by Tom Harem
"And yours is equivalent to the truth?" I asked her. Her eyes were slightly contoured, haunted by fine orange traces. Everybody on those marble streets was sweating and staining their transparent T-shirts.
"I didn't lie to you, if that's what you're implying."
"If I ask Elisa, will she confirm?"
"Yes, but I wouldn't. It was the first time she killed someone. Do you really want to make her remember that?"
"No," I answered her. She had thrown me in a complicated position and knew it, "Well, it doesn't make much difference whether I believe it or not, does it? You're not going to change who you are or what you do."
"True, but I don't like you seeing me like this either. As if at any moment I could betray you. I know you think about it and I don't blame you."
"That's not all I see in you, Lipa," I answered her. She smiled and then two dimples popped up on her cheeks. In the sunlight, her hair roots stood out from the rest.
"You know my eyes are up here, right?" She said, seeing my eyes laid on the contours of her tits.
"Yeah, yeah, I got distracted. We better stick to the road. How much longer?"
"A little. He lives secluded. He's not a big fan of people. He never was. I always thought he was a sociopath."
"But isn't this the first time you've resorted to him?"
"No. It's the third one, I think. The other two were a long time ago. I've got new suppliers in the meantime. Like I said, he's weird. I'd rather avoid him." She said as we drove away from the city, "I lost about 20 men the last time I needed him. Fucking man made me go get a gun back that had been captured by the police. Just because he liked her color."
"I don't see you following anyone's orders," I told her.
"And I don’t. But he's the only one who sells 100% reliable information. There was no other way."
I nodded my head and the silence overcame the wind's hisses. We weren't on the highway anymore. She was leading us down a mountain road. On one side the hill rocks and on the other nothing, not even metallic protections or, at least, yellow and black ribbons warning of the danger it was and the possibility of falling down the ravine. There were only trees, bushes and wild animals down there. The road was steep and always upwards. The aroma of grass and wet trunks persisted in the air, which was gradually protected by layers of grey clouds. As we climbed, the sun disappeared through the green coating until there were only mere rays left that reached the van and grazed our faces for mere seconds. The atmosphere weighed on our bodies and held us to our seats. A sensation similar to when an airplane takes off and our whole body shrinks under pressure. Birds were chirping and I even heard a wolf roar or maybe it was a tree's arm falling on other trampled trunks. The sounds would mix and weaken. The smells would blend and change as we got closer to the summit. They were now more natural, sweetish and limpid. The human hand hadn't set foot there yet. The wind roared loudly and in good sound throughout the road that narrowed further and further. A mattress of white clouds covered the entire crystalline blue sky with the light green top of a few trees sticking out in between some.
"We're getting there," Lipa said.
"I'll let them know," I answered her. I sent a message to Kendra telling her to get ready, that we weren't far behind.
"What I told you stays between us." She said, "And it's too bad we didn't have time for more." She added and winked at me.
Damn it. She was right. It was a shame, but I also knew we'd have time for that. The best thing was to focus on the problem we were facing and after that I would deal with her, strongly and mercilessly. I didn't think she would like it any other way.
"Five more minutes, I guess." She said and put her hand back on my leg, "Seizing it while we can, right?"
Before I reacted, I looked forward. The road wasn't curved anymore. It was a straight line with an arid terrain surrounding it, and some trees a few meters away being used to hide a two-storey complex amidst them. There was no danger of falling off the mountain unless one of the tires was punctured or another ridiculous situation arose. I placed my hand on her leg, her skin soft and strawberry scented, and slid my fingers until I reached her thighs.
"Don't stop." She said, her panting breath and diaphragm rising up her chest.
I strummed across her skin until I wrapped her thong around my fingers and yanked it up, rubbing against her pussy, watching her grab the steering wheel tightly as she lifted her head, and through her heavy breathing, she moaned shamelessly. We were just a few feet away from the dark gate. The trees no longer hid the solar panels on the roof or the artificial turf at the entrance.
I ventured into her body. My fingers rubbed her wet clitoris and her moaning grew. She was totally drenched, her body warm and sweaty, and the van zigzagging along the empty terrain.
"You're very good at this." She said, finishing with a long moan.
I didn't stop fingering her. Faster, my fingers curved, rubbing and pressing her g-spot, "fuck."
I didn't stop until she parked the car in front of the gate. It was an imponent square wall that surrounded the house and was about two to three meters high.
"We'll continue this at another time." I said, "You owe me one."
"As many as you want." She said it and straightened out her clothes. She ran her hand past her hair, slapped each side of her face and opened the door, "Can you open the back door? I'll call the old man before he cancels because we're late."
"No problem," I told her, and I got out of the van, too.
The air there was clearer, and the sky was brighter. I opened the door and the four of them exited. It took them a while to open their eyes without flickering.
"Damn it. Where are we?" Elisa asked, looking around.
"I have no idea. On the top of a mountain." I said, "Elisa's calling the man."
"Only my sister to get us into this." Kendra said, "Have you ever wondered what will happen if he realizes we're Hunters?"
