Ai No Kusabi Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Caged ❯ Chapter 35 ( Chapter 36 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Ai No Kusabi nor do I make any money from this fanfic. But I do own all the original peeps that I've chosen to invade the AnK world.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Iason/Riki, Raoul/Katze, Original characters and novel character pairings.
Parts: 35 of ?

 

Edited by the lovely Scarlet Tigress

 

~~**Forever Caged**~~

 

“Shit! Grab him!”

“You grab him, shit-head! He fucking nearly ripped my head off the last time!”

“Get Jade to control him!”

“He can't butthead, his voice is shot!”

“Fuck!”

“Crap, he's cornered me! Help me damn it!”

“Don't be such a bitch Luke. All you need to do is lower your eyes and submit to him. I said lower your eyes, dumb shit!”

“Shut the fuck up Rio! Why the hell is your punk ass here anyway?”

“Hey don't get snappy at me, just cuz you're slow.”

“Where the fuck is Sky with his trank gun when we need him! Fuck! Even Lilly is gone!”

Struggling within the strangling arms of the darkness, Riki fought his way to the surface, away from the suffocating blackness holding him down. He moved towards the voices that called out all around him, struggling to rise out of his own internal turmoil. Riki blinked at the scene that came into focus. Almost as though curtain had just been lifted from his mind, Riki tried to grasp what was happening around him. For a moment, the mongrel wondered if he was dreaming.

His back was pressed against the wall of an unfamiliar room. Riki could see that the wallpaper hung in tatters and the smell of mold was thick and cloying. The room had been almost completely destroyed. Limbs of broken furniture was scattered everywhere, the stuffing from what had once been a sofa lay in dirty clumps around the room. Riki's eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings with such speed that he could hardly comprehend the information his eyes were giving him. He was able to see every detail of the room with such clarity! Riki began to wonder if he had been given an eye transplant while he lay unconscious. The feeling was surreal.

The crippling pain that had ripped through every inch of his body was gone, in fact he felt better then he ever had before! The restlessness he'd always felt, the gaping wound within him that had always festered, was gone. Even the overwhelming pain of being away from Iason…was still there. However, he was able to manage the crushing pain more then he had been able to before. Though never exactly a lethargic person, Riki now felt invigorated and filled with energy. He took a deep breath and felt…free for the first time in a long time.

“Stop fucking struggling Luke, or he really will rip that stupid head of yours off this time!”

Riki turned in V's direction and saw his friend with his arms spread out to his sides, looking for the entire world as if he was absolutely harmless. Even the expression he currently sported on that pretty boy mug conveyed sincerity and peaceful intentions. A look that V might have successfully pulled off, if it wasn't for the blood smeared across his forehead or the calculating glint in those lovely eyes.

“Hey Riki! Wild man! You don't want to hurt our good friend Luke now do you?”

Riki narrowed his eyes at the cooing tone V used on him. “What the hell are you doing?”

Confused, amethyst eyes stared at him in shock and something close to hope. “Riki?”

“Is there another Riki here that I should know about?” Riki asked, raising a brow.

V grinned. “Fuck ya there was.” V put his hands down and sighed in relief. “Are you going to let go of Luke, now that you have regained full control of your brain?”

Now it was time for Riki to look confused. “Luke?”

“Yeah, the one you're currently choking the life out of?”

Surprised, Riki looked down to see he had Luke in a head-lock. “I didn't even realize…” Riki whispered as he let go of Luke's head. He watched as the mongrel collapsed at his feet, coughing and wheezing.

“Fucking….asshole.”

Riki rubbed his forehead. He hadn't realized he was holding onto Luke…Didn't even feel him struggling. “What the hell happened? Where the fuck are we?”

“Rio, go check the doors.” V ordered a grinning blonde kid.

Furrowing his brows at the handsome stranger, who shamelessly stared right back at him, Riki watched as the guy gave him a wink before taking off. “What the fuck is going on?” Riki demanded.

V laughed and shook his head as he picked up an over turned chair, the only survivor to whatever had gone wild in the room, and sat down. “We're in fucking hell man. I mean this place is seriously fucked up. It has to be a hundred, if not a thousand times worse then Ceres.”

“This place?”

“Hell.”

