Knives in the Dark

[Storm Hawks Legion]

here is my first book, and yes marines will come into it, and be a major part, I just haven't introduced them yet

 

*Thump Thump Thump*

his eyes flew open almost as quick as his grabbed a Laspistol of his nightstand. An instant later the bed exploded with another round of knocking and he hit the ground at a crouch before standing up, tucking the pistol into the back of his pants, the only garment he was wearing. he started to walk to the door and muttered

"This better be good to wake me up at 3am."

when the next round of knocking came he was close enough to feel the vibrations as the door shuddered in its frame.

*Thump Thump Thump Thump*

he opened the door to find a shotgun pointed at him, that was all that registered. Training asserted itself and the shotgun discharged. He felt the buckshot rip through his gut, he lost all sensation and began to topple, he knew one thing; the pistol was back in his hand, and ready to be fired. He pulled the trigger, twice. he saw his assassin, he was wearing the blue and red of the PDFs with the regimental, squad and rank insignias cut or sanded off. The PDF pulled the drew the pump back on the shotgun, an empty cartridge erupted from the breach. Twin comets of red light completed their juorney from the pistol to the PDF assassin's midriff, the first extinguished itself in his gut just below the naval, the second was cut by the flak jacket. The shotguns pump returned forward forcing another round into the chamber, he released it at the falling figure of his victim but before it reached home the dead mans pistol spoke one last time, the body hit the floor an instant before the second salvo peppered his chest while the third pistol round missed its target's head by a foot.

 

"Oh crap"

"Oh that's not good"

I sat in the lift as it ground slowly downward and gingerly lifted the flak jacket from my chest and examined the the smoldering hole just below my naval.

"Oh :)"

my head lolled back as the lift ground to a halt. The door slid back with a squeal, signaling my return to consciousness. I staggered out onto the darkened street, leaving behind a shotgun, empty cartridge in the chamber, and a red flak jacket, siting in a pool of my blood. My blue jumpsuit rapidly welling scarlet as the hole started pouring blood.

"I don't get paid near enough for this job."

I stumbled into a dark alley looking for the door in the darkness, found it and pulled it open, and dtumbled inside. I reached for the light switch and was rewarded with a jolt as my hand conected with the exposed wiring

":)."

On the second try I found the switch in amonst the frayed and damaged wires. The activation of the switch signalled a flash of light and the *Pop* of a breaking bulb.

"oh you have got to be :cussing me."

but the closet sized room remained in darkness.

Without the help of the light finding the med kit was an impossible feat in and of itself but I somehow managed to find it and started to bandage my wounds when a Black car pulled into the alley.

"Oh no"

I pulled a pistol from its holster hanging from the doorknob and waited in the door, still holding the pad of gauze to my gut with one hand. The car window rolled down and my employer's voice sounded out;

"I presume from your wounded return that you at least found the target."

"how does he know I'm hurt? how does he know I'm back?" and in a higher voice

"I found 'em, so did my shotgun."

"Which you then forgot at the crime scene, along with a flak jacket and a liter of your own blood."

I shrugged,

"I'm an assassin not janitor."

"No. your a murderer. Do you know what the difference is?" a short pause as he pretended to wait for a response to his rhetorical question before continuing.

"An assassin cleans up after himself, a murderer makes his employer, me, clean up after him, which is more trouble than your worth."

"Alright, pay me and I'm out of your hand."

"I don't think your getting the point; You did a dis-satisfactory job, you're fired, I don't pay you."

"Then I'll kill you and take it out of your hide."

"I was hoping you'd say that..."

and with that a hand emerged from the car window, an autopistol in his grip. It was pointed at the middle of my chest through the darkness, and he pulled the trigger.

 

tell me what you think, I'll be back

[Dosjetka]

Hm...well I like it quite a bit. :lol:

It's good and there's some nice suspense. There are a few things that I don't understand (like "Why did the chap get killed?", etc...) but I'm sure (and hope) that they will be answered later on.

Keep it up, it looks really good! ;)

 

++Over++

[Storm Hawks Legion]

alright I'm finally back for a second installment;

 

"What the :D is it this time?"

the exclamation came from a grizzled face pulling on a cigar. The faces name was Sturn, Lieutenant Marcof Sturn.

"Watch your mouth." said a short, brown haired mouse of a man.

"Don't Toil with me Dick" Sturn walked past his attendant forcing Richard to walk with him. Richard barely missed walking into a pillar as he tried to read and walk at the same time

"You remembered Grandmarshall Haig?"

"ye he's a real prick, Emperor knows how he made Grandmarshall."

"He's not any more...he's dead"

"Good for him, why does that involve me? why is it my business if he "partied hardy" till his heart blew."

"It's our problem because that "Party guest" was a P.D.F. carrying a shotgun."

"Not one of my men, even if it was I'd be the last to know."

"We have him in custody but he isn't saying anything and yes, he is one of yours, and yes you are the last to know."

"I'm a Lieutenant not an Interrogator."

"Yes but the Interrogators are getting nothing and we need something before the Arbites come to grab him, and we can expect to hear the tromp of their boots any minute now."

"...Whats his name?"

"Hess."

Sturn stopped and tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes in pain.

 

"Alright Hess.""Why'd you do it." Marcof spun the chair and sat leaning forwards resting his elbows on the back of the chair. across a small table Hess sat shackled to another chair, he looked from his lieutenant, a man he trusted with his life, to the commissar, cold and immovable, hovering behind Sturns shoulder, and then to the two baton armed guards at his own shoulders, the small pool of light thrown from the lamp suspended from the ceiling above the table revealed no others to him, but he knew that there were more listening. He cast a pleading look at his Lieutenant, "Get me out of here" he thought, but his mouth said nothing.

