___urnamz2longfixit___
Banned
Viesta
Warning:
Do not read this story if you're in any way squeamish. I don't give stories ratings because I don't particularly like ratings, but this story is pretty gruesome at parts and I'd be weary of reading it if I wasn't a fan of bloody scenes. Of course, none of you are going to pay attention to this and you're all going to read it anyway, but whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Chapter One → Interrogation
“You do realise that it’s a wonder we’re even having this conversation, don’t you? I know you’re the sort of person who shoots first and asks questions later. I also know that you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. Statistics tell me you jump to conclusions and act on assumptions. This conversation is not out of the ordinary because I’m highly unsociable, but because you shouldn’t be here right now. In case you haven’t noticed, you killed one of my best agents. I don’t know how you’re going to carry on living with a guilty conscience, but I do know that you should be running away from civilisation right now. Viesta is after you. The members of it want you more than the authorities. And let’s not forget Nexus, should we? You’re a wanted man on both sides of the globe and you’re wanted by both sides. And none of them want you for good reasons either. You’ve taken a life. You should be facing charges for murder. You should be suspended from Nexus and permanently at that.”
I only know the speaker by her codename: Amoret. We all have codenames for security. If our enemies or our friends were to know our real names, our whereabouts or other details could be found out easily. I’m not sure if she’s looking for a response to what she just said. I remain silent. She’s right. I know that and she knows that. Why would I point out the obvious? After a couple of seconds filled with tension in which both of us silently willed the other on to utter syllables, I begin to lose interest and look around the room. A good agent always knows his or her surroundings. Even the smallest detail about the environment someone is in could end up saving the day.
Amoret’s face is illuminated by the lamp a couple of inches away from her. Her forehead is lined with wrinkles. She makes no effort to conceal the fact that she’s getting older. She once told me that people who try to make themselves look younger aren’t trying to make themselves look prettier, but trying to make themselves think they’re evading death. According to her, beauty comes in all forms and youth is just one of them. I don’t really care. Beauty was never one of my main interests. Her grey hair is finely cut, as always. She doesn’t let her fringe go past the top half of her forehead. She’s frowning. That’s what she does when she’s concentrating hard on something. Amoret once told me that the most important thing about someone is their eyes. Someone’s body can lie. The words coming out of the mouth can lie. The actions can be filled with deceit. But the eyes can never lie. Her eyes are a dark shade of green. Nearly emerald. There’s a hint of brown in the right one, just above the pupil. I think she’d prefer blue. She commented on her hair one day, saying that blue goes with grey better than anything else. I’m inclined to believe her.
The lamp responsible for the only light in the room stands upon a wooden table. I’m not sure what type of wood and I don’t have an interest in knowing, either. The rest of the room is surrounded in darkness. My chair is uncomfortable. The armrests are jagged. I’m worried about getting a splinter in my hand and it’s the same for the seat.
Realising I’m not going to reply, she shakes her head and stares at me. “Why are you here instead? Why are you and I talking when I should shoot you? If not to avenge Collins, then to take a crazy murderer out of the picture. Tell me why I shouldn’t put a gun to your head and pull the trigger.”
I look away. If any of my body language portrays any signs of guilt, she’ll leap on me as fast as a vulture. “You wouldn’t be avenging his death.” I reply bitterly, hanging my head. “I didn’t kill him.”
I keep my head down. The less eye contact I make with my superior, the better. I hear her take a deep breath in and I look up as she puts her hand on the table.
“As much as I dislike you, Aero, I believe you. You may be a selfish misogynist who acts before he thinks, but I believe you. Certain things don’t add up. You wouldn’t kill your teammate when you two were so close to completing your goal unless you’re some sort of double-agent. I admit that we can’t always focus on lie detectors and pulse testers because sometimes, they’re wrong. The only thing I believe here is you. Ever since you were caught holding that gun, your eyes have pleaded innocence. Eyes can’t lie, Aero.” She breaks off and a silence follows. She takes another deep breath. “That won’t hold up in a court of law, unfortunately. My word and belief isn’t enough to convince a jury to declare your innocence. All the evidence we’ve managed to gather is against you as well. You’re fighting a losing battle.”
“I can find the killer. I saw him and I can track him down. Trust me.”
