“I spy with my little eye something beginning with C”

“Me?”

“Talk about narcissism… of course not!”

“Oh, errr… really? Cloud?”

“Bricks and grass are already off the list… and box is a little too easy.”

“So you thought cloud would come to pass?”

“Go ahead, hotshot, your turn.”

A week had already passed and Czesch had been ever so weary by Sabrina´s warning. Things were about to get worse and, in Old Crone´s terms, that meant truly horrible events were about to unfurl. But nothing happened, as days went by and Czesch found himself going more and more to the Bloody Bastard´s crib, where there was finally some movement within.

Calling them a gang would be a disservice to most well organized and funded criminal organizations in town. They were troublemakers, sure, but within the limits of what´s standard, not enough to be deemed as “gang-like”. Pete wanted a change to all that, to become a fully-fledged group for the mafias to hire. There was opposition to the idea, mainly from Djura and Czesch, the former because getting mixed up in more dangerous ventures would put his family and little brother at risk, and the latter because Pete was bound to use Czesch´s connections to rise up in power. And the last thing Czesch wanted was getting more involved with the Italian mob than he already was.

Over the week, Pete had been acting strangely, always looking to pick up fights and show his resolve to… well, himself, since no underworld leader seemed too impressed by his show of force. Part of that attitude was commendable, but the other was repugnant in Czesch´s eyes. What good came from beating some poor boy in the street whose only crime was being in the wrong side of town? Who gained anything valuable from it? Definitely not Pete, since he ended up scraping his knuckles, and the boy would definitely get a week or two in a hospital. Then there was the talk about jobs and other contracts… the Kid wanted none of that, and already gave him his ultimatum:

“I´m staying clear of all of this nonsense. Have fun playing cutthroat while it lasts.”

From that point on, there was a resentment on Czesch that only Pete and his right hand man, Tony, started openly showing, calling him a coward and a fag. The rest were mostly indifferent about the matter, mostly siding with Pete but acknowledging that Czesch was also in the right. Djura kept his stance as well, stating that this bellicose state of affairs would get them nowhere, but he´d lend a hand if needed.

Czesch and Djura met a couple of times to discuss the Pete ordeal. Djura knew that doing nothing would just exacerbate the problem, but he was unsure of which course of action to take. Czesch ended up assuring him that he´d help in whatever he was planning. And he meant it, since out of all the people he had known, Djura was probably one of the last links he had to his old childhood self, the one before the war, the “assassin on the works”… and he was also a friend who could spot the storm in the horizon.

And a week after the festival there they were, in the crib´s lawn. Djura was the only person missing, having said something about helping his little brother Dima with something. Pete was having a practice brawl with the rest of the boys, most of them half reluctantly engaging. Only Pete, Tony, Reuben and the twin Johns seemed to be taking it seriously, the rest only trying to avoid getting too hurt. Czesch and two girls were pretending to be getting a tan, due to the huge clusters of clouds forming. Rain would pour down on them soon, and they´d have to get inside the hall reeking with the scent of sweat and cheap alcohol.

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with D.”

“Douchebag?”

“…Real smooth, Annie, but no.”

“Is it door?”

“Close to it, but no, Tiff.”

“… I´m drawing a blank.”

“Me too.”

“No wonder, it was a hard one… desperation.”

“Oh, come on!”

“It has to be something you see with your eyes! It´s not fair.”

“I mean, I can´t be the only one that sees it.”

The two girls had to agree when looking at Pete. His obsession was now getting the better of him, the illusion that by starting from the bottom up and showing his worth he´d get a place in one of the important families running things around town. Knowing his record, the only place he had a chance of getting was with the Brits managing the southwestern district, and their snottiness would get in between Pete and a high place in their ranks. The fact that Pete was going to such high risks just for the possibility of getting in there was troubling.

“Shouldn’t you talk to him, Annie?”

“You think I haven’t tried? He thinks you are the one who put the idea in my head… couldn’t be further off the truth.”

“So, Czesch, do you believe he´ll get worse than this?”

“I can guarantee it, I´ve already met his type before… and I want nothing in on it.”

“Didn’t you say you met your uncle and were really glad you met him? I thought you´d be pumped for some illegal work.”

She wasn’t entirely off-base with that assessment, but it lacked context in regards to what would actually happen if he were to take his father´s legacy.

“That´s one thing. An entirely different one is helping Pete get points with Uncle Teo, that´s never going to happen.”

“Guessed as much… he is becoming more proficient at beating people up, you have to give him credit for that much.”

“True… but the kind of work he wants to do is not just that.”

“Really? How much do you know about being part of a mafia?”

“I know enough to tell you that it works like a company: Don´t listen to your boss and you are fucked… and Pete´s problem is that he wants to be his own boss. An incompetent one at that.”

“That… yeah, that´s definitely him. Can´t take away the obvious.”

“I can only hope that he can get his mind to something more-“

“Hey, Czesch!!! Come over here!”

And Pete it was, calling Czesch over. He sighed, getting up from his seat and coming towards him. The rest of the group were sweating and bruised, laying around to catch a breath while Pete stood triumphant over all of them. Czesch had been getting glimpses of the fight, and it had been nothing more than a spar. Hell, even his usual sparring had more bruising involved.

“What is it, Pete?”

“These guys are already spent and I need a real challenge!!! I want you to fight me, one on one!”

Czesch couldn’t help but sigh again, contemplating the possibility of just punching that stupid grin from his face and be done with it, then immediately realizing that was what he wanted from him.

“Pete, you do realize I don´t go fighting unless there´s a good reason for it? Besides, the only reason I beat Hank wasn’t just because you asked me to, I did it because I was helping everyone in the process.”

“Well, you are helping me get better and, in turn, everyone else!! Come on, fighting like this is fun, you know that much!!!”

“Only fools would enjoy fighting for the sake of it…”

Those words took Pete´s grin and transformed it to anger. He didn’t like being called a fool, that´s how he got into that fight in the disco. And Czesch meant all of the disrespect when calling him a fool. The fact he enjoyed the suffering of others without reason… he couldn’t help but remember Iosef as he looked at him. And the memory was a grim one.

“You calling me a fool!? You are going to regret that, asshole!”

The leader of the Bloody Bastards began hopping with a  boxing pose, only pissing off the Kid even further.

“Oh, get a grip already!! You are so full of yourself you can´t even see that it´ll all end up blowing in your face sooner rather than later!! You are going to think that you are going places, that you will get to the top of the pyramid and have your own strip of town… and then you´ll see everything crumble around you. Give it up and try doing something more productive, this road will only take you to a place you don’t want to be.”

“Really? All I´m hearing is some fag giving me a lecture that I just don´t give a fuck about!! What, talking much from experience right there?”

“… If you are trying to piss me off to get a fight, I´m afraid that won´t work. Besides, we both know what the outcome would be.”

“You got lucky with Hank and you know it!! I could probably beat you even in my state!”

“I… seriously doubt that. Just chill out and-“

Pete delivered a jab at Czesch´s head, who parried it with his right arm. The hit was a strong one, but he didn’t let his arm budge, choosing to stare him down instead of retaliating. Upon seeing this, Annie rose from her seat and ran towards them both.

“Guys, calm down!! Pete, he doesn’t want to fight, don’t force him to-“

“Don´t you dare get involved, Annie!!! I´m fighting this bastard and you of all people aren’t going to stop me from kicking you friend´s arse! Have I made that clear enough!?”

“Pete, just stop being an idiot and listen to-!”

“What is that? You want to be next!?”

Those words came like a trigger. The last thing Czesch wanted was for the fight to escalate into getting other people hurt for his sake. The idea made him feel sick, so he owned up and decided to teach him some decency. While Annie still struggled to realize that her boyfriend had threatened her, Czesch took a step back, stretching his arms and legs.

“Fine, you want a fight? You´ll get a fight… just know I´ll go easy on you to make sure you don’t end up in too bad of a shape.”

“Don´t get so cocky, because you are going to be the one biting the dust in the end!!”

Pete got into a fighting position so obvious that Czesch ended up sighing again, making him realize he was sighing way too much and that he should stop it. The leader of the Bloody Bastards was going for a feinted left strike to conceal a right punch to the groin. It was such a telegraphed strategy Czesch didn’t even have to think twice about his posture. He would let Pete play with that “smart” tactic and turn his feint into a grapple with which to throw him elsewhere.

The prospect of a fight was so pointless in Czesch´s mind that it concentrated on another sound. The front door was creaking, but everyone was concentrating on the fight apart from one of the fighters. Someone was entering the crib and Czesch´s attention turned immediately to the door… only to find out a gruesome sight awaiting.

A bleeding man, his face contorted and twisted by a beating, was limping into view. His right leg was smashed in several spots, being dragged with great effort by his remaining operable leg. His torso filled with cuts and bruises, two fingers on his right hand cut straight from the base of the bone and one of his eyes crushed into a sickly-looking gel.

Time seemed to stop as he made such a grim entrance, as Pete went for his telegraphed move, as Annie urged both of them to stop and as Czesch dodged the attack and shouted at the same time, his cry echoing as he rushed to his comrade:

“Djura!!”

Djura´s body slowly fell down, back against the door. He coughed violently as some blood came out, letting Czesch know there was internal damage. He quickly checked him out to confirm the wounds that could be seen. He had to treat those first, otherwise he would lose more blood than he already had.

“Get me a fucking first aid kit!! If not, strong alcohol, magazines, wood pallets, anything that I can use to fix him up… What the fuck are you looking at!?!? Go!!”

Annie was the first to make it inside, while the rest looked for anything that could be used as a medical tool. Pete stood there looking at Djura, as if he had suddenly seen a ghost. Annie finally arrived with a first aid kit that had barely seen any use in years. It still had all of what Czesch needed to start work.

Even if Rob was the one in charge of patching them up on the field, every member of the SOT still had knowledge of first aid. The Kid had been through the motions enough times to understand the importance of every little tool in that small box, as he moved in to start closing those wounds he deemed more dangerous.

“…C-Czesch… Czesch, is… is that… you? I-I can´t see… why can´t I… why can´t I see!?”

He started twitching, forcing Czesch and Annie to hold him down until he grew tired.

