Icy Blue Fire (An Assassin Story)

Cold Seamless Mask

Arashi blinked twice, confused by what he was seeing. It was an A-rank impossibility. Could only be pulled off with the proper combination of discipline, skill and luck. For catching a highly-specialized and trained agent like him off guard, Jared Hudson had 1.2% of the first two and 98.8% of unadulterated good luck.

The blue-eyed blonde seemed to materialize out of thin air, not a sound to give away his presence. His expression was oddly blank, in a way reminding Arashi of a field agent scouting out potential threat.

Arashi was doing his usual evening patrol. He was abnormally sensitive because he had another bout with 04 about letting Faye Summers live. The older agent was not convinced that drugging Faye was the best course of action. And this pissed him big time. 04 dared question his discretion and intellect. There was no greater form of insult.

Hudson's sneakers hitting the pavement should have alerted him – only Higher Bases or of higher caliber could escape his sharp hearing given his mood. However, there were no footsteps. In fact, he didn't sense him until Hudson came into his line of sight. He leaped purely by instinct, guided by experience, before he was seen by his charge.

Arashi tightened his grip around the metal bars from the previously locked fire exit stairs. Due to the angle of the lighting from the street light, his shadow would be a dead giveaway of his position. If Jared Hudson happened to look up, the blonde would notice him suspended a mere four meters above him.

Baka, baka, baka! [Stupid, stupid, stupid!]

His entire body was taut. If worse comes to worse, he would be forced to attack golden boy before he was recognized. A nasty chop at the back of Hudson's neck would do the trick. It would render golden boy unconscious, but it would surely hurt as hell by the time he wakes up.

Arashi hid a smile.

'Our charge left their floor. Took the stairs,' 04 lazily drawled through the earpiece. Arashi could hear him munching on something crispy. Probably those potato chips hidden under his bunk bed. 'Keep an eye on him. He looks livid. Don't know if it's directed at the girl or at himself. But man, I thought he wasn't gonna leave her room.'

Arashi wanted to roll his eyes. If Hudson took the stairs at his regular leisurely pace, it would have taken him at least three minutes to reach the ground floor, and another half to exit through the front. 04 had all the time in the world to inform him.

Trust his partner to give him delayed feedback. Maybe it was payback for giving him that black eye?

'Oh, and hey, you should buy more of these junk. I could stock an entire year's supply of this in my facility.'

Arashi couldn't believe it. Hudson was about to jeopardize the entire mission, yet all 04 was thinking about were junk food? This man was insane.

"A heads up would have helped," he muttered to the tiny receiver attached to his collar as soon as Hudson was out of hearing range. Gracefully, he landed on his feet, rubbing the rust off his rough hands.

'Don't complain. That was deliberate. You could use the exercise, mopey. And nice jump. You have power packed in those legs. But don't get too cocky. I could best your record anytime, ever with a handicap.'

"Fvck you."

'Oh, I'd love to,' 04 purred in a creepy attempt to be seductive, sending a shiver of disgust up 06's spine.

Arashi immediately turned off his communication devices. He was the one running in-field, and 04 was simply sitting pretty inside their rented van, yet the idiot had the nerve to chastise him? How dare that baka! One of these days, his patience would snap and he would enjoy breaking that nosey Russian's neck.

He took off quickly towards the nearest tree and did a quick flip so that he was now hidden behind the leaves and branches. He watched Jared Hudson as the latter took what appeared to be a leisurely stroll around the parking lot. Elm Suites had a friendly neighborhood and was quite a distance from the other buildings. Not to mention it had a respectable security, its reputation making it safe for its residents to loiter around. However, Arashi was not too pleased. If Falcon hired a sniper, Hudson would be a sitting duck.

He studied the trees around him. He might not be the only one hiding among the foliage.

As Hudson distanced himself from the building, Arashi sighted two shadows move from across him, cleverly concealed by dark clothes.

He gripped the branches and shifted his form, so that he was crouching lowly like a wolf about to pounce. He barely breathed, masking his presence in a way that he nearly blended with the rest of the shadows.

He fished for the communication device and put it back on. "We got company."

'How many?'

"Two."

'Must be the mirrors, Erlev and Joaquin. I got the third guy with me here in the van.'

By now, Arashi near combusted, but his expression remained calm and apathetic in contrast to his near-growl. "Kono yarou! [You shit!]"

04 had the audacity to laugh. It was grating his frayed nerves. 'Sorry, munchkin! You know how scatterbrained I am. Forgot to mention that the backup arrived like an hour ago. Or was it two? Oh well, at least nothing happened. I know you wouldn't shoot them at first sight.'

He let out an exaggerated sigh before relaxing his muscles. His head was beginning to throb in dull pain. He was not in his top form, both physically and mentally.

04 was enjoying this way too much for Arashi's liking.

"My phone is on vibrate. Call only when necessary."

With that, he yanked the wireless ear bud off his ear and stuffed it inside the breast pocket of his leather jacket. He spared a glance towards the eighth floor, where he knew Faye was sleeping. He didn't want to leave her, knowing that she was alone. 

In fact, she was safer by herself. Falcon was targeting Hudson, not her. And by tomorrow, she wouldn't recall anything about the fire and the killings. He had no cause to worry.

He let out another exaggerated sigh before leaving the shadows and following the path that Hudson took. It would be highly problematic if Hudson does something that could cause complications to the mission. If he had the tendency to sneak out, that could provide opportunities for Falcon to strike him down.

This was going to be a long night.

xx

Yo! This happened the night after he gave Faye that drug (referring to Black Equation - TFO Ch7 or 8, if I'm not mistaken)

Sorry for the very, very long wait! ENJOY!

P.S. I really prefer Arashi's POV. There's way too much action that Faye is not aware of. ;)