9th September
9th September
7:00, Greybaum Headquarters
A dimly lit room sat alone in a large room on top of Greybaum industries. A large meeting table, with several men sitting at it, was the centre of a meeting. A dark haired man wearing a tuxedo stared outside of the window, smoking a cigar. One of his men spoke to him:
"Sir, you don't understand how dire this situation is. He's already killed five of our top agents, why will you not let us kill him already?"
"Because he's good. He's too good. You wouldn't stand a chance against him. After what he did to me three years ago... He has to have improved since then. Do you know how many people in this organisation he's killed? Twenty four. All of them were heavily guarded members. If that hasn't driven home the point yet that this man is more then capable of taking down us, then you need to wake up."
A painful silence fell upon the room. The head of their own organisation, doubted their ability to stop him. After a few minutes, one of the senior members called out:
"Then how do we stop him?"
The leader turned around to face him.
"It's simple. We all know his family died when he was 11. He only has them for a family. What do you think would happen to a man in a fight, with everything he ever cared for dead? He would lose all will to live. He would have no reason to kill me, and his anger will be his downfall. What I'm suggesting... is that we let him come to us. Then, I'll finally have my revenge. You all know what you have to do. Don't bring any attention to us at all, and leave no clues. I'll be playing my part in this. We have a job to do, and failure is NOT an option. Dismissed."
7:43, No More Heroes Apartment Rooftops
Rina stared out into the sky alone, taking in the relaxing environment around her. The soft, pristine snow hadn't melted, leaving a sense of serenity around her. But that wasn't what she was there for.
"Good morning Rina." Jake said to her. "I didn't know you would be up this early."
"I guess I just wanted to talk to you. You have a stage act going on tomorrow, don't you?"
"Heh, funny you would ask about that. One of our helpers has had to call in sick."
"You're... not suggesting I can come and help, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I? We'll need all the help we can get. Be at the Central Park by about lunch time."
"Thanks Jake. Have you seen any particularly shady looking men around lately?"
"Now that you mention it... There has been one in a dark suit keeping tabs on this building. I don't know why. Perhaps he has some business with someone in the building?"
"Could be. You never really told me about your master much, did you?"
"Guess I didn't. He calls himself Thomas Wood, and he works with some industry company or something. He's a quiet guy, but he's what helped me get my stage act. He's been out a lot lately, but he hasn't said why."
"Really? That's weird, but it's probably just a coincidence."
"Anyway, I should go. Remember, Central Park, lunch time, Ok?"
"Bye Jake." Rina called out, as she walked back inside to read for a while. Her conversation with Jake had brought up more questions though. Is there a connection with Chris and Thomas being out frequently and why does Jake know so much about this place, but so little about Thomas?
10:15, Chris' apartment
Chris had managed to drag himself out of bed, and sat in the living room and watched the news with Kristy to pass the time until he had to go to work. Rina walked in the room to talk to Chris.
"Hey Chris, I'll be going to Central Park at about lunch time."
"Central Park? That's where guy you talked to is training, right?"
"Yeah, turns out of the helpers called in late, so I'll be helping out for the day. Is that ok with you?"
"I don't see why not."
"Thanks Chris."
As Chris left for work, Kristy decided to go outside for a while, leaving Rina alone.
11:12, Fairview City Rooftops
Kristy had started to wonder around again aimlessly, hoping to find out more from the Umbreon she met yesterday. Eventually, she stopped for a few minutes to take a look at the pedestrians walking below. There were two shady looking men having a conversation, and although it was hard to pick out the whole conversation, she managed to hear a few key phrases:
"...She's going to Central Park, 12:00... I'll give you the signal..."
Kristy believed she might be about to hear something important, until she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Hey again." It was the Umbreon.
"Oh, hey. I never really asked for your name last time, did I? I'm Kristy"
"Just call me Zach. Looking at something?"
"Huh? Not really." Kristy lied. 'How the heck did he know I was listening to those people?' She thought to herself.
"Humph. Looked like you were paying attention to something. What brings you around here again?"
"It was to ask questions about you, actually."
"What, me? What's there to know? I don't talk much, I just travel around here."
"Really..." Kristy knew there was something else to this. 'Maybe this is a time being psychic helps...' Concentrating hardly, she began to read Zach's mind.
