Scarlet Shadows
© Kaz, 2003-2004

Chapter Eight – Alterare, Part One

It was almost midnight when the trio arrived, but they were through with their mission in no time. The only thing that held them up was their release of the frightened, even hysterical, prisoners --- women who were bound to be killed, and then transformed into mannequins by the horrendous act of wax injection. The business was a new one, barely a week old, in fact, yet their boss received word of it just in time to stop its first shipping of doll products. It wouldn't have been a problem if wax was to be exported; unfortunately, a collection of beautiful Corellian ladies was at stake.

They were out of the building even before the clock struck twelve. Not one of the women captives remained, and everyone else who had crossed their path, the leader of the operation included, were killed smoothly and nearly soundlessly, almost without a fight. They had managed to catch them off-guard.

As soon as the three assassins were out of sight, a figure stepped out from the darkness, looking around casually as if he had not witnessed anything, let alone a brutal killing session. He was then joined by three others, visibly men, all of them having emerged from various hiding places in the warehouse. They surveyed the wreckage for a while, splitting up to do so, then regrouped at the center of the room to discuss what they had seen and uncovered. Despite the fact that they had disabled all the hidden cameras before their appearance, they chose to speak in hushed tones; they didn't want to stir anything, as they couldn't risk exposure. The moment word would leak out that they were trailing the assassins, they would become targets themselves, and they couldn't afford that with the election looming nearby.

"They're falling into our trap. Slowly but surely. We'll corner them in no time."

The youngest member of the group frowned, directing it towards the one who had just spoken. "We shouldn't be complacent, you know," he said, his ice-blue eyes narrowing as those words left him. He gestured towards the corpses that lay nearby with a sweep of his hand, the shadows suppressing his anxiety to the extent that it was almost invisible. He was born and trained to be a fighter, yes, but dead people just weren't his acquaintances. "They're good, women they may be."

He caused their leader to turn towards him and ask the question that had been disturbing him for quite sometime, though not to a great extent. "Where have you been anyway? It's not like you to be late." When the person concerned didn't say anything in reply, he turned towards the older brother and waited for a response, keeping his eyes on the other's calm face.

The older Solo was glad that the darkness was there to conceal the bruises he had acquired from his valiant efforts to protect a certain blonde-haired waitress. Though Durron was not a relative of theirs, he had the tendency of taking control and acting like the annoying, too-inquisitive big brother at times. That was supposed to be his role, as he was the older brother biologically speaking. That thought set aside, he then met the other's gaze and answered as nonchalantly as possible, "Out on an errand. We're still someone's sons, you know."

"I know, Jacen. Well, let's just leave it at that and head back to our base. We have a strategy to plan out. Those girls seem to be more versatile in the fighting arts than we expected them to actually be…"

-x-

"Tahiri."

The voice that had pronounced her name managed to enter the young woman's subconsciousness, but she whisked it away as if it was only a component of a dream. She rolled over to the opposite side and snuggled deeper into the pillows that provided her with unceasing comfort, with no intention of waking up from her slumber or ending her pleasant sleep in the land of dreams. When she felt herself being shaken once more, she muttered drowsily, "Five more minutes, mommy…" before grabbing the pillow closest to her and pressing it over her head. It would keep the noise away for the five minutes she had asked for.

A stronger nudge. "Tahiri."

"Five more minutes---"

"Tahiri!"

The reaction was reflexive, almost as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been splashed on the fifteen-year-old's flaxen face, when in fact what the other did was merely to scream. The blonde immediately bolted up from her bed, throwing her blanket away as if in panic, and began sputtering. It totally slipped her mind that she was in her bedroom, with a person she had long considered a friend, and that it was seven o'clock in the morning. "What? What? What's going on? Is he here?"

"Who he?"

"Anakin. Anakin So---" Everything finally sunk in, and Tahiri finally realized, after quite sometime, where she was, who she was with, and what happened. Suddenly she was very red, and she couldn't look at the other young woman in the eye. "Oh."

Nadine could not help but roll her eyes. "And you, too." She began picking up the blanket and pillows that had ended up on the floor at the girl's outburst, not looking up even when she was asked what she meant with her statement. Only after she dumped them back on the blonde's bed did she answer, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "First, Danni. I thought she was just stressed out with our late, unplanned operation, but no, she was actually dreaming of Jacen Solo. Then there you were, fussing all over the younger brother. Am I glad I'm not desperately in love as you two are, because there's no other Solo left to snag but their father."

It took a while for Tahiri to understand that she was merely teasing.

