Author's Note: I want to thank everyone for visiting and continuing to follow this journey. I know this story was confusing for some in that I was technically spoiling the ending in the very first chapter...but after 10 chapters, I feel like this story is more about the journey on how that ending comes to be instead of the traditional story telling of building to the ending. Let me know what you think of how the story is going for you so far. We are almost to the halfway point as I have planned for this to be about 22-23 chapters. So here we go with Chapter 10. Enjoy!
Shannon Springs Hotel
Shannon, County Clare, Ireland
Two Weeks after Trini's Funeral, 0600
September 1999
RING RING
A groan responds to the ringing of the hotel telephone. The intruding sound was slowly waking up the occupant of Room 203 from a deep slumber after a night of whiskey and women.
RING RING
Bullseye opens one eye and looks to his right at the offending object before he picks up it up and places it at his ear.
"Cad (What)?" He sleepily answered the phone
"Maidin mhaith a dhuine uasail. Seo é do ghlaoch dhúisigh. (Good morning sir. This is your wake up call.)" a woman said on the other line. Judging it being a wakeup call, it had to be the front desk girl he had seen the last couple of days.
"Níor iarr mé aon ghlaoch ar fhuilteach! (I didn't ask for no bloody wakeup call!)" Bullseye grumpily said, giving a tone that should have expressed that he was not happy at the moment.
"Mo leithscéalta a dhuine uasail. D'iarr do bhean chéile é a dhíscéalú ag an am seo. (My apologies sir. Your wife asked to be woken up at this time.)" The woman explained.
"Cén bhean? Níl bean chéile fuilteach agam! (What wife? I don't have a bloody wife!)" The woman getting on his last nerve.
"Arís, mo leithscéalta a dhuine uasail. Tá súil agam go bhfuil lá deas agat. (Again, my apologies sir. Hope you have a nice day.)" The woman expressed before hanging up the phone.
"Aiteann (Cunt)" Bullseye said as he put the phone back on its cradle. When he rolled over to his left side, he noticed two naked women sleeping right beside him. He gave himself a smile and remembered fondly the night before of the threesome he had with the two red headed women he picked up from the bar.
Just as he shut his eyes to get back to sleep, he heard something vibrate on the table behind him. Bullseye groaned knowing only one person had the number to that phone. He rolled around so he was laying on his right side as he reached for the cell phone and push the send button to answer the call. He placed the phone up to his ear.
"Hello wife."
"GOOD MORNING MY ASSASSIN!" Rita said in her high pitch squeal. "I take it you didn't like the wakeup call?
"At 6 in the fuckin morning…who bloody would?!"
"Relax Bullseye. I need you bright eyed and bushy tailed. Your next targets are heading your way as we speak from Los Angeles. I need you in Paris by tomorrow. Right after that, I need you to head to Egypt for your next two targets."
"Bout bloody time! I was getting just a tad bit restless." Bullseye chippered up. He had been waiting for this call since his last target in Australia. Taking his time going to the brothels and red light distracts of Amsterdam, London, Berlin, and finally his making his way to Shannon where he had been for the last three days screwing every woman in the establishment. "Any instructions for Paris or shall I make it up as I go along again?"
"No preference for Paris, however…I do have a preference for Egypt though. Take out the boy first but injure the girl only. I need her to send a message to the power punks before you finish her." Rita said.
"Oh ya…What is the message?" Bullseye asked as he started to sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed to get ready to leave.
"Tell them that Rita Repulsa sends her regards! Ha Ha Ha!" Rita cackled before hanging up the phone.
Bullseye pushed end on the phone to end his connection before putting the phone down on the night table. He rose from the bed which started to wake up his female companions. As he was walking around to gather his clothes so he could start to get dressed, one of the girls decided to speak up.
"Réidh le haghaidh babhta dhá? (Ready for round 2?)" asked the red head with natural breasts.
Bullseye looked at the naked women and contemplated on their request. But, money was calling to him in the form of two million dollars in Paris.
Bullseye put his pants on before giving his answer. "Am éigin eile. (Some other time.)"
He was had just put his shirt on and grabbed his jacket when the girl with fake breasts was wondering where he was off to. Bullseye walked over to grab the cell phone on the table and make his way to the door.
"Cá bhfuil tú ag dul? Fan le linn agus leanfaimid ar aghaidh ar an méid a thosaigh muid ó oíche anuas. (Where are you going? Stay with us and let's continue what we started from last night.)"
"Am chun dul ag obair. (Time to go to work.) Bullseye exclaimed as he walked out the door.
Air France Terminal
Paris, France
12 hours after takeoff from LAX
September 1999
Adam was looking like a walking zombie as he and Tanya had de boarded the plane they had just spent the last 12 hours on. He didn't get much sleep during the flight and what sleep he did get was always interrupted by the children that were sitting behind him, kicking his seat as they would argue about who's turn it was with the Walkman.
His girlfriend of now two years, Tanya, looked better than he did but he knew she was just as tired as he was. Tanya was leading the way to baggage claim as Adam wasn't understanding the signs that were supposed to tell them where to go. He was certainly kicking himself in the ass now because he didn't brush up on any French before they left. It had been a blur of the last couple of weeks between Trini's funeral, Kat's disappearance before being found, and Tanya needing to wrap up any last minute plans with her record label so she could enjoy her trip in peace.
