Fic recos: "Arrogant Young Master Tamplate A Variation 4", the first xianxia novel I've truly enjoyed (just google it).

Also, another fic where Tanya is now Mad Eye Moody, "Inheriting the Mantle", here on FF: s/13476937/1/Inheriting-the-Mantle

Disclaimer: I do not own Youjo Senki

Chapter 25

July 2, 1929, Elisabethstadt, Imperial Congo

This was bad. This was very bad. I wasn't so worried about the explosive spell, per se. I was fairly confident in my ability to withstand the blast. What I was worried about was the passive magic detection array that the Empire had established on the Rhodesian border only a short distance from Elisabethstadt. The city as a whole was well within detection range, and unless the operators were sleeping on the job, they would have noticed us the second Visha had powered up her defensive shell.

Now, a few defensive spells was hardly cause for panic, and if they were sloppy they might have mistaken us for the aerial mage garrison. But then this idiot had to go and power up an explosive round. That would have set the alarms ringing for sure. If I was lucky, the scanner outpost would have to first contact the city garrison, then pinpoint our location, and it might be as much as ten minutes before the local mages put in an appearance. If I was unlucky - and my current situation suggested my luck was definitely having an off day - members of the local mage garrison had been close enough to physically sense our magic use, and response time would be measured in seconds.

I could feel my entire world slow down as I overclocked by reflexes to give myself time to think. Fighting wasn't an option, if she pulled that trigger then even if I lived every Imperial soldier within miles would know my location. Stalling wasn't an option, an investigative force would be arriving shortly. And then I saw something that only added to my urgency.

Jenny and Samantha had got over their surprise, and were readying their own weapons. Seeing their furious gazes aimed at Sioux, I felt a small flicker of relief that they had not betrayed me. That relief was drowned out by anxiety. Sure, they would make a fine distraction for me if they were to attack Sioux. They would also not survive more than a second against a combat mage. And I'd wasted too much time and resources on those two to let them get killed for so little gain.

I had no choice, my absolutely first priority had to be to prevent that explosive spell from detonating. And the best way to do that would be for Sioux to power it down voluntarily.

"Everyone stop." I kept my voice casual, but my eyes were locked on Samantha and Jenny. Thankfully, they froze, their guns ready but not quite pointed at Sioux.

"Be quiet!" snarled Sioux.

"Just making sure no one does anything stupid. Like setting off an explosive spell less than twenty feet from civilians."

Sioux froze, her anger draining away as she glanced at the bartender who was standing paralyzed. I idly noted that this must have been a peaceful town if the bartender's first instinct hadn't been to duck behind the barricade.

After a moment, I felt the spell change. In a rush of mana, Sioux overrode her previous enchantment, replacing the explosive spell with a disruption spell. That took a commendable amount of power and skill, but my opinion of her was still pretty low. At point blank range a disruption spell should have been her first choice, as it was far more likely to break my shield than an explosion.

And, of course, that momentary distraction was exactly what I was waiting for.

I threw every joule of power the M27 could handle into magical thrust, vectored straight up. I might have been lying on my back, but magic doesn't care about positioning. The sudden acceleration threw Sioux forward, allowing me to pin her gun hand to my side. She got off a single shot that missed me entirely, then we both smashed into the iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling at something around a hundred kilometers per hour.

Our mage shells protected us from the impact, but Sioux hadn't been expecting it. In her momentary disorientation, I used the grip I had on her gun arm as a pivot for my flight spell, flipping us until she was beneath me, then accelerating us back to the ground. Sioux recovered enough to try and use her own flight, but that simply meant we hit the wooden floor hard enough to crack it instead of cratering it.

This time, both our mage shells collapsed. I could feel every bone complaining, and Sioux had to be worse. But she was a powerful mage, it was fully within her ability to turn the tables on me yet. So I did something different. I cast a massive disruption effect, centered on the Interpol agent.

Disruption spells were somewhat uncommon among aerial mages. While they were the single best way of penetrating a mage shell, they were also impossible to combine with other types of magic. In the high speed world of aerial combat, a homing/explosive spell combination was a far more reliable mage killer than an unguided disruption round. You couldn't even use it in close combat, as trying to channel a disruption effect into a bayonet was risking it interfering with your flight or reinforcement.

