by Gavin Magson
The right-hand guard was knocked off his feet, the blade buried deep within his neck. Ajax cut left, drawing his own knife, feet chewing up the lawn with the force at which he ran. At the last second his quarry turned, eyes widening in fear as realisation hit faster than the blade that clove through his ribcage and straight into his heart.
Ajax was quick to shoulder the body, rushing back to grab the collar of the second guard and transport them both over to the stone wall. It was not easy to prop both men up but, with a lot of muttering and cursing, they were seated in almost a natural position. He cleaned both knives on the back of one man’s jacket before heading to the left, crawling into a flower bed until he was fully covered by thick growth.
Little time passed until two more security appeared, their body language suggesting they were all too aware that they were overdue passing their fellow guards. He waited whilst they started to jog towards each other, angrily asking what was happening. When one noticed the pair propped up on the wall they seemed to relax a little.
“What are you pair of fuckwits playing at? The boss will make sure you never work again if he catches you deserting your patrol. Get up already.”
Ajax watched through the stems as a pair of booted feet made their way across the lawn, heading towards the wall. A second pair made to follow, several paces behind; this was going to be a tricky shot.
He waited, breath held in case he made the slightest noise to alert the men. Ajax rolled onto his side, allowing him to un-holster the pistol within his jacket. The guards were fifteen paces and closing to the wall, almost in the perfect position.
Ajax reared from the flower bed, moving sideways towards the mansion to better line up his shot. The nearest man must have seen Ajax out of the corner of his eye, the guard swivelling on the spot whilst levelling his gun.
Ajax dove forward, allowing him to line up the heads of both men mid dive. A single pull of the trigger sent an armour piercing round straight through the skull of the closer man, the slug causing the rear of his head to explode in a spray of bone, blood, and brains before striking the side of the helmet of the man behind. Ajax was back on his feet and running, bringing a knife to hand in time to slash the throat of the second guard before he could react.
He exhaled a deep breath, heart left racing from the adrenalin and excitement. He had thought the shot perfectly aimed to take out both men, but the helmet had deflected his bullet. Ajax stowed away his weapons before grabbing the jackets of both men, dragging their corpses across the lawn to join their comrades.
It was a shame that they had taken work from such a vile cretin. Ajax did not want to kill these men, which he had a natural affinity towards having been a hired gun himself, but the hazard of the job meant that death was an all too real possibility.
Once the bodies were disposed of Ajax took out his pistol and vented the gas built up within it, the noise not as quiet as he’d prefer.
Ajax put away his gun and looped the strap of the assault rifle he’d commandeered over his neck. He set off towards the right-hand corner of the mansion, walking along the gravel as he traversed the buildings perimeter.
The building was big, of that he had no doubt, but there weren’t any obvious entrances along its side. He noticed there were wide drainpipes leading straight up the building, but the windows either side were a fair distance apart.
When he got to the next corner Ajax could make out raised voices, though not the specific words. He toggled the rifle into single fire mode and continued his walk, never faltering his pace.
Three men were stood back from the mansion, two of which faced the building whilst arguing about not seeing any guards completing their route. The arguing stopped once he came into view.
“Where’s the last pair? And why the fuck are you alone?” asked the shorter of the two men.
“Gus is sorting them out, they are all sat on a wall taking a break.” came Ajax’s reply.
“The fuck they are, I’ll see to it they don’t get tonight’s pay.” The man stormed towards Ajax, not slowing to even look at him as he continued passed. “Come with me, in case I need another gun to sort those idiots out.”
Ajax grinned as he turned to follow the irate man, closing the gap between them incrementally so as to not alert him. They reached the midpoint of the mansions side before Ajax was a step behind, his large knife scything through the air as he drove it through the plate of the man’s jacket and into his heart. He let the body drop to the ground.
He counted to twenty before heading back towards the buildings front, sheathing his knife once again as he walked. He did not slow as he came around the corner, keeping his stride even as he headed straight for the remaining guards.
