The Complete Assassin Episode 5 Steven could not hide his surprise at the complexity and subtle methods with which Sensei’s lodge was designed. He was in awe as he walked into a very spacious room with only two leather sofas placed in opposite ends of the room. Sensei sat down and offered Steven the remaining seat. “So, what is so important that you wanted to talk about Stevey?” Sensei asked “I have been having dreams lately Sensei. The same dream, the same detail, and in the same manner. This has been happening for four days straight now. I am not sure as to whether to let it slide as a result of my subconscious, or to take it seriously as an insight to what may happen to me. You always say to trust my instincts but right now, even my instincts do not paint a clear path to follow. This is why I am very concerned and I had to get in touch with you.” Steven said. “What was the dream about?” Sensei queried “Basically I’m trapped in a small room. There are other people with me. And then after a while, someone comes in and beheads me. That’s the point that I get to wake up.” Steven explained. “Hmmmm…” Sensei said thoughtfully. He got up and paced the room, deep in thought. After a few minutes of walking to and fro, he sat again and crossed his long legs. He stared at Steven for seconds, holding his gaze. “Have you ever wondered why I have not giving you my blessings to pursue your own path, despite the many times you have asked?” Sensei asked. “I actually have. But I have not been able to come up with any good reason.” Steven replied. “Your dream is the reason I have kept you here Stevey. I have no doubts about your abilities. But you are clouded by a dark desire. A desire for revenge, a desire for retribution. One way or the other, it would bring your doom. When you bring emotions to the fore and act without a clear head, mistakes would definitely be made. This is what the dream means, which further buttresses my stance to not allow you set on your predetermined path; at least not yet” Steven was quiet. He was thinking. He had not seen it from the angle Sensei explained it. Yet, he was undaunted. “Sensei, I really appreciate you looking out for me, and also having my best interests at heart. But this is my life we are talking about. This is my ambition. My desire. Life for me is not worth living just hiding within the shadows. I want to do a lot of good in the world. I am as good as dead if I lay low because of fear factor. I am a Shadow Knight, Sensei. I am Shadow Prime. You have trained me well. Let me go. Please.” Steven pleaded, standing from his seat and bowing low towards his master. Sensei looked at him and scratched his chin. “Very well then Shadow Prime. You have my blessings. Kneel.” Sensei ordered. Steven went down on both knees with his head upright. Sensei walked up to him. “As your master and trainer, I Sensei Mark Pandford, hereby grant you freedom to do as you please in honor of the Shadow Code. May the Shadows always guide your path.” Sensei said placing his right hand on Steven’s left shoulder and then his right. “Rise.” Sensei commanded. Steven obeyed. He felt some kind of lift in his countenance. “Thank you Sensei.” Steven said. “You have earned it Stevey. Why don’t you join me for one final round of Virtual Kombat?” Sensei said and smiled. Steven had never beaten Sensei at the Virtual Reality Game where they had to wear programmed masks and enter into a world of virtual reality where they had to find and kill villains. The one who killed more bad guys won the game. The game felt so real that when any one was shot or harmed, it made the victim feel real life pain but no bodily injury. Sensei always won. However, Steven was determined to make sure that this final challenge ended in his favor. ***************************************** It was a cold Saturday evening. She was not feeling too well but her boss did not welcome excuses. She had two weeks left till the end of the month after which she was going to resign her appointment with Shop-a-lot Stores. Already, Mr. Makinwa had been looking for ways to cut her off from her job or deduct from her salary. He did not want to risk being sued to court so he was watching and waiting for the slightest excuse to be rid of her. He would have to look and wait hard because she needed the money. More importantly, she needed the cover. She rested her head on the counter and closed her eyes. She was not sleepy. Just tired. She could not wait for the days to roll by quickly and then move away from this place she had to hole herself in. Just as she began to unconsciously drift off into sleep, the buzzer woke her up. The buzzer sounded whenever the door was opened. She looked up to see a young middle aged man wearing a hood come into the store. She was accustomed to folks in weird looking outfits in this part of the neighborhood. But something about this person made her feel uneasy. The man approached her. “Good evening sir. Is there anything I can help you with?” the lady asked politely. The man’s eyes were blood red. He must have been smoking or worse. He looked uncomfortable. He looked left, right and left again. Then he put his hand into his side pocket, bringing out a gun. “I want your money. All of it.” The man said, pointing the gun at her and speaking very fast. He was trembling and unstable. “Please, we don’t have any money here. Please. My manager just took all the money we made away.” The lady said, trembling. “Are you mad? I said give me money! You want to die?” the man said, turning off the safety of the pistol he held and pointing it closer to her face. His face seemed to have cleared