by L. Fergus
Rabbit deflated a bit. “Ok.”
“New toys are always so much fun,” Kita mused.
“Oh, is there anything you want to take with us?” said Kat.
Rabbit looked around the room. Her eyes lingered on her bear. “No,” she said sadly.
“Not even the bear?”
“I’m a big girl. I don’t need a bear,” Rabbit said softly.
“I’ll carry him. I think you already have enough stuffed into your backpack.”
“My what,” said Rabbit sounding confused. “Oh, yeah,” she smiled.
“Hold still,” Kat told her as she applied a subtle makeup that brought out the girl’s features and hid the few flaws. “What do you think?” Kat held up the mirror for Rabbit.
“I…How’d you do that? There’s no way I’m this pretty.”
“Oh, there is,” Kita sighed longingly.
“You can’t fall in love with her,” said Kat.
“Why not?”
“She’s a baby.”
“A baby that’s old enough.”
“Ew, no. We’re leaving her alone,” Kat said firmly.
“Are you talking to yourself again?” said Rabbit.
“Uh? No.”
Outside the room, they heard voices and people beginning to shift.
“Time to go,” Kat announced. “It looks like we’ve outstayed our welcome. I’ll go first and put them down.”
“No. I think we can bluff our way out. Maybe, even get us across the city.”
“How?”
“By me capturing you.”
Kita sighed. “Because we all know how well that turned out the first time.”
“She’s doing her best,” said Kat.
Rabbit grabbed the assault rifle and poked Kat in the back. “Come on and put your hands on your head.”
“I just did my hair,” Kat shot back.
“Then just put them in the air.”
Kat did and marched out of the room down the hallway.
“I told you leaving them alive would come back to bite us,” said Kita.
“I’m not going to just kill them on the off chance they could become a threat again,” Kat replied.
“They’d be a threat then, now, and in the future. We could have just walked out of here.”
“And where does it stop?”
“When we’re free,” Kita said bluntly.
“We agreed only if we have to.”
“This is a have-to moment.”
“Let’s let her try. If it goes wrong, then we’ll see about how much force we need to use.”
Kita grumbled while Kat hummed happily.
“You’re going to be the death of us, I swear.”
Kat didn’t answer as she turned the corner to find six of the guards standing on their feet, while three more tried to wake the others.
“Sergeant Murphy, Bull, Gregory, what the hell happened?” Rabbit demanded from behind Kat.
“I…We were asleep, the alarm went off, then we’re waking up here, Jess,” one of the guards answered.
“It’s Captain Rabbit, meathead. Lucky for you morons I caught her inside the lockup.”
“How’d she get in there, Jess…Ah, Captain?”
“Is she playing the bitch for us or has she always been a pushover, and has finally grown a pair of boobs?” Kita said playfully.
“How would you be if you had no friends and people didn’t respect you because they thought you were given everything?” said Kat.
“It could go either way. Most of these guys look old enough to be her father.”
“And how much did Father like taking orders from us?” Kat said wryly.
“He died first,” Kita answered with a dark laugh.
“What should we do with her, Jess?” another guard asked.
Rabbit sidestepped Kat and shot the man in the leg. “Anyone else want to disrespect their commanding officer?” she snarled.
The others held up their hands.
“That’s what I thought. We’ve been compromised. We need to get her to Ana district station immediately for questioning. Communications are down, so we’ll have to take her on foot through the city. Sergeant Bull, get dressed and find us a cart. The rest of you wake everyone else and get a guard detail on her. Let me know when the cart arrives. I’ll be going along personally to make sure no one screws this up.”
“Yes, Captain,” the guards muttered together. They scattered, hurrying to carry out Rabbit’s orders.
“On your knees, thief,” Rabbit ordered Kat.
Kat begrudgingly knelt.
Rabbit grabbed Kat’s ponytail and yanked the blonde’s head to one side and whispered in her ear. “Sorry about the hair.”
