Viper: The Official Remaster

Chapter 10: Demons and Stars

Nøkk fired through the abandoned building, her feet carefully treading through the crumbling concrete and broken stone while using the storm's volume outside for cover. The Masks hadn't seen her team coming, only minutes ago did they catch on they were being hunted. Duke Cunningham was Nøkk's target, an agent of NATO tasked with protecting her identity, but more importantly, her friend.

Duke had been captured in a raid a week prior, the bullet train he'd been on stormed by the Masks in a targeted assault. By no small miracle, a lone security camera had managed to capture the assailant leading the attack, Nøkk immediately pinning him by his signature armor and body language, being the wanted assassin codenamed "Wyvern".

Jacob Calloway, the leader of Nøkk's squad, had managed to crack Wyvern's identity as a man named Kirin Salazar six months prior, forcing Kirin onto his back foot. Calloway himself decided to dedicate his energy to bringing the assassin down.

Naturally, Calloway had personally asked Nøkk to join in getting Duke back unharmed. She couldn't have agreed faster. Wyvern had put himself just out of reach more times than she cared to admit.

The second elimination target was the Viper, a White Mask Lieutenant known to operate close to Wyvern, whether on orders or not. It didn't matter, as far as Nøkk was concerned. The Viper had emerged several years ago, only surfacing during assassinations. Not much was known about him except for the gold stripe down the side of his mask.

Silent like the moon, Nøkk snapped herself out of the recollection and counted down from three. Without another moment's delay, she placed her foot into the wooden door of the apartment building she was storming, launching into the room and placing two rounds into the chests of two Masks, only to pivot as the door adjacent to her opened up.

With the Mask going for his pistol, Nøkk vaulted over the table between them and lunged, firing a round through the kneecap and the lower abdomen of the last hostile resident and smashing him to the floor as he gave a muffled scream through the fiberglass.

Nøkk: Duke and the Viper. Talk, or it's your other kneecap.

The Mask started to panic, his body stuck between a rock and a loaded P226.

Nøkk: You think it's bad now? Wait until-

White Mask: Upstairs! The Viper has Duke upstairs! Oh god...

With a confident smirk from behind her veil, Nøkk rose without another word. The cleanup team would be sweeping the building as soon as Duke was extracted. The Mask lying before her would make a nice chew toy for the interrogation specialist. Not wasting any more time, Nøkk checked her corners and put her index finger to her radio.

Nøkk: Calloway, the Viper is upstairs with Duke. I'm going after him.

Jacob: Got it! I'm several floors below! Found their coms! I'll meet you on the roof!

Nøkk launched into the stairwell, checking her corners and ejecting the magazine from her weapon. Half of the Masks were still in shock. With Calloway taking down their coms, they could do little but try and flail against Nøkk and her team.

Emerging from the stairwell, Nøkk found the doors leading to the single suite. This was going to be easy.
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From inside the hotel suite just a floor above, Duke Cunningham sat bound in rope, quietly watching several nervous Masks pace about. Even the Lieutenant was running scared. In retrospect, Duke wouldn't have guessed they'd act like scared rabbits. A wiser man would've thought something was off about the whole ordeal, but right now, Duke wasn't going to complain.

The Mask Lieutenant barked orders to barricade the twin doors, stationing the five or so Masks had his disposal around the fabricated cover in anticipation of a breach.