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Panic. Panic. Panic.
That was all Tryst could feel blaring inside his head. He had fuck up. He knew he had fucked up. Of course he did. That plan could never work. It was so stupid! Why did he ever think that was a good plan?!
He was not being careful enough. He knew what that man was capable of and still, still he was stupid enough to be so reckless. He expected him to catch him during his preparation of the room, drug hiding, in the garage, even during his drive, maybe his day job, hell, his walks. But he did not think that they would actually follow him into his own flat. So when his keys finally rattled in the lock, clicking the satisfying sound that signalized his freedom for the day, and opened his doors, took off his shoes and jacket, threw his back on the chair in the hallway, took a beer from his fridge and entered his living room only to come face to face with Guy, he didn't take it really well.
The beer can fell out of his hand and he stepped back in sheer shock. The back of his foot shuffled against the start of a rug and he moved his legs to balance himself. If he wasn't so busy with his internal struggles, he would probably not be too happy with the way the liquid quickly spread around his wooden floor.
He cleared his throat and tried to relax his stance a bit. At least try to look less guilty, stupid, you couldn't be more suspicious. He smiled, the grimace wide and clearly fake. "Guy! My dude! So good to see you! I didn't hear you come in. If you would've notified me that you would be coming, I'd have prepared something for you."
Guy leaned forward, tangling his hands together, his elbows resting on his thighs. "Good evening, Tryst. A lovely place you have here. Although, it wouldn't hurt you to clean up a bit." he answered, his head tilting towards the second bedroom.
Tryst found the courage to lean and look into the room and fought back the full body shudder, along with a whimper, at the sight of a blood covered bed, his mother's body lying unresponsive. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, just focusing on his breathing and urging himself not to cry. He can have a breakdown later, his own survival comes first.
"Yeah... I should." he gritted through his teeth, turning back to Guy. "So... What is it that you need?"
"Can't a boss simply want to check up on their favorite employee?"
Yeah, a simple check-up. A simple check-up with a break-in and murder as a cherry on top. Tryst simply stared at him, not giving him an answer to the seemingly rhetorical question.
There was a few seconds of silent, neither of them moving as the smile fell off of Guy's face and he sighed, straightening up. Right, the theater is over.
"Sit down, Tryst." he said coldly and pointed at a chair to the side of him with a gun that Tryst didn't notice until now. He swallowed loudly, his skin covered in goosebumps, but took the seat. His eyes didn't leave his employer for a second. "I don't appreciate you slowing down on me."
"I- What?" he laughed nervously. "I'm not slowing down on you, man. I'm just-"
"Shut the fuck up." Guy growled angrily, his fingers twitching on the trigger. "I don't care what problems did you bump into or whatever. What I care about, is that you did not meet the quota, even when you promised me that you'll be able to do so."
Yeah, I promised you because otherwise you would have me skinned, you slimy bastard.
"Okay, I can explain, just listen-"
"I'm listening."
Fuck. Alright, improvisation, C'mon Tryst, you're good at that. "There was some problems with the printer before but nothing that I couldn't fix, I promise that I'll-"
His rambling was interrupted by a loud rhythmic noise, and Tryst quickly pulled vibrating phone from his pocket. "Fuck-" he uttered before he could stop himself. He quickly reached to reject the call, but stopped himself when he saw that the caller was Rebecca. He took way too long, even if it was only a few seconds.
A hand covered the top of his phone and lowered it, he looked up, making eye contact with Guy. "Go on. Pick it up. Put it on reproductor."
Tryst swallows again, loudly. Please, Becca, please don't be in trouble. I can't do this if anything happens to you and Zoe. He picked up the call, putting it on reproductor. "Rebecca?"
"Daddy, call the lawyer." came from the phone in a panicked voice, so soft and trembling that it nearly broke Tryst's heard. There were loud noises in the background; music, teenagers screaming but most importantly police officers.
"Fuck! Becca! Did you go back to the office?! I told you not to go there, you weren't supposed to be there!" he panicked, his breath quickening. For the moment he forgot about the man across from him, pulling at his hair. "You need to destroy the phone immediately."
