Chapter Three

Marie hit the ground hard this time. Too hard, in fact. The last kick she received had knocked the wind out of her, had cut her lip so severely that she could taste copper on the top of her tongue. She slowly wiped the droplets of blood from her mouth, smearing a faint line of scarlet down her chin.

That move obviously didn’t work on her. Her brain kept repeating frantically. It didn’t work. Try something different.

It had been merely forty minutes into their training. Forty unbearable, tense minutes where she had failed time and time again. She was unable to think ahead anymore, unable to put two and two together. Her rational mind had literally bled out of her wounds.

Try something different. She continued, the recognition of her voice calming her. Find a weakness. She must have one.

As her chest heaved, she looked across the training field to her opponent, across the circle of red oaks encasing them.

She could see the brilliant crimson of her partner’s hair in the dying light, limp and matted with dirt.

Thick muscles outlined Autumn’s bare shoulders, glistening with sweat and smudged with soil. They flexed shamelessly, her sole resilience and power resonating throughout the clearing.

Marie leaned forward, her legs parted slightly, her hands up in front of her face. The base of her stomach flipped hesitantly as her opponent mimicked her.

She’ll aim for your face again, She reminisced, her past defeats playing over in her mind. She spoke to her body as though it was a separate entity as worn and broken down as her state of mind. She’ll block your view of her attacks. That’s how she gets you.

An unsettling silence fell around the two. The mark had been set. Whoever made the first move, whoever faltered, would start the last battle for the evening.

She’s too strong, Marie warned in her head, her eyes steady, She’ll overpower you.

The sound of crickets, of rustling leaves and twigs floated in through the clearing

She’s too smart, Marie mentally shook her head, her breath coming out in torrents, her mind dizzy from anticipation. She’ll outwit you.

She slowly shifted her body to her right leg, the tension damaging every ounce of concentration she had left.

She‘s too fast-- She lifted her head, a valuable thought growing. Wait…

From across the field, Autumn started to move forward, her body coursing through the air, head held up, feet light.

I’m faster than Autumn is…

Marie could suddenly see the emerald sparkling in her opponent’s eyes, the cold emotion of determination and victory radiating from within. At the last moment, Marie unsteadily throw all her weight onto her right foot. The shaky, unpracticed dodge caused her to stumble sideways. Her hands waved wildly as she tried to keep her balance; a small gasp fluttering past her lips as she teetered. The sound grew into a cry as Autumn surprisingly counteracted her move, a fist now flying just inches away from Marie’s face. The brunette could feel the wind blow past her cheek, her eyes wide, her muscles cracking under the strain as Autumn came at her mercilessly.

A second swing was blocked by the side of Marie’s shoulder; the third by her forearm. She tried to push backwards, tried to keep her feet from falling over one another, but she lacked the speed to accomplish the move. She avoided a fourth hid by rotating her body to the side. The fist brushed past her shoulder, the pull on the black leather of her suit forcing her to spin, to face Autumn head on.

The fifth hit eluded Marie’s block, contacting painfully with her collarbone. It was enough to twist her entire left side back, her legs too caught up in soil beneath her to keep her footing. With a stunned groan, Marie tumbled backwards, her back slamming into the packed soil.

No longer was triumph on the top of her list. Her mind had turned to survival, to withdrawal. As Marie hit the earth, the dust swarmed up around her head, cloaking the two of them in a blur of brown silhouettes. Marie could see the victorious glint in her opponent’s eyes as they cut through the cloud. Tucking her neck to her chest, Marie abruptly let her body roll backwards, her feet connecting with the base of the redhead’s stomach. With the momentum of her fall and the added force of Autumn’s speed, Marie was suddenly able to catapult her opponent clear over her head.

It wasn’t a neat throw. Quite the opposite, it was sloppy and ill preformed. Autumn’s torso was bent as she collided with the ground, her head the first thing hitting. The result? An instant concussion, the complete and utter black-out of a prized warrior.

Fight Over.

