No Rest For The Wicked

A Fate Worse Than Death

Quietly closing the door to the room behind him, Vegas leaned his back against it, allowing himself to slide across the floor until his knees were now on his chest. His previously vacant eyes came alive with memories as he stared absentmindedly down the dark hallway.

'' I told you to not interfere with my business'' he remembers his father's hands wrapped around his mother's neck as his frustrated voice cut through the room. It was a common image for Vegas to see during his childhood, but this was the first time he had witnessed it. Despite the young age of 5, the memory was so vivid as if the image was unfolding itself right in front of him.

His mother's mouth splitting open as she gasped for air, and thick veins erupting on her neck and temples as she dug her nails into Kan's skin seeking for freedom.

Vegas standing at the scene, with his puffy face and red eyes filled in tears begging his father to stop.

''Get into your room'' Kan shouted the command as he hurled the glass he was holding towards Vegas's direction, which broke when it hit the wall.

At the movement, Vegas winced and, out of instinct, raised his elbows to defend himself by putting his small palms to his ears.

Vegas looked at the glass shards and the whiskey that had been spilt. He then averted his gaze to his mother, whose lips curled into a soft smile transmitting a weakening sense of comfort.

The image suddenly vanished as Vegas turned his head in response to the sound of incoming footsteps. He stood up, shooing away any intense emotions the memories might have produced. In a split second, his face returned to its customary appearance of calm composure. An expression he had mastered over time as he needed it in his everyday life. Pleads and tears were of no use . Vegas remembers the last time he shed tears, as he remembers very well the reason behind them. It was weakness. And his tears were nothing but a display of that weakness that only held him back.

Over the years, his father gave him hard but necessary, as Kan regarded them, lessons concerning weakness. Each one was stricter than the other, but there was a particular lesson that he could never forget. It got engraved inside his skin, the real definition of learning from your mistakes. Since then Vegas had learnt to never make mistakes, or at least to not let Kan see his mistakes. That caused a new problem ahead, as his father was about to find out about his failed plan. He could not afford that now, could he?

''Mr Vegas, your father is asking for you'' announced Nop.

''I see'' exclaimed Vegas with no particular tone in his voice, placing his hands in his pocket. A short silence reigned which soon disappeared at Vegas' next command.

'' My hostage created a mess inside my room. Take care of it. '' He ordered as he started walking away, his shoes creating a soft clinking sound against the fine red carpet that was lying on the floor.

Nop nodded in agreement, his gaze following Vegas's back as he was walking away until Vegas paused right before taking another step. He shifted his gaze to Nop's direction without turning his entire body.

'' Take care of his wounds as well'' Vegas grinned, his black eyes glimmering with amusement as he turned away.

'' Understood sir'' he replied with an indifferent voice , but his hands clenched into a tight fist as he glared at Vegas who had now disappeared into the thick darkness of the corridor.

Nop opened the door of the bedroom and Pete's eyes shifted towards him with apprehension that turned into futile relief once he realized who had entered the room.

''Where is he?'' asked Pete in a tone that seemed more demanding than curiosity, not the kind of tone that suits someone in his place. It was not eagerness that made him ask the question. He did not want to breathe the same air as Vegas. Actually, he needed him to be far away as much as possible. What made him utter those words was the fact that In his heart a sickening fear grew.