Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Shining on the carnival party!
A sudden fog enveloped the living and the dead.
Elio, who was squatting on the spot, turned his head in confusion and found that the scene was changing rapidly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring you Elliot Smith, sir."
It was Captain Gunnar's voice. Elio looked in the direction of the voice and saw the living Templar kneeling on one knee, head bowed. In front of him was a large desk.
"Who? Oh, don't take it to heart." The man sitting in the chair hesitated for a moment, "Don't be nervous, Captain Gunnar, I believe the incident in Gotham was just an accident. After all, you didn't go there in person."
"I……"
"Shh, no need to explain."
The figure rose from the chair. Elio stared at his face, but could see nothing.
Captain Gunnar didn't dare look up. He only saw the tip of a shiny shoe walking towards him - this was the clearest clue so far about the person behind the desk - and then his tense shoulders were gently squeezed.
"I've always recognized your abilities," the man behind the desk said. "Don't take this to heart. I have more important things to give you."
Captain Gunnar finally raised his head. The fog gradually dissipated where his gaze reached. The person behind the desk still didn't reveal their face, but Elio finally made out the black metal nameplate on it.
Derek von Neumann, Director of Abstergo Hospital in Blüdhaven.
"I need you to help guard that research institute," Neumann said gently. "I heard that Hydra has already cultivated a fairly successful experimental subject. You know the importance of this matter, right?"
"Yes, sir."
Elio was startled. The scene shifted again; Captain Gunnar had arrived at the research facility with his agents. He tried to inquire about the subject in a roundabout way, but the project leader, Dr. Blackwood, simply glanced at him. "It's not ready for public viewing. If you want to help, go and assess the newcomer."
"Are there any newcomers?" Captain Gunnar wondered.
The doctor laughed, "How can one be enough?"
Elio stared at him. By the time the mist closed in on them again, he had already memorized every detail of that face.
The elevator rang. Captain Gunnar stepped out, and the researcher beside him was introducing the base to him. "We usually keep unoperated test subjects here. Two floors above are ongoing experimental projects. If there are no alarms or special permission..."
Elio glanced back at the elevator floor. It was the seventh floor underground. When he hurried to catch up, Captain Gunnar and the researcher had already moved a distance ahead.
"This is where the new experimental subject is being held," the researcher introduced. "Please help keep watch."
Elio followed Captain Gunnar's gaze, and then his pupils dilated.
Graham lay there, his life or death unknown.
"Hey, assassin."
A voice in reality awoke Elio. He jerked himself out of his memories, unsheathed his Hidden Blade with a startled look, and glanced at Captain Gunnar, who lay on the ground. The voice had come from his intercom.
"I don't mean to interrupt," the intercom said, "but you look distracted—even though I've hacked the surveillance, your situation is far from safe."
The voice sounded like that of a young man, but it wasn't Alvin's. After a few seconds of hesitation, Elio decisively removed the intercom and put on the headset.
"Who are you? Where is my mentor?"
"We'll discuss this later," the voice instructed him briskly. "Right now, you need to deal with the immediate problem. There's a three-man team approaching nearby, and they might have heard the gunfire. You can handle this, right?"
Of course he could handle this. Elio had just dealt with two agents and a captain, so there was no reason he couldn't handle the enemy who hadn't had time to discover him yet; he had been mentally preparing for this for a long time, under Alvin's silent gaze, and in the nightmares of his friends crying...
He'd thought it would be difficult. Embarking on a path of revenge, choosing a path he'd never considered, that of a killer. He'd once been an excellent student, desperate to rise above the rest of society, to escape the sin and squalor of Gotham... He'd fought tooth and nail to escape the bloody curse, but now, Elio realized, with a shudder, that breaking that curse was easier than he'd imagined.
All he needed to do was to put the hidden blade into the right position with the right force at the right time.
It was so easy. It was as if Gotham's whispers were whispering back to him, coaxing him back to the place of his birth... back to the crimes and murders he once kept so secret.
Why not? He worked so hard to seek a decent life, and only had to sacrifice a little morality and conscience... and the people he killed were not good people. Strictly speaking, he was seeking justice through revenge.
But amidst these hypocritical words seeking peace, Elio shuddered from the bottom of his heart. Those coaxing whispers left him disappointed, but he knew they had never gone away. In the dark corners, they always watched him...
Every time he swung his sword.
