The Assassins Way

Part 1

Arrivals and Departures

"When I begin to dream... you will scream"

-The Wolf Queen

Madrid Span

1 June 2055

Interpol headquaters

"What a mess." their target had come and gone, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Whoever it was got what they were after, no lives lost but a dozen men in the hospital. the woman, new to the brotherhood, searched for her soon to be boss. known only to her though the holovids as Scorp. That was all he called himself. Viv as she was known, had a tendency to look for details. Her new boss was not gonna liek this latest news. "How the fuck did that get up there ?" She asked aloud as she watched tow truck workers use a massive crane to dislodge a semitruck from the third floor of a building.

This wasnt going well.

Work trucks moved back and forth while they tried to clean up the debris; all unmarked. Assassin trucks obviously. A massive feather floated down from the sky in front of Viv's face, one that couldn't belong to any normal size bird for the area. Work vans pulled up and many men and women piled out of them to get to work; one however deviated and was never seen until he reappeared slightly behind Viv.

"A very good question to ask; though perhaps the wrong one." the man said, his voice deep and smooth. Upon turning, she'd be met with the sight of a tall hooded man in a Jade green robe with his hands behind his back. His expression was stern, as was his voice. "Perhaps, Viv, you should ask yourself why it ended up there."

There was a faint screech of an eagle in the background, but nothing to worry about.

"Mentor" Viv said with a slight bow upon recognising him, she held out a file, each member of the Spainish brotherhood had one built over time by the Den Master in the city Core. It had all her info in there. "This is world class, Spanish military convoy attacked, satalite component stolen." Viv explained what she knew of the scene, "a dozen hospilatlised, a dozen cars destroyed, cars came out of nowhere. In and out in ninety seconds." She said as the two walked through the crash scene, a good two hundred meter stretch of roadway closed due to the convoy wreck

"There's only one or two crews in the world that can pull this off." Viv said, her phone vibrated and she went to answer it.

Scorp was silent, taking the file and leafing through it quickly before placing it in his coat for later use and reading. He grunted at the list of what happened. "Ninety seconds... sloppy." he commented softly before looking around with his Eagle Vision; he could see the entire thing happening before him him now, his eyes glowing bronze beneath the shadow of his hood.

"Do you have any leads, Viv?"

In Marks vision he saw three cars, all from nowhere, and within ninety seconds the convoy had been destroyed, the item taken, and the cars sped off. leaving twin trails of burnt rubber on the cement, and a trail of destruction in their wake. Viv smiled, "They got one. Interpol headquaters. Walking distance. I know a man on duty there, one of the Den here, he can get you some time with the guy. Come on." Viv headed towards the edge of the bridge to a ladder leading down. Underground was fastest route in Spain. What with all the hovertech and crowds that time of day ?

Once inside the two were walking through a few halls, "I managed to to get you five minutes with this guy" Viv said, knowing Scorp by his file, he only needed two. Maybe less.

Mark nodded softly before patting on her shoulder. "Lead the way then, by all means." he said calmly. He said nothing as she led him to the headuarters, and merely moved past the guards without a word as well, they dare not cross him; not by the look on his face.

"Where's he at?" he asked.

"Like I said I only managed to get you five minutes with the guy." Viv said as she lead the way to the interrogation rooms. She pointed out a door "In there, I'll be in the observation room next to it" She said. At those words she moved to the second door and tapped in a key before entering. Allowing Mark to enter and see the captured templar.

A strong bald man with tatoos on both arms, the man looked something out of a video game. As Mark stepped into the room and up to the man and looked at him, the man simply looked at Mark, was this it ? the heavily tattooed man was strong. A bodybuilder, and a bad driver.

Mark grunted and sat across from the man, silent.

"You expect me to talk?"

"If I wanted you to talk, I would have spoken first."

The Templar narrowed his eyes. For an uneasy thirty seconds nothing happened. A bead of sweat dripped down his chin, and when it fell from his chin and hit the table, Mark reacted. Violently. Picking up the table and smashing it into the man's face he threw it to the side before grabbing him by the head and then throwing him to the side, his head slamming this time into the wall. Mark let him no time to recuperate as an axe kick came down on the man's side, breaking multiple ribs. This was immediately followed by Mark picking the man up with ease, his eyes glowing Silver at this point, and then shoving him against the wall before unleashing a flurry of punches all across the man's body, breaking three more ribs, a collarbone, and dislocating a wrist when the man tried to block.

On the other side of the observation window, a policeman asked Viv "Is that legal ?"

