Do or Die Chapter 1

You've probably all read Chapter 1 already, but I'm posting the entire book one chapter at a time, one chapter a day. I suppose this'll be a refresher. And I did make a few changes since I first put this up, so...

*Language alert!

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The moon shone on the courtyard as I was led to the torture chamber. Even though I was going to be killed, I couldn’t help but think that the moon looked…beautiful. I suppose there’s no harm in lightening the mood when you’re about to die, I thought to myself. As I was led closer to the torture chamber, the guard that was leading me let his guard down for just enough time to allow me to make my move. I elbowed the guard, spun around, and grabbing the gun from his hand before he could react, shot him three times, causing him to fall to the floor, dead as road kill.

Without warning, ten other guards swarmed into the courtyard. I put my hands up and threw the gun down, effectively surrendering to the enemy.

“So, Johnny Atkins, how would you like to die today?” a voice said. The voice seemed all too familiar.

“Lenny,” I said, making sure to emphasize my hatred. “So we meet again.”

Leonard Bolvoski was one of the wealthiest and most influential criminals in Europe. He was tall but very skinny. He had a full goatee, a scar on his chin, and a disposition that made a territorial tiger look like a harmless kitten. He had connections to almost every criminal organization in Europe, so he had a lot of protection and dangerous allies.

“That’s right, Atkins,” Lenny said, “and lucky for me, this will be the last time we meet.” He gave a signal, and thirty more guards came into the courtyard, surrounding me and Lenny. I backed up a few feet, frightened by the number of guards.

“Ah, the welcoming committee,” I joked, refusing to show my fear.

“No fear,” Lenny observed. “Probably because you didn’t come alone; you have a couple agents backing you up. You’re not stupid; certainly the most notorious CIA agent in Europe isn’t working alone…”

At that moment, five guards led two members of my team, Todd and Sheilah, into the courtyard. Todd was in his mid-thirties, average height with shifty blue eyes and a voice that could pierce a man’s very soul. Sheilah was in her mid-twenties (in fact just a year younger than me), short with blond hair and determination that couldn’t be beat; at least, not until tonight.

“We found them nearby,” Lenny explained as they reached our little clearing. The five guards left, leaving me and my team with Lenny and about fifty other guards. “Maybe next time, you should position them in less obvious locations,” he added.

“So why have you brought us here?” I asked.

“Well, we’re going to kill you,” Lenny said. “But not yet. First we want to know what you know about our latest project.”

“You’re planning on wiping out the entire CIA database with a new type of device,” I said.

“Very good,” Lenny said. “Continue.”

“This device is state-of-the-art, and was designed by Harry Graff, one of the most famous traitors in the CIA,” Todd said.

“Impressive,” Lenny said. “But there’s more. Do continue.”

“The sale of the device was completely public, which is an amateurish move if I may say so,” Todd said.

“What if there’s a motive to that?” Lenny asked. Seeing the confused looks on our faces, he laughed and said, “I knew none of you would understand!”

“What are you going to do when you wipe out the CIA database?” I asked.

Smiling, Lenny said, “After I wipe out the CIA database…why should I tell you?”

“Well, we’re going to die today aren’t we?” I asked.

“Yes,” Lenny said, “but I don’t want to take any chances. Now, here’s the awkward part. And by that, I mean awkward for you.” Lenny pulled out a pistol, looked at me, and said, “I don’t need you or Todd, so it ends here for both of you. I do need you though, Sheilah.” He pointed at her as he said this. I’m going to need the codes to get into the CIA database.”

“And what if we refuse?” Sheilah asked.

The guards cocked their weapons. Smiling, Lenny said, “Then we’ll have to use force.”

“But surely you can’t afford killing Sheilah?” I said. “After all, she is one of only ten people who know the database codes.”

“Very true,” Lenny said. “That’s why she’s going to the interrogation room.” He said something in Russian, and three guards grabbed Sheilah and started to escort her out of the courtyard.

“Now tell me,” Lenny said casually, “which one of you would like to die first?” He put the gun against my head and asked, “How about you?”

At that moment, the power went out. The courtyard was now being illuminated only by the moon.

Trying my hardest to show no fear, I said, “I’m afraid you won’t be killing anyone tonight.”

“Damn it!” Lenny said. “Guards! Turn on the…”

Lenny was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. Wheeling around, he saw that the fountain in the middle of the courtyard had exploded, killing about seven guards and injuring another dozen. Another explosion destroyed the Venus de Milo reproduction just to the right of our circle, killing three guards and sending all of us off balance.

Taking this opportunity to fight back, Sheilah kicked one of the guards, sending him to the ground. Before the other guards could shoot, she snatched up the pistol that I had dropped and shot them.

Before the rest of the guards started shooting, my team and I were running for cover. Another explosion killed nine guards and injured four others.

“C4!” I yelled. “Looks like Diane finally came through for us!”

As we were fleeing the scene, Lenny was close behind us, angrier than I’ve ever seen him. With murder in his eyes, he began shooting at us. Sheilah fired back, but she soon ran out of ammo.

“Split up!” I yelled. “He can’t chase all of us!”

Naturally, Lenny decided to pursue me. As I ran from him, I looked for anything that could distract him. The light from Lenny’s gun shone in the dark hallway, revealing a large vase filled with water. Knowing that this was a good, slippery distraction, I ran to the vase; however, before I reached it, I was shot.

A wave of pain surged from my left shoulder, where I had been shot. My vision went momentarily white and the sound of Lenny’s gun seemed to be getting farther and farther away. Before I could recover, I was shot again; this time, I had been shot in the back, and I collapsed in pain.

Lenny approached me and said, “After three long years of fighting, it’s finally going to end here!”

“Go to Hell you bastard!” I said angrily.

Raising his gun, Lenny said, “You first.”

At that moment, Lenny got close enough that I kicked the gun out of his hand and tackled him. Lenny wasted no time and punched my bullet wounds. Immediately, a wave of pain hit me that was so intense, I didn’t notice that Lenny had thrown me off of him and picked up his pistol.

“You just don’t give up, do you?” Lenny asked.

“Can’t…we work…something out?” I said, half serious.

“Humor won’t save your life, Atkins,” Lenny said. “I’ll admit you’re good at what you do, but I’m afraid this is checkmate.”

Two soft gun shots went off; Lenny had been tranquilized. Without hesitation, Diane said, “You got that right.”

~like~

(good idea)

~like~

(why sankyuuuu)