She looks at me and she smiles, but her eyes have a sunken feel to them and they make her smile seem bittersweet. Maybe that’s the effect she’s going for, I don’t know. It’s hard to tell in the light. “The first and most important lesson I was taught by Nexus was to trust no one.” She puts her head in her hands. “You’ll have to knock me out, of course. If they knew I was helping you, I’d probably lose my job. Knock over the lamp once you’ve done that. Their chances of finding you in the darkness are slim.”
“They know this conversation is taking place?” My eyes narrow. “Are we being videoed?”
“Of course!” She responds, frowning. “They were hardly going to leave me alone with a killer. I advise you not to worry. I disabled audio without them knowing and I’m pretty sure there are no lip readers in Nexus.”
I think for a few seconds. “How long have I got?”
“About thirty seconds once I’m out of action.”
Everything clicks together in about a second. She knew the outcome of this interrogation before it began, obviously. Should’ve pieced it together sooner. Amoret’s as sly as a fox. “You stitched me up!” I exclaim. There’s no way I’ll be able to escape if I have people following me.
She glances at me. “No, I haven’t. I’m just making the act a little more convincing.”
I nod. “I’ll try not to hurt you.”
“That would be appreciated greatly.” There’s a moment of silence as I ready myself, but just as I’m about to move, she interrupts. “Oh, and Aero, you only have two days to find the actual killer. I can only take your word for so long before I start getting suspicious.”
As soon as she stops speaking, I leap out of my chair and jump over the desk between us, knocking the lamp down in the process. She screams in shock. Obviously hadn’t anticipated how fast I would move. We’re face to face now and I can’t waste time. As quickly as I can, I bring my arm back and punch her jaw upwards as she brings her arms up to defend herself. According to training, if one hits the jaw upwards, a nerve is ruptured, causing the victim to lose consciousness. It’s easy to read something in a textbook, practice it on people in the dojo and always stop before the deadly blow is dealt. In the real world, it’s much harder. I watch Amoret’s eyes snap shut and her body go limp with some sort of grim satisfaction.
I turn around. It’s hard to see in the dark. Can’t make out where the door is. Close my eyes and think back to when I entered the room. If my memory serves me right, the exit should be a couple of yards behind Amoret’s chair. I feel out for her chair and grasp it. Walk forward a bit and smash my head off a solid surface. Stretch my hands out and start feeling around what I hope is the door for the knob. A couple of seconds later I clench something round and turn it to the right. I grunt in frustration when I realise I’ve turned it around the wrong way and (in doing so) nearly broken my wrist. Shake my head violently and twist the other way. Door opens and I fall onto the ground, loosing my balance as it moves.
Look up. I can hear shouting from somewhere. The corridor I’m in has its lights on. No time to scan my surroundings, I start running towards the end of the corridor. When I reach the door, I stop. Operatives are looking for me and are under strict orders to capture me. Right now. If I try to take the main exit, there’s no doubting that I’ll get caught. Look around. I can take a left or a right. Taking the left would probably leave me towards the heart of the building, whilst if I take the left, I’m not sure where I’ll end up. That’s the problem when you’re a Nexus agent: You’re only told what you need to know. I curse out loud and start speeding down to the right. Pass doors leading into various rooms as I run. Hear someone shout in the distance.
A couple of seconds later, sirens start ringing through my head. I can hear an automated voice on the intercom, warning people that there’s a mentally unstable killer loose in the building and telling them that an evacuation was in immediate effect. I groan. Pictures of my face are probably being passed from computer to computer as I run. Right now, the officials are probably putting up posters of me outside the building. I’ve allegedly murdered a Nexus agent and I knocked out an elderly lady, presumably with the intention of badly injuring her in the process. The media’s going to have a field day on this, assuming it gets out into the public ear.
I continue to run around the building, desperate to find an exit. A thought rushes to my head. I frown and repress a laugh. Surely I’m not going to do that? I’d definitely be caught. What was I taught on my first day of training? The life of a secret agent is not accurately reflected in movies or books. You’re not going to get lucky. You’re not going to make some sort of heroic escape in a life-or-death situation. People aren’t stupid.
“There he is!” An unusually high-pitched woman’s voice interrupts my train of thought.
