Midnight Runner

“Pierce. Come on man, you can’t back down now. The games just starting,” urged Blake.

“Get off my ass, Ulric. I am not burying myself in another shit show. Last time I did this-”

“What happened last time was a mishap. It won’t happen again. You know you can’t pass this job up.”

I folded my arms across my chest while leaning up against the dirty grey cement siding. Anger was slowly burning in me as my patience with this kid grew thin. What the hell did he know? Losing a younger sister to the fucking underground business was like ripping my soul to pieces. He didn’t know the torture in my mind. He didn’t know what it felt like to lose the only family you had left. The only family that cared about if you died or not.

“Blake, I’m warning you. Don’t test me, kid. If you want this damn job so badly, take it yourself. See how far you get,” I threatened.

Blake Ulric was my apprentice in training and in this kind of business that didn’t mean it was easy. He had to be up for whatever was handed to him, whether that be stealing something, going undercover, hurting someone or even killing a person. My job consisted of taking jobs that no one else wanted to do for a hefty sum of cash.

You could call it dirty work, but I’m my own boss. No one owns me and I preferred to work alone. That was until I met this homeless kid. He reeked of death and was way too scrawny for his age, so I decided to take him in. I gave him a job and some food and a change of clothes. In return, he helped me on my missions and it turned out the kid was a genius with electronics and hacking into anything and everything.

“You know I don’t work outside of a computer system,” he joked as if this was some kind of amusement for him.

“Then get off of my ass,” I stated louder.

“Come on. You’re the Midnight Runner. You can’t give up this kind of work.”

That’s what they called me, the people who gave me the missions that I chose to accept. They were all usually businessmen, gang leaders, and all of the above. Once, I even had an elementary school teacher who wanted me to smuggle in a train car full of body parts for the black market. I declined him just to be clear. I didn’t do anything that malicious.

“I’m not that person anymore. I don’t care about what everyone coined me as. I’m not... him anymore,” I informed him, sounding rather strained. Pushing myself from the building, I walked to the edge of the rooftop and gazed down at the darkened streets. Cars whizzed by trying to get to their destinations as quickly as possible and the smell of the sweet nighttime air filled my lungs.

“Adrian you can’t mean that. I’ve known you for a few good years. None of them ever made you want to stop before. You can’t end it now, man.”

I turned on my heels to glare at him through the smog. “What the hell do you know? You haven’t lost the only thing that meant something to you. Damnit, you’re just a kid. You don’t know jack shit about anything. Ulric, you are about her age you know? She would’ve turned 23 this year. Do you know how hard that feels? No. So shut the hell up before I throw you off of this damn building.” I growled, losing myself a bit to the anger coursing through my veins. He went silent and then walked a few steps to the edge.

“I don’t know how losing someone feels. You’re right. But I’ve spent my childhood on the streets without anybody. I am grateful for what you have given me. You’re like a big brother. But listen to me when I say, you can’t give this up. He asked for you and only you, man. He wants you to stop this drug bust, and it’s for a great sum of cash. More than you’ve ever gotten.”

“Fuck. You just don’t get it,” I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. “I’m not getting into his shit. He always asks for more and more after that. His requests pour in after accepting one.”

“Pierce-”

“I have had enough. I am done here. Decline his request and everyone else’s,” I said and began walking towards the door. I entered the building from the rooftop and followed through the halls down to the ground floor and soon enough was back on the streets. Most of the time I travel through the alleyways, but tonight I decided to stay in the open.

I pulled my jacket hood up over my head and watched the ground as I walked down a few blocks towards the old warehouses and mills before finding the familiar run-down plant that I called home. Once in front of the door, I pressed my foot over a certain plate of concrete and waited as a keypad lifted itself from the wall disappearing from its camouflage.

5693

I typed in and watched it lower back into the wall. The door made a clicking sound and I pushed it open. Inside, I threw off my jacket and went straight upstairs and into the bathroom. I turned the nob in the shower to searing hot and jumped in, letting the water wash off my frustration. After a while I poured myself a few too many glasses of whiskey before passing out on the couch.