Flames of the Night.

My new Story. Enjoy.

Prologue

New York, Midtown- Earth
15th March 2560, 13.00 PM

War. War never changes. Since the dawn of man, humanity has worked tirelessly to destroy one another. As we became more and more advanced, we found new and more efficient ways of killing one another. Then everything changed. An alien race which eventually became known as the Covenant attacked the outer colonies, and over the course of 20 years wiped out the human race. Humanity did what it always did. It fought. It fought down to the last man, and by the sacrifices of a few, humanity survived.

Harvey Steel knew war all too well. He had fought for years against the Covenant; he had seen so many friends and comrades die in battle. War was all he knew and what he was good at. He had been commended when the war ended 7years ago, and given the Medal of Honour. But that felt like a lifetime ago. He hadn’t been able been able to adjust back into society. He couldn’t find work at first, as very few companies were in demand for war veterans. He had been a security guard for a while, but that hadn’t been very satisfying. He almost decided to join the police, but then it all changed again.

He’d been approached by a man offering work for his boss, called Jerome Calini. It turned out much hadn’t changed. There were still people who wanted their rivals dead, and they paid well. So he had taken up the man’s offer and worked for Mr Calini. It felt like the old days, running solo missions and taking out designated targets covertly.

The only difference was his missions’ nowadays were against mobsters and drug dealers who got on Mr Calini’s bad side, and interfered with his drug dealing empire. He had quickly climbed the ranks of his hitmen since he joined them 2 years ago.

And this was why he was in the city today. He had received a communiqué from Mr Calini secretary, Alexia Fields. She had given all the details on his next target. It was big. He was taking out a rival mafia boss, who was expanding into their territory. The mission was simple enough: eliminate this potential threat before he had a chance to affect them.

The mafia boss was supposed to be having a meeting in his luxury penthouse at the top of the Calare building, a fifty storey skyscraper the rival mafia owned. He needed to find a way to get up to a decent sniping position and take out the target before the meeting finished at 3PM. He checked his watch. Half past one. Time to get moving.

He walked at a brisk pace through the mass of human bodies that crowded the busy street. He wore a white suit and black sunglasses and carried a white suitcase with him. He blended in the crowd seamlessly. He took the next right and at the end of the block he could see the Calare building, it’s hundreds of panes of glass shimmering in the midday sun.

As he walked closer to the building he looked for an adequate sniping position. He new his target was holding his meeting on the 35th floor. He then saw what he was looking for. On the left of the Calare building was a large construction site for a half completed skyscraper. It already was over 40 storeys high. It also seemed virtually deserted, with all the workers apparently being on strike asking for higher pay. It made things that much easier for him.

Harvey casually walked up to the front door of the building. He checked no one was looking and pulled out a lockpick and got to work on the door. The door had an old fashioned bolt lock on it, and within a few seconds he had opened the door and stepped inside.

As he’d hoped there was nobody inside the buildings reception. The room was completely barren and empty, with all the furniture being added after the building’s completion. He walked down the hall and to the four elevators that lead to the higher levels. After a quick inspection he discovered only the service elevator was functional. He called it and stepped inside.

The elevator swiftly rose to the construction area and he stepped out. At the window he could see three men armed with SMG’s stood guard. He realised they were his targets men. He have to do this quietly. Harvey pulled out a silenced pistol and crept up to the men. He fired three shots. The bullets hit their targets and the guards dropped without a sound. Harvey looked around to make sure he was alone and put down his briefcase.

He unlocked the case and pulled out his sniper rifle. It was in several parts so it could be hidden in the briefcase. It was standard rifle, which Harvey had made minor adjustments to. He quickly assembled the weapon. He had done this so many times during the war and since then, it was second nature to him. He checked his watch again. Quarter to two. He checked through the scope of the rifle and surveyed the 35th floor. He noticed an elaborate conference room filled with elegantly crafted mahogany chairs and tables. Inside it he could see many men in very expensive suits sitting down and all looking at one man at the head of the table. He was a middle aged fat man with thinning white hair. Harvey instantly recognised him as his target.

