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We left the port as silently as we sneaked in, not daring to even breathe until we were a hundred meters away from the Protector, separated from his hiding spot by a row of shipping containers. Not knowing what else to do, we retreated back to the concrete tower, exhausted and disheartened. Now that I had retrieved the money, there was no point in climbing to the top of it, but we did it anyway, perhaps for the illusion of safety that being so high above the ground would grant us.
Back in the windowless, claustrophobic office, we sat with our backs against the wall, trying to come to terms with the circumstances. I was trying to keep a brave face, but in reality, my mind was on the verge of panic.
Mickey looked to be his last leg, though.
The physical exhaustion of everything that had happened from the moment Zero abandoned him up to now would be too much for anyone, let alone someone as frail as him. The strain on his body, the lack of sleep, hunger and dehydration made him look like a living corpse. Yet I suspected that his mental condition was even worse.
I knew I had to bolster his unraveling mind somehow, but at the moment, I just didn’t know how. I was having trouble keeping myself from plunging into despair, so anything that I could say to him would have sounded insincere.
Surprisingly, Mickey was the first one to talk. What disturbed me even more was that his voice sounded utterly calm, as though we were just having a conversation.
’Listen, Matt.’
He looked at me with a somber expression.
’Yeah?’
Mickey kept his eyes on me for several seconds, before turning slightly away.
’Just... listen and think about it carefully. I need your full attention.’
What was he getting at? I raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a question in my eyes.
’You have to leave me.’
’What?!’
The sound of my voice echoed across the bare concrete of the hallway, mixing with the sound of the wind. Mickey sighed.
’That’s alright. You and I both know that there’s no point anymore. I’m done. I’m finished. There’s nothing you can do to help me...’
’Bullshit!’
He grimaced.
’Listen to me for once, Matt! I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me. I couldn’t wish for a better friend, really. But you know as well as I do that there’s only one ending to this story. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I’m sorry.’
At the last phrase, his voice trembled for the first time since he started his speech.
’That is the only thing that I will truly regret. I’ve made my own bed, but you don’t deserve any of this. Knowing that there was someone... even just one person... good in this shitty world...’
He smiled bitterly.
’Well, it will make all of this a little less sad. So, thank you for that. Truly. It’s all over for me, however...’
His eyes glistened.
’It’s not too late for you. Listen, I thought it through. You are just Category 6, and all that you’ve done is roughing Mitchel’s goons up a little. Mitchel and the B... the Protector are not on good terms. If you play your cards right, you can use her and their rivalry to shield you from all the consequences and walk out of this scot-free. Especially if you provide them with information about Zero. I’ll tell you all the details. Think about it, Matt. Please.’
It was as if our roles have changed. Mickey was being rational and analytical, while I was simply refusing to properly consider everything. I didn’t want to.
’No.’
There was disappointment on his face.
’Just think, Matt!’
I looked at him angrily.
’Don’t give up just yet, Mickey. We still have options!’
He laughed.
’What options?’
’We didn’t even really try yet! There’s plenty of ways to get out of the city apart from the most obvious. I just need time to come up with a plan! We... we can hide inside a garbage truck and catch a ride to the nearest landfill. Or, or try going through the water drainage pipes. Sure, they are probably blocked by metal grates, but it’s nothing two wraiths can’t handle...’
’It’s useless, Matt. Everything we can think of, they had thought of as well.’
’You don’t know that! We can...’
I didn’t finish the sentence.
Because it was then that the darkness behind me spoke in a familiar voice:
’That’s enough, zero six eleven.’
The sound of that voice stroke me like a thunderclap. I froze, feeling such terror that every hair on my body stood up. My heart almost stopped, sending a wave of palpable pain rolling through my body. I sensed bile rising in my throat, a sickening weakness spreading through my limbs. It felt like I was inside a nightmare.
But it was real. The Protector... my Protector... was somehow here, real, and behind us.
Mickey and I jumped to our feet, turning around in desperate haste. We backed off, stumbling over pieces of junk that were littering the floor. The Protector, calm and collected as always, stepped into a strip of moonlight, standing between us and the door.
She looked as she always did, casual and relaxed in her simple nondescript clothes, with dark hair and attentive eyes that could pierce your very soul with one glance. Her hands were empty, her posture non-threatening. Yet I could feel that every muscle in her body was tense and brimming with unreleased energy. Like a lithe matador facing against a furious bull.
’H-how... how did you f-find us?’
I stuttered, ashamed of the fear she inspired in me.
’Does it matter?’
Mickey was frozen like a statue beside me.
The Protector slowly rose her open palms, showing us that she was not armed.
’This mess has gone on for long enough. Don’t you think?’
Despite her soothing tone, her pleasant features and her peaceful attitude, I couldn’t help but feel like I was staring at a monster. With her dark clothes and pale skin, she looked like an apparition, and her calmness, so out of place in this situation, terrified me beyond belief.
’Calm down and listen to me. If you stay calm, we can all walk out of here in one piece,’ she said slowly, making sure not to move and scare us.
Her eyes darted from me to Mickey and back, betraying a hint of nervousness for the first time.
No, not nervousness. Concern.
