Disclaimer: Why do I even have to say this. honestly. who the hell here
really thinks I own any of these characters (besides the obvious)? ::room
is silent:: didn't think so. But anyways.::clears throat:: Outlaw Star is
not of my own. It is property of their respectful owners and all that jazz.
Content: This chapter has profanity and violence. ^_^ gadda love the blood shed.
Note: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEOPLE REVIEWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : D ::Jumps around room like moron:: ^_^; me so happy. ....no one saw that. ::Sits back down::. ::continues typing before the "mean people with the pretty white jacket" come again::
~*~ When it rains it pours ~*~
(On the Mukai)
"Awwww.." Aki moaned as she opened her eyes. Everything in the room resembling a pastel painting; blurs of colors and figures, none of which could clearly be deciphered as anything known to her. She blinked a few times in an attempt to regain her visualization. This act helping a great deal but still not completely correcting the dilemma.
"Well well well." An eerily recognizable voice commented; followed by the sound of footsteps entering the room. "You finally grace us with your presence. Or should I say 'Grace us with your consciousness'?" The voice paused to contemplate her own question. "No answer?.Didn't think so. Well I bet next time you'll get your ass in the nearest pilot seat before we take off now won't cha." They finally completed.
"Damn it Kuroi! You knew damn well I wasn't in my seat!" Aki attempted to ridicule. The cough that came immediately after the comment however did take a great deal away from the coercion that was intended.
"O come on. I coulda made it." She gloated then walked over to the side of the bed. Aki didn't answer to this; she simply scowled further; making her resemble a toddler in a toy store that couldn't have her way.
Kuroi overlooked the attempted death glare and grabbed the bedspread covering Aki; pulling it of rather unexpectedly. The sudden change from warm to cold shocking the blonde.
"Shit it's cold" Aki complained as she curled up into a ball and attempted to fit entirely under her pillow.
"Come on Blondie," Kuroi said energetically. "Were pullin into port." She grabbed the pillow and discarded of it onto the already removed bedspread on the floor; adding to the pile quickly mounting.
"What does that have to do with meeee!" She wined; stretching out the last part of her statement. "My head still hurts!" She finished her argument. Not knowing what else to say.
"Kuroi was quickly losing her patients. If any other human on earth had pulled this they would already be bleeding from several new holes administered randomly in their skull. "Ok. I'm gonna ask you a few questions. ready?" Kuroi said kindly. TO kindly. Aki stared at her. She was attempting to anticipate what her next attack might be.
"Questions.?" Aki confirmed.
"Yep." Kuroi nodded. "Now, isn't there something that all space craft need around here before they can be allowed into a port? Without being shot down at any rate." She said very slowly; pronouncing all of her words plainly.
"Yeah." Aki answered after a few moments of deep-rooted thought; by a blonde's standard anyway.
"Right. Now here's the tuff part. What are these things called?" She then questioned. Smiling even bigger then before.
Aki wasn't sure if this was a trap or if Kuroi was mocking her. Perhaps she had just gone insane and was really asking questions for answers. "Entry codes. I think." She affirmed.
"Good. Now who are the only people that ever know these 'codes'" She said; making quotations while saying the word Codes.
"Only captains and or officers if the case is on a military ship." Aki smiled. Proud of her self for answering that one so simply.
"And you are?" Kuroi stated her last question while popping her knuckles.
"The Capt-.um.no. not captain. I'm. um." Aki panicked at the utterance that almost slipped out of her lips. "I'M THE SHIPS COOK!" She shouted out.
"Wrong answer my intelligently lacking friend" Kuroi declared as she grabbed Aki by the waist and threw her over her shoulder. Aki began to shriek out every vulgarity that had been taught to her over the years. "Now now. None of that." Kuroi chuckled.
"LET ME GO! MY HEAD STILL HURTS REALLY BAD!" She stated again. This time adding much more energy behind it.
"Damn it. You're lucky that's all that hurts. If you keep this up when I get done with you your head will be the absolute smallest amount of your problems" Kuroi threatened as she walked out of the room and down the hall to the control room; Thankfully only about a minutes saunter away.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(In the control room)
"Well, there it is." Ninii as-a-matter-of-factly stated. Even though she didn't have to point out the piece of information. Not many people could overlook an entire planet. "Isn't that big is it" She then commented.
"Nope. Not at all. It's crowded as all hell though." Nicoli commented back.
"Doesn't it have the second highest crime rate in this sector of space? Gosh! That's weird." Ninii rambled as she gazed out of the ships window, mesmerized.
"What do you mean.Weird?" Nicoli questioned. She had the general idea of the statement but wanted to get a superior understanding of it.
"O. it's just that you would think that a planet that small wouldn't have that high of a crime rate.that's all" Ninii finished. She then turned and looked at Nicoli. "That's all there is about it really." She ended, then turned back to the main monitor. Beginning to make the final navigational adjustments.
"Ok. ready for landing." Ninii said as she pressed the last few buttons. The auto navigational system had just been lifted.
"Now what?" Nicoli questioned.
"Now we weight for Aki and Kuroi" Ninii smiled, leaning back in her chair. Nicoli really wasn't very happy at all about that last comment.
"What!? Why do we have to weight for that Baka?" She mumbled. Crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair; she sighed an over exaggerated sigh and continued to criticize.
"Well. we don't have to weight. if you feel you can land this thing on your own?" Ninii inclined back up in her chair and once again faced Nicoli. Nicoli only countered to this with a dagger like gaze. "I can dock in a space port but I've never landed anything in actual gravity before."
"Damn you. I get the point." Nicoli affirmed. Thinking the argument was now over. Ninii however wasn't quite ready for it to end yet.
"Ya know. If you hadn't kept her back there for so long we would already be landing." She stated. Taking the verdict of blame and managing to place it in a polite tenor. Ninii proving at being quite well at things like that.
"Do you wanna start something Ninii? I'd hate to think that you do." Nicoli jumped out of her chair so that she could face Ninii fully; not really taking that great of offence to the remark but trying to pass the time by any means. This frightened the poor girl partially to death; her not knowing that Nicoli was joking around. Right as Nicoli prepared to move towards Ninii to finish the horrification process the sound of a door breach was heard.
"Good morning folks" Kuroi energetically greeted. "Look what I drug in" She smiled in her usual evil grin and threw Aki into her chair; not being all to gentle about it. The girl kept an oddly at ease facial expression; still a notable amount of irritation trimming the edges.
"Good morning Kuroi, Aki ^_^." Ninii greeted back with her usual -brighter-then-the-sun-itself- smile. "Are ya ready to land this beast?" Ninii straight away questioned. She was starting to get tired of the cold metallic surroundings of their ship and wanted off immediately.
"Wow. Were here already?" Aki inquired as her face got a rather blank fleeting look on it. She walked over to the window and gazed out. "Pretty." No one really jumped on the chance to answer that question; instead faces all around the room faulted. Kuroi, however, took up the challenge.
"Ok, Aki. why exactly do you think I would get you out of bed for entrance codes when we weren't even at the planet yet?" She questioned in an almost ashamed tone of voice.
