The Liberal Assassin

"Who is it?" I opened the door and was slow to react when it wasn't Nash. I didn't dodge the punch aimed at my face and flew backwards at the impact.

Rush immediately jumped to his feet and attacked the unknown newcomer. Sable screamed and I panicked, thinking she was in danger. The newcomer had a hoodie and a mask on. He was too tall to be Nash. The gloves he wore made me hyper alert. The man was here to silence us. Rush was knocked out cold by the time I got back to my feet.

Moving closer to Sable, I adopted a protective stance in front of the petite idol. That punch was packed with a force that rivalled Nash. It had to hurt but everything was numb. My vision still swam from the shock and the floor was tilted even though I knew I was standing on flat grounds.

"Stay back!" I yelled at the attacker, hoping Nash was nearby. Sable whimpered behind me, her hands clutched my arm, shaking badly. She was crying without doubt. I could hear sniffles.

The man didn't seem to register me as a threat as he made a swipe for my head again only to miss as I pulled Sable down with me to duck. How did my plans mess up so spectacularly? I knew we were being watched! What does this nutcase want? Better still, who sent him?

Before I could drag Sable with me to the door, the man blocked it with his body. Sable couldn't jump from the third floor out of the window and I regretted choosing my room as the ambush location. I had no escape. Although I could hold my own against a trained fighter, I couldn't afford to have her hurt. If Nash hasn't heard the commotion, he wasn't anywhere near. Stalling time with the unknown man could be dangerous. I needed Sable out of here as soon as possible.

"Sable," I whispered as calmly as I could. "I'm going to hold him long enough so I want you to run when you have the chance. I need you to help me get Ignacio. Ignacio will know what to do because the Patrol Guards won't be fast enough, Rush's crew will reach us faster."

"But—"

I didn't give her an option to think as I hurled myself into the larger man at full speed with a howl. The impact caused the man to topple with me but there wasn't time to rejoice as he bucked me off.

Grabbing whatever I could of him, I managed to snag his ankle and drag him to the floor before settling for a back mount lock. "Go now!" I hollered and watched as Sable scrambled to her feet with tears in her eyes.

There was no time to think because the attacker successfully broke out of my hold using pure brute strength. While I couldn't overpower the assailant, I had faith in my wits and agility. The moment he tried to scramble to his feet, I kneed him in the temple to stun him and prepared myself up for a triangle arm choke.

Mid-charge, I knew what I did wrong but it was already too late. Nash would scold me for being too arrogant and I could only send my apologies in the form of prayers. The attacker pointed a laser gun at me. With no way of effectively dodging while in mid-air, I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

The gun was fired but there wasn't any pain. Was I dead already? That was fast. However, as soon as I hit the ground and saw that the gun clatter beside me, I knew that wasn't possible. Collecting my senses as I came to, I watched in sick fascination as Nash fought the attacker toe to toe. Never was there someone who could evenly match the ex-hitman in close range combat. Their fight was like a very elegant but deadly waltz.

It was impossible to join the fray with how fast they were exchanged blows. I held my breath as Nash fought on, receiving almost as much damage as he did to the other man. This man was certainly strong and he was far from ordinary. The Night Walker would have been no match for him. Did he work for Rion?

With a powerful hind kick, Nash knocked the man through my wall. Ignacio will be hopping mad to find out about a hole in the newly constructed mansion but that was a thought for later. The man didn't seem affected after being kicked through a wall. It was worrying and for the first time in my life, I felt a different kind of fear. Nash could possibly lose this fight and die.

The hood was knocked off, revealing that the man had black hair. Most New-Man had blond hair and blue eyes so black was an unusual colour. Rush was an exception due to his lineage. Was this man an exception too? Then again, it could be a disguise.

While Nash kept the man occupied I crawled over to Rush to see if I could get hold of the communicator he had. Feeling up a man was revolting but beggars can't choose. If it weren't for Nash, I would have been dead.

"What is it? I'm busy."

"Look at your camera. Nash is fighting a highly skilled unknown attacker. I let Sable escape to contact Ignacio but I don't think she's reached him yet. Rush is out cold and I need help to identify the assailant. He's on par with Nash."

The furious hammering of keys can be heard and Khronos remained silent indicating his seriousness. "I've done the scans but I'll need to see his face to identify him. Hair colour doesn't narrow my options as it could have been dyed."

"Roger that."

I kept the communicator in the inner pocket of my jacket and carefully made it to where Nash was fighting. There had to be an opening somewhere.

Carefully observing their battle, I tried to spot for a pattern. Every seasoned fighter had a unique fighting style and a side that they favoured.

I was about to give up searching for a weakness and simply join in the fray when I found it. This man moved as if he knew where Nash was going to attack seconds beforehand. It took me many years to develop that reflex but the man was doing just the opposite, He moved as if it was planned out.

Nash was a straightforward type of fighter who moved to kill and aimed for open spots using the least amount of movement. It was practical for his previous profession but I used a lot of feints and 'useless moves' to distract and confuse my opponent for an opening.

I found a palm-sized piece of broken wall and I glanced over to their fight from my crouched position. This would determine if my plan would work or fail. When Nash manoeuvred him into a position that his back faced me, I threw the debris aiming for the back of the assailant's head.

When the piece of wall made contact, I knew exactly what to do. The black haired attacker growled and tried to pursue me but Nash kept him occupied while I searched through the remains of my wrecked bedroom.

I rejoiced when the hidden safe was intact and keyed in the combination. All the hidden gadgets were safe and I grabbed the one creation I was so proud of before running back to the fight scene.

"Nash, Baby Blues incoming!"

I didn't give him time to respond as I chucked the grenades, taking the assailant by surprise as gas covered the area. I had to back away for a moment while Nash tied the loose ends. It should be long now.