In the story so far Vikki, a civilian left behind when the ship, Stardiver Four, is caputured is rescued from the pirates by Whitey.
Vikky couldn't control her weeping. She lay on the floor as her body shook in rhythm with her sobs.
Whitey sighed shaking his head slowly.
"Boss?" Black Jack was ready for any fight but crying women always filled him with foreboding.
"Give her a minute boys. Stay with her. Let her cry it out.'' Whitey looked up the corridor to the portal where Crow and his gang slithered away. "Wait for me here." Whitey sprinted to the portal.
"Wait, Boss," Ben moved forward to keep up.
Whitey turned, "Obey!" he snarled.
"But, Boss I respectfully plead prior orders. We are your bodyguards." Ben stood helpless. "Let one of us go with you."
"I said, stay with Red." Whitey disappeared through the portal into the cavernous restaurant section. He trailed Crow's men until it was clear they were gone. His quick eyes and analytic mind reconstructed Vikki's battle with the pirates. Looking at the burnt corridor behind the kitchens he murmured, "O.K. We got one resourceful woman here."
The temperature had fallen and the useless death-bot was frozen in a sheet of ice that stretched back to the laundry room. "Dumb ship," Whitey said as he skidded across the ice on his way back to the three in the corridor.
Vikki was standing. She was a head shorter than the two mercenaries but looked even smaller beside the men in bulky armor. Whitey looked her up and down, not to admire her figure but to read the small details for information.
Vikki glared at him. "What are you looking at, old man?" She snapped.
"Were you the only one or were they were after others too?"
"I was alone."
With hand signals, he sent his bodyguards to both ends of the hall to stand watch.
"Why didn't you evacuate when the order was given to go to the common room?"
"I was trapped in a locked laundry room, then it flooded, then those stupid apes were chasing me. We were trapped behind the kitchens in a hall that caught fire and locked down to extinguish the flames."
Whitey nodded, he had already put together the events but was more interested in her reaction than the facts.
"Your suit is almost out of power." Whitey searched his pouches for a spare battery pack. "Here, plug this in until yours charges. You need a bath, you don't smell as pretty as you look you know. And you have chicken grease in your hair."
"You are not my dad."
"Thank God."
"When can I get out of here and back with my family?"
"You missed the boat on that one, miss. They were shipped off. We will make arrangements for your safe return but in the meantime, you have to stay alive." Whitey was rarely unsure of himself but this was one of those times; he didn't know how to talk to this fiery young woman.
"My men and I are not here under ideal circumstances. We have to get along with the pirates or else there will be a bloodbath worse than before, but getting along just got more complicated with a beautiful redhead in my company. So, you do as I say and we will get you back to your parents. But go off on your own I'll let the pirates have you. Do you understand?"
Vikki's lips tightened and her brow furrowed as she nodded.
"We help you but you have to help us to do it. First, from now on your name is Red."
"I hate being called that. People teased me about my red hair."
Whitey took a step toward her raising his hand to slap her. She glared at him in defiance. Remembering she was technically a civilian and a girl he checked himself. "You speak when I give you permission."
Vikki fought back the desire to stick out her tongue at him.
"You have issues, young lady. Red is the color of the security officers in the brotherhood. We will spread a rumor that you are a security agent working for us and you were a spy on the ship before the attack. Wearing red will cause most of those pirates to stay clear of you. They will think you are security."
"Most, but what about the rest?"
"I said, speak when I give you permission. The rest, well, we will try to keep a protective detail with you at all times."
"You mean to keep me under guard."
"I said..."
"I know, speak when you give me permission."
"You don't understand, I am telling you how to survive by hiding out as one of us. We are a para-military unit. You have to convince the pirates that you are one of us.
"Cool! You mean I can be a warrior and shoot people?" She mimicked holding a gun and shooting.
Whitey sighed. "No. If they see you going around half-cocked and undisciplined they will guess you are just a civilian impersonating a security officer they will shoot you as a spy."
"What? But this is your idea, not mine."
The slap was sudden, she didn't see it coming and Whitey was surprised at himself. He regretted it but she had to learn fast or be lost.