'Damn, I hope she hasn't heard about the fact I supply information to the other guys around here...'
"I think there's more to it then that isn't there?" Kristy confidently responded.
"Are you trying to bluff? I've told you all there is to know."
"Except for the fact you've been giving information out to other people."
"What... how... how did you find out?"
"I have my sources. Why do you know so much about this place?"
"I find it out for people that want to know. For example, your trainer is called Chris Hargreaves, lives in apartment 17 of No More Heroes Apartments, and you live there with him and a gardevoir named Rina."
"That's... worryingly impressive."
"Why's it worrying? I can assure you, I don't do this out of malicious intent or anything."
"Then what do you do it for? Surely you get something from this."
"My trainer usually hires me to find out this stuff."
"Is that your trainer down there?" Kristy said, nodding at the two shady men speaking to each other.
"... Yes, why?"
"Alright then... what do you want to do with us?"
"..." Zach remained speechless. "What? What do you mean?"
"Don't try playing innocent with me. You've been spying on us the whole time! We've spotted your trainer in the act several times!"
"Listen, what the hell are you talking about? This conversation's over." With this, Zach sprinted off. Kristy knew she was onto something here, especially how surprised he was when she asked him about him spying on them.
11:55, Central Park, Fairview Talent Show, Backstage
"Hey Rina, glad to see you turned up." Jake greeted her.
"It's not a problem. What do you need help with?"
"It's generally some help setting stuff up, but we need everyone to help, because we've only got an hour until the next act needs to rehearse."
A dark suited man stared at her direction from the spectating area, smirking slightly.
"I've got you right where I want you..." He muttered, picking up a small communication radio. "She's here. Take your position; I'll give you the signal."
As the crew moved the platforms into position, Rina helped to check all the safety procedures were in place.
"Obviously, this stuff is in case I do mess up, despite how unlikely that is."
"You're sounding a bit over confident Jake. Stuff can still go wrong no matter how good you are."
"Guess you're right. I've just been practicing so much; I just don't want to mess up with my first chance."
"Fire." The man said into the radio. Fortunately, they were unaware of the fact that Rina's psychic powers allowed her to see briefly into the future.
"JAKE GET DOWN!" Rina shouted out, pulling him to the floor.
"Rina, what are you doin-"
The bullet missed Rina by a few inches. She breathed a sigh of relief, and began to run off. Jake panicked and ran after Rina, whilst the stage crew descended to chaos.
"Damn it! She ducked!" The sniper yelled into his radio.
"How the hell..." The man muttered, switching his radio to all speak. "Target is on the run! I repeat, target is on the run! Don't let her escape alive!"
Rina and Jake frantically sprinted through the corridors backstage, whilst Jake desperately tried to communicate with her.
"RINA! What the devil's going on?" He shouted, keeping pace with Rina.
"Somebody's shooting at us! I saw into the future of that person firing, so I had to react!" Another shot fired at them, this one coming from behind, ricocheting off the wall.
"We can't run straight like this, go right!" Jake yelled, whilst their pursuers struggled among the crowd of panic stricken people. "Get to the roof tops; we might get ahead of them enough!"
As they dashed out of the building through the streets, several black vehicles pulled over, no doubt containing more of the pursuers.
"Why are they trying to kill us!?" Rina called out to Jake, as they frantically turned into an office complex.
"I don't know! But if this doesn't slow them down, I don't know what will!"
As the chase went into the maze of office cubicles, the killers began to lose track of where they were, until one shouted out;
"They're heading for the roof!"
Opting for the harder to aim staircases, Rina and Jake headed up the seemingly infinite flights of stairs, while gun shots from below desperately tried to get a cheap shot at them. As they burst through the door, they realised how cornered the top of the building really was.
"Now what?" Rina cried out, staring down at the roaring traffic below, as police units began to arrive on the scene.
"We jump!" Jake replied.
"Are you insane?"
"I'll pick you up and jump through the rooftops! It's our only chance right now!"
'Oh, what the hell, if it saves us...' Rina doubted, before bursting out: "Ok then."
