Chronicles of the Apocalypse
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Part 1: Revenge, Everything is Nothing
Chapter 19: The Beginning of the End
Looking down upon the silvery surface of the lake from his perch on the rock formation, Jin Sakai’s mind wandered endlessly. He raised his left arm and flexed it, as well as his hand. So much had changed so fast. He gazed at his palm as though it were a window through which he could see his future. The last three weeks had been so unlike the last five years that Jin feared the whole experience had been a dream, and that he was mere moments from waking up in his cabin, cold and alone once more.
The evening sun set slowly behind the horizon, and as it set the sky aflame with orange, Jin’s mind fell back into the sea of memories that the last weeks had become.
After the impromptu funeral for his children, Jin had kept to himself for a few days, taking that time to recalibrate his mind. It had felt so different, not having their deaths weighing like boulders on his mind. Leah, Will, and Mark had all left him alone for the most part, which Jin had been grateful for. When he finally came back to the world around him, they wouldn’t let him apologize for being so distant. They told him that he had nothing to apologize for, and that they were just glad to have him back.
The following weeks had thus become the closest thing to a normal life that Jin had ever experienced. He’d taken Leah and Will around town, gone out to dinners with them, spent nights at Mark’s watching movies and eating pizza, and all around having a good time. And just like he had said back in Manhattan upon first meeting him, Jin began training Will in martial arts.
It was these days that had given Jin the greatest sense of peace he could remember. Will had been a phenomenal student. He listened and watched closely, asked for clarification when something wasn’t clear, and he never needed any instruction repeated. At the end of every lesson, they would spar, and it pleased Jin immensely that every time they sparred, Will only showed signs of improvement.
Even greater than that were the nights he’d gone out to dinner with only Leah. They had talked at length about their lives, bypassing the already discussed negatives to focus solely on the positives. While Jin had only a few to share, it pleased him to know that Leah’s life had been mostly positive. She’d grown up in a good family, with good friends, and in a good neighborhood.
These dinners and their conversations gave Jin further insight into who Leah really was. She was fiery to be sure, but underneath that fire was a soul that felt and cared deeply for others. In her, Jin saw a tiny ray of hope – hope that his life could get better, that things could change and would be all right in the end. Jin had talked to Mark about this hope, and Mark had only smiled.
“I’m happy for you, Jin,” he’d said. “It seems you’ve finally found a reason to live again.”
“Yeah,” Jin had admitted. “You know, Mark, the more time I spend with them, the more I can’t help but realize that I’m really looking forward to putting this all behind me. You know? Moving on and having a real, normal, life.”
Mark chuckled. “Can I join you? Or are you leaving me behind as well?”
Jin laughed, for he knew it was a joke.
“As if I could ever get rid of you.”
Jin chuckled at the memory. He and Mark had been through a lot together. Master and apprentice, best friends, brothers, there was nothing in the world that could separate the two of them.
Not even Dorigan.
Unbidden, Jin’s mind slowly drifted back to memories of Leah. Only this time, it settled on a joyous, yet bitter revelation.
It had come to Jin on a spur of the moment while he had been watching Leah and Will talk about some of the techniques Jin had shown him. Now that the drama between them had been resolved, Jin saw a completely different side of Leah, and that’s when it hit him.
He loved her.
It was a mix of the initial attraction he’d felt in her apartment, the powerful attachment and understanding that later blossomed, and finally the feeling of hope that she provided. On their own, Jin had ignored them, dismissed them as unimportant when compared to the situation at large. But now that they had all combined, Jin found himself wholly unprepared for them.
Yet now, days after realizing the feeling, Jin knew that while Dorigan and his lapdogs still drew breath, he could never indulge it. It would complicate things even further, and they were already complicated enough. It killed a part of him, but Jin knew that his feelings would have to remain known only to him.