She then spared a glance at the clock that hung near the door of her room, directly across her bed, and was immediately enraged upon seeing what time it was. It simply wasn't fair. They were out on a late-night mission that was not in their itinerary for the week, and she was awakened --- quite rudely, in fact --- at such an unholy hour. It was only seven in the morning. She, without delay, went into a screaming fit at her upsetting discovery, before plopping herself back defiantly on her bed, her green eyes squeezed shut.

"We have a mission," she heard the brunette say, and she groaned. It was that word again, and she had to admit that she was getting tired of hearing it. Not that she had a way out, of course. She owed Arica her life, and she was more than willing to let her use it for whatever purpose she desired. Working as an assassin with a just cause was definitely a lot more pleasant than being a thief under the iron fist of Xenakis.

"But it's seven o'clock," she then protested, still not willing to get back up.

Nadine let out an exasperated sigh. "Han Solo and his party members will be at the town square at nine." Though not a single word in her statement was stressed for emphasis, she was sure that the younger woman remembered that many, if not most, of their targets were under the Solos' faction. "We have to pose as journalists, and since the Solo brothers have seen us up close, we have to put on a disguise. That will take a while. And besides, you have to dress ugly. Do you want Anakin to fall in love with the disguised you and fall out of love with the real you? I don't think so."

She made her way towards the door, and when she looked back, she found Tahiri sitting up. The blonde, however, was scowling at her for her last comment, and she, too, scowled back, not just to get back at the other, but also because she was taking too long in getting up. "Come on. We've got work to do."

-x-

From behind a pair of round spectacles shone Tahiri's bright emerald eyes, and it went very well with her chosen disguise as a geeky politics fanatic. She only hoped that the confidence she was projecting that early would remain intact even if she would already be facing him. At that thought, she scowled, scolding herself mentally. There was no reason for her to be nervous. After all, she didn't like him.

But why did sparks fly the night before?

She was well aware that it began as an act, just like always, whenever she would have to deal with the members of the opposite sex. Besides, they were given orders to check on the Solo brothers and find out whatever they can about them and their family, and so when Anakin showed up once more, sneaking up on her through the window of her bedchamber, her mind reminded her of those orders almost automatically. Being a courtesan, she got him wrapped around her finger in no time, charmed and under her seductive spell.

But, just when she reached the finale of her drama, the reality of it sunk in and hit her hard, in the form of a kiss. It caught her off-guard and shattered the façade she had constructed very carefully, something that no man had ever done to her before. Though she danced with the big boys and toyed with their emotions like any courtesan would, she had never been kissed. Only Anakin Solo, the blue-eyed hotshot she had bumped into at the marketplace, had dared to do such a thing to her. The ironic thing was, he was the only one she had allowed to do such a thing to her.

It was short, but enough to ignite the fire that lay dormant inside of her. Frightened all of a sudden at the heat it generated and not wanting to burn with his love --- if it was love --- so soon, she pushed him away, literally out of the window, as he was on his way to leave when it happened. It wasn't the perfect spot to share such an intimate moment, that she knew, but it was more than romantic enough for her. In fact, it went past her many visions of a first kiss in more aspects than one.

A woman stepped up beside her, interrupting her train of thoughts. She cocked her head to the side slightly and grinned; Danni was straightening her flowing yellow dress, a bag of the same bright shade with flower designs slung over her shoulder. To match her sunshiny outfit, the other had hidden her blonde locks under a large bonnet with a flaring orange ribbon that was impossible to miss. A yellow-lined pair of sunglasses was sitting on her face, and on her feet were sandals of a similar shade. She looked very bright and bubbly, and to complete that look of hers, she greeted every single person who would pass her way. And that didn't exclude Tahiri, who hailed her in response, as if they didn't know each other.

"Who's your top bet for Senator?" a high-pitched voice --- irritating, even --- exploded from behind the younger blonde, and she saw Nadine making her way through the crowd, waving her tape recorder around as she did so. Her dark brown hair was carefully concealed under a fake mass of too-bouncy pale blonde hair, and she wore a crisp business suit accompanied by red, high-heeled sandals on her feet; an attire simply too smart for her ditzy front. Which was the point.

Tahiri smiled. With her act to worry about, there would be no room for Anakin. At least, for the time being.

-x-

As the campaign went on, Nadine suddenly had many reasons why she should kill Viqi Shesh.

The woman's appearance had long annoyed the brunette; so much more the way she talked, although the disguised assassin couldn't point out why. But she was thrown into a state of rage, only compressed as she couldn't even think of blowing her cover, when the only female Senatorial candidate made her oh-so-great speech. Not only did she sound as if she was the most powerful woman in all of Corellia, having allied herself with Han Solo; she also made it clear that it was their responsibility as the weaker sex to submit to the men, their masters.

