Vigilante

I've seen it in my dreams, far too many times than I could count; it is all too familiar to me now.

     Running through a dark alley way, turning left corners and rights. I was chasing after someone...something. Then I stopped to the sudden bang of a gunshot, followed by a woman's scream. I turned to the direction where I heard those two things and there, I came upon a woman, weeping over her bleeding husband...

"It's okay...dear...everything...is...okay...."

"Please...no...don't leave me...darling, no!"

    I approached them. The woman saw me and pleaded, "Stay away...don't hurt us, please..." I answered, "No, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. Tell me, what happened?" She told me, "They shot him...and took something important..." I asked to clarify, "What is it?" She replied, "A briefcase"

     Suddenly, as if the scene had changed instantaneously, I found myself running again. This time, I knew what I was searching for: a briefcase. Although I knew not what it was exactly, I knew it was important. Before long, I came across a parking lot and there I found two men in suit and tie, with the briefcase, getting into their car. So, I ran after them. One of them noticed me, took out his pistol and...

BANG!

             There was a blackout. Immediately, I jumped out of bed out of sudden shock. However, this was no new thing. These dreams would come quite frequently--the same dream, over and over again. It was often vague. Blur. Unclear...

Void of detail.   

*beep* *beep* *beep*

           I looked at my alarm clock at my bedside. 6:30 am. It was a dull Monday morning, and I had to get out of bed and get ready for school. Oh! Pardon me. Where are my manners? My name is Matt Damien and I'm 17 summers of age...if we even have summer, of course. Haha. It's mostly dull here, in Tetraville, especially with the increasing crime rates and such; it's not just on Mondays. We live in a time and place where evil lurks at almost every corner at any time. You have to be careful here, especially in the heart of the city, because the most crime happens where the money can be found. That's right. The central banks, jewellery stores, gold exchange stores, shopping centres, and etcetera; they are all here. In these parts of Tetraville, it is a busy shopping haven, but also an ideal spot for all sorts of crime.

                  There have been cases of theft, shoplifting, bank robberies, murders and assassinations. God knows what else could be happening that we don't already know. But don't worry, the police have got it covered...sort of. There is something I forgot to mention. Let's just say, I make the police's job easier for them.  Without further ado, I quickly got out of bed, brushed my teeth, took a shower, got into my school uniform, made and ate my breakfast. Then, I rushed out of my apartment, and sprinted to school. Tetra High is no less than just 5 blocks away, which was a 15 minute walk from my apartment, or 7 minutes if I sprinted.

             I reached school just in time. I looked down at my wristwatch. 7:10 am. Assembly begins at 7:20 am. I dropped my bag in class and I hurried out. As I was heading down the hallway to the school field, I bumped into two of my classmates: Bob and Harry.

 "Hey man, watch where you're going!"

 "Dude, are you alright?"

 "Sorry, guys. Yeah I'm fine"

I quickly hurried along but Harry caught me by the arm. "Wait"

 "What is it, Harry?"

"What is it? What is- oh come on, Matt. Bob you tell him"

"What!? Why me?"

"Just. Tell him."

          Bob took a step forward. "Dude, where were you? You can't just keep disappearing from time to time like that." Harry spoke up, "Yeah. Ever since a few months ago, you'd be absent from class once in a while." Bob continued, "Yeah, and now, it's getting more frequent!" "Guys, I'll talk to you later. I'm going to go assemble at the school field. I suggest you two do the same."

_____________________________________________________________________

            
    School days are quite the usual. Especially on Mondays like this one. Assemble at the field, sing the school anthem, pledge the creeds, hear the announcements and finally, the Prinicpal's speech. Oh boy, the Principal's speech. He would just drag on and on; but I mean, hey, these are the usual formalities. Which school doesn't have them? This time however, it was a little different.

            His speech went along the lines of "vigilantism is against the law because when the individual takes the law into his own hands, he executes justice that can only be done by the authorities. If you're not even a cop, don't even think of trying to play the hero!"

