I stepped into the alley, sweating and frightened by the blood at the entrance. I moved closer and saw someone slumped with his back against the wall. As I came nearer I could make him out clearly.
He looked like an army officer — maybe even Special Forces — from his uniform. He seemed to be in his forties. He was badly hurt and covered in blood.
Before I could get any closer he aimed a pistol at me and shouted, "WHOEVER THE FUCK IS THERE, YOU BETTER COME OUT OR I'LL SHOOT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!" Terrified, I stumbled out and yelled, "Please — don't shoot! I'm scared for my life."
He looked at me and said, "You're just a kid." Then, confused, he asked, "What the bloody hell are you doing here at this time of night?" I barely opened my mouth to answer when a noise came from the alley entrance.
The soldier's expression hardened. "Hide somewhere," he hissed. "And make no sound." He meant it — I could tell by the tone of his voice and the way his face went tight. I hid near a dumpster.
A man walked in from the entrance, pistol aimed at the soldier. He told the soldier, "Don't do anything stupid." As he approached I could see him clearly now. He was about 6'2", wearing a suit spattered with blood.
He looked down at the soldier and sneered, "I never thought I'd meet Goat — the legend, the one and only Death Eye. You sure live up to your name." He bragged that the soldier had taken down fifty of his men and even one of his top lieutenants without giving away his location. Then he added that one of his injured men had by mistake fired at a C4 charge near the oil tank, which triggered an explosion that wounded the soldier because he was too close. The man kept rambling that he'd been hurt trying to save his goods — not his men — and then said, "Well, so long."
The man raised his gun toward the soldier. I felt my bladder give out in fear. Suddenly, a black cat leaped at me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. In my panic I slammed into the dumpster and made a loud noise. The man spun, looked around, and barked, "Whoever's there — come out now, or I'll make a hole in you, no matter who the fuck you are."