Calling All Assassins Book 1: The Calls, "Artemis" Lykaios Nightshade [best e reader for academics txt] 📗

but his tone left no room for argument.

The three assigned for the assassination stood slowly, sizing each other up, determining each other’s worth.

“Thane is going to board a yacht at midnight in the Inner Harbor of New York. You three are to assassinate him quickly and quietly,” Xander continued as he turned.

“And you all will be leaving in approximately three minutes.” Xander said, turning his back to the assassins as he entered his office.

The silence was stifling, a suffocating fog. The three didn’t look at each other as they turned to get their weapons loaded and ready.

The three headed outside to Leighton’s car, which was parked outside.

Leighton drove them towards Inner Harbor, the silence and the apprehension of the mission clouding the Mustang. Her blue tooth rang, breaking the still silence, and she pressed it against her ear so she could answer.

Kaito and Demetrius wondered who Leighton was talking too but before they could ask, Leighton hung up without saying anything further to whoever it was.

***
Outside in the cold rain, the three assassins waited by the Inner Harbor, crouching in the shadows; listening to the small sounds of the night. They could hear the lapping of the waves against the docks, the yacht, Silver Moon, bobbing gently. They were hiding behind a low brick building, a few meters away from where the yacht was moored. It was nearly midnight and they had seen no signs of Thane.

Suddenly, there was a movement to their right, a flickering of a shadow. Slowly, a figure emerged, the moonlight sparkling on his bald head.

The man eyed his surroundings, his hands clutching a leather briefcase. He was wearing a black trench coat and a hat, his face half hidden in the shadow it cast.

Let’s go!” Demetrius whispered, the edge of impatience in his voice. As he rose, Kaito quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

“You moron. You run into action now and you’ll blow this whole mission,” Kaito hissed, ignoring Demetrius’s cold glare.

Demetrius grumbled but he stayed where he was, his eyes on Thane, who was walking briskly to the Silver Moon.

The door of the cabin on the yacht suddenly opened, revealing a short, chubby man with black, messy hair. He was wearing a silver suit and had rings adorning his fingers. He greeted Thane with a grin, revealing yellow teeth.

The man groomed his goatee, and eyed the briefcase in Thane’s hands.

“Is that it?” he asked, rubbing his hands greedily and licking his lips.

Thane nodded silently.

“Yes, everything you ordered. But,” he held up his finger, stopping the man in his tracks. “You have to pay me first.”

The man’s muggy eyes clouded but he smiled all the same.

“Of course. The money’s in the yacht. Let’s go in,” he said and lead the way, Thane following closely behind.

The three waited in silence before springing into action. Swiftly, they approached the yacht, which was making it’s way out of the harbor. Leighton motioned for the two and they crouched, waiting for the Silver Moon, to pass by. As it turned and faced the sea, they jumped aboard, landing softly.

Leighton held her hand, and the other two stopped, listening. There was no sound to indicate that the enemy knew of their arrival.

They slowly approached the cabin, crouching against the smooth wall. Taking a gizmo out of her backpack, Leighton pressed it against the wall while attaching the other end to her ear. She turned the dial, the different frequencies ringing in her ears before stabilizing.

“What do you mean you don’t have enough?!” The voice was Thane’s and it sounded angry.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was $25,000 but I never knew it was $30,000,” it was the other man, his voice coming out as a whine.

“This shit is hard to get, you filthy bastard,” Thane yelled.

There was the sound of rustling and then the unmistakable bang! of a gun.

“Shit, now can I go?” Demetrius asked, feeling fed-up.

“Be my guest,” Kaito said as Demetrius triggered his gun, smiling at the same time.

Springing out of the hiding place, Demetrius plunged into the room, knocking the door down while pulling the trigger. The bullet made impact with Thane’s shoulder and Demetrius could see the satisfying trickle of blood.

But Thane remained standing, smiling at the three assassins.

“How gauche,” he smirked, pulling out his gun.

Demetrius, who was smiling with great pleasure, frowned slightly before firing again.

Thane dived to the right, shooting in the process. The bullet broke through the wood, leaving a hole in the wall.

Instantly, Kaito and Leighton sprung out of the shadows, firing.

Thane easily dodged the bullets, laughing. He rolled to the side, throwing three daggers. The moonlight from the window glinted on the silver blades of the daggers as they shot through the air, each one expertly aimed at the assassins’ throats.

Kaito back-flipped as Leighton dove to the side, catching the dagger in her hand. Demetrius let out a shout before lunging backward, the dagger narrowly missing his head.

“I thought you could have done better than that,” Thane’s voice was dangerously close to Demetrius’s ear.

His eyes widened as pain shot through him, the hilt of Thane’s dagger in his gut.

“That’s what you get for going too fast,” Thane laughed, a sadistic look in his eye.

“He’s getting away!”

But it was already too late. The sound of water splashing echoed through the night as the assassin’s scrambled to the edge.

Demetrius clutched his stomach, groaning but still standing.