In this case though, I simply wanted Sioux to stay put. The disruption shut down all her spells. It did the same for me, but I was the one sitting on top. Given a few seconds, she might have been able to power her way out of it. I wasn't going to let her. Still using one hand to pin her gun arm, I held out my other in the direction of Jenny and Samantha. "Gun!" I snapped.

I was gratified to have a pistol immediately placed into my open palm. Sioux used that moment to land a painful punch to my gut, so I perhaps took a bit more pleasure than was strictly professional in slapping her across the face with the pistol. That settled her long enough for me to line up a shot with her head. "Don't. Move."

She stilled, even though her eyes burned with hate. They put me uncomfortably in mind of a certain lunatic Entente mage I'd run into a couple of times, and I had to fight the urge to pull the trigger. Unfortunately for me, I was not quite ready to kill a policewoman doing her job. Not unless it really was a matter of life and death.

"Young. Her orb. Get it. Visha, same."

Samantha tossed her Thompson to Jenny before sliding to the ground next to Sioux. It took her only a moment to snatch out Sioux' orb from within her shirt, grabbing her gun at the same time. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Elya surrendering her own orb to Visha without a struggle. "Check for spares!" I snapped. I was taking no chances. A few seconds of manhandling revealed neither of them carried extra orbs, and they were soon divested of weapons as well as magic.

Once Sioux was disarmed I got to my feet, only to let out a hiss as pain flared up from my abdomen. Just how hard did Sioux hit me? I glanced down... oh. She hadn't punched me. She'd stabbed me with a pocket knife. Another sloppy mistake from me. Just because her combat knife was pinned beneath her, I'd assumed she lacked close quarters weapons. Well, it was too small a blade to be called a proper weapon, but still. Hadn't I personally demonstrated a mage could turn anything lethal?

I could feel the mood in the room plummet as my allies noticed my injury. Before one of them did something I would regret, I spoke with as much authority as I could muster. "We move. Now. No more heroics Ms. Sioux, before letting you live becomes more trouble than it's worth."

"Major, you are inj-"

"Later, Visha. It's not serious." That was a lie, I had no idea how serious it was. But as the blood stain was growing slowly, I could hope nothing vital had been hit. In the meantime, I was still mentally counting down the seconds until the Imperial mages showed. I grabbed Sioux by the back of the neck and shoved her towards the back entrance. "We move. Agent Young, pay off the bar and cover us."

By this time, I'd ended my disruption spell, and switched to a reflex/sensory enhancement to watch out for more trouble. Which is why, as we neared the exit, I clearly understood the words Sioux started to mumble. "O God in Heaven, hear my..."

My encounters with Being X had already turned my feelings toward prayer from indifference to loathing. However, when an enemy mage starts to pray to that so-called deity, I tend to get very, very nervous. In this case, I moved without even thinking about it. My hand gripped Sioux' head, and slammed her head-first into the door jamb. With my enhanced strength that strike should have easily concussed her, but I could feel her magic rise to protect her from the worst of it. She was still conscious, and her lips were still stumbling through the prayer.

I could have shot her. I should have shot her, seeing how much damage one Being X's pawns could do. But I still had some of that instinctive respect for the law that had followed me over from my past life. So instead of pulling the trigger I cranked up my physical reinforcement to the absolute maximum, wrapped one hand around her throat and placed the other behind her neck, and squeezed.

That hit to the head must have done something, because she didn't start to resist until I'd gotten the sleeper hold locked in. And by then it was too late. The choke cut off the prayer and the growing magic immediately started to ebb. She still had quite a bit in her, enough to power her own reinforcement, but I had her pinned. Not that she made it easy, during her struggles she managed to wrench the knife in my gut. Even through the reinforcement spell the pain was breathtaking, and she came within a hair of getting loose. That's when Jenny joined the fray, leaping on Sioux' legs and hindering her attempts to escape. I wanted to yell at her to get away, that one reinforced kick might snap her neck, but I was too busy trying to maintain my hold through the pain. Luckily for all of us, being a divine pawn did nothing for Sioux' mediocre hand to hand skills. In a matter of seconds her struggles ceased as she succumbed to the lack of blood flow to the brain.

