Eye for an Eye

Sam paced back and forth along the side of the bus. "You sure this will work, Charon?" He asked. "Because if it doesn't, you're gonna have the entirety of the Red Diamonds coming down on you..."
"What's left of them..." Orlando muttered. "After last week, I'd actually put my money on Charon and those Cerberus boys."
Sam ran a hand through his red hair. "Still. If this doesn't work, Felix is dead, and we lose our one shot at Lazy Eye."
Janitor shrugged. "Not an issue. Every job we've done has been the one chance we've had at it. I've never seen either of you drop the ball yet." He pointed toward Charon and Sam.


Felix's heart was pounding. The gall that Charon had, threatening his family, his livelihood. Felix had no intention of letting this slide, but he was going to have to play his cards very carefully if he wanted to get out of this alive, so for now he had to play nice with the circus freak. He told Lazy Eye he knew where the Crimson Scar and the other loyalists were, and sweetened the deal by making it on Charon's turf. Lazy Eye immediately rounded up about a dozen of their best men and they all headed out; Felix knew most of them weren't making it out alive. The freak didn't seem the sort to take prisoners, only defectors, and most of that blood bled itself out already. They approached the building that Felix said they were holed up in and pointed around the side. "Th-there's a side entrance around the side. Should be unlocked..." He said.
Lazy Eye grinned; he was excited to be this close to finishing off the last big threat to his gang; he did this, and that "boatman" would learn to stay in his dingy and not trample on Lazy Eye's shores. "Let's move, boys!" He shouted, and drew his knives, heading into the alleyway.

"Of course I'm not sure" Charon said as he looked over to Sam. "Every plan I make has a possibility of failure, and this is the biggest gamble yet. There's always the possibility that Felix decides to tell Lazy Eye what's really going on, but I think he cares about his family too much to risk something like that" Charon remarked as he loaded his gun before looking over to the others. "We're just going to have to wait and see how all of this plays out, either we win...or we don't"

Lazy Eye took the bait like the idiot he was. Lazy Eye always seemed to be the type that wouldn't pick a fight unless he knew he could win. Thinking that Sam and the other loyalists were the only ones here caused him to be reckless, and thankfully tonight was no different. The board was set, Lazy Eye made his move, time for the counter. As Lazy Eye and his men moved in to the alleyway, a bus suddenly moved down the road, causing the large mass of metal to block the exit. At the same time, the entrance they had entered through was also blocked by a bus. The drivers had moved forward far enough so they couldn't be shot at, but the buses were too tall for any normal to climb.

As Lazy Eye realized what was going on, several windows opened up from the floors above them. "FIRE!" a voice shouted as the men aimed their weapons down and started raining bullets upon Lazy Eye and his men, though no one shot at Lazy Eye directly. He was promised to another.

"The trap is acticated" Charon said as he heard the bullets from where he was sitting. "Time to see how our hawk hunt is going" Charon said before pulling out his phone and ordering his men to move forward to the roof of the buildings Charon had pointed out to them. If Hawk was going to start assisting his new boss, someone was going to be close enough to find him.

Sam immediately began sprinting down the street, almost passing the bus as it drove, and ducked into the building; he had to make sure that he would be able to catch Lazy Eye before he tried to make a run for it.


Shit.
That was the first thought that went through Lazy Eye's head as both ends of the alleyway got blocked off and dozens of men poured out of both buses, guns raised and loaded. Felix grabbed him by the arm and yanked him into the building. Lazy Eye yelped with surprise, and Felix let out his own cry, but based on his stagger, it was more likely from pain. Lazy Eye didn't care about how Felix was doing, what mattered was getting himself out of there alive, and Felix was doing a wonderful job protecting him with his body. The two stumbled inside, slammed the door shut behind them, and Lazy Eye turned to see... The Crimson Scar. Standing before him, fresh scars all over his arms and face, grinning at them with that damned, trademark smirk of his.
"Howdy, Lazy Eye." Sam chirped, a twisted grin that carried into his voice. "Here for a rematch?"


