Hondo I. Sackett
|
Hondo climbed on his bike and drove to the far side of the outdoor market and parked. He had drove past a bar on the opposite side of the market, but thought he would walk through and glance at the place, first before going to the bar. The work out and sauna had helped him a lot but he still felt weak and off his game. He frowned at that thought then forced his mind to shut off thinking about himself, as if ignoring how he felt would make it go away. The market was fairly well packed, still, and had a lot to offer, but Hondo was not one for crowds so he ended up skirting the market to get to the bar. He hoped after a few drinks the crowd would thin out a bit, and if not, the drinks would at least help him tolerate the masses of people. The bar was nothing special, though it was not like the average bar he was used to back home. The one female bartender spoke English very well, though, so he made some small talk with her. She flirted with him almost shamelessly, and he thought in passing that if he was still single he could have some fun with her. The thought passed though as the image of his wife came into his mind and he knew he would not trade what he had with her for all the one off nights he could have without her. After a few drinks he decided to try it again and the bartender pointed him to the back door, telling him he could hit up the edges of the market through that alley without having to cross through the center of the market. He liked that thought, so after paying his bill and leaving the bartender healthy tip though tips were not customary here, he tipped his hat and walked out the back door. As he exited he heard a scream and the sound of a girl’s voice calling out caught his attention. “No, please no. Stop please!” She begged. The voice was in English and it had more of an American sounding accent, though he could not see who was crying out at first, but he was sure it had something to do with a cluster of five men down the alley. As he started forward, one of the men spoke to the others in Japanese and two nodded and walked off down another alleyway. As they moved away he saw a teen girl with copper colored hair, metal ears, and a metal band that glowed red in the center that went over one eye. She also had what appeared to be a partial metal frame that ran across her shoulders and down her back, a metal arm, and some wire bundles that ran down the back of her pants, though the cables were partially torn and unhooked. As Hondo started forward slowly he saw the one man grab a handful of her shirt and held it tightly. “Let see what little girl look like.” The man said, as he ripped at her shirt, popping all the buttons and exposing her bare chest for them all to see. The man reached out for her small breast and grabbed a handful as the other two stared at and drooled on her, like a pack of hungry dogs looking through the window of a butcher shop. At this Hondo moved sprinted forward angrily. As he came up to them he grabbed the man by the shoulder and the belt of his pants and launched him face first into a brick wall, knocking him unconscious. The other two who held her had not seen him as they had been staring at her body, looked up all of a sudden in surprise. They dropped her to the ground as Hondo turned back and swung his right fist at the first one’s face, knocking the first to the ground with a single punch. The thug fell but was only stunned. Hondo glanced at the girl as she half lay against the wall on the ground and looked up at him. Though it was only a glace he saw a lot. She had one real eye it looked like and that eye was full of fear, distrust, and despair. She had nice small firm breasts, but he did not figure they were full grown. Though he could not help but see her breasts as most any man would be drawn to them, what drew his attention most was how badly her ribs stuck out of her skinny body and the metal belt around her waist, above her pants line, that he surmised connected to her other electronics or the exoskeleton. It was hard to tell her age as she had not eaten well in a while, he believed. She could have been a twelve-year-old early bloomer or a small chested eighteen-year-old. None of that mattered, though, as all he knew was she needed his help. He turned back to the two thugs in front of him. The one still laid there and tried to gather his wits, so Hondo turned to the other one. He was more ready than the others had been, given the time to get over his surprise and figure out how to strike back. He lashed out at Hondo and landed a lucky blow. It did not hurt Hondo, but more so pissed him off as the thug had knocked off his hat. He growled at the thug, more enraged than he had been before, and charged the man, swinging out with short, vicious jabs that the Japanese thug found hard to block. The thug finally landed another but Hondo spun a bit and landed a side kick to the thug’s gut; the surprise evident in the thugs’ eyes. As the thug fell to one knee to catch his breath, a woman’s voice yelled out from above and caught Hondo’s attention. “Cowboy, Look out!” The voice called. As he spun around, a bullet torn a path along the side of his stomach. He winced and started to go for his gun in his shoulder holster. The two thugs who had left were back and one had a silenced pistol in his hand. Before he could draw, though, a knife flew through the air, from above him somewhere, and impaled the gun-hand of the thug who had shot at him. Hondo