Jin

Chapter 4

Ari, having finished his story, explained further that he was in town for one purpose only, to kill the man known as Mason. Intentionally, he left out the part where he intended to follow suit once his task was complete. The stress on his face was now clear to all in the room. He began to shake as if he were freezing cold while at the same time sweating. Anger and hate began to re-manifest within him. All of the pain he felt, it all came rushing back into him as he recounted the entire experience to his new friends. Bouche was the first to take notice and suggested that Jessie take him to get some essentials for his new room.

“I'll take him to see Jin,” Jessie smirked.

“Don't do that!” Bouche and June's voices overlapped as they shouted in unison.

“Who is Jin?”

Jessie explained to Ari that Jin was a “farmer,” of sorts, one who had the best medicinal plants in town. He claimed it would surely help Ari relax and not think so much about his disturbing past year of life chasing Mason. Ari looked up at Jessie laughing at the idea of it all. Finally, a smile found its way to his bitter face and he rose up from his bar stool.

“Well you have that kind of stuff here, eh? Well I guess we cou-”

Then without the slightest warning, Jessie grabbed Ari's shoulder and the two vanished from Propulsé.

******

Ari was speechless to describe what had just happened to him. The fact that he just teleported almost made everything else in his life seem insignificant as he and Jessie arrived at Jin's place.

“Yo Jin,” Jessie called out, exuberantly waving to what was clearly a close friend. As Jin greeted the two of them, they came to find the young man was on his way to gather some supplies.

Jin was an older guy who appeared to be quite immature for his age. However, that might have been a requirement in his line of, ‘farm work,’ Ari thought to himself. His crazy frizzy hair had been picked out which only complimented his lustrous pink satin shirt and bell bottom blue jeans. His body was adorned with crystals that had been wrapped with wires and made into necklaces as well as bracelets all along his wrists. Ari noted that this guy had to be the most cliche 'farmer' he had ever met in his life. Jin had introduced himself to Ari with a big goofy smile, his cheeks pushing his eyes into tiny red slits, it was a miracle that he could actually see anything through them.

“Yo Mec,” he addressed Jessie in some apparent slang Ari had never heard before. “You can come with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I'll be honest, I'm running late,” Jin laughed. “You don't want to piss these guys off...”

Despite his laughter it did not appear as if Jin was telling a joke.

The two of them, Jin and Jessie, appeared to go way back, given Jin's knowledge of Jessie's ability and their demeanor towards each other. Jin's plan was for Jessie to just teleport them there in order to save time. Ari wondered to himself if Jin was also a Nantis, but determined this may be an inappropriate question to ask given he was new in town. Especially after Bouche outlined the horrible discrimination taking place against the Nons of Ends County currently. It was best for him to not out himself, he figured.

These special abilities he had known of for only the better part of a day, he had no idea what was allowed and not allowed in this new world he now found himself. As Ari decided to keep quiet, Jessie grabbed both of their shoulders and they teleported to the closest spot in which Jessie could think of in proximity to the pick-up location given to him by Jin.

*****

Later on that very same afternoon, a regular patron of Propulse, Jacques, burst through the door causing a ruckus almost immediately. The old bell above the door rocked back and forth ringing frantically as he came crashing through. Stumbling and foaming at the mouth, he began begging for a drink as soon as he sat at the bar, slurring each word as he spoke. “My insides are killing me!” he screamed out in agony.

Some other patrons simply dismissed him as a low-life alcoholic who was experiencing withdraws, murmuring and snickering to each other. Though, Bouche knew him well enough to know that this behavior was unlike him. He sat Jacques down in a booth to see what was causing these awful pains to which he was carrying on about. Upon inspecting the distressed patron, Bouche figured that he must have contracted some type of influenza or a very severe cold. The man was pale white and sweating profusely, short of breath. However, as he continued his examination, Jacques suddenly became catatonic, his eyes cascading streams of blood. He went face down to the floor. The laughter in the bar ceased and people froze in horror as Jacques lie motionless. The man was clearly dead before he had even hit the ground.

