Zeke sighed as he was finally able to leave the boring hell known as ‘Art History’. He headed out towards his car when he noticed the same woman that was hiding in the corner of class. She was leaning against the hood of his car and typing furiously on her phone. She looked up and noticed him walking in her general direction. She slipped her phone into the pocket of her hoodie and then stood straight. She walked up to Zeke and when she got close, she wrapped her arm around his neck.

Thoughts furiously sped through Zeke’s mind as he was wondering what she was doing. He felt something cold against his neck as he looked down at her. She had a blank look on her face, which he happened to see was quite pretty. She had red hair that was framing her face along with matching lipstick. Her lashes were long and curved towards her brows. Her eyes were a startling shade of dark red that couldn’t be real.

Zeke could instantly recognize the feel of a knife pressed against his throat as she tip-toed to whisper in his ear, “I don’t really give a rats ass who you are, but I will say this.” She got even closer to Zeke’s ear, “Don’t talk to me again. If you know what’s good for ya.” Zeke wanted to facepalm, but his arms were being blocked by hers. Did she really just quote something that an early 1950’s mobster would say?

He sighed, “Look…” Zeke put his right arm up between her left arm and his neck and pushed it away. He pulled his neck back a bit and then used his left arm to grab the hand with the knife in it. He grabbed her right arm and then pushed on her hand and bent it at the wrist to where her fingers tried to meet her arm. Her body reflexively opened her hand and caused the knife to drop into Zeke’s as he deftly grabbed it.

He stepped back and examined the knife as the woman wore a shocked expression on her face. He smiled at her and then flipped the knife in the air a couple of times. This all happened in a couple of seconds. He caught the knife and threw it towards the woman. She flinched and before her body could react to the thought that her mind had about dodging the knife struck true. She squeaked and then she was shocked when she didn’t feel any pain. She looked down and saw that the knife went through her hoodie pocket and was stopped by her phone.

Zeke walked past her as she was staring at the knife, “I don’t care if you don’t want me to talk to you or not. I do what I want and there isn’t anyone that can tell me otherwise.” He got into his car and started it up. The engine roared to life and as he pulled forward a few feet he rolled down the window, “I recommend you not try something stupid like that on someone you literally just met, for multiple reasons. One, you could get arrested for threatening someone with a deadly weapon. Two, you might do it to someone that knows how to defend themselves like moi. Finally, it’s just down right rude.”

He started to pull away again, but he thought of something else, “Oh yeah, if you ever do anything like that again.” He squinted his eyes and glared at her, “You might leave with one less, appendage.” She looked at him in shock as he finally pulled out of the parking lot. Zeke watched her in the rearview mirror as he pulled onto the road to head towards home. He smiled and then shook his head, “She must just be starting out. She had so many openings that it wasn’t even funny. It’s only been a year since I disappeared and the training for their youth seems to have gotten pretty lax.” Or maybe my training was just too good, he thought.

***

Victoria stood there staring at the car, driven by the man who introduced himself as Ezekiel Mors. She watched him disappear from her view before looking down and pulling the knife from her phone. She put the knife back in its holder on the inside of her arm and then pulled her phone out. There was a whole made by the knife in the back of her phone. It shockingly didn’t go all the way through the phone though. It was trashed, and she sighed as she went to pull the sim card out.

The knife point had stabbed through the sim card and split it in two. She walked over to the trash can and then threw all the pieces inside. She glanced back to were Ezekiel had driven a way as she wondered who the hell he was. She had been the number two prodigy in her family for the last ten years of her training. The only one better than her was Stephan, her older brother. Her family was sitting at the top after the downfall of the Morningstar family. She sighed as she remembered the tragedy that struck the Morningstar a little over a year ago. The entire family was wiped out and then the entire estate was turned into a massive crater.

All the family members where there for the youngest’s graduation from his training. He was a freak among all the younger generations. He completed his training when he finally assassinated the leader of a major power. The CEO of Zhang Zue Enterprises was one of the top ten when it came to industrial power. He was covered by security twenty-four seven. He never left his compound with out at least ten body guards. Four in the car in front, four in the back, and two in the limo with him.

The kid managed to sneak in and kill the man while he was sleeping. He snuck past a fortress full of armed guards, cameras, motion sensors, sound sensors, among many other types of sensors. He managed to kill the CEO while he was sleeping in a huddle of women, without waking any of them up. When the CEO was found he had a needle sized hole in-between his eyes. There was no weapon at the scene and there were no indications that anyone other than the women had been there. Victoria cast a glance towards the direction that Ezekiel left in again before she shook her head, “Can’t be. All the family were at their estate. There’s no way he survived.” She walked over to a black Porsche Carrera GT and got in. She gave one last shake of her head before she pulled out and headed home.