looked up briefly to see a purple haired woman with a metal arm stand above them. She nodded at him and he nodded back, and then he turned back to the two thugs in front of him. He and the other thug, the one he had not fought yet, dove towards the pistol and fought over it for a moment, before he took it and shot the one he was fighting with through the leg. The first one he had knocked out regained consciousness and the other two joined him in charging the large man, two of them brandishing knives. He moved back and brought the gun to bare on the first one with a knife and pulled the trigger. *click* He looked at the gun to see it had jammed after the last shot so he threw it at the man, causing him to duck. He tried to pull his gun but it caused a wave of pain to go through his side which slowed him down. Normally he would have been fast enough but they were in to tight an area for that delay and tow of them charged him. One of them jumped on his back while the other rammed his side with their shoulder, causing the gun to fly from his hand. He grabbed the one who rammed him by the belt and threw him against a wall, as the other hung from his back. The other one who stood there dove for his gun as the two with knives rushed forward. Hondo dove for the gun too, with the one thug still hanging onto his back. He managed to grab it and yank it back as the one man leapt at it and missed and one of the knife wielders stabbed out at his hand only to stab his buddy’s hand instead. The man with the knife now through his hand leap up and swore in Japanese as the one who stabbed him tried to help him pull it out. The thug on Hondo’s back had finally got enough of a hold to try to chock him, so Hondo threw himself onto his back, landing all his weight on the thug who cried out in pain and let go. Hondo rolled to his knees just as the last thug with a knife swung at him, cutting a gash up Hondo’s left arm. Hondo swore and pulled back momentarily and as the thug moved in again Hondo grabbed his arm, yanked the thug forward and twisted his arm behind his back causing the thug’s shoulder to dislocate. He cried out in pain and dropped the knife to the ground. As Hondo let him go the thug stumbled forward and then turned to look at him. The thug held his shoulder and snarled at him in broken English. “You dumb cowboy! You get in way! Mess in no business of yours! We kill you and you family now! We be back!!” He yelled. Hondo pointed his pistol at him and cocked the hammer. “I see any of you again an’ you’re dead on the spot!” He growled The man jabbered at the others in Japanese and they all took off down the alley. As Hondo stood there, his arm and side dripping blood down his leg and onto his boot and the ground, he heard a gun cock behind him. “No sudden moves cowboy… Turn around slowly.” The woman’s voice said. He holstered his gun, put his hands up a bit and turned slowly. He looked at the purple haired woman with the cyborg arm through narrow, untrusting eyes. “Who are you?” He asked She shook her head, “That is not for you to know at the moment… Why did you not shoot them?” “I don’t shoot the unarmed.” He replied. “The one had a gun you took, and two had knives.” She retorted. “It was only me at danger, as I figured, so I wasn’t in a big hurry, an’ I had no will to bring the cops down on us, especially until I figure this all out. From the look of that girl I don’t reckon she wanted cops here.” He replied. She nodded and lowered her gun, “Makes sense, though I think you were stupid not to kill them. They will be after you now.” “Not the first ones, unfortunately.” He replied. “When you hang out with one such at Agent Fernando G. you are asking for death.” She said He narrowed his eyes further at her, “Who are you an’ what do you want?” She shook her head, “Like I said, who I am is not for you to know at the moment. As to what I want, I want a lot of things, but they are also only mine to know… until I know what side you are on.” “I don’t know what ya mean ‘bout what side. I’m not on any sides. Just helpin’ folks as I can.” He replied. “Do not play dumb with me, sentinel.” She said He raised an eyebrow, “Sentinel?” “I have observed your group. I do not know your name, but I see what you do. Whether they are friends, your team, or you have been thrown together unwittingly, even member of a group plays a different role. You are the watcher, the guardian, the sentinel. Agent G. may lead but you have his back. Without you he would be half blind and your team far more vulnerable. I do not know what kind of man you are but I know what you do.” She replied. “Don’t reckon I like bein’ watched.” He replied with a growl. She noted his glaring frown and nodded, “No sentinel would like the fact that his team is watched unknown to him, but know I am not the only one who watches. There is another and probably more, but we do not have time to speak of such things now.” “What about the girl?” He asked. “She is gone.” She replied. “Who is she an’ what happened to her?” He asked “I do not know, and if I did I would not trust you with that information.” She replied. “She needs help! Where is she?” He demanded. “I am not lying when I say I do not know who she is or what happened to her.” She replied Hondo started to move towards her but stopped when she raised her gun again. “You’d better not be lyin’, as that girl needs help. I know that.” He growled. “She does need help and I will find her and help her soon. I am not lying, though, and