After scaling the side of the building, the three of us darted across the roofs, heading towards the looming warehouse ahead. The Royal Trio had disappeared from our sight in the streets below us.
Knox climbed up the warehouse roof, then to another roof with a higher vantage point, setting up his rifle on the roof's ledge and scanned the streets below through the scope. I slid through a high window on the upper floor of the warehouse. A narrow, metal pathway wrapped around the interior edge of the warehouse, hanging only ten feet below the roof. Guards milled about, walking to and fro as they carried guns and kept an eye on the bustling drug operation below. I landed on the metal walkway, my feet perfectly silent. Nydia followed and we slipped past the heedless guards.
Sticking to the shadows, we made our way across the metal pathway, thankful for the way the warehouse had been structured. The ceilings held no lights leaving the people below to work with small lamps as they weaved between large metal crates and tables filled with all kinds of chemicals and signs of experimentation. The metal crates blocked some of the light from carrying upward and allowed the ceiling to look darker than night. Nydia and I took advantage of this as we pulled ourselves up onto a pipe that ran from one side of the warehouse to another. We crawled across it to the middle, backs just barely scraping the roof, arms and hands straining to keep us balanced.
Finally, we reached the middle and Nydia adjusted herself into a crouch before swinging her bow off her shoulder and notching an arrow, pointing down below, staying in ready position. I checked the straps of my knives, making sure they would hop into my hands as fast as possible upon signal. Looking around, with a certain sort of satisfaction, I realized none of the guards had noticed our presence.
I focused my attention back on Nydia and watched her move the bow around as she watched the people below. Finally Nydia stopped and pulled back harder on the arrow. I followed her line of sight and watched a man standing in the middle of a warehouse talking to another person. I was about to ask Nydia why she was aiming at him when it dawned me. Based on the patterns of movement and the way the people seemed to be acting around this man, he was the main boss of the whole operation.
"Are you going to shoot?" I whispered, the sounds below masking my words
Nydia shook her head. "You remember what the Crowns said. They want him to be brought back to the Golden Palace alive."
"Then why aim?"
"Just in case."
I paused for a moment before asking, "Where are the others?"
"Probably waiting in the street for the ten minutes to be over."
"Ten minutes?"
"They usually give us ten minutes before entering so that Knox and I can take our positions up top," she explained. "It's harder for the two of us to get in after the Crowns walk in since the guards are on high alert and much more jumpy."
"Wait, walk in?" I asked. "As in straight through the doors?"
Nydia nodded.
"Why the hell-"
I was interrupted by the sound of the large front doors opening. Three silhouettes stood in the doorway and all movement below halted. Numerous guards and workers raised their guns, including the middle boss man.
"Put your hands in the air and step into the light!" Someone shouted, though I couldn't pin the location of origin.
The Royals ignored the hands order although the did take a few steps forward, just enough for the light to reach them, but not enough to be seen clearly. They looked around the room at all the guns trained on them, expressions more maniacal and taunting from the shadows that were cast across their faces.
"You dare point your guns at the Crown Heirs?" Arielle asked. If they didn't know they were facing the Crowns before, they certainly did now. The workers and guards slowly dropped their arms, but I noticed that their fingers remained pressed against the triggers. Apparently, so did Arielle.
"Why so tense?" Arielle asked in a smooth voice. "We just want to talk."
Her words were silky and soothing but the taunting expression in her eyes made it seem like the slow movements of a cat before it pounced. The man in the middle hesitated for a moment before making a sweeping gesture with his arm. The workers holstered their guns and continued running to and fro, though they cast uneasy glances the Royals. Only the guards left their guns out, staring straight at the Crowns.
The man in the middle motioned them towards a few chairs in the middle of the operation, positioned around a large table. None of them sat. Noise levels of the ground operation decreased significantly and I could hear every word of their conversation.
"I'm sorry about the mess, Your Supermacies," he said, referring to the papers scrawled across the table. "I was not expecting visitors."
His words were kind enough, but the underlying tone was not.
"I wasn't expecting to be here either," she replied.
"Nice operation," Damien said, looking around. "Very big but still on the DL, exporting from the back to avoid any unwanted attention, buying out most of the buildings around here, specifically in the back, to keep people away."
