She hung up and quickly downed the rest of her drink.

Lauren walked toward the elevator and met up with a young man who waited somewhat anxiously for the compartment to arrive. They boarded shortly thereafter and he asked which floor she was on after he pressed the b.u.t.ton for the fourteenth floor.

"That's actually the floor I'm on as well," she told him.

"Oh." He remained quiet for a moment before he asked where she was from. "You don't sound like you're from around here."

"I'm from Paris...and just so you know, this is a hotel, so most of the people staying here aren't from around here."

He reddened and admitted that it was a stupid question. "Are you enjoying yourself at least?"

"Somewhat."

"What brought you here?"

"Family."

"Did someone die?"

"

"What?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "Listen, I don't want to sound like a b.i.t.c.h, but I'm not really in the mood to make any acquaintances."

"Ah, yeah, sorry."

The rest of their elevator ride was silent, even when others boarded. Lauren looked away from him and the young man kept his eyes low. Once they reached the fourteenth floor they both disembarked and headed down the left hall.

"I-I wasn't hitting on you or anything," he suddenly told her. "I just don't like awkward silences."

"It's fine. Just forget about it."

She left him once he arrived at his room, which was only one room down from where she stayed. However they heard a commotion and a scream from her room before she managed to leave the young man's side. He didn't hesitate to walk past her to the room, pounded on the door, and asked if everything was alright.

There wasn't a response.

"Get out of the way," Lauren snapped. She retrieved her card-key for the room and opened the door.

Lauren didn't see the attack, but the young man with her managed to pull her out of the line of fire of four shuriken-like projectiles. She hit the floor and in what seemed like a blur, the young man produced a firearm from thin air, grabbed the door to the hotel room before it swung to a close, and placed himself between the a.s.sailant and Lauren.

The young man seemed vastly different from the timid boy she met on the elevator moments earlier. The fellow before her held a dead aim at their foe. He did not waiver and he remained in control of his emotions amid the tense situation. Lauren saw her mother's motionless corpse on the floor between Lauren's savior and a well dressed man who held her father hostage with little more than a set of earbuds wrapped tightly around her father's throat. Her father struggled vainly for air.

The sharply dressed man cracked a smile and spoke up, "My my my Nick. Yer more surprisin' than I thought. I'd seen ya scared s.h.i.tless a few months back, so where did ya find this new set of stones kid?"

Nick took a rea.s.suring breath and tried to remain sure of himself, despite the beads of sweat that trickled down the back of his neck. "Drop him or"

"Or what?" the man sneered. "Y'll shoot? Go 'head." He ducked behind Lauren's father and told him it wouldn't make a difference. "By the way Nick," the killer's voice change and he lost his accent, "Do you even know why I'm here?" He showed himself again and looked entirely different. Nick, nearly dropped his weapon.

"V-Victor?"

The a.s.sa.s.sin nodded and told him the Facet family were members of the Dafu's plan to attack the Seattle Art Museum. "I've been working with Mizuno for years Nick. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you about all of this sooner, but I had to fake my death and lie to you for his project."

Nick stared at his brother in disbelief and asked why Mizuno wouldn't say anything.

"It's because he thinks someone's aware of his plan and is out to get him."

"Is that true?"

Victor nodded. "Of course. I would have told you I was alive"

Nick took a poor shot at the man, missed, and shouted with tears in his eyes, "My brother's been dead for weeks you son of a b.i.t.c.h." He retook his aim and demanded to know who he really was.

Victor gripped the cord around Lauren's father's neck tighter. "You know this isn't going to end well, right Nick? I have a job to do and I will complete it one way or another. If not today, then tomorrow."

"Who are you?"

The charlatan shook his head and told Nick he had nothing more to say. He retrieved a knife and in a fluid movement flicked the blade open and slit Lauren's father's throat. Victor raced toward Nick with Lauren's father as a shield and tackled Nick to the ground. The charlatan fled afterwards while Nick tried to free himself from under the dead weight of Lauren's father.

Lauren watched Nick curse under his breath as he freed himself and struggled to try and stop the bleeding. Blood covered his hands and slid through his fingers. Nick watched as the man stopped struggling for air and grew still through tear soaked eyes. Finally, he set the man aside, wiped his hands on his jeans, and composed himself. Blood remained on his hands, no matter how he tried to rid himself of it.

Nick took a breath and realized that Lauren was gone. His heart raced and he dashed out of the hotel room and scanned the area for any sign of her among the other guests who slowly emerged from their rooms. He heard the shocked comments about the blood, the confrontation they overheard, and of a man who fled, but Nick tuned them out and looked for a young woman he had neglected.

