by MM Glenn
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
***
"Now, Shadi, I should tell you, I am in mourning today," Vouru explained, with a hand on her chin to hold her gaze.
"Oh?" she asked in feigned interest. Probably some ploy to get a discount.
"Yeah, my good friend died last night. Zerrick Ahn. Brilliant scientist. And interestingly enough, according to the security video I recovered from his place, he had one visitor last night, just before he died. You." His tone was as cool as the steel barrel of his blaster pistol pressed against her throat. She did not show the fear that was pooling in the pit of her stomach. "So, I guess that I finally get to meet the Cartel's assassin, Scarlet. I really wish it had been under better circumstances."
"Now, you are going to tell me who sent you to kill me. And Then...” He shrugged, and his expression turned perverse, triumphant. “Maybe we each take a turn with you, eh? Let you prove that you are worth too much to get dumped in a ditch." The blaster pressed against her chin as he whispered in her ear, the other hand still wrapped around her waist.
There was no hesitation. "Linora Sunfell.” It was life or death now, and if that name escaped this room, it was death for her for sure.
"That bitch?" he asked with a chuckle. "I didn't think you'd give the name up so easily." Grubby fingers groped at her breast, through the fabric.
"I am loyal to my credit account alone. And I can't get paid if I am dead.” The words came out steady, betraying the dread and disgust roiling in her gut.
"No, no you can't," he said, leering at the skin exposed by the panels of her dress. "So why don't you give up being an assassin, and take up whoring yourself out? I bet you are better on your back..."
"You have no idea," she breathed, running a finger down his face. "They send me because I am the best death imaginable." Despite his grasp, she stood, and pulled him towards the bedroom. "Why don't I show you? Or does your friend get to go first?"
Vouru looked over at Balish and snickered, "Fuck that, I paid for you." The barrel of his pistol followed her every move, and a lascivious grin grew on his lips. Spotting the sharp corner of the stone stairs, she returned his grin with one of her own. Focusing her mind on that point, she pushed Vouru, psionic energy sent him flying through the air. His head connected with the stone corner in a sickening crunch, and blood pooled under his body. Luckily for him, the death was instantaneous.
She kicked the pistol out of Balish's hands before he could aim it. Reaching out with psionics, she visualized his heart, pounding in his chest. Her fingers tightened into a fist as she saw it in her mind, and felt it throb with increasing intensity. The powerful muscle fought desperately against her grasp, sending adrenaline throughout his system. The harder she squeezed, the more he struggled, until she overcame his resistance, and the organ popped from the pressure. Balish seized on the ground for the last minute of his life, face contorted into pure agony.
Her heels clicked on the tile as she sprinted over to the gun and hid behind the door frame. If their bodyguards heard the scuffle, they’d bust in any moment now.
***
Fuck.
The little bursts of compressed and uncompressed audio made it abundantly clear that things had gone utterly ploin-shaped inside. He couldn't see what was going on, of course, but it was clear that Scarlet's identity had been revealed. "So, I guess that I finally get to meet the Cartel's assassin, Scarlet." That was a dead giveaway.
He fired up the speeder, then froze for a heartbeat at another exchange. "Linora Sunfell." He'd been looking for her for years. He'd known she was involved. But... hearing that name, after all this time? It still struck him hard. Unbidden memories of the young woman he'd known –he'd thought he'd known– flooded back, reminding him of better days. When he'd been young, too, and they'd been in love.
Before the bitch betrayed everything they'd believed in. Before she'd framed him for murder.
He stuffed the emotions away. Time enough for recriminations and memories later. For now, Scarlet needed backup.
The speeder tore through the dark streets, slowing to a halt before the gates. Quinn tumbled out the driver's door and moved, scrambling to the top of the speeder and vaulting the gate in a smooth leap that should have been impossible without a running start. His blaster –a heavy thing– seemed to materialize in his hand, and he blasted the first man down as he turned to see what had happened. The other dodged left, then left again, steadily advancing as he kept ahead of Quinn's relentless blaster fire. Holes gouged in the walls as his shots impacted moments too late. The big brute came in at him, axe flashing.
