Subject: [FFML] [C&C][fanfic][Dirty Pair/Iria: Zeiram] Should Old Acquiantance Be Forgot chapter 6
From: "Ragun Paul Moody" <Kichigai@tds.net>
Date: 1/15/2001, 10:06 PM
To: "FFML" <ffml@fanfic.com>, "DB Sommer" <sommer@3rdm.net>

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$At last. Enjoy:







"Husband?" The word was barely able to slip past Kei's lips.



In answer to the question, Killgore puffed up his chest.



	$You know, I wonder, is that name a political statement?



 "That's right. I'm

Iria's-"



"EX-HUSBAND, YOU ASSHOLE!" The gun was now quivering in her hand. "We've

been divorced for over sixteen years!"



Killgore shrugged with an obvious lack of concern over Iria's distress.

"Technicalities, Sunshine."



	$It's all in the details.



Standing off to the side, Kei was still trying to process the information.

Having little luck with the effort, she turned to give Iria a wide-eyed

look. "You were married and you didn't tell me?"



That question helped the bounty hunter regain a better control over her

emotions. "It's not exactly something I'm proud of. Believe me, I try

everything I can to forget about it. Most of the time I'm pretty successful

too."



	$successful, too."



"But it's still a fact," Killgore assured her. "No matter what mistakes we

might have made, we were husband and wife, Sunshine."



"Stop calling me that!" Iria snapped as she lowered her gun.



Killgore appeared offended at the order. "But it's such a cute nickname. You

never used to complain about it. It just... suited you somehow, the way you

looked so radiant in the afterglow of our lovemaking. Just like a ray of

sunshine."



	$Shoot him now.



"Believe me, every day's a rainy day when you're around." Iria holstered her

weapon, but that seemed to be the only concession she made in allowing his

presence so near to her own. She continued making her feelings towards him

clear as her gaze practically bored holes through him. But then, suddenly

and inexplicably, she smiled. Both Kei and Killgore tensed up at the

unexpected, and unwarranted, change in attitude.



Grinning even more broadly, Iria asked in honeyed tones, "So, what are you

doing here, Lance?"



	$Speaking of names, I wonder if she ever legally changed her last name back

from Killgore?



Kei picked up on how she emphasized the last word. Uncertain of what to make

of it, she remained silent as a pained expression grew on Killgore's

features.



"Hey now, Iria. There's no need to be like that," the man insisted.



"Like what?" Kei asked, missing whatever was now passing between the former

spouses.



"Yes. Like what, Lance?" Iria teased.



Killgore's composure finally broke, though only by a very slight degree.

"Damn it, woman! You know I hate that name."



That caused Kei to give Killgore a baffled look. "Why? Isn't that your

name?"



Seeming to fully notice Kei for the first time, Killgore turned and

unleashed a smile upon her that actually made her heart beat slightly

faster. It was the first time she reacted that way to a man's attention in

what felt like an eternity. "It is, but I prefer being called Eugene."



That shook Kei out of her stupor. "Why? Lance sounds much better than

Eugene." A lot better. She always pictured 'Eugene's as nerdy eggheads that

got high marks in school and ruined the grading curve for everyone else,

like her.



	$I hate being in a class with that kind of person.  They make me look

stupider than I really am.



 Actually, almost everyone else tended to ruin the grading curve

for her. But those were the worst of the lot.



The opinion made Killgore shake his head vigorously. "No way. It makes me

sound like some pathetic holo action hero or something. I only let other

people call me Killgore for business reasons, since the name seems to work

well in attracting potential clients. Natural advertising, in a way, I

guess." He shrugged at the idea, seeming to consider it a necessary evil.



	$Better than carving 'If you want THIS done to your enemies, call:

XXX-XXXX' on all the people you shoot.



Their discussion of the merits of Killgore's name was interrupted as eight

men burst into the room from the same doorway the large man had entered.

They carried a diversity of powerful weapons that was matched only by the

variety of their outfits, ranging from neutral grays and browns, to a bright

yellow that looked more appropriate on a banana than a human being. As they

entered, they reacted with well-trained precision and aimed their weapons at

Kei and Iria. The redhead cursed her inattention and brought her gun up to

point at the newcomers. Iria did the same.



"Wait!" Killgore shouted at the men, who instantly responded to his command.

"These are allies. They've already infiltrated the target area and have

begun a mop up operation." He turned to Iria and Kei. "Do you have any other

comrades in the building?"



Deciding Iria's anger probably made her a poor representative for dealing

with all of these newcomers, Kei decided to act as spokeswoman. "Just one.