"Lesson number two, you do not challenge my orders, plans, or ideas."
Vikki rubbed her hot cheek, her lip quivered; she resolved not to let him see her cry.
"Yes, sir." Whitey's leaned over bringing his face inches from hers. "You say, yes sir."
Vikki gave him her most resentful look. "Yes, sir."
"Never tell anybody anything about yourself, not your name, age, favorite color, why you are on the Stardiver and where you were going. Do not let anybody know anything. Stay away from the pirates and keep to yourself when you are with any of my guys, too. Do not bother making friends.
To convince the pirates my guys have to be convinced too. Do you understand?
He waited
She glared at him
What do you say?
Through clenched teeth, she hissed. "Yes, sir."
"Only Bill, my lieutenant, will know the truth, and it has to stay that way to keep you alive and safe. Any questions? Now you may speak."
"Do I have to say 'yes sir' to everybody or only you?"
"Is that all you can think about? No, you do not have to say 'yes sir' to anybody but me, in fact if you keep that rebellious tongue wagging they will think you are throwing privilege around, all these security officers have a superior attitude. Anything else?
"Do I get a gun?"
"No, you are still a civilian." Whitey hated telling lies to his men. The word will go back that all the civilians were evacuated and governments would see every person remaining on the Stardiver as a combatant. He assumed she needed structure and preserving what she knew as normal was the best start. It would help him to get control over this girl. "If you bear arms you will be a combatant and subject to arrest and trial as a pirate."
"What if I need to defend myself from the pirates? Don't I get to protect myself?"
"No." he looked at the ceiling, exasperated.
"But you already gave me a gun when those idiots were chasing me. So I am already a, a, what are you guys anyway?"
"Let's just say we are a private security force."
"Well, if I am supposed to be part of a private security force I should have a gun."
Whitey sighed, "O.K. Only for the purpose of self-defense." He reached around his back and brought out the small gun he gave her before. Unstrapping his holster and leaning over he wrapped it around her and buckled the lower strap around her thigh. "You are a dancer. Classical. I guess."
"Yes. How did you know?"
"The muscles in your legs."
The holster automatically re-sized itself to her figure and fitted the shape of the gun when she slipped it in.
"Hey. It won't come out."
"No. It is a smart gun. Hold the grip for a moment, it will feel the nerves in your hand and determine if it should come out or not."
"Well, that doesn't seem very helpful."
"It keeps you from shooting someone by mistake, but if you need it you will find it is in your hand before you know it."
"As long as it comes out when I need it."
"It will. Now I'm sending you back to our base at the shuttle hanger. For you, it is the safest place on the ship right now. Do not talk to anyone unless you absolutely have to. I want you to tell Bill everything you know about the ship. I want you to draw maps and describe every detail no matter how small."
He waited. "You say...?"
"Yes, sir." Her eyes sparkled. "And...."
"Yes?"
"I guess I challenged your orders and ideas about not getting a gun, didn't I?"
Whitey groaned.
The two bodyguards were some distance away, their backs turned to Whitey and Vikki. With a short whistle, he called them back.
"Red is an officer of Security. She is working with us. Take her to Bill. She is going to report to him all the intelligence she was able to gather on the Stardiver before the attack.
"Sir? Permission to speak." Ben said.
"I know," Whitey cut him off, "You have orders to be my bodyguard, but intelligence has priority right now. What she reports will give us a huge advantage over Stonebutt's mob."
"Yes, sir." The two turned to lead her back to the shuttle hanger.
After a few steps, Blackjack asked, "Officer Red, are you really with the brotherhood's security division? It is hard to believe."
Without looking at him she said. "What do you think, asshole?"
"If you are security," Ben wondered, "why were you crying back there?"
"I never met the Boss personally and I wanted to find out for myself just how stupid he really is."
With a quick glance at each other, the two guards moved apart giving space between them and her.
Her retort echoed up the corridor. Whitey shook his head, "Yea, she'll scare them all off."
(c) Adron
To proceed to the next chapter click here or choose from the table of contents at the sidebar.
Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Please see the sidebar for other chapters, I am sure you will enjoy them too.
