Okay. I owe you guys a huge apology for not updating this fic for so long, but family and work problems both loomed large
All sorted now though (mostly, at any rate).
I'm not sure there's anybody still out there who remembers this, but for those who do...I sent Jen chapter 14 a while ago, but given how busy she's been lately, I thought I'd post it here as well
Once it's up on the site I'll delete this message.
Chapter FourteenThe two of them lay entwined in each other's arms, feeling deliciously relaxed and sleepy.
"Kev?"
"Mmmhmm?" Kevin raised his head drowsily, not bothering to open his eyes. He felt his naked back break out in goosebumps as Alana drew her fingernails lightly down it, tracing patterns in the patina of sweat that had formed there.
"Did you get these scars in the Tetra Grammaton?"
Another shiver, one that had nothing to do with pleasure this time, coursed through him. Sensing the sudden change in mood, Alana pulled away.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Kevin opened his eyes enough to glance at her and forced a smile. "You didn't tell me you were trained in the intuitive arts."
"I'm not. I'm female; we wrote the book on intuition." Alana shrugged. "I was just curious, that's all. What happened to you?"
Kevin looked away. "I got kicked through a window when I was on excursions in the Nethers."
"Just the one?"
The acolyte shrugged. "Yeah, well, I landed on the glass and had to roll out of the way of the fight."
"Then what?"
Kevin rolled over to face her again. "Do you interrogate all the guys you sleep with or am I just lucky?"
Alana coloured and looked away, mumbling something that Kevin didn't quite catch.
"Say what?"
"I said you're the first, okay?" Alana repeated, somewhat irritably.
The acolyte blinked.
"It didn't feel like I was the first," he said stupidly, then regretted it as Alana shoved him hard enough to almost send him off the bed.
"Very funny, Kevin Halls! And just how many people have you had sex with? I didn't think Grammaton agents had it off that often."
An impulse that he didn't understand told Kevin he ought to lie, to claim he'd had dozens – no, more like
hundreds – of previous lovers, but this was squashed (albeit reluctantly) by his own frank nature.
"None," he admitted. "Flirtation isn't exactly on the Librian curriculum."
Alana reached out to caress the acolyte's muscles, glancing down at his six-pack and back up at him with an appreciative glint in her eyes. "Maybe not, but working out sure seems to be. How often do they do physical training in that Monastery of yours?"
"Five hours a day. Why?"
"Five hours a
day?" Alana rolled off to stare at him.
Kevin shrugged. "More or less. PT's usually held from two til eight, but we get ten minute breaks every hour."
"And none on Sundays, right?"
The acolyte frowned slightly. No non-agent had any idea how the Monastery worked; even sweepers weren't permitted to observe.
"How did you know that?" he said aloud. There was no real suspicion in his tone – the fact that Alana knew he was free on Sunday afternoons was hardly a threat, and might even work to his advantage if he played his cards right – he was simply curious.
"Oh, we've got a Cleric who says he's willing to—" Alana began, then broke off abruptly and clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh Christ, Kev, I didn't say that!"
"Say what?" Kevin said.
"That we have a—" Alana started to say again, before Kevin stopped her mouth with his own.
"Say what?" he said again, once they parted.
Alana looked up at him, eyes shining. "You know what? I'm really glad you joined the Resistance, Kevin."
She realised she'd said the wrong thing even before Kevin stiffened under her; there was a sudden drop in temperature.
"Who the fuck said I'd joined?"
Bewildered at this sudden change in attitude, Alana's forehead creased in a light frown as she stared at him.
"Well, nobody. I just assumed—"
"You assumed wrong then!" Kevin shoved himself off the bed onto his feet and started hunting on the floor for his pants. Fuck! How could he have been so
stupid? He'd risked his life coming back here and for what?
"Kevin?" Suddenly feeling vulnerable, Alana drew the blankets up to her neck, covering her naked body. "Kevin, did I say something wrong?"