He lined up his shot and placed finger on the trigger. He waited until he had a clear shot. His target was sitting in his chair holding a cigar was cackling with glee. He had no idea what to able to happen. He pulled the trigger. The round slammed out of the gun and shot towards the Calare building, piercing the window and hitting his target dead in the middle of the head of his target. His body fell out of his chair, dead before he hit the floor. Mission accomplished. Now to get out of here.

He quickly packed up his rifle and headed to the elevator. He then realised the lift was coming up to his position. He had a gut feeling it was some men to hunt down their bosses’ assassin. He drew his pistol and took cover but some stacked up plywood. The lift opened and five men with MA5C assault rifles stepped out guns at the ready. One spoke into his headset.

‘We’re just scouting the top floor now sir, we have the bottom floor locked down. The scum who did this isn’t going to escape,’ the man said arrogantly.

Harvey waited for them to spread out and separate enough so they couldn’t cover each other. He poked out of cover and killed the first man; he fell without his friends noticing. He then took the second man out as he got too close to his hiding spot.

But then the jig was up, the remaining three men saw the second man fall and opened up on his cover, ripping the plywood to shreds, he dove from cover to cover, hiding by the steel supports holding the makeshift ceiling up, firing blindly to keep his attackers at bay. He slammed another clip home and popped out of cover and fired. He managed to take out another man, as he shot him in the neck, and blood spurted from the wound as he writhed in agony.

Harvey was quickly running out of ammo. He was equipped to keep up this prolonged firefight much longer. He lined up his next few shots and took out the next man, hitting him in the chest. He was about to fire on the last man when he realised he was out of ammo. He dropped his useless weapon and crouched down, thinking what he could do to beat this guy. His fingers felt his combat knife and he peeked at the last man. He calculated the range and whether he could make the throw before he was hit. He concluded it was worth a shot.

He rose and flung the knife at the last man, hitting dead centre. The man looked at surprise at the knife as he fell. Harvey knew it wasn’t over yet, the way he came in was probably had more men down there, more than he could take out alone. He’d have to find a new exit, and quickly as they would eventually check on the men he just killed.

He looked around, looking for a potential exit. In the far corner of the room he saw some scaffolding and pulley controlled platform. Jackpot. He jumped on and started pulling it, causing the platform to descend along the side of the building. He when down at a steady pace, and he quickly made it back to ground level. He walked out and at a clam stroll he walked into the crowd, just as the men who had been guarding the entrance walked out of the building and looked around for him, but he was too hard to spot in the sea of people.

When Harvey felt he had lost them and was in the clear, he pulled out his personal communicator and opened a channel with Calini’s private line, and to Alexia.

‘This is Harvey, it’s done, I’m heading back to the compound now,’ he said coolly.

‘Good to hear Harvey, I’ll have your money ready by the time you arrive,’ Alexia replied.

‘Ok then, see you soon,’ Harvey said as he closed the channel.

End of Prologue

I like it

Yayz

It's really good. Your spelling is good but it looks like you forgot to insert some words.

Yeah It's still a pretty rough version of it. I know there are a few mistakes in it.

Vigil wrote:Yeah It's still a pretty rough version of it. I know there are a few mistakes in it.

Still it's pretty awesome.

Here's Chapter 1


Chapter 1

Calini’s Compound, California- Earth
15th March 2560, 7.00 PM

The sun was just setting as he parked his luxury car in front of the iron gates of Mr Calini’s compound. He placed on hand on the buzzer next to the gates. In the corner of his eye he could see a large surveillance camera turn towards him, as he stood by the gates. He heard quiet buzzing noise and the gates swung back. Harvey jumped back into the car and drove up to the compound proper. In front of him was a large mansion, with an arched entrance, with large marble columns holding it up. The estate around the building was a beautiful garden, groomed to perfection, with ornately cut hedges that resembled swans and hundreds of varieties of flowers.

