Chapter Eleven
Melting Ice
The lights of the sterilized, white and blue hospital room were turned off; all that illuminated the unveiled bed was the moonlight from the window and the bright beeping lights of the medical equipment. By no means was that why Svetlana sat alert in her bed, though. Even stuffed into an uncomfortable bed, arm slung up by the side of the metal bars and gauze wrapped up and down her entire body, the wolverine was still a mercenary at heart. A hitwoman, an assassin, the kind of woman who never would truly rest.
So even up in slings, even with burns marks peppering her dark brown fur, even with the pain trying to lull her into rest…Svetlana sat with wide red eyes. Her ears—possibly the one part of her that had escaped bandaging—twitched erratically. Every sound in the room out of the norm sent her senses alert. Anything that was not that continual beeping alongside her…anything that was not the sound of the drapes blowing back and forth in a careful pattern against the air conditioner.
Her eyes narrowed even as her body sat immobile.
She let out a groan of irritation.
"I was knowing that you would be coming to get me. You are becoming like the Reaper to me, you are." She commented dryly, seeming to speak to thin air. "Let us to not be playing of the games. We are all grown adults here…metaphorically, of course. I am knowing why you are coming, you are knowing why you are coming, so let us be forgetting the formalities…yes?"
"…No one every said that you should be underestimated, Svetlana. Even with your bones shattered and your body covered in burns, you still have the nuts to call out your potential assailants." A chuckle, tinged with a familiar Australian accent, rang out across the room. From behind the veil covering a nearby empty bed, the weasel emerged. Clinging to his arm was Svetlana's target, overcome with a rather obvious case of the shakes. Svetlana watched them out of the corner of her eye, unable to move enough to face the intruder. So she simply let out a low and barking laugh.
"So you are approach me when I am most vulnerable? You really always were of the coward type, Nack. Not that it should be of any news to me." The wolverine snorted derisively and Stella twitched nervously. "To anyone in this room, in fact."
"It ain't news to anyone under this damned sun, unless you're a complete newborn. But you also know damned well that we ain't here to discuss the pros and cons of my personality." Nack leaned against the guardrails of Svetlana's bed. The woman forced a smile, though her pointed teeth gritted viciously against each other. "I consider myself more of an opportunist than a coward, anyways."
"Is that being so? And what is being happened to your team? Your muscle, and your idiot?" Svetlana jeered; she had her pride, and she wouldn't be limited just because she was tied down to a hospital bed. Just because she couldn't kick didn't mean she couldn't bite. Nack seemed undeterred, though, just returning the wolverine's smarmy grin twofold. At least, Svetlana figured, the little girl seemed to be fearful. She didn't know what she would do once she couldn't even scare children anymore.
"Watching. And tipping the scales in our favor." Nack replied briskly; Svetlana could not control the urge to raise her eyebrow. He dipped his head, body seeming to rumble with quiet laughter—both the fox and the wolverine watched with a twinge of fear in their eyes. "Listen, Svetlana, I know how stubborn you can be. If ANYONE should know, it's me. You've tried to kill me for years and you ain't EVER let up. So I decided there would need to be something to make you be helpful."
"Nothing you could do could ever convince me to help you out."
"Ah, well, see. Ya didn't let me finish. I was answerin' your question." Nack shook his head dismissively. "I was tellin' you what my 'team' was doin'. See, Bark is outside the door. I'm havin' him guard to make sure we don't gotta deal with some nosy nurses. Bean, though, he's over in the pharmacy for this here hospital, planting somethin' nice that we managed to pick up real quick on the black market."
"…Black…market?" Svetlana's eyes widened, her forced grin turning into a fearful scowl.
"Nack, I don't think…" Stella began, but Nack held up a hand to silence her. The fox girl stepped back, but uncertainty seemed to be painted across her features.
"I'll be straight-forward with you, Svetlana. I don't believe in dishonesty between associates." Svetlana snorted loudly at Nack's comment but went ignored. "So here's how it is. Bean's planting a lethal poison in one of your treatment IVs. Specifically, he's planting a lethal poison in one of the IVs that they'll be pluggin' you into while you're asleep. Now, there are quite a few set up for the next few days, so I can't really say which it is…"
"ENOUGH!" Svetlana roared. Nack leaned away from the railing as the little girl behind him scurried behind the empty bed. "Are you being happy now, weasel?! Does it making you feel so WONDERFUL that you are having cornered me?! Always did, yes? Of course it did! What else would you be wanting by coming here?!"
"Calm down, you damn looney. I'm not here just to screw with your head. Could've done a million more interesting things if that were m'goal." Nack chuckled. Svetlana growled menacingly in response. "Shuddap. I came here to give you a little questionnaire. And hey, if you give us the answers we need, I just might tell Bean to not dump that nasty poison in your IV."
Svetlana narrowed her eyes; the fingers of her unbroken arm drummed repeatedly on the side of the bed. She was a stubborn woman. Relenting was not in her nature. However, she had to wonder the obvious of whether her pride was worth more than her life. It wasn't as if it was the first time she had been faced with this question—the life of a mercenary was always fraught with it. Slowly she closed her deep red eyes, tongue darting apprehensively over her red lips as she let out a long and almost amused sigh of defeat.