Winner: Marie Pacard.

6: 25 pm

“Should we help them, Sofia?”

“You can. I’m busy.”

There was a slight glint from the barrel of a 9mm automatic as a pair eyes shifted uneasily, the smallest sign of discontent appeared on the lips of a short blond. Rays of the setting sun sparkled against Rhia’s golden hair, setting highlights against her dark brown eyes. Her face was narrow, jaw-line strong, lips delicate and peach. She was curled up beside Sofia, her bare legs folded underneath her, her naked forearms smudged with grease and polish. Dirty rags and cans of oil were scattered in front of her; a bottle of water and a pair of combat boots were to her left.

“Something wrong, Sof?” Rhiannon Chasse bowed her head enough to see below the brunette curls of her friend, a blank expression on her face. “You looked a little down in the dumps today.”

A gun was placed against the glass table before the two women; bronze fingers set down a tattered rag beside it. A sigh floated past Sofia’s lips as she blinked slowly.

“I forgot to tell you guys last night that Reiji fired me.”

The statement was blunt, simple. It held three words, yet underneath, there was a second unpleasant meaning. Sofia had tilted her head gently to the side, a wall of curls parting to show the rosy undertones of her cheeks.

“Now, instead of letting me fumble around with his paper work, he lets that…” She searched for the right words in her head, beat past the cobwebs of concern that had started to stain her logic, “…that stupid American do it.”

“He needs another secretary?” Rhia asked uneasily while she lifted the gun barrel to her face. Squinting, she ran a rag through the opening, turning it sideways as she spoke. “Didn’t Reiji say you were the best for the job?”

“Apparently, he lied.” Sofia glanced sideways. “Crawford’s not a secretary though. My dad wanted him as a bodyguard because of Masafumi’s death.”

“Oh, makes sense.” The blond said, her voice hushed and dry, “Can’t have any corrupt businessmen being killed these days…”

“I guess.” Sofia replied slowly, her eyes narrowing as she thought. “Reiji already has that strange Creole woman to help him out. The only reason I was allowed to putts around his office was because I begged for a job. Now, I think I’m locked out for good.”

“Creole?” Rhiannon tumbled the name around on her tongue; her accent that of Southern Périgueux, slight, yet the r rolled gently, “Elise Karen, ne?”

“Hai.” Sofia replied indifferently; her main concern was Crawford. “I don’t trust him.”

Again, Sofia’s statement was blunt, simple, yet the underlyng meaning rippled uneasily between them.

“Do you not trust him because of instinct?” Rhia asked as she raised her gun’s magazine to get a closer look, “Or is it jealously?”

“Jealously?” Sofia tilted her head backwards, a deep laugh billowing up from her throat, “You’re kidding…“

“You tell me.”

“Well,” There was an uncomfortable pause. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I said tell me, not ask me.” Rhia inveighed, her eyes focused on two figures moving across the field. “Exactly how would I know how you feel?”

Rhia watched as, ahead of her, a sudden cloud of dust flew skyward and spiraled against the evening sun. The dense cover of dust shrouded a stumbling person in a halo of orange and tans. In the field, the woman finally slid to a halt, bowed her head from exhaustion, and let out a painful, muffled howl.

“An instinct.” Sofia answered finally, watching Autumn’s limp form laying in the dirt a few dozen yards away. She stood up and set the gun atop the table, shielding her eyes with the palm of her hand. “I’m positive it’s an instinct.”

“Where are you going, Sof?” Rhiannon asked, slightly caught off guard. “Autumn and Marie wanted us to critique their training--”

“I think I’m going to go pay my father a quick visit.” Sofia interrupted as she walked past the blond, dusting off her shirt.

“About that new bodyguard of his?” As blond streaks of hair tickled her cheeks, Rhiannon spun around in her seat, lips bent in a frown. “Sof, this Crawford guy sounds like a pushover. Your dad could probably keep him in check.”

