04-01-2018, 11:13 AM
Claire took up her position with the casual precision of a professional who had done this a thousand times. In reality, it was likely only a couple hundred, but exact details like that didn’t matter so much. She had already assembled her weapon, gotten into a comfortable position on her stomach, and had now braced her weapon onto the low wall in front of her, giving her a clear view out into the city. Somewhere out in the mass of people and vehicles was her bounty.
She knew very little personal information about the person she was hunting, except that he was a solo drug dealer that had been stepping on toes of people much bigger than them. Normally, she wouldn’t consider helping drug cartels with their problems, but something in their bounty posting had caught her eye. This solo dealer had been operating outside of the law, which didn’t bother her, but they had also been cutting their drugs with dangerous stuff in order to turn a bigger profit. Overdoses were suddenly much more common in their area of operation, and THAT was one good enough reason for her to take up the contact.
A much smaller reason was that this dealer had somehow been quite problematic to track down. Despite operating in a relatively small area, no one had been able to physically locate where the dealer was, or even who it was. Witnesses spoke of a person selling out of something similar to a newspaper stand, except one that was armored up on all sides and operated out of a rotating box. The couple of times they were cracked open, they had been completely empty.
Claire’s current hope was that they were a teleporter, and that firing into one of those stalls while it was being operated would take them out. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was the best plan she had at the moment. 1000 meters away, it wasn’t even that risky, and if she got them in broad daylight it would be public knowledge in a matter of hours.
As she searched through the scope of her rifle for her target, however, she suddenly spotted something she hadn’t expected. A very familiar red arm, with a recognizable star design, unmistakably attached to someone she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Claire’s heart jumped when she first saw him, and she followed him in her scope as she tried to figure out if it was really him. Jakob Volkov, the man who refused to die, despite every attempt to the contrary. As she confirmed his identity, she noticed the group of people he was talking to. Curious, she patiently watched him, waiting as they chatted for a bit about something. Then, one of the better-dressed men pulled out a briefcase and went to open it. In response, Jakob grabbed it and dumped its contents onto the ground, bags and vials of something spilling out, which quickly drew out the ire of his current companions. They grabbed the now empty briefcase, which Jakob seemed to let go without a fight, and then proceeded to push him around a bit before shoving him away, leaving him on his own to wander down the street.
“Naughty boy.” she whispered to herself, clicking her tongue in a disapproving tone and shaking her head slightly.
Her attention was now fully on Jakob and what he was doing, her earlier plan almost forgotten entirely as she watched where he went next. He stumbled down the path he had been walking, seemingly at random, towards a destination that she doubted even he knew. To her mild surprise, less than a minute later he ended up at the very armored newsstand she had been scouting out, and he leaned against it like he needed to catch his breath. She watched his head perk up suddenly, and that told her all she needed to know about whether there was someone inside or not.
Her mind slowly went through a few scenarios in her head. There was no way she could make it down to him in time. Even if he was distracted for several minutes and she ran at full speed, she almost certainly wouldn’t make it before he got himself lost. And in this sprawling city, once she lost him he was as good as gone. Then there was the matter of her job. Finding out where the newsstand would be today had been entirely lucky, and there was no telling when she would find it again. If she took a shot, then she would certainly have to leave Jakob behind.
Decisions, decisions…
With a quick sigh, she ejected the magazine from her rifle and then unchambered the loaded bullet. She held it up to her lips, giving it a quick kiss before reloading it back into the magazine. Then she slammed it back into place and rechambered the shot. She took aim, clicking the safety off and holding her breath. A second passed, and then she squeezed the trigger.
“With love, from the barrel of my gun straight to your heart.”
-
Jakob hadn’t heard clearly what the man had said, but he had heard something about drugs, and that was enough to interest him. He lifted his head and stared at steel barrier like he expected it to grow a face and speak directly to him.
“What drugs?” he asked curiously.
“I said, are you looking to buy or not?” the voice responded, clearly annoyed, “I don’t got all day, and if you aren’t buying then piss off!”
“I-” Jakob started, and then something picked him up and slammed him hard into the cart in front of him. He ricocheted off, flying backward and rolling until hitting a wall. With a groan, he twisted himself onto his back, leaning his head against the wall and looking up at newsstand he had just gotten a bit intimate with. The steel had a nasty hole in it now, big enough that he could probably climb through if he wanted. He started to push himself off the ground to do that.
His legs wouldn’t move.
Confused, he looked down, and then he noticed the massive hole in his chest, similar to the one in the armored newsstand. With his human hand, he reached up and touched it, feeling the hot, sticky liquid that was bubbling out of him.
“Oooh…” he said with the tone of a child who had just figured out that the square peg didn’t fit in the round hole. He poked a finger into himself, and then found he could easily fit his entire hand in. “Dats… not good.” he added thoughtfully, closing his eyes.
It was at this point that he realized he wasn’t breathing, and that he hadn’t been breathing since he hit the ground. Somewhere, far away, he heard someone scream. Except, it was the wrong scream, the voice was too deep, and it wasn’t screaming his name. He tried to reach out, but his hand wouldn’t move anymore, and then he felt cold. That was wrong too, it was supposed to feel hot, unbelievably hot. He tried to open his eyes again, but that didn’t seem to work either.
Slowly, he realized this was different, everything was different. He allowed himself to believe that it could be different…
Maybe… he’d actually die this time…
-
Claire casually disassembled her rifle and packed it in its case. 1000 meters away, she didn’t have to worry about anyone finding her anytime soon. This far away, the bullet would have hit a few seconds before the sound was heard, and people might not connect the two right away. She stood up when she was finished packing, hefting the 30lb case and glancing back towards where she had shot.
