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Chapter 54
By Agent Havoc
« Yes sir! » answered the man named Daisuke as he hung up his cell phone.
Daisuke then went down to his knees to check out on the unconscious Tetsuhara, who was lying on the ground.
« He’ll live! » declared the leader of the Enforcers softly « You two help him get back on his feet, we’ll bring him back to headquarters along with Ashley. »
Immediately, the two men Makimura had ordered went to pick Tetsuhara up and lifted him. Darian had his hands cuffed behind his back as he observed the whole scene silently. Rain was puring down violently and the wind didn’t help his comfort too much. Thinking of his capture five minutes before, he thought to himself how easily he could have taken on this team of Syndicate Enforcers. There were only five of them. Daisuke, who was appearently the leader of this bunch his four goons. Only Daisuke was holding his gun the proper way when they found Darian walking down the street, dragging the unconscious Tetsuhara. The others were worst than just amateurs, they were what Darian called goons, guys who thought they were invincible because they carried a firearm on them and weren’t affraid to use it.
« What kind of idiot gives his handguns names and has those names graved on them? » asked one of Daisuke’s men, as he played with Escaflowne and Wild Chylde.
Darian felt that this man was beneath him and decide to lock gazes with this brute, staying silent. It wasn’t worth it to talk with inferior lifeforms at times, and this guy here was most certainly inferior. His infamous icy stare obviously stirred a reaction in the man as the goon lifted Escaflowne and pressed the handgun against the scarred hunter’s forehead. Refusing to bow down, Darian’s eyes stayed locked into the goon’s. By now, this big tough man was trembling and couldn’t hold Escaflowne with a steady hand.
« Stop it man! You’re freaking me out! » said the goon, the tone of his voice reminding the scarred hunter of a scared child.
Darian didn’t look away. It amazed him how his stare could affect people with weak minds so much. He never understood why that happened, but he had learned to use that ability to his advantage at a very young age. And he was doing it right now. Of course, it didn’t work on all people, it didn’t work at all on those who knew and trusted him, and those who had alot of willpower and strong minds. Darian could feel that Daisuke and the other goons were looking at this whole scene without interrupting.
« I SAID STOP IT! » screamed the goon hysterically.
Darian had seen it happen countless times before, his victim was about to fall apart. He only had to give in the finishing touch and this man was going to be having nightmare for a good while. A small smile formed itself on Darian’s face. His would-be tormentor fell to the pavement, dropping Escaflowne and Wild Chylde, sobbing like a five year old that had just woken up form a nightmare.
« You should have looked away when you had the chance tough guy! » whispered Darian softly.
« What the hell did you just do to him? » asked Daisuke, amazed by what he had just seen.
« I looked into his eyes and smiled! » answered Darian sarcastically.
« What are you? An Ether user? A mage? » replied Daisuke.
Darian looked as one of Daisuke’s men went to the goon that had broken down in front of him and helped him back up, picking up Darian’s handguns.
« At all, I am a non-augmented human being… Whose eyes have seen alot more than you ever will in your whole life.»
Daisuke went to Darian and stood in front of him, as their gazes locked. Light brown eyes met icy blue ones. Both men looked at each other for awhile. Feeling the rain caressing his hair and soaking his clothes, Darian didn’t look away. And neither did Daisuke. Eventually, Makimura smiled.
« Torke, the guy you just made cry, overestimated you Mr. Ashley, and you overestimate yourself too… I can only see the sadness in your eyes that you are tying to hide. » said Daisuke softly. « Now enough of this crap, we all have to get back to headquarters. »
As they all walked towards a car that was parked nearby, Darian told himself that should he have to confront Daisuke eventually, that he mustn't underestimate this Enforcer. His spirit was strong, and people with strong spirits make formidable adversaries…
Yodama was looking out of the window in his office, his hands behind his back, completely dressed up in his nicest and most expensive suit. He was waiting for an old friend and had to give a good impression after all these years. It was weird to be all dressed up at 6 in the morning and already in his office at such an early hour. Of course, he was very glad this whole building belonged to him and that his bedroom and his office were two rooms that were separated only by a door in this luxurious penthouse of his. The young leader of the Syndicate gazed outside and felt at peace as thousands of little raindrops hit and spattered on the window to his office. Looking on the other side of the window, Hihori was enchanted as he could see all the raindrops hit the lake that was forty stories down, on the other side of the window. Water had always fascinated him, it was soft, it gave life and it looked so calm. Yet, water could be a force to be reckoned with at the same time : tidal waves had the possibility to ravage entire cities and death by drowning seemed so painful. Water is your greatest ally, and yet, could become your worst enemy…and your destroyer.
