Phantom Hunter

by T. C. Edge

“Well, that’s not strictly true,” he said. “We did mean to scare you. That was the whole point.” His smile widened again. “It’s an initiation, Chloe,” he added. “Welcome to the Crimson Corps!”

  He stepped forward, unshackled her wrists and ankles, and pulled her off the bed, the three of them forming into a little triangle. Chloe’s confusion was beginning to fade, though her guard remained up. She wasn’t used to this sort of behaviour. Truth be told, she didn’t quite understand it.

  Moving to one side of the room, Tanner fetched up a bottle of scotch from a table. He filled three glasses and returned, Nadia inspecting Remus as he did so. She appeared quite taken by the little drone.

  “He’s awesome,” she said in her southern drawl, eyeing up Remus. “Ragan told us a little bit about him. Sorry to net him like that. Didn’t want you two fighting back. It’s all just a joke.” She lowered her voice. “Blame Tanner. He’s a child at heart.”

  “I heard that.” Tanner returned with the whisky, his smile twinkling. He handed the glasses out, then shrugged as his eyes met Chloe’s. “Maybe she’s right. I got a kiddie in me who likes to play, but who hasn’t! Mostly I’m dead serious.”

  His expression reformed, taking on a far more thoughtful and sombre slant. He held it for a moment before bursting out laughing again.

  “Yeah, he’s never serious,” said Nadia, deadpan. “Boy ain’t ever gonna grow up.”

  “I like to balance things out,” said Tanner, laughter fading into a whimsical smile. “The world’s so damn dour. I don’t wanna add to that.”

  He reached out with his glass. Nadia followed. They looked at Chloe and waited, Tanner cocking his head.

  “Well, Miss Phantom, let’s have it. Touch glasses, and we’ll drink. You never joined a toast before?”

  Chloe’s glass came forward, joining Tanner’s and Nadia’s.

  “Better,” went on Tanner.

  The glasses met with a little clink. Before Chloe could retract, Tanner spoke once more.

  “To you, Chloe,” he said. “You’ve been on the run for so goddamn long, but now you’re part of the team. Welcome. Glad to have you with us.”

  “Hear hear,” said Nadia. “And your little drone too.”

  “Remus,” said Chloe.

  “Huh?”

  “His name’s Remus.”

  “Right, sure…to Chloe and Remus,” said Nadia, smiling welcomingly.

  All three tapped glasses again, before drawing them back to the lips. Two tipped and gulped in a single, quick movement. The third was more tentative, and coughed as the whisky entered her throat.

  Tanner smiled at the sight.

  “First sip of whisky?” he asked.

  Chloe shrugged, her throat flaming.

  “Well, let’s go for a second,” said Tanner. “It’s always better on repeat.”

  He moved to the table, snatched the whisky, and set about refilling the glasses. They met once more in the middle, and another toast was given, this time by Nadia.

  “To the Crimson Corps,” she said. “The guardians of the future.”

  “The guardians of the future,” repeated Tanner.

  They looked to Chloe, expectantly. She felt the need to join in.

  “The…guardians of the future,” she mumbled.

  They smiled brightly, and her own lips creased into a narrow, nervous grin.

  Another round followed right after, and this time it appeared to be Chloe’s turn to speak. The two attractive members of the corps looked at her.

  “Um…to…” Chloe began, trying to think of something. “To…”

  “Come on girl, anything,” said Nadia, eager to sink the drink. “How about our man Ragan, for saving you?”

  Chloe nodded hurriedly, smiled longingly.

  “Yeah, Ragan,” she said. “To Ragan. And Martha,” she added quickly.

  She looked to her new companions.

  “To Ragan and Martha,” they said in unison, and the third shot of whisky was drunk.

  Turns out, it wouldn’t be the last.

  Two hours later, with the moon now swimming fast across the misty mountain skies, Chloe felt very unlike herself.

  She lay on the bed, propped up on her elbow with her cheek in her palm, intermittently giggling and trying to stop the world from spinning too severely. Across from her, Tanner sat sprawled in a chair. At the foot of the bed, Nadia slouched, completing the trio, her combat suit now discarded, leaving her in a pair of leggings and a t-shirt that showcased her athletic, yet curved figure quite nicely.

  Tanner had clearly noticed, himself dressed rather more sparsely now in knee-length shorts and vest. His arms were tanned and muscular, rippling under the light. He lifted one, brushing a hand through his blond locks, and crafted his eyes upon Nadia, then Chloe.

  “Damn am I a lucky boy,” he grinned, his voice smooth and slurring just a tad. “What have I done to deserve this, spending the evening in the company of you fine women.”

  Chloe chuckled. Nadia rolled her eyes, then looked over at her.

  “He’s such a charmer, ain’t he, Chloe? You know where his dirty mind is taking tonight, right?”

  Chloe shrugged innocently.

  “Oh, girl, you got plenty to learn.”

  Tanner’s smile was turning suggestive.

  “Come on ladies, we gotta live while we can,” he said. “What better way to live than to…”

  “Don’t listen to him, Chloe,” cut in Nadia. “He’s got a reputation that precedes him. Here it is, arriving.”

  She stood from the bed, marched over to him, and grabbed the bottle of scotch from his hands. He held on for a playful moment before letting go.

  “Spoilsport,” he whispered as she retreated.

  Filling Chloe’s glass, and her own, Nadia sat back down, the bottle now empty. By this point, they’d moved past the need for toasts, and were merely sipping when they felt the desire for it. That desire had grown increasingly powerful for Chloe with each new refill. Now, her head was something of a blur and her words coming out with less structure than normal.

  She looked at Tanner, at his rippling arms, and noted the shape of a long scar down his inner left bicep.

  “How’d you get that?” she said, staring.

  Tanner lifted his arm, and flexed nonchalantly, displaying his impressive figure.

  “These guns?” he grinned, equal measure arrogant and playful. “Natural gift of my genetics, gorgeous.”

  Chloe’s consumption was taking her past the point of embarrassment under Tanner’s flirtatious gaze and parlance. She sidestepped his words and shook her head, pointing with her spare hand at the scar.

  “No, that,” she said. “Battle wound?”

  Tanner glanced across, then lowered his arms.

  “Yep,” he said, “old wound from my days with the Spectres. Someone got a knife through my body armour, big brute of a bloke. Nearly cut my arm clean off. My nanites sorted me out nice and quick, though. Stitched me up from the inside out, the beauties.”

  “Saved me on several occasions too,” said Nadia, joining in. She lifted up her shirt, revealing a series of small, circular scars across her abdominals. “Bullet wounds,” she said off Chloe’s gaze. “Caught a whole load of them in the gut. I’d be a goner without my nanotech, healing me up.”

  “Nice try, Nadia,” said Tanner. “But we all know I got the winning ticket here.”

  Nadia looked to Tanner’s right leg. Chloe followed her eyes, though could see nothing particularly wrong with it. Admittedly, her eyesight wasn’t currently up to scratch.

  “Go ahead then, let’s see your little party trick,” said Nadia, in a manner to suggest she’d seen it a lot.

  Tanner reached down to his right thigh, his shorts hanging down towards the knee. He pulled up the fabric, Chloe watching intently and expecting to see some horrific gash, some horrible unsightly wound.

  She saw nothing of the sort. Just a well proportioned, muscular thigh, if a little more shiny than his left
. Tanner looked at her.

  “You ready?”

  She nodded.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t put you off me, gorgeous,” he grinned.

  Then, gripping his thigh just above the knee, he compressed his leg and twisted. And pulled it clean off.

  Chloe leaned back, gasping.

  “Holy shit…”

  “Yep, that’s what they all say,” laughed Tanner.

  “It’s a prosthetic? So…realistic,” murmured Chloe, leaning forwards.

  “Yeah, got the thing cut right off by shrapnel,” recounted Tanner. “Not even my nanites could sort that one out. No matter, they have great replacement limbs over in the WSA now. If anything, my leg’s much stronger than it was. Got full movement and everything, no hindrance at all.”

  “It’s the best I’ve seen,” said Chloe, admiring the limb. “I’d never be able to tell.”

  “That’s the idea, honey,” grinned Tanner. “Losing a limb wasn’t going to hold me back.”

  “If anything it’s made him worse,” mumbled Nadia. “He’s proud of it.”

