New Game - Part II
When I woke up, I found myself looking at something that was moving. It took a moment for my mind to realise that it was a white piece of fabric before connecting it to the person it was attached to.
His eyes were still closed, but from the way the sun was up, I knew he was already awake. Judging by his position, it looked as if he hadn't moved at all from last night. All except his left hand, which had been resting in his lap was now on my shoulder.
I slowly lifted my head up, my eyes fixated on his face. His hand fell soundlessly on to the mattress. Despite being shook up by yesterday's events, I had slept surprisingly well. I hated to think that it was because of him, but there could've been no other explanation. "Thank you," I mumbled. "You could've woke me up."
He finally shifted from his deathly still position and opened his eyes. They were sharp with no hint of grogginess that I was sure everyone else felt after waking up, but… How long had he been awake? Had he slept at all? When he moved, I could hear his bones popping and realised that me on top of him couldn't have been a very comfortable place for him.
"Pack your belongings," he told me. "We will be leaving immediately." I saw him look down at my phone and wondered when he retrieved it from my side of the bed. "They will be arriving soon."
My eyes widened. "Why didn't you wake me up, sooner?"
I threw the covers off, slid the gun out from beneath the pillow and grabbed my bag. Everything was inside in a minute. After I put on my coat, I ran my fingers through my hair.
It wasn't unusual for us to switch hotel rooms. In fact, we rarely stayed at the same place more than a few weeks. Whether we were successful or not, it wasn't safe for us to stay in the same location for long. Word would get around and trouble followed.
By the time I was ready, he was already standing by the door with his suitcase. My cell phone was still in his hand.
I took it from him and quickly flushed it down the toilet. By now, the man probably had some sort of tracker on it.
"Let's go." I nodded at him.
We hurriedly walked down the corridor and straight down the stairs. Each step that echoed pounded in my head, reminding me that any second, they could be here. It wasn't until we reached the lobby did we see the first sign of trouble. A nondescript car was parked by the door.
Without a word, we detoured away, taking the back exit, hoping that they hadn't surrounded the place, yet. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him. "I know I should've done better - "
"It doesn't matter, now. Your words won't solve anything." His eyes stared straight in front of him, but I could see them darting left and right without looking suspicious.
I clamped my mouth shut. The reality of it stung. I knew I messed up. Every second reminded me of my failure.
"Two are heading towards us from the left," he mumbled. "Blend into the crowd."
We walked briskly across the street and quickly followed the stream of people who were walking to and fro - busybodies with no time to take a breather, exactly what we were looking for. My short form could easily be lost amongst the others, but I knew that he would have a harder time remaining inconspicuous with his tall, bald head.
As we passed by a souvenir shop, I whisked us in and quickly paid for a cap, placing it on his head before he could protest. The dark look he gave me made me smirk. "Just until we get to safety," I quietly told him, revelling in the way he couldn't exactly protest.
Bang!
I ducked my head, looking behind me in shock. I hadn't expected them to open fire with such a large crowd, but now that they had, it only worked to our advantage. We moved with the screaming mob. The chaos was a perfect disguise for us to quickly depart.
From several blocks away, I could still hear several of the men shouting - to us and to each other. It was fortunate that despite everything, these men were completely incompetent. Unless…
A hand pulled me to the side and into their hard body. Where I had just been standing was a mark made by the bullet that was aiming for me. With his other hand, he quickly shot the man on the roof in the head. His aim was true and quicker than anyone could've reacted to.
"Thanks," I mumbled, looking around. I spotted two more situated across the street. I aimed my gun at them, catching the one who hadn't been fast enough in the side of the face. His body fell heavily to the side, splattering blood along the pavement. The other was still hiding in the alley. "Where are they herding us?"
He moved down the street with purpose, completely confident in his ability to get them before they got us. I, unfortunately, wasn't so sure. These men knew what they were doing and there were a lot of them. If needed, they could easily surround us. Even if he could get away, I wouldn't be so lucky.
"Was I wrong about you?" His low voice penetrated my doubts.
"What do you mean?" I scowled back at him.
He didn't even look at me as he continued. "Have I dragged along a simple civilian who can't even defend herself?"
"Simple - !" I clenched my jaw. "You know better than that."
"Yes, but perhaps you've forgotten." I saw his eyes slide over to me and I finally realised what he was saying. I was really losing my confidence and that could be more dangerous than losing my gun.
I took in a deep breath and when I let it out, I felt my eyes and senses sharpen. At this point, I needed to stop over thinking everything and just allow my instincts to carry me through. That was how I always worked at Syndicate. That was how I got to be where I was.
"You're right," I told him. "I've got it, now. Go on without me." I quickly separated from him and walked down an alley as he moved on forward.
Together, we were at a disadvantage, especially when we were in the open and they had men set up everywhere. I had to lose them and use him as my bait. I was sure that he wasn't going to like the idea of that when I told him and I was truly looking forward to when I had the chance.
"Ther - "
I turned and shot him in the chest. He folded over, clutching his chest as blood soaked his shirt. "Who sent you after us?" I pointed my gun at his head, but he only grinned at me, baring his red-stained teeth. I pulled the trigger, the silencer muted the sound to a sharp pop. There was no time to waste here.
Turning on my heels, I quickly weaved between buildings and finally found a spot I was comfortable with. I set my bag down and swiftly assembled my rifle. While laying on my stomach, I looked through the scope, scouting out where each and every one of them were stationed. I rotated to a single figure who was too busy keeping an eye on the Agent. With a breath of air, I pulled the trigger.
He fell silently, face first and hidden behind the ledge.
I turned to the right and slowly worked across the roofs. When I looked down into the streets, I saw him already gone. From the corner of my eyes, I saw one of the men fall. Many followed after and the two of us managed to thin out the threat.
It wasn't long before I packed up my equipment and walked back down to meet him. He was expectedly, calmly leaning against a building around the corner, reloading his guns.
"That went quite well," I remarked, looking around to see if there were any more threats around, but it seemed that the rest of them had retreated for the time being.
"It won't be long before they return," he told me.
"I know…"
Unfortunately, we were going to be on the run until we destroyed the core of the organisation and we had to do it quickly before it interfered with his work.
"Look… I know that no matter what I say, it wouldn't change the fact that my failure had caused this entire fiasco, but I just want you to know that I sincerely apologise for causing all this trouble." I knew that this wasn't the time to say any of this. We were out in the open. No matter how confident we got from defeating more than a dozen mercenaries, I shouldn't known better.
And I did know better, but my desire for his approval seemed to have clouded my judgment. I didn't know when physical desire turned into something more and it frightened me how quickly it hit me. "47 - "
It was the slight widen of his eyes that clued me in first. He was never caught unaware. Then, I felt something wrong with… me.
I shakily raised my hand to my chest, wondering what could be causing this discomfort. It wasn't until I felt the warm, wetness blooming and transferring to my fingers did the discomfort turn into shock and pain. "I…"
My vision blurred and my balance shifted.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
R.I.P. Chester Bennington. You were my entire high school life and more.
