The Beginning

CHAPTER ONE

Tom starred blankly at his fingers,taking note of the dirt he had so far gather underneath his fingers, I need to take care  of these he thought to himself.

"At least they are better than the flying ones we see around this..."  a drunk fellow said almost screaming.

Although, no one was paying attention to him he kept on screaming uncompleted statements.

"What if I had a million dollars..." he continued with a glass up his lips.

Tom clicked the table and signaled the barman to top his drink, he placed his hands in  his pocket and brought out his tickets to the casino, along with it  came a stick of cigar and his lighter he craved for a puff. He paid the barman.

"Spencer am out of cash man,trust me the next time I'll be here,mah money's gonna be ready-and you know the drill, I'll keep those tips coming"  Tom said existing the pub. He almost stumbled into a dude rushing into the pub,it was Roger.

"hey Man I've been looking for you all over the place." 

"I've been busy" Tom said lighting a cigarette.

"well tell that to The Boss,dude he is really pissed,he wants your head mehn"Roger smiled mischievously.

"I'll be at The Popular Place, meet me there,8 pm don't late."

Tom turned to leave but his jacket got stuck on a lighting pole, here could hear the threads ripping apart,he cursed mildly, got the jacket off the hook taking a quick glance at Roger who missed the whole  thing because he was on the phone. Tom quickly remembered the first time he met Roger,he could remember being intimidated by the small dude,although, his reasons were real.

He walked past a newspaper stand with broken frames,he glared into it and notice an old man squatting,he tried to pay a little more attention, then he heard a loud cry behind him 

"Wait up!" 

He recognized the voice,he stiffened a little bit,he could feel the flexibility of his marrow,anger surged through his pores. He chose to ignore the persistent scream and yelling,slightly nodding at the hat guy he bought his hat from a few weeks ago. He contemplated purchasing another,stopped for a second and continued immediately as though the frequency transmitted from his brain seized. He felt the tightness of his feet in his boots,he tried to stretch their reach but space was failing.

He made a quick turn and found himself in the parking lot of the Gambling Hole,he squeezed the door feeling it warmth, he took a heavy deep breath and exhaled satisfactorily. He was welcomed by the masked faces of smokers, the place had a confused smell to it name,those of strong cigars ,the green flakes and the sweet smell of chip escaping the kitchen,he was filled with anger and disgust,he brushed the tip of his thump with his index finger, he felt the urge to hit someone or something, he felt a sudden urge to eat, a strong bulk of smoke hit his face vigorously, reminding him if his escape from the previous pub, he gambled catching the air outside and maybe, blowing a few cigars too.

He sat down at the bar and avoided eye contact with the bar man who was ready for his order,he was confused as to why he was engaging in the hide and seek if glance with the fair, almost albino looking man, oh! He had too make up his mind already, he hated the  man for the urgency he was imposing on him

"Beer" he said finally, hitting his legs lightly on the table,taking a quick glance at his reflection on the bars mirror,he looked ridiculous,he remembered that his skin was no longer used to the touch of water. He had not taken his bath in almost a week.

It was Sunday,he woke up to the the constant clicking of beaks on his window.

"Quit it" he said half asleep.

He shoved his hands in his trouser to pick out his pocket watch, it was still early but he couldn't sleep-thanks to his friends outside. He felt his legs stiffen as he tried to get out of bed, he poured the last bits of whisky he had left and craved for more .

He stood up waving at the birds,but from their own point of view, he looked like a mad coach yelling at a player who just made a horrible mistake,he gave up too quickly,retired to the kitchen, open the fridge letting a jug of juice spill on the  ground- he cursed aloud,slamming his fist on the fridge.

"You did this"he yelled kicking the empty jug-who was he angry at? The birds? Himself? His boss? Julie? 

"She doesn't exist anymore" he lied.

He has loved Julie since college. They met in Math class almost by some twist fate. A heavy knock on the door quenched his reminiscing about his ex girlfriend.

"Thomas,you there?"

"Just a minute" he answered.

He quickened his belt,feeling its  rough edges,threw on his shirt from the previous night. It stank of whisky clustered with a heavy dose of tobacco, he felt a quick rush in his system and found himself almost running to the door.

"Morning handsome" a woman with a gown white  or probably brown covered with flowers, she had large eyes and a coiled gray hair,she  seemed to smile every time she completed a sentence,she strangely had complete set of teeth for a woman a her age.

"Have you seen Maurice?"

"Who?"he quickly replied.

