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Chapter 4
This was not good. Julia couldn't think. Normally, she was good in these situations. Spike's gun was inches from her face. She drew in her breath, let it out.
"Well?" Spike asked. "Are you a spy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He laughed. "This is so bad. It's so obvious. Once the Komodo syndicate was disbanded and you found out your brother was dead, you would have left. And how is it you were the only one in the building who survived?"
"Therm-"
"Shut up. You probably had something to do with it, didn't you? And how are you going to begin to explain why you're in the library at this hour and with Kyle Woo's identity card that you probably have in your pocket right now?"
He put the barrel of the gun to her temple, took the safety off, and began to rummage through the pockets of her coat. It wasn't in the left or right pocket, so he turned her so her face was pressed against the spines of the books and began to tear her jacket off. The gun wasn't pressed against her skull any more, so she grabbed Spike's wrist and dug her fingers into a pressure point. He began to lose his grip on the gun.
"Easy, girl," he breathed and tried to throw her to the ground. She didn't let go of his wrist and used his weight to start bending it in the wrong direction. He grunted. She brought her left foot down on his left foot, and as he brought it off the ground she kicked at his kneecap with her other foot. Thoughtlessly he tried to take the weight off this leg and fell to his knees on the ground. Their hands were both still locked on the gun. "Kinda rough for a girl, huh?" he asked.
"Try it without a gun like a man," she replied. Then she kicked him in the face, hard. He fell back but didn't let go of the gun, bringing her down with him. He started laughing. "You really are unbelievably obvious and not particularly astute," he snorted. She stopped struggling, wondered if that was what he wanted her to do. "Not only are you the worst candidate for a spy in the history of mankind, but you can't figure out who the other one is." He let go of the gun and dropped his head back to the floor, laughing as if he'd just pulled the prank of the century. Which he just had. Julia climbed off of him, the gun still in her hand. He could be lying. She rose, and leaned against the bookshelf, and ran her free hand through her hair. Spike was still laughing.
"Explain yourself," she said softly. Spike looked up. The gun was pointed at his temple. He looked up, which ended up being horizontally since he was lying on the floor, as if in thought. Then he took a communicator out of his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and put it to his ear.
"Yeah, Kyt?" he said. "She doesn't believe me." He nodded. "Yeah, she is that type." He looked up at her and extended the phone as an offering. Julia took it, feeling a little like an idiot. Spike, still prone, lit a cigarette.
"Hey," Julia said noncommitantly into the receiver.
"Julia, Spike has been employed by Delaware for the past three years." She looked down at him. He winked at her.
"'Kay," she said. "Bye."
She tossed the phone down to him. "Women," he said.
"Thank you, Spike."
"You're welcome. What for?"
"I've been very angry for a long time, in a my brother was killed I want to kill everyone who ever thought the word Syndicate kind of a way. But it's been a long, long time since I've felt angry in the trivial I'm gonna kick your ass way." She looked over at the gun, then at Spike, then threw the gun nine levels up to the top. "Let's do this without the gun."
He shrugged. "Gotta finish my smoke."
She waited for him to finish his cigarette, which he did while lying on his back and throwing quizzical looks up towards her. He finished his last drag, looked fondly at the cigarette, then mashed it on the ground. He was on his feet within one backwards flip. Julia wasn't impressed.
"I should warn you," he said. "I don't hit women."
"That's alright," she said, shrugging off her coat. "You'd never hit me anyway." He bounced on his feet a little, bouncing closer and then farther away from her, not willing to throw a punch. Julia just stood there with her arms folded. "What?" she asked after fifteen minutes of this. "Scared?"
"Oh, come on!" he said, and then, so fast she almost didn't see it, bounded up to her and put her in a headlock. "Ha! Miss you'd never hit me anyway."
"You didn't hit me," she said calmly, then brought her leg up behind her and cracked him so hard on the head it made a sound. He sat down, stunned. She thought it would probably be fair to wait for him to recover before she hit him again, but decided against it. She delivered a roundhouse to his ear, and he fell to his side. She leaned down to inspect him. He was out. She kicked at him experimentally, and the next thing she knew he'd grabbed her by her ankles and was dangling her over the railing.
"Pink underwear, huh?" he goaded her. "Very traditional. Now yield."
Julia, upside down and with her skirt hanging down to her shoulders, folded her arms. "No way."
"I'll drop you."
"No you won't."
He let go of her ankles for a moment, causing her to shriek, and at the last moment grabbed one of them. "Yield!" he commanded.
"You didn't drop me," she said. "And just wait until I get back up there."
"Okay, fine, I'll dangle you there all night and stare up your skirt."
"Go ahead."
"It's a nice view, I've gotta say."
"Oh, fuck you."
"Name the time and the place."
"How did I know that was coming?" Julia sighed. "Fine. I yield."
Smiling, he brought her back up and set her on her feet over the railing. "That's more reasonable."
"Whatever. Do we have business to discuss or what?"
"Yes," Spike said, lighting another cigarette. "The mission we're assigned to is to track down the decoy organization Harley and Delaware have set up. We're gonna be going to the sleeper factory that made the bullets, and they're gonna lead us to this Illuminati group, which is a real group. We've just gotta kill them before anyone finds out they weren't responsible for the Komodo coup."
"Is that what they're calling it these days?"
Spike just grinned at her. Julia glared at him.
"What?"
"I won," Spike said.
"Yes, you won. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
"No."
"Good," Julia said, and went to grab her coat. She stood and walked past Spike to the stairs. "And Spike?"
"Yeah?"
She turned around and delivered a swift kick to the balls. The cigarette dropped from his lips and his skin went white. He crashed to his knees in agony. "I won."
