However, when he saw the gun fall from Dick’s hand and the man clutching his right arm, he knew that Corvus had fired the shot. In a cowardly move, he had used Yuto as a shield and aimed at Dick’s dominant arm.
“You would never be able to shoot me with Yuto between us. You would be too afraid of hurting him on accident. Victory was mine from the beginning.”
Corvus approached Dick, his gun still aimed. Yuto realized that he was trying to pick up the fallen gun, and to get ahead of him, recklessly threw himself at it. He grabbed the gun with his right hand and rolled on the ground, springing up to kneel and aiming the barrel at Corvus.
“Stop it, Yuto!” yelled Dick from behind, but Yuto did not take his aim off Corvus. Yuto slowly got to his feet, his gun still trained on the man. Corvus tilted his head and gave him a perplexed smile.
“Well, I didn’t expect this turn of events. Are you going to kill me with that gun?”
“I won’t. I’m going to arrest you and hand you over to the FBI.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want that. Not at all.”
Corvus seemed unfazed despite his words, and looked around leisurely.
“Hey, Yuto. What a beautiful night view, wouldn’t you agree? Would you like to look over this ocean of lights from a higher spot? I’m extending you an exclusive invitation to the best seat in the house. All of New York’s nightscape will be yours.”
“Enough kidding around. Corvus, hurry up and put your gun d—”
Yuto clamped his mouth shut and pricked his ears. He was hearing a strange noise that he couldn’t place. And it was getting louder.
“Looks like my ride is finally here.”
Just as the sound clicked in Yuto’s head, an enormous black helicopter abruptly rose into view behind Corvus.
The helicopter made a tight turn above Corvus before descending rapidly toward the heliport. It was UH-1, informally called a Huey.
“Yuto, get over here! Run inside…!” Dick yelled behind him. As soon as Yuto tried to move, two shots grazed his feet as if to warn him.
“Yuto, where are you off to? It’s time for our wonderful rendezvous.”
Yuto pointed his gun at Corvus as he approached, but it was clear that it was in vain. A group of men had disembarked from the Huey and were running toward him with machine guns. They were already aiming at Dick and Yuto. One suspicious movement, and they would be shot. The swift movements of the men clad in camouflage made it clear that they were professionally-trained military.
“Just take the Oriental one,” said Corvus. The men ripped the gun from Yuto and cuffed his hands behind his back. Meanwhile, one of the men continued to point his gun at Dick, discouraging him from moving.
Once the men surrounded Yuto and began walking, Dick sprang into action. He charged the man who was pointing the machine gun at him, and took him down with one bare-handed blow.
He moved gracefully like a wild animal, but because of his injured right arm, he fumbled slightly snatching the man’s machine gun away from him. Corvus took advantage of Dick’s handicap to take another shot, which hit Dick in the leg.
Even Dick was unable to handle the excruciating pain; he let out a roar and crumpled to the ground. Fresh blood streamed from his thigh and formed a dark pool on the ground.
Yuto struggled with all his might, but was unable to take a step toward him with the burly man holding him down. In fact, he was being taken further and further away.
Dick managed to prop half of himself up, as if in response to Yuto’s calls. His sculpted face was twisted in pain. He had taken two bullets; it was astonishing that he was still conscious.
“Are you alright, Dick? Hang in there!”
Yuto twisted his neck to desperately look back at Dick even while he was being led to the helicopter. Corvus, who stood between them, looked down at Dick.
“Yuto will be coming with me for a bit. I’m taking him back to my old haunt. Haven’t been back in a while, after all.”
“Corvus… Yuto has nothing to do with this. Give him back…!” Dick roared, his eyes fiery with hatred.
“Oh, but he does have something to do with it. He chose to play the game. Dick, it’s all part of the fun. Who knows what card you’ll draw? Who knows what you’ll get with the next roll of the die? What fun would it be if you knew what hand you were going to be dealt? Enjoy the game with me, Dick – a game where you have no idea what’ll happen next. A game that’ll make you fear for your life. How thrilling is that?”
Corvus jerked his chin and signalled for his subordinates to make Yuto board the Huey. Both of the large sliding doors were thrown open, and the men were already starting to board. Corvus also slowly approached the Huey amidst the deafening noise of the spinning rotor.
Yuto was made to sit down in the cabin and was restrained on both sides. Yet, he continued to search frantically for Dick on the ground. He spotted the man on the other side of Corvus. He saw Dick struggling to get to his feet.
“Dick…!” Yuto yelled. Corvus turned around. Dick was walking toward him, bleeding and dragging his injured leg behind him. Corvus gave him an amused smile.
