Faint lights from the mansion glimmered in the distance.
"Heath Gerald should still be inside. They wouldn't risk moving him just yet," Zayne muttered, increasing his pace toward the house.
There was no fear in his heart.
No nervousness, no hesitation.
The rest of the guards had scattered into the valley and bushes in search of him, so he encountered no one. If he had, it would've been over in an instant.
Still, Zayne didn't rush. He remained calm, his every movement precise and calculated, his senses sharp.
As he neared the mansion, he could make out the silhouettes of guards standing outside, all holding rifles and keeping watch. The atmosphere was tense and heavy.
Zayne crouched, the Desert Eagle in his hand, his mask concealing his face. He crept up to the edge of the bushes, where the grounds around the mansion began.
Five men were stationed around the mansion—three in the front and two securing the back.
There's no way to sneak around without being seen by at least one of them.
Taking in the sight, Zayne inhaled deeply and stepped out of the bushes, confidently walking into the view of the two men at the back.
Under the bright mansion lights, which had been turned on to prevent anyone from sneaking around undetected, Zayne stood out like a sore thumb.
When the two men saw him appear, their hearts sank, and they immediately aimed their guns at him.
"It's me! Don't shoot!" Zayne quickly said, his voice drastically different from before—effeminate and nervous, like a new recruit terrified out of his wits.
The two men, hearing his voice, relaxed slightly. Their bodies were still tense, but not as much as before.
"Where's your gun?" one of them asked.
"I was in pursuit of the target. He target managed to disarm me, and we ended up in a scuffle," Zayne answered, his voice still sounding fearful.
The two men seemed somewhat convinced, though they didn't lower their weapons. Despite being part of the same group, they didn't know all their teammates well, especially with everyone wearing masks.
Zayne noticed their hesitation and continued with his story.
"I was lucky that the boss was nearby. When he noticed the commotion, he came to my aid. The target saw him and ran. We struggled with him and managed to injure him, but he escaped before we could capture him. Boss ordered me to come back to the house and keep watch since I didn't have my rifle anymore." Zayne held up the Desert Eagle in a show of helplessness.
One of the men nodded, still annoyed but understanding.
"Here, join us and keep guard."
Zayne nodded, walking toward the men while maintaining a distance, his posture slightly bent and nervous.
"You newbies are too tense, just relax a little. You'll be fine." The man who spoke before spoke again.
From his attitude the man had already guessed his identity.
Randy the new recruit.
Zayne didn't answer.
"Don't worry, we got you man, nothing to be nervous about" the other man said.
"T-thanks" Zayne said, scratching the back of his head and looking down at the floor.
He looked like an anxious rookie, someone who wasn't sure of what they were doing.
"No problem, we're a team after all."
The slightly fat one of the two nodded and returned to his seriousness.
The other one did the same.
Zayne heaved a sigh of relief.
He had successfully blended in.
Now the issue was how he would get into the house
The two men didn't speak anymore and stood there quietly, their eyes trained on the perimeter, their backs to the door.
Zayne stood with them and waited patiently, thinking up various ways of getting inside the house.
The guards in the back were the least problematic.
He could take them out, but doing it loudly would be an issue.
If he did it loudly, it would draw the attention of the guards in the front and they would start searching for their partners, so killing the two men would definitely raise the alarm.
That would lead to him failing.
If only they would enter the house.
Zayne sighed, it was wishful thinking.
"Achoo!"
Zayne faked a sneeze.
"Ugh, why did we have to get stuck outside."
One of the guards complained.
Zayne's sneeze seemed to be his catalyst to finally voice out his thoughts.
"I know right, its fucking cold out here, I swear, if this job doesn't pay well, I'm done." the other man replied.
"Yeah, who knew guarding that infamous crazy man and his daughter for a night would be so troublesome"
"Crazy man? He seems decent though"
"That's the act, he's actually a fucking psycho. I've heard the things he did..."
As Zayne listened to te conversation of the two men, His eyes narrowed.
Heath Gerald was truly crazy.
He had a wife for more than twenty years until one day she mysteriously disappeared.
