Sorry about the delay – my sister asked me to help her move some stuff to her new apartment.  She's going to start her Masters!  I'm so excited for her.

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"Really?" Maldock sneers, leaning forward.  "According to our reports, it was you who captured the agent."  His tone is as slimy as his skin, and I feel my lip curl in contempt.

I shrug, trying not to show any of the emotions washing through me.  "I didn't know who he was working for," I answer nonchalantly.

"Because you wouldn't have stopped him?" Maldock asks snidely, waving those nasty fingers dismissively.

"No.  I still would have stopped him, but I wouldn't have done it like I did," I answer.  "I would have killed it, taken the device, and contacted Black Star myself."

"Interesting," Maldock replies, rolling his bulbous eyes.  "But the option is no longer open, is it?"

"I can get it still," I snap, irritated at this heinous creature.  I glance at Bulma, trying to seem like I'm dismissive of the beast on the screen as I continue, "I may still get it, but you're giving me enough hassle that I may take it else where."  Bulma's eyes latch onto mine, and I continue looking at her, just watching her.  Let the Verishic think I am ignoring him.

Bulma's expression suddenly changes from confusion to curiosity, and I'm suddenly the clueless one, wondering what thoughts are dancing through her brain.  It only took me one day to learn to beware of her curiosity when I first arrived, and I shift my attention hurriedly back to the screen.

Maldock's entire face clenches, making him look like dried-up mushroom.  "I will have to check with my employer before I can authorize any payment," he finally says, reluctance clear in his voice.

"Better hurry," I snarl as I lean forward for emphasis.  "I've got better things to do with my time than wait on you."  And with that, I snap the console off.

"Why are you doing this?" Bulma asks quietly, cocking her head to one side.  "I don't owe you anything, and I know that you don't have any love for any of us.  Why?"

"I have my reasons," I growl, my heart clenching to hear Bulma say that I don't love her.  I wish that I could say what I feel, but I will not put myself where I am not wanted.

"Vegeta," she murmurs, and I look at her in the dim moonlight.  Her eyes are large and round in her delicate face and the  silver light has softened her features even more. 

"Yes?" I try to snarl the word, but it won't turn sharp for me; it floats out, hanging expectantly in the night air, softening the already gentle mood in the ship further.

"I can't move my hand," she answers, her voice still soft.

I blink as I realize that I'm still covering her hand with mine, my thumb rolling in small circles over her fingers.  I snatch the offending body member away, angry that my hands have betrayed me.  I can feel the heat rise to my face as I glower at the control panel.

"Thanks," she says, rubbing her hand, and I shoot a quick glance at her face, trying to read what emotion she might be displaying.  There is nothing but calm cheerfulness and a touch of relief.  She smiles at me suddenly, leaving me feeling like a child caught staring as she guilelessly says, "Now what?"

"Now I wait," I answer gruffly, hiding my confusion as best I can.

"So what do I do?" she replies.

"Wait," I answer, knowing that it won't please her.  She does wait, though obviously without any patience, crossing her arms over her chest and staring quietly out the front window. 

Suddenly, she shudders, and I glance at her.  I'm surprised to see sorrow and fear on her face, and I fight the urge to do whatever it takes to make her smile again.  "What is wrong with you, woman?" I growl, but again, my growl lacks heat.

"I was just remembering the last time I was in one of these," she answers softly, "when I thought I was going to die on Namek."  Her eyes widen suddenly and she sits up straight as she turns to me, her face embarrassed.  "I shouldn't have said that, not to you."

I clench my fists, angry that she knows of my shame.  Kakkarot must have told her of my dying words, when I spoke freely because I thought I wouldn't have to care what he or anyone else thought of me.  She knows that I was weak.

"Vegeta, I'm sorry I said that," she says, and her voice compels me to look at her.  She looks distressed and upset.  "I know that you did die there; it was insensitive of me to whine about it."

I stare at the console again.  "It was nothing.  A warrior faces death all the time."

"But you died," she replies, "and that changes it.  Death changes people – it did Yamcha."

I turn to look at her; she is staring at her fingers, wrapping them around and around one another endlessly.  Her expression is sad and lonely, and my heart crumbles.  I am on the verge of doing something foolish and weak when I am saved by Maldock; the headset beeps once and I open the communications channel eagerly.

"We'll take it, on one condition.  What is your price?" Maldock asks, his voice abrupt with displeasure.

"What is the condition?" I ask, frowning at the screen. 

"No, name your price and we'll pay it.  Then we'll discuss conditions," Maldock sneers.

"Absolutely not," I growl in answer.  "I agree to nothing until I know the full terms."

"Very well," Maldock says, spreading his hands wide for emphasis.  "You have taken this out of my control.  I cannot tell you the condition until you agree to a price, so you will have talk to Master Montidulein.  And he will be most displeased to be bothered."

If he was trying to scare me, it wasn't going to work.  "At least I'll be talking to someone important, rather than a little lapdog," I say with a shrug.