Viv smirked "No"

Mark then grabbed him and slammed him back down to the ground before jumping and landing on the backs of the man's knees, shattering them entirely. No time to scream though as Mark then slammed the man's face into the ground turning his nose into dust before he picked him up one last time and threw him across the room, breaking an additional two ribs, shattering his pelvis, and dislocating two spinal disks.

Within the observation room Viv smirked again as the policeman with her remained quiet allowing her to finish her thought. "But are you gonna go in there and tell him ?" The cop looked sick and didnt move

Mark straightened his coat and lowered his hood before going over to the almost unconscious man, the only think keeping him awake being the pain. "Now you listen you unremorsless little shit and you listen good. What I just did was nothing; and if I hear that you started to squawk then I'm coming back you understand? I've got a lot of pent up emotion right now and I so desperately want to let it out. Got it?"

At the man's gargled reply of pain, Mark stood and raised his hood, eyes glowing a mixture of Bronze and Silver before fading. He exited the room, and let the door lock behind him.

"I think that went well except that he is one hell of a terrible driver. Might want to have him checked in to a hospital... now." he said before walking off down the hall, expecting Viv to recover from seeing him act in such a manner and follow.

Viv got right instep with Mark, "Is he talking ?" she asked

"Not anymore." he said without remorse.

"That room's bugged Scorp, whatever information you got out of him Interpol and CIA have now." Viv replied dodging around a few policemen and a medical team.

"Good." he slammed shoulder first into a security guard as he ran down the hall way trying to figure out what happened. His tone was oddly joyful for what he'd just done. "They can take the day off. Talak's in Sacremento."

"So lets go pick her up "?" Viv said all but swandiving over a desk

"You can't pick up Talak while she's getting groceries; she's a wolf. To hunt a wolf you need a wolf. Let's go hunting!" With that he headed through the lobby with one destination in mind: California.

Of course getting there was half the fun. Which meant airline tickets... But luckily, Mark knew a guy. Well, girl. Whipping out a cell phone, he called up Car Key, who answered.

"Scorp?"

"Key! I need two tickets to Cali. What's the closest flight to this exact moment?"

"In like ten minutes."

"Okay fuck that. How about... in exactly twenty four hours?"

"Then you got one; all high ranking officials on that plane too, last two tickets are yours, you'll get an email in about...now."

"Cool. I'll buy ya a round some day." and with that he hung up the phone. Of course, with Mark and Car Key's relationship, and how Mark was feeling at the moment, a round usually meant a single bullet for a gun that Car Key either didn't own, or know how to use. Which by this point, was everything short of an APCR Tank Round. Mark made a mental note and then looked to Viv.

"You got any kerosine, wires, and a shit-ton of glue or gum lyin' around?" he asked. "Oh and a stop watch? Analogue is fine."

Viv raised an eyebrow, an entertaining request for sure. "Yes to the third and fourth, the watch and the gum, I know a guy for the wires... But I might have to call a favor for the kerosine... Do I want to ask why ? Nevermind,"

Viv actvated her left wrist phone and the green holo floated off her fingertips showing a number, mirrored in Marks angel. "David... Its me... I need that favor... Yes I know you're doing that contract for USI... Yes that's the wires... Great, text me the code we'll pick it up... " She held a finger up for Mark to remain quiet a moment "Yes its about the Madrid attack... Thanks Dave, knew I could count on you, If this works thw way we hope on our end I'll buy you a bar... Yes you heard me... Good bye crazy man" Viv thumbed off her phone and the holo disappeared

"OK that's that, David is going to send me a text with the code to the warehouse for the wires and the kerosine..." She said She knew exactrly where to get the gum and watch though. A fellow named Brad had a shop not far away that sold watches and he'd helped Viv get back on her feet.

It was then that Marks own phone beeped with another text, this time with seat assignments. How the hell did Car Key land them at the back of the plane, with Viv as a flight attendant ?

"Nice. Looks like I get the very last seat in the very last row, and you get a new set of clothes and shoes. Lucky you, you get something useful." He teased. "I'll meet you back at the safe house...bring what I need; we're going to make a plane explode." he said before vanishing in a transport array.

Viv was about to reply when Mark disappeared, she was going to have to get used to it. She sighed, she had work to do. Just wonderful. Just wonderful indeed.

About three hours later she arrived at the safehouse, the rental van was packed with the stuff he needed, the little dodge Grand Caravan was perfect since she didnt need a huge truck just to move something the size of a suitcase. Knowing Scorpion like she did, it was best to think small as possible when possible

She knocked twice, then typed in her code before unlocking the gate and backing the van up the drive into the garage, waiting for the door to close behind her before getting out of the van. "Glad you never told me what you're planning" She said when she saw Mark waiting for her. "The guy at the storehouse with the kerosine wouldnt stop asking questions. I told him its a Brotherhood matter and he shut up."