The same could be said of fire, he though, but fire just didn’t seem as subtle as water. And subtlety was important in all things if you wanted to succeed. Subtlety was how he succeeded in taking over the Syndicate at such an early age. He was nothing more than an Enforcer when he first got hooked up with this organization, and he managed to get rid of the Syndicate’s Council of Elders and take over their place with very carefully planned moves. He saw himself as the single drop of water that had managed to drown all of the Elders. No matter what happened from here on, he would go down in history as the infamous Hihori Yodama. Nobody could ever take that away. And he, as a living legend, would also be the one who would get rid of the greatest evil the planet had ever seen : the necromancer Dalasius. Such an exploit would only add to his legend, and he enjoyed being a living legend.
The young leader of the Syndicate checked in his jacket to see if his Ether induced handgun, Tainted Love, was still there. It was and he decided to draw it out and observe it a little bit. It was beautifully crafted. Derek Keaton had done a remarkable job crafting these handguns. Men like Derek, Darian and himself were part of a species that was almost extinct, he thought. Warriors who had convictions and who fought till the very end. Warriors who would lay down their lives for their cause. The death of Keaton was very regrettable, and Hohiro would have liked to see his old friend see where he is today. Under other circumstances, Darian and himself would still be together, fighting back to back like in the old days. But for some reason, Darian had chosen the path of a lowly bounty hunter, and even went as far as to protecting this new incarnation of Dalasius. Old friends fighting each other… It was very romantic, and also the kind of subject that eventually became a legend.
He put back his handgun in its holster and his thoughts now drifted to Isabella Manchester. If there was an afterlife and she could see everything right now, how would she react to all of this? Would she see that Darian was an idiot all along ? Would she be admiring Yodama’s exploits ? It was hard to tell, because she was, well… gone. It still angered him that Darian hadn’t known how to make her truly happy until the very end. That was practically a crime to leave such a beautiful and special woman hanging like that. If she had fallen for him, he would never have made the mistake Ashley did. Never. A loud buzz on the intercom interrupted his thoughts. Yodama spun around and pressed on the intercom’s button on his desk.
« Yes Gina, what is it? » he asked.
« I’m sorry to disturb you sir, » answered the feminine voice of his secretary « But Mr. Daisuke Makimura is here to see you with Mr. Darian Ashley. »
Yodama’s heart skipped a beat.
« Thank you Gina, send them in. »
He looked around one last time in his office to make sure everything was appropriate. He sat down behind his desk and dimmed down the light a little bit. All of the books were well placed on the shelves his workspace was clean, and looked as classy as ever. It was important for him to make a good impression on someone on his adversary and old friend. Impressions often an element that would determine if one would win or lose a battle. And he would most certainly win this battle because he had every single card in his favor for this game.
Soon enough, he saw the door open in front of him and two familiar silhouettes entered. As both men walked toward his desk, Yodama couldn’t help but notice that Darian had changed alot. Not physically, he still sported the same haircut he had eight year ago and was pretty much physically the same. But the way he walked, the aura he gave away, It wasn’t one of the man who was learning to live in the company of people, who had so much fun learning what life was all about. Darian wasn’t anywhere as naive looking as he was before, and nowhere near as shy. Here was a man who had confidence, and who seemingly didn’t seem to care about a thing. Here was a man who got used to the harsh realities of life, who has gone to hell and back. He had obviously built a shell around himself to protect himself from anything else that will keep on trying to harm him… Deep down, Yodama knew, even though Ashley was a formidable fighter, he was still as pathetic as he ever was, and he’ll stay that way, because he can’t enjoy himself, he never did, and he probably won’t for the rest of his pathetic excuse for a life.
« Thank you Daisuke. Please, uncuff Mr. Ashley and leave us. » ordered Yodama.
Daisuke took out keys from his pockets and uncuffed Ashley. He then bowed and backtracked his steps back to the door and left the office. Darian stood still and looked at Hihori for a moment with those same blue eyes and the cold look he used to give people. Hohiro smiled and waved at the chair in front of his desk.
« Please, sit down Darian. »
Darian rubbed his wrists and and stepped forward. When the hunter got to the chair, he pulled it and sat down.
« You’re looking good Darian! » said Hihori softly.
