*Bruno*
I sat behind my desk, tossing the lighter in my hands before flicking it on to light up a wrap of cigarettes. I puffed out thick smoke from my mouth. These days, I have been in a good mood. My days revolved around coming to the club, running some underground work, receiving reports, and then going home.
I made sure never to miss any meal prepared by Lucia. She was a really good cook. I assisted her sometimes in the cooking and noticed that she was slowly opening up to me. I cursed myself for not making her my cook on time.
A knock on the door brought me back from my reverie. Rave walked in and stood before me.
“Have you been able to find any trace of him?” I asked, and he nodded. Something unusual had happened in the club. One of the henchmen was killed in my club. The thought of it made me angry, though it has been a while since it happened.
“Black Axe was found in a bar. He is still been watched by our men. We are waiting for your orders,” said Rave.
The curtain at the side moved from side to side. A cold breeze rushed into the room from the window, which was opened. Rave moved his hand to his ear to remove an invisible dirt. “What should we do?” He asked again.
I tore my gaze away from him. Moving it to one of the nude frames at the side. Black Axe was a very skilled assassin. He was the most wanted in the underworld. He has never missed any of his kills. He was very meticulous, and that was why we didn’t know when he killed the henchmen and was also able to escape.
I clenched my fist.
I hated to be outsmarted. Black Axe was a strong man, and though my men were strong, I couldn’t help but think they were no match for him. He may be able to defeat all of them, and that was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want him running away. “Yes. Arrange the men; he should not be allowed to escape. You should know what losing hmm means,” I said, emphasizing the need for the mission to be a success.
There was silence for a while, as if Rave was trying to understand the gravity of the mission. I wasn’t going to tolerate failure. I had shown enough mercy by not killing all of the men who were on duty that day he killed the henchmen. “I understand, boss,” Rave said, his head went a little dipper before he turned to walk away.
His hands were on the doorknob, about to open it when I stopped him, “wait,” I said to see him turn back. “I’ll take care of it myself,” I said. “And there won’t be any need for the men,” I said, and Rave raised a brow, “but,” he was about to protest. “Nothing,” he gave up and stepped out.
***
Loud music resounded from the speaker; some people chose to dance. I sat at the side, watching them. I wasn’t here to have fun. My eyes were pinned on the table Black Axe sat. A waiter walked towards me. “What would you like to drink?” She asked.
I wasn’t supposed to drink on the mission even though I was the boss; it was a rule that I made, and I also stuck to it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t order. I ordered a bottle of whiskey. The waiter brought it with a glass. When the waiter was about to leave, I called her back.
“Send a bottle of your most expensive drink to the table over there,” I pointed at Black Axe’s table. At the moment, Black Axe had a girl over his lap and was shamelessly kissing her passionately. “And also…” I whisper the other into her ear.
The waiter did as she was told. When she placed the drink on Black Axe’s table, she whispered into his ears and then pointed at me. Seeing her pointing at me, I raised my glass.
Black Axe smiled and nodded at me in appreciation.
I kept my eyes on Black Axe all through. It was already past midnight, and it didn’t seem like he would be leaving anytime soon.
Fortunately, Black Axe’s phone rang, and he went out.
I was quick to follow him. I followed him into the restroom. Black Axe didn’t speak much on the phone, but rather, he sent a text message. When he got a reply, his eyebrows raised slightly, and one of his lips pulled up into a smile.
I had entered into one of the cubicles so it would not be too obvious that I was following him. When I came out of the cubicle, Black Axe was no longer inside the restroom.
I washed my hands quickly and stepped out of the restroom. I walked down the hallway that led to the bar. My eyes quickly searched for Black Axe when I stepped into the bar. But Black Axe was no longer in his seat, and neither were the girls with him.
I dug my palm into my hands, “fuck,” I said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t lose him.
I stepped out of the bar. I walked around looking for him. After walking around in vain, I decided to take a look at the alley across the bar.
I stepped into the alley, which was dark and cold. There was a heap of dirt on each side. I twisted my nose at the foul smell.
I walked further into the alley, hoping to find Black Axe. I wasn’t sure where the alley led to, but I kept going deeper and deeper. When I got to the middle, I stopped. I heard a whirring sound behind me.
It seemed someone was walking behind me, such a coward; I thought, “Come out and face me. Don’t be a coward,” I said.
Hearing the whirring sound get closer, I stepped to the side, and an axe past my neck. I had missed Black Axe’s attack.