She opened the backdoor of the van, two tanks of Kerosine; a box packed with gum, {regular flavor, not even mint} and she handed him the watch before going to the side door where a box of CAT19 wire was packed away. "That being said... What is the plan ? Honestly, how do you plan on landing when we're gonna bomb the thing with us on it ?" She didnt know exactly what Mark was planning, of those officals on the plane, they were all Templars, and the supplies being sent were meant for the Templar stronghold in the city. Something Mark wanted to either delay or completely demolish, either one.

"Who said anything about landing? I've had Car Key send me the names of everyone else on that plane. All Templar Captains at the very least. Our seats are in the back, we blow the engines and the back of the plane, air-drop into the city, get some shit done." he said taking a stick of gum and smelling it. No mint, he huffed and put it back. He didn't chew gum anyway. "Ever gone Sky-diving?" he asked as he began to load the van.

"Once or twice, I have certification in it... Why ?" Viv replied as she herself was already packed. She had no idea of Marks acual contract, find what the templars were after and why they were using speed demons to do it

"Once we blow the bombs, we're going to jump. The Plane will go down quick so we'll have little time. We make one more stop for some parachutes and then we head to the airport." He climbed into the van and started closing the sliding door, poking his head out as he stopped. "Say good bye to your friends here, I'm leaving in five minutes with or without you." he said, almost as if he were running something, urgent to leave. Closing the door, he moved to the driver seat and leaned back, setting an alarm on his phone for five mintues. He closed his eyes.

After those five minutes passed, his eyes snapped open, and he killed the alarm, leaning forward and starting the car.

Heh, Viv half smiled, only friends she had in Spain was an old fart that ran the store she got the gear Mark needed. "Being an Assassin and having friends in Spain is liike being a Congressman and having ties to the Mob. Not really possible here in Madrid" She replied. Though she did go and get some more gear within the house. Normal things, hairbrush, change or two of clothing, hiddne blades. A moment to spare and she was loading into the van before getting in as Mark jerked awake

It was time to get moving

Langley West Virgina

CIA Headquaters

At that same moment

"Sir, we're receving a transmission from Gilja Norway outpost" A techniac said from one of the many computers, normally they'd used phones and the like but this was different. As time went on, the CIA also grew advanced in a technology way "It is coming by holo" In this case, holotanks, holotables, and hardlight holograms allowing architects to design and build fully detailed models before actually breaking ground. But for the most part the hologram systems were used for communication

"Bring it up on the holotable."

The holotable buzzed horridly before the picture of Marcus, Mark's father, appeared, no worse for wear it seemed. "Home-Base this is what's left of Gilja Norway...We got hit hard, I don't know what by, but it attacked with extreme predjudice, and, well...I'm the only one not in too much pain to talk." he said. His clothes were torn in certain places, there were old bruises on his face and all up and down his arms, and even a few scars from his last encounter with his dear son. Though that was classified, so much so that it wasn't even documented.

"How-copy?"

The image of Marcus flickered on the table. "Raided twice in twenty four hours. lost many men." Marcus replied as his connection flickered. "As I said, I'm the only one able to contact HQ. Lost both agents assigned to me. First raid..." Marcus image flickered to show recordings of a woman with long white hair and something of a crown in her hair entering with eleven other people and laying waste to the building before leaving. "A woman unknown to us attacked with eleven others, we were unable to track them down." Marcus said before the holo flickered again

This time showing Marks arrival with a woman dressed in strange clothing.. "We are still trying to piece together who these two are, for they came a few hours later. As morning was dawning they left" The feed lasted until the power went out during the fight Marcus had with his son The image reverted backto only Marcus. "We lost both men and prisoners"

The men at the Headquarters considered this information for a moment and nodded. "Roger that, Gilja, gather what you can and come home, transport is on its way. You'll be reassigned as needed."

"Copy that, Gilja out" The holotable winked out then

As soon as the hologram of Marcus left the CIA director in command of the operation rubbed his chin. "Alright, all teams, find out who these two were" He highlighted the replay Marcus had provided showing Mark and Serenity's arrival and subsequent fleeing with a lojacked CIA cargo van. the room bust into a flurry of motion

"Got anything?" Came one voice.

"Nothing here. Check Actual Paper Files."

"We still use those?"

