Thanks, although I can't promise I will be able to keep this pace for long. I was lucky to be very inspired the last few days and wrote a lot. Hopefully, I will still be able to post one or two parts before the end of the month, but it will depend on how I organize my timetable.
Also...
tirepanted3 wrote:to pick up the pace with my own story.
Does it mean we can expect another update in the near future?
Glad you liked the exchange between Abigail and Deborah, because it was added at the last minute. I like giving flecks of personality to the victims from time to time, to flesh them out. And while I like the scenario of heroines being forced to mug innocent bystanders for their mission, I also like giving some of the victims 'haughty' personalities to showcase that they could deserve a little karma.
Reka was part of the guards taking Mary out, but above all she was also the bodyguard of Calypso's accountant, the man basically handling the day-to-day functioning of her criminal empire. Therefore she was a high-ranked member of the Cartel, and anyone working regularly with them was bound to know who she was. But you're right to mention this hiccup. Mary was featured so little beforehand that it was hard to make the connection. Thanks for pointing that out. I will add a sentence or two to make it clear.
The upper floor of the manor was relatively empty, luckily for Aster, Lena, and Salomé. Therefore, they managed to avoid being detected. Most of the people still awake, as well as a good chunk of the guards, were with Simon Solomon in the guards room to plan the defense of the estate. Aster couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation.
“Simon's office is behind this door.” Salomé announced.
“And, as expected, he's not here.” Aster completed.
The tall woman smiled. She was looking relieved.
Aster silently opened the door. She and her two companions entered, quietely closing the door behind them. Then they stopped.
They weren't alone.
**************
“Goodness... They are so many...” Lucina whispered. “We will never be able to...”
“Shut your trap and don't pee yourself!” Amara retorted. “We don't need to fight them all. Just to kill Klenia and her girlfriend, then to hightail.”
“You won't hurt the others, right?” Mary, still held at gunpoint, timidly asked.
“Would you look at that... Little Mary has a heart after all...” Reka mocked. “I remember that you didn't have much qualms about helping us sell people like them when you still worked for us. Perhaps some of these women are even here because of you. Did you tell them about your past? I bet that would have been an interesting conversation...”
Mary kept quiet and avoided her gaze.
“Anyway. It's time to do your part. And you better not try to double-cross us, or else there will be three dead bodies instead of two.”
“Boss... I think we should try a different approach...” Lucina insisted. She was sweating a little.
Reka answered with a disdainful snarl. “Nobody's eternal. Klenia has humiliated me long enough during this whole chase. If I can only get one of these bimbos, I want it to be her. This is not just about Sao anymore. This is personal.”
**************
Venia was doing a great job and most of the workers of her floor were already gathered in the hangar. She had tasked a few of her closest companions to bring the remaining few while she stayed to coordinate the others. They were currently preparing the trucks they would use to escape. Klenia noticed that almost all the workers were women. The people she interrogated could only give her one explanation. Jezebel. Klenia didn't know this woman, but she hoped that she would never have to meet her.
“What do we do with these two?” Venia asked Klenia and Shayna, pointing the two young guards they had previously ambushed and left hidden behind some piles of tires. Apparently, a few workers wanted to enact some kind of revenge on their guardians.
“Leave them. Trust me when I say they will already be punished a lot when the Solomons will discover their failure.”
“True. Some of my friends won't be happy, but they'll respect your decision.” She joined a group of workers loading the first truck.
“Speaking of which. What is taking Mary so long?” Shayna commented to Klenia.
As soon as she finished the sentence, the brown-haired woman appeared in the doorway. She waved at them, motioning them to come closer.
“There's a complication. I need your help.” she said.
Klenia and Shayna exchanged a puzzled look, but approached her. Mary seemed pale, so the problem was probably significant.
“What is it?”
**************
Mary could sense Reka's presence in her back, out of Klenia's and Shayna's sight. Moreover, she could sense the gun pointed at the back of her head. Reka had made it clear. If she wanted to live, she had to obey.
However, Mary knew better. She was maybe a coward and an opportunist, but she wasn't dumb. She knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Once they're close enough, Reka will grab me and use me as a human shield. I will most likely be hit in the crossfire. If not, as soon as I'm no longer useful, she will take the time to blow my brains out. Therefore, there won't be any witness capable of telling her name to someone.
Well, Mary had decided to do otherwise. Did Reka really think she would still faithfully help the Cartel after what they did to her? She would play along with Klenia's and Shayna's little rescue operation. Then, as soon as she had the opportunity, she would give them the slip.
She only needed to play along with Reka a few seconds longer, the time for her to take a step forward and jump under the cover of the wall.
“It's about the workers on the upper floor...” she improvised, taking a step forward.
Then she jumped on the side. Protected by the wall, she was out of Reka's line of sight.
“It's a trap!” she screamed. “They forced me!”
**************
Klenia maybe had an easy-going personality, but her reflexes had been trained intensively by years of heists and secret war against a corrupt government, then months of real civil war. When she saw Mary jump on the side screaming there was a trap, she didn't waste time questioning it. At the most, a part of her mind briefly took the time to jadedely register that it was Reka again. Was she never going to quit?
The criminal was also a trained professional. She didn't waste time screaming in rage or shouting 'Traitor!' at Mary, even though her hateful grimace was worth more than a thousand speeches. No, instead of wasting her time monologuing, she opened fire, the gunshots muffled by her silencer.
Klenia ran while screaming: “Everyone! Take cover!”
Luckily, she was Reka's top priority, meaning the others were relatively safe for now. She heard bullets bounce right behind her. Of course, no human being could outrun a bullet. Her only chance was to outrun the finger of Reka pressing the trigger of her handgun.
Klenia jumped behind a truck, it's metallic frame shielding her from the bullets. Reka wasted no time. “Amara, Lucina, cover me! Kill the blonde!” Then she started to run.
Reka reached her top speed surprisingly fast, while Amara and Lucina were shooting at Shayna. Klenia let out a worried scream but, luckily, the hangar offered many hiding spots and her girlfriend had also managed to take cover.
However, she was almost on Reka's line of sight and she couldn't afford to worry any more about Shayna for now. She remembered Aster's and Aaria's advices. If your opponent has a firearm and you don't, one possible way out is to prompt the hand-to-hand fight to negate their long-range advantage.
Klenia charged. Thus, Reka's great speed turned against her because, at full speed, she couldn't stop in time to take aim. Not before Klenia attacked her.
First, Klenia grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding the gun in order to move the weapon as far away from her as possible. In the struggle, Reka shot all her remaining bullets, that were all wasted on the ceiling.
The criminal immediately dropped her now useless firearm and retaliated with a headbutt that made Klenia loosen her grip. Further in the building, they could hear the bouncings of Amara's and Lucina's bullets on the metallic frames of the hangar trucks.
Suddenly, Klenia heard Amara shout: “Lucina! Cover me! I'll get the Naïad rat!”
“No!” she reflexively scream.
Reka took advantage of her inattention to repel her and draw a combat knife. Once again, Klenia prompted the hand-to-hand fight. Soon, the two women were fighting for the weapon, with Klenia desperately trying to force Reka to let go of her knife while the criminal was trying to free her wrist and stab her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Klenia could briefly see Amara move to flush out Shayna. She hoped that her friend could manage to repel her long enough, the time she got rid of Reka. A group of workers led by Venia were carefully moving to come to their help.