Harvey jumped out of the car and threw the keys to a nearby valet parker and walked through the well crafted wooden doors. He was greeted by a clean white marble floor, that lead up to a majestic marble staircase that lead up to the second floor. All was quiet as he made his way to the stairs, the only sound he could hear was his footsteps on the marble floor.

Things seemed more quiet than usual. Most days, the place was bustling with activity as Mr Calini managed the sub bosses of his operation, as well as personally managing his legitimate front of an investment company. Ironically, some of those ‘investments’ were funnelled into Calini’s criminal businesses through a clever system of money laundering and fake bank accounts. Harvey was pretty sure some of that money went into his salary. Harvey thought about his grandfather, who had served in the military most of his adult life. He would have been ashamed of him, as he had been a man of principle, and would never work with criminals. Harvey didn’t care, if his Grandfather had been in his position, out of work with very few options left open, he was sure he would of done the same. Thank god he died years ago, as Harvey doubted he could have looked him in the eye, especially after all the help he had given him to get him into the marine corps.

But Harvey decided not to think about the past, that was all ancient history now: his old life. This was his new life, and even if he didn’t like what he had become, he had learnt to accept it, as it was either this or nothing, and at least this way he was still making a living and he could still feel the adrenaline in his veins as he eliminated a target.

As he reached the top of the stairs he turned left and then walked down a corridor. A lavish red carpet covered the floor, and more hand crafted wood made up the walls. In front of him were two large wooden doors, which looked like smaller versions of the main doors he had just walked through. He pulled the handle and stepped inside.

This room was completely different. Where most of the house gave a basic and classical feeling, this room felt more modern and up to date. The room was full of TV monitors which had images taken from every camera around the compound. Surveying all these cameras sat a young woman. She was in her early twenties, with long blonde hair which had been tied into a ponytail and cool blue eyes. She wore a business suit and skirt and between her ruby lips dangled a pair of glasses. As Harvey walked into the room, her attention turned from the walls of monitors and straight onto him. For a second those blue eyes were locked on him, and then she smiled.

‘Harvey, right on time. As always.’

‘Alexia.’, Harvey said politely back.

‘I assume you’re here for your money?’ She asked.

‘No, I came to see all the big actors’ houses on the see the stars bus,’ Harvey said sarcastically.

‘As charming as always I see, here you are,’ Alexia said , as she placed her glasses on the table and picked up a large briefcase. She placed it on the table and opened it, showing the notes inside it.

Harvey examined a handful of bills to make sure they were genuine. Satisfied he put them back in the case and closed the case. He was about to leave when Alexia said,

‘Wait! Mr Calini wanted to see you personally before you left.’

He turned back to face her and handed her the case.

‘I’m sure you can look after this while I talk to him, hopefully this will be quick,’ Harvey said.

Alexia picked up the case and placed it back behind her desk.

‘Don’t worry, your money is safe with me, I am the one who counted it all and got it ready for you. Besides, I doubt a few minutes will hurt,’ Alexia replied.

Harvey gave a weak smile and walked past Alexia and the door behind her. In front of him was a mahogany desk with several bookcases full of books surrounding it. A large window with shutter blinds which looked over the entire estate. A man stood cross armed looking out of the window. He was thin, with a bald head and a smart black suit. He turned and a smirk appeared on his face. In his right hand he held a glass, with a brown liquid in it, and a bottle in the other. He placed the glass down, grabbed an empty glass and half filled it and handed to Harvey. He took it and they both sat down at the desk and took a drink.

Harvey placed the glass on the table and waited for Mr Calini to finish. After a brief pause, Mr Calini said,

‘Ah Harvey, it’s good to see you return from another successful job. That little street punk was starting to impede me and my contacts. I sure I speak or all of them when I say that we will all be sleeping a little more soundly tonight.’