« As do you! » answered the scarred man, his eyes as neutral as they were before…
This dance had started, now it was time to see who would step on whose toes.
« There’s no smoking allowed here Mr. Daisuke! » said the secretary with an automatism that almost defied human behavior.
Daisuke turned around and looked at Gina, Mr. Yodama’s secretary. He smiled at her and pulled a huge drag on his cigarette. The wait for the elevator on the highest floor of the building always took forever, and It was the same situation every time, he’d lose patience and light a cigarette and one of Yodama’s secretaries would bug him to put it out. The irony of this situation was that he had taken up this job as an enforcer because he detested routine. And this was, well, a routine for him. It seemed like it was inevitable to do the same thing over and over again, no matter what you do.
Daisuke went to Gina’s desk and put out his cigarette in her ashtray.
« Happy ? » he asked, still smiling an exaggerated smile.
« Don’t harass me because I’m doing my job Mr. Daisuke! » answered Gina, never leaving her eyes from the computer screen that was in front of her.
"I’m hurt! » answered Daisuke laughing « I’m not harassing anyone here! »
Before Gina could reply, the elevator bell rang and Daisuke looked at it.
«Well, i gotta jet! » he declared « I’ll catch you later Gina! »
The secretary didn’t say a word as he stepped into the elevator. Somehow, he had the distinct feeling that this woman didn’t like him at all.
As the elevator doors closed in front of him, the enforcer looked at his watch. It was way too early in the morning. He hadn’t slept all night, perhaps it would be good idea to go home and get some shut-eye. He pressed on the button that corresponded to the first floor and crossed his arms. The elevator started to move down. Daisuke hated elevators, but he was often to lazy to take the stairs. The lesser of two evils then, he thought grinning.
The elevator stopped and its bell rang. Daisuke looked up and saw on the indicator that he was far from the first floor. The door opened and two men in suits came in. He knew these two very well. They were in fact his best friends in the whole organisation. He bumped fists with both of them, one, after the other. The first one was Victor « The Cleaner » Moriagi, a tough guy. As tough as they got. A cold blooded killer at work, but a funny man when he’s not working. Very few people knew Vic like he did. It showed that everyone had a compassionate side, even the infamous « Cleaner ».
And the second man was Shin Tetsuhara. Daisuke had been worried about Shin when he found him tonight, unconscious, beaten up by Ashley. Shin was a reckless idiot at times, way too proud for his own good. And right now, the bruises on his face were proof of that.
« Back in the land of the living Shin? » asked Daisuke cheerfully.
« Yeah…No thanks to Ashley… » snorted Shin.
Ashley, thought Daisuke. Daisuke remembered then that he had confiscated those two handguns from the hunter . Daisuke thought they were nice pieces and he wanted to show them to his friends. As he reached into his coat for the guns, he realized to his horor that they weren’t there anymore…
A moment of uncomfortable silence ruled the Yodama’s office. Both men obviously didn’t know how to start this discussion. It had, after all, been eight years since they last met. It didn’t help much that Darian felt rather betrayed by his « old friend » here.
« I see you’ve gotten ahold of quite a little empire here Hohiro! » said Darian softly.
« Yes, indeed, I’m quite proud of it too you know. And you have taken up professional hunting. » replied Yodama.
The last sentence he muttered was a statement, not a question.
« That is correct, but my partner and I lost our hunting license yesterday night which means I’ll have to find a new source of income very soon. I am quite sure you know the reason I lost my license. »
« Of course I do, but let’s catch up on old times rather than go straight to business, shall we? »
Escaflowne, Wild Chylde, thought Darian, come back to me for I am in need of your services. Any moment now, both of his handguns would reappear in his holsters, in his jacket, without anybody knowing. They would most certainly come in handy. The situation wasn’t quite that hairy yet, but Darian didn’t feel at ease with his « old friend » at all…
« Of course! » replied Darian politely and smiling « I wouldn’t have wanted to do it in any other way »
« I’m glad to hear it. Forgive me for being so blunt, but Ed and I were wondering why you hadn’t shown up at the funerals that were held for Jake, Derek and Bella a few days after we captured the mage… »
« No, it’s alright… I didn’t show up because I was on assignment that day. » replied Darian , still speaking softly.
« But I was told TracerCo had given you a month long vacation after our assignment. » the subtle arrogance in Yodama’s tone of voice could not be missed.