"…You are winning this time, Nack. I will be telling you of what you are need to know." She finally said. "…but only if you are being remember that no matter how many battles you are winning, I will eventually win the war."
"I'll keep that in mind, sugarplum."
"Hmm…so." Svetlana cast an inspecting glance out of the side of her eye, drifting over the white fox currently peeking out from behind the empty bed. Stella squeaked and disappeared back behind it. "…What is it that you are wanting to be knowing? I will share with you my knowledge."
"It's a pretty simple question, sweetheart." Nack slammed his foot against the metal siding surrounding the bed; the wolverine clearly was not impressed, even in her broken state. "We want to know who hired you."
"Who HIRED me?" Svetlana said in disbelief. "What are you even…"
"As much as you trusted your oaf of an ex-husband to help you get us—way to go, by the way—he played the field before you hired him and gave us some documents about you." Nack interrupted. "According to his agency, you were hired around the time when Stella Frost's parents disappeared. The document says you went to meet the person hiring you, but the name wasn't disclosed."
"So you are come to ME to figure it out? You are must been at the last end of your rope with clues, weasel." Svetlana chortled. "And you are did it all for nothing. The first case I was hired in involving the Frost family did have 'meet-up', yes. But it was done in disguise, and was been done with a voice adapter. I am not knowing WHO it was who was hiring me to do away with the Frost mother and father."
"But you WERE hired to do away with them?" Nack pressured; Svetlana attempted to nod smugly. There wasn't much action to be had despite her efforts. "And did you actually see them die?"
"…No. That I did not. I told my contractor that I did, but I never did." Svetlana admitted. Stella perked up considerably, sliding out from behind her hiding spot…but she did not move closer to the bedridden woman. The wolverine rolled her eyes. "I told the agency and contractors that yes! I have been finish the job! But reality is that while I was chasing them in the snowbed of Icefield, I did not catch them. They disappear into white snowstorm. I stayed watch for many day to see if they come back, but they did not to come back. Since no one can to be possibly survive that kind of weather, even if natural to it, I figure that they were dead. So I reported back as succeed even though not sure."
"Like a true crook, really." Nack snorted.
"Like you are to talk. Anyhow, I finish up first job and that was that. Not much is to tell aside from that the chance of living target is low. Very low." Svetlana closed her eyes with a satisfied grin. "Even if it were not my bullet that hit them and done the job, I know that no one could possibly survive that long out in the ice. Is impossible. As far as I am concern, my job was complete."
"…What do you think, Stella?" Nack turned to the arctic fox standing by the window. Stella's expression was blank, almost calculating…by the tight hands gripping at her purple dress gave away her unease. Even if tears were failing to gather at her eyes this once, it was clear that she didn't like what she was hearing. Nack shook his head. "Now, kid, this was a long shot from the beginning…"
"Wait."
"Huh?" Nack stared at the girl incredulously; her grip on her dress had softened and her eyes had lit up with what seemed to be a sudden realization. "What's up, kid…? CAN they survive that long? I mean, I dunno arctic foxes are animals of the cold and all…"
"Not that." Stella said firmly, striding up to the wolverine mercenary laid down in the hospital bed. Svetlana mustered up the meanest glare she could manage while still so clearly injured, but this time the fox did not jump away from it. She simply stared down at Svetlana with narrowed eyes. "…What do you mean, FIRST job?"
"Ah…" Was all Nack could manage; his memory probed back to the walkway at Twinkle Park where Svetlana had grabbed Stella was no clear motive. The little girl was right—there had been signs of the woman being on a mission at the amusement park. She would not have grabbed Stella if it hadn't to do with her mission. And now, the wolverine's own tongue had betrayed her…yet still Svetlana resumed that same smug, in control expression.
"I was wonder if catching that would happen." She said coolly. "Yes, I say FIRST job. I was hire again for another case involving the Frost family. The agency just had no records of it because it was a private arrangement. There were big emergency in the Frost Manor, you see, when little girl disappear. Entire family was going to the insane—she is main inheritor, they tell everyone! Little girl cannot go missing, they announce publically! They will give hefty sum to person who give them back the little girl! The idea amused Svetlana. You can get back little girl who uselessly search for parents that YOU got rid of, Svetlana. That is what I tell myself."
"So you made a deal with the Frost family to bring Stella back…?"
"Oh yes. I make deal. They pay a high sum, they do. You may see that Frost family is very willing to pay big money for what they are want." Svetlana chuckled. Stella's ears dropped visibly. "They give me very big sum to bring little girl back. And when I see that job involves YOU, well…I figure it is twofer, as you say. I could be getting large payout AND killing old enemy."
