XXVI. Hoist Them on Their Own Petards
When the comm. buzzed, Julia realized she had been sitting, stock-still, for nearly an hour. She'd come home to find her front door repaired, the paint around the new doorjamb almost a match for the yellow that had deepened over the past two years. More new paint gleamed around the bedroom door, and the whole space smelled alien, too clean, stripped of the days before. Even without sympathy for their end, the idea of men dying in the hallway made her shiver as though they still blew through the room, searching for a way out of the mortal plane.
She saw Vicious' code on the screen and composed the mask of normalcy on her face before answering.
"Where are you?" he said, almost snarling.
She felt a nervous jolt, wondering what she'd done to displease him. "At the apartment."
"I'm coming over," he declared, and disconnected.
She filled the waiting time brewing a pot of coffee, just to have something to smell besides the antiseptic cleaner and paint fumes. Barely five minutes passed before he swept through the door, hanging his coat and scabbard on the rack without a word. He turned to face her, and she straightened her back, struggling to keep a neutral expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked, knowing the question was inadequate.
He curled his lip. "I was publicly humiliated by the Van. For speaking the truth – truth they know themselves, but will not admit, since the thought did not spring from their rotted brains."
She couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over her, knowing his anger was not directed at her, and she held out a hand to him as he crossed to join her. "What did they say?"
He shrugged and put an arm around her waist. "That I am impetuous and ignorant."
"Neither of those statements is true," she replied, honestly.
"I know that. But in this, as in all things, they consider their opinion to be fact. And others will take it that way as well. I wanted to cut them all down where they sat, but instead I will have to pander to their whims and dance whatever step they assign me in order to maintain my position." He sighed and then pressed his face to her hair, inhaling deeply. "I needed a distraction. I needed you."
She raised her eyebrows and slid a hand down his back. "I hope I'm more than a distraction."
"Mm," he replied, pulling her body against his own. "I hope you will be. I am without a second in my team. Mao's direction can safely be discarded as ignorant advice, given where it got me. I want you. Not as my second, but as my partner." Before she could answer, he kissed her roughly, swiping at her tongue with his own, one hand wrapped around the back of her neck while the other lifted her skirt. He drew back and grinned. "Let them see what the Silver King and the Golden Queen can accomplish together."
She would not have been able to put into words the way his offer rang every bell of her ambitions. The years scraping out an existence as a girl taught her that power meant safety and comfort, even if it also required its own defense. Finally, his compliments and his reliance on her came to fruition, and to be treated as an equal was both an aphrodisiac and as much a declaration of love as he'd ever been able to give.
She smiled in return and hooked her fingers through his beltloops. "The Silver King," she murmured, moving coyly backward so she stood at arm's length from him. "I like the sound of that. I accept. The alliance ought to be consummated immediately."
He responded with a low rumble in his chest and an attack, pushing her against the wall. His hands slid beneath her skirt and hoisted her, lifting her up until she was supported by his hips between his body and the cool, smooth plaster. She clung to his shoulders while he loosed his clothing and drove into her; he bit her neck and then captured her mouth with his own so that every breath forced out of her was shared with him.
In the pocket of his coat, his comm. began an insistent buzz, but he shook his head without breaking the kiss and kept on, fingers digging into the backs of her thighs. She couldn't stifle a moan when the pulsing shudders began, and he followed soon after her, crushing the last of her air away with a final thrust. Black spots swam in her vision as he released her, and she clung to his arm to keep from stumbling.
"Mine and mine alone," he whispered in her ear. "My perfect and terrible Queen."
Her radiant smile in return seemed to light the room. "I like the sound of that, too."
***
The message from Mao gave little clue as to the reason for the summons, but he'd said that all the teams were to assemble in the Van's chamber again, so Julia accompanied Vicious to the tower, a little nervous but still euphoric. Her entrance drew a raised eyebrow from Mao.
Mato, Lao and Lin were there, as well as Shin – still bandaged and bruised, but looking stronger. He kept his head low, looking up from beneath his eyebrows whenever anyone spoke, clearly out of his element and most likely suffering the pangs of withdrawal. He shifted from one foot to the other until Lin's hand on his shoulder made him still.