“You mess it up, and I’ll break you,” said Kat, only partially kidding.
“I’m going to take your swords and bow, but leave the rest, then I’ll need to put you in restraints, but I won’t turn the locks on. You should be able to get out if you need to.” A group of guards appeared from their rooms. “Got it?” Rabbit yelled into Kat’s ear. Kat’s snarl wasn’t for show as she nodded. “Grab a blanket, so we can carry her weapons and a pair of power cuffs.”
The guards returned quickly. Rabbit pulled Kat’s arms back and cuffed her. Carefully, she removed Dusk, Dawn, and Midnight and gently wrapped them in the blanket.
“Are you sure this is necessary, Captain?” a guard asked.
“These things are antiques, but look better than new equipment. They’re worth looking into. Let’s get her upstairs, but be gentle with her. Let’s not bring the interrogation group damaged goods. Let’s get her to the elevator.”
“Yes, Captain,” the guards replied.
One of the guards went to pick up the weapons bundle. “I’ll carry that, Corporal,” Rabbit ordered. She followed the group to a far corridor. A hidden door opened, revealing the elevator. She boarded the elevator last, after ordering the rest of her garrison to the surface for the useless task of securing the area, and more importantly, to keep them from the evidence in the bunker.
Kat knelt in the middle of the wagon with a bag over her head. Rabbit had put it on herself as an attempt not to mess up her hair. Kat wasn’t sure if that was better. She could belt the guard who bagged her; she couldn’t hit Rabbit.
She swayed gracefully back and forth, as the wheels hit bumps and potholes big enough to send the seated guards sprawling. Jess, you need to slow down. Someone will notice us.
The wagon slowed, and the ride smoothed out. We must be in Darla district. The district was known more commonly as the Garden District for its manicured landscapes. I wish I could see Catalina district one last time. She saw it so rarely. As the only district with restricted access, few knew what lay behind its walls. Even the servants and workers lived in the district or the houses they served. She knew the rumors of its beauty were exaggerated, but not by much.
The wagon pulled to a halt. Kat rode it out with ease until a guard landed on her. She shrugged them off and lifted herself back to her knees.
“What’s the rush,” a voice demanded.
“Royal business,” said Rabbit.
“You don’t look Royal to me.”
“I’m Captain Rabbit, and we’re part of the secret guard. What we’re doing is none of your business.”
“Anything that passes through these streets is our business. If you’re really in a hurry, I’m sure if you drop something shiny we’ll get out of your way to pick it up.”
“You’re stupid enough to shake down a Royal patrol?”
“You and I can go spend some time in the alley if you like,” the voice said with a sick chuckle.
Kat was disappointed none of Rabbit’s guards jumped to her defense.
“I’d rather go into the alley with the horse,” Rabbit retorted.
Kat heard swords leaving sheaths. In response, the wagon rocked as Rabbit’s guards stood. The click of safeties was an ominous warning to those who knew.
“Your men aren
’t fast enough, Captain. My archers will cut them down before they get a chance to use those fancy clubs.”
Kat sprang into the air over Rabbit’s guards. She landed on the voice, driving her knee into the man’s chest as she landed, denting his chest plate. She knelt down and snarled in his ear. “No one threatens my friend.” She stood and smashed her boot down on the man’s throat.
“Take them down,” Rabbit ordered.
Arrows and shocker rounds filled the air. Kat popped off the cuffs and pulled the bag from her head. She sprinted forward. More than half of Rabbit’s detail was down. The rest tried to use the wagon walls as cover. It offered little protection from the arrows, but any of the city guards who tried to climb aboard were forced back.
Kita bounded up the side of a building and swung up from a flagpole into a rooftop archer. The man staggered backward as she ripped the bow from his hands. She grabbed him and threw him off the roof, snagging his quiver as he went.
Kat fired at the nearby archers. After disposing of them, she took out those on the far side of the street. Below her, Rabbit and her guards were gaining the upper hand against the city guards. Dropping the bow, Kat returned to the street.
