…And into the boudoir.
The guards showed me into the room, their politeness almost making one forget about the automatic weapons slung across their bodies.
Almost.
Automatically, I surveyed the room for any number of things; threats, escape routes, weapons, or expensive items worth 'liberating'. I didn't find much of the first three, but as for the fourth, the room had it in spades.
Exquisitely polished hardwood furniture adorned the room, occasionally gilded with gold inlay or chips of dragonite. A massive bookshelf dominated one side of the room, its shelves stuffed with a variety of leather-bound books. A grey marble fireplace blazed merrily on the other side of the room, filling the chamber with a warm flickering glow. A large, four poster bed took up a good deal of space, draped with sheer fabrics that likely cost more than the average car. The mattress was broad, allowing quite a bit of room for-
I shook my head, taking my attention away from the bed, instead fixing my eyes on the balcony. Now I was getting somewhere! Never had the scent of fresh air been so welcome to my nostrils.
I stepped out onto the balcony, first peering up into the starry night sky- seemed that I'd been in custody for quite awhile. I then looked down, over the edge, and blanched. I was very, very, very high up- at least 30 stories, by my estimate. Far too high for me to make a rope of sheets and blankets…if I could get my hands on a grav-chute, or a helicopter, on the other hand…
"Jim, is that you?" A voice sounded from behind me. Helen's voice.
"Er, yes?" I revealed my location: a mistake.
Helen came from around the corner and out onto the balcony, looking absolutely breathtaking (literally, as I was rather oxygen-deprived at that very moment). Like the first time we met, she wore white; though instead of a dirty and baggy jumpsuit, she wore a…to this day, I'm not quite what she was wearing. It was a slinky, form-fitting garment; a combination of white silk in lace that seemed to reveal more than conceal. Very impractical. Firelight reflected off of her hair, only adding to the striking vision.
She smiled earnestly at me, quickly sashaying (the only type of movement capable in such a garment) across the balcony, remaining silent. We stood face to face for a few moments, her with nothing to say, and me without the ability to speak.
Helen broke the pause, seizing me about the shoulders, dipping me low, and planted a urgent and sloppy sort of kiss on my unsuspecting mouth. Paralyzed by the sensation, I could only ride the current of this situation. To tell the truth, it wasn't entirely unenjoyable- but that's beside the point.
Finally, she broke the embrace, releasing me from her grip. System still reeling from the shock, my body only began to register the outside world again once gravity pulled it into firm contact with the stone floor. This penchant of mine for falling down in the presence of women was rapidly growing tiresome.
"I've been wanting to do that all day." Helen murmured, satisfaction dripping from her tone.
Feeling my face grow hot, I pulled myself up on shaky knees. At that very moment, I had absolutely no idea what to do; part of me wanted to get the hell out of there, while another part of me wanted nothing more to go for a 'second round' with Helen. Or a third. Or fourth. "Is that all you brought me here for?" I managed.
"Of course not, silly!" Helen giggled. "It's just that we haven't had much time to talk…in private." She took my hand and led me back into her bedchamber, seating me down on the edge of the bed. Fearing the worst, I made it a note to start talking while I still had the mind to do so. "Look, Helen, don't you think we're taking things a little bit…fast? I mean, we're young! And, well, we just met that one time, and that was under extenuating circumstances, and when threatened with death, people can get pretty emotionally stupid about-"
Helen silenced me with a dainty finger placed upon my formerly babbling lips, and smiled. "I'm not stupid, Jim." She cooed, sweetly. "And I'm not blind, either. And I know a good man when I see one." She plopped down on the bed next to me, having produced a remote from, well…somewhere. Helen pointed the device at the bookshelf and tapped a series of buttons, causing several of the shelves to slide into the wall, revealing an elaborate computer system. Important looking financial information scrolled across the monitor- that is, until Helen pushed down on another button. Instantaneously, more numbers and figures scrolled across the screen- though this time, the statistics were easily recognizable.
"Hey!" I turned on the lovely figure sitting next to me. "That's my outfit's fiscal reports!"
"I know." Helen smirked. I turned my attention back to the screen, merely gaping as numerous newspaper clippings, wanted posters, and the occasional receipt scrolled over the screen, all having to deal with Starwind and Hawking Enterprises in some way or another. Someone had been keeping tabs on me.
That particular someone noted my shocked state, and giggled. "Oh come on, Jimmy." She teased. "I'm more than just a pretty face, you know. Now, if you would stop staring at my cleavage" I wasn't. Really. "I'll explain."
