Death and Redemption
Chapter 3
Hi everybody, sorry ik took me so long to come up with the next chapter. I kinda forgot how hard it can be sometimes to overcome writer's block. Ugh.
But hey! Here it is, read, enjoy! And let me know what you think!
Wolf stood stock-still, thinking.
"How long till they dock?"
"Six minutes sir."
"Right." Wolf nodded to himself, once. "Have them brought straight here. Order a total lockdown of the station. No ships in or out. Also shut down all communications, full blackout, I want this station dark within the hour! Those Cornerian dogs will want their posterboy back. Expect hostile forces, I want the crews on full alert and all stand-off defenses manned around the clock."
"Yes sir."
Arnis fought to hide his surprise. He had expected his volatile employer to rejoice at his enemy's capture, to gloat, to exuberantly revel in Fox McCloud's capture! Heck, he'd half expected Wolf to declare a national holiday and order him to break out the good champagne to celebrate this ultimate victory. But instead Wolf had slipped into a scary alert state, highly focused, as if this were some kind of crisis he had to manage.
"Order Kraille to undock his ships and deploy as overwatch, fighters ready to go. Make an appointment for this afternoon, I'll brief him then."
Arnis bit his lip. Technically Wolf had no authority to order Andross' forces about like that, and certainly not a commander who was in fact related to the Emperor himself. This was a very dangerous game the lupine was playing, he was arguably overstepping his mandate and would catch the backlash for that if he wasn't careful. Arnis would have to be very circumspect in relaying Wolf's orders lest he offend the commander, who was not known for his patience.
But he didn't comment and just nodded. "Noted."
Wolf started pacing in front of his desk, bushy gray tail swishing in agitation.
"Cancel my other appointments. Tell Leon and Panther to get the hell over here, stat! And call Andrew, I want him on stand-by in a stealth transport, awaiting my orders. Got that?"
Stealth transports were small personnel carriers designed for covert insertion of special operatives, either for boots-on-the-ground planetary missions or for boarding strikes against capital ships and large space stations. The stealth transports had a very low reflection and signals profile and were equipped with a rudimentary form of active cloaking, making them nigh invisible to normal scans. Sargasso had three of them. Arnis carefully hid his surprise, why would Wolf need something like that?
"Yes sir."
Wolf ran a hand down his muzzle, weighing options, running through viable tactics and combining them to fit into a broader strategy. He mentally cursed, godsdammit you stupid fox, could you have picked a worse moment to get your sorry ass captured? As usual Corneria's favourite mercenary and CDF lapdog had no damn clue what he was screwing up, nearly half a year of meticulous planning down the fucking drain! Wolf fought to control his rage.
"Move the station." he growled.
Arnis could only stare.
"Wh- what, sir?" Arnis' eyes were wide, surely Wolf didn't mean what he thought he meant?
Wolf shot a baleful glare at his assistant. "Move the fucking station. Deeper into Meteo. Including all first-tier relay beacons. Fire up the engines and relocate. Sargasso needs to disappear, understand?"
Arnis was in shock. But Wolf didn't give him time to recover.
"And get a media team organized. I want every moment of Fox McCloud's capture recorded, saved and edited. Use mobile units and the station's security feeds, that should give you enough footage. We're going to send Corneria a message they won't forget, one that'll go down in the history books!"
The mustelid only had time for a nod before the next instructions came flying his way.
"Also order a full lockdown on trade exchange, all stocks are to be considered frozen until further notice."
What?
"Eh, sir, surely.."
"I know, the captains will howl bloody murder but I don't care." Wolf waved an arm to emphasize his point. "If things get rough we're going to need those supplies! Inform them that I'll cover their losses, within reason. They can send their petitions straight to you."
Arnis managed a dazed "Yes sir." as more orders were barked at him. His stylus flew over his datapad, fighting to keep up. This was all going so fast and Arnis didn't understand the reason behind most of his employer's orders. Why was all this necessary, what was Wolf not telling him?
"And tell the captains that if anyone tries to screw me over I'll have their balls on my desk as ornamental paperweights!"
It was a sign of Arnis' state of mind that he dared make an off-color joke.
"And the lady captains, sir?"
That just earned him a dark scowl.