Her name's Yuri. She's a troubleshooter like me. She's about my height, has

black hair, and wears the same kind of outfit that I have." Kei then quickly

added. "She's not as attractive or in as good a shape as me though."



	$Maybe not, but I bet she's better in the sack.



Killgore gave her a surprisingly charming smile as he looked her over, his

eyes lingering over certain areas for an extra moment. "Now that, I find

very easy to believe."



A low growl issued from Iria. Kei saw that the muscles in her face were

twitching madly and she was fingering the butt of her holstered pistol

again.



The growl was joined by a snort of derision from one of the newcomers. Of

all the men in the room, his outfit was easily the most fashionable, even

more tasteful then Killgore's. It was immaculate, mostly white with deep red

along the center of the torso and shoulders, traveling down the front of the

legs and reaching towards stylish black boots. The footwear was possibly the

same brand as Killgore's though a great deal smaller, as though the man had

very dainty feet. He was about even height with Kei and slender, with flaxen

brown hair that traveled down his back in a wave that made Kei react in

envy. The troubleshooter noted that he too was handsome, though in a very

different manner from Killgore. Where the big man was all mass and virility,

the newcomer was lean and trim, almost effeminate, though not in an

unattractive way.



	$Hmph.  Bishonen.



Gracefully, he almost seemed to flow as he moved next to Killgore and gave

Kei a firm visual examination as well. Unlike Iria's ex-husband, he seemed

very unimpressed. The redhead decided that in spite of how attractive he

was, she didn't care much for him. Besides, bishonen guys were always a

turnoff for her. She wanted a real man with meat on his bones that knew how

to have a good time, not those frail pretty boys Yuri seemed to prefer.



	$Yuri doesn't go for the rough stuff and thus breaks her toys far less

often.



"I'll notify the other men so they don't accidentally shoot the little

tart," the man said, sounding as though he couldn't care less if they did

empty a few blasts into her. "I trust you'll do the same?" he asked Kei.



	$Kei: Yeah, sure.  I hadn't planned on shooting her either.



Giving a growl that was almost as angry as Iria's had been earlier, Kei

reached up to her earring, the communications device that she shared with

Yuri. She gave her partner a quick summery of what had happened and what to



	$summary



expect.



Once that was taken care of, Killgore gave his partner a disappointing look.

"See here, Cross. These are our friends. Don't go insulting them."



Cross gave Killgore an exasperated look that lasted all of a moment.

Turning, he bowed deeply before each woman. "I apologize for my behavior. I

reacted reflexively when I saw my commander in danger." His words might have

said one thing, but the manner in which he said them indicated another.



As he came up from his bow, Kei noticed something odd about him. In the

space below his right eye and next to his nose were what she thought at

first were moles, but upon closer inspection proved to be a trio of tiny

tattoos. Each one resembled a teardrop. The first was scarlet. The second

purple. And the third black.



"You're a Samisdat," Kei said softly as she reacted automatically to the

perception that her life was in danger. As a member of the 3WA she was

familiar with the Samisdat Assassins reputations, what little there was.

Details were sketchy, outside that they were reputed to be among the top

assassins in the galaxy, taking a minimum of two million credits for a hit,

and having no openly acknowledged failures to date. And that each member

bore a trio of teardrop tattoos under the right eye in the order of scarlet,

purple and black. No one knew where they were headquartered, how many there

were, how they were recruited, who led them, or any other meaningful

information. All that truly existed of them were a host of wild, vague

rumors, none of which were ever proven true.



	$Ah.  And now she's going to get to kill one.



Even hiring them was mysterious. Rumor had it if someone wanted to hire a

Samisdat, they needed to let word filter through the inter-galactic

underworld. The one making the request would be approached if the assassins

were interested in the contract. Kei knew of at least a dozen attempts by

the 3WA to lure one into a trap, but none of them had come close to

succeeding.



	$Well, yeah.  If even Kei knew about it, it wouldn't be too hard for

someone else to find out.



It was true that people with such tattoos had been incarcerated by law

enforcement agencies across the galaxy, none of them had ever been

successfully connected with the Samisdat, even upon those occasions where

the less scrupulous agencies used drugs, mind probes, or torture to gain a

confession. The few that 'confessed' were quickly proven as not being part

of the Samisdat, usually by the fact they held normal jobs or were far too

inexperienced and sloppy to be a professional assassin.



Cross laughed at the accusation. "Don't be silly. The Samisdat are a myth.