This made Elio need Alvin's guidance more than ever. Alvin must have more experience with this morally charged issue. Elio had intended to broach the subject casually, with something like, "Have you ever killed anyone?" But Alvin didn't show up.
Although he can be unreliable at times, Alvin never misses an important appointment. This could mean his mentor is distracted by something more important, or...
Elio wanted to ask more questions, but time was tight. He could only stuff his many questions into his head and prepare to "welcome" the incoming three-person team.
He thrust his Hidden Blade into the light switch panel. A spark flew, and the room was plunged into darkness. The door closed, and the assassin pressed his back against the wall, his head tilted to the side, waiting.
Under the eagle's gaze, three shadowy red figures approached. The first person opened the door and wrinkled his nose.
"What's that smell?"
Elio covered his mouth and dragged him through the door. The hidden blade swung with a clang.
"Why is it so dark? Where's the light?"
Two more men walked in, and the door slowly closed behind them. The man on the left barely had time to turn around before the Hidden Blade grazed his throat and stabbed the other man in the back.
The backup power came on slowly. Elio searched them and found some small toys. He used the keys he had to unlock the other cells. Most of them were still asleep, but two or three huddled there, trembling, with their eyes tightly closed when Elio opened the door.
They are afraid.
If Elio had not been clear about his image before, then after the assassin looked down at the large amount of blood splattered on his body, he had a clear idea of the object of their fear.
That's all right, Elio thought, I can't take them away now.
The assassin stopped and did not move forward.
"Wake up," he said simply, "and find a place to hide. You're too conspicuous here."
"We'll take them away," said the voice in the headset.
The assassin turned and left. He searched the entire floor, then walked into the elevator and pressed the floor button.
"I'm Nightwing." The monitor took the initiative to say, "Alvin can't get away temporarily, please let me pick you up-"
"You're Nightwing?" Elio asked in surprise.
"Ahem," the monitor confirmed. "Bludhaven's superhero, at your service—oh, wait, that doesn't include the floor you just pressed. I noticed the entrance there requires identification and authentication."
Nightwing had begun his infiltration since Elio's signal entered the laboratory. When the assassins attacked, he had already taken control of the monitoring room. Amidst the unconscious guards lying around, Nightwing supported himself with one hand and tapped a few more times on the keyboard with the other.
"I really can't," he said agonizingly. "I need a pass. By the way, do you know what's there?"
"I don't know." Elio canceled the floor and pressed the highest floor instead. "That's okay. I'll go directly to the person in charge."
"Be careful," Nightwing warned, "I can't see the surveillance on that floor."
The elevator arrived. Elio ducked behind a panel, scanning the area with his eagle-eye. The elevator door quietly opened. The guards in the hallway exchanged a puzzled glance and approached, their guns drawn.
"Who's there?"
Elio reached into his pocket. Smoke exploded, and the guard immediately raised his gun and opened fire. There was no movement in the elevator, only the surveillance camera in the corner was focused on them. The guard, puzzled, reloaded, but at that moment, a young man with black hair flashed out of the elevator.
bass!
Two people fell down.
Elio came out from behind them, holding the submachine gun he had just found. With a click, he replaced the magazine.
"Elliot Smith," the surveillance camera on this floor spoke. "Is that the name? We meet again."
This voice sounded silkier, but also more sinister. Elio recognized it.
"Doctor," he said, "long time no see."
"If you hadn't escaped that day, we would have spent a lot of time together," the doctor sighed, "but now it seems that a deep chasm has been created between you and me by this evil assassin."
Elio walked forward with a blank expression. "Are we familiar with each other?"
"We'll get to know each other well. Come on, I'll be waiting for you here."
Behind the monitor, Dr. Blackwood waved.
"Go, but don't kill him," he ordered with interest. "It's been a long time since we've had a natural heir of the Isu bloodline."
"Yes, doctor."
The guards filed out. The doctor walked past the security cameras and opened the dust cover of the record player. He casually put in a record and started the turntable. A light piano played the opening music, and the flash of fire from the gun barrel in the corridor.
"Let us raise high the cup of joy," sang tenor Pavarotti, "the wine in the cup is intoxicating."
The doctor hummed a tune and poured the coffee grounds from the grinder into the filter cup.
"Let the beautiful morning glow from the east shine through the stained glass windows," sang soprano Sutherland, "and shine upon the revelry of the feast!"
