The air surrounding the Hotel Goldgasse in the main city of Vienna, Austria was densed resulting from the roasting of chestnuts by a roadside vendor nearby the hotel. The hotel is an architectural masterpiece with it's modern glass and steel adorned by the city's lights, its housed so many important events like art auctions and grand dinners, to Nikolai Kane it was more than just a hotel it was a place of work.
Nikolai Kane is an American assassin born in Austin, Texas to a Russian father and an American mother, he is 34 years of age. He stands at 6 feet and 3 inches tall and has been on the CIA radar for killing high- ranking government officials.
Dressed in a navy blue suit that complements his broad shoulders and his aura, Nikolai stepped out of the yellow cab that brought him to the hotel, his sharp gray eyes was looking at everything across the street in the bustling city of Vienna and in the grand hotel from the doormen chatting in the entrance, the hidden security cameras kept above the revolving door through which guests move Into the hotel, and the pianist in the hotel's lobby, he knew that every single detail mattered.
Inside the Hotel's lobby was luxury, the chandeliers light was shining brightly upon the marbled floor and the melodious sound of the piano filled the room, indeed the hotel was a grand one. Wealthy business men and government officials were seen around the hotel's lobby some sipping champagne while other were merely exchanging pleasantries.
Nikolai then crossed the street from where the cab had dropped him to the hotel, he adjusted his suit and walked towards the receptionist at the reception desk.
"Welcome to the Hotel Goldgasse" the receptionist greeted Nikolai politely, she had dark hair and her uniform matched the hotel insigna and she then welcomed him in and then she said "How may I assist you".
Nikolai looked at her with a polite smile, his face calm but distant, Nikolai then replied and said " I have a reservation, the name is Jaxon Bryant".
The fake passport he had in the pocket of his suit matched with the same character on the computer of the receptionist, it was one of many of the fake identities he carried each meant for a specific mission.
The receptionist then looked through the computer with her fingers imputing some information to it through the keyboard and then she told Nikolai " Yes, Mr Bryant you are in room 324, third floor here's your key card"
Then Nikolai stretched out his hand and collected the card from her, and then told her "Thank you" he stood around in the lobby for about 5 minutes blending in the posh crowd before making his way to the elevator.
Room 324 was a big suite, with it's windows offering a broad view of Vienna's bustling street below. The suite decor was luxurious and posh with a king sized plus bed, and an abstract work of art on its walls, but Nikolai was not interested in all of these.
After coming out of the elevator he entered the suite, and locked the door behind him, he sets his suitcase on the bed and removed an artist portfolio case which would serve as a cover for him. Nikolai entered the hotel through the name Jaxon Bryant who is an art enthusiast who is coming to the hotel to attend an auction for a priceless piece of art.
Inside the artist portfolio case which Nikolai brought out from his case is a sniper rifle dissembled for easy transport without notice or detection.
Nikolai then moved to the window to assemble his rifle, every step he took was calculated with precise accuracy, he pulled out his rifle and started assembling, the suppressor fit tightly, and it's scope was fixed in place, with every moment being precisely meet he tested the balance of his rifle and it was fully balanced on the edge of the window.
He drew the curtain close, while allowing a clear line of sight,he watched closely scanning the terrace below on the ground floor.His target Hiroshi Sujiomoto was where he predicted he will be at that point of the day in the hotel.
Mr. Hiroshi Sujiomoto is a middle aged japanese business man, he has a black peppered hair and sat at a private table on the terrace down on the hotel's lobby. His black suit exuded wealth and affluence. But Nikolai believed that he was more than just a business man.
And his thoughts was perceived to be true, to the world Mr Sujiomoto is a respected business man who has made a fortune from his business transactions worldwide, but to the CIA Mr Sujiomoto was more than a business man he is an undercover informant who infiltrate the black market and gives information back to the CIA on arms trade.
That night Sujiomoto was meeting with Ivan Volkov who is a Russian business man and Oligarch who has a very reputable name in the international arms trade, Ivan Volkov was a very tall man with blue eyes, with his appearance ordering respect to whoever sees him.
Mr. Sujiomoto was to meet with Ivan Volkov to discuss a black market arms deal worth 500 million dollars, which will see Volkov delivering arms to the terrorist groups of Afghanistan.
Nikolai had direct orders: which was to eliminate Sujiomoto, his client never gave him a reason why he should do so, and Nikolai on the other hand never asked his job was just to kill and it was very straightforward for him.
Two hours had passed after Sujiomoto and Volkov met themselves down on the hotel lobby at a private table, Nikolai remained calm waiting for the perfect moment for him to strike, during this time he watched all of Sujiomoto actions, from the way he spoke to the way he adjusted his cufflinks during the meeting.
