DARWIN'S DREAM (Ch. 79)
Standing in ragged clothes cornered against the worn haggard walls of Jhevo's slums a young Darwin stares at the three children is age, all on flashy bikes all in clean new clothes, his constant attempts to escape them had been futile for the bikes gave them greater speed and manuverability,
"Look tommy, take a whiff of this homeless bastard, he stinks!" One of the three called and the two burst into laughter in response, Darwin spots an incoming car when a sickening idea occurs to him, the children sneer at him following close as he breaks away, Darwin pauses on the cars path delaying just enough for the car to connect with the child that was head of the bullies, the screams of horror from his two companions a to his limb and most likely lifeless body fill him a sense of triumph, he turns away bolting from the scene as the driver hops out the car to survey the situation, by the time officials would arrive Darwin was long gone, and with the copious amount of children fitting his description in the slums alone they had little chance to find him, Darwin though payed no heed to that, the deed was done, the only reason he'd ran was because he was well aware the other parties involved would pin the blame on him, after-all, with his background, he'd be an easy target, with his mother constantly despondent he'd had no choice but to basically raise himself, one really couldn't survive the slums without being observant, Darwin steps into his home, the house old musty an haggard, on the sleeping mat he saw his mother seated, head rested against the deteriorated wall, despite his presence she'd offered no acknowledgment, that was fine though, at least today the woman was sober, neighter was she crying, on the top of a cupboard was a picture, in the picture was a tall handsome hulking man and next to him his mother, both in formal attire, Darwin suspected this was his father, the man he'd finally found out to be named Gray Wade, a man revered by the frightening gangsters as a God, his mother never really showed much attachment to the picture, Darwin wrote that off as a display of spite, and given the circumstances it was within her rights, she'd never even spoken on it, then again the woman early ever spoke, except for her ear bursts of epiphany and random surges of motivation, despite his knowledgeable and observant nature Darwin was still much a child, his life revolves around the slums and the underworld, and for him, being a man similar to his 'father' was sure to give him a better life, and so began his journey, young and wise but twisted beyond his years Darwin worked his wat through the years, and even with the fact he'd long made enough to change he and his mother's living conditions despite being only a middle schooler he didn't and instead opted to constantly return to an accompanied melancholy, and despite the years his mother held her sporadic predictable robotic sequence.
On a particular day during his middle school tenure on a day much like any other he made his way home, and on his arrival just several feet from the entrance he spots his mother smiling brightly at a man in a mechanic overalls, in his hand was his metal tool box, Darwin pulled in closer causing his mother to notice his presence,
"Darwin!" She calls excitedly, "come say hello to your father!" She exclaims,
(What!), Darwin's mind halts his preconceived reality and unwillingness to accept otherwise,
(Liar!, Liar!, Liar!!!!!!),
"C'mon Darwin, give your dad a hug, i'm sure you've missed him all these years", she smiles,
"Awww leave the kid alone, let him take his time, how about you and i hear inside" he states, "oh!" He exclaims from the entrance before running in and picking up the photo,
"What?" Darwin's mother questions,
"You still have this?",
"What the picture?" She inquires in confusion,
"Remember when i took this shot?, It was fifteen years ago just after you got pregnant with Darwin, we'd met him and his wife at the hospital just after our night out and you told me to take a picture m" he summaries,
"Really?" His mother questions, "I'd forgotten all of that" she replies,
"LIARRRRR!!!" Darwin roars lunging for his father's neck, he strangles the man who fights futilely against Shifter strength, his mother screams picking up her husbands metal tool box while bashing him over the head repeatedly,
"Oh thanks!" He turns shooting a manaically grin, he snatches the box before using or much to the horror of his mother to bash his father over the head till all he can see is red, his mother shrieks backing away from him while shivering in horror, Darwin still grinning tosses the toolbox aside before exiting the apartment for what would be the last time.
PRESENT TIME
Shortly before Duke's release
"It's been a while" Darwin states, "you must have heared i'd be out soon, when i get out i'll be going for that crew of yours" Duke states,
"That'd be foolish, although we might not want a war, we're not afraid of one either, your just like you've always been, working harder instead of smarter" Darwin states, "i know you're doing this to get to Vin, but trust me when i say doing so is as good as helping his cause, the four major crews were created to help a certain someone startup and sustain their business, now that they've achieved their goal we're no longer needed, to them we're a cancer, i suspect Vin has received an order to destroy us, but more interestingly he's been covertly creating new crews, most likely to emulate his employer, so here is the proposition, MERCHANTS are proposing an alliance with DEALERS" Darwin concludes, Duke holds silence as he ponders on the decision,
"We want the same thing, imagine the full force of MERCHANTS on your side, even finding Corinth might not be a pipe dream" he states holding his grin as he sights the change in Duke's expression,
(Still as honest as ever) he mules,
"I accept" Duke declares, (This time, i'll win).
'Little' Raven is seated watching is recently acquired tv,
{It doesn't matter how much gold you put in a paupers den, it's still a papers den} Silver quips, {oh and by the way incredibly strong Shifter incoming},
"What?!" Raven shouts when the door to his apartment is ripped open, beyond the door is a red haired man, beside him is a tall muscled woman with blonde hair and sea blue eyes,
"Who the hell are you!" Raven shouts,
"What?, There's someone living here?" The man questions,
"Sir, just this is enough to tell Hide is definitely involved in some illegal practices, there's no way you can grow a small company into a global conglomerate in just a few years without insanely copious amounts if money" one if the guards behind him states,
"My door!" Raven shouts,
"True, my gut tells me he's definitely involved with the teen gangs and that four major crew nonsense my informants divulged, if we need to get the snake through the tail so be it, all i need to find is someone who helped him" the man states, "here kid" the man replies throwing a stuffed wallet,
"Hmm?" The huge woman beside him sounds, she walks up to Raven who backs away slowly,
(Thank God my other body is in the closet) he mules,
"Shifter" the woman states with a Russian accent,
"What he's one?, A Lunin perhaps?",
"No, he's strong!" The woman strikes, Raven rolls away from the palm quickly taking a stance,
(Shit!, I can't fight in here, i need to get them out!), "What the hell!" He shouts, "you break into someone's house and attack them",
"Tell me kid" the man inquires ignoring Raven, "how did you become a Shifter",
"Life circumstances" he replies igniting his Striker technique: 'Force Compression', he runs 'Force' through his body concentrating it on his fist before swinging at the woman who swings her bare hands blowing Raven away, he tumbles away rattled before quickly throwing himself aside.
"Alexandra, enough!" The man orders, "the kid isn't our priority, we need to find Hide's proxy running the teen gangs" the mab states,
"You mean Vin?" Raven speaks up offhandedly, the mans expression darkens and in a flash the woman moves and he sees black.