Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:31 am by athena
Tanya eased her way down the fire escape ladder at the side of the building she had positioned herself on.
Her rooftop location provided her with a clear view of the brothel and assisted by the multi-imaging sight, Travis was clearly marked as an outline mainly in red and orange, with a deep green pulsing sphere at the centre of his abdomen. There were many other outlines, some more red than orange and Tanya frowned as she realised the people she was observing were probably deep in the throes of passion.
She counted at least twenty to thirty warm bodies in the room apart from Travis, but was surprised to see one outline was deeply tinged with blue, purple and grey.
"Cold colours," said Tanya to herself. "Cyborg," she concluded and adjusted her scope to give greater clarity for low-heat emissions. The rifle she had firmly rested against shoulder was a high-calibre sniper rifle, that fired depleted-uranium rounds at over a thousand feet per second. The refire rate wasn't high, but the damage was significant, capable of blowing a large hole in the side of a skycab, or even a light fighter.
Tanya laughed inside, as she recalled Travis' reaction on seeing the weapon for the first time. He dubbed it "The Replacement" and only smirked when Tanya asked him what it was a replacement for.
She nodded when she heard Travis engage Antoine in conversation and listened intently to their exchange. Tanya wasn't surprised when Antoine mentioned his plan to frame the bounty hunter but nothing could hold her feelings back when she heard of Lord Akamoto's death.
Gripping the hilt of the rifle tightly, she aimed the gun at the man she presumed was Antoine, the only one whose rapid hand movements were aligned with the quick speech of his voice.
She gently depressed the trigger and prepared to fire as she saw Travis fall from his chair, then suddenly released it.
"I'm coming, Travis. Hold on," she said into her comm.
She turned it off to the sounds of laughter from Antoine and his entourage, then began packing up her equipment.
***
"So, boss. What do we do with him?" asked a well-muscled Kusari man in his late twenties. The tight jacket he wore was too small for him and his shoulders were hunched up and forward. Antoine turned to face him, a dark smile appearing on his handsome face.
"Tie him up, put him in the basement and leave him there. The police will arrive soon. They will find him. We will be rewarded for his capture with a healthy bounty. Then we can tell our superiors the mission is complete and live a life of luxury on an Orbital Spa & Cruise planet!"
Antoine laughed again and his companions joined him.
Travis was roughly lifted from the ground and hauled over the big man's shoulder, then carried to a door at the rear of the lounge. Travis could only mumble uncontrollably as the drugs laced in his drink took effect.
***
Tanya waited outside The House of Thousand Orchids, her rifle was back in the hired skycab and her only weapons were the two pistols holstered in the lining of her jacket. As they weren't able to find blasters in the short time they had been on the planet, she hoped no-one was wearing any force field generators or armour jackets, else the simple kinetic weapons would be useless.
She took a deep breath, then walked up the steps to the front door, an elaborate double door with mock pillars to the sides and a large stone across the frame.
"How's this for a 'cold' entry?" she asked herself through a grimace. Tanya tied her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and smiled as she approached the two door guards. Both looked menacing and almost as one, creased their faces into a sneer as they saw her approach.
"Hey, boys. What's a girl have to do to get a drink around here?" she asked, smiling sweetly. "I'm new on-planet and I was told this was a good place to visit."
The two men glanced at each other and grinned.
"Take your clothes off and if you meet the standard you'll get your drink," said one gruffly, a pock-marked scowled brute with short hair and a thick, oft-broken nose.
"Out here? It's so cold," said Tanya, pouting ever so slightly. "I know, you're only kidding. So, can I get a drink or should I go some place else?"
One of the men chuckled, it was a horrible sound, Tanya thought.
"Okay, come with me inside," he replied. He winked at the other doorman.
"Hey, be sure and tell me when you're done, buddy," he said.
Tanya followed the first man into the brothel and was swallowed up in a cacophony of sound, scents and sights. She glanced around and the lounge was in a large oval shape, bar to one side, stage on the opposite and at the back were a series of raised booths and accompanying tables. In the centre near the stage was a small dance floor and behind those were numerous round tables of varying sizes.
The man walked over to the bar where Tanya joined him. She glanced at the barman who was studying her with a curious eye, then raised an eyebrow at the doorman.
"Drink," he said in monotone. The barman responded and poured a drink from a clear glass bottle and placed it before Tanya on the bar. She smiled at them both, then lifted the shot glass and downed the drink in one.
"Not bad. So do I get a tour of this place? It's real nice," said Tanya.
"Sure, sure. Let's go. This way," he said and moved off towards a door at the end of the bar. Tanya took a step forwards but suddenly lost her footing and placed a hand on the bar to steady herself. Her other hand came up to her forehead.
"Whoa. Must be the heat," she said. "Is it me or is it warm in here?" she asked. The barman nodded..
"Take your jacket off if you're hot, lady," he suggested.
"Good idea." Tanya shrugged off her jacket revealing a tight grey top that stopped at her shoulders, revealing shapely toned arms, the colour of burnished bronze. She carried the jacket in one hand and followed the doorman slightly unsteadily. He opened the door and began to walk down a flight of steps to a gloomy looking basement.
"That's..dark," she slurred.
The doorman noticed her about to fall and quickly ran back up the steps to catch her as she fell forwards. Laughing he half carried, half dragged Tanya down the steps, along a dimly lit corridor and into a room. He kicked open the door and dumped Tanya on the bed on top of her jacket, using his foot to shut the door behind him. The doorman looked Tanya up and down, grunting his approval at her lithe figure.
