There are two types of evil people in the world: the corrupted and the corrupt. The girls who had just told their tales probably qualified as the first; the person who walked through the door was clearly the second. Have you ever seen someone who just radiated evil? Who were so corrupt that they reveled in their own slime?
We could do a lot for the girls. About the only thing that could be done for this guy, however, was to avoid him if possible - and ‘educate’ him if it’s not. The tattoos on his forehead were different from the girls; it looked like a crown of vines across his forehead. Other tattoos made themselves known down his cheeks and neck; I didn’t know the details of what each meant, but I could feel the power they contained. His suit was black, perfectly tailored, with a red tie and expensive shoes. He pulled out a jar and a paintbrush, and smiled. “I can give you back the sort of life you desire, girl... and that of all the others.” The girl next to him, clearly a slave like the others had been, stood unmoving, unspeaking.
I considered moving under the bar for the shotgun, just on general principle.
Ranma shuddered in her mother’s embrace. “N... N... no.” She pulled away from the embrace, to stand on her own two feet. . “Don’t... can’t... go back. Mi... Kasumi... is dead. I killed her.”
He snarled, and took a step back. “You say that like any of you have a choice.” His eyes turned to his slave. “Start counting to thirty, my dear. When you reach thirty, kill one patron of the bar every ten seconds until either the girls agree to come with us or... there are no other patrons in the bar.”
“Yes, Master,” she replied, her voice shaking, then began counting. She wasn’t a killer; I could see it in her eyes.
My own anger flared to a boil; I jumped up, ready to jump to my bar’s defense, when I felt a hand press me down. “Don’t worry, dear,” Zoey replied. “They’ve got it taken care of.”
‘They’ were an interesting bunch. Raven's wings extended out, a prelude to combat; three other similarly-tattooed girls moved into combat stances. A sword was unwrapped and unsheathed, its azure glow matching its wielder’s aura. Several of the more unusual of our group lined up with them, preparing with their weapon of choice.
I heard a chuckle over the count. “Don’t tell me you actually intend to fight back...? You should still have a mark or two keeping you from fighting me; you might kill my slave, but you can’t do a thing to me.”
“Shall we prove that?”
I smiled; Mickey Finn walked up behind them, and picked them both up by the neck. The slaver wriggled in Mickey’s grasp; his slave, curiously, did nothing but continue counting. “You couldn’t kill me. I’m too strong.”
Sally walked up to them; Mickey lowered the slaver enough for her to reach his head. “We don’t have to.” He reached for her; she nimbly ducked his blows, then rubbed her hand along his forehead up through his hair.
I smiled. The primary tattoo along his head had disappeared. Perhaps not coincidentally, the diamond pattern on his slave’s forehead had also vanished.
For the record, her count had stopped at fourteen.
“You’re out of business, Mr. Maximov. Your slaver marks are erased; any slaves you may own are, for now, on their own. Moreover, your fine motor control isn’t what it used to be; put simply, whenever you try to write something, you’re not going to have the control to perform to the perfection required for slavery.” She stood back, and smiled. “If you don’t believe me, try me. One nice little diamond, right here.” She pointed to the middle of her forehead.
He smiled. “I’ll take that bet, bitch. I’m going to enjoy breaking you...” His hands started to shake as he tried to hold his brush; eventually, it fell uselessly to the ground.
“Now, you have two choices. You could leave now, and never darken our doorstep again. Mind you, if any other slavers come by, they’ll find themselves facing the same problems you will.” She smiled beatifically. “Or you can stay here, I can wipe away more of your tattoos... and you’ll be even worse off than you were. I wonder how good of a slave you would make...?”
The slaver shuddered. “I... I’ll go away now,” he squeaked. Mickey set him down; he ran out of The Place as fast as his legs could carry him.
Mickey looked at his left had with ill-disguised disgust. “I dislike slavers.”
“I don’t blame you, Mickey,” Mike replied as he walked up next to his wife. “He’ll be back, likely within a half-hour - and with a gun.” After a moment, his grin rivaled her own. “I wonder what he’s going to think when he finds out that we’re bulletproof?”
