Hi guys hope your enjoying the story so far.  I'm at about the halfway point of this particular mission.  I've got another possible one in the works, but as always I prefer to post just one story at a time so you'll have to wait for the end of Dark Blue Sky.  That fabulous poll is coming up soon, deviousness and mayhem will ensue. 

Peace- SilverRain

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"So what's your name lovely?"


"Jade."

 
"Just Jade? That's cool, pretty little thing like you don't need more than one name anyway. So tell me little miss Jade, do you come here often?" She nods her head mutely and gazes up at him like a doe caught in the headlights. I watch helplessly from my spot a few dozen feet away. Come on Maxie don't do this right now, you need to play the game. I need to snap her out of it. Abandoning my quarry, the ugly and obviously old scar running down his half exposed chest ruling the man out as a suspect, I push my way through the crowd towards the stage. A ten dollar bill later the mariacha player smiles and winks at me and I draw back from the stage to wait.

"So many nights I have wandered alone,
Without a land or home to call my own.
So many days my life stretched endlessly,
Until the day I had you here with me.
Usted es mi amor encantador,
mi vida divina en del colmo.
Si usted fuera mi solamente,
le haría a mi esposa.
Déjeme sostenerle aquí por toda la hora,
déjeme sostenerle en mis brazos.
Bailemos esta canción,
toquemos la lluvia,
sin su tacto allí no es ninguna alegría,
sin su vista allí es solamente dolor.

"Its a beautiful song isn't my lovely Jade?" Felipe mistakes the faraway look in her eyes and moves to put his arm around her. She gives him a smile as dripping as acid and if I were him I would be cowering beneath the nearest piece of heavy furniture right now. Fortunatley Felipe is too stupid to be scared by her expression, which he foolishly seems be taking as a sign of affability.

"So you haven't given me your name handsome."

"My name is Marcus Raoul Verazmente. As always my sweet Jade, at your service." One of his few aliases, the man is neither creative enough, or safety conscious enough to come up with many of them.

"Well Mr. Verazmente, it's like way to hot in here. Do you think you wouldn't mind going outside to catch some fresh air?" She holds out her hand daintily with another acid coated smile. I really have to work with her on keeping her facial expressions toned down. Still, she's come up with a brilliant plan for dragging him out of this too public area so that they can "talk", I can't help thinking that Manticore lost their most powerful agent on the day that she escaped. With the proper training she would surpass me by a mile.

Felipe isn't stupid enough to turn down a beautiful women when she wants a little privacy with him and he bounds out toward the back alley with her like an eager puppy. An eager puppy that's about to get kicked in the head. I follow them out at a discreet distance, curious to see how Max plans on handling the little scum bag.

My resolve to let her handle the situation flattens when the little prick tries smacking her rear end on the way out the door, but her cat like reflexes allow her to avoid it with a half playful, half "your going to die in five minutes" giggle. Recalling with a mixture of fondness and pain, the time that I'd gone one on one with Maxie in the boxing ring I don't envy Felipe one bit for what's coming to him. Stomach churning angrily I watch Max lounger herself against the dirty brick wall. Felipe leans in for a kiss, but never reaches her lips as the sound of bone crunching reverberates through the narrow alleyway.

I wince softly at the blood pouring down Felipe's chin. Max has broken my nose enough times for me to know just how unpleasant it is. My sympathy for him flees when he blinks back the blood and tries to hit her on the chin with a nasty right hook. His fist never connects with her face though as she catches it in her left hand and twists it backwards towards the floor with an audible pop. If the little slimeball gets up from a dislocated shoulder then he's much tougher than I figured him. Apparently he isn't any tougher than I thought because he drops bonelessly to the ground alternately clutching at his profusely bleeding nose and his uselessly hanging shoulder. Grinning wickedly at my hidden place in the corner and sending delightful little tingles of lust through me, she reaches down and hauls Felipe to his feet by his collar.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it's entirely up to you." Max nods her head in my direction and I realize that she wants to play good cop bad cop with me.  Using every advantage of my speed I blur from the shadowy cloak of night, to her side and yank Felipe from her hands depositing him ungentley back on the ground.  His head snaps back hitting the wall as I drop him and his eyes bug out to the size of saucers at my sudden appearance.

"Now, now Jade, you've frightened our guest.  You know that the boss doesn't approve of roughing people up unnecessarily."  Felipe looks mightily relieved to hear this and relaxes a little in my grip.

"But Dick I haven't gotten any fun in so long!"  Her pout is a mile wide and makes her look cold-bloodedly adorable.  "Besides the boss ain't gonna know I roughed him up if Felipe here ain't around to tell no one about it."  Turning away from Felipe I roll my eyes at her and mouth the word "Dick?", she shrugs her elegant shoulders and grabs him by the collar again. I jerk my head at her in an attempt to get her to tone it down.  Far from spilling his guts to us Felipe has started struggling and thrashing in my grip and if the moron manages to hit my nose or one of my other favorite parts I'm going to be seriously tidged off.

"Okay Felipe my amigo, we understand that you and your boys pulled off a little thievery and kidnapping the other night.  While I personally am not aversed to a little creative breaking and entering, and am most definitely overly fond of the people you took, my boss now has a bug up her ass.  This can go very simply for you if you want it to.  You tell me where your boss took the nice people from the party and Jadey here lets you keep all of your internal, and external organs.  Now I will tell you that I've never seen her rip anyone's heart out of their chest, she's always wanted to try it.  She also has this adorable little collection of "souveniers" from other guys that have smacked her ass in the line of duty.  Believe me when I say that you want to cooperate fully with the dear girl.

Max gives Felipe her most feline grin and slowly licks her lips.

"Keep her away from me.  I said keep that little B…"  before he can even think of insulting the honor and virtue of the woman I love I use all of my strength and fling him across the ally so that he lands with marginal force inside an open dumpster.

"Let me jump in and get him Dick, please?  I'll only hurt him a little bit.  At first."  The sounds of furious scrabbling echoed from the trash bins.  "Okay Felipe here I come.  I'll even let you pick which part I remove first."

"Santa Maria, la madre de dios, salva mi alma.  Okay, okay San Pedro."