“Djura, calm down, you are going to be fine… I´m patching you up, so just hold on tight and stay strong, alright?”

“Czesch… Czesch, they… they…”

“Focus on controlling your breathing, don´t waste your strength for now!”

“… Armenians… it was… the Armenians…”

“What are you on about? What Armenians? Are they the ones that did this to you?”

“Revenge… they were… oh god, they…”

“Save your breath, Djura, I´m almost done… I´ll give you some morphine to help with the pain.”

Czesch finished bandaging Djura up. His life was hanging by a thread, the Kid knew that much. That kind of punishment on such short notice must have been incredibly traumatic, especially for a guy as calm and collected as him. Czesch knew for a fact that even if he made it out alive, he wouldn’t be the same. He prepared to give him the morphine shot, but Djura´s bloody hand stopped him midway. He was struggling to get his mouth open, but to no avail. Finally he managed to utter a single word:

“Dima…”

Czesch froze solid for a moment. His little brother… why had he mentioned his little brother? He couldn’t be concerned about him when his life was in jeopardy, unless…

“Djura, where is your brother!? For the love of god, tell me!”

“He… was with… me…”

“Fuck´s sake, where is your brother now!?”

“… Save… Save him…”

“Where, Djura, where!?!?”

“…Regent… Street…”

He finally gave him the morphine shot and calmed him down, stopping the remaining bleeding and making sure he´d survive for a little longer… but now there were more pressing concerns than Djura. Czesch knew that if they had gone through Djura like that… Dima wouldn’t be better off at all.

“Make sure this one gets an ambulance!! I´m going after Dima!”

People cried his name as he bolted off into the street and towards the place Djura had mentioned. He was sprinting, lungs burning and throat taking air in and out in a matter of milliseconds. His legs were stomping so hard that if the ground wasn’t made out of concrete he would have left an imprint on it. He was on a rush and he wouldn’t stop for anything.

Part of him knew he was late to the party, but he kept on sprinting nonetheless. He couldn’t leave it alone, he had to go see if Dima could still be saved. If the Armenians had been so thorough with Djura, Dima would probably still be among them, being held as a hostage of sorts for whatever reason. Czesch had no weapon and no plan, but he´d find a way to set him free of his captors. He had to, for Djura´s sake.

He reached Regent street, so he started scanning for any sign of Dima or his kidnappers. He found traces of blood from Djura´s extrenuous trek back to everyone (It must have taken him almost 30 minutes to get there, having lost much of his blood on his way there), and traced them to the point of origin. He found nothing there but broken glass and blood, but he could hear the laughs of young men nearby. And such laughs could only be filled by a petty victory like beating up a student going around the corner with his little brother. Czesch traced  them to a construction site with its door opened mid-way. He  took a peek to check his chances… and he wish he hadn’t.

Czesch was a firm believer that no human being was born evil, it was merely the world that molded them into committing acts of atrocity and destruction. Innocence is one of the first things that vanishes as a world born of cruelty and misery opens up to humans. Then they are given a choice in which path to follow (that or they are forced by causality into a pre-designated one) and often times that path leads them to act in ways that human beings should not. He had seen time and time again men devolve into monsters, heros who had slain so much evil that they turned evil themselves. That was the world he had grown up in: A world where the line between monsters and humans was drawn in very fine chalk.

He thought of that as he witnessed something he had never laid eyes upon in the battlefield. No amount of rape, of torture, of cold-blooded murder, of sadistic pleasure… none of it compared to what he was witnessing. It was so surreal, to think that kids his age, boys born in a town with food and water, with shelter and friends… boys who had options that the Kid never even got a glimpse of, that they could commit such cruelty…

…For little Dima, that poor high school kid, was being hung as a human piñata from his feet, with his feet struck with iron nails… as his assailants were taking turns in battering his head with an iron rod the size of his head. The boy had fallen unconscious from the pain, but even without being awake his eyes were still watering and the pain still soared his sobbing.

Czesch felt sick, as he had to take a moment to understand the unexplainable. Why… why, oh, why… Why were those kids taking turns into battering the head of a child who had done nothing wrong? What was there to gain? Who did it benefit? How much would it take for them to realize the wrongfulness of their actions… if they even got to realize it in time? Would they even come to realize it? Had they gone beyond their humanity already, at such a young age?

He looked again, and he got even sicker. Not just by Dima´s poor state, but also from the expressions in the faces of those people: Pure ecstasy. They were getting off at killing a human being in a crude way like that. One of them finally hit an incredibly strong blow at Dima´s head, causing it to literally explode into a mass of gore and flesh, which splashed one of his companions. There was no digust in their expressions, only fun and laughter. Dima was now a headless body, dangling from a rope as blood dripped from his missing top.

Czesch took a deep breath and started to run back to the crib. Vengeance would have to wait, since he wasn’t in a position to take so many people out.  Dima couldn’t be saved, and no matter how much he gritted his teeth that fact would not change. But perhaps he could save his childhood friend from sharing the same fate. He clinged on to that idea as he ran back, muttering the same words over and over as he remembered a warning that had come out not too long ago, a warning that foretold this set of events:

“Why are you always right about this shit, Sabi!?”

He returned only to find things were going even more horribly wrong. For one, Djura was still there, which didn’t make any sense at all. An ambulance should have arrived in the amount of time Czesch had taken to leave and return.  To make matters worse, he had tried to move and had reopened one of his wounds, losing even more blood. People were frantically trying to stop the bleeding as Czesch told them to dissolve and let him handle it. He managed to seal it back again, but this time Djura looked even paler than usual. He had little time left and no goddamn ambulance was on sight.

Annie rushed over to him, seeing that Djura was unconscious and gaining some relief.

“Czesch!! What happened!? Where is Dima!?”

“… Where is the ambulance, Annie?”

“What? C-Czesch, didn’t you go for-“

His irate look was already answer enough. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

“I know what I went to do!! Now, for fucks sake, tell me why there isn’t an ambulance here at this second!!”

“Because we didn’t call one.”

Pete´s voice rose among the quick jibber-jabber of excuses thrown between the other members. He looked grim and defiant, with also a small glint of sorrow.

“Wha… What do you mean you didn’t call one!? For the love of god, Pete, he´s dying!!”

“We can´t allow ourselves to call one, we are already at risk.”

The Kid couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He moved away from Djura and faced Pete directly head-on, almost breathing into his face.

“Risk!? He´s at fucking risk, you mongoloid prick!!! He has lost most of his blood and unless we get him to a hospital quick, he´ll-“

“I can´t let the Armenians figure out this is our base! I´d be putting everyone else in danger if I did!”

“… Everyone else? Why would they-?”

It finally clicked. The Armenians were monsters, by-product of a cruent war on all sides by which many were forced elsewhere, but they were still capable of reasoning. Now, why would they attack a small gang like Pete´s? Why target one of their members? Why the show of brutality for everyone around to see? It was a warning, a declaration… payback, that´s what it was. And there was only one act why they would want payback that Czesch could picture Pete doing… and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

“You stole from them. You stole from the fucking Armenians… and you had Djura help you out without him knowing about it!! He lent you a hand without a second thought, and you knew they´d be tailing him… You… You got him like this…”

“…He got careless, and he paid for it-“

Dearly, only the word never got to Pete´s tongue as Czesch moved as fast as he could to grip his throat and start strangling him. He wasn’t going to kill Pete, simply lock him in place and make him suffer a bit… for he deserved that much.

“It was your bloody responsibility! Your goddamn scheme, not his!! Well, congratulations! Thanks to your sorry plan, his brother is now hanging upside down with nails to his knees and his head used as a fucking piñata and he´s been banged up so badly he may never walk again!! And you have the nerve… the fucking nerve to not call for an ambulance and say it´s his fault!?”

“As a leader… I have to-“

Talk about leadership only got the Kid into an even more bitter mood. He smacked his head against Pete´s, a loud crack echoing through the walls.

“A leader that lets his men take the fall for him!? You are no leader,  you are a worthless piece of shit, the scum of the Earth!! I´ve seen cowards with more guts digging their own fucking graves back in-!!

“Czesch, enough!!”

It was Annie. She had grabbed him from behind, trying to get his attention away from Pete. Her face was contorted, as if about to cry but holding the tears back due to willpower alone. She made him realize how futile it was to slam words that weren’t reaching his ears, that no matter what he did Pete would remain as stubborn as he could. Yeah, he definitely reminded Czesch about Iosef, way too much.

He turned around to her… and her face couldn’t be graced by another word than by despair. She looked hopeless, and scared, an even worse look than the one after the fight with Hank.

“Save Djura… please, make sure at least one gets out…”

He dropped Pete, who started breathing for air like a madman. Czesch then grabbed Djura, making sure that his wounds wouldn’t open during the trek, and loaded him on his back. Pete was right on one thing: The Armenians were smart enough to be waiting for an ambulance to drop by  the area to pick Djura up, and that way they´d figure out where he had gone for help. It was a disgusting tactic that Czesch hated to admit he had used back in the war, killing medics to ensure the other side wouldn’t get treatment.

The skies started to darken, a bad omen and worse luck for the wounded man, whose wounds would soak and probably re-open. Czesch cursed his rotten luck as Annie handed him an umbrella, her face as grim as the skies above. He thanked her quickly and turned to the rest of the group, as well as Pete, to give his ultimatum:

“After this, I´m officially leaving this blasted group. It has been fun, but I´m afraid I don´t share the maddened views of your leader. Hope you have fun going to hell early!”

Then he moved over to Annie. Her face was red with the effort of not shedding a tear over the tragedy in the works, so Czesch responded with a grin, one that tried to be reassuring while failing miserably at trying to hide his growing anxiety.

“I´m sorry, A, but I´ve had enough crazy leaders high on power for a lifetime.”

And so the first drops of rain started to fall, mixing with the stench of death in the air.

As the rain poured, one had to wonder how the people of Harville had reached the point where the events of that day could be considered “passable”. They would be condemned, but no action would be taken to address the situation, a mere show of talking would take place about how demoralizing and inhuman it all was and every rat would return back to their little hole… a bit like Pete, only Czesch knew that was an entirely different case.

