Kidnapping: 4694-058
It's evening now. I was awakened by someone talking to me this morning. It was still dark outside. As I was about to make a movement, two people held me down whilst a third one told me to remain calm. They would not hurt me if I kept my mouth shut and so I did. Well, my dear Artemisia, what I found out today was that when you go looking for the Devil, he will find you first.
I was ordered to get dressed and to calmly follow these people outside where a car was waiting for me. I knew this had to do with the letters and since I know I don't have anything to lose anymore, I followed without comment. We rode into the depths of Ceres. It took a long time, but mostly because they were driving in circles and diverting down roads to confuse me. We arrived to an industrial field with abandoned warehouses and repair garages. The lights were scarce and the whole area was under reconstruction, a perfect hide out for groups that are on the opposite side of the law and of course, there were loads of places like this in Ceres.
We got inside one of these warehouses and it was just as I had expected. It was dark with the only source of light coming from the lighting above the table behind which a mean looking person was staring at me. He was sitting in a chair facing me and goons armed to their teeth were surrounding him. I was wondering if they could see anything behind those shades, but I guess they served more purposes than just an intimidating look. Those glasses gave better opportunity to see in the dark and they homed in on me like missiles. I could feel their gazes.
I sat down in the empty chair in front of this man and he handed me a piece of paper; my post from last night that they had printed out.
"That's a dangerous message… Bunny." He said with a deep hiss.
"I had to send it." I replied and folded the paper as I spoke.
"Why?"
"I needed to find the missing pieces of this puzzle and I did get an answer, didn't I?"
"Enlighten us." The man said. I watched his stale complexion and those dark eyes pin me to the chair as I opened up.
"My boss, Raoul Am, is under investigation for being the head behind the Deben tragedy and the manipulation of the genetic composition of females to implant them with Blondie fetuses to export them to slave-owners who want more exquisite Pets."
"Take a depth breath, man… So?" The man asked and assumed a more nonchalant position in his chair, crossing his legs and leaning back comfortably.
"So, I think there is more to this, because with only Raoul being the only player it doesn't make sense." I argued. "He may have the facility and the motive, but that motive would not explain why he would let so many die. It doesn't make sense."
"What motive is that?" The man asked and I was getting tired of his enquiries.
"You should know it." I snorted. "It's people like you who want to bury him. You have been fed with information I sent from his computer and it almost had him killed since you sent a few suicidal morons to bring explosives into the facility. You killed Dr Hannoh and if I hadn't been there I am sure he would have died too."
"Would that've made any difference?" He asked with a shrug as I lit a cigarette and blew the smoke in his face with the same arrogance as that he was radiating.
"Well, whilst I'm still around anyone who wants to get to Raoul has to go through me. I sense that there is something that has been withheld from me and I'm dead set on finding out what. I want to get to the bottom of it and unless you have something intelligent to entertain me with, I'll see you in hell if I find out you had anything to do with Raoul's assassination attempt. Don't fuck with me… I have nothing to lose anymore… not even my life."
Suddenly, I heard someone clapping from a remote area of the building and a little, lady dressed in an elegant red suit, approached me. She was clapping to the rhythm of her high-heeled stilettos that gave her a few extra inches above ground. I then realized that the man behind the table was not the boss I was supposed to talk to. He was but a puppet whilst she was observing the situation, trying to measure up whether it would be worth it for her to step out of the shadows or not.
"That's the kind of answer I am looking for." She said with lean cat-like purr. "That last thing you just said, my dear Katze, makes YOU my new very best friend."
"Who are you, miss?" I asked and watched her take a seat on the table next to me. She just smiled at me and although her face was masked by shadows I did recognize some features as she smiled. I didn't have to ask any further for from behind her back she brought forth my Blue Bunny whilst saying;
"I haven't seen this little rascal in years." She leaned closer so that I could see her face. It was that sweet little girl from the recording.
"Miss Doh'ra?"
She sighed and buried her face in the bunny, inhaling the lingering fragrance of Raoul and commented how his scent still touched the currents within her even though it has been years since they last were close enough to touch.
"He gave it to you?" She asked me and handed it over to me, but before I had the chance to answer she continued. "It was my very first plushy. I had been given dolls and precious gems and jewelry. I was pampered beyond my wildest dreams, but never had a plushy and so, it was worth more to me than diamonds. I loved it. I loved him… I still do. I left it there for him for it was the most precious thing I had."
"You love Raoul?" I asked her with sincerity and placed the bunny on the table so that he could watch me. I cast a glance at the girl as she got off the table and circled behind me. She placed her arms around my neck and I inhaled her sweet fragrance. Miss Doh'ra was indeed a little jewel herself; all a man needs to decorate himself. Her response to my question cleared all my doubts about her and I found an ally in this crazy game. She countered my question with another.
"Don't you, Katze?"
