Assassin p1
#1 of The Assassin
The assassin: P 1
by Soen Diego
The night was deadly still and tension was unusually thick in the old porcupine's house. Two body guards were stationed at each door of his large mansion and several more were positioned across his twelve acre estate and yet this did nothing to relieve his overwhelming sense of panic. He paced the ground in front of his couch, wringing his paws and running them nervously through his long quills atop his head. He was still dressed in his grey business suit that accented his brownish black fur nicely. A short dingo walked carefully into the room and did his best to crack a smile.
"Mr. Neski, I've just been informed that all stations are secured so there's nothing to worry about. Maybe you should sit down and relax. You might feel better if-"
"Relax?! You want me to relax after I got this?!" The porcupine reached in his coat pocket and took out a piece of paper no bigger than a credit card and threw it onto the coffee table. It had a small, Japanese looking symbol imprinted on one side and a red and black yin-yang on the other side. The dingo had only been a body guard for three going on four months now. This was the first time he had been entrusted to aid in guarding anyone of Mr. Neski's stature but he had seen that card before. It was used solely by a master assassin to mark his next victim. He loved to play mind games and the card created almost as much fear as assassin himself. Mr. Neski had received the card at ten o'clock yesterday after work, signaling that he had twenty-four hours left to live. The assassin always gave his victim twenty-four hours. He wanted to see how the person would live out their final day.
Mr. Neski was a very powerful business man. He always was on time to work, paid his taxes, and picked his two daughters up from school every day. He was loved by everyone and never said an unkind word to anyone even if the occasion would warrant an emotional outburst. He had been labeled on several occasions of being a "goody-two-shoes" to which he would only laugh and nod it off. There was nothing that seemed to aggravate him. At least that's what everyone thought, but as with everyone, he had a few secrets that no one else knew about. He knew that someday they would catch up with him, but he didn't know it would be now.
It was ten minutes until ten. He remembered his past hours as if they were burned into his memory. He spent the first hour agonizing over the card, trying to convince himself that he was dreaming. Helen, his beautiful wife, had come home to find him sobbing on the couch. They talked and eventually worked something out. Mr. Neski called in some favors and got a small band of body guards to protect him. Within two hours, the body guards were stationed all over his vast estate and assured him that it was impossible for anyone to get in or out without being detected. This did not sooth Mr. Neski at all. The assassin had gained quite a reputation. No one that was marked ever survived more than twenty-four hours. He was glad that he sent his wife and daughters to his sister's house a few blocks away. He didn't want them harmed in any way.
The large grandfather clock rang out its resounding dirge. Everyone's heart sank as each tone sounded and echoed throughout the house, leaving utter silence in its wake. The final bell fell as Mr. Neski flopped down upon the couch. Everyone stood on edge, waiting for anything to happen. The dingo slowly moved his walkie-talkie to his mouth and his voice carried through the living room. "Status report, all stations."
Everyone in the living room held their breaths. The two muscular raccoons positioned by the front door stood like statues, their pistols loaded and ready for anything. The dingo's walkie-talkie crackled and the different guards checked in.
"Station 1; all clear"
"Station 2; all clear"
"Station 3; all clear"
"Station 4; clear"
"Station 5; all clear here"
"Station 6; all clear"
There was a long pause before another crackle over the walkie-talkie "Station 7; clear"
Everyone gave a sigh of relief and the dingo smiled. "See, I told you everything would be alright."
Mr. Neski slowly looked up from his paws, a blank expression on his face and he gave a quick, despairing chuckle. "Yeah, tell me that again in a few minutes."
The dingo walked over and sat next to the distraught porcupine in an attempt to ease his mind. "No one can get in or out without someone knowing. You are perfectly safe. I doubt the president is safer than you are at this moment."
The walkie-talkie crackled again and everyone's heart stopped. "Station 1: examining suspicious activity near main gate." Time seemed to stand still as they all waited for further reply. After an agonizing wait, the dragon's voice came back through the silence. "Station 1: all clear. It was just some kids trying to get in. Probably just to steal some lawn ornaments. I repeat; Station 1; all cle-" The transmission was cut short. The tension grew in the room and the two raccoons cocked their guns and looked out the window onto the dark lawn. The dingo cleared his throat and spoke shakily through the walkie-talkie.
"S-station 1 report. "
There was no response.
"All stations stay alert and find out what happened."
No response.
The dingo rose from the couch and pulled out and cocked his pistol. There was a dull bang coming from up stairs that sounded like someone moving around. The dingo signaled the two raccoons to check it out. They walked up the stairs with the same unnerving blankness that they had when they were stationed in front of the door. The sound of their foot steps marked their steps along the rooms upstairs. They split up and each went into separate rooms. There was a brief struggle and three loud gun shots followed by a loud thud to the ground. Mr. Neski and the dingo watched the stair case intently, their breaths held in expectation. Finally the sound of foot steps came up to the stairs and the furred foot paws of the raccoon were seen coming down each step, slowly as usual.
