Nemesis

Chapter XIII - No Remorse

[954mari - Sound Like Death]

[30 October 2023]
[Manhattan, New York]
[00:19]

Kane's emotions were in shambles. As much as he refused to admit to it, or even show it, Tatiana's decision to join the other side - specifically Dain of all people - was a decision that hurt him far more than any other injury he had attained in the past. Kane felt that their friendship - the one he believed could withstand anything - was a mere mirage and in reality, their friendship was brittle; ready to break at the slightest feeling of pressure. And the pressure of two superpowers upon them was unlike anything else.

However, despite all this, Kane just could not bring himself to give up on her. They had known each other for most of his life, since their days as children in the military, training themselves for this very moment. Although Kane had led Tatiana to believe that he had given up hope, it was all a tactic, a simple method to nudge her into the perfect emotional state. He made sure that Tatiana became as volatile as possible.

That was when her resolve was most fickle.

What he had planned would be the culmination of his efforts to get his best friend on his side - the right side - once again. However, the guilt ate up the decision to go through with such a plan. It was the eradication of something dear to his heart as well, but he did his best to convince himself that it was for the greater good in the future. Kane had to sacrifice a member of the pack to ensure the survival of the others. His emotions had to take a backseat in all of this, or else he was bound to make a critical mistake on that very mission, or this current one.

Where Kane's mind wandered to was business for another night. Right now, he had other issues to deal with. The board members of Ares Tech had to pay for their disobedience, and Dragunov was more than happy to deal them a fair punishment. Dragunov now stood beside one of the many board members' beds, a man laid to rest atop it. Blood painted white sheets, showing how he no longer saw a need for anonymity anymore.

The city's morale was rising, and he had to bring it down once more. Dragunov wasted little time in leaving the man's penthouse and he soon found himself in the home of another member of the board. He was sound asleep and Dragunov's stealthy entrance did not hinder that one bit. There was no time or opportunity for torture, he had to simply complete his mission.

From his holster at his right, Dragunov produced quite the pistol-like weapon. It was one an older design from the days when working for Ares Tech. The Feather Gun. It was quick, silent, and efficient. Each bullet guaranteed a death, no matter where it struck. Dragunov aimed the weapon and pulled the trigger, and in what seemed like an instant, blood seemed to trickle down from the man's forehead. He had either passed instantly or was due to soon enough. Either way, his death was inevitable.

Dragunov figured that one more victim would not hurt, and so made his way to another home, where a woman lay in bed. Another lady sat at a desk, seemingly shivering at the cold that the autumn night brought. Somehow, she felt a presence behind her and quickly turned around to meet Dragunov's eerily familiar mask. She could not sleep, because she knew that he would be coming for her, just as he had promised.

"P-please... don't do anything you'll r-r-regret... I had to..." The woman pleaded, but Dragunov took a step forward, forcing a yelp of fear from her. This seemed to awaken the woman in the bed, who stared at the two individuals, confused. "Shara? Baby, what's going on?" The woman asked as she rubbed her eyes. However, before she could make sense of things, Dragunov silenced her with a bullet to the skull for her troubles. Shara screamed at the sight, tears now cascading down her cheeks. Dragunov gazed at her once more, the Feather Gun aimed at her head.

"Remember what I told you," Dragunov said in a more raspy voice, largely different from Kane's. "You go back on our deal, you'll be dealt with." He added. "No, no, no... please! I'll leave the fucking city, I'll change my name, I'LL DO ANYTHING!" Shara screamed, but Dragunov chose to end her misery right then. He fired one more bullet, forcing Shara to the floor where her body convulsed for a few moments until it went limp.

The mission had been completed, for now at least. It was all that his mind could handle for now.

[Brock Residence]
[07:02]

Dain entered his house for the first time in days, clearly having his hands full with the entire debacle regarding the possibility of an active terrorist from Russia being within the country's walls, living amongst them. He hoped to have a few minutes of peace but had not anticipated an angry Amari to ruin his morning. He did not expect an angry Amari at all. "Does it not occur to you that you have a home and a family to you anymore?" Amari asked, a fit of unusual anger hidden within his calm demeanor. "I have a job, Amari, and you have school. I'm really not tryna do this right now." Dain responded.

The answer did not sit well with his son, who refused to back down regarding the matter of his absence. "Since when does your job ever need you gone for three days straight this often?" He followed up, earning a sigh from Dain. "I'm the CEO of the most important company in the country, that should answer your question."

"So this company of yours is more important than your own family? Bronwyn was asking me where the hell you've been for the past three days!" Amari exclaimed, finally allowing a bit of his pent-up frustration to leak out. He realized this and quickly did his best to calm down. It still seemed to affect Dain, who had realized just how heartless he was coming across, to his son no less. "Look, Amari, I'm so-" Dain paused when he heard his phone ring.

