The Discovery of an Assassin

by Brian Keller

  Chapter 22

  After breakfast, both he and Aden had their first class with Master Darius. When they got there the other four of their classmates were already outside the classroom door, seated in the hallway. Aden asked, “What’s going on? You guys get thrown out already?”. Rukle shook his head and Kolrem explained, “The door’s locked. There are people inside, we can hear them. We knocked but no one came to the door, they just said, “Come in”.”.

  Osrim was coming up the hall. He was smiling at them, “Oh yeah, first day and you don’t have your picks yet. Master Darius probably forgot you were coming and the rest of them won’t let you in because they think you’re me.” He took out a pick and tension wrench and knelt down in front of the door, “This may take a minute or three. I’m not very good at this.”. Cooper stepped back to watch the older boy work on the lock. He hadn’t counted the pins but then he probably already knew how many there were. His fingers where he was holding the tension wrench were blanched pale. Cooper remembered Skaiven swatting him with the lash for holding the wrench too tightly, “Relax your fingers a little. You can’t feel anything if you hold it so tightly!”. Cooper waited a few more seconds and repeated those words to Osrim. All the boys turned to gawk at him and Osrim leaned back away from the door. He asked, “You can do better?”. He managed to say it in such a way that didn’t sound angry or impatient. Cooper shrugged, “Maybe.”. Osrim offered his pick and wrench to him and he knelt in front of the door. He reversed the pick and slid it into the keyway. Osrim snorted, “You’re holding it wrong.”. Cooper shook his head. He pressed the pins fully and slowly drew the pick back out of the keyway, listening to the pins snap back into place... four pins. He inserted the tension wrench and slid the pick in the right way this time and applied a little pressure to the pins. These pins were very sloppy, probably due to the fact that they were picked several times daily. Cooper applied more tension and one of the pins tightened up. ‘That’s the first one’, he thought. He lifted that pin and felt the wrench shift slightly. Osrim was now watching him very closely. Cooper repeated the process for each pin and the cylinder soon rotated fully and the door was unlocked. He heard his classmates either grunt or mutter something like, “What the hell?”, or “How did you…?”. He handed the tools back to Osrim, who accepted them with a sheepish expression, “Great. First day, haven’t even entered the classroom yet and you’re already better at this than me….”. Cooper shrugged again and walked through the door.

  Master Darius was looking at them as they came in, “Ah, Mister Osrim! You made it in! A new personal best for you, I think!”. This was followed by a soft chuckle from the seated students. Osrim replied loudly enough to be heard through the classroom, “I can’t take the credit. Cooper used my tools to let us in.”. All heads turned to look at him, including Master Darius’. Cooper stood trapped by the stares as he frowned, “Not again!”, he thought.

  Master Darius beamed, “Excellent! Yes, I remember now that we have six new boys joining us. And I have your schedules here. I’ll need to set aside a booklet and a few tools for each of you as well. Osrim, re-lock the door. I should have you go back outside and pick your way back in, but I’d like to get started without any further delays.”.

  Master Darius was only slightly taller than Kolrem and likely outweighed him by only a few pounds. He had thinning hair that was oiled and combed straight back and tied loosely in a short ponytail. His ears were a little large in comparison to his other features and his earlobes hung down as if they were weighed down slightly. He had pale green eyes magnified behind thick glasses. His nose was in proportion with his other features but had a reddened appearance that usually indicated an avid drinker. His nose also looked like it had been broken once or twice and poorly reset. His lips were thin and his mouth was narrow. He almost didn’t have a chin, the skin below his mouth slipped over a small bump on its way to his neck. The small man’s hands and fingers never seemed to stop moving, even when he wasn’t speaking.

  He was quickly sorting through a tray of tools, separating picks and wrenches into sets. Each of four picks had a different depth or curl to the end, and of the two tension wrenches, one was robust while the other was thin. He asked each boy’s name as they came to the front and he handed them their schedule and tool set, announcing, “These are yours. Don’t lose them, or you’ll have to purchase the replacements.”.