"Don't be a smartass, Arnis."
################
Their transport made a sharp right turn through a black and yellow edged blast door to enter a small gray chamber, its walls revealing the bare plassteel of the station's bones. The blast door closed as soon as the vehicle was through and shut out the vibrant bustle of the world outside, leaving them in semi-darkness. A sharp tap on the brakes and they stood still.
"Out."
Fox and Krystal were shoved out the back and hustled through a doorway into a very small room, which turned out to be an elevator. One guard activated a keypad and placed his simian hand on a glass plate while the other spoke into his comm, all the while keeping a wary eye on the prisoners and a finger on the trigger. There were no other controls in the elevator. A small dome camera in the top-right corner watched their every move. Krystal couldn't see anything that they could use to their advantage, nothing. Damn.
"We're on our way up."
The plate lit green and up they went. Fox shot her a tense look, to which she could only reply with a small shrug and a worried expression of her own. This was so not good. They were in deep trouble and she was fully aware that their fates would most likely be decided in the minutes to come. Krystal managed a weak smile but that only seemed to increase Fox's anxiety. She could feel it coming off him now, in waves, like a slowly throbbing mental pain. It didn't do much to allay her own feelings of impending doom. Her heart was in her throat.
The ride upwards seemed to take an eternity.
At long last the elevator reached its final destination and dinged to a stop. The doors slid open with a soft mechanical sigh to reveal two more armed guards, canines this time, in full combat gear and standing to either side of a two-part blast door similar to the one they'd gone through earlier, albeit smaller. The antechamber they entered was well-lit but cramped and unadorned. There were no other exits, she recognized it as a classic kill-box. Wolf took his security seriously.
"In you go."
The guards' carbines poked into their backs as the heavy doors slid apart to reveal Wolf's office. And office it was, at least twenty feet deep of expensive-looking wall to wall cream carpet, with an oval boardroom table to the right of the entrance, eight black leather seats surrounding a state of the art holo display, currently showing a slowly rotating three-dimensional image of Sargasso as seen from space. Opposite the table, the left wall was mostly covered by a large rectangular traditional display, now dark and inactive. A few feet further along the wall was a door, closed.
Deeper towards the back the office was split in two areas, most of the right back corner taken up by an alcove with a desk set at right angles to the entrance. Behind the alcove was a door, also closed. The left area was home to Wolf's desk, facing them, while the wall behind the desk was spanned by a window which gave a view onto the inside of Sargasso and probably the ground level far below.
Krystal subconsciously took all this in in a flash, her training forcing her to take note of all possible escape routes.
But her conscious attention was focused on the tall gray lupine at the end of the office, casually leaned against the edge of his desk, a comm held to one ear. Tall, broad of shoulder, dark gray facial fur topped by an off-white messy mohawk. The black signature eyepatch was in place, as were the typical fingerless leather gloves. Followed by black combat pants and boots, cinched closed at the waist by an equally dark belt from which hung a low-slung heavy blaster, resting snug against the wolf's right thigh.
She sensed a theme here, she wryly thought to herself and suppressed a giggle, digging claws into her arm to stop her nerves from unraveling. The adrenalin was making it hard to think straight. Keep it together girl, breathe... and pay attention. Which she did, finishing her examination. Instead of the customary body armour and spiked shoulder pads, the rival mercenary leader was simply wearing a dark purple shirt, opened at the throat to expose a tuft of light gray chestfur.
A shorter figure stood a few paces to Wolf's left, a non-combatant by the looks of him. Smartly dressed, armed with a tablet and stylus. Genus mustilidae, most likely otter.
Wolf was deep in conversation and only spared them a glance.
"You're kinda ruining a special moment here, Commander."
His voice surprised her. It was similar to what they'd heard so often over ships' comm, when confronting Star Wolf in space. But in person its timbre was deeper, richer, more... real.
And more intimidating.
"..."
They couldn't hear what was being said on the other side of the connection but it was clear to her that Wolf was not very happy.
"Yes."
"..."
"Damn fucking poor timing to make a powerplay."
"..."
"Hah, funny. No, absolutely not."
"...!"
Wolf grimaced and held the comm away from his ear, making bla-bla-bla motions with his free hand. And shot them a frustrated look.