  “And why shouldn’t I be? And hell, you didn’t know me before I had it sliced off, so like you’d know.”

  “Fair point,” shrugged Nadia.

  “Anyway, there’s my trump card,” said Tanner. “You got any interesting scars, Chloe?”

  “Um…yeah, I guess.”

  Chloe lifted up her top, revealing the scar along her abdomen that the security guard, Matt, had noticed. The one that set her off on the run again. The one that got the poor guy killed.

  “It’s not much,” said Chloe. “Bullet graze, that I stitched up pretty badly. I got a few other minor ones, but this is the best.”

  “It’s not bad,” nodded Nadia appreciatively, as if having some unsightly scar was a necessity for joining this little gang. “So, it’s not a blown off leg, but check this one out…”

  Nadia stood from the bed, put her whisky glass on the floor, and turned her back on the others. Reaching to her pants, she pulled down on one side, revealing the top of her left butt cheek.

  Tanner’s eyes flared at the sight - not the scar itself, but the reveal of the pale, nude flesh.

  “Take a good look there, Tanner,” said Nadia, arching her neck and winking back at him. “It’s the most you’re ever gonna see of me.”

  “And it’s a good look,” said Tanner. “Sorry, do you even have a scar there…I can hardly notice.”

  Nadia spun around, pulling her pants back up.

  “Such a perv, Cliff.” She looked to Chloe. “What do you think, girl?”

  “Another bullet wound?” asked Chloe.

  “Oh yeah,” claimed Nadia proudly. “Got shot right in the ass one time. Couldn’t sit properly for a month.”

  “Well you can sit fine now,” said Tanner. “Come sit over here with me. Plenty of space for you.” He tapped his lap, his right leg now fixed back into position. The seam was almost invisible, even now Chloe knew about it.

  Nadia proceeded to lift up her glass of scotch, and fling its final contents in Tanner’s direction. He dodged quickly enough for the whisky to miss him, splattering into the wall behind.

  “Hey, it’s a crime to waste good whisky!”

  “I’ll make an exception for you,” returned Nadia.

  The two entered into a brief bicker, as Chloe sat watching. She hadn’t spoken a great deal that night, but she hadn’t needed or wanted to. She’d sat, and listened, and taken it all in. It was a camaraderie that, deep down, she’d longed for.

  It was, she was quite happy to admit, the best night she’d had in many years.

  She smiled and rested back against the bed, the scotch now drawing up a heavy sense of fatigue. It gave her a mellow feeling that was unrecognisable, a rare sense of relaxation spreading through her limbs as she shifted her position and got a little more comfortable. Even Remus, relaxing in her pocket, appeared a little merry, as if he’d been overindulging too.

  With these two, neither Chloe nor Remus were on guard any longer. They were relaxed, at ease. You might even say they were happy.

  And then the door suddenly began banging, and Chloe sprung to life. She looked right over as it opened up, so ready for action, even now. When she saw Ragan, however, a new feeling swamped her.

  She’d never seen anything quite so delicious.

  His eyes, frowning heavily, sparkling blue and yet framed by darkness. His jaw, firm, cluttered with thick black stubble. His body, tall and strong, set into an authoritative stance.

  The sudden sight of him had her losing her breath. Even Remus woke, peeking from her pocket, similarly entranced.

  “Goddamnit, I might have known.”

  Ragan’s words came out as a rebuking grumble, and were directed at Tanner, and quite rightly so. He stepped into the room and shut the door, shaking his head as he did, and eyeing the empty bottle of whisky on the bed.

  “You three been having a good time?” he asked, picking the bottle up. “Jeez, Tanner. Eighty percent proof. How much has Chloe had?”

  Ragan’s eyes came for Chloe, tucked up at the end of the bed. She tried to dismiss the longing look in her eye, to shape up. She failed, and could only turn away.

  “Just that bottle. Between us,” said Tanner. “No harm done, Ragan. Come join us. I got another stashed away somewhere.”

  “Join? Some of us have work to do. What if the call came down the line now to head off after Mikel? You think you’d be effective in this state?”

  His eyes worked across the occupants of the room. Chloe suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed, the emotions exacerbated by the drink.

