When Death is Near (part 1)

When Death is Near

Mogashi was dead, and so was Arthu. The only difference was that Mogashi was already dead while Arthu was still technically alive, although he was sure that this was soon going to change. Despite the fact that one part of Arthu’s brain, the one that was reasonable and free of emotional constraints, was telling him that he was soon going to die, another part, the one responsible for emotions and uncaring about reason, was telling him that perhaps his life was going to be spared. It was a foolish hope and yet, he still hoped. After all, what else could he do?

“Don’t worry boss. Maybe it won’t be so bad. Mr. Artavius is certainly going to be pissed as hell, but he’ll get over it.”

Arthu turned his head to look at Bemthlem who was driving the car. The two were friends for eight years now. Well, not really. They pretended to be friends for eight years now. There was no such thing as friendship in their line of work. Gangsters couldn’t afford to have friends. They pretended that they were friends, but it was a lie. What’s the point of having a friend if one day you are asked to kill him, or he is asked to kill you? No. Genuine friendship was too dangerous in the underworld. It often got in the way when you had to do your job.

Nevertheless, Arthu did feel certain genuine sympathy for Bemthlem. And he really felt thankful for the man reassurances, even though he knew how unrealistic they were, and even though he knew that Bemthlem would not hesitate to kill him should he be so ordered.

“Thanks Bemthlem, but we both know that I’m a dead man. I’ve seen the boss getting pissed and whacking people for trivial things. How do you think he is going to react when he learns that his only child is dead? And what do you think he’s going to do to me when he finds that it was my fault?”

“Boss. It wasn’t your fault. Some drunk merc did it. And he is dead. And besides, Mogashi was a punk with no respect for anybody. He was a completely useless piece of shit. Mr. Artavius should thank the gods that he got gutted.”

Arthu couldn’t help but smile. Bemthlem’s logic was funny and hilariously flawed.

“So maybe I should tell him that? That his son was a useless shit and that he should tomorrow go to the temple and offer sacrifice to the gods in return for his son getting killed”

“Well, no. What I meant is that… that Mogashi’s loss is actually a good thing. He must realize it. Even he knows what kind of shit his son was.”

“Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. But it doesn’t matter. Mogashi was his son; his only son. You don’t have kids, and neither do I. Can you imagine how it feels like when your only child dies?”

Bemthlem shook his head.

“Me neither. I can’t even imagine how much it hurts. Mr. Artavius is going to look for blood, and it doesn’t take a bloody genius to guess whose blood it’s going to be.”

“This wasn’t your fault boss. You were not the one who killed Mogashi.”

“But I was the one who was supposed to protect him. The murderer is dead, so Mr. Artavius won’t have anyone to blame and to punish. So, he’ll take out all his anger on me, and we both know what he can do when he’s angry.”

A short period of uneasy silence followed.

“Fuck. I’m a dead man,” there was resignation and sadness in Arthu’s voice. Despair was starting to overcome his self-control.

“Don’t worry boss. Maybe it won’t be so bad.” Although Bemthlem’s words were supposed to be reassuring, his tone of voice was as much resigned as Arthu’s.

The two men didn’t say anything for the remainder of the journey. There was nothing left to say. Still, the silence eventually started to gnaw at Arthu. Silence was bad because it was boring. When people are bored and can’t find anything to do they usually start to think. Right now Arthu could think about only one thing, but he did not want to think about it.

So he opened the window and stuck his head outside. The cold night air smashed into his face and calmed him a little bit. He closed his eyes and breathed in. The panic was slowly being vented out by each deep breath of cold air entering his lungs. After a short moment he regained his composure.

He opened his eyes and looked up. The stars were clearly visible and beautiful. Normally he couldn’t see them. He lived in the city where city lights made all but the few brightest stars invisible, but now they were on a highway passing through countryside. Here the night sky was revealed in all its glory. And indeed it was a glorious sight to behold.

Arthu could never understand all those poets and romantics gazing at the stars in search of beauty and mysticism. What is so beautiful and mystical about a bunch of shinning dots on black background? But in that one magical moment he did suddenly understand. And then terrible sadness fell upon him. He felt sorry that he had never realized how beautiful the stars are and that his whole life was spent on appreciating the beauty of money and power and not the real beauty. But what made him most sorry was the fact that his life was about to end.

It wasn’t about being afraid. He was of course afraid, but he faced death and fear many times before and he always managed to win the fight. It was a regret that he did not live his life in a better way. He felt somehow silly at that realization, but he really did believe that it was tragic.