"^_^; Wow I never thought of it that way" Aki began to laugh. Eyes darted around the room. All gazes finally settling on Kuroi. Kuroi simply looked back and shrugged her shoulders; Not knowing of any way to cure stupidity.
"Umm. well. shall we continue?" Nicoli sat down in her seat; bringing down a series of red straps over her shoulders and securing them tightly. "Let's get this mess over with." She then stated. Everyone else in the control room took this as a request to get buckled down immediately.
Aki very quickly pulled her restraints over her and pulled them even tighter then usual, wanting to avoid another concussion if at all possible. Once done she began hitting every button in eyes range as quickly, yet perfectly as ever seen. "10.94 miles away and closing. An estimated 32 minutes till atmospheric entry." She spoke. The words and series of numbers poring from her mouth sounding almost alien to how she looked and earlier acted. She finally placed the entry code and received permission to enter the atmosphere. Their mission had finally begun.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Back with Gene)
"DAMN IT!" Gene yelled as he ran. He looked at his watch and noticed it was already 10:05. "I don't believe this shit." He gasped as he sprinted around the next corner. His car had broken down a good 2 miles away; this making for an excellent evening work out opportunity. Looking up as far as he could see he finally saw the neon glow of the sign he was in search of. This brought the beginning flare of a smile to his face; taken immediately away by a newly developing pain in his side. He continued nonetheless, almost tripping over a discarded beer bottle.
Finally reaching the bar he shoved open the door; still trying to catch his breath, none to successfully. The bar was fairly crowded. There were way to many people to decipher any specific individual from any other. Even more so since he had never actually seen the person he was looking for. He took his only option.
"HEY CLIDE!" he yelled over the raised voices of all the customers as he approached the owner. The man saw the familiar red fire and smiled.
"Hey Gene. How's it goin?" He inquired.
"Pretty fair. Hey, I was wondering. Has any one come in here about. o. lets say 5 minutes before me? Some one you haven't seen around here lately." He deliberated, leaning on the bar yet still keeping his eyes set on Clide.
"Hmmm." He thought momentarily. Looking around the room. "Not that I call to mind." He finally established; this smashing Gene's hopes of ever finding the potential client. "But about 10 minutes ago that guy over there came in. aint never seen him around these parts." Clide finished. Pointing at a gentleman all the way across the room in the furthest crook. A haze of cigarette smoke developing around him.
"Thanks," Gene said appreciatively as he walked over to the table; placing himself in the direct viewing path of the man in order to get his attention.
"Hey. Is this seat taken?" Gene asked the man; then sat down before even weighting to hear a retort. He could now clearly make out the man. He was a fairly built guy, some what resembling Gene. He had luminous green eyes and hair so black it damn near looked cobalt.
"Once Gene had taken his chair the man smiled. The odd humor of the man confirming to Gene that it was in fact the man he had spoken with over the phone earlier that day. He took one last drag on his cigarette before pressing it into the ashtray. "Well if it isn't the locally renowned Gene Starwind. I must say I pictured some body a little better then you." He alleged in a disrespectful tone Almost as if attempting to bring Gene down a rank.
Gene pushed the obvious insult to the back of his mind and proceeded to reply. "Your not all that great your self." He smiled. This made the man grin even more.
"Good. We have something in common already." He joked. Gene not really finding it comical but keeping his smirk none the less.
"So. you had a job to request?" Gene stopped smiling and got a rather serious facade.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~
(In the Mukai)
"Um. Aki. aren't you a little off center?" Ninii questioned. She was trying to cover her obvious concerns but it showing through even so. The ship jerked again and Ninii dug her nails even deeper into her chair.
"No. I'm right on target." Aki said cockily. She was attempting to follow the guide beacon. Conversely she currently had double vision and couldn't quite decide which image of the beacon she should chose to be following. Yet to the people who could see clearly it was quite apparent that they might miss the landing pad by a good 300 yards. It normally wouldn't be an anxiety except for the small fact of all the other ships parked in the area. "Aki, I really think you should just let Kuroi land this time" Nicoli pleaded; not ready to die yet at such a young age. The constant rocking of the ship didn't bother her at all but the fact that the ship kept changing coerces was a little unnerving.
"Why the hell are you guys nagging me? I've done this a hundred times and you've never complained once. Well.except that time I sideswiped that Cataral ship. but lets not get into that one again." Aki reminded her companions as they continued there decent. The reminder of the past incident making them even more uneasy. The numbers on the screen getting lesser and lesser. The time remaining till contact was only about two minutes and falling.
"Give me the controls" Kuroi demanded, realizing that this wasn't going to end well unless some one intervened. Getting out of her seat and clinging to her chair; the force of the ship going into orbit pulling he away. Any other being would have been plastered to the back of the control room wall by now; Kuroi not even showing the slightest bit of strain.
"I can land this think." Aki alleged one last time. Kuroi at that point had heard enough and climbed into the seat with Aki, shoving her over.
"I really think I should do this." Kuroi then took the controls and began to follow the guide as best she could. Every one present took in a deep inhalation and sighed; that is until they all realized Kuroi had never landed anything in her whole life.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Sentinel)
"The undertaking I have in mind is really quite simple. It's just the impediments that will lie in your way that make this tricky." The man remarked; putting out his third cigarette of the evening.
"Yeah yeah, we've already established the whole tricky part.Mr.. What did you say your name was?" Gene questioned. He was trying to get the guys name so he could due a background check when he got back home.
"I didn't say my name." The man smarted as usual. "But my name is Richard. Richard Arani to be more precise." He informed.
"Alright Mr. Arani" Gene was then cut off by the man again.
"O please, No formalities. Just Richard if you will." He requested.
Gene really didn't see any difference in what the hell the man was called but went with the request at any rate. "Richard, what the hell is it you want me to do exactly. You seem to be avoiding the subject." Gene brought the fact to Richard's attention.
"Very good Gene. Your not a complete idiot after all." Richard insulted again. Almost making it a point to attack Gene's ego every time he spoke. "This is the job" He then placed a hand on the inside of his jacket, then looked to both sides of him very cautiously. He pulled out a very small, pasty, letter and laid it on the table. "It's a letter. I need it delivered somewhere. I'll tell you where when you except the terms of this operation." He finally finished.
Gene couldn't believe it. He had gotten his ass haled all the way downtown so he could deliver some batty freaks mail. "Is that it. just a letter?" He questioned in shock. His eyes getting bigger and jaw starting to slump. He was mentally debating weather or not he should stay and listen or waltz out of here with whatever lingering dignity he had.
"Is that it?! You obviously aren't grasping the severity of this 'letters' importance," He scolded. "Listen Jr. The contents of this envelop are worth more then your damn life. More then mine, more then every persons on this whole god forsaken planet." He hissed in an eerily low tone. His eyes turning to slits and his hand tightening on his cigarette pack.
"Calm the fuck down. I get it. I get it" Gene declared. Still thinking the whole thing was a complete squander but not wanting to piss the man off anymore then he already was. "So all I have to do is deliver this letter .thing." Gene questioned as he slammed down a shot that had just recently been brought to their table. He had just gotten over his previous hang over and figured it was as good a time as any to start another.
