*Hey y'all, back with another chapter, hope you enjoy it!*
The day of the contract began. Everyone got up earlier to prepare together. Ryo's apartment was full by the time the clock struck 8 AM.
"Right, how're we feeling today, guys?" Ryo opened up the small meeting by asking a casual question.
"Pumped! This is the first contract outside of my hometown, obviously, I'm gonna be pumped!" Luka threw a couple of punches through the comfortable apartment air.
"We're prepared as much as we could be, Ryo, yourself?" Kane took a sip of coffee out of his mug and lifted his eyebrows as he asked the question.
"Same here, I'm ready for anything." Ryo took a few steps forward out of the kitchen and clapped his hands together. He was now standing in the middle of the living room. "Everyone, gather around and grab a seat, let's go over the contract one final time."
Everyone patiently awaited Ryo's orders as they comfortably sat down in various ways.
Ryo cleared his throat and began to talk. "Noah Roth. 29-year-old templar. Highly skilled politician. He has a huge amount of political presence and power just from the fact he's a Roth. Nephew of Hans Roth, the leader of the legendary Roth family of the Templar Order. Noah will be attending the presidential campaign happening at Zagreb's political palace in the afternoon today. We've already taken care of several of his guards. The plan is to replace them and act as his bodyguards after we've infiltrated the building. That should give us easy access to Noah Roth's chambers or wherever he would be staying in the palace. Any questions?" The crew stayed silent for a good few moments. "Anything at all? Alright, we're good." Ryo quickly gazed at the clock. "Now, then, get back to your apartments and gather your gear. Take your time, everyone. We have a little over an hour. Go!" Ryo clapped his hands together once more as everyone got off the couch.
...
Inside of Ashley and Luka's apartment.
Luka grabbed his assassin robes and armour and put them on. However, for this contract, they needed to be disguised, so he put a suit similar to one of the guards over his armour.
"Looking good, handsome." Ashley walked out of the bathroom in the same suit. Luka winked at Ashley. "Now, where the fuck are my arrows?"
"I haven't seen them, to be honest." Luka walked over to one of his luggage bags and grabbed his billhook and some ammunition for his pistol. "Have you checked all the drawers?"
"All of them." Ashley placed her hands on her hips.
"Your bags?"
"Yup. Every single one."
Luka raised an eyebrow and stood up from his crouched position. He walked over to the bed and looked under it. The arrows were under it, along with several quivers. "Guess what I found." He stood up and kicked the bed lightly. "You're welcome."
...
In Kane and Hugh's apartment.
"Is your hidden blade sorted?" Kane finished putting on his gloves as he gripped them firmly.
"Yeah, I got it all here. I'm ready whenever." Hugh exhaled through his nose loudly and lightly pounded his fists together. "Let's do this, brother!"
"Right!" Kane shouted back at his big brother.
...
The assassins made it out of their apartments and gathered as a special vehicle pulled up to the apartment's front door.
"That's our ride." Ryo nodded towards the car as he walked up to it. Everyone shortly followed and entered the car.
"Are we all comfortable?" The driver adjusted his rearview mirror and stuck his tongue out for a second. "To anyone who isn't familiar, Paul Barton."
"I'm pretty sure we all know who you are, Paul." Hugh chuckled through his sentence. "Nice to see you again."
"Same here, White brothers." Paul tipped his flat cap as he looked at the assassins through the rearview mirror. "Juniors." Ashley and Luka nodded and waved optimistically. "Strap yourselves in, I ain't paying a fine for people not wearing a seatbelt." Barton joked as the group laughed and put their seatbelts on.
The conversation that filled the air for the rest of the trip was calm and casual. There were a few heavy moments, but Ryo's lighthearted personality swayed the conversation back onto the right track.
"Oh, by the way." Barton opened the glove compartment and grabbed a small journal with a pen. "My number's right there, go ahead and write yours down in the notebook so I have you sorted."
"Very professional, aren't you?" Luka raised his voice as the notebook was passed to him.
"I try to be, brother." Barton put on a slight smile as he got serious for a moment. "Good luck out there today, everyone. You better report to us with success and no casualties."
"Relax, Paul. We got this." Ryo reassured him and lightly patted his shoulder. "The only call I'll be making tonight is to report to you with good news. Well, we have to notify Kingston, as well, but you get the point."
