Alley Cats - Jack [Matthew] / Anatra [Marcel]

[Anatra]

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Marcel PERA

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The bar is busy, just like I thought it would be. When a plan comes together, it makes my heart warm. I drink the water I ordered a whole thirty minutes ago. Sips at a time. I’m not planning on drinking it all. It’s just for show anyway. I eye him. The person across the room, with some friends. He’s being loud. And loudness means arrogance. Arrogance means an easy win. I stare him down even though he’s not looking. I’m checking. Ticking off all of the pointings on the list. I see how he laughs with his friends. Funny. I bet he tells the best jokes. We’ll see about that.

The things he said at work. This colleague of mine. I don’t care who he is, who his friends are - if I want him to pay, he will. It wasn’t just words, though. He lost us money. Our company. PERA Corp. He knows how difficult competition is right now, and he’s cut our money by at least ten percent. Intentionally. He’s just a leech. Leeches get pulled out, cut up and drawn into the dirt.

He looks like he’s leaving. Picking up his jacket, wrapping it around an arm and taking the glasses of his table to the bar. I avert my gaze, for now. I hear the clatter of the glasses on the bar edge, and I know where he’s going next. The door. I go first. I open the door, letting the cold air hit my skin, but I’m quick. I slip into the alleyway that is round the corner. The one that I know he’ll take. He always does. He enters and gives me a funny look on his way past.

“Oi.” I utter.
“What?” He says, smug as ever. I know his game. Pretend I did nothing. Not going to work, buddy. “Did you drop this?” I reach down to the floor, crouching down almost. With a suddenness, I throw my first upwards at the side of his head. It knocks him flying, apparently. A wicked grin slaps itself all over my face. This is perfect. He wasn’t even expecting it.

There’s blood on my hand, but it isn’t mine. He stumbles to his feet, but I laugh under my breath. “Cats always land on their feet.” I grimace before I slip my leg, sweeping underneath him which trips him up. I think I even break his pathetic pair of glasses. He’s on the floor, the limp dog. I pity him.

Oh wait. I don’t.

He's just another pawn to take.

[Jack Lexington]

It's the weekend and despite my huge desire to spend every moment off with Kyanite I agreed to meet my friend at the local pub. The one we always go to and pretend we're old enough to drink. The one where the waitress is a friend of a friend and will pour us a beer or two.

I'm in a good mood as I walk down the street, hands in my pockets and generally content with myself and the world.
I round a corner and then take the small street line on either side with trash cans that leads to the back door of the pub. I'm not worried about bad guys hiding here as I'm quite confident in my abilities to defend myself.

Just as I catch a glimpse of the corner of the pub with it's sign above the door I also spot something else....two guys going at it just around the corner. From here I can only see their shadows move but I can tell one of them is on the ground and the other one kicking at him.

It's none of my business, I know. Yet the little bit of peace keeper that has been installed in me and the big old career that's been waiting for a come back tell me to go and have a look. So I do.
With my hands still in my pockets I approach the fighting pair and whistle at them through my teeth.

"Hey, any of you have a lighter? I think I lost mine." I pad myself down for show while approaching the one who's standing.
Without warning I grab him by his jacket and run him head first into one of those large metal trash containers.
"It might be somewhere in that garbage. Why don't you have a look?"
There's a whicked grin playing on my lips.

Briefly I cast a glance at the guy on the ground to see whether he'll get back to his feet and somewhere behind that bloody smear I recognise a familiar face....Alex, which makes me raise a brow in astonishment.

[Anatra]

---

Marcel PERA

---

I kick him once. Twice. Thrice. Four times. He deserves more, but someone is coming. I stop, and turn at them. "Hey, any of you have a lighter? I think I lost mine." I look at him as though nothing is happening, a casual look - "No why-" I was going to begin, but he's already taking to pinning me against a dumpster by the wall, grabbing onto the fabrics of my jacket. Who the hell is this guy? Some hero? He doesn't know who I am. He doesn't know what I will do to him. "It might be somewhere in that garbage. Why don't you have a look?"

I hear the coughing of the kid on the floor. He's not a kid, I know he's older than me. I don't care, do I look like somebody who can't handle myself? I stare this guy down. The one that grabbed me. How dare he. What's his game, then? Heroes don't exist. What is he doing here, saving the day? He clearly doesn't know who this piece of scum is, on the floor, bloodied nose. Lost me money, on purpose. Little bastard. "Well shit. He's got a guard dog." I bark at him. "Back off and let me finish my painting, will you?" I ask, sarcastically polite as always.