He moved closer to her and began to run his hands over her body, when Tanya began to mumble something. He moved a bit closer to hear what she was saying.
"Did anyone tell you, anti-drug suppressants take too long to become active?" she whispered.
The doorman's eyes opened in shock as he felt the cold steel of a gun barrel prod into the side of his head.
"Up, buddy. Slowly," she hissed and the doorman carefully rose to his feet. His breath stank of stale alcohol and Tanya was relieved to have some distance between them.
"Where is he? The bounty hunter you have in the basement," she asked.
"Him? What do you want him for?" asked the doorman. Tanya hit him with the butt of her gun making the man fall to his knees.
"I don't like violence. It's only ever a last resort. But for once I may just enjoy this. Where is Travis?" she asked again more forcefully this time.
"He's in the room at the end," replied the doorman rubbing the side of his head painfully.
"Thank you," she replied curtly and hit him again, harder this time at the base of the neck causing the man to fall unconscious to the floor. Tanya quickly put on her jacket and searched the doorman, finding a key card, a gun, an incredibly large knife and a cred-stick. Pocketing them all bar the gun which she held in her hand, she left the room and walked to the room at the end of the corridor.
Tanya placed her ear to the door and listened for a moment. It was silent.
She tried the key card and smiled when a satisfying click came from the lock mechanism, then she opened the door.
Travis was inside, bound and gagged but awake. Clearly the disabling drug was powerful only for a short duration and no doubt the reason why the anti-drug suppressant she had taken before entering the brothel had taken a while to take effect. Tanya ran over to him and using the knife cut his bonds allowing Travis to free his mouth from the gag.
"Took your time, babe," he said with a half-smile.
Tanya sighed.
"Here, use this," she said and offered Travis the doorman's gun. He raised an eyebrow and Tanya frowned. "Look, it's better than nothing, okay? Let's go, that doorman is expected back soon."
Together, they left the room and made their way along the corridor and up the steps to the main lounge where Tanya opened the door slightly looking out beyond. Before they ran out, Tanya turned back to Travis.
"Let me go first and get the skycab ready, you'll have to exit best you can."
Travis nodded.
"Easy, sugar-cakes. Have the engine hot."
Tanya was about to open the door fully when she felt Travis' hand on her arm.
"Hey, Tanya?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Travis."
Tanya held his gaze and slowly moved closer. Their lips met and they kissed without passion, but with a deep longing. She broke away after a while, watching his face.
"You are such a rogue," she said smiling. He nodded.
"Uh-huh. Now get out there, girl. We'll have to take out Antoine another day."
Tanya froze. Her eyes began to gleam dangerously, as they had when she threatened to kill Travis."
"Why not now?" she suggested coldly, reaching behind her and drawing both her pistols, cocking back the hammers before replacing them in their hidden holsters.
Before Travis could react, Tanya barged open the door and strode across the lounge towards Antoine who was now sat back at his table surrounded by people once more. The young Kusari girl next to him saw her approach and stiffened slightly, then she rose and swiftly left the table. Tanya ignored her.
Antoine looked up as Tanya stood before his table, her guns behind her back. By the steps, Travis watched in stunned amazement, but chambered a round into his pistol in preparation.
"Antoine?" asked Tanya, her green eyes gleaming brightly now. Antoine looked up, his guards had their hands under their jackets ready to draw.
"Yes? Who are you?"
Tanya didn't verbally reply, instead bringing both guns from behind her quicker than anyone else could react, firing with deadly precision at Antoine and his guards. Empty shells fell to the ground by her feet as she unloaded both guns into the mass before her, a terrible grimace appearing on her face. Clients and prostitutes alike scattered, running screaming to find cover.
One guard managed to avoid the initial onslaught, drawing a gun and firing at Tanya. She was already moving, throwing herself to her left and firing the last of her rounds at the guard, bullets punching home into his chest forcing him back to crash on the table behind.
She rose quickly to her feet but a movement to her left caught her attention and dropping the empty guns she reached behind her, spun on her heel drawing the doorman's knife and sent it hurtling through the air at her new assailant. The second doorman fell to the floor, scrabbling at the knife now embedded in his throat. Suddenly, a few shots were fired from behind her and she ****ed reflexively. Tanya turned and saw Travis, smoking gun in hand aimed at the barman who was now lying slumped across the bar, a shotgun next to him.
Antoine lay dead in his booth, surrounded by the bodies of his guards. Smoke filled the lounge and people were still running in every direction seeking refuge. It was a surreal sight, as music still pumped through the speakers. Travis joined Tanya at the booth, saying nothing but staring at the open, blank eyes of Antoine.
"You and I need to talk," said Travis grimly.
"We should go," she replied distantly.
They made to leave but stopped in their tracks when a large group of people entered the room from the front door.
Amongst them was the Kusari girl. Next to her was a squad of Kusari police in body armour carrying rifles.
"Guess we lost the element of surprise, babe," said Travis through gritted teeth. When Tanya didn't respond, he glanced at her, noticing how still she was.
"Tanya? You ok?"
At the head of the group was someone Tanya hoped to never see.
Kenji Akamoto, now Lord of the Akamoto bounty hunter clan.
***
(cont'd)
Edited by - Athena on 11/9/2004 8:53:04 AM
