The Only Direction is Down (2/3)

❖Yaks Workshop❖

Hours Later

The low whirring of activating pistons could be heard as the double doors of a workshop entrance slid open. A man sitting in a rolling chair slowly twisted upon hearing the noise. His hunched back straightened itself as he realized who stood in the frame.

With his head tilted and eyes low, Kennedy stared inside. His once crossed arms fell to his sides as the man inside scanned his tidy uniform up and down, "Well look at you, pretty boy!"

"Shut your mouth," Kennedy spat, rolling his eyes, "Pops..."

He spoke this word with a sharp edge, like a curse or insult meant to sting. It landed with precision, striking the nerve he intended. The man jumped out of his seat and aimed his blowtorch at Kennedy, "It's Papa Yak! I don't care how often of a customer you are, that's the name you'll call me by!" He would scream.

Kennedy shrugged off the lecture strolling inside and tossing his bookbag onto a random counter, "Yeah, whatever,"

He fell into a rolling chair of his own, the tension in his muscles immediately easing once he landed. With stern eyes, Yak watched Kennedy roll and spin around, "What do you want? Got any parts to sell? you rarely ever come to me for that." He interrogated.

"No, just thought I'd visit since I was close. See how you're holding up, y'know."

Yak covered the lower half of his face, but that wasn't enough to hide his expression. He seemed happy. Happy to have someone care for his well-being. Sitting back down, he began to once again become immersed in his craft. While blowtorching a metal plate, he opened his mouth to respond.

"So, where's Cherry?" Kennedy asked, puckering his lips and looking away.

The warmth made its departure as soon as it had arrived. The usual angry expression took back its rightfully owned spot on his face, "That little lying bastard. That talk about visiting to catch up and then immediately asking about my assistant. I should've known he didn't care for seeing me."

"She's out sick. Simple cold, so she'll be alright." Yak explained, his eyebrows further descending into the vicinity of his eyelids, "How have you been doing? Still working your main job, or have you shifted focus to your night job?"

Kennedy's alter in posture hinted at his discomfort. He slouched deeper into the chair, his arms lazily hanging over the rests, "Auntie Maya made me quit my main job, and then she enrolled me in Curiosity Academy. She wants me to fully focus on school."

Yak's eyes widened. He glanced at Kennedy, who was still spinning in circles, "That explains the outfit... You go there now?"

Kennedy nodded.

"How was it?"

"Nothin' special."

"Ah.."

Silence befell the room. Yak slowly turned back to his metal plate twisting his blowtorch at a precise angle. He hesitated before firing it up again, clearly waiting for the rest of Kennedy's response. It was just as clear that he wasn't getting anything else out of him.

"That's a load of crap! Curiosity Academy is the fifth-ranked school in all of Metropolis! The fact that you're from the gulches and you still go there is enough to tell me that your day wasn't 'nothing special'!" He yelled.

Kennedy shuddered lower in his seat and rolled himself away from Yak, "I was being honest! I mean.. I guess it was kind of odd being up there in the center since I don't really leave Northside much.."

"You don't even understand how amazing that is... I'll never understand you, Kid," Yak sighed, "But speaking about your jobs, does Maya know about your night work? If not, will you stop doing it since you've managed to score a spot in such a reputable school?"

Kennedy twisted, his head tilting away from Yak, "She doesn't know, so I'm not gonna stop. I've got a person with biomechanical attachments in my apartment dumpster right now. I'll disassemble him and sell his enhancements for the best prices I'm offered. Once that money runs out, I'll get back to killing those Posse goons and other idiot thugs running rampant while hoping to make it big in the crime world. Selling their BMed parts'll earn even more money."

Yak couldn't help but smirk as he listened to Kennedy, "How bold... and you do it all to help out your Aunt. We live in a world where empowering your body with mechanics reigns supreme, yet a normal-bodied boy such as you goes up against these individuals."

Suddenly, his praiseful tone shifted, becoming more serious, "I'm not trying to convince you to stop, but keep in mind that this is a dangerous line of work. It's only a matter of time before you draw too much attention to yourself. The Posse won't take kindly to those they catch killing their lackeys."

Kennedy crossed his arms, pushing back in his seat, "I can handle myself. I've been doing this long enough to know when to fight and when to run."

"Good." Yak affirmed, "We spoke about the secrets you're keeping from her, but not about her condition. How is Maya doing? Does she still suffer from heart problems?"

