Rivers of blood issue 1

Rivers of Blood Issue 1 launches a new arc for Creed Rivers, now a fully integrated Vena City detective whose past with mob boss Frank has never fully let go. The issue opens with Creed executing a textbook undercover drug bust, flanked by Aline Fonseca sniping from a rooftop as Vena PD cruisers flood the scene. Back at the precinct, the department celebrates another closed case. Chief and Officer Vargas commend Creed while Officer Matt Steel delivers a backhanded compliment wrapped in a warning — he does not trust men who used to run with Frank, and he will be watching. Aline diffuses the tension and walks with Creed through the precinct, where he confides that lately he wonders why so many of his cases end in bloodshed. The moment is interrupted by a text from a name Creed has not seen in years — his brother Cody Rivers. Creed meets Cody at Moreno Cafe, a childhood diner soaked in old memory and unresolved distance. The reunion is tense and businesslike: Cody has been taking jobs for Frank, botched one, and now owes the mob boss a dangerous sum of money. He asks Creed to intervene. Creed pushes back hard but ultimately agrees to visit Frank that same night. At Mesa Nightclub, Frank's flashy criminal headquarters, Creed confronts the mob boss in his VIP section. Frank is warm, nostalgic, and completely in control. He tells Creed he misses him, that Cody is nothing like him, and that he has a way to clear the debt — a quiet robbery job against a small-time operator encroaching on Frank's territory. No killing the target, just take the cash, rough up the guards, and make it look like a random gang hit. Creed agrees on one condition: after this, Frank leaves Cody alone permanently. Frank agrees and promises to send the details. Creed loops in Cody, who insists on joining the job to clean up his own mess. Reluctantly, Creed agrees. That night the brothers arrive at a warehouse in Vena City's industrial district — Creed in his futuristic red Pontiac GTO Judge, Cody in a battered black Mustang. The place is far more heavily guarded than Frank described. Creed deploys Samsung, his half-robot cybernetic German Shepherd military weapon dog, who produces an S-Grade smoke grenade. Cody reveals a compact mechanical heat-blade axe. Using the smoke grenade as cover and Creed's orange-glowing cybernetic detective vision to track heat signatures, the brothers breach the entrance in coordinated silence — Cody carving through guards with the heat-blade axe, Creed picking off targets with his silenced Creeds magnum blaster pistol, and Samsung providing overwatch with a mounted sniper rifle. They reach a reinforced office, kick the door open, and find a man behind a desk with a single guard. Creed shoots the guard instantly. Cody pins the man down. The man is defiant and threatening until Cody punches him into cooperation. He opens a cyber-tech hidden safe full of stacked cash. As Cody loads the money into bags, the man edges toward his desk and pulls a concealed weapon, aiming it at Cody. Creed shoots him in the belly before he can fire. Bleeding out and laughing, the man taunts them — they do not even know whose money this is. Creed demands to know. The man dies laughing before he can answer. Creed and Cody stand in the blood-soaked office staring at each other as the truth begins to crystallize: Frank did not send them here to clear a debt. He sent them here to steal from someone powerful — someone whose retaliation will fall entirely on Creed and Cody. This was never about Cody's mistake. Frank just used both brothers as instruments in a mob war he is too careful to start himself. Page-by-page breakdown: - Pages 1-2: Cold open. Creed Rivers stands in the middle of a tense undercover drug deal between two rival gangs in a Vena City back lot, playing the role of middleman. The exchange is seconds from completing when Creed pulls his badge and his Creeds magnum blaster pistol. He announces himself as Detective Rivers, Vena PD, and orders everyone to surrender. The thugs refuse and draw weapons. From a rooftop across the street, Aline Fonseca opens fire with a sniper rifle, picking off armed thugs with surgical precision. Creed blasts through the remaining men one by one with his magnum blaster pistol. A fleet of Vena PD cruisers screams in from both ends of the lot, officers pouring out to pin down and arrest the surviving gang members. The final panel is a wide noir shot: Creed stands untouched at the center of the chaos, smoke curling from the barrel of his pistol, surrounded by wrecked criminals and flashing red-and-blue light. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Aline Fonseca, Aline] - Pages 2-4: The Vena City precinct buzzes with post-bust energy. Officers mill around the bullpen as Chief and Officer Vargas approach Creed to deliver formal congratulations. Chief shakes his hand firmly. Vargas gives a measured nod of approval. As they move on, Officer Matt Steel steps forward with a guarded, backhanded compliment — he acknowledges Creed's recent work but makes clear he has not forgotten Creed's criminal past with Frank, and warns that old habits return. Creed fires back with dry humor. Aline Fonseca steps between them before it escalates, cutting the tension with a pointed quip about testosterone. Steel backs off with a final warning look. Aline and Creed walk the precinct hallway together. Creed admits that lately he has been wondering why so many of his cases end in bloodshed. Aline tells him that is just Vena City — it has nothing to do with him. Creed's phone buzzes. He checks it. A text from Cody Rivers. Creed's expression shifts immediately. Aline notices and asks if it is his girlfriend. Creed tells her it is his brother. Aline reacts with quiet surprise — she has not heard that name in years. Creed types a reply and tells her he needs to handle this. They agree to meet tomorrow. The page closes on Creed alone in the precinct hallway, staring at the text, the celebration noise fading behind him. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Aline Fonseca, Chief, Officer Vargas, Officer Matt Steel, Aline] - Pages 4-6: Moreno Cafe, night. Creed sits alone in a worn corner booth, a cup of coffee cooling in front of him. The bell above the door jingles. Cody Rivers enters — thinner than Creed remembers, guarded posture, a face carrying something heavy. The brothers lock eyes across the diner. A small nod exchanged. Cody slides into the booth. An uncomfortable silence hangs between them before Creed breaks it, noting he tried to reach out when he got back from his tour. Cody deflects — says it was a little late for that. Creed pushes back: they are here now. Cody declares this is just business and asks for a favor. A waitress arrives and Creed orders two coffees. Once she is gone, Cody drops it: he has been taking jobs for Frank. Creed's expression hardens immediately. He demands to know why Cody did not come to him for money. Cody refuses to be the kind of man who asks for handouts. Creed grows frustrated — taking jobs for Frank is far worse than asking for help. Cody fires back that working for Frank used to be Creed's thing. Creed forces himself calm and asks what happened. Cody explains he botched a job and cost Frank a significant sum. Frank has been desperate for cash lately and has completely lost patience — he wants every dollar back immediately and Cody does not know what Frank will do if he cannot pay. Cody figured Creed still had enough history with Frank to talk him down. Creed insists he is the last person Frank wants to see. Cody stands to leave. Creed tells him to sit back down. After a beat, Cody does. Creed agrees to go talk to Frank that night. Cody thanks him quietly. Creed stands, grabs his coat, and tells Cody he owes him — starting with paying for the coffees. For the first time all night, a small grin crosses Cody's face. Creed heads for the door. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Cody Rivers ] - Pages 6-9: Mesa Nightclub, night. Creed enters Frank's establishment — all glass, neon, expensive liquor, and beautiful people masking ugly business. At the back, Frank holds court in a sprawling VIP section on a leather couch, flanked by armed henchmen and women. A bouncer moves to block Creed. Frank spots him immediately and waves him through. Frank is warm, almost theatrical in his greeting — calling Creed his boy, expressing how much it broke his heart when Creed left. He marvels that Creed became a cop and never fed him a single piece of inside information. Creed cuts through the nostalgia: he is here for his brother. Frank acknowledges Cody — notes he is nothing like Creed, which in Frank's view is a waste. Frank expresses genuine regret about the situation but insists he is in the middle of something big and needs his money. He tells Creed that if Cody cannot pay, he will find another form of compensation. Creed leans forward and offers a proposition: one more job, no cut for himself, every dollar toward Cody's debt. Frank is intrigued. He describes the target — a small-time operator encroaching on Frank's territory, someone Frank cannot move against directly without looking threatened in front of the Family. He knows where this man keeps a large amount of cash. He wants Creed to rob the location, rough up the guards, and make it look like a random gang hit. No killing the target. Clean and quiet. Creed presses Frank on whether this is a setup. Frank laughs it off sarcastically. Creed agrees on one condition — after this, Frank leaves Cody alone permanently. Frank places a hand over his heart and agrees. Creed stands to leave. Frank promises to send the details. