The moment the bullet shattered the glass, Zhang Jie instinctively pulled John, and the two rolled behind a thick load-bearing pillar.
"Fuck!"
Zhang Jie's breathing was ragged, his eardrums ringing. "What the hell is going on?!"
John didn't answer. His gaze quickly swept the terminal. The bullet had come from the parking lot in the southeast, about 300 meters away. The sniper would need at least three seconds to adjust the trajectory.
"Oriska."
John's voice was as calm as ice. "The owner of Blackthorn Castle, a madman who likes to play death games."
Zhang Jie's eyes widened. "So this is a trap?!"
"Not entirely."
John flexed his wrist. "He likes to hire killers to kill him, then kill them back for amusement."
"Then what are you doing here?!"
John's lips curved slightly. "He and I have a bit of a 'minor grudge'."
Zhang Jie: "..."
He'd be damned if he believed him.
The sound of shattering glass caused a commotion. Travelers in the distance began to scream and scatter, and urgent calls came through the airport security walkie-talkies.
"No time left." John lowered his voice. "Even if the police are slow, they'll seal off the entire airport within five minutes."
Zhang Jie subconsciously reached for his waist... it was empty.
After going through airport security, they didn't even have a nail clipper on them.
"How do we fight?"
John didn't speak, he just ripped off his tie.
When the first attacker rushed out of the restroom, he held a ceramic dagger, a material that could pass airport security.
John's tie lashed out like a venomous snake, the metal tie clip precisely hitting the opponent's eyeball.
The attacker shrieked, his dagger swishing through the air.
John stepped forward, his right hand forming a blade, and delivered a palm-edge strike to the Adam's apple.
Crack.
The sound of a neck bone breaking was drowned out by the screams of the crowd.
Zhang Jie's scalp tingled. Was this the skill a person retired for five years should possess?
"Don't space out." John pulled the dagger from the corpse and threw it to him. "There are two more in the southeast corner."
The moment Zhang Jie caught the dagger, the second attacker lunged from behind a vending machine.
This person was sturdier than the first, his fists the size of sandbags, and he wore studded knuckle dusters on his knuckles.
Zhang Jie dodged sideways, the knuckle duster grazing his temple, leaving a stinging pain.
He slashed at the opponent's wrist with a backhand, but it was blocked. The burly man grinned, raising his knee to strike his abdomen... Bang!
Zhang Jie grabbed the opponent's knee with his free left hand, used the momentum to leap, wrapped his legs around the burly man's neck, and his full weight brought both of them crashing to the ground.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu chokehold, Zhang Jie had practiced it for a long time!
The burly man's face instantly turned purplish-red, his fingers frantically clawing at Zhang Jie's thigh.
Zhang Jie gritted his teeth and tightened his legs until the opponent stopped struggling.
"Improved."
John commented, a car key somehow in his hand, retrieved from the first attacker's pocket.
"Let's go!"
In the corridor leading to the parking lot, the third attacker was waiting for them.
It was a woman, her blonde hair tied in a neat ponytail, holding... "Fuck! A taser?!"
Zhang Jie's pupils contracted.
A Taser, standard issue for airport special forces, 500,000 volts, enough to instantly cause an adult male to lose bladder control.
John abruptly pushed Zhang Jie away, but he himself was hit by the electric current.
He grunted, collapsing to his knees, his muscles convulsing uncontrollably.
The woman sneered, stepping forward, replacing the cartridge to fire again.
Zhang Jie pounced.
He firmly grabbed the woman's wrist and slammed her against the wall.
The back of the woman's head hit a fire hydrant, and blood immediately gushed out. She struggled to get up, but Zhang Jie had already picked up the dropped Taser and aimed it.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The woman rolled her eyes and fell, a urine stain spreading on her pants.
"John!"
Zhang Jie turned to help his mentor up, only to find that he had already stood up on his own. Although his face was pale, his eyes were still sharp.
"Recovered in five seconds..." Zhang Jie muttered, "Can this even be trained?"
John didn't answer, he just pointed to the parking lot: "The sniper is getting away."
The black Land Rover, realizing its cover was blown, was frantically backing up, preparing to escape.
John pressed the car key, and a silver Mercedes-Benz not far away lit up its headlights, unlocked with the attacker's key.
"Get in!"
As soon as Zhang Jie got into the passenger seat, John floored the accelerator.
The Mercedes-Benz engine roared like a beast, cutting a silver lightning streak through the parking lot.
The Land Rover swerved wildly, knocking over a row of barriers.
The sniper leaned halfway out of the car window, his Dragunov sniper rifle aimed at the Mercedes-Benz's front tire.
Bang!
The bullet pierced the rearview mirror.
John sharply turned the steering wheel, the Mercedes-Benz narrowly avoiding the second shot, while he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a glock 17.
"Good heavens, there's even a gun in the car?!" Zhang Jie's eyes widened.
"Hold on tight." John replied curtly, rolling down the window and firing three shots.
The first shot blew out the Land Rover's left rear tire, the second shattered the rear window glass, and the third shot...
A spray of blood erupted from the sniper's shoulder, and his rifle fell onto the road.
The Land Rover lost control, crashed into the guardrail, and tumbled into a drainage ditch.
John slowed down and approached the scene of the accident, but both knew that the people inside were unlikely to have survived.
As the Mercedes-Benz drove onto the M25, Zhang Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had never expected to be attacked at the airport, but fortunately, it was a close call. It seemed those assassins were quite amateurish.
"So..." He examined the confiscated Taser. "What exactly is Oriska's..."
"It happened six years ago."
John's voice was very soft. "I took a hit on one of his assignments."
His understated tone made him feel that the story might not be as simple as it seemed, at least not as simple as he claimed.
Zhang Jie raised an eyebrow: "That's it?"
"He likes to toy with killers." John's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. "But this time... I was mainly worried you'd die too quickly."
Zhang Jie: "..."
I thank you for that.
Should he be touched or should he curse?
Screech—!
The car stopped. This was a small town.
"From now on, you'll have to face the mission alone," John suddenly said. "Go to the castle yourself."
"What?!"
"I still have things to take care of."
"The equipment has been sent to the safe house in Surrey. The address is on your phone." John opened the car door and got out. "Remember, Oriska likes to play mind games. Don't believe anything he says."
Zhang Jie still wanted to say something, but John had already closed the car door: "Come back alive."
Watching John disappear around the corner of the small town, Zhang Jie clutched the glock 17 he had handed him.
He really didn't know why he took this mission, was it to be played for a fool?
No, I'm going to kill that damned old man!
One of the things Zhang Jie hated most in his life was being deceived or played for a fool.
The one who deceived him was Lisa, and the one who played him for a fool was Oriska.
He wouldn't let either of them off the hook.
But for now, the priority was to go to Surrey and get the weapons. Otherwise, Zhang Jie felt like he was streaking naked down the street.
Being an assassin, it's not that easy a profession.
-----------------------
TripleCrown Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +30 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/TripleCrown07
➤ Thanks for reading!