The struggle for the knife between Klenia and Reka continued. Reka was stronger than her and Klenia could already feel her strengths waning. She had to fight dirty.
With her foot, she kicked Reka's right knee to make her lose balance. The black-haired woman staggered and Klenia managed to make her drop her knife. However, her success was short-lived. With her other hand, Reka punched her on the cheek. Dazzled, Klenia took a few steps back. Reka jumped her and pinned her on the floor. She grabbed Klenia's throat and squeezed.
“Last time we fought, I would have strangled you if your little friends had not come fast enough! Looks like this time, you won't be able to cheat your way out of death!” Reka spat with an ugly smile. “Hopefully, Sao will be there to welcome you on the other side!”
However, this time Klenia didn't panic. With her hands, she poked Reka in the eyes. The criminal shouted in pain and released her. Klenia used the brief respite to catch her breath. She was surprised to not hear Lucina shoot anymore. A quick glance allowed her to understand why. Reka and her two cronies had overlooked Mary when the gunfight began, considering her unimportant because she was too cowardly. And indeed, the brown-haired woman had played possum during the first part of the shooting. But now that Lucina was alone, she had attacked her from behind. While the henchwoman wasn't neutralized, she had dropped her gun. Amara and Shayna were hidden from her view by a truck. She couldn't see them fight.
Klenia focused again her attention on Reka just in time to avoid a vicious punch. Then she had to take a step back to dodge a kick. Reka maintained the pressure with a series of violent punches and kicks. Klenia was forced to remain on the defensive, but dodged or avoided all of them. Reka made an ugly grimace, and sped up the pace of her assaults. Dodging them became harder and harder, and Klenia was forced to slowly move back at each hit to keep up. She had to hold... Her opponent was faster and stronger, but she was also taking risks. Soon, there would be an opening. At least she hoped... Keep focused on her, and don't let her corner you. Her forearms were hurt due to her using them to counter Reka's assaults. Come on. She desperately avoided a powerful hit that would have broken her nose, and a kick that could have broken a rib. Come on... Klenia was tiring out. Come on!
Klenia had to almost jump to avoid a particularly vicious punch. Reka's face was completely red now. She's steaming... Just a little push, and she'll lose it...
“YOU B*TCH! WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO FINALLY KILL YOU?!” the criminal shouted.
“You couldn't afford it.” Klenia retorted.
This time, Reka lost it. Consumed by her anger and her hatred, she charged. Klenia saw what she was waiting for.
An opening.
She sidestepped Reka's assault, grabbed her, and used the criminal's own strength to throw her over her shoulder. Reka fell hard on her back, breathless. Klenia towered over her and pinned her on the floor. She raised her fist. Her hand was shaking.
“I! Have had! Enough! Of you!” she shouted, punctuating each pause with a punch.
Her assault left Reka half-unconscious, the face bruised. Klenia panted heavily.
Finally... It's finally over...
“Miss!”
Klenia jumped and nearly elbowed the woman who had talked to her. She stopped herself just in time. The short red-haired girl was one of the workers of the estate. With two of her friends, she had walked around the trucks to come to her help. They were late, but Klenia was happy to see them.
“We'll watch her.” the redhead said. She had the accent of the inhabitants of the Province of Kachikuni. “Go help your friend.”
“Thanks.”
She quickly ran towards where Shayna was.
Near the door, Mary was on the ground. She was holding her head with one hand, as if she was groggy, but seemed otherwise unharmed. There was no sign of Lucina.
Klenia ran around the truck behind which Shayna and Amara were fighting. She arrived just in time to see the outcome of the fight. Venia and three muscular women of the estate had arrived to help Shayna. When she saw that, Amara chose to take Shayna with her and tried to shoot at Klenia's girlfriend, but she was overwhelmed by Venia's three friends before she could aim at her. They pinned her on the ground, kicking her several times until she was unconscious for good measure.
Shayna was seated against the metallic frame of the truck, panting heavily. Klenia felt at first relieved to see that she wasn't seriously injured, but her relief quickly disappeared when she saw that her girlfriend was roughed up. Shayna was bruised, and was holding her left wrist that was probably sprained, if not broken.
“I tried to follow your advice and fight her in hand-to-hand combat to prevent her from using her gun...” the blonde said with an apologetic smile. “I managed to kick the weapon out of her hand, just like you taught me, but she was too strong for me. I fell on the floor during the fight and hurt my wrist. She took advantage of it to take back her gun. I wasn't very useful, sorry... If Venia hadn't arrived with her friends, I'd be dead by now...”
“Don't say such stupid things.”
Klenia would have loved to punch Amara senseless, but the woman was already unconscious.
“I'll go at the infirmary.” Venia said. “There is everything we need here.”
Klenia felt her heart skip a beat. “Don't come in the open! There's still one left!” she worriedly exclaimed.
However, her warning arrived too late.
Lucina, who had reamained hidden behind another truck until now, eagerly seized the opportunity. With one arm she encircled Venia's throat, with her free hand she put her gun to her hostage's head.
“No!” Shayna screamed.
Klenia remained calm. She was angry. She looked Reka's remaining henchwoman in the eyes.
“Release her.” she coldly ordered. A part of her was tempted to grab Amara's gun. If it still had bullets inside, she could use it to blow Lucina's brains out. Then she noticed the fear in the henchwoman's eyes. Lucina was terrified for her life. Klenia knew that one had to be very cautious when approaching a cornered opponent. And all that violence was disgusting her anyway. She just wanted it to end. No, she would use violence as a last resort, if only because she didn't want Venia to be hurt in the crossfire. “Last warning.” she said. “Release her now.”
**************
When she was a child, Lucina wanted to be an actress or a comedian. Perform under the spotlight and become famous. When she told her father about her life project, he did what any traditional Ares father would have done in his place. He gave his offspring a couple of slaps and explained to her that, as the eldest child, she was going to join the military. Young Lucina listened to her father, but never forgot about her dream. She chose to make a spectacle of herself any time she could. However, today she was in the spotlight, and she wasn't liking it at all. Maybe she shouldn't have listened to her dad...
But Lucina refused to admit defeat. She was scared, a lot more scared than any self-respecting Ares would have been allowed to be – hence why her father always deemed her a disgrace – but she refused to admit defeat.
“I suggest you step back!” she said to all the women who were gathering around her. “Or I'll blow her brains out!”
“And then what?” Klenia retorted. “Look around you. The room is filled with Venia's friends and companions in misfortune. You will never have enough bullets for all of us. And trust me when I say that the survivors will be pissed off. You don't want to know what they will do to you...”
Oh, she didn't need to tell. Lucina knew very well how it could end. Back when she was still in the Olympian army, her squad was one day sent to supress some labor strikes in the Province of Smog. However, their lieutenant made a tactical error, and their squad ended up isolated with no back-up. Before reinforcements could arrive, the crowd had grabbed the lieutenant and two soldiers, and teared them in pieces with their bare hands. Though Lucina could hardly blame the rioters. The army had just shot in the crowd to try to disperse them.
Still, Lucina refused to be left here at the mercy of the Solomons...
“You do realize that I'm also dead if I'm left here incapacitated? I don't have anything to lose.”
“Oh, don't worry about that. I'm not a monster, even though I'm furious at you. If you behave, we'll bring you and your two pals with us. In a box.”
