Chapter 10
The airport was so crowded, we could barely walk three feet before stopping again. On top of that, we couldn't understand anything being said by the people surrounding us. I could barely hear myself think over all the random discussions around me. Good God, how can people travel like this?
Just getting through security was insane. It took an hour for the two of us to finally clear Customs and leave the airport. I'm not sure how our weapons weren't detected, but I consider that a miracle. Walking through an electric door, I smelled the air of Paris for the first time. Seriously, what a rip-off. The air was laden with chemical stenches that made me appreciate the pollution of New York and San Francisco. How can anyone survive in this city without growing a third eye or glowing in the dark? Not to mention the horrible view I had. Yeah, yeah, there was a lot more to see, but the sights I saw at that time were crap.
"Well, not much to see here," Collin sighed. "I thought Paris would look a lot better than this."
"Yeah, but Paris is huge. Maybe we'll have time to see it all." Right as I said that, I heard a quiet buzzing originating somewhere around my arm. Goddamnit, why did they have to ruin my day before it even started? I sighed and opened the wrist-com interface and shuffled around for a couple seconds before I managed to find our official orders.
"Smith and Gardner: Your objective has been modified. Our spies have told us an important Templar meeting is to be held tonight under the Louvre. We need you to get inside by any means necessary, find the leaders, and kill as many as you can without endangering innocents. You must escape at all costs, as we don't want to risk exposure to the Templars. Follow these orders to the letter or you will suffer the consequences of failure. ~Marsh."
"Collin, we have new orders. Turns out Rodrigo will be attending a meeting at the Louvre," I explained, trying to hide the fear I felt. "We get to make a 'suicide run' at the higher-ups tonight. By the way, selective kills. Only kill what you can get away with." Another vibration, and another message to read.
"Sorry, almost forgot. You have been assigned call-signs for the mission. Perform well, and they are yours forevers. Smith, you are Blade-runner. Gardner is Garuda. Marsh out." It's about time.
"Collin, we're official now. We have call-signs now. You're Garuda, and I'm Blade-runner. Nice, right?"
"Hell yeah! Now let's get moving," he answered, barely containing his enthusiasm.
I simply nodded and signaled him to enable his communicator as I did the same. Our comms thankfully worked, so we calmly walked away, wandering the streets with our hoods up. Perfect for blending, as it wasn't too warm and it was quite sunny, except for the peak in the shape of an eagle's beak. The streets were also quite noisy and overrun with cars, so the clattering of our weapons was masked. It was only 8 am local time, and we had ten hours until the meeting was slated to start.
We tried to hail a cab for twenty minutes with no success. That just proves how crowded this city truly is. Finally, a newer-looking cab dropped off a young-looking couple right next to us and we piled into the back as fast as humanly possible.
"Can you get us to the Eiffel Tower as fast as possible?" I asked, hoping he spoke English.
"Yes. Ten euros for one-way trip." Of course, I dug out thirteen euros and gave them to him, telling him the extra three were a tip. Appearing satisfied, he pulled out into the mad traffic rush. When I leaned back to relax for a minute, Collin was looking at me like he had seen a ghost.
"What's up, man? You feeling alright?" I nonchalantly asked, thinking he was getting carsick.
"You just spoke French. You talked to the driver in French. Why didn't you tell me?" he retorted. His face was a mask of confusion. Now, I was very confused. How the hell did I speak a foreign language? I only know English!
"What are you talking about? I spoke English. In fact, so did our driver. You must have heard something." That's the only explanation, right? Right?
I looked towards the driver and asked him, "Excuse me, sir, but what languages do you speak?"
Without looking back, he said, "I only speak French, sir. I don't know much English." I fell back into the seat, all but shutting down after hearing that. My God, what the (insert favorite expletive here) was going on? That's impossible! I couldn't speak a foreign language without learning it first, could I?
"Collin, I'm going to give you a PDA. When I start speaking French again, I need you to record any abnormal activity," I instructed. "Don't ask questions, just do as I say." I turned back to the driver. "What can you tell me about the Louvre? I've heard so much about it, but I'd like to hear it from someone who actually understands it."
"The Louvre is a huge art museum. She houses many paintings and sculptures from well-known artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. If you plan to visit, however, you must go before 4pm. A private party will be taking the whole building after then," he lilted.
"Thank you for the information," I told him, sitting back again. "Collin, give me the PDA." He obeyed right away, his hand shaking slightly, which I ignored. Turning the display on, I observed the activity recorded. Three separate clusters had activated during my conversation, which in turn had activated a dormant portion of my brain, feeding linguistic info to it, temporarily translating my English into French! Collin was right. This was new...
