Matthew covered his face with a Black Tactical Balaclava and then pulled his hood over it. You could barely see his eyes. He then loaded his gun -

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- Cost: 50 Creds. ]

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He tucked the gun back and took a look at himself in the mirror. Tension reflected in his eyes. He had prepared to the best of his abilities but, he knew very well thing could go either extremely well or he will not be seeing the sun tomorrow. With a final look at himself Matthew exited the hotel got in the car and drove to the spot of the meeting.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A low hum of a car engine broke the silence in a parking lot of a old building. Two dark silhouettes which waited in the shadows could be barely seen in the dimly illuminated lot. The car's engine stopped and a hooded figure walked out of the car.

"Matthew."

"Fritz."

"Lets not waste time. Where are the weapons?"

"Not so fast, show me the cash first."

Fritz gestured to the man standing behind him. The man walked forward and showed Matthew a open leather duffle bag.

"Satisfied? Now, the weapons." Fritz demanded.

Matthew nodded, acknowledging the exchange. "They're in the trunk."

But as soon as Matthew turned to retrieve the supposed weapons, - *bang* *bang* a sudden burst of gunfire shattered the stillness. *Argh* Bullets tore into Matthew's back, and he crumpled to the ground, momentarily incapacitated.

*hahahaha*Fritz laughed triumphantly. "You should've known better, Matthew. Gustav, finish him off."

Gustav approached with a malicious glint in his eyes, ready to deliver the final blow. But as he aimed the gun at the head of Matthew's prone form, the seemingly defeated figure suddenly turned around with lightning speed.

*bang* A gunshot echoed through the warehouse as Gustav's body slumped to the floor, a bullet hole in his head, lifeless.

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Fritz was immediately shocked and alarmed. He attempted to react by drawing his gun, but before he could, Matthew did a combat roll and shot him in the leg, crippling him. *Fuck* Pain contorted Fritz's face as he crumbled to the floor.

"You should've aimed for the head the first time you got the chance," Matthew remarked, his voice cold and unforgiving. And as Fritz lay wounded on the floor he stared at the gun barrel aimed between his eyes, *bang* Matthew delivered the final blow with a gunshot to the head.

"If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared."

― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

*haaaaaah* Matthew let out a shuddered sigh now that the threat was eliminated. His back ached with a stinging pain. The tactical vest he wore underneath his hoody had protected his life but was not enough to stop the impact of the bullets. It felt like a train had smashed into his back. But Matthew didn't have to luxury of time at the moment.

He swiftly retrieved the duffel bag containing the cash and disappeared into the darkness.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Matthew sat in his couch shirtless, deep in thought. There were two, really bad bruises on his back which must have been hurting like hell. But Matthew couldn't care less.

He was too deep in thought, as if he was in a trance. He got up absentmindedly, still in a trance and walked to the shower, but he didn't really shower he just stood there under the running water thinking.

He had taken a life of another human today, for the first time in his life. And although he was shaken form the adrenaline and pain in his back for a while, he didn't really feel 'guilty'.

Yes, he had acted in self defense and Fritz wasn't exactly a good man but from a psychological and ethical perspective, feelings of guilt arise when an individual recognizes that they have violated moral or social norms by causing harm to another person.

But Matthew didn't feel any guilt. Instead he felt accomplished, he felt victorious. Yes he was scared shitless, after all he could have died today if Gustav had aimed for his head, but he didn't and Matthew was still alive.

And as he thought about the consequences of his actions today - THERE. WERE. NONE. 'There are no consequences.' Matthew repeated in his head. He smiled evilly.

In his previous life he was trapped by what society and ethics expected of him. His true identity, full of rebellion, defiance and a strong desire for freedom, got buried under the pressure of what society deemed acceptable. The rules acted like chains, holding back the wild parts of who he really was.

But as Matthew stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in the mirror, he realized something - In this new world, those chains were broken, and he could finally let loose and be his true self without worrying about what society thought. Finally he can be the man he always was, finally he can be free.

And as he made the conscious decision to accept this newly discovered version of himself - he felt free, he felt creative, powerful, charged, INVINCIBLE. He had never thought that he could feel all these things so vividly. He was no longer the Matthew Marshall form his previous world.

A great man once said - "When do you think a person dies? When a bullet from a pistol pierces his heart? No. When he's attacked by an incurable disease? No. A man... dies when people forget him." Matthew, until now had not forgotten his previous self from the world he was from.

Saturday, May 30 2009. That was the day when Matthew Marshall died, forgotten by himself and Matteo Marchesi was born in his place.

[ Machiavellian Criminality fully assimilated ]

[ Tutorial Quest #3 : Unlocked ]