"We did at one point. Just check."

After a few minutes of sifting through old files, someone stood. "I got something! Agent Scorpion. Success-rate, One-hundred percent, witnesses, none, Weapon Access: Full/No Limits." He read. "He was stationed in Cairo, wasn't he? Took out a Tank with nothing but a Berret .50 Cal if I remember?"

"Yea...that's him." someone else said.

The Commander thought for a moment. "What was he doing at the Gilja outpost? What makes that girl he took so important?" He mumbled to himself. "Get me a full un-redacted mission report of everything this Agent Scorpion did. I want it on my desk within the hour."

"Yes sir!"

About ten minutes later there came a knock at the comannders door. At the word to enter the lower level Agent assigned to the mission stepped in, he had a folder packed with papers. "Ended up going to the vault in the sub basement, this guys got a record." He set the folder on th etable, thicker than a leatherbound copy of Dragons of Autumn Twilight trilogy the folder landed on the desk with a solid CRACk of hardmetal wood. "This guys got a rep."

The commander opened the folder, the first two pages were basic info. the agent continued speaking "According tothe files listed in here we gave him top notch cases, some of these were no return cases where we expected him to get burnt in the progress of the case. But each case ended up with full complewtion, no witnesses, no signs of tampering or anything."

"Then why was he at Gilja, what was there that interested him so much ?"

"Did you see the way he was dressed ? the woman with him in the feed ?" The agent asked bringing up on a personal holopad the shot of Mark and Serenity entering the building. "There's nothing in the APF or the vault on this woman. Only thing we ever got was a last name of some thief in London,... Elisar" Oh Holy Light...

The Commander was silent after that. "Elisar?" He repeated. At the affirmative nod, he sighed and leaned back into his chair, running a hand through his thinning hair and putting his feet up on his desk. "Elisar..." he shook his head. "Leave all the info you have on the guy here on my desk...I need some time to think this over."

The Agent, Hornigold, nodded, but as he turned another agent Weithers entered, the guy looked scared shitless his face was so white. "We got a hit ont he girl" he said indficating the woman in the same shot as Mark. "her mother apparently sacked Oslo branch. We barely recovered everything there. She was his tracker,... Agent..." Weithers scanned the file he had, "... Slicer... Worked with Agent Key out of Sacremento"

"The name Elisar, you recognise it, Weithers ?"

The man's eyes went wide, handing his boss the paper. "A woman named Elisar trashed our Oslo branch. None of the men stationed there made it out without getting hurt. But none of our guys were killed."

"Records of the attack ?"

"None survived; only word of mouth forms everything"

"Alright, get the reports from the agents of the event; the APF may have them, or the drives may have them. I want everything on my desk by dark. Where is Agent Scorpion now ?"

"Well, given the time of the attack in Gilja... Madrid Airport" Weithers read off the paper, "His passport pinged there, as well as a Agent Key"

"Spain ? Thats two days away from Gilja... Do we have any men in Madrid ? Any Assets ?!"

"Just one, man named Davies"

"Davies?... The Cleaner? Excellent. Send him to follow and observe. Act only if necessary or if commanded to do so." the agents nodded and left with their orders allowing the Commander, Morshanke to remain in his office, he went through the first few missions he himself had authorised for Agent Scorpion and his retinu.

Madrid Airport

Spain

At that same moment

Once scanned through the two met back up; their flight was landing and shortly to unload both passengers and cargo before loading everyone on the tickets list. Amazingly enough however nobody looked at the two whe nthey arrived though Mark saw nothing but red around him when he looked through his Vision. Kalda was strangely quiet as Mark thumbed open the journal of Diadem, and briefly couldnt read it before opening up the journal of Yaeko, Diadem's own mother.

A few moments passed and Mark was allowed to enter with a few others. Being zone 6 though meant Mark was last, normally. But since this was an important flight for him, Key had managed, somehow to get him to get on with the crew. So he closed the journal of Yaeko and placed it back in his coat. handing the ticket to the ticket taker he entered the jetway ahead of Viv. A moment or so later he took the last seat at the back of the plane.

From there he had both a clear view of the sea of red entering the plane and taking their seats. Mark cracked open the journal of Yaeko and started reading.

"I never knew her, Not really I thought I had. Even though I had given birth to her and raised her to be a able fighter and protector to the Throne of Arendelle. I never really knew my firstborn child as I thought I had. Not until I read her journal when I realised I didnt know Diadem as I thought I should have. But it is too late now. Too late to tell her that I misjudged her, Too late to tell her. I am sorry." -Yaeko

Mark closed Yaekos journal and then iopened up Diadems journal again, thanks to Kalda he knew draconic, which apparently the woman had wrote her journal in so nobody could understand it.

