"Take this," Vicious said as he handed his sword to Rei. She looked at him and then at his weapon. "But." she said and he pushed the hilt towards her. "Take it. This is a lot quieter than a gun. I'll teach you how to use it." "Isn't there another way of doing this?" "No. Hold it like this." Vicious laid her hands on the sword and she clasped it. She looked at him and then at the sword. "It's sort of heavy." "You're just not used to it yet. Try swinging it around." Rei did as she was told and Vicious watched her. She was doing pretty well for her first attempt. She had the gracefulness that went well with swordplay. "Think of it like a dance. Your movements are fluid. Try again." Rei did as he told her and Vicious nodded his head. He took the blade away from her and embraced her. She flushed slightly as he ran his hands down her legs. "I need to get you a rapier. I think you'll do much better with that. A lot of damage can be done with a rapier too. We'll get it tomorrow. It's too late now." "But what if he attempts to kill me again? What if he tries to kill you?" "Why are you worried? You know my thoughts. You know my actions. You also know what I do to those who dare try to take my life." "Yes, I know. There's that side of you too." "It's the side I'm known by. Wine?" "Not a lot." "Are you worried that I'll do something while you're under the influence of alcohol? Is that how he lay with you the first time?" "Please.don't talk about him. You don't know how his mind screamed out in pain as he died. It was terrible. I could barely make it to the roof from the shock of it all." He handed her a glass of wine and she quickly drank it, her hands shaking with the shock she had felt when Stinger was shot. Vicious watched her, the terror in her eyes still apparent as he ran a hand up under her shirt. "Calm down. You're going to see a lot more deaths and you're going to hear many more disturbing thoughts. You've got to get through it. Please." She nodded her head and closed her eyes. She smiled at his thoughts as he touched her skin. She leaned back and he kissed her neck as she allowed him to direct her to a small leather couch. "I guess all of this has been good," Rei said as she sat on the couch. "What do you mean?" Vicious asked as he watched her. "Everything. If I hadn't lost my home and everything, I never would have seen you again. That's something I would have regretted. I really do care for you and that feeling is mutual even though you can't express it." "If I expressed that feeling, I would put us both in danger. The ones who stay loyal to me see you as an asset but they do not want to see me emotionally attached to you." "But." "No one else can hear what goes on in my mind. I do everything for a reason, although the reason may not always seem clear to others." "Don't touch there. The memories still hurt," Rei said as Vicious ran a hand down the side of her neck. "And you don't think mine do? When you put your hands there, the pain is still there but it's not as bad as it once was. The pain will always be there but you learn to deal with it," he said as he turned down the light. He ran his hands down her gently sloping waist and stopped at her upper thighs. He stood up and put on his shirt and jacket. He sheathed his sword and walked out of the room. The silent house echoed with his footsteps, a slightly cracked window allowed a swift breeze to blow his coat and hair. He stopped at the front door, his eyes narrowing as he opened it. He ducked, just as a cullet whizzed overhead. He swiftly ran, bringing the fire away from the house as he scanned the area. After a few moments, he located his men, returning the fire, and concerned himself with finding the party that wanted him dead. "You'd think they'd learn, wouldn't you?" Stinger asked and Vicious stared at him. "What the hell? You're dead. That cop killed you," he said and Stinger grinned. "I decided I couldn't go like that so here I am." "Don't give me that. I want a damned explanation." 'Later. Let's just take care of the guy gunning for you. I'll make my story worth your while." "And yours too." "Hey, I don't share my secrets with everyone." "You're just a damned lucky bastard." "Call it what you like but let's take care of the guy with the gun, shall we?" "I like your thinking." "It's actually nice to see you back. I have some questions that need to be answered," Vicious said and Stinger looked at him. "If you must know, I hired a stand-in," he said as he dodged a bullet. "What?" "Look, I'll explain the details after we take care of this ambush. Where's the girl?" "Inside." "I don't think so." "What are you getting at?" "You know who wants her dead. You think he's going to let you get the jump on him?" "Damn! I left her vulnerable. If he's trying to piss me off, he's succeeding." "Their plan was to draw you away from the house and it worked." "Tell me right now, " Vicious said, his voice low and dangerous. "Whose side are you truly on?" "I'm on no one's side. I've told you that." "Then how do you know so much about the other side?" "I do research. I always do research on both sides. That's how I stay alive." "You've also got a few other survival tricks. So where is that bastard taking her?" "Let's discuss the price first." "I hate you." "I know. Let's see.I'll be nice and offer it to you for twenty." "Fifteen. The shooting has stopped." "They've been recalled. Seventeen." Vicious glared at him for a moment, then nodded his head. "All right but if it's not worth it, I'll kill you right here." "Fair enough but believe me, it's worth it." "Spill it, then." "She's being taken back to Sentinal 8." "What?" "You've got no authority over there. You can't do a full scale attack there." "I'm fully aware of my boundaries but I've got something that just might let me do what I want there. I can't let it end like this." "If you do this, you'll be doing it out of love. Nothing else." "I'll be doing it because we have a mutual understanding." "You know, some people refer to it as love." "Look, there's a reason for everything that I do, although the reason may not always be apparent. I'm not ready to lose her yet." "There may be a reason but you're also doing it for personal gratification." "Let's get you your money. After that you can do what you want but I'm bringing her back. She's still useful." "If it were anyone else, you would say to hell with them and stand and watch them get killed. And yet, you can't let her go." "Another word and I'll kill you." Stinger fell silent and Vicious said nothing. Too many people were making assumptions about his feelings for Rei and they were all incorrect, weren't they? He unlocked the front door and walked inside. His bird flew up and perched on his shoulder and Vicious walked upstairs. "What do you expect to find?" Stinger asked, then grabbed Vicious' arm. Stinger's back hit the wall as he gazed down the barrel of Vicious' gun. "There's no stand-in for you now. You've got fifteen seconds to explain," Vicious hissed. "They planted a bomb in there. You open that door and you're dead. Me as well." "That's right. You can hear sounds better than I can. I'd better not owe you." "Nah. You've already paid my fee." "Good but now, I don't know whether to hate you or not." "Go ahead and hate me if it'll make you feel better. Lot's of people hate me already." "Shut up. I don't need your sarcasm." "I was only trying to be helpful." "If you can diffuse a bomb from here, that would be helpful." "I'm not an expert on explosives besides, everything in here is insured." "I'm going to hate to lost this place but it seems that there's no other way around it. Come with me to my ship. I need to make some calls." "There's not much time if you want to rescue her." "I'm fully aware of that. I know how that bastard thinks. He's got a mind similar to mine. It won't take much for me to organize a strike anyway." "You're going to pull a full assault? You don't have many loyal members left, do you?" "I have enough to do the job. And those not willing to be loyal to me when this whole thing comes to a head will be extremely regretful. I've got enough information on Mazuka to blow his whole operation to pieces." "Just as long as he doesn't do the same to you." "I can take care of my own interests. I've done it for this longs." "Yeah but before, you've never had to worry about a woman." "That's not exactly true."