Operation Leap of Faith

Chapter 13

Present day - Italy

At first, there was barely any pain. Being stabbed felt pretty much like getting punched hard. Kapkan had instinctively looked up, staring at Glaz in shock. In truth, it hurt more to see Glaz wearing that white mask than the uncomfortable sensation of the blade embedded between his ribs.

His heart ached when he saw the confusion and anguish in Glaz's eyes when the Apple's control was momentarily gone. Kapkan knew that felt like taking a sledgehammer to the head, and he was also familiar with the burning regret it usually left in when the spell was eventually lifted , but he couldn't even begin to imagine how it would be to realise he had stabbed his friend; his- his lover. Kapkan wanted to tell him everything would be okay, that he wasn't mad at him, but when he tried to speak, there was only a wheezing sound and the metallic tang of blood on the back of his throat.

Then Shrike said, "Now, I'd like to have my knife back, Idri. Or should I say, Glazkov instead?" , and the Apple took over Glaz again. Kapkan saw as his friend's eye went blank yet again. He winced, a reminder of how Kapkan himself had been unable to resist the Apple's power filled him with shame. If he hadn't been so weak and endured the interrogation, this wouldn't be happening.

A wave of hot pain speared him as Glaz withdrew the knife. This was bad, very bad. Without the knife plugging the wound, his chances of survival dwindled considerably. Shrike took her knife from Glaz's hands and shook her head, making tsk sounds.

"You don't even kill him and don't clean my knife either, I expected better from you, Idri ." She wiped the blade on Glaz's jacket, leaving a bloody stain on it, then turned to face Kapkan.

She regarded him with an amused expression, as if this was the greatest entertainment ever, and hatred flooded Kapkan. He would make a thousand gory threats, but he knew his chances of fulfilling any of those were slim at the moment. The sound of gunshots coming from the other room surprised them all.

"We have to go up," she hissed, urging the other two to follow her. Whatever was happening, it wasn't part of Shrike's plans, that much was clear.

Kapkan watched how Glaz obediently marched after them, just like a puppet, indistinguishable from any other random White Mask. It made his heart ache, knowing Glaz was at their mercy because he had been weak. He had to fix this.

Kapkan squirmed against his bindings, desperately trying to pick at them. Objectively, he knew he was fucked since he awoke in that warehouse tied up to a chair, yet he refused to give up and sit there waiting for death. His efforts were rewarded by a flash of pain spreading through his right side, knocking the air out of him. In fact, the harder he struggled to take a deep breath, the more intense the pain seemed to become.

The barricade was torn down, and two men strode into the room. They weren't White Masks; far from it in fact. Kapkan wondered if he was losing too much blood already and he had started to hallucinate , because one of them was Lion. For a second, Kapkan thought this was another of Shrike's games; it wouldn't be the first time she used the Apple's illusions to torture him. However, in those cases, it had always been Glaz coming to save him, only to disappear into thin air before Kapkan could touch him.

"...-kan. Kapkan!" He snapped back to reality with Lion's yelling while he shook his arm. So it was real. "What's going on? Why are you here? Why are you bleeding?! What happened?"

He looked at Lion, not comprehending the situation fully. He didn't even know where ' here ' was. The other man seemed equally confused.

"Is he one of yours?"

Kapkan didn't hear Lion's answer, nor did he bother to give one himself. He just realised he was free of his bindings. There was only a single thought rising in his mind: he had to find Glaz. Getting up from the chair brought another jab of pain in his chest, and he stumbled, gasping for air.