Shadow Knights (ChI)

[valekin]

The address was an old church. The time was ten pm. There wasn't much else to be said except that it was an old catholic church, destroyed by a recent earthquake. Though the meeting place wasn't within the church itself, it served as a very pretty distraction to the actual gathering. Which was underground, in the catacombs underneath the graveyard and church.

A bullet sat on the one foot tall stone wall that encompassed the stairs, save for the actual entrance to the catacombs. It was ornamental, and made of silver. In the casing the number eighteen had been carved. Under the bullet was a slip of paper, with the directions on where to turn within the catacombs themselves.

If she followed the directions, she'd find herself in a somewhat large chamber, well lit by by burning braziers. Valekin was there, along with about seventeen other people. She was the newest addition to the group, and she was about to be initiated in some serious training. Working with codes, heavy exercise, weapons training, among other things.

[chihiro]

Ten o'clock PM. Chihiro stood outside of the destroyed church, shadowed eyes drifting over the cracked and shifted foundation. The church itself was now sitting on two different levels, the steeple was tipped unstably to the right and the door was ajar. But that wasn't where she was going. Something silver caught the Asian girl's eyes as she glanced about, the light from the large moon reflecting off its surface. A bullet. Unshot. And as she picked it up she could see the number 18 engraved on the side. Her number. In her other hand she picked up the slip of paper and unfolded it as she slipped the bullet into the pocket of her comfortable jeans; the pair with the hole in the right knee. Left, right, left, left, middle, right.. It looked like directions, and she glanced up and at the entrance of the catacombs. The resting place of the dead. Vunderbar.

She pulled the sleeves of her long sleeved black shirt over her knuckles, result of a habit, and stepped inside. It wasn't long before the pale moonlight was stamped out by darkness, and she couldnt see a thing. It was a good thing she had a good memory to remember the directions before she entered. She placed the now useless piece of paper into her pocket. Left, right, left, left, middle, right.. She repeated to herself, feeling her way along the walls, and trying to ignore the nasty, clammy, cobwebby feeling she was feeling but couldn't see.

It was slow going, there was only dark and darker, and soon enough her eyes adjusted...enough. She able to see some shadows where the inlets in the walls were that housed the dead. The smell was so dusty and dead, it made her sneeze. As she chose the final turn of the directions, Chi slowed down, blinking into the darkness, hands by her sides, palms open, senses tingling in alertness. King had said that her goal was to survive, and she would be damned if she were going to breathe her last living breath among the dead.

[valekin]

"Мы делали прогресс с господином нейтрализатора снадобья."
(We've made progress with the drug neutralizer sir.)

"Хорошо, хорошо. Мы все еще ждем на нашем самом новом добавлении, она должны быть близки."
(Good, good. We're still waiting on our newest addition, she should be close.)

"Someone's here..."

Valekin moved across the well lit chamber and around the corner, to the hole in the floor where he expected her to be. He reached his hand down and felt her, and very roughly, he took a full hand of her shirt from the middle of her chest, and lifted her into the chamber. Practically tossing her away from the hole to skid to the corner.

"Welcome to our sanctuary, Eighteen. Do you have the bullet?"

He wasn't so rough as to cut her skin. Nor was he trying to cut or tear her shirt, he just wanted to bring her into the chamber rather quickly, rather than letting her wander around the catacombs, looking for a door that didn't exist. He waited for her to get her bearings, from being ripped right out of the cold dark earth, into a well lit warm room.

[chihiro]

The next thing she knew, there was a hand grabbing at her chest. No, not her chest, her shirt. And by the angle, it was coming from upward. The next thing she knew her feet had left the floor and she was hurtling through the darkness.

"HAaii!?!?"

She yelled in surprised before being flung to the floor, skidding slightly before coming to rest against a wall. She felt dizzy, and blinked quite a few times as the presence of light seared her vision for a moment before things came into focus. Valekin, but there were others. She didn't know there names, nor could she recall ever seeing them before. Jason King wasn't among them, but then again he had said she wouldn't be. Welcome to our sanctuary, Eighteen. Do you have the bullet? It was Valekin, and he was speaking to her, obviously, using her number once again. A small wave of relief washing over her for remembering to put the bullet in her pocket. She reached in with her left hand and procured the small silver object and held it out to him in plain view, the silver shining from the light.

[valekin]

"Good, keep it. We'll be inducting you soon. Come on."

He walked back into the chamber with the other seventeen people. King wasn't there, he had called Valekin earlier and told him he wouldn't be able to make it. Valekin gestured to the new arrival.

"Comrades, meet number Eighteen. The newest addition. She'll begin her training regimen today."

The others watched her. A variety of people, sexes, and ages. A variety of professions and strengths. A variety of everything. It made the group very well rounded, and well planned. Today's instruction for her will be resisting torture, and things of that nature.

"Amuri, Chihiro... today will determine your permanent place in this group. How well can you take pain?"

[chihiro]

'Good, keep it. We'll be inducting you soon.' She placed the bullet back into her pocket, following him farther into the chamber as her sight began to return. She blinked again, looking to all of the faces, there were so many, so varying...so these were the other seventeen? Well, sixteen, as she did not see King among them. He had told her that he wouldn't be there though. Why?