Adron
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_______________________________________________
Chapter 42
THE REBEL AND THE RULES
Vikky couldn't control her weeping. She lay on the floor as her body shook in rhythm with her sobs.
Whitey sighed shaking his head slowly.
"Boss?" Black Jack was ready for any fight but crying women always filled him with foreboding.
"Give her a minute boys. Stay with her. Let her cry it out.'' Whitey looked up the corridor to the portal where Crow and his gang slithered away. "Wait for me here." Whitey sprinted to the portal.
"Wait, Boss," Ben moved forward to keep up.
Whitey turned, "Obey!" he snarled.
"But, Boss I respectfully plead prior orders. We are your bodyguards." Ben stood helpless. "Let one of us go with you."
"I said, stay with Red." Whitey disappeared through the portal into the cavernous restaurant section. He trailed Crow's men until it was clear they were gone. His quick eyes and analytic mind reconstructed Vikki's battle with the pirates. Looking at the burnt corridor behind the kitchens he murmured, "O.K. We got one resourceful woman here."
The temperature had fallen and the useless death-bot was frozen in a sheet of ice that stretched back to the laundry room. "Dumb ship," Whitey said as he skidded across the ice on his way back to the three in the corridor.
Vikki was standing. She was a head shorter than the two mercenaries but looked even smaller beside the men in bulky armor. Whitey looked her up and down, not to admire her figure but to read the small details for information.
Vikki glared at him. "What are you looking at, old man?" She snapped.
"Were you the only one or were they were after others too?"
"I was alone."
With hand signals, he sent his bodyguards to both ends of the hall to stand watch.
"Why didn't you evacuate when the order was given to go to the common room?"
"I was trapped in a locked laundry room, then it flooded, then those stupid apes were chasing me. We were trapped behind the kitchens in a hall that caught fire and locked down to extinguish the flames."
Whitey nodded, he had already put together the events but was more interested in her reaction than the facts.
"Your suit is almost out of power." Whitey searched his pouches for a spare battery pack. "Here, plug this in until yours charges. You need a bath, you don't smell as pretty as you look you know. And you have chicken grease in your hair."
"You are not my dad."
"Thank God."
"When can I get out of here and back with my family?"
"You missed the boat on that one, miss. They were shipped off. We will make arrangements for your safe return but in the meantime, you have to stay alive." Whitey was rarely unsure of himself but this was one of those times; he didn't know how to talk to this fiery young woman.
"My men and I are not here under ideal circumstances. We have to get along with the pirates or else there will be a bloodbath worse than before, but getting along just got more complicated with a beautiful redhead in my company. So, you do as I say and we will get you back to your parents. But go off on your own I'll let the pirates have you. Do you understand?"
Vikki's lips tightened and her brow furrowed as she nodded.
"We help you but you have to help us to do it. First, from now on your name is Red."
"I hate being called that. People teased me about my red hair."
Whitey took a step toward her raising his hand to slap her. She glared at him in defiance. Remembering she was technically a civilian and a girl he checked himself. "You speak when I give you permission."
Vikki fought back the desire to stick out her tongue at him.
"You have issues, young lady. Red is the color of the security officers in the brotherhood. We will spread a rumor that you are a security agent working for us and you were a spy on the ship before the attack. Wearing red will cause most of those pirates to stay clear of you. They will think you are security."
"Most, but what about the rest?"
"I said, speak when I give you permission. The rest, well, we will try to keep a protective detail with you at all times."
"You mean to keep me under guard."
"I said..."
"I know, speak when you give me permission."
"You don't understand, I am telling you how to survive by hiding out as one of us. We are a para-military unit. You have to convince the pirates that you are one of us.
"Cool! You mean I can be a warrior and shoot people?" She mimicked holding a gun and shooting.
Whitey sighed. "No. If they see you going around half-cocked and undisciplined they will guess you are just a civilian impersonating a security officer they will shoot you as a spy."
"What? But this is your idea, not mine."
The slap was sudden, she didn't see it coming and Whitey was surprised at himself. He regretted it but she had to learn fast or be lost.
"Lesson number two, you do not challenge my orders, plans, or ideas."