“See you in seven days, Jakob.”
She knew very little personal information about the person she was hunting, except that he was a solo drug dealer that had been stepping on toes of people much bigger than them. Normally, she wouldn’t consider helping drug cartels with their problems, but something in their bounty posting had caught her eye. This solo dealer had been operating outside of the law, which didn’t bother her, but they had also been cutting their drugs with dangerous stuff in order to turn a bigger profit. Overdoses were suddenly much more common in their area of operation, and THAT was one good enough reason for her to take up the contact.
A much smaller reason was that this dealer had somehow been quite problematic to track down. Despite operating in a relatively small area, no one had been able to physically locate where the dealer was, or even who it was. Witnesses spoke of a person selling out of something similar to a newspaper stand, except one that was armored up on all sides and operated out of a rotating box. The couple of times they were cracked open, they had been completely empty.
Claire’s current hope was that they were a teleporter, and that firing into one of those stalls while it was being operated would take them out. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was the best plan she had at the moment. 1000 meters away, it wasn’t even that risky, and if she got them in broad daylight it would be public knowledge in a matter of hours.
As she searched through the scope of her rifle for her target, however, she suddenly spotted something she hadn’t expected. A very familiar red arm, with a recognizable star design, unmistakably attached to someone she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Claire’s heart jumped when she first saw him, and she followed him in her scope as she tried to figure out if it was really him. Jakob Volkov, the man who refused to die, despite every attempt to the contrary. As she confirmed his identity, she noticed the group of people he was talking to. Curious, she patiently watched him, waiting as they chatted for a bit about something. Then, one of the better-dressed men pulled out a briefcase and went to open it. In response, Jakob grabbed it and dumped its contents onto the ground, bags and vials of something spilling out, which quickly drew out the ire of his current companions. They grabbed the now empty briefcase, which Jakob seemed to let go without a fight, and then proceeded to push him around a bit before shoving him away, leaving him on his own to wander down the street.
“Naughty boy.” she whispered to herself, clicking her tongue in a disapproving tone and shaking her head slightly.
Her attention was now fully on Jakob and what he was doing, her earlier plan almost forgotten entirely as she watched where he went next. He stumbled down the path he had been walking, seemingly at random, towards a destination that she doubted even he knew. To her mild surprise, less than a minute later he ended up at the very armored newsstand she had been scouting out, and he leaned against it like he needed to catch his breath. She watched his head perk up suddenly, and that told her all she needed to know about whether there was someone inside or not.
Her mind slowly went through a few scenarios in her head. There was no way she could make it down to him in time. Even if he was distracted for several minutes and she ran at full speed, she almost certainly wouldn’t make it before he got himself lost. And in this sprawling city, once she lost him he was as good as gone. Then there was the matter of her job. Finding out where the newsstand would be today had been entirely lucky, and there was no telling when she would find it again. If she took a shot, then she would certainly have to leave Jakob behind.
Decisions, decisions…
With a quick sigh, she ejected the magazine from her rifle and then unchambered the loaded bullet. She held it up to her lips, giving it a quick kiss before reloading it back into the magazine. Then she slammed it back into place and rechambered the shot. She took aim, clicking the safety off and holding her breath. A second passed, and then she squeezed the trigger.
“With love, from the barrel of my gun straight to your heart.”
-
Jakob hadn’t heard clearly what the man had said, but he had heard something about drugs, and that was enough to interest him. He lifted his head and stared at steel barrier like he expected it to grow a face and speak directly to him.
“What drugs?” he asked curiously.
“I said, are you looking to buy or not?” the voice responded, clearly annoyed, “I don’t got all day, and if you aren’t buying then piss off!”
“I-” Jakob started, and then something picked him up and slammed him hard into the cart in front of him. He ricocheted off, flying backward and rolling until hitting a wall. With a groan, he twisted himself onto his back, leaning his head against the wall and looking up at newsstand he had just gotten a bit intimate with. The steel had a nasty hole in it now, big enough that he could probably climb through if he wanted. He started to push himself off the ground to do that.
His legs wouldn’t move.
Confused, he looked down, and then he noticed the massive hole in his chest, similar to the one in the armored newsstand. With his human hand, he reached up and touched it, feeling the hot, sticky liquid that was bubbling out of him.
“Oooh…” he said with the tone of a child who had just figured out that the square peg didn’t fit in the round hole. He poked a finger into himself, and then found he could easily fit his entire hand in. “Dats… not good.” he added thoughtfully, closing his eyes.
It was at this point that he realized he wasn’t breathing, and that he hadn’t been breathing since he hit the ground. Somewhere, far away, he heard someone scream. Except, it was the wrong scream, the voice was too deep, and it wasn’t screaming his name. He tried to reach out, but his hand wouldn’t move anymore, and then he felt cold. That was wrong too, it was supposed to feel hot, unbelievably hot. He tried to open his eyes again, but that didn’t seem to work either.
Slowly, he realized this was different, everything was different. He allowed himself to believe that it could be different…
Maybe… he’d actually die this time…
-
Claire casually disassembled her rifle and packed it in its case. 1000 meters away, she didn’t have to worry about anyone finding her anytime soon. This far away, the bullet would have hit a few seconds before the sound was heard, and people might not connect the two right away. She stood up when she was finished packing, hefting the 30lb case and glancing back towards where she had shot.
“See you in seven days, Jakob.”
Quote:I was given permission to kill off Jakob by his writer, it’s all part of our deliciously evil plan. Never fear, Jakob fans, he will return better than ever in 7 days!!