But before she could ponder this, a question was posed her way. 'Amuri, Chihiro... today will determine your permanent place in this group. How well can you take pain?' Pain? She'd dealt with a lot of pain. Pain was simply that, just pain. Something to be dealt with. Was this the point where she would have to survive? Could she handle it? She would have to, simple as that. She would have to, or she would die.

"I guess we'll see, won't we?"

She replied evenly, clenching and unclenching her fists in preparation. Another habit. Her breathing was even, but if you'd really paid attention, you could see that her breaths were deeper, consciously deeper, instead of shallow from nerves that would make her lightheaded and inhibit her actions.

[valekin]

"We shall. Syringe."

He held his hand out behind him and beckoned for her to come to him. A syringe was handed to him, filled with a chemical that would put her nerves and body into the worst pain imaginable. Maybe even some seizures! That'd be fun! But he had to wait to shove that needle in her arm and pump her veins all full of the cocktail.

"For the next few moments, we will test your ability to hold your tongue, even under the absolute worst circumstances."

If she came to him, he'd take a hold of one of her arms, and stick her with the needle very slightly in her shoulder. Pumping the tissue with the chemicals. It wouldn't take very long for the superior pain cocktail to take effect. She'd feel like her whole body was on fire, like someone was stabbing her over and over again all over her body. Like a hot pike had been shoved through her skull. All that jazz.

"Let's see what you're made of."

[chihiro]

Syringe. At the word, her heart beat spiked and she breathed in sharply, her eyes widening. Shots, she didn't care for shots. But Valekin was no doctor. She wasn't going to be getting a vaccine. But she stood still, pressing her lips together as the needle approached and plunged into her arm. She was to hold her tongue, she wasn't to cry out under any circumstances. Or she would fail. I can do this, keep you silent. Hold your tongue.. She urged herself...as the pain took hold.

Her first impulse was to cry out as the first wave of paint him, but she bit her lip, cringing, her breathing uneven. All of her muscles were screaming, moving from her upper arms and chest down through her body to her legs and head as the injection made its way through her body. Another wave, this one blinding her in pain as it attacked her head. Her hands flew to her head and her knees buckled, her lip had begun to bleed between her teeth. Owwww-ahhH! Don't scream, don't scream!!

Her lungs, her heart, her head, everything was searing with pain like fire. Chi began to shake, like she was cold, but all over, and almost violently. She felt sick, coughs racked her lungs as she shook and clutched her head. Strained whimpers bubbled in her throat but she clapped her mouth shut once more, curling up on the ground as each wave crashed over her harder and harder. Her nerves were screaming, her head felt like it was exploding and being crushed at the same time. Don't scream, don't scream.. Her inner voice was becoming weaker and weaker, and as the chemical burned up in her body, the damage subsiding, everything swam and fell into darkness.

[valekin]

She'd find herself awake soon. Smelling salts were passed underneath her nostrils to wake her. Of course she'd feel a little drunk and somewhat achy for a little while, but that would pass in moments. Valekin looked rather pleased. A big fat grin on his face, all those wonderful sharp teeth bared.

"You did well. Rather than screaming like a little girl, you kept it all to yourself. If you're ever captured and tortured... you know what to do, yes?"

He didn't wait for her answer before looking away. They were on the bell tower now. He had moved her. There was also a weapon on the tower, a SVD 7.62mm Soviet Sniper rifle. It was his, the one that he used before when covering the escape of two students that had been someplace at the wrong time.

"Whenever you're sober."

He said, holding the weapon out to her. It wasn't loaded, but she'd find that the silver bullet in her pocket, would fit the weapon perfectly. Of course, she had a target. This was her initiation. She had to kill someone. Yes..

She had to kill someone.

Provided it was a very corrupt member of local society. In particular it was a high ranking police official that had been taking cuts from the local gangs to keep off their backs. Well... that would end soon enough. Assassins were assassins.

[chihiro]

With a groan, she awoke, sitting up very slowly resting her elbows on her bent knees and her head in her hands. She wasn't shaking anymore, but her body still felt very shaky. Her senses were dulled and slowed slightly, and she felt a slight air of nausea. But it soon began to fade, very slowly, and when she felt able to, she got back to her feet.

Valekin swam before her eyes and she swayed, but soon steadied herself, her brain stumbling over the next task. He handed her a sniper rifle, and she stared at it for a moment, unable to think of what to make of it, her mind was still a bit fuzzy.

A gentle breeze hit her and her delayed thought realized that she was not in the catacombs anymore. They were in a tower? Aged wood rose up around them and a cracked and aged bell rested in the middle of the floor where it had fallen...in the earthquake..! They were in the church, or rather, the tower. She looked back up at Valekin, waiting for further instruction.

[valekin]

"If you've been watching the news, you'd know that there is a high ranking police officer being accused of corruption. Well... you should know that it's true, and he's been taking cuts from the local gangs to stay off their backs."

