Assassins (Rated T-M)

((This is now open!))

General Narrative

Inside a vast hotel, the ballroom where William Ashford was hosting his annual charity ball took place. Unknown to all but a few people in the room, many lives would be lost in there tonight, and a great deal of things would be changed forever. For inside the ballroom, the assassins that were all hired to take down Ashford are there, waiting to make their strike.

((Basically, all the characters, whether they be assassins or not, will start off at this ballroom. The assassins are free to interact and do whatever they want right now, so long as it doesn't involve trying to kill Ashford. Right now, at least. Some assassins could be posing as waiters, guests, ect. ect. I leave it up all to you guys! I will post with my characters shortly.))

Keenan Pakkum maintained a fairly emotionless expression as he served hors d'oeuvres. He had been taught by his masters to wait for the opportune time and that time hadn't yet come. It didn't matter to monk-like assassin. He had waited days, sometimes weeks for a target to present itself.

He frowned, searching for the host of the party. He had just briefly lost sight of the tycoon. He couldn't have that.

*

Zach seethed as he watched the party-goers mingle. The man that had ruined his life was enjoying himself and he was stuck running the bar. To be fair, he had to pose as a bartender to get into the ball, but deep down, he wanted to take out his pistol and gun down Ashford and damn whoever got in his way.

The assassin, however, managedto calm himself. Despite his line of work, he didn't like to kill. Ashford was just the exception. He wouldn't break his cover and risk hurting innocent people. He'd have to wait, not matter how much he disliked it.

Naoto scanned the room, making note of various people. He wasn't exactly on the clock right now, but it was his natural inscinct as a detective to be on alert for anything suspicious. He had to make sure that Ashford remained alive. At least until he could put him behind bars.

Speaking of bars, Naoto sat down at it ordering a scotch. He didn't drink much, but he thought why not tonight.
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Rise flashed smiles at a guy as she passed by him. She was here as a guest which was not all that shocking. She was a pretty girl. Pretty girls (especially with money) could get into most places. But as she giggled and flirted with male guests, she kept an eye on her target. A knife was hidden under her dress and her purse held some sedatives and poisons.

Ryan Baer

Ryan sat at the bar. He was flirting with one of the Girls sitting beside him, though he was really looking past the Girl towards his Target. Finish the job, sleep with the Girl, and collect the tens of thousands of dollars he was promised. Seemed like a good way to finish the night. The Assassin picked up the apple martini that laid on the counter beside him, taking a sip out of it as he smiled at the Girl.

Her name was Rachel. She had long black hair, pale skin, and a beauty mark beneath her right eye. She was useless except for two things, the fact that she was easy, and the fact that Ryan could use her to get closer to Ashford and, if all goes right, inject the poison into the rich man before leaving.

And so Ryan grabbed the obnoxious giggling Girl's hand, and walked out onto the small dance floor with her.
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Edmund Gilberts

Edmund laughed loudly in reply to what was actually an entirely unfunny joke. Edmund held his hand on Sarah's shoulder as he talked to the U.S. Senator about what schools he could send his "Genius Daughter" to. "Hmmm... New York? Well yes I have met Bill Morris and I'm sure the Friends Academy is a wonderful school, Senator, but I want only the best for my little Elina." Edmund said as he patted Sarah's shoulder.

Edmund could tell that his Sister was keeping an eye on Ashford while Edmund made sure they blended into the crowd well enough. But it was a very tedious job. Edmund wanted a drink,=.

Sarah Gilberts

Sarah smiled brightly up at Edmund and the obnoxious Senator, making sure to keep up her Bright and Naive Child persona. Covertly, however, she kept her eyes glued on William Ashford as he glided across the room, making small talk with guests here and there.

She hated this, Sarah thought. Hated acting like the nice, sweet little girl she appeared to be. She was a ******* adult, for the love of God, even if she didn't look like it! She shouldn't have to demean herself to do things like this. But it was apart of there job, and Sarah had to suck it up and continue doing the act if she wanted her and her brother to complete the hit without anything going wrong.

Still, though, it was very tempting to wipe out her hidden silenced pistol and aim it at the Senator's crotch and pull the trigger, just to see his reaction...

'Uh, Daddy, I'm thirsty." Sarah said (in her opinion) in a sickeningly sweet voice, tugging on his pants leg. While it may have seemed a normal thing for someone of her appearance to say, it was actual a code she and Edmund had developed, to signal she was losing sight of the target and that they should move for a better line of sight.