Djura wasn’t particularly heavy, but it didn’t take away from his weight. Carrying a man like that far enough was taking its toll on Czesch after that last sprint, but he´d pull through nonetheless. The last thing he wanted was to have another dead man on his conscience.

“C…C-Czesch…”

He had managed to wake up. There was some hidden strength behind all the calm and rationale that he feigned all day. He was a bit restless, so the Kid thought it best to keep him sane.

“Calm down, buddy, I´m getting you to a place where they´ll fix you up in no time!”

“Why… Why aren´t we… at the crib?”

“… Let´s just say that Pete has turned out to be a bigger asshole than I realized.”

“I see… fuck me, this stings a bit…haha…”

Seeing a sense of humor still retained in a man about to breath his last was equal times reassuring and concerning.

“You have a lot of nerve saying that…”

“What about little D? Is he OK?”

What could he say? “Hey, Djura, I´m sorry but your little brother has had his head knocked off with a bat and his body horribly mutilated before being killed, sorry for your loss”… That was enough to force a struggling man to surrender…

“He´s alright, don´t you worry about him… focus now on staying awake, alright?”

They finally reached a spot where Czesch deemed no maddened Armenian would pop over and ruin their day. He phoned the emergency number and explained the situation as best as humanly possible without going into much detail, stating he had found him like that, laid down upon the rain and bleeding.

Upon hanging up, he checked on Djura again, seeing that his wounds hadn´t reopened and then sitting next to him, watching the rain as they both waited for the ambulance.

“So… shitty day, huh?”

“Shittiest… god, it hurts… to breathe…”

“Try not to talk too much. I´m not entirely sure how your insides look, but I can assure you that they can´t be too pretty.”

“Fuck… last time I listen to Pete… bastards caught us… Dima was learning how to ride… a bicycle…I didn’t see… this one coming…”

“… Wish I did, buddy… but you better not give it up just yet, your parents will break my arms if I let you!”

They had a few endless minutes of silence, with only the rain reminding them that sound did exist.

“…Czesch…”

“Yeah?”

“I´m sorry… so sorry…”

“What are you on about? You´ve nothing to be-“

“Wrong… cough, cough… you are wrong… I´m sorry… for leaving you… behind.”

So that was it… Djura and his family got out from the country at the start of the conflict, while the Kid´s didn’t make it past the 1st week. Losing a friend like that to something as difficult to come to terms as war… it must have weighed heavily down his conscience.

 “You went through hell… and we left you behind, you and your parents… I always… regretted that… you died…”

He put his arm on Djura´s shoulder, shaking it to remind him of the obvious.

“I didn’t, so don´t feel that way. It wasn’t your fault at all.”

“I´m sorry… sorry…”

“You´ll have plenty of time afterwards to feel that way, huh?... Djura?... Djura!?”

Pulse was gone from him, which meant Czesch had minutes to fix him up before he got cold. He started performing CPR on a body mauled and broken on all sides. Risky, quite so, but still better than just letting him become a corpse. As he did so, the ambulance finally decided to arrive… right at the nick of time.

“I´ve lost him! I need help, quick!!”

The thread was millimeters away from being cut completely.

During his evening stay at the hospital, Czesch had plenty of time. Time to make calls, to gather information… mainly to think. And the last thing he wanted to do was think about uncessary worries, so he decided to call Giusseppe about having a meeting with Teodoro.

“Aahh, Czesch!!! It has been a while! Thought you wouldn’t call us with your busy schedule!”

“Neither did I… listen, I need to meet with Uncle Teo, preferably tomorrow. Is it possible?”

“Of course!! Il Signore Galvo will always save a couple of minutes for you, the usual place will do… then, what will this meeting be about? I doubt it has anything to do with reminiscing the past.”

The Kid took a few seconds, taking a deep breath as he laid out his intentions.

“… I´m angry, and the worst thing this town has managed to pull so far is getting me mad.”

“Czesch, I don’t think I follow.”

“Certain individuals have decided to mess up with me… and I´m going to give them exactly what they are looking for.”

“… And that is…”

“War. A war that they´ll never be able to get out alive from… I´ll give them a slice of Armenia…”

The other end of the line suddenly got quiet, then a full-blown laugh erupted out of thin air.

“… Hahahahahahaha!!! Sign me up if you are planning on getting your hands dirty!”

“You´ll be the first to get a heads up…Talk to you later, Giusseppe.”

“Pleasure hearing you, Czesch! I´ll give you the time and place when I get it!”

He hung up, feeling that a major weight was out of his chest. But his heart was still heavy, since Djura was still on the tightline. The last 2 hours had been spent in the operating room, with Czesch making calls to get the info he wanted. Luckily, Blue Sparrow´s contacts in town were still somewhat active and he managed to form a plan of sorts. He´d avenge Dima… he just hoped, deep inside, he wouldn’t have to avenge his brother.

He thought about the times before the war, when they played together, when he started getting picked on by other kids and Czesch rushed over to help him and Dima, and how Jack would pop over to scold Czesch over not being as quick and efficient. He had always tried that, helping out those in need, jumping into danger to fight it… being a knight in shining armor. That had been his dream, one sparked from the only children´s books he got to read… a dream that would never be.

Monsters are born from humans, and humans turn into monsters the moment they forfeit whatever ethics or morality held them together in favor for a quicker solution. And Czesch had chosen the easier path before, and had regretted it time and time again. There was no easier path when it came to killing for survival, you either did it or died trying… but that knowledge alone didn’t make the task any better. Pulling the trigger on someone who is begging you to… He had done it. And would do it time and time again, until his untimely demise at the hands of another survivor like himself.  

Because that is who he was. A survivor, a hired gun, dead-set on fulfilling its objective and-

“Czesch Travaly?”

A doctor had appeared in front of him, his white robe a dead giveaway, calling his name as it had been called another five times beforehand.

“T-That´s me!! Sorry, sir, I was-“

“I can guess how you were… I´m doctor Robert Balshin…in what way are you related to… Djura, is that how you pronounce it?”

“I´m… you could say we are very old friends… h-how is he?”

“You… better take a seat again…”

“… Say what you must, doc…”

The words rang void, but hurt the same. To him, each flap of the doctor´s mouth was another knife to the chest, a bullet to the torso while wearing no Kevlar. It was pain, torture, having to hear those same words, followed by that sorrow that followed every conversation with a doctor. I´m sorry for your loss… those words burnt badly. What loss? Djura? Sabi? Bloody Bishop of all people? How many had he lost? How many would he keep losing?

He wanted to scream, to rip out his throat to shout even louder, to feel the fury rush through him… instead, he said what he really had to:

“It´s alright… y-you did your best…”

“It´s a damn shame… had we got to him sooner, we might have had a chance…is the boy´s family-?”

“They are… on their way. T-They got caught up with another problem.”

“Hmmm… my condolences… you may not be family, but I know losing a friend can be… hard at its best… lost my best mate in Iran… well, I shouldn’t keep you here any longer. Again, sorry for not being able to do anything else.”

“It wasn’t your fault… t-thanks for everything.”

And he really meant it. Djura´s chances were on the lower side of the equation and luck had been with him until those last moments. Czesch was cursed by his Will to live, and he sometimes forgot that normal people weren´t mentally prepared like that. He accepted death not because he couldn’t fight it, but because he knew fate would find a way to hurt him but keep him breathing. In Djura´s case, his body just grew tired and fell asleep.

Czesch exited the hospital and walked towards the rain, forgetting his umbrella inside. The soothing sensation of the droplets falling on him was a great one, even though it wasn’t quelling the anger within him. He simply let time pass, hoping that it would go away… knowing fully well it wouldn’t. It was a sensation of rotten nostalgia, of the kind that always reopens old wounds.

His phone rang… it was Annie of all people. He didn’t want to take it, that was the last thing he wanted. He answered anyway, knowing she would call again and again until he picked up.

“Czesch!?”

“…”

“Czesch, are you there!?”

“… Annie…”

“Oh god, Czesch, where are you!?”

“…Hospital…Cromwell Hospital”

“I´m on my way, just hang on tight and-“

“Don’t bother…”

“What do you-“

“I said don´t bother with it, they´ve lost…. he´s gone….”

Silence. What else could be said that wasn’t already scarring enough? He wanted to hang up, walk through town and get some rest, have some time to think. To stop himself from doing something he would regret. He could hear light sobbing from the other side of the call… and he couldn’t care less about it right then and there. He was too filled with grief to take heed.

“… Annie.”

“…Y-Yes?”

“Can you tell Pete something on my behalf?”

“W-What? What do you want me to tell him?”

The words were in his mind. He just had to utter them and be done with it all, to make a promise that he intended on keeping.

“If I see his rotten mug again… We´ll have that fight we never got to start… and this time, he´ll be the one to end up in hospital… and I´ll take my sweet time making him pay for every wound my friend got for his sake!”

He hung up… and with that, his vengeance could start to come into play.

The trattoria  smelled of cheap air freshener and every single Italian sauce that could come to Czesch´s mind. He was getting a bit anxious, even though he had arrived 10 minutes early and the wait had only been of 15 minutes.  Uncle Teo had been the one to call and set the time , so it was weird to see that he wasn’t there to receive him… especially considering that the restaurant served as one of the many stronghold´s for the Italian mob and that it was one of Teodoro´s favourite places. Had something happened to him?

Czesch´s fears were put to rest when Teodoro appeared from the back, a smile forming in his face as he approached the table. The Kid stood up to greet him, receiving a kiss in each cheek, which only made the situation slightly more awkward. Seeing his reaction, Teo started to laugh.

“Hahaha, I keep forgetting you´ve barely been around here!! Take a seat, I´ll get you the best dishes the town can offer!”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Not two seconds passed and already there was a bowl of Italian pasta under a green sauce condimented to infinity. The smell only made Czesch want to carve into it like a butcher into a lamb, even though he wasn’t hungry by any means. After eating a bit under Teodoro´s amiable look, Czesch went straight to business.

“I´m guessing you know why I´m here.”

“In a sense… Giuseppe only told me so much. But I do know you´ve been making quite a number of calls in less than a day… all informants of ours, yet your motive remains unclear.”

