The Second Book of the Alienbutt Saga. The Rise of Mr Fluffy. Part 28.

Blackarachnia had infiltrated the assassins’ chapter house and easily killed one of the assassins the same height and build as himself. He knew this chapter of assassins were the ceremonial guards of the High Council and would be present at any high council meeting. He had learnt of the secret meeting, so made his move just before the chosen assassins were to embark on the ship to it. An artificial voice box set to the dead assassin’s exact vocal pitch completed the disguise, so he sounded just like the assassin he had replaced. The assassins rarely spoke unless it was necessary for a mission and would never remove their face masks when outside their chapter house, so his subterfuge would hold. He had spent two days watching his victim’s every move using tiny nano cameras so he knew how to move and act to mimic the now dead assassin. He had watched the actions of the assassins with a detached manner, learning all he could, and felt nothing as he had driven the large knife into his back and up into the man's heart before dumping the body into the waste tubes leading to the incinerator. No one had realised the switch had been made and he had just sat back and allowed the Order to take him to where he needed to go. With the arrival of Gralswige and the news that the last member was not coming he acted.

Throwing the small orb up into the air he crouched down covering his face with his arm. Still the light was almost blinding, but by the time the initial explosion of light had vanished he had drawn two ornate hand guns from the holsters around his waist and opened fire to his left and right. Rolling forward towards the centre of the room he kept firing at the walls and the assassins who would still be stood there blinded, rubbing their eyes to try and recover their sight. Keeping his eyes closed to heighten his other senses he kept firing at where he heard movement. The guns that belonged to the assassin he had killed were totally silent as they discharged death to the dead man’s comrades. The tools designed for their order’s work turned upon them with a deadly result.

Finally opening his eyes he looked with still bleary vision but could make out figures moving and quickly opened fire again. Furiously blinking to clear the last of his blurred vision he began to count black-clad bodies even as he turned and opened fire at the people stumbling around at the table. Finally the guns were empty of bullets and he casually dropped them, pulling out fresh weapons from his belt as he sought new targets. He saw Gralswige stumbling away from the table, still blinded and not knowing where the threat to him would come from. Walking over to the Senator, Blackarachnia kicked him in the ribs sending him spinning across the floor. Shooting down a further two assassins as they stumbled towards him he walked over to the prone Gralswige and placed his boot on his chest to pin him down, then sent three bullets into his face.
As Blackarachnia looked back to the table he felt something sting his arm. Looking over he saw the last of the assassins stood with weapon drawn. His face was hidden behind the black face mask, his gun pointed still towards the bounty hunter, awaiting any noise that would pin point him, as the assassin was still blind. Raising his gun he fired and the assassin flew backwards, blood spraying against the wall behind his head. Glancing at his upper arm he saw a graze where the bullet had skimmed past. Forgetting the wound he returned his attention to the table and the council members. Eight lay dead already; Gralswige was at his feet while the others stumbled around. Blackarachnia quickly shot down another three as he walked slowly towards the table. Pulling out a chair from the table he grabbed the fourth by the ankle. Dragging him out from beneath the table, he fired three shots into his back. Dropping the second set of guns he stood before the final council member. This one was still calmly seated, his face hidden by the large hood of his cloak.

To be continued.
All images are mine.