Betrayals always hurt like hell. Couples are torn apart when one of the lovers is found to be cheating on the other. Mutinies always leave the former captain dead or fed to a kraken or some type of sea creature. No matter what someone is left wondering, "How the hell did I end up in this situation?" That was exactly why Jack preferred his role as an assassin. There were no betrayals to an assassin, and on the incredibly rare occasion there is a betrayal, the assassin is usually the one doing it.

That being said it didn't hurt to be on one's toes when attending a meeting like this. After all no matter how you look at it, you're going to be in an isolated place, surrounded by killers. That in mind Jack took extra precautions. In addition to the sword strapped across his back and the pistol on his belt, Jack had hidden daggers in both of his sleeves, strapped a long tanto to his inner thigh, and finally a poisoned throwing knife lay hidden in the folds of cloth under his armpit. Jack had arrived a few days a head of schedule so he waited atop Hero Hill for the others. As the other assassins arrived Jack pulled the black silk facemask up to cover the bottom half of his face.

Jack quickly took note of his company, five assassins in total, excluding him. The five assassins actually, each one of them was a specialist in a certain type of killing. There was Murray the Crusher, a giant of a man who could swing a hammer twice the size of Jack as though it weighed nothing. He called it Squirrelly. Next him stood Phillip the Chopper, a clinically proven psychopath who used nothing but rusted meat cleavers. Crouching to Jack's right was Lucy the Stalker, a quiet girl who was rumored to have been able to sneak up on a balverine, and slit its throat, after plunging several paralyzing toxins into its spine. To Jack's left was Vincent the Shooter, impossibly accurate with any type of firearm, some say even more so than Reaver. Finally there was Quinn the Brawler, preferred to beat his targets to death with his bare hands, no gauntlets, no knuckle-dusters, just flesh on flesh. In the whole of Albion there were six assassins who were regarded as the most dangerous, these people were five of them, Jack was the sixth, Jack the Ripper.

The six of them stood in silence as rain started to fall around them, each waiting for someone to start talking. Murray was the one to break the silence. "It's been awhile since all six of us were called for one job."

"Exactly two years, four months and seven days." Vincent clarified, he also had a knack for remembering specific dates.

"So does anyone here know who the target is?" Quinn asked looking each of the assassins in the eye.

"Whoever the target is, he or she is most likely in the Gypsy Camp nearby." Jack stated. "Why else bring us all to Bower Lake." The other five all nodded in agreement.

"In that case let's just go kill everyone in the camp!" Phillip practically screeched while reaching for one of his cleavers.

"Settle down Phil." Quinn ordered, "Your making Vin here nervous." Phillip looked at Vincent, who had grabbed one of his pistols and was aiming right between Phillip's eyes. Slowly Phillip put away his cleaver, only after he visibly calmed down did Vincent holster his pistol.

"What a charming reunion this is turning out to be." Murray commented, "Wouldn't you say Lucy?" The group all looked expectantly at Lucy who only response was a cold glare. No surprise there, most of them were convinced that Lucy was a mute. Of the five of them, only Jack and Quinn had ever heard her speak.

"Yeah, yeah. When can we get to the killing?" Phillip cried, clearly losing his cool. "Who the hell's the target?"

"That gentlemen shall be revealed shortly." A strange voice announced. All six assassins turned to face the source of the voice. It was an older man his gray hair thinning at his scalp. Unlike the six assassins, who were all dressed in mottled patterns of black and gray, the old man was dressed in stark white. Jack didn't know what but something about the old man didn't sit well with him. He may be paranoid, but that paranoia had kept him alive.

"Are you the target then?" Phillip asked reaching for his cleavers again.

"No my friend, I'm not your target." The old man calmly told him. "I'm the one who hired you all."

"Well you must have money coming out of your ass if you could afford all six of us." Vincent laughed.

"Five." The old man corrected, "I hired five of you." The old man immediately had the attention of all six of them. "Murray the Crusher, Phillip the Chopper, Lucy the Stalker, Vincent the Shooter, and Quinn the Brawler, I hired the five of you to kill Jack the Ripper."

An expression of shock appeared on everyone's face as the old man let his statement hang in the air. Jack exchanged glances with all the others and the same thing was etched on their faces. "I'm sorry."

"Fine by me!" Phillip yelled while sprinting toward Jack, swinging his cleavers madly. Acting on instinct Jack grabbed the pistol hanging on his belt and fired it. The bullet never reached him. Faster than Jack had thought possible, Vincent's six barreled pistol was in his hand, shooting Jack's bullet out of the air. Body acting on its own Jack leaned out of the cleavers path and smacked Phillip across the face using the barrel of his pistol. Before Jack could unsheathe his sword, Quinn was on top of him, beating him to point where he could only protect his head. Finally seeing an opening Jack brought his foot up and kicked for Quinn's chest. The Brawler caught his foot however and threw him to the center of the hill. While he rolled on the ground Jack managed to draw his sword.

As soon as he was on his feet Murray was right in front of him, Squirrelly about to crush his head to pulpy mess. Jack stepped out of the hammer's path and backhanded Murray across his chin. The giant didn't even flinch as he wrapped his large hand around Jack's neck and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Panicking, Jack forgot about the sword he held in his hand and tried desperately to remove the giant hand from his neck. Murray laughed as he lifted Jack higher in the air before he slammed him into the ground. The others watched with amused expressions, their doubts forgotten in the heat of battle, as Murray planted his monstrous foot on top of Jack's chest. Both felt ribs threaten to beak under the weight.

Jack remembered the weapons he'd hidden in his clothes and pulled out the tanto. Jack rammed the tanto through Murray's Achilles tendon, causing the giant to fall to the ground. Standing with his sword in his right hand, tanto in his left Jack moved to engage Phillip. Of the five, Phillip was the only one Jack had no problem killing. Jack easily blocked, parried and countered all of Phillip's sloppy attacks. Taking advantage of Phillip's sloppy style, Jack swept his feet out from under him. As Phillip lay on the ground Jack was about to plunge his sword through his heart. Before Jack could finish Phillip however his entire body went numb.

"I'm sorry Jack." Lucy's quiet voice said as Jack's weapons fell from his hands as he dropped to his knees. Body paralyzed, Jack could only watch as Vincent walked up to him and pointed his six-barreled pistol at him.

'How the hell did I end up in this situation?' Jack thought before Vincent pulled the trigger.