by Eric S Kim
Lionel slowly stood up and turned around. A middle-aged Korean man stood on the rooftop with him. He petted the silver-tongued cobra that wrapped itself around his left arm. The man wore a suit with an apparent Oriental style. Furthermore, he had short black hair. Compared to the long flowy hair he had in the past, it would have been quite the drastic change for him.
Lionel found himself astounded by the mere presence of his former enemy. He almost had trouble speaking.
“…It can’t be you.”
8:29 PM
Vincent Yoon replied, “You’ll have to excuse the mess. The custodians will have a field day with this one.”
Lionel could feel the rage brewing inside him. “How? You perished. We saw you die.”
Bloodburn hissed at him.
Vincent showed off his devious little grin. “You didn’t see anything, really.”
Lionel tightened his fists. “Just what the hell are you doing here?”
“My friends and I are here to finish the job. You’ve had a good run in this building, but now, it’s our turn.”
“Who are your friends?”
“Who do you think? Mystic Lightning isn’t going to finish the job without any special tricks in their repertoire.”
The realization hit Lionel like a train. “You’re a part of the Zadith.”
Vincent showed him the ring he wore on his finger. It was the color of silver, with something in the middle. Lionel couldn’t see it clearly from his viewpoint, but it didn’t matter to him.
Vincent asked, “Is it really that easy to tell?”
“How can this happen? Why wouldn’t the Zadith know anything about you?”
“They already know. It’s just that they’ve decided to let the past die, as it should. They like me, especially when they’re under my command.”
Lionel’s rage was very close to reaching its limit. “You’re…the leader?”
“These are very fun times.”
Lionel reached for his pistol. Vincent stopped him by wielding his own pistol first. He aimed it at Lionel’s head.
“Don’t try to spoil things for us like you used to do back in the days.”
“Why should I care if I ruin things for you?”
Lionel could hear a dragon’s metal wings coming to a full stop. Sorivo had just landed on the rooftop and got down on all fours. He eyed Lionel with a rather sinister stare.
“I will be a witness.”
Lionel never let go of the pistol in his holster. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Vincent still didn’t lower his handgun. “Try to be as intellectual as I am. You’re not going to go anywhere if you try to threaten me. There’s absolutely no reason for you to risk your life. If you try to kill me, then there’s no going back for you. You will be thrown out of the company for good.”
“I might as well forget everything that I tried to stand for.”
Vincent was amused. “Oh, so you’re going to stick with your gut on this one. I could’ve sworn that Nevinoth Riders had some common sense.”
Lionel almost lost his composure. He finally pulled out his pistol from its holster. “Go ahead. Try to stop me. I’ll still find a way to put a bullet in your head.”
Sorivo chuckled. “The human race is so comedic at times.”
Vincent still had his pistol aimed at Lionel’s head. “If you’re going to act this way, then so be it. You will have one hell of a downfall when this is over. I can’t wait to see it.”
Lionel suddenly realized an important fact. “We have another witness.”
The Blackjack pointed at the building from across the street. Both Vincent and Sorivo turned to see who stood on the top of the building. They would have noticed the sniper on the roof by now. Jerome had given them a look of concern, an expression that signified his involvement in this personal situation.
Vincent wasn’t surprised. He just said, “Ah, you’re extremely lucky.”
He put his pistol back in his holster in a causal manner. “I wouldn’t want your son to bother me with unwanted questions after your demise.”
A more threatening tone was added to his voice. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Lionel asked, “Why the delay? We can work it out right now. You and me, the old-fashioned way. A fight to the death.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I still have other business to tend to. There are Nevinoth Dragons still lurking in the building. And I’m sure it’ll be easy to pick them off one by one…especially the wolf.”
Lionel was extremely close to shooting Vincent in the head. But he still remembered that Jerome was a spectator from a good distance.
“You stay away from him.”
Vincent chuckled as he turned around. “Don’t stand in my way. Tannitari won’t like it when I’m ripping out your guts in front of him.”
“Stay away from him!”
Vincent left with Bloodburn still wrapped around his arm.
Sorivo pointed at Lionel and whispered, “Forget it. You’re hopeless. This is our world now. I’ll be seeing you again.”
Sorivo jumped up and flew away. Lionel was now alone on the rooftop with a dead grizzly bear beside him. Lionel stared at his son once more. The sniper still couldn’t comprehend the confrontation as he wallowed in his own ignorance. Jerome’s look of concern gave Lionel a shuddering feeling. He didn’t want to give the young man any signals at this time. He turned around and left for the door. He ran down the stairs and used his earpiece to inform his entire squad to stay away from the eleventh floor. He never mentioned the reunion that was about to unfold between old friends.
THIRTY-SEVEN
8:35 PM
Vincent had already disappeared somewhere on the eleventh floor. Lionel didn’t spot a single wild animal lurking around the place. He ran across the hallway and reached Virgil Hamilton’s office. He pushed the door open and found the place empty. He checked if the secret chamber had been infiltrated. The wall remained closed. The button in Hamilton’s file cabinet wasn’t touched at all. None of the Nevinoth Dragons would have known anything about the CEO’s secret collections.
