Dead weight (end)

Lazar frowned and the goodwill he had towards Francis was swept away in a heartbeat, 'Big mistake.'

He couldn't say that he was very surprised that Francis was trying to threaten him with the informations he had on him, but he had hoped that he wouldn't be desperate enough to convince himself that it could work.

'Anyway, now it's too late...' What Francis had just told Lazar, he would have to take responsibility for it, and having raised the possibility of betraying him was going to cost him so much that if he knew what was awaiting him he would do anything to go back in time and say 'yes' to what Lazar had proposed to him earlier.

Francis felt a change in the atmosphere which was surrounding him and Lazar, and his arrogance gave way to a much more familiar feeling for him; fear. Suddenly, he wondered what had gone through his head thinking he could threaten Lazar when it would be so easy for him to silence him.

"I-I'm sorry... f-forget what I just said." He apologized while shaking, seeing that Lazar was looking at him like a diligent gardener might look at a weed he had just discovered at the end of a long, tiring and painful day of work...

A weed that he didn't really have to bother to uproot for his work to be considered as well done, but that this gardener will nevertheless uproot even if it accentuates the pain accumulated during the day, because for him a work that isn't done conscientiously is a sloppy job.

Lazar stepped forward to Francis who did the exact opposite, "During the second week of our freshman year in high school you came up to me at my locker and told me that you knew who I was and that we could help each other." Lazar said to him in an unemotional voice, "I accepted, but also gave you a warning which you obviously didn't take seriously enough."

Lazar took another step forward and discreetly put his right hand behind his back, taking advantage of the fact that the attention of Francis was directed solely to the movements of his mouth and the sounds coming out of it, "I told you that if you ever betrayed me I would make you regret it."

"You haven't done it yet..." He added as his blade appeared in his right hand, which was still behind his back, "...but I can't afford to risk you doing it now."

Francis opened his mouth, "Laz... argh."

Lazar will never know what Francis wanted to tell him; he had just cut his vocal cords at the same time as his head.

A slicing so neat and quick that his head had remained in its place.

One wouldn't even suspect what had just happened if there wasn't blood that was beginning to drip from the clean cut at the neck of Francis...

Moreover, his eyes were still full of life during the first seconds after his beheading, which counted for Lazar as a failure since his goal in hiding from Francis that he was going to kill him was for him to not feel death coming because he knew how much Francis would fear it.

To see in his eyes anxiety and incomprehension, as if Francis had understood afterwards that his head had just disconnected from the rest of his body wasn't the result Lazar wanted to have...

But he was going to content himself with that, 'At least I don't think he suffered.'

The last glimmer of consciousness eventually escaped from Francis. His eyes became lifeless, then his body, which was rocking slightly until then, finally lost its balance.

The corpse of Francis fell backwards and hit the right back door of the truck, leaving traces of blood on it before collapsing on the road...

His head detached from the body when the corpse hit the door, landed on the sidewalk at the right of the truck then rolled less than a meter before coming to a stop.

'I warned you.' Facing this sight, Lazar did feel some kind of void, but as a result of the cold and pragmatic logic his grandfather had instilled in him about how to deal with treason; there was no remorse or sadness in him.

He stepped forward and leaned over the decapitated corpse of Francis, wiped his blade on the shirt of Francis, then didn't spare him a second glance to head towards the driver's side door of the truck, which was open since he got out of the truck.

*CLACK*

Lazar expected that as soon as he got into the truck Amandla would ask him for an explanation because she must have understood what had happened just by listening.

However, contrary to what he had expected, she didn't mention the death of Francis...

"What are you waiting for to start the car?" She asked as if nothing had happened while she saw that Lazar seemed to be waiting for something.

Lazar widened his eyes in surprise, now he was doubting that Amandla was aware that he had just killed Francis in cold blood...

But, when he turned his attention to the passenger-side rearview mirror, his doubts disappeared.

The head of Francis was clearly visible and for someone as attentive as Amandla it was unmistakable.

Seeing where Lazar's gaze was turned, Amandla spoke again in a soft and understanding voice, "Listen... I can continue to pretend I didn't see anything like before or you can talk to me. It's your choice."

Lazar sighed and made his weapon disappear into his inventory, "Keep pretending you didn't see anything."

He then made appear in his left hand a walkie-talkie coming from his inventory, "We better explain the situation to Buren and Andrew before we go so they don't find an excuse to fuck us after we arrived, don't you think?"

"Yep." She answered him promptly.

After Lazar made contact, he and Amandla heard a long sizzle coming from the other side and then... sounds of a very disturbing kind.