Dark Guardian

by Ammar Habib

  This was Ethan’s first time eating on a rooftop and the weather was perfect. Looking around he noticed that all the other customers seemed to have grey hair. He and Katrina were the only exception. Looking back at his friend he saw her glancing at the menu as she gave her order to the waiter. Her long hair had been recently curled to perfection, each lock framing her beautiful face. She wore cobalt earrings and a silver necklace with a heart hanging on the end. The candlelight dimly reflected across her pretty face.

  “Will there be any wine for either of you, sir?” The waiter asked.

  Ethan shook his head. “We don’t drink.”

  “Yes, sir.” With those words the waiter took the menu from Katrina’s hand as well as the one sitting in front of Ethan and departed with a polite smile.

  Ethan looked over at Katrina with a smile of his own. “I think this is the first time we’ve gone out to dinner and they’ve offered us wine. Kind of a weird feeling.”

  Katrina lightly laughed, her voice a sweeter melody than any music.

  He reached over and picked up the glass of water sitting in front of him.

  “My Grandfather told me that you called him a couple of days ago.”

  He nodded as he took a sip of water. “I just called to say ‘hello’ and ask how he was doing.”

  “Well, he really appreciated it.”

  He set the glass back down. “Glad to hear that.”

  Katrina was silent for a moment as she looked down at his body. “I’ve got to tell you, that’s a really nice jacket.”

  Ethan looked down at his jacket as he lied, “Oh, I had Marion pick it out for me.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “You’ve still got her picking out your clothes for you?”

  “Why fix something that works?” As Katrina smiled again Ethan glanced around the restaurant. Looking back behind him, he could see Katrina’s bodyguard Ivan standing next to the front counter, his expressionless gaze fixed on them. “You chose a nice place, Katrina.”

  “Whenever my grandfather was in town, David would take him out to this place.”

  Ethan snapped his fingers and looked back at her. “I knew the name sounded familiar.” He motioned to Ivan. “But somehow I get the feeling that Mr. Secret Service over there doesn’t like me very much.”

  “He doesn’t trust anyone. He used to work for the Russian Intelligence.”

  “In that case, I don’t blame him. But all I’m saying is that I’d appreciate it if he didn’t try to constantly stare me to death.”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  As the pianist began to play a slow song, Katrina looked over to her far left. There was an open space where several couples were dancing. She looked on for a long moment while he instead stared at her beauty. Ethan could easily tell what she was thinking but chose not to say anything. After a few moments, she looked back over at him and voiced her thoughts. “Have you ever danced, Ethan?”

  He shook his head.

  Katrina tilted her head slightly to the side in disbelief. “Really? I’m sure plenty of girls have asked you before.”

  “But the right one hasn’t yet.”

  Katrina looked down at the candle, unsuccessfully trying to hide her blush.

  Ethan leaned a little closer in his seat. “Were you going to ask me?”

  She looked back up. “I was considering it.”

  “Well, I’ll do it then.” Ethan came to his feet and walked around the table as she stared at him. He approached her, offering his hand. “Katrina, will you give me the pleasure of this dance?”

  With a smile she took his hand and came to her feet. “Well…if you insist.”

  ***

  The dance ended just as Ethan’s mind was settling to it. Letting go of him, Katrina turned and began to make her way to the ceiling’s railing just as the pianist’s new song started. Ethan followed a few steps behind her. Coming to the balcony, she put both her forearms on the top of the railing and leaned forward as she looked at the streets below. Ethan came up next to her and followed her lead.

  The downtown district of the city was completely illuminated. Streetlamps shed their light on the sidewalks below them as pedestrians walked along the paths. The city was so full of life. So full of energy. Still looking at the city, Katrina spoke. “This city is so beautiful at night.”

  “Is it? I wasn’t admiring the city.” He knew he sounded cheesy but couldn’t stop himself from voicing the admission.

  Knowing what he meant, she embarrassingly shook her head without looking up at him. After a few seconds of silence, she finally turned her head and let her gaze fall onto his face. “You really have changed, Ethan.”

  “I hope it’s for the better.”

  “I think it is.”

  There was a long silence before Katrina changed the topic. “It’s sad, really, what’s happening to the city.”

  Ethan nodded.

  “I mean, it used to be such a peaceful place. This city and country used to be a beacon of democracy for the world. Now the police are completely abusing their power and the cartel runs the streets. The president has the entire government in his back pocket and has trampled over the constitution. The saddest part though, is that almost no one is standing up to him.”

  “…Well, what can one person do against an army?”

  Katrina sighed. “Ethan, even one voice can change the world.”

  As much as he had changed these past few years, so had she. He nodded before changing the subject once again. “Katrina, your necklace looks really familiar.”

  Her left hand lightly touched the end of the necklace. “Oh, it’s the one you bought for me on my seventeenth birthday.”

  “…Is it really?” His raised eyebrows and hesitation showed his shock. He had completely forgotten about the gift. “I’m surprised you still have it. I’m sure Boris has bought you nicer jewelry.”

  She replied wearing a charming smile. “This one is my favorite.”

  Ethan smiled at her words.