if you think I am I would not advise trying to beat it out of me.” She replied. “Think I can’t?” He asked. She smiled as she looked him up and down, “If anyone could, you could, but I would still hurt you. I would hate to hurt such a man as you until I know where you stand. If you stand on the wrong side I will do what I have to.” “You sound almost sorry when you say that.” He said. She nodded, “I am. I have not seen many who fight like you. If I did not have other things to attend to I would say we should go to a hotel and get to know each other well, but I have business to finish.” Hondo nodded, “Just as well. Can’t say as you are not a right handsome woman but I have others I have promises too.” She nodded and smiled, “I expected such an answer, though I would not have thought less of you if you took me up on the offer. We all have our needs and not always can our normal partners fulfil those… I have seen you with her, though…. If you wish to keep her safe you will say nothing to the police about the girl nor try to go find her.” Hondo snarled, “Is that a threat?” She shook her head, “You misunderstand me. There are those who want the girl, those who have bought off police and have a lot of power in this city. They think you know too much they will kill you. If they find the girl they will do worse to her.” “Worse than rapin’ an’ killin’, like she almost had happened?” He growled. She frowned, “They would not have killed her as they only wanted the bounty money. The rape was for wounding their pride in fighting back. I ask you this, why would a girl like her have such cybernetics? And ones of such crude design?” Hondo kept his mouth shut about knowing cyborg girls younger than her, but she had a point with the crudeness of what she had. Hondo stayed silent, though, letting her answer her won question. “Those that built her want her back. I cannot prove it but I believe she is a test subject. At the very least they will yank her apart to check how their design is working. At worst they will set her back up with a different set and use her to test out new setups. A willing subject does not run and hide.” She said “You’re sayin’ she’s a lab-rat?” Hondo asked almost angrily. She shrugged, “I am suggesting it. I do not know for sure, but I know those who want her would do this. I must go now.” She backed away slowly from him with her gun up, “Do not follow me. Do not try to find the girl.” She backed to another side alley then disappeared down it. Hondo waited a moment before moving forward and looking down the alley. She was gone. He sighed and shook his head before back tracking his steps. He picked up his hat and the jammed pistol with the suppressor on it. It appeared to be an old German Lugar, but seemed newer than that. It was in good mechanical shape but had not been cleaned or cared for properly. He shoved it into his waistband and looked around. He knew the woman said not to look for the girl, but he looked around a bit. He found her tracks that lead out of the alleys but lost them at the road. He looked down at himself as he stopped short of the road and frowned. He was a mess and his arm and side hurt. He cussed at the situation and used the alleys to get back to his motorcycle without being seen too much. He had to pass through part of the market, but it was fairly busy so keeping his arms to his side kept eyes away from his injuries. It took him a few minutes to get back but he made it without anyone calling the police on him or raising an alarm. Once at the motorcycle his phone rang and he answered it. “Y’allow?” He said “It’s me, my love. We are near by and wanted to know where to find you.” Valentine asked “I need to head back, Darlin’. Somethin’ came up.” He said “Are you alright? She we head back too?” She asked in a worried tone. “I’m fine. You an’ Monty get some supplies from the market. They have some good food there. Stock up a bit if you can. I’ll see ya when you get back.” He replied. “Okay, just be careful.” She replied. “You too, darlin’. Love ya.” He replied. I love you too. Bye.” She said. He hung up the phone and sighed a bit. His side was still leaking a bit but not as had as his arm, so he left his side be for now and pulled out a roll of gaze and some quick wrap from his saddle bags. He bound up the cut on his arm as best he could, put away the supplies and jumped on his bike. It was almost four o’clock when Hondo pulled into the apartments again. He got off his bike and shook his head at the headache that was forming. He growled at himself as she walked stiffly up the stairs and unlocked the door to his room. He stripped off his vest and shirt gingerly and looked at the wounds in the mirror. The bullet gash on his right side was deeper than he thought it to be and still oozed, but it could have been worse. He took a deep swig of whiskey and sat down to rest for a moment. As he sat there he closed his eyes and leaned back for a moment as he thought. He wanted to get his wounds covered first so no one knew, and then he would tell Fernando about the woman and the girl, leaving out the parts of the fight where he got hurt. That was the plan anyway. He knew the woman was not an enemy yet but he did not know where she stood. He knew in this game not knowing where someone stood was more dangerous than knowing they were an enemy. He sat back forward to grab the bottle again. Hiding the wounds from Fernando should prove easy. Hiding them from valentine would be the