“He’s tearing those guys apart, you sure that you don’t want to come watch?” asked Ajax.
The two men chuckled at the imagery yet remained stationary. Ajax had the spotlights atop the mansions roof shining from behind him, causing the two men in front to squint as he got closer to them. One made to move too late, Ajax’s pistol bucked once in his hand whilst the knife appeared, flashing through the air and splicing through an eyeball; both men collapsed to the paved driveway.
The hiss of his gun’s vents was the only sound in the mansion’s grounds, not even the stirring of an animal could be heard. Ajax turned to face the mansion and strode over to the imposing door, his boots scattering the loose gravel beneath them. He tried the handle and was relieved when he found the door unlocked.
The hallway was as he remembered it, a wide spiral staircase opposite the door, paintings on each wall, the air of wealth all around. The only change was the guard that stopped his march to look at Ajax, confusion written across his face as he tried to process the familiar image of the uniform with an unfamiliar face.
Two steps brought Ajax within reach of the man, who couldn’t bring a weapon up fast enough as a fist collided with his nose and lips, snapping his head back. Stunned, the man put up little resistance as Ajax brought a knee up into the man’s groin and, as he doubled over with the pain, looped his arm around the guard’s neck before violently wrenching the head. The noise was horrendous as bone splintered and ground together, the body going limp in Ajax’s grip. He lowered the man to the carpet and checked that there were no others observing him.
Satisfied that his presence was still unnoticed Ajax made his way for the staircase, keeping his movement slow to avoid his boots clattering on the wood. He advanced, gun in hand, towards the first floor.
Ajax was struggling to keep his anger in check, knowing he was so close to Henry was clouding his thoughts. What surprised him more was the excitement he felt, the thrill of the mission flooding him with adrenaline. His priority was Ilya, he knew that he had to aim for the southeast corner of the mansion first, since that is where Raúl claimed Henry kept Ilya up on the top floor. Ajax tried not to think any more about it, but he was all too aware the location was chosen to prevent guests from hearing her screams and cries for help. As he moved up a floor he could not hear a single sound in the whole house, which was almost his death.
As the spiral staircase brought him level with the first floor Ajax barely spotted the two men, automatic weapons strapped across their chests and gripped lightly, walking along the corridor towards him.
There was little lighting on the floors, leaving the corridor in a gloomy darkness. He fought his body’s reaction to raise his gun, which would have seen him sprayed down in a hail of bullets. Instead he waited whilst they walked closer to him, turning his body to hide the gun he still held.
“What are you doing on this floor?” the voice was stern, gruff, with little room for arguing.
Ajax did not reply, waiting for them to get even closer to his position. He could see the speaker start to tense, the slow movement of his finger as he checked the position of his gun’s safety.
Ajax sprang forward, his free hand gripping the guards trigger finger whilst Ajax brought his own gun up. The bullet sent a spray of gore out of t
he second guards head with barely a sound. Ajax dropped his gun and balled his fist before catching the guard under the chin with an explosive punch. Ajax couldn’t wrestle the gun out of the man’s grip, instead he grabbed the handle of a sheathed knife and drew it, sliding the blade between jacket and ribs until the man’s cry stopped as quickly as it began.
It was a surprise to him that he’d made it this far without alerting the mansion, but Ajax knew he couldn’t bank on his luck holding out, if anyone had heard the start of the man’s scream the element of surprise was lost. He relieved the dead guard of his gun, confirmed the magazine was full, and headed back for the stairs.
Ajax made sure to walk slowly, despite his quickening heartbeat, all the while listening out for the faintest noise that could signal yet more guards. Around the staircases corner he stepped out onto the top floor, this time without any more men in sight. It was faint, but Ajax thought he could hear muffled cries.
Rifle in hand Ajax advanced on the noise, passing door after door, heading southeast, until the cries were at their loudest. The door looked no different than any other, gold gilding on an all-white background with a crystal encrusted doorknob. Ajax really despised the wealth Henry Steel threw around like it was nothing, but that would end soon enough.
