Confrontations: A Wolf Pretending To Be A Sheep, Part 12 - Knife To Knife, Part 1

Aaron was careful to avoid any nasty surprises on his way down, descending each floor carefully to avoid any hidden traps. It only took him about 12 minutes to make it to the bottom floor and another three to walk across the lobby and exit the building. Aaron's scans were clear but because of the roof top incident involving the strange white-haired Woman he was still on high alert.

Aaron wore a strange expression as he stepped out of the building, Aaron was still puzzled regarding the Woman on the roof. She seemed familiar but no matter how hard he tried it was like a buried memory just out of his reach., "My Satellites Are The Most Advanced In The World So Then... How Could THAT Woman Sneak Up On Me?"

Aaron calmly walked down the front steps of the building's entrance and made his way onto the street, His clothes were dirty and torn with blood soaking his shirt but despite his ghastly looking state he moved gracefully and with authority. In other words, "Like A Boss."

Approaching the limo and Sydney, Aaron sat down beside the still **** Woman and checked his Tec-9 and Tel-Nin, pulling the side back on each one in turn and ejecting the spent casing before ejecting the magazine which in both cases was empty so without a second thought Aaron tossed them aside and silently praised himself for making his watch so sturdy because despite The Light Shield's overload which resulted in it fusing to his hand his trusty watch was still functioning perfectly and he wasted no time bringing forth his med kit from subspace to patch up Sydney and himself.

While the experimental nano-machines were circulating through his blood Aaron instructed the nanotech in his suit to perform repairs and cleaning, and then he saw to Sydney. Luckily, She was uninjured as The Anti-Personnel Nano-Machines that had been introduced into her system were only meant to sedate her. She was incredibly lucky, In times past Nanotechnology was used to lethal effect on the battlefield and in Assassinations which is what lead to it being banned except in certain medical fields.

However, Nanotechnology was more suited to destroy a body than healing it which was why Aaron had poured so much effort and research into developing his own brand of Nanotechnology geared specifically toward healing the body. He had even taken what many would call excessive steps to prevent the Nano-Machines he designed from being reprogrammed or duplicated and used as weapons but that doesn't really matter at the moment.

Aaron had finished flushing the nano-machines from Sydney's system., "There, She Should Wake Up In A Few Hours. Its A Shame That I Can't Remove The Deactivated Nano-Machines From My Own Body But... They Appear To Be Far More Aggressive. I've Managed To Inhibit Their Growth and Spread But I Can't Get Rid of Them With What I Have On Hand At The Moment. I Guess It'll Have To Wait Until I Get Home."

Aaron made Sydney as comfortable as he could and once he was sure she was in no danger he approached the only enemy left alive at the end of the running battle he had been thrust into the middle of.

Aaron found himself standing not far from The Middle Eastern Man he had shot earlier in the night and as expected with a crushed knee and two shattered shoulders, he really hadn't made it very far. He had managed to roll onto his stomach which given his injuries must have been excruciating but given the reason he was now in this pathetic state Aaron wasn't too sorry, in fact, He was more than a little impressed because the unfortunate bastard had managed to crawl nearly a foot from where Aaron had left him.

Now a foot doesn't sound like much but when was the last time you tried to crawl on your belly like a snake with a busted knee and two practically useless arms while losing blood like a sieve? Puts things in perspective doesn't it? It was obvious that despite his ethnic background he had been enhanced probably as part of his Military Service. Those enhancements had slowed the bleeding and were busily trying to repair the damage. Sadly, Those enhancements did little to dull the pain, In fact, They probably did the opposite by making it worse depending on just how and to what extent his body had been modified.

Aaron felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing the Man who had attempted to kill him earlier trying so desperately to crawl away. I mean, Where In The Fuck Was He Going To Go? If there had been any snails nearby they would've been passing his ass like they were trying out for NASCAR.

Aaron felt a strange chill like a cold hand on his shoulder and the image of The White-Haired Woman smiling flashed across his mind, Without thinking he turned his upper body slightly and looked up to the roof across the street but the only thing he saw was white smoke dispersing into the wind, giving him an eerie feeling of Déjà Vu but he ignored it and stepped forward, eliciting a groan of surprise then a wail of pain from his wounded Prey.

