The air at the state penitentiary was thick with the scent of ozone and rain. At 2:00 AM, the perimeter lights flickered and died—a "system glitch" orchestrated by Aqua from a laptop in the parking lot. In the sudden darkness, the prison transformed from a fortress into a hunting ground.
The Breach
The Fixer moved like a shadow through the North Gate. Driven by the fear that Stallone had betrayed him, he bypassed the infirmary locks with the codes Aqua had fed him. He didn't know that every step he took was being broadcast via a "dead man’s switch" to the Department of Justice and every major news outlet. The world was watching a live-streamed assassination attempt.
Aqua followed at a distance, his heart a steady, cold rhythm. He wasn't afraid. He was empty.
Inside the infirmary cell, Stallone Williams sat upright. He had been moved there after a "stress-induced collapse." When the door hissed open, he expected a guard with a tray. Instead, he saw the scarred face of his own monster.
"You... you were supposed to be halfway to Panama," Stallone rasped, backing into the corner of the bed.
"You tried to sell me out, Stallone," the Fixer growled, raising a silenced pistol. "I’m just here to settle the invoice."
The Final Confrontation
"Wait!"
Aqua stepped into the doorway. The Fixer whirled around, his gun shifting toward the boy.
"Step aside, Johnson," the Fixer hissed. "This isn't your business anymore."
"It’s my only business," Aqua said, his voice echoing in the sterile room. He looked at Stallone, who was trembling, and then at the Fixer. "You think you're killing him to save yourself? Look at the smoke detector, you idiot."
The Fixer looked up. A tiny red light was pulsing. A high-definition camera.
"You're not just a killer tonight," Aqua said. "You're the lead actor in the film that's going to bury the Williams name forever. The police are already in the hallways. If you pull that trigger, you die here. If you don't, you spend the rest of your life in a cage."
Stallone let out a pathetic, wheezing laugh. "He's right... don't do it. We can still fix this... I have money hidden..."
The Choice
Aqua walked toward Stallone, ignoring the gun pointed at his chest. He stood over his father, the man who had loomed over his nightmares for fifteen years.
"There is no more money, Stallone," Aqua said. "There is no more 'fixing.' Look into the camera. Say hello to Ruby. Say hello to the world."
Stallone looked into the lens, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated terror. In that moment, the "Titan" was gone. There was only a small, broken man.
The Fixer, realizing he had been played by a teenager, let out a roar of rage. He didn't aim for Stallone. He aimed for Aqua—the architect of his ruin.
Puff.
The silenced shot hit Aqua in the side. He felt a bloom of heat, followed by a cold, numbing sensation. He didn't fall. He stayed standing, his eyes fixed on Stallone.
In the same instant, the infirmary doors burst open. Tactical teams flooded the room. "Drop the weapon! Hands in the air!"
The Fixer panicked, firing wildly at the officers. A hail of return fire riddled the room. The Fixer fell instantly. Stallone, caught in the crossfire as he tried to use the bed for cover, was hit multiple times in the chest.
The Final Breath
Aqua slumped against the wall, sliding down until he sat on the cold linoleum. He watched as the medics rushed to Stallone, then to him.
Stallone was choking on his own blood, his eyes wide and wandering. He looked at Aqua one last time. He reached out a trembling, blood-stained hand, perhaps seeking forgiveness, perhaps seeking a way to drag his son down with him.
"I... I built it all... for you..." Stallone whispered, his last delusion clinging to his lips.
"You built it for a ghost," Aqua replied, his voice fading.
Stallone’s eyes rolled back. The heart monitor flatlined. The King of the Williams Empire was dead in a puddle of antiseptic and blood.
Aqua closed his eyes. The pain in his side was sharp, but the weight on his soul was lifting. He felt the blue rose handkerchief in his pocket, damp with his own blood.
"I did it, Akane," he whispered into the darkness. "The play is over."
As the world blurred into a haze of shouting voices and flashing sirens, Aqua felt a strange, warm light beginning to glow behind his eyelids. He wasn't in the prison anymore. The smell of the infirmary was fading, replaced by the scent of lilies.
ns216.73.216.141da2
and then Add to home screen.