The ink burns on my skin as I approach the door. When I press myself against the smooth wood, the mark flares to life, and my senses are elevated to a supernatural level. Even through this barrier, I can sense everything in the small room ahead. There are two lights hanging from the ceiling, illuminating most of the floor between this door and the next. The only areas not lit are those within a few feet of the doors. Not much room to work with, but there is a low-hanging beam between the lights, shrouded in shadow, and with that, it is more than enough. A single guard patrols the room, pacing back and forth, his steps never straying from the pools of light.
I wait patiently, and when the guard turns his back, I gently press down on the handle - but it's locked. My tools are in my hands in an instant, and it only takes a few seconds to pick the lock. The guard is still facing away from me, and he's nearing the other side of the room. Nudging the door open, I cast my grappling hook at the outstretched beam, and it catches. The guard is far enough away that he does not hear the faint clank of the chain. I launch myself upward, secure in the shadows just as the guard turns around. As soon as my footing is sure, I swing myself below, descending headfirst, and when he passes under me, I am but an inch away.
One hand reaches for my sword, and with the chain still firmly in my grasp, I slide the blade between the man's ribs and into his heart. His mouth opens, and he tries to cry out, but I withdraw the blade, and in the same movement, wrap a loose portion of the chain around his throat. He is silenced.
A tug of the chain hoists the man into the air before he can slump to the ground, and it is but a moment's work to secure the chain. The man's shell hangs from the rafters, wreathed in shadow to serve as a grim warning to any who lay eyes on it.
I drop back to the floor, my wrapped feet colliding with the surface with but a whisper of cloth. I creep through the light to the other side of the room, and after checking for a lock, I once again press myself against the door. There are two guards on the other side talking to each other. One holds a riot shield and a flare gun, while the other is equipped with a rifle, a flashlight under the barrel. Karajan's security force heavily favors this arrangement; one man in front, illuminating the area for his partner, who crouches behind the shield's cover with his gun at the ready. It is tactically sound, but as with all such formations, it is heavily dependent on discipline.
And it is woefully ineffective against a ninja.
I open the door and spin, hurling the grappling hook once more at the beam behind me. Leaping into the air, I slip through the light, and though I have removed myself from sight, that single glimpse of movement is spotted by the guard in the rear. I curse my lack of forethought; had I extinguished the lights before opening the door, I would not have been spotted. A pair of thrown bamboo darts remedies this mistake, but the damage has been done.
The guard raises his rifle, and with it, the flashlight fastened below the barrel. The light catches only the corpse of his comrade, still swinging gently.
There is a cry of terror, and the chattering of gunshots.
Then a body slumps to the floor.
My mistake has proven fortuitous. Karajan's men are experienced, but this one has panicked at the sight of the hanging dead man, a sight that he could not have prepared for. He fired without thinking, and because of his haste, his ally is now dead at his hands.
The beam of light begins to waver, and I hear a pair of unsteady footsteps approaching. The guard enters my sight, and I can see that his emotions rule him now. What paces below me is not a man, but a fear-stricken animal. I leap down, and with a flash of the blade, I put it out of its misery.
I bend over the body, and wipe my sword clean on its uniform. Holding the blade at an angle, I examine it for blood, and finding none, I slip it back into its sheath. My tread is silent, and I leave the three dead men.
It is only a small victory, but it brings me one step closer to Karajan - one step closer to avenging my clan.