THE ONE CALLED J

Terry's Identity

The Shadow Entourage was standing on the top of a roof, several meters away from the area where there was a showdown between Sensei and Jin Woo. The shadow entourage was on top of the roof as it looked down at Jin Woo's body which was on the ground. Sensei had just beaten him, he was now addressing Max, Dave, Leon, and Joshua.

The owner of the entourage(Terry) was directly behind the chimney of the building, hiding in its shadow.

"What an incompetent i***t!" Terry sighs to himself. He had informed Jin Woo of his latest assignment but he had insisted he captured Joshua quickly as he had another job to do. Terry was reluctant to help him but Jin Woo had kept insisting.

Finally, Terry had agreed to help him as he used his entourage to transport him when they were directly below Joshua. Jin had brought his entourage and sent it up to attack him but almost immediately at that moment, Joshua had suddenly jumped away as if he knew he was going to be attacked.

"That can't be a coincidence," Terry had told Jin who immediately called back his entourage. "It must be the Sensei, there's a way he's knowing our next movements, we have to go."

"No!" Jin Woo had told him sharply. "I always finish what I start, if you are getting cold feet, just drop me here, I can finish off some measly kids and an old fart myself, just wait outside, I will come to meet you when I am done."

With that, Terry had brought him up to the surface from a black portal. He had then surfaced outside. In a few minutes, he had heard sound breaking and Jin had hit the pavement unwillingly. He had entered the ground and came up from the roof as he gazed down and began to watch their fight.

It was intense but it was one-sided most of the time as the old man had dealt with him, he noticed that at a point in time, the old man was clueless, it was when Jin was standing in the air but Jin had then bumped into him and the old man had returned the battle to its former state of being completely one-sided.

THE PRESENT

Terry sighed to himself as he stopped recalling the events, he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, grabbed his lighter from his breast pocket, he flipped it on as he held the end of a cigarette to the lit-up fire, the other end in his mouth. He took a drag as he puffs the smoke out later. "I can't go and meet Madame with pure bad news," he ends as he looked down on the ground, the old man and the teenagers had already entered back into the duplex. "I have to find out what that old man's entourage does, the only thing I have gained is that it uses a weapon, no entourage is formed with weapons directly from the source and there's only one blacksmith who is capable of making weapons that can be wielded by entourages but he isn't exactly very free-spirited in the act of conversation, I have to tail these people a bit longer, I just need to find a bit of information that I can report back to Madame and if possible, maybe even perform the objective she sent those idiots."

"That was really epic, man!" Leon's face was lit up, he was no longer wearing the weary and grieving expression that he had on his face while Kronk was abducted earlier. "I haven't s**t like that, you were so fast and the way you fought, was a bruise, man, and that sword, the way your entourage wielded it was so cool, it gave off those awesome ninja vibes, man, you are so good."

"It's amazing how the human mind quickly forgets its sorrows when an enticing distraction passes by," Sensei chuckles lightly as he kept moving to his mat.

"Sorrows, what sorrows? I don't have any sorrows, pfffft," Leon had an indifferent look on his face.

"Except that you might not see your old buddy again," Joshua grinned evilly at him as he tapped his left shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, anytime you wanna see him, just lemme know," Joshua grinned evilly as his entourage materialized beside him. "I would be more than happy to take you."

"Shut up!" Leon says sharply, his face was now brooding. "I have got something to do," he ends as he makes his way to the door, he forces it open as he leaves.

"Kid does sure got some anger issues," Joshua smiled as he turned at the old man. "Hey Sensei, how about we have a little showdown here so these kids," he ends motioning to Dave and Max. "Don't get the wrong impression on who the true alpha male in this room is."

"I am not interested in the title," Sensei smiles lightly. "You can take it."

"The typical response that the weak always give the strong," Joshua had his most demeaning grin. "The response called surrender."

Joshua makes his way towards the door. "It's been a long day, tomorrow," Joshua had his attention focused on Dave. "You are gonna use your entourage to heal Jin, he is going to know where Madame is but keep him hidden. That shadow guy, whoever the f**k he is can't take our prize the way he did Ben and Kronk, I instruct you, Max," Joshua had now turned his attention towards Max. "To leave your entourage on for tonight, it's gonna cast an illusion around Jin's body, we can't afford to go back to base zero."

"J!" Dave nods his head in Sensei's direction. "Don't forget the true reason why we are actually here, about Kronk, how an entourage can act without the directives of his user."

"The strong do not request from the weak and I, the J am the strongest amongst all so, therefore, I make no requests," Joshua grins arrogantly as he motions to himself. "So I ain't gonna bother talking to the old man, since you are weak, you can ask him yourself," Joshua ends as he shuts the door behind him, he stopped by the shut door as he gazed at the sky, it was lit with stars. It was about 7 pm in the night. "That Sensei is really strong," Joshua thought to himself. "But when I learn the ability of my entourage, I will be the strongest, I will start working on that once I get back, Eva, just hang tight for me, I promise, I am going to come rescue you."

