Chapter 7: A Killer Contract
"You know what, Morning, you're right. That whole bit was weird."
"Told you," Morning Blade smiled as Twilight Sparkle's face changed between one of shock and confusion after hearing about everything that happened at the Silver Smile Casino all those years ago. "I heard about that on the news, back when I was still in school, but I just put it as a robbery. In Las Pegasus, it's really normal for a place to get robbed, especially one with so much money like the Silver Smile."
"But still... These are Assassins. Why go through all that trouble?"
"I... I never did find out, Twilight," Morning shrugged. "But if I ever do, I'll be sure to let you know. Now, where were we?"
"Their mission report?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Right," Morning nodded, remembering where she had left off. "So, after the drive back to the bureau..."
“I don’t have the money this month,” Silverblaze tried to explain. “We were… robbed, I think. Masked men came and started wrecking the place.”
“I saw,” Mahogany said sternly. “Saw it all over the news. Your casino’s going to be losing a lot of business. Was it the Assassins? They’ve been meddling in my business for quite some time now.”
“I wouldn’t think so,” he shook his head. “They wore hockey masks, and suits. Doesn’t sound like Assassins to me.”
“Hmmm…” Mahogany frowned. There were just too many problems these days.
He turned to the others seated at the table. They all wore expressions of anger and confusion.
“It must be Assassins,” Lumberjack said, stretching his long legs on the table.
“But Las Pegasus is known for criminal activity,” Redwood, the tallest of the Wood family, told him. “It could have been any gang out for some money.”
“But they burned all the money,” a red-skinned man in a green army uniform said. “Thieves don’t burn money.”
“I agree with Talon,” Lumberjack said, reclining in his chair. “Thieves like money.”
Timber, another of the brothers at the table, leaned forward. “They couldn’t possibly have carried all that money out in time. They likely burned it because the police arrived and that they didn’t want the casino to still have the money.”
“Who knows…?” Silverblaze sighed. “The Silver Smile Casino will be closed for the following weeks, but even if we reopen, who’s going to come back after the firestorm?”
“We’ll deal with that when we get there,” Mahogany said, putting his fingers together. “If it were the Assassins, we’ll just make sure they never try something like that again.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Mahogany turned to his blonde haired brother. “Lumberjack. How’s the team coming along?”
Lumberjack heard something he wanted to talk about, so he got out of his reclined position and straightened himself. “Great, Mahogany. We already have three killers, ready to get out there and kill some more. They’re also pretty good at tracking, so I’ve heard. Your man, High Noon, is watching over them as I sit here.”
“Yes…” Mahogany slurred. “For his sake, I hope he’s doing a good job. I’d hate to see him fail once more.”
High Noon felt that hiring killers was a step down from his usual standard.
“I’d thought it was about helping people,” he said to himself. “These are the kinds of people that do the opposite.”
“What’re you talking about, Jeeves?” one of the killers said. He raised a gloved arm as his eagle, Aero, returned to it. “We’re the best kinds of people.”
“The name’s not Jeeves, Dagger Wind,” High Noon corrected. “It’s High Noon.”
“Of course... High Noon,” he replied slowly. “What? You some kind of big shot? Think you call the shots here?”“Well, no…”
“Ha!” Pressure Point, another of the killers, who had purple hair, laughed. “Sure, cowboy. If you don’t call the shots, then you’re whatever we want to call you.”
“Having fun?” a voice said from the nearby staircase. “Y’all getting along perfectly?”
Lumberjack strolled down the steps as he joined High Noon and the killers.
“Yo, boss,” Pressure Point saluted jokingly. “Sir, I have to say, you look like any other woodcutter out there, with the red flannel shirt, and blue pants.”
“I hate woodcutters…” the other killer, Wolfgang, snarled. He had pale blue hair, reaching down to his chin.
High Noon felt more frightened around Wolfgang than the others. He could feel Wolfgang’s need for killing flowing out of him.
Dagger Wind stood to the side petting Aero. He wore a long coat with a high collar and had SMGs holstered on his thighs. Pressure Point wore a sleeveless white top and green combat pants, while having a sling of throwing knives attached to her belt. Wolfgang wore just a simple shirt and pants, wielding no weaponry.
“Sir,” High Noon started. “I don’t know if letting these people out into the open is such a good-”
“Don’t be silly,” Lumberjack said, but stared at High Noon dangerously. “These are the perfect people we need to take down the Assassins. Sure, they might kill a few innocent people along the way, but all in the name of progress, right?”
“That’s right… what did they call you? Ah yes, Jeeves,” Wolfgang added, smiling as he walked towards High Noon. His smile widened when High Noon backed away. “What are a few innocent people? People die every day don’t they?”