"What?! Did you know about it? How did you know about the police?!" She was cut out by a loud bang, her screaming was all that he could hear before the line was cut.
"Becca!" he called out, looking at the Call ended text smiling back at him from the scream. His hand was gripping the phone so tightly he nearly crushed it.
"So Becca, hm?" The voice made Tryst's head sprung up so quickly he might've broken his neck as well. He froze, realizing how much the other had heard. "Does that have something to do with the police barging into your working space? Or with the fact that she is the one making the Fakes?"
Tryst felt a shiver down his spine, his eyes wide looking into the face of the man who had his whole life in the palm of his hand. He realized, only now, that Guy knew much more than he let on. "I-uh... She didn't- I didn't want-"
Guy chuckled, leaning back into the cushion. "Hey, it's fine. We all make mistakes." he waved him off. "But I must say, I do not appreciate being lied to." with a click of his tongue, he brought the gun back and pointed it to his head.
Tryst's arms immediately raised above his head, skin as pale as a plaster. "Hey- Hey- C'mon, man, let's talk about it."
"You know, it's a real shame, I actually liked you. But using these two girls for a child labor? Now that's just sad. Poor girls, they could have grown up to have a good life. But now? They get caught by the police and I can't have that, you know? They could tell them about my business. I can't let police know about my business. I'm sure you understand that, right, Tryst?"
Tryst felt like he could cry, on the verge of panic attack nearly. He was shaking his head rapidly. "No! Don't. Don't do it, please. They- they don't know anything. I promise, they didn't know about anything. They won't say anything. I swear."
Guy watched him, pleased by the reaction. "They mean a lot to you, don't they? So desperate to care for someone. To have a daughter to protect. But you see it too, don't you? You failed. Just like you did with that slut."
Tryst was shaking heavily. Just how much did he know about him and his personal life? How long did he knew? How long did he let him pretend?
"You could never be a father. You're just a loser trying too hard."
Tryst looked at the barrel of the gun, deep inside knowing that he was right. "I am begging you. Just let them go. You can kill me. You can... I will do anything, just leave them alone. They don't know anything about you. They don't even know you exist." he whispered, his voice breaking.
Guy tilted his head, intruged and his eyes scanned the bleach-haired man. "Now, listen. I planned to bring you to them. I wanted to slice their necks, right in front of your eyes. I wanted you to watch the life bleed out of their eyes and then shoot you. Because that's what you deserve."
"They didn't-!"
"No, you're right. They wouldn't deserve it. But this isn't really about them. They did their job, and they did it well. It's you who failed. So whatever happens to them is only because it will destroy you."
One tear finally slipped from Tryst's eye, rolling down his cheek. Guy watched it with relaxed expression. "Oh, hush now. You of all people should know that every action has consequences."
"Don't hurt them." Tryst rasped, pleading, his throat feeling as dry as Sahara. "Please."
"You're really desperate." Guy chuckled and reached behind himself, keeping his eyes to the captive. "Tell me, you would really do everything for them, wouldn't you?"
"...Yeah. Anything. Just... let me say goodbye to them." he was risking it, he knew he was.
He looked him deep in the eyes, no longer fighting the tears, but letting them flow down freely. The moment stayed frozen in time, looking into each other's eyes both knowing that this was it.
Guy smiled, seemingly finding what he was looking for in the smaller man's eyes. He pulled handcuffs from behind himself and tangled them in front of his face. "Why won't you be a responsible parent for a second and do as you are told? If you don't cause any problems, I promise that I won't hurt your girls."
Tryst couldn't trust him to actually keep his word, but not doing what he wanted him to do was a risk not only to Zoe and Becca's lives, but also his own. He can't help them if he's already dead.
So instead, he took the handcuffs from the man's hands and clipped them around his wrists. He looked back up when he was done. Guy watched him carefully, something dark in his eyes flashing; he had something planned, and it terrified Tryst to the core.