"Babe, babe…could you slow down a little bit, we have a week to enjoy everything that Paris has to offer." Adam said as he felt Tanya was dragging him by the arm. "The attractions are not going anywhere."
Tanya looked at her boyfriend with a mock gasp…like she couldn't believe he wanted to slow down. "Slow down? Adam Park, can you not hang with me?"
Adam chuckled as they made it down to baggage claim, "Babe, I couldn't hang with my grandma right now I am so tired."
Tanya laughed as she turned to Adam and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "There you go prince…that should last you until we get to the hotel and check in." Tanya loved using her nickname for him as it was a play-off of his Ninjetti spirit, the frog.
Adam gave Tanya a small smile before changing the subject. "So I heard from Jason before we took off."
"Oh…How are him, Tommy and Billy doing in Australia? Did they have Katherine's funeral already?"
"They had it yesterday while we were sleeping. They seemed to be enjoying it as well as can be expected. I can't imagine what they are feeling having to go to another funeral shortly after Trini."
"I know what you mean, even if I didn't have all of my last minute things to finish at work I probably still couldn't find the strength to go. I am just glad someone was able to go for all of us."
"It wasn't just us that couldn't make it remember. Rocky and Aisha were heading back to Egypt when Kat's parents called us, you had your contractual obligations, I still had classes booked until our trip."
Tanya cut in on where Adam was going with his explanation. "And with Kim still a wreck, Zack offered to stay behind to keep an eye on her while Jason, Billy and Tommy went to pay all our respects."
"What was it again that Zack said was the reason he couldn't go? Had something to do with music right?" Adam asked. He remembered Zack talking about getting ready for something but he just couldn't remember what it was.
"Adam, don't tell me you are pulling a 'Tommy' now are you? Zack has a very big show coming up next week in Los Angeles DJing at the Grand Ville club on Santa Monica. It is only like the biggest night club going today."
It was finally dawning on Adam. "Is that the thing where you had to call in some favors to get everyone a ticket?" Tanya nodded like Adam was an idiot. "OK…yeah…it is now coming back to me. I remember Zack was bummed he was only going to get 2 tickets for us but thanks to you, you got everyone in."
As Adam and Tanya continued to talk about next week when they got home, their luggage finally made its way around the carousel. Adam spotted their bags and made his way over to start picking up his one luggage bag and the garment bag holding 2 of his suits along with four of Tanya's bags. Once all the bags were retrieved, Adam had to go find a cart so they could handle all the bags at once like they did in LA.
Finding a cart wasn't that hard, it was more of finding a cab after they had loaded up the bags and walked out of the airport. It wasn't like they were in New York where there was a cab seen every five seconds but because of the amount of people coming into the city from the airport, it just seemed pretty hard to find an open cab. After ten minutes of Tanya wandering up and down the sidewalk seeking a cab, she finally found one and called Adam over.
Adam walked over and helped the gentleman with loading their bags into the trunk of the cab as Tanya climbed into the back and slid over to behind the driver's seat. After loading the bags, Adam and the driver made their way to their respective doors (the driver back to the driver's seat and Adam climbing into the back from the passenger side.) After the driver got settled back into his seat, he looked at the couple behind him through his rear view mirror.
"Bienvenue à Paris. Est-ce que l'un de vous parle français? (Welcome to Paris. Do either of you speak French?)" The driver asked.
"Oui (yes)" Tanya replied.
"Où allez-vous? (Where are you heading to?)"
"Hotel Ares Eiffel sur 7 Rue du Général de Larminat. (Hotel Ares Eiffel over on 7 Rue du Général de Larminat)"
The driver nodded as he knew the hotel they were needing to go to. "Pas de problème Bouclez vers le haut et profitez du trajet. (No problem folks. Buckle on up and enjoy the ride.)"
"Merci beaucoup! (Thank you very much!)"
Tanya snuggled up to Adam as the cab driver started to pull away from the airport and onto the streets of Paris.
"Tell me again why we couldn't have had a car or a limo wait for us when we came in?" Adam asked getting to relax and staring out the window. His arm around his girlfriend's shoulders with her head resting on his.
"Not all of us are such a diva like yourself Mr. Park." Tanya chuckled but yelped right after as she felt Adam pinching her underarm. That prompted Tanya to lightly smack her boyfriend in the chest and gasp. "Adam!"
Adam chuckled as he pulled her in closer to himself. He heard Tanya sigh as she settled back into each other.
"I just want to remind myself to stay grounded and not let money or this new sensation of fame get to me. You know what I am saying?" Tanya giving a serious reply to his question.
"I completely understand sweetheart." Adam turned his head left and kissed the top of her head. "I was just busting your ovaries."
"Ha! Adam Park has jokes now. Well how does Mr. Jokester feel if I had him sleeping on the couch for the entire trip." Tanya laughed while rising her head up right and looking at Adam.
"I doubt you would hold out for the rest of the night before you were begging me back into bed." Adam winked before giving Tanya a quick kiss on her lips.
"Ok you got me there…but still!"
"Yes dear."
As Adam and Tanya were enjoying the passing landscape and architecture, they hadn't noticed that they had been spotted and were now being followed by a man on a motorcycle.
Riding a couple of cars behind the cab is Bullseye, having flown into Paris a few hours earlier than the couple, making sure he didn't lose the cab in the traffic. It was early evening in Paris which meant that most people would be getting out of work and head home or out for the evening. Bullseye had made sure to keep a low profile after spotting the couple as they had passed him on their way to baggage claim. While stealing the motorcycle wouldn't really be considered keeping a low profile, it did give him a set of wheels for his time in Paris while also helping him look inconspicuous with his long duster jacket.
