The outside of a
room is shown, armed guards at the door. We hear the thoughts of an unseen figure, reminiscing. The voice said
that everything had been good for a few years, comfortable. We now see inside the room, it
is luxuriously decorated, a large desk with an upholstered chair, heavy curtains tied
back, and in the corner of the room an imposing bookcase. The voice continues, saying that
it had arguably been an easy life. Secure, safe from harm. A place for everything,
everything in its place. Finally we get a glimpse of the speaker. A jacketed arm, showing
just a hint of white shirtsleeve reaches out a beringed hand to a book. Titles of heavily
bound volumes are shown. The voice continues, telling us that things had been... ordered.
Neat.
We see
a black and white photograph in a wooden frame sitting on a desk. The speaker's wife? His
daughter? Who can tell? The hand moves to a letter on the desk. The voice continues. The
situation was permanent, or rather, the voice corrects itself, as permanent as these
things get. It is almost with resignation that the voice says that nothing lasts forever, before continuing with a puckish 'not
yet, anyway'. Reading glasses are removed , our vision blurs, suggesting we were looking
through the eyes of the speaker. A thumb polishes the lenses with a yellow cloth in neat
circular movements. The voice continues, reminding itself of the last preparations it
needs to make. Making sure everything is done as neatly as possible. The right hand that
had previously polished the reading glasses signs the letter, we cannot see the signature.
Our gaze pans right to a dark semi-automatic pistol, as we hear the words 'don't want to
leave a mess, do we?'
Kreutz sits in the
lotus position, his breathing slow. Removed from his customary suit, he is clad in green
combat trousers and a camouflage vest. His glasses remain the same. Behind him, a figure
moves, dressed in black. As Kreutz tells himself to stay alert, to remember what he and
others had taught him. The figure moves in, a blade in his hand. Kreutz movements are like
a cat as he reminds himself that power comes through discipline. He rolls backwards and pushes himself up on his hands, his combat boots connecting
with his assailant's jaw. Even as he does so, a thought steals unbidden into his mind,
'you know what you're facing'. Even as he moves through the air, he continues his inner
monologue, saying that he needs physical and mental strength, agility, speed. Again, the
doubting voice tells him 'you know how strong he is'. Kreutz lands knees first on the
chest of his unlucky assailant, and a sickening crack of bone is heard. As if bidden by
this he reminds himself he needs the killer instinct, and the doubting voice tells him 'he
has that to, you've seen what he can do'. Kreutz dusts himself off and stands, paying no
attention to the body. Now his exercise is complete. Even now, the doubting voice tells
him 'you've seen what he is'. A second’s lapse, he tells himself, could mean death.
If his to succeed, he has to be... and
here the voices come together... 'A killer'.
It's a
sunny day in London. The long night is over. John and the Assassin walk across the busy streets of the typical Camdem Town. There's all kind of
shops and kiosks, and armies of tourists mumbling and laughing around. It seems the brief
hours of sleep did well on John's features. His face is a little bit less anxious.
However, he's still worried about the purposes of the Assassin's trip to the city. The
Assassin looks double harder with his shades and his black jacket.
The Assassin tells
John that he's not obviously there for the nightlife, as the boy suggest. He has caught a
trace. John charges back with another query. The geography changes a bit while they walk,
tall buildings, old markets and pubs. The Assassin feels uncomfortable about John's doubts
and he tries to explain him about what traces are and the implications of the gem's nodes,
telling him that he "feels these kind of things". As he gets no progress from
John, he decides to pass the issue to Michael.
They enter in
The Lyon's Head, an old pub build in the mock-Tudor
style, seeking for privacy to contact Michael. The owner of the place watches them
silently pass and go directly into the men's toilet. John is completely tense about the
whole situation but he follows the Assassin without saying any words. Once inside the
small cubicle the Assassin reveals his wrist communicator and turns it on. He calls for Michael, who's at the Bed & Breakfast.
[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 80, 81, 82
AND 83] May/25/01
Michael answers the Assassin's call on his wrist communicator.The Assassin indicates John and
tells Michael that John wants to know what Nodes are. Michael starts off his explanation
by reminding John about the dreamwalkers, and then telling him that dreamwalkers are
bonded to gems, but that the bonding becomes weaker the further the dreamwalker is from
the gem. Each gem, Michael says, has seven nodes, points which can pass on the power of
the gem to the dreamwalkers at a much greater distance.