challenge. -,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-, -,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,- Tonya moved as carefully as she could as she headed to the farmers market. Her head still hurt, her stomach felt queasy, and her joints hurt more than usual, but she knew it was from getting as drunk as she had. She knew it was her own fault, in part, but that alcohol she had managed to find at that college student apartment building was unlike anything she had drank before. It was smoother than most and packed a punch that the smoothness had not prepared her to expect. She realized now that half or even a third would have let her sleep with minimal pain, but she had learned that lesson the hard way. Keeping to the shadows in the day time was harder to do, but the low population in this neighborhood helped her get where she needed to go with hardly anyone noticing her. Those who did see her paid her no heed, as they all had their own problems and business on their minds. The fact that she stayed to the edge of a rougher neighborhood, where folks learned that minding their own business was safer than being nosy, helped her too. She moved faster than usual, taking more chances than she cared too, but she was behind schedule and wanted to make up time. Though she managed not to draw any attention, the extra risk she took bought her only fifteen minutes of time, which she frowned at, as it was not really worth the risks she took. Her good fortune, of not having anyone try to talk to her or whisper and point at her as she made her way, made her wonder if their luck was changing and her wish from last night might be granted. It was a nice thought to think as she slipped into a dark alley not far from the outdoor market. She got close to a few booths that sat on the edge of the market and found them partially in the shadows, and setup where she had access to some inventory that was out of view of everyone or in a place where the owner and customers attentions were drawn away from her. She managed to get some cheese, fresh bread, fresh milk, some cured meat, some apples, mangos, and some assorted vegetables. She had not managed a haul like this since they had escaped from that horrible place, and the weight of the bag she held under her cloak made her smile. She looked up at the sky for a moment and sighed a contented sigh. Her wish was to no one specific, but a wish it had been. She had no hope of it being answered at the time, but after such good luck it made her think on the wish again. She had been angry had God for a while now, and had refused to even pray anymore. Her parents had taken her to church and read the bible to her, and she thought she had believed in it all. She thought she did until her parents were murdered before her very eyes and then she had been taken to that lab and ripped apart for use in their science experiments. She had cried out for the Lord she thought she knew to make it all stop, to take the pain away, and before she quit praying, for him to let her die. She remembered sobbing and screaming out to heaven for help, but none came. Now as she looked up to the sky a spark of wondering and hope that maybe they would receive help from the almighty still, flared to life once again in her mind. For the first time in a long time she did not feel alone. As quickly as the spark of hope flickered to life, it also once again died. As she walked away from the alley, headed back to their hideout, fully satisfied with the haul she had gotten, a scar faced man walked towards her holding a small device in his hand. As he passed her she heard the box beep suddenly and she could hear him stop in his tracks. She tried to quicken her pace without looking like she was spooked, but he turned and followed her. She heard him pull something from his pocket and speak into it, but she was not sure what he said as her Japanese was extremely lacking, but she understood the word cyborg! Her heart started to race as she heard that word, as she knew there would be trouble. She turned a corner suddenly, hoping to throw him off but he quickened his pace and started to catch up with her. She saw the sign ahead for a bar, and thought that if she could get in their back door she could shoot out the front and possibly slow her pursuer down. Her hopes of that were dashed as two men with radios and similar devices in their hands turned from an alley in front of her and headed her way, blocking her path to the rear door of the bar. She swallowed hard and tried to clear her head. She had taken on three before, but they were usually not organized nor worked together well, plus the las two times they were just stall vendors. These guys looked like they were used to this sort of thing. They were not the normal clean cut, black suit wearing hired guns that the lab employed, so she figured they were bounty hunters or goons for hire. She turned quickly, thinking that the attacking the one behind her and trying to escape back that way was her best chance, but as she turned she saw he was joined by two more. One shouted something at her in Japanese, but she was not sure what he said. She did not stay around to find out either. She turned again towards the two and charged at them, hitting the first with a sort of football tackle, driving the metal exoskeleton that supported her mechanical arm at her shoulder into his gut. “Ooooph!” He exclaimed as he felt the air being driven from his lung and a sickening