ROSALIA. 15 July 1996.
Twenty-five years earlier.
Known as the great city of the northeast. Rosalia was a beautiful but very quiet town; sidewalks were rarely crowded, and silence moved freely between streets. Buildings leaned into one another; a few rose taller as if they dared the skyline. Miles out of the city, along the mountain ridges, two men marched with two boys trailing behind. The men wore black coats; scarves covered their faces. The boys were shirtless and bald; their safety boots were caked with dirt. One cleaned his gun while the other played with a flip knife. A burning star with a gun and eyes was tattooed on the boy with the gun. The other bore a ghost tattoo, with a brain and stars stamped on his lower back.
The path narrowed as it split into dense forestry. No one spoke, only the sounds of boots trampled on rocks. Then—snap. The boy with the gun stepped into a bear trap. Before the jaws could close, the other boy tackled him sideways into a bush. "Zeon, stop." The men sighed. "Fucking kids. Y'all were doing so good until just now." he complained. "Reagan. The town's just up ahead. Kepta and his boys are waiting for us. We can't stop now." Zeon replied.The boy with the knife stood up. "You, okay?" he helped the boy up. "Yeah. Thanks… I appreciate it, Steph."
"Don't worry about it." Stephen said. "Let's keep moving, Max." Reagan held his hips. "Ghost—we got an errand to run, you understand? And we need your skills. Pretty impressive a kid like you was able to beat the grand master. So, don't waste your talent on a tail that would drag you. We're about to land a lump sum of cash, so you'd better not fuck this up." he lectured. "The fuck are you talking about—" Max started. "Hey!" Zeon drew his gun. But Stephen threw his knife, knocking the gun out of Zeon's grip. "Were you really about to shoot him?" he asked. "You stay out of this, brat. You lucky you were born into a certain family… otherwise—"
"Alright—enough. There's no need for that. Like you said, the town's close. Don't do anything that'll fuck this up. And Ghost. Behave. You nearly ruined the last job because you couldn't contain yourself." Reagan scolded them. He gripped Max on his shoulder. "You don't have to like me. But I'm the captain here. And what I say—goes. Capiche?" Reagan checked his watch. "Alright, Let's move. Deadline's closing in." he said.
Merlin Dorp.
After hiking for fifteen minutes, they reached an informal settlement. Three cars were parked on the gravel. They crossed the road. Zeon lit a cigarette while Reagan whistled a signal. Four men stepped out from the vehicles. "Wait here, kids." Reagan said. He left Zeon with them. Finally, He met the men halfway. Words were exchanged as Stephen watched Reagan hand over a small hard drive, in exchange, the other man gave him an envelope. The deal was done. Once Reagan turned back…
BANG! Max shot him in the head. Instantly, Stephen moved on instinct. He disarmed a stunned Zeon, swept his legs up and drove him into the dirt. He stabbed him in the neck twice—then through his eye. Max was locked in. He shot the man with the hard drive. Then he fired three shots. All three men collapsed beside the cars. Stephen sneaked along two vehicles; he popped tires one by one. Two men scrambled out. Stephen launched himself at them; he twisted mid-air and locked the man's neck with his legs while he stabbed another in the throat. Gunshots cracked. Stephen snapped the man's neck with his legs, then he crushed the other man's windpipe with a precise strike.
When he looked up, Max was done. He sat on the hood, and smoke curled from the barrel of his gun. "See how slow that is? This is why the gun's better." he said. Stephen wiped his bloody hands on the man's jacket. He found an envelope inside its pockets. Jupiter's Creeper. "You know what this means?" he asked. "Nope. And I don't care. As long as this hard drive gets us paid." Max said. They hopped into one of the cars. "What are you going to do about the hard drive?" Stephen asked. "I don't know—we could go sell it on the black market." he replied. "Sell it? Of course…" he pinched his nose. "Look, how about we take it back to Mellow Manor. Sasha is there—she could work out something for us." he said. "Fine, but if this shit goes sideways, I'll kill you myself." Max started. "You do know how to drive, right?" he asked. "Sadly… no."
THUMP! A tiny cry for help came from the trunk. Stephen and Max exchanged a look. "Trafficking?" Max muttered. They stepped out of the car, and the banging grew louder and more desperate. They stood there for a second. Then Max opened the latch.
