Bam!

A loud, succinct noise interrupted Ebun's inner lamentations. It was a sound that could not be ignored—primarily because of the suddenness and the timing with which it had come into the hearing. Mrs. Yekaterina had even flinched. Seconds after the sound traveled into the air, the post-graduate man who was running into the woods that comprised of leafless trees now fell to the ground.

"Argh!" he groaned as he fell, holding his right ankle a bit too tightly. Blood started to drip through the spaces in his fingers. A new hole had been drilled into the ankle that caused blood to gush out.

Ebun turned to the source of the sound. Standing behind her was the glorious Sean with a revolver in his hands, in shooting mode. He was standing outside the shed that Ebun had earlier suspected he was hiding. He looked brutal than she had ever seen him—with a bandolier tied to his waist, he was wearing a black vest paired with camouflage khaki pants. His dark skin was glistening smoothly than ever under the sun.

Sean could feel Ebun's eyes on him, but he had to stay focused because he couldn't afford to look back at her even for a second—even though deep down, Sean wished he could because he could sense that she had been crying.

Ebun's heart leaped for joy as she gazed at him. She wished she hadn't concluded so easily. How had she forgotten so quickly that Sean was somewhere around and wouldn't let the man go scot-free? She'd let her memories and fears get the best of her.

Bam!

Ebun flinched this time and snapped out of her thoughts as she saw Sean pull the trigger. Quickly, she turned after the second sound wave sojourned through the air speedily. The bullet landed accurately on his left ankle.

Apparently, he'd managed to stand up and continue escaping from the abandoned park. He'd been using the bark of one of the trees for support but with both ankles now shot, he fell straight to the ground, unable to move.

After successfully decapacitating the post-graduate man, Sean put the gun down and torqued it in the pocketed belt around his waist. "Stupid jerk, " he muttered.

"Can I go now?" a fidgeting Mrs. Yekaterina asked Sean after the second gunshot. The tone in which the lecturer had asked Sean the question slightly surprised Ebun. Beyond the natural, expected fear of gunshot sounds, Mrs. Yekaterina had talked to Sean like he was her superior.

Ebun should have seen it coming since the psycho barracks worked in partnership with Moscow's medical university to do illegal things but still, it was going to take a long time for her to get used to it.

Sean nodded at the lecturer. "Your job is done. You may leave." Immediately, she adjusted her square glasses and started to dash into the woods in a tip-toeing manner, as though she were afraid to trip on her heels.

When Mrs. Yekaterina came across the postgraduate man who was still writhing on the floor and clutching his bloodied ankles, she gave him a solid kick in the butt that made his body roll through the fallen leaves. Then she hurried further away into the woods till she was out of sight. Ebun found the woman strange but in an interesting way.

"Go get him." Sean looked at Ebun now as he gave the command.

On a typical day, Ebun would detest the way he'd just spoken to her. She would have retorted with a savage remark, but there was something about the way he'd said the words, the way he'd looked at her with a bit of softness and compassion in his eyes that made her obey with a small, uncontrolled smile of admiration on her lips.

Sean did feel some softness for her. When he'd looked at her to give the command, he'd truly seen that her face was smeared with tears. She was scared that the man was really going to escape or perhaps, hurt her. It reminded her of her past. Sean could feel it all as he briefly looked at her.

But on the flip side, he also didn't fail to sense the admiration in Ebun's expression when she turned to watch him fire the bullets. Sean knew that Ebun was proud of him—for not letting the rapist go scot-free. Usually, Sean would have savored the moment and taken all the glory to himself. Still, he wanted to train Ebun—to help her become an independent assassin and give her the satisfaction that comes with murdering a criminal. Moreso, Ebun was a badass. Sean found her to be an interesting and intriguing person— someone who loved to do things instead of letting people do things for her. Hence, the command.

Mrs. Yekaterina's kick was quite impactful because as the man rolled unconsciously through the woods, his body was now closer to the empty pool. A few inches away. When Ebun approached the man, she searched the pocket of his jeans for any sharp items or weapons and smirked when she found nothing. Little wonder why the man had chosen to run away instead of fighting.

