Chapter Four: Put Back the Stars
"What is it? Must I ask you again and again?" she asked calmly as she circled the KG soldier with hands clasped behind her back. Pausing when she reached behind him, she leaned her heard toward his left ear. Whispering ever so softly, she warned the man, "You are making me angry with your little act…I advise you tell me before the consequences have to be enforced." Continuing her walk around him, she noticed that he was shaking; grinning inwardly, she caught Torn's gaze.
Nodding she reached for her knife and crouched in front of the man. "Ha! Do you think I would really care if I died? You will never get the security codes out of me, you Underground dogs," the soldier spat. A frown formed on her thin lips as she heard this; getting up, she gave Torn a smile and he felt his muscles tense up.
"Alright then…Jak, Daxter…do you want to stay?" Torn asked in a stern tone, as his heavenly-blue eyes stared at the two. They shook there heads and watched as Torn, the proud rebel of the Underground, head off outside. Daxter fidgeted a bit when Hazel's gaze turned to the two. Cutting the bonds on the KG soldier she firmly grasped the man by the wrist and pushed him toward Jak.
"Take his armor and his clothes off. I'll make sure he doesn't run off," she answered Jak's confused expression as she drew out her gun. Pointing it at his neck, she leaned against the desk. Her cold eyes remained only on the man's face as Jak found himself following her orders. What is she planning to do? "After you're done, tie him back up," she added after a moment of intense silence.
This is…embarrassing. I'm taking a man's clothes off…ugh the things I do to kick the Baron's ass. Quickly kicking the armor and the clothes to the side, Jak tied the soldier up. Sheathing her gun she watched as the soldier snarled at her with disgust. "Don't look at me that way, you are going to make me laugh," Hazel smiled innocently as she examined her knife.
"You think I'm scared to die?" he shouted out in anger and in humiliation. Jak and Daxter looked at each other before standing up. The soldier watched them run off before continuing, "What are you going to do…screw the security passwords out of me? Well it won't work." He gave a wry grin that seemed to say, 'come on, amuse me.'
Hazel nodded before answering, "You are right…what good will that do? However, who said I was going to do that? I have something more exciting planned." She chuckled softly as she neared the puzzled soldier with her knife by her side.
"Did she already start?" Torn asked as he watched the two head toward him. They sat beside him near the entrance to the hideout, Torn observed how Daxter would fidget with his hands. Turning his gaze to Jak he gave him a questioning look before placing his hands behind his head.
"No…but I had the honor of stripping his clothing off. We left afterward, something in my gut just told me to leave," Jak replied after a pregnant pause. "What does she do afterward?" he asked softly, not really wanting to know.
Torn took a deep breath before closing his eyes, "Well…she cuts away what is very special to us. Unfortunately I saw this when I was in the Krimzon Guard; this method caught the eyes of the Baron and Errol. That is why the KG is still looking for her; she is a valuable piece in this puzzle. That probably answers your questions on why Errol and Hazel make such a lovely couple."
Daxter stood up and walked toward the rebel before stopping midway. "Wait…she cuts off the you-know-what?" he asked feebly. Torn nodded silently as his eyes remained shut; Daxter gapped in horror, before sitting down where he stood. Jak's eyes widened with shock, was this even allowed? Is this illegal?
"You got to be kidding me. The Shadow allows her to do this kind of stuff? She could be a threat to the Baron and the Underground at the same time with that kind of power," Jak spoke directly to Torn as he leaned further against the grimy walls. Jak watched as Torn opened eyes to give him a cold glare.
"The Underground has faith in Hazel. She is the best interrogator we have and success always comes. Her techniques always led us a step closer to the Baron's downfall. Yes, she proves as a threat…but we will stand by her side to help fight Praxis," Torn growled as he gave a warning look to Daxter who was about to talk.
Daxter frowned and stood up, pointing a finger at the door he exclaimed in disbelief, "Errol spawn! Do you understand what I mean? This girl has Errol spawn swishing in her stomach!" Torn winced as he heard this, but paid no attention to the rest of Daxter's rants.
A piercing scream was muffled by the large door, making Jak jump to his feet. "What was that?" Daxter whined as Torn walked past him. The door opened up slowly and Torn gestured for the two to stay put. Daxter gulped down the lump in his throat as he clambered up the silent Jak.
