"Last. Chance."
Netherwalker growled as he pointed the gun towards Aesop.
---------------------------
"...299...300."
Norton shifted and cracked his knuckles. He got up first, slowly walking over to the nearest guard. The others would follow later when Norton gave them a signal. The guard he was approaching immediately tensed, but whatever fear he had, he hid it well. There were guards surrounding them, even if the executives tried to make a move, they would be gunned down immediately, right?
"Oi, go back to where you were. Unless you wanna have front-row seats to your boss dyin'."
Norton leaned closer to him and peered into his eyes. He could already feel the other guards watching him. But it didn't bother him in the slightest. He calmly placed his hands around the guard's face, one closer to his jaw.
"Such a nice face... You could've done well in the modelling industry y'know."
"Oi! Don't think you can charm your way out of this!"
He huffed. Who was this guy to think he was seriously complimenting him?
"I never said I was anyway. And by the way..."
The executive couldn't help but smirk as he watched the other executives rise from the corner of his eye. Now the guards were alert.
"Why get front-row tickets to a boring movie when I can be the actor himself?"
With a sharp, angled twist, the guard let out a choked yelp before he slumped to the floor.
"All of you, get out of here! Now!"
Their employees didn't need to be asked twice before springing to their legs and running for the door. Gunshots started to sound as startled guards fired in directions. The Requiem twins were fighting back to back, perfectly co-ordinated. Jack was using whatever he could find was sharp and slashing at his enemies. His mask clattered to the floor and for the first time ever, Norton saw that crazed grin on his lips as blood splattered across his pale cheeks. Elbowing another guard and bringing his heel down to their neck, he made his way closer to the reception area, where Joseph was surrounded.
"Mr Desaulniers!"
"Ah? Oh hi!"
The guards blocked him off as another two came lunging at Norton.
"Ah, don't worry about me! I'll be fine!"
The guards sneered as they put away their guns, as if knowing there is no way Joseph could win against them.
"What are you gonna do, hit us with that roll of paper you're holding?"
"Ah as a matter of fact-"
Joseph unrolled the thick documents, revealing a sharp, glinting sword. There was no mistaking the sharpness of that thing when Joseph grabbed the hilt. He gave it a nice swing and pointed it at the men surrounding him.
"I heard it's pretty sharp even though its a few decades old. Would you like to try it out?"
He started slashing wildly, seemingly quite happy when it cut through the skin of one of the men.
"Wooooaaahh! They really meant it when they said it was sharp! Weee~"
Norton snorted as he pushed a guard to Vera, who was angrily yelling something about her make up being expensive at the top of her lungs while spraying whatever was in that bottle everywhere.
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There was a tense silence in Aesop's office as the man eyed the barrel of the gun. Eli couldn't seem to find the right words to say, and was unsettled by how calm Aesop seemed.
"Aesop Carl..."
He found himself saying softly. Aesop looked over, and so did Netherwalker. Eli just stared, wide-eyed, at the gun. He knew there was no way Aesop would agree to Netherwalker's promise, but the cost was his life. They can't afford to lose their leader, the one who gives them the most support, the one who gave them another chance society or family probably wouldn't have.
But there was no way... No way they could just lose him this easily. At that moment, he felt angry for no reason. He wrestled free from their grasp, grabbing the gun from one of their holsters and with no hesitation, shot both of the guards. They didn't die from the shot, but were certainly in a huge amount of pain. Netherwalker stared in interest before shifting the gun to point at Eli.
"You care about your boss so much right? So how's taking your boss' place in death?"
The executive watched as the gun's barrel turned towards him. Aesop's eyes widened, and so did Eli's. He scrambled to his feet, but was kicked back down to the floor by Netherwalker. He winced in pain as blood seeped through his gloves, crimson red staining the pure white.
"If you get to kill me, does that mean you'll leave the Mafia alone?"
"Hmm perhaps... But it seems, maybe killing the boss would be much more effective."
The gun turned to Aesop again, who couldn't find the energy to get up anymore. The only thought in his head was that if his death ensured the safety of his executives and employees, maybe dying wasn't so bad. Eli stared at them in shock. He willed himself to move, but at that moment, his body didn't seem to want to comply.
"Last words?"
Aesop looked over at Eli and managed what he hoped was a smile instead of a grimace.
"Help me make sure... the company is okay, alright?.. And, tell them... that I'm very sorry..."
Tears were falling freely on Eli's face as Aesop let out a bitter chuckle.
"Ah, such lovely last words. Now then, time for you to say goodbye."
Netherwalker's finger pressed down on the trigger and Aesop waited for the sound of the gun, the short pain and the welcoming hands of death. But it never came, he felt a heavy weight crash onto his body, and a choked yell of pain. He felt something warm on his chest spreading, slowly moving down to his abdomen.
"Aes...op... Carl...I'm sorry..."
