Mik was dead. Someone killed him. The bullet flew straight past Yana and landed directly between Mik's brows. The echo of the loud bang still rang in Yana's ears before she abruptly turned around to find the culprit.
Yet that person stood there very relaxed with a half-smile on his elegant face.
"Paul?" Yana couldn't believe he shot Mik. Yana has never seen someone die before but this was a sign. She had to get used to it in the near future.
"It seems like I was too late, he still talked," Paul sighed as if he regretted being late to dinner.
"You knew he'd mess up?"
Paul looked surprised at Yana, "Of course, I believe in your skills."
In her skills? What a messed up way of talking.
So, these were the people who worked for the organisation. They were the true cold-blooded people who didn't even bat an eye when killing someone.
What an insane maniac.
"So you killed him?"
Paul shrugged his shoulders, "Inevitable. I was planning to discard him anyway."
Danger and fear. These feelings gripped Yana in an instant and several times worse when she was found out by Mr Rosaneli. The kind of danger Mr Rosaneli and Paul gave off was different. Both were calm but Paul had no care about human lives while Mr Rosaneli was on the more intimidating side.
Yana couldn't move her body. If she could, she wouldn't want to face Paul but she was in this situation where she had to.
Most importantly, Yana needed more information about Paul.
"You know me?"
"How can I not? You ruined more than once my plans, albeit it's not a big deal,'' Paul spoke in a nonchalant way, almost friendly.
So, Yana's intuition was right and the worst possible suspicion came true. Paul did have his eyes on her. He did notice her and seemed more or less wary of her.
Yana backed off a bit as Paul approached her. Her bare feet stepped in the pool of Mik's blood. Yana innerly gagged and the disgust overcame her but she remained calm in front of Paul.
"What's the matter?"
Seeing Yana walk away from him, Paul gave her a nice smile.
"So, what do you want? Me, dead?"
Paul let out a slight laugh, "Possibly."
"So, yes," Yana cursed. Right now, Paul had the upper hand. He was blocking her way to the door and he had a gun. There was a huge chance, Yana would end up the same way as Mik.
"Then kill me," Yana looked Paul straight in the eyes. For some reason, Paul wanted to leave her alive but Yana was sure she would die today.
This was what Paul wanted, but what was the purpose of keeping her alive now?
"Killing you would be fairly easy, you saw right? A human's life is trembling, fleeting," Paul sighed as if he couldn't believe Yana asked such a foolish question.
Yana's feet left behind blood imprints as she sought to slowly walk away from Paul who closed in step by step.
"What are you playing a damn goody shoe for?" Yana threw all politeness away.
"Don't want to witness it?" a smile formed on Paul's lips, "The beginning of a new era?"
"Am I part of creating your wretched ideals?"
"No," Paul dangled the gun in his hand, "You're just a small meaningless cog that fell off and ran away. Trying to jam the whole process but in the end, absolutely unable to do anything."
Yana knew he was insulting her but she was quite amused. It seemed like Paul was eager to let her find out more about this new era, although according to him, she was only supposed to be a small cog. Then why did he tell her all of that? What was his agenda?
"Then what will this new era be like in your eyes?" the moment these words left Yana's lips, Paul's smile dropped and a dark current swept across his face, "Don't you see it already?"
"See what?" Yana kept her distance while quietly searching for a way to escape.
The closer Paul got to Yana, the farther he walked away from the door. However, the more the distance between them shortened, the more Yana's heart went out of control, even when she forced it to beat normally. Paul was someone Yana feared, though she didn't want to admit.
A person that just reeked of danger, polluted every corner wherever he went with a congested scent disguised under a false sense of security.
Paul was someone Yana couldn't take on head on. Any of the EF captains could but not Yana right now. Right now, Yana was vulnerable and defenceless. Paul had a gun and worse if Yana's assumptions were right, more danger awaited her behind the door.
She couldn't stay with Paul but she also couldn't blindly leave here. The best option was to take Paul hostage and run out with him, so whoever lied in wait outside wouldn't be able to hurt her or Paul.
Yet Yana wasn't sure if she was a match for Paul. Paul may look like a suave businessman but anyone who has trained enough could smell from afar that Paul was skilled.
"Your brain isn't just decoration, right?" Paul's words pulled Yana back to reality, "If you work for the Elite Force you should already know what I mean:"
Yana froze. Her eyes widened and her breath shortened. Paul knew. Paul might have known from the beginning. He was playing her the whole time.
Yana messed up. Her pulse quickened and her toes curled up in the bloody pool yet Paul brushed over the fact she was part of the EF as if it wasn't important.
"There'll be no longer companies as they'll be under the government's jurisdiction. The beautiful saying of the first step towards the end."
Yana understood. Immediately.
"This way the government can hog all the resources and make all the decisions. The government is in absolute control," Yana took a deep breath.
"Wonderful, I knew you'd understand," Paul smiled again but Yana felt only colder before she returned his smile, "Doing this to one country is not enough though."
Loud laughter rang in Yana's ears. Paul was having the time of his life, "And what makes you think the other countries aren't in the same situation? In this modern-day brimming with technology, what is the most influential and deadliest weapon? It's the media. Who controls the media has won. The EF failed to grasp this fundamental understanding in time."
"Don't tell me-"
BANG before Yana finished her sentence, a sharp pain tore on her nerves, "If you manage to escape and survive, I'll gladly tell you more," Paul's voice faded as he put down his gun.
A gaping hole with blood pouring out endlessly tainted Yana's fair leg.