  When he was being handed his schedule and tools, Master Darius asked him, “Who taught you to pick locks?”. He ducked his head, “My House father, Skaiven, sir.”. Master Darius raised an eyebrow. “Really? Skaiven was a good student in my class, but he just couldn’t seem to get the knack for the other classes. How is Skaiven?”. He replied softly, “Dead, sir.”, and raised his head to meet his teacher’s gaze. The small man didn’t seem to know where to take the conversation from that point so he said, “Well, er, all right then. Let’s get you to your seat and I’ll have you try your hand at this.”. He picked up a lock from the table behind him and brought it along as he walked Cooper to his seat. Cooper sat and the teacher placed to lock on his desk. If you can pick that lock in fifteen minutes or less, then you’ll automatically pass half of my curriculum. I’m curious to see how much Skaiven taught you.”. Cooper laid his new tools on the table in front of him and looked at Master Darius and waited. The little man looked at him, “Well? What are you waiting for? Get started!”. Cooper positioned the lock and counted the pins… six. As he went through the systematic ritual of identifying which pin to pick he became aware that this lock was made to extremely tight tolerances. Almost all pins engaged equally at almost the same time. It was a challenge to maintain proper tension to avoid trapping pins too early while not releasing pins that he’d already picked. After several attempts of reducing the tension ever so slightly so he could manipulate the next pin, and having one or two picked pins drop back into their rest positions, Cooper had to set the lock down and relax his fingers. After flexing and extending his fingers a few times to work the growing stiffness out of them, he started again. He felt like he’d been at it for a little less than ten minutes. After a few more attempts he felt certain that he had four pins picked and felt a fifth pin drop into place. He might actually do it! He proceeded with as much dexterity as he could muster and worked to guide the last pin into place. After what felt like ten minutes but was likely only twenty seconds he felt the pin shift and was elated. Success!! He applied pressure to his tension wrench to turn the keyway and nothing happened. It didn’t turn! He couldn’t relax the tension without releasing the pins, but neither could he make the cylinder turn. What was going on? Had he been tricked? Was this some kind of joke? He looked around the classroom and found Master Darius leaning over another student’s desk. Cooper held his hands in position and waited. As the teacher stood up to step away Cooper called out, “Excuse me, sir, for not raising my hand, but I don’t want to lose my place.”. Master Darius said excitedly, “You almost have it then?!?”. Cooper shook his head, “I think there’s something wrong, sir.”. There were a series of chuckles in the room. Master Darius was smiling but as he got closer he could see it was a condescending smile. As he got closer yet he said, “This is a lock of my own design. Most people would not be willing to pay what it would cost them to have a lock like this installed. I made it because I enjoy such things. How many pins did it feel like you picked correctly?”. Cooper didn’t have to think, “All of them, sir.”. Master Darius raised an eyebrow, “Really? You felt all of them slip into place?”, Cooper was nodding, “Well, that by itself is somewhat impressive. You must have a good touch. Now you just need the technical knowledge. I designed the pins with ridges and imperfections that make them feel as if they’ve been picked, when in fact they’ve been wedged and will prevent the cylinder from turning.”. He positioned himself to bring his hands up to the lock and said, “Try not to let your position slip while I take it from you. I wish to see how you’ve done.”. He added tension to the wrench and transferred the mechanis
m to his teacher. Master Darius picked up the lock and held tension, moving the pick along the pins, speaking softly to himself, “Yes, close there. Ah, there’s one. Yes, that one’s trapped, but there’s two… ok.. ok... three!”. He then jiggled the tension wrench and worked the pins with the pick then repositioned the workpiece and worked the pick a few more times and the cylinder turned. “There we have it!”. Master Darius smiled, this time it was a genuine, warm smile. He placed the opened lock on the desk and turned to face Cooper. “You did quite well, actually. You picked half the pins and trapped the others. It takes a steady touch just to keep all the pins ‘in play’. Very good. Yes, teaching you certainly won’t be wasted time. After taking a look at your schedule, study pages 1 through 19 in the booklet I’ve just given you.”.

