He's Back

A man walks through the crowded streets of Paris. He is in his 40's. Unlike the other citizens around, this man's appearance makes him stick out a lot. His relatively long, disheveled, and very messy hair makes him look taller. His unkempt look characterized by his heavy eye bags and unshaven beard makes him look tired and annoyed. He wears an oversized trench coat that covers a brown suit underneath. His wrinkly clothes give a rustling sound as he navigates through the crowd.

Some members of the crowd avoided and moved away from him while others gave him weird stares as if to judge him as a scourge. Instead of feeling offended the man just smiles. He has gotten used to this treatment and he has stopped caring about it. This has become a norm for him. He has other more important things to think about. To him, it's a waste of time dealing with these mundane people with the mundane perspective of life.

After about 5 minutes of walking, the man took a right turn towards an almost deserted street. Only a few people are walking on the pavement as the wind blows some uncollected trash into the air. Again, he smiles and continued walking towards a 2-story building. He looks up at the building's façade which looks was a bit outdated and unkempt compared to the adjacent structures.

"Jack really needs to upgrade this place up a bit." He just sighs and shook his head before he enters. The interior was just like any office building. The first floor serves as the reception area with a mini café that doubles as a bar on one corner. On the opposite corner are lush couches that visitors may use as they wait for direction from the receptionist stationed at the center of the floor.

As the man walks in, he was greeted by Jenny, the female receptionist. "Morning Hank." She calls at the man who just gave her a wave and walks towards the elevator.

"So, anything new?" Hanks shouts back as he pressed the elevators button

"None that I know of, but Jack wanted to see you," Jenny says as she keeps staring at the computer monitor which displays a map of Paris.

Hank just sighs." What does that guy need now? …Thanks, Jen!"

"No problem… Good luck", Jenny replied as she runs a finger on the surface of the monitor as if tracing some movement or direction.

Just then, the elevator rings and open. Hank gets in and presses a button. In a couple of seconds, he reaches the second level of the building. Hank walked down a hallway that leads into an office. Slowly, he opens the door and gets in.

The office was fairly neat and clean. It showcases a minimalist and almost bare appeal. Hank opened the case on the desk and took out a cigarette. He slowly paces towards a shelf and took out a book. As he opened it to a page, there was a lighter carved into the book. Hank smiles," Finally, Jenny stopped stealing my lighters." He then took the lighter and placed the book back on the shelf. He then faces a wall and reaches out for a hidden switch on its left bottom side. After he pressed it, a secret door opens that leads to a dimly-lit narrow hallway with a grey wall. As hank reaches the end of the hallway he was greeted by a bright blinding light.

"Jack, can't you already fix that light? Do you want every person who enters here to go blind.!", Hank exclaimed.

The other person just stayed calmed and stared at him. "Sit down. I have other more important matters to discuss with you"

The room was spacious and classy. The walls are decorated with carvings and hanged with expensive paintings. A fur rug covers the center of the floor where Jack's desk is located.

Seated on his desk is Jack. He is also in his 40's, but unlike hank, he was neat and sharp. His face is immaculately clean. Each strand of hair is perfectly combed to its place. He wears an expensive black suit with a red tie. His fit and muscular physique complements his composed and mature temperament.

After giving his order to Hank, Jack never moved a muscle and just stares at Hank. He looks like a fierce l panther with piercing eyes watching even the tiniest movement of its prey.

Sensing that Jack is not in the mood for some humor, Hank then sat down and lit a cigarette which annoyed Jack a little. "So, you can start nagging me about it now?"

Hank knows that Jack is not happy with the mess that he was recently involved. He had started a fight in Johnny's bar which damaged about half its merchandise and scared away its patrons.

"I will not tolerate this behavior anymore. It is very irresponsible!", Jack stated.

Hank groaned after Jack finished talking. "Alright, I don't know if you really got the whole picture here or maybe you are just taking notes on what those little punks told you They were the ones making a mess there; harassing other customers and that pissed me off. So, as far as I know, I did them a favor by beating some sense into those little punks."

"Well maybe it would be better if you can also beat some sense into your head since such reckless actions don't bring in money for us, It even drives allies away.", Jack stated in an irritated tone

"Listen, ok Jack! If you are just going to whine about an incident with some little punks then you're wasting both of our time. If you have nothing else to say, I'm going to go and take a drink.", Hank replied impatiently

"No Hank, that's not the reason I called you here though I wish it is."

"Then what did you call me for then huh?" Hand said with a grin, thinking that he has won the argument.

Jack then straightened his posture as he fixed his gaze at Hank. " The Boss is back."

Hank shows a surprised face when he heard Jack's remark. "Stop talking nonsense, Jack?"

Jack then snaps back. "Do I look like I'm joking!?".

Realizing that Jack wasn't lying, Hank just stares at the ceiling while thinking." I can't believe he's really back. He can finally get this bloody syndicate back together now." Hank then stares back at jack who just had a stern look. "This is it, Jack, we can finally get back on our feet, we can finally stop being a bunch of hobo's and finally get a decent life."

" Let's not be cocky Hank, we might not really get what we want.", Jack replied with seriousness on his face.

"For heaven's sake, Jack can't you be positive for once? If you keep stressing yourself then you might just kick the bucket a far as I know. You have been through so much now; can't you just relax for a moment?"

"That's easy for a drunkard to say. " Jack says as he pours a glass of whiskey and chugs it down. "

Hank swiftly rose from his seat and walks towards the exit. But he forgot, he turns around and points at Jack, "Take it easy from now on,"

Jack raises his glass to Hank, "Of course I will"

As soon as Hank was out of the building he excitedly walks towards Johnny's bar. He looks at the streets and whispers to himself. "These are going to be some interesting days ahead."

Back at his office Jack remains seated on his desk. He is still holding his empty glass. He stares hard at the glass. His face reflects the deep contemplation that's happening in his mind. He is not sure if he should rejoice or mourn over the return of his boss. Just like what Hank just said. He had been through a lot of things, but in spite of all these, he is not sure what the future holds for him. Again, his gaze returns to the empty glass he is holding. "when you're back, will you fill my glass or will you keep it dry and empty?" Jack smiles. All of a sudden, he throws the glass to the walls. The glass shattered into tiny pieces.

Meanwhile, another place is a dimly-lit office. On a desk sits a man whose face is covered with shadows. The only thing visible is his silhouette. He took something from his chest pocket. Then reaches for the center of his desk. The light from the desk lamp illuminated his leather-gloved hand that places something on the surface of the desk. After he withdrew his hand, a card was left on the desk. It is the same card that Francois shown at the boardroom. It's the card of the hawk. The man uttered:

"I'M BACK"