Barton exhaled quietly and nodded slightly. The journey towards the palace quickly ended as Barton pulled up to the parking lot of Noah Roth's personnel. Everyone quickly got out of the car and thanked Barton one last time. "I'll be in town for the rest of the week, in case you need anything." He drove away after saying his goodbyes.
Our group of 5 stood in front of the palace entrance, fully prepared for the contract.
"This is it." Ryo inhaled and exhaled loudly. "Stick to the plan and we should be okay."
Everyone firmly nodded as they began walking up to the entrance. They had their fake ID's ready and their stories were on point. The guards casually let them through with no suspicion.
They were in!
The palace was massive. As limited in modern architecture and building design as Croatia is, Zagreb stood out as a city of progress, beauty and craftsmanship. This palace was no exception.
"You remember the fancy art gallery we went to in Osijek, Ashley?" Luka turned his head towards Ashley as he questioned. She quickly nodded a few times in response. "Well, that is one of Osijek's fanciest buildings, and this easily tops it. This might even be a contender for the most well crafted and beautiful building in this part of Europe."
"No kidding, this place is immense!" Hugh raised his voice slightly as he carefully looked around.
"Focus, guys. Noah Roth should be arriving soon. Waste no breaths or moments on anything else, the sooner we take him down, the better." Kane reminded everyone of the mission and began walking around the palace. The crew quickly followed.
After wandering around for a few minutes, the group decided to split up.
"Alright, let's split up to cover more ground," Kane stated as he briefly turned around to scan the nearby area. There was a massive staircase leading up several floors and there were a bunch of hallways on the ground floor that could be explored. "Ryo, you're with me. Hugh, take the juniors and head upstairs. We'll handle the bottom floor."
"On it." Hugh nodded firmly and began leading the juniors through the massive hall.
The halls split into several sections. There were pastries and drinks there for everyone to enjoy, so Hugh decided to socialize a bit. The juniors followed his lead and all three of them got very comfortable with the public attending the campaign. There were mostly rich and prestigious people in the palace itself, like important political figures or government staff. After a solid half-hour, Hugh gripped his earpiece stealthily. "Nothing so far, Kane."
"Keep looking, nothing on our end either."
"On it."
Ryo and Kane had a bit of a harder task. They needed to remain within the authorised areas to not raise suspicion. They explored a few rooms they were allowed to enter, but they didn't see anything unusual. The assassins are supposed to be in place of the active bodyguards of Noah Roth, they weren't meant to travel with him, but they were sent to the palace to keep an eye out and make sure the campaign went well. Kane and Ryo eventually located a room guarded by two guards. Kane walked up to one of the guards and questioned the importance of the room. The guard briefly explained that these were the private quarters of some important Croatian political figures. Kane proceeded to question where Noah Roth would be staying. The guard pointed him to the guards on the third floor, it seemed like they would have more information about that. He lowered his head slightly as Kane briefly bowed and thanked the guard.
"Third floor it is, Ryo."
Ryo nodded very quickly. After they got a safe distance between them and the guards, Kane notified Hugh they would be going to the third floor, and that they should hold their ground down below. It was not the time to group just yet.
...
"Roth family aeroplane captain speaking. Please remain seated, we're about to land safely and head straight to the palace of the capital. Thank you."
A rough and heavy voice echoed throughout the private jet. The massive figure towered over two seats as his face became more and more apparent. "It's time, nephew."
"Indeed it is, uncle. Showtime." Noah Roth seemed revved up and ready to go.
...
Ryo conversed with a few guards that pointed them to the private quarters of Noah Roth. A guard also notified Ryo that Roth would be arriving within 20 minutes, maybe half an hour. Ryo thanked the guard for the info and pressed his earpiece quietly.
"Noah Roth will be here in 20 minutes, 30 minutes at the most. I found his private quarters, it's on the third floor. Everyone, start gathering slowly. We need to be grouped for this."
"Copied." Hugh's voice could be heard as he guided the juniors through a busy crowd. "It's time, kids."
Luka and Ashley nodded firmly.
...
The group eventually gathered on the third floor.
"Good, we're all here. Let me see if we can enter his quarters early." Kane walked up to a guard in front of the door the quarters were behind.
