jeriendhal | Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.) (Reply)

"And what are you going to do with me?" she dared to ask.

His claws tapped a brief tattoo on the grip of his pistol. "I'm still trying to decide that."

He's still debating on whether to kill me or not, Nan guessed. Logically speaking he had to, if he were to preserve the idea of sowing suspicion between the Council of Farmer Lords and the ferin of the Autonomous Region. If he just left her behind she could tell the truth to Council and spike it right then. But the socialization and instincts of the vulpine weighed heavily against committing violence against vixens, especially among the nobility. It was going to be something he'd have to work himself up to. He hadn't killed Freya himself, that had been the work of his allies after all. All I need is ten seconds. After that it wouldn't matter if he shot her or not.

"Sorry I won't be much use to you as a ransom victim," she said, picking her words with care. "My family are all commoners, and the First One isn't feeling very charitable towards me right now."

"Oh?" he said, ears perking up. "And what did you do to gain his ire? Not that it would take much."

"I bugged for details about what happened between him and yourself. He refused to talk about it. That's why he sent me out in the rain with Ranger Freya and Nan, to get me out of his fur for a bit."

"Typical," he muttered.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, pushing slightly.

"I haven't decided, I said," he replied. "Thought I do have to figure out something. Interested in helping to manage a private pleasure dome, for example?"

Repellant thought. But she kept her opinion to herself. "I don't know," Nan said, swallowing. "What kind of duties would be involved?"

Greycoat reached over and ran his thumb along the line of her jaw. She tried not to shudder. "Nothing too personal, at first. Though I'm sure given enough time I can bring you around to my point of view."

"You'd have to take these off me, eventually," she said, twisting her wrists in the unyielding steel cuffs. Instead of a chain running between them, the two cuffs were attached by a metal hinge, the scan plate for the locks facing up, making it extremely unlikely she could get out of them even she had the magnetic key in her paws.

"They wouldn't be necessary, I think," he replied. "There are other means of making sure you don't try anything stupid. For now I'll keep them on you though."

She lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, as if her gambit to gain mercy had failed. "All right," Nan said weakly.

"You can stay in here," Greycoat said. "There isn't much in this cabin that you can cause trouble with, especially with your paws cuffed."

"I don't want to die," Nan begged, getting her feet back under herself to rise up a little, as Greycoat unlatched the door.

"Be a good girl and that won't be a worry," he said. He turned his back to her for the briefest of moments as he stepped out into the narrow passageway.

That was when Nan sprang up, leaping forward to ram her shoulder into Greycoat's back. He fell heavily to the deck underneath her, letting out a yelp as she dug her left footclaws into the base of his tail, scrambling back to her feet and running pell mell towards the small cargo ship's compact bridge. The move angered him enough that he didn't try to shoot her from where he fell, instead getting back up onto his footpads and running after her, as Nan rushed onto the bridge, hoping that the layout of the controls were standardized.

When Greycoat caught up with her, Nan was frantically looking over her shoulder as she tried to punch buttons on the bridge's communications panel with her cuffed paws. He roared and grabbed her by the neck, throwing her into the co-pilot's seat with enough force to make her scream in pain as she landed on her injured tailbone once again.

"What did you think you were doing you little bitch!" he shouted. "You think calling for help would do any good now? We're almost ready to go!" He waved at a security cam feed from the cargo pod, where at least three score of hooded, unconscious ferin were already laid out on stacked cargo shelves.

Nan coughed and panted, tears running down her face again, almost hoping he would shoot her to relieve the pain. But Greycoat ignored her as he checked the com panel, finally letting out a grunt of satisfaction. "No signal went out. Lucky for you," he muttered. He turned towards her, blank silver eyes staring down on her, as he drew out his pistol and pressed the barrel between her eyes. "Now tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."

"No reason at all," she said, eyes crossing as she tried to look down the seemingly enormous barrel. "What's one more murder to you now?"

"I haven't murdered anyone," he replied.

"You killed a child."

Greycoat snorted, drawing his pistol back to re-holster it on his belt. "I killed a ferin joey. They don't count. As for you, I guess I'll have to make sure you don't get into anymore trouble." He grabbed the nylon straps of the co-pilot seat's five point harness, yanking them tightly across Nan's lap and torso, forcing her injured back against the harsh metal cuffs. She tasted blood in her mouth as she bit down on another pained cry as he finished. Then he waved a claw at her, "Stay there and don't try anything else stupid, while I find something to secure your ankles."

He started to step out off the bridge, when a loud beeping at his belt monitor started, matching a tone from the bridge's control station. Greycoat slipped into the pilot's couch and brought up a display on main screen, letting out a curse.

"What is it?" Nan gasped.

"Proximity alert," Greycoat said, grinning to himself as he strapped himself into the seat and began to warm up the engines. "Looks like the cavalry is here."

* * *

To Be Continued. You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting to start writing the climax of this.