine
A boss...Now, I am no good with my fists and I’ll admit there was a period where I just wanted to lay down and die. But one day, just sitting and waiting for death to come and take me, I got an idea. My muse had come back to me and gave me a seed of inspiration. And I found that I was excited again. I started feeling like I did when I was young. I guess I might have gotten a little bored being the king where I was because I suddenly was looking forward to the journey ahead of me. It seems foolish saying it outloud, but that small idea...What if I was able to take out the gangs of Chicago and rebuild my kingdom right here in the Second City?
The plan was simple. I already knew where your base of operations had relocated for the season due to the close watch I have been able to keep on your clumsy dimwitted co-workers. And I knew that the one with the tech had the power in our world. People don’t realize that the biggest group of hackers in the world are the Russian Mobs.
It was ambitious yes but I am pretty handy around technology and all it would take is one Worm installed directly into your servers and I would have had full access as well as admin control. I would have been able to lock you out of your own network! But, I wasn’t being optimistic when I treaded your warehouse by myself, I was being suicidal...It was one of those Hail Marys you throw when you understand that if you fail, you are just going to want to die. Figured, if you caught me before I uploaded the virus, my one shot would be over and to be honest, I really have no will to continue living in a hole all my life.
But, looking back on it, the plan was a bad one. Really, I was just feeling sorry for myself. It was one big pity party and I let it rule over my logic. I didn’t think I had anyone I could let down besides myself...but I have one person left. Sometimes I forget he is someone who would care if I died, though I still question it. In fact, I am an idiot for not having him do it. He would have been in and out without any of you noticing. But, that wasn’t the point now, was it?
Valentin Konov
It happens. Sometimes you have to do something yourself. I have to do it myself from time to time. These idiots would just fuck it up.
Armand looked to the damp ground and shook his head.
Armand De La Fontaine
No. That is the difference between me and you. There is no respect in your ranks. You are all dirty and disgusting. Selling drugs to kids, selling guns to anyone with a buck to spend, fighting for territory by throwing men into a no win situation. Endless body counts! That is why I want to take control! I want to clean this place up! How can you even run your shit when you don’t trust the people you work with. I said it a long time ago, I always bet on the people that work for me. That is why they work for me...I had forgotten that at one point. It has been so long…
Tears began to fall to the ground as Armand attempted to keep his composure. Again, those memories of the past, a world gone to him, were flooding back. This time, though, he was realizing how far away those times were and what tormented him was not the memories but the fact that they were over.
Armand De La Fontaine
We went through some real shit, Preecha. And for the first time in my life, I fucked up and got cold feet. I forgot we were in this together. I forgot it was the both of us travelling across country, hiding out from ambushes, scrapping for meals, fighting our way through. I fucked up hard.
Valentin stood to his feet and turned away from the crying former Kingpin, partly out of respect, partly out of pity.
Valentin Konov
I am sorry you won’t be able to tell your friend goodbye. Maybe, had he been here, you could have saved yourself the trouble.
Armand chuckled as he lifted his head once again to show a smile breaking through the tears.
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh, you don’t get it. I might have forgotten for a moment that we stick together through thick and thin but I assure you, he didn’t. You see, we have a fight to get to this Monday and he’ll be damned if I am not there in his corner. It might just be some Cougar-bait lesbian horndog and Preecha could probably beat her without even thinking about it but he would kick my ass if he knew I wasn’t going to make it.
Valentin turned back to face Armand with a confused glance, trying to put the odd words together in attempt to make sense of them.
Valentin Konov
Cougar-bait les-...that’s a weird sentence to hear out of the blue, I hope you know tha-...wait. Are you telling me…? HAHA! No! I knew I heard that name before! My Nephew, he watches this shit. They call it Double-U See Why or whatever…
Armand De La Fontaine
UCI...United Championship Infinite…
Valentin Konov
That’s the one! Such a stupid name. I tell him not to watch it, it will rot your brain! Then he goes on about this Preecha Kamon, whom I assume is your partner, and Kevin Bishop. How this deaf fighter gets his ass kicked in the blink of an eye! HA! Is this the great man you are talking about?