He turned the doorknob slowly, making sure the catches movement was as silent as possible. Ajax pushed the door open and stood still wide-eyed; what he saw was more than he had mentally prepared for. Ilya was suspended by a thick rope wrapped around both hands, her naked body hanging limp as a whip sliced open her already ruined flesh.
As the gun clattered to the floor Henry turned, eyes flaring wide in shock as the hulking figure of Ajax cannoned into his chest. Both men fell to the floor, Ajax rolling straight back to his feet as Henry tried to recover. Two thick hands gripped the man by his shirt, a manic grin full of blood lust stared back at him.
“...Ajax?”
“Missed me?”
In one fluid movement Ajax brought his forehead down on Henry's face, a viscous blow that sprayed crimson from the shattered nose. A second rendered him unconscious.
Behind him Ajax could hear boots pounding on the floor, at least two guards advancing on him. He scooped up the rifle and turned to face the doorway. Once certain the men were coming from the direction of the stairwell to his right Ajax ran at the open doorway, diving through and twisting his body to line up the muzzle.
The surprise on the three men’s faces as Ajax cut them down with a spray of bullets was delightful to him. He slid across the polished fall and turned it into a roll that brought him back to his feet, just as a forth guard rounded the corridors corner.
Ajax wasn’t quick enough to raise his rifle, a handgun bucking twice before he could squeeze the trigger and fell the man. The mansion went quiet once more.
His left shoulder stung something wicked. Ajax probed the wound with the fingers of his right hand. The bullet had missed bone but had torn through his flesh effortlessly. The nano’s were slow to begin repairing the wound, which only angered him further.
Ajax headed back to the room where he drew his knife and, with a sharp slash across the ropes suspending Ilya from the floor, severed them as his free arm wrapped around her waist. She barely made a sound despite her back being visibly shredded and heavily scarred from old wounds. He carried her over to the bed, lowering the limp body carefully face down. He turned her face to the side, worried that he did not see movement under her closed eyelids.
Whilst Ajax was checking Ilya's breathing he heard the creak of the door to his left. Spinning on his heel Ajax was already curling his arm back ready to throw the knife when he saw the elderly man. He stood stock still in the open doorway, another, smaller room, behind him, clutching a bundle of clothes and two clear glass bottles; the blade stayed gripped in Ajax’s fingers.
“Who are you?” asked Ajax.
“Have you come to do harm to her?”
Ajax couldn’t help but grin at the way the old man gripped a scalpel in his hand, ready to protect Ilya with his life.
“No, I wouldn’t dream of injuring her. I have come to rescue Ilya.”
“Finally.” whispered the man, his body visibly relaxing as he lowered the scalpel back onto the clothes he carried. “I am Mr Steel's manservant, Roahvan, though Ilya calls me Rowan. I have been tending to her for months, praying that someone would free her from this torment; I did not think anyone would ever come for Ilya.”
Rowan shuffled across the floor, little speed in his actions. He set the bundle down next to Ilya's sleeping body and pulled a cork from one of the bottles.
“Leave her in my hands, I will tend to Miss Frey. I’ve been taking care of her every night after that monster was done with her, I know how best to clean and bandage her wounds. What will you do with Henry?”
“The same as he did to me.”
The water was ice cold, it covered him head to toe and took the air straight out of his chest. Henry's eyes opened wide and he saw Ajax once again.
“How?” was the only word that escaped his mouth.
“Is that all you have to say after so long, Henry? I presume you mean how am I alive? Funny you should ask, it's nice to see you just as shocked now as I was when you rose from the grave.”
“You had a backup?”
“No, I don’t have that kind of money to burn. Someone with more money than sense paid to keep me alive, repaired what you had destroyed. Your man Raúl, he doesn't really work for you, rather he works for my benefactor. Guess what the first thing I did with my new lease of life was?”
