New Zion

Ryan watched as Levi beat Cole into the ground. Shaking his head he turned away and walked into the crowd. A Terra strode up to him.

“Sir, we’ve searched the city,” Ryan looked down at the racoon Terra.

“Well?” he asked. The racoon Terra shifted from foot to foot.

“We did find something, and you’re not going to like it,” Ryan sighed, shaking his head.

“Out with it already,” The racoon Terra raised one hand and snapped his fingers. Two mafia came forward dragging someone in between them. The racoon Terra grabbed the person’s hair when they arrived and held up the persons head so that he could look at Ryan.

“This one was giving aid to the gangs,” the racoon Terra loudly proclaimed as he showed off the old man like a prize to the Mafia around him. A circle quickly formed. Ryan knelt next to the man.

“Why would you do that?” he asked.

“Am I supposed to turn my back to my family when they come to me for help?” the old man replied, looking up at Ryan. “I told my son to leave this city if he wanted to join a gang, then he came back with his new crew, and they lost to you. He was beaten, and he came back to me to try and turn his life around,” Ryan shook his head and stood up. He held up his hand, and silence reigned.

“Where is your son now?” Ryan asked. The man slumped as the racoon chuckled.

“We caught him, along with the old man’s wife, and their daughter,” Ryan looked down at the man, but spoke to the racoon.

“What were you planning on doing with them?” Ryan asked. The racoon shrugged.

“I was only planning to bring them all here to you. The rest of them are in the warehouse,” Ryan nodded.

“Bring the rest of them out here,” Ryan said to a nearby family member. He turned back to the racoon. “I’ll rephrase my question. What is it that you were hoping I would do?” the racoon smiled.

“Well, to help the enemies of the Family is our equivalent of treason, so...” his smiled broadened. “I was hoping for a special show to be made of the man and his son, and I wanted the girl,” Ryan looked off into the distance.

“What about the mother?” he asked. The racoon shrugged.

“The old nag has already been broken in, I don’t think anybody here wants her,” the racoon quipped. Ryan took in a deep breath. The old man’s family was dragged forward. Ryan looked around at the people around him.

“Is that how you would talk about your mother?” Ryan asked. The Racoon shrugged.

“She was a rotten pig. I have even worse things to say about her,” Ryan took in a deep breath.

“Are there any others like this?” he asked, his voice cutting through the silence. The racoon nodded.

“Well, I killed off most of them, but I figured that you’d want to do in at least one family publicly,” Ryan looked down at the racoon.

“How many?” he asked. The racoon cackled.

“Oh, about three, but I don’t know how many of them were actually related. So... about eleven people in all,” Ryan sighed.

“Let go,” he said. The racoon blinked. Ryan’s eyes pierced through the darkness. “Did you not hear what I said?” the racoon dropped the old man. Ryan stepped forwards and helped the old man stand, cutting his bindings.

“What, no punishment for them? There are rules in place for a reason. They need to be punished!” the racoon demanded. Ryan nodded.

“I know. Boy, come over here,” the son came over. Ryan slid an ornate knife out of his jacket and faced the crowd around him. “Respect,” he started. “Respect is the one thing that makes all of this,” Ryan gestured around him with the knife. “possible. Respect is what keeps this city from falling into total anarchy. Now, when someone chooses to disrespect another, there is a punishment,” Ryan raised the knife. “A lack of respect for his father led this boy away from home,” People began nodding.

“Yet, respect is also what brought him back. Respect for one’s parents is the fundamental building block for all of this,” Ryan lowered the knife to eye level. He held the boy in place as he carved a gash down the boy’s face from the hairline to jaw. The old man moved to intervene, but the racoon pushed him down and planted his foot on the old man’s back. The boy set his jaw. He didn’t scream, he didn’t struggle. Ryan then lifted the blade and cut his own hand. Ryan smiled as he turned to the crowd.

“He did not whimper, nor did he fight back. He accepted his punishment. Do you accept it?” he called out. Many nodded. “Then welcome your new brother!” Ryan turned to the racoon. “Get your damn foot off of him,” the racoon paused before taking a step back. “Why did you hesitate?” the racoon blinked.

“I...” Ryan held up his hand, silencing him.

“It doesn’t matter. Now, you see, we have a few problems here,” the racoon cocked its head. “First of all, you outright killed eleven of my citizens. Second, you didn’t ask me what I wanted done with people that aid gang members; you should have just captured them and brought them here. Third, you didn’t realize that when I asked if there were others, I was asking if there were others who think like you do. Finally, you have no respect for a lady,” Ryan said as he plunged the blade into the raccoon’s heart.

“And if you can’t respect a lady, especially your own mother, then I have no use for you,” Ryan let the blade slide out as the racoon dropped to the ground, his blood mixing with the boys. Ryan placed a foot on the raccoon’s ribcage and pressed down. He looked at the crowd around him.

“Remember this, ladies and gentlemen. Respect is what keeps all of this...” Ryan waved the blade around him in a slow arc, “together, and it all starts with respecting your mother.” Ryan helped the old man and his wife to their feet. He faced the old man. “I trust that this is a satisfactory outcome? I would have made it a longer process and re-educate him, but we do not have the time right now,” the old man looked down at the racoon. “If you have any qualms speak up now. There will not be any repercussions. After all, we live in a city where you are free to say what you want.” The old man shook his head. Ryan smiled.

“Well then, I sincerely apologize for how we reached this point. My underling was rather quite rude, but as you can see, he’s been dealt with. Now, you have thirty minutes with your son before we start training him,” Ryan turned to a nearby family member. “Take the boy and his family to the infirmary,” the member nodded and began leading them away. Ryan began walking away, but he turned back. “Well, carry on. And would someone get rid of this diseased sack of meat?” Ryan then walked to the house.

©2017