"Look alive, will you!" Jaina hissed between her teeth as she shoved the kid again. He couldn't have been older than seventeen, she thought. He looked so very young as he lay there, curled up into a little ball. But his skin was pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead making him look sick.
And plus, the kid was handcuffed to her wrist and that didn't bode well with her at all. The fact that she couldn't sense or use the Force around him was, of course, a nuisance as well.
She snorted at the thought. Nuisance was an understatement of galactic proportions.
"Wake up! We need to get out of here." She tugged at the cuffs, rattling the chain between them. Since she'd woken up with one hell of a headache, she'd tried reaching out to the Force, receiving only nothingness. She felt empty, alone all of a sudden. She couldn't sense the boy cuffed to her hand, couldn't sense anyone in the near vicinity.
The boy stirred, grunted as he slowly regained consciousness. Jaina sat as far back as she could, feeling wary of his presence. The mere fact that they were cuffed together made her feel very, very uneasy. Even though she mostly only relied on the Force, still her warning bells went off without it. Something was wrong. Something was going to happen.
The question being what?
"You alright?" Jaina asked, eyeing the boy curiously. He sat up, eyes wide with fear as he looked around the place, seeing only the small room they were locked in. One small light mounted on the ceiling shone into his face and she could see red marks all around his throat and neck. His short blond hair was dirty and he smelled as if he hadn't showered in weeks. "Do you know where we are?"
When he looked at her, he growled. Jaina arched a brow and cleared her throat. He really did growl – like an animal. "You don't look too well."
He bared his teeth at her and before she knew it, he sprinted forward and gripped her throat with both his hands.
Kyp laughed as he watched Jaina handle her predicament quite well on her own. The boy, who kept rattling at their cuffed hands as if to pull her forward, snarled at her as he gripped her throat. This was Jaina, though. Jaina who didn't care what people thought of her, Jaina who had once slapped him in front of his entire squadron, Jaina who had gotten drunk with him on a few occasions during the war. This was most definitely a woman who could take care of herself.
Kyp watched as she pulled her knee up and connected with the boys' groin. Kyp heard him suck in his breath sharply and he was about to slide off her slim body, when Jaina head butted the kid and then balled her hand into a fist, crashing it against his skull.
Jaina glowered at the boy, as he lay unconscious at her side, whispering words Kyp couldn't understand. By the look on her face, he supposed she was cursing him. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least.
But his laughter suddenly subsided when he felt a piercing pain at the base of his skull. He doubled over, grasping his neck with both his hands, eyes wide as the pain seemed to slice through his head. Breathing was difficult, his heartbeat accelerated and not even the Force could help him. For a moment, it seemed he was cut off from the very power that sustained him.
And then the voice returned with a menacing undertone coupled with amusement. "Are you not feeling well, Jedi?"
Even if he'd wanted to, Kyp couldn't have responded. Pain wasn't new to him; throughout his life, he'd suffered enough physical hurt to know how to deal with it but this was different. He felt paralyzed – all he could do was hope for it to be over soon because he couldn't move. Not his fingers, not his toes, not his arms or legs – he just couldn't.
He completely lost control of his body and he fell to his knees – all he could do was lock his jaw and wait because he would never give them – whoever they were – the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.
Never.
"Welcome to my little experiment. I do consider myself lucky that two of you walked into this club without so much as a little back-up." The voice sighed melodramatically. "Now, where are those witty remarks? Have you lost the will to speak?"
The only thought going through Kyp's mind was finding the bastard and ending this once and for all.
"The gas you and your friend inhaled?" A dark, sinister laugh. "It was Push in its purest form. I'm certain you tasted the sweetness. I've always been interested on its affect on a Force user. And now I have two of you to test my theories! Perfect, don't you think?" He laughed again. "But don't worry. You'll feel as good as new in an hour or two. Until then – have fun while your body tries to fight what has been given to you."
Kyp ground his teeth, fisting his hands while the pain turned into fire, searing him from within. And people did this voluntarily? It was hard to believe because pleasure was most definitely something else entirely.
He could hardly think clearly – everything he had he concentrated on trying to move, trying to understand. So the wanna-be creepy bad guy was using him and Jaina as test subjects?
