Angel of Darkness: Chapter 7

Issa didn't tell Lateef what his plan was. If he had, Lateef would have tried to stop him and Issa wasn't in the the mood to be stopped. Lateef had given him the locations of the assassins that Mr. Chuma had been using. They were new and did not really know how to hide themselves well. It turned out that they actually worked as a team of three and they did it very well. The town they lived in was even smaller than the town surrounding the palace. It wasn't hard to find the bar that they frequented and ask the barman where they were.
"Look, those kids are good kids but be nice around them. It won't be the first time someone gets hurt because of insulting them inadvertently," the bartender added.
Issa nodded and flipped him a coin, walking off into the dark corner where the boys were sitting. Really, they weren't that much older than Issa, probably about 18 or 19. They were all tall and lean but very strong as well. The darkness in their eyes scared Issa and he realized for the first time since meeting Layla that assassins were bad people. They were scary, cold-blooded killers who should not be toyed around with. Living with Layla had given Issa a false sense of security and, suddenly, he felt afraid. He inhaled deeply and almost automatically, shifted into the steady defensive position that Layla had taught him. Simply separating his feet a little, hunching his shoulders together, and bending his arms the slightest bit, allowed him to dodge, punch, kick, or run away at just a second's notice. Then, he cleared his throat to alert them of his presence. They all looked up calmly but, in their eyes and their postures Issa could see that they were on edge just like he was, ready for anything.
"Hello, fellas," Issa said. "I've got a few questions for you. Would you be up to answering them?"
The guys stared at Issa, stared at each other, and then laughed.
"Well, well, well, you're not from around here are ya kid?" the one on the left said.
"Nope, I'm not but I know you guys. You're famous," Issa said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, if you really knew about us, you'd know that we don't like talking to stuck up kids like you, so how about you get your ass out of here," the middle one said.
"I have questions for you. I won't leave without an answer."
"Oh, yeah, well what if I don't wanna answer?" the third one asked.
Issa smirked at him and slid in to the seat beside him.
"I have ways of making you talk. So wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?"
Issa wasn't sure he could make these guys do anything but he was betting him life on the bluff. It made his heart race and his breath shorten. The guys looked at him, sizing him up.
"What do you want to know? Depending on what it is, we'll answer or kill you."
"Fair enough. I know the three of you are assassins."
The words were barely out of his mouth when he had three knives pointed at his neck.
"You're a group of three guys called Devil's Mouth. Fairly new on the scene but talented from what I have heard, which is, admittedly not much."
Issa forced himself to keep speaking calmly, though he was anything but. The assassins didn't move and inch.
"I need to know what you guys know about the guy who's killing assassins and what you plan on doing against him?"
The three guys stared at Issa. They didn't know what to make of him. They'd thought he was a government official. Then they'd thought he was an employer. Now, they didn't know what he was.
"That guy won't get us. Our identities are airtight. No one can see through them."
Issa turned his head to look at the guy who had spoken. He smiled slightly.
"I did," he said. "And I work for the government. I'm not another assassin like you guys."
The only thing saving him at that point was the fact that he had not yet said what he really wanted, nor had he made a sign to capture or kill them. Their knives held him in a perfect position so matter what he did at that point, he would not be able to escape or hurt them.
"I don't want or need to arrest you guys. I was friends with a great assassin once and I need to find her again. She's been missing for five years," Issa added.
"Who?"
"The Angel of Darkness," Issa said and carefully gauged their reactions. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
"You knew the Angel and who she really was," one of them said.
"Yes, I knew her. I knew everything about her. She was like an older sister to me. On March 31st five years ago, she disappeared on a job. I assume that it was the same guy who is killing everyone else. The only difference is that her body was never found. I believe that she is still alive. I need some info from you guys, can you give it?" he asked.
The guys relaxed a little but their knives didn't leave his neck.
"You won't turn us in to the government?" the middle guy asked.
"No. I don't care about you guys. All I want is to find the Angel again. If you give me the information I need, we won't have any trouble."
The guys nodded.
"We'll answer."
"What do you guys know about the assassin who is assassinating assassins?"
"Nothing more than you I assume. All we know is that he's scary strong and powerful. That he was able to take out so many trained assassins like the Angel is terrifying. It's gotten to the point where there are no longer any assassins who have been working for more than a year. This guy, whoever he is, gets us all before we can even kill people sometimes. I don't know how we've stayed safe for so long. I mean we've only been working for a couple of months and he still hasn't come for us. You have no idea how scary it is for us to wait for this guy to come."
