I awoke suddenly, I was in pain, and I
didn't
know where I was. I opened my eyes and tried to roll to my feet.
I got my eyes open, but that was about it. Somebody had tied me to a table. I looked around, Rieselle was standing next to me, I was in the ship's Medical unit.
"Untie me." I stated simply.
"Against doctors orders," She smiled.
"Rieselle," I said quietly trying not to get mad, or whine. "Will you please untie me. I'll forgive you not stopping the Captain. But I can't forgive this."
"Threatening me now?" She was looking a little mad herself.
"Hey what did I do?" I replied while testing my bonds. My left shoulder hurt bad. "I was the one being turned into a coat!"
"I warned you not to mess with the Captain, didn't I?"
"So that was reason enough to stop anyone from interfering with his skinning me alive? That's a little petty for you isn't it?" I was getting mad now and my ears folded back angrily as I tried my legs.
"Stop thrashing or I'll pop you one," she said exasperated.
I noticed she was holding an injector, probably a tranquilizer.
"You wanted him fired, well then, the only way you'd get him in enough trouble was if somebody important caught him skinning you." She paused while this sank in. "I just gave you what you wanted." And then she smiled sweetly at me.
I thought about that a moment. It made sense I guess.
"Next time," I said quietly, "Don't."
"But you're the big hero now. You got the Captain fired, isn't that what you wanted Jotun?"
"Why should I care about these people?" I snarled, "I don't know them, I don't owe them! You know why I do this."
"I'm not so sure anymore Jotun," she replied sighing. "But you're getting worse. Usually you just get in a little trouble, this time you got in a lot and almost got yourself killed."
"Yeah, it was pretty stupid wasn't it." I looked around to make sure we were alone. "I really do like Azelett you know."
"I guessed as much."
"Well I guess I wanted to do a little showing off, and let her see what she was letting herself in for."
"So you acted like a total shit?" She said with a little venom.
"I
am
a total shit!" I admitted exhaustively, "Look at what I do! How I live! I wouldn't wish this on anybody."
"Oh it's not that bad. Really Jotun." She said soothingly.
"They pay you to say that, so please don't," I sighed. It was true too and we both knew it. "Untie me please Rieselle. If you care anything for my sorry ass. Please?"
She sighed and undid the straps, "You
are
a shit."
"Yeah," I smiled lamely, "but you love me anyway." I rubbed my wrists, my left shoulder hurt like hell. "Thanks, I'll try to listen to you next time."
I looked at the sloppy bandages on my chest, "Where's the Doc?"
"Taking care of the Captain," she smiled. "You're still only second class Jotun."
"How bad is he anyway?"
"The wrist is pretty well crushed, but he's sedated now. The security guys tranked him."
"Where's Holt?"
"On the radio to HQ, Probably discussing your fine."
"He would!" I growled.
Just then the doctor showed up.
"Who removed those restraints?" He asked looking at Rieselle.
"I did" I lied. "It's in my training, sorry."
"That's right Doc, I had nothing to do with it," Rieselle covered.
Hey, it's my team, even if I'm not always in charge. I take responsibility for everything.
"Well alright," he eyed me. "Let me get a sedative."
"No."
He paused, "I insist," he said looking at me.
"No, nothing that will make me drowsy," I responded adamantly. "I can't afford it where I'm going."
He raised his eyebrows, "It's gonna hurt then."
"I earned it," I said simply.
"Okay then," and he peeled off the bandage with one quick pull.
"Ahhhhh!" I gasped and grabbed the edge of the table, sinking my claws right through the hard plastic. It hurt
a lot
!
He sprayed the wound with something and it helped a little, but not much.
"You still sure?" He asked again.
"Yes Doctor," I gasped between clenched teeth.
He went to work then, pulling the skin back, cleaning the wound and then sealing the whole thing up. It was half an hour of the worse torture I had ever been through, especially when he cleaned it out! He then looked at my shoulder and X-rayed it.
"Some cracks and a partial dislocation. From the marks on your wrist's I'd say it happened while you were chained up." He got an injector out from a cabinet. "A little glue and a healing agent and it'll be fine in two or three days."
"Thanks."
"Sure, that's what they pay me for," he said giving me the shots.
"Can I ask you a question Doc?"
"What?" He looked up.
"Did he really deserve what I did to him?" I was curious.
"Who?" The Doc looked startled.
"The Captain, who else?" I asked tilting my head.
"I don't think it's my place to say," he dodged.
