The city of Redemption at night-time was the most beautiful thing you can ever see, in Nevada at least. The city's skyline was brighter than a gambler with clairvoyance. Tall buildings that look like they were just built yesterday. Pristine streets, like they pointed a shotgun at the cleaning crew and they also were holding the clean crew's families hostage . The conflicting smells of whiskey and fine linen filled the air. Of course this was just the richer part of this city. The slums are a completely different story, but we get to that later.

Redemption was certainly the place where dreams can come true, it said so on the travel brochure. A lot  of people " Mostly tourists." see Redemption as a place for new beginnings. A chance to escape from it all and get a clean slate. Little do those poor fools know they was going into the thick of it. If it not white-collared crimes that screw you over, it a mobster that will, permanently. Honestly, the once notorious city of Burnington is more safer than this place. At the very least, you knew what to expect whether it be mind-controlling drugs or clown gangs. Of course like any town in this great country of ours, it had it good parts about it. Like the fact there was plenty of jobs you can get, so you never have to worry about unemployment.

Of course the reason for so many job openings is because of the "Layoffs" done by whatever gang or mafia is controlling the building you plan to work in at the time. Three major mobs control the city. The most powerful group being Disciples of One, followed closely by Familia Dei Morti, and last but certainly not least The Copperheads.

This city is a beautiful paradise for up and coming mobsters and veteran mobsters of the like. You can live a long time in this city, if you play your cards right. Normal citizens stayed in the city despite all that because of all the decent income they make, these were just people with families, mortgages, and bills. Doesn't stop them from sometimes making a critical if albeit accidental mistake of pissing off the wrong person. The night's air was warm but bearable, cars speed down the streets in a blurry haze. A man is getting beat to death over a debt that he didn't pay. A woman in a shimmering red dress entices a married man to follow her into the alley and satisfy his needs for a decent price. A mother is about to get mugged while her son fearfully watches.

"I wonder what will i have for dinner?" A man in a white mask thought as he watches the mother's dilemma unfold before him. He pulled out his knife and started polishing it.

"Chicken? Nah, Vegan? maybe a nice pizza would do the trick." The same man thought lurking in the shadows.

"All right, listen, just give me the money and you and your son can walk away." A man with a black bandana tied around his face and a black baseball cap obscuring his features said as he pointed a 38. caliber gun at them. The mother had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail and wore a simple black t-shirt and a tan-colored blouse over it. The son resemble the mother with his hazel eyes and cute nose. " Okay, okay, please don't hurt us." The mother silently pleaded as she slowly pulled out her purse. The mugger started scratching his neck and cussing under his breath. She pulled out the money and gingerly handed it over to the trembling mugger, he snatched it right out of her hands. He counted it and pocketed it. Then he shoved the gun in her face. " Forty dollars? I know you have much fucking more than that!"

"I don't, i swear! The mother once again pleaded with the mugger, tears running down her face. " I'm not going to hurt your son, so calm the fuck down, but  you're not off the hook!" He came closer with 38. and pointed at her face. Her eyes darted to something behind the crook.

"Can i get a slice of whatever you're getting?" A voice said from behind him. The crook turned around with his gun poised and his finger on the trigger ready to shoot, a hand grabbed the gun, quickly disarming him, the gun falling on the ground making an audible clank. The mugger felt something sharp and cold going into his neck, then it was quickly pulled out. Hot sticky blood started to gush out of the criminal's neck as he frantically tried to suppress the new wound with his hands to no such luck, he slowly started to fall and hit the ground without a sound, just his slowed ragged breathing which came to a stop altogether. The last thought that ran through the mugger dying mind was pretty simple.

"I wasted my whole fucking life. God damnit."

The masked man stabbed the mugger in the back of the neck a few times for good measure.

 The mother held on tighter to her son as she look at her supposed savior. She had heard of this hero before, from her co-workers at the ZerotoHundred, a strip joint where she was assistant manager. This "hero" actually saved one of the workers who was a survivor of domestic abuse by gutting her husband in their own house in front of her.  Then he laughs and gave her all the money that her recently dead husband was taking from her. She remember what the worker said.

