The characters belong to Top cow and TNT as do all their toys, accessories and appliances, including the Witchblade.
*Excuses and warnings*
************************** denotes change of scenery
*Swearing
*Mention of blood
Tenebrous
chapter 24
*****************************************************
Brother Nolan leveled his gaze as Nottingham emerged from the darkness. As moonlight bathed Irons' black clad assassin in silvery radiance, Brother Nolan fixed the cross hairs between Nottingham's dark eyes and fired.
A blaring noise assailed Brother Nolan's ears as he pulled the trigger and the Assassin simultaneously vanished. As he tried to regain his wits, the loud ringing continued. Addled by the unprecedented noise, he wasn't sure if he'd flinched or not.
What the hell is that?" Brother Rason gasped in shock as he yanked off the offending earpiece. He'd nearly wet himself in alarm and his eardrums were throbbing. Momentarily deaf from the aural assault, he grasped his aching head. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the renewed ringing was real or from auditory damage.
**************************
Ian had barely stepped into the moonlight when the ear-piercing peal of Gabriel's phone rattled him senseless once again. He felt a sharp sting of pain in his head as the shrill noise jolted him and he involuntarily vaulted from the dissonant and abrupt noise. Only his highly honed reflexes had narrowly prevented him from falling flat on his ass.
He swore he was going to strangle that boy and whoever else was responsible for scaring the bejeezus out of him. Furiously, he yanked Gabriel's cell phone from his jacket and flipped the switch to vibrate. Why on earth the boy had the ringer turned up so high was beyond the assassin. He was surprised Gabriel wasn't deaf.
Ignoring the lingering headache, Ian peered at the ID screen and reconsidered his oath. "Sara," he greeted.
"Ian?" Sara gasped. Sara was relieved but confused. "Why do you have Gabriel's phone? Where is he? Is he okay?" she asked frantically.
Ian was a little annoyed that she had not asked if he was okay. Of course, he was the one who answered the phone, so chances were that he was, but still. He glanced over at Gabriel, the exhausted young man was passed out on the floor. "He is here with me, he has just fallen asleep." the assassin placated, wondering how the Wielder's pet could have slept through the voluminous din of the ringing phone.
"Where are you?" Sara pleaded nervously.
"I'd rather not say. This call may be monitored," he replied.
Sara was at wit's end. She really didn't have the patience for this crap at the moment. "Are you in a barn?" she demanded.
Nottingham's eyebrows quirked at this query. Noting Sara's panic, he wondered if they must vacate immediately. "Yes, I was about to-" he began to reply.
"Don't!" Sara interjected. "They're watching, they're going to shoot you if you leave the barn!" Sara insisted.
"I see," the assassin stated. Placing a hand to the side of his head, he wondered if the headache was not from the blaring ring. Drawing a bloody hand away, he had his answer. "Do you know where they are?" he asked calmly, peering out into the night.
"No, I - I don't, But they shoot you in front of the entrance, two big doors. It looks like a long-range rifle. I can't-" Sara spluttered.
So, that's why he hadn't sensed them. The cowards were attempting to assassinate him from a safe distance. "Peasants!" Ian scowled.
"Wha?" Sara breathed. She was desperately trying to sort through the information the vision had given her, trying to find something, anything, that would provide a clue as to how to get them out of this deadly situation. Ian's heated and odd response was not helping her with her plight.
The assassin waited for Sara to continue, but after a few wheezes that sounded like the beginnings of hysterics, he decided to intervene. "Thank you for your..." - Being that the Sufult watching the barn were possibly listening as well, he chose his words carefully. - "...concern. I will do what I can," he replied coolly and clipped the phone shut before she could retort.
Pocketing the phone, he pulled out his listening device and slowly swept the area. It was difficult to separate sounds, as the nocturnal animals were making their pre-dawn rounds. It did not help that Gabriel's phone was vibrating non-stop in his pocket.
Rustling, sniffing, digging, skittering and an unbelievably loud cat in heat, assaulted his sensitive ears until he finally picked up a sound that did not sound native to the area.
**************************
"Did you get him?" Brother Rason queried.
"I had a clear shot but... It's hard to say. Everything happened at once," Brother Nolan replied. The assassin had been barely out of the shadows when Nolan shot him. Whether he had made the hit and the assassin was lying dead within, or lying in wait for them to approach, he couldn't tell.
Rason had gotten skittish about his earpiece and was refusing to put it back on. Brother Nolan didn't know what caused the shrill ring that possibly ruined his shot and left him in the dark, but he longed to strangle whoever was responsible for it. His own ears, though not as directly affected as Rason's, were still humming from the abrupt volume in an otherwise quiet environment.
He had been left in a less than desirable position. If the assassin was alive, he could be waiting for them to approach to claim their prize, making them toast, basically. If he was dead, their intended captive could be making a break for it out of their line of view, using the enormous barn as cover. "Fuck," Nolan mumbled.
**************************tbc
a/n: Just a couple responses.
*
*
*
Earth/AKA Naughty muse Mistres - Hee! I Loved your response in the reviews! ^_^
Um, er, sorry for denying you the owies in this chapter. I simply couldn't have Brother Nolan take the uber assassin down so easily, underhanded and unfair or no. But don't worry, Gabe isn't quite safe yet.
