Bez idly stared out the viewing window in the control room of the Nautilus. They were orbiting the planet of Ceti 6; it was orange-brown in color, a giant rocky sphere that circled the twin suns of the Ceti system. She turned from the window, surveying her friends and crew.
Matrix sat in his co-captain’s chair, rapidly solving and scrambling a Rubik’s Cube with a childish grin of pleasure on his face. His shaggy black hair hung casually over his face, shadowing his blackish eyes.
Bez turned her attention to Sigma.
She was sitting on the ground, playing a game of Solitaire with a holographic playing deck she had purchased at Ceti 5. Her blue eyes quivered slightly as they skimmed over the deck. She tucked a strand of light brown hair behind an ear distractedly.
Bez shook her head very slightly and smiled; with all the technology at their fingertips, it was still the Old Games that entertained them the most.
Bez scanned the room for Thande, surprised to find him.
During the down time between jobs, he usually practiced his form in the cargo bay. His nine foot form scarcely fit in the control room; when his crest rose fully, it bent slightly against the ceiling. Bez studied Thande. At times, she was amazed they had befriended him. Nothing about him suggested anything merciful, or for that matter friendly, in the slightest. Thande’s kind was distinctly reptilian, bearing the face of a battle-hardened raptor. Barbed black teeth curved characteristically over the lower lip. The claws that tipped their fingers were kept short, a mere inch, for practicality. The talons on their feet were another matter; these were long and thick, possessing a sharply Jurassic air.
Thande was watching the group intently, his sunken yellow eyes moving evenly from human to human. His long tail lashed smoothly through the air; the foot-long scythe that tipped it narrowly missed clipping the walls.
Bez’s reverie was broken by a sharp beep from the consol. She turned to face it. “Well, Matrix?” She asked.
Matrix set down his Rubik’s Cube. “It’s a job.” He said, and then smiled. “And this one is asking especially for bounty hunters.”
Bez raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Let’s hear it.”
Matrix nodded. A holographic image appeared over the viewing window.
Bez frowned. “Hey! This guy scrambled his features.”
Sigma had deactivated her cards and had joined Bez and Matrix at the consol. She frowned .“What’s so wrong with that?”
Bez looked at her tersely. “It’s just annoying, okay? Play message.” The image leapt to life.
“If you are receiving this message, I honestly hope you can help me. I have-”
“And his voice? What is with this-”
“Bez, shut up!”
“-already tried the police.” Here a distinct note of bitterness entered the man’s voice. “They did their best- but couldn't catch them.”
Bez frowned. “I'll have to look into that..." She muttered.
“And so, I turn to you: bounty hunters. I’ve heard some pretty nasty things about you-”
Bez scowled. “Oh we’re always the villains, aren’t we?”
“Bez, shut up!”
“Can it, Sigma.”
“-but I think you’re just the kind of people I need. I need someone to track down two cowardly thieves and see that they receive proper punishment.”
“Get on with the “why”.” Bez urged mentally.
“These two are responsible for serious injuries done to someone I care about. I will tell you only what you need to know. My grandmother-”
“Interesting.” Bez thought.
“-was out shopping. They came suddenly and brutally. After stealing what few possessions she had on her-” A deep note of rage was steadily building in his voice. ”-they proceeded to beat her.” His voice was trembling with it now. “She is ninety-two years old. It was cruel and sick and nothing has been done about it. I ask now for your help-I can pay a fairly large sum of credits to whoever gets the job done. If you accept, all the information I have on the criminals will be sent to you.” The image froze, flicking back to its original position.
Sigma studied the image for a moment before announcing “Well? What do you think?”
Matrix turned to Bez. Her expression had become a deeply serious one; he had only seen it a few rare times.
“We’re taking this one.” No one argued. “And we’re taking it free.”
Matrix became curious, but knew to resist asking. There were times when Bez had reasons that only Bez needed to know.
Sigma nodded.
“Great.” She scowled. “Those jerks.” Bez smiled somewhat bitterly at this. “You’d think that with what all we’ve seen this wouldn’t seem like such a terrible crime to us.” She shook her head. “But no. It’s still the small ones that get you.” She tapped a few panels on the touch screens. A beep signaled their acceptance of the mission. A few seconds later, another beep, much higher in pitch, announced the arrival of the information promised in the transmission.
Bez tapped another touch screen. A new image appeared on the Holo-screen. There were two pictures bearing the names of the criminals and corresponding profiles. “Matrix, plot the coordinates for Earth.”
Matrix complied as Bez and Sigma studied the profiles.
Thande remained silent and largely immobile, excepting the rhythmic swaying of his snaking tail. His vision was exceptional; he could read the profiles with complete ease in his position at the far end of the control room.
Matrix smiled. “Engaged.” He said.
Bez nodded satisfactorily. “Good.” She glanced at him. “Study up. I plan on bagging these dirt-bags in a day, two days at max.” She smiled grimly. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll pick up a few of their crimi friends.”