  His schedule read:

  For sixty days

  8-10 Master Darius – Locks and Traps

  10-12 Mister Skran – Beginning Combat

  1-2 Miss Eiler and Mister Ysel – Etiquette

  2-4 Miss Camilla – Apothecary

  4-6 Master Brais – Movement Skills

  After sixty days, or after passing Beginning Combat

  8-10 Master Darius – Locks and Traps

  10-12 Miss Eiler and Mister Ysel – Etiquette

  1-2 Miss Camilla – Apothecary

  2-5 Mister Skran – Advanced Combat

  6- 8 Master Brais – Movement Skills

  Cooper started reading the booklet. Much of the material was familiar but it helped him learn proper terms for parts of different locking mechanisms and standardized names for techniques and names for the tools. Cooper was reading through a second time when the students were informed it was time for them to go to their next classes.

  Cooper and his five classmates went to the Training Room. His former classmates had likely been practicing since breakfast. Mister Skran hurried them into pairs and got them started immediately. Cooper was paired with Kolrem. The class was still directed to practice with their non-dominant hand. He changed between standard and reverse grip freely and frequently. Kolrem seemed to adjust quickly and even enjoy the variety. Cooper generally managed to press the advantage, but Kolrem was skilled enough to notice when he could seize the initiative and did so at every opportunity. Cooper was happiest when he had an opponent who could do so even though he felt compelled to defeat each one.

  After several minutes had passed, Mister Skran called for them to stop. He had been making his rounds through the pairs, observing technique and movement and making corrections or suggestions when he felt they were needed. After giving the students a minute to slow their heart rates, Mister Skran had them start again. This time Cooper deliberately attacked and then slowed his movements. Kolrem blocked and countered aggressively. Cooper easily managed to block the vigorous counter attack and maneuvered Kolrem into position, quickly reversed his grip and countered. Kolrem never saw the blow that struck him, but he felt it. Kolrem completely withdrew as he tried to recreate the sequence in his mind. Finally, he simply looked at Cooper, “Can you show me again?”. Cooper nodded and they repeated the sequence movement by movement, unaware that Skran watched from a distance, approvingly.

  After a few more minutes, Mister Skran called out, “Stop. Left side shift down one partner.”. Cooper was now paired with Habbon. He’d not had him as a fighting partner yet. Habbon was almost as tall as Boyd, and had been one of his cronies, and he might still be as far as Cooper knew. As soon as Mister Skran called for them to start, Cooper crouched and started to advance. With Habbon’s reach advantage, he thought it would be better to close the distance early. Habbon was quick, or at least quicker than Cooper had expected. He attacked as Cooper was closing the distance. Cooper matched him block for strike as he moved laterally. Habbon shifted so he remained in one spot as Cooper circled him. Cooper decided that he’d use a standard grip. His opponent already had enough of a reach advantage without him losing the reach he could gain from his weapon as well… unless he could get inside his guard. Habbon wouldn’t press the attack. If Cooper slowed and backed away, Habbon wouldn’t pursue. He’d just shift position to make it seem like he was still engaged but kept Cooper at arm’s length. Any time Cooper advanced, his opponent would suddenly increase his intensity and would attack and defend with ferocity. He decided if Habbon was going to fight this way, then he owed it to him to test his footwork. Cooper began pressing in, Habbon either had to try to stop him from coming in, or he’d have to step to maintain the space, or he’d have to let Cooper into his guard. Habbon moved to maintain his reach advantage. Cooper shifted and quickly advanced along his opponent’s outside line forcing Habbon to pivot. As Cooper advanced the larger boy blocked a strike that he thought was coming. Cooper ducked under and stepped across, dragging his baton across Habbon’s torso as he did. That would’ve been a lethal strike with a blade, so Cooper was going to step out and start again. He started to step back to the outside, Habbon raised his weapon and prepared to deliver an overhead strike. Cooper changed direction and stepped back inside and raised his own baton in defense. His opponent interrupted his downward swing and brought his right hand around to either grab Cooper or push him away. Cooper rotated his body to increase the speed and power of his next strike. Mister Skran’s voice cut across the room and froze the boys’ movements, “Stop!”. The larger boy looked disappointed. He felt confident in whatever he was about to do. Then he noticed Cooper staring straight into him and then looked down. Cooper had frozen mid-swing as he prepared to buckle Habbon’s right knee. Cooper drew back and let his hands drop to his sides. Habbon had to wonder whether Cooper would’ve crippled him. Habbon had been planning to grab the smaller boy and pummel him a few times across the skull. That would’ve gained him some punishment surely, but it would also elevate his standing above Boyd’s.

