Prologue

Scars, a godforsaken infernal reminder that connects every emotion to your skin that ties the good and evil to one’s self. It is those who don’t have one that are yet to understand that every single scar is not just a memory or a line, but a doorway, a doorway to eternal doom.
*****

“Yes! We are going to make it.” The man who spoke looked beaten up, he had a huge scar all across his face that made an impression on those who didn’t know him, and those who did.

“Maybe, but let’s not get our hopes up yet” a female spoke back. She was looking into the horizon, thinking. She knew this man more than anyone in the world. Although most people in the world knew them both fairly well. She was the only one who crossed this man’s path and returned alive. They weren’t married, but they should’ve been. Everyone knows them as a couple. They know them as “The Most Wanted Criminals in the World”.

The thieves were pushing their small speedboat to the limit of 45 miles an hour, practically flying towards the San Francisco Bay. They could already see the beach and all the people, who seemed not to notice them. The man kept on steering the boat as the woman watched him dreamily. The man’s wavy brown hair flew through the breeze and his ice cold blue eyes flashed like the sun. She could see the neat and sturdy outlines of his muscles on his shirt. She would have looked the same, but with a woman’s face and features, if it had not been for the round stomach she had been carrying for nine months.

They were speeding away and leaving Alcatraz behind. They shouldn’t have even been there. Not because of the crimes that they were awaiting the death sentence for, but because they shouldn’t have been caught in the first place. It was a petty crime, one that they only had the intention of stealing medication from a drugstore, nothing compared to their usual standards. She felt ashamed to be caught in such an amateur way. She regretted it so much that she still remembered the day perfectly; it had only been three weeks ago. They had ended up trapped inside the drugstore because of her. She’d felt awful. And to make the matters worse, the only reason why they weren’t able to escape was because of her pregnancy.

She looked at the man to see him staring at her with his crazy grin that he always has when he’s done a crime. She loved that grin, everything about him. And then out of the breeze she stops thinking. “Oh God, not now” she bellowed. The man dropped the controls and sat by her side “Sally, Sally, you all right?” he asked with a worried expression on his face.
- “Yes I'm fine, it’s the baby, Aaron, he’s coming out.”
-“What?" I'm not ready for this…II-I can’t.”
-“Aaron, you can steal all of the money out of Scotiabank in 24 hours. You can take care of a baby. We can take care of him…together.”

Aaron stood up braced himself and jumped out from the speeding boat crushing Sally’s heart. Moments later choppers came and picked up the thrashing body.
*****
13 YEARS LATER

Furniture smashing, sirens wailing, adrenaline pumping, Jacob Longman sprinted through the halls of the Sawgrass mall. The mall cops were pushing their one wheel motorcycles to the limit, but were no match for Jacob, or Jake as his friends liked to call him. Jake was an athlete, he was the leader of his school’s cross country team and won every race.

Jake was speeding past the stores and restaurants at full pelt, dodging the small kiosks filled with various items like; toys, watches, jewelry, and cellphone cases. Beads of sweat were beginning to come out of his pores while his blue eyes seemed to glow. His eyes were two icicles, just like his fathers, and his straight dirty blond hair was cut at the usual two inches. Jake was a leader, he was charismatic and made people want to follow him. You could tell that he went to the gym every other day, just by the way that the mindless teenage girls looked at him as he ran by.

Jake rushed by the Build-a-Bear and turned left towards the doors just behind the huge rock-climbing wall. He ran toward the doors as fast as his legs could take him. When he was just inches from his goal he reached for the glass doors when he heard the click. He tried opening the door but they were tightly shut. ‘Just perfect’. he thought. Jake only had seconds to catch his breath and realize that he wasn’t getting anywhere when the unmistakable sound of the cop vehicles turning the corner, blocking the only way out of the passageway lined with shops. As his enemies closed in he heard the panting and tired voices of the fatty mall cops trying to make out the familiar phrase in between breaths. “Put, huh, your, hih, hands, hiuhh, where, ihh, I can, uh, see them.” is what they managed to say.

They were bathed in sweat, not to mention that they were on a vehicle the whole time. Jake just looked at them, insulted, thinking ‘Pathetic, is this really what they put me up against. I could run around these losers all day and they still wouldn’t catch me.’ Jake knew that he could have run right past the cops but then it would be no fun to be cornered. But Jake was still at the disadvantage so he turned to his surroundings. As he looked around the silent hall from which he had tried to escape he saw: a small RadioShack, a frozen yogurt store, a tuxedo rental, and to his immediate left; a big store with no name. It was that particular store that caught his eye because he knew that the bigger the store, the more room to hide. His decision was immediate. Jake ran to the store. When the mall cops saw his intentions, they got on their vehicles and drove them toward him. Jake pushed on the door and his momentum made it fly open. As soon as he entered the store, he knew that he had picked the right place.

The store was chaos. There were too many people and each was running around looking for what they wanted. This store had everything: books, ping pong tables, televisions, clothes, motorcycles, a sports section, pool tables, inflatable beds, and furniture. Jake knew that the protection that the store was giving him wouldn’t last too long so he tried to get mixed in the crowd, which was fairly easy. Now that he was incognito he knew that he was to escape. He saw that there was a direct exit from the store to his freedom. He swiftly moved passed the oncoming traffic of people and reached the narrow hall where the exit was located. He tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. ‘Well, at least they are perseverant, I’ll give them that’. he thought to himself.

