THE RUN AND GO : JOSHLER

26 : KILLJOY

"Why are you so obsessed with them?"

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and averted his eyes from Alex. The two were walking up and down the corridor of the basement, past the cells and interrogation rooms. They were supposed to be on guard duty watching the intruder, but it turned into more of a casual stroll instead.

"I dunno," Jack shrugged. He fiddled with his Clique bracelet on his wrist. He couldn't be prouder to wear one. "I'm not obsessed with them, I just look up to them I guess."

Alex half-laughed. "More like look down on them. You're like, 6'2'' dude."

"Yeah," Jack smiled a little. "I am a lot taller than them. It's just..." he paused and shrugged his shoulders. "With the Sinners, Brendon was never...he didn't...he wasn't...h-he wasn't a leader. Mad Gear is. I respect him for that."

"Speaking of..." Alex started carefully, twisting his mouth in thought. "What did he do to him?"

Jack raised one eyebrow and looked over at Alex. "Who?" He asked.

"Missile Kid," Alex replied, lowering his voice. "What did Brendon do to Missile Kid?"

"I don't know," Jack said simply. He shook his head, and a dark look came across his face.

Alex averted his eyes from Jack. He knew. He obviously knew.

"It's just that Mad Gear barely tells us anything, especially about Missile Kid," Alex continued after a short moment of silence. "He has PTSD so bad it's scary."

Jack slowed his steps, and his shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

"He does?" he questioned, chewing on his lower lip. His dark expression changed to a look of sadness.

Alex nodded in response. "You hear those screams every night, don't you?"

Jack took a deep, shaky breath. "I..." he whispered, his voice so quiet that Alex could hardly hear him. "I didn't know that was him."

Alex said nothing. He didn't even offer him a nod. The two of them walked in complete silence for a few awkward moments.

"But they are pretty great," Alex suddenly piped up. His voice was light, as though he was attempting to lighten the mood. "Mad Gear and Missile Kid."

"Yeah," Jack nodded with a small smile. "I don't think they like me though."

"Oh, sure they do," Alex waved him off. "They're just really serious. Badass. Serial killers, ya know the type. They just gotta get warmed up to you. Hell, Mad Gear actually shot me a while back. We're cool now, I think."

"He shot you?" Jack's eyes widened.

Alex ran his hand through his hair and shrugged his shoulders. "Long story. Tell ya later."

"I hope they warm up to me soon," Jack said. "The way Mad Gear looks at me is fucking scary, man. They're both fucking scary."

"Everyone's fucking scary here," Alex chuckled.

"But Mad Gear and Missile Kid are the worst," Jack continued. "Like, have you seen Missile Kid's arms? I feel like he could crush me just by shaking my hand."

The two walked a few silent steps before Alex spoke up again.

"What...What about my arms?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up, down, and sideways.