******************
They left the Nautilus, Bez studying the crowd intently. Only a fool would attempt to hide at the Docks; then again, they weren’t dealing with particularly intelligent criminals. The off-ramp slid closed noisily behind Thande.
People swarmed around the docked ships, looking for friends, family, and various goods.
Bez turned to her friends. “All right. Let’s get the mission straight. We’re after two women: Renee Nichole Lemire, age 21 and Kari-Lynn Klopp, age 39. I assume you memorized enough of their profiles to go this one by memory.” She waited for affirming signals. “So, that wraps the first bit up. I propose we handle this efficiently: we split up. Me and Thande, Sigma and Matrix. Do what you can. We’ll keep each other updated using the Burner com.” She smiled. “If one or the other team finds our target, I’m sure we all expect that team to incapacitate them until we meet up. Everyone got it? Good.” This being said, the group split, heading in opposite directions.
Bez glanced back to see Matrix and Sigma disappearing around a corner. She turned to Thande. “Have you ever hunted something sentient before, Thande?”
Thande looked down at her. “Yes.” For the briefest moment, something close to shame flitted over his face.
Bez noticed it. “What was it?”
Thande remained silent. Bez knew he wouldn’t say anything about it, so she moved on. “Well, I happened to snag a bit of gear belonging to one of our crooks. So, you give it a sniff, and we;ll be off."
Thande looked down disdainfully at the scrap of T-shirt Bez held out.
Bez rolled her eyes. “Come on, just one sniff. Then we can dispose of it.”
Thande’s lip curled slightly in disgust. He held the scrap in his palm, bringing it up to his face. He inhaled deeply. For a few moments, he did not respond. Then, he silently handed the scrap back to Bez. “They reek of fear.” He said.
Bez grinned. “Ah right! The hunt is on!”
A smile twitched on the corner of Thande’s lips. “This is no Hunt. It is far too easy. This is an Y’myg-d’ny.”
Bez cocked her head. “Translation?”
“Extermination.”
Bez’s smile turned wicked. “Let’s go squish some roaches.”
Thande nodded and headed off. Bez followed close behind him. Their progress was quick; no one stood in Thande’s way. Bez removed her Burner from its holster. She tapped a small icon on the barrel of the gun. “Sigma, Matrix: Thande’s on the scent. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Great, Bez. Matrix thinks he can isolate their specific bio signatures, but its tricky work. Looks like you’ll be beating us there.”
Thande stopped.
Bez looked around curiously. “Don’t be too sure. I’m confident in our scaly friend, but-”
Thande started forward again. “-this one’s still up in the air.” Bez followed after Thande.
“No lie.” This time, Matrix responded.
“Ah, Matrix. How goes it?”
“Um…I’ll get back to you on that. Can we talk later?”
Bez raised an eyebrow. “Sure. Your call.” She tapped the icon again and holstered her weapon. “How close d’you think we are?”
Thande glanced briefly over his shoulder. “Very close. Her scent is strong.”
Bez nodded. “Excellent.”
They advanced steadily through the thinning crowd. Thande stopped. Bez trotted to his side.
“That building.” He didn’t point at it; a slight inclination of his head told the direction.
Bez smiled. “I’m going to enjoy this.” She grabbed her Burner and the pair moved stealthily to the building.
It was a small warehouse. Bez stopped in front of the door; it had no locking mechanism. She smiled. “That’s the great part about these old sections. Way easier to bust up.”
Thande nodded.
Bez looked the door over again. “This is going to be way too easy.”
***************
Renee looked over at Kari-Lynn. “What a haul, eh?” She asked with a sneer.
Kari-Lynn looked up briefly as she rifled through the contents of the old woman’s purse. She swore fluently. “Stupid crone. We’ll be lucky if there’s anything besides hard candy and-ha!” She flourished a plump wallet. “I bet the old hag keeps all her money in here.” She opened it greedily and sneered. “Hey, get a load of this.” She held up a small booklet full of photographs.
Renee snatched it from Kari-Lynn’s hand. She snickered. “What a sap. These kids look like freaking retards.” The pair guffawed loudly.
A shuddering bang resounding from the door cut them off sharply.
Renee darted a suspicious look at Kari-Lynn. “No one followed us here, right?”
Kari-Lynn scowled. “No.” She picked up a crowbar lying on a nearby crate. “Not that it matters. Whoever comes in won’t know what hit ‘em.”
Renee smiled cruelly, finding her own crowbar. “We’ll give ‘em-”
The door burst open. A woman with dark red hair rushed into the chamber, brandishing a Burner.
Kari-Lynn took a swing at her, but she deftly moved aside and caught Kari-Lynn’s jaw with the butt of her gun.
As Kari-Lynn stumbled backwards, she kicked her sharply in the stomach and brought the gun down on her head. Kari-Lynn fell like a stone.
