My heart thumped uncontrollably in my chest as I stared down the barrel of four guns. Taking in the scene around me, I realized that a large amount of damage had already been done before my arrival. It must have been a nice place before the Riot came around. Decorated in smooth mahogany hardwood furniture and satin, it was a high class place…. At least it used to be. The room was silent, and I realized that sweat was beading around my forehead as I stood still. Suddenly, a gun shot broke the silence as a bullet whizzed by my head. It was quickly answered as the lanky Joey swung around bulkily with his two SIGs and unloaded a barrage of fire onto the shooter hiding behind the club’s bar. Muzzle fire flashed off of his figure, dressed in black camouflage pants and tank top, combat boots laced up to the shin.
The woman, Annie, kept her sights on me. She was dressed in a similar fashion to Joe, albeit more feminine, she still presented a very intimidating presence. A dying cry was heard from behind the bar and signaled the end of Joey’s attack. Looking back to me, Joey aimed his right handed weapon at me once again, “Can I kill him now?”
“I don’t care…” Annie spoke in a cold indifference.
“Sweet.” Joe licked his teeth and squeezed the trigger. My body reacted by itself, cartwheeling backwards and rolling behind a turned over round-table. The SIG bullets ripped through the wood like butter, so it was useless. Thinking quickly, I thrust the bottoms of my feet against the table and sent it flying at the pair, who both leapt to opposite sides. I took my chance to take out one of the two, so I rushed for Joey. Leaping into the air, I came down with my Odachi poised to chop his body in two, but I was met with surprising speed from him. Blocking with his SIG, I was sucker punched by the butt of his second assault rifle, and then headbutted squarely on the nose.
This guy wasn’t a push over, that was for sure. As my face swayed back from the headbutt, I was nearly ended by a machine gun blast to the head, but I was capable of recovering before meeting my demise. Swinging my back leg quickly, I connected with his knee cap and spun around with a backfist, but I was met by the SIG again. “SHIT!” I screamed in pain as my hand met the several sharp workings of the metal machinegun.
“Fool.” he muttered before sweeping my leg with his heavy boot. I fell onto my back with a thud and was nearly blasted again. Spinning off of my back I slithered around his legs and brought my own boot into his face with a hard up-kick to the chin. Stumbling back a few steps, he fell over a table as I leapt onto my feet. Sword at the ready, I prepared to plunge the blade into his exposed chest, but my blade was knocked off to the side by a well placed bullet that dented my supposedly perfect sword. I heard Joey laugh, and was kicked in the stomach by the bottom of his foot. Looking over, I saw Annie smiling smugly, holding a smoking gun. Then I heard the cocking SIG near my ear, Joey was on his feet and angry. “Find a way outta this, asshole…
“I think the way just found him, friend.” a familiar Irish voice spoke softly from the doorway, causing a fast reaction from both Annie and Joey who unloaded gunfire at the sound. As the smoke and debris cleared, they found nothing.
“What the…” Joe whispered to himself before being hit viciously in the gut by a wrapped cross. There standing nobly in front of me was my savior, Gavin… The Crusader.
“You’re… alive.” the words escaped my mouth in a mutter of surprise.
“Indeed.
Before Gavin could express himself further, gunshots were being fired at him from Annie. Tackling me to the floor, cross on top of us, we took cover. Looking over to me, Gavin withdrew two of his pistols. “Take care of the woman, I’ll handle the lad…”
I didn’t know what to think, but I was definitely glad to have some help. Nodding silently, I began crawling my way underneath the tables under a hail of gunfire. I approached close and waited for her to run out of ammo…
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* *Click.* Now.
Running out with a vicious growl, I began swinging my blade from all angles as the alert Annie dodged gracefully from side to side, simultaneously holstering her pistols. Leaping backwards, she withdrew a fresh set of guns from two back holsters and began firing. Sliding side to side, I rolled over a table and sprinted low to the ground. Posing my blade to stab, I brought it quickly up and was side stepped as I had predicted. Stabbing the blade into the hardwood floor, I swung my body sideways into a sweeping motion and caught my unbalanced opponent in the side, sending her flipping across several tables and chairs. Gripping my odachi’s sheath, I approached the site of her landing slowly.
“Greeeaaaah!” Annie screamed monstrously, throwing a chair at me with unexpected strength. Thinking quick, I sliced the chair in half with my razor like blade and awaited for Annie’s rampage. She went to reload her guns, so I acted fast. Spinning smoothly, I threw my odachi at her like a boomerang. Surprised, she ducked hastily, and opened up for my follow up. Bringing the sheath down onto her skull, she slumped onto the floor unconscious. That took care of that.