Vikki rubbed her hot cheek, her lip quivered; she resolved not to let him see her cry.
"Yes, sir." Whitey's leaned over bringing his face inches from hers. "You say, yes sir."
Vikki gave him her most resentful look. "Yes, sir."
"Never tell anybody anything about yourself, not your name, age, favorite color, why you are on the Stardiver and where you were going. Do not let anybody know anything. Stay away from the pirates and keep to yourself when you are with any of my guys, too. Do not bother making friends.
To convince the pirates my guys have to be convinced too. Do you understand?
He waited
She glared at him
What do you say?
Through clenched teeth, she hissed. "Yes, sir."
"Only Bill, my lieutenant, will know the truth, and it has to stay that way to keep you alive and safe. Any questions? Now you may speak."
"Do I have to say 'yes sir' to everybody or only you?"
"Is that all you can think about? No, you do not have to say 'yes sir' to anybody but me, in fact if you keep that rebellious tongue wagging they will think you are throwing privilege around, all these security officers have a superior attitude. Anything else?
"Do I get a gun?"
"No, you are still a civilian." Whitey hated telling lies to his men. The word will go back that all the civilians were evacuated and governments would see every person remaining on the Stardiver as a combatant. He assumed she needed structure and preserving what she knew as normal was the best start. It would help him to get control over this girl. "If you bear arms you will be a combatant and subject to arrest and trial as a pirate."
"What if I need to defend myself from the pirates? Don't I get to protect myself?"
"No." he looked at the ceiling, exasperated.
"But you already gave me a gun when those idiots were chasing me. So I am already a, a, what are you guys anyway?"
"Let's just say we are a private security force."
"Well, if I am supposed to be part of a private security force I should have a gun."
Whitey sighed, "O.K. Only for the purpose of self-defense." He reached around his back and brought out the small gun he gave her before. Unstrapping his holster and leaning over he wrapped it around her and buckled the lower strap around her thigh. "You are a dancer. Classical. I guess."
"Yes. How did you know?"
"The muscles in your legs."
The holster automatically re-sized itself to her figure and fitted the shape of the gun when she slipped it in.
"Hey. It won't come out."
"No. It is a smart gun. Hold the grip for a moment, it will feel the nerves in your hand and determine if it should come out or not."
"Well, that doesn't seem very helpful."
"It keeps you from shooting someone by mistake, but if you need it you will find it is in your hand before you know it."
"As long as it comes out when I need it."
"It will. Now I'm sending you back to our base at the shuttle hanger. For you, it is the safest place on the ship right now. Do not talk to anyone unless you absolutely have to. I want you to tell Bill everything you know about the ship. I want you to draw maps and describe every detail no matter how small."
He waited. "You say...?"
"Yes, sir." Her eyes sparkled. "And...."
"Yes?"
"I guess I challenged your orders and ideas about not getting a gun, didn't I?"
Whitey groaned.
The two bodyguards were some distance away, their backs turned to Whitey and Vikki. With a short whistle, he called them back.
"Red is an officer of Security. She is working with us. Take her to Bill. She is going to report to him all the intelligence she was able to gather on the Stardiver before the attack.
"Sir? Permission to speak." Ben said.
"I know," Whitey cut him off, "You have orders to be my bodyguard, but intelligence has priority right now. What she reports will give us a huge advantage over Stonebutt's mob."
"Yes, sir." The two turned to lead her back to the shuttle hanger.
After a few steps, Blackjack asked, "Officer Red, are you really with the brotherhood's security division? It is hard to believe."
Without looking at him she said. "What do you think, asshole?"
"If you are security," Ben wondered, "why were you crying back there?"
"I never met the Boss personally and I wanted to find out for myself just how stupid he really is."
With a quick glance at each other, the two guards moved apart giving space between them and her.
Her retort echoed up the corridor. Whitey shook his head, "Yea, she'll scare them all off."
(c) Adron
To proceed to the next chapter click here or choose from the table of contents at the sidebar.
Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Please see the sidebar for other chapters, I am sure you will enjoy them too.
Adron
Please use the buttons below to share this with your social networks. Thank You.