"Basically. Yeah. That sums it up for the most part." Richard stated. He then grabbed another cigarette and placed its end in a candle that had been added decoratively to the table in which they sat. He started to lift it to his lips when he paused. "Say. you have a ship right?" the man questioned; then continued to taint his lungs.
"This question came as a bit of a stun to Gene. He new damn well e didn't have a ship, or have any means of getting one for that matter. "Well." Gene paused, sorting out what he would say next. "I don't have it right now but I can get it" He threw out. Not sure weather or not it made any since but sticking to it in any case. It sounded like your average lie and was immediately picked up by the man.
This made the man scoff. "I didn't think so. But don't worry" He went on; grabbing a writing implement out of his coat and jotting a few things on a napkin as he spoke. "Go to this port. It isn't to far away from here. There should be a burgundy ship and black ship on the landing pad. The black ones yours. And please mind not to hit the other spacecraft when you take off. That shit isn't easy to get fixed." He finished then scooted the napkin in front of Gene; this causing a rather blank facial expression to cross Gene's façade.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(On the Mukai)
Every lass on the ships eyes resembled that of a deer in head lights. The tint had ran out of their faces and they sat in complete silence. Each one taking a very long moment to themselves to contemplate exactly how close to death they actually came.
These grave like proceedings were the broken by a voice over the intercom. "Welcome." He greeted joyously. "Well if I must say that was the most interesting method of landing a ship I've ever seen. And I've been working her for damn near 14 years." He then waited for a response; not receiving one. "Hello? Every one alright in there." He then chimed. With the landing just made it wouldn't surprise him if every person present was already dead.
Nicoli was the first one to show animation. She sat up in her seat and pressed the transmission key. Taking in another deep breath before proceeding. "Yeah. were ok" She lied
"Ok then" he cut in; his voice filled with disbelief. Being pressed for time he couldn't try for the real answer. "Your verified a 24 hour pass. After that your ship will be impounded and a fine will start to mount. I have sent to you a list of rules and laws that comply with this planet. I suggest you read over them carefully. Any failure to follow them will result with imprisonment and or legal action-" The man started to go on but was cut off as Aki broke the communication message. She didn't want to risk her headache getting any worse then it had already had grow to.
"Alright ladies, you heard the man. We have 24 hours to hunt down Mr. Grim." Aki started to state the current circumstances. "Kuroi and I will take the down town region. This includes the shopping area and bars. You two," She said looking at Ninii and Nicoli. "Take the further regions. Check with any hotels or clubs. He should most likely be in one of those places since he isn't planning on staying here long. Skip all the residential zones." She then tossed Ninii a pocket communicator. "Keep that on. If you find him first contact us and wait. We'll be there to help as soon as we can manage." Aki finished.
"Ditto" Nicoli commented back as she cracked a new clip into her gun.
"Alright then, lets get this over with." Kuroi ended; Opening the cargo door to a view of the further regions of Sentinel. It was mostly some form of agriculture but beyond that the lights of the city were quite apparent.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Clides)
Well I suppose that's everything" Richard said putting out the last of his cigarette and finishing off a glass of what he was previously drinking. He wasn't classified as drunk by any means but his words were starting to become slurred ever so slightly.
"Hold on now" Gene cut in. "There is still a matter of pay here." Gene reminded. Not about to hall his ass to the other side of the galaxy for nothing.
"O yes, how forgetful of me. Lets see." He paused to think. "How about half a million now and one million when you deliver. I will deposit the money tonight and once you deliver the mentioned object the man I told you about will pay the rest" He decided on. This was very pleasing to Gene; since he now had a ship of his own and way more then enough money for rent.
"Alrighty then. Once the money is deposited I'll be on my way." Gene noted as he reached out his hand for the envelope. Richard crashed his hand down on top of Gene's and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Listen and listen good. You look after this with your life boy, ya hear? I don't care what you have to do, who you must kill, you just get this to its destination." Upon saying this he still held his hand over Genes. Starting to press harder now.
This was coming off as a little strange to Gene. Why any one would stress out over something so seemingly small was beyond him. "I get it. Don't worry. I'll get the letter there," He said confidently; this finally convincing the man to remove his hand and allow Gene to take the letter into his ownership.
"Say. you never told me where to take it." Gene realized; feeling a little dumb for missing that one. For all he knew the letters destination could be a black hole.
"Don't worry. The location is already in the ships database. You should have no difficulty finding it. On the napkin I wrote a 9-digit code. That will get you into the navigation files. After that I advise you to memorize the code and obliterate it." The man assured as well as advised; then stood up. "Well I am a little pressed for time right now so I will be seeing you soon. if fate blesses us both." He then bowed his head gratefully and turned completely around to face the door. He now faced the barrel of a handgun.
"Konoichiwa Grim-sama. How's it going?" The gun-toting female questioned; an ungodly vast sound of enjoyment in her voice. Grim's first response to this was to simply look at the floor. Almost as if trying to avoid looking into the eyes of his soon to be assassin. Gene looked on at the scene unavailing before him; not wanting to give the woman a reason to fire. Not yet anyway.
"May I help you?" Grim questioned, trying to keep a very tranquil persona, and doing a damned good job of it; most people with a gun to there head wouldn't be very up to a friendly conversation.
"Your Richard Arani, am I right?" Kuroi questioned. Wanting to ensure it was the right bounty head before she did anything drastic.
"I rather wish you to refer to me as Grim, but call me what you wish." He serenely requested; almost as if he truly wasn't troubled by the situation at all. Gene sat there in question. He really had no clue why a guy like this would have a bounty on him; sure he was a little on the fruity side but he was very polite.
"Well I suppose it is in my best interests to honor a dead mans wishes," She said before smiling. The grin on her face looking colder then that of the devil him self. Her finger gradually becoming tighter and tighter on the trigger.
If he dies now he can't deposit the money Gene thought. He opted to end the situation; slowly lowering his hand down to his caster.
"Hold it right there Baka." Kuroi demanded. "Let us not forget who here is holding the gun." She reminded. Gene pulled his hand back up and started to formulate a plane B.
"Such a damn shame. So young. So very young. Heaven only knows what you could have done with your life." Grim spoke some what resembling a funeral keeper. "However I suppose your no different then every other bounty hunter or law man that's come after me." Grim rambled.
Wow he's finally snapped Gene figured; the words coming out of Grims mouth making absolutely no since.
"What the hell are you babbling on about?" Kuroi queried; her thoughts akin to Genes. She eased up on the trigger slightly so that she may hear his retort.
"You say you should honor a dead mans wishes. Well I say it's pointless explaining things to the dying." He whispered. These made Kuroi a little uneasy; causing her to take the gun aimed at Grim and drop it ever so slightly, showing that her attention was now lowered. That act leaving her open for a very large range of possible attacks.
Gene couldn't believe his own luck. He grabbed the candle from the table and pelted the woman with it. This didn't cause her any damage but it did trigger a reflex to close her eyes momentarily.
"What the!?!" She shot back. Really having no clue of the dire mistake she had just made. Grim smiled.
