Gunblade - The Rebellion of Cain

Chapter 4 - Avenging Demon: Cain Unleashed

The first gunshot didn't raise anyone's suspicions beyond what they already knew was transpiring within the large room where the interrogation was taking place. The screams, the shouting and the light bark of the Monitor's pistol were all expected. However, the second gunshot sounded all wrong to the group standing in the hallway near the makeshift lobby of the building by the large black sedans that were trademark Triumvirate vehicles. The second gunshot rumbled out of the room, filled with more bass and power. The most observant of the group soon came to realize that the second gunshot came from a weapon very similar to the one packed in his underarm holster. He instinctively moved to draw his own Desert Eagle and launched himself down the hall. Seconds later, the rest of the group were in motion. He barked orders to the team.

"You three stay there," he shouted over his shoulder to the men outside positioned at three points around the monitor's sedan.

"The rest of you are with me! Standard infiltration pattern. Form up on my position."

They closed on the room through the twisting hallways, displaying a tactical acumen not even found in most police units. Leapfrogging each other from corner to doorway, never dropping cover, they quickly closed in on the interrogation chamber. They almost drowned in the eerie silence that seemed to be palpably emanating from inside the room. Approaching, the point man in the formation drew a closed fist up over his shoulder to signal to the rest of the group that they should slow their approach. Taking up position in a dimly lit corner of the hallway outside of the room, he motioned for two of the enforcers to take up flanking positions on either side of the door.

In a stark contrast to the predictable screams and commotion that came with a typical interrogation, the only thing that he could make out was a muted soft moaning or sobbing emanating from within. The details of what transpired hit him all at once, as if he had been slapped in the face. The muted weeping, the silence of the Monitor and his personnel from the room, as well as the muffled sounds of anguish, could only mean one thing. The Sword of Cain had escaped.

Now the cold realization that he and his team were facing one of the deadliest individuals ever forged in the fires of combat settled on him like cold fingers gripping his heart. He knew exactly what the price of rebellion exacted. The consequences of dissent and the inability to perform was well understood. He also understood the price of failure and what would happen to him if he didn't attempt to take down one of the most lethal Swords of the Triumvirate ever to exist in recent history. With that solemn awareness he took a deep, controlling breath and signaled to his team to breach. Based on their hesitation, they had come to the same slow conclusion that he had. However, like him, each of them preferred death to failure. Together, they surged, breaching the room.

Cain's mind had frozen seconds ago. He experienced a tidal wave of crushing thoughts and emotions that roiled inside him as his soul shattered like glass. For all his might and strength, he wasn't fast enough or strong enough to prevent Raylene's death. Waves of denial washed over him as he attempted to think of what he could do to bring her back. Panic slowly began to creep in as with each passing second, he knew that any hope of helping her was slowly vanishing. He could almost feel her life fading further and further away from any possibility of return. All he could do his to rock back and forth, cradling her still and limp form. His reality was slowly unraveling as he began to collapse under an immense force of grief and horror.

Strangely, he was fully aware of the group outside the room. He had expected there would be a small army attached to the Monitor if they had any hope of taking him down. He heard their soft-shelled boots grind across the floor outside the room. He routinely registered that there was no escape from the chamber save for the single door on the opposite side of the room. It was a clear testament to how entrenched his training was even in this traumatic moment. His instincts and skill were more than a system of behaviors that had been ingrained into him far before he could remember. They were part of who he was. They were also part of what had been responsible for the death of his wife and all he held dear.