Bill did not reply. He knew better than to.
“How can a government survive when an invincible lunatic scares everyone into living by his rules? This—this monster can kill anybody he wants at a drop of a hat!”
“Mr. President, our people are working—”
“Our people won’t find anything. Our people are complete idiots! We’ll both be dead before our people do anything!”
Bill was silent again.
The president looked down at the ground. He took a deep breath. Then another. “It’s over, Bill…it’s all over.”
There was a long silence before Bill broke it, unable to believe what he was hearing. “…over, sir?”
“We can’t win. We’re both as good as dead if we stay here. Just like Richardson! Before long, he will get his way. Things will become the way he wants it to be and then the domino effect he wants will begin.”
“Domino effect…sir?”
The president looked over at his assistant. “It’s obvious what he wants. Our government’s demise will inspire the people of other countries to rise up and crush the corruption in their governments. Before long, the entire political landscape of the world could change. We could be living in a whole new world. A world of his design.”
Gonzalez turned away and began to make his way to the large window. Keeping his gaze downcast, he walked with his hands crossed behind his back.
Bill kept his eyes on his boss, thinking if he should say what he wanted to. Finally he gained the courage to speak. “Do you think it’ll happen?”
Gonzalez kept his back turned toward his chief-of-staff. “Maybe it will. Maybe he is an angel sent from heaven…or maybe he was created in the other place.”
***
The news of the dead soldiers overshadowed another death that occurred the previous night. Gregory McCoy, a well-established businessman and a person thought to have ties with the revolution, was found dead. However, because of what happened to the soldiers, McCoy’s death was moved to page two of the papers.
In the cold warehouse, William sat in his office. The window in front of his desk allowed him to look into the rest of the building. Only two of the ceiling lights in the main part of the building were lit, leaving the rest of the massive room shrouded in darkness. One small lamp on his desk provided the only illumination in his office. From William’s perspective, it looked like Ethan’s adjacent office was mostly darkened as well.
His desk was quite a bit cleaner compared to Ethan’s. Next to his computer was an old picture of his late wife. It was the same picture that had been in his office when he was a reporter. But right now, William paid no heed to it as he went about his business.
William sat in his office reading the latest news and looking over numerous photos—pictures of an unthinkable crime. Pictures that were difficult to decipher.
These killers were as professional as any William had ever come across. He still only had the first name of the male killer to go by, Danior, but could not find any record of his existence. Their search through databases had pulled up nothing, even with the description of the killers. No list of associates. No background information. Nothing.
Usually, a name was all William needed. After all, he had tracked down people with less information. But it was as if these two were ghosts.
With a sigh, he slowly got up from his chair and walked out of the doorway. He heard a female voice coming from Ethan’s office. It was the recording of Katrina.
William smiled to himself upon hearing her voice. At least his friend received some comfort during these long days and longer nights. He took a few steps before reaching the entrance to Ethan’s office, his light footsteps echoing through the warehouse.
Ethan’s eyes were shut, his mind processing everything that the recording said. Sleep tried to overtake him, but he kept it at bay, knowing that there was no time for that right now. However, the moment Ethan closed his eyes, it happened again. The Beast—its face consuming Ethan’s vision—returned to haunt him. Its voice dominated his mind. Its grasp devoured his heart.
Daken.
The beast was only inches away from him. It looked directly into Ethan’s soul. It could see Ethan’s fear. It could sense his terror. And it only made Daken stronger.
“Death. It is coming.”
Daken’s voice was as dark and evil as ever, more menacing than before, more wicked than Ethan remembered. They made his heart tremble and filled his soul with an inescapable terror.
“NO!” Ethan awoke with a yell, suddenly opening his eyes and leaping to his feet. He was covered in his own sweat. His heart was beating fast. His body shook uncontrollably. Quick and rapid breaths escaped him as his eyes frantically looked around at his surroundings. He tried to regain control of himself.
Sensing a presence, his eyes suddenly shot towards the doorway. William was staring at him, wide-eyed. Not able to say anything upon seeing his friend’s condition, William was silent and waited for Ethan to regain his composure.
Taking in a deep breath, Ethan looked away and set his sights on the one thing that could free his mind from any fear and darkness: the golden framed picture of Katrina.
With a quick motion, Ethan shut off the recording of her voice. Wiping the sweat off of his face with his sleeve, he looked back at William after a long moment.
“You okay, Ethan?”
“I’m fine…just a long night I guess.”
“I heard about McCoy. I’m assuming that was you.”
Ethan shook his head.
William raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t kill him?”
“I found him dead when I got there.”
“You know who did it?”
Ethan shook his head again.
“That’s too bad.”
“It doesn’t matter who took him down. All that matters is that he got what was coming for him.” He paused for a moment. “You heading out?”
William nodded.
“Be careful.”
“You’re not exactly qualified to tell people to be careful seeing as you tend to get shot at every day,” William replied with a smirk.
