Lone Avenge

It was a damp August morning and Annette argued with Fergus over his profession. All she wanted him to start off an enterprise, but he preferred to serve and wanted to avenge of Tai Luang’s death. He didn’t welcome her idea of starting a new enterprise being firm on his decision. She was angry and the rage took over her. All-encompassing, all-overwhelming, she stood beside a table and threw a punch at polished brass cube, she threw it as hard as she could, and it fell straight down, hitting the ground below with a clang and bent badly by a side. Fergus gave Annette a plain look and left slamming the door so hard that the name plate fell off from one side. The whole drama was witnessed by Ryan & Marianne, who waited for him in the corridor.

While driving Marianne gently asked “Why don’t you think about her ideas once”? “May be...” He interrupted “Marianne! It’s a matter of honor pride and more than that; avenging Luang’s death”. “Tai was my best friend and a great colleague as you folks are and so was his family”. “Did you’ll forget how brutally his wife and daughter were murdered?” “I’ll clean this case by getting this yellow fever out of United States and then will think of Annette’s proposal”. Ryan replied “Oh! That’s fine but you must consider quickly for Annette’s sake” Fergus smiled and replied “Chill people, It aint a real dirty job being an Assassin”. Marianne smirked “Oh! Really?” Fergus replied “Take control of your own destiny and release the warrior within, kill one to save a thousand and earn a million. That’s what the assassins do. Coz what matters is the Money you get after killing a criminal!”

 They drove towards the FBI office located at the Northwest 2nd Avenue. All the evidence against Yamakawa was gathered. Only thing left was to keep a close eye on Ayaka Yamakawa; the “Capo Bastone” of Yamakawa clan and Kaemon Matsui; Consigliere to the Yamakawas. Somehow these yellow japs were fortunate enough to get away from the radars of Drug Enforcement Agency. They smartly ran the whole business of illegal drugs and diamonds worth millions under the banner of being traders and importers of gold artifacts.  

It was early August and someone had tipped off anonymously that the next deal is about to be cracked by Kaemon soon. It was just before Sakito Yamakawa along with his enforcers & hit men planned to arrive in the United States. After accessing to the relevant information Fergus planned an itinerary for welcoming this yellow jap in his own style. Furtively the team patrolled the whole area of Yazuka Bahn; a club where most of the japs frequented. Nestled in the Mid Lane of NW 183rd Street, this joint was favored by most of the Asian and Latin American anti social elements. Kaemon planned to meet his clients and organized a meet for the next day at Yazuka Bahn. Fergus and his team mates had already done a thorough surveillance of the lane and planned an action game well in advance. While the whole process was on Ryan questioned Fergus “Don’t you think that we are just eliminating them instead of acquiring more evidence along with the CIA” Fergus answered “It doesn’t matter whether the evidence with CIA is enough to get these japs in a death row or not.  Most of the times when raids were conducted suspect blurted out Yamakawa’s name. So then at any cost, we must get these Japs dead, as it would be disgraceful to watch these decades’ old enemies of the Pearl Harbor laundering in the prisons of States”.

August, 19th it was a rainy night, pouring cats and dogs.       Miami shoreline appeared wild with an enraged sea th the wave hitting the shores. Ryan had positioned himself in a building opposite to the Yazuka Bahn. He was heavily armored with a FN Minimi SPW - Special Purpose Weapon and a M240 B; a heavy machine gun that gets one down in a fraction of a second. Marianne with two other combatants in the adjoining building was ready to blaze off the japs with M60E3 machine guns each and Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle; which is still in service ripping off the Iraqis in the war. Ryan transmitted a message to Fergus stating “Japs flipping off and having a smoke” in plain language it meant Kaemon is driving towards the venue but has halted unusually to take a look around. Fergus replied “Either game will be over or grave shall be dug” which meant “you take care of the place, and I’ll get the target (Kaemon) killed on the road or get him killed at the venue”.

On switching the ignition on the Dodge Challenger roared with an ultimate burn out on the US Highway 95. Every moment message was transmitted informing Fergus about Kaemon’s locations. Fergus drove straight into the superhighway at 80 mph zooming past the vehicles and the wide headlights of other cars kept getting smaller to smallest. The chase had begun to hunt down Kaemon. The speedometer constantly increased from 80 mph to 100 and zooming to 120mph. The SRT  HEMI V8 engine roared with much more power and sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in lest than 5 seconds benchmarking 100mph within 17 seconds. By the end of 18th seconds the car tore apart the wind giving a yardstick of 140 mph and the serotonin levels shot up in hot pursuit.