Spring Thaw, Year of Light.{1283 years before Battle of a Thousand Years}

1

I cut off a mans nose once, It was accidental. It freaked me out. But mother was proud, I defended Pavael at the time. But it wasnt to last. That first taste of blood only made my heart hungered for more.

And more came

Two days later Arendelle was swept up in a civil war when the Queen, Arenya, Pavaels mother, as well as Pavaels older sister, Princess Pax were killed in an assassination right under our very noses. The Southern Isles had masterminded the entire thing right under our noses so smoothly nobody was the wiser to the entire assassination.

But Mother knew better. As did I

But I blame myself.

Because of my curse. I dont ever recall anyone knowing of it aside from Mother and Pavael... err... Arienel. But even then it drove me crazy. Each life I took to end the curse drew me closer to its reasoning, A place I did not want to be. And this civil war was only the start of a long bloody war that I promised my mother I would see an end to.

Which then made clear the curse. To end the civil war in Arendelle, and make peace with Southern isles, it meant I had to either give into the curse effects and kill my friend, or find a way to undo the curse during course of the war.

I chose to find a way to undo the curse

But now I wonder, after slaying the nineth One. Am I doing the right thing ?

-Diadem

2

Battle came to our own home as a infiltrator tried to kill my mother, only to fail at my own hands. But the person got away. The person was the same thrice damned witch that cursed me to this life.

I swore to my mother I'd find the witch and kill her. Even if it meant finding all the Dragon Hearts in Arendelle to end the curse first.

Nobody has any idea what that woman has brought upon herself. My mother was blessed to have me as her firstborn, I am Diadem Wolfe.

I am ready to end this curse/i

Mark turned the page of the journal, a few smatterings of words of wisdom were on the next two pages, along with a map, hand drawn yet so damn old he was surprised it was still decernable. Using his own wristphones holomap software he was able to piece together bits and pieces of places, strangely enough, within Arendelle. All across the kingdom's core fifty two districts out of the total seventy one. In each location he noted strange writing he couldnt understand even with Kalda's help. Numbers, words of wisdom.

He surmised they were written mostly in blood if that. otherwise in those districts he'd have noticed them.

Mark flipped to the next page. and saw a entry that chilled him to the bone.

1 Why is there a dead man in my bedroom ? I do not remember him coming into the house with me either... Oh All-Mother! He's of the High Council! Sendairis Scola's son! On no, no no no this wont bode well for Mother or me if anyone finds out of this!...

Wait...

Why are my selittos red ?

Did I... Did I kill him ? -Diadem

Sometimes he hated long plane rides. Flights from Oslo to Sacremento were long, yet with recent advances in technology, they were also quite fast as well. An hour after leaving Oslo he sat in the back of the cabin, he knew thanks to Key and Viv, the latter of whom was one of the flight staff aboard, that he and her were the only two Assassins, the planet was filled with Templars, it was a supply run from Oslo to Sacremento

Mark sat with his back to the wall, he had only one chair and was thankfully alone where he sat at the back of the plane he had a folder with him, his orders infact. he opened them, and on first glance he thought he saw Car Key, one of his contacts on the list, at least, next to her picture he recognised her but not the name, A woman he was to meet in Sacremento in two days time, named Angela Moore.

Now why the fuck was someone calling themselves Angela Moore and using his contact as a cover ? It didnt make sense. using his wrist phone he activated a secure link, and somehow managed to find out more. Car Keys actual name was indeed at one point, Angela Moore, until she was about seven or eight when she started stealing keys, mostly to cars, almost all of them useless duplicates or even unwanted screwups that didnt work.

Well... this was interesting. He deactivated the holographic wristphone and went back to reading from the folder, he had to make a point why he was in Sacremento, why was he in Sacremento ? it didnt make sense to him personally of why there, but Aunt Blackmane said he was to go there. Not to why.

He knew that Sacremento was a solid Templar zone in the Equator City. and Crecent city was the nearest Assassin Guild HQ. Where Viv said she was from; which meant...That's when he heard it. The announcement came over the speakers, they'd be landing soon in Sacremento. He felt a tap on his shoulder, it was Viv, she nodded, she was ready.

So was he.