“A box?”
“Yes, a nice box and a comfy coat of ropes. Unless you prefer to die.”
Lucina felt sweat drops form on her forehead. No, she didn't want to die. She stayed with Reka to follow the movement and for the easy money, but she didn't particularly care for the whole 'revenge' thing. Moreover, she didn't want to die for this revenge. Reka would have shot Klenia and Shayna to take them with her in the grave, but Lucina preferred to choose the option allowing her to live. Alive, even in prison, she might still find a way out. Dead, she could only play dead.
“You're driving a hard bargain...” she said, trying to win some time. Time needed to find another way out.
“Your life in exchange of your surrendering. It's a fair deal. But you've wasted enough of my time. Your pal has hurt my friend. I may be a nice girl, but even I have my limits. And you're about to cross them. In roughly two seconds.”
Lucina could sense the other women approaching in her blind spot.
“Fine, you won!”
She released Venia, then put her gun on the floor and kicked it away before raising her hands.
Klenia nodded. “Venia. Can you go to the infirmary and bring a first aid kid, then can you tend to Shayna's wounds? I will deal with the three criminals.”
“Okay.”
Klenia looked at Lucina's body and the guard uniform she was still wearing. “The clothes. Lose them.” she then coldly said.
“What? That wasn't part of the deal!” the henchwoman retorted.
“I'm altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.”
“But...”
“One more word and you will have to remove the underwear as well.”
Lucina wisely kept her mouth shut, probably for the first time in her life.
Mary timidly approached Klenia.
“I... They forced me... I...”
“I don't want to hear your excuses. Three people will go with you. Bring the remaining workers here.” Klenia retorted without letting her finish her sentence.
Mary quickly retreated.
“As for you, you better start stripping now.” Klenia said to Lucina.
Mumbling under her breath, the henchwoman took off her uniform jacket and black tank top, revealing the dark blue bra with golden edges she was wearing under. Then, she unlaced her thick shoes and kicked them out. Finally, she reluctantly unbuckled the belt and let the pants slide on her legs, leaving only her dark blue panties with golden trimmings to protect her modesty.
“Nice choice of underwear. The best out of all your friends I mugged so far.” Klenia commented. It was petty, but she felt the need to humiliate her enemy a little after what she and Shayna had to go through.
Lucina felt her cheeks redden because of the humiliation. “Just put me in your stupid box already.” she spat.
“With pleasure.”
No sooner said than done. The Solomons actually had boxes with air holes in them. Although Klenia was fine not knowing the details of what the Syndicate was doing with human-sized boxes with air holes in them, she took advantage of it. Whike the workers of the estate were finishing loading the trucks they were going to use to escape, Klenia took the time to secure the three criminals.
Lucina was laid in one of the boxes with air holes. As the henchwoman was trained and fit, Klenia decided to take no risk while restraining her. She combined three bondage methods for the upper body: breast bondage, elbow bondage, and wrists bondage. She also tied the thighs, the legs, the ankles, and the big toes. Finally, to make struggling painful, she added a crotch rope. And now, the finishing touch.. She filled Lucina's mouth with rags, then wrapped seveal layers of thick black duct tape over her lower face to gag her. Perfect...
Lucina was soon joined by the unconscious Reka and Amara, whom Klenia had stripped and tightly secured as well. The two women weren't lucky enough to keep their underwear. They were stripped naked.
“You three keep each other company.” Klenia said to Lucina. “It will take us some time. Don't do anything too lewd here in the meantime.” She ignored the angry 'Mffff' the woman retorted and closed the box, then loaded it inside one of the trucks with the help of Venia and three other women.
Klenia grabbed the uniforms they used to wear, then returned to Shayna. Venia was bandaging her sister's wrist. Klenia kneeled next to her girlfriend.
“The wrist is sprained.” Venia exclaimed. “She won't be able to fight or help you mug other people this night.”
“Hopefully, we won't have to.” Klenia put the three uniforms on the floor, took Shayna's unharmed hand and kissed it.
“I appreciate the attention...” Shayna joked. “You must care about me a lot if you value me more than mugging women...”
Klenia couldn't help but smile. “Come on! Don't tease me like that! Of course you're more important!” She tapped the uniforms next to her. "Although, now that we mention the subject, I'd like us to put on the uniforms Reka and her two cronies were wearing; you, your sister and I."
"Why?"
"Because we're wearing the overseers' uniforms and they were wearing the uniforms of the guards patrolling outside. Since we are going to leave this place, it might be useful to..."
"You just want to humiliate them further. Don't you?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Yes." Klenia admitted. "But for the record, I'd like to say it's fair game after they tried to kill us. Most people would have done worst."
Shayna shook her head, but couldn't help but chuckle. "Fine. We'll humour you."
"Are you sure?" Venia asked.
"I'm not at death's door. I can still change clothes."
The three women quickly put on the kaki camouflage uniform jackets and pants.
"Feeling better." Klenia said.
They suddenly heard a distant sound.
“What is that?”
“The fire alarm of the manor.” Venia answered.
Is it Aster's signal?
“Get ready to leave everyone! This is probably my friend's distraction!” Klenia shouted.
****** A few minutes earlier ********
Two black-haired women dressed as guards of the estate were standing in front of the safe, trying to open it. They were so engrossed in their task that they didn't notice Aster entering with her two companions and closing the door behind them.
Aster cleared her throat. “Can I help you?”
The two women jumped. One of the them accidentally elbowed the other in the face. The latter fell on her ass.
“Debbie, watch out you moron!”
“Sorry Abbie! Sorry!”
“What are you doing here?” Aster barked. She didn't like the irruption of these two in the variables of her plan.
The two guards (but were they really guards?) shared a quick glance. They were looking so similar, they could only be sisters. Probably even twins.
“We're... checking the safety of the safe.” the one still standing, 'Debbie', answered.
The other guard facepalmed.
"You're robbing the safe." Salomé bluntly said.
"Whaaaat? No we're not!" 'Debbie' answered.
Her lie didn't convince anyone.
“I think that, lately, too many thieves are trying to rob the same places we are infiltrating for it to be a mere coincidence.” Aster commented.
The two women shared another glance. Then, the one called 'Abbie' pulled out a gun.
“And I think you're way too curious for you own good.” she retorted.
“Ah. So I guess it means you really are connected with the thieves who already rained on our parade when we infiltrated the 'Lucky Seven' casino.”
“We just decided to seize the opportunity. Be assured that, in reality, we admire your tactics, and we have nothing but the utmost respect for you. There's nothing personal.” 'Abbie' pointed out the floor with her gun. “Speaking of which, I'll have to ask you to lie on the ground, hands on your head. We can't have you ruin our little heist, can we?”
The fire alarm suddenly loudly blared.
“What the f...?”
All glances turned toward the desk. While everyone was distracted by the confrontation between Aster and Abigail, Salomé had walked behind her brother's desk and activated the fire alarm. The tall woman suddenly realized that she was the center of attention. She smiled apologetically.
“I thought this would be a good distraction...” she explained sheepishly.
Aster cursed, using a particularly smutty swearword.
The two thieves, 'Abbie' and 'Debbie', exchanged a quick glance. Then they dashed towards the door.
“Every woman for herself!” 'Debbie' exclaimed.