And then, he heard more voices from the other side of the door. He quickly turned around in time to see various other animals speeding past the open entrance. A bighorn ram, a porcupine, a beaver, and two other animals.
One of them shouted, “Where’s Tannitari?!”
That made Lionel run for the door to pursue the animals that caused a commotion in the building. They were about to reach the far end of the hallway, until Lionel shouted out, “Where is he?!”
A bighorn ram, a wolverine, a porcupine, a beaver, and a red-tailed hawk stopped moving their legs and posed as a threat to the only human in the hall.
The ram stamped his feet and roared aggressively. “Stay back! Do not persuade us to tear you apart!”
Lionel proved that he would be harmless by setting his assault rifle on the floor. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to know where Tannitari is.”
The wolverine growled. “Why? So you can break his heart again?”
“How do you already know about me?”
The hawk squawked. She replied, “We’ve seen the pictures. We’ve heard the news. We’re not as dumb as you think.”
“I never said you were.”
The ram threatened the Blackjack with his horns. “Tannitari will not abide to your rules.”
Lionel couldn’t grow any more exasperated if he tried. “Just tell me where he is. I need to find him. I know about Vincent Yoon. I know that he’s here. I saw him. He knows everything about me. I have to stop him and find out why he’s still alive.”
The beaver was the same one from the NESF Station. “So he’s here? He’s in this building right now?!”
“Yes, and that’s why I want to find Tannitari. I don’t want him here when Vincent is about to finish the job. Please, help me find him.”
A voice from behind brought him to a halt.
“You don’t have
to. I’m already here.”
Tannitari’s voice was a refreshing sound to Lionel’s ears. It was a stark contrast to the death and destruction that arose from within this building. He welcomed it. He turned around and saw him. Despite his memory now fragmented by time, he could already identify the gray wolf with the blue diamond on his chest. Tannitari had no injuries on his body. In fact, his fur was clean as it would ever be.
“I’m glad you still remember me.”
Lionel suddenly couldn’t figure out what to say next. The presence of the dragon he had abandoned eighteen years ago made him feel like a young man again. It had become a nostalgic setup that had been brought to life by chance.
Lionel took a deep breath. “My old friend.”
Tannitari stepped closer. “I still can’t believe it’s been so long.”
“I’m so sorry I abandoned you out there. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“I’d like to forget that for now.”
Lionel gave him a little smile. After two decades of separation, they had finally brought each other back together again. Both dragon and rider had reunited.
Lionel was about to give the gray wolf a hug, but his joyfulness had been eliminated in a split second when another man had appeared at the other end of the hallway. This time, the Blackjack’s silent wrath had returned.
Vincent Yoon kept his pistol in his hand. “Your reunion touches me, but maybe it’s best that you keep your secrets to yourself.”
Tannitari ran up to Lionel and stood alongside him. The wolf growled at Vincent. “You stay away.”
Vincent didn’t stop walking towards them in a casual fashion. “In case you haven’t noticed, the rules have changed in this world. You might have to reconsider your position in this place. Gorvex’s laws are nowhere near as easy as you might expect them to be.”
Lionel wanted to reach for his rifle on the floor. “What makes you care about what Gorvex wants in this world? A Silver Skin is not something that you were ever fascinated with.”
“I have my reasons.”
The hyena barked at Vincent. “Try to destroy us. I dare you!”
Tannitari stopped him. “That’s enough out of you.”
Lionel still didn’t understand Vincent’s motives. “Why did you join the Zadith? What’s the point? You’re just going to be nothing more than pawns to the dragon that changed this world.”
“That is where you are wrong. Gorvex respects me. He and I have a very similar vision to what this world needs. He has taught me many things about his personal vision, and I gladly accept it. It’s going to be spectacular. It’ll be the one thing that this world really needs.”
Lionel could feel his composure almost breaking apart from the new discoveries. “You and Gorvex are…working together?”
“Of course. What else do you think the Zadith are supposed to do?”
Tannitari’s sarcastic tone had come out of hiding. “Well, who would’ve thought?”
Vincent chuckled. “You can’t imagine the big ideas we have in store for this world. There are going to be some big changes, and it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.”
Lionel’s fists had tightened without him even realizing it. “I still don’t.”
“That’s too bad. I’m already willing to give you the best seats in the house. Front row center. It’ll be a historic day on Earth.”
“I’d rather not have it happen in the first place.”
“Sorry, but you don’t have a say in this. It’s already happening. Just wait until the light in the sky comes after you.”
Lionel grabbed his rifle and had a good clear view of Vincent’s head. “I’m really glad that I was wrong about this entire thing. It gives me a better reason to watch you suffer.”
Vincent didn’t move. In fact, he just laughed it off. “Be careful now. You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your teammates. The Zadith will find out about this and will have Squad A-X-9 permanently disbanded. Every single one of you will be out of a job. You’ll probably end up cleaning the toilets at the airport.”
“I think I’ll take my chances.”