Renee shrieked indignantly.
“One down, Thande!”
Renee rushed at the red-head, swinging her crowbar wildly. She skidded to a stop as another person entered the room. “Oh my-” Amidst a torrent of curses, she stumbled backwards, tripping over Kari-Lynn’s discarded weapon.
The woman looked down at her and smiled dryly. “Crowbars?” She shook her head. “Well, this is a historic sector of town, so I suppose you did the best with what you had, but…really?” She looked over at her reptilian companion. “Thande, will you please secure them?”
He moved quickly into the room, grabbing Kari-Lynn from behind. He held both her hands securely by the wrist in one of his own.
Renee attempted to crawl away.
Thande darted across the room, jerking Kari-Lynn sharply. In a swift motion, he lifted her off the ground and caught her hands.
The woman smiled. “Thank you kindly.” She looked at Renee and Kari-Lynn carefully, then nodded. “Yup. You’re the ones.”
Two more people hurriedly entered the room. The woman looked over at them and smiled. “Ah, Matrix, Sigma. Nice of you to show up.”
Sigma frowned. “Ah, come on, Bez. We did our best.”
Bez nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” She looked back at her prisoners. “Well now. Technically, we’re supposed to bring you to justice. That’s it. But you know what? There’re some things I’d like to get settled before then.” Bez walked till she was less than a foot away from them. “How’d you do it?”
Renee started.
Thande tightened his grip on her wrists, causing her to wince in pain.
“What d’you mean?” She asked, a defiant tone in her voice.
Bez looked directly at her, smiling mirthlessly. “I mean, how did you do it? The robbery?”
Renee swallowed nervously.
Kari-Lynn scoffed. “Shut up, will you? You’re all talk!”
Bez turned to face her. “Oh? I would have that your bruised jaw and thwacked head would have proven otherwise. Then again, I suppose your thick skull protected your limited brains.” She stood back from them. “I want to know the details. The nitty-gritty of your wondrous crime.” She began to look casually around the room. “For instance…what kind of weapons did you use?” Her voice sounded casual, but her face betrayed a tense anger building gradually. “Did you use your bare hands?”
Sigma and Matrix now flanked the two criminals, offering them no means of escape.
Bez continued. “Or maybe you got creative?” She laughed suddenly. “Oh no! I know what you did! Clever, clever. After you stole her purse, you beat her with that, didn’t you?” She stroked the barrel of her Burner, tilting it casually in the direction of the two crooks. “Or maybe…” She deftly picked up one of their forgotten crowbars. “you used a crowbar.” She hefted it menacingly, looked to Sigma and Matrix, and nodded. In a smooth motion, she lifted the crowbar and brought it sweeping down towards Kari-Lynn’s skull.
Renee let out a terrified, ear-splitting shriek. She was sure Kary-Lynn would be killed or at least given a brain injury, and that she would be next.
Bez stopped an inch away from contact.
Kari-Lynn’s eyes were tightly shut, her face contorted with fear.
Bez smiled. “You can open your eyes.” Kari-Lynn did so, hesitantly. Bez threw the crowbar aside. The smile left her face to be replaced with a serious, dark expression. “Let me get this through your heads: I’m not going to kill you. I’m not even going to hurt you that badly. Because that’s what separates me from you. I do what I have to, to keep people like you where they belong.”
Renee spat. “If you cared so much, you’d be a police officer! You wouldn’t do it for money!”
Bez turned her baleful gaze on Renee. “What do you know about it anyway? You robbed and beat an old woman!” With that said, she abruptly and forcefully slapped Renee. “You stupid maggot!” She turned to Kari-Lynn. “And you! You have a family, good people that care about you-though I really can’t see why.”
An idea struck Renee suddenly. She began to cry. “Stop it, please! I know what I did was wrong, I know! But-but-I wasn’t strong enough to fight the addiction-please! If you turn me in, I’ll lose my daughter!”
Bez stared at her, trembling with anger. Then, slowly, unexpectedly, she began to smile. She began to laugh, long and hard. “Oh that is rich! You pleading for your daughter. I will tell you this: you don’t deserve her-what the heck did she do? If you think for one second that that sorry drip is going to fool me-don’t waste your breath. I’ve seen people in worse situations than you come out alright. Thande, make things a little more uncomfortable.”
Thande willingly tightened his grip, causing the duo to cry out.
"Matrix, Sigma: do what you need to do to these two so we can dispose of them.” Bez stood aside, folding her arms assertively.
Matrix was the first to come forward. He looked at the two of them for a few minutes. “I’ll admit, you don’t look as bad as I thought you would. Don’t think that means I’ll go easy on you.” He took a few steps forward. “The way I see it, you two need to be broken. A very efficient way to do this is through pain. So…” He closed the distance between them and swiftly pinched at a few nerves along their upper spines. He smiled. “It won’t be too bad at first. Comparable to an itch. But…it’ll get much more-unpleasant-towards the end.” He stepped back.