I revolve on the spot to see two people facing me from the other end of the corridor: A middle-aged lady and an elderly man, dressed in a navy uniform. The lady’s a new face to me and not worth my while. The security guard, on the other hand, is recognised immediately. His name’s Jack Skully and he’s been around Nexus since before I joined. I can’t possibly beat up an elderly person, can I? Especially if the person happens to be my friend. I close my eyes.
Jack rummages through his pockets and produces a walkie-talkie, never taking his eyes off me. He presses a button and holds the communications device up to his mouth. “I’ve got the guy. I’ve managed to corner him outside Dawson’s office. Requesting backup.” Whoever he’s talking to replies, but I can’t make out what’s said. Jack just nods and mutters his thanks before putting the walkie-talkie back in his pockets. After that, he takes a step towards me.
“Don’t come any further, Jack.” I warn him, keeping my eyes closed. “I don’t want to hurt you. Just walk on with her and pretend this encounter never took place.”
I open my eyes and notice the newfound fear in Jack’s eyes at once. He thinks I’m mentally unstable. Why wouldn’t he? That’s what everyone’s been saying for the past couple of days. But what’s he going to do now?
Suddenly the lady’s legs turn to jelly and she falls on her knees. She looks up at me and I can see that she’s started crying. “P-P-Please, d-d-don’t hurt me! I’m a single mother – my children need me.”
I frown, not anticipating the sudden mental breakdown. She begins to sob hysterically. Perhaps that will unnerve Jack even more. Maybe he’ll decide that it’d be better to just get her to safety. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case. If anything, the woman’s current state of mind has just riled him up. I don’t know Jack well, but I do know that he’s not going to just let someone like me continue a murderous rampage, even if it means he loses his own life. He’s glaring at me now, shaking his head.
“How could you do it, Aero?” He’s obviously saddened by the supposed monster I’ve become. “What could have possessed you to kill him? He was your best friend!” He shouts the last sentence, trying to make his point clearer.
I just shake my head. I don’t have time for him to try and send me on a guilt-trip. It’s likely that the rest of security are on their way from all sides of the building. I’m not going to let him stall me. I turn away from the duo and start to run, not caring where I end up. A couple of seconds later, I come to a very quick stop after hearing a gunshot and seeing a bullet whizz past me. I turn around again to see Jack holding a pistol and a lot nearer to me than he was a couple of seconds ago.
“Drop to the ground and put your hands behind your head.” He orders, not giving away any signs of nervousness.
I smile. Always let the person in control know that you’re a friend. “Jack, please. We can sort this out another way.”
He looks at me with steely determination. “For Christ’s sake, if you don’t get down on the ground, I’m going to blow your head off.”
I gulp. He’s not bluffing. The man’s been trained for these sorts of situations; he’s not about to have second thoughts. I guess that leaves me with only one option. I stretch my hands in front of me, to let him know that I mean no harm. After that, I drop to my knees and let myself fall face forward. I hear Jack breathe a sigh of relief and that’s when I jump back up. He’s caught off-guard and I manage to punch him in centre of the face. There’s an almighty crack and I realise at once (with a sickening feeling) that I’ve broken his nose. He shouts in pain and staggers backwards. I leap after him, grabbing his right hand, trying to prise the gun from his grip.
“Let go of the gun, Mister Skully.” I say calmly, with no emotion in my voice. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”
Amidst the pain, he manages to sneer at me. “I’m not letting you play your little mind games with me, Aero. As soon as you get that gun, you’re going to shoot myself and Marigold in the head. I’m not about to give up my life for no reason.”
In response, I punch him in the nose again with my free hand. He screeches, nearly unable to cope with the agony. He’s making a foolish decision by not letting go of the gun and I think it’s time he learns why people don’t make foolish decisions. I look around, not letting go of his hand. There’s a door on my left. What does it lead to? I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.
I grab Jack by both shoulders and run him backwards, smashing him into the door. Our combined weight breaks the hinges and we fall through into the next room. I punch him in the nose again, letting him feel more pain. I jump to the side as he pulls the trigger of the gun, not knowing where it’s aiming. It lodges itself into the ceiling and I thank whatever higher being is up there for not ending my life.
I jump back onto Jack, who seems unable to move, and grab his head. He coughs. “No, please.”