Like the Murder Cabal the Kai Pirates are reputed to possess. As a 3WA

troubleshooter, I would think you'd know better than to believe in tales of

bogeyman."



	$bogeymen would be more appropriate.



"How long have you had those tattoos?" Kei asked.



Cross fingered them, as though to remind himself they were there. "I got

them when I was young. I don't even remember exactly. I have several others

as well, though they're in places I'm afraid you'll never see, Dearie."



	$Over his dead body, more than likely.



That confirmed it for Kei. Anyone not of the Samisdat getting the tattoo

most likely would have bragged about it, but this man dismissed it casually

in afterthought, as though it were a matter of no consequence. There was

also the way he carried himself, seeming at ease, yet giving out an aura of

that hinted at potential violence. Only Kei's trained eyes picked up on the

subtle signs that indicated he was ready for action, despite his seemingly

at ease posture.



"You're being paranoid," Killgore assured Kei, trying to defuse the

situation. "I could never afford to pay Cross a million credits for each

person he's killed.



	$He's killed that many, eh?



 I'd have to own a major corporation instead of working

for one."



Iria looked at Killgore. "You were hired by YSC?"



"Surely you didn't think this was a recreational visit?" Killgore smiled

smoothly at his ex-wife the entire time.



The response seemed to stoke the flames of Iria's anger almost as high as

before. "No. You never did anything for recreation. It was always

professional to you."



Again Killgore seemed hurt by the accusation. "Aw, come on. You're being

unfair here. I always did fun things with you. I think you're having a bad

case of rewriting history."



"The hell I am, you sleazy, rotten, bucket of sh-"



"Ahem!" Cross interrupted, breaking up pleasant exchange of ideas between

the duo. Once he had their attention, he addressed Killgore. "As much as I'm

sure you'd like to reminisce about 'the good old days', we do have a mission

to accomplish first."



"Of course." Killgore snapped his fingers. In response, two members of the

squad, one of them bearing a portable computer, moved quickly forward and

began hooking it up to the main computer in the room.



"Wait a second!" Iria protested. "This is a crime scene that is under the

jurisdiction of the 3WA. You can't just barge in and take it over."



"Ah, she is right," Kei said, though reluctantly. She found herself not

wanting to do anything to upset the handsome fellow, even if he was Iria's

ex-husband.



	$Oh, come now.  Surely she isn't that naive.



"True, but since this is a privately owned YSC facility, and as duly

authorized agents of YSC, we are entitled to conduct our own investigation

concurrent with yours. Unless there is an outstanding reason as to why we

shouldn't be present."



"How about the fact your a backstabbing untrustworthy asshole?" Iria

offered.



	$Won't hold up in a court of law.



"That's an opinion, and one you can't prove," Killgore countered. He turned

to Kei. "Of course we'll be more than happy to share all of our discoveries

with you. And it does look like we're better equipped to retrieve and

analyze the information than you are right now."



Kei saw Iria shake her head ferociously. Kei was about to say no when

Killgore unleashed that devastating smile again. "Sure, why not?"



Kei noticed Iria's scowl increase by a factor of five. That really wasn't

fair. How could Kei say no to such a handsome...



	$Easily, actually.



 or rather how could she

refuse a request by an official agent of YSC who was doing nothing to hamper

their investigation, and actually was helping it along quite nicely? It

would have been unprofessional, and Iria's perceptions were probably being

clouded by the relationship she had once had with Killgore. And there was

still the outstanding question as to how Iria had let such a handsome guy go

in the first place?



Kei was still deliberating that question when Yuri entered the room to

rendezvous with her companions, satisfied Killgore's men had the rest of the

mop up well in hand. "Hey, guys. Are you two all right? I had a close...

why, hello there." Yuri gave a saccharine sweet smile as her eyes fell upon

Killgore for the first time.



"Hello yourself," the tall man said. "I'm Eugene Killgore."



	$Iria: Call him Lance.  Or better yet, don't call him at all.



"My ex-husband," Iria chimed in before he claimed they were still married

again.



"How did you let this one get away"? Yuri almost cooed.



"I was thinking the same thing," Kei blurted out



	$out.



"Once you get to know him, it's surprisingly easy," Iria assured Yuri while

shooting yet another disapproving glare towards Kei.



Suddenly feeling annoyed at her partner's behavior, and the fact Yuri was

not getting glared at, Kei spoke up. "Get a hold of yourself, Yuri. We are

in the middle of an investigation."



