Coup

In this line of work, you come to expect a certain...fluidity. Things change. That's life, you know? And it's especially true where mob operations are concerned, because someone always wants someone else's power, and someone other than that is always waiting to use the second someone's attempts to take power to seize it for themselves. It's a pretty dangerous, confusing match of checkers and ah, well, nobody ever really wins for good.

But I'll admit, if there was one person I thought could keep the reigns on a mutinous ship, it was Jessica. The woman has a way of working that is so far removed from everyone else. It isn't natural, of course, it disrupts the whole system and it always has. But that's precisely why I thought she might be a bit less easy to depose. And in truth, she wasn't easy.

I've essentially known this was coming for months now. The fight with David...it didn't go over well with the boys. Massive expenditures for a personal vendetta, extremely public antics that nearly had Jessica arrested more than once, and on top of that, countless of our guys got thrown at David like so many sacks of meat to try to overwhelm he and his little band. I'm surprised he didn't go down, but then again, knowing his reputation...not so surprised after all.

What I am truly surprised by is who wound up on top. Michael. Anyone remember him? I sincerely doubt it. 

Apparently, he's been stirring up trouble behind the scenes of Jess' operation for some time now. And finally, just a few nights ago, he made his move.

It went over about as well as you might expect. A group of our guys interrupted one of Jessica's infamous "Parties" to tell us the show was over. She stood there swearing and shrieking up a storm, and a few of our poor bastards, the ones she had chopping up victims for her no less, actually started up a firefight with Michael's converts. But alas, no dice. Eventually the fight came down to Michael and Jessica, and for whatever reason, Jessica decided to turn tail and run.

So, new management. Yay? Not so sure. I mentioned before that Michael gives me the willies, and that still applies. The two of us got to talking, though, face-to-face. If nothing else, the man has a head for numbers, the kind of cool approach to the mob that makes a millionaire out of his type pretty quickly. More businessman than crime boss, really. But he did offer me the same position I filled for Jessica, adviser and scribe, for more pay. That's something.

As for Jessica...well, she hasn't shown her face. Swore vengeance like some mad cartoon character on her way out the door, and she's been gone for two weeks now. I assume she's still around, owing to this little comment on my last post...but what that whole stupid dialogue means, I have no idea. All I know is, things are already shifting radically around here...business is fluid, as mentioned. Oh, and the hired guns that scrappy kid, Kevin, have mysteriously vanished along with he and Jessica. Again, I can't say anything for what that means at the moment. Michael won't say whether he got rid of them or not. I doubt he'd leave them alive if he got his hands on them, though.

-Mr. Flint

More Monsters

Ah, it's been a while, hasn't it? Again.

Feels like I end up starting more posts than not that way. But that's what life is when you're in the mob. Free time is a luxury for the younger generation. Not me.

Especially now that I'm dealing with an increasingly frustrated organization beneath Jessica. Things have really taken a turn for the worse. Can't say I'm terribly surprised. There've been plenty of warning signs, and although Ms. Carter's managed to keep her ring in check for many years, it was bound to at least start cracking after a while. The whole David debacle saw to that quite nicely.

It doesn't help that Jessica actually managed to rope in a number of recruits with that post of her's. Well, just one, really. She's been calling him "Jackrabbit", but the kid's name is really Kevin. Kevin something or other. He's so young I barely have a bead on where he's come up from in mob dealings. All I know is, he's young and nervous, he's brought a couple of his own hired guns with him, and he is absolutely puppy-dog eyed around Jessica. I've met some weird fellas in my day, but this kid gives 'em a run for their money. He acts scared shitless of her and everything we do...but I'm fairly certain he's in it for the thrill. 

He can't be older than twenty-five. Christ.

If things come to a head between Jessica and her own people, it'll be this kid's fault. He and his couple of guys have been increasingly insular with Jessica. Sort of her own private inner circle, if you will. I've managed to get close to them and tried to talk sense into her, but it really just isn't possible with that woman. Sense is not something she understands. Or maybe she does, and just hates it on principle. Fuck if I know.

All I do now is that talk is spreading that she's vulnerable. That if somebody really tried, they could kill her, finally.

