Project: Socialize (Chapters 198-Continued) [Hiatus]

313. Loose End

Friday morning, when I had called in sick from work, I was actually technically still working. I had checked the destination on my phone and was preparing myself to make contact with Nil by myself, something that even I would consider to be rather risky as I was alone. However, all I could do was hope that the information I have was enough to scare him into submission.

I reached into the plastic bag and retrieved the stack of photos that I had printed out. The photos were of a little girl whose sixth birthday was celebrated in loneliness following the death of her single mother from a freak car accident a few months ago. This little girl is Nil's granddaughter. However, she does not know of Nil's existence as her mother, which is Nil's daughter, had cut off all contact with Nil after learning about his criminal history. 

The little girl was raised by her mother and her mother only, with her father having abandoned them when the girl was not yet born. Therefore, following the death of her mother, the little girl is thus orphaned with her only living relative being Nil. However, the girl does not know of that and neither does the orphanage. However, Nil knows. Maybe it was his sense of guilt, but he has been watching over the little girl, protecting her from bullies at school and occasionally buying her gifts. To this little girl, Nil is simply a kind stranger. However, for Nil, this little girl is his granddaughter who he loves.

As I observed the pictures, I heard a knock on my car door window. In response, I replaced the photos back into the bag and concealed it underneath my chair. Then, I rolled down the window. Like expected, the man that had knocked was Nil, whose eyes widened when he saw me.

"Care to talk for a minute?" I asked him, smiling in a confident manner as the moment of surprise on his face already signaled my victory.

Nil and I relocated to a nearby parking garage. I drove to the very top floor of the building to ensure that there was no one nearby. Then, I stepped out of my car to finally speak with Nil.

"I'm sure you recognize who this is," I said, tossing the plastic bag on the ground by his feet.

Nil knelt down and picked up the bag. He reached into the bag, causing the bag to rustle, and retrieved its contents. When he saw the photos, his eyes widened in shock. Immediately, he glared at me.

"Relax," I said to him using a calm voice. "This is your granddaughter, right? Now living in the Erinza Branch of the Palsiia Orphanage."

"What do you want?"

"I'm sure whoever recruited you to help with Sturz is offering you political asylum?"

"..." Nil remained silent, but immediately I knew that I was correct.

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" I asked, beginning my scheme to start pressuring him. "We can offer you the same protections if you choose to cooperate with us."

Nil remained silent and kept his head low.

"Even if Sturz was to succeed, you still have to leave Vilheim," I continued. "Do you really want to take that risk while having your granddaughter with you? If caught, she will be sentenced similarly to you despite her age. Besides, even if you do manage to escape with her, do you really think it will be easy for her to be embraced by the new country? I'm just going to present this simple question to you. Which is better for her? Staying in the same country that she is raised in, or go to a new country with you and risk being tracked by the Empire? We can offer you an absolution for your crimes as well and you can live with your granddaughter."

"..." Nil continued to remain silent. Then, with a sigh, he started speaking once again. "Ambris Tower. 475 Ingriz Street, Sefilig. There's a secret passage that leads to the closest underground parking lot nearby."

"Thank you," I said, opening my car door and entering through the driver side. "I'm sure you know the consequences if your information is incorrect. I don't care if she is a child. She's dead."

Nil did not lie to me, and we were successful in exterminating the Verilion gang. Now, it was my turn to uphold my promise today. Like expected, Nil is making his way towards the orphanage. In his arms, he seemed to be carrying a stuffed animal, and on his face was an excited smile. Joy and relief must have dulled his senses as he did not seem to notice any abnormality in the crowds around him as even though he had entered the locked down zone where the nearby civilians were all plain clothes police as well as some Casters. He did not notice the sudden change in atmosphere, or maybe if he did, he did not care. He probably thought of it as another layer of security since he knows he is still technically a criminal.

As he neared the orphanage entrance, a small crowd exited through the front door. Among the crowd was his granddaughter. Upon seeing his granddaughter, Nil's face lit up with a smile. However, that smile was short lived as I stepped into his vision directly in front of him, blocking him from proceeding any further. Nil stared at me with a look of surprise to which I responded with a silent shake of my head.

"So this is what it is," he sighed, his arms lowering to his sides while his right hand still held on to the toy gift for his granddaughter. "You're no different from them, you know? You're a liar. I should've known. Neither you, nor those people could be trusted. There's no difference between you."

"I never said I was," I responded calmly. "It's your fault for believing. It's your fault for believing that government representatives will honor promises. I'm sorry, that's not how this world works."

"You—" Nil's anger started to swell up, but with a sideways glance I redirected his vision onto his granddaughter, who was smiling and laughing as she chatted with the adults that were walking beside her.

"It's just how it is," I continued. "You're a dangerous criminal. We can't just let you walk."

I then slowly started walking forward towards him. Nil did not move and simply stood there, dazed and defeated. When I am a meter away from him, I suddenly sped up, reaching into my holster to draw my pistol and press it against Nil's stomach. Then, I pulled the trigger, repeating it multiple times to send rounds after rounds of specialized bullets into the man's stomach.

His legs gave way underneath him, causing him to fall backwards and land on the concrete ground hard with a thud as blood spilled out of his body. Despite this, he still held tightly onto the stuffed animal bear. I stood over him, staring him in the eye as I raised my gun once again and emptied the remainder of the magazine in his chest.

"Don't worry," I started speaking as I stared at the defeated man who laid on the ground gasping for breath as blood filled his punctured lungs and flowed out of his body. "She's just been tested. She is going to become a Caster in the future. She will be taught to hate people like you, and when she is older, she will hunt people like you down."

From Nil's eyes, I could sense a hint of amusement, almost as if he did not care about his own impending death after hearing about his granddaughter's future. Maybe...maybe he prefer for his granddaughter to do the executing than be the one that is executed.

Slowly and using all of his remaining strength, he lifted his right arm, holding up the stuffed animal as if gesturing for me to give it to his granddaughter. I did not respond. Instead, I simply stared at him until his arm gave way and fell back onto the ground as he breathed his last breath.

"So that took care of it," I heard one of my coworkers sigh from behind me.

I reached down and grabbed the stuffed animal from his hands. I could tell that he had tried his best. He had tried his best to ensure that the toy is not dirtied, but despite his best efforts, it was soaked with blood. With a sigh, I tossed the stuffed animal to my coworker.

"Buy a new one," I said as I reached into my pocket and retrieved my pack of cigarettes and lighter. "Make sure she gets it."

I inhaled deeply, causing the ashes on the end of the cigarette to glow brighter before I exhaled and released the smoke from my mouth. The sky overhead was rather gloomy, which was weird as the forecast said that it was supposed to be a clear day today.