Aster made her fall with a well-placed trip. In her fall, she collided with her twin sister, and the two women rolled on the ground.
“You took the words out of my mouth!” Aster retorted. “Consider this payback for what happened to Klenia and Shayna in the casino!” She then grabbed Salomé and Lena by the wrist and ran out of the room.
They could hear people running around in the lower floors of the manor. In a few moments, the place would be crawling with guards.
“Why are you bringing us along?” Lena asked while panting. “We're slowing you down!”
“We had a deal, didn't we? You don't betray me, and I don't leave you here at the mercy of Simon Solomon. Trust me, I know where we have to go. My friends are waiting.”
**************
Emery, Presa, Yuna, and Cleo finished putting on the dark blue uniforms of the guards patrolling the inside of the estate.
"I can't tell if the idea of having the guards patrolling outside the fence and the ones patrolling inside wear different sets of uniforms is incredibly clever or a incredible waste of money..." Presa commented.
"Who cares? Either way, it's making it harder to blend in for us." Yuna retorted.
"Not anymore." the blonde answered with a smile.
The four underwear-clad real guards, the original owners of the dark blue uniforms, were concealed nearby. The drug Emery had them injected with would leave them comatose for a day, therefore the four special combattants didn't bother tying them up.
"We have wasted enough time." Emery cut them. "We move."
Suddenly, they heard a distant siren.
“The fire alarm?” Yuna asked.
“It came from the manor.” Presa added.
“It must be them.” Emery calmly said. She was the only one not surprised.
“Then let's hurry! They must be inside the manor!” Presa said. She tried to move forward but Emery grabbed her arm.
“Wait!”
The blonde stopped. She, Cleo and Yuna looked at their leader quizzically.
“Be calm and think rationally.” the black-haired woman said. “Now that the alarm is blaring, what will be every guard's first instinct?”
“To go check the building.”
“Therefore, what is your conclusion?”
Presa and Yuna exchanged a quick glance. They were starting to understand...
“If they pulled the alarm on purpose, it means they are expecting the guards to swarm the manor...” the first said.
“They triggered the alarm as a diversion and are planning to go somewhere else.” the second concluded.
Emery gave them a light smile. They were learning fast.
“And the only place where they could find the means of escaping is the hangar where the trucks are stationed...” Yuna concluded.
Emery nodded.
“And what if they try to just go under the fence?” Cleo intervened.
“That's a possibility, but a very unlikely one. They didn't arrive that way. They have no reasons to suspect that there are parts of the fence that are passable now thanks to us. Even if they do, we can call Agria and Cynthia to intercept them.”
Cleo hesitated, as if she was about to say something, but kept quiet.
“We go to the main hangar immediately, before the confusion ends and they start noticing that several guards are missing.” Emery ordered. “Be ready. We might have to split into two groups. If there's no one there, we contact Agria and Cynthia.”
At last, the dominoes start falling. The fight between Klenia and Reka (and their teams) was perfectly suspenseful, and I was relieved that none of Reka's girls were killed in action. (They're just too funny to let go!) A nice scene with Abigail and Deborah as well, though it has me wondering what will become of Judith.
Though I love the complexities and interweaving threads of the story, I admit that it does leave some characters feeling underserved as compared to others. Emery and her squad, for example, have been entertaining when they appear (I think Emery actually works better here than in previous stories - she's more threatening as a direct antagonist), and there's been good suspense surrounding the "moles" in the group, but they've felt somewhat shortchanged compared to the other characters. I feel like we've barely gotten to know Presa and Yuna, for example - and their earlier brief exchange about flight attendants is one of my favorite little moments in the story. But it looks like Emery and her team will be getting more focus before the story's end.
I'm glad you liked the fight scene. The story has reached a part where action scenes are in the foreground, and integrating Uniform Stealing scenes has become harder than anticipated. Therefore, there are less Uniform Steals in this part (and this will also probably be the case in the next part), and I hope it doesn't bother readers too much. Now that the story rears its end, I see your point when you say that some characters feel underserved. I think that, in retrospect, it's because the story has two antagonistic teams pursuing the main characters, and balancing out their screentime proved to be harder than I thought. Although hopefully, now that Reka and her girls are on the sideline, Emery will have her chance to shine. I agree with you when you say that Emery works better as a direct antagonist (something she was always supposed to become at one point).
if I am correct there are four teams that are infiltrating the estate; the one of Reka, the one of Emery, the one of Aster... and the two thieves well I was tempted of drawing a sketchy " scedule" with all the characters...
of course the finale will be a battle , there are all the conditions and ingredients
PS being myself a non native English reader , I am curious... do you write first in French, then translate? the question arises after reading the previous page
Although she didn't tell it, she was feling apprehensive. Emery wasn't the kind of adversaire à prendre à la légère.
well this time all the guards in the slaver's estate can't avoid the final fate of being stripped of their uniforms...
Yes, there are four teams, but only Reka's and Emery's are truly antagonists (in the sense that they actively oppose the protagonists' team). Unfortunately however, having two antagonistic teams had the side effect of pushing Emery's team on the sidelines in favor of Reka's. Though, of course, balancing out the plotlines of all the different characters in general has become a challenge and I'm glad that some of them are temporarily incapacitated and the others are currently regrouping.
To answer your question, I write the draft in English, but (in order to not waste time), I usually write words or expressions (or sentences) I don't know (or remember) how to translate at the time in French, and then I translate them afterwards. (Thanks for showing me this oversight by the way. I corrected it.)
Now that they had heard the fire alarm, every person in the hangar knew that the moment to escape was imminent. Klenia was supervising the last details of the loading, while adjusting the uniform she stole to Lucina. (It was rather tight on the chest area.) Then she noticed something.
“The radio's still on...” she commented.
“So?” Shayna asked, while her sister was bandaging her arm.
“Don't know. I just thought it was strange she would keep the thing on the entire time...”
“Do you want to open the box to ask her?”
The aforementioned box was rumbling slightly. Klenia could perfectly imagine the three women's discomfort, trussed up and gagged, almost or completely naked, their bodies pressed against each other, and with even the slightest of movements causing their bare skins to rub against each other. Not to mention the crotch-rope...
“Not really. I don't want to interrupt her and her friends' fun.”
“I thought so.” Shayna shook her head. “By the way... Is it me, or do you have the impression that one henchwoman is missing?”
**************
Guess the whole 'playing dumb' schtick worked out for me again...
Selena didn't see what happened during Reka's assault, but she heard it. Lucina had kept her radio on the entire time... Therefore, the redhead was able to hear the fate of her three partners. In spite of the tight situation her teammates were in, Selena couldn't help but feel *some* level of satisfaction. The yokel from Shield's boonies: 1. Lucina: 0. Oh yes, she would never let Lucina forget that one...
When Reka mounted her attack, she had decided to leave Selena behind to guard the car. In hindishgt, it turned out to be a stroke of luck. It allowed her to avoid being captured... She was glad to have been able to escape this fate. Selena didn't fear many things, but being locked in a tight space... The idea alone was making her shudder. It reminded her of her childhood, back in the orphanage, when the local bullies used to lock her up in a cupboard for fun. Well, until puberty kicked in and she ended up bigger and stronger than them... Then, she made them regret. Though her stature was also the reason why she was conscripted during the recruiting sergeants' annual tour...