"You see, ever since we met on that ass-backwards little farm planet, you've intrigued me; so I just opted to do a little research. Seems you've had quite the career, Jim; even for an outlaw. However, for all your adventures, your resourcefulness, your utter brilliance…you're still not realizing your true potential; you're weighted down by things outside your control: namely, that ragtag crew of miscreants you hang out with. Now, while you may be the most dashing Outlaw I know," she winked. "Your business practices…leave a little to be desired."
I groaned, realizing where this was leading. "…You want in?"
"Well, not entirely. I mean, I doubt that I could make it as a member of the crew myself…but if I could lend my business expertise to your little outfit, just imagine what could be done!"
"If you're such a cunning businesswoman, why don't you just work for your Uncle?"
"He won't let me." Helen pouted. "Kept calling the arms business a 'Man's Work'. Which I don't believe for a damned second, what, with that fruity Fred Low nancing about the business. But that's beside the point now, isn't it?"
Muttering obscenities beneath my breath, I scowled at Helen. "So…this whole marriage thing isn't a matter of love so much as you just wanting to get into the Outlaw business?" I wasn't sure if I should've felt betrayed or relieved at that time.
"Oh, it's not entirely a matter of business." Helen leaned forward, her voice suddenly husky. I didn't like it. "You're quite the catch, you know; young, smart, cute- and you've got that Outlaw appeal for you, but you haven't gotten all the ugly scars and tattoos to go with it."
Funny, Gene always told me "Chicks Dig Scars." Go figure.
However, Gene's ill-advised words couldn't be farther from my mind at that particular moment, as I suddenly realized Helen's close proximity as she coiled her arms about me like some variety of surprisingly pleasant constrictor snake. Her scent was intoxicating, the combination of shampoo, perfume, and other such girly scents sparking all sorts of impulses in my brain, most of which I'm not about to tell you about. I froze, allowing Helen to wrap herself about me, slowly easing me down upon my back across the bed.
Wait.
As a proper Outlaw, I've had to sleep in a great many different places; in gutters, escape pods, hundreds of sleazy hotels, a variety of couches, and even my own humble bunk on the Outlaw star. All these places of bedding had one particular thing in common; they weren't all that comfortable. As a result, the sensation of sinking down into the downy silk bedding was utterly alien to me; alien enough to jar me from the hormone induced trance Helen was lulling me into.
"Um…Err…ah….Wait!" I pushed
"What is it?" she continued, reaching up to stroke at my earlobe.
"We- Er- …I should go." I pushed Helen from me as best I could, feeling gauzy fabric slip beneath my shaking hands.
"Oh hell." Helen sat up, peering irately at me. "…You're not gay, are you?"
"What?"
"I said, are you gay? I mean, you do make a lot of business with that Low guy…I should've figured."
"What? No! I'm not gay!"
"Oh? Good." She closed in again. I scrabbled away in retreat, limbs getting tangled up in the sheets. "Wait!"
Helen sighed. "What now?"
I searched for an excuse. "I- um, that is, y'see, I…" Something, anything to get me out of the situation. "We shouldn't!"
"And why not?"
"Because…because we're not married! …Yet."
Helen tilted her head at me, golden tresses framing her lovely (albeit confused) face.
"Let me get this straight…you, Jim Hawking, outlaw extraordinaire, want to save "that special moment" for when you get married. Which would be within the next twenty four hours."
"I have a thing for tradition."
"Really?"
I nodded. "Yeah!" Too eagerly.
"Oh, fine." Helen sat back, pouting a bit. "We can wait." She reached out and tapped the remote again, causing the bookshelves to slide back over the surveillance screen. "But until then…" Helen closed in for a final time, planting a surprisingly chaste smooch upon my bewildered nose. This done, she giggled, gesturing arily towards the door- which opened as if under its own accord, revealing the well-armed suits who would escort me to my room.
Not without some degree of relief, I got the hell out of the room. Not that it was an unpleasant place to be- far from it. It's just that there was just too much coming at me at once. What, with Helen wanting to marry me, Helen wanting to jump my bones, Helen wanting to take over my outfit…
Wait.
Fact: Helen wanted to marry me.
Fact: Helen wanted to take over Starwind and Hawking enterprises, and marriage was a handy step.
Fact: Helen was Mr. Kao's only living relative.
Fact: I would somehow be related to Kao if I married Helen.
Fact: Kao would then become my 'Next of Kin'.
The epiphany struck me just as I stepped back into the slanted white room.
If I married Helen, and if I then in turn, died, Helen- and to some degree, Kao, would have a legal foothold in Starwind and Hawking enterprises. And seeing as of how I was already well on my way to getting married…
All he had to do was kill me.
"Shit."