The ride was an enjoyable one considering he was in the middle of Paris traffic on the way home. After close to an hour on the road, hitting a jam on the A1 thanks to a three care pileup, Bullseye pulled to a side street across from the hotel that his targets would be staying at. Cutting off the motorcycle, Bullseye watched in silence as Adam was helping the bell boy loading their bags onto another cart while Tanya was speaking with the cab driver and paying their fare.
Bullseye pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket and made it to the text messages to send Rita an update. He didn't care about the extra charge sending a message would entail, he just didn't want to actually talk to the woman right now.
49/160 1/1
Targets acquired in Paris.
Be ready for tomorrow.
Options Send
And with the push of a button, Bullseye sent off his message before he started up his motorcycle and rode off to another hotel for the night.
United Airlines
Somewhere over the North Pacific Ocean
Local Time Unknown, Night time
September 1999
Crouch over the snack tray table with a book open and writing in his notepad was not what Tommy had in mind when he wanted to go to college. However, with everything going on, this is the circumstances he finds himself in. Jason was sitting next to his right while Billy was sitting to her left sleeping the activities of the last couple of days away. The flight over, the funeral and now a quick flight back to the United States had taken its toll on the three young men physically, mentally and emotionally. Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose while he stifled a yawn. It was going to be another 8 hours before they landed in Los Angeles and he was really contemplating getting some sleep while he could.
Jason was startled awake by a hard bump in turbulence which saw a snort come out. Tommy looked to his right and gave a chuckle as Jason started to sit upright and stretch as best as he could.
"How long was I out for man?" Jason grumbled while he was getting his bearings. His throat was extremely dry so he reached for the call button above him to request a stewardess.
"I would say 2-4 hours. To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention." Tommy replied while lifting up his notepad as a way of telling Jason his mind was on something else.
"You strike me as a guy who would watch people sleep though." Jason said sarcastically as he rubbed his eyes.
"A certain person…yes. You're not my type though." Tommy smiled as he patted his friend's shoulder.
A stewardess came walking up to where Tommy and Jason were sitting and looked at them. "How can I help you gentlemen?"
"May I have a bottle of water please?" Jason looked at the older woman, looked like she could have been in her early 40s, and gave her a smile.
"And you, sir?" The woman looked at Tommy.
Tommy looked up at her and just shook his head. "Nothing for me, thank you though."
The woman smiled and nodded. "I will be right back with your water." She said before turning on her heel and headed back to the stewardess' area.
"Speaking of a certain person, that reminds me, I called home before we took off to let them know we were on our way home. Zack sounded eternally grateful that we were. As much as he loves Kim, I think he is looking to get some space back."
"That is understandable...and with Zack by himself looking after Kim, I am safe to assume everyone left for their respective trips?" Tommy asked.
"Yea. Both couples left a couple of days ago…or was that yesterday." Jason pondered and shook his head. "To be honest, I don't even know what day it is right now thanks to the time difference."
"Hey Jase, can I ask you a question and I want your honest opinion on it?" Tommy asked with a stern voice that Jason knew he was being serious.
"Sure bro. What is going on in that head of yours?"
"With Trini gone and now Katherine…I am getting a very bad feeling like something is coming for us. I mean; if it was just Trini, I would chalk it up to unfortunate luck that she was killed. But Trini and Kat? I don't find it a coincidence that two members of our family were killed in what seems like days from each other." Tommy looked to Jason as the former red ranger was listening to his friend's concerns. "Am I just being paranoid or do you think something is going on?"
Just before Jason could answer, the older woman came back to their seat and handed Jason his bottle of water. Jason thanked the woman and she went back to go sit down with the other flight attendants. Jason cracked open the bottle and took a drink of it as he was pondering what Tommy just asked. Something had been eating at him ever since they were told of Kat's death but he had also chalked it up to being paranoia…but if Tommy was feeling it too...
"Honestly Tommy, something has been gnawing at me for the last couple of days and I was just thinking the same thing as you were. It can't be a coincidence that we are both feeling this way after this. The problem I am seeing is who would want to hurt us? Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire…they can't touch us because we are retired. In Space and Lost Galaxy teams are active and monitoring the far reaches of space so who would come after us?"
"I don't know Jase…all I know is that this feeling I have says that something is coming." Tommy sighed as he leaned back into his seat. "Do you think I need to call the others back from their trips?" Tommy was thinking of the two couples over in France and Egypt.
"I don't think we need to go that far just yet. All we have to go on are our feelings and no evidence. Besides, they won't be alone as they have each other."
"You're right man. I guess I am just being overly cautious." Tommy said, feeling a little better but not much.
"Speaking of having each other…How are you and Kim doing? I had noticed you two were spending some quality time together after the funeral." Jason asked.
"Well, I would say we are fine and just being friendly but knowing you…you would call bullshit on that one."
Jason laughs quietly to keep from waking Billy up. "You are right man. I would call bullshit. So what is really going on? You two pulling your heads out of your asses or what?"
Tommy closed his text book and placed his note pad on top of the book…sensing that he wasn't going to be working on that anymore. "I don't know. I know that I want her in my life no matter what…but I just don't know if she would really want to give us another go." Jason looked at Tommy and noticed the internal battle that was waging in the head of Tommy Oliver. "At the funeral, she told me that she still loved me and hoped for another chance…but I just don't know if that was because death was in the air or if she really was serious about it."