"I thought we were permitted to run drugs as much as we wish," the man said.
"You are."
"Then why the visit?"
"Like I said, Oswald, we just want to talk," Arielle answered.
"Why me? There millions of other operations around Concorde."
"Your operation is very peculiar," Damien replied.
Oswald tensed before easing up and trying to look as if nothing happened, but I knew no one missed it. Nydia confirmed this when she looked up at me. I met her eyes and she jerked her head towards the guards. The message was clear. Take out the guards. She poked one of the fingers on her arrow upward and pressed it to her lips, indicating that it was to be done stealthily.
I didn't want to kill the guards. They were most likely just trying to make a living in the repressive, fractured system the assassins had set up for them. But I was an Alpha and I needed to act like one if I wanted my revenge.
I crawled across the pipe, trying my best to be silent. Unlike before, every small noise would be caught. The conversations below continued.
"How so?" Oswald asked.
I had reached the end of the pipe right when the man closest to me looked up. He opened his mouth to shout but an arrow pierced through his heart before any sound escaped. I jumped down and caught the gun that slipped from his fingers before catching his body. I lowered both of them to the ground, making as little noise as possible. The other guards continued to watch the scene below, all of them too entranced to notice me or Nydia. I crept across the metal passageway, keeping to the shadows.
"You've managed to keep this operation hidden for quite some time. How'd you do it?"
"Hid the drugs in cars and other products. And the warehouse is believed to be old but we bought all the houses in the back entrance and pay them a fee to keep quiet."
Slipping behind two guards, I unsheathed my daggers and slashed their necks. I caught their guns first and then pulled them back, preventing them from falling forward into the warehouse below.
"Why go to such great lengths?"Arielle asked.
"I didn't want the unwanted attention from others. You never know who might want to take over or attack workers for money."
Another guard turned just as I approached him. My dagger was across his throat before he could blink.
Xavier spoke for the first time during the entire encounter. "It must be a pain to pay all of them so much money everyday."
"It's alright. I like helping out those around us."
I approached another soldier, trying to sneak up on him as I had done with the last ones, but he was ready for me. He rammed the butt of his rifle into my jaw just as I was about to slice his throat. I staggered and he reeled his hand back again. I ducked to the side before grabbing the rifle and twisting it. His arms twisted and I spun him around, confining him in a choke hold.
The guard a few feet away chose that moment to look up. He opened his mouth to call for help and I did the first thing that came on instinct.
I flung my knife straight into the guard's jaw. He coughed up blood as he sank to the ground, the gun clattering to the ground. The sound didn't attract the attention of anyone down below, but a few guards on the metal walkway turned their attention to me.
Shit.
"How much money do you give each of them?"
He paused for a moment before responding, "About a hundred dollars per household everyday, give or take."
"And you pay for any housing bills?"
"Yes."
The body went limp in my arms and I let him fall to the ground. Arrows flew into the necks of those who tried to call for help or pull the alarm. The rest surged forward.
Producing two more daggers I ran to meet them, ducking beneath outstretched hands and guns, piercing daggers through their hearts. Another guard tried to shoot but an arrow lodged into his hand and forced him to drop the gun. I sliced his neck, right through the larynx, preventing him from screaming in pain and stabbed the last guard in the heart. Stepping carefully between the fallen bodies, I made my way across the blood-slick path towards the final side of the warehouse that had not been cleared of guards.
"Must be a very expensive operation."
"It is."
"How did you get enough money to start it?"
Oswald stuttered.
Three guards closer to the corner of the pathway raised their guns. I threw two daggers into their necks before running forward and jumping, kicking the last one straight in the chest before slicing his neck too. His gun clattered to the ground and I noticed he had a rare Supermax silencer, the most powerful silencer in the world. When the gun was shot, the bullets sounded like a whisper in the wind.
I took advantage of the specialized silencer and picked it up, dropping to a crouch and placing it on my knee to aim at two more oncoming guards before pulling the trigger twice. The sound was the whisper of bullets soaring through the air like the wind and blood trickling through the foreheads of limp bodies.
