by L. Fergus
“Hey, where you going?” the handler called after her.
PL pulled her cloak around her and vanished into the crowd.
The door to the coach opened and a woman wearing a black uniform with silver trim and piping exited. On her stiff collar, silver Eyes of Providence pins denoted her as a Political Bureau officer. She wore a black garrison cap with five stars in a circle around a globe on the side. Her piercing dark brown eyes took in everything. A ring on her left hand sparkled. She turned and helped a second woman out.
The second woman wore a navy blue uniform with gold trim and piping. Four stars on each high collar denoted her rank. Her razor cut blonde hair sat under a peaked cap. A gold globe and anchor on the front denoted her military specialization. On her left hand, she wore a ring that matched the first woman’s.
“Well, Admiral, what do you think?” The woman in black said in a harsh Russian accent.
“It doesn’t look like she’s lost a step. If anything, I’d say her fighting skills have improved since she can’t rely on her abilities,” the Admiral said in a formal American accent.
“Very true. I think we should meet with Kita. I’m sure the promise of leaving her prison for a short time will be enough to convince her.”
“I don’t know, Galina. She can be stubborn.”
“Do not worry, pretty Marine, if she can’t be shown the light, then she can continue rotting in the dark.”
The Admiral nodded. “She’s still one tough bitch. I think even back then an arrow to the neck would have made me pause for more than a second.”
“Enough work for today, Rene. She’s going to need several days to recover. Let us worry about her later. We are here on holiday, after all. Let’s see what our mock medieval city has to offer. I understand it is an experience.”
“There are plenty of other things I’d rather experience.”
“This is as far away from a warship as I can get you.”
“Reports of aliens are coming in from the frontier.”
“You’d rather worry about shadows in space than spend time with me? I’m hurt,” Galina said with a teasing smile.
“Sorry, it’s just strange.”
Galina raised an eyebrow. “We’ve seen stranger.”
“Yeah, and we just let her walk away,” Rene answered, looking in the direction PL had gone.
“Come, pretty Marine. I got us a room overlooking the water.”
“Pulling strings, General?” Rene chuckled.
“Rank has perks and being second in the Bureau has many,” said Galina, taking Rene’s hand and kissing the tough Marine on the cheek. “And you are a wonderful perk,” she added in a whisper.
“It took me long enough to get my head out of my ass.”
“I know Marines. Sometimes you have to hit them over the head a dozen times before it gets through. And, the higher the rank the harder you have to hit.”
Rene laughed. “And here I thought manipulation was your game over brute force.”
“You don’t think I’ve been manipulating you with this body?”
“Maybe…Did Catalina make the trip?” Rene asked with a lustful look.
“Why do you think we’re by the water,” Galina answered in a soft, sensual Russian accent.
“Meow.”
“Marines are so easy,” Galina said, rolling her eyes playfully.
Rene took Galina’s hand. “Lead on, General.”
Together they walked off toward another coach to take them back across the city.
Not far away in the shadows, a tiny woman in a white cloak watched them leave. She turned and collapsed into a point of light and vanished.
PL exited an alley close to the Arabian Canteen in the Amber district. According to the source she’d paid, the medallion maker was in the back, but not for long as he constantly moved. Keeping her head down, she worked her way through the fringe of the crowd.
She saw two noblewomen in uniform: one wore black and the other navy blue. No escorts or guards accompanied them. It’s strange for them to be unguarded. PL glanced at the crowd. When she looked back, they were gone.
PL put them out of her mind and cut across the busy boulevard. With her head turned, PL bumped into someone.
PL looked up. It was the noblewoman in the black uniform. “My apologies, my lady. I’m sorry for being so careless.” How did I not see her?
“It’s all right, raven.” Galina smiled. “My mistake. Please, let us make it up to you. Come, have a drink.”
Raven? Whatever. I need to go. “I’m sorry, my lady. I must meet a friend of mine.”
“It won’t take a minute. We’re visiting, and I’m sure you can tell us what to see.”
“I can’t, my lady. This is a very important meeting,” PL protested weakly.
“They can wait,” Galina said firmly. She took PL by the arm, guided her to a coach, and pushed her in next to Rene.
PL felt a jab in the arm, and the world went dark.
PL woke slumped over a table in a bar. Her head rang like a bell. She sat up in a bar she didn’t recognize.
“Get a good nap?” The bartender said with a laugh.
“I…What happened?”
“You had a right good time with your friends and then passed out. They said you’d cover the tab.”
PL reached into her cloak, searching for her pouches full of money meant for the medallion maker. When she didn’t find any, she searched the ground frantically.
“Someone must have taken my purse.”
The bartender came around the bar and leaned over her. “You downed a lot of beer, girl. I don’t give it away for free.”
“I have money at home. I can go and get some.”
“I’ve heard that one before, sweetie. Maybe we can come to another arrangement.” He went to lift her head, but PL slapped his hand.