“… Wow, OK, I… I guess your network is not as good as I-“

“I´m pulling your leg!! Of course I know what those Armenian stronzos have done and, trust me, I´m livid! If I get my hands on them…”

The Kid knew the man in front of him meant that threat. If there was one thing Teodoro was proficient at was at making people pay for double-crossing him, and he saw the possibility that he´d get tangled in a mess that Czesch

 “I´m sorry for your loss, bambino. From what I heard, he was from your village…”

“Probably one of the few childhood friends I had left, yes.”

“A sad day indeed… first that harmless ragazzo, then his fratellino...those bastards. I don´t think you want to know what they did with his body…”

“I can imagine.”

The memory of Dima´s body was… not as shocking as he remembered it. Maybe the shock value ran dry when the atrocity was well under wraps.

“OK… with that out of the way, you have something you want to ask of me in that regard.”

“Yes, it´s favor of sorts… I can pay up if you-“

“The last thing I want to do is force my nephew to pay for something he has for free!”

Czesch didn’t like that off-hand kindness one bit, even if it came from what was probably the last remaining member of his “family”. He bit his lip in frustration, taking a moment to repeat his stance on the matter.

“I… I can´t ask for help if I don’t pay you somehow. It´s just not in my nature.”

“Hmmm… how about you finish your pasta? It´s going to get cold soon.”

He checked his dish again, seeing that Teo´s assessment was as real as the noise made by the heating inside the restaurant.

“Oh, shit!”

“Finish it up. That´ll be your payment, how about it!? Hahahaha!”

Teo started laughing and coughing almost immediately. He was old, quite so, but he still had a fighting spirit inside of him. His disarming laughs were a godsend for Czesch´s internal turmoil. With one big heave, The Kid finished up the entire dish.

“Well then, now that payment is secured… how about it? What do you need Uncle Teo for?”

Czesch suppressed a burp, took a long swig from his glass of water and explained his pitch.

“I´m planning a hit on the Armenians… that said, I never work alone, or at least I try not to. So I need help.”

“Heh…learning from their mistakes, huh? Oh, this brings back so many memories…”

He was definitely caught off-guard by Teo´s sudden remembrance… and he suddenly felt the need to have him share that knowledge with him.

“How come?”

“Your parents… one was too proud to admit she liked working with others, and the other was afraid he´d hurt the person next to him… in the end, you probably know what happened with those two daft killers.”

“Were they really that alike?”

“Oh, god no!! Jackie was an insufferable prick and your mother a scary silent-type who always acted like she understood what you were talking about. They were like day and night!”

“I guess opposites attract…”

“So, what do you need me for?”

Seeing that the conversation was back on track, Czesch leaned closer to his uncle.

“I want to strike them a blow that will not only cripple them, but put them in a pinch for quite some time… and the only way they´ll end up vanishing is by getting in a fight they won´t be able to get out of.”

Teo´s expression suddenly turned grave, his eyes staring directly into the Kid´s.

“… You want to start a war… and you want to use us?”

“No, no!! The last thing I want is to involve all your people in this! I just need Giuseppe… I believe he´ll be enough.”

“And how are you planning on starting the conflict with just 2 guns, bambino?”

“I thought you knew the answer already… after all, you were planning something similar.”

Teo pondered for a moment, then a look of awe popped as he set his eyes on Czesch again. He started laughing again, even stronger than before.

“Hahahaha… The Russians? You want to set best friends against one another?”

“I know they are having a meeting tonight to discuss what to do against you people. I know the spot and I know for a fact who is going to be where. All I need is a second man to close the trap… and a way to get rid of the Russian negotiator. That way, we can tear the rope a bit and then move in with a proper cut!”

“Ah, Vassili Cherkov… man has had the Armenians by the balls, the vaffanculo… I´ll make sure he doesn’t make it, give those Armenians something to be angry about.”

“By the way, how is Giuseppe´s Russian?”

Teo couldn’t help but laugh, something to which Czesch didn’t even bother to respond with a smile.

“His Armenian is way better!! The boy is a prodigy with languages, that much I can assure! That´s why I like having him around, he´s full of surprises!”

“Ok then… tell him to meet up with me in Butcher Square at 21:00. I´ll have some disguises and weapons at the ready.”

“Giuseppe will bring his own weapons, don’t worry about him!”

Checking his clock, the Kid saw that he had to go back to his place and go over the plan once more before heading out. He got up, with Teodoro looking at him with a proud smile.

“… OK, if you excuse me, I have to set some things in motion… It´s… been a pleasure seeing you again, Uncle.”

“The pleasure has been all mine!! Stay safe out there, bambino!”

Just as Czesch made it for the door, Teodoro called him over again.

“Hm? What is it, Uncle?”

“… You look just like your father… just thought you´d like to know.”

Czesch turned around, sighing as he did so, and couldn’t help but mutter as he closed the door behind him:

“I knew you´d say that…”

As per usual in the UK, the rain swept the streets once more, only this time Czesch wasn’t planning to stand on it. He was waiting under the canopy of a pub whose owner thought it would be a great idea to put a terrace in the middle of the square. The metallic chairs and tables made clinking noises as the water splattered all over the plaza. And Czesch kept on scanning, hoping that Teodoro´s word was as true as his father had mentioned time and time again.

He wasn’t entirely fond of his father… that or he hadn’t seen him in so long that he had forgotten if he even loved him. The word “love” meant very little to Czesch, only another useless tether to a world that tried to kill him in every corner and failed miserably at it. His mother, Lenna, had been much more open about it, but Jack had been an oddball from the start, sometimes caring, other times outright abusive. The relationship between the three had always been tumultuous, but whenever one was in trouble the other 2 would jump to the rescue.

He smirked as he remembered the time he played being a knight with Jack, and how his “loving” father had kicked him and pushed  him around,  stating that: “Evil men tend to be quite strong, so don´t think I´ll go easy on you!!”. His father had been an evil man, and he admitted it time and time again, always with a grin on his face. Jack had always been a hard man to read, but inside that psychopath like mind there was a person who cared deeply for those closest, as Czesch had seen so time and time again when around both of them.

He didn’t know how they fell in love, nor exactly why they had to leave Harville… he only knew that their deaths were his fault. If he hadn’t grown ill, had he just been a bit stronger to endure the trip to the border… if only they had left him behind, they´d still be alive. But they didn’t, sacrificing themselves to make sure that he would make it… him and the rest of the people from the village.

Djura… thinking about him made his stomach churn. Thinking about anything related to his parents made his stomach churn. Thinking about Annie… a different churn, but sorrowful nonetheless. As he sighed to get that sensation out of him, he noticed a big umbrella being closed next to him, with Giuseppe inside, smiling and carrying a large suitcase with him.

“Took you long enough.”

“I live a bit far and my car broke down… so, Czesch, I was told we are hunting Armenians tonight, aren’t we?”

“You are hunting Russians, I´m hunting the Armenians.”

The Italian seemed quite happier than in their first encounter, clapping his hands together to express it more than eloquently.

“Perfetto! I want to show you my baby, have a professional murderer inspect my prized jewel before the shooting starts!”

“… How flattering…”

As Giuseppe started to open the suitcase and mount his weapon, Czesch made sure that there was no one in sight as they wasted time on pointless dick measuring. No matter the pointlessness of it all, he still wanted to check his Italian comrade´s weapon to see if it would fit in the hands of an Armenian madman. With the downpour getting only stronger by the minute, he doubted anyone would be daft enough to watch them.

“Here, have a look at it.”

An AR-15… an M4 most likely. It was light on accessories, still having the original M4 carryhandle sight and nothing on the rails. The stock made an already small carbine even smaller… however, Czesch noticed something. The gun itself was heavier than the typical AR-15 package, which forced him to look immediately for the magazine.

“… you are packing 7.62 NATO? In a carbine?”

“Hey, when I shoot at people I want to know that they will die whenever I pull the trigger… so, what do you think?”

“It´s impressive that you haven’t put anything on top, most people tend to hate these ironsights.”

“At least I can range them when the need comes… besides, most Armenians are packing this gun anyhow.”

That shocked the Kid even more than the monster of a weapon in front of him.

“Really? I thought M4s were expensive as hell.”

“Market has been going up and down recently. Sure, most lowlifes end up getting the cheap Russian AKs, but since the US is switching weapons so frequently there are just a ton of M4s and M16s lying around and being sold like doughnuts… thought a guy like you would have read something like that.”

“I… don´t handle weapon pricing or manufacturing. I´ve got a friend who does.”

The Kid handed the weapon back, not wanting to have his hands on it any more than necessary.

“Well then, what are you packing?”

He quietly revealed his sidearm, stretching his hand to let Giuseppe see better.

“I´m running in with my USP. Doubt I´ll need anything else.”

That got a chuckle out of the Italian, who had the cheeky smile of a madman.

“I´d say that´s crazy, but then again you are the soldier here. You sure you don’t want something with a little bit more punch?”

“If I need it, I´ll take it, don´t you worry.”

“Alright, suit yourself!... Man, god bless the forecast…”

The rain had dwindled down to a small drizzle, something that Czesch, Giuseppe and even the Russians and Armenians had hoped. Now the meeting could go uninterrupted and without complications from the weather. Giuseppe, having packed his weapon back inside its suitcase, started whistling as he made his way along with Czesch to the meeting point. The Kid merely appreciated that it was not one of his songs, or else he would have gone mad right that same second.

“I find it a bit funny.”

“What exactly?”

“The fact that you and your dad have ended up on different sides.”

“… Come again?”

“I mean, you work for governments, the supposed “good guys”, while he was only steps away from committing terrorism… just thought it was interesting.”

The Kid sighed, aware that he´d have to reveal the ugly truth about his trade sooner rather than later.

“You´d have to be extremely high or be a complete idiot to call the government “good guys”… bastards are like leeches most of the time, and if they aren’t corrupt and bloodthirsty they usually don’t pay very well… the western ones, that is. South East Asia and African warlords  at least don’t pay half bad.”

“Shit, is it that bad around here?”

“It has always been bad. Mercenary work is just that, getting paid to provide a service. If it´s protection work usually you end up just having to make sure undesirables don’t get close, and those are the boring jobs… but a hectic one, an assassination or a strike on rebels… have you heard about the war over in Azghar?”