After a few seconds of this he'd apparently had enough and growled into the comm. "Yes, you've made that point twice already. I've heard enough, so let me spell it out for you Kraille. This is how it'll play out. You order your guards to take the prisoners to your ship. Fine. I order MY guards to kill YOUR guards. Also fine. End result, you're down two men and the prisoners are still mine."
The guards behind them stiffened. Wolf didn't seem to notice. Or care.
"...!"
"Oh haw, Andross, you seriously playing that card?" Wolf was angry now and the growl had turned into snarl. "Listen up. Your uncle knows damn well who to leave in charge of important matters! Why the hell do you think you're only a two-bit commander of a two-bit cruiser huh? So kindly FUCK THE HELL OFF and leave this to the grown-ups!"
He cut the connection and angrily tossed the comm behind him onto his desk, where it slid across the polished surface and teetered off the far edge, landing with a soft 'thump' on the carpet below.
The otter next to him seemed shocked, eyes wide.
Wolf didn't take notice and instead stared over his and Krystal's heads at the guards behind them. Commander Kraille's guards apparently, whoever that was. One of them spoke up, trying to sound confident but Krystal could feel the tenseness in his body, telegraphed by the grip the ape had on her arms. "Cheap bluff, Wolf. Your men aren't here."
"Ah, that." Wolf leaned back against his desk, seemingly unconcerned. "If I want someone shot I'll bloody well do it myself." The wolf's violet gaze was unwavering, his hand just inches from the grip of his blaster. Krystal didn't doubt who would win if the guards decided to draw down on him.
"Did you just raise your carbine there, soldier?"
The guard froze and cut a quick glance towards his companion, then, after a second's hesitation "Eh, n-no sir. Not at all."
Wolf smiled. Which, under the circumstances, was scarier than anything else he could have done.
"Excellent. Wouldn't want you to find yourselves caught in a dilemma where you have to choose between conflicting orders, right?"
And to the nervous nods of the guards "It's probably best if you two return to your duties. Arnis, see to it that these fine gentlemen are rewarded for their outstanding performance under extreme pressure. And send our own guards in."
The otter seemed to snap out of his fugue. "Eh, yes sir, right away."
Satisfied that the situation was under control Star Wolf's infamous leader finally deigned to acknowledge their presence.
"Oh hello."
################
The new guards meanwhile had come in and had traded places with the two apes, who seemed relieved to leave. The canine guards' hands were hardly gentler when they took a firm grip on their arms, claws digging in. Fox squared his shoulders and held Wolf's stare, bright green eyes squaring off against Wolf's single black-lined purple iris.
Wolf pushed off from his desk, huffed a sigh and stood at something like parade rest with thumbs hooked into his belt.
"Fuckin' troublemaker."
"Hello to you too Wolf."
Krystal meanwhile held her tongue, just aiming a short nod of recognition at Wolf. She understood that for now it was smarter to stay out of the confrontation and that is was better to let the two rivals sort things out by themselves. They weren't paying her any attention, good. That gave her the opportunity to concentrate and use her telepathic abilities to scan for any strong emotions of maybe even snippets of thoughts, anything to give them an edge, anything that might help them escape.
Fox continued "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Damn right I am."
The guards were just two dull patches in her awareness, attentive, slightly excited, clearly anticipating violence. The short assistant was tense and strangely enough, confused. She pushed harder and caught a vague sense of unease and a feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next, as if he wasn't privy to Wolf's plans for them. He held onto his tablet and stylus as if they were his anchor, as if they were the only stable thing in his world at the moment.
As for Wolf..
Krystal shifted her focus... and blinked. Where she expected a mental image reflecting the lupine's assertive posture and arrogant demeanor, there was simply -nothing-. Oh he was there all right, she could see him right in front of her, but he wasn't registering on her mental map. As with the assistant she pushed harder. And after a few moments finally felt something but again it wasn't what she expected.
She picked Wolf up as a dark, seamless shadow, slick and featureless like a pebble from a riverbed, smoothed by years of abrasion. Push as hard as she like but she couldn't get past that glass-like surface, her probing just couldn't find any purchase or breach. She'd never felt anything like it.
"You traitor!"