feeling over came him, causing him to drop to his knees. As Tonya tried to spin at the other man, two from behind her grabbed her arms and tried to hold her back. She kicked out at the one but he got back in time causing her to miss. He then lunged forward and tried to grab her by the throat but she thrashed and all he got was a handful of her cloak. He held onto the cloak and ripped it off of her, which caused her to gasp in surprise and fear. The two that had her arms smashed her face against the brick wall in the alley, which caused her to lose hold on the bag she held. She fought to free herself, and as she did on of those who held her yelled in Japanese at one of the others. The only word she understood was unplug. She thrashed wildly for a moment, as she feared what they would do to her. Another jumped on her to hold her as she cried out in fear. “NO! Please No! Don’t! Oh God no!” She screamed. One of them hit her over the head with something, only stunning her for a moment but long enough to stop her thrashing for a few seconds. A few seconds were all they needed, unfortunately. She felt a couple lighter tugs and started to fight back, but after a large tug, the sound of wires tearing, components snapping, and electricity arcing, and her legs sagged uselessly beneath her as a wave of pin washed over her as the neuro-circuits misfired due to the momentary arcing of electricity. She would have fallen to the ground, but the two holding her arms only half dropped her as her weight fell downward. She was spun around to face five leering faces. The two holding her arms pinned her to the wall as the one she had talked earlier walked up to her, still holding his gut. He barked at her angrily in Japanese but she shook her head as tears started to flow from her one real eye. “I..I don’t understand… please.. please let me go!” She said in a quavering voice as she tried not to cry. “You only speak engrish?!” The one holding his gut asked in a growl. She nodded, “Yes… please let me go!” He shook his head, “No! You worth muchy money! But me no like be hurt by little girl!” One of the others said something to him with a chuckle and he spoke back angrily. Another said something else which made him take on a more thoughtful look. He smiled after a moment and said something back. A couple of the others chuckled and the others nodded and grinned as they looked at her hungrily. He turned back to her with a leering grin. “I no like be hurt by little girl, so before we get money for little girl me make little girl pay! We think we take turns finding what fun we can have with little girl.” He said with a grin. She shook her head rapidly. “No, please no. Stop please!” She begged. He turned to two of the men who stood by and barked to them in Japanese again. The nodded and took off down the alley way. He turned back to her with a sneering smile and grabbed the front of her shirt, holding a handful of shirt on the left side of her buttons. “Let see what little girl look like.” He said, as he ripped at her shirt, popping all the buttons and exposing her bare chest for them all to see. He reached out for her small breast and grabbed a handful as the other two stared at and drooled on her, like a pack of hungry dogs looking through the window of a butcher shop. She wanted to cry out but the cry stuck in her throat as a large man, of whom she did not see where he came from, came up behind the one who groped her. At first, she thought this was the end in deed if he was with them, but to her surprise he grabbed the man who was groping her and threw him against a wall, knocking him unconscious. The other two who held her had not seen him as they had been staring at her, looked up and surprise, dropping her as he turned back and swung a huge right fist, knocking the first to the ground. As she laid on the ground, he turned and glanced at her momentarily, and it was the first real look she had gotten of him.She could not read his face, though she wished she could, and something about him made her heart beat a little faster. To her surprise he looked to be not only be an American, but he dressed as a cowboy. He wore dark glasses so she could not see his eyes, but his face was hard and his feature were rigid. He long blond horseshoe shaped mustache with long sideburns and his longer blond hair was slicked down and stuck out under the back of his western hat. He wore the sleeves of his maroon colored western shirt rolled up, which showed his powerful arms well, and his large muscular frame stood over them, dwarfing the size of her would be captors. For his size, though, he moved quickly. Making her worry that he too was a cyborg and maybe sent to get her, and he was only fighting to get his prize. As the second one hit the ground he spun to the third but he was more ready now than the others had been and hit the cowboy, knocking his hat off with his first swing. The large blond cowboy growled, more enraged than he had seemed before, and charged the man, swinging out with short, vicious jabs that the Japanese thug found hard to block. The thug finally landed another but the large man spun to the side and landed a side kick to the thug’s gut, seemingly out of nowhere. As the thug fell to one knee a woman’s voice yelled out from above them. “Cowboy, Look out!” The voice called. As he spun around, a bullet torn a path along the side of his stomach. He winced and started to go for his gun, that Tonya saw for the first time tucked under