~~The World's Most Wanted Man~~

Fowler was the best agent the world ever had. And he was obviously the one undertaking all the dangerous missions. His most dangerous one yet, chasing the most wanted man on Earth. His name was John Maximus. This was not just any criminal the world had ever seen. It was one bent on world domination. And he was ready to do whatever it took to achieve it. Fowler had been chasing this man since 2 years. He knew exactly where Maximus would be on what day, yet somehow, he always missed him. Every single time. He had never been face to face with this elusive man, though he saw his picture every waking hour. He wanted today to be different. He rushed to the town square where the was supposed to find his man. Fowler had received intel that Maximus was now interested in dealing in nuclear weapons. And not simple ones either. If the intel Fowler received was correct, Maximus was going to buy nuclear weapons of the like the world had never seen. Weapons that could devastate entire nations at the click of a button. Weapons that even the nations themselves didn’t possess. Weapons against which every defence was useless.

The town square was a beautiful place. Fowler had scouted the place the evening before to prepare himself for intercepting Maximus. There was a grand statue of Christ in the middle of the square surrounded by shops, and roads led inside and outside of the town square. On reaching the scene, Fowler found that he had missed his man once again. The town square was empty. And by the looks of it, people were there just moments ago. Something had made them rush away, and the most obvious option was fear. Suddenly he noticed a man lying unconscious near the statue of Christ. He rushed over to help the man only to find a pool of blood around him. The man had been shot in the chest and there was no pulse. It was then that Fowler looked at the man’s face, only to be shocked that it was one of his colleagues. The man’s name was James Davidson. He had been working in the agency since 10 years. He had a wife and two very beautiful kids. Fowler couldn’t bear to think what his family would be like when they go to know about the death.

It was then that Fowler noticed a note lying close to Davidson. The note had apparently been placed perfectly so that he would notice it. He picked it up. It said only a few words, “This chase will cost you and the world heavily, Fowler.” Maximus knew about Fowler. He knew that Fowler was chasing him, and that just worsened the situation. But Fowler wasn’t scared. He was angry. This Maximus man had already killed thousands before this. He would chase Maximus relentlessly, even if at the end of it all it cost him his life.

He got the chance he was waiting for 3 months later. He was in a town called Danville and this time Fowler was best prepared. The agency had been successful in posting their mole into Maximus’ terrorist organisation about 2 weeks back. Now Fowler was getting much more precise information than before. He was standing in Crowing Street waiting for Maximus to show up. The time was 5 p.m. Maximus was due at 5:15 p.m. Fowler was completely aware of his surrounding because one mistake would cost him his life. At about 5:10, Fowler was still waiting when he heard a gun shot right near the corner of the street. He rushed there, gun in hand, only to find that as soon as he turned, another gun was raised straight to his chest. The awaited meeting at last. There stood Maximus. And there, near him lay dead another agent. It was their mole.

Maximus seemed awfully pleased. He said in a loud clear voice, “I was waiting for you Fowler.”

Fowler scowled. Maximus continued, “I knew all about your mole. I let him in because I wanted to finally meet this man who just wouldn’t give up. I killed about what 20, 30 agents but you just wouldn’t stop!”

“34” said Fowler with rage visible in his eyes.

Maximus had this immense sense of satisfaction in his eyes. “Well,” he said, “let’s make that 35.”

But before he could pull the trigger, Fowler pushed away his gun and shot his own. But Maximus wasn’t new to this business. He dodged easily as if he had been doing this since years, which he had. Maximus shot. Fowler dodged. Fowler ran for cover as Maximus emptied the entire magazine. At the risk of being shot while reloading, he too dodged for cover. While Fowler sat behind a water fountain, Maximus was behind a bench. For the next few minutes, all that happened is that they continuously shot at each other. One would get up and shoot and duck back to cover just as the other shot. This went on until both the men were left with hardly a few bullets. Maximus dreading a defeat, tried to find a way to get out of the place but just as moved towards the nearby alley, Fowler shot. Maximus was unscathed but he knew escape was not an option. Both knew that the only way to leave now was to kill the other.

Fowler had enough. He was not going to let this mass murderer leave alive. He was going to kill him, no matter if it cost him his life. He saw through the gaps between the planks of the bench that Maximus was checking how many bullets he had. His magazine was out of the gun. He was unarmed. Fowler saw his chance and rushed. But just as he reached, Maximus shot and Fowler felt a sudden shot of pain in his arm. Maximus played him. He knew Fowler would rush the moment he saw the magazine out of the gun so he had a decoy one in his pocket. Fowler was lucky though. The bullet barely missed his chest. But Fowler wouldn’t let Maximus one up him like that. Just as rapidly Maximus had shot him, Fowler shot back and now Maximus too had a bullet shot on his arm. Both men were face to face. It was anyone’s game now. Both looked each other in the eye. It was as though a silent agreement, a silent challenge, and both threw their guns away and jumped towards the other. Fowler tried choking Maximus by putting his arm around his throat but Maximus elbowed him in the chest. Then, suddenly Fowler felt a punch on his right cheek. The world was suddenly spinning. But Fowler wasn’t going to give up. He got up and jabbed at Maximus, but he dodged easily. Then another punch was felt by Fowler, this time to his ribs. He stumbled back. He could taste the blood in his mouth. Maximus dashed in and swept Fowler off his feet. Fowler felt the world tilt as he fell to the ground. His head was spinning. His arm was throbbing. He knew at least 2 of his ribs were broken. A voice inside his head told him to give up, to just lie there and let this man win. But Fowler got up. He regained his senses. Maximus was surprised to see him up again, sneered and said, “I got to give it to you Fowler. You are the strongest agent I ever faced. You gave me a run for my money. But I’m bit sick of this now… Let’s end this.” Maximus aimed a punch straight at his ribs but Fowler blocked it and returned the favour. Maximus stumbled back but didn’t give up. He tried again but this time Fowler stopped his punch mid-way with the palm of his hand. Then Fowler held Maximus by the neck, dragged him to the nearest building, and slammed him into the wall. Maximus, blood splattered all over his face, collapsed to the ground, unconscious, perhaps dead. Fowler wasn’t going to take chances. He quickly moved towards his gun which he threw earlier, picked it up and just as he turned saw the tip of another gun pointed towards him. A gun shot echoed across town. Fowler fell to his knees, a red dot at his heart. And then, he fell forward face-first into an eternal slumber no one could wake him from, his gun lying nearby.

Maximus sat nearby smiling. Fate played a cruel joke on Fowler. Maximus while lying on the ground while Fowler picked his gun, found out that hidden in the shadow of the building, was his own gun, where he had flung a few minutes back. And that changed everything not just for Fowler, but the entire world.

Recovering from his injuries quick, Maximus was successful in his trades with the nuclear weapons’ dealers. He destroyed nations. Killed millions. Finally, no government remained strong enough to stop him. He established a monarchy like none seen before. A tyranny of unimaginable horror. And somewhere, in America, lay Fowler, 6 feet under the ground, buried, free from the suffering the world now had to face.