“Freeze!” a pair of Rabbit’s guards yelled. Kat raised her arms and fell to her knees. A guard seized the moment to hit her with a shocker round. Kat jerked and fell to her hands and knees, but it didn’t knock her out.
“Stop,” Rabbit ordered, but her guards fired three more rounds to put Kat on the ground. “Dammit, what did I tell you? Check to make sure she’s not dead.”
A guard checked Kat’s breathing and pulse. “She’s good, Captain. She’s one strong mother.”
“You have no idea,” Rabbit muttered. “Get her loaded. How are the wounded?”
“Bull and Danish are dead. We’re trying to stabilize Frazer, Smoot, Vicker, and Emmer. Erza and Golby are wounded, but not critical,” said a guard.
“Let’s get out of here before we’re jumped again,” said Rabbit. “We’ll have to do our best to stabilize them on the way. Once we get to Ana station, we can get them into medical.”
Kat woke up, and her head and joints hurt. She had to ask Rabbit what a shocker round was. She’d never felt pain like that before.
She was at the back of the wagon, unbound. In front of her, Rabbit’s guards gave aid to their comrades. She sneered and wanted nothing more than to finish the rest of the group off. Her visceral reaction startled her.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Kita. “They deserve it after their lack of gratitude.”
“But they’re just doing their job.”
“Exactly. Death is part of the hazard of being a soldier, guard, or anyone else who picks up a weapon.”
“Revenge never solves anything.”
“It makes you feel better,” said Kita.
“How?”
“Beyond a good reason to kill someone? In a word, satisfaction. If someone’s going to hurt us, they’d better kill us. Otherwise, we get to show them why they should have killed us.”
“Wouldn’t this fall under needless? They were just doing their job,” said Kat.
“Yes, and once they realize what we’re up to with Jess they’re going to go after her and us. I don’t want anything to happen to Jess, do you?”
“No,” said Kat.
“We’ve got the power to protect her. What’s the point of power if we don’t use it?”
“Killing them would be protecting her.”
“We’ve got to get rid of them when we reach the main gate, anyway. It’s better to get it over with, instead of waiting until we get there, where we’d really draw attention to ourselves.”
“We’ll most likely face resistance at the shuttleport. They would just complicate the situation.”
“They’re dead, now or later,” Kita said flatly.
“As long as we’re doing it for a good reason and not just for personal gratification.”
“Yeah, if it was for personal gratification we’d just beat them to within an inch of their life and leave them to suffer. We’d also shove one of those shocker rounds where the sun doesn’t shine—actually, no we wouldn’t. We’re not getting anywhere near that area on a man. We’ll just make them swallow them instead.”
Kat snickered. “It’s always fun to find out what makes us nauseated.”
“More than nauseated. Makes me feel dirty all over, and a million showers won’t get rid of the filth.”
“Since I never explored that, ah, series of activities I’ll take your word for it.”
Kita sighed. “You’re in for a world of wonder the first time we get laid. You’ll be nothing but a pile of blissful goo. Right next to me, of course.”
“For all the hype, it better be good.”
“It will be. I might have to find someone a tad more experienced than Jess.”
Kat giggled. “You think?”
“Shut up and kill them already,” Kita said playfully.
“If you insist. I’ve been waiting for a chance to try out this new assassin arsenal.”
“You and me both,” Kita said greedily.
Kat swung over the back gate of the wagon. She crawled along the undercarriage and around the wheel. After drawing a pair of arrows, she stuck her head above the side.
“Hey, you,” she said in a quiet voice.
The two guards scrambled to the edge of the wagon from working on their comrades and looked down. Kat lunged upward, stabbing the pair in their throats and then yanked them over the side of the wagon. Flipping over the side, she landed in the middle of the wagon behind the remaining four guards. Drawing two stars, she threw them at the two far guards as she hopped forward to stab the near guards with her arrows. Tossing the two near guards over the side, she set her arrows down to recover her stars. Both stars hit the guards’ necks, and their blood sprayed out as she tossed them over the side.