Hawk had hardly gotten set up when he heard all hell breaking loose in the streets below. He immediately unholstered his rifle and looked down the scope, but couldn't get a good shot due to the vehicle in the way. To add to his problems, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs in the building beneath him; he had company.
There were two things that Hawk learned he was good at in the war: Ending lives, and disappearing. Without giving himself a moment to think, Hawk stood up and stepped off the side of the building, dropping down and catching himself on the windowsill the first floor down. He held onto the sill, waiting for the sound of people to pass through the room inside, and pulled himself in. He looked around the room and saw a small closet, and he slipped inside. Hawk knew how to control his breathing, his entire body, he knew how to be silent, and knew how to deal with discomfort; he had spent an entire day buried in sand in the blazing desert sun before, so he was confident in his ability to stay silent in a closet for a few hours until he could slip out. Ever since the death of Father, Hawk was doubting if this line of work was what he should be doing, and if Lazy Eye was the kind of person to do it. Seems the universe made the choice for him today...

The plan was going off without fail. Several of Lazy Eye's men were getting gunned downed while Felix pulled Lazy Eye in to a nearby building. It was time to make sure that this was finished with some finesse. "Glad to see we got the band back together" Charon said as he took a pipe and blocked the entrance, just in case any of Lazy Eye's men decided to rush out the same way that their boss had.

Charon smiled as he walked in a circle around Lazy Eye before stopping at Felix. "Not bad work...I'll make sure your family is taken care of, as promised" Charon said before his lone eye fell on to Lazy Eye. "Sorry ol pal, but you've been played. You didn't really think I was going to play second fiddle to you did I?" Charon asked before taking a step back and pulling Felix away. "Sam, as promised he's all yours. Make it slow, hurt him like you've been wanting to....but keep him alive for me"

Lazy Eye narrowed his eyes as they darted from one traitor to the other. "Liars an' cheats... ALL o' you basta'ds!" He yelled. With lightning speed, he whipped his arm, hurling one of his daggers at Charon's stomach, hoping to bleed the man out like a stuck pig. He turned to throw the next at Sam, but the Crimson Scar barreled into him like a truck, slamming him into the door.
"I'm the liar for standing by the man that brought you and I out of the gutter, am I, Lazy Eye?" He whispered venemously. "Don't you DARE forget your place. Who you were before he found you. Before I found you." He grabbed the wretched man by his throat and hurled him across the room. Sam's fingers twitched, ached to torture this bastard, but he knew if he started, he wouldn't be able to stop, and Charon wanted him for himself. "Orlando. Janitor. Jog his memory." He hissed.
The two men towered over the man with the disfigured eye, both smirking, one sporting a baseball bat, the other his baton. They looked at each other, nodded, and took turns smacking the man, one blow at a time, bruising his face, breaking his knees, cracking his ribs. Sam walked over and watched between the two Lazy Eye's face as he convulsed and cried out. The scene wasn't unlike when Sam first found Lazy Eye; a petty drug dealer getting the tar beat out of him for peddling drugs on the wrong turf. But this time, Sam wouldn't intervene. Sam would let the man suffer and die on the ground in front of him, a choice that would've saved the lives of many good men down the road if made the first time around.
No use in regretting. Sam thought to himself. Just make the right choice the second time around.
The three "traitors" continued this brutality, two beating, one watching, refusing to stop until otherwise told.

Charon quickly moved out of the way, watching as the knife flew by and crashed into the closest wall. It had been a close shot, had Charon been a bit slower he might have had something important pierced. Not today though, Lazy Eye was going to be beaten slowly.

Charon was doing this for morale, if he did all the work himself Sam and the others would be pissed that they never got their turn. However, it was Charon that was going to deliver the final blow. To cement his place as the new leader, it had to be him. Sam would back up Charon's claim to power, and Charon's boys would enforce it until order was reestablished and they were all back on their feet. It was going to take time, but Charon would see that it was done.