Jack

Jack passed the various wealthy men and women in the room as he carried a tray of drinks. He had recently infiltrated the hotel as a waiter, once he found out Ashford would be hosting his ball here. Right now Jack was waiting for an opportune moment to kill William, without ensuring his own death as well. Personally, he hoped it wouldn't be too long. He wanted his clothes stained with blood by the night's end...

"Drink, madame?" Jack asked Rise as he approached the woman, carrying a small tray of drinks.

Mismatch

For days he had wondered who to be, what would allow him the best opportunity to make a clean assassination. He finally decided to attend as a young rich girl, who would attain the attention of quite a few men, one of which might be Ashford. That mattered little though, it also meants that he could move about more freely, pretending to be naive and sweet, no one would question him, or her, if she happened to wander somewhere she shouldn't have.

For now he was dancing with an older man who couldn't keep his eyes off his chest. Mismatch played the part of a young girl well, he flirted with him and giggled at everything the man said, though he saw that this was quite a pathetic individual.

Rise turned to Jack and smiled at him, taking one of the glasses. She loved this part, though the killing was fun to. But events like this made it all seem much more exciting. And exciting was something she did well.

"Why thank you."

Zach grimaced a bit as he placed a drink in front of one of the guests. The girl he was with was annoying and he could tell that the man she was with was there simply because she was beautiful and easy. She wouldn't see him again after tonight.

The assassin had to concentrate on not reaching for his pistol. He couldn't blow his cover, now matter how tedious his cover was.

*

As a beautiful woman walked through the crowd (Rise), he noted that she was being offering a drink. That was his cue. The people at this event, he was led to believe, loved to be pampered.

"Hors d'oeuvre?" he asked her in what he hoped was a courteous tone.

Rise was loving this. She didn't usually have the luxary of being pampered. She had to maintain a low profile so that no one would recognize her. Not that anyone would. To most she was just another pretty face.

"Thank you. The work here is very kind." She gave him a charming smile taking one. But all the time she kept an eye on Ashford, waiting for him to notice her.

Edmund

Edmund nodded in reply before smiling at the Senator. "Well I must apologize, but as you said in this years campaign; family comes first." Edmund stated as he took a step back.

"Of course Sir Sigfried, I do hope you'll come back soon so we can finish our conversation?" The Senator asked.

"I would be delighted, Senator." Edmund lied before grabbing onto his Sister's hand and walking away. "Which way did he go?" Edmund whispered after they had gotten a safe distance from the Senator.

Jack

Jack wandered away from the lady once she took a drink and started to wander about again. After awhile he went over toward the bar to get some more wine for his tray.

"Mind giving me some refills, my good sir?" Jack asked the bartender in an obnoxious voice.

Sarah

"That way," Sarah whispered back, pointing toward her left.

"Of course, sir," Zach told the man, grimacing. He hated rich people, which was ironic as he had made a small fortune in assassinations. He refilled the drinks and handed them back to the man. He frowned.

"You look familiar," he noted.

*

"We always do our best to make our guests comfortable," Keenan told her, giving the woman a small smile.

Lee walked lightly throughout the guests holding a tray with empty champagne cups. Slowly he walked through the crowd analyzing the surroundings. From different points of view where he’d be able to make a move. However, security is tight in this and from the looks of it the job will not be done in this night, sadly.

Now, I was told to expect some competition in this specific job. It’s actually one of the main reason why I took it. But, where are they? One way to find out I guess… Lee chuckled softly.

Passing between the guests Lee kept an open eye taking special looks at anything or anyone out of the ordinary.

Mismatch

All while dancing (and the flirting that went with it), Mismatch kept part of his attention to Ashford. This would be a little hard to accomplish, and a distraction would be required most likely if he were to accomplish the task now. There were several security detail around, they'd be able to handle quite a few things quietly. He'd need something big enough to distract them all while simultaneously keeping Ashford from escaping.

Fire? Too dangerous, they'd run. Power outage? No, I can't see in the dark, I'd have no idea where he was, he thought. He then remembered an intersting tidbit his employer had mentioned, there would be others of his profession at this thing. Maybe I can expose one, and while the security detail went for him, Ashford would be open. Or I could just open up fire on him, and then change my disguise when I'm out of sight. Supposing I could get away, which seems doubtful, at least without losing some blood, flesh, or limbs.

Jack

"Oh, I'm sure I just have one of those faces. People always tell me I look like Orlando Bloom." A blatant lie of course, but Jack knew that would probably get the bartender off his case. He balanced the tray carefully in his hands and went back into the main area of the ballroom. His eye caught Ryan and his date dancing nearby. A wide grin spread across Jack's face.