And as he was sitting there staring at the stars and despairing over his wasted life, his subconscious mind registered a metallic object pressing against his flesh. And then the subconscious idea was passed into the conscious mind.

The gun! Of course. He had a gun. What was he waiting for? It was the smart thing to do. What was the point in waiting? He was going to die. He knew it. He faced death many times in his life, but there was always a chance of surviving. Now this chance was gone. He knew Mr. Artavius too well to have any hope.

The old man had a secret torture chamber in his basement where he sometimes tortured his enemies for days. Most of these unfortunates were suffering their fate simply because they happened to stand in Mr. Artavius’s way. He always used to say that it was not personal. Well, in case of Arthu it was going to be personal. It was going to be extremely personal. If Mr. Artavius was willing to torture a man or woman for days just because they happened to do something that was bad for the old man’s business operations, then what was he going to do to a man whom he blamed for the death of his only son?

No. Waiting was pointless. It was much wiser to pull out the gun now and end this painlessly while there was still time.

Arthu put his hand under his jacket and felt the metal touching his fingers. Bemthlem was watching him trying to guess what were his intentions, but Arthu didn’t care much at this point. Bemthlem was not going to interfere. If he really had some sort of sympathy for Arthu, he was going to let him do it. And if he wasn’t, well, then Arthu could always shoot him. What did it matter at this point? It’s not as if they were friends.

But Arthu’s hand never moved. It remained frozen on the gun. There was something that prevented him from killing himself. Was it fear? Of course it was not fear. Fear was telling him to do it. There was something else, but what? Hope? No, he had no hope, or at least he kept saying that to himself. If it wasn’t hope then what was it? Maybe anger? Yes. That was it. He was angry.

He always faced danger with courage. Was he going to succumb to fear now? Why should he? Suicide was for cowards. But there was something else. He just now realized that there was more to life than money and power. He chose to live as a gangster because he wanted to be rich, and this he achieved, but was it really worth it? Money never managed to bring him happiness. Perhaps now it was time to change his life and turn around? He did know that it was a foolish thing to think. It was time to die and not to plan for redemption and living a better life. Still, some part of him refused to accept his fate and hoped for a longer life – much longer than few days in Mr. Artavius’s private torture chamber.

That was where the anger came from. He was angry at himself for trying to cut his life short when finally found a reason to live.

His hand left the inside of his jacket and one more time he stuck his head out through the window. Maybe he was going to die or maybe not, but at least now he was certain that he should live. Meanwhile, no matter what happened, he was sure of one thing; he had some time left to stare at the stars and enjoy their beauty. And this he did.

* * *

Three hours and nineteen minutes earlier.

Mogashi, Arthu, Bemthlem and Sork were sitting at a table in the club. The place was a typical night dance club with loud but very lively and danceable music, bright and colorful lights and people, mostly young, dancing in the center.

Mogashi liked this place. Although it was by far not the best club in the city, this one happened to be owned by his father, which meant that his son was free to cause trouble here.

Yet, on that particular night he was not in very good mood. He had no date and for the past two hours his only companionship was limited to the three bodyguards sitting across him. Bemthlem and Sork were sort of ok, but he despised Arthu, and the feeling was mutual. The man was arrogant and always treated him with disrespect. Sure, Mogashi was only twenty-one and did not possess Arthu’s experience and age, but that was no reason to treat him like a kid. He was the son of a very powerful man and this was enough to fear him and treat him like royalty, but Arthu apparently had other views. He thought that Mogashi was just a spoiled little kid. And worse, when Arthu was around Bemthlem and Sork also showed him disrespect, although they never dared to go as far as their boss. They lacked Arthu’s privileged position and, more importantly, his fierce courage.

And so Mogashi tried to kill his boredom by heavy drinking, sniffing on drugs and looking around for some female companionship. So far he had no luck in that respect, but things were about to change.

She was beautiful. Actually, beautiful was not the right word. She was divinely fantastic. He desired her from the first second he saw her. He had to have her. He felt that he absolutely had to have her this very night.

She was not alone. A man was with her, but it was but a small nuisance for Mogashi. If he was going to cause problems, Mogashi would simply call his bodyguards and ask them to convince the man to go away. And if the woman refused his advances, he was going to take her by force. Mogashi always got what he desired. Always.

He stopped a waiter, put few coins in his hand and told him to bring a bottle of the house’s finest wine to the couple’s table. A minute later his order was executed and the couple stopped their discussion when the bottle was placed on their table. They looked questioningly at the waiter, and then brought their eyes to Mogashi’s table when the waiter pointed him to the couple. The man and the woman exchanged few words and then the man gave the bottle back to the waiter, along with some coins. The waiter then made his way through the dancing crowd back to Mogashi.

