Persona - Chapter 9
Chapter 9 – You’re
One of Us Now
I woke up the
next day feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. It was refreshing to not have to fear having
to face up to a trial to please Invictus Persona. Having the confidence that I was one of them
made it easier for me to sleep and know that I wouldn’t be killed for
failure. All those years of playing
around with my brother and practicing what we did paid off. I was able to take out McKinley and put him
in his place. I went to the living room
and turned on the television, flipping through the channels until I came across
the local news. All across the news was
a headline involving Joe McKinley. What
was interesting was not that the billionaire tech company owner was killed off,
rather that the headlines were talking about him being found dead after a bunch
of young girls were seen on his front porch when the authorities arrived. The youngest girl who was held in there
apparently was 8 years old and the oldest was 13. The news anchors made note of how the girls
were being trafficked by Joe McKinley, with two of them claiming that they were
touched by him to the press. I grew
disgusted as I watched the news talk about Joe McKinley up until I saw the
symbol of Invictus Persona show up on the screen through one of the front
windows of the house.
I let out an
audible cheer. I immediately looked
around to see if anyone had heard me.
Fortunately for me, nobody had heard me.
Uncle Freddy was out at work still, having worked all night. I was alone and could bask in the glory of my
actions. Something about seeing that
symbol now made me feel a sense of pride.
I knew that I was part of them now.
When I saw that symbol, I knew that it represented me. It was an uneasy feeling, considering that I
saw that same symbol was left in my brother’s room where he was killed, but
after all that I had done, it filled me almost with a sense of pride. I was part of something that was
substantially helping people. I could
tell that what I had been doing this time was having a real and material effect
on people. I helped save those girls’
lives. I helped provide them freedom and
security, away from that monster and the other monsters he would have sold them
to. 1 was right, I was a hero and should
accept my actions as those of a hero.
I started cooking
up some bacon and eggs as I heard my uncle coming in. “Morning, nephew! What’s cooking?” I told him that we were
having bacon and eggs and his face perked up.
“Now that sounds like a classic American breakfast!”
Even though
Freddy came back from what I could only imagine was a grueling night shift, he
seemed ready to enjoy some fresh eggs and bacon. “Do you want anything to go with them, Uncle
Freddy? Toast maybe?”
Uncle Freddy
seemed to have something else on his mind.
“Actually, there’s some tortillas in the fridge if you want to heat
those up instead! They go well with eggs
and bacon, and I tend to prefer them to toast nowadays, especially the corn
ones. They’re better for you as you get
older, you know!”
Some things never
changed. My uncle was always looking
after my health and was making sure that I kept in shape. After all, if you were in good health, you’d
have less of a reason to have to pay to see someone like him. It paid to keep yourself healthy so that you
wouldn’t be in pain and need to pay someone like Uncle Freddy to help fix you
up. “So, how was your night last night, Uncle
Freddy?”
“Oh, it was
stressful, nephew. There were these
people who brought in someone who seemed to have been shot by that gang called
Invictus Persona. It looked like the
product of gang warfare. The person who
was shot was sent straight to my department so that I could try and save him,
but to no avail.”
I lowered my head
to act sad over the event. “I’m sorry to
hear that, Uncle Freddy. Do you know why
he was attacked?”
Uncle Freddy
started to reveal more than seemed appropriate for the discussion, but stuff
like this would always stay secret in my family. We knew better than to ever share Uncle
Freddy’s stories unless there was ever a reason to do so. If there was ever an instance to do so, this
seemed like it. “What was more upsetting
to me was that it was revealed later after we lost him that he was being
searched for by the police. He had a
warrant out for his arrest for having raped and killed a woman and having
killed her child.”
I nodded my head
at Uncle Freddy as I brought him over a plate of eggs and bacon with corn
tortillas on the side. “That does sound
a bit worse.”
While I found
moments like this that just made me feel more pride in being a part of Invictus
Persona, there was a growing sense of uneasiness, and it wasn’t coming from the
prospect of being caught by the police for having killed a wealthy and
dangerous pedophile. It was the feeling
of knowing that my brother might have done something to deserve having been
killed off by Invictus Persona. Worse
still was the feeling that I would have done the same thing had I known what he
had done. Thinking about these things
made me only want to know what happened to my brother and what he was looking
for even more. I needed answers and the
closer that I got to Invictus Persona, the more questions seemed to
emerge. Uncle Freddy needed to go get
some rest after eating his breakfast. He
thanked me for the meal and went upstairs to get ready to take a shower and
head to sleep. Working odd hours, the
way that he did always seem counterintuitive to his mantras about health. However, who was I to judge, as someone who
took on odd hours to be the equivalent of pest control?
I went upstairs
to the spare room and started playing games on the computer. I decided that I needed to get some of this
stuff of my mind, so I started playing my favorite games that didn’t involve
shooting. Within about an hour of a
gaming session, I received a message on the secure line from Invictus
Persona. They were ready for me to get
moving again.
Greetings,
We need you to
meet us at these coordinates. We would
like to officially induct you as a member of our organization and provide you
with a mask and equipment. As always,
you are expected to speak of this to no one and are expected to come
alone. We hope to see you soon.
~IP
It was official
now. I was one of them and it was time
for me to get my tools of death and justice.