’No one has to get hurt today.’
I opened my mouth, trying to say something, but nothing except for a soft whimper came out.
The Protector moved her gaze to Mickey, an almost imperceptable shadow of tension finally appearing on her face.
’Calm down, thirteen twenty. Don’t do anything you will regret.’
I turned my head, looking at Mickey. He was trembling, a strange expression frozen on his pale face. Something wasn’t right with him, but I didn’t know what. The wind howled, ruffling my hair. What do I do? I tried as hard as I could to think, but my mind was blank and empty.
The Protector added a bit of authority to her voice.
’Don’t do it.’
What was she talking about?
Mickey licked his lips.
I was stunned, not knowing what was happening and what I was supposed to do. My mind was spinning, trying to hold on to the threads of broken thoughts assembling and falling apart under the strain of panic. I couldn’t cope with the onslaught of shock, hopelessly trailing behind the turns and twists of the situation, dumbstruck.
’Do not do it, thirteen twenty!’
Mickey looked at me. His eyes were telling me something, fear mixed with sorrow mixed with guilt shining through them and piercing right into my heart. It was a look that told me that he was sorry. It also made me remember what Mickey had once said to me in his apartment, remembering how his father left this world.
No one deserves to die in a cage.
’DON’T!’
Mickey’s face suddenly changed, his eyes now filled with resolve and anger. Everything was happening too fast for me to comprehend. He moved with incredible speed, turning back to face the Protector and rising his hand.
But the Protector was even faster.
I didn’t notice where the gun in her hand came from, or how she pressed the trigger. I only heard the deafening sound of the shot.
The bullet hit Mickey in the eye and went out from the back of his head. His skull exploded, blood, brain and pieces of bone hitting me in the face like a wave. I blinked, paralyzed by the loudness of the gun and the horror of what had just happened. My mind was lagging behind, failing to comprehend it. Time slowed.
Mickey was dead.
The thought came, and I didn’t believe it.
But Mickey was dead.
His body was slowly falling to the floor.
It couldn’t be... could it?
But he was dead.
The Protector killed him.
I looked at her, still struggling to understand what had just happened.
Mickey was dead.
Her face was contorted in a grimace of anger and disappointment. As though in slow motion, her eyes moved.
Something inside of me moved, too, waking up.
The Protector looked at me, and there was a strange thing written on her face. It was half-plea and half-order. As though she was simultaneously asking and commanding me to stand down.
But the thing inside me was awake now, brimming with killing intent.
The Protector’s pupils widened, and time accelerated again. Her hand moved, as fast as lightning, aiming the gun at me. And before I could react, the second shot rang.
Time stopped.
But it didn’t.
I wasn’t dead.
The Protector and I both stared at each other, shocked, trying to understand what had happened. Then we both saw it.
My hand was raised, and the bullet that was supposed to hit me in the chest was frozen in the air in front of it.
I remembered a conversation I had with Mickey after fighting with a gang of thugs in a dark alley.
What about a gun? Can you stop a damned bullet?
No one can stop a bullet.
... But I did.
The Protector looked at the bullet, then me. For just a moment, she froze. And by the time she started to move, it was too late.
I unleashed all of my Ability, sending her and all the construction materials stored in the windowless office flying. The Protector twisted in the air, unfazed, opening fire even before her feet touched the ground. Bullets screamed past my shoulder, but I was already running. I crashed into a drywall, breaking through it in a waterfall of debris, and stumbled into the hallway. I ran as fast as I could, heading for the stairwell, but suddenly there were lights and voices coming from it. Sliding on the floor, I turned and lunged in the opposite direction, giving the team of Protectors no time to start shooting. There was another stairwell at the opposite end of the hallway. If I could only get there. If only...
But the far end of the hallway was full of light and people too. I saw dark figures moving in my direction, assault rifles aimed and ready to fire. Cursing them, I turned into a small hall and ran, ran, ran again. There were no stairs at the end of this hall, only an empty window leading to a deadly fall.
But there was no choice now.
Without slowing down, I jumped.
Just like when jumping off the roof of my apartment building, I enveloped myself into Affects making me as light as a feather, and glided down. Only this time, there was no pipe to control my descent, nothing tethering me to the building.
I was in free fall.
And free fall meant death.
The wind slammed into me, throwing me against the concrete wall of the tower. I crashed into it with force, feeling my bones moaning and my flesh tearing. The pain washed my concentration away, and I lost control of the Affects, feeling them slip away and plunging down as fast as a boulder. Disoriented, I tried to summon them back, but the wind hit me against the wall again, shaking my mind and almost making me lose consciousness.
The ground was flying fast in my direction, getting closer and closer. I struggled to breathe, panicking.
Almost at the last second, I finally managed to get my Ability to act, turning the world upside down, anchoring myself to the sky. The pull of the Ability was not enough to stop the fall completely, but it managed to slow it down enough for me to survive.
I hit the ground hard and rolled, yelling in pain. Finally coming to a stop, I remained there for a few seconds, trying to inhale, unable to move. Then, staggering a couple of times, I slowly stood up. I was beaten and broken, covered in dirt and blood -- my own and Mickey’s.
But I was alive.