and he looked more menacing and dangerous. If she did not oblige his request, she may not live the next couple of minutes. She glanced sideways without moving her head. The store was empty asides them. “Okay, okay. Let me get the money.” She said and pressed a button to open the compartment where money made from sales was kept. She began to arrange the money slowly, putting them in a duffel bag. “Be fast. Quicker!” the man insisted. She continued to put the money in the bag. Putting the last bundle of cash in the bag, she tied the bag and brought it up, attempting to hand it over. As the man stretched his free hand in order to snatch the bag, she reacted. She threw the duffel bag at his face while simultaneously slapping the gun away from his hand. The gun fell to the ground and the money scattered everywhere on the floor. Within seconds, to his complete amazement and before he could react, the lady jumped across the counter standing face to face with him. She punched him just below the ribs and gave him a strong kick to his groins. The kick took the wind out of him as he groaned and writhed on the floor, trying to catch his breath. The lady immediately went to her handbag, took out a handkerchief and picked up the gun. She pointed it at him and said very audibly, “Hey. Shooo. Move.” She commanded waving the gun at him and pointing to the door. The man crawled out of the store, half running across the street. She kept the gun, attended to a few customers, and then deleted the past twenty minutes of the CCTV recording in the store. As she was replacing the deleted memory, a call came into her phone. There was no number, caller ID, yet the phone kept ringing. Only one person called her in that manner. She picked the call. “Hello. Your brother has finally made the move. He is a walking bomb and is danger to even himself, although he doesn’t know it. Tail him Stella. But be invisible. He is smart.” The caller said. “But Sensei, I just began this mission. And you know how I hate being in my brother’s affairs.” Stella replied. “This is not a request Knight. It is an order. General Shontel is on her way to relieve you. Your new mission is to make sure you cover Shadow Prime’s blind spot. The coordinates of his last location are waiting in your hotel room.” Sensei said. “Okay sensei. I will get on it right away.” Stella replied. “Good. And Stella, nice work with the burglar. Good to know you are still in fantastic shape.” Sensei said. Stella looked around trying to see if Sensei was anywhere around, watching. How did he know about an incident that happened just a few minutes ago? “Stop looking around Knight. I am miles away from you but my eyes are anywhere I want them to be. Commence your mission. Over and out!” Sensei said and the line went dead. Stella heaved a sigh. She got out of the store and took a taxi to her hotel room. Her brother was in danger. She was going to make sure she did not lose the last member of her family. ************************************************************************************* Sensei ended the call and put the phone beside him on the couch. He scratched his bare chin as he pondered over what his next line of action was going to be. He was still engrossed in thought when he was interrupted by Zeus, his virtual super computer. He was invisible but his presence was always felt in every cranny of the lodge. Only Sensei knew where Zeus’ hardware configuration was. It was safer that way. “Evening Sensei. There is a Conference Video Call from The Guardians. What is your order sir?” Zeus said. The Guardians was supposed to be a myth. The Guardians was made up of ten members representing each geo-continental region in the world. There were all serving Senseis and their sole responsibility was to ensure unity and prevent discord in the League of knights of the Shadow Organization. They were so powerful that their strengths knew no bounds. They had connections in all spheres of the economy; political, social, and financial. And they were also deadly assassins. Very few people knew about their existence, but the rumor went round with a lot of people exaggerating and embellishing the facts. The next meeting was supposed to be in three weeks. Sensei knew that something was amiss. “Connect the call. Activate the cinematic view.” Sensei ordered. “Cinematic view activated. You know where to find me.” Zeus replied. The lights in the room dimmed to its lowest possible, putting the room in semi-darkness. A large rectangular light shone from the overhead projector hanging from the wall, and unto the wall opposite him. He relaxed and waiting to the view to appear. There were seven squares, each containing live feeds from each connected Sensei. Beside the seven squares, his image appeared on a bigger view. Sensei Magnum spoke. He represented the European Region and was the overall Sensei head. “Welcome Sensei Marcus. It became necessary to convene earlier than schedule because of the developments in the case of your Shadow Prime. He is in grave danger and if things go wrong, he may expose us to the outside world. This is why we are here. What did you intend to achieve by granting him freedom when you know how volatile his case is?” The overall head asked. “Magnum sir, pardon my hasty decision. I deemed it fit to release him because he was getting to close. It was only a matter of time before he got to us. And it would have been worse if Steven had cause to rebel against the Shadow Code. You all know his abilities. I could not risk that. However I have put in place measures to make sure he doesn’t derail. Agent Stella his hot on his tail as we