After a quick exchange and ID showing, along with approval from the guards, they entered the chambers. They neatly closed the door behind them and inspected the massive room.
"We still have some time before Roth shows up, search the room for any valuables." Kane quickly gathered an idea and everyone agreed. They carefully shook the place upside down but found nothing unusual until they came across a small chest. Inside of it were several documents, some jewellery and a dagger. The chest was small enough to bring, so Hugh stashed it beneath his massive disguise. The group quickly put everything back just in time to hear some heavy footsteps approaching the door.
Our five assassins lined up in a line according to height. Everyone held their breaths for a split second before Noah Roth opened the door. His expression and mannerisms were casual and formal at the same time. "Oh, hello, everyone, I'm glad you could make it. Apologies for the delay, shall we get started now?"
"No need to apologise, sir, we're glad you could make it." Kane took over the conversation as they all bowed in front of him.
"May the father of understanding guide us." They all said in unison.
"We're ready whenever you want us to be," Kane spoke up once more and finished his sentence.
"Wonderful, gather around the desk, everyone, let's talk business." Noah walked up to a leather chair and sat down calmly. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of his necklace jiggling as he sat down. Ryo noticed it immediately and kept a close eye on it. He nudged Hugh and pointed at his neck. Hugh noticed it immediately as his eyes widened. He quickly nodded a few times before they all walked up to the table.
"Have you noticed any unusual activities so far during the campaign?" Noah's voice could be heard once more as he brought out a few contracts that he began going over.
"Nothing to report, sir," Ryo spoke up this time as politely as he could. "Would you mind if we asked what those contracts you're going over are for?"
"Oh, this?" Noah shook the contract back and forth for a moment. "It's just a few application forms for a few guards I was going to hire, you remember them, right?"
"Certainly, sir." Hugh's voice could be heard next.
"We'll go over the presidential contracts soon enough. Would one of you be willing to step beside me quickly? How about the lady?" Noah pointed his hand towards Ashley and gestured for her to walk over.
"Oh, right! Sure!" Ashley walked up to Noah's chair as her hands remained behind her back.
A few moments of silence filled the air. The atmosphere within the room suddenly got denser and heavier.
"Sir...?" Ashley's voice trembled as Noah's hand reached underneath his desk.
He pressed a button directly under his contract, quickly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Ashley. She stumbled back and instinctively shouted out of plain fear. Roth immediately clicked the hammer of the gun as quickly as he could...
And...
A gunshot could be heard.
Every single living soul in the palace began panicking and leaving the building. Lots and lots of guards began running into the building from the outside.
"WHERE'S THAT COMING FROM?!"
"THE THIRD FLOOR, MOVE IT!"
"SECURE THE BUILDING, EVERYONE GET OUT!"
...
A quick flash went by Ashley's eyes and mind as she found herself laying on the floor.
But...she wasn't dead.
She wasn't hurt at all, either.
She rubbed her eyes and cleared up her mind a small bit before seeing Noah Roth's dead body planted face-first into the table in front of him. A bullet penetrated his skull by going straight through his forehead. It got caught in the thick chair he was sitting on. A single dense line of smoke filled the room. Ashley's eyes quickly widened as she realised where the smoke was coming from.
Luka released the tight grip of his fist, grasped his wrist and carefully reloaded his gun stashed within his hidden blade holder which was the source of the unknown smoke within the room.
"Not on my watch, fuckface." He spat on the desk next to Noah's unsigned papers. "Ashley, grab his goddamn necklace before we get jumped!" All four of the men in the room quickly sprinted up to the dead body. Ashley grasped the necklace and ripped it off of Roth's neck. "Got it!"
As soon as she finished uttering her sentence, the door was blasted open by a huge figure. A man comparable to the size of Hugh entered the room, grasping a huge handgun. His accent ruptured everyone's eardrums. Kane and Hugh especially got reminded of how powerful the man that just entered the room was.
...
Hans Roth, one of the Three Templar family leaders.
"DIE YOU ASSASSIN SCUM!"
Hans fired off a shot from his handgun aimed directly at Luka. As soon as he pressed the trigger, Hugh dashed in front of him with blinding speed and disarmed him instantly.
