Part 12

Taking some needed breaths Harper listened intently to the footsteps as they approached him, and then he felt a hand being placed on his chest and he involuntarily jumped.

"Well, well," Gerentex's voice spoke up. "It's almost as if you were being prepared for me," he added, and Harper could almost hear the smile that was now reflected in Gerentex's tone.

"Go to hell," Harper snapped, realising who had boarded the ship and why.

"I was hoping to send you there, but now I have to keep you alive I guess I'm just going to have to have some fun at your expense," Gerentex sighed.

Harper tried to listen for any sign of Richter or Beka, but heard nothing but Gerentex and his men.

"It must be terrible to be blind," Gerentex continued talking. "I guess however that it's comforting to know you don't simply exist to only annoy me, that you have annoyed others too," he then added.

"You still owe me money," Harper snapped, remaining defiant.

"And what possible use could you have for money, with a death wish such as yours?" Gerentex countered.

"I don't have a death wish!" Harper returned just as quickly.

"So it wasn't you pleading with me in that ally for me to end your life?" Gerentex fired back.

"Seamus?" Beka's voice now spoke up, almost in a whisper, and Harper figured she must have only just come around. "What does he mean?" she prompted.

"He's talking crap as usual, Beka," Harper quickly responded, but with fear in his voice. "I didn't plead anything, I just couldn't fight being blind, remember?" Harper directed his anger towards the rat.

"Now, now, Mr Harper," Gerentex continued to mock him. "I hardly think that an annoying little specimen like you would let blindness come between you having the opportunity to kick the crap out of me," he spoke knowingly.

"I was having a really bad day, and I couldn't be bothered to get my boots dirty," Harper snapped.

"You let me slice your wrists open," Gerentex emphasised his words by easily ripping the bandages from both wrists, exposing the wounds, and admiring them for a moment. "I did a good job, nice and clean, should leave a lovely mark, that's my gift to you, Harper."

Harper turned away from Gerentex, no longer wishing to humour the Nightsider. Gerentex looked at his men, and smiled.

"Take Valentine to the holding area, secure her," Gerentex ordered. "The doc, put him in the cargo hold, secure him too," he ordered.

"I'm not leaving Harper with you!" Beka snapped, and began to struggle in the man's hold on her.

"Last time I checked, there was no bounty on you dead or alive," Gerentex now warned in a low voice. "There's no reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"I'll give you a reason," Harper now offered sharply. "You kill her, I'll get myself killed before you have a chance to claim anything, got nothing else to live for but Beka, and you won't be able to stop me, and then you'll be the one with a bounty of your head for letting this little bounty die," Harper grinned with menace.

"Harper, don't say that," Beka spoke with concern.

"You offer an interesting theory," Gerentex considered. "And I know you're enough of a psycho to hold true to your word," he added knowingly. "Ok, she'll live but she's not staying to watch the fun I have in store for you, she'll be the reason you do as I say now," Gerentex then announced, and Harper realised what he had done.

"You can't risk harming me," Harper sneered trying to hide his fear. "I'm valuable to you, remember," Harper stressed confidently, hearing Beka being led away with muffled protests, figuring they had taped or gagged her mouth now.

"My boss wants you alive, he never specified if that was barely alive or just alive with a few scratches," Gerentex said with care. "And if you stop me having my fun, then I'll just move on to Beka."

"No!" Harper snapped. "Leave Beka out of this."

"She's who you live for now," Gerentex was having too much fun. "That's what you said, so either you enjoy the pain I have planned for you, or I'll find out if Beka is a more fun participant."

"What the hell do you want from me?" Harper snapped.

"Your co-operation," Gerentex stated. "I've been hired by some clown to bring you in, some Nietzscheans and their stupid pride, seems you've put one of their own on some death row, but it seems such a waste of this opportunity."

Harper listened intently, as Gerentex regaled him with useless information about his previous missed opportunities, and Harper knew this alone could take all day. "Cut to the freaking chase, before I accidentally die from boredom," Harper snapped.

"I want to know what you did to piss off my boss," Gerentex stated.

"Who's your boss?" Harper countered.

"He goes by the name of Rico," Gerentex informed.

Harper baulked in fear, as his mind was filled with the hate filled images of the young Nietzschean who had taken his sight away, had humiliated him in every way. "No way, no fricking way," Harper then stressed, his voice on the edge of panic. "Is he working for Yussuf?"

"I'm the one seeking information, Harper," Gerentex stated.

"If you can't tell me that, I'm telling you nothing!" Harper snapped defiantly, regaining his composure.

"You seem to think you have a choice!" Gerentex returned, and placed his hand around Harper's neck, applying pressure.