his vest. The two thugs who had left were back and one had a silenced pistol in his hand. Before the man could draw, though, a knife flew through the air, from above them somewhere, and impaled the gun-hand of the thug who had shot at the large man. She saw the cowboy look up briefly, nod, and then turn back to the two thugs in front of him. He and the other thug he had not fought yet dove towards the pistol and fought over it for a moment, before he took it and shot the one he was fighting with through the leg. The first one he had knocked out regained consciousness and the other two joined him in charging the large man, two of them brandishing knives. He moved back into the side alley where the other two came from, so all she could hear was the fighting, but could see nothing. As the fight went on a woman with purple hair dropped down to the ground, her from somewhere above her, and knelt down beside her. Tonya gasped and shook her head as she saw the woman’s metallic arm. “No, no.. please leave me alone.” Tonya whimpered. “We do not have much time, but I want to help you. Please trust me.” The woman said. She looked at her for a moment and then nodded, thinking she had no choice but to hope once more. The woman nodded back and then gently helped her lay down and rolled her on her side. The woman swore under her breath as she looked at the electronics on Tonya’s back. “damn.” She whispered. “Wha..what’s wrong?” Tonya whispered. “I will patch you up the best I can, but we need to hurry.” The woman said as she fished around in a small pouch she wore on her hip. “What did they break?” Tonya asked. “They tore wires in half on this one connector that runs down to your waist, and broke the plug on the other.” She said as she worked. Tonya was no sure what she was doing, other than feeling a few pulls and her back. “Those are for me legs… The other alright?” She asked “One is alright, but the other they mangled the latch on. Plus this connection box is cracked and your charging port is damaged.” The woman said. Tears started to fall again from her good eye as she lay on her side helpless. “Oh no..no..no… Why, God?...why? I… I can’t leave Zo…” She muttered. The woman sighed, “Hold it together. I don’t know what is going on here, but I will find out! Just stay still. I think I can patch you for now, but we need to get out of here.” Tonya nodded slightly, hoping she was right but she feared she would be useless to Zoey now. After a bit more tugging, some snipping sounds and a few crunches and clicks Tonya felt power return to her legs. She tried to move but the woman put a strong hand on her shoulder to hold her down. “Hold still. Not done yet…….. There. Now try to stand.” She said. Tonya rolled carefully to her stomach and pushed herself to her knees and stood up. She turned and looked at the woman in amazement. “How did you fix me?” She asked She held up a roll of tape and some small wire cutters, “These are useful in my trade.” “What trade is that?” Tonya asked. “The less you know the better. Now, I did not fix you. I just patched you together. I had to use a handkerchief to hold the connectors in place. Move carefully or the connections could come loose.” She said as she stooped down and grabbed Tonya’s cloak. She helped Tonya half way secure the torn robe to hide her face and electronics as well as cover up her body again. “You need to go, now. I will help you later if I can.” She said. “How can I find you?” Tonya asked “I know where you are. I will find you.” The woman said “What about the cowboy?” She asked “Do not trust him! He helped but I do not trust who he works with. Now get out of here before he comes back!” The woman said. Tonya looked around for her bag but found that in the fight it had been smashed into the dirt. She frowned as she looked at it but was snapped out of her thoughts by the woman’s voice. “Do not linger. Go!” She barked. Tonya jumped, nodded, and took off down another alleyway. Tears flowed as she worked her way out of there and tried to get back home. She was broken and had failed Zoey. She again felt alone and hopeless. It took her two hours to get back to the mostly abandoned neighborhood this time, as she was extra cautious. The patches the woman had made held up until she was about a block from the house, but when a noise spooked her and she turned fast one of the repairs came loose and she lost partial use of her right leg. She fell down and, in a panic, crawled behind a half torn down house and hid there for ten minutes to make sure she had not been seen. She found a piece of old copper water pipe after a bit and managed to use that as a cane to hobble the last little bit. Waves of pain went through her as busted wires arced irradicably, causing her neuro-circuits to misfire. She trembled with pain and exhaustion as she finally made it to the bushes that concealed the doors to the abandoned house they had been living in the past couple days. It took effort to get the doors open this time, and she knew the arcing was not only killing her strength but her battery’s charge as well. She finally got inside but as she tried to close the doors the wires arced bad again, which cut power and control to her one leg completely, causing her to fall down the stairs. She landed hard on the concrete floor and just lay in the dark for a bit before crawling down the tunnel to the basement. She grit her teeth angrily, as she crawled forward, telling herself she had to get there for Zoey’s