Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur

Daylight streaming in through the window woke her, and with a soft groan she tossed the covers aside, pushing herself around until her feet dangled over the edge of the bed before they landed on the ground. She lay there, half in and half out of bed, still lying on her back staring at the ceiling.

"I so hate the morning after." she muttered darkly into the empty bedroom, then struggled to sit up. She wasn't much surprised that it was an easier maneuver than someone would expect, given her wounds from the night before, but she'd become used to the effectiveness of the blue liquid she'd used last night over the years. She'd used it often enough, after all. As she thought on just how many times she'd needed to resort to it, she remembered the level she had remaining, and that gave her pause. It wasn't like you could just buy it at the local pharmacy, after all.

"Should have taken a kit off one of the dead hunters." she berated herself, she'd known the level of the the blue fluid she had left before she'd gone out, but she knew why she hadn't thought of replenishing her supply from one of the fallen hunters at the time. Truth be known, the moment the Elder had revealed itself she'd stopped thinking and just reacted.

"Maybe I should just go find them, knock on their door, and ask for a refill?" she asked herself with a chuckle, as she finally levered herself up to some semblance of a standing position, and headed towards the bathroom to clean herself up and check her wounds. As she peeled the sweat, blood, and blue fluid-stained bandages away from her torso, she considered her reactions to the Elder, and the other hunters.

She'd known what she was looking at, of course. The Elder's size alone marked it as older, and whilst she hadn't consciously registered them at the time, the number of hunting trophies it had worn marked it as experienced enough to be an Elder. She blinked inwardly a few times as she realized that her instincts had probably saved her life. Part of her cringed away at the implications of her having developed those instincts, but she also felt an inordinate sense of pride. She concentrated on that pride, knowing that she was committed to her path, and that pride might be the only thing that would get her through it.

She winced as she uncovered the dressings, gently removing them as they were freed from the bandages, and looked closely at the angry red scores underneath. Once more the blue liquid had worked its magic, accelerating healing of the damage she'd suffered far better than anything else could have. She regretted that hunter medical technology didn't seem to spend any time on the more mundane issues of wound care, such as reduced scarring (or the concept of painkillers for that matter as far as she could tell), but given the alternatives, she would make do.

She took a quick shower, allowing the hot water to sluice away the smells and stains accumulated during her fitful sleep, and after drying off redressed the wounds with more conventional medical supplies, figuring there probably wouldn't be enough of the blue fluid left to reapply it anyway. It would still take a few days before she would feel 'better' by any stretch of the imagination, but the wounds had been shallow, but she was mobile, and that's what mattered.

It certainly wasn't nearly as bad as her first encounter with kainde amedha, the 'hard meat' prized by the hunters, which had resulted in her being impaled through the stomach by a spiked tail, before almost being turned into an alien scooby snack. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory, and wondered once more why the hunters had brought kainde amedha into the city.

She was still mulling it over when she glanced into the living room and noted the time on the VCR's clock. She squealed, and shook herself out of her thoughts, she was going to be late! She rummaged through the drawers and closets in the bedroom for something appropriate to wear, and eventually came up with something that almost looked presentable. She finished her ensemble out with a visit to the hidden closet for a brace of sharp objects, and stumbled back into the living room, trying to remember to put keys in obvious pockets and blades in hidden ones, rather than the other way around.

With a last look around her apartment to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she latched the door closed and hurried towards the elevator. If anyone had asked her at that moment which she would have preferred, facing a hive of kainde amedha naked and bare handed, or her destination, she might have honestly gone for the former.

"I hate shopping this close to Christmas!"


This time they met in more pleasant surroundings, one of the nightclubs controlled by the Yakuza. Each of them had a handful of bodyguards keeping a respectful but watching distance from the group.

"So we're ready?" Issoti asked, gruffly. None of the three had been able to get much sleep during the night, their people even less, and tempers were short, although they were all being extra-polite, given the amount of firepower in the room.

"Yes, we have secured one of the office buildings close to the industrial zone of the city that we ... share." Ito responded, clearly satisfied at the speed with which his plan had been implemented. He pointed to the building blueprint spread out on the table in front of them.

"We have arranged surveillance cameras to monitor the everything that happens surrounding the building. Nothing can get past without being seen. The doors and windows are all security style, with steel shutters that can drop into place instantly. The building had been designed as the data center for an Internet company that went bankrupt, it has a lot of security features we are exploiting."

"Good. What about inside?"

This was Wen's area to talk about. Ito was indisputably the technical expert of the group, while Issoti's people were good at intimidation, but by mutual agreement between the three of them the Tong leader had been placed in control of the security force itself. His people had hard won reputations for brutality rivaling their leader's in many ways, and made very effective dirty fighters.