Moving to Close his Folder and stuff it into his Coat, he cleared his throat, and hummed to himself, reaching under his seat, grabbing two parachutes. One for him, and one for Viv. Handing one to her as he slipped his on, still sitting, he then activated his wrist phone and set the timer to his bombs for ten seconds, signalling to Viv to watch him while he set the the count down lock, he undid his seat-belt, and licked his lips. "Wish I had brought sun-glasses..." he said as the sun shone through the window.

"Green or Red?" Viv asked. Mark blinked. Four seconds.

"Green." he said, taking the pair of sunglasses with reflective, forest green lenses and black frames, he secured them on his head and coughed.

The whole plane rocked and shook as the entire back end of it crunched and bent. Screams echoed through it as the air-packs dropped from the ceiling. Taking a deep breath from his, Mark stood, holding his breath as the entire back end of the plane behind him fell off, and he blinked. This would be fun. He waited five seconds, then let himself fall back into the vacuum by letting go of his chair. He dove head first towards the city below. Sacremento. Or what was left of it after the Templars invaded. From the sky, it looked like a desolate grey wasteland.

Detroit's Slums on a good day in 2010 he thought to himself, recalling the pictures Snowfeather had shown him as a boy. Then he spread his body out and slowed his fall, breathing slowly and normally now so he wouldn't black out. Blinking he counted another five seconds, then pulled the cord on his Parachute. This would be a rough landing. A bout a half-mile out, the plane crashed in a ball of fire. Cross about a hundred Templars off someone's list.

Pulling the brake-cords hard, Mark followed Viv, catching her out of the corner of his eye, and landed in the foot-ball field of a high-school. Quickly cutting himself loose from the parachute he breathed out once, and took a deep breath. The smell of oppression, true Opression, and disparity filled the air, despite the grass at his feet being real, and healthy.

"Lead the way, Viv. You've been here before." He said.

Viv landed a few meters ahead of Mark on the football field, thankfully schoo lwas out, the school was still used, just, they were far more stritct when it came to learning. Viv easily cut herself loose of the chute and removed herself from the backpack portion. Seeing the name of the school, an old scholl at that, made her laugh. "Wellington Eagles... heh... never thought I'd see this place again" She said seeing the team name, though slightly faded and ineed of a fresh coat of paint, on the nearby grandstand.

"OK, If any, everyone saw the fireball we just landed from... Tony should be nearby... This way" Gathering up the chutes Viv took them to a nearby trash can and tossed them in, with a lit match, all that heat from diving out of the plane and skydiving for a long run before using the chutes alone were red hot. Once the fire was going Viv and Mark made scarce from the area before the tracking system for the school could kick in. Taking a tree lined path that had seen far better days Viv lead mark to where the Airport once was.

Coming to a fence on one side Viv peeked through a hole in the gate, she smiled recognising the man on the other side,. Pushing the gate open she stepped in "Never expected you to stay here after graduation, much less after Sniper Rally took potshots at Mr Kettersons outdoor classes" Viv said

The man turned at the voice, seeing Viv the older man smiled and started laughing, a bigger man, formerly a highschool football player laughed heartly and swept up Viv in a hug "Well slap me twice and ship me to Singapore! its Vivaian The principals pet!" After letting the younger, much smaller woman breathe the man, known as Big Tony took notice of Mark, "And whose this ? Is this the Scorpion Key told me about ?"

"Angie was here ?" Wait how did Tony know Car Key ?

"I am, yes. A pleasure...Tony, I presume?" He said, offering a firm hand to Shake. Now, Mark wasn't a small man, but compared to Big Tony, well, he might as well be. Big Tony was a monster of a man, perhaps Andre the Giant's little brother that no one knew about. Tony the Not-so-Giant. Standing at Seven and a Half feet tall and weighing over three hundred pounds of sheer cultivated Muscle, he looked like he could bend iDuradaeden/i with his fingers. Mark grunted when he pulled him into a hug, his back cracking and sort of realigning itself.

Blinking as he was set down, Mark coughed once, processing what had just happened. "Anyway, you mentioned Angie, do you know where she is?" he asked, using her "cover name" for this operation. Though Key was a perfectly acceptable name.

"Sure!" Tony said. He jerked a thumb "Last I saw her she was repairing my front door, some dumb carpet stain tried to break in and hurt Mom. But she wouldnt have any of it and gave the guy the what for. Police dont come here to this area any more. Not since the school stopped its sports program and we've been doing sporting events at the track upstream" Tony said

Well that explained a lot, but then again, the Templar Cross was easily identifiable on the clothing Tony was burning. Thankfully any information the guy had, wallet, orders,and the like, Tonys mother took at Key's request. Saying a friend would want to look at it.

