This is coming out today in an effort to get back on the proper schedule.
That would be all parts up to part 8 by next tuesday. Wish me luck. :)
All parts I've released are available off my web page.
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Dragon Path
by Ben Kosse (bmk7411@cs.rit.edu)
part 5: Beginning of a Man
Beginning of a Man
Once. Once, I would have taken any girl I felt like.
Hell, I could have taken any girl I felt like. I'm a large guy.
I'm big, strong, and I've been told I'm pretty damn good looking.
Well, like I said, I thought I could have any girl. That was
before I met Dragon.
Those words were the ones that Robert always
thought, or said, every time he slid into the passenger's seat.
Sometimes, even when he wasn't in the car.
Instead of reading the information, he mentally
relived that day, two years ago.
****************************************************
I was twenty-three at the time and sipping
contentedly on my beer. Well fine, I was drinking some poor,
nameless sap under the table.
The bar was nice and crowded: good for
trouble--which I liked. Chicks wandered freely, and lost what
little clothing they had almost as easily. The music was loud and
the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol clogged the air.
I was here to find this bounty hunter called
'Dragon.' He had been hired to track my boss and was getting
closer to finding him. For obvious reasons, my boss wanted this
damnable Dragon dead.
Fine. That was my job. But, in the meantime, I'd
just enjoy this wonderful atmosphere and finish drinking this
bastard down.
My friend and partner in this endeavor wandered out
of the shit stall, a strangely content look on his face. He had
found a hell of a hot chick and just finished with her. I really
didn't care what he did to her, nor did I really care what he
usually did to those damn whores. Let me put it this way: he's
got strange tastes--most of which I don't find particularly
interesting, sexy, or even fun.
I found another reason not to care what he had just
done. Namely, this girl, not more than twenty or so, kicked open
the door and shot him. His head exploded with the heat of the
laser pistol's shot.
Next thing I knew, the girl was standing by the guy
with whom I was competing with--emphasis on was. He was now
unconscious since she had rather unpleasantly shoved him off the
chair. Her left hand held a 1 cm laser pistol and her right hand
held a remodeled .44 magnum.
Honestly, women with guns didn't scare me. They were
always scared--and fretting. I could always do something: flip
the table, draw my own guns, whatever.
SHE scared me. Those two pistols were pointing,
unmoving, at my eyes. She wasn't scared and she certainly wasn't
fretting. I could see, plainly, that she was more than willing to
kill me and that she had probably killed before.
"So," I asked, looking for a way out of this, "what
can I help you with?"
"Get up. Walk to the door, and get in the
Lambourgini outside. I'll be behind you, Robert, and believe me
when I say I'm a whole lot faster than you are."
That much I didn't doubt. OK, I doubted, but I
wasn't going to chance it. Instead, I walked through the
departing crowd, still wondering how to get out of this mess.
I left the building and stared at the most
exquisitely maintained Countache I'd ever seen. The sleek, black
car had a silver dragon painted on the hood with golden flames
flowing over the windshield and down the body. Instantly, I
figured out who she was. "So, you're this Dragon, eh?"
"Open the door." Damn, she wasn't fazed. At least
not that I could tell, so I did.
"Get in and sit down."
Again, I did. Heh, you fucked up. There's no way
you're getting in without dropping those guns, girl.
God damn, I was wrong. I hate being wrong. I really
hate being wrong. But, it's even worse when you're proved wrong
with a laser pistol in the crotch. She just put the gun there and
rolled over me. So much for her fucking up.
The only good thing about that was I got a close-up
of her face. Damn, she was a beautiful woman. Hell, she's only
gotten more beautiful in the years I've known her. Smooth, white
skin and wispy blond, wavy hair that was pulled back into a short
ponytail.
Her beautiful, penetrating green eyes watched my
movements and the road at the same time, and one of her slender
hands, the hand holding the gun, was more than ready to leave me
less a man should I fuck up now. She truly wasn't like anyone I
knew. Hell, she was better than anyone I knew: male or female.
I needn't say how much that scared me because, until
now, I was the best I knew.
I don't know how long we drove, nor where we were.
It wasn't anywhere I was familiar with, but it was here that we
stopped. Again, she made to crawl over me, obstensibly to exit
the car. Again, I wanted her, but that gun kept me from doing
anything.
This time, however, she swung her left leg over my
legs and then lowering her body next to mine. The gun moved to
make room for her ass and she sat down on my groin. Her arms
wrapped around my neck and she faced me squarely, leaning forward
from the low height of the car's roof. Her face was right next to
mine, those forest eyes staring into my soul, her slim lips
glistening in the shady light. Light which was disappearing
quickly under the darkening windows.
She rammed her hips forward and dug in her legs. I
think I groaned though from pleasure of her nearness or the pain
the pressure brought to my groin, I'm not sure. I think it was
both.
"Listen, Robert. There's something about you." She
was watching me carefully. Her hand, and the laser pistol, were
behind my head. I would've done something to deal with her, but I
was no longer sure that my life wouldn't be forfeit if I tried.
So, I did nothing but watch her beautiful face and eyes.
Distracted from that face only occasionally by the glimmering,
small silver studs in her ears. I know I groaned this time.
"Robert. I don't want to kill you, but I will if you
make me." I looked down, quickly. I knew she had two guns and,
sure enough, the magnum was still in her hip holster. "Oh, you
want out of this?" She saw me look at her gun. "Try, Robert.
Please."
She didn't beg, she didn't plead. All she did was
stare at me, watching me, yet not watching me. I don't know what
exactly she was looking at, but I decided this would be the best
opportunity I'd have of escaping. Well, that was, after she
thought I wouldn't take that gun. So, I waited.
"Don't want to, Robert? Fine." She began. "Let me
explain the situation to you. I'm doing this job to get an A-LAW
license. I've already passed the tests, but I can't afford the
fee, so I signed on with the government to take out your boss.
It's simple, really, Robert. He's going down, and you're going to
help me."
That was the moment I was waiting for. My left hand
darted for her magnum.
--
Ben Kosse bmk7411@cs.rit.edu
BGC Otaku and worshipper of the Red-Eyed Goddess. Member of ShAS.
Anime, RPG's, computers, poetry (read/write), music (listen/compose).
Author of the Bubblegum Crisis theme pack (see the homepage below).
Homepage with anime and other interests. (http://www.rit.edu/~bmk7411)