Sorry for the short chapter all. I've not written much of this lately. But I'm working on the next chapter now.
"Now then, my dear." Davric said, moving his bulk a little closer to Briggs. "Tell me again what happened." Briggs desperately fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she whimpered and sniffled like a scolded child.
"I w-was on patrol, and I just… slipped." She whined, making a show of dabbing at her eyes with Davric's handkerchief. The large man smirked and placed his meaty palm on her opposite shoulder and pulled her against him.
"There there. Everything will be fine." He said and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Briggs felt her skin crawl, and somewhere deep inside a voice screamed for her to take this man's hand and force feed it to him. Instead she managed a weak smile.
"Thank you, Colonel." she said timidly. The Colonel smiled at her, but his eyes lingered a bit too long one certain parts of her anatomy.
"There's uh… still the matter of your missing equipment to discuss, my dear." The Colonel muttered. Briggs bristled. She knew exactly where this was going.
"I'm so sorry, Colonel Davric. I'll take KP duty for a year if you want me to." Briggs whimpered.
"Actually my dear, according to the law, you will be publicly flogged before you are executed." The Colonal cleared his throat and looked down at the guardswoman with a decidedly predatory look. "That is, unless we could reach some kind of… arrangement." He said as he placed his hand at the small of her back. Briggs, eyes wide, was suddenly aware that they'd turned down a dirty alley at some point. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see Corr or the others. Then the Colonel's hand was lower, and it was then decided that this man had lost the privilege to own and operate the appendage. She twisted suddenly, gripped his wrist tightly and wrenched it up high towards his shoulder blades. At the same time she slipped her free arm around his throat and hooked him in the crook of her arm.
"Did I give you permission to touch me?!" she hissed in his ear. The Colonel grunted and struggled feebly in her grasp.
"Unhand me this ins-" he gasped. She cut off his words by flexing her arm and cutting off his windpipe.
"No no! You don't get to talk." She spat as she wrenched his arm up a bit further, drawing a pitiful mewling sound from the Colonel. She pressed him against the building and slipped her arm away from the man's neck. He coughed and gasped for air while she held him in place by his twisted arm.
"You bitch! I'll see you hanged for this!" he sputtered. Briggs rolled her eyes as the rest of her team turned down the alley. Callahan and Stakely chuckled and Mason placed a meaty hand on Nelis' shoulder to root him place and keep him from doing something stupid.
"Oh frak…" Corr muttered as he approached. He looked between Briggs and the Colonel and shook his head slowly. "You touched her, didn't you?" he asked, leaning close to the Colonel. The man whimpered in response. Corr looked back at Briggs and sighed.
"Let up, Briggs." he said. Briggs shot him an angry look.
"But he touched me! The swine has lost the right to his hand!" she barked. Corr nodded.
"Yes, but we need his handprint to get into the armory. We can't have you cutting off the hand we need before we get in."
Briggs worked her jaw for a moment, debating on ignoring Corr and just taking the man's hand as her own now.
"You can have his hand afterwards, I promise." Corr added. Briggs glanced his way and with a sneer she let go of the Colonel's arm. Corr braced himself for the Colonel to attempt to fight his way free or scream for help. Instead the pitiful man cradled his arm and whimpered like a scolded child. Some soldier. Corr handed Briggs back her gear and the squatted down next to the Colonel. "So. Good news, bad news time. The good news is we need you alive, so we're not gonna slot you." Corr said . Colonel Davric closed his eyes and began to mumble a prayer. Corr, grabbed the man by his uniform and hauled him to his feet He shoved him to Stakely who quickly drew his new knife and held it in front of the man's eyes
"The bad news? Well, I did say she could have your hand when we were done."