Ronan reached forward in desperation to catch Lucas's corpse, but it was too late; he fell with a loud thud. As the blood began to seep into the soil, Ronan reached for his revolver and pointed it at the old man.
The old man jeered, "So, now you intend to shoot me?" The amusement in his voice would quickly turn to malice, however it was nothing unexpected from him. The man was well aware that if he were to kill Ronan at that very moment, the possibility of him surviving the following week would be next to none. Still, he felt a strong urge to pull the trigger then and there.
Ronan's mind raced to find ways he could counter what very well could be his death.
Charging at him would mean certain death, and his revolver only had one bullet in it; even if the shot landed, the old man would have emptied the entire magazine into him, nor was there anything in his surroundings that he could use.
The old man sneered, and with each passing second, Ronan started to hate the unapologetic individual every fiber of his being.
He had to take action, and fast.
"Come on now, are you still keen on being a wuss? If his death isn't enough to bring you action, then I'm sure nothing will." His glare matched Ronan's malice as both of them stood still, their guns pointing at each other.
They were in a standoff, poised in their positions for the next few seconds. It would have continued, if not for the presence that had caught onto them.
Though Ronan did not feel his presence, nor did he see him, he instantly knew who the man was when he heard his deep and calm voice speak up, it seemed indifferent to the events unfolding yet there was a certain weight of responsibility to it.
"Please cease the mindless attack, Mr. Bain, even if you succeed to kill Adonai, it would be in vain."
The old man's smirk turned into a deep furrow with his glare now directed at the man directly Behind Ronan, "OH? Do you intend to step in between Leonard? And coming unarmed on top of that! Do both of you fools want to be killed?"
Ronan's face showed a hint of surprise, not because of the old geezer, rather merely because he had been unable to sense the man approaching him.
"I don't need a weapon currently Mr. Bain, besides I was wondering what your plans were when you took the Glock."
"So you noticed? Well, it is already too late, it would be fun to see whose body would be found first." The gleam returned to the old man's face, but Leonard's expression remained unchanged.
"Killing me would be of no use." He stared directly at him, "Unfortunately, your killing intent was never directed towards me."
Leonard momentarily closed his eyes and upon opening them, spoke with a stern voice that sent a shiver down the old man's spine, "Killing us right now would guarantee your death, Mr Bain."
Ronan found unshown solace lied not in him being saved but rather in the smirk being wiped off from the old man's face, which he found to be strange.
The old man scoffed weakly, attempting to refute what he had heard.
"Believe me, I have no need for joking." he paused, his shoulders slumped and he relaxed, "If you kill us, armed forces will surround you in no less than ten minutes."
The old man could only stare in disbelief, and sweat trickled down his forehead. He had been able to deduce that whatever the man said could not be a bluff, for he — Leonard Fauster — was the living essence of chivalry, he considered such backhanded tactics, no more than a farce deployed by the utterly incompetent.
Attempting to regain his composure, he lowered his gun and directed himself towards Ronan, and what followed next left Ronan's eyes brimming with hatred he had never felt before,
"I saved your life."
In response, Ronan's grip on his revolver tightened, "You kill an innocent boy without a second thought and you say it is for my sake?" He was near shouting.
"See it yourself! Check that boy's pocket!", his words seemed like that of a desperate man trying to prove himself not guilty.
And his words would seem to be true. Ronan looked back at Leonard whose eyebrows were raised up in slight interest, he nodded at Ronan in approval.
He cautiously bent down to inspect the poor boy's corpse, and there he found a knife that had been hiding inside his inner pocket.
A hesitant smile appeared on the old man's face signaling his weak triumph, "He was going to kill you! If I had not stepped in then you would have already been dead! Yet this is how you treat your savior?"
Was it really that he had saved his life? Has killing Lucas been the only way? No, Ronan was aware of it, the poor boy had been by side for the past month, relentlessly helping him and even trying to open up to him. Ronan's face glared down and his eyes didn't shift, partially because of the fading glow from Lucas's eyes and partially from the guilt he felt.
Despite the emotions surging through him, he knew who he had to direct them to, Ronan raised his arm once again, but this time he had no intention of hurling the revolver around as as if it were a mere showpiece.
"Stop lying. A poor boy without any connections had no reason to take my life! Even if that were the case, everyone had been keeping an eye on him from the beginning. He wasn't bribed, nor was it out of vengeance. He carried a knife for safety, as instructed by Ms. Rohesia. Continue lying to me and, I will carve a hole through your damn skull."