Aaron shifted his weight forward and onto his right foot which pinned his would-be Assassin's ankle firmly to the ground. With more than a little effort, The Man looked behind him and Aaron could clearly see a wave of shock and then fear overtake his eyes before he turned back and tried to pull himself free. A futile effort but one must admire the determination it took at any rate.

"I See You're Still Alive.," Aaron said coldly, pressing down on the Man's ankle even harder. Just when it looked like he was going to cry out Aaron stepped back and walked around to the prone Man's side and kicked him in the ribs, breaking at least three of them in the process. The Man rolled onto his back, coughing up blood and gasping for breath. Unfazed, Aaron sat down on the sidewalk which wasn't far.

"First, I want to tell you a story in the hopes that we can avoid any further misunderstandings or useless bloodshed... When I was a child I planted Roses for my Mother and I took it upon myself to take care of them myself. My step-father's servants were more than capable of maintaining my Mother's Roses but because I love my Mother so much I just couldn't let anyone take care of them. This was before I got so sick I had to be confined to a bed and couldn't go outside anymore. One day I was trimming the Roses when I saw something I had never seen before... It was a small flying creature that made a harsh buzzing sound as it flew in an erratic pattern this way and that. Later I found out it was a Bee...," Aaron's face revealed a look of wonder and joy as the Man not far from where he sat struggled to breathe.

"... An honest to goodness Bee... Can you believe that? Who knew they even still existed.," Aaron nudged the Man on the ground excitedly., "... Anyway... I didn't have any idea what it was at the time but I was utterly fascinated by the small creature and I tried to grab it just so I could take a closer look at it and see if it was actually real. I quickly discovered that this was a mistake when in the very next second my hand was consumed by a burning pain like I had never felt before and in less than a minute my entire hand up to my wrist stiffened and swelled to the size of a large orange. The pain was indescribable but I didn't cry... Not a single tear...," Aaron said proudly then his expression turned dark.

"... At least not because of the pain. As soon as it stung me, The Bee flew away but not very fast so I followed after it with the intent to kill it for the pain it had caused me. The little thing didn't go far before it landed and I watched it struggle and breathe its last. The whole event took less than two minutes but it taught me a lesson that I will remember for the rest of my life."

Aaron looked as though he might cry at any moment., "... And that lesson was... That When We Harm Others We Also Harm Ourselves. So I decided then and there that I didn't want to hurt anyone and I certainly don't want to kill anyone but I also understand that sometimes we must do things we'd rather not do in order to survive and protect those we love the most."

Aaron's eyes revealed a cold fire as he stared down at the Man that had tried to kill him., "I mean I'm sure the Bee didn't want to die but in the end it still used all of the weapons it had to try and remove a potentially dangerous threat to it's Hive."

Aaron paused momentarily and a thoughtful expression replaced the more serious one he had moments ago., "I have no desire to harm you. I only want to ask you a few questions.," Aaron's tone was as cold as ice water.

The severely wounded Man looked at Aaron with questioning eyes before spitting at him with what meager strength he could summon., "YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED MY MEN! I'LL SEE YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY OF WHORES BURN IN THE FIRES OF HELL!"

Aaron's expression did not change but the fire in his eyes flickered violently. Without looking away and while looking the Man straight in the eyes, Aaron removed the knife the Man was carrying on his side and plunged it into his thigh up to the hilt.

The Man screamed like a dying animal caught in a trap and Aaron cupped his other hand over the Man's mouth to silence his screams., "I trust you understand what a most unfortunate choice of words that was... I suggest you confine your insults solely to myself in the future and leave My Family out of it or I will do much worse than this.," To punctuate his point Aaron wriggled the blade inside his leg, causing the Man's entire body to convulse violently., "... You have just learned another very important lesson about me... I have been gifted with an incredible level of patience but I warn you that it is not without limit. I can hurt you very badly... In ways I doubt even someone of your obvious skill set could scarcely imagine but what I want you to understand here and now is that I don't want to do that..."

