Step Four

The halls were quiet, too quiet. There was a saying that resonated around Tokyo: silence is a golden opportunity for those who wish to use it. The frantic alarms had gone off a few minutes ago. Now, there was nothing by my footsteps echoing down the steel soulless halls.

I kept glancing down towards my legs. Was it worth it? Pain beyond what I’d ever experienced was on the horizon if Rei was to be believed.

For now, the future was inevitable. What the fuck was I supposed to do about it? Hesitating would only guarantee me a fun and pleasant death by Fides gunfire.

I gripped the cold metal Glock within my hands. There was something to say for holding death. A single shot, a single opportunity, that's all it took to end someone's entire existence on earth. Such power was earth shattering, and said power was within my grasp.

“BOOM!” another explosion blasted through my skull, almost knocking me off my feet. Damn Rei had committed. Who knew how far they were now? Yet, the explosions just kept coming. Was this what South Korea wanted? Or was it all Rei’s orders?

Akane’s words floated through my thoughts. What was Rei really thinking? Rei was mysterious, sure, someone who always knew more than he taught, but an insurgent?! What kind of man would need an assassin like Akane?

I dashed at one of the open doors. Either I was starting to forget Rei’s instructions, or they were running out. I was close!

But as they say, the final boss still lay in my path.

“Well, move the fucking soldiers towards the west flank!” Inhuman malice emanated from the man's voice.

My breathing picked up as I ducked behind the door. Inside lay a room of flashing lights and cameras. Soldiers shuffled around the bright room, making calls and pressing more buttons than I could count.

“What do you mean they're dead?! Then send some more fucking soldiers! Were Fides, not some group of random morons! Why the fuck should I care what they say?”

I needed a miracle.

My glock grew warm within my hands. The act of taking another's life, a crime above all others, I’d be adding myself to the list of those who committed such a sin soon.

“Fuck! Soldiers evacuate the room. We’re compromised!”

Compromised? I couldn't have asked for better timing. Inside, it was a mess. The soldiers were all making a run for the exit without a thought for everyone else. They were pushing and shoving, as if the world itself was ending. Was Baroquin really this undertrained? First the soldiers had just left me behind, now this group was fleeing at the first sign of danger.

I slowly made my way in as the last soldier turned around the corner.

Rei’s rebels dashed around on the cams faster than I could blink. It was a massacre honestly, Fides never stood a chance.

The rebels shot every soldier that came within their path. Numbers don't matter; five on five, three on ten, no matter what Fides’s soldiers were slaughtered without a second thought.

“There you are.” I froze.

Behind my back was a familiar malice. It was one full of malice and anger beyond my wildest dreams. “Put your hands in the air and turn around.”

There he was, that same man with the inhuman voice. He addressed me with a scowl that drew my eyes. “Did you think I wouldn't notice you peaking your little ass head in MY command center?”

“Well I-”

“YOU DON'T GET TO TALK! Look at your fellow soldiers out there, massacring MY soldiers. What gives you the right to make such an attack? Fides will retaliate!”

He pulled out a sleek pistol, only to be met with mine. It was a standoff, and only one of us was leaving this room alive.

“What gives Fides the right to trap us in here?” I couldn't tell where those words came from, stearn and brave. Yet there were mine! Two weeks ago I couldn't even imagine spitting out such a clear declaration of defiance.

“The Truth boy! Are they not even teaching you that within your dark caverns?!”

“Oh they do all right! They teach us not to blindly follow the word of an egotistical company full of itself!”

“DON'T YOU DARE!” With a bang my life flashed before my eyes.

“Fuck!” I dived to the right, ducking behind a row of monitors.

“Bang bang bang!” Just as he sent a few rounds of lead, so did I. The dust settled as we both caught our breath. Not a single hit between us.

“Listen man, I just want to get out of here. You didn't see me and I didn't see you.”

“That’s not going to fly kid. You’re a rebel! You lost the right to ask questions like that the second you stepped in my border.”

“My border?” The inhuman malice, his aura of command. It all made sense now! I’d gotten myself in a world of trouble. “Can’t blame a man for trying.”

“Fides yes I can!” lead passed inches from my eye.

“What the fuck!” I rolled to the side and pulled up, firing without anything to guide me.

“You gonna run kid? Is that all you rebels have? The second you face any real opposition, yall go and hide in your little holes!” While I couldn't see his face, the smug energy was unmistakable. He has no doubt about the outcome of our little skirmish. And why should he?
This was a Fides appointed captain after all! Wealth, experience, and strength, in every category I was vastly outmatched.

“Sadly fleeing is not in my vocabulary.” A single thought filled my mind. It was a risk for sure, and a bold one at that, but what else could I do?” All that awaited me was a slow demise otherwise.

I dashed out into the open, bare, exposed. One well placed shot and this was over.

“What the hell!” The captain tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Flesh tore and bones shattered as my bullet passed through his skull. It was quick, instantaneous, yet I'd pulled the trigger.

“Fuck.” I muttered under my breath.

No, now wasn't the time to reflect on shit. With a single look back I dashed out of the room.