(Callie)
So not to disturb the hotel guests, Callie left a sound ward that would slowly degrade in Dustin's room. The too thick strands of the ward were woven together poorly compared to Taniyas skillful barriers, but it should stop anyone from hearing if Dustin shouted.
Just before the ward settled into place behind her, she heard Dustin's shout. "You better not die!" if he said anything after that, she wasn't sure. Those words ran through her mind as she calmly exited their secure hotel, giving a smile to the security guard at the front desk.
Her stomach did a flip as she passed the alert security detail. She shouldn't have been worried, it's not like there were any alarms going off and she was a known associate of Dustin. Once outside Callie hit the key fob in her hand and an old, fashioned grey hover car chirped in greeting.
She smiled wistfully. Once Dustin realized she took his keys again, he was going to be even angrier with her. Her short purple skirt rustled in the draft as a shuttle tore past, following the inner speed lane. She unlocked the front door and sat in the front seat. With a few taps, she input the ambassador's current place of residence into the shuttle's computer.
The display beeped and gave her a travel time of twenty-four minutes and thirty-five seconds. She scowled, hoping she wasn't too late. If she drove the speed limit, it would be a little too close for comfort, giving her little time to react. Villus might already be in the ambassador's residence. She put the shuttle in drive and the engine hummed softly, feeling like a wheelbarrow in comparison to Taniyas Bileran.
The engine hummed as she pushed the pedal to the floor and turned out into traffic, pushing the shuttle as hard as she dared. Unlike a proper shuttle, Dustin's vehicle responded sluggishly. The reason was clearly the extra armour plating taxing the shuttle's magnetic rail.
At one red light, the engine stalled, and it took several long embarrassing seconds to restart the shuttle. She flushed, not understanding why Dustin liked the piece of junk?
She laughed mirthlessly. This was one hell of a time for that minor hiccup. The shuttle was probably trying to get back at Callie for everything she had done to make Dustin angry.
She arrived at her destination late, well on time, but in Callie's book, that was late. It took her a grueling twenty-four minutes and fifty seconds to navigate Valias' streets until she found the cosy five thousand square foot mansion.
She would do several passes, and when she saw evidence of Villus, she would call Taniya. Or at least that was the plan. She drove past the place. It was a two-story mansion with a high, flimsy privacy fence blocking off everything but the second floor. The fence was clearly for show, but the pillars of solid steel spread every twenty feet were a more serious obstacle.
That was the foundation of a static field. If she looked closely, she could see the transparent haze in the air around the mansion in a dome. She let out a relieved sigh. With the static field, she wondered how Villus planned on breaking in? She pondered that, watching just as the slight haze in the air blinked. The air around the mansion fizzled and popped, sending sparks of energy crackling through the air as the static field disappeared.
Callie said several choice words in her native Etrian, scanning the street nervously. Her eyes darted over the quiet side streets, noting several people out for a walk. Several Vehicles were parked along the street, and one a completely unremarkable Van drew her attention. The van was so uninteresting and bland that it was immediately forgettable. It looked like a hundred others she saw while driving here.
But unlike all the others, that one had no marks on the sides, no company it belonged to. Softly she ran a hair thin net of turbulent energy around the van as she passed. In moments, she found a small opening. With a steady focus, the energy poured in through a slightly open window, filling the van like a noxious gas.
The visual distortion of her negative art was minimal in the green light of the city's barrier. Even so, it might be noticed if someone was watching closely. To be honest, she didn't give a damn if someone noticed right then. With that in mind, she ran a thin net of wispy energy through the van, running thin wisps of energy over every surface.
She couldn't sense much, but she could sense heat, and get a good idea of the shapes in the vehicle. Most important, she could tell that the two people inside were dead. Her remote scan wasn't conclusive, only detecting the remnants of their cooling body heat and the blood still pooling around them. Going against all sense of self preservation, she pulled up onto the sidewalk and into the mansion's front yard.
She honked her horn, and two civilians dove out of her way as she gunned the engine towards the thin fence. Bracing for impact, Callie drove through the tall, thin, decorative fence, avoiding the thick steel pylons. The thin plastic boards folded and shatter collapsing under the weight of Dustin's shuttle. As she hoped, the shuttle didn't collide with the inactive, static field. Now Callie really hoped someone was inside guarding the Slax ambassador.