I would never do that, she vowed, her eyes narrowing into slits at the mere thought of it. If Danni and Tahiri were at their breaking points, at the verge of falling into the hands of the Solo brothers --- and thus, at their mercy --- she was soaring way above danger zone. She was an eagle hunting for prey, a predator not destined to be hauled in a cage in its lifetime. She was a courtesan toying with men and their fragile feelings, a professional smooth-talking femme fatale. Her heart would never be broken; if there would be anyone who would do the crushing, it would be her.

Shesh having finished her talk, an open forum was declared.

Hands shot up almost immediately, but because she and her two companions were women, they weren't given the priority unlike those from the other side. But it didn't matter if the candidates would answer their questions or not, as that wasn't what they were really there for. As the question and answer session went on, keeping the candidates busy with all the inquiries, Danni was already memorizing the important habits and tendencies of Kyp Durron's aide, a petite yet rather attractive woman in her mid-20's, while Tahiri was stealthily making her way to the Fel family for a little chat.

Unexpectedly, Nadine was called forward to ask her question. Careful not to meet the gazes of Jacen and Anakin, who had seen her in close range and had looked into her eyes once before, she reverted to her bouncy front and requested that her query be answered by one of the running Senators, the aristocratic Soontir Fel. "Rumors have been going around, Mr. Fel," she began loudly, careful to throw her voice out of control in her fake enthusiasm, "and I was just wondering if it's true that… well, um, let me rephrase that. Um… what can you say about the rumor that you, um, attempted to sell your youngest daughter, Wynessa, to a slave merchant from Yuuzhan'tar for two million credits?"

Fel's response was quick and defensive, and even with her attention focused on him, she sensed that his wife and children had reacted as well. "My daughter is safe in our home. She is merely suffering from a slight cold." Nadine swore she saw him glare daggers at her for asking such a question. "That rumor is a lie."

Her eyes narrowed once more as she turned around and walked away. I think not.

-x-

Wynessa Fel was not in her bedchamber, or anywhere else in the rooms she had checked out, for that matter. That made a trickle run down Atropos' spine, a trickle that indicated that something bad indeed happened to the young woman. She's suffering from a slight cold, alright, she thought grimly, biting her lip, before she hurried out and closed the door with a soft click. Not as soundless as she hoped it would go, but all she could do was silently pray that it wouldn't send an alarm or anyone in the mansion screaming.

Another sound caught her ears. She turned around abruptly, unsheathing her weapon as swiftly as her muscles allowed her to. But it was only Clotho. The boots she had chosen to wear, reluctantly of course, added to the noise at her descent that normally wasn't there. "I take it you're edgy because Wynessa isn't there?" she heard the younger assassin ask, her voice still distinctly clear despite the black mask she wore over her face.

She nodded. "She's supposed to be sick, thus recuperating here. But I don't see her anywhere." She waved her hand around, indicating that she had searched all the rooms in that floor; then she looked back at her companion and added, "The maids aren't even here. Pretty strange if you ask me, considering that this is a mansion, and that there's supposed to an ill girl in the premises."

Clotho shrugged. "Maybe he did sell her."

"And the maids?"

"Them, too. You know them, they talk. A lot."

It made sense. Perfect sense, in fact. But still… Atropos couldn't explain it, but she had a very bad feeling about the situation, ever since they set foot inside the Fels' home. She was slightly relieved when Lachesis joined them, the blonde having completed her job as their sentry, even though the matter at hand was still far from over.

"He's home," the newcomer reported, drawing out her poison darts. She may look fragile without her fighting gear on and with her face exposed and all, but she was definitely not to be underestimated. She might not have been born a fighter, but she was trained to be one, and exceptionally, at that. She wasn't just another dumb blonde. "His wife and kids aren't with him, nor is anyone else. This is our chance."

The other two assassins nodded in agreement to Lachesis' statement, and then they all hurried out to meet their prey, who was halfway through climbing up the grand staircase of his mansion. When he didn't notice them, or even feel their presence, Atropos greeted him coldly, "Hello, Mr. Soontir Fel."

The Senatorial candidate looked up, and fear caught him --- but only for a second. The dread that had captured him by surprise disappeared into thin air almost immediately, and then, he smiled, confident that the three who had been dispatched to kill him would not be able to do him any harm. Not even drawing his gun, which the women knew he carried with him at all times for self-defense, he retorted coolly, "Ah. You must be that assassin trio I've been hearing about." He bowed mockingly, then finished in a voice oozing with sarcasm, "How may I be of service?"

