Chapter 6
Sharine Pestice
At the dock, and seagulls cried out. Fishermen were busily carrying around the fish box, a dead fish dropped from it. Brownish crab enjoyed the sunbath on the rock. The tide surged toward them, and the crab lowered its posture, grabbing the rock tightly. Bell-shaped jellyfish glided inside the water with trailing tentacles. The ship bellowed; the giant motor performed its motions, splashing and paddling against the petty tide. The captain of the ship sets his eyes on the horizon.
Herbie went out from the cargo ship and stepped on the land, like hungry hyenas searching food. He splashed puddles, stepping on fish bones and shells. The cat hid behind the garbage and the narrow corridor, leering at him. He just spoke to the mercenaries who want to join the hunt. But they were reluctant to touch any of the Nina’s associates. He thought he would get the respect from the peers if he managed to capture him.
He spat on the ground, calling them cowards and head toward the slightly more psychopathic group, the traffickers. It was a perfect timing as they were enraged about the recent attack on their ship on the southern sea. They were seeking revenge. He knew that any blood will serve to ease their rage.
“Thirty thousand ora…” Herbie mumbled with a big smile, he could negotiate up to forty percent of profit in an exchange for the valuable information contained in the mail, that he left Nina Polchinski’s command. He heard that the postman who was carrying the mail in secret turned to mercenaries and sold the letter for quite a profit.
One of the traffickers said to Herbie to make a deal about the letter. Herbie knew he had to act fast before the word spread to the Assassins’ Chamber. He cannot just blow this golden opportunity. Herbie already went to the orphanage where Alvin Caravel adopted two kids, where they gave Herbie a hysterical screeching that they do not have any relation with Alvin Caravel. He is now heading straight to the traffickers to negotiate the price.
As Herbie got into the car and started the engine. As he got to the corner, he suddenly stopped at the abrupt appearance of some man. Herbie hit the brake suddenly, cursing. He put down the window and yelled. “Watch where you going, asshole!” The man stepped back a little and just continued walking, ignoring him. Herbie was thinking of getting out of the car and beat the shit out of him, but he is on the clock, so he drove away. The passenger glimpsed at the car.
He was a chubby, round shouldered man with a round nose, who looked like the elementary school coach at the gym. His name was James Wichmann, one of the agents working under Nina Polchinski. Although he was titled Captain, he volunteered as a field agent. He hated killing, he avoided as much as he can.
It was nearly dark when he received a call from Captain Stein. He was looking for some legendary figure named Sharine Pestice, the headmistress of the Assassins’ Chamber. She was raised and born in this very city, escaped from the train when Veron’s soldiers took bunch of the homeless children for a medical experiment.
The phone was vibrating from his pocket. He took it out flipped open.
“James, can you hear me?” said Captain Stein, from the phone.
“Loud and clear,” replied James.
“Have you contacted the subject?” said Stein.
“No, she sure have a talent, it is very hard to track her down,” said James adjusting his cap.
“Have you been to her office?”
“Yes, just now, but it was bit strange.”
“How do the other clients contact her?” asked Stein.
“Well… it’s bit weird,” James murmured.
“Weird?”
“According to the sign hung on the door in her office, the instructions were like this, ‘Get the clothes off, keep the underwear and cuff yourself on the metal pole and Wait till I come,’” said James.
“…” Captain Stein silenced, frustrated.
“And I do think we should use our newbie to do this,” said James, chuckling.
“We are short on time, if we cannot find her in two days, we might have to do that,” said Captain Stein.
“Roger that. Out,” said James, disconnecting the phone.
“This is embarrassing.” James shook his head. And he saw some man coming out from the rusty door. He pulled his shirts to wipe his dusty sunglasses. He frowned as if he is irritated by the hangover and the vowel fragrance of puke. He seemed to be hoping that the sun gives some positive outlook which seemed to be not working. He looks at the crowd passing the street. He was a pale, thin creature in a feverish state, drifting like a ghost; he started walking toward the stony road besides the red brick wall.