A pit grew in Nick's stomach as he failed to locate her, unsure of whether the charlatan kidnapped her or if she fled on her own. But Nick called out for her nonetheless. He finally heard someone sobbing towards the stairwell at the end of the hall. He quickly made his way toward the distressed person and found Lauren there, sitting on the floor, in tears.

Nick collected his thoughts and asked if she was alright. Lauren however did not respond. He helped get her back on her feet and told her in a hushed tone that they needed to leave. Lauren tried to object but he cut her off and told her the a.s.sa.s.sin who targeted her earlier would try again once he knew where she was, even if she was taken in by the authorities.

Nick waited for her to say something, anything, but she only continued to weep. Before she realized it, Nick led her by the hand down the auxiliary staircase and toward the emergency fire exit. He told her everything was going to be alright, though he was not sure she heard or believed him.

8:01 PM.

Seattle, Washington Rachel and Vladimir stood only a foot apart before Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone. Each painting was protected by five stanchions and ruby velvet ropes. There were nearly one-hundred other guests at the gallery, though neither Vladimir nor Rachel paid any attention to them. She had dressed up for the occasion, which left Vladimir unseemly in his usual attire of slacks, a wrinkled collared shirt, and a thin scarf.

"Where were you last week?" Rachel asked him.

He simply said he was sick and hoped to end the matter.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," he told her and flashed a smile, "Things will be better in the days to come as well, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself."

"But I am worried about you," she whispered.

Vladimir didn't respond.

She looked away from him and muttered, "What are you hiding?"

"What about you?" he asked. "Are you going to tell me why you invited me and not Jordan?"

She scowled and told him she's ended things between the two of them. "He didn't respect me and I know I can do better than him."

Vladimir twitched. He cleared his throat and walked on to the next painting without her, though he knew she would follow after him. The next painting was Bedroom at Arles, which he personally enjoyed, though Rachel hardly noticed it when she returned to his side.

"I need to talk to you," she told him as she took his hand and led him away from the exhibit. They stood off a short ways from the rest of the group and managed to have a moment to talk without anyone overhearing. "I left Jordan because I want to be with you."

Vladimir only looked away from her and told her he couldn't be with her.

Rachel frowned and asked why he thought they couldn't be together, however screams and gunfire erupted in the heart of the gallery and a man dressed in all black and a pearl mask emerged from the crowd and opened fire on the patrons. Rachel's heart raced as she tried to hide but froze when she saw the killer take aim at her.

The a.s.sa.s.sin shot once at Rachel, but Vladimir managed to shield her from the bullet. The round caught him in the shoulder and although he let out a sharp curse, Vladimir pushed through the pain to take Rachel by the hand and toward a multi-paned gla.s.s window. Vladimir seized one of the nearby stanchions, freed it of the velvet rope that restrained it, and brutally broke open the window in a single motion. He clutched Rachel tightly, told her to hold her breath, and transformed them both into a colony of bats, which fled out the window and into the city.

