The System's Deadly Game

"Tell me, Naomi, why am I doing this?" The man grumbled on his earpiece as he crawled on the ground. It was utterly dark around him, and not even the faint light from the warehouse could not help him much. He could only rely on his other senses to feel where he was going as he followed the soft light.

"Hunter, our mission is to kill the target before he signs the deal with his client. We only have a few hours before this client gets here." Naomi repeated the same words she had told him when they had taken the mission.

"Great. Is our target even here?"

"Hunter, the man is inside the warehouse. I checked the CCTV around the place, and he has not left since yesterday." Naomi replied as she slurped on her noodles.

"Are you sure, Naomi? I don't see even one soul here. This place is more deserted than a graveyard." He muttered as he inched closer to the warehouse. "Graveyards are at least fine. We might find some ghosts or lost souls."

"Why? Are you interested in having a chat with them?" Noami mumbled with her mouth full of noodles.

"Why not? It would be interesting to find a ghost. I might even go on a date with the ladies out there." He joked, and Naomi rolled her eyes.

"And offer them what? Your blood?"

"Oh no, no. My blood is precious. Maybe I might offer yours." By now, he had reached the back door of the warehouse, and he got up, looking around him to make sure that no one was in view.

"I am at the back door." He revealed his position, and Naomi immediately checked the camera covering the area.

"Coast clear."

The man checked the door. But it was locked from the inside. "Fuck!!" He cursed under his breath.

"Language, Hunter." Naomi reprimanded at once.

"Fine, fine." Hunter crouched low and tested the door. It was not latched but locked from the inside. "Locked."

"Great, you know what to do," Naomi stated, and Hunter pursed his lips in frustration.

"Keep a lookout. I will check if any windows are opened." Hunter stated. Although breaking a door was not a difficult task for him, it would only gain the attention of the people inside the warehouse. Also, the door seemed sturdy and old, and Hunter was sure he could not open it without making any noise.

"I am on it." Naomi pushed herself closer to her table and typed a string of codes, and immediately, all the cameras running in the warehouse came to life, showing her the situation.

"Third window on your left." She uttered as she continued to survey the area waiting for Hunter to enter the warehouse.

"Couldn't you tell me before about it? We wouldn't have wasted all this time." He complained, and Naomi shook her head in helplessness. "Anybody around?"

"None. You can get in."

Hunter pushed the window up until there was enough space for him to get inside. Naomi waited until the man was inside before she started instructing him again. "I have access to all the cameras inside the warehouse, and our target is nowhere to be seen. There is only one place I can't see, and it is the last room on the right corridor from where you are standing."

"Roger. Any guards or dogs on watch."

"Not anywhere around you. There seems to be a party going on in the basement." Naomi stared at her laptop screen, watching the men gamble and drink their night into oblivion. Some people were even having fun with drugs, and Naomi was disgusted by just seeing them.

"That would make my work easy. But, of course, I will charge extra if I must kill anybody other than our target." Hunter remarked as he held his gun before him and charged forward in the direction Naomi commanded him.

"Sure. I too hope that you kill more people. We could extort more money from our client then." She giggled on the earpiece, and Neil scoffed lightly.

"Greedy woman."

"All learned from you."

Hunter rushed forward carefully not to make any sound and took the corridor Naomi had told him to.

"Take the last room. Be careful, I don't know where he is."

Hunter did not speak as he continued walking towards his destination while Naomi watched from the cameras working in that corridor. He leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath as he tried the door, and to his surprise, it opened.

"Hunter, I see two men walking in your direction. They are right around the corner." Naomi warned, and Hunter entered the room before they could get to him. Naomi observed the three men as she held her breath anxiously. She only released her breath when she saw the two men enter the first room.

Now Hunter was entirely out of her sight, and all she could do was talk to him on the earpiece and wait for him to speak once he completed his mission. "Hunter, what do you see inside? Is our target in there or is the place empty?"

As expected, she did not hear any reply from him and her nervousness grew. 'He must have met his target.' So she thought to herself and waited for the good news. However, time passed and she did not hear a word, and the only thing that kept her calm was that she could still hear his breathing.

Meanwhile, Hunter was met with absolute emptiness when he entered the room. The dim light from the table at the farther end of the room was the only source, and Hunter was glad that at least he could see what the room looked like. He took slow, careful steps, keeping an eye around him. His hand was stretched before him, his gun ready to kill anyone who might pop out of nowhere.

Hunter frowned when he saw the empty room, and he was just about to question Naomi about it when he heard voices behind one of the doors.

'A secret room.' He inched closer to the room and leaned against it to listen to what was happening when the door opened, and the man Hunter was looking for stepped out with a huge grin.

Hunter was quick at pressing the trigger, but the man was faster at dodging the bullet, and even before Hunter could press the trigger again, someone shot his hand and right knee. "Fuck!!" He groaned out loud before he dropped to his knee.

"What happened? What happened?" Naomi was waiting for him to speak, and she jumped in her chair when she heard his cry.

Noami did not hear Hunter's voice. Instead, she heard another man's voice. Although the man was quite far away, she could still hear him. "Welcome to my abode, Hunter. You fell right into the trap I set for you."