I kept up the hold for another five seconds to make sure she was out. Then I pulled the knife out - since the struggle had already opened the wound wider - and studied the growing patch of blood on my shirt. Yes, it was definitely bleeding more. I channeled what little healing magic I knew into the wound to slow down the blood flow and ignored the others' worried queries about my health. My mind was focused on what to do with Sioux.

Killing her was the simplest option. While I still had qualms about murdering a police officer, I was ultimately a criminal wanted for capital crimes, and if Being X was trying to interfere, it meant any of these two prisoners could at any time turn into a magical juggernaut. However, killing Sioux would also necessitate killing Elya, and I was unsure how Visha would react to killing her friend. Sure, she seemed ready to do it now, but people did things in the heat of the moment that they regretted later. It's why I always strove to act with calm reasoning and logic. Besides, according to Visha, Elya had helped her find and warn me about Interpol, so I needed to know why she suddenly had a change of heart. No, for now at least, I wanted them alive. Which meant convincing them of the inadvisability of further resistance.

Reaching a decision, I took hold of Sioux's arms. First with one twist then another, I dislocated both her shoulders. That should at least slow her down. Everyone in the room stiffened at the sound of bones popping out sockets. Sighing in tiredness I turned around. "Tell me... Elya, was it? Do you feel like trying something as well?"

A quick headshake was good enough for me. We'd already wasted enough time. Samantha had caught up with us and it was time to go. My reinforcement allowed me to carry Sioux without much difficulty, and as she regained consciousness I kept one hand on her neck to choke her off at the first sign of prayer. Fortunately, the pain from her arms seemed to take the fight out of her for now.

We had to get off the street, and I was not interested in trying to sneak our prisoners into our hotel. Good thing Elisabethstadt was an industrial town. Plenty of homes and apartments stood empty during the working day, and breaking into one presented minimal difficulty when you could magically pick locks.

As soon as we were off the street, Visha started in on me. "Major, you need a medic..."

"Not yet. I've slowed the bleeding, and the wound's only a couple of inches deep. We can take care of it later. For now, the kitchen's yours Visha. Why don't you have that talk with your friend. I'll speak to Sioux in the bedroom." Splitting up prisoners was basic interrogation protocol.

"All right Major. But be careful. Sioux hates you. Apparently you killed her father."

"Really?" I glanced at the furious eyes of the girl. "Huh. Small world. Young, with me, I need someone to bandage me up."

Looking around, my eyes landed on Jenny. Right, there was a very long conversation I needed have. One more thing on the list. "We'll speak later," I said to her. "For now, why don't you keep lookout."

"Like old times, huh?" muttered Jenny, but she headed for the door. On the way out though, she stopped and looked at me for a long moment. "You know, I think this is the first time you've ever shown me your real face."

I blinked and realized I'd yet to restore my disguise. Neither had Visha. Before I could come up with a reply, Jenny was gone. I did note she hadn't envisioned any surprise. That's another thing I'd have to ask her about. I hated feeling ignorant, and yet it was clear I'd missed a LOT of things lately. Like the fact that Samantha Young didn't seem bothered about taking orders from me either, even though she should only ever have known me as Jennifer Ecks.

Once we got to the house's tiny bedroom, I tossed Sioux on the thin mattress. The young woman groaned in pain as the movement jostled her dislocated arms. As she closed her eyes and hyperventilated, trying to get the pain under control, I took off my own shirt so Young could start wrapping bandages around the wound.

After a moment Sioux' eyes fluttered open and she looked at me, her eyes immediately sharpening to a furious glare. Well, at least she seemed lucid.

"You've put me in a bind, Miss Sioux. Logic dictates the simplest solution is to disappear both you and Miss Roth. Not only do you know far too much about me, but you also came very close to hurting innocents with your recklessness. Alas, I am not quite comfortable with murder. I suppose I'm looking for a reason not to kill you. Do you have anything to say to help me make up my mind?"