« I was on a personal assignment, I was checking up on the development with what the Ministry was doing with Dalasius, I was trying to find out the reason why so many of us had to die. »
« Then, you defected from TracerCo… » It was another statement.
« Yes, I did… It gave me more freedom to check up on this whole affair Hohiro. »
« And you were being hunted by your former owners for what, 2 ? 3 years afterwards? »
« Four, TracerCo eventually went bankrupt and I was a free man afterwards… And you Hohiro, you turned on your employers for power, am I right? »
While both men kept their tone of voice at a very calm level, Darian could still feel the tension building up in the room. And it was building faster than he had anticipated it.
« No, not for power, for the good of he organization. »
« From where I stand, it looks more like it was for selfish reasons. » said Darian softly.
Yodama opened his eyes wide in shock and was appearently on the verge of losing his temper, but still managed to keep his calm.
« You should talk about being selfish Darian… your selfishness is what kept Isabella from being completely happy when she was alive. »
The hunter’s heart skipped a beat. He controlled his breathing so that it wouldn’t show that he was very angry here.
« And just what is that supposed to mean Hohiro? » replied Darian, with a very insincere smile on his face.
« It means that because you were scared of what you both felt for each other, because you didn’t want to risk losing her friendship and because you weren’t willing to give her what she wanted for you both to be happy! » accused Hihori.
Darian felt his heart being squeezed in his chest as every single word that Hohiro muttered were being hammered in his skull. The diplomatic smile on his face disappeared quickly.
« Let’s get down to business, « old friend »! » replied Darian insisting very much on the last two words of his sentence. « As you wish, « big brother »… where shall we start? »
Another moment of uncomfortable silence occurred. Darian restrained himself from losing his temper and tried to focus as much as he could on his true reason for being here, wich wasn’t to take care of personal business, but rather to get the Syndicate off the backs of all his newfound companions. He breathed in and out and regained total control of his senses. Hohiro had hit a soft spot, but that was probably all planned out so that he could get the drop on Darian afterwards… Smart, thought the scarred man, it almost worked.
« First of all, i want to know what the hell do you want with Cisia… »asked Darian .
« What do YOU want with her? » replied Yodama.
« Answering a question with a question is very rude, « kiddo »! »
Yodama looked at Darian for a moment, and laughed his heart out.
« Okay then, at first, I wanted her dead because I got word from reliable sources at the Ministry that she was an almost perfect clone of Dalasius, and i figured it would be a good thing to have her killed before she develops powers comparable to Dalasius’. But when i heard that you were protecting her, I figured you had your reasons to do so … So I instructed my men to capture her instead. Now it’s your turn. »
« Having her killed will lead you nowhere Hihori. Dalasius is one with the planet now, and he’s trying to take over it’s mind. Having her killed will only leave him out of a physical human body and he’ll still be able to do great harm. I ask you to either help me in this whole thing, or to stay out of this. It’s not for your personal gain or mine, it’s to save our planet as a whole. »
From then on, Darian explained the whole story from the beginning to the end. Hihori listened attentively without saying a word. Soon enough, the hunter was done with his tale and looked at his old friend straight in the eyes.
« So are you with me, or are you not? » asked Darian.
Hihori scratched his chin, looking like he was in the middle of a deep thought. Eventually, Yodama stood up from his hair and extended his right hand towards Darian.
« I’m with you, we’ll be fighting side by side…Just like in the old days… » said Yodama.
Staring at Hihori’s eyes, Darian analyzed them for a few moments. In the few seconds he had, the hunter dug up all the memories he could find of Yodama and finally came up to the conclusion that his old friend was lying and had malicious intentions behind this agreement. Darian stood up from his chair and extended his right arm. As soon as both hands were in contact, Darian squeezed Yodama’s hand and tugged on his arm making Hohiro fall face first on his desk. Before Yodama even hit his desk. Darian had drawn Escaflowne with his left hand and had the Ether induced handgun against the forehead of the leader of the Syndicate.
« You know better than to lie to me Hihori… » whispered Darian in Yodama’s ear still managing to make it sound very harsh «Now tell me why you intended to double-cross me!»
« Have you gone nuts Darian? What are you talking about?» managing to sound as surprised as he could.
