The Betrayal

Chapter 23 - 'Revenge'

We arrived at the house early in the morning and I unpacked all of our things, decorating the house with pictures and furniture accordingly. It was a quiet but large and beautiful place, excluded from society where we could live in tranquillity. Luckily a small town lay within walking distance away, where we could get food and the things we needed. But I knew, we would never live in peace, until Pallantino and Aaron would be a splatter of blood on one of my glass pieces and their bodies would lie decaying. We stayed low for a couple of years, avoiding drawing attention to ourselves. Luther stayed at the house most days, content he was finally away from battling for his life. He grew old there, becoming frail and weak. His healing factor diminished as he grew older, and it never fixed his paralysing spinal injury. I cared for him like my father, bathing, clothing and feeding him, repaying what he had done for my life. However, I was not going to rest until my final enemies were dead, and Luther was truly safe. 

My next contract, Pallantino. 

I lied to Luther. I told him I was going shopping all day and that's why I was taking a duffel bag with me. He did not second guess me, unknowingly allowing me to walk out the house with a bag full of deadly weapons. I caught the nearest bus and travelled deep up the dreaded hilltop to Pallantino's mansion. The place where my childhood friend Pete, met his end. I took my two katana swords and my desert eagle pistol, taking Luther's also that he wasn't using anymore. I would either get my revenge and get justice for Pete fully, or die fighting and with honour. I spent the first few hours scoping out his house atop the hillside and seeing if he was actually home. I had to make sure he was, so his throat could finally meet my blade edge. Lucky enough for me, the odds were in my favour. There were five guards patrolling outside, and a reasonable amount inside, at least three or four. I didn't want to let Pallantino's death come as a surprise. I wanted him to die feeling terrified and dreading death. I wasn't stealthy. I didn't need to be. I was too powerful now to care about normal human guards. I ran down the hillside leading to the house screaming an extremely loud war cry, stunning the outside guards. They ran at me, swords drawn and pistols aimed. I threw my left sword, watching it spin through the air like an eagle hunting its prey. It delved deep into a guards chest, causing him to stagger back and kneel on the ground. I continued running and leaped off the dead mans knees, taking my sword out of him in mid air. I propelled myself off his knees like a rocket, landing on the nearest shooter, and slamming my sword down his shoulder and into his body. Two other sword-wielding foes ran at me, swinging simultaneously at my head. I slid on to my knees, using the wet grass as a slide to perform a limbo-like manoeuvre underneath the blades. As I slid under, I swiped at their hips with both my swords, severing deep into their stomachs and allowing guts to flow out. The last guard stood at the edge of the gate, staring at me, horrified. He dropped his pistol and as I drew closer, I noticed he was only a young man, easily ten years younger than me. I knew the scary thought of death had seamed its way into his mind. I promised to never kill or hurt those who did not deserve to be punished. This man, he did not want me dead. He was just doing his job. 

He stood speechless, shaking at the thought of a violent demise at my hands. I strolled over, acting confident his death would be by my hands. I threw my sword up vertically, high into the air, causing his mind to wander watching it fly. I headbutted his open chin, causing his jaw to slam back up and impact his head, knocking him out instantly. Now, I was to get my revenge. I kicked the large metal gate off its hinges with ease, strolling confidently up the path to the house. I hesitated just before the doors, knowing two guards would be hiding behind each open one with fully loaded Tommy guns, ready to riddle me with bullets. I listened carefully, judging their head position by their breathing. I extended both my arms like an angel, aiming my pistols at both doors, where their heads were on the other side. Bang. The bullets penetrated the wooden doors, entering both of the guards heads. Their suited bodies flopped to the floor, sending their fedora hats flying. I proceeded forward, but another guard was waiting around the corner. He swung his fist at me as he appeared, connecting to my nose. It stunned me and I stepped back, dodging his other strikes. Keeping hold of my pistol, I blocked a hammer fist strike with my left forearm, which was heading down on my neck. I used the opportunity to shoot him at pointblank range twice in the chest with my right gun, whilst his arm was blocked by mine. I pushed him backwards, still holding his body up as a human shield. The other three guards sprayed his body with bullets but they weren't big enough to pass through and hit me. I swerved and ducked my head in and out, firing back at the enemies. I didn't miss a single shot, killing all three with three bullets.