Fergus sped up driving from Route 95 and turned the sedan almost 180’ at an entry point of NW 103rd St with a loud screech. Nothing could stop him even for the bins those came in his way were dashed off flinging waste in the air at a height. When he cornered the car to turn in the E 49th Street which led to the Mid Lane of NW 183rd Street, few of Kaemon’s muggers nearby began firing abruptly. He stopped the car and reversed until it reached at a length and switched off the ignition. As these muggers slowly moved towards the sedan, he started the car ramming all of them who came across and the muscle machine mercilessly crushed them like mashed potatoes. As he reached the entry point Marianne transmitted a message “The cats are around. Relax" which meant “Before you go on a killing spree. Just be careful as the whole area is being covered by SWAT team.” He called her and questioned “Marianne! Who invited them here? Are they playing Tom & Jerry” to which she replied “Fergus, Kaemon has got a sufficient amount of drugs and ammunition consignment transferred in the club? Hence you can play the game. The SWAT is here to covers us”

Fergus hung up leaving the car behind a Hummer of SWAT team and sneaked into the lane. Just to avoid much of casualties, he transmitted a message to Ryan & Marianne to rip off all the suspects since could run out of Yazuka Bahn. While entering the bar a firm hand held him by the collar. Fergus quickly held the man by the wrist, twisting it until he heard a crack and gashed off the assailant’s throat with a knife. While slipping ahead a yellow butler stopped him. Turning back with a blank look Fergus instantaneously head butted the butler’s nose. Holding the butler by his neck he then knocked him on his nose. Shoving his head into a dustbin he banged a heavy aluminum beer gallon on the lid cracking butler’s skull. While the blood oozed out of the bin, he sensed someone was approaching towards. Quickly entering inside the switch room he turned off the electricity. There was a complete chaos. Ryan & Marianne had begun their game outside gunning down the criminals and setting a blood carpet for those who counter attacked.

Bending down Fergus peeped through a key hole. There were two gunmen who were approaching towards the meter room and were alarmed to see the corpse of a butler.  Hiding behind the door he stood still holding a rod like object that he found.  He held it high and left the door slightly open. As one of them peeped in, he kicked the door locking the man’s head in between and hit the object on his neck. There was a sudden thud as if something had fallen off. Fergus lit the lighter and learnt that what he had held was a Katana sword that sliced off the head of that gunman. It was such a perfect kill that the man leaned still in between with blood dripping down like engine oil leaking out of a hose.

Before the other guy realized Fergus held this dead piece of meat as a human shield and started shooting until his bullets tripped into gunman’s forehead. He then switched on the electricity and moved towards the door of a bar, with the sound of his steps bullets poured onto the door converting it into a grill. There was a sub machine gun lying near a corpse fallen at the door. Swiftly lifting it up Fergus barged into firing at and got down 3 hoodlums of Kaemon. Understanding the situation Kaemon ran and hid inside a suite room. Fergus followed him exchanging few rounds until Kaemon seemed to be disappeared. He then took cover behind a pillar and hit upon a crate of a dry ice. Putting the ice in a tin he threw it towards Kaemon.  Mistaking it as a gas bomb Kaemon leaned down to pick it and rounds of 9 mm bullets made their way into his right arm.

Losing not a millisecond Fergus jumped, kicking harder over Kaemon’s solar plexus and gifting a massive side kick almost breaking his jaws. Kaemon held the wall and supported himself as the gun fell off his numb fingers and clattered to the floor. He still managed to stand bending a bit. Gasping in pain he spoke in a breathless tone “if you were in Japan, you would have been dead”; Fergus replied “You aint in Japan so you’re surely dead”. He shoved a gun in his mouth and fired split opening the other end. Kaemon kneeled downwards before crumpling onto the carpet in a floundering heap and then, finally, went completely still. Ryan rushed in and held Fergus’s arm that profusely bled as a bullet had brushed across while assaulting. Ryan said “Fergus, the game is over!! Marianne won getting around 30 japs down”. Marianne followed in with a team of SWAT and asked Fergus suspiciously “Are you alright?” but looking at his arm, she yelled “Call the doc”. While he said “Chill, just gave Kaemon a bit of Sushi treat”.

