A Second Chance Well Arranged

The assassin scrambled its way back up, momentarily pausing to scan my face.

“Number 26010914, your presence is irrelevant,” it declared. “Warning, do not interfere, or there will be consequences.”

A vein swelled at my jaw as I twitched an eye. “Me? Irrelevant? How about you crawl back to whatever horror game you escaped from? I was after him first! You're the irrelevant one here!”

“Negative. I am an android created by Biowidth Station.”

“Nobody asked.” I whipped out my gun and fired at its head, but the laser bullet bounced right off. Of course, guns wouldn’t work that easily.

I charged, fully retracting my fist before aggressively swinging my wires, sending streaks of electricity. The android deflected it, but its dark fabric couldn’t hide the scratch marks I left.

I tweaked the settings on my gloves and replaced the static surging around my wires with fire. Flames frolicked about, radiating scorching heat.

The kid behind me abruptly hitched his breath and clutched his head, trembling in his spot. Gritting his teeth, Axel mustered up some strength to rush toward him and dragged him behind a cover.

Now safe from harm, the two watched in astonishment as the android converted one of its limbs into a blade, glowing bright, purple neon, batting away all my attempts at slicing it off. At one point, we swung our weapons simultaneously, delivering a forceful gust of fire and static through the room. The android tried to cut my wires, but its weapon got coiled up. I yanked its sword, not expecting it to maintain its stubborn grip.

I widened my eyes as the android began to drag me around, sending me flying toward a wall. I managed to reclaim my balance right on time and landed on the wall horizontally, sparing a moment to catch my breath before the android pulled out a gun and fired.

I raised my force field, only to wince when I realized I hadn’t recharged them yet. It didn’t take long until my shield got chipped off at the edge, forcing me to turn it off and sprint away.

The metal walls collected bullet holes the more I ran, leaving a trail of sun rays peeking through the holes. I landed on a pile of cardboard and slid my feet under them, blowing them up and generating a thick cloud of dust.

The android tapped on its cubical head and tried scanning through the dust, failing to uncover my presence. It barely detected footsteps hastily approaching from behind, but by then, it couldn’t do anything but succumb to my lethal rounds of volts striking its back.

It buzzed and fell to its knees, twitching and spazzing. Seeing the perfect opening, I wrapped a bundle of wires around its neck and started to tug, a foot pressing hard against its back.

“You useless pile of waste.”

I bared my teeth and snarled as The Director’s words repeated through my mind over and over like a broken tape, burning away the faintest traces of sanity I had left. With one, agonizing roar, I activated my boot, blasted energy waves off its back, and ripped the android’s head right off, sending the cube flying and leaving a trail of some dark purple substance.

Its body met the ground before its head. It briefly twitched and convulsed, static enveloping its neck for only a few seconds before it finally dimmed and went limp for good.

But I wasn't done yet.

I staggered and picked up a metal pipe on the floor, eyes locked onto its cubical head. Gripping both hands on the pipe, I raised it high and aggressively bashed the cube, making a dent in a corner. I smashed it again, and again, and again, fire flowing through my system and radiating off my arms. By the time I let off most of my steam, the head lay crushed like a soda can and the pipe bent like a twisted spoon.

I dropped the pipe, stepped away, and coughed, clutching my stomach as I tried to regain my composure, physically and mentally. Every inhale of the frigid, morning air gradually cooled my system while mist clouded my vision with every exhale, bringing me back to my senses in no time.

…For a mercenary like me, I should’ve known better than to spare a moment for a breather now of all times. I shouldn’t have let my guard down with an old detective—far more experienced than me—nearby, a man whose entire career was to dissect, predict, and throw off criminals like me. I shouldn’t have underestimated the man who was practically my nemesis.

“Now!” Axel whispered.

“Huh?” I wearily looked over my shoulders and met a pair of brilliant, ocean-blue eyes, glinting with determination.

For a moment, I froze, barely registering such a bright, innocent gleam. It was a massive, stark contrast to the dull, gray gaze of The Director, the only facial expression I was familiar with. I couldn’t help it. I had never seen anyone grinning at me like that, let alone coming from a child who should be afraid of me.

So, here I was, stunned as I found myself face-to-face with the cheekiest little brat I’d ever crossed paths with, barely realizing he had snapped a thin, silvery collar around my neck.

“Gotcha!” said the kid.

I blinked. “Eh? What?” I grabbed on the collar and tugged. “H-Huh? What the…? Hey, what did you—aargh?!”

The collar beeped and delivered a round of electricity through my body, forcing me to let go of it, kneel, and quiver in pain.

The boy swayed his shoulders and scratched his head. “Erm, we’re really sorry about this, mister, but it’s so that you won’t hurt us—wah!”

I yanked his shirt and threw a death glare. “You little piece of—urgh!” The collar beeped again and shot another wave of electricity, prompting me to release him. “What did you put on me?!”

“Static shock collars,” answered Axel, whistling as he strode toward us. “They’re meant to train bad dogs into behaving better, but I guess it works on pretty much anything with a neck. Heheh.”

I scowled at the detective and pointed my gun at him.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” he warned, tapping his wristband with the same design as my unwanted collar. “If you kill me, you die too.”

I twitched my hands, struggling to register his words. “Huh? What?”

“Kill me, and that collar will deliver a lethal shock powerful enough to even kill androids like you. Do the same to that kid or try ripping it off, and you die the same way.”

“...You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. You can try to hit me if you want to confirm it.”

I staggered back on my feet, stumbled toward him, and delivered a weak punch to his jaw.

“Aaargh!” I twitched and collapsed on my sides, grasping my neck and convulsing. Out of bitter frustration, I began spewing the most morbid, vulgar phrases at the responsible detective as I rolled around. No wonder this bastard survived for so long, I thought, glaring at him. He's been keeping dirty tricks up his sleeves! Damn him!

Axel stretched his arms, heaved a sigh of relief, and let out a playful snicker as he towered over me, wearing the same, mocking expression I gave him last night.

“Game over for you, kiddo,” he sneered, pulling out a pair of electrical handcuffs and twirling it. “I’m going to have you locked up for a while.”