But he would never be able to do so, the person who stood behind, closed up on Ronan and gently put his hand on the revolver and pushed the barrel down.
"Don't"
One word.
Nothing else was necessary.
Ronan finally saw the man's face; his moss brown hair was tied in a knot as he moved towards Lucas. He lowered himself on one knee as he lamented silently over the boy's death. "Forgive me, it is my incompetence that caused this." After getting back on his feet, he approached the old man.
His stretched his arm outward, and as expected, the old man would not hand him the gun, not under any circumstances.
Surprisingly, he readily gave up and muttered the word, "Pathetic" before turning back to Ronan, and repeating the same gesture, he had acquired the revolver that Ronan held. Even if it had only one bullet, it would be more than necessary in regards to the old man's capricious behavior.
"We shall get moving. But first." He turns to face the old man and peers down into his eyes, they looked unconcerned yet held a deep repulsiveness to them.
"Mr. Bain, please wrap up the body and bring it to the car."
The old man's eyes widened in surprised and he argued back, "I will do nothing of that sort. The young boy is dead and he deserved it, I will not be carrying his body."
Leonard sighed before stepping closer to the old man, he bent slightly, "With all due respect Mr. Bain, if you wish to be such a bringer of justice, then take accountability for it. No great man who carries out killing for the greater good would run from the consequences. Now go. We require to give it a proper funeral, 'traitor' or not."
"Ridiculous!" Was the old man's reaction, but seeing the stern look in Leonard's face he was forced to comply. He was already in great trouble, he had no desire of only worsening his fate.
His fingers wrapped around the lifeless body of the poor boy as he tried to not be drenched in the blood that was overflowing from him.
His face looked so vexing, if the old man had been alone, he surely would have spat in the boy's face before hurling the corpse off the cliff.
But something so erratic currently would only deepen the hole he had dug for himself further, he had to comply by the man's words, no matter what.
It was useless to resist. As the realization dawned on the old man, that he had been the one cornered, his seething hatred reached its peak as he internally cursed Rohesia and Leonard from the bottom of his heart.
Returning back to Rohesia's residence would mean, at the bare minimum, denunciation and he would be stripped of his rank as minister, and would even have to be on trail for the boy's untimely death.
His actions had truly been reckless, he had no options but to surrender and to hope that his life would be spared — at least for the time being.
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The evening sun shone upon the road and illuminated the faces of the 3 men that sat in the black limousine that sped through the empty road.
Leonard had been driving, while Ronan and the old man sat directly opposite to the other.
The old man had been fidgeting with the gun in his pocket for the past twenty minutes, his growing unease was, however, ameliorated due to the unarmed Ronan.
He had been contemplating his next step ever since he sat in the car, and as they neared their destination he had been forced to make a decision.
The gun shook in his hand in hesitation, unable to make a move.
He came to the conclusion that he were able to kill Leonard then taking out Ronan would be no big deal. Leonard, who was probably aware of this, was intentionally driving at high speeds as to ensure that if here were shot then there was a very high possibility that the astray car would smash into a nearby obstacle, even if it didn't kill the old man, it would leave him severely injured and no more than a sitting duck.
They were nearing the Rohesia Estate.
He had to make a move.
He had to do something.
Anything.
"Don't"
The voice seemed so devoid of worry and so nonchalant, as if it were completely unaware that its own speaker held the barrel of the revolver pointed directly at the head of the old man.
A chill ran through his spine, before Leonard glanced in the rear view mirror and passed another comment.
"It seems unnecessary". He proclaimed as he retracted the revolver from the old man's head.
His eyes widened in surprise to the unexpected act of what he presumed to be foolishness. And that moment of shock would be his biggest mistake in the entire ride, for he had forgotten the presence of the boy sitting in front of him, who was no less ruthless than he.
In the next instant, Ronan fiercely landed a kick on the old man's stomach and instantly reached for the gun in his hand. Despite groaning in pain, he held a firm grip which made it difficult to snatch, though after some efforts he succeeded in rendering the old man defenseless.
As they neared the estate, the only word that could describe the old man's current stature was 'pitiful'.
Unlike Ronan, who may have killed him if given the chance, he looked no better than a normal, sorry, frail, old man that would definitely have garnered sympathy from others.
As the car came to a halt, the old man was the first to step out of the vehicle upon Leonard's proclamation.
Following him, Leonard intended to exit as well, but he stopped as a single voice in the back seat called his name.
"Leonard. Thank you"
Because they had been successful in making this the last day, that the old man named Hadrian Bain would be a free man.