Chapter 280: Questioning

"Kevin," Ethan exclaimed in shock. He was too flabbergasted to see his most trusted man here and never had he imagined him to be a traitor. It was beyond shocking and he just stared blankly at his friend and his comrade.

Seeing Ethan go in daze, Kevin picked up the knife that had fallen down when Aria had attacked him and tried to plunge it inside Ethan's heart. However, he could do nothing like that. Ethan had just gone in shock, he was not paralyzed. As soon as Kevin tried to attack him, Ethan punched him in the gut and at the same time twisted his arms. Kevin groaned in pain, not expecting his plan to backfire. 

Whenever Kevin tried to move, Ethan pulled his hand with more force making him scream in agony. Kevin felt like his soul was about to leave his body with the amount of pain he was in. He wanted to just escape the demon who was holding him captive, but he could not. The man was too strong, stronger than him and it was impossible for him to defeat him without any cheating as Ethan was more experienced than him in matters like these. And why not? The man had joined the military three years before Kevin, The experience was bound to come in handy someday.

Kevin tried all he could to free himself, but Ethan did not even budge. He wanted answers from him and he was going to get it at all costs, by hook or crook. "Why Kevin? Why did you betray us?"

Hearing his question, Kevin paused whatever he was doing and he started at Ethan first and then at Aria blankly before he started laughing like a madman. He laughed until there were tears in his eyes. However, to Ethan and Aria, this was not a humorous situation and they stood there watching him, with furrowed eyebrows. The man had gone crazy all of a sudden and a crazy man with weapons and who was out for kill was not a good situation. 

"Why?" Kevin started when he had calmed himself. Yet he had the devilish glint in his eyes which made Aria shiver. She had never seen him this way before, not as a cold-blooded murderer at least. She had seen him jovial and happy and strict and hardworking, nothing like the man who was sitting before her right now. He had changed altogether just in a matter of a few hours. Aria even wondered if Kevin suffered from dual personality for him to switch personalities this easily.

"That is a question I ask myself every day."

"What do you mean?" Ethan was confused with Kevin's ambiguous answer and stared at him in anger trying to make him speak. But the man remained unfazed.

"Why didn't I kill you when I had the chance? Why did I allow you to live and wait until today to finish you off? Why?" Kevin said and his words made Ethan stare at him in horror. He had never expected his junior, his friend, his comrade to have such killing intentions towards him. What had he done to see such a day? 

Ethan remembered all the good days they had spent together and all the fun they had had whenever they were not working. Kevin's sudden change was unacceptable to him who had known him for years, let alone Aria who had met him just recently.

"Why do you want to kill me, Kevin? What did I ever do to you?" Ethan almost broke down by the man's betrayal. It was unimaginable for him and he was still spooked by the sudden change in events.

"You," Kevin gave him one accusing look, "You messed up all our plans and killed all our men. Though I knew about it, I could do nothing. I had to sacrifice some of our men in order to not make you suspicious of me. Who knew you would not only kill a few men but eliminate all of them. You are great, just great, Major Ethan, and I admire you for it."

Kevin's sudden outburst gave Ethan the answers he was looking for. Now he understood why he could not find the other traitors as they had got alerted and it was all because of the man who knew all his moves and who was watching him like a hawk, Kevin. However, what shocked him more was the fact that he had killed everyone and the only one remaining was Kevin. He did not expect that.

"What do you mean by that? I did not kill everyone in your team."

"Yes, you did. I am only one left."

Seeing the two men deep in conversation, Aria tried to move towards the exit. But she was in a fix. The exit was just behind Kevin and she was standing opposite to him. In order to leave, she had to walk all the way around him and that was impossible without alerting him. He was bound to notice her actions who was darting his eyes back and forth between her and Ethan.

She took nimble steps towards the exit. However, she had misjudged the man's skills. As soon as she took a small step, Kevin's eyes fell on her and he gave her a bone terrifying glare. "Don't you even dare." He gritted his teeth, warning her in the process.

"Aria, you leave from here. He will not do anything to you. Leave." Ethan ordered. It was only then did he realize her presence. He had long forgotten about her when he was busy dealing with Kevin.

