Fic: Black Hearts, Part Nine (R)
Feb. 18th, 2007 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalNotes: Rated R for implied violence, self-inflicted harm, and langauge.
“You want me to be your... ambassador, or whatever... on Jackson's Whole?” Mark said carefully.
“Correct,” Chan said. She swung her feet off the dining table and propped her elbows on it, staring intently at him. That damned artificial eye of hers was arresting to his attention. An evil eye, he thought wildly. Quite literally perhaps. You could hide short range assassination lasers in some remarkably small objects, he knew. “I know how to deal with crooks just fine, even crooks with delusions of aristocracy. But you grew up there, and know the ground. That's an edge I intend to use.”
“There are two problems with that idea,” Mark said carefully. “One, I am persona non grata there. My last visit, while having ended with a tidy profit for myself, also resulted in the death of one of the major Barons and the breaking up of his House. Never mind the damage I had inflicted on House Bharaputra some months earlier. My face will not be welcome.”
“With enough of my bully boys' guns guarding your back, that's hardly an insurmountable problem,” Chan said. “What's the other difficulty?”
He lets his voice drop from his practiced Barrayaran gutturals to pure street level Jaconsonian, “I'm not doing squat for you until my wife is off this ship and in safe hands.”
“You expect me to let go of my one guaranteed lever against you?” Chan asked, then laughed again.
“At least let me see her, so I know she's alive and well,” Mark said, his voice grating, Killer murmuring suggestions into his ears. Calm, stay calm. Stay calm and watch. She's arrogant as hell, she's going to screw up somewhere along the way. She has to.
Chan tapped her fingers on her chin, considering his request, then smiled. “Ask nicely.”
Mark took a deep, calming breath, unclenched his teeth, and asked, “May I please see my wife, Lady Chan?”
“Certainly, Lord Mark,” she said politely, touching her chair's control panel again. The holographic display popped up with an image Kareen, alive and apparently unharmed, pacing in agitation back in forth in an isolated cell. In rage, nor fear, he judged from the set of her jaw and the lack of tear tracks on her face.
“Not good enough,” he said, willing his heart to stop racing, “that could just be a prerecorded image. Let me speak with her.”
“As you wish.” Chan touched another control. “Go right ahead.”
He took a deep breath, and tried to pitch as much confidence and calm as he could in his next few words. “Kareen? It's Mark. Are you all right?” he asked.
Kareen stopped pacing, her head whipping around in the direction of an out of view speaker, and called out, “Mark, are you okay? Where are you?” Belated she added, “I'm fine.”
“I'm all right. I'm chatting with our host at the moment. She wants me to do her a favor for her.”
Kareen frowned. “Tell her to take a wormhole jump to Hell,” she said.
I love my wife, Mark thought. Kareen might be only a Vor by marriage, but she carried the attitude at the genetic level, apparently. “Tempting, but no. I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to get us both out of here. That's a promise, Kareen.”
“Understood.” That was all the former Team Koudelka member had to say. Implicit in it was, I trust you know what you're doing, because I don't.
Chan, who'd been frowning ever since the wormhole to Hell comment, abruptly cut off the audio and visual. “Satisfied, Lord Mark?”
“For the moment, yes,” he allowed. “I'll want to see her in person, later.”
“Well, that'll depend on how well you perform at Jackson's Whole, won't it?” A comm buzzed, and Chan touched the chair controls, answering, “Yes?”
Lady Chan, we've finished imaging the prisoner, as requested, a female voice reported.
Chan smiled ferally. “Excellent. Have you made printouts?”
Yes, Milady.
“Pass them along to the First Officer, he'll meet you in the passageway.” Set turned off the comm and told Brooks, “Escort Lord Mark here back to his cell. And make sure Mousie gets his presents, eh?”
Brooks smiled, “With pleasure, Milady.” With his two alien goons flanking Mark, all four of them made their way back towards the aft end of the ship. In front of the brig, they were met by two more pirates, female humans, carrying another human woman, half-conscious, between them by the upper arms. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with short auburn hair that hadn't been washed in several days. Her lip was bleeding and one eye was blackened and shut. Her upper torso was covered in bruises and shallow cuts, which Mark had a clear view of mostly because the wretched woman was naked from the waist up. “Got the images?” Brooks asked one of the female pirates.