She scoffed. "The Butcher of Arenne, shy to murder? What kind of sick joke is that?"

I sighed. "If you are from Interpol, you will have read my file. You know what my response is to that particular accusation, as well as any other accusation you care to make regarding my wartime activities. So I will not waste my breath. Do you have anything new to say?"

"Yes. You should surrender. At least you will get a fair trial. Unlike what would happen if your countrymen got their hands on you."

"So I can spend the rest of my life in a jail cell or a padded room? Besides, the Imperials aren't even close. The last time they tried..." I trailed off for a moment, my tired brain finally adding up two and two. "You weren't going by the name Madelaine Smith, were you?"

The way she twitched told me I'd guessed right. I couldn't help the laugh that broke free. "Oh dear, I actually heard about that mess in Colombia. You know, I actually felt bad about the Empire almost killing you? You have my sympathy."

"Very funny. How long do you think you can keep running like this?"

"Oh, I think I'm in it for the long haul."

"Not much longer. People are noticing." Her eyes narrowed at me. "It's only a matter of time before we figure out your sponsor, and then all these corporations whose skirts you hide behind will drop you like a hot rock."

I couldn't help but stare in shock. My sponsor? The fact that she was here with Jenny and Samantha meant Interpol had at least figured out my link to Velvet Iron Protection, but what sponsor? Was she talking about Lena?

Sioux smiled triumphantly at my surprise. "Oh don't look so surprised. There's no way you could have accomplished everything you have without backing of some kind. Interpol knows this. Sooner or later we will figure out who it is, at which point all your support is going to dry up. However, if you do come in willingly, you might be able to negotiate leniency in exchange for giving up the traitors supporting you."

"It's only treason if you're working against the government." I corrected her absently. After all, in all my dealings neither I nor my clients had ever acted directly against their respective states. In Colombia my employer was the state.

Sioux made a complicated face at my correction, but I didn't care. I was too busy turning over the idea that I apparently had some kind of mysterious sponsor. In the end, while I'd like to encourage this misconception, I couldn't see any way to do it without further scrutiny being drawn to my corporate sources of income. I had to find some way to deflect. So I said, "I feel as if I have been insulted. I am one of the best mages in the world. You really think there is such a shortage of people willing to hire me that I have to rely on the charity of a sponsor?"

"So what, you are just being generously compensated for services rendered?"

"Of course. I earn my keep. Though you will understand if I don't discuss the details." Let her think I was some kind of mercenary. After all, for Velvet Iron and others I had primarily acted as a security specialist. At least I now had a reason to keep this one alive, it was better for me that Sioux go back to her masters with the suggestion that I was a free agent. It was even true, in a way.

"So first in America, then Colombia, and now Africa, you're just going where the money is?"

"Indeed."

"So much for patriotism, huh?"

"I spent years being a patriot. It only earned me condemnation. So I decided to try being a bit less exclusive with my services."

I was willing to answer more questions, but Sioux just seemed to content herself with glaring at me while thinking furiously. Good, let her think. I didn't know how invested Interpol was in this theory of a sponsor, but having their field agent report otherwise could only help muddy the waters. As the Albish like to say, confusion to my enemies.

The conundrum of the Interpol agents eventually solved itself. Visha had filled me in on her conversation with her friend Elya Roth. Apparently, Elya was not involved with Sioux. She claimed that she'd located us completely independently, and was only here to reaffirm that I wasn't acting against the Empire. Apparently my involvement with an American orb maker had made Elya worried that I might be giving up the secrets of quad-core tech, which was more than what she was willing to tolerate in the name of friendship to Visha.

It certainly sounded plausible for a motive as to why she had pursued us, but only an idiot would believe she wasn't coordinating with Sioux. The idea that two completely separate Interpol investigations would catch up with me at the same place and time strained the bounds of coincidence. Elya probably just didn't want to seem as implacably hostile as Sioux.

Still, what Visha had told her had actually dovetailed neatly to what I'd been trying to convince Sioux of. Visha had adamantly defended my honor, assuring Elya that I'd only ever worked with the Americans on single core orbs and that I had never gone directly against the Empire. I had no trouble confirming both statements to Elya while further hinting that I was simply moving around trying to make a living.

