Author's Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the series Burst Angel. They belong to the companies and not me.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! Between semesters of class and hoping to pass final tests are stressful. That and a very affectionate kittydog who won't climb off my lap so I can maneuver the keyboard accurately doesn't help either :P I love the latter however! Action scenes are incredibly hard for me to write. To do so, I almost have to numb down the content, and treat it like an action film that I could cheer through. Hope it made for good imagery!
"Avenging Angel" chapter seven
"Big Trouble in Little China"
"Don't you worry, Leo, I'm going to be fine," Sei said. She pinned her long hair up and turned her head this way and that. Her reflection exceeded the confidence a leader of Bai Lan should possess. Leo, shirtless and muscular, sat on the edge of the wide bed they now shared and watched the lines of Sei's back with rapid interest.
"All I'm saying is that I should be your fire power if Jo's not ready." He huffed a stream of cigarette smoke with a frustrated sigh.
"I think you're worried more about me than Jo," Sei met his eyes in the mirror. Leo tapped his cigarette against the side of an ash tray and nodded. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose.
"I know you have a lot of big guns aiming for you, Head Dragon or not. If you're my woman, I'm with you, through hell or high water." Leo looked up and blinked when Sei laid her hands onto his broad shoulders. She smiled and bent to kiss her mechanic on the forehead.
"Baby, I'm going to be fine. Jo IS ready. She and Meg are going to back me up should anything go awry. I've pinned my trust on those girl's abilities before and they've always come through. Besides," Sei turned back to the mirror and picked up her layered coat. "You've said Meg's gotten better at her marksmanship. That should be something."
Leo nodded and leaned back on the bed. "She has. She really worked on herself while we were out there."
Leo could recall Meg practicing nonstop for several days after she had finally dragged herself out of bed. She had gone through ten boxes of ammo and several hours and it had started to rain. The redhead still trained her gun on her makeshift target and kept at it. She had fired again, and again and again…
Sei smiled. "I'm confident things will go smoothly. Just wait calmly for me here."
"Can't make you any promises," Leo grinned around his cigarette. Sei waved a hand around, fanning the smoke.
"Please, we talked about this."
"Yes, ma'am."
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Back in Jo's room, the two girls similarly suited up Meg zipped her red top up and made to shrug into Jo's coat when she stopped. Jo slid her Desert Eagles into her holsters and stepped into her boots. She peered almost disinterestedly at herself in the mirror and turned in surprise when Meg laid her old coat across her shoulders.
"I left that for you," she murmured. Meg smiled softly.
"It looks better with its owner. You'll need this too," she said and swathed her yellow scarf around Jo's neck. Jo almost hunched, ducking into the folds of coat and scarf. Meg knew her perfume was laced through both garments now and watched as Jo subconsciously smelled her.
"Thank you," she whispered softly. Meg's eyes twinkled.
"Well now that that's settled, we should get on out there," Meg said, her old confidence shining. Jo reached up a hand and touched Meg's face. Meg stopped and blinked wide eyes to her partner.
"Whatever comes, we've got this."
Meg nodded and placed her fingers over Jo's hand. "Whatever Sei's got lined up, that is," Meg said.
Draconian drug lords were now a piece of cake. Figure heads of the Bai Lan syndicate couldn't be so far off. Jo watched Meg with her red, red eyes.
"Maybe I'll get to see you use that," she murmured. Meg laid a hand over her gun and grinned.
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"They're ready for you now," the powerfully built Chinese man stated. Sei smiled a very self-satisfied smile up at him. The guard, who had a prominent bulge in his suit jacket promising a large handgun, had attempted to rebuff Sei's arrival with delays and other seemingly insulting reprimands to her station. Meg didn't know what Sei had said to him when she leaned in close enough to murmur, but her words had the red carpet out in no time; and it wasn't the display of cleavage either that got the ball rolling.
Jo stood, a silent statue, beside her. Her hands lay against her side, relaxed digits that grazed the holsters of her weapons. It was the lightest of subconscious gestures, and the guard had seen it all, but even he paled at the embers of Jo's eyes promising a fight.
