(Callie)
She awoke Sunday evening, glancing at her comm as she stepped on the cold floor. Callie shivered at the feel of cold tile on her feet. No new messages. She stretched, dismissing the hologram. She sorted through her closet, examining the two new outfits.
One was a long blue dress with a high neckline that was good for concealing weapons. Whereas the other was a long sleeve blouse with a short skirt and form fitting black pants. Callie selected the long sleeve blouse, short blue skirt, and black pants. She didn't need long sleeves or the pants, but Callie was uncomfortable revealing the hundreds of small scars across her body.
Also, the wide sleeves of the blouse and the pants concealed her hidden blades. She yawned and stretched. No matter how hard she tried, changing her schedule from day to night was still confusing on her body.
She tugged on her leather shoulder holster, adjusting the uncomfortable straps over the soft fabric of her blouse. Damn, where was Taniya when she needed her? Callie smiled fondly at that thought. Discomfort was an old acquaintance, ever present in her life, so she pushed aside her minor irritation towards the leather straps.
Callie checked her comm again and nothing, still no reply from Warren.
She was getting worried about him, but wasn't sure what to do. Callie walked out into the living room, not even surprised to see Dustin asleep on the couch. That man had a bad habit of falling asleep while working. Her eyes bounced back to his prone form. No, he was definitely awake. When she walked past his couch, he stirred and glanced up at her.
"Sorry didn't mean to wake you."Callie said. Dustin sat up, massaging his neck. " I was actually already awake. Give me a minute. I have something for you." Dustin said, standing and rushing to his room.
Calie stood there nervously near the exit and waited. Dustin returned moments later with a sleek black box and placed it on the island counter of the living room.
He was practically bouncing in excitement, and he gestured towards the box."What is it?" Callie asked, cautiously approaching but not opening the clasps.
"It's your birthday today, isn't it?" Dustin asked. Callie cocked her head in confusion. How did you know that?" Callie asked.
Dustin rolled his eyes. "I have your ID, I checked, and your birthday is today." Dustin said. "But that was a fake ID, that's not my real birthday."Callie said, uncertainly. Well, she did not know when her birthday really was.
Dustin raised an eyebrow."Well, I have decided that today is your birthday. And you still owe me an apology for lying about that, by the way. Soo open up the present."Dustin said excitedly.
Callie laughed and hesitantly opened the steel clasps. The case hissed opened, revealing a single combat knife in its sheath. Wrapped around the knife was a wide leather belt that matched her own shoulder holster. She reached in and grasped the hilt, freezing on contact. She felt her art being drawn from her body into the knife. Callie glanced up at Dustin, shocked.
She drew the weapon carefully, her eyes wide. The long knife was made of a dark metal with lines of clear glasslike crystal threaded throughout the steel.
Callie carefully slipped the knife back into the scabbard, not wanting to cut off a limb. They embroidered the leather belt and scabbard with a dark black spider climbing on a green web. The leather was soft with a clear glasslike clasp.
"The belt embroidery was Taniyas idea. She said you have this net attack that looks just like a spider web."Dustin said, thoughtfully.
She glanced up to Dustin, who was smiling at her hopefully. His short brown hair was a tousled mess, and his jaw was shaded with a shadow of stubble. He bobbed his eyebrows at her as she simply stare at him. She swallowed. How could he look so good in the morning without even trying?
"Do you like it?" Dustin asked, his deep brown eyes sparking with mirth.
"It's amazing. But how did you get this knife? These are incredibly rare, not to mention expensive."Callie said, turning over the sheathed blade in her hand. The blade was faintly familiar, but it had lines of intersecting transparent glass through the blade and white steel handle instead of black. Dustin grinned. "I know, even I cannot afford one for myself with my salary."Dustin said, chuckling.
"Then how,did you get it?" Callie asked, running her fingers along the smooth leather belt. All along the length of the belt were small webs of black and green thread that looked a lot like her nets of energy.
"Remember when you fought that assassin? The one that killed Lyle jade? Well, I took his knife and removed some components. It was actually a pain in the ass. But now the knife will transfer positive energy through the blade instead of negative."Dustin said, with a cheerful smile.
"After you took it, I dubbed the knife as lost."Callie said, moved.
