I keep the stairs in sight. The elevator is gone. I saw the cable dangerously wobble and then loosen up, a clear sign that the car crashed in the basement.
So it's the stairs that I have to worry about.
They cut off the escape routes such as the lift and the stairs, which they are using to come up (whoever 'they' are) and I'm betting my bottom dollar that they are waiting for us outside on the fire escape.
I keep my eyes peeled on the stairs and work my way to the couch. I throw a couple of pillows on the floor and lift the fake padding. That's where I store part of my emergency weapons. Only the SPAS, the MP7 tommy-gun and a handful of grenades, necessary ammo, including the one for my Beretta. I spit the toothpick in my mouth and I kick my ass for thinking that I had enough weapons in the house since I kept the rest in the basement.
I swear and take a mental note.
The first that peeps out from the stairs gets knocked down with one single shot. Right in his forehead. The second one gets hit in his collarbone and has time to retaliate. I bend down behind the couch to avoid a hail of bullets that fuck up my 42" LCD TV. I curse, then I use my shots to stress each single swear word.
I duck down to avoid bullets and then I'm back up again to shoot some more. I managed to kill three, but I've seen five or six more on the stairs. The knick-knacks behind me explode one after the other. I wait for a couple of seconds and get up again.
I think twice and duck back.
- FUCK! – There are too many of them.
I sigh and pull the pin out of a hand grenade with my teeth. Some time ago I removed part of the gunpowder from these, so as not to bring the whole house down.
I shake my head. – It will still cost me an arm and a leg. – I throw it behind my shoulder and sigh when I hear the explosion.
Those bastards are armed to the teeth. And I wonder where the fuck is Zendaru.
****
He stares at me.
I'm petrified.
I'm in front of one of the Sevyhal Twins. There's a reason why no one ever knew what they looked like. You weren't able to tell anyone if you saw them.
- That shade of hair is extraordinarily fitting. With a braid you would look just like him, - he says, tilting his head slightly to the side.
- Who are you talking about? - I'm buying myself some time.
He looks around. - Who? I'm safe at home, they're not here now. He used to tell me that. Before what happened, of course. -
I open my eyes wide. - What the hell are you talking about? -
He smiles a little. - Oh, don't pay attention to everything I say, you just have to read between the lines. Even this one was one of his truths. -
- But of whom? - I flip out.
- Him. - He shakes his head and makes a gesture with his hand. – Whatever, this is not important. I think we have never been properly introduced, but my memory is not very good, I have worsen up a bit lately. My name is Sin. You're Zendaru, aren't you? -
- Y ... yes. - I understand a tenth of what he says. He's undoubtedly nuts.
- Never forget your manners. I'm sorry, but I fear it's not a pleasure to meet you. The plan was for you to end with that theft. You are more clever than I thought. After all, blood will out, - he raises his hand and I see my Glock. - By the way, it's here, – he says.
Okay. Once I see my gun in his hands, my stomach drops. I'm doomed. Goodbye Cruel World.
- Rules are rules. And we've always stuck to them. They're just a few, but they must be respected. You are breaking the rules. I'm cautious, you know? Because he has a weakness. I have a weakness too, the same one. We are one. It's like fighting against a mirror. But you, you are the stone thrown in a peaceful lake. -
I'm getting a headache. – I don't understand anything. -
- The way is through my words. I can't make myself clear in any other way. He was always better than me at this, even if he used a different terminology. I'm clean, that's the problem with my words. Too many things, too much information, too many thoughts, all at the same time. It's hard to keep them at bay. Find the thread and follow only that, White Rabbit. -
He stretches like a cat and looks out the window. His eyes dart as if expecting something to happen at any moment. Then he looks back at me, but he never looks directly at me. It's as if he was unable to focus on me. I wonder what drug he's on.