The brick of a man held the ornately carved door open for the women and stepped aside as they passed through. Meg exhaled a long stream of smoke into his face and grinned cheekily up the wall of his chest as she went by. Jo brought up the rear, blinking as she passed through the trail of smoke. She had asked Meg to stop and Meg had still lit up by force of habit.
Jo tried not to flinch as the door closed behind them with an audible clang as they entered a large conference room. A quick glance told her there were no other exits in the room and it ground at her that the only way out had been shut behind them. If a fight went down, the enemy would obviously know their only route of retreat.
Inside was a large round table, bright with polish. High-backed chairs with intricate carvings marked places and Sei made her way to the one with an elaborate dragon carved into the back. She did not sit down but stood beside the chair, waiting.
Meg and Jo picked places beside her. They didn't have long to wait before the door banged open. Several older men entered, resplendent in designer suits with subtle blocks and whorls stitched across their sleeves. The V.I. P's guards trailed in after, silent muscle who looked at Meg and Jo without the slightest bit of interest. They had to be straight, but they were all business.
Jo cocked an eyebrow. So they counted her out without knowing what she could do. Their mistake really.
The oldest had heads of hair as white as Jo's, the style trimmed short at the neck while they grew their beards long. Sei's grandfather had looked like that, Meg remembered. She wondered if it was a fashionable or cultural look for leaders of Bai Lan, when Sei smiled, receiving slight bows from the men.
"Sei-san, we are glad to see you," one bent man smiled, his eyes crinkling behind thick glasses. His guard offered him his arm and he leaned lightly against the young man's strength. A younger man, with streaks of gray in his thick black hair, snorted and crossed his arms over his massive belly.
"Perhaps you are, Wong, but you don't speak for all of us," he huffed.
"And you are always full of complaints, Wei. I would say it a curse of your years, but Sei has shown remarkable more grace," Wong nodded his head to the serene Chinese woman. Sei's smile was far more genuine for the old man, but though reserved for the latter, maintained the air of diplomacy.
"Whether you are glad to see me or not, I am glad you are all here. Revered Heads of Bai Lan, won't you join us?" Sei requested. She sank gracefully into the elaborate dragon chair. Meg made to sit in the chair beside her, but stopped when she saw one of the men reaching for it. A quick glance at Jo showed the warrior hadn't budged an inch, remaining a silent book end at Sei's side.
Meg resigned herself to standing with a mental sigh. She really hoped Sei wouldn't think she should pour her drinks or serve anything.
Sei sank into her chair and clasped her hands on the tabletop. "Shall we begin?" she invited.
Servants silently filed in as she began, filling cups with tea, wine or sparkling mineral water. Meg flicked her eyes toward Jo on the other side of Sei's chair. She raised an eyebrow and Jo stared woodenly back with her red gaze. 'No drinks for us?' Meg thought. Jo seemed to read her thought for her gaze blinked, seeming to say 'We're just the scenery here.'
Meg ran a red tongue over her lower lip and pulled a cigarette out discreetly. Jo's brow quirked wildly but she didn't speak up with the meeting going on.
The negotiating went on for another ten minutes but really felt more like an hour. Meg had to cross her arms and pinch her elbow to keep from falling asleep. A quick look at Jo told Meg to keep her composure. Like her memories of her, Jo was still and placid, her lowered red eyes giving nothing away. Meg studied her profile then flicked her eyes toward Sei. One of the Chinese men yelled suddenly, breaking the low murmur of amicable tones. Her eyes flicked over to the men and her fingers itched. Something was starting up. She and Jo tensed on either side of Sei.
"I don't care WHAT you're saying, you're not running things!"
"Li!" One of the younger men gasped. A curt gesture from Li and he shut up. Sei smiled calmly, her eyes warmly taking in the irate man.
"Despite what your opinions are to the extent of my abilities, I AM running things as you put it. I was trained by my grandfather since I was old enough to write. No matter how sudden my ascension to Head Dragon, you can be assured I have been prepared for many years."
Jo's eyes watched Sei's fingers slowly tapping on the edge of her chair. She had learned to read the woman over the course of their time together, enough to know that the seemingly languid gesture signaled an alert to attack. Jo could feel a fire surge through her veins at the thought. Her red eyes took in each dark or white head as a target with a giant bull's eye.