Jason chuckled. "Well that is good news man. What did you say to that?"
"Well I told her I still loved her and we would talk about it later since we were having this conversation as we were walking up to the hearse."
"Good call on that. So have you had that conversation yet?"
"And where would have been the perfect time to have that conversation? Between getting updates on Katherine or Kimberly still crying for Trini? We have also haven't had an opportunity to be alone to have that talk as well since the girls were always together." Tommy groaned his frustration that he hadn't had that conversation with Kim yet, but he wanted to make sure she wasn't upset and didn't want to push the subject when she wasn't ready.
"I will tell you what man; when we get back, I will take Billy and Zack out for a night and keep them company. Why don't you take Kimmy out out and lay all your cards on the table with her. I can tell you that her feelings that she told you are real enough so you have nothing to worry about in terms of rejection. I think she in turn is more afraid of you rejecting her this time around."
Tommy gave a smirk as he had thought of his response to what Jason said. "And we both know that Kim has me wrapped around her little finger in that I would never reject her."
"Exactly…Listen, I know right now is not the best of times with the funerals and ironically, you are the one living on the other side of the country…but that girl needs you and loves you man. Don't overthink about it and just take her back."
"I definitely have a lot to think about." Tommy released another yawn.
"Well, I have said my piece. I am gonna rack out some more. I suggest you do the same. We still have 7 or so hours left and I want to be rested before we drive back to Angel Grove."
"That does sound like a good idea Jase."
And with that reply being said, Jason turned his head to face the window as he leaned his forehead against the wall. Tommy reached up above him and turn off the light that was helping him with his studies. Now that he was surrounded by darkness, Tommy leaned his seat back and closed his eyes…thinking of what Kimberly said to him as he drifted off to sleep.
'I never stopped loving you and I hope that one day we can have another chance.'
Neuilly Restauration
Paris, France
18 Hours after landing in Paris.
September 1999
Sitting in front of a window that was overlooking the Panthéon, Bullseye was enjoying a nice pint of Guinness as his lunch while he was waiting for the colorful kids to show back out from their tour of the Panthéon. Bullseye started the day early with him stacking out their hotel until they finally left after 0900 to start their day. Their first stop of the Eiffel Tower. He sat patiently on one of the many park benches as the couple took their time making it up the tower and back down. He continued his stalking to the L'Arc de Triomphe where the couple again made their way up to the top and back down.
After hitting the subway and moving to their next destination, the Panthéon, it was now just lunch time so Bullseye thought it would be a good time to have a drink while waiting for the couple to exit and head to their next destination. His likely guess would be the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre-Dame Cathedral) on their way to the Louvre Museum.
Since he was just sitting and waiting, Bullseye had decided to use this down time to let Rita know when he was striking. He finished his beer and signaled the waitress for another round before pulling out his cell phone and calling the she devil. Bullseye hit the speed dial on the phone and brought it to his ear, letting it ring a few times. Just before it went to voicemail, the phone clicked and the shrill voice of Rita came on the other line.
"BULLSEYE!" the assassin removed the phone from his ear and turned down the volume.
"Bloody hell woman…you are gonna make me go deaf are ya?!"
"Not on purpose. So what is the report on the power twerps? I am assuming you are about to make your move since you are holding your end of our deal."
"Aye! They are doing the tourist thing right now but judging from their path, I might have an opportunity to strike soon." Just as he said that, Adam and Tanya had exited the building and started to make their way northwest. "Speak of the devil. Start watching cause they are on the move." And with that, Bullseye pushes the end button on the cell and puts the phone away.
As Bullseye gets up and puts his jacket on, the waitress was bringing his next round to him.
"Je dois courir l'amour. Merci pour la. (Got to run love. Thanks for the beer.)" Bullseye pulls out 50 euros from his pocket and slips it into the back pocket of her jeans. "Gardez la monnaie. (Keep the change.)"
"Merci Monsieur. (Thank you sir.)" The waitress said as she gave him a flirty smile. Bullseye looked at the woman really quick and thought it was a shame he couldn't stay longer. He headed out the front door and started to walk in the same direction as Adam and Tanya…he could smell his next two million on the way.
It only took Adam and Tanya fifteen minutes to walk to Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris just like Bullseye had predicted they would. They were excited to take a look as it was one of the more famous churches in Paris, but it didn't get a whole lot of tourists on the inside. They had managed to get the church in between services so it was empty as they walked in through the front door. They both stopped as they walked in and just looked around in awe.
"Wow Adam! Look at this. It is so beautiful." Tanya said as she was catching her breathe at the sight before her.
"I am looking baby. Can you imagine the work that people put into the built this in the first place?" Adam asked in wonderment as they were now starting to walk down the aisle to the alter.
"Well, I found the church I want our wedding to be in." Tanya said with a hint of sarcasm, waiting to see what her boyfriend would say.
"First I am hearing about us getting married. You proposing to me or something?" Adam said with a smile as he was making his own turn to take in the architecture. Tanya gave him a good slap on the shoulder as Adam chuckled and moved away from her before getting a second slap. "Well now I don't want to get married if all you are going to do is abuse me."
Tanya gave him a chuckle before seeing him stop and look at her as they reached the alter. "Buster, you don't know what abuse is yet…" She then moved closer and whispered, "but I will show you later tonight."
