[IC] A Tale of Thieves - Part One; Running and Hiding

[PhoenixWhite]

--Joshua Xie--
The man addressing himself as 'Han' appears to be but a few years older than Joshua; the age of twenty, roughly.

"You have served us in the past, and are a young man who seeks to make himself both known and respected, no? I seek to make these dreams of the youth a reality. All currently uninitiated are to become initiated immediately, but I have selected you specifically..."

At this, Han's wolfish grin escalated into a downright predatory sneer.

"For the sake of what the dragon truly stands for; Chaos. The Dragon originally stood as a symbol of chaos and probability, not a figurehead of stability. I seek to bring this chaos back into the Triads, Joshua, and through it our old power and fear. No longer will the Patchwork Gang disregard us as rabble, and no longer will the Big Man's mafia push us around as weaklings-- No!" Han declared this, with the same charisma he displayed in every action he's committed thus far. "From this point forth, we shall be superior to all who come to us. And the beginning of that is now, with you; the youths of the Circuit, and soon the youths of Polis."

Han lowered himself down to the corpse beneath him, a deep and primal laugh emanating from his chest.

"It shall be glorious."

And with that, the man hefted the corpse up and tossed it lazily over a shoulder. He turned and tilted his head back.

"As I said, your job is to act as a representative of myself to the Big Man. Don't cave, for he is a powerful man, but you are the Dragon's branch of his proposed joint operation. If you fail, it reflects on all of us."

And with that, Han returned into the dojo. Joshua's Shifu lowered his head and spoke in a low tone;

"He is to be feared, for his ambition is great and power equal. The others fear him, for he brings with him great change. He is no longer the young man I trained. Joshua, do as he says for now. However much I wish to keep you out of this mess, I have no place interfering directly in his way. I..."

The elder man broke off with a sigh.

---Soren---
Lucky sneered at him as he snatched the card back, and with a flick of her wrist snapped the holster's safety strap out of place, allowing the revolver at her hip to be drawn if necessary.

"If someone's waiting on you, I'd have known about i--"

She paused and looked deeply perturbed, before glancing aside and mouthing a few words to herself.

"Oh. You're him. Oh. He did mention someone coming by. Shit." Lucky spat on the ground and looked up at Soren. "I can't keep you out; Elfkin as well as an inside invitation, this is out of my hands. Go in the back door, ask for 'Yuzzuk Bloodtongue'."

With that, and a toss of her hair, the elf woman directed Soren towards the back of the building with a flick of her hand.

[Mega Birb]

Soren nodded to Lucky and headed back into the alley he had originally come out of, a quick "Thanks," acting as a parting for the two. 'Should've shot that bitch when I was in my blind...'

A short walk around the building to the back revealed a heavy, steel door on the back. These were common sights back in Polis, he'd broken plenty of them down in his days on the police force in the megalopolis, a battering ram with a micro-jet engine could do some damage. Here in the Circuit, they were a rare commodity. 'Place like this must get a lot of traffic to afford a reinforced door.' The sniper knocked on the door and took a half-step back, drawing his handgun and holding it behind his back. If that tiny elf with the voice high enough to break glass set him up, he was ready.

[Aurrorian]

Josh's insides did dizzying cartwheels as he struggled with his own comprehension and feelings about the unfolding situation. He still couldn't accept the fact that he was literally initiated into the Dragon on the spot, at the age of 16 even--does his family know about this, and how would it affect his personal future? A shiver ran down his spine as Han's words echoed in his head about chaos and fear; he couldn't believe this man had once been a student of Shifu, whom had constantly stressed to him throughout his youth, "Balance, harmony, and order - draw your power from these three guiding principles of wushu, and your stance will never waver, with an iron fist and flurry of kicks."

Is this what Han meant, drawing upon the power of chaotic, impressionable youth? Josh himself would never have become the same person today without Shifu's guidance and teaching. The Circuit's youth, disheveled beggars and desperate pickpockets, all having to quickly harden to their sorrowful life or die, did not share even a single beneficial opportunity with the Polis youth, especially not education. They would make a formidable army if the Dragon could convince them to rise up, but how would that consolidate society any better than even the oppressive Council? Josh certainly wasn't going to stand eking out an existence in a lawless city, much less give up his ambitions to study law.

Now wasn't the right time to question Shifu or the Dragon's reared head; for now he had to move with the flow to not portray himself as suspicious or unworthy of the task at hand. Josh replied to Shifu while sullenly watching the Dragon Head take his leave, "Shifu, do not worry yourself in your old age, the Dragon Head is right, youth must now take care of matters. I will see to it this task is completed successfully, in my family, the Dragon's, and my honor as your student."