On Sei's other side, she could see Meg similarly tensed. She mentally nodded with approval.
"And I'm calling you a dickless slut who should know her place!" Li growled. Jo flicked tired eyes to the frothing businessman and heard faint clicking at the double doors…. This was not good.
"You watch your mouth. Someone might think you need it washed out," Meg taunted. She exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke toward the instigator and quickly assessed the others. Sei sat with quiet confidence beside her but several older men were stressed, their white-knuckled hands gripping the arms of their chairs tightly.
"Meg, that's enough," Sei said, but she also noticed how their guards were similarly tensed and Meg gauged each young man with a sense of despair. They wouldn't be much help in a gun fight.
"Now, now, there is no reason to raise your voice," an oily voice called out. The clipping sounds produced a younger chinese man, resplendent in a designer black suit. Intricate stitching trailed his sleeve cuffs, depicting a roaring dragon on each arm. Sei stood, leaning on her cane, and regarded the newcomer with a mediocre amount of surprise.
"Chongkun. I should have known to expect you here."
Who was this clown? Jo didn't know and she really didn't care. She could feel and smell the tensions rising and her blood boiled in response.
"And yet you don't seem surprised. An admirable quality you've always possessed, cousin Sei. No one could ever get anything by you. Well, maybe just Jei," Chongkun smirked. He was flanked by two stereotypical tough guys.
"What do you want, little cousin? Compensation? You should talk to Grandfather for that," Sei said. Chongkun raised an eyebrow.
"I've talked to him time and time again. He sings of nothing but praise for you. So I thought I'd come straight to the source and discuss our little…. disagreement."
"Chongkun, you worthless whelp, you should honor the old Head's decision! He's picked Sei for his heir, and she already acts in his stead," the bent Wong chewed out. His guard laid an arm in front of him protectively.
"It's okay, Mr. Wong. We'll handle this appropriately," Sei leaned on her cane; this was not good. Her old injuries throbbed, making thought distant. She had to get through this! "Chongkun, you aren't in line for succession. You won't have any chances either…"
'As I intend to have children,' she thought. But there was no reason to express THIS thought. Her younger cousin visibly seethed.
"That's what you think. Sorry, cuz, we could have worked this out more simply…."
Jo didn't want for his gesture. "Get down!" As goons filed in, she was already throwing Sei under the table, Meg following in pursuit. 'Protect Meg/Sei' flooded through her being as red tinged her vision. The resounding gunfire that missed them reverberated in her ears and Jo grit her teeth in an insane grin.
One swift movement and she was up, both Desert Eagles in her hands. Meg was beside her, red gun held before her. Burly men fell as they ran into the conference room. Some were able to get a few shots off before they were disabled or killed; Jo commended them internally but Meg and Sei's safety wouldn't allow an inch of complicity.
Meg grit her teeth and crawled under the long table, Sei in tow. She could hear bodies being thrown this way and that. Jo was in the fray, jumping bullets and fists like something out of a nightmare. The red-haired girl leaned on one elbow to reload, scattering smoking shells across the carpet heedlessly as she crawled along under the table. "Sounds like Jo's taking care of the rest. Do you want Chongkun alive?" Meg asked. Sei held up her own pistol and nodded.
"If he had the sense to get out of here, yes. I'd rather take him alive," Sei assessed the new predatory look in Meg's eyes. She was more hardened to battle.
"Stay here," Meg ordered. She grabbed the leg of the nearest person and hauled a bent body down toward them. Wong held an arm over his head, a smoking pistol clutched in his other hand. "And hold onto him!"
Sei put her hand on Wong's shoulder, and the two Chinese nodded. "Wait, since when do YOU give me orders?" Sei quipped to her subordinate. Meg pulled the hammer back and shimmied forward on her belly.
"Since Jo needs my help!" Meg jumped up to fire a few shots, her breasts bouncing in her tight top. A guard gawked at that momentarily and her bullet hit him between those widened eyes. She pulled the neutral Heads down or in extreme motions, kicked at limbs until they got the hint. One old man's shin made a sound like peanut brittle snapped in two and he screamed as he fell under the table.
