"Nyet! Nyet!" Cried the girl. Klaus looked around, but Alexi was already pulling the German into the cover of a wrecked building.
"What's going on?" Klaus hissed as they saw the girl of about fifteen being pulled out of a building by two soldiers, a desperate and pleading family following.
"You tell me, they're Germans." Alexi said darkly.
"Ah shiza." Swore Klaus as he watched the men throw the girl into a group of people, all varying in age, size, and gender. He recognized what they were doing now. "They're hunting."
"For what?" Alexi looked over at the taller man, his turn to ask.
"Jews." Klaus replied darkly. "See how most of those in the group are wearing the Star of David? They've been marked. The girl must either be suspected of being a Jew, or she angered the soldiers."
"What are they going to do with them?" Alexi frowned as he saw six of the soldiers lining as many civilians up along the wall.
"Shoot them." Alexi looked at Klaus in alarm, but the German Assassin was already out the door of the skeletal building, walking over to where the six soldiers had the six Jews lined up.
"Bereit!" Came the harsh German command. The six soldiers snapped to attention.
"German idiot." Muttered Alexi, running quickly after Klaus who was unobservantly making his way over to where the commanding officer, a Sergeant, was standing off to the right of the line.
"Ziel!" Klaus was behind the man now, tapping him on the shoulder as the soldiers raised their rifles, taking aim at the civilians. Some of the people were sobbing for mercy, while others stood stoic and silent.
"Was willst du?" Demanded the Sergeant angrily. Then there came a scream from one of the Jewish women, who saw Klaus yank the soldier forward onto his right hand as he unsheathed his hidden blade. The man fell off Klaus's reddened blade with a grunt, crashing into the snow covered cobblestones at the German Assassin's feet.
One of the soldiers, the first to notice Klaus's actions and to react, turned and took aim at Klaus. Before he could pull the trigger, however, Alexi brought up his left hand, flicking his wrist, and triggering his concealed pistol.
That was when all hell broke lose. The five remaining German soldiers turned now as well, joined by the four who had been watching the other prisoners. The nine of them were shouting in rapid German, facing the two Assassins as Alexi came to stand next to Klaus.
"Ever heard of subtlety and planning" Muttered Alexi.
"Sometimes there isn't time for those." Klaus replied evenly, eyeing the rifle barrels facing them.
"Toten!" Shouted one soldier, and they fired.
Alexi was the first to duck, dropping low as Klaus dove out of the line of fire. Rolling forward, the Russian came up directly in front of a soldier, grabbing the barrel of the rifle and jerking it up sharply, slamming it into the soldier's face and knocking him out and down.
Klaus got to his feet, a pistol in hand and fired once, dropping one man before running up to the third and giving him no time to think before snapping his neck. The remaining sic began backing up, reloading and firing as they did. But Alexi had gotten behind them while Klaus distracted them, killing two before being forced to avoid redirected bullets.
Klaus stabbed another with his wrist blade, jerking the already dead man's arm up so he let go of the rifle in his hands. Catching it, Klaus with drew his knife, turning and bringing the barrel of the gun around with a crack into the skull of another. He turned, gripping the gun properly, then fired it at the second to last German as Alexi ran at the last one. The man pulled out a pistol, firing at the Russian but missing as Alexi ducked, grabbed his wrist, and forced the gun skyward before pressing the tip of his concealed gun into the man's stomach and firing only once.
There was a stunned silence that hung over the town square as the last man fell. Klaus and Alexi stood in the center of a ring of bodies, the civilians and captives staring.
"Well?" demanded Alexi of them. "Don't just stand there, run!"
Immediately there was a burst of activity and noise as the townspeople ran inside their war ravage homes and the Jews scattered until the town square was empty but for the Assassins.
"Well, that wasn't too bad." Klaus grimaced, dropping the rifle and turning to walk away from the dead man. But Alexi stopped him, turning him back around sharply.
"Can you think?" Demanded the Russian. "Or is there just empty space up there?"
"Don't touch me." Snapped Klaus suddenly, yanking his arm free. "And Im sorry I went ahead and saved your fellow people from a Nazi given death. Next time I'll let them die."
"What kind of Assassin are you? Our trade is an art, not a demonstration. We kill when we must, never on impulse." Spat Alexi.
"So saving over a dozen people is not a must kill situation?" Snorted Klaus. "They are your own people!"
"And they were yours!" Alexi snarled, pointing to the dead Germans. "But you didn't hesitate to kill them!" Alexi snapped,
"You know why? Because this is war. This is war and people do die in war. We can't help that; there will be casualties, unless we end it."
"I see." Klaus said coldly. "So our job is to stand by and watch innocents die behind that petty excuse, claiming our blades are destined for higher blood. You may choose to live by that, but I will not." Then he turned away, walking out of the town square to the wall they had first come over, scaling it easily and then dropping down on the other side.