Chapter 36

     It started with the rain. It always does. A slow drizzle at first, hardly noticeable against the suffocating heat of August, but it picked up fast, turning the streets slick and shiny under the yellow streetlights. I was soaked before I knew it, the water pouring off me like I’d been dunked in the river. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t paying attention to the rain. I was thinking about Achilles.

     I’d been tailing him for days now, trying to get a sense of what he was after. The city was always shifting, always moving, but this felt different. Achilles was playing a long game, something deeper than the usual power grabs. And I was in it now, whether I liked it or not.

     The rain pounded harder, bouncing off the pavement, turning the streets into a blur of reflections and shadows. I kept moving, my coat sticking to my skin, my mind racing. Achilles wasn’t just running a racket. He was setting something up, something bigger than the usual schemes, and I was right in the middle of it.

     I turned the corner and saw them. Achilles, flanked by two of his men—grunts, big and dumb, the kind that didn’t ask questions. They stood in the rain, their eyes scanning the empty street like they were waiting for something.

     I stopped, half-hidden in the shadows, watching. The rain made it hard to see, but I could make out Achilles’ face—calm, unreadable. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t rushing. Whatever he was waiting for, he knew it was coming.

     And that’s when I realized: it was me.

     I wasn’t tailing Achilles. He’d been leading me the whole time.

     Before I could move, the grunts were on me. They moved fast for guys their size, grabbing me by the arms, twisting me around and shoving me into the wall. My head hit the brick with a sickening thud, the rain running down my face like blood.

     “Evening, Jangler,” Achilles said, stepping forward, his voice smooth as ever. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

     I struggled against the hands holding me, but it was no use. They had me pinned, and Achilles wasn’t the type to let go once he had his claws in. He looked down at me, his eyes cold, calculating.

     “You’ve been poking around in places you shouldn’t,” he said, his voice low. “I don’t like that.”

     I spat rainwater, my head still spinning from the hit. “You know me, Achilles. I like to poke.”

     He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “That’s the problem with you, Sid. Always thinking you’re a step ahead, when really, you’re just playing catch-up.”

     The grunts tightened their grip, and I felt the sharp edge of panic creeping in. Achilles wasn’t just here to rough me up. This was something else. Something worse.

     “What do you want?” I asked, my voice steady despite the situation.

     Achilles tilted his head, studying me like I was a piece of meat he was about to carve up. “It’s not about what I want, Sid. It’s about what you are.”

     I frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. “What the hell are you talking about?”

     He stepped closer, his face inches from mine. “You think this is just about money? About power? No, Sid. This is about the city. It’s always been about the city. And you—you’re part of it. Whether you like it or not.”

     The rain fell harder, drenching us both, but Achilles didn’t seem to notice. He leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’ve been in the game a long time, Jangler. Longer than most. You’ve seen the city change, seen the way it shifts, the way it devours people whole. But you’re still standing. Ever wonder why?”

     I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure I could.

     Achilles smiled again, that cold, calculating smile that made my skin crawl. “You’re not just a detective, Sid. You’re part of something bigger. Something older.”

     The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d always known there was more to the city than met the eye. But this? This was something else. Something darker.

     “You’re full of it,” I muttered, trying to shake the growing sense of dread in my chest.

     “Maybe,” Achilles said, stepping back. “But it doesn’t matter. You’re part of the plan now. Whether you like it or not.”

     He turned to walk away, leaving me there in the rain, still pinned by his grunts. But before he could leave, I found my voice. “Why me?” I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

     Achilles paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Because, Sid... you’re the key.”

     The key. To what, I didn’t know. But the way he said it, the way his voice carried through the rain, sent a chill down my spine. Achilles had plans—big plans—and somehow, I was at the center of them.

     The grunts shoved me harder against the wall, just enough to make me gasp for air, and then they let go. I stumbled, catching myself before I hit the ground, and when I looked up, Achilles was gone.

     The rain kept falling, washing away the blood, the sweat, the fear. But it couldn’t wash away the truth.

     Achilles was playing a game, one I hadn’t even realized I was part of. And now I knew—whatever came next, whatever hell he was about to unleash on the city—it all led back to me.

     Mealtime dross, evenly.

     I was the leftovers, the piece that didn’t fit. But I wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot.