The Hitman and His Consort

XLVI - Forward

Third Person P.O.V: - - -

As soon as Valentin announced those words, Inka and Madeline, despite both being in remote locations, clenched their jaws. They could already tell that it’s not going to be a fun ride. Even Arthur gulped as she looked around the place. The corpses just littered all over the place. Any place that Valentin seemed to enter turns into chaos like he's a walking hurricane.

“Does this place has a rooftop?” Valentin asked, not sure if he recalled seeing that in the blueprints of the building,

“It does,” Arthur answered beside him and he nodded before speaking into the radio again,

“Madeline, how’s the situation out there?” he asked,

“I think I see the SWAT coming—Valya, I think we’re f*cked!” He yelled, making Valentin sigh, almost like he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes before speaking close to the receiver again.

“Madeline, you have bombs in that bag enough to blow buildings up, what’s a group of thickly-dressed soldiers going to do against bombs?” Valentin hissed and there was a tense minute that passed before a short static ran through once again,

“Man… fine,” Madeline replied, and not even a few seconds later, another loud eruption shook the place, followed by screams and yelling. Madeline knew that throwing that bomb would mean there’s no longer even a shred of hope he’ll be able to live a peaceful life anywhere. From here on out, he would always resort to hiding.

‘But it’s always been like that anyway...’ He reasoned in his head,

The single factor that held him back was the fact that he would hate to instill that same way of living to August if she was ever to stay with him. Just recently, he had the idea of being with August as his main priority, but when worse comes to worst, then it’s enough that she survives from here on out. Even if it is without him.

He felt his skin itch the moment the shockwaves from the explosion blew his hair back, even as he took cover from it. He placed the radio’s receiver close to his mouth, “SWAT problem kind of fixed as of now, I think I’m starting to hear helicopters,” he relayed.

Valentin cursed under his breath and held Arthur’s hand as they walked through the halls and figured their way around the place and to the rooftop. Inka, from yet another location within the building, threaded around her area carefully with Pierre over her shoulder, she backtracked her route to check if there are still people within the vicinity and tell them to leave as she sensed a foreboding aura to happen in the near future.

Madeline managed to round up a big mob of important lab personnel since he’s at the main entrance, therefore easily intercepting those who were evacuating the building through it. They’re to be held there to avoid a full-blown gun confrontation to the easiest point of entry, and due to the lab’s paranoid building design, it’ll take a lot of time and effort for the authorities to enter it from anywhere else. Something that Valentin is going to use to their full advantage.

“Madeline, lead the hostages to the rooftop, Inka help him out, we’ll wait for you here,” Valentin said to the radio turning to Arthur with a wide smile, “Do you happen to know how to drive a helicopter?” he asked.

The woman in question gave him a confused grimace, “What?” she repeated, not sure if she heard him correctly. He still held her hands as they jogged around the building, looking for an elevator.

“I don’t! Do you think people just know how to drive those things?” she asked, baffled by the absurdity of his question. They found an elevator and hopped on, pressing the floor labeled as ‘RT’ hoping it stood for ‘Roof Top’. Still, even if she’s not considered an average person, she knows knowing how to fly aviation vehicles is still too damn convenient for someone to be known by just anyone.

Valentin shrugged with a smile, “Too bad, if you’d know how you would’ve been perfect,” he said making Arthur’s grimace deeper as he remained holding her hand once they got off the lift and resumed jogging around the place, after looking around they found a set of stairs that eventually led to a door.

“What the hell—" she was about to yell, but the sound of the whirring blades of the helicopter drowned her voice out when Valentin opened the door.

They found the Rooftop and, as Madeline informed, helicopters are surrounding the place. It seemed like they were planning to land because apparently, they were Montreal’s rescue. The two watched from the inside as the helicopter rested stern on the floor and Montreal, helped by a single guard and one of the SWAT personnel, also pulled him inside.

Valentin brought the radio close to his lips, “Madeline, where are the hostages?” he asked.

Madeline cussed as he heard Valentin’s voice from the small device. He and Inka alike are still in the lifts. They split the group of hostages in half so they would fit inside the elevators, with each of them guarding their groups. It was Inka who replied,

“We’re close,” she replied, shifting Pierre, who’s still over her shoulder, which is starting to get sore.

“Define close,” Valentin asked,

“Damn it, man, can you wait?” Madeline yelled back at him, glaring at some of the staff that gave him curious looks, “What’cha looking at?” he hissed at them making some of the staff flinch back.

Soon enough, both groups got off the elevators, walking around until they found Valentin and Arthur waiting by the door that led to the actual rooftop.

“Finally! Everyone out there!” Valentin yelled gesturing for the hostages to run through the door and they were more than eager to oblige in hopes that maybe the authorities out there can help them, unaware that their presence will put the SWAT personnel in a compromising position.

Once they all reached the rooftop and mere seconds after Montreal finally boarded the SWAT’s tactical helicopter, the pilot paused after seeing more people who needed to be extracted from the building. The said pilot was given more reason to stay still once Valentin and the others emerged and started ordering the hostages to crouch down.

“That’s right…” Valentin whispered to himself as he gestured for the pilot to stay steady and remain on the ground before grabbing Pierre off Inka’s shoulder like a rag doll and slinging the unconscious man over his shoulder, approaching the helicopter with his gun at the blonde.

Montreal was visibly distressed, Valentin could see the large man yelling at the pilot and the co-pilot, probably telling them to leave immediately, and when he appeared to convince them a little Valentin made a few shots directed to the hostages, mere feet away from hitting them fatally.

“F*cking hell, this man is insane!” The pilot cursed as he yielded and slowed the spin of the rotors,

“You f*cking dimwit! Why are you stopping now?! Let’s get out of here!” Montreal yelled again, but the co-pilot glared at him.

“We can’t just do that, sir, I’ll call for back-up,” he argued and Montreal, but his lips as desperation and frustration brought him to a boiling point. He grabbed his personal guard’s gun and aimed it at the pilot.

“LET’S GO! HURRY UP OR I’LL REALLY PULL THE TRIGGER!” He threatened but both the pilot and his co-pilot only gave him unamused looks,

“That would be unwise and counter-productive, sir,” the co-pilot said as he easily grabbed the gun from Montreal’s grip.

Valentin turned to the others and dropped Pierre on the floor since Montreal didn’t value him enough as an effective hostage, and he used his free hand to grab the radio, “Can you ask if any of the hostages know how to drive a helicopter,” and the others exchanged a glance as they comprehend Valentin’s request.

With a confused shrug, all three, Inka, Arthur, and Madeline combed through the hostages, yelling the same question to be heard even over the loud whirring of the rotor and blades.

“Do you know how to fly a helicopter?” Inka asked one of them, another man in a lab coat.

“W-Will I get out of here if I could?!” the man asked back,

“With us, yes,” Inka confirmed, and the man nodded.

“Sh*t… look at that, I didn’t think we’d actually have one,” she said to herself as he brought the radio to her lips, “We got one here, Valya,” she relayed and everyone seemed surprised to actually have one, all except Valya who looked merely gave them a thumbs up before proceeding to open the helicopter’s doors and lunged in to grab Montreal by the collar.

“F*CK—HEY!” the pilot yelled, but Valentin was already dragging the man out of the vehicle.

“Get off!” Valentin yelled to the rest of the people inside, gesturing the others to come closer along with the hostage he intends to assign as the pilot. Montreal’s guard got off but was ultimately stuck at a stalemate because his only weapon, the gun, was taken by his own damned boss and is now out of his grasp, the SWAT personnel, however, didn’t get out of the vehicle just yet.

Valentin gestured at everyone to aim at the pilot and the co-pilot, Inka gave Arthur her gun so she could grab Pierre because she’s starting to think that they’ll probably be leaving the place sooner or later. Still, the personnel remained in the vehicle, hoping that backup will arrive quickly.

And it did. A new swarm of SWAT personnel emerged from the door to the rooftop, but it seemed that they forgot Madeline had an abundance of explosives, and thanks to his quick thinking a potential problem ended within mere seconds, and the hostages' only point of exit is compromised. Given that predicament, the personnel in the helicopter yielded and got off the vehicle.

“Arthur, lead our driver inside, Madeline, help Inka and Pierre, we’re leaving,” Valentin barked, and for the whole duration of this plan now, they followed the man’s instruction and got on the vehicle.

“What about me?” Montreal asked with bloodshot eyes, turning to Valentin only to be visually turned down as the taller man offered him a sly smirk.

“What about you, Montreal?” he asked back with a shrug, getting on the helicopter and keeping the door open to retain a clear shot at the hostages and personnel alike.

“Get this thing moving,” Arthur barked at the lab-clad hostages they got to drive the vehicle. The man obliged, and they gained elevation once they got enough height to hover for a moment. Valentin turned to Madeline,

“Give me one of the bombs,” He requested, and the others frowned at him.

“Do you really have to?... It’s already over,” Inka reasoned, but Valentin being who he is didn’t even offer a reply and just open his hand further to Madeline, making the latter shake his head.

“Nah, Valya, let’s just go man,” Madeline refused,

“Give me the whole f*cking bag, Madeline,” Valentin yelled. Sounding more demanding than how he was throughout this mission, but despite being someone whose words should not be trusted, he was intent on doing just exactly as he said he would and destroy the building.

When Madeline still refused, Valentin just grabbed and barked the words, “Go higher up,” as the driver did, he started blindly dropping bombs, pulling out the pins one by one as he dropped them like apples to the building. The first explosion Arthur nearly jumped out of her seat,

“That’s enough, let’s go!” she yelled, and driver by fear and self-preservation, the diver took Arthur’s suggestion and flew away from the scene.

A deafening silence passed along the group as they gained distance from the building, despite the obvious concern regarding the elephant in the room, or in this case vehicle, about Valentin's aggressive action and decision they have another problem of cop cars and another chopper on their tail.

“What’s the plan now?” Arthur asked, a noticeable harshness in her tone along with a much colder expression as she turned to face Valentin, who only took a second to answer, without hesitation,

“Crash us into the bay,”

The hostage who pilots the vehicle only wished that he did more with his life, fearing that being involved with these people will top his demise one way or another.