A Tale of Two Assassins Chapter 2
#2 of A Tale of Two Assassins
This is the second part of my story series A Tale of Two Assassins. I appreciate the positive feedback from the first chapter, thank you and please enjoy the next part. As usual comments, suggestions, and helpful criticism are always welcome. No sex yet, but I promise it's coming. Oh, and if you find any spelling errors, please point them out, I've pretty well checked everything, but I'm sure some slipped through.
Hayden's presence in New York caught me off guard, something not easily done. After he had left I realized the reality of the situation, I had been cost a hit, and no matter how good of a friend he was, I couldn't just let that slip. He'd mentioned another target he had laid sights on. All I had to do was find him first, and kill em. I took out my PDA and accessed the assassin's database network. It's sort of like a auction site for assassin's. It's how most of us get jobs. The contracts are sorted by location, value, and estimated difficulty. I ran a search for a contract near the area I was in and got a hit. It was worth $75,000 and had a there star difficulty rating. The more stars, the harder the job, whether it be security or locational faults, five being the most difficult. A three star contract would be a picnic for me after doing mostly four and five star jobs for the last month.I took flight immediately, to intercept my new paycheck. The target in question was a canine by the name of Joshuah Sung. I didn't research his history as I was in a hurry to find him before my competition. According to my sources though I could find him in the park most days as he enjoys a daily walk. The park was public, and had many neighboring buildings, giving Hayden plenty of shooting points, I had to find him.
Being a dragon has it's perks, like being able to get a birds eye view of the area's rooftops. Sure enough I saw the feline assassin on the rooftop of a three story building overlooking the park. I could see the target now, as I flew lower, and if I could see him, Hayden sure could. I had to make my move, and do it quickly. I readied one of my throwing knives and landed behind Hayden. He heard me and turned, taking his sights off of the target.
"What are you doing here he asked?" "I lost my dog, thought i might find him here." I retorted, moving closer to him. "And the knife is for what?" Hayden asked concerned. "I'm afraid he needs to be put down." I said as I reached the ledge, now overlooking my target as he walked past. It was then I made my move, throwing the knife downwards into Mr. Sung's throat. "My target!" Hayden exclaimed looking at my carnage. "Actually it was an open contract." I returned mocking him. "Oh ha ha, real funny Kroatone." "Hey, you know what they say about turnabout Hayden." "I guess." "So, how about that drink you owe me, now that your not busy." I proposed happily. "I think you can afford you own now." Returned the discouraged feline. "True, we can buy or own drinks. Either way, well drink together right?" "Sounds good, after all I still made more money than you today." He returned jokingly. He was right too, Trey Parker brought in $100,000 as opposed to Joshuah Sung who brought only $75,000. We agreed to cash in our kills for the day and meet at a local bar later that night.
The Bar...
I went about my day cashing in my kill for the day, by verifying his death to the database. After the funds were transfered to my account I picked up a cappuccino and headed home, which was a suite on the eighth floor of a rather expensive hotel. Not discreet, but I have good tastes. I changed into a pair of jeans with and a black tank top for my meeting with Hayden. It's best to try fitting in with the public while not on a job. Tactical vests covered in knives aren't the best bar apparel after all. All my clothes are made not to restrict my wings, another expensive measure. Now you can see why I need as much money as I can get. That reminds me, I need to order some new throwing knives. Anyway, I wasn't completely unarmed of course. My curved dagger was holstered on my calf under my jeans, can't be too careful in this city. The clock chimed eight signaling it was time for me to go. After a couple sprays of my cologne for rich bastards I was off.