Guy clicked something on his phone, and two man entered the room. Tryst wondered if they were there the whole time and he just didn't notice but he doubted it. He looked between Guy to the men in confusion. "I appreciate you taking the responsibility, Tryst. I really do. Still, no action should go without the consequences. It would truly upset me to know that someone could just spit on your grave and then go with no punishment. These are the people who lack the discipline. I need my employees mature enough to know better than to act like petulant children."
Without another look in Tryst's direction, he walked into a different room, the phone already up to his ear on a phone call with someone.
Tryst turned his head up towards the men. The two shared a look and before Tryst even had a chance to ask, he was met with a neat right hook knocking him off of his chair.
He yelped, raising his cuffed arms to protect his face, only to catch a kick into his stomach. Safe to say, he could do only so much to protect his body from all of the punches and kicks before he's sort of just given up.
...
He was thrown into a car truck, his mouth was gagged with a small stuffed frog he had bought for the next time he would see his daughter, and sealed with tape. His legs were tied together by a rope.
Breathing was hard. Not only from his bruised chest and sealed mouth, but also because of what he was about 70% sure was a broken nose. It wouldn't stop bleeding. He was bruised heavily, not an inch of his body didn't hurt. The truck was closed.
The ride felt like a purgatory. His body moved side to side with each turn and bumb, sliding into the walls of the car hard. He groaned and yelped. As much as he tried to protect himself by bending his legs or grabbing at the edges with his hands, he couldn't stop his body from hurling from one side to the other.
When the car finally stopped and the engine was turned off, Tryst's body slumbed on the floor with a relieved sigh. His relief was short lived, since the truck opened and one of the guys climbed into the small space after him, shutting it behind himself. Tryst bend his knees and pushed himself into a corner as far away from him as possible. The man didn't do anything apart from gifting him a glare and an annoyed huff.
There was silence, again, the only sound was coming from the outside but that was so muted that it didn't really change anything.
Then the doors opened and two familiar voices spoke in panicked tone. Tryst grew rigid, his head shaking away as he tried to speak through his gag.
"Good evening, girls." Guy said.
"Who the fuck are you?! What's going on?!" Zoe screamed, probably shaking as a leaf. She must have been so scared...
Please no, please don't hurt them. I can't loose them too. They didn't do anything wrong.
Becca turned her head and he caught a glimpse of her panick-striken eyes. "What the?! Is that dad?!"
"Girls, focus on me. There was some problems on the railroad, as you may have already noticed." he hummed, his voice calm, as if this whole situation didn't affect him at all. It probably didn't. "But don't worry, we'll fix that. Now, it has come to my attention that you are the ones creating the Fakes, am I right?"
"Listen, whatever you want, we'll give it to you. Do you want money? We can pay you! We promise we won't say anything. We didn't even knew you existed! In fact, we don't even know you're existing now- Right Becca?!" Zoe ranted off in fear, hysteria filling her voice.
"Yes! Yeah! We won't tell anyone. Just-let's all act like none of this happened." Becca stuttered, her voice shaking.
"mhhr mhhrrsjf brrrhsmdn!" Tryst tried to scream but none of his words were legitible.
Guy clicked his tongue and crossed his legs. "I know, sweethearts, I know, I know. Hush now, all of you." he sighed, taking out his phone. "I want you to remember that this was not your fault. In fact, don't even think of this as a bad thing! This could be your grant start. The greatest thing to ever happen to you, in fact."
He reached under his phone case and taken out a perfect fake ID, showing it to the girls. "You're the one who made these right?"
Zoe immediately jumped to say no, but Rebecca was first. "Yes. These are ours."
Guy hummed and tapped his finger against the plastic. "A very nice fakes, indeed."
Tryst tried to scream again but was punched into his side with a fist, making him wheeze. Guy rolled his eyes and pocketed the card. "Now, I don't want you two to see me as a bad guy. I'm not here to make your life harder. But I believe that we all, those who work together, should be fair to one another. And the fact that I was not told about you two deeply wounded me. However, I am amazed you your talent, girls. I am interested in you working for me. I would like to employ you. Properly."
"Doonfhf doo if!" Tryst screamed and yet again was rewarded with an elbow to his head.
"What if we say no?" Rebecca asked carefully, eyeing Tryst, who was urgently shaking his head at her with teary eyes.
Guy's face fell, his eyes growing cold in mere seconds, his fingers stopping the tapping and his body leaned forward. The whole demanoir changing. "Then I will remove every single piece of your body while keeping you awake and sell every part of you until I get all of the money that your loser of a babysitter owes me. And then all skin all of you."
Zoe started crying, her body shaking so hard, Tryst was afraid she would piss herself. She glued herself to Rebecca as close as she could. She wanted to hide so bad, but her fear wouldn't let her look away from the dangerous man in front of them.
Rebecca took in a shaky breath, trying to be brave for all of them, but it was crystal clear. She was just a girl. Just a girl who made a mistake falling with the wrong people.
For fuck's sake, they were just a kids. They weren't supposed to be here. They were supposed to be out, drinking cranberry juice and singing the Christmas carols on the swingsets.
She wrapped one of her arms around Zoe, pulling her close. Her movement was slow, controlled to not spook the other girl further.
"If we accept, what will happen?" she asked, her voice small, showing just how young she was. She wasn't some great criminal mind, she was just a soon-to-be middle school drop-out... Just like her mother thought she would be.
Guy smiled at her; he seemed to understand that she was the voice of the group. He pierced her with his gaze, curious eyes boring into her soul. "Oh, well that's easy. We will make one more stop to fix one final problem. Then you will be taken to my office and we will discuss what will follow for the future of your business. I'm sure we can find a great middle ground beneficial for both of us."
Rebecca took a breath to ground herself, she looked down at her best friend, patting her soft hair. She urged herself to not look at Tryst, fearing the state she would see him in. She couldn't bear looking into his tear-filled, apologetic, eyes full of pity. He didn't need to apologize, this wasn't his fault. But she couldn't think about him right now, she couldn't afford to think about him while Zoe's life and hers were on the line. Zoe came first, she always would.
"...Okay." she whispered.
Tryst started to scream again, and no matter how many times they punched him, he wouldn't stop. Guy growled at the loud noises and rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Tryst, how is it that you cannot take a hint? See how well your girls behave? You should follow their example."
He shook his head, sighing. "No matter. You made the right choice, sweethearts. Now, as I said, there's only one more problem to take care of."
...
The car stopped suddenly.
The movement moved Tryst's body into the truck wall, crushing him face first into the hard plastic. He cried out as the impact only worsened his broken nose injury.
Truck door opened and he was pulled out by his arms, before he had a chance to lean on his legs to stabilized himself, he had been thrown to the drown with so much force that upon touching the ground his trousers torn up, just like the skin on his arms.
The door of the limousine opened shorty after, the girls quickly leaving the car. However, as soon as they made advances towards Tryst they were stopped by a gun held by the guy who was with him in the truck. The girls backed up reluctantly.
Soon, Guy gets out of the car too. Stretching his back and arms above his head. He looked like he just arrived at his destined hotel for a vacation. Not a care in the world and a carefree, relaxed smile on his face.
Tryst looked around and wasn't really surprised at finding himself in some sort of empty, massive parking garage. He was pulled up to his knees by his hair and kicked until he understood that he should stay in that position. He was openly sobbing, no longer caring if the girls thought he was pathetic. He was so stressed and the only thing in his head was fear, pain, and the undying overconsuming guilt. His eyes felt puffy and stung, snot mixing with blood streamed down his misshaped nose over the tape that covered his mouth. If it was in any other circumstances, he would be so ashemed at how dirty he was. His clothes being torn and dirty, blood and bruising covering his whole being, his hair looking worse than abandoned bird's nest after a tornado. What a loser.
What would his ex-girlfriend think if she would see him right now? She would definitely not let him see his daughter ever again. Because all of the predictions and bad opinions she held about him... She would realize that they were all true.