The more I thought about it, the more dangerous this idea of a sponsor was. It might just lead them to my Jasmine Smith identity, and that would be a disaster. Best to release them both back in to the wild after impressing them with my independence.

Of course, that didn't mean I was going to release them right away. I still had this business deal that I ought to see through. So I had Emilie source some sedatives, and now she and Samantha were keeping watch on the pair of sleeping beauties until it was time for us to decamp. Koenig had also managed to get in touch with me, and told me the city's mages had investigated the magical disturbance we had caused, but the bartender had proven less than helpful and now they were on alert but didn't seem to know any details. I guess Samantha had given the bartender enough money after all. I'd even gotten a doctor to take a look at my wound and stitch it up properly.

With the immediate emergencies taken care of and the meeting a couple of hours away, I finally had time for that conversation I'd promised myself with Jenny. It did not go the way I had expected.

I stared at Jenny in horror. Just how much trouble can one teenage girl get into?

Drug smuggling! Gun running! General hooliganism! It was as if she was bound and determined to take Murdoch as a role model - which in retrospect only made sense as that gangster had been someone she had looked up to during a very impressionable time of her life.

No, I'd always suspected she'd turn into quite the hellion in her teenage years in spite of Lena's best efforts. Of course, what I hadn't expected was for Lena to throw up her hands and buy Jenny a ticket to Africa so she could annoy me instead. Visha would later observe with much amusement it was like a frazzled mother ordering an unruly child to report to her father for punishment.

This was, of course, absurd. Lena might have adopted her, but she was too young to be anything other than an older sister to Jenny, and I was not even that. Still, my army experience had taught me quite a bit about discipline. By the time I was done chewing her out, Jenny knew just how badly she'd screwed up. I left her in no doubt that the rest of her summer vacation was going to be a most educational form of hell.

While Jenny pondered her life decisions in her room, I turned my attention to the real source of my shock and indignation. It seemed, in spite of my efforts to the contrary, I was now truly an international criminal.

How did it come to this?!

According to Jenny's confession, she'd managed to get involved in a fake prescription racket in New York through some of Velvet Iron's clients. And the drugs these fake prescriptions were being used for were being supplied by Sunset Botanicals. Two of the companies I had helped found were now helping to set up the Colombian drug smuggling rings that had been so infamous in my past life.

But Sunset and Velvet Iron could at least pretend ignorance of what their clients were up to. That was not the case for Cold Steel. They were directly and unashamedly involved in flouting the Kaiser's edicts on firearms in the Congo, and had even roped in a sixteen year old girl to help smuggle the goods into the middle of a war zone!

For a moment I tried to console myself that at least Household Magicks was running a clean operation. Then I remembered that 'Madelaine Smith' had infiltrated them to locate me. Which meant my one legal operation was also the one under closest scrutiny from law enforcement. While also being closely associated with the Mayor of Jersey City, who was the definition of a crooked politician.

The worst part was, I could see no way of cleaning them up. With Interpol so close behind me, I'd be going on the run after today. There's no way I could devote the time and attention that would be necessary. And trying to do it at a distance would just likely lead to a revolt from all my executives who were expecting fat bonuses from all the profits they were earning.

I was still reeling from this revelation when the time came for the meeting between Cold Steel, Black Diamond, and the copper miners' representative.

To my extreme shock, that representative was none other than Lieutenant Vooren Grantz. After the example of the late Bergmann I knew that corruption had found its way into the Empire's African garrisons, but I was still disappointed to see the formerly moral Grantz moonlighting on his job. Still, acting as a commodity broker was better than a hired thug. Or so I thought. Now that my suspicions had been aroused, I asked a few probing questions, and the truth came out in short order. This wasn't a legitimate deal at all, but rather an acquisition of illegally mined material.

I felt like crying. Black Diamond was a company in its infancy! Only a few months old! And yet, in one of its first major deals, it was effectively acting as a fence for stolen goods.

