Electric Shadowmen

Akeno: Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice… You will never shame me again.

A man that greets you with an embrace and pats you on the back twice is a man trying to find a soft spot to stick the knife. The Neon City was full of backstabbers, con men, and foul-mouthed whores. I knew a had to keep my family close to provide strength and guidance to the foundation of our dynasty.

I was among the vilest types of humans as deals needed to be made and scores needed to be settled. The city had a darker side to it as the neon lights blinded the truth from its people. My roots were dug into the ground deep. I moved my way up this discreet syndicate my family started generations ago. And I knew that certain balances needed to be kept. Rules and restrictions needed to be followed. I was in a valley of sunshine but it could easily transform into a night of blood if those connected broke the rules or went beyond their limitations.

I had an emergency meeting to get to that I called under the guidelines of the yellow sword.

This meant that a message would be delivered by a boy to each of the heads of the family that ran a particular part of the business with a premise of caution. The small metallic sword with a yellow bow wrapped around it was sort of a calling card of severity.

If it was red it would be a meeting to discuss war and death. A very severe action. A red sword has not been delivered in three generations and I don’t want to be the one to stop the trend.

Mainly business with other factions of the Neon City has been stable but lately, there has been an uprising of rogue vendors operating with disregard for territory or respect.

Respect, meaning a percentage of revenue distributed to the ones that run that district which in this case is us.

I was hesitant to get to the meeting as the wind was well above average and the air quality was poorer than usual. I wanted the energy to be calm and not chaotic as the men I would be speaking to would slightly be on edge due to the circumstances of our problem.

Three shops have been taxed by two assailants claiming to be a part of my clan. Somebody is using my name in vain and not fearing the consequences for such a display of disrespect.

My wife saw the look in my eyes as she as seen it before, but this time she sensed fear. I made us our specialty tea and sat her down to explain that I would be ordering an investigation to be handled by two men and one of them would be Jai our firstborn son.

I knew she would get up and scream and try to convince me to give it to another’s son, but this was tradition. Jai has to earn his respect just as I had to earn it. I can not show favoritism.

She gave me the usual warning if anything happened to him she would cut my cock off while I sleep, so I never can bring life into the world again. I think every time we get in an argument she threatens me with that one.. Or maybe that’s the only one I remember. Rightly so.

She knew the life I lived when she married me, so my son chose the same one. I always gave options to my children to be what they dreamed of being and I would try to make that happen and as a last resort, they could join me. The scary part is my daughter already inquiring about the life. The clan. I see her eyes light up fantasizing when Uncle Bill comes over for dinner and tells one of his ancient stories.

My wife kissed me on my hand and made me promise to watch over Jai. I gave her my word. I know my son is ready for the hunt. I have trained him well. He will be fine.

I left my wife at the doorsteps of our home and proceeded to get to the meeting I called. The drive to the meeting was filled with questions. Who were these poachers? Why were they shaking down my shops? We needed to formulate a plan and have Jai and Tonni execute it.

I was really confident in Tonni. He is experienced enough and he will show Jai how to deal with situations like this calmly.

I pulled up to the location of our meeting. I should be the last to arrive since I am the clan leader. Four other men will be waiting for me. One oversees finance. One oversees imports and exports. One oversees securities. And another oversees legality. And I oversee them all.

I walked in and sat down as Ki offered me a cigarette and lit it with his gold zippo.

Thank you, Ki.

I called this meeting injunction to the theft that has taken place at the 3 shops in our territory. I feel it is some young blood trying to hit our spot for some quick cash and then dash out of town. Why else would someone have the balls to do what he or they did… Assuming it was more than one.

“I heard from someone that it was a family member of the man the owns the smoke shop on Flamingo. My source told me it was drug-related or the person has a drug problem” said Raymond.

Ki blurts out “If that’s the case, I’m not worried about it. I don’t see a clear intention of insult.”

Ok. I will send Jai and Tonni to check it out. Upon action how do you vote the poacher as punishment if, in fact, it is what Ray Ray says it is?

In these scenarios, my clan was pretty lenient on drug abusers that stole for their high, but still, a punishment would be given.

“Since it is not an outsider and someone with knowledge of the clan’s name. I suggest a broken jaw and fingers would be sufficient.” Tapen the head of our security states.

Agreed. For four… Everyone agreed.

If it so happens that this isn’t the one who robbed the shops. We will again adjourn as soon as possible to decide the next move. I’m sure Jai and Tonni will get to the bottom of this.

The meeting was brief… We needed more information to know what exactly was what. My gut told me that Raymond’s source was accurate. Most of the time my instinct prevailed. I went to a secure phone line we had for giving direct orders. And made the call. Now it was up to my son to earn his bones. A test for him.