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Here's the next chapter.

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Chapter Eight

Konstantine chuckled humourlessly, "You have to chose Kai, all three of them there are alive. You either kill them…or let the other two be killed…what's your decision?"

For hanging strapped to the wall, their eyes blindfolded and blood dripping off various wounds on their bodies, were Nikolai, Kirill and Roman…

Kai shook his head, his body trembling, "No…I won't do it. I can't…they're my men … my friends."

A humourless chuckled erupted from the back of Konstantine's throat, "You really are pitiful, do you know that? Here I am, giving you a chance to save two of your men, and you can't even do that. What kind of leader are you?"

Kai growled, tearing his eyes away from the disturbing sight in front of him, "I'm the type of leader who would rather sacrifice myself rather than shoot my own men!"

"Well you don't have a choice in the matter, Kai. I don't want you dead, in fact, I want you quite alive, if that's possible. You're far too talented and I admire talented men, so therefore you do not die. So come now, shoot them. A quick bullet to the head, they will feel nothing. A quick and easy death, painless. Simple. Non-time consuming."

"You're a sadistic bastard."

A smirk twitched the sides of Konstantine's lips, "Yes, I may be a sadistic bastard, but I'm not the one about to kill my 'friends'."

"I am not about to kill anyone. As I've said, they are my men, my friends, I respect each and every one of them. No one dies by my hands … apart from you."

"Ah, feisty one aren't you? I thought you might be, after all, left to grow up by yourself as your mother drunk herself into a stupor each and every night after your father was murdered by my people. In her drunkenness, she blamed you, she would beat you night after night and yet you would do nothing, because you loved your mother, and she would always apologise profusely the next day, and because deep down you believed that it was your fault as well. You believed that he died because of you, and the only reason you're here right this minute, is because you're looking for someone else to blame, for someone to tell you that 'no' it wasn't your fault that your father was murdered. That it wasn't your fault he stepped out the patio doors when he did. That it wasn't you fault your mother died of a car-crash, a result of everything that had happened. All these years, you have dedicated yourself to finding your father's 'killer's', but really, you were just looking to shift the blame, to feel better about yourself, to-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kai's left fist lashed out at Konstantine, but bore no danger as the silver-haired man had been expecting a reaction and had grabbed Kai's fist inches from his face, and twisted, sending Kai to the ground on his knees, hissing in pain.

"I see I hit a soft spot. But isn't what I said true, Kai. You do feel like you are to blame, but what if I offered you the relieve you seek. What if I can shift the blame away from you and tell you the real reason why your father was murdered? What if I can explain why he refused to embrace you when you came home?"

Kai froze, realising that the very question he had been asking for the past ten years, could finally have an answer: why his father had not embraced him the day he had died.

Konstantine studied the man at his feet, "Do you want to know, Kai?"

Kai paused, "What do you want from me?"

Frowning, Konstantine released his grip on Kai's hand, "No Kai, what is it you want? What is it? I don't understand."

Kai glared up at the other man through bloodied silver bangs, "What do I want? What I want is for you to let my men go. To leave them alone and send them back to their families. They have nothing to do with this mission. The only thing they were involved in was taking orders. Whatever happens in down to me! I'm to blame for the infiltration. I formulated the plan. I put them in this mess and it's my job to get them out!"

"But you can't do that Kai. Three of your men are already dead. The lives of another five lie in your hands. And if I'm not mistaken, you have three more men stationed around the area. My bet is at the base of Mount Zhima."

Kai froze, his blood running cold.

"Yes Kai, you put yourself in this mess, and yes, you dragged your men into it as well, but don't yourself the full blame for it, you were tricked." A low chuckle tickled the back of Konstantine's throat as he leant down until he was eye-level with the other man, confusion clearly evident on wary features. "Yes, Kai. You were tricked … and by your own men. Shocking really. And here I thought you had a brilliant sense of judgement."

Frowning, Kai focused his attention on the ground, desperately trying to figure just who had betrayed not only him but also everyone involved in the mission. Rage filled him, anger blinding him. Whoever the mole was, was to blame for the death of three of his men, one of them his closest friend. Whoever it was, was to blame for the situation he was faced with now. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't kill his men, not only was it immoral, but Kai felt physically sick if he even thought about it. "Who is it?"