"But luckily we've been hired by YSC to conduct an investigation into this

matter as well and would be more than happy to give you any assistance,"

Killgore added, not taking his eyes off Yuri.



"But you can get rid of him for getting in our way," Iria reminded her.



"Oh, I think Mr. Killgore could be very useful in this investigation," the

dark-haired troubleshooter assured her.



The not so subtle hint in that statement made both Iria and Cross roll their

eyes. It made Kei irritated as well, largely in part because she hadn't

thought of it first. Yuri was rapidly becoming dangerous by being hitting so

brazenly on guys that she had just met,



	$That needs rewording.  by so brazenly hitting on



 even if it was one as handsome as

Killgore.



Cross's head jerked slightly as he closed his eyes and seemed to allow his

attention to drift. A moment later, he said, "Ramses indicates the facility

is one hundred percent under our control again. The remaining six intruders

have been liquidated."



"No prisoners?" Kei asked, marking that Cross evidently had at least some

cybernetic additions to his person, and given his apparent choice of

careers, it would probably be safe to assume he had more than a transmitter

surgically implanted in his auditory canal.



	$Wow, he mus have huge ear canals if he's got more than a transmitter in

there.  Suggest adding 'just' before 'a transmitter'



 Though due to his slender form,

it was obvious none of the additions would be heavy weapons. Still,

professional assassins tended to be known for precision, not ungodly

firepower. Such an attitude was almost an anathema to Kei's sensibilities.

One could never have too much firepower.



	$Yeah.  Unless you're in the middle of a burning explosives warehouse.



"The report indicated they fought to the death. A pity. Having one to

interrogate would have proven useful," Cross informed them.



Kei noted that he sounded disappointed at the loss, though it seemed more at

the lack of survivors and not being able to handle an interrogation.



	$That's confusing.  Suggest rewording.



 She

also noted that Killgore's butt looked really nice as she moved around

slightly to get a better view of it.



One of the men checking the master computer announced, "It's been wiped

completely clean, Major."



"Major?" Iria asked. "Someone was stupid enough to let you in charge of

someone else?"



"My official rank given to me when I served with the Angorlon Armed Forces

during the Bolshen Revolution five years ago," Killgore explained with

pride.



"Heard that was nasty business," Kei whistled through her teeth. Official

death toll was placed at a billion, but investigations implied that it was

closer to five.



"It was," Killgore assured her. "Paid well though."



	$well, though."



"Good pay was always a replacement for what few morals you might have

possessed," Iria said acidly.



As fascinating as Killgore was to Yuri, she returned her attention to the

business at hand. She walked over to the man using the computer. "Let me

check." She leaned well forward, allowing the man a good look at her bust.

Years of training had taught Yuri that there were ways other than bribes to

secure a man's cooperation with a minimum of fuss.



	$True, but she didn't have any food on hand.



Despite the obvious interest he had in the sight before him, the man waited

until he received a nod from Killgore. He then turned the computer over to

Yuri. Her hands tapped across the keypad quickly. "Yep. It's a goner all

right. They used some powerful wipers too. No chance of retrieving

anything."



Iria looked to the miniature computer on her wrist. "Think it's worth a

try?"



"Unlikely," Bob admitted. "If both of them say it's gutted, I doubt there's

anything I can do. I do have limits, you know."



Bob's voice caught Killgore's attention. "So you're still functioning, eh

Chips?"



	$Going out of his way to be an asshole, I see.



"Drop dead," Bob retorted.



Kei heard more anger in that voice than she could ever remember. Usually

with people that irritated him, Bob would make at least a joke or some

caustic remark about them. It was a surprise that he would be so blunt with

someone, even Iria's ex-husband.



"Chips?" Yuri asked.



"Short for Microchips," Killgore explained in a voice that held almost as

much affection for Bob as the computer intelligence carried for him. "As

useful as ole' Chips was, I'm surprised he hasn't been hit with a fatal

virus, given how outdated he is."



"I'll still be slicing through encryptions when the only crypt in our life



	$your life



is the one you're rotting in," Bob swore.



For the first time since meeting him, Kei saw Killgore's temper start to

flare. Almost as quickly the moment passed and he became apologetic. "Let's

try to get along here. After all, we're working together."



"Not for one second longer than we have to," Iria assured him.



	$You're using assured pretty often.  Suggest finding another verb.



"So what do we have?" Kei finally asked.



At that point Cross spoke up, "From all appearances, these men were sent to

destroy this facility, kill all personnel, and purge the central database of

all its information. They have nothing on their person to imply they were

keeping the information for themselves, nor did they transmit anything as we

would have picked up it up while we were on our way down to the planet.

