Don't Forget

#16 A Date with the Assassin King

     Ty begrudgingly follows the others up the stairs. After an entire day of traveling, all he really wants is a warm bed. A bed that's not in an assassin's hang out spot.
Some trained killers these are. That one in all black fits the script, but Red is suppose to be dangerous? Really? And Mitch has forgotten all about the mission after finding this so called Vikk guy. The other assassin with him hasn't even talked yet. Ty is pretty sure that Max is the only one in the room that's even remotely sane.
     The mansion kinda gives him the creeps. With all this space, how many people actually live here? Ty feels displaced once again. Someone like him doesn't belong in a place like this. It's way out of his league to be going on top secret missions like this. He's nobody with nothing. Ty feels like he's being watched as soon as he enters the office.
     "So who needs killing again?", Red asks, sitting behind a desk. The sides of the chair cast shade his face in slight shadow. The assassin in black stays standing to the side of Red, but Vikk and Sub stay next to Mitch. Ty assumes that he's gonna have to share a horse at this point.
"Wells, I'm not really here for that", Barney nervously rubs his neck, "I've come to asks for a different sort of favor". Red glances at Ty and the rest of the soldiers.
"You know that none of us will go near the castle", he roles his eyes, "And if your soldier friends have come to kill me, I don't see what good it will do without a kingdom. You're a mouse walking into a lion's den". At some unseen signal, the assassin in black whips out their curved swords again. Ty flinches back, but no one else moves.
"Not sure where we would put you, but no one here is trying to kill you at this time", Mitch finally takes control of the situation. It's about time that he snapped out of his haze.
"You don't want me to kill someone, and you're not here to kill me. What are you here for?", Red asks. His entire attitude and tone has changed from a suspicious Deader to a curious child. It really creeps Ty out.
      "Short answer? We want you to train him", Mitch says, sticking his thumb at Ty. Red's gaze shirt to him, and Ty has to fight not to cower away. He's seen that predatory gaze all throughout his childhood.
     "What do you think of this one, Sky. He looks rather bland?", Red inclines his head to the assassin in black. The crime boss seems to be weighing the situation, but Ty is distracted when he starts childishly swinging his feet.
       "A little more observant then the rest. He couldn't see me, but was set on edge when I got near", the man, Sky, answers, "But also loud, uncoordinated, and mouthy".
     "I'd like to see you go through a day in soldier drills", Ty snarks back without thinking.
     "If this is going where I think it is, I just might take you up on that offer", Sky cooly replies. It takes much more then that to get a rise out of him.
     "Train a soldier to be an assassin, huh? It didn't work too well the last time", Red sighs. Vikk shrivels a little bit from that.
     "Ty here isn't exactly your average and well behaved soldier", Mitch argues, "We need troops that can move around better in secret if we ever hope to win this war. There's not enough soldiers to win flat out".
     "What's your price?", Barney flat out asks. Ty catches Sub's hands moving in a pattern. Sky nods in response. Some kind of sign language?
     Red leans back in the chair and glances at the ceiling before looking down in thought, starting to Mu,blue to himself. Ty can't help but wonder what a man like Red would even want. They're all standing in a mansion for crying out loud! The GoldenEye troops don't have anything to bribe a guy like this.
      "If you win this war..... and who ever you put on the throne", Red speaks up softly, "I want them to pardon me, and all assassins under this roof, of all crimes committed before and during the war". His voice has changed again. It's a softer side that seems to be stuck dreaming of the past.
      "A full pardon for all of you", Mitch states. It's high price for a troop of killers. Without speaking to Lachlan, Mitch isn't sure if it's worth it. Killers would go free of punishment.
     "I know it doesn't make it better, but this life wasn't an option for most of us. This is better then starving on the streets", Red speaks again in the softer tone, "Not everyone would be able to turn away from it now, but I'd like to give them and myself that chance".
     Ty is a little shocked with Red's reasoning. Of course he'd want to escape punishment, but would any of these killers really settle down and become farmers or something? Ty can't help but think back to his early days. Would he have signed away his soul if given the chance of constant food?
"I can't do anything more for murders after the war is over", Mitch gives in. It'll be less to sort out later, anyways. And only if they win back their kingdom. The squids are hunting down assassins just as GoldenEye used to do.
     "Great! Glad that we could get that settled", Red chirps up, his mood a lot more hyper, "Vikk and Sub are going with you, yes? Take Sky as well, but I do want that one back at the end of this".
Ty sees Sky flinch from across the room. It was barely noticeable, but still there. What happened to his brave words earlier? Sky doesn't try and argue with Red.
     "Of course. I hope to see you at the end of this war", Mitch nods, holding out his hand. Red smirks and shakes it. Mitch flinches and pulls his hand away, along with drooping strings of slime.
     "They fall for it every time! Now go away!", Red starts laughing. He nearly falls over as the group of seven leaves the room. Ty doesn't see the figure drop from the rafters to talk to Red. The two are going to get a bit closer to the action then they really should. Sky's on his way to become a Deader. It's not shocking that Red would send his trainer to report back on him.