He swiftly swung his leg up and around. This knocked the gun from Kuroi's hands. Kuroi, surprised by the moment and not having the time to take in her other choices, dove for her gun. Once she was down he then kicked her directly in the jaw. The force of the blow lifting her completely off the ground and hurling her onto her back. She rested there briefly; staring at the ceiling and still questioning what the hell had just happened.
She slowly sat up trying not to move abruptly for the fear of further damaging anything that may already be injured. She rose up to one knee and then stopped. She now had her own gun placed on her forehead.
"Well I guess this is it. Any last words?" The man said in a very low snarl.
"Yeah, fuck you" Kuroi hissed back; the amount of venom in her voice seeming ungodly.
"Get out of here kid." Grim whispered to Gene; still not taking his gaze off of the girl on the floor. "I'll finish this and deposit your money. You just make sure you finish the task." He ended; pulling back the hammer of the gun and pointing it directly at Kuroi's heart. Kuroi closed her eyes.
He isn't gonna kill her is he?! Gene wasn't sure what the hell was going on but he sure as hell didn't want some chick to get gunned down right in front of him; especially since here death would be in part his fault.
"HOLD IT" Some one screamed from the door of the bar. Before the words had even ended a bullet was already sent flying through the air and directly into Grim's left shoulder. The force of the searing metal pushing him completely around. That o so familiar sound caught the attention of every onlooker in the tavern. Sending all of them sprinting out of the room in hopes of not getting killed. Kuroi exhaled, then kicked the man in the kneecap and sent him plummeting onto the cold tile floor.
Within a moments time Kuroi had retained her handgun once more and was aiming it on Grim. The sender of the bullet then approached.
"Your ass is screwed too buddy" the blonde haired lady threatened Gene. She took aim at him and waited for the sound of Kuroi's gun to go off; that being the signal for her to end Gene's life as well. Seeing the situation before him forced all the earlier thoughts of the man over exaggerating the situation quickly out of his mind. He had only had the letter for 30 seconds and he already had 2 people hunting him down.
"Aki I gotta hand it to you. You sure as hell know how to clear out a party." Kuroi joked. Trying to ease the mood of the whole situation.
"Come on. Kill him." Aki demanded. Wanting the situation to be over with as soon as possible in view of the fact that she really didn't like holding a gun on someone for an extended period of time; she knew the longer they stalled the greater the chances of everything going haywire became.
"Don't kill the kid," Kuroi requested to Aki. "He hasn't done anything." She then informed. Aki looked at Kuroi then shrugged her shoulders. This wasn't at all like Kuroi. She more often then not jumped on the opportunity to spill blood; whose hands it was done by didn't figure.
"As you wish." She the mumbled, putting her gun back in its place. "You heard her. It's your lucky day hun. Get outta here." Aki said as she slightly tilted her head towards the door. Gene looked at the girl that was signaling for him to go, then back at Grim. He was bleeding pretty badly now. The entire left side of him was doused in crimson. If he wanted to get him out he would have to do it now.
"What the hell are you looking at? I told you to get your ass outta here." Aki said forcefully; her hand on the brink of grabbing her firearm yet again.
"Why the hell do you want him dead so badly?"" Gene questioned. He was fully aware of the situation at hand but really wanted to know what Grim could have possibly done to make this many people hate him so badly.
"Why do you ask?" Kurooi answered the question with another question. It became apparent to Gene that every one present was concealing information so nothing was going to be answered by the assassin, or Grim for that matter. Perhaps if he could just get Kurois attention away from Grim one more time they could both get out of there safely. It was a blessing from god himself that they got away with it once, for it to happen again it may take a little more then god could even do. His eyes began to dart around the room in search of anything that may prove useful in a soon to be escape attempt.
"Why do you care?" he continued in a thickheaded manner.
He didn't know Kuroi at all so her past anger management standings were rather unknown; no clue was given that the statement would light the fuse that it did.
Kuroi couldn't deem it. The first time she had shown any compassion towards a member of the human race they opted not to accept the kindness. She would have to make a mental note of this and make sure it never happened again.
"Aki," Kuroi growled from between clinched teeth. "Please teach are new friend over there how to better hold his tong." She demanded harshly. Her attention still didn't break form Grim in the slightest; she had absolutely no intentions of letting the earlier incident reinact itself.
With plan A obviously not working he quickly constructed a new method. "Yeah, teach me how to hold my tong." The term said had just placed a whole new meaning to the words smart ass. Aki knew he would most likely be expecting the oncoming attack so she reached for her gun while turning, trying to cut down on his reaction time; her hand never made it. Aki got half way turned and realized that some one had grabbed her arm. She quickly attempted to correct the misfortune by changing her direction and turning the other way. Gene easily countered this by simply rotating her shoulder and pulling her arm behind her back; taking away all manners of escape. Gene then took the gun from her hip and placed it lightly on her temple; not wanting to hurt her but wanting her to be well aware of the guns prescience.
"SHIT!" Aki screamed as she felt the cold steal press on the side of her head. Kuroi heard her friends screech and immediately shifted to the left; this making it achievable for her to have a full view of both Grim and Gene; Aki could be seen contained by her own damn arm.
"O come on Blondie." Kuroi moaned. She had never had this many things go wrong in a 20-minute time interval before. "Let her go!" Kuroi demanded.
"Your gonna have to as a little nicer then that." Gene requested. Aki then began to struggle; her attempted thrashing didn't even budge Gene.
"How about let her go NOW?!" Kuroi stated the question in a demand like form.
"Hmm. I'm thinking no." He pretended to debate amongst himself before immediately rejecting the request. Kuroi was trying her absolute hardest to keep her anger leashed, however it was failing more and more so with every moment that passed.
"I can't help but get the feeling you can't hear me." She very calmly affirmed, "So let me try one more time" with this said she pulled out a separate gun that had been located behind her held by the waistline of he jeans. She now had both Grim and Gene targeted.
"Let.Her.Go.Now." She insisted as she pronounced every word perfectly before going on to the next. Gene quickly pulled Aki further in front of him self, her feet scarcely touching the ground; knowing that she most likely wouldn't shoot through her own friend in order to slaughter him.he hoped.
"Hiding behind some one half your size. How courageous of you." She insulted.
"Yeah yeah laugh it up. Your not exactly leaving me with any other choice now are you" Gene informed; justifying to himself what he was doing. "If you even make an effort to kill me I'll take her life right here and now." Gene warned. He wished to avoid any such situation but knew what had to be done had to be done.
"You kill her I'll drop your ass as well as this guys faster then you can blink. It doesn't matter if you fuck yourself over but do you really wanna take him with you?" She threatened; Grim looked up at Gene upon hearing the comment, his eyes almost approving of the said statement. The more she spoke the more her voce resembled that of a roar as an alternative to a usual tone.
There they all stood; guns out, aimed and weighting for any one person to move. If one person made a wrong move it would without doubt set off a series of reactions from every firearm in the conflict; thus every one would inhale there last breath, be they outlaw, assassin, or standard individual.
Authors note- ::dodges bullets:: I'M SORRY! I'LL NEVER MAKE A CLIFF HANGER AGAIN! ::Dives behind computer table and covers::..well..I suppose that's the end. But don't worry. The next chapter is now my top priority and will be up before you know it.
