MARS THE GENTLE KILLER (Part Eight)

Copyright (c) 2022 Revised Edition by Unus Vocate.

MISTER X

There is a solitary figure moving thru the Forest.

Like a hungry Animal that is stalking its Prey; crouching low, keeping in the Shadows; he stares straight ahead, watching the Hunting Lodge where his next Target is staying. He makes no sound as he draws near; the only evidence of his approach are his Foot Prints in the freshly fallen Snow and the Vapor of his Breath as it turns to Ice Crystals in the Frozen Air. Coming up to the edge of the Tree Line, he stops and forces himself to wait. Wait for just the right moment ... Wait.

The darkness of the Night is slowly fading to grey as the Sun comes up from behind the Hills. Then, topping over the ridge, suddenly spilling its luminescence out to flood the Valley with its golden light -- it is Sunrise!

And the perfect time to attack.

Announcing his presence with a burst of Gun Fire, he starts running towards the Lodge. The men inside the Cabin are startled by the Spectacle unfolding before them, and dismayed by the strange Image Mars is now presenting.

An Aberration in Orange; screaming like an Animal, firing his Rifle in the Air, Zig Zagging, as he runs towards them --Attacking! --Attacking!

Indifferent to their reactions, indifferent to anything they might do, he runs up to the Lodge, to come and dive, head first, thru a Window in the Den. With the broken glass cutting razor like slits in his head and with the blood from his wounds making pretty little splashes of red on his Jumpsuit; he crashes thru the window to hit the floor with a rolling motion that instantly brings him to his feet.

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Spraying the room with a wild burst of hot lead, he is aiming deliberately high above their heads, so as not to injure any of the men; as his bullets smashes the rooms decor and destroys the natural Rustic Beauty of the Den; while he seeks out his Prey.

(He did not intend to harm any of the men but unfortunately, a stray Bullet ricocheted off the Fireplace to strike Jim in the knee, shattering his Knee Cap and dropping him to the floor. While another round bounced off the Wall to strike Nick in the forehead, inflicting a lethal Death Blow, and ending his life. It was an Accident, an Incidental Contact, it was not what he had planned to do. The Value of a Personal Relationship reduced to the Impact of a Stray Bullet? No, that was not his Intention. There was only one person he had come for, and only one thing he had hoped to accomplish here today.

He had come to kill Mister X.)

As soon as Mr. X saw who it was, he tossed his gun to the floor, to stand there defenseless before him. The rest of the men took their cue from him and they also threw down their weapons to stand passive before Mars. No one in the room dares to move, to speak, or even to breathe. The threat is too real, the danger too intense -- to ignore.

The Progress of their Lives was now being measured out in Seconds, while an impending Sentence of Death hangs over them all.

Be Silent -- Be Still -- Don't Provoke Him!

Survive ... Survive ... 124

Finally, Mister X breaks the spell.

Moving slowly, and oh so deliberately, he walks in front of Mars and towards a small table where a bottle of Wine and some half filled glasses stand guard over an interrupted Card Game. Totally ignoring Mars and the Deadly Threat standing before him, he pulls out a chair, sits down and lifts up a glass of Wine. Discreetly tasting the inexpensive Table Wine, he savors its Aroma and gauged its Character like a Taste Tester who is judging the value of a prized Vintage.

Mars brings his rifle around to aim at Frank; the man who was like a Father to him ... his Friend and Benefactor ... and his finger starts to squeeze the trigger, just one little squeeze and the Job will be done. Just one squeeze --

Altho the trigger was set for a sharp, crisp, set off at 3 pounds of pressure, he finds to his surprise that he can not fire the weapon! His fingers feel weak, his palms are wet with sweat, and he can not find the strength needed to pull the trigger! He stands there cradling the gun in his arms, posed and ready to fire; trying as hard as he can to shoot the rifle -- but he can not do it!

Determined to make his reluctant muscles obey his commands, he intensified his grip as he tries to pull the trigger. Desperately fighting with his own hands and his failing grip, the sweat begins to form on his forehead as he starts trembling with the effort.

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Struggling with himself fire the weapon; the trembling increased till his arms and the whole upper part of his torso were shaking so badly, he is unable to keep the weapon aimed at Mister X. Seeming to act of its own accord, it veered; turning to the left, turning to the right, avoiding him ... avoiding him.

He is caught in an emotional crisis; attempting to fire the rifle but unable to pull the trigger; with the blood and sweat matting his hair and mingling together as it runs down his face; while the object of his frustration sits at the table, calmly sipping Wine.

He is standing there trembling, holding a gun he can not fire, while from deep inside his chest, the beating of his heart is growing stronger, becoming louder, blocking out all other sounds, beating so hard that it seems as if it will burst inside him; its sound repeating ... pounding in his brain. A Wreck of Passions and Ideas all Confused; disoriented and unable to function, unable to do anything other than be a helpless Victim of his own Impersonal Beliefs. Just standing there.

