RURO Chapter 15

Russian Roulette /̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

CHAPTER 15

 

“The government dogs are as useless as ever.”

Vicente sneered, his gaze fixed on the closed door.

“They’ve spent years waging their little ‘war on crime,’ and yet they still don’t know how to handle a few mongrels. What a joke.”

Had Alex attempted to subdue the situation after confirming Javier’s death?

Even with their leader gone, there was still a high chance of casualties.

Perhaps, if Vicente used his abilities, he could stop the chaos before it escalated.

“Mr. Zermo.”

“Hm?”

“Could you use that ability of yours to suppress the fighting outside?”

But Vicente’s response was ice-cold.

“And why would I do that?”

“Civilians might get hurt!”

“Even if they do, that’s the government’s failure for not handling their own mess—not ours.”

“But—”

“Tessa, I already told you. It’s a secret.”

Is your damn secret really more important than innocent lives?

Tessa bit back the words she wanted to scream.

Instead, she turned toward the door.

“Then I’ll do it myself.”

“You, a C-rank, think you can fix this?”

“Sentinels exist for this exact reason!”

At that, Vicente’s expression hardened.

But they had no time to argue.

The door burst open.

Javier’s subordinates stormed in, only to be met with the corpse of their fallen boss sprawled on the floor.

Their guns immediately turned to Vicente.

But no matter how many times they pulled the triggers—

Click. Click. Click.

Not a single bullet fired.

Their weapons were utterly useless.

Frustrated, they abandoned their guns and charged forward instead, knives flashing.

Tessa moved without hesitation.

She took them on alone.

Even armed, they were no match for a Sentinel.

Javier’s most loyal men fell one after another, unable to so much as lay a finger on Vicente.

By the time she turned back around, Tessa was drenched in blood.

Vicente sat casually on the edge of the table, watching her.

Amusement flickered in his black eyes.

“Give me permission.”

“For what?”

“To go out there and save those people.”

“The ones left inside are already as good as dead.”

“That’s exactly why I need to go!”

“Have you forgotten your role already, Miss Ambrose?”

Of course, she hadn’t.

Until this mission was over, she was nothing more than Vicente’s dog.

Civilians, casualties—none of it was supposed to be her concern anymore.

But she had spent nearly a decade being conditioned by the government.

Sentinels existed to protect people.

She had loved knowing that she could do something noble.

And she still couldn’t let go of that belief.

Denying a conviction that had been etched into her very bones—

That was the hardest thing of all.

She couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

“…I have to go.”

At that, Vicente let out a laugh.

“You still think of yourself as a government-owned Sentinel?”

“I’m just doing what I can do.”

Outside, the standoff was still raging.

Without another word, Tessa bolted through the door.

The moment she stepped out, she saw bodies in suits sprawled across the floor.

Fortunately, no civilians were among them—at least, none that she could see. But that didn’t mean they weren’t still at risk.

She picked up a fallen rifle, taking a defensive position as she scanned the chaotic battlefield.

Anyone who emerged from the blind spots fell quickly under her aim.

Most of them must have evacuated by now.

Just as she had that thought, a familiar silhouette caught her eye.

Tessa instantly recognized her.

Dina.

She was still here.

“Dina! What the hell are you still doing here?!”

Tessa shouted, trying to get to her.

But Dina, terrified, let out a scream and scrambled in the opposite direction.

“Get away! Get away from me!”

Tessa grabbed her by the collar, yanking her up and shoving her toward the exit.

Just then—

A voice shouted from the stairwell.

“GRENADE! GRENADE!”

They were standing right at the base of the stairs.

Tessa’s eyes locked onto the grenade as it rolled to a stop at the bottom.

The pin was already out.

They had barely two seconds.

Tessa shoved Dina with all her strength.

“Get out! NOW!”

And in that split second, her eyes met someone else’s.

Someone running toward her.

Then—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shattered the air.

Her vision went white.

The last thing she felt was the warmth of strong arms pulling her in—

And then,

Nothing.

* * *

Knock, knock.

