Subject 12

by S. W. Douglas

  "I can imagine," I said, finding myself leaning forward to get a better view down her top. "How did she get the name Scales, though?"

  Mary snapped back to reality, looked up at me, smiled, tilted her head to the side so her long hair fell to one shoulder and exposed her neck, and subtly pulled her shoulders back. "Jenna likes tattoos. She also like snakes. Thankfully she took her pet python with her when she went home because, most likely, I would have ended up having to feed him. Anyway, she has sleeve tattoos of snake scales running up both arms. Someone started calling her Scales, she liked it, and she took to it." She licked her lips and smiled again. She looked a little flushed. "I was told they sent her here because Firebug was one of the few people immune to her charms, but he spent more than a few nights in that bedroom, let me tell you."

  "He ever try anything with you?" I felt compelled to take a step closer.

  "No," she said, leaning back in the chair and fluffing her hair. "Well, once, but I set him straight."

  "Oh?" I found myself standing next to her. I found I was breathing faster than I'd ordinarily would have felt normal at a time like this, but so was she, so that was alright, wasn't it? "What did you do?"

  "He came to me one night and told me he needed to see me in his office. I thought, okay, this is weird, but alright. I said I'd be there in ten minutes, walked in, and he had his pants off. I laughed at him." She shrugged and licked her lips slowly. "He came around the desk and tried to grab me. I kicked him in the junk and then again in the head before I left. He never spoke of it and I refused to be alone with him again." She wiped her forehead. "Is it hot in here?"

  I nodded. "I think it is."

  "I thought so. Well," she continued, fanning herself while she moved just enough that I had a really good view down her top. The fact that she was wearing a lacy black bra wasn't lost on me. "Firebug never tried anything again, but Scales had the hots for me since the day I walked in the door."

  "Do tell," I said, finding my lips had grown rather dry and my heart was beating faster. I wanted nothing more than to touch her skin...

  "She waited till I'd been there a week before she came for me. I was on break, grabbing a quick bite to eat, and in she walks. As soon as she set foot in here... God, I can't believe I'm telling you this!" She leaned back in the chair and looked up at me. "Why don't we just skip the foreplay?"

  My hand moved toward her face of its own volition, my fingertips gently grazing her cheek. Her eyes closed and she moaned softly, her hand reaching up to mine, holding it in place as she rubbed her cheek against the palm of my hand. She brought her head back slightly, kissed the center of my palm, then traced her tongue up the inside of my middle finger. I almost shuddered at the sensations running up my spine. I couldn't help myself any longer. I forced my hand free and held her face stationary as I bent over and kissed her mouth, my lips parting even as her tongue tried to force its way into my mouth.

  She pushed me back so she could stand, her hands running up my arms to my shoulders, to my neck, and finally into my hair. She locked her fingers into some and pulled, a laugh bubbling between her lips even as she kissed me harder. I pulled her hands free and pinned her arms behind her back. She gasped and her eyes went wide. A moment later she moaned and started to grind against me, her chest rubbing against mine like she wanted her top to come off by friction alone.

  Somehow, I'm not sure what forces of nature allowed it to happen, the hiss from the coffee machine starting to run dry startled me. It was enough to snap me back and I had to push Mary away from me. I stepped back and shook myself.

  "Whoa. What the hell are we doing?"

  "I don't know," she gasped. "I don't even like guys..." She looked up and bit her lip. "But I want you to fuck me. I need you to fuck me. Now. Right here." She pulled at her top and popped the top two buttons. "I don't care if we break the table, I fucking need you inside me."

  "This isn't you talking," I said, taking a step back. The aroma if the brewed coffee tickled the back of my nose and I found myself thinking even clearer. "That bedroom must be saturated with pheromones and either I didn't get all of them washed off or you got a good dose of them yourself."

  "I don't care," she said, staring at my bathrobe as if trying to decide the best way to rip it off me. "I want to fuck, I want to fuck you, and I want to fuck you right now."