Next chapter- A whole new group gets thrown into the mix
Content: This chapter has profanity and violence. ^_^ gadda love the blood shed.
Note: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEOPLE REVIEWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : D ::Jumps around room like moron:: ^_^; me so happy. ....no one saw that. ::Sits back down::. ::continues typing before the "mean people with the pretty white jacket" come again::
~*~ When it rains it pours ~*~
(On the Mukai)
"Awwww.." Aki moaned as she opened her eyes. Everything in the room resembling a pastel painting; blurs of colors and figures, none of which could clearly be deciphered as anything known to her. She blinked a few times in an attempt to regain her visualization. This act helping a great deal but still not completely correcting the dilemma.
"Well well well." An eerily recognizable voice commented; followed by the sound of footsteps entering the room. "You finally grace us with your presence. Or should I say 'Grace us with your consciousness'?" The voice paused to contemplate her own question. "No answer?.Didn't think so. Well I bet next time you'll get your ass in the nearest pilot seat before we take off now won't cha." They finally completed.
"Damn it Kuroi! You knew damn well I wasn't in my seat!" Aki attempted to ridicule. The cough that came immediately after the comment however did take a great deal away from the coercion that was intended.
"O come on. I coulda made it." She gloated then walked over to the side of the bed. Aki didn't answer to this; she simply scowled further; making her resemble a toddler in a toy store that couldn't have her way.
Kuroi overlooked the attempted death glare and grabbed the bedspread covering Aki; pulling it of rather unexpectedly. The sudden change from warm to cold shocking the blonde.
"Shit it's cold" Aki complained as she curled up into a ball and attempted to fit entirely under her pillow.
"Come on Blondie," Kuroi said energetically. "Were pullin into port." She grabbed the pillow and discarded of it onto the already removed bedspread on the floor; adding to the pile quickly mounting.
"What does that have to do with meeee!" She wined; stretching out the last part of her statement. "My head still hurts!" She finished her argument. Not knowing what else to say.
"Kuroi was quickly losing her patients. If any other human on earth had pulled this they would already be bleeding from several new holes administered randomly in their skull. "Ok. I'm gonna ask you a few questions. ready?" Kuroi said kindly. TO kindly. Aki stared at her. She was attempting to anticipate what her next attack might be.
"Questions.?" Aki confirmed.
"Yep." Kuroi nodded. "Now, isn't there something that all space craft need around here before they can be allowed into a port? Without being shot down at any rate." She said very slowly; pronouncing all of her words plainly.
"Yeah." Aki answered after a few moments of deep-rooted thought; by a blonde's standard anyway.
"Right. Now here's the tuff part. What are these things called?" She then questioned. Smiling even bigger then before.
Aki wasn't sure if this was a trap or if Kuroi was mocking her. Perhaps she had just gone insane and was really asking questions for answers. "Entry codes. I think." She affirmed.
"Good. Now who are the only people that ever know these 'codes'" She said; making quotations while saying the word Codes.
"Only captains and or officers if the case is on a military ship." Aki smiled. Proud of her self for answering that one so simply.
"And you are?" Kuroi stated her last question while popping her knuckles.
"The Capt-.um.no. not captain. I'm. um." Aki panicked at the utterance that almost slipped out of her lips. "I'M THE SHIPS COOK!" She shouted out.
"Wrong answer my intelligently lacking friend" Kuroi declared as she grabbed Aki by the waist and threw her over her shoulder. Aki began to shriek out every vulgarity that had been taught to her over the years. "Now now. None of that." Kuroi chuckled.
"LET ME GO! MY HEAD STILL HURTS REALLY BAD!" She stated again. This time adding much more energy behind it.
"Damn it. You're lucky that's all that hurts. If you keep this up when I get done with you your head will be the absolute smallest amount of your problems" Kuroi threatened as she walked out of the room and down the hall to the control room; Thankfully only about a minutes saunter away.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(In the control room)
"Well, there it is." Ninii as-a-matter-of-factly stated. Even though she didn't have to point out the piece of information. Not many people could overlook an entire planet. "Isn't that big is it" She then commented.
"Nope. Not at all. It's crowded as all hell though." Nicoli commented back.
"Doesn't it have the second highest crime rate in this sector of space? Gosh! That's weird." Ninii rambled as she gazed out of the ships window, mesmerized.
"What do you mean.Weird?" Nicoli questioned. She had the general idea of the statement but wanted to get a superior understanding of it.
"O. it's just that you would think that a planet that small wouldn't have that high of a crime rate.that's all" Ninii finished. She then turned and looked at Nicoli. "That's all there is about it really." She ended, then turned back to the main monitor. Beginning to make the final navigational adjustments.
"Ok. ready for landing." Ninii said as she pressed the last few buttons. The auto navigational system had just been lifted.
"Now what?" Nicoli questioned.
"Now we weight for Aki and Kuroi" Ninii smiled, leaning back in her chair. Nicoli really wasn't very happy at all about that last comment.
"What!? Why do we have to weight for that Baka?" She mumbled. Crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair; she sighed an over exaggerated sigh and continued to criticize.
"Well. we don't have to weight. if you feel you can land this thing on your own?" Ninii inclined back up in her chair and once again faced Nicoli. Nicoli only countered to this with a dagger like gaze. "I can dock in a space port but I've never landed anything in actual gravity before."
"Damn you. I get the point." Nicoli affirmed. Thinking the argument was now over. Ninii however wasn't quite ready for it to end yet.
"Ya know. If you hadn't kept her back there for so long we would already be landing." She stated. Taking the verdict of blame and managing to place it in a polite tenor. Ninii proving at being quite well at things like that.
"Do you wanna start something Ninii? I'd hate to think that you do." Nicoli jumped out of her chair so that she could face Ninii fully; not really taking that great of offence to the remark but trying to pass the time by any means. This frightened the poor girl partially to death; her not knowing that Nicoli was joking around. Right as Nicoli prepared to move towards Ninii to finish the horrification process the sound of a door breach was heard.
"Good morning folks" Kuroi energetically greeted. "Look what I drug in" She smiled in her usual evil grin and threw Aki into her chair; not being all to gentle about it. The girl kept an oddly at ease facial expression; still a notable amount of irritation trimming the edges.
"Good morning Kuroi, Aki ^_^." Ninii greeted back with her usual -brighter-then-the-sun-itself- smile. "Are ya ready to land this beast?" Ninii straight away questioned. She was starting to get tired of the cold metallic surroundings of their ship and wanted off immediately.
"Wow. Were here already?" Aki inquired as her face got a rather blank fleeting look on it. She walked over to the window and gazed out. "Pretty." No one really jumped on the chance to answer that question; instead faces all around the room faulted. Kuroi, however, took up the challenge.
"Ok, Aki. why exactly do you think I would get you out of bed for entrance codes when we weren't even at the planet yet?" She questioned in an almost ashamed tone of voice.
"^_^; Wow I never thought of it that way" Aki began to laugh. Eyes darted around the room. All gazes finally settling on Kuroi. Kuroi simply looked back and shrugged her shoulders; Not knowing of any way to cure stupidity.
