When it was time, Anastasia met me out in the main area of the shop. A current client was being entertained, but other than that, it was silent. I took in her full black clothing, sighing slightly. I was wearing my usual army surplus clothing, khaki jacket, thick black boots, dark jeans and a black shirt. A knife in each boot, twin gun holsters around my ribs.
"Your hair is long. Tie it up and have a small splash of colour. All black is too obvious with your looks." I turned away from her, resisting the urge to check my rounds again for the third time. I rolled my shoulders, stretching over and over making sure I was limber as the night began to darken, stars clouded.
Anastasia was back a few moments later and I could feel Gloria's gaze upon me.
"Good luck." She mouthed as I picked up my heavy 'gym' bag managing to steady it well on my back without any weapons showing. Not even the extra gun stuffed into the back of my jeans. As we strode out, I did not look back. I could not. Anastasia did not share the same weakness.
It wasn't long until we were back at his work building. Less than a week's worth of preparation led up to this.
Anastasia was of course frustrated by my not including her in the minor details. I do not want her to know how to do this when I leave. Especially not if she enjoyed it. God forbid.
"So... Why are you carrying that when you could just... Teleport it when you need it?" I rolled my eyes briefly as the warm sigh pulled from my lungs lifted my hair.
"Conservation of energy." My steps did not falter once as the building came up into view. I need to pull this off right. I told myself as we came to the front doors. Anastasia paused for a moment before hurrying as I began to shoulder through the revolving doors.
"What are you doing?! Shouldn't we like-" My voice broke over her own as we came to the first floor of the building, the standard three security team in place as expected.
"Hi there!" I drawled, cutting off my vowels similarly to Alaric. "We could do with some help." One of the three sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Let me guess. First time in big city and you're lost." The other two let out chuckles, to which the first joined in. The bag strap burned as it fell out of my hand and I moved.
The floor pounded under my feet, once, twice, three times before I vaulted over the desk. Vision burning red. Twisting, the dagger in my left boot dug itself into the neck of the foremost security guard. A dark red flower slowly blooming in the thick syrup of time. Everything was tainted red but I knew the real colour of each shade of red.
Landing in a crouch, I spun kicking out the leg of the next closest body. My other dagger found its target in his chest and drove down hard. With less effort than should be needed, I twisted it slightly before glancing up to the last man standing. There was a glint in his hand as it slowly swung up in an arch aiming for my own chest. Gun.
With a snarl I abandoned my dagger and pushed. We fell tangled together in a heap, his head knocking off of the ground with a dull thump.
My breath came out haggard in red clouds as I fisted my hands in his rough sandy yellow hair. With a yell of strain, I pulled before forcing his head down with all of the strength I had within me. A crack formed in the ground underneath his head. Again young one! AGAIN!
The crack grew larger into a complex spiderweb. Then it began to fill with his hot life blood. The same colour as my burning irises.
With a start I rose, collecting both of my daggers again, wiping them on the dead's clothes. My feet staggered slightly as the world sped back up to its usual speed. Vision still glowing red, I struggled to control myself and my breath.
I dragged the bag back up, my back beginning to form the tightness that meant it was not going to be happy when I continued. As soon as I faced her, Anastasia shrunk back from me, horrified, and my red vision died. Sharp pain briefly stabbed into my chest, underneath the ribs. Ignore it. Weapon first. Person last.
I moved to the control panel behind the main desk. Digging my fingers into the edges, I ripped the screen out with a small snarl. With the panel and the men gone, there was nowhere to run. If the information I had... Acquired was correct. It had better be.
It did not take long for the two of us to start our ascension. Elevator noise hummed as the floor numbers blurred. Adrenaline still thrummed loud in my ears. The reflection of Anastasia's mouth opened before slamming shut loud enough for her teeth to click.
"Do not distract. Need. Focus." My voice was thick with my native accent as my teeth ached. I can't let the Rage loose. The nameless Rage. The only part of me able to do anything worthwhile in this world.
Formed when you have been broken before you have even begun.
I allowed myself to stretch slightly before my mouth opened again in a more New York accent. "Stay back, out of danger. We can not have you getting hurt." Her reflection nodded briefly as the floors kept going up.
"It's a long ride..." She murmured moments later, breaking the silence. We climbed higher and higher, stomachs churning.
"Obviously you have never been to Dubai." I muttered, my body shuddered slightly from the adrenaline as I tried to hold on to it. She stared at me for a few moments. Mind working. "How many?" Four more floors.
"I don't know. I-I-" I waved my hand at her. Three...
"Doesn't matter. Main thing is I can use the guns now that we've gotten between him and his control panel and the other panic room in the floor below." I checked one, my bag tilting slightly and almost pushing me over. Two... "Stay within the elevator, to the side."
The clip slid in with a final click. One... The doors opened slowly, Anastasia's body throwing itself to the side as silence rang out. I strode forward, dropping my bag to the side outside of the elevator.
The silence was eerie. Not even my steps made a sound as I rolled on the tips of my feet.
The calm before the storm as they say. My eyes began to glow red as my whole body thrummed with red hot energy. "Knock knock. Pizza delivery." I rolled behind a cubicle as bullets began to fly.