The acolyte's head snapped up to stare at her, eyes so cold that she pressed herself back against the wall.
"It's Halls to you, and even then you're pushing your luck." Boots, where were his fucking
boots? Kevin dropped to the ground, peering under the bed, then emerged long enough to glare at Alana. "Where did you hide my boots?"
Alana swallowed. "They're where you left them, Kev...Halls; outside the door."
"They better be." Yanking his top on so violently he felt one of the seams pop, Kevin pulled the door open. Usually in the Underground a pair of boots left unattended wouldn't be there for very long, but word had spread about this particular acolyte and nobody had dared disturb them.
Grabbing them, Kevin braced his back against the wall and yanked them on, then seized both his guns.
"If you shoot me, you'll have the whole Resistance down on you," Alana stated. Now it seemed that Kevin was going to do nothing more terrible to her than walk out, she was recovering some of her poise and even managed a glare. "And if you think you're walking
back into my bedroom—"
"Now why the
fuck," Kevin said almost pleasantly, "would I want to do
that?" Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest as though this was nothing more than a friendly chat and smiled so coldly Alana blanched. "I have to hand it to you, you were good. You almost had me fooled. Congratulations. Tell me, how much did Jurgen pay you for this?"
Understanding now, growing angry in her turn, Alana sat bolt upright.
"What, you think this was some kind of fucking set up?"
"The operative word being
fucking," Kevin agreed. "How much? Or did you volunteer to do it for free because you're still clinging to the Resistance's screwed up dreams of a better tomorrow and a bright new world?"
Alana fumbled by the side of the bed briefly, then one hand came up holding a shoe. Hurling it at the acolyte, she shouted, "Get the hell out of my room, Kevin Halls!"
Kevin hadn't bothered to duck; the missile had hit the wall a good three feet to his left. Pushing himself off the wall, he met Alana's killing stare with one of his own.
"My pleasure!"
Kicking the door open again, he stormed out and slammed it behind him with such force it bounced open again.
Now where the hell was the exit?
"Halls!" Jurgen, who had been drawn to this spot along with several others by the argument, caught hold of his arm. "What's going on?"
"Get the fuck off me!" Kevin snarled, twisting free and continuing his stalk down the corridor. Nobody was stupid enough to get in his way.
Jurgen hesitated, then glanced at Alana, who had hastily thrown some clothes on and emerged, fury warring with hurt on her face.
"What's going on?" he repeated.
He was expecting a variety of answers, but not the hard slap around the face he got. Glaring at him, tears streaking her cheeks, Alana shouted, "You and everyone else in this place with a dick should be publicly castrated and then sent down for CI and processing, Jurgen!"
Jurgen stared at her in a somewhat bemused fashion, not least because Alana had shouted most of this down the corridor. Whirling on her heel, the young woman stomped back inside her room and slammed the door so hard it quivered in its frame. A few seconds later, the sound of muffled sobs drifted through the air.
Footsteps heralded Mary's approach, concern written in every line of her face.
"What just happened?"
"Ask her!" Jurgen pointed to Alana's door. "She's the one who upset him."
He was ready for it this time – Mary and Alana shared the same kind of temperament – and caught hold of the hand that arched towards his other cheek before it could make contact.
"Don't you start! Alana's already cracked me one, and all I did was ask her what happened!"
There was a long, long silence, then Mary said, "Do you...you don't think Halls might have...well..." Her voice trailed off and she shifted her feet embarrassedly.
Jurgen rolled his eyes. "The word you're dancing around is
rape, and no, I don't. However big an asshole that guy is, I don't think he'd go down that path."
The door to Alana's room opened again and its occupant emerged long enough to yell, "And Jurgen doesn't have the fucking
brains to do what you just suggested, Kevin Halls!" Glaring at Jurgen and Mary with no trace of embarrassment, Alana marched back inside and slammed her long-suffering door again.
Glancing at Jurgen – who had prudently stepped out of arm's reach when Alana had come out the second time – Mary frowned perplexedly.