"Don't try to talk your way out of this, Fel!" Clotho snarled. She was seething with anger, yet their leader held her back before she could do something that wasn't necessary. Not that it wasn't their mission to assassinate the politician; it was simply because they had to find out what had happened to Wynessa first before executing their mission. And he was the one who had the answers to their questions.

"Oh, no. I'm not, my dear. It's just that…" His smile broadened as he continued to make his way to the topmost step of the stairway, stopping only when he stood directly in front of the three ladies and tucking his hands into the pockets of his trousers afterwards. "Well, if you wanted me dead, you could and would have killed me already. But no, you chose not to do so, even if I'm practically unarmed and without company. There must be something else you want from me."

"Where's Wynessa?"

"My daughter's ill. She hasn't been seeing anyone."

"She's not in her bedroom."

"I've hidden her somewhere else, away from prying eyes," Soontir replied casually, almost as if what he was saying was scripted, something he prepared and memorized. His hands remained inside his pockets. "It's because of those rumors of her that she became ill. Reporters wouldn't lay off her---"

Atropos didn't believe a single word he uttered, and so she cut him off as soon as she had heard enough. "Take us to her," she ordered sternly, making sure to glare at the man with as much force as she could muster. Despite having heard the first part of his explanation for his daughter's absence, she still felt her heart pounding with anxiety. He was calm, too calm about the situation, and she knew, though not knowing how, he wasn't supposed to be.

He nodded. "Certainly, certainly."

It was too easy, Atropos noted, and that didn't ease the feeling of dread that had settled at the pit of her stomach. She couldn't tell what her companions were feeling at the moment, but she had the hunch that, like her, they were suspicious. As they followed Soontir towards the rooms on the lower floor --- towards the basement? --- she kept her hands on her weapons all the time; the two blondes did the same. They may be three of the most skilled warriors in Corellia, but they were still cautious. They were the kind of assassins who wouldn't take chances.

Soontir stopped in front of the last room, waving his hand to indicate that it was where his daughter was hidden, and subsequently drawing a finger to his lips for them to keep quiet. He then opened the door, peeking in casually. "Wynessa, dear? Daddy's friends are here to see you."

No matter how much they had psyched themselves that they were prepared for the worst in any mission, they found themselves frozen for a few good heartbeats. Shock, disbelief and fear filled them to the brim, and those emotions did not disappear as quickly as they should have, because they simply couldn't find the will to push them away into the nothingness of oblivion. The sight that greeted them when Soontir exposed the interior of the chamber was downright disturbing, and even that was an understatement, for the once-charming lady Wynessa Fel was known to be was no more. What they saw instead was a monster.

And the monster cried, "Do-ro'ik vong pratte!"

---

Author's Notes:

Phew. First half of this double-episode special (if you can call it that) done; the other half to go. The title of this chapter and that of the next, alterare, is the middle Latin term for alter, and I think you already know by now why it is so. Anyway, as much as I wanted to go directly into Jaina's side of things, I had to close some doors and open new ones. I'm sure you can already sense, though, that this story is tilting towards her, with this chapter as its turning point.

Shai – Thanks for helping me out with the details for this chapter. I really appreciate it. And thank you for being so patient, waiting for how many months and not giving up on me. A more clumsy Jacen? Well, I'll give that a try one of these days. Maybe it's what'll work out best, ne? ::grins::

brokeassproduc – Thank you for your nice words. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I'll do my best to make the next chapters as entertaining as possible. Thank you again.

Sibyl's Scion – Thank you, too. Well I don't really think I switched writing styles much, so maybe it's just as what you said – it's been a while since my last post. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier I'm moving on to Jaina's story, though it's going to be quite a long ride considering how related she is to most of the main characters (Jacen, Anakin, Mara, etc…). Please stand by for it.

Satan's Advocate – Thank you for pointing those out. I guess it's time for me to backtrack and fix those errors in the previous chapters. As for putting Jaina and Jag together… well, I haven't really decided just yet, but so far, that pairing has the most number of votes, and that's a good sign.

Shiri – Thank you! It's nice to know that someone appreciates not only the story, but also my writing style. As for your inquiry, those two were Anakin and Tahiri, backtracking to their first meeting in Chapter Four. I couldn't resist; they're such a cute couple. Too bad Anakin died in NJO…

Alright, that's it for now, I'll be off to the second part of this installment. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it fast, without writer's block hitting me. If you have any suggestions, please do post them. I want to make this story as entertaining and interesting as possible. Thank you again, guys, and please review! Hehe. ::smiles::