Tony then remembered his manners "Have you eaten anything or drunk anything recently ? Mom's cooking and I'm sure she wouldnt mind guests for the evening." They werent exactly in a hurry, but now that they were in Sacremento, or at least a suberb of the place...

"Food would be nice, Maybe some Coke too" Viv said after a moment. Tony nodded, reaching to the nearby cooler he produced two cokes, offering one to Mark as he himself grabbed a Vernors. Viv cracked open her coke, nodding towards the clothing she spoke offhand "Friend of ours ?"

"Never seen him before in my life yet all over the TV stations I see that red cross everywhere, and dont tell me its the American Red Cross, they're not that tightfisted when to comes to disastier aide" Tony grunted. He then nodded to Mark, "I take it you know the group the poor carpet stain belongs ?"

Mark nodded. "Something like that."

The sound of two feet and a cane shuffling through the house made itself known as the voice of an old woman of southern descent made her way into the room. "T! My bones are achin'... you got friends over?" She asked as she came into the room. Mark expected a hobbled old woman based on the voice, but he was wrong. A strong, but skinny old woman, with the Cane-Sword of a Templar Captain in her hands, came in. She was a good two feet shorter than Big Tony, which made Mark wonder just how he ever came out of her. However Mark noted she was missing her Ring-Finger. She was one to be trusted.

"Yes, Momma, I do. Vivian came back, brought her boyfriend with her."

"Hey!" Viv punched his arm, he laughed.

"A pleasure, Ma'am." said Mark, nodding his head.

The woman looked Mark over, leaning on her cane. It was styalized to look like an Eastern Dragon, with a snake-like bend to it until it reached the handle, where the head of a Dragon hissed, a ruby held in the mouth. She stared intently at him and huffed, nodding as she smacked her lips together in thought. "Well, no makin' out on my couch, just had it fixed from that mongrel breaking in the other day." she said, turning. "I'll get Supper ready, Tony you make these kids comfy." she yelled.

Viv smiled as Grandma Ruthie as most the town knew her as, ambled off to the kitchen. Tony had a broad smile on his face. "Your mother never changed in eighteen years" She mused aloud

"I heard that!" Came a whacking noise from the kitchen as Ruthie was chopping veggies and missed, nearly takingoff her own pinky as the knife wedged in the cutting board

"Yeah, some things never change, honestly I feel blessed shes my mom. After you left, things changed here, About a week after you moved to London Dad died. Mom looked to me, to the kids here in town to keep her spirits up. Then they closed the airport and threatened to shut down my dealership"

"Your dads dealership ?" Viv asked.

"Yeah, Dad willed it to me, no outside sources or co-heirs, nothing, just me. But I told Momma that I'd coheir with her. She says its mine, not hers. But she said shed take a share of the investing to keep it in the family." A dealership loyal to the Assassins meant one thing, a place Mark could hide out, or even tempoarily work to gain inside info.

"We landed in the Football field, What happened here ?"

"Them red crosses happened that's what!" A cleaver slammed into the doorframe as Key slammed on the brakes to avoid getting her nose chopped off as she stepped into view after fixing the front door of the house. She kept quiet as Grandma Ruthie spoke "One day, Mayor Remminghold is giving a press conference, next day, he turns up dead in the Satahoocee river with a suicide note at home and last will saying that the Red Cross blackmailed him into giving over everything of Sacremento! I tell you, Mayer Remmy was a good kid, I watched him grow up" It seemed Grandma Ruthie wasnt exactly happy when one of 'her kids' were killed.

Car Key finally spoke seeing Mark "Oh good, you guys made it. I take it the seats were good ?" At their nods she smiled to Ruthie, "Repairs are done, nothing will get through that door short of a grenade or a semitruck" She said

"Or me shovin' my foot up the ass of another red-cross'd bastard!" Ruthie mumbled as she continued to cook. "Get me a gun, that's what I'll do. Sit on the porch and pick 'em off like that one Russian Sniper I heard 'bout the other day." she said, talking to herself without realizing anyone else could hear. She put the lid on the pot, and put the burner down to medium, it'd be ready in about an hour. The smell of the Pork Roast filled the house already.

"Seats weren't first Class, but I've dealt with worse." Mark answered Key verbally now. "You're listed as a contact, what do you have for me?" He asked as he placed his Sunglasses on a small table next to the recliner he was sitting in, crossing his legs a bit, one ankle resting on his knee as he leaned back and tried to relax. Something he'd not done in a few years.

