by M. Garnet
He was now looking at all the other ways in and out of the main cave. At the main elevator and lift sections he counted sixteen standard sized units, most going up to the living sections. There was one reserved for the royals. Then there were six extra-large, open lifts that hauled goods and equipment.
He watched as these had to be entered by a card that hung around a person's neck, but once the entry bridge was up, several others just jumped on to go up with the goods. Well, a holo barrier should stop that type of entry for the big lift but the small one was a whole different problem.
Bogdan was getting thirsty and decided to help himself to some from a worker who had extra and was too busy to pay attention. He worked his way over to the side where cubes had been set up for individuals to perform delicate work. These workers were quiet and not very social.
He watched a male pushing a food service cart into the area. Unlike the area where they were repairing one of the ships and the workers used the cart as an excuse to quit and gather, these laborers either ignored the cart or stepped out to grab a couple of items and return to their bench.
At the last minute, he watched as one worker rose and hurried to the cart. That being gathered several items including a couple of bottles of water.
What had gotten Bogdan's attention was under the lose garment and short hair was a very attractive female. Besides thirst, he had another need, and the privacy of the cube might answer both problems.
Choosing his decent carefully to make sure no one saw him, he watched the female. She was meticulous as she carefully put her items away from the small item she was working on under an enlargement screen. She had brought in several bottles of water so perhaps she would be willing to share one.
He dropped in quietly just inside her side walls where others wouldn't see him unless they were right behind the back opening.
Bogdan stepped close as he spoke. "Hello, pretty one. Why are you hiding such beauty?"
Suddenly the female turned and because he was so close she was against him, but he felt something sharp below his left rib. He froze knowing she held a small blade to his body.
She froze also, a look of fear and hate on her face. Then, as she saw who was facing her, real fear took over her whole body.
"Easy, little one, rape is not something I would enjoy so I wouldn't inflict it on anyone else." Bogdan didn't move, letting her withdraw her sharp object.
Magda struggled to talk, unable to move. "You…you, oh Gods, you are the Assassin. You are here to kill me." Now she could take a step back, her bench was now pressing into her spine. She looked down at the pitiful small knife she had pressed into him. Had she really thought it would do any harm to this shadow of terror?
Bogdan didn't move, but he did raise his hands, palms open facing her. "Sorry to frighten you. No, I meant only to get one of your waters. I am thirsty and hoped to keep my presence un-noticed." He thought it wise not to mention his other desire even though there was a bulge in his pants.
Since he kept his distance, not closing the single step to her, Magda looked down at her little knife and laid it on the bench beside her.
She looked up at him with her golden brown eyes. "It is a small weapon and wouldn't have done much damage to one such as an assassin."
He gave her a long look. He knew he could have disabled her before the sharp knife even cut through the leather he wore.
"Well, little one, you were smart enough to place it where it would do a lot of damage. I will remember to knock before I surprise you in the future."
Magda nodded. "You may have a water as my apology to the knife."
"Thank you." He took a long drink then tucked the bottle inside a leg pocket that expanded. "If it is okay with you, I could step up on your bench to go up. That way no one else will see me."
Magda felt her legs had stopped shaking enough to move, so she slid aside and moved an item to make a small space for his foot. Without another word, using his amazing muscles, it was almost done in an instant as he jumped up.
"Sir, don't you eat with the other military?" Magda looked up as he hung above her.
"I remain unseen most of the time."
"Oh, of course." She swallowed but before he could get out of hearing she added. "I will get extra items a couple times a week and set them on the end of the bench. Not a lot. If you happen to be in the area, help yourself."
She wasn't sure if he heard as he was an unmoving shadow above the lights. Finally, his whisper reached her ears.
"I like meat. Protein is hard for me to find. I can get the fresh vegetables and fruit but not the meat. Thank you."
She decided he was gone because the shadows above the lights did not seem as dark. This tall and lean, but muscular male, was so different than what she had expected. She turned and pulled her stool over to sit down in front of her screen.
She thought carefully about what had just happened and what she had gained in knowledge of the very handsome male. Did he take off his cape? Did she actually see him to determine if he is handsome? First she felt there was no smell about him. Magda guessed that assassins went to great efforts to leave no trace, and that would include any odor.
Due to what she had gone through with her brothers and the slavers, she hated any male and had an innate fear of being close to them. The female doctor had suggested she go into some therapy or maybe attend a group to at least listen and share. For Magda sharing was not something that appealed to her; staring away from anything with a penis, or male thoughts were deep in her plans.
Still, she knew the assassin was male and though she should be afraid of him on many levels, she found herself wondering if he would return to her bench for food or water.
After thinking about the lack of odor on the assassin, it helped. Her brothers never washed because water was a priceless commodity of their dying world. The slavers just plain smelled. They ate spicy foods that came out in their sweat, sweat that came out as they used her mouth or her ass. They didn't take care of their bodies, so their teeth were rotten; their toe nails dug into her legs and their hands were often unwashed even when they ate.
