He stood in front of the deserted house and smiled. The door stood wide open like a black hungry mouth.
Disappointing? Sure. Surprising? Not at all.
He let his eyes wander around once again. One wall of the pretty villa was torn up and cracks ran across the white concrete in a complicated pattern. A few sheets of white paper were left in the entry hall, unattended by the former inhabitants. They must have been in a great hurry for most of the furniture was not removed, not even covered with the usual gray awning. He entered the house, silently he walked through the corridors, peeking into rooms and opening random doors. To him it didn't seem like anyone had ever lived here. There were no personal features anywhere to be found. Everything was plain and effectively furnished. Even the kitchen, which was a big bright room filled with metallic plates that made up the stove, fridge and dishwasher, didn't appear to ever have seen the slightest trace of food in its entire life. On the counter a small orchid was withering. Its stainless white blossoms were wrinkled with dryness and hung weakly from the stalk. One touch with the fingertip would probably be enough to break it. Down the hall there was something that could have passed for an office. The desk was empty and its drawers, as well, held no items of any sort. Next to the door leading to a bedroom, neatly clean and apparently not in use for months, stood a small couch that had seen better days. Its upholstery and cushions were worn out and some lay on the floor. A blanket was tangled around one leg of the black sofa.
So people actually had lived here. Even though he knew that without relying on an old piece of furniture it was nice to have some proof. The hurrying footsteps of a young man in the hall made him look up. He turned around to see a brunette enter the room with a nervous glance around. He liked the boy, he was dependable and loyal. "We searched everywhere" He reported with an earnest voice. "They are not here. They haven't been here for probably a week, maybe more."
"That was to be expected." He commented as he left the room together with his subordinate, who now gave a brief nod. They, he, had been watching this play from a safe distance for a few months now. When the Cat had left its hideout to hunt the Dog, which was a rather interesting turn, he had decided to interfere. So he had come here to take a closer look at the scenery.
They stepped outside the shadows of the house and were met by bright, glaring sunlight. He blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He looked around, smiling again. He couldn't express his joy over wearing a t-shirt outdoors. He turned to the smaller man that waited next to him silently, hands behind his back. "We'll go after them."
"When will you leave?" Sadiq asked quietly, his arm wrapped around the Hungarian's waist. The brunette woman next to him didn't respond for a moment. She needed a second to determine what to say. Her frown deepened as she glanced at him with narrowed eyes, the street light through the shadows of her eyelashes on her rosy cheeks. Her lips barely parted when she said: "Next week."
"As always." The Turk grinned to himself. It was funny with Elizaveta. She always complained when he called for her, yet she tended to extend her stay with him once she was in Izmir. Her behavior sure fed his ego. The two of them walked close to each other, he leant in a little to make it seem as though they were very familiar with each other. Sadiq enjoyed those little games, even though they were just to not attract attention. Right now there weren't many who would have paid any heed to the couple anyway, even though the sun had barely set. With a short-living smile he held his lips to her ear and whispered: "They have reached the Adnan Menderes Airport two days ago." Needless to say who 'they' were.
Elizaveta snickered as though he just had told her a good joke and turned around to hug him. The second her arms were wrapped around his torso she hissed lowly: "I kept an eye on them since they arrived in Istanbul."
The assassin had informed him about the course of events in Athens as soon as she had been back in Izmir. Of course he hadn't been too pleased but he couldn't find any major damage in her lapse either. It didn't matter who of Heracles' group was dead as long as someone was. Sadiq's eyes wandered upwards, staring into the steadily darkening sky. The crescent was clear to see against the black background. He was here. After all those years of silence Heracles had returned to him. The Grecian was coming with the intention to kill, no doubt about that. The Turk smiled in anticipation. Yes, and he would meet him with an awaiting gun. To think that the person who hated him the most was only an hour away from him, probably whetting his blades… It could drive one paranoid. Sadiq scratched that thought. You wouldn't become paranoid if you were the hunter. He pulled Elizaveta closer again, because she had started to inch away from him while he had been lost in his thoughts. "It's time to greet our guests, don't you think?" asked the Turk; his voice vibrated with excitement.
"Do you want me to find them?" The Hungarian asked under her breath. Sadiq acknowledged her skills as a bloodhound but this was, in fact, a matter of life or death. He couldn't take the responsibility for any kind of failure. He shook his head and tapped the headphones that were hidden by his casual green hood. "Gupta is taking care of that. He's busy locating them right now."
For a while they both were silent, strolling down the street together. Elizaveta had insisted on accompanying him to the bank since the Greek was in town, but now she wasn't so sure anymore. Surely, Sadiq was someone she would consider a friend of some sort, a bad friend, but a friend, yet he was a living target right now. She would never admit it but still the hot breath tickling her neck and the cold gun held to her head haunted her dreams. She always had been predator, but never prey. She knew it was foolish but due to that experience Heracles Karpusi had established himself in her mind as some sort of demon, able to tear her apart, destroying her vain belief that she was not to die since she delivered death herself. "Do you think they might be faster than us?" She asked under her breath, shooting a dark glance over her shoulder. Her companion raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Faster? Faster at what?"