Despite the feeble fence, her shuttle came to a screeching halt right at the front steps of the mansion. Cautiously she stepped from the shuttle, noting several civilians on the street holding up comms to record her.
She winced. Oh crap, she had totally forgotten to call Taniya! Callie forced herself to focus. Dustin would be fine. Her sound ward would fade within an hour, and besides, the enforcers should be on their way. If civilians were good for anything, I was calling for help.
Glancing around, Callie took in the several cameras on her side of the building. That was unimportant. Knowing her former instructor, Villus would have some sort of sensory drone watching the streets, and might set a trap for her. She tapped her reservoir, and a shimmering shield of silvery lines linked by patches of darkness bracketed her body, hugging her like a second skin.
Drawing her pistol, Callie wracked the slide, chambering a round. Well, Dustin didn't need to know there wasn't a bullet in the chamber. She trusted him, but hadn't lived this long by taking stupid risks. Callie ignored the fact that she was taking a massive risk by confronting Villus personally. She drew the knife Dustin gave her from the leather belt at her waist, noting the miniscule drain on her reservoir.
Her art flowed into the silvery metal, and the green metallic glass seemed to glow, projecting a monomolecular edge. She took in deep breaths, calming her racing heart, and with one last glance to the gawkers on the street, she enter the mansion. The front door, only accessible with a hand and retinal scanner, as well as DNA print, was offline.
All that extra security was useless if you knew how to disable it. She pushed open the already unlocked front door and found the third victim. It was a well-built woman in her thirties, with two holes punched into the center of her forehead. The woman's face was caught in a startled expression, clearly unknowing of who killed her.
Callie's senses heighten as she heard an oh so faint pop up on the second flood. Cautiously she crept up the stairs, her eyes drawn to a fanciful glass chandelier, and beautiful paintings of a harsh desert world. She enters a wide hallway of the opulent mansion; gripping her pistol loosely. She held the knife Dustin' gave her in one hand, bracing her pistol on her wrist.
She passed one of the mansion's wait staff face down on the carpet, laying in an expanding pool of blood. The coppery tang of blood and death filled her nose, putting her on edge. Callie pushed onward, channeling more power into the shadowy barrier around her.
She heard a pop from a suppressed pistol echo down the hallway, and a not so suppressed scream of agony. Her heartbeat quicken and she gripped her knife tighter in her sweaty left palm. Her left hand shook slightly, but she forced it to stay still. She could do this.
Callie rounded the corner just in time to watch Villus shoot a prone man a second time to his good knee. The young man screamed, his pained voice loud and high pitched. She slid to a stop, lining the sights of her pistol with the back of Villuse's armoured head.
Dressed in dark black hard shelled armour, Villus struck an imposing figure. He towered over a dark-skinned young man in pajamas, his back to Callie. Instead of shooting immediately, she cleared her throat loudly, her heart racing. She needed to get Villus away from the young man he was tormenting.
Villus slowly turned, his pistol snapping towards her. Callie broke out in a cold sweat, her eyes resting on his small caliber pistol. His face plate was pitch black, obscuring his visage. He tensed up, noting Callie with her pistol pointed at his face plate. Well, maybe she was wrong about him setting up a recon drone?
A young man lay face down on the couch, thrashing in an expanding pool of blood that spatter everywhere. The mans silvery hair was stained red, but he was still alive, with both legs bleeding at the knees. He was sobbing and whimpering uncontrollably, clutching at his damaged knees.
Callie swallowed. She couldn't see the young man's face, but his mop of silvery hair and pitch black skin was identical to the ambassadors. Her heart skipped a beat as the man mumbled something in his pain. He was mumbling for his mother in Slax, and worse, judging by the growing pools of blood, the young man might bleed to death soon.
The face plate of Villuse's armour shimmer and turned transparent, revealing his haughty look. His eyebrows were knit together and he stare at her through slitted eyes. His grey eyes glared at her from under heavy brows disapprovingly, his eyes flicking momentarily to the wounded ambassador.
"You really decided to try to stop me instead of going to save Warren? Warren will run out of oxygen and die, you know that right?."Villus asked, his pistol steady on her chest.
"And why would I care about Warren? He is only a comrade. He lost his usefulness when you captured him."Callie said, knowing he wouldn't believe that for a moment. To draw his attention away from that topic, Callie tensed her fingers on the hilt of her long knife.