«I was a Raider Hihori, I can become a living lie detector whenever I feel like it, now answer my question or I’m blowing away one of your ears! I am sure a handsome guy like yourself wouldn’t enjoy being disfigured… »
« Listen to yourself Darian, you’re talking about the planet being a huge brain, you’re talking about being in league with biologists from outer space… For all i know, the years have screwed up your mind big time, you could have gone nuts ! »
« And that would be why you want to wack Cisia? Because you think I’m insane? Perhaps i am insane, but I am acting in the best interest of our planet. »
« So am I ! If you don’t shoot me now, I am going to kill you Darian, so that I can rid this planet of Dalasius for good in peace. And If you do wack me, my men will never let you get out of this building alive, and they will hunt down and kill Cisia afterwards for me! One way or another, you’ve lost Darian, and I won! »
« That’s what we’re going to see… » replied Darian coldly.
Darian heard the door being knocked open behind him.
« You better drop that gun Ashley… »ordered a familiar voice in a very firm tone. Darian , never letting go of of his gun and of Yodama’s arm, glanced slightly behind him to identify two men he had met earlier : Shin Tetsuhara and Daisuke Makimura, as well as a third man he couldn’t identify. All three men had their guns drawn and pointed at him.
This was certainly not the best odds he had ever faced…
« You better drop that gun Ashley… » said Daisuke , gun pointed directly at the hunter.
The situation was ugly, thought Daisuke. He was in accompanied by his two friends, Victor and Shin and they were all a few feet away from Ashley, who, in his turn, had Mr. Yodama pinned down to his desk, threatening the boss with his gun.
« Shoot me, and I’m taking Yodama to the grave with me… » declared Ashley coldly.
« Give it up Darian! You’re not getting out of here! » managed to spit out Yodama, trying his best to hide the fear in his voice.
« Fuck this ! » , whispered Shin « We should shoot him right away! »
« We can’t risk him shooting the boss. » answered Daisuke.
« I want you three to drop your guns and back off right away! » said ordered Darian in a very authoritarian tone.
« Damn you Darian! » screamed Hohiro obviously summing up all of his courage « Daisuke, Cleaner, Tetsuhara, fill this guy of lead and then find and kill Cisia! »
« You heard the man! » said Victor squeezing his trigger right way. The explosion of the first bullet fired by Victor rang in Daisuke’s ears and then, all hell broke loose. Daisuke squeezed his trigger repeatedly, aiming for Ashley. Shin ran for cover and started to shoot a millisecond later. A rain of bullets was heading towards Ashley but the hunter was fast enough to roll over Mr. Yodama who was still pinned on the desk and take cover behind it. None of the bullets hit home and made the huge window behind the desk crash in thousands of pieces.
From where Daisuke stood, he could see that Yodama , still lying on the desk, kicked Darian who was ducking behind the desk and then rolled over to the other side of the piece of furniture in question. Yodama and Darian were now separated by nothing more than an expensive desk made of wood.
Yodama drew out a gun that resembled very much the guns Ashley had on him. Victor made a few signs to Yodama, telling him to stay put where he was . The Cleaner tried to do the same for Shin, but Tetsuhara wasn’t looking. Shin wanted to get Darian on the side of the desk, but before he could do so, a shot was heard and Tetsuhara fell flat on his back. Ashley had shot him in the stomach.
« Awwww shit… » screamed Shin in pain.
He was out of the fight, thought Daisuke.
« Cleaner, Daisuke, you two back off now! I want to take care of this personally! » ordered Yodama.
« But sir… » said Daisuke.
« That’s an order! » barked Yodama « And take Tetsuhara to the nurse downstairs to get that bullet out of his guts »
« You want to go man to man Hohiro? » said Darian from behind the desk .
« I wouldn’t have it any other way! » said Yodama.
The Cleaner went to Shin and helped him up on his feet. Soon, Daisuke, Shin and Victor were leaving the office space of their employer.
As he left, the room, Daisuke couldn’t help but feel even more respect for his boss.
With Escaflowne in hand and his back against the desk, Darian put all of his concentration on the moment to strike. The odds had been evened out by now. Perhaps Hohiro was still as honorable as he used to be after all.
« Who would have thought it would end this way ? » asked Darian smiling to himself.
« It has to end somehow! » replied Yodama from the other side of the desk.
« Agreed! Let’s do it now! » Darian spun around and stood right up, ready to shoot. From what the hunter could tell, his old friend had done exactly the same thing. When they both were done with their movement, Escaflowne was pointing directly at Hohiro’s heart and Tainted Love was pointing at Darian’s …
Darian laughed lightly.
« What’s so funny ? » asked Yodama.