"What if they've already found us?" Her head twitched to the left as if she was checking for any followers of theirs.
The Turk narrowed his eyes; so he had been right about the paranoia. Even though similar thoughts bothered him as well he couldn't resist the urge to tease her. "For a trained killer you're quite the coward."
In return she gave him a good punch in the ribs which made him gasp in surprise. People normally didn't treat him this disrespectfully. He used to teach them to fear his very presence right from the start; somehow he had missed that part with his Lizzy. Before he could complain about it a cracking sound in his ear caught his attention. His entire body froze so that even the brunette next to him noticed the change of atmosphere. Gupta's voice was distorted and cold as ice, "Heracles was sighted near the Saat Kulesi. Where are you?"
At that moment his mobile rang. The Hungarian said something but he couldn't understand it. Where Sadiq's insides had transformed into a tight knot they disappeared altogether now. His green eyes, hidden beneath his hood wandered to the left where the great clock tower stood, its hand hopped to the big ten. Elizaveta and Gupta both were silent now. Without his approval his hand reached into the pocket of his pants and wrapped itself around the small cell phone. It vibrated against his skin with more force than usual. Inhaling deeply he held it to his ears and picked up. He didn't hear anything but didn't feel compelled to speak either. Like this, motionlessly with a blank expression on his usually smirking face, he stood on the Konak Place. His eyes flitted from one corner of to the other in their sockets. Almost desperately he pressed the speaker against his ear. How on earth could it be that there were no people here at this time? The next second he wanted to slap himself for that thought. As if he needed protection from…
"…Sadiq."
He clenched his teeth, eyes fixed to the back of the brunette woman. Fingers wrapped around the now warm metal of the gun, he took a step forward, leaving the shadows and entering the moonlit open space which the clock tower was watching upon. He paid no heed to the seemingly frozen man next to her, holding a small mobile phone to his ear. He clearly remembered Heracles' words.
"I promised you your chance. Here you go. We will hunt together tonight. Kill the Hungarian, torture her to your heart's content, Romano." He had muttered to him as they had parted ways with Antonio, knowing the Spaniard would probably try to restrain them. "But don't get in my way. I swear I'll shoot you down if you interfere."
The Italian was perfectly fine with those conditions. What did he care about the Greek's revenge? What did that bastard avenge anyway? Just his pride. Of course, men have killed for lesser reasons before.
Romano cocked his gun, feeling the shining body of the weapon with his fingertips hungrily as he took aim. He didn't plan on killing her just like that. That would be way too simple, wouldn't it?
He glared at the two people standing in that open place without any cover. His index finger was wrapped around the trigger, itching to pull. Yet, where was the best place to hunt the bullet into her flesh?
His thoughts got interrupted by a quick movement in the darkness to his right. The last time he had seen Heracles they had been on the other side of the place, now he was next to him? That Grecian might be as lazy as a dog but he was as nimble as a cat. From the corner of his eye he could see that he was staring down on a cell phone that rested in his hand. Romano's gaze darkened. Was now the time to play?
The next second the black phone hit the pavement and its casing came off with a loud clacking noise. The Italian looked up at the other southerner who had smashed it to the ground. Heracles' eyes were blazing with unleashed rage, his face twisted with pain. Thirty meters away from them Sadiq's line went dead. The Turk's head snapped up at the noise. His phone disappeared in the depths of his pocket again and from under his pullover he drew a pistol that had been strapped to his belly. He barely noticed Elizaveta straightening up, now with two machineguns in her hands, he didn't even take a moment to wonder where the hell she had hidden those before. His eyes pierced the shadows of the surrounding buildings, searching for the man he hadn't seen in person for years. Sadiq waited for the excitement to kick in, this thrill right before he sliced a throat open. A minute passed by. Then another…
"You idiot! Now they are prepared!" Romano raged in a whispering voice, hand fisted into the Greek's shirt. Heracles paid no heed to the Italian because now Sadiq Adnan turned around, finally he turned around, and looked at him. "I want him to see me. I want him to know what's going to happen to him." His voice surprised even him. It sounded hollow and dark. It was not his.
Heracles pushed the smaller man aside as if he was nothing more than child. His feet moved on their own it seemed, brought him closer to the other man. Heracles basked in his hatred, let it build up in his heart and fill his mind, he embraced the burning flame that it was. Before tonight his wrath and pain, his hurt pride had been smoldering underneath the surface. Those feelings were simply too strong to handle all at once. The hatred he held often made him wake from his sleep with a scream on his lips. It had haunted him throughout the years, caged him in his thoughts of revenge and it had grown. As everything you fed it had grown stronger, greater.
