Renegade

Chapter 9

     Dreams floated through his subconscious like fragmented glass.

     "No!" Ben screamed when he found out his family was gone.

     "I'm going to kill you!" Ben had shouted at the Black Dragon operatives.

     "They knew not the element of gold," the man, who Ben considered to be the Silver Assassin, had taunted.

     A news story floated into Ben's mind. It was news coverage on the Silver Assassin showcased a year prior. The female news anchor was doing a report on the murderer:

     "Today is a cause for remembrance as political activist, and father, Jeremy Clarkson was assassinated today. Reports indicate that the mysterious use of a toxic element turned his skin a silvery-grey, and an autopsy has revealed that the element was the cause of death due to asphyxiation. But the question still remains unanswered: who is this silver assassin?"

     The Silver Assassin...

     The name echoed throughout Ben's subconscious. After the story "Who is the Silver Assassin" aired, the name had stuck. The figure was thought responsible for dozens of major murders throughout the country, but primarily in New York City. Strangely, the man seemed to only target mafia, gang, or terrorist members. This caused for some to revere him as a "hero", yet Ben had always remained firm on his stance that the man was a murderer.

     Ben's eyes slowly opened, his left one slightly swollen shut by a bruise. His chest was humming with pain, but Ben was sure it was only due to bruises. The rest of his body hurt like hell, so much so that he couldn't even get up. All the man could do was lay in his motel bed, wishing that the near-unbearable pain would go away.

     As he continued to lay, his mind wandered to another news piece interviewing a person who had actually claimed to see the Silver Assassin.

     "He was huge," the man had said. "I would say, well over six feet tall and just ripped with muscle. The shadow made it hard to see anything, but it kinda looked like he was wearing a mask or something. I-I could hear his breathing too. It was deep, but muffled for some reason..."

     That was the catch, nobody had actually fully seen the Silver Assassin. There were news stories, and there were some people who caught glimpses. However, he was a man who worked in the obscure. Ben must've been the first to fully see him, but the only thing that tipped him off about his identity was by what he said:

     "They knew not the element of gold."

     There was a vibrating sound from off to his left, and Ben grudgingly rolled over to pick up his old flip-phone. The caller was unknown, but he answered it anyway. Before the receiver was even touching his ear he already knew who he was talking to.

    "Mr. Cain," a familiar voice, possibly Mr. Chase's, "have you obtained the artifact?"

     "What? How did you get this number?" Ben grunted. "I mean...yes, and I nearly got killed for it too. You didn't tell me there were others..."

     There was a moment of silence, and voices could be heard in the background.

     "Hello?" Ben asked. "Why am I being called?"

     "You need to hand the artifact over immediately," Mr. Chase demanded. "You have one hour to meet us in the same building we met at two days ago. We will begin the exchange then. Come alone."

     The receiver went dead, and Ben flipped the phone shut. He slowly sat up in bed, heavily breathing as he did so, and searched around on the floor. The suitcase lay at the foot of the bed, tipped over on its side. Ben crawled out of his bed and went over to make sure the artifact was still intact.