“Right here,” she answered, hading over a folder. Brooks flipped it open and smiled again. Mark decided to memorize that smile, so he'd remember what it looked like when he ripped the man's lips off. Then the two pirates dragged their prisoner away. Mark tried to remember the location of the corridor and the door they passed through, but Brooks and his guards dragged him off before he could memorize any details of the area.
They shoved him back in his cell, slamming the door shut. Then Brooks dismissed the two alien guards and leaned against the wall, looking down on Terinu, who'd watched him enter in silent resentment. “Hey, void rat,” he greeted the boy with false cheer, “you think any more 'bout Lady Chan's offer?”
“Go fragg yerself, Brooks,” the boy answered with a hiss. “I ain't doin' shit for Chan.”
“Not even t' keep yer lady friend safe?” Brooks asked, tapping the folder.
In the reflection of the cell door opposite, Mark could see the alien boy's horns flatten against his head. “I told ya, Brooks. You kill Blake, yer never getting anything out of me. I wanna see her!”
“Why sure thing, Mouse,” Brooks said, pushing away from the wall to stand in front of Terinu's cell. “I even brought some pictures, so you can look at her all day if you want.” The first officer took out several sheets from the folder and a length of sticky tape from his pocket. Mark could see Terinu's mouth suddenly fall open in shock when the first of the sheets was taped to the door of his cell.
“What the fragg is this?” the boy demanded. “What did ya do to her!”
“Just softened her up a bit,” Brooks said, laughing. “Gotta tell y', she's one mouthy bitch. It was good to see she finally shut up once we were through with her.”
“You motherfragging son of a bitch!” Terinu shouted, throwing himself against the transparent composite door. “Don't you touch her!”
“Oh, we ain't touched her like that yet, Mouse,” Brooks said, “though that's probably next. After that I figure we'll just start giving y' her fingers, one at a time.”
“You bastard, Brooks!” Terinu shouted, slamming himself against the door again. “I'll KILL YOU! I'll rip your fragging liver out and EAT IT right in front of ya! Ya hear hear me?!”
Brooks sneered at the boy's display of fury. “Enjoy yer pictures, Mouse. And think real hard about what Lady Chan wants ya t' do.”
“Don't ya turn yer back on me, ya motherfraggin' bastard!” he shouted as the first mate sauntered back down the corridor to disappear behind the door. “Brooks, come back here! Goddamnit, BROOKS!” In rage and frustration, the boy threw himself repeatedly against the door, heedless of the futility of his actions.
“Hey, kid!” Mark called out, as Terinu bounced once again off the door, falling hard against the unyielding floor. “Terinu, stop it!”
“Fragg off! She's hurtin' Blake!” Slam! “She's hurtin' Blake t' get t' me!” Slam! “Fraggin'!” Slam! “Motherless!” Slam! “Bastards!”
God, if the boy didn't calm down, he was going to snap his own neck ramming himself against the door. “Terinu, you can't do anything for her if you break both your shoulders,” he cried out.
The boy dropped down his knees, breathing hard, tears starting to run down his face. “What am I... supposed... t' do...?” he panted, then slammed his tail one more time against the door.
“Rescue her,” Mark said instantly. “Wait for an opportunity, then strike.”
“Opportunity? Strike?” Terinu collapsed against the wall of his cell. “When? How? How am I supposed t' do anything when I'm locked up in this cell?” He tugged at the hard plastic collar that was locked around his neck with his tail, a peculiar looking think that wrapped around his head, partially restricting the movement of the mobile horns on his head. “I can't do anything!”
“I don't know,” Mark admitted. “But the opportunity will come up, something always does. I promise you, my word as Vorkosigan, that I'll help you rescue your friend, and get my wife out of here too.”
Terinu just shook his head. “What good is yer fraggin' word to me?”
“You might be surprised.” Mark took a deep breath and said, “Test it, and see what happens.”
Terinu's only reply was a despairing laugh.
TBC
“You want me to be your... ambassador, or whatever... on Jackson's Whole?” Mark said carefully.
“Correct,” Chan said. She swung her feet off the dining table and propped her elbows on it, staring intently at him. That damned artificial eye of hers was arresting to his attention. An evil eye, he thought wildly. Quite literally perhaps. You could hide short range assassination lasers in some remarkably small objects, he knew. “I know how to deal with crooks just fine, even crooks with delusions of aristocracy. But you grew up there, and know the ground. That's an edge I intend to use.”