“Really? I’m surprised that you’d risk it all for a chance at blowing my head off. Actually, I’m more surprised that you’d force your son to leave this company without anything else to offer in this country.”
That was enough for Lionel to pull his finger away from the trigger.”
Vincent continued, “You can’t kill me when you’re not even willing to give everything up for your family. At least whatever is left of it.”
Lionel finally lowered his weapon.
Vincent smiled. “You see? I knew you’d follow the cycle. It gives me more freedom to do what’s necessary.”
“You’re a big old bastard, you know that?”
“I have yet to receive something other than a compliment, so thank you for the kind words.”
The Korean Zadith stepped forward. “Now get out of the way.”
“Don’t tempt them.”
“Why would I care?”
Tannitari seemed ready to pounce at Vincent. “What a way to end the night.”
Lionel crouched down and brought Tannitari closer to him. “Don’t try to please him. This is what he wants.”
Vincent appeared absolutely sinister with his tall stance and self-indulgent manner. “Go ahead. Try to attack me. It’ll bring your ego out of isolation.”
Lionel didn’t let go of the gray wolf. “Stay with me.”
From out of nowhere, a certain snake had appeared from the corner and made his charge. Bloodburn slithered his way toward the dragon and his rider.
The ram yelled, “Watch out!”
Both he and the porcupine had made a dash for the silver-tongued cobra. Lionel and Tannitari stepped back as the ram grabbed the cobra by the teeth and threw him across the hall. The porcupine lunged for Vincent himself, but Lionel didn’t have a chance to see it. He ordered Tannitari and the other remaining Nevinoth to leave.
“Get out of here! Find a way out!”
Tannitari didn’t leave. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of him.”
Tannitari whimpered. “So we have to drift apart from each other again?”
“Just do it! Go!”
The hesitation was minimal. Tannitari ran in the opposite direction and led the wolverine, the beaver, and the hawk away from the conflict. Lionel watched the wolf disappear into the next room with the other two following from behind.
8:39 PM
When Lionel turned to observe the aftermath, he didn’t expect the ram and the porcupine to stop themselves from attacking the Zadith. Vincent had brought out a certain gemstone with his hand. The Ivisian Emerald had turned black from within as the two mammals gazed at it while under hypnosis.
Bloodburn had returned safely and stayed close to Vincent’s feet. “This is exactly why I hate sheep. They think they can just toss me aside and make you the lifesaver.”
When Vincent finished reciting an ancient foreign phrase, the two Nevinoth animals ran in the direction of where Tannitari and the others had run off to.
Vincent said to Bloodburn, “Follow them, and make sure they do their jobs well.”
Bloodburn replied, “Oh, yes.”
He slid past Lionel and moved further away from the two men in the hall.
Vincent warned Lionel for the last time. “Don’t stand in our way. You wouldn’t want to deal with the Zadith when you’re grasping at nothing but future penalties for your friends. But then again, I’ll be eagerly awaiting your termination before you try to survive off of minimum wage.”
Lionel couldn’t even tolerate the haughtiness in Vincent’s voice. “Why don’t you just shut up for a change?”
He was about to used his fist to break Vincent’s face. But Vincent, who always had the upper hand, grabbed Lionel’s fist to avoid a direct impact. He pulled Lionel by the arm and threw him into the wall. Lionel’s back grew sore as so
on as he landed on the floor. When the stinging sensation briefly subsided, he looked back up at Vincent, who brought his foot down on Lionel’s stomach.
Lionel groaned from the attack. He grabbed his abdomen as his entire body slowly writhed in pain.
Vincent whispered, “I can’t believe you’ve forgotten how deadly I can be.”
Lionel spoke through his gritted teeth. “I didn’t forget. I just figured you’d hurt me harder than you just did.”
Faint footsteps had quickly progressed to the arrival of three other Blackjacks. Woodrow, Hector, and Victoria had their eyes on their wounded captain. Vincent had already stepped away from him.
Hector helped Lionel back up to his feet, while Woodrow asked Vincent, “What sort of pandemonium did we miss out on?”
Vincent replied, “Nothing that should concern you.”
He began to leave the hallway. “I will deal with the Nevinoth myself. Don’t try to help me. I prefer to do this alone.”
Victoria handed Lionel’s rifle back to him. But Lionel didn’t use it against Vincent. He couldn’t bear to destroy everyone else’s life for his freedom of aggression.
Hector took a peek in Hamilton’s office. “Were any of them in here?”
Lionel still had trouble standing up straight from the pain. “No, but they don’t have to.”
He started to run off to find Vincent again.
Victoria asked him, “What’s really happening here? What will the Zadith do to the Nevinoth?”
Lionel couldn’t think of a direct answer. “Just follow me. I might need you when I have to kick Vincent’s ass.”
“You can’t be serious! You might lose your job if you attack the Zadith!”
“I know that already.”
Woodrow, Hector, and Victoria followed their captain as he made it to the next room.
Woodrow would be the first to understand Lionel’s motive. “The hostility must have been a grand gesture.”
Lionel replied, “Sure, go ahead with that one.”