Rumour had it that Heath had murdered her, and not just in an ordinary way, but he had actually dismembered her, burying her parts in random locations throughout the city with the aid of his daughter. But the police never found anything.
That rumour was true, as Zayne had come to know through his organization.
After his wife disappeared, he started acting strange, taking more interest in the criminal underworld and his business, and he eventually rose to the top of the criminal hierarchy.
It was certainly a baffling story.
No one knew why he would suddenly kill his wife after years of the being together lovingly and peacefully.
And that was why he was termed crazy.
"Well, I don't give a shit what he does, I'm only here for the money. He could be a serial killer for all i care" the fat man said.
"Yeah, same, we have no other choice, but fuck this is boring"
"Tell me about it"
Zayne could see his chance.
If these two idiots keep talking, I might get an opportunity to sneak in.
So he waited.
After a few minutes the conversation continued, with the two guards sharing their life stories and experiences.
The two men were very talkative, which made his job much easier.
They were supposed to be on guard, but were instead engaged in a very passionate conversation, so much so that Zayne, who was right beside them, was almost forgotten.
They were clearly unprofessional.
"I'm going to take a piss, I'll be back" He said.
But the men were too engrossed in their conversation to even answer him.
Zayne sneered as he walked towards the trees to the side of the house.
When the guards were out of sight, Zayne made his move.
He rushed towards the house and climbed it, using the windowsills as grips.
In a few seconds, he was standing on the roof.
The wind was stronger up there, and he had to keep a hand on his hat so it wouldn't fly away.
He was thankful that the wind would disguise any sound that might come from his shoes, making it harder to locate him.
After climbing up the wall, he slowly made his way towards the main door.
On the roof, a ventilation shaft blocked his path.
It was small, just enough to fit a person.
The shaft was connected to a window on the first floor.
It would provide him with an alternative entry point.
But the vent was bolted shut, preventing him from opening it.
Zayne drew the knife he had hidden on his sleeve.
The blade was small, barely an inch long.
He stabbed it into the vent's hinges, breaking the screws and opening the vent.
Then, with great effort, he pulled the vent out, creating an opening.
He crawled into the small vent and carefully closed the opening, ensuring no one would notice it.
Once inside, he moved slowly, careful not to make a sound.
There was a loud commotion outside, and he heard the voices of the two guards.
They were confused and panicked.
Zayne was thankful for their incompetence, as it provided him an opportunity to infiltrate the house.
He crawled through the vents until he reached a large room, where a group of people were gathered.
There were four men standing guard in the room.
Seated on the bed was none other than Heath.
Zayne's eyes narrowed.
In the few minutes that hadn't seen Heath, he seemed to have aged a decade. The wrinkles and deep bags under his eyes were much more visible now than before.
He looked like a man who had suffered a lot, a man whose mind was haunted by something.
But that wasn't what caught Zayne's attention.
What drew his attention was the girl lying on the bed.
It was the daughter.
She was dead, her lifeless eyes staring into the void, the blood on her face dried and flaky.
Heath sat beside her holding a box shaped object, a crazy look in his eyes as he raved on.
"You give and you take away, you who guards that which is unknown"
"But why"
"Why take from me once more"
"Is this the price i must pay for your embrace?!"
"Is that it? Is that it?!"
"I believe...yes....yes, i believe! Soon i will be with you...."
Zayne had no idea who he was speaking to, but the crazed man seemed to think someone was listening.
Heath held the box in his hands, muttering and raving.
Then suddenly he stopped, bringing the box closer to his ears as if he was listening.
After a moment, he seemed satisfied and nodded his head.
Then, his body relaxed and his shoulders slumped.
He placed the box on the bed and leaned back, letting out a sigh of relief.
After that, he started laughing hysterically, tears flowing from his eyes.
His laughter echoed through the room, sending chills down the guards' spines.
The men looked at each other uneasily.
But none of them said a word.
Heath continued laughing, much to the guards uncomfortablity, but then he suddenly stopped.
His head rose abruptly, his gaze piercing through the ceiling.
Zayne froze.
A pair of blood red eyes had suddenly locked eyes with him.