"Look Hess I can't help you unless you help me, why did you kill Haig?"

Hess swallowed hard but said nothing.

"Come on Hess!" exasperation leaked into Sturn's voice

"Dammit Hess answer me!"

Hess cast a pained look, and it had nothing to do with the pair of holes in his gut.

"Alright Hess, if your not gonna help yourself I can't help you." Sturn stood up before continuing;

"You are hereby charged with Insubordination, Assaulting a superior officer, Away Without Leave, Theft of Planetary Defense Force Property, Disobeying Orders and Assassination."

"They're gonna kill you Hess."

"They're gonna tear you limb from limb. I can help you, give me something. Give me your employer, give me him and you can walk out of here a free man, he'll be the one getting fried and you can walk out of here a free man, I'll fast track your resignation and you can walk out of this building and be long gone when the :cuss hits the fan, no chains, no shackles and no arbites."

"I know you didn't do this by yourself Hess, you don't take a dump unless your getting paid."

Hess glanced desperately at the Commissar, "leave you arrogant prick, you've been here for seventeen hours straight!"

"Why are you protecting your employer Hess? he shot you, is that the kind of man you want to die for? is it Hess?" Sturn leaned over on the back of his chair, Hess relented, knowing that either way he was doomed, and would never make the gallows. he took in a deep breath and knew he was only going to get that one...

"Haig was a traitor, a member of a chaos group known as the black hands trying to bring down the system," the Commissar uncrossed his arms, drawing his bolt pistol from its shoulder holster.

"I was hired by the Lockshield under..."*Clack*

*Clack Clack*

Hess sat in his chair gasping as the three holes in his chest began vomiting blood and his head slowly rolled back, the gasping stopped.

 

 

I'll be back, again

[Dosjetka]

This is good. I really enjoy it. I'm not sure if it's intended but I'm very confused, yet I'm happy I am. It adds something good to the story. Good work, keep it going :lol:

[Storm Hawks Legion]

can you explain your confusion? I would like to know where I'm going to lose people.

next installment;

 

Smoke issued from the barrel of the Commissar's bolt pistol. Sturn sat there without moving a muscle as the Commissar exited the room, holstering his bolt pistol on the way. Sturn followed him out and demanded;

"Why'd you do that?" Sturn's eyes were glazed over and he was staring through the back of the Commissar's head, trying to bore a hole through it with his eyes.

The Commissar kept walking, forcing Sturn to do the same.

"The man was obviously telling lies, a secret organization, here? not possible, let alone two at war with each other! Plus, even if there was, don't you think we would be fighting them with tanks in the streets rather than knives in the dark?"

Sturn stopped and stared at the Commissar retreating form for a moment. The Commissar finally turned a a corner in the long, dark corridor. Sturn turned and watched the two guards hauled Hess' body down to the furnace and wondered;

"They gonna write this up as a training accident to? or is this gonna be just another skeleton in a closet with no explanation."

[Dosjetka]

My confusion is cleared up. I didn't understand why he had been killed (Hess) but now I do so it's fine. It gives something to think about while waiting for the next part :)

[Storm Hawks Legion]

Glad that helped you Ludovic.

Part four;

 

"Arrogant moron, He's gonna get us killed."

Nikolas kept walking, his black Commissar's greatcoat swirled around him like a cloak

"How could he screw that up? he had one job to do; get Haig killed and kill the killer."

"Well he got one right, totally screwed up the other though."

"I'm going to have to talk to him about that."

He crashed through the double doors into the street.

 

"They know!" he slammed his fist into the table.

"Calm yourself Victor, they don't know anything."

"They know." victor repeated and continued,

"do you think it's a coincident that a day before we mobilize our general gets blown away? do you Gunther?"

Gunther made no attempt to hide the annoyance on his face as he replied;

"They have nothing to do with each other, Haig no shortage of enemies or debts, someone decided they were going to collect his oweance last night and that's all."

Victor looked around for support from the dozen or so other people around the table, and found none, Gunther continued;

"We will mobilize as planed, it is to late for delays now..."

Victor broke in

"Mobilize? How? our general is dead, any support from the PDF's you can kiss it goodbye, all we have is the Militia, a bunch of teenagers with single shot autoguns. we cannot mobilize!"

Gunther's look of annoyance dissolved into one of hate as he retorted;

"The PDF's will follow us, a new Grandmarshall will be appointed tonight, we give him Haig's orders and he will follow them. Whoever they choose will be merely a pawn, he won't even know who's side he's playing for. Now we have stayed to long, let us depart."

"Would you stay a moment, Victor."

Victor and Gunther both stayed seated as the rest of the cabinet scattered out the door. The two men regarded each other over the table, two clicks could be faintly heard.

"Are you losing your nerve Victor? you did after all start this little revolution if you remember."

"Under different circumstances! things have changed!"

"How have things changed, Victor."

"How have they stayed the same!"

"the wind still blows, the world still turns and question my authority again and you will be dining with Haig in whatever afterlife awaits men who fail."

"your authority? who gave you authority? Me."

with that Victor stood rapidly and stormed for the door out of the disused board room, he looked up one the way out to the Aquila hanging from the wall, a sheet draped over it but its shape still visible.

"What have I done?" he whispered and went out the door.