A long, sleek black car could be seen cutting down toward the highest building in the surrounding area, flanked by a few other cars on either side like its passenger was a VIP.
Well, it wasn't far from the truth.
The person sitting inside was the Leader of the biggest mafia in the country.
His name is Antonio Moretti. And right now, he was staring at his own hand, contemplating his life choices.
BANG! BANG!
"Boss! You should have listened to me! I could literally smell that thing was bad news, you are not an anime protagonist destined to rule the world or something, the government's special agents won't stop this time until-"
BANG! SCREEEECH.
Rin, the driver and his second in command, said as he made a sharp turn. Both of them exited the car and entered the building, Antonio firing back the whole way until his bullets ran out.
CLANG. CLANG.
He moved inside completely and pocketed the gun.
The floor was filled with people shopping. As they ran in, people parted and started panicking, scrambling over each other trying to figure out what the sounds were and what was happening.
Then they heard the sirens, and chaos erupted.
Antonio and Rin pushed through to the first floor stairwell. Antonio shoved the door shut behind them and Rin dragged a nearby cabinet across to block it.
BANG!
A hole tore clean through the door.
Rin slid open a hidden latch on the wall, a section of the paneling swinging open to reveal a dark passage descending below.
"Boss, you should hurry to the escape route-"
"Go."
Rin stopped mid-panic. A confused expression appeared on his face.
Antonio looked at him.
'This boy... he is about to die and he won't even flinch. He'll stand here until the building comes down.'
Something stirred in his chest. He pushed it down. Now was not the time.
"Boss, what do you mean go?"
"Even if I escape now, they will keep looking for me. As much as I would have liked to escape and see what more this thing can do..." He glanced down at his hand, at something dark shifting beneath the skin. "...I know it will just come back to bite my family, and the others of our mafia who are still out there carrying out tasks."
"But Boss, we are ready to die for you! , you at least have a family and I-"
"Take care of them. And live, Rin. Live your life from now on... don't end up like me."
I had cut all ties with my family a long time ago when I entered this profession. I can't say I don't regret it every single day. But after my first kill, after my first big score, it stopped being enough. I knew how dangerous I was. So even if I regret it, I'm glad I made the right decision.
"How can-"
A fist covered in a strange black material hit him in the face with enough force to nearly knock him out cold. He crashed down into the dark descending passage.
As his vision cleared, he saw the panel being closed above him by Antonio's hand. He was going to shout one more time but...
Those eyes.
He knew what it meant. There was no changing his Boss's decision now.
Oh, how much he wanted to make a stupid decision one more time. Just one last time. His vision swam as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from rushing out and doing something he couldn't take back.
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The panel clicked shut.
Back at the first floor.
Antonio turned and watched the lift counter above.
[ Floor 9 ]
He moved and clicked the button.
[ Floor 8 ]
BANG!
A bullet tore through the door again.
[ Floor 7 ]
Step. Step.
Step. Step.
'Two pair of footsteps.'
[ Floor 6 ]
He lifted a large decorative pot, uprooted the innocent plant inside.
BOOM!
The door burst open and one of the agents tried to peek through but was immediately blinded by the mud hitting him square in the face.
"Argh! Stay back, he's-"
Antonio snatched up the fork and knife scattered across the floor and hurled the knife in one fluid motion. It punched through the first agent's eye, burst out the back of his skull, and buried itself into the stairwell wall with a wet thunk.
For one second he just stood there, swaying, the knife still quivering behind him.Then brain matter and blood sprayed across the steps in a fine red mist, flecks of bone clinging to the walls like shrapnel. His knees gave out. He hit the ground in a heap, one boot twitching against the railing before going still.
The second agent flinched, his foot slipping in the spreading pool of gore.
He had killed men himself, more times than he could count, all of it sanctioned, clean, distant. But this wasn't that. This was something else entirely. Precision without hesitation. Brutality without anger. Strength that hadn't dulled even after a chase that should have worn any normal man down to nothing.
'What in the hell are we actually chasing?'
