A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War

Chapter 88: Moving Plans

The whole bureau was on high alert when Frigid Night and the others got back. The guards up front had been doubled, while Assassins of all sorts ran about inside. Mentor Steel Shine had gone up with one of the other Assassins, leaving Frigid with Morning Blade and High Noon down in the lobby.

“What happened?” High Noon asked aloud as they watched more Assassins carry down what looked like a body bag. “Were we attacked?”

“The Templars wouldn’t possibly dare attack the bureau directly… would they?” Morning Blade pulled back her hood, concern written all over her face.

“It’s possible,” Frigid frowned as he watched the mayhem in the bureau. “Without the Mentor around, I’m sure they figured they could get an easy one.”

“Then the bureau isn’t safe anymore?” High Noon pondered as he flipped his hat off his head.

“We’ll just have to make sure it is,” Frigid nodded to his friends. “We’re not going to let the Templars do as they please here. We’ll find whoever was responsible and take them down.”

“Even if i-it was Mirror Match?” High Noon carefully asked.

“Don’t talk about her,” Frigid turned his back to them.

“Sorry, buddy. I just… What happens if she was the one responsible?”

“I said to leave it!” Frigid barked harshly before retreating up the stairs.

High Noon scratched at his beard and looked at Morning. The apprentice shook her head sadly and followed after her master.

“Frigid, I don’t know if it was necessary to yell at him like that,” she said as she slowed alongside him. “Though, I’m not questioning you, sir. I’m just asking.”

“It’s nothing, Morning. Forget it.”

Morning Blade looked down at her feet, but continued to follow. She didn’t know how else she could approach the conversation without angering him, so she kept quiet.

“A-are we going back to training, sir?” she asked after a short silence.

“Oh, yes. Mentor said I needed to spend more time with you after all…” Frigid sighed and turned his head to face her. “I guess I’ll teach you some combat moves.”

“Really? Thank you, Frigid!” Morning smiled brightly and followed along with a small hop to her steps.

---

High Noon had gone to grab a can of root beer from the canteen, stopping just outside in the hallway to enjoy his drink. He couldn’t help but pity his old friend. Frigid Night had once been an excellent Assassin, doing everything he could to further their cause and never working around the Mentor’s or anyone else’s orders. Now, now High Noon had no idea what his friend had become.

And it was all thanks to one woman. One woman who was able to tear down everything he stood for in one hit. Through him, Mirror Match had also taken apart everyone else’s lives in the Brotherhood; even his own wasn’t spared.

The cowboy’s thoughts drifted to Windy Sails again. Life was different without the shy, but cheerful girl around. He still wished he had confessed his feelings to her sooner, but Noon knew it was far too late for that, and there was no reason to hit himself for it.

“Tough day?”

Dewdrop leaned against the wall beside him, her blue hair covering her face slightly.

“Hey, Dewdrop.” High Noon turned to see the young girl, Velvet Breeze. She was giving him a wide smile, along with a small wave. “Hey, kid. Well, to answer your question, Dewdrop, it’s been a tough few years.”

“You can say that again,” she mumbled. “Sometimes, I still look back to the good old days. I miss her, Noon. I miss her so much.”

“I know… I’m sorry, Dewdrop. I wish I could’ve done something for you.”

Dewdrop nodded. “Velvet, why don’t you go grab some food first? Give us some time to catch up?”

“Sure! See you later, Dewdrop. See you later, High Noon!” And the girl was gone, running through the door.

“Satin was a good friend,” Noon began as he drained his can. “She wasn’t like the others. She looked out for me. She made sure I was doing alright.”

“Yeah, she was something special alright,” Dewdrop chuckled. “You know, the only reason I joined the Assassins was to be with her?”

“What, really?” Noon raised an eyebrow. After all these years, he realized he had never asked Dewdrop why she had joined the Brotherhood.

“Yeah. It was never about honor or saving the world for me,” Dewdrop’s eyes misted over with recollection. “It was about Satin, and it still is. The world can wait.”

“Well, I guess we all have our different reasons for why we fight.” High Noon cautiously patted the female Assassin’s shoulder. “But we’ll all get through this, Dewdrop. We can win this.”

“I already said I don’t give a damn about the world,” Dewdrop’s voice grew frosty. All I care about now is keeping my promise to Satin to take care of her sister, and to kill the son of a bitch who took her from me. Frigid told me. It was Wolfgang. Wolfgang was the one responsible for Satin’s death.”

High Noon opened his eyes wider at his friend’s sudden hostility. “I’m sorry. Must’ve slipped my mind. Yes. My bad, Dewdrop. But don’t worry. We’re with you on this. All you have to do is ask. We’ll help you take Wolfgang down. He deserves what’s coming.”

“Pft. Whatever.”

High Noon blinked a few times to check if he was imagining things or not. Dewdrop was generally a nice person, though she did have her bad days; the cowboy had never seen Dewdrop like this before.

“A-are you alright, Dewdrop?” he squeaked.

“I’m fine.” Her tone continued to remain harsh.

High Noon was afraid of saying something wrong, so he kept his mouth closed and stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry, Noon,” Dewdrop breathed out, wiping at an eye. “I think I better go check on Velvet. Don’t want her to eat something she shouldn’t.”

“Yeah…” High Noon watched Dewdrop go. “Good talk, Dew. Good talk.”