  The coffee scent continued to fill the air as she ripped her top off. The sight of all that exposed skin nearly sent me over the edge, but I grimly held on. Her bra was black, lacy, and a front-hook closure. I couldn't tell by looking, what with my mind being more interested in just getting the dam thing off and getting it on with her, but there was no mistaking the way she unhooked it and shrugged her way out of it. I had to grab the wall to keep myself from pushing her to the floor and having my way with her... Not that she was going to complain, from the sounds of things.

  As I stared at her well-shaped breasts her nipples tightened --- and it wasn't from an errant blast of cold air.

  She cupped her breasts and let out a low moan that triggered an animal impulse in me I had nearly forgotten about. I was, in a word, torn.

  Four steps behind me was the coffee pot, smelling of regained control and a release from the steel grip on my... from the steel grip I was in. Two steps in front of me was a very attractive woman smelling of vanilla, musk, and sex. So close...

  I stared for what felt like five minutes but what in reality couldn't have been more than thirty seconds. The smell of her tickled my nostrils, drove blood away from my brain, became so strong I could almost taste her, but the coffee got stronger still. In the end, it was that which saved me.

  Though, to be fair, who can say with perfect honesty that they were glad they were "saved" from having sex with a hot, young, willing woman? Well, anyone who likes having sex with women, that is.

  I forced myself to turn my back on her. I could just imagine to look of shock that must have crossed her face as I lunged for the coffee urn, yanked it free, and shoved my nose in it. I didn't care. I needed to get back in control of myself.

  I sucked breath after cleansing breath into my lungs, forcing my brain to settle. All it took were a few seconds of listening to the last few drops from the basket hit the burner plate and hiss away into steam and a couple dozen inhalations before my brain was clear enough I could do anything else. I grabbed the first available mug and poured a goodly amount into it, returned the urn to the burner plate, and turned around to face the half-naked woman behind me. I locked eyes with her and thrust the mug under her nose, concentrating to force the steam up her nose. She reacted faster than me but I still had to hold her head still --- which was rather more taxing than it should have been --- and keep both hands on the mug so I didn't drop it. Apparently the handle had been broken off a long time ago and never replaced.

  Ten seconds, that's all it took before her mind cleared enough she realized what was going on. When she gasped, started to blush, and covered both her breasts with her hands I figured she was better. I set the mug on the table and stepped back.

  "Hold the mug to your nose. I'll get your shirt so you can cover up. Once you get dressed get into the shower, okay?"

  She nodded and contorted herself so neither of her nipples wouldn't be showing as she grabbed the mug, then turned her back so she could straighten up. I almost chuckled.

  She was so... young.

  I'd been in combat with women who would bathe in a cold stream with six men, towel off, and get into a uniform that was dripping wet from being dunked in the same stream to get some of the spattered mud and blood off it --- all while making comments so filthy you wanted to disinfect your ears after hearing them. I'd seen her breasts already. Why was she so worried I'd see them more? Especially after she'd just short of demanded I have sex with her?

  Women. I'd never understand them. Not that I wanted to.

  I snagged the shirt from the floor and tossed it on the table. I turned my back to protect her modesty and listened to her f
umble the thing back on. I saw her bra and picked it up but all I did was dangle it at arm's length. A few seconds later she grabbed it from me.

  "Go get in the shower."

  "Right."

  Apparently the bathroom Mary had chosen came equipped with bathrobes or something because she came back wearing one. I was glad. I'd been afraid she was going to get stuck with a towel, and after the performance we'd put on in the kitchen, the more cloth between her skin and my eyes the more comfortable she'd feel.

  I hoped.

  She might remain very uncomfortable till I left, which would be bad. I needed her help.

  "Let's see what he's managed to dig up, hmm?" She almost purred, which made my eyebrow shoot up. "He's had long enough to reboot and rescan. Hopefully he won't have to do a frame-by-frame search. That shitty computer's done that to him before."

  I shot her a look but either she didn't notice or she ignored me. "Sure thing. Want some coffee?"

  She looked like she considered it but shook her head. "I'm pretty relaxed right now. I don't need to get pumped up again."