  “Ah, leave off, Hunt,” said Tanner. “You know how it works. We need the strong stuff to feel any effects, what with our nanites. They’ll sort us out in no time, clean up the booze in our blood.” He looked over at Chloe. “No hangovers, gorgeous. Best perk of being nanotech augmented.”

  Chloe giggled, and caught a sudden stare from Ragan. It softened upon meeting her. A smile built instead on his face.

  “You having fun?” he asked her softly.

  She nodded.

  “Then I guess I’m OK with it.” He looked to Tanner. “This one of your initiations? Don’t tell me you snatched her from her room?”

  Tanner looked sheepish. Nadia nodded.

  “Don’t worry about it, Ragan,” came the Texan’s smooth voice. “We’re just showing Chloe here a good old time. Hell, she deserves it. Right girl?”

  Chloe nodded, still mute.

  Ragan thawed further at the sight of her, and moved to sit on the bed. He fingered the bottle of whisky, and Tanner took the hint.

  “There he is. Let’s get this man a drink!” He stood from his chair, moved towards a cabinet, and fetched a fresh bottle and fourth glass. He poured it full, though Ragan made a gesture for him to stop halfway. Tanner didn’t. Then he did the same for the others, and Chloe gingerly propped herself back up, wondering if another glass would be a good idea or not.

  It seemed she had no choice.

  “I can only stay for one,” said Ragan. “Things are hectic over at command.”

  “And what’s the latest?” asked Nadia, suddenly serious.

  Ragan sipped his drink before answering.

  “Zip,” he said. “Not so much as a whiff.”

  “Well then, stay for more than one,” said Tanner. “What good are you doing over there anyway?”

  “Just keeping my ear to the ground, Cliff,” said Ragan. “We still need to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.” He looked at his drink. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Colonel Slattery wouldn’t be best pleased…”

  “Colonel Slattery can suck it,” announced Tanner. “Guy’s as dull as a nun in the sack.”

  “Still, I need to get back soon. Just came to check on Chloe really.”

  “Chloe’s fine and dandy. Right?”

  Chloe caught Tanner’s look. She nodded again.

  “There you go, she’s safe and sound wit
h us,” went on Tanner. “And we’ve started this bottle now. You know my rule.”

  Ragan shook his head, trying hard not to be drawn in.

  “Don’t start what you can’t finish,” went on Tanner. “Goes for everything. A fight. The act of love making,” he glanced at Nadia, then Chloe with a sultry smile. “And, of course, drinking. Bottle’s open now, Hunt. I’m not stopping till it’s done.”

  “You’re incorrigible, Cliff,” smiled Nadia, shaking her head. She looked at Ragan. “But he’s got a point.”

  Now Ragan was under the staring eyes of three people, all commanding him to stay. The temptation to do so was almost overpowering. He took another sip of his drink, which Tanner took to be confirmation.

  “Hell yeah!” he said. He passed Nadia the bottle. “Fill him up, babe!”

  Ragan pulled his glass away, and laughed to himself. He seemed to whisper a few internal words, like some mantra a recovering alcoholic would utter to stop from going too far.

  His hand hovered, the scent of the scotch so tantalising. But more, it was being here with Chloe, smiling so bright, that was calling for him to stay. His eyes worked to her in a glance. Hers were on him, curled slightly drunkenly, but with a new freedom inside them, a new joy.

  “Go on then, one more,” he said.

  Tanner clapped.

  “Good man. Sink that one first.”

  Ragan obliged, gulping down the several measures in his glass. The stuff was strong - Tanner was known for supplying only the best - and quickly set about dousing the stress in Ragan’s body. The sound of the liquid, swirling as Nadia filled his glass, was an all too appealing one.

  “So, what you been doing anyhow?” asked Ragan, inspecting the occupants of the room once more. “Playing strip poker or something.” He referenced the bundle of discarded combat gear on the floor.

  “If we’d been playing strip poker, both these fine ladies would be naked by now,” said Tanner.

  “Then good thing you haven’t,” said Ragan.

  “Totally agree,” said Nadia.

  Chloe, taking in the sight of both of these handsome men before her, wasn’t of quite the same mind. She didn’t want to strip down herself, of course, but the idea of seeing Tanner, and particularly Ragan, lose a few items, had its appeal.