June saw this as she came back from the kitchen and freaked out, shrieking in terror at the mere sight of Jacques' contorted corpse. She immediately ran to the bar phone and called for an emergency transport.

While she was on the phone, Bouche just stood above the body, disturbed and confused. His mind was racing to make sense of it. The entire incident was extremely suspicious to him. He was not expecting to see Jacques that day, he had an important test to take for a new job. He recalled hearing about it not more than a week before, when Jacques came in to celebrate his new found success. Upon searching his person before the police arrived, Bouche found a small bag with some ten milligram pills inscribed with the letters CDP.

“Is this some sort of an acronym?” he muttered to himself as he showed June once she was off of the phone.

Law enforcement arrived first, shortly followed by the transport blaring its sirens as it came barreling down the street. Both groups quickly entered to assess the situation and began clearing out the bar. As the police began their routine questioning of all witnesses and the emergency workers brought in a stretcher, Bouche took the opportunity to slip the bag of strange pills into his pocket. Bouche did not trust the police. He knew the police were the only Non entity left in town for a reason. The Ligue controlled most of them, at least on the levels that mattered. He had the feeling that he needed to investigate this matter further. These pills he believed needed to be provided to the officials he could trust with what he saw as the only evidence of a murder.

*****

On the other side of town, Ari and Jessie stayed behind as Jin went in to talk with his supplier. This caused Ari's suspicions to first be alerted. He thought to himself, what kind of farmer needs to pick up from another supplier. Was he not growing it all himself? This stop felt as if it were about something else entirely to Ari. Once again, he held his tongue. Being new meant minding his own business while continuing to monitor his surroundings carefully. That and he was feeling terribly queasy after experiencing his second ‘warp’, as Jessie called it.

A few moments later Jin returned, looking slightly concerned. Jessie asked if there was a problem to which Jin replied that there was not, however, he was not expecting a new supplier. Jin explained that he usually picked up from a guy named Dez. However, this time he received his supply from someone he had never met before.

“Guy said his name was T. Bundy, a stupid ass name,” Jin shuttered as he joined Ari and Jessie. The entire encounter appeared to put him at great unease.

Aside from the backpack Jin wore on his back, Jessie noticed a small briefcase Jin had with him now. He asked Jin if he had even more in the case.

"Oh, it's just some new product, now let’s go get you two situated!" Jin let out a friendly, disarming laugh.

“Yeah, let’s split!” Jessie called out exuberantly as he approached Ari and Jin.

“Wait, give me a sec-” Ari’s plea echoed behind them as they vanished.

*****

Bouche had decided to close up early that night. June was clearly still too distraught to work. Just as he went to lock the door, Stellar pushed against it, surprising Bouche. He had not seen her at all in the past several weeks. They were not scheduled to meet so he was baffled by the young woman's sudden arrival. She had been working over at the Ligue as a favor to Bouche. It was not as if she was doing the favor without reaping some benefit though. She was not the type to act without there being some incentive. On top of receiving payment from Bouche, she was also getting paid by the Ligue for her services, it was a win-win as far as she was concerned. That was, until yesterday.

“CDP...” Bouche whispered as he let her push past him. “Do those three letters mean anything to someone like you?”

“Coup de Pouce,” Stellar nodded upon inspecting the bag that looked rather minuscule in Bouche's giant hand. “They are selling them to many of the Nons in town under the pretense that they will bring them to the same level as a Nantis. Though, it's all a lie to eradicate the Nons I think.”

Bouche grimaced at the news. It appeared the Ligue was really making moves within town now.

“The thing is that it does improve cognitive function,” Stellar proclaimed, “That is what makes them so addictive. This is dangerous territory. That shit will kill you before not too long.” She had spent the entire day gathering intel after her harrowing experience the previous night.

“I know that all too well.” Bouche said solemnly.

“It's all being headed up by this disgusting man named Mason. I had the misfortune of meeting him during my last job.”