Adam's eyes perked up. "Really? Is that a threat Miss Sloan?"
"Think of it as more like a promise." Tanya said flirtatiously.
"I thought I heard voices" a man with a French accent said as the couple turned their heads to the right to see who the man was. "Welcome to Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. I am Father Levesque." The priest extends his hand as both Adam and Tanya shook it.
"I am Adam and this is my girlfriend Tanya. I hope you don't mind us looking around." Adam had said in reply to the priest's introduction.
"Not at all. Everyone is welcome to come into the lord's house, no matter the reason. I take it you are not from around Paris?" Father Levesque said.
"No…we are just visiting for our second anniversary. We are from California in the states." Tanya supplied.
"Wonderful. How are you liking Paris so far?"
"It has been a dream so far. Everyone is so nice and the sites are amazing. We were just saying how striking the church is. It is so beautiful!" Father Levesque smiled as he watched Tanya just express her emotion.
His smile faded away as he watched Tanya's face go from sheer happiness to agony before any sound came out of her mouth. As Father Levesque was about to move to see if he could help Tanya, something metal shot passed his head and he could have heard the faint noise of it going by his ear before it landed onto the podium that was on top of the alter. Father Levesque and Adam both looked at the object that struck the podium and saw it was a throwing star. Tanya was crying as she was trying to reach at something on her back.
"Baby, something hit me in the back somewhere. What is it?!" Tanya screamed.
Tanya turned her back to Adam as he looks just below and right of her left shoulder blade was another throwing star. "Sweetheart, hold still…there is a throwing star in your back. I think I can get it out."
"Oh mon Dieu. (Oh my god.)" The priest whispered as he looked to see where the stars had come from. "Adam, Tanya." He shakenly said.
Adam looks at the priest and notices he is now pointing at the back of the aisle by the front doors. They both turned around to see what the priest was looking at and saw a man at the end of the aisle walking to the first set of pews. The man placed his right hand in a bowl that was behind the pews and drips his fingers into the water.
Bullseye touches the target on his forehead first as he makes the sign of the cross from head to heart, followed by moving his right hand to his left shoulder and finally finishing the gesture to his right shoulder. When he was finished, he bowed his head and placed his hands together down by his waist. When he lifted his head and looked at the three people down the aisle, he extended his wingspan and raised his arms to about shoulder height.
"First one's a warning…Padre." Bullseye said calmly looking at the priest.
"Who are you?" Adam screams.
"I would suggest asking your lady friends but I kind of silenced them…permanently." Bullseye cracked a sinister smile while he watched Adam's face go from terror white to fuming red quickly putting together what he had just said. He and Tanya were looking at the man who murdered their friends.
Adam turns back to the priest. "Is there a way for you to get out of here?!"
"Yes, my son." Father Levesque replied. "There is a back door to the church."
"Go and call the police!" Adam sternly warned.
Father Levesque didn't have to be told twice as he made his way to the side of the church and left everyone's sights. With the priest gone, Adam turned some of his attention to Tanya to check on her while he kept an eye on Bullseye. "You ok Tanya?"
"Besides having a throwing star in my back, I am fan-fucking tastic Adam. Am I bleeding and how bad is it?" Tanya asked as she didn't move a lot so that the pain wouldn't creep up on her as hard if she moved. Adam looked and didn't see a lot of blood. To his best guess, he was assuming the star was lodged in her back good to the point where it kept the wound sealed and blood couldn't escape.
"The star is keeping the wound sealed. If I take it out now…" His voice trails softly before steeling himself up as he glanced at the reason for the throwing star in his girlfriend's back. He moved her to a pew and had her sit. He leaned down to be close to her face. "This guy needs to pay…for everything."
"Be careful. I love you." Tanya whispered.
"Love you too." Adam whispered back before kissing her forehead. "Try and hide for now. You don't need any more damage."
Tanya just moved to lay on her right side in the pew when Adam stood back up and got back into the aisle way. Adam was about 30 feet away from Bullseye as he stares at him to see what he would do. Now that he has Adam's undivided attention, Bullseye points at Adam. "You." Bullseye changed the hand from pointing at Adam to a come hither motion with his pointer and middle fingers, "Let's Play."
Just as Adam got into a fighting stance, Bullseye turned quickly to his left and grabbed a circular object, looked like it might be a collection plate, from the table that was behind the pews and chucked it at Adam like if it were a Frisbee. Adam didn't register the action quickly enough and the Frisbee hit him square in the throat, causing the former power ranger to gasp for air while Tanya gasped at the sudden attack. Adam had to take a knee as Bullseye, being pleased with himself, touched his forehead seductively while giving a sinister chuckle down the aisle. For a man who never misses, he always seems pleased and ecstatic whenever he hits his target, no matter if he is looking or not.
Adam took the time that Bullseye was gloating to get his wind back and made sure he still could breathe ok. While his throat hurt, he managed to take a deep breath and found no obstructions to his airway. Once his breathing got back to normal, he stood back up and started to make his way down the aisle to the amused assassin. Bullseye turns his head around and noticed that there was a balcony right above the front door and he could use the architecture to climb up the wall to the second floor. When he had gotten done making a decision, Bullseye turned the rest of his body and headed for the divots and started to scale the beam. Adam started to pick up the pace down the aisle and shifted to the right of the front door where the beam that Bullseye climbed was located. Adam started to make his climb up the beam when Bullseye was just shifting his body over the balcony and placed his feet back on solid ground. Bullseye waiting for the former green ranger to finish his climb that when he saw Adam's hands grip the edge of the balcony, Bullseye placed his left boot heel on top of Adam's right head.
