One Road
Part 2
The shot was going to be one of Irvine's more challenging ones. There was only one window Feison could ever be seen from: a small bathroom window on the east wall. With the bathroom door open it was possible to see through the hall to the main reception area. This in itself wasn't a problem; however, the east wall overlooked an empty parking lot. The closest available cover was the next building, nearly three hundred feet away.
Irvine pulled the denim jacket more tightly around him. Despite the season he felt cold, crouched under the window he was to fire from. After meeting the third SeeD, Roger McKlein--a dark-skinned man even older than Ruby and Ellix--they'd taken him to the abandoned warehouse that would be his position. For several minutes he'd sat in silence, waiting for the others to prepare, listening to the muffled sounds of the city. At least we're kind of far from the really busy commercial area, and it's late, he thought. The obnoxious honking of horns and crowd murmurs would not make his job any easier.
His hands moved appreciatively over the barrel of the rifle he'd been given to use--he couldn't have hoped for a better weapon. Without the laser sights, his job would be impossible; but then, still he was the only one who could pull it off.
"Hey, Kinneas." The voice came from the radio headset he'd been given. "It's Ruby. How're ya holding up?"
"Fine. Are you guys ready or what?"
"In position and ready to go." Ruby, Ellix, and McKlein had stationed themselves around the building at certain points, where they would wait for his signal. "Can you see him?"
Irvine raised onto his knees and peered through the window. After some squinting, he decided to depend on the laser sights. "Yeah," he reported. The target was pacing back and forth in the main room, entering and exiting the tiny circle that was his focus. "He looks nervous."
"Don't let it get to you," came Ellix's stern tone.
"Yeah," piped up Ruby. "He'll get what's coming to him. Nice and easy, right? Like poppin' cherries."
The elder SeeD quickly admonished him for his vulgarity. Irvine laughed, grateful for the casual humor. He stretched, worked his fingers, then settled back into a firing position. "Sure thing, Ruby. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good luck."
Irvine's finger curled around the trigger. He didn’t shoot immediately; he had to watch a moment more before he was positive that his target wouldn't move. Through the sights of the rifle he looked like no more than a shadow--a solid, featureless shadow. It reminded him of the mission briefing--Lucas Feison, a murderer and a cheat. With the rifle in his hands, sighting the evil shadow of a corrupted man, he did feel like a hero. Just like back home, picking off Wendigos….
He felt the backlash of the gun before he realized that he'd pulled the trigger. No more than an instant later he heard glass shatter, and the impact of the bullet entering his target's brain case. The sound, barely audible from such distance, was a familiar tearing of bone, followed by a thud. When he blinked and looked again, the window was broken and Lucas Feison was gone.
"That's it," McKlein's voice in the head set caused him to jump in surprise
"Good job, Kinneas." That was Ellix's. "We'll clean up. Wait in your position until I send Ruby in for you."
"O-Okay." Irvine licked his lips and gulped. His fingers felt strangely numb, and his heart was racing with excitement. It was dizzying.
"Are you all right?"
He started again. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine, really."
Rube came on then. "Just hold together, Kenny. I'll be there soon."
"Sure; no rush." Even as he said the words he realized that his hands were shaking. He had to set the rifle down to keep it from rattling. For a moment he stared at the quaking limbs, baffled--he felt only minimal discomfort in the task he'd completed. In fact, he was rejoicing--his first mission was a success! He laughed sharply, and gradually the shaking stopped.
I killed him. But I was following orders, and he was already a murderer. He grinned. I can't wait to get back. Everyone will think I'm a hero. Most SeeD's don't finish their first mission this well. The thought filled him with pride.
A full minute passed, and he heard nothing. Irvine shifted impatiently. What's taking so long? Are they going to leave he here while they finish? Should I go in? He frowned, and jumped suddenly when the headset buzzed with static. He quickly reduced the volume to save his ears some discomfort. "What's gong on?" he asked into the mouthpiece. "Ruby?"
No one answered for another minute. Irvine was starting to become concerned when finally Ellix said, "Kinneas, are you there?"
"Yeah; of course." He quickly composed himself.
"Come inside. Our employee is here, and she wants to congratulate you personally."