High Noon wanted to say something, but decided against it. Mahogany Wood had given him one more chance. If he defied Lumberjack here, he’d have no more use to the Templar Grand Master.
In the end, he just shrugged and said nothing more. He could do nothing more.
“Fantastic job, you two!” Rose Petal said, putting both her arms around Frigid Night and Mirror Match. “I knew you’d pull it off. You two work well together!”
“Well, we are Assassins!” Mirror chuckled. “If we couldn’t pull all this off, I’d be a shop owner instead.”
“Though…” Frigid rubbed his head. “I doubt this counts as Assassin work.”
“Good job!” Dust Fencer congratulated. “How was it, working with Pierce Network?”
“Umm…” Frigid paused. He tried to turn what he was going to say into something that sounded nicer. “It was… exciting?”
“Exactly what I said, my first mission with that man,” Dust Fencer smiled. “Good work though, creating all the fire and explosions.”
“Yup!” Rose Petal said, squeezing the two Assassins. “I’m proud of you two! You’ve come a long way after a whole year.”
“Not bad,” Trueshot said. “Keep it up out there. If you live long enough, perhaps one day, you’ll have proper students of your own.”
“Well, Frigid,” Dust Fencer continued. “We have some business to take care of, so you two have fun." The senior Assassin gave Frigid a wink. "We’ll be back before you know it.”
Rose Petal started to leave, but not before messing up Frigid’s hair. “See you two around!”
“Take care,” Trueshot said before following the two.
After the three senior Assassins left, only Frigid Night and Mirror Match remained.
“So…” Frigid started. “What do we do now?”
“Well,” Mirror said as she thought. “We did grab some extra loot from that last mission.”
“Oh yeah,” Frigid remembered. “What should we do with it?”
“We could spend it.”
“Alright,” Frigid smiled. “Let’s go shopping.”
“Sounds great,” Mirror agreed. “I’ll meet you at the front door in five. Dress casual.”
“Okay. Bet I can get there first.”
“You’re on.”
With that said, they raced to their rooms, ready to get out there and spend money.
Dust Fencer and the others knelt down around the fallen Assassin as they checked for her wounds. They had arrived in Manehattan after receiving a distress call from the Assassin, but in the end, they had gotten here too late.
“She was definitely killed by knives.” Trueshot pointed out.
There were knife puncture wounds all over the Assassin’s body, stabbing deep enough to damage her internal organs.
“Templars?” Rose Petal asked as she checked the back of the Assassin.
“They’re too precise,” Dust Fencer shook his head. “This attack seemed… wild. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
“I’ll head back to the bureau to report the kill to Mentor. You two should investigate this area. See if you can find anything else about this.”
“Right,” Trueshot nodded. Stay safe. Don’t want this happening to you too.”
“Who do you think I am?” Rose Petal asked before setting off to the bureau.
“Venturing into Templar territory…” Dust Fencer said. “This was a dangerous job. She shouldn’t have come here alone.”
“Maybe she wasn’t,” Trueshot said. “Maybe her partner is still around here somewhere.”
“We should have a look around,” Dust Fencer agreed, taking a look at his surroundings.
He walked over to the nearby alley, since alleys are good for hiding bodies. Turning the corner, he found what he was looking for. Not one, but two more hooded bodies with multiple stab wounds.
“You found the other Assassin?” Trueshot asked from behind.
“Yep,” Dust Fencer said, bending down to check the bodies. “Wait. These aren’t Assassins. They’re just people with hoods on.”
“Fakes?”
“Not quite,” another voice said.
The Assassins looked up to see a new figure standing by a dumpster, holding the body of an Assassin by the arm. He wore a long gray coat over a simple dark shirt.
“Short Circuit!” Dust Fencer called out.
The Assassin lifted his head, but the man just pushed him back down with his knee. “Whoa there, pal. Not so fast. I’m not done with you yet.”
With a quick twist the man broke the Assassin’s neck. He stood up and smirked, taunting the Assassins in front of him.
Dust Fencer said nothing, and ran at the man, drawing his rapier on the way.
“Dust!” Trueshot called from behind, warning the Trottingham assassin of something.
Dust Fencer quickly stopped and turned, just as an eagle swept past him, barely missing his face with its sharp claws. Before the eagle could get far, something hit it in the wing, sending it plunging down.
“Aero!” the killer shouted frantically.
Dust Fencer turned to see Trueshot, his arm outstretched and his phantom blade empty, having just shot a dart at the eagle.
“Good shot, Trueshot.”