Mao left his place in front of the mezzanine and crossed to meet Vicious and Julia.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered to Julia.
Vicious answered for her. "She is my second. The instruction not to choose her had disastrous consequences. I will not risk them again."
Mao frowned, but nodded, and returned to the mezzanine, speaking in hushed voices with Sou Long. Julia watched anxiously as the three heads of the Van bent together, but they did not question her presence when the session began. Vicious took her elbow and pulled her forward so she stood abreast of him, and she saw the corners of his mouth upturned, so slightly no one else would have noticed.
"Our interrogation of Marcus Britt has produced significant results," Sou Long said when the murmurs of conversation died down. "Since he claims his actions were driven by a desire for the Red Dragon to be triumphant, it has been relatively easy to barter his continued survival for information about his co-conspirators. It may come as a surprise to some of you to learn that he did, indeed, conspire with the White Tiger, fancying himself a double agent of the Dragon."
Julia saw Vicious' jaw clench with the effort of keeping his words inside.
Sou went on, "The White Tiger is planning a summit of its leadership from around the planet in three weeks' time. They sought, and obtained, a producer of their own to combat our distribution of Red Eye. However, they do not appear to have any plans for its improvement on a scale with our own, so even if they were to slip from our grasp in the coming months, our long term goals will make the Red Dragon the victor.
"Britt claims to know the location of this summit, here in Tharsis City, and we will punish the White Tiger for its failure to behave in a manner befitting a businessman when it takes place. Until then, it is critical that all of you conduct yourselves as though you do not have this knowledge, nor any knowledge of their supplier. Fortunately, the events of the past few days have been narrow in scope, though a great cost to us as an organization, and the ISSP seems to be genuinely ignorant as well."
Wang Long took up where Sou left off. "The ISSP is occupied with an uprising on Titan, which we mentioned earlier today. From what we have been able to learn, civilian workers at the Titan weapons research facility led a rebellion against the military scientists and police. It is suggested that human experimentation with weapons, either chemical or biological, takes place there. In any event, the conflict grows more severe with each hour, and our sources at the ISSP fear it may become a war rather than a skirmish. This works to our advantage, giving us time to lull them into complacency while their attentions are focused elsewhere."
Julia's head swam. She understood only half of what the Van said, not having been present for the previous meetings, and she tried to catalogue her questions for Vicious while still paying attention to the discussion. Irritation at how much he had not told her dampened her mood.
"We understand Yenrai-san has spoken with Spike Spiegel," Ping Long said, after a few moments' silence. "His full report would best be made to everyone here."
Her heart skipped a beat when Mao nodded. She'd forgotten, for a few hours.
"I did indeed speak with him. He is gravely injured, alive solely through the efforts of Julia Vail."
She blushed a little, both at the acknowledgment and the formal use of her full name, and inclined her head to Mao.
"He cannot yet return to Tharsis," Mao continued, "But he is not in a city, and he intends to return within a few weeks' time, ready to resume his duties. If I need to call him back sooner, I have the means to reach him. However, given the fact that the reach of Britt's deception extended beyond the Red Dragon, I believe the use of our comm. channels with him should be restricted to crises, and nothing more."
Ping Long appeared satisfied and sat back, but Wang shook his head. "Now is hardly the time for us to be without a leader of our street forces," he said in a disapproving tone.
"We might use it to our advantage," Mao replied. "Both as leverage if the ISSP looks at us too closely, since we can claim the only casualty in the skirmish was our own, and as a surprise show of force upon his return."
"If he is able to show force when he returns," Wang reminded him.
Mao let out a soft laugh. "Spiegel shows force when he sleeps. If we allow him to return on his own schedule, there will be no need to worry about his capacity."
Wang sighed. "Nonetheless, he must return within three weeks' time. The summit is set for the first weekend of next month. It may be wise to inform him of the time he has available to him. And when you do, inform him as well that our displeasure at his absence has not abated."