Adam let out a cry of pain as Bullseye worked to grind his heel into his hand to make Adam let go of the balcony. Tanya pulled herself into a sitting position and slowly turned to see where the two men were. "Adam!" Tanya screamed as she placed her right hand over her mouth and had started to hold her breathe without realizing it as her fear gripped her and her heart was threating to burst through her chest. When Bullseye lifted his heel off of the hand of Adam Park, Adam's right hand slipped and now he was dangling from the balcony from his left arm while trying to shake out his right. He was about twenty, twenty-five feet off the ground so if he fell, it wouldn't kill him but it would sure hurt like hell when he landed.
Bullseye placed his right foot onto Adam's left hand instead of his heel. Bullseye leaned toward the man hanging off the balcony and looked him in the eye with a smug look on his face… "Are you going to be as easy to kill as had your lady friends?" Bullseye chuckled while giving Adam a small wave.
Adam, with a sense of urgency, managed to use Bullseye's body position to his advantage as he used all his strength to lift himself in a one arm pull up and grabbed Bullseye by the shirt with his right hand. "Go to hell asshole!" Adam said as he pulled the assassin off balance, leading to the Irishman to let go of Adam's hand when Bullseye couldn't stop the momentum that Adam had creating; pulling Bullseye over the balcony.
Tanya watched in horror as Bullseye flipped over the balcony, releasing Adam's hand from his foot. Adam couldn't keep his grip on the balcony ledge thanks to his body now going backwards when he used his body weight to pull Bullseye over. Just as quickly as they climbed up to the second floor, they were now coming down just as quickly when both men started falling to the ground. Bullseye used the momentum to rotate his body so he would land on his back…which was a smart but lucky sense of control as he was heading directly to the table that he had picked up the collection plate earlier. Tanya heard both men land in a thud and the sound of a table breaking.
Bullseye and Adam groaned as they each assessed their own damages. Adam slowly rolled over so he was laying on his stomach and started to slowly make his way over to Bullseye, who had started working on getting himself back into the fight.
"Fuck" Bullseye groaned when he rolled onto his stomach. Bullseye had pushed himself up onto his knees as Adam made his way over and was getting on his knees in front of Bullseye. Bullseye grabbed Adam the throat with his right hand while Adam retaliated and grabbed Bullseye's throat with his right hand. Both men used their left hands to grip the hands around their respective throats to try and let some of the pressure off so they can breathe. Bullseye shifted his left leg and planted his foot on the ground, hoping to stand and get the advantage of towering over Adam would have just by standing. Adam also had the same thought as he also shifted his leg and they both were getting up at the same time.
Tanya let out a sigh of relief as she saw her boyfriend finally after the fall he had taken. While she was nowhere near healthy for a full fight, she thought she could probably help Adam now as she started to get back to her feet and slowly made her way into the aisle. The pain in her back wasn't as excruciating as it originally was, but she had no use of her left arm so she searched for something that she could maybe use as a weapon. As she turned her head back to the two men locked in mortal combat as they finally made it back to their feet, Tanya noticed that Bullseye no longer was using his left hand to try and get Adam off his throat. Instead, Bullseye pulled a knife from his waistband of his pants and the gleam from the sun caught her attention.
"Adam, Watch Out!" Tanya screamed.
Adam turned his head to the left slightly to see Tanya standing up. The distraction was all Bullseye needed to turn the tide for him as he was holding the knife by the handle with the blade pointed to the ground. In one quick swoop, Bullseye launched into an uppercut where his fist was being swung upwards in turn so that while he was raising his fist to Adam's chin, the tip of the knife was scratching Adam's chest. Bullseye's fist collided with Adam's chin which made the Asian man release his grip on the assassin's throat. Bullseye dropped the knife and swung up again for another uppercut whereas this time, he let go of Adam's throat before he connected with his chin again and sent the man to the ground in a daze. Adam groaned while clearing the cob webs that had formed after taking to hard hits to the head.
Bullseye leans forward staring at the ground as he was catching his breath now that Adam wasn't choking him. Bullseye stood up right and noticed a long wooden candle holder by the end of the pew on the outside of the right set of pews. He walked over to the long piece of wood, grabbed it and swung it against the wall. He managed to break the top end off of the holder so it was now just a long staff with three legs branching out on the bottom.
Bullseye could hear Tanya crying and screaming for Adam to get up as she was making her way over to check on him. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Bullseye start to turn and make his way back over to Adam, who still hadn't recovered yet. Bullseye looked Tanya in the eye and pointed at her. "Don't worry love, when I am done with him…I am take my time with you."
Bullseye made it back to Adam as Adam was trying to push himself off the ground and crawl to the pews on the left side where another candle holder was standing. Bullseye started to bring the long stick down across Adam's back and hit it a couple of times before he got distracted by being hit in the right side of the face with a large object. He looked down when the object hit the floor and noticed that it was one of the many bibles that were in the pews. He looked up and to his right to see Tanya with another bible in her right hand and she threw it with all her might again, hoping for the same result as before in hitting him in the face. Bullseye grabbed the book out of the air as he side stepped the object and used the object's own momentum to relaunch the bible back to Tanya.
