"Broken glass. Shattered goods. A discarded employee name badge…oh this is gonna take a while." Elias griped as he sorted his way through the endless piles of debris, wiping his hands on his shirt, leaving streaks of dust visible in the low light. "Yeah, that does it. He's never gonna be leaving that chair. Not if I have any say about it."
Picking up a piece of copper that glistened in the moonlight, Elias's eyes scanned the rusting surface. "Am I really going to be able to find a small fragment before those officers miss their check in?" He whispered to himself as he dropped the metal and climbed over a large chunk of fallen concrete. Making his way towards an ajar door, he pressed against it. Grunting, he mustered all his strength before the door finally began to scrape forward, creating just enough space for him to squeeze through.
After some difficulty, Elias stumbled forward into a ruined office, with a large desk upended against the wall as papers were scattered across the plain floor. Taking a deep breath of the stale air, Elias cautiously approached the desk and, with some persistence, managed to bring the desk back onto its four legs. Opening each drawer one at a time, he peeked inside, hoping to lay eyes on even a clue of what he was looking for. However, with each pull, all he was met with was disappointment and empty space.
As he pulled against a large drawer on the bottom, the entire desk scraped along the floor instead, echoing across the room. Kneeling down to take a closer look, he spotted a small keyhole. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small lockpick and quickly inserted it and, within seconds, could hear the scraping of metal as the lock was successfully picked. Putting the small bit of metal back into his pocket, he pulled against the drawer yet again, and this time it readily flew open.
Inside, he saw a small leather box sitting atop a hastily scribbled note. His hands shot down before grasping onto the box and opened it, only to growl in frustration upon seeing only empty space inside. Angrily flicking the note forward, his eyes scanned the white paper for a few seconds before crumpling it up. "That man…oh he's done it now…" He hissed, pure hatred dripping from every word. "Guess he and I will be having another talk…" Shoving the crumpled note into his pocket, he once again squeezed through the door and raced towards the entrance. However, as he looked at the entryway, he stopped, spotting a familiar face staring at him.
"Hey there…it's…been a while." The voice called out, neutral and masking their emotions.
Elias was silent, frozen for several moments before chuckling bitterly. "Yeah, it certainly has been. It's been eight years since we last met face to face."
"Yeah, eight years to the day tomorrow."
Elias sighed. "So, what should I call you now? You've always been Kaelen to me…but I've been told that you've taken up plenty of mercenary work as Gray."
Kaelen chuckled. "Honestly? It'd be weird if you called me by any other name than my birth name, even after everything." A tense silence followed as the two men stared at each other. "I also heard a rumor that you've become…employed by a certain woman."
Elias nodded. "You could say that, though it's more of an instance of mutual cooperation than anything. However, considering that she's knowingly left me to the wolves so to speak…I'll have to rethink that arrangement."
"I'd say that would be wise, but unfortunately for you, that's not something you'll be doing anytime soon."
"You're still determined to arrest me, aren't you?"
Kaelen shook his head. "Oh, I've outgrown that for quite some time. Now…now I'm wanting nothing more than to spill your guts all over the floor."
Elias licked his lips, his hand reaching towards his knife. "You know…when we were kids, I would have never thought that we'd end up this way."
"Same. I still remember thinking we were going to open up that publishing company, even all the way up to our freshman year."
Elias wistfully smiled, his mind thinking back to those carefree days. "You weren't the only one who thought that was in our future. I genuinely was planning on having a normal, quiet life…but fate had other plans."
"What did happen to you, after you left?" Kaelen asked, unholstering his gun, checking to make sure it was set to fire live rounds. "For you to turn from being such a nerd to…to whatever you are now, something must have happened."
Elias's complexion darkened, closing his eyes as the screams of pain raced through his mind before opening them again. "That's for me to know, and for you to forever wonder. Though, I will say this." Unsheathing his knife, Elias stared into Kaelen's eyes. "I never wanted this for you. I never expected my actions to lead to this. I just…just needed to complete the job. If I had known that it would have led to this moment, I would have never accepted it to begin with."
"Save your breath." Kaelen spat out. "No number of apologies or regret can change the past. You knew the risks when you betrayed us, and now…now I have nothing left to lose."
Raising his gun at Elias, Kaelen released the safety. "However, in respect for our past, I'll give you the opportunity to speak any last words you may have."
Elias shifted his feet, getting into a combat stance. "'Last words', huh? Sorry to disappoint you, Kaelen, but I'll be annoying you for years to come." Quickly raising his hand, Elias glowed, using all the power he could muster. However, Kaelen glowed just as bright as he pulled the trigger.
Stepping to the left just in time, the bullet whizzed past his head, ricocheting several times against the concrete before falling to the ground. Laughing bitterly, Elias charged at Kaelen, prepared to do whatever was necessary to survive the night.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXjTGjLqUs
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