"The building looks to be a large drug distribution site, we put ten guys in there that are obvious. The fun part is, there's another thirty guys that ain't obvious, as the muscle end, ten from each of us. They're the best we have."

Issoti and Ito nodded in agreement, and for a moment each of them looked at the floor plan, as if willing any flaws to make themselves known right there and then. Shortly, they looked at each other, then Issoti gestured one of his bodyguards over, and gave him instructions. "Have the word put out on the street that we're moved the main drugs operation to the bait house." Issoti looked back at the others, a smug look on his face.

"So now we just wait for them to take it."


"I keep telling you, it looks just fine!" she pointed out in an exasperated voice.

Lunchtime in the city was always chaotic, but trying to shop at lunchtime with Christmas coming was impossible. It doesn't help when you're shopping with someone who is a total clothes horse!

Marisa had been her friend forever, or at least as far back as either of them bothered to remember, although no-one could ever understand what the two of them had in common. Marisa was shorter, with wispy blond hair that never stayed where it was put, ignoring all efforts and huge quantities of hair spray trying to persuade it otherwise, and although she was older, Marisa looked the much younger of the two.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't tell me the truth even if I looked like a sack of potatoes, and you know it!"

Their tastes were definitely different, too. Marisa was all about soft, frilly clothes, in pastels whenever possible, as opposed to her preference for dark tight fitting pants and shirt. Of course, it was much easier to hide an arsenal in dark, tight fitting, pants and a shirt, but she actually liked the look even outside of its practicality. It suited her moods.

She had to admit, if pushed, that the summer dress Marisa had found in the end of season closeout section of the store wasn't entirely flattering, but she also knew that her friend would likely have the seams picked apart and the material on the plate of Marisa's expensive sewing machine in short order regardless. Marisa never seemed to find clothes that were 'just right' for her, but instead of just making them from scratch, she still insisted on this ritual of dragging anyone and everyone, especially her, to every store in town finding clothes that were 'nearly' what she was looking for.

Take this latest bargain for example, she thought to herself. Lightweight cotton, pleated skirt panels, sleeveless. So quintessentially a Marisa-choice, and so obviously unsuitable for anything. A slight breeze and she'd be exposing far more flesh than would be considered legal anywhere, and no protection at all against claws or ...

She brought herself up short angrily. "What the hell am I thinking?" Marisa noticed a frown come across her friend's face and stepped closer, thinking that she was the cause of the look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I know you'd never lie to me, honest! I was just fooling around." Marisa looked so scared that for a moment she thought her friend would burst into tears, and moved quickly to reassure her.

"No hon, I was just thinking about something else for a second, don't worry about it, OK?" Marisa looked into her friend's eyes deeply, almost uncomfortably, for a second.

"What's wrong babydoll? You've been distracted all day." Marisa grinned impishly. "You having men problems?"

She almost choked. Marisa could shift moods in an instant, without warning, and somehow it always caught her off-guard.

"Jeez girl! That's not it at all, I'm just thinking about stuff!" Marissa laughed, stepped back and twirled, flipping the skirt dangerously high.

"Yeah yeah, I believe you. Honest! I tell you what, let's go get something to eat, maybe that will distract you from whatever is bugging you." She had to grin at Marisa's unshakable happy-go-lucky attitude, and nodded assent. It only took Marisa a few minutes to come back from the changing room, and after she paid for the dress she had been modeling, the friends headed to the food court and the inevitable queue at McDonalds waiting to be served.

She never was able to 'turn off' her awareness of her surroundings, a hunter's ability to sense its environment was one she had developed early on. While they stood in the queue, she started to get one of 'those feelings' – an indefinable feeling that something was wrong around her somehow. Keeping up inane chatter with Marisa, she slowly turned, looking at the people around her casually, her mind cataloging everything about them, trying to see what had set off her instincts. She was unable to locate the source of her unease, but she knew not to discount one of 'those feelings', they were rarely wrong ... and usually meant all hell was about to break loose.

She checked the placement of her weapons, casual movements that seemed innocuous but once done, she knew that all of the hidden objects were in place, and within reach if ... no when ... she needed them. She felt strangely detached from herself, still continuing her banter with Marisa on one level, but on another she had already dropped into the headspace of a hunter.

"Let's go outside to eat? It's way too crowded in here, we'll never find a table." she commented to Marisa as they reached the counter and ordered their food from the harried looking staffer behind it. The part of her mind, the hunter, knew that she would have a better tactical position in the open. Outside, she had much better options, and might spot whatever had triggered her instincts so strongly quicker.

"Sure, it's a nice day, and we can talk more about this man problem you have going on." She laughed, Marisa could be totally single minded about some things.