“…Seriously not in the mood for one of your jokes V.” Riki stared down at his hands. They looked as they always had, down to every last scar but…they felt strange. Just as his eyes didn't feel familiar, his hands felt like they belonged to someone else. The feeling of newness applied to every other part of his body that Riki could feel as he flexed and stretched.

“I'm not shitting you man. That's the name of this world.”

Off in the distance Riki heard the muffled crackle of guns being fired. The wooden floors vibrated as he heard an explosion erupt in the distance. “Why are we here? How long have I been out of it?”

V picked up a random rag off the floor and wiped the blood and grime from his face. “Umm…About three days.”

Riki looked up from his inspection of his hands when V didn't continue. “You going to continue talking or are you going to sit there staring at me?”

“If I had time, then yeah I probably would.”

“How about I kick your ass?”

V sighed and stood, groaning as he did. “Follow me wild man.”

Eying the violet haired mongrel suspiciously, Riki stepped over Luke's prone form on the floor. He noticed that Luke was in the same condition as V, dirty and bloody.

“You freaked us the fuck out when you got sick Riki…You flipped the fuck out so bad that Jade and Lilly had to team up to take you down.”

“I remember that…” Riki concentrated, and thought hard about what came after. All that he could recall were blurred shapes and colors. “Nothing else though…that's the last thing I remember.”

“Well…you changed.”

Riki couldn't be more lost. “Changed? What the hell are you talking about?”

V didn't say any thing else as he took him down a narrow hall. Every room Riki looked into had its windows boarded up, the windows at the end of the hall were the same. Riki blinked, wincing at the glaring light V flicked on as he finally stepped into one of the rooms. He held his hands in front of his face, squinting at the sudden brightness.

“Full length mirror. The only one in the house, that hasn't been broken to smithereens yet.” V motioned to the darkened glass across the room.

Riki stared at the stranger, but the person just stared back at him with the same dumbfounded expression. “What the hell…”

“Ha, you should have heard the words that came out of all of our mouths.”

Long hair fell down to his hips, hair that Riki had only seen on the Elites of Amoi! Even though Riki had never paid much attention to the color or texture of his hair before, he was shaken at the purity of the glistening ebony tresses that caressed his back. Riki fingered the new length with trembling fingertips before touching his face, a face that had shed at least five years. His body looked mostly the same, if not a tad bit firmer. Riki probably would have continued staring, half in wonder and half in horror, at his new face if another deafening explosion hadn't echoed outside. The very plaster was shaken from the ceiling to rain down upon their heads. The gun fight was getting closer to their location.

“Freaked out?”

Riki was speechless. Freaked out was far too mild of a word for the emotions that were threatening to over take him. Riki could feel something within him pacing, dark and powerful, pushing to come back out. Heart pounding, Riki took comfort in the only thing that appeared to be the same. His eyes.

“It's not like you don't look the same. You've just…become prettier.”

Riki looked at V through the mirror, and glared at him. The other mongrel gave him an ironic smile.

“Don't give me the stink eye buddy. I'm just telling you the truth.”

Riki curled his lip at his reflection. “Why didn't you cut it off?” Riki motioned to his hair, but strangely cringed at the thought of someone taking a blade to his mane.

V huffed. “Cut off your pretty black locks? Yeah right. Man, you tried to take Luke's head off when he even looked at your hair. The only one you would allow to come close enough to touch you was your son.”

Riki looked at V from mirror. The way V called Jade his son didn't have the same irritating, teasing note as it had before. “…You guys had the paternity test done?”

“Yup.”

“…Holy shit…”

“Same words we all said too. We hadn't really believed that you were the kid's biological father…hell you're the first one we've ever seen.”

“How the fuck can that be possible?”

“The kid was even more shocked then you. He went on about being created from some kind of super being or some crap like that. The boy was pretty aggravated and scared as hell.”

Riki turned when V, his normally carefree friend, began to pace in the empty room with a worried stride. “What else V? What else are you not saying to me?”

“Sky needs to be here to explain…”

“Why?”

“There is shit that I can't explain- don't know how to explain it without Sky, that's all.”

“Then why don't you tell me about this place. How did we get here and who took the tests that singled me out to be the kid's old man.” Riki fully turned around to give Violet his attention, tired of looking at the strange alien face that gazed back at him.

