The Complete Assassin Episode 8
TIME: 7pm.
Steven stood behind the wheel of a small white boat, driving slowly with his eyes set on the building not too far away in the distance. After driving for some time, he stopped the boat in the middle of the lake at a spot he had marked earlier. He went inside the cabin and took out his back pack. Standing on the edge of the boat, he took out his binoculars. The Haven was the getaway hideout for anyone who had the financial strength to pay for its use. It was built at the end of a small lake with only one way in or out. Different kinds of high profile events usually held in the Haven because of the secrecy it brings, the absence of press and the security it affords. The walls surrounding the Haven were high and huge with spikes at the top of each brick. There was a four lane bridge specially constructed to lead from the free way into The Haven. The bridge was always heavily guarded and had four different checkpoints. There were surveillance cameras and also very highly trained German Shepherds who looked very menacing. The Henderson Group of Companies was having its special AGM and hotshots from all its sectors would be in attendance. It wasn’t a very large gathering. However, Mr. Emmanuel Bright who was the Chief Scientist of PharmaLabs would be in attendance.
Steven had carefully stalked his prey and waited for the right moment to strike. He had planned to visit him at home, maybe take him out from a roof top. But Sensei had not given him the opportunity to. However Steven continued to track him and tail him. Now, he was going to give Mr. Emmanuel Bright what he really deserved; death in cold blood. Mr. Emmanuel was involved in all kinds of scientific endeavors. Genetic re-engineering, transgender modifications, chemical and mechanical preparation of virus strands. He had the backing of the government to carry out his experiments which included using humans as specimens. Three years back, Mr. Emmanuel had created the X-virus which caused rapid dehydration and prevented cellular reproduction. With the government’s approval, he had activated the virus in Northern Mauritania, leaving hundreds of people dead in its wake.
As usual, the government proposed a vaccine for the deadly X-virus to the affected region and made huge amounts of money from the sales of the Anti-X drug. Now, they were going to meet and plan on how to make more money from the death of innocent souls. Steven was not going to allow that to happen again.
Steven stripped off his clothes leaving only his underpants. He took out a black leather swimsuit from the back pack and put it on. A patrol light which was designed to detect movement and human temperature scanned the water from the top of The Haven. Steven had memorized the timing. The light took 4 seconds to make a complete revolution and get back to its original point. He had less than that time to get into the water. He wore his goggles, gloves, flippers and other accessories. He looked at his wristwatch – 19:13hrs. He was seven minutes ahead of time. He set his digital wristwatch to thirty minutes and activated the countdown timer. As the patrol light moved past him again, he dived noiselessly into the water.
Steven swam underwater as fast as he could, pausing intermittently to avoid being caught by the bright light of the patrol sensors. The water was ice cold and was beginning to get to his joints, but he had gone through more excruciating pain so he endured it. He got to the west wall of The Haven and got out of the water. The scope of the patrol light did not include the walls of the building. Steven took off his goggles and tried to catch his breath. He looked at his watch again – 19:18hrs. He dumped the flippers into the water and held the goggles in his hand. Moving carefully, he tiptoed to the back entrance of the fortress. There was a guard, holding a submachine rifle across his chest. He was a few inches shorter than Steven and he leaned against the back entrance into The Haven. The back entrance was for secret guests who were to be sneaked into The Haven but there were not going to be any that night. Steven had expected at least two armed men at the door. There was just one. He could not have wished for anything better. He made his move.
He picked a tiny stone and threw it far into the water beyond the guard and dodged quickly. The guard was immediately alert. Pointing his gun, he looked left and right watching to see where the disturbance had come from. As the man was about relaxing his guard, Steven threw another pebble far into the ocean the same way he had previously. The guard was now at full alert. He walked away from Steven to his right, trying to find out the source of the disturbance. He was now walking towards Steven now. Steven hid in the shadows, waiting for the guard to turn the bend.
The guard’s footsteps drew closer and Steven’s heart beat faster. Steven held the plastic goggle firmly in his right hand as he anticipated the guard. The guard pointed his rifle first before turning the bend towards Steven. That fraction of a second was enough for Steven.
Steven moved forwards with lightning speed and with all the strength he could muster, he wiped the guard’s hands with the goggle very hard. The guard let out a soft cry. Before the guard would regain composure, Steven kicked the gun away from his hands and punched the guard in the throat. As the guard was trying hard to swallow saliva, Steven went behind him and twisted his neck. The guard fell in a heap. After throwing the corpse into the water, he changed into the uniform the guard was wearing and carried the submachine rifle. He checked the time. He had twenty minutes left.