"With the number of Red Cross patrols Momma I dont think getting a gun is a good idea" Tony mused, his mother ambled out with her cane back to the living room, as Car Key handed her the bill, Key smiled and insisted there wasnt a charge for foster parents. Ruthie just gave her a look. Key matched it briefly and Ruthie nodded. Everything was in order.

"Only a few things" Key replied to rattled off a brief list "The first is that the Templars control everything, police, fire, phones, cable, internet. Outside of a few shadowfeeds, getting anything on holo or wristphones a pain in the ass here." She said,

"The good news is, Tony, Grandma Ruthie, and a few others work together to provide something of stablity to the kids to protect them from the enemy" Key had done more research it seemed since she last saw Mark in Arendelle. "That means you have access to places run by them or owned by them, which is mostly this town. Crecent City"

"You're more than welcomed to stay here if you guys need to. For all I know Miss Lavanders house was boarded up about the time the airport shut down" Tony said. Viv looked worried. the Waterlily Apartment complex was her mothers dream, if that got shut down and boarded off...

"Get me two guns then!" Ruthie retorted to Tony. Mark snickered.

"Who's the main Templar in charge of this town? I'll start my hunt with him."

"A her, actually." Ruthie said, hobbling back into the room with a big file. "Been watchin' this city like a hawk since I moved here with my parents when I was a wee lass. I call 'er Bertha, but her real name is Melody." she said, plopping the file in Mark's Lap. She took another long, hard look at him, and licked her lips. "Yep... you're a lost one... poor child... Ain't nothin' I can do but feed you. What you got goin' on in your head is your problem." She said, her cane moving quick as lightning to poke his forehead before returning to the ground. She nodded, and turned, moving to a rocking chair and plopping herself down in it, closing her eyes and leaning back.

Mark was quiet, his face grim for a moment before he blinked and moved again, the sudden feeling of tension in the rooom vanishing as he opened the file and read the first few lines, then flipped through it, finding his real target, the Templar Grand Master of the West American Coast.

"Is there anyone here besides Children that can Fight? Organizing an Assassin Presence here outside of myself is going to be difficult. The Templars have so much control...this place is straight out of Orwell." he said.

Everyone nodded, but stayed quiet. "So nothing but children...I won't subject them to any of this...I'll just kill this...Melody, and move on." Mark said.

For long moments there was nothing but the sound of Ruthie's rocking chair creaking as she rocked thoughtfully, as well as the simmering of the Pork Roast she was cooking. Finally she opened her eyes. "Well, its not all just kids here. Some of Tony's boys, we call them the Pit Crew at the dealership. They help me out here with keeping the grounds clean and helping out at the school, and teachin' the kids a proper education" She said

Tony nodded, but it was Viv who spoke. "Is my mother still here ?"

Ruthie pointed her cane at Vivian "Young lady I'll have you know, I didnt say she left."

"She's dead ?"

"I didnt say that either"

"Shes a..."

"Didnt say that either so dont ask"

"That actually wasnt what I was going to ask"

"Then I'll have you know, six years ago Waterlily Apartments got shuttered twelve years after Mayor Remmy was found dead in the river downstream. But berfore that you mother, Miss Lavender, was hired by them redcross bastards a week before Remmy was found swimming with the octopi" Ruthie said. "It was through her we were able to peice together things. Had help on the inside to get a lot of that file put together." Ruthie went back to rocking thoughtfully.

"You can use my dealership for transport, gas, you name it we got it. We're on the same side here. No cost" Tony said. "Hell, I'll make you a partner in the dealership, the Pit Crew'll know. Mom taught most of them how to be Assassins back in the day when Dad was alive running the place,. We had drills constantly there"

"Good, good...you got anything else than Trucks?" Mark asked.

"What are you thinkin'?"

"Hover-Bikes. Ones that make Nascar look slow."

Tony was silent for a moment before nodding. "We got a couple. Though most everything in Sacremento and Equator City is hover buses and bigger, maybe a hovertaxi or hovervan at the smallest"

"Good... are they quiet? I'll be using that to get around primarily..." Mark said, Tony nodded. "I think... it's time I came clean to the people in this room, well, some of us, mainly you two." He said, pointing to Ruthie and Tony. "Name's Mark Wolfe, leader of the Wolfe Clan of Arendelle, adopted son of the Elisar Clan. Let's just say... things got real bad real fast up North, I bugged out of my own accord. I can't face those people until I've redeemed myself. For me, that means killing the Grand Master of the Templars here:

"Talak Horde."

Grandma Ruthie nodded, pointing her cane at her son she said simply "See boy, I knew that fireball in the sky was good for something! Who is ready for dinner ?"