Mikhail

28

Every fibre in my body froze. I glared at the pistol he was holding out to me. My chest tightened so hard that breathing was a chore. I'd thought he only wanted to teach him a lesson.

I stood there, looking him back in the eyes and putting all effort into not punching him on the mouth. I knew that restraint would snap if he said those words again.

Fuck blowing my cover. I couldn't kill an innocent man.

“You know what? No, I'll do it myself.” He said suddenly. His tone  was full of spite which I felt wasn't for me. He turned to the guy I'd just beaten.

"You know I only came here to teach you a lesson." He said calmly, menacingly. "Your daring to stand up to me was pardonable. But this? Gays like you don't deserve to live among us men."

I wanted to say something to stop him. I wanted to kick the Glock out of his hand, my mission be damned. Before I could execute any of the above, Alacran had pulled the trigger.

The gunshot resounded with a dreadful finality. He'd killed the man. He looked at the man's lover who seemed too stunned by his man's murder to make a sound.

"Hopefully, you'll love pussy over dick in your next life." And then he pulled the trigger again. Spitting on both bodies, he turned and was on his way.

I didn't know it was possible to be more rooted to my spot than I already was. I stared at the dead bodies as a cruel reality punched me in the gut.

I had done nothing to save them.

"What are you waiting for? Are you planning on organizing a funeral for them?" Alacran's voice came from behind me, so devoid of emotion.

I turned slowly to look at him for a few seconds without a word. I was so angry that the most ferocious instincts snapping through my veins was to pummel him to death.

But for what? Alacran had already killed these men. Attacking him and killing him meant foiling my revenge. Alacran walked out and I followed behind him. The instincts were still burning in my veins as I drove to the gang house.

If he noticed it, he didn't say anything. But I supposed my always stoic expression helped me to conceal the rage I was feeling.

"Ah faggots." He finally said when we were getting closer to our destination. "Why do they prefer ass when there's pussy?"

I didn't say anything. He probably didn't expect a reply since he knew I wasn't chatty. When we finally got the gang house, I got down to open his door for him.

"What they were doing was a taboo. Never let men like that live." He told me pointedly before taking the lead.

I followed without a word. Why had he said that? Was he trying to justify himself? That was so unlike Alacran. What had happened to him for him to hate gay men like that?

How many men had he killed simply because they were gay?

My nightmares had disappeared the day I started to execute my plans for revenge for my parents' death. But they returned that night.

This time it wasn't my parents in my dreams. It was the two men, screaming and calling me a killer. Over and over again.

I startled awake and I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

I told myself that Alacran was going to pay for every innocent life he'd taken including theirs. But I knew it would never make up for it.

Yes, Alacran had pulled the trigger, but I was just as responsible for the death of those men. How far was I willing to go for my revenge?