A blast of hate surged through Jin’s being, and it took a considerable effort to restrain it again. It seemed that whenever good came into Jin’s life, Dorigan’s shadow was there, ready to steal it away at the first opportunity.
No, Jin thought. No more.
No more would he let himself live in fear. No more would Jin Sakai allow Martin Dorigan to control his life.
This ended now!
Memories and flecks of knowledge flashed through Jin’s mind. Memories and knowledge of all the pain Dorigan had inflicted not only on Jin, but also on others. He thought of Leah and Will; how they’d been dragged into a world they did not belong in, how Dorigan had already tried to kill them just for trying to help. He thought of Alexandra and Jonah; how Jonah would grow up never knowing why his father hadn’t come home, how Alexandra would inevitably have to fabricate a believable lie to hide and protect her son from the truth of what his father was. He thought of the myriad of repercussions these things would have, how they would resonate through the lives of everyone involved, and the other lives those individuals touched. It was a domino effect that only begat pain.
This knowledge seized Jin’s hate and solidified it. Made it strong and resolute, unflinching and merciless.
Made it ready and willing to kill.
Jin sighed to himself and stood up, gazing out over the lake and up into the sky. Jin didn’t know what the future held for him in the long run, and right now he didn’t care. All that mattered was that Dorigan, Victor, and Jesse had better have enjoyed their three weeks of peace.
Because they would not live to see a fourth.
So it was that with ice-cold determination powered by white-hot fury, Jin Sakai climbed off the rock formation and back into the life of an assassin.
--<(0)>--
Some hours later, Jin entered Mark’s shop from the back to find nothing but utter silence. At first he didn’t think anything of it, Mark had soundproofed the shop against the upper floors. But as Jin climbed the stairs to the second floor of the shop, and then to the third floor which held the living area, and still didn’t hear anything, fear took its firm hold on Jin’s body. He reflexively drew his sword, and slowly, carefully, pushed open the door to the living room.
What greeted his eyes was simultaneously better than he expected and worse than he feared.
The entire living room had been completely demolished, and a number of dead Grunts littered the floor. Clearly, there had been one hell of a fight. Absent from the chaos and carnage, however, was anything that indicated the presence of Leah or Will. Dread clutched at Jin’s heart and squeezed painfully tight. Aside from Dorigan, the only two heads of the Black Dragon Clan that remained alive were Victor and Jesse. This realization hit Jin like a punch in the heart.
Victor Malakai had sawed his son’s head off while he was still alive, and Jessie Wise had burned his daughter while she was still alive.
And Jin knew that one of them had Will, while the other had Leah.
And where the hell was Mark in all this?
A soft groan broke the silence from somewhere near the couch, and Jin practically leapt over to investigate. It was Mark, beaten, bloody, but still alive. Without pausing for Mark to fully come back to his senses, Jin hoisted him to his feet.
“Mark, Mark come on, talk to me,” Jin said swiftly, shaking Mark to rouse him faster.
“Jin…what?” Mark asked dully.
Suddenly, a spark of memory went off in Mark’s h
ead and he suddenly grabbed Jin’s shoulders in utter panic.
“Jin, they took them. They took Leah and Will!”
“Where Mark?” Jin barked back. “Where did they take them?”
“I…I don’t know.” Mark half-shouted, throwing his arms up in defeat. “They hit so fast, we didn’t have time to do anything but fight back!”
Jin roared in fury and viciously kicked the couch. Yet even in his fury, Jin spotted something, a square, black something sitting innocently by Mark’s right foot. Jin instantly swooped over and picked it up. It was a DVD case. Jin instantly popped it open and fed it into Mark’s DVD player. Jin followed up by turning the TV on and was at once greeted by the smirking face of one Martin James Dorigan.
“Hiya, Jin,” he said in a mock-singsong voice. “How’ve ya been?”
The image zoomed out, and he saw Victor and Jessie standing behind Dorigan on either side, clutching Leah and Will respectively.
