Silent Storm [ManxMan]

Chapter 27 ~ I'm afraid this is who I am

"Guns don't kill people. People who say "Guns don't kill people" kill people. With guns."

- Rob Delaney

[River's POV]

There was still a noticeable whiff of burnt metal in the air when I arrived at the area of the recent bombing. If I really concentrated on the smells I could actually make out a faint fragrance of burnt flesh lingering too. Maybe it would go away as time went by but for now it would work as a reminder of what happened to the people who had still been inside the building when it exploded.

The police had put up barricades, warning civilians to stay away from what little remained of the building but I could still see signs telling me that there had been several curious people sneaking under the barricade tape. Probably young people out for a bit of fun. I knew how tempting it could be, I too had always been too curious for my own good.

I studied the corpse of the building from the opposite side of the road. I was standing in the shadows of a few trees making sure there were no one around to notice me. Maybe I wasn't completely hiding but then again I didn't really care if anyone saw me. If people from the League of Assassins were here, they had probably already spotted me so there was no use in hiding my presence.

After watching the house for a minute or so I decided that enough was enough. I stepped out of the trees' shadows and tilted my head to the side so I could gaze up at the sky. The clouds were gathering and I could almost smell the rain in the air. Maybe it would even snow.

I lowered my eyes to the building again and then I started walking. If the priest was right, this was where I would find my answers. Answers I didn't really care for but answers I needed nonetheless. Maybe I would even get the time to enjoy them before Midas found me and ripped me to pieces. I already knew he couldn't be far behind.

The thought of it made me speed up a little and I suddenly found myself a step away from the entrance. The door was blown away so I didn't really have to bother opening it, I could just walk right in.

I carefully made my way along the ground floor, making sure nothing fell from the ceiling as I went. My steps echoed against the dusty floor and I had to cruise my way through the room because of all the stuff thrown around.

Matheus had been happy to share his knowledge about the explosion as soon as I had presented the gemstone but he hadn't known as much as I would have hoped. I knew Midas would realize the stone was missing from his pocket and probably draw the conclusion that I had went to see the priest and therefore he couldn't be far away right now. I had no doubt Matheus would tell him where I went if it meant getting me in trouble and causing a ruckus because of it.

I suddenly rolled my eyes. Why was I even thinking of the possibility of them catching up to me when I could just focus on being one step ahead? When had I gone and became this soft and cynical? This wasn't like me. The old me, the boy who was trained by one of the oldest lines of assassins, he wouldn't think that way. To him there would be no 'ifs' or 'buts', no 'maybe' or 'perhaps'. There would be only one thing necessary to consider. The possibility of getting killed.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind a flash of silver from the corner of my eye made me dive headfirst down on the floor. The bullet slammed into the wall right next to my shoulder and I had to keep rolling over the floorboards as more shots followed. The bullet-rain only stopped when I came to a halt at the base of the stairs.

I put my hands against the lowest step and pushed myself up into a crouch. I scrunched my nose because of the dirt covering my clothes and snorted. I would make the shooter painfully aware of the fact that I actually liked my clothes nice and clean.