Joshua Mattrix's Story

Somewhere unknown in the dark depths of Solinus City

Kenneth O'Leary sat behind his desk looking at his son who was driving a toy car aimlessly across the desk in a complete world of his own. He smiled at the young boy before looking up at his wife and the man next to her.

"Have you heard anything from Bray yet?"

"No sir, he just vanished into thin air. I can't understand where he's suddenly gone." Joshua replied.

"Surely the cops wouldn't have got him, he's too good for them. He's smart. He almost thinks like a cop." Kenneth replied.

"What if he is a cop?"

"He's been with me for ten years, you think they'd let someone be undercover for that long without pulling him at some point. And he got so involved with selling. Not to mention killing Dom. He isn't a cop. That goes against everything he stands for and he'd be prosecuted for that as much as we would, cop or not. They have rules. He's no cop."

Joshua shrugged.

"Who's a cop, daddy?"

"No one. It's okay." Lena spoke rubbing her son's hair. "Bray was wild, maybe he crossed the line somewhere. You know what he was like, what if he pissed someone else off." Of course, Lena knew different. She knew Bray was alive and well.

"Well, he'll turn up sooner or later and either way we'll get answers from him. Take Devon out for the afternoon. He doesn't need to be in here when business is discussed like this." He spoke before dismissing them both.

He started talking with Joshua, his new lead man, as Lena picked up her son and left the room. Trouble was brewing and she knew that she had too get out of there, and soon. And it was time to call the one man that could organise it.

Brayden Drake.

A wisp of black smoke formed in the room across from Kenneth, rapidly manifesting into a humanoid shape that solidified until it became that of a young woman with dark purple hair. The last trails of the black smoke drifted off of her form as she opened her violet eyes to survey the room. Xyntha Kynvaelatre-Naeve let her gaze rest upon the man behind the desk, piercing in its intensity.

"O'Leary, what's this I'm hearing about one of your confidants being caught up in an investigation in Wing City?" she demanded, striding across the room towards his desk. Xyntha's position in Solinus was like a spider in her web. Officially, she was nothing more than a rich young woman with friends in high places, but in reality there was a lot more to her relationship with the authorities and criminals of the city than merely having their favour.

No, many of them were entirely wrapped around her little finger. With a few well-placed words, she could spell doom for half the city's underworld overnight. The same went for any mayor, police chief or official that overstepped their boundaries. Both a darling of the public eye and a ruthless manipulator behind the scenes, there were few in the city that could cross her without suffering for it.

"I do very much hope that your loose ends aren't going to draw negative attention here. You know how I hate mess in my city."

Kenneth and Joshua turned around at the voice suddenly in his office. He glanced past the known female figure, noting that his wife and son were just leaving them alone. He didn't want them involved in this, despite them knowing things already. He then glanced at the woman, but his expression showed no particular concern.

"From what I've heard, it's a hit and run. He's not linked back here. He hasn't even actually done anything for me. He sold his kid on the black market a couple of years or so back. That had nothing to do with me either, it's just how I found him. I had him working on some project in Wing City. He's not even linked to Solinus. He's never even been here." O'Leary told her.

He sat back, Joshua leaned back against the man's desk, arms folded against his chest as he watched the exchange.

"We're more concerned about Brayden right now. You haven't seen or heard from my main man anywhere have you? I haven't seen him for over a week now, he's just gone MIA. Ten years working for me and he's never gone MIA. So, you haven't heard anything, have you? He's one of my best man, I'd hate to find out he'd pissed the wrong people off and paid for it."

He then looked at Josh. "I'm going to have to send you to Wing City. Do some snooping for me now that Caleb's in the shit. I want to expand there, but without been linked here. I need to know if that's possible at all." He told the other man.

"No, I'm not aware of anyone by that name being in trouble here. I'll ask around after him." Xyntha said, waving a hand, "If he's in this city, I'll turn him up within a few days."

The demoness nodded her head, "And good. Just remember, if by any chance a trail does lead back here and it comes into the public light that there's a trafficking ring operating here, we will no longer be friends. We will never have been friends. You understand what I mean, of course. I will personally see to it that your organisation is wiped off the face of the planet."

She smiled. "I will do what I can to track down your missing man if he's in Solinus, but otherwise you'd better hope you're able to corral him before he gets you into hot water, intentionally or nay."

O'Leary frowned at the veiled threat. He wasn't happy. "I've been here for a while now, when have I ever bought trouble here? Like I said, they can't link Caleb too me. All they know is my name so if Caleb gets in the public eye, they still can't trace him here. The cops haven't found me yet and one drunken idiot won't bring me down."

"Like I said, Caleb has never even come here. He won't be a problem." He reiterated.

"Bray is loyal. He won't get me in hot water. You've met him a few times. He's normally here instead of Josh. He's the best man there is for anything. He's got me out of deep shit more than enough times. I'm just worried that he's been targeted by someone. You don't have to be concerned that he'll bring trouble here. Bray wouldn't."