« This is the second standoff I’ve been in , in the last 12 hours. »
« Well, whatever the case may be, this will be the last one you’ll ever be in… »
« We’ll see about that… »
As if on cue, both Darian and Yodama jumped to their respective right sides and started to shoot.
The first exchange was a miss for both men as Darian’s bullet smashed into a book that was in one one of Hohiro’s shelves, far behind the young leader of the Syndicate, and Hohiro’s bullet went straight outside going through the space where the glass was before the initial rain of bullets from the trio of enforcers smashed it into hundreds of shards.
It took less than a millisecond for the two men too exchange shots again as they both kept on moving. This time however, Hohiro was slightly quicker than Darian and his bullet hit the hunter on the his left arm before he could shoot. The seering pain of burning lead incrusted itself in his limb and felt like it was going up as it projected him backwards towards one of the windows that hadn’t been smashed yet. Darian knew he was about to fall through a window and tried to catch his balance while ignoring the pain. It was too late. His back hit the window with a kinetic force strong enough to smash through the window and make him fall to what seemed to be like certain death. Before he dropped completely from the level he was on, his last image of Yodama was one of his old friend holding a smoking gun towards him, and from then on, he could only see the window he fell through getting smaller and smaller.
Feeling his heart beating faster and faster and almost going out of control. Darian glanced down and saw District Lake getting bigger and bigger. Rain drop were catching up with him and hit him from everywhere. From here on, there was nothing more to do than think and be ready to die. Random flashes of his life came to his mind. Anika holding a rose he had given her. The last look in Isabella’s eyes. Ed introducing him to the guild of professional hunters. Hihori holding the smoking gun in his office. Cisia falling to her knees thinking that Anika and him had come to capture her and Talehn. He saw himself shooting at the cops to cover his friends’ escape. A briefcase filled with J-10. Dalasius with his cruel smile. Dalasius. Dalasius who wanted to take over the world. The evil and cruel Dalasius. As he felt the very powerful force of gravity pulling him towards District Lake, he couldn’t help but tell himself that he had much to do before dying. And for the first time in a few years, tears formed themselves in his eyes.
He looked back towards the window he had fallen through and saw Hihori, who was seemingly very far away, looking at him. He then realized that he was still holding Escaflowne in his hand very firmly. In a desperate attempt to knock out Yodama, Darian aimed for his old companion. The force of gravity still pulling him made it very difficult for the hunter to aim, but knowing full well that time was running out, he squeezed the trigger. Far away, he could see Yodama fall back from the impact of his bullet. Was the leader of the Syndicate dead? Darian couldn’t tell for sure, but if he was, the two of them would meet each other in hell soon enough. He closed his eyes, and and was prepared for the one great leap unto the unknown now. He had done all he could do but had failed in his task nevertheless…
« I’m sorry Anika.. » he whispered as he let gravity follow its course of actions…
Agent Nick O’Reilly and agent Thomas Winter were at the Core in front of the receptionist’s desk. O’Reilly held the unconscious child in his arms as Winter spoke to the young receptionist.
« I want to see Ven now, lady! My partner and I had our orders and we have an Ancient Mage in our grasp!He wants to see us immediately I tell you. » shouted Winter angrily.
« I am sorry, but Master Ven is in an important meeting right now, perhaps you would like to see Sir Reginald! » replied the receptionist.
« What part of « I want to see Ven now! » don’t you get, boy? » spittled Winter « I don’t want to see no semi-important public relations agent like Reginald, I want to see Ven… Is that clear? »
« Then you’ll have to wait your turn agent Winter, that is all i can say! »
O’Reilly shook his head, his partner had such a temper at times, and his temper had often gotten the both of them in very deep trouble attimes. He wasn’t particularly fond of the man, but they worked together well, and that was what was truly important. He looked at the unconscious child he was holding in his arms and he could only feel remorse. This kid looked so much like his own son, Zachary . An image flashed in his mind, one of Zach being attached to the Core to provide energy for the District and it disgusted him. His wife and son had left him three years ago because he was too caught up in his work to pay attention to them, and there hadn’t been a day that had gone by since then that he didn’t think about them. Now, all he had was his work and his booze after work, and it was a lifestyle that disgusted him more than anything.
« I’m going outside for a smoke Tom, come outside to get me if we can get an audience with Ven. » declared Nick.
« Whatever! » sighed Winter.
Nick stood up with the child in his arms.
« You can leave the kid here Nick! » said Winter.
