Others

“Work?”, the girl did not get up, but put the knife aside.       There was a slight surprise, for lately the mitre assassin had taken a sort of pause on his strike list. That didn’t mean, he’d been spending a lot of time at home, often Kenny would be gone for days at a time. Sometimes he’d came back from a bar smelling of cheap whiskey, sometimes from a brothel, with a sweet and cloying odor around him, and sometimes neither. On these occasions, the man would come in, deep in thought, sat down in an armchair, with his feet on the table, and paid no attention to the the girl, who silently served him his food on the tabletop. Kiva realized, that he was generally waiting for something. Or someone.       The assassination of an important police officer alarmed the local authorities, who in own turn tried to increase their influence. This game was lost in advance, because to fix the situation in the Underground City required a lot of strength, time and patience. The police had none of these things. All attempts to curb or eradicate crime usually resulted in the opposite. Kenny was amused by their fumbling and pathetic attempts to get on his trail, always looking in the wrong place. “Yeah, get all the information you can on this man.”       The man tossed the paper on the table, not bothering to hand it to the girl. Kenny didn’t look tired or focused, more like content and enthusiastic. “So either you didn’t have to work hard to get that name or it doesn’t really matter,” the girl reluctantly stood up and picked up a piece of paper with a few slanted lines. Marlo Grice.       The name didn’t mean anything to the girl, she read on: “'It was told, he’d be coming to this little town.” The handwriting wasn’t Kenny’s, it was too jerky. By this time the man was already sprawled in his chair, watching the girl. She looked up at him questioningly, asking clarifying questions: “Are you going to kill him?”       The man hummed, propping head up with his hand: “No. Not yet.” “Then why do you need to know about him?” “Baby, it’s not just the murders, that make me such an undesirable person,” his face was now expressing a sneer mixed with condescension. “I need to know about such people.”       The girl ignored the sneer and said slowly: “Hm-m-m,” she crossed her arms over her chest, which stood out noticeably under shirt: “Is it like this: knowledge is power, and power has a price?”       Kenny held his gaze on her breasts, then moved it to Kiva’s pensive face. “Not exactly, little one. Power is power, and you can’t get it by brute force alone,” Kenny ran his thumb along his neck. “You have to know, where to strike.”       The girl nodded understandingly: “And what do you want to know about this man?” “Whatever you can dig up about him, I don’t need to teach you.”       There was nothing to do, the girl packed quickly, she had almost nothing of her own. A cloak, she had washed from the blood, a shirt, a single pair of low boots, and a book. The rest didn’t belong to her.       She tried not to think about the origin of the unchanging pants. This case didn’t require much, it was just information gathering. A knife, just in case, was all she took, nothing else. As the girl bent to pick up her boots, she asked the question that really interested her: “Do you let me go alone like this? On my own? Without supervision?”       That Kenny trusted only himself, the girl clearly acknowledged, which was why such a task surprised her. She couldn’t believe, she would be left to her own devices. Maybe it was a lice test, maybe an assessment of her skills. Kiva flinched, when she heard a soft voice near her ear and felt man’s body close by. She had completely forgotten, how silently the man could sneak up on her. Now he was exploring her waist and breasts with his hands. “I’m not a babysitter to follow you around like a toddler, you’ll do fine on your own.”       His hand slid to the girl’s face, and Kenny ran his thumb over her lips.       He didn’t sound threatening, but she felt uncomfortable. “And when you come back, I’ll have fun with you.”       The memories flashed briefly in her mind, clutching a lump of anxiety inside. Unexpectedly, the girl twisted her face and looked at him, grinning predatorily: “Gathering information is not a matter of a day, it will take longer.”       Kenny looked into her eyes curiously, squeezed her chin harder. For a while he stared at her, pondering. Finally, he let go and took a step back. “Then you should bring valuable news, or I’ll be angry.”       The girl only shrugged, trying not to betray her inner amazement at her own audacity. To her delight, Kenny’s face showed no displeasure.       Kiva walked out of the house and headed towards the center of town. It was her first full outing outside after a month. “Maybe I’ll even stop by my house, pick up some things. But not until after the case.” The girl stopped and remembered, that she had forgotten the name sheet in her confusion. She wanted to curse, she didn’t want to go back to Kenny now, that he was in such a mood, but her consciousness obligingly fitted her with those uneven lines: " Marlo Grice. It was told, he’d be coming to this little town.” Kiva exhaled with relief, the memory had helped. She couldn’t imagine, where she would start looking for information about a man she’d never seen before. Figuring it out, the girl decided to hang around the police officers. “Maybe it’s another big shot from the police force, or maybe someone valuable from the gangs. I don’t think it’s the latter though, otherwise I would have heard that name before,” Kiva reasoned quite rationally, as she walked down the street.       