Krystal suddenly snapped back to reality. In the few instants it had taken her to do her mental scan, the conversation had apparently taken a turn for the worse. Voices were raised in anger.
"Traitor?" Wolf laughed. "To what, to Corneria, to the CDF, to the fucking Lylat system? You expect me to show loyalty to a people who've never done anything but look down on me, never done anything to earn my respect?"
Wolf reached out and grabbed Fox by his collar, pulling the vulpine close while giving him a good shake.
"Wake up Fox! Wake up and see what's right in front of you. Corneria has degenerated into a divided society where the good have it good and the less well-off have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to merely survive! Pepper and his rich poodle friends live a cushy life and everyone else is considered a second-rate citizen!"
Wolf pressed his snarling muzzle right up against Fox's nose, fangs bared.
"Including the people of Sargasso, including mercenaries like US! Can't you see you're being used, just like your father was?"
"Don't you fucking DARE mention my father!" Fox strained against his guard's hold, trying to get at Wolf.
Wolf snarled and lashed out with a lightning-fast cross hook, snapping the fox's muzzle to the side and sending him staggering back. The vulpine stumbled and sat down on his tail, hard.
Krystal cried out "Wolf!" but the rest of her words were cut off by her guard who had grabbed her in a choke-hold, forearm slipped under her chin and remorselessly crushing her throat. She struggled but it was no use, the guard was stronger, taller and had the better angle.
Wolf, meanwhile, stood over the downed Fox. "What would your dear father say if he saw you like this huh, powerless and at my mercy?"
Fox wiped blood off his muzzle and snarled a reply, shooting the lupine a venomous stare "My father would say you're a fucking lowlife that I should have put down a long time ago!"
Wolf narrowed his eye.
"Shows how much you know about James and me..."
Strangely enough Fox's comment had snapped Wolf out of his rage. He huffed a breath and, quickly masking a troubled look, took a step back. His next words were more quiet but not less harsh.
"Damn but you look pathetic pup, all chained up and on your ass like that. Stand the fuck up."
Fox was furious and beyond reason, she could see it in his eyes as he staggered to his feet. He wasn't going to back off. She struggled hard against her guard, she needed to say something or they'd be at eachothers' throats!
"Wolf dammit! Get these cuffs off me and we'll settle this once and for all! Just you and me!"
Wolf sneered. "You don't deserve the honour. Up in space maybe, just you and me sounds damn good. But you had to ruin that by getting captured." Wolf's expression turned sour. "This isn't the way things were supposed to be, pup. You and me, could've been the fight of the century. But now..."
Wolf slowly shook his head, clearly disappointed.
"This just sucks. I'm going to let you cool off for a few hours. Then we're going to have a talk. And you're going to tell me everything. About Pepper's plans, the CDF's posture on dealing with Andross, hell, even the colour of your fucking underwear."
Fox just smirked. "Yeah, dream on Wolf. You're not getting anything from me."
Wolf was done for now though and didn't take the bait. Instead he addressed the guard who was standing behind Fox.
"Jeremy, throw him in the cooler and watch him, don't let your guard down. I want him back here in three hours."
"Sure thing boss."
Fox was frowning, wait, what?
Wolf turned to the other guard. "Looks like y're really enjoying holding that girl close and tight, Ben. Can't say I blame you, with a bod like that. But ease up a bit, let her breathe." Which he did and Krystal gasped, filling her lungs with gulps of fresh air. What the heck was Wolf up to?
Wolf turned back to the first guard. "Take him away."
Fox balked, of course. "Wolf, what the hell? I'm not leaving Krystal alone with you, no way!"
That only earned Fox a lazy evil smile, as Wolf drawled "Oh really..? Looks to me as if you don't have much say in the matter, Fox." and added, his expression turning hard. "To the victor go the spoils an' all that. Should've thought of that before you went and got yourself captured and screwed everything up. You're on my turf now Fox, and SHE's going to pay for YOUR mistakes!"
And to the other guard, a curt order. "Chain her to my bed."
She managed a strangled "Fox!" before being dragged towards the door she'd spotted earlier, the one on their left. Fox meanwhile fought for all he was worth to break free of his guard, all the while shouting obscenities and curses at Wolf, kicking and screaming, but he was dragged away towards the exit nonetheless.
