C7 The Target List

[Golden Royal Hotel. 7.21 P.M]

"The meeting will be held soon, Mr. Pietro. Everyone's waiting in the hall. Representatives from the M.I Agency and The Verone have also arrived."

Pietro nodded listlessly. He adjusted his fitted suit before the mirror. There was no excitement etched into his face. On the contrary, he looked extremely agitated. A heavy sigh sounded for the umpteenth time.

It was nothing. Their current situation is shaky. Liam Coltrane is back for revenge, ruffling feathers and destroying them. Even though his death has been confirmed. Pietro wondered how Liam could rise from the grave and kill one by one those involved.

They were wrong to underestimate Liam Coltrane.

"Are you okay, Mr. Pietro? Your face doesn't look so good? Are you sure you still wanna continue this meeting? Would you rather just take a break?" Jax sounded anxious. From the reflection in the mirror, his face seemed to stiffen.

Pietro took a slow sip from his teacup. "Everybody knows. We're in a crisis, Jax. How can we all remain calm and quiet? How will they react?" Pietro grumbled anxiously. His faint smile betrayed a heavy burden.

Jax bowed his head. He stared gloomily, and shook his head lethargically. "Not well. They were so upset, Mr. Pietro."

"Don't let us get divided. That only makes things worse and weakens us. Come, let's meet them."

Jax held the door open. He bowed obediently. "There's still time if you change your mind."

Pietro raised his hand and smiled benevolently. His eyes traveled to all corners of the hotel. "No need, Jax. Let's just meet them now. What about security?"

"It's been arranged. Guards and a tight perimeter are spread throughout the hotel building. No worries, Mr. Pietro. Everything is safe and secure. No one will be able to breach this place." Jax ordered the other guards to move according to his hand signal command.

Exiting the president's suite. Pietro was closely escorted by men in fitted black suits who carried guns under their suits. They had alert looks on their faces. No one was allowed to approach his honorable boss.

Something was strange, Pietro suddenly felt uneasy. There is a burning pressure in his chest. Cold sweat broke out on his face. He paused for a moment when he was struck by a violent coughing sensation. Pietro's face looked ashen blue.

The panicked Jax picked Pietro up. "Mr. Pietro, what's wrong, are you okay?!"

Pietro shook his head. He raised his hand. The turmoil in his stomach was getting worse. He wanted to vomit right now. "I need to use the restroom, Jax." he stammered half-cocked.

"Alright. Let's find the nearest one! Hey you, check the restrooms! Secure it!" Jax exclaimed in shrill.

Several bodyguards moved swiftly to comb the hallway of the restroom. It was a bit far and closed. They forbade any hotel visitors to enter as long as Pietro Sullivan was inside.

Jax opens the toilet door. He was on standby for as long as Pietro had to vomit all his guts out in the toilet. "Just cancel the meeting, Mr. Pietro. You're not well. I will call your personal doctor to come ASAP."

Pietro held up his hands. He moved listlessly, once again the nauseous turmoil in his stomach was unbearable.

Jax let out an anxious breath. Through the wireless radio attached to his ear, he asked all the other guards to remain alert and guard the outer door tight.

***

Liam got up from the plush couch of the Golden Royal Hotel. Pocketing his cell phone, he mingled with other hotel patrons. Following Pietro Sullivan's escort that ended up in the north restroom of the hotel building.

Liam tightened his glittering black leather gloves. He's wearing a lavish suit from head to toe. His fitted black Trench coat, navy jeans and a pair of loafers shone under the golden lights of the hotel chandelier.

He's a perfectionist, always mindful of his appearance in any situation. Even when hunting his next target. Liam was a perfectionist. No one would have ever guessed that he had a violent and the darkest side.

[A monster. Devil. Abomination.]

His eagle eyes caught the seven bodyguards standing guard and ready at the door of the restroom. He walked leisurely and put on a smile, acting like a regular visitor.

"Hey! You can't wander around here!" one of the bodyguards shouted, stopping Liam in his tracks.

"Woah. Take it easy, man. I just wanna use the restroom. It's a public place. Don't be so rude." Liam lifted his hand.

The bodyguard stepped forward. Pushing and moving Liam away from there. "It's temporarily closed! Find somewhere else! Get lost!" he ordered fiercely.

"Okay. Chill out, dude."

Liam's laughter died away. From underneath his coat he shot the silencer gun. In a lightning-fast movement, a knife flew from his pocket. In a fraction of a second, Liam dispatched the seven bodyguards with speed. Swiftly, precisely, without any difficulty.

They collapsed with their vital organs blown out. Blades that flew out, stuck and pierced the skull or eyes. Bullets flew out of pistol casings that killed silently.

Liam's lethal strikes never missed.

The corpses were scattered with pools of blood.

Liam smiled a lopsided smile as cruel as the devil. He flicked his gloves. Patting the coat sleeves that were soiled with splashes of wild blood. "Dammit. This is my favorite coat." he muttered in vexation.

Before the other patrons could see the corpses. Liam blocked access to the restroom using a broken sign. Start executing the important part. His left hand slowly pushed the door wide open to examine the situation. Silently, no one could hear him while in his right hand was his modified handgun.

Inside, Jax stood nervously at the door. Alertly waiting for Pietro to come out of the closet. It seems that the situation is getting worse, Pietro's stomach seems to be drained relentlessly.

Liam moved silently, ready to eliminate Jax and raised his gun.

Unfortunately, Liam's stealth movement failed when Jax realized his presence. He had wrongly underestimated Jax.