Valentin turns to his associates and tells them in their native tongue, the revelation he just learned. All five of them laugh before Valentin returned and kneeled back down in front of Armand. Confidence would be the wrong word to describe what he was feeling. It was more of a sickening delight.
Valentin Konov
You truly have fallen far, my friend!
Armand De La Fontaine
See, that’s funny. That match was bad, I’ll admit that. We went in with the wrong heads, and yeah, he got his ass kicked. No excuses I could make on that one. But it isn’t so embarrassing. The man is world champ for a reason, we took it in stride. Well, I did. Preecha himself took to the sandbag for the whole week until the damn thing broke off the hook. We aren’t letting that happen again.
Valentin Konov
We? You, my friend, are not leaving this place alive. And no shitty deaf kickboxer is going to save you.
Armand De La Fontaine
You still haven’t caught on. Which is funny to me. Because, this ‘shitty deaf kickboxer’ has been running train on not only your gang but most of the gangs in Chicago. Maybe that is why he didn’t do so well against Bishop in the first place. He has spent too much time beating up your half-wits and it gave him the wrong idea on how easy the competition has gotten. Because this man isn’t just Preecha Kamon, you and your men know exactly who he is. But you know him by a different name...Ānjìng…
Valentin grimaced.
Valentin Konov
So, what we have here is the handler of the great “Silence”.
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh man. If he heard you call me his handler, he’d kill you, bring you back from the dead and kill you again. This man is on a level all by himself, only second to Bruce Lee in my humble opinion. And like I said before, he’ll be damned if I don’t show up to the ring on Monday.
Valentin Konov
I don’t see that happening.
Valentin pulled out a gun and proceeded to aim it to the Frenchman’s head. But, before pulling the trigger, there was a distant popping sound followed by a cylinder object appearomg into view. Gas started pouring out. Panic entered the hearts of the criminal as they yelled in Russian at a target they could not see, firing off their guns in futility. Soon the forest was filled with smoke and nothing was visible through the veil. Armand felt an arm grab him and force him to his feet. Armand started running until he was clear of the smoke and saw that it was Preecha in full body armor and goggles, who had intruded upon the ill-fated meeting.
Armand De La Fontaine
Never cease with the surprises, huh? How did you even find me?
They arrived to a dirtbike that was off a ways into the ngiht. It was there Preecha removed his goggles headset and handed them to Armand. Having an idea what was going on, he placed the headset near his ear as Preecha hopped onto the bike. A modulated voice emitted from the speakers of the headset.
████████████
Hello again.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess I owe you double now, huh?
████████████
I don’t like thinking of it as ‘owing’. More of a duty, in a way.
Armand De La Fontaine
Either way, I think if we meet, we’ll need to share a drink. Maybe dinner.
Armand hopped on behind Preecha before the deaf fight revved the engine and launched off into an open path.
████████████
What?!
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh, c’mon. It doesn’t matter how you modulate your voice. I can tell a lady’s voice when I hear it.
████████████
Heh, I guess you really are the pig they say you are…
Armand De La Fontaine
I prefer the word observant.
Gunfire followed behind them, missing them by inches as they zoomed through.
████████████
Eitherway, Mr. La Fontaine. It will be quite sometime before we meet. For reasons I don’t have the time to explain, I will have to remain in the shadows. But, know that I took a look at your worm and while they were distracted with you, I took the chance and uploaded an improved and stealthier version of your code. You should have access to their network but keep interaction time short or they may spot you.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess I should consider you a part of the team now…
████████████
I have no urge to join the Guardians…
Armand De La Fontaine
And I’d doubt they would want someone who’d hide from them. I’m talking Armand Enterprizes. We decided to Uproot from Texas and plant ourselves down in Chicago and you just made the list of first round hires.
████████████
I guess I should feel honored…
Armand De La Fontaine
Only if you want…
████████████
Well, until we meet again, Armand.
Armand De La Fontaine
Au Revoir! HAHAHA!
As bullets flew over head, Armand laughed his way into the night. For once he would get a good night sleep. His reign had begun. It was silent and small but it had started and soon he would take Chicago for all its worth.
