Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Revenge, Everything is Nothing

by Zachery Richardson

  Jin nodded. Mordechai was talking about Project Hellbound.

  “All his talk about power made me nervous, and the more enthusiastic he became, the more worried I became. I’ve been thinking about leaving the Clan for a couple years now, and your return finally gave me what I thought was the perfect excuse to leave.”

  “But Dorigan took it as an act of betrayal,” Jin continued. “Saying that I would soon be the least of your worries.”

  Mordechai nodded. “I know he plans to do to me what he did to you. I can’t let that happen, Jin. I can’t.”

  “And yet you yourself don’t have the power to prevent it.”

  Mordechai bowed his head.

  Jin ground his teeth in frustration.

  “By all rights, I should let you suffer that loss,” he growled. “I should let you feel that pain. Then you would truly know what you made me suffer through.”

  Jin took a breath, and released it in a slight hiss. “You are luckier than you deserve to be, Mordechai.”

  “Does that mean you are going to help me?”

  Jin gave a loud “tch” of annoyance.

  “Just be thankful that you have a family, and that I won’t punish them for your crime.”

  Despite the harsh delivery, Mordechai’s expression lightened considerably.

  “So what’s the next move?”

  “Well first,” Jin said as he got out of the couch to collect his sword and other Desert Eagle, “We need to go collect your family and get them somewhere relatively safe. Then, you get in contact with whatever friends you have in the B.D.C. and make yourself disappear.”

  “Though that does beg a question,” Jin continued as he sheathed his sword and holstered his gun. “Why did you wait for me? You already know everything I just said, so why wait and risk getting killed by me?”

  “Because I needed you to stop hunting me. I knew that I couldn’t avoid both you and Dorigan, if for no other reason than my mind wouldn’t be able to take the stress.”

  “Fair enough,” Jin responded.

  “Thank you, Jin,” Mordechai said quietly.

  Jin looked at him with an almost confused expression. He shook it off, however, and merely shrugged.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “This night has just begun.”

  Jin could not have delivered a more appropriate comment because at that moment, the door to Mordechai’s flat burst open and a dozen Grunts spilled into the room. They all formed a semicircle in front of Jin and Mordechai, who instinctively crouched down in preparation to defend themselves. The Grunts didn’t attack though, and a moment later, a man of average-ish height with bright red hair strode into the middle of the room. His outfit was more sophisticated than that of the Grunts, with the sleeves colored gray with a pair of black dragons stretched across them.

  This man was an Enforcer.

  The function of Enforcers in the B.D.C. was as their name implied – they enforce. In the event that an ally of the B.D.C. attempted to betray the clan, or a member became a liability, the Enforcers stepped in to remove them. Because they took on a very important role in maintaining the secrecy of the Black Dragon Clan, their training was much more intensive than that of a Grunt, and their martial abilities were therefore much greater.

  “Well, well, well,” the Enforcer said in a high, taunting voice. “I come to kill a mouse and I find a Dragon.”

  “Kassidy Reynolds,” Jin said, disgust lacing his every word. “Can’t say that I’m happy to see you again.”

  “Well that’s a shame,” Kassidy relied with a smile. “Cause I’m real happy to see you.”

  Mordechai shot a quick look at Jin, as if to ask him what was going on, but Jin simply stared at Kassidy with nothing but disdain.

  “Dorigan wasn’t very happy when I couldn’t track you down,” Kassidy hissed. “He made my life very unpleasant for a long time after that.”

  “Don’t blame me for your own incompetence,” Jin replied scathingly, sliding his right hand into his coat for his Desert Eagle. “You failed to kill me the first time, you failed to track me down after that, and you’ll fail to kill me, and Mordechai, tonight.”

  “Oh I might not get you,” Kassidy admitted. “But I’ll definitely get Mordechai. Kill them.”

  Kassidy snapped his fingers and his Grunts charged, swords drawn.

