A Vigilante Story


_T_J_

 

Posted

(( I made this as both an explanation to some friends about a recent event and to fulfill a small part of me that had the urge to write. It' short, but I never claimed to be a writer heh. In addition I hope it'll give insight to folks who may wish to start RP with my Virtue character, Commander TJ. ))

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Another day at the office.

That would accurately describe the situation down at the Atlas Park station of the Paragon Police Department. As I stood in the open hallway I glanced to my left to see officers shuffling around with paperwork, arrested gang members swearing and looking to my right I see citizens questioning a Sergeant, an old man hitting the vending machine trying to get his Snickers and two ladies trying to keep up with the ringing phones.

On a typical Tuesday night I’d probably be at my condo with a glass of Pinot Grigio or visiting friends and acquaintances at DJ Zero’s club. Tonight though I had other things to attend to; finding out what happened to two undercover officers. After exhaling a short breath and making my way upstairs to my office, I sat down in the chair undoing the buttons around my wrists and rolling up the sleeves of my dress shirt. I think it was then that I reflected on how people view me and the things I do around Paragon City. Yeah I may be a jerk sometimes, but I’m not nearly as bad as some folks think.

“Commander, you’ll probably want to look at this.”

The detective dropped a file on my desk and left. I ran a hand through my hair and opened up the manila folder to see a few pictures and some statements. Turns out we just discovered the fate of those two officers. Unfortunately it was slightly more complicated than I had hoped, but that’s okay I’ve had to deal with worse.

Shortly after that I grabbed a set of keys to an unmarked squad car and drove to one of the many tall office buildings of Atlas; this particular one nestled up in Southwest corner. When I arrived I looked around a little before turning the key as the engine fell silent. It was dark out and it had just rained, leaving the pavement wet and the smell of such lingered in the air. I always did enjoy that smell.

Making my way inside the complex I set a small envelope on the front desk by the security guard. That payment gets rid of any security camera footage and ultimately means I was never there. Not too long after that I found myself up on the roof of the building, where it was much colder but still tolerable. That’s when I heard the clank of the big steel service door.

“So TJ I guess you found out about those guys eh?” The scruffy voice from a scruffy man broke the silence.

“Yeah John you could say that. I know you’re an informant but I have to ask, how do you know so much about this?’ I replied, placing my hands on my hips as I watched him.

“You guys pay me to feed you information. Turns out I got paid more from somebody else to stop that information. Look I know about your little secrets so I think we should go our separate ways so everybody is happy.” He spoke carelessly, spitting out some chew that was in his mouth.

“That’s not an option John, just hang tight while I go fetch a war—“ I stopped speaking as I heard the footsteps.

The idiot started charging towards my location and I spun around drawing my service weapon which he clearly expected as he came through the air with a kick, knocking it out of my hand and onto the rooftop.

“Ha ha you gotta do better than that! Wanna dance?” He taunted, almost with a cackle.

“You’re not exactly my type but I will say you’ve made a grave mistake.” I replied calmly.

Now it didn’t take long for him to take a swing at me, his punch connecting with my jaw. Yeah it didn’t feel too good but I repaid the favor with a clenched fist to his side. He laughed a little more, the tone of it sounding like an insane man.

“We’re more alike than you think, Commander. You’re just afraid to have the public come to terms with who you really are… a corrupt, dishonorable cop.” John barked out, spitting in my direction.

I’m what folks call an incarnate and while I rarely use anything other than my weapons training in public, I felt this was an exception. Without hesitation I delivered a fist directly into John’s chest, sending him a good twenty feet through the air, hitting the rooftop and rolling a few times before grabbing onto the edge, dangling over the side.

“Oh dear, things aren’t going in your favor John.” I spoke softly as I knelt next to him.

“Come on TJ, I was just having a little fun. Just think how much we can get done in this city if we work together.” The frantic man looked up at me, pleading.

“I need to make something clear John, so listen up. I might be corrupt for my own personal gain, but I draw the line when it comes to civilians and other cops getting hurt or in this case, killed. One thing I am not though, is a monster. Go to hell, John.”

At that point I stood up and sent my boot crashing into his face, the force causing him to lose grip of the building and starting his long decent to the cement below. I reached down and picked up my glock, reuniting the weapon with the holster on my belt. Stepping back to the edge I looked over, my tie dancing softly in the cool night breeze as I spotted the lifeless body down below.

Calmly I made my way to the service door and back down to the ground level, walking around the complex to the space between the building and the War Wall. I stopped when I noticed a few figures huddling around the body; Vahzilok. Almost instantly they stopped and turned around to look at me, even though I was quite a safe distance away. I gave them a dismissive hand gesture as if saying I wasn’t going to bother them. They started dragging the body to a sewer grate and disappeared into the night.

That’s one body that will never be found. Even though many would disagree with the manner in which it was completed, the fact still remains… Justice was served.