The Orca Family have always been our hindrance. Always them. Nobody else, none of the other families ever bother. It's because we're on their turf. We're rising in the mining industry, and the construction industry. They know that in time, we'll have to share the work or take them over. They can't let that happen, apparently. I plan on doing everything I can to ensure it. Even if it is beating up a couple of kids like these. Who is this, anyway... another Orca? I can take two. He doesn't know if I'm armed or not.

I'd be stupid if I wasn't, right?

He stays there, hands on my jacket. What's his game? I want to play ball. It's in his court now. If he tries anything, I'll snap. The worm on the floor wriggles a bit, I think I did some damage. Good. I like it when I win. I can't lose.

[Jack Lexington]

I fully expect a quick elbow back at me or at least for him knock his head back at my face but no. He just turns around and glares at me. Guess I surprised him a little.

This guy must be awefully in controll of his feelings because I know I wouldn't let some stranger run me into a garbage can and then walk away with such clever words as. "Well shit. He's got a guard dog."
Funny how he's calling me a dog just like Max did before...what is it witrh that? Do I look like a dog. I press my lips together still smiling a little and roll my neck.
"Back off and let me finish my painting, will you?"
I can't beleive he's really asking me to stand back. Maybe I will...after all I'm not on Alex' favourite list. He's challenged me before, told me he was top dog...doesn't look like it now.

I raise my brows at the guy with a head shake.
"Really? Your paining...are you an artists or something?" My tone is clearly mocking but out of the corner of my eye I"m already looking for things I could utilize as weapon.

"What don't you pick on someone your own size, Davinci?"
I raise my hands palms up to show him I mean business....heck it feels good to ruffle some feathers after being on the right side of the law for so long. I feel like picking a fight today. Not necessarily for Alex sake, who is usually a guy who can take care of his own even though he looks like he's not in good shape right now, but for my own fun.

[Anatra]

---

Marcel PERA

---

It wants to play. I smirk at him, my head tilting smugly at him. "Really? Your painting...are you an artists or something?" Oh, yes. I am an artist. A good one. And when I make a mistake, I scribble over it until it looks pretty again. Is that what this is? A mistake? Oh, I can't wait to toy with this dog's head. "What don't you pick on someone your own size, Davinci?" He thinks I'm his size. Good, then he isn't underestimating me. That's exactly what I like. Somebody who doesn't let me take them down like an empty threat. He might regret that, though.

He holds out his palms at me. So I do the same, except my hand sneakily slips through my pocket as though I'd practiced it forever. I don't think he even noticed, but a knife reveals itself. A weapon - imagine the horror of any typical citizen, that somebody might have one. The reality is, one usually learns that weapons in the training halls aren't just for careers, but for me, and every other psychopath in the district. A cornucopia right here in our district.

My face is full of happiness at the situation. Smug happiness. I'm enjoying this. I glance at his hands. His fingers. "Did she bite?" I tilt my head again at him. I'm not going to stab this foolish kid, not here. Unless he begs me to. I could make him beg. Stab into his finger slowly. Make him beg that I cut it off.

I really am mad.

The things we do for our family.

I narrow my eyes, seemingly concentrating. I see him glancing around, if only it wasn't so brief he might notice there's barely anything around to protect him. Except for the fumbling boy on the floor. That's my artwork. My craftsmanship. I'm proud of what I have created. A scene of purity and bliss. Not because it is violence, and blood, but because it is vengeance and blood. I don't think he could smell the vulture coming for the prey, that pathetic glasses-wearing Orca on the floor. That's half their problem. Far too unperceptive. It took them a month to realize we were beating them on the listings for our town's mining roster.

[Jack Lexington]

There's something about this guy...the way he looks at me with an icy cold stare, the way his hands swiftly move to his pocket before he openly shows me the knife in his hands to provoke me...that tells me he's done this before and not just once.
He's a professional...yeah what? Bad guy, career, criminal? Either one of them.
The knife in his hands doesn't worry me to much. It just tells me to watch out for it and knock it out of his hands as fast as I can.
The way he challenges me while there's still another guy who could help me does worry me though. He's either very full of himself or very good at what he does.
Maybe it would be a good time to retreat to a beer and leave Orca to his fate.
Maybe not, I'm just not the kind of guy to step away from a physical challenge because that's what I see it as.

