As he walked off from the scene of the crime, Luca felt an odd sense of relief coming over him. It wasn't as if he was a fan of killing people, but something about what he had just done felt right. He still had possession of Frederick's phone, which he was holding onto out of convenience, it was after all his only connection to the man who hired him. Then again, hiring was a strong term to use in this scenario. It was more of a mutual agreement, a barter if you will.

His pupils returned to their normal size as he walked back down the parking lot to the Starbucks he was in waiting for the man who now lay dead inside of. Walking up to the door of the building, he remembered the warning of the man on the phone. Turning away from the door, he rushes to his car, fumbling with the keys in his pocket. Finally getting them out, he unlocks the door and hops into the driver's seat. Closing the door with one hand, he uses his right to put the keys in the ignition. Turning the keys, the engine roars to life.

Or, maybe not. The engine sputters and dies out, much to Luca's dismay.

"God fucking, no. Not dealing with this!"

Unlocking the door, and removing the keys from the ignition, he gets out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Looking around for anyone that could see what was going on, he bursts out in a full sprint away from the car, and more importantly, the crime scene. A voice yells out at him, which only serves to speed him up, rounding the corner when he reaches the end of the Starbucks building.

Crouching around the corner, he peeks out momentarily to see a man dressed in all black (In the middle of an afternoon in Cali? Something's definitely up here...) He called out again, in a rushed, impatient tone.

"Hey! Wait up!"

His voice was gruff, like sandpaper being forcibly pressed against Luca's eardrums. The man slowed down as he saw Luca in essence waiting for him, sweat pouring down his face from a combination of his forced sprint and the clothing he was wearing.

"Who the fuck are-"

And he's cut off with an elbow to the mouth (You all wish you could do that, but you can't.) The man stands over him, staring at the now bloodied mouth of our hero (Well, technically.) He reaches in the pocket of his cargo pants and pulls out a pair of handcuffs.

"Woah, this is getting too kinky for my tastes! I mean, you haven't even taken me out to dinner yet!"

Unamused by that comment, the man grabs Luca's hands and places the handcuffs around his wrists. As the second cuff clamps shut, Luca begins to laugh aloud once more.

"Well, aren't I in a predicament? I'd offer you a hand, but..."

As he trails off, his hands jolt forward into the man's stomach, knocking him back momentarily. Long enough for Luca to get back to his feet. The man rushes at him, which Luca easily sidesteps and follows up with a hammerfist maneuver that connects the man's jaw to the metal handcuffs, splitting his chin open.

As blood began to pour down his body, coloring his shirt, the man became much more angered. He rushed forward once more, this time with his fist already cocked back. As he approaches Luca, he throws a punch that leaves him off balance when Luca dodges. Following up with his dodge, he wraps the chain of the handcuffs around his attacker's neck, forcing his head down. One knee to the face wasn't enough, two almost caused it, but the third time was the charm. On the third knee, the man's head broke the chain, freeing his hands from their predicament.

Luca slowly walked toward the man, now bleeding from multiple places on his face, when three other men dressed in identical clothing rush from behind him, knocking Luca to the ground. One of the men pulls out a syringe and stabs it right into Luca's neck.

As the fluid ran through his veins, he could his ability to fight back drain out of his body. One of the other men hand cuffs Luca's hands behind his back. The last man helps up the other man as they drag Luca to their black panel van.

What the fuck could this be about?





Waking up, strapped to a device that closely resembles an electric chair, an IV in his arm is Luca. Looking around the room, he sees that the mold covering the walls around him, the floor looks like it hasn't been cleaned in days, weeks even. However, upon closer inspection, the mold looks two dimensional, as if it were painted on the wall. The floor looks dusty if anything.

"Ah, you're awake, Mister Arzegotti."

Even in this state, not knowing where he is, let alone how he got here, Luca could not forget that voice. No one could, the mix of thirty different voice masking devices made it rather distinct.

"What the fuck happened? Where am I? Wait a second, you're involved in this?! What the actual fuck, man?"

The spot where the IV had been injected began to burn, feeling like a wildfire under the seven layers of skin. His other hand, the left began to scratch at the IV, trying to remove it from his arm, unsuccessfully.

"This? This is where you prove yourself worthy of being a part of something this grand, Mister Arzegotti."

The burning sensation stopped as the man finished speaking, bringing Luca closer a state of calmness, as calm as you could be while being held prisoner. His arms returned to their natural position, back at his side.

"So, is this going to be one of those, 'You must give your undying loyalty to the crown' type things? Because this is coming across as something out of a Saw movie."

The sound of a door opening cuts Luca off from saying anymore. A man steps in, dressed in all black up to his face, enshrouded by a black mask. He turns and catches a glimpse of Luca's face, in that very moment he removes the mask, revealing himself to the recruit left in his company.

"Luca."

Luca's eyes widen, recognizing both the voice and the face.

"Jared."