"He gave...me the money and says to me. "Buy yourself something nice Nat, it your money after all." And he ran off laughing through the backdoor." She said, still shaking.

She left to a hotel that night, when she came back the body was gone along with all evidence that a murder has taken place. There was a note with a fully loaded gun saying.

"I can't be around all the time, take matters into your own hand and teach the next jerk who tries to mess with you. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH." -  The Jackal, stand up hero. Watch me perform at Redemption in a seedy club full of gang bangers. 1pm to 10pm. Free admission.

"That was the last i saw of him. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him." She added tearfully with a smile.

So, he was kind of a legend in her workplace. The worker went on to become more confidant and her life was steadily if slowly improving. Whenever somebody brings up this "hero" in a negative light, Nat immediately jumped in and shut down the conversation entirely. The mother went back to looking at him.  He was tall, 6ft by the look of it. Couldn't tell the ethnicity due every part of his skin being covered by his outfit. He was wearing a white leather jacket, with purple marker writing all over it, saying "HA HA", Black pants and dull purple sneakers. What stood out about him was two things. His Mask, which was just a stitched together white mask with two eye holes. But in the the center of the mask just between the two eyes holes was a jest-

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"Uh excuse me, miss?" The vigilante said while holding out the forty dollars that was rudely taken from her. "I might be wrong but i think this is yours." The mother was snapped out of her analysis of this man in front of her. The woman took the forty dollars carefully and put it back in her purse. The son look on in astonishment. It was him, The Jackal.

"Hey there, little guy, make sure that you always brush your teeth everyday and every night, cavities are no joke." He said, rubbing the kid's hair. Getting some blood in it.

The son nodded, smiling. The mother just looked uneasily at The Jackal. She held her son's hand tight. The Jackal put both of his hands behind his head, waiting for her to say something.

"Thank you for saving us, but..." She was hesitant in explaining, how could she say, don't come near me or my son again without sounding ungrateful? I mean she surely can't be blamed for thinking that. The vigilante did just killed a man in front of her son, who seems disturbingly unaffected by the whole ordeal.

"I need to take him to a psychiatrist later on in the week." She thought wearily.

"Don't come near you or your son again? Gotcha!" The Jackal said enthusiastically.

The mother was surprised by his accurate prediction of what she was thinking. " Wait, i...think you are a good person, and i guess you doing a good thing for this community." She said, trying to plead that she wasn't ungrateful and actually appreciated what The Jackal did here today.

"You saved one of the workers at the place i work at, ZerotoHundred." She added.

"Oh yeah, How is Nat doing?" The Jackal asked happily.

"She doing fine,  She stands up for herself more." The mother told him, she was glad that Nat was smiling more and realizing that she is better than her piece of shit husband. She glad the Jackal killed that bastard.

"That great, tell her i said hi!" The Jackal said happily, it been awhile since he went to the ZerotoHundred anyways, maybe he could make a stop in the near future. Plenty of mobsters love going there.

"He a superhero, mom! Just like That team of superheroes...uh the Champions i think, or Lady Luck! Her son exclaimed happily.

"Ah, Lady Luck, i never had the pleasure of meeting her, but i will tell you this, if we do meet, we'll work together to stop the criminal element plaguing the good city of Redemption!" He said, imitating a hero pose and a deep voice to go along with it. He started to crack up, nearly falling over with laughter.

"Oh! What your super-power?" The son said, getting more excited by the minute.

"Honey no." The mother said quietly, trying to get out of here.

"Stabbing and shooting...And shooting and stabbing." The Jackal said matter of fact.

"That so cool!" The son exclaimed.

The mother held on to her son as she slowy backed away from the alley and onto the sidewalk. He may be a hero but he was also possibly mentally unstable. The Jackal waved at them joyfully.

"Thank you again!" She said again, a grateful smile and tears running down her face.

