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𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐎
Pitheco licked his lips as he cleaned off his sword, wiping the blood from it with his shirt, leaving a red stain on the dark orange fabric. He paid no mind to the bodies littering the floor of the hallway as he stepped over them, a pout reaching his face.
It was about time someone gave him the information he needed. It wasn't that hard. Tell him where the subject was, and they'd die a less painful death. That's a good deal, right?
"Pitheco, come in," the voice of Chrysis sounded from Pitheco's earpiece, "Have you found her yet?"
Pitheco huffed a piece of his long black hair out of his face, kicking the arm of a dead scientist out of his way, "No."
Chrysis sounded impatient, but what was new? "You need to hurry. Harpia is getting restless. Don't make her come down there herself."
Pitheco squashed the leap of his heart in an instant, twirling his sword in his hand as he entered the stairwell and started down toward the basement level. "I am hurrying! These scientists are like ants-- they're everywhere! They keep getting in my way."
"Then do what you were recruited to do, and slaughter them."
"I am."
"Do it faster."
Pitheco snarled, "Why don't you come down and do it? You're the one who sits up at HQ in front of a computer 24/7."
"I'm also the one who compiles all of the information, comes up with the mission plans, conducts polygraph tests, pulls up schematics--"
"Oh please, anyone can make a google search."
Chrysis huffed, "We're wasting time. Do your job."
The earpiece went silent, and Pitheco guessed his accomplice had disconnected his comm. The assassin continued his descent down the stairs, slicing scientists and guards in half whenever they tried to stop him from reaching his destination. Amateurs.
Pitheco cursed under his breath. At the bottom of the flight of steps he'd just gone down, was a shattered window. Shards of glass were strewn across the floor, a few with blood on the tips. An Institute security guard sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. There was a huge welt on the side of his face, his cheek red.
Pitheco walked straight up to the guard and lifted him by the collar of his shirt, smirking when he flailed and tried to pry the assassin's hand off of him.
"What happened?" The guard swallowed thickly, his voice raspy, "Someone took her."
Pitheco's eyes narrowed, tightening his grip and slamming the guard against the wall, "Who took her?"
"The Ninja!"
Pitheco's expression went dark. In an instant, the guard's neck was snapped and blood was pooling around his head as he laid on the metal flooring, dead. Pitheco growled, reaching up to his earpiece.
"Chrysis? The Ninja--"
Falco's voice crackled through the comms, interrupting Pitheco's report. The monotone voice of his comrade sounded out of breath. "Pitheco, I have a situation. The Ninja are here. Currently engaged in battle against them-- but I only count five. The sixth one most likely has the subject. Track them down."
Pitheco cursed under his breath, "Do you need backup?"
"No," Falco responded, his voice calm even though it was clear he was out of breath, "I can hold them off. The subject is all that matters."
Pitheco's heart clenched when the voice of their leader spoke next, a tone so stern and menacing it probably should have scared him, but instead thrilled him.
"Falco, Pitheco, report back to base," Harpia demanded, sounding angered. She had obviously heard all of that about the Ninja. "We just saw the Black Ninja flying with the subject on our Cams. She's in their custody now. We need to regroup and reset for a new extraction."
Pitheco growled, "Those d**n Ninja are going to pay for setting our plans back."
"Of course they will," Harpia agreed, "No one messes with us without a price. They will learn our strengths, and cower before us as we reach further to our goal."
Pitheco glared down the hallway, seeing small splotches of blood extending down the length of it; footsteps. When he took a step forward, Harpia's voice crackled into his ear again.
"Pitheco. Report back to base."
He grumbled, angrily shoving his sword back into its sheath and stomping down the stairs again, heading for the ground level exit.
When he stepped out into the night air, he spotted five colorful figures soaring through the sky, up above the clouds. Pitheco's eyes narrowed, making a silent plea to make the Ninja pay for disrupting his mistress' plans.
