Kogu was still in bed when I got in. Her first reaction was to reach for her sword -- the fancy new Katana Andrei had… acquired for her a few days ago, but she stopped midway when she saw it was just me. "What are you doing here."
I shrugged. "Thought I'd check in on you, you know, see if you're doing alright."
She glared at me. "You should not be here."
"Don't worry, nobody saw me on the way in. So, nobody else found you yet?"
Kogu shook her head in silence.
"See? Told you you'd be alright." Andrei had made sure the authorities moved on, after all. I sat by her side -- she had already shifted into a sitting position. "So, anyway, I brought you a target."
She looked at me, a hint of surprise showing in her almost black eyes.
"But first, this is how we do things." I handed her a phone. "It will only unlock with BOTH your face, fingerprint, and password." I dug for the password on my own phone and showed it to her. "Will you remember it?"
"That's an easy one."
"Good. Now, unlock it, and I'll send you your first target."
- - -
Her eyes darted to meet mine. Silence.
I waited. We knew she wouldn't be happy about having to kill the blacksmith, but she was a tool, a weapon. Tools can't afford to have feelings, or they won't serve their purpose. … Damn, Andrei is so good at bullshit.
"The Master," she said, almost to herself. Then silence.
I nodded slightly.
She broke the silence, her eyes still locked on mine. "Why should I."
"Well, you did say you're a tool. You also said you owe Andrei."
She looked down, visibly agitated. "I can't. The Master Blacksmith -- he's… a friend."
"Weapons can't afford to have friends."
"You wouldn't understand."
I smiled. "It's not my job to understand, I'm just the messenger here."
On a second, she drew one of her short swords and placed the tip against my throat. "Well, you know what they say. Killing the messenger can send a powerful message." Too slow.
I looked into her gleaming eyes. She was a weapon indeed. "Don't do something you'll regret."
"You can't ask me to kill the Master. Now leave. Before I kill you."
I got on my feet and raised my hands, and took a couple steps back towards the door. "Yes, I'll leave now." I grabbed the long sword I'd left beside it and threw it to her. "Here's the first part of your payment." A katana from our metalworks division, much better than anything the blacksmith could do, despite him being … probably the best in the whole country. … Thus why Andrei wanted him dead. Business. "You have 24 hours to fulfill the contract," I said, turning around and opening the door to the communal hallway.
The sword stabbed the doorframe, mere inches away from my head. "NO! Just leave and take your goddamned sword!"
I turned around to find her ready for battle -- her two short swords in her hands, her whole body screaming for blood. I pulled my gun and pointed it at her chest. "You're nowhere near fast enough, we already showed you that. Put those down."
She sighed as she lowered her hands, apparently in defeat -- but she was an open book to read. I could only smile as she pulled a gun from under the bed and pointed it at me. "LEAVE!! Or I swear I'll kill you!"
"You're welcome to try. But mind the consequences."
Her eyes locked on my own. Bad move. That's how there's no way in hell you're hitting me.
I smiled as she pulled the trigger, ducking right in time, tackling her before she could take another shot, sending her gun flying to a corner. My face now inches from hers, I couldn't help smiling again as I choked her. "Told you."
- - -
I had to work fast, I had a couple minutes at most 'till she woke up. I didn't need half of it, a quick tourniquet and a shot of anesthetic later, and I had… enough time to actually work on her. My orders were clear: we need to trust her -- one way or another.
Not five minutes later, the ring was in place, tightly wrapped around her spine, and I was stitching shut the hole in her lower back, when she shifted a bit, her hand trying to figure out what was happening on her back.
"Don't move," I told her, "sewing skin isn't easy if you shift around."
Kogu stood still for a few more moments as I finished, and then turned around to meet my eyes, silence and confusion filling the air.
"Well, you tried to kill me, so you left me no choice. Andrei's orders are crystal clear -- make sure we can trust her. … So I had to put you a ring." I couldn't help smiling as her eyes glanced at her hands. "Oh, no. Not that kind. Feel your back yet?"
She nodded.
"Alright, let's test it. Andrei, can you hear me?"
A familiar voice greeted me from my comms chip. "Yes." … It was the middle of the night in Moscow, but the man didn't seem to ever sleep.
"She's got a ring, it's in the DB already. We need to test it so she knows how it works. Turn it on."
… How do you hear a smile? A glint in someone's eyes -- when that someone is literally on the other side of the world? … I still swear the man is the devil himself. "Of course."
Seconds later, Kogu's screams pierced the silence.
I covered her mouth with my hand as I realized the apartment was most probably not sound-proofed.
Tears started flooding her eyes as she tried to fight it, but the mere pain from the ring prevented her from doing anything. Then, silence.
Andrei's voice beamed again, this time from both our comms chips at the same time. "You think that hurts, little tool?" He laughed hard. "That's not even close to painful. It's a 3/10 on power scale alone. You should also know that full power will knock you out."
She managed to stop her silent sobs for a moment. "I… I can't kill the ma-- the blacksmith. You don't understand. I can't."
I looked at her, understanding. "Let me guess, he's not just a blacksmith, is he? He's your swordmaster."