As she knelt down to pick up her arrows, a wounded guard looked at her, petrified. She leaned down to his ear. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you,” she whispered in a sweet voice. She grabbed him and tossed him out. She tossed the rest of the guards out, taking a moment to wipe off her stars and arrows on the last guard’s clothing. With a playful jump, she landed next to Rabbit on the driver’s bench.
“What are you doing up here?” Rabbit cried.
“I didn’t want to ride in the back alone,” said Kat.
“What?” Rabbit exclaimed, looking behind her. “Where did my guards go?”
“I thought it would be easier to dispose of them now, instead of when we’re busy later.”
“We still need them,” Rabbit hissed angrily.
“It’s no use getting mad about it. It’s not like they were your guards anymore anyway.”
“What happened to you not being impulsive?”
“I had a very long conversation about it.”
“No one is going to believe I escorted you all the way here.”
“And then we’ve got to dispose of all of them plus what’s waiting for us in Ana District.”
“I hope you have a good plan because we’re coming up on the gate to Catalina District,” Rabbit said glancing around nervously.
“How come I have to do all the thinking?”
“Because you ruined my plan,” Rabbit hissed sounding exacerbated.
“Oh, yeah…maybe…” Kat said, thinking. “Ok, got it. Tell them whatever you want. I’ll hang out below.” She rolled off the bench, caught the side of the wagon, and slid under it.
“Dammit, they’re going to search down there,” Rabbit said, straining to be quiet.
“I’ve got it covered.”
“Do you know how suspicious this looks? I’m alone with a wagon full of blood.”
“How do you normally do this?” said Kat.
“We send Ana station a detailed route map, and they inform the city guards we’re coming. Same as I’d do for them if they came to my station. My people aren’t seen, and the city guard doesn’t k
now about us.”
“How do you explain the cameras in the tower to them then?”
“We don’t.”
“Why was the hatch open?” said Kat.
“We take over the night shift.”
“And they don’t notice?”
“The detail in the tower is manned by my people. A small squad of my guards is embedded with the city guards. We send down orders on their side to make sure our people are in the tower.”
“Why does it matter?”
“They’re the highest vantage points in the city, and it gives us good cover to mount our communications gear.”
“Sounds complicated. Here,” Kat reached up and sat a medallion in Rabbit’s lap.
“Where’d you get this?”
“I pinched it off one of the city guards. Hopefully, it’ll give you a reason to pass through.”
“Let’s hope.” Rabbit sighed, as the gate come into view.
Kat scurried back under the wagon before it came to a halt.
“It’s late to be deadheading, Miss,” a city guard said.
“Royal business,” said Rabbit, flashing her medallion.
“This isn’t a Royal wagon, and you’re not in any Royal uniform I’ve ever seen.”
“I have my medallion. Let me pass.”
“Pull over there, and we’ll send a runner to check your story.”
“Hey, Captain,” a voice at the back of the wagon called, “we’ve got blood back here.”
“Out of the wagon,” the captain ordered Rabbit.
Before Rabbit contested the order, Kat flipped up into the shotgun seat from under the wagon. She tossed four tiny bags into the air. She clamped a hand over Rabbit’s nose and mouth. Her other hand went over the girl’s ear and clenched her head against her chest.
“Close your eyes,” she ordered to Rabbit.
The distraction and disorientation bombs went off, followed by the knockout bombs.
“Drive,” Kat ordered Rabbit when it was over. She kept a hand over the girl’s mouth until they were down the street. “Are you ok? No burning in the lungs, stinging eyes, or ringing ears?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks. What did you do?”
“Just some distraction bombs and knockout gas. Sorry, I didn’t have time to warn you.”
“It’s cool. Sorry about what happened earlier.”