***

Zeke was in a good mood as he pulled into the driveway at his home. He decided that he needed to work out for a bit so that was what he did. He did cardio, muscle building, and exercises to keep himself as flexible as possible. His build didn’t allow for too much flexibility, being at 6’ 4” tall and a bit over 225lbs, but he kept himself as flexible as physically possible. After exercising for a few hours, he got dressed and decided to head out and see what the local scene was like.

It had been almost four years since the last time he really got out and saw what civilization was like. He was always training or on a mission and didn’t have time to do much else. This last year he had been in hiding, purchasing things he needed to legally disappear. According to the government Ezekiel Morningstar was dead and Ezekiel Mors was a health young man from the state of Vermont, who decided to go to the University of Zeon.

After a half an hour of driving he arrived at the closest night club to the university. There was a line at the door, which Zeke promptly stood in after parking his car. After what felt like another half hour he was standing in front of a massive bull of a man. The guy looked at him with arms crossed as he spoke in a gruff voice, “I.D.”

Zeke passed his identification over to the man and waited a second. The man looked between Zeek and the card a few times before handing it back and then allowing him to pass after putting a band around his wrist, “Welcome to Club Bliss.” Zeke tried not to snort at the generic name for the club, but he held it in. He wasn’t worried about a fight, but if he could avoid it, he would. He entered the building and was greeted with the pulsing beat of the music. It wasn’t all that loud outside of the central dance floor, but you could still feel the vibration of the bass.

Zeke looked around and enjoyed the semi-simplistic vibe that the interior was boasting. The walls were a dark color that was very hard to make out in the darkness of the club. Zeke could tell that it was a shade of red, possibly burgundy. The ceiling was lined with lights of all kinds, dancing and flashing to the beat. There was a lounge on the far-right side of the building with a bar. The far-left side of the building had private booths set up that had walls from floor to ceiling. He raised an eyebrow at the sight, “Looks like this may be a den of debauchery after all.” He walked over to the lounge and sat down in one of the round benches. A woman walked over and asked what he would like to drink.

Zeke knew she saw the band so he just ordered a soda and when she handed it to him, he then leaned back against the bench. He gazed around at the people enjoying themselves immensely as he enjoyed his drink. He watched as people drank, dance, and grinded against each other in a way that if it wasn’t for the fact that they were wearing cloths, they would basically be having sex. He looked over towards the private rooms and noticed something that instantly irritated him.

He saw Zolette walking among the rooms behind a guy that looked like he literally had steroids running through his veins twenty-four seven. The guy stopped in front of a door and held it open for her. She stopped and then looked around a bit before she spotted him. Until this point, he wasn’t all that upset, in fact, he didn’t really care what she was here for or what she was going to do in one of those rooms. It was the look in her eyes that pushed his irritation up and almost close to anger. Anger was an emotion that Zeke had gotten really good at concealing under a mask of slight irritation in the last year.

The look in her eyes were about to cause that mask to faulter. She was terrified, confused, and hopeful all at the same time. She looked down at the ground before she quietly walked into the room and the roid-man shut the door behind her. He stood in front of the door with his arms crossed and watched the crowd. Zeke set his soda down as he called a server over. She walked up to him, “Ready for a refill or would you like some company?” He wasn’t going to lie, she was quite cute, but he wasn’t interested in that right now.

He didn’t look away from the guy at the door when he asked, “The roided out guy standing in front of one of the private rooms. He one of y’all’s?” The woman looked in the direction that Zeke was and she shook her head, “No, his name is Sam and he is the bodyguard to the gentleman who rents out that room nightly.” Zeke nodded his head, “That’s good.” He stood up and thank her before walking away muttering under his breath, “The chances of me needing to do something about the club itself have lowered, thankfully.”

He walked over to the man known as Sam and stood in front of him. Sam looked at him and squinted his eyes, “What do you want?” His accent was dipped deeply in Russian as he spoke. Zeke nodded, “You can actually. The girl you just let in the door. I need to talk to her.” Sam smiled, “Boss is having his time. You wait in line. Have girl when he finished.” Sam spoke the sentences brokenly before trying to shoo Zeke away.

