The burly man's fist hammered into the side of Axel's face, and his head was rocked to the side, his cheek knocking into the wall he was being held up against. The dark haired man with the gun stood on the other side, watching, his face contorted in hatred. After they'd dragged him into the dank, narrow alleyway squeezed between two rough looking buildings, they'd thrown him against the wall next to a stack of trash and gotten to work on him. Sagging, his body a mesh work of pain, the only thing keeping Axel up were the fist that continued to land blows on him.
As the two men paused for breath, Axel took the opportunity to try to talk again. Blood and saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth, he looked up achingly at the dark haired man. "Wasn't... me..." he managed through a numb jaw.
At a glance from the dark haired man, his friend lowered his clenched fist. "What the fuck did you say?"
"Not me," Axel tried again, wheezing, his ribs aching. "I had nothing to... do with Lanthae, or... or what just happened."
"No?" The dark haired man sneered. "Then what the hell did we just see? You were on the TV!"
"I don't... know what that was. None of it... is true. It's a lie."
The dark haired man said nothing for a moment, his jaw clenching. Then he took a step closer. "You fucking coward," he hissed. "You aren't going to own up to what you did?! My sisters died in Lanthae. Because of you!" He drove his knee hard into Axel's stomach, and the air was forced out of his lungs. The rat collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.
The dark haired man spat on him. "Fuck this. I'm ending this piece of shit now." He cocked the revolver, the gun making a soft click.
His burly friend swallowed, then raised a hand slowly. "Look, Jim. This guy deserves to die. I know that, believe me. But Sarah and Beth... they wouldn't want this." He paused. "And the money-"
"I don't care about the money!"
Still on the floor between them, Axel felt something sharp dig into the side of his leg. Weakly, feeling as though he was looking through someone else's eyes, his head turned to see what it was. One of the trash bags had been torn open, rubbish leaking out, exposing a plastic knife. The end had been broken, leaving a razor sharp point. Slowly, his fingers closed around it, making no sudden movements.
"... they're dead, Sam," Jim was saying, his voice cracking. "Because of him."
"What about my family?!" Sam shook his head desperately. "Even if we split it, at least it'd mean that my kids won't have to live in shit anymore! Please..."
"You should think about your kids," Axel croaked, stiffly getting to his knees.
"Shut up!" Jim snarled, pointing the gun barrel at Axel's forehead.
Axel ignored him, looking into the burly man's eyes. "500,000's a lot. You..." He coughed. "You probably... aren't going to see that kind of money again in your life."
"Shut up!"
"Jim, wait!"
Jim lowered the gun and looked at Sam. "If we-"
Axel sprang. Leaping up between the two men, he bundled into the dark haired man, punching forwards, the plastic spike tearing into his throat as Sam stumbled back in shock. Gurgling, the plastic in his neck twitching as blood rushed out, Jim collapsed backwards on the floor with Axel landing on top of him. The revolver clattered on the concrete and skidded away. The rat frantically scrabbled for it, snatching the gun up and rolling onto his back to aim the barrel at Sam as the man backed away slowly, horror etched on his face.
"Please don't... I've got kids, man..." he begged.
Axel's eyes narrowed. His shaking finger hovered above the trigger...
From the other end of the alley, 4 loud gunshots tore through the air, and Sam dropped to the floor, giving a final gasp. Flinching, Axel swung the gun towards where the shots had come from, gritting his teeth when he saw three figures filling the alley, one of whom was tucking away his pistol. "Close one, that could have been really nasty." he said. The man tilted his head slightly. "Look... I'm gonna need you to come with us..."
"Back off!" Axel snarled, pushing himself backwards, still aiming the gun. "Back the fuck off!"
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd want to." The man nodded, and the figure to his left stepped forward, raising a small yellow device. Axel was just able to recognise it as a taser before the probes hit him. As his body jerked, the gun slipping from his fingers, he was only dimly aware of footsteps near him, a sharp prick as a needle was pushed into his neck. The last thing he heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was the dark haired man's dying coughs beside him.