Kogu looked at me. HOW did I know?
I smiled as Andrei's voice answered her thoughts. "Lover too, it seems. Too bad you need to prove your loyalty to ME, hm?"
Screams again as he flipped the switch. I did what I could to contain the noise, but I wasn't having much success.
Then silence again, broken by Andrei's soft voice. "Gag her."
I searched the case, but the only thing that could do was tape. So, as gently as I could, I taped her mouth shut, while Andrei kept giggling over comms.
"Now have fun with her."
I almost froze in place. … Okay. What was I expecting? EVERYTHING is ALWAYS a test with him. So why would this be different? I sighed before addressing him. "Andrei, can we… talk for a moment?"
"Sure."
Silence filled the air as I left the tiny apartment, closed the door behind me, and sat on the stairwell. "You know…"
His voice was now cold as ice. "Sasha, what are your orders."
"…To make sure she cooperates. Look, I'll… I will do anything needed -- no, anything you want. But -- hear me. This is going nowhere. This… is history repeating itself."
A hint of a smile. "She's a tool. And a tool HAS to serve its purpose. If she fights back, then we need to hit harder. Break her."
I had to swallow. "Alright."
Now he was full-on grinning. "Break her, Sasha. Tear her apart so we can rebuild her into something useful. Tools can't afford to have feelings. Your job is to teach her that lesson. … So, make me proud, will you?"
I nodded in silence before realizing there were no cameras, so I quietly said yes before getting back on my feet. A test. As Always. … Make him proud. I smiled to myself as I opened the door again.
- - -
Kogu was curled into a ball in her bed, sobbing with her whole soul, the makeshift gag removed leaving her snow-white skin painted pink. She didn't move as I sat by her side and gently rested my hand on her shoulder.
"Look, I'm… I'm sorry. … Andrei… well, he doesn't give you much of a choice."
The sobs stopped. "I could help you."
"No. No, you can't, nobody can. There is no way out. You see…" I sighed from my very soul. "You remind me so much of a friend. Always a fight in her, always fire in her eyes." Pause. "I had to kill her -- she too was a weapon with a mind of her own, you see. So I had no choice."
She shifted around to meet my eyes.
Meanwhile, a cheerful voice coughed in my ear.
I coughed back. Please, not now, Andrei. I got back to Kogu. "You see, she was… more than a lover. She was my everything. Then life got in the way, but… I still love her." I kissed the girl passionately.
She joined, a hint of surprise in her otherwise amazing kiss. She looked confused as I pulled back.
"I'm sorry, I…" I closed my eyes. "This all reminds me so much of her, you know. I couldn't help myself, Kogu. I… I still miss her."
She kissed me this time -- for a long time.
"You have the same fire in you. The same wild passion." I took a deep breath. "So… please, let me… feel it once more. Just once. Please."
She understood. And kissed me harder.
My mind was a strange place. The was only one way for this to work, and it was letting it be true. Soon, clothes flew into the corner and we started softly caressing each other. I have to admit, she was really good -- I'd rather not know why. I stopped her as she tried to go down on me. "Don't. I'm…" I sighed again. "Andrei is a … complicated man. He… has me used to… well, take him whole."
She looked at me, almost shocked by my confession.
I looked into her eyes, my soul heavy. I was feeling every bit of it, I was opening my soul for her to see. "There's… there's a strap-on in the case. I know I'm asking a lot, but … it's the only way I'll get anywhere"
She glared at me. "Your friend. She never did that, did she?"
I closed my eyes and nodded in silence. "You'd be surprised."
- - -
My memory gets a bit hazy after that. I remember not being really there, but a few years before, with Kay wildly pounding me as I asked for more. Pain and pleasure indistinguishable from each other. And then, after the hurricane… silence. Back to the present, to a little Japanese girl, exhausted, lying sleepily on my chest. I hugged her. "That really… REALLY reminded me of her," I said, almost in tears.
She hugged me harder.
"Listen, I… I know I'm … complicated but would you mind… being the big spoon? I'm… I'm too used to it. And I could use some cuddle love."
She nodded, and thus we shifted around so she could hug me from behind.
I woke up to a ray of sunshine hitting my eyes. I sighed hard when I saw her -- but I had to leave. I had to leave before she woke up.
- - -
Back in the hotel, the room was cold, damp, dim -- almost reflecting my own mood. I threw myself on top of the bed -- those blankets couldn't warm up my soul, so why bother.
A familiar voice greeted me from the comms chip. "You alright there, Sasha?"
I nodded. "Yeah, it's just, this job took a toll on me."
"You didn't do as I asked."
"Sometimes the fastest way to break a heart is from the inside. I swear I'll get results, Andrei."
I heard him smile. "I don't doubt that. But, say, you weren't lying. To her, I mean."
I sighed. "You know well there's only one way to do this -- to fool a lie detector, if you wish. It needs to be the truth."
"I know, my boy, I know."
My mind played yet another trick on me. A pair of warm blue eyes, a hand like a sea caressing me. … I didn't miss her, no. I missed him.
"You alright in there, boy?"
I sighed again, the illusion shattered. "I miss you."