I lift his head up and smash it back down into the ground. After doing so, I repeat. I look around the room for the first time when I realise the security guard is in no state to fight back. The first thing I notice is a stapler, left on the ground, just within reach. I reckon it was put there for organisation purposes, but now I’m going to make it server another purpose.
Making sure the hand holding the gun is pinned down safely, I lunge for the stapler with my free hand and grab it. When I turn to face my old friend, I make sure my face is void of emotion. I hold up the stapler in front of Jack so he can see it. “Let go of the gun or else I’m going to staple your eyelids together.”
Jack’s grip on the gun disappears and I clench it, knowing my future rests on how many bullets it has left in it. I stand up and as soon as I take a proper look at the seventy-year-old, I feel like throwing up. His nose doesn’t look like a nose anymore; the left nostril isn’t there until closer inspection, when you realise it’s turned to the side of the right nostril. His lip is bleeding and his breaths are much faster than the norm. I’m not even sure if he’ll survive.
For a second, I fear he’s comatose. “Can you hear me?” I ask him. He nods slowly. “Good.” I take a deep breath. “I need you to take off your clothes.”
“So instead of killing me, you rape me? Lovely.” His face gives away how much he hates me.
“If you value your life, I advise you to take off your clothes now. No harm will befall you, I promise.” I tell him, hoping he’ll listen. I point the gun at his head. “If you aren’t going to strip for me, I won’t have any need for you. What do you think I’ll do with you then?”
He swears at me quite a bit, but at least he takes off his jacket and jeans. I feel guilty when he gasps in pain, but this is the only way I can get out of the building alive. I take off my top and get rid of my tracksuit before putting his clothes on. They’re pretty tight, but they’ll do. I feel something hard in the right-hand pocket and curiosity makes me take whatever it is out. I throw the device to him, recognising it from earlier. “Tell your friends that I’ve escaped your clutches and that you think I’ve gone up to the second story of the building. Don’t give me an excuse to kill you.” He gives them my message and I breathe a sigh of relief. So far, the plan’s working. As soon as he’s finished speaking, I take the walkie-talkie from him, drop it on the ground and stamp on it with my feet, destroying it.
I walk outside of the room, back into the corridor. The lady (I think Jack said her name was Marigold) has vanished. Probably decided to save herself and leave the old man for dead. I wonder how he’ll feel if he ever finds out for a couple of seconds, but then reality hits me and I realise I need to get out of the building.
It always works in the movies, doesn’t it? The criminal puts on the uniform of the security and he walks out, never getting detected. Why wouldn’t it work for me, then? Why can’t I get rid of the little voice inside, telling me that I’m doing something incredibly stupid? I shake my head, getting rid of all thoughts of uncertainty. From where I’m standing, I can take a left or a right. Taking a left would probably bring me towards the heart of the building, which is probably where the main exit is, whilst taking the right would bring me to the edges and I don’t know where I’ll be able to locate a way out from there.
I take turn to the left and sprint. For the entire run, I try to stay in a straight line. Eventually, after what I say would be about ten minutes of running (though I’m not sure how accurate that is as I don’t have a watch), I notice a fire exit. Walking up to it, I have double thoughts about opening it when I read the warning written on it:
“To hell with it!” I mutter to myself and I push the door open. To my surprise, no additional sounds are made. It takes me a couple of seconds to realise that the alarms are already activated to warn people of the danger they’re facing if they stay inside the building. As soon as the cold air hits my face, I breathe a sigh of relief. I still have a chance to prove my innocence, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I hide the gun by holding it under the right side of my jacket. As soon as I’m sure it’s not obvious that the gun is there, I rush down the steps and make my way along the pavement, attempting to get as far away from Nexus headquarters as I can. I allow myself to disappear into a sea of faces, knowing that I’m as safe in a crowd as I would be inside a bomb shelter. I collect my thoughts for a couple of minutes. Amoret said she would only give me two days before she started losing faith in my words. That means I’ll have to move quickly, but where will I move to next?
Warning:
Do not read this story if you're in any way squeamish. I don't give stories ratings because I don't particularly like ratings, but this story is pretty gruesome at parts and I'd be weary of reading it if I wasn't a fan of bloody scenes. Of course, none of you are going to pay attention to this and you're all going to read it anyway, but whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Chapter One → Interrogation
I tried to be perfect; it just wasn’t worth it,
Nothing could ever be so wrong.
