Their flight out of Nigeria took off hitch-free as they set their destination to India, the free markets of magic, and the magical neutral grounds.
India as a neutral ground they heard, accepted all kinds of creatures of magic, both the vile and the good, slave and the free, to tread its lands with only but one rule, confrontation of any kind enacts the penalty of death.
Being a neutral ground, its laws were enacted by the priests, harmless in their solitudes but vile in their judgement. All around the country, they watched with keen eyes through all, maintaining the peace they had always savored.
Aboard the plane, all five took time to rest, as each dozed off, for they all saw what stretched before them, long days to summon more long days.
The cabin which on a usual day will feature movements and noises of all sorts was deep in sleep, obeying the enchantment cast by Sam, seeing even the hostesses deep in slumber, as the plane made its route to India.
In a couple of hours, maybe too much of it, Sam’s spell wore off as one by one, the once dead quiet cabin was roused in newfound noise, as each passenger chit-chatted themselves into much profound existence, taking the reins of their lives once again.
‘Passengers, this is your captain speaking’, the pilots voice came alive throughout the plane in its clarity.
‘We just entered the Indian airspace and we will be touching down in Mumbai in twenty minutes’.
‘Twenty minutes’, Rachel mouthed, gearing up in life, joining the already awoken four.
‘Well, here goes nothing’, Adrian let out and in a matter of minutes, just as the pilot has foretold, they had their touch down on the runway.
Just as they were preparing to alight the plane, they each heard a whisper, whisper a message of certainty in their ears.
‘Just outside the arrival terminal in your transport, two black SUVs they are’.
In no time, all five where clutching their backpacks as they exited the arrival terminal amidst the crowd there was, moving forward, crossing the road in search of what they couldn’t see.
‘But I thought . . . . . . . . .’, Alkali was cut as eagerly as he began.
‘Look again’, Rachel hinted, and there they were, two of them, seated just down the road, buried in the darkness the night brought upon them.
Zooming into the city, the two vehicles ushered India to the five, as Mumbai in all its urbanization lay before their eyes as they all explored the city, one still clinging to its fleeting identity as it portrayed in its abrupt cut in the flow of international style every now and them.
The night, young it was, still had much to reveal, and the night, alive it was, was beautiful to behold, one they couldn’t yet fathom its deliberate put-out figure of ornamentation, but something, and they all knew it, about the city was alive.
The neon signs gave bright colorful life to the city in addition to the strange music, Indian of course that filled the busy air. In no time, the youthfulness of the city gave in to the wretchedness of barren lands, stark in their habitation. The sky, taking cue from the lands, showed no directional constellation in its stark appearance, and the wind, well, tied its anchor somewhere, and all that was alive was the headlights of the two SUVs, pathing the darkness, aligning with a goal.
‘We are not alone’, the man sitting opposite the driver let out, phasing out of the vehicle, followed suite by another man from the second SUV.
Producing blazing whips from utter nothing, ones that hummed with electricity, they lashed on the road, each, thrice, before lashing into a further distance, making a pull with an effort to it, and in no time, two bikes came into reality, crashing in no time.
Dodging, the two performed acrobatic skills dodging the invisible but were too late as they both paused to looked at the hands imbued deep within their chest, holding out their hearts forward.
‘Stop the car’, Adrian let out.
‘Sorry young master, but you are no match for the sad assassins’, the driver hinted, unravelling the bitter truth he knew.
‘Sad or happy, they must be stopped’, a much more different Alkali let out.
Pulling up at the roadside, followed suite by the second, the SUVs emptied the five unto the road.
Stopping before them, the spear-head formation of bikers alighted their individual bikes, as their leader or who looked like one strode forward.
‘Why do you remain cloaked while you approach?’ Avelline inquired, only to be met by silence, as he who strode, continued, stopping inches before Adrian, looking at him face to face, intently.
‘Velityu’, Avelline whispered, after muttering some spells, seeing to a violent wind pushing forward, sweeping the entire population of thirty into visual assessment.
Looking at what presented themselves before them, Sam let out.
‘Who are you all? . . . . . . You all look like Arabian ninjas with all your dressing and stuff’, she continued.
Holding herself, Rachel tried to suppress her fits which still managed to sip out a little before it was fully suppressed.
‘Arabian ninjas? Give me a break’, Rachel let out, wiping the joyous of tears.
‘This is not funny at all’, Avelline whispered.
‘You got it there, but I think you are wrong’, Alkali pretended not to hear Avelline’s warning, airing out his very mind. ‘They all look like Indian ninjas’.
‘Nah’, Sam let out. ‘I agreed to have missed it the first time buh I think they all are buddish monkish ninjas’, Sam announced, only to be met by Rachel’s heart-felt laughter, echoing in the night.
‘Rachel?’ Sam called in a funny tune.
‘Wait, wait’, Rachel said, raising her hand as she tried to contain her laughter with her second hand on her chest as she bent. ‘Just wait, am coming back’, she continued, thinking out aloud, ‘buddish monkish ninjas!!! That’s a name?’ she let out, before bursting into a fresh round of laughter.
‘These motherfuckers think we are a joke’, the leader let out.
‘Do you think am funny?’ he asked with a certain tone that Alkali swore under her breath that it was Chris Tucker who stood before them.
‘I said, do I look funny?’ he asked again, counting his words, before looking at himself all over.
‘Oh I do look funny’, he let out. ‘Let’s see if y’all can still laugh when y’all dead’, he aired out from behind his mask, a fencing mask he wore, in conjunction with his colleagues.
