"I've been hearing rumours about some religious maniac who's trying to take over the world. Do I need to start worrying about you again?" Kitty asked as she lay in Pietro's arms in their bed.
Pietro kissed her hair. "Don't worry about me, I haven't even been put on the mission."
"But you're going to be, aren't you?" Kitty said after a pause.
"Probably," Pietro sighed. "But hey, I'll be fine. Remember Switzerland? If my own father couldn't kill me then I'm sure some religious maniac won't be able to."
"Can't you leave Excalibur?" Kitty burst out. "One of these days I'm going to watch you leave for one of these missions and never come back, and I don't think I can handle that."
"Kitty, Kitty, shh," Pietro stroked her hair soothingly. "People need me Kitty. If I hadn't stopped my father, think how many people would have died. They need me."
"I need you," she said quietly.
"I know and I'll always be here for you. I'll always be here for you."
Xavier looked at the information that Jean had just given him. Information that would prove vital if they were to stop Trask. "When Pietro arrives send him in," he said, hitting the intercom button. Fifteen minutes later Pietro was in his office.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Pietro, as I'm sure you are aware, a man named Bolivar Trask sent an ultimatum to the leaders of every country four days ago, claiming that he would bring salvation to everyone who put their country under the leadership of Genoa."
"I've heard about it, yes. Though not the part about Genoa, is that some kind of country?"
"From what we have gathered, Genoa is a city that Trask rules over, although no one is sure where exactly Genoa is situated. In fact no one has ever heard of Genoa.
"But that is inconsequential. Pietro, I have managed to gain information that will be vital if we are to stop Trask from carrying out his plans."
"How do we know this isn't all some huge hoax?"
"Whilst this is possible, in the interests of world security we must treat this as a serious threat. We have information as to where Trask is right now. If we move fast then we can eliminate Trask." Pietro nodded. "Your job is to assassinate him."
Pietro was taken aback. "You want me to assassinate him," he repeated slowly.
Xavier nodded. "I know you were an assassin before you joined Excalibur, and I was hoping that your expertise would come in useful."
Pietro sighed. "Before you found me I was one of the most infamous contract killers in Europe. But I gave all that up a long time ago."
"This is completely different Pietro, this is for the good…"
"Is there no one else?" Pietro interrupted.
Xavier was taken aback by Pietro's abruptness, but he shook his head. "No one with your level of expertise. It's you, or we go for a completely different plan."
Pietro sat in silent contemplation for several seconds. "Give me some time to think about it."
"We've only got hours."
"That'll be enough." Pietro dropped the dossier on the desk and walked out.
Pietro left the Excalibur headquarters quickly, and it took him several seconds to orientate himself. He needed to go somewhere where he could think over his problem in peace, and then it hit him. He strode off purposefully, his mind in turmoil.
It took him ten minutes of walking to reach an old, battered building. He pushed open the tall wooden double doors and entered. The interior of the building was beautifully decorated with tapestries depicting saints and stained glass pictures, at the opposite end of the room was an altar and the room was lined with wooden pews.
At the moment the church was deserted, so Pietro knelt down behind the nearest pew and stared up at a stained glass picture that depicted Jesus on the cross. He'd never considered himself to be incredibly religious, but the priest who worked at this church had been indirectly responsible for him deciding to give up the life of a hitman, and maybe now he could find some peace here again.
Trask settled into a high-backed leather chair in the centre of the observation gallery, Cain standing just behind him. Now was the moment when he would find out whether the past eleven years had been wasted or not.
In the control room the chief technician silently prayed that nothing would go wrong. Trask was well known for his incredible temper and should something fail now, heads would roll. "Everything is prepared?" His assistant nodded. "Begin the initiation sequence." Technicians began activating their control panels and soon the initiation was complete. "Fire on my mark. Three, two, one, fire!"
Trask leaned forward, eyes glittering as he watched the test go ahead.
The control room let out a cheer as the test was completed successfully, and the chief technician wiped sweat from his brow. The chief's communicator beeped and he answered it. "Chief Morley."
"Well done Chief. I am glad for your sake that the test was successful. Now we must leave for the Temple. Gather your staff and be ready to leave within the hour."
"Yes, sir."
Trask switched off the communicator. "Cain, ensure that everything is prepared for the journey." Cain bowed and left. Trask remained for a while, staring at the viewscreens that lined the walls of the observation gallery. He wondered how many countries would take up his offer, there were only eight days left now. He imagined what the world leaders must be feeling, and knew that somehow Excalibur would be getting involved. He would deal with them when the time came.
Pietro was interrupted from his contemplation by a voice behind him, "good to see you again Pietro."
"Father Lewis," Pietro turned around. Father Lewis was a short, thin man with a shock of white hair and a lined face.
"It's been a long time since you were here," Lewis sat on a pew opposite Pietro. "Six years in fact. Something must be wrong."
"How do you figure that?"
"You're not a spiritual person Pietro. You wouldn't have come back unless something had come up."
Pietro took a few moments to respond. "I can trust you, father?"
"I will tell no one of what has passed between us."
"Good," Pietro outlined his life over the past six years, his job at Excalibur and the latest mission.
"I see," Lewis' expression told Pietro that he was finding the information rather difficult to come to terms with.
"I gave murdering up six years ago. You saw me swear, in this very church, that I would never kill a man who couldn't defend himself. How can I break this promise now?"
"This is a very different circumstance, Pietro."
"Does that make it alright then? Is it all right to kill someone because I've been ordered to do it? What if this Trask isn't really any threat at all, what if it's some kind of hoax, and I end up murdering an innocent man?"
"And what if you don't kill him and he ends up murdering millions of innocent people," Lewis pointed out. "Pietro you gave up your life as a murderer six years ago. If what you told me is true, you have saved countless millions of people from dying through your actions, and the people you have killed were attempting to kill you. What you have been asked to do is save the lives of more millions of people."
Pietro nodded. "Thank you father." He rose to leave.
"I'll pray for you Pietro," Lewis said as Pietro pulled the door open.
"Thank you," Pietro said as he stepped out into the cold London evening.
"Sir, Pietro's here to see you. He says it's urgent."
"Send him up," Xavier turned off his intercom and let out a small sigh. Hopefully Pietro had seen reason - they had to strike soon, or the chance would be lost.
Pietro opened the door slowly and sat opposite Xavier. "You wish to participate in this mission?" Xavier asked tentatively.
"Yes sir."
"Thank you, Pietro. Here is the file on Trask and all the information we have on him. If we relocate to the briefing room, we can begin the briefing."
Thank you for your reviews DaemonRogue 13, oceanbang and childrenwithblades. I hope you liked chapter 3.