  Cooper had read Habbon’s movement and knew that he’d planned to grab and hold him. The only reason he could think of for that was to hold him in place while hitting him repeatedly. He had to know that Mister Skran would intercede swiftly so the hits had to count for something, which meant he was most likely planning several blows to the head. He figured Habbon’s plan would’ve changed quickly once his leg no longer supported his weight. This rivalry with Boyd and his little gang was getting serious, but if someone was going to get hurt Cooper was determined that it wouldn’t be him.

  As Mister Skran walked toward the boys he told the rest of the class, “Continue.”, and then turned back to them. He said, “Mister Cooper, surely you realize that strike you were about to deliver might’ve crippled Mister Habbon…?”. Cooper nodded, Habbon had a look of smug satisfaction on his face, and Mister Skran continued, “Were you intending to harm him before he could do you harm?”. Cooper nodded again and the smug look on Habbon’s face completely vanished, replaced by a look of apprehension. Mister Skran paused and then spoke again, “What do you believe Habbon had planned for you?”. Cooper cleared his throat and spoke, “Sir, I believe he meant to hold me while fracturing my skull.”. Mister Skran seemed to consider the possibility and Habbon made a sound as he started to interject. Mister Skran silenced him with a raised finger. Mister Skran then asked, “Why do you think this?”. Cooper explained his earlier thoughts along with how their body positions and Habbon’s raised baton would indicate few other targets. Mister Skran then turned to Habbon, “Were you planning to hold Mister Cooper and fracture his skull?”. Habbon blurted, “No, sir!”. Mister Skran immediately asked, “Then explain your plan. Now”. Habbon was completely flustered, “Er, um, well, sir. I was, uh…”. Mister Skran interrupted with a tone that indicated he was closing in, “Come on now, surely it isn’t so difficult to explain what movements you had planned in the next seconds of your life before I told you to stop.”. Habbon, scrambling for a reply could only manage, “Sir, um, I knew, but now you’ve got me all nervous!”. Mister Skran was nodding and said sarcastically, “Yes, Mister Habbon. I can see how this is clearly all my fault.”, his tone lost all sarcasm and he lea
ned in over Habbon as he continued, “perhaps I shouldn’t have yelled “stop”, then we’d all know how events would’ve unfolded. Perhaps next time you try to hurt a fellow student, I won’t save you from yourself.”. He paused and then added, “I agree with Mister Cooper’s assessment, but I cannot punish you for what I think you were going to do. Instead, I think that I’ll keep you and Mister Cooper together as fighting partners for a session or two.”. Mister Skran smiled slightly and turned to Cooper, “I expect that you will not hurt him…. Unless you must. I’ll be watching. And I’ll speak with you for a few minutes after class.”. Cooper hoped he wouldn’t be kept too long afterward. It would seem ironic to be tardy for his first class on Etiquette.

  By the time class was over, the other students had changed partners four more times. Cooper had learned to read Habbon’s movements well enough that he could anticipate him, much to Habbon’s frustration. Cooper didn’t use the knowledge to attack as often as he could have. He mostly used it to stymie Habbon’s efforts and force him to move how he wanted. Habbon was skilled enough to know he was being manipulated, but not skilled enough to prevent it. There were even a few occasions that Cooper changed to a reverse grip part way through an attack or defense just to force Habbon to adjust to it.