Soldier of Time

III: Diplomatic Threat

Walking back to EL Morro, Slevin passed through the entrance of the old highway that connected the central city with the coast. That whole place had been destroyed in the war, and now it was nothing more than an abandoned place where no car could pass. Or at least that’s what the habitats of EL Morro believed.

The truth was that the same Deer had participated several times in organized races on those abandoned and dilapidated roads. It was not impossible to drive around, only considerably difficult.

Returning to the center of EL Morro, he slowly walked until he reached Sue’s cafe, where an old friend was waiting for him. The time to meet him had already come, and the Deer was very curious to know what would be the work that his friend had decided to present to him.

Seeing him, young Simon raised a hand to attract his attention. The boy was blond with a very well-done cut and strong green eyes, a little taller than Slevin, and he was always very smiling. Extremely popular with young women and so personable that many referred to him as the Angel. Only those who truly knew him knew that his ability to take lives turned him into a demon.

“What’s up, Slevin? How are you?” Simon asked with a grin.

Slevin got to where he was and directly took a look inside the café place. After seeing that there was no one unknown in it, he asked instead, “What is it that I won’t like?”

The other boy rolled his eyes before responding almost mockingly, “Hello Simon. I’m sorry to have left you alone these two months Simon,” he was trying to imitate Slevin while staring at him as well. Simon felt aggrieved, “You always have to be so direct. We have weeks that we do not see each other. You could at least say hello, bastard.”

“Sorry, man. It has been a rough morning,” Slevin explained with a wry smile.

Simon snorted before he paused and then clarified, “Amber?”

Slevin looked at the young man and then back to the cafe as he sat at a table outside. People passed by the boulevard while buying things or meeting friends, and everyone was watching. Members of the Mines always tended to draw attention to El Morro.

“Something like that,” Slevin shrugged his shoulders. He was feeling exhausted for some reason.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes, it is,” Slevin said as he took the tubes of blood out of his pocket. “Here, these are from this month.”

Simon took them and watched them for a long time, his mind wandering in his memories and taking the chair in front of Slevin and sat down. He placed both tubes on the table while he placed his index and ring fingers on the caps of the tubes. The young man played with the small tubes while the eyes of Slevin alternated between them and the passers-by of the place.

“That girl is an angel, you know,” Simon said without taking his eyes off the tubes.

“Oh, I thought the angel was you,” Slevin commented dryly. Simon snorted, and then they both smiled.

“I will increase the price. These guys, at this point, cannot live without this blood. I will make them pay much more,” Simon said after he put the tubes.

Slevin nodded, “Okay, the more we can get, the better.”

            “That’s right, especially with what’s coming,” Simon said, then he made a sign to call a waiter. When the waiter arrived, Simon placed a yellow folder on the table while he asked the waiter to bring two coffees.

Slevin took the folder, and after reading the first two lines, he asked, “Is this authentic?”

Simon nodded, but before speaking, he stood up as he watched his guests approach. When Slevin looked at them, he understood that the situation was serious.

The people who approached were totally out of tune with El Morro, the man dressed in a blue suit walked with a briefcase in his hand, and his bushy beard showed a smile that seemed somewhat condescending towards Slevin, while the beautiful young woman next to him hid her eyes under dark glasses that highlighted even more her clothing, black pants, white t-shirt and a leather jacket that faintly concealed a holster at the side of her body.

“That is completely authentic,” the newly arrived man said as he offered his hand to Simon, he shook it and stood while the Deer imitated him.

When he gave the man his hand, he observed how that gray-haired man studied him with his eyes. The eyes of the Deer fell on him, and then he alternated them with the young blonde who accompanied that gentleman.

Simon offered his hand to the girl, but he is making a gesture of disinterest, rejecting her. He took the chair from a nearby table and sat with them before they returned to the seats they had already occupied.

The four people were seated at the table while the waiter efficiently took orders from him and delivered the already ordered coffees. When the man left, the conversation was started by the newcomer.

“Well, as Simon knows, I’m Lucios Ronan, Chancellor Emilio’s personal assistant. I’m here because I need your help, Mr. Slevin.”

Slevin watched the man with interest and kept silent at his exposition, allowing him to continue.

“I understand that you are one of the best at what you do, and now we need your skills in a matter of national security.”

The man spoke with ease and tranquility, placing silences between the phrases he said to give the Deer the opportunity to interrupt, but he was still silent.

“We need you to act as a back-guard for a high-interest guest, an international guest who, for the purposes of our nation, needs all the protection it can receive.”

This time Slevin did reacted, “Can I ask you a question, Mr. Lucios?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why does an employee of the government house need the help of two simple mercenaries who on more than one occasion have worked outside the margins of the law, law which that same government house imposes?” Slevin asked seriously.

The question was direct, but the man did not seem to flinch. However, his companion had a much more effusive reaction.

“The truth is that we do not need it,” the young blonde said before taking off her glasses and planting her powerful blue eyes on Slevin. She then continued, “This is nothing more than a mere precaution. A formality to do everything we can, which frankly, friend, seems unnecessary to me.”

She said that last part staring at the chancellor’s assistant, who smiled and did not stop looking at Slevin.

“Mr. Slevin, I do not know if your partner brought you up to date, but I will gladly clarify that doubt. For this, allow me to explain the events to you, and you will understand why the government specifically requires your help.”

Slevin looked at Simon. He was smiling and slowly nodding his head as his eyes alternated between his partner and his possible employer.