Once outside, the two friends sat on a low decorative wall bordering the mall entrance, and attacked their food with gusto. Regardless that she was in a state of high awareness, she was also hungry after spending so long wandering the stores. As she ate, she kept watch on the doors into the Mall, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary about the people leaving and arriving. By the time they finished their food, she wondered if she hadn't just over reacted because of the events of the night before.

"So, spill!" Marisa's demand brought her back to earth and she sighed.

"There is no 'man problem', hon. It's just been a difficult few days, you know?" Marisa looked at her friend, torn between her desire to know more, and not wanting to pry. They were friends because they respected each other's privacy as much as they loved their times together. The awkward silence dragged on, the Marisa stood, brushed herself off, and looked at her friend squarely.

"Well, whatever the problem is babydoll, you know I'm here for you, all you have to do is ask." She looked up at Marisa and smiled softly, nodding her head.

"I know hon. I just have to sort some things out." Marisa nodded, but she wasn't convinced. There was nothing she could do about it at this point, though, so she let it lie as she bent down to pick up the bags full of clothes she'd bought.

"There you are, you bastards!" Once Marisa bent down and cleared her friend's line of sight, the watchers were exposed briefly, in the parking lot lounging next to a dark panel van. She knew immediately that they had triggered her instincts, and quickly reviewed her memories of the day so far. "Yes! They've been tagging along since we left to get food!" Marisa straightened up, blocking her view again, and she smiled a thin smile as her friend struggled to fit the huge number of bags she was trying to carry into her hands.

"Here, let me take some of those, it's getting late and I have to get back to the apartment anyways." She didn't want to leave Marisa alone, in case she, Marisa, was the target of attention for the two watchers. The glimpse she'd had of one of them gave her no clues as to who they were, or their intentions, just that one was short and rather good looking, and the other was tall, with long grey/white hair and a beard to match. Whatever their intentions were, it had been enough to set off her instincts, and she trusted them to tell her these two were up to no good.

The two friends walked to Marisa's car, a new model four-door job in, of all things, white. As they walked, she watched the reflections in the glass of the parked cars they passed, and caught glimpses of two shadows, paralleling their course through the parking lot. They loaded the bags into the trunk, and Marisa unlocked the car and got in.

"Want to have coffee tonight?" Marisa asked.

"No, I'm thinking I should get some sleep, see if I can relax some. Maybe next week?" Marisa smiled happily.

"Great! Get some rest babydoll ... and whatever is wrong, I know you'll fix it."

"Oh, I have a feeling that it's going to be fixed real soon." she thought, but just grinned as she closed the driver's door to Marisa's car.

As Marisa drove off through the parking lot, she had to think quickly. She could 'feel' the two watchers were still nearby, and she wanted to make sure that she didn't get herself into a position that would limit her options. The hunters the kainde amedha had killed had been caught in the close confined alleyway, and that had led to their downfall. She wasn't going to make the same error, even if her prey was human instead of alien.

Making her decision, she moved off, but instead of being towards her own car, several rows away, she was heading towards the elevators and building that led to the pedestrian bridge above the main highway next to the mall. She could 'feel' the watchers following, but that was what she'd hoped for. As she reached the elevator doors, she sighed with relief, the elevator wasn't there yet. The two men had broken cover and were strolling casually towards her, and as they came up beside her as if to wait for the elevator with her, she gave them a nervous smile.

"Let the prey think it has the dominant position, play to its ego, make it feel safe and secure." The lessons she had been taught so long ago came back to her easily.

The bearded one smiled back, presumably it was meant to be reassuring but the look behind the man's eyes told the truth. She could see a dark purpose there, and in an instant she responded without thinking. She had seen the threat, and knew that this would end one of two ways – Either she would die, or her prey would.

Quicksilver fast, she drew two blades from their places of concealment in her pants legs, and in a move reminiscent of how she had held the hunter's swords the night before, she flipped them reversed to lay along her forearms. She stepped towards bearded prey, and assumed a stance she knew well ... her feet apart, knees slightly bent, her body relaxed yet radiating an aura of violent potential restrained. She crossed her forearms across her chest, bringing the fists up near the opposite shoulder, forming an 'X' in front, and she looked into the eyes of bearded prey. He stepped back, surprise mixing with anger as the smile he had tried to wear melted away, leaving a more accurate expression.

Lust.

The other prey, 'pretty boy' she had tagged him in her mind, stepped around bearded prey but stayed a wary distance away. His face showed concern and nervousness. She got the impression neither of the prey had expected this.

"The hunter becomes the prey" she recited in her mind, her mind idling, waiting for the dance to begin that would end with blood spilled. The idea of trying to get away, to call for help, or even to try to defuse the situation and talk her prey out of being stupid never even crossed her mind. Bearded prey spoke up then, a deep gravelly voice, as if he had smoked cigars for too long.