Henry tried to open both eyes, struggling to battle the blackened bruise circling his left eye, swelling both eyelids. Ajax stood between the chained Henry and a tray baring three candles, their flame reflected from silver instruments he knew only too well. There was no other light in the basement, leaving Henry struggling to even see Ajax's shadowy face.
“You came here to kill me?”
“No, that wasn't the first thing I did; though you are correct about what is in store for you.”
Ajax stepped out of sight, not even his footsteps giving away his movements. Henry pulled at the chains, feeling shackles bite into his flesh that left him no give; Ajax had done a good job. It was a few minutes before Ajax returned, whistling a strange tune.
Something was thrown to the floor in front of him, giving off a sickening wet slap as it bounced across the floor. Henry looked down in trepidation and recognised the severed body parts for his own.
“Wasn't too hard to find your backups, now that I know they exist. Three? You must be a nervous man to have so many clones. Who would have thought that a despicable, dishonourable arsehole like yourself would be so worried about death? It wasn’t easy, I’ll admit, and keeping a guard hidden away with them was a nice touch, almost had me too. This will be a real death, and I can cause you a lot more pain along your journey there than you could ever fathom.” spoke Ajax, a half smile plastered across his face. He turned his back on the man, leaving Henry to hang in silence.
Henry kept his mouth shut, he did not want to risk giving away his secret; Ajax had not mentioned anything about his remote backups. When Ajax turned back he held a pair of pliers in one hand, a tool Henry Steel had become far too familiar with.
“Scream if you want, there is no one left alive to hear you.” said Ajax, gripping a fingernail between the pliers.
The first nail barely rewarded Ajax with a grunt, not until the fifth did the pain build up. Henry let out a whimper, the noise amplified by the thick cellar walls. Ajax made sure to twist and turn the sixth nail until it turned into a scream. The last four came off in savage yanks.
“I'm just getting you started.” Ajax said, returning the pliers to the table.
When he turned around Henry barely had time to tense, the gun levelled, and a bullet apiece shattered his kneecaps. The scream was genuine, it's melody sweet music to Ajax's ears. As his legs collapsed Henry sagged forward, shackles biting into his
wrists and fingers trying to grip the chains and pull himself up. As his ruined fingertips mashed against metal yet more pain coursed through his body. Ajax smiled once again, but he did not yet feel the satisfaction he sought.
“You were a real rookie that day, even if you thought I was bleeding out there was plenty of time to make me suffer. You won't have a chance to learn from those mistakes.”
Returning his gun Ajax drew the knife, using his free hand to spin the squirming Henry and expose his back. Ajax leant forward, mouth millimetres from the man's ear.
“It's only fitting you feel the same pain you inflicted on Ilya.” he whispered.
The blades point bit into flesh just under Henry's shoulder, pressed deep until Ajax felt bone. He dragged it diagonally towards the man's hip, feeling the body protest, buck and squirm as Henry Steel screamed once more. With the first cut done he moved onto the second, parallel lines leaving his back awash with blood. It was only the constant pain that stopped Henry passing out.
Satisfied with the deep wounds Ajax slashed the knife across the top of the lines. Carefully he sliced under Henry’s skin, gripping the flesh with his free hand as he went about skinning Henry. More screams, their volume tapering off, filled the room.
When Ajax released the man, his body had given up its fight. Tears streaked Henry's face, contorted in a mask of agony as a silent scream tried to make itself heard. Ajax had not noticed when the man's bowels were released, for a second he feared that Henry was already dead. A tiny part of Ajax, a voice so quiet that only in the rooms silence could it be heard, tried to tell him his actions were wrong. Should he not show the man mercy and kill him swiftly?
“Do you want this to end? Answer me Henry, beg for it and I will end your life in an instance and release you from your pain.”
It was faint, the man's voice almost torn from all the screams. “Please, please release me from this suffering. I beg of you, please, kill me, take my life.”