Villus glanced to the weapon at the movement, and a scowl broke his calm expression. Callie smiled, catching his look. She needed to make him angry, to lose focus, even for a moment. Maybe if she made him angry, Villus would focus on her and ignore the wounded Slax ambassador.
"What do you think of my new knife? It's almost identical to yours. Well, at least it would be identical if you hadn't lost yours."Callie said, plastering on an innocent smile. Villuses' stony expression waver, and the all too familiar anger filled his eyes.
"I see that you new pet Devali gave you a present. I wonder what he will say when he discovers your betrayal? Do you really think he will accept you? The moment you tell him, that bitch Veronica is going to have you flayed like a fish." Villus said amusedly. Callie shifted ever so slightly, but Villus caught the anxious movement.
"I already told him. He already knows who I really am."Callie said. Villus gave her an ever so familiar disapproving look.
Villus laughed. "Do you expect me to believe that?" Callie smiled and replied."It doesn't matter if you believe me. At this point i am only here to hold your attention until the might of the enforcers arrives."
"Now that is a genuine act of revenge. You are risking getting arrested to make sure i am captured?" Villus asked, sounding slightly pained.
"Surely you understand? But to be honest, any side you are on, I want to be on the other side. And besides, once I cut you into crumb sized pieces, I'm out of here."Callie said dryly. Villus snorted in amusement. "When did you become so callus? I am almost proud of you for your dedication to revenge."Villus said, giving the ambassador a not so gentle kick in one leg.
The young man screamed ineffectually, as Villus didn't care for such things.. Callie tuned out the sobs and the screaming, crinkling her nose at the stench of other bodily fluids.
When she didn't respond to his kick to the ambassador's bloody leg, Villus moved to the side, giving himself space to move. He moved gracefully even in the sleek black hard shelled armour.
Callie kept her reticle on his clear face plate, tracking his movements with her gun, ready to squeeze off shots. She walked clockwise around the large waiting room, putting a couch between herself and him. She was quiet, her thoughts a jumble, deciding what to say.
"Why don't you just leave? What do you have to gain by attacking the empire? It can't be simple revenge." Callie asked finally. Villus smiled at her, and it wasn't a friendly smile. "Do you know what the empire said when we proposed expanding our borders twenty years ago?" Villus asked, his armoured boots silent on the thick carpets.
"I do not know, they probably told prime minister Hather to go screw himself." Callie said, cocking her head at her former instructor.
"Our prime minister proposed pushing off the restrictions of the other nations, clans, and empires. By doing so, we could practice the highly powerful, yet dangerous negative art more freely. " Villus said.
She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes at Villus. "I'm not a fool. Even if it's only in secret, the Devali practice the Negative art just like we do. And I'm certain other species, aside from humans, ignore that rule as well. Your story is flimsy at best! Whats the real reason Etria left the empire?" Callie asked.
Villuse's eyes glimmered mischievously, his grin made more menacing by the ambassador who lay on the floor sobbing, clutching at his knees, his hands drenched in blood. Villus let the silence linger, but Callie simply gave him a steely eyed glare, unwavering.
All the while they were maneuvering for advantage as they talked, both realizing fighting was imminent. The couch she positioned behind wouldn't stop their bullets or their art, but it would impede a physical attack.
"You are really going to let the empire's genocide of our people go unpunished?" Villus asked finally, ignoring her previous question. Maybe she could beat it out of him, but more likely she would need answers elsewhere..
Disappointed, Callie snorted. "I had some time to think. And the only people from the compound that I cared about were alive and well. Warren and Peyton are my only friends. But that is your own faults. You and the other instructors made sure we hated everyone else."Callie said venomously.
"You know, I really wish we didn't put so much time and effort into you. When I drove a dump truck into your parents' car, I thought you had such promise. After the botched attempt, we should have just let you die on the operating table. But luckily for you, we needed a volunteer for extensive testing."Villus stated. Callie gave Villus a questioning look, unsure if he was telling the truth.
" That was a car accident! And what do you mean by extensive testing?" Callie asked uncertainly, her mind drawn to the months of operations she suffered.
Villus chuckled mirthlessly and shook his head sadly. "A car accident was a simple lie we told you. But do you want to know the truth?" Villus asked, cocking his head.