“…”

“What? You need Sky to hold your hand just to answer some simple questions?” Riki snapped.

“Low blow, man…Me and Sky agreed that we would talk to you together, that's all.”

“I'm not getting any fucking younger V. Spill it already.”

V laughed at Riki. “You're joking right? In three days you did get younger.”

Riki growled.

“Fine, fine. We nearly shook the ship apart getting you down to the planet. Once we were there, we took you to see a doctor. Jade and Lilly knocked you out cold and while you were in Lala land, the doc took some blood from you. Sky told him to take some of Jade's blood as well, you know, for testing. The equipment the doctor used was ancient…hell, I didn't know they still had shit like that floating around the galaxy, it was so old-.”

“V.” Riki hissed in warning.

“Oookkay…Anyway as I was saying. The doc found nothing wrong with you….Not in terms of you being sick, but one of the things he did discover was that the probability for you being Jade's biological father was ninety-nine point nine percent.”

Riki was suddenly hit with another troubling thought: had Iason known all along about the kid? Riki's knuckles cracked as he clenched his hands into tight fists. Jupiter's comment about Iason and looking into his blood made sense to him now. But Riki was not sure either, Iason's awareness of Jade's existence from the very beginning seemed doubtful. Trusting anything that AI bitch said to be true was always a mistake.

The damn Blondie, even with how close their relationship had become, always kept his cards close to his chest. Iason only threw down his winning hand when the pot was worth taking. The idea that Iason might have hidden Jade from him was unlikely. Jade was a winning hand, an effective tool that could have successfully been used against Riki, that Iason would have used to enforce the chains the Blondie had already wrapped around him.

“What the fuck is going on…” Riki whispered. “Wait…You said “one of the things he did discover” what else did the doctor find?”

“…We need to wait until Sky gets back to answer that one.”

“Then where the hell is he?”

“Off playing war games with the boys.”

“What?”

“Fidget is off scouting for the enemy's location and Sky took Lilly for what he called “Operation Chemical Warfare”. It's kinda fun actually.”

“You guys are on a strange planet during some kind of a war and you think it's a game?” Riki crossed his arms. “Are you stupid?”

“Hey don't give me that look. You're the one that's escalated it to its current status.”

Riki braced himself when the house shook again, causing more plaster to fall from the ceiling.

“It's getting closer.” V mumbled.

“I created all this mayhem?” Riki asked in disbelief. “First, why don't you tell me how we got here?”

V scratched his head and reached into his back pocket, pulling out two cigarettes. He lit them and gave one to Riki. “We…got into some trouble at the planet we landed on…” V sank wearily onto the floor, propping his back against the wall. “And not just a little bit of trouble…Some freaky dudes in Amoi clothing showed up and fucked up the doctor's clinic. They killed him and anyone that got in their way, then set the whole place on fire…”

Riki took a drag from the cigarette V had given him. “Amoian soldiers?”

V slowly shook his head. “Nah…they weren't soldiers. They were too perfect looking, plain, but perfect if that makes any sense. Jade and Lilly fucked with their heads, while Fidget and Sky took them down. Even that was hard, we barely got away. They seemed like they didn't want to hurt us, only to capture us. Fuck if we were going to take the chance of finding out.”

“How did you get away?”

“It wasn't fucking easy. Those fuckers wouldn't stay down. Luke and I carried your heavy, unconscious ass and ran while Jade and Lilly teamed up to allow the twins to escape from the Amoian's spooky fast asses. That's when we met up with Rio and his band of assholes.”

Riki flicked the ash of his cigarette onto the floor. “Rio? That's the blonde prick that winked at me?” Riki scowled at the memory.

V snickered. “Yeah, that's him. With his help we were able to get to our ship and then followed him to his world.”

“Which is?”

“Which is what?”

“What world is he from?” Riki was becoming more irritated by the moment as V side stepped his question. The wild thing within him clawed to be released so it could force Violet to tell him. Riki struggled to keep himself under control.

“What world?...Not sure…We weren't there for very long so it wasn't very important.”

“Then how about you tell me why you shit heads thought it would be alright to follow some pricks you knew nothing about?”

“Shit Riki…without you to smack us up side the head, we did what we thought was best. Rio and his crew were our best bet in shaking those Amoian freaks off of our scent. They gave us a place to stay and fed us.”