“There are two problems with that idea,” Mark said carefully. “One, I am persona non grata there. My last visit, while having ended with a tidy profit for myself, also resulted in the death of one of the major Barons and the breaking up of his House. Never mind the damage I had inflicted on House Bharaputra some months earlier. My face will not be welcome.”
“With enough of my bully boys' guns guarding your back, that's hardly an insurmountable problem,” Chan said. “What's the other difficulty?”
He lets his voice drop from his practiced Barrayaran gutturals to pure street level Jaconsonian, “I'm not doing squat for you until my wife is off this ship and in safe hands.”
“You expect me to let go of my one guaranteed lever against you?” Chan asked, then laughed again.
“At least let me see her, so I know she's alive and well,” Mark said, his voice grating, Killer murmuring suggestions into his ears. Calm, stay calm. Stay calm and watch. She's arrogant as hell, she's going to screw up somewhere along the way. She has to.
Chan tapped her fingers on her chin, considering his request, then smiled. “Ask nicely.”
Mark took a deep, calming breath, unclenched his teeth, and asked, “May I please see my wife, Lady Chan?”
“Certainly, Lord Mark,” she said politely, touching her chair's control panel again. The holographic display popped up with an image Kareen, alive and apparently unharmed, pacing in agitation back in forth in an isolated cell. In rage, nor fear, he judged from the set of her jaw and the lack of tear tracks on her face.
“Not good enough,” he said, willing his heart to stop racing, “that could just be a prerecorded image. Let me speak with her.”
“As you wish.” Chan touched another control. “Go right ahead.”
He took a deep breath, and tried to pitch as much confidence and calm as he could in his next few words. “Kareen? It's Mark. Are you all right?” he asked.
Kareen stopped pacing, her head whipping around in the direction of an out of view speaker, and called out, “Mark, are you okay? Where are you?” Belated she added, “I'm fine.”
“I'm all right. I'm chatting with our host at the moment. She wants me to do her a favor for her.”
Kareen frowned. “Tell her to take a wormhole jump to Hell,” she said.
I love my wife, Mark thought. Kareen might be only a Vor by marriage, but she carried the attitude at the genetic level, apparently. “Tempting, but no. I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to get us both out of here. That's a promise, Kareen.”
“Understood.” That was all the former Team Koudelka member had to say. Implicit in it was, I trust you know what you're doing, because I don't.
Chan, who'd been frowning ever since the wormhole to Hell comment, abruptly cut off the audio and visual. “Satisfied, Lord Mark?”
“For the moment, yes,” he allowed. “I'll want to see her in person, later.”
“Well, that'll depend on how well you perform at Jackson's Whole, won't it?” A comm buzzed, and Chan touched the chair controls, answering, “Yes?”
Lady Chan, we've finished imaging the prisoner, as requested, a female voice reported.
Chan smiled ferally. “Excellent. Have you made printouts?”
Yes, Milady.
“Pass them along to the First Officer, he'll meet you in the passageway.” Set turned off the comm and told Brooks, “Escort Lord Mark here back to his cell. And make sure Mousie gets his presents, eh?”
Brooks smiled, “With pleasure, Milady.” With his two alien goons flanking Mark, all four of them made their way back towards the aft end of the ship. In front of the brig, they were met by two more pirates, female humans, carrying another human woman, half-conscious, between them by the upper arms. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with short auburn hair that hadn't been washed in several days. Her lip was bleeding and one eye was blackened and shut. Her upper torso was covered in bruises and shallow cuts, which Mark had a clear view of mostly because the wretched woman was naked from the waist up. “Got the images?” Brooks asked one of the female pirates.
“Right here,” she answered, hading over a folder. Brooks flipped it open and smiled again. Mark decided to memorize that smile, so he'd remember what it looked like when he ripped the man's lips off. Then the two pirates dragged their prisoner away. Mark tried to remember the location of the corridor and the door they passed through, but Brooks and his guards dragged him off before he could memorize any details of the area.
They shoved him back in his cell, slamming the door shut. Then Brooks dismissed the two alien guards and leaned against the wall, looking down on Terinu, who'd watched him enter in silent resentment. “Hey, void rat,” he greeted the boy with false cheer, “you think any more 'bout Lady Chan's offer?”
