Glassed Destiny

City of Fire

That stuff really must be strong. He had trained Pete to endure many different truth serums. It took years to build up a tolerance to them too. And a lot of will power. It made him curious as to which one the vampire used on him.

"Do you want us to go get him?" One of his men asked. He was standing on his right-hand side while he sat in the back of the massive room.

There weren't many men there. Even though they were in a quiet, secluded place, having more of his men would just raise suspicion. Instead, he merely had a handful of his most trusted.

He needed suspicions raised right then, but by his own terms.

"He knew the risks," he told him. "We'll get him after this blows over."

"What if he tells them everything?"

"He won't say what they don't already know," he spoke. "Everything is going just as planned."

It was fun playing cat and mouse with this one. He had spent years plotting for the demise of this nest of pests. It was the type of kill that you waited on, investing time and patience, until the perfect moment. The little over a decade that he spent planning for this seemed like a long time. But when it compared to the lifespan of humanity, it was nothing. In the end, he would be doing the world a favor, whether most of them knew it or not.

The abandoned building had been a great investment in this project of his. Buying it allowed him to completely change the inside without any difference to the outside. The locals just thought that it sat there to rot behind closed gates. It was the former glory of the neighborhood that was now gone. Over the years, he made sure that everyone moved out of those old houses by any means necessary, even if it meant burning them to the ground. He didn't need prying eyes.

"Something's coming," one of his lookouts said, binoculars in his hand. He was right by the window, not a single once of sleep in his eyes even though he had been standing there all night. That was how these men were trained.

"How many?" he asked, standing up from his seat. He pulled his gloves tighter onto his hands, flexing his fingers to make sure that it fit nice and snug.

"One," the man answered. It was no surprise to him at all. Actually, that was just what he had expected to happen.

"Still think this was a good idea to just let Pete get caught?" The man to his right asked. His forehead crinkled in concern.

"Don't worry," he patted the man's shoulder, catching the gun that was tossed to him with the other hand. "It's all according to plan."

Did they really think he would let them figure all of this out without him knowing? Leon always knew. When he had a target, he made sure to make it, no matter how long it took. This one was the biggest target he's ever had. That's why it took so long for him to set this game of his up. Everything was thought of, including all the potentials that could happen. Not one stone was left uncovered when going deeper and deeper into this vendetta that he had.

It was one of the most thrilling hunts of his life.

He walked out of the house, looking out to the forest. It didn't take him binoculars to tell that he was getting a visit from just the creature that he wanted to see.

"The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree," his lips curled up as he aimed his gun at it. "You all come for the bait too easily."

***

Gunfire echoed against the tree trunks that he bolted past. Jim wasn't sure how they already noticed him, but it didn't matter. Skaal dodged it easily, along with the many bullets that followed after the first. He had dealt with plenty of hunters. Their aim was nothing compared to his instincts.