Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 521

Back at the movement’s headquarters, Zhong again walked up the set of stairs and swung open the door. He
told Chen, “I accept your job offer.” Chen seemed delighted, “Good. Let’s get to briefing then.” Zhong
was told that his job was to assassinate the all-powerful shadowy figure that ruled the Greater Bay Area, the
Chancellor. After the briefing, Zhong exclaimed, “That’s it? Nothing about where to find him or how the
job should be done?” Chen replied calmly, “No, I’m sorry. Our intelligence is very limited. However, I’d
expect that you know enough about him to get the job done.”
Zhong decided that there was no use in staying around at the headquarters, as that only increased the
chances of being discovered. He changed his clothing, put on a hooded jacket, and walked towards the train
station. He headed towards the area around the region’s governing offices, as he figured it would be the last
place that security forces would come looking for him. He knew that the Chancellor never came out of the
building for anything, so Zhong would have to find a way in. His plan was to walk back into the governing
offices building, and to pretend that he had to give a mission report to the Chancellor. Then once inside, he
would request a private meeting with the Chancellor, and finally, he would kill him with whatever tools he
could find inside, or just with his bare hands.
As he walked up to the office’s security checkpoint, the guard said, “Ah yes, Zhong, the Chancellor has
been expecting you.” At first he felt relieved, that this would be easier than expected. But then he felt a
sense of unease at the fact that the Chancellor had anticipated his presence. After all, who else would have
sent security forces after him?
As he stepped foot in the Chancellor’s office, he was shocked to see that there was no security presence. The
Chancellor spoke first, “I heard that you did the job well. Now as you know, payment is in order. Why
don’t we get that sorted?” Zhong was paranoid. He knew that the Chancellor was lying. His instincts told
him that there was a good chance he would not leave this room alive, and he now regretted his decision to
go with a rushed plan. He looked over at the Chancellor, and saw him on his cell phone. Sensing Zhong
staring at him, the Chancellor tried to relax Zhong,”I’m just telling my personnel to bring in your
payment.” For a few seconds more they sat there in silence, until Zhong felt something, or someone, was
behind him. He turned around, and saw four special forces personnel, all with guns pointed at him.
Seeing that, Zhong realised the predicament he was in.The Chancellor smiled, and proceeded to inform
Zhong of what had happened, “You see, we knew that you had not completed the mission. We wanted to
make sure you had completed the mission, and so agents were assigned to follow you. It was only seconds
after you entered the enemy’s headquarters that we found out about your defection. We didn’t know why
you chose to do what you did, but we decided that it was best to terminate you, for better or worse.
Although, as you know, the men sent to your house were unsuccessful, they spotted you just as you got in
that civilian transport, which we knew was bound for the headquarters of our enemy. Obviously, that
would mean that you would come back.To kill me. So, I prepared for that, only I wasn't expecting for it to
be so soon. Alas, here we are. So take your final breaths Zhong, and watch as I continue to take many
more.”
During the Chancellor’s speech, Zhong had been itching his hand closer and closer to his bag. He felt the
coarse fabric of his rucksack, and quickly grabbed his rifle out of it. A special forces personnel immediately
saw this, and kicked the rifle out of Zhong’s hand. What he hadn’t anticipated, was that Zhong had wanted
them to do that. He grabbed the man’s leg, and twisted it. There was a sharp crack, followed by a loud
scream. Seeing this, the other special forces fired at Zhong, but he was too quick, and he grabbed their fallen
comrade and used his body to block their shots. Simultaneously, Zhong charged at them, and as they were
all lined up, the first one he ran into fell down, followed by the second and the third. They all scrambled to
get back up, however their heavy armor made this task cumbersome. Seeing their vulnerability, Zhong
grabbed his own rifle, and not wanting to take any risks, shot them all. He then looked back to where the
Chancellor was standing, but all he saw was an open door in his place.
Zhong ran through the open door, and it led him to the building’s storage room, which was empty due to
the lack of supplies that the revolution had caused. Then, the blaring noise of the evacuation alarm followed
by flashing red lights took over the building. Not allowing himself to be bested by anyone, he wandered
through the large room cautiously, stubbornly trying to find the Chancellor and complete his mission. As he
turned a corner, he saw a movement, a sharp flash of light, and his chest filled with pain. He put his hand to
his chest, and he felt warm, sticky blood. He heard slow, rhythmic footsteps approach him. A deep voice he