Tanya dropped behind the pew as the book went sailing over her head hoping she bought Adam enough time to get over to the candle holder. To her delight, she noticed the holder was starting to move while Bullseye was now moving between the pews going after Adam again. Just as Bullseye caught up to Adam and was about to overhead swing at him again, Adam brought his own candle holder up above his head to block Bullseye attempt to attack him again. Adam continued to block Bullseye pole attacks as he made it back to his feet. Bullseye swung his pole a couple more times before tossing his pole at Adam…effectively distracting him so Bullseye could spin on his left heel and give Adam a spin kick into his chest which made Adam fall back and lean against the church wall. Bullseye continued the momentum he had from his spin kick by continuing to spin. As he was in mid-spin; he grabbed a throwing star from his belt buckle and when he spun back towards Adam, he threw the star that was in his hand before he grabbed another five from his belt buckle one at a time. Adam saw the metal objects being hurled his way and brought the candle holder up in front of him, hoping his hand – eye coordination was still with him. Adam started to move forward, moving the piece of wood in his hands to have the candle holder take the flying objects one after another and managed to get five of them blocked and sticking into the long neck of the holder. He was however not quick enough with blocking the sixth throwing star as it managed to miss the wood and found its mark into Adam's gut, half the star lodged into his stomach.
Adam heard Tanya grasp and scream as soon as he felt the star plunge into his flesh. Adam took a step back and looked down at the injury; like with Tanya's injury in her back, the star had created a seal to keep his blood into his body. Adam looked over at Tanya, who was now standing up and ready to move to her boyfriend. Adam held his hand to tell her to stay where she was as Adam looked back at Bullseye who was laughing his head off. When Bullseye noticed Adam looking at him, he stuck his tongue out at the man and touched his target again before making a bow. The smile on his face soon disappeared when Adam started walking towards him, looking at the steel expression in his eyes.
"Why won't you just fucking die!" Bullseye screamed at Adam before leaping over the pew to the large window by the front door. Bullseye leaped into the air and grabbed a pole that was under the balcony using his body as a swing to smash his feet into the window, shattering it into pieces. Bullseye dropped to the ground and collected as many shards as he could while they were falling, holding the shards he collected in the way that one would hold a pizza box.
Adam saw the impressive display of skill that his opponent just demonstrated. The Irishman was now in possession of multiple sharp objects and he was watching closely on what he was going to do. Bullseye spun on his heels again to build up some speed for the glass he was holding and after his third spin, he launched the shards in both his hands into the air and they were headed towards their intended target. Adam, anticipating that Bullseye would do something like this, fell flat to the floor where the pieces of glass went over his head. Tanya, on the other hand, didn't see it coming as a couple of small pieces hit her in the stomach and some of the larger ones just sliced her arms before she reacted and hit the ground as well. Tanya cried out in pain.
"STOP! WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US?!" Tanya screamed into the air as she got on her knees but making sure to keep her body down between the pews. "Just leave us alone…please!"
"I was told you had no fear!" Bullseye replied. "Teenagers with attitude she called you!" Bullseye walked over to the outside of the pews on the left side where Adam had dropped his candle holder. "Looks like I found something you're afraid of!" Bullseye snaps the piece of wood in half and disregarded the top half that had his throwing stars on it. He made a mental note to pick them up when he was finished as he watched Adam slowly start making his way over to Tanya.
Adam was crawling on his hands and knees down the aisle when he was forced back onto the ground when something landed on his back. Pain shot up his spine as he was trying to continue crawling despite the mad man beating him. With each hit, Adam would cry out in pain which prompted Tanya to crawl out to the aisle herself to witness the savage beating. She could hear Adam getting more and more quiet in his cries after each beating he would receive up and down his body. Adam could feel the throwing star in his gut was being pushed deeper into his body the more he dragged himself across the floor, leading to him finally starting to bleed as the star no longer acted as a seal. He kept his eyes on Tanya while he tried everything in his power to make it to her.
Bullseye looked at the injured couple as he placed himself between them. He walked over to Tanya and kicked her in the face, causing her to twist from her hands and knees to her back. Blood was started to come from her mouth as she was now seeing double and hearing a ringing in her ears, knocking her loopy. Bullseye turned around back to Adam and walked over to him. Adam had stopped half way up the aisle as he was feeling his strength leave him.
"Rita was right about you Park. She said you wouldn't die easily." Bullseye said as he placed a foot under Adam's left side and turned Adam over onto his back. "I was starting to wonder if you and your friends would be any challenge. I was impressed with the asian woman as she handled herself well against the guys I had hired. Not so much with the aussie as I just snapped her neck without even breaking a sweat. Will you beg for your life like they did?"
Adam looked up at the Irishman, starting to piece together why he was in this predicament right now. "Rita? It was Rita that sent you after us?"
"Not the first one…no. That was more like an audition for her. The asian was more 'wrong place, wrong time' moment while I was on another job. The second girl was the first." Bullseye said as he squatted down beside Adam and watched as Adam was finally getting it. "For whatever the reason, she is loving this shite I am doing to you kids. I don't know what you bloody lot did to piss her off before, but she has placed one million dollars on each of your heads. And after I am done collecting my money here, I am off to Africa to collect another two million dollars." Bullseye explained.
Adam closed his eyes and thought of his friends that Bullseye was planning on going after next. He sent a silent prayer to his friends that they stay safe and take this asshole down. Adam opened his eyes again and with defiance still in his soul, he spat at Bullseye.