Ebun positioned herself behind the man and started to pull his wrists, causing his body to drag roughly through the ground. His head hung to one side in a lifeless manner. The blood from his ankles stained the floor, leaving crimson prints as Ebun dragged him. She brought him closer to Sean, who was standing by the pool. Then, she took a deep breath and rubbed her palms together after releasing the man.

"Now put him in the pool and tie his body to that joint, " Sean nodded with satisfaction as he gave Ebun the next command. He pointed towards the right-end corner of the dingy, rusted, empty pool.

The excitement started to rise in the walls of Ebun's soul. She was beginning to love this. She was loving how Sean was letting her do these things even though it was her first time. She was doing this for real—living out her dreams slowly but steadily till she's finally able to get the masked guy and the other demons.

Ebun obeyed. She took a deep breath before mounting down the small stairs of the pool in a backward move and dragging the bleeding man by the wrists again. Once she made the man sit at the right end of the pool, Sean threw a long black rope at her.

She caught it in one move and started to uncoil the rope. Then she moved closer to the man who was still weak with his head bent in one direction. Ebun squatted as she stretched out the rope and reached for the man's hands as the starting point.

"Ow!" Ebun yelled in pain as she gazed at the region of her wrist where the man had just sunk his teeth. He'd bitten her. The rope fell from her hand.

When she looked back at the man who was now panting heavily and planting his hands against the walls of the pool, in an attempted move to stand up, she punched his face with such a mighty force. In minutes, his right eye took on a purplish, grotesque color.

"That was so stupid of you. You are biting my hand, hoping that you will be able to escape before I gain stamina. Where do you think you will be able to run to with those bleeding ankles?" Ebun tightened the force of her fingers on his jaw, digging her nails into the sides of his mouth. He groaned with great pain.

"I-I'm sorry ahhhhh. P-please set me free. I von't rape any girl anymore, I promise. I von't vant to die."

"Not after raping and humiliating my friend, Viktoriya, " Ebun scoffed. "You remember her, right? I'm sure you do. I mean, it's girls like her that make you mad—girls who don't wear those goddamn lace panties. The non-conforming girls. You think all your victims are weak people, right? Do you think they don't have people who will fight for them? Your folly is intriguing to me."

Sean watched Ebun and remained mute. He wanted to give her all the pleasure, and he was pleased to see that she was having her moment. Ebun was having fun. Ebun didn't even see Viktoriya as her friend. After all, she was only doing this so she could gain more liberty to do it more often—it was a transactional thing. Still, it felt really good.

Ebun didn't spare any more words and proceeded to tie the rope around his body immediately. When she finished tying him to her satisfaction, with the ropes dissecting his body in a repeated swollen pattern, Sean opened the faucet, and water started to flow from all the open ends of the pool.

Ebun stepped out of the pool and stood next to Sean as they watched the waters level up the pool, with the man tied to one end, unable to move. He did try to move, attempting to wriggle his hands free from the rope. His efforts were futile, and all that escaped him were screams and cries for mercy.

Still, as the water started to fill up, now reaching his waist region, the blood from his ankles mixed with a portion of the water, imitating the look of a diluted substance. His trousers and parts of his shirt had now been soaked. He was struggling, trying to keep his head above the rising waters. If he could keep his head afloat, probably at the cemented floor surrounding the pool, then maybe he'd survive, he thought.

So the man continued to strive, even as the pool water was now reaching his torso. Sean was enjoying the show. Watching criminals fight for their lives in the moment of death never got old. It was always the stubbornness of their hope that intrigued Sean every damn time—that drive that always made them think they won't die, unlike any other criminal. So they fight even in their helpless states.

Ebun, on the other hand, was a bit impatient. She didn't like that the man was still fighting, trying to stay above the water. She wanted him to die already. She wished there was an extra faucet that could release additional water to hasten the process of his death. Why was he so willing to live? Why was he spitting out every drop of water that splashed into his lips? Why was he shaking his head vigorously? Why was he trying so hard not to drown?

Fifteen minutes later, the water had now reached his neck. The man was still trying to keep his head above the water, coughing too many times, even though his body was starting to float underneath the water. Suddenly, the water from the faucet began to gush out faster—as though it understood the urgency of the moment. Or maybe it was Ebun's anxious anticipation.