Dust Fencer let the man catch the bird as it fell, but readied himself for more just in case.
The man looked up, outraged. “What have you done to my bird?”
Trueshot reloaded his phantom blade. “I just hit it with a sleep dart. I’m not as inhuman as you are.”
“Inhuman?” he laughed. “You think I am inhuman?”He gently put his eagle down and pulled out two SMGs from his coat, pointing them at Dust Fencer and Trueshot. The Assassins dodged to the sides behind some cover as the man started pelting the area with bullets.
“How do you like this, huh?” the man taunted, holding down the trigger. “You like it when I shoot at you? No one… shoots at Dagger Wind’s bird!”
Dagger Wind. Dust Fencer recalled that name. He was an army officer, kicked out because of his violent tendencies. After that, he became a mercenary for hire, selling his skills to whoever needed work to be done.
Templars probably hired this guy.
Dust Fencer nodded to Trueshot. The Stalliongrad Assassin understood and dashed for the alley entrance as Dust Fencer threw two knives towards the Dagger Wind. One almost hit him as he dodged behind a trashcan. Dust Fencer held his position, pulling out three more throwing knives. If he could buy Trueshot enough time, the Assassin could get up to a vantage point, where he could easily take out the killer.
“Giving up?” Dagger Wind shouted over, taking a peek over his cover, pointing his two SMGs at Dust Fencer’s location.
“Not in a few million years, Dagger!” Dust Fencer shouted back.
He gripped one of his knives in a throwing position, ready to take the killer on. He turned on his heels and threw the knife as Dagger Wind started shooting. Two of the bullets buried themselves in Dust Fencer’s arm as he got back behind cover.
“Ouch!” he said to himself as he checked his injuries.
They weren’t too bad, but they sure hurt. He turned back to see if he had hit Dagger Wind. His dagger had lodged itself into the wall at the back, clearly missing the killer.
“Gah,” he breathed.
“Dust, you there?” Trueshot’s voice said on his earpiece. “I’m almost in position. I can see him from here.”
“Okay,” Dust acknowledged. “I’ll be ready. He got my throwing arm, so no more knives from me.”
“You alright?”
“Yeah, no big deal. I still have my sword arm.”
Dagger Wind stood up again and blasted Dust’s location with his guns. “Are you done, Assassin? I’ve got more to give you!”
“Just warming up, Dagger Wind!” Dust called back. “Don’t want to give you too hard of a time yet!”
Dust Fencer readied his hidden blades. If Dagger Wind wanted to play games, he would gladly play along.
Trueshot had climbed a ladder on the side, leading him straight up to the roof where he had a perfect view of his surroundings. He quickly made his way back to the alley where Dust Fencer was, watching his friend distract the killer. He placed himself between two generators and unslung his sniper rifle. Lying on the ground, he rested his rifle on the ledge, making sure to have a good shot of the killer.
“Right above you, Dust,” he told his partner. “Ready on your signal.”
“Anytime, Trueshot,” Dust confirmed.
Trueshot aimed and fired two quick shots, each one hitting Dagger Wind’s SMGs, jamming the gun as the bullets lodged themselves in the chambers.
He was about to shoot more when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around and knocked a knife aimed for him down with his rifle.
“You weren’t supposed to know I’m here,” a woman said, standing in front of him.
“And who are you?” Trueshot asked, slinging back his rifle, and pulling out his hammer and sickle.
“You don’t know me?” she laughed. “Pity. Perhaps you know my name. Pressure Point.”
Pressure Point. She was another killer on the news. She had killed many people, but the police never found her, and here she was, probably hired by the Templars as well.
Trueshot ran at her, knocking down another knife with his hammer as he swung his sickle at her face. She dodged, but didn’t see a kick aimed for her stomach as Trueshot landed a good blow on her.
“Oof!” she gasped.
“There’s more where that came from,” Trueshot said as he swung his hammer down towards her head.
“Gah!” Dust Fencer heard the killer shout as he looked around above him, trying to find Trueshot.
Dust had gotten up and approached Dagger Wind, his hidden blades drawn. He stabbed forward, aiming his blades straight for Dagger Wind’s head. He looked down at the last second, seeing Dust’s hidden blades heading right for his face. He grabbed both of Dust’s arms, stopping the blade inches from his face.
“That’s not going to work,” he told the Assassin. “I was military. I’ve trained. I’m stronger than you are.”
“But not as smart,” Dust smiled, activating another trick to his blades.
The bottom half of the blades swished open, turning his hidden blade’s form into that of a trident. As the blades opened, one of the side blades slashed past Dagger Wind’s right eye, damaging it as blood flew out, dripping down the killer’s face.