- When weaknesses coincide it's hard, but not impossible. We found a balance and it was only a matter of time before the knot was unraveled. The others are the problem. And they don't want to leave me alone. Never. Tut tut, I'm digressing! - He sighs, raising his hand to his temple - So far, however, things had evolved naturally. The unexpected variable was you. And the stupidest thing is that fate had me pull you in, me who wanted to start with erasing you. - He shakes his right index finger and smiles maliciously. – It was very bad of you to send another person to seal the deal. -
The deal? The theft of the Iantor? - Are you talking about Marcus? - I ask.
- I don't know his name. He showed up as Zendaru of Samirien. -
- He was my colleague, I can't use my name and my face together in my line of work. -
- Nobility, - he says, - is the reason why I eliminated the incorrect variable. -
- It was you then! -
He stares behind me but, for a moment, those white pupils see nothing. - The glass cracks and he stops in the rain. That's when the game resumed. - He tilts his head to the side, dreamy and unfocused. - Did you miss me? - He asks to who knows who.
And I'm lost again.
- Zen! DAMN IT! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?! There are too many guests showing up at this party! - Tears' voice. I keep my eyes on Sin.
- Tears, I'm a bit busy at the moment, - I say.
- You'll be busy picking up your bones if you don't come out right now! - He replies. I hear some gunshots, screams, and then Tears' curses reach the door.
Sin smiles and slightly tilts his head to one side. - Don't be rude, Tears. We are engaged in a conversation here. -
Everything goes silent on the other side of the door, with the only exception of some shooting. Then comes Tears' voice again, which now almost sounds like a growl. - Sin, if you kill him, I'll use your head as a bucket and I'll paint the room with your brain! -
Sin rolls his eyes up to the ceiling and snorts. – Do you truly believe these lines to be impressive? You are not funny at all. -
- Why, do you think you're funny?! - More shots.
He smiles. - I think I'm adorable, - he grins in an insane way.
- Leave him alone and get the fuck out of here! We had rules! - Tears yells.
Sin instantly loses his smile and uncrosses his legs, jumping down from the desk. He stares madly at the door. - That's correct! There were rules! And you broke them! -
He turns to me. – And now it's my turn! -
He shoots me.
****
I hear the gunshot.
I aim at the door lock with my SPAS and destroy it. I shove the door with my shoulder and get inside.
Zendaru is down. The USP barrel in Sin's hands is still lightly smoking. He slowly lowers his weapon and turns to me.
He stares at me with an evil smile. He's pleased with his work.
I yell and growl my frustration at him. I raise my Beretta and he automatically does the same at the same time. Perfectly synchronized. As usual.
His USP is aimed at the center of my forehead.
My Beretta is aimed at his.
We are a meter away from each other with our weapons aimed respectively at each other's eyes.
With the corner of my eye I see the rookie on the ground, lying down, motionless.
Sin stares at me and I don't know how long we remain at a deadlock. Then he slightly smiles (Is that sorrow?) and he slowly puts the gun away.
He keeps his eyes on me while he heads for the door. And he whispers, - I hope we'll meet again. Survive, if you can. -
He leaves the room and I always keep him at gunpoint.
But I don't shoot.
****
I see Sin coming towards me from the hall leading to the bedrooms. I get up from my shelter, he's walking peacefully. The hidden refugees await for my orders. I wait for his.
- One down? - I ask without looking at him as he passes by my side.
- I hate those vests. And he was there, I couldn't. -
I barely nod. - I understand. -
- Do your job, – he passes me and goes down the stairs.
I reload the Glock and smile a little. – Yes, sir! -
****
I run to the rookie and turn him around. He's unconscious. - HEY! - I shake him and I hear him moan.
He's still alive! I shake him harder. I don't see blood, yet Sin can't have missed him, not when he was such a close and unarmed target! - Hey! HEY! You can't die like this! - The rookie opens his eyes and answers me.
- And how would I know, I have never died yet. - He sits up clenching his teeth, holding onto his chest where the sweatshirt got torn from the gunshot. – Fuck it, what a blow... -
I recognize one of my bulletproof vests from under his sweatshirt. I grab him from his vest and shake him again. Blue hair dancing everywhere. – AND WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GET THIS!? - I yell.
