Chapter 13
An Old Wolf Watching Pups Die Young
Kuzaki
"Oh my… this car is quite impressive. But I do fear that coming in a car like this is a bit overkill, don't you think?"
"I'm a bit of a car expert myself, so I'm pretty good at recognizing what we're working with."
"This puppy looks to be about on the level of a Genesis G90
Korea brand."
"Multiple sensors built in. AI-assisted systems. A full 360° view with integrated cameras."
"And I can tell by the sound of my sexy voice bouncing off these walls that this car is soundproof."
"Not to mention the tinted windows and possibly"
(knocks on the car door)
"Yep. I guessed it. Completely bulletproof."
"The metallic areas could probably take an armor-piercing round from a sniper rifle."
"Oh, and you've got a compartment for blood packs in the backseat. Every different blood type."
"And a built-in oxygen tank."
"And wait…"
"No way. No way. No way!"
"Is that a FREAKING SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON?!"
He started involuntarily giggling, making sounds that even Ma had never heard come from a human throat.
"That's so cooooool! Where did you get this car from james Bond himself?"
"You might want to take this back. John Wick might come after you for it."
"You want to know what happened to the last guy who stole his car?"
Ma
天啊,这他妈的是个怪人.
(Oh my God, this fucking weirdo.)
"Will you stop nerding out over my car?"
"And I'll have you know this is a hand-me-down. As if any one of those twerps is worth something so priceless as my baby, right?"
Kuzaki
(Composes himself and straightens his tie)
"Aw, so I'm guessing she's not for sale."
Ma
"Of course not, damn brat. And it's a he don't misgender my car."
Kuzaki
"Whatever. Back to what I was saying…"
"Is this car really even necessary?"
Ma
"For the little red-headed devil, you can never be too careful."
She took another slow sip of wine.
Kuzaki
"You're talking about the ginger one with the freckles?"
"She doesn't seem all that bad, actually. I'd be more worried about the hyper one next to her."
Ma
"It surprises me how men like you last this long."
"You know, people wouldn't think too much about a panda until it reminds you that it's still a bear."
"Did you even notice how she was staring directly at the car two rows in front of us?"
"She knew we were here. She just didn't want to tip us off that you noticed us."
"You see, Selene isn't just some ordinary killer like you and I."
"Her sight. Her hearing. Her smell. And more."
"All operate closer to animals than actual humans."
"And it's not just that."
"Even when she was a young girl, her strength was on par with the boys at the orphanage despite having the exact same testosterone levels as the rest of the girls and the exact same diet."
"And all of that was when she was just a little girl."
"Who knows how strong she is now."
Kuzaki
"How intriguing."
"Well, where did that female roid rabbit come from anyway?"
"Is there more like her, or is she the only one of her kind?"
Ma
"That… no one really knows."
"Lilith didn't tell me much when she brought her to me. She just dropped her off, gave me some money, and some plans to take her to a college suited for her when she turned nineteen."
"After that, she left and never looked back."
"I have a little theory, though."
"The Foundation probably did some pretty twisted shit to this kid. She's almost terrified of them."
"And apparently, they think she's dead but I never found any record of her. Not even in their files."
"So I don't know what or who to believe."
"But I had a job to take care of her, raise her, and send her off."
"And that job… I have finally completed."
Kuzaki
"Aww, how touching. But quite concerning."
"Let me get this straight."
"So… you were keeping a super-soldier in your orphanage all this time."
"And now you're sending that living nuke into our sensitive, coughing baby of an operation?"
"I've got to say an old dog like you can hide some neat tricks."
"Oh yeah. Your orphanage was just destroyed by your super-pet."
"And that crazy Joker-friend she always has tagging along."
"It's under reconstruction. You should be there."
Ma
(Her hollow eyes still on the glass.)
"I told you you can leave those two to me."
"I've been training them for many years."
"Espionage. Killing. Planning. Achieving."
"If they can't handle a little grenade explosion without me, then they're not worth being alive."
(mutters under her breath)
另外,Francesca 也在,所以我不在的时候一切应该会顺利进行.
(Also, Francesca's there so everything should hopefully go smoothly in my absence.)