"Well, Taniya convinced me to give it to you. And to be fair, it is yours by right. You took it from that Secari assassin when you made him run away. All I did was wait outside on Overwatch."Dustin said. Callie burst out laughing.
"I thought you were keeping the knife for sure."Callie said with a grin. Dustin shook his head, smiling. "I was going to. Despite my dislike for the Secari, their combat knives are absolutely incredible. But it's probably for the best.
That knife will cut through hard shelled armour like cloth. But if I am being honest, the reason I'm giving it to you is that I might accidentally cut off a limb with my sloppy knife fighting." Dustin said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Callie stare down at the knife, cradling the sheathed blade carefully. She knew that these knives were custom made for a full secari when they passed their last test. But she didn't have one Mostly because well she didn't do her final test. She smiled. Villus must be absolutely pissed that he lost his. That made her happy. Next time they met in person, Villus was going to lose his shit when he seen her new knife.
In fact, why not give it back to him point first? Callie pushed down that vindictive side of her and focused on Dustin's hopeful brown eyes. "I love it. But now I feel at a loss. I will have to find both you and Taniya a gift to make up for this. Maybe a dozen gifts each?" Callie said, her fingers running along the smooth embroidered brown leather.
"It's a birthday present."Dustin said. Callie smiled, her stomach clenching. Guilt wracked her, but she put on a thankful expression. Why did these Devali have to be so good to her? They were the bad guys. Shouldn't they be evil or something? She could deal with evil bastards, but what did she do about thoughtful and caring enemies?
A large part of her hoped the empire was in the right. But then she would be in the wrong. Her whole reason for killing in the empire would be in the wrong..
"So how are you meetings going with lady Veronica?" Callie asked, unzipping her black jacket to slip the belt around her waist. It was awkward with her shoulder holster and jacket in the way, as well as her normal steel combat knife. Dustin, seeing her struggling, approached.
"Can I help you with that?" Dustin asked, pausing as he reached out towards her. Callie's heartbeat quickened, and she tensed up at the same time. What was he trying to do? Get in her guard and attack? Her instincts screamed at her to push away his hand from her, but she forced that down.
Callie watched him closely, looking for the deceit in his eyes. She decided he was a man looking to help, not harm her. She nodded, stiffening further as he wrapped his arms around her waist under her jacket and clasped the belt in front of her. She could feel the warmth of his arms through her thin blouse, but that was only brief.
Once done, he backed away, giving her a warm smile. She was both relieved he was out of her personal space and disappointed that she couldn't feel his gentle touch anymore. She let out a breath and slipped her small dagger back up her sleeve; the small knife going unnoticed by Dustin.
She trusted him, but a lifetime of physical abuse by her instructors couldn't be forgotten so easily. Callie adjusted the belt up over her belly button and moved the knife so it rested underneath her armpit opposite of her shoulder holster. Now she could mask the bulge where the knife rested on her side. She ignored the minor discomfort of the leather pressing against the underside of her bra.
"To answer you question, the meetings have been going rather poorly. But I think we are getting some traction in the right direction."Dustin reply vaguely.
"Are we still going to help the enforcers?" Callie asked. Dustin winced and smiled sheepishly. "Well, I can't join you for that. I have several more days of meetings to deal with before we go to Valia."Dustin said.
"You are really sending me alone to the headquarters of the IE?" Callie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You are right. That is a terrible idea. But no, I'm sending you with T. She has some business there as well. And the Major has something big planned."Dustin said.
"Speaking of T, you should really come and spar with us. We can help you improve those lousy knife skills of yours."Callie said mischievously.
"Or you are trying to lure me into the ring to beat me up for making you wait in the lobby all day."Dustin said jokingly.
Callie gave Dustin a wounded look."Me? I would never."Callie said, feigning innocence. They both burst out laughing. "Be sure to thank T, she was the one that got you that belt."Dustin said, as he headed towards his room.
"Of course, thank you for the gift."Callie said, heading to training. She went through her usual training regimine, only this time she used one of the hard plastic sparring knives to spar with Taniya and even Briane who joined them..
Both of them lacked any actual skill with knives. They spent much of their two hours of training with Callie showing them basic forms and grip for a knife fight. Luckily, they were both determined to learn. Briane, especially because she wanted her first green star. Taniya because she wanted to feel less venerable.