This isn't the first time something like this has gone down in the past few years. I learned that recently, when I finished reading Bradley's Journal. Turns out the kid was involved in some big coup attempt. In the interest of time and making sure I actually relay the story, I'll just sum it up:

As mentioned, Bradley's pal Gavin came up with some scheme to lure Jessica into the path of this...Black Dog...thing. They concocted an elaborate plan to make it happen, and arranged some showdown between she and this monster. Turns out, someone had snitched or something, 'cause Jessica saw the trap coming a mile away. She's got a wicked trap sense on her, so I'm not surprised. Ah, anyway, after she fucked up their whole plan, the Dog made an appearance...only it didn't so much as look at Jessica. Phased right through her, in fact, on its way to slaughter everyone involved in the trap except for Bradley. She and it proceeded to frolic in the gore of her fallen guys, while Bradley got the fuck out of dodge as fast as possible without being seen.

My guess is, Jessica knew what happened, because the date on the last entry in Bradley's Journal suggests he started his blog up shortly after that. Considering she was pulling one of her typical intimidation routines on Bradley during his portion of this blog, I imagine it was a direct response to the attemped coup. But that's just an old man's theory. Could be she just liked the look of his eyeballs for dinner or something. Who knows?

What's interesting is Jessica's own notes on the subject. She has a certain amount of reverence for the Dog, if her notes can be believed. Not only that, but there's mention of a few more monsters that she's crossed paths with over the years...there's an entire page in Bradley's Journal written by Jessica, in which she details her encounters...first with some scary wooden marionette(the so called "Wooden Girl", I assume), then with a poisoned lake with tentacles(EAT?) and that freaky "Rake" monster, and finally something she calls The Hissing Woman(not sure on this one. A little help?)

In each of these stories, she recalls being utterly ignored by the creature at hand. Even one-on-one, the things don't pay her any mind. Phase right through her and keep right on after whatever else it is that otherworldly monsters keep on after. No idea what it could mean, but I admit, this is one subject where I'm still out of my depth. Probably never going to get a grip on that, to be honest.

Anyway, that's all I can think to report right now. Struggling to keep Jessica's people from rebelling effectively against her is becoming quite the hassle. But here's hoping, anyway. Ah, I mean, I guess.

-Mr. Flint

Recruitment

Heeeeeeeere's MOMMY!

Babies, I have a real issue on my hands here. It's a motherfucker. A real motherfucker. Can ya help a girl out? heheheh Maybe you can, maybe you can......

IF YOU DON'T I'LL CUT YOUR HEARTS OUT AND FEED 'EM TO MY DOGS.

I'm kidding babies. I don't have any dogs!

No, see, it's real important. I've got cocksuckers leaving me in droves! Too many to handle on my own, I'm afraid. Poor mommy, all on her own, with no one but Mr. Flint to back me up. He's a sweetheart, he is, but god he's getting old as fuck. Not very intimidating, y'know? So now here I am, trying to keep my boys in line. And they've all jumped ship! Ohhhh but not all of them make it to the raft in time, don't you worry about that. Mommy takes care of as many of them as she can, yes she does, yes she fucking does. >:3 

(The last fucker who tried had the best tasting brain, I couldn't even wait for him to die to eat it!)


So I'm a bit upset! Can you blame me? This goddamn operation doesn't run itself. And just because Andre isn't around, doesn't mean I can't take care of my own affairs. I've got too much shit to do as top dog, though, so I've got to ask my babies for a favor: RECRUITMENT! You can do that for me, can't you, babies? Sure you can! Just spread the word of how NICE it is to work for me, how FUN and EXCITING and how much opportunity for PROMOTION there is! Minus that last part.

I'm willing to pay for your trouble...blood money. And blood. And money. You will get all three of these things if you help me! Don't think you're the only little tit-suckers I've got going, though, you're gonna have to work your ass off for me to get a reward. Mommy is not your personal wallet, you know. Plenty of fishermen on the sea for me right now. That's why Flint-y hasn't gotten his next post up, I'm busting his balls along with all the rest! 

And hey! I am hiring, after all, babies...any of you want looking for a job?

(Psssst. We're just gettin' started, bitches. Thanks for the reminder of who I am, sweetcakes. You fucks ain't seen nothin' yet.)