She then took hold of my elbow and gently guided me to follow her. I kept bunny with me as we walked towards a small, secluded room. It was her temporary office I guess. From the light that escaped through the rippled window I could see that there was someone already inside. You can imagine my shock, Artemisia, when I came face to face with X-breed and I immediately knew that this day would be a long day.
A few hours into the conversation I started to understand that there were two groups of people involved in this game; the predators and the even bigger predators. After my disappearance from the market something new had to emerge… and it did… in the shape of a defined little sweetheart with eyes like a doe and a mind like a wolf. Doh'ra had thrown herself into the game at a tender age of eighteen. It was shortly after she met with Raoul that she expressed her wish to be an eater rather then being the consumed one. She was a simple mongrel Pet, but with ambitions that reached far up in the social hierarchy. Raoul's bitterness and coinciding events had given her access to the underground world and she was determined to clean up the thriving weed of society.
Miss Doh'ra told me the most incredible story I've heard in years. I will try to summarize this to you as well as I can. It's funny how the memory sharpens up when you know your time is running out. No more wasting time on boredom; everything happens so fast and with such edge that it almost makes you believe you are invisible and superhuman.
She confirmed what Henrick had told me, that she met him at a gathering and his sadness was so captivating that she could not bear to leave him alone. She had tried numerous ways to catch his attention, but why would a Lord as prominent as the head of Tanagura be interested in a little mongrel female. Of course, Henrick had informed Miss Doh'ra on Raoul's greatest spare time pleasures when the defeated girl decided to give up her questioning and careful approaches. Henrick didn't tell me he was actually the one to show her the way to catch Raoul's interest; that little devil Henrick, he always had a great concern for his Master.
"It took a long time." Miss Doh'ra said dreamingly, twisting her leather chair from side to side as she spoke. "But slowly Raoul opened up. One evening, after winning another game, he walked up to the communicator and just stood there… waiting for something. He usually called for my ride, but this time he was just silent. I walked up to him and asked if something was wrong. I noticed Lord Am had not pressed the call for his chauffeur but rather kept on staring at the device completely absorbed in deep thoughts. Funny." she smiled. "I still remember what incredible impact he had on me when he asked if I wanted to spend the night with him."
Miss Doh'ra started laughing and cast a mischievous glance at me. During all this time, Carr remained silent and just tuned in on our conversation.
"Wow, Katze… wow! That's almost all I can say. I had my Blondie Lord and boy was I fond of that man. Raoul has a little more edge than most others, don't you agree?"
I nodded. Miss Doh'ra told me that the first weeks Raoul just lay close to her; watching her, feeling her skin and just enjoying her company. Never once was he audacious to ask her for favors, but his innocent inquiries about her adventures revealed a profound curiosity of the opposite sex. It was just about then, when I interrupted her and told her that not all female Pets have been as lucky as her; I told her about Mimea and the rumors surrounding her fate.
"Hah." Miss Doh'ra waved it off rolling her eyes. "Is that what you think?"
She got up from the chair sighing and poured herself and me a cup of coffee from a steaming pot on a heater on a nearby coffee table. She handed me the cup of coffee and emphasized harshly; "If Mimea would have been MINE, I would have slit her throat, but Raoul was more considerate than that. I guess, there are things about Blondies after all that makes them superior other than in beauty and strength."
"So what happened then?" I asked sipping on the coffee, and secretly indulging in those curves. I must admit, Artemisia, there is something about girls… too bad they are so few.
"She was sold off to Jenna. Sure, that was punishment enough, for everyone knew what kind of sadist he was. But she only had to endure for a year or so before she was sold off to the next."
When I accused Miss Doh'ra of being very harsh and seemingly heartless she just threw it back at me say; "And what were you like after a few years in this business, my darling? Were you any softer? You see, underneath all these fancy clothes, the appearance and the voice, you and I are very much the same person. Either we choose to be eaten and consumed like hundreds of Pets around us, or…"
"Or we choose to learn the game and play by its rules." I finished.
She raked her fingers through her short, curly hair and took off her red jacket in glamorous movements as she whispered; "That's right, pussycat."
I couldn't stop smiling. I found my confidant in Trithorax and Raoul had his in this little lady.
"So what is going to happen now?" I asked and cast a glance at Carr. He had been indulging in carrot cake and tea, something, which was completely against the picture of the tough guy he was upholding. He kept on being silent.
"Well." Miss Doh'ra sighed. "I'm not happy about the idea of having Raoul destroyed, when he is the only one along with Dr Hannoh who has been trying to stop this whole business."
"If you are trying to stop this, why did you want me to steal the documents from his computer and redirect the information between him and Raoul?"
I nodded towards Carr asking this question, but Miss Doh'ra answered before he had the chance to open his mouth.
"To save the documents form being destroyed once the company was taken over."
