Chapter 88 - Deal with the Devil

Jack took a tentative step into the threshold of the training hall Rodeo had built. He immediately found himself in some sort of cafeteria. There were a handful of people in the room, all staring down at their food as though it owed them money and slept with their mothers. Several spared a glance at Jack and Hannah as they walked across the mess hall towards a door at the back. Jack gave each of them a passing inspection in return, his eyes landing on one man who had an AK-47 strapped to his back.

Jack was extremely curious how the man had that, and he resigned himself to finding out, and then stealing it.

Everyone in the room had an edge to them that Jack couldn’t ignore. It seemed like Rodeo wasn’t messing around this time. He seemed to be training some actual powerhouses.

“Probably a good thing we didn’t kick the hornets’ nest,” Jack said to Hannah.

“I still might. What the fuck are we doing here, Jack? Why didn’t you put a knife through his skull?” Hannah growled under her breath.

“Like I said, let’s just see what he wants. He knows how serious it is calling us here. I gotta admit, I’m curious.” Jack said. He wasn’t actually curious. He wanted to rip Rodeo’s head off. He just wasn’t sure now was the time or place to fill Hannah in on his psychotic breaks.

Probably should have tipped her off a bit sooner, Jack mused to himself as they pushed through the back door.

The door at the back of the mess opened up into a foyer with several halls attached and what looked like a sort of lounge room. There were two people inside, laid out across a couch, one sharpening a greatsword, the other tossing a dagger up in the air and catching it. They seemed even stronger still than the ones before. Jack grimaced at that. The headcount of people at least as strong as them was growing with each new room they entered. Killing Rodeo might not be as straightforward as he was hoping it would be if all these people intervened.

Jack spotted the stairs and went up, reorienting himself towards the balcony and making his way towards Rodeo.

He found the door to the balcony and opened it. He spotted Little Jack first, propped up on the railing and smiling happily at Rodeo.

Jack had no idea what to make of the new addition. As much as he hated to admit it, he had looked up to Rodeo as a kid. Never as a father figure, but more of a hero, if anything. Rodeo had raised him. Taught him everything he knew about killing. The man had shaped and molded Jack.

Jack realized far too late in life that Rodeo had never had his best interest in mind. The man had brain washed him through and through, and now that brain washed little kid had showed back up and was stopping him from killing Rodeo. Little Jack noticed him immediately and flipped him the bird.

This little piece of shit, Jack groaned.

Jack walked up next to Little Jack and leaned against the railing, taking stock of everyone. There was another woman on the balcony, sitting back in a corner, wearing black leather armor with a Katana slung across her back. She pulled her hair back into a tight bun and her cat-like eyes shined bright in the shadowy corner of the balcony. Curiously, Jack couldn’t get a read on her, which usually meant she would be annoyingly strong.

Then Jack’s eyes fell on Rodeo. It was even more jarring to look at him up close. Something about Rodeo now looking the same age as him was annoying. Rodeo just stood there, arms crossed, the same wolf-like smile slung across his face.

“So, you’ve finally resurrected the rough house.” Jack said after a long tense moment of everyone staring at each other.

“No thanks to you, kid. I remember the hell you put everyone through when we tried to start it up back on Earth.” Rodeo said in a deep chuckle. “It’s still missing a few of its key members, though.” Rodeo said, a twinkle in his eye.

“Cut the shit Rodeo. You don’t seriously think we would join up with you?” Hannah cut in.

“I must admit.” Rodeo said, turning to Hannah. “I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried to attack me. I thought our reunion was going to be a little more exciting. I was looking forward to it honestly.”

“The day is still young.” Hannah snarled.

Rodeo smirked at Hannah, then his all-seeing eyes fell back on Jack, inspecting him.

“Tell me, kid, you adjusting to life in the Tower? Real ironic, you getting out of the life only to be pulled back into the most violent place in the universe.” He chuckled.

So Rodeo was keeping track of me. Jack thought.

“I’ll have to get you trained back up, make sure you still have your edge-”

“Hold on.” Jack said, putting up staying hand. “I’m not sure what you think this is, Rodeo, or what you expect to happen, but we aren’t going to do shit for you.”