“Go fragg yerself, Brooks,” the boy answered with a hiss. “I ain't doin' shit for Chan.”
“Not even t' keep yer lady friend safe?” Brooks asked, tapping the folder.
In the reflection of the cell door opposite, Mark could see the alien boy's horns flatten against his head. “I told ya, Brooks. You kill Blake, yer never getting anything out of me. I wanna see her!”
“Why sure thing, Mouse,” Brooks said, pushing away from the wall to stand in front of Terinu's cell. “I even brought some pictures, so you can look at her all day if you want.” The first officer took out several sheets from the folder and a length of sticky tape from his pocket. Mark could see Terinu's mouth suddenly fall open in shock when the first of the sheets was taped to the door of his cell.
“What the fragg is this?” the boy demanded. “What did ya do to her!”
“Just softened her up a bit,” Brooks said, laughing. “Gotta tell y', she's one mouthy bitch. It was good to see she finally shut up once we were through with her.”
“You motherfragging son of a bitch!” Terinu shouted, throwing himself against the transparent composite door. “Don't you touch her!”
“Oh, we ain't touched her like that yet, Mouse,” Brooks said, “though that's probably next. After that I figure we'll just start giving y' her fingers, one at a time.”
“You bastard, Brooks!” Terinu shouted, slamming himself against the door again. “I'll KILL YOU! I'll rip your fragging liver out and EAT IT right in front of ya! Ya hear hear me?!”
Brooks sneered at the boy's display of fury. “Enjoy yer pictures, Mouse. And think real hard about what Lady Chan wants ya t' do.”
“Don't ya turn yer back on me, ya motherfraggin' bastard!” he shouted as the first mate sauntered back down the corridor to disappear behind the door. “Brooks, come back here! Goddamnit, BROOKS!” In rage and frustration, the boy threw himself repeatedly against the door, heedless of the futility of his actions.
“Hey, kid!” Mark called out, as Terinu bounced once again off the door, falling hard against the unyielding floor. “Terinu, stop it!”
“Fragg off! She's hurtin' Blake!” Slam! “She's hurtin' Blake t' get t' me!” Slam! “Fraggin'!” Slam! “Motherless!” Slam! “Bastards!”
God, if the boy didn't calm down, he was going to snap his own neck ramming himself against the door. “Terinu, you can't do anything for her if you break both your shoulders,” he cried out.
The boy dropped down his knees, breathing hard, tears starting to run down his face. “What am I... supposed... t' do...?” he panted, then slammed his tail one more time against the door.
“Rescue her,” Mark said instantly. “Wait for an opportunity, then strike.”
“Opportunity? Strike?” Terinu collapsed against the wall of his cell. “When? How? How am I supposed t' do anything when I'm locked up in this cell?” He tugged at the hard plastic collar that was locked around his neck with his tail, a peculiar looking think that wrapped around his head, partially restricting the movement of the mobile horns on his head. “I can't do anything!”
“I don't know,” Mark admitted. “But the opportunity will come up, something always does. I promise you, my word as Vorkosigan, that I'll help you rescue your friend, and get my wife out of here too.”
Terinu just shook his head. “What good is yer fraggin' word to me?”
“You might be surprised.” Mark took a deep breath and said, “Test it, and see what happens.”
Terinu's only reply was a despairing laugh.
TBC
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-19 03:04 am (UTC)*sighs theatrically*
I need to finish some translation tonight (well, this night anyway, it's 5 a.m.)... I'll read this part and deliver comments on both - at work, I promise. Possibly in the afternoon...
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Date: 2007-02-19 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-19 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-19 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 06:36 am (UTC)And as for poor Leeza.... *ouchies*. Logical but still ickie to read. (Snatches Leeza away from Royce and huggles her. "You can't play with my toys anymore.. you BREAK them!!!!") And poor Teri! What a way to twist the knife, taping big pictures up of his battered friend right where he can't avoid looking at them. Little wonder he lost it. Brooks gets extra credit for improvised nastiness. Of course he'd come out with a comment like that grinning all the way. I'm very curious to know if Chan has a job in mind for Teri, or whether she just wants to re establish his obedience to her. Either way the boy doesn't have much choice.
Lovin' it. Looking forward to finding out what happens.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 09:20 am (UTC)As for what Chan has in mind for Teri, she was going to try and bend him back into her service, but I think she's going to have a better idea soon... *evil laugh*