The Murderers

Chapter 11: Battle

It is the day of the attack, and the mood is solemn. Everyone is ready to do this and never see each other again. There are no words at our final breakfast together. After Aaron and Kevin finish their food, they go to a separate room to, most likely, say their final goodbyes to each other. After, Alex and I do the same.

We decide to go to my room. I start to get a little emotional at the thought of never seeing him again. After a saddening moment, we hug for an extended time. By this time, we are both crying. He finally wipes his tears and sobbingly tells me this.

"When you asked me to join this, I wasn't sure. I didn't want to disappoint you. I can say now that this was the best experience of my life. When they told me I had CAD. I was sure I would never see my family again. You let that become a lie. Even if I die, you saved me. Thank you for making my dreams a reality. I love you, son." We embrace one more time.

"You're not the only one who had that dream" I tell him. He gives me an affecting look and leaves the room to get ready.
   
Alex and Rebecca leave early to do their part of the mission. I lean in to kiss Rebecca goodbye. Surprisingly, she accepts.

"Thanks for sticking up for me the other day. I know it must of been hard since we're not together." She whispers in my ear.

"I guess I'll do anything for the people I love." I respond.

"The last time you said that, you killed Johnny's sister."

"I never loved him." I shoot back.

"Give up the act. You two were like brothers. You loved him just as much as you loved me and that's why we're all here right. I'm still going to help you, but let's not act like this is out of hatred of a common enemy. He was your best friend, and he hurt you. It's okay to admit that."

"Maybe I was a little hurt by him, but he shouldn't have shunned me like he did. I pro-"

"You protected him. We get it."

"Sorry. It's personal."

"I know. I was there." My dad starts to indicate that he wants to leave. We both nod. "Before I leave, promise me one thing. If it comes to the point where you have a chance to, don't kill Johnny. He has a family and many people that love him."

"No promises." I wink at her and start to walk away. In an instant, she pulls me back in and kisses me.

"Just in case you die." She picks her bags up and heads with Alex to do their respective missions. I turn back to see Jack, Kevin, Aaron rolling their eyes.I chuckle and strut to the car. We take a ride downtown. Not a word is spoken. This will probably be the last time I'll see these men disincluding the fight we're about to partake in.  As we get downtown, I nod at the three men and say with dignity "Let's take what should be ours."

With that I put on my mask and shoot my gun at a nearby statue of Johnny. People wail in terror. It takes no time for Johnny and his S.H.A.D.O.W agents to fly in with their jet packs. The agents start to shoot at us, but he is just flying motionless.

"Are you scared?" I yell at him.

"Not a chance." He puts on his glove and starts to battle.

Jack and Kevin use binoculars to get them to fly into buildings. One by one, they collapse into buildings and wreak havoc on nearby civilians. One eventually catches on and starts to shoot at them, so they flee to find a hiding spot.

Aaron and I, however, take Johnny head on. Aaron goes to the front while I try to hit him from behind and from the side.  Johnny shoots at Aaron rapidly and causes him to succumb to defensive techniques. I try to get a few shots at him but he blocks them, and several guys start to shoot at me. I'm forced to take my attention off of Johnny to finish off the agents. They scatter about, so I have to individually pursue one agent at a time.Slowly, I take each one of them out with the gun.

By the time I finish with them, Johnny has Aaron on the ropes. Aaron's replica has proven no match for the real thing. With Johnny's full attention on Aaron, I finally get a chance to end it all. I hide under a bush and aim the gun right at Johnny's ever-so-beating heart. This is my chance to end it. I focus my grip, but my mind reflects on the conversation I had with Rebecca. I start to rethink killing him. His life could mean a rekindling with Rebecca. Actually, prison could be quite fitting for him. The thoughts race to my head, but I regain focus and reaffirm my grip on the gun. He shouldn't have turned away from me. I'm going to make him pay, even if that means making his family pay too.

Without further delay, I shoot the gun at the hero. Time turns slow as the bullet travels through the air. I widen my eyes as it gets closer and closer.At long last, Johnny raises his glove to his head and the laser clashes with the glove. A boisterous soundwave blasts off and everyone drops to the ground. Everyone except Johnny. It's like a huge case of deja vu. He turns to me and smirks while seamlessly going back into battle with Aaron.

Losing time and lacking manpower, I get an idea. They are beating us so easily because we are all together. I give the others a signal and we split. The remaining agents divide themselves between the other three and Johnny comes after me. There is no way I can beat him by myself, so I decide to dodge him until the others show up.

It's hard to keep away from Johnny on my feet, so I steal someone's car and start driving maniacally. Left then right then right then left, I change direction at almost every possible chance. He is still right behind me, but at least I have some protection.

"You can't run away forever." He screams at me.

"You've been doing it for eight years." I reply.

Angrily, he starts to shoot at my car, but I evade them strategically. Still turning at every opportunity, the car starts to get out of control. Still trying to evade Johnny, I make a costly turn into an alley. There is a little hill that can get me to the highway, but it is narrow. I decide to gun it, but Johnny blows it up. I'm barreling out of control towards blank space so I leap out of the now turned death trap. Heart racing, I look up to see Johnny standing above me with the glove pointed directly to my head.

"So this is what it has come to. All of this because of an eight year grudge. It's pitiful really. You're pathetic. I forgave and forgot you like a normal person, but you just couldn't do it. I don't want to kill you. You were my best friend. You were the only person I looked forward to seeing everyday, but look at what you've became. I'm gonna do whatever is needed to keep people like you off the streets. I'm willing to give up who I care about for that cause."

I'm not shocked at what he has just said. The only thing I'm shocked about is that he hasn't killed me.

"Then what's taking you so long?" I spit at him and tell him to finish the job.

Right as he is about to shoot, a tender voice interrupts us.

"But are you willing to give up them?" She says. I look up to see Rebecca along with Johnny's wife and kid.

"Don't forget about all of your money and possessions." Alex walks up with a few papers and important artifacts. I smile as he backs up and I arise. He has nothing left.