"So I have to train you now?", Sky raises and eyebrow and looks at Ty. Attitude returned, apparently. Ty's already cringing at having him as a teacher. He still can't even see his face!
     "I guess so. Wasn't exactly my idea", Ty replies, shrugging.
"You agreed to it", Max shoots at him. The group falls silent on the way out of the manor, each trapped in their own thoughts. Ty is grateful that Mitch agreed for them to stay at the closest village. A night in the woods doesn't sound too inviting to him. Abandoned buildings are more his taste.
"Bad news. There's seven of us, but onlys five horses", Barney brambles. They've walked back out through the tunnels and past Red's rose bushes.
"Vikk and I can share, right?", Mitch volunteers while looking to his old unit member. Vikk nods in acceptance and climbs onto the horse behind him. Barney and Max mount without a word.
"I'm not the best horsemen. You'll probably slide off with me", Ty makes an excuse. He looks back in time to see Sub signing to Sky again.
The later nods and swings himself into the saddle. Sub gets on after him, but sits backwards? Sky pulls off his scarf and ties it around himself and Sub. Ty only watches in confusion after mounting. The mute lays out a slingshot across his lap after pulling it and some rocks out of pocket.
One of the best results, in Ty's opinion, is that he can finally see Sky's face. The assassin's hood can't cover everything. There's little scars on the sides of his jaw under his chin. Actually, Ty sees them on his hands, too. The rest of his face gives him a flash of guilt. But those cold eyes could never match up.
"What are you two doing?", Mitch asks them after Ty stays quiet.
"Sub wants to practice his shooting with that thing", Sky rolls his eyes, as if it's obvious.
"It's an assassin thing. Sky will get dragged off if he lets Sub fall", Vikk explains, "Good for a drunk Red".
      Ty cringes at the thought of someone like Red being drunk. Thankfully, there's no more conversation when Barney starts his horse off at a gallop. The street rat bit his tongue enough on the way here. True to his word, Sub pelts passing forestry with rocks. He almost looks board doing it.
The ride out of the jungle is actually quite peaceful. There's no clouds out that night, and the moonlight clears the way. It's a straight shot to the nearest town, but Barney leads down a few unnecessary turns that way they don't appear to be coming from the jungle. Ty starts to doze in the saddle before a rock is flung at his head.
     The town is nothing impressive. There's no wall or gold buildings. What is there happens to be a small inn with two floors. That, and squids patrolling the street.  It's like that in every city now.
      "It's probably not too good of an idea to ride in with all our weapons", Mitch says after slowing his horse to walk.
     "Heys Sky, could you get into one of thes top floor windows?", Barney says while looking back at the assassin. Sky looks at him with a 'am I a joke to you?' face. It's his job to get into places where he's not suppose to be.
      "Oh yeah! Sky could take our weapons and sneak in through our room window!", Ty quickly understands what Barney's trying to do.
      "How do we know that he'll even come back?", Max raises an eyebrow, "Plus, he can't carry everything himself".
     "Ty can come with me. For training purposes, of course. I'm not gonna run off with a runt like him", Sky grunts, swinging off his saddle.
     "I have a feeling that you're gonna be a bad teacher", Ty grumbles. It's more to hide his nervousness then anything else. He's now expected to follow someone who could kill him at any moment.
     The group talks more outside the city, but it really is the best plan. The three swords are unstrapped from the horses and Ty slings two over his shoulders. Sky takes the other, along with Sub's belt dagger. The former already has the curved short swords and all the hidden knives. Vikk and Barney both choose to keep the knives hidden in their clothing.
     Ty feels a bit like dead weight. Sky started running back into the dark after taking the weapons, and Ty scrambled to follow him. Ty would of lost him if the street rat wasn't fast enough. They circle around the village to the other side before Sky selects the back of a house to approach.
"Most of the people are asleep. All we would really have to dodge are the guards", Ty pants. He stands with his back up against the house with Sky next to him.
"That's how stupid assassins think. If there's a harder and less risky way, that's the one you're gonna use", Sky quietly snaps back. He's taking this training thing pretty seriously, huh? Sky knows how important the payment is to Red.
Ty can see the top of the inn from where they are. He looks up in time to see a window slide open. So that's where they're going?
"Right. Climb onto the roof, but stay low", Sky tells him. Ty looks over at him, hoping that the assassin has suddenly grown a sense of humor. He's not kidding.
The wall that they're up against is made of brick. It's perfectly flat except for the slight indent between bricks, and the wall rises three feet above Ty's head. It's actually pretty short.
Ty sighs while rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants. Then he jumps straight up into the air. Ty grasp the top of the wall for a brief second, but slips when his weight falls onto his arms. Sky watches his student fall down on their ass in the dirt. He says nothing.
Ty gets up with a grumble and prepares to jump again. His body isn't used to climbing. This time, he gets a grip on the roof with both hands. Ty's feet wildly scramble for purchase before Sky grabs one of his feet for support. Ty uses it to push himself up farther onto the roof and crawl over.
Sky jumps up and grabs the roof, hoisting himself up in one smooth motion. Ty's still laying on his stomach.
"I have a feeling that you're going to be a bad student", Sky mocks him.