Retaliation

8

Oxygen started to notice Max's activities for the next week. Max used to go out somewhere in a white shirt, black pants and a vest coat, at six in the morning. Then he used to come at noon, stay there for a while, and once again leave at around two in the afternoon. After this, he comes back at night at eleven.

Oxygen, who noted his regular activities, had all plans ready to nab him.

***

"So, did you find him, Oxygen?" Aurelia asked over the call.

"Well, no," Oxygen lied. He wanted to surprise Aurelia, so he did so.

"Ummm... Then, what are you planning to do now?"

"Not sure, Aurelia. But, are you sure that Max is here?"

"Damn sure! He is here," said Aurelia, with pure determination.

"Well... But is there nobody here who knows him?"

"I don't know, Oxygen. He should've been in secrecy. But he's here. I know it well."

"And, Aurelia, I have a question," Oxygen said. "You already know that Max is the M. Then why—"

"Wait, Oxygen!" Aurelia interrupted. "I didn't know that before. All I knew back then was that M was the one who was trying to kill me. But otherwise, I knew that Max is M when you showed me his diary. Don't confuse yourself!"

"Oh! Sorry, I got pretty baffled. Sorry again," mumbled Oxygen.

"That's okay, Oxygen," said Aurelia. "And... Update me frequently about him. Okay?"

"Sure, Aurelia!" Oxygen said.

"Fine! Good night."

"Good night, Aurelia," Oxygen greeted and waited until Aurelia hung up the call.

***

THREE DAYS LATER...

That was the red–letter day for Oxygen. It's the day for him to execute his plan.

He woke up earlier at half past four in the morning and got ready for the day. He was in his black t-shirt, black joggers, a black mask to cover his face, a pair of shoes and a pair of gloves.

He was hiding next to a tree which was opposite Max's house, waiting for him to step out of his house. And exactly at half past five, Max came out of his house in his work clothes and left. Oxygen, ensuring that nobody was around, ran towards Max's house and was thinking about the way to enter his house.

As he got the idea, he looked again to whether someone was watching him, climbed up the safety gate, simultaneously ensuring that nobody was there, and successfully sneaked inside Max's house.

Step One done, thought Oxygen, and tip-toed inside his house. As he went towards the door, he found that the door wasn't locked. Job done easier, Oxygen thought and went inside, only to find the biggest shock of his life.

The house had nothing inside. Not even a single piece. It was just an empty house, which had been vacated. Did Max vacate another house? Oxygen thought. Still, he hoped that there must be some clue.

He scanned through the living room, kitchen, and dining hall, but found nothing. He also climbed up the stairs and saw that there were two bedrooms. He also checked there, but still found nothing. Except a large bookshelf full of classic books, in the second bedroom.

***

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THAT YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING!? TIME IS RUNNING AND WE HAVE TO CATCH HIM FAST! DO YOU EVEN GET THAT FUCKING POINT!?" Aurelia yelled at Oxygen, over the call.

"I'm sorry, Aurelia. I tried many ways. Still..." Oxygen mumbled. He didn't know what to tell her or how to convince her.

"I'm least bothered about it, Oxygen. Now! I'm giving you two options. Either, find him within one week, or submit the diary to the agency and go back to India. Got it?" Aurelia asked bossily, while he hummed a yes. "Okay. Good night," she said and hung up the call, leaving Oxygen utterly embarrassed.

***

FIVE DAYS LATER...

Oxygen was at the 50th anniversary of Meyer Hotels, which was Germany's one of the top five-star hotels. He was in his white shirt, black pants, mask, and dinner coat. The main event was yet to commence, and everyone there was waiting for that moment. Oxygen, who was sipping his orange juice, felt the whole moment positive and happy.

As he was waiting, he heard his mobile phone ring. He took it out and saw that it was a call from someone unexpected. It was Carbon, whom he last spoke to on the day he was expelled.

He was neither able to pick up the call nor hang it up. So, he had just put the mobile on silent and kept his mobile in his coat pocket. And soon, the call went off. A few minutes later, Oxygen felt like something was vibrating in his coat pocket. It must be Aurelia, thought Oxygen and took his mobile out, but it was Carbon.

He felt like crying out. It's not that he wanted to ignore Carbon, but he didn't want to disrupt Carbon's life again. Still, unable to suppress his urging emotions, he picked up the call.

"WHAT DO YOU WA—!?" Oxygen yelled but was soon interrupted by Carbon.

"Dear Oxy. Let me confess everything I wanted to say for the past four months. When I was suspended, I felt like killing you. But, I missed you a lot. As days passed, I was afraid that I could never meet again. But now, I couldn't believe that I will never meet you. Like, never again. I'm so sorry for leaving you so soon. Still, leave none of the assholes alive. You have to kill him. Best of luck with that! Bye," Carbon said in an overwhelmed tone. Silence remained there for a while, and soon, Oxygen heard Carbon's voice over the call. "I'm ready. Kill me, Max Richards."

Oxygen immediately felt that something was fishy. He yelled over the call. "HELLO!? CARBON!? WHAT'S THAT!? HELLO!? IVAN! IVAN PETROV! ARE YOU THERE!?" Oxygen couldn't stop getting jittery.

Soon, he heard another voice over the call, heavily infused with a British accent. "Ah! You lil' Russian boy. So ready to die?"

"Exactly, Max. After all, I'm dying for global peace. But don't worry, Max. You will face the same fate as me. So soon," said Ivan.

Soon followed by a bullet's sound, Ivan yelled out of pain, then fell with a thud. Oxygen couldn't believe everything for a while. He thought that it was just a dream that would fade off. But reality is not a dream, and it won't fade off that easily.

Involuntarily, Oxygen stood up and ran somewhere, while in the process, he splashed some juice on one of the waiters. He mumbled a sorry and fled off.

The waiter, whose dress got nasty from Oxygen's juice, strolled to the washroom, to clean his dress.

At the washroom, while he was washing his face after cleaning his dress, he heard the washroom door locked from the inside, and didn't expect the next event.

He heard, "STOP RIGHT THERE, OR ELSE I'LL SHOOT YOU, MAX RICHARDS!"

Max Richards looked back and was stumped seeing Oxygen holding him at the gunpoint, with a sinister smirk.

While Max was baffled at how Oxygen found him, Oxygen rewinded the events that occurred five days ago.

So here we are, at the seventh chapter of Retaliation. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please drop some constructive criticisms. I'm waiting.

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Word Count: 1214 words