Jake almost immediately picked Rina up, and began to move backwards to build up distance. Rina shut her eyes and hoped for the best, as Jake bounded forwards, and dived forwards. It felt like something out of a movie scene, except from the fact it was actually happening, and they made the jump by a few meters. As the pursuers burst through the rooftop door and fired yet more blind shots at them, one lone man walked onto a building across the road, several blocks away. Picking up the rifle he left on the floor, and scoping in with it, he began to take aim, until he felt the cold barrel of a revolver touch the back of his head.
"Wave goodbye to your head wanker." The saviour of Jake and Rina said, as the revolver's bullet pierced right through the killer's skull. Turning to leave, the man said;
"Heh. Never gets old."
After what seemed like a nightmare to them, Rina and Jake arrived back at the apartments, where Kristy was watching what was going on.
"Rina, what's happening?"
"We'll answer later, get inside!" Rina shouted back, as Jake put her back down, and they turned to barricade the door. Almost instantly, bullets clanged against the door, helplessly trying to penetrate the steel doors. The three ran inside Chris' apartment, and immediately locked the door behind them, and ducked away from clear sight of the windows. As Rina and Jake tried to put themselves together after what had just happened, Kristy felt the need to talk about what she had seen earlier.
"I found more information on which that Umbreon is. He's working for someone all right, gathering information. He ran off though when I mentioned them spying on us."
"Wait, did his name happen to be Zach?" Jake queried.
"Yeah, do you know him?"
"I think I can vouch for him when he says he means no harm."
"Really? I thought I was really onto something big then." Kristy sighed in disappointment. "But what the heck just happened?"
"I'll try and keep this short." Rina said. "We were shot at, we ran off, they gave chase, Jake had to carry me as he jumped over the buildings over here."
"Just like an action movie, then?"
"Pretty much." They were interrupted the door sliding open, and Chris running in, his suit slightly stained with blood.
"Work's over." He joked, barricading the door and windows. He took a look at Jake, who was sitting next to Rina. "Nice to meet you. I'm Chris, and I have just survived an assassination attempt."
"Nice to see you're staying optimistic about it." Jake chuckled.
"Anyway, looks like we'll be stuck in here for a few days. I called the police up; they've put the building in lockdown."
5:13PM, Chris' apartment
They eagerly watched the news, expecting some kind of report on the situation. It arrived.
'Just a few hours ago, what has been called as 'an attempted assassination', was foiled. The target was believed to be Jake, who was due to star in the Fairview Talent Show tomorrow, and local regular gardevoir Rina. The two eventually had to escape by rooftop, and were shot at again by a sniper, who has died from a gunshot to the back of the head. The man who killed him is unknown, but many of the killers have been arrested, and the apartment block, No More Heroes, has been placed under lockdown to protect them. More information as it arrives later.'
"Feels weird seeing yourself on television, doesn't it Rina?" Jake pointed out. "So what exactly happened to you, Chris?"
"These random guys with guns burst into the room, demanding my whereabouts. They shot one of my colleagues, which are where this stain is from, and I ran off."
Rina began to look down at the floor, and asked;
"Chris... is there something you're not telling us?"
"Why would I be hiding something from you? I was shot at, there's nothing to hide." Chris denied, with a look of concern on his face. As the evening drew in, they waited for the all clear from the police. Eventually, a knock on their door was made.
"Alright, they've left now. It's safe for you to come out." The policeman shouted through the door.
"Thanks, Masterson." Chris said, un-barricading the door so Jake could get back home.
"Looks like I'll see you guys later then. Let's hope this whole thing isn't going to happen again." Jake called out, as he turned to leave the door. "See you when I see you!"
The night closed in, and the only person still awake was Chris, talking on the phone.
"Ed, you need to tell me what the hell's going on. Who are these people, and how did they find out where I work? I need answers. NOW."
"We don't have any idea how they got their hands on the information. Our only guess is that there's an undercover agent working against you. Let us know who it is as soon as possible."
"Alright Ed. See you at work tomorrow." Chris, said, putting down the phone. "So, we have a traitor..."
Chris pulled out a sheet of paper, wrote a few things down about it, and put it in his cupboard. As he drifted off to sleep, nobody was aware that tomorrow, the seeds of revenge will have been sown, the truth uncovered, and soon their mystery of an assassin will become a desperate struggle for their lives. So don't go anywhere. Things are just getting started...Chapter End Notes:Apologies if this sounded a little too fast paced, but it's going to be one of the few action scene
7:00, Greybaum Headquarters
A dimly lit room sat alone in a large room on top of Greybaum industries. A large meeting table, with several men sitting at it, was the centre of a meeting. A dark haired man wearing a tuxedo stared outside of the window, smoking a cigar. One of his men spoke to him:
"Sir, you don't understand how dire this situation is. He's already killed five of our top agents, why will you not let us kill him already?"