Bouche's stomach was knotted up. Mason. Could it be a coincidence? There was a storm coming for Ends County if Bouche’s worries were to be confirmed.

*****

Back at Jin's house, Ari stared at a ceiling fan just above his head, laughing for no real reason other than he felt okay for the first time since telling his story to his new friends. For the second time in a year and a half, he was not currently consumed with hatred or any thoughts of vengeance. Instead, he felt like a kid again, getting stoned as if he were just some puerile teenager without a care or responsibility in the world. He was temporarily freed from the weight of the sorrow he carried with him every day of his life on the road. He was freed of just about every thought for that matter. Mason and his sadistic exploits were far from his thoughts as he watched the blades of the fan go round and round.

Ari took a moment to observe the room in which he was currently in and noted how it looked as if a child owned the house. There was no formal furniture aside from the couch he lay on. Merely a futon and some bean bag chairs sat before a large television sitting atop an old dresser. The living room and the kitchen in view were quite untidy to Ari's standards as he noticed piles of unwashed dishes and trash littered around on the floor. Ari cringed at the state of the house before going back to staring up at the ceiling fan.

Over to the right of the room, sat back in an enormous bean bag chair, Jessie looked at his Pilot to check the time and noticed he had received a message.

<I know you're with Jin, ask him about CDP...>

Ari noticed the strange device in Jessie's hand.

“What is that!” Ari gawked in amazement.

“Oh this,” Jessie cocked an eyebrow looking down at the device in his hands. “We call them Pilots. They allow us to communicate. One of the many great inventions brought to you by the Nantis mind.” Jessie uttered the words with a sarcasm that visibly annoyed Jin.

“Hey, Jin, what is CDP?”

“That's what I picked up earlier. Coup De Pouce. But none for you Jessie. These are exclusively for Nons.” Jin smirked over toward Jessie. Jessie was surprised by Jin being so forthcoming after acting so deceptive about the case earlier. However, Jin never had been the best secret keeper especially when inebriated. Jessie would always be outed to his crushes in middle school by Jin who was notorious for such behavior. Some habits were hard to grow out of.

“My second pick up this week. This stuff is selling out fast.”

“Am I a Non?”

Ari's question caught Jin's attention as he looked over to Ari immediately. He had not thought about it before, who was this guy? It was not typical for outsiders to be in Ends County. For one, it was off the map and far from any other towns to his knowledge. Ends County was an unassigned zone, completely shut off from the outside world aside from the Ligue's illegal foreign trading.

First the one armed guy and now this, Jin thought. Was Ends County becoming a damn tourist attraction? The last thing he wanted was more Nons around. While no one was watching Jin took a pill out of the briefcase. He had made an error in judgment. One that he would need to take care of.

“You two wait here, I’ll go get something that will really blow your minds.” Jin left the room while Jessie looked at Ari and informed him that he would in fact be considered a Non by the town’s standards. Jessie was distracted as Jin reentered the room with a five foot long glass piece and placed it in front of Ari.

“For me?”

“For you,” Jin smiled. “We don’t get many outsiders here so I figured I’d show a little country hospitality.”

Ari fired up the piece that was presented before him. As he belted out a cough, he attempted to pass it to Jessie, but it was quickly intercepted by Jin.

“No, that’s just for you,” he almost shouted out.

A brief awkward silence ensued, but then Jessie remembered what he was doing prior to being distracted. As he picked up his Pilot, he opened the draft message he had begun to send Bouche.

Jessie returned Bouche's correspondence with the answer that Jin had given him regarding Coup de Pouce.

<You need to get out of there now!> The message flashed on Jessie's pilot. An instant reply.

<Jin is with the Ligue.>

The following messages filled Jessie in on everything that Bouche had come to learn from Stellar.

Startled, Jessie looked up and asked Jin if he knew what the drugs in his possession were capable of.

“We're taking out the Nons one piece of filth at a time. Or well, maybe more than one at a time. They'll probably be dying in droves soon.”