However, he wasn't quick enough. A bullet was flying straight for Luka's sturdy chest. Several thoughts and feelings went through his mind as Luka's life flashed before his eyes for a split moment before he snapped back to reality.
...
He was shoved to the side.
The bullet that practically had Luka's name on it struck a different mark at that exact moment.
Ryo.
Ryo was the one who pushed Luka out of the way and took the bullet instead of him. He collapsed to the floor instantly whilst gripping his chest and coughing up a pool of blood.
"RYO!" Luka's voice was never heard to be as loud as it was at that moment. He immediately rushed over to Ryo and lifted his head off the floor. "STAY WITH ME, RYO, STAY WITH ME!"
Ryo coughed once more as he uttered a sentence that could barely be heard over Luka's cries.
"Find her...find the rogue...Nicole...Kaiser..."
Ryo's eyes suddenly garnered a blank expression. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as they shut off forever. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped pumping blood. His brain was deprived of oxygen.
"No...NO, NO!" Luka shouted even louder than he previously could. "RYO!" The frightening sound of Luka's voice echoed throughout Ryo's last thoughts as he took his final breath.
Ryo Galler...was no more.
"YOU GODDAMN SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Luka's shouts were now aimed directly at Hans Roth, who just got jumped by Hugh.
Hugh quickly landed a few effective punches and dodged a few himself. He activated one of his hidden blades, but Roth managed to block at the right time. Roth forced Hugh off of him and leapt for his gun, but he was stopped dead in his tracks by the sharpest and roughest step-in that Luka has ever performed. He immediately closed the gap between the two of them, slammed his foot into the ground and performed the most powerful hook in his life. Even though Hans Roth was huge, he took the full impact of the swing and was knocked out of the room. His nose was bleeding and his face quickly became swollen just from a single punch. The three guards that were outside of the office drew their swords and began charging at Luka who was now in the middle of the room, completely exposed.
However, Luka grabbed his billhook and decapitated a guard.
Kane joined his pupil's side and stabbed the second guard through the heart.
Ashley's piercing arrow found a mark as she leapt off of the table and performed a flip in the middle of the air before her arrow took out the third guard's eyeball. Within the same leap, she threw out a smoke bomb arrow outside of the office doors.
"HUGH, CLOSE THE DOOR!" Kane shouted at his big brother as Hugh was now recovered and immediately did the thing that was asked of him. He found a sturdy plank that he used to barricade the door. Hans Roth's handgun was still in the office. Everyone calmed down and took deep breathes for a few moments before Hugh suddenly felt a massive impact on the other side of the door he was holding down.
"Son of a bitch! We got a bit of a situation here, guys! KANE, GET US OUT OF HERE!" Hugh held the door down as long as he possibly could.
"EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" Kane shouted as he dashed next to Hugh and began holding the door down alongside him. "ASHLEY, GRAB BOTH NOAH AND HANS ROTH'S GUNS AND GET OUT OF HERE IN ANY WAY YOU CAN! LUKA, GRAB RYO'S BODY AND ESCAPE, WE'LL HOLD THEM OFF!"
"COME ON, KIDS, THERE ISN'T MUCH TIME! SPLIT UP AND WE'LL MEET YOU BACK IN RYO'S APARTMENT IN THE EVENING!" Hugh let out a massive roar before he slammed his entire body into the door to hold it down.
Luka didn't waste a single millisecond and immediately lifted Ryo's body over his shoulder. "Ashley, move it! We gotta go!"
Ashley snapped out of her funk and searched for her zipline arrow. She sprinted to the massive window and fired off the zipline across the entire street. She grabbed her bow, placed it onto the zipline and gripped it firmly. "Promise me you'll make it back!" She quickly shouted at Luka and turned towards him.
"I promise you, Ashley, I'll come back safely!" Luka shouted back at her as Ashley leapt off the building and ziplined across the entire street. She managed to land safely as she cut the zipline. She stuck to the shadows and quietly fled the scene.
Luka leapt out of the same window, extended his billhook and jumped out the window. He managed to grasp some tapestry on the walls of the palace with his billhook to slow down his fall. He landed cleanly and started sprinting as if his life depended on it...and it did. Within a minute, he was out of sight of everyone in the palace.
...