Once the trunk opened, a young girl sprang out. She kicked Max's groin; he dropped to the ground. She tried to flee, but Stephen was faster. He tackled her to the ground. Stephen pressed a hand gently over her mouth. "Shh. It's okay… we're not going to hurt you." he said. "Yeah, say that for yourself." Max clutched his crotch. "This bitch just kicked my balls, son." he moaned. "¡Vete a la mierda, puta!" the girl spat. "¡Cálmate! Cálmate!" Stephen urged. "Max, she's just scared, man. Walk it off."
"Man fuck this shit." Max grumbled as he lit a cigarette. Stephen gave her space. "Hey… it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me what happened here. Who are these guys? Where you came from?" he asked. "Lo siento… no hablo inglés." She trembled. "Do you know… who these men are?" he pointed at the corpses on the gravel. "No hablo inglés." she repeated. "¿Qué ha pasado aquí? Sé que mi español no es bueno." he said.
"Hombres malos. Nos llevaron lejos de nuestro hogar… mi papá, mamá y Luis… todos me fueron arrebatados." Tears streaked her face. "You were separated from your familia?" he asked softly. "Sí." she whispered. "¿Cómo te llamas?" he asked. "Adri… Adriana." she stuttered. "Mucho gusto, Adriana." Stephen replied. Max wore one of the dead man's jackets. He tossed a jacket at Stephen, but Stephen draped it over Adriana's shoulders. "Here. You must be feeling cold." he said. "¿Qué?" she frowned.
"We need to get her to a hospital." Stephen said. "Motherfucker, what?" Max growled. "She's hurt. And not just physically." he replied. "I'm hurt too. Who the fuck is she, bro? She's a god damn witness, you dumb twat." Max said. They both gazed at Adriana. She stared at the pile of bodies off the road. "We have to kill her, or—"
"Nobody is killing anyone." Stephen cut in. "Fucking Fine. I'll do it myself." Max aimed his gun, butStephen blocked his path immediately. "Ghost, move." Max warned, "No." he said. "Don't make me do this." Max said. Stephen put his head by the muzzle. "Fine." Max muttered as he turned away. The second Stephen looked back, Max aimed his gun. Stephen kicked dirt into his eyes, rushed in, and slammed his face into the gravel. The impact knocked the breath from Max's lungs. Adriana screamed. "You're freakishly strong for a twelve-year-old." he complimented. "We're the same age, doofus. And so is she. Since when did you get so cold-hearted?" he asked. "Man, Fuck you." Max cursed.Stephen dislocated his wrist. "AHHH!" Max screamed. "Listen. We're going back to Mellow Manor. We'll report everything we've seen. And we're taking the girl with us." Stephen stated. "For what? You'll get us killed. She's a fucking nobody. If she dies out here, nobody notices. Hell—nobody would even care." Max panted. Stephen broke his index finger. "AHHH!—okay, okay!" he begged.
"Taking her with us won't help. Your father would just send her straight back here. Or worse—he'd kill her himself before you could save her." Max laughed bitterly. "So tell me, genius… why bring her? And what magical plan do you have that won't involve all of us getting killed?" he asked. "I have a plan." Stephen said. "Oh yeah? And what plan is that?" Max sneered. Before Stephen could answer—Adriana ran. She bolted down the road; terror drove her legs as fast as they would go. "Fuck! Ghost—she's getting away!" Stephen chased her down within seconds; he caught her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. She screamed and kicked like she was being murdered. "Hey! ¡Cálmate! ¡Está bien!" he shouted.She sobbed louder. "Shut the fuck up, little girl." Her screams only grew louder. "I knew this was a problem." Max muttered. "She's just scared. That's all."
"She's fucked up, that's all there is to know. We should leave her." Max replied. "No." Stephen denied. "¡Déjenme en paz! ¡Por favor!" she cried.Max struck her across the head with his gun. Her cries cut off instantly. "Max—what the fuck?" he yelled. "Hey, at least she's not screaming anymore." Max stated. Stephen stared at her unconscious. "Fuck it. Let's just go." They returned to the car. Stephen carried Adriana; he cradled her as if she might shatter. He laid her gently across the backseat. Then they climbed in the car. "You know, I still don't know how to drive." Max said. "It's fine, I'll drive… We'll have to meet up with Jason along the way." They drove off into the horizon.