"So my family hired you…to get me back to Frost Manor?" Stella said uncertainly, her hands covering her muzzle. Tears threatened to spill out of her blue eyes; Nack took off his hat, retrieving a loose strip of gauze from it to hand to the girl. One hand steadied her back as she shook. Svetlana raised a brow at this but said nothing. "They've…all this time, they've been trying to get me home? And I've…"
"You have been being pain in ass." Svetlana barked with laughter, throwing her head back against the pillow. "But yes, it were Frost family that are hiring me at the moment. Very proper lady I deal with who give me the job. Very proper, kind lady and her husband. I am not like either of them. The woman was too 'prim' and 'proper', always trying to get me to be using napkin and complaining that she is miss her poor little niece. Very much care in that woman. And her husband, ah, too quiet. He just there the whole time patting proper lady on back telling her it would be being okay."
"Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Erik…" Stella whispered.
"Yes, that is the names. They are nice people, I am think. But not my type." Svetlana paused briefly. "…the other one, though, the man. 'Uncle Erik'. He seem to not be caring as much. But if I am understand right, he is not the blood relative, so maybe that is being called for. Still, they are both concern enough to be giving me a lot of money."
"Oh, oh no…all this time, and I've just been…Aunt Nessie…" Stella shook her head, falling to her knees. The weasel followed after her, hand at the girl's back steadying her fall. There was nothing that could be done, though; her hands had already covered her eyes to block the torrent of tears streaming out. As the girl cried, Nack couldn't help but inspect the large rolls of gauze wrapped around her arm—they had begun to wear, falling down to reveal the ugly burns that would most likely scar. It stung, somehow, to see a little girl like this. Nack couldn't say it bothered him before to see little kids get hurt, but this felt different.
Like it was one of his own.
He dipped his cowboy hat over his eyes to think, securely keeping one arm against the little girl's back as she fell against the weasel to sob loudly. What sense did it make to keep a child in the environment that he lived in? Sure, she was a strong child, and she was a smart child, and maybe she learned fast, but she was still a child. He remembered, distantly, when he had run away with his sister at a young age. They hadn't been this young but it had still been trying on the both of them. Seeing the worst side of society did a number on children. And the worst of society tended to follow the Hooligans.
He sighed audibly. Sometimes a brat, maybe immature, but Nack couldn't bring himself to think that this kid deserved that treatment. He liked this kid. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he liked this kid. And while Nack didn't know much about doing right, he figured it probably wasn't right to let her continue in a journey that could only amount to misery. Moving the arm on her back downwards to pick Stella up with her head still buried in his shoulder, the mercenary turned to look at the bedridden wolverine. Svetlana had a look of disgust painted across her features.
"…Thanks, Svetlana. Ya gave us a lot of important information, y'know?" He said. She said nothing, the disgust not leaving her face. "…And for the record, none of the IVs are poisoned. It was a bluff. Bean's waiting outside with Bark in the Marvelous Queen."
"I should have goddamn known." The wolverine muttered.
Nack rolled his eyes; always had to be right, this one. Carefully he sat the fox in his arms down and gestured her towards the window; Stella wiped her eyes and nodded, sliding the window open to step on the sill to drop off. A shrieking laughter could be heard below—Bean, situated in the sidecar of Nack's bike with Bark at the wheel. Nack shook his head at the bird's mindless enthusiasm and made to follow after the little girl. He was stopped by the sound of a hoarse chuckle.
"Is that not cute? The meanest mercenary on Mobius cares about the feelings of a little girl." Svetlana sneered. Nack turned slightly to look at the woman over his shoulder, tired glare on his face. "When did you get so mushy of the feely, Nack? When I met you, that little girl would have being shot just for talk to you. Now you are CARE for the feelings of a child? I was think that you kept a rule to…oh, what was it? Not get attached? You are look very attach right now, old enemy."
"I don't care about the kid, Svetlana." Nack lied; it was clear on his face and Svetlana could see it with ease. She simply let out another derisive laugh. "And even if I did, it wouldn't matter. It's going to end soon. I…I'm going to take her back to her Aunt and Uncle in Aurora Icefield."
"Oh are you now?" The wolverine mocked. Nack's grip on the side of the window tightened. He could hear Bean calling up for him to jump, confusion laced in his voice, yet somehow the presence of the woman compelled him to stay. Either that or his own guilt at breaking his own rules. "So you're giving up on little girl's fancy pink diamond, are you? Taking the lesser reward all to make little girl be feel better? But you do not care, that is right. Not a single care."
"I don't have time for your idiocy, Svetlana."
"No, you never did." Svetlana chortled, closing her eyes with a large grin on her face. "But you should be knowing, Nack, that every attachment is a threat. Every time you become more attached to anything, you are risk yourself for their good. And with something as fragile as little girl, I would be very careful…you can become as fragile as little girl if you attach too much to little girl."
Her words were met by empty air and fluttering curtains as the weasel disappeared on his getaway. Svetlana's smile did not disappear; she simply stared up at the bland ceiling with amused red eyes.
"You are to only bring suffer by having attachment, Nack. But I am think that maybe I would take great glee in that—after all, it was attachment that destroy me when I choose to went with you." Svetlana grinned, her sharp rows of fangs gleaming in the moonlight. "Maybe attachment will destroy you, too. Would that be nothing if not very, very nice?"
