56. Jack
FIFTY-SIX
JACK
Unlike most alleys, this was one of the cleanest Jack had ever seen. No refuse littered the ground, no odor made him cringe. He was reminded again of the level of care New Hope had attained compared to every other city in the Outland.
“Here.” Aareth skidded to a stop beside a large wooden door with a sign overhead that read: Lovegood’s Fine Leathers and Hides.
Jack took one last look around the deserted backstreet to ensure they were still the hunters and not the hunted. As he turned his eyes back to the door, Aareth flew backwards under an onslaught of wooden shards. The door had imploded under the pressure of the assassin in black.
Aareth was thrown to the opposite alley wall, where his head hit the brick with a painful crack.
Jack was reaching for the wand given to him by Edison Reeves, the director of the Queen’s armory, when the assassin came for him.
Jack had time to realize two things in the second before the attack.
First, the hitman wasn’t a man at all. By the curve of her breasts and hips, and the slenderness of her stature, it was obvious a woman was attacking him.
The second was the lack of face. Under the black cowl was a gunmetal mask hiding any of the assassin’s features.
Two large circles covered in dark glass and a lined vent for breathing made up the unearthly helmet.
Before Jack could even draw his weapon, she was finishing Aareth with a strike to his temple and an elbow to the base of his skull. Aareth staggered but refused to fall.
As Jack aimed for his target, she was on him.
Batting aside the hand that held his wand, she sent a strike to his throat and a kick to his stomach.
At once, Jack was left gasping as he fell to his knees, both hands clutching his stomach.
His wand clattered to the stone floor, useless.
Eyes watering, he fought to regain his footing.
He looked down the alley to see the masked figure disappear into the street.
The road teemed with citizens still fleeing from the initial gunshot.
Aareth appeared next to Jack. The large man offered Jack a hand. A moment of silence passed as their minds processed the recent events.
“I need to find out what’s going on with me.” Aareth massaged the back of his head where the assassin’s elbow had connected. “Her blows should have been enough to knock me out. Instead, the pain’s already gone.”
“You saw that too, right?” Jack ignored Aareth’s words. “Our assassin is a masked woman.”
“I saw it.” A shadow of confusion crossed over Aareth’s face. “There was something familiar about her. I know I couldn’t see her face, but still. On her wrist, there was a ... No, no, never mind. We have to get back to Sloan and let her know what just happened.”
Jack decided not to push the subject. He trusted Aareth would tell him if he could put his finger on any new information. Time would prove this theory wrong.