I landed outside C.J,'s Irish Pub and wandered inside. I saw my feline companion at a table in the back and rendezvous with him. He had also chose the civilian approach by dressing in jeans and a T-shirt with some sort of abstract art upon it. "Enjoying my money?" I asked jokingly as I sat down."That's what you get for taunting your targets." He replied with a laugh. "How,d you know about that?" I asked. "The mask I had on, it lest me see and hear targets from a distance. I about gave up once I saw you at his throat, but then you started talking, so I took the shot." "Neat device." I returned, perhaps learning a lesson. We continued to chat for the next two or three minutes. The bar itself was a traditional pub with all the classic food items. I ordered some buffalo wings while Hayden had a bacon cheeseburger. Pint in hand I made a toast. "To the code." I proposed. Our glasses clanged and we took our drinks. Hayden had grown quiet and I knew something was on his mind. "What's wrong?" I asked, feeling concerned. "I've just been thinking." He answered, sounding somewhat upset. "What's on your mind?" I questioned. "Kroatone, you even think about us?" I had wondered if something like this would come up. I dreaded having to answer this. "In what way?" I tried dodging. "You know what I'm talking about Kroa." He said, with a serious look. "Hayden, what happened between us was a long time ago." "But you still remember it." "It's kinda hard to forget Hayden." "Kroa, when I saw you earlier today, for the first time in 10 years, I was so happy. I never thought I'd see you again. Ever since I left with my parents I've been dieing a little inside every day. You were the greatest thing that ever happened to me. My best friend, my hero, and my protector. If anyone ever bullied me as a kid I knew you were right there to break their nose and throw them into a wall. Once I left my life fell apart. My parents were killed in a car wreck and I was to old for foster care. I've spent all this time on my own, doing so of the lowest things you can imagine. I started as a thief to get by with my life, after that I had to resort to selling my own body on the street. It got to the pint I thought I had nothing left to loose, so I became an assassin. All this time I didn't have my shield, my protector, I didn't have you. Now here I am, a follower of the code, on an ordinary assignment and faith finally gives me something back.." A steady stream of tears were now flowing from the feline. I was on the verge of crying myself, my life hasn't been easy, but at least I served as my own protector. "Excuse me, I need to go wash my face." He said as his feline tendencies kicked it. "no telling how long he's held those tears in." I thought to myself as he ran for the bathroom. A tiger from another table followed slowly behind Hayden. He was dressed in a suspicious black uniform. Then I noticed he'd drawn a gun. I sprang from my table and unsheathed my blade, following the new feline. I entered just after he had. Hayden was wiping his face with a towel. The tiger then held a silenced pistol to his head. Then something snapped in my head, seeing Hayden placed in danger. I was reminded of the past Hayden spoke of. I was pissed, and this tiger was going to get far worse than a broken nose or thrown into a wall. "You won't be crying much longer kitty. Any last words?" The gunman asked with a sinister laugh. "You shouldn't taunt your targets." I said behind him. He spun around to face me. "Who the hell are you?" he yelled furiously. "Call me the protector." I said tensely; What business do you have with him?" "I'm one of the claws, and that pathetic pussycat is my target." He said referring to the tear soaked panther. The Ten Claws of Hades was a private group of all feline assassins. Each one member represented one of the tigers claws. Hades was their leader, who happened to be a tiger. They were not followers of the code, and disliked those who did. I had heard of them many times. "You have no business here." the claw protested. "Oh, but I do. You see, I'm an assassin my self, and your my target. "Liar, there are no contracts for the claws." "Actually there are ten now." "What fool would place a contract like that?" "Me." I replied with a growl. He tried to fire a shot but I slapped the gun out of his hands and slashed at his chest with my dagger. He grabbed his chest and dropped to the ground injured. Blood was flowing freely from the would. My blade's curve gave it great slashing power. He lay unable to defend him self. "Your not even worth taunting." I said holding my foot on his throat. He grabbed at my leg fruitlessly."Who's the pussy now?" I said pressing my weight downward crushing his windpipe. I looked over to Hayden who still had tears in his eyes. "It's ok, I'm here now I said with a smile. He ran forward and hugged me tight."Kroatone, you don't know how much that means to me." He said, now with a waterfall of tears falling from him. "I'll never let you go again." I said, one of my own tears falling to the ground; "I promise."