He'd help her stand up, and then lead her over to the ledge. Then would shift the legs of the gun into the standing position, so that she could rest the weapon on the stone ledge. He'd then help her hold the weapon against her shoulder, right over the muscle, rather than in the crook. If she fired it, and the butt was between the ball of her shoulder, and her chest, she'd break her shoulder. But it was a bit over, resting on her chest.

"Look through the scope, Chihiro. You have the chance to right a wrong. Because see... the case had just become a mistrial."

He slid open the chamber with the weapon's bolt, then reached into the pocket she put the bullet in. He looked at the 7.62mm round in his fingers, labeled 18. It went in the chamber. He slid the bolt back over the chamber, and switched the weapon onto the semi-automatic setting.

"You know his face, don't you? Find him on the street right now, and put dispense some justice with extreme prejudice."

[chihiro]

She'd heard of the policeman who was caught taking bribes from known gangs, it was big thing on the news...but hearing that it was a mistrial was news to her. She hadn't been watching the news in the last couple days. She rested the butt of the gun against her shoulder like he instructed and looked through the scope out at the night. She jumped slightly as a hand reached into her pocket, but he was only getting the bullet from her pocket to load the weapon.

Alright, so she had to shoot the police man with this sniper rifle she had never shot before. With one bullet. It didnt seem...too hard, right? She only had one chance. Inhale...Exhale...

The scope was a lot better zoom than she could see with the naked eye. And luckily, the crowd flow after 10 at night was considerably less than daytime. There were only four people out now. The first was a woman, so Chihiro dismissed her at once. The second and third were two boys by the alley, teenage, one handing the other a small money while the other handed over a small bag with white powder in it. A drug deal. Though bad, it wasn't her target. The third was a cocky looking man with a somewhat wide berth of a body. He was getting out of his car to go see the two boys, who straightened up at once before realizing who it was, and falling back into their casual slouch.

It was him, her target. She lined up the crosshairs in the scope to line up with his balding head. One chance.. Chihiro exhaled, finger flexing on the trigger before pulling it. Bang. She was thrown backward a bit, but her aim had been true. Down on the street, the cop who had been taking bribes to allow gangs to remain unharrassed gave a strange jerk and crumbled to the ground, blood leaking from his head onto the concrete. The teens looked at eachother in panic and fled. The woman had disappeared around the corner before it happened. Chihiro's mouth was open slightly, and her eyes were wide as she stared at her downed target for a moment in disbelief. Had she really just killed someone?

[valekin]

He took the gun from her, and ejected the bullet's casing. He caught it, and held it in front of her eyes. Valekin'd wait for her to take it from him before he opened the trap door to head back down to the surface. It was already getting close to eleven. The maniac would then start heading down the ladder, then placed his feet on the sides of the ladder, and slid all the way down to the floor. Then walked away as if the recoil was nothing.

"Do the same."

Learning a thing or to about moving around with some agility would be prudent. Agility was very important, if you could not move, you were bound to be hit by an incoming enemy attack. It was just law. There was no way around it, time would not stop for you. You'd have to move. One way or another, there'd be things she'd pick up. How to pace your internal organs during a fight, to limit output and keep your stamina. How to jump off a building, and land on your feet, then walk away as if nothing happened.

"There will be times when you will be afraid. But unless you try, you will never know if it will kill you, or if you could just walk away, like you're invincible."

[chihiro]

Speechless still, she took the bullet case and stared at it. She'd shot this. At a man. And he was now dead. Inhale, exhale.. She placed the bullet in her pocket, and followed him to the ladder that led them here. He slid down with ease, before turning around and instructing her to do the same. She got a vague notion that she was playing a sick game of follow the leader. But King had told her that her top priority was to survive, and that she didn't want to know what happened to those who opposed him. So, frankly, at this point, he was going easy on her.

Taking a readying breath, she braced her hands on the edges of the trap door and placed her feet on each side of the ladder and let go. She did well for the first two seconds before the gravity that was helping her out helped a little too much. With a shriek she tumbled to the ground, banging her elbow against the ladder and landing in a heap on the ground, toppling over once before coming to a stop. On top of her already aching body, falling off of the ladder hurt quite a bit. Gritting her teeth, she made her way back to her feet groaning.

[valekin]

"You still have to keep a grip on the ladder, just not as hard as you would if you were going to climb down it."

He told her as he started walking away. Not an inquiry on whether she was hurt or not. Not a care. If she was dying, she'd let him know. He was confident about that. Now he'd lead her back outside the church, and down the street towards a car. Several other cars waited there, but they started pulling away the moment they saw him. They knew the deed was done. He was still carrying the sniper rifle. And he could hear the sirens on their way.

"Get into the passenger side."

It was the newest corvette out on the market. The doors were unlocked, but it wasn't like she could drive the thing without the key. He had the keys. When she got into the vehicle she'd notice a keypad sticking out of the dashboard, along with a computer screen, kinda like the cops had, except it was better, and it was all in Serbian. The computer's screen was facing the drivers side, and it was greeting him just as he got in. He slid the key into the ignition, and turned it. The engine roared to life, twelve cylinders of power. Damn.

"I hope you like wild rides."