John wonders if the Node setup is anything like that of a booster transmitter for a mobile
phone network. Michael says the principle is the same, but that you don't send your entire
soul through your mobile. The nodes help form part of the
Gem's structure of control, directly in the gem's chain of command. If the Node is
destroyed, then the gem's grip on the dreamwalkers is loosened, weakened to the point
where it breaks. This means that the dreamwalkers are freed from the gem's influence.
Suddenly there is a loud knocking on the door and an irritated voice from inside asks what
they are doing in there. The Assassin and John leave, slightly scaring a man stood
outside. As they come out, John asks if there is a node in London. The Assassin tells him
there is not.
Understandably, this annoys John a little. He had been dragged in off the street into the
toilets of some pub to be told about nodes, when they were nothing to do with his current
situation. The Assassin says that London is in fact much more important than a Node. This puzzles John who asks what can be more important than
this. The Assassin tells him that London is the site of a Gem. John and the Assassin walk
through London as their argument continues. John says he thought the gem inhabited the
Dreamwalkers. The Assassin tells him that some of the time this is the case, but that
sometimes it requires a more permanent host, and needs certain structures around it to
complete the alignment.
John asks if
this is the Assassin's target. The Assassin replies in the affirmative. John asks where
the Gem is. The Assassin points. John looks on in a mixture of horror and awe as the Assassin indicates the dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral
in the distance.[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 84, 85, 86
AND 87] Jun/08/01
Michael sits alone in the
Assassin's base. Meditating, thinking to himself. He muses that it is the times when he is alone that he hates.
Unlike the Assassin, he is not driven to this fight by what he is. He is no avatar of
chaos. With the Assassin there, Michael is swept up in the inertia and vitality of the
mission. When they are following a dreamwalker, he is focused on his task. Introspection
is pointless. However... sometimes, when the tension of anger isn't there, and he has time
to think about what he is doing, what is going on. To really think about the universe and
himself... It's like staring into a black hole. Suddenly the door slams back on its
hinges. Michael's meditation ends.
John and the Assassin burst into the room, arguing. John seems furious, telling the
Assassin that he's crazy. The Assassin insists, in a calm and slightly irritated tone that what he is saying is the truth. John turns
to Michael and appeals to him, asking him to confirm or deny what the Assassin has said.
Michael asks what in the world they are talking about. John angrily tells him that the
Assassin wants to blow up Saint Paul's cathedral. This irritates the Assassin slightly,
and he grumpily asserts that this was not what he meant at all. John challenges him on
this, asking him to confirm that the Gem is in the cathedral. The Assassin confirms this
and John surmises that if the gem is there they will have to destroy the place.
The Assassin tells John he's wrong. Michael backs him up and says that whilst they will have to destroy the gem, that
just means killing the host. The cathedral will be fine. John sinks into a chair, confused
at the situation (not for the first time). He asks the Assassin why he pointed at the
cathedral when he was asked where the gem was. The Assassin says that the gem had been in
the cathedral at that point. John sarcastically asks if they're planning to kill a bishop.
The Assassin says that of course they aren't. John relaxes slightly, thanking heaven for
small mercies, until Michael mentions that the target is actually dean of Saint
Paul’s cathedral. John is shocked.
John stands halfway between angry and hysterical. He tells Michael that his family are
strict church of England. If he helps to kill a priest he's going to hell for sure. The Assassin tells him he doesn't have to stay if
he doesn't want to. If he feels that strongly about it, he can walk out of the door right
now if he wants. The Assassin asks him to consider before he goes, can he bear being the
only person who knows the truth. John pauses for a long time. He seems quiet, exhausted,
torn between his new friends and the life he once knew. Eventually, his friends lose the
emotional battle. He says he is sorry, and
without another word walks out of the door.[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 88, 89, AND 90] Jun/22/01
Night falls over the city. The sky blends slowly from its light blue through a palette of pinks and oranges and purples, as the last rays of the sun retreat, leaving a dark midnight blue sky, sequinned
with starry pinpoints. The city, below this dark blue cloak, slows down, as workers leave
to return home to families and friends, and then revitalises, as the pubs and clubs of the
capital open their doors. Plans are made for the evening ahead. At the heart of the city,
two opposing forces gather their strength and prepare for the inevitable confrontation.
Our gaze turns to the stonework of Saint Paul's Cathedral, and as we move towards it, we
muse that it will be a night of consequence, a night of conflict... a night of reckoning.