"Oh!That's  your cat,nah,he's not here"he replied feeling huge amount of vomit gathering in his mouth.

"He's a naughty boy lately you know"she said almost proudly.

I think he has a girlfriend" she said revealing her complete set of teeth,the expression on her face suggested happiness on his part,but he had one thing on his mind,not really, he had a vision of him throwing up all over the old lady and the cat walking in to clean her up with his tongue,he might also get a few paws on the face.

"You look sick"she said,reaching to touch his face. He felt the warmth of her soft palms,that feeling was cut short by the urgency of his metabolism.

"Mrs Greenwood, i promise to return your cat the moment i catch sight of him"he said shutting the door forcefully.

"Thanks darling,you wouldn't mind coming over for dinner,I'm making some of my best dishes"

" I'll be there" he cried from the toilet.

He turned on the shower barely catching a grip if the valve fully,his hand were wet and were shaking  uncontrollably, he jumped into the tub,flashes of the memories he had in this tub with Julie played slowly in his head he could feel her touch on his face, the night candles came alive again,those moments were fantastic.

"Yo,Tommy,what's rolling man?" a man with a large stomach tapped him from behind,he had a scar on his lower jaw region, sun shades and carried alot of keys. 

"Jon, what's with the shade"Tom said paying attention directly behind the man in front of him,

"Yeah,true story,docs prescription, I've been feeling weird lately,so, drove up to the docs place at about 3 pm yesterday,guess what-the smoke is really hitting me hard brother,it all started when I almost tripped on my little kid,Hey,Tom,the kid was in front of me yet I couldn't see a thing, made up my damn mind brother the stuff had to go man.

" Real deal" Tom said, still not paying attention to the man.

"Martinez Clause"  Jon said.

"Who now?" now looking straight at Jon.

"That's the guy you've been staring at,his a big fish, trust me,he's loaded big time,yeah,runs wall street all by himself."

"No kidding" Tom said taking more interest.

"Well not bad"Tom said pretending to lose interest.

"see you around kiddo" Jon said retiring to the back.

Tom checked his watch,checked his casino card and blew out a breath of smoked air,he was feeling sick from all the smoke in the room,he had to get some fresh air. He opened the door slowly turning back to observe from that distance how the smoke engulfed the whole room serving simultaneously as the furnace to the room, he could feel the difference already just by slightly opening the door.

"Hey,you in or out?The cold's getting in" a man cried from within

Tom couldn't make out who was talking, it was all smoke. He leaned on the wall, pulled out a smoke, he was just about to lit it when he noticed two birds,they were sort of communicating.

The street was littered with all sort of dirt, smelled of strong sewage and animal dump.

"The man knows what he wants" a man with shorts that displayed his hairy legs said. He had box that looked almost like a bag and a briefcase.

"Look am just saying we've got a huge problem at hand,chief is a serious guy,tough guy,trust me,his gat his hand on them,they don't know it yet" an older guy replied,talking and looking back at Tom who was standing a few feet from them, he was pretending to be only interested in  his smoke.

Tom had gathered enough,the feds were t here, he couldn't wait another second, he took a long drag, pulled forward to observe his progress in extinguishing his cigar, threw it on the floor,looked left and right avoiding eye contact with the men that stood fifteen steps away from him.

He walked very fast, enjoying the cold wind hitting his face, his game was scheduled for the next day, he he had to be on his A game. He walked past several empty blocks, he had exchanged so many nods with alot people it seemed like the new handshake,finally he was at the "Popular Place" it was on the other part if town,with dealers of all kinds of drugs, they had a club upfront to serve as a distraction, but the real business happened at the back.

Tom picked his casino card and placed it In the pocket in his coat,he had a strange feeling about the meeting with The Boss,he cleaned his lips with palm, pulled out his tongue to wet them. He placed both hands in his pocket, frowned a little hard.

"You finally showed up" Roger said with a mouthful of smoke,coughs out vigorously,and points to a room by his left.

The Boss has been waiting, you're late."

"Gat some business to handle,I'm here ain't I?"Tom said with a synthetic smile.

"Well,tell that to The Boss" said Roger taking another mouthful of his smoke and blowing it towards Tom.

Tom ran through his fingers with his thumb, brushed his eye brawls, hardened his fist, hitting the door wide open

"Hey boss" he said ignoring the guards around.

The Boss was a small man with a very funny looking mustache, always had glasses on, although,he never seemed to need them. He was on his computer, typing very slow and musing every word to himself.

"Kill him tomorrow, make it quick and painless" he screamed.