Callie could respect those reasons for pushing themselves, and she was willing to help them. Once again, during training, she sparred with several random soldiers that were out to get the bounty on her. She found it amusing, but so far there had been no real challengers. That didn't mean there were none, however.
It was only a matter of time before a five star artist heard about this little contest and came to fight. Then Callie would be in for a serious match. She stared out the tinted passenger side window of Taniyas Bileran, wondering if she could win with just her positive art.
Callie was a five star artist, but that was with the negative art. They were similar, but also extremely different. For example, she could make the net with both positive and negative, but some things like Warren's signature gravity well could only be constructed with the negative art.
And enhancing her body with the positive art was also mutually exclusive. Dustins technique couldn't be done with the negative art. Well, it could be done, but with some horrific side effects. Excitement filled her at the prospect of fighting a master from the empire.
What could she learn from fighting someone that skilled with the positive art? Could she win? She was improving with each day that she practiced against the artists of the empire, but could she defeat a master?
Her train of thought was ended as the headquarters of the imperial enforcers came into sight. The building was a ten story complex of dark metal glimmering in the green light of the city's barrier. Emblazoned on the front were two large letters, painted gold. The massive letters IE stood out like an eyesore against the sleek glass of the building's windows.
"They don't do subtle, do they?" Callie asked. "I suppose not. I think they were trying to outdo the Naval base."Taniya said, amused.
"I don't understand the people of your empire. They have no taste in artwork. Who thought it was a good idea to paint the letters such a garish colour like gold? It hurts my eyes to look at."Callie said, with a smirk.
Taniya burst out laughing. "I actually know the guy that painted that. And he said the same thing."Taniya said, pulling up to the IE headquarters. She unrolled her window and held up a badge. The gate guard scanned the badge, his scanner beeping green. The guard glanced into the car, passed Taniya at Callie.
"Identification!" The Gaurd asked. Callie reached into her jacket and pulled out her comm, bringing up her fake ID. The scanner beeped green. The gate opened, and they drove down a ramp into an underground garage. Taniya let out a breath and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Why were you so worried?" Callie asked, turning in her seat. A shimmering green barrier pushed out from Taniya, engulfing the shuttle they were in with a mostly transparent dome of energy. Callie was envious of her casting speed and the complexity of the sound ward. She couldn't make it even half as fast yet, or with near this complexity.
"How are you not? You are literally entering the heart of the imperial enforcers with a fake ID?" Taniya asked nervously. Callie shrugged unconcernedly. "Oh, that's why you're so tense? Dont worry, ever since your mother discovered my deception, I have been doing some bookkeeping. Over the last several days I have been going over my Fake ID and improving it the best I can. It will take some serious digging and background checks to find out it's not legit."Callie said with a reassuring smile for the younger woman.
Taniya let out a relieved breath. " It still makes me nervous. The enforcers are the guys that will arrest you if they find our you are committing fraud."Taniya said. Callie reached out cautiously and rested her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. Taniya relaxed a little with that small bit of physical contact.
"Dont worry about me T. It's the other guys you should be worried about."Callie said. The younger woman's light hazel eyes glimmer with amusement and her full lips turned up into a forced smile. "How can you be so confident all the time? Ever since the time i uh... Was torchered. It's been hard for me to go outside, or even leave the house without being terrified."Taniya said, her shoulders trembling.
"If anyone ever tries to hurt you again, they are going to be stabbed in the face."Callie said, reassuringly.
That made Taniya perk up a little."With your new knife, they are really going to hate that."Taniya said. She took in a deep breath shuddering breath and opened the driver's side door. "Lets go, and please try to avoid stabbing any enforcers. I don't want to be filling out paperwork for the next month!" Taniya said, stepping out of the car into the underground garage.
Callie open her door, and they walked through the rows of shuttles towards an elevator. Taniya scanned her badge, and the elevator beeped, opening for them. They stood side by side as the elevator rose. Taniya tapped her leg with an inscrutable look on her face.
"Are you nervous?" Callie asked. "Taniya nodded her head, her calm expression falling away for a moment. The elevator opened into a long hallway and the change in air rustled Taniyas' long blond hair.
