Old Wounds

Chapter 1

”I got red in my ledger; I’d like to wipe it out.” –Natasha Romanoff, ‘The Avengers’, 2012

14:34 24-AUG-09, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

An immense explosion caused them to instinctively crouch down, wrapping their arms around their heads. When no debris fell on them, they got back up and continued to run. The cobblestone streets began to quake under their boots and dust was thick in the air. It was hard to see, but their practiced feet kept their balance amid the shaking. The rubber soles of their boots slapped loudly on the ground which could be heard very faintly over the low rumbles issuing from beneath them.

Just as the quaking stopped and the two thought that it was over, liquid spewed from all the sewage drains along the sidewalks. The few pedestrians who had not gotten out of the rumbling streets were drenched in the liquid. The liquid was as clear as water, but it proved to be something much more harmful. Screams and cries issued from those who were hit, their skin slowly began to blister. All of them were gripping wherever the acidic liquid met their bodies and continued to scream out in pain.

The only two that weren’t affected by the liquid were the two assassins who looked around in shock at the people around them. One by one, the poor pedestrians collapsed. They were mostly men who they had herded their families inside thinking that there was an earthquake. Now they were huddled into writhing balls, some fingers gouging at their eyes which were beginning to burn from the liquid.

The assassins were about to help the men when another explosion, too close to them that time, occurred. The woman assassin was thrown off guard and was knocked off her feet. She landed on the ground, pebbles lodged in her hands which had stopped her fall. Her partner, a man, had managed to keep his balance and hauled the woman up. They began to run again, the dying pedestrians forgotten.

At the end of the street, a helicopter was waiting for them, the rotors whirring in an almost welcoming sound. The woman grasped her partner’s arm and helped him onto the rope ladder hanging from the copter. She had one foot in the helicopter when shots began to be fired. One bullet managed to go straight through the open window and embedded into the pilot’s forehead. Immediately, the helicopter began to fall and the two assassins quickly leaped out of the falling craft, not wanting to get caught in the crash. The other two agents who were in the helicopter weren’t as fast and were still trapped as the aircraft landed with a crash.

Immediately, the two assassins were surrounded by men in masks. All of the masked men were carrying weapons varying in sizes from semi- automatic pistols to machine guns. The woman’s hand automatically went for her hand guns and the man grabbed his bow, one hand over his shoulder to grab an arrow. But as they glanced around at the dozens of armed men, they knew they were outnumbered.

Surprisingly, no one shot them, but they had a circle formed around them with the guns pointed in their direction. The assassins stood there, not lowering their weapons either. When a loud cough issued from somewhere outside the circle, their heads whirled around, searching for the person who made the sound.

A man made his way through the ring of masked men. He was tall and lean with light-colored hair. He was carrying no weapons, but his presence unnerved the woman. She felt as if she had met him before, but she had no idea when or where. Pushing his sunglasses onto the top of his head, the man stared them down, his piercing green eyes searching them. His eyes rested on the woman’s low-cut skintight cat suit, making her want to pull the zipper up a little higher.

His mouth stretched into a wide grin his bright white teeth slightly blinding the two assassins. Adjusting his expensive-looking suit, he stepped closer to the woman. Her partner instinctively moved towards her.