“The lady thanks you for your gift, sir. But she says that she doesn’t accept gifts from strangers.”

“Too bad,” Mogashi thought. “Looks like it’s time to become more persuasive." He was not the type to give up easily.

He stood up. “Where are you going,” asked Arthu.

“None of your business. I go wherever I want.”

Arthu wanted at first to remind Mogashi that he was his bodyguard and that where he was going was his business. He also planned to add a remark about Mogashi trying to be more polite in the future, but he was tired and decided that it was not worth it. He had no desire to provoke the kid and then have to sit and endure his childish anger.

“I want you to be ready,” Mogashi added just as he was about to leave.

“Ready for what? What are you going to do?”

“Just keep an eye on me. I might need assistance.”

Arthu kept his eyes on the young man. When he saw that his protégé was approaching the couple’s table, he sadly shook his head. “Not again. Can’t the little shit control himself?”

Meantime, Mogashi navigated his way through dancers and finally came to the table where the object of his desire was sitting.

“Excuse me lady.” She turned around to look at him. She must have been at least fifteen years older than him, but he didn’t care. Her beauty was fantastic, and that was the only thing that mattered to him. Previously, when he was observing her from greater distance, he was not able to see her eyes very well. Now he noticed that she had the most stunning and beautiful green eyes that very nicely complemented her long, curly blond hair. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

She had this interesting tattoo on her neck. It looked like some sort of lizard with really nasty set of teeth and claws. He never saw an animal like that. Maybe she was an offworlder? The man had the same tattoo right in the same spot. Wonder what was that about? Mogashi didn’t really care very much. The tattoo made the woman only look more exotic and sexy.

“You refused my gift. You must forgive me for not approaching you personally.”

“Listen…” Her voice was absolutely charming. Mogashi was in love. Then again, he was always in love with every woman he was about to have sex with. He usually loved a woman before and during sex, but not very much afterwards. And he was going to sleep with this golden haired beauty. One way or another, he had to have her this very night.

“It was foolish to send a waiter lady. You see, I was too taken aback by your beauty to approach you personally. I tend to become very shy when I see such beauty in a woman.”

“Really? You don’t seem to be very shy right now.”

“It is because I finally gathered my courage.”

“So, talking to me requires courage.” She was amused.

“When a woman is so beautiful, yes, it does. Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mogashi Artavius. And you would make me the happiest man on the planet if you were kind enough to grant me one dance.”

Her eyes locked into his eyes and remained there for few seconds. That was all the time she needed to evaluate him and his intentions.

“Your words flatter me stranger, but I already have companionship for tonight.” She lovingly put her hand on her companion’s shoulder. “Tonight I dance only with my husband.”

“Husband? Fuck! She will never go to bed with me. At least not willingly.”

This fact did nothing to calm down his passion; far from that. It only inflated it further. A challenge always made Mogashi’s blood boil with excitement. What’s life good for if there are no challenges in it?

The wheels in his head were already turning. Usually, in this type of situation he would wait until the woman leaves the club and then order his men to beat the shit out of the guy. Then he usually grabbed the girl, took her to some secluded place and raped her. Before letting her go he would make her understand that if she goes to police, he will arrange for her and her entire family to be murdered. So far it always worked like a charm.

This was the typical procedure, but this woman here was way too beautiful and Mogashi had too much alcohol and drugs in his blood to wait patiently. He leaned closer to her until only few inches separated their faces.

“Look over there pretty face.” Her eyes followed his finger, which was pointing to the table where his bodyguards were sitting and watching him with a mixture of amusement and frustration.

“These are good friends of mine. So, you can come and dance with me willingly, or I can call them here and they will convince you to dance with me.”

The expression in her eyes changed, but not in the way he expected. He expected fear, but fear was absent in the woman’s eyes. She was attentively studying the three men, and she was doing so with the eyes of someone who has great experience in the ways of combat and violence. Then she did something he never expected – she started laughing.

“Little boy. Do yourself a favor and get lost before you and your friends get hurt.”

“Yeah!” Her husband joined in. “Don’t anger us child, or I’ll be forced to spank you. Now, be a good boy and run away. We adults have some adult things to discuss.”

This was simply unbelievable. Did he hear them correctly? They dared to make fun of him? How could anyone dare to do that? In fact, they made fun of his age, which was something Mogashi always felt very sensitive about. He had to make them pay. He had to make them pay now. Nobody could be allowed to make fun of him. Nobody.

