Volume One: “The Yellow Sparrow”

Chapter 1: Opening

　　“You mean... you have the same dream every day? And you always wake up at exactly 00:42?”

　　The man wearing a cartoon cat mask looked at Henry Clark:

　　“Man, you’re living the dream! In your dreams, you can kill whoever you want! Do whatever you want! You can even try all kinds of crazy games! Damn... just thinking about it is thrilling!”

　　Click.

　　The man slid the magazine into his pistol and chambered a round:

　　“But tonight, you don’t need to look for excitement in your dreams. I’ll take you for some real action!”

　　He pointed across the street at the bank:

　　“My guy pried open the bank door. Come with me!”

　　Henry Clark nodded, adjusted the Ultraman mask on his face, and got up to follow the man:

　　“What should I call you, bro?”

　　“On the street, they call me Big-Faced Cat.”

　　The man grinned, the flesh on his face squeezing the cartoon cat mask into an even more exaggerated look:

　　“Just call me Bro.”

　　“Bro, what’s my job?”

　　“It’s not time for the password expert to step in yet. Just stick with me and don’t wander off.”

　　Rustle, rustle, rustle...

　　After a short jog, Henry Clark followed Big-Faced Cat to the bank entrance.

　　“All set?” Big-Faced Cat asked.

　　The underling nodded.

　　Big-Faced Cat pressed his pistol to the underling’s forehead—

　　Bang!!

　　Blood splattered all over the wall!

　　He casually wiped the muzzle, patted Henry Clark on the shoulder:

　　“With one less person to split the money, we get a bigger share!”

　　“Wasn’t he your guy?”

　　“He was sticky-fingered. For our safety, I couldn’t keep him around!”

　　As Big-Faced Cat spoke, he pulled Henry Clark inside.

　　They reached a fork in the corridor.

　　A masked man was fiddling with the electrical panel.

　　“Not done yet?”

　　Big-Faced Cat urged.

　　Click.

　　The masked man snipped a wire, then wiped the sweat from his brow:

　　“Done. The alarm system is disabled!”

　　Bang!!

　　Another shot to the back of the head! Blood filled the electrical box!

　　“Bro, you’re making me feel really unsafe here!”

　　Henry Clark pointed at the corpse on the ground:

　　“Was this guy sticky-fingered too?”

　　Big-Faced Cat snorted:

　　“This guy was clean, but he was hitting on my woman! Tell me, could I let him live?”

　　“Is it really that hard being the boss?”

　　“Ah, don’t sweat the small stuff! With one less person to split the money, shouldn’t you be happy?”

　　Henry Clark pried off his arm:

　　“You’re not planning to shoot me later and keep all the money for yourself, are you?”

　　“Of course not!”

　　Big-Faced Cat patted his chest and belly, then pulled out a gray object wrapped in duct tape from behind his waist and handed it to Henry Clark.

　　“What’s this?”

　　“C4 explosive.”

　　Big-Faced Cat pointed at the switch and explained to Henry Clark:

　　“Your Bro is an upright guy! Never does anything shady! If you ever feel like I’m about to kill you, just press the switch and blow us both up! Feel better now?”

　　“Alright, sounds solid!”

　　Henry Clark gave a thumbs up and took the C4.

　　Rustle, rustle, rustle...

　　The two moved on.

　　A masked man ran up from the underground passage:

　　“Boss, I’ve cut the main power line—”

　　Bang!!!

　　Brains everywhere.

　　“Bro, this guy—”

　　“It’s fine, Bro.” Henry Clark waved it off, showing he was already used to it:

　　“Just tell me how many people are left to split the money.”

　　“Just the two of us! Hehehe... just the two of us!”

　　Big-Faced Cat pushed Henry Clark forward at a brisk pace:

　　“Look, we’re at the vault! Time for the password expert to shine!”

　　In front of them...

　　Was a thick black wall, with a silver combination lock door in the center.

　　“What’s the code?”

　　“Pfft! If I knew the code, why would I need a password expert like you!”

　　Big-Faced Cat pointed at his watch:

　　“Come on, man, hurry up! We don’t have much time! Once the main power comes back, the security system will automatically trigger the alarm!”

　　“I know you’re in a rush, but don’t panic.”

　　Henry Clark walked up to the lock and started working.

　　Big-Faced Cat paced back and forth, the flesh on his face twisting up:

　　“How long do you need?”

　　“10.”

　　“10 minutes!?” Big-Faced Cat exclaimed, “That’s way too long!!”

　　“9... 8... 7...”

　　???

　　Big-Faced Cat stared in shock as Henry Clark bolted out!