I waited until nighttime came about and decided to make my move. I drove off near San Antonio and met up with
27 and 3 outside of what looked like a warehouse out in the middle of
nowhere. It was the perfect place for me
to meet up with them. I made sure that
my mask was still on my face as I went out to meet them. Even if I was a member of them now, I knew
better than to show my face, less I reveal my identity and end up being shot
dead by these people or worse. The last
thing that I wanted to do was to show that I was an interloper, even if I
didn’t exactly feel like I was one anymore.
I went up to
greet 27. This time I shook his
hand. “Looks like somebody is finally
getting more comfortable with us! Good
on you, 13!”
3 showed up from
the other end of the warehouse as we both walked inside. I’ve got the guns and the suit all loaded up
in this bag. It looked like a lot of
stuff that 3 was carrying. I grabbed the
bag out of her arms. “Thank you,
3.”
“No problem! You’ve earned it at this point.”
1 came up out of
nowhere like he did the other night.
“Good to see you again, 13!
Before you head off on your next mission, here’s your mask and your
patch. You’re one of us now, so feel
free to switch out of that skull mask if you’d like.”
I began to grow
nervous. The last thing that I wanted
was for them to see my face. I decided
to hold strong and kept my mask on. “I’d
prefer to keep my mask on, thank you.”
3 was a bit
apprehensive. “Come on, 13! We’re a group! You’re safe to show your face around us. Here!
I’ll take my mask off if you take off yours.”
27 intervened in
3’s plans. “Hold on now, 3. 13 has a good point. It’s good for us to maintain anonymity, even
from each other. Give him some
time. I’m sure we’ll earn his
trust. He’s earned ours for now. No one has been as dedicated to challenges as
much as 13 has. He has shown more grit
than anybody else and didn’t need any prior training. We usually end up carrying the new guys. This guy’s different. He’s better than a lot of the guys that have
walked in through that door.”
3 was still
unsatisfied. “Damn it, 27! I’ve seen your face, I’ve seen 1’s face, why
can’t I see 13’s face?”
1 intervened this
time. “Give him some time, 3. I’m sure we’ll see his face eventually. For now, get some rest, 13. We’ll need you for our next mission. You’ll need your strength and perseverance in
order to make it through this next one.
You’ll be traveling out of the state for this one, so be ready for a
long trip. Make sure to cover your bases
and ensure that no one suspects your involvement with us. Alone, none of us stand a chance, but
together, we will change this world.”
I wanted to know
what was 1’s end game. I was closer than
I had ever been and thought that I could get it out of him. If only I had known how difficult that would
be. “So, what’s our end goal here? Are we some vigilante group that kills
pests?”
1 laughed. “I like that, 13! Pests, that’s a good way to describe all the
trials that you succeeded at. The pig
was a pest to the environment. The bear
was a pest to the farmers and livestock.
And John McKinley was a pest to everyone he knew, but especially to
those girls that he held captive in his basement.” 1 turned away from me. “It’s a good thing that you weren’t the one
who went down there, 13. There was some
truly dark stuff down there. You did a
good thing by killing McKinley. I hope
you know that.
“I do.”
1 perked up. “Good!
Well then! Head home and get some
rest. We’ll be in touch. Also, make sure that we can reach you by phone. It’s easier when our secure line can reach
you through the phone instead of having to pass through a computer.”
I nodded my
head. I felt a sense of dread, knowing
that 1 could tell that I was using my computer.
It made me weary of what else he might know. With his face hidden behind that mask of his,
there was no telling of what was going on in that brain of his aside from his
voice and his actions. I made the trip
back to Austin and went back to Uncle Freddy’s.
Thankfully, he didn’t really care much about the bag that I was bringing
in. I had brought in other duffle bags
before, so this wasn’t going to surprise him.
I made sure to conceal the mask and the patch inside of the bag so that
his camera wouldn’t pick them up. The
duffle bag wouldn’t raise any alarm, but the mask and patch would. As usual, Uncle Freddy wasn’t home. When I got inside, I decided to unload the
duffle bag and found goodies of all kinds inside. The rifle that I had used to kill during my
trials was there, along with a brand-new Glock pistol and extended magazines
for both guns. A new hunting blade was
inside there, along with the mask and patch.
Most importantly though, I saw a set of clothes in there that looked fit
for a paramilitary member. It looked like
it fit me, which was convenient. What
was most interesting was that there was a card in there that appeared to be a
debit card. Attached to it was a
note.
“Here is your cut
of McKinley’s liquid assets. Never
transfer the money in this account to another bank. Just use this card whenever you want to
access your cut. The number to access
the card is attached below.”
~1
I decided to
access the account that the card was attached to and couldn’t believe the
amount that was attached to it. The
account read that it had 10 million dollars on it. I was in disbelief at how much money was on
the card. I knew that this card would
likely have a lot if they wanted to keep the money attached to a new account,
but I didn’t realize that it would be this much! No wonder Joe McKinley was so protective of
his house. He knew that his days were
numbered and wanted to keep his assets and his life protected. Unfortunately for him, neither one of those was
safe. I had enough to pay my way through
a lifetime of doing whatever I wanted. I
could afford almost anything that I wanted.
I could live like a king. I could
have a house just like Uncle Freddy’s. There was just one problem, I could never show
my true self again. I was no longer truly
Derrick Boseman. I was 13, and I needed
to be prepared to act like it.
Comments