However, now, she had to find a way to free the others. It wouldn't be easy. Still, she had some advantages. She wasn't captured, and their enemies had overlooked her. That is, if they hadn't forgotten she even existed. All things considered, her situation wasn't *that* dire.
If she put aside the fact that she knew next to nothing about Frontier's geography.
Or that she couldn't speak their language.
Or that she had almost no money on herself.
Or that her physical appearance made her stand out way too much in this country.
Well, maybe her situation was dire after all...
**************
Aster used the confusion caused by the fire alarm to escape the manor. Salomé and Lena were having trouble keeping up with her, but at least they hadn't collapsed. Yet.
As expected, all the guards were running inside the building, and no one took the time to properly look at them. They didn't see past Salomé's uniform and everyone simply assumed that a guard was escorting Lena and her nurse outside.
In fact, they met the first person trying to stop them only when they were half-way between the manor and the hangar.
Aster got ready to fight, but calmed herself when she recognized the newcomer.
It was Judith.
“What happened?” the tall woman asked, out of breath.
“We met two thieves in Simon's office. Perhaps the same who assaulted Klenia and Shayna in the casino, or at least accomplices.”
Judith frowned. “What? But... How... This wasn't supposed to...”
“Don't worry, I taught them a lesson.” Aster added.
“You...”
Judith's eyes narrowed in anger.
“You did WHAT?”
Aster saw the tall woman grab something on her belt and, reflexively, was immediately on her guard.
Without warning Judith attacked her with a stun gun. She was fast, but Aster kicked the weapon out of her hand. The tall woman immediately stepped back to get out of range.
“What did you do to my sisters?” she barked.
“We left them inside to fend for themselves.” Aster answered. She then commented without losing her concentration: “I guess this explains why thieves tried to rob the casino and the manor at the same time we were infiltrating it...”
“Things were not supposed to escalate...” Judith retorted.
“Why did you do it?”
Judith shrugged. “For the money, of course. Plenty of money. More than anything Hieron could have paid me. I simply could not resist...”
“You were using us as a distraction.” Aster understood. “Since we were neutralizing part of the security, your partners had a free hand to rob the place.”
“For the record, I would like to say that if everything had went according to my plan, the two operations would not have hampered each other. But I guess you can never plan for everything... Now, if you excuse me, I have to save my two good-for-nothing sisters.”
Judith suddenly turned tail and fled in the direction of the manor.
Aster didn't try to pursue her.
“Why did you let her go?” Lena asked.
“I don't have the time. She can rescue her sisters if she wants to try. They took advantage of us, but they're not our real enemy. The Solomons are.” Aster quickly eyed Salomé. “I mean, Simon and Jezebel are.”
The tall woman shrugged. She didn't seem to care.
“Let's go! Quickly!” Aster concluded.
**************
While running, Judith was muttering to herself a litany of smutty swearwords, something she was way too well-behaved to do in public. After days of planning, everything still went to shit... This was supposed to be a simple plan. Get Hieron's money and rob the Solomons blind. Aster and her friends weren't even supposed to realize that Abbie and Debbie were here. We've been too greedy... she understood. Well, this was no time for self-blame. She had to find her sisters...
Judith suddenly stopped. She had seen a lone guard, out of the way. The ponytailed brunette was standing next to lined up agricultural machines parked near the entrance of the orchards. She was panting heavily in order to catch her breath. She's probably been outdistanced by her comrades... Judith quickly estimated the woman's size and build, and concluded that they were relatively similar to her. The tall woman quickly looked at her driver uniform. She wouldn't be able to blend in with these clothes, especially if Aster's cover was compromised. But with a guard uniform on the other hand... Judith's features were common in Frontier, and she was fit enough to look the part. In the confusion, she could perfectly pass herself for a guard of the estate.
Judith hesitated. She wasn't the kind of woman to waste a golden opportunity, but she knew that it would take her at least ten minutes to neutralize the guard and take her clothes. And she couldn't afford to waste time. If Abbie and Debbie had been caught... If they've been caught, they've probably not been killed on sight... she reasoned. They will want to question them... I have to take the risk. If they're already... Judith shook her head, refusing to even contemplate this possibility for now.
Discreetly, using the cover of the darkness and the machines, Judith approached her prey from behind. When the guard stood up straight, she took action.
“Gurk!”
Losing her balance, the woman disappeared behind the machines. Her cries for help gurgled by the sleeper-hold, she quickly lost consciousness. Judith dragged her further away from the main road.
She laid the ponytailed brunette on her back and started to divest her of her uniform, starting with the boots, and ending with the uniform jacket and shirt. Once she was done, the guard was left wearing only her grey woolen socks, white panties and dark blue bra.
Judith couldn't waste time with ropes or other makeshift bonds. She had to use her last two plastic zip-ties. The first was used to tie the woman's wrists behind the metallic arm of one machine, leaving her seated with her back pressed against the metallic frame of the engine. The second was used to bind the ankles. Judith then took off her jacket and the white shirt underneath, only keeping her black bra. She used her knife to tear the jacket and tank top, using the strips of clothes to fill the guard's mouth and cleave-gag her.
Now that the guard was secured and silenced, Judith could finally change clothes. She took off her own shoes and pants to put on the guard's uniform pants and combat boots.
“Mmmh... Mblmhh...”
Judith cursed. Her bound-and-gagged captive was already coming to her senses. She was stirring.
Judith hurriedly buckled the belt and slipped into the brunette's still warm tank top and uniform jacket.
The ponytailed guard groaned and raised her head. She frowned and opened her eyes.
A quick nerve-pinch sent her back to unconsciousness. The woman's body became limp.
“Sorry my dear, but I need you to stay here for half-an-hour or so...”
**************
“Here is what we'll do.” Emery said to her agents. “You three, enter the hangar through the secondary door, and wait in ambush for me. I will create a diversion. You have ten minutes to get into position. Yuna, Cleo, you two will scout out first.”
The two women wordlessly complied.
When Presa moved to follow them, Emery grabbed the blonde's arm to stop her.
“Cleo is a traitor. Make sure she will not interfere.” she whispered to her agent. Her eyes were cold and her tone, threatening. "Understood?"
Presa hesitated, then nodded.
**************
Aster arrived in the main hangar to find it as busy as a hive. She froze in shock. She was expecting to meet only Klenia, Shayna and Venia. Instead, she was witnessing a full-on grand escape. Dozens of women, and a few men, were running right and left to finish loading two trucks. Standing in the middle of the bustle, like a queen bee surrounded by her swarm, there was Klenia, with Shayna at her side.
Aster felt a surge of relief and chose to not question things, at least for the moment. She quickly walked toward the pair, Lena and Salomé following her closely while looking in awe. Several people tried to grab them, especially since Salomé was still disguised with a guard uniform, but Klenia stopped them.
“Don't hurt them! They're with us!”
She, Shayna and Aster quickly embraced.
“I'm glad you made it...”
“But... They're with Salomé!” one of the former slaves objected.
“It's okay.” Aster said as loud as she could in order to defuse the situation. “She's here to liberate you.”
Several confused looks were exchanged. “She will?”
Salomé blinked. “I can?” The lanky woman hesitated. "Simon..." she then started.
“We'll make this work.” Aster interrupted her. She turned to Klenia. “Now fill me in, what's the situation?”
“Reka and her last remaining cronies attacked us, but we managed to beat them. For good this time.”
