I wasn't anywhere near there. After all, I hadn't planned on showing up. Now, I hoped against hope he didn't leave. It was unbelievable that an entitled nobleman put up with this much.
The impossible kept happening. A blade smacked against the brick up ahead. He was there. Alone.
I stopped advancing and considered the implications. Realistically. This could be anybody. A sworn sword, a random scapegoat – packed tight with explosives under that overcoat. Raktkalis might not carpet-bomb a city to get a single rat – not outside of Kalanta – but this would be more of a precision hit. Poof. A problem resolved.
"You finally decided against disappointing me," a low timbre raked my ears. I made too much noise in my rush. He was aware I was nearby, too. And it was him. Unmistakably.
"You're missing the assembly." If he was fine, he could have made it. Easily.
"Wasn't that your wish?" the stern voice traversed the sunken tunnels. "Kertus is attending."
The elder brother was here to take the credit and work on his own political capital. An outcome almost tailored to suit my liking. Except, a convenient brother's presence meant I had been played. There was no squabble between the two, just as there has been no shootout earlier. Noose over my neck began tightening. I was already walking backwards.
"What do you want?"
"Come here!" Raktkalis commanded in a hoarse staff sergeant's yell. I stumbled. If he kept that up, I would hear his answers all the way from the street.
Irritation got the better of me. I finally had the opportunity to tell this arrogant git what I really think. Strode out of a branching pathway to glare through the bars separating us.
"You don't get t…" the phone exploded in my hand. Vital components scattered on the ground in a form of million shards. I felt the plastic casing wetly slide out of my stunned palm.
"Ah! Shit! Fahk. Yuh! Intehr-mih-nable asshoh-le. Rotb-b-b-rained…" I cursed out on reflex instead of gunning it. After all, this hadn't happened to me before.
Witnessing my belated panic, military man chuckled and holstered the handgun. I hated the face to face meetings.
First-hand experience of Raktkalis's amnesty still did not instil much faith in that man's overall mercifulness. However, at least it was clear he did not want me dead. Not right this second.
I glared at the self-satisfied bastard. He ruined my phone. Another one.
"Don't sulk. You've been told."
This scourge of technology owed me so much money.
"Sniper should have done a b-better job," I muttered to myself. It was unlikely for soft words to carry.
However, the passage was narrow and grave-still. Whether he caught it in full, or deciphered from context, man responded to the sentiment, "The hit was more than adequate. My double is dead."
"As I t-t-tohld yuh. I've noh-thing t-t-to d-do wih it."
"Don't you?"
The accusation held something else in it. I chose my words carefully, "If I waht-tehd. Yuh. D-dead. Yuh wouhld b-be."
A finger ran down a rusted bar before he spoke. "Indeed. If you were after my life, we'd be having conversation in a completely different arrangement."
We both knew getting a hold of smoke in the wind was simpler. I crossed my arms contemptuously instead of vocalising all that.
Raktkalis got the clue and moved on.
"I've gone through your database. You do good recon."
Encryption wasn't top-tier, but I had hoped the scion wouldn't bother. There was an incredibly miniscule chance they stumbled upon that client by chance. Alas, the region's leaders simply had way too much time on their hands.
It's good I didn't respond to the inquiries from old associates.
"Youh owe me," I angrily muttered, "Soh much."
He waved it away impatiently, "You're in my vaults. That had to cover any supposed dues."
"I d-didn't st-t-teal froh-m yuh," I coughed out, appalled. Not money.
I refrained, because he seemed far too pernickety not to notice the plundering. And he did. Remaining unaware the cash had been completely untouched.
I should have cleaned him out.
A moment of scrutiny, before an onerous laughter thundered down the passages. It was far too loud. I suppose people screaming at armies had to have presence.
Sounds of joy coming from that person were unsettling. I felt like walking away again.
Guffaw stopped and only the mirth remained. Raktkalis deigned to explain the outburst, "So you've paid me out of your own pocket. Kregzle."
That's a one familiar pseudonym.
Well, that reveals who's been leaking Raktkalis's calendar. Truly a laughable affair. This motherfucker owed me so much. Urge to depart returned with vengeance and brought friends. Shame and spite.
I sighed the irritation away. Truth of the matter was, "Yuh p-peh-ddle infoh-rmation ab-bout yoh-rself. Yuh d-d-deseh-rve. T-to. G-get shoh-t."
"I control what they know."
It did allow Raktkalis to escape both my, and the sharpshooter's snare. But it was a conceited stance to have. There were multiple brokers. It was easy enough to cross-reference and get a reliable picture. Even more so if his information consistently omitted certain facts.
I shook my head instead of a pointless, longwinded explanation. My throat was starting to close up from use. Discomfort that could have been pain in another life.
Raktkalis probably already suspected as much, because following my substanceless reply he immediately asked, "Who else? What do they know?"
I gaped in disbelief. One of us was being delusional thinking I'd talk trade secrets with a madman who repeatedly massacred my tools. Among other things.
The flashlight affixed at his shoulder hid an intense stare that tried to force an answer out. I didn't see it to feel pressured, yet the attention felt heavy. I was at disadvantage faced with an inscrutable silhouette.
A hand with an offering rose into the spotlight. Another one of those sleek, meticulously crafted devices.
"My throw won't be as good as yours," Raktkalis mocked when the lure didn't work wonders on its own.
I still wasn't eager, regardless of another innocent instrument's life being on the line. Between that and my own, mine still ranked higher.
He lightly tossed the rectangle up in the air and caught it again.
The lord didn't want me dead. He won't be able to spirit me away through the grate either. Getting close enough to get punched wasn't that big of a deal. I won't even feel it.
Surrendering reason, I walked closer to receive my bribe.
As soon as I took it, the alien appendage lashed out. I stepped back, but Raktkalis was faster. Perhaps he was already mid-motion. In a flurry of movement, I didn't quite register.
I attempted to yank my restrained arm away, but there was no give. All my muscles were tense – the strange limb flailed, too. The soldier was stronger. Pale face betrayed concentrated effort, along with tantalised glee.
I tried to comprehend the absence of blood on that pale skin. Claw's targeting usually was on-point.
The sharpest digit was neatly landlocked under the two thumbs, as though Raktkalis knew exactly how that limb functioned. Perhaps he had been the one to originally lop it off.
The madman forced the shaking hand towards his face and rubbed the scales against a smooth, hairless cheek. Claw struggled to break free to the point of digging into its own palm. Raktkalis taunted the organic blade by running dry lips over it.
The grip was painful. I wanted for them both to cease this awkward struggle.
"Here I thought we were starting to get along," he hoarsely remarked, not at all disheartened about an attempt on his life. It was probably one of those things you got used to as the day progressed.