I reached over painfully and grabbed his arm lightly, "Say it anyway."
"Why? So you can feel justified in destroying his career? So you can strut around and feel tall?" He spit back knocking my hand down and heading for the door.
"No, that's not why," I said.
He turned and looked at me.
"I won't say I didn't deserve this," I motioned to my chest. "I just want to know that, well, that he did too."
"The crew thinks so, isn't that enough?"
"No."
"Well then, what do you think?" And he left.
"I don't think, that's the problem." I whispered.
"You can say that again!" Said Rieselle from behind me.
She walked around the table and helped me up.
"They didn't give me any blood, did they?" I felt pretty light headed.
"Nope, so be careful. You're going to be a little weak for the next few days."
"Great, I guess I really outdid myself this time!"
She gave me a kiss, "Yep. Now come on, you have a shuttle to catch."
I groaned tail dragging as we headed out the door. "Holt's gonna bitch all the way back!" I looked at her, "Where's Azelett?"
"In her cabin I guess. She's pretty upset and blames herself."
"Great," I sighed. "Tell her I'm sorry okay? Explain things to her. I don't think she knows yet."
"I'll tell her you're sorry. But the rest is up to you."
"Good enough I guess."
She led me down to the shuttle lock. This ship was too small to have any kind of a bay.
"See ya' later!" And she gave me a quick buss.
"Bye," I grumbled.
I got in, sat down, and strapped in. The pilot looked back from up front and waved back, I nodded and closed my eyes trying to sleep. Or at least fake it. It was about a ten minute wait, then Holt showed up. He closed the lock and told the pilot to go, then closed the cabin door and sat across from me.
And waited.
For once I didn't open my mouth. Of course I'd never been skinned before either. Usually it was small stuff, like stealing the Captain's coffee mug. Or breaking some bully's arm. Just proving I was somebody special, somebody above the rules. Somebody
better
than the rest.
Sometimes I even believed it too.
"Nothing to say?" He said eventually.
"Why did you put me on that ship?" I asked him eyes still closed. I knew Holt, I could judge him by his smell I knew him so well. Sometimes I thought I liked him. I had stopped hating him years ago.
"It was convenient."
I opened an eye and looked at him, "Bullshit."
"It was in the right place at the right time."
"This corporation owns hundreds of ships. Anyone of them could have been sent." Suspicion dawned, but then I'm a very suspicious person by nature.
"You used me? Didn't you?"
"Why would we do that?" He looked surprised.
"If not the company, than somebody," I closed my eye. "Anyone who knows my file, knows I would get into a confrontation with that idiot. Maybe you got used too."
I could hear him pausing and considering it. The idea had merit, even if I was making it up.
"You're still in trouble though," he resumed.
"I expected as much."
"No visitor's for a month."
"Make it a week," I sighed, "I learned my lesson."
"This isn't negotiable," he warned.
"I won't go back then," I said opening my eyes and looking down at the floor. I meant it too.
"You don't have that option."
I looked up and stared him in the eye. "There are always options."
"Okay," he said after a minute, getting my point. He looked away, "Two weeks."
"Ten days."
"Fine, ten days."
I had nothing more to say so I leaned back and closed my eyes. I could smell the sweat on Holt, I had really made him nervous that time. I was surprised that I didn't smell any fear though. Maybe I had underestimated him. True it was a veiled threat, but it was a threat all the same.
3
The rest of the ride back was quiet, I didn't debrief beyond my initial report to Rieselle anymore, just filed one word reports now-a-days. 'Succeeded' was all I felt they needed to know. If they wanted the gory details they could either ask my team or watch the newscasts.
We docked at the Palace some four hours later. I felt better for the rest, and despite being sore I dumped the sling on the shuttle. I walked out through the shuttle's lock, past the first set of airlock doors, past the receptionist, past the pair of company marines, then up to the security door. I put my hands on the scan plates and after the blast door opened I walked into the man trap.
After the door closed behind me I put my eyes up to the retinal scanner. A brief 'confirmed' from the computer and the second blast door opened. Anyone getting this far who didn't belong would have heard 'Good Luck' and the door would have waited twenty seconds before opening. During those twenty seconds those who were inside would have heard an announcement about the unauthorized visitor. It didn't happen often, but it did break up the monotony.