Once again, O'Leary acknowledged that she was there by looking at her. "Is there anything else you need while you're here. I'm quite a busy man. I've got some people to sell. Got in a family earlier today. I want to get the kids sold as soon as possible, one's a telekinetic. I'm sure that'll get me quite a bit."

"See that he doesn't." Xyntha instructed, nodding her head. "And no, that will be all. I'll leave you to your busy little world of detestable treatment of your fellow man. Just remember, O'Leary, you operate in this city because I tolerate you. I think you are a disgusting example of humanity and will not shed a tear over your deathbed."

The purple-haired girl winked. "It's in your best interests to keep me happy. For now though, goodbye. I'll be in touch."

And then she was gone once more, dissolving in a cloud of smoke that quickly dissipated to nothing.

Joshua Mattrix had finally made it to Wing City like O'Leary had given orders to him. First step in finding victims, go to a public place that had a lot of possible options. And that is how he'd come across the Cheri Teahouse. It looked busy for the time of day and so he went inside, taking a seat and observing the patrons that dined while pretending to read the newspaper.

Anything none human was valuable now. And that's what he wanted. Variety. None human. Powers. Kids. Anything that was different. Different meant money.

And that's when he saw the person that would be their latest victim. She was beautiful. Perfect. A lot of men would definitely want her, heck, Joshua wouldn't mind having her. Now all he had to do was lure her to the van that was waiting in one of the alley's nearby. Despite not being sure if they'd find anyone worth taking, Josh always came prepared. You never knew when you'd find the right catch.

But now he had. And he was going to get this one and bring her home.

Shanthi couldn't help but take note of Joshua as he entered the building. The dragon tattoo down his arm reminded her briefly of Losenji, but that was about as far as the similarities went. Even in this building the man stood out among the rest of the customers.

It was a point of curiosity and she found herself noting the similarities and differences between him and the people of Volaria. Avorian males were small and lithely built - effeminate even - while this human man was well built, but his blonde hair and blue eyes were similar in nature to the fairness of the avorians that made their home within Shintechi.

As he looked her way and it became apparant that she had been staring, she flushed lightly and turned her attentions back to her meal.

Every now and then Joshua glanced her way, waiting to see if she noticed him. If she didn't he'd have to just approach, but if she initiated it, even better. When she flushed and looked away, Josh grinned, glancing back to his newspaper for a minute before getting himself and simply taking the other seat at her table.

"So, what's a pretty little lady like you doing with no one sitting opposite her until now?" He smirked.

He was confident in chatting up girls. Okay so he wasn't a supermodel in body and looks. In fact he looked like he could break the girl opposite in one touch, but he used his confidence to get him far with the ladies. Josh had learned long ago that simply trying to get them into bed wasn't something you aimed for when meeting them. It was something you worked towards without actually physically doing or saying anything. You let the chemistry build up.

And this was the same. Make them think you simply were interested in them, not bed, or intimacy. But possibly friendship. You got their trust, led them out, them bam. In the back of the van and off to serve their new Master.

"Sorry, my name's Jake. Rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm kinda new here. Probably could tell as I don't look like their usual customer." He grinned.

Shanthi seemed a bit taken aback by the man's forwardness as the flush of her cheeks brightened.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to -"

At his introduction her embarrassment at having been caught staring at him eased a little and she offered a sheepish smile.

"I too am not from here," Shanthi replied. Her thick accent coated her words and betrayed her volarian origins. "My name is Shanthi."

"Nice to meet you, Shanthi. I gathered you weren't from here by your not so human looks and exotic appearance. Makes a change, though I am human. We see all kinds of races passing through here, even in Solinus, where I'm from. I've come to Wing City because I've heard some good things about it from others that have come here."

He smiled at her again. She was relaxing. He was gaining her trust.

"What brings you to Wing City then? Do you live here? Or are you visiting?" He sounded genuine and curious as to why she was here. Nothing in his body language suggested that he was targeting her for a darker motive.

Shanthi continued to relax at the seemingly normal nature of the conversation and she offered a genuine smile at his inquiry.

"I am here for work and will be returning to Volary in a week," she explained. "Though truthfully I was glad to come. I love the city here. It is so..." she waved a hand trying to think of the right word. "Alive?" she asked before smiling again. "What is it that you look for here?"

"Ah Volary. I thought that might be the place you come from. I have never been there but I've heard good things. I wish I had the time and the money to travel."

He smiled as she smiled, kept eye contact when she looked at him. "Yeah, it is. You think this is alive though, wait 'til you see Solinus." He grinned. "It's even bigger and better."

"I'm just here to explore. I love traveling, though work and money normally stop me. I was meaning to go check out some gardens not far from here. I've heard they're stunning. Once you've finished eating you can come with me. Apparently the nature that comes there is beautiful and it's one of the top places to visit in Wing City. Fancy coming?"

Joshua played his part well.

Shanthi hesitated at the invitation. She didn't really know this man, but caution gave way and she smiled again.