"Do you think that assassin is here? "Taniya asked, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger nervously as they walked down the hallway. "Probably, but don't be afraid. If he tries anything, I will step in and defend you."Callie said reassuringly. "Thank you Callie, that means a lot to me."Taniya said, walking with a little more of her usual confidence.
It took them about ten minutes of walking through the building to arrive at their destination. They passed dozens of office workers and high-ranking enforcers before they finally found their target. Callie could swear Taniya was going to have a panic attack each time they rounded a corner. But each time, it was some random enforcer, not Peyton. Major Farlen was in his office, filling out a truly mind-boggling stack of paperwork. Major Farlen wore the standard black and god cuffed uniform.
There was a gold stitched IE surrounded by a silver diamond on his left breast pocket. Even seated, Major Farlen was tall, with short cropped brown hair that revealed the growing bald spot on the top of his head. The man had a bushy black mustache that looked like a fat caterpillar over his thin lips.
The major took another paper from the top of a stack and continued writing. It was ridiculous, like why would the empire use paper? They didn't even have any trees here. They lived in cities orbiting a freaking gas giant, like how did that make sense? Well, it's not like her inner monolog was going to change that.
They waited, and the major gestured them to sit without looking up or saying a word. Callie sat in one of the two uncomfortable plastic chairs. Callie knew this was a calculated move to insult her by making her wait. Especially since the major's lips turned up ever so slightly at Taniyas' fidgeting. After a long ten minutes in which the only sound was the scribbling of pencil on paper, the major set down his pen and looked up.
He clasped his hands in front of himself, placing his elbows on the desk, and gave Callie a steely eyed glare. Callie glared back unflinchingly. Taniya cleared her throat, drawing the major's attention.
"Major, we are both very busy people, so let's make this meeting brief. Did you read over the request I sent you via comm?" Taniya asked calmly.
"Yes." The major said.
"What will it take to have the vehicles and personnel I need on duty by tonight?" Taniya asked bluntly. "You must understand, with the protests and the threat of riots, I can't spare that many enforcers for at least a week, maybe two."Major Farlen said helplessly.
"And what if I were to convince the minister of finance to increase the enforcer's yearly budget by ten percent?" Taniya asked. Callie grinned. Taniya was a sneaky woman.
The Major chuckled and said."That old coot? Getting even a single percent increase in my annual budget would be a miracle!"
Taniya tapped the air, and a hologram appeared in front of her with the writing facing towards the major. The major read the floating text, his eyebrows knitting. "As you can see, it's all there, with the signature of the minister of finance herself. All you need to do is sign the contract I just sent to you. Then I will send you this contract to sign as-well."Taniya said, dismissing the hologram with a wave.
Major Farlen gaped at Taniya, having finished reading the document. The major eyes unfocused as he read something in the air. After a few minutes, he made a flourish with his finger, signing his name.
"I just got confirmation. Thank you for your cooperation, Major."Taniya said, standing. Callie rose as-well, happy to get off that chair.
"How did you get that kind of concession from that old woman? She is notoriously hard to deal with."Major Farlen asked, his tone challenging. Callie couldn't keep her mouth shut and blurted.
"Well, maybe if you didn't make people wait ten minutes before talking to them, she would be more accommodating?" Callie said innocently. The major scowled at Callie..
Taniya butted in before the Major could make a retort."Let's just say the minister of finance owed me a favour. Now, what did you need us for? Dustin said you need help with something important?"
The major took in a deep, calming breath through his nose."I need you two to arrest senator Orlean. And do it wearing the official uniform of the Devali."Major Farlen said.
"You want us to arrest a senator? Like one of the leaders of the city?" Taniya asked, mouth agape.
"Yes, senator Orlean has been outed for several counts of fraud and at least one count of treason. We have damming evidence that has him supplying funds and information to the terrorist group known as the secari."Major Farlen said, his expression serious.
"If you have such damning evidence, then why don't you send a group of enforcers to arrest him?" Taniya asked.
"We will send enforcers, but this is about sending the right message. That's why we need you two in uniform. We need to show the Devali arresting a traitor."Major Farlen said.
"My mom- I mean lady Veronica put you up to this, didn't she?" Taniya asked. The major nodded his head slightly.
