“Start Operation Retribution!”

After the men heard the voice, they instantly dispersed in all directions. Wade had given them orders to scout out the entire castle and see where Rose’s company was before engaging.
A few minutes later, a few men came back with news. There were 2 entrances to the castle. The main one where you had to cross a large moat about half a mile away from the castle. There was also a small back door on the other side of the main entrance. It went past the moat through a small tunnel underground.
‘With this information, I can formulate a plan to fully eradicate Rose and her company. However, we probably need to spare Rose for plans later on in the future. First, we need some sort of weapon to defend the back entrance and a way to surround the main entrance.’
As the question ran through his mind multiple times, Wade had decided on an outcome. By now, all of Rose’s political prisoners were in his hands and they had come back from scouting the outer wall. Surprisingly, everyone was cooperative when they heard his plan.
This was a one-person plan. Wade would use the weapons he had on him to disarm and kill a few guards before handing out the weapons he had looted to the people around him. Afterward, Wade would capture Rose as doing so would give them great benefits. They would then surround the remains of Rose’s party and wipe them out entirely.
As he headed out, Wade’s mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. There were many things he still needed to do before he could enjoy his life to the fullest. Enjoyment was something one had but another couldn’t gain. Unless you were able to make misery enjoyment. That was how Wade dealt with things. Killing, making plans, stealth, and many other things as an assassin made him feel bored and in danger. He had learned to use the stress as a motivator and the results as the feeling of enjoyment. It had affected him entirely when Rose had tortured him and it had resulted in this mindset and instead of hindering him, it had strengthened him.
Wade arrived at the back gate and he noticed it was unlocked and opened. He inspected it with caution before realizing it was opened at about the same time that he had ordered the prisoners to scout around. However, he still kept his guard up as this was a dangerous place to be. Rose knew everything about this castle and he didn’t. He was at a disadvantage that needed to be offset.
He stepped inside the tunnel and stood still for a couple of seconds before moving once again. He had used his instinct and senses to determine if anyone was inside this tunnel.
‘Perfect. No one inside. Although I would’ve wished that they came here so I could have some more security with a gun that I would rob from them.’
He withdrew the disfigured sword from the sheath lying on his back while using his hand to feel the walls. It was good to see what the tunnel was made of since he couldn’t see a thing with all the torches blacked out in this place. The only thing visible was the sunlight on the end of the tunnel.
As he neared the end of the tunnel, he could see that there was a small locked gate. Fortunately, the lock was on his side of the door and he easily broke it open with a few swipes of the sword. However, after arriving on the opposite end of the door, he could hear the rumbling engine of many cars arriving.
‘Shit! Did Rose tell them about the back gate and tell them to ambush me from here? Well, new plan. Instead of flanking them when they were at the front gate, I’ll just steal one of their uniforms or disguise myself as one of them before assassinating each one when they go into the tunnel. I’ll also break any of the lights that they have so the chaos can help me escape when I need it.’
Wade quickly thought up a new plan as he found a couple of bushes to hide behind. He could see many types of tan-colored military use vehicles arriving near the back entrance. He watched the men leave their cars before identifying them. They all wore camouflage army uniforms and as the last door opened, his eyes narrowed.
Iconic red hair could be seen as Rose left the Hummer. She wore the same army uniform as the others with a few differences. She had many badges stationed all over her uniform and it could be seen that she was some sort of strategist. After seeing this, Wade inferred that Rose had taken her entire company around the desert to circle back behind the castle to ambush them when they were still looking at the main gate. She was clever but Wade was even smarter. He had already planned something if they had decided to ambush them. He had the political prisoners plant traps with the knives and utensils that they had found in the kitchens in the laboratory and office buildings. However, he had given some of the kitchen knives to the men who knew how to use them.
“Remember our priority, men! Wade is an important asset to the US military’s healing project. Capture him at all costs!”
Wade was knocked out of his thoughts by Rose’s loud orders and as he listened, he was shocked. Rose’s company had affiliations with the military? It turned out that the government would probably try to make things difficult for him if he registered a company under his name. It would be better to let Hal do the work for him. After all, Wade could work undercover without anyone knowing the true boss of Razepoint. Rose had unknowingly provided him with valuable information that would later spell doom for her and her company.
He now knew they wouldn’t dare shoot him in the vitals as they wanted to capture him. This would mean hesitation should they meet him in battle. As he gripped his deformed sword tightly, he waited for all of the men to head into the small and dark tunnel.