Vicious cleared his throat. "With respect, your Eminence, that displeasure is better aimed at the cause of his absence."
All three members of the Van turned their narrow gaze to him. Sou replied, "Our anger at Marcus Britt is tempered by rational thought. His punishment will be no less severe when his usefulness has been exhausted."
Vicious bowed low in response, but Julia could see his knuckles whiten as he clenched his fists by his side.
Sou raised a hand as he sat back. "You are dismissed, to go about your daily activities as you see fit. Show your presence and intercept what shipments and sales you can, to keep the White Tiger convinced of the necessity of their planned meeting. But resist the urge to dig too deeply. If they are focused on the barrel of the Red Dragon's gun, they will not look for the knife in its other claw."
Outside the chamber, the group reassembled, and now Julia felt the curious glances of the other men. A Vanguard led Shin away, and Lin watched after him with his jaw taut and his hands jammed in his pockets.
"How is he?" she asked.
Lin gave her a grateful look. "Sick, but getting better. He wants a chance to work with me. He's confined until he can prove he has mastered his addiction. So some good has come of all this, no matter how small and insignificant to anyone but me."
"Vicious, I know the reason Julia is here, but perhaps you would like to tell the rest of the group yourself." Mao's expression remained neutral, but he watched his protégé closely.
Vicious nodded, and she saw the small smile play across his lips again. "I know that now is hardly the time for me to defy your direction, Mao, but I felt there was no one else better suited to work with me and lead my team. Julia is my second in name, but my partner to the rest of you. From here on in, we lead together."
"Congratulations," Lin murmured to her. She smiled her thanks.
"Very well," Mao replied, after a few seconds. "This decision pleases me, even though it is an act of defiance." He put a hand on Julia's arm. "I will expect you to bring both balance and a steady hand to your position."
"You have my guarantee," she said, and her pride came through clearly in her voice.
She walked to the elevators with Vicious in silence, smiling to herself, and when the doors shut behind them, he pulled her into a kiss that lasted until the bell tolled for their stop.
When the comm. buzzed, Julia realized she had been sitting, stock-still, for nearly an hour. She'd come home to find her front door repaired, the paint around the new doorjamb almost a match for the yellow that had deepened over the past two years. More new paint gleamed around the bedroom door, and the whole space smelled alien, too clean, stripped of the days before. Even without sympathy for their end, the idea of men dying in the hallway made her shiver as though they still blew through the room, searching for a way out of the mortal plane.
She saw Vicious' code on the screen and composed the mask of normalcy on her face before answering.
"Where are you?" he said, almost snarling.
She felt a nervous jolt, wondering what she'd done to displease him. "At the apartment."
"I'm coming over," he declared, and disconnected.
She filled the waiting time brewing a pot of coffee, just to have something to smell besides the antiseptic cleaner and paint fumes. Barely five minutes passed before he swept through the door, hanging his coat and scabbard on the rack without a word. He turned to face her, and she straightened her back, struggling to keep a neutral expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked, knowing the question was inadequate.
He curled his lip. "I was publicly humiliated by the Van. For speaking the truth – truth they know themselves, but will not admit, since the thought did not spring from their rotted brains."
She couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over her, knowing his anger was not directed at her, and she held out a hand to him as he crossed to join her. "What did they say?"
He shrugged and put an arm around her waist. "That I am impetuous and ignorant."
"Neither of those statements is true," she replied, honestly.
"I know that. But in this, as in all things, they consider their opinion to be fact. And others will take it that way as well. I wanted to cut them all down where they sat, but instead I will have to pander to their whims and dance whatever step they assign me in order to maintain my position." He sighed and then pressed his face to her hair, inhaling deeply. "I needed a distraction. I needed you."
She raised her eyebrows and slid a hand down his back. "I hope I'm more than a distraction."
