Adam walked with the man through the quiet streets. The man was in front leading the way. Adam watched his back. The man was too relaxed.
His shoulders were loose his steps were casual. It was the walk of someone who had no fear. It was like he knew Adam was completely under his control.
Adam’s mind raced. Why was this man so confident? Yes they had Sophia. They had found his one weakness. But how could they be so sure it would work? How did they know about Sophia in the first place? The thought was a cold knot in his stomach.
He had been so careful to keep her separate from his dangerous new life. But somehow they had found her. They had breached his defenses in a way he had never anticipated.
The man led him away from his neighborhood. They walked for a few blocks until they reached a deserted industrial area.
A large abandoned factory stood before them its windows dark and empty like vacant eyes. The man pushed open a large metal door and walked inside. Adam had no choice but to follow.
The moment he stepped into the cavernous space he saw her. The sight hit him like a physical blow stealing the air from his lungs.
The factory was filled with men. They were standing around the edges of the room their faces hard and unreadable. And in the center of the vast concrete floor was Sophia.
She was on her knees her hands tied behind her back. A man stood directly behind her. He was tall and muscular his face a blank mask. He held a black pistol pressed firmly against the back of her head.
A little way off another man was seated in a worn-out armchair as if it were a throne. He was the one in charge. A large intricate tattoo snaked across one side of his face a dragon breathing fire. Adam studied him.
The man looked experienced calm and dangerous. But his build was not that of a trained assassin. He was something else. A cigarette dangled from his lips a thin stream of smoke curling up towards the high ceiling.
Sophia’s eyes were squeezed shut. Tears streamed silently down her face leaving wet tracks on her dusty cheeks. She was trying to be brave but her whole body trembled with fear.
The sight of her tears the sight of the gun pressed to her head it ignited a fire of pure rage in Adam’s soul. It was a rage so cold and so intense it felt like it would burn him alive from the inside out.
The heavy metal door scraped shut behind Adam sealing him inside the factory. The sound echoed in the vast cavernous space. At the sound of the door Sophia’s eyes shot open.
She saw Adam standing near the entrance and a flicker of hope ignited in her chest. But that hope was instantly extinguished by a wave of crushing fear. He should not be here.
Adam walked forward his steps steady and even on the dusty concrete floor. The man who had led him here scurried away. He ran to the man sitting in the armchair the one with the dragon tattoo on his face. He held out the decoy gun Adam had thrown him.
"Boss he came quietly just like you said," the man reported a nervous excitement in his voice. "I was scared for a minute there. I thought he was going to kill me. But your plan with the girl worked perfectly."
The man with the tattoo did not look at his subordinate. His eyes were fixed on Adam. He slowly took the cigarette from his mouth blowing a lazy smoke ring towards the ceiling.
"So you’re the famous schoolboy," the man said his voice a low gravelly rumble that seemed to vibrate in the air. "You’ve caused quite a storm in the underworld."
Adam said nothing. He simply stood there his face a blank mask. He met the man’s gaze without flinching. But inside his mind was a whirlwind of calculation and despair.
He did not think he could save Sophia this time. He could feel the eyes on him from the shadows. He could sense the other men hidden among the rusted machinery.
They had guns. He could feel their barrels all pointed directly at him. He was outmanned and outgunned.
He knew he was going to die here. There was no escape.
It seems I can’t avoid it no matter how hard I try he thought a sense of grim resignation settling over him.
He had fought so hard to avoid repeating the last loop to avoid the pain of killing his friends again. But it seemed his efforts were in vain. Fate was a cruel and relentless master.
He took a deep breath the air thick with the smell of dust and decay. He squared his shoulders. He was ready. Ready to die. Ready to return. Ready to start the cycle all over again.
He would not give them the satisfaction of seeing him break. He would face his end with the same cold defiance with which he had lived his short violent life.
Adam knew this loop was a dead end. The situation was impossible. He also had no idea where the system would send him back to this time. It could be the train station. It could be somewhere else entirely. The uncertainty was a heavy weight.
The man with the dragon tattoo on his face spoke again his voice laced with a mocking amusement. "Look at this," he said gesturing towards Adam. "Just one weak little boy and the entire underworld is after him. It’s as if you’re some great threat to us."
The man stood up from his chair. He was taller than Adam had expected and his presence filled the large room.
Adam broke his silence. His voice was calm steady and devoid of fear. "Can I know your name?" he asked.