A guard stands in front of a shadowy doorway. He sees nobody coming, and no movement, only
shadow. We as the viewers, see shapes in the shadow. The outline of hair, the silhouette
of aa hand, cast onto the doorknob, a man's shadow, cast through an open doorway. A real
hand shuts the door soundlessly. The Assassin is inside. We see the hallway through his eyes, and through the
lenses of his glasses. Darkness is rendered in a tracery of red and green, readouts giving
vital but cryptic information on the layout of the building. We hear the thoughts of the
Assassin, and the answering
communications of Michael, as he gives directions. As the Assassin heads up the darkened
stairs, we see him silhouetted in the light of the window, a dark and deadly force,
heading to its target. He silently asks for the locations of the guards.
Back at their headquarters, the Assassin advises Michael that the obvious place for the
guards to be is the dormitories. This information is relayed to the Assassin, who expresses his
frustration. Just because that's where the guards should be doesn't mean that's where they
are. He curses and decides he has to go, rationalising that it is better to give them one
shot at him close up, than all the shots they want. Our point of view switches to a
doorway. A guard walks past and we see a shadow. A shadow of
what, we are not sure. The guard spins, gun and torch held high. The beam of the torch
falls upon a coathanger. The guard relaxes, lowering the gun. At that moment, he is
grabbed from behind by the Assassin, who covers his mouth so he cannot shout for help. In
seconds he is unconscious. The Assassin
informs Michael that one guard is down, immobile.[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 91, 92, 93
AND 94] Jul/06/01
Against the backdrop of a window of the darkened church, we see the Assassin pressing onwards, making short work of
Kreutz' compliment of guards. The second one falls to a knee in the gut. The third and
fourth in bloodier fashion. The fifth is taken silently, with a pad soaked in chemicals, whilst the sixth and
seventh are hog-tied, left hardly able to move, let alone call for help. Finally, deep
within the building, the Assassin finds what he has been searching for. A guarded door,
with his target behind it. But first, the final guards must be dealt with.
Two guards stand outside a door. They do not
ask what is behind it. Asking questions is frowned upon in their line of work. Asking the
wrong question of the wrong person could lead to more trouble than you can imagine. Best
to just guard the door. Don't ask what you are guarding or who from. Suddenly, something
rolls across the floor. Immediately the situation becomes dangerous. Do you check what it
is, and risk getting killed because of a decoy? Do you ignore it, and risk the wrath of
your superiors and attack from an intruder? The two guards in question decide to cover all
the bases they can. One keeps watch whilst
the other checks what the movement was. Tension evaporates from one when the movement
reveals itself to just be an old coin, but reignites when the coin proves itself to be
more than it seems. To the horror of the guards, gas rushes out of openings in the coin.
The
investigating guard topples to the floor, the gas knocking him unconscious. The guard
watching the door tries to call for help, but it is too late. The boot of the Assassin catches him in the jaw, and
he hits the ground. The Assassin, with gas mask over his face, emerges, and examines the
door. The door is locked, and probably heavily alarmed. The Assassin kneels, and
concentrates on the door, and inside the mechanism of the lock, something moves... With a
loud 'Klik!' the door opens. The final barrier between the Assassin and his prey seems to
be removed.
The room is
dark. Little or no light enters into this place, even from the doorway where the Assassin
stands, his shadow cutting an outline of darkness into the floor. The Assassin enters,
prepared for the most delicate part of the operation. The host, as he is well aware, must
die by his hand. The hand in question now wields a knife. Sharp, nasty, and effective. The Assassin moves around the
room. It's too close for gemsense to tell him where the gem is, but there is only one heat
source in the room, and the thermal imaging of his goggles points him towards the shape in
the bed. A final movement, betraying what might in another be considered nervousness, and
the knife swings into the blankets. Suddenly the lights blaze on, and the figure of Kreutz
stands over the Assassin, explaining
that what he just risked his life to plant a blade into was in fact an electric blanket.[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 95, AND 96] Jul/20/01
Kreutz moves like lightning, kicking the Assassin in the jaw with a powerful left foot that knocks off the Assassin's goggles, and knocks his knife from
his hand. The blow also grounds the Assassin and splits his lower lip open. Kreutz stands
over him and gloats, telling him that the setup was easier than he thought it would be. He
swings another swift, vicious boot at the Assassin's midsection, whist the Assassin curls
on the floor, momentarily dazed by the sudden attack. Kreutz seems amused, telling the
Assassin that he is really quite stupid. He continues by asking if the Assassin really
thought that his mission would be so simple. The Assassin has by this point recovered
enough of his wits to notice the knife on the floor in front of him, and begins to reach
for it as Kreutz snorts 'we're not playing games here!' with disdain. The Assassin's hand
edges closer and closer to the knife as Kreutz speaks, before it is stopped by the force
of a shoe heel stamping down on his hand. There is a cracking noise, as if one of the tiny
bones on the assassin's hand has broken. Kreutz laughs even at this attempt to get the
knife, calling the Assassin pathetic. Kreutz lifts an injured Assassin to his feet by his
lapels, a trickle of blood coming from the corner of the Assassin's mouth. Kreutz speaks
in a mocking tone and asks the Assassin if he knows what is going to happen next.