“I will bring you the money. You have my word.”
“You’re not leaving, girl. You pay me now or when they finish with you.” He motioned to a table of five men standing up.
“Don’t do this.”
The bartender smiled down at her lustfully.
“I’m not all that pretty.”
“It doesn’t matter what you look like. It’s what’s between your legs that matters.”
PL slammed her foot down on the bartender’s, stood up tipping the table over, and then jumped backward onto the chair. Balancing on the seat and back, she rode it to the floor, kicked it up into her hands and smashed it across the bartender’s head and shoulder.
PL rolled forward onto her back next to the table. With both feet, she kicked the table at the five men. Flipping back to her feet, she jumped onto the bar and kicked mugs of beer at her assailants as she ran down the bar, and somersaulted from the bar toward the door.
A sixth man met her at the door and lunged. She twirled, flaring her cloak, causing the man to miss. PL kicked him in the butt, sending him crashing to the floor. She dashed out the door into a back alley, then jumped, caught a ledge, climbed to the roof, and sprinted across the rooftops toward home.
Dropping down from the roof, PL caught the ledge to her window. She entered the window and slid into her room. Looking around her room, she gasped. All of her stashes were open.
She dove for the nearest stash and found it empty. She scrambled to the second one. It too was empty. Everything was gone—her bedroll, food, sword, bow, money, and most importantly, the ring. For the first time ever she felt like crying. It would take years to make that much money again, and she would be stuck in this nightmare of a city. Unable to bear the thought, PL collapsed onto the floor and sobbed.
“Why are you crying?” a sweet, but sinister, feminine voice asked.
PL looked up and frantically tried to wipe her tears away. “Who’s there?” she called softly.
“Why are you crying?” the voice said again. “Did a friend or family member die? Did your partner or lover leave you?”
“I…No…I…” PL looked around the room.
“I’m not out there. I’m in your head.”
“No, you’re not,” PL said aloud, putting her hands over her ears.
“I am. Go ahead and plug your ears. It won’t matter.”
“No…No…No…” PL cringed. “I can’t have another curse. Why now? What did I do? I can’t afford to be cleansed.”
“You’re not cursed, far from it,” said the voice. “In fact, you’re blessed. I admit this is probably my fault. I told Galina and Rene where to stick their offer.”
“What offer? Who are you talking about?”
“Those two women who abducted you. You’re living in an elaborate prison, sweetie. Built to hold us.”
“Why? What did I do?”
The voice chuckled. “It’s not what you did, but what I did.”
“Then what do they want with me?”
“Oh, to be young and naïve again…Nah, forget that. You and I, child, are the same person. You are just me, missing the good stuff. And here I am.”
PL shook her head violently. “No. I can’t be going crazy. I can’t.”
“You’re not going crazy,” said the voice. “This city was built to hold our body. It was patterned after our youth. I wish we could remember more, but those two twits have everything sealed.”
“Why build a city to hold one person?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember what we did. I only know this much because those twits kept running their mouths during our little lunch session.”
“Is that why I blacked out?”
“Yes. Galina and Sheppard shut you down and brought me out. If you’re curious, they wanted us to fight for them in some war. They said they have the power to give back some of our abilities. I told them they could go slag themselves. That’s when they tried to lock me back up and bring you back.”
“Why didn’t they lock you up?” said PL.
“Because they think we’re a moron, that’s why. I don’t know how they did it the first time. We were probably unconscious, but this time I kept the door from locking all the way.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Our mind is a hard place to control. I just thought about something we did today. It acted like a handgrip. All I had to do was pull, but many memories are still locked up. We’ll have to figure out how to free them.”
“Why do I want to do that?”
“You’re not interested in where you came from and what you’ve done?”
“I…Sometimes,” said PL.
“You don’t ever wonder why you’re so fast and strong or about your perfect balance. Why you're so skilled with a sword, bow, and hand-to-hand combat? You’re not curious about those nubs growing from your back? All those scars came from somewhere. Did you ever wonder why you liked watching the pretty girls and ignore the men? There’s a lot to us. I don’t know much more than our name, Katrina Marie Logine, or simply Kita. What have you been calling us?”
“PL.”
“That’s unusual. Why?”
PL explained about the ring.
“We have to get it back,” said Kita.
“Why? We don’t know who has it.”
“Everything in this city is planned. Whoever gave us that ring wasn’t playing by the rules. It might have been why this place was raided. If it’s important to them, then it’s important to us.”
“But we don’t know where it is.”
“If I was a betting person I’d say Galina has it stashed somewhere until they depart. They don’t leave for two more days. So we have to act fast. Where do her Political Bureau cronies stay?”
“I don’t even know what those are.”
“Where do the guard details of the nobles stay when they’re in town?”
“There’s a barracks in Ana district.”
“No, too far,” said Kita. “They’re by the water.”
“Then Roo district.”