Mr. Neski breathed a sigh of relief but the dingo slowly approached the stairs. He hadn't reached the railing when he saw the raccoon fall face first down the stairs, a knife protruding from his back. The dingo quickly turned to Mr. Neski, holding his gun tightly and grabbed the stunned porcupine by the paw. "We've got to get out of here. Now! Move!"
They ran into the kitchen. Mr. Neski was trembling like he'd seen the grim reaper. The dingo kept glancing behind him. He was equally terrified but tried his best not to show it. He searched desperately for a safe place for Mr. Neski. That was the only thing that was important now. Then he saw it. The kitchen closet! He whipped open the door and shoved Mr. Neski in and closed the door, putting his back against the thin wooden door. He held his gun at his chest and his eyes darted through the darkness. His ears were alert and twitched to every sound.
A small noise made the dingo point his gun forward at the darkened hallway but a sharp pain in his paws caused him to quickly drop his weapon. He yelped and looked at his paws and was shocked by what he saw. "Darts?" he whispered to himself. He looked back at the hallway and saw a dark blue dragon emerge from the shadows. He wore black pants, shirt, and cloak. Two swords were visible over his shoulders and in his paw was a small blow gun. He skulked closer to the dingo, a menacing grin across his face. The dingo rushed for his gun only to find another dart piercing into his right shoulder, rendering his right arm useless. The dragon slowly walked closer, loading another dart into his weapon.
There was only one thing that went through the dingo's mind. Protect Mr. Neski at all costs. He snarled and lunged forward, pulling the dart from his shoulder and swinging his clenched paws at the dragon's face. The dragon seemed unfazed and shoved one end of his blowgun into the dingo's chest, stopping him instantly. He wasted no time and whipped a small knife from inside his cloak and shoved it into the dingo's chest.
The dingo yelled out in pain, feeling the cold steel piercing into his chest. He dropped to his knees before the assassin, feeling the warm blood running down his front out of his burning wound. The dragon shoved him onto his back and shot a dart between his eyes. The pain was instantly gone from the dingo but he could still feel the warm blood seeping from his chest. His heart raced trying to account for the blood loss and his breath became quick and shallow. He looked up at his attacker and their eyes only met for a second before the metal blow gun was smacked across his head and he fell unconscious.
Mr. Neski sat curled up in a shivering ball of spines on the ground in the closet, having seen all that happened from the slots in the door. The dragon crept closer and eased the door open and glared down at his prey. His smile was what unnerved Mr. Neski the most. How could someone smile and be happy with killing so many people?
"Mr. Neski.....you know why I am here, correct?" stated the dragon calmly, as if talking about something as common as the weather.
"Y-You're here to kill me..." stammered Mr. Neski.
"But do you know why?"
"Because you're sick!" is what he wanted to reply, but Mr. Neski decided it best not to aggravate his executioner so he simply shook his head. The dragon closed his eyes and gave a deep, sigh, sounding almost disappointed. He crouched down next to the shivering mass that was Mr. Neski and spoke in his casual tone again.
"I think you do know. You just have to think hard." He smiled widely and stood up, walking over to the kitchen counter and grabbing a chair and sitting down. Mr. Neski was amazed once more at the dragon's calm actions.
"You've been living a double life, Mr. Neski. In one, you're a model citizen. You pay taxes, go to work on time every day, make charitable donations, you don't lie, cheat or steal, have a loving and devoted wife and two adorable girls. You're just perfect." The dragon leaned forward and cast his evil grin once again. "But then there's the matter of Mark Wesley." Mr. Neski's heart dropped. He didn't think that anyone knew about that. He sat up and would have rose to his feet if it weren't for the dragon's maniacal stare.
"I guess the laws of cause and effect is true. Everything must balance out. For every amount that someone is perfect, there must be some secrete that inversely as bad. I know all about you're little fighting club ring you have going for you. But it doesn't stop at just a simple fight club, does it? The members of your club have been linked to many murders, haven't they?"
"You have no proof of that!"
The dragon simply chuckled in his casual manner. "Fortunately, I don't need proof. I'm not here to judge on guilt or innocence. I'm merely doing karma's work. I'm just balancing things out. You've killed so many people. Good people... innocent people. So now you have to die." The dragon rose from the chair and walked slowly towards Mr. Neski, pulling out the two swords that were strapped to his shoulders, sending fresh fear down the porcupine's spine. He stammered out his last plea in a final attempt to persuade the assassin.
"But wait! If you're only doing karma's work, then why not leave karma to karma? Why involved yourself? If what you say is true, then you will be punished also, right?"
"If that is my karma, then that is my karma." The dragon raised the two blades and swung with precision and speed, sending a crimson shower along the walls of the closet.