Konstantine grinned, leaning in close, close enough that as he spoke, his breath tickled the side of Kai's ear, "It was … "

Kai's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat, the mere thought of it causing his chest to constrict. "How …?"

"He was a good friend of mine … he owed me a very big debt. And at that time, you had come to the surface, plastered all over TV screens and the front of newspapers. You became famous for your intelligence, your wit and the fact that every case you were assigned to was solved in a matter of weeks, even days at times. You were the prodigy of the police world. And I respected you. Then came the day you revealed your true intentions in joining the police force: you wanted to find your father's killers and you vowed to take them down." Konstantine paused, moving back and sitting on his haunches, "And that's when my dear friend came in handy. He finally had a use. I told him if he watched you and reported everything back to me, his debt would be paid off. He told me what was going to happen this night, but, like a fool, he had become attached to you, he came to respect you as a leader and as a friend. He requested that you were not to be killed, but I assured him that I had no intention to kill you. He didn't mention anything about the rest of your team, and I thought it useful to use your team against you. So when you came along, I know exactly how to disarm you."

"You bastard!" Kai hissed, his breathing becoming slightly laboured.

Konstantine brushed the comment off non-committedly, chuckling slightly, "Yes, we've already covered that point: I am a sadistic bastard. Now please, can we carry on. I'm quite annoyed at the lack of action on your behalf."

Kai clenched his fists tightly by his sides, gritting his teeth together in a vain attempt to keep his temper under control. "I will not be acting out on your orders." Kai's voice was strained, his body trembling slightly.

Konstantine cocked his head to the side, gazing at Kai with a piercing eye before a feral smile lit up his features, "Oh, is that so?"

Kai frowned, nodding his head, "Yes, that is so. I am not going to be using my gun against anyone but you and your men."

"Really?" a crazed glint seemed to sparkle in the corner of his one visible silver eye. A hollow, eerie laugh erupted from within Konstantine, "I don't think so Kai."

"What makes you think you know me? What makes you so sure that I'll act out your orders?" Kai stood up shakily, ignoring the throbbing in his head and the sparks of pain in his shoulder at every movement.

"For one, I knew that you wouldn't even think about hurting your own men … I guess I just wanted you to prove me wrong in my assumptions, but you haven't, and I'm afraid you will have to pay the price." Konstantine whipped out his gun, aiming it straight at Nikolai, his arm unwavering as he readied his finger over the trigger.

Kai felt his eyes widen and his feet move to late as Konstantine pulled the trigger, the heavy bullet exploding out of the nozzle and skimming through the air, finally embedding itself in Nikolai's head. "NO!" He stumbled, shock pulsing through his body, and fell, landing awkwardly on his injured shoulder. He cried out in pain as liquid fire pulsed through his veins, engulfing his whole body. He clenched his teeth together, his eyes screwed together as he desperately pushed air out of his convulsing body.

Konstantine stared down at him, his single visible unwavering as he watched the young leader writhing in pain. Gazing away for a split second, he pulled the catch, at the back of his gun, back positioning another bullet into the nozzle and pulled the trigger a second time. Kai started, momentarily disregarding the pain that engulfed his body as another of his men was shot dead: Kirill.

"Stop … please …" Kai's voice was a mere whisper in the silent airfield, the stench of blood polluting the air, blood from five dead men. "Nikolai … Kirill …" Konstantine pulled the trigger a third time, the bullet death in lead form as it pierced Roman's chest and heart, killing the man instantly. "Stop …" Konstantine swivelled his body in the opposite direction, the three men bound to wall nothing more but dead corpses to him. He strode forwards, into the centre of his men and roughly grabbed Vladislav but the hair, causing the man to cry out from shock, pain and fear. The man whimpered softly when the cold metal was placed to his head again. Kai watched him with wide eyes, "Stop it …" his voice was barely audible, even to his own ears.

