After attending Zachary's funeral and paying his respects, Edrimer drove home with a heavy heart. Since the gruesome attack at Zachary's store happened, Edrimer was constantly plagued by a mixture of burning resentment towards Men of Midas, hopeless depression for losing Zachary and an unnerving wonder regarding his brother’s presence at the scene, with a golden mask upon his head.
Why was Arkaneh there? Since when is he working for Reus Mallistrom? Those questions wouldn’t cease to echo in his mind. As he drove home, he couldn’t help but feel like he was in a spiral of despair. His face was devoid of any emotion and his eyes hollower than the barrel of a gun.
Once he finally reached his home and parked his car, he noticed an eerie silence surrounding him. It was the kind of silence that he would usually relish during long days, but this time, it let all those wretched thoughts run wild again in his head. All he wanted was a rest.
He started walking towards the building entrance when suddenly he heard a rattle behind him. As he looked around, he noticed there wasn't a single soul in the area. He focused his eyes but couldn’t spot anything. Then he heard another noise, this time coming from a different direction. The harrowing hush around him sent a chill down his spine. He decided to not let his curiosity get the best of him and proceeded to walk towards the entrance door, but before he could take more than 3 steps, he could hear the rapid footsteps of someone leaping at him from behind.
Edrimer’s instincts allowed him to turn around, but all he could see was a hooded figure that he couldn’t possibly recognize before feeling the sting of a syringe in his neck. Edrimer pulled the syringe from his neck, but it was too late. Looking at the cylinder, he could tell that its contents were already running through his veins. As Edrimer stood before the mysterious figure, starting to lose his balance and his sense of vision, he tried using his last moments of consciousness to identify the person, only to lose to the tranquilizer a few seconds later.
The first thing Edrimer could hear when he finally woke up was the running engine of a car. His eyes were blindfolded, and his hands were tied with a zip tie.
As he recovered his senses, his panic started rising as well. It didn’t take Edrimer long to conclude that he was sitting in the back part of a vehicle, a van of some sort. "Oh, now what?" he asked, his tone filled with his never-dying sarcasm. “Where the fuck am I?! What's going on?!”
“Calm the fuck down, boy,” said an unfamiliar voice near him. “You're the one who asked for this,” the voice said.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You did ask to join us, didn't you?” The Justicars… I see now.
It was common knowledge that no one really knew where the Justicars operated from. No one really knew who their leader was nor where their headquarters were. If anyone knew the location of the Justicars’ headquarters, the mob gangs would have rained fire on it long ago. The same went for their entire recruiting process. While there was more than enough information about the various crime organizations in Alataria, the same couldn’t be said about the Justicars.
Edrimer kept wondering if he was doing the right thing by joining their ranks. He had no idea where he was. For some reason, his gut told him he wasn't in his hometown, Ussermis, anymore. Fuck that. I bet we’re not even in the Axfield district anymore.
He knew asking where they were heading would be futile. His efforts on focusing on any sounds from outside of the vehicle didn't get him anywhere. The loud engine noise muffled almost everything else.
Edrimer started wondering how many people exactly were in the back compartment that he was in. He stretched his legs a bit, only to find them pressed against another set of feet across from him, as well another one beside him. Including the man to my right, that means there are 4 people in total including me. I wonder if the other two are also new recruits…
After what Edrimer counted as almost an hour of driving, the vehicle stopped and everyone in the back compartment was pulled out and led away on foot. Edrimer felt the tight grip of a man upon his arm as he was leading him. His legs barely kept up with the man’s ridiculous pace. Eventually, Edrimer heard him opening a door and leading him through it.
As soon as Edrimer entered through the door he noticed his footsteps echoing. We must be in some sort a large warehouse or something. He couldn’t hear any other voices in whatever hall he was in. Is there nobody else here? Where were the other two taken? Fuck… looks like I'm getting the personal treatment.
The man forced Edrimer to sit in a chair with his zip-tied hands resting on his knees. “Don’t move,” said the man in a heavy, gnarled voice, emphasizing every word to make the command unmistakable.
A few seconds later, Edrimer could hear someone’s footsteps approaching, every step he took echoing between the walls of whatever large room they were in. “Hello, Edrimer,” said the approaching man with a calm, almost reassuring voice. “You must have a few questions, but I'm afraid you won’t be asking anyone anything right now. In fact, I'm the one who’s going to ask YOU a few questions. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” said Edrimer, with a voice full of determination.
“For the record,” said the man with the calm voice. “State your full name and address.”
“Edrimer Frye. Living in 22 Goodwin Street in Ussermis, Axfield.”