That night Fergus didn’t bother to go home as the next day he had to get his targets in order to get the game completely over. Fagging off a cigarette Fergus asked Ryan and Marianne to be prepared for the next day. Considering what had happened last ight at Yazuka Bahn, they didn’t rule out the contingency of an assault, hence took the precautions dictated by the NYPD Scuba intelligence and SWAT Team. Sakito Yamakawa had changed his plans and called for a meeting in his warehouse itself at 2401 SW 31st Pl, Coleridge Beach. The ware house was once again covered by SWAT and Special Enforcement Team. The chiefs of both the teams had positioned their troops in a way that no criminal would evade away from bullets.

Fergus reached the place from where the teams kept a close eye on Yanakawa’s hitmen. Stealthily driving towards the rear exit of warehouse, he transmitted a message to open fire. Marianne had already positioned herself with two combatants on top of the warehouse. He then drove the hummer as fast as he could and rammed into the rear exit of warehouse killing Yamakawa’s enforcers down his vehicle. SWAT and Special Enforcement Agency began their action and were mercilessly gunning down Yamakawa’s dogs outside. Machineguns fired from fortified emplacements on warehouse through multiple points. There was a complete chaos of heavy guns and Squad Automatic Marking Guns. A security cordon made up of NVG-equipped troops manning squad automatic weapons barred a gang of Yamakawa by entering the warehouse. Most of Yamakawa’s gunmen were dead and couples of combatants of SWAT and SEA were severely injured too.  Amidst the lines of fire Fergus made it to the meeting room where Sakito Yamakawa and his 3 trusted enforcers were holed up. Marianne reached to the 1st level gunning all possible criminals and in the process one of her combatants was severely injured. She made the injured combatant lie at a place and asked the other one to get him out of the warehouse.  Abruptly firing at the meeting room she provoked Yamakawa’s men to fire back, which probably can make them run out of their ammunition. One of the men jumped out, but she got her target, blazing up him down to death. Fergus asked her to cover herself behind an adjoining pillar aside the meeting room door. Slightly, the door opened and one of Sakito’s aides’ came out, leaving no time Fergus jumped crashing the glass pane, gunning down Sakito’s last hitman and the other one who stood at the door was taken by a sniper’s bullet.

Sakito quickly held a sword trying to attack Fergus. Gently sloping over the couch Fergus leaped towards a sword stand making it fall on the ground. He then held a Katana Sword and the sport of fencing began. To every attack of Sakito, Fergus assaulted him badly. At a point Fergus lost control and fell on his back. Sakito tried to plunge the sword in Fergus’s face but the kick on Sakito’s knee was so hard that he sank down into half crouches, gasping in pain. As Fergus was getting up Sakito got a pistol from his boots and fired at him. Fergus's shoulder was injured but he instantly moved the sword upwards slicing Sakito’s gun held a hand apart which flung in the air. He howled in pain and sat back heavily breathing and said “You don’t know what can be the consequences, you will have to pay for” to which when Fergus replied “I don’t care for consequences but yes! Your limbs will pay for that” and sliced off another hand splashing motor oil onto Sakito’s face. He lied down yelling like a terrorized inmate of Nazi's prisons. Fergus angrily questioned him “do you know Tai Luang, his wife and his innocent daughter?”, “Do you remember how your men beheaded the family after gunning down Tai?” There was no answer but yell of pain. Fergus knew there was no point in questioning. He squeezed the sword in his neck pulling downwards till it found its way out. Losing the balance he fell on the table; meanwhile he saw Ayaka Sakito’s daughter running towards her father’s corpse. He somehow managed to turn, and before he could assault her, she came over and squeezed a gun below his chin. As she was about to pull the trigger, Fergus squeezed the sword in her throat and at the same moment bullet made its way through his chin making a blackout. By that time cops had arrived outside with more combatants and Medical assistance was provided on a high priority to the officers who were injured. Fergus too was airlifted and shifted to the Jackson Memorial Hospital where his condition was declared quite critical.

