Author's Note: If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. Sailor Sirius is the property of Sharon Williams. Any references to Vulcan are the province of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Studios. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part Three: Spying Girls
Rating: PG-13
"Tanya, once again, I must protest your intended course of action," whispered Talia as she, Tanya and Serena hid behind a thicket of bushes across the street from the Tomoe home. "What you are planning is highly illegal. We could land ourselves into serious trouble."
"Yeah, yeah! So you've said for about the hundredth time! Will you please chill out?" an annoyed Tanya whispered back, staring at the house.
"I cannot. Vulcans are incapable of regulating their body temperature."
Tanya was about to explode when Serena placed a hand on her shoulder. "I forgot to tell you. Tal has trouble with slang," she explained to the ebon beauty after a brief bout of the giggles.
"No kidding. Look, stone face, it's not like I'm planning to kill the President. We're just gonna sneak into Hotaru's house and look for clues." Her lips curling into a mischievous smirk, Tanya then said: "Besides, it's not like you're a stranger to this sort of thing. Sere told me you used her disguise pen to impersonate a doctor and waltz into a hospital to do a mind meld on some crook. Remember?"
Talia looked momentarily uncomfortable while a slight redness tinged her cheeks. "Er, yes. I do. Very well, I will cease my complaints. What is your plan?"
"We sneak in the back, find the Prof's office, dig up any names we can find, then sneak out. Easy as pie." Tanya then shot Talia a menacing stare. "And if you even think about asking me how pie can be easy, so help me, I'll break your stinking neck!"
"I will keep that question to myself," a deadpan Talia replied. She then turned to Serena. "Are you sure the Professor and Hotaru are away, Serena?"
Serena nodded. "Yup. Reenie once told me Hotaru and her dad spend every weekend out in the countryside. I don't think there's any alarms, so that shouldn't be a problem. Just getting inside. They don't teach burglary at Crossroads High."
"Don't sweat it, girlfriend. We'll figure it out," said a grinning Tanya. "Like Tal said, failure is not an option. C'mon, kids. Time to get sneaky."
The girls rose from their hiding place and crept across the street. They sprinted around the house to the back where they saw an eight foot high stone wall. Without saying a word, Talia cupped her hands and held her arms low to the girls who nodded in understanding. Tanya placed a foot in Talia's hands and, with seemingly no effort, she easily hoisted her to the top of the wall, thanks to Talia's Vulcan strength. Looking both ways to make sure no one saw her, Tanya scrambled over the other side and dropped into the backyard, lithe and silent on all fours like a cat.
The chocolate skinned girl gave a low whistle to let the others know she was in. Next was Serena who was openly nervous as she placed a foot in Talia's hands. The Vulcan girl gave Serena a smile for reassurance, then gently hoisted her to the top. However, Serena being Serena, she lost her balance at the top and tumbled over the side like Humpty Dumpty. Only Tanya's quick thinking saved Serena from a potentially serious fall. As it was, the girls were left in a tangle of limbs on the ground. Extricating herself from Serena, Tanya gave her a withering glare.
"Tell me something, meatball head. Do you practice being such a klutzoid?" Tanya asked in a harsh whisper, massaging her left shoulder after having cushioned Serena's tumble.
Serena turned redfaced. "Er, no. It kinda comes naturally." She then cupped her hands to her mouth. "C'mon, Tal. The coast is clear."
From the other side of the wall, Talia crouched into a squat, her leg muscles coiled like springs. Taking a deep breath, the Vulcan girl leaped high into the air, almost clearing the wall in a single bound. As Tanya and Serena looked on in awe, Talia calmly placed the palm of her right hand on the top of the wall and expertly vaulted over it like an Olympic gymnast side vaulting over a pommel horse. She landed gracefully to the ground in the standing position on the balls of her feet, legs together, arms outstretched. The girls were greatly impressed with Talia's feat.
"Way cool!" Tanya cried. "That was awesome!"
"And then some! Amazing!" Serena gushed. "You never told me you could do that, Tal!"
"I believe the correct response to your statement would be: you never asked," Talia replied simply, running a hand through her jet black hair. "Shall we go to work, ladies?"
Tanya smiled, her admiration for Talia soaring. "After you, stone face."