I looked at the 'Welcome Home!' sign that some joker had put up years ago. Brand I think, he was dead now anyway. Got caught trying to hit some corporate V.P. somewhere, still managed to get his target, but vaporized himself in the process. The resulting explosion took out three large buildings and a church however. Brand had always been a showoff.
As I walked down the hall towards my quarters I ignored those I passed in the halls. They were all newbs and I refused to acknowledge anybody here less than two years. Half would probably be dead by then so why bother? I hated losing friends anyway.
I opened the door to my rooms and went in. A careful search didn't turn up anything. I could tell a lot of people had been through in my absence, boredom makes everyone nosey. I didn't own anything anyway, everything in my room was standard issue, right down to the pictures on the walls. Possessions are both a key to your personality and a burden to carry. I couldn't afford either of those liabilities.
After satisfying myself that it was safe, I shut off the lights and went to sleep.
The Palace, ('Caesar's Palace' they originally called it because we all 'lived like emperors' there), isn't that really. It's more of a jail to those of us inside, a fortress to those outside, and a very well hidden company secret deep underground on the Earth's moon. It's where the Corporation keeps all of its most dangerous eggs, so it's a strong basket. As for those of us inside, well would
you
want thirty some-odd trained and ruthless assassins running around loose?
I didn't think so.
They supplied us with everything we wanted, more or less. But we never left, except to kill somebody. So volunteers for missions were never in short supply. We all hated it here and lived for the opportunity to get out.
I didn't leave my room for the next three days, not until I was totally healed. We had our own rules here, and as I was the oldest one alive, I now set them. Weakness was not a good sign.
I went down to the mess and ordered some food. I was pretty starved after my isolation, so I ate ravenously.
"I hear you got skinned!" Snickered one of the new guys sitting down across from me. He was a Leopard like myself. He had black fur, with a slightly squared head and a good build.
"I got bored," I growled. "Have you read the rules on my door?" I asked conversationally.
"Yes, why?" He asked curiously.
"Good, then you can't plead ignorance."
I threw my coffee in his face and jumped him. He was stronger than me, and almost as quick. But I had a
lot
more experience. I broke both his arms and a leg and left him lying on the floor. The medics would get to him soon enough.
"Why did you do that?" He growled in pain.
I just finished my food and left without answering.
"Rule one," I heard someone else say as I left the room.
Rule one wasn't originally mine, I inherited it with the position. Rule one was simple: 'If you haven't been here two years, don't talk to me. You don't exist.' When I had first come here years ago I had found it stupid. Now I enforced it. Hell, I even agreed with it. Strange how we change as we age. Maybe it was just this place?
I went down to the gym then and exercised. Next I read a book, ate dinner, exercised some more, then slept. The next day repeat, and the next, ad infinitum. There were only three other assassins that I had anything to do with, and as two of them were female, sometimes we never even spoke. Just grunted, moaned and tried to make ourselves forget for a while.
After ten days I went down to the visitor's area. Sure enough Azelett was there.
"Thanks for coming," I said smiling, "Come on in."
"Is it safe?" She asked looking at the guards.
"No, but nobody bothers authorized guests. It's rule number two."
"Well I'd like to thank who ever made that rule!" she smiled.
"You're welcome," I replied smiling.
"I should have known," she laughed.
"Well rank his it's privileges and all that."
"So I've heard. Shotoon filled me in some, and Rieselle most of the rest."
"Anything interesting at the debrief?"
"Not really, they confirmed your mission. Also, according to our sources they found enough of the injector to jump to the proper conclusions." She looked around as I took her down to the park. "Is it true that they don't ever give you leave?"
"Once they decide you're too dangerous, that's it."
"I'm surprised that nobody ever breaks out."
"No place to go, it's all vacuum out there. And besides we have no ident tags or identities even." I pointed to where her absent ID chain normally was. "Try and live without one of those on the Moon or even the Earth. You won't get very far."
"But you do exist," she chuckled and rubbed up against me. "You feel very solid to me!"
"Not out there I don't," I sighed, "but let's avoid that subject." We walked into the park then. It was a nice place, about twenty acres under a dome deep in the crater that our little Palace was set under. It was twilight, my favorite time.
"Oh!" She was surprised, looking around at all the dense forest. "This is amazing!"
"They do try and make us happy," I admitted. "And while the efforts often fall short, we all appreciate the fact that at least they try.
"Come on, let me show you my favorite spot." I led her to a nice secluded ledge on an outcrop in the crater's side. It was covered with grass and lilac bushes. I liked lilacs and had landscaped it myself.