Dropping the cigarette to the floor and stomping out the burning cherry, Riki sneered at the accommodations. “Yeah…They gave us a great place to stay…”

“This place? Nah, this is a deserted planet that Rio's people come to train on. No killing. All their weapons have paint bullets. Two teams.”

“And why did we come here?” Riki rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. He was becoming frustrated by constantly having to repeat the same questions over and over again. It was overwhelming to grill Violet while trying to fight the savageness that stalked within him.

“You picked the worse time to get sick Riki…We've been getting dogged not only by those scary ass Amoians, but also by that guy Kirin. He officially took us off the wanted list, but is still having his low down scum hunt us down.”

Riki narrowed his eyes. “And?”

V sighed. “And Sky just got word that a Tanagura Blondie is on our trail as well.””

Gideon, Riki cursed silently.

“We are fucked no matter how you look at it. Our faces are plastered everywhere, along with the description of our ship. Trying to land anywhere and not get recognized is impossible. Shit the bounties for our `safe' capture could feed an entire city!”

“And these guys that are helping us?…You're telling me that they can be trusted?” Riki didn't believe for a second that perfect strangers would hold out a helping hand without expecting something in return.

“Trusted? Fuck no, with the exception of Rio maybe. They are all mercenaries. Their whole planet is like a school for those who want to become the galaxy's best assassin. The only reason why they haven't turned our asses in is because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yup. When we got to Rio's world, one of his guys snuck into your room and tried to touch you. We got to your room just in time to see your black peepers pop open and before we could blink you had broken both of his arms. When he started screaming, Rio and his band came running. Without any of our help, you took them all down, even the chick they had on their team. In total there were eleven mo fos you demolished by yourself. It was fucking awesome.”

Riki turned back and looked at himself in the mirror. “I don't remember any of it…”

“Fidget thinks that you were going by instinct. Your beast was unleashed when that asshole thought to take advantage of you, and since your rational side was still sleeping, you just reacted. You were fine when one of us came to check on you, but once a stranger came close your sense of survival took over and you went nuts.”

“Fidget said that?”

“I know. Insightful words coming from the little bastard. But because of your little snap from reality, Rio and his gang were so impressed that they begged us to come to their training grounds and play war with them. They wanted to try and take you down and while doing that, learn how you're able to hunt them without anyone noticing. But don't let your head get too big, because it wasn't just you that they were impressed with. Everyone, even Luke, got them hot and heavy with our unbelievable talents.” V wiggled his brows at Riki. “Luke's strange way of fighting, Fidget's way of escaping from the impossible, Sky's brain at weapons, bla, bla, bla, you get my drift.”

“A band of killers for hire is going to pass on a rich bounty if we teach them basic Ceres survival skills?” Riki gave V a skeptical glare.

“Don't worry, we don't buy it either, but what choice do we have?” V took out another cigarette and used his old one to light the new. “We're trapped. With so many eyes looking for us the only place we have to hide is right here. All of us have been taking shifts, keeping a lookout while the others sleep. Jade's voice got fucked from using it to the max to slow those Amoian freaks down. The kid completely broke his chords trying to control you and anyone trying to sneak up on us. Lilly…Shit man I think he's about to go crazy from not being able to nut and I also think that whatever you had you passed along to him. He's been having aches and pains, and that scent thing of his has been going haywire.”

“You sure it's not cuz he hasn't had sex?”

“Not really…that's another issue too. Everyone is getting frustrated in the `Not getting any' area. Fidget and I are cool since we had that sex marathon at Femland, but Sky hasn't had any since before we left Amoi. If you ask me, that boy has started to eye Lilly since the sexy pet brought up the fact that he liked getting punished by his master.”

Riki opened his mouth to comment, when running feet in their direction had him straightening from his relaxed stance.

“V! V! They are getting closer to the house!”

Rushing to the door at the sound of Jade's ruined voice; Riki caught the boy as he tripped on the door frame. He had been to intent on running to warn them to notice his feet. “…Your voice,” Riki said in shock as he held the boy at arms length, looking down at Jade's bowed head. When V said Jade's voice was ruined, he really meant it. Riki flinched at how painful the words the boy shouted must have been to say.

“No talking Jade. The doc said that if you didn't rest your voice, the inflammation in your throat will only get worse.”