Bez smiled approvingly. “I’m impressed, Matrix.”
“Thanks.”
Sigma stepped forward. She was the smallest in the bunch.
Renee and Kari-Lynn glanced at each other and smiled. “Wow, they sent a midget to punish us.” Renee started.
“Ooooh, I am just terrified.” Kari-Lynn added.
Sigma took a deep breath.
Renee laughed derisively.
“When we escape these idiots, let’s hit her for what she’s got.” Kari-Lynn scoffed.
“Heh-whatever that is. She’s like a rag doll-look how wiry she-ooourrf!”
Sigma punched again, this time in the throat. She repeated the stomach-throat combo on Renee. She looked at them angrily, grabbing their throats firmly. “I’d shut up if I were you-you can run your mouths all you want in prison!” She squeezed their throats, hearing the pair gurgle slightly. “And I am not short.” She let go of them and wiped her hands on her pant leg, a disgusted expression on her face.
Bez walked in front of the pair again. “As you can see, you’ll bully no one here. Thande: let’s take out the trash.”
Thande shoved the women forward. Sigma and Matrix followed from behind. Bez led the way out into the street. She turned back sharply to Renee and Kari-Lynn. “I almost forgot: Matrix, would you go back there and retrieve the purse and its contents?”
Matrix nodded and ran back to the warehouse. Bez gave a warning look to the pair and continued to walk. Matrix joined them shortly and handed the purse to Sigma.
Bez watched the crowd carefully. Something seemed slightly off about it. She spotted a small group of people watching them. “Sigma, Burner at the ready. Matrix, your preference.”
The group started towards them; one member of the party was pointing at Renee and Kari-Lynn.
“Thande, can you hear what they’re saying?”
From a distance away, a gruff female voice was heard, "There they are, looks like someone's already got 'em, I sure hope those two are catchin it."
Thande nodded. “They’re talking about the Dyil’b-dy’b, the thieves.” A smile fleeted over his face. “They seem to like them as much as we do.”
Bez rested a hand on her Burner. “Let’s not take any chances, h’m?” She watched them approach. Soon, they would be in easy communicating range. “If they have a bone to pick with this Despicable Duo, fine by me. If they want something a bit more dangerous…” She shrugged. “Well, we’ll let them have it.”
They waited for the group to close the distance between them. They halted a few yards away.
Bez looked at them cautiously. She squared her shoulders and spoke. “Well, what can we do for you? Within reason.”
"We've come to confront the two gutless, sadistic skin-wastes that robbed, beat and left an innocent 92 year old for dead." said an impassioned woman of average hight, who stood in back of a very short blonde. She had a crystal clear voice, dark eyes and a head of curling black hair. She added in a menacing tone, "And for me, this is especially personal."
"That's right," said yet another woman, the one with the gruff voice. She was the tallest in the group, with fierce looking dark eyes, copper complexion and a mop of long wavy black hair.
The first woman who spoke, drew closer, and stared at the two robbers with a sickened expression. "It doesn't matter if you were on drugs or in debt to some lone shark. What you did was cowardly beyond belief!" she ranted at them.
"Screw you, lady!" Renee tried to put her off.
"Shut your mouth!" the woman yelled back forcefully, fixing Renee with an ice cold stare. "I understand how drugs can take control of people, but not to this extent! You chose, planned out, ambushed, and you caused terrible bodily harm! And that, I do not understand! And that's the difference between you and me - I don't understand how it could've been done at all, YOU - " she came as close to a roar as she possibly could on that last word, "just don't care, just as long as it was done so you could get your damn dope fix!"
Several in the newcomer group looked stunned for a moment, never in a thousand years did any of them imagine Heidi could get this angry.. There were looks of approval and nods within a few seconds while Heidi stood silently trying to calm down, but continuing to give Renee and Kari-Lyn the death stare.
"Are you going to kill us with a glare?" Renee asked, trying to make a joke of it.
"It's a good thing for us all that's an impossibility, only I'd have just cause." Heidi flung back venomously. "You won't be laughing like idiots if something like this happens to anyone you care about, or that reminds you of someone you care about - or miss...Not that you're capable of it."
"Wake me up when this is through," Kari-Lynn put on a bored face and yawned.
Renee cackled, and Kari-Lynn joined in.
"I intend to." said Heidi, apparently still unfazed by their bravado.
Heidi turned to Bez and the others, "Did these two factory rejects happen to have the stolen property when you caught them?"
-Bez nodded, smiling dryly. "Yup."
Sigma flourished the purse.
Heidi smiled.
Matrix smiled sadly. "I'm afraid the woman's possessions will need to be sterilized."
Bez laughed. "Unfortunately, yes. When we showed up, Kari-Lynn, aka, the slime-bag, was rifling her grimy mitts through our client's stuff."
