Killer Empire

Chapter 15

"I DOUBT YOU don't know much about us," Leah squeaked, her voice shaking a little but her eyes fierce with fire. "If you have all that information written down about your staff and if you're really working with the government, who's to say that you don't already have our life biography hidden somewhere in this office?"

Surprised that Leah had spoken back, Julius Cain roared with laughter.

"Simple," he replied. "If you're important enough to have a life biography, we wouldn't dare to recruit you even with the government offering us support. You'll be too visible of a personality to properly get the job done. What we're looking for are the children of the night, the monsters and the shadows that roam the streets, if you will."

Red crept onto Leah's cheeks at Julius Cain's sharp and offensive retort. She quietened back down into a timid little mouse, settling with glaring at the tall man from where she stood. Words no longer left her lips for she was utterly defeated. Satisfied with her quick obedience, Julius Cain's grin merely broadened.

"We'll have plenty of time to discover each other's strengths and weaknesses here in my expansive facility. However, the most pressing question is still but one. Will you stay and work with me?"

"Why do I feel like you're not giving us all the options here?" Devora mumbled. Even though her voice was kept low, she knew that Julius Cain couldn't possibly miss it. He would've easily caught it, no doubt. The telling smirk on his lips confirmed Devora's suspicions.

"The second option, if you choose to refuse my proposal, is to forfeit your life. It's as simple as that. I didn't think there was a need to actually put it to words since I assumed that you were aware." The older man shrugged. "After all, isn't that what goes on in Hollywood movies these days? Young spritely teens such as yourself would've watched a couple of movies and read a couple of books while growing up, right? The second you stepped into this building, your fate was sealed. You know too much about us to run around alive on the streets."

Even a pin dropping to the ground could be heard in the silence. For a moment, no one dared to speak. Or rather, it was perhaps they didn't know what they should reply. Julius Cain presented two choices: to kill or be killed. There was no going back to the civilian life Devora had lived prior to all this mess.

However, did she truly mind it? Was her normal life so great that she would risk life and limb to go back to?

"If I choose to accept..."

Travis was the first one to break the silence. His line of sight was still focused at the ground, his hands rigidly glued to his sides, fists tightly clenched. Everyone whirled around to look at him, surprised that he was the first to respond to Julius Cain's absurd proposal.

He looked up, determination and hatred brewing behind his eyes. The teenager seemed like he had aged ten years since the first time Devora met him.

"If I agree to work for you, does that mean that one day, I'll be allowed vengeance?"

There was no need for Travis to put a name to who he was talking about. Only one man's face appeared in mind and it was the man that had put an end to a young girl's life just recently. Leon Gray, the burly middle-aged man that had scars and tattoos all over his skin. He was the only possible candidate.

From where he stood, Julius Cain's laughter could be heard. He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"Sure," he said. The look in his eyes told Devora that he knew fully well who Travis was talking about. "If you have the capability to."

There was no mistaking the glimmer that sparked from both Leah's and Travis's eyes. The two siblings immediately stood tall and proud, life returning to their faces in the form of a pink flush. There was even a sadistic smile quirking the corners of Travis's lips upward. The joy on their faces couldn't be mistaken for anything else.