- From the armory downstairs, - he moans. Then he comes back to his senses. – What, did you want me to die!? I'm glad I was cautious! -
I stare at him.
He stares back at me furiously.
I burst out laughing and pat him on the back. Then I get up. – Let's go, idiot! We have guests to take care of. - I open the Beretta magazine, I check how many bullets I have and close it back. – I don't know about you, but at my place guests overstay their welcome after the first ten minutes. – I pick the SPAS from the floor and load the bullet in the barrel. - Especially if I didn't invite them. -
****
I lean against the right doorjamb of my room. Tears does the same on the opposite side. We look at each other. - How far up did they get? - I whisper.
- They're in the living room and the kitchen area, they haven't reached the hall yet. -
I shoot.
Tears stares at the dead guy lying on the floor next to him while shouting insults and holding his knee.
He shoots at him too and I gasp. I'm still not used to seeing other people's brain squirting next to me, but Tears leaves no survivors.
- Good job. Do they pay you by the weight? - I try to stay cool, this is not the time to freak out.
- I don't want him to shoot me in the back while he's crawling in my fucking hall, - he charges.
- Speaking of which, what were you saying about the hallway? -
- If I didn't have to waste time to remove the bedroom door while you were chatting amiably with the enemy, they wouldn't have gotten all the way up here. – He jumps out the door and aims at the living room. Three shots, three screams and he goes back leaning against the door frame like he was before. As if nothing had happened.
I point my finger at him seriously. - You have some explaining to do. – I move away from the wall, roll across the hallway and, while passing in front of the living room door, I quick-fire four times, and I believe I must have hit at least three of them. I don't know where I hit them but, frankly, I don't care anymore, I hit them and that's enough for me.
I get on my knees in the hallway and I flatten against the wall once again, when the plaster of the wall in front of me starts exploding under rapid-fire. Tears is now on my right, his back still against the wall dividing my bedroom from the leaving room. - I don't have to explain shit. – He removes the safety from his SPAS and shifts from pump to automatic mode. - Actually you have to explain me what the fuck Sin wanted from you. – He jumps out of his shelter and fires three times, then he disappears behind the bathroom door. I hear someone whine in such a heartbreaking way that I can't take it for long, so I jump back into my bedroom and, while passing in front of the living room door, I shoot in the forehead the half dismembered guy who was screaming in the living room.
Everything goes silent again, except for some shots hitting the walls and the wooden floor in the hallway.
From the bathroom comes Tears' voice. - Oh, you're such a sweetheart! -
- Go fuck yourself, Tears. -
- Nah, that's not my cup of tea. – It feels like talking to a door.
I see him peeking through the door which is ajar. He's obviously standing with his back against the wall, not the shutter. - Well, I've had it. I want out. Either we get it over with or I go out by myself and destroy everything. -
I breathe in and I try to stay calm. From where I am I see sod all. - How many are there? -
He peeks. – I'd say about ten. - I curse. - But I think there are others hiding, – he continues.
Yeah, right.
- Okay. – I check how many bullets I've left. - I want to ask you a single question before committing suicide, so as not to die in doubt. And you have to answer me or the first bullet is going to be all for you. -
He grins. - Sure, shoot it. -
- Who's Sin for you? What's between the two of you? - I stare at him.
He remains quiet. I see him checking seriously the living room. His eyes dart from left to right, following our enemies, who are probably quickly moving toward us and the hall. I was ready for an offensive homophobic answer that is not coming.
- Tears? - I ask again.
- He's my brother. -
My eyes go wide. - Wh... what? -
- Twin brother, – he specifies.
- What? - I ask mad as a wet hen.
- And he's a schizophrenic suffering from a paranoid disorder caused by a trauma. And it's not a figure of speech, he seriously is. -
- What the fuck! Your brother? - I stress out.
- So what? -
- You haven't got any hope! Not even your family likes you! -
- Are you ready? Let's get this show on the road. I'm not going to die locked in a throne room! -
I close my eyes and inhale, then I open them again. - Let's go. -
He grins.
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