"Hazel...always the one to make a mess on my floor," he smirked as he walked toward her with lengthy strides. "Are you going to make me clean this up?" he asked softly as his breath brushed against her ears from behind. Hazel turned to face Torn with a triumphant grin dashed across her face.
"I wouldn't do that," she whispered slyly as she closed the gap between them, "for you and I have to go get a drink. You said you wanted to...talk." Her fingers made small circles on his chest as she looked into the unmoved eyes of her commanding officer.
"That's right...I'll have the rookies clean it up," Torn replied in an amused voice. "You better clean yourself up, you smell like death," he added as he raised an eyebrow at the smiling young woman. She smelled like death and even looked like death. Vibrant, rose-colored blood was splashed on her hands and even on her face. But she was unaffected by this and merely shrugged her shoulders in response.
Heading to the bathroom she gave a last glance at Torn before disappearing the brightly lit bathroom. Torn released a heavy sigh as he called Jak and Daxter in. He watched their faces scrunch up in disgust as they also smelled the blood. "For the love of the Precursors...she really knows how to handle a man, eh?" Daxter muttered sarcastically as he poked the man's limp body with his paw.
"Correct. So be good and clean up her mess...Hazel and I have to go run and check things out in Sector A-12. We'll be back later tonight and expect to find this place spotless, got it?" Torn growled dangerously as he narrowed his eyes at the two shocked rookies.
"Ready to go?" a cheery voice asked from beside Torn. Torn nodded silently and left with a grinning woman at his side. "So...Hip Hog Saloon?" Torn grunted an affirmative to her question as they neared a quiet vehicle made for two.
--
The Hip Hog Saloon was crowded and full of life and laughter. It was prefect and assured Torn that their conversation wouldn't be heard. Sitting across from a dangerous, clever, and threating person he could only sigh softly to himself. She was prized in the Underground and wanted in the KG forces. The Baron needed her and it seemed he would do anything to get her. Errol was a good example but maybe it was just Errol who came to find her on his own...not on the Baron's orders.
It was all complex and the only way he could sort this mess out was by having a one-on-one conversation with this important piece of the puzzle:Hazel. Clearing his throat, he ran a finger across the glass filled with dark liquid, "Care to explain what happened on your mission?"
Hazel scratched her head and murmured something under her breath. "I...well...let's just say he came back for round two," she breathed out as her eyes averted toward her own drink. "I can't say it was pretty, but I know he'll be back for revenge. I really did a number on him," he smiled slightly as she recalled how she knocked him out.
"Now for the security codes, I got more than I asked for. I have all the palace security codes and the security codes for the alarms around the outside area. He also gave me some startling information..." Hazel continued as she lowered her voice to a low whisper.
Torn leaned forward eagerly and made sure that shabby brown curtain blocked anyone's view of their faces. "The Baron is going to sanitize the Slums in three days. He's planning to root the Underground out by destroying the Slums and building an even larger prison that will take most of the space up. That's why security is so tight the past couple of weeks..." Hazel replied to Torn's eager eyes.
Leaning back and taking a sip from his drink, he stared at the ceiling. Already the alcohol was beginning to kick, and slowly over time he found his mind becoming more sluggish. So when he heard this, he just pushed it aside as if it was nothing. Already he could see images blur and then come back to focus like if he was looking down at water. First it's a clear image of his reflection but when ripples form the image is disfigured and unfocused.
Maybe it was a mistake to drink so much...maybe not. He stared curiously at Hazel and saw that she was still talking. But her words didn't seem to be reaching his ears. Slowly pushing his empty glass to the side he sat up a bit and leaned his whole body toward her. Before Hazel could ask what he was doing, he firmly placed his lips on hers. He felt arms wrap around his neck as his kiss was returned.
A slender but muscular man leaned against the wall of the booth. His feet rested on the table as he gazed at his hobnailed boots. A bored expression was etched on his face as he listened quietly to the conversation from the booth beside him. When the conversation suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, his lips curled into a snarl. He knew exactly what just happened, just by sounds alone he felt his stomach twist with disgust and anger.
Running a hand through his fiery-colored hair he closed his eyes and focused more on the information he just learned. So she now knows the Baron's plan...good. Let her come to me...than I'll finish off her friend that she's now associated with at the moment. His hands were clenched into fists as he heard a satisfied groan fill his ears.
A/N: Well there you go the end of this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this. I was planning to make it more descriptive but I just wanted to update this story as soon as possible...so I apologize once more. So don't forget to review if you want to and thanks for reading my story so far.