  ***

  Standing outside of the apartment door, Eugene Hendricks searched his coat pocket for his keys. He could never seem to find them, and being slightly drunk didn’t help the situation. After cursing several times, he finally pulled them out. The ceiling light above him flickered as he looked up and down the deserted hallway. Cursing his landlord, he unlocked the door in front of him and yanked it open with a loud creak.

  Stumbling inside, he closed the door behind him. He’d planned on getting home earlier, but he always seemed to lose track of time at the bar. As his right hand locked the door, Eugene looked at his recently bruised knuckles. For a moment he regretted breaking that kid’s nose this morning, but he had it coming. That punk needed to be taught some manners.

  Carelessly, Eugene let his coat fall onto the floor. He took off his hat and tossed it onto the couch before stumbling through the foyer and living room as he made his way to the bedroom, not bothering to turn on any of the lights.

  But halfway to his bedroom, he suddenly stopped.

  He slowly turned around and looked back into his kitchen. He could have sworn that he saw something there. Maybe the alcohol was clouding his vision.

  As he turned back around, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

  “Your sins are catching up to you Eugene.”

  He quickly whipped around and pulled out his pistol. A chill went up his spine as he replayed the cold voice in his head. It was unfamiliar but before Eugene had time to think about it more, it sliced through the still air again.

  “Wrong way.”

  Eugene quickly whirled around and leapt back as he stared at his intruder. The figure was covered from the neck down in a dark grey cloak that concealed his entire body. His head was covered with a hood and the shadow made it impossible to see his face.

  The officer aimed his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, the intruder launched a small knife that buried itself in Eugene’s hand
. His gun fell to the floor as he let out an ear piercing shriek. With amazing speed, the intruder launched himself at Eugene. His gloved hand tightened around his victim’s throat as he violently slammed him against the wall, ignoring his cries for mercy.

  Ethan’s face was only inches away now as Eugene eyes widened with fear. Ethan sinister tone caused Eugene’s shouting to momentarily stop. “You’ve been taking bribes from the cartel. I want to know who’s been paying you off.”

  Blood was dripping from Eugene’s wounded hand as he stammered out his response. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I—”

  With his left hand, Ethan pulled out a long dagger and thrust the blade into Eugene’s thigh. It cut through his skin like hot butter.

  Eugene let loose an earsplitting scream, begging his tormentor to stop. “Please! Oh God!”

  But his cry fell on deaf ears. Ethan slowly pushed more of the blade into Eugene’s leg and a river of blood began to pour out of the gash. With tears now streaming down his face and blood staining his brown pants, Eugene’s cries turned into moans of agony.

  “Tell me!” The masked intruder growled out once again.

  “Nicholas. His name is Nicholas Putin! For God’s sake, stop!”

  Ethan released the pressure, but didn’t pull the dagger out. “Tell me where he is!”

  Paralyzed by shock, Eugene shakily replied. “52nd…he’s somewhere on the corner of 52nd and Cherry Street. H—he works that area.”

  With a quick move, Ethan yanked out the dagger and put the bloody weapon back in its sheath under his cloak. His hand finally left his captive’s throat as Eugene let out a gasp of relief before slumping onto the floor. “I told you what you wanted,” he stammered. “Please…let me go.”

  There was a long silence before Ethan leaned closer bringing his face a hair’s breathe away from his captive’s. “Eugene Hendricks, I am the creation of your sins…and they want you dead.”

  In an alley near the corner of 52nd and Cherry, Nicholas found himself in a similar situation. Only an hour after Eugene had been slain, Nicholas and three of his fellow dogs were lying dead in a forsaken alley. Despite Ethan’s efforts he couldn’t get the location of Anthony Griffin but he did get one step closer to finding the scumbag. And with a little help from Nicholas Putin, it seemed as if Jacob Potts was the next in line for Ethan’s attentions.

  ***

  Only a solitary lamp was illuminated at the warehouse. Under it was a large, brown, circular desk, bare except for one of Naira’s rainbow bracelets and her bloodstained, pink dress.

  For several moments, Ethan stared at the two items resting on the table. He then slowly pulled down his hood and examined the shadowed room.

  With a sigh, he closed his eyes and replayed the battles with Eugene and Nicholas. He walked through every moment of it and could see the fear in their eyes as clear as day. Ethan drew out his bloodstained dagger and examined the blade. Gazing at the razor sharp weapon he replayed each murder in his mind.

  He was getting closer. He had been quick, vicious in his fevered slaughter and none of those thugs had been able to stop him. He was as close to invincible as a man could come.

  And Daken’s gift had proved useful after all. He picked up the bracelet with his gloved hand and held it out in front of his face for several moments. He was one step closer to Anthony Griffin. One step closer to coming face-to-face with the man he had travelled the globe looking for. He could almost taste his revenge.

  He would find him, even if he needed to destroy the chain-of-command of the cartel one person at a time. It didn’t matter what the cost was. Soon, everyone responsible for Naira’s death would be dead.

  They would all pay for their part. He would make sure of it.