"Just what was
that all about?
Outside in the Nethers, Kevin was running, racing around and occasionally over the rubble that littered the area. He was fast by acolyte standards, something that had often given him the edge in Gun-Kata training.
A sound from off to the left caused him to swerve wildly and very nearly crash into a wall that was still reasonably intact before his brain had time to process what had just happened.
Was that a rebel? Mind racing, Kevin tensed, ready. His vision was almost nonexistent there; the sun was high in the sky and even with his dark glasses it was painfully bright.
He wasn't far from Libria; he could see the gates on the horizon. Even out of breath, he thought he could still get through them before anyone could catch him.
On the other hand, Kevin thought grimly as he slid one gun noiselessly into his hand,
why take a chance?Moving silently away from his cover, he closed his eyes, counted to three and then leapt out into the open and came within half an inch of blowing Andersen's head off.
Apparently oblivious – Kevin had landed as quietly as he'd moved – the other acolyte continued picking his way through the trash and broken masonry. He was heading in the direction of the Underground, although Kevin was certain this was just coincidence; if Andersen had really known the location of the Resistance, he'd have sold them all out in a heartbeat.
Watching him, Kevin hesitated, unsure whether to
Let him go, something inside him whispered.
He'd do the same in your shoes.The acolyte considered this briefly, then dismissed it. He knew what happened to Grammaton agents once the sense offenders got their hands on them. Not even Andersen deserved
that.
Besides, after what had just happened, Kevin had to admit he was glad to see the other acolyte.
Yeah, and that's something I never thought I'd say about that asshole.Stepping carefully forward, skirting around several shards of dusty broken glass, he caught up with Andersen and grabbed him by the elbow.
"We just keep running into each other out here, don't we?" he said pleasantly.
Instead of looking surprised or angry, Andersen simply scowled at him.
"Oh,
there you are. DuPont sent me to find you."
Kevin snorted. "Yeah? Well, you can tell your handler when you get back that..." He broke off, frowning slightly. "What did you say?"
"You heard. Now get the fuck off me!" Andersen wrenched his arm away, almost dislocating his own shoulder in the process.
Kevin released him almost absently, mind ticking over at a furious rate. Was this DuPont's way of telling him the deal was off? The acolyte wasn't sure, but if it
was, then there was no way he could return to Libria.
"Is he planning to arrest me?" He spoke quietly, more to himself than to Andersen, but the other acolyte still heard.
"Who knows? More importantly in this case, Halls, who gives a flying fuck?" Andersen folded his arms coldly. "DuPont just told me to bring you back in. I suppose he realised a sweeper team wouldn't have a chance against you if you turned nasty."
Kevin's mind started working again, turning this over. He would come through any Prozium test with flying colours, he knew that, but he wasn't sure if DuPont would grant him such a test.
Well, if he thinks he can sink my ship without sinking his own, he's in for one hell of a surprise, Kevin thought with grim humour. He hadn't survived this long to quit now.
Besides, where could he go? The Resistance would probably shelter him, but they'd expect him to earn his keep, wouldn't they? Fair enough, Kevin mused, nobody liked a freeloader, but there was no way in hell he was going down
that road.
"It's not easy being assistant to the Vice-Council," Andersen remarked, and Kevin suddenly realised that the acolyte had been talking all this time. Malice gleamed in Andersen's eyes as he added, "But then I guess you already know that, don't you, Halls?"
Kevin snorted. "Assistant nothing. You're his fucking
pawn, Andersen. And what usually happens to pawns in chess? They get sacrificed."
"I'm no one's fucking pawn!" Andersen snarled. "Least of all DuPont's!"
"DuPont is playing with you, Andersen, get that through your thick head." Kevin turned back towards Libria and started walking, not bothering to check if the other acolyte was following or not. If the deal had been off, Andersen would have let it slip before now. "He's a lot better at manipulating people than you are, and he may even be better at it than me. He's still using you to get to me, just like he's using me to get to you." He paused just long enough for the other acolyte to see it coming, then added, "Or at least, he would be using me if – like you – I had the brains of a shrimp."