“The so called “1-week war”? What about it?”

“I was there on my first assignment, and it had only been a short while since I left home. There wasn’t a single dull moment, we either got into cars and were told to shoot at people, or we were flown in helicopters to scout out whole kilometers of jungle, setting up mines, securing compounds, depopulating areas close to the fighting… hell, on that week alone I must have killed around 50 people, more if you count all the collateral.”

“Dio mio, that sure seems like a lot.”

“I´ve had worse… on retrospect, that contract wasn’t half bad. Honest work for honest pay… Stockholm, on the other hand… urgh, I´d rather not talk about that one.”

“Don´t worry, won´t pry… heh,you know, all this talk has made me want to join up myself if the opportunity arises!”

Seeing the loyalty for his boss being so low, Czesch couldn’t help but feel there was something Giuseppe was hiding.

“What about Uncle- about Mr Galvo? Thought you wanted to take his place.”

“And I´m grateful for what he has done, he really is an incredible man and I love working for him…but when he´s gone, I´ll have to think on something to do that´s as fun as this.”

“Wait, you don’t do it for the money? Or power?”

“The money is nice and all, but you need something a bit more basic, you know? Otherwise you grow into a complete stronzo.”

“Ain´t that about right…”

“Well, here we are!”

The factory where the meeting was bound to happen was derelict, the front doors opened up from countless gangs of young men making it their homebase of sorts, before immediately getting thrown out by the Russians. Such was the way in town, proprietorship switching hands by a simple contest of dick measuring. Czesch began walking around, checking if the information he had compiled was the right one as he explained the situation to Giuseppe.

“Alright, Russians are bound to arrive in… a few hours or so… they´ll most likely come from the other entrance and set up around the place, covering all angles and probably putting spotters in case the police arrive. Armenians will pop over 15 minutes after the Russians, and they are definitely coming through the front door. Our window of action is of 10 minutes maximum, so the moment we find an opening, we take it and roll with it.”

“Sounds good!! Should I wait for you or do you want me to take first blood?”

The Kid gave it some thought, finally giving in to the Italian´s request.

“… Armenian resentment beats Russian greed… fire when ready, I´ll follow up as soon as possible.”

“How do you want to meet afterwards?”

“If neither of us have died… how about back at Butcher Square? It´s a 15 minute walk from here.”

“Good enough… where are you going to wait exactly? Just so I don’t shoot your way, is all.”

“I´ll probably get behind some machine inside the main building. You should use the shipping containers around here to hide before your “brothers” come.”

That definitely got a laugh out of the Italian, who responded in a similar mocking manner.

“Yeah, I just hope your “comrades” are braindead enough not to spot me.”

They started going their respective ways, weapons at the ready,  as Giuseppe turned around and shouted:

“Bouna Fortuna, mi amico!”

“You too, prítel!”

For what a better way to start a friendship than by killing mobsters?

3 magazines, 4 counting the one inside the USP. 8 rounds each… that made for 32 rounds, which wasn’t as many as Czesch would have liked. He pondered if he should have brought his P99 for this killing-spree, since he was still more accustomed to 9-mm pistols and they had more ammo to chew through. Part of him knew that he wasn’t there on a job, so he had to try out new stuff on the field to see how proficient he was with it. Also, he didn’t want to discard his new handgun just because it had less ammo. It was powerful, and the Armenians would run away the moment they heard the deafening sound it made.

Dripping water echoed around the abandoned facility, where Czesch had the liberty of making himself a spot in the ground floor, right on the back of the compound. Leaks and other deformations of cheap metal made the place look perfect for a cheap horror house attraction… all it needed was the dead bodies and maybe Giuseppe and him could set up shop there.

As he was counting the different angles of approach, on possible enemy locations… on just about anything they could pull on him and he on them,  his phone rang. Why he had brought it on with him was beyond his rationale, probably out of instinct. This “vacationing” was getting to him, and it was definitely making him a bit more careless. Had the call happened during the meeting, he´d probably be riddled with bullets.

Annie… of course it had to be her. Right in the nick of time. He felt the urge to hang up, but the fact that another call would come made him weary of his chances. He had no choice other than to respond and make it quick.

“Czesch speaking.”

“Hey, it´s… it´s me… you didn’t come to class today.”

Even though she sounded dejected, he thought it best to respond in his usual cheerful self.

“Wow, are you actually lecturing me on going to class?  You, of all people? World has really gone to hell, hasn’t it?”

The silence on the other end was quite concerning… had he acted wrong?

“… Everyone has their way to cope, I see… I´m not… I´m not lecturing you, I know why you didn’t come today… just… I was just worried, okay?”

Now it was his turn to feel guilt, as he went from a crouching stance to sitting down in less than a second.

“He was a good friend of mine too, but it was much stronger in your case… and… I´m sorry, C… I really am…It´s worth nothing, but…”

“Annie, don´t be-“

“I can see that you are doing fine… in your case this must be the norm, I can see how you can move on faster than the rest of us…”

“…Annie, I´m-“

“It´s OK, it´s OK… I hope you´ll bother tomorrow, because I have to talk to you about something…i-it´s important, so… don´t leave me hanging… alright, sleepyhead?”

She didn’t even bother to hear his response, for she knew it was a yes. After all, it was just talking… at least that is what Czesch told himself. He knew for a fact that it wouldn’t be just that, but he couldn’t just stop talking to her… could he?

That last statement had caught him off-guard: “It must be the norm in your case”… was it? Was he used to the death around him? Could he brush off the death of a friend as simply as- No, no, he couldn’t. If he could, he wouldn’t be there, about to shed blood for vengeance´s sake. He was cold, but not to that point, so he would still act as he thought right. And, right then and there, that was the course his life had to take.

Vehicles entering the factory, definitely the Russians moving in, coming as Czesch had predicted. He hadn’t wasted time researching the place: Entry points, exits, hiding spots, cover… in a single day he had studied every scenario he deemed feasible. Then again, plans like his tended to go wrong the moment they started, which was the main reason why Giuseppe was there: To do some damage control at the end of it and make sure that the message got through.

The Russians started entering in force, AKs and some CZ-805s entering the building en masse, about 10-15 of them, which forced Czesch to hide even better. He couldn’t give into his position just yet, he had to pop over the moment Giuseppe started firing. So, he peeked over at the incoming ruskies, all nervous and probably trigger-happy. That was the main difference between henchmen and soldiers: the latter usually have the nerve to know when not to pull the trigger.

It seemed that Teodoro had kept his word. There was no sign of Vassili Cherkov, the top Russian negotiator in town, and if the Armenians did not see him then that would send alarms to their tiny brains, making a firefight more of a reality than a hopeful dream. Nothing would be more insulting than not sending their top man to negotiations as important as these.

He readied the USP quietly, as he scouted out the Russians. They were taking positions in a manner that made relative sense: Sure, catwalks provided a better line of sight, but they worked the other way around. Standing on top of one was just inviting anyone with a firearm to do some target practice.

Shortly after, more vehicles started pouring into the area. Armenians, arriving in full, ready to “talk” with their supposed overlords. They had grown in power over the last year or so, turning from mercenary support to their own small part of town to rule over as they saw fit. And it was with that growth that they wanted independence from the Russians in exchange for help with the Italians. But Czesch didn’t quite care for those politics… he just wanted some payback.

And payback he would be getting, since it seemed that the Armenians had just noticed that Vassili was missing. The spokesman for the Russian side was trying to invent some sort of excuse, but the Armenian envoy put it down through a threatening outrage, as henchmen in both sides took the safeties off of their weapons.

All that Czesch needed to hear was the sound of an M4. That was the green light for engaging and he doubted Giuseppe was planning on anything “sneaky”. Maybe he had been captured, gagged and ready to be delivered to the Russians. Perhaps he had run off, his talk of camaraderie and violence not sitting in with his view of the situation. Or maybe-

“Down with the bloated bastards-“

That was the only part Czesch understood of Giuseppe´s muffled outcry (he was wearing a balaclava to disguise himself, as well as Czesch and most of the henchmen in there) as his gun started blaring the song of the 7.62 round, shattering against metal, wood, bone and flesh.

And so, the party had started.

At first, the Armenians were undecisive, some aiming their weapons  at the Russians who were now firing upon them and others rushing to get better positions, while a few tried to call for peace in a world only filled with the sound of gunfire. Those that started moving to better positions found themselves outflanked, for Czesch was already waiting on them.

His first victim was a man carrying an unmodified M16, who tried to aim for Czesch as he put his gun on the man´s torso, letting out two rounds of 45. ACP. He felt the kick of the gun as the man flew a couple of meters, just enough for Czesch to grab his gun and pry it free from the dead man´s grip. He now had an assault rifle in his possession, and he began shouting cuss words he´d learned from Buri during his earlier career in Estonia.

Another two Armenians were now aiming in his direction, suppressing the area as Czesch took cover behind leftover crates and machinery. 5.56 isnt the most powerful round, and the most it´s going to do is go through pallets of wood. With metal, it just ricochets around until it hits something you didn’t want the bullet to hit. Czesch took that into account and the nervousness of his contacts to force them to fire against the abandoned metal machines. It was risky to let so many bullets fly loose and unpredictably, but he figured it would do more good than harm.

And that it did, as one of the men firing at his position was hit by one of his own bullets in the thigh, forcing an outlandish scream in his native tongue as his companion moved to help, only to be cut down by a hail of M16 fire from Czesch. Another man tried to nail Czesch with a precision shot, but he was forced out of his position by a Russian firing his CZ-805 until the magazine was empty.

The firefight had got to the point where both sides knew their place and were now preparing a quick assault to end it all, since the police would get there shortly. Czesch wasn’t planning on dying right there or waiting for the shootout to end. He had already accomplished his goal: The Russians and Armenians now had each other´s blood in their hands and war would come between both factions, which would probably end with the defeat of the Armenians and the death of their criminal emporium in town. Plus, he had killed some of them on his way out, so he hadn’t left empty handed in that regard.

He shouted in Russian to feint a push, forcing one of the Armenians out of cover, who got sniped by one of the Russian henchmen in that direction. Taking advantage of that and suppressive fire, Czesch made a run for one of the exits, which was being covered by another 2 Armenians, who bumped into him. One of them, seeing him so close, went for a close-up shot, while his companion tried to find an opening to fire his weapon.