He dug into his pockets to pull out his smartphone which he answered and put to his ear. "Miranda?" Dain somewhat greeted. "Where the fuck are you?!" Miranda's voice exclaimed on the other line. "I'm at home, why?" Dain asked, confusion kicking in. "Three members of the board have been murdered, I need your ass at Shara Parks' penthouse right fucking now!" Miranda ordered before hanging up. Dain was wide-eyed for a moment, still struggling to register what he had just heard. Amari stared at him with a puzzled expression, before Dain turned on his heels and headed for the door once again.

"You gotta be fucking with me, you're leaving again? You haven't even been here for twenty minutes!" Amari exclaimed. There was that leak of anger once again, something he quickly took notice of and something that was quickly neutralizedDain was at a loss for words, unsure of how to explain things without drawing him into this convoluted web of murders and destruction. "Look, Amari, I just really need to go. I'll make it up to-" "Mari, why are you yelling?" Dain was once again interrupted by Bronwyn, who stood at the stairs, watching the exchange. "Bronwyn..." Dain said, a pang of guilt hitting him repeatedly as he wondered if he really needed to leave.

He knew he had to, he had to protect this country, but at what cost?

"Daddy? You're back!" Bronwyn yelled in a high-pitched voice, further adding to the guilt he felt. "Don't get attached, Bronwyn, he was just leaving," Amari said, glaring at his father. "Come on, we're gonna be late," Amari added, walking over to Bronwyn to grab her hand and pull her towards the door. "You're leaving again?" She asked with a heartbroken expression painted on her face as Amari pulled her away. Dain's children left the house, and Dain had to as well, ending their latest family meeting on a bitter note.

[Manhattan, New York]
[08:09]

Dain arrived at the entrance to the building Miranda had called him to. As he had expected, Miranda stood behind a sea of people beside her car, watching the aftermath of yet another murder unfold. What he had not expected was the presence of Orla. He walked over to the duo, offering Miranda a confused expression as soon as he tapped her injured shoulder to get her attention. Miranda winced a bit before turning around to catch sight of Dain.

"Took you long enough." She said. "Miranda, can I talk to you," He started before stealing a glance at Orla, who scrutinized him with an almost disdainful eye. "In private." Dain said soon enough. Orla stepped in between the two as soon as those words exited his mouth. "If you have anything to say to Miranda, you'll say it when I'm around, Dain. I'm as big a part of this shit as she is." Orla said, earning another confused look from Dain.

"'Part of this shit'? Miranda, I'm not father of the year, but you don't get a kid involved in a fucking murder case!" Dain exclaimed, somewhat angered at the fact that Miranda had the nerve to bring a child along to such a place, especially the child of his deceased best friend. "She knows, Dain." Miranda simply said, refusing to further elaborate due to the many ears present. Dain simply walked into the passenger seat of Miranda's car, and the duo gazed at each other for a moment before they followed.

"Explain to me why the fuck you told Orla that her father was murdered, you don't even have definitive proof yet!" Dain whisper-yelled. "She might've caught me about to steal her father's blood samples at the hospital..." Miranda sheepishly said, knowing that Dain was going to give her an earful over the matter. "So Orla fucking found out first?!" Dain asked a bit hurt that Miranda had technically told Orla about the matter before him. "To be fair, I didn't plan on telling either one of you until I actually found proof, I just needed you for the plan," Miranda said, shrugging one of her shoulders. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Orla said from the backseat, a bit annoyed at how much they were treating her like a child. She felt she was just as capable as both of them, just as smart as them, and she intended to prove it.

"I'm sorry, it's just my first time working on my best friend's murder case with her fucking daughter." Dain shot back, sarcasm oozing from the statement. "I'd prefer it if you worry about your kids and not me. I know what I want, and if I have to go through fifty dead bodies to get it, I'll gladly do it." Orla said. Dain stared at the dashboard for a moment, thinking back to his argument with Amari about an hour ago.

"Enough, you two. We need a way to get in there or any one of these peoples' homes. If I can just get a few blood samples and see if I can find the same toxin, it'll confirm to us that Ash was killed." Miranda said and Orla shook her head at the way she had uttered those words. There did not seem to be a hint of remorse left for what she had done to her father. "You just love dissecting peoples' bodies, don't you?" Orla snapped before she exited the car.

Tensions were still high between them, and Miranda completely understood why. She wondered if she was even helping anymore, or was she simply disrespecting the dead further? "Still mad about that, aren't we? Fuck." Miranda muttered as she placed covered her face with her hands. "I don't blame her, you're still a low-life piece of shit for that, and it might never change." Dain said, giving Miranda an annoyed look. The expression told a story that she read on Orla's face every day. He had not forgiven her as well. Dain left the car as well and Miranda was all alone, just like she seemingly always was.

She thought back to when she used to push them away and acted as if she did not want them around. They granted her wish, and took them away permanently, leaving her to scramble for any sort of attention from anybody.

Miranda could tolerate the anger for eternity if it meant that the silence was swallowed in all of the chaos.