"Because he's good. He's too good. You wouldn't stand a chance against him. After what he did to me three years ago... He has to have improved since then. Do you know how many people in this organisation he's killed? Twenty four. All of them were heavily guarded members. If that hasn't driven home the point yet that this man is more then capable of taking down us, then you need to wake up."
A painful silence fell upon the room. The head of their own organisation, doubted their ability to stop him. After a few minutes, one of the senior members called out:
"Then how do we stop him?"
The leader turned around to face him.
"It's simple. We all know his family died when he was 11. He only has them for a family. What do you think would happen to a man in a fight, with everything he ever cared for dead? He would lose all will to live. He would have no reason to kill me, and his anger will be his downfall. What I'm suggesting... is that we let him come to us. Then, I'll finally have my revenge. You all know what you have to do. Don't bring any attention to us at all, and leave no clues. I'll be playing my part in this. We have a job to do, and failure is NOT an option. Dismissed."
7:43, No More Heroes Apartment Rooftops
Rina stared out into the sky alone, taking in the relaxing environment around her. The soft, pristine snow hadn't melted, leaving a sense of serenity around her. But that wasn't what she was there for.
"Good morning Rina." Jake said to her. "I didn't know you would be up this early."
"I guess I just wanted to talk to you. You have a stage act going on tomorrow, don't you?"
"Heh, funny you would ask about that. One of our helpers has had to call in sick."
"You're... not suggesting I can come and help, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I? We'll need all the help we can get. Be at the Central Park by about lunch time."
"Thanks Jake. Have you seen any particularly shady looking men around lately?"
"Now that you mention it... There has been one in a dark suit keeping tabs on this building. I don't know why. Perhaps he has some business with someone in the building?"
"Could be. You never really told me about your master much, did you?"
"Guess I didn't. He calls himself Thomas Wood, and he works with some industry company or something. He's a quiet guy, but he's what helped me get my stage act. He's been out a lot lately, but he hasn't said why."
"Really? That's weird, but it's probably just a coincidence."
"Anyway, I should go. Remember, Central Park, lunch time, Ok?"
"Bye Jake." Rina called out, as she walked back inside to read for a while. Her conversation with Jake had brought up more questions though. Is there a connection with Chris and Thomas being out frequently and why does Jake know so much about this place, but so little about Thomas?
10:15, Chris' apartment
Chris had managed to drag himself out of bed, and sat in the living room and watched the news with Kristy to pass the time until he had to go to work. Rina walked in the room to talk to Chris.
"Hey Chris, I'll be going to Central Park at about lunch time."
"Central Park? That's where guy you talked to is training, right?"
"Yeah, turns out of the helpers called in late, so I'll be helping out for the day. Is that ok with you?"
"I don't see why not."
"Thanks Chris."
As Chris left for work, Kristy decided to go outside for a while, leaving Rina alone.
11:12, Fairview City Rooftops
Kristy had started to wonder around again aimlessly, hoping to find out more from the Umbreon she met yesterday. Eventually, she stopped for a few minutes to take a look at the pedestrians walking below. There were two shady looking men having a conversation, and although it was hard to pick out the whole conversation, she managed to hear a few key phrases:
"...She's going to Central Park, 12:00... I'll give you the signal..."
Kristy believed she might be about to hear something important, until she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Hey again." It was the Umbreon.
"Oh, hey. I never really asked for your name last time, did I? I'm Kristy"
"Just call me Zach. Looking at something?"
"Huh? Not really." Kristy lied. 'How the heck did he know I was listening to those people?' She thought to herself.
"Humph. Looked like you were paying attention to something. What brings you around here again?"
"It was to ask questions about you, actually."
"What, me? What's there to know? I don't talk much, I just travel around here."
"Really..." Kristy knew there was something else to this. 'Maybe this is a time being psychic helps...' Concentrating hardly, she began to read Zach's mind.