Konstantine ripped the blindfold off of Vladislav and forced him to face Kai, who grimaced, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. The pain and fear of death was clearly evident in Vladislav's eyes and no matter how hard he tried, Kai could not tear his gaze away from the other man's. but through the pain and fear that shone in the other man's eyes, Kai could detect hope … hope that he would live, that Kai would save him. Kai bit his lip, covering his mouth and choking back a scream of hysteria as Konstantine pulled the trigger yet again, the light from Vladislav's eyes dimming before disappearing altogether as the body slumped to the floor.

Stephan shuddered from beside his dead friend, swallowing the cries that willed themselves to be released. He froze as something connected with his back, a heaviness that he knew to bear the sign of death. He swallowed thickly, his head pounding as time dragged on slowly. He had heard everything that had happened and he knew he was the last one. Kai was on the ground, his hands covering his face as sobs threatened to rise up out of his throat. He couldn't look up. He couldn't face the last death that was down to him and him alone. But he didn't have to … the sound of the final bullet being released from Konstantine's gun told him that it was all over. Seven of his men were dead, three more deaths of the rest of his team were inevitable, and then he would be next.

He groaned slightly as he was lifted up by the front of his shirt. Opening heavy eyes, he trembled at the cold sadism evident in Konstantine's eyes. "Three more deaths, Kai. You think you can handle it?"

Kai swallowed and shook his head. This man had seen his weaknesses, had known his weaknesses from the beginning. To hide them was a futile act, not only to himself but to his captors. "Spare the other three … and I'll do whatever you want me to …"

Konstantine shook his head, "No. They all die tonight Kai. Every single one of them, and there is nothing you can do to stop it from happening." He roughly turned Kai around in his grasps and placed a gun in the shorter man's hands and wrapped his own around it, making sure that both his and Kai's fingers were hovering over the trigger. He pulled the man to his chest, his other arm coming up to wrap around Kai's neck, effectively pinning the man as spasms of pain shook the trembling body in his arms. "Bring them out!" Konstantine's men separated and three more men stepped out from behind them, each holding the remaining three of Kai's fallen team … Alexsi, Igor and Maksim. "Now … they will die." Kai shook his head and struggled desperately in the man's grip, but to no avail as his weakened state hardly proved a challenge for the silver-eyed man. Konstantine manoeuvred Kai's arm with his own, and once pointing straight towards Alexsi, pushed down with his finger, causing Kai to pull the trigger.

A strangled gasp left Kai's lips as Alexsi shuddered softly before his body was released and he slumped to the floor, dead, his life essence pouring out of him in trails of crimson. "Let me go!" Konstantine merely manoeuvred the arm placed around Kai's neck to grab at the man's injured shoulder. Kai let a short cry, his knees buckling and his body going limp, his head feeling exceptionally light. He couldn't stop Konstantine from moving his arm towards Igor. Couldn't stop the forceful pull of his trigger. Couldn't stop the sight of Igor collapsing and emitting one last shuddering breath. "Stop … please …" Kai's voice was hoarse, pent up with emotions that threatened to reveal themselves. "Enough … please …"

Konstantine merely shook his head, manoeuvring Kai's arm so that it was trained on the last person standing, the last man left on Kai's depleted team. I leant down, his breath tickling the side of Kai's ear, "I am not a considerate man. I am not good. I am not understanding. I am an assassin. I am a murder … and now … so are you …" Pressing his finger down, the trigger was pulled and Maksim fell to the ground, dead. Kai trembled, his whole body going slack. He collapsed to the ground as Konstantine released his hold on him, "How does it feel Kai? How does it feel to be the cause of eleven deaths? The cause of pain and suffering for your men's families? Especially knowing that three of those deaths were done by your hands."

Bent on hands and knees, Kai's fingers clawed at the ground beneath him, his heart and head pounding furiously, nausea sweeping over him. A cold sweat had engulfed his body and he found himself shivering, the cold night air penetrating deep into his body and in to the two bullet wounds that adorned his right shoulder, but one thought passed through his mind 'Fillip, how could you betray us?'

Ah ... just a quick reassuring note ... Tala will show up in due time ... so please bear with me ... I really don't want to rush into this fic ... that's why Tala is taking such a long time to make his appearance. So sorry.

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