The rooms reeked of gunpowder and blood.
Seven men stood under a flickering light each armed to the teeth some with leather gloves, vest and rifles. Professionals by reputation at least.
But they weren't facing a target
They were facing a storm
A blur moved between them Swiftly, soundless and brutal.
CRACK!
A pistol whipped across a jaw, shattering the teeth before the first body hit the ground, a spinning kick landed on the next, crushing a windpipe.
BANG! BANG!
Two short bursts and chest shots. Clean. No screaming, just the sound of collapsing flesh and metal clattering on the floor.
Damn it! Spread out! Their boss yelled. His eyes were wide but it was too late
A black coat swept through the room he ducked under a table rolled forward and grabbed the man's leg, and yanked him down hard then snapped his neck with one twist.
Four down, Three left.
The last ones panicked and fired Muzzle flashes lit the room scattering the entire place but no hits on their target
The boss is down one of them yelled
Their target was already behind them.
Thud. Thud.
He dropped two more with silenced shots to the back of the head, Only one remained trembling, cornered, pointing a gun with both hands like it would make a difference.
The man in the coat walked forward, calm.
"Do you know who I am?"
Y...yes…"K-Kazuki…"
BANG.
The bullet went straight through his eye
Kazuki exhaled, His gun was still warm.
The room went still and silent, Seven dead bodies lay crumpled like discarded dolls with blood everywhere
---
Across town, two men walked briskly toward an old warehouse.
One of them with a shaved head, leather jacket checked his wrist. "They should've been done by now."
The other, quiet kept his right hand in his pocket and the other on a smoke, i can't wait to tell the boss how much I took today, from those losers.
They stopped in front of the rusted steel door. It was slightly open and the room was dark
"Odd," whispered the first.
He pushed it open.
Darkness.
No sounds. Just the faint buzz of a broken light overhead.
They stepped inside, boots echoing on the floor, One reached for the switch and flicked it on.
Click.
Then came the light harsh and cold.
And then they saw it.
Their boss strung up against a pillar, throat slashed wide open, His eyes were still wide, frozen in horror, The other bodies lay scattered and gunned down, some stabbed, one even hung by chains from the ceiling like a butchered pig.
The silence hit harder than the scene.
Then came the voice.
Low, Calm, and Confident.
"You're late."
The two men turned, their guns were drawn before the shadow even moved.
But they weren't fast enough
From the far corner of the room, someone stepped forward, Black boots, Black gloves
Kazuki.
"I expected eight men and one boss," he said, eyes cold. "Seems you two are the missing pieces."
Before they could fire, Kazuki moved.
One gun knocked to the side, the other disarmed by a twist of the wrist.
BANG. BANG.
Two shots was all it took
Two more bodies joined the floor.
His earpiece buzzed.
"Kazuki. Status?"
He pressed the receiver, Cleaned up all nine dead.
That's good I knew I could always count on you.
He left the light behind and walked back into the shadows.
---
Kazuki's apartment was on the seventh floor of a forgotten building in old that barely existed, Small, and quiet not anything fancy. window view of neon signs and rusty rooftops.
He tossed his coat on the rack, holstered his sidearm, and ran a hand through his hair.
The mirror above the sink caught his reflection tired eyes, blood on the collar and a small cut on the cheekbone.
Nothing permanent.
He showered in silence, the water was red, his muscles ached, but nothing unfamiliar.
After drying off, he sat on the edge of his bed, gun beside him on the nightstand.
Another job done.
Another night survived.
He laid back.
For a moment, there was peace.
Then
BOOM!
The walls shook.
Glass shattered from the window, flames flared outside, his ears rang from the impact.
Kazuki rolled off the bed as another explosion rocked the building. A drone strike?
Who would attack a building with innocent citizens and how did they find me?
No time to think.
He grabbed his pistol, rolled to the hallway, and flung the door open.
Gunfire roared from the stairwell.
A man in black armor burst into the hallway, assault rifle raised only for Kazuki to shoot him twice in the chest and once in the head.
He moved like a ghost.
He went down the corridor Low and fast
A second attacker leapt through the smoke, swinging a machete, Kazuki ducked, countered, and drove his elbow into the attacker's ribs, cracking them, then he shoved him out a window.
More enemies.
Not street thugs these were trained.
Professional.
How did they find him?
He moved fast, down the stairwell, past burning debris, every floor brought more enemies, he shot, stabbed, broke necks and cracked limbs.
By the time he reached the second floor, the building was a warzone.
Then he saw it.
Laser sights.
Sniper team.
He ducked behind a vending machine as bullets ripped through the wall behind him. He needed to disappear.
But he was already bleeding his side was torn open a grazebut deep enough to slow him.
Still, his breath was steady.
They pulled out a smoke grenade, popped the pin, and tossed it down the hallway to where he was
ffssssssshh…
The corridor filled with white smoke
Kazuki uses the opportunity and vanished inside it like a ghost.
By the time the sniper team moved in to check, all they found was blood, empty shelfs, and a single word scrawled on the wall in red.
"TRY HARDER."
Outside, Kazuki limped through the back alley blood dripped from his side, but his eyes were alive and focused checking for anyone following him.
There was silence at some some point as if nothing happened but he could hear sirens
of police cars coming.
Kazuki looked up at the rising smoke from his apartment.
Who the hell was chasing me?
and how did they find me?
He faded into the dark, footsteps silent with his breath always steady.