Kagan
Freeze City
Back here again. Back in the slums, back in the dirt. Naturally, the dirt was always the best place to find scum, and scum was exactly what I was after. Through various connections and contacts over the course of six months, I'd managed to arrange a meeting with the infamous crime boss Don Artigno, who might know something about the Executioners. Thoughts of those terrible humans flooded my mind, reminded me of everything they'd done to me. No, can't get sentimental now, I scolded myself, straightening my face when I realized I'd been frowning. If I was lucky, this lowlife would have some information on where the Executioners' base was, and if so, and how to get into it. The building where I waited was a dilapidated old apartment complex located in the middle of Freeze City's slums. Nobody lived here anymore, and that made it the perfect hiding place for drug dealers and criminals, and all sorts of scum. The very thought of them all disgusted me, but there I stood anyway, waiting to meet the filthy human who owned it all.
Naturally, Don Artigno could never have suspected my true identity as a wolf when he first laid eyes on me. My shady, enigmatic appearance clearly unsettled him as he and his 'associates' (I refer to them as his minions, because...well, that's what they were) approached. I stood with my back leaning against the wall, head looking down. For a slight moment, I was immersed in thought, before Artigno's voice snapped me out of it. "You the guy?" He asked in what I detected to be a fake Italian accent. "Yeah," I said simply. He approached, motioning for his minions to stay close to him. "Alright, what'd you wanna know? Kid like you's a little young to be inquirin' about these scum, eh?" He snorted. He seemed impatient and ready to leave, mainly because he had other business to attend to, but also because I unnerved him somewhat. I raised my head, and gazed upon him with both my eyes. The man was shorter than I'd expected; about 5 '11. He wore a black leather trench coat and a hat to hide his identity; as did his lackeys. "Where's their base, and how do I get in?" I asked flatly. For a moment, an amused grin was plastered upon Don Artigno's face, but it was soon washed away by a serious expression. "You don't stand a-" he began, but I cut him off. "Don't lecture me, just tell me what I want to know," I ordered. The crime boss and his minions quickly walked up to me. Anger was in Artigno's eyes. "You talk to me like dat, boy, you dead," he warned. A slight grin appeared on my face, but I didn't flinch. "Don't forget who's paying you. You're getting quite a handsome fee for this," I shot back. With that, he took a few steps back. His lackeys followed suit.
"A'right then. I don't know exactly where it is, but I knows it's here in Freeze City. In fact, according to my contacts, we're not far from it now. It's somewhere in the slums, hidden in plain sight. As for getting in, I wouldn't know much about that, but I got a friend in not far from here...name's Giovanni. He's gotten in before, he can tell you more." Don Artigno proceeded to hand me what appeared to be a business card from a nearby city, though all that was on it was a name, Giovanni, and an address. The rest of the card was blank. "Now, gimme my money," Don Artigno quickly snapped. From my pocket, I pulled a sack of money which contained several 500 hundred dollar cash bills. "No briefcase? Very unprofessional," Artigno remarked as he took the bag of cash from my hands. He proceeded to hand it to one of his minions, who opened the sack and clumsily began counting the money. After a few minutes of staring at me, Don Artigno turned to his associate. "You done?" He asked, frustrated. "All here," the lackey concluded, stuffing the cash back into the bag. Without another word, Don Artigno and his 'associates' walked away.
I stood for a moment, thinking on what I'd just been told. Hidden in plain sight, he said. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I thought. Deciding that a good walk might clarify things, I exited the complex and began wandering the streets of the slums, the dirt of Freeze City.