The sound of early morning traffic easily cut through the alleyway. The wail of the occasional siren going by and the screech of metal against track as the trains traveled from city to city worked like soothing white noise to Lee as he sat on a third story fire escape. He leaned back against the rough, ruddy bricks, patiently waiting with a bat in hand. Snarling and crashing noises rapidly moved down the alley. Pounding steps came to a halting stop at the dead end of the alley and were replaced with the visceral sound of teeth ripping into flesh and bone. Lee sat up and looked over the ledge before sighing in disappointment. He slipped right from the ledge and plummeted. The beast turned just in time.<br/><br/>The bat connected with a sickening crack. The beast let out a whimper as it reeled back. Lee pushed off the creature just in time to avoid the beast's lashing claws. The creature dropped on all fours and let out a garbled roar. It's bloodied jaw dangled uselessly.<br/><br/>"Hey," Lee called in an unsympathetic tone as if he were talking to a child that needed to learn the consequences of their actions "You decided to go after random meat in an alley. Ain't your mom teachya better than that?" his bloodied metal bat was propped comfortably over his shoulders as he goaded the creature on. The beast's deep red eyes locked onto Lee as it attempted to growl. It pressed its black paws into the cement and charged forward with heavy pounding steps that shook the buildings around them. Lee charged towards the beast head on. When the beast got close, it rose onto its hind legs. Lee slid right under the beast, his bat raised above his head. The metal ran right into the beasts knees, causing the ligaments to snap backward. Lee let the bat go and rolled to the side as the beast tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud.<br/><br/>Lee stood up and brushed himself off as best as he could before stepping on the beast to retrieve his bat. He made sure to step on the thrashing beast's left wrist as he walked over him. He lifted his bat from the ground with a sigh "There we go," he said as he inspected it "Can you believe this only cost me fifty bucks? Spanish Harlem yard sale, really!" he said to the monster as if he were talking to an old buddy. Despite everything, the beast was still trying its best to swipe at Lee, but the ferocity of its swipes and snarls were starting to die down. Lee frowned at him "You could at least pretend you care,". The beast continued to thrash.<br/><br/>"Fine.... So that's how it's gonna be," he said as he took a deep breath in and stepped on the creatures abdomen before pushing hard and jumping clear over the beast He twisted in the air before bringing the bat down on its head. The creature seized up with a cry before falling limp on the alley floor. Lee stepped over the beast's bloodied body and made his way out of the alley. A homeless man at the front of the alley looked up at him with expectant eyes.<br/><br/>"Spare some change," he wheezed.<br/><br/>"I'll spare my foot up your-" Lee started<br/><br/>"Woah, woah!" the man's voice shifted to a high-pitched scratchy tone as his body morphed into that of a small, pale man in his late twenties "Easy, kid! What's got you all wound up, eh?" the man followed Lee as he walked.<br/><br/>"These jobs aren't getting me anywhere, Jorji," Lee snapped "A feral demon-werewolf? The triad's got me doing grunt work! I've got bills to pay man,"<br/><br/>Jorji gave him a wide-eyed look of disbelief "Are you kidding me? Do you know who you're talking to, kid? Being your scout, I might as well try and make an honest living!" Lee made a harsh derisive noise at him. The pair turned the corner. The stoic bald man stood at the drop point as always. Lee handed off his blood-stained bat and the man nodded before heading in the direction the pair came from.<br/><br/>"Whatchu mean by bills anyhow? I thought your place was paid off for like three more years," Jorji questioned<br/><br/>"I don't live there anymore, the landlady cut me a deal and gave me half the rent back if I left so I did.... and none of your damn business why," Lee said flatly.<br/><br/>"Harsh, kid," Jorji said distractedly. He was busy swiping a pack of cigarettes from a woman that had just walked past. His eyes lit up as he slipped one between his lips "hey kid, light me,".<br/><br/>"Bite me," Lee responded before flicking a lighter under his cigarette.<br/><br/>"Thanks" he responded before taking a long drag. "So, where you headed?" he said with his exhalation<br/><br/>"I'm ghosting for a bit," Lee stated nonchalantly "Golden Dragons got a price on me and I ain't got the cash,"<br/><br/>"Oh, you know about that, eh?" Jorji said around closed lips "Yeah, I've got a flight for Bosnia lined up before they start askin' questions, where you headed?"<br/><br/>"School," Lee said. Jorji laughed so hard his cigarette fell from his lips.<br/><br/>"No, seriously kid, what's the plan," Lee shoved a piece of paper into Jorji's chest. He gave a grunt before snatching the paper up and opening it.<br/><br/>"Burn it for me, will ya?" Lee said as he retrieved a black bag from under a bench near a dilapidated subway entrance. He swung the pack over his shoulder and hopped over the gate. He tossed his flip lighter over to Jorji.<br/><br/>"You're serious?" Jorji chuckled as he deftly caught the lighter "Alright then, you might make daddy proud after all," he said as he began to singe the paper.<br/><br/>"Fuck off,"<br/><br/>"Love you too. Learn lots, kid,"<br/><br/>It only took a few minutes for him to find his way to the right place; the smell of magicals was all over the place. Lee found a well-lit hub, but it seemed empty from the passageway. For a moment, he thought he might be lost but the crackling sound of a gargoyle sitting up to let him know he was in the right place.<br/><br/>"You're gonna need this, avoid any communication problems," he said as he held out a black wristband.<br/><br/>"Nice, free stuff," Lee chuckled as he swiped the bracelet and slipped it onto his wrist "ain't nothin' special, but better than a bullet in the head I guess," he glanced up at the creature only once before he wiped the smirk from his face and turned to look at the tracks. A monorail took its place on the tracks. Lee pulled a puzzled look before placing his hand in his pocket and walking into the front door.<span style="font-style: italic">A monorail in the subway?</span>he thought "Magic" he grumbled, as if it were a slur.<br/><br/>He walked into the monorail and felt cold eyes fall upon him. He took a spot next to a dark elf; her smell took some edge off. Like that pasty, half-breed Jorji had never left his side.