Were they unable to let go of the past or was the past just that vengeful? It did not matter for these horrific memories - innocent in their time - were to stay, transparent until the breath of idleness exhaled and then once again they would be revealed. So they no longer stop…
Armand swarmed himself with stimuli. Never letting his eyes linger, aimlessly, on the ambient world beyond his screen. Always focused on a pinpoint obsession of objective and purpose. He strategized until he had too many options and he researched until he had too many enemies. Chicago was the entanglement he would work in forever, trying to unknot the crime and corruption of an unbearable structure. But it did not work.
The harder he fought, diving into the chaos, the harder the spirits of regret grabbed hold. It was the manifestation of a horseshoe: having tried so hard to distance himself, he found that he was closer than ever to the memories. ‘A curse, /avoir une mémoire d'éléphant!/’ he would say at times when he found himself tortured into tears.
Preecha would choose to tackle his pains differently but not so differently as to have any success. He walked the rooftops, watching the city; swearing to protect innocence; driven by the dissatisfaction he felt to never leave anyone behind as he left behind those closest to him on the day of The Wave. He kept his regrets close to him so they could never surprise him but also in hope that they would eventually leave him over time. But even with this leashed spector at his side, still memories would arise to strike him tenfold. Those moments of recalling what he had incidentally forgotten; bemoaning having lost it for a period of time than its recurrence. ‘How could I have ever let it go’ he thought to himself.
Despite the two differences in method, the feeling was all the same when they stood face to face. They knew they were alone...alone with their ghosts. They shared the weight and empathized with their partner in crime even though their opposing grieving processes would offend the other and sometimes end in visceral disputes between the two. Though, they never held it against one another and once the dust settled they were back to work protecting the only home they had left…
Armand De La Fontaine
I think I really fucked up this time, pal…
Armand laid across the ground with a small trickle of blood rolling down from his lip. His right eye was swollen into a deep red and there was a small gash across his left cheek. His hair was in tangles and covered in mud. Looking around, he saw that it was night and he was in the middle of a thick forest. The ground was soft with mud and moss - Armand was starting to wonder if he was still in Chicago. His white dress shirt was caked with dirt and blood. He attempted to get back up to his feet but was swiftly met with a kick to the gut, knocking him onto his back. There was no Preecha in sight.
Coughing fiercely into the darkness of night, Armand held out a hand in a request to cease the onslaught of strikes he had been receiving from the five silhouetted figures before him. He rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees. Waiting a moment to catch his breath, he peeked out his good eye to observe the cold stares of his assailants. Men of the Russian mob. ‘God damn Russians’... As long as Armand was alive, he’d always hate Russians. Texas or Chicago, he found them unsavory, cheap, and chickenshit. Even with the people they worked with, they tried to fuck over. It was even a Russian that ended his reign in Austin...That is why he had to topple them first.
Armand De La Fontaine
Now, you probably want to kill me. I don’t blame you in the slightest. It is what I would do. But, if you could give a dying man the chance to get some things off his chest, make things right with his God, it would be much appreciated. I don’t have any weapons and you basically have my back up against the wall. No harm in allowing me this…
The Russians talked amongst themselves. Armand knew very little of the language but what he did know, he could tell they were mocking him. That was fine. He was hoping that in their condescending perspective, they would feel pity for him and let him speak. After a moment of deliberation, one of the Russians kneeled down in front of the beaten and battered Frenchman and smiled with a grace of sympathy.
?.?.?.
I’m not as needlessly violent as my friends here...Mr…
Armand De La Fontaine
Fontaine...Mr. La Fontaine, if you want to be proper about...Armand De La Fontaine.
A small chuckle came from the Russian as he nodded.
Valentin Konov
Mr. La Fontaine...Why does that sound so familiar...I’m Valentin Konov...But I have a feeling you knew that already...Anyways, I’m not as needlessly violent, but I am also not as dumb. They don’t speak english but they think you are just some overachieving street urchin. But, trying to break in and infect high security servers by yourself is not something a unprepared man does.
Armand De La Fontaine
In my better days, I would have gotten away with it.
Valentin Konov
In your better days, Mr. La Fontaine, I am sure you were king from wherever you were from. But here, you are not. And if you were, I would have killed you already.