It’s hard to believe me; it never gets easy,
I guess I knew that all along.
→ Sub 41 → Pieces
Nothing could ever be so wrong.
It’s hard to believe me; it never gets easy,
I guess I knew that all along.
→ Sub 41 → Pieces
“You do realise that it’s a wonder we’re even having this conversation, don’t you? I know you’re the sort of person who shoots first and asks questions later. I also know that you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. Statistics tell me you jump to conclusions and act on assumptions. This conversation is not out of the ordinary because I’m highly unsociable, but because you shouldn’t be here right now. In case you haven’t noticed, you killed one of my best agents. I don’t know how you’re going to carry on living with a guilty conscience, but I do know that you should be running away from civilisation right now. Viesta is after you. The members of it want you more than the authorities. And let’s not forget Nexus, should we? You’re a wanted man on both sides of the globe and you’re wanted by both sides. And none of them want you for good reasons either. You’ve taken a life. You should be facing charges for murder. You should be suspended from Nexus and permanently at that.”
I only know the speaker by her codename: Amoret. We all have codenames for security. If our enemies or our friends were to know our real names, our whereabouts or other details could be found out easily. I’m not sure if she’s looking for a response to what she just said. I remain silent. She’s right. I know that and she knows that. Why would I point out the obvious? After a couple of seconds filled with tension in which both of us silently willed the other on to utter syllables, I begin to lose interest and look around the room. A good agent always knows his or her surroundings. Even the smallest detail about the environment someone is in could end up saving the day.
Amoret’s face is illuminated by the lamp a couple of inches away from her. Her forehead is lined with wrinkles. She makes no effort to conceal the fact that she’s getting older. She once told me that people who try to make themselves look younger aren’t trying to make themselves look prettier, but trying to make themselves think they’re evading death. According to her, beauty comes in all forms and youth is just one of them. I don’t really care. Beauty was never one of my main interests. Her grey hair is finely cut, as always. She doesn’t let her fringe go past the top half of her forehead. She’s frowning. That’s what she does when she’s concentrating hard on something. Amoret once told me that the most important thing about someone is their eyes. Someone’s body can lie. The words coming out of the mouth can lie. The actions can be filled with deceit. But the eyes can never lie. Her eyes are a dark shade of green. Nearly emerald. There’s a hint of brown in the right one, just above the pupil. I think she’d prefer blue. She commented on her hair one day, saying that blue goes with grey better than anything else. I’m inclined to believe her.
The lamp responsible for the only light in the room stands upon a wooden table. I’m not sure what type of wood and I don’t have an interest in knowing, either. The rest of the room is surrounded in darkness. My chair is uncomfortable. The armrests are jagged. I’m worried about getting a splinter in my hand and it’s the same for the seat.
Realising I’m not going to reply, she shakes her head and stares at me. “Why are you here instead? Why are you and I talking when I should shoot you? If not to avenge Collins, then to take a crazy murderer out of the picture. Tell me why I shouldn’t put a gun to your head and pull the trigger.”
I look away. If any of my body language portrays any signs of guilt, she’ll leap on me as fast as a vulture. “You wouldn’t be avenging his death.” I reply bitterly, hanging my head. “I didn’t kill him.”
I keep my head down. The less eye contact I make with my superior, the better. I hear her take a deep breath in and I look up as she puts her hand on the table.
“As much as I dislike you, Aero, I believe you. You may be a selfish misogynist who acts before he thinks, but I believe you. Certain things don’t add up. You wouldn’t kill your teammate when you two were so close to completing your goal unless you’re some sort of double-agent. I admit that we can’t always focus on lie detectors and pulse testers because sometimes, they’re wrong. The only thing I believe here is you. Ever since you were caught holding that gun, your eyes have pleaded innocence. Eyes can’t lie, Aero.” She breaks off and a silence follows. She takes another deep breath. “That won’t hold up in a court of law, unfortunately. My word and belief isn’t enough to convince a jury to declare your innocence. All the evidence we’ve managed to gather is against you as well. You’re fighting a losing battle.”
“I can find the killer. I saw him and I can track him down. Trust me.”
