It was a long night. DW let me sleep on the couch again; I’d have to thank him for that again. The problem was, I couldn’t do any sleeping. My mind was too tangled up with the haunting news from earlier. The Crusader survived having his throat cut. I watched him die, and he got back up. Here I was thinking I was hot shit. Guess not. I stared at the ceiling for several hours, going over the most intense battle of my life over and over again in my head. I thought it had been too easy. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected that Gavin was holding something back through out the battle. One doesn’t accumulate such infamy without earning it. I was just a punk kid assassin. Been in the game for a few years and gained some notoriety, but nothing special, just reliable. Gavin was something else. Gavin was a legend, an enigma, and something to be feared by all. There was no logical reason for me to have won. The only way I could have won…. It must have been God.
I eventually got lost in my thoughts and my eyes grew heavy. Sleep began taking me over, the last sight I saw was Sakura’s slumbering face. Before I drifted into unconsciousness, my last thought was What a miracle…
I dreamt of an intense battle. I was one of the Three Hundred Spartans, just a single man in the ranks of a few. We stood on a dusty hill top, watching as human beings began flooding into a valley below us, bellowing deep war cries and brandishing weapons of all sorts. I looked to my left and my right and saw nothing. I had been abandoned. No one was left in sight, spears and bows scattered across what was formerly a well-organized battle line. I began to whimper and heave deeply for air. I felt panic begin gripping my heart. Just as that moment, a single hand fell onto my shoulder. I didn’t take my eyes from the battlefield as the approaching Persian army grew closer. The hand behind me became a body standing at my side. He was a tall man of great stature and strength, dressed out in a suit of glorious bronze and silk. He spoke in an out of place Irish.
“Interesting…. Most interesting.”
Suddenly a sharp slap to my face woke me. “Wakey-wakey. Hands off snake-y.” I looked up to see DW standing above me with a mug of steaming coffee in his hand, his other returning to his robe pocket. The sunlight made the fabric sparkle into my eyes. I rubbed them and slowly rose up from the couch. DW slapped me again. I snatched his wrist and growled.
“Enough! Damn...” I released his arm and looked around. Sakura was off the couch and at the dining room table in the next room over. I could hear her voice mixing with Peanut’s in conversation.
“Get your ass up and go freshen up. We need to talk somewhere that’s not my home.” He slapped me lightly again and stepped away before I could make a lazy attack.
Less than an hour later, DW and I were stepping down the stairs. Peanut said she would watch over Sakura and help her recover. God I was glad she survived the night. I don't think I could have forgave myself if something worse had happened to her.
Before I knew it, DW and I were in the complex’s underground garage. We stepped into the massive dark expanse; DW brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle. At this, the sound of screeching wheels followed and instantly, a black car was barreling at us at great speed. DW watched calmly as the car sped forward, not stopping. I was a bit nervous, but trusted DW’s judgment. The car kept coming, faster and faster from across the enormous garage. DW still didn’t move, but I was becoming fidgety. Suddenly, the car braked hard and began drifting in our direction, spinning in an elegant arc. I began sweating and nearly screamed like a little girl, but DW still didn’t move. The car stopped right in front of us on point.
I stood in a puddle of my own sweat and what might have been urine while DW stepped forward graciously, opening the back seat door. Hop on in. I looked at him in disbelief and hesitantly followed him into the back seat. It seemed strangely familiar. The Car’s shape, the smell of the leather, and the weird music humming from the front. I tried to think nothing of it and continued on. I sat down slowly and attempted to relax myself. Closing the door behind me, I looked forward to see a pale face looking into mine with a goofy smile and a mouthful of chewing gum.
“Morning, pal.” the face said in a British accent.
“Take us to the Rivera, JP.”
Shit. I thought to myself. There was more to this kid than I thought. JP cranked his stereo up and began driving smoothly. I leaned over to DW and whispered, “What’s the deal with this guy? Some kind of limo-driver reject you hired?”