  Jin jerked his gun free of its holster and fired off a volley of shots, killing four of the six attacking Grunts before they came too close. The Grunt closest to Jin then chopped down at Jin’s arm, but he tucked in his arm to avoid the blade. Jin then bashed the Grunt across the face with his gun in retaliation before dropping his gun as two more Grunts came at him. The first swung high for his neck, but Jin stopped his attack by grabbing the Grunt’s wrist with his left hand, stepping to the inside, breaking the Grunt’s sword arm with his right, and finishing with a brutal elbow to the Grunt’s face. Then the Grunt’s partner entered the fray, thrusting his sword at Jin. Jin ducked under the deadly blade and then fired his left fist into Partner Grunt’s stomach. Partner Grunt doubled over, and Jin swiftly moved behind him, snapping his neck without hesitation.

  “Well done, Jin,” Kassidy said in a silky voice. “Now you’ve got me all to yourself!”

  Kassidy and Jin both drew their swords and began to circle each other.

  At the same time Jin began his fight, Mordechai snatched his dagger from its stand on the coffee table in front of his couch and quickly found himself fending off a trio of Grunts. He’d kick one away and then have just enough time to defend against the other two’s attacks before having to dive away as the third came back into the fray. The last of these dives brought him to the feet of a fourth Grunt, who was preparing to chop Mordechai in half. Then one of the original three charged, sword poised for a thrust through the neck. Immediately, Mordechai leapt to his feet and kicked Chop Grunt into the path of Thrust Grunt’s attack. Chop Grunt was impaled on Thrust Grunt’s sword, and Thrust Grunt was so surprised that he didn’t see Mordechai’s dagger heading for his face until it was too late. Then the pair of Grunts that Mordechai had been fighting previously re-entered the picture.

  Mordechai ducked under a slash from the one on the left and rolled in front of his partner. Partner Grunt swung at Mordechai, but Mordechai caught his sword arm and drove his dagger through the Grunt’s throat. Left Grunt attacked again and Mordechai ducked under the sword as he pulled his dagger out of Partner Grunt’s throat. Left Grunt’s swing accidentally cut off Partner Grunt’s head and Mordechai sliced Left Grunt’s ankle with his dagger. As Left Grunt fell straight down, Mordechai stood straight up and drove his dagger through Left Grunt’s chin and into his skull. At that point, the last two of Kassidy’s Grunts attacked, hoping to catch Mordechai off guard. The attempt failed miserably, as Mordechai spun around and deflected both swords with his dagger. He then lashed out and cut the first Grunt’s throat with his dagger before leaning to his right and stabbing the last Grunt in the back of the neck.

  Just as Mordechai finished the last of his Grunts, Jin thrust his sword at Kassidy’s throat. Kassidy deflected the attack easily and then ducked when Jin slashed at his neck. In retaliation, Kassidy thrust his own sword at Jin’s chest. Jin deflected Kassidy’s blade and then with both hands on the hilt of his sword, he chopped downward. Kassidy leapt aside to dodge the attack, only to spring back in attack almost instantly. He moved so fast that Jin only had time to duck under the onrushing blade, but in doing so, he saw the massive opening Kassidy had given him. In less than a second, Jin slashed out with his sword, cutting off Kassidy’s arms and head in two swift motions.

  As Kassidy’s dismembered body fell to the floor, Mordechai came jogging up to Jin, face paler than normal.

  “Please tell me that this does not mean what I’m afraid it does,” he said, his voice betraying nothing of his deep inner panic.”

  “It probably does,” Jin answered honestly. “Which means we need to get going. Dorigan could have already sent his men a
fter your family.”

  Chronicles of the Apocalypse

  --<(0)>--

  Part 1: Revenge, Everything is Nothing

  Chapter 7: Jin’s Redemption

  Upon hearing Jin’s words, all of the color drained from Mordechai’s skin.

  Jin bent down to tear a piece off Kassidy’s uniform when he saw Mordechai bolt for the door out of the corner of his eye.

  “Mordechai, wait!” Jin bellowed.

  Mordechai skidded to a stop, looking both desperate and furious.

  “You said you needed my help,” Jin said evenly as he cleaned his sword. “And I can assure you that all you running off alone will do is get yourself killed.”

  Mordechai looked ready to punch Jin, but Jin reached into his pocket and tossed Mordechai his car keys.

  Mordechai caught them looked at him in confusion.

  “But my car is faster than yours,” he said.

