Deus Ex Human Revolution: Shadow's Showdown

Chapter 63: The Friendly Soul.

Berlin 2017.

The roof of the Lemon-Lime collapsed, hitting the ground with momentum. This was accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, the ringing of the metal structure and the crunch of crumbling concrete. Damien refused to let Evie stand in front of the ruins of the club. More than questioning, he was afraid that someone might find them so he led her into one of the side alleys. Pulling out his phone, he dialled the number of his private bodyguard and walked away from the girl.

"Did you caught him?" asked Damien, assured Evie can't hear their conversation.
"Of course."
"We're in the next alley."
"Do you think she'll buy it?"
"She'll buy anything. She's stupid and naive."

A quarter of an hour later, a rumbling and loud, long screams could be heard from the depths of the alley. The street lamp shook under the impact. Immediately afterwards, a man collapsed at Evie's feet. He might have been just over twenty years old. The brown-haired guy looked quite ordinary, wearing jeans, a thick wool sweater and a jacket.

"That's him," growled the bodyguard and kicked the man who was now lying on his back.

The man cringed and shrieked.

"Did he confess?" asked Damien when the young man stopped screaming.
"Of course he did."

Blood was pouring from the stranger's nose and a cut eyebrow arch. He also had a black eye and, judging by his face contorted with a grimace of pain and his arm wrapped around his torso, probably one or more broken ribs. Evie opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand, paralysed with horror.

"Here is our arsonist," Damien announced. "Now he will suffer the consequences of his deed!"

The kick aimed at his abdomen was so strong that the man cringed in pain, and a wet spot blossomed on his pants.

"See? He peed himself out of fear. He's about to shit himself next," the bodyguard reacted and kicked the young man in the back.
"Damien, tell him to stop!" squealed the girl.

Damien had so far watched dispassionately as his bodyguard bullied his victim. However, he had to maintain at least some semblance of not being so cruel after all. Evie had to trust him for his plan to work without problems. The man nodded and the subordinate reluctantly stopped further beating and kicking. The victim was already barely alive anyway. His face was so swollen that he was almost unidentifiable.

"You're right." Damien turned his head towards the girl. "You're the one who should punish him," he said, snatching the gun from the bodyguard's holster, pressing it into her hand and unlocking it.

Evie didn't want to tighten her fingers on the cool grip, but Damien forced her to do so. She felt the rough surface under four fingers, and the fifth index finger touched the trigger. The weapon was heavy, it seemed to her that it weighed a ton.

"Hold it with both hands," ordered with a sharp tone. "Yes like this."
"Damien, please stop, we've already scared him enough!" she screamed after realising he was not joking.
"For the fuck's sake! He burned Lemon-Lime! Because of him, Joe is dead, and you want to take pity on him?!"
"I can't kill him! Besides, that's what the police are for!"
"You can," he convinced her, assisting in holding the gun putting the barrel to the kneeling man's forehead and squeezing the trigger.

The girl closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She did not want to see his wide-open eyes begging for mercy. She breathed hurriedly and her whole body trembled. The roar of gunfire spread through the alley, drowned out by sirens and general noise. No one reacted. The head exploded like a watermelon, splattering blood, brain fragments and bones. The body slid inertly to the ground. Damien didn't wait for Evie to say or do anything. The bodyguard handed him a handkerchief soaked in sleeping remedy, with which Kratos covered the girl's mouth. Once her body was numb, he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and together with the bodyguard disappeared into the depths of the alley where a black off-road car with tinted windows stood parked.