"Umm. well. shall we continue?" Nicoli sat down in her seat; bringing down a series of red straps over her shoulders and securing them tightly. "Let's get this mess over with." She then stated. Everyone else in the control room took this as a request to get buckled down immediately.
Aki very quickly pulled her restraints over her and pulled them even tighter then usual, wanting to avoid another concussion if at all possible. Once done she began hitting every button in eyes range as quickly, yet perfectly as ever seen. "10.94 miles away and closing. An estimated 32 minutes till atmospheric entry." She spoke. The words and series of numbers poring from her mouth sounding almost alien to how she looked and earlier acted. She finally placed the entry code and received permission to enter the atmosphere. Their mission had finally begun.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Back with Gene)
"DAMN IT!" Gene yelled as he ran. He looked at his watch and noticed it was already 10:05. "I don't believe this shit." He gasped as he sprinted around the next corner. His car had broken down a good 2 miles away; this making for an excellent evening work out opportunity. Looking up as far as he could see he finally saw the neon glow of the sign he was in search of. This brought the beginning flare of a smile to his face; taken immediately away by a newly developing pain in his side. He continued nonetheless, almost tripping over a discarded beer bottle.
Finally reaching the bar he shoved open the door; still trying to catch his breath, none to successfully. The bar was fairly crowded. There were way to many people to decipher any specific individual from any other. Even more so since he had never actually seen the person he was looking for. He took his only option.
"HEY CLIDE!" he yelled over the raised voices of all the customers as he approached the owner. The man saw the familiar red fire and smiled.
"Hey Gene. How's it goin?" He inquired.
"Pretty fair. Hey, I was wondering. Has any one come in here about. o. lets say 5 minutes before me? Some one you haven't seen around here lately." He deliberated, leaning on the bar yet still keeping his eyes set on Clide.
"Hmmm." He thought momentarily. Looking around the room. "Not that I call to mind." He finally established; this smashing Gene's hopes of ever finding the potential client. "But about 10 minutes ago that guy over there came in. aint never seen him around these parts." Clide finished. Pointing at a gentleman all the way across the room in the furthest crook. A haze of cigarette smoke developing around him.
"Thanks," Gene said appreciatively as he walked over to the table; placing himself in the direct viewing path of the man in order to get his attention.
"Hey. Is this seat taken?" Gene asked the man; then sat down before even weighting to hear a retort. He could now clearly make out the man. He was a fairly built guy, some what resembling Gene. He had luminous green eyes and hair so black it damn near looked cobalt.
"Once Gene had taken his chair the man smiled. The odd humor of the man confirming to Gene that it was in fact the man he had spoken with over the phone earlier that day. He took one last drag on his cigarette before pressing it into the ashtray. "Well if it isn't the locally renowned Gene Starwind. I must say I pictured some body a little better then you." He alleged in a disrespectful tone Almost as if attempting to bring Gene down a rank.
Gene pushed the obvious insult to the back of his mind and proceeded to reply. "Your not all that great your self." He smiled. This made the man grin even more.
"Good. We have something in common already." He joked. Gene not really finding it comical but keeping his smirk none the less.
"So. you had a job to request?" Gene stopped smiling and got a rather serious facade.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~
(In the Mukai)
"Um. Aki. aren't you a little off center?" Ninii questioned. She was trying to cover her obvious concerns but it showing through even so. The ship jerked again and Ninii dug her nails even deeper into her chair.
"No. I'm right on target." Aki said cockily. She was attempting to follow the guide beacon. Conversely she currently had double vision and couldn't quite decide which image of the beacon she should chose to be following. Yet to the people who could see clearly it was quite apparent that they might miss the landing pad by a good 300 yards. It normally wouldn't be an anxiety except for the small fact of all the other ships parked in the area. "Aki, I really think you should just let Kuroi land this time" Nicoli pleaded; not ready to die yet at such a young age. The constant rocking of the ship didn't bother her at all but the fact that the ship kept changing coerces was a little unnerving.
"Why the hell are you guys nagging me? I've done this a hundred times and you've never complained once. Well.except that time I sideswiped that Cataral ship. but lets not get into that one again." Aki reminded her companions as they continued there decent. The reminder of the past incident making them even more uneasy. The numbers on the screen getting lesser and lesser. The time remaining till contact was only about two minutes and falling.
"Give me the controls" Kuroi demanded, realizing that this wasn't going to end well unless some one intervened. Getting out of her seat and clinging to her chair; the force of the ship going into orbit pulling he away. Any other being would have been plastered to the back of the control room wall by now; Kuroi not even showing the slightest bit of strain.
"I can land this think." Aki alleged one last time. Kuroi at that point had heard enough and climbed into the seat with Aki, shoving her over.
"I really think I should do this." Kuroi then took the controls and began to follow the guide as best she could. Every one present took in a deep inhalation and sighed; that is until they all realized Kuroi had never landed anything in her whole life.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Sentinel)
"The undertaking I have in mind is really quite simple. It's just the impediments that will lie in your way that make this tricky." The man remarked; putting out his third cigarette of the evening.
"Yeah yeah, we've already established the whole tricky part.Mr.. What did you say your name was?" Gene questioned. He was trying to get the guys name so he could due a background check when he got back home.
"I didn't say my name." The man smarted as usual. "But my name is Richard. Richard Arani to be more precise." He informed.
"Alright Mr. Arani" Gene was then cut off by the man again.
"O please, No formalities. Just Richard if you will." He requested.
Gene really didn't see any difference in what the hell the man was called but went with the request at any rate. "Richard, what the hell is it you want me to do exactly. You seem to be avoiding the subject." Gene brought the fact to Richard's attention.
"Very good Gene. Your not a complete idiot after all." Richard insulted again. Almost making it a point to attack Gene's ego every time he spoke. "This is the job" He then placed a hand on the inside of his jacket, then looked to both sides of him very cautiously. He pulled out a very small, pasty, letter and laid it on the table. "It's a letter. I need it delivered somewhere. I'll tell you where when you except the terms of this operation." He finally finished.
Gene couldn't believe it. He had gotten his ass haled all the way downtown so he could deliver some batty freaks mail. "Is that it. just a letter?" He questioned in shock. His eyes getting bigger and jaw starting to slump. He was mentally debating weather or not he should stay and listen or waltz out of here with whatever lingering dignity he had.
"Is that it?! You obviously aren't grasping the severity of this 'letters' importance," He scolded. "Listen Jr. The contents of this envelop are worth more then your damn life. More then mine, more then every persons on this whole god forsaken planet." He hissed in an eerily low tone. His eyes turning to slits and his hand tightening on his cigarette pack.
"Calm the fuck down. I get it. I get it" Gene declared. Still thinking the whole thing was a complete squander but not wanting to piss the man off anymore then he already was. "So all I have to do is deliver this letter .thing." Gene questioned as he slammed down a shot that had just recently been brought to their table. He had just gotten over his previous hang over and figured it was as good a time as any to start another.