He waived at his three companions to come to him. As they slowly approached the couple stood up. They were still smiling and pretending that nothing serious was happening, but their bodies tensed and prepared for action. The woman took off her high heel shoes. Mogashi noticed her movements, but to him they were meaningless. He had too much alcohol in his brain and too little combat experience to realize that high heels were a poor choice of footwear in combat. Nor did he notice the woman putting her hand on one of the bottles on the table. Why should he pay attention to this innocent gesture? It never occurred to him that a broken bottle makes very good and deadly weapon. And finally, he never saw anything strange about the husband putting his foot on a chair and scratching his leg. He didn’t pay attention to this gesture because his eye was not trained enough to spot a knife hidden in the boot, or to notice that the man’s fingers, while busy scratching the leg, always remained very close to it.

Mogashi smiled when his companions finally arrived. It was not one of those friendly and happy smiles.

“What is it?” Arthu’s voice was tired and resigned. He could feel that the young man got himself into trouble again and that it was going to be his task to clean up the mess.

“Arthu, these two over here had the audacity to make fun of me. I think that we should take them to some quiet, secluded place and make them understand that it is bad idea to make fun of me. What do you say?”

Arthu quickly evaluated the couple. Contrary to Mogashi, he did notice that the woman took off her shoes and that she was playing with a bottle. He also noticed that the man was scratching his leg in such a fashion that his fingers never ventured too far from the concealed knife. He did notice that both of them, although playing dumb, were watching them with the eyes of professional fighters. But most importantly, he saw the tattoo on their neck, and, unlike Mogashi, he recognized it.

“Lady. Sir. I am deeply sorry for this… deplorable incident. My friend had too much to drink and he apparently lost all control over himself.”

“What?” Mogashi reacted with total shock, confusion and disbelief. Had Arthu taken off his clothes and ran around completely naked flapping his arms and making chicken noises, he still would not have provoked such a powerful shock.

“There is no excuse for his behavior.” While the young man was staring at Arthu like a dumb animal, he himself paid no attention to him and continued with his excuses. “Please. I beg you to accept my sincerest and deepest apologies.”

“What?” asked Mogashi.

“I understand.” The woman replied with amusement in her voice. “Young people sometimes don’t think before they act, especially when alcohol is involved. Please kind sir, take your young friend away and there will be no hard feelings.”

“Of course lady. Consider it done.” He then turned to the cause of all this trouble. “Come with me. We are leaving.”

“What?”

“You already caused too much trouble tonight. We are leaving.”

“Fuck no!” Slowly the shock was already dissipating only to be replaced by rage. “This bitch over here…”

Arthu grabbed his arm so strongly that it hurt. “Come with me. Now.” The tone of his voice was low, but every word was like steel. A quick furious look into Mogashi’s eyes was enough to make him obedient. Like most bullies, the young man was cowardly when facing someone stronger.

The four men returned to their table and sat down. A minute or two of awkward silence followed. During this time Mogashi avoided any eye contact and started at his drink. Arthu was slowly sipping his cocktail and waiting for the inevitable explosion. He knew that Mogashi was gathering his strength and anger to verbally attack him. He didn’t have to wait too long.

“Arthu? What the fuck was that supposed to be? These assholes offend me and you treat them like some fucking royalty? Who the fuck you think you are you little shit? Do you even know that I can have you killed?”

Arthu couldn’t help but smile. Mogashi was a typical daddy’s boy. He thought that just because his father was one of the most powerful men on the planet, if not the most powerful, he also had the same power. He was about to learn otherwise.

“Don’t you smile at me. Do you know what I can do to you? I will fuck you up so badly that you…”

Ok. This was going too far.

“Shut up,” Arthu commanded.

“What did you just say to me?” Mogashi couldn’t believe his ears.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Arthu said in a mocking voice. “Please, let me elaborate. Shut the fuck up or I will help you shut the fuck up.”

Again, he succeeded in temporarily bullying Mogashi into silence.

“You asked me who I think I am. Well, I will tell you. I’m your protector. It is my job to protect you, even if it means protecting you from yourself. These people over there are dangerous – very dangerous. They are Krollians. I recognized their tattoo.

“I don’t care what religion they practice.”

Arthu closed his eyes and shook his head. Mogashi was a playboy who knew little about the world, except for the things in which playboys are normally interested, but nevertheless sometimes his ignorance was stupefying, even for a spoiled daddy’s boy.

“So what if they are religious? I’m not. Do you think I care about some religious mumbo jumbo?”

