Action! Well, hopefully this isn't too bad...
The sound of whistling echoed throughout the enclosed area of the cargo ship. Hei ducked behind a wall of containers, listening for footfalls on the metal floor.
"Come out come out where ever you are. I wouldn't have taken the infamous Black Reaper to be such a coward!" Chuckles bounced off of the walls even as the whistling continued. Hei clenched his hands in irritation and anger, irked at having walked right into a trap.
When he snuk onto the ship he expected a few workers here or there. Hei would have taken them out easily enough, if there were any. The deck was empty upon arrival. Huang couldn't pick up any signs of life that were an immediate threat to the mission, and he made sure Hei understood that very clearly over the comm link. The young man likened the older man's constant cursing over the line much like an annoying fly buzzing in his ear, so he didn't think he was completely stepping out of line when he plucked his communicator off and tossed it away.
Hei was more than use to working missions alone.
He checked his surroundings and cleared the top of the ship before heading down. Unfortunately, that was where he ran into the first contractor.
The man looked ordinary enough, but the dead give away were the typical contractor eyes. They weren't glowing red, but his were devoid of most emotion. Hei made quick work of the man, a bit uneasy at having not seen him use any sort of ability, when contractor two came along. He was just as easy to get rid of as the first, but when their fight ended back on deck, and the body had stopped smoking from having a strong electrical charge sent through it, Hei was suddenly aware that he wasn't the only one on the ship.
Men stood scattered around him; all very similar in appearance. They were all doppelgangers of one man. Just as that realization hit, Hei was thrust into the fight of his life.
He eventually ended up back inside the ship once more, using the halls and crates to his advantage as cover. It seemed that everywhere Hei turned the contractor was sure to follow.
Hiding behind a wall of containers in the cargo hold, Hei gritted his teeth as the tell-tale whistle reached his ears. He was never one to run, and just the thought of retreat made his blood boil.
He was running out of options.
Taking a deep breath Hei flung himself away from the wall and charged the hall full of identical men. He pulled his knife from its holster, throwing it with precision at the first doppelganger in his way. The man went down immediately, and just a quickly Hei pulled it out to dispatch another. Five went down, but more sprang up just a quickly to take their place.
Damn, I need to find the original!
Hei retrieved his knife quickly, only to find that he was stuck between a barred door and a group of men that could easily beat him to death. Their combat skills were significantly below Hei's, but their numbers made up for it.
Never in his life did Hei ever find his mask so cumbersome. He felt like his lungs couldn't catch enough air as the group advanced on him. Over the sound of his own heartbeat thumping loudly in his own ears, Hei wished the annoyingly whistled tune would stop.
"Trapped like an animal." One of them chuckled mockingly as he stepped apart from the rest. "Lay down your weapon, and we won't beat you severely. We need to bring you back alive."
Hei only clenched the handle of his knife tighter with the threat, but he knelt down anyways. His knife clanked slight against the metal floor, and over the severity of the moment his mind finally clicked.
Hei laid his palms flat against the cool surface, his body outlined by a faint blue glow, and he let his ability do the rest. The copies didn't expect this last ditch effort, and were too late to react as electricity coursed through their bodies.
They were unmoving heaps on the floor when Hei finally got to his feet, but he didn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Making his way past the bodies, Hei moved down the hall once more. He was cautious at every turn, until eventually he found himself on the main deck for the third time that evening. Hei's muscles were coiled and ready to jump into action as he scanned his surroundings quietly, and he nearly startled when a chipper tune met his ears.
No doubt whistled.
"Bravo! Quite a move you pulled back there! I thought I had you cornered for sure." The original contractor stepped out from the shadows, his lips curled into a smile.
"Who set you up to this!" Hei all but growled as he reached for his knife, grasping nothing but air.
"Oh, looking for this?" The contractor pulled Hei's knife out from his coat. "You can't leave you toys laying around so carelessly. You never know who'll get their hands on them."
Hei was through with talking, ready to charge the man, until a sudden boom of thunder caught his attention. Looking up, he could clearly see clouds swirling dark and angry overhead. It would have been normal if the sky in the distance was in a similar state, and not the serene dark blue of a late night. Hei didn't dwell on that thought for too long as rain poured from the sky.
The situation seemed too familiar, but everything fell into place when Hei noticed ice creeping along the wet floor towards him. Acting quickly, he utilized his wire to pull himself to higher ground, which happened to be conveniently placed moving equipment.
"It looks like the party started without me." November chuckled as he made himself known. He sent a smirk Hei's way before he turned his attention to the contractor unlucky enough to be distracted by the sudden change in weather. "I think you've given BK201 here a run for his money, but your services are no longer required."
The Brit's normally ice blue eyes began to glow red, and the drenched contractor suddenly seized up, before he crumpled to the ground; his feet still firmly frozen in place.
"Now that that's out of the way." November turned to regard the Black Reaper, and he wasn't surprised at all to see that the man was gone.
Sighing, the blond reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out of the box, lighting it up and taking quick pull. November breathed the harmful air out slowly, distracted only by the buzzing of his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket promptly.
"Misaki? Yes, he got away, but I think you might have another investigation on your hands."
-o-o-o-o-
As soon as Hei reached the abandoned warehouse where Huang had directed him to go for the post-mission debriefing, he tore off his mask and nearly flung it at the older man. With his knife left at the ship he really didn't have much to use as a projectile weapon.
"What the hell was that Huang!" Hei snarled, glaring at the man with narrowed eyes.
The man in question wasn't fazed by Hei's animosity. "I wouldn't know what you managed to get yourself in to. You thought it'd be better to just go it alone, if the silence from you communicator was anything to go by."
That retort shut Hei up immediately.
"From what Yin could gather with her specter, I assume you ran right into a trap. Coming from the Syndicate, the information for this mission shouldn't have been tampered with. I'll file a report, but until then lay low. The police will be looking for you now that they know you haven't dropped off the face of the earth." Huang relayed all that with a glare as deadly as the one he was receiving, if not more so. He lingered for a moment before he turned to leave.
"You contractors are nothing but nuisances..." He muttered under his breath, clear enough for Hei to hear.
Once the older man was gone, Hei remained rooted to his spot. He looked at the mask in his hands, holding on to it tightly. When his anger finally subsided, he let out a shaky breath.
November 11 was the least of his worries now, if the Syndicate was out to get him.
Ehh... I don't really know how to feel about this chapter x_x Anyways! I want to thank everyone who's followed and reviewed so far! It really means a lot!