"Basically. Yeah. That sums it up for the most part." Richard stated. He then grabbed another cigarette and placed its end in a candle that had been added decoratively to the table in which they sat. He started to lift it to his lips when he paused. "Say. you have a ship right?" the man questioned; then continued to taint his lungs.
"This question came as a bit of a stun to Gene. He new damn well e didn't have a ship, or have any means of getting one for that matter. "Well." Gene paused, sorting out what he would say next. "I don't have it right now but I can get it" He threw out. Not sure weather or not it made any since but sticking to it in any case. It sounded like your average lie and was immediately picked up by the man.
This made the man scoff. "I didn't think so. But don't worry" He went on; grabbing a writing implement out of his coat and jotting a few things on a napkin as he spoke. "Go to this port. It isn't to far away from here. There should be a burgundy ship and black ship on the landing pad. The black ones yours. And please mind not to hit the other spacecraft when you take off. That shit isn't easy to get fixed." He finished then scooted the napkin in front of Gene; this causing a rather blank facial expression to cross Gene's façade.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(On the Mukai)
Every lass on the ships eyes resembled that of a deer in head lights. The tint had ran out of their faces and they sat in complete silence. Each one taking a very long moment to themselves to contemplate exactly how close to death they actually came.
These grave like proceedings were the broken by a voice over the intercom. "Welcome." He greeted joyously. "Well if I must say that was the most interesting method of landing a ship I've ever seen. And I've been working her for damn near 14 years." He then waited for a response; not receiving one. "Hello? Every one alright in there." He then chimed. With the landing just made it wouldn't surprise him if every person present was already dead.
Nicoli was the first one to show animation. She sat up in her seat and pressed the transmission key. Taking in another deep breath before proceeding. "Yeah. were ok" She lied
"Ok then" he cut in; his voice filled with disbelief. Being pressed for time he couldn't try for the real answer. "Your verified a 24 hour pass. After that your ship will be impounded and a fine will start to mount. I have sent to you a list of rules and laws that comply with this planet. I suggest you read over them carefully. Any failure to follow them will result with imprisonment and or legal action-" The man started to go on but was cut off as Aki broke the communication message. She didn't want to risk her headache getting any worse then it had already had grow to.
"Alright ladies, you heard the man. We have 24 hours to hunt down Mr. Grim." Aki started to state the current circumstances. "Kuroi and I will take the down town region. This includes the shopping area and bars. You two," She said looking at Ninii and Nicoli. "Take the further regions. Check with any hotels or clubs. He should most likely be in one of those places since he isn't planning on staying here long. Skip all the residential zones." She then tossed Ninii a pocket communicator. "Keep that on. If you find him first contact us and wait. We'll be there to help as soon as we can manage." Aki finished.
"Ditto" Nicoli commented back as she cracked a new clip into her gun.
"Alright then, lets get this over with." Kuroi ended; Opening the cargo door to a view of the further regions of Sentinel. It was mostly some form of agriculture but beyond that the lights of the city were quite apparent.
~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
(Clides)
Well I suppose that's everything" Richard said putting out the last of his cigarette and finishing off a glass of what he was previously drinking. He wasn't classified as drunk by any means but his words were starting to become slurred ever so slightly.
"Hold on now" Gene cut in. "There is still a matter of pay here." Gene reminded. Not about to hall his ass to the other side of the galaxy for nothing.
"O yes, how forgetful of me. Lets see." He paused to think. "How about half a million now and one million when you deliver. I will deposit the money tonight and once you deliver the mentioned object the man I told you about will pay the rest" He decided on. This was very pleasing to Gene; since he now had a ship of his own and way more then enough money for rent.
"Alrighty then. Once the money is deposited I'll be on my way." Gene noted as he reached out his hand for the envelope. Richard crashed his hand down on top of Gene's and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Listen and listen good. You look after this with your life boy, ya hear? I don't care what you have to do, who you must kill, you just get this to its destination." Upon saying this he still held his hand over Genes. Starting to press harder now.
This was coming off as a little strange to Gene. Why any one would stress out over something so seemingly small was beyond him. "I get it. Don't worry. I'll get the letter there," He said confidently; this finally convincing the man to remove his hand and allow Gene to take the letter into his ownership.
"Say. you never told me where to take it." Gene realized; feeling a little dumb for missing that one. For all he knew the letters destination could be a black hole.
"Don't worry. The location is already in the ships database. You should have no difficulty finding it. On the napkin I wrote a 9-digit code. That will get you into the navigation files. After that I advise you to memorize the code and obliterate it." The man assured as well as advised; then stood up. "Well I am a little pressed for time right now so I will be seeing you soon. if fate blesses us both." He then bowed his head gratefully and turned completely around to face the door. He now faced the barrel of a handgun.
"Konoichiwa Grim-sama. How's it going?" The gun-toting female questioned; an ungodly vast sound of enjoyment in her voice. Grim's first response to this was to simply look at the floor. Almost as if trying to avoid looking into the eyes of his soon to be assassin. Gene looked on at the scene unavailing before him; not wanting to give the woman a reason to fire. Not yet anyway.
"May I help you?" Grim questioned, trying to keep a very tranquil persona, and doing a damned good job of it; most people with a gun to there head wouldn't be very up to a friendly conversation.
"Your Richard Arani, am I right?" Kuroi questioned. Wanting to ensure it was the right bounty head before she did anything drastic.
"I rather wish you to refer to me as Grim, but call me what you wish." He serenely requested; almost as if he truly wasn't troubled by the situation at all. Gene sat there in question. He really had no clue why a guy like this would have a bounty on him; sure he was a little on the fruity side but he was very polite.
"Well I suppose it is in my best interests to honor a dead mans wishes," She said before smiling. The grin on her face looking colder then that of the devil him self. Her finger gradually becoming tighter and tighter on the trigger.
If he dies now he can't deposit the money Gene thought. He opted to end the situation; slowly lowering his hand down to his caster.
"Hold it right there Baka." Kuroi demanded. "Let us not forget who here is holding the gun." She reminded. Gene pulled his hand back up and started to formulate a plane B.
"Such a damn shame. So young. So very young. Heaven only knows what you could have done with your life." Grim spoke some what resembling a funeral keeper. "However I suppose your no different then every other bounty hunter or law man that's come after me." Grim rambled.
Wow he's finally snapped Gene figured; the words coming out of Grims mouth making absolutely no since.
"What the hell are you babbling on about?" Kuroi queried; her thoughts akin to Genes. She eased up on the trigger slightly so that she may hear his retort.
"You say you should honor a dead mans wishes. Well I say it's pointless explaining things to the dying." He whispered. These made Kuroi a little uneasy; causing her to take the gun aimed at Grim and drop it ever so slightly, showing that her attention was now lowered. That act leaving her open for a very large range of possible attacks.
Gene couldn't believe his own luck. He grabbed the candle from the table and pelted the woman with it. This didn't cause her any damage but it did trigger a reflex to close her eyes momentarily.
"What the!?!" She shot back. Really having no clue of the dire mistake she had just made. Grim smiled.
He swiftly swung his leg up and around. This knocked the gun from Kuroi's hands. Kuroi, surprised by the moment and not having the time to take in her other choices, dove for her gun. Once she was down he then kicked her directly in the jaw. The force of the blow lifting her completely off the ground and hurling her onto her back. She rested there briefly; staring at the ceiling and still questioning what the hell had just happened.