Kuzaki
"Even so, there are still a myriad of concerns."
"The main one being: you're sending a living nuke of impossibilities into our coughing baby of an operation."
"A big part of protecting the target is keeping a low profile."
"And sending a maniac and a super-soldier to the same college as them is not subtle at all."
"Not to mention the lack of knowledge you have over that super-soldier and her capabilities leading her to become a future hindrance."
"And a big liability."
Ma
(Sips her wine.)
Kuzaki
"We're putting an extremely high-value person in their care."
"They don't even know it."
"Did you really plan or even think this through?"
"Maybe we should've assigned someone else."
"It's clear your orphanage no, your age turned you senile."
"And possibly… soft."
"Especially toward those two. Your favorite students."
Silence.
The air grew heavy.
Every blink was noticeable.
Every breath was heard.
Even the twitch of a finger felt like thunder.
Then
Ma laughed.
A sudden, dry, amused cackle that shattered the tension like the glass in her hand.
Ma
"Oh, I quite miss the boldness of youth."
"I grew senile, is that so, dear?"
With swiftness, Ma nudged open the glove compartment beside her, revealing a sleek black Dennix M1911 A1 pistol nestled inside.
Her fingers barely hesitated.
In one fluid motion, she snatched the weapon and popped off two shots.
BANG!
Kuzaki, seemingly unfazed, tilted his head with uncanny precision.
The first bullet whizzed past, nearly shattering the bulletproof window behind him, leaving a spiderweb crack in the glass.
Before the echo had faded
BANG!
He was already in motion.
Anticipating the second shot, Kuzaki unbuckled his seatbelt in a blur.
As the belt snapped upward, the bullet struck the buckle dead-on sparking off the metal with a sharp ping! and deflected harmlessly aside.
He seized the moment.
In one seamless, almost inhuman move, Kuzaki gripped the belt's now-sharpened metal tongue weaponized by luck or fate and lunged forward.
Ma didn't flinch.
Her arm moved with predatory calm, pressing the muzzle of the gun directly against his temple.
Time slowed.
Their eyes met.
Breaths caught in their throats hers steady, his wild with adrenaline.
Blood pumped.
Muscles tensed.
Kuzaki's hand shot forward, the jagged buckle aimed like a dagger at Ma's throat.
Ma's finger tightened on the trigger.
And then
The air froze.
Movement ceased, suspended in the threat of mutually assured destruction.
Her gun pointed squarely between his eyes.
His blade hovered just above her carotid artery.
Neither blinked.
Neither moved.
The air buzzed with violence.
Ma
"I've worked at that orphanage for almost fifty years."
"That's twenty-six years more than you've been alive."
"I've watched many of those children's lives begin…"
"And I've watched even more of them end."
"And like all my children my life will end there too."
She lowered the gun. Slowly.
But her eyes burned cold.
"Don't worry."
"Those two especially Selene are my masterpieces."
"The best killers I raised."
"The best I've ever seen."
Kuzaki
"It's at least good to see old age hasn't stolen too much of your usefulness."
"That being said they don't even know about the target."
Ma
"Hazel knows."
"That's enough."
Kuzaki
"And Selene?"
Ma
(Sipping again, voice colder.)
"That damn brat would never agree to it."
"Not now, at least."
She leaned back.
Kuzaki
"If she finds out, she could become a risk to the mission and the target."
"Especially with the abilities she possesses."
Ma
"But she's getting what she always wanted."
"A chance at a normal life."
"And she'll soon realize if the operation fails, that life will be snatched from her."
Kuzaki
"My employer is paying you more than you can imagine."
"Do you even understand how important this target is?"
"If this fails, you'll have hell to pay."
Ma
"Oh, you're so naive in this business."
"We will all have hell to pay on our last day."
Her gaze sharpened.
"The bodies those two have buried under my care…"
"…can make even a blind woman like me pray I never gain sight."
"Because once I put my eyes upon it, I'll see the thing every creature on this Earth tries to escape."
Death.
"A demon collecting the souls of the damned and the innocent alike."
"Knowing very well it's only a matter of time…"
"…before it comes to collect yours as well."