Perceiving weakness, The wounded Man's eyes hardened.

"... I said I don't want to hurt you not that I can't or won't hurt you. I think I've already proven that I am more than willing to hurt you if I have to so I will give you a choice...," Aaron said as he removed his hand from The Man's mouth who struggled not to scream.

"You see this?," Aaron pointed to his watch., "It may look like an ordinary wristwatch but it contains a bank of sophisticated sensors. I'll ask you some questions and you'll answer and if you tell me the truth I won't hurt you. I'll let you live. Your injuries are nothing that cannot be fixed but refuse and I will show you pain that will make your ancestors weep in their graves."

The Man was silent.

"First, Who was your intended target? Was it me or someone else?"

The Man remained silent as Aaron watched the readouts displayed in his Virtual Hud.

Aaron sighed and shrugged his shoulders., "I guess I'm just not making myself clear so let me explain it in terms someone like yourself can understand. It will help if you think of me not as a Person but as a Weapon. It is not an exaggeration when I say that you cannot possibly imagine the effort that has gone into forging this body...," Aaron raised his left arm and flexed his muscles, his arm immediately bulging. The Man's eyes widened in shock but not at the sight of Aaron's admittedly impressive muscles, His shaking eyes were drawn to the eerily blackened scar adorning Aaron's otherwise flawless forearm., "... Into a Tool that will best serve My Family. Everything I do is for them and their Happiness. By all accounts I shouldn't even be alive but here I am and not a day goes by that I am not thankful that I get to spend one more second or one more hour with such incredible Women. I really do owe them everything... Without their Love and Support, I surely would have given up and wasted away..."

Aaron struggled to hold back the tears., "... There were days when all I wanted was for it to end but when I thought of my Mother and Sisters dressed in black, mourning my **** with no one to lift them up from their despair... That feeling was so much more painful than anything I was feeling so for them I clawed my way back from ****'s Embrace and to preserve their Happiness I have trained my mind and my body, and devoted my very Soul to their future. So rest assured that I have resolved myself to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal and that every breath I take in this World has only served to push me toward this Singular End."

The Determination in Aaron's eyes was apparent., "What I do now is not about something as petty or transient as mere fleeting ****. It is all in the name of paying back a debt. A debt incurred when a pathetic wretch like myself was given not one but five incredible gifts... My Mother... My Sisters and... The Time I Am Privileged Enough To Be Able To Spend With Them."

Aaron clasped his hands together as though he might begin praying at anytime., "... So no matter what I have to do even if that means ripping the very Soul from my own Flesh with my bare hands and handing it to The Devil himself personally... I will do it gladly if it means that My Family will not have to give up their smiles. So for the last time I will caution you against testing my will because no matter how heinous or reprehensible the things I have to do to you are to get the answers I need... I will do them and I won't lose a single second of sleep over it."

Aaron paused and gave his words a few moments to settle before confirming., "Still nothing to say?"

The Man was silent.

"Very well, Have it your way.," Aaron said calmly, taking hold of the knife buried in the Man's thigh and pushed it away from him. Like everything Aaron had done up to this point, His attack with the knife had been carefully calculated to achieve maximum effect. The knife had passed through the Man's femur vertically without breaking or shattering it and by pushing on it as he was, Aaron was in effect using the knife as a crowbar to pry the femur in half.

Doubtful the Man could hear him over his own bloodcurdling screams but Aaron spoke in a smooth, natural tone at a volume suited to casual conversation., "You will spill your guts to me one way or another even if I have to spill them for you. Now let's begin again... Shall we?"

Body Count:

For Those of You Who Are Interested In The Number of Bodies Dropped By Aaron But Don't Want To Go Too All The Trouble of Pulling Out A Tally Sheet and Keeping Track Yourself:

• Confirmed Kills: 0 (But He Sure Is Making That Fucker Live Hard!)
• Unconfirmed Kills: 0 (What?! Again Nothing?!)