Fae - Thank you! I dedcided to post this quickly, per your kind request. :)
*Excuses and warnings*
************************** denotes change of scenery
*Swearing
*Mention of blood
Tenebrous
chapter 24
*****************************************************
Brother Nolan leveled his gaze as Nottingham emerged from the darkness. As moonlight bathed Irons' black clad assassin in silvery radiance, Brother Nolan fixed the cross hairs between Nottingham's dark eyes and fired.
A blaring noise assailed Brother Nolan's ears as he pulled the trigger and the Assassin simultaneously vanished. As he tried to regain his wits, the loud ringing continued. Addled by the unprecedented noise, he wasn't sure if he'd flinched or not.
What the hell is that?" Brother Rason gasped in shock as he yanked off the offending earpiece. He'd nearly wet himself in alarm and his eardrums were throbbing. Momentarily deaf from the aural assault, he grasped his aching head. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the renewed ringing was real or from auditory damage.
**************************
Ian had barely stepped into the moonlight when the ear-piercing peal of Gabriel's phone rattled him senseless once again. He felt a sharp sting of pain in his head as the shrill noise jolted him and he involuntarily vaulted from the dissonant and abrupt noise. Only his highly honed reflexes had narrowly prevented him from falling flat on his ass.
He swore he was going to strangle that boy and whoever else was responsible for scaring the bejeezus out of him. Furiously, he yanked Gabriel's cell phone from his jacket and flipped the switch to vibrate. Why on earth the boy had the ringer turned up so high was beyond the assassin. He was surprised Gabriel wasn't deaf.
Ignoring the lingering headache, Ian peered at the ID screen and reconsidered his oath. "Sara," he greeted.
"Ian?" Sara gasped. Sara was relieved but confused. "Why do you have Gabriel's phone? Where is he? Is he okay?" she asked frantically.
Ian was a little annoyed that she had not asked if he was okay. Of course, he was the one who answered the phone, so chances were that he was, but still. He glanced over at Gabriel, the exhausted young man was passed out on the floor. "He is here with me, he has just fallen asleep." the assassin placated, wondering how the Wielder's pet could have slept through the voluminous din of the ringing phone.
"Where are you?" Sara pleaded nervously.
"I'd rather not say. This call may be monitored," he replied.
Sara was at wit's end. She really didn't have the patience for this crap at the moment. "Are you in a barn?" she demanded.
Nottingham's eyebrows quirked at this query. Noting Sara's panic, he wondered if they must vacate immediately. "Yes, I was about to-" he began to reply.
"Don't!" Sara interjected. "They're watching, they're going to shoot you if you leave the barn!" Sara insisted.
"I see," the assassin stated. Placing a hand to the side of his head, he wondered if the headache was not from the blaring ring. Drawing a bloody hand away, he had his answer. "Do you know where they are?" he asked calmly, peering out into the night.
"No, I - I don't, But they shoot you in front of the entrance, two big doors. It looks like a long-range rifle. I can't-" Sara spluttered.
So, that's why he hadn't sensed them. The cowards were attempting to assassinate him from a safe distance. "Peasants!" Ian scowled.
"Wha?" Sara breathed. She was desperately trying to sort through the information the vision had given her, trying to find something, anything, that would provide a clue as to how to get them out of this deadly situation. Ian's heated and odd response was not helping her with her plight.
The assassin waited for Sara to continue, but after a few wheezes that sounded like the beginnings of hysterics, he decided to intervene. "Thank you for your..." - Being that the Sufult watching the barn were possibly listening as well, he chose his words carefully. - "...concern. I will do what I can," he replied coolly and clipped the phone shut before she could retort.
Pocketing the phone, he pulled out his listening device and slowly swept the area. It was difficult to separate sounds, as the nocturnal animals were making their pre-dawn rounds. It did not help that Gabriel's phone was vibrating non-stop in his pocket.
Rustling, sniffing, digging, skittering and an unbelievably loud cat in heat, assaulted his sensitive ears until he finally picked up a sound that did not sound native to the area.
**************************
"Did you get him?" Brother Rason queried.
"I had a clear shot but... It's hard to say. Everything happened at once," Brother Nolan replied. The assassin had been barely out of the shadows when Nolan shot him. Whether he had made the hit and the assassin was lying dead within, or lying in wait for them to approach, he couldn't tell.
Rason had gotten skittish about his earpiece and was refusing to put it back on. Brother Nolan didn't know what caused the shrill ring that possibly ruined his shot and left him in the dark, but he longed to strangle whoever was responsible for it. His own ears, though not as directly affected as Rason's, were still humming from the abrupt volume in an otherwise quiet environment.
He had been left in a less than desirable position. If the assassin was alive, he could be waiting for them to approach to claim their prize, making them toast, basically. If he was dead, their intended captive could be making a break for it out of their line of view, using the enormous barn as cover. "Fuck," Nolan mumbled.
**************************tbc
a/n: Just a couple responses.
*
*
*
Earth/AKA Naughty muse Mistres - Hee! I Loved your response in the reviews! ^_^
Um, er, sorry for denying you the owies in this chapter. I simply couldn't have Brother Nolan take the uber assassin down so easily, underhanded and unfair or no. But don't worry, Gabe isn't quite safe yet.
Fae - Thank you! I dedcided to post this quickly, per your kind request. :)