“Seriously,” Hannah added, “You didn’t really think summoning us here was a good idea, did you?”

“Come now, where’s the faith? The trust?”

“It isn’t that we don’t trust you, Rodeo. It’s just that you’re an evil piece of shit and we hate you.” Jack said matter of fact.

Rodeo’s smile dropped and his eyes went hard for the briefest of seconds before his lazy smile returned like it had never left.

“While I would love for my two lost lambs to return to the flock, that isn’t why I’ve had you brought here.” he said after another long tense moment of silence.

“Then why?”

“I’ve got a job.” He offered.

“Again, we don’t work for you anymore.” Hannah said, crossing her arms.

Little Jack was the only one who seemed intrigued, and Jack squinted as he watched his kid self lean in closer, eyes intense with curiosity.

“What’s the job?” Little Jack asked, his voice brimming with excitement.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Much to Jack’s annoyance, he found the words coming out of his mouth. He tried to bite off his tongue but found himself unable to work his mouth shut. He stared at Little Jack, who wore a taunting smirk on his face.

How the fuck does this kid have so much control over me? He wondered.

“I’m glad you asked.” Rodeo smiled, staring at Jack with a curious gaze.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, there is a war going on. The king has employed my services in taking out hits against some of the more prominent members of the U.F.E. It’s been lucrative, to say the least.” Rodeo grinned, “But I’m afraid things are coming to a head. There is one target that I’m having trouble killing, and if we don’t manage to destroy him, I’m afraid we will have lost the war.”

“Let me guess - Gideon.” Hannah said matter of fact.

Rodeo smiled in response.

“I’m glad at least one of you is still on top of their game. Yes, Gideon the Golden Dragon. I’ve had several exchanges with him already and always find myself coming up short. To be frank, I need your help putting him down.”

That shocked Jack. Not the killing Gideon part, but the part where Rodeo couldn’t beat him. Much less the fact that he was admitting to needing help. Rodeo was a lot of things, but above all, he was a genius at combat. He absorbed techniques like a sponge and could regurgitate it and combine it with anything else he’d learn, most often in the most horrifying, most destructive fashion. If Rodeo was having trouble against Gideon, Jack was likely to run into many of the same issues.

Jack looked over at Hannah. She scrunched up her face, deep in thought, likely running through the consequences of teaming up with Rodeo. She was probably thinking the exact same thing. If Gideon was actually this hard to kill, then they needed help. Unfortunately, Rodeo was likely the only person in existence who actually could help them.

“If, and it’s a big if…” Hannah started to say. “If we are going to consider helping you, we’re going to need some things from you first.”

“There’s the girl I remember. Honor be damned so long as I get paid, ain’t that right?” Rodeo laughed, slapping his thigh. “Name your price Hannah.”

Hannah stared daggers at Rodeo for a long moment, then she looked over at Jack. He gave her a small nod. Well, he didn’t, Little Jack did. Hannah stared back at Jack, an almost shocked look that he was agreeing to any of this before she continued on.

“We aren’t doing shit until we find our friend first.”

“Lot of people to sort through. Might take some time, which we’re severely lacking. Who is it?”

“Sam Frost. He was traveling with us and we got separated. We think he’s with the U.F.E., possibly a prisoner.”

Rodeo stared at Hannah for a long moment, and the other woman on the balcony shifted awkwardly in the corner.

“Sam Frost… Yes… I think I might know where to find him.” Rodeo said, rubbing at his chin.

“Where is he?” Both Jack and Hannah said simultaneously.

“Well, that’s the difficult part. I believe he’s holed up at the same place Gideon resides. Tell me, just so I’m positive we’re talking about the same person. This is the kid you had running tech for you back on Earth, no?”

More confirmation that Rodeo was keeping a close eye on us the entire time. Jack grimaced. There really was no escaping him.

“Pretty convenient for you.” Jack said with a slight roll of his eyes.

Hannah’s face flashed from surprised, to confused, to calculating in the span of a second at the news. Jack had to hope she had some sort of plan in the works because he was all but useless at the moment. At some point during the conversation, his hand had fallen to his dagger, and he was in a battle of wills against Little Jack on trying to pull it out and stab Rodeo.

