"You see what happens when you're late on a payment, Valen, bad things happen," the woman, or rather Lexa, spoke as though she was conversing with an infantile.
Mr. Valen was shaking with fear, "I-I'm sorry ma'am I didn't mean to be late this month s-something important ca-"
"Something important," Lexa loomed closer. "Something important he says," she echoed sarcastically as she redrew.
In the next moment, she was upon him again, rushing up to him so swiftly that he visibly shrank, her breath reeking of the cigarette she had just smoked.
"If it wasn't for your flawless record, I'd slit your throat," she whispered to him before stepping back again, her brows furrowed.
"Relax Lexa," one of the unknown men spoke before adding. "You'll scare him to death. Let's just get this over with and get out of here."
There was a brief pause after he spoke, a looming silence—but make no mistake, she heard him.
Yet her expression was unreadable, almost like she was figuring out how to react.
Upon hearing this unknown man's words, Lexa tilted her head, her demeanor, almost timid as she responded. "But I hate seeing little Valen here go astray, I feel like I raised him myself."
"You read a fucking file you psycho!" The unknown man shot back.
With that, the room exploded with the laughter of the clueless men who obviously found the statement hilarious.
For an instant, the atmosphere seemed jovial.
"Haha," Lexa suddenly broke into a low chuckle joining the unidentified men in their laughter.
But something was off, it was her chuckle—not the sound of it, nor was it her oddly annoyed expression as she laughed, no, it was the way it felt.
How could a chuckle sound so normal yet feel so unsettling?
The sound of her chuckle prompted the rest of the men to quiet down, but Lexa didn't; she rode on, chuckling even louder, and just when her tone was starting to die down, she moved, throwing her blade towards the man who had previously spoken.
"Swoosh!" The blade tore through the air, but the man was quick to react, leaning to the side as the blade lodged itself into the wooden shelf behind him.
The fatality of the scenario was evident.
Turning to the knife, the man's eyes widened, then he turned to look at Lexa who had the most innocent of expressions on her face.
If one walked in at that very moment it would be difficult to deduce that she had thrown that weapon.
"The Big Boss put me in charge so would you guys please stop undermining my authority?" She then asked sweetly like a child on her best behavior.
'She's insane,' Mr. Valen thought quietly, trying to remain as still as possible lest she notice him.
Turning back to him, Lexa spoke, "Don't listen to anything they say, I know you better than anyone," she said, getting closer with each step.
"'I know you were abandoned at an orphanage when you were thirteen, I know you were abused there, I know that same orphanage took a debt of a million Vax in your name I know you have a girlfriend, I know you met her in college, I know where-"
"Ohh I got carried away again," she cut herself short, taking a short breath as her expression transitioned to one of unnatural seriousness.
By now she was so close to his face that he could make out the details of her pores.
In all Mr. Valen remained completely still, maybe it would leave him alone if he did.
But in reality, he was afraid, terrified even, he had never been late on a payment before, but he had to risk it this month.
If only he knew the consequences would be so... Severe.
'I'm going to be late for work,' Mr. Valen thought before correcting himself. 'I might not even make it at all.'
It appeared that Lexa was also conscious of the time as she glanced at her watch, "It's already seven thirty, at this rate, you'll be late for work, Valen, better hurry."
As she spoke, she left him, then she walked to one of the cabinets in the room and retrieved a bottle of beer forcing it open with her teeth.
"I-I can leave?" Mr. Valen asked skeptically, cautiously rising to his feet, his breath audible.
Impatiently, Lexa urged him to leave, "Shu, Shu," she chased him away as though he were some kind of pest, but he didn't mind at all.
With Lexa's permission, Mr. Valen turned to leave ru-
"Whoosh!"
For a brief second, the sound of something cutting through the air filled the room, and even before he could react to it, Mr. Valen felt the weight of something solid collide with his head, then shatter, fragments—liquids flying everywhere.
'This bitch set me up,' Mr. Valen thought, but Lexa was not his problem, in fact he faced quite the dilemma.
His word went blank for a brief moment, and as he opened his eyes, he saw himself in a white room with no idea where it began or ended.
His arms seemed smaller, and he appeared to be wearing a white gown.
In front of him was a chessboard, and seated before him was a woman wearing a lab coat.