Pfft, please. Like the police could do it. I mean, not to say they aren't good. Professional? Maybe. But slow.

I'm just saying: even with the police, crime is still rampant. Anyway, this speech was brought up due to the rumours about a vigilante roaming around Tetraville during the night. Yes, you guessed it. It is yours truly.

But I'm not going to tell Bob, Harry, or anyone else...

___________________________________________________________________

You must be wondering, how do I survive on my own in this harsh world? I'll just keep my backstory simple here:

My mother died, and my father left me. The only things I have ever gotten from him were envelopes of stacks of money with a note saying "Take care of yourself. -Dad" in the mail every once a month.

           Gee, Dad. Great to know you still "care". Anyway, I use that money for just about everything. From living expenses and basic needs to certain wants. After being a little fed up with the "normal" life of a high school student, I decided to take up crime fighting as a hobby.

         I took martial arts classes, bought myself a baton, designed a dark costume for myself, and I did some research by reading all the news reports and criminal records on the Tetraville Police Force's crime database. Yes, I can hack. Having lived by myself for all these years made me into a strong, independent, person.

            I couldn't care less about school. I try to balance it but as I'd say, it tends to get boring. I was desperate for some adventure. So I go out from time to time, at night. Why night? Because crime happens more at night than in broad daylight.

The typical night would go something like this:

I suit up, mask on, hood over my head, gloves on my hands, baton in my belt's holster, and I would be out of my apartment by 10:00 pm. Then, I roam around Tetravile. First, around the residential areas, the alleys, the nearby stores. Sometimes, I'd come across things like petty thieves and robbers, or slum dogs high on drugs beating up innocent passers-by in the alleys, or some gangsters extorting money. Same old, same old. Easy. Confront them. Push them aside, give them a few hits, knock them out. Then I discreetly return whatever is stolen and whip out my phone to call the police, inform them, and flee the scene.

           After that, I'd run into the heart of the city--easy, since it's not far from where I stay-- and I go ahead and make my patrol. There was once a time I stopped a bank robbery, and prevented a few murder cases. By the way, just because it is late at night, it doesn't mean the city square won't be any less busy than it is at day. The thing is, at first, I didn't think I'd be so into crime fighting. But now, I feel like I was made for this!

It feels prophetic.

As for that recurring dream, however, it seems like that one's definitely bound to happen.

______________________________________________________________________________

BANG!

*beep* *beep* *beep* *be-*

     I shut my alarm clock, and looked at it. 6:30am. Last night wasn't much, though. It was actually peaceful for once. I encountered one or two hooligans, but that was all. I went freerunning around town and then came back to my apartment at 1:15am, slightly earlier than my usual 2:00am return.

It's Tuesday morning. School's as usual. I jumped out of bed, did my morning routine, got out and headed straight to school.

______________________________________________________________________________

    

     When I came back from school today, I quickly took a shower, ate my lunch, and then turned my laptop on.

             There was all the talk going on in school regarding a certain Professor Emerest today. Something about a large scale project

he's been working on. If I'm not mistaken, he is pretty well-known in the software and systems engineering fields. It just so happens that I don't really pay much attention to certain public figures, what more scientists? So I went ahead and researched the news sites: it seems that there will be a conference held today at Tetraville City Hall, in conjunction with Science Week, and he's going to be there.

This will be interesting.

______________________________________________________________________________

            I suited up and got out of the house by 8:00pm. Usually, I'd sprint all around the place but this time, I was cycling there. When I arrived there, it was 8:10pm. I parked my bike at the back of the hall and then proceeded in through the back door. I hid myself neatly backstage to see what they were all talking about, or presenting. I managed to take a peek at the attendees present there. Some were journalists, news reporters, and I saw some other well-known scientists too. I kept on looking around and before I knew it, it was Professor Emerest's turn to present his project. He showed a slideshow and presented the large scale project he was working on: a high-integrity network systems that connects and secures all servers in Tetraville for the secure flow and access of data and information. Most of the attendees posed him questions, of which one of them went, "How are you so sure it won't be easily hacked and the data misused?" I smirked a little. "Good question, but I can't really reveal much of it as of the moment, as it is currently still under development," the Professor replied. "All will be known in it's due time."