Jake looked around and saw the crowd being shooed of the store by the guards and knew that he didn’t have much time. He sprinted to the motorcycle section where he remembered having seen an emergency exit door. He got there to find the Chief Officer of the mall cops blocking his only exit. The bright Floridian sun was shining through the big glass window to his left. Jake turned around and saw that the other officers were working their way towards him. Once again, he was stuck and needed some help. He looked around and couldn’t believe his luck. Not only was he surrounded by cops but he was also surrounded by brand new motorcycles. Jake looked around for his next prize and quickly spotted it.’ No one is anything without style.’ he thought, remembering the phrase that his mom had told him since he was a child. He looked straight in the chief officer’s eyes and said “See ya next time, Chuck”. And Chief Chuck Garren watched helplessly as his prize turned around, jumped on the most valuable item in stock, and broke through the glass windows, unharmed and leaving only shattered glass in his place..

Jake kept the accelerator going on his new cherry red Ducati, knowing that all eyes were on him. He laughed as he pictured the look on his archenemy’s face as he jumped through the window. Once he got out of the parking lot he sped away as fast as the bike would go.

When he reached the Floridian turnpike he slowed to the speed limit. He had a huge grin that made him look like a maniac, he loved to commit crimes, and even though he nicked some pretty cool stuff he didn’t do it for them. He knew that his family didn’t need to worry about money. The only reason why he ever shoplifted was for the experience.

He was sweating, not because he was tired, but because of the excitement. ‘Wow, they’re gettin better and better. But I guess I could’ve taken the easy way out back in the mall. Oh well, at least I had more fun and I got a brand new birthday present.’ he thought on his ride home.
*****

Sally Longman sat in a chair of her house. It was made with Gothic architecture and it made her feel like a princess in a palace. It was huge compared to the house she had when she was young. Just by thinking about it she could already smell pig manure and hear the hungry voices of her younger brothers and sisters. It was a hard life during her days and she remembered that those were the days that she learned to steal. She had to for her family’s survival. She was glad that her son wouldn’t have to endure such a hard life like she did. She was a single mother and made sure that her son got good education even though sometimes he took it for granted and got distracted.

She saw her son pulling up on the driveway, he was a splitting image of his father, and once she took a look at her son’s face tears started to well up in her eyes. He had the same lunatic expression his father wore after a crime. They were the only two people she loved in the world.

Her silent tears crept down her cheeks and out of the blue an enormous crash was heard. It alarmed Sally and she noticed that she was in fighting position without a second of thought, an instinct she had developed after many years of using it. She turned to see the house being raided by men in black clothing that had were coming in thought the back door.
*****

Jake parked his bike in the garage next to his souped up matte black Lexus LFA SEMA version 2009 complete with neon lights and nitrous oxide. He stopped in front of the mansion before him and took in the smell of freshly cut grass and he saw the huge palace that loomed before him. He hated this, he hated having too much. All of the clothes that he wore were not his size and very plain.

He usually just wore jeans and a v- neck. Nothing fancy from any well-known brand. He hated brands; to him they were a scar, especially if the name was on the front of the shirt. Every single article of clothing that looked like it have been bought with more than $30 he gave away, except for his Oakley sunglasses and swatch. Those were his prized possessions along with his Lexus and now; his Ducati. Why, because those were his trophies, his medals. He had stolen those items, but more importantly they were a gift to himself, because he stole them on his birthdays..

Jake moved toward the mansion and opened his front door, surprised to see his mother looking back at him. He noticed the tears on her eyes and his smile fell. He was instantly filled with a sense of dread and silently prayed that nothing bad had happened.

His prayers were not met because as soon as he stepped into the house he was grabbed by a bunch of men dressed in black suits, armed and with a gun pointing defiantly at his chest. Then the men began to stir and some moved to the side a bit to create an aisle were someone could go through.

A man walked down that aisle wearing a charcoal black business suit. Jason wanted to punch him right then and there, but he was afraid of what might happen to his mother because of his actions. There were only few people whom he cared about in the world and she was the main one. He could not imagine living without her.

“Sit!” the man ordered

“Who are you?” Jake said standing his ground

“You’ll find out soon enough, child.”

“I said ‘Who are you?’.” Jake responded defiantly

“I said ‘Sit’.” the man mocked
“You can’t make me”

“I wonder all the many uses for which I can use this.” he said brandishing his knife, “I’m afraid that this young lady” he grabbed Sally’s hair, “Might have to be my test dummy. What do you think?”

“No!” Jake frantically said, unaware of his panic and how his only weakness was showing.

“Then do as I say.”

Jake reluctantly sat and asked “What?”

“Well I have come here to tell you that your father is very much alive. He has been working for me since your birth and right after I captured him he asked of me a favor. He asked me to tell you on your 13th birthday that he is still alive. So, I am telling you this because I am a man of my word.”

With that the man turned around. And began to walk away down the aisle, then he hesitated. Then the man spoke again “My name is Roger Zeif. Pray that you never have to hear that name again.” And in a split second he took out his knife and threw it with perfect accuracy. The air was solemn and heavy and death was present in the scene. The wind billowed and the house was eerie and seemed empty. The men, did not even flinch and they walked away from the murder with calmness and stealth, never making a sound. Jacob Longman sat, breathless, as he turned to look at the only person who he could have ever cared for. He craned his sad face to look at the blank, lifeless eyes of his mother. Her once blonde tangled hair was now like a twig. It was turning colors because of the crimson red blood spilling out of her forehead where the knife lay, stuck deep inside her cranium leaving a gash. Hey eyes were spilling tears. But not salty, clear tears. They were metallic, liquid rubies that began to ooze out from under the whites of her eyes and her now red iris.