"And how did you know it would be taken over?" I asked and this time Carr engaged in the conversation.
"I've been leading this investigation since the first case of discarded Pets appeared, so I have dug up all there was to know about the Black Market and I knew I had to get more involved. We brought down many trafficking lords, but the perpetrators always seemed to be one step ahead. So…" Carr took another bite and moved his chair somewhat closer to mine. "I went under cover and stumbled over Miss Doh'ra. Well, actually it was she who picked me out of bed the very same way you ended up here tonight."
She gave me a smirk adding; "There is nothing more exciting than surprising a man in bed, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't know." I answered and asked what lead them to Raoul.
"Most of the Pets had been registered at his facility and had been under the care of Dr Hannoh." Carr cut in. "However, I was about to make a move when Miss Doh'ra stepped in and gave me vital pieces of evidence I had missed."
"Which was?"
"Well, I never checked up the cargo ships."
"Cargo ships?" I asked, tilting my head like a confused dog.
"Everything was pointing at Lord Am and Dr Hannoh, and the documents of Jupiter's approval of the experiments had been interesting pieces of evidence that could have buried Raoul completely. I figured he wouldn't have been stupid enough to expose them so easily, especially not if they could send the entire company down, but then again most great crimes fall due to lack of proper planning or because people believe they stand above the law. Anyway, the cargo ships in which the Pets were transported were manufactured by Mercurius Inc, which was a smaller branch of Jerychio Industries that had received a large amount of donations from the Federal Government to get back on its feet. Now we didn't think much of this, for if Hazall was responsible for import and export in and out of Amoi, he would need vessels for his cargo. We didn't think much of this until the name of an Aethelric Wei was mentioned in an anonymous email sent to me."
Miss Doh'ra pointed at herself and took a sip out of her coffee, patiently listening to Carr as he filled me in on the details.
"We couldn't track down Aethelric's roots, because he had none, but an old lady by the name of…"
"Miss Kai." I filled in and Carr nodded.
"Yes… she told us about those terrible events and said Aethelric was going to expose something big and mentioned a name…"
"Something that sounded like a palindrome?" I asked.
"Words and screams muffled through walls and doors can sound somewhat differently than when pronounced properly," Carr continued. "She was speaking of Hazall."
"Well, how did you connect Hazall with Jerychio and the Pets?"
I understood that Miss Doh'ra had a great deal of information to add to the investigation for she was the one picking up Raoul when he fell after the death of Aethelric. She was the only one keeping the investigation from going astray and kept the hounds off Raoul's back. I had to know where the investigations had led thus far, for time was running out for Raoul. I wanted him saved.
"I asked Raoul about the name Jerychio." Miss Doh'ra clarified. "And when it turned out that he was a former collaborator with Dr Hannoh, it all made sense, but we couldn't find the evidence for it. We couldn't connect them to the poaching of Pets. Someone had to feed them with the girls, someone from within Ceres who was big within the Black Market.
I started laughing; "And you thought I was that person, just because of my previous work?"
"No, cute tush." Floated from Miss Doh'ra as she placed a hand on mine. "But you are the only one who can make him confess and flush him out."
"Who?" I was confused, but the answer dumbfounded me completely.
"Papa Downs, of course." Carr lit his cigarette as he assumed a comfortable position in his chair.
I thought it was impossible, for they were talking about the man who had taught me how to survive in that jungle. He had always treated me like a son.
"Yes, well guess what will happen when the hostile takeover of the Tanagura Biomedical Centre is complete, my dear pussycat."
Miss Doh'ra presented me with a set of financial documents from the past months regarding the biomedical center. Her laptop was browsing page after page of contracts and dealerships concerning a new branch of research close in the process of being realized. I suddenly became aware that once the leadership of the biomedical center changed and the Hazall would gain power in the political court, the establishment of developing new and more exquisite Pets would be made legal and, the provider of the mothers, Papa Downs, would be able to conduct his business under the protection of the new board.
"There is only one thing missing here, pussycat."
"What?" I asked and went through the documents once again.
"The contract."
The little lady explained the document termed ABEL 1, which I had sent over to Papa Downs, was the contract that could undermine Jupiter's authorities. I defended myself with that I had no idea what I contained for I wasn't able to break the code. Besides, if I didn't manage to break it open, I doubted Hazall could.
"Don't be so sure, though it doesn't matter now. You, Bunny, were supposed to send those documents to ME." Carr argued, but admitted that the murder of Dr Hannoh understandably shook my foundation of trust in X-breed. Fine, I made a mistake, but who knew. Not me… not then. Following this, Carr presented the thrilling idea that I would have to retrieve it. It was no longer in the possessions of Papa Down's but rather with Hazall since he was running the show.