"Enough" Charon finally said after giving the boys their fun. "He's mine now" Charon said as he started to walk forward, his eye on Lazy Eye the entire time. "I don't think you're the kind of man that fears God Lazy Eye...but you'll be afraid of me" he whispered before reaching back and undoing his mask. Charon had known for some time now that Lazy Eye was very afraid of Charon, but more than anything else he was afraid of what was under that mask. "Look upon the face of the devil!" Charon shouted as he removed the mask, his power hitting Lazy Eye with full force as he moved closer.

Charon's face would appear to Lazy Eye like a rotting corpse, pieces of flesh moving and losing closer, while maggots and other such creatures moved through it. "Look at me....LOOK AT ME!" Charon shouted as he kept moving closer. "Look at what you insulted, look at the wrath that's coming down upon you. You do not know pain, not yet"

Sam saw what Charon was doing as he started to undo his mask, and he sat down and focused himself inward, focusing on his meditation, regulating his mind so Charon wouldn't do it for him.
Lazy Eye, however, did not have that luxury.
He stared at the twisted horror that was Charon's face, opening his mouth, trying to scream, but choking on the sound before it could escape. After a long time, he swallowed, sweat running down his bloodied face, and opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to say "I'll see you in hell" or "You're a freak" or "I'm not afraid of you."
Instead, only one word escaped his lips, in a small, terrified voice.
"Please..."

Charon couldn't help but laugh, his voice distorted as his power made him sound much more ominous and terrifying to the injured Lazy Eye. "Please... as if begging would do anything for you now. Do you think me a fool Lazy Eye? Even if I had helped you kill Sam and the others, I would have been next" he said to the terrified leader as his face was now inches away from Lazy Eye's. The man had never experienced Charon's power, so his body had no way of facing against it or even making it weaker.

Charon pointed over to Felix. "Make sure he's watching this" he said coldly. He wasn't done with Felix yet, he had to make sure that Felix understood exactly who he was tangling with.

"You have nothing to be afraid of Lazy Eye. Your death will come with grand purpose, MY purpose" Charon said before smacking Lazy Eye's cheeks a few times to show that Charon had all the power in this situation. Afterwards, he reached in to his pocket and pull out two small gold coins. "When someone died in ancient greece, they buried their dead with two gold coins to make sure the ferryman, Charon, was paid to escort the dead to the Underworld. Tell me Lazy Eye...do you know where they put them?"

Felix flinched as Charon pointed at him; he hadn't felt anything like what he was feeling from this man. It was a bizarre, unnatural fear. Felix wasn't about to let himself stay in this man's employ, especially since he knew where his family was. As soon as this was over, Felix was running home, grabbing his family, and they were leaving Ruby City. Hell, Felix wouldn't be against leaving the country at this point. But he had to live to see that, so he hesitantly obeyed Charon's orders and walked over to Lazy Eye.
Lazy Eye cast his gaze at the two gold coins, his left eye with the torn iris twitching with fear. He couldn't talk; the words were caught in his throat. "Liar..." He wheezed out. "Y-you're bluffing..."
He's not bluffing! Lazy Eye screamed in his head. Why the hell am I antagonizing this freak?! Why can't I think straight?!

"Am I? Those are going to be some stupid last words to be remembered by. Goodbye Lazy Eye" Charon said before suddenly moving his hands upwards. At the end of his thumbs he placed the gold coins before starting to ram them right straight in to Lazy Eye's two sockets, pushing hard and deep as he felt the man's eyes caving beneath him. Charon was purposefully going slow, making sure that Lazy Eye felt every bit of blood leaving him.

"This is what happens when you piss off the new Gods Lazy Eye. We take sides and we reign down blood and hellfire, LIKE THIS!" Charon shouted before pressing his thumbs forward as hard as he could.