The other acolyte sneered openly at him. "Yes, Halls, and let's face it; for
you, shrimphood would be a step up." He shook his head. "So…what? I'm supposed to trust you?"
"That would be pretty fucking stupid of you given what happened the last time we went out into the Nethers together," Kevin answered pleasantly. "We get back to Libria. That's all."
"It damn well isn't!" Andersen darted in front of the other acolyte. "Why should I believe you? I'd be safer with you dead and you know it."
"Yeah, I know," Kevin retorted, folding his arms and staring at Andersen through narrow eyes. "A lot of people are in that situation, and yet –
somehow – I'm still around." A cool smirk appeared on his lips. "You'd better be careful, Andersen. You wouldn't want to end up like acolyte Turner, would you?" When Andersen didn't answer, Kevin shrugged. "I have special dispensation to wander in and out of the Nethers at will. I'm doing a little job for DuPont."
"Does he know about it?"
Kevin snickered. "That was unusually shrewd for you, Andersen. And my answer to you is, ask him yourself."
Andersen returned Kevin's stare with a cold one of his own. "If DuPont sent you out here, why did he send
me to fetch you back?"
Kevin quirked an eyebrow at him. "Like I said, Andersen; ask him yourself."
Andersen looked away, lip curled. Both of them knew he'd do no such thing; his position with DuPont was rocky enough as it was, and the Vice-Council didn't take kindly to having his actions questioned. "Let's get moving," Andersen said eventually, still not looking at Kevin.
One corner of his rival's mouth quirked up in a sarcastic smile.
"After you."
"So you can shoot me in the back? I don't
think so." Andersen gestured towards the gates, just visible on the horizon. "After
you."
Kevin grinned. "What's the matter, Andersen? Don't you trust me?"
"No."
The grin broadened. "Good answer." In spite of his words, Kevin hoped it wouldn't come to mortal combat between the two of them; reporting and/or framing people for sense offence was one thing, but if push came to shove, he didn't think he could actually take his gun and kill the other acolyte.
"Alright," he said, after some minutes had gone by with neither of them making a move, "here."
Pulling out one gun slowly, he emptied the chamber and placed the ammo clip in his belt, then did the same with the other one.
"And that proves...what?" Andersen said.
"I can't shoot you with an empty gun. You go first and if I load my guns, you'll hear it." Kevin stared into the other acolyte's mocking face, hoping against hope that he hadn't just thrown his life away.
Still...if DuPont had sent Andersen to bring him back, then Andersen had better do just that. Kevin didn't think that even Andersen was arrogant and stupid enough to defy the Vice-Council so openly.
Then again, when you applied the concept of
stupidity to Andersen, you were in a whole different league, the acolyte thought wryly as Andersen abruptly turned and started leading the way.
Despite Kevin's misgivings, the trip back to Libria was surprisingly uneventful. The sweepers at the gates didn't seem surprised to see the acolytes; after no more than a cursory inspection of ID, both Kevin and Andersen were waved through into the city. The customary airship was floating gently above them, displaying Father's face in all its glory, and the regular address was taking place in Libria's many plazas. Kevin could have recited it word for word, and wondered briefly what the sweepers would do if he joined in. That thought almost made him grin broadly.
Automatically he started to go towards the Monastary, but Andersen stepped in his path, smirk barely concealed.
"I don't think so, Halls. DuPont wants to see you
now, not tomorrow."
Kevin wondered whether getting a good night's rest was worth antagonising the Vice-Council, then reluctantly decided it wasn't and followed Andersen over to Equilibrium.
]
Chapter 14 should be along...at some point (have final exams in December so am busy revising and finishing last essay *does crazy happy dance*)
I love hearing that people are still reading my stuff ;D
) and I recycled him for Taking Sides.
)
All sorted now though (mostly, at any rate).
Once it's up on the site I'll delete this message.