---

Mahogany Wood was not happy. Not only had Mirror Match gone and killed his brother, he’d had to sit through an entire meeting of Sombra praising her for putting such a swift stop to ‘traitors to the king’, as he put it. And on top of it all, Sombra had ordered him to pay her half a million dollars for her work. Mahogany obeyed of course, but there were limits.

Since returning from his time in Saddle Arabia, Sombra had gone into full leadership mode, ordering all the Templars around like they were pieces on a board. Mahogany didn’t mind any of it, since Sombra was the only one who could fulfill his goals, but he minded it when Mirror Match seemed to be getting more praise for the death of Timber.

“You alright there, bro?” Lumberjack checked from across the table.

Mahogany looked at Mirror Match and shook his head. “I am. I’m just upset that she followed through with her orders. Timber was family.”

“I don’t know... Seemed to me Timber was trying to help the enemy.”

“But he’s still family, Lumberjack. Would you have killed him for changing sides?”

Lumberjack considered the question very carefully.

“You know, there’s an old saying, ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’. You know what that means?”

“Yes,” Mahogany said irritably. “It means that those in charge have to make difficult decisions and choices. What are you getting at, brother?”

“What I’m saying, is that Grand Master Sombra probably didn’t want to have those three killed, but he had to because it was the leader thing to do.”

“Uh huh. I’m sure it was hard to decide,” Mahogany replied sarcastically.

“If you would like to know…” Mirror Match said from her seat. She was picking her teeth with the tip of a throwing knife. “It didn’t seem like a hard choice for his majesty. He simply ordered me to find the traitors and execute them. That was it.” She winked at the chairman and his bodyguard. “And thanks for the payment, boss. I really appreciate it.”

“Necessary sacrifice as you would put it, chairman,” Talon grunted. “He went over to the enemy. Who knows what the Assassins might’ve learnt about our secrets and plans.”

“Watch your tone, soldier.” Crescent Wing stepped forward and put a hand on his saber’s hilt.

“Can we not get into pointless fights here, boys?” Wysteria held up a hand. “We can’t change what happened. Timber’s dead, but the Assassins aren’t going to be getting any secrets from them anymore. We should just focus on finding the artifacts in Saddle Arabia.”

Mirror Match stood up, flicking the throwing knife up her sleeve. “Well, I’ll let you talk about the artifacts, then. I’ve got another job to do.”

“So when are you heading to Saddle Arabia, Mirror?” Mahogany Wood asked, putting his hands together. “I haven’t seen you contribute to anything in a while, besides the death of my brother.”

Mirror Match harrumphed. “I’ve contributed plenty. Saddle Arabia’s not on my to-do list, thank you very much. Got enough to take care of here before setting my sights on some city in the sand.”

“She’s right, you know?” Wysteria pointed out. “Why are we looking for more artifacts when we already have one that could change the world?”

Mirror spoke up again, this time from the doorway. “Because the king decrees it. And whatever the king desires, the king shall have. Good day, all.”

The rest of the Templars watched her leave, some with more enthusiasm than others.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to have more, I suppose.” Lumberjack leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the table. “So, what are my orders, brother? What would you like me to do? It’s been a while since I’ve felt useful. Grand Master Sombra hasn’t let me get anything done.”

Mahogany Wood mused about it. “I want you in Saddle Arabia. If anything, you’re one of our best fighters, Lumberjack. And also, I’d like you to keep me informed of what’s going on there. That is, until I decide to head back there myself. As Chairman of the Board of Education, I need to keep up with the appearance. And that means going for meetings and talking about improving schools.”

“Consider it done, Mahogany,” Lumberjack cheered. “I’ll head out when the boss heads out, then. I’ll be at my very best. I’ll make sure to pack back a few Assassin heads for you.”

“As will I,” Talon stood up. “I’ll lead my troops on the front lines. We’ll push back the boundaries of the city and claim it as our own. Authorities are easily paid off, but if we do encounter resistance from them, rest assured, I’ll handle it.”

“Very well, major.” Mahogany knew the Assassins were the main obstacles standing in their way. If they could only eliminate all of them, then his dreams would most certainly become a reality. “With Assassins being dragged to Saddle Arabia, perhaps it’s also time for us to get things done in our major cities here.”

“I can start getting more weapon shipments in,” Wysteria volunteered. “What do you think, chairman?”

“Do it. We can take this chance to arm ourselves.”

“Sounds like we got a ball rolling here today!” Lumberjack roared with excitement. “I’m bringing my prized axe out of the cabinet for this occasion.”

“Well, you have your orders,” Mahogany smiled. He hadn’t felt hope like this in a few weeks. Timber’s death was only a setback. It was up to Mahogany to finish what their family had started. “Let today forth bring us victory over the Assassins!”

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Half a million dollars for sniping three people.
Half a million dollars.
These Templars must be really loaded if they can afford to pay people that much money, unless Mirror Match is just a special case.
That's still a lot of money though. If they pay her like this for every mission it's easy to see how she owns an entire building.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

“Uh huh. I’m sure it was hard to decide,” Mahogany replied sarcastically.

Huh, sarcasm, wierd.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

HAIL HYDR- oh, sorry, wrong universe. another masterpiece.

[MoonlightRift]

Mirror Match kind of carrying the Templars on her back.