"Your praise is an honor, sir!"
The officer saluted with all his force, tense muscles unwilling to reprieve their position.
"Hmm…it should be." Officer's one-time tribute began to collapse when he saw Facade reloading his pistol, slowly pointing the barrel to his head.
"S-Sir?" Sweat started to appear on his forehead when Facade smoothly switched his aim to D.A's head.
Her heart skipped a beat, breathing uneven as she lurched back in fear.
No…
Blackness surrounded the corner of her dilated eyes, her focus entirely on the loaded muzzle.
I'm about to be shot.
He's aiming for me. He's really…
"S—Sir!" The same officer who caught D.A red-handed before, leaped to her side. "No sir! The Force needs her. You can't shoot her, sir." When D.A stood surprised by his interference, the officer shivered beneath his bravery.
He had mustered every ounce of his courage just to hold his ground. If not for the aftermath, he would have stumbled to his knees a long time ago.
Facade immediately shot him an invisible glance. Although the officer couldn't see his piercing eyes, his aroma alone felt like he was digging daggers inside his chest.
The more time passed by with an aim on his head, the more his spine got chills.
D.A couldn't feel but a faint hint of gratitude towards the man, the same one that she thought was 'disgusting' a few minutes ago.
Yet, she knew that the officer was acting for his own benefit.
Being a leader meant a burden, a responsibility on one's shoulder. Be it the flail one finding its pivot or the one adapted to lift boulders, one wrong step is all it takes to shatter your demesne.
Think! Just think! I can't die here. Especially not by this jerk's hand.
Thaaaaat…That one heck of a rascal!!
Her boiling blood gushed through her veins, temperature surprisingly hitting the scale when she regretted being saved by the Black Beast.
A wide back was all that D.A saw, thinking back and forth how she could flee the situation while being protected by the leader of a small troop.
"So…do you mean that I, the Head Colonel, am offending the rules?" Facade had gradually dropped the aim to his feet.
"No! Absolutely not! But sir, if the Forces find out that we killed her, we won't be able to give further explanations." The officer wobbled some steps towards Facade, each sentence covered in perplexity. "Sir! You know our situation more than anyone else…
"We—We'll perish, sir. Please, reconsider your decisions."
His plea hit heavy to D.A's ear, tone making the impact worse.
The leader's voice trembled behind his throat, masking it enough to convey his true concerns.
There was a couple of silence filling the gap between them. Officer's crew were unable to pick a side, knowing that taking either would only crush them. Only silence could get them out of the tense situation unscathed.
"Pfftt…"
Being the only one enjoying the show, Facade controlled his bursting laughter for too long, letting it out when he couldn't hold it anymore. His stomach tickled continuously, terribly laughing when all stood dumbfounded.
He's not in his right brains. Right?
Facade was still chuckling when he felt how their creased brows would define their expressions. It took him almost a quarter of his minute to overbear his echoing chortle.
"I am surprised, really." It finally halted at some point. "Indeed, I am offending the rules, officer. I liked your dedication, even when you lack so much as a human being."
The officer gulped in shock, a fear lingered that he would be bearing Facade's complex nature in future. D.A, on the other hand, couldn't find words to explain the situation.
One moment and the so-called Colonel leaves a killing instinct, the other, he's so cheerful that it seemed so hard to digest.
"Take her then." Facade's pistol finally rested in its holster. "Remember this, Officer Malburg Grey."
Officer was clearly thrown aback when he heard his name from a Colonel's mouth. "Y...Yes sir."
He wasn't the only aghasted, many of his men gave quick glances to each other, witnessing what was rare to them.
"Regardless of my existence in today's space, you are the one to decide your fate." Facade continued. "And if I knew that you're going wrong somewhere, note that it's something that you'll regret. Even after death." His veil glowed when he patted officer Malburg's shoulder, trying to relieve his stiffened posture.
"Now, keep going. Take the driver's seat. This task is frail, you should handle it carefully."
"Yes sir!!"
Malburg's eyes shone in surprise, agreeing upon that the man standing before him, was worthy of praise.
It was obvious that the military were given the same treatment as common civilians, when Malburg never questioned the Colonel's covered face.
In departments of Forces, both low and high, the name 'Black Beast' was an everyday topic. That much that each member, even the cleaners, could easily spot him in just a glance.
His black veil was enough to mark him down as a renowned criminal, with a bounty exceeding hundred Lails.
He was the first to shoot the currency to that extent, when a single Lail was enough to buy a duo of bread and egg.
Still, few among the Forces were, somehow, deceived despite having the desired information. D.A herself wanted to ask 'how come?' but, she didn't get a chance to do so.
Not when she was seated at last, her continuous writhe lost to the manpower behind. The driver left his seat to Malburg's care and settled himself inside a nearby car, ready to remove the brakes in one go.
D.A, on the other hand, was strangely quiet. She couldn't think further, her brain froze and movements lost in void.
Like she was a criminal, and they, the heroes.
What would she do? Would she be tormented to her death?
What would become of her lost brother, her goal, her desires.
Her will?
Zapp!!
Compressed beam of thoughts dissolved the moment she heard a crackling sound, seat vibrating wildly while Malburg's head swung unconsciously.