"Hugh, hold the door down whilst I look for an exit!" Kane frantically leapt off of the door and sprinted straight towards a nearby door.
"Fucking hurry up, please!"
The door led down a long, empty hallway. "OVER HERE! MOVE YOUR ASS!" Kane started a sprinting motion as he patiently waited for his brother.
"GO, I'LL CATCH UP!"
Kane started running down the hallway, looking for an exit.
Hugh grabbed the wooden plank and tossed it across the room. Hans Roth's guards burst the door down, but Roth was nowhere to be seen. Most of them fell on the floor as they kept tripping over each other. Hugh was already halfway across the empty hallway, right behind Kane.
"STOP!"
"Like that's ever gonna happen!" Hugh jokingly shouted back as Kane found a staircase that led downstairs.
"Down here!"
Kane and Hugh leapt off the staircase and found a side entrance. It was guarded by two measly guards that Kane took care of immediately. One stab with his hidden blade, one slash with his sabre. Very similarly to Luka, Kane and Hugh sprinted out of the palace and didn't turn back even for a moment. They kept running and running until they were out of the vicinity of the palace.
...
A phone could be heard ringing. Barton picked it up as it had a familiar name written across it.
"Luka?"
"Barton, we got a problem. Where the fuck are you?"
...
A sombre and dark feeling filled the air that depressing night. The moon was shining brighter than ever before and a beautiful view could be seen from Ryo's apartment window. The window was big enough to have a person sitting on the inside of it.
She was the first one back. She had already taken most of her clothes off as she sat down with only a sleeveless shirt and some black jeans on her. The cold air breezed across her toned body. Ashley gazed out into the night sky with a cigarette clutched in her hand. All she could see inside of her mind was the image of Ryo's last words. She formed her free hand into a fist and bit her tongue.
That should have never happened.
The apartment door suddenly opened as Kane and Hugh entered the apartment. The first visual they saw was a beautiful shot of Ashley sitting on the window smoking a cigarette.
"What took you so long?" She asked with sarcasm in her voice.
Hugh chuckled but immediately stopped. It wasn't that kind of mood.
"Is Luka here?" Kane attempted to light up a conversation.
"I was the first one here, he hasn't made it back yet." Ashley jumped back into the apartment and took a sip from her cup of coffee. "Would you guys like some?"
"No, thank you. Not in the mood." Kane collapsed into a comfortable chair as he gripped his nose bridge and closed his eyes.
"Get me a cup, Ash." Hugh crossed his arms and remained standing. She nodded and slowly walked over to the kitchen. "Thanks."
...
After an hour of awkward conversations and depressing moods, the apartment door creaked open once more.
Luka had made it back safely, but he didn't have Ryo's body with him.
"Luka, where's Ryo?" Kane asked a serious question as he was the first to notice him walking in. Hugh and Ashley were in the kitchen.
"I called Barton. He'll take care of the body."
Kane nodded with understanding and slowly walked up to Luka. The two men extended arms towards each other and embraced into a tight hug. After a while, they let go of each other and Luka spoke up. "I'm never giving in again. That's not going to happen ever again."
"Me neither." Kane turned around and raised his voice. "Hugh, Ashley, Luka's here."
Hugh was the first one to exit the kitchen. He noticed Luka and they shared a tight hug, as well. "I'm sorry."
"The fuck are you apologising for, big man?" Luka scoffed and inhaled deeply. "You did great out there."
Ashley walked up to Luka after a few moments. "I'm so sorry, love."
Luka's eyes started to water as he quickly walked up to Ashley and deeply embraced her. "I'm sorry, too. It should have been me."
"Don't say that, please. Not now."
After a few moments, Luka wiped his eyes clean and walked up to the living room table. He picked up Ryo's object that he used to contact Kingston and activated it.
Kingston picked up within a couple of rings.
"Galler?"
"Not tonight, sir. Ryo is not going to be reporting to you anymore."
"What do you mean?! Cvitković, answer me!"
"Master..." Luka's tone became more aggressive as he raised his voice. "You better fucking listen to me right now."
Kingston remained quiet.
A few long moments passed.
"Hans Roth killed Ryo during the contract."
...
*End of chapter 9!
Right, hope everyone enjoyed this one! Have a good day!*