Elio drew his Hidden Blade, and a trail of blood immediately splattered across the wall. He had run out of bullets, and he had no time to search the bodies of the dead. Before he could catch his breath, he heard the ominous sound of wind rushing back. The assassin turned, and blood streamed from the wound on his forehead.
"What a joyful evening it brings us together," the chorus sang, "how unforgettable everything is!"
The coffee dripped into the cup, its aroma filling the air. As the two cups were placed on the walnut table, the heavy door was kicked open by the assassin. The doctor looked up, about to say something, when Elio stepped forward, pushed him down onto the table with one hand, and raised his Hidden Blade with the other.
"Don't talk nonsense." said the assassin.
With a sizzling sound, the doctor's eyes widened, he groaned a few times, and his pupils dilated.
Elio was dragged back into his memories. He saw the conversation between the dean and the doctor, talking about "that project." He saw the doctor arrive at the institute and set up the entire base. He saw the doctor raise the scalpel to Graham. He saw...
Elio drew his Hidden Blade in a state of doubt. The lifeless doctor fell limply to the ground, the gun falling from his hand.
Beside them, the AI on the console asked, "Are you sure you want to destroy the base?"
"Cancel!"
"Voiceprint error. Immediately activate the self-destruct plan. Please leave the base within ten minutes."
Elio cursed, picked up the doctor on the ground, and ran out the door quickly.
Red lights flashed throughout the institute. An announcement began to evacuate personnel. Elio dragged the doctor's body downstairs, unlocked his credentials, and entered the restricted floor.
"The base has activated its self-destruct plan," he said, pressing the microphone. "We must..."
"What plan?" Nightwing asked uncertainly in the headset.
The heavy door slowly opened. Inside the transparent laboratory chamber were dying test subjects and the bodies of tragically dead animals soaked in formalin, the light shining on their eyes, still open after death.
"...Leave within ten minutes," Elio whispered. "There are still some survivors on the sixth underground floor. I will do my best to get them out, but I may need your help."
Nightwing didn't ask any more questions, "Got it."
Elio unlocked the lab chamber with the doctor's fingerprint. Few were still alive. The good news was that they could still support each other. The bad news was that Elio hadn't found Graham or Willow. As he gestured and described his questions, the surviving subjects glanced at each other hesitantly.
"...Everyone is here," a thin man said, "The person you are looking for may have..."
The red evacuation lights flickered. A brief silence fell. The survivors supported each other, afraid to speak. The young man standing before them was covered in blood, his face gloomy. If they had encountered him in a late-night alley, they would have simply turned and run, screaming for Batman. But the red light from the laboratory illuminated the young man's pale face, revealing his grief.
And he saved them.
"Perhaps the people you're looking for aren't dead yet," a young woman said courageously, "Perhaps they didn't leave us because of death—I heard that some successful experimental subjects were transferred to the upper level."
"But we don't have enough time!"
Someone whispered something, and the sparse crowd erupted in a commotion. Elio had to raise his voice to urge them to quiet down. But even when they managed to quiet down, the glances they exchanged were filled with anxiety.
"What's next?" the survivor asked.
They all looked at Elio.
"Nine minutes left."
Even in the corridor leading to hell just now, Elio had never felt that things were so difficult. He only needed to concentrate all his attention on fighting back and moving forward - but here, no one attacked him, no bullets, no swords, only the victims' pleading and uneasy eyes.
Their gazes weighed heavily on Elio's shoulders, making it impossible for him to make a decision. In those few brief seconds, he almost lost his sense of time, with only those two decisive (or at least, seemingly decisive) choices lingering before his eyes.
Time is running out. Should they take the surviving victims with them, or search for Graham and Willow, whose fate remains unknown?
If we put these two on the two ends of a scale... if life and emotions can be easily weighed...
Elio closed his eyes briefly. A tear flashed through his eyes.
He didn't waste much time making his choice. The assassin raised his eyes and briefly glanced at the ceiling, as if his sight could penetrate the thick reinforced concrete and see the friends he wanted to save above.
Then his gaze dropped back to the uneasy faces of the survivors.
"I'll take you to the elevator," Elio ordered tersely, "Follow me."
The author has something to say:
----------------------
*Soundtrack for this chapter: Sharing the single "Libiamo ne'lieti calici" (La Traviata: A Toast) by Luciano Pavarotti/The National Philharmonic Orchestra/The London Opera Chorus/Dame Joan Sutherland/Richard Bonynge
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
