ThE JaCKeL

ThE JaCkaL

Dear reader, Prepare yourself for you are about to enter the underworld of ThE Jackal. You may Fear him, you may like him. But remember one thing: The devil sent him to piss the world off.

Roy Gibbs worked as a security officer for Ruffio Vandez’s office (Ruffio Vandez being the biggest and richest crime boss’s in London). Ruffio’s headquarters were known as the Crow’s Nest, but you may know it as the Canary Wharf. It was a large building, very modern, very expensive, just great for the crime Kingpin of London.
Roy was a middle aged nobody, and he knew it. He was bored with life and had been since the grey started growing on his head. He wore a grubby security outfit with sweat patches under the armpits. His job was just for show, to avoid any suspicion in the underworld you hire old, boring staff and keep your real staff in shadows. Ruffio Vandez’s proper security weren’t old, weren’t grubby and weren’t technically living, obviously Roy Gibbs wasn’t told that he was a fake and wasn’t exactly bright enough to work it out himself.
Roy was just making his last rounds of the lower floor, nobody was aloud down below ground floor and Roy Gibbs wasn’t going to lose his job and probably his life trying to find out, he was walking along whistling tunelessly down a bleak, dull corridor which suited Roy perfectly when the lights shut down.
“shit, the powers out” Roy whispered to himself. He sighed but his sigh ended abruptly when he heard a shuffle behind him. He froze. Though dull he was cautious, he stood still, straining his ears for any sound. When he was about to give up on his straining he heard breathing.
Without turning around he called out “ Hello?.. I know your there, I can hear you.” a long while passed and Roy grew more and more fearful with every passing second. His face had morphed from total and helpless boredom to absolute fear, it ran through him like an icy wind causing him to just stare ahead like a rabbit in headlights. What felt like an eternity passed, the soft labouring breath tempting Roy to turn, but feeling as if him turning would bring his end he stay stuck forward. Another eternity passed and there was a click, like that of the forefinger and thumb, instantly a warm glow emitted from the figure behind him. The light shifted and there was a long draw on what smelt like a cigarette. The bright glow was extinguished and with it came a soft hiss. Roy finally built enough courage to turn and when he did he could only see the lit end of a cigarette. Apart from the end of the cigarette he couldn’t see the deadly grin of ThE JaCKeL.
They both stood there, as if facing off in an old western film. One totally petrified, the other cool as a mountain glacier. The next thing Roy Gibbs did practically cost him his life, in the utter tension of the moment a bead of sweat had rolled from his forehead down into his eyebrow and finally his left eye causing him to blink. It was in that nanosecond that the figure of ThE JaCKeL moved with impossible speed. After Roy’s blink there was nothing to be seen of the figure in front of him except his discarded cigarette. In a moment of thought the middle aged security officer contemplated the idea that he had imagined the past minute or so of his life. He didn’t. his thoughts were cut short by that same soft breath, but this time on the back of his neck.
Roy didn’t have time to even get a electrical signal through his brain to his nerves let alone actually turn around before a long thin hand was placed on his chest, over his heart. A painless but real shock went through middle aged, bored with life, security officer Roy Gibbs. Causing his heart to stop. He slumped to the floor. Lifeless.

Ruffio Valdez was already royally pissed off by the time the body of one of his security officers was slumped into his office.
“he was killed last night sir, it was him.” said one of the men that carried the body up to there boss. Previously this morning Ruffio had learnt that his cocaine sales had dropped by twelve percent, his cat had pissed on the new carpet and now one of his security guards (a glance at his name tag provided Ruffio with the name Roy Gibbs which meant nothing to The Boss) had been murdered, probably by one of the most dangerous guys in London.
“shit.” that was all the boss could say without ripping someone’s head off. After several deep breaths he managed to say “how do you know it was him?!” The guards looked at each other nervously not wanting to make there boss look like a dumbass, one of them nervously pointed and said “err… umm… b-behind you sir.”
The next eight minutes of the guards lives were spent flinching as their boss let out every swear word under the moon, mainly alternatives for shit. As there, right behind him was the emblem of ThE JaCKeL. A huge grin, a long hooked nose and eyes with no pupils. The huge grin seemed to mock Ruffio throughout the whole period of his outburst. Underneath the red painted face of ThE JaCKeL was the word “SURPRISE!”
Ruffio observed as his men tried feebly to remove the red substance from the window, eventually he through his desk chair at it. The window was bullet proof and the chair bounced straight back towards Ruffio. One of his men, a fat ugly man by the name of Derrick let out a sman (not a smart move) and immediately got his head and body penetrated by a whole magazine of Ruffio Vandez’s gun. Bye bye Derrick.