"I hadn't even thought about it. He must already know, right? Or maybe he has hunters’ customers?" Victoria answered her.
"Lipa knows what she's doing. Let's trust her." I told them.
She was still on the phone, the two cameras at the gate and the two at opposite corners pointing to her. We just stood there, breathing in that fresh air, and also emanating the wildlife smell. Me, Maggie and Kendra walked to the edge of the mountain. We couldn't see the bottom. Only clouds, like cheeky cushions, and wind arrows that ripped through the sky and made our hair flutter. Even our voices sounded louder. The pressure of height changed them and moistened our eyes.
"Come here." Lipa said, "Look at the cameras."
"Why?" Kendra asked.
"He wants to know who you are. The cameras must have identification programs."
We positioned ourselves a few meters from the cameras, stepping on the artificial turf, and waited until we heard a click. A door opened amidst the black wall, and a man with an AK-47 to his chest received us.
"Come in." He said it and leaned against the outside wall.
Chapter XIX
A row of well-armed men flanked the dozens of concrete stones that led us to a glass window. They all had the same tattoo on their necks; a red skull with two arched horns. As soon as we got to the window another soldier slid it to the side and asked us to follow him. He was a younger boy, with blonde hair, short on the sides and wavy on top, medium height and wore some candle shoes whose bump on the marble floor echoed through the house's thick walls. He had a black book in between his arm and ribs and his back lined up perfectly straight.
"The teacher is waiting for you."
"Teacher?" I asked.
Lipa frowned as soon as I uttered those words.
"Don't you know who you came to talk to? The great teacher and merchant Dr. Poe?" The boy asked me. He had stopped in the middle of the kitchen. All the objects glowed, and the walls were made of black marble with whitish spots. There was only one modern light bulb in the center of the roof, but it was enough to illuminate the
whole room that was half the size of my mother's house.
"Of course, he knows. He was just kidding. Don't mind." Lipa told him. She smiled and hit him slightly on the shoulder.
"We're not fans of that kind of humor around here." He said, "Anyway, the professor is in his cabin. The rules are simple. Put your guns in that basket, you can't raise your voice and you can't stay more than 10 minutes. Are we clear?" He added and pointed to a basket, one of those I was used to seeing in snake charmer illustrations, in the corner of the room that was next to the kitchen.
"Yeah. No problem. We accept the terms." I answered him.
He took us to the next room. Everything there was practically the same as the entrance. There was a glass window and a concrete stone path. But instead of soldiers, there was only one pool where two children, a boy, and a girl, swam and tossed water at each other. In the upper left corner was a metal hut, similar to a nuclear shelter. The door was open, and somebody was shuffling through objects lying on a table. The sun rays that reached there reflected themselves on the ground and on the grass that stretched over the rest of the yard. I only saw the man's slender silhouette and the strange way he walked, staggering at every step and clutching the table to do it.
"You may go. He's waiting for you," the boy said and walked away from us.
"Shall we?" Victoria asked.
"Yes, it's better. Lipa, you didn't tell us he was a teacher or a doctor."
"Or Dad" Maggie added, "Poor them. You guys better get going. I'm going to stay here and talk to them for a while."
"He's not any of that. He's a self-centered narcissist. But don't fight him. Let the conversation roll." Lipa answered me. Then she looked at the children, "I had no idea he had children. I didn't even know he had a wife."
"It's hard for anyone to want a man like that," Victoria said.
The man stepped out at the shelter entrance. He had an iron crutch with a diamond on top in his right hand. The daylight fell on a scar he had on his forehead, accentuating the stretched skin and sparse dry blood along the wound. He wore a brown polo shirt over a white shirt, grey trousers and a black hat with a circular flap.
"Come in." The man said. He had a strong, rugged voice, "Will she stay with them?" He asked, looking at Maggie who was just by the pool talking to the kids...
"Yes. Is there a problem?" I asked him.
"No. Their psychologist keeps telling me they need someone to talk to besides me or armed men." The man said, "Let's get down to business. Hi, Lipa. Acix, then? That's interesting. I didn't know Hunters were that needy. Unless they need the bullets for a new kind of... beast."
"Then you know what we're doing here," Lipa answered him.
"I know what they're doing here. I just don't know why you are here yet. All for your sister? Sounds weird to me."
"I need some information."
"Let me guess... you need to know if the albino has any more attacks prepared on any of your warehouses." He replied with an ironic grin, his lip writhing in the corner, "From your reaction, I will assume so. Come with me."
We followed him to the shelter. It was full of shelves with dozens of items, from weapons, grenades, high level technology and even documents stored in micas. There was everything there. Kendra gave me a slight nudge on the shoulder. I looked at the place she was looking at; the disassembled body of a beast, the filaments disconnected, some burned, the arms and legs on the floor and the chest on top of the bookcase beside a flying explosive device.
"I've got everything." The man said as he sat in a chair beside the metal table that was in the midsection. He seemed to have been working with a small flame thrower and metal parts that were still in the process of scarring.
"We just want the acix anyway," I told him.
"All right. 30 or 50 bullets?" He asked and took a box out from under a shelf.
