At Your Service (Book Two)

Chapter 9: Traffic in Rio

Zeno stepped his boot onto the sand of Ipanema Beach. His keen eyes didn't take long to wander the area before his gaze landed on his target, Ryan Swift. The unsuspecting young boy took a seat, relaxed on the beach chair next to another, being occupied by a girl figure. The tension of vigilance rose in Zeno when his eyes got fixated on him.

Without another second to waste, the assassin marched forward will all of his adrenaline focused on killing his target. He realized Swift, whose glance shifted away from the girl, took note of the biker-like figure standing in the distance, his eyes staring into Zeno's visor. Realizing his presence is caught, Zeno reached for his katana's handle, and a click of the safety switch slipped the blade out of its sheath.

Zeno eyed Swift whispering something to the girl. He raised his blade and right after, a shout left Swift's mouth.

"Move!" He shouted as the assassin arrived closer behind her.

Swift pushed Vicência off of her chair as the blade-brandishing threat raised his sword and swung it down towards him. He moved away just in time before the sword swung down, splitting into the wooden chair right through. He fell on the floor when he dodged that, sand sticking everywhere on him, and he got up with a bold stance.

"What the hell?" He said out of confusion as Zeno pushed the chair out of his way to confront his target. He thrusted the sword again and Swift moved to the side, evading every single attack the biker-like figure throws at him, all the while beachgoers watched in perplexity, including Vicência's schoolmates and herself.

"Dude!" Swift evaded again. "Who are you?!" He was freaked out by the silence of Zeno. The assassin made no grunts or shouts whatsoever while he remorselessly attacked him from every angle. Zeno swept Swift's underside with his leg, causing him to fall. He was in Zeno's clutches. He prepared his katana to push it into his target's chest until Swift spoke up again.

"Wait, wait! I think I know you," He said. Zeno allowed him to speak out his last words before his end. "Snake Eyes?" Swift asked, and it was a huge false. The peeved assassin thrusted his sword, but the boy quickly rolled out of the way, letting the sword plunge into the sand.

Apparently not. Zeno's entirely-covered figure reminded Swift of the G.I. Joe franchise. The dark biker-esque attire, the helmet with the dark visor to his weapon of choice, almost got him distracted. Realizing Zeno's sword is stuck in the sand, Swift kicked the assassin's hand off the weapon. Now unarmed, Swift took out his pistol, pulling the barrel to load a bullet.

With a quiet roar from the silenced gun, the bullet went straight at Zeno, but to Swift's surprise, it didn't hurt him. Though Zeno's body reacted to it, the bullet simply bounced off his leather jacket, sparks of fire resulted from it, and the bullet redirected into the sand.

"What?" Swift said out of disappointment that also showed on his face. The second Zeno charged at him, he pulled the trigger several times, trying to at least disorient him. Zeno worked his way back to his sword, and he pulled it out of the sand effortlessly.

Zeno swung his sword, spattering the sand that stayed on his clean blade as he charged at Swift. Meanwhile, Vicência, being distracted by the vicious fight between Swift and the mysterious katana-wielder with ninja-like abilities, hadn't noticed the man who approached her from behind.

"Scream and you'll feel a knife go through your waist."

Vicência felt a sharp object press against her waist, as well as a hand grabbing her by the shoulder. She heard the man's breath against the back of her head, telling her to comply. The man's hand guided her away from the scene. She wanted to yell for help, but the terrifying threat prevented her to. Not even her friends paid attention as they were busy watching the fight unfold.