speak.” Sensei Marcus explained. “You put his sister on his trail? Is that a good move?” the Sensei from the Asian region asked. “It was the best thing we could have done. He would sniff someone else a mile away. This was the best option.” Marcus replied. “Okay then. We would be monitoring the situation closely. If we get uncomfortable with this arrangement we would come down hard on him. Have a good day Sensei.” The head said and bowed in the screen. Sensei Marcus bowed too and the other Senseis in the conference bowed. The video conference ended and the room went dark again. “Zeus, illuminate.” Marcus said. The room became brightly lit again. Sensei was worried. Was there something they were seeing that he wasn’t? He suddenly became agitated. “Zeus, activate tracker on Shadow Prime.” Marcus commanded. “Track mode activated.” Zeus replied. A mini screen on the wall lit up and what Sensei saw Steven doing shocked him to the bone. ************************************************************************************* TIME: 7pm. Steven stood behind the wheel of a small white boat, driving slowly with his eyes set on the building not too far away in the distance. After driving for some time, he stopped the boat in the middle of the lake at a spot he had marked earlier. He went inside the cabin and took out his back pack. Standing on the edge of the boat, he took out his binoculars. The Haven was the getaway hideout for anyone who had the financial strength to pay for its use. It was built at the end of a small lake with only one way in or out. Different kinds of high profile events usually held in the Haven because of the secrecy it brings, the absence of press and the security it affords. The walls surrounding the Haven were high and huge with spikes at the top of each brick. There was a four lane bridge specially constructed to lead from the free way into The Haven. The bridge was always heavily guarded and had four different checkpoints. There were surveillance cameras and also very highly trained German Shepherds who looked very menacing. The Henderson Group of Companies was having its special AGM and hotshots from all its sectors would be in attendance. It wasn’t a very large gathering. However, Mr. Emmanuel Bright who was the Chief Scientist of PharmaLabs would be in attendance. Steven had carefully stalked his prey and waited for the right moment to strike. He had planned to visit him at home, maybe take him out from a roof top. But Sensei had not given him the opportunity to. However Steven continued to track him and tail him. Now, he was going to give Mr. Emmanuel Bright what he really deserved; death in cold blood. Mr. Emmanuel was involved in all kinds of scientific endeavors. Genetic re-engineering, transgender modifications, chemical and mechanical preparation of virus strands. He had the backing of the government to carry out his experiments which included using humans as specimens. Three years back, Mr. Emmanuel had created the X-virus which caused rapid dehydration and prevented cellular reproduction. With the government’s approval, he had activated the virus in Northern Mauritania, leaving hundreds of people dead in its wake. As usual, the government proposed a vaccine for the deadly X-virus to the affected region and made huge amounts of money from the sales of the Anti-X drug. Now, they were going to meet and plan on how to make more money from the death of innocent souls. Steven was not going to allow that to happen again. Steven stripped off his clothes leaving only his underpants. He took out a black leather swimsuit from the back pack and put it on. A patrol light which was designed to detect movement and human temperature scanned the water from the top of The Haven. Steven had memorized the timing. The light took 4 seconds to make a complete revolution and get back to its original point. He had less than that time to get into the water. He wore his goggles, gloves, flippers and other accessories. He looked at his wristwatch – 19:13hrs. He was seven minutes ahead of time. He set his digital wristwatch to thirty minutes and activated the countdown timer. As the patrol light moved past him again, he dived noiselessly into the water. Steven swam underwater as fast as he could, pausing intermittently to avoid being caught by the bright light of the patrol sensors. The water was ice cold and was beginning to get to his joints, but he had gone through more excruciating pain so he endured it. He got to the west wall of The Haven and got out of the water. The scope of the patrol light did not include the walls of the building. Steven took off his goggles and tried to catch his breath. He looked at his watch again – 19:18hrs. He dumped the flippers into the water and held the goggles in his hand. Moving carefully, he tiptoed to the back entrance of the fortress. There was a guard, holding a submachine rifle across his chest. He was a few inches shorter than Steven and he leaned against the back entrance into The Haven. The back entrance was for secret guests who were to be sneaked into The Haven but there were not going to be any that night. Steven had expected at least two armed men at the door. There was just one. He could not have wished for anything better. He made his move. He picked a tiny stone and threw it far into the water beyond the guard and dodged quickly. The guard was immediately alert. Pointing his gun, he looked left and right watching to see where the disturbance had come from. As the man was about relaxing his guard, Steven threw another pebble far into the ocean the same way he had previously. The guard was now at full