Therefore he had hidden from it.
The time of hiding was over.
He felt his pace gain speed. Whether it was the cold breeze that came from the sea or the sheer force of the fire that burnt its way through his mind and soul, he couldn't tell, but now salty tears ran down his cheeks. He clenched his teeth and bared them at the same time, his mouth twisted into a deadly parody of a smile. His eyes were widened, blazing green irises surrounded by white. By now he had lowered his gun. Screw the weapons. He would kill Sadiq with his bare hands and he would do it ever so slowly. He had already crossed half of the place before the life came back to his prey. He didn't run away, of course he didn't run away. Instead the Turk lifted his gun again, adjusting it to the distance that was no distance anymore. If a single gun was enough to stop him Heracles wouldn't have made it this far. Mercilessly he pushed onward while wrathful overjoyed tears fell to the ground. He took a second to taste them. He tasted his own tears without resentment. The salt bit his tongue while the sweetness in them caressed it tenderly. It was a good mixture. He was no longer facing a locked door that bore a flood of hatred, hidden in his heart. Now the door was standing wide open and the floods were carrying him forward. He stared at that face, that face which hadn't changed during the years and he couldn't see anything else. Noise came from behind him, the thunder of firing guns. No bullet hit him so he didn't care. Romano probably had begun his own hunt. Screams got loud around him, still faint in the surrounding streets. Why didn't Sadiq move? Wasn't he happy to see him?
The Turk was still aiming at him and his arms trembled slightly. Again and again his finger twitched as if he tried to pull the trigger but an invisible force prevented him from doing so. Now he was close enough to touch. When he saw he had run out of tears Heracles' face relaxed, it almost turned somber. Then his fist collided with Sadiq's jaw. Pain shot up his arm as he sent the Turk to the ground. This one stumbled backwards but could catch himself with one hand, he dropped the gun though. Heracles stared at him, searching for words. But what words would be appropriate for such a situation?
"Nice to see you, too." Sadiq hissed as he came to his feet again. His voice broke halfway. He knew he had a disadvantage now.
"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" The Greek spoke softly, his voice came out smooth and quiet. He didn't give Sadiq a chance to reply for the next second he smashed his foot into the Turk's side. Heracles kicked the gun out of his reach and held his own to Sadiq's head. "Way too long."
Sadiq narrowed his eyes and sneered. "You want to end it already? But we had no time to play yet," With one fluent movement he kicked Heracles' feet away from under him and disarmed him swiftly. A shot loosened and the bullet grazed the Greek's cheek. He let out a short hiss as he felt his skin rip open. He saw the black sole of the boot right before it kicked him hard in the face. Heracles landed on his back and hit his head on the pavement with enough force to actually make his vision cloud. He blinked to clear his sight and suddenly found himself face to face with the Turk. Sadiq was pinning him down, a full-blown grin on his disgusting face. His grin transformed into a scornful sneer as he stared down at Heracles. "You haven't changed, have you?" He scoffed. "Your face is just as terrified as back then. Fancy weapons and underlings alone don't make you stronger, y'know?"
"What do you know about strength?" He barked and rammed his knee into Sadiq's stomach. As the man coughed and gasped for air Heracles pushed him off, grabbing the jack knife that had been waiting faithfully in the deep pocket of his jeans. He brought the blade to his opponent's throat, determined to slice, pierce, slit, cut and slash. Yet his dagger ran into thin air when he stabbed. Cursing violently Heracles sprang to his feet. "Where are you, Adnan?" He growled under his breath, eyes flitting around in their sockets. He refused to let that bastard escape now. He wiped some blood off his face, pain pulsed in every bone of his and tomorrow his skin would be covered in bruises. His attention was drawn away from his feverish search by the loud sirens that came closer with alarming speed. His head snapped around to see the blue and red lights of police cars getting stronger in the darkness. "No, no, no! Not now!" He cried out in rage like any lion would.
The yell echoed through the city and before it died away the Konak place was lying empty and dark in the night, with only a few blood stains to tell the tale.
"They have caused such a ruckus. To think they are older than me…" He said thoughtfully watching the sea rolling against the shore. "It makes me want to play with them."
He turned around, eyes narrowed slightly as he gave a warm smile to the two men standing behind him. His companions remained silent and nodded. Their hands were behind their backs and their faces displayed no emotions. He had stopped playing with the two of them some time ago.
"Now, my friends, we should go and find them, don't you agree?"
Two agreeing nods.
"I'm so excited. I always wanted to meet them in person. They are really famous in the underworld, you know?"
Two agreeing nods.
"I am eager to see who of them will cave in first. Aren't you?"
The brunette spoke quietly, monotonously, "Yes, we are."
"Then let's not waste any more time." He cheered in a joyous sing-sang voice and walked towards the black Mercedes that was waiting for them behind the next corner. The two men followed him, exchanging one lasting gaze.
The people were talking already.