  "Alright. Lead on, MacDuff!" The caffeine, if it wasn't decaf, would probably be hitting in a couple minutes if it wasn't already. She'd taken quite a long shower. As it stood for me, though, the hot water and... other stimulation had certainly woken me up enough for the moment. "Do you think I should apologize to what's-his-name?"

  "Probably a good idea. Just don't tell him we almost... In fact, don't tell anyone, but especially not him. He's had a thing for me since he started working here and if he knew you and I had kissed it'd kill him."

  "Thanks," I said, looking at her strangely. Something didn't seem to be adding up. "What's his name?"

  She chuckled. "Troy. He's pretty sensitive about some things, so be careful how you apologize."

  "I'll keep that in mind." We were almost back to the computer room. Compared to the Canton Guildhall, this place really wasn't very big, yet it had a much larger staff. "Anything in particular I should be careful about?"

  She smiled mysteriously. "Probably. But you're a big boy. I think you can handle it."

  "Thanks," I said again, shooting her yet another look. No, something wasn't adding up at all. Maybe it was just an aftereffect of the pheromones or something.

  "Yee-haw!" Troy shouted, jumping to his feet and throwing both arms into the air. "Take that, bitch!" He started to do a dance that could only be described as embarrassing. Mary and I exchanged a look that said we were both going to enjoy it for a moment before saying anything.

  "I take it something good has happened?" My voice cut through his happiness like a hot knife through a plastic sheet and he stopped dancing almost instantly. "I hope pertinent to the situation."

  "Um, yeah. I got the scan run like I tried to earlier and it has ten interesting frames, including the one of that face you wanted earlier." He had turned to face us as soon as I'd finished speaking. He looked at the way Mary was dressed, looked back at me, then at her, and a look of such shock and sadness hit his face that if I'd been a woman I'd have wanted to cuddle him. I wasn't, so I didn't.

  "Mary had a reaction to something she picked up in Scales' room. I told her to go take a shower, which seemed to have cured it." I hoped he didn't ask what.

  "Mmm-hmm," she hummed with a smile. "Quite better now, thanks."

  "But anyway, show me the whole frame, if you'd be so kind."

  So he did. The zoomed-out picture was a little clearer, though his face wasn't as defined. I had no trouble recognizing him, however. He was wearing a black, featureless uniform with a combat vest, sidearm, two knives, and a flexible trauma plate across his chest. It wouldn't stop a bullet, unlike the heavier older brother he'd replaced in favor of it, but it would stop a knife or some shrapnel from an errant grenade. It was probably a compromise. Whoever the commander of the mission was refused to let his boss go out in the field on an operation without any kind of protection and Kinsey wasn't worried about anything short of a nuclear bomb going off, so something that wouldn't slow him down as much came out on top.

  Typical.

  "Give me a copy of that image." The authority dripping off my voice would have made an untrained puppy sit. "Save it to the hard drive, send it to anyone who can archive it locally, and if there's any way to send it to my Guildphone, do so. Do not distribute it to anyone else and do not let it be seen by anyone else. We have no way to know if there's a leak and if this gets out we're in deep shit."

  "I'll get right on that," Mary said, sitting in her chair and starting to punch keys. "I'll need your phone number, Guild number, or Guild ID so I can send it to your Guildphone, but that can wait for a minute. Apparently my computer froze up and lost the connection to his."

  "Goddamn it!" I sighed. "Alright. Good luck getting it to load. Troy, if I may apologize for snapping earlier, I'd like to. Half an hour's sleep after the day, hell, after the month I've had wasn't enough. Even still, I should have kept my temper in check." It galled me having to apologize to this pimply-faced little geek, but he really hadn't done anything to deserve my yelling at him. "I'll try to keep it from happening again."

  "Th-thanks," he said, obviously shocked I was apologizing. "It's not really a big deal." A pimply-faced geek who was really bad at lying. Not a good combination.

  "In any case, if you'd like some coffee there's a pot in the kitchen that's fresh. If not, let's get back to work."

  "Coffee sounds good," he said, smiling shyly. "I think I'll go grab a cup while Mary gets that picture sent off. Would either of you like something?"

  "No thanks," I said, smiling as I stepped aside for him to pass. "If I have any questions while you're gone I'm sure Mary can show me on the other computer."