Heidi's expression became fierce. "Figured as much and would like to return them to their rightful owner, or at least to a member of her family, if that's possible."
"Screw you stupid wench!" Kari-Lynn began to lose control.
Heidi threw a disgusted glance back at the pair. "I wouldn't use the word 'stupid' if I were you."
"I guess you got their attention now," NT laughed, stepping forward and gloating. "That's right, all of that effort to go down in world history among the world's biggest cowards, and what do you get out of it? Nothing, nada, zip, ziltch, and I haven't dealt with you yet, just you wait."
"Oh, wow, you really should get out more," Renee scoffed, " or at least get an artificial tan, you look like a ghost, doesn't she, Kari?"
"White as chalk," Kari-Lynn teased.
"It's you who are going to get a tanning today," said NT. "And if you think you can outwit any of us here," she scoffed back at them, "by coming up with witless comments about looks, for instance, do you really think anybody's going to expect anything classy or intelligent coming out of your blab-holes? Give it up before your last remaining brain cells die."
"Screw it all!" Kari-Lynn began to throw a tantrum.
NT snorted in disgust. "Big babies." She turned her back on them in disdain.
"I'm sorry about this, we got so caught up in the heat of things that we forgot the introductions." said Heidi. She introduced herself, then Capri, then NT, Pippi, and Ameh.
Bez smiled and nodded sharply. "Pleased to meet ya. I'm Bez, that's Matrix, Sigma, and Thande."
Heidi smiled.
Bez looked menacingly at Renee and Kari-Lynn. "Normally, my philosophy with a job is Do it fast and do it right, but...I think we can sacrifice some time to a worthy cause. Weapons at the ready. Thande, you may release the prisoners."
Thande released the pair reluctantly.
Renee instantly made a run for it. She turned back to smile triumphantly at them. "Hah! Screw you-"
She was swept violently off her feet by Thande's tail. Before she could do more than wuff, Bez trotted over to her and placed her foot firmly on her stomach and tsked at her.
"I really wouldn't attempt that again." Bez waved her Burner in front of Renee's face. "These things aren't set to stun." She smiled. "Oh wait! You probably haven't seen what these can do, have you? Allow me to demonstrate." Bez looked around, searching for a fitting target. "Ah!" She exclaimed. She glanced down at Renee. "You're going to love this." She took aim at a large metal crate. She glanced at Thande. "Would you be so kind as to retrieve that when I'm done with it?"
Thande nodded.
Bez smiled and fired the weapon.
A few seconds later, Thande returned, holding the crate. A neat hole was burned through it, and a few feet into the building behind it.
Bez gestured at it. "And that was a low setting. Plus, you're not reinforced metal alloys. This thing would annihilate you, so I suggest you stay on the wielders good side." She smiled coldly. "Not that that's really an option for you now." She looked up at the newcomers, her smile becoming friendly. "Alright, who wants a piece? They're not going anywhere, so...bon appetite." She stomped firmly on Renee's stomach before allowing her to stand. Prodding her with the butt of her gun, she guided the woman back to Kari-Lynn's side.
Renee began to whimper. "Come on, give us a break!"
Kari-Lynn joined in. "Yeah-we did one thing wrong!" Hoping to appeal to someone's religious side, she exclaimed "Forgive if ye want to be forgiven!'
Sigma shook her head sadly.
"We're not the ones who need to forgive you."
Bez nodded solemnly.
Matrix smiled. "Besides, we're just doing our job! Nothing personal, you understand." He frowned. "Of course, there is the matter of you two being worthless flesh-sacks...." He passed a knowing look to Thande.
Thande's expression darkened slightly, but that was the extent of his reaction.
Bez looked at the criminal pair and smiled. She turned to the other group. "We've already taken a stab at them. Your turn." With a ghoulish smile she added "Do your worst." She stepped aside, leaving Renee and Kari-Lynn open for attack.
Pippi approached them, stomping her feet mennacingly.
Kari-Lynn and Renee shuddered.
Pippi stopped short of stepping on them. "I have a few things to say to you two," she said in a low, dangerous tone, "This forgiveness stuff only applies to people who are repentant, and that obviously doesn't mean you. Would you forgive someone for beating up your own little kids?"
"Of course not!" Kari-Lynn retorted.
"Well, that could happen, you know." Pippi warned. "It's more likely to, considering this drug-driven life-style you've gotten yourselves into."
"So what are you going to do, flap your jaw at us like your friend did?" Renee asked.
"Do you need another demonstration of Bez's weapon again?" Pippi shot back.
Both robbers shuddered.
"I'm not going to do anything physically to you, much as I'd like to wring your sick necks! Because then you would be six feet under, and I would be the one tossed in the slammer. I wouldn't shed a tear if you two died tomorrow. But I hope you get what you deserve, and that wouldn't be a day at the beach."
Pippi stepped back.