The assassin had no odor. When she had finally looked up into his face, it was so beautiful. He had white hair, pulled back tightly, showing off his dark skin with a face that would put the pictures from her tattered childhood book to shame. He was beautiful.
She took a deep breath because only rich women should be called beautiful. How had the Gods decided that a killer would be so gorgeous?
Her hands were shaking, and she couldn't do her precise work until she calmed down. She sat aside that item and looked for some sorting work that wouldn't require such explicit concentration.
Chapter Eleven
Joo had moved deep into the forest before she made her first stop. She found a plant with large leaves to stop under with her back up against the trunk of one of the large trees. These trees were amazing as they had no limbs, just these large trunks that sent deep roots into the dirt and finally into the rocks. The roots were seeking cracks to purchase a hold so that the heavy wind and storms would not pry them away in winds that could knock over airships.
Joo knew that like animals, she had to be buried during the storms. She could find a hole in a tree, a cave, or burrow into the ground if the earth was deep enough. The tall trunks led up high to the umbrella spread of wide leaves held in place by flexible small stems, one growing out of the other. They were impressive, but impossible to climb without special equipment.
Due to the storms, no mammals had developed on this planet to live above in these trees. On the other hand, it was surprising the number of animals that survived on the surface. The food chain was interesting, and Joo didn't plan to be part of it at any time.
She dug a small hole and began to drop into it anything she felt might have a signal implanted. She wanted to make it hard for the General or his hunters to find her. The little safety button, the phone, everything unopened in his package went into the hole.
&
nbsp; Before she covered it, she looked around for dung from a large animal. She carried it in her hand and spread it on the top items then using her hands covered everything up with dirt and debris. The last thing she did was pee on the site. She did mark the tree with three scratches, similar to what an animal with claws would make with their paw.
Now she moved back at a thirty-degree angle so that she was going back toward the garden. She was now searching the rough rise hoping to find another cave to make a home. It was getting late, and she might have to make due with a light shelter.
She had caught one of the small mammals and pulled some of the grasses that had a spicy taste. She still needed some shelter. She was surprised to see another of the small mammals run straight towards a tree that was growing up against a sharp ten foot high cliff behind it.
Okay, animals are smart, and the little guy would bang his head really hard on that trunk unless he knew something important. She got down on her hands and knees and pushed through the brush at the base of the trunk and surprise.
The trunk had started out as two sprigs on each side of some rocks thrown out of a crack in the wall behind. By some strange quirk of nature, as the trees grew they joined to become one, but the rocks at the bottom kept their roots apart. She saw the small area where the little mammals scooted into the cave behind, but she was larger and needed more room. She began to move rocks, sliding them to one side and as she moved ahead, pushing them away with her feet.
At last she was past the barrier and into the cave. She dug out her light and flashed it around. The cave was in the shape of a vee with the small part at the top. The floor was littered from all the small animals that had used this area for many centuries.
It was dry, but damp; soon she would need a small fire that did not smoke. She found a crack to hook a stick in and hung her mammal to drain for tomorrow.
She dug out the rain-proof coat that was in a small packet and put it on. As it turned away water it also kept in body heat. She took out the last of the food that would spoil and ate all of it. She needed the strength.
Now she flashed the light around to see it reflected off the eyes of several small animals, all afraid of her. She curled up, turned off the light intending to sleep.
Instead, she found her mind turning to the outline of a large man in the uniform of a General for the twins.
* * * *
Baloko waited a week then went up at dawn to the giant tree. It was an unusually calm day, but even now a soft breeze rustled the lower leaves.
He moved into the north side of the undergrowth by the wide tree. Using a long knife he had brought along, he cleared a flat area where it would not be seen from the garden and sat the covered container of food and health products he thought she might need.
He turned and sat down with his back to the tree and ate a fruit he had brought in his pocket. He wondered if she was watching him. He wondered if she used the items he had given her?
Strange, but he knew she was surviving. Out of respect for her he had done nothing to find her. He had not attached any tracking devices in her items.
He thought of her small tough, muscular body, toned from the requirements of her own jungle world. He cursed his own body as he felt the hard growth between his legs. Damn he wanted that female, more than he had wanted anyone that he could remember.
The frustration he felt because he could not help her and he could not convince her that he was able to help her bit sharply into his guts. He found himself distracted by thoughts of her when he was training his men.
It was something he needed to put in the right perspective. He had been given a job to do for his friend Bleak and by damn he would do it better than anyone else. And that reminded him, he needed to get back to work.
He got up and went back down to the military area. He watched the troops training, most of them unaware that he was on the steps. He was watching two who were working out, but the two were separated by several steps from the rest.