“We have to go after him,” he said through clenched teeth.

“You can’t fight like this!” Leighton grabbed his hand, stopping him from him from jumping.

“Let go!” he growled and pushed past her, leaping off of the Silver Moon.

Leighton shook her head.

“Bastard,” she muttered as she slung off her backpack, preparing for the dive.

And then the yacht exploded.

The two assassins were hurled into the air, pivoting forward, hot air racing behind them, propelling them into the water.

The water was spine-tingling cold and Leighton found herself momentarily dazed. She swam upwards, breaking the surface of the water, and breathing deeply. She could see Kaito’s head bobbing next to her and Demetrius a few yards to her left.

Pieces of the Silver Moon plopped all around her, some pieces still alight. The flames licked greedily at the wood, the crackling an oppressive roar. There was also the sound of hissing as the water cooled the fire into steam, a steady column of smoke coming from behind them.

She ducked just in time, a large of piece of what was the door, catapulting into the water, grazing her slightly and causing her to bleed. She swam back to the surface, getting a bearing of their surroundings.

The lights of the harbor twinkled to her left, a dark expanse of the ocean to her right, with lit pieces of the yacht flickering around her.

“You guys okay?” she asked, her voice echoing in the night.

In the distance, she could hear the sirens of the police but they were still far away.

“Yeah,” came Kaito’s voice but Demetrius stayed silent.

“Demetrius,” she called out, swimming towards where she last saw him.

He was nowhere to be seen.

“Where the hell is he?!” Leighton cried, her voice slightly panicked.

Suddenly there was the sound of trashing to her right. She could make out Demetrius’s gun before she heard the shot, her friend’s body going limp.

“Demetrius!”

Her scream rang out in the night and she dove towards him, grabbing his collar as she saw a flash of Thane’s bald head.

Kaito dove toward the drug dealer but Thane was already gone, flashing him a grin.

Thane reappeared behind Leighton, the cold metal of a gun against his head as he held a dagger to her throat.

“Surrender,” she hissed, her voice cold and stinging.

Thane chuckled softly, his lips grazing her skin as he whispered into her ear.

“I would say the same.”

She felt something heavy dragging her down and realized they were her combat, army boots, stuck in the rope of what used to be the yacht’s mast. She wanted to cry out but then she was dragged under, water choking her lungs. Demetrius’s body floated away from her, slowly drifting downwards.

She squirmed desperately, trying to unlatch the ropes but with no avail. It was felt as if her lungs were going to collapse, screaming for the much needed oxygen. Black circles danced in front of her eyes as precious bubbles of air escaped from her lips.

We failed, we’re dead.

She closed her eyes as the final bubbles of air escaped from her lips, her eyes catching a glimpse of hand reaching out for her.

You.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, her body pressed against her rescuer. She could feel his muscles effortlessly glide as he pulled them both to the surface. Their faces broke through the surface of the water, his fair hair glistening in the moonlight. Her eyes widened as he turned to face her, the moonlight playing with his features.

“Who are you?” her voice was weak and strained as the darkness slowly claimed her.

The last thing she saw was a gun, dangerously close to her head, and a bullet barreling towards her head.


She woke up coughing, water splashing on the wood of the deck beneath her.

“Look, she’s awake,” Kaito’s familiar voice rang in her head as the dizziness subsided.

Leighton could make out Kaito and Demetrius in the dark as she slowly stood up, clutching the post next to her.

“Where’s Thane?” she asked, stepping towards them.

Demetrius smiled and pointed to a road ahead of them.

“He ran that way, wanna go?”

They were already racing, their legs thundering softly down the street as they trailed the drug dealer, one thought set in their minds.

Kill, kill, kill.

They swerved around the corner, leaping over the stone wall, their guns drawn.

That was when they met a hail of bullets.

Kaito gave out a cry as he went down, blood pooling out his leg.

Demetrius plunged forward, firing at a figure at the end of the alley. Leighton rolled to the left, crouching behind a dumpster as shrapnel pelted down upon them.

“Where the hell is this coming from?!” Demetrius yelled, firing at Thane.

She ducked just in time to miss a bullet, which pinged against the trash can.

“It’s good to see you again sweetheart,” the familiar voice made her stop cold, her fingers loosely around the trigger of her gun.

“Thane,” she didn’t need to turn around but the dealer laughed, his breath tingling her neck.

“I wouldn’t shoot if I were you,” Thane warned, eyeing Demetrius, who had his gun cocked towards Thane.

Thane’s arm was around Leighton’s neck, her face slowly turning blue.

“Or else she’ll die.”

“I think that’s clear enough, jackass.”

The voice came out of nowhere and everywhere, resonating and vibrating throughout the alley.

“Who the hell are you?!” Thane shouted, his eyes shifting everywhere.

A sudden gale of wind whipped around them, buffeting them backwards.

An ear-splitting wail, the sound of metal and steel grating against one another, a sound that caused a person’s teeth on edge,