Quinn spun, pivoting with the blow. As a result, although his blaster spun away from his grip, he was still in a single piece. He completed the spin with balletic grace, a snake-hiss and a wan white light accompanying him as he completed the turn. The bodyguard barely had time to wail in agony as the pale blade sheared through him, slashing upwards from left hip to right shoulder.
Quinn was running for the door as the bisected bodyguard hit the ground. Time enough to find his blaster later.
***
The sound of blaster fire outside filled Kaydia with equal parts hope and dread. Quinn was coming to her aid. Or he was already dead.
The unseen is not unknown, Kaydia. Justiciar Bry-Ta words broke through, trying to soothe her, trying to get her to focus. Feel outside of yourself. How many heartbeats are out there?
She tried to calm herself, to sense the other beings out there, but the only heartbeat she could sense of was the one beating out of her own chest. It was too late for Unseen teachings now. Too late for her, according to the two dead bodies in the other room. To the dozens of dead bodies that cemented her fall from grace. The path she started upon when she killed Justiciar Bry-Ta.
The door burst open and she stiffened for a moment, fingers turning white over the handle of her gun. A deep breath later, she peered out, pistol before her, ready to take a shot. But it was Quinn, plasma blade ignited.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips, “You are well worth what I am paying you."
"I'm worth a lot more than that," he countered, making the plasma blade disappear. "But I'll take the compliment anyway."
"Let's get out of here.” She put the gun away, and donned her jacket. “Someone from Digital Sun will be by to clean up the mess."
"Mess?" he asked, a smile curving his lips. "I see no mess. I'm pretty sure that the both of us were several kilometers from here, having a quiet dinner in a discrete restaurant I know." The grin got a little broader. "A discreet restaurant operated by a friend of mine. How could we have possibly seen a mess here, when we were there?"
As they exited the building, he glanced around. Stepping into the shadows of the corner for a moment, he returned with the pistol he'd been forced to drop earlier. "Of course,' he added, tucking it away and opening the gate, "not leaving evidence behind lends credence to our story. And are you hungry? I did actually make the reservations, so we may as well shore up our alibi by being seen there."
A Pavlovian craving for Inertia gripped her mind. She completed her kill, and therefore, she earned her reward. And the numbing effects of Inertia would drown the rage and fear and disgust that had empowered her, and continued to course through her veins. But, perhaps. she could find something else to crave.
Or someone.
"I would love that," she said, responding to his smile with one of her own. He was charming, and it would be nice to lose a few hours in his eyes and in his company.
The Alibi
Kaydia wanted nothing more than to enjoy the rest of her evening with Quinn, but she still needed to check in with her contact in the Digital Sun. Once her comm beeped, she relayed her progress. "It's done. Kiash, Klynt, their bodyguards, all dead."
A distorted voice came through the communicator. “Excellent, your payment will be deposited in your account within the hour. Any problems?”
“He knew who I was.”
There was silence fo
r a time. “Then you are going to need a different strategy for the next job.”
“Next job? This is already two hits in a row.”
“And this next one is going to be bigger yet. But you will have to set it up, completely. I can’t know anything until it happens. I’ll give you the details tomorrow.”
The line clicked, and she put the comm away. Just in time too, as Quinn pulled the speeder up to their destination.
The restaurant was a small sort of place, lacking the amenities that would have possibly earned it a 5-star rating, but still possessing a quiet charm. The lighting was subdued as was the music, and the serving droids were grey and dark blue with a matte finish. The proprietor was a stocky man, and he met them at the door. "Quinn, my boy!" he grunted, offering a blunt-fingered hand. "Good to see you. I've been so glad you were coming –that a few minutes made it seem like you were an hour late."
Quinn, who had shed his disguise as he'd driven, shook the owner's hand. "Just a few minutes, though. Sorry to keep you waiting, Malri. Oh, where are my manners? Let me introduce my associate, Shadi."
Malri took her hand and mimed kissing her knuckles. "A pleasure. A genuine pleasure. Please, follow me."
