Staring down at the drying blood coating his hands, Ryker sensed a new feeling growing within his chest; a feeling he hadn't dared surrender to for years.
His breaths were short, sharp and laboured, the adrenaline beginning to fade from his body, and his fringe still clung to his sweat-drenched forehead as he glanced towards the broken body in the middle of the room. He'd done it: he'd crossed the point of no return and murdered the gang's leader. It hadn't been easy - honestly, he hadn't expected it to be possible - and the pain radiating through almost every inch of his body suggested he was in for a bad few weeks, but Ryker had won. The bastard was dead. The nightmare was over: no more random punishments, no more ruthless brutality aimed at those who didn't deserve it, no more pain for the sake of entertainment.
Bloodshot eyes moved from the corpse to the faces of those who'd watched the battle. On one side, there were those that supported his coup; on the other, there were the loyalists. Every face he scanned had the same haunted look, the same fear, the same apprehension: no matter their previous allegiances, everyone was currently asking the same question: what happens now?
With a wince and a hand braced against his side, Ryker clambered to his feet, watching as a trail of his blood mixed with the ever-growing pool of his victims'. One deep breath, then another. It was over; now it had to begin. Now it was his turn, his chance to try make their crappy lives slightly more bearable. It was his turn to lead.
Stepping over the soon-to-be-forgotten ghost of his past, Ryker strode towards the new leader of the loyalists....and offered his hand. It was bruised, potentially broken and caked in blood, but it was an olive branch. It was the only olive branch. Their eyes were locked, a thousand threats and promises passed silently between them: if this civil war had to continue, it would.
A heart-beat passed, then another, before his offer was accepted. Their grip was strong, and Ryker had to supress a groan, but relief flooded through him as fast as the pain did: it really was over. No more fighting, at least not in the short term. Would there be opposition? Of course. Would there be more blood later down the line? Almost certainly. Would he cross that bridge when he came to it? Yep. Until then...
It's not the despair; it's the hope that kills you.
"Welcome to the Syndicate."