"Yes, she gave me first look at the Lyle Jaden case after his death. It's been almost a week of digging, but my enforcers found the missing link. Senator Orlean has long supported the Etrians in their bid for independence. Like many, I thought he was simply doing it to spite Senator Bradly."Major Farlen said.
"When do you want us to make the arrest?" Taniya asked. "Tomorrow evening when he goes home. We will send a news team to film the whole arrest."Major Farlen said.
"Will it be live or recorded?" Taniya asked. "Recorded, Lady Veronica would have me pushed through an air lock if I exposed two of her people onLive tv."Major Farlen said with a mirthless smile.
They left the major's office, concluding their business for the day. They walked back down the halls, back towards the parking garage. Not a minute from the major's office, they came to a corner and nearly bumped into a young man in a sharp black suit. He was tall and athletic, with faint bruising around his eyes. The man was perhaps six feet tall, and maybe a year older than Callie, with straight shoulder length brown hair and bright green eyes.
He smiled at them both, his eyes widening. Taniya froze in her tracks like a deer in headlights, a look of terror crossing her face. Peyton winced at that look on her face."I won't bite, you don't need to be so scared."Peyton said, his Zrixian faintly accented.
Callie rested her hand on Taniyas' shoulder comfortingly. The young woman was trembling, frozen in fear. Callie placed herself in front of Taniya, looking slightly down on Peyton. "Hello again, I'm surprised to see you doing so well? I thought you would still be rotting in a cell?" Callie asked with a scowl, eying his black suit pants and button up white shirt.
Peyton grinned, his deep green eyes boring into Callie. Peyton's shoulder-length brown hair was combed, and his facial bruising was mostly gone. She was happy to see him doing so well. "Well, the enforcers wanted information. I demanded freedom to give it to them. So here we are."Peyton said, his intense green eyes bouncing over her shoulder.
Callie could sense Taniya standing close behind her, using Callie as a shield. "I wish they would have left you in that cell if I'm being honest."Callie said, remembering that she needed to act her part. "Dont be like that. Working for the enforcers is a good gig. They have me training their special forces soldiers. Some of them have even started listening to what I have to say."Peyton said, cracking a smile.
"What is the empire coming to? The enforcers letting an assassin and terrorist train their soldiers?" Callie asked, scowling for Taniyas' benefit. Peyton raised an eyebrow, his green eyes glimmering with questions.
"Well, I'm glad I'm not locked up anymore. And I think I could really enjoy this line of work. At least once they stop fearing me and decide to respect me."Peyton said, shrugging helplessly.
"I doubt that will ever happen. Who could ever trust someone like you?" Callie snapped. Peyton ignored her snappish tone and gave Taniya an interested look.
"Who is your cute friend? And why does she look so scared?" Peyton asked, leaning on the wall casually. As always, he appeared relaxed, like working for the enforcers was just another day.
Callie switched to their native Etrian. "She met Villus. And he used pliers to remove her toenails. Please be nice to her, she is my friend."Callie said, seriously. Peyton's calm expression broke for a second and he winced. Like Callie, Peyton had the displeasure of being trained by that monster.
"I thought so... I haven't seen you this protective since Villus broke Warren's legs."Peyton said, switching easily to Etrian.
Peyton's expression turned serious, and he straightened. He switched back to Zrixian, addressing Taniya. "You don't need to worry about me. I won't hurt you." Peyton said, sounding genuine. He held out a hand to Taniya. From the corner of her eye, Callie watched Taniya flinch and back away. "Can we go, please?" Taniya asked softly, sounding small.
"Well, we should be going. Have a good day Peyton, and good luck with your new job."Callie said, giving him a quick smile.
Callie led Taniya Past Peyton, keeping her body between them both. Not because she thought Peyton might attack, but because she wanted to give Taniya some sort of assurance. Callie's stomach clenched at Taniyas look of fear. She felt torn. Would Taniya give her that same look if she discovered Callie was a secari like Peyton?
Peyton waved as they retreated down the hall, before striding away in the opposite direction. Callie led the terrified young woman back to the car, giving every enforcer they passed a glare. Luckily, they were wise enough to stand aside, and they made it to the parking garage easily.