                         

               He concluded his presentation, removed the thumbdrive connected to his laptop, and placed it in a briefcase. Inside were another thumbdrive, and some documents. Then he closed it, and left the stage. Wait a second, I thought, that's the briefcase! I looked around and I spotted, among the attendees, two suspicious men in suit and tie. One of them held a detonator, and pressed it. BOOM! Everyone became shocked. It seemed that somebody's car that was parked just outside the hall had just exploded-- the Professor's! The two men immediately moved toward the Professor. Apparently, Professor Emerest's wife, Lady Sophia was there. He took her by the hand and they both rushed outside. "Come on, Sophia, we have to go. They're coming for us!"

Was this the fulfilment of the dream?

I ran outside looking for them, clueless of where they went. I then ran to the back of the hall. They were not there either. Then I noticed the two men going into one of the alleys. So I took my bike and chased after them. The alleys were dark and dimly lit. I turned left corners and rights, but to no avail. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot and a woman's scream. Bingo! I turned left again, went straight and then I stopped and parked the bike there. I got off it and approached them.

"It's okay...dear...everything...is...okay...."

"Please...no...don't leave me...darling, no!"

              The Professor was bleeding. Lady Sophia, full of tears, looked up to see me standing there "Stay away...don't hurt us, please..." I answered, "No, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. Tell me, what happened?"

"They shot him...and took-"

"The briefcase?"

"Yes"

             "I'll go find them. You stay here and call the ambulance and the police." I quickly cycled out of the alleys and into an area which seemed like a parking lot. I spotted the two men, with the briefcase, just about to get into their car. One of them spotted me and tried to shoot me. His shots didn't hit me but trying to dodge them made me fell off my bike. They sped out of the parking lot and drove off. I picked up my bike and pursued them from a distance. Lucky for me, they didn't seem to bother about me at all. The car then stopped at an abandoned building, and the two men got out of the car and entered through the front door. I called the police. "Tetraville Police Force. What's your situation?" "Hey," I said, "This is urgent. I found the men who stole Professor Emerest's briefcase and attempted his murder. I'm leaving the call on so you could trace my location. Be here where I am ASAP!"

"Location is locked on your call. Dispatch team is on their way."

            I sneaked into the building by the back door and saw what looked like a meeting of Mafia, about 10 of them. There, on the table they were at, was the briefcase. Suddenly a man called from behind me, "Hey! What are you doing here?" I quickly turned around and knocked him out cold with my baton.  "What was that?" I quickly hid myself. "Did you hear anything?", one mafia member asked. The other replied, "I'm not so sure" "Mr.V, did you hear anything?" Mr. V then spoke, "I think we may have been compromised, men. Search the area!"

       Strange. Mr. V's voice sounded awfully familiar. I didn't want to wait any longer. I proceeded to reveal myself. I took them head on, one by one. Some took their guns out and started firing at me. I remembered my training well. I dodged the bullets, rolled and countered them, disabling some of them. Then I saw one of the mafia with a mask take the briefcase and was about to leave. That must be Mr. V! I quickly threw my baton at him. It hit his head and his mask fell off.

Wait, is that...my...

"Dad?"

           It made sense now. V for Victor Damien. My father. He looked at me, puzzled. Everyone else stopped. I took off my mask, and let down my hood. I looked at him straight in the eye. "Matt. Son, it's been a long ti-" "No, don't call me that! Just tell me, why? After all this time you left me, and this is what you do?"

BOOM! The doors flung open and we were surrounded by armed police.

"Freeze!"