"50. What do we have to do to get them?"
"Good choice. Obviously, the mission will be more difficult but for 20 bullets will pay off." He said and had that convinced grin in his mouth again, "I hope you're ready for a good adventure."
"What do you want, Poe?"
"Take it easy, Lipa. We have time for everything. So, this is your sister?" He said and signaled Kendra to come forward, "your sister saved you, you know?"
"Poe, that's enough! Tell us what you want and let's go." Lipa told him, with her fists clenched, controlling herself to keep a moderate voice tone.
"Oh, she doesn't know? You didn't even tell her that?"
"What are you talking about? Lipa? What is he talking about?" Kendra asked.
The man laughed, "Your father knew you were smarter and not so impulsive. He wanted you to earn his legacy, but your sister sacrificed herself for you."
"Lipa? Tell me he's kidding. Tell me you're not the person you are now because of me!"
"That has nothing to do with it. I'd still end up being this person. You never wanted this. I wanted it. I told dad several times, but he always wanted you..."
"Is that why you paid all my expenses to travel to the Hunters' Academy? That you paid me to stay there?"
"It was the only way! I knew what was waiting for you and I knew you weren't cut out for this. I couldn't leave my little sister in danger."
"And you didn't think it was right to discuss it with me? To tell me?" Kendra replied and walked up to her, her pupils were dilated, and her teeth were creaking.
"I didn't want you to feel like it was your fault! It's not. I made my choice. I wanted this." Lipa answered her and looked at Poe, "This isn't going to stay like this!"
"Two minutes." He said, "You have two minutes left. Do you want to accept the mission or not?"
"Yes, we do," I answered before the deadline ran out.
"What do you want from me as well?" Lipa answered him, on the verge of raising her voice.
"Nothing. This little moment was enough. Conflict is always beautiful." He told her, and grinned again, "Besides, they'll need your help for the mission I'm about to give them."
"What mission?" Vic asked her while her eyes were wandering through the shelves.
"Nothing big. It's actually good for you. I want you to destroy one of the Reaper labs." The man said and stood up with the help of his cane, "You can take five bullets out of here. The rest you get when you finish the job."
"The Reapers? Why?" I asked him.
"Who do you think provided them with all the acix? Instead of paying me the exorbitant amount we had decided on, they thought they could pay me with all that whole conversation about me having a place in the world they are planning."
"Doesn't the professor believe they can do it?" Vic asked.
"I don't care if they can do it or not. I'm a pragmatist. I don't want to join sides or get paid with promises. Even if they do, there'll always be others I can sell to. But not paying me? I won't allow anybody that. They have to suffer the consequences. And better than being left without an important lab is being destroyed by their rivals. Yeah, that's beautiful." The man said, rubbing his hands with a glow behind his brown eyes...
"What's so specific about this lab? If we're going to do this, I want to know everything," I told him.
"I expected nothing else from a man." The man said, "I'm sending the location to Lipa's cell phone. I've got the building blueprints here, and I've pointed out how many guards are in each place. It's going in, setting a bomb and getting out. The red X marks the place where you have to plant the bomb for the whole building to collapse. You don't even have to fight."
"What if we get caught?" Vic asked him.
"Well, then that's your choice. Either you run like the girls you are, or you fight under his command."
Elisa yawned. Even I was tired of hearing him, but we had no other choice.
"30 seconds." He said, "Any questions?"
"Just one. How long do we have to complete this mission?" I asked him.
"Good question. Today's Tuesday, right? You have until Sunday." He said and pointed his cane to the do
or, "just one last thing. If you get caught, you're on your own. I don't know you. Now you can go."
At the door, two armed men were already waiting for us. They were looking at the silver watches on their wrists. Kendra was the first to leave. She shoved the two men and stepped into the house, scrambling, with her fists closed, talking to no one. Nobody stopped her. It didn't seem like the first time something like that had happened. I picked up five acix bullets and left, along with the girls, to the street. The sun was still shining, drawing silver stripes in the water. Maggie was still talking to the kids.
"Now what?" Vic asked me.
"We blow up the building. We get the bullets and then we'll see. Maybe we can even find something new in their building."
"Should we tell Tom?" Elisa asked, "I don't think we should. He's going to want more Hunters to join in, and we can't risk getting caught. It's a job for a few people."
"Have you ever had one like it?" I asked her.
"Yes, two or three times. Did you bring the blueprint?"
"Yeah, I got it right here," Vic said and showed her other hand, holding a blue wrapped paper.
"Let's get going then. We need at least two days to plan the in and out." Elisa said.
Maggie waved goodbye to the children and joined us. She told us that they wanted to get out of there but knew that their father's work forced them to stay there. If on the one hand she seemed sad about their situation on the other hand she seemed happy to be able to relate and mentor them.
Once again, we strolled across the concrete stones and the marble floor to the other side of the house. The blond man followed us, silently, accompanied by the same two men who had waited for us.
"Thank you for your time." He said and opened the exit door.
Kendra was leaning against the van, smoking a cigarette, the sun hovering over her silhouette. We were at the height of the heat and the wind had calmed down.