After a few painfully long, silent moments had passed; during which Mister X and the men were all so perfectly still, so knowingly quiet; he takes a deep breath, as if to gather enough strength to carry on with his miserable life, and lets the rifle drop to the floor. (Releasing it and also releasing all of the emotional intensity he has felt of late, quite simply, by opening his hand.) With a sigh of resignation, he walks over to sit at the table beside Mr. X. 126

As a peace gesture, Frank poured out a drink of Wine and placed it before him. When Mars ignored the glass and just sat there looking down at the table, he asked, "Who put you up to this?" His tone of voice was soft and sympathetic.

"Villetto." Came the weak reply.

"Villetto!" Mr. X snapped out with such harshness that he frightened Mars. "I will attend to him personally." He said as he began to tap his fingers impatiently on the table. "I will see to him!" He said with the bitterness of hatred sounding thru in his voice.

Always concerned with the welfare of his men, Mr. X pointed towards Mars and told his men. "Someone get him a towel...so he can wipe his face." Then he gestured for his nephew, Paul, to come closer and speaking to him in a private, hushed, tone of voice, he asked how Jim was doing? And when he was told that he had been shot in the leg but that the injury didn't seem to be serious, he was relieved as he replied, "Thank Goodness! Well that's good. We can help him...help him to recuperate." But when he asked about Nick, and Paul only shook his head "No" Mister X was not so forgiving.

"God Damn It!"

He exploded as he turned towards Mars. "What the hell have you done? What's the matter with you? Nick was your friend. He liked you and you liked him...and now you have killed him. Why?

Damn it all!" 127

The anger was strong within him, but after pausing for a few moments to recover his composure, he was able to speak to Mars in a more measured tone of voice.

"My Son, look at what you've done. To both Jim and Nick. How could you do this?"

Mars had a blank expression on his face as he looked around the room with a great curiosity like he didn't understand what had happened or what had caused this scene of spilled blood and crisis to occur.

Mister X put his hands out, palms up, in front of himself and moving them from side to side in short quick motions, he gestured towards Nicks' body.

"And Nick, he was a good Family Man. What's to become of his Family now?"

Mars said nothing in reply, instead he only looked at him with such a sheer naked expression on his face, an expression so totally devoid of pretense and so lacking in reserve, that Mister X couldn't help but to marvel at the strange nature of the Spirit that dwelt within him.

("The boys' soul is Innocent and without Evil." He thought as he looked at his face. "He's so damned Innocent he doesn't even know Right from Wrong!") He could see that Mars, while competent in some things, was also very naive and had to be taken by the hand and led to his responsibilities.

"Teddy, Nicks' Family is now your responsibility. His children are now your children, and his wife must be like a sister to you. 128

You will see to their health and welfare and you will also provide them with enough money so they won't be lacking in the finer things in life."

"I will." Mars answered obediently.

"Did Val pay you to kill me?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Fifty thousand."

"What! Only fifty?" He joked and looked half offended as he spoke to his men who were attending to the injured Jim and also to Nicks' body. "I thought I'd be worth ah lot more than that!" Then turning back towards Mars, he spoke harshly.

"You must give that money, every last cent of it, to Nicks' Widow! And you must also pay for Nicks' Burial and for all of the other Funeral Expenses."

"Yes Sir."

"And to James here, you must also give him fifty thousand as well as paying for all of his Medical Bills."

"Yes Sir."

"Plus, I must have your promise, your most solemn Vow, that you will never, never again, not under any circumstances, attack me or any of the men."

Without hesitation, Mars got down on his knees in front of him and taking hold of his hand, tenderly kissed it.

"Yes. Of course. I promise. I, uh, I know it's hard for you to understand what I was trying to do here today, and I won't blame you for anything you might want to do in revenge, that's not important. I'm not important. The only thing that really matters is that -- I love you!

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I hope you can see that. I hope you can understand the way I really feel towards you and ... if you can find in your heart to be kind ... to love me as much as I love you."

Mister X looked in his eyes and realized that his prized pupil, his Protege, had gone bad and become nothing more than a mindless -- Killing Machine. Despite his Oath of Loyalty, and his completely sincere intentions, he knew he could never again be trusted and that he would be a threat to him for so long as he lived. There was a Father and Sons' love between them, yes that was true. But it was also true that the Will to Live beat ever so strongly in his heart and he would not compromise his own personal safety for another persons benefit, no matter how dear they were to him.

He looked at his face and pretended to accept the promises that were so earnestly given but deep within him the cold barren Winds of Death had begun to stir around his Heart as he thought about how best to protect himself from this danger, this Lethal Menace named -- Mars. As he stood up and pulled him close, to tell him with an embrace that all was Forgiven, his mind was already busy scheming and working on the plans for his Death.

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