She looks at me and she smiles, but her eyes have a sunken feel to them and they make her smile seem bittersweet. Maybe that’s the effect she’s going for, I don’t know. It’s hard to tell in the light. “The first and most important lesson I was taught by Nexus was to trust no one.” She puts her head in her hands. “You’ll have to knock me out, of course. If they knew I was helping you, I’d probably lose my job. Knock over the lamp once you’ve done that. Their chances of finding you in the darkness are slim.”
“They know this conversation is taking place?” My eyes narrow. “Are we being videoed?”
“Of course!” She responds, frowning. “They were hardly going to leave me alone with a killer. I advise you not to worry. I disabled audio without them knowing and I’m pretty sure there are no lip readers in Nexus.”
I think for a few seconds. “How long have I got?”
“About thirty seconds once I’m out of action.”
Everything clicks together in about a second. She knew the outcome of this interrogation before it began, obviously. Should’ve pieced it together sooner. Amoret’s as sly as a fox. “You stitched me up!” I exclaim. There’s no way I’ll be able to escape if I have people following me.
She glances at me. “No, I haven’t. I’m just making the act a little more convincing.”
I nod. “I’ll try not to hurt you.”
“That would be appreciated greatly.” There’s a moment of silence as I ready myself, but just as I’m about to move, she interrupts. “Oh, and Aero, you only have two days to find the actual killer. I can only take your word for so long before I start getting suspicious.”
As soon as she stops speaking, I leap out of my chair and jump over the desk between us, knocking the lamp down in the process. She screams in shock. Obviously hadn’t anticipated how fast I would move. We’re face to face now and I can’t waste time. As quickly as I can, I bring my arm back and punch her jaw upwards as she brings her arms up to defend herself. According to training, if one hits the jaw upwards, a nerve is ruptured, causing the victim to lose consciousness. It’s easy to read something in a textbook, practice it on people in the dojo and always stop before the deadly blow is dealt. In the real world, it’s much harder. I watch Amoret’s eyes snap shut and her body go limp with some sort of grim satisfaction.
I turn around. It’s hard to see in the dark. Can’t make out where the door is. Close my eyes and think back to when I entered the room. If my memory serves me right, the exit should be a couple of yards behind Amoret’s chair. I feel out for her chair and grasp it. Walk forward a bit and smash my head off a solid surface. Stretch my hands out and start feeling around what I hope is the door for the knob. A couple of seconds later I clench something round and turn it to the right. I grunt in frustration when I realise I’ve turned it around the wrong way and (in doing so) nearly broken my wrist. Shake my head violently and twist the other way. Door opens and I fall onto the ground, loosing my balance as it moves.
Look up. I can hear shouting from somewhere. The corridor I’m in has its lights on. No time to scan my surroundings, I start running towards the end of the corridor. When I reach the door, I stop. Operatives are looking for me and are under strict orders to capture me. Right now. If I try to take the main exit, there’s no doubting that I’ll get caught. Look around. I can take a left or a right. Taking the left would probably leave me towards the heart of the building, whilst if I take the left, I’m not sure where I’ll end up. That’s the problem when you’re a Nexus agent: You’re only told what you need to know. I curse out loud and start speeding down to the right. Pass doors leading into various rooms as I run. Hear someone shout in the distance.
A couple of seconds later, sirens start ringing through my head. I can hear an automated voice on the intercom, warning people that there’s a mentally unstable killer loose in the building and telling them that an evacuation was in immediate effect. I groan. Pictures of my face are probably being passed from computer to computer as I run. Right now, the officials are probably putting up posters of me outside the building. I’ve allegedly murdered a Nexus agent and I knocked out an elderly lady, presumably with the intention of badly injuring her in the process. The media’s going to have a field day on this, assuming it gets out into the public ear.
I continue to run around the building, desperate to find an exit. A thought rushes to my head. I frown and repress a laugh. Surely I’m not going to do that? I’d definitely be caught. What was I taught on my first day of training? The life of a secret agent is not accurately reflected in movies or books. You’re not going to get lucky. You’re not going to make some sort of heroic escape in a life-or-death situation. People aren’t stupid.
“There he is!” An unusually high-pitched woman’s voice interrupts my train of thought.
