Chapter Eighty-six

Chapter Eighty-six
Bryan
I went back to Francis's office and told him what happened. "He escaped. There's a rope hanging down his window. He must have been planning this all along."
"Didn't I tell you?" Francis chided. "That man isn't trustworthy, but you still trusted him. Look what happened."
Francis was right. If only I had listened to him, this wouldn't have happened. Perhaps I became too soft and gullible. Regret is really in the end. I don't even know if everything he said was true or not. If his name was really Akira or he just made it all up to escape.
"Just stop arguing, guys," Kacy interrupted. "It already happened. What we should do now is plan our next moves. Sure, this Don Palermo would send more men to assassinate us. Akira isn't our problem anymore. If something happens to his wife and child, then that's his thing to deal with."
I didn't expect Kacy to say such a cruel thing, but she has a point. Instead of bickering about what happened, we should proceed to our next step. Every second we wasted matters.
"I think I should go now," I said.
"Bryan." Kacy held my arm, not letting me go.
I couldn't even look into her eyes. If I do this, I don't know if I can come back again. But I'll make sure that she and our child will be safe. I can sacrifice myself for that. I wiped her hand off me and walked away without saying anything. I know she'd try her best to stop me if I speak. This way, I'd feel less guilty. I went to our room and put on my black coat and dark jeans. I took my gun before heading out. I heard Kacy calling my name, but I acted deaf and didn't look back.
"If you do this, just forget everything about us!" she shouted.
Those words almost made me stop, but I continued anyway. If I don't do this, life for us will be more dangerous. If that's the consequence for being a hero, then I'll accept it. I think this is the best thing I can do for her and our child. If everything about us ends, then it'll be less painful for her to forget me once I'm gone.
I headed to the address Francis gave me. Using the tiny transmitter, I communicated with him and told him to take care of Kacy for me and that I'm sorry for being stubborn. We've been together for quite some time, and I still don't know how to listen to her.
"Okay, I'll tell her," Francis replied with a heavy sigh.
"Thanks, Francis. With you, I can rest assured that Kacy and our child will be fine." I turned the call off before I could become emotional. I don't want my feelings to cloud my mind.
I rode on a train to the location. Everyone's gossiping around, but I couldn't hear them at all. There's complete silence in my world, a sad silence that makes me feel uncomfortable. It's like a ride away from the ones I love, and I'm never going back again.
Time seems to move so slowly. I stepped off at the train station. I fixed my coat and shades, pretending to be emotionless when deep inside I'm breaking. I joined the crowd, made my way through a narrow alley, continued walking, turned left several times, and then turned right.
Finally, I saw a huge house ahead. It looks gloomy. I smoked while observing from a distance. There are some armed men around. I threw the cigar butt and trampled on it before going. I took them down one by one before going inside.
It's getting dark already, and I suddenly felt pain in the back of my head. Before I could react or know who hit me, I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes, I was already chained like a dog in a dark room. I struggled, but it's pointless.
The switch clicked as someone suddenly turned on the lights, revealing a masked man with a saw. He approached me with heavy steps. Every step he takes is syncing with my heartbeats.
"Wh—what are you going to do?" Fear grew within me.
He didn't say anything and didn't stop either, making him more dangerous and scary. He took my hand and placed the saw on it. "No... No... Please don't..." I begged before he started moving the tool forward and backward.
"Nooooo!" I screamed as blood spurted out of my skin. The serrated steel blade was munching and grinding on my flesh and bone.
The masked man stopped for a moment and looked at my face as if curious. Sweat pouring down my forehead. My face turned pale. This is the most painful torment I've ever had. Slowly, he raised the saw to my neck, and I haven't prevented the tears from falling down my eyes.
Perhaps I deserve to suffer after everything I've done. Karma is teaching me a lesson. How the pain I gave others feels. "Please... Please... forgive me..."
He stopped, put the saw down, and left like nothing happened. My hand hangs limply on my side, barely connecting with my arm. I can't feel it at all. The pain made me numb. It's still bleeding. I'm going to run out of blood, and yet, he keeps me alive, probably to make me suffer slowly and die.
It didn't take him half an hour before coming back. This time, I couldn't almost recognize him as my vision blurred, but based on the footsteps, I know it's him. The masked man who is destined to kill me. He brought an axe with him.
Without a single word, he chopped my leg off, and I screamed and cursed. I knew I wouldn't be able to escape my fate this time. Perhaps it was luck that I got this second chance to live when I was supposed to die. I hope I didn't waste it, that I've shown Kacy how much I love her, that I did enough for her, and that she forgives me for everything I've done to her parents. I didn't expect that dying for the ones I love would be the most satisfying thing to ever happen in my life.
After chopping my leg off, the man left again. I'm sure the next thing he'll cut when he comes back is my neck. If I can't escape now, everything's over. But with the bleeding of my arm and leg, it'll be impossible to get away from here. Then I noticed that I'm not tied anymore. Perhaps he wanted me to play his game; he wanted me to run, and he'll hunt me down.
I tried my best to stand up. Using a strip of clothes, I tied my arm and then my leg. I used a baseball bat as a support and walked slowly. The door isn't locked at all, but I'm sure this is all set up by that man. He wanted to see me struggle before killing me. What's more fun than seeing your enemy try hard just to lose?