There's a strange grin on his immaculate features before he looks at my hand and and asks. "Did she bite?"
"Huh?" I don't get what he means...she? Who, she? Obviously he's referring to the two fingers I almost lost during the pregames but can he really be that perceptive to see the line and slight discoloration of my skin of the severed limbs? He's got the eye of an eagle.
Suddenly I know that I've picked a dangerous opponent.
"Great eye." I comment.

Next to the trash I spot an abandoned chair, which I could grab in case I have to.
"How about you walk away now? I think you got your kick out of beating him down. It's time to get a move on." I advice him in a brief attempt to actually go and have a beer instead of a fight that might be more severe than what I signed up for.

[Anatra]

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Marcel PERA

---

"Huh?" He seems puzzled. He didn't get my joke at all. That's a shame.

Oh wait, I don't care. "Great eye." A compliment, how authentic of him. I don't know why he would compliment my perception. It is exemplary, I must admit. But not at all something he needs to compliment me on. He's up in my face, he should be taunting me. I'm not taunted. Hell, I'm even considering shunning this threat simply because of how undermining it is to have to deal with it. I'm better than this. My fists long for more brutality. I long for a bit of revenge for him spoiling my fun. It's like taking a child away from its toy.

"How about you walk away now? I think you got your kick out of beating him down. It's time to get a move on."

"How about no?" I tilt my head yet again. I raise my head at him. "You want the Orca, you earn the Orca." I tell him. It's simple honor-play. If he wants what I have, he needs to earn it. He needs to fight for it. The helpless thing on the floor isn't worth the things I can do to this idiot in front of me. A knife in my hand, and he's telling me to back down? What, does he think he can take it from me? I don't think so. I'm not stupid, I can handle this whole situation in two simple strikes. Ear to ear, right through the eyes. Or even nipple to nipple, which would hurt more?

Or I could finish what somebody seems to have started and I could rip his fingers from their sockets.

There's a reason I wasn't allowed in the pregames.
My father didn't let me, of course. Pointless danger, he called it.
Next time will be different.

"What do you want?" I glare at him, but pull a sarcastic face and tone. "You like him don't you? Disgusting." I fake my repulsion. To think that the Orca would have friends, it angers me. I don't care. I brought him out here to get him away from whoever he was with. Apparently that didn't work out to plan. I still don't know this guy's name, though.

[Jack Lexington]

I'm on my tip toes here, guard up. This guy is holding a knife and seems to be far too professional on his mission to beat down Alex, who's still winding like a snake on the ground. He must be badly hurt.
My request to back up is denied. "How about no?"
"You want the Orca, you earn the Orca." He sounds like it's all a game for him. Does he look familiar at all? Do I know him from somewhere? He must be roughly my age and our town isn't that huge. His face seems unfamiliar though. He's definetly not been part of the pregames. That doesn't mean he can"t be fierce. For a moment I wonder whether he recognises me from the many broadcasts?
"What's an Orca?" I play dumb. Then I motion for Alex.

"Him?"
"What do you want?" He sarcastically asks "You like him don't you? Disgusting."
"He's not my type!" I give a half hearted smirk but then let it drop from my lips as I step one step closer. Just far enough to be out of his reach.

"But I tell you something. I don't like you either. I don't know who the fuck you think you are waving your knife around and beating on some defenseless guy."
With that I grab the only thing I can find as a weapon. The chair. It's legs are pretty wobbly so it's easy to get one out by smashing it against the concrete beneath my feet.
"Last chance to get lost!" My eyes narrow. Now that I have a good piece of wood in my hand chances are a little more even.

[Anatra]

---

Marcel PERA

---

"What's an Orca?" Idiot. He's acting as though he doesn't know. I can sense the fakeness in what he's saying. Not only that, but I can smell the lies pouring out of him. This is all talk. He's nothing. "Him?" He questions, as if he has the right to. I'll let him keep talking, if it means he won't batter me with anything. I could do without the explanations that would be needed, handed out to anybody who cares. My brother, sister. Half siblings, nothing more. But then again, I love them regardless. "Don't play stupid. Though I have to say it suits you."

"He's not my type!" He exclaims, a smirk on his face that wipes itself away after a moment. He steps closer. I narrow my eyes on him. Good, this is getting more and more interesting. "But I tell you something. I don't like you either." I just shrug at him, and pull my careless face. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are waving your knife around and beating on some defenseless guy." I grin, and almost laugh but contain it. "But that's just it, boy." I act tough. Real tough. "You don't know me." I just shake my head at him. "He wasn't defenseless." I raise my head, as if to fake a brief inspection on Alex, who is now getting up to a seated position against the opposite wall. "He's got as much as you do."