Armand bellowed out a laugh that surprised the other four Russians. There was a clacking of guns being cocked but Valentin raised his hand to call off the reactionary offense. The frenchman stared down his new acquaintance in on flinching manner with blood still seeping from his cuts.
Armand De La Fontaine
If I was the king here, you’d have to ask my permission to shit your pants in fear of me.
Valentin volleyed back with his own joyous laugh before shaking his head. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief which he handed to Armand. Armand hesitated before taking the rag. He then proceed to wipe away the blood from his lip and cheek.
Valentin Konov
I have no doubt of that comrade...I think, in a past life...before all this, you were quite a man to be feared. But this is, again, to my point. Even the other gangs in our great city don’t know what they are really doing. Everyday, they come at us with guns and bombs and yet it does not weaken us. But, if even just one of them knew to take down our cyber operations, we would soon fall. You...a man, alone...knew that very fact without ever raising a gun against us, without ever making your presence known, without ever so much as moving on our territory. You tried to go for the heart. And so, I say again, I am not as dumb as my fellow men. I’ll let you speak, but only because I want to know more. I want to know who is this man that has so little yet aims so high…
Armand De La Fontaine
Got a smoke?
Valentin turned to one of his subordinates.
Valentin Konov
Cигарета…
One of the silhouettes fumbled around before pulling out a pack of Беломорканал cigarettes and handing it to Valentin. Valentin broke open the softpack and handed one to Armand before taking one out for himself. He offered to light it but Armand pulled out his own lighter which surprised the other Russians who had searched him earlier. After a deep drag followed by a billowing of smoke, Armand snort and unconsciously snarled.
Armand De La Fontaine
How do you enjoy this shit?
Valentin Konov
We find away. Soon Russia will weed out all tobacco sales, so we enjoy it while we can. Soon we will be forced to buy these American brands like everyone else…
Armand De La Fontaine
I can’t fault you for that. Though, I don’t think France will ever stop smoking. A man from Paris once told me that ‘we smoke so much because France as a country wants to die. It would be just like us to be the first country to end on our own terms in such a dramatic fashion.’ Half the reason I had quit at one point, to be honest. Nothing more cliche than a Frenchman who smokes. But, faced with my death, my need to go out like a true Frenchman comes back to me. That is what this all is really. The need to return to who I was.
Armand paused to take another drag before letting out another cloud into the night sky. A random thought passed through his mind.
Armand De La Fontaine
Remember when September nights were cool?...Look, The Wave might have tough on you guys here in Chicago. You have a bunch of people migrating north, competition gets stiff, and it seems like everyone and their grandma owns a gun now. But you have no idea what it was like down at the border. But I do. I was there when the Mexico incident happened. Austin was my hometown and it was torn to pieces. Everything I worked for was gone. The Cartels were everywhere and thirsty for blood. I was only lucky enough to get out alive. But, not everyone was so lucky. A lot of my men - and I had a lot of men in my employment - were killed. My base of operation - The Masters and Margaritas, as an ode to your people’s literature - was torn down to the ground. People don’t get the true gravity when I say my life was taken away from me.
I had gotten up to the top because I was smart. I hustled everyday. It is true what they say: If you don’t want to work, then that becomes your job. There’s a lot of overtime and very few days off. You could consider me Employee of the goddamn century! But, the funny thing, the tragic fucking joke, is that no matter how hard you work, it all can be taken away from you in a blink and there is nothing you can do about it. Do you know what it is like to have your whole past erased? It is almost like never having existed in the first place except you are fucking exhausted. But, that is how I had to live; like I didn’t fucking exist! Back in Texas, anytime I stepped out of the house, I had an incidental entourage following me with cameras and crews circling us. And the cops would watch us at a distance, waiting for us to slip up, but we never did…
Now, here in Chicago, I step out the hole I dug for myself and these piss ant part-time criminals try to mug me! These fuckers used to beg me for a job and now they threaten me for whatever I have in my wallet. They don’t get shit from me either way, but it really puts things into perspective. I know I have fallen far and I know that I have next to nothing to my name, but that didn’t ever change who I was…
Valentin lit his cigarette then scratched his bald head as he blow the smoke out his nose.
Valentin Konov
A criminal?