I stood back up and risked a look below. Xavier stood up and placed his hands on the table, leaning forward, his eyes menacing. He repeated slowly, "How did you get the money?"
Oswald stuttered. "I, um, I robbed someone."
"You robbed an assassin," Arielle corrected, hissing the last word with enough venom to make Oswald lean back a little in fright.
I turned my attention back to the remaining guards. There were only ten left on the walkway. I lifted up the rifle again and aimed.
"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't think it through."
"Clearly. And now you're going to have to pay for your idiocy and lack of respect."
I pulled the trigger thrice and three bodies dropped to the ground.
"Or," Xavier interrupted, "you give us information and we let you go."
I paused, my mind whirling. The Crowns had ordered us to deliver Oswald to the Court. No one would dare disobey the Crowns, even their own children. So why the hell was Xavier offering to let him go? What game is he playing?
I couldn't dwell on it for long since a two more guards spotted their fallen brethren. I tried shooting only to be met with a clicking noise. I was out of bullets.
"We will?" Damien asked and then grunted which was an indication that either Xavier or Arielle kicked him. He then added, "We will."
Oswald hesitated. "What do you want to know?"
Guards opened their mouths and this time, no arrows struck them. Nydia must've been too busy watching the scene unfold on the ground. It was left to me.
I flung my last daggers out and they sailed through the air, landing true into the guards necks. Just five more to go. Unfortunately, all five turned at once.
"There's a large gap in the money made and spent, even after taking into account the fines payed to those around here and wages given to all of your workers and guards. So tell me, Oswald," Xavier emphasized the name in an almost mocking manner. "Where does all the money go?"
"We save it."
"Where?"
"In numerous locations around the city-"
"Show us."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
No answer.
Xavier repeated his question. "Why not?"
There was a scuffling noise as Oswald stepped back and pulled out a gun, everyone else in the vicinity following suite. Guns clicked and cocked, every single one pointed at the Crowns and Royals below. And five guards were currently barreling at me.
"Are you going to shoot us, Oswald?" His voice light as if he was talking to a child. Was he trying to get himself killed?
I ran forward, yanking my twin daggers out of fallen bodies as I went, meeting the oncoming guards midway. I side-stepped the first guard and ducked under the outstretched arm of the second before thrusting my daggers into their sides and twisted. The two guards let out a shriek, but it hardly mattered anymore. The people below had already drawn their guns. Someone pointed up in my direction, but Nydia shot an arrow at his hand, forcing him to drop it.
Oswald looked at the arrow and said, "You knew this was going to happen?"
"I always come prepared."
Still holding onto my daggers in the guards sides, I kicked the third oncoming guard in the chest and swiped at his feet, making him lose balance and fall to the ground. I stomped on his face. He didn't get back up.
"It doesn't matter. We have over twenty guns trained on you."
Arielle scoffed. "We'd probably killed twice that amount in the past five minutes and you didn't even realize it."
Finally, I yanked my daggers out of the guards sides and stabbed through the back of their necks for extra measure. The screaming ceased. The final two guards kept their distance and lifted their rifles, positioning them so that I couldn't aim for their necks very well. So, instead I ran forward and dropped to the ground at the last second, sliding towards them. I kicked both of their legs and spun around trying to stab them, but one of the guards had managed to step around me and grab a hold of my neck from the back.
I gasped for air as the guard squeezed tighter. The other one yanked my blades out of my hands and raised it, ready to kill me with my own dagger. I twisted out of the way just as he lunged forward with the knife, aiming for my gut but stabbing his companion instead. The guards grip on my neck loosened and I kicked the guard with the knife back before hitting the pressure points of the choking guards hands and ducking out of his grip. I spun him around, back facing me, torso pinned against the walkway's railing as I sliced his throat.
I spotted movement in the corner of my eye and I looked up to see Nydia making a waving motion. I looked down at the warehouse and understood what she was saying.
"You can't-"
Oswald's words were cut off when I pushed the fourth guard's body over the railing. It fell to the ground in a bloody heap and gasps rolled across the warehouse, the desired effect of fear achieved.