“I don’t think so.” Sofia spoke slowly, her mind running over the facts in her head. When she had initially been introduced to Crawford, she had seem the submissive look on her father’s face. The cold realization of passivity had beaten Reiji’s mind down, shrouded it with lies. Now, whenever his face flashed in her head, only one thing came to mind. She twirled her finger in a circle around her ear. “I think he’s been brainwashed.”

“What?” For a second, Rhia sat there quietly, eyes locked on Sofia’s. “Are you serious?”

“That’s what I’m going to try to find out.” Sofia’s reached for the corduroy bag beside her chair, her other hand pointing out into the field. “Tell them I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Wait, Sofia!” Rhiannon reached out her arm, holding tight to her leader’s shirt. “Why would Crawford want to brainwash your father?”

“To take over the business?” Sofia shrugged as she patted Rhia’s hand away. “If I‘m wrong, then what do I have to lose?”

Rhia watched the dark-skinned woman blend into the shadows, disappearing like a fog behind a red oak. Sighing gently, she rested her chin on the back of her chair, listening to the dying footsteps of her friend. Intuition, a keen and finely honed skill she had learned from her superiors, suddenly keyed Rhia onto the fact that someone was standing right behind her. She turned quickly, surprised as a filthy, dirt-stained face with two bright, silver eyes shined down at her in victory.

“I just kicked the shit out of Autumn!”

The childlike remark sounded strange, almost alien. Marie extended her flat palm, a crooked smile growing on her pale lips, a chuckle not far behind. She was stunningly beautiful: long-limbed, a heart-shaped face with shimmering, gray eyes. They blinked furiously as they tried to dislodge the dirt that had been smeared around her lashes. Her laugh was sultry and low, practically flirtatious. Rhia mimicked the grin and reached over the table to slap Marie’s hand.

“I can see that.“ Rhia muttered as she glanced around Marie’s body. Behind her, trudging up to the table, hair caked in mud, was Autumn. The intense look of forlorn littered her face as a deep blush slowly made it way across her freckled cheeks.

“Give her a fucking prize.“ Autumn called as she leaned up against the table, her thigh bumping a 9mm pistol to the side. “Might as well get something’ ta remember it by ’cause it ain’t gunna happen again.“

Red-tipped strands of hair blew lazily around Marie’s face as she turned, a smirk glossing her lips. She rested against the wooden table, face flushed and soiled with dust.

“Hell yeah,” Marie glanced back at Rhia, her salient eyes dipping low and alluring. “I want a prize.”

She elongated the word prize, let it slip slowly over her thickly accented tongue. The brunette sounded almost American, but with a tint of European heritage. Marie’s hand outstretched, each finger long and elegant, imploring, waiting.

“You can clean out your suits if you want.” Rhia replied with a raised brow. As she looked up at Marie, she pushed four freshly cleaned guns clipped neatly in four hoisters her way. “You can put these away when you’re done, too.”

“I thought that was Sofia’s job.” Marie answered, the smile never leaving her face. She slid off the surface of the able, her left hand intertwining with the hoister belts. “Why isn’t she out here with us?”

“Too hot, I tell ya.” Autumn suddenly said, “The humidity would give her a fucking afro.”

“Or,” Marie started as she walked away from the table, the thick leather hoisters clunking against her thigh. “She probably doesn’t want to listen to you bitching all day.”

Marie slung the guns over her shoulder, cringing slightly as they smacked against her back. Autumn stayed close to her heel, her boots stamping rough imprints into the dirt. Behind her, a small haze of dust glided inches from the ground, drizzling lazily around the soles of the two woman. Autumn grunted from the remark, throwing out her arm to playfully shove Marie’s shoulder.

“Bloody strange of Sofia to just run off like that though.” Autumn remarked as she glanced skyward. Above her, a shifting mass of violet played out against the horizon, swirling into sapphires and violets below the tree line, “You’da thought she would’ve left a message or something.”

“Oh yeah,” Rhia’s shouted over to them suddenly. “Sof said she would be back later.”