The target was dead, but he hadn't killed him. That other ******* had! He'd seen the scope of his rifle glinting in the sun just before the target's head had exploded. So he dashed over to the abandoned building his foe had hidden in, while the people around him scurried away like little, pathetic rats.

Jack took out a pistol as he climbed up the decaying stairs, and flung open the first door he found. The face of the man that beat him to the hit faced back at him, and Jack leveled his pistol to the other assassin's chest--

The memory started to fade away as soon as it had come. Struggling to contain his laughter, Jack sauntered over Ryan and the woman.

"Either of you want dri....why if it ain't my old pal Ryan! My my, isn't it funny seeing you here again?" jack asked with a grin.

((Hope you don't mind, Alec. The idea just came to me and I thought it was interesting.))

Edmund

"Ok..." Edmund whispered in reply as he followed Sarah while still making it look like Edmund himself was leading the way. The area was tight, and if the clock was correct, Edmund and Sarah only had two hours and twenty-six minutes until the ball was over. But Sarah and Edmund had both already planned that if they hadn't killed Ashford before the last thirty minutes that they would hide somewhere in the house and wait for it to empty out entirely.

"There are quite a few old people around here Sarah. You work your charms while I try and get a conversation with Ashford. I'll try and get the tracing pin on him." Edmund whispered to Sarah without even moving his lips. Ventroloquism was one of skills that came in handy during undercover jobs like this, Edmund thought.
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Ryan

Ryan paused as he studied the Waiter for a few seconds. He didn't remember who it was, but was worried that the guy knew Ryan somehow, when suddenly it hit the Assassin.

A soft laughter rang throughout the room as Ryan quickly dismantled his gun and put it away in the case. He had successfully finished another job, his seventh one. And this was the one that was going to make him set for the entire ******* year, Ryan knew.

But suddenly Ryan realized something. Someone else was in the building with him, climbing the stairs. And so Ryan quickly pulled his silent pistol out of his pocket while spinning around, and he held it up and aimed it towards the doorway as quickly as he could.

But there the other man was, a frustrated look on his face and a gun in his hand. A gun aimed at Ryan.

So Ryan kept his aim at the man's neck, knowing that if his hand twitched or moved at all there would be bullets flying across the room. "May I help you? I have a lunch appointment in twenty minutes and I'd really prefer not to miss it." Ryan stated as though nothing was wrong.

"Jack! What are you doing in a place like this?" Ryan said jovially before placing his hand on the faux-Waiter's shoulders.

Sarah

"Sounds good to me. If you want to hold Ashford's attention long enough, I suggest politics or religion. Nothing sets a person off like those things." Sarah murmured. She casually wandered away from her brother and began to head toward the nearest old couple she could find. Time to work some magic. Hm, people could be so gullible these days...

Jack

"Oh, you know, same old same old. I'm just taking a job here as a waiter for a few months before I can find a better job. I have a feeling, though, that I'll be getting some good tips tonight. Lots of rich old bags around, and they do always treat the help kindly. Or so I've heard. Especially that Ashford fella." Jack said, patting Ryan on the back with his free hand.

"You just killed my target, you stinkin *******." Jack snarled, firing off a shot. He purposely missed, though, and the bullet hit the wall near Ryan.

"Now, what are you going to do to repay me? I'm certainly not gonna go to my boss empty-handed. Ooh, I know! Be a nice little coward and kneel on the floor for me, so I can blow your brains out. The way I see it, only one of us can collect the hit for the guy. And it sure ain't gonna be you, even if you did kill him." He continued, taking a step closer to him.

"So, who's the lucky lady?" Jack asked, eying Ryan's date.

Ryan

Ryan wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulder and flashed a smile at the girl. "This is Rachel Hudson. She's the Daughter of the Governor of Texas, Mike Hudson. She's recently moved to D.C. and I took the liberty of showing her around." Ryan stated before looking back at Jack.

..."Take a step closer and you'll be dying a very painful death." Ryan threatened. His demeanor had changed quickly, realizing that common courtesy was something that this man wouldn't appreciate at all.

"But what are you doing here Jack? And as a Waiter, nontheless? You told me when we graduated that you would be going places." Ryan stated as he instantly and easily crafted a lie that fit Jack into the backstory he had already told Rachel and a few of the other people over the course of the night.

Jack

"Eh, well, you know. With the economy and all in the tank these days, it's hard to find a good job. I found a lucky break becoming a waiter here, though. It doesn't pay all that much, but it pays the bills. I'm hoping to get a job at the Lenmarx down the street soon, though. I hear the people there pay their workers much better." Jack said.