"You are just going to feed me some stupid lies!" Callie retorted, her finger resting on the trigger of her p223. She should just shoot him and screw getting more information. "When we discovered you had the art, the compound tried to negotiate with your parents. They told us to go stuff it! They told us the compound was too harsh for their little girl. Can you believe that?" Villus asked with a smirk.
Callie's hands tighten on the butt of her pistol, and her shimmering combat knife wavered. She wanted to ignore the man, but Villus knew her too well. "You are just trying to get under my skin."Callie stated, uncertainly.
In his sleek black enforcers armour, Villus gave her a cruel smile. "When they offered the job to go and kill your parents, they didn't even need to pay me. In fact, I was happy to go. You should have seen the look on their faces when I ran that stop sign. But then again, you probably did, you were in the back seat."Villus said, laughing gratingly.
Anger filled her, and Callie couldn't help but remember that horrible night ten years ago. She remembered being tired from dance class, focused on the comm in her lap as she played some stupid game. The truth was, at the time, she was so focused on her comm that she hadn't even noticed anything was wrong until her parents' car was in was slammed into.
Her stony expression wavered, and Villus grinned at her anger. The momentary weakness was all the opening Villus needed, and in common Villus fashion. He threw a wall of sizzling energy at her, or more precisely, the couch. The energy slammed into the couch, flinging the sofa at her with tremendous force.
Reacting on heightened adrenaline and with her body's reaction improved by the positive art, Callie lept straight up, flatting out to avoid the projectile. With a deafening boom, the couch slammed into, and partway through, the wall behind her. Plaster dust billowed around her, covering her in a white film.
Callie flipped, landing softly in a crouch. The surrounding air rippled and spark mere inches from her skin as low caliber bullets glanced off her energy bubble. Sighting in on his faceplate, she squeezed off several shots.
His armour and his own barrier protection him easily, deflecting the shots of her p223 like they were made of water. Callie decided the pistol was useless in this fight and holster it. She flooded her body with positive energy. Her muscles tingled, and now with one free hand she condensed the art. Oozing black darkness with lines of silvery energy filled her right palm.
Ahead of her, Villus dropped his low caliber suppressed pistol, the magazine now empty, raising his armoured hands. She was grateful he hadn't brought a real pulse rifle, but Villus didn't need one. She glanced at the ambassador, noting the young man was doing his best to drag himself away.
Her condensed cutting edge of energy reached its limit, and Callie went from defence to the attack. Mere heartbeats were all it took to cross half of the living room to launch a scything slash of energy towards villuse's neck.
Under his helmet, the man's eyes widen as his recently created barrier only half deflected her guillotine of negative energy from his neck upwards. The energy tore through his barrier and cut off a small piece of Villuses' helmet. Villus stagger back, looking dazed from the head blow, and blood leaked from the top of his helmet.
Not wanting to give up the advantage, she closed within striking range. Her body pumped full of positive energy, she stabbed her knife at the relatively thin seam at his neck joint.
The mono molecular edge of her knife sparked, cutting through Villuses' weakened barrier. Her knife deflected off course, biting into the upper edge of the thick chest plate.
Her arm jolted painfully from the force of her art enhanced blow, but the combination of armour and a barrier protected Villus from the killing blow.
Even under the heightened effects of the positive art rushing through her body, Villuses retaliation was too fast for her to dodge. He slammed a palm into her stomach and a fist sized black sphere of negative energy hit her own barrier. Villus frantically leaped back, getting away from her.
Her eyes widen as the gravity well latched to her barrier and began pulling the energy in. Callie was violently squeezed as her own barrier was used against her, shrinking to be absorbed by the powerful gravity well with her inside it.
Frantic to escape the trap, Callie tapped her reservoir, flaring her power to tear her own barrier apart. The barrier shatter around and she collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping to fill her lungs with oxygen. Her vision was filled with spots and only just kept hold of her knife in her numb fingers.
In her peripheral there was a blur of movement, and she startled back, taking an armoured boot to her right shoulder instead of her face. Pain lanced through her, but she used the force of the blow to roll backwards, rising unsteadily to her feet.
Her vision swam. She needed to focus. Her barrier was gone, and her body ached from being squeezed by her own barrier. Ahead, Villus stagger as he took another step closer, his armoured boot slipping in his own blood.