Job Fourteen: 
Planes, Trains, and Boats

    *Why exactly did we take this job?* Raphael said as he edge away from the boat. Jumping off buildings, dashing through the streets, dodging bullets, and laughing at the face of danger were just fine with him. Water, however, was nothing he enjoyed. Especially when there was so much of it.

    Ahura did not like water either, but at least he could stand it. "Because we want the money."

    *Can't we get the money in some other way. Like just stealing it?*

    "No. That's too simple. The King of Bandits, Thieves and other various titles can't do something as simple as robbing a bank. I want and need a challenge. What, are you having problems with being in a boat?" 

    *Yes, I'm having a big problem with it.*

    The thief rolled his eyes. He really had no way to comfort his bondmate, and they were almost at their destination anyway, so it did not matter that much. "Anghiari will be making a hit, so this'll probably be much easier than usual."

    *That's a small comfort,* the wyrm said as he clung to the closet stationary heavy object.

    "Why look at that! We're here." Indeed they were. They were at the side of a large magnificent boat, that was bright white, and larger than any yacht should be. Ahura was happy to say he would never want something so gaudy, and he would stick with the small enjoyments, like plasma TVs.

    *Ugh. I don't like this at all.*

    Ahura could not help but laugh, "Now, get off of the equipment box so I can get the stuff to scale this monster."

    Reluctantly Raphael released the box and watched his bondmate open it. It was filled with various devices. From scaling implements, to various sizes of ammo for Ahura Mazda's guns.

    Ahura produced a set of scaling items. "This will be interesting."

***

    Anghiari was surprisingly hot when she was not wearing an eye patch and had her wings taped down. She was wearing a long and sleek cocktail dress that was her favorite color of blood red. She closed her eyes and spun around. She could honestly get used to this.

    She smirked, and was rather surprised that she could slip a gun in her garter and not have it noticed. With a happy grin she walked out of the ladies room, and was off to the main banquet hall.

    It was lavish, excessively so, and Anghiari would be happy to put the interior decorator to rest. She had heard that he was a tacky, pompous ass who stole the free people's money and used it for useless items. She finally believed all of the stories, and was amazed at how weak the stories were in comparison to reality.

    Ahura should have at least been in the ship by now, so this was Gi could start mingling and get close to her target. She spotted her green haired "friend" across the floor. He had dyed his hair a deep black, and he had worn contacts to cover his natural eye color. If it weren't for the case he was carrying Anghiari may have mistaken him for an actual member of the party. He actually looked good with his hair slicked back in a pony tail.

    She nodded as she made her way towards her dedicated target. He was a handsome man, even if he was in his late forties, and it was a pity such a pretty man had to die so early in his life. Now it was time for her to flirt.

    She stopped dead. Why was there someone who looked like her, but male, near her target? He would have to die, but for now she would have to flirt with her target. 

***

    *Can you let me out now?*

    'Just wait a bit longer, we're almost there.' Ahura slipped down another corridor. He was surprised by the lax security, and would have appreciated something to avoid. "All right, I think it's safe to let you out here," He opened the metal box of tools and Raphael popped out with and indignant huff.

    *When I have appendages, you're the one who's going to be stuffed in the box.*

    "You may not get appendages if we stay on this boat long enough," Ahura Mazda picked up the young dragon after shutting the tool box. "We need to make this as quick as possible so we can get out before Gi makes her hit."

    Raphael nodded, *I understand. Now where are we going?*

    "It should be just a few rooms ahead," Ahura whispered. This was rather easier than he had expected. Like someone had set them up. "Stop me if you see a door labeled "storage" or something similar."

    *It's right there!* Raphael pointed with his tail. There was a rather battered door with a half faded "STORAGE" written on it in big bold letters. The door blended into the wall, which is probably why it needed the huge writing printed on it. 

    Ahura double took, "So it is." He went over and rapped on the door. It was nice and solid, just like Ahura had thought. He looked to the keypad lock, which was exactly what the client had described. He quickly keyed in the code. There was a loud click that filled the hallway.

    *It looks like we're in,* Raphael said with a mental grin.

    The young thief pushed open the door. It groaned all the way open, and revealed the massive room behind. 

    Both man and dragon stood shocked. The room was filled with boxes upon boxes of luggage, each box was strapped down by massive belts. It was going to take a while to find the right box.