Shutting the back door behind him, Steven went into The Haven.
*******
Stella got to her hotel room tired and hungry. She had driven around in circles, taking different routes and finally heading up to her hotel. A journey that would ordinarily have lasted about ten minutes took her almost an hour. The precautions were necessary. She had just beaten a burglar to a pulp. Sensei had called her. She did not know who was watching or who was stalking, so she had to be careful. Without dropping her bag, she scrutinized the living room, the toilet and the bathroom. She was beginning to pack her bags when her phone rang again. She took the phone out from her purse and checked the caller ID. Nothing was showing on the screen, yet the phone kept ringing. She knew who it was.
“Hello Sensei.” Stella said.
“At ease agent. Shadow Prime is currently on the bank of the Lagoon Club waterfront. I don’t know what he plans but something tells me it’s not a fishing trip. There is a black Porsche Cayenne waiting for you outside. Take it, drive down to The Haven and be invisible. The logistics of this mission are being uploaded to your cloud drive. You will get further instructions on your way. Stay alert. Over.”
Stella opened her bag, put on fake gloves that changed her fingerprints and wore a red wig. She opened another compartment of her briefcase and brought out a silenced .45 automatic. She put it behind her back and went downstairs, exiting the hotel.
Nothing was going to happen to her brother. Nothing.
*****
“Everything good boys?” A thick voice said.
“Everything clear here at the bridge sir.” Someone replied.
“All clear at the main entrance.” Another voice said
“We are clear inside. I got my eyes on all agents and everything is ok.” Yet a different voice said.
“Sam? What’s your status?” The first voice asked.
Steven fought the urge to respond. He took his hand to his left ear, applying pressure on the tiny transmitter there so he could hear all that was being said.
“Sam come in, over.” The voice said again.
Sam’s body would have been miles gone by now, washed away into the Atlantic. Steven kept quiet. At this time he was walking through a small corridor. He saw lights coming from a half open door not too far from where he was. From the floor plans he had studied earlier, that was the kitchen. He paused. He planned to be very careful tonight. Operation Mode was total stealth. He was not to shoot a single bullet nor raise any form of suspicion. He was to go in unseen, and leave like air. However, things were beginning to look like they would take another course as Sam, the guard who he had earlier disarmed and killed, was being called for. He propped the submachine rifle in his hand and listened again.
“Okay boys. Looks like Sam has decided to take a breather. Check in time is thirty. If anyone does not report then, we’ll run a code blue. Keep your eyes open boys. I don’t expect any activity tonight anyways. Enjoy yourselves. Over and out.” The commander said.
Steven relaxed.
He dropped the gun carefully by the wall and walked slowly to the kitchen back door. There were two chefs busy at the burners. He needed to go past the chefs and into the Laundry room. He waited at the door, making sure he was not seen. He checked the time. He had eighteen minutes left. Two minutes later one of the chefs walked out of the kitchen, carrying two trays heavy with meals. Steven reacted quickly. He moved away from his hiding and walked majestically into the kitchen. As he walked past the chef, he did not utter a word. He continued walking confidently.
“Hey Sam. Why the mood? You no wan greet your padi again?” The Chef asked.
Steven froze. He turned.
“My friend is that the job you were called here to do?” Steven blurted rudely.
“Oga, sorry o. Who are you? And where is Sam?” The chef asked.
Steve had to do something. He could walk out on the chef and go about his business. It was risky. The chef could go looking for Sam and raise an alarm. His mission would be over before he even started. He had made contingency plans but he was too close now to call off the strike. He thought for a few seconds and replied.
“I am Corporal Musa. I just relieved Sam.” Steven said walking towards the chef.
“Hmm. Okay. Is Sam still at the duty post?” The chef asked.
Damnnit!! The Chef was beginning to ask too many questions. Steven removed a card from the inner pocket of his uniform and pointed it at the chef’s face. As he moved his face closer to get a closer view of what was written on the card, Steven slapped him forcefully. Before the chef could protest or react, Steven gave a right punch to his face, held him by the shoulders and lunged a huge right knee into his bowels. As the chef struggled to catch his breath and react, Steven hurriedly went behind him and tweaked an artery on his neck. The chef fainted.
