NationStates Jolt Archive

Centricity, the Empire of Aquidneckia

Crowds lined Main Street, as the funeral procession meandered it's way from the Imperial Chapel, towards the Imperial Cemetery, where every Emperor, since the Empire's inception, lay in eternal rest. Many in the crowd were sobbing over the loss of Emperor John Claiborne Herbert Pell. Others were rejoicing in the many things the Emperor had done for him, and the fact that he had had a full and vibrant life. Emperor John Claiborne Herbert Pell, had lived to be 22,164 days old, before dying of a brain aneurysm. Near the front of the procession, was Emperor John Claiborne Herbert Pell's one and only son, and heir to the throne, Timothy Hayden John Pell, the last remaining decedent of the Pell line, riding in the back of an open convertible. He felt it, as many others did. The great change that came with Emperor John Claiborne Herbert Pell's passing. It wasn't anything definite, just a vague feeling of shadows on the horizon. The weight of the Empire was about to be thrust onto his shoulders, and he knew it.

Timothy Hayden John Pell's Convertible, was just passing Gregory Templeton Pell Station, the main rail station in Centricity, when shots rang out. Before Timothy knew what was happening, three of his security guards had force him to the floor of the convertible. He felt the vehicle rapidly increase speed, as the shots continued. He noticed blood on the white upholstery next to his head, and realized that two of the men on top of him had stopped breathing. The next thing he heard were sirens, surrounding him. The gunshots had faded into the distance. Moments later, the patches of sky he could see above him disappeared, replaced by black, with the occasional flash of light. The vehicle had slowed now, and the sirens were echoing. The vehicle then stopped. There was some sound, as the man closest to him, struggled under the other two men, who were no clearly dead. He could hear others talking and then, the two dead bodies were lifted out of the car, and the living man, pushed himself up. "Sir, are you all right?" someone asked. They sounded quite worried. He then looked down at himself, and realized he was covered in blood.
"I am fine," he said, rather dazed. "What, what is happening?"
"It appears as if it was an assassination attempt. Your lucky to have survived." Once Timothy was out of the car, he looked back at it, there must have been more than 70 bullets lodged in the vehicle, centered around the back seat were he had been.

Aquidneckia News 24

Emperor to be Attacked

Assassins attempted to kill the Emperor to be today, while he was riding in his father's funeral procession. They opened fire from the upper levels of Gregory Templeton Pell Station. While they have yet to be apprehended, police suspect that there were at least 5 shooters, armed with AK-47 rifles. Luckily, Emperor to be, Timothy Hayden John Pell, escaped unharmed, although two of his body guards died, and a third was slightly injured in the attack. As a result of this attack, the schedule coronation of the Emperor, set for Monday, has been moved up to tomorrow, and will no longer be in Heston Pell Memorial Park, but in the Imperial Palace, under strict guard. The celebration set for Monday, will continue, as planned, however, Timothy Hayden John Pell, will already be Emperor, which is clearly what these assassins were attempting to prevent.

Marius Grimdark Langford was scared as hell.

He oughtn't have been. His job, after all, was to kill people. When he failed, he tried again later. But he'd never been involved in something this big, and now he felt trapped. He sat back in the chair in the railway station, trying to pace his breathing, keenly aware of everyone around him and how close they were getting. Which ones were undercover policemen or federal agents out to shoot him on sight? Oh, of course there was always this danger, but usually he fired his shots and was out of the country with a fat check by the time police came looking. This time the man he'd been shooting at was the new Emperor of Aquidneckia.

As a longtime Aquidneckian native himself, Langford had never felt any particular love or hatred for the Imperial family. He wasn't too fond of the local police force, since they'd thrown him in jail or tried to a few times, and he liked some of the politicians, mostly the more liberal ones who supported concealed carry laws and prostitution, but the Imperial family itself was too high up and too large for him to even consider with anything approaching an opinion. And then someone had offered him fifty thousand dollars to shoot the Emperor's only son.

Langford started as his cell phone rang. He calmed down by degrees, pacing himself; it was only his cell phone, and the "Unknown Number" could have been anyone, not necessarily a federal agent telling him to turn himself in now before he got killed by their field agents. He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"You did well," said the almost eerily soothing male voice on the other side. "We have deposited the first payment into your account. To receive the second payment, we have another mission for you."