Jaina…
He ripped his eyes open, tilting his head upward to try and glimpse the holopicture. But Jaina seemed fine. She sat upright, leaning against the wall, dangling with the chain of the handcuffs. They'd both inhaled the gas…
Kyp arched his back while the fire spread to his limbs, momentarily forgetting that one of Jaina's guests was an Ysalamiri. Maybe, just maybe, that little fact was why she was spared the pain of having her body ripped to shreds from the inside.
How much time passed until he could breathe normally, Kyp didn't know. The fire left a tingling in his body, a twitch here-and-there and his head felt like it had been manhandled by hammer. He pressed his palms to his eyes, groaning as he sat up – and narrowed his eyes at the open door to the small cell.
"You're kidding, right?" He asked into the near darkness. "I'm going to kick your ass for this."
He hunched over the monitors, smiling. The room itself was dark, the only light from the screens, illuminating his face – a mask of glee and joy as he watched his pet experiments in their little cages. Lab rats – both of them.
He enjoyed the male Jedi the most. No matter what he would say, he would get a comment in return. Still, he had yet to know who these Jedi were. When the Jedi had called on Enforcement, they never mentioned any names, only that someone would help with the investigation.
Honestly – he didn't much care. Whoever they were, they wouldn't be alive much longer.
He sighed and sat back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. He would enjoy the show.
He watched as the female knocked the boy out cold, amazed at her strength without her precious Force to help and guide her. Perhaps he'd underestimated her. She seemed so small and fragile, a woman he could break in two.
The male Jedi was different all together. He had an aura of malignant danger, carefully controlled anger. Of course, letting him roam free was a danger in itself but he was certain his men could take care of him if he got too close. A few blaster shots and he'd be as dead as anyone else. It would actually be quite humorous sending bits and pieces of him back to the Jedi Order, a warning not to interfere with business that did not concern them. A finger here, a hand there, definitely strands of hair…
"You're feeling quite sure of yourself, aren't you?"
He snapped to attention, raising to his feet and swallowing a lump in his throat as he heard the dark, sinister voice echoing through the room.
"You're back."
The overhead lights came on with a simple flick of the wrist and he gulped at the sight of the man who he feared most above all creatures in the universe.
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
He shook his head. "No. Of course not." A weak smile played around his features as the dark haired human stepped closer. His eyes, an almost glowing light blue, twinkled as he smiled, showing a perfect row of white teeth. It was said that no woman could resist him; tall, broad, an edge of badness that he leaked through the very pores of his skin.
He stood before the desk, hands hidden inside the pockets of his black pants. A small smile, more like a smirk almost, dropped the room temperature at least ten degrees. "I see you've made yourself comfortable in my office."
He cleared his throat and stepped away, gesturing for Vishous to take a seat. "I'm sorry. I've been monitoring the club."
Vishous shrugged off his long coat and threw it on the nearest chair before he sat down in his usual spot. He sat back with a sigh, "I've heard rumors, Jorel." He tsked and shook his head. "I'm gone for only two days and already I hear rumors. Do you know what I think about rumors?"
Jorel swallowed and shook his head. "No, Sir."
"I hate them. Rumors make me seem…artificial."
"Sir?"
Vishous swirled the chair around and stared at his underling. Pathetic as he was, he was the one person he could count on when it came to business with Enforcement. Jorel was keeping them away from the club, away from his flourishing business.
"People don't take you seriously when rumors pop up all over the place." He played with a lock of his long, black hair and heaved a sigh. "Do you know what sorts of rumors I have come to hear?"
"No, Sir." Jorel said quietly, clasping his hands behind his back – just like the little, obedient soldier that he was.
"It seems that you've acquired prisoners?"
Jorel cleared his throat. "Not necessarily prisoners, Sir. Test subjects."
"You've submitted them to the drug?"
"Yes, Sir. The pure drug."
Vishous' blue eyes widened just a fraction. "They survived?"
Jorel nodded. "Yes. I have the guards standing ready."
"You've let them out?" Vishous asked, feigning disbelief. He loved seeing fear in Jorel's eyes.
"Only one of them. I thought it would be wise to test his abilities. He will, no doubt, try and save his friend before he comes looking for me."
Vishous straightened in the chair and took a quick look at the monitors. One cell was already empty, the other cell held a very boring looking young woman who seemed eerily familiar. He chuckled. "Did she knock him out?" He asked, inclining his head to the boy lying beside her.