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Frank] - Pages 9-11: Later that night. Creed contacts Cody and lays out Frank's offer. Cody insists on coming along — he needs to clean up his own mess. Creed initially refuses but Cody pushes until Creed relents. The brothers arrive separately at a warehouse in Vena City's rundown industrial district. Creed pulls up in his futuristic red Pontiac GTO Judge. Cody arrives in a battered but cared-for black Mustang. They step out and assess the building. The guard presence is far heavier than Frank described. Creed notes that Frank tends to bend details. Cody asks for the plan. Creed considers a stealth approach but notes the lack of cover. Cody produces a compact mechanical tool that unfolds with the press of a button into a glowing heat-blade axe. Creed responds that it is not subtle. Cody asks if it is not cool. Creed does not deny it. Creed opens his GTO's door and Samsung emerges — a half-robot cybernetic German Shepherd military weapon dog. Samsung produces an S-Grade smoke grenade for Creed and asks if he is a good boy. Creed confirms he is the best and gives him a pat. Creed's cybernetic eyes activate, glowing orange, revealing heat signatures of guards positioned around the warehouse entrance. He tosses the smoke grenade. A thick cloud swallows the area. Under its cover, Creed and Cody move in — Cody carving through guards in the smoke with sweeping strikes from the heat-blade axe, Creed dropping targets with his silenced Creeds magnum blaster pistol, Samsung providing precision overwatch with the sniper rifle mounted to his back. The entrance falls without an alarm raised. As the smoke clears, Creed asks where Cody got the axe. Cody says he knows a guy. Creed says he wants an introduction. Cody refuses — the guy does not like cops. Creed concedes that is fair. The brothers share a brief grin before moving inside. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Cody Rivers ] - Pages 11-13: Inside the warehouse. Creed and Cody move through the interior with practiced efficiency — years apart have not erased their instinctive chemistry. They work in near silence, neutralizing guards and bypassing detection points as they push deeper into the building. Their coordination is wordless and precise, the kind that only comes from shared blood and shared experience. They reach a reinforced office elevated above the warehouse floor. Creed kicks the door open. Inside: a man seated behind a desk, a single guard standing nearby. Creed shoots the guard instantly — blood splatters across the desk man's face. Cody moves fast, pinning the man before he can react and stripping him of any concealed weapons. The man erupts in threats, insisting they are dead for this. Creed tells him calmly that there is a safe in the room and that opening it means he gets to go home tonight. The man doubles down on his threats. Cody punches him hard across the face. The man's defiance cracks. He moves to a hidden cyber-tech panel behind the desk and opens a concealed safe. Inside: stacks of cash. Cody begins loading the money into bags. Creed watches — and notices the man slowly edging his hand toward the underside of the desk. Creed warns him to back away. The man ignores it and pulls a concealed weapon, swinging it toward Cody. Creed shoots him in the belly before he can fire. The man goes down screaming, then starts laughing through the pain — taunting them that they do not even know whose money this is, and that once he finds out, they will not last a week. Creed kneels beside him and demands to know who the money belongs to. The man laughs harder, says by the time they figure it out they will already be dead — and bleeds out before he can say another word. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Cody Rivers ] - Pages 13-15: The office is silent except for the low hum of the warehouse below. Creed and Cody stand over the dead man, the bags of cash at their feet, the blood spreading slowly across the floor. Neither brother speaks for a long moment. Then the weight of it lands. Creed narrates internally: Frank sent them here with a story about a small-time nobody. But the security was military-grade. The safe was cyber-tech. The man died laughing at them like they had stumbled into something they could not comprehend. This was never about Cody's debt. Frank is in the middle of something much larger — a mob war he cannot afford to start in his own name. He needed someone expendable. Someone with enough skill to pull the job and enough history to make a convincing fall guy. He used both brothers. Creed and Cody exchange a long look — the kind that does not need words. Cody asks quietly whose money they just stole. Creed does not have an answer yet. But he knows one thing: whoever it belongs to will come looking. And they will not come quietly. Creed picks up one of the cash bags and tells Cody they need to move — now. They exit the office and make their way back through the warehouse. Samsung meets them at the entrance, alert and scanning. They load into their separate cars. Before Cody drives away, he rolls down his window and looks at Creed. He says he is sorry — for dragging Creed into this. Creed tells him not to apologize yet. The final page is a noir wide shot: Creed's red GTO idles alone at the edge of the industrial district, the warehouse behind it, the Vena City skyline glowing in the distance. Creed sits in the driver's seat staring straight ahead, Samsung in the passenger seat. His internal narration closes the issue: Frank always said he was like a son to him. Sons learn from their fathers. And right now, the only thing Creed had learned was that Frank had just painted a target on both their backs — and somewhere in this city, something was already moving toward them. [Characters: Creed Rivers, Cody Rivers ]

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