BAD DOGS BARK - Katarzyna Grzesitza, Chapter 1.
1.
Night was slowly crawling upon this place. The darkness which is eternal in the heart of this neighborhood, metaphorically of course, has just begun to rise above the buildings. Even the dirtiest souls have started to long for the sunlight, it is so full of hatred and poverty that during the night it becomes unbearable. Life was carefully deteriorating from this place, arm in arm with the money of the people and the minds and brains of the greatest politicians. No one was safe, no one was sane. Why, would you want to ask? Because in this town, you can find one unholy place where the devil has his bedsheets. It happens to be here. The cave of the wildman, the circus full of freaks – there lays the Hekil, small neighborhood of buildings ugly as an old lady from cursed forest and gray as a skin of a dying man. It stinks and kills if you go there at the midnight. Everyone knows that, so maybe you should too. In other words - Hekil sucks.
So obviously, he knows it too. He knows it very well. The person in his position has to be aware of what is going on. He roams around the abandoned streets and he sees things, and to add more, he uses these situations that he has observed. He uses it well.
“It’s such a beautiful evening. Quite peaceful, I would say, don’t you think Oscar?”
“I didn’t do it Mad, I promise. I didn’t do it!”
“Shut your mouth, Oscar. It’s dirty, just as your innocence.” Our main guy, called Mad, was dragging the poor soul. His mad face covered in a mask was vicious, dreadful. He was walking in steady peace, rather casually. He stopped in front of a brick wall and started kicking continuously the wooden desk that was build in int the niche inside.
“Say ‘knock, knock” Oscar” He yelled.
“Knock, Knock…” Mad was repeatedly hitting the wood with poor guy’s head.
“Louder Oscar!”
“Knock, knock!”
“Louder!”
“Knock, knock motherfuckers!” Blood was dripping on the ground, nearly as dark as the stormy and evil sky.
“That’s good Oscar. Scream. Scream as it is the last thing you will hear. Make some noise for me, Oscar…”
“Mr. Mad.” Someone interrupted.
“Oscar, you…”
“Mr. Mad.”
“It’s not open yet!”
“She will manage.” Answered the man in brown coat, glasses on his face even though it was night time. “Leave him there, he will not run away. There is a case for you, Mr. Dog.”
“A case?” He asked in a slightly pitched tone. “What field?”
“Nationalwide crime, I suppose. You will hear more from The Base. W.W. is there already…”
“Uncle Watr?” The voice of a masked man sounded just like he suddenly was smiling excitedly. Quite a maniac he was.
“Sir, I think you took too many pills. Your medicine, Sir. Mr. Watr won’t be happy.”
“Like I care.” He laughed and put the poor guy down or rather dropped him forcefully onto the ground. “Lead this way Mr…?
“Oh, my name is Yos Ratt. I think that… that from now on, we will see each other quite frequently.” They shaked their hands in a strange and not so friendly manner. “Should I escort you to your car, Sir? Or would you like to take mine?”
“I came here on my rollers. It was a really pretty day, at least at the beginning, when I chased this rat… no offense Mr. Ratt. Also I like to feel the flow of the fresh air, so I tend to train rollerblading very often. It’s very stimulating.”
“I can bet, Sir. However I assist on taking the car.”
“Oh, I see. So let it be as you wish. “
Yos was contented. He happily took a walk to the car, but his smile suddenly dropped when he heard the other man speaking.
“Oh, my Dear Friend, you really thought you will drive? Sit at the different side. Or in the back. I don’t like people breathing and sharing the same air or what is worse, coughing on me. It’s pretty disgusting, I am sure you will understand it though. But, oh God, be quick, I’m in a rush.”
…………………………………………………………….
“And that is the situation” Man called “Uncle Watr’ said.
Wilfred Watr was a tall, old man with silverly-white hair and round specks. His body was mostly covered in a long, creamy-brown coat, to pair with his pupil’s outfit.
Mad Dog normally wore a pitch black coat, hanging only half of a centimeter above his black, pointy shoes. His face was half hidden under the thick, material mask, also black, just as his eyes. That was the scariest thing – his pupils were not noticeable, that dark and hollow his eyes were. He wore his jet-black, curly hair in a low pony tail, one strand of curls on his forehead. Now the scissors were in a hand of an older woman, whom Mad has called “Nana”. She promised to “start the new era of investigations” whatever it meant. Everyone in the room was quiet, and I can say, there was a not so big, but also not so small crowd in this lightly lit conference room. Employees were stuck in anticipation. Nana held her hand high with a fist full of the dark locks and with one skilled move she started cutting.