I revolve on the spot to see two people facing me from the other end of the corridor: A middle-aged lady and an elderly man, dressed in a navy uniform. The lady’s a new face to me and not worth my while. The security guard, on the other hand, is recognised immediately. His name’s Jack Skully and he’s been around Nexus since before I joined. I can’t possibly beat up an elderly person, can I? Especially if the person happens to be my friend. I close my eyes.
Jack rummages through his pockets and produces a walkie-talkie, never taking his eyes off me. He presses a button and holds the communications device up to his mouth. “I’ve got the guy. I’ve managed to corner him outside Dawson’s office. Requesting backup.” Whoever he’s talking to replies, but I can’t make out what’s said. Jack just nods and mutters his thanks before putting the walkie-talkie back in his pockets. After that, he takes a step towards me.
“Don’t come any further, Jack.” I warn him, keeping my eyes closed. “I don’t want to hurt you. Just walk on with her and pretend this encounter never took place.”
I open my eyes and notice the newfound fear in Jack’s eyes at once. He thinks I’m mentally unstable. Why wouldn’t he? That’s what everyone’s been saying for the past couple of days. But what’s he going to do now?
Suddenly the lady’s legs turn to jelly and she falls on her knees. She looks up at me and I can see that she’s started crying. “P-P-Please, d-d-don’t hurt me! I’m a single mother – my children need me.”
I frown, not anticipating the sudden mental breakdown. She begins to sob hysterically. Perhaps that will unnerve Jack even more. Maybe he’ll decide that it’d be better to just get her to safety. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case. If anything, the woman’s current state of mind has just riled him up. I don’t know Jack well, but I do know that he’s not going to just let someone like me continue a murderous rampage, even if it means he loses his own life. He’s glaring at me now, shaking his head.
“How could you do it, Aero?” He’s obviously saddened by the supposed monster I’ve become. “What could have possessed you to kill him? He was your best friend!” He shouts the last sentence, trying to make his point clearer.
I just shake my head. I don’t have time for him to try and send me on a guilt-trip. It’s likely that the rest of security are on their way from all sides of the building. I’m not going to let him stall me. I turn away from the duo and start to run, not caring where I end up. A couple of seconds later, I come to a very quick stop after hearing a gunshot and seeing a bullet whizz past me. I turn around again to see Jack holding a pistol and a lot nearer to me than he was a couple of seconds ago.
“Drop to the ground and put your hands behind your head.” He orders, not giving away any signs of nervousness.
I smile. Always let the person in control know that you’re a friend. “Jack, please. We can sort this out another way.”
He looks at me with steely determination. “For Christ’s sake, if you don’t get down on the ground, I’m going to blow your head off.”
I gulp. He’s not bluffing. The man’s been trained for these sorts of situations; he’s not about to have second thoughts. I guess that leaves me with only one option. I stretch my hands in front of me, to let him know that I mean no harm. After that, I drop to my knees and let myself fall face forward. I hear Jack breathe a sigh of relief and that’s when I jump back up. He’s caught off-guard and I manage to punch him in centre of the face. There’s an almighty crack and I realise at once (with a sickening feeling) that I’ve broken his nose. He shouts in pain and staggers backwards. I leap after him, grabbing his right hand, trying to prise the gun from his grip.
“Let go of the gun, Mister Skully.” I say calmly, with no emotion in my voice. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”
Amidst the pain, he manages to sneer at me. “I’m not letting you play your little mind games with me, Aero. As soon as you get that gun, you’re going to shoot myself and Marigold in the head. I’m not about to give up my life for no reason.”
In response, I punch him in the nose again with my free hand. He screeches, nearly unable to cope with the agony. He’s making a foolish decision by not letting go of the gun and I think it’s time he learns why people don’t make foolish decisions. I look around, not letting go of his hand. There’s a door on my left. What does it lead to? I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.
I grab Jack by both shoulders and run him backwards, smashing him into the door. Our combined weight breaks the hinges and we fall through into the next room. I punch him in the nose again, letting him feel more pain. I jump to the side as he pulls the trigger of the gun, not knowing where it’s aiming. It lodges itself into the ceiling and I thank whatever higher being is up there for not ending my life.
I jump back onto Jack, who seems unable to move, and grab his head. He coughs. “No, please.”
