Damnit... Why did I ever sign up for this...
Naib crouched in a corner of the armoury, trying not to jump and start screaming his head off out of boredom. It was almost 1 a.m., but Naib couldn't just go home and sleep like the others because of his promise to watch the armoury. As tired as he was after he had to free himself from Jack and Norton's grasps earlier, the mercenary pinched his cheek again and tried to focus.
After two hours and multiple mental lists filled with ways to grow taller, Naib heard hurried footsteps make their way down the hall. Judging by the sounds, there seemed to be more than three people. Pulling the black cloth provided to cover him closer, he squinted through the darkness at the door. Just as he predicted, all the light coming through from the gaps between the doors were blocked by the bodies behind it. Straining his ears, he heard hushed voices before the shrill beep of the code being entered could be heard.
Is this what being an owl is like-
Naib hugged his knees closer and shuffled behind a huge crate as light spilled into the pitch-black room. As quietly as possible, the men hauled two crates out of the armoury. There was a loud clink as one of the crate corners hit the steel doorframe.
"Keep it down! We're gonna be killed if anyone finds out we're here. C'mon, hurry up while the camera's still disabled."
You know damn right you'd be killed if I hadn't been given orders to be a good dog... Naib thought as he sat there, thinking of the easiest ways to take them all down. Without knowing, he knocked his head on the side of the crate, creating a loud bang. To make matters worse, all the men inside drew their weapons, which until then had been carefully hidden. Three of them began advancing towards the area Naib was hiding, and the mercenary knew too well that he would be killed on the spot.
Five meters away...
If I killed them it would be going against orders...
Three meters away...
If I run I might risk getting killed or killing someone on the way out...
Two footsteps away...
Damn it I can't die now!
Clutching the handle of his blade, he muttered a short prayer before sprinting from his hiding position, grabbing onto the shelf nearby and launching himself behind the two men. There was a loud bang as one of the men opened fire, but the pain of the bullet grazing his arm was nothing compared to the pain he felt when he lost his companions in battles. Sprinting to the door, he slashed at two men with his blade, warm liquid splattering onto his face.
The corridors were dark, but with men charging at him like angry bulls, Naib felt his way along he walls until he felt a tall cabinet. Like a trained professional, he hauled himself up and remained crouched like a cat until the footsteps eventually faded away. Closing his eyes, he started to feel light-headed. His sleeve was sticking to his arm and it was warm with the dark red liquid weeping through the fabric. They'd better give me a nice amount of pay for this crap... He thought as he relaxed his muscles and fell into deep sleep.
||*The next day...*||
"Mr Subedar? Mr Subedar?! Sir!"
Naib woke up to the panicked voice of Eli Clark, who had spotted him on top of the cabinet when he arrived earlier and hauled him down. Looking around, he saw Aesop standing beside Eli, frowning as he looked down at the mercenary. Naib suddenly felt cold. He'd been given orders not to attack anybody, yet he had disobeyed them and lashed out at two men, probably killing them. Rushing to stand up, he felt light-headed once again. After being pushed back down by Eli, Aesop bent down to his level and looked him in the eye.
However, instead of being yelled at, or even being asked why he disobeyed orders, he saw a small envelope, medicine and a package. Still feeling dizzy, he accepted and muttered a 'thanks'.
"Eli, I have some business to attend to. Would you mind taking over here?"
"O-of course not, sir."
With that, Aesop left and headed down the corridor. The atmosphere was starting to become tense as people gathered around the floor to see what was going on. Surely a mercenary lying on the floor with a sleeve soaked with blood would attract attention. Naib couldn't take it anymore and got up, wincing as his vision swam. Knowing nobody would be at the bar at this time, he slowly and painfully made his way downstairs.
Oh how wrong he was... The moment he entered he saw that annoying hat and navy blue suit.
"Oh look who we have here. Good morning, Mr Subedar."
Ignoring Jack, he flopped down on the bench and rested his head on the cool surface of the table, which eased his headache slightly. The tall executive must have sensed something wrong, and put down his drink. Despite Naib's grumbles and growls, he sat down next to the small figure. He stayed next to Naib, just sitting in silence, for the next five minutes. Neither of the males moved within that time.
"I failed again..."
"Hm?"
"I failed to follow orders, and people lost their lives again because of me."
The words were muffled because the mercenary's mouth was pressed against the table's surface, but the sadness, and perhaps anger, was clear. Naib had sworn to himself the day he joined, he would always follow orders. It was always because of his old mistakes, and not obeying orders, that his comrades lost their lives. He sighed and took out the small package that Aesop had handed him earlier. Carefully opening it, he took out the item inside wrapped with tissue.
Inside, was a small leather sheath, designed so that his blade could fit inside perfectly. A small paper was tucked away inside the sheath, written on it were small, neat letters that could only have been written by Aesop himself.
𝑀𝑟 𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑟,
𝐼𝑡 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡. 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑙𝑑. 𝐴𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑢𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘.
𝔸𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕡 ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝
As Naib sank down into his seat, thought swirled around inside his head. Aesop had trusted me and expected that I would follow orders..I let someone down again...
Tears came pouring out of Naib's eyes as he stared at the note, not caring whether Jack was beside staring or not. Rather, he let the executive hug him while he cried his eyes out.
He had failed to follow orders once again, and people died because of that.