"WOLF! You're a dead man walking, you hear me? DEAD! Don't you DARE touch her!"
A few more paces and she couldn't see him anymore and, as soon as they'd passed the threshold into the next room, the door slid shut and cut off all sounds.
The last thing she heard was Wolf's mocking laugh.
################
"Let me GO, you bastard!"
They'd taken the elevator down two levels and were now in a long, dark corridor. The place was deserted and the only sound was the ever-present low hum of the station's ventilation system.
In response the guard just gave him a hard shove and a growled "Shut up and walk."
Fox ignored the order, pushing back. "Seriously? You're okay with this, that your boss, as we fucking SPEAK... " and here his voice broke, but he choked on "... is forcing himself on a defenseless girl?" Fox's mind shied away from the images his words were creating but he had to push on, he had to try this, there was a small chance that he could convince the guard to.. what, let him go? Surely not, but... He was clutching at straws but refused to give in to hopelessness. He had to do SOMEthing!
The guard hesitated, an expression of distaste crossing his canine muzzle.
"Look buddy, I don't know what's gotten into the boss, okay? Now walk."
Fox stood his ground, sensing a chink in the guard's mental armour.
"Listen, activate an alarm or something, okay, a distraction? Nobody'll be hurt, I won't escape, and it just might snap Wolf out of his rage, right? That could SAVE her man, Wolf might calm down enough to not.. not.. you know?"
The canine stared at him for a moment, the black tactical goggles not giving much away. After a heartbeat he shrugged. "No can do. I feel for you, I really do. This sucks, for sure. But I'm not gonna disobey the boss and risk finding myself locked in a small dark room with Leon fucking Powalski. So... you walk or I'll be forced to shoot you."
Fox was breathing hard, his options were quickly evaporating, he was desperate. His wrists were cuffed together and his ankles were shackled as well, all he could manage was a slow shuffle. He looked right and left, expression wild, THERE, he saw a fire alarm twenty feet further down the corridor. Turning back to the guard he let his shoulders slump, pretending defeat.
"Please." He remembered the guard's name. "Jeremy. You've got to help her."
The guard looked away and cursed under his breath. "When this shift ends I'm gonna head for the nearest bar and get shit-faced drunk. With any luck I won't remember a thing of this tomorrow. Now fucking WALK!"
Fox let his ears flag, turned, and started to shuffle down the corridor. As he trudged on he subtly edged towards the side where the fire alarm was. Fifteen feet... ten...
But Wolf didn't surround himself with stupid people. The guard had spotted the fire alarm too. And while Fox mentally prepped himself for his final lunge, Jeremy mentally sighed and simply lifted his carbine, aiming at the captive's back.
Three more paces to go.
One...
Two...
Fox had meanwhile done the math too and stopped, slowly turning around. He eyed the guard. It was just one of those no-win situations. They both knew exactly what he was up to. What was inevitably going to happen. Neither of them was happy about it but they were trapped in their roles and had to play this out the only way possible.
"Don't be stupid."
"You know I have to do this."
"Live to fight another day man. There's nothing you can do."
Fox sighed and shook his head. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try. You understand that, right?"
The guard just set his jaw and waited.
A moment passed. One heartbeat. Two.
Fox lunged.
Jeremy fired.
################
Fox's shouts still rang in her ears as the guard finished attaching her cuffs to two heavy steel rings at the top of the bed's headboard. Things were moving too fast again. Just seconds before Krystal had been led through a doorway into a lounge area that she'd only gotten a brief glimpse of before being roughly ushered to her right and through another door, into what could only be Wolf's bedroom.
The assistant followed them in, he had come along to code them through the doors. And now he just watched as the guard carried out his orders, fidgeting, looking extremely unhappy at the turn of events.
Both her wrists were fastened to the headboard of the queen-sized bed, arms spread wide, leaving her feeling extremely vulnerable. She lay on her back on black silk sheets, shoulders propped up on a few equally ebon pillows. The guard left, but not before giving her a pat on the head and a word of advice "Don't fight him, you don't want him angry."
The assistant was hovering at the foot of the bed, his expression apologetic.
