"I don't really know much about Beryl. I know her backstory and whatnot, but I've only seen her twice, since I didn't really have any reason to be in the palace, much less the Queen's audience chamber," Hematite admitted.
Sousuke nodded, his mask in place over his features and a cattle prod in his hand. "I see. Explain what you know, then."
Next to him, Negi stood unsteadily while wearing a hazmat suit with platform boots to make him look like a short teenager instead of a child. He had been conscripted to take notes in the second interrogation once it was revealed that, contrary to Sousuke's initial assumption, Ranma was not in fact writing in code, but rather had near-indecipherable handwriting. He was a bit unnerved to be part of what had the potential to be an actual torture session, but as time went on it became increasingly clear that the creature they had captured would do pretty much anything at the threat of violence.
Hematite sighed and then started to go into detail about Beryl's supposed beginning in the Silver Millennium. She had been particularly depressed these last two days, not because she was pretty sure she had gotten three of her fellow youma killed (they were all jerks, and the "boss" was always bragging about how her tail was smoother and shinier than hers), but because she had failed to regenerate her arm. Once she had concentrated on healing her wounds, she had nearly exhausted herself just growing her shoulder back; it would seem surviving the car bomb and then getting her senses back in order had drawn more energy then she thought. She COULD grow back her arm, but she'd be so exhausted and near death that she'd give herself hardly a week to live assuming she didn't get in another fight. Plus she'd be far too tired to manage an escape, assuming she could think of some way to muscle through the traps hidden all around her.
"-so then she led the Negaverse army on a direct assault on Moon Palace, crushing the Senshi and cornering Queen Serenity. Now she leads the movement here on Earth from her throne in the Negaverse, though she's still subservient to Metallia. I suspect mind control, personally. No way she turned on the whole bloody Moon Kingdom just because her fiance jilted her."
Sousuke nodded out of practice; he had deemed this information irrelevant (which was why Orion had not already told them, since he had the same information) and was thinking about other things. Then he caught sight of Orion poking his head into the garage. "Pardon me. I'll be back in a moment." Putting down the cattle prod next to Negi (as if the wizard needed it), he stepped outside and began to talk to the cat quietly.
From Hematite's perspective, she could just see Sousuke's back and hear some quick mumbling from that direction. A glance at the new interrogator told her nothing, as he or she (she couldn't tell through the hazmat suit) was looking over the notes.
Eventually, Sousuke returned. "I have consulted with my superior, and decided that we might make arrangements for your release."
Hematite blinked, utterly flabbergasted. Release? Freedom? But why would they? Is it possible Jaedite had negotiated for her release?
She could barely stop herself from laughing at that last thought, despite her exhaustion and the bleak situation.
"So what's the catch?" the youma asked.
"They are numerous," Sousuke said unapologetically. "You are forbidden to drain energy from humans. You are forbidden to harm humans directly, or through willful negligence. You may be privy to surveillance at any time, through means not disclosed to you. In addition, you will be called upon to contact your superiors, supply-"
"Excuse me," Hematite interrupted, wincing as Sousuke raised the cattle prod. "Before you go any further, I think I should tell you that I won't be contacting my superiors. Unless I feel like committing suicide and I'm too tired to find a less painful way."
Sousuke was silent for several moments. "Explain."
"I've been captured by the enemy. If that alone gets out, then I'll be killed right off the bat. They won't even care if I gave anything up, which I did." Then she stopped and frowned. "Actually, since you destroyed the others, I'll have to explain how I survived and why I retreated back to the Negaverse. Or Jaedite will vaporize me so that he doesn't have to spend time listening to my explanation. Depends on his mood at the time, really."
"So your commanders execute released prisoners?" Sousuke asked, scowling under his mask. Those were the kind of barbaric regulations imposed by Stalin under his reign.
"Well, it's more policy than practice, since we don't really get taken prisoner," Hematite admitted. "So I won't be talking to anyone from the Negaverse if I can help it, and I'll probably have to avoid being tracked down and killed. Any chance I can get out of here if I just promise to be good and die quietly when and if the assassins come?" She'd also have to drain SOME energy from humans to feed herself, but they didn't know that. Without having to give it up to the Negaverse, and without getting in any fights, she'd be able to get by draining a tiny measure of power from her clients that nobody could detect.
Sousuke glanced over to the door, and then stepped over to it. Hushed whispering ensued.
A few moments later Sousuke stepped back up to her. "You run a successful law partnership, correct?"
Hematite nodded slowly, wondering where this was going.
