The Hitman and His Consort

II - Survival

First Person P.O.V: DORIAN BECKING

It has been a year or so since I left, no, escaped from my... Project. Not really sure on the exact date but I'm pretty sure it's been well over a year, Valya can babble now after all.

"Valya, say 'mama', come on~" Misha cooed at him and both to our surprise he said something that sounded really close to 'mama', it's not perfect but I suppose I can let my son off the hook, he's barely a year old after all.

Misha gasped as a huge smile cracked on her beautiful face, "did you hear, love?" she asked as if I'm not sitting one foot away from her as we rode this small car to our next 'hideout'.

However, it's wrong to assume that I wasn't excited to hear him talk, no. In fact, I am ecstatic. I glanced at his plump face, it was like looking at the carbon copy of my wife, he even inherited her Poliosis or 'mallen streak'. I smiled to myself as I floored the gas pedal, I suppose I momentarily forgot about that part where we are currently being chased.

We lost them a few times but I can't be confident in that, I have my family with me.

"Valya, can you say 'papa' then?" I plead,

"Buh... P.. Pah... Pa-ah!"

Oh, it's certain, my son is a genius as a 10-month-old, he must be. It did not take long for us to reach a subway that would lead us to the underground lair of now, 'business moguls' Mr. Gabriel and Mrs. Vanessa Hacksaw. That couple had saved my ass more than I can count, that Vanessa no longer pays me whenever I fix her television. In her defense, I do a poor job at it.

I did, maybe or maybe not, made her oven nuclear powered one time which caused a mild explosion but that's all water under the bridge, that one was an experiment. Gabriel seems to be happy with me every time I visit. He loves his improved axolotl that changes color depending on its mood and needs.

And it has a night light feature, what else does he want in life? He did tell me that he wanted pigs to fly but I wasn't certain if that was a serious request.

"Oop! we're here, our stuff-?"

"Here!" Misha replied as she raised our bags.

I smiled as I picked up little Valya from her arm and placed him on my baby carrier. He loves it, he chuckled the instant he was secured, his baby giggles were so infectious that it also made me laugh, "he loves his carrier, huh?" I noted and Misha snorted before shaking her head,

"He loves being close to you, not the carrier," she said firmly, gesturing to Valya who was looking so intently at me and giggled the moment our eyes met.

'Holy mother of...'

I felt like all of my bodily ails have been wretched out of my body, who knew having an adorable child has the healing power of eternal youth and herbal teas combined.

We trudged our way through the dark, abandoned subway, Valya was showing us some kind of infant opera, needless to say, both Misha and I were speechless in awe. Misha wipes his drool every now and then I wipe the sweat on her head. We're finally close to living a peaceful life in Siberia, we'll be leaving tomorrow and from then on a normal life awaits us.

We only need shelter for the night.

Misha's giggle snapped me away from my thoughts. I saw her gesturing at Valya who seemed to be mimicking my expression, "oh dear, he's got my frown," I joked and he giggled as soon as I started laughing. Our young Valentin, growing faster than we could ever catch up on.

My precious son.

Misha still fascinates me until this day, but I know she won't bear hard feelings if I see our son as someone who's stretched even further. I'm not speaking only as a father but as an envisionist. I see so much potential for my son that I can't even decide in what aspect he would be more competent. If only I had access to my lab, a brain scan would be significant input.

He'd be phenomenal.

He could even set records after records like his mother or maybe create new inventions. He's someone who'll be capable of great things.

...

"Which is why we'll leave him in your care, for now," I told Gabriel, the moment we arrived at their house I pulled him aside. It was a hushed conversation.

Baffled, he ran his fingers through his hair and pressed his temples with both hands.

"Don, do you know what you're talking about?"

"Yes, I'm still not sure if we can execute the plan safely, it may end up... Wron—"

"Then don't go! For f**k's sake, Dorian!"

"I... I can't do that, need to protect them, somehow,"

"Just stay here!"

"And put you and your family in danger? They found something in my research, I know it,” I hissed, “that's why they're so desperate to get me—Gab I'm at the end of my rope, help me," I pleaded, just like I always did to his family.

I'm swallowed by fear, what if things go wrong? I didn't even want to bring Misha along but she made it clear she would break me in half if I ever thought of leaving her, and as much as I can, I want to keep her close and safe next to me, they already know when she looks like, it would be pointless to split at this point.