‘Attack’, he shouted, prompting all twenty-nine to varnish.
‘Wait’, the leader shouted to their surprise. ‘Hey, lil’ motherfucker, play something nice’, he called out, and at that instant, a hip-hop song filled the air.
Attacking, slashes born out of anger materialized out of thin air, as they were all blocked by the five.
‘I think I see your joke’, Avelline pointed out to Sam, as rage gave room for weakness.
Appearing and disappearing, all five dodged attacks they could dodge and blocked blockable attacks. The battle was an acrobatic one, as each participant meandered between space and time, all in the name of dodging.
‘Mehn’, the leader aired out. ‘This stuff is boring. Play something else, and it better be good cos am about to hit this stuff real hard’, he let out, dancing as he swiped his sword in attack.
Separated, all five had gotten all the information about the enemy they needed to get, as within the enemy’s attacks, a rhythm they had found.
‘Hey, young dude!!!’ Sam called out to the leader, who was dancing in a battle field.
‘Yo!!’ he replied.
‘I think you’ve got to change that shit of a music. Puh somethin’ real good, you kno wat am sayin’?’ Sam continued.
‘Like what?’
‘Some Cardi B shit, you kno wat am sayin’. Hit us with some of that good, good shit’, Sam continued being Sam.
‘Ama give you some real shit’, he said before calling out. ‘Hey, lil’ motherfucker, give her some money moves shit, you feel me?’
‘Yo boss’.
As the music changed, so did the battle field, as one by one, each of the five took down the enemy force, matching their speed, agility and stealth, entrapping them with spell and combative attacks, being the better enemy, as in no time, only he who danced was left.
‘Yo, where my men at?’ the leader asked.
‘They gone’, Sam replied.
‘Mehn, you dudes know who to ruin some good moves’, he let out.
‘Are you really the leader of the Sad Assassins?’ Avelline asked.
‘I mean, yeah, buh couldn’t flow with the name Sad Assassins’, he mouthed the words. ‘I mean, my OG was kinda serious and going about stuff like being a good swordsman, being a stealthy assassin and honor, buh he kinda lost me bored to death, you kno wat am sayin’? so, I kinda thought taking the reins wasn’t a bad idea, so I butcherd him like, slush, slush, slush’, he made some funny sounds, ‘and booyah, and he aint no more buh I couldn’t change that weird name cos it would ruin the business, buh I want y’all to reason with me, I mean what’s with the name Sad Assassins? How would you kill to be sad? I mean, Sad Assassins? You’ve got to be kidding me. So I kinda introduced jams to the family when we kinda knock it out, you know, during some nice combos’, he gestured with his fists.
‘Mehn, you sound like a hell of a bother, one with the hood’, Sam let out.
‘That’s me, ma sister. You hit the shit on the head, I mean, you smoked it out like a pro’, he let out.
‘Anyway, I am the young O’Brien. Don’t like the name though, buh ma mama’s kinda crazy ‘bout these white folks’.
‘Oww, that’s kinda awful’, Sam related. ‘So why are you kicking it up with us?’ Sam inquired.
‘I mean the dough is good and I get to kick some ass real good, scares the living daylight outta me in the sweetest of ways’, he shivered in explanation.
‘I relate with you ma bro’, Sam let out.
‘Spoken like a true sis, buh forgive me, chit-chatting time is over’.
‘Hey lil’ motherfucker, play me some Kendrick shit’.
Looking at him anew, an enemy, best described as a prodigy challenged all five.
‘It’s time to make do on ma contract’.
Batting it out, he was clearly out of their league, as even his speed which he claimed to have reduced, all five couldn’t match. Attacks of magic he blocked with his sword, dodging some, varnishing as he did so, serving each with attacks.
‘Mehn, you guys bore me to death. Can’t believe I got paid to eat cheese balls’, he let out, adding some swagger to his gesture before varnishing again.
‘You anger me to death’, Avelline let out.
His attack on the four ceased, as Avelline attack him in earnest, slashing him through the air.
‘Mehn, chill lil’ sis. I aint no frenemy, just a homie’, he let out.
‘As if I am going to fall for that’, Avelline let out as she attacked the already materialized enemy, slashing his defensive stance into a corner.
‘Wait me lady, just chill. I acknowledge your strength’, he called out but she continued in her attacks, teleporting as she shot spell and launched physical attacks at him, launching a seal just below his feet to trap him and just as he was making to dodge, she caught him in another spell, freezing him at that instant.
‘Now, that is how it is done’, she said, panting earnestly, trying to regain her composure.
Mouthing words, she couldn’t make what he was saying and at that instant, the spell melted away.
‘I said, good work’, he said out, ‘buh sorry sis, none of ya is strong enough to pull me down. You made a mistake by taking me to be a mistake, buh sis were you wrong. I am the enemy you don’t know about’, he paused.
‘Now all of ya, listen. I am the enemy, no doubt ‘bout that buh I came to test ya strengths. I didn’t come here to kill y’all, at least, not yet. I kinda was sent to track y’all and kill y’all buh I kinda have a different agenda of my own. I am leaving y’all in the cold, letting y’all go for now, until the appointed date and time, when you’ve worked your voodoo. Until then bye’, he said varnishing with his musician or ninja Dj as Sam saw him, for he held up a large radio on his shoulder.
‘Well at least we get to live miraculously’, Sam let out as they all entered the waiting SUVs.
‘Hey, why didn’t you help?’ Sam asked the driver of her ride.
‘You didn’t ask’, came the reply.