Fiction Fragment Friday
This weeks story is from my current Dresden Files RPG Campaign. I started thinking about the type of person who would work for my bad guys and how they could think of themselves as the good guys. This is because very few people are the villains of their own stories. I’m sure I had far more inspiration for this than I realized. So I know there is no real context to this story, but I hop you still enjoy it.
What is a person supposed to do when they think they might be working for the bad guys? I think how a person reacts to that realization goes a long way to defining who they are. For me the first thing I do is find out for sure no matter what that costs me. It is always better to know then to keep your eyes closed and lie to yourself. When I was working for a security firm in Africa I came to realize that I wasn’t fighting invading savages like I had been told. I was killing people who had been driven from their land by those with more money. When I suspected our adversaries were not what we had been told I talked our translator into a late night mission to talk with some of our prisoners. My deepest fears were realized and walked away from a vary lucrative contract and straight to a reporter as an anonymous source.
I find myself wondering how I could have allowed myself to be in this situation twice in one lifetime. A year and a half ago I was shown irrefutable proof that monsters exist. Beings with paranormal abilities that hide and hunt among us. How could I not sign up to help capture them when I have the perfect set of skills to help protect normal people. I could keep them blissfully unaware of the things that hunt them in the night and make good money while I was at it. As I ran more missions though and earned trust I started being brought closer into the fold. Still I never doubted I was doing the right thing until I was brought into a company that was being deployed to a Southern California.
I have been part of many companies, but none of them have been anything like “The Venandi.” As soon as we arrived they provided us with cyanide pills and gave us horror stories about what has happened to mercenaries that had been captured alive. I get the impression though that some of the men who have been here for a while are more afraid of our employer than the monsters. I find that the more I try the less I can remember about the woman that gives us our missions. She has bright red hair which seems pretty memorable, but I could not tell you anything about her. That is one of the things that made me start to wonder if things were not as they seemed.
Last night I got my biggest clue that I might not be on the right side. We were hunting a monster that like most of them in this city was masquerading as a human. This is pretty common and I have seen seemingly normal people grow into very large monsters. This man though didn’t change into anything. When we cornered him he begged and told us he had a family. Before I could ask him anything one of my squad mates hit him with a tranquilizer dart. He warned me about listening to these people and how they can warp your mind if you aren’t careful. I’m not really sure what to think, but that man did not seem to pose any risk to us at all. I felt like a bully and I don’t like that feeling.
It is time that I find some answers. What happens to the creatures that we have captured? Are they really monsters or like Africa am I hunting innocent people? I walked away from Africa, but I can’t just walk away again. This time I have been operating in a US city and I get the impression I can’t walk away from the contract. If I get caught trying to find the truth they are not going to just fire me. That is why I’m sending you this email. If something happens to me there needs to be someone out there that knows what is happening. Someone who can do something about it if I can’t. If you don’t hear from me again then assume the worst. I’m geared up and heading out now. Wish me luck.
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