128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Four: The Assassin | Part 2

Matthew's jaws tightened. Emma's clenched fists were strained. Megan shot a look of murderous fury through her intense, amber-gold eyes. Daniel stood aghast, with no reaction other than a face of appalment.

"Looking for this?" he said, waving a key.

"It was you. All along. You were the mole," Matthew stated the obvious, although he was too caught up with the captain's cruel actions to care about how his words sounded.

"Yes, I was the mole. But you guys took long enough to figure it out. Long enough for me to complete my mission and end all of you here," the captain giggled in a provocative tone as he tried to intimidate Matthew and his friends.

Matthew could feel the immense fury scarring through his veins. He could feel himself burning up as if he had a fever due to the uncontrollable, raging thoughts rushing through his head. He couldn't imagine that the very person he had trusted would betray him. "I'm going to get that key, and I'm going to end you and your entire career," his patience balloon burst out as he released his vexation.

"All right. Come get it!" Captain Harris cackled before throwing the key into a pail of some sort of acid he had prepared.

"No!" Matthew screeched.

The lights went out again, with the light switch in control by the captain. And in the darkness, the detectives could hear crawling sounds. Matthew discreetly moved back to the group of civilians and quietly retrieved a penknife from one of them, with a plan already prepared. He rushed back to the scene just before the lights came back up.

Unfortunately, his plan didn't seem to work too well at first. A cry for help from Megan was heard just as Matthew proceeded to confront the captain. And she was being held at gunpoint by him.

"So, what are you going to do now? How about a simple suggestion: die!" Captain Harris screeched viciously while laughing, howling at Matthew. He cocked his gun, ready to pull the trigger on Megan.

"You can't surprise us anymore. We all know you're going to kill me. And you know what? Do it! Once you kill me, you can die alone staying here," Megan blurted, not fearing death by then.

"Oh, but if I die here, your friends will die with me. Don't forget that. At this point, you all can't surprise me either!" he snorted.

It was quite an ironic statement he made, however. There was a lot that they all could do to give him the shock of his life. It was just a matter of time before something happened. And that time was up.

"I can," Matthew yelled before sprinting at him furiously. It was a considerable risk, but he knew that Captain Harris would shift his aim to him and pull the trigger, which he did. And thus, Matthew dodged the bullet, which swept right above his hair. Before the captain could re-aim, Matthew brought up the penknife and marked a significant cut on Captain Harris's wrist, causing him to cry out in pain, and therefore, he dropped the gun.

Keeping his movements swift, Matthew swooped down and reached for the captain's gun. He agilely pointed it towards the captain, pressing the trigger and shooting him three times—enough to mark his end and cause him to slump down to the ground like a lifeless rag.

Captain Harris was dead. But the creature wasn't.

And then, the same sounds came again. Not again, Matthew thought as he shook his head in dismay.

It was back.

"Are...are those red eyes?" Daniel questioned in fright.

"Yes, they are. That's the boar-like creature. Run," Matthew hurried the group away from the monster.