"First of all, my superior would like to express skepticism, being under the assumption that a youma is too dumb to adequately understand the legal business."
The snake-woman bristled, but slumped after briefly glaring at the mercenary. "I just fill out paperwork. The interns do all the real work, and Ryuochi is the one who goes to trial, not me. He's human, by the way." He was also her one thrall that a youma of her power was capable of controlling, not that she really needed to control him much (mostly she just made him massage her shoulders without groping her; he had a bit of a lecherous streak). But her captors might not like that tidbit, so she kept it to herself.
"I see. And you are concerned that your former comrades may hunt you down?"
"If someone figures out I'm not dead, it's almost guaranteed," Hematite said miserably.
"Very well," Sousuke said, straightening. "Then we are not only willing to release you, but for a considerable monthly fee, would be willing to provide you with... 'protection'."
Negi and Hematite both sweatdropped.
"Are you serious?" The youma asked. "Isn't that extortion?"
"Ah, so you are more proficient in law than previously indicated. It will not save you should you choose to defy us." Sousuke said seriously.
He was right, of course. Hematite found it strange to be suddenly solicited in the manner of a business under the thumb of Yakuza, but paying a big chunk of her paycheck every month was a big step up from being trapped in this horrible garage. Who knows? If she was suddenly targeted by the Negaverse, maybe they'd even hold up their part of the bargain and save her. It wasn't like she was putting the money to much use as it was.
"Well, I guess I don't have a choice. So can we define terms?" She asked, having become SOMEWHAT proficient with business contracts over the life of her short employment.
"Certainly. We'll begin with a significant down payment in exchange for your release..."
_____________________________________________________________________
Sitting on his haunches outside the old garage, Orion's head rose attentively as Ranma appeared, jumping across several adjacent roofs before eventually landing a few meters away.
"Hey, Orion!" Ranma said as he approached, stretching a bit. He had been up late fighting the youma and had slept in quite a bit as a result. "I noticed that there's a bunch of new stuff in the apartment now," he began. Trying to broach the subject of how Orion shouldn't be spending so much money when Ranma (and so far, his former housemates) was providing it. Finally, he settled on "what's up with that?"
The moon cat smiled. "After me and Sagara got the used-car youma, we went ahead an put out the fire. After that, we appropriated some of the belongings in her house to drain assets from the enemy and put them to use for our side."
Ranma blinked. "You looted her house?"
"'Looted' is such an ugly word," Orion chided, "and one with a lot of political bite. We were in need of resources, and a thirty-two inch flat-screen television, so we attacked an enemy supply base and plundered their equipment, that's all." Then he snorted. "I can't believe how much plundering we got done before the authorities arrived, too. Are Tokyo's police simply underfunded, or have they just given up all hope of maintaining order?"
"Can't tell ya, but at least they stay out of our way," Ranma said, remembering the numerous occasions on the road that local police had bothered him and his father for various (usually good) reasons. "Anyway, I was about to tell ya that I've got some leads on a few jobs that I'm gonna go check out today."
"Sounds good," the moon cat confided as he glanced inside the garage. "I'm coming up with additional ways to supplement our income even as we speak."
Ranma nodded happily. THAT was good news, if only it meant that he'd always be broke instead of being in constant debt. "Cool! I'll see you guys later, then."
GZACK! "OW! What was that for?" Came a loud growl from within the garage.
"Your interpretation of tax law is proving detrimental to our negotiations," came Sousuke's voice a moment later. "Now let's start over."
Ranma winced and jumped away.
_____________________________________________________________________
Some people would say that Ranma was a one-trick pony. Someone who only knew one skill, and specialized to such a degree in an art that was of practically no value in the modern world that his prospects for the future were miserable and he'd be poor and dumb his entire life.
These people were at least as closed-minded as they accused Ranma of being. That many of these same people lived in Nerima, where martial arts was freely combined and used with every profession from manservant to cheerleader, was especially ironic and foolish.
Ranma wasn't in Nerima any longer, so his choices were more limited, but his abilities still spanned the entire realm of the physical arts. With his athletic ability he could have been a star player in pretty much any sport other than hockey (not because he couldn't skate worth a damn, but mostly because that sport was too violent even for HIM), been a government spy, taken on as a bodyguard for a rich individual, or taken on any number of smaller jobs that required muscle and reliability rather than poise and technical knowledge.
So while he wouldn't make it as anybody's intern, and wouldn't dare apply for a modeling position in either gender even if he probably COULD get hired, he was still perfectly qualified to be a...
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(Posted Fri, 17 Nov 2006 03:39)
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