The final guard lunged, tackling me to the ground, my dagger digging into my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the workers on the ground lifting their guns in my direction. Remembering the trick Knox had played on me, I kicked the guard and pushed him into the bullets' path. Blood spilled onto my clothes as bullets pelted his body. Seventeen shots rang out before the bullets stopped. I pushed the guard's body off and got to my feet, sinking back into the shadows as I made my way back to the pipe.
Outside, another bloody body dropped into the street right where it was clearly visible for all those inside, a present from Knox. I had nearly forgot that he was still outside.
"You seemed completely fine with us knowing you had robbed a Court Assassin," Damien stated. "Why are you so jumpy now? Who are you sending the money to?"
"No one."
Arielle rolled her eyes. "Are we back in middle school?"
Oswald cocked his gun and tried to look calm, but we could see through his facade. "It doesn't matter. You're not getting out of here alive."
I climbed onto the pipe and crawled over to Nydia who was still crouching in the middle, fixing her attention downwards, eyes squinting as she aimed three arrows at once. Her grip on the bow string was tight, ready to fire at a moments notice.
"Then shoot, Oswald," Xavier said, cold green eyes set in challenge. "Unless you're scared to kill the Crown Heirs."
"What are they doing?" I whispered to Nydia.
She pressed a finger to lips as they twisted into malicious smirk that looked nearly foreign on her. "Watch."
"I'm not scared," Oswald argued.
"Then take the shot," Arielle added.
"Unless you don't want every single assassin in the nation hunting for you," Xavier said as Damien reached into his pocket.
"They won't-"
"They're expert trackers. They can probably find you and every single person in this room."
"No, we can't-"
"And then they'll kill everyone in front of their family members and kill them too."
"You're evil."
"And they'll keep you alive long enough to get five stabs each and patch you up and stab you again until your blood seeps across the palace floor and down the grand waterfalls, turning the lakes to red and drown your son in the blood water."
"Don't you dare-"
"Would you like that, Oswald? Do you still want to kill us?"
"I-"
"Would that make you happy? Are you willing to let your son die for you and your cause?"
"He-"
"Do you want to die for someone else? To keep their secrets? Are brave enough to sacrifice everything?"
"Y-yes."
"I don't believe you," Arielle said.
"No, I will."
"Then do it," Damien challenged. "Kill us. Pull the trigger."
Oswald hesitated.
"I knew it," Arielle scoffed. "You're too scared."
"I'm not-"
"You can't do what needs to be done."
"No, I-"
"What kind of leader are you? You're not willing to sacrifice your life and happiness?"
"But are you willing to sacrifice the life of those around you as well?" Xavier asked.
Oswald looked between them, confused on what to do and who's words to follow.
"You can't even make the ultimate sacrifice for what you believe in?" Arielle continued, prancing around him.
"Are you really going to ruin the lives of those around you?" Xavier asked.
"You're not brave enough to shoot us."
"I- I am."
"Then do it," Arielle urged.
"Command your men to open fire," Damien added.
"Yes, let them fire and kill the only chance of life they have left," Xavier countered.
"Make us bleed on your floor," Arielle hissed.
"Let their families die for you," Xavier hissed back.
"Do what no other in history has done."
"Risk everything you had built."
"Free all the Streeters from our tyranny."
"Subject them to death."
"Become a god and legend among men."
"Become a Reaper of Death."
"Make your decision, Oswald," Damien ordered.
"Pull the trigger."
"Don't pull the trigger."
"Do it! Show us that you can!"
"Don't! Give up the information instead!"
"Order your men to fire!"
"Save them from torture!"
"Kill us all!"
"Fire!" Oswald shouted and I gasped. Shots rang and bullets whizzed just as Damien threw a circular object in the air. It wasn't until shots stopped ringing around the warehouse that I realized the ball was hovering in the air, collecting all the bullets shot like a magnet. With no other bullets being fired, the ball fell to the ground with a metallic "clink", the Crowns standing in the exact same positions as they were before, not a single scratch on their bodies.
A Bullet Magnetizer.
Bullet Magnetizers were even more rare than Supermax Silencers, only found amongst the highest officials of armies and passed down from generation to generation of the few Court members who had managed to grab a hold of them. Of course the Crowns would have one.