Both Autumn and Marie turned, their face’s smudged with grime, their expressions blank.

“She really did leave because she was fed up with you.” Marie said to Autumn, her lips hiding the slightest hint of a grin.

“Or,” Autumn’s firm and sarcastic voice interrupted quickly. “She could, I don’t know, still be mourning over her brother and just wanted some alone time.”

Rhia bent her neck to the side, the crest of her eyes scanning the two woman as they stood beside a wooden crate piled high with leather bags, magazine clips, and ankle hoisters. Her pale lips created a solemn line through her jaw as her eyes darkened in uncertainty.

“If my psycho brother was murdered and I was blamed for it I would be depressed, too.” Marie voiced, her tone wryly.

“I wouldn’t necessarily be depressed.” Autumn said as she felt around her neck for the rough edges of a zipper attached to her catsuit. Her stained fingers grasped the black piece of metal firmly, her arm tensing as she pulled. “Have you realized we’ve been getting more recognition since Masafumi died?”

“How so?” Marie asked, her curiosity innocent.

“Praise, for one thing.” The redhead said loudly as she followed the zip line down the right side of her body. “Praise and respect.”

“Ah, yes, respect.” Marie’s eyes brightened at the realization. “I do enjoy not being treated like shit whenever we walk into Kritiker.”

“Same here.” Autumn agreed. “Cheers for the bitch that whacked that fucker. She sure did us a favor.”

Rhia leaned forward slightly, her hands cupping her chin as she lowered her head. A sickening feeling had started to bubble up through her stomach. She could feel the heat pressing against her throat, the nausea surging against the back of her mouth. For a moment, as twilight eased in around her, she felt the sick pangs of betrayal. Troubling thoughts were rising in her. Paranoia and fear had started to numb her steadfast loyalty to Sofia.

She killed him. She thought to herself, Sofia killed him, I know it.

Rhia could hear Marie’s fluttery laugh in the background, the thick string of curses from Autumn as she joked along.

“Eh, that’s just because of Weiß.” Autumn’s voice suddenly interrupted Rhiannon’s thoughts. “Bloody fucking wish I knew who they were so I could beat their faces in.”

“Tsck, yes, they make us look awfully dreadful.” The brunette held the back of her palm to her forehead, her voice overly dramatic and tense “Men have two heads, right? You’d think they wouldn’t be such idiots.”

“I think Kritiker owes it to us to tell us who the hell these men are. They’re fucking up left and right.” Autumn spat, the top of her catsuit hanging around her midsection; underneath, the black tank top was tattered and hole ridden. She reached for the bottle of water beside Rhia‘s thigh, snatching it up greedily as she continued to wiggle out of her training clothes. “What’s your take on Weiß , Miss Chasse? Why do you think they’re identities are being kept a secret from us?”

Rhia lifted her eyes slowly, her mind still dangerously frail.

“Safety purposes.” She replied simply. “Even though we work side by side with them, we don’t know who they are and they don’t know who we are. They fill in where we leave off, we fill in where they screw up--”

“At least we know we don’t have to do everything ourselves.” Marie added in, her one hand pleading with Autumn to give up the water bottle. “Estelle was one smart cookie when she told Persia to get his own team.”

“Yeah now we don‘t have to do all those stupid little jobs of his.” Autumn replied, edging herself out of the way from the brunette’s fingers. “Get your own, you moocher.”

“Are you two happy Masafumi was killed?” Rhia asked suddenly. “More so, are you guys alright with the fact that everyone thinks we nailed him when we really didn’t?”

“I’m just enjoying the benefits.” Marie called to her, her fingers fumbling with her own zipper. “Although, it is strange that Sofia’s so uptight about anyone finding out about the truth. I mean, she hasn’t even confessed to Estelle that it wasn’t us.”

“Sofia just wants us to keep on reaping the rewards.” Autumn said, rather snugly. The dirty cat suit fell down to her feet, throwing up a small cloud of dust. “Sof knows what’s best for us. Besides, if anyone found out we were lying now, then we would be in deep shit.”