“Good. What do you do for a living?”
“I… used to work in a convenience store, but… it recently got wrecked by members of Men of Midas.” He felt a pinch in his heart as he had to recreate the picture in his mind.
“I see.” The calm man’s voice refused to let go of its sense of tranquility. “And what if I were to place those men who burned down your shop right here, in front of you? What would you do?” Well, fuck me. I'm getting a job interview.
“I’d kill them,” Edrimer responded almost instantly. Even though he didn't truly know if that was the truth, having never been placed in such a situation, Edrimer knew that that's what the man would want to hear.
“Have you ever killed someone before?”
“No.”
“Then I’d say you sound pretty determined and decisive about doing such a thing.”
“Well, you guys do it all the time, so I don’t think—” A fast, jaw breaking slap interrupted Edrimer’s words. It was the other man in the room, the one with the tight grip and the gnarly voice. Waves of pain washed over Edrimer’s throbbing cheek, as he felt it burning with soreness. “What the fuck?!” Edrimer burst out.
“Oh, I'm sorry, that might happen whenever you choose to make comments that my friend here doesn’t approve,” said the calm man. “I suggest you just stick to answering the questions in a direct manner, without making any side notes.”
“Fine,” Edrimer grunted. I guess I should ease up with my natural tendency for humor and spite.
“Now, let’s say that right now there are two members of Men of Midas, or any other criminal organization for that matter, and they have your uncle, Jeremy Frye, at gun point.” Edrimer was startled at first upon hearing his uncle’s name, but the feeling quickly subsided, as he had a feeling that those guys would inquire about their recruits before even approaching them. It would be stupid if they hadn’t. "Now, let’s say that you have a gun in your hand, and they’re right here, a few feet away from you with your uncle at their mercy. What do you do?”
Edrimer pondered before answering too quickly. Within the next few seconds, his mind went into overdrive, calculating exactly what the catch here was, and what the calm man would want to hear. The Justicars may be all about getting rid of the criminal organizations by any means necessary, but I remember their initial claims being more about protecting the citizens of Alataria, rather than being an anti-mob vigilante group. If I tell them I’d shoot the gangsters and potentially lose my uncle, it would be the wrong answer.
“I’d do whatever I can to save my uncle, even if it involves letting them get away,” said Edrimer with confidence.
“Really? That’s interesting. Why is that?”
“The Justicars are about more than simply killing criminals who corrupt our society, they're the White Knights of Alataria. They're the ones the citizens pin their hopes on. If I'm all about the killing, then I'm no better than them.” The calm man held his response for a few seconds.
“And do you believe we deserve to be titled the White Knights of Alataria?”
“Well, people often use that title to mock you, but—“
“You little—” Edrimer could hear the gnarly man’s footsteps nearing him.
“Stop!” the calm man brought the gnarly one to a halt before he could harm Edrimer. “Leave the room,” he ordered him. The violent brute sounded a growl-resembling sigh. Edrimer could hear his footsteps getting weaker and weaker as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Your parents died when you were young, didn’t they?" the calm man asked.
"That’s right."
"And you’ve been living with your uncle ever since."
"Correct."
"Along with your brother, Arkaneh." Edrimer feared that the conversation would eventually turn to be about his brother.
"Right."
"Where is Arkaneh now, Edrimer?" The dreaded question finally arrived. If they know that Arkaneh works for Men of Midas, then there's no way they're going to recruit me. They won't take that chance. They'll fear I might be trying to sneak in undercover.
"You mean to tell me that you did all this homework about me and you couldn’t find anything about my brother?" Edrimer tried buying time to think of a good answer.
"Don’t dodge the question," the calm man said. If he already knows the answer, then there's no telling what I'm in for. After all, no one knows anything about the Justicars' recruiting process. Either way, there's only way I can answer this question.
"I don’t know. Neither my uncle nor I have had much contact with him during the last two years since he moved out of our home."
"I see…" his voice sounded slower than usual. Oh, shit. I don’t like his tone. "That’s interesting because… we couldn’t find anything on him." Oh, fuck, thank god. "Since there are no records of him leaving the country, there's a good chance that he's dead." Or that he's just so fucking smart that he was able to cover all his tracks.
"Oh…" he tried to sound as sad as he could. "I-I guess I've always considered that as an option."
"Final question, Edrimer. Why do you want to join the Justicars?"
"I want… to bring some peace and quiet to Alataria." He felt most sincere with that answer.
"Really? Is that all there is to it?" the calm man sounded skeptical. "Are you going to pretend it has nothing to do with the attack on your workplace and the death of your former boss, Zachary?"