“C’mon guys. Stop being scared of the dark. Do you think they’d know about this tunnel? I created this tunnel and no one else knows about it other than me.”
After all the men had gone through, she had sat down to eat some food before going in. However, when she inspected the tunnel, she didn’t see any lights or anyone replying to her. It was quite eerie, the way one looked at it.
“Don’t tell me this is a joke! If any of you are willing to come out right now, face me and apologize, I’ll forgive you for this right here right now!”
Rose shouted with a tremble in her voice as she waited for a response. But the one she heard shocked her to the core.
“Did you really think well-trained men would play a joke in the middle of an operation? You’re too naive Rose.”
An uncanny voice was heard from within the tunnel and as she looked in, the only thing she saw was a dark silhouette with a deformed sword and dagger in his hands.
“Wade? How’d you even know this tunnel was here? I was the only one supposed to know about it!”
The moment she recognized the deep voice, she saw the weapons and realized they were bloodied to the core. Surprisingly, Wade wore one of her soldier’s uniforms, and even they were dyed in dried blood making her back away in fear.
“You know, I released some of your more “civilized” prisoners and they scouted the place out for me. They were quite useful if I admit myself. I’ve earned a lot from this trip and it's all thanks to you, Rose. Unfortunately, I can’t kill you for your ulterior motives but I can still capture you.”
When he finished speaking, Rose could hear a whoosh sound and a piercing pain in her right leg. When she looked downward, a gory sight permeated her vision. Her right leg had a deformed dagger stuck loosely in it and it had even carved out the inner part of her calf.
“If you remember, I had my right leg broken and shot when I first arrived at this place. I’d like to return the favor even if it wasn’t your doing. Just think of it as a gift before I kill you.”
A maniacal laugh could be heard coming out of Wade’s mouth as he grabbed the deformed sword and unsheathed it with a “shing”.
“Wait! No! I’ll do anything, just don’t kill me!”
As Rose fell to the ground, she secretly grabbed a gun hidden in her right sleeve behind her back as Wade approached.
“Unfortunately for you Rose, I see what you’re hiding and your plan won’t work.”
Wade could see what she was holding behind her back as his instinct warned him about the danger of approaching her, but his determination held strong. He dashed toward her before swinging his sword downward toward her exposed neck.
“Not today, Wade. That straightforward slash won’t work on me at all.”
Rose rolled to her left as the sword slammed into the ground beside her with a loud bang. The knife in her leg hindered her speed but she could still move her arms with ease. She pulled out the gun as she aimed at Wade.
“I’ve practiced using the sword many times and I can say that my mastery of it is beyond your understanding.”
Rose held her pistol with both hands as the muzzle flashed and as time slowed, Wade could see the bullet traveling toward his head with pinpoint accuracy. The sword in his hands probably couldn’t move fast enough to block it but he was only a few meters away from Rose. If he let the bullet barely touch his forehead, it would be enough time to let him survive and a chance to kill Rose with a single strike.
As time resumed once again, the bullet grazed Wade’s forehead as promised and Rose was shocked for a split second before she fired another bullet. The bullet and the ones that came after were all dodged or deflected. Rose found his words true. He really had improved his swordsmanship to a level where it could even rival a grandmaster. He had talent. Talent that Rose envied. She had to rely on her sub-par strategies and overpowering forces to overwhelm the opponent while Wade could merely wipe them out by himself with his own skills.
Rose was shocked to the point that while she kept shooting, she didn’t notice the sword heading toward her head. At this very moment, Wade had used something that he hadn’t before. His full speed. He found that every part of his body had been vastly improved after he had been tortured and his full speed was almost 2x faster than he was before. But, like before he couldn’t maintain his full speed for very long and could only use it in a short burst. However, this short burst of speed was enough for him to decapitate Rose in a short moment while her fingers trembled at the loss of her head. The last thing she could see was a glint of metal headed toward her and her kneeling body falling to the ground.
“Rose, even though you deserved what you deserved, I cannot let you go to rest. This is just too good of an opportunity. I can use your body for many more things even if you’re dead. You’ll serve a better use by improving my company’s enterprises and production. I’ll copy everything your family has and even they won’t know of your death until your head lands on their feet. I’m sure they’ll sacrifice everything for a promising individual like you and I’ll use that to my advantage. Rest in peace, or should I say your family’s peace. They’ll join you soon enough.”
A smirk could be seen on his face as he threw her body in the back of a military jeep and drove away with the smoke and blood being the only thing left behind of the ordeal.