This was going to be a huge problem if Jack couldn’t figure out what the deal was with his kid self. Why the fuck does he like Rodeo so much? Isn’t he a manifestation of me? He has to know what he did to us, Jack thought, practically staring daggers at Little Jack, who seemed nonplussed, hardly paying attention to the conversation, walking back and forth across the railing like it was a balance beam. Jack had to admit, he found himself to be extremely annoying at the moment, which was a somewhat new sensation for him.

“It’s been a long day.” Hannah said after a moment. “We’ll sleep on it and let you know. Where the hell are the beds?”

Rodeo’s face turned sour. Jack was a little surprised at that. Rodeo was smart, and Jack didn’t really believe Rodeo thought we would just agree to work with him.

“We’ll do it.” Jack found himself saying unprompted. He quickly turned back to glare at a smiling Little Jack.

“What. I want to go on the mission.” Little Jack shrugged.

Rodeo grinned at Jack. Hannah stared at Jack like he was now public enemy number one. Her eyes flashing anger and betrayal.

“I knew I could count on you two.” Rodeo started. “Beds are on either floor. Same rules apply. You want a room, you better be ready to fight for it. Mission training starts first thing in the morning. I expect a full rundown of your level, class, core, and abilities within the hour. Other than that, welcome to the Rough House.” Rodeo smiled.

“Yea. We aren’t doing any of that shit.” Jack said, finally gaining some modicum of control back over his body. Rodeo cocked an eyebrow at him in response.

“I must admit... Now that we’re both in our primes, I’m curious which of us is stronger. The master - or the mouthy little shit?” Rodeo grinned, his smile turning menacing.

Jack ignored the obvious provocation and walked off the balcony, Hannah trailing slowly behind him. He walked down the hallway and found a room that had someone’s stuff haphazardly spread out across. He gathered it all up and threw it into the hallway.

Hannah shut the door behind her as she joined Jack in the room.

“I can explain-” Jack said, proffering up his hands.

“What the fuck, Jack!?” Hannah all but roared, cutting him off. “Did you really miss him that much? The second you see him, you bend over backwards to fulfill his every wish? You want to be daddy’s perfect little killer again? I mean, seriously, what the fuck? I was there - I know how evil that motherfucker is. Did you suddenly just forget that he’s the one who killed your-”

“Stop.” Jack said, his voice going cold.

Hannah didn’t say anything else, instead letting out a small huff and plopping down on to the bed.

“I think I’ve got a plan.” She said after another long moment of silence. “If Sam is with Gideon, there’s no way in hell the U.F.E. kidnapped him. He probably figured we both died and joined up with them of his own volition. You’ll notice Rodeo knew exactly who we were talking about when we mentioned Sam. Even his little attendant started squirming at the name. There’s something he isn’t telling us.”

“He never was very good at keeping secrets.” Jack nodded.

“If Rodeo also has to kill Gideon,” Hannah continued. “I’m thinking there’s a way we can kill two birds with one stone here. Let those two assholes duke it out and then we sweep up.”

“Rodeo probably expects as much.” Jack said.

“Yea. We’ll figure out what his mission is tomorrow and then work from there. Jack, you're probably already aware of this, but If Gideon is there, so is Sarah. This whole thing is going to be an absolute clusterfuck, mainly for you.”

“Wouldn’t be one of our jobs if it wasn’t.” Jack said with an almost wistful smile.

“In the meantime, do you want to explain why the fuck you're suddenly so amicable to working with Rodeo? I always thought he was kill on sight.”

Jack leaned against the wall, chewing on his tongue in thought. He looked over at Hannah, whose face was the perfect picture of concern.

“I think I’m going insane.” Jack slowly said, unsure of how to properly explain everything.

Hannah stared at Jack for a long moment, not saying anything.

“Hey! Who the fuck messed with my stuff?” came a voice from the hallway.

“I’ll deal with this.” was all she said in response, pulling out a bow and walking into the hallway.

He felt the house shake as Hannah traded blows with whatever unlucky bastard was outside. He let out another long sigh, his eyes falling to Little Jack, who was bouncing up and down on the bed, a menacing smile on his face.

“This is not good at all,” Jack groaned under his breath.