Zeke frowned and then shook his head, “I wanted to do this the civil way, but you leave me no choice.” Before Sam could register what Zeke had said he was doubled over in pain with Zeke’s fist twisted in his gut. Sam knew that it was only because he briefly surprised the big man and he then issued a chop to the side of his neck and knocking him out. There were a few onlookers, but no one was screaming or taking pictures so that was a plus for Zeke. He didn’t really care honestly, but the longer he could stay out of any media the better. All he needed was for the families to start looking for him. Lucky for him though, only the higher ups of each family know what he looks like and they weren’t interested in the media much. Full of too many lies to be trusted as a source of information.

Zeke thought about knocking but the sobbing sound he heard pushed that thought away. Instead he grabbed the door handle and tested it. It spun easily and the door pushed open for him. Zolette was crying and kneeling in front of a man sitting on the couch with his arms splayed across the back. The man looked up and saw Zeke he spoke in surprisingly clear English, “What the fuck do you want?” Zeke shrugged, “I heard that people like to have fun in the private rooms and decided I wanted to have some too.” He narrowed his eyes, “Though, it looks to me like the woman in front of you isn’t having any fun at all.” Zolette turned and Zeke could see the tears running down her face causing her makeup to run.

She perked up but then she instantly trembled in fear, “Zeke, no.” She quickly covered her mouth. The man sitting on the couch sneered, “Zeke uh. It seems like you know this man. Is he your boyfriend? I wonder if he likes being cucked, maybe he should watch what I have had you do so many times before.” Zeke started to laugh out loud. The man glared at him, “What’s so funny punk?” Zeke doubled over in laughter and spoke between breaths, “A few things honestly.”

Zeke stood straight and his expression turned serious, “One, it pains me but also brings me a little joy that you think I’m worthy of a beauty such as her.” Zeke shut the door behind him with a click that sounded louder than it should, “Two, I don’t know how she could feel anything with what you are working with.” He then locked the door, which also sounded louder than it should, “Three, I absolutely abhor things like cucking, NTR, cheating, sharing, and other things of that nature. I don’t like sharing what is mine.” Zeke cracked his neck and then pulled a knife, about the size of his hand from wrist to the tip of his middle finger, grip and all, from behind him. Zeke was honestly surprised that the doorman didn’t pat him down at all.

He sneered at the man, “Finally, you won’t be doing such things to her, or any other woman, anymore.” The man sneered back before reaching behind the couch, “You really think you're going to be able to get close enough to use that? I don’t know if that little toothpick is how you got past Sam, but it won’t do much against me.” Zeke saw the back of a pistol rising above the ridge of the couch before he flung the knife at the man. The knife embedded itself in the man's balls causing him to scream and drop the gun. He went to reach for the knife, but Zeke was there first.

Zeke stuck his foot on the tip of the handle and subtly applied his weight on it. It sank another half an inch causing the man to scream. Zeke grinned, “Now I would usually take longer on scum like you, but I don’t want to terrify Zoe any more than she already is. Zoe would you please turn around, close your eyes, and cover your ears.” He didn’t hear a reply but he did hear a shuffling sound.” His grin widened as he yanked the knife out while giving it a little twist. He rubbed the blood on the man’s shirt, “I hope you get what you deserve in whatever hell you believe in.” He quickly shoved the knife into his neck straight into his brain.

The man’s eyes rolled into the back of his head before they closed and he fell back. Zeke wiped the blood off of his hand on the dead man’s shirt before turning around. Zoe was turned around doing exactly as he told her. He smiled and then gently touched her shoulder. She flinched and tried to move away but he whispered in her ear, “It’s okay. He isn’t going to hurt you anymore.” She turned her head a little towards him and widened her eyes. She looked into his eyes and whatever she saw there seemed to calm her down a bit. She nodded and then broke down in tears. Zeke pulled his phone out and made a call, “Hello, it’s me again.” There was chatter on the line before Zeke laughed, “No, I’m not dead yet old man. I would love to chat, but I need to make a donation of two hundred dollars.”

There was silence for a second before some more chatter on the other line. Zeke sighed, “Send the information to this number and I will send you the payment, let me give you the address.” There was some more chatter and Zeke smiled, “It was good talking to you too old man, but I would appreciate it if you actually thought I was dead.” They exchanged a few more words before Zeke hung up. Zoe was still sobbing in his arms when he got off the phone but she still heard him, “Who was that?” He smiled at her, “Just an old friend who runs a cleaning company.”