"Looks like it's your win, Subject One," the woman muttered, and at the confirmation of his victory, Mr. Valen felt bored as though he was being informed of a certainty.
Suddenly, the world around him shifted again, and Mr. Valen found himself lying on the floor of that dim storage room.
The smell of dust was still present but it was mixed with something else, the potent reek of bear.
Lexa and her men were nowhere to be found, but that was to be expected, they did not care for him enough to wait.
His injury, though, had been treated not out of care but the fear of losing such a lucrative debtor—his head rapped by a white bandage, which he removed shortly after, a few cuts and bruises visible at the spot of impact.
Mr. Valen, his mind in turmoil, got up and ran out of the room, exiting what appeared to be a building under construction or demolition.
Looking over his shoulder he removed his phone from his pocket, his heart pounding as he dialed a number, his tremulous form suggesting that he had not yet recovered from the shock of the scene before.
The phone rang, and rang for a bit more before the call was answered, a soft and inquisitive voice answering on the other end, "Babe?"
"Lia," Mr. Valen responded, his breath rapid, his lungs struggling to manage the air it had been given.
"Babe, what's wrong? A-are you ok?" Lia, sensing the fear in Mr. Valen's voice asked immediately, her tone worried.
Almost overpowered by the great relief which rushed over him, he sat back against a nearby wall his breathing continuing in whimpering gasps or expirations.
The sound of Lia's voice appeared to be a remedy to his unease.
"Babe?" Lia called out again, her worry increasing in the absence of an answer.
"I'm fine, I'm just fine, ohh god I love you Lia," Mr. Valen finally responded as he sat down in that alley, the sound of cars and people sounding out in the distance.
"Where's this coming from?" Lia replied with a melodic laugh before asking seriously. "Are you in trouble?"
"Ha," Mr. Valen scoffed, then he reached into his inner pocket, retrieving a fancy gold rimmed case, popping it open to reveal a nice ring.
It was the reason he had been late on this month's payment.
"Worth it," he muttered to himself before answering the phone. "Ok, I have to go now. I just wanted to hear your voice."
"You play too much," Lia giggled but then she added. "Wait hold on, don't forget we're meeting a few of our college mates from back in the day, we organized a class meetup."
"Oh-ok," Mr. Valen responded swiftly cutting the call as a frown graced his face.
«Hi again, it appears that we're all caught up. Now, would you help me figure out why my girl loves those class meetups?»
"Why does she like going to these things?" Mr. Valen lamented in his mind. Everybody knew such meetups were just a way to show off how successful you'd gotten in life.
But Mr. Valen had a problem; he wasn't successful, nor was he the man he thought he'd be by now.
His shitty orphanage took a loan in his name and now he owed a million Val, and to top it all off they didn't see anyone else to steal from but The Viper Family.
A Family referred to an official organization of Witches and Wizards with their own independent hierarchies; such families were often assigned to protect a district, with the Viper Family or the Viper Gang being the one in charge of District Forty-Two.
The reason they were called the Viper Gang was that they were a gang before they even became a family, contributing to their overall imposing brand.
Getting up, Mr. Valen glanced at his phone again and noticed that the time was 12 o'clock.
"Shit," he cursed and ran out of the alley immediately stopping a taxi, and getting in smiling weakly at the taxi driver.
«My life is a sob story don't you think? It's always been a sub story but you've always been here with me haven't you? And don't worry we're safe here, even the narrator doesn't know you exist.»
"IF YOU'RE GONNA WASTE MY TIME WHY DON'T YOU GET OUT!"
A sudden shout brought Mr. Valen back to reality, his expression one of surprise as he stuttered. "T-the GPV downtown, but first, could you stop at the nearest pub? I could use a drink."
"Geez man," the taxi driver responded. "It took you a year to reply, it was like I was talking to a freaking statue, what's up with that?" He asked as he drove.
"Sorry, I kinda zoned out," Mr. Valen responded.
"Yeah, man, I zone out too, but never like that. Where do you go?" He asked.
Mr. Valen chuckled. "It's kinda been that way since I was a kid, I created these people in my head that I talk to."
«Shit I overshared, sorry guys, now the narrator knows you exist, but at least he can't listen in.»
The taxi driver was quiet for a bit, but then he chuckled. "That's some depressing shit."