By the afternoon the girl knew roughly, who Grice was. Kiva was herself amazed at the ease with which she had gotten the information. It was enough just to follow the policemen for a few hours, to overhear some conversations in taverns. The simplicity and naturalness was frightening and exhilarating. No, no one even mentioned Marlo’s name, but there was talk of someone coming from Mitra, that the police department would undergo some changes, that it was an order from the commander-in-chief. These fragments formed a picture by themselves. Only a few things remained unclear. When this man would arrive, whether he was already in the city, where he would stay, what order the commander had actually given him, and what role Marlo was playing in the leadership.        Curiosity and thirst for knowledge overcame Kiva, so she did not return to Kenny’s house on the first day. She was not particularly anxious, for she had warned, that she might be gone for more than a day. Though at that moment the words were out of fear and a desire to delay, what was to come, the point remained the same. As soon as the city fell asleep, the girl decided to break into the building assigned to the Military Police and look for more information there, in the letters and orders. Kiva wasn’t worried, just as she didn’t doubt her plan. Indeed, she managed to sneak into the building through one of the windows. The house was empty, with only a couple of patrolmen, guarding the street, where it was located.       Kiva carefully and silently walked through the offices, found the desk of the chief. The girl lowered the lamp from the desk to the floor, away from the window, because any fool would wonder, why there was a light on in the police building at night. She lit it and left only a small light, just enough for reading. The girl took the papers out of the desk drawers one by one, taking care not to disturb the order, that reigned there. When she finished with one drawer, she carefully put the papers back in the order they had been in before her arrival. Half an hour later she found, what she was looking for. The letter informed her that Grice was coming to Underground City on orders from the Central Police Department and was their trusted confidant, and asked to give him a good reception.       No targets for his arrival have been reported, but the central department…it’s the closest to the king, that’s serious. Kiva examined the envelope, finding the date: five days ago. “Perhaps this man is already in town, it’s worth following up with the head of the local police, I need to make sure,” the girl pondered, putting everything back, blowing out the lamp and putting it back in its original place. She also left the building unnoticed. What to do next? She needed more specifics, so she decided to spend the night on the roof of a neighboring building, so she wouldn’t miss the arrival of the officials and know, what the police commander looked like in person. Who knows, maybe she’ll see Marlo himself, which would make her task easier. She found a secluded spot, which was a low place in the roof, and settled down for a nap.       Five hours later, she was awakened by a noise downstairs on the street. The police were crowded around the building, some going inside, some chatting merrily with each other. This usual scene was interrupted by the arrival of a man, who appeared to be their commander. Everyone saluted him and followed him inside the house. Half an hour later the first groups began to come out, armed with rifles, they were walking purposefully somewhere. Kiva realized, that patrols were being formed. The hours of waiting brought almost nothing, all the business was being done inside, and there was no desire to get any closer. Obviously, the head of the lawmen wasn’t going to leave the headquarters for a long time, but she didn’t want to miss this moment, so she waited patiently. She was hungry, but she suppressed the feeling, convincing herself, that she would grab something at the market.       Toward evening, the commander deigned to come out and headed down the street with a group of police officers. Kiva was glad for some movement and stealthily walked from rooftop to rooftop until they broke off. The policemen came out into the square. This circumstance forced the girl to leave the safety of the top. The descent had taken some time, but she had not lost sight of her target, and was now moving at a distance from them. There was no point in approaching them, she wouldn’t hear anything interesting, these weren’t the sort of people, who chatted about business in a crowded street. They passed the square and moved on. The girl suddenly noticed, that a guy was following her, too. It didn’t bother her at all, the sight of the man suggested, who wanted to know about her movements.       Kiva had no doubt, that Kenny wouldn’t truly let her go without supervision, plus the fact that she’d been gone for a day and a half. In that time, she could have made it to the catacombs beneath Stohess. The girl decided to play with the watcher. When the police entered a house, Kiva didn’t stop, didn’t turn into the nearest alley to continue her work, she walked down the street, knowing, that the unwanted guest would follow her. Two neighborhoods later he lost her, and the girl could watch with a chuckle, as he looked around confusedly for her. “Apparently he’s going to get a kick out of Kenny, when he says he lost me,” the girl chuckled as she walked back to the house her target had entered. Kiva prayed, that the cops were still there. The building was unknown to her, so she didn’t venture inside just yet.       The girl waited patiently, and the uniformed men exited the building with the new man. This puzzled Kiva slightly, who to follow, if they split up? What if this unknown man was the actual Grice? Doubts fell away, when the girl noticed the way the police commander was fawning in front of this man. So he is of higher rank, so he has more power, so it is Marlo Grice. The girl followed the stunted man, pleased with her luck and thankful for her attentiveness. Now it remained to find out where Grice lived, and to learn a little more about the reasons for his appearance. The man was on his way to the tavern, and while he was there, the girl stole some old pears from the market. Kiva had time to eat it all, to count all the stalls, to count all the houses around this square. The man didn’t come out, and the girl began to worry, that he had somehow left the inn without attracting her attention. But soon Marlo came out and moved on. He looked relaxed and generally not different from ordinary civilians.       