I could hear Anastasia scream as I scrambled from one cubicle to the next, my heart hammering in my eardrums, deafening the sound of dispensed bullets. 7 automatics. Most likely with back-ups. I grinned a harsh grin. All teeth.
The room fell silent again as they began to spread out. They had to be American ex-military. Standard dispersal was assured. That meant that there would be one coming to my right at any moment, another off the side and behind. Now. Young one.
I shot up in an instant delivering a singular head shot, blood spraying and almost touching my boots.
The next red shape was exactly where expected. I snarled as I let out three rounds straight into his chest.
Bullets rang out in my direction and I sprinted, jumping onto a desk and over the cubicle wall, rolling as soon as I touched the ground. 20 paces left.
I darted through the rows, then up and over yet again. I landed on another ex-soldier. Knees bracing against his lower chest as I fired three more rounds straight into his chest. Too much ammo! My trainer roared in my head but I did not care. Position slightly compromised I dropped an empty gun, a Kunai forming in my hand.
It flew straight towards its target. The throat.
Wet sounds began to leave his body and mouth as I rolled over towards him, a stray bullet grazing into one of my legs, ripping my skin and jeans. My second gun unloaded a singular bullet into his head as the blood from his throat spurted up at me.
Warm iron that was not my own filled my mouth.
My teeth ached as I spat out the blood and stopped clenching them. 4 targets down. MOVE SOLDIER. The cubicle wall in front of me exploded, my feet automatically throwing me backwards into the next one.
The blast briefly distracted me, my mind automatically flashed, feeding the Rage with a single moment in time. The first time.
My body flushed red from the memory, of rough skin against smooth and I roared. Soldier-NO!
I dropped the guns, pulling out the twin daggers. My arm had various cuts on it to match my opposite leg but in that moment I didn't care. I just wanted to RIP THEM APART!
Ignoring the obvious strain on my body I teleported to the next closest, the daggers lengthened before they began moving in circles, ripping any flesh in their way. Twirling, teleporting, slashing. Twirling, teleporting, slashing.
Body thrumming, cool sweat against my warm skin as I let go. Let the Rage out to do what it did best. Destroy.
Before I knew it I was standing surrounded by bodies, covered in blood.
Ten. There were ten of them. The thought was empty. No emotion behind it. Frost had hardened in the left side of my chest.
My whole body burned as the Rage began to die. Chest heaving, I fell to my knees, the impact making my aching teeth click together. Do that again, and we will KILL YOU. The memory of sensei was faint. The pain and weight of it all gone to my shaking body.
A spear of pain cleared my mind. I had bitten my tongue. I could feel blood dripping from my mouth that was a mixture of my own and the glutter with a Kunai still stuck in his throat. I groaned at the taste of his blood in my mouth, teeth aching.
Anastasia's head poked out of the elevator door at the sound of the silence. I watched with my dull red gaze as her face turned pale, then green.
My hair was as drenched with blood, as were my clothes. Each heave of breath that left my mouth spat out tiny drops of blood that glittered in the artificial light.
My ears faintly heard the sound of her vomiting and crying.
I stood up and began walking over towards her. She flinched and fell back, hand coming up as a barrier between her and I. I stared at her as I picked up the bag and dragged it towards the middle of the floor, in the middle of the mess I had made. You are the greatest weapon there is young one.
The familiar last words of my ex-Sensei rang in my ears in Mandarin. His natural language. I pulled out a small device from the bag and jammed it into my pocket before shutting it back up before Anastasia could see what lay inside.
"Y-You just-" Anastasia looked like she was going to vomit as she slowly followed me, trying her best not to look at the bodies.
"Did my job." I muttered without looking at her as we walked up to a heavy door. "What I was trained to do." She gave me a long look as she watched me move. With a grunt I rolled my shoulders before kicking once, twice, three times at the door with all of my strength before I rammed it open with my whole body.
I pushed Anastasia back and heard her fall as I teleported past the three screaming bullets and knocked the gun out of the target's hands. "Oh no you don't."
My stunned companion glanced through the doorway as I hauled the older man towards the centre of the room, dagger at his throat. My dishevelled look seemed to terrify him and I wondered just how horrifying I looked even to an ex-military man. "Do. Not. Move." My lips pulled back into a sneer as I nodded Anastasia in. "Hello there Eric. We need to talk."
"M-M-My name's not Eric." He stammered, shaking. An army general reduced to this? What has America come to? "I'll tell you anything you want to know." I leaned back slightly, the knife had left a small cut below his jaw. It now just rested threateningly.
"Project Shoah." As soon as the words left my mouth, the man's blood drained more. Apparently that was possible.
Then the anger came.
"What?! I'm not even a part of that! I voted against it!" I glanced to Anastasia who kneeled down across from me and hovered her hands on either side of his temple. He groaned slightly, feet pushing against the ground.
"He's... Telling the truth." She reached out and placed her hand on my sweaty forehead. Pull away. Do not let her touch you young one. Her sweat mixed with my own. A coldness matching that in my chest.
Images flooded through my head, they were fast, but not fast enough.