When the girls reached the back door, Serena tried the knob. "Locked. Any ideas?"
"I could force it open. My physical strength is equal to that of a full grown man," Talia suggested.
Tanya shook her head. "Nah. Kill that noise. Why wreck the man's property when there's an easier way." Tanya removed her wallet from the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out an ATM card. Serena, seeing what Tanya had in mind groaned while Talia arched an eyebrow from curiosity.
"Good Lord. Come on, Ti, not the old credit card in the doorjamb trick! That only works in movies and on TV!" Serena protested.
"Don't be such a wet blanket. You never know what you can do until you try," said Tanya who went to work with the card, sliding it into the doorjamb and jiggling it for half minute. Tanya's efforts were finally rewarded when she heard an audible click. Grinning like the Chesire Cat, Tanya turned the knob and the door opened.
"Fascinating," said Talia.
"Hmph! Dumb luck," a scowling Serena grumbled.
"Not luck, sweetie. Talent." Full of herself, Tanya held the door open for the girls. "Enter freely and of your own will."
"Count Dracula to solicitor Jonathan Harker after his arrival at the vampire's Transylvania castle," said Talia as she entered the house. "The rest was, as the old saying goes, history. Hopefully our experience here will not be so nearly as traumatic."
"Amen to that, sister," said Tanya as she closed the door behind her.
The interior of the huge, semi-darkened house, while spotlessly clean was spartan in furnishings and felt sterile to the girls as they walked along the first floor. To Serena, there was a palpable air of menace about the place, as if a great evil had once resided within its walls and was still faintly present. It all made Serena want to scream.
In need of emotional reinforcement, Serena reached for Talia's hand and clasped it, initiating the telepathic bond she shared with the Vulcan girl. All at once, Talia felt the full force of Serena's fear, of the old memories of her nightmarish war against the heartsnatchers and the Witches Five. And the mindnumbing horror of her final battle with the dread Sailor Saturn against Pharaoh 90.
Oh, Serena. My dear friend. You should not have to suffer the way you do, Talia said wordlessly to Serena. Her eyes filled up as she fought the sadness she was feeling. Knowing that you are anguished brings a terrible pain to my heart. I wish there were a way I could comfort you.
Serena, choked up, grinned and squeezed Talia's hand tighter. She could feel Talia's concern, the warmth of her love, and that gave her strength. Just having you by my side is comfort enough, Tal. That's why I love you so much, because you're always here for me.
Talia nodded. Of that you can be sure.
"Ugh! This place makes a crypt feel comfy," said Tanya, making a face as she looked around her. "Hard to believe poor little Hotaru actually lives in this mausoleum. Hey, Sere! Any idea where to look?"
"Nope. I've only been in here once, and I didn't like it much," said Serena. "Maybe if we find some lights, we could get our bearings."
"I would advise against that. Having lights on could give us away to passersby," said Talia. "Perhaps the Professor has an office of some sort. I suggest we split up and search."
Serena, still holding Talia's hand shook her head. "If it's all the same with you, Tal, let's stick together. I couldn't handle sneaking around in here alone."
"As you wish. Let us proceed. And be careful to avoid windows. I do not fancy having the authorities dispatched to arrest us if were are seen from the outside."
"Makes sense to me. My parents didn't raise a potential jailbird," grumbled Tanya, looking all around her as she took the lead.
The girls were silent as they made their way through the downstairs area, avoiding the living room with it's windows facing the street while the dining room and kitchen were given only a cursory look. The next stop was the den which the girls quickly and quietly examined, yet found no clues. Back out in the main hall, the girls came across a door that Talia assumed led down to the basement but was locked. This too was avoided.
Satisfied that their search of the downstairs area yielded no clues, the girls crept upstairs to look around. The first bedroom they went into was Hotaru's. It was a typical bedroom for a teenage girl with a huge collection of stuffed animals and dolls, but instead of a bed, a crib was near the window since Hotaru had been turned into an infant after the battle with Pharaoh 90. The girls left the room and tried another.
Their second try produced results as this bedroom, larger than Hotaru's was severely functional instead of decorative. A man's bedroom. The girls quietly and quickly looked around for clues. It was Tanya, opening the top drawer of a antique roll-top desk found what they sought, an address book.