  "She knows my password," he said with a childish grin. "I'll be back soon."

  "I thought he'd never leave," Mary said after he'd gone. "You did good with the apology."

  "Thanks," I said absently. "Here's my ID card," I added, passing the laminated rectangle to her. "Send that picture as soon as you can, alright?"

  "Of course. I am a professional." She typed away, barely looking at the card. "You should have it on the next update cycle. Depending on the model of your Guildphone that should be in fifteen minutes or five hours. The newer phones are actually on a slower update schedule, if you can believe it. There just isn't enough hardware around to do it any faster for now."

  "Thanks," I repeated. "You alright? You seem a little odd."

  She laughed. "Let's just say I found the shower very... Relaxing."

  I knew when to drop the subject and took my ID back. "So, when you're done with that, how about we look at the other frame captures?"

  "I was going to suggest the same thing."

  Kinsey had screwed up. It really was that simple. He'd allowed himself to be photographed and that meant he could be linked directly to the torture and murder of three Guild members. I could use that number specifically because that was the count on who he'd been recorded flaying alive. Furthermore, several members of the fire team had taken their masks and helmets off and they painted just as pretty a picture as Kinsey had. We had, of course, saved the individual frames and cropped them appropriately.

  Mary had filed them under "Known Hostile Persons" and sent the lot --- except for Kinsey's --- out for processing. She spent half an hour working on the forms and making sure they were all perfect. Apparently the Guild Intelligence section was incredibly anal retentive.

  An hour later an affirmative message came in the form of an e-mail saying some incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo that she translated for me as "Dem boiz be on da list now". I shot her a look but she either didn't see or ignored it. It didn't matter, really.

  She had explained to me that the Guild had implemented a new biometrics program a couple of years back that had about a forty percent positive hit rate and a rather low five percent false hit rate. Once the next update cycle went through at six A.M. all the security cameras under Guild control would include those four new faces i
n their unceasing search, she had said.

  When my comprehension level failed to reach a point that she felt was appropriate she proffered me some literature on it that had been collecting dust in the corner of the cubicle. I read the pamphlet while I was waiting for something to happen even though I'd understood every word she'd said, mostly for something to do other than obsess over our breakroom antics. It told me nothing new and managed to offend me in the process. Now that's saying something. I was so disgusted by it I left the computer room. I found a comfortable chair in a nearby common room, turned on the TV, and fell asleep in less than five minutes.

  Guild Intelligence File 86-09-71C-8

  Submitted to Guild Intelligence Review Board on February 1. Rejected due to non-compliant paperwork.

  Re-submitted to Guild Intelligence Review Board on February 3. Accepted pending review. Reviewed. Clarifications requested on February 4. Tabled.

  Clarifications received on February 6. Reviewed. Clarifications requested on February 7. Tabled.

  Clarifications received on February 9. Reviewed. Accepted. Archived.

  Prioritized intelligence review begun on December 13. Classified Eyes-Only December 15 due to inclusion in Guild Intelligence File 92-45-16B-1A.

  Summary follows:

  PERSON OF INTEREST

  Subject Name: Elija Redgrave. AKA Jack Redgrave.

  Age: Unknown. Estimate 36-39.

  Nationality: Believed United States Citizen.

  Security Risk Assessment: Moderate.

  Photo attached.

  Elija Redgrave was first noticed in Zimbabwe during the CIA mission to assassinate the Confederation members that had infiltrated the government. All four members were eliminated with Redgrave achieving three confirmed kills and was instrumental in eliminating the fourth. Following this unbridled success he terminated his contract with the CIA and began offering is services to the highest bidder. He quickly became a preeminent "Big Game Hunter"; a mercenary specializing in the seeking, finding, and killing of supers. Success followed success and within three years he was among the most in-demand mercenaries available. Suddenly, and without warning, he vanished from the scene and was thought dead till he resurfaced years later with a TBI --- traumatic brain injury --- that affected his memory and rendered him useless to any employer. At the time he claimed to have been in the exclusive employ of an agency referred to as Alpha Zulu, working for a man called Kinsey.