Felicia’s slow, unhurried steps echoed faintly along the deserted road. The farther she walked, the darker the path became. Several streetlights along the stretch had long since gone out, leaving the area shrouded in eerie shadows. The silence was deafening, broken only by the soft shuffle of her shoes against the pavement..
In the dark, the assassins knew their moment had arrived.
“Now!” the leader ordered in a hushed tone.
Seventeen shadowy figures moved like a wave, swift and silent as they closed in on Felicia from all directions. She’d have seen nothing but the blur of ck–d figures barreling
toward her if she turned around.
Within seconds, they were upon her.
One assassin lunged, his de shing in the dim light as it aimed directly for her throat. The steel glinted menacingly as it drew closer, inch by inch.
But just as the knife was about to meet its target, it froze in mid–air.
The assassin hesitated, ncing at his wrist. A thin silver needle now protruded from his skin, its shaft still vibrating faintly as though it had only just embedded itself.
The assassin sneered, mocking, “Go to hell!”
Just then, his body stiffened. Blood began trickling from his wrist, dripping down the de in his hand. His sneer faltered as confusion overtook him.
The assassin stared at the silver needle. To his horror, its gleaming surface was rapidly turning ck.
“Poison!” he gasped, his voice hoarse.
“Not just poison,” Felicia murmured, her tone almost yful. “It’s a deadly poison.”
With a single finger, she pushed the de away from her face. The assassin’s eyes widened in shock as blood suddenly gushed from his nose, ears, and mouth. In mere moments, he copsed backward, lifeless.
The remaining 16 assassins froze, stunned by the sudden and silent death of theirrade. But their shocksted only a moment. They were professionals, after all. Death was part of the
job.
“Stay sharp! Finish this quickly!” barked the leader, his voice sharp andmanding.
The rest of the team moved in unison without missing a beat, their training and precision unmatched. des gleamed as they surged forward, ready to strike.
Before they could reach her, however, four figures dropped from the trees above.
They were Maurice’s men.
The guards quickly formed a protective circle around Felicia. As the assassins closed in, the men engaged, throwing themselves into the fray
The sh was chaotic. des nged, and grunts of effort filled the air as the two sides fought. But four men against 16 trained killers? The odds weren’t in their favor.
The men were soon overwhelmed, locked in viciousbat with no way to free themselves. One of them, caught in a fierce struggle, shouted desperately over his shoulder, “Ms. Fuller, run!”
Felicia rolled her eyes. She knew these people couldn’t save her. She had never counted on anyone else to protect her.
With the guards fully upied, seven or eight assassins broke off and charged toward her, determined not to let her escape. Their des, swift and unrelenting, aimed to kill.
Felicia’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. Perfect timing. She would see how well her new toys worked. novelbin
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out two small spheres and flung them toward the advancing assassins. The assassins barely spared the spheres a nce. To them, it was a desperatest–ditch effort from a cornered target
In the past, they’d seen someone throw a bottle of water at them in a simr situation.
Unbothered, they pressed forward, even smirking at Felicia’s futile attempt to resist.
But the moment the spheres hit the ground, they cracked open, releasing a fine, almost invisible powder into the air.
Carried by the breeze, the powder enveloped the assassins and clung to their faces and hands, even wafting into their mouths and noses. Within <b>seconds</b>, the assassins‘ des darkened.
The other assassins turned to one another, horrified. In the ssy, bloodied eyes of theirrades, they saw their own gruesome reflection.
No one screamed.
One by one<b>, </b>their bodies crumpled to the ground, lifeless.