“Those names sound familiar,” Kita mused. “Then we start there.”
“We’ll never make it before curfew. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Since when do we worry about the rules?”
“If we get caught they’ll kill us,” said PL.
“Then make sure we don’t get caught.” Kita sighed. “I can’t believe I was ever this young and cowardly.”
“I’m not a coward.”
“Ok, you’re right. Not-a-Coward just fears getting into trouble. You’ve got the skills. Just let them try and stop you.”
“Why should I do this?”
“You want to sit here and cry?” said Kita. “Or do you want to get back at who did this?”
“That’s what you want.”
“You want out of this city. Together, we’ll get out.”
PL stood up. “What have I got to lose?”
“Nothing,” Kita replied. “And everything to gain.”
PL hid in the shadows of a house watching a patrol. Her destination lay across the street.
“Why do we want the apothecary shop?” she asked Kita.
“Supplies.”
“I thought we were breaking into the guardhouse.”
“What do you do to get in and out without being detected?” said Kita.
“I—I don’t know. Knock them all out from behind?”
Kita chuckled. “That works if you have the element of surprise and few enemies. My guess is the hidden area has at least three men on duty and houses twenty or more. That doesn’t include the city guard on the street level. According to you, that’s sixty-six, half on patrol, half off duty.”
“All good reasons to not go in.”
“What we need might be in there, so we go in there,” Kita retorted.
“So, what do we need in the apothecary shop?”
“Chemicals and other supplies to knock out our enemies and create diversions.”
“You know how to do that?”
“We know how to do that.”
“Why do we know how?”
“I can’t recall,” said Kita. “I’m sure there’s a reason.”
“Are you sure this ring is worth it?”
“It was given to us for a reason. Let’s go find out why.”
“But, I’ve looked at it a thousand times. What has changed?”
“I’m here,” said Kita.
PL watched the patrol turn the corner.
“Let’s go,” Kita ordered.
PL darted across the street. She jumped from a street vendor table to an awning, landing on a windowsill. The window was locked. She jumped to the next window, but it was locked, too.
“They’re all going to be locked,” Kita told her.
“So how do we get in?”
“Locks are only to keep amateurs and opportunists out. We’re professionals.”
“We are?”
“Because we know how.”
“How?”
“Take a piece of straw and slip it between the windows to lift the latch,” said Kita.
“That’s the professional way?”
“The professional way is whatever works and doesn’t get us caught. And, why did you break into the second story?”
“I always travel by rooftops,” said PL. “And there aren’t any hidden windows in the back.” She slipped inside, tiptoeing past a sleeping couple to the stairs. She stepped on a board, and it creaked. The man in the bed snorted and then rolled over.
“I’ve got to teach you to walk, too?” Kita hissed.
“I’m not a thief,” PL hissed aloud.
“Who’s there?” the man from the bed asked sleepily.
“What do I do? There’s no place to hide,” said PL.
“Next time, remember you’re talking to a voice in your head and not to the guy in the bed,” said Kita. “Jump up to the ceiling above the stairs and brace yourself.”
“Won’t I get caught?”
“Nobody looks up.”
PL bounced off the wall and braced herself against the wall and ceiling. The groggy man struck a
candle and stumbled under her. She turned up her nose at the smell while shutting her eyes from the blinding candle.
“Weird. Our eyes should have adjusted automatically,” said Kita.
“What do you mean?” said PL.
“Never mind. Let’s let this fool go back to bed,” Kita said as the man thumped back up the stairs. He blew out the candle and went back to bed.
“Watch where you step on the stairs,” said Kita. “Some of those steps made noise.”
“I was listening,” said PL, annoyed.
“So which ones squeak?”
“Ah…”
“The third, fifth, and ninth.”
PL sighed. “I can’t believe I’m a thief.”
“I can’t believe you save people for a living.”
“I have talents. Why not use them to save people?”
“Why not use them to help yourself?”
“I am, and other people in the process.”
“You’re not charging enough to save people like that, rich bastards,” Kita scoffed.
“I charge the highest in the city.”
“For what we do, it’s not enough. You took an arrow to the side and in the neck. The nobles aren’t worth that. It’s easier to steal it. Save getting hurt for important stuff.”
“What’s more important than making a living?” said PL as she crept down the stairs.
“Power,” said Kita, “is everything.”
“What kind of power?”
“Power comes from lots of places: Knowledge, family, money, fear, loyalty, influence, manipulation.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not in a position for any of that stuff. What do we want again?”
Kita gave PL a list of stuff to find. Under Kita’s tutelage, PL made the different types of bombs.
“How does this work, exactly?” said PL.
“The flash paper burns completely and leaves no trace. The same goes for the powders. We want them waking up completely confused and having no idea what happened,” said Kita.
“Is this a thief trick?”
“I don’t know. Normally, I say we should kill all the guards, but right now, discretion is the better part of valor.”