Kiva walked him to the building, where Grice was apparently staying. “Now it’s just a matter of waiting for him to leave the house and going through his papers, it should be there,” the girl thought, as she settled in and prepared for another night on the roof. Marlo had left the house at early morning, and Kiva waited half an hour before going inside, marveling at the ease with which the windows could be opened from the outside. The interior of the house differed from the discreet exterior in a way, that was not flashy. The house had two floors. The second, which Kiva passed through, was an attic with junk left over from the previous owners. But the first was not badly furnished, carpets, a sofa, a scrubbed fireplace, a low table with carved legs.       “Where’s his bedroom? There must be some papers lying there,” Kiva stepped carefully on the floor, trying not to leave marks on the soft carpets. So she walked to one of several doors, found there a normal bathtub with a nice sink, beyond the second a semblance of a kitchen, and beyond the third a study combined with a bedroom. “This is it,” the girl walked over to the desk. Apparently Grice didn’t think his house could be broken into and was careless, it didn’t take Kiva long to find the letters and orders. One caught her eye, it had a red patterned seal with a unicorn on it and a large emblem on it.       The girl couldn’t have known, that it was King Fritz’s emblem and the seal belonged to the Central Division. She was simply attracted by their beauty and pomp. It didn’t say much, an order to come to the Underground City, a promise of support, and a reminder of purpose. The girl read the lines greedily: “Marlo, quickly find those through whom the leak was made. Information about the Fritz’s lack of authenticity must not be released to the masses, we are counting on you.” Kiva couldn’t imagine the value of this knowledge, the slum rats had never been interested in the ruling dynasty, it didn’t matter to them. But the girl was glad to have gotten, what she had been sent for. Carefully putting everything back in pristine condition, the girl went up to the attic, climbed onto the roof and closed the window behind her.       There were no signs of crime, and no one would have been able to guess an intruder’s presence. Kiva slipped off the roof and headed for her house, wanting to pick up some things. She returned to Kenny’s house that evening, bringing with her her a bag in which she put the rest of her belongings. She was met not with a calm greeting, but with an irritated shout of ill-contained rage: “Couldn’t you bitch have messed around in there any longer!”       Kiva had expected such a reaction, she had been gone for about three days, plus she had made a circle going into her old house. She didn’t know how to behave in such a situation, so she just dropped the torch on the floor and stood there, watching Kenny warily.       He was in a rage, eyes flashing with lightning. Probably the ma, Kiva had broken away from a day and a half ago, had already gotten what he could, and the girl could only sympathize with him. Now it was her turn. The man, seeing no reaction, jumped up from his chair and walked over to the object of his ire. Kenny took the girl by the hair and shook her vigorously. “What could have taken you three fucking days!”       It hurt, but somehow loosening the tension in her hair, she didn’t dare, not now. He didn’t smell like alcohol, it would be easier for her, if he did. Something told her, that if she didn’t calm the irritated man down now, she was in for a rough ride. Kiva lifted her hand and placed it gently over the heavy hand, that held her hair, trying to speak as calmly as possible: “I was looking for information on Marlo Grice. Just like you told me.” “You could have gotten to Shiganshina in three days and killed a protected official. What were you doing, bitch?”       Apparently, her actions had calmed him down a bit, he’d let go of her hair and was now hovering over her with his hand against the wall next to her face.        Kiva thought about the best way to tell, what she’d been up to without angering the man with a careless word. He couldn’t trust her, and her long absence confirmed it. He hated it when he couldn’t control his own things. The girl was silent, trying to string words together in her head. This waiting was annoying, infuriating. The thought, that the girl had been hanging around somewhere, and he didn’t know where, and was now just standing there making up an excuse, made him angry. Kenny swooped down on her face, smashing her lips, bellowing: “Hurry up, I won’t wait long.”       Kiva pressed her palm to her cheek, glared at him, and, gathering herself, said clearly: “I have learned, why Grice has arrived.” “I can’t wait to hear it from your lips,” the man said sarcastically; he was too blinded by possessiveness to pay attention to the girl’s calm demeanor.       The girl sucked in some air, trying to keep her voice steady: “Marlo, quickly find those through whom the leak was made. Information about the Fritz’s lack of authenticity must not be released to the masses, we are counting on you”       Kenny cooled down, he looked at the girl’s face, trying to see if she was lying. No signs of lying, just calmness with some resentment. He turned to her: “You’re not cheating? How did you find out?” “I read it in his letters,” she murmured, keeping hand on her cheek.       