A white flashlight struck his retina forcing Fergus to close his eyes. Suddenly, a nurse looked at him with a surprise and briskly moved out calling a team doctor.  One of the doctors approached him and whispered in his ears “Do you know? You have been lying here past 20 years.” and laughed, gently assisting him to get up. Fergus remembered everything until Ayaka shot him. Doctors told him that he had been lying down here in the coma for the past two years.  Surgeons who operated stated that it was a miracle that he survived and came off the coma too. Fergus learned that he was shot below the chin and the bullet passed through getting stuck at Sphenoid bone. A doctor stated that in such a case the patient either dies or is in a comatose state for the rest of life. They had conducted an operation to get off the bullet which longed for 7 hours and saved his life, by then he had drifted in the coma. He realized that he had been in this critical care room of the Hospital for past 2 years being a living dead.

It was sunny morning, the sun kissed skyscrapers and glass buildings shined marvelously converting the town into a lustrous chunk of metal and glass compositions. The pages of the calendar fluttered stating August 2009. It was an exact two year before when Fergus was on a death ride post gunning down Sakito Yamakawa and his men. The next day a nurse came in smiling and whispered “Someone one has come to see you”. Though he didn’t expect anyone to visit him but someone expected him to be in a better state. The door slowly opened and Marianne appeared along with Ryan. They came closer and stood, he could see the joy in Ryan’s gentle smile and an overwhelmed Marianne with sparkling eyes. She greeted him with a pat “Happy Birthday, Good to see you back. Mr. Assassin” and he reciprocated back at them with a smile. A doctor entered in with a nurse stating that Fergus was doing fine and could go home too. As he was moving out of the hospital a surgeon identified him and greeted stating “Good Luck, Mr. Carter. It’s a commencement of your new life today, All the best to you and for your future endeavors”.  Walking past the lobby with Marianne and Ryan, once again the bustling life of Miami and the movement of traffic held his attention until they drove towards North Miami Beach, Miami – Dade. Watching the city’s existence were a new experience but curiosity aroused about a hollow life that waited to greet him at Browns Apartments.

Fergus insisted Ryan & Marianne to make a move as he wanted to go home on his own. He got in the lift and went on upstairs. When he reached, he learnt few things were changed on the 9th floor. The neighbor’s name wasn’t the same. The mischievous kid disappeared who always pressed other’s door bell and his name was written on the main door instead of the name plate. Warily inserting the keys, he opened the door. He found the house was in a state that he left it on a damp morning of August. It was so intact the newspaper that fluttered as the breeze swirled around dated back to August 19th 2007. The dented brass cube lied at the same spot as it lied two years before but surprisingly the name plate lied on the coffee table near the balcony. He noticed that there lied a note since a year which read “I am heading to George’s house as things have reached beyond to deal with. If at all you wish to help me, please sign the papers kept besides, Annette”.  A file lied beside the note; he opened it and learned the fact that they were divorce papers. Fergus called on Annette’s cell phone, but she didn’t answer the call. It was 4:30 in the evening. He was sipping a coffee with a smoke the mobile phone rang with Annette’s name flashing over it. He instantly answered the call but there was no surprise or warmth of care in her voice anymore, but an unexpected exclamation, as if she had accepted Fergus’s death and didn’t anticipate him to be alive.  She stated that she would be coming over by 6:00 PM to take the file and probably to spend a bit of her time.

Multiple hues had colored and shaded the Miami skies adoring it with tequila sunset on the horizon. Cool breeze flirted around the curtains playing in an out. Fergus lighted another one and stood watching the sun kissed horizons with stars shimmering from the east. The door bell rang and it was Annette at the door. She was still the same, blonde hair, deep blue eyes except the fact she had put on a bit. She silently entered in looking at him or rather thinking about the chances of his survival. He offered her a coffee, but she denied and instead asked for the file which she had mentioned in her note.  He brought over the file and asked her “Are sure about it? or.” Before He completed his sentence, she interrupted saying “I need to go by my decisions Fergus. And I don’t think I need to give it a second thought”. To which he replied “Well! Since you’ve planned for it; So I wish you all the best. Have a wonderful future ahead” He opened the file signed wherever needed and handed over it to her. She briskly took it giving a quick glance and closed the file. As he stood and strolled towards the balcony she rose and said “Fergus, I am leaving. Goodbye” he turned back and wished her. It was the last time their eyes met as strangers, and she left closing the door slowly as if one turns over the page after a chapter is over.

Fergus stood all alone overlooking the shoreline and the waves dashing against the jetty. Everything seemed to be over or rather a new chapter of life began of being on his own, precisely alone.