That's when he breaks the chair leg, which has me a bit rattled. I don't flinch, nor react. I can't show my brief weakness, which was just that; brief.

"Last chance to get lost!" He yells at me. Great, he's a clock.

I raise my hands in surrender. Nodding my head with an honest face. The knife, still in my hand. I think it's convincing, besides that. But I loosen my grip of it, making it look unassuming. Innocent, less threatening.

That's when I swipe with the hand that isn't holding the knife. I aim directly for his newly acquired weapon, hoping to knock it from his hands. The moment he lays an assault on me, is the moment this knife gets plunged into whatever he throws at me.

[Jack Lexington]

"But that's just it, boy. You don't know me." He sounds like a gangster...but I hate it when people talk down to me like that and I've never been one to easily get intimidated, not even when I should be for my own good.

"Don't care to." I snarl at him.
He declares that Alex, who is slowly sitting up, wasn't defenseless. He must have been though. Alex is not a bad fighter and he's got a good set of muscles so why would he be down on the ground if he hadn't had some sort of disadvantage.
"You okay?" I briefly direct a question at him before returning my eyes on my opponent.
His eyes flicker to my new weapon for a moment. Then he raises his hands and eases the grip on the knife. Maybe I talked some sense into him...although I doubt it. He"s too full of himself to back away.
As predicted he swings his left hand at me so I jump back. What follow is a mere reaction to what he did. Once I'm at this point there's no walking away anymore. If somebody charges at me I'll fight. He had his chance to go.
Instinctively I kick at the hand that holds his knife to get rid of his weapon whle he tries to grab my stick from me.
As quickly as I can I twist it out of his grasp and aim the end at his shoulder so it's not so easy to duck underneath it. It connects with it, not very hard but enough to leave a bruise.

[Anatra]

---

Marcel PERA

---

"You okay?" The concerned fool speaks. That's what he is to me. A fool. A joker. Somebody who hides behind words. When it comes to the big deal, he'll turn tails and run, I can tell. The Orca simply leans back in his seated state against the wall, his hood up with blood on his forehead dripping delicately from a wound I placed there. His lip looks a bit bust, too. Or his nose, I can't tell which from here. He nods at the fool, and I grimace to myself.

When I swing at his weapon, he jumps back. I hate it when people are this perceptive of my attacks. How can people know when I am going to do that? For some reason he brings his leg up to my hand to try and kick the weapon out of it. I don't know why he'd pull a move like that, which simply allows me to bring my hand back a bit and avoid the kick by dodging it a little. It was a slower move than just a punch. Somehow, I've got a hold of his weapon, though I wasn't intending to grab it, I must have. He's twisting it out of my grasp, so I simply let him have it as a gesture not to show him my strength yet. With that, he shunts me with it on the shoulder, which hurts but I'm simply smirking the pain away.

I don't enjoy the pain. But I enjoy making him inflict it. It's funny to see somebody surcome to anger.

I aim a kick at his stomach, which I use the wall to gain the momentum I need to knock him back decently, if I hit. I don't care whether I do, because I'm not going to risk hurting him any more. At least this way, I can say that they tried to attack me in the alley. Two against one. My main goal right now, is just getting off of me. "You don't even know who you're fighting for." I spit my words at him, my face full of distaste for him standing there in front of me.

[Jack Lexington]

I can easily twist my stick out of this guys hands, a little too easy. He's very self assured judging by the grin on his face, even when I hit him with my stick on his right shoulder.

The knife is still in his hand so I keep focussed on it.

Instead of attacking me with his weapon he chooses to kick back aiming for my stomach. I can't completely get out of his way but step back a little and flex my abs so he won't see what I had for dinner, not now anyway.
Instantly I grab his foot while it's still close, hold it up and hammer the stick right on his knee. That should hurt.
With my foot I kick the one he's balancing on out underneath him and send him to the ground where he lays like the famous turtle on it's back while I aim my stick right at his face.
"I don't need to know who I'm fighting for. All I need to know is that he was on the ground and you were kicking him."

Sounds like the knight in shining armor. Anybody who knows me I'm far from that. The guy who gave a girl a broken nose in front of a store isn't a knight for sure...if any sort of knight than the feared one.