"Ah, miss Krystal... I'm terribly sorry about this, I'm sure Lord O'Donnell has a perfectly logical reason for -"
Just then Wolf came in, expression dark.
"Arnis, shut up and leave."
"But sir, I-"
"We're not to be disturbed. Lock the door on your way out."
The otter shot her a look and let his head hang in defeat. "Yes sir."
And then he left.
Wolf, meanwhile, leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, watching her. She matched his stare, trying to silently convey her loathing and disgust. And regretted having chosen her skintight body-hugging effing flightsuit for this mission. Oh hell what had she been thinking? She could feel his gaze rove across her body and hated every moment of it, hated being so exposed, so helpless.
Her jaws were parted, she was having trouble breathing, it was as if she couldn't pull enough air into her lungs. Anxiety had its talons at her throat and it was slowly choking her.
Finally Wolf spoke up. "Don't look at me like that."
Oh really?
"I'm chained to your bed, Wolf!" She yanked on her shackles for emphasis. "How the hell SHOULD I be looking at you? It's not hard to guess where this is going!"
In response he only silently gazed at her. This went on for what seemed like a long time. Wolf's expression didn't betray any emotion. If anything, he seemed contemplative. But silence, when used correctly, can be a terribly intimidating weapon.
Finally she couldn't take it any more.
"Wolf, let me go!"
"Why?"
"You.. you don't want to do this!"
At that, he just arched a bushy eyebrow.
"I don't?"
Krystal was panting harder now, partly from the exertion of straining against her bonds but mostly out of pure fear. He was going to.. to.. She had to reason with him, make him change his mind!
"You.. this.. this isn't you, you have too much self-respect to stoop to.. to.. rape."
There. She'd said the word. And it only deepened her fear because saying it out loud somehow gave it substance, made it more real.
Wolf was silent for a moment, watching her. Then he just barked a low breathy laugh, sounding bitter and disappointed at once.
"Oh haw, that's cute, you really think so? Well. The rest of Corneria doesn't share your faith in me, they're convinced I'm perfectly capable of such heinous crimes!" And here his voice lowered further, turning into a menacing growl "Why should I disappoint them?"
He pushed off the wall and took a step closer, bringing him to the edge of the bed.
"To them I'm just a thug, a cut-throat mercenary, a traitor! You heard your precious Fox. So much easier for me to just live up to their expectations and give them exactly what they want. Don't you agree?"
As he moved forward she scooted back in fear, pushing herself up against the headbord to keep as much distance as she could between herself and this hulking gray menace. Her eyes were wide, her heart hammered in her throat, all she could do was gasp a desperate appeal.
"Wolf.. please.. "
She saw him narrow his eye.
And then without warning he crawled onto the bed.
She let out a cry and kicked out wildly, trying to keep him off her! He took a hit to the muzzle but ignored it and moved in. The stronger wolf effortlessly batted her boots aside and captured her legs under him, shifting his hips to straddle her thighs, effectively pinning her down. He rested a hand against the headbord and loomed over her, his muzzle up close and personal, a wicked grin twisting his lips. Sharp teeth were only inches from her face.
"Why don't you take a look and see how it's gonna be?"
Krystal blinked, she wasn't thinking very straight with all the adrenalin coursing through her body. Take a look? What did he mean?
"Yeah..." He leaned in closer. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his intense stare, his single violet iris seemingly filling her whole world.
"Why don't you just read my mind? Get a taste of my intentions."
She gulped and worked her jaw, tried to force a reply past her paralysed lips. But she couldn't think straight and she'd already tried reading him and it didn't work, it was useless, he was going to...
"WELL?!"
His sudden snarl snapped her out of her panic.
"I- " She bit down on her lower lip, frustrated that her throat was constricted in fear, that all she could produce was a timid stutter. No, she was stronger than this! Taking a deep breath, she matched his snarl with one of her own. "Dammit Wolf, I can't!"
Wolf didn't move, just stared.
"I tried earlier, in the office!"
That gave him pause. He frowned.
"What do you mean?"
She caught her breath. Her fear was slowly being replaced by a growing anger. Who the hell did he think he was, bullying her like this?
"Get off me." She bucked her hips, trying to push him off. He hardly moved.
"No. Answer my question."
"Get the HELL off me, Wolf!"