I was alerted by the sound of Gavin letting out a big “Ooof!” as he flew across the room and landed heavily onto a table, smashing it with the weight of himself and his cross.
Joe growled from across the room, “What’d you do?!” he roared and fired off at me. “What’d you do to Annie?!” He kept squeezing his triggers, until his clips ran dry.
Gavin called out to me, “My friend… make your way to your target.”
“But he’ll kill you!”
Gavin stood up and brushed off his black suit. Lifting up his cross, he looked back to me and smirked. “Have some faith…” Looking back to the enraged Joe, he brought his cross in front of him and uttered some prayer. It was indecipherable until he muttered aloud, “Amen.” Gripping the cloth around his cross, he ripped the linen off with a quick snatch and threw it off to the side, revealing a huge metallic outer case. Gripping a strange handle in the middle, he pulled the top up and extended the cross. Lifting it and holding it at his side, he aimed the bottom at Joey. A loud cocking action was heard.
Both me and Joe were in a state of awe at his magnificent weapon. “No go…” he spoke authority to me. For a moment, I could only stare. “GO!”
I gulped and ran towards the back room behind the bar. Closing the door behind me, I looked on to the hallway in front of me, covered with bleeding, dead bodies from the people who tried retreating after their wounds from Joe and Annie. Looking back up to the closed doorway in front of me, I heard a symphony of pounding gunfire behind me. It would play a nice soundtrack to what awaited me in the mysterious room.
Side stepping the various bodies, I marched up to the door. Taking a deep breathe, I opened it slowly and was met by a bright shining light in my face, as well as a gun pressed against my temple. It was at moment I realized that I wasn’t holding a sword in my hand, just a sheath.
“Well, well, well… It seems as though you’ve finally been beaten, ‘Boss’.”
The voice came from across the room. Shielding my eyes, I saw the silhouette of a sitting man, two female figures standing at his side. James…
“Charles… if you would so kindly.”
“Gladly…” whispered the gunman.
BANG!
“My student, over these years, you have learned well from me. I have bestowed upon you…. *cough* everything that I know as a master. I have only one technique left to teach you… one that can only be used *cough* on the verge of defeat.”
“What do you mean master? Are you asking me to take an oath?”
“Heh, no, that is not the case. This technique may only be used… should I say… can only be used, when certain death is about to befall you.”
“What? Haha! That’s, that’s ridiculous, master. How is that possible?”
“Still so foolish, my student. Remember what I have said. Anything is possible…”
“Then how, sensei? How can one master such a technique?”
“Take this sword… and kill me with it.”
“What?!”
“Place it over my heart…. And thrust as you intend to kill.”
“Master, I cou-“
“Obey me!”
“KIAAA-ugh….”
“*sigh* Do you see now?”
“…*cough cough* But…. How?”
“I will teach you… come. This is your final lesson underneath me. Your final lesson in the Art of….”
The blue-suited man named Charles lay at my feet, coughing blood onto the floor. My sword sheet lay next to him, and my fists were clenched tightly, as to cause my palm to bleed.
“HOW!?” Charles growled in between spurts of coughs.
“I must say… that was quite… impressive, Boss.” James spoke in a business like tone.
“Now, it’s your turn.” I kneeled down and picked up Charles’ weapon, and aimed at James as I stepped forward. The two female attendants to his side quickly pulled their own weapons.
“That will be more than enough… you’ve already won, my good man.”
“What?” a scowl spread across my face.
“You’ve won the reward, the bounty.” a brief case slid across the floor and stopped at my feet. It was open, stacks of money laying within it. “But, the game’s not over.”
“What is this bullshit?”
“Understand this, bounty hunter. I placed the price upon my own head…. I knew exactly what I was doing. I needed to find the best assassin in the world, and I have found him in you.” the lights shut off behind him, and my eyes refocused on the figure of a well-groomed young, blonde man dressed in a fine white suit. “I sent my dearest Erica to meet you, and test your commitment. I had an open bounty to attract as many takers as possible. And so now… let us make another deal…” he brought a cigar to his lips and the girl to his right, dressed similar to Erica, lit it for him. “Thank you, Raiha." He refocused his attention on me. "Triple that payment, if you can handle this next job…. That’s what… $12,000,000 total?”
“And what if I refuse?”
From a door to my left, a small firing squad of suited mobsters rushed into the room and drew guns.
“I don’t think you’ll be doing that…” he took a drag of his cigar. “Besides… you seem like a man who likes a challenge. And this, my good man, is the hit of a life time. Something truly special….”
I looked back on the events that had befallen me in the past weeks. All the conflict, all the fighting, all the pain, and all the excitement… and then I realized… this is what I lived for.
I looked up into James’ eyes, cold blue orbs set in a stone cold, yet smirking face.
“I’m listening…”