Without looking at them, he watched the group next to them. This allowed him to see the two males out of the corner of his eye without tipping them off that he was aware of their activities.
The two males weren't working out full force, but were doing just enough to stay in step. The action allowed them to talk quietly to each other. Baloko wondered what was so interesting in that conversation.
The Group Leader turned and saluted. Baloko returned a quick hand to head and then nodded the female over.
"Do not turn and do not look around. There are two males by themselves behind you. They are camouflaging their workout as an excuse to discuss something so important they don't want anyone else to hear. They are part of the elite group, so this is dangerous. Have them in my office, but make sure they don't get away before you get them there."
The hard eyes of the Group Leader got dark as she nodded. "I will handle this properly, sir. Within a short time, we will see you in your private office."
Baloko wasn't sure of the racial background of the leader but the fact that she could outperform most of the elite personnel said much for her ability. The fact that she could think on her feet said much for her brains. As far as Baloko was concerned she would go far while he was in charge of the military for the twins.
* * * *
Joo watched the tree as the shadows moved from morning to early afternoon. She saw the little rodent approach the container and with frustration found that it could not find a way to the food inside.
She felt a rare small smile as she watched it burrow under the container. So if it couldn't get into it at least it would make a good shelter. Joo decided it was safe to approach the container, but she really didn't need anything yet so she would leave it for the rodent's home.
Joo gathered some long dead limbs and built a bridge over the container. Now he would know she had been here, but she had refused his offering,
She turned back into the forest. It was becoming her territory now, so she was familiar with the markings and the giant trees. She often went to the edge of the cliffs to watch the ocean. She never saw the shadows of the large sea creatures; but she did see smaller ones, large enough to eat her easily, jump through the waves.
She was careful to make sure that there were no airships in the area, but once she saw a sea ship move out and dip down below the surface. She caught her breath, and then realized that with the storms and rough tides, traveling under the ocean's surface was the only smart way to use a water route.
Another turning of the big moon had passed, but she decided not to go to the appointed supply spot. She had plenty of food, thanks to the forest, and she was feeling strong and rested. She got careless.
The large cat must have been tracking her for some time. It had taken its time and slowly closed the gap between them until it took its chance and jumped to pin her down with its heavy front claws. It did misjudge. It was used to and designed for its prey to panic and try to run and escape, pulling forward.
A forward pull would allow its claws to sink in deeply and give it a chance to bite down on some soft tissue area that would seriously damage its meal.
Joo remembered her training. Don't do what the predator expected if you wanted to live. Despite the pain, she rolled into the jaws and claws while tucking her knees to protect her stomach she also was able to reach her small knife in her shoe.
The cat was confused and arched its back as it tried to follow her with its head underneath. Just as she sunk her knife into its belly, it got its maw around one of her thighs. Both of them screamed, the noise echoing through the forest.
Regardless of the searing pain, she continued to drag the knife through the soft belly, feeling it tear the guts loose in its passage. The animal's blood and juices were pouring down on her, and their momentum carried them together in a tight interlocked bundle through the underbrush until they finally slammed up against one of the wide trunks.
Joo fought not to lose consciousness, knowing the danger. If this cat were still al
ive, it would finish her. If it were dead, eventually the smell would draw others. She struggled through the bolts of agony in her leg as she pushed against the large animal.
Now she was aware that the animal had died almost instantly. She had hit some important item in its body. The teeth in its bottom jaw were still lodged in her leg. The cat had to weigh four times as much as she did, and the warm heavy burden made it hard for her to breath.
She pushed, using the beast as leverage. She wanted to cry out as her leg was scored by the large teeth, but she felt enough noise had come from this area. She had no idea of the time as she felt she went in and out of blackness. Eventually, she was free and weak from loss of blood.
The furred creature was now lying on its side, and she did the one thing she could think of to live. The stomach was split open, and the long intestines were spilling out. What she needed was the liver. She normally didn't eat the large predators, like the ones that were meat eaters only didn't have a taste she could stomach. Still, the heart or liver would give her the strength to help with her low blood count.
Reaching in up to her elbow she pulled out items that were attached firmly. It took her three tries to recognize the dark color of the liver. Joo used the corpse of the cat and the trunk to get slowly up. She needed to move, knowing other large cats would be drawn to the smell of blood.
It was starting to rain, and that darkened the forest. Joo was actually grateful for the cold water as it washed away the blood trail she was leaving. She finally stopped to pull out another knife and cut a strip of material to tie around her thigh to slow the blood flow. She also took a bit of the raw liver, keeping her mind on something else as she chewed and swallowed.
She needed to get back to her cave. That was the last thought she had for a few moments until she woke up, face deep in the wet surface of old leaves. She heard something whimper not too far away. She slowly got up, took another bite of the liver then left it there on the ground, hopefully to slow down whatever had found her.