‘Glad I could be of service sir,’ Harvey replied.

‘That’s why I choose you in the first place Harvey, you’re the kind of man that can be trusted to get the job done, no questions asked. It’s why you’re my best ‘asset’ so to speak,’ Mr Calini continued.

Harvey didn’t know where this conversation was going, but he had a bad feeling about what it would when they got there.

‘Over the last two years you have wiped my enemies quickly and efficiently and made a name for yourself. Your rivals fear you and the other hitmen under my employment look up to you,’ Mr Calini said.

‘Thank you sir, but with all due respect, can we get to the point?’

‘There’s no small talk with you is there Harvey? I can respect that. All these little steps to try and move in on my turf are trying my patience, and I am a patient man. We need to send them a clear message that anybody who tries to take my territory will be found six feet under, and I want you to be the one who sends them that message,’ Mr Calini said, anger in his voice.

‘I understand. What do you want me to do?’ Harvey asked seriously.

‘For the moment, relax, enjoy your hard earned cash. When we are ready, I will have Alexia contact you, I just wanted you to understand that this next job isn’t just cleaning out the trash it’s about sending a message to these scumbags. Until then, take care of yourself and stay safe,’ Mr Calini finished.

And with that Harvey walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Alexia sat waiting for him; briefcase in hand.

‘That sounded like it went well,’ She joked. Harvey guessed she must have heard Mr Calini when he was getting angry.

‘You of all people must know how ‘passionate’ Mr Calini can get. Besides he wasn’t angry at me, he just couldn’t stop singing my praises,’ Harvey said.

‘Well that wit of yours seems to work like a charm,’ Alexia replied sarcastically.

‘Well I am quite a social guy,’ Harvey countered.

‘I’m sure you are. Enjoy your little rest, I’ll be in contact in a few days.’

‘Good, I’ll see you later then,’ Harvey said.

He retraced his steps and walked back outside. The sun was setting in the pure orange sky as he walked to his car. Today couldn’t have gone any better. An easy target, more money in the bank, what could ruin is day now?

As if on queue, three men jumped him. He knocked them back, kicking the first attacker in the chest, and punching the second in the solar plexus. He was about to subdue the second opponent with a punch to the jaw when a searing pain hit him in the back. His whole body went lip and he fell to the floor. The men dragged him into a nearby van and placed a bag over his head, leaving him complete darkness. He heard the roar of the ignition as the van accelerated and left the compound.

All Harvey thought as they sped away was he wished he had kept his stupid mouth shut.

End Of Chapter 1.

Pretty good. Everytime you refer to someone (like saying "What do you want me to do, sir?") you need to put a comma before the name/rank.

I thought as much. I tried to do it for most of it, but I was a bit lazy.

Good job, but there were two mistakes I saw, one was that your described Alexia's eyes saying "blues eyes" not blue eyes. Second, you said "Alexia placed the case and placed it back behind here desk. I don't know if this was how it was supposed to be written, but it doesn't make sense to me

Typos. I'll go fix them.

Also in the prologue it says "7years" instead of "7 years".

That's still rather rough.

War. War never changes. Since the dawn of man, humanity has worked tirelessly to destroy one another. As we became more and more advanced, we found new and more efficient ways of killing one another.


Am I crazy or is that from the monolouge ending of Fallout 3? Or something very similar...

Hey look its the Fallout 3 Intro! Oh wait its Vigil's Fan Fic...

War. War never Changes.

Neither does plagurism



I was in a Fallout mood when I wrote the Prologue.

I got some inspiration from you first chapter of your prologue to write my first paragraph.

Super plagerism powers activate!

I hope Bethesda doesn't sue.

So does JumpingJet.

Lol.

Anywho,I hope to get the next chapter out faster than the last one, hopfeully only in a week or less.

Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it.

'You know me, when I make a promise.'

I came. I saw. I came. I left.

Remember, theres 2 of us in here now.