"Callin' the Shots" Chapter 4

Chapter 4
“Unfitting”

“For what reason, do you point that gun at me?”

There was no immediate answer. The stillness of the air frightens me as I held the handgun up to his face, wanting to shoot him so badly for what he did. I couldn’t forgive him, ever.

“I see, if it is just for revenge, then you have no right to point that shit at me.”

He immediately grabs the pistol as he rotates his body in a full five-forty degrees, pointing the handgun at me now.

“I did not teach you to hold a gun for revenge, but for a reason that you yourself, wish to pursue for your own future, your own and true self.”

I couldn’t say anything back to him, for everything is true. There is nothing for me after revenge. I never really thought that far ahead. What am I to do once I killed him? In the government records, I am already dead since the Central Belkan incident. I couldn’t go to school and enjoy the same life as every other innocent child while knowing that my own hands had killed another.

I grew angry and frustrated at my inability to think further ahead. I clenched my jaws while staring at the floor.

“Not a very good sight, let’s call it a day.”

He passes by, patting my shoulder, and leaves the room to enjoy his quiet time in the library. I drop down to my knees, smashing my fists into the floor, crying at my pathetic resolve.



The alarm buzzes on the table nearby. I smashed the snooze alarm to shut it off and manually turned the alarm switch off. My body was too relaxed lying there on the bed. I guess drinking last night was probably the wrong way to do things the day before a mission. Slipping out of bed, I instantly fall over and hit my head on the nearby wooden chair I used for reading, knocking it over to its side.

“Goddammit!” I yelled out, holding my head in pain with both hands. My phone on the table vibrates for a while, almost slipping off until I grabbed it, ignoring the pain as much as I can. There was a text message on it, reminding me of the time and place to meet my client. The message read: 10:00 in the morning, in front of Montague’s Apology. I wondered why the client would pick that spot, especially since there is supposed to be a parade at that place in that particular time. Maybe the client doesn’t want to be seen by others?

I picked myself up and walked slowly into the washroom, trying to force myself awake with the cold water. After a while, my headache disappears. Feeling much better, I went to dress up for the mid-winter occasion. Thinking back, the parades at Montague’s Apology always had a play about the tragic couple from feuding families, though of course back then, I only went because he had some business in that area. I locked the door as I left, inhaling the fresh cold air before stepping out of the apartment complex.


“Celes Station, Southern Belka District,” said the electronic message.

The train station wasn’t as crowded today. I moved about much easier as I entered Sylvester Road. Last time I went, the statue was located several blocks down the road along Knox Way, and so I went along the path I treaded on long ago.

I can hear loud cheering and hollering as I reach Knox Way. The street is crowded with the annual celebrities that play the main roles of the tragic couple. Towards the far right, I can see the statue Montague’s Apology, the heroine of the play. There was nobody there when I got to the meeting spot. I checked my watch and see the time as 10:23 AM.

“Late as always, I hate these people,” I said softly to myself. Sitting back, the smell of smoke fills my nostrils, flaring them as I inhaled it. I coughed it out, but found the smell to be sickening to the point I would vomit on the spot. It reminded me of the old man at The Dawn a few days ago.

A bystander runs by, tripping over my feet, landing hard onto the floor. She gets up and turns to face me.

“You’re not going to say sorry for that?” she asked harshly.

She was pretty young, maybe in her teens, but the way she acts is stupid. Who the hell would say sorry when it was their fault in the first place?

“Why should I? It was your fault when I was sitting here the whole damn time,” I replied.

“If you won’t, then I will force it out of you!”

“Try.”

I gave her a very cold and deadly gaze, showing my lust for blood. She backs off, shocked at my red eyes as they glowed at her.

“W-what the hell?” she says. She takes a few steps back and runs into the direction she was heading to earlier.

I can tell my eyes dimmed back to their usual brown. Luckily no one else noticed, seems they were too busy trying to catch the actors and actresses in time. I decided to check my watch again, but only seven minutes passed by. I might as well just leave, my client is late and he or she doesn’t even send a message on my phone for notice.

