The Dragon Claw
Matthew Ryan Fischer
When Seven had been young he had a different name, Aiden, and no
expectation that he would ever be chosen to wear the mark of The Dragon Claw. His
family was not important, his father was not a boss. Years ago, he had been an
operative, and was well respected in retirement, but he held no political power.
His father had trained him for a long as he could remember. Aiden had studied
languages, honed practical and philosophic skills, as well as forensic and
investigative talents. His father never gave a reason beyond the idea that for
a man to have a blessed life, he must be multifaceted. Naively Aiden trusted his
father and never considered he was being groomed for greater thing. He didn’t ask
why when his father pushed him into athletics and trained him in wrestling,
martial arts, and eventually weapons. It became blatantly obvious a few short
years later, but when Aiden was young, he had no thoughts of excelling within
the organization.
Aiden became Seven when the previous Seven had died and a competition
was held. His father was not an important man, but the families respected him
and remembered his past service. When he requested his son be considered, they
trusted his judgement. No one knew the life he had put Aiden through, but the
suspected that a former operative would prepare his son well. Their suspicions
were not wrong. After trials and conferences, Aiden was named Seven, and he
joined the ranks of The Dragon Claw. Seven suddenly had eight brothers.
Years ago, after much infighting, nine crime families came
together, and in an attempt to create peace, each agreed to provide a blood
relative to found a special group of operatives, an elite group of enforcers
that would help keep the peace between families and protect against internal
and external threats. Nine operatives, one from each family, formed the
Dragon’s Claw. Highly trained and extremely deadly, their mandate is to protect
the nine families at all costs, owing allegiance to the whole, never favoring a
single family. The gambit worked and a tenuous peace was achieved.
Seven enjoyed his life and appreciated his status. He had been
raised humble and tried to retain the spirit of attitude. Some men sought power
or status or the fear or respect of others. Seven served his father and the organization
his father belonged to and now he served all the families. That was what he saw
as important.
Serving and recognizing hierarchy didn’t mean he never had
questions of his own, but he knew to keep such things to himself. When assigned
a dispute to resolve he did so, but didn’t question why or when the dispute
began or who was right or wrong. When ordered to kill a rival, he did so
quickly, knowing it was the best way to keep the families in power and to avoid
the destructive chaos of allowing rivals to grow into enemies. When someone
else was given a job in his territory, concerning his family, he often wondered
why. There was no one to ask, but he always wondered if one of the bosses believed
he wouldn’t be able to stay objective.
When Nine disappeared on a secret mission, Seven fought the urge to
discuss theories with the others. He was close friends with Three and Five, but
to mention something like this, would mean to cross a boundary that once
crossed there was no returning from.
When Nine appeared at his apartment door, bleeding, fighting for
his life, begging Seven to hide a USB drive, Seven realized he had crossed a
Rubicon and his life would never be the same again.
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