Jessie was unable to mask the anger he felt from Jin's hateful words. He shot up from his seat as Jin's face changed to that of a capricious fiend.

"What do you care about that average filth anyways Jessie? We Nantis are the new human race!"

Jessie just continued to stand over Jin, angered at the lack of conscience his friend was currently demonstrating. In that moment he felt completely betrayed, he could have never imagined that Jin would ally himself with the Ligue. When did this happen? It was true he had not seen Jin in the past few months, but he had been busy with his own problems. He never would have expected this type of shift from Jin. Maybe his oldest friend. He looked to Ari, his new friend was certainly in danger if Jin had allied himself with the Ligue.

Jessie first tried reasoning, a major change of pace for him. Maybe it was not too late.

“Genocide is not….” Jessie was cut off, trying to appeal to a friend who was long gone.

“This is the only way to achieve true peace. We can’t have any of these relics wasting away in our Utopia!”

“That is not-”

Jessie realized then it was too late. He surmised that Jin, or rather, that the Ligue had no interest in peace, their only desire was to gain a foothold over the town and increase their own economic expansion. To become an Assigned Zone, part of the outside world. This war of the races was a mere distraction while Hog filled his pockets with even more dirty money and furthered his influence. He doubted if Jin even understood that much.

“Even if I didn't believe in the mission statement,” Jin jested as if it were all a game, “It's better to be the one kicking than the one getting kicked... In the end I'll be on the winning side.”

Jessie grew even further agitated. He was always the type to do what was right. Though he was sometimes foolish and did not think things through, it was in his core. That was how he had always lived his life, as a seeker of justice. Like the heroes he read about as a kid. Though, he would never hurt another person, that is to say, so long as that person was innocent in his eyes. However, Jin.... Jin was clearly no innocent man. He had sold his soul to the Ligue in order to live above the rest.

Jessie lost control of his emotions, as he was known to do. He swung out with a straight jab at Jin's face only to find his fist stop just short of its target. His skin began to burn slightly and suddenly his arm was shot back as his body followed it through the air. He fell to the ground and realized Jin’s ability was more powerful than he had ever let on. Had their entire friendship been a lie? Or had Jin actually been training since joining up with the Ligue?

Jessie clenched his teeth, feeling foolish that he had ever trusted this unknown person before him.

Jin could manifest powerful barrier walls around himself in order to protect him from any physical attacks. It was his own manifested form of telekinesis. As Jessie’s fist burned from the heat of the energy field, he got sent flying back by the recoil of his own attack once again, having not yet learned his lesson. Though, Jessie was the reckless type. He was not one to think things through, everyone who knew him could also attest to this. He acted purely off of emotion. It was that condition of his that had led him into this situation in the first place.

Jessie knew he should have listened to Bouche and just left as he had been instructed, however he could not just leave without trying to do something right then and there. Running was never an option. Jessie intended to stand his ground. The Ligue was getting even more bold in their movements. He had waited long enough, feeling powerless.

"If you are intending to destroy my product then I will have no choice but to go all-out. I'm sorry but this is for the future of our race!"

Jessie could not fathom what could have caused his old friend to become radicalized in such a way. To him, Jin was just a silly hippie who enjoyed getting high and having a good time. It seemed unusual that the person he was facing now, the person he had known since grade school was in fact such a sadist, hell bent on performing the Ligue's misguided genocide project. Jessie knew plenty about Hog to know this was not about the future of the Nantis. This was about Hog's lust for power!

Jessie had never been in a fight like this in his life and quickly realized how hopeless things were as Jin began to approach. The man had just threatened his life and something about that lit a fire within him. He blew on his fist to cool it before rushing back in, attempting to attack Jin once again. By the next strike, Jessie and Jin were locked into an intense hand to hand fight that was quickly growing to be one sided in Jin's favor. Ari had not noticed any of this yet, as he was focused on the swelling pain forming in his head.