“Sorry.”

“Jade?” Riki said, forcing the boy's head up when he refused to look him in the eye. Riki smile reassuringly into worried jade eyes and a sense of pride filled him. I have someone that I can claim as blood. Someone I have a connection with that I can truly call family! Riki tried to swallow the lump that had lodged in his throat. Now he knew why Sky and Fidget couldn't bear to be apart from one another. Just knowing that Jade was a part of him filled him with wonder, anxiety and such fierce protectiveness that the emotions threatened to bring him to his knees.

“Are you angry?”

Riki kept a firm hold on the boy's chin so he couldn't lower his gaze. “Why would I be angry?” asked Riki, breathless as he tried to control the feelings Jade brought out of him.

“The boy thinks that you'll reject him.” V mumbled around the cigarette dangling from his lips.

Awkwardly, Riki put his arms around the boy and gave him a quick hug. “I'm not mad at you nor am I planning on rejecting the fact that you're my offspring.” Riki's chest felt tight when the boy searched his face with tear filled eyes. “I swear kid…” Riki prayed that the boy didn't start crying. Anger Riki could understand and deal with accordingly, but he didn't know what to do or how to react to tears.

“Wow…the very first father and son bonding ritual I've had the privilege to witness.”

Riki snapped his head towards V, ready to rip him a new one, but held back his verbal tongue lashing when he saw envy shinning in V's amethyst gaze. “Who knows V, maybe Lilly's your kid and we just don't know it yet.” Riki laughed when V shuddered in horror.

“God I hope not! Not with all the dirty thoughts and fantasies I've had about him.”

“Really?” Riki gave V a wicked grin. “How dirty-“

“Jade did you warn V and Riki?”

Watching V jump to his feet and snatch the radio Riki had failed to notice Jade carrying, he listened as V demanded to know what was going on. The person on the other end of the radio spoke to him in quick, staticy speech.

“Damn! Sky took control of the opposing team's camp, and with Fidget and Lilly's help, captured a large number of the “enemies”. Now the other side is retreating and regrouping to try and stop Sky before he can turn in his prisoners for a prize.” V ranted. “Those crazy pricks are already in a rage because they haven't won one game from us and Sky doing this is going to shove them over the edge.”

“Prize?”

“The object is to capture your opponents and turn them in at the check point. Prizes depend on how many people you've captured. If the information Rio just gave me is true, then Sky finally has enough people to get the grand prize which happens to be original blue prints for creating some kind of weapon. He's been fucking hot and heavy to get his hands on that shit since he heard about it.” V checked his holster vest, counting the ammo in the firearms he had on him. “Chambers are filled with paint rounds, but they also have neutralizers in them so that when we shoot someone they will stay down.”

Riki frowned. “I thought you said this was a game? How much trouble can they be in?”

“As I said. The object is to capture you opponents, not kill, but accidents do happen. Rio and his team want to learn from us, but the other team doesn't share the same opinion.”

“What kind of world do these people come from that this kinda shit is normal?” Riki narrowed his eyes when V and Jade exchanged looks. “What? I'm getting tired very fucking quickly of you hiding shit from me.”

“We can talk about all of that later Riki. Why don't I show you around Hell, huh? Have some fun cracking some skulls while at the same time giving Sky and the gang some much needed back up?”

“Hell?”

Riki homed in on Jade's confused whisper. “You're lying about the name of this world V? I want to know now what's going on,” Riki whispered angrily as his fixed V with a dark look. Waking up to a strange face. Waking up feeling like he had been altered completely. Now to think that someone he trusted to watch his back could be deceiving him, threatened to break free the beast that Riki had been trying to hold back the whole time.

“It's not a good time-“

“Now V!” Riki moved Jade gently to the side as his body tensed, readying itself instinctively to attack the one that angered him. Riki sneered when V threw his hand up thinking that that would stop him from stomping his ass.

“Ho! Calm down, man!”

Riki began to stalk the nervous mongrel and, liked it. “Start talking V.”

“Jade, kid, help me will you? Get your old man to back off,” V begged.

“We found the traitor…”

Riki froze.

“Shit Jade. Couldn't you have thought of anything else to say besides that?”

Ignoring V, Riki tilted his head towards the boy. “Who is it?”