He led them to a small corner table, positioned so that two occupants could keep their backs to the wall discreetly. Quinn drew a chair for her, then joined her at the table. "Here you are," Malri said, handing each of them a plasmaprint menu. "Joaca will be your waiter." He glanced at Kaydia. "Would you like to start with some wine? We have an..."
"I don't really have a palate for the stuff, Malri," Quinn commented.
Despite standing a head short than Quinn, Malri managed to look down his nose at the mercenary. "That's why I didn't ask you," he said, pointedly. "I asked your lovely associate." He looked back at Kaydia. "Ignore him. He is a barbarian, and you are clearly slumming by being in his company. May I recommend the Guerre Stellari '77? It is a bold rose wine, comparing favorably to the best of the Fortresse Cachee roses bottled by the famous Bright Black Swamp vintners of Riben II."
"That sounds lovely, I think I will take a glass," she said in approval, meeting his gaze. Truthfully, she wanted something harder, but that was Kaydia, and she wasn't Kaydia right now. A high-class call girl doesn't down hard liquor on a date with a client, she sips her wine properly.
She caught Quinn's eyes over their menus. Yesterday she was quite certain she determined his eyes to be green, in the dim lighting of her Velvet Spire apartment, however, glancing over now, she swore they were blue. What a pity. She was going to have to spend the entire meal gazing into them again, just to be sure. The thought drew a soft giggle from her lips, which was a welcome diversion from twitching fingers craving chemical release. She took his hand, to still her fingers. Shadi was an affectionate woman after all, so it was in character. It was nice when her wants and the needs of her persona overlapped.
Joaca approached the table with her wine and Quinn's drink. "Are you ready to order?"
"How is the Bivoli Tempari?" she asked, cognizant of how strange it was to ask a robot's opinion of the food.
"Highly recommended," The droid reported, as it was programmed to, no doubt. Never the less she nodded her head.
"I'll have that then, and a salad."
"And you, sir?" the droid asked.
"The maarl quick-fried noodles," he decided, "with lemish sauce. Medium heat. With a side of steamed toklroot."
"Very good, sir," the droid answered, turning and wheeling away. Quinn watched it leave, then turned his attention back to her. He regarded her in silence for a moment, then smiled.
"So. Did I manage discreet?"
She chuckled at the question, between sips of wine. "Hmm, something like that." A longer drink now, feeling his eyes on her and finding she didn't mind it so much. "Is this how you usually celebrate a successful job? A fine meal at a charming restaurant? A fawning woman on your arm? Or am I special, somehow?" Her finger escaped his hand and traveled up his arm.
"Oh, I'd say you're special," Quinn responded. "I generally don't celebrate quite this lavishly. But then again, my last couple of jobs were with a group of men on Narzothi.” He sipped his wine. "Nothing against men, mind. But these four seemed to think that rubbing down with cologne was a substitute for hygiene."
He flashed her a quick smile. "Or was that the 'honesty' thing again?"
With a laugh, she scooted closer, and whispered in his ear. "Up for another job? I have a meeting with my contact tomorrow. It's a big one, and I know I am going to need back up again." Her cheek brushed against his, and for a moment, she wasn't sure whether she was playing a role or not. Somehow the seductress and professional killer were one and the same.
This close, his breath caressed her bare neck. A deep, slow exhale, just covering his shudder. "Yeah, I'm in. Gives me an excuse to hang around."
Just then, the droid arrived with two steaming platters. She sat back as their food was served, garlic and butter filling the air and making Kaydia's stomach grumble. It somehow tasted even better than it smelled, and she moaned while chewing. "Wow, this is amazing, I can't believe I've never been here before."
Quinn, for his part, added a savory bluish sauce to his plate of noodles and vegetables and seafood, then scooped up a mouthful with the traditional tongs. "Yeah. One of the nice things about my lifestyle is the opportunity to try new cuisine." He speared a toklroot and sucked the creamy flesh from the husk. "You can only eat junkrats so long before you want to kill yourself."