"She is not going to leave this room. No. After I finish killing you, I'll kill her. Though I have no personal grudges against you Dr. Aria, I will have to kill you. It was nice knowing you although it was just for a short time. You are a great doctor and an amazing woman. But I am sorry, I must kill you. If only you had not come in and witnessed all this, I would have let you live." Kevin apologized to her sincerely and stated his intention clearly. He was sure that once Aria left the tent she would get help and then it would be impossible for him to kill Ethan and it would become even more impossible to escape after killing him.

"Aria, you go. Go and call for help." Ethan ordered. As he was speaking to her, he was distracted and his concentration on Kevin loosened a little. This was all Kevin wanted and immediately, he pushed Ethan's hands, picked up the knife beside him and held it at Ethan's neck. The sudden change in the situation shocked both Air and Ethan. A few seconds ago, Kevin was at Ethan's mercy and now Ethan was being held captive. 

Seeing the situation to be in his advantage, Kevin started laughing like a maniac again and to Aria it sounded like the laugh of the devil, chilling and petrifying. Goosebumps rose on her skin hearing his laugh. "I like it. Hmm, what shall we do now?" 

Aria and Ethan reminded silent. They were at a disadvantage and they could do nothing to free themselves. An idea popped in Ethan's mind. But before he could even execute it, Kevin warned him against it. "Don't even think of doing it. I know you want to shout for help. Let me tell you. By the time the people come here listening to your shouts, you and Aria would be long dead. If you want to still try, then go ahead. But that will only quicken my work."

Ethan knew that Kevin was not just boasting or flaunting here. He would actually do whatever he had said. So, he shut his mouth immediately. 

"Good boy. Tell me your last wish before I plunge this knife into your throat." Kevin ordered as he pushed the further into his neck.

Hearing his words, another idea came to Ethan's mind. If he could not call for help, he could at least prolong the time before the man killed them. He just hoped that somebody would come to the tent by then. 

"I want to ask you some questions. May I?"

"Sure. This is your last wish. I could at least do that much for you."

"Why did you betray us?"

"Let's just say I was ordered by someone."

"Who ordered you?"

"I don't have an answer for this."

"Why did you join the enemy's group? Aren't you ashamed to do something this heinous against our motherland."

"Who told I joined hands with the enemy? I was with them since I was born and to be honest, I joined you after they ordered me to."

This revelation blew Ethan's mind away. The man had joined the army with ill intentions right from the start and he was thinking here that Kevin had been swayed only recently. How naive had he been!

"Now we are done with the question time. I am getting bored. It's time for me to kill."

While Kevin and Ethan were involved in the crossfire of questions, Aria was racking her brain to come up with something to save herself and Ethan. It was then she saw the gun under the table beside her. It had fallen from Kevin's hands when he was fighting Ethan before Aria entered the tent. 

Aria was right beside the table and without wasting another time, she picked it up and pointed it at Kevin. "Kevin, let him go or I'll shoot you." Aria all but yelled. She had never been in such a terrifying situation before and now she was spooked beyond imagination. She was losing it and desperately wanted to save herself.

"Oh, the timid lamb has become bold all of a sudden. How cool. Aria, stop your act. I know you don't know how to yield a gun." Kevin chided her and went back to concentrating on his original intentions, ignoring her completely. This time, he had not committed the mistake Ethan had done. He had made sure to keep Ethan in check.

"Aria, don't worry. Just fire. Aria."

"No. No. No. I can't." Aria started to cry. She did not know what to do now. "What if I hurt you? What if I shot you instead of him?"

"Aria, listen to me. If you misfire and shoot me, the next moment please shoot him. It's fine if I die but please save yourself. Please." Ethan begged and Kevin looked at the duo in amusement.

"That's it. Although I am thoroughly enjoying this melodrama, I am short of time and I need to kill you both. Say goodbye to all your loved ones and each other." Kevin said with a sadistic smile. He was now prepared to kill them.

"Aria, I am ordering you. Fire."

"No."

"Fire."

As soon as Ethan shouted, Aria fired.