Meg grimaced despite herself. 'Sorry, Gramps,' she internally apologized. Glancing up carefully, Meg made out the edges of Jo's scarf fluttering with her frantic motions through the haze of gun smoke. As she moved closer, gun at the ready, Meg was overcome by two massive arms hauling her up off the ground from behind. A hissed scream wrenched from her throat despite herself and rage settled in next. Meg fought back, making the man exert way too much effort to hold her close to him. Meg finally hooked one foot in a chair and hoisted herself up and back, on top of the guard. They went crashing down in a tangle of limbs and as Meg was congratulating herself, she felt a ribbon of fire explode from her left shoulder, followed almost belatedly by the bang of the bullet's trajectory.
Meg blinked as stars blinked rapidly, lighting the dark corners of her blackening vision, and a far off wailing made her brain turn over. In a sense of non-reality, she recognized the sound coming from her own open mouth. A flash of red and white bulled over and Meg lifted her head to see Jo's red coat flare as she descended on the last guards, her guns extended in both hands.
She shot one in the face and flipped her other Eagle over, the pommel extended. Jo slashed her arm long, almost tearing off the other man's nose as she hit him with the butt of her weapon. The brutal impact knocked him off his feet and cartoonishly sideways. Jo's flaring red eyes bounced closer to her and her lips parted in a question.
Meg fought through the haze of pain and erupted suddenly to the now. She hissed and pounded on the floor with one hand. "Where is he? Fucking bastard!" Meg yelled. Jo reached into Meg's top and pressed over the point of entry. Meg almost fainted from the clasp of sharp fingers over the wound.
"I got 'im. Don't worry about him, Meg," Jo's eyes cooled as she wound her scarf off and tied it expertly around Meg's shoulder. Sei crawled out next to them, pulling her cane and several of the older Heads of Bai Lan.
"I'll have my men scour the area… and transportation's already coming for us. Hang on, Meg, we'll get you taken care of," Sei's calm voice soothed the tense girls just fractionally. Sei's eyes narrowed at Meg's injury. "This shouldn't have happened…"
"Aw, don't worry 'bout it, Sei. Only a flesh wound!" Meg grit her teeth. She and Sei both noted the look of admiration that shone in Jo's eyes. It didn't stop Meg from bitching, however, but she obviously had reason to.
"Watch the arm, big fella! Awww fuck me, that hurts…."
Jo stalked behind the Bai Lan medic officers that carried Meg out, the look in her eyes telling them not to interfere with her coming. Sei brought up the rear, overseeing the old men that involuntarily fell into her care.
"Would you all feel safer coming with me?" she'd asked. They all had agreed unanimously. The injured old man had a few choice words for Meg's rash decision to break his knee, however. Sei decided not to pass them on for fear Jo would hurt him further.
Once back at Sei's base, Leo was pacing the inside corridor. He started at the sight, and crashed closer. Taking hold of Sei's waist with one arm, he hugged her, then surveyed his other girls. "Dammit, girl, what happened to you?" he demanded of Meg. Meg only yelled bloody murder since she was in too much pain to care.
Jo's red eyes met Leo's. "She did alright. One bastard got by me…"
Leo sighed, seeing the crushing guilt that was beginning to descend on Jo if others could not. "It's to be expected, Jo, Meg's good for her abilities. You had your own battle to fight."
Jo shrugged and stalked after Meg's stretcher. Her scarf billowed behind her like a banner of admonition. Sei sighed and finally pressed her face into Leo's shirt front.
"She's going to be way off now that she blames herself. There was no way of knowing that would happen, although she should blame me. I knew my cousin harbored resentment…"
"Your cousin did this?" Leo asked. His large hand stayed steady and large at the small of her back. Sei leaned into his strength.
"Yes… and he got away. I'll have to track down Chongkun."
Leo knew there was a family story in all of this but he would ask later. "At least you'll have help," he murmured, looking at all the well-dressed old men.
Sei laughed weakly. "All assembled Heads of Bai Lan were involved in the fight. I couldn't send them away unprotected."
End for now
End Note: This was painful to write, not only for action paced settings, but in that it took so long to update. I had to get back into a certain amount of stride to get my writing groove on. Hope you enjoy!
Sincerely yours, penpaninu
6/18/11