As Zachary shouted the order, Slice and Laser started running away with lightning speed, avoiding all obstacles in their path. They could do nothing to get Erik, and the mission had failed despite their best efforts.
They wasted too much time fighting the thaids, but getting the kid without killing the monsters was almost impossible, and the mission was not worth jeopardizing the lives of their entire team. Another thing that slowed them down was that damned fog that obscured their vision and prevented them from navigating quickly through the forest.
Lastly, Erik's friends would never have allowed him to be kidnapped, and the fight against them made them waste the last precious moments they had to abduct the child. Zachary looked at Erik with hatred, as he was sure all this was his fault. He avoided being abducted by wasting time, using the fog and explosion, spending time near the thaids, and finally calling the teachers. If only he had run away when the thaids came, they would have completed the mission without a hitch, and none of this would have happened.
Since there was nothing more to do, Zachary and the others started running away; however, Master Rook didn't intend to leave them alone. They had to pay for having attacked Red Palace's students.
"Jack, Zahra, Kaiden, Ismail, and Syed. You come with me; we will kill these bastards. The others must stay here and take care of the kids. Is everything clear?" Master Rook had authority over the other teachers since his rank inside the institution was higher than theirs, and his order was quickly accepted. The other teacher did as he said, and immediately the six started chasing Laser, Slice, and Zachary. Too bad he couldn't kill the assassin he fought against, Death, as he escaped; he was a powerful guy and probably a vital member of the Crystal Cross Gang. Killing him would have been good for the people living around the city since there would have been one less criminal roaming around.
***
The first three ran as fast as possible toward the northwest, where the secret sewer passage was located. They sped through the forest incredibly fast, trying to escape their pursuers and gain enough distance to ensure their safety.
"What do we do, Zachary?" Laser asked with visible worry in his voice. "We can't return to the base with them on our tails!" he added.
"I know that!" Zachary replied with a hint of desperation in his voice. He sighed deeply. This wasn't how things were supposed to go, and by the way, where the hell was Death? It seemed like fate made it so difficult for him to complete his task, and he even lost a friend in the process.
"STOP! YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!" Master Rook shouted from a distance. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for them to follow them. They were criminals; after all, they were used to running away and escaping encirclements. Laser and Slice had done it so many times before that they didn't think they wouldn't be able to escape, but Zachary had his doubts. Master Rook wasn't stupid; he knew these guys had some tricks up their sleeves. The man contacted the military to receive assistance; they couldn't possibly refuse his request.
"Here is Master Rook from the Red Palace; we need your assistance. Some guys attacked a group of students inside the forest and are now heading northwest. I will send you the coordinates; please send a patrol to stop them!" Master Rook said.
There was no reply for ten seconds before someone finally answered: "Roger, Master Rook." A moment later, one of the soldiers sent a message containing the GPS location of the enemy.
"Thanks," the master replied. With that, the six continued chasing the three men, who reached a clearing a few minutes later. The place was perfect for an ambush; the Crystal Cross Gang members knew it.
"Fuck..." Laser said as he saw something moving between the trees. Soon after, a group of 10 soldiers rushed out from the trees in front of them while the teachers were still behind them. Zachary's worst thought just came true.
"Shit. They found us!" Slice yelled, still confident they could do it. The patrol's members dashed toward the assassins and then started channeling mana through their neural links and using their powers. Five people with ranged abilities began to attack the three gangsters while the other five ran toward them to engage in melee combat.
"Zachary, what should we do?" Laser asked again. His eyes still showed unlimited confidence. However, being in that situation was weird for him since he used to be on the other side, being the one that scared other people.
"WE MUST FIGHT!" Zachary answered.
"ARE YOU SURE?!" Slice asked.
"Listen. The only thing we can do is try to break through them, or we will die here. At my signal, aim at the two in the middle. I will go on their backs and kill them; after that, it will be easy to get past them. We must be fast, though, or the others will catch us. Is everything clear?"
Slice and Laser nodded in understanding. Zachary was the smartest of the bunch and the most capable in terms of formulating plans and running away from authorities. It was his job, after all, since he was a master thief.
"All right, we will do as you say," Laser replied.
The three then accelerated and approached the armed soldiers. Slice unsheathed his sword, and Laser grabbed his daggers; the three were at max concentration.
CLANG
SHWIIING
The soldiers started attacking. In a split second, the three companions quickly retaliated. Slice and Laser thought they could have killed them easily and run away, but unfortunately, the two soldiers weren't as weak as they assumed.
Laser turned to his right, where Zachary stood, but he was missing from his spot and was several meters in front of them. Zachary released some shadow binds that trapped the other three soldiers on the ground, and a hundred meters away, the assassins saw Zachary fleeing.
"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!"
He had played them. Zachary formulated his plan as soon as Death ran away. The plan was to use Laser and Slice to attract the teachers' attention and then flee when the opportunity arose. He wasn't sure that the soldiers would have attacked them, but he suspected it. In the end, it didn't really make a difference. He sped through the forest with the ranged soldiers unleashing a myriad of attacks on him, but he evaded them all.
At the same time, the teachers arrived where Laser and Slice were. The two assassins had problems fighting against five soldiers, but these quickly became sixteen.
Slice did his best to parry all the attacks that came toward him, but a soldier aimed a spear at him, and Slice felt its tip piercing through his skin. He tried to block it, but the impact broke his arm and forced him to drop his weapon. Another one stabbed into his stomach, forcing him to double over. Then a sword's slash cut his neck, detaching the head from the body.
Laser kept dodging the soldiers' attacks and was almost able to run away from the encirclement by inducing pain in the teachers and soldiers. Still, Master Rook channeled mana through his body, minimizing the effect of Laser's power, and he grabbed him by the neck and crushed it with both his hands, ending his life.
"Two of them did escape..." Master Rook said.
"Don't worry, sir, we will immediately chase the one who went away..." a soldier said.
"All right, then, I will wait for news..." Master Rook said.
"Yes, sir."
***
Zachary ran until he reached a small clearing in the woods, and then he stopped to catch his breath. As soon as he did, he looked around, noticing three things. First, the area appeared to be safe. Second, if anyone came close to this place, they wouldn't notice him at all because the surrounding plants provided excellent hiding places. And third, the fact that none of his enemies were on him meant he wasn't being tracked anymore. He successfully escaped them and felt an immense sense of relief as he made his way to the safe spot.
These were all good signs, especially considering how difficult it was for anyone to track another in the wilderness without using technology. Zachary felt absolutely no remorse for using them as a diversion to escape. After all, it was an act of self-preservation.
"I'm not sure if they are still following me, but it won't matter now, even if they find out about my escape route. I'm too close to the sewer now..." Zachary said to himself.
His voice echoed throughout the trees, but his voice had been immediately drowned out by the sound of birds chirping and thaids roaring and screeching among themselves. The noise helped hide Zachary's presence, which was precisely what he needed.
"Now, I just need to make it to the sewers before someone notices my presence..." Zachary said to himself again.
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