"Wouldn't it just be simpler to plant a tracking device on him, and follow him to this 'Temple'?"
"Possibly, yes, but the margin for error is much greater using a tracking device. If he is dead, then there is no worry that he can carry out his threat."
"What about his subordinates, surely he's not working alone?"
"That is true, and we don't have any information on them, but I believe that with Trask's death they will be thrown into confusion. It will buy us some time to launch a search mission for Genoa and hopefully remove the threat once and for all.
"Trask will be in Lortia tomorrow evening, and I have put together a 3D map of the area." Xavier hit a button, and a three-dimensional plan appeared on the table in the centre of the room. "The town is only small, so it shouldn't be difficult to find a place to set up. The main street will be the most obvious route that Trask will take, but you'll need to be careful. Don't let him slip past you."
"How do you know Trask won't just drive straight through here?"
"Trask is planning to stop here to refuel, so that's not a problem. Hank will outfit you with all the equipment you need."
Pietro walked over to the door, then paused. "How did you find all this out?"
"I had an old friend do me a favour."
Hank was listlessly tossing a small box from hand-to-hand when Pietro arrived. "Hey Hank, what've you got for me?"
"Oh, of course," Hank stood up and returned a few moments later with a handful of equipment. He passed Pietro the box he'd been throwing around. "That's a laser sight targeting matrix. Good for up to a kilometre. It's also heat sensitive, so it'll show you your targets behind walls, or wherever they might be trying to hide." Pietro opened the box and saw a blue contact lens.
"Matches my eyes, Hank," he grinned as he snapped the box shut.
"This is your Sidewinder, folding-stock sniper rifle. It has a maximum range of about a kilometre, optimum range of 400 metres. It's wired up to the laser sight, so you get a target lock with the sight and the gun will be aimed perfectly. You've only got room for three shots though, so make them count."
Pietro took the rifle and nodded. "Anything else?"
"Just the standard ScarletFire Vest, your SigSauer P226 and your tooth mike and ear piece. You'll constantly be in touch with us, incase anything unexpected should come up."
"Thanks a lot," Pietro took the equipment and turned to go, but stopped. "Hank, is something wrong."
Hank didn't answer for a moment, and Pietro wondered if he'd offended Hank somehow. "I've been thinking a lot recently. I've got… a daughter - she's twenty-eight and we haven't spoken for the past eight years. All these constant threats by maniacs attempting to destroy the world, it makes me think that maybe I should go and see her before something happens to her. Thing is, she lives in Tokyo, so I'd have to take some time off work to go and see her."
"If you've got to do something, you've got to do it. Making up you're your daughter is more important than work. You've got to go and see her."
"Yeah, but what if we still hate each other. We had a massive fight when she said she was getting married to this guy I didn't approve of, and the next thing I knew she'd left the country. I was so angry that I didn't try to find her for a year or so, but my anger wore off pretty quickly. Thing is I've been so busy here, I haven't had time to go and see her."
"You've got to do what you think is right, Hank."
"Thanks. Good luck in Italy."
Pietro nodded and left Hank deep in thought.
The flight didn't take very long, but the drive took a long time, so it was almost midday on the next day that Pietro arrived in Lortia. With him was his friend Avalanche as backup should he get into any trouble, and a young man that Pietro had never seen before, who was apparently Hank's aid, called Forge. Hank apparently had taken Pietro's advice and gone to Tokyo to see his daughter.
Forge stayed in the car, setting up the sensor equipment, while Pietro and Lance took a walk through the town. It was, as Xavier had said, only small, and there was only one real street that a car could drive down. They soon found the only place that could contain fuel for Trask's vehicles - a small station about halfway down the main road.
"So you're here to get rid of Trask?" Lance said quietly as they stood in the middle of the sandy road.
"Yep," Pietro nodded. "Were you ever asked to, assassinate someone?"
"No. Why, having second thoughts?"
"Not really, it's just that it doesn't seem right to kill someone, without them even knowing about it."
"This is a matter of world safety Pietro. It's not like you're killing an innocent man. If you don't kill him, he could end up killing thousands of innocent people."
"Yeah, I know. I just don't feel completely comfortable with it, that's all."
"Think about all the people you're going to be saving, rather than the one person you're killing."
"Hey, Pietro," Forge's voice crackled in his ear. "You need to set up position, Trask should be arriving soon."
"Right," Pietro said and turned to Lance. "You head back to the car. If I need you I'll say so."
Lance nodded, and shook Pietro's hand for luck before heading back to the car where Forge was. Pietro headed towards a small stone church that was at one end of the main street. Despite its small size, it had a tall bell tower, which would provide an excellent viewpoint for his job.
He slipped inside and looked around. No one was in the church, so he quickly made his way to the stairs that led to the bell tower. He climbed them swiftly until he came to the very top, where he knelt by the edge and unfolded his sniper rifle. From his vantage point he could see almost the entire town, and had an uninterrupted view of the main street.
"Forge, I'm in position," he whispered.
"Excellent," Forge's voice was slightly distorted by static, but it was still clear enough to hear. "Everything's looking fine, all we've got to do is wait for Trask."
"How long till he's here."
"By Xavier's estimation, about twenty-two minutes."
"Right."
"Pietro, I heard what you were saying to Lance, and I can understand where you're coming from. It can't be easy to kill someone, especially not in cold blood. But you've got to remember that Trask doesn't feel any remorse. He's willing to murder millions of people to get what he wants. His death will save so much suffering and grief."
"Thanks Forge," Pietro said sincerely.
"No problem. Stay in contact, and if anything goes wrong get out of there immediately. Forge out."
Pietro lay flat on his stomach as he rested his sniper rifle on the parapet. Once he was sure he had it steady, he flipped the switch to activate his laser sight, and suddenly his right eye became a targeting sight. He closed his left eye and lined his right down the barrel of the gun, taking a deep breath and then holding it. When he'd been a professional assassin, he'd found that if you were breathing during the shot it could easily cause you to miss, so every time he fired a sniper weapon he always held his breath.
Satisfied that he was ready, he deactivated the laser sight and leaned against the parapet. All he needed now was Trask to arrive.
Thanks for your review DaemonRogue 13, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!