“Mogashi.”

“Do you think that I’m superstitious and afraid of their gods?”

“Mogashi.”

“Fuck their gods. Yeah, that’s right. Fuck them and their gods and their religion. What are they going to do? Pray to their gods to curse me? Oh no. I am so afraid.”

“Mogashi.”

“These assholes must learn their lesson. They treated me like some kid.”

At this point Arthu gave up and decided to wait patiently until the young fool exhausts himself.

“But I’m not a kid. I’m a man. And do you know what a man does when his honor is being challenged.”

“What? He calls his bodyguards to beat people because he can’t do so himself?” Arthu couldn’t help himself. Everyone around the table started laughing, except for Mogashi who stopped his raving and shot a lightning bolt from his eyes at Arthu. Everyone was too busy laughing to pay any attention to that. Nemthlem and Sork were not afraid of him. Or at least, they weren’t when Arthu was present.

“What?!” His silence didn’t last for too long. “What the fuck is so funny? You find it funny that I was humiliated? Well, then let me tell you something you stupid assholes. I will not…”

“Shut your mouth boy.” Arthu had enough. “Be quiet and…”

“How dare you to…”

“Be quiet and listen! And don’t interrupt me this time. My patience is at its limits. Now listen, and listen good. Krollians are not a religion. They are warriors from planet Kroll. And they are probably the best in the universe. They grow up in warrior culture where they start to train for war as soon as they can walk. And they are genetically engineered. Their entire life is devoted to combat. When they are not fighting, they train to fight. Ordinary commandos are pussies compared to these guys.”

“What is your point?”

“Am I talking to a fucking wall? Is there anything at all between those ears of yours? Can’t you understand that I am trying to tell you that those people are way out of our league? They are simply too dangerous. Those two could kill us as if we were nothing.”

“But I have a gun.” Mogashi pulled his gun from behind his back and put it on the table. “And you guys also have guns. What’s the fucking problem? Super soldiers or not, a bullet will drop them like any man.”

“Put it away. And believe me when I say this, it doesn’t matter that we have guns, they would kill us before we could even blink.”

“And what are they doing here on our planet, and in our bar? If they are as good as you say they are, shouldn’t they be somewhere else, fighting?”

“Governor Pellingar hired an entire regiment of them to deal with the rebellion in the Erna Mountains. These two are probably enjoying themselves before being sent to the front.”

“This is bullshit? How can you possibly know all of this?”

“I know all of this because I watch news and I have some contacts in the military.” Arthu didn’t even try to hide his anger anymore. “Because you see, I do watch news from time to time. Do you watch news sometimes, boy? Do you even know what news is, boy? Or do you think that television is just for watching your stupid porn movies, boy?”

He used the word “boy” on purpose. He knew that Mogashi hated to be called like that. He really wanted to piss him off. And he did get his wish.

“Don’t call me boy! How dare you?!”

“I’ll call you anything I want, boy. What are you going to do about it, boy?”

Mogashi clenched his fists to the point where it hurt. “I’ll tell my father about this. He will make you pay.”

Everyone around the table, with the exception of Mogashi of course, burst out in laughter.

“Oh no. I’m terrified,” teased Arthu trying to fake the voice of a little girl. “Please don’t tell your daddy. He might spank me.”

Mogashi didn’t answer. He just stood there in silence, but his eyes were speaking. They were saying that he wanted to murder Arthu – for real. However, if the older man noticed this gaze, he paid no attention to it. He just kept laughing with his two comrades.

“Ok.” He was still laughing, but now the laughter was slowly dying. “I think we all had enough for tonight. We are going back home. It’s time for your bedtime. If you want, I’ll come later to your room and read you a story.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” the words were more of a hiss than human speech. Mogashi could barely restrain himself from physically attacking.

“Yes, you are.” Arthu’s voice became cold and commanding, as did the expression in his eyes. “We are finished here and we are going home.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay here as long as I want.”

“This is not a polite request. You already have caused too much trouble here. We are going and that’s final. Your father charged me with protecting you and I will do that, even if it means protecting you from yourself.”

There was a silence. The two men kept talking, but this time they did so with their eyes rather than mouths. Their eyes were locked and the two were waging a battle of wills. Eventually Mogashi was forced to look down. He never had a chance to win against an older and more experienced man.

“I have t go to the bathroom first.” His voice was quiet and resigned.

“Fine. Go with him.” The order was addressed to the two other bodyguards.

“What? What is this shit? I don’t need their help to go to fucking bathroom.” Anger returned to Mogashi’s face. Arthu insulted him plenty tonight, but this was going too far.