He looked up at his girls, and found that he couldn't hold their gazes. He failed them. Just like everyone else in his life. He promised himself he would protect them but he was unable to do so. Because he was so useless. He only brought them bad luck. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be here. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't get in trouble with the police. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be working under a criminal. If it wasn't for him, they would have been fine.
He looked at guy, his eyes begging him. He didn't know why he even tried. He knew that the dice were already casten.
Guy wrapped his arms around Rebecca and Zoe, lowering his head until he came to the same level as their ears were. "The Final problem. Ever heard of that?"
"What-"
"I don't mean a final problem. I mean the final problem. Do you know what that is?"
He straightened up again, taking a step back to crack his neck. "The Final problem, ironically, is a name of a solution. It's a phenomenon, where all of the consequences of actions catch up to an individual. It's the moment of confrontation between the main character and the fate they had been trying to escape from during their whole narrative. Only to realize... That they could never escape." Guy looks at Tryst, staring into his eyes." Because this one is final. This is the end. The end of all of the problems. Because the character has to realize, that the only way to undo the falling world around them..."
His arm is extended in front of Rebecca, a gun resting in his hand. She let's out a panicked gasp when her eyes fall on it. "Is to remove the final problem. They are the final problem."
Tryst starts shaking his head away. Screaming, apologizing and begging for his life, struggling in his bindings. Zoe cried out and closed her eyes, hiding her face in Rebecca's shoulder to shield herself from the reality of what was happening.
Rebecca looked sick, her skin was pale and eyes haunted as she slowly and carefully took the gun into her hand. Guy moved behind her, one hand on the joining between her neck and shoulder, the other hand wrapped around her shaky one, tightening her hold on the gun and putting her point finger on the trigger. He moved her hand with her, pointing at the screaming, trashed man on his knees in front of them. "Go on, Becca, you need to remove the problem."
Zoe whimpered, she was clearly crying. "No..."
Guy reached out to gently run his hand through her hair. "It's okay, Zoe, it needs to happen. He's the one who got you into this. He's also your way out. You don't need him as your babysitter anymore."
Zoe turned her head slightly, one of her eyes connecting with Tryst's. "I'm sorry." she whispered and turned her head away again.
Guy smiled, running his hand through her hair once more before wrapping both of his hands around Rebecca's. His hands moved with hers until the sights lined up with the blond-haired head. Tryst was looking up at her, tears streaming down his face, realizing that this is the way he will die. At the hands of a girl he cared for like for his own daughter. It broke him knowing that she was the one to put the final bullet inside his brain.
He shook his head slowly, trying to somehow speak to her, or maybe way up. There wasn't a way out of this one. Not really. None of them were there consensually. If they could turn back the time, none of them would make the choices they made. None of them were at fault.
He looked at her and saw a little girl, scared for her own life. She was so scared, she didn't know what to do. Her eyes were screaming at him for help. He glanced at Zoe and knew that although he couldn't see her face, she had the same broken plea in her own eyes.
Tryst closed his own eyes, breathing steadily, grounding himself. He opened his eyes to look at Rebecca again. He gave her a small nod. "Issoway." he mumbled, the white in his eyes nearly as read as the blood under his nose. "Doo if."
Rebecca's knees nearly broke under her if it wasn't for Guy holding her body from behind. "it nod yoarlo aultd. Em orry." Rebecca sobbed loudly, shaking her head at him. "Shut up. Just shut the fuck up."
"Ou an ill ee." he tried to smile at her encouragingly through the tears and sobs, giving her another nod.
"Don't. Fucking. Stop saying shit like that!" She screamed and tried to pull her hand off of the gun only for Guy's hand to tighten around hers.
"As much as I am for building up an atmosphere and prolonged torture. My time is also valuable. You're going to shoot this gun one way or another, princess. Do not mistake my generosity for generosity." he hummed and his grip around the girls hand tightened making her hiss in pain.
She looked at Tryst with apologetic gaze, mouthing a silent I'm sorry before pulling the trigger.