“Mr. Slevin,” the assistant spoke, “Three months ago, my boss, the chancellor, went on a diplomatic visit to the country of Jericho. This is because there were confidential matters that had to be addressed, many of these were resolved with satisfactory speed, but many others had to be postponed for various reasons. These issues that could not be resolved were relegated to a planned visit to this country by the Chancellor of Jericho.”

Everyone listened intently as the man continued to speak, “That visit was approved and planned for a date that will be two weeks from tomorrow.”

“I understand,” Slevin nodded in agreement, “But it still does not explain why we are required.”

“That, good friend Slevin, enters in this part. About a week ago, a message arrived at the chancellor’s office, but more important than the message itself, it is who sent it.”

Slevin became more and more interested in what the chancellor’s assistant was saying.

The assistant continued, “It was sent by a mercenary that you have to know much better than I have...”

Slevin’s eyes wandered among those present to land on those of Simon, who was no longer smiling.

“The message was sent by Hanibal King.”

Hearing that name, in Slevin’s mind rang out the shots that he had remembered receiving hours earlier.

He looked at Simón, and this time he observed him with such an expressive look that he said that this is the part that you won’t like without the slightest doubt.

“I understand that it is still not relevant,” said the assistant, “But when we investigated the record of that subject, everything seemed to fall apart, Mr. Slevin.”

Slevin looked at the table this time, and without taking his eyes off it, he said, “Hanibal has that effect on people. Tell me, Mr. Lucios, what did the note say?”

Lucios stared at Slevin for a few seconds, and then searching his briefcase, he took out a small opened envelope with a note that said.

GREETINGS EVERYONE, I SOLEMNLY PROMISE THAT I WILL SPREAD THE DISMISSAL OF THAT CHANCELLOR AT THE MOMENT THAT HE DARES TO PUT HIS FEET ON MY LAND! —HANIBAL KING

“Obviously,” The Chancellor continued after clearing his throat, “that is a reproduction of the original message. It is being studied by our scientific team.”

“And how do you know that this message is authentic?” Simon asked with a frown.

“Because this came with it,” Saying that, he put on the table the photograph of a disemboweled man next to a subject with strong blue eyes and blond hair looking at the camera. “We identified the subject of the photo as Hanibal King.”

Slevin took the photo and looked at it. He had already seen Hanibal many times, but the impression of his gaze never ceased to bother him.

“We investigated Hanibal’s record, and it is linked to more than 50 violent crimes with a total count so far of 75 confirmed deaths.”

Slevin put the photo on the table and commented, “If he is the best murderer known, it is chilling to know how accurate he can be.”

“We also know that he says that first hand,” the man said while watching Slevin, “we know that of the multiple assignments that Hanibal has had, only one person has been able to stop him.”

Slevin looked at Simon, and he responded to his gaze and then said, “I didn’t say anything. They figured it out on their own.”

After that statement, the assistant spoke again, and his partner seemed affected by this whole issue.

“Mr. Slevin, I assure you that your partner did not give us any piece of information. Everything I have told you so far has been efficiently collected by our intelligence team.”

The truth is that this visit is of the utmost importance and we inform the chancellor about this matter but canceling the visit is unheard of, what we can do is simply put all our efficiency in protecting the guests.

This time Slevin spoke, looking seriously at the assistant, “What they must do is cancel the visit. If that person enters this country, the probabilities indicate that she will end up dead. If you want my personal opinion, I think they should stop trying their luck and cancel the visit. Stopping Hanibal is impossible even for the abundant resources of the Government House.”

At the end of these statements, the young man began to get up when the girl snapped annoyingly, “How dare you say that stupidity! I knew perfectly well that it was a mistake to ask for help from someone your ilk. I already knew that either to protect that scum or out of simple fear, you would not be any help. It’s easy to cultivate a reputation for people like you, doing scrap jobs for people who want you to kill their evil alcoholic exes. We don’t need your help, and we certainly don’t need your opinion.”

Everyone, including people not in the cafe, observed the young woman with interest and apprehension. The Deer smiled, and ignoring the girl’s words, he addressed the assistant and then said, “That’s my opinion, Mr. Lucios. Cancel the visit—otherwise, and this will end in death.”

After saying that he was about to leave, but the assistant said. At the same time, he took him by the arm, “Mr. Slevin, that is impossible at this point, both our chancellor and theirs have ensured that they will not miss this appointment under any threat, much less made by a sad mercenary. But the truth is that we are all in check for this situation. You are the only one who has faced that person and came out victorious on more than one occasion, and we really need your help.”

“That’s not what she thinks,” Slevin said, pointing his head at the girl, “She doesn’t want our help.”

“That is irrelevant,” the assistant said to the chancellor as he watched her, “Miss Karen is a royal guard, she will comply with the order that was given to her, and this is for you to accept the job. She will cooperate so that everything goes in the best way possible.”

Slevin looked at the girl, and she returned his gaze with a feeling very similar to contempt. He looked away from her and looking at Simon and then asked, “What do you think?”

Simon got up and said, looking at his friend, “You are always the one who makes the decision, and you know that I am with you no matter what you choose.”

Slevin meditated for a few seconds and then looking at the assistant chancellor and then spoke seriously, “Hanibal will not stop, and if I accept this job, you must understand something—”

The assistant chancellor interrupted, “I know he won’t stop, young man, that’s why I ask for your help. What should I understand?”

“If I get involved, that will only make Hanibal even more excited and take this to the last consequences,” Slevin explained.

“Does that mean we’re counting on you?”

Slevin gave a long snort, and he knew what he would answer. He knew what he should answer, but he also knew that someone would get very angry for that answer.

“Yes, you can count on me.”