‘Typical surrounding in Cassandra,’ James thought, scowling. James heard of Nina’s concern regarding the human experiment which Veron was pursuing for years. Although according to the information he had, the number of children taken for an experiment is significantly reduced.
Veron had a massive army, although he only focused on maintaining the regime and thereby eliminating the rebels. This made Veron’s officers to engage in a nitpicking business which dismantled all commercial enterprises. This enabled the mercenaries to lurk inside the country which they made living by bounty hunting business of lurking terrorists and criminals, along with the funding from the investors for human experiments of certain drugs.
Veron was ambitious for years and years trying to create super soldiers by practicing an advanced gene alternating technology. James was actually quite concerned about the fact about the recent decrease in numbers of human experiments.
“Maybe he did succeed in making super soldiers…” murmured James.
He wasn’t sure why Nina wanted to contact the assassin who was working independently, given the fact that Nina already had many talented soldiers. There was a mysterious attack in the southern sea indeed, but there were no particular reason this assassin was better at identifying the source better than her army.
“Nina is playing a dangerous game…” he murmured. James knew that Nina occasionally slipped the falsified information just to blur Veron’s thinking.
James thought about Sharine Pestice for a moment. She was after all, the headmistress of the Assassins’ Chamber. Like Nina, she spent her entire childhood in a war-ridden time in Cassandra. It would not only be hard to track, but almost impossible to take her into custody, let alone surviving from her rage if she found out that he’s tracking her down to capture her.
“I’m finally going nuts,” he sighed. He turned back and went up to Sharine’s office.
James sent out the text regarding his location that he is indeed at Sharine’s office. He took off his clothes; his jelly belly was dancing, and put it on the metal closet as indicated in the ‘Steps to Follow’ note. He is in his underwear now he locked the closet and cuffed himself in a chain and just sat there, waiting. Feeling stupid, humiliated and embarrassed when this turn out to be a big joke, or if she decided not to meet him, he will be too embarrassed to say anything to the officers.
Hours and hours have past; the white vapor came out of his mouth. He shivered at the decreasing temperatures in the nighttime.
Miles away from Sharine’s office, the cuff sent the signal to Sharine’s phone. The cell phone vibrated in her back pocket as it received the alert message. “Customer has arrived!” it shouted.
She was surrounded with the smell of fungus and foul aroma sneaking out from the restroom. Sharine was leaning against the wall, smoking. She had a well shaped body, dressed in a blue velvet dress, with a pistol strapped on her leg.
“If I remember correctly, the stuffs are supposed to be in the trunk?” she said, looking at the hoary old man who froze at her sight. The old man glanced at this extremely beautiful woman, her eyes dangerously beaming.
“Ah…haha didn’t expect you there Pestice. Dressed up nice eh? Meeting your prince charming?” the old man chuckled, fixing his hat.
“Even the seven year old brat won’t fall into your trick, you are getting old, Mr. Raymond,” Sharine started laughing.
“Watch your tongue Pestice,” the man sneered.
“I personally don’t like you, old man. I was just letting you live because of one of my customers’ sake, but as you ruthlessly killed him, I’ve got no reason to keep you alive,” said Sharine, smiling like a poisonous flower. The old man swallowed his saliva; sweat came down from his forehead.
“But I’ll let you live if you decide to buy weaponries from Hickernell,” she said, holding up the pistol, aiming at his head.
“Ha! You are too late Pestice, I killed him too! Well, probably he is dead by now! And deal is already done with my old friend,” Raymond chuckled.
“What a shame,” muttered Sharine, clutched her pistol tightly.
“Yeah, there is nothing you can do now,” Raymond sniggered. “So get your ass out of here! You have no business here!”
“You are a funny man, Raymond,” said Sharine and she turned suddenly, shot the guy hiding behind the dark window. Raymond startled and reached for his handgun, but before he could do anything his head was blown. He staggered and fell on the pavement.
“Amateurs,” she mumbled. Sharine walked toward the old man and took his black suitcase. She held up her phone to check the message.
“Now who is this?” said Sharine, amused. She looked at the picture which was taken by the camera inside her office. “A plumber…?”