Devils Own ( A Steam Punk and Mystic Tale ) 2.8

2.8

The rendezvous spot was in a farmyard outside the city, but Irina had moved the volunteers to re-direct the recruits and masters to the new one to the warehouse at the docks as instructed by her father. The warehouse was selected as it was in a secluded section of the docks, and Irina reckoned being in the lion’s den was safer than outside it. The place was about three hundred in length and fifty feet across with a height of fifty feet. There was the overhead crane which served the length of the warehouse. The place was used to store the unclaimed or damaged shipments. These were mostly smaller crates and stored on the multilevel racks. The Guild had acquired the warehouse and salvage the unclaimed the crates. Irina had also stored some of her unused inventions there. She often come there and had once told her father that the place would do for a safe house. He had agreed but it was only to be kept between them the knowledge. She had asked but her father refused to acknowledge.

On the farmyard, Irina was concerned with the knowledge that Master Halen had betrayed them. She had send out scouts ahead and confirmed that the farmyard was under observation by the troopers. Not all the recruits were saved as some did slip through the scouts and reached the farmyard. They were captured or killed if they resist.

“Senior Irina, we must help them.” A young recruit asked of her. “Master Galeb would have done it.”

Irina looked to the survivors; they were down to only a handful of them which she had managed to steer clear away. Most of the seniors were dead or captured. The ones that were there were the recruits and the administration staff or observers. There were some which were wounded. Some of them had arrived with no weapons, citing that they to assist in carrying their wounded. She had arranged for them food and drinks from the cache in the warehouse, and sent out scouts to check for troopers movements.

“Senior Irina, I have a sister who could be at the farmyard.” A young recruit voiced her concern but Irina had to ignore her for the sake of the others.

“There are forty of us, with sixteen others of the followers. None of the Masters had arrived yet, and only one other assassin had.” There was one surviving assassin with them but he was wounded in a previous task. He was in the Infirmary and was under medical care. He was one of the earlier ones to be evacuated, but was left at a secured house prior to be re-directed there.

Irina was lost as to what was to be done after they were fed. She had no experiences of leading such tasks. She looked to the wounded assassin but he was incapable of leading. She was to seek for more faces, when she heard the call. 

“Troopers!”

It was one of the scouts she had posted. The rest on hearing of that started moving to leave. Irina held up her hands and shouted out.

“Stay calm!” Irina raised her voice to assert command. “We need to stay calm.”

“Senior Irina, we must leave before they arrived.” An observer spoke up. She was older than Irina, and had served there when she was deemed unqualified to be an assassin.

“Yes, Martine. We will. But we will do it my way.” Irina told the elder Observer. “There is an exit at the rear of the place. It leads to the pier where we have a few boats. Take as many as you and leave.”

Irina walked to the rear of the warehouse but she stopped several recruits. She needed them to set up some traps for the troopers. She told them to pick at the crates for anything they can use. They went to work with her, stringing up the trip wires and the grenades.

The attack came in an unexpected manner. It was an assassin, not of the Devil’s Own but of the Dark Princes. He had dropped in via the warehouse roof. He rappelled down, and stood there on the flooring. Unlike the Devil’s Own, the assassin was dressed in a soldier uniform but it was all covered in dark camouflage. The face was covered with a face mask that also held a gas filter. The assassin weapons were the twin las-tols, and the rifle on the back with the bandolier of bullets. He unslung the rifle and leveled it at the crates. He was targeting the recruits, and got his first victim in the back of the neck. That shot alerted the others.

Irina heard the shot and rushed to the location. She was still armed with the las-tol, and aimed it at the assassin. The laser missed the assassin who had moved in time to avoid it. The later had leveled the rifle to fire at her. She jumped for cover, but another recruit had walked into the shots.

“Damn you!” Irina took another shot with her las-gun, but the assassin had moved. The assassin was not wasting time and took from his vest belt a number of gas grenades containing the mustard gas with the hands raised. He threw it at Irina, but it was captured in midair by a swinging form.

“Stand down!” The voice came from the newly arrived figure. The figure stepped out, ragged in the torn uniform and had lowered his right hand. The dagger came from the vambrace on the top of his right wrist. It flew across the floor and struck the Princes’ assassin in the heart. The assassin fell to the knees and then laid flat on the face.

 “Kassius?” Irina muttered out. She was surprised to see the Assassin standing there. He looked worn out after his long imprisonment. She rushed into his arms, and held him. The recruits on hearing his name approached the legendary assassin.

“We need to get away.” Kassius spoke up in pained voice. He smiled at them, and got them to follow him to the escape tunnel to the pier. They met up with the others there. Kassius took over the command and directed them to the pier. He gave them direction to the ship that was docked at the bay.

“We are going sailing.” Kassius spoke up. “To the islands. The Islands Kingdom.”