Czesch launched his stolen and empty weapon at the first attacker, the throw forcing him to take a step back as the Kid quickly grabbed both his sidearm and a knife. As the recoiling assailant tried to reorient his weapon, Czesch got close enough to land a stab towards the man´s neck, with blood slowly pouring out. The 2nd man started to scream and fire at the same time, which forced the Kid to use the body of his companion as a shield, as he fired his USP. 2 of the bullets missed, with a 3rd one bouncing off of the floor and shattering a knee, causing a monstrous scream that stopped once Czesch finished his victim.

He left the abandoned factory through a backdoor, the sounds of gunfire still echoing in the streets as the blare of sirens got closer and closer. He hid his weapon and, in an alleyway, proceeded to take off his balaclava, wipe away the blood in his face and clothing with it and then burn it. He now looked just like any ordinary civilian running away from gang-war gunfire.

As he made his way back to Butcher Square, he couldn’t help but think about his actions. Had he done any good by starting a war? Was it worth it for the Italians to maybe delay further conflict with their underworld brethren? Did this path for revenge accomplish anything other than spill Armenian blood on the street? Did he really believe that, having done something so foolish and risky, he would get Djura and Dima back?

He had an answer to that last question, and it was an answer he had given to himself so many damn times that it became a sort of personal code of his: Revenge may not bring back the dead, but ,when it comes to dealing with problems,  everything stops being about revenge and it revolves around cleansing the world of troublemakers. Sure, most people would believe that such a line of thought as nothing short of sickening, to think that killing people would somehow stop more killings. Such ideology was flawed for many.

Then again… his life had enough dead to fill the bottom of an ocean, so it´s no wonder he thought of it that way. It was the one thing he knew that worked like a charm…

He reached the rendezvous, where Giuseppe was sitting, whistling some tune and looking at the grey sky, seemingly pleased with himself. The suitcase was resting next to him, a seemingly ordinary businessman waiting for a cab or a bus. Czesch sat next to him, not quite in the mood for whistling.

“Say, have you heard about that nasty firefight down a couple streets? Nasty business, I tell you.”

“Yeah, I heard that a couple of fools started it by spouting bullshit in foreign.”

“Man, I hate those guys. They get on my nerves so damn much!”

“Right? And the accents? Terrible, way to show how poor the education system in this country is getting.”

They both couldn’t help but laugh. There were 3 hours left until dawn, they were sitting on a terrace which was still wet, talking as if it was midday and they were discussing the weather, after having gone through a close firefight. They were messed up in the head… one had to, just to stay sane after living through worse shootouts than that one.

“So, how many did you get?”

“Really? Are we seriously doing this?”

“Of course we are!! After all, I need to measure your badassery, mi amico!”

Hearing the world “badassery” from him suddenly turned the day around.

“Right… I´d say… around 6 or 7 confirmed.”

“Oooohhh, nice one! Really shows you people know how to handle yourselves!”

“And how about you? There were a lot of ruskies, but I didn’t see that many when I got out.”

Giusseppe couldn’t help but grin while looking at his suitcase, immediately looking at Czesch again.

“Sorry, but I kinda lost count at how many stronzos I ended”

The following morning came, and it did so quite slowly. Czesch wasn’t feeling well at all, especially since he had ended rounding up information with Giuseppe until dawn. True, he barely slept at night, but he did need the rest from time to time, and its lack came off as a burden as he entered the classroom. Apparently, Annie hadn’t made it to class, although Lucie and Jan made up for her lack of presence. After going through a shootout, he needed to get reacquainted with that new peaceful reality of his.

“Morning, Czesch!”

“Morning…”

“Man, you look beat! Are you feeling alright?”

“About the same as everyday… only a bit more tired than usual.”

“You didn’t come yesterday, and when we asked Annie she didn’t really give us an answer.”

“Right… Sorry for making you worry, I´m alright.”

“I can see that, you are taking your usual sleeping position… could you stop?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Urghh… what I really wanted to ask is if something has happened between you two.”

Czesch wasn’t really able to answer, since not even he was entirely sure about where he was standing in regards to her. She wanted to talk to him, but that was all he knew, as he understood that there was a clear divide between pre-Djura and post-Djura Annie… or at least it seemed like so.

“Whenever we asked about you, she´d throw evasives… even more than before, which is saying something.”

“Huh…”

“You need to speak with her, and badly at- woah!”

“What? What is with that face?”

“I barely noticed, but… Czesch, you have quite the scrape at your chin.”

“Errr… I do… huh…”

It was true, there was a wound there he hadn’t noticed before, a wound that Giuseppe hadn’t warned him about… and, most importantly, a scrape that he hadn’t felt. He should have felt a sting of sorts to warn him about danger, but it hadn’t popped up, most likely due to the adrenaline rush of being in a firefight. True to form, he still wasn’t completely out of the combat high, which was probably the only reason he was awake.

Old habits die hard, apparently… but they can´t keep someone like him awake like that for long, as sleep took over and continued on for 30-minute intervals. Only on the bell signalling the end of class for the day did he open his eyes fully to see a classroom already half empty. He stretched out and looked over at Annie´s seat, which was still empty.

“Jan, did Annie come to class?”

“That she did, but she didn’t dare wake you up… and… well…”

“What? Why didn’t she?”

“Are you sure nothing happened between you two?”

“What gives you that idea?”

“Errr, she looked a bit troubled when I gave her the idea to wake you up, like I´d regret it if I did so…”

“… Oh, shit! Don´t tell me she-“

She couldn’t know. Hell, half the city was probably still unaware of his little killing spree. And even if she knew, she couldn’t possibly connect him to the shooting. He had given her no reason to suspect him other than certain mentions to a past that was long over. No, it had to be something else…

“When did Annie leave?”

“A couple minutes ago, you can probably still catch her… if you want, that is.”

“I do… thanks a bunch, Jan. I have to clear some stuff up with her.”

“Well, good luck with that!! I´m off to study some more…”

“…Get your head off of the books every once in a while, man.”

“Did you say something?”

“Nothing! Bye!”

He packed whatever he had left on the table inside his schoolbag and launched off into the corridors, when he was immediately called by someone on the other side of it. As Czesch turned around, he recognized a face he had seen in class time and time again, although he couldn’t really- Wait, he was the class representative!! Of course, he had seen him talk to everyone when planning out the festival… his name was… his name…

“Ross, was it? Did you want something?”

“Hey! I finally caught you awake, thank god! Look, I need to talk to both you and Anna.”

“Us both? Annie left a while ago.”

“Well, I´ll just leave it up to you to tell her as well… Listen up, we are making a class party for December, it´s going to be awesome! We have the spot, the music, games, everyone has their story straight apart from you two, and seeing that you are always together… all we need is the most important thing…”

“Let me guess… drinks?”

“Aha, you are quick to catch on!! All the sleeping in class really gives you the wrong rep!”

“So you want me and Annie to gather the drinks for the party? And I´m guessing you aren’t aiming for orange juice and soda.”

“You got it right, mate! She can take everyone´s preference into a list, since she´s quite smart despite her looks… and you can go buy them with cash we´ll pool up, since… errr… you know…”

Maybe Ross thought implying the Kid´s age could be interpreted as some kind of insult… he couldn’t be further from the truth, as Czesch finished his statement with a smile.

“… since I look older than I actually am.”

“Quite, yes… so, are you up for that?”

“I´ll tell Annie about it, don’t you worry… you´ve my number, right?”

“Right! I´ll give you and Anna a call tonight to check things over on your end… oh, and Happy Halloween! Later, mate!”

“Happy… Halloween?”

Was it already November? How much time had passed since he had arrived in Harville? How hadn’t he noticed sooner? He´d have to ask those questions later, for he had someone to catch up to.

He made his way outside, with a couple of teachers reprimanding him for sprinting through the corridors. He knew what route she was taking, so it wouldn’t take him long to catch up to her… but what little sleep he had grabbed hadn’t really amounted to a full recovery. He was running on fumes, he realized that much as his lungs started to burn from exhaustion he hadn’t felt in a long time.

He finally caught up to Annie, who was taking it easy on her way back home. The sound of running did force her to turn around to see Czesch running towards her. For a moment, it looked like she was about to run, but something made her stay in place.

“Annie… j-just… s-stop… f-for a sec- oh god… huffff…”

“Czesch, are… are you alright?”

“O-Oh, I´m j-just… just… fucking hell…”

“You´ve only been running from school till here? It isn’t that far off, you know.”

“Oh, go to… huffff… go to hell… argh…”

“Sorry about leaving so early, I… I have stuff to do, so I couldn’t wait around for you to-“

“Annie, just tell me what´s wrong.”

His sudden serious tone definitely surprised her, only managing to annoy him further.

“Huh!? I-I don’t know what you are on about.”

“You don’t know what I´m on- Of course you bloody know!! You call me yesterday in THAT tone, telling me that you need to talk and its urgent… well, if it was so damn urgent, you would have waken me up without issue, you´ve done it before!”

“C, I don’t… I couldn’t tell you in class, that´s all.”

“We aren´t in class anymore, I hope you can see that much! So, care to explain what´s going on!? I´ve been worried sick!”

She looked to a side, seemingly attempting to gather the courage to reveal the truth to a Czesch who was patiently waiting with his arms crossed.

“… Any second now… I´m waiting…”

“… Do you… do you mind giving me another cooking lesson?”

“I´m sorry, wha-“

“It´s been a while since our last one, and I haven’t had much time to practice… I could definitely use the help, since I´ll probably burn my flat if I try anything… heh…”

“… Wait… so you are telling me that… all this was just to… No… Oh, no, I´m not buying this shitty excuse, Annie, I want-!“

“Are you going to help me or will you just stand there being a prick?”

“Oh, apparently I´m the one being a prick now!!”

“And loud as well.”

“For the love of- I´m just trying to make sense of this clusterfuck, give me a break!”

“It´ll start making sense the moment you help me out… so?”

Czesch groaned out of frustration, trying to vent all the passive-agressiveness bottled up inside. He felt stupid, running after her for such a stupid proposal… but maybe that stupid proposal would lead to whatever was troubling her.