As Lazy Eye squirmed on the ground, screaming and writhing in pain, Felix stumbled back several steps, turned, and vomited on the ground. What sort of freak IS this guy? New gods? Eye gouging? Felix vomited again; his best friend, murdered before him... And he was the one who led him here. He was done. He was leaving before Charon could turn on him.
Sam's composure twitched at the screams, but he didn't open his eyes to witness the carnage; he didn't need those images in his head. Orlando's eye twitched as he watched, unable to look away from the scene, while the Janitor's lips curved up into a slight smile. Janitor found it poetic justice to this bastard to die in such a horrible fashion; Lazy Eye had stuck Father and let him bleed, gasping for air as Lazy Eye killed his men in front of him.

Charon just kept pushing, his thumbs digging deeper with each passing moment until Lazy Eye stopped moving. Charon pulled his thumbs back, looking down as he saw just how deep the gold coins had gone in. "You'll be able to pay the ferryman now Lazy Eye, rest in peace" Charon said before standing up. This wasn't over yet, people needed to see and know what happened to Charon. Before that happened though, there was another matter that needed to be taken care of.

"Bring him to me" Charon said as he motioned towards Felix. "We need to exchange words"

Orlando simply stared at Lazy Eye, mouth slightly agape. Janitor, however, seemed unphased by the situation, and made his way over to Felix, roughly grabbing his shoulders and pushing him towards Charon. Sam, meanwhile, maintained his composure.
Felix stumbled towards Charon, falling on his hands and knees in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You said if I delivered him, you wouldn't hurt me or my family! I-I did what you asked, don't you DARE go back on this!" He stammered out, his words more sputtered out of fear than anger or aggression, more of a plead than a threat.

Charon said nothing as Felix practically begged for his life. "You did your part as requested, I have not forgotten our agreement. For now, you're fine Felix. However, the problem that I'm more concerned about...is tomorrow, and all the days after that" Charon said as he fell to one knee so his eye could look right at Felix. "I know what you're thinking. You want to leave the city, get your family as far away from here as possible. I understand your reasons...but it's a horrible idea. See, you know a lot about our operations, and I'm forced to wonder what might happen if you talk to the wrong people" Charon remarked.

"So you have three options Felix. You can stay here and work your way back in to the good graces of everyone here. IT'll be rough, but possible. Two, you can try and run but then you'll force me to make some decisions I'd rather not make. And three....well, I'm sure you don't want to hear that one" Charon remarked quietly.

"So tell me Felix, what will it be?"

Felix's eye twitched slightly with fear. "F-fine." He said with little hesitation. "Y-you want me to stay, I'll stay, but if you or any of your henchmen step on my property again, I-I'll, I'll... Just... Leave them the hell outta this."
Sam finally opened his eyes. "Felix, you've worked alongside me for a long time." His voice was quiet, but sharp. "You have my personal word that I won't let Charon interfere with your family so long as you stay in line." He looked up to Charon, who likely had his back to him to face Felix. "I don't think Charon has any issue with leaving innocent lives innocent, am I wrong, sir?"
Sam wasn't sure how he felt about calling Charon "sir", but he had to say it to ensure that Felix knew Charon was the boss. Unlike Lazy Eye, Felix always knew his place was beneath Sam. If Felix saw Sam looked up to the masked man, Felix would be much more likely to fall in line.

"We had an agreement and I'll honor it, and I'll continue to honor it as long as you keep doing exactly what you did before. You were a good soldier for Father, I only ask that you do the same for me" Charon said before standing up. This seemed to be settled for the most part, though he'd still have some of his men keep an eye on Felix just to make sure that he didn't get any stupid ideas. Felix was a good member of the gang, and Charon needed all the men he could get right now.

