A Change of Perspective: Chapter 2 - Motives of a Jackal

"It's magnificent, isn't it, Ianna?" Ereshkigal said breathlessly, caressing the elaborate necklace on display in a heavily fortified room of their organization's underground temple. She was careful not to touch the two blood-red stones that gleamed like menacing eyes, the main focus of the elaborate creation.

"This necklace will be the key to our ultimate salvation. At long last, the ancient ritual that was passed down and protected by generations of our sect will finally be performed. Our lord Set will soon be freed."

Ianna's eyes glistened with dread but was misinterpreted as excitement by her mistress. The High Priestess had been acting increasingly maniacal since the necklace came into their possession. A majority of the sect's members foolishly believed that Ereshkigal's actions directly reflected her impassioned zeal of fulfilling her role as their guide to the kingdom of Set. Having worked by her mistress' side all her life, Ianna knew that Ereshkigal's present behavior was a cause for immediate alarm.

She glanced at the lavish Eyes of Horus necklace and felt a deep sense of foreboding. Whatever entity was trapped inside those two blood-red stones would bring about the end of the world. Whether it was indeed the powerful Set or not, Ianna was prepared to give her life to insure that the entity remained sealed.


The busty Negotiator finished her presentation, turning off the laser projector with a click of the remote she held as some of the lights blinked on in the darkened cafe. Paul scratched his head, picked up a foreign newspaper he bought earlier and started reading. Natsumi tried her best not to giggle as she scanned the faces of everyone in the room, some of which were stupefied into absolute silence.

"No way in hell, you crazy bitch! This time, you've gone too far!" Ban shouted angrily, slamming both his fists down on the table in front of him.

"Language, Mido. There's an impressionable mind present," Jackal warned as he stood apart from them by the bar, tipping his hat to a blinking Natsumi.

Kazuki was the first to speak. "For once, I agree with the Jagan-wielder, Hevn. Even with you, Himiko and Sakura for support, you can't expect Dr. Jackal and I to go undiscovered as men for that long!" A flush crept into his cheeks as he glanced at Juubei and Toshiki on either side of him. "By the way, why did I end up with two men? Wouldn't that be an obvious red flag against me?"

"On the contrary, for an inductee into the Coils of Set, having more than one husband is seen as a definite asset. Besides, our double agent's already done the legwork, all we need to do is show up," Hevn declared.

"Um...how exactly are the rest of us paired up here?" Emishi asked.

"Ginji & Himiko, Shido & I, and Emishi, you're with Sakura," Hevn enumerated.

"T-That leaves - " Ban stammered, turning green.

"Poetic justice at last," Shido said, smirking widely.

Jackal frowned and lowered his hat. "Ms. Hevn, I realize you possess a wicked sense of humor, one I don't appreciate at the moment." Sighing, he flicked his hat off his face and crossed his arms, glaring at the Jaganmaster who was currently making elaborate gagging noises.

"As my escort, your role in this assignment is pathetically simple, Mido. It's not like you'll be forced to run around in public wearing lipstick, a dress and high heels!" Jackal cringed at the thought along with everyone around him.

Himiko childishly stuck her tongue out at a waving Ginji. Why wasn't she paired up with Ban instead? She was about to protest when she clamped her mouth shut, thinking better of the idea.

"The red envelopes contain your new identities, passports and all other relevant documentation. I suggest you all study your new dossiers carefully if you all want to make a convincing performance. In case any of you are thinking of backing out, here's something that I'm sure will help you reconsider," Hevn said with a smile and uncovered a table to her right.

On display were nine small, opened, armored briefcases that contained crisp new bills. "Half the fee's already been offered up front, the rest will be paid upon safe delivery of the necklace."

"Ban, look! That's..." Ginji said in awe, staring at the many stacks of one hundred-thousand yen bills.

Everyone, except Jackal, ran to the table where the cases were displayed. Some jumped for joy, laughed, or hugged the person nearest them. Ban looked like he was dry-humping the table.

With this money, I can buy Madoka a worthy engagement ring!

This'll kick-start my comedy career!

I can finally buy a place out of this wretched city!

I wonder if Kazuki will like that really beautiful kimono I found?

We can pay our tab and all our parking tickets and eat meat everyday and maybe buy a house and go on vacation and - !"

That old house for sale needs a lot of work, but for the three of us, it's perfect!

My sister and I can pool our funds together to help MakubeX and Lower Town.

Juubei has to think of himself once in a while. I'd better put some money aside for the two of us.

Hmmm. Ginji would look good in a well-tailored suit.

"Fucking, kick-ass!" Ban whooped for joy at the top of his lungs. "Lady, this time you've really outdone yourself!" Ban said with a grin. He then impetuously gave Hevn's more-than-ample chest area a no-holds-barred grab-and-squeeze with bonus face massage.

"Oh, brother..." Paul muttered, shaking his head. "Time to call it a night, Natsumi. I'll give you a ride home," he said, neatly folding up the paper he held and fished out his car keys. Natsumi nodded reluctantly as she left with Paul through a side exit.