sake. It seemed like it took longer than walking back had taken, but after a few very long minutes she crawled into the basement and beside her cot. She pushed herself up to one knee and after a moment pulled herself up into the cot. She lay on her belly panting for a moment before she tried to reach around to her back to get to her battery and control connections. As she tried the wires arced again, causing her to cry out in pain and fall forward as her muscles spasmed from the pain. Her one leg would not move at all now and the other barely moved. She lay there for a moment trying to think but her mind would not work. As she tried to think a torrent of fears and emotions washed over her, and though she tried to hold them back, she could not. She started to sob uncontrollably as she lay on her cot face first. She hurt so bad, was so tired, and so scared. “Why God?! WHY?!?... I can’t!... I can’t anymore!! Why?!?!... Kill me please!.... just kill me….” She sobbed into her pillow. Her should shook as wordless, racking, heart-wrenching sobs continued to spill from her. She had tried to keep it in for so long, but she could not anymore. A slight thumping sound of from the stairs could be heard, saying that Zoey was on her way down, but Tonya could not hear it over the sound of her own heart and soul breaking. Zoey had heard some noises in the basement, which she figured was Tonya, but after a while Tonya did not show up. Tonya had told her she could stay upstairs during the daylight today, as long as she was quiet, so she knew Tonya would come up there. After a bit of not seeing Tonya Zoey stood up slowly and hobbled to the stairs. The sound of crying filled her ears and her little heart fell into her stomach. She descended the stairs slowly and let her eyes adjust to the dark. A figure lay in Tonya’s bed and sobbed but she could not make it out well, but she was sure it was Tonya. She limped forward and called out as she approached. “Tonya?... Tonya, what’s wrong?” She asked worriedly. As she approached she saw Tonya’s torn cloak on the floor. Tonya had rolled on her side to look at her and she saw her shirt was open and torn. She looked dirty too, as if she had been forced to roll on the ground several times. Tonya then rolled back onto her face and buried her face into the cot again. “I..I..I failed you!” She sobbed. “How? I don’t under…” Zoey stopped mid-sentence as she saw Tonya shutter as an arc of electricity lit up the busted wires and connections on her back. The smell of burn wires and cloth filled her nose as well as she looked on, jaw dropped, and in a state of momentary shock. She snapped out of it after a moment and felt to her knees beside Tonya, as she tried to wrap Tonya in a hug. “D.d.d.on’t cry…w..w..we ..we will fix you… I promise!” Zoey said as she started to cry too. The gimpy ten-year-old cyborg clung to the busted up fifteen-year-old cyborg as they both laid there and sobbed. Neither knew what to do and both found all hope to be gone. Death was waiting for them and there was no question in their minds that they had to die. There was no going back to that lab. They could not go back! ,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,- Akumu had followed the cyborg girl at a distance since she left the abandoned house. She almost missed the exit she had used but when she figured it out she grinned as she thought about how smart, observant, and resourceful this girl must be. The trip to town was uneventful, though she was not sure where they were headed at first. She pondered it they were headed to meet some contact or hers or some compatriots, a handler, or if it was all a setup still. Most all of that went from her mind as she watched the girl steal bare survival food necessities from one of the open-air farmers markets. It tugged at her heart strings again, seeing the girl risk herself to scrounge for food for herself and her little friend, but she did her best to shut the feeling off. As she watched from the roof above her, she glanced to another alley and looked back at the girl. A sudden recognition of someone she saw in that other alley hit her but when she did a double take he was gone. She growled at herself for being too focused on the cyborg girl, and after being fairly sure she was safe for the moment she worked her way to that other alley to try to find the face she saw. She found him again and swore briefly as she saw him wandering with a small box in his hand and a radio on his belt. She knew the device as she had been given one too, though it was fairly useless to her as you had to get close to use it. The device beeped when it got close to a certain frequency signature. That frequency signature was the one that ran the girls cybernetic control module. These bastards were looking for her in an area they thought she might get food, which was too close to her for comfort. As she watched she saw the guy pick up his radio and listen to it. She could not hear what was said but she had a good idea when he started off at a run in the direction she had last seen the girl. It took her a bit longer to get back there and find her, and when she did she was already too late to save her herself as someone else was fighting to protect her. She looked on in astonishment as the sentinel cowboy she had been watching with Fernando’s ground now fought to save the cyborg girl. She looked down at the girl and the torn clothes and wires told her all she needed to know. Had she not