Pallantino would of course be cowardly sitting in his well defended office upstairs, fearful and nervous of his hunter, determined to end his existence. I imagined the office, appearing in the doorway like a holy death omen. I was confident, cocky in fact. I was distracted. I didn't anticipate Pallantino's assassin waiting for me behind his chair. How could I be so stupid to forget. He dived across the room from behind the chair, firing a shot from his gun as he flew like a bird. It grazed my arm, taking a junk of flesh off with it. I winced in pain and launched myself behind the wall, away from his deadly weapon. He rushed my cover, but I was ready. I slammed his hand against the wall and fired into it multiple times, savaging his palm and fingers. He dropped the gun, pulling out a large knife with his other hand. I ducked, strafed and dodged the swift swinging strikes he threw at me, waiting for a slip up. I was too close to let them slip away now. He was too quick though. I had to do something unpredictable to succeed against him. He lunged at my neck, but I grabbed the blade before it pierced my throat. It cut into my fingers and palm, causing me agonising pain, but I ignored it. I brought my right hand up in a fist, connecting with his bent elbow, snapping it backwards. The bone ripped out of the skin, causing the knife to fall from his hands. I was lightning fast, catching the knife handle in my right hand before it could reach the ground. I stepped forward, closing the little distance he gained from moving back in pain, and plunged the razor-sharp blade into his stomach. 

"Fuck you." I resentfully whispered into his ear, remembering the life he took. 

He grabbed the blade and wound with his non-broken hand, preventing the blood loss, and nutted me square in the forehead. I was rocked and sent backwards, but he was not escaping my grasp. I picked up my pistols, aiming at his back as he tried to flee to the window. I fired, again and again as he dived out the window. Blood. One bullet must have got him. His body smashed through the window and tumbled out, slamming onto the hard brick floor below. It crunched, breaking the remaining bones in his body and crippling him. I jumped down on to him, pressing my knee deep into his spine. He crawled away towards the pool. I smashed his head off the ceramic edge of the pool, shattering his teeth and cracking the rock. He tried to speak, but I didn't let him say a word. I shoved his head into the pool, pushing it down so the water travelled up his mouth and nose. His body jittered but he was too weak to stop me. The water had consumed his nasal passages and throat, and had stopped the oxygen to his lungs. His body fell limp, with his head hanging over into the pool. 

Just in front of him I spotted a panicking Pallantino, just past the pool and he was sprinting for his life. No way was he getting away. I reloaded my pistol, shooting him in the calf. He dropped instantly, clutching his leg in agony, trying to dig deep and remove the bullet. But it was too late for him, I was too fast. I stamped his leg, breaking the bone and moving the bullet inside his leg. I wanted to hurt him, badly. He was not getting an easy, merciful death. I shot his other leg, pointblank in the knee cap so he was crippled and couldn't run. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him back to the pool, stabbing the assassin's knife through both of his hands.

"None of your men are coming for you Pallantino. No supernatural army or formidable assassin is coming to save you now. You're going to pay for what you did to my friend." I said, threateningly. I stabbed his chest, many times, making sure it was in places that would severely hurt, but not kill him.

"Fuck your friend! He was a nobody." He shouted, blood from his insides dripping out of his mouth. 

I picked him up by his hair, pointing him towards the water so he was knelt down, facing away from me. I held his head up at the edge of his pool and placed the cold barrel of my gun to the back of his head. 

"May you finally rest peacefully, my old friend." I thought to myself, thinking of Pete.

Bang. His skull shattered from the pointblank trauma as the bullet passed through his head with ease. His brains scattered across the water as I kicked his body. It fell face first and splashed into the pool, sinking gracefully to the bottom. I extracted the blood for my glass as the pool was transformed into a thick, bloody red pit.