The Greasy Spoon café was well just that: greasy. The tables, unclean. The glasses, dirty. The cutlery, grimy. In fact there was only one real reason that people came to The Greasy Spoon, Ruby White was twenty something and lovely in every way, everyone agreed with that. She was one of those people who’s smile would just melt you heart and today was no different. She had large brown eyes and lush brunette hair, she was wearing her usual white apron and red top. It was nearly lunch and she was starting to get hungry, she just finished serving one of The Greasy Spoon’s regular customers, John Baker (Nice guy just a bit dirty.) when he walked in. Ruby had seen him before, once, when she was younger. Her father had left her as a child, and when she was eleven she and her mother were attacked whilst walking home from the cinema one night. Ruby’s mother Lilly White had been stabbed and had died in hospital. The only thing that stopped their attacker from turning on Ruby was the powerful figure in front of her. He was lean, but definitely strong and was wearing a pinstriped suit, some grey lace up sport shoes and a huge fedora style hat that clouded his face in shadow.
She was staring at him for so long that she didn’t realise the coffee she was pouring had filled up a while ago and it was only until the hot liquid went from the counter onto her apron that she woke with a jolt from her trance, startling the young university student in front of her. The mysterious figure, her saviour, obviously noticed this event as he looked over and Ruby thought she heard a giggle emerge from under the shadow of his hat. She immediately blushed and wiped her leg where the coffee had spilt. The figure she stared at went and sat in the corner of the café in the dark, where he could observe the whole area.
“You don’t wanna mess wiv him, he’s trouble he is”. Ruby turned to see the large, ugly but kind face of her co-worker Doris Lessing, Doris was the reason Ruby got this job, Doris Lessing had been like a mother to Ruby over the years. She was good friends with Ruby’s mother Lilly White before the attack that cost her, her life.
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”. Ruby replied not taking her eyes off the mysterious figure.
“you mean, You dunno who e’ is?”. Ruby shook her head slowly and thoughtfully, she hadn’t told anyone that he had saved her all those years ago, not even the police. “Well. Years ago, you know, the year of the……attack, the papers said he was the prime suspect of a huge string of murders. But the cops couldn’t find him, so the case was closed, since then he’s been wanted for countless murders. Most people are too scared or can’t be bothered to call the police when he’s about. MOST people…”. she raised her eyebrows and nodded over to him. He didn’t seem to realise that they were speaking about him.
“WHAT!?” Ruby exclaimed, she immediately hushed her voice and looked around apologetically at the surrounding customers, then began whispering, “you didn’t call the police, you, you can’t”. Doris just smiled at Ruby with a smug look on her face then said.
“Right then, I’m off, it’s about time I had my break.” the elderly lady then continued in a hushed voice, “and I expect you to come with me, things could get ugly.” Ruby was stuck. Stuck in a position where she had to choose between her saviour or her mother (well, close enough anyway). She thought for a short while then said.
“Ok, you go and I’ll finish up here.” Doris hurriedly grabbed her things and made off.
Ruby decided to do what she had wanted to do since that terrible night all those years ago. She decided to talk to the saviour.
“hello. Do you want something to drink?” Ruby said this with a genuine smile.
“you know, I’m not deaf.” the stranger glanced up at her, but not enough for her to see any features of his face. Ruby White immediately gasped and stepped back. She could tell that he had a smile across his face.
“don’t worry, I get it quite a lot”. he sat back and scratched his head, he had a gravely voice, but not a nasty one.
“You. You saved me”. she managed to blurt out, then she flushed as she realised how odd that must have sounded.
“yes, yes I do remember that night. But I hope you know that it was only coincidence. If your attacker hadn’t have been in my way I wouldn’t have done anything”. she felt her heart begin to sink.
“Just coincidence” , bloody hell is that IT!
“but I am glad that I did save you.” she rubbed her eye and smiled foolishly, “well, I reckon I’ve got about ooh.. half a minute till they turn up.” he waited expectantly for a response and was pleased when he got one.
“oh, right, shit yeah. Err. Do you wanna go out the back? Or something?” she frowned awkwardly.
“umm…yeah that would be just swell.” he stood up and she immediately set down the jug of coffee and tray that she had been holding.
“right this way”. she made her way through the beaded doorway behind the counter, past the nasty toilets and kitchen and out the back door. He immediately began to take off when she called out “hey, I didn’t catch your name.” she looked expectantly at the tall figure who turned and replied.
“call me, call me ThE JaCKeL.” He turned and ran before doing something that wondered Ruby more than anything she had ever seen before. Shadows came up from the shadows of the buildings and other things in the dank alley, the wrapped around him for a brief moment before fluttering away into nothing, and he was gone. Totally disappeared. Magic.