His eyes lingered on her as they ate, just as they had the day before. She knew because she kept looking up to steal glances at him. When was the last time she felt this giddy, nervous energy? The excitement of new possibilities? The concern in the back of her mind that warned her that every second together brought them closer to the moment in which they had to part, and warred with her own desire to savor the moments together before then.
"So... at the risk of getting all honest again, you in a hurry to get back?” In that moment, Kaydia wondered if he was reading her mind. Or maybe he just wanted an excuse to spend more time together. She leaned in, chin in her palm, and he continued, “Because I know a little hole in the wall bar with an amazing house band. Might be nice to get a couple of drinks and relax a little."
"No, hurry at all. I have no obligations until..." She checked her communicator, "Tomorrow at eleven hundred." And now here she was, risking being honest. Because she had no intention of leaving his side. Because the thought of spending the night alone depressed her and made her hunger for Inertia. Because this life didn't leave much room for friends or dating.
Was this a date, now? They were seeking out excuses to spend time together, beyond the scope of their professions. Maybe he was just being nice. Or maybe he was just trying to get into her bed. Well, she certainly didn't mind.
Malri came back to check on them, as she finished off her plate with one last bite and pleased sigh. "Good I hope?"
"Absolutely divine. You will see my face around here much more often. Even if things with Quinn go sour and it gets awkward." With a giggle, she nudged him.
"Can I tempt you with dessert? We make a wicked Marsh-Root Soufflé," he suggested. She shot Quinn and intrigued look.
"What do you say? Share it with me?" she pleaded, fingers tracing his knuckles as she bit her bottom lip.
"I'd just about have to share it with you!" Quinn laughed. Did she imagine the flush on his cheeks, as he turned towards her again? "The serving sizes here are faintly ridiculous!"
"I like to think of it as a serving size that encourages togetherness," Malri countered.
"Right. Bring it out." With a little bow, Malri departed. Kaydia chuckled alongside Quinn, amused by the banter. She might have worn the Shadi skin, but she knew this was her, the real her, coming through now. It wasn't an act to gain some leverage or accomplish her task. That she wanted this, for herself. For her own happiness.
Happiness. What a strange concept. Was someone like her even
allowed to be happy? After everything she had done? Perhaps she could find a brief respite from the loneliness and hatred that consumed her. Revenge could take a night off, couldn't it?
"I've got to ask," Quinn began, turning his attention back to her, "what brought you to Miruta? Business?"
She put on a smile and a mask once more as he broached the subject, "Something like that." Trembling fingers tightened around the glass, and she cursed in her mind to find it empty. Suddenly those eyes on her felt like they were peering into the depths of her soul, discovering the dark and dreadful secrets that made her who she was today. Scarlet, Digital Sun assassin. "Sometimes life takes you in strange directions," she added, unhelpfully. As if she were casually discussing the decision to open a business, or take on a new profession. As if she weren't talking about killing people for money and drugs.
"Oh, life certainly takes you in strange directions," Quinn agreed. "I, for example, was raised on Primulus Alpha by the Order of Silent Seekers. Taken in as an orphan, they raised me to be a quiet, peaceful aesthetic and scholar." He grinned. "Look how well that turned out."
"How did you find yourself in this line of work, then?" Kaydia asked, throwing a question back at him.
"Well, I've always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie," he confessed. "And I'm terribly careful in my day job, so I have to find my danger somewhere." This time, he was the one to brush her hand with his fingers.
"I'd think my reputation would keep people far away, and yet here you are, looking for excuses to stick around. Are you always this attracted to danger, or do I in particular just make you stupid?"
He leaned in closer, and she hoped for a moment he might kiss her. “You've made me stupid since the first time I saw you..."
Blue. His eyes were definitely blue. And what a shade of blue, as he spoke of her making him stupid. It had been quite a while since someone had done the same to her. The distance between them shrunk, whether she was leaning in or he was, it didn’t matter.
But the moment had passed when the robot server arrived, bearing a light soufflé topped with something resembling purple meringue. "Your marsh-root soufflé," it announced, setting it on the table. "May I be of any further assistance at this moment?"