"You all go before me," said Capri, "I've got something special in mind.
Ameh whispered something to Capri, who whispered back. Ameh nodded, and took her place for her turn.
"Another midget," Kari-Lynn muttered."
Ameh rolled her eyes and touched her and then Renee. their vision swam.
The next thing they knew, they were blinded. They couldn't see a thing.
"Thwack! Thwack!" came fast, furious whipping sounds.
Soon, Renee began to blubber and yelp.
Then, Kari-Lynn joined in. Each woman was hearing the other getting punished and so they cried out of fear they would get the next whip. Each woman thought the others' cries were a result of being savagely whipped.
In the mean time, Ameh was safely and soundly hitting the ground with a shoe she had removed for the purpose.
"OMG stop! Please, stop!" the robbers were wailing by the time Ameh was through.
Then, they found their vision was restored. Ameh had put her shoe back on by then, so they never did see what their companion had been hit with.
Some of the onlookers were chuckling and laughing out loud.
NT stepped forward to confront them next.
"One day, you'll be elderly and weak, if you don't end up dying young because of your drug habit. Would you think it's fair if someone robbed you?"
"Duh!" Kari-Lynn answered defiantly.
"If you don't want to think about it now, you will think about it eventually!" NT said, then spat on them and turned to walk away. "All yours Capri," she said in a low, sharp tone.
Capri approached them. "Now," she said. One thing wrong, you say. One - thing?" Her voice rose. "1. You do drugs. 2. You've hurt yourselves and your families with this addiction in the past and now. 3. You had kids who are now suffering because of your addiction. But that's not even why you're in deep with us." She turned to Pippi and NT.
They gave her a knowing look and invited Heidi to join them.
all of Capri's companions left.
"I have to warn and apologize to you in advance," Capri said to Bez and companions, "This is not going to be easy, for anyone, it's going to get extremely unpleasant for a while."
"You," Capri scowled down at the two robbers, "Are about to find out exactly why what you did was so wrong. You are about to experience every sensation for yourselves."
She bit her bottom lip, seeming to steel herself. Much as it bothered her to have to do, it was clearly the only and last thing she could think of left.
"What are you talking about?" Renee squealed.
"Duh!" Capri threw the word right back at them.
She touched first Renee, and then Kari-Lynn.
No one could see any motion going on, but Kari-Lynn and Renee felt agony. They could feel the kicks and hits. They heard their bones crack and felt the worst pain in their lives as Capri put them through every sensation of their own beat-down.
The women writhed, moaned, sobbed, and screamed in agony for only a minute, but it seemed like forever to them.
Then, the pain went away as quickly as it had come. They were both white as sheets, shaking, and breaking out in cold sweats by the time the ordeal was over, but otherwise, all right.
No one was snickering or even smiling after this, and if Kari-Lynn or Renee were able to register anything more than what a nightmare they had put an innocent person through, for drug money they now wouldn't be able to keep, they might've seen that even Capri looked rather sick at this point.
But Capri remained stern as ever. "That's the one wrong thing you did, and you just left her there. Unlike you, she'll take a long time to heal and be over the pain, if at all! Do you understand, are you listening, is it sinking in yet!?" Capri said, giving them both a violent shake via magic, without actually touching them.
All they could do was blubber out "Yes," the defiant, smug expressions were completely wiped off their faces.
She withdrew and stood up. "And for the record," she continued in a much more subdued tone, "I didn't enjoy this." She looked down at the robbers. "But you needed the gravity of your depraved actions knocked into your heads somehow."
Capri took out her cell phone and dialed a number. In a moment, she was heard saying, "You can come back now." and she turned off the phone.
She brushed the back of a hand across her forehead, then looked around. "Now,the only thing is to return the stolen property, these two should be thankful just to get a prison cell."
A smile twitched on the edge of Bez's lips. "We're already on the stolen property. We picked up the job from the grandson. We'll meet up and deliver the goods. Thande, secure them."
Capri smiled broadly.
Thande stepped forward and took a firm hold of the duo.
Sigma shook her head sadly, a disgruntled expression on her face. "Are we done with these two yet?"
Matrix shook his head. "Just about. We hand over her possession to the grandson, let him see that these two are on their way to justice, drop them off, and..."
Sigma nodded. "Good."
"And let these two mugs see first hand everything they stole getting returned." NT said, grinning. "That ought to burn their dumb butts!"
"Oh, shut up!"Kari-Lynn yelled, close to tears.
NT tsked at her. "You asked for it!"
Bez looked at the group of Pippi, Capri, Ameh, NT, and Heidi and said "I appreciate you guys showing up." She darted a hurried, empathetic look at Capri. "I think it was just what we needed to show these creeps what they've done. You're more than welcome to tag along and see these two get jailed."
"My pleasure." said Capri, "How 'bout the rest of you lot?" she looked at Heidi and the other two.
