“SEARCH, SEARCH. I WANT HIM CAUGHT AT ALL COSTS.” Came a shout from a man who was about 6ft 4in tall. His burly body was well-contained within the clothes he was wearing. His hair had streaks of grey running through them at the side indicating his age. He was sitting in his tent surrounded by people – his subordinates. They were wearing similar clothes to him – grey camouflage uniforms but the insignia on them showed that they were Lieutenants, while he was a Captain. They were troops of some kind, however, they were not the army as the uniform they were wearing did not belong to any military of any country. They seemed to be more like a militia than an actual army.
Outside the tent was pitch darkness that was only illuminated by the torch lights of the men running around scouring for the man, as were the orders given. The places illuminated were filled with nothing but trees. It was a no-brainer that the place was a forest. The tent was in the middle of a camp that was set up for an operation.
“Captain, we have been looking for the past 2 days without giving up. The men are tired, and morale is low. Why don’t we stop the search for now and start it again in the morning? There is no moon today making it harder to search for him due to the lower visibility.”
“You think I don’t know that? This is the only way that we can catch him. After trying for years, this is the first time that we are even remotely close to catching that bastard. Do you even know the consequences if he manages to escape? Reinforcements are on the way; we just need to keep searching so that he won’t get a minute of respite and they will take care of the rest. Now go search for him and don’t disturb me, I can feel a headache coming.” The captain bellowed.
“Yes sir.” The Lieutenants shouted saluting and then exited the tent.
The captain then opened the drawer of the work desk in front of him and took out a glass and a bottle of whiskey. He then pours himself some whiskey and drinks it in one gulp. He then refills the glass, but instead of gulping it down like last time he just stirs it by twirling the glass in his hand while looking into the distance as if he was contemplating the future. All of a sudden he loses patience and swigs the drink down.
“Why did someone so troublesome have to be spotted by me, and why did I like a complete nincompoop decide that it was a good idea to try to capture him on my own.” He wonders banging the glass in his hand to his forehead.
“If I had only just passed the information to the higher-ups. I would have gotten a big reward. But I just had to get greedy and try to catch him on my own to gain more credit, didn’t I? Now that bastard has gotten away and the higher-ups are gonna chew me up for this.”
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“You will not have to worry about your higher-ups. I promise you that.” Came a voice from outside the tent.
“Who is that?” Asks the captain.
As soon as those words came out of his mouth, a man stepped into the tent. He was wearing all blacks and looked lithe. He was sporting black sunglasses. His hair was as black as the clothes he was wearing, with his white skin in contrast. He had a thin smile on his face, a smile of confidence rather than one of happiness or derision.
“Ni….Nixon.” The stutters, his eyes going wide and his face goes taught in fright before calming down.
“Did you come here to surrender Mr. Kris Nixon? If so, I must say that you made a very smart decision. Even you shouldn’t be able to escape the encirclement. You must have known that you would be caught, and it was only a matter of when.” The captain says with a smirk. Proud of himself for having caught one of the most wanted men in the world.
“Why is it that all you people think that I came to surrender whenever I appear before them? It is uncanny how every one of you reacts the same. Do you get training on how to react when I stand before you guys or something? Because if you do, I would be flattered, but I would have to ask them to change the reaction though, it has become a bit too bland for my taste.”
“Humor will not get you anywhere Mr. Nixon. You should surrender, I have men just outside, all I need is to give a call and they will barge in and capture you. Now I would prefer for things to go peacefully.”
Hearing that Kris smiles playfully.
“Go on then, call them in. I shall wait just here.” Saying so he points to a chair before the table and then sits in it waiting anticipatedly.
“TROOPS SURROUND THE TENT. THE TARGET IS INSIDE HERE. TEAM ALPHA COME INSIDE TO CAPTURE THE TARGET.” The captain shouts his orders and waits there.
“You know it is not too late to surrender. We don’t need to hurt you. All we need is some information from you after which you will be let go. Why is there a need to be stubborn? This is your last chance for mercy. If we capture you don’t expect any mercy from us. You must have heard of how ruthless we are, do you really need to go through all that pain?” The captain gloats and continues waiting both for the answer and for his troops to storm in.
But even as time trickled by no one came in resulting in the captain growing anxious. As swear began to trickle from his temple he thought, ‘What the heck is taking these idiots so long? After this is over, I will have to drill them again, they have become too complacent.’
Watching the obviously anxious captain Kris’s smile grew wider and so did anticipation.
“What? Are you wondering where your dear troops are?” Asks Kris with a grin on his face.
“Shut up. Those idiots are taking more time than needed. Don’t you worry, I will make sure that they receive more training for catching the next idiot that crosses our path.”
“Did your parents not teach you that it is bad manners to speak ill of the dead? Why call those poor guys idiots? Well now that I think about it…. they are idiots to have followed you. Sorry, it seems that you do have a deeper insight than I thought. It looks like even you understood their true worth and commented on them.” Kris gave the captain a disappointed look followed by an impressed one. Anyone who saw Kris do that would marvel at Kris’s acting abilities and his capability to switch his expression so naturally even though the tone was full of mockery, but unfortunately or fortunately the captain was too shell-shocked to notice it and even if he did was not able to respond.
The captain broke out of his reverie and ran out of the tent into the open, his face pale as a sheet and expecting the worst but also carrying a tiny bit of hope. Hope that what he heard was but a figment of his imagination or just a con by the target.
But what greeted him as soon as he went out wiped out any trace of hope that he held. Everywhere he looked bodies lay scattered. Most with their throat slashed, some with a stab wound either on their stomach or in their back, and rarer still were a few that looked perfectly healthy save for two holes on their neck.