“They're in the box.” Shayna added. “All packed and ready to be sent to Hieron.”
“I'm sure he'll appreciate the present.” Aster dryly joked. “What about your sister? There seems to be a lot more people than expected. Do you have other siblings I'm not aware of?”
“We took some liberties with our orders.” Klenia answered.
“I can see that.”
“But it doesn't matter. We're ready to flee. Venia will drive the first truck, Shayna and I will drive the second.”
Just as she was talking, Aster saw a woman looking a lot like Shayna entering the truck's cab, alongside with a brown-haired woman with a tanned skin and green eyes.
“Then let's not waste any time!” she exclaimed.
**************
Judith realized that taking the risk of stealing a guard uniform was the good choice when she saw her two sisters.
Abigail and Deborah were seated on a low wall, away from the main road. They were watched by two guards, two tall athletic-looking black-haired women. The two sisters were also stripped to their underwear. Apparently, they had almost managed to escape, but they were caught just after they had exited the building.
“Was taking off our clothes really necessary?” Abigail commented.
“Of course.” the first guard snickered. “After all, they do not belong to you. We had to give them back to their real owners.”
The second guard playfully elbowed the first. “And it allows us to take advantage of the view.” They both chuckled.
“Well, can you stop getting an eyeful?” Abigail barked.
“Trust us.” the first guard said. “When Jezebel gets her hands on you, you will regret our chaste peepings...”
“And this will happen soon.” the second added. “The others are looking for your accomplices, and then they will come back with reinforcements to take care of you.”
Judith's mind was racing. Apparently, her sisters hadn't been interrogated yet. Simon and Jezebel were still trying to calm down the panick caused by the fire alarm... and to look for other potential intruders.
She had to act now.
**************
Cleo was leading the way. Her two partners were following her closely. The three special combattants were as silent as ever, using the cover of shadows and leaving the manor far behind them. Presa's mind was racing. She hadn't forgotten about Emery's orders, and she knew she had to act quickly, before they reached their destination. Though she had to make warn Yuna first, so wouldn't derail everything, without Cleo noticing.
Presa quickly checked that Cleo couldn't see her, then made a hand gesture to catch Yuna's attention and silently pointed at Cleo. The blonde made a series of hand gestures to communicate with her partner. Me. Taking out. Her.
Yuna frowned. However, she was well-trained enough to not question her out loud. She answered with another hand gesture. Why?
"We've almost reached destination." Cleo suddenly whispered, making the two immediately stop their silent conversation. "Be prepared. It's almost over."
Presa nodded. "It sure is." For you anyway. she added to herself. Which is a huge waste. Such a cute face...
As soon as Cleo wasn't looking, the blonde made one final hand gesture. The one that meant: Emery's orders.
This time, Yuna didn't try to argue. None of Emery's agents would be stupid enough to lie about one of their leader's orders.
She remained silent while Presa swiftly moved behind their traitorous comrade...
**************
Judith approached the two guards. She had to act fast, before reinforcements would arrive to take her sisters into custody. The tall woman was counting on her uniform to fool her victims, at least long enough to allow her to take them out. In the dark, the guards couldn't have a good look on her face.
Judith's heart skipped a beat when she saw a dumbfounded Deborah open her mouth.
Goodness... Not now... For once in your life, Debbie, keep your mouth shut!
Abigail managed to elbow her twin sister just in time to prevent her from blowing Judith's cover with a poorly-timed comment.
The guards failed to notice that, but they noticed the newcomer.
“Anything new?” one of them asked Judith. She wasn't looking alarmed.
My disguise is working. At least for now...
Judith wished she didn't lose her stun gun during her brief scuffle with Aster.
“There are new instructions, yes.”
“Then go ahead, shoot.” the second guard said, who was way too laid-back for her own good given the circumstances – according to Judith at least.
The first guard frowned however. This one was more alert, and more professional, than her partner. “Wait a minute... From which squad are you fr...”
Judith interrupted her with a vicious well-aimed punch.
“Take a nap, sucker.”
The second guard raised her machine gun to her shoulder.
Abigail stretched out her bound legs and hit her from behind. The guard tripped and fell on the ground. Judith was on her before she could do anything and a quick hit on a precise part of her skull was enough to put her out of comission.
“Judie! Behind you!” Deborah exclaimed.
The second guard had recovered from her punch. She had tried to jump her from behind. Judith kicked her in the stomach. The woman fell on her knees.
“Nighty night, this time...” Judith spat, before punching the guard's lights out. She then moved to free her sisters.
Deborah beamed. “Big sis! I knew you wouldn't give up on us!”
“I was tempted to.” Judith retorted, using a knife to cut Abigail's bonds.
“Who cares?” a freed Abigail barked, while massaging her wrists. She then looked at Judith. “Now what?”
“Now we hightail. Forget the money. The Solomons know there are intruders and Aster caught on to us.”
Abbie nodded. “Then we're lucky these two are here to provide us a change of wardrobe.” she dryly commented while looking at the defeated guards.
Deborah smiled. “Then, it's our turn to enjoy chaste peepings!”
"Shut up, Debbie."
**************
No sooner said than done. Between the three of them, dragging the two unconsicous guards away from the main road and out of sight was an easy task. Stripping them was even easier. Under her uniform, the first woman was clad in functional and comfortable boyshorts and a sports bra. The second was wearing sultry lingerie, very short panties and a see-through bra that leaved little to the imagination. "Naughty girl..." Deborah commented.
Judith was pleased to see that plastic zip-ties were strapped to the two women's belts. She always loved when a victim was bringing her own bonds on a silver platter... Their big thick socks were used to gag them.
"Now hold on a minute, I have a perfect idea!" Deborah said while changing. "Why don't we put hoods on their heads and pretend they're us? And we pretend we're them?"
"That's a stupid plan." Abigail dryly retorted.
"Think of the long-term advantages. They will think they caught us and, by the time they figured out they've been had, we'll already be far away!"
"With which hoods do we hide their faces?" Judith asked to cut her.
Deborah raised a finger, paused, then fell silent.
"Just dump them in some bushes."
Deborah grudgingly complied.
“The hangar.” Judith said after the two bound-and-gagged women were concealed. “We need to steal a vehicle.”
**************
While they were on their way to the hangar, Agria ordered Mikani to stop. A motionless body was lying on the ground.
“It's Cleo.” Agria commented.
“Is she...” Mikani started.
Agria kneeled and checked to fallen woman's pulse. She shook her head.
“Nerve pinch. She's alive.”
Mikani frowned. “But... Who?”
“She's probably been unmasked by the others.”
Mikani nodded. It made sense. “But why didn't Emery... you know...”
“Why wasn't she killed?” Agria completed. She shrugged. “Beats me. One thing's sure though, it wasn't Emery's doing. Emery would never have allowed her to live.”
Mikani shook her head. Are we really having this conversation right now? Shoudn't we not lose time at any cost? “Let's not dwelve on this for now. We have to go, but we also can't leave her here... She will be found by the guards...”
Agria took five seconds to think. Then she gave her orders.
“You carry her to the hangar. We'll put her in one of the vehicles. I will go first to help your friends.”
Mikani wanted to protest, but she knew that Agria was a better fighter. If things came to blows, and they were most likely to do, the special combattant would be their safest bet.