'Damn, I hope she hasn't heard about the fact I supply information to the other guys around here...'
"I think there's more to it then that isn't there?" Kristy confidently responded.
"Are you trying to bluff? I've told you all there is to know."
"Except for the fact you've been giving information out to other people."
"What... how... how did you find out?"
"I have my sources. Why do you know so much about this place?"
"I find it out for people that want to know. For example, your trainer is called Chris Hargreaves, lives in apartment 17 of No More Heroes Apartments, and you live there with him and a gardevoir named Rina."
"That's... worryingly impressive."
"Why's it worrying? I can assure you, I don't do this out of malicious intent or anything."
"Then what do you do it for? Surely you get something from this."
"My trainer usually hires me to find out this stuff."
"Is that your trainer down there?" Kristy said, nodding at the two shady men speaking to each other.
"... Yes, why?"
"Alright then... what do you want to do with us?"
"..." Zach remained speechless. "What? What do you mean?"
"Don't try playing innocent with me. You've been spying on us the whole time! We've spotted your trainer in the act several times!"
"Listen, what the hell are you talking about? This conversation's over." With this, Zach sprinted off. Kristy knew she was onto something here, especially how surprised he was when she asked him about him spying on them.
11:55, Central Park, Fairview Talent Show, Backstage
"Hey Rina, glad to see you turned up." Jake greeted her.
"It's not a problem. What do you need help with?"
"It's generally some help setting stuff up, but we need everyone to help, because we've only got an hour until the next act needs to rehearse."
A dark suited man stared at her direction from the spectating area, smirking slightly.
"I've got you right where I want you..." He muttered, picking up a small communication radio. "She's here. Take your position; I'll give you the signal."
As the crew moved the platforms into position, Rina helped to check all the safety procedures were in place.
"Obviously, this stuff is in case I do mess up, despite how unlikely that is."
"You're sounding a bit over confident Jake. Stuff can still go wrong no matter how good you are."
"Guess you're right. I've just been practicing so much; I just don't want to mess up with my first chance."
"Fire." The man said into the radio. Fortunately, they were unaware of the fact that Rina's psychic powers allowed her to see briefly into the future.
"JAKE GET DOWN!" Rina shouted out, pulling him to the floor.
"Rina, what are you doin-"
The bullet missed Rina by a few inches. She breathed a sigh of relief, and began to run off. Jake panicked and ran after Rina, whilst the stage crew descended to chaos.
"Damn it! She ducked!" The sniper yelled into his radio.
"How the hell..." The man muttered, switching his radio to all speak. "Target is on the run! I repeat, target is on the run! Don't let her escape alive!"
Rina and Jake frantically sprinted through the corridors backstage, whilst Jake desperately tried to communicate with her.
"RINA! What the devil's going on?" He shouted, keeping pace with Rina.
"Somebody's shooting at us! I saw into the future of that person firing, so I had to react!" Another shot fired at them, this one coming from behind, ricocheting off the wall.
"We can't run straight like this, go right!" Jake yelled, whilst their pursuers struggled among the crowd of panic stricken people. "Get to the roof tops; we might get ahead of them enough!"
As they dashed out of the building through the streets, several black vehicles pulled over, no doubt containing more of the pursuers.
"Why are they trying to kill us!?" Rina called out to Jake, as they frantically turned into an office complex.
"I don't know! But if this doesn't slow them down, I don't know what will!"
As the chase went into the maze of office cubicles, the killers began to lose track of where they were, until one shouted out;
"They're heading for the roof!"
Opting for the harder to aim staircases, Rina and Jake headed up the seemingly infinite flights of stairs, while gun shots from below desperately tried to get a cheap shot at them. As they burst through the door, they realised how cornered the top of the building really was.
"Now what?" Rina cried out, staring down at the roaring traffic below, as police units began to arrive on the scene.
"We jump!" Jake replied.
"Are you insane?"
"I'll pick you up and jump through the rooftops! It's our only chance right now!"
'Oh, what the hell, if it saves us...' Rina doubted, before bursting out: "Ok then."
