The steel crane creaked with the whistle of the wind while the agents sat in wait, listening to the steps of their enemies. When the unfortunate goon got too close in the web of shadows, they were easy prey for the agents to feast on.
"Shhh, go to sleep." Felix dropped down from behind the crate and whispered as he kept his prey silent, covering the man's mouths as he fired his gun from behind.
As the man lost consciousness, he leaned against the metal crate with ragged breaths.
Felix moved under and over in the cloak of darkness, striking his prey with his silent gun, contrasted to the banging metal on Maria's end.
The goons fired recklessly and randomly as Maria swept their legs, getting up as they lost their balance, then slamming their head against the cargo.
It grew quieter as his men fell one after the other. Either swiftly and silently, or being silenced after a blood-curdling scream.
"What the… What's going on—?" The violet mob boss stuttered, stationed beside him was the visored man, who was holding a pistol in each hand.
The sun sank down the horizon, dipping on the waves. Its light slipped through empty spaces between the freight containers like prison bars.
"I thought Cocytus was supposed to be one of the toughest prisons on Earth?" Maria's disappointed voice reverberated between the freight containers.
"Apparently, he slipped out of custody before he could be brought there." Felix's voice haunted the docks.
Their taunting voices haunted the docks.
The loading bay felt smaller, more claustrophobic, as the two shadows danced in the dusk. Maria's soft laughter echoed through every path, fueling their fear. Every exit led only deeper into darkness.
"Show yourselves!" The mob yelled, uneasy.
A body flew from behind one of the metal crates, falling to Lewis' feet. One of his men.
"B-boss…" He whimpered.
The criminal's face contorted with fear and rage, "Get up! Get up and protect me!"
Felix's voice cut through the shadows, bouncing off the metal crates, "Lewis Shaw. We demand your immediate surrender."
"I demand you suck my dick!" Lewis shouted back.
Maria's voice crackled in Felix's earpiece, "Yup, I'm going to kill him."
"Easy, girl." Felix sighed, his arms pressed against the cold metal surface in order to stay upright.
Lewis looked at his remaining men, "What are you doing?! Kill them!"
"Sir, with all due respect, they threw one of our men into the air!" One of them protested, staring at the unconscious body that just landed in front of them.
But as he turned to Lewis, he found himself face to face with a barrel of a gun.
"What were you saying?" The visored man spoke coldly.
"W-wait!"
Blood sprayed. Body dropped. The sharp scent followed.
The freshly made corpse fell flat against the concrete. His lifeless eyes frightened the remaining men, while a red puddle forming from the hole in his forehead.
"Worthless man." The visored man blew the smoke from his pistol.
"If you do not die to the spies, you will die by my hand." He declared as he holstered his weapon to the side of his legs, where there were joint metallic plates with several other pistols.
Even Lewis flinched, unnerved by what he did. But he swallowed his fear and barked, "Th-that's right! Now go find and kill them!"
Reluctantly, the remaining men complied. They cautiously moved forward, scanning through the corridors of crates and cargo.
The pony-tailed man zoomed in on the criminals, "That man with the visor… Can they deal with him, or should I..." The brown-haired man wrapped his chain around his arm.
Lewis' remaining men were all picked off one-by-one. Their struggles echoed through the docks, bodies slamming into steel walls, before dropping to the ground.
Forced to act, the criminal pulled a pistol out of his purple pocket.
Maria stepped out of the steel corridors, choking one of the goons in her arm. In her other arm held the briefcase.
"Phew." She exhaled, dropping the unconscious body to the ground for Lewis to see personally.
"It appears we're up against the Twelve Agencies, sir." The last of Lewis's employ, the visored man, grinned and pointed his gun towards the dark-haired woman.
Felix grabbed one of the fallen men's pistols and aimed through the spaces between the freight containers, firing at the two criminals. But the visored man pulled Lewis' head down.
Startled, the blue-eyed agent continued to fire, targeting the visored man. His shots hit the ground as the visored man kept darting around.
Maria lunged from between the cargo and swung her knife at the visored man. But her target slid under her slice and grabbed her arm, throwing her towards in Felix's line of fire.
Felix stepped out of the shadow and caught his partner.
"This guy's a tough nut." She remarked, upside down, her tone somewhere between amused and annoyed.
"He knew where I was firing from…" Felix twirled her back onto her feet.
He scanned the visored man, and saw interconnected metal braces around his legs, each segment holding a pistol. Three on each side, six in total.
But as he looked closer, something on the man's chest caught his eye.
"That insignia…" He pointed to the emblem embroidered on the man's outfit, a green fire trapped in a diamond. "A Cinderash."
Lewis took a step back, pulling the briefcase closer to his chest. As he backed away slowly, he felt the cold metal press against his back.
"That's right, bitch boys." Lewis barked, voice shaking with forced confidence, "I have a professional assassin working for me. Your lives are as good as over!"