Mizuno watched as the young man fled with his companion and told his teammates, in German, to forget about the couple who escaped through the window, ""Mizuno's group was intermingled with over a hundred people throughout three rooms with pillars, paintings, and walls, which separated them from Strom. He wore his usual attire along with his pearl Ghost mask and shot whomever Mizuno ordered him to execute through the use of the communicator. The plan was to instruct Strom to kill anyone Mizuno deemed a threat, without any sort of damage or interference to any of the art or to the patrons Mizuno felt were innocent. As such Mizuno only brought Strom, Yong, and Bruce to be able to control the audience (in the event that anyone decided to step in as a hero), Kyle and Melanie for their part in the translator system, and Mithra and Afifa for transporting the group at the completion of the incident."" Strom told him in German."" The lights in the building simultaneously failed. Mizuno did not bother to finish his sentence.Emergency lights came on and dimly illuminated the museum. Amid the renewed screaming and wailing bellowed a newcomer, who shouted, "Y'all started the party without me? How impolite."Mizuno swore under his breath in j.a.panese and muttered, ""Yong told him he had. ""One of the outward walls exploded inward and buried two people in rubble while a second explosion within the building collapsed an interior wall and ignited some of the paintings along with the building itself. A greater panic ensued as the crowd raced toward the exits, all of which were locked.Mizuno peered through the chaos and smoke for the newcomer but failed to locate the man. He touched his hand to his transmitter and barked, ""Strom chimed in and told Mizuno he planned to remain as well. ""Mizuno tried to talk him out of it but Strom discarded his headset and lost himself in the confusion. "" Mizuno searched for him through the disaster but instead espied the murderous newcomer and immediately recognized him. ""Jeremy Dalton stood strangling some poor soul before he turned and launched a set of shuriken toward Mizuno. He dodged the projectiles with ease but lost the a.s.sa.s.sin in the process. Mizuno returned to the communicator and told Kyle to contact the police and firemen in the area and have them get to the museum as soon as possible. """Mizuno stopped and saw Kyle partially buried beneath a pile of debris, illuminated by the fires and the hole in the wall nearby. ""Within a second everyone in the building went blind. The shrieks of the terrified art patrons overtook the commotion of the gunfire between Strom and Dalton. Mizuno wasted no time in the temporary darkness to reach Kyle and began to remove the rubble that pinned him down."" Kyle asked him in Korean. ""Their sight returned and Mizuno quicken the excavation. "" He finished clearing enough of the collapsed wall for Kyle to move. As he helped Kyle to his feet they heard another ma.s.sive explosion near one of the far exits. Mizuno ran the situation through his head in an instant and said, """""" Dalton told them in Korean.Mizuno didn't have time to react to Dalton's surprise attack, however Kyle managed to see the impending a.s.sault before Mizuno and placed himself between Dalton's blade and Mizuno. Dalton sliced deep into Kyle's shoulder and brought Kyle and Mizuno to the ground.Strom caught up to Dalton and took a shot at him but missed while his opponent retreated into the growing inferno. He left Mizuno and Kyle to pursue Dalton. Strom took cover, reloaded his weapons, and tried to keep his wits while the building began to collapse."Fancy meetin' you here Strom," Dalton called out over the crowd. "How 'bout we just end this here and now?""" Strom barked in German.Three more explosions shattered support beams and brought the entire floor down a level. The rubble pinned Strom and Dalton attacked him before he managed to locate his weapon. The a.s.sa.s.sin dug one blade into Strom's left bicep and a second into his right shoulder. Strom tried to move to counter Dalton but found his arms immobile.Jeremy Dalton snickered and wrapped a set of earbuds around Strom's neck. "Y'know, I've waited fer a very long time ta be in this position. I neva got an opportunity ta put it to tha test, but I always knew I was the better man Strom."A shot rang out that missed Dalton entirely, but managed to scare him off. Mizuno and Kyle appeared from behind him and worked as best as they could to free Strom. Kyle activated his communicator and was relieved to find he could still contact Mithra and the others who escaped earlier. He called for an immediate extraction and gave Afifa their rough location in the crumbling museum."" Strom muttered, even though his words were nearly lost in the collapse of the building.Mizuno told them to shut their eyes as Afifa returned for them. She didn't waste a second to transport them out of the dying museum before the entire structure collapsed.The colony of bats left Rachel and her wounded companion alone on the roof of a skysc.r.a.per miles from the Seattle Art Museum. Rachel's heart raced and a rush of adrenaline caused her to body to tremble. She looked around the cityscape from where she stood and tried to catch her breath while Vladimir wandered off toward the other end of the roof."Oh my word..." she gasped. "Did you see him? Ghost, he looked right at me and...And what the h.e.l.l happened back there Vladimir?" Rachel waited for a reply before she repeated her query. She looked around the remote and deserted rooftop for her Romanian companion but failed to find him initially. All she saw were a few air conditioning units and a stairwell entrance. "Vladimir?""Rachel, please, stay back."She walked to the other end of the stairwell structure and found Vladimir. He clutched his shoulder and backed away from her. Rachel saw the blood on his hand from the bullet wound and resolved to aid him. Rachel rushed to his side and set her hand on his shoulder. A light poured out of his wound, but rather than mending his wound, Vladimir's blood began to boil and the flesh around the injury blackened.Vladimir let out a bloodcurdling shriek and cast her aside without regard for her safety. Rachel fell to the floor while he cursed her and clawed at his abrasion to remove the darkened skin and the bullet lodged deep in his shoulder near the rotator cuff. He tore the metal slug out and cast it away as his shoulder regenerated itself, though the area Rachel touched remained darkened.Her eyes widened and she asked how long he had known about his ability. But Vladimir only nursed his shoulder and told her it wasn't her concern. "Rachel, you need to leave.""What? Vladimir..."He walked away from her and tried to distance himself, but she followed after him. "Vladimir, what happened? I tried to heal you but""Rachel, please, leave me alone.""No, I'm not going to abandon you when you're hurt""I am not hurt," he barked. "I was completely fine before your intervention.""How did you heal yourself when I couldn't heal you?"