Chapter - 57
The room was still full of smoke and fear.
Police officers still knelt on the floor, their hands behind their heads. So had bruises. So were bleeding, yet no one dared to move.
The Predator stood in front of them all, smiling like a man who had all the ti in the world.
"Let’s play a ga," he said softly.
His voice echoed in the silence.
Lucius raised an eyebrow, "You brought guns, bombs, and masks... and now it’s ga night?"
The Predator ignored the comnt. He turned slowly to look at his n, "Bring chairs. Line them up."
Two masked n ran off and dragged tal chairs from the nearby rooms. They placed them in a half-circle around the room.
"Put them there," the Predator pointed, "One for each cop. One for her," he nodded at Elena, "and one... for him."
Lucius smiled, "Nice. You even saved a seat. How thoughtful."
The Predator didn’t respond. His n pushed the hostages one by one onto the chairs. Elena was forced to sit, her hands zip-tied behind the chair. A guard stood behind her.
Lucius, anwhile, walked to his chair on his own, slowly and casually, like it was nothing serious. He sat down, leaned back, and crossed one leg over the other like he was in his own drawing room.
"I hope this isn’t musical chairs," Lucius said nonchalantly, "I am terrible at that."
The Predator’s face twitched as he walked into the middle of the circle.
"You see, Lucius... this is not just about revenge," he said, "I don’t do revenge. I make statents."
"This is about showing everyone who I really am. I want to see what you do when people start dying around you. When blood is everywhere. I want to watch you crack."
Lucius looked around, then fake-yawned, "Mmm. Sounds like a low-budget horror movie. Can you speed it up? I have a girl waiting for ."
The officers looked nervous. So were trembling. One man whispered prayers under his breath. Another was trying not to cry.
The Predator pulled out a coin from his pocket. A large old silver coin.
He held it up and smiled.
"Let’s make it fun. I will flip this coin. Make your call... You call it right... You live..." He pointed his gun at one of the officers, "... You die."
A few officers gasped.
Lucius chuckled, "Wow. You are like the Joker’s less-famous uncle."
The Predator smiled, taking it as a complint. He stepped toward the first officer in the row. The man had a beard, and his face was pale as paper.
"Na?" the Predator asked.
But the man couldn’t speak out of fear.
"Na!" the Predator snapped.
"J-John," the man stuttered.
The Predator smiled and raised the coin, "Heads or tails, John?"
John didn’t answer.
So the Predator flipped the coin, "Then let choose it for you... Heads."
Clink! It landed on the floor.
Tails!
Without a second thought, the Predator shot Ravi in the shoulder.
"Aaaggghhhh!!!"
Along with the gunshot, the bloody cry of John echoed in the large room. Blood sprayed back onto the floor.
One officer scread. Another vomited.
Elena clenched her fists behind her chair.
Lucius simply blinked as he watched Predator turn his gaze towards him with a smirk plastered on his face.
"Well," he said, "I guess John should have called heads., and you should have gone for his head."
The Predator smiled hearing him, "Still not scared?"
Lucius smiled, "Of a coin toss? Please."
The old man pointed the gun at Elena next, "Her turn?"
Lucius shrugged, "You really want to play with her? She’s out of your league."
The Predator smirked, "You like her, don’t you?"
"No," Lucius said imdiately, "But I do like her face. Don’t ruin it."
The Predator laughed and walked to the center again.
"You know what, Lucius? I think it’s ti to change the rules."
He turned to his n, "Pick three people. Put them in front. Give Lucius the gun."
Elena’s eyes widened, "What are you doing?" she asked.
Lucius tilted his head, "Giving a gun? Are you sure that’s smart?"
The Predator smiled darkly, "I have just too many. I am sure you won’t be stupid."
"Now!" The Predator grinned as he handed the gun to Lucius, "If you don’t shoot one... I will shoot all three."
Lucius looked at the gun in his head and then spun it casually in his hand like it was a toy. He whistled a small tune and then smiled.
"Ooh, shiny," he said, inspecting the gun like he had never held one before. "I always imagined your weapons would be... dirtier. More garage-built. More ’basent serial killer chic’."
The Predator didn’t reply. He simply stared.
Lucius turned, aid the gun up, and fired a shot into the ceiling.
BANG!
Dust rained down. A few officers flinched. Elena’s jaw tightened.
Lucius blew the imaginary smoke from the barrel, then looked at the Predator.
"You sure you want to shoot soone, old man?" he asked, still grinning, "Because I gotta tell you... I’m not in the mood to follow orders from a failed taxi driver."