"I think I am about done," she replied before offering a hand out for him to help her up.

It was the eye contact that had her - and the ease at which he conversed. It put her at ease for her more adventurous nature to raise its head.

"The gardens would be delightful."

Josh grinned, helping the stupid girl up and leading her out the door. He acted like the perfect gentleman, guiding her in the complete opposite direction of the gardens, but talking to her so hopefully, if she knew the direction they were in, she wouldn't take much notice. But as soon as he was at the alleyway to the van, his demeanor changed.

Glancing to make sure no witnesses were around, he fell a step behind her before covering her mouth with one hand and wrapping another around her tiny waist. It took seconds to have her disappear into the alley and then into the van which two other muscular men had appeared at.

Within seconds it seemed that she was tied, gagged and blindfolded in the back of the van to a pole that ran along the ceiling, hog tying her in effect so that she wasn't going anywhere or able to even get herself free while they drove off.

Before Josh left her in darkness, he whispered: "You fool. Men will pay lots for a non-human like you. They'll be throwing themselves at you. Thank you for making this easy. Makes you so much more appealing." Once the words were whispered, he got into the front of the van with the others and drove off, leaving no trace of themselves or Shanthi around.

As the man's hand closed around Shanthi's mouth, she tried to scream but the sound was muffled. She fought and kicked but his arm around her waist had her back crushed against his front - rendering her wings useless.

Her eyes went wide with fear as more men restrained her, and when the hand was removed from her mouth she again tried to scream, but the hand was swiftly replaced by a gag that stifled the sounds. Her fear quickly turned to panic as she was blind-folded and struggles grew more violent as she was forced into the back of the van.

Once in the van she tried to speak as Josh whispered to her, but her words of anger were stemmed by the gag and she could do little more than twist and jerk her hands trying to free them from the bindings that cut into her skin.

It wasn't until the back of the door slammed shut and the vehicle began to move that she finally ceased her struggles that were only serving to injure herself. Someone would have seen something, heard something. Someone would come. Fear writhed through her gut whispering that it was wishful thinking. It had happened too fast, no one was going to find her.

Somewhere in the dark depths of Solinus City...

Joshua had done himself proud. O'Leary would be really proud of him. This had gone just as he'd planned. O'Leary wanted money, he was going to get so much praise for this. Once they arrived at the destination Joshua had planned, he got out with the men and moved to the back of the van. He briefly checked his victim over before getting into the back of the van.

"You got the pole that end?" He asked one of the men.

"Yeah, you got it that end?"

"Just let me get it unhooked." Josh replied.

Two minutes later, they were holding the pole and carrying their victim still tied to the pole. It was easier that way. They wouldn't struggle and cause trouble.

"O'Leary. I got us a catch. A great catch from Wing City while I was there. She's Avorian or something. Shanthi is her name or something." Josh announced moving into the office.

"You fucking did what?" O'Leary shouted as soon as he lay eyes on the catch. "Do you have any idea how hard it'll be to sell her. People can link her straight back to us. Do you have any fucking idea who she is?" He growled.

"But she'll bring us the big bucks!" Josh frowned.

"Untie her."

"What?"

"I said untie her!"

Sighing, Josh untied her from the pole, removed the blindfold and gag. And let her stand. But he kept a firm hold of her wrist along with the man the other side of her.

There was anger and indignation in Shanthi's eyes as she was untied and she tried to pull her wrists free of the two men on either side of her, but they had a firm grip.

"You will release me at once!" she demanded. "Do you think you can get away with this?!"

Her accent had grown all the thicker with her anger.

"The Matriarch will not stand for this."

"What the fuck am I going to do with her now?" O'Leary shouted.

"Can't we sell her elsewhere? Somewhere she isn't recognised?" Josh frowned.

"Do you know who she is?" O'Leary asked.

"No. Why would I?"

"She's a fucking government official. I can't let her go and I can't fucking sell her."

Okay so Josh was in the shit. He sighed as he looked at the woman and then his boss. "What about selling her on another planet?" He suggested.

"You fucking idiot." O'Leary told him, but that wasn't a bad idea. He looked at Shanthi. He was about to speak, but someone else interrupted.

"Who's that, daddy? And why is she angry?" A young boy asked, having opened the door and standing in the doorway.

"Devon, leave please."

"Why?"

O'Leary frowned but called the boy over, letting him sit on his father's lap. "She's been naughty, and so daddy has to tell her off." He lied easily to the little boy. "What should I do with her?"

"Give her to a new family like you do with all the naughty people. So that she can be good again." He told his father.

Shanthi gaped at the appearance of the child and the apparent normalcy of the situation to the boy.

Her astonishment gave way to her anger though as she again tried to jerk her wrists free of the men holding her.

"I am not some possession to be sold like a common vāśilā!" She was flustered enough that she was stumbling over her words and struggling to recollect the common terms for the words she wanted. "I am Shanthi Hakkar, a Volarian Ambassador, and if you do not release me you will all regret this."