Armand smiled with his cigarette hanging from his lips.
Armand De La Fontaine
A boss...Now, I am no good with my fists and I’ll admit there was a period where I just wanted to lay down and die. But one day, just sitting and waiting for death to come and take me, I got an idea. My muse had come back to me and gave me a seed of inspiration. And I found that I was excited again. I started feeling like I did when I was young. I guess I might have gotten a little bored being the king where I was because I suddenly was looking forward to the journey ahead of me. It seems foolish saying it outloud, but that small idea...What if I was able to take out the gangs of Chicago and rebuild my kingdom right here in the Second City?
The plan was simple. I already knew where your base of operations had relocated for the season due to the close watch I have been able to keep on your clumsy dimwitted co-workers. And I knew that the one with the tech had the power in our world. People don’t realize that the biggest group of hackers in the world are the Russian Mobs.
It was ambitious yes but I am pretty handy around technology and all it would take is one Worm installed directly into your servers and I would have had full access as well as admin control. I would have been able to lock you out of your own network! But, I wasn’t being optimistic when I treaded your warehouse by myself, I was being suicidal...It was one of those Hail Marys you throw when you understand that if you fail, you are just going to want to die. Figured, if you caught me before I uploaded the virus, my one shot would be over and to be honest, I really have no will to continue living in a hole all my life.
But, looking back on it, the plan was a bad one. Really, I was just feeling sorry for myself. It was one big pity party and I let it rule over my logic. I didn’t think I had anyone I could let down besides myself...but I have one person left. Sometimes I forget he is someone who would care if I died, though I still question it. In fact, I am an idiot for not having him do it. He would have been in and out without any of you noticing. But, that wasn’t the point now, was it?
Valentin Konov
It happens. Sometimes you have to do something yourself. I have to do it myself from time to time. These idiots would just fuck it up.
Armand looked to the damp ground and shook his head.
Armand De La Fontaine
No. That is the difference between me and you. There is no respect in your ranks. You are all dirty and disgusting. Selling drugs to kids, selling guns to anyone with a buck to spend, fighting for territory by throwing men into a no win situation. Endless body counts! That is why I want to take control! I want to clean this place up! How can you even run your shit when you don’t trust the people you work with. I said it a long time ago, I always bet on the people that work for me. That is why they work for me...I had forgotten that at one point. It has been so long…
Tears began to fall to the ground as Armand attempted to keep his composure. Again, those memories of the past, a world gone to him, were flooding back. This time, though, he was realizing how far away those times were and what tormented him was not the memories but the fact that they were over.
Armand De La Fontaine
We went through some real shit, Preecha. And for the first time in my life, I fucked up and got cold feet. I forgot we were in this together. I forgot it was the both of us travelling across country, hiding out from ambushes, scrapping for meals, fighting our way through. I fucked up hard.
Valentin stood to his feet and turned away from the crying former Kingpin, partly out of respect, partly out of pity.
Valentin Konov
I am sorry you won’t be able to tell your friend goodbye. Maybe, had he been here, you could have saved yourself the trouble.
Armand chuckled as he lifted his head once again to show a smile breaking through the tears.
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh, you don’t get it. I might have forgotten for a moment that we stick together through thick and thin but I assure you, he didn’t. You see, we have a fight to get to this Monday and he’ll be damned if I am not there in his corner. It might just be some Cougar-bait lesbian horndog and Preecha could probably beat her without even thinking about it but he would kick my ass if he knew I wasn’t going to make it.
Valentin turned back to face Armand with a confused glance, trying to put the odd words together in attempt to make sense of them.
Valentin Konov
Cougar-bait les-...that’s a weird sentence to hear out of the blue, I hope you know tha-...wait. Are you telling me…? HAHA! No! I knew I heard that name before! My Nephew, he watches this shit. They call it Double-U See Why or whatever…
Armand De La Fontaine
UCI...United Championship Infinite…
Valentin Konov
That’s the one! Such a stupid name. I tell him not to watch it, it will rot your brain! Then he goes on about this Preecha Kamon, whom I assume is your partner, and Kevin Bishop. How this deaf fighter gets his ass kicked in the blink of an eye! HA! Is this the great man you are talking about?