Agria took her cellphone and quickly dialed the number of the phone she gave to Zara and Rina in order to send them a message. “I will tell the other two to scram without waiting for us. Things are getting too much out of hand...”
**************
Some noises were coming from the trunk in which Cynthia was hidden, mostly moans. There were movements as well. They were slow and regular.
“Do you think she is trying to break her bonds... Or is she enjoying...” Rina asked.
“I do not want to find out.” Zara cut her.
Her phone bipped.
“Is it...” Rina started.
“Yes. We have to move.” Zara cursed. "I hope Lena is all right..."
**************
“I guess we found the overseers that were supposed to be on duty...” Presa commented.
The two women were lying on the floor of the overseers' room, bound with ropes and cloth-gagged in their lingerie. The first had brown hair and was clad in light pink panties and bra; the second had dark blond hair and was clad in light blue panties and bra. A cloth gag was keeping them quiet, helding in place the narcotic-soaked rags stuffed inside their mouths. Half asleep, the two women were moaning and mumbling in their gags.
Presa smiled, kneeled next to the brunette and carressed her curves. Her smile widened when she heard the half-asleep woman softly moan. The blonde chuckled. “I think she likes it...”
“Do you think we have time for that?” Yuna impatiently complained. “Emery is waiting for us!”
“I take my pleasure where I can... Why do you think I like it better when we leave them alive?” the blonde answered without raising her voice or losing her smile. "I'm not into dead people, you know?"
“Is it why you didn't snap Cleo's neck, even though she betrayed us?”
“Ruining such a cute face would have been a crime against good taste.” Presa softly retorted. “Besides, Emery asked me to 'make sure she doesn't interfere'. She didn't ask me to kill her. And it's not like she has a chance to survive anyway. The guards are scouting the entire area... She will be found before she wakes up.”
“You have a strange way to deal with your conscience...” Yuna retorted.
“It has nothing to do with my moral compass. I just like beautiful things, and I wouldn't want to damage them...” The half-conscious brown-haired overseer was moaning a little louder now because of the blonde's caresses, and Presa's smile widened. “I could do this all day...”
Yuna rolled her eyes. “You better hurry up. Unless you want to upset Emery.”
Presa pouted. “Fine. But I may come back for them later...”
**************
The loading of the trucks was over. Every former slave was comfortably installed in one of the two trailers now.
We're on schedule... The Solomons are still busy because of the fire alarm... They won't be able to stop the trucks in time... Aster thought. She had chosen to board last. Lena and Salomé were still with her. They didn't want to be left alone with all these strangers and refused leave her side. Klenia and Shayna had just climbed in the second truck's cab.
“It's our turn.” Aster said.
But then, she heard a voice.
Her voice.
“Aster!”
**************
Agria was hurrying up. They had found Cleo near the hangar. Emery and the others were probably already there... If she wanted to save Aster, she had to be quick.
The special combattant briefly checked a room when she heard some noises, but groaned in annoyance and continued on her way when she saw it was just two women bound and gagged in their underwear inside the overseers room.
**************
“Aster!”
A black-haired woman was standing in the entrance of the hangar. She was wearing the uniform of the estate's guards, but her cold eyes were a dead giveaway.
Emery.
Aster had the impression that someone was pouring icy water down her spine. I guess this was inevitable...
“Climb inside the truck.” she ordered Salomé and Lena.
The two women frowned, surprised by the sudden fear they could hear in her voice.
“You...” Lena started.
“Climb inside the truck!” Aster exclaimed. “You have no idea what she could do to you!”
Afraid, they both hastily complied. Aster was tempted to do the same, but she knew that Emery wouldn't have revealed her presence if she didn't have an ace up her sleeve. She knew better than to turn her back on the black-haired killer...
Emery took a few steps forward. She was limping, but Aster wasn't fooled. She saw her move back in the village of Matilda's Bane. The assassin was faking, making her limp look more crippling than it really was.
“Finally, I catch up with you...” Emery said.
She was smiling, but Aster knew that this smile was a promise. Of death.
Then she noticed that Emery was holding something in her hand.
“Look out!” she shouted to everyone who could hear her. “She's got a grenade!”
The black-haired woman's smile widened. “A dangerous weapon, isn't it? I can only shudder at the idea of the damage it would do to one of those trucks crowded with innocent women...”
Aster let out a cry of anger and desperation. “You fool! Do you think we have time for that? Look around you! The guards working for the Solomons will be there any minute now!”
“Yes, exhilarating isn't it?”
“If we don't help each, we'll die!”
“Perfect. Then that's the way it shall be.”
Aster didn't bother anymore trying to reason with her. She could see that it wasn't going to work. She changed her tactic.
“Emery, we both know it's me that you really want. Let the others go, and I'll stay.”
“A better proposition, if I do say so myself. I'm even tempted to accept. We could finally settle our unfinished business once and for all...” Emery took a deep breath. “If you could only know how much I've longed for this moment... The moment I could finally knock you out of your pedestal... You always thought you were better than us special combattants, that you had the moral higher ground over us, that you were so important. But it wasn't you and your soft heart who won the war. It was the bloodied hands of cold-hearted killers. Cérès may have conveniently forgotten about their sacrifice, but I haven't...”
Aster's mind was racing. Something was off. Emery wasn't the kind of person who would allow her victim to notice her. Even less the kind of person who would monologue out of nowhere. Unless she wanted to act as a distraction...
She had the reflex to quickly turn her head to check her blind spots.
This saved her life.
A buxom blonde dressed as a guard was aiming at her with a gun.
Aster jumped under cover.
The bullet missed her close.
**************
Agria had arrived just in time to witness the confrontation.
She saw Presa aiming again at Aster. This time, she wouldn't miss her target. Yuna was standing next to her.
No time to think.
Agria attacked her teammate from behind, leaving her no chance. A swift roundhouse kick sent the blonde on the ground, knocked out cold.
In spite of all her training, Yuna couldn't help but stare at the newcomer and stammer: “What the? Why did you?”
“I've never liked this perverted sicko.” Agria explained.
Yuna's face twisted into a grimace of rage and she growled: “Traitor!”
Here we go...
Yuna raised her gun to aim at her, Agria jumped her. Soon, they were stuck in a grappling contest for the possession of the firearm.
**************
Aster saw Agria attack Emery's two other henchwomen. She chose to not question things. Clearly, this was the result of someone's long-term plan that she wasn't aware of, probably Hieron's. Instead of wasting her time, she got ready to attack Emery.
The black-haired woman had also witnessed the betrayal of one of her agents, but she was too well-trained to let that distract her.
At the same time, a loud horn reverberated in the hangar. The truck that Venia and Mary were driving charged at Emery and the exit. The black-haired woman didn't have the time to both pull the pin out her grenade and jump out of the way. She chose to jump. The truck skimmed past her. Emery rolled over and landed on her feet. Aster saw her drop her grenade during her stunt but, luckily, she hadn't pulled the pin out. The weapon rolled out of Emery's reach, near her.
“Leave now!” Aster screamed at Klenia, who was hesitating behind the wheel of her own truck. At the same time, she quickly moved to put herself between the grenade and Emery.
“But...” Klenia screamed from the open window.
“That's an order!” Aster interrupted her. “You have to think of everyone else's safety. I'll take one of the jeeps as soon as I have dealt with her. Trust me, it'll be quick.”
The second truck drove off.