“I knew something was wrong with you,” Black Axe said. He was now in front of me with his axe in one hand.
One side of my lip pulled up when I heard that, “took you a while to figure out.”
“Who sent you?” Black Axe asked.
” Why? So you can call and beg for your life?” I asked. He let out a small mocking laugh.
” Did the drink taste nice,” I paused and continued, ” I guess it did. You probably haven’t drunk anything that expensive in your entire life. It was so obvious from the way you down the entire bottle in less than five minutes.” I taunted.
” Why did you send the drink? You thought I would not drink it? I don’t like wasting precious things. But useless things like you that are sent to die, I love to,”
” You seem so confident that you won’t die by my hands. Or are you masking your fear with confidence?”
“Well, how about we let my axe decide that? I don’t…”
” You talk too much,” I said and attacked him first. Swinging a punch at his face.
Black Axe stepped back and also swung his axe towards me. I was quick to dodge. I ran into the Alley’s wall and landed a kick on Black Axe’s face.
Black Axe staggered back for a while but quickly regained his composure.
He ran towards me. He swung his axe at me, but I moved aside quickly. I was able to miss his axe but not his dagger. His dagger cut deep into my skin. I felt a string of pain in my stomach. But I didn’t allow that to weigh me down.
I landed a punch on his face, and he moved to the side. I landed a kick on his face again before he could react. He was quick to regain himself but didn’t attack me as I expected.
“Why? Did you just realize that you have little chance against me?” I provoked him, ” Or did you just realize that you will be sent six feet soon?”
” Choose the way you want to die. I don’t usually give this opportunity to people, but I’ll give it to you because you bought me a drink. This will be your reward.” He said.
” No thanks. I don’t need a reward. I just thought it would be better if you drank something nice before you died.”
” Then die!” Black Axe shouted, ready to swing his axe at me. I stood without moving. Black Axe seemed powerful but foolish.
When Black Axe got closer, he stopped. He must have felt a string of pain in his muscles; he could no longer move his hands. He let out a painful groan, and the axe in his hand fell. He tried to bear the pain, but it was too much.
“Someone might think you are a kid,”
“What did you do?” Black Axe asked. He fell on his knees.
“You are a strong man, seeing how late it took before it began to work.” I just stood there watching him.
“Did you put something in my drink?”
“You are also very smart,” I commended as a mother would say to her child, ” you just agreed that you enjoyed the drink; how could you sound like I did something wrong,”
” You must have… kn… known that.. you have little…” I watched as black axe struggled to speak.
“Well, I was done chatting with him. I brought out my gun, “goodbye, Black Axe.” I said before pulling the trigger.
***
I was severely injured. Though I had succeeded in killing him, he had injured me. I gritted my teeth as I tried to endure the pain that came from my stomach. I was losing a lot of blood. I needed to treat myself. I fought hard to keep my eyes open as I drove back home. I couldn’t go to the hospital or any pharmacy.
And Lucia was at home waiting for me. I didn’t want to keep her waiting, and I was sure she would be able to offer first-aid treatment for me.
When I got back home, I opened the door. She was there to receive me just as I expected. I fell on her shoulders. I was already weak. She had a worried expression on her face. Her lips kept moving, but I could barely hear what she was saying.
She helped me to sit on the sofa in the room.
She was quick to get the first aid box, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she found it. I knew that I had never used it, nor had I shown her where to find it. So how did she find it? I couldn’t help but ask.
But this was not the best time to ask questions as next; I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. She had cut my clothes with scissors. My clothes, which had been stuck to the injury as a result of the blood, weren’t spared.
“Careful there,” I said.
“I’m sorry. Where the hell did you get such a cut from?” She asked, a frown on her face as she studied the injury. She turned to look at me. She was gorgeous. She was so close to me.
This was special because it wasn’t me trying to get close, but she voluntarily got close to me. The pain seems to be reduced a bit. I didn’t care about it.
She swung into action, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I should come back with such an injury each night to get her this close to me. She was done in less than thirty minutes. She seemed experienced in this.
“Now, tell me how you got this injury?” she asked, crossing one hand over the other as she stared at me.
I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. She was too close for me to be able to focus. She smelled nice. Like chocolate, and I wanted to have a bite. When she passed her tongue over her lower lips, I couldn’t help it anymore.
I ignored the pain in my stomach and pulled her into a kiss.