"Bingo!" she whispered triumphantly.
"Find something, Ti?" Serena asked in a hushed voice.
You bet I did. Check this out, guys, Tomoe's address book." Serena and Talia knelt next to Tanya as she opened the thin, spiral bound book with a black leather cover and flipped through the pages. "Not many names. Looks like the guy didn't have much in the way of friends."
"That is of little significance. We only need one name," said Talia. She then held out her hand to Tanya. "May I?"
Tanya handed Talia the book. The Vulcan girl's eyes carefully scanned each page, one at a time while the others looked on. In less than a minute, she had finished.
"What was that all about?" Serena asked.
"1 memorized all the names in the Professor's address book," Talia replied. "I possess total recall. We can make a list of these names later and sort out potential suspects."
Tanya smirked. "Is there anything you can't do, stone face?"
"Not that I know of," Talia replied honestly, a slight trace of conceit in her voice. After returning the book to the drawer of the desk, she rose to her feet. "Come. It is time we left."
As the girls neared the door, Talia stopped short and put an index finger to her lips as a signal for the girls to keep quiet. Talia then closed the door and beckoned the girls to fall back inside.
"What is it, Tal?" Serena asked in whisper.
"We have company. Someone is downstairs," Talia replied.
"How do you know?" Tanya asked.
"1 heard them. My auditory capabilities are quite exceptional."
"I don't doubt that, given those ears of yours," said Tanya. She started to feel nervous. "The Tomoes?"
Talia shook her head. "No. I heard footsteps of three people coming from the rear of the house, probably from the same door we entered through. And they are endeavoring to be stealthy."
"Burglars'?" asked a now worried Serena.
"Unlikely. Thieves seldom work in groups. This situation is most disturbing."
"If you mean there's something rotten in Denmark, you got that right," growled Tanya. Acting on a hunch, she went back to the desk, pulled out the address book and stuffed it down her shirt.
Serena was puzzled. "Huh? What gives?"
"Call it women's intuition. I'll explain later. Now, how do we get outta here?"
Talia went to the door, cracked it open an inch and peeked outside. She frowned at seeing a shadow on the wall of the stairwell. The Vulcan girl closed the door. "Someone is coming upstairs," she whispered to the others.
"Trapped like rats," a frightened Serena whispered.
"An appropriate metaphor," Talia replied.
Three women, a blonde, brunette and redhead, all garbed in skin tight, long sleeved, black spandex dresses with outrageously short skirts, fishnet stockings, high heeled, black patent pumps and wrist long white gloves moved silently through the downstairs area, their eyes darting from side to side.
The blonde, leading the way, sporting gold trim on the high collar of her dress pointed at the redhead to head towards the living room, then motioned to the brunette to head upstairs. The blonde then made for the door that led to the basement. Removing a packet from a small fanny pack at her waist, she opened it to reveal lockpick tools.
Selecting a tool, the blonde worked on the lock and unlocked it. Opening the door, she felt along the wall for a light switch and flicked it on. Seeing stairs, she went down, careful not to make any noise on the concrete stairs. Once she reached the bottom stair, the blonde stared at a large, sophisticated laboratory, but everything was covered in a thick coating of dust, as if no one had been down here in months.
The blonde considered looking around, but saw that the floor was also coated with dust and didn't want to leave footprints. Nodding, she removed a digital camera from the pack and snapped several photos. Satisfied with the information she collected, the blonde put the camera back in her pack and returned upstairs where the redhead waited.
"Report, Agent 1," the blonde whispered gruffly.
The redhead came rigidly to attention. "I checked this level thoroughly, ma'am. No sign of the evidence we're looking for."
"Let's give this area another look while Agent 2 searches upstairs," the blonde replied.
The brunette called Agent 2 crept slowly upstairs, her eyes locked ahead and her ears focused to pick up even the smallest sounds. Even though intelligence from Commander Midnight said that the house was unoccupied, the woman had been trained by her superior not to assume anything. Once she reached the top stair, the brunette went towards the first bedroom she saw. Opening the door, 2 peeked into Hotaru's bedroom and frowned at how needlessly frilly it was, something that didn't suit her at all. Leaving the room, she headed for the next one down the hall.