  Chapter 8

  Naira

  A twenty-year-old Ethan walked through the dirty, dusty streets of the African village. The scorching sun was at its peak as it sent down wave upon wave of merciless heat through the cloudless sky. It had been almost two years since he had left Crown City, but it felt so much longer. He never imagined that he would spend nearly two years of his life wandering through India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, before finding himself in northern Africa.

  He never spent more than a few weeks in any one place. He couldn’t stand anywhere longer than that. While he was living on the streets he had seen so much crime happen right before his eyes. So many sins committed. So much evil. The taste left in his mouth over the atrocities he’d seen committed was a bitter one he couldn’t rid himself of.

  Ever since China, ever since killing Zhao and leaving Cheng to be executed, Ethan’s soul had been restless. It had been restless before, but after seeing how criminals like Zhao got away with their crimes he hadn’t had any peace in his life at all. He could only imagine how many criminals got away unpunished for their sins.

  Many times, he just could not take it and had to act. He had begun to lose count of the number of those he had put down in cold blood. They didn’t deserve a day in court. They didn’t deserve a trial. They didn’t deserve to live. But after every killing, Ethan had felt his soul darken.

  Their faces blurred in his mind’s eye but their crimes were never forgotten.

  Ethan made sure that he grew stronger and faster after each brawl. He always went in with a plan. Of course, Ethan discovered that it was handy to have a dagger or a gun on hand when confronting criminals. It made his task a quicker one.

  Ethan learned more in two years than he would have in an entire lifetime in Crown City. He could have returned home anytime he had wanted. The investigators of Zhao’s murder never even considered him as a suspect. But for some reason, he didn’t want to go back. It would be impossible to pick up the threads of that life now after everything he had seen.

  In the village he now travelled through, Ethan saw the remnants of homes after they had been burnt down by rebels the night before. Dead bodies littered the ground. The odor of death consumed the village. People ran out in the streets, rushing from place to place wearing the rags that covered them. None paid even the slightest heed to Ethan. Men, women, and children wept over the bodies of their now lost loved ones. They begged to God for some sort of explanation. Some sort of reason as to why this had to happen to them. Some sort of reassurance.

  But there was no answer.

  Sweat drenched from the heat, Ethan readjusted his old, emerald green backpack that was swung around his shoulder. He lost count of the number of children he saw standing above the dead bodies of their parents, not knowing what to do. Nobody was there for them. They were completely helpless now. Passing by a young lady who held the head of her dead husband in her lap, he felt a tear go down his cheek and run into his short, rugged beard. As she sat on the dirty road, he could hear her sobbing consume the air.

  Ethan might have stopped and tried to console the newly widowed woman, but he had seen this scene one too many times. There was nothing he could do for her.

  His legs were weary from carrying his heavy bag. But he had grown accustomed to pain from his travels and hiked on through the grim town surrounding him. He could feel the sadness seep into his very soul. He could see the pain in their eyes. He could hear their prayers echo through the streets.

  Ethan stopped as someone caught his eye. Under the shade of a hut, a young girl sat huddled up against its wall, her face buried in her lap and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Her black skin was covered in sweat and tears. Her red dress unable to avoid the filth of her surroundings

  She couldn’t be any older than ten. Without any reason, Ethan suddenly found himself making his way to the abandoned girl. Something about the girl attracted him like a magnet. He didn’t know why. She wasn’t the first orphan he had ever encountered, but as Ethan came closer to the girl the sounds of chaos slowly become inaudible. Coming to her, he stood by in silence as she wept. He stared at her helpless form, oblivious to his presence. Finally, he spoke in her native language and got her attention. “Where are
your parents?”

  She quickly looked up, but just as quickly averted her gaze.

  Ethan crouched down coming to eye level with her. He could see that her cheeks were still wet from her tears. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  The girl still didn’t look up.

  “Are they gone?” As he finished his sentence, he instantly regretted his words as her tears streamed further down her cheeks. He laid his hand on her shoulder as he tried to console her. “It’s ok…it’s okay. Mine are too.”

  For a long moment, neither said anything else as they stared at each other. Finally, the girl’s soft voice filled the air. “Re—really?”

  Ethan nodded. “What’s your name?”

  “…Naira.”

  “That’s a beautiful name. My name is Ethan.”

  Ethan came to his feet and stuck his hand out. After a few seconds she reached out and took it as he pulled her to her feet. Ethan had no idea what caused him to stop for her. He knew that he couldn’t care for a child, especially with his travels. He couldn’t afford to take her along with him.

  But somehow, he felt that he had to keep her safe. Seeing her felt like destiny. Taking care of her was his fate. She would be his answer to finding the peace he so desperately needed. “I’m going to take care of you, Naira. I promise.”

  Chapter 9

  Ethan’s Past

  The blinds were pulled, blocking the outside sunlight. Only thin tendrils of the sun’s rays travelled through the narrow slits and into Katrina’s enormous bedroom. She lay wide awake, her white, sleeveless nightgown resting gently upon her fair skin. At her neck hung the heart-shaped necklace she had worn the previous night.

  Katrina’s eyes stared off as she replayed her dinner with Ethan.

  The night had felt like a dream. The kind of dream you never wanted to end.