"Well, that's...nice. Seems the First Civilization has more in store for me yet," I ranted, not caring if our driver heard or understood. Suddenly, the car lurched to the left, which I found strange. According to the map I had, we should have been going east, not west. I was quickly apprehensive of our chauffeur.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't we be headed east? You're taking us away from the tower." I wasn't surprised at all when he said nothing. I quietly activated the communicator and silenced the mike. I didn't want to be overheard. "Garuda, I think we've been had. Our driver seems to be an undercover Templar. Once he stops, exit slowly, extract him any way you can, and restrain him. I'm going to interrogate his sorry ass and kill him once we know what he knows." A silent nod from my comrade, and the plan was set.
Our trip took us to the outskirts of the city. My watch told us we were running out of time. It was already 9, and we had little time to waste. Thankfully, I heard the brakes finally screech, signaling that we were stopping. Collin opened the door and stepped out, carefully observing the area. Apparently he didn't see anything. He walked around to the driver's side and casually opened the door. Collin balled his right hand and delivered a crushing left hook to the other man's chin, whipping his head into the headrest. I couldn't see very well, so I swiftly ripped my door open and jumped onto the car, sliding across the hood and checking for vitals. Yeah, I know a bit about medical procedures.
I put my fingers on his jugular vein, and feeling a pulse, pulled him out. As I did so, a short knife slid out of his hand. Looks like I was right. "Collin, find some rope and tie him up. I need this bastard restrained if I'm gonna get some intel from him," I yelled out, slamming his head to the ground. I heard a soft moan escape the man's lips. Perfect, something's broken. I finally got a good look at our driver. He had lightly tanned skin, with a lean frame and a well-toned body. Definitely fits the Templar training regimen. His eyes were a piercing blue, seemed to see through you. Collin had to rummage around for three minutes before finding some cords. We knotted them together and wrapped the man's arms and legs together. He moved a little, and slowly came to.
Spitting out the pooling blood, he managed to roll into a sitting position. "You fools. Our plan worked perfectly. Did you really think a couple of Assassins could get through an airport without being noticed? How stupid do you have to be to-" he spat out. I cut him off with a quick blow to his stomach. He curled up, trying to avoid further pain.
"Look, Templar, I have no patience. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. You will answer them, or we will rip you apart. Now, who put you up to this ambush?" I hissed, itching to ruin his complexion, which was average at best.
"Foolish boy. Why would I answer any of your questions? You might have overpowered me, but I have allies everywhere. One wrong move, and you both die," he retorted, pausing every few seconds to breathe. You know, one of us might have broken a rib.
"Well, then, you better listen and talk. Who. Sent. You."
"Rodrigo himself. He knew he was too exposed, so he sent me to take care of you two. He even gave me 60 of our elite agents to assist me in the ambush. I only wish it could have been me to kill you," he rambled. He seemed far too content with his position.
"Garuda, take a position behind the taxi and keep watching every path in and out. We may have company soon," I told him. He pulled out his assault rifle and started looking for any signs of movement. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, how do we get into the meeting? Tell me now, and I might consider sparing your life."
"Do you think me a fool? I know I'm dead anyways. You're all the same. You promise to spare us, but then we end up bleeding all over the ground, throats cut," he spat out. Then he seemed to relax a bit. "I suppose there's nothing left now. Here's what I know. There will be mounted patrols all around the perimeter of the museum. 120 men and women total. Should you get past them, the door guards have machine guns and body armor. Pure Kevlar, stops any projectile from injuring the men. Guards with sidearms in the halls and a security system guarding the meeting room. Neither of you can get through alive."
"We'll see about that, scum. Now you have a choice. I'm going to untie you now. If you leave, we will not follow. You attack, and we kill you. But, it's your choice," I told him, undoing the cord. He immediately sprang up and ran for the taxi. I watched him grab something from the seat, and he slowly came back to us. He appeared emotionless...not good.
"Thank you for giving me the chance to redeem myself...however, I made my choice long ago," he mused. I saw a glint by his left hand, and I realized what he was going to do. I hopped backwards just as he swung his knife, missing it by mere inches. I pulled out a throwing knife and tossed it at the man, hitting him directly in the throat and creating a fountain of blood. He started to choke on his own blood and fell onto the ground.
"I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I cannot save you, but I can make your death painless. Rest in peace," I told him, walking over to him. Extending the hidden blade on my right arm with a quick flick of the wrist, I ran my blade into the man's chest, puncturing his heart and ending his life. A smaller flow of blood leaked out from the new wound, but it was not as strong as the first strike. After withdrawing the blade, I walked back over to Collin, which turned out to be a mistake.
