Chapter-03: Compromised

Date: April 15, 2046
Time: 00:00:00
Location: Kerning City

~Renault~

“Sh**! What the f*** was that!” his piercing voice resounded in the black limousine as it sped through the midnight streets of Kerning City. The video feed from the headquarters had just fizzled out right after a burst of flame licked ravenously at the camera. “Sh** sh** sh**!”

Renault’s mind sped out of control as he typed away at the keyboard again, trying desperately to find Mariah’s Porsche. The computer processor whirred indignantly as Renault forced it to work beyond its capability.

“David!” Renault called into the front for the driver, “David take us back to Lith NOW. Something’s happened!” Without a reply, David jerked the wheel to the left, bringing the limo careening around in a one-hundred eighty degree spin. With a slam of the gas pedal, they soared off back down the night towards headquarters.

Finally, the screen cleared up, showing a live feed from the dashboard camera on Mariah’s black Porsche. Everything looked fine, but they weren’t driving. A bad sign. Renault furled his eyebrows in frustration and clicked the GPS.

A picture of the globe materialized on the flat panel display. A small green box widened on the city of Lith Harbor and zoomed in multiple times until Renault could see the car. The sleek, smart design seemed so out of place in the ghettos. It was parked beside a run down building that looked as if it would crumble to the slightest touch. Renault sighed to himself and hoped Mariah was ok. He could not bare the thought of losing her.

As the limo screamed closer and closer to the port city, Renault minimized the GPS and typed in a telephone number. The voice microphone beeped a few times as it acquired a signal, then the display flickered on, revealing a shaven man’s face. His dark eyes stared groggily into the camera. “What?”

“Kevin, Frog, Something’s happened.” Renault spewed out in a flurry.

“Gotta be more specific here, Renault,” Kevin rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“HQ is down,” Renault replied. Kevin’s eyes contracted in horror and Renault continued, “You have to get over to Mariah, make sure she’s safe!”

The expression of shock suddenly morphed into a wry smile, “Oh so that’s what this is about.” He scoffed.

“What the hell do you mean?” Renault spat.

“Never mind. Ok just let me finish up here and I’ll hit the road,” Kevin replied quickly. He reached up to turn the camera off.

“What? What are you doing?” Renault asked, his voice urgent.

“You mean, who?” Kevin snickered and turned the camera a bit to the left, revealing a familiar lump underneath his bed sheets. Renault switched the heat seeking camera on and realized it was a woman lying on her back, waiting for Kevin to return.

“You pervert,” Renault rolled his eyes, “Get your ass out there at once!”

“Haha, okay!” Kevin laughed heartily and switched the camera off, returning Renault’s gaze onto Mariah’s car. As they sped into the Lith Harbor city limits, Renault switched on the nightly news. The screen whitened to a newsroom background with a pretty lady sitting at the desk.

“This is Aliyah Royale reporting for Channel 24 news. We have a breaking story involving a tremendous fire in Lith Harbor. We go to our field reporter who’s already on the site with this story.”

The camera full screened onto a man’s face. He held a microphone and was covering one ear to block out the roaring fire behind him, “This is Dest Won reporting in. As you can see, we have a raging inferno behind me. Causes of the fire have not yet been confirmed, but rumors have been spread that a bomb of some sort had been detonated. Arsonists cannot investigate until the fire is put out, but we will have the latest information as soon as they know.” Renault switched the news off and stared out into the black expanse, his mind uncertain of things to come.

Date: April 15, 2046
Time: 00:05:16
Location: Lith Harbor

~Kevin~

He stalked into the night, pulling his pitch black parka up to block the wind lashing against his neck. A car whizzed by, the headlights refracting off of his dark sunglasses for a fraction of a second before disappearing into the darkness. Kevin walked down the street, the wind ruffling his black hair wildly.

The heads up display in the inside of his sunglasses told him that Mariah’s car was only a block away. Kevin smiled, “Too easy…”

Turning the corner, his black eyes darted straight to the charcoal black Porsche reflecting the moonlight’s beams. Striding quickly up to the vehicle, he snatched off his sunglasses and looked into the tinted windows. No sign of a struggle at least…

Kevin tucked the sunglasses into his jacket pocket and headed up the rising into the dilapidated old building. He pushed the door open and buried his mouth into his forearm, coughing violently. The dust was suffocating.

Putting two fingers up to his ears, he whispered into the communicator, “Mariah, this is Frog, over. Where are you?” A quiet static reverberated against his eardrum.