The Monstrous Mutt

It's a bit late to be posting, but sleep isn't going to happen for a while now, with what Jessica's got going on in the other room. Lots of screaming. Lots of pop music. Spending any amount of time with this woman makes trips to the mall an entirely different experience. Right now, she is utterly transforming that song, I don't know who it's by, the one about being 'happy'...? Ah, doesn't matter.

Truthfully I don't mind. I haven't been asked to spectate, so I've got some free time while she finishes up her gruesome work. And I'm choosing to utilize that free time to finally get around to something I've promised all of you(and myself) that I would do for ages. Yeah, that's right, Bradley's Journal Entries are finally back. Now that things are back to what passes for normal for our operation, I want to get to the bottom of this thing. 

(Normal isn't quite accurate, though, right now. Things are very rocky between Jessica and our boys. I don't know if anything will come of it, though, as she's always managed to knock them back into line before. Even without Andre, she's someone to be feared and listened to, trust me.)

Since there's a lot of material and I want to get primarily to the meat of what young Brad left behind in this notebook, I've sliced and diced the thing into one neat page or two that tells the story. There's some commentary from Jess that I've left in there where it's relevant, and I have a few notes of my own...but, ah, the bulk of my own questions, I'll just leave at the bottom of this post. Maybe this strange blogging community you all have built can help me piece together some answers.

May 29th, 2011

The kid is acting up. She's scared, she tells us, of some dog* that comes scratching at her window at night. Says it growls and shit. Fuck if I know what it means. This job is a pretty relaxed one, so I'm just grateful for that much. We might even get this kid, I'll call her Evelyn, back to her parents if we're real lucky. I've heard the stories, about what that monster, Carter, has guys like us do to the ones she doesn't feel like returning...sick shit that makes that "party" Marc and I went to look tame.

*[Part of the next paragraph is obscured by a drawing, which I think was done by Jess, of a massive, vicious looking hound. In her typical scrawling handwriting, 'NICE DOGGY' is written above it.]

------

 June 15th, 2011

...

Gavin has gotten real, real quiet. Like fuckin scary quiet. He looks like ghosts talk to him at night or some shit, I dunno. When I bring it up, he won't say whats bothering him, just to leave it alone. That he's thinking about it, that hes working it out on his own, whatever 'it' is. My guess? It's got to do with his girl. The chick with the red eyes that comes and stands around outside. I swear to god, if I ever get my hands on that woman, I'mgonna bash her head in... but I've never gotten my hands on her. Every time I go out there, she vanishes. Just starts walking away, and moves so fast I can't get her. One time Thomas had a talk with her. He managed to get her on the corner, but he said all she said was that our place used to be her childhood home. Freaky bitch.

------

[Not sure of the date on this one. Bradley didn't bother to write one in. I don't think it was more than a week after the one above, though.]

...

We finally get Gavin talking, and this is the shit he has to say? Some weird-ass crap about a giant, monster dog?* I don't know what to think right now. I feel like I'm losing my mind, or maybe I already have, but either way Gavin clearly lost his a long time ago. I'm still trying to make sense of it.

*What a pretty, pretty puppy.....it's fur would ruin my lovely coat, it's so sticky with blood and tar, hehehehehehe....

Basically, according to Gavin, there's a big, Black Dog that hunts and kills people who keep secrets. He says it smells 'em on you and goes looking, and when it finds you it waits for you to either tell someone yoursecrets or drives you insane and tears you to pieces. Or something like that, anyway. Says it's been stalking him for a whole year, and he only just started thinking about how he's totally screwed. That ex-girlfriend of his, the one with the red eyes, Gavin swears up and down that that's this dog in another form. He wants us to try to lure Carter into its path, and try to bump her off that way...which would be an alright plan, I guess, if this thing were actually fucking real.

------

June 27th, 2011

i fucking saw the fucking dog. It's real.

That's as far as I've dared to venture. There's only one line to the entry from June 27th, and that's it. I haven't read any further because, quite frankly, that one was enough to put me off of the things almost for good. But it's finally getting to me, I suppose, now that I have time to think harder about what I've read... ah, I started reading some of your other blogs. You folks write about monsters quite frequently, and not just the kind that I thought were real, like Jessica. You all deal with them like appliances you have to use every day, like a toaster or a microwave oven. Horrifying, freakish microwave ovens. So I thought, maybe you could help me. What is this thing Gavin describes? Is it real, or am I falling for a very elaborate prank? More importantly, if it is real, how the hell do I avoid it?