"See you, Jackal!" The son exclaimed as the mother quickly took him away to go back to their apartment.

"Hmmm...Oh i know, a sandwich! i think Regal's Royale Sandwiches are still open!" He thought as he went through the dead mugger wallet finding twenty dollars in cash. Police sirens was blaring in the distance.

"Welp , time to go!" He thought as he pocketed the money and slinked off into the darkness as the police pulled up in front of the alley.

Two police officers walked up to the scene before them. They had received a call from a restaurant worker on a cigarette break who saw the mugger forced the mother and her young son into the dark alley between the Bailey Emporium of Sweets and R&N Printing.

A tall man walked in first, careful to not disturb any evidence in the process, he had a flashlight in hand. He had short black hair cut closed to the scalp, with a well-trimmed beard. He seem to be around 30 years of age, He had hard green eyes and olive-complexion skin. The one that was coming up behind him was a woman in her mid-twenties, a new rookie that wanted to do her very best and prove her worth. She had long brown hair that reached her shoulders usually but it was wrapped up in a bun. She was shorter than the man, she was almost up to his elbow with soft, baby-blue eyes that can disarm pretty much anybody.

The elder police officer's eyes gaze upon the still warm body of the mugger, a pool of blood congealed around him, his face completely drained of color. A rotten stench permeated through out the air.

"Jesus." The elder officer said under his breath. He got an idea that vigilante that laughs way too damn much might have to something do with this. Lady Luck has the decency "Or stupidity, depending on how you look at it" to keep the criminals alive.

The woman besides him holds both her hands up to her mouth in horror. The man looks at her, she was completely pale, almost like she was about to th-

The younger officer ran to the trashcan located just outside of R&N Printing and emptied her donuts.

The elder police officer sighed, he couldn't blame her for reacting the way she did. How often do rookies fresh off the academy dive head first into a homicide case? He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She wiped her mouth, and tried to compose herself. She pull out her receiver, her hands trembling.

"R-RPD, this i-is officer C-Cassie, we have a homicide on Western Goldendale, In the alleyway between Bailey and R&N." She said, she thought she could handle a dead body.

"I mean i'm a cop for god sakes, i may be new but i should be able to handle this." She thought to herself.

"Ok, sending cleanup and autopsy crew, will arrive in five minutes." The cold, hard voice said on the radio.

"You're gonna be alright?" The elder cop asked, concerned.

"Yes Adam, i be fine." She lied casually. Looking straight ahead and away from the dead body.

Officer Adam walked back to the crime scene. Truth be told, he didn't care much for this city, but damnit he will do his best to keep the streets semi-clean. He had given up hope of turning this city around for the better around two years ago. Back when he first started, he was like Cassie. He wanted to make a difference and get rid of these criminals and mafias that plague the streets and made life an anxiety-filled mess for everyone involved. Even the one percent wasn't safe from getting a strongly worded letter in their mail. Followed by a picture of their loved one being mutilated or kidnapped. He didn't really have a firm stance for or against vigilantes and superheroes like The Jackal and Lady Luck.

Or those Champions in Glory. On one hand they're fighting back against these motherfucking criminals that plagued the city for too long. But on the other hand, he knows that everything is accomplished is only temporary. Even if they managed to take down all the major gangs, they always be something worst to replace it. His years working in Ultradam can attest to that. He heard two cars in the distance, one with sirens.

Cassie walked up to him.

"What do you think?" Cassie asked Adam.

"Think? of what?" Adam questioned.

"Of these rumors about the Chief of Redemption Police Department being bribed?" She spoked quietly. She didn't know who was on the payroll in this awful city. 

Adam didn't know how to respond. Apparently the rookie keeps her ears to the street.

Unfortunately he couldn't answer because of the cleanup and autopsy crew arriving down the street. Red and white lights flaring, lighting up the night sky.

"I tell you later, alright?" Adam said, it wasn't safe to talk here, never know who might be on the payroll.

Cassie nodded as they both got out of the way to the let the cleanup crew handled their business.