"You asked if I am going to beg. That is my answer! I will not give you the satisfaction." Adam growled before he was punched in the face.
Bullseye stood up and twirled the piece of wood that he was beating Adam with earlier. There was a sharp, pointed end where he had snapped it in half and he was going to use it now as the death blow. He raised the stick high above his head after positioning the sharp end down, aiming for the man's heart. He brought it down with all his body weight and watched as Adam's eyes went wide, grasping for air. As he was starting to feel like he was losing consciousness, he looked Bullseye in the eye. "I hope you rot in hell when your time comes."
Bullseye placed his boot on Adam's shoulder, holding him in place as he grabbed the stick and pulled it out of Adam's chest. "When my time comes, I am making the devil MY bitch!"
Blood was pouring out of the gaping hole in Adam's chest as he felt himself drift off to darkness and with his dying breath, he whispered the last thing that went through his mind before he died.
"Tanya"
Bullseye smirked as he watched Adam's chest stop rising and the man now had a vacant look in his eye. "You hear that love?" he asked Tanya, not really care if she responded or not. "He must have loved you a lot if you were his dying breath." Bullseye started to walk over to the grieving girl as she had heard the whole exchange and watched Adam die.
"Please show mercy…you don't have to do this." She started to say as Bullseye was now standing over her. Unlike Adam, she had no problem begging for her life. While she didn't want to think about life without Adam, she knew she still didn't want to die. "Please don't kill me."
Bullseye pulled Tanya up to her feet by her hair before switching his grip from her hair to her throat, lifting her off the ground with his left hand while holding the wooden stick that was still coated with Adam's blood in his right. She was having trouble breathing as she was trying unsuccessfully to use her one good arm to get him to release her.
"I know I don't have to kill you…" Bullseye said as he plunged the stick up into her stomach diagonally so he can get under her rib cage. Tanya's eyes widen in shock without making much more of a sound than a whimper. Bullseye twisted the wooden stick in a wider circle, opening up the wound wider and hoping that he was doing a lot more damage. Bullseye brought his face close to Tanya's.
"But I want to."
Bullseye finished what he was saying as he plunged the stick into Tanya. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before tossing her over to her boyfriend. He laughed as he thought about maybe positioning the couple into a spoon position for when emergency personnel would arrive and find them. But just on cue, he could hear sirens in the background. He touched his hand to the target on his head before touching his lips, sealing the girl's death with a kiss.
Bullseye went over to the stick with his throwing stars in it, grabbed it and started to walk over to the same hallway that the priest went to for the back door and made his exit out of the church. He quickly recovered his throwing stars from the piece of wood and placed them back into his belt buckle before disregarding the stick. He placed his hat back on his head to cover the scar and he walked into the crowd as he started his way back to his hotel, blending in with the crowd. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Rita. When the line connected, he started the conversation,
"Did you like the show?"
"That I did Bullseye. I was certainly fond of the way you played with them in the end. Making them sweat the inevitable. Do you understand now why I hired you? Their will is hard to kill which is why I failed when I did."
"The lasses are not giving me any trouble, but I will admit the lad had drive and fire. For a second, I was worried as he kept coming."
"Get used to that because it will only get worse from here. As promised, your money has been delivered to you for a job well done. I assuming you are heading right to Africa now?"
"Aye. I don't want the ones in the states to know what I am doing just yet until I am ready for them to know."
"The boy will be your biggest challenge in Africa but don't underestimate the girl, she is just as skilled of a fighter as he is. Find a way to split them up and then take the boy out first. I want to girl to be begging for her life when you call her friends."
"Sounds good. I'll call you in a few hours."
Bullseye hung up the phone and placed the cell phone back into his pocket as he disappeared down the stairs to get on the subway two million dollars richer. When he reached the subway car, he found himself a seat and stared out the window starting to plan for his next targets.
"Ready or not, I am coming for you"
After Chapter Note: This chapter was fun to write. Bullseye finally got some resistance with Adam. I figured this would be a good start into him not having a easy time with killing Adam and Tanya like he did with Kat and Trini. It will only get more challenging as he continues on. I know I haven't been very kind to the female characters so far with not giving them much of a chance to fight back. While I did plan for it to happen this way, I know how it could look. For the record, I do not dislike any of the characters including Katherine. When I planned everything out a couple of months ago, I just went with my feeling of who was really important for the story and worked my way down the ladder to who would be expendable. It just so happened to be the replacements at the bottom of the ladder.
I have also added dialogue in the native language of the host country...figured it would be fun after doing it for Rocky at Trini's Funeral. I used Google Translate to help with the translation as to what I wanted to say. I am not as talented in knowing multiple languages like those around the world. I know a couple of useful phrases in a few languages but I can't carry a whole conversation. If I have the translation wrong and if anyone from Ireland or France wants to correct me, please let me know because I am very picky on being correct in my presentation. I know most of the world does speak English as a second language having been to Ireland and France myself, I just wanted to be different.
Anyway, this will be my last post for a couple of weeks. I will be extremely busy working security this week as it is Race Week for Nascar here in North Carolina and I am working every night starting Tuesday night until next Monday morning. I have Word on my phone so I will write down ideas as I get them but I won't be able to write in full detail until after race week which is a good thing because I have absolutely no idea as to how I am going to have the fight scenes for Africa play out yet.
Thanks again for reading and I will catch you guys in a couple of weeks.