"Okay. I'm coming." Irvine picked up the gun once more and quickly left the building. He felt lighter than air. Deling's dark and dingy alleys actually took on an almost pleasant air. He was a hero--a success. He couldn’t help but grin as he entered the building and made his way to the main office.
Irvine could smell the blood long before he reached the office. It was a sickeningly sweet odor, and it quickly drained the euphoria from him. His steps slowed. He hadn't anticipated that meeting his employer also meant viewing the result of his kill.
Irvine entered the reception area into another scene he hadn't expected. Ruby and McKlein were standing with their backs against the wall, unarmed and wearing tense expression. Their focuses were trained unwaveringly on Ellilx, who stood backed against the adjacent wall with a gun shoved under his chin. Holding the gun was a tall woman with long black hair, dressed in a gray business suit. When Irvine entered, she turned her head towards him. Her eyes were cold and dark. "So, you're the last," she hissed, and the venom in her glare forced the youth back a step. "Good."
"Leave the kid out of this," Ellix said, remarkably calm despite the situation. "He's just the sniper--he doesn’t know--"
"Shut up," she snapped, grinding the barrel of her handgun into his throat. He coughed and sputtered. "He's one of you--it's too late. You're all going to--"
Ellix's movements were too fast for even Irvine to follow. A moment later the woman's gun was gone, and she was slammed face-first into the wall. "Her name is Miranda," the officer told Irvine, holding her as she squirmed and cursed. "Feison's ex-wife. She framed him for the murders."
"Framed? Then…." Irvine lowered his gaze to the floor, noticing for the first time the body of the man he'd killed. Lucas Feison's corpse lay face down on the ground--or, he would have, had he a face left. The bullet had ripped through his skull and utterly destroyed the features that had once made up his repulsive visage. His blood still dribbled from that massive wound, filling the cracks in the floor tile. The stench was nauseating.
Irvine stared, barely coherent as Ellix continued his explanation. "When McKlein searched the company's database computer, he found the evidence Feison left behind. Miranda helped him to the top of the company in secret by having several employees killed, hoping to be made a partner, but he refused after what she'd done. So she killed the others to frame him, and hired us to finish him off."
"Damn you!" Miranda shrieked. "Let me go!"
Irvine ignored them, still gazing at the puddle of gore seeping towards his boots. Framed his dimly conscious brain whispered. Innocent. He didn't kill anyone. I…killed an innocent man?
"Irvine?" Ruby touched his shoulder, and he yelped in surprise. The blonde recoiled. "Hey, are you okay?"
Ellix glanced over his shoulder to see the disturbance, and in this momentary distraction Miranda found her chance. She pushed away from the wall and elbowed her captor in the gut, causing him to release her. The office grew suddenly cold. The SeeDs realized too late what had happened--she was summoning a GF. The beast took form beside her--no more than a being of black cloaks and skeleton hands. The ebony fabric billowed and swirled like mist, surrounding and protecting its woman master.
"Hades," McKlein whispered, somewhere on Irvine's left. "She must have used that to kill those people."
Ruby and McKlein retrieved their weapons too late. The GF attacked with a powerful spell; Irvine watched as McKlein fell, screaming and shaking, and Ellix cried out and covered his eyes. Ruby retreated, shaky but unaffected. His wild emerald eyes sought the youth's.
"I'm counting on you."
Ruby attack, swinging his blade at the GF's hidden face. It parried his sword with a claw-like hand, and countered again with the ineffective spell. They spun and fought, and were joined by Ellix once he'd taken the time to heal McKlein and himself.
Irvine stood motionless. He'd never been trained in close combat--especially for anything as powerful as a GF. There was nothing he could do against a creature like that--what did Ruby expect him to do?
"Kinneas!" It was Ruby again, still attempting to fight the creature as he dodged chairs and desks in the cramped office space. "Shoot Miranda!"
What!? Irvine's head whipped around, staring at the woman. He started when he realized that she was also staring at him. Her darks eyes were vicious, even more terrifying than the organless sockets of the GF. She was mocking him with that gaze, with such scorn that he doubted his own identity beneath her scrutiny and callousness.