“What grit,” he said. He then hopped up and climbed into the cabin, waving his hand tauntingly at Dick.
“Dick, if you want to get Yuto back, you better chase me to the ends of the earth. You of all people should be able to find me – Dick Burnford, former sworn brother of mine.”
The enormous helicopter floated upwards. Dick teetered precariously, buffeted by the fierce wind whipped up by the helicopter’s two rotor blades.
“Dick!” Yuto screamed, leaning out of the Huey as it pulled away. Dick, too, looked only at him as the wind whipped about.
Dick yelled something at him, but the chopping of the blades drowned it out before it could reach Yuto’s ears. As they gazed at each other, the distance between them continued to widen.
In a matter of minutes, Dick’s injured figure was swallowed up in the sea of lights below them.
“So you’re really going back to the States, huh, Bonaham?”
Bonaham had been packing his suitcase when the boy – or rather, young man – had opened the door to come in. Indeed, the young man was no longer a boy, and had surpassed Bonaham in height long ago.
“I’ve always told you I would. I’m an old man. I’m actually overdue for retirement.”
Bonaham hadn’t expected to live at this camp for so long. He had come without much though, attracted to the generous compensation and figuring that three years would accumulate him a fair bit of spare change. He had ended up staying here longer than expected, not because of the money, but because of this young man.
As one who had reared the boy into a twisted man, he had felt that it was his responsibility to witness the tragic end that the young man was bound to meet. However, the young man ended up being blessed with the type of luck rarely seen in most people. Although his chance at a normal, happy life had been ripped from him by selfish adults, in return he had unmistakably gained the favour of the goddess of victory.
As a warrior, the young man was already almost full-fledged. He had mastered the use of various types of weapons and ammunition, and was well-versed in battle deployment in various settings. His judgment and leadership abilities were sufficient enough to make him a commander of a Special Forces unit.
“What are you going to do once you go back to the USA?”
“I’ll relax and unwind. My young sister’s living in Florida, so I’ll probably visit her first.”
Bonaham closed his suitcase and lowered himself into a chair at the table.
“…You seem busy lately,” he said. “You haven’t been coming back to the camp much. What are you up to?”
“A lot of things,” the young man said, smiling as he leaned back against the wall. “Willy gives me a lot of work to do.”
Bonaham knew that the young man frequently travelled between the USA and South America. He cycled between several fake passports that Willy had provided him and was carrying out dirty jobs with others in his team.
“You spend most of your time in the States, don’t you?” Bonaham said. “Have you gotten used to life there?”
“Pretty much.” The young man sat down across from Bonaham. “I’ll miss you, you know,” he murmured. “You taught me a lot of things. I’m very grateful.”
“No need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”
His heart ached to hear the young man thank him. Bonaham linked his hands on the table, feeling as if he was about to give a confession. He felt an urge to apologize and be forgiven, but the young man would probably not understand why Bonaham was sorry.
“Take care. I won’t forget you. I’ll remember you ‘til the day I die.”
For some reason, the young man smiled wryly as if in disappointment.
“So that means you’ll forget about me soon. That makes me sad.”
Bonaham knitted his brow, but his face soon froze. The young man was holding a handgun on the table across from him. Bonaham’s heart began pounding fiercely.
“I can’t let you go back to the States. Your life is going to end here.”
“Why? Why would you kill me?”
Bonaham could still understand if the young man hated him. But on the contrary, the young man tilted his head like a young dove and flashed him an innocent smile.
“Willy’s orders. He wants you dead.”
So it was him. Perhaps it was only natural for a careful man like him to want to get rid of Bonaham. Bonaham had come to know too much.
“Can you bring yourself to kill me? I’ve taken care of you since you were little. I was like your surrogate father. Why are you listening to Willy?”
Bonaham stared down the barrel of the gun, overcome with bitter regret.
“You’re the one who brought me up to follow Willy’s orders and Willy’s orders only. Now you’re asking why?”
The young man’s eyes were empty save for a tepid smile. There was no murderous intent, no determination, no hesitation, no sadness. Nothing.
The young man was right. Bonaham was the one who had repeated Willy’s name to the young man ever since he was small, instilling in his heart an absolute loyalty to him. Bonaham was the one who had skilfully manipulated the child’s psyche.
“I really am grateful for you. But this is where we part ways. Goodbye, Bonaham.”
Bonaham nodded sadly. He couldn’t even muster the desire to run. The moment of his divine punishment had come, in the most appropriate form.
As if in answer, the young man pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of the gun, shattering Bonaham’s skull, and abruptly drawing the curtains on the last chapter of his life.