For a brief moment, I was tempted to reject this crooked deal. It had never been my intention to be anything other than an honest businesswoman. But then I felt a great frustration welling up in me. What did it matter, in the end? It was clear that in this world controlled by Being X, I was never going to have a peaceful life just relying on the system. I followed all the rules in the army, and ended up a wanted war criminal. Now my attempts at finding an honest trade had been corrupted to this illegal mess.

Then another thought struck me. Did it really matter if my companies all ended up crooked? After all, compared to what I was already accused of, a little theft and smuggling hardly mattered. And since I was so distantly involved, any court would have a hellish time proving my guilt. If Lena and Vargas and all the rest were willing to risk their necks to put more money in all our pockets? Well, they were adults. It was their decision. My conscience was clean.

I felt a serene peace come over me. Truly, all I had to do was frame the problem correctly, and the solution became self-evident. Even for this deal, I was simply here to negotiate the final details. The deal itself was already approved by their respective CEOs, and any guilt was on their heads. I no longer hesitated to give my approval.

With that last detail taken care of, it was time to disappear. Whatever happened with my companies, I was determined to find the peaceful life I had been chasing. And I knew just where to find it, at least for a little while.

July 4, 1929, Elisabethstadt, Imperial Congo

Elya sat down blearily next to the bed. Being forced to take sedatives by amateurs had left her with a splitting headache. Even now, a full day after regaining consciousness, she was still feeling the after-effects. At least she was better off than Mary, who had both the hangover and both shoulders dislocated. Lying on the bed, the injured girl had been brooding ever since she regained consciousness.

"How are the bandages holding up?"

Mary made a noise that might have been positive.

Elya sighed. "Stop brooding. You actually got close to the right person. That's better than anything anyone else has managed."

"I should have just shot her when I had the chance."

"We don't have a kill on sight on her yet. In fact, Interpol can never shoot on suspects unless accompanied and permitted by local law enforcement. You did the right thing, Mary."

"What good is the right thing if it lets her get away?!"

"Well, for starters, the two of us are still alive. Or do you think Serebryakov would have let either of us live if you had succeeded?"

"You didn't even try to fight!"

"Because it wouldn't have worked. I'm not a combat mage, not really. And neither are you."

"What? Yes I am!"

"You're trained as one. But tell me Mary, exactly how many people have you actually killed in a fight?"

"Well... I've fought enemy mages."

"Good for you. I haven't."

Mary stared at Elya for a second. "But... you're a front line veteran!"

"Yes. As an artillery spotter. Anytime an enemy mage took a shot at me, I'd fly fast in the other direction and leave him to the actual combat mages. And even that was just for a few months. Then I was reassigned to Intelligence, and haven't fired a shot in anger since. Face it Mary, neither of us are capable of actually arresting her without all the garrison there to back us up - and I've told you what the garrison's like in this town. More likely to shoot us than them."

Mary fumed silently for a while, then spoke again. "Did you get the alert out?"

"Sure. For what good it will do. Degurechaff got out of Londinium with no money or weapons. Now she has both plus allies. I'm not holding my breath."

The silence was now a bit more companionable. Then Elya brought up something Mary had mentioned shortly after they woke up, "You really think Degurechaff is being backed by someone in the Imperial government... but not the Emperor?"

Mary eyed Elya warily. "You don't seem all that upset."

"Well, I certainly don't believe that she's done everything she has just to try and make a living. For starters, that's a plot twist from her movie," replied Elya, lips twitching. "But... an Imperial faction? I didn't get anything like that from her."

Mary frowned. "It would explain the ruckus she's started in the Congo. Plus, there was one thing she said."

"Oh?"

"Most of the time, she was careful to say the same thing she told you. But there was one point where she seemed a bit more unguarded. Where instead of carefully picking her words, she just blurted them out. It was when I called her sponsor a traitor, and she replied that 'it's only treason to work against the government'."

Elya nodded. "I see. That's just speculation though, and very tenuous."

"You think I don't know that? But I'm not going to stop looking. I will find out the truth."

"I'll admit to some curiosity as well. So, I take it we're joining back up with Captain Strong after you heal? At least the Captain will be relieved to see us both in one piece. Whether he'll still be relieved when you tell him your theory..."

"He'll get over it," was Mary's swift response.