“Now, now, My Dear. You will look so pretty. Two years of growing, new case and back to short! Don’t worry, anything suits someone with such a pretty face, sweety.”
But the man was silent, not even blinking. Floor slowly started filling with black hair strands. And then at his place, there was a high man, with shorter, chin length, still longish, black curls. Now the people could see better his freckled face and long eyelashes accompanied with his black hair, still under the mask.
“Oh, look at yourself, you handsome young man!” She happily announced. “New Mad Dog, new case!”
The room erupted in applause, even though people that were gathered there didn’t know why. They just felt like it.
The only think obvious about this strange occurrence was that this was the big Big guy. The Mad Dog – one and only. The guy all these legends were about, of course in the Government and Police fields. He was pretty secretive about his job. Guy without name, history, any connotation. The mystery. The man without documents, yet the wisest man alive. Sherlock Holmes of modern world, with this difference that he was anonymous. Only the tag “Mad Dog” was tied to him. No one knows why. He was just Mad Dog. And probably the only ones that have known his real name and the face underneath the mask, were “Nana” and Wilfred Watr. Always changing hairstyles, always with covered face, the man stayed a walking mystery. And now it was evolving in front of them. New Mad Dog, new troubles, new era of achievements. The year of Mad Dog lasts each year. Crowd was still clapping. Masked man stayed still.
“To the new beginnings” He cheered strangely unaffected.
In his head world was spinning. New problems in the world. New pile of money and another bulletproof vest for the next six months. Another scars done by himself, and sadness drown in pool of tears in his bathroom in the deepest core of depression. Unnoticed wounds and stocks of medicines, empty bottles of Xanax. He has to call Mantis. Try to call Mantis. It’s nearly impossible, but he has to. He has to find some basic information, do some minor research. Not so minor and safe to different people or whatsoever. Just dig into this shit. And dig even more, deeper. That’s his work, that’s what he does for living. And he need Mantis, oh so fucking much, right now. There was the guy at The West Railway station, at the platform 3, near entrance C, every Tuesday. He knows The Rolling Kids. And they know Jim Lenov, and Lenov know the people from The Smous organization, they may lead to Mantis or to Andra Fay and she for sure will find a way to contact Mantis. That’s what he will say to W.W., he thinks. But deep inside his heart and mind, he knows different option and he has his hidden ways.
“You will need Mantis, and The Rogers Club” Watr whispers to him when they are sitting at the table.
“I know.” His voice is firm even though inside his emotions are twirling. He has his reasons and they are tearing him apart. He does not want to contact Mantis, it’s too risky, too dangerous. But he has to. Besides he is more powerful. For God’s sake, he is Mad Dog, faceless wolf of a law, the anonymous predator.
“I want you all to understand our position. We will be dealing with national or even worldwide crisis. Someone is hacking the power stations in various countries, which leads to energy net crisis. It started at Austria and Hungary, then there was Japan and India. As you may think, if we not stop these actions, the powerhouses will run out of power gradually. If one point on the map goes off, the other sends them the energy, but then it lacks some portions of it that was produced for themselves. You can imagine what will happen if every power point is off. At some places all around the world - big factories, banks and other companies started to fall down. There is a broken connection to The Internet. At some you can’t even use electric power at all.” Mad was slowly explaining showing points on the digital map with the red pen. “We are dealing with the international organized criminal group. After safety systems being down, they are breaking into companies databases and bank accounts. They are totally ruining the petrol companies, there is no enough petrol at the moment. We have problems with restoration of energy in seventeen countries and possible six more. The situation is critical. I’m afraid it might be even too late to save it and close the case in next four months. We might have to deal with international crisis. At eleven forty we have a call with presidents of leading countries and then quick meeting with the General of Army organizations in Europe, grouped just two days ago. We have to start working very urgently. There is a possibility that we will have to work with bad entities such as criminal organizations including drug traffickers and mafia groups, thiefts organizations and what is… what is the worst, with people such as Rogers guys, Smouts, Lenov or even… Mantis.”
At this he nearly unnoticingly swallowed saliva in his mouth, and Uncle Watr patted his hand reassuringly. In more “uncle way” than he should, which made him smile under the mask. Also nearly unnoticingly.
“Any questions?”
There was an anxious silence.
“Good, because I’m hungry.” Mad stood up. “And for now, please mind your own business and think about possible solutions. Use your contacts and try to not make idiots out of yourselves in front of these big politicians in next few hours. I have to take this mask off, it’s fucking scratchy. Don’t follow me to this room. From now on it’s my office.”
First steps were done.