Jake almost immediately picked Rina up, and began to move backwards to build up distance. Rina shut her eyes and hoped for the best, as Jake bounded forwards, and dived forwards. It felt like something out of a movie scene, except from the fact it was actually happening, and they made the jump by a few meters. As the pursuers burst through the rooftop door and fired yet more blind shots at them, one lone man walked onto a building across the road, several blocks away. Picking up the rifle he left on the floor, and scoping in with it, he began to take aim, until he felt the cold barrel of a revolver touch the back of his head.
"Wave goodbye to your head wanker." The saviour of Jake and Rina said, as the revolver's bullet pierced right through the killer's skull. Turning to leave, the man said;
"Heh. Never gets old."
After what seemed like a nightmare to them, Rina and Jake arrived back at the apartments, where Kristy was watching what was going on.
"Rina, what's happening?"
"We'll answer later, get inside!" Rina shouted back, as Jake put her back down, and they turned to barricade the door. Almost instantly, bullets clanged against the door, helplessly trying to penetrate the steel doors. The three ran inside Chris' apartment, and immediately locked the door behind them, and ducked away from clear sight of the windows. As Rina and Jake tried to put themselves together after what had just happened, Kristy felt the need to talk about what she had seen earlier.
"I found more information on which that Umbreon is. He's working for someone all right, gathering information. He ran off though when I mentioned them spying on us."
"Wait, did his name happen to be Zach?" Jake queried.
"Yeah, do you know him?"
"I think I can vouch for him when he says he means no harm."
"Really? I thought I was really onto something big then." Kristy sighed in disappointment. "But what the heck just happened?"
"I'll try and keep this short." Rina said. "We were shot at, we ran off, they gave chase, Jake had to carry me as he jumped over the buildings over here."
"Just like an action movie, then?"
"Pretty much." They were interrupted the door sliding open, and Chris running in, his suit slightly stained with blood.
"Work's over." He joked, barricading the door and windows. He took a look at Jake, who was sitting next to Rina. "Nice to meet you. I'm Chris, and I have just survived an assassination attempt."
"Nice to see you're staying optimistic about it." Jake chuckled.
"Anyway, looks like we'll be stuck in here for a few days. I called the police up; they've put the building in lockdown."
5:13PM, Chris' apartment
They eagerly watched the news, expecting some kind of report on the situation. It arrived.
'Just a few hours ago, what has been called as 'an attempted assassination', was foiled. The target was believed to be Jake, who was due to star in the Fairview Talent Show tomorrow, and local regular gardevoir Rina. The two eventually had to escape by rooftop, and were shot at again by a sniper, who has died from a gunshot to the back of the head. The man who killed him is unknown, but many of the killers have been arrested, and the apartment block, No More Heroes, has been placed under lockdown to protect them. More information as it arrives later.'
"Feels weird seeing yourself on television, doesn't it Rina?" Jake pointed out. "So what exactly happened to you, Chris?"
"These random guys with guns burst into the room, demanding my whereabouts. They shot one of my colleagues, which are where this stain is from, and I ran off."
Rina began to look down at the floor, and asked;
"Chris... is there something you're not telling us?"
"Why would I be hiding something from you? I was shot at, there's nothing to hide." Chris denied, with a look of concern on his face. As the evening drew in, they waited for the all clear from the police. Eventually, a knock on their door was made.
"Alright, they've left now. It's safe for you to come out." The policeman shouted through the door.
"Thanks, Masterson." Chris said, un-barricading the door so Jake could get back home.
"Looks like I'll see you guys later then. Let's hope this whole thing isn't going to happen again." Jake called out, as he turned to leave the door. "See you when I see you!"
The night closed in, and the only person still awake was Chris, talking on the phone.
"Ed, you need to tell me what the hell's going on. Who are these people, and how did they find out where I work? I need answers. NOW."
"We don't have any idea how they got their hands on the information. Our only guess is that there's an undercover agent working against you. Let us know who it is as soon as possible."
"Alright Ed. See you at work tomorrow." Chris, said, putting down the phone. "So, we have a traitor..."
Chris pulled out a sheet of paper, wrote a few things down about it, and put it in his cupboard. As he drifted off to sleep, nobody was aware that tomorrow, the seeds of revenge will have been sown, the truth uncovered, and soon their mystery of an assassin will become a desperate struggle for their lives. So don't go anywhere. Things are just getting started...Chapter End Notes:Apologies if this sounded a little too fast paced, but it's going to be one of the few action scene