Pirate Assassin

Page 52

Zack packed his bags and left within minutes. He had donned his white hooded jacket over what he learned was Zokrite metal which was not only hard, but it dissipated laser shots, brown three quarter pants and his customised boots with thin flaps at the sole where his blade could spring out. Even though he had been confident in his words to the chief, he realised the importance of this mission. The other officer, Strank, had reacted badly to that banter but Taz had laughed in his well-meaning use of the Spectre mantra. Tetrad had given him a few encouraging words before he left and Zack felt all the more that he could not fail his task. Zack was on the transport ship now, catching up on sleep before he submerged himself in his job. He awoke to the driver's baritone voice over the speaker. "Sir, we have reached Juetan I and will be landing in a few minutes. Zack lay on the floor of the aisle and stretched his cramped muscles. He got off a little later and still looked sleepy, but under his jacket, his muscles were tense and ready in case anyone attacked. He spotted his contact and walked towards him. He deliberately crashed into him and hurried to help him up and as he did so, he felt a slip of paper pass in to his hand and with apologies, they parted. Zack was now more alert but that was expected of one who just caused a scene in his lethargy. Zack went to a nearby public toilet and read the paper in the toilet cubicle.

"B on grd. Spct snpr. Htl A on high 8. Barrel 2 with long." Zack memorised it quickly, tore it up, flung it into the toilet bowl and flushed. He proceeded to the port where Genais was supposed to land.

Zack examined the port and ignored the group of over-enthusiastic paparazzi and excited crowds. He looked at the buildings opposite the landing site instead. The Spectres had a simple code: Hotel A meant the first hotel from the left and high 8 meant the 8th floor 8th floor from the top. This meant that though the assassin might know that the place he was at had been identified, he would think that the position was wrong. Hotel 'A' was a 10-storey hotel but located on a hill around a mile away. Thus, even though the sniper was on the 2nd floor, he had a clear shot. Next, Zack had to find a way to get to her.. He inconspicuously went to the 2nd barrel he saw upon entering and pulled out a knapsack. He pried it open to see a Clicker, which was a sniper rifle with three interlocking parts which meant it could be set up in 3 clicks, hence its name. He kept it in the sack and mentally enacted the sniper's thought process. After he made his decision, he heard shouting and cheering and saw the galleon that carried Genais land. He set to work.

"I'm a bit worried, Kelv," Genais said. Kelv looked at her. He always wondered how someone who looked so much like a punk rocker could be so gentle and caring. Her black hair was highlighted with streaks of red, blue, green and bright yellow. She had four ring earrings lining the cartilage of each of her ears. She was wearing an oversized shirt which bared her shoulders which had inscriptions saying, "Raise Yo Fists!!!" below a depiction of fists pumped in the air and long pants which were frayed at the ends where it had been trodden on by her sneakers. "He died protecting you," Kelv said, "and what matters is that you're safe." Fint sighed. "I just hope we did the right thing asking the Government for help." The three, and the guards posted around their room, felt the tremor and heard the hiss of the anti grav spikes. "Well," Genais said with a smile, "time to walk into danger."

The sniper settled into his position by the window. He had set up his sniper rifle on the table and sat comfortably on the chair and casually adjusted the knobs. A few minutes after the ship landed, he looked through his scope at the landing platforn and saw the girl get off, flanked by her two bodyguards and a number of marines He smiled. For all the Government's statements about giving her top-notch protection, this was all they could give? He laughed and as she walked into the middle of the red carpet he pulled the trigger. He stopped and cursed. A stupid fan had broken away from the crowd and now she was surrounded by her guards. He saw some exchange, then one of the two bore a notebook to her which she signed and gave back with an amused smile. The boy who had broken through was now leapt off to who knows where. The guards looked around for a while then moved back to a respectable distance around her. This was too easy, he thought, as he re-aimed and pulled the trigger for real. If he had been paying attention, however, he would have seen the bodyguard who carried the notebook still looking at a piece of paper he had been handed to by the fan wearing a white jacket. His shot missed as the singer was roughly pulled backwards and the crowd went into chaos as they screamed and ran amok. The sniper cursed and wondered how his shot had gone amiss but that was the last thing he thought as he felt a stab of pain in his forehead. Marines would find his body in the exact same shooting position except for a pool of blood at the base of the chair and a bullet hole through his head.

"Fint, I'm okay, put me down!" but Fint ignored her as he ran with Kelv and five other guards to their hotel room. They stopped by the door and Kelv nodded to them and opened it. The five rushed in and began to sweep for explosives and electronic devices. Once they were done, they signalled the three and stood on guard outside. Fint gently laid a disgruntled Genais on the bed. "I'm 23, for Lichton's sake, Fint! I'm not a damsel in distress!" but neither Fint nor Kelv were repentant. "I provide maximum cover around you when I carry you." Genais harrumphed loudly. "And you think I'd prefer seeing you dead instead of me?"

"No, but then again, you're a hundred times more important than I am." Genais' eyes softened.

"Wrong, Fint. It would break my heart if I let you die. And you too Kelv. I don't know how my life would be without you." Embarrassed, the two shifted uncomfortably when they turned with plaslocks raised when a voice breathed. "So that's why...."

Zack listened to Genais' words as he climbed up from his room below to her room. They sounded like Elyss' words when they fought and Zack realised how wrong he had been to think that everything was made easier with a friend by your side. True, there was someone to share your feelings with, but it was also double the pain if you lost the one who you had surrendered everything to. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. I'll deal with it later, he thought as he stepped into the light and Fint gasped. "You!" and Genais saw the white jacket and guessed his identity too. She got up and hugged him. She held him at arms length and spoke to him softly, "Thank you for saving my life." Fint agreed a little reluctantly, "Yes, thank you. But who ARE you?" Zack tossed a small capsule to the middle of the room and it exploded with a poof. The two primed their guns at him but he ignored them as a wide smile appeared on his hooded face. "My name is Zack Ying and I have been dispatched by the United Galactic Government to protect you."

Genais looked at the boy who had unhooded himself with great interest. He had long blue hair which went till his knees and a slim build. In fact, if it wasn't for the way he carried himself and his face, Genais would've have thought he was a girl! "I thought the Wolf men were heavily muscled..." she mused and Zack heard her. "The thing is, I'm NOT a Wolf. Anyway, it would be best if I was not revealed to be your personal bodyguard so I will not stay with you like these two," he said as he pointed at Kelv and Fint. "But I'll always be watching out for you." Genais offered him a cup of tea. "Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me." Zack nodded and sipped at the tea. "Miss Genais?" a marine asked as he entered. The three had turned to him as he opened the door. "The five of us were discussing and we thought it'd be best if you don't use the air conditioning but instead opened the balcony doors."

"As you can see, the door has already been opened," Genais said, amused that Zack had opened it as he climbed in. The marine gave her a confused look which quickly cleared up. "You must still be in shock, miss Genais. I'm sorry." Fint growled. "What do you mean by that?" The marine hesitated, fearing he had said something wrong. "Well, no offence meant but," he paused, "the door seems to be securely shut. I assure you that a sniper cannot shoot upwards so.." Fint began to get angry. "Now look here marine-"

"Fint!" Kelv hissed at him. He turned around and along with Genais, had the shock of their lives. The balcony door was securely fastened and the seat where Zack had been sitting was empty.