Charon turned back to Sam, giving a silent nod of thanks for backing him up. "I'd rather not get anyone involved if I don't have to, having you lead Lazy Eye here was the best way to stop an all out war. The Red Diamonds need some time to heal, and I think it's time that we rebrand" Charon said before walking to the door. "Would some of you bring Lazy Eye? I have a feeling whatever of his men are left are going to want to see what becomes of those who don't remain loyal to the cause"

Janitor immediately picked up Lazy Eye's corpse and threw it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He followed Charon with a satisfied smile on his face; it had been a productive day as far as he was concerned. Sam couldn't help but smile as well; he had survived hell, and despite the grizzly scene that had just unfolded, he felt a large sense of relief. Orlando and Felix were the only two who didn't seem to be enjoying the moment, Orlando still recovering from seeing coins pressed into someone's eyes, and Felix from regretting his deal with the devil. Sam stood and began to walk alongside Charon. "'This is what happens when you piss off the new gods!'" Sam repeated in an exaggerated voice to Charon. "Certainly got a flare for the dramatic, don't you?" He laughed to himself, more of a laugh of relief. After a moment, it devolved into a sigh. "I, uh... Hope you don't mind, but I think I'm gonna sit out the rebranding. Lotta memories I don't need to relive, and a lotta wounds that still need time to heal. Both literal and not." He shrugged. "Besides, seems to me you don't have much problems with that anyways."

Charon couldn't help but give a small chuckle as Sam imitated what he had said earlier. "Yeah, I knew it was a bit much after it left my lips. Still, had to make sure it was a good story though. Anyone can execute by just pulling a trigger, this will make people think twice about messing with me though" Charon said as he and Sam continued to walk, the others staying a bit further behind.

Charon looked to Sam as he requested to be away from the rebranding. Charon wasn't sure what all he was going to do, but he needed to reorganize. The Red Diamonds were dead, it died with Father. Charon wanted to start fresh with the same men and leave the bad history behind. "I understand, though there is one thing I need to talk to you about" Charon said as he turned to Sam. "Mute has been my friend and ally for many years. He will be my second. However, I know that you have also done well by me these past few months, and the men respect you a great deal. If you're willing, I'd like you to be my third in command"

Sam bowed his head slightly at Charon's offer. "I'd be honored, Charon. So long as you don't expect me to call you 'sir' all the time. This is a crime syndicate, not a military organization." He chuckled again. "In all seriousness, I do think it would help some of the Red Diamonds to actually fall in if they see that I respect you. So I accept."
He looked down the street. "With that sorted, I'm gonna take off. I need to get some rest after these past few days. I appreciate you stickin' your neck out to save me, Charon. I know it was a risk going against Lazy Eye. I appreciate you helping me through these past few weeks of total hell." Despite Charon's odd behaviors, willingness to use such a terrifying power, and under-handed tactics, Sam couldn't help but respect the man. Not in the same way he respected Father, but the two held many of the same qualities that gave them substance; perhaps that's why Father reached out to him in the first place. Either way, Sam owed Father his life before, and now he owed Charon, and Sam was more than willing to contribute to Charon what he did to Father before him.

"It's one of the reason I'm doing it...aside from liking you so much" Charon said jokingly before giving Sam's shoulder a strong pat. He felt better knowing that Sam would stand with him now. The two of them might have grown in to this ugly world, but that didn't mean they didn't have their honor. Sam would be a good balance for Charon, someone to make sure that he always thought things through. Sometimes you had to go too far, but it was always good to have someone that was willing to question it, really make you think through the decision. Yes men were not the kind of people Charon needed.

"Go and get your rest Sam, I'll make sure none of the men bother you. Mute and I can handle thinks for the next week while we make sure that everything is brought back to normal" Charon explained before stopping at the doorway. Once they left, the real work was going to begin. The stories would have to be told about what Charon did to Lazy Eye, about how it came to be, and what was to to be expected to those who stayed in the gang...and the consequences for anyone who proved disloyal. Lazy Eye's corpse would serve as a fitting image for those who thought they were smart enough to take out Charon.

"See you soon Sam, things are going to be a bit different the next time you see me" Charon said with a smile before leaving through the door with the others. That day the Red Diamonds finally died, too many wounds and not enough injuries to fix the holes. However, from the corpse would rise a new gang. A gang simply known as: Typhon.