Jax rushed at Liam, pushing him off his feet and into the glass of the sink. Shards of glass rained down, slicing the back of Liam's head and the back of his neck. His beloved Beretta 87 Target slammed out of his hand.

Jax dashed to launch a powerful kick strike. Liam dodged, darting in to deliver a straight jab in return. It sent Jax tumbling backwards; a hard jab to the jaw forced him to stagger and roar in soreness.

"Bloody hell!" Liam swore under his breath. An excruciatingly painful pressure stung the back of his head as well as his bleeding nape. Liam chuckled maliciously as he pulled out the shard that had pierced his nape. The sound of flesh being torn apart was accompanied by a laugh of satisfaction. "Dangerous but fun, right?"

However, Jax is a tough rival to take down. Jax never gave up, even though he was stumbling a bit, he got up again. Secretly, Jax took out a military knife blade from under his coat. He slashed Liam with an undetectable movement.

Jax slices into Liam's jaw. The tip of the blade smelled as sharp as iron and glittered, making Liam recoil. Thick blood seeped from his sharp jaw bone. “Just die, Coltrane!”

Liam giggled amusedly to the point of gasping while wiping away the fresh blood seeping onto his chin. "Ho-oh. You're doing great, Jax. You're the only one who's managed to slice the skin off my face. This is so much fun."

"Bollocks! You are crazy, empathy-impaired lunatic! Traitors like you don't deserve to live!" Jax hissed ferociously. He blasted angrily. "Back off or I'll kill you right now! Don't you think you can hurt Mr. Pietro before stepping over my dead body!"

Jax locked Mr. Pietro's closet door tightly, stopping Liam was a priority. He wouldn't let Liam achieve his goal.

"Oh, shut the hell up! Still, talkin' too much. I was never sane, Jax. I'm evil. Perfect devil. Abomination, and I like me. Forgetting so soon? I'm the monster with the right motivation. I've risen from the dead to finish you all off." Liam lifted his military knife from under his coat. A devilish grin spread across his lips. The blade glittered with an inverted tip. The gleam in his eyes flickered fiercely. She twirled the knife elegantly in the air. Liam was hauntingly naive like a maniac. "Well, see. You'll regret this, old pale. Do you feel that? I smell death on you, Jax!"

They grappled, and a brutal brawl ensued. Knives clanged as if spitting fire as they clashed. Reluctant to budge, they knocked and hurt each other. Liam's combination of jabs, hooks, and kicks left Jax in the dust.

There was a moment where they were locked in each other's jaws, resisting the death-thirsty knife thrusts. Liam ducked, slamming hard into Jax's forehead with a headbutt that instantly knocked Jax out.

[Duaaaghhhhh!]

Jax's temple was torn and bleeding. He crumpled to the floor. With great effort, Jax regained all of his blurred vision. The powerful impact rocked his world. The white spectrum blinds the eyes. Jax was dizzy for quite some time.

When Jax's back was smashed by Liam's furious kick. He tumbled forward. Rolled around in pain. The knife was thrown far away.

Liam exhaled sharply, humming death. His hands wrapped around Jax's neck in a strong coil, choking him. Jax's face was bloodshot; unable to breathe. His fist struck Liam's arm so many times but the oppress entangled him mercilessly.

"Ssssstt! Die, Jax. Die. Have you seen the gate of your death?" Liam chuckled savagely. "I'd be happy to take you to hell!. Just like you bastards sent me to the grave!"

On the verge of death, Jax's left hand fumbled. Trying to reach for anything, until he found a piece of broken sink glass on the floor. Jax stabbed Liam's arm until his hand was untied.

“Bastard!” Liam backed away. Wincing in pain, he forcefully pulled out the shard that had pierced his arm muscle. Blood gushing profusely, Liam snarled with rage. He threw the shard onto the floor. "I'm getting sick about this!"

Before Jax could breathe a sigh of relief, Liam kicked him in the left ribs until he collapsed whimpering on the floor. Thick blood seeped from his mouth. Liam's deadly kick cracked his ribs and left Jax with a flail chest.

Liam cackled viciously. The sound of bones cracking was like a pleasant symphony in his ears. He always enjoyed the bloodshed of his enemies. Liam giggled amusingly until he gasped. "Oh, walking into a graveyard."

Jax was seized by a cough of blood. The veins on his bloodshot face stood out. He desperately tried to get up, but fell again as the pain in his ribs was unbearable. Jax struggled to breathe, he felt his chest collapse. Once again, he vomited blood.

"Go to hell, Coltrane!" Jax cursed gutturally. He was sprawled on the ground.

Liam gained the upper hand. He giggled derisively. "Oh, Jax. Do you know where I am coming from? I'll raise hell with my hands. Victory's never been sweeter. Let the hell sing." he continued, stomping on Jax's injured ribs until the broken bone pierced his lungs.

[Bone cracking.]

"Ukh!" Jax roared to death. He was suffocated by his collapsed and bleeding lungs. He coughed, stiffened and died.

"Now it's your turn, Mr. Pietro." Liam hummed joyfully. He kicked the closet door off the hinges. "Beware when the devil comes to you. I will never stop, wherever you hide I’ll find you."

Pietro cowered backwards. He was the one who limped languidly. Still threatening bitterly. "Don't you know who I am?! Killing me will solve nothing! You won't be able to get rid of us, you bastard! We'll hunt you down until you're dead and there's nothing left!"

"Yeah, bla…bla…bla. Nah! I know who you are. Sure." Liam nodded rapidly. A devilishly lopsided grin widened. His face turned evil. His eyes blazed ferociously. "Any last words, Bastard?"

***