“It's not important right now-“

“Shut-up V.” Riki hissed. “Tell me who it is Jade.” Riki tried to remove the thread of rage interlaced in his words, he did not want not to scare the boy more then he already had.

“Y-you Riki…The traitor is…you…”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Seated comfortably in front of the large video screen in his spacious private cabin aboard his ship, Sir Gideon Lagat nodded respectfully to the superior Blondie on the screen. “Sir Iason, it is good to see you.”

“You as well, Gideon. Tell me what you have discovered so far.”

Taking no insult to the abruptness in his esteemed leader's voice, Gideon smoothly reached to his side and activated the small computer tabled next to him. Efficiently, he transferred his report of the information he had obtained to the fearsome Blondie. He tried to remain aloof, although he knew Iason was watching his every move.

“I'm strapped for time, Gideon, so I will review your report later. I have exactly fourty-five minutes before my next meeting so you have half of that time to give me a summary of the data you just sent me.”

Gideon nodded and got to the point, not wasting any more time with pleasantries. “I have spoken with the main leading authority, Mr. Kirin. While we have never dealt in this part of the system directly, our name is much feared. Removing the price on Riki, and those he is journeying with, was not a problem once the man realized who he would anger should he continue his foolish pursuit in capturing the mongrels.”

“But?”

“But from Kirin's mannerisms while speaking of your pet, I foresee him becoming a future annoyance to us. In my opinion, he should be removed before he becomes one.” Gideon's tolerance of the little man was at its limit and on more then one occasion he had been tempted to end the human's life. The undisguised lust that shined in the man's eyes and voice as he caressed the glossy security pictures…It was disgusting. The images were not just of Sir Iason's pet, but also that of the boy he claimed as his own and Kirin's manner had sent waves of rage pulsing through his body like he had never felt before.

“I normally would agree with your assessment, but looking into this man's background and unearthing everything he has ever done gives me pause. Even if he will be come a future annoyance, as you put it, his illegal dealings and contacts intrigue me.”

Gideon didn't inquire as to why such dishonorable things would interest his leader. It was common knowledge amongst all the Blondies that Iason was the Dark Lord that ruled the Black Market on Amoi. Knowledge that was wisely withheld, even in private, for fear of that Jupiter's chosen golden child would rain hell down upon their heads. Gideon only smiled in dark satisfaction, knowing that the arrogant little man and his so-called empire would soon come crumbling down.

Iason Mink was just like their creator in the sense that both beings were not known for their forgiving natures. Kirin's interest in Riki, and the desire Gideon made sure Sir Iason was made aware of, had immediately brought the cold light of Iason's attention upon the human. All Elites and their enemies, at least those who still lived, knew that The Tanagura Syndicate Leader loved to play with his prey before killing them.

“What of the allegations of Riki being responsible for the kidnap and murder of the man's newly purchased pet and the killing of his guards?”

“While Kirin tried to entertain me I had teams conduct our own investigation against the charges placed on the mongrels. The killings they were accused of are false….and true. Video footage, I was told it had been corrupted, was found and it showed that the female pet Riki was accused of murdering was terminated by the hand of Kirin's own man. There was no audio, but it is most likely that she was killed by Kirin's order. All personnel were alive when Riki and the other mongrels escaped.”

“You know this for a fact?”

“Yes. The cameras were of surprisingly good quality. Riki was in a dangerous position for a moment, but his associates arrived and boldly disabled the threat with an electrical device that effectively neutralized the situation. I just received and reviewed the footage and, as we speak, the recording is being transferred to a compatible disk so that I may send it to you.” Gideon had been extremely impressed with the black haired mongrel when he had first seen the tape. The pain that could clearly be seen etched on that strangely delicate, handsome face, was telling. Yet, it was the rage in those raven eyes, the strength and stubbornness that kept him from succumbing like all the others had, that earned Riki his respect.

“And the prostitute?”

“The charges have been dropped that Riki stole the female from the club. Entertainers, like her, live above the club and are prohibited from leaving. By allowing the prostitute to leave the club with Riki, they essentially sold her to him and thus lost all rights to her.”

“They allowed him to take her? I was under the assumption that this club's security was that of our own pet actions. How could they have just let him take her without noticing?”