A wave of intimidation shot through the two agent's bodies as the visored man took a single step forward.
"Bloodlust…" Felix's eyes narrowed, "V.V., get behind me."
"You think I'm intimidated by some visored freak? Bring the whole Cinderash clan for all I care!" Maria shot back defiantly.
"Come on, then!" The Cinderash assassin shouted with an excited grin, opening fire as he ran towards them like a maniac.
Felix dashed away, dodging bullets and firing back with his energy gun, Ion. A dull pulse echoed as he pulled the trigger. Transparent concentric waves of energy distorted the air as it struck the assassin's arms, and he suddenly found himself struggling to move.
"A stun gun without wires? What kind of weapon is that?" The visored assassin shuddered as a feeling of numbness crept into his arms.
Maria dropped from above, her knife flashing above her. Only for the assassin to step back and drive his foot into her gut.
As she rolled on the concrete, the Cinderash returned his attention to Felix.
Lewis sprinted behind the crates, clutching briefcase near his chest.
The vanguard immediately got back on her feet, hissing, "Connard!"
"V.V., I'll handle this!" Felix shouted, shooting more invisible waves of energy out of his cobalt gun. As the Cinderash stiffened, the agent kicked him towards the cold steel.
"Great idea, let the guy who just got hit with a bomb fight the Cinderash!" She protested, "I'll handle it!"
He turned to face her, "Just capture Lewis!"
With Felix's head turned away, the visored assassin raised his pistol and fired. The agent narrowly avoided the bullet, grazing just above his glowing blue eye. A sharp hiss escaped his teeth as he slid his gloved hand over his bleeding forehead.
Maria disappeared into the shadows, "If you die, I'll kill you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way…" Felix smirked.
Both raised their weapons, and their two guns clashed with a metal clang.
A battle between gunslingers, trading blows, while evading each other's attacks. One equipped to kill, the other to only incapacitate.
As soon as the pistol emptied, the assassin simply pulled out a third.
Concentric waves of energy pulsed, striking nothing as the visored assassin moved too quickly.
He can keep up with me. Did the bomb make me sluggish, or is this just the level of a true professional?
Either way, he's wasting zero time reloading.
Shots cracked in rapid succession — pistols spat fire mere inches apart.
The agent kept tabs, watching his guns. But even as he kept his distance, the Cinderash kept lunging towards him, their guns colliding in between bullets, using it as a blunt weapon.
Felix headbutt the man, then kicked him to create distance.
The air filled with the sharp smell of burnt powder and the ringing in his ears.
He paused, stood steady while raising Ion, using his free hand to goad him closer.
The visored man tossed the empty swapped to his fourth pistol, and stepped forward with a steady aim, finger on the trigger.
As he fired, Felix swung Ion down in —
Sparks scattered with a sharp clang, as the cobalt steel parried the bullet away.
"What the— " The visored man emptied his pistol.
Felix deflected two more shots, only to be overwhelmed by the volley of bullets crashing into his body.
When the visored man reached for his fifth pistol, the blue-eyed agent lunged forward and tackled him into the steel wall. They crashed to the ground, groaning and grunting as Felix wrestled the loaded from his grasp.
Cinderash or not… he's weaker than Harbinger.
And if he's weaker than Harbinger, I can beat him!
Felix pried the pistol out of the assassin's hand, and tossed it across the ground. The Cinderash weakly reached for another one, but Felix frantically punched his opponent's face, cracking his mask.
He gasped, his head hanging over the visored man, pressing against the cargo's steel wall. But he wasn't done yet. He reached for the other two pistols attached to the left leg and pushed himself back up.
Still breathing heavily, he stared at the two guns, before shifting his attention to the assassin in front of him. He leveled the pistol at the Cinderash's face.
He gripped the firearms tightly, his expression growing tense. With grit teeth, he hurled the sixth gun over the steel crate, letting it sink into the ocean as the sun dipped below the horizon.
With a relieved exhale, the black-haired agent turned around, headed to his partner. But a vibrating spin echoed behind him like a buzz saw.
"Lewis Shaw… still have to… ARGKH!—"
Spit flew as the assassin drove his foot into Felix's back, sending him rolling across the concrete. The sharp pain in his back from the explosion earlier growing sharper.
"Thanks for sparing my life… but I can't afford to fail a job." Behind him, the Cinderash assassin was back on his feet.
"Wh-what?" The blue-eyed agent wiped his chin.
A whirring sound coming from the visored man's legs. He grinned and lifted the cuff of his pants, showing a mechanical framework — a chrome exoskeleton brace wrapped around his legs.
"Combat prosthetics… those weren't just holsters."
"That's right… I was hoping to have some fun, so I didn't want to use it." The Cinderash spat out blood from his mouth, "But since you're stronger than I expected, it's time I stopped holding back."
Felix spat at the ground and lifted his cobalt gun, ready for round two.