"Nah, got her a Biomech heart a while back. They're expensive, so I had to pay with scrapping money I saved up over the months. If she knew I paid, she would've been suspicious about where I got the money from, so I told her a man who wanted to remain anonymous donated it to her."

Yak nodded, placing the blowtorch on his desk and wiping his hands with a rag. While doing his business, he noticed Kennedy standing up. He grabbed his bag and began to walk to the door, "I think I should get going now. Dont want Maya worrying. See you sometime soon hopefully."

As he collected his items, Yak's brows furrowed. It was like he was holding back something. A foot before the sliding doors, Kennedy paused and Yak spoke.

"Hey, I know it's bad business, but if you get tied up in situations of rising difficulty, getting your own enhancements installed is always an option. As long as you supply the gear, I'd get you situated for free. No chromes at all!"

"What a kind offer. You must be high," Kennedy antagonized, "I make a decent bit of cash from each of my sales, but I doubt I'll ever make enough to get real Biomech. The cheap shit on the black market is what all the airhead gangsters use. It's always dangerous and prone to malfunctions. I'd never get stuff like that installed."

"Preciate the offer though," He smiled, sticking up a thumb before turning around.

"Keep safe, then!" Yak shouted, watching Kennedy step out of his shop.

The neon lights of the workshop's flashy sign flickered above him as he whipped out his phone. After clicking a few buttons, he whipped out earbuds and placed them in his ears.

Navigating the streets of the Gulches, littered with homeless citizens and the thugs that pointlessly harassed them, Kennedy pushed forward. The heavy air, thick with musk and decay clung to his clothing and skin, a sensation he barely noticed anymore. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, He thought about the day's events.

Stepping onto the street lost in thought, he barely registered the red traffic lights. The fact that the lights were always ignored, regardless of the color, made it all the more hard to know the state of the road. He stepped past the shadows that stretched across the uneven road, caused by the sinking sun

He paused in the middle of the street, tapping his foot on the floor as he waited for the steady flow of illegally passing cars to die down. Horns blared, and a traffic jam began to build, but moving didn't feel urgent. The moment a space opened up, he darted forward and across the rest of the street. He veered around a stalled car and hopped onto the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding the side mirror as he sped away.

looking at the sky, the warm sunlight hit his face. Flocks of deformed birds flew across the sky with a light breeze sweeping by. His experiences throughout the day and the sensations of the present moment brought a smile to his face.

At the corner, graffiti-covered alleyways stretched before him, the name 'posse' dominating the designs. He sighed, brushed it off, and made his way home.

Blood stained the foot of his staircase, and dried into a dark patch. Drifting from the embarrassing crater, Kennedy's eyes met the dumpster. Without hesitation, he yanked the thug's body out by its mangled arm. Scaling the fire escape, he climbed into his apartment through the window.

The corpse, and his own body, both hit the floor. Launching off his stomach, Kennedy swiftly pushed his window shut and pulled the curtains over it.

Once he turned his attention back to the body his eyes slowly lit up. He stepped up for a closer look and his eyebrows rose even higher. "These enhancements... they aren't rusties!?" Kennedy exclaimed."

His eyes trailed up and down the carcass's mechanical arm. It was lined with sleek, high-quality steel, and a light blue, almost glowing liquid flowed in between the cracks of the plating. "That's a cooling system! Enhancements like this should only be installed on law enforcement officers!"

He fell to his knees and brought up his hand, knocking on the man's chest. A metallic thud echoed through the room, "Armored skin as well! This guy is wired head to toe! There might even be more under his clothes!"

"The arm alone could go for three-hundred-thousand chromes! Then if I'm able to extract his armored skin and the other potential enhancements..." 

He interrupted himself after shooting to his feet. He took a deep breath in an attempt to tone down his excitement. "I'm getting ahead of myself. His armor and other enhancements are probably damaged from the fall, and Maya doesn't even know I'm in the house yet. I can't let her know that I snuck in through the window."

Kennedy wrapped his hands under the arms of the body and dragged it into his closet, "I'll deal with this guy later."

He repeated the steps he took to enter his home in reverse, ending up in front of the door.

"I'm home, Auntie!" Kennedy yelled, stepping inside for the second time while pretending it was the first. He froze in spot immediately once the mess in the hallway was noticed. The family photos that once hung on the walls were now scattered across the floor. Bits and chunks of concrete were sprinkled all over, garnishing the disorder, "W..what...?"

He ignored the disarray and stared ahead, the single thing he couldn't ignore being the lack of a response.

"Auntie…?"