Maldock's watery eyes narrow angrily, but he only says, "Hold on just a moment."  The screen goes to black, and Bulma leans toward me again.

"Stay back," I hiss quickly, afraid to even look at her right now, worried that Montidulein will appear at any second.

"Sorry," she murmurs, sitting back.  "I was trying to see."

"Well, don't," I growl.  I shouldn't do it, but I glance quickly at her, just to see her face.  She is watching me, her eyes fixed firmly on me.

The screen flashes to life and in its center is Montidulein.  No other creature matched the description of his species so well – a long, shimmery, body stretches impossibly thin, looking too fragile to support its own weight.  His features are hard to see; they blend neatly into one another, giving one the impression that they were talking to a blur of light.  Frieza always said that talking to a Calcastian gave him horrible migraines.

I watch as he sits back in his chair.  He's moving normally, so either he's adjusted to standard gravity, or he's in a low-gravity chamber.  Calcastians are from a low-gravity world, which was why they tended to be so tall and fragile.  "Vegeta, the mighty Saiyan," he says softly, his voice ringing with authority and control.  "Greetings and well met."

"Montidulein," I answer with a respectful nod.

"I have often wished to meet you," he says suddenly, catching me slightly off-guard.  What was his game?  Why would the leader of one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the universe know about me?  I am the prince of a dead planet, and nothing more since Kakkarot stole the title of Super Saiyan from me. 

I keep my gaze impassive as I answer, "Of course you want to meet the Prince of all Saiyans.  And now you have."

"I would have you working for the syndicate," he replies, "not as an employee of course, but as a free-lance fighter.  I have heard of your skills, and they are extraordinary."

I smile tightly, letting the empty praise wash over me.  "It is something that I would consider."

"Good," he replies, and I think that his face tightens with a cold smile.  "If you bring me the device, then your place would be assured."

Of course, no mention of what – or where – that place would be.  "Your lapdog said that there was a condition," I say, eager to find out what the clause is.

Montidulein does smile this time, as he leans toward the monitor, "I want the device, and I want its creator.  For these two things, I will pay whatever price you name."

My heart clenches with fear as I fight to keep my face neutral.  "That harpy?" I growl.  "She'll be troublesome – I assume you want her alive and unharmed."

Montidulein waves his hands about in the air.  "Mostly unharmed is all I require," he seems to smirk as he adds, "If you have an old grudge to settle with her, then I will not mind, so long as her mind is not damaged."

"I think that I want nothing to do with this," I sigh irritability.  "If you had wanted just the device, then fine, but the woman is nothing but trouble."

"It will lower what I am willing to pay," Montidulein answers, and his smile is gone.  "But I can privately contract out to another person to fetch her."

I pretend to nonchalantly consider this as my mind races, trying to think of what to do.  If I don't accept the offer, then I have to worry about someone else kidnapping her.  "Fine, I do the woman too, but you must transport me off this rock," I growl.  "I don't want to be here when her friends find her gone."

"Done!" he snaps, a wide grin stretching across his pale face.  "We'll come to you once you have the device and the woman.  What is your price?"

"Two billion," I answer easily.  It is a ludicrous amount, but I want to make him squirm.

For one heartbeat, I think that he's going to say no.  His smile fades, and anger flashes over his features.  Then he's composed again, and he merely answers, "Fine, if you have both the girl and the device."  He leans forward again until he fills the screen completely.  "But you had better have both, Saiyan.  You've pushed me as far as you can."  The screen goes blank.

I shut off the console and sit back thinking.  I am worried; for him to agree to the money meant that he wants Bulma's device very badly.  Worse, he hadn't told me to contact him; he had said that he would come when I had the device and Bulma, which meant that he was watching, or going to be watching, us.  That would make any plan more difficult.  "You won't get away with it," Bulma says suddenly, distracting me from my half-formed plot.  I look at her, and am surprised to see anger and fear on her face.  She doesn't trust me at all, and I hide the sorrow of that knowledge deep inside.

"Stupid woman," I mutter, "I have no intention of turning you over to Montidulein."

"Why not?" she snaps.  "I thought that you couldn't wait to be rid of the harpy!"

"I get to kill more people if I help you than if I don't," I answer coldly, and she shrinks further from me, her eyes wide with shock.

Suddenly her face changes expression, and she sits up and snaps, "I don't believe you."

"Are you calling me a liar, woman?" I snarl, and my anger is real.  No one doubts my word!

"Because of the way that your face gets all soft when you talk to me, or the way that your voice looses its growl!"  Her face breaks into an excited smile as she nearly shouts, "You like me!"

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Whoops!  Has Bulma figured him out?  I'll update in a day or two.

Keep those reviews coming!  Good, bad, indifferent – I want to hear them all.  But be warned, if you don't have an honest criticism, I will probably make fun of you to all my friends.  I think that's fair, don't you?