“Relax. I’m sending them to keep an eye on you, not to help you. I want to make sure that you won’t cause anymore trouble, or run away for that matter.”

“How about my word? If I give you my word, won’t it be enough for you?” The young man was desperately trying to salvage something from his self-esteem.

“As a matter of fact, no. Your word means nothing to me. No hurry up and go kiddo. I don’t have the whole night to wait for you to pee.”

Mogashi turned around to leave, but as he was about to do so something awoke inside his soul and forced him to turn around. This time he was not angry. Actually, he was, but the force guiding him was not anger. It was cold determination of someone who was now beyond anger. He leaned close to Arthu so that only the two of them could hear what was about to be said.

“Look into my eyes.” Arthu did so. He was a very brave man, but for a split second even he got afraid of what he saw in the youth’s eyes. There was something evil inside them.

“I can’t do much about you right now.” Mogashi continued in a very calm voice – so calm that it wasn’t normal. “I recognize that. I can’t kill you because my father likes you too much. But one day, and this is a promise I’m making to myself and to you, one day I will kill you. Remember my words. You are a dead man. It’s only a matter of time now. All I have to do is wait and be patient. And I will wait. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll wait.” He then straightened, sent last deadly look at Arthu and left with forced grace and dignity.

All this time Arthu managed to keep a smile on his face and pretend that he was not taking the young man seriously, but he did. One look into these eyes and he had no doubt that Mogashi was serious. They both disliked each other for years, but after tonight things changed. The young man was extremely vengeful and was known to hold grudges forever. He inherited it from his father.

“I shouldn’t have made fun of him. That was a mistake. Looks like he wasn’t the only one who had too much to drink. Oh well. What’s done is done. No point to dwell on it.”

But much as he wanted to put this behind him, his mind did not allow it. He still had some time. Mr. Artavius was in very good shape and nothing suggested that he was going to die anytime soon. Rumor even had it that he was taking rejuvenation treatment. Arthu still had at the very least few more years before Mogashi was going to inherit his father’s criminal empire. Still, something had to be done before that moment comes.

“Fucking, little, arrogant prick. I hope that you die really soon.” Arthu raised his glass and made a silent toast to his wish. Sometimes people must be careful what they wish for. Sometimes wishes come true.

* * *

Mogashi stormed into the bathroom. Rage was consuming him. He was already making plans on how to kill Arthu. So long as his father lived he couldn’t do anything, or at least not openly. He had money, he knew the right people, he could easily hire an assassin, but there were risks. Arthu was his father’s most trusted and favored man, even something of a friend, assuming that the old man ever afforded himself the weakness of having a true friend. The old man would certainly investigate Arthu’s death, and if he ever discovered Mogashi’s involvement… Actually, Mogashi was not sure what his father would do. The old Artavius was not going to kill his only son, but the punishment would have been savage.

No. It was much better to wait. Besides, it would be no fun to kill Arthu right now. Right now his death would have to be quick, and Mogashi was too vengeful for this type of death. He wanted Arthu to die slowly and in pain, and he wanted to be there and watch. It was preferable to wait for old Artavius to die and then kidnap Arthu and take him to some nice, quiet and secluded place where he could have fun with him. Yes. That was much better and pleasant. And then there was that old saying. “Vengeance is like wine. The longer it waits, the sweeter it tastes.”

All these thoughts were passing through Mogashi’s head as he was busy taking care of his biological needs. Halfway through the process of urinating he noticed that Bemthlem and Sork stood near the door and very quietly were discussing something.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Just talking Mogashi,” Bemthlem answered.

“I mean what are you two doing here with me? And don’t call me Mogashi. You will address me as boss. Understand?”

“Sure thing Mo… boss. And we’re here because Arthu told us to keep an eye on you.”

“So? You had to enter here with me? Can I at least take a piss in peace? Or do you think that I’m too young for that as well? Maybe you would like to come over here and hold my dick for me?”

“Hey, Mogashi . No need to get angry. We are just doing our job. That’s all.”

“Don’t fucking tell me when to get angry! Leave and wait outside.”

“But…”

“Get the fuck out of here and wait outside! Did I make myself clear?”

The two men left as ordered. Mogashi finished emptying his bladder and went to the other end of the bathroom to wash his hands. As he was doing so, the sound of flushed water came from one of the private cabins and few seconds later its door opened. And then, much to Mogashi’s anger and surprise, the Krollian husband came out.