"Are you alright?" D.A hesitated to reach Malburg when she sensed something was wrong, but still asked out of concern.
...
There was no response.
"Officer?" She yanked forward, just to see Malburg knocked out of his senses.
"Officer Malburg!?"
"You wanted him to be alright?"
D.A's head instantly swapped to the driver's door, a man in black blocking the exterior view.
It was Facade.
His arms hung on the window frame, waiting for D.A's response. "W—What do you want?" But she slid deep inside the car, creating a gap for rapid assault this time.
"Your favor. You haven't returned me your promised favor. Pull up your horses Miss D.A, we don't have time for this." He turned his head to his shoulder, assuring that nobody had listened to the recent disturbance.
"Y—You were trying to save me then?" D.A asked. "Are you here for saving me!?" She was confirming his motives over and over again, unable to rid her suspicion. "Yes." Facade responded with the same answer, making his heavy voice as light as possible.
No way I'm going to slip into your trap again!
Even if she had inquired Facade enough for briefly lying upon him, she couldn't let her trust rebuild its broken base. Not when its the same person who went for her life while she was just eager to help him.
Her past experience warned her not to repeat the same mistake.
"I don't believe a word you say. I won't go with you." She finally decided to find another way to escape, clearly rejecting his efforts.
Facade puffed a sigh, concluding that D.A was a stubborn one, words alone were not enough to budge her.
"Yes, okay. I get it. I don't care. Now please stop asking me more questions and move this heavy load to one side. I fly the car in a flash, just so you don't complain later."
Ignoring D.A's wish, Facade slightly pushed Malburg to the opposite seat, his words hasty like they were missing their train.
He had made sure nobody was out of their assigned car before exposing his true intentions.
D.A, on the other hand, was still struck by Facade's behavior, the reason he had disguised himself as a Colonel but not an officer, made her even more wary of his true intentions.
D.A snapped her head to each side, realizing that time won't stop for her. Hesitating at first, she did what she was told to, pushing Malburg to the seat beside.
But he was hefty, a muscular body forming his stature. Even Facade found himself struggling despite having a helping hand.
D.A strived hard to shove Malburg perfectly into the opposite seat, each shift made her heave a long breath before reaching for another.
They were almost successful. Malburg's head, which was thrown to the headset when Facade became frustrated, made things a lot easier. While D.A took piety in the unconscious man, she pointed Facade to advance for his waving legs.
Facade was about to follow the same trick, throwing Malburg's legs with enough pressure to hit the opposite footwell, when a siren bellowed from their right.
Facade startled at first when he saw the wavelengths forming before his dark vision.
"It's the Forces!" He warned D.A in advance, only to sense strong vibrations overlapping the older ones.
Another fleet of cars appeared from the left, their appearance unannounced. It was obvious that the siren from the right fleet were just a bait to confuse them.
But what Forces didn't know, was how Facade perceived their movements.
He was akin to a coin, different faces with different sides, deciding each outcome with a flip. Toss it and it'll be your judgment, pass it and it'll be your trade.
Forces had already surrounded them, guns shining in their gloved hands. D.A became immobile the moment her eyes fixed on their numbers. They had trapped them from each side, military crew dismounting in puzzlement.
The army started to approach them, with each stride decreasing their chances to escape.
Facade could easily overpower them if he was solo, but he didn't know how to react when it came to others.
D.A, formerly recruited as an acting officer, was taught in advance how to handle those kinds of assaults, but still, she did nothing.
It was because she kept her distance from the combat missions, putting paperwork as her first priority.
She would've been dead if she was alone. Just because she had a companion, someone who was as dangerous as the Forces were to her, she survived.
D.A panted under the icy night, throat dried from imagining her end.
Walking with someone who was about to thrust steel in her throat, or going with someone who was after her life. She couldn't decide what was right for her.
The former option embedded her fate when Facade pulled her out, clutching her handcuffed arms so she wasn't left behind.
They rushed straight for one of the military cars, their name-bearers lagged at the scene.
"Fire! It's the Black Beast with her!"
The bullets started to rain from behind. Facade pulled D.A ahead of him, ramming her forward where there were no shots.
"Kill the lady with him! It's an order!"
Her feet followed Facade's force, brows furrowed when the military crew had already joined hands with the Forces.
Three men stood ahead, ready to raid while finding a single opening to break the pattern, all wearing military uniforms.
Facade was zig zagging with every move, pushing D.A along with her in short but abrupt pace. They both stepped in flow, each cutting was completely in sync.
The men before them forgot about the accuracy and statrted open firing when they found the target closing on them, cracking shots at each angle but missing them by every two inches.
The distance between the fugitive and the attacker had reduced to ten feet, dropping rapidly to one digit with each storming stride.
D.A braced, her feet skidding sideways to kill the forced momentum.
"S-Stop there! Or I'll shoot!" A hand with aimed pistol zoomed before D.A's eyes, right straight from her.
Five feet.
"Facade stop!" She trembled, her hands restricted to her back. Four feet. Three feet. "Facade I said stop!!"
Two.
"Forgive me! It isn't personal!!" The aim staggered with the officer's voice.
One.
Bang!