  “You don’t know what I’ve had done to my car,” Jin countered. “But that’s not the point. If you drive, I’m going to need a ride back here and you can’t afford to give me that.”

  Acquiescing to Jin’s argument, Mordechai turned away and ran out the door with Jin close on his heels

  --<(0)>--

  Twenty minutes later, Mordechai and Jin were flying down the highway in Jin’s Mustang. Mordechai was driving with a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, while Jin sat calmly in the passenger seat fiddling with his two Desert Eagles. Neither of them spoke, although Jin did give a low whistle when he saw that Mordechai had taken the car past a hundred and sixty miles an hour.

  Thank God the roads are empty, he thought.

  In what felt like an eternity to Mordechai, but was little more than an additional five minutes, they pulled up in front of the house. Even from the car, Mordechai and Jin could see that most, if not all, of the lights were on. Mordechai looked hopeful, but Jin brought him back to reality.

  “He’s trying to get you to lower your guard, Mordechai,” he warned. “Don’t let him.”

  Mordechai sighed in defeat, but Jin handed him one of his Desert Eagles.

  “Nine-round clip with .357 Magnum rounds. Round’s already chambered and the safety’s off.”

  Mordechai took the gun and nodded. Jin returned the nod and they both exited the car. Jin led the way up to the house and tested the door. Finding it unlocked, Jin eased it open and walked inside, Desert Eagle at the ready. Mordechai followed close behind, and as they swept the bottom floor, they found that nothing had been disturbed. Everything was exactly the way Mordechai had left it, and there wasn’t a single sign of Dorigan’s men.

  Maybe we beat them here, Mordechai thought to himself.

  “This doesn’t feel right,” Jin whispered after they’d cleared the floor.

  “Why not?” Mordechai asked.

  “Because if we had beat them here, the door would’ve been locked and your wife and son would’ve greeted us. Yet at the same time, there aren’t any signs of a struggle.”

  An ice-cold shiver slowly inched up Mordechai’s spine.

  “Let’s check upstairs,” he whispered quickly, suppressing the shudder.

  They moved upstairs, Jin still in the lead, and as with the downstairs, nothing had been disturbed. They moved into the master bedroom to find the bed freshly made, but no signs of life. Mordechai slid over to the walk-in closet and motioned for Jin to take up a position in front of the door in case anyone was behind it. Jin did so, Desert Eagle held out in front of him, and Mordechai opened the door.

  The closet was empty and when Jin indicated this, Mordechai shot past him and walked over to a bare wall. He seemed to be looking for something, and Jin watched him curiously. Moments later, Mordechai slid the wall aside only to have Alexandra burst from within.

  A false wall, Jin mused, nice touch.

  “Shh, shh,” Mordechai whispered in his wife’s ear. “It’s alright, I’m here.”

  “I was so scared, Mordechai,” Alexandra sniffled. “We only had a minute to hide before they…they…”

  But Alexandra couldn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she clung tighter to her husband, taking comfort in his tight grip.

  “Where’s Jonah, Alex? Is he safe?”

  Alexandra nodded into Mordechai’s chest.

  “I got him into his safe room just before they kicked in the door. Everything happened so fast, I…”

  As Alexandra spoke, she backed out of her husband’s arms. That was when she looked up to see Jin standing in the doorway. A surge of fear coursed through Alexandra’s system, and she jumped backwards, her fear showing through in her now bulging eyes.

  “Y…You…!” she gasped, pointing a wavering finger at him.

  “Honey, honey, calm down!” Mordechai said quickly, grabbing her by the arms.

  “Mordechai, he…he…” she stammered frantically, trying desperately to express her fear in words.

  “I know, I know, Alex, I know,” Mordechai said quickly. “It’s all right, he’s here to help.”

  “Wh…what?”

  At this point, Jin entered the conversation.

  “I know why you’re afraid of me, Mrs. Krueger,” he said. “And you’re completely justified in that. However, I am a man of my word, and I give you that word that I am not here to hurt you or your family.”

  It wasn’t much, but it seemed to be enough as Alexandra visibly calmed.

  “So what do we do?” she asked, turning back to her husband.

  “We get Jonah and we get out,” Mordechai responded firmly.