Kenny was silent for a while, conferring with himself, glanced at the girl, stepped back. “Sit down, tell me about it, little girl.”       The girl sat down in a chair, Kenny himself measured the room with pacing steps. If it was true, he had finally found a trace and confirmation of his thoughts. This information was important to him.       The girl told him, that she had found out where Marlowe lived, what he looked like, that he had met with the head of the police. By the end of the story, Kiva sat with her hands folded on the table, looking between them, fearing another fit of rage in the man. A sudden touch on her aching cheek made her raise her head. Kenny was stroking it with the back of his hand, his gaze thoughtful and satisfied. “Smart girl, you’ll make a good one, if only I can beat your slumming crap out of you.”       It was both praise and apology, the girl understood without words spoken aloud. Kenny made his way to his favorite chair and sat down “You can get something to eat.”       Kiva followed that advice.       The next hour passed in silence, the girl ate, cleaned the dishes, and the man sat smoking, thinking about something. Most likely, he was thinking about, how to make the best use of the information he had received. Kiva went to the bathroom, she wanted to wash up and go to bed. Kiva washed her face with cold water, undid one button of her shirt, and wanted to rinse the back of her neck and head. Kenny found her washing her neck, and apparently he hadn’t forgotten what he’d said. He pressed himself against her from behind, making the girl flinch. He liked the fact, that she was afraid of this display of their lives, it was a turn on, as was her inexperience. It’s nice to own a girl, that no one fucks, but you. Kenny buried his face in her hair, pulling the girl’s hips against his groin, making her feel his arousal. Kiva knew, it would happen again sooner or later, but she was still scared, no matter how mentally prepared she was. Rough hands slid to her shirt, unbuttoning it.       A slight draft ran down her bare belly, sending shivers down her spine. A man’s palm traced over her stomach, where the scars were visible, and went down to her pants, undoing them. At that moment, Kiva couldn’t hold back a sob and pulled her legs together. Kenny stopped, and the girl was expecting the usual pain at the back of her head or a stiff neck. But the man leaned over and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. It didn’t bring relief, only made her even more wary. It would have been easier if he’d just bent her over in the tub and fucked her as usual. The man laid her down on the mattress and began to pull off his white shirt. He noticed, that the girl’s figure became even more beautiful from more frequent and better nutrition, more rounded, where a woman’s body was supposed to be. Kenny pulled down the girl’s pants and laid on her. She looked away, her lips pressed together, showing no interest in what was happening.        The weight of the man’s strong body pressed against her unusual, and she winced slightly, when Kenny began to kiss her neck painfully and greedily, leaving traces on it again. He began to move lower down to her breasts, passing his tongue over them. This was new, and Kiva couldn’t keep her hands off, trying to push the man away. He only stopped, what he was doing, and pulled her arms to her sides, squeezing her thin wrists hard and painfully. As a reminder, that it was better for a girl not to make him angry, and to catch the brief moments of kindness. His hands moved down to her thighs, stroking them roughly. His fingers began to lightly stroke her clit, then moved down and penetrated the folds of her flesh. It was dry, but this time Kenny was lenient. He entered her with his fingers, caressing inside, occasionally stroking her clit with his thumb until the girl relaxed just a little.       She didn’t find the movements pleasurable, but they generated a warmth in her lower abdomen. The man’s kindness ended there, he pulled his pants down, releasing his erect cock, slid it over her labia, and entered in one motion. Again the pain, only this time more bearable. Kenny moved in his pleasure, at first sprawling, savoring, holding the girl by the waist. Then he lay on top of her again, quickening his pace and increasing the force of his thrusts. The girl didn’t look at him, didn’t want to, just waited for him to finish and leave her body. After a long moment, the man slowed his pace, took her by the chin, and turned her around to face him. He stared into her eyes for a while, catching the responses to his movements in her, then he bit into her lips. For a while he roughly grated and bit them, until they bled, as if it were something necessary.       Catching her cry of pain, the only expression of her emotion, he came out of her and warm semen flooded the girl’s belly. It was a moment of relief for Kiva, and she allowed herself to pull away from the man, who froze in bliss, breathing heavily. The girl pulled herself up and lay closer to the edge, wiping the white stain with the edge of her shirt and coming to her senses for a while, Kenny in the meantime got up and went to the bathtub, there began the sound of water.        When he returned, the girl was already asleep on her side, risking falling off the bed, so close to the edge she’d positioned herself. Kenny thought he’d been too soft on her, but she’d done a great job, and it would have been inconsistent to be rough, and he’d gotten his release anyway. The man lay down on the empty bed, wondering, how much use he could make of this girl, since she had proven herself such a spy. His contacts weren’t always quick to act, and the girl seemed to have an easy way of finding out other people’s secrets, it could come in handy. But first he had to establish his power and authority over her, so that such antics as leaving for three days would not be repeated.