Putting a hand on the knob, the brunette turned it slowly and the door opened. Cautiously entering the room, 2 saw that it was empty. From it's decor, the brunette knew it was the Professor's bedroom. Allowing herself a small grin, the brunette quickly looked around, going first to the desk and opening the all drawers, but she found nothing. After giving the desk a thorough examination, she then tried the nightstand but it too had nothing of interest to her.
Frowning because she didn't find anything, 2 headed for the door to leave when she stopped and walked to the closet and looked inside. Hangers of clothes hung inside while boxes of shoes sat on the shelf above. Again, nothing. Closing the door, the brunette looked about her one last time, she frowned, feeling like she wasn't alone. With a sigh, 2 left the room, closing the door behind her and went back downstairs where the Lieutenant and Agent 1 waited.
"Well'?" the blonde demanded, impatiently tapping a patent leather toe.
"Nothing, Agent Gold," 2 replied. "There was a desk in the Professor's bedroom which I looked through. I didn't find anything of use. If Tomoe has any info for our targets, it's not here."
"And there wasn't a computer to hack into either. What do we do now, ma'am'?" Agent 1 asked her superior.
The blonde scowled from barely repressed disgust. "Let's get out of here. We've been in here too long as it is. C'mon."
The three black clad women exited the house as silently as they entered. From outside, the women failed to notice a solitary figure standing calmly yet precariously on the narrow edge of a balcony outside the Professor's bedroom. Talia glared down and observed the women as they leaped to the top of the wall with ease, despite their bizarre outfits and jumped down to the street. A minute later, a black Ford Aerostar minivan pulled away from the curb. Once the van had left, Talia raised the window and crawled back inside the room.
"Tanya. Serena. You can come out now. Our visitors have left," the Vulcan girl called out softly.
The door to the closet opened and Serena cautiously came out while Tanya crawled out from under the bed. The girls grinned at Talia.
"Whew! Quick thinking, Tal. Boy! Was I ever scared," Serena said.
"Yeah! Me too. If that bimbo had turned on the lights, she might've seen me under the bed or found Sere in the closet," said Tanya. Then, to Talia, she said, "But you, hiding out on that balcony took nerve, girlfriend."
"You need not have worried, Tanya. I was confident of my ability to stand on the balcony for as long as necessary," Talia replied. Her face then hardened into an iron mask. "In any event, had the woman discovered you, I was more than prepared to....deal with her."
Serena shivered from the sudden coldness in Talia's voice. She was all too familiar with----and fearful of----the Vulcan girl's murderous fury which erupted like a volcano whenever Serena or the girls were threatened.
Tanya felt the same chill as she stared into Talia's smouldering blue eyes. Whoa! Talk about scary! Something tells me getting Tal mad would be suicide! Clearing her throat, Tanya removed the address book from her shirt. "My intuition was dead on, kids. That bimbo rummaged through the Prof s desk, looking for this book I'm guessing. I'd stake my life on it."
Talia stroked her chin as she dwelled on what she had been told. "Interesting. Evidently, someone else is in search of the person, or persons responsible for the robot we fought today. This was no coincidence. Like us, they discovered a link to Professor Tomoe. Also, judging from their unusual attire, those women appeared to be part of an organization."
"What kind of attire?" a puzzled Serena asked.
"A slinky black dress with a rumor for a skirt, fishnets and spike heels. Got a good look while I was under the bed. Majorly tacky," said Tanya, making a face as she returned the book to the desk. "From the way she moved around in here----a church mouse would've made more noise----I think she may have been some kind of spy. What are we dealing with? The T & A division of the KGB?"
Talia arched an eyebrow from puzzlement. "T & A?"
Serena rolled her eyes. "You don't wanna know. Let's split. I've had enough spying to last me a lifetime."
Talia nodded, a trace of a smile on her lips. "As you command, Princess."
Serena scowled at her Vulcan friend. "I've told you not to call me that."
The girls crept quietly down the stairs and out the back door which they entered the house from. No sooner had they closed the door when they heard the unmistakable sound of slide being pulled back on a gun. The girls turned to their left and saw two of the black clad women, the blonde and redhead, both holding Glock 17 autoloaders saunter out from around the corner of the house. They leveled their weapons at the trio.