Just before I made it to the taxi, the ground began to explode. I could hear bullets cutting the air around my entire body. I pulled a ring out of my pocket and placed it on my right ring finger. The bullets started changing direction when they reached me. I dived for the car, trying to protect Collin. Pulling myself out of the dirt, I checked Collin over. Thank God, no bullet holes or blood.
"What the hell's going on!?" I yelled out, trying to determine the origin of the shots.
"No clue! I didn't see anything approach from the road," he shouted back. "How could they have gotten past me?" Suddenly, I saw what had happened.
"They didn't get past you. They moved in from the forest, waiting for a signal. The driver's death must have provoked them! Ah, how could I have not seen this?" I explained, barely containing the rage I felt at falling for a dumb trick. How could I have not seen them moving around?
"Not to seem ungrateful, but how haven't we been shot yet?" he inquired. "At least 100 bullets should have hit us, but we're both unscathed!" Damn, he noticed. Perfect, now I have to explain that, too.
"It's this ring I have," I said. "It's an artifact, called a Shard of Eden, my father gave to me last year. It creates some kind of barrier, deflecting any kind of metal within the field. I don't understand why, but it only works with projectiles from a distance. It's useless at close range. Seems they've realized that." Sure enough, Templars were streaming out of the woods, carrying a various assortment of weapons. One threw a small metal ball at us. "Garuda, look out!" I yelled when I recognized the device. When he stopped, I shoved him out of the way and grabbed the grenade simultaneously. I lobbed it back at the bastard, and it detonated right in front of his face, ripping his body apart in a matter of milliseconds. I saw two others get hit with shrapnel and go down. The others, realizing my skill, tossed their guns away, pulling out a vast array of swords and daggers. I extended my left blade and pulled out my sword.
"Garuda, lock and load! Kill them all!" I yelled out, rushing the Templars head-on. That clearly surprised them, as I managed to slice the necks of five men before they realized I was there. The dirt at our feet quickly turned dark red from the geysers of blood erupting from the dead. One lashed out with a medium length sword, but I moved to the left, missing the cutting edge and ramming my sword into the gut of another, leaving him spasming on the ground. I then turned back and realized we were both surrounded. As I slashed the throat of another attacker, I saw Collin fighting off a smaller group of agile fighters. I knew he could handle himself for a bit, and danced out of the way of a mace that almost crushed my skull.
I took out the eyes of one who tried to slice my leg off and gave another a decapitation, courtesy of my saber. One almost ended up hitting my exposed side, but I ended that chance, first slicing his arm off and then snapping his neck. I heard one coming from behind and thrust my weapon over my shoulder, hitting the assailant right between the eyes. He fell over, and I picked him up, using him as a temporary meat-shield. Pulling out ten more knives, I tossed each one within seven seconds. Each of them hit and killed someone. I finally saw there were only about 20 left around me. I knew this wouldn't take long.
Tossing the dead Templar I had to the right, surprising three of the living assailants, I stabbed yet another man under the chin with my saber, but this time, I shoved the rest of it up through his skull, lifting him off the ground and forcing the sword out of his scalp. A faster fighter came at me with a dagger before I could rip the sword out. I slashed his throat as he got close, creating a gash that immediately pumped blood everywhere. I managed to get the sword out right as a mace swung into my field of vision. I jumped right, avoiding death yet again.
Right as an axe swung at me, I deflected it away, jamming my weapon into his face. I then twisted the Templar's head to the left, then violently wrenched the saber to the right, forcing his head to face behind him, shredding his spinal cord. He stumbled around, and I pulled the sword out as he fell to the ground. The others, realizing the inevitability of their deaths, tossed their weapons away and ran, begging to be spared.
As I cleaned my sword, I heard a scream I recognized as belonging to my friend. I looked over and saw he had fallen, still parrying and killing. As I sprinted over to him, something swiped at me from a nearby tree, breaking my left leg and dropping me to the ground. I screamed in pain as my leg gave out, and I hit the dirt, trying to prevent further damage to my leg. A Templar walked out from behind the tree, holding a long, razor-sharp sword in his hands. He walked over to me, laughing in the joy of being able to kill the man responsible for the brutal slaughter of his comrades. He raised the blade up, ready to pierce my heart and lungs with it. As he swung down, I saw a bright flash off to my right side. I felt a sharp, burning pain and blacked out, certain death was coming for me.