Ethan returned the gesture.
“Besides, if they come after me, it’ll make my job a lot easier.”
“Remember, don’t go after them alone. When you find out where they are, tell me and we’ll get them together. Those killers are dangerous animals.”
Again, William nodded. Seeing Ethan’s look, he knew there was something he wanted to say.
A few moments of silence passed before Ethan broke it. “I lied to you, William.”
“About what?”
“A few days ago, you asked if it bothers me…if what we do bothers me.”
William looked back at his comrade.
“Some nights I can’t sleep. It’s not the fear of dying, or the killing that keeps me awake. It’s the fact that I find myself staring into an endless abyss of evil and injustice that can never truly be destroyed. An abyss that tries to make me a part of it every day, tries to blacken my soul and strip me of my humanity. That tries to swallow me into its sadistic heart.”
William was silent for a few moments. He looked down at Ethan’s desk and noticed an article about a man who had committed suicide. The man had jumped off of the roof of his apartment complex around the same time Ethan had been battling Sergeant Jones and his thugs. “You can’t blame yourself, Ethan, for the bad things that happen. For the good people that are dying and the evil that you can’t stop.”
“No matter what I do, I keep getting sucked into the abyss. With every life I take. With every person I fail, the abyss takes me in deeper. I can’t stop it.”
“Yes you can.” William’s gaze went onto the picture of Ethan’s father. “Remember why we’re doing this. Remember what happens if we don’t. Remember the eyes of the people you and I have saved. And, remember those that we couldn’t.”
Ethan was silent as he followed William’s gaze.
“Remember what people
have given up for us. The sacrifices made so that we can do this. The years given up by those so that we can accomplish what we need to accomplish.” William paused. “And when you sleep with those thoughts, you will have the most beautiful and colorful dreams. Dreams of what the world will be like when we are done; when our mission is accomplished, when the people are freed, and when Daken is dead. Then, the abyss will be gone.”
Ethan was silent for a long moment. He glanced down at his lap before slowly bringing his gaze back onto his friend. “…I’m sorry for dragging you into all this, William.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead. If it wasn’t for you, a lot of people would be dead, and the rest would be hopeless.”
“This wasn’t your fight.”
“It’s been my fight since the day my wife died, Ethan. This is where I need to be.”
Ethan nodded, knowing that William spoke from his heart.
“Besides, if I’m not here who’s going to look after your sorry butt?”
Ethan chuckled as he shook his head.
“You think they’ll talk about us, Ethan? You think they’ll be legends about us in the future?”
“Legends?”
William laughed.
“I don’t know if anybody would ever want to hear about us.” Ethan’s tone became more genuine with his next words. He looked directly into William’s eyes. “But I know what stories my kids will hear before they go to bed. They’ll hear about the brave and heroic adventures of William Jones.”
“Brave? I don’t know if that’s the word I’d use to describe me, Ethan.”
“I wouldn’t use any other one.”
William lightly smirked as he turned to leave Ethan’s office. “Well, time to go make some bedtime stories.”
“Where’re you going?”
“My contact called. Said he has some information for me.”
“Okay…I am going to meet with Villanueva in a few hours.”
“For what?”
“To sign the contract.”
William’s eyes widened. “You did all the digging you needed to do?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I decided it’s about time we trusted somebody.”
William smiled. “Won’t argue with you on that one. What do you plan to do until the meeting?”
Ethan looked at the picture of Katrina. “Rest…at least for a little while.”
“I’m sure my future sister-in-law would be glad to hear that.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that.”
William walked toward the door to leave, but Ethan’s words stopped him.
“Hey, William, thanks for this. I needed to hear what you said.”
“I’ll always be watching your back, Ethan. Always.”
And with those words, William walked into the darkness.
Chapter 13
Realities of War
“I’m surprised that this deal came through so quickly.” Villanueva took a seat at his desk across from Ethan. Only the two of them were present in Villanueva’s office. Both men held a copy of the agreement, freshly printed and seven pages long.
“Well, Mr. Villanueva, when working with someone as honest as you, doing a background check isn’t really too necessary.” Ethan picked up the pen and flipped to the last page of the document. “In fact, there’s nobody else I’d rather do this sort of endeavor with.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Villanueva followed suit and picked up his pen, quickly signing his name. “But still, it hasn’t even been a week since you were last in my office and we’re already signing the contract. I couldn’t believe when my secretary got the call this morning and said you were ready to sign. Especially like this without any sort of arbiter.”
Ethan looked up at his counterpart. “We only have twenty-four hours in a day. Might as well make the most of them.”
“Wise words.”
“So when is your publicist going to make the announcement?”
“Just in time for the evening news.”
“I won’t even ask what your board of directors is saying about this deal.”
“I can assure you, Ethan, I wouldn’t want to repeat what they told me to anyone.”