Joshua walked away from the duplex solemnly, he was thinking about the past events of the day, it had felt like the longest day in his life. He hadn't walked more than three blocks when he suddenly turns to his left, he could see Big Burgers eatery, he and Eva used to go there all the time, it was in that place that he had first kissed her.

He could feel a tear dropping from his right eye as he saw someone sitting by the window at the exact spot that he would sit and Eva would be directly opposite him.

Usually, Joshua would have gone over to where the man was sitting and would have said something like. "Isn't your fragile mind aware that a maggot shall not sit upon the same seat as the J, the being who stands above all."

But for that night, he felt different, he was happy, he had gained a new friend, Dave who was devoted to finding Eva the way he was and it did feel good to have people having your back without you worrying they would suffer for it. "I do miss Mom," Joshua thinks to himself. "But I was tired of your husband always abusing you cause of Jude and I, usually mostly I cause Jack didn't like me one bit, I knew you would eventually wear yourself out, that was why I left, I just wanted to ease your pain even if it was just a bit but now, I have friends and I am glad," Joshua looked back at Big Burgers, he then noticed one thing about the man who was sitting in the restaurant that he had ignored before, there was a scar on his middle finger, the scar resembled something he had seen before, he racked his head to remember and he finally did, back in the sewers when Kronk was about to be captured and he had seen some fingers in the portal, one of the fingers precisely the middle finger possessed that same scar.

The person before him was the owner o the shadow entourage, he was a black man with plaited long golden hair, that was Joshua could decode from the side of the window he was seeing him.

"That's Madame's right-hand man," Joshua bit his lower lip as he thought. "He definitely knows where Eva is, he's the one who kidnapped Kronk, if what Leon said about him is true, then I guess I would have to pick him along when I am saving Eva," his entourage had already materialized fully by his right arm side. Joshua walked towards the eatery, his entourage phased through the window where he saw the man.

"ODE!!!" Joshua screamed as his entourage was about to punch the man but he suddenly vanished, Joshua could feel dread coming over him but he shrugs it over as he ran towards the glass, he put his hands on the glass and before he knew it, he felt a hand wrapping around his left leg, Joshua looked down when he could feel the movement around his leg but before he could react, the arm pulled him downwards, instead of his body to be hit forcefully against the ground, it phases through as if he was some sort of entourage. He found himself in a completely dark space, he was incapable of seeing anything. "If I cloak myself in my miasma," Joshua thinks to himself. "It should be able to provide some source of light," Joshua tried his hardest to cloak himself in his miasma the way he remembered how to but it wasn't working.

"If you are trying to summon your entourage or use the aura cloak," came Terry's voice, "it won't work."

The voice appeared to be coming from every direction at once.

"Where am l?" Joshua asks with a neutral expression. "I don't like to be kept in the dark." He ends with a lighter tone.

Terry chuckled for a while before he spoke. "Are you trying to make a pun by asking a question and making inquiries regarding where you are? You seem to always have your cool, I am going to have to take you back to Madame but first, I need your help."

"Where I'm from," Joshua begins. "People show their faces when they are about to beg."

"Ooh right right," Terry says. "I forgot you are unable to see me since I was able to see you, I had completely forgotten it doesn't work both ways."

"No s**t, Sherlock," there was a sarcastic edge to Joshua's voice.

Joshua reappeared on a chair, it was the chair by the window, the same one he used to sit on anytime he had come here when Eva. "That dumbass, wonder where is he?"

"Right behind you," came Terry's voice behind him, Terry had sat on the other chair, his back was facing Joshua's back, he had a sly smile on his face as the waitress came towards his direction, she was a roughly 170 cm tall blonde with really blue eyes, she was quite pretty.

"I could swear I didn't see you come in," the waiter smiles in Terry's direction. "Is there anything you'd like?"

"Your number wouldn't be a bad idea," Terry replied in a deep gruff voice. The waiter giggled as she slid a sheet of paper to Terry. Terry didn't make any attempt to take the paper as he kept gazing at her.

"Anything else," she asked, amidst smiles.

"Wouldn't mind your pancakes if they are still available?"

"Sure," she replied as she moved away.

"So you aren't just a bad guy," Joshua begins. "You are also a bad boy?"

"Jealous much," Terry had a sly grin on his face.

"Why would a man be jealous of a guy that acts like a boy?" Joshua cheekily replies. "Besides, I am the J, jealousy can only be directed towards me, it doesn't work the other way round."

"You narcissistic fuck."

"Thanks," Joshua smiled. "In case you haven't noticed, you are within earshot of my entourage, give me a reason not to ode ode you."

"Remember what I said about requiring your help?"

"Yeah but since when has a black man not needed a white man's help, you probably want me to sell me drugs."

"For someone so desperate about a black girl, you are really racist."

"Finally, you bring up Eva, look at that, we are finally on the same page, where the f**k is she?"

"Russia," Terry replied.

"In case you haven't noticed, Russia is not exactly a small place, just telling me she's in Russia is not much different than telling me she's still on planet earth."

"Try and have a bit of chill," Terry says.

"I have no chills, wanna know why?"

"God, I am going to regret this," Terry sighs as he shook his head. "Why?"

"Because I am hot as fuck."