« No, I’ll bring him outside, this may be the last time he’ll breathe fresh air from outside. »
« Suit yourself! »
Nick started to walk, carrying the child, and pushing the doors that were in his way open with his feet. The longer he walked,the more the child reminded him of Zack. The resemblance was haunting. The way he slept… The peaceful look on his face… Eventually, Nick was outside of the Core’s building and stayed under a small shelter that kept him and the boy from being hit by the rain. The kid was getting heavy and he wanted to smoke a cigarette so he layed the child gently on the pavement, on a spot that wasn’t wet and took off his jacket to make a pillow for the kid. He then reached for a cigarette in his pocket and lit it with a match. He took a deep haul and spat out a large cloud of smoke. It had been a crazy night in the Districts, and he was ready to end this shift and go home to his alcohol. He then heard the child mumble… O’Reilly threw away his cigarette and crouched down to the child’s level.
« Hi there! » said the agent in the most gentle tone he could manage.
The child rubbed his head and looked at the agent as he sat up.
« Who are you ? » The sound of his voice hit him like a bullet right between the eyes. Even this child’s voice resembled Zack’s.
« My..My name is Nick… What’s your name? »
« My name is Kuri… Where am I? Where’s Mikan? »
O’Reilly looked at the child for a moment and couldn’t take it anymore. He took out one of his handguns and gave it to the kid .
« W-What? Why are you giving me this… » asked the child. « Take this and leave, go as far as you can…Alot of bad people are after you… »
« I don’t understand… » Kuri was obviously confused .
« Just trust me, and go… »
The child stood up and looked at the agent. Kuri’s eyes weren’t as naive as Zack’s , and they weren’t of the same color, but they were still full of life, like Zack’s like his ex-wife’s… unlike his. Kuri gave him one last confused look and started to run, under the rain… As Nick looked at the child run away, he heard the door open behind him.
« WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING O’REILLY? »
It was Winter’s voice.
« I’m doing things the way the should be done Tom… » he replied softly.
« I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I’m getting him back! »
Nick turned around to see that Winter had drawn his gun and was aiming for the boy’s legs. Feeling every single cell in his body being outraged by the possibillity that a kid could be shot, Nick drew his gun and shot his partner in the chest without thinking. As the bullet hit his partner, O’Reilly could see the look of surprise in his partner’s eyes. As Winter was falling, he turned his gun towards Nick and pulled the trigger. O’Reilly felt the bullet incrusting itself in his lungs and fell back, squeezing the trigger once more, this one hitting Winter in the head. Nick was flat on his back and felt his life’s blood being drained out of him as it became more and more difficult to breathe. He took out his wallet and opened it with alot of difficulty. He finally managed to open it and take out a picture that was inside it. As he raised to the level of his eyes, he noticed that it was a little stained with his blood. But it didn’t really matter. It was a picture of him, his ex-wife Maria, and Zack. Raindrops bombarded his body and the picture as he kept on staring at it… Eventually, he lost all of his strength and his arm dropped to the pavement.
Thousands of white stars blurred up his vision.
His last thought was that he had finally done something right after years of screwing up.
And then, there was nothing.
Anika was smoking her cigarette with an bored look on her face while staring outside of the car’s window. The vehicle was in movement and the rain wasn’t getting any lighter. She was in the back seat of the car, sitting next to Cisia. In front of her was Phoenix mark, in the front passenger’s seat and Nelson Nakano was driving.
« Hey, would you mind putting that thing out? I’m choking in here! » complained Phoenix.
Anika took a big drag off her cigarette and spat out another cloud of cigarette
« Bite me Mark! » barked the young blonde.
She wasn’t in the mood to argue with the red headed hunter at all. In fact, she kept on wondering how on earth Darian managed to put up with those two bozos all night. Phoenix Mark was an able fighter for sure, but he was far from being a classy man, and he didn’t have any tact at all. To add to that, he was known to be extremely reckless. Darian had very little patience for people like him. And Nakano, sure, he looked like a nice guy and all, but he was such a wiseguy. His petty arguments with Mark were sure to have annoyed Darian as much as they were annoying her. Well, at least Nakano was a little classier.
« Hey, leave the lady alone will you Mark? » said Nakano.
« Why is it that you people are constantly against me ? You are all getting on my nerves big time! » said Phoenix.
« Awww, don’t take it that way ! », said Nakano sarcastically « We only bug those we like don’t we?