“Did you really think that I didn’t know where you’ve been all this time?” the recording of Dorigan said. “Foolish, Jin, I’ve always known. I knew the minute you came back to Pine Lake.”
Will struggled against Jesse’s grip, but Jesse pressed the blade of her knife to his throat.
Please, for the love of God, Will, remember your training! Jin thought desperately.
“Now, little William,” Jessie said with a sadistic smile and a high, cruel voice. “Won’t you play nice for little Jinny? I know he doesn’t want to see what the insides of your throat look like.”
Jin’s blood boiled to a dangerous degree, but Will did not rise to meet Jessie’s challenge, and Dorigan spoke again.
“I’m sure you’re dying to know how you can save them,” he said. “It’s simple really, and what you’ve been trying to do all along. You just have to kill their captors. I warn you though, there’s a little catch.”
Jin froze and focused all his senses on the image of Dorigan.
“If you leave that building, and Mark is with you, we will kill this woman and her child instantly. We will kill them in the same manner we killed your two children. I know you dearly wish to challenge me on this point, but I ask you this. Is it a chance worth taking?”
Jin’s face contorted with rage, and Dorigan’s recorded visage chuckled cruelly.
“We’ll see you soon.”
The TV screen went black.
For a long time, Jin just stood there. He didn’t know what to think, he didn’t even know if he could think! His mind just ran over all the possible reasons and ramifications of his present situation, and then he decided it didn’t matter. There was a problem, and there was a solution. Leah and Will had been kidnapped, and he was going to get them back. It was that simple.
But then, it wasn’t that simple. There was another party involved in this situation that Jin had completely forgotten.
Mark.
But then, Jin realized, there was a solution to that too.
“You’re coming with me,” Jin said simply, turning to Mark.
Mark sighed. “No, Jin, I’m not.”
“The hell you’re not,” Jin fired back. “It’s obvious Dorigan knows you’ve been helping me. He’ll kill you if you stay.”
“And he’ll kill them if I leave!” Mark retorted.
“So I’ll stick you in the trunk! I’m not leaving you here to die, Mark. I didn’t during Jared’s coup, and I won’t do it now.”
“But it isn’t just our lives at stake this time!” Mark shouted. “It’s theirs as well!”
“But…Mark…” Jin stuttered, desperately grasping for an excuse. “You can’t be okay with this!”
“You’re right,” Mark replied stonily. “I’m not okay with this. Quite frankly I’m scared shitless and pissed as all hell.”
“So then why won’t you come with me?”
“Because someone needs to be you,” Mark replied with a sadly twisted smile.
“What?” Jin said, stumped.
“Jin,” Mark began. “You always told me that regardless of the situation, you needed to keep a clear head. Emotion clouds judgment, and clouded judgment gets innocent people killed. Those are your own words Jin, your words.”
Jin tried to argue, but he realized that Mark was right, and then sighed, a sad smile forming on his face as well.
“And thus the apprentice becomes the master,” he said.
Mark smiled. “It’s been an honor, Jin.”
Mark bowed then, and when he rose, Jin grabbed him gently by the shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.
“I’m leaving now,” Jin said. “And when I do, I want you to get as far away from Pine Lake as possible. I don’t care where you go or how you get there, but get there! Erase yourself, let Mark Donovan die, and I’ll come looking for you the instant Dorigan dies.”
Mark nodded, and Jin squeezed his shoulders before tearing himself away and marching up to Mark’s room. He was gone for around thirty seconds, and when he returned he was slapping a clip of ammunition into a single Desert Eagle handgun. Without pause, Jin marched over to the door down to the shop and opened it. But before he walked down the staircase, he looked back over his shoulder at Mark.
“I’ll come back for you,” he said. “I promise.”
Mark smiled sadly. “I know you will, Jin, I know you will.”
As Jin left, one of the Grunts on the floor behind Mark stirred. A moment later, the body rose to its feet, removed its mask, and revealed itself to be none other than Martin James Dorigan.