"Yes, I'd like to see that," said heidi, she looked at Bez, "Thanks for the invite."
Matrix looked over at Bez and darted a glance at her Burner. He whispered something to her.
Bez frowned. "Yeah, I know-" She hissed. "I lied. But fear and power are the only weapons we have against these people." She removed her weapon and stood in front of Renee and Kari-Lynn. "Perhaps as a consolation prize for getting this far," She began, her voice dripping with contempt."you should know something." She hefted the gun menacingly. "That was the highest setting. Even if I wanted to, and I did, I couldn't have set it any higher. That means no big-badda-boom if I shot you." She smiled mirthlessly. "But the fear was great. That's a weapon we're all used too, isn't it?" She holstered the weapon, glancing at her companions.
"Very impressive!" Pippi said, unable to keep the laugh out of her voice.
Ameh burst out laughing. "No kidding! Oh, and you dweebs can't charge me with assault either, if you were planning on it. I didn't actually hit either of you. I just let you think I was."
"What!?" Kari-Lynn and Renee cried indignantly, and started to jibber several colorful words.
"Come on guys. Let's dump this trash were it belongs." She smiled at the other group. "The invitation still holds: it'll be an honor to have you along."
"Thanks," Capri laughed, and the others showed their acceptance of the invitation in various ways, nods, smiles etc.
They were now on the way to completing their mission.
Bez smiled. "Excellent! H'm...Matrix, you have the coordinates, correct?"
Matrix pretended to think it over. "You know what? I'm not sure."
Bez scowled playfully. "Yes you are. Lead on, my holobotic first mate."
Matrix smiled. "Sure, sure." He started forward, closely followed by the rest of the group.
Kari-Lynn and Renee were cussing colorfully, shouting random phrases about their rights being violated.
"You have some nerve!" Heidi threatened to lose her temper at this.
NT chimed in, and she really let them have it again. "You got that wrong! How dare you whine that we're violating your rights when you are among the worst for violation of someone's rights!" This would've been another serious rant typical of her when she was this ticked off, but then she had to go and add, "If you don't want this foot - " she did a high-step and stamped her foot forcefully on the ground "shoved up your stupid noses, shut up!"
Ameh got a case of the giggles. The bluntness, and the imagery of that was just too funny, and now that much of the anger stress had been released and the culprits were about to be turned in, it was time to laugh.
The two criminals just swore at NT.
She gave them a condescending look, and twirled a finger backward near her temple. The message couldn't have been clearer. They were terminally stupid.
Ameh continued laughing hysterically, until she couldn't stand up straight, and tears started rolling.
Kari-Lynn and Renee fell to simple insults and cussing which was ignored by all save the odd tsk or dismissive "Aren't they just pathetic?" laugh.
Matrix stopped abruptly. "Here we are, my chums and not-so-chums."
Bez smiled and looked down at her Burner. 'I'll let him know we're here." She tapped an icon on her Burner. "Hello? Yeah, it's us. I think we have something you'd like to see." She tapped the icon again. She smiled, adressing the group. "He'll be out in a-"
She was cut off by the sound of a door thrown open violently.
A young man hurried towards them. He looked furious. "You two!" He pointed accusingly at Renee and Kari-Lynn. "You're the sleezebags! You stupid jerks! I oughta-" He paused, breathing deeply. He seemed to calm down. "Then again, I suppose you've already been punished like that."
"You could always set up a dart board featurin these two," Capri offered.
"Or a punching bag, or even take their picture and tear it up," Pippi suggested, "You have every right to be outraged." she said empathetically.
He looked at them, "Thanks for understanding."
Then he surveyed Bez, Matrix, Sigma and Thande. "I looked into you guys after you took the job." His eyes glinted knowingly. "Very interesting profiles."
Bez shrugged. "What were you expecting? Anyway, that's not important. We wanted to show you these two 'sleezebags' and to return the property they stole."
Heidi nodded emphatically at this.
Sigma strode forward and handed the young man his grandmother's purse. "I hope it's all in there." She said earnestly.
He regarded them warily. "So do I."
Bez frowned. "Well it should be. Thande and I jumped them in the act of dumping it out. I made sure everything I saw dumped out went back in the bag."
The man smiled suddenly. "I suppose I should be thanking you all. Most people wouldn't have thought this was important enough to bother with."
Matrix smiled dryly. "Take a look at us. Are we 'most people'?" He shook his head.
"I suppose not. At any rate, my grandma will be glad to have this back.."
"I'm sure," said Heidi. "I had a grandma once, too," her compassionate face turned quite sad, and she bent her head to apparently get something out of her eye. The others heard the quaver in her voice.
He smiled and waved to them and began to head back to his house. He turned back, frowning. "Are you sure you don't want to be paid?"
The group made various signs of affirmation.
"In fact," Bez began. "we demand it." She began to turn away and waved.. "Are you sure you don't want to see these guys get booked?"