My world is spinning faster than I can cope and I am being thrown from being a liar to a lover, from a sell-out to a thief and enthusiastic to bitter. I can't handle this anymore. It is so tiring, I am beginning to lose hope that I can save Raoul from the vultures. Well, before I lost all my strength and faith, Miss Doh'ra volunteered to help me retrieve the contract. How that will happen will take some planning on my part, but she will be involved.
"And what are you to gain in this?" I asked Miss Doh'ra at which she snorted a smile saying; "Money talks and bullshit walks, darling. I have been a Pet to the best of Masters and I will not drag their name in shame through the dirt when they cared for me and saved me from the gutter. I have provided the Pet Academy with fine specimens and with financial support I can turn this whole business into an art form from which both Pets and Masters can benefit. But ruthless bastards like Papa Downs have to go. So yes, with him gone, I will run this show. You see, Katze, men have always conquered new grounds, but the true rulers have always been the women. We just have to take Amoi as an example. A whole world of men, lead by a female intelligence and whether we like her or not, but life would be impossible without her contribution. Just like I can make it possible for those hundreds of thousands of youngsters seeking a way to enter the higher cast."
"Miss Doh'ra has been a priceless asset when it came to bringing down the trafficking lords, but the biggest fish is still on the loose. So, if you want to help your boss, you need to help us to catch Papa."
"And you do want that, don't you Katze?" Miss Doh'ra added. She was a tough chick, but I must admit it made her ever so sexy. That tiny little statue had so much ego and attitude that I couldn't help but to feel the utmost respect for that girl. At least Raoul has really good taste in women.
I nodded. "Just tell me this. Why was I brought back? Was it Raoul's idea?"
"Yes." Miss Doh'ra answered. "But it was due to the fact that you were the most competent to dig up information that was relayed to us via Trithorax by setting up the beacon. Raoul had and still has the greatest confidence in you, Katze, but it seems like we know a little more than you do."
"Not quite." I interrupted her and asked to log into my own server – you my darling Artemisia. I took parts of my diary and copied it over to her computer. I added the parts I wrote about the man at the morgue, and it caught Carr's attention for the pathologist had not revealed that information in his report. I told Carr that the pathologist was not certain about the significance of his findings and was unsure whom to present the data to. He wasn't even sure if he had done a proper analysis or if it had been a contamination. I also told them the reason to why these experiments have been conducted in the first place and when the name of Iason Mink was mentioned, Carr threw his head back releasing a deep sigh.
"Iason Mink… I voted for that guy fifteen years ago. He was just a young little shit then, but full of potential." Carr said submerged in thoughts. "This runs deeper than we thought and goes high up to the Syndicate level if we don't stop it. We cannot risk these experiments becoming legal. Once we can show this before a jury, Jupiter can clear this up and thin out the players wanting to bury Raoul. If she can bring Iason back that's fine, but right now the main priority is to bring Papa down."
"The trial is already on going and the verdict is a week away." I set forth and seeing time as a critical issue in this case.
"So we'd better move quickly." Miss Doh'ra added. "You will have to call for a meeting and present all you know. You will admit knowing the whole story behind the Pet trading, Hazall and Lord Jerychio and try to make him admit to confess to you. We need it recorded."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" I asked a bit baffled.
"Well, you're the one closest to him." Carr threw in and blew a thick mist of smoke from his mouth. "You will be wired and you might also need this as an extra precaution…"
He took out a small box from his pocket and I opened it. Inside, there was a kautschuk necklace with a rhombic pendant of male design centered with a black stone.
"If you touch the stone, an alarm will go off and that will be the signal for us to move in." Carr explained. "We will be outside recording your every word and motions detectors will see who is inside the building. We will monitor everything."
"Won't you be inside? Won't that be suspicious?"
"I have to lead the group. You will have to do this without me, Katze. You have to sound convincing and then give me the signal when to attack."
"You are placing this burden upon my shoulders?"
"Who else can pull this off, Katze?" Miss Doh'ra asked. "You were the lord of all trafficking lords and the only one Papa Downs trusted. You can get the confession."
"How?" I asked.
"Only you know."
That was the end of the conversation, Artemisia. It's about 19'41 in the evening and I am home, trying to clear my thoughts. The meeting with Carr and Miss Doh'ra has been going on from five in the morning till four in the afternoon. I had some dinner at a fast food restaurant and took a stroll past the Tanagura Biomedical Center. It was sealed off by a line of guards and only authorities were allowed to enter. Every corner of that building is highly guarded.
Raoul really needs help in this or he'll be buried up to his neck in dirt. What to say, what to do, how to build this case up, where to set it up… I have to find the answers and solutions to this before the end of next week. I thought I was out of time to do anything with the remainder of my life, which is less than forty-seven days, and still Raoul has only a week left.
I am tired now. My head is spinning from all this information. I will go through it all again and try to find a way to get Papa Downs for a meeting. I have to come up with something that at least seems solid and interesting enough for him to gather up his men and meet me.