I…can't. Irvine's hands were shaking, and his stomach twisted into his throat. Kill…a woman? What if…what if it's a mistake? Like Feison…. His eyes darted to the chilling corpse and back. I can't do anything--it won't help. I can't--I just--
The GF's clawed fist slammed Irvine in the back, and he was sent tumbling with the force of the impact. He landed on his stomach, choking as the breath was crushed out of him. Slowly, regained his senses, enough to realize that something was soaking into his coat. He pushed himself up with his arms, and his stomach lurched: he was lying in the puddle of blood that had emptied from his unjustified kill. Quickly he scrambled away from the mess, in the process his hand bushing against Miranda's dropped handgun.
"Kinneas!"
Irvine lifted his head. The GF was hovering over him, its bony hands stretching forward. He panicked. There was no time for conscious thought; his fingers curled around the grip of the handgun, and he fired five shots into the being's face. The GF shrieked and recoiled. In the same fit of mindless instinct Irvine turned his weapon on the woman and fired once.
The shot was perfect; it struck Miranda in the forehead, shredding her brain tissue. She was dead long before she fell. Despite how quickly everything had taken place, Miranda's descent to her knees seemed to take an eternity. Irvine stared, horrified at his actions, able only to watch as her head whipped back with the bullet's force, and she slumped limply to the tiles. He was only dimly aware of the GF's pained cry, and the swelling of released power as it was slain by his comrades. The gun made a clattering sound as it hit the floor.
"Kinneas." Ruby was shaking his shoulder, as he had remained motionless for some time. "Hey, Kenny. You okay?"
"Wha…is she…?" He raised a trembling hand and smoothed the hair from his sight. For a moment he kept it pressed to his forehead. Then, he looked.
Miranda lay on her back, her legs twisted beneath her in a way that was painful to look at. The long black hair was sticky and crusted with blood. He hadn't believed that her eyes could be darker, and yet in death they were far more chilling. They stared, gaping blind at an empty ceiling-tile heaven, attempting to mock even fate with her gaze.
Ruby helped the shaky youth to his feet, guiding him to a stable position against a nearby desk. "You did good, Kenny," he said, keeping a firm and comforting hand on his back. "You're a damn good shot. How do you feel?"
Irvine licked his dry and cracking lips. He didn’t know how to describe his feelings; he was shaking inside and out, and his chest felt as if it had been woven with taunt wire. Even though the danger had ended, his senses leapt at every sound. He did everything he could to keep his thoughts and eyes from wandering to the prone corpses.
Sometime during the aftermath McKlein and Ellix found and aided the surviving hostages. The local authorities made a short appearance to obtain their report before taking the bodies away. Thankfully Ruby never left Irvine's side. The steady, comforting presence kept him from worrying about the events that had taken place.
It was nearly sunrise by the time the SeeD's and their sniper were ready to depart the deserted office building. Though the trio had long since recovered their discomfort with spells, Irvine was far from at ease. His hands were still shaking. "Just keep taking deep breaths," Ruby advised. "It'll go away. Your problem is you think too much, Kenny. The job's over."
"But…what will happen to me?" the boy persisted.
"What do you mean?"
"I killed that man. He was innocent." A chill ran up his spine at the thought. "Just like that."
Ruby appeared nonplussed. "So? You did your job."
"You can't worry about it anymore," Ellix added as they exited the building and started toward the car. "You were following orders. Nothing will happen to you."
"But…." Irvine looked up at them, hoping to find an understanding for what he was feeling. But the eyes of the elder boys were blank and calm--not only did they not share in his discomfort, they didn’t' even comprehend it. None cared that he had shot an innocent man dead. They had seen similar fates before, and it did not affect them. Was this attitude--this apathy toward life--the true form of SeeD? Where the Gardens merely desensitizing its charges to face a cruel and uncaring world?
Irvine stared down at his hands that even now could not rest. These bones, muscles, and skin had within moments judged and condemned two human lives. It hadn't even taken conscious command. They quaked not with fear but with the power they held; a string of fate wound about those delicate-seeming fingers. All of life's precious and sacred things rested there, in his grasp, for him to snatch away with only the slightest effort. He didn't know how many such destinies he controlled, but in that moment he felt the weight of multitudes upon his responsibility, which his slender, ensanguined hands could not bare.
Irvine dropped to his knees and retched.
