Chapter
3 – When the Cross Condemns
Because my actions today have
scared my targets into their safehouses, I can easily take care of those who
attempt to escape as they expose themselves in the now desolate streets of
Solis. Their superhuman bodyguards either fail to protect them or flee at the
sight of me, allowing me to take care of my target and move on to the next one.
The last remaining men and women on my list should be in places that they think
I won’t find them in, but thanks to my overcharged powers, my senses guide me
to them and deliver their due punishment. It’s now the afternoon and the sun is
setting. There’s not a single soul on the city streets, a target left, or an
opponent who dares challenge me.
I watch the sunset from the highest
rooftop in Solis and imagine what it would’ve been like with Isaias and Irlene,
and if they’d be proud of me for accomplishing what they wanted me to do in the
way that I did it. What would we even talk about if we ended up being a normal
family? Would Idelle accept them after all the experiments they did to her and
made her do? I wonder what my adoptive parents will say when I go back to them,
or if I can live normally with them again, or if I have to visit them in secret
just as Idelle did when I was a kid. The reality of what I’ve done settles in,
and even though I still don’t have any regrets, I start to feel concerned about
my future life on the run. I refuse to go to prison for doing the right thing
in the only way I know how, and I don’t care to explain myself to officials and
a public who might find it hard to accept my explanation for acting in the way
I did.
I get a notification about the
scans I uploaded, and then a call soon after from the person who contacted me
before. They yell at me again for what I’ve done, which I absently listen to
while continuing to watch the sunset, thinking about my future and family, both
deceased and living. At the end of their rant, they ask if I’m listening and
still there.
“I did what I had to. That’s all
there is to it,” I say.
After a long sigh and short
silence, they say, “You did, and we have to admit that you did something in a
single day that would’ve taken us at least a week.”
“I don’t care for a reward or to
join you, if that’s what you’re offering next.”
“Too bad. You’re going to have to
come to the outskirts of Poca Bellezza for something your parents wanted you to
have. You’ll either get it straight from us or we’re going to find you to hand
it to you, personally.”
“Fine.”
The location of the meeting is sent
to my device, and I head there immediately. The place where the meeting is held
is a warehouse with no windows and no nearby roads. A group of black cars is
parked around the warehouse, so I go inside and am surprised to see that it’s
decorated for a party with dozens of tables and a large series of tables with
catered food and drinks. The people inside congratulate me on what I’ve done
and act as if they’re my neighbors and good friends, and the person who talks
to me the most is the one from whom I took my device. He explains all the
crimes of the people I killed and put away, and that scanning their related
devices and identities will expose them to the public.
With the scans of their DNA and
passwords, these people were able to unlock their dirty secrets that my targets
held behind locks that could only be broken with their blood. I don’t care to
hear the specific crimes of these people and how they’re now being exposed to
the public, while their friends in the media justify my actions. The only thing
that gets my attention is my possible return to being a normal hero again.
“Your behind-the-scenes status is that
of a government agent. It’s why you were originally blacklisted from joining any
hero association since you were technically assigned to us by your parents,”
the man explains. “Because of that and what you’ve done, whatever crimes held
against you will be erased in due time.”
“Does that involve me helping you
again?” I ask.
“No, not at all. Think of it as
your reward from us, and an incentive to help us again. You’ll have to be in
hiding and not cause any trouble for a few months at least or a year at most,
and you can go back to being a normal, nine-to-five hero in Solis as if nothing
happened, though people may look at you differently, but who cares when they
know you were acting for the greater good.”
“Right…”
“Since you mentioned it, I know you
still want to be a hero, so you might as well help us out. The country always needs
wet work done behind the scenes. You’ll get a good paycheck out of it, a comfortable
living, and you’ll travel the country and world. It’s a good deal, ain’t it?”
“I do have one thing I’ll do for
you,” I say as I show everyone my device and a list of faces and names. “My
parents seemed to have a personal list that was only for me and was revealed
after all the targets were killed. All the people on this list are in this
warehouse, people who my parents knew were traitors to their country and
beliefs.”
“Wait a second! That could be a
glitch, or it could be hacked!”
“You’re just saying that because
you’re on the list. My eyes see that God has judged you guilty of your crimes
and are unrepentant for them. The only mercy I have for you is a quick death,
so you don’t continue to sin and earn a lower place in Hell.”
In a few seconds, I kill my real
final targets, all of whom evaporate into nothing at my slightest touch. With
them dead, my body goes back to its normal appearance and is no longer glowing
or pure white. Looking around at the rest of the room, they don’t seem too
bothered by what I did. They say that they trusted my parents, and betrayal and
people with ulterior goals are expected in this line of work, so they don’t
mind what I’ve done, and to contact them through my device if I want to work
with them again. After eating and drinking a bit, I head back home and visit my
parents and sister in the hospital. They’re fine, but will have to stay in the
hospital for a bit before they’re okay enough to leave.
I explain to them what happened and
what I’ll have to do so I can go back to living as a normal hero. My parents
understand, but Idelle is silently angry about it.
“I’ll visit you as often as I can,”
I say to them.
“I hate that Isaias and Irlene were
the reason you’ve been through so much, and I hate it even more that I wasn’t there
to help you through it,” Idelle says as she fights against her tears.
I hug her and say, “It’s alright.
Thanks to them, Poca Bellezza and our family will be safe from now on.”
“Can I come with you? We can hide
in secret together and make up for the time I wasn’t there for you.”
“I’d like for you to take care of our
parents for a bit, so that no hidden threats attack them or our town. If I don’t
come back in a year, then you can come for me, alright?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Please, Idelle. I need you to do
this for me.”
“Tch. Fine. How where I know to
find you?”
“Heh, you’ll know. I’m a hero,
after all, so I’ll be causing some trouble here and there to protect the innocent
and uphold justice.”
I kiss my family before leaving and
heading off in a direction I feel God pulling me. With them safe, I can rest easily,
and yet, at the same time, I feel the calling to fight. The flame inside me to
be a hero hasn’t gone out yet, so as soon as I find people who need help in the
city I find myself in, I leap into action as God’s weapon of peace and order.
The
End
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