Thanks for the help. Maybe. Ah, well.

-Mr. Flint.

Chasing Monsters

Ah, home, sweet home. 

No, really, I mean it. This blog doesn't mean much to me. But the circumstances that allow me to use it mean that things are peaceful, and peaceful is a luxury I don't know I'll have for a while.

Oh, yes, so the whole kidnapping debacle. I was getting to that. You can't fault an old man for taking his time when he has some of it, can you? No you cannot. Fuckers.

You're all pretty aware of the details at this point. I'll be honest, there's not much more to tell. David's post about it gave away most of the details. Jessica, Andre and I had been... well, ah, you can't exactly call what Andre and Jess had been doing 'taking care' of little Emily. There were quite a great deal of scars on that girl before she left this place, though I did my best to treat them and keep them from becoming infected or anything else. But I couldn't shield her, not really. 

So it was a miserable affair for the most part, although I have to be honest; Jessica throwing a loud, raucous, almost-normal party except for the over-abundance of 'Kesha' "music" was refreshing. No dismemberment at all, you guys! What an achievement. 

I told Andre he was too burned up about that kid shooting him in the foot. You can always tell when a guy is too stuck on something. When it's going to burn him, before long. Not really any mystical mumbo-jumbo to it, they just act reckless or, at best, different. Andre was acting different. And I told him he'd get fucked, but he didn't listen to me, said it wasn't bothering him so bad. 

Emily's bruises say otherwise.

Emily's wheelchair, I reckon, says otherwise.

When the whole thing went down, I was standing around, just sort of watching. That's really my job, when you get right down to it. Well, it was. With Andre dead, it's going to be a lot harder on poor ol' me. But that's beside the point.

I watched as Andre chased after the girl. As Jessica took off like a bat out of hell after David to see what he was up to. And then Emily went down. Andre had shot her, and that was that. One of David's people retaliated by taking him down, shooting his legs out from under him and shooting his hands to make sure he couldn't effectively use a gun. For a tiny thing, that one has good aim.

They tried to move poor Emily, and that's when she screamed, and that's when David and Jessica came running back. I have never seen Jessica Carter look as...small...as she did when she came back inside. David really did a number on her, there. But then he saw what Andre had done to his little girl. And whatever beast has been looming inside of that man, chained to a wall...well, it broke free. He tore into Andre with a knife in ways I've never seen before except from Jessica. Only more graceful. And when he was done, as Jess alluded to in her last post, he drowned the poor bastard in blood running out of his own wrist by pressing it to his mouth. 

So much for the toughest damn hitman I've ever known.

David and Jessica exchanged a few words, and then he left, and then she and I left. Weirdly, we ended up going for ice cream. I've never seen her eat ice cream before.

Things are a bit dicey with us now. Jessica's crusade has cost us a lot of money and manpower, and even her loyal followers are questioning her judgement. And with Andre gone, well, ah, she really only has me to help keep them in line. Dunno how long that'll last. Not to mention that detective on our trail. Determined, he is. Oh well.

That's all for me right now, I think. Condolences to ya, Emily, for what happened to your legs. That's a real damn shame. David, heads up, I doubt if Jessica will be bothering you much from now on. To the rest of you...ah, I don't know. Good to be back, I suppose. 

-Mr. Flint

Oh, and P.S. to David: Jessica made me promise to post this song for you the next time I write anything. So, here you go.

Wreck

David came to see me.

He did, like I knew he would, but not like I knew he would at all. Bastard. Fucker. Bitch. Loser. Moron. Fuck him. No don't do that it's no fun. Sex isn't fun. 

hehehehehehehe

I thought he was weak. But I knew better. my David, he's never weak, not in the slightesttttttttt

He killed Andre. Beautiful, beautiful blood, drowning in it, that's what it was. He drowned Andre in his own blood. There was so much and we all watched and I was SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM AT LAST. I hadn't seen him before. He was hiding. No, not hiding.....there's a word for it maybe but I don't know.

I lost him. He's gone. He took his little cut of meat and he left. I won't get him back now. I know that.

Emily. I'm sorry.

David... my love.

Andre...you were delicious.

~Jessica

COM E AND GET ME HONEY, I'M ALL YOUR'S! LOVE YOU LOTS!