  Alexandra nodded and Mordechai nodded back to Jin. Jin returned the nod and moved back into the hallway, Desert Eagle held at the ready. He remained by the stairs while Mordechai and Alexandra collected their son. As they walked back to the hall, Jin moved down the stairs, and finding it clear he motioned for the Krueger family to follow. They did and Jin walked down the rest of the stairs. He rounded the corner that led to the entrance hall only to find Victor Malakai, wearing a pristine gray suit and purple tie, standing before him, flanked by a pair of Grunts.

  “Jin Sakai,” he said slowly. “Well, well, today has been a good day.”

  “What do you want, Vicky?” Jin spat venomously.

  “Hmm, let me think,” Victor said, cupping his chin in mock thoughtfulness. “You dead would be nice. Mordechai dead would be nice too, along with his family. So yeah, all of you dead, that’s what I want.”

  “Why?” Jin fired back. “Just so you can ensure position as another one of Dorigan’s disposable lapdogs?”

  At this, Victor’s expression soured considerably.

  “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” he growled and gestured at his Grunts, signaling them to collect the Krueger family.

  Almost instantly, Jin’s started to snap his arm up but stopped himself halfway through.

  There was a child in the room.

  Before he even knew why that thought had stopped him, the movement of Victor’s men brought him back to reality. He threw his gun at Victor, nailing him in the head with it. Victor cried out as the heavy weapon smacked into his face, and he reeled backward. The unexpected noise momentarily distracted the two Grunts, and this gave Jin the opening he wanted.

  “Hide Jonah!” he barked back at Mordechai.

  Mordechai hurriedly ushered his wife and son back up the stairs, and Jin threw himself at Victor’s men. A quick quartet of punches and pair of sword slashes later, both Grunts were dead and Jin was staring at Victor passed the blade of his sword.

  The Krueger family heard the scuffle and much as Mordechai wanted to go back down and help Jin, he knew he couldn’t. Jonah was whimpering, his eyes red and swollen with tears, and Alexandra kept a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. Mordechai couldn’t leave them. In his mind, he silently prayed that Jin would win the fight with Victor because he knew that he couldn’t hold a candle to him should Jin fall.

  As Jin stared Victor down, Victor began to chuckle.

  “Ah, Jin,”
he said, grinning. “You must think that I didn’t expect to see you.”

  Without warning, Victor shrugged his shoulders and a twelve-gauge shotgun slid into his hands. Jin’s eyes went wide with surprise, and he had just enough time to leap to the side before Victor fired. The blast was so loud that Alexandra jumped, and Jonah began to cry harder. Alexandra moved to stifle her son, but it was too late. Victor had heard the noise, and he slowly made his way up the stairs. Jin saw that and cursed. Leaving his cover, Jin hurled his sword at Victor, who was halfway up the first set of stairs. Victor didn’t see it until the sword sliced his shotgun in half. He jumped in surprise, and when he turned to see what had done it, Jin had leapt up to meet him. Jin grabbed the railing, and hurled himself upward to smash the soles of his boots into Victor’s face. Victor grunted in pain and stumbled backward, but when Jin threw a punch at his face, Victor grabbed his arm. Growling in fury, Victor took his free arm and shoved his ham-sized fist into Jin’s stomach. The amount of power Victor put behind that punch was so great that it forced all the air out of Jin’s lungs and then some. Jin uttered a hoarse gasp and Victor grabbed the front of his shirt, throwing him through the wooden railings and onto the hardwood floor below. Turning away from the Kruegers, Victor ripped Jin’s sword out of the wall and walked over to him.

  Struck by the sudden silence, Mordechai signaled his wife and son to stay put while he crept toward the staircase. Alexandra frantically motioned for him to come back, but he waved her off and kept going. With a care and skill that had been bred into him through years of experience, Mordechai eased himself down the first flight of stairs without making a sound. As he began to descend the second flight, he saw the hulking form of Victor Malakai standing over what Mordechai presumed to be Jin.

  “You know,” Victor said to Jin. “You’re a sad, sad person when you think about it. All your power and skill, yet you still failed to save your family. And now, just like before, you failed to save Krueger’s. Should I do to his son what I did to yours?”