A loud shot echoed through the garage, the gun rattled against the floor as it was let go off. The man's laughter suffocated them. Both Zoe and Rebecca looked as their dad's body flew back with the strength of the bullet meeting his forehead.
Zoe screamed, pulling away from her best friend and covering her mouth with horror. She was frozen to the spot, stuck between the urge to run and see that he was okay and hiding inside Rebecca's embrace again. His body hit the floor and his cries grew quiet.
Rebecca's face was passive, haunted, looking down at the unmoving corpse of her business partner. She couldn't look away. She couldn't stop looking. She half-expected him to get up and point a finger at both of them with stern expression. She wanted him to give both of them a glare and light back-headed slap. She needed him to give them a long boring lecture about listening to him and doing as they are told. She was desperate for him to get up and scream about this all being just a prank to teach them a lesson.
But he didn't move.
He didn't make a sound.
Zoe's ears were filled with electric hum, the world felt unreal. It was spinning around her, everything felt muted. She thought that maybe if she pinched herself hard enough she would wake up. Her arms wouldn't move, her body didn't listen to her.
Guy and Rebecca were talking about something. How can Becca always be so calm in these situations?! How can she be so unaffected?! Did she know this was about to happen?! She felt so light-headed, she felt like she would faint any second. But the only worry in her head was tied to Tryst. He wasn't moving. For fuck's sake get up! Tell me it's one of your stupid, immature jokes and let me slap you for scaring me to death!
She felt like her whole world crumbled. Not even crumbling, no. This wasn't that anxious fear that so often wrapped it's claws around her chest and waist, tightening and slicing into her nervosity-filled body and mind. It wasn't what she had felt these past months when she kept pushing herself to take a leap and try. This was no longer the 'pessant plays pretend and wears the clothes of a royal, fearing they'll get caught' kind of fear. No, now it felt more like the emptiness of the lone survivor of Pompeii, walking through the ruins of the city knowing that all they knew is gone, and they could do nothing but watch as only a mockery of what once was stayed behind. And the rest of it was gone.
She looked slowly over when a hand touched her arm, she didn't even jump. She felt weirdly empty, calm. Like she was swimming through the dark sea of nothingness. Rebecca was speaking to her, but why couldn't she hear her? Her eyelids were half closed, relaxed even. She didn't like Rebecca, did she had something to do with this? She would tell her if she knew, right? No. Because when was the time that she actually told her anything? She had kept so many secrets from her. She couldn't even tell her who Tryst was, just that she was afraid of him. And now she was standing there with a gun in her hand, looking down at the man that Zoe thought they both saw as their father.
...But maybe she was wrong. Maybe this was Rebecca's plan from the beginning.
She looked up from the hand on her arm, Rebecca was looking at her with worried eyes. She tried to read her, but she doubted her ability to do so anymore. After all, how much did she know? What all did she lie about? Could she even trust her? How much would it take until the barrel of the gun rested against her forehead?
But she stayed quiet, didn't say a word. She let Rebecca lead her into another car, the two of them sitting next to each other on the back seats. The rough leather reminding them that the day was not over yet.
...
Tryst opened his eyes with a gasp.
He was alive. Oh, fuck, he was alive.
His arms shot out out his head, feeling around his forehead where he thought the bullet had pierced through, but there was no wound. He looked down at his arms and noticed that he no longer had the handcuffs, although the bruises and burns from them stayed.
He looked down on his body, he had a change of clothes; a clean short sleeved t-shirt and shorts. They were made from light, soft material that was comfortable against his skin.
His body hurt. He could feel the skin over his knees, elbows and back stretching, all of it felt like he fell into a garbage disposal.
...But he was still alive.
He looked around and noticed he was lying on a bed, similar to those you would find in a hospital. But the room was open, not big, but spacious. There was a dining table, along with a smaller table in the corner with a computer on it. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen and across from it was open door, if he leaned forward he would have seen very small shower corner and toilet, along with a sink.
A one room apartment? But who's?