Zoe looked at him with confusion, a little fear, and admiration in her eyes. He smiled at her, “Don’t worry. His crew will be here in a few minutes and we can leave.” She nodded, “Okay. Who are you?” He smiled again, “I already told you. My name is Ezekiel Mors, but you can call me Zeke. I’m a freshman at The University of Zeon...” She cut him off, “No, I mean who are you?” She emphasized the last part as she spoke. Zeke sighed, “Let’s just say that a lot of people think I am dead and stick with that for now. Maybe I'll tell you more after we get to know each other better. I barely know you for fuck’s sake. Just trust that I mean you no harm and I won’t let any harm come to you.”

She strangely believed him and nodded her head. She looked back into his eyes as he spoke to her again, “Why don’t you tell me what you were doing here.” Her eyes started to water as she looked down at the ground. Her hands tightened on her skirt, “I have been paying off a gambling debt that my father owes to a Russian gang.” Zeke frowned, “Why are you paying off his debt?” She put her face in her hands, “My father owns nothing worth of value. I happened to be visiting him one night and I noticed a few cars outside of his house. I figured that he had some friends over to drink and play cards. He loves playing poker, but he is horrible at it.”

She started to sob again, “I was supposed to just spend time with the man he owed his debt to, but then he started getting handsy and trying to do more. I tried to fight back, but then he threatened to hurt my dad. I lost my virginity to the scum that night. I was passed around to his underlings like a toy!” She was screaming at this point and Zeke was holding her tighter, “Shhhh, it’s okay now. Everything is going to be alright now.”

She shook her head and pushed him back, “How is everything okay now! I’m filth! Used by men for nothing other than my body. I tried hard to put on an act at school, but it’s so hard. It’s so hard to act like everything is okay. It’s so hard to act like I could maybe find someone and have a normal relationship. I don’t like lying to a significant other. I absolutely abhor lying in general, but I especially can’t tell a boyfriend that something like this has happened to me. Ninety percent of the male population would look at me with disdain...”

Zeke spoke up, “I don’t.” She paused her rant midway, “What?” Zeke smiled and pulled her back in, “I don’t see filth. I see a beautiful woman that was taken advantage of. I see a strong woman that did what she had to protect her family. I see a beautiful woman. I see you Zolette. That’s what I see.” She looked up at him from his embrace as the tears streamed down her face. She buried her face in his chest and broke down. Zeke just kneeled there and held her while she cried. He ran his hand through her hair, “It’s okay now. I promise. No one will hurt you anymore.”

He meant every word too. He would never let harm come to her again, not easily. It would have to go through him first. There was a knock on the door before it opened. Zoe trembled in his arms, but when he saw who was at the door his told her it was okay. Zeke grinned up at a scowling old man, “About time Mat.” The old man’s scowl broke into a wide grin, ”I thought I told you not to call me that twerp.” Zeke laughed, “Sorry, Matheson. I would get up and give you a hug, but my arms are pretty preocupied.”

Mat snorted, “Don’t worry. If I had to choose between hugging an old man like myself or a beautiful woman. No contest on who my arms would be around.” Zeke briefly laughed before getting a little somber, “I just wish it was under better circumstances.” Mat looked up at the dead man, “Yeah. We already took care of the crowd. They will be sleeping for the better part of a few hours.” At that moment a bulky man was bringing Sam in through the door. His throat was slit and there was no life in his eyes.

Zeke looked up at Mat, “I’m sorry that we have to meet like this Mat, but I will have to pay you and run.” He sent him the money through his phone and then promptly crushed it beneath his heel, “Do I need to worry about the big man?” Mat shook his head, “No, he is trust worthy. Plus, he has never really seen you before.” Zeke nodded towards the big man who was busy putting the bodies on a tarp in the middle of the floor. He nodded back and then continued working.

Zeke stood up and pulled Zolette out of the room with him. He gave a brief smile and nod to Mat before leaving. They left the club and he put her in the passenger seat of his car. She was quiet as they drove, not saying much other than giving him directions to her home. He pulled into her place and walked her to the door. He gave her another hug, “Here’s my number. Call me if you need anything and I mean anything, okay?” She took the piece of paper wondering if he had another phone. She nodded and grabbed the back of his shirt before he could walk away, “Wait.”

Zeke paused when he felt the tug on his shirt and heard her voice. He turned around and she was blushing furiously, “Don’t leave. Stay with me?” He grinned at her and she quickly blurted, “Not like that!” She gipped his shirt tighter, “I just don’t want to be alone, okay?” He nodded and then followed her into the door. He glanced around outside before shutting the door behind him.