Silhouette Chaper 1

Chapter 1
Men of Worth

A dark silhouette of a man drinking scotch stands in front of a window looking over the city during its twilight hours. He takes a sip from the glass and begins to think.
“I want to ask you something. If you had the option to change the world for the better but at the cost of your morals, would you do it? A murder, a lie, maybe even a theft that could save lives or solve a social dilemma. All at the cost of desecrating the very ideals you hold so dear. Is the act worth the sacrifice? That is the only thing I think about these days.”
His concentration is interrupted by police sirens rushing to the scene of a crime.
“They would be content with jamming their face with a jelly doughnut while they spill coffee on themselves if it was a rape incident. “
Additional police units roll through the streets. All of them converging onto Freemont street like angry bees to a disturbed hive. The figure walks away from the window to his closet, setting his drink on the nightstand on his way. Opening the closet, he gazes at the suit dangling from a wire hanger. A rather profuse odor of sweat from previous excursions irradiated from the hanging uniform. “It is time to go to work” he murmurs to himself. After a few a button snaps and zipper zips he ran to the exterior fire escape and leaped to the neighboring building’s drain pipe. A quick grip and strong arm sent him right up the drain to the roof. In his sprint across the rooftop he began to think again.
“Why are these cops in such a tizzy? It can’t be the mayor because he’s dead and it is probably not the North Point Gang because they don’t stretch into Felrone’s territory. Maybe I am thinking the wrong way. What is of importance on Freemont?”
The man begins to crouch at the edge of a rooftop overlooking Freemont street.
Cops surround the bank below with guns drawn. A cop with a megaphone soon walks forward and begins to speak.
“Come out with your hands up.”
A voice from inside the building yells back.
“How about you come in with your hands up!”
Policemen look at each other with a puzzled glance. The cop responds.
“All right creep you have no leverage here. Surrender now or we will be forced to use lethal force.”
The voice begins to speak through a megaphone of his own.
“How about this Captain Anderson. Oh wow that sounds a lot better. These megaphones work phenomenally! Oh right, Captain Anderson I have a wonderful idea. You and all of your cop buddies put down your guns and come inside. Or else, I will kill the hostages in this room with me and I will give ring a ding to my friend at 5980 Darcy Lane who is just so excited to meet your wife and daughter. I await your response Captain.”
The captain’s face turns pale but before he could respond, two police officers grab him by the arms and pull him away from the scene. The captain kicked and yelled that he needs to go to his family. The voice from the building begins to speak once more.
“I would advise getting a move on. I am a very busy man with places to be. Come in with your hands up and we can end this rather senseless bravado infused standoff.”
The man on the rooftop begins to survey the surrounding area with a 6 story apartment building catching his eye. He immediately begins to run from rooftop to rooftop. The rather tall apartment building now drawing near, he quickly reaches for his grappling gun and loads a powder charge into the chamber. A loud click can be heard from the charge locking into place. The apartment building now directly in front of him, he loads a grappling hook marred from scratches of previous climbs. Aiming the grappling gun at the moon over head, he pulls the trigger letting forth a load bang and a dangling rope. The policemen below begin to open fire on the bank with an unrelenting barrage of lead. The man begins his trip up the side of the apartment building with thoughts brimming about the situation below.
“Those cops are on edge and seem to be overly aggressive. What is in that bank to cause a reaction of such magnitude? Shootings happen every day in this cesspool of a city with hardly a moment’s notice.”
The man reaches the top of the building, hardly breaking a sweat, and yanks up the rope he has just used. A significant divide separates the bank and him with dozens of police cars in between. The man begins to mutter “I hope they don’t look up”. He pulls a compacted crossbow from his back and releases an audible snap from the extension of the arms. A large and hefty bolt is then drawn from a small hard cased quiver and is tied to the rope lying beside him. The bolt is nocked and he begins to take aim at the bank’s rooftop. After a short breath, he pulls the trigger letting loose the ebony tinted bolt. The well placed shot anchors itself in the opposite rooftop. He grabs out a pulley device with a handle and attaches it to the taught rope and sails to the bank. After a rather calamitous landing, the voice inside the bank begins to speak through the megaphone once more.
