The moment Adam's question hung in the air the assassin in the back seat acted.
James had come to know that now Adam had come to know about his planning and if James did not do anything now then he could be caught.
There was no hesitation no wasted motion. The wire shot over the top of the passenger seat. It was a thin dark line against the car's interior.
It looped perfectly around Adam's neck and was pulled brutally tight.
[FATAL ATTACK DETECTED. SUFFOCATION IMMINENT.]
His airway was instantly crushed. He couldn't even make a sound. But Adam was ready.
Adam knew from the previous loop that there was someone else in the car sitting behind.
He had been preparing for this exact moment.
His hand was already in his pocket. His fingers were wrapped around the cold metal handle of the scalpel.
As James slammed on the brakes the car screeching to a halt in the middle of the road the teacher reached over. His face was a mask of grim determination.
He was going to grab Adam's arms and restrain him just like the last time.
Before James's fingers could close around his wrists Adam moved.
He drove his right hand forward with all his strength.
The scalpel led the way.
The small sharp blade was almost invisible as it moved. It sank deep into the teacher's chest. The soft fabric of the shirt gave no resistance.
A raw high-pitched scream tore from James's throat. It was a sound of pure agony and utter shock.
He had expected to be a killer not a victim. His hands abandoned their attempt to grab Adam.
They instead went to his own chest.
He gripped the handle of the scalpel. It was buried up to the hilt. With another pained cry he yanked it free.
Blood welled up instantly. It stained the front of his white shirt a dark spreading crimson.
At the same time the man in the back seat pulled the wire even tighter.
He was a professional. He ignored the teacher's screams.
He focused only on his target.
The pressure on Adam's neck was immense.
His lungs burned. Black spots swarmed his vision. He was dying faster this time. The wire was a circle of pure fire.
He had seconds.
He used his legs. Bracing himself against the seat he drove his feet hard into James's stomach.
The blow sent the wounded teacher reeling back against the driver-side door with a loud thud.
The move gave Adam a precious inch of space. It loosened the wire just enough for a fraction of a breath.
In that split second Adam lunged forward again. The bloody scalpel was still clutched in his hand.
He didn't aim for the chest this time. He plunged the blade into James's head just above the eye. There was a soft crunching sound as the blade penetrated bone.
The teacher's body went rigid. The screaming stopped. All movement ceased. A final gurgling sound escaped his lips. He slumped sideways against the steering wheel.
His head rested on the horn which began to blare a long continuous mournful sound into the afternoon quiet.
James was dead.
[COMBAT LOG: 1 KILL CONFIRMED.]
[TARGET: JAMES (B-RANK THREAT)]
[EXP GAINED.]
The blue text box flashed in Adam's fading vision. But the wire was still around his neck.
The horn was blaring. Adam's hands were turning blue.
His face was a ghastly shade of purple as his body was starved of oxygen. His vision was a dark closing tunnel. He had one enemy left.
He raised the bloody scalpel one last time. He twisted his body as much as the wire would allow.
It was an awkward desperate move. He stabbed blindly backwards towards the man behind him.
The blade sliced through the fabric of the seat and struck something solid. The hand of the man who held the wire.
The assassin let out a choked grunt of pain but did not let go. He had seen what happened to James.
He knew that if he released the wire he would be next.
The pain in his hand only made him more focused more determined. He pulled the wire with all his remaining strength. He was a cornered animal now.
The pressure was absolute. Adam's last bit of strength failed him. His arm fell limp.
The scalpel clattered onto the car's floor mat next to the dead teacher's foot. His world went completely black. The sound of the car horn was the last thing he heard.
He was dead.
Darkness.
A system window appeared.
[HOST DIED.]
[CAUSE OF DEATH: SUFFOCATION.]
[REVIVAL PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.]
[RESETTING TO CHECKPOINT...]
Light flooded his senses. The suffocating pressure was gone.
The smell of blood and the blare of the horn vanished. He was standing breathing freely.
He was back in the teacher's office. The world was normal again.
And in front of him sitting in his chair with a look of mild concern on his face was James.
He was alive.
He was whole.
He was about to offer his false sympathy one more time.
This time a new kind of fear gripped Adam.
It wasn't the fear of the wire or the pain or the suffocating darkness. He was getting used to that. It was the fear of the face he had just seen in his mind's eye.
The look of pure shock and agony on James's face as the scalpel went in. The memory of the teacher's final gurgle. The weight of the kill.
The fear came from the memory of what he had done.
He had killed someone. It didn't matter that James was alive again now.
In that moment in that car Adam had become a murderer.
The blue text box had confirmed it. 1 KILL CONFIRMED. He stared at his own hands.
They felt different.
They were the hands of a killer. And he knew with a sickening certainty that this was only the first. To survive he would have to do it again.