"Avert your eyes, dear sister. Have they no shame?" Juubei reproved. Toshiki, who hardly knew anyone else in the room, merely shrugged. Sakura blushed and covered a smile while Kazuki pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, now! I think they're starting to enjoy it," Emishi said, grinning as Hevn and Ban made a spectacle of themselves.

"I always knew that moron's brains were in his pants," Himiko mumbled. "Hey! Break it up you two or get a room. The rest of us don't need to see that!"

"Jealous, Lady Poison?" Jackal chided, centimeters from her left ear.

"Shut up!" Himiko retorted sharply, elbowing Jackal in the gut for emphasis - or at least meant to. Curse Jackal and his reflexes!

"Um...Ban? Hevn? Guys?" Ginji prodded nervously, at a loss on how to deal with a situation that was slowly turning into a soft core porn show.

"That's quite enough, you two," Kazuki spoke, moving to physically separate Ban and Hevn with his threads. He rolled his eyes at the resounding pop Ban made as his face was forcibly removed from between Hevn's breasts.

Faces flushed and panting, Ban and Hevn tried their best to salvage what dignity they had left.

"Well, uh, since there are no further objections our meeting's concluded then. We all have a week to get ready before we rendezvous with our mole so use the time wisely. Does anyone have any questions?" Hevn said shakily, cheeks still pink. She gave Ban a quick glance and saw that his cheeks were just as rosy.

"Yeah, I've got a question. I think I speak for everyone here when I wonder, what exactly does Dr. Jackal hope to gain out of all this?" Ban asked out loud, lit a cigarette and then studied Jackal sharply. "I mean, this job isn't remotely close to your usual MO."

All eyes were on the retreating form of the enigmatic man in black as he headed for the door of the cafe.

Without turning to face them, he answered, "My reasons are my own, so let's just leave it at that, shall we? Besides, by working closely with me for the next few weeks, Mido, perhaps you'll learn what a true professional in this business can do. Good night to you all."

With a swish of his long, black coat, he was gone.

"Man, that guy creeps me out," Emishi commented, suppressing a shiver.

"He may be unpredictable but it's better to have Jackal on our side in a fight," Kazuki stated.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" Toshiki said, smiling at Kazuki who nodded.

Feeling mischievous, Kazuki hooked his arm with Toshiki's, who stiffened, tugging him playfully toward the door.

"I'll see you in two days, Juubei. You and Sakura have fun catching up. Good night, everyone. See you all in a week."

Toshiki awkwardly bowed his goodbye before Kazuki exited with his arms tightly woven around him.

Scratching his head, Juubei said, "This job we are about to undertake stirs an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach, sister."

"Brother, you worry too much," Sakura admonished. "Emishi, I'll see you in three days time." She then turned to face the Lightning Emperor. "Juubei and I are going down to visit MakubeX. Would you like to come along?"

"Sure!" Ginji said happily. "Back in a bit, Ban!" He skipped giddily beside Sakura and Juubei down the stairs to the Honky Tonk's basement.

"Well, Emishi, ready to head over to Madoka's with me?"

"Whi - uhHUH - ipped," Ban coughed out.

Instead of getting mad, Shido grinned back at the abrasive Jaganmaster.

"You can bad-mouth me all you want for the next few weeks, Snake-for-Brains, coz I could care less. Right now, I'm hanging onto a fabulous mental image of that creepy Jackal guy stuck to you like a leech."

Shido snickered along with Emishi when Ban turned green again, dropping the fresh cigarette he held between his fingers. "Later!"

Gritting his teeth, Ban swiped the fallen cigarette from the floor, lit it again and took a long, desperate drag. "One of these days, Monkey Boy..."

"Y'know, Ban, Dr. Jackal was right about one thing," Himiko said while packing up to leave.

"Oh, and what's that?" Ban said irritably.

"That you've got a long way to go when it comes to being a professional," Himiko stated. "Despite his reputation of being 'the most hated figure in the Transport Service world' he's ironically also the most sought after. High profile clients know that if they want the best Transport Service team, they hire me, Mr. Maguruma and Dr. Jackal. As much as I disagree with Jackal's methods, he always gets the job done. Oh, and if you screw this job up for any reason, I'll definitely kill you." With a wink, she turned and headed for the door.

Alone in the cafe, Ban and Hevn regarded each other awkwardly for a moment before one of them spoke.

"So, tiger, where'd you learn to do that anyway?" Hevn asked curiously. She hadn't expected to find Ban's new level of groping her...quite pleasurable.

"I knew you couldn't resist me. Admit it, Hevn, you've always had a thing for me," Ban drawled back at her. Hevn rolled her eyes in response. "Hey, ask a silly question," he added, grinning lasciviously at her.

When Hevn huffed and made a face, Ban just shrugged and lit another cigarette.


to be continued


Author's Note:

My heart-felt thank you(s) to Pandect, Atropos' Knife and Constances for their words of encouragement!

Can everyone expertly guess whose thoughts belong to whom in this chapter?