With a deep sigh, Gabriel buried his face in his hands and opened his arms. I felt a wave of relief. At that moment tears almost welled up in my eyes, I placed a small kiss on Valya's forehead before handing him over to Gab. He let out a pained chuckle as he rocked my son in such a gently,

"I'm not sure I'm ready to raise the product of two beasts, but rest assured we will try our best," he promised.

“It’s not permanent, I’ll find him again,” I said with a nod as I filled out the carrier with loose cloth and covered it with a blanket that Valya uses.

All prepared for our departure later.

-

THIRD PERSON P.O.V

The clock strikes 4:00 AM, Misha was again strapped with bags and backpacks of the supplies they need for their new lives, Dorian had prepared the fake Valya made of lumped clothes prior and clutched it close to his chest, the Hacksaw family hugged them goodbye, Dorian and Gabriel shared a knowing look.

When the plan seemed to be going smoothly, Dorian sighed a breath of relief when the initial phases of his plan were coming together.

As they sat on the seat on the plane, Misha reached out to pat her son's head but Dorian grabbed her hand. Surely he knew this would happen, he was lucky during the commute up until they entered the airport but he felt that she already had suspicions when Valya still hasn't moved.

"My love? Wha... What are you doing,"

"Honey, it's best to let Valya rest as he can, it's better that he's sound asleep or we might catch attention," he reasoned, and although wary she agreed.

Finally, the plane set off. Dorian felt as if he left all his worries on the ground and leaned back in his chair. Halfway through their journey both he and Misha had some shuteye, but her being used to fatigue she recovered quickly and took this chance to take a peek at her sleeping... Pile of cloth.

A wave of fear, confusion, and anger washed over her as she covered her mouth, muffling her whimpers but not enough that it didn't wake Dorian. It took him a second to realize what had happened and he hastily pulled Misha into a tight embrace, "it's okay, it's okay, he's okay, he's okay" he kept chanting to her but by then Misha had been uncontrollably sobbing.

"Is everything okay?" asked a man behind their seat leaning over and if things weren't bad enough it became worse, the instantaneous millisecond Dorian glanced at the man's face he recognized him. One of the sponsors of his project. The general himself.

He inwardly shook as he patted Misha's back, keeping his composure. "Yes, she's starting to get homesick I'm afraid," he joked, the man laughed, "Ah yes, we all went there," he agreed, and just as Dorian thought he got away, something cold and hard pressed against his neck.

In a deep, hushed whisper, the man spoke, "You think I'd forget you, Becking?"

The next morning the Hacksaw family had been greeted with the greatest tragedy they could ever hear of, the plane that Misha and Dorian had, crashed into the sea. As of then, 50 out of 138 passengers were severely injured, 4 were missing and 3 have died.

Websites had already released the names of all the survivors. The names they were looking for weren't there.

Vanessa fell to her knees as she sobbed hard, Denis tried to console his mother but it didn't work. Gabriel felt sick to the point of throwing up but as he rushed to the toilet to vomit he also found a new source of determination.

It was too much of a coincidence for even the media to suspect that it was no machine error and the crash was induced.

He ran upstairs, in Denis's room, on his old crib, was Valya, cooing at him. He rushed to him and gave him a gentle hug, pressing his forehead to his as he brought him down. In her mourning state, Vanessa looked up in search of her son and husband only to find the latter by the end of the stairs.

Holding a baby in his arms, and the moment she realized what it meant she ran to hold the child, clutching him close to her as she continued sobbing. Bawling her eyes out. Valya, confused, only joined in on her crying, Denis joined in but in this moment of weakness, rather than being his usual meek self, Gabriel gathered them up in his arms and held his composure. His heart was broken by both his friends.

"He... He left him last night because he was scared this could happen," he explained, and in between the sobs Vanessa managed to express herself, through wails, and as she gathered herself up, she peppered Valya's face with kisses, muttering 'I'm sorry's' and 'I love you's'.

Both of them had something awakened in their hearts after that day.

And since then, they had another child, a daughter this time, which makes them three. It was difficult to sell the 'biological' son farce with Valya's features straying further from the rest of them by the day but who'd question them? Only Valentin and Gabriel have pale skin but even with that, they're not even the same shade.

Gabriel is blonde and Vanessa, Denis, and Diana have different shades of brown, so Valentin's appearance stuck out like a sore thumb during yearly family photos.

It never bothered any of them really. In fact, it came to be a tradition between them.

As years went by, things improved. Every member of the Hacksaw household played a role in the family business, and just as Dorian predicted…

Valentin (Becking) Hacksaw, a.k.a 'Valya', became a force to be reckoned with.