Kenzii's eyes swept across the ruined laboratory. It seems like he wasn't satisfied. Without a second hesitation, he raised his rifle once more, spraying automatic bullet fire into the remaining gear and chemical supplies until the last bullet in the magazine spent itself. When the chamber clicked empty, he tossed the useless rifle aside like trash.
A far corner burst into flames where a bullet hit a drum of volatile chemicals, but Kenzii's face remained an unreadable mask.
"Kenzii, head straight to the hallway, the last door is the office where Garza is—he's panicking in there," Sota's urgent voice crackled through the earpiece. "Hurry before he escapes from the exit."
Kenzii glanced back toward the door he had entered, tilting his head at the update.
Taking long, deliberate step, he moved down the passage leading to the end room Sota had indicated.
Behind him, the laboratory he had just ruined was rapidly engulfed in roaring flames.
He drew his gun and unscrewed the suppressor. He found himself preferring the raw, uninhibited roar of gunfire tonight.
Reaching the heavy office door at the end of the hall, he turned the handle, but found it locked. A dark, amused smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"As if a locked door is going to stop me."
Kenzii casually pressed the mouth of his handgun against the lock mechanism and squeezed the trigger twice. Once the deadbolt shattered, he nudged the door open with his boot.
He let out a dry, chilling chuckle at the sight of Garza frantically scooping loose documents out of his desk drawers, his eyes wide with terror.
"W-Who are you? What do you w-want?" Garza gasped, his gaze darting frantically toward the threshold as if searching for someone. "Hey! You useless bastards, where the hell are you?! The enemy is in here! Idiots!" he screamed, rummaging through the lower compartment in panic.
With violently trembling hands, Garza dragged out a small hard-shell briefcase. Inside was a high-caliber pistol, a spare magazine, and loose bullets. His hands shook so badly that he dropped several bullets onto the desk while trying to load the magazine.
"Fuck! Dammit!"
"Well, look at that. A man as big and ugly as you, acting like such a pathetic coward," Kenzii drawled, casually observing the man.
Garza managed to force a single bullet into the magazine, slapped it into the grip, and racked the slide. He aimed the weapon at Kenzii with trembling arms.
"G-Get back, you motherfucker!"
Kenzii's eyes widened slightly before he broke into a loud, mocking laugh.
Back in his condo, his two cousins watching through the live feed from the CCTV of Garza's office flinched in surprise at his sudden outburst.
Kenzii doubled over, clutching his stomach in dramatic laughter while covering his face with his gun hand. He acted as if there was no weapon pointed at him.
"W-What the hell is so funny?! You're insane! I'll kill you!" Garza shrieked, pulling the trigger. The bullet cracked through the air, grazing Kenzii's hair.
Kenzii's laughter cut off instantly. He lowered his hand and stared at Garza. The mocking hilarity vanished from his expression, slowly replaced by a cold, pitch-black void.
"Stupid old man. I didn't even bother dodging, and you still managed to miss?" He raised an eyebrow.
Kenzii raised his own weapon, pointing it directly at Garza. The drug lord recoiled, backing up until his spine hit the far wall.
Kenzii pulled the trigger in a rapid, unsuppressed rhythm that thundered through the room, only stopping when the slide locked back empty.
Garza slid down the wall onto the floor, clutching his ears and sobbing hysterically.
Every single bullets had deliberately grazed his head, shredding the massive framed portrait of Garza hanging on the wall right behind him.
Kenzii casually tossed the empty handgun over his shoulder and took slow, measured steps toward Garza, who had visibly wet himself on the floor.
Using his boot, Kenzii hooked a leather swivel chair, dragged it over, and sat down comfortably directly in front of Garza.
He unsheathed his combat knife from his thigh rig. Leaning forward slightly, he used the flat tip of the blade to lift Garza's chin.
Pure horror filled Santiago's eyes as their gazes locked.
For a split of a second, Kenzii's left eye seemed to glitch, turning solid, pitch-black before snapping back to normal.
"W-Who are you? What do you w-want from me?" Garza stuttered, scrambling backward along the floor until his back hit a row of bookshelves. "I-I'll give you everything! Just please, don't kill me!" he begged, pressing his palms together in desperate plea.
"Hmm. Good question," Kenzii replied smoothly, crossing one leg over the other.
"Kenzii, wrap it up. The fire is spreading fast, filling the lower levels with smoke—the fire alarms are about to—"
Before Sota could finish his sentence, deafening alarms began blaring throughout the entire complex.
"Police response will be on-site within five minutes. Move now," Sota pressed over the comms.
Garza's eyes darted upward at the sound of the siren, and the terror on his face suddenly morphed into a malicious smirk.
"Ha! Fuck you! The cops are on their way!" Garza cackled. Kenzii simply raised an eyebrow, entirely unfazed.