Kreutz and the
Assassin form a frozen dramatic tableau. The Assassin, bleeding and beaten, dressed in black, slumps
like a puppet with its strings cut. Kreutz stands, pulling the Assassin up, his white suit
perfect despite the fighting he has just been through. The look on his face is an almost
perfect mixture of anger and amusement, as he tells the Assassin that he is about to learn the price of
what he just tried to do.
armed guards at the door. We hear the thoughts of an unseen figure, reminiscing. The voice said
that everything had been good for a few years, comfortable. We now see inside the room, it
is luxuriously decorated, a large desk with an upholstered chair, heavy curtains tied
back, and in the corner of the room an imposing bookcase. The voice continues, saying that
it had arguably been an easy life. Secure, safe from harm. A place for everything,
everything in its place. Finally we get a glimpse of the speaker. A jacketed arm, showing
just a hint of white shirtsleeve reaches out a beringed hand to a book. Titles of heavily
bound volumes are shown. The voice continues, telling us that things had been... ordered.
Neat.
forever, before continuing with a puckish 'not
yet, anyway'. Reading glasses are removed , our vision blurs, suggesting we were looking
through the eyes of the speaker. A thumb polishes the lenses with a yellow cloth in neat
circular movements. The voice continues, reminding itself of the last preparations it
needs to make. Making sure everything is done as neatly as possible. The right hand that
had previously polished the reading glasses signs the letter, we cannot see the signature.
Our gaze pans right to a dark semi-automatic pistol, as we hear the words 'don't want to
leave a mess, do we?'
Kreutz sits in the
lotus position, his breathing slow. Removed from his customary suit, he is clad in green
combat trousers and a camouflage vest. His glasses remain the same. Behind him, a figure
moves, dressed in black. As Kreutz tells himself to stay alert, to remember what he and
others had taught him. The figure moves in, a blade in his hand. Kreutz movements are like
a cat as he reminds himself that power comes through discipline. He rolls backwards
and pushes himself up on his hands, his combat boots connecting
with his assailant's jaw. Even as he does so, a thought steals unbidden into his mind,
'you know what you're facing'. Even as he moves through the air, he continues his inner
monologue, saying that he needs physical and mental strength, agility, speed. Again, the
doubting voice tells him 'you know how strong he is'. Kreutz lands knees first on the
chest of his unlucky assailant, and a sickening crack of bone is heard. As if bidden by
this he reminds himself he needs the killer instinct, and the doubting voice tells him 'he
has that to, you've seen what he can do'. Kreutz dusts himself off and stands, paying no
attention to the body. Now his exercise is complete. Even now, the doubting voice tells
him 'you've seen what he is'. A second’s lapse, he tells himself, could mean death.
If his to succeed, he has to be... and
here the voices come together... 'A killer'.
the busy streets of the typical Camdem Town. There's all kind of
shops and kiosks, and armies of tourists mumbling and laughing around. It seems the brief
hours of sleep did well on John's features. His face is a little bit less anxious.
However, he's still worried about the purposes of the Assassin's trip to the city. The
Assassin looks double harder with his shades and his black jacket.
the mock-Tudor
style, seeking for privacy to contact Michael. The owner of the place watches them
silently pass and go directly into the men's toilet. John is completely tense about the
whole situation but he follows the Assassin without saying any words. Once inside the
small cubicle the Assassin reveals his wrist communicator and turns it on. He calls for Michael, who's at the Bed & Breakfast.
The Assassin indicates John and
tells Michael that John wants to know what Nodes are. Michael starts off his explanation
by reminding John about the dreamwalkers, and then telling him that dreamwalkers are
bonded to gems, but that the bonding becomes weaker the further the dreamwalker is from
the gem. Each gem, Michael says, has seven nodes, points which can pass on the power of
the gem to the dreamwalkers at a much greater distance.