"Mm," he replied, pulling her body against his own. "I hope you will be. I am without a second in my team. Mao's direction can safely be discarded as ignorant advice, given where it got me. I want you. Not as my second, but as my partner." Before she could answer, he kissed her roughly, swiping at her tongue with his own, one hand wrapped around the back of her neck while the other lifted her skirt. He drew back and grinned. "Let them see what the Silver King and the Golden Queen can accomplish together."
She would not have been able to put into words the way his offer rang every bell of her ambitions. The years scraping out an existence as a girl taught her that power meant safety and comfort, even if it also required its own defense. Finally, his compliments and his reliance on her came to fruition, and to be treated as an equal was both an aphrodisiac and as much a declaration of love as he'd ever been able to give.
She smiled in return and hooked her fingers through his beltloops. "The Silver King," she murmured, moving coyly backward so she stood at arm's length from him. "I like the sound of that. I accept. The alliance ought to be consummated immediately."
He responded with a low rumble in his chest and an attack, pushing her against the wall. His hands slid beneath her skirt and hoisted her, lifting her up until she was supported by his hips between his body and the cool, smooth plaster. She clung to his shoulders while he loosed his clothing and drove into her; he bit her neck and then captured her mouth with his own so that every breath forced out of her was shared with him.
In the pocket of his coat, his comm. began an insistent buzz, but he shook his head without breaking the kiss and kept on, fingers digging into the backs of her thighs. She couldn't stifle a moan when the pulsing shudders began, and he followed soon after her, crushing the last of her air away with a final thrust. Black spots swam in her vision as he released her, and she clung to his arm to keep from stumbling.
"Mine and mine alone," he whispered in her ear. "My perfect and terrible Queen."
Her radiant smile in return seemed to light the room. "I like the sound of that, too."
***
The message from Mao gave little clue as to the reason for the summons, but he'd said that all the teams were to assemble in the Van's chamber again, so Julia accompanied Vicious to the tower, a little nervous but still euphoric. Her entrance drew a raised eyebrow from Mao.
Mato, Lao and Lin were there, as well as Shin – still bandaged and bruised, but looking stronger. He kept his head low, looking up from beneath his eyebrows whenever anyone spoke, clearly out of his element and most likely suffering the pangs of withdrawal. He shifted from one foot to the other until Lin's hand on his shoulder made him still.
Mao left his place in front of the mezzanine and crossed to meet Vicious and Julia.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered to Julia.
Vicious answered for her. "She is my second. The instruction not to choose her had disastrous consequences. I will not risk them again."
Mao frowned, but nodded, and returned to the mezzanine, speaking in hushed voices with Sou Long. Julia watched anxiously as the three heads of the Van bent together, but they did not question her presence when the session began. Vicious took her elbow and pulled her forward so she stood abreast of him, and she saw the corners of his mouth upturned, so slightly no one else would have noticed.
"Our interrogation of Marcus Britt has produced significant results," Sou Long said when the murmurs of conversation died down. "Since he claims his actions were driven by a desire for the Red Dragon to be triumphant, it has been relatively easy to barter his continued survival for information about his co-conspirators. It may come as a surprise to some of you to learn that he did, indeed, conspire with the White Tiger, fancying himself a double agent of the Dragon."
Julia saw Vicious' jaw clench with the effort of keeping his words inside.
Sou went on, "The White Tiger is planning a summit of its leadership from around the planet in three weeks' time. They sought, and obtained, a producer of their own to combat our distribution of Red Eye. However, they do not appear to have any plans for its improvement on a scale with our own, so even if they were to slip from our grasp in the coming months, our long term goals will make the Red Dragon the victor.
"Britt claims to know the location of this summit, here in Tharsis City, and we will punish the White Tiger for its failure to behave in a manner befitting a businessman when it takes place. Until then, it is critical that all of you conduct yourselves as though you do not have this knowledge, nor any knowledge of their supplier. Fortunately, the events of the past few days have been narrow in scope, though a great cost to us as an organization, and the ISSP seems to be genuinely ignorant as well."
