V
Past Redemption
I wanted to see you walking backwards
And get the sensation of you coming home
I wanted to see you walking away from me
Without the sensation of you leaving me alone
I wanted the ocean to cover over me
I wanna sink slowly to the bottom without getting wet
Maybe someday I won't be so lonely
And I'll walk on water every chance I get
Julia and Faye took the chance to dart out of the chamber. They shot down endless hallways and chambers, relentless, unceasing. Agents clumsily pursued, shouting obscenities and firing ruthlessly.
The women did not glance back, but bullets showered the walls, glass shattering at every corner. They were agile. They were quick. They knew what they were doing, and it seemd as if they had done it a million times before. And as they raced down darkened halls and and steel corridors, Faye couldn't help but dwell upon the fact that, right at that moment, she was at the right place in exactly the wrong time. She entertained the idea of she and Julia. Partners. Comerades. They would have worked well together. They could have. They shared the same soul.
Shooting down doors and flying up stairwells, breathless and so very alive, they reached the top of the massive building. Bursting through the door into the night air, they gasped for breath.
"They're catching up!" Julia shouted, running to the edge of the roof and looking down upon the street below. Faye stumbled, fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist, trying to pick up someones reception. Anyones reception. i Oh, Jet… /i
The door from the stairwell kicked open, as syndicate agents piled out. They formed a semi-circle around the two women, and prepared to shoot.
"Hold your fire." A dark and looming figure stepped through. Vicious. "Julia. I assumed that you have learned by now that you can never truly escape." He approached her, tracing an icy finger along her chin. "I am going to kill you."
A fire behind Julia's eyes flickered. For one only feels truly alive when they are so close to death. A gun found it's way against Julia's breast.
"A gun, Vicious?" She asked him, staring into cold eyes. "I expected something more interesting than a bullet to the chest."
"Don't you recognize this weapon, Julia?" He asked her, removing it from her chest and placing it below her eyes. "The Jericho. Spike used this gun. And so it is only fitting that you die by it."
Julia's eyes opened wide and she gasped, intaking sharply.
"Yes, you should recognize this gun. After all… didn't you give it to him?
"You sully it with your fingertips." Julia spat, defiance in her eyes. "It is your pride that will bring you down, Vicious." Her stare remained unbroken. "You forget that you as well are mortal."
"That is beside the point. You will join Spike in death, as you deserve."
"Did Spike truly deserve to die?" Julia asked him, her voice painful. "Do I truly deserve to die?"
"You and Spike betrayed both the Syndicate and I. That alone is reason for death."
"I hardly recall your innocence in the matter."
"Do not talk to me about the innocent." Vicious replied, his voice cold. "Not one of us is innocent. We are stained from birth and there is nothing we can do. Guilt and innocence bleed into one and the only thing that truly matters is that we survive." He pressed the cold metal into her chest and watched her wince. "And that we have a reason to survive."
"And I suppose your reason is to bring the syndicate into glory?"
"Yes." He replied, "And your reason is gone. You could have gone far with the Red Dragons, but now you are a beast without fangs who lacks it's will to fight."
Julia reached into the pocket of her coat, pulling out her own weapon. It had been a long time since she had used it.
"You can put that away, Julia." Vicious replied, "Look at the men surrounding me. Do you really hope to kill me?"
"No," she said, "You are already dead. You have always been a syndicate puppet."
"And you it's whore."
She placed the barrel against her golden hair. The cry of a gunshot echoed throughout the fallen city.
"JULIA!" Faye cried, rushing to look over the ledge, just in time to see her silhouette crumple to the ground far below.
But Vicious only smirked. "Honor, hm."
Faye only stood there, aghast. She was unable to move, to speak. Her voice lay stuck in her throat, crimson lips parted. Vicious advanced upon her, running a cold finger up her bare chest and pushing his face into hers.
"Faye Valentine." He whispered, and she could feel his breath against her lips. "And so we meet again."
"I can't say I've missed you."
Vicious only smirked, his eyes narrowing at her. She couldn't help but notice his eyes were like ice. So very, very, cold.
"I am a powerful man, Faye." He told her, and pressed his weapon against her. The chilled metal made her shiver. Or perhaps it was his voice. "And you made the mistake of becoming involved with me."
She only stared, petrified.
"But even beasts can spot their own." He said, and her mind begged him not to say it. "You would go far in the Dragons."
"No."
"What else do you have to loose, Faye?" He asked her, the question edging his way into her heart. "Think of what you can gain. Power. Money. Immortality."
"I will never fight beside you."
"Very well." Vicious replied, nonchalantly.
He pulled the trigger.