"Kill me, I don't care, but I'm not telling you anything," Harper seethed.

"You'd rather die than tell me why this brainless Nietzschean has a bounty on your head?" Gerentex sounded intrigued.

Harper's mind was filled with images of Dani, and then he remembered Yussuf, how that to protect Dani he had vowed to protect the information about him being the slave that had saved the tyrants life. If he told Gerentex anything, he could jeopardise not only his life, and those close to him, but Dani's as well, Harper had no way to be sure Dani was safe from the information he held deep inside, he had no idea if Yussuf even cared anymore, but Harper couldn't take that risk, and no bone in his body wanted to even attempt to take that risk.

"Why do you want to know?" Harper asked wearily, still distracted by his own thoughts on the consequences he could face by talking.

"Well, I only took this job for the satisfaction of making profit in ending your sorry life," Gerentex sighed dramatically. "But things changed, I'm now just your escort, probably so that someone else can the pleasure of ending your worthless existence, you could say the fun has been taken out of the whole job for me, and I've already been paid half," Gerentex shrugged. "I'm looking for compensation, shall we say?" he finished.

"You're playing a dangerous game," Harper warned, though not with concern for Gerentex.

"Rico actually scares you," Gerentex determined with a glint in his eye. "For what has he deserved such honour from a worthless kludge?" Gerentex considered his own question, and then saw Harper's sightless eyes looking blankly up. "Rico blinded you, correct?"

Harper closed his eyes to Gerentex's deduction, and didn't respond. He didn't have to, Gerentex now knew that Rico held some power over Harper, and had taken something very precious away from him. Only now Harper knew Gerentex would want to know why the uber had done it, he was still seeking some retribution from him.

A hand now rested on Harper's forehead, and it wasn't Gerentex's hand, it was one of his hired men. Panic struck the human as he cursed once more his inability to move, he wanted to fight back, to have a chance but here he was, ready and waiting for whatever crap Gerentex had planned and there was nothing he could do to stop it, even if he wanted to, he wasn't going to talk.

"You will tell me why Rico put that bounty on your head," Gerentex spoke with control now. "I want to know the full gory details, and I want to know now," he continued. "If Yussuf is involved, somehow, and you appear to think he is by your earlier question, then I want to see if there's more profit in the information you might know," he finished, confirming Harper's fears.

"Don't be so sure I'll tell you," Harper stressed. "I know you are not trusted by Yussuf, I've done my home work, I read reports on you, interesting reading," Harper mocked, regaining some control. "You've been banned from Yussuf's sectors with orders of shoot to kill if you're seen," Harper stated quickly, then considered his own words. "You traded one too many bad deals on his patch and you're just as much a wanted man as I am, but if that's the case, why would Rico hire you?" he asked himself. "Unless Rico has also fallen foul of Yussuf, then hiring you makes sense," he figured with renewed energy, and defiance. "So I'm telling you nothing, because you can't do anything to me!"

"But I can," Gerentex smiled. "I was unfairly banished from that system, but I'm sure I can make amends to Yussuf by giving him what he wants."

"Me?" Harper scoffed, Gerentex clearly had no idea and it amused Harper to think that the rat faced fool would think Yussuf would want to see him again, considering the implications that might entail.

"There's more here, I realise that human," Gerentex snarled, showing some intelligence that Harper hadn't given him credit for. "And you're going to tell me every thing I need to know, no lying, no faking, just the truth."

"No way," Harper grinned now, mocking his captor. "I'll make every last bit up, nothing will be true but you'll never know what to believe."

Harper felt his jaw being forced open and held, and his breathing rapidly quickened with uncertainty. He could sense Gerentex close to him now, before jumping as he felt a metallic device being lodged into his mouth, to force it open as wide as it could go.

"For a kludge, Mr Harper, you have immaculate teeth," Gerentex then spoke with observation. "Let me see if I can't do something about that."

Unable to form words now, with his mouth forced open, Harper made whatever noise he could to try and stop what Gerentex had planned, as he struggled against his restraints. He then felt a smaller clamp rest around one of his back teeth, reminding him of the barbaric dentist techniques he had seen on Earth. Remembering as a kid that it had been enough of a deterrent to make him take extra care of his own teeth to avoid the pain he saw, even in the camps he managed to keep them as clean as he could.

Now Gerentex had a hold on one of his teeth, and Harper braced himself, closing his eyes as he did so.

"You have one last chance before pain, tell me why Rico has a price on your head," Gerentex requested, and as an incentive he tugged a little on the tooth he head causing Harper to jerk sharply, but still he shook his head in defiance, before omitting a very loud painful scream as Gerentex set roughly to work on removing Harper's tooth.

TBC