***

    "Well," Gi said as she slipped up next to her target. "I'm sure I can accommodate you by any means necessary, Sir."

    "Please, call me Jacob, Anna." He smiled coyly at the young woman.

    Anghiari silently choked back her lunch. The man was absolutely disgusting. "Then why don't we sneak off and do something bad, Jacob?" She whispered into his ear before blowing in it.

    The man smiled, "I'd love--"

    "Sir, you have a message," said the man who looked surprisingly like Anghiari. The woman bit her lip. How dare this halfwit get in her way.

    "It can wait, I was just about to show Anna around the ship." Jacob practically growled at the man.

    "Sir..." The man leaned forward to speak with him.

    The assassin raised an eyebrow. This was bad.

***

    Raphael peered over the edge of a large silvery trunk. It was plain in design, but a person (if they were curled up) could probably fit inside. He curiously tilted his head at the lock mechanism. It was a combination of a regular lock and key, a keypad, and turn dial. Whatever was in here, someone wanted to keep it safe. Ahura peered over his bondmate and at the box. "It looks like the one, Raph."

    *It looks quite heavy,* Raphael observed as Ahura grabbed the handle.

    "It--" Ahura untied the belts that held the box, "--probably is." He struggled to get the container in an upright position. "Gah, it's like there's a dead body in this thing!" With great difficulty the thief dragged the box to the door, with his bond following him closely. Ahura had no idea how he was going to get this thing on the tiny boat. "Raph! Grab the supplies!" He said to the wyrm as he looked out the door, checking left and right.

    Raphael did as he was told. He grabbed the handle in his mouth and dragged it to the door way. It was surprisingly light. He set it down besides his bondmate, who had dropped the box for the time being.

    He opened the small case and produced a large about of cable and a few pulleys. Raphael wonder how anything that big could fit in anything that large. Curiously enough, Ahura strapped some of the cables to the box. *What are you doing?*

    "I'm rigging it so we can set it down in the boat carefully. I'll need to attach these," he lifted up the pulleys, "to the side of the ship."

    *That sounds sort of difficult,* Raph said as he looked at Ahura concerned.

    "It is."

    *Are you sure you can do it alone?*

    "I don't have much of a choice. Let's hurry, I have a feeling that she's going to make her hit early." The thief grabbed the suitcase, and with a great effort, dragged it to the nearest window.

***

    Anghiari bit her lip, this was going down hill fast. The assassin leaned forward and whispered into Jacob's ear. "Sir, I honestly can't wait much longer. I'm getting so hot in here."

    Jacob twitched, "Really, this can wait boy. I need to take the lady out of the room. She's not feeling all that well..."

    The man shot a quick glare at Anghiari before continuing, "Sir, It's about your wife."

    "Mmmm, she doesn't matter," Gi whispered in his ear like a serpent. "I doubt she can come close to me."

    The business man flushed as Anghiari's hands slid down his back towards his waste. She stopped at his midline and with one hand slowly reached for her gun. The man whispered, "You're going to put a show on for me right here and right now?" He seemed to plead with her.

    "One that will knock you dead," She whispered seductively in his ear. Little did he know that she actually meant dead and bleeding in a pool on the floor. She smirked as she grasped the handle on her gun.

    The room went silent as the sound exploded from the gun. The target fell to the ground with a muffled thump. The shot was a perfect head shot. The assassin smiled as the room filled with chaos, body guards came running from every direction, and each one fell with one shot from Anghiari's gun.

    The man stood still, he had not moved since the first shot was fired, taking his sweet time he pulled a small handgun out of his coat. The man took aim, but was surprised to find that his adversary had kicked his gun out of his hands and had quickly pinned him to the floor. She hissed, "Who the hell are you, and who are you working for?"

    "Why should I tell you," he hissed back, "If I fail killing you I'm dead anyway."

    "You'll met a face worse than death with me, now tell me!"

    The man paused, he spoke slowly, "Verona. I don't know the names of who I work for, and neither do you."

    She took her foot off of his neck and proceeded to shoot several of the on coming body guards as she spoke. "You should remember that I'm not going to die that easily," the angry assassin shot Verona in the hand before making her departure out of the main bay windows that had already been shattered from the gunshots of the bodyguards.

    Her heals tapped on the ships deck before she leapt over the guard rail. She thankfully landed on the boat that Ahura and Raphael happened to have place perfectly.

    "Boys, I think it's time to head out."

    "Glad you noticed."