The blonde smirked devilishly at the girls. "It's about time, ladies. What took you so long?"
The loud, throbbing sound of Blink 182's latest CD pounded through the speakers of Scott Ramsey's boom box while he labored on the damaged android in his private workshop.
Ramsey, humming along to the music bobbed his head as he soldered together the connections to the machine's musculature in it's left arm. Putting down the soldering gun, Ramsey picked up a remote control device, pressed a button and the arm lifted on its own. Pressing another button and the fingers on the hand curled into a fist. Pleased with the results, Ramsey pressed the first button a second time and the arm lowered back onto the table.
With a grin of satisfaction, Ramsey replaced the plate that opened the interior of the android's arm. After three hours, the repairs on the robot had been completed, faster than he thought, given the damage the android suffered during it's battle with the Sailor Scouts.. The young scientist puffed out his chest, smug from pride at his accomplishment.
"All done, Scott?" a voice called from behind. Ramsey whirled around and faced Cletus Bagwell, wiping his perpetually sweaty brow. Ramsey hit the stop button on his CD player, throwing the room into sudden silence.
Ramsey grinned and nodded. "Everything's cool, Bags. The tin can had some structural damage in its arms from deflecting that blast from the pointy eared chick, and it's sensor processing unit was messed up from whatever that black girl hit it with."
"Was that what caused the robot to fire on the civilians?"
"Yeah. But I've reinforced the shielding, so that shouldn't happen again." Ramsey then walked over to a control panel, flicked a series of switches and a low hum came from the android. "All that's left is to recalibrate the systems and tin man will be good as new. Like Reg said, I build to last, homes."
Bagwell scowled at the mention of Hawthorne. Ramsey picked up on that immediately and smirked. "You don't like Reg, do you'?"
"I loathe the man. Besides being insufferable and unscrupulous, Hawthorne's perhaps the most amoral scientist I've ever met. I can't understand why Okada brought him aboard."
"Well, Reg maybe a serious asshole, but he's also the leading biologist around. Without him, we'd never have gotten this project off the ground," Ramsey replied.
Bagwell snorted. "I don't trust him, Scott. Hawthorne's had a history of ethics violations at every scientific institution and university he's been at in Britain for years. Rumor had it he was expelled from Oxford in 1999 after having experimented on his students to catalog their reactions to hallucinogens. One student was said to have overdosed and died. How he managed to avoid prison despite that incident is beyond me."
"Well, dude, you know what they say: it's not what you know, but who you know," said Ramsey with a chuckle. "I heard the guy has a relative in Parliament. Must be nice to have friends in high places."
"Getting back to the project, do you believe in what Okada's doing?" Bagwell asked. "Hawthorne's only interested in glory and money, as a physicist, I'm intrigued by the practical application Okada came up with for the Professor's research. But your field of endeavor is robotics. What's your motivation?"
Ramsey thought hard on Bagwell's question before he responded. "Loyalty, I guess. The Doc believed in my ability when no one else would give me the time of day 'cause I'm so young and don't act like Albert Einstein. Hell, I'm probably smarter than that old fart, but people couldn't see past my age and what I look like. But Okada gave me a chance to prove myself. I owe him, Clete, big time. That's why I'm here."
"Even though Masaharu's experiments could result in lives being lost."
Ramsey frowned. "Well, man, I gotta admit I'm not comfortable with that. Not one bit. Does this make us bad guys?"
"I don't know. Unlike Hawthorne, I still have a conscience. That's why this afternoon's incident upset me so much," Bagwell replied, mopping his brow yet again. "However, if everything works according to plan, only deserving subjects will be eliminated, and Lord knows there's plenty of those to go around. Otherwise, I would never have come in with Okada, longtime friend or not."
"And do you like playing God, man? Deciding who lives and who dies?"
There was a lengthy silence between the two men before Bagwell, looking furtive, lowered his head and said: "No. I don't."
After almost two years spent playing superhero, you'd think I'd be used to this by now, thought a thoroughly frightened Serena. She shivered while staring at Agent Gold who had her handgun pointed directly at her.