Valentin turns to his associates and tells them in their native tongue, the revelation he just learned. All five of them laugh before Valentin returned and kneeled back down in front of Armand. Confidence would be the wrong word to describe what he was feeling. It was more of a sickening delight.
Valentin Konov
You truly have fallen far, my friend!
Armand De La Fontaine
See, that’s funny. That match was bad, I’ll admit that. We went in with the wrong heads, and yeah, he got his ass kicked. No excuses I could make on that one. But it isn’t so embarrassing. The man is world champ for a reason, we took it in stride. Well, I did. Preecha himself took to the sandbag for the whole week until the damn thing broke off the hook. We aren’t letting that happen again.
Valentin Konov
We? You, my friend, are not leaving this place alive. And no shitty deaf kickboxer is going to save you.
Armand De La Fontaine
You still haven’t caught on. Which is funny to me. Because, this ‘shitty deaf kickboxer’ has been running train on not only your gang but most of the gangs in Chicago. Maybe that is why he didn’t do so well against Bishop in the first place. He has spent too much time beating up your half-wits and it gave him the wrong idea on how easy the competition has gotten. Because this man isn’t just Preecha Kamon, you and your men know exactly who he is. But you know him by a different name...Ānjìng…
Valentin grimaced.
Valentin Konov
So, what we have here is the handler of the great “Silence”.
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh man. If he heard you call me his handler, he’d kill you, bring you back from the dead and kill you again. This man is on a level all by himself, only second to Bruce Lee in my humble opinion. And like I said before, he’ll be damned if I don’t show up to the ring on Monday.
Valentin Konov
I don’t see that happening.
Valentin pulled out a gun and proceeded to aim it to the Frenchman’s head. But, before pulling the trigger, there was a distant popping sound followed by a cylinder object appearomg into view. Gas started pouring out. Panic entered the hearts of the criminal as they yelled in Russian at a target they could not see, firing off their guns in futility. Soon the forest was filled with smoke and nothing was visible through the veil. Armand felt an arm grab him and force him to his feet. Armand started running until he was clear of the smoke and saw that it was Preecha in full body armor and goggles, who had intruded upon the ill-fated meeting.
Armand De La Fontaine
Never cease with the surprises, huh? How did you even find me?
They arrived to a dirtbike that was off a ways into the ngiht. It was there Preecha removed his goggles headset and handed them to Armand. Having an idea what was going on, he placed the headset near his ear as Preecha hopped onto the bike. A modulated voice emitted from the speakers of the headset.
████████████
Hello again.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess I owe you double now, huh?
████████████
I don’t like thinking of it as ‘owing’. More of a duty, in a way.
Armand De La Fontaine
Either way, I think if we meet, we’ll need to share a drink. Maybe dinner.
Armand hopped on behind Preecha before the deaf fight revved the engine and launched off into an open path.
████████████
What?!
Armand De La Fontaine
Oh, c’mon. It doesn’t matter how you modulate your voice. I can tell a lady’s voice when I hear it.
████████████
Heh, I guess you really are the pig they say you are…
Armand De La Fontaine
I prefer the word observant.
Gunfire followed behind them, missing them by inches as they zoomed through.
████████████
Eitherway, Mr. La Fontaine. It will be quite sometime before we meet. For reasons I don’t have the time to explain, I will have to remain in the shadows. But, know that I took a look at your worm and while they were distracted with you, I took the chance and uploaded an improved and stealthier version of your code. You should have access to their network but keep interaction time short or they may spot you.
Armand De La Fontaine
I guess I should consider you a part of the team now…
████████████
I have no urge to join the Guardians…
Armand De La Fontaine
And I’d doubt they would want someone who’d hide from them. I’m talking Armand Enterprizes. We decided to Uproot from Texas and plant ourselves down in Chicago and you just made the list of first round hires.
████████████
I guess I should feel honored…
Armand De La Fontaine
Only if you want…
████████████
Well, until we meet again, Armand.
Armand De La Fontaine
Au Revoir! HAHAHA!
As bullets flew over head, Armand laughed his way into the night. For once he would get a good night sleep. His reign had begun. It was silent and small but it had started and soon he would take Chicago for all its worth.