Ethan smiled as he looked down at his wristwatch. “Well I should probably be off.”
“You only got here a few minutes ago.” Villanueva rose out of his seat. “Can’t I convince you to stay for lunch? Let’s celebrate the new partnership.”
“Next time, Mr. Villanueva. I already have some previous engagements.”
“If you insist.” Reluctantly, the host shook his guest’s hand.
Ethan turned to leave, but Villanueva’s voice stopped him.
“Oh, Ethan, before I forget, how’s Katrina doing?”
The small smile Ethan wore slowly disappeared. “I…I don’t know.” Hearing Villanueva’s tone, a bit of fear began to trickle into Ethan’s heart. “Why are you asking?”
“Didn’t you hear? Boris. He had a stroke.”
***
There was no answer. Again.
Ethan pulled the Bluetooth off of his ear and carelessly tossed it onto the passenger seat. He silently cursed William’s bad habit of not answering when Ethan needed to get in touch with him.
The highway was nearly empty. Keeping one hand on the leather steering wheel, Ethan could hardly keep his mind on the road as he speedily drove down the nearly empty highway.
Boris.
Boris was dying. He was on his deathbed and there was nothing that Ethan could do about it. Even with all his strength, he would not be able to save the man who was like a father to him. Even after all the lives he had saved, Ethan could do nothing.
His grip tightened around the steering wheel with each passing second. The thought of Katrina facing this all alone filled his soul with countless emotions. Anger. Fear. Sorrow. They were all there.
Ethan’s first instinct was to go to Katrina. Be there for her and Boris.
The movement was so close to victory and he was not needed anymore. The leaders of the revolution could do the rest, and William was there if they needed anything. William was more than capable to deal with any type of hindrances that could arise. William already knew most of the failsafe plans and Ethan could fill him in on the rest that evening. All he needed was a word of agreement from William and he would be at Katrina’s side in the next instant.
He placed another call to William, but his call went unanswered…again.
***
It was getting late and the work day was coming to an end. Ethan came out of his office and headed down the hallway toward the elevator, receiving warm greetings from his staff as he passed by them. However, he did not return the gesture. Tonight, he barely noticed their presence.
He stared in a lost gaze waiting for the elevator to arrive. His mind was far from this place. How was Boris doing, and how was Katrina handling it? And why hadn’t William called back?
Ethan shook his head, as if loosening the worries from his mind. Instead, he tried focusing his attention on other pressing matters. He needed to stay focused.
Victory was close at hand. Within a matter of days, Gonzalez would announce his resignation and emergency elections would take place soon after that. It was all but certain that Villanueva would win in a landslide and would lead the nation back into the light.
People were standing up for each other now. Crime and corruption were at their lowest rates in the history of the nation. The good in people was finally beginning to surface. William could handle everything from here on out. He could keep a watchful eye on things while Ethan was away.
The more Ethan thought about it, the more it made sense. The more he was sure this was the right course of action. Tonight, when he saw William at the warehouse, he would tell him. William would understand. He always did.
And by tomorrow morning, he would be at Katrina’s side.
Exiting the elevator, Ethan stopped short of running into his secretary. r />
The young woman’s eyes momentarily widened when she saw her boss. “Mr. Daniels—”
“Yes, Susie?”
“I was just on my way up to see you, sir.”
“What do you need?”
“There’s somebody here to see you. That gentleman.” Susie motioned over to her desk. A man was standing beside it. He was middle-aged, tall, a little bit on the heavy side, and wore a black trench coat. “He said he’s a cop.”
“Did he say what he wants?”
“No, sir.”
“Thanks.” Ethan began to walk toward the officer. He did not know why, but for some reason he was getting a bad feeling. It wasn’t from the man himself, but from something else. It was the same kind of vibe he received from Villanueva this morning right before finding out about Boris’ stroke.
The officer looked Ethan’s way and slightly smiled as he watched Ethan make his approach.
They shook hands.
“Mr. Daniels, I’m Officer Hopkins.”
“What can I do for you officer?”
“Actually, sir, I’m here because there’s been a grave incident.”
“Incident?”
Hopkins nodded. “Yes, sir. Regarding your friend.”
Ethan stood motionless, suddenly struck with paralyzing fear.
“William Jones, sir. He—he was found an hour ago…dead. He was murdered, Mr. Daniels.”
Chapter 14
Hunting Dogs
Two weeks later:
Even at this early hour of the morning, the graveyard was cold. But then again, it was always cold. The trees were all barren as far as the eye could see. Some were ancient and had seen hundreds of funerals. Others were hardly even a foot out of the ground. But they were all here to witness the burial of a man who had given everything for his fellow people.
Everyone formed a circle around the headstone. The casket was lowered while a priest clad in black recited verses from a book he was holding. He was barely audible above the cries of the mourners.
The funeral was small, just like William would have wanted it.