“Quite the impressive show,” he said. “Jin Sakai believed every word of it.”
“Because it was all true,” Mark retorted, not turning to face him. “Or is truth a concept you just can’t get your head around?”
Dorigan slowly walked over to Mark, his sword held loosely in his right hand.
“I can get my head around it,” he replied. “But it doesn’t seem to serve me as well as lying.”
Mark sighed. “Too bad.”
Without warning, he snapped his leg backward and kicked Dorigan square in the chest. Dorigan stumbled back with a grunt, and Mark snapped up one of the many discarded swords lying on the floor. Dorigan recovered just in time to see the blade of said sword swinging toward his face. He ducked, and the blade went whistling over his head. At that same instant, he slashed upward with his own, and chopped of Mark Donovan’s right arm.
Mark howled in agony as he stumbled backward, clutching the bleeding stump of his arm. He fell backward onto the floor, and Dorigan walked over to him, clucking his tongue sadly.
“People never seem to learn, do they?” he said.
“No, you don’t,” Mark hissed through gritted teeth.
Dorigan’s expression soured considerably.
“You don’t learn, Dorigan,” Mark continued. “You don’t understand that no matter how many people you kill, it won’t save you. Jin Sakai will kill you!”
“Funny,” Dorigan said, gazing at the blade of his sword. “That’s the same thing Mordechai said right before I killed him.”
Dorigan swung his sword, and Mark Donovan’s head was separated from its body.
Chronicles of the Apocalypse
--<(0)>--
Part 1: Revenge, Everything is Nothing
Chapter 20: Blitz
There were no words that could accurately describe the rampant chaos whirling through Jin Sakai’s mind. Confusion, hatred, rage, and panic all swirled together in an incomprehensible storm that Jin was at the full mercy of. Even as he drove out of Pine Lake, drawing on every ounce of horsepower that his Mustang had to offer, Jin only had half a plan as to how he was going to save Leah and Will.
He was vaguely aware of the fact he’d never done anything on such wild, reckless abandon.
He was also vaguely aware that he didn’t really give a damn.
But such thoughts were only a distraction, and even through the chaos, Jin’s mind found peace in one simple fact. He knew exactly where Victor Malakai would be. From the
re, Jin planned on torturing Jessie’s location from him regardless of how messy it might get. It was a crude, simple plan, but it was something, and Jin knew it would work.
The road was empty and Jin floored the accelerator, pushing his Mustang to and past one hundred and thirty miles per hour.
--<(0)>--
In Victor Malakai’s Manhattan penthouse, William Lawson was sitting on the floor, bound and gagged. Sitting lengthwise across the arms of a white leather couch in front of him was Jessie Wise, who was busy playing with her knife. Just like the night Jin had crashed the meeting, Jessie wore an expression of abstract boredom.
All this waiting, Jessie mused. It’s always so dull.
She glanced over at Will, who fixed her with a fiery glare, and chuckled.
Ah, adolescent anger, Jessie sighed mentally. He’s going to be so much fun to play with once little Jinny is dead.
A high, cruel giggle left Jessie’s throat, and she sucked on the tip of her knife with a gross display of pleasure. Will gave an involuntary shudder, and Jessie suddenly snapped her gaze over to him, a deviously playful smile on her face.
“Aw, what’s the matter, little Willy?” she asked in a teasing, faux-sympathetic tone. “Are you worried about your little mommy?”
Will growled through the gag, and Jessie giggled again. She threw her legs off the arm of the couch and walked up to Will, drawing him into a tight embrace.
“There, there, little Willy, everything is going to be alright.”
A vicious growl burst forth from Will’s throat, and he violently shook himself, trying desperately to free himself from the grip of the disgusting woman. Jessie released him and stepped back, cackling madly. Will spit out the length of fabric he was gagged with and glared furiously at Jessie.
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