"Nice." She said laying down next to me.
"I missed you," I said pulling her close and kissing her.
"You hardly even know me!" She smiled.
"Who can say that they honestly know anyone?" I smiled and started kissing her throat, "Ummm?"
"We're not being watched are we?"
"No, they don't monitor anything. We wouldn't stand for it and there's really no point." I had been working my way down her torso and was nearly at my goal.
"Okay, just wanted to be sure," she smiled down at me and scratched my head. "Swing your butt around here why don't you?"
I readily complied as my mouth had found its goal and I carefully went to work with my muzzle and tongue. She rewarded my efforts by taking me into her mouth and putting her own tongue to good use. We spent a long time there, making love and enjoying each other. It was full dark and very late indeed when we had sated our desires for each other.
"I hate to ask, but how can you stand it?"
I could see her eyes glowing in the dim reflected light.
"By acting tough and a little crazy," I replied. "Like on the ship. I'll champion the most ridiculous cause, or the one least likely to be won. I fight for things I don't have and probably never will and don't even care about. Or just do the most insane thing I can think of to show off."
"Have you asked for a different assignment?" she tried.
"Of course, but they're afraid to let me go. As much for my protection as theirs. I've seen too much, too many people would love to get their hands on me."
"They're afraid of you, aren't they?"
"They're afraid of us as a group. I don't know if they're afraid of any one of us. At least they're letting the group shrink. When I got signed on there were one hundred of us, now it's down to thirty three."
"But they're still training, aren't they?"
"Not really, I think they want to get the number down some more. Things aren't as busy as they once were."
"They're not? Could have fooled me! When's training for the next one start? In a week?"
"Beats me, I just wait till they call me and tell me to show up. I don't look at the schedule anymore." I flicked my tail over and batted her nose with it while giving her a smile.
"But this is slow. Back during the Leverage conflict I once stayed away from here for eight months. And training, if you got it, was short and simple. We were losing ten to eighteen people a month. It's a wonder I survived. Then one day after the end of the war, they locked us down completely and changed the rules. No more passes, no more going out even when supervised."
"Why was that?"
"Somebody got scared. Rumor has it that one of the group snuck off and iced one of our own V.P.’s, but it could have been another company that did it."
"What do you think?"
"Oh, just more bureaucratic B.S., that's all."
"I meant about the V.P."
"I really don't know," I lied. I had a pretty good idea who did it. And why. We're all very loyal and protective of our corporation. Raised that way I guess. The VP in question was not doing things in the company's best interests. At least we didn't think so. So I suspect that someone decided to do a little house cleaning. I just wondered if it had been official, though I doubted it. Thing's like that just don't go on 'in house'.
"So do you get many visitors?"
"No unfortunately. Very few people even know this place exists, much less who's here anymore. That's why no one messes with visitors, no one wants that privilege taken away."
"Then why do you do it?"
"It's my job. What else can I do?" I nipped her ear playfully, "And anyway, I don't have any say in the matter, remember?"
We went and got some food then, and I brought her back to my quarters.
"Looks like an office," she mused. "All standard issue."
"Personal possessions are just a weight to slow you down." I chuckled, "and it makes it harder for the psych guys to figure you out."
"You really are pretty paranoid, you know that?"
"Wouldn't you be?" I laughed.
We sat around and watched a movie that was being telecast from Earth. Then the news and a documentary. I loved documentaries and was pleased to find out she did too. Then the news again.
I watched a lot of news, both to see what effects my work had, and to see where I might be going next. Corporate infighting was a major source of interest and entertainment on Earth. I had noticed that public opinion was finally getting sick of the bloodshed though. Too many 'innocents' were getting caught in the crossfire they claimed.
It was here where I found out (as I often did), the reason for my last job and the identity of the unfortunate woman I had shot. She was a Senator of all things! Kind of funny when you consider that he was the biggest supplier of illegal drugs on Earth, where nearly everything is illegal. The newsies were having a field day with that one!
It was suspected that he was trying to get the government to outlaw, or try to at least, many of the drugs on frontier worlds. Most frontier worlds really didn't care or regulate drug use, and as my corporation did a lot of business in that market, I could see where they stood to lose a fortune. Not as much as he stood to gain however, illegal drugs always cost more than legal ones, that was just simple economics.
But I also found it a little trite. Time was we only hit targets to save lives, or in retaliation for loss of life. This should have been handled by the Dirty Tricks squad. I said as much to Azelett.