Kevin dug a tiny flashlight out of his pocket and switched it on. Immediately, a group of moths fluttered away from the sudden beam, raining a shower of dust upon Kevin’s hair. Turning the beam onto the old grand stairwell, Kevin sauntered up the rickety steps. The wood groaned in agony underneath his feet.

“Mariah…” he whispered quietly in a sing-song voice, “Mariah, where are you?” Kevin whipped around a corner, “Hiding are we?” He stalked forwards, careful not to make any sounds. “I love playing hide and seek…” He opened a door, revealing an empty bedroom, “Especially when you’re the prize…”

Suddenly, something snapped behind him. In a blink of an eye, Kevin whipped out his Desert Phoenix and pivoted on the spot, only to find another Desert Phoenix pointed directly at his temple.

“Well, looks like I win,” Mariah breathed coldly as she lowered her weapon.

“Not really,” a smile played about Kevin’s lips, “I found you.”

Mariah scoffed and turned around, walking back down the hallway towards the grand stairwell. Kevin followed her as she turned into a room. Suddenly, a man cried out. Kevin raised his weapon again, only to find Mariah next to him again, pointing the pistol away. “He’s fine.”

Kevin looked into the darkest corner of the room and realized a man was standing there, his hands raised up in surrender. Slowly, he walked out into the moonlight that shined through the broken windows.

“Who’s he?” Kevin asked suspiciously, his weapon still tense in his hand.

“Matt, The man I was sent to kill,” Mariah replied calmly, releasing Kevin’s hand.

“Can you please stop saying that?” Matt complained, scratching his head. Mariah replied by jerking him towards her, leading him out of the room.

“Where are we going?” Matt asked as he stumbled after her.

“What’s the news?” Mariah snapped at Kevin as they sped down the corridor.

“No response from HQ, the news is at the site, Renault’s coming back and calling all the field agents. The works,” Kevin added with a grin.

As they turned the corner, Mariah suddenly stopped. She turned her head and looked suspiciously at Kevin. Then, she leaned closer and seemed to rest her cheek against his. “Is that perfume?”

Kevin chuckled, “You wanna add some of yours to my collection?”

Mariah rolled her eyes and continued pulling the speechless Matt down the passage. Kevin could hear a quiet, “F*** you, Frog.” He snickered to himself and followed silently.

All of a sudden, the window at the end of the hallway shattered into a million pieces as someone rolled into the building. The entire structure seemed to shake, threatening to implode within itself. The figure jumped up and straightened itself up.

“WHAT THE F…” Matt screamed but was cut off.

“Sh** Dee! Way to make an entrance,” Mariah snapped irritably.

“Heh, Renault called, he said you needed help,” Dee giggled. Her dark chocolate colored skin contrasted radiantly with the moonlight behind her. “I thought to myself, Mariah? Need help? This must be serious!” She giggled again as Kevin rolled his eyes.

“Ooh, who’s this stud?” Dee asked, strolling casually up to Matt, pushing herself uncomfortably close.

“Matt, the man I was supposed to kill,” Mariah repeated for the second time of the night. Matt didn’t bother to respond as he was still hyperventilating.

“Things change?” Dee asked on a whim.

“Things change.”

Kevin’s heart skipped a beat as his body turned to ice at the voice that replied. Everything seemed to freeze at that second, time slamming to a halt. He just stood there, motionless, eyes dilated in horror as he stared out into the moonlight.

“Four assassins… All together… This was easier than I thought.”

Kevin slowly turned around and he took a step backwards in shock. Right before his eyes, was a man dressed in a black suit. His face was hidden in the shadows, but a row of pearly white teeth glistened menacingly in the moon’s rays.

“Who are you?” Mariah whispered, her voice quiet but sound.

“I am,” the man paused for a moment for dramatic effect, then continued, “Your death…”

In a flash, the hallway suddenly filled up with a cloud of black smoke. Kevin heard Mariah whip around and was sure she and Matt had disappeared. There was a feral roar and a gleeful laugh, and Dee was gone. Kevin sprinted for the window, through the dense smoke, and threw himself out onto the roof of the adjoining building. He quickly slid down the fire escape ladder and sprinted out into the street.

“RENAULT! RENAULT WE HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED! I REPEAT, WE HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED!” Kevin shouted into the communicator as he screamed down the darkened road. Renault’s voice on the other side was broken and hushed. The signal was weakening. Kevin cursed to himself and darted into another alleyway, completely immersing himself in blackness. He covered his sweaty face with his hands and sighed. They were scattered now, like feathers in the wind, except the wind was a hurricane.