[ Floor 5 ]
The second agent was already retreating when Antonio flung the white tablecloth at him. The agent opened fire on instinct, emptying his clip into the falling fabric. Antonio came around the side of the door, drove the fork into the side of his throat.
Squelch! Ripp!
[ Floor 4 ]
The second agent twitched, his whole body locking rigid around the metal buried in his neck.
'Not enough.'
[ Floor 3 ]
He pressed harder. Deeper.
Squelch!!
The tines tore through skin, then muscle, dragging through cartilage until the front of his throat split open like wet paper. Torn flesh hung loose around the wound, exposing the dark, glistening mess beneath, his windpipe pulsing with every ragged attempt to breathe. Blood poured down in a steady sheet, soaking into his collar and pooling at his boots. His breathing turned into a wet, broken whistle, the kind that only goes one way.
[ Floor 2 ]
Again.
Squelch!!!
The last twist tore straight through what remained, snapping a vein and an artery at once. Blood burst out in a thick arc, some of it splattering across Antonio's coat. The agent's legs buckled and he dropped, completely still.
Dead. Drop.
Three grenades sat in each of their uniform pockets. Antonio collected all six and slid them
inside his coat.
[ Floor 1 ]
"Haah... Haah... Haah..."
[ You have arrived at your floor. ]
[ Please enter and select your floor number. ]
Antonio stepped inside and pressed [ 37 ].
[ Going Up ]
Then he slid open a small hidden panel beneath the last button. A red button sat behind it. He pressed it, and acceleration hit him like a battering ram.
[ Floor 3- ]
[ Floor 6- ]
[ Floor 10- ]
...
[ Floor 34- ]
The acceleration began to slow.
[ Floor 36 ]
[ Floor 37 ]
[ You have arrived at your floor. ]
[ Plea- ]
BOOOOMM!!!
The doors had barely opened when the helipad and the helicopter sitting on it were destroyed in a single blast. Seven more helicopters already had the top floor surrounded, hovering in a wide circle, lights sweeping the rooftop.
He rushed to the edge before the lasers and bullets could find him and pin him down.
"STOP RIGHT THERE! DON'T DO ANYTHING RECKLESS! SURRENDER AND WE WILL LET YOU LIVE!"
'So they really didn't plan on killing me...'
'They want to see how I assimilated with this thing.'
He looked down at his hand. The black substance was moving there, slowly crawling across his skin like it had a mind of its own.
Multiple agents came up behind him, all armed, all aimed. Seven laser sights from seven helicopters. Loud sirens screaming all over the city below.
'So this is how I lose...? In such a pathetic way. Not even death. Just becoming a lab rat...'
An imposing looking agent stepped forward and began speaking.
"Antonio! ARMS UP! NO MOVEMENT! You are under arrest for leaking intelligence to a foreign country, treason against the state, and theft of an unidentified item from a-"
Antonio said calmly, his hand still resting inside his long coat.
"You want it along with me. Alive. For your little experiment, don't you?"
The agent paused. A dark apprehension appeared on his face.
'To be this calm when completely surrounded... what is he thinking?'
Antonio slowly began to pull his hand out of his coat pocket.
'He is complying... but his eyes... what is this feeling...?'
"Antonio Moretti."
He said it almost to himself.
"Remember the name."
'Like Hell will I ever let them take me.'
He pulled all six grenades out at once, threw them into the formation in a wide arc, and then stepped back off the edge of the roof without a single moment of hesitation.
"SHIT-"
"HELICOPTERS CA-"
"YOU MADMAN-"
BOOOOM! BOOOOMM! BOOOOMMM!
BOOOOM! BOOOOMM! BOOOOMMM!
"H-ha... ha ha... HA HA HA... YES!"
He spread his arms and legs wide open as he fell. The sun was breaking through the horizon and the building reflected it back at him, a massive dome of fire, smoke and debris collapsing above him as he dropped through it all.
It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen...
Then a thought came back to him.
'All of them are going to be devastated...'
'Well, this is for the best. For everyone.'
'But if only I was strong enough... what if I had made the other choice and listened to Rin...'
'Sigh.'
'So be it.'
Was his last thought before the darkness took him.