He shook his head. "It's better that I don't."
Bez shrugged. "You're the client."
"All the best," Capri waved to him.
The group headed off in the direction of the nearest police station.
"Are you all right," Pippi approached Heidi and put a hand on her shoulder.
Heidi startled a little, then turned to look at her friend. There were fresh tears running down her face. She nodded.
Pippi put an arm around her.
"Aww, do you miss your granny? Isn't that sweet," Renee tried to make a joke out of this to get even with these people for laughing at her and Kari-Lynn.
Immediately, she and Kari-Lynn regretted it, big time.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!" they scremed in agony.
"One more word out of you and I'll make you feel that all over again and this time, for good!" Capri said sternly, giving them another reminder of what it felt like to be their victim.
It only lasted a few seconds before the pain went away.
They didn't dare try that again with anyone after that.
"I'm sorry this was so hard on you, Heidi," Capri turned to her, "Hard on us all, but I think it was a little more difficult for you."
Heidi nodded. "I'll be all right, thanks." she took out a tissue and wiped her tears away.
They exited the station, all smiling.
"Ah, two more dirtbags behind bars. Makes you glad you became a bounty hunter, doesn't it?" Bez stated.
Matrix frowned. "We took that one for free. Therefore, no bounty, therefore no bounty hunter."
"Oh well," said NT.
"Matrix?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Matrix frowned childishly but became silent.
Ameh looked at Bez, then at NT, laughing.
The others joined in.
Bez turned to the others. "That went rather well."
"I think so," Capri smiled back.
Bez smiled slyly. "You'd make pretty decent bounty hunters."
"Heh, thanks," said Capri, grinning.
Bez shrugged. "Of course, we'd be better..." She gave them a mock salute and stepped back a bit.
"That's probably true," said NT with a bemused grin.
"Say your goodbyes, my crew." Bez started. "Oh! Almost forgot." She turned to the other group. "Do any of you have a..." She hesitated for a moment as she searched for the word. "cell phone? Yeah. Could I see one or two? Super quick?"
"Definitely," said Pippi, and she took hers out at the same time Capri produced hers.
"I do as well," said Ameh, reaching into her pocket.
"I've got it in my purse," Heidi took hers out.
"I left mine at home, I just brought my Ipod," said NT.
"Heh, you and your Ipod," Capri chuckled.
"And you actually didn't need it for once," Ameh kidded. Looking playfully at Bez, Sigma, Matrix and Thande, "She never leaves home without it."
NT giggled.
The next few minutes were taken up with the cell phone exchange.
Bez smiled. "Great. Now if I can just make some adjustments to Matrix...."
Matrix glanced hurriedly at her. "Some adjustments to who?" He asked incredulously.
Pippi and Capri chuckled.
Bez rolled her eyes. "Suck it up."
Capri chuckled.
Bez tapped various sections of his head, occasionally glancing at the phone(s) she held in her hand. She smiled. "Excellent. I'll just finalize this in the ship's computer and we'll be good!" She tossed the phone(s) back to their owners. "You'll find a new contact in there. It connects to my ship's main computer. Call up if you need to."
"Cool!" said Ameh.
"Thank you!" said Pippi,
"Yes, that's a great idea," Heidi agreed, looking sunnier than they had seen so far.
Capri smiled, "Thanks!"
Bez glanced at her companions. "Well? Get on with your goodbyes." She stepped back again.
Matrix smiled. "Real pleasure doing business with you. Maybe we can do it again sometime."
"I was just thinking the same thing," Capri said, smiling back broadly.
Sigma spoke next. "Not exactly, though. Maybe we'll meet up again under more favorable circumstances."
"Yes," Capri broke out laughing, "Mind-meld, anyone?"
There was laughter all around.
Matrix beamed suddenly. "Party on the moon! Party on the moon!"
Bez groaned, shaking her head in horror.
"Well, we haven't got what we'd need for that," Pippi laughed.
"Well, that's not quite true." Sigma said, smiling. "We could lend you some personal atmosphere generators. They sound large, but they're really quite small." She motioned to a small circular pin on her shirt's collar. "Once those were set, you could do pretty much anything on the moon you could do here."
"Oh!" Capri's eyes lit up, "That would be great!"
"Wow!" Pippi looked amazed.
There were positive reactions all around.
Bez smiled dryly. "In our line of work you have to be ready for any situation. You can't bail on a job just because a planet is inhospitable to your species." She looked around. "That it, everybody?"
Thande meerly nodded at the others, but it made the desired impact.
Bez looked up. "Okay, now." She waved one last time at the others. "Seeya later Ameh, Capri, NT, Heidi, and Pippi!" They waved and said goodbye, and wached as she and her companions turned away and began to head to the docks.
As they faded out of sight, a small snatch of conversation between Bez and Matrix could be heard.
"You know, a party on the moon really isn't such a bad idea."
"Matrix-oh why do I bother..."
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