Seated in the back row of seats in the Aerostar as it motored down a side street at a sedate speed, Serena, flanked by an equally nervous Tanya on her left and a tranquil looking Talia on her right wondered if she and her friends would live to see another sunrise. Her overactive imagination spun all sorts of horrific scenarios, each more nightmarish than the last and all ending in death. It took every last ounce of Serena's willpower to keep from either bursting into tears or wetting herself.
"Excuse me, madam. Would I be correct in assuming from the stripe on the collar of your dress that you are in a position of authority?" Talia calmly asked Gold.
Gold nodded slightly. "I am. You're not afraid of us, are you?"
"There is no reason to be, despite being held at gunpoint. Fear is a psychological reaction brought on by several factors, chief among them, endangerment to a person's well being," Talia replied clinically while she worked on an escape plan. "I have fully accepted and understand that my life is in jeopardy and could soon be exteinguished. Therefore, I harbor no apprehension over this situation."
Gold, used to being able to intimidate hardened mercenaries was frustrated at how the black haired girl with the glacial, piercing blue eyes was completely unfazed by her. The girl's pointed ears gave her an almost demonic look, further unsettling Gold. Never thought I'd admit it, but this kid gives me the creeps, she thought.
"Uh, pardon me for being nosy, but how'd you know we were in that house?" a shivering Tanya asked. She secretly admired Talia for being so cool under fire while she was terrified.
"We're taught to follow our instincts while in the field. It keeps us from getting killed," Gold replied, pleased that the black girl was as frightened as the blonde with the ridiculous buns on her head. "When Agent 2 suspected that someone was in the Professor's bedroom, she let me know once out of earshot. I decided to let you think we had left. Instead, we doubled back and waited for you to come out. Now, why were you kids in there?"
"Uh, maid service?" said Serena with a crooked grin.
Gold smirked. "Cute." Putting her gun down on the seat, the blonde backhanded Serena across her face. The sound of the slap was loud as the crack of a gunshot in the confines of the van. Serena, her right cheek an angry red from the slap leaned against Talia and moaned from pain. Furious, Tanya started to lean forward but Agent 1 leveled her gun at her and she stopped.
"That wouldn't be wise," said the redhead, wagging her gun.
Talia, holding Serena glared hatefully at Gold, her eyes burning lasers at the woman. The Vulcan girl's all too human anger skyrocketed and it took every ounce of her self-control to keep from leaping at Gold and killing her on the spot. Instead, Talia forced herself to calm down and focus on the escape plan. Talia knew time was at a premium since she and the girls were undoubtedly on their way to some secret location to be interrogated, possibly tortured, and most likely killed. And since the girls were in no position to transform, they would have to escape on their own.
Noting that the women weren't buckled up, and that the blonde hadn't retrieved her weapon, an idea came to Talia's mind. Sitting Serena up, Talia reached over and fastened her seat belt, then, as she buckled up, the Vulcan girl stared at Tanya. "Tanya, would you please be so good as to fasten your belt? I would not want you to suffer an injury during our transit."
Tanya, puzzled at first saw Talia's eyes narrow slightly. With a shrug, the ebon beauty did as she was told. Gold chuckled. "Girls, considering where you're headed, I wouldn't worry too much about your long term health."
"I figured as much." Taking a deep breath, Talia went into action. Sitting right in front of Agent 1 who still held her weapon, the Vulcan girl moved with a sudden swiftness the woman didn't expect. Talia leaned forward, grabbed the redhead's gun hand and hoisted it upward while clamping the fingers of her right hand on the redhead's collarbone and pressed tightly. With a grunt of pain, the redhead's eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped unconscious over the back of the seat and Talia yanked the woman's arm back down and pulled the gun out of her hand.
"What the hell?" a surprised Gold snarled. She fumbled for her gun, but never got her hands on it as Tanya took her cue from Talia and, muttering a prayer, attacked with a speed borne of desperation, viciously raking the blonde's face with her fingernails, drawing blood that seeped into her eyes. Blinded, Gold screamed from pain and swung wildly at Tanya but missed as she dodged, however, the chocolate skinned beauty, seething from anger didn't as she put everything she had into a right cross to Gold's jaw, knocking her out. All the while. Serena, in the middle of the chaotic scene ducked her head and tried to stay out of the way.