He took a quick glance at Mogashi and without a word, as if they never met before, came to a nearby lavatory and started washing his hands. His face and eyes showed no emotion, but Mogashi somehow got the impression that inside the man was laughing at him.

Just as it is the case with any human being, inside Mogashi there were two voices speaking all at once. The first one was the voice of reason. It was telling him that this man was probably not laughing at him, and even if he was, Mogashi should do nothing. This man was dangerous. That was what Arthu told him. Mogashi hated Arthu, but nevertheless he knew that the man had considerable knowledge and experience. If he said that the Krollian was some sort of supersoldier, then he was.

But at the same time the voice of unreason whispered something else into his ear. That voice was telling him that this man had insulted him, and Mogashi was tired of being insulted. He hated the woman for rejecting his advances, he hated her husband for ridiculing him, he hated Arthu for treating him like a kid and he hated Bemthlem and Sork for quietly agreeing with Arthu. But he most hated himself for not having the balls to stand up for himself. He hated his powerlessness and lack of courage.

The voice of unreason was telling Mogashi that this Krollian man was soon going to leave and he will never see him again. The voice of reason was assuring him that there was nothing wrong with that, but the other voice screamed that it was totally unacceptable for this man to leave without suffering any consequences for his insults. The voice was taunting him. Telling Mogashi that if he allows the Krollian to leave unharmed, then he was not worthy of calling himself a man. Unfortunately for Mogashi, the voice of unreason proved to be louder than the voice of reason.

“You know something, you don’t realize it, but you are a very fortunate man,” Mohashi started the conversation.

The Krollian smiled. “Really? And why is that?”

“Because my friends dragged me away from you before I had the time to harm you. They are the only thing that saved you.”

The Krollian’s smile grew much bigger. He barely refrained from laughing aloud. That little pup’s attempt to start a fight was so pathetic and laughable. Did he really believe his words? Well, if the kid wanted a fight, he was going to get it, but first they were going to have some fun.

The older man finished washing his hands and took a paper towel. Slowly, much slowly than it normally takes, he started drying his hands.

“You are right,” he finally responded. The smile was still present on his face and his voice was cheerful. “It was really fortunate for me that they dragged you away. But not for the reason you say. Do you know why it was fortunate?” He didn’t wait for Mogashi to try to guess. “Because I heard that laws are harsh on this planet and I wouldn’t want to be convicted for killing a child.”

For the first time he turned to face Mogashi. His smile changed from happy to nasty, and the tone of his voice shifted from cheerful to provoking.

“Listen kid. I know that you are angry at me, but it is better for you to forget it. Look at you. You are such a pretty young boy. Once you grow up a little and go through your puberty girls will go all crazy on you.” He made a small pause to let the words sink in and prepare the ground for the culminating sentence. Suddenly his face took on menacing expression, as did his voice. “So you see, it would be a shame if I were to smash that pretty face of yours.”

He expected Mogashi to answer or do something, but he didn’t. His face was like stone. The Krollian wrongly assumed that the youth was terrified, but that was not the case. Had he known the young man, he would have recognized his state as fury bordering on insanity. However, thinking that Mogashi was intimidated and feeling somewhat nasty, the man decided to add insult to injury.

“So don’t fuck with me little boy. I can take on twenty men like you and… Wait. Did I say men? I meant boys. I can take on twenty boys like you all at once with my eyes closed and my right arm tied behind my back. So if you know what’s good for you boy, go back home and get some sleep. Perhaps when you wake up in the morning you’ll get a little bit smarter.”

The Krollian rolled his paper towel into a ball and threw it at Mogashi’s feet. “And if you can’t fall asleep, then ask your mommy to read you a bedtime story.”

He turned around and made his way for the exit whistling some happy tune. The Krollian couldn’t see that the stone mask on Mogashi’s face was blown to pieces as the volcano finally erupted.

“That’s it you motherfucker. You’re a dead man.”

The young man reached behind him and pulled his gun out. Arthu was right when warning Mogashi about Krollian fighting abilities. They really were genetically engineered supersoldiers with a lifetime of combat training and experience. The Krollian’s ears had no trouble capturing the sound of a gun readied for action. His genetically improved muscles had no trouble granting him superhuman speed. His next movements were executed with masterful precision and fantastic speed.

The man crouched, pulled out the knife from his boot, turned around and threw it, doing everything in one beautiful, fluent movement. Mogashi’s eyes rolled upwards. Perhaps it was the result of the nervous system sending last, desperate signals to the brain. Or maybe Mogashi simply wanted to see the knife that was now sticking from his forehead. Whatever the reason, the young man remained in that position for two uncertain seconds, and then he slowly fell backwards. When he fell, his gun hit the floor. The impact activated the mechanism inside and the pistol fired a single shot.