Gideon frowned and shook his head. “Allowed might not have been the word to use…From my understanding it wasn't that they allowed him to exit the building with her. From what I can tell by the ones questioned, they didn't believe Riki noticed the female following so closely behind him.”

“Then why didn't they stop her.”

Gideon smiled. “By stopping her they would have had to stop Riki, and they were intimidated by your mongrel. That is why they did not halt his progress.” Gideon relaxed when he saw the unmistakable humor that lightened the powerful Blondie's face.

“Were they now…So I am to take it that Kirin has falsified all these allegations to obtain Riki for his own selfish purposes?”

“Yes. Which is why I commented that to permit this insect to keep his life would be troublesome in the future. He has built an empire and placed himself on the throne, convinced that nothing and no one can take him down. While he acknowledges that we are a formidable foe, he thinks he can still do as he wants without us knowing.”

“Leave Kirin to me, Gideon. I will deal with him as I see fit.”

“Of course.” Whatever Iason had in store to the human, Gideon only hoped he could be apart of it.

“Now where is the female now?”

Gideon hesitated. “Eye witnesses saw her running with Riki down the streets then and onto his ship.”

"So he may not have taken her from the club but in the end he still took her."

"It would appear to be as you say." And just like that, the mood shifted once more as Gideon watched Iason's eyes narrow and his perfect lips tip down in displeasure. “The actions of the mongrel have created a wave. Still, even as big of a mess as it is to clean up, Riki has also carved a clear trail for me to follow.”

“So you have a new lead on where Riki is?”

“Yes…but I have also run into a problem that needs your attention. Please review the last four pages of the report I sent you, Sir Iason.” Gideon waited patiently as Iason eyes scanned the information he requested of him to do.

“You saw Jupiter's servants destroying a hospital? Jupiter's personal servants?”

“Correct. I followed a lead on the ship Riki is in to a planet not far from PA98 and a first class Amoian ship was at the dock. The destruction Jupiter's androids did was vast. If I was not a Blondie they would have undoubtedly continued, completely disregarding the damage they inflicted.”

“What were they after?”

Gideon tilted his head. He had a feeling that Iason already knew the answer, but wanted him to confirm it. “When I questioned the androids, they would only say that they were on a mission from our creator to retrieve a few items and bring them back home.” Frowning, Gideon watched Iason closely as the other Blondie rested his chin on his interlaced fingers. The suspicion of what the items could be was slow to dawn upon him. The answer should have been preposterous, laughable, but it was too much of a coincidence for Jupiter's androids to seemingly be everywhere that Riki was seen.

Amoians had sold the murdered girl to the club and her people happened to have been on the first planet Riki stopped on. A great many people on Hilio had seen a group wearing robes distinctive of the girl's culture entering Riki's ship. Then he lands on a planet that Riki might have visited, and that planet is attacked. It could only be one thing. Jupiter, who helped the mongrels escape, was now trying to bring them back…but why?

Whatever game was being played between Jupiter and Iason, one thing Gideon knew was that he was enjoying himself. He had been pitted against advanced adversaries before, with ships almost as fast and powerful as theirs, but too quickly their technology overwhelmed his enemies. The chase and fight would be over before he even finished a cup of coffee. But these mongrels not only fooled his fleet above their home world and escaped but, even with only a three day head start, still managed to elude him. Gideon chuckled.

“Care to share the jest Gideon?”

“I was just thinking that, in light of the situation, I am astounded by the cleverness of your mongrel, Sir Iason. He has fooled us as no one as ever fooled us before.” And the thrill Gideon felt now would be even greater once he'd captured them, especially Jade. It made him feel alive.

“Riki's cleverness is just one of the many attractive qualities about him, but his unsanctioned vacation needs to come to a close now.”

Gideon smiled again. “And that is one of the reasons why I contacted you, Sir Iason. Before I sent Jupiter's servants back to Amoi, I commanded them to tell me the whereabouts of all the males and females of the girl's species that had been recently sold. Like the girl Riki tried to steal from Kirin's, most had been sold into slavery. However, from the course the mongrels were on before, one for her kin was just a few hours away. I will go and claim-“

“No…You will do exactly as I tell you to do Gideon. Mikhale is on his way to you as I speak and he has a plan that you will incorporate into the one I am about to give you. Follow it to the letter Gideon, and you will succeed.”

TBC…..