"Lady, you're making a big mistake. We're not going to hurt you. Why don't you hand those over before you end up hurting yourself?" She looked into his eyes, and for a moment bearded prey faltered in his attempt to intimidate her. He saw something inside her eyes that shouldn't be there – calmness. He tried a different tack.

"We just want your pocket book and your car keys, and maybe a little fun." Bearded prey reached his hand out confidently, trying to force her compliance through the ease of the act. She waited, standing passive, and bearded prey's confidence grew, he stepped closer, hand still outstretched. Another step. Another.

There! In range!

She pushed forwards on one leg, pivoting around as her arms moving in a blur, extending, the deadly steel hidden behind her forearms. Deftly, she changed her angle and brought one arm up as if making an uppercut punch, and the blade sliced through the bearded prey's wrist without difficulty, severing it to fall on the ground, twitching. Bearded prey looked at the stump on the end of his arm, as she completed her pivot, a full 360 degrees, and came back to rest in the same stance she had started from. It had taken less than a second, but the blood pulsing from bearded prey's stump painted the floor with the snapshot of the effects.

Pretty boy prey stared at bearded prey aghast, then looked at her, still waiting patiently. He raised his hands level with his chest, pushing them forwards in a warding gesture as if to push her away, and backed up slowly.

"Hey, I didn't do anything, lady! I'm out of this, I ain't part of it!" As pretty boy prey backed up, bearded prey was still standing there, now wrapping his hand at the end of the stump trying to stem the bleeding. A low moan escaped through his lips, a wail of desperation and pain, as realization set in as to what had happened. He slumped to his knees on the ground and started rocking back and forth, the low moan continuing, as pretty boy prey looked at her, true terror in his eyes. She stared back, impassively, and he lost his nerve and fled back the way they had come, fumbling for the car keys in his pocket. She watched and waited as he reached the dark van, barely visible, that she had seem them beside originally, until he climbed in, started the engine and gunned it, heading away.

Only then did she move, crouching down in front of bearded prey. Tears streaked his cheeks, and he looked up at her, confused and scared.

"W ... w ... why? We were just looking to have a little fun. Y ... you didn't have to do this!" He asked tremulously, holding up his stump at the end. The bleeding had slowed down, his thumb and fingers were pressing against the major blood vessels, slowing the loss. She ignored the question, instead reaching forwards to look for something under his jacket. Slowly she withdrew it, a gun. A large gun, at that. She held it up in front of him, her finger through the trigger guard.

"Homo homini lupus est." she softly said to her prey, and grinned, ferally. "It's Latin, it means 'man is as a wolf to man'. You planned on hunting me and my friend for your sport. Now I hunt you for mine. Fair play, isn't it?" She rose up, as he tried to spit at her.

"You can take your latin wolves and go screw them, you bitch!. You're gonna die for what you did!" He tried to stagger up, and she waited patiently until he had regained his feet before she moved again. Bearded prey's gasps as the steel sliced through flesh and bone reached her ears at the same time the metallic clatter of the gun hitting the ground did, but she ignored them, concentrating solely on her destruction of this prey before her.

The first pass opened up his stomach, and scored a line down his hitherto undamaged arm. As bearded prey bent forwards from the attacks, the blue-green contents of his stomach began to slither out, to coil in front of him.

The second pass she moved past him, turning and severing the tendons behind his knees. As he crashed to the floor, still managing to stay upright, she raised her arms high, before bringing them straight down. The tips of the blades entered either side of his head, shearing through the bone and embedding themselves in his chest cavity. She released the hilts of the blades, and stalked around to face him once more.

He stared up at her, blankly, the pain shutting down his consciousness, his thoughts ... his life ebbed away in time with the faltering beat of his heart, his breath coming in ragged bubbling gasps as the blades had bisected his lungs.

It took him a minute more to die, a long minute with her staring straight into his eyes. Slowly, his body leaned forwards, until his forehead rested against the cool cement ground, and she let out a long sigh. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a multi tool, flicking it so the pliers came out of one end. Grimly, she reached into bearded prey's blood-filled mouth, and removed his incisor teeth. She placed them in a cloth pouch hanging from her belt, then withdrew the two long blades from his shoulders. She fought hard against the urge to scream in exultation as they came free, and as she looked down at the body, she briefly considered completing the ritual.

With a snort of disgust, she wiped the blades on the body's jacket instead. "This one doesn't deserve the honor," she raged, inwardly. "He wanted to prey on the weak. He can lay there as he is, let others see his shame." With that, she straightened up, and looked around to make sure she had left few clues behind, then sheathed the blades back in their hidden pockets. Casually, she walked back to her car, and drove off.

She didn't even notice that through the whole incident, in her mind she had considered them simply as prey.

Neither did she notice the shimmer in the air on the roof of the mall.