"The second payment?"

"One hundred thousand dollars. Enough to cover the new car you wish to purchase -- a Hsakhi 3A56, I believe."

How the hell do they know about that? Langford thought. "I'm in a public space, you know..... if I choose not to accept your mission?"

"Your house and possessions will be rendered unusable, and will have to be destroyed. And your role in the attempted assassination of Timothy Pell will be revealed to local authorities, along with all the other contract killings you have carried out over the past six years."

Pause.

"What do I have to do?" Langford asked, miserably.

"In four hours you will receive another phone call. At that point you must be at Giorgio Federico Park. Do not bother trying to trace the call. You will receive further instructions there. We will make sure the police do not reach you."

Giorgio Federico Park was on the other side of the city. He got up and walked to the edge of the platform, peering into evening's gloom towards the approaching train, amidst the tops of distant buildings.

"This mission will be somewhat more dangerous. You will be responsible for incapacitating or killing a man, fulfilling your instructions, and then leaving the premises within a time limit -- most likely between five and ten minutes. Any questions?"

"They said there were five gunmen. I wasn't the only one, was I?"

"No, you were not. Goodbye, Marius Grimdark Langford."

Click.

He stared at the phone for a moment, and then looked up. His train had come in.

Hope you don't object.

Marius Grimdark Langford was scared as hell.

He oughtn't have been. His job, after all, was to kill people. When he failed, he tried again later. But he'd never been involved in something this big, and now he felt trapped. He sat back in the chair in the subway station, trying to pace his breathing, keenly aware of everyone around him and how close they were getting. Which ones were undercover policemen or federal agents out to shoot him on sight? Oh, of course there was always this danger, but usually he fired his shots and was out of the country with a fat check by the time police came looking. This time the man he'd been shooting at was the new Emperor of Aquidneckia.

As a longtime Aquidneckian native himself, Langford had never felt any particular love or hatred for the Imperial family. He wasn't too fond of the local police force, since they'd thrown him in jail or tried to a few times, and he liked some of the politicians, mostly the more liberal ones who supported concealed carry laws and prostitution, but the Imperial family itself was too high up and too large for him to even consider with anything approaching an opinion. And then someone had offered him fifty thousand dollars to shoot the Emperor's only son.

Langford started as his cell phone rang. He calmed down by degrees, pacing himself; it was only his cell phone, and the "Unknown Number" could have been anyone, not necessarily a federal agent telling him to turn himself in now before he got killed by their field agents. He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"You did well," said the almost eerily soothing male voice on the other side. "We have deposited the first payment into your account. To receive the second payment, we have another mission for you."

"The second payment?"

"One hundred thousand dollars. Enough to cover the new car you wish to purchase -- a Hsakhi 3A56, I believe."

How the hell do they know about that? Langford thought. "I'm in a public space, you know..... if I choose not to accept your mission?"

"Your house and possessions will be rendered unusable, and will have to be destroyed. And your role in the attempted assassination of Timothy Pell will be revealed to local authorities, along with all the other contract killings you have carried out over the past six years."

Pause.

"What do I have to do?" Langford asked, miserably.

"In four hours you will receive another phone call. At that point you must be at Giorgio Federico Park. Do not bother trying to trace the call. You will receive further instructions there. We will make sure the police do not reach you."

Giorgio Federico Park was on the other side of the city. He got up and walked to the edge of the platform, peering into the gloom towards the approaching subway.

"This mission will be somewhat more dangerous. You will be responsible for incapacitating or killing a man, fulfilling your instructions, and then leaving the premises within a time limit -- most likely between five and ten minutes. Any questions?"

"They said there were five gunmen. I wasn't the only one, was I?"

"No, you were not. Goodbye, Marius Grimdark Langford."

Click.

He stared at the phone for a moment, and then looked up. His train had come in.

Hope you don't object.

[OOC: no, not at all, however, first, I have no intentions of having Timothy die, and second, it's a rail station, not a subway, the city has no subway, it's all surface level trains, will post IC post soon.]

Edited.