"And?" Kenzii responded flatly.
He reached up and pulled down his balaclava face mask, exposing his features. Garza's smirk instantly evaporated, his eyes widening in shock.
"Now that you've seen my face, do you honestly think you're walking out of here alive?" Kenzii tapped the flat side of the blade against his own cheek, feigning deep thought. "Actually, I might let you live. Maybe even your three children—"
"You bastard! Leave my kids out of this!" Garza snarled. Kenzii only smirked in response.
"Ah, you don't like that idea? What a shame," Kenzii chuckled softly. "Though... I suppose I could grant your wish. If—and only if—you hand over everything you have."
Garza froze, blinking in disbelief.
"I-I don't have—"
Before he could finish his lie, Kenzii lunged forward, grabbing Garza by the hair on top of his head and driving the tip of the combat knife against his neck.
"Don't play stupid with me." Kenzii pressed the blade in slightly, breaking the skin and drawing a trickle of crimson blood down Santiago's throat.
"Argh! Fuck, stop!"
Kenzii retracted the knife, shoving Garza's head back violently before landing a heavy boot directly across the man's face.
"Casa de Bell xxxxx... residential zone," Kenzii purred. Garza's eyes dilated in absolute terror at the mention of his mansion address. "I wonder how many bullets of hollow-points your children can take?"
Garza scrambled forward on his knees, tears mixing with the blood streaming down his battered face.
"I-I'll give you everything! Kill me if you want, just please... don't touch my children!" Garza sobbed frantically. Kenzii didn't even bother looking at him, casually scratching his eyebrow.
"Where is it?" Kenzii demanded.
"H-Here! It's here!" Garza crawled toward the lowest shelf against the wall. He shoved aside a row of heavy books, revealing a concealed wall safe underneath.
Garza spun the combination dial with frantic precision. As the heavy door clicked open, Sota and Alas stared wide-eyed at the chest-cam stream—the safe was packed with rows of solid gold bullion and raw diamonds.
"Pack them into attaché cases. I know you have them in here," Kenzii ordered. Garza scrambled to obey immediately.
Garza stuffed two large leather attaché cases to capacity before shoving them toward Kenzii.
"Kenzii, police units are entering the main gates! Get out of there now!" Sota warned sharply.
Kenzii stood up, grabbing Garza by the collar. He scooped up a stack of sensitive documents Garza had been gathering earlier, rolled them tightly, and shoved them into his tactical vest. Picking up a loose piece of paper, he grabbed a marker from the desk, scribbled a quick note, crumpled it into a tight ball, and jammed it roughly into Garza's mouth.
"Don't spit that out. Get up and carry those cases," Kenzii commanded cold-bloodedly. Garza followed the order without a word of protest, stumbling forward.
Stepping out of the office, the path Kenzii had previously carved through was entirely consumed by inferno, accompanied by muffled explosions as chemical tanks ruptured. The fire was advancing rapidly.
Kenzii drew his gun, holstered his blade, and led Garza toward a side emergency exit, keeping the muzzle pressed into the man's back.
He pulled his mask back up over his face as they pushed through the exit doors. They emerged into a secluded rear alleyway behind the facility, enclosed by a perimeter wall. Kenzii peeked around the corner—siren lights flooded the front entrance as police units surrounded the perimeter.
"I guess I have no choice." Kenzii stripped the tactical glove off his left hand and shoved it into his pocket.
Garza watched in paralyzed horror as the young man's bare left hand began to warp, transforming into a monstrous claw with razor-sharp talons.
Kenzii placed the clawed hand against the concrete wall, feeling the structural density for a brief second before slamming a fist through it with terrifying force.
The impact blew a hole through the wall, just wide enough for a person to pass through.
"I believe it's time for you to die." Before Garza could even react, Kenzii's clawed hand punched straight through the left side; his whole fist was completely inside Garza's chest. "Don't worry. Your children will remain safe, just as I promised," he whispered in Garza's ear.
When Kenzii tore his hand back out, he was holding Garza's still-beating heart.
On the other side of the live feed, Sota turned ghost-white, staring at the heart visibly pulsing in Kenzii's monster grip.
He had never seen a human heart extracted up close like this—even through a screen. He knew he never wanted to witness it in person.
He is the most composed among the three of them, but surely, he is also the one who has never seen such brutal acts. Although Alas is easily frightened and often seems clueless, he is actually more exposed to those kinds of things than he is
Garza collapses on the ground, lifeless, his eyes still open and with a big hole in his chest.
Kenzii opened a tactical pouch, tossed Garza's heart inside, and secured it to his belt as if it were nothing more than a routine objective.
He watched as his demonic hand swallowed the remaining blood into his hand before turning back to normal.
He then picked up the two attaché cases packed with gold and diamonds, stepping through the breached wall toward his escape vehicle.