"No, I'm not," Edrimer answered. "Two Justicars saved my life recently. Men of Midas tried to rob the store, and those Justicars killed one of them just before he could shoot me. I want to be able to save people like that too. Maybe that way, I can prevent more useless deaths, like Zachary's."
The calm man remained silent for a while as if he was pondering on Edrimer's answer. "Alright. Sounds fair enough," he said eventually.
"So… does that mean I passed all your questions? Are we done?"
"We're done with the questions, but… there's one last thing left before you pass." Edrimer heard the calm man approaching him. He was lifted to his feet from the chair. Following that, he felt the blindfold being removed from his head and after his eyes had adjusted, he could see the large warehouse that he was in. Other than a few large wooden crates that were scattered in a seemingly random way, the place was empty. Small glass windows all across the walls brought sunlight inside. The interior hall itself was quite spacious, possibly it had been some manufacturing facility in the past. In front of him, he could now see the man that he had been talking to. The calm man had short gray hair, blue eyes, light stubble on his face and thin lips, looking to be about 45 years old. "Here." The man placed a black pistol in Edrimer's bound hands and moved behind him.
"What's going on? Why are you giving me this?" Edrimer asked.
"For the first question I asked you, you said that if you saw a member of any mob gang in front of you, you'd shoot him," the man said in his ear from behind him. Oh, no… Edrimer could see where this was going. He looked straight ahead, where the calm man had been standing before and saw an unconscious man bound to a chair, wearing purple shoes, gloves, and mask. You can't be serious… "This man belongs to Lady Dread," the man said as he paced away from Edrimer, putting a fair distance between them. "I want you to prove that you're honest about what you say and shoot him." Is this a trick? Does he actually expect me to do it? Edrimer's mind raced. "And don’t even dare so much as turn in my direction with that gun." Edrimer heard the man cocking his own gun behind him. "I can assure you, I'll put a bullet in you before you even see me." The gun he gave me is real. I can tell by its weight that it's loaded.
"Do you really want me to shoot him?" Edrimer asked. Something's not right. I can feel it. Edrimer looked around him. His gut feeling told him that he was missing something.
"Yes, Edrimer, I really want you to shoot him. Now, do it!" the calm man urged him. Look, Edrimer, look! Your subconscious noticed something, your gut feeling can't be wrong. Edrimer scanned the empty hall but found nothing around him except the man in purple sitting in front of him. "Come on, Edrimer. I haven’t got all day." It was only then when Edrimer finally noticed what he was looking for. On the wall to his right, a few feet above the ground, a lone camera stood, facing right at Edrimer. Edrimer noticed the blinking red light on it and recognized it immediately. Zachary had the same camera at the store. That red light means it's currently taping. He now understood what was going on. How clever… the Justicars really are no fools.
Edrimer started pacing toward the bound man in purple, and dragged him, along with his chair, towards the opposite wall, far away from the camera's view. "What are you doing?" the calm man asked him under the loud, echoing noise of the chair being pulled against the floor.
"That is one neat trick you guys are pulling on your recruits."
"What are you talking—?"
"You make them kill a gang member to show that they're willing to do what it takes, that they can be an actual asset to the Justicars, but… it's not just that, is it?" The man stood silent. "I know a running camera when I see one." A big smile appeared on Edrimer's face. "You catch them executing a helpless man on video and get yourself leverage over them. I guess this is a safety measure, isn’t it? In case they're spying for someone, you can always pull that card on them and make sure they don’t jeopardize the organization."
The man took a moment before responding. "Congratulations. You caught me. But if you're not a spy then you won't have to be afraid of that."
"I'm not, but I don’t like to be played like a fool, and I also don’t like people having leverage on me."
"This doesn’t change the fact that this test still needs to prove that you're willing—" Edrimer's gunfire stopped him midsentence. The black pistol he had been given was emitting a smoke trail, and the man of Lady Dread now had a bullet hole in his head, and a river of blood pouring from it all over his body.
"There," Edrimer said. "Does this mean I passed?"
The man approached Edrimer, slowly and with his own gun still drawn. He looked at the body critically and then turned to look at Edrimer. "You did, but before I do anything, I'm going to make something very clear to you. Do you know what the mob gangs call their fresh recruits?"
"Tenderfoots."
"Right. Consider yourself a tenderfoot until you’ve proved yourself. That means that we'll be keeping a close eye on you until then. Do you understand?"
"I do."
"In that case… my name is Serian Conway, and welcome to the Justicars."