Then the water swallowed the man. He couldn't swim and could no longer keep his head above the water. His body was now floating out of his will, so he drowned. Sean turned off the faucet.

There was a stillness in the air as Sean and Ebun watched the dead man float in the dingy pool, the water hosting little mounds of algae. Only the crisping sound of the fallen leaves rolling on the floor in dictates to the wind interrupted the silence.

Impulsively, the two looked at each other. The rays of the sun were resting on both faces. Suddenly, they burst into rhythmic laughter. Ebun never imagined that Sean would be someone to ever show his thirty-two's. Sean didn't think Ebun would laugh either because, for some reason, he always thought she detested the idea of showing her teeth because of the scar on her lip. Nevertheless, they both enjoyed the moment of gazing at each other and laughing like psychopaths.

"Look at him floating in the pool in an abandoned park where no one will disturb or interrupt him. That's a great way to celebrate Russia's Independence Day!" Ebun grinned.

"I agree, " Sean raised an eyebrow, chuckling.

***

The inside of the shed was a lot wider than Ebun could ever imagine. From the exterior, Ebun thought that the shed could only host a few containers, and Sean probably had to squeeze in between some heavy stuff. But now, as she walked into the dim interior, with the wet dead body of the postgraduate man carried in bridal style in Sean's hands, she saw a wide basin at the center of the shed that contained a vast liquid mixture.

Sean had left the door of the hut slightly ajar so Ebun would be able to see clearly. She stared at the basin for some minutes, processing everything. The mixture took on a color of eucalyptus and bits of blue. The smell of it was way too chemical. Still, Ebun could bear it to her surprise.

After staring to her satisfaction, she knew that the basin and the mixture in it was the vat of acid.

Ebun was, in a small way, disappointed. All along, She'd imagined the vat of acid to look like something out of that episode in Rick and Morty that she'd watched at home—bright green and visually appealing. Romantic even. Because after throwing the victims into the acidic bath, the villains loved to laugh in that familiar manner that Ebun always dreamed about.

But staring at this dull mixture in front of her, she wasn't even sure if this acid was potent enough to dissolve a body completely. As though Sean had read her thoughts, he spoke.

"Although the effects of this mixture are not as quick as what you'd see in cartoons. Still, I can assure you that it's one hundred percent potent. The combination is sixty-five percent nitric acid and thirty-seven percent sulphuric acid—both acids being in their concentrated forms.

Concentrated acids heat any amount of water that it's mixed with, which is why it was a great decision to drown the post-graduate man in that pool. Now his body is wet, as you can see. Acid has a hostile reaction to water, so the extreme heat from the vat will shrink his skin and make his bones turn to rubber. Sixty percent of his body made up of water will burn when I drop him into the acid. Even his teeth will dissolve after a few hours. We might have to put on masks, so the scent of the acid doesn't knock us down or make us unconscious."

Ebun nodded. She was impressed. It was good to know that even his bones were going to dissolve. They wouldn't have to use the remains of his bones as specimens for laboratories. He was going to sink into oblivion, and no one would ever know. Splendid.

Sean passed a mask to her from the pocket of his pants while hoisting the dead body heavily on one arm. Ebun wore the mask.

Sean proceeded to drag the corpse, untying the ropes that bound the dead man. Then he started to undress the corpse –an activity that didn't take up to ten minutes. Afterward, Sean cast the ropes somewhere on the ground as he moved closer to the basin. Then, he dropped the man into the vat of acid.

Ebun watched as the acid started to form bubbles immediately after the dead man entered the bath. Fifteen minutes later, his skin had indeed begun to shrivel, swelling into tight lumps, becoming half the size of what it usually would have been. The dried blood from his body was starting to mix with the acid.

"You should go outside and clean up the blood prints at the poolside. We don't want to leave any traces, do we?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, right. We don't."

The time it took for the body to dissolve was forty-five minutes. As Ebun wiped off the sweat from her forehead after thoroughly cleaning the stained floors, Sean called her back into the shed.

She looked into the vat of acid. Now, she could barely see the dead man—only more smears of blood and tiny glimpses of bones that had lost their solidity.

The man had dissolved.