[Anatra]

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Marcel PERA

---

I don't know how he does it, but somehow he grabs my foot in the very small time frame between me making contact with his stomach, which I would be surprised if it didn't stun him at least, and the moment I began to retract my leg, which was almost instantly. I can understand how he could grab it, maybe. But to then use his weapon and take a strike at my leg, I don't know anybody who could move so fast. Either I'm on something wild, some sick form of adrenaline, or he's defying the laws of physics.

I think he was aiming for my knee, but in the struggle that I give him, he only manages to make contact with my shin, which hurts a lot.

Again though, he's surprising me. I don't know how anybody could do this but he somehow manages to kick me on my balancing leg whilst he's attacking with both hands. To get me on the floor like he has just done, makes me feel vulnerable. But, I still have this knife, and for that I am grateful. "I don't need to know who I'm fighting for. All I need to know is that he was on the ground and you were kicking him." He twines on at me. "Yet here you are doing the same. Fucking idiot." I raise a lip at him, with me on the floor and him pointing that weapon down. I have my knife in my hand, but I've landed in such a way that he can't see it. Hopefully, he forgets I have it for now. I'm curious as to what else he plans on doing to me as 'revenge', because he sure as hell doesn't know what I have in store for him because of all this.

I could kill him in two moves.

I won't. Alex, the Orca dog across the way, stands and walks over to this stranger and I. "What're you doing?" Alex asks him. "You've just made things worse..." He states. I can see the tension between the two. I can smell it, almost. I can't wait for this to distract Matthew. I just can't wait. The knife grows heavy in my hands, the longing for blood growing thick in it's fibres.

I could kill him in one, now.

I won't.

[Jack Lexington]

I have him on the ground now in the exact same position as he had Alex before. I didn't know who I'm helping but the fact that Alex has some beef with this guy makes it even more interesting.
"Yet here you are doing the same. Fucking idiot." He dares to risk a statement from down there. Cocky bastard.
The difference between me and him is that I'm in charge now but not kicking at him.
"That was easy!" I smirk down at him because he obviously underestimated me. Guess he hadn't seen me on TV and didn't know that I'm trained for this crap.
I tap him a little with my foot when Alex finally gets his act together and comes over, lip bleeding, cut on his forehead that is trickling blood down towards his eyebrows.
"What're you doing?" He tells me "You've just made things worse..."
I don't get him at all so I give him a confused look before looking back towards the guy on the ground.
"Why?" It sounds like they've got history, too...maybe like Ky and Jins?

Before he can answer I return my focus on the dark haired guy and nod at him.
"Ready to get out of here?" I move my stick away from him so he can get up.

[Anatra]

---

Marcel PERA

---

"That was easy!" He exclaims. But little did he know how much of a plan I had this whole damn time. He is so easy to manipulate, so easy to judge. I love it. All I needed to do was take a little bit of a beating, then I'd get my assured chance at getting rid of him. I can make sure he doesn't do this like of shit again. Nobody stops me from asserting my territory. I had every reason to go after Alex. This guy? I don't even know him, which says it all. He's just a dog trying to protect some Orca he wants to get good with. I bet it's because he's got money. All the stupid people go after the rich people, it's a fact. Friends get you money, everybody knows that.

"Why?" He asks Alex, curiosity that makes me enthusiastic about my chances fills him. I don't think the Orca wants to answer. He just shakes his head and runs his hands through his thin hair.

The stranger, still without a name, looks back to me. "Ready to get out of here?" I contain my grin. I can't reveal my motives. This is going to be great.

I fake a narrowing of my eyes to make sure he's deceived, to make it look like I'm considering and not at all too eager to 'leave'. I nod with a faked nervousness. As though I was scared of him. Like he was better than me. He's not. I know his face, I know who I'm messing with, I think. Some career. Any career is the same from the next, just like I am the same to them too. I like to practice killing things, stabbing things. Working on my fitness, all of that crap. The difference is, I practice on people.

I slowly get up, highly pretending. Highly exaggerating. My fatigue is not at all bad. I could sprint if I wanted to. I wait until I'm fully stood, and a good moment has passed. Enough for him to possibly believe that I'm safe to trust. He's forgot about the knife, I think. I've concealed it, that's why. Perhaps I'm too good at this.

I go to walk past him, but in a quick successive move, I plunge my wrist forward at his hand, which I'd hope to naturally try to stop me anyway. In any event, a knife is going right for it.

It'd be a miracle if he avoids it.

By the time he's reacted, I'm already running.