He scratched the back of his neck and yawned. He wasn’t in any position to do any good or attempt an intellectual debate. He really needed the sleep.

“… Fine, alright, I´ll help… you buy the ingredients, I´ll come around at 7 to your place and-”

“Actually, I… I was thinking we could do it in yours…”

“Really? Really now, you expect me to just agree without wondering what the-“

“Trust me on this one… please…”

“… I´m growing too soft… fine, fine, you can pop over around 7… make sure not to be overly late.”

“Don’t worry, I won´t! See you later!”

And she dashed off, running like the wind, leaving Czesch wondering if his life was any different from before he had come to Harville. He was still seeing people dying in front of him, he was still killing either for revenge or cash, and women around him were making his life a living nightmare… it didn’t sound that different on paper. Then again, it could be worse… He could be forced to protect Annie under a contract.

That would take the litteral and metaphorical cake

The sun gave way for the moon, and Czesch had already cleaned up the kitchen for Annie´s arrival… even though he knew that it would end up a complete mess by the end of the night. If Annie was really such a messy beginner, then he had been smart by doubling his cleaning supplies on his way back home.

He was finally back in form after a series of afternoon naps that would have put one of Rob´s siestas to shame. He had checked the scraping on his chin as well as any other place were wounds would pop over… especially the right thigh. For some reason, he expected another wound to appear in that same spot. It unnerved him that a man could get wounded in the same place so many times... that and many other things.

A knock on the door, probably signaling that his guest had arrived. As he went for the door, he wondered if she had got everything in the list she had sent her. Not that it was much at all to begin with, it was only some groceries to help her into making a few basic dishes. The thought of eating something cooked by her crossed his mind and, for some reason, he shivered out of pure reflex as he opened the door.

“Come on in and prepare to-“

He wanted to use the expression “dip your feet in the ocean of cooking”. Sure, it sounds as pretentious as a B-rated actor trying to overplay his part, but it made sense to not just start up with a typical “Oh, hey Annie! Come on in!”. He stopped himself halfway upon realizing that the only way that expression could come off as would be as a half-assed insult, given the sight he had just encountered.

Annie was dripping water from head to toes, soaked to the bone literally, as she grasped two tightly closed bags while panting heavily. Czesch had noticed the rain pouring outside, but he thought that Annie would have been carrying an umbrella with her. She must have forgotten it at home

And even while trying to imitate a river and failing, Annie managed to find some humor in the weird spectacle she was providing.

“C-Could you hand me a towel? If I take any more water, I´ll turn into a fountain!”

“Bloody hell… come on in, you must be freezing!”

“Oh, I… don’t want to wet your floor by-“

“I´ll clean it up later, come on!”

She entered the flat, shivering and trying to retain as much body heat as she possibly could, while Czesch went for the bathroom to fetch a towel. He came back and couldn’t help but notice the transparency of Annie´s clothing as she took her coat away… he felt like he was living the life-long dream of a pervert. That or he was watching one of Karen´s anime come to life, much to his annoyance.

“Forgot your umbrella?”

“You could say so…thanks, by the way.”

“… You want to get those clothes dried up?”

“I… what?”

“I have some spares in my wardrobe… and you are going to catch a cold if you stay like that.”

“C-Come on, you don’t have to go that far!”

“I don’t have to, but I will anyways. You can use my room, I´ll start unpacking everything and  put your clothes to the drier the moment you´ve changed.”

“…A-Alright…”

She entered Czesch´s bedroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Czesch to do more unpacking and actually plugging the drier up. He wasn’t sure if it was a common thing to do when a guest arrived in such condition, since that was probably the 1st time he had welcomed someone in such a manner. From meeting clients and information provided by the SOT, he had picked up some basic notions of hospitality, but most of it came off to him as either too crude or too posh. In the end, he would do what he thought best. It was what he did most of the day, anyways.

After 5 minutes of unpacking, Annie came out of his room wearing a sweater and some jeans that Czesch hadn’t picked in a long time. He wasn’t too fond of casual clothes, since most of his options had to be maneuverable enough and have a darker palette more suited to stealth. He would wear military boots more often, but he was discouraged after one of Karen´s “dates, which ended up with one of her friends going to the hospital with a foot smashed to pulp.

“Does the word “colour” scare you that much?”

“I´m not a fan of flashy clothing… it´s not for me at all.”

Thinking about going to buy clothes forced a shiver down his spine, making the trembling visual enough for Annie to catch on.

“True… thanks anyways… sometimes you can be a really nice guy!”

“And here I thought I was being a good samaritan every day.”

“There´s a difference between that and being nice all of the time. You come off as a smartass more often than not.”

Her honesty was a welcome development. Seeing her acting like her usual self put the Kid´s fears on the sidelines for the time being.

“Would get boring if I went full 100% Ghandi on everyone.”

“I doubt you´d even come close… so, can we get started?”

“Sure thing, just let me put your clothes in the drier and we´ll start… oh, by the way, Ross talked to me just after you left!”

“Ross? Oh, the class rep! What did he want?”

Annie did her thing and sat in a chair, waiting for Czesch to get the whole drier thing sorted out.

“He wants us to buy the drinks for some party planned for December. Said you´d know what to   buy and I´d be able to get them with no problem.”

“He´s a very smart class rep, gotta give him credit for that… I´ll start investigating on my own once we are done here.”

After a bit of tidying up, he started the lesson, going over basic things like temperatures, timing and, most importantly, trying a dish before finishing it up. He went over basic food first, easy to make and hard to screw up, like pasta.

“You just add salt to the water and you wait for it to boil… then you add the food and wait for it to moisten up a bit. Shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.”

“I see… didn´t know it was this easy!”

He gave her a condescending look, sighing to regain some degree of professionalism.

“… You are kidding, right? Even children know how quick this is.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly see anyone in my family cook or anything!! Someone else always did it for us and I never bothered with it.”

“Oh… right… anyways, while you wait for it to finish up, you can start working on the sauce and-“

“Oh, for fucks sake!”

She quickly launched her phone into her hand, checking the message and angrily putting it back in place. The sheer energy behind that move immediately stopped the Kid in his tracks.

“- make something that´s not just tomatoes… are you alright?”

“It´s nothing, carry on!”

“OK… a simple one is with garlic, some ham or pork cubes and cooking cream. If you do it enough times, it can come off as-“

“For the love of-“

She repeated the motion, only this time it looked like she felt the need to throw her last generation phone through a window.

“Annie, is something the matter?”

“I have to respond to this one. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Feel free, I´ll finish up and give you the rundown later.”

“ Thanks!”

The pasta was a couple of minutes away from becoming edible and the “cream” sauce wasn’t going half bad, even though Rob had always told Czesch to add olive oil to the mix, as if he didn’t know how prohibitive the bloody thing was. Annie seemed mad as she answered the phone, and the call did nothing of the sort to calm her down. She just got even angrier and angrier as the call went on. Czesch didn’t pay much heed to her conversation, as he got their dinner on some plates.

She hung up and vented out a blow of air that would make tropical storms jealous. Czesch chuckled as he created the image of Annie blowing a storm in his mind. Worst part: He believed it to be possible to a degree.

“Was that your boyfriend?”

“… I don’t want to talk about it, I´d just end up wrecking your place.”

“Why, I thought you came here to talk as well!”

Her eyes widened in realization, as if she had forgotten the most important part of their “lesson”.

“I guess… yeah, I should… probably tell you while I´m at it.”

“You can do so over supper, everything is set already.”

She took a quick look at the table, groaning in frustration for reasons unknown to him.

“Ahh! You could have told me you were setting everything, I wanted to help out!”

“Hehe… You were so pumped I thought you´d break half my tableware.”

“Come on, I´m not that clumsy!”

“Even I´m clumsy when mad… you know what? Next time, I´ll let you do it all by yourself!”

His shit-eating grin had the intended effect, as Annie delievered a precise elbow blow to his ribs.

“Fuck you! Argghh, I hope this is as tasty as you paint it to be!”

“It´s going to be edible at least, so have a bite!”

They both sat down and began devouring their portions. It hadn’t come out that great as he had thought… a lack of salt? No, maybe it was that the garlic had been too small for the quantity intended.

“… It´s good. Not incredible, but quite good… I could survive off of this.”

“No one can survive only on pasta… you need meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruit, fish… a balanced diet to keep on-“

“That sounds like way too much work.”

“It´s only so if you let it become that.”

“I suppose you are right…”

Silence. Czesch now realized, it had been a while since he had an uncomfortable silence in the same room with Annie. It was a tradition in a sense, and repeating it was in part a way of commemorating it. It would be short-lived, though, since Annie looked like she wanted to talk. She took a deep breath and laid the news.

“… My mum had an accident, right after getting out of the hospital.”

The Kid choked for a moment, as he had been drinking water at the time, taking a good look at her after managing to breathe again. Annie sounded even more distraught than the first time something had happened to her mother… she wasn’t quite crying, but her voice cracked up every now and then.

“S-Shit, I thought- that was the last thing I expected to hear, I´m sorry.”

“You don´t have to… you´ve already had enough to worry about this week, and I was told yesterday about it… a car came out of nowhere, she didn’t even have time to react.”

“How are you feeling?”

She looked to the ceiling, having another deep breath to try to keep her emotions in check. It was as if she was planning on resisting the urge to cry.

“… First Djura and his brother, now this… I don’t know how you do it, can´t really come to grips with it.”

“… how I do what?”

“Move along with your life. You don’t seem as phased about this sort of thing like most of us usually are… considering what you´ve been through, I can´t say I´m surprised.”

Those words cut deep, really deep. Especially considering that Czesch was the complete antithesis of that idea. He was the sort of person that couldn’t let go, mainly because he believed that everything he was fighting for would be for naught if he allowed himself to forget about those who fell before him. The fact Annie saw him in that light was… concerning.

“Problem is that isn’t even the worst part.”

“It can get worse than that?”

“It does… it´s Pete.”

The Kid tightened his fists, feeling the sudden urge to punch something.

“Of course it had to be him… what has he done this time?”

“Urgghh… what hasn’t he done already?”