known any of them she would not be sure who to fight, but she knew the caliber of the men this cowboy now fought, so she knew he did not do this to the girl. Whether he fought to save her for her sake or so he could turn in the bounty, she was unsure, but the cowboy bought her time. She looked back up to see a gun drawn on him and she called out a warning. “Cowboy, Look out!” The voice called without thinking. As he turned she pulled her knife from its sheath and threw it. The first bullet grazed the cowboy’s side and the shooter did not get a chance at a second as her knife went through the hand of the would-be gunman’s hand. She saw the Cowboy dive into the alley where she could not see anymore, but hear the sounds of the fight. The gunman pulled the knife out of his hand and held it low in his good hand as one of this compatriots brandished one of their own. They two headed down the side alley to join the fight, and though Akumu felt a bit sorry for the cowboy for a fleeting moment, she soon turned back to the task at hand. She dropped down to the girl and saw the fear in her eye at the presence of someone new. It took her a moment to calm the girl down, but they did not have much time to waste, so she was firmer than she wanted to be. She mentally cussed herself as she worked on the girl’s wiring. This was not something she was good at, though she had learned some electronics to deal with security and camera systems. This was different though, and the patch job looked like she hacked it with a butter knife, though she did not make it any worse than it was. She sent the girl on her way and once she was sure she was gone she decided to check on the cowboy. He was alive and other than a couple injuries he would heal from, he was alright. This amazed her and stirred something in her loins that she had not felt in a long time. She knew it was not love, but it was the closest thing to it she had felt in a long time. Though it was still lust, it was more than just wanting a dick inside her. She wanted this man to take her, forcefully, and make her his! She knew it probably would not be, as he seemed pretty attached to that auburn-haired woman she had seen him with at the apartments, and she got from there conversation that he had a sense of honor and loyalty about him that would not let him easily turn to her. Still, she had a real image to touch herself to tonight and she planned to do just that. Once she left and did her disappearing act, she watched him leave from a window far above the alley. Once he was gone she scurried out and tried to pick of the tracks of the ones he was fighting. She had hoped they had not seen her, but did not want to chance it. She had to, for the moment, though, as the talk with the cowboy had delayed her too much and they got away. She had to chance that they would not call Kurayami yet, as they would not want to admit failure. For now, they would be licking their wounds and getting patched up at some underground medical facility, but she had to be sure. She went back home quickly to grab some supplies and then headed out to find those men. She wanted to check on the cyborg girl but that would have to wait. She just hoped she made it safely. -,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,- About two hours later five men walk out of a seemingly unobtrusive building in a rougher side of town. Some are bandaged up and some of them just walk stiffly or half hunched over with pill bottles full of questionable medications in their pockets. They grump and growl about the cowboy and whoever warned him from the shadows, but they did not see who it was. It was a female voice so they argued whether it was someone else or the cyborg girl. They could not agree on that so they talked about something they all agreed on, that the cowboy must die! They talked of how they would do it as they all piled into the old brown car they had came in. Once in the driver pumped the gas pedal and turned the key. As they key turned the car exploded leaving nothing more than flaming twisted metal, charred body parts, and a small crater in the asphalt. An hour later a phone rang in the unassuming build, which housed an underground medical center in its basement, mostly for the treatment of wounds that a person would not want questioned by the police. They did not ask who the patient was or how they got the wound. For the right cash they would treat anyone. And if that person blabbed they and they families mysteriously disappeared. An older man in a dirty white coat crushed out a cigarette and he sigh stood with a sigh and walked over to the phone. He shook his head and answered it in Japanese. “What do you want?” He asked harshly. “This is Kurayami.” The voice on the other end replied. The old man swallowed hard and softened his tone, “I am sorry, Master. How can I serve you?” “Five men received treatment there and then were blown up outside. MY assistant received a message that they were fought when trying to retrieve my property. Did they say who they fought? I must know!” The voice on the phone asked. “As you know, Master, we do not ask questions, but they spoke about an American cowboy with blond hair and dark glasses who fought them. This is all I know.” The old man replied. “It is enough. Speak no more of it. I never called.” The voice said. “Of course, master. I live to serve the family. You are the family.” The old man replied. There was a click on the phone and then the line went dead.
|