The Predator’s eyes narrowed. His fingers twitched.
Lucius stepped forward and waved the gun around as he walked, casual, like he was giving a tour of a museum.
"You act like so criminal mastermind," Lucius said, "Guns. Grenades. 30 n. You storm a station like it’s a Tarantino movie. But tell sothing..."
He stopped and faced the Predator with a tilted head and an innocent smile.
"...why the hell were you driving a taxi that day?"
The room went quiet.
Lucius looked around at everyone, "Seriously, people. This guy’s supposed to be a monster, right? A ghost in the underground. But that night he was asking if I liked the air-conditioning."
The masked n exchanged confused glances.
The Predator took a deep breath, "Lucius, you are..."
"No, no, no," Lucius held up a hand, "Don’t interrupt . I am having fun."
He circled the Predator slowly, almost dancing.
"Let’s just tell the truth here, okay?" Lucius said in a mock-serious tone, "You weren’t hunting for revenge. You weren’t angry. You were just lonely."
"You picked up that day not to kill ," Lucius continued, "But maybe... to cuddle? Maybe you are one of those weirdos who wanted a son to watch cartoons with. Or maybe," he stopped, grinned wider.
"Or maybe you already had a son."
The Predator’s face twitched again.
Lucius stepped closer, eyeing him like a predator himself now.
"And maybe your son didn’t agree with your... ’hobbies’. Maybe he didn’t like the way you looked at him when you drank. Maybe he said no, and you didn’t like that."
Lucius took another step.
"Maybe that whole sob story you told about your parents neglecting you, about growing up abused, bla... bla... blah... That was just you playing victim. You weren’t broken, were you?" Lucius whispered now, eyes locked.
"You were just horny for control. And when your kid said no, you snapped."
Silence!
The air went ice cold. Even the masked n froze. So looked at the Predator, unsure.
Lucius turned away and fired another shot randomly at the floor. It bounced off and hit a tal chair.
"Oops," Lucius said with a smirk. "Guess I missed it. But hit bullseye."
Elena was staring at him now wide-eyed. Half shocked. Half impressed.
Lucius tossed the gun in the air and caught it with ease.
"You are not a gangster," he said, "You are a horny, bitter old man who didn’t get enough hugs and now wants to play ’God of War’ with cops and kids."
The Predator’s hand twitched again, this ti violently. For a second, it looked like he would strike.
But instead... he stopped. His lips curled into a smile. And then... he laughed.
At first, it was a short chuckle. Then a louder laugh. And then, full-blown maniacal laughter, loud and wild. His head tilted back as he cackled like a madman. His chest heaved, and his stomach shook from laughing too hard.
So of the masked n looked at each other nervously. The police officers tied to the chair watched in horror.
Finally, the Predator stopped and wiped a tear from his eye and stepped closer.
With a wide grin, he threw his arm around Lucius’s shoulder like they were old friends.
"I like you," he said, voice still laced with amusent, "No, no... I love you, kid. You’ve got guts. Fire. Madness. All of it."
Lucius tilted his head and smirked, "Of course you do. You finally found soone crazier than you."
The Predator laughed again, softer this ti.
"I have t all kinds," the old man said, "Cowards. Beggars. Tough guys who scream the mont they see blood. But you..." he leaned in, voice lower, "You are special. You belong with ."
Lucius blinked slowly, "Is this your weird way of proposing?"
"No," Predator smiled wider, "It’s an invitation."
He turned toward his n and then raised his arms.
"This world? It’s broken. Governnts? Trash. Laws? Chains. But we... We are the hunters."
Then he looked back at Lucius.
"Join us. Join . I will give you whatever you want... Power, won, money, toys, chaos. You can kill whoever you like. Play your gas. Live like a god."
Lucius raised an eyebrow. He stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then... he looked tempted.
His eyes glinted. His smirk deepened.
Predator noticed the shift. He smiled more.
"Anything you want," he whispered, "But just do one thing in return..."
Lucius glanced at him sideways.
The old man pointed at Elena, who was tense, breathing heavy, blood trickling down her arm from a previous hit.
"Just her," the Predator said softly, "Kill her. That’s all. Show you are not soft. Show you are like . No beauty can conquer you."
Elena’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t move. She stood tall, staring at Lucius, silent.
Lucius looked at her.
Then looked down at the gun in his hand.
He let out a long, slow breath. Then... he raised the gun, pointed it directly at Elena’s head.
He smiled.
"Sorry," he said, tilting his head, still grinning, "The offer is too tempting."
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