Out of the dark foliage a figure dressed
all in black burst from the trees, cleared the distance in one tremendous leap
and landed on the deck of the boat with katana drawn. He quickly engaged me and I front snap kicked
his sword out of his hand before he had a chance to blink and landed a series
of kicks and punches to his midsection, all of which he blocked, and then
retaliated with a few of his own. A palm
strike to the chest and leg sweep took me down as he moved for his sword and I,
in turn, took his feet out from under him before he took two steps. Once on the deck we continued to pummel each
other with back leg kicks, side kicks, punches and double strikes.
In the background I could hear Lady Gina
and Uttam fussing at each other about the boat not wanting to start and out of
the corner of my eye I caught sight of several black figures swimming for the
boat.
I side-kicked my opponent so hard he flew
backwards and landed by the railing in a curled up position, holding his
ribs. “We have company!” I shouted and
rushed toward the side of the boat to engage the new arrivals; brandishing my
short sticks. They came crawling up over
the side, one at a time, and I encountered each one in turn; busting skulls,
smashing fingers and breaking bones as fast as they tried to come on board. Blood and bodies floated in the river and I
knew it would only be a matter of time before the crocodiles would make their
appearance, but that didn’t stop the assassins from surging forward. More approached the boat as the poison darts
resumed their deadly flight.
“Uttam! We can’t wait any
longer!” I shouted as I spun and twisted
and just barely missed being grazed by a dart, while I continued to kick and
punch my way through the new wave of assassins trying to climb aboard. “Hurry up!”
I was suddenly grabbed from behind and
used the distraction to my advantage. I
sunk low in my legs and landed several elbow strikes until my opponent cried
out and his grip loosened, and then flung him over my head. He landed in such a way that four assassins
climbing on board were knocked back into the water, clearing the side
completely of targets. I heard the
engine finally kick over then rumble to a full healthy start and knew I had to
get rid of this last guy before we took off.
I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hoisted him to his feet.
“Who sent you? Why are you here?” I shouted in his
face. He grunted and groaned and refused
to answer, and just as I reached for his mask a cloud of darts headed my
way. I turned just in time and used the
assassin as a body shield. His back was
pummeled and as the poison set in his eyes rolled back and his body went limp
in my hands. Death was quick and
painless. I tossed him over the rail
just as the boat lurched forward and we sped down the river.
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