The Hitman and His Consort

XXXIX - Retreat

Third Person P.O.V: - - -

The air in the room got heavy. It’s normal for professional and contract killers to do some gruesome act during work hours, but it’s a different thing when things get personal. Madeline also knows that he’s done some pretty questionable things in this lifetime, inhumane and cruel to say in simpler terms, and all those were a product of very strong and personal emotions. It's something that happens to everyone.

He’d understand any other occurrence, and in select cases, it would’ve been satisfying to see someone so passionate about their loved ones that they lose a bit of their morality.

However, it was a different case with how he saw Valentin, it was not something accounted for, and sure it was Madeline who started threatening to stab the guy in the eye, but that’s it.

‘But to pull it out like that and make jokes…’ He thought as he stared at the back of Valentin’s head.

In the beginning, it was already established that man has no sense of morality, doesn’t he? Or if not a complete absence, then it’s at an inadequate amount. This refresher reminded Madeline of just who he’s with and what kind of person Valentin truly was. He was starting to downplay the actual gravity of what exactly made Valentin different. Then again, between Madeline and Valentin, the former knows that he himself is far more aggressive compared to the latter.

Jamsey looked at his attacker's face and felt such a heavy and dreadful wave of fear and desperation, after all, his attacker seemed at peace with his life as he offered Jamsey a smile. His hands were stiffed up to the point of uncontrollable tremors and nausea was slightly creeping up in his head, engulfing him in a dizzy viewpoint.

Noticing this, Valentin snapped his fingers right in Jamsey’s face, “Quickly Jamsey, focus your gaze on me, it should be half as easy now,” he said and Jamsey shook his head to keep himself somewhat conscious even above the overwhelming pains and nausea,

“J-Julian, it’s him—He’s obsessed with her—eugh—he told me to stay away from her, so we broke up,” he began, uncertain why proving himself innocent was his mandate against these men,

“Uh, huh… and? Where’s Julian now?” Valentin asked, like an impatient teacher scolding a kid,

“I-I-I don’t know, he—eugh—he’s not someone who stays at one place, but he’s been contracted recently,” he replied, and that sent a wave of fury and worry within Madeleine.

“What do you mean contract—you mean someone’s paying him right now?” Madeline asked and Jamsey nodded, “s**t” Madeline cussed as he ran his fingers through his hair as the new details put him under a whole different level of stress,

“What do you know about Julian and his contract?” Valentin asked again, and Jamsey was almost at his limit on trying to stay awake. The pain was all too much.

“Some bigshot, I… I don’t know… it’s Keaton Yen who knows… it’s his mission first, Julian just stepped in ‘cus Keat couldn’t do it,” he replied and just in time heard the faint sound of sirens from the distance, he stood up abruptly and nodded to Jamsey,

“Good job, you’ll get to keep the other eye, let’s go,” he said as he and Madeline ran straight to their car and sped away before the cops got any closer, the neighbors must’ve notified the cops, what took them so long though? They’ve spent quite a while in the place above all the yelling and screaming. What an unreliable neighborhood.

The duo exchanged glances, one more troubled than the other. But Valentin was indeed troubled, it’s taking a lot of energy for him to not go berserk. It annoyed him that it had to go to those lengths, but at the same time he was annoyed he couldn’t do more; it didn’t mitigate his anger, it only left him more enraged that he couldn’t inflict the right amount of pain on the right person.

“Do we have a Keaton Yen on the list?” Valentin asked,

“No, I’ll text Inka,” replied Madeline,

“Good, we’ll look for Julian now but if we can’t find him, then we’ll have to go to Keaton’s,” Valentin affirmed, and the conversation was settled, they went on the written address to Julian’s place and it was in another city so that took a long drive. With every passing minute, adding up on the pent-up anxiety that plagued them ever since the first call Inka made to Arthur was unanswered.

They arrived, the all-nighter drive was a given, they started the search late at night, of course, sleep is no longer on the table and Valentin felt like he was well-rested enough, who knows just how long he was asleep when they fixed him up after he got shot. He just hoped it was enough. If it’s not enough, he’ll make it enough.

From the start, the location, the distance from other houses, the appearance of the house, and the lack of light from the inside already set a distasteful bitterness on Madeline’s tongue. The fact that it was innocent looking and somewhat normal isn’t the problem. It was the fact that it's a family home, way too large for someone who lives alone. It seemed like whoever lived here has cash and was ready to create a family of four to finish the look.

And unlike before, Valentin didn’t opt for a knock or a warning call and went straight ahead to shoot at the doorknob’s locking mechanism, both of them were done with the confrontations and just wanted to find Arthur as soon as they could and move onwards with whatever step they’ll choose in the future.

This was also a thinking opportunity he had time to ponder about the nature of their pursuers, Pierre specifically. The Montreal boss-man didn’t strike him as the brains part of the Lab’s movement, which is ironic, and even before, it was Pierre’s name that’s in the staff’s mouth whenever changes and tyranny seemed to be practiced. Just what kind of person Pierre is, seemed cloudy for Valentin, but one thing was certain, Pierre Lovanné is no good man.

Once they got inside and started scouring the place Madeline’s suspicions were confirmed, it was so normal and bland, he probably even have guests and neighbors to come over because his kitchen is filled with complete groceries, snacks, and beverages, the chinaware shows some wear and tear from usage but only the fridge if plugged in.

