Warning: although there is no blood, there is murder. Even so, the story itself is pretty dark/disturbing so read at your own risk!!
Javin stared at Limaya Harris. He sat comfortable from a faraway rooftop. He heard gunfire crackle throughout the night. The whole city was a rugged mess, destroyed by war.
Limaya picked up her young boy. Javin guessed he was no older than four. His deep brown eyes reminded him of the three children he kept hidden away in his bedroom. The three children who could never be seen in public. They were being hunted down in a campaign, after their parents were falsely framed by the government.
Limaya lived in a high-luxury penthouse, one of the best in the city. She had brown page-cut hair and a thin smile. Her eyes were dazzlingly gray. But under those eyes and curt beauty, she held many secrets and had made many bad promises. So she needed to go. Javin kept telling himself that.
He got out his rifle, and pointed it at Limaya. But his grip started to shake. "Is there a problem, Javin?" Fox asked from behind him. Javin sighed. He didn't want Fox to see this. "No, sir." Javin answered, fearing an interrogation. He got up and tried to steady his grip. He hesitated, still. Limaya was hugging her young son in her arms. He waited until she put him down to take the shot.
Immediately, she went down. Javin saw her son in shock, trying to wake up his mother. He could even hear the screams despite being so far away. Javin looked away, and put his rifle back into it's case. "What's the matter with you?" Javin gulped. "I didn't wanna kill two people tonight, sir." Javin got up, but his ears still stung with the screams of the poor boy.
"Cmon." Fox offered Javin to go first down the door. "Let's get moving." Javin did so. They were on a hotel. When Javin got to the lobby, he gave the case back to Fox. He left the room immediately, and entered the broken city. He continued to hear gunfire and mortar shells explode in the distance. The fighting was far from here. Sometimes, he'd see a jet swoop above the expansive sky. It was covered by clouds, a sign of yet worse things to come.
Javin walked bristly, until he stopped by a bench in a once bustling park. Now, even the statue itself had been destroyed as the fighting continued to move throughout the city. He took off his black jacket and hung it over himself. Then, he started to cry. He couldn't stop hearing the boy's screaming in his ears. He couldn't stop hearing the bullet. He kept reliving the moment, over and over and over again. All his pain and fear fell out of him as tears flew down his cheeks. A kill had never effected him like this. He'd been in the military or in gangs since atleast 16, and had been a hired and trained mercanery since 26. He started to question his life choices, from joining the army to working for Fox.
Suddenly, he felt a tugging on him. He put the coat away, and saw an older woman sitting close by. He frowned, wiping off his tears. He couldn't be seen like this. "Excuse me, dear. Are you feeling alright?" He sighed. Atleast dignity isn't lost on everyone. Despite it being a bad time, he could see where the woman was coming from. "Could be doing better." The woman sighed. "Oh, the war does that to people. I would never leave this city even if the invaders took it. We must remain vigilant. For now, the fighting remains in the suburbs. I hope it doesn't get any nearer." Javin nodded. "How did you know I was in the war?" The woman gave a gentle smile. "I see the look on your face. Even in the dark, I see a young man such as yourself with wrinkles that should be on someone atleast five years older than you are. That's what war is." He sighed, his eyes getting teary again.
"I've made 'lot of mistakes." The woman was silent for a moment before answering. "We all do. Try to make up for them. If you can't, try being a better person. Or even move on, if you really can't do anything. It'll help yourself, atleast." Her eyes grew cold, flashing back to moments Javin couldn't see. "War hurts for both the victim and the combatants. It is not easy, it is not natural, and everyone incharge knows it. Yet, they still force young men to die and convince everyone else that it's okay." Javin winced. He wondered what would happen to the boy, without his mother. He was just as much of a victim as his mother was. Will he grow up like me? Javin looked away from the woman for a moment. Maybe I should've just put him out of his misery.
"Well, I best be going." Javin declared, turning his head from that thought. The woman nodded, and they both said their farewells.
When Javin got home, he went into his room. There, he saw the three children sound asleep. But one woke up. The youngest, Logan. His groggy face gave a smile. "Hi, Javin." Javin winced. Logan looked eerily familiar to Limaya's son. "Hey. Sh. Go to sleep."
"Thank you, Javin." He said with a pleasurable look on his face. Javin stepped closer, and sat down next to him. "Oh-don't. No need to thank me. Believe me, you deserve to be in a better place right now." He heard the scream again, and looked away from Logan. Then, he looked back. "You're still a good person."
"I-" Javin decided it was best to stay silent. "Goodnight." He gave Logan a kiss on the forehead, and then quietly slipped into his bed. He didn't sleep, though. Instead, he thought of the boy. He thought of the old woman. He thought of Fox. I can still change. But it starts now. He closed his eyes. His world seemed uncertain, but he knew this: Limaya would be his last kill.
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