"Yes, Sir."
"My kind of woman." He said with a slight laugh.
Vishous leaned forward and tapped a key on the keyboard. The monitor showing the empty cell changed into a quartered picture of the complex. Each small picture showed a part of the corridor system. A few guards stood around the area, holding on to their blasters as if their lives depended on it. Who knew what a full pure dosage of Push could do to an individual? Vishous presumed he'd have a few more deaths on his hands by the end of the night.
And he didn't care.
He shifted his attention to one of the corridors in the lowest region of the complex and zoomed in one a man with the stance of a fighter – he walked as if he owned the place, smiling, as he made sure there weren't any surprises waiting for him.
Vishous leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. He'd seen that face before – he was sure of it.
"Where'd you find them?"
"They're working for Enforcement. Helping them with the case." Jorel cleared his throat, Vishous just knew there was more, and he wouldn't like it.
"And?"
"After inducing them to the drug –"Again he cleared his throat. How annoying. "– we found out that they were Jedi."
Vishous actually stopped breathing. Jorel took a step back, forcing himself to keep it together. He hadn't expected the boss to return so early and he'd have taken care of the Jedi in time but now – well, now he was afraid Vishous would snap his neck.
And there was no doubt in his mind that he could. He'd seen it with his own eyes. And he hadn't even moved a finger – just thought it and after a sickening snap, the man had died.
Vishous turned around slowly, getting to his feet. A predator hunting for its prey, graceful and utterly dangerous. He hadn't received his name for nothing.
"Jedi?" He whispered coldly. "Have you lost your mind?"
Jorel began to sweat, his hands shook as Vishous approached him. The man was tall – huge! Jorel wasn't short for a human but he had to look up to meet his gaze. "I didn't know. I –"
"You should have known." Vishous said in a low voice. "Have you any idea what you've done?"
Jorel didn't answer. He averted his gaze, staring into nothingness.
"They will unleash terror. Do you understand that?"
"Sir, they are not all powerful. They're simple Jedi. We've had Jedi use Push before."
"Adepts, you idiot! If they're working with Enforcement, they're trained Jedi Knight, if not Masters." His eyes almost glowed and the anger he felt was palpable. "The drug enhances mental abilities. What do you think it will do with a fully trained Jedi?"
"That's what I was trying to find out."
The sudden slap echoed through the room. Jorel stumbled backward but he dared not touch his stinging face.
"You have a death wish, Jorel." Vishous whispered. "Did you even think to check who they are?"
"It doesn't matter. They'll be dead."
"I cannot believe I put up with your idiocy." He turned back to the screens and zoomed in on the male Jedi. Fuming within, he punched a few keys and scanned the man's face, sending the image through his database. "You'd best hope he is no one."
"I don't understand –"
"Because you're a moronic imbecile, yes, I've gathered as much."
After a slight beep from the computer, Vishous tapped another few keys and brought up a hologram of a Jedi Knight – no, Master – in full Jedi attire. He looked different with dark long hair and a grin on his face but it was definitely the same man.
Vishous went cold inside when he read the name. "This isn't good." He hissed between his teeth, leaning back into the chair with such force, that it squeaked beneath him.
"What's not good?"
"Shut up!"
He tapped at his chin with his fingers, thinking as fast as he could. "Detain him. Make sure he does not leave this complex." He snarled at Jorel. "He is one of the strongest Jedi Masters of the Council. Thanks to you, his abilities have grown."
"But only for a few hours."
"It doesn't matter! Do as you are told."
"Yes, Sir." Jorel turned on his heel but stopped as Vishous cleared his throat.
"And bring the woman to me!" He paused before he continued. "If you fail me, Jorel, you will die. Is that clear?"
"Crystal."
"You may go. Do not disappoint me."
Vishous knew Jorel didn't have a chance. He would die, be it by his hand or by the Jedi's. He deserved it, either way. Vishous hoped the stupidity wasn't contagious – subjecting a trained Jedi to Push! He wasn't even worried about the abilities; a Jedi was used to wielding the Force and a little shove to their powers wasn't anything they couldn't handle.
It was the resulting cockiness, the aggressiveness, the callousness towards everything and anything – that made him uneasy.
With a normal being, he wouldn't have cared less. But with this Jedi… for the first time in years, Vishous was very worried.