There was a moment of silence as Oswald looked down at the device in shock before he raised his hand again, signalling them to shoot and Damien threw another Magnetizer. Shots fired continuously around the warehouse, not stopping until they were all out. But even then, every bullet was sucked out of its path and stuck to the floating Magnetizer. Finally, the shots came to a stop followed by the clicks of hollow barrels and then silence. the Magnetizer fell to the ground, like it's first counterpart.
"I have more," Damien said.
One by one, the workers and guards lowered their guns staring in shock and fear at the Crowns. I took the opportunity to turn to Nydia.
"Why go through all the trouble of making him shoot if they were going to stop him all along?" I asked her.
"They weren't trying to make him shoot, they were trying to confuse him. By overloading him and making him panic, they were forcing him to not think about his actions but just follow his first instinct. They were trying to measure how far he would go to keep his secrets."
I turned my attention back to Oswald. "Pretty far."
"Now we can have a serious chat," Xavier said, the regular coldness returning to his eyes. "Why are you willing to kill us to keep who you're sending the money to a secret?"
"I won't tell you anything!"
Arielle stepped forward and unsheathed her golden blades. "We can make you."
"No. You won't get anything from me," he said, a strange sense of determination lining his voice.
Xavier understood what was going on before I did. He lunged forward and stuffed his fingers inside Oswald's mouth. Oswald tried to bite down but Xavier had already taken his hand out, holding a small white object between his fingers.
"Poison pill," he smirked and let it drop to the floor. "Who made you go to such extreme lengths?"
Oswald staggered backward and reached for a knife on the table and lifted his hand up, bringing the blade to his neck. Arielle grabbed his hand and twisted, forcing him to drop the blade, before punching him straight across the head. He fell to the floor, unconscious.
Damien looked around at the gaping guards and workers. He sighed, "You guys are the worst guards I have ever seen."
They looked up at him and charged forward, reaching for knives and rods, any weapon they could find. Damien took out a pair of handguns. "Finally."
Right on time, Knox jumped in through the window and braced his rifle against the metal railing, shooting at the guards below. Nydia released her three arrows and they struck three targets in the chest. Arielle flung her blades and they sliced through numerous guards before they returned to her hands, dripping with blood. Xavier whipped out two hand guns, picking people off one by one. I crawled off the pipe and collected some of my fallen daggers before jumping over the railing and onto one of the large metal crates, joining the fray. Rolling to a crouch, I looked up just as a few men climbed up the crates. My knives flicked into my hands and I ran forward, tearing them apart.
More and more men climbed crates, trying to get a hold of me, but they lost their fingers or heads before they could ever get close enough. Arrows would occasionally bury themselves in one of my assailants. I jumped across the maze of crates, slicing through as many men as I could. Golden blades glittered in and out of my vision and gunshots echoed through the warehouse.
Finally, all movement seemed to stop and the warehouse quieted down. Bodies lay everywhere, enough blood bathing the floors to make a pool. I looked myself over and notice a single long gash extending the length of my forearm, but other than that, I was unwounded. I looked back at the amount of bodies I had dropped. Perhaps I was learning from all the Alpha training.
I jumped down to the ground and was careful to keep my balance as I walked across the slick ground. Nydia and Knox joined my side soon after. We approached Arielle and Damien who were tying up an unconscious Oswald while Xavier looked through the files in his desk. When they had finished, Arielle looked up.
"Did you find anything?" She asked Xavier.
He shook his head. "There's no sign of who he was paying all this time." Still, he tucked a few files under his shoulder, "Let's go."
We followed Xavier, Arielle and Damien lugging Oswald, out the front doors and through the streets, ready to take our prisoner back to Cressida.
Hey guys! Quick reminder: You only have until today at 12:00 GMT to nominate for the Fiction Awards. More info is present in the next chapter.
And, I'm sorry for my slow updates, but exams are approaching and apparently COVID isn't stopping them from taking place so I'm trying to focus a bit more on school right now. But, I should be able to pick up writing by summer time. I'm still going to try to right as much as I can, but it's going to be much slower until then.
Thank you, all of you, for sticking around and reading this book despite slower updates. It means a lot! Love all of you and stay safe!