Finally Sujiomoto stood up with Volkov, his bodyguards were with him as he buttoned the jacket of suit and made his way to the parking lot of the hotel.
Nikolai was still watching evey single step he took, and then Sujiomoto and Volkov were at the parking lot together, exchanging pleasantries Sujiomoto said "Goodnight" to Volkov, his voice sounding faint over the little microphone Nikolai had hidden in one of Sujiomoto's bodyguard while in the elevator.
Nikolai then focused his sniper on Sujiomoto with a steady aim, and then fired the shot which was not louder than a whisper due to the silencer he had fixed on his rifle, Sujiomoto's body shaked violently, blood spilling on his suit and on the ground of the parking lot, Sujiomoto then collapsed on the floor with is eyes wide opened.
Screams erupted down on the hotel lobby and it's ground floor, all the hotel staff and it's guests all ran in panic trying to find their way out of its environs, their panic and disorderliness creating a scene for Nikolai escape from the building.
Still in his Suite, Nikolai disassembled his rifle in a matter of seconds, packing it back to his art portfolio case, his next move was to leave the building undetected.
Inside his suitcase which he brought into the suite, Nikolai had a Janitor's clothes which he quickly changed into with a worn cap over his face, on his way out of the suit, he triggered the fire alarm.
The hotel was still in panic following the event which just unfolded in its parking lot with a lot of its guests running into the street for protection, and security guards scrambled the hotel to maintain order, Nikolai moved through the crowd calmly, pushing a Janitor's cart he blended in perfectly.
When he finally got out he moved to a sedan car which was waiting for him 3 blocks from the hotel.
After driving for about 2 hours from the hotel in the main city of Vienna, he went to a Chinese lodge on the outskirts of the city called the Red Lotus. The Red Lotus was a two story building located on the outskirts of Vienna's city, it's location made it a perfect hiding spot for Nikolai, Red lanterns lined the entrance like a typical Chinese restaurant, inside the red Lotus was an aroma of soy sauce and ginger coupled together with the silent conversations the lodge hosted.
Nikolai worked into Red Lotus with it's light being dimly lit, the Red Lotus was nothing compared to the luxury of the Hotel Goldgasse in which he left at Vienna main city.
Nikolai mistress Angela was waiting in one of Red Lotus private suites, she has a blonde complexion which complement her brown silky hair, with a glass of red wine on her right hand, her gaze was fixed on Nikolai as he walked into their private suites.
"You're late" she said to him, her voice full of amusement and a bit of disappointment for the long time she waited for him.
Nikolai then replied her and said "Traffic was what delayed me" throwing his bag to the bed of the private suite,his tone was calm but his body was still full of adrenaline from the action in the hotel.
Angela then approached him, she ran her finger down his arm, her touch light and comforting and she asked him "You're tensed, bad job?".
He said to her "No it was clean", he then left her and went to the washroom to clean himself up and then he came out.
Angela leaned against the suite door and then said to him "You know one day, you have to tell me who pays you for all this, eight hundred grand is a lot for one bullet", Nikolai dried his hands and walked up to her and said "you know better than to ask questions" and then Angela replied him and said "You know I love breaking the rules", and they spend the night together.
The next morning 800,000 dollars was paid into Nikolai offshore account by his employer for a job well done, the payment notification flashed on his phone as he was sipping down his coffee.
Angela sat across the other side of the bed in the suite with her legs crossed over each other scrolling through her own phone, she then looked up at Nikolai and said "So what next? Another job? Another City"
"Yes we are going to Geneva" Nikolai replies her packing his belongings.
Angela then said "Oh wow Geneva's fancy with a lot of malls"
"It's not a vacation" he said zipping his bag, Angela roller her eyes in disappointment and said "it never is"
That same morning Angela and Nikolai were ready to move out of Vienna as soon as possible as they prepared and the left the Red Lotus lodge to Vienna's international airport.
The Vienna's international airport was a very busy one with crowd consisting of tourist, business people and Vienna's local all wanting to travel, Nikolai and Angela moved side by side through the airport terminal, Angela was dressed in a casual leather jacket, and a blue jeans with her hair tied up as a pony tail.
They arrived the immigration counter of the airport where Nikolai presented his forged passport along side Angela's own too, the immigration officer looked at both passports and looked at them one more time with a bit of suspicion then he stamped it without any hesitation.
As Nikolai collected the passport from the immigration officer, his swift eyes caught some suspicious movement in the small crowd of the airport, he saw two men dressed in black suit with their gazed fixed on him.