She slowly sat up trying not to move abruptly for the fear of further damaging anything that may already be injured. She rose up to one knee and then stopped. She now had her own gun placed on her forehead.
"Well I guess this is it. Any last words?" The man said in a very low snarl.
"Yeah, fuck you" Kuroi hissed back; the amount of venom in her voice seeming ungodly.
"Get out of here kid." Grim whispered to Gene; still not taking his gaze off of the girl on the floor. "I'll finish this and deposit your money. You just make sure you finish the task." He ended; pulling back the hammer of the gun and pointing it directly at Kuroi's heart. Kuroi closed her eyes.
He isn't gonna kill her is he?! Gene wasn't sure what the hell was going on but he sure as hell didn't want some chick to get gunned down right in front of him; especially since here death would be in part his fault.
"HOLD IT" Some one screamed from the door of the bar. Before the words had even ended a bullet was already sent flying through the air and directly into Grim's left shoulder. The force of the searing metal pushing him completely around. That o so familiar sound caught the attention of every onlooker in the tavern. Sending all of them sprinting out of the room in hopes of not getting killed. Kuroi exhaled, then kicked the man in the kneecap and sent him plummeting onto the cold tile floor.
Within a moments time Kuroi had retained her handgun once more and was aiming it on Grim. The sender of the bullet then approached.
"Your ass is screwed too buddy" the blonde haired lady threatened Gene. She took aim at him and waited for the sound of Kuroi's gun to go off; that being the signal for her to end Gene's life as well. Seeing the situation before him forced all the earlier thoughts of the man over exaggerating the situation quickly out of his mind. He had only had the letter for 30 seconds and he already had 2 people hunting him down.
"Aki I gotta hand it to you. You sure as hell know how to clear out a party." Kuroi joked. Trying to ease the mood of the whole situation.
"Come on. Kill him." Aki demanded. Wanting the situation to be over with as soon as possible in view of the fact that she really didn't like holding a gun on someone for an extended period of time; she knew the longer they stalled the greater the chances of everything going haywire became.
"Don't kill the kid," Kuroi requested to Aki. "He hasn't done anything." She then informed. Aki looked at Kuroi then shrugged her shoulders. This wasn't at all like Kuroi. She more often then not jumped on the opportunity to spill blood; whose hands it was done by didn't figure.
"As you wish." She the mumbled, putting her gun back in its place. "You heard her. It's your lucky day hun. Get outta here." Aki said as she slightly tilted her head towards the door. Gene looked at the girl that was signaling for him to go, then back at Grim. He was bleeding pretty badly now. The entire left side of him was doused in crimson. If he wanted to get him out he would have to do it now.
"What the hell are you looking at? I told you to get your ass outta here." Aki said forcefully; her hand on the brink of grabbing her firearm yet again.
"Why the hell do you want him dead so badly?"" Gene questioned. He was fully aware of the situation at hand but really wanted to know what Grim could have possibly done to make this many people hate him so badly.
"Why do you ask?" Kurooi answered the question with another question. It became apparent to Gene that every one present was concealing information so nothing was going to be answered by the assassin, or Grim for that matter. Perhaps if he could just get Kurois attention away from Grim one more time they could both get out of there safely. It was a blessing from god himself that they got away with it once, for it to happen again it may take a little more then god could even do. His eyes began to dart around the room in search of anything that may prove useful in a soon to be escape attempt.
"Why do you care?" he continued in a thickheaded manner.
He didn't know Kuroi at all so her past anger management standings were rather unknown; no clue was given that the statement would light the fuse that it did.
Kuroi couldn't deem it. The first time she had shown any compassion towards a member of the human race they opted not to accept the kindness. She would have to make a mental note of this and make sure it never happened again.
"Aki," Kuroi growled from between clinched teeth. "Please teach are new friend over there how to better hold his tong." She demanded harshly. Her attention still didn't break form Grim in the slightest; she had absolutely no intentions of letting the earlier incident reinact itself.
With plan A obviously not working he quickly constructed a new method. "Yeah, teach me how to hold my tong." The term said had just placed a whole new meaning to the words smart ass. Aki knew he would most likely be expecting the oncoming attack so she reached for her gun while turning, trying to cut down on his reaction time; her hand never made it. Aki got half way turned and realized that some one had grabbed her arm. She quickly attempted to correct the misfortune by changing her direction and turning the other way. Gene easily countered this by simply rotating her shoulder and pulling her arm behind her back; taking away all manners of escape. Gene then took the gun from her hip and placed it lightly on her temple; not wanting to hurt her but wanting her to be well aware of the guns prescience.
"SHIT!" Aki screamed as she felt the cold steal press on the side of her head. Kuroi heard her friends screech and immediately shifted to the left; this making it achievable for her to have a full view of both Grim and Gene; Aki could be seen contained by her own damn arm.
"O come on Blondie." Kuroi moaned. She had never had this many things go wrong in a 20-minute time interval before. "Let her go!" Kuroi demanded.
"Your gonna have to as a little nicer then that." Gene requested. Aki then began to struggle; her attempted thrashing didn't even budge Gene.
"How about let her go NOW?!" Kuroi stated the question in a demand like form.
"Hmm. I'm thinking no." He pretended to debate amongst himself before immediately rejecting the request. Kuroi was trying her absolute hardest to keep her anger leashed, however it was failing more and more so with every moment that passed.
"I can't help but get the feeling you can't hear me." She very calmly affirmed, "So let me try one more time" with this said she pulled out a separate gun that had been located behind her held by the waistline of he jeans. She now had both Grim and Gene targeted.
"Let.Her.Go.Now." She insisted as she pronounced every word perfectly before going on to the next. Gene quickly pulled Aki further in front of him self, her feet scarcely touching the ground; knowing that she most likely wouldn't shoot through her own friend in order to slaughter him.he hoped.
"Hiding behind some one half your size. How courageous of you." She insulted.
"Yeah yeah laugh it up. Your not exactly leaving me with any other choice now are you" Gene informed; justifying to himself what he was doing. "If you even make an effort to kill me I'll take her life right here and now." Gene warned. He wished to avoid any such situation but knew what had to be done had to be done.
"You kill her I'll drop your ass as well as this guys faster then you can blink. It doesn't matter if you fuck yourself over but do you really wanna take him with you?" She threatened; Grim looked up at Gene upon hearing the comment, his eyes almost approving of the said statement. The more she spoke the more her voce resembled that of a roar as an alternative to a usual tone.
There they all stood; guns out, aimed and weighting for any one person to move. If one person made a wrong move it would without doubt set off a series of reactions from every firearm in the conflict; thus every one would inhale there last breath, be they outlaw, assassin, or standard individual.
Authors note- ::dodges bullets:: I'M SORRY! I'LL NEVER MAKE A CLIFF HANGER AGAIN! ::Dives behind computer table and covers::..well..I suppose that's the end. But don't worry. The next chapter is now my top priority and will be up before you know it.
Next chapter- A whole new group gets thrown into the mix