Chapter 4
This was not good. Julia couldn't think. Normally, she was good in these situations. Spike's gun was inches from her face. She drew in her breath, let it out.
"Well?" Spike asked. "Are you a spy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He laughed. "This is so bad. It's so obvious. Once the Komodo syndicate was disbanded and you found out your brother was dead, you would have left. And how is it you were the only one in the building who survived?"
"Therm-"
"Shut up. You probably had something to do with it, didn't you? And how are you going to begin to explain why you're in the library at this hour and with Kyle Woo's identity card that you probably have in your pocket right now?"
He put the barrel of the gun to her temple, took the safety off, and began to rummage through the pockets of her coat. It wasn't in the left or right pocket, so he turned her so her face was pressed against the spines of the books and began to tear her jacket off. The gun wasn't pressed against her skull any more, so she grabbed Spike's wrist and dug her fingers into a pressure point. He began to lose his grip on the gun.
"Easy, girl," he breathed and tried to throw her to the ground. She didn't let go of his wrist and used his weight to start bending it in the wrong direction. He grunted. She brought her left foot down on his left foot, and as he brought it off the ground she kicked at his kneecap with her other foot. Thoughtlessly he tried to take the weight off this leg and fell to his knees on the ground. Their hands were both still locked on the gun. "Kinda rough for a girl, huh?" he asked.
"Try it without a gun like a man," she replied. Then she kicked him in the face, hard. He fell back but didn't let go of the gun, bringing her down with him. He started laughing. "You really are unbelievably obvious and not particularly astute," he snorted. She stopped struggling, wondered if that was what he wanted her to do. "Not only are you the worst candidate for a spy in the history of mankind, but you can't figure out who the other one is." He let go of the gun and dropped his head back to the floor, laughing as if he'd just pulled the prank of the century. Which he just had. Julia climbed off of him, the gun still in her hand. He could be lying. She rose, and leaned against the bookshelf, and ran her free hand through her hair. Spike was still laughing.
"Explain yourself," she said softly. Spike looked up. The gun was pointed at his temple. He looked up, which ended up being horizontally since he was lying on the floor, as if in thought. Then he took a communicator out of his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and put it to his ear.
"Yeah, Kyt?" he said. "She doesn't believe me." He nodded. "Yeah, she is that type." He looked up at her and extended the phone as an offering. Julia took it, feeling a little like an idiot. Spike, still prone, lit a cigarette.
"Hey," Julia said noncommitantly into the receiver.
"Julia, Spike has been employed by Delaware for the past three years." She looked down at him. He winked at her.
"'Kay," she said. "Bye."
She tossed the phone down to him. "Women," he said.
"Thank you, Spike."
"You're welcome. What for?"
"I've been very angry for a long time, in a my brother was killed I want to kill everyone who ever thought the word Syndicate kind of a way. But it's been a long, long time since I've felt angry in the trivial I'm gonna kick your ass way." She looked over at the gun, then at Spike, then threw the gun nine levels up to the top. "Let's do this without the gun."
He shrugged. "Gotta finish my smoke."
She waited for him to finish his cigarette, which he did while lying on his back and throwing quizzical looks up towards her. He finished his last drag, looked fondly at the cigarette, then mashed it on the ground. He was on his feet within one backwards flip. Julia wasn't impressed.
"I should warn you," he said. "I don't hit women."
"That's alright," she said, shrugging off her coat. "You'd never hit me anyway." He bounced on his feet a little, bouncing closer and then farther away from her, not willing to throw a punch. Julia just stood there with her arms folded. "What?" she asked after fifteen minutes of this. "Scared?"
"Oh, come on!" he said, and then, so fast she almost didn't see it, bounded up to her and put her in a headlock. "Ha! Miss you'd never hit me anyway."
"You didn't hit me," she said calmly, then brought her leg up behind her and cracked him so hard on the head it made a sound. He sat down, stunned. She thought it would probably be fair to wait for him to recover before she hit him again, but decided against it. She delivered a roundhouse to his ear, and he fell to his side. She leaned down to inspect him. He was out. She kicked at him experimentally, and the next thing she knew he'd grabbed her by her ankles and was dangling her over the railing.
"Pink underwear, huh?" he goaded her. "Very traditional. Now yield."
Julia, upside down and with her skirt hanging down to her shoulders, folded her arms. "No way."
"I'll drop you."
"No you won't."
He let go of her ankles for a moment, causing her to shriek, and at the last moment grabbed one of them. "Yield!" he commanded.
"You didn't drop me," she said. "And just wait until I get back up there."
"Okay, fine, I'll dangle you there all night and stare up your skirt."
"Go ahead."
"It's a nice view, I've gotta say."
"Oh, fuck you."
"Name the time and the place."
"How did I know that was coming?" Julia sighed. "Fine. I yield."
Smiling, he brought her back up and set her on her feet over the railing. "That's more reasonable."
"Whatever. Do we have business to discuss or what?"
"Yes," Spike said, lighting another cigarette. "The mission we're assigned to is to track down the decoy organization Harley and Delaware have set up. We're gonna be going to the sleeper factory that made the bullets, and they're gonna lead us to this Illuminati group, which is a real group. We've just gotta kill them before anyone finds out they weren't responsible for the Komodo coup."
"Is that what they're calling it these days?"
Spike just grinned at her. Julia glared at him.
"What?"
"I won," Spike said.
"Yes, you won. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
"No."
"Good," Julia said, and went to grab her coat. She stood and walked past Spike to the stairs. "And Spike?"
"Yeah?"
She turned around and delivered a swift kick to the balls. The cigarette dropped from his lips and his skin went white. He crashed to his knees in agony. "I won."