I lift his head up and smash it back down into the ground. After doing so, I repeat. I look around the room for the first time when I realise the security guard is in no state to fight back. The first thing I notice is a stapler, left on the ground, just within reach. I reckon it was put there for organisation purposes, but now I’m going to make it server another purpose.
Making sure the hand holding the gun is pinned down safely, I lunge for the stapler with my free hand and grab it. When I turn to face my old friend, I make sure my face is void of emotion. I hold up the stapler in front of Jack so he can see it. “Let go of the gun or else I’m going to staple your eyelids together.”
Jack’s grip on the gun disappears and I clench it, knowing my future rests on how many bullets it has left in it. I stand up and as soon as I take a proper look at the seventy-year-old, I feel like throwing up. His nose doesn’t look like a nose anymore; the left nostril isn’t there until closer inspection, when you realise it’s turned to the side of the right nostril. His lip is bleeding and his breaths are much faster than the norm. I’m not even sure if he’ll survive.
For a second, I fear he’s comatose. “Can you hear me?” I ask him. He nods slowly. “Good.” I take a deep breath. “I need you to take off your clothes.”
“So instead of killing me, you rape me? Lovely.” His face gives away how much he hates me.
“If you value your life, I advise you to take off your clothes now. No harm will befall you, I promise.” I tell him, hoping he’ll listen. I point the gun at his head. “If you aren’t going to strip for me, I won’t have any need for you. What do you think I’ll do with you then?”
He swears at me quite a bit, but at least he takes off his jacket and jeans. I feel guilty when he gasps in pain, but this is the only way I can get out of the building alive. I take off my top and get rid of my tracksuit before putting his clothes on. They’re pretty tight, but they’ll do. I feel something hard in the right-hand pocket and curiosity makes me take whatever it is out. I throw the device to him, recognising it from earlier. “Tell your friends that I’ve escaped your clutches and that you think I’ve gone up to the second story of the building. Don’t give me an excuse to kill you.” He gives them my message and I breathe a sigh of relief. So far, the plan’s working. As soon as he’s finished speaking, I take the walkie-talkie from him, drop it on the ground and stamp on it with my feet, destroying it.
I walk outside of the room, back into the corridor. The lady (I think Jack said her name was Marigold) has vanished. Probably decided to save herself and leave the old man for dead. I wonder how he’ll feel if he ever finds out for a couple of seconds, but then reality hits me and I realise I need to get out of the building.
It always works in the movies, doesn’t it? The criminal puts on the uniform of the security and he walks out, never getting detected. Why wouldn’t it work for me, then? Why can’t I get rid of the little voice inside, telling me that I’m doing something incredibly stupid? I shake my head, getting rid of all thoughts of uncertainty. From where I’m standing, I can take a left or a right. Taking a left would probably bring me towards the heart of the building, which is probably where the main exit is, whilst taking the right would bring me to the edges and I don’t know where I’ll be able to locate a way out from there.
I take turn to the left and sprint. For the entire run, I try to stay in a straight line. Eventually, after what I say would be about ten minutes of running (though I’m not sure how accurate that is as I don’t have a watch), I notice a fire exit. Walking up to it, I have double thoughts about opening it when I read the warning written on it:
Warning:
Only open this door in case of an emergency. Opening this door activates alarms stationed all across the building. Do not open this door to casually exit the building. Use the main exits instead. Thank you.
Only open this door in case of an emergency. Opening this door activates alarms stationed all across the building. Do not open this door to casually exit the building. Use the main exits instead. Thank you.
“To hell with it!” I mutter to myself and I push the door open. To my surprise, no additional sounds are made. It takes me a couple of seconds to realise that the alarms are already activated to warn people of the danger they’re facing if they stay inside the building. As soon as the cold air hits my face, I breathe a sigh of relief. I still have a chance to prove my innocence, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I hide the gun by holding it under the right side of my jacket. As soon as I’m sure it’s not obvious that the gun is there, I rush down the steps and make my way along the pavement, attempting to get as far away from Nexus headquarters as I can. I allow myself to disappear into a sea of faces, knowing that I’m as safe in a crowd as I would be inside a bomb shelter. I collect my thoughts for a couple of minutes. Amoret said she would only give me two days before she started losing faith in my words. That means I’ll have to move quickly, but where will I move to next?