Nothing else is working and functioning.

“This place is practically empty,” Madeline affirmed,

“Yes, but for how long,” Valentin replied as he explored the other parts of the house, he climbed up the stairs to the second floor and saw three extra rooms, and a single step was all it took to smell a distinct odor coming from either of those three rooms.

The stuffy scent of clothes and a pungent stink.

“Mads,” Valentin called out, and the man immediately followed behind him as he walked towards the door that give off the strongest hint of the scent. The stronger it got, the more repulsive it became. This was no doubt a dead body.

“Sh*t,” Madeline cursed, desperate, afraid, crestfallen, angry, and every other intense and negative emotion laced his tone as he opened the door in Valentin’s stead. Who, on the other hand, felt a void. A void that had nothing inside, nothing to trigger pleasant or unpleasant emotions alike. Along with the things he lost, was his askew rationality.

The reins that he so persistently held onto felt like they collapsed onto themselves as the stench of the decaying carcass reached his nostrils with such acrid aggression. It felt like Valentin’s world stopped spinning as his head short-circuited. Unable to process the event.

Madeline was frantically moving mounds and piles of clothing and garment on the floor, not having the heart to switch the light on and possibly see his sister’s rotting corpse. And that’s when it hit him.

“No—No, this isn’t Arthur… I still haven’t found the body, but this is Arthur!" Madeline yelled with newfound ease, unable to properly explain his thoughts, and wished that he was a bit more awake, functional, and alert during these times to notice it immediately but he couldn’t help it.

Unbeknownst to Madeline though, is he just managed to hang onto the single fine strand thread that kept Valentin sane, and the large man felt his knees buckle at the realization, it was both relieving and disheartening to recall that Arthur’s taking was only recent, and in the event that she was killed her body would not smell like this.

Still, Madeline continued with his search and eventually found the pale-green, bloated, and lacerated body of an unknown man. Valentin turned to Madeline, “Ideas?” he asked and Madeline shrugged before he checked his phone. He’s starting to be suspicious this could be their backup guy, Keaton yen.

But it was hard to tell from the picture and the corpse. The carcass’s face was sliced up to the point of unrecognition, “I’ll ask Inka for other pictures,” Madeline replied and soon enough Inka provided the requested information. If compared to the face, there’d be no hope. If compared to the body type, the body had bloated quite a bit, but one noticeable thing was left: a black knitted bracelet.

“Yeah, that’s poor Keaton, alright, this Julian c*nt is f*cked up,” Madeline noted and Valentin hummed as they now hit a stump. Progressing from this point on will be difficult. They could try to contact the other men on the list, but they doubt one will get them any closer to the case than this.

But apart from that, what can they do?

“F*ck,” Valentin cussed, leaving the room with a heavy gait, unable to last another minute in the room and inhale that scent, but what suffocated him the more was the idea of another setback, the fact that they’ve hit a dead-end, not like it was impossible to strike this phase in a search but it was so gut-wrenchingly painful.

For Madeline, at least he knows to discern what he feels and, albeit it’s challenging, he knows how to deal with it.

However, that is also the biggest obstacle that will be perpetually blocking Valentin’s way to self-improvement. He’s not one to make progress, but this was his first encounter with such emotions.

“What’s next?...” Madeline asked as he exited the room right after him,

“We know two things,” Valentin began, turning on his heel and facing Madeline, “Julian was recently contracted, although we don’t know the exact facts there’s a chance it’s Mariella’s who did it in an attempt to fight fire with fire,” he started and Madeline nodded,

“Probably Pierre’s doing, that son of a b*tch,” Madeline agreed as he cussed,

“Second, he’s got Arthur, and it’s a f*cking gamble whether he surrendered her to them or he kept her around for himself,” Valentin finished and Madeline clicked his tongue, taking a sharp breath and a grunt as he punched the wall with no other way to vent out his frustration.

“I don’t like where this is going…” Madeline said as he dragged his hands over his face.

“I’m having my suspicions and you’re right, this is going to get messy, we need to retreat for now,” Valentin announced as he left the house and Madeline couldn’t quite believe he just heard those words right out of his mouth. In a state of angry bewilderment, Madeline rushed after Valentin’s steps, spun him around, and grabbed him by the collar.

“You did not just f*cking say that—you were the angriest when you found out she’s gone, we need to keep looking!”

He screamed, his intentions laced with that of the sentiments of an older brother who truly just wants to have her sister back. Valentin gave him a long, menacing stare before shoving him off.

“Madeline… don’t question my decisions, I’m not doing this to please you, I’m doing this to bring Arthur back to me,” Valentin hissed back, taking a step closer with each word, and that response did spike some concern,

“What do you mean—“

“Arthur is someone I need Madeline, not want—need, the only reason I didn’t blow everyone’s brains out back at the clinic when you all collectively lost your common-f*cking-sense is because I don’t want to disappoint her and have her leave me, do you understand Madeline?” He narrated in a manic tone, a sinister smile cracked on his face,

With one final chuckle, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it up, and inhaled a deep lungful of smoke, “My whole damn f*cking sanity… is hanging on the hope that your sister is alive, if she isn’t then I guess everyone will start having problems,”