Aster then faced her opponent.
Emery wasn't smiling anymore. She wasn't gloating either. She simply stared at Aster. Her eyes were colder than snow.
“There was one thing true in what you said.” she dryly commented. “It will be quick.”
**************
A throwing knife appeared in Emery's hand, so quickly that it almost seemed that it materialized out of thin hair. However, Aster managed to anticipate the assassin's movement. She moved to dodge just as the black-haired woman was throwing her knife. The weapon flew harmlessly near her.
“Predicatable.” Aster mocked.
Emery didn't react. She drew two other knives. The black-haired woman was remaining static. Her wounded leg was preventing her from running right and left, but wasn't hampering her aim.
Aster knew that, had Emery been in her prime, she would have had no chance against her. But the assassin's wounded leg was weakening her... Maybe if she stayed focused...
The assassin threw one of her knives at a different angle, trying to wrong-foot Aster and interrupting her thoughts.
But, once again, the latter managed to dodge.
“I'm too well-trained for that, Emery...”
The black-haired woman didn't throw her second knife, nor did she answer. Instead, she waited, her weapon ready in her hand.
Aster swallowed. Emery had chosen a battle of nerves. The first to lose her concentration would lose the fight. She knows she has the advantage... She's at the perfect range to throw her knives and I can't approach her or flee without exposing myself. If I try to move, I'm dead. If I try to look around, I'm dead. If I try to grab a weapon, I'm dead. It was like facing a deadly snake and looking it in the eyes... Aster realized that she had a good chance of dying. At least Klenia, Shayna and the others managed to escape, so it wasn't in vain... Is this what Aaria felt just before she rammed her van into the police cars to buy us some time? Surprisingly, Aster wasn't afraid. Not anymore. I wonder... Will I see her there? Will I see Dimitri?
Some time passed. It was probably a few seconds, but to Aster these brief moments were looking like hours. It was a terrifying experience. She knew that she was going to die, and that she couldn't do anything about it.
Three guards appeared in the entrance of the hangar.
**************
Aster saw the three women dressed in the uniforms of the estate's guards first. We lost too much time... she thought. It's over...
Emery saw the guards too. “Guess you were right after all...” she dryly commented. Then, the black-haired woman smiled. “I'll let you deal with them...” She threw her last knife at Aster. The latter dodged, but the assassin wasn't seriously trying to hit her this time. The knife was a distraction, a way to make her lose some precious time. Emery took advantage of the situation and hightailed. She was limping, but could still run surprisingly fast. Before Aster could react, the assassin had disappeared in the shadows.
Aster didn't bother trying to pursue her.
The guards had spotted her.
**************
Mikani arrived in the hangar from the secondary door, still dragging Cleo who – in spite of her size – was heavier than expected. The first thing she saw was an especially curvy blond woman lying unconscious on the floor. The second was that Agria had pinned another of her partners on the ground and had locked the woman's head in a tight sleeper-hold. The unlucky girl was desperately trying to free herself, uselessly waving her arms.
Be quick... she thought.
Mikani sat the unconsious Cleo on one of the jeeps' backseats and buckled the seatbelt. She jumped in surprise when a figure appeared near her, but was relieved to see it was simply Agria. The special combattant was carrying an unconscious Yuna over her shoulder.
“Be quick! Start the jeep! The guards are here!”
“What about Aster?”
“We'll grab her on our way!”
Agria threw her defeated opponent on another backseat, used plastic handcuffs to tie her hands behind her back, then secured her with the seatbelt.
“What about the other...?” Mikani asked while seating behind the wheel and using the wires to start the engine.
“Presa?” Agria retorted with contempt.
“Yes.” Mikani hesitated. “Aren't you going to... bring her with us?”
“Why should I? I've never liked her. Now, drive!”
**************
The guards had spotted her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Aster saw Mikani and Agria start a jeep. She wondered if she could reach them before the guards would shoot her.
“YOU?!” the first guard screamed.
Aster recognized her. The guard was in reality one of the thieves, the one called 'Abbie'. Therefore, Aster wasn't surprised to see that the two other women were Abbie's twin sister and Judith. Now that the three were together, she could perfectly notice the family resemblance between Judith and the two twins.
This was so surreal, Aster could have bursted in laughs.
Even though the three newcomers weren't allies, Aster couldn't help but feel relieved. And to smile at the irony of the situation. After making things worst for her the first time, the thieves' arrival was now getting her out of trouble.
“Why do you have this content expression?” Abbie said. “You should beware, because I'm going to...”
Aster winked at them. “You saved my life. For that, I must thank you...” She took a coin in her pocket and swiftly threw it towards her. Reflexively, 'Abbie' grabbed it. “A tip.” Aster explained.
The three sisters were so taken aback, they couldn't speak for a few seconds.
“You dare to mock me?” Abbie finally growled.
Aster was already running away, taking advantage of the woman's confusion and anger.
“Hey! Come back here! I'm not finished!”
“Sorry, but I'm short on time right now! Maybe in another life!”
Mikani drove the jeep near her and Aster jumped inside.
“Take one of the jeeps and follow us if you can!” the latter shouted at the three sisters while Mikani was driving the jeep away.
"I'll get you next time!" Abbie screamed. "I'LL GET YOU!"
Aster couldn't hear the rest: they were already out of earshot. "Then get in line..." she muttered to herself, thinking of Emery who was still at large.
Glad you're back. And with another fine installment that keeps the action moving, and impressively balances around two dozen different characters. Though I prefer the chapters that are more heavily disguise-driven, the various characters and their banter make every new installment entertaining.
I particularly enjoyed the development of Judith. Not only does she get a great little scene of mugging the guard, but she gets a more sympathetic perspective than before, as we see her concern for her sisters. Extra fun having her bind the guards with their own zip-ties.
Other characters get great little moments as well. The backstory detail for Selena (hope to see her again) was nice. And Presa hasn't appeared much in the story, but she's been shown to get great pleasure from mugging and tying up her victims (a callback to her conversation about the flight attendants). Nice to see Agria best her in a fight.
Speaking of Agria, she has my favorite moment in this chapter - getting annoyed when she discovers the noises from the overseers' room are just a couple of bound and gagged women. A funny little aside, that.
I will admit that I'm a little frustrated that it took me so long to write the next part not because I wanted to polish it, but because I couldn't find the time to really get down to it due to outside factors. The last few parts in the Solomon estate had honestly been the hardest to write out of all my stories (who said writer's block?), and I'm happy it's almost over. Ironically, including scenes featuring disguises has become the hardest part, and I was lucky to have Judith and her sisters around. Still trying to find a way to include scenes in the next part. Presa and Selena weren't even supposed to have personalities at first but the more they interacted with others, the more they started to get one. They'll still appear before the end of the story so don't worry... I'm glad you enjoyed this moment with Agria. I just loved the idea to have her react to the sight of two uniform steal victims with slight annoyance, as if it was something mundane.
Rufusluciusivan, thanks for the new installment. And please don't worry about the time you take to complete the tale, since the usual time arc for big USB stories is a whole year
I loved the crates filled with almost naked bodies, and the 'rogue' and joyful character of Klenia is one of the most interesting for obvious reasons. But I have to say, Emery spoils everything, it's...well, disturbing. It builds up a creepy tension
well I was tempted of drawing a sketchy " scedule" with all the characters...