Steve dragged his body into the corridor he was coming from, went back into the kitchen and locked the door with the key he found at the door. He threw the key into his pocket and continued on his way.
He walked in the shadows, avoiding the major corridors and going through the back entrance. He got to the side of the house where the window of the laundry room was located. He pushed up the glass barrier. It opened. The window was just a few feet higher than him, so he grabbed the window pane, pulled himself up, and hurled his huge frame through the window and entered into the laundry room. It was deserted. He did not expect to see anyone. He quickly made way to the ironing section and took out a tuxedo underneath a pile of folded clothes.
Getting out of his RRS uniform, he changed into the tux and straightened his bow tie. He looked at his wristwatch again. He had twelve minutes to round up whatever he had to do. He stepped out of the laundry room and made his way to the hall where the after party was holding. The ball room was dimly lit as everyone was on their feet, some with partners and others without. He mixed himself up with the crowd of people on the dance floor, taking a glass of wine from one of the trays passing by. As he moved his body to the rhythm of the house music rocking from the speakers, he tried to look for his victim.
As he turned to his left, swaying slowly to the music he caught Mr. Emmanuel walking into a VVIP suite in the company of three beautiful ladies.
“Bingo.” He said quietly to himself.
He walked carefully towards the VVIP suite where Mr. Emmanuel entered and saw that there were two guards present. He pretended to be tipsy and stumbled onto one of them.
“Hey. No one is allowed beyond this point sir. Please move away.” One of the guards said. He was incredibly huge with a pumped body and broad chests. The other guard watched silently as his partner tried to get rid of Steven but was not successful. They did not want to create a scene so they were trying to be very discrete about the affair.
As the large chested guard tried to push Steven away, Steven slumped acting like he was not in control of himself. He refused to get up and sat on the floor backing the wall. The guards looked around. Everyone was busy partying and no one paid attention to what was happening at that dark corner of the hall.
“Hey, Smart. Give me a hand here. Let’s dump this drunk somewhere he deserves.” The large chested guard said.
The second guard came over and with Steven in the middle, they both tried to lift him up and carry him away from that environment.
As they lifted him, Steven flicked his hands forwards and two treated tiny needles fell into his palms. In a flash, he inserted the needles into the back of the necks of the guards. They immediately became paralyzed.
He straightened his jacket and opened the door to the suite. He heard the shower running. There was no one on the bed. Obviously the three of them were in the shower.
Making his voice as thick as possible, Steven called out.
“Boss.” Steven said.
“Yes? What is the matter?” Mr. Emmanuel replied.
“You need to see this. It is urgent.” Steven replied, taking out a tiny handkerchief, laced with a deadly chemical from the pocket of his pants.
“Wait here ladies. I’ll be right back.” Mr. Emmanuel said, and stepped out of the bathroom. The girls giggled.
As he came out cleaning water from his face with a towel, Steven landed him a huge right on the chin. Before he could recover, Steven covered his nose with the handkerchief, pressing it firmly against his face.
Mr. Emmanuel struggled for a few seconds, throwing his legs about and trying to be free from Steven’s grip but Steven was just too strong for him. In less than a minute Mr. Emmanuel stopped struggling and became still. He was dead. It took him less than three minutes.
As carefully as he came in, Steven exited the room, walked past the incapacitated guards, and triggered the fire alarm. The DJ immediately stopped playing and the whole place turned into a fracas. There was commotion everywhere as the fire alarm continued to sound. People began hurrying to the exits. No one wanted to be caught in a fire. Amongst the throngs of people hurrying for the exits was Steven. He blended among the crowd and looked confused, even though he knew where he was going.
As he got outside, he made his way to the Parking Lot and located Car Park B. There was a white G-wagon parked at the far end of the lot. He got to the jeep and opened the passenger side. There was a lady in the driver seat.
“That was fast. You are seven minutes ahead of time Shadow Prime.” The lady said, checking her watch.
“Are you sure you didn’t abort mission?” The lady continued.
“Rebekah. Have you forgotten who I am?” Steven said and smiled.
“How can I?” Rebekah asked and continued “Come here.” she said.
Steven leaned forwards and they locked lips in a deep kiss that lasted twenty seconds. After they disengaged, Steve shifted his seat backwards and said to her,
“Let’s go home.”
They waited till cars began to move out of the premises and they joined the long queue of cars waiting to cross the bridge back to their various destinations