“Heh… more like an on call get-away driver. You gotta remember, B. What I do isn’t exactly legal. I needed the best driver to get me out of the sticky situations I get myself into. JP here happens to be the best.”
“You have too much damn money…” I replied snidely. I leaned back and we didn’t talk for the rest of the ride. The music was too annoying for me to process thoughts. We arrived at a high-class restaurant, entitled ‘The Rivera’. I stepped out and DW followed. He leaned in and said something to JP before closing the door. JP quickly sped off afterwards. We walked into the building, constructed mostly of glass and sculpted marble. Too swanky for me, but a free meal is always a good meal.
We were seated quickly at a bar. Bottles of liquor sat on glass shelves, the bar itself constructed of marble like the rest of the building. We sat on chair-backed stools and ordered drinks. I got water; DW ordered some kind of Spanish sounding concoction. We looked through the over priced menu and got twenty dollar club sandwiches. I was beginning to feel like DW was a real prick for the way he wasted money. I decided to keep my mouth shut, though.
Rich and pampered patrons sat around us, holding conversations about things that shouldn’t be as important as they made them out to be. DW took a swig of some kind of blue drink and looked over to me. He got right to business. “Listen. Listen well, B. You’re starting to get yourself into a situation that’s going to be very hard to crawl out of alive.” he gave me a deep look, something I rarely saw from him. “Now, we may have our differences, but we’re still friends, and as little as I say it, I still care whether you're alive or not.”
I laughed to myself mentally. I think DW was trying to say he loved me as a friend. He just couldn’t speak those words. “Thanks for the kind words, D.”
“I don’t think you understand. You could seriously die. You’re more than just lucky that the Crusader didn’t turn you into a grey spot. From here on out, the competition for this James’ head will only get more intense. Even more dangerous.”
“Like how?”
“Remember that story I told you the other day about those contractors demolishing that bar? The four of them are still alive, word has it. They’re still looking for lives to end. But that’s not the least of your worries. It’s not just local killers anymore. We’re getting out of country coming in from all sides. England, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia. All the best killers in the world are heading for town to get a piece of the pie. And they aren’t sharing with anyone.” DW took a big bite of his sandwich.
“Are you trying to scare me out of this?”
“No…” he said with a full mouth before swallowing. “I’m just letting you know the facts my friend. The situation's only gonna get worse.”
I gave an arrogant smirk and brought my sandwich up. “I say bring it on…” Leaning down to take a bite, I was interrupted before my teeth touched the food as a whirling blade flew from across the room and stabbed into the marble bar between me and DW.
“Very well then.” a woman’s voice to accompanied the attack.
I dropped my food and shot a glance into the direction it came from. The patrons of the restaurant began into a panic, an athletic red head emerged from the scattering humanity. She was dressed in a long, red-leather parka. It was open, revealing a black and white striped shirt and two dangling cutlasses hanging inside the coat. She stepped up in a pair of black Capri pants and white-red Converse sneakers. A large pair of red-rimmed sunglasses sat on her face.
I began grabbing hopelessly for my sword while DW leaped behind the bar. It began to dawn on me that I had left my sword at the condo. I’m screwed.
“The name’s Zeke, big guy. I’m one of those dreadful ‘out of towners’ you and your friend seem to hate so much.” she mocked me in a feminine British voice.
“Listen lady, I really have no quarrel with you…. Could you just look past this one?” I nearly begged her. I hadn't even began to recover from my last fight. My body was still in a bit of pain, and my mind was very weary.
“I’m ‘friad not. Anyone who gets in the way of me and James is a dead man.” with this she withdrew her two cutlasses and swung them in fanciful arcs before dropping them into a strong guard. “Let’s make this entertaining, shall we?”
I didn’t have a choice. It was either fight or die. Standing up, I clenched my fists tight and readied myself for another battle. I didn't even know who this chick was, but I wasn't going to let some stranger kill me, regardless. Not after all the shit I'd been through.
But man, I was beginning to get tired of this job.