"If it's so scary why are you still assassins?" Issa asked.
"It's a job. Assassins are in high demand now. We may be new but we get jobs every week and they're well-paid too. I trust that that guy will not be able to get us. It's three on one and we have great training. He won't be able to sneak up so he'll have to attack directly. Plus we all know that he's going to stab us and then break our necks so there's no problem."
"He'll break your necks and then stab you," Issa corrected.
"How do you know?" the guy asked, his defenses rising again.
"Both a stab to the heart and a knife to the chest are almost immediately lethal. Why would he do both? The answer is because he wants to mask the fact that he kills with bare hands and he just stabs them to hide that. You guys can't do anything against this guy, I'm sure. He is crazy strong and crazy fast. I know that Lay-- The Angel was looking out for him when she was captured. If he was able to get through her radar, you won't be able to spot him either. If she did see him, from the reports that I heard, she was defeated in seconds. You guys have no chance, I'm sure but who am I to tell you what to do," Issa said, "If you have any more information for me please tell me. If you don't I'll be going."
"We don't. No matter what you say, I think we can handle this guy," one of the guys said again, angry at the insult.
Issa sighed.
"Fine, whatever. I'm going now. I hope I never see you again," he said, standing, glad that they withdrew their knives from his throat instead of stabbing him.
He walked out of the bar. It was already dark outside and Issa began to wonder if he should stay at a hotel for the night but decided against it, knowing that he would be missed if he was late for work. Running home wouldn't be too hard for him to do. He calmly walked through the town. Then, just as he turned a corner, he felt all of his senses fire up. Without thinking, acting on pure instinct, Issa whirled around and sent a kick into the stomach of the person jumping at him from behind, realizing too late that it was actually three people. The kick sent the middle person flying but also upset Issa's balance and before he could right himself, the other two pushed him to the ground. Issa rolled up quickly and got his feet under him, just in time to receive a few punches from his left and his right. Using the techniques Layla taught him, he punched the guy on his left, his non-dominant side, to get him to back off before kicking the second guy in the knee-cap. The guys fell to his knees with a cry. The guy he punched came back with a right hook that caught Issa across the jaw. He flew back, the back of his head hitting the wall behind him. His vision blurred, he swung at the shape of the guy who had punched him but his depth perception was off and he over swung, losing his balance again and receiving a sharp jab to his ribs. He couldn't see very well so he closed his eyes and used his other senses to find the guys surrounding him. The first guy had stood up again and the second guy was still on the floor cradling his probably broken knee-cap. The last guy was punching Issa in the stomach over and over again. Coming back to his senses, Issa blocked his next punch, twisting the guy's arm and trowing him right into the first guy's path. Then he opened his eyes again and punched the third guy up under his chin. His neck snapped back, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. The first guy rushed him but Issa caught him calmly in a headlock and flipped him on his back. The guy landed on his back, moaning. Only then did Issa realize that the three guys were the guys from the bar.
"What do you guys want?" he asked the third guy.
"You said you were a copper. We didn't need you blabbing but we couldn't very well kill you right in the middle of the bar," he whimpered back.
"Man, I wasn't lying. I am not going to tell anyone. I have better things to do than arrest doomed assassins."
"Look, we can't afford to trust anyone. Not in our job. If you really knew the Angel I'm sure she did the same thing. Being an assassin ain't easy."
Issa looked at the guy remembering how Layla had killed the guards at the palace simply because they had seen her face and how much work she put into hiding her true identity.
"Yeah, I get it but really, I have a headache now."
"Sorry, man. Look, we do have a little more info but it's just a rumor that's been traveling around within the assassin circles. Some have seen him supposedly, though they can't say what he looks like. Some people say that his lair is in Mr. Khalid Adjo's old house. The current owners don't know it but under the house there is a large maze where the assassin is living. I don't know if it's true but the thing about the maze is true. Any adventurer will tell you about it because according to legend there is a large bounty under there for anyone who wants it. Look man, these are only rumors okay? Please don't turn us in. This is just a job, kay? I mean if you knew the Angel, you understood that, right?"
Issa nodded, not really listening. Mr. Khalid Adjo's house. He was the one who had ordered Issa's death. Was it just a coincidence? He shook his head and marched off into the desert, not really knowing what to do next.