John wonders if the Node setup is anything like that of a booster transmitter for a mobile
phone network. Michael says the principle is the same, but that you don't send your entire
soul through your mobile. The nodes help
form part of the
Gem's structure of control, directly in the gem's chain of command. If the Node is
destroyed, then the gem's grip on the dreamwalkers is loosened, weakened to the point
where it breaks. This means that the dreamwalkers are freed from the gem's influence.
Suddenly there is a loud knocking on the door and an irritated voice from inside asks what
they are doing in there. The Assassin and John leave, slightly scaring a man stood
outside. As they come out, John asks if there is a node in London. The Assassin tells him
there is not.
Understandably, this annoys John a little. He had been dragged in off the street into the
toilets of some pub to be told about nodes, when they were nothing to do with his current
situation. The Assassin says that London is in fact much more important than a
Node. This puzzles John who asks what can be more important than
this. The Assassin tells him that London is the site of a Gem. John and the Assassin walk
through London as their argument continues. John says he thought the gem inhabited the
Dreamwalkers. The Assassin tells him that some of the time this is the case, but that
sometimes it requires a more permanent host, and needs certain structures around it to
complete the alignment.
John asks if
this is the Assassin's target. The Assassin replies in the affirmative. John asks where
the Gem is. The Assassin points. John looks on in a mixture of horror and awe as the Assassin indicates the dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral
in the distance.
[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 
He muses that it is the times when he is alone that he hates.
Unlike the Assassin, he is not driven to this fight by what he is. He is no avatar of
chaos. With the Assassin there, Michael is swept up in the inertia and vitality of the
mission. When they are following a dreamwalker, he is focused on his task. Introspection
is pointless. However... sometimes, when the tension of anger isn't there, and he has time
to think about what he is doing, what is going on. To really think about the universe and
himself... It's like staring into a black hole. Suddenly the door slams back on its
hinges. Michael's meditation ends.
John and the Assassin burst into the room, arguing. John seems furious, telling the
Assassin that he's crazy. The Assassin insists, in a calm and
slightly irritated tone that what he is saying is the truth. John turns
to Michael and appeals to him, asking him to confirm or deny what the Assassin has said.
Michael asks what in the world they are talking about. John angrily tells him that the
Assassin wants to blow up Saint Paul's cathedral. This irritates the Assassin slightly,
and he grumpily asserts that this was not what he meant at all. John challenges him on
this, asking him to confirm that the Gem is in the cathedral. The Assassin confirms this
and John surmises that if the gem is there they will have to destroy the place.
The Assassin tells John he's wrong. Michael 
backs him up and says that whilst they will have to destroy the gem, that
just means killing the host. The cathedral will be fine. John sinks into a chair, confused
at the situation (not for the first time). He asks the Assassin why he pointed at the
cathedral when he was asked where the gem was. The Assassin says that the gem had been in
the cathedral at that point. John sarcastically asks if they're planning to kill a bishop.
The Assassin says that of course they aren't. John relaxes slightly, thanking heaven for
small mercies, until Michael mentions that the target is actually dean of Saint
Paul’s cathedral. John is shocked.
John stands halfway between angry and hysterical. He tells Michael that his family are
strict church of England. If he helps to kill a priest he's
going to hell for sure. The Assassin tells him he doesn't have to stay if
he doesn't want to. If he feels that strongly about it, he can walk out of the door right
now if he wants. The Assassin asks him to consider before he goes, can he bear being the
only person who knows the truth. John pauses for a long time. He seems quiet, exhausted,
torn between his new friends and the life he once knew. Eventually, his friends lose the
emotional battle. He says he is sorry, and
without another word walks out of the door.
[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 
pinks and oranges and purples, as the last rays of the sun retreat, leaving a dark midnight blue sky, sequinned
with starry pinpoints. The city, below this dark blue cloak, slows down, as workers leave
to return home to families and friends, and then revitalises, as the pubs and clubs of the
capital open their doors. Plans are made for the evening ahead. At the heart of the city,
two opposing forces gather their strength and prepare for the inevitable confrontation.
Our gaze turns to the stonework of Saint Paul's Cathedral, and as we move towards it, we
muse that it will be a night of consequence, a night of conflict... a night of reckoning.