alert. He walked away from Steven to his right, trying to find out the source of the disturbance. He was now walking towards Steven now. Steven hid in the shadows, waiting for the guard to turn the bend. The guard’s footsteps drew closer and Steven’s heart beat faster. Steven held the plastic goggle firmly in his right hand as he anticipated the guard. The guard pointed his rifle first before turning the bend towards Steven. That fraction of a second was enough for Steven. Steven moved forwards with lightning speed and with all the strength he could muster, he wiped the guard’s hands with the goggle very hard. The guard let out a soft cry. Before the guard would regain composure, Steven kicked the gun away from his hands and punched the guard in the throat. As the guard was trying hard to swallow saliva, Steven went behind him and twisted his neck. The guard fell in a heap. After throwing the corpse into the water, he changed into the uniform the guard was wearing and carried the submachine rifle. He checked the time. He had twenty minutes left. Shutting the back door behind him, Steven went into The Haven. *********************** Stella got to her hotel room tired and hungry. She had driven around in circles, taking different routes and finally heading up to her hotel. A journey that would ordinarily have lasted about ten minutes took her almost an hour. The precautions were necessary. She had just beaten a burglar to a pulp. Sensei had called her. She did not know who was watching or who was stalking, so she had to be careful. Without dropping her bag, she scrutinized the living room, the toilet and the bathroom. She was beginning to pack her bags when her phone rang again. She took the phone out from her purse and checked the caller ID. Nothing was showing on the screen, yet the phone kept ringing. She knew who it was. “Hello Sensei.” Stella said. “At ease agent. Shadow Prime is currently on the bank of the Lagoon Club waterfront. I don’t know what he plans but something tells me it’s not a fishing trip. There is a black Porsche Cayenne waiting for you outside. Take it, drive down to The Haven and be invisible. The logistics of this mission are being uploaded to your cloud drive. You will get further instructions on your way. Stay alert. Over.” Stella opened her bag, put on fake gloves that changed her fingerprints and wore a red wig. She opened another compartment of her briefcase and brought out a silenced .45 automatic. She put it behind her back and went downstairs, exiting the hotel. Nothing was going to happen to her brother. Nothing. *********************************************************************************** “Everything good boys?” A thick voice said. “Everything clear here at the bridge sir.” Someone replied. “All clear at the main entrance.” Another voice said “We are clear inside. I got my eyes on all agents and everything is ok.” Yet a different voice said. “Sam? What’s your status?” The first voice asked. Steven fought the urge to respond. He took his hand to his left ear, applying pressure on the tiny transmitter there so he could hear all that was being said. “Sam come in, over.” The voice said again. Sam’s body would have been miles gone by now, washed away into the Atlantic. Steven kept quiet. At this time he was walking through a small corridor. He saw lights coming from a half open door not too far from where he was. From the floor plans he had studied earlier, that was the kitchen. He paused. He planned to be very careful tonight. Operation Mode was total stealth. He was not to shoot a single bullet nor raise any form of suspicion. He was to go in unseen, and leave like air. However, things were beginning to look like they would take another course as Sam, the guard who he had earlier disarmed and killed, was being called for. He propped the submachine rifle in his hand and listened again. “Okay boys. Looks like Sam has decided to take a breather. Check in time is thirty. If anyone does not report then, we’ll run a code blue. Keep your eyes open boys. I don’t expect any activity tonight anyways. Enjoy yourselves. Over and out.” The commander said. Steven relaxed. He dropped the gun carefully by the wall and walked slowly to the kitchen back door. There were two chefs busy at the burners. He needed to go past the chefs and into the Laundry room. He waited at the door, making sure he was not seen. He checked the time. He had eighteen minutes left. Two minutes later one of the chefs walked out of the kitchen, carrying two trays heavy with meals. Steven reacted quickly. He moved away from his hiding and walked majestically into the kitchen. As he walked past the chef, he did not utter a word. He continued walking confidently. “Hey Sam. Why the mood? You no wan greet your padi again?” The Chef asked. Steven froze. He turned. “My friend is that the job you were called here to do?” Steven blurted rudely. “Oga, sorry o. Who are you? And where is Sam?” The chef asked. Steve had to do something. He could walk out on the chef and go about his business. It was risky. The chef could go looking for Sam and raise an alarm. His mission would be over before he even started. He had made contingency plans but he was too close now to call off the strike. He thought for a few seconds and replied. “I am Corporal Musa. I just relieved Sam.” Steven said walking towards the chef. “Hmm. Okay. Is Sam still at the duty post?” The chef asked. Damnnit!! The Chef was beginning to ask too many questions. Steven removed a card from the inner pocket of his uniform and pointed it at the chef’s face. As he moved his face closer to get a closer view of what was