She sighed, trying to elaborate without going into much detail on a subject that would probably get Czesch´s blood pumping.

“The Bloody Bastards are no more… people got afraid after the incident with Djura and most of them moved away from the group. Pete instead formed another group, along with Tony, Reuben and the John twins, alongside some undesirables he picked off the street.”

“Building from the ashes, huh? And I´m guessing they don’t exactly partake in honorable works and deeds.”

“… he was hired yesterday for one of the mobs now and he´s just getting bolder and bolder with every offer they are sending his way.”

Czesch had been counting on Pete staying in his position and being a nuisance moreso than a threat. But someone dumb enough to crash his expectations had decided to hire him… the main question was about the identity of the idiotic contractor.

“It´s definitely not the Italians, I can tell you that much… Russians would be a hard bet, considering…  maybe the Brits?”

Annie shrugged with her shoulders, clear sign that she was also in the dark.

“I don’t know, he wont tell me about who is employing him, only about the cash he´s going to make…”

“Something tells me you are not exactly OK with this…”

“He´s going to get himself hurt or… I just… I don’t want him to end up like Djura.”

“Riiiiight… one can only hope…”

She took wind of Czesch´s animosity, clacking her tongue to try and defend someone she knew was beyond any defence.

“… I know you don’t see eye to eye with him, but… he just needs to lower expectations, that´s all! He was really sweet before all of this shit started happening, I´ve known him since we were kids! He… he´s a dreamer at heart, and he hooked up with the wrong people for a time, that´s all…”

“Of course…”

“You are still mad at him, aren’t you?”

“It hasn’t been that long. I´ll be hard pressed to not kick his ass when I see him again… he deserves every single punch I´d give him.”

“You are probably right…”

Silence yet again. He felt bad talking about her boyfriend like that, but he couldn’t help it if the subject came up. Then again, looking back at her in more detail… she looked bad. Bad in the sense of tiredness and overall fatigue that can only appear after days of constant stress. He had seen that extreme with the Pack, their ravaged faces and widened eyes still in his memory. Annie didn’t come close to that absurdity, but she was on her way there.

“Are you going to be OK, Annie?”

She took a quick glimpse of him, then immediately turned her sour expression into  a cheeky smile.

“O-Of course! I´ve had a couple of rough days, but I´ll live through this!”

The amount of irony in that sentence was so big it forced Czesch to gulp down to avoid coughing out of control.

“… Looks like you could use a breather, that´s all I´m saying.”

“You think? I… I guess you have a point…”

Silence yet again. It was weird, having so many awkward pauses between each statement. Enough proof that Czesch wasn’t really comfortable talking to her in such vein. She wouldn’t give in, though.

“Ummm, I… I meant to ask for your opinion on something… romantic…”

“Errrrr, OK, go ahead.”

A weird question was about to pop up, the one Czesch would have to answer “no” to, the one that´d probably make Annie hate his guts. He wasn’t completely ready for it, nor he would ever truly be.

“You think I should quit things with Pete?”

…That… wasn’t quite the question Czesch had in mind. In all honestly, he had wondered why Annie hadn´t thought about it earlier, given the off and on relationship those two had. Then again, he had barely been 2 months in town, so he was basing his judgement on experience alone and nothing more. He took a second to recompose himself and give his answer.

“I still find it hard to believe that you are still giving him a chance. The guy spells nothing but trouble, and you´ve seen how great his plans tend to go in the end…”

“That was low, even for you. You were part of them as well.”

“Right…Sorry, but it doesn’t take away the truth from his actions. Djura died because of him, because Pete used him without properly briefing him about the dangers. If he plans to lead people, he has to lead by example or have basic empathy, otherwise we´ll be seeing a lot more bodies around town.”

She clasped her hands together, tight as she could possibly have them.

“…You could say I… I still need him around, at least for a bit more… then I´ll be damn sure to dump him as quickly as possible.”

“That´d be a good start… but…”

“But what?”

“Aren´t you afraid about retribution? He seems like the kind of guy that would want revenge after being challenged… at least when considering my case…”

“Revenge? Nah, he wouldn’t do that to me!”

Her certainty while saying so concerned the Kid a fair bit. He might not have known Pete for that long, but he knew the type of person he was…

“You sure?”

“Of course! He wouldn’t lay a finger on me, he´s too proud for that!”

“If you say so…”

Why was he so worried about her well-being all of a sudden? He wasn’t in a contract, and her love life wasn’t that important to him… so why did he feel so odd? Why was her intention of dumping Pete making him… happy?

“Actually… there was something else I wanted to ask. It´s related, but it´s a bit different… it´s more of a favor than anything.”

“Ask ahead, never stopped you before.”

She opened her mouth, immediately closing it upon realizing the words about to come out.

“… I… wow, I… I don’t know why I… I can´t seem to find the words right now… s-sounds too quirky to say out loud…”

“Just say it, I promise I wont laugh!”

“Ok, Ok… here goes!”

“…”

“...”

“… Still waiting…”

She let out the air of her lungs and filled them again in a prolongued sigh. She looked more serious than usual, and the entire afternoon had been of the overly serious variant. This time, she looked at him dead in the eye, forcing him to acknowledge her crystal-clear blue eyes.

“If… If I find myself in a tough spot… s-since you are my knight in shining armor… w-will you come give me a hand when asked?”

He gulped again. That was bad, overly bad, especially considering her intentions to dump a very pathetic but dangerous man. He couldn’t protect her properly without causing a major ruckus in town, that was an impossibility for several reason….the most important one being that he didn’t feel prepared at all to help her.

Supposedly, he had taken the assignment to learn about the people around him, about possible clients and the way they thought of the world. All of it was bound to help him regain his lost confidence after the contract in Italy, but he hadn’t done much progress in that regard. The words “protection detail” still rang sour, like a rusty knife entering an old wound to force bleeding again, and the thought of trying to protect someone like Annie and seeing her dead because of a mistake… he gritted his teeth, trying to stop himself from shivering uncontrollably.

Just as he was about to lay down a half-formed answer, his cellphone rang. He wasn’t expecting a call so late, especially if it was… Vivi?

“Aahh, dammit… now is my turn to go mad…”

“Who is it?”

“Vivi… I-I´m sorry, I have to take this, give me a minute!”

“S-Sure, t-take your time!”

He answered the phone, having a suspicion about the subject of the call: An emergency.

“Czesch speaking… What is it now?... Really?... Really!?... Come on, V, you know that- yes, I understand, but you can´t expect me to- Oh, well, you aren´t that great at explaining yourself either! Are you sure it is as bad as you- How many!?... Oh, bloody hell… how much time do I- Fuck´s sake, can you at least give me some good news!? Anything!?... Well, that´s something at least, thank fuck!... I´ll be there in a few… see you…”

More work, and this one was of the bad sort. A hostage situation, and according to what little info Vivi had chosen to dispense, it was one of the nasty ones. He couldn’t help but sigh, taking into consideration that, above all else, he was a contractor more than a student, no matter how much he tried to look at it… another reason to let Annie down and alone against her struggle.

But he couldn’t. As much as he tried to muster those despairing words, he couldn’t say them out loud. Why? Why couldn’t he be frank as he had always been? Why were the words coming short in his throat, only to suddenly plunge into disobedience? The reason behind it escaped him, so he´d have to find it later. He was in a hurry, so he had to put her doubts at ease somehow… and the only way was for him to give her some sort of flicker hope.

“Look, I can´t promise I´ll be there all of the time, and I´ll probably end up doing more harm than good if it comes to it.”

“I-I understand if-“

“But… that doesn’t mean I´ll stay in the sidelines if anything happens. If I´m around, I´ll try my hardest to give you a hand, but that´s not a full guarantee… that´s what friends do, right?”

“Right… hah.. feels weird to talk about shit like this with you…”

“You have to do it with someone, right? And I´m guessing Pete ain´t much good with feelings.”

“You aren´t much better than him, you know. Don´t go putting medals on top just because!”

“And here I thought you´d give me this much… am I not your marvelous cooking knight?”

He took a kitchen knife and flickered it around with his hand, finally striking a pose to put a smile back in her face.

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean you are my psychologist or anything! Don´t be a smartass about this as well, OK?”

“Hey, since when have I been a smartass about anything!?”

“Haha, right, of course!! Mr Czesch is too good to be insufferable!”

“You wound me deeply with those cruel, cruel words, Miss!”

They both got a slight chuckle out of that exchange, making Czesch realize that Annie really looked better when smiling or laughing. She was quite a stark person most of the time, but when in a good mood, she looked… well, different enough for Czesch to notice how much he was checking her out.

“So, I should get going, you seem to have work on your hands again.”

“Right… last thing I want is to piss Vivi off even more… your clothes should be dry by now, want to take them?”

“Sure! Give me a sec to change, OK?”

The Kid brought her clothes to his room and let Annie have some privacy.

“By the way, you never did tell me what you exactly do with your sis.”

“Oh, errr…”

One thing was not crushing her hopes, but a completely different one was revealing his cover so soon. It was hard lying to her, but he had to for her sake. At least, that´s what he had come to realize. He´d have to ask the SOT after the mission for tips, just to get a reference.

“It´s basically sales. She needs me around to help secure some tight bids. And this one is one of the high paying ones.”

She came out of his room, somehow acknowledging that it wasn’t the full truth, but that he was in a hurry and that explaining properly would take time.

“… O-Ok… Alright, I wont keep you any longer! Thanks for the lesson… but, do call once you are done? That way we can do something fun!”

“No problem! I´ll call you by the time I´m done.”

“Nice to know… Later, C!”

And so she finally left his apartment… and Czesch could finally take a breather after all that exposition. Talk about gangs, relationships, promises… it all tired him out greatly, more so than any operation would have. He didn’t know how to react properly, and trying to ascertain the right things to say from the taboo was sometimes too hard to keep on doing on a day-to-day basis.

But he wouldn’t give up, even if it meant playing around Annie. Even if it felt like shit to lie to her… but why? What were his feelings towards her? Why was he putting that much care into something that wasn’t life threatening?

He couldn’t dabble for too long in those questions, though. He had another operation to respond to.

One of the tight ones.

Next Chapter: Chapter IX: Storms in Montenegro and Gratitude