“Shit.”

The Krollian didn’t know what to do next. When Mogashi pulled out the gun, he had acted on pure instincts. Had the killing been a quiet affair, he would drag the corpse into one of the private cabins, go get his wife and then leave the club immediately.

“Mogashi!” A voice came from behind the door. “Is everything ok there?”

“Shit.” This time the man cursed aloud.

Sensing that the bodyguards won’t wait for too long, the Krollian grabbed Mogashi’s gun and got himself ready. He did so just in time. The door was opened violently and Sork with Bemthlem behind burst inside, each one with gun in hand.

The Krollian aimed his pistol and started shooting. He wasn’t thinking or aiming. Years of practice made him act on nothing but pure instinct, which usually was completely sufficient to get him out of trouble.

Sork didn’t get a chance to fire. Bullets slammed into his body and he was thrown backwards where Bemthlem caught him more by accident than deliberate decision. Nevertheless, it was a very fortunate turn of events for him because Sork’s dead body now served as a shield. The two men began firing at each other.

* * *

The Krollian was lying on the floor. A pool of his own blood was slowly forming underneath him. The fact that blood was collecting slowly rather than rapidly was reassuring. It meant that bleeding was not too severe. His genetically engineered organism was going to stop the blood loss in a minute or two, but right now he had bigger problems to worry about.

Bemthlem was also still alive, and he was in much better condition. He was completely unscathed. During the firefight he used Sork’s body for protection and managed to completely avoid damage. Now the gangster was standing close to the wounded man and pointing his gun at him.

In his thoughts the Krollian cursed his own stupidity. “Why did I have to shoot at the torso? I should have aimed at the guy’s head. Stupid idiot.”

It wasn’t really his fault. It was the gun. He was used to fighting with powerful military pistols that not only could shoot through human body as if it was paper, but they left behind a hole the size of man’s fist. But the kid had to have one of these small handguns that are good for nothing.

“This is not my lucky day.”

Oh well, at least he was still alive. His wounds were serious, but probably not lethal, or at least not for a supersoldier. He was certain that he could survive, provided that the bodyguard wouldn’t take into his head to finish him off. Making sure that he doesn’t was going to be tricky, however.

Mogashi’s gun was lying just few feet away. The Krollian was fast, but he was also wounded and lying on his back. It could take him as long as one or two seconds to get up and get the gun. Unfortunately, the bodyguard was also fast and he had his gun pointed at him. One or two seconds was not fast enough.

The Krollian had to find a solution, and he had to find it quick. Maybe if he could trick the man into pointing his gun in another direction, it could give him a fraction of a second necessary to grab Mogashi’s handgun. But it appeared that the bodyguard was careful and would not allow himself to relax until his opponent was dead.

Dead? That was the idea. The Krollian knew this nice trick. He once used it back when he was a young man and it worked like a charm. This was very good time to try it again.

He started by violently coughing for a moment and then closed his eyes with a loud gasp. Next, his head slowly fell to the side. At the same time he concentrated on slowing down his breathing to the point where it was undetectable from a distance.

If everything worked as he planned, the bodyguard was now going to leave or come closer to check his pulse. If he was going to check his pulse, he would not live for long. The Krollian was extremely deadly in unarmed combat. One or two fast moves and he would break the man’s neck without any difficulty.

Meantime, Bemthlem was busy thinking whether the man was more valuable dead or alive. What would make him look better in Mr. Artavius’s eyes? Capturing alive the man who killed his son, or killing the man who killed his son? He had to think fast before Arthu arrived and took the decision for him, in the process also taking all the credit for himself.

Then he saw the man coughing violently, closing his eyes and dying. This meant that he no longer had any choice in this matter. The man was already dead, or was in the process of dying.

Bemthlem, despite being a hardened killer, had somewhat merciful nature and decided to finish off the Krollian. If he was dead, then there was no harm in doing so. And if he was dying, then it was going to be a mercy killing. Of course, he could call an ambulance and maybe the doctors could manage to save him, but what was the point? Mr. Artavius would simply kill him later in hospital. He might even have the Krollian taken away and then tortured to death. Was in not more merciful to kill him now while it still could be done painlessly?

For a second he considered checking the man’s pulse, but he decided against it. If he was going to kill him anyway, then why should he bother? No need to waste time. He started repeatedly pulling the trigger and did not stop until the gun became empty.