Just as I was getting up, I can hear a woman scream at me, “STOP!”

Turning to face her, my expression turned to one of disgust. It was her.

“Not happy to see me now? Well, you’re the only one I can count on for this task anyway,” she says, taking off her sunglasses.

I despised her purplish gowns and dresses, even this violet dress made the one at the diner a godsend. She seems to have a sort of a weird taste maybe?

“Maybe what Feros says is true. It was all a set up to get me out of hiding?”

“Yes, it was. It worked nicely didn’t it? Your Organization ran out of bodyguards within the Eraser’s division, and my father says that you have done some odd jobs nicely while he was still head of my industry.”

“Your father?”

“You don’t know? Harold Gibbins, President of Heraldry Industries.”

“I can’t believe this…”

“Of course you couldn’t, you never paid any attention to details anyways. Now, shall we get to the subject of our agreement?”

There was a slight pause. I decided to go ahead with it, not like I had much to do nowadays.

“Alright…”

“Good. Now, first thing is that you are to be my bodyguard for the next few weeks, months if the situation doesn’t cool down, but I am willing to pay for that.”

“What situation?”

“The Liberte faction has decided to hunt me down, for what reasons, I do not know. My best guess would be a package…”

“What package?”

“I don’t know, but somehow it got into one of my factories and we took it out because it wasn’t ours. However, after removing it, some of my men were killed the next day for having ‘seen’ this object. Luckily, we repelled the attacks for this short time.”

I gave the topic some thought. She didn’t do many of the obvious things most people would have done. Maybe she is a very cautious person?

“Why didn’t you open it? You might find out more that way.”

“I did, but none of it makes sense. It had lots of those… test tubes? I think that’s what they’re called, but each had a different name and symbol on it.”

“You didn’t give this to the forensics at my Organization?”

“I couldn’t trust them, and I wanted it for myself, so I had my own team doing just that.”

Wanting it for her selfish reasons? Heck, if it was that dangerous, I would’ve given it to the forensics at my place by now.

“So I am going to babysit the industry until you’re done with it?”

“Yes, I do not care about the means as long as my men are safe, including myself.”

“Alright, now who are these people, the Liberte?”

“A rivaling Organization to yours, though yours is much more respectable compared to those brats. They are always going about trying to prove themselves superior to your ‘Numbers’.”

The loud cheering can be heard in the distance. I can tell that the play is coming to a close by how the people are hollering at the names of their favorite actors and actresses.

“I think that is enough for now. You will be living in at the industry for the time being. I have already sent word to your landlord and cleared the rest up for you.”

Just as she was about to walk away, she stops. She returns to hand me a note.

“Here is my number by the way, in case you need it for emergencies.”

“If it ever gets to that I hope.”

“Then I will be seeing you within the next twenty-four hours,” she says, leaving.


“She has already paid in full for the first month,” Hyuka says on the line.

“Really? I didn’t think she had that much,” I replied.

“Just do your best okay? I know you don’t like those kinds of people, but it doesn’t mean you have to act like you’re suffering every bit of it.”

“I will try my best… it has been a while since I had a mission.”

“But it is not up in your forte. You prefer killing than protecting others.”

“I know. But something about this isn’t right.”

“What is?”

“This rogue organization called Liberte, why haven’t I heard of it?”

“I’ve never heard of them either, but it seems like whatever they are trying to get back has something to do with the Numbers.”

Once again, the Numbers are mentioned. I guess everyone likes them all too much. Feros is the first as the Zero Number and the Zero factor, and I am the fourth, the Lucifer factor. I never heard of the others as much. But if I remember correctly, the Numbers are all ‘special’ in terms of our strange abilities. Though I never figured out what Feros had as his ability.

“I guess that’s about it Hyuka, over and out.” I canceled the call and decided to call it a day.