"Well, I've got to admit, you've certainly got balls." Jack chuckled. "How about we make this more exciting?"

Jack withdrew a small device from within his pocket.

"I was planning on blowing up this building to cover my escape, but how about we make this stand-off all the more interesting, eh? Let's see who can escape the burning building first! The survivor gets to claim the prize. How abou it?"

"So, it appears life's been treating you much better than me, if you could have afforded to get an invitation here." Jack shook his head. "You always were a lucky one."

Ryan

"Yeah well, after I finished my internship at G.L. and Mom and Dad had passed away, I got the cash and the first thing I did was invest it in the company itself. You should have seen the look on my old Boss' face, the Bastard couldn't believe that he was taking orders from me now." Ryan said while smiling. "Of course the first thing I did was fire him, so he didn't take orders from me for long!" He added before laughing loudly.

"Are you insane?" Ryan asked as he studied the bomb in his rival's hand. And that's when Ryan realized that this man was indeed insane. There was an odd silence as Ryan stared at Jack. And then Ryan began to chuckle to himself as if he had just remembered a very funny joke. "Ok then. Lets do this."


"But you know, I think Rachel's cousin is a manager at the Lenmarx, right?" Ryan asked as he looked at his date.

She seemed a bit nervous, having been suddenly thrust into a conversation she had been mostly ignored in. But the Girl's upbringing shown through as her nervousness disappeared instantly, a smile coming onto her face. "That's right. His name is Lyle." She replied before exchanging a glance with Ryan. The Girl bit her lip as she contemplated something. "...Perhaps I could give you his number and you could set up an appointment with him, Jack?" Rachel asked.

Ryan smiled at this turn of events. Not because he cared about whether or not Jack could get a job. The monster was obviously here under a cover. No, he was smiling to himself because now he was sure that Rachel liked him, as she was only helping Jack because she wanted to impress Ryan, not because she was sympathetic to the help.

Jack

"That'd be great! I'd really appreciate it." Jack said, nodding vigorously.

"Well, you're really brave today, aren't you?"

Without waiting for a response Jack flipped a switch on the bomb controller. The building began to rock violently as explosions began to tear it asunder.

"See ya!"

Jack dashed over to the door and saw that the staircase he had come from was no longer there, and a burning wreck replaced most of the ground floor. But the madman didn't even faulter for a moment, and Jack dived into the inferno, laughing all the while.

"So, since I'm here, either of you interested in a drink?"

Sarah

Sarah continued to wonder around the ballroom, passing by the adults around her who completely ignored her presence. While Sarah hated her extremely youthful appearance, it did have great advantages. Nobody ever really looked at a child with suspicion, and they'd talk about things around her that they wouldn't otherwise, if she looked older.

Sarah saw one of the hotel's security agents off duty and at the bar. She chuckled lowly and made her way over there.

Ryan

"No, I wouldn't want to get too drunk tonight." Ryan replied while raising his hand. At the same time, Rachel accepted a drink, thanking Jack as well.

Ryan took in a deep breath as the building blew up. And as he saw the other Assassin run towards the staircase, jumping into the inferon, Ryan suddenly aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. While he knew that the bullet wouldn't hit anywhere that could kill Jack directly, hitting a foot or thigh would certainly slow him down on his way out of the building. Not that mattered anyways, Ryan was going to win this little foot race no matter what.

With that out of the way, Ryan quickly put the gun away in his holster and pulled another, larger looking gun with a hook on it's end. The former seal quickly studied the building across the street before taking aim and pulling the trigger. Seventy-six seconds later, Ryan was ten feet above the ground.

Naoto looked at Jack and frowned.

"Can I get another scotch please," he said, as he turned to look at the crowd. He could tell that most people here were here for money or in hopes of meeting someone who would get them money. Money was always a big factor with these things. It made him kind of mad. He worked to see criminals put behind bars.
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Rise touched his arm lightly.

"I'm glad. Though with this being Ashford's party I would expect no less."

Jack

"Hm? Oh, sure." Jack handed a glass to Naoto and turned back to Ryan.

"Well, suite yourself."

A bullet flew past Jack, grazing the sole of his shoe as it hit the wall. Ignoring the fire as if it wasn't even there, Jack ducked through the flames and burst out what remained of the front door. He brushed some rubble off of him and tore off his jacket, stomping the flamming left sleeve into the ground. Another explosion went off in the building, putting the upper stories on fire now.

Keenan felt his eyebrows raise at her touch. He had never been touched by a woman before. It was strangely pleasant and disorienting at the same time. He looked around for Ashford. He had to focus on the Mission.