"Answer me!" A large gray-furred paw closed around her throat.
Wolf's touch sent a new spike of fear and anger through her body. The cuffs were biting into her wrists and her arms were trembling from exhaustion. Her anger was starting to clear some of the fog of fear from her mind but her body was still suffused with adrenalin, leaving her feeling short of breath and shivery. She held onto that anger though, grasped at it as a lifeline, tried to fuel its embers into hot fiery flames of rage. But Wolf's grip was tightening, the edges of her vision were starting to narrow as darkness closed in.
Anger could only take her so far. Wolf wasn't easing up on her and she bit down on a whimper, teeth clamping down harder on her lip and drawing blood. The sharp coppery taste helped focus her mind. No, no way was she going to show him weakness, he'd just see her as prey, if she was going to survive this she had to be STRONG, show him she wasn't intimidated by his scare tactics!
She summoned everything she had and snarled right up against his muzzle.
"GrrDAMMIT Wolf, my telepathy doesn't work that way!"
He tilted his head to the side... and eased his grip on her throat.
"Explain."
She was panting and took a deep breath. Her vision was returning. "I'm... I'm more like an empath, I can pick up surface emotions if they're strong enough!"
She wasn't telling him the whole truth, of course. With the help of her Cerinian focusing gems she could pick up a lot more than just surface thoughts. But she didn't have her jewelry with her, it was locked away in a box back in her room on the Great Fox. Her staff had been in her Arwing though and it held a large gem, goddess she wished she had it with her here now. She'd break through his mental barrier and find out exactly what his plans were! And then blast a hole through his chest!
He must have seen something in her expression. The lupine narrowed his eye, suspicious.
"Well isn't that just bloody convenient. My intel says differently. Stop fucking lying to me!"
Oh goddess, he wasn't buying it. She needed to give him something more.
"I'm not lying! I- I can pick up thoughts if they're strong enough, if a person is broadcasting hard I can hear them, but only if they're close enough to pick up!"
Wolf's muzzle twisted in a silent snarl "Well? I'm thinking REALLY HARD right now, tell me what you're picking up! And I'll know if you're lying so if you know what's good for you, you'll be smart about this!"
His weight was pressing down on her and she felt so very trapped.
"I told you! I tried earlier, in the office, while you were arguing with Fox. The guards were excited, the otter was confused, but.. but you... I don't know why but I couldn't pick up anything from you!"
She thought it through and added. "But of course you know that already, that's why you're asking, right? You have some kind of shielding device, is it something Andross made for you? Is this some kind of twisted test?"
To her surprise Wolf just looked confused and slowly sat back on his haunches, back straight, hands resting flat on his thighs. He seemed lost in thought for a minute, then looked back down at her. His voice, when he spoke, was calm, with none of the violence it held before.
"Well. Fuck me."
Krystal hoped that was just a figure of speech.
Wolf continued, studying her. "I was thinking the most horrible things I could come up with. Things that should have shocked you, should have horrified you, should have had you begging for mercy. But it didn't have any effect. Nothing, not one twitch."
He looked genuinely puzzled. "Sounds like you're telling the truth."
She watched him, warily, as he continued.
"I'm not wearing a dampener or any shielding. That I know of anyways."
Another moment of thought. Followed by a huff, he'd come to a decision.
Krystal held her breath.
She watched as Wolf dug into his pocket and... produced a key.
"Hold still. You kick me again and I'll hurt you."
He raised himself up on his knees and leaned forward... and to her shock he unlocked the cuff around her right wrist. Then sat back and dropped the key onto her belly, all the while watching her. What the hell? Her mind was reeling at this sudden turn of events, what game was he playing? Was he releasing her, why, what was he planning? Her heart hammered in her chest. Was this it, was he releasing her arms so he could more easily strip her out of her flightsuit?
What Wolf did next confused her even more.
He got off of her legs and moved back to stand next to the bed. What..?
"I'm going to get you a drink. And then we're going to have a talk."
And with that, he turned and tapped the keypad next to the door, disappearing into the lounge, leaving her dumbstruck and full of questions.
Okay, I'll admit I couldn't resist slipping a gag in. Lame, I know.
Still makes me grin.
Hahah.