Creed of the Leviathan II

31 | M

 Franky and I were not on good terms as we got off on the wrong foot. And neither of us wanted to step down from the thrones we put ourselves on, to apologize. Clay knew this very well, hence this trip to Prague. Once I saw the asshole's face, I knew I was right, it was indeed just another test. Clay had been trying for months to get us to be civil and this, our first outing together, was the right test.

"Anything we need to know about the meeting?" I inquired.

"Yeah," Franky answered whilst assembling his firearm, "Don't get yourself killed." he pointed it at me. "More importantly, don't get us killed."

I maintained the eye contact, even when his weapon was pointed at me. When I turned my head to look straightforward again, my eyes met with Clay's, who was quietly observing me. Perhaps he was expecting somewhat of a reaction from my side. 

"Anything else?" I directed my question at him.

"Tomorrow's meeting is about having a civil conversation with our client. I don't have any expectation of it going south. My experience with him has always been positive." He stopped for a second, "Just a slight change has been made to the deals and well," He sighed, "We need him to understand us." The conversation discontinued after Clay's answer. 

I stayed awake through the whole twelve-hour-something flight. With the uncountable challenges I faced since joining the organization, I no longer feared death. But being in the same space with Franky, I refused to allow him the chance to physically get to me. By the looks of his struggle to keep his eyes open; the same thought was going through him.

I had chugged about five cups of strong coffee by the time we landed. My heart was speeding like it was about to stop. I was either nervous or the coffee was making me shaky. The pain behind my burning eyes did not make it easier for me. I declined the help of the airport workers and carried my two bags myself. Clay and Franky behaved accordingly. Once their feet hit the ground, they did not look back at our plane nor at their bags. They embraced the 'welcome' we got from our associates and walked through the place as if they owned it.

We were transported to a hotel, which is privately owned by the same associates. It is at about a ten-minute distance from where we landed. We got settled, went over our game plan, which Clay presented to us and after that they decided to drive around the city. I stayed back to get some rest for the day to come.

I turned on the shower to get the water running whilst I unpacked the stuff I needed. Suddenly, a sound came from the main area of my hotel room. I took a few careful steps into its direction. I stood in the door opening and let my eyes scan the place, until it fell upon a soda can on the ground. My eyes narrowed into slits when my eyebrows hugged; How did that get there?

The thought had barely passed when a bat came swinging my way. I was quick to block it with my forearm and my fist moved forward in a reflex to whomever swung it. The bat fell to the ground, and they could now only rely on their fighting skills. I did not have time to process the why or who, as we continued taking hits and pushing at each other all around the room. A hard push from my opponent made me crash with my back into the wall, making a painting fall and break to pieces. 

I held both arms up, covering my head from the many punches that were lanced my way. I created an opening by unexpectedly kicking the person in his crotch and began punching non-stop until he was on the ground. He was not giving up and tried to create an opening of his own to get our positions reversed.

But I stayed on top. I had not come this far and sacrificed this much to die in a random hotel room in Prague, not for this fucking organization. The fighting continued and my blood was leaking from my busted lips. The strong taste made its way into my mouth.