“Aagh!” he shouted as he dropped Dust Fencer’s arms.
Dust Fencer would have finished it there, but the killer quickly distanced himself from Dust as he fought to control his blood flow.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be helping me?” he shouted, probably into an earpiece.
Dust approached the wounded killer, but a figure from the side ran right into him, smashing him against the wall on the other side. He turned to see a grey-skinned man with blue hair standing over him, a huge grin on his face.
“Didn’t see me did you?” he sneered. “Well, I’ve been watching. I was there the whole time, and I could have easily taken you down from the start, but it was a fun watch. Wasn’t it, Dagger Wind?”
“Fun? I’ve lost an eye!” the mercenary shouted at his comrade. “You took your sweet time, Wolfgang! Now it’s your turn. Cover my escape. Where’s Pressure Point?”
“She’s keeping the other one busy,” Wolfgang remarked. “And she’s doing as bad of a job as you are.”
“Pressure Point,” Dagger Wind called on his earpiece. “Get out of there. That’s it for now.”
Dust recovered, readying his blades to fight the newcomer. Wolfgang smiled and drew a short sword.
“Ready,” said the man, widening his grin even more.
He charged at Dust, swinging his sword. Dust countered with his trident blades, catching the sword mid-swing, and with a quick twist, he yanked it out of Wolfgang’s hands. The killer quickly pulled out a dagger, slashing downwards with it. He caught Dust Fencer a little off guard, but Dust dodged most of the slash as it cut into his thigh.
He cringed, but said nothing. He fought back, slashing his blades at Wolfgang. Wolfgang sidestepped one, but got hit in the stomach by the second.
“Huh…” he said as he looked at his wound. “You got me. Looks like this is it for now.”
“I’m not letting you get away,” Dust Fencer told him.
“Sure you are!” Wolfgang smiled.
He pulled a familiar round object from his pocket and threw it on the floor. Dust took a few steps back as smoke enveloped the area. Being trained to fight in the smoke, he quickly pulled his scarf over his mouth and nose. Visibility was limited, but he could still see the shape of Wolfgang making his way away. He chased after the killer, but as he left the smoke, the killer had disappeared anyway.
“Shoot,” he grunted as he looked around to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Realizing he couldn’t do anymore, he contacted Trueshot. “Trueshot, where are you?”
There was a pause, but Trueshot answered. “On my way down. There was another one here. Pressure Point. A wanted killer.”“Yeah, they’re all killers. I guess the Templars must be lacking, hiring these kinds of people to take us down. You all good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Pressure Point was rather pathetic, but she got away.”
Dust Fencer walked over to see the dead bodies the killers had left behind. Of all the bodies, only two of them were Assassins.
“Who do you suppose these people are?” Dust asked Trueshot, pointing at the other hooded bodies.
“Why did the killers kill them too?”
Trueshot shook his head. “I don’t know. Probably because they enjoy killing. We should head back to HQ. You need to get those wounds looked at. Don’t want you bleeding out on me.”
Dust Fencer wanted to figure this out, but Trueshot was right. He nodded and followed the Stalliongrad Assassin out. The Templars were going to have a lot of explaining to do, hiring these people.
High Noon had left the office early. Lumberjack had sent the killers out, and without them around, High Noon had no job. He headed towards his car, an idea in mind. Perhaps if he could get some information from the Assassins, Mahogany Wood would trust him again. He didn’t tell anyone where he was headed, but if he came back with some fresh information, they wouldn’t mind. As he started the car, something still bothered him. The killers.
Why would the Templars hire such dangerous people if they planned on making the world better?
High Noon just couldn’t place it. Killers didn’t make a world better, they made it worse. Ignoring the rest of his thoughts, he drove off, heading towards the Trottingham highway. If he were to look anywhere for any kind of Assassin activity, it would be Trottingham. Nothing seemed right to him anymore, but it didn’t matter. Perhaps if the Templars accepted him back, it would be better. High Noon just held onto that thought as he drove on.
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Ah, yes. High Noon's inevitable switch to the Assassins is soon at hand. It's just like the Templars to hire mercenaries to do their dirty work for them, but if they were able to kill Assassins, doesn't that make the Assassins kind of shoddy? That or they're just redshirts who have to die to illustrate just how good these mercs are. Good chapter I guess.
That was quick. The guy just got hired and he lost an eye. And skinny Wolfgang is back!
I had enough of him already. Too bad he can't die in this story eh?
7900646 I know right, I hated/hate Wolfgang.
I think the well no was meant to be on another line.
YOU.
Another case of missing a space between two paragraphs.