A guard stands in front of a shadowy doorway. He sees nobody coming, and no movement, only
shadow. We as the viewers, see shapes in the shadow. The outline of hair, the silhouette
of aa hand, cast onto the doorknob, a man's shadow, cast through an open doorway. A real
hand shuts the door soundlessly. The Assassin is inside. We see the hallway through his eyes, and through the
lenses of his glasses. Darkness is rendered in a tracery of red and green, readouts giving
vital but cryptic information on the layout of the building. We hear the thoughts of the
Assassin, and
the answering
communications of Michael, as he gives directions. As the Assassin heads up the darkened
stairs, we see him silhouetted in the light of the window, a dark and deadly force,
heading to its target. He silently asks for the locations of the guards.
Back at their headquarters, the Assassin advises Michael that the obvious place for the
guards to be is the dormitories. This information is relayed to the Assassin, who expresses his
frustration. Just because that's where the guards should be doesn't mean that's where they
are. He curses and decides he has to go, rationalising that it is better to give them one
shot at him close up, than all the shots they want. Our point of view switches to a
doorway. A guard walks past and 
we see a shadow. A shadow of
what, we are not sure. The guard spins, gun and torch held high. The beam of the torch
falls upon a coathanger. The guard relaxes, lowering the gun. At that moment, he is
grabbed from behind by the Assassin, who covers his mouth so he cannot shout for help. In
seconds he is unconscious. The Assassin
informs Michael that one guard is down, immobile.
[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 
pad soaked in chemicals, whilst the sixth and
seventh are hog-tied, left hardly able to move, let alone call for help. Finally, deep
within the building, the Assassin finds what he has been searching for. A guarded door,
with his target behind it. But first, the final guards must be dealt with.
whilst
the other checks what the movement was. Tension evaporates from one when the movement
reveals itself to just be an old coin, but reignites when the coin proves itself to be
more than it seems. To the horror of the guards, gas rushes out of openings in the coin.
boot of the Assassin catches him in the jaw, and
he hits the ground. The Assassin, with gas mask over his face, emerges, and examines the
door. The door is locked, and probably heavily alarmed. The Assassin kneels, and
concentrates on the door, and inside the mechanism of the lock, something moves... With a
loud 'Klik!' the door opens. The final barrier between the Assassin and his prey seems to
be removed.
The room is
dark. Little or no light enters into this place, even from the doorway where the Assassin
stands, his shadow cutting an outline of darkness into the floor. The Assassin enters,
prepared for the most delicate part of the operation. The host, as he is well aware, must
die by his hand. The hand in question now wields a
knife. Sharp, nasty, and effective. The Assassin moves around the
room. It's too close for gemsense to tell him where the gem is, but there is only one heat
source in the room, and the thermal imaging of his goggles points him towards the shape in
the bed. A final movement, betraying what might in another be considered nervousness, and
the knife swings into the blankets. Suddenly the lights blaze on, and the figure of Kreutz
stands over the Assassin, explaining
that what he just risked his life to plant a blade into was in fact an electric blanket.
[SUMMARY
OF PAGES 
in the jaw with a powerful left foot that knocks off the Assassin's goggles, and knocks his knife from
his hand. The blow also grounds the Assassin and splits his lower lip open. Kreutz stands
over him and gloats, telling him that the setup was easier than he thought it would be. He
swings another swift, vicious boot at the Assassin's midsection, whist the Assassin curls
on the floor, momentarily dazed by the sudden attack. Kreutz seems amused, telling the
Assassin that he is really quite stupid. He continues by asking if the Assassin really
thought that his mission would be so simple. The Assassin has by this point recovered
enough of his wits to notice the knife on the floor in front of him, and begins to reach
for it as Kreutz snorts 'we're not playing games here!' with disdain. The Assassin's hand
edges closer and closer to the knife as Kreutz speaks, before it is stopped by the force
of a shoe heel stamping down on his hand. There is a cracking noise, as if one of the tiny
bones on the assassin's hand has broken. Kreutz laughs even at this attempt to get the
knife, calling the Assassin pathetic. Kreutz lifts an injured Assassin to his feet by his
lapels, a trickle of blood coming from the corner of the Assassin's mouth. Kreutz speaks
in a mocking tone and asks the Assassin if he knows what is going to happen next.
Kreutz and the
Assassin form a frozen dramatic
tableau. The Assassin, bleeding and beaten, dressed in black, slumps
like a puppet with its strings cut. Kreutz stands, pulling the Assassin up, his white suit
perfect despite the fighting he has just been through. The look on his face is an almost
perfect mixture of anger and amusement, as he tells the Assassin that he is about to learn the price of
what he just tried to do.