Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman Fan Fiction ❯ The Timepiece ❯ Danger and Indignity ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter 27

A soft rustling of leaves in the prehistoric shrubs behind them caused Joe to snap his head up from her bosom, his nerves tingling with ancient predatory instinct. His breathing quickened and his back muscles rippled in flexion, as he raised his body off hers, onto his fours, and he carefully scanned the surrounding shades for threats. His stomach muscles further tightened as his cybernetic hearing picked up the sounds of breathing, not that of one, but of many.

Lying quietly on her back, well hidden amongst the tall grass, Yuki had already sensed that something was wrong, terribly wrong, from his stance. She shifted uneasily beneath his protection and watched him questioningly, as she reached over to grab her scattered pieces of clothing.

Soft footfalls pattered through the dry stalks of grass towards them.

"Joe…" she whispered his name.

Joe shook his head at her and motioned her to keep quiet. Rolling off her onto the grass, he quickly reached for his pants and pulled them on, grabbing for his firearm.

Just as his fingers were about to close on his Glock, the muzzle of a Browning Automatic Rifle descended upon them, aiming directly at Yuki's forehead.

"I would not try it if I were you, Mr. Condor," remarked the handler of the rifle, his voice bleak and emotionless.

Synchronically, Joe and Yuki froze and looked up to meet the wintry blue eyes of their assailant. In unison, they gasped out his name in surprise, "Scorpio!"

A veil of silence surrounded them, until the shaky voice of Yuki shattered it into pieces.

"It couldn't be," she breathed out, her voice merely over a whisper. "You were dead." Turning to Joe for reassurance, she tilted her head in askance, "Joe, you checked his body, right?"

Before Joe could answer, the should-have-been-dead-and-buried Scorpio replied in a voice, oozing with sarcasm, "Yes? I was? Or was it that our dear Condor was too distracted to realize that I am not wholly human, and can be easily revived with the right equipments?"

Joe inhaled a deep breath, his frosty gray eyes glaring steadily at Scorpio, " I knew very well that you are a cyborg, I just was not anticipating that they could revive you within such a short timing. Call it a miscalculation in the rate of technological advancement."

Scorpio smirked, coldly took in the collective look of remaining shock on their faces and their state of undress. Joe, was topless and his jeans were unzipped, whereas Yuki, with just her panties on, was desperately trying to use her blouse to cover her bare bosom, her long shapely legs curled up, as if trying to hide from their greedy gaze. He smirked, motioning Joe to move away from the gun.

If Joe had any intention of putting up a struggle, he changed his mind when more than a dozen rifles cocked around them. While he might be able to escape unscathed, Yuki would definitely stand no chance of surviving. Not to mention that he was out of his uniform and transmuting was out of the question. Thus, while maintaining his glare at Scorpio, he inched away from the gun, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Scorpio nodded to his goons, who immediately closed in on Joe. With the butt of his rifle, the closest one struck Joe at the back of his head. Another drove his heel into Joe's hamstring, forcing him onto his knees, while two others grabbed Joe's bare arms, pulling them backwards and cuffing his wrists behind him. A kick on his butt made him sprawl forward onto the grass next to his girl.

Joe's back muscles flexed minutely, as he snapped his head up to glare at Scorpio, his steel-gray eyes flashing dangerously.

Scorpio just smirked, leaning slightly forward, he pressed the muzzle of his rifle down against Yuki's cheek. Slowly and deliberately, he glided it down along her jaw-line and her neck, drawing a small circle over the small hollow where her collar bones met, then down her cleavage, pausing right above her heart.

"Not bad!" Scorpio said, his smirk deepening. "Couldn't believe that bastard Washio could have such a desirable daughter."

The hate in Yuki's sapphire-blue eyes were crystal clear as she jerked chin back defiantly, clenching her teeth, as her gaze met with Scorpio's, steadily and determinedly.

"You'd stop insulting my father, if I were you. He'd have you skinned if he knew what you are doing to me." Yuki hissed at him.

"Oh? Would he? I thought that he would be too busy skinning you two, if he saw what we've just seen."

A soft gasp escaped from Yuki's gaping mouth. Her face flushed and then paled as her pearly teeth sank into her lower lips.

"How- how long have you been here?" her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

A sarcastic light flickered in the icy blue depths of Scorpio's eyes, "Long enough, my love." His lips curled into a snarl as he leaned down to speak into her ear. "Long enough to see that you've willingly given him what you have denied me back in the ship, little girl. AND. I. AM. NOT. THRILLED."

Yuki's eyes widened and she shuddered. She breathed out harshly, "You're sick, Scorpio! Absolutely sick!"

The Assassin straightened and laughed so hard that he was holding his stomach. "Not as sick the two of you. According to my information, this lover of yours is like a brother to your father. So what do you call your love affair? Incest?"

His laughter was cut-off, ending with a grunt, as Joe pounced onto him with a deep-throated growl, head-butting him in his middle. Scorpio tumbled backward onto the ground, with Joe on top of him. Joe shifted quickly, driving a knee into the assassin's neck, threatening to ensure it's shattering.

However, before Joe could carry out his silent threat, a forearm hooked around his neck and forced his head up, yanking him off the fallen assassin, and throwing him at two of the awaiting goons. The goons immediately secured Joe, holding him tightly on his shackled arms, and jabbed a syringe of drugs into his neck, depressing the piston fully.

Yuki had scampered onto her feet to watch the fight and was too concerned for Joe to remember to get dressed. She gasped and rushed forward towards Joe as he got grabbed and injected with the unknown chemicals. A grip of steel closed round her slender arm as she neared him, wrenching her backwards, causing her to stumble backwards onto the gound.

"Colonel Jackson!" Yuki's jaws dropped as she recognized Joe's and her new attacker, for he was no other than her boss and the one who sent her onto this mission.

The tall, heavy-built Colonel smiled back at Yuki, a flash of white teeth against his dark tan. "Long time no see, Lieutenant," he remarked with a smirk, his brown eyes sparkling with mockery as they traveled down appreciatively at her creamy exposed skin. "You seem to be enjoying your mission… A lot."

Yuki hugged her blouse closer, cursing herself for not pulling it on while the guys were fighting. She cursed herself even more as Scorpio exchanged a glance with the Colonel, then staggered back onto his leg, stalked back over to her and backhanded her, sending her face down onto the grass. Straddling her and drawing her hands behind her, he grabbed her blouse in snickering jest, securing her wrists with it. Then, gripping onto her hair, he yanked her head up and leaned forward to speak into her ear from behind, his eyes were however fixed on Joe's, "Wouldn't it be fun if we march you back to the ship like this?"

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