"Hey! What's going on back there?" demanded Agent 2 who was behind the wheel.
Fisting 1's gun, Talia pointed it at the brunette. "Stop this vehicle. Now," she commanded.
"Screw you!" the woman snarled, reaching for her gun on the seat.
Talia calmly flicked off the safety and squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gun going off in the confined space of the van was loud as thunder as the nine millimeter round went through the dashboard, mere inches from 2's head, throwing off sparks as the bullet smashed the radio. The woman cried out from shock, momentarily losing control of the van.
"I will not ask again. Stop this vehicle or my next round goes through your skull," Talia said, her voice colder than ice.
"You're bluffing!" the brunette shot back. "Without me, we'll crash!"
"True. But we are belted in and will survive the impact. You are not," Talia snarled. She leveled the gun at the back of the woman's head, her hand rock steady. "My patience with you is exhausted. I will terminate your worthless life right here and now unless you bring this vehicle to an immediate halt."
"Uh, I'd stop if I were you," said Serena, having raised her head. She saw that hateful, murderous look in Talia's eyes and shivered. "My friend doesn't bluff. Please, believe me. If she says she's gonna kill you, take it to the bank. Or, in your case, the morgue."
2 looked in the rear view mirror and locked onto Talia's smouldering eyes, filled with a dark, monstrous rage. Every instinct the woman had, honed from her training screamed in her head that her adversary was not bluffing, and that unnerved her.
The woman hastily pulled over to the right, hopped the curb and slammed on the brakes before the front bumper hit the side of a building. She then raised her hands and turned around to glare at Talia. "All right! All right! We've stopped! Happy now?"
Talia, silent as the grave, her face locked in a menacing, inhuman scowl kept the gun trained on the face of the brunette who began to shiver. 2 was staring death itself in the eye and the visage terrified her. Serena, wide eyed gulped when she saw Talia's finger slowly tighten on the trigger.
"Tal. No. It's all over now. Don't do this," Serena pleaded in a soft voice. "For God's sake, let it go. You don't have to kill her. Please."
There was a thick, heavy silence as Talia continued to glare at 2, the gun unmoving in her hand. After what seemed like an hour, Talia flicked on the safety and lowered the weapon. A sharp, pungent odor suddenly filled the van as the brunette wet herself, then passed out. Tanya, having watched the scene was thoroughly shocked.
What the hell was that all about, she wondered. Tanya couldn't help but feel a tangible fear of her friend. For a minute there, it looked like Tal was really gonna shoot that woman! "That was a crazy stunt you pulled, Kirk! You coulda gotten us killed!"
"But that did not happen," Talia shot back, her fearsome expression still fully in place. "In any event, my 'crazy stunt' achieved the desired result. We are now out of danger."
"Yeah! But not in a way I particularly liked! By the way, would you care to explain your Dirty Harry routine with the bimbo?"
"No. I would not," Talia snarled. She shot Tanya a hard, icy stare that the ebony beauty shrank under, discouraging any further inquiry. "We should leave immediately. The precarious position of this vehicle is bound to attract onlookers, and eventually, the authorities."
Nodding, Serena and a chastised Tanya stepped out of the van. Talia, clenching and unclenching her fists was struggling to rein in her anger, to fight back the terrible urge to kill these women who dared to threaten the lives of her friends. Talia knew that her rages would be with her for as long as he lived and that it would be a neverending battle to her beast caged. Calming down, she pulled a handkerchief from the breast pocket of her shirt, rubbed her fingerprints off the weapon and dropped it to the floor before getting out.
"What about those women?" Serena asked Talia timidly.
"They are not our concern," Talia said coldly. She wanted to do a mind meld on one of the women to learn who they worked for and their reason for being in the Tomoe house, but time was against her as passersby were already starting to gather. That frustrated her. "If we are fortunate, they will be arrested for having weapons in their possession. Come."
As the girls headed down the street, Tanya paused at the driver's side and smirked at 2 who lay slumped over the center console, her head against the passenger door. The woman's short skirt was hiked up, revealing white panties that were stained and sopping wet in the crotch.
"Lady, make sure you change your underwear when you wake up. Phew!"
NEXT: Investigating Girls