blooming in the darkness

chapter one

they once again were on a staircase. though this time, owen was staring down at curt with as much hatred and anger he could muster. beneath the watery look, curt's eyes were like steel. both men had their guns drawn, pointing them at the other.

after a couple seconds, owen finally started talking, sounding slightly out of breath. "time to take your final bow, curt."

"my team is destroying your island facility as we speak," curt replied, laughing slightly, "your surveillance network is fried. there'll be no encore tonight... for you."

owen had a certain glint in his eyes that curt couldn't decipher as owen lowered his gun and gestured with it. "perhaps you've destroyed that island facility, but what of the others?"

curt's arm wavered a bit at that. "there's more?"

"how does it feel to know that you'll never catch up with us?"

curt lowered his gun as he started to say, "it's not too late to fix this. if you agree to give up chimera, i'm sure the agency can pull some strings-"

curt was cut off by owen shouting. "you still don't see, do you curt?! there won't be any agency to go back to once the system is global! i'm going to single-handedly destroy everything you've ever believed in!"

curt looked up at sadly as owen returned his gun to its original position. "we used to share those beliefs. think of the missions we served, the lives we saved, the impact we had on this world... together. two of the greatest spies to ever live, and you considerate that, and you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't believe we're making a difference!"

owen's voice almost sounded sad when he spoke again. "the future is happening, curt, and it won't wait for you. what use will one man be, when a box in a room can do his job in seconds, huh?"

curt slightly smiled despite himself. "sounds boring."

owen had lowered his gun again. "you're a caveman, and i've invented fire."

curt didn't feel anything other than sadness. it was almost overwhelming. his voice wavered as he said, "i'll stop you."

"you'll do your best. once a spy, always a spy. forever, whatever. the warmest hello to the coldest goodbye, remember." owen clicked the safety off of his gun before continuing, "i remember. spies never die." he laughed a little bit stronger this time, his gun returning to its position aiming at curt's head.

at this point, curt had turned away from owen and was looking down towards the floor of the facility. it looked so deeply similar to the one they had been in when owen fell all those years ago. curt briefly wondered if owen led him here on purpose before owen spoke again.

"a new world awaits us, curt. a world without agencies, a world without spies, a world without secrets."

"some secrets aren't yours to share," he replied, his voice taking on a sad tone. curt turned to look back up at owen. "what about our secret? the time we shared, the feelings we had..." curt moved up a step as he continued, "for each other. are you ready to share that with the world?"

owen's arm wavered slightly, shifting so he was aiming at curt's heart rather this head. owen looked like he was thinking about it, before he readjusted his aim. he spoke firmly albeit sadly when he said, "that secret died the night you left me for dead."

curt shifted his eyes to the ground, saying, "clearly."

"here's some advice, curt. it's called moving on. do give it a try." as owen spoke, curt turned to move back down the stairs.

with one swift motion, curt turned and shot owen's gun out of his hand. owen looked slightly shocked and confused. curt's gun was aimed right between owen's eyes.

"you know, killing me won't take the system offline, so... what are you doing?"

curt had made up his mind. he didn't know this new owen as well he wished he did, but he still loved him. owen had looked shocked at first, but now he just looked resigned. his eyes held the look of a man who knew his death was rapidly approaching and had stopped fighting it. owen had accepted curt was going to kill him. curt couldn't have imagined how much that would hurt him. he knew what he had to do.

curt quickly moved and fired at owen's knee. the other man cried out as the bullet entered and as he fell to the ground. curt hit him over the head with his gun, effectively knocking owen out of consciousness. now he just had to figure out where to go next.