Chapter 10: I am Chaos. I am Disorder (1)

Instantly, Storm yelled out to one of his men called Glitch. Glitch was one of the fastest runners back in the ghetto, so Storm thought having him alone will solve this puzzle.

"Glitch, follow me. The rest should stay back and find anything useful in his apartment," Storm commanded.

With that, Glitch left the gathering, and the kicks and grunts on the door continued. Storm pointed downwards into the open streets, at the retreating figure of Laughing Jack.

"Let's go get him, boy," Storm commanded.

They went down the three flights of steps in a rush and out into the large compound. Since Storm saw that Jack had locked the gate, he didn't bother moving towards it. He led Glitch to the lowest part of the tall fence, where there was little risk of getting injured by the barbed wire surrounding it.

Glitch stepped back a few steps and launched into a short run, and like a gecko, he scaled the wall with two quick climbs. Glitch, who was on top of the wall, cleared the fence of the iron wires so Storm could climb safely.

Storm copied Glitch's moves, and in no time, he was also on top of the fence, but he didn't scale it as smoothly as Glitch.

Storm jumped first to the other side of the soft ground of matted grass, and without waiting to see if Glitch had done the same, he untucked his little gun out of his big pocket and started running after the dark figure of Laughing Jack. The distance between him and his target seemed impossible to cover, but he wasn't going to give this up so easily, plus the fact that Laughing Jack does not seem to be running that fast. For someone who sits at home all day, spying on the world, athleticism is sure not his calling. He's probably tired at the moment, maybe on the brink of collapse.

So, Storm sped up.

Storm was moving at a very fast pace, but shortly after covering just a few meters, Glitch caught up with him and overtook him as he let out little huffs and puffs all the way. Storm only had to feel the wisp of air to know that Glitch was well past him. With this speed, Glitch was sure to get Jack before he reached the end of this long street. Storm was grateful that this runner was in his team.

"When you get him, please... don't shoot him... we need him alive," Storm called out to the dark brown figure of Glitch on the run. He had an "ungh" from him, and he took that as a yes. Even when he wasn't running, Glitch never talked much.

Five minutes into the chase, Glitch was way ahead of Storm, and Laughing Jack was even farther. Storm's chest started going tight, and his breath was ragged, coming out short and painful. His heart pounded hard against his chest, faster and more aggressively than he had ever imagined. Yet, he wouldn't stop running. He needed to hear the information from Jack himself, not from Glitch. He needed to cover the distance so he could get there in time as soon as Glitch caught him.

The streets grew longer, and everything he passed looked like what he passed before. The yellow flowers at the corner of his eyes never changed. The houses on Facade Street were all the same, each one yellow, with a brown roof and green flowers at the front of every building, and this was well messing with Storm's mind because he felt he just started his run, like he was just leaving Jack's apartment every time. Coupled with the fact that he was not even closing the distance that much.

"Pathetic," he thought weakly.

Storm looked up ahead of him and saw that Glitch was on the verge of getting to the target, Jack. And it seemed Jack realized that too, because he slowed his run almost came to a stop before turning sharply to the left between the identical houses there. Glitch wasted no time in following him into the corner where the chase continued. Storm focused his eyes on the corner where they branched and calculated the time it will take for him to get there. With his current speed, maybe two minutes.

So, he tried to cover the distance in a shorter time. A minute will do, but his legs were now heavy, so he only had to maintain this pace.

"Fuck me," he lamented.

Halfway to the corner where Jack turned, Storm heard a loud bang that reverberated down the seemingly empty street. His eyes grew wide, both in worry and surprise, while he ran. He doubled his pace, eager to know what had happened.

"Damn you, Glitch," Storm cursed under his breath. "I warned you... I told you... damn you." He cursed more as he quickened his pace.

He later got to the corner and almost ran past it before turning to the left. He wasn't even sure if it was this turning. His focus has wavered when he heard that gun shot. But it seemed like this was where they turned. Good grief, everywhere seemed like where they turned.

He ran between the two identical houses till he got to the back of the compound. There, he saw that there was another long road. Every building had enough space behind them before the bushes, and these spaces formed a long path, one as long as the main path of the street.

Storm looked left and right in search of either Laughing Jack or Glitch, but he saw no one. He thought maybe this was not the turning. He had missed the turning.

Knowing now how the street was built, he realized he only had to walk a little more behind the houses before he got to the next corner. He checked his little gun and adjusted the cartridge properly as he walked closely and cautiously down the tiny path between the streets.

He cleared the first building and was halfway from reaching the next corner by the right, which was after the next building. He raised his gun at shoulder length, ready to shoot if he sensed any strange movement.

As he got to the edge of the second building, he heard a few soft groans, almost silent, but he heard it nonetheless. Storm tiptoed to the edge and peeped at the corner from behind the fenced building. The peep was short so that he wouldn't be noticed, but he saw all he needed to see. He couldn't believe his eyes.

From what he saw, Laughing Jack was all dressed in black and he was writhing in pain on the floor, clutching his wounded leg, which was bleeding non-stop. He had been shot, obviously by Glitch, and even through the pain, he was making a great effort not to shout. Storm wondered why.

But Jack getting shot wasn't what surprised Storm. It was something else, something about Glitch. When he peeped at the corner, he could see Glitch standing near the edge of the fence, towards the side facing out into the main road. And he wasn't just standing idly. He was poised and positioned in readiness for something or most definitely someone. Storm figured it out... Glitch was waiting for him with his gun ready to shoot him.

Storm swallowed hard at the thought of the danger he could have been if he hadn't missed the correct turning by two buildings. He wondered why Glitch would turn against him at a moment like this. He trusted Glitch as much as his doubtful mind could allow. And this betrayal was giving him a sick feeling at the pit of his belly. Anger built inside him, and his head grew hot with fury. "Nobody messes with Stormboy and leaves to tell the tale," he declared to himself.

So, Storm gripped his gun tight and took deep breaths to calm his mind and body. He peeped out into the corner again to get a clear vision of Glitch's body facing the street. This time, he could see Glitch also peeping out from behind the fence to the street, probably to see where Storm was at the moment. Storm then decided this was the perfect moment to take his shot. He stepped out from his hiding place and raised the loaded gun, aiming at Glitch's back. But it was at this moment Glitch realized what was going on.

After he had scanned the long road and couldn't find Storm running towards him, he sensed that Laughing Jack's groans had stopped for a moment, like he had seen something else more threatening than his wounded leg. A short gasp came from Laughing Jack, and instinctively, Glitch ducked his head and moved to the other side of the building, taking cover.

His movement was followed by three loud bangs that echoed loudly along the narrow corner. Two of the three shots came from Storm's gun, and one of the shots came from Glitch, which didn't hit its mark. Storm had aimed at Glitch's head, hoping to end him quickly. But as if Glitch has eyes behind his edge, he had dodged the first shot before Storm even pulled the trigger. And ran to the other edge while firing one shot also from his gun.

The third bullet, which was from Glitch, was fired immediately after Glitch's running figure, and nothing seemed to have happened after the exchange of bullets. Until Storm heard an angry groan from Glitch's corner where he hid.

Storm peered out from his corner into the corner to see what happened. Glitch's gun, black against the moss-covered ground, was lying there alone at a safe distance from where Glitch hid.

Storm now understood what his shots had done. His second shot had hit Glitch before he could hide, and it made him drop his gun in the process. Apparently, the bullet hit Glitch on his arm. Storm smiled, half-hidden.