She chuckled. “We’ll have to work quickly.” She looked back to me. “Mind if I borrow your house for a minute?”
I nodded. “Sure.” I blinked for a moment, and looked over at the slave he’d left behind. “What’s your name?
She blinked for a moment, clearly perplexed. “I... I don’t remember.”
***
I wasn’t allowed into the house while Sally did her work; it was a girls-only party, so only Sally, Nodoka, Zoey, and Erin were allowed inside. The sounds I heard while waiting outside, however, indicated I didn’t want to.
The first sound I heard, after about a minute, were uncontrollable tears - Nabiki’s, by my rekoning. Nodoka’s voice came up to confort, to tell her that it was over, that she’d never have to worry about that again.
I remembered feeling something like that after destroying the Cockroach - after I found out that Barbara and Jess’s deaths weren’t my fault. There just weren’t enough tears for it.
A second wailing came; this one I recognized as Akane’s. To my surprise, Erin’s voice came out to comfort. I smiled; as should be expected of any children, she was more than she seemed to her parents.
That was tame by comparison to what was coming next. I didn’t pick up the details, only the hushed, nervous tone that passed from person to person. Whatever they faced, it wasn’t good.
That was before the laugh.
Throughout my life, I thought I’d heard about every form of laughter out there. The sly chuckle, the guffaw, the feminine giggle... these were only three of many laughs I’d heard over the years. This one was new - and most definitely disturbing. High-pitched, just a touch of dementia... had any Hollywood directors or producers been around, they would have wanted her for that laugh alone.
Then, in mid laugh... it just stopped. I guessed that Kodachi had been un-cured of her problems growing up, then cured again - the right way, this time.
Another round of muffled discussion broke out; this seemed more heated. I picked up smatterings; they didn’t know what to cure and what not to. Finally, I heard Sally present an option, and all the people involved seemed happy with that.
Things got silent for a long time after that - too long for my comfort. I thought about entering the place, just to see what was going on... just before another scream broke out.
It was hard to describe this scream. It was like a young boy’s voice, with only a touch of testosterone to its existence, but enough to make that subtle difference between a girls’ and a boy’s voice. I heard other cries accompany it, calls for water; they settled down after a moment, and all was calm once more.
After that... all I heard was weeping. Just a soft, anguished weeping; it took a moment for me to recognize whose voice it was - the slave Mr. Maximov had brought in. She hadn’t had the time to prepare for her own catharsis; it was happening all at once, with total strangers her only companions. I can’t even guess how long I was there, listening to her sobs; it could have been a few minutes or an hour. Some conversation was interspersed with the tears - places mentioned, stratagems recommended - but all I could hear was the pain of that wail.
Whoever that girl was, she’d make a heck of a blues musician.
The door opened, and all eyes turned to it; I noticed who came out. The girls... looked strangely normal; they each carried a few tattoos, but nowhere near what they’d had before. Kodachi still looked sane; I gave a small sigh of relief for that. But Ranma... her wings were gone. I walked over to Zoey and Erin, and wrapped them in my arms.
“The worst is over, Dad; Aunt Sally took most of the bad stuff away.” Erin whispered. “I think.”
Nodoka, the mother to the group, bowed to me. “Thank you, Stonebender-san, for your help. My daughters - all of them,” she hugged the newcomer close to her, “are free of their bonds thanks to you. Should you ever need our help, you need but ask Sally for me; I will come as soon as possible.”
“There’s no need for that,” I said, raising my hand. “So... you’re going?”
She nodded sadly. “You truly live in paradise, Stonebender-san. I wish we could stay, but...” She pulled her daughters in. “We need to be going. They won’t be able to track us, now... Erin suggested someplace for us to go, so we’ll be heading there as soon as possible.”
I nodded, understanding. “Farewell, Nodoka, everyone.”
She bowed deeply toward me. “Farewell.”
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