Chapters (122)
- Tower Climber
- Jakob Tanner
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She picked him up gently and placed him back down on his bed and covered him with a blanket.
She smiled down at the boy and then sighed.
At what point do I talk to him about what I know, she wondered. Not that I know much, but I guess I know a little.
Definitely not tonight, that’s for sure.
But when? And what will he do when I tell him?
33
Just after midnight, Bruno Slevsky finished his shift at the Pole Dancer’s Lounge, a strip club in the tower-zone’s red light district.
Most nights he worked as a bouncer for the owner, one of the city’s ruling mob bosses. Some nights were more unusual than others: less bouncing and more going to someone’s house and beating them up because they owed his boss money. Sometimes he did more than beat them up.
Tonight, however, wasn’t one of those nights. Tonight was a typical shift, which meant, standing in front of the door in the cold dead of night, making sure the lowlifes who came in were the kind of lowlifes that spent money and didn’t cause trouble.
It was the end of his shift, so he collected his share of the tips and then left the establishment, making his way home for the evening.
Bruno Slevsky had no idea he was being followed.
He turned into an alleyway. It was the usual shortcut he took on his way home.
It was one of those banal quirks you never thought about. The type of habit so mundane and routine, you didn’t realize you made it every single time you went home. It was the kind of detail that meant nothing to the person making it, but everything to the person secretly watching you.
The alley was empty and dark.
Bruno was halfway across it when he found himself unable to move.
He wasn’t even squirming. His legs and arms were frozen in place.
He tried to speak.
“Hello? Is someone there? I...uh...need help?”
A figure stepped out at the front of the alley.
The figure walked closer, stepping in and out of the shadows.
It was a teenaged boy with blonde hair.
“Hey kid,” shouted Bruno. “Would you help me out here? I’m stuck!”
The boy smirked at him. “What would you like me to do, Bruno?”
The man froze. “How the hell do you know my name, kid!?”
“I know everything about you,” said the boy, calmly. “What you like to eat, what you like to drink, where you work, what you do in your spare time. Ask me anything. I’m an expert of all things Bruno Slevsky.”
The man’s eyes bulged. “You better be careful now, kid. Do you know who I am? I work for some very powerful people.”