written on the card, Steven slapped him forcefully. Before the chef could protest or react, Steven gave a right punch to his face, held him by the shoulders and lunged a huge right knee into his bowels. As the chef struggled to catch his breath and react, Steven hurriedly went behind him and tweaked an artery on his neck. The chef fainted. Steve dragged his body into the corridor he was coming from, went back into the kitchen and locked the door with the key he found at the door. He threw the key into his pocket and continued on his way. He walked in the shadows, avoiding the major corridors and going through the back entrance. He got to the side of the house where the window of the laundry room was located. He pushed up the glass barrier. It opened. The window was just a few feet higher than him, so he grabbed the window pane, pulled himself up, and hurled his huge frame through the window and entered into the laundry room. It was deserted. He did not expect to see anyone. He quickly made way to the ironing section and took out a tuxedo underneath a pile of folded clothes. Getting out of his RRS uniform, he changed into the tux and straightened his bow tie. He looked at his wristwatch again. He had twelve minutes to round up whatever he had to do. He stepped out of the laundry room and made his way to the hall where the after party was holding. The ball room was dimly lit as everyone was on their feet, some with partners and others without. He mixed himself up with the crowd of people on the dance floor, taking a glass of wine from one of the trays passing by. As he moved his body to the rhythm of the house music rocking from the speakers, he tried to look for his victim. As he turned to his left, swaying slowly to the music he caught Mr. Emmanuel walking into a VVIP suite in the company of three beautiful ladies. “Bingo.” He said quietly to himself. He walked carefully towards the VVIP suite where Mr. Emmanuel entered and saw that there were two guards present. He pretended to be tipsy and stumbled onto one of them. “Hey. No one is allowed beyond this point sir. Please move away.” One of the guards said. He was incredibly huge with a pumped body and broad chests. The other guard watched silently as his partner tried to get rid of Steven but was not successful. They did not want to create a scene so they were trying to be very discrete about the affair. As the large chested guard tried to push Steven away, Steven slumped acting like he was not in control of himself. He refused to get up and sat on the floor backing the wall. The guards looked around. Everyone was busy partying and no one paid attention to what was happening at that dark corner of the hall. “Hey, Smart. Give me a hand here. Let’s dump this drunk somewhere he deserves.” The large chested guard said. The second guard came over and with Steven in the middle, they both tried to lift him up and carry him away from that environment. As they lifted him, Steven flicked his hands forwards and two treated tiny needles fell into his palms. In a flash, he inserted the needles into the back of the necks of the guards. They immediately became paralyzed. He straightened his jacket and opened the door to the suite. He heard the shower running. There was no one on the bed. Obviously the three of them were in the shower. Making his voice as thick as possible, Steven called out. “Boss.” Steven said. “Yes? What is the matter?” Mr. Emmanuel replied. “You need to see this. It is urgent.” Steven replied, taking out a tiny handkerchief, laced with a deadly chemical from the pocket of his pants. “Wait here ladies. I’ll be right back.” Mr. Emmanuel said, and stepped out of the bathroom. The girls giggled. As he came out cleaning water from his face with a towel, Steven landed him a huge right on the chin. Before he could recover, Steven covered his nose with the handkerchief, pressing it firmly against his face. Mr. Emmanuel struggled for a few seconds, throwing his legs about and trying to be free from Steven’s grip but Steven was just too strong for him. In less than a minute Mr. Emmanuel stopped struggling and became still. He was dead. It took him less than three minutes. As carefully as he came in, Steven exited the room, walked past the incapacitated guards, and triggered the fire alarm. The DJ immediately stopped playing and the whole place turned into a fracas. There was commotion everywhere as the fire alarm continued to sound. People began hurrying to the exits. No one wanted to be caught in a fire. Amongst the throngs of people hurrying for the exits was Steven. He blended among the crowd and looked confused, even though he knew where he was going. As he got outside, he made his way to the Parking Lot and located Car Park B. There was a white G-wagon parked at the far end of the lot. He got to the jeep and opened the passenger side. There was a lady in the driver seat. “That was fast. You are seven minutes ahead of time Shadow Prime.” The lady said, checking her watch. “Are you sure you didn’t abort mission?” The lady continued. “Rebekah. Have you forgotten who I am?” Steven said and smiled. “How can I?” Rebekah asked and continued “Come here.” she said. Steven leaned forwards and they locked lips in a deep kiss that lasted twenty seconds. After they disengaged, Steve shifted his seat backwards and said to her, “Let’s go home.” They waited till cars began to move out of the premises and they joined the long queue of cars waiting to cross the bridge back to their various destinations.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 05:11:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015