And off they went, arguing pointlessly again. Anika sighed and tried to ignore their discussion as much as she could. She looked at her cigarette, and decided to open the window at her side to throw it away. Darian had wanted her to quit and that was exactly what she was going to do. Darian… She had to take him out of her mind or she was going to go nuts.
« Miss Jansen? » asked Cisia, interrupting her from her thoughts, wich was a good thing since it would occupy her momentarily.
« Yes Cisia? » she answered, trying to sound as attentive as she could.
« Can i ask you about something…personnal? » Anika looked at the Interface and smiled.
« Of course Cisia, go right ahead, it look like we’ll all be together for some time, so we might as well get to know each other a little bit. And please, call me Anika… or even Nik, my friends call me Nik. »
« I’m a little embarassed, I don’t know how to ask this… » Cisia was blushing.
How cute, thought the hunter, blushing people always had a soft spot in her heart.
« Just say it the way you feel it should come out, you don’t need to be shy… »
Cisia was obviously feeling a little awkward about all this.
« Can you tell me what love is Anika? Can you tell me how you can tell when you’re in love with someone? »
Anika closed her eyes momentarily and looked at Cisia. The hunter gave the Interface a friendly look and smiled warmly.
« Of course Cisia… Love… Love is when you are comfortable with someone, when you feel attracted to a person that you know you’ll be able to grow old with. It’s even better when that person is in love with you too. »
« How do I know when a person is in love with me? » Anika looked outside for a moment and sighed.
« Love, while it may be one of the most wonderful things we can live in life, can also be one of the most devastating feelings because It’s so strong. You have to trust your feelings on a person to know if he truly loves you. Sometimes, your feelings may be way off and you can end up getting hurt… But that is not a reason to avoid falling in love. You can’t know for sure until your love has been tested. While Darian and myself are not lovers, our love has been tested and I know that i could grow old with him eventually. And i am sure he feels the same way. And by looking at your eyes, I can see that you love Talehn, and he loves you. Trust me. »
« But what if he doesn’t » she asked « Don’t think about such dire possibilities right now, dear. You’ll have to deal with such a situation only if it comes . »
As words the words came out of her mouth, Anika felt as if something terrible had happened to Darian. that he may be…gone right now. Shaking her head and trying to push away such dire thoughts, she took out a cigarette from her pack and lit it.
She would stop smoking later.
On the beach of Central District, Julia Cunningham was standing there, looking at the the raindrops hitting the lake. She was in a world of trouble right now, and it would be so easy for her to simply walk towards this enormous mass of water and let herself drown. It would be no big deal, and no big loss. Her whole world had been nothing but misery and pain since she moved in with Jarrick, her long time boyfriend.
« I love you ! » he always said
Well if you love me, she thought, why do you hit me? Why did you throw me out of our appartment for the nightat 5 in the morning ?
« I love you! »
If you love me so much, why am I caught in the rain at such an early hour in the morning ?
In her early twenties, Julia was a beautiful young woman, with long blonde flowing hair and bright blue eyes. Right now, she wore sunglasses to hide the black eye that Jarrick had inflicted on her during the argument they had last night. She already knew that when she’d come back, he’d be asleep because he was dead drunk last night. And he’d wake up and ask for her forgiveness because he would say that he was drunk and that he had no idea why he did it. Of course, he’d probably say after all of that : « I love you! »
Perhaps killing herself wasn’t such a bad idea after all, going back to that homegrown hell was certainly not a pleasant thought, and if she left Jarrick, she would simply have no idea where to go and she would have no money…
« I love you! » Those three words kept on ringing in her mind and were threatening to drive her insane. It was then that something caught her eye, Julia looked far away and saw what appeared to be a man being dragged by the currents in the water to the shore. When the water left him on the sand flat on his belly, he didn’t move. Leaving all of her thoughts, Julia ran towards the man to his rescue. When she got to him, she turned him over on his back and dragged him a little further from the Lake. She checked his heartbeat and stated to her relief that he was alive, but only barely. He was unconscious. Looking at his face, she thought he was quite handsome ; he had short dark brown hair and a scar on his right cheek.
« Hold on, I’ll call an ambulance! » she said .
The man opened his eyes slightly and looked at her…
« No… not the hospital…I’ll get caught… Just leave me here… » He closed his eyes again and passed out.
Julia checked his heartbeat again and he stated again that he was still alive. If he didn’t want her to call an ambulance, what was she supposed to do?
This was going to be a difficult decision…
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