The Rise of Vice — Part I
Scene: Empty Rooftop, Midnight
Rain trickled off Lucen's mask.
He crouched, still, watching the alley below.
A girl, maybe fourteen, trembled in a soaked hoodie.
Behind her, a black van idled. Tinted windows. Quiet engine.
Predator patience.
Lucen tapped his whisper-com.
"Three men. Driver's armed. Two buyers in the bar behind."
Eshun's voice crackled in. Calm. Grounded.
"You don't sound tense."
"Because I've done this before," Lucen said.
He paused.
"But the girl's scared."
His voice dipped.
"Same age as Tariq when I met him."
Then he jumped.
Scene: The Alley — Seconds Later
It was fast. Fluid. Silent.
One man slammed into the brick wall and crumpled.
The driver reached for his gun—too slow.
Lucen shattered his jaw with a turning elbow before the barrel cleared the holster.
The girl stood frozen, eyes wide, rain in her lashes.
Lucen knelt. Lifted the mask just enough to show his eyes.
"It's okay," he said. Soft.
"You're safe now. Run home."
She stared.
"Are… are you the monster from the old city fire?"
Lucen's gaze dropped.
"Maybe," he said.
"But I fight the real ones now."
Scene: Club Vice — Underground
The room pulsed with violet light. Broken mirrors lined the walls like jagged teeth.
Vice sat on a throne of shattered vanity glass.
His face flickered in a thousand fractured pieces.
Never the same twice.
He watched Lucen's takedown on a giant projector wall.
"There he is," he said. Voice smooth as oil.
"The silent flame."
He stood slowly. A shimmering coat wrapped his lean frame, changing colors like spilled gasoline.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
"The regret. The control. It makes him... delicious."
His men shifted uncomfortably.
Vice smiled wider.
"Let him save a girl. Let him play savior to a city."
"I don't sell evil," he said, almost gently.
"I sell choice."
He turned to them, arms wide.
"And choice… always cracks good men."
Scene: Office Break Room — Morning
The coffee steamed.
Lucen stood over it like he was reading smoke.
His knuckles were bruised. Poorly bandaged.
He limped slightly. Didn't hide it.
Aria entered. Heels clicking. Eyes sharp.
"You're limping again," she said.
"What is it this time? Bumped into a coffee table?"
Lucen smirked.
"You should see the coffee table."
She stepped closer. Her voice dropped.
"You're not what you pretend to be."
Lucen met her gaze.
Eyes quiet. Heavy. Honest.
"Neither are you."
The silence that followed… lingered.
Just long enough to mean something.
Scene: Lucen's House — That Night
The blade slid against the whetstone. Slow. Even.
Next to him, an open file:
VICE
Suspected Locations. Missing Teens. Sin Bottles.
Lucen flipped a page.
A photo. A dead girl.
Overdose from Lust Mist.
Her body was twisted in ecstasy.
Her face stuck in a frozen scream of pleasure and pain.
Lucen's jaw tightened.
"He sells hunger," he muttered.
He stared at the file.
"But I remember famine."
He picked up the mask.
Stood.
"I'll make him choke on it."
The screen cut to black.
Ready to build it?
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To be continued...
Next Chapter:- CHAPTER 7: THE VELVET CAGE...