"Tom, I didn't see you come in" he continued.

There's this dude who feels he could mess with me, I mean, who steals from me, what a mess!" He slams the table. 

" I trusted this guy" he said almost to himself than Tom.

Tom sat there motionless, had his hands in his pocket, he felt his knife a and a scene from a classical movie played in his head. He pictured himself fighting the guards with his knife,maybe a dagger, then killing The Boss last and ripping off his eyes, he smiled.

"What's so funny kid" 

He just realized The Boss had been talking for a while now, he just nodded but this time he had a frown on. The Boss kept on making incomplete statements and then finally turned to Tom with a serious face, hitting his glass a little making it look like his nose could now see and his eyes could breathe.

"You better have my money by Friday or..."

"Get out" he said clicking enter to send his already waiting message.

Tom hated The Boss for sending him out that way,but he had a plan, he was going to escape,run away from everything,yes, that was the perfect plan.

"Call Chicago!" He heard The Boss yell from within.

Strangely, the moo seemed to have gotten brighter,his shadow was viable and it showed how much he hasn't been eating, he looked sick, even his shadow told that tale. He regretted his visit to the popular place and  worse, he was now confused in weather to go home or back to the Gambling Hole. He had to figure out something real fast, he felt a his stomach tighten and a slight headache, his palms were getting hot and his eyes felt like they would fall out, he cried silently. He could feel the tips of his fingers shaking without fear and control,he reached for his watch but out came his dagger, he enquired deeper and brought out his watch,he could barely see, he felt a huge vomit gather in his mouth, this time it was bitter and he could already taste it smell, each attempt to walk faster slowed him down. He made a quick left turn almost losing his foot, he could feel the shape of his shoe, the changes they had undergone since he purchased them. They were leather boots, brown to be precise with five lace straps, they were his favorite. He hit his arm on the side view of a car, it cried with a loud voice alerting it owner about an intruder, he ignored the moving cotton he could observe from the block he was standing in front of, his window slammed hard scaring of some birds and insects.

The once bright moon disappeared suddenly and clouds were forming very fast, he had to look for strength and pace, he couldn't add being wet to his problems, he contemplated throwing his shoes away maybe that will give him pace, no, he couldn't do that, wait, maybe it was his coat, them he will freeze to death, a man's arm hit him.

"Hey watch were you're going" the man said almost angrily, he couldn't make out the rest, he was focused on his problem, that man was the least of them.

The wind was blowing hard now,making it hard for Tom to see, his collar flapped hard on his chin, he was delighted for the wind and gathered a little strength to walk faster, his apartment was in view now, he reached in to his pocket for his keys, he felt it, held on tight to it. He cleaned his face with his hands as the wind grew strong, he noticed a quick movement behind him, he grabbed his knife, slid of it head in his pocket, he stopped abruptly,turned effortlessly, it was Mrs Greenwood's cat-Maurice. He felt a pain in his chest,it was guilt, he couldn't leave out in the cold. He shoved the dagger in to the side pocket on his coat, it cut through a loose three, he was proud of how sharp it was, he bent to pick the cat as his bones cried out in pain, he felt numb as he reached for the cat. It was cold already, they were both cold. 

He climbed the step slowly, counting every step carefully, the hallway was dark and he could barely see, he felt his torch in the back pocket if his trouser, he clicked the switched, he tripped on one of the steps and almost lost grip of the cat, he could feel its paws scratching mildly on the sleeves of his coat, he found himself at the door of Mrs Greenwood on completion if that thought.

He dropped the cat, he was going to knock and escape, yes, that was the perfect plan he thought to himself, he bent to drop Maurice, out came his keys, they cried noisily as they hit the floor.

"Maurice, is that you?" She cried from within as she approached the door.

Run, he thought,now is your chance, run, he couldn't he was too tired to think. The door opened slowly and the light from the room lit  the hallway, the room smelled of butter, oranges and a hint of burnt meat, he was surprised at his nasal precision, it was hunger not precision he scolded himself.

"There's my two favorite boys,come in" she said as she collected Maurice in her hand towel, it was moist, but it didn't really matter, the cat was cold already. 

"Sit honey, you're just in time for dinner" she said facing the kitchen.

Tim felt the warmth of the sofa, the room was properly lit, with all sorts of glasswares arranged height oriented, he felt his eye closing as he tried to focus his gaze, no, he had to fight it, he had to stay awake, he pitched himself, it felt like nothing, he finally gave in, he could hear the cat drop to the ground, he was too tired to look.