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Zeryx made their way down the idyllic little street. As far as neighbourhoods in the city went, it was quite a nice one. Quiet, safe, a good place for kids to run around and play. Barely anyone would expect something like what he was about to do to happen here.
Xe counted down the house numbers till he found the right one. Even from the sidewalk he could vaguely see into the wide living room window. Walking closer, the scene became clearer. They could have shot from here, through the window as she had done, but xe didn’t. Inside, the man watched over the little baby demon as he played with a set of brass knuckles, as children do, gnawing on it with his bony gums.
Zeryx felt a wave of revulsion at the sight of the weapon. The image of Spider’s fist falling flashed before his eyes for the ten thousandth time. Their fist tightened around their gun’s handle. He’d sworn, all those years ago, that Snake would pay. And finally, it was time. He’d finally crossed a line, and Zeryx was back on the right side of the table. They smiled to xemself. Treason. Hilarious.
They watched as a woman entered the room and scooped up the child. The man took back the brass knuckle, wiping the drool off it with a corner of his shirt and tossed it onto the couch behind him. He laughed at something the woman said and yawned, stretching his arms in the air.
Xe left the window, not taking long to pick the single lock on the front door. It gave him some strange mix of anger and glee that Snake was just as reckless with his family and she was with her tongue. Of course, xe was there to prove just how linked those two things were. The lock clicked and he opened the door slowly. Neither it nor they made a sound as xe stepped into the house.
“You’re home early, Fea-” the man walked into the foyer and immediately crouched into a fighting stance once he realised Zeryx was not his girlfriend.
“Surprise, honey.” Zeryx said, deadpan, casually aiming his gun at the man’s head.
“KATE! TAKE GAIL AND RUN! GO! NOW! I’LL HOLD THEM OFF-”
Zeryx smirked. “Hold me off? You’re not even armed, pretty boy.”
“I-I don’t need-”
“No, you really don’t-” Zeryx pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed off of the walls, freezing time for a second as the man fell, a brand new bleeding orifice between his eyebrows. “-you wouldn’t have stood a chance against me anyways.”
They stepped over the corpse and went further into the house, peeking into the rooms he passed. Xe found her in the last one, holding the baby, trying to hide in the darkness of the room.
“Relax,” Zeryx said, gun pointing down casually. “Your wife sent me. She needs to see the kid.”
It wasn’t a lie. Xe was here as a consequence of Snake’s actions. She would watch his son die before his eyes and Zeryx needed her to see that.
“If you’re going to kill me, at least don’t insult my intelligence.” She put the baby down in the crib and stood protectively in front of it.
“I don’t have to kill you, just give me the kid.”
“Not a chance. You can take me instead but you don’t fucking touch my son.”
They shook xir head, more annoyed than anything. “Step aside. I take the kid, whether you like it or not.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Have it your way then.” He shot her three times in rapid succession, both knees and then her stomach and she too fell with a shout.
The crib behind her, however, was empty. Not a single blanket, stuffed animal, or pillow, let alone the child.
“What?? Where did he-” he didn’t know if xe heard the bang first or if xe felt the cold lead searing in their chest.
“Right here.”
Zeryx turned to see Snake, baby in one hand, gun in the other, and tears in her eyes.
“I should have killed you the first time I had the chance.”
“I guess we’re even then.”