Wang Long took up where Sou left off. "The ISSP is occupied with an uprising on Titan, which we mentioned earlier today. From what we have been able to learn, civilian workers at the Titan weapons research facility led a rebellion against the military scientists and police. It is suggested that human experimentation with weapons, either chemical or biological, takes place there. In any event, the conflict grows more severe with each hour, and our sources at the ISSP fear it may become a war rather than a skirmish. This works to our advantage, giving us time to lull them into complacency while their attentions are focused elsewhere."
Julia's head swam. She understood only half of what the Van said, not having been present for the previous meetings, and she tried to catalogue her questions for Vicious while still paying attention to the discussion. Irritation at how much he had not told her dampened her mood.
"We understand Yenrai-san has spoken with Spike Spiegel," Ping Long said, after a few moments' silence. "His full report would best be made to everyone here."
Her heart skipped a beat when Mao nodded. She'd forgotten, for a few hours.
"I did indeed speak with him. He is gravely injured, alive solely through the efforts of Julia Vail."
She blushed a little, both at the acknowledgment and the formal use of her full name, and inclined her head to Mao.
"He cannot yet return to Tharsis," Mao continued, "But he is not in a city, and he intends to return within a few weeks' time, ready to resume his duties. If I need to call him back sooner, I have the means to reach him. However, given the fact that the reach of Britt's deception extended beyond the Red Dragon, I believe the use of our comm. channels with him should be restricted to crises, and nothing more."
Ping Long appeared satisfied and sat back, but Wang shook his head. "Now is hardly the time for us to be without a leader of our street forces," he said in a disapproving tone.
"We might use it to our advantage," Mao replied. "Both as leverage if the ISSP looks at us too closely, since we can claim the only casualty in the skirmish was our own, and as a surprise show of force upon his return."
"If he is able to show force when he returns," Wang reminded him.
Mao let out a soft laugh. "Spiegel shows force when he sleeps. If we allow him to return on his own schedule, there will be no need to worry about his capacity."
Wang sighed. "Nonetheless, he must return within three weeks' time. The summit is set for the first weekend of next month. It may be wise to inform him of the time he has available to him. And when you do, inform him as well that our displeasure at his absence has not abated."
Vicious cleared his throat. "With respect, your Eminence, that displeasure is better aimed at the cause of his absence."
All three members of the Van turned their narrow gaze to him. Sou replied, "Our anger at Marcus Britt is tempered by rational thought. His punishment will be no less severe when his usefulness has been exhausted."
Vicious bowed low in response, but Julia could see his knuckles whiten as he clenched his fists by his side.
Sou raised a hand as he sat back. "You are dismissed, to go about your daily activities as you see fit. Show your presence and intercept what shipments and sales you can, to keep the White Tiger convinced of the necessity of their planned meeting. But resist the urge to dig too deeply. If they are focused on the barrel of the Red Dragon's gun, they will not look for the knife in its other claw."
Outside the chamber, the group reassembled, and now Julia felt the curious glances of the other men. A Vanguard led Shin away, and Lin watched after him with his jaw taut and his hands jammed in his pockets.
"How is he?" she asked.
Lin gave her a grateful look. "Sick, but getting better. He wants a chance to work with me. He's confined until he can prove he has mastered his addiction. So some good has come of all this, no matter how small and insignificant to anyone but me."
"Vicious, I know the reason Julia is here, but perhaps you would like to tell the rest of the group yourself." Mao's expression remained neutral, but he watched his protégé closely.
Vicious nodded, and she saw the small smile play across his lips again. "I know that now is hardly the time for me to defy your direction, Mao, but I felt there was no one else better suited to work with me and lead my team. Julia is my second in name, but my partner to the rest of you. From here on in, we lead together."
"Congratulations," Lin murmured to her. She smiled her thanks.
"Very well," Mao replied, after a few seconds. "This decision pleases me, even though it is an act of defiance." He put a hand on Julia's arm. "I will expect you to bring both balance and a steady hand to your position."
"You have my guarantee," she said, and her pride came through clearly in her voice.
She walked to the elevators with Vicious in silence, smiling to herself, and when the doors shut behind them, he pulled her into a kiss that lasted until the bell tolled for their stop.