He then held Angela firmly which made her feel unsafe and she asked him "What is it" and then he said to her "They have found us". And then Angela finally sees the men dressed on neat black suits walking towards them and she then asked him "What do we do", and then he said "Run".
Both Nikolai and Angela started to run in the airport going through crowds of people, the agents drew their weapons out and shot a bullet up in the air as chaos erupted in the airport, security ran in trying to control the disturbed crowd while the agents kept on chasing Nikolai and Angela.
Nikolai led Angela though a bunch of luggages and the airport's carts, his movements were fast and swift with accurate precision with the agents behind them, a bullet whizzed past his ear hitting a nearby pillar but he was not still flinched.
"Keep moving don't stop" he told Angela, holding her hand and pulling her along, the ran through a backdoor to a baggage handling area in which Angela saw a ladder leading to an emergency exit of the airport.
And Nikolai told her "Go", he told her ushering her in front of him, they both burst through the exit door into the open air, with the sound of jet engine filling their ears. A row of parked cars was nearby on the airport tarmac and Nikolai and Angela sprinter towards them.
On getting to those cars, Nikolai smashed the window of a black audi A5 car with his elbow, got into the driver's seat and hotwired the vehicle while Angela moved into the passenger's seat, and he said to her "Hold On" has he matched the accelerator with full strength and the car moved out of the tarmac.
The car moved into Vienna main city as Nikolai droved swiftly and tried to avoid incoming cars on his way, behind him where two black vehicles which were full of CIA agents chasing down on him, after a while of high speed pursuit and chase, the agents leaned out of their SUV's window with guns, shooting at Nikolai car trying to stop it.
The first wave of bullet fired by the agents shattered the rear window of Nikolai's car, scattering glasses on Vienna's road, Angela was screaming in the back seat and she ducked down for safety from the bullet and Nikolai swift driving, "can't you drive any faster" she yelled out to Nikolai, with his face focused on the road he said "Not unless you want us to flip".
Nikolai stopped talking to her and looked at the rearview mirror, calculating and watching the SUV's which were following him and then he said to her "Take the wheel" reaching for the pistol he kept in his jacket all this while.
"What" Angela replied confused, "just do it" he said.
She then switched seats with Nikolai and grabbed the wheel,then Nikolai leaned out of the shattered car's window and aimed for one of the SUV's. His first shot hit the tire of the nearest SUV, driving it to hit a lamppost, The second SUV drifted away to avoid being hit, but it's occupant kept on firing at Nikolai and Angela.
After another rounds of bullet hit Nikolai's car, his side mirror was hit and scattered and another bullet passed through the passenger's door and hit Angela on her belly, with blood staining the shirt she wore beneath her leathered jacket.
Nikolai then shouted to her "Angela" and she said I am fine with anguish and pain written all over her face, Nikolai then took the steering wheel from her and removed his jacket and put it on where Angela was shot to ease the bleeding.
Nikolai continued to drive swiftly as the were close to the outskirts of Vienna, they road narrowing as they entered rural areas.
The car was already worn off due to the fast pace of driving which affected it's engines. As Nikolai took a sharp turn the car screamed and it's rubber tired could not hold on any longer, and with a kiud sound the front tire blew off send the car skidding off the road, it came to halt in a corn field plantation.
"Get out" Nikolai told Angela as he struggled a bit to pull her out from the damaged car, the SUV's then pulled up immediately after, with agents coming out of its doors with their weapons drawn.
Nikolai fired first with his shot quick and precise as two agents went down, but they were a lot of agents who came out from the SUV and the returned fire forcing him to take cover behind the car with Angela.
Angela leaned on the car while taking cover from the agents bullet, and with the second wave of bullet coming to them, she told Nikolai "You can fight them all" but Nikolai insisted and told her "Watch me do it" while reloading his pistol and firing shots back at the agents.
Although Nikolai was a good fighter with a lot of kills to his name, they numbers of the agents he was fighting off were much and with Angela bleeding getting worsed he became faint, as the agents closed in on Nikolai, one of them managed to flank him delivering a blow to the back of his head with the butt of a rifle, Nikolai became a bit unconscious and weak and then fell to his knees.
On his knees, Nikolai reached out to Angela but froze when he saw the small tracking device she had in her hand which was given to her by the CIA.
"I'm sorry Nikolai" she whispered with tears streaming down her face "they gave me no choice" she said, Nikolai was weakened from the pain the butt of the rifle on his head, but immediately he was burning with anger and heartbreak.
Before he could react and meet Angela, the agents finally got him dragging him and Angela from his worn out car back to their SUV.
As the doors of the SUV were closed he knew that this wasn't his end but just the beginning and at that particular point inside the agents SUV with anger and anguish Nikolai vowed to get his own pound of flesh.