Before the Battle

Enemies and Friends 5/8

~~~MIKA MARAT~~~

I had to leave the meeting early.

It was getting dark outside and quite cold. My fingers were numb after a few minutes, and every time I exhaled, a cloud of steam formed around my mouth.

A few stray snowflakes flew through the air, but they melted as soon as they hit the pavement.

Despite my best efforts, I didn't arrive at the agreed place until five past six. My contact was already there.

As usual, two men were standing there.

A secret meeting under cover of night in a lonely street. Could it be any more cliché?

The two guys looked tough and unapproachable, but otherwise they were completely average. No distinguishing features to stand out, just two middle-aged men, completely forgettable.

Which was probably one of the reasons they were chosen for the job.

The meeting was business as usual. I was given an envelope with a data card in exchange for an envelope of money. There was no need for long conversations or complicated negotiations, the deal had clear rules.

Information in exchange for a substantial sum of money.

Satisfied, I walked back, the snowfall having intensified, dozens of white flakes flying in the orange light of the street lamps.

I only noticed the dark figure leaning against the wall when it shifted and blocked my path.

He looked different from yesterday at headquarters. He had no long coat or katana. Just plain jeans, leather jacket, no weapon in sight. But that didn't mean he wasn't carrying one. And even if he wasn't, I knew he wouldn't need one to break my neck.

I was armed, but I didn't dare make a sudden move towards the hidden holster.

"Captain."

His voice was colder than the air surrounding us. I had never met him before. Yesterday at headquarters was the first time I'd seen him in person, but that was from a distance. Now he was standing right in front of me.

Unconsciously I took a step back, my stomach tightening. I didn't want to show any weakness in front of him, but he was looking at me like a predator at its prey. Everything about him - the stance, the look, the expression - evoked some basic and deep-seated instinct in me that screamed: Run!

Despite my best efforts to control my fear, my hands shook and panic slowly took hold of me.

"What do you want from me?" I blurted out, hoping to keep a firm and confident expression on my face. But my voice betrayed me.

"I know you're having Taira followed," he said. "You will call off the people you have sent after him and leave him alone."

His cold eyes bore into mine like two shards. "I won't ask you so politely a second time."

Damn it!

They screwed up. They were supposed to be the best, and yet he discovered them.

Suddenly, the barrel of the gun pressed against the killer's temple from behind. "Looks like you're going to get hurt this time."

I caught a glimpse of the first man, then the second. They were the two I'd met.

Should I be relieved that they had come to my rescue? Actually, it scared me even more. I didn't want this place to turn into a bloody firefight.

The imperial assassin didn't flinch, not even a hint of surprise, or perhaps fear. He slowly turned and swept his eyes over the two men.

"I wanted a private word," he sighed, slowly spreading his arms and turning his empty palms upwards as if to reassure them that he was unarmed. "Of course, there are other ways to handle this..."

And with that, he attacked. I hated to admit to him that I'd never seen anyone move with such speed and precision.

He caught the hand of the closer man and swerved sharply to the side so that the other's shot narrowly missed him. A short blade flashed in his palm, which had been empty a second before.

Another shot was fired, but it also missed. A second later, the first man was whimpering in pain, holding his bleeding arm. The second had been shot through the knee with a single bullet from the gun the killer had taken from him.

The white snowflakes clung to his dark leather jacket and black hair. I noticed the torn fabric on his back and several bloodstains. One of the bullets must have grazed him after all.

I didn't think for a moment that I would take part in the fight. I saw how good he was, and I had no intention of engaging in a duel with a trained assassin. Those two fools should never have started it in the first place. If I hadn't been afraid of being shot in the back, I would have disappeared.  

One of the men was writhing on the ground, screaming in pain, his knee badly shattered. Not far from him lay another weapon, forgotten and covered in a thin layer of snow. The assassin stepped closer to the lying man, kicking the weapon further out of reach, though I didn't think the wounded man would want to use it again. And then he aimed for the man's head.

The man stared at him in horror, his eyes bulging with deadly terror. "No, please, don't..."

He's going to kill him. I was sure of it. And then he'll kill me.

I took a few steps back, staggering as my foot slipped on the muddy snow melting on the pavement. My back hit the cold wall of one of the houses.

He fired.

The bullet buried itself in the pavement a few millimetres from the man's head.

"I'll aim better next time," he said coldly, lowering his gun hand.

The man was shaking and clenching his teeth, his confidence gone.

I prayed that this was the end of the show.

He turned to me again and said, "You employ dangerous people, Captain. You should be careful."

And then he was gone. He disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared, his silhouette concealed by a curtain of heavy falling snowflakes.

I sighed deeply and fumbled with trembling fingers for my mobile phone.

*

"Fools," he kicked one of the wounded who was still on the ground, whimpering softly. Not a trace of pity on his face. "They're lucky they're still breathing."

Isao Satoshi worked for me. It was his people who were supposed to keep an eye on Imara.

It was his people who screwed up.

"I would have expected him to kill them," he added, half to himself, before his attention turned to me.

He was a short man of indeterminate age. He had a bald head and a very unpleasant look, his small black eyes seeming to watch and judge you constantly.

He came across as stern and unpleasant, but I didn't pay him because of his manner. He was one of the best at what he did.

Or so I thought until now.

"You said he wouldn't discover them. That they were your most experienced people."

"Well, he's good," he replied curtly.

"What do you propose?"

" I'll withdraw my people, there's no point in continuing if he knows what we're trying to do."

"So we give up? You promised to help me get Imara."

"And I will," he smiled confidently. "We'll just do it differently this time."