Fuck... Did he took something last night and hallucinated the whole thing? This seems like he just had the craziest of nights with some good lad or gal. Was the migraine he felt only a hangover?
He noticed a glass of water and a painkiller on the dining table and shakingly stood up from the bad, he was limping, the short distance taking him longer than he would appreciate.
He took the pill, swallowing it and washing it down with the water. He grimaced at the taste, something seemingly not right about one of these things.
He sat down in the chair, putting his head in his hands and pushing his palms into his eyes until he saw stars and static.
The door opened and he looked up. He hoped to see the person he had apparently spent his night with, but instead he was facing the person he wished to see the least. Guy.
The memory of the previous day (was it a previous day?) washed over him like a bucket of ice water, waking him up more than any coffee ever could.
"What the-?!" he stood up, stumbling back and nearly falling over a chair. "How are you-?!"
"Good morning, Tryst. It's good to see you're awake."
"I died! I- Rebecca shot me! I remember it. Rebecca shot me in the head and I died-" he panicked, clutching at his hair in crazed manner.
Guy hummed and walked in, closing the door behind himself and walking to the dining table, he put his own cup of coffee on the table and sat down. "Yes, yes, yes. She did. I'll explain it all. Don't worry, I would however ask you to sit down, please."
Tryst begrudgingly took back his seat across of him. "...What happened?" he asked, his voice soft. He grabbed his empty glass into his hands to have something to toy with.
"Ever heard of blanks?"
Tryst look up quickly, eyes wide and mouth gaping. "What...?"
"Rubber bullets. Ever heard of them?"
Tryst swallowed, looking down into his glass with realization in his eyes.
"Yeah... You wanted to say goodbye to them, no? There. I arranged it."
"They... They think I'm dead."
"Mh-hm." Guy nodded, taking a sip from his drink. "Dead and killed by their own hands."
"That's... Not true." he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let them believe that they failed him. That it was in any way their fault.
"It's true to them, isn't it? I guess you could say that truth is subjective." the taller man gave him a shrug and a smirk.
He leaned forward on his elbows, his demeanor serious. "I have fulfilled my end of the deal, Tryst."
Tryst's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You've got to say goodbye to them. And they survived. That's what you asked of me."
"But we have not made a deal, that's not-"
"Their status still can change, Tryst. They are not as important as any of you think. I can still kill them. Let you watch and kill you after." he spoke slowly, as if he was explaining it to a toddler.
Tryst closed his eyes shut and swallowed a hysterical laugh. This is truly what my life had came to.
"...However, if you were to hold your own end of the deal, I'm sure we could find some great use for a man of your talents." he chuckled and pat his hand in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting but wasn't really.
"You won't hurt the girls?" he asked carefully, desperately needing a confirmation, a proof that he made the right decision. A proof that they will be okay.
"I won't. As long as we all work on the same level, and keep no other secrets, we could all be happy and content." he paused. "Have I been not paying you well, Tryst?"
"You have."
"That's right. Because I am fair. We could all have a good time working together. As long as everyone is truly working together and doesn't hide anything from each other." he stayed silent for a second, waiting to see if Tryst would object to anything. "Do you understand?"
"Yes. I understand."
Guy smiled at him widely, arms opening in the same one one's uncle would welcome their families to a family barbecue. "That's the spirit!"
He stood up, cracking his back. "This could have been from the beginning, Tryst. If only you have not lied about your 'employees'. You could have all been together, working for me, not a care in the world."
He put his empty coffee cup into the sink. "Oh well, the consequences of one's actions..."
He walked to the door and smirked over his shoulder. "This flat is yours, use it as you wish. Feel free to go explore wherever, your keys to this apartment are in the drawer under the sink."
"...If I see even a small signal from anywhere, where you tried to contact them, I'm taking the whole deal down." he stared him down before smiling again. "One of the other employees will come here later to drop off your work file. Have a good day, Tryst."
The door clicked shut and Tryst found himself in an empty strangers apartment. His apartment now.
And all alone.