"I don't see how that was relevant in this conversation but dealing back to the issue at hand...."

"I am the J!" Joshua interrupts him. "Anything concerning me is relevant in anything and everything," he ends with a grave expression on his face.

"Yes, your eminence," Terry had a frustrated look on his face.

"Alright," Joshua grinned to himself as he could sense his frustration. "I know what you are going to request for, you want me to go against your boss because she probably took out the love of your life and in exchange, you'd tell me where Eva's location is."

"How did you know?" Terry was amazed.

"I am the J," Joshua put on his most haughty expression. "I know all and also, you sort of made it obvious with the way you spoke to the waiter, usually bad boys are made when they lose the love of their life to some epic s**t, also, you are wearing a locket around your neck." Terry had a shocked look on his face as he felt for the locket around his neck.

"How did he find out? I had made sure he didn't see my face," Terry's face was now tensed.

"Most men who wear lockets wear them around to remind them of someone they love dearly but are incapable of seeing at the moment, your entourage enables you to create portals and based on my assessment back at Dave's place, let's you also travel through shadows, I am guessing it's why you have yourself that crappy name called Shadow entourage, with an entourage ability that enables you to be able to move around anywhere you like in the world as every object can cast a shadow so long they are hit by light rays, it only makes sense to say your love is dead and the ugly b***h you call Madame is behind it."

"Everything you said in that statement is absolutely accurate other than the last part," Terry's face was still tensed. "Madame is many things and the word ugly isn't one of them, I have to say, she's the prettiest woman I have ever met."

"I see you are also falling for your boss, I misread your intentions, do you want me to beat her the f**k up so you can get some downtime," Joshua ends with a creepy smile.

"You have issues," Terry shakes his head as he sips from a big burger's coffee cup before placing it back on the table before him. "But I was sure I had hidden my face from you, how were you able to see me?"

"Look above," Joshua says as he drinks from a glass of water, Terry looks up above, he spots a bulb at the edge of the wall, and directly above it was a small mirror, he smiles to himself as he could see his reflection in the mirror. Terry turned towards him, he had beautiful hazel eyes, a small nose, and heart-shaped pink lips. He was a really fine man.

"You put the mirror there the time you had first tried to first hit me with your entourage."

"Yep," Joshua smiled as he took another gulp from the glass of water he was drinking. "I predicted the both of us sitting like that and having this conversation, I have already made up my mind so whatever you are gonna be saying will just make you sound desperate."

"Is that another way of saying you won't help me?" Terry asks, he had a crestfallen look.

"No s**t, Sherlock," Joshua grinned.

"But why, don't you want to rescue Eva?"

"I am going to rescue Eva alright but I don't trust you, Ben's phone which I found at Vincent's side, it was your doing, you had removed the phone from his pocket and deliberately kept it where only I would see because you knew I stood a lesser chance of survival against Kronk, though I don't recall seeing you there but it all adds up, you could have stepped in to save me at any time while I was fighting with Ben but you had deliberately chosen not to interfere because really, all that matters to you is fulfilling your boss' dreams, you could have struck a deal with Kronk whom you surely knew was probably planning to betray your boss but you didn't, why? Because Madame's wishes were your commands so don't think for one moment that you can sway me with a dumb story just because I am in a similar issue and I would blindly follow you without considering previous events, if you had wanted me to help you from the beginning, you would have just stopped Eva from being abducted."

"You are just like Madame, nothing ever gets past you," Terry smiles as he got to his feet, he was roughly one hundred and ninety-seven centimeters tall. "It was worth a try, guess I would just have to report Jin's failure."

"I am surprised," Joshua says. "You didn't even try and deny it."

"Why would I?" Terry had a sly grin. "It would make me seem desperate."

"Though your story about the love of your life, you weren't expecting me to see your locket, it wasn't a lie, you had decided to use that story as it was true and you will easily be able to act well with it, what was her name?"

"Zenaida," Terry replied him and as he did, he vanished from the spot where he stood.

"I was hoping he would have just taken me to Madame's base," Joshua sighs as he pulls out Jolie's phone from his pocket, it was on the call logs and he was just a moment away from pressing dial on her father's number. "I would have brought the entire squad to his base, though I am regretting not agreeing to his offer, that would have been a mistake, he knew I had the means to inform the rest of my comrades and would have jeopardized his madame's location, that was why he didn't just take me there straight up and decided to reach a compromise so that was why he spoke," Joshua got up to his feet. "Though I have to say, there was a good thing about his sudden appearance as now, he has given me the one tool I can use to find out his Madame's location," Joshua grins confidently as he now stood directly in front of the place where he sat. On the table that faced him was a Big Burgers coffee cup but the inscription on it wrote: Moscow, Russia. "He gave me the location, he must have thought I wouldn't notice because we were in a big burgers eatery but nothing gets past the J."

"Excuse me," came the voice of the waitress behind him, Joshua turns back to look at her, she was holding a plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup. "There was a man here earlier, you see where he went?"

"He's right behind you," Joshua answers, the waitress turns directly behind her.

"Really, cause I don't see him," she says as she turns back to face Joshua but Joshua was no longer there, he had vanished.