“Well well well it looks like the life of a blue’s family means nothing these days. Let’s see if this will make you think again about your hostilities. Every man of worth deserves a helping hand.”
The cacophony of lead ended in an instant.
“Well that is much better. I must admit, I expected a few of you but not this many. I guess piggy gotta eat. Before you begin rushing in to retrieve you know what, I would advise taking a moment to think before those of you who don’t know what that means begin making connections.”
The figure on the roof begins to look down at the Voice and his goons through a skylight. Two goons are running to and fro from the bank vault to a large pile of duffle bags. Another 3 goons circle a group of hostages. In the center of the room stands a man with a megaphone checking his phone. The man starts to strategize “A couple of stun grenades and smoke bombs should disorient them. Which should give me enough time to take the three out near the hostages. Alright let’s go.” The man begins to drop every piece of extraneous equipment into a neat pile on the roof and prepares for his assault. He quickly stands up and anchors a rappel line into the roof. “Once more into the fray” he murmurs and punches the skylight with the brass knuckles in his left hand. The glass shatters and falls onto the perpetrators and criminals below with flashbangs and smoke grenades following suit. The man zooms down the rope anchored to the roof landing on the large heap of glass. Entering a frenzy, he begins to execute his plan with a left hook into the face of one goon and a swift quick to the gut of another. Successive punches and kicks against the goons threatening the hostages and leaves them bloodied and murmuring on the floor. A hint of victory settles in before a loud click of a revolver can be heard behind him. The Voice begins to speak.
“Impressive, bravo, and all the cheers for such a feat. Three men down and out in less than 12 seconds. Wow just wow… and I thought I was a badass. All I see is a silhouette dancing in smoke and busting jaws. I would congratulate you more but…”
The Voice looks at his phone briefly.
“It is time to exit stage left.”
The Voice swaps his phone for a handheld switch from his left pocket and clicks it. A flaming circle begins to form around the pile of duffel bags. Crackling and hissing fills the air followed by a loud thud. A hole had been cut through the floor into the sewer system below.
“What does ‘Every man of worth deserves a helping hand’ mean?” asks the man.
“It really is all so dreadfully and simply typical” replied the Voice and tosses a card his way. “Corruption and the sacrifice of character for a few measly dollars. The fact that you asked gives you more character than the pigs out there. Maybe we’ll see each other again some time. Peace out Silhouette.” The Voice snaps his fingers and his other two goons pull the unconscious and bloodied riff raff into the hole. He begins to back up to the hole, but before he could drop the entire front of the building burst into flames with screams emerging from them. “Woo wee, smell that lovely barbeque. That trap actually worked. I guess it is time for you to choose there hero. Save those hostages from burning to death or chase me.” He jumps down the hole and makes his escape.
The man with his bloody gloves looks to the hole in the floor and turns to the scared hostages. Without much thought he charges toward the hostages and draws a knife from his boot. He begins to cut away the restraints and starts to calmly speak to the group, “I need all of you to head toward the back exit of the building and walk out with your hands up. Those cops are going to be mighty jumpy after that explosion.” He cuts the last of the hostages go and walks over to the rope he used to drop in. After a quick sigh of disappointment, he climbs up the rope to the roof. Gathering his equipment as he leaves, thoughts begins to buzz in his head.
“That man, that Voice told me the police force was corrupt. It is not hard to believe with the things they do and more importantly don’t do. The card he gave me must mean something, but what? The mob? The cartel? A local rich douchebag? I need to know more about this. I need to know if that Voice was a puppet or the master. I need to know who controls the cops and for what purpose. I need to know everything?”