Letter Addressed To The Fire

Poppy Contract: Confrontation

Things were pretty uneventful as people just returned to their room one by one in the past hours. When an hour or two have passed without anyone else showing signs of wakefulness in their respective rooms, I collect my stuff from behind the drawer, place the extra bullets in my pocket, and wear my gloves and mask. Then, I proceed to the bathroom to get my pistol and put it on my waist.

Sure enough, by midnight, Mother Heidi and Cardinal Suarez exit the office and walk through the yard.

This is it.

Mother Heidi kneels by the statue, and there was a low rumble. I see the statue slide backward. Mother Heidi and Cardinal Suarez appear to walk down a set of stairs where the statue once stood. A few minutes later—I assume when they reach the bottom of the stairs—a low rumble occurs again and the statue moves back to its place.

So that's how it is.

After five minutes, I make my move. When the backups will arrive, I do not know, but the time to move is now. So, I make my way across the yard and kneel on the tile before the Guardian of Hell's statue. This will disturb them down below, for sure, so I take my gun before making my way down.

"What was that?"

"Is there someone else who's supposed to know this?"

"Who else is coming?"

"Did you fucking let someone see us come down?"

These remarks I hear as I descend the stairs. When I see the light at the end of the staircase, I position my gun and pull the trigger on anyone who is not Cardinal Suarez, Mother Heidi, and Waterlily the Nun.

So this is the Underground Farm...

By now, eight farmers are down. I notice that the tables arranged in four rows by four columns are basically worktables where farmers—or technically scientists—are growing their test subject poppies and producing their beta versions of opium.

"Take him down! TAKE HIM DOWN!" Cardinal Suarez orders the farmers.

One farmer tosses a handful of opium powder in my direction. Dumb fuck, I'm wearing a mask. The farmer only succeeded in choking (and probably drugging) all the other farmers, and Cardinal Suarez, Mother Heidi, and Waterlily the Nun.

I point and shoot at that farmer, and shoot the leg of Mother Heidi who attempts to race up the staircase. I immediately run to the lever by the staircase and pull it down to close the exit.

"You fucking BASTARD!" She hoarsely screams at me.

Cardinal Suarez pulls out his own handgun and begins shooting at me.

Shit. He's a sharp shooter.

I duck and run towards the tables, and pull one down as a shield. One farmer sneaks on my right side holding an Erlenmeyer flask, probably attempting to shatter it on my head in hopes of knocking me out.

Sorry, buddy.

I easily pull his arm down to force him to either shatter or let go of the flask, knock his head on the ground, and pull him up as a human shield so I can stand and shoot at the remaining farmers.

I successfully take down four more farmers before Cardinal Suarez tries to shoot at me again, thereby killing my farmer human shield. He, then, snatches a farmer and uses him as a human shield too. I dive back to my table, dragging my human shield beside me.

"Not so conspicuous, are you, Azure?"

I did not respond. Idle chat is not my purpose here anyway.

"Did you think you're so brilliant?" He continues anyway, "The Knight of the Cross, the best the Chapel has to offer, the greatest of all time?" His voice is rising more and more with each word he says. "DID YOU THINK YOU CAN OUTSMART US?" he shouts.