Alex Reed rapped his knuckles against the firmly shut door.

A familiar woman’s voice promptly responded from inside.

“Come in.”

Alex stepped into Director Hart’s office, offering a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Director Melissa Hart had already been informed of the commotion outside. It had been an expected development ever since they received intelligence that Vicente Zermo would be hosting a foreign guest.

“Give me a brief report.”

“The civilians have all been evacuated. No casualties.”

“And Carlo Javier?”

“Neutralized.”

That was the core of this operation—to corner Javier and his closest subordinates, breaking apart his influence. He had long been a thorn in his own country’s side, and his elimination served as a convenient way for the government to rid a neighboring nation of its rotting tooth.

Of course, nothing in this world came without a price. The government would undoubtedly leverage this situation to gain diplomatic advantages.

However, Javier wasn’t the only figure they needed to keep an eye on.

“And Vicente Zermo?”

“Alive. No injuries reported.”

“Of course.”

Javier’s death had been inevitable.

But if Vicente had also been caught in the crossfire and killed, it would’ve created far more problems than solutions.

For all his notoriety, Vicente Zermo was a valuable individual.

Thanks to the order he had established, crime rates in the city had visibly declined.

The public believed the government had successfully purged the underworld.

In truth, the criminals hadn’t disappeared—they had simply moved back into the shadows.

Ironically, the Intelligence Bureau now had a vested interest in keeping Vicente alive.

The chaos that would ensue if he were to suddenly vanish was too much of a headache to even consider.

Someday, they would have to go to war with him again.

But until the right moment arrived, Vicente still had plenty of unfinished business to handle on their behalf.

“The media has been instructed to report this as an attack by terrorists aligned with anti-government factions.”

“And who executed Javier?”

“Zermo personally—”

Alex abruptly cut himself off, remembering something.

He corrected himself.

“Strictly speaking, it was Tessa who carried out the execution, under Vicente’s order.”

“Tessa Ambrose?”

“Yes.”

“I heard Zermo used his ability during the meeting.”

Alex nodded.

Between the listening devices he had planted and his vantage point from the opposite building, he had monitored every detail of the exchange.

But even he hadn’t anticipated Vicente revealing his ability in front of Javier.

That alone was enough to suggest that something had truly provoked him.

Was it because of Tessa Ambrose?

Alex had heard their conversation in full.

Yet he still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had triggered Vicente’s reaction.

“Strange,” Director Hart mused. “He used his ability but left the actual execution to someone else?”

“He’s never been one to dirty his own hands.”

“And Tessa’s condition?”

“She lost consciousness briefly, but she won’t be bedridden for long.”

“Hm.”

Tessa Ambrose had been caught in the explosion.

Even for a Sentinel, surviving a grenade blast at close range was no small feat.

And yet—

It was Vicente Zermo who had saved her.

Alex chose not to report that fact.

Instead, he turned it over in his mind.

Vicente and saving someone.

The two concepts went together about as well as fish and strawberry jam.

Then again—

This wasn’t the first time Vicente had acted in ways that didn’t quite match the reputation that preceded him.

‘Why don’t you hand Tessa over to me instead?’

‘But first, let’s play a little game.’

If Alex could just get inside Vicente’s head, it would put an end to so many unanswered questions.

“Send them back to Saint Leroi once she’s discharged. The capital isn’t a place for people like them to linger.”

“Understood.”

“You’re dismissed. Good work on today’s operation.”

Alex bowed politely before exiting the director’s office.

He immediately changed direction, heading toward the wiretapping room.

Listening in on hospital conversations wasn’t particularly crucial to his mission.

But he needed to know what Tessa and Vicente were talking about.

He had to find the source of the unease creeping up from deep within him.

If Vicente had begun to covet Tessa—

If, from the very start, he had asked for her with that intent—

Then Alex was not going to stand by and let it happen.

 

 

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

☕ Hi, friends! Your support means the world to me. If you’d like, you can buy me a coffee here: Click the link on the image! 💖

Thank you for keeping me inspired! 🌸

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