“But to not even tell Estelle?” Marie let out a growl of frustration as her hands slipped free of the rusty, snagged zipper. “Estelle would have kept up the secret with us. ”

“Who do you think really killed Masafumi?” Rhia abruptly broke in once again, her arms folded before her chest, her appearance apprehensive.

“Who cares?” Autumn waved a hand and huffed under her breath. “He was part of our batch of targets. Just because he slipped away from us and someone else nailed the bitch, doesn’t mean we have to get sentimental about it.”

“He was one of the lowest ranks in the Takatori family, right?” Rhia started. “If, say, Sofia was the one who killed him, she would be the heiress to Reiji’s business.”

“What about Hirofumi?” Autumn asked as she replayed the extensive Takatori family tree in her head. “Oh, wait, he was disowned, wasn‘t he? Reiji doesn’t consider him fam--”

“What are you saying, Rhia? You think Sofia killed him?” Marie let her hands fall to her side in defeat, eyes blinking as the night started to come alive around them. “Fucking zipper.”

“Sof was with us the entire mission.” Autumn debated as she reached over and yanked Marie towards her, her hands working the brunette’s frozen zipper. “She was in our sight the entire time.”

“No, there was that time when we had to split up and circle around Masafumi’s four whores.” Marie recalled, her neck bent at an uneasy angle as Autumn tugged at her collar. “After that, I don’t remember seeing her until we left his lab.”

“So what are you saying, M?” Autumn loosened the brunette’s cat suit and stepped back; the emotion in her emerald eyes a mixture of disbelief and frustration.

“I’m not saying anything.” Marie looked over at Rhia, pleading for some help and reassurance. “Rhia’s the snitch over there that thinks Sofia is lying to us.”

“This is just what it looks like. I’m not condoning the idea, just voicing it because it’s there.” Rhia warned, her arms unraveling. “It’s actually quite simple. Sofia’s a huge asset to Kritiker, if she becomes the heiress to her father’s business, she could, essentially, become as powerful as Estelle. She even left before because she was worried that this new bodyguard her dad hired was trying to brainstorm him and take over the business.”

A pause rippled through the two woman as they stared at the blonde.

“And, have we ever really seen Sofia this worried about anything that happened to her dad?” Rhia started, heart fluttering nervously. “She told us she could care less about Takatori Incorporated, but now she runs away in a hurry because she thinks it’s being threatened? You have to agree with me; this doesn’t seem right.”

There was a gasp; Autumn’s profound disagreement was audible.

“That’s blasphemy, Rhia.” Marie said coolly as she rubbed her arms from the cold. “Sof would tell us if she was up to something like that. She would want our help.”

“Ya think?” Rhia spread out her hands, her head shaking as she tried to get the point across. “You know how she is sometimes, she needs complete control over whatever situation we’re in.”

“Rhiannon, this is Sofia you’re talking about.” Autumn continued, her voice high and outraged. “The four of us are practically sisters. We can’t just single one of us out because of some trivial controversy.”

“She has big dreams.” Rhia stated as she stood up. “Big ambitions.”

“Taking over Reiji’s entire business, if that’s what she’s trying to do, is a little too big an ambition, even for her.” The brunette voiced, turning and following Rhia as she started towards the house.

Autumn took a breath as though she was about to comment, but thought otherwise. The three woman started to walk in silence, each one with their head lowered. The scary thing wasn’t the fact that Rhia had initially said what she did. Nor, was it the fact that the seed of treachery had started to grow within their hearts. It didn’t bother them that Marie, one who spoke relentlessly and unabashed, now followed Rhia wordlessly, as though in a trance. It didn’t faze them that the ever loyal Autumn was speechless, her tongue clean of curses. No, the scary thing was that, as they disappeared into the house, there was an uncomfortable feeling rising inside of them.

Maybe, just maybe, Rhia was right.