Evidence indicates they were professionally trained, quick, efficient, and

knew exactly what they wanted and where it was. My offhand guess is that

this was an S+D mission with detailed inside information, and that it was

accomplished. No bonus this time, Major."



"Damn!" Killgore swore. "Any way of knowing who they were?"



Cross considered that. "I'm sure our new 'partners' could try to backtrack

the weapons registration and identities of these assailants using their 3WA

resources. But my gut instinct tells me the weapons will have been

registered as being 'lost' from wherever they originated from, if they show

up at all, and that these people have no connection to one another or

whomever they work for, assuming they show up either. They smell like a

black ops outfit. I could be wrong, but..."  he let the implication trail

off.



"Shit!" Iria suddenly cursed. She looked to Kei and Yuri. "If he didn't hit

here, like we thought he was going to, then he must have hit Baltron. We

have to get there right away!"



"We'll be too late," Yuri reminded her.



"But if there was an incident, the authorities should have been ready to

handle it with the warning we sent," Kei reminded the duo.



	$Assuming they got it, which, of course, they didn't.



 "We might not be

too late."



"That's not a bad idea," Killgore admitted. "Why don't we join forces to

stop him?"



Iria shot him a contemptuous glance. "You don't even know what we're talking

about, you worthless piece of -"



"Zeiram," Killgore said, giving his ex-wife a flat stare.



In an instant, Iria's entire posture changed from that irritation someone



	$of irritation to that of someone



ready to engage in a fight to the death. "How do you know about Zeiram?"



"Come on, you're smarter than this. You don't think for one second that my

showing up here is a coincidence, do you Sunshine?"



	$you, Sunshine?"



Iria tensed up further. Kei placed a hand on her shoulder. The movement

caused Iria to nearly jump, unaware of just how tightly she had been wound.



"What do you know about Zeiram?" Cool professionalism had returned to Yuri.

What had been a simple investigation had not turned into an unexpected, and

potentially dangerous, situation.



The sudden change in the women's body language did not go unnoticed by the

other men, professional mercenaries all. They tensed up as the potential for

violence went from next to nothing to imminent. Everyone that was save for



	$Everyone, that was, save for



Cross, who seemed as relaxed as ever.



Sensing the breakdown between the two groups, Killgore took it upon himself

to calm things down. "Why don't we make a deal? You show me yours, and I'll

show you mine." Though he was still speaking as amicably as before, the trio

of women could sense the firm resolve in his statement. The flirting was

over, at least for the moment.



"As 3WA agents, we could just arrest you for impending an investigation,"

Yuri informed him.



"And I could contend it was a guess on my part since I know Iria's history

with Zeiram and that was the only thing that could make her this agitated,"

Killgore countered. "And in the meantime, Zeiram, should my guess have been

correct, would be free to rampage about and cause even more destruction

across this part of the galaxy. No one wants that, now do we?"



	$Umm, I do.  Random violence and destruction is great in my book.



"No," Kei admitted. They had worked with people on investigations before,

and Killgore and his crew seemed to know how to handle themselves, even if

they were still a largely unknown variable.



"Pooling our resources might not be a bad idea," Yuri seconded. They

desperately needed more information, and the additional firepower would not

hurt since, as it now stood, they could not get 3WA reinforcements.



	$Oh, good.  Looks like the final showdown is coming up soon.  You just

added the canon fodder into the mix.



 Still,

she would keep an eye on these unknowns. It was very likely there was more

to them that met the eye.



	$Which is why both of them wanted Killgore around.



 All of her investigative instincts cried out that

one important fact.



It was Iria who expressed the only dissenting opinion. "Screw him.



	$K&Y: Can we?



 We don't

need whatever he thinks he's got. Let's get the hell out of here." Satisfied

at a decision having been made, Iria started to leave.



"Now hold on just a minute!" The words were authoritative and would accept

no arguments. Yuri had finally had enough of Iria trying to run things. The

benefits of an alliance were easy to see,



	$Well cut muscles, nice ass, ect.



 and it wasn't as though they

currently had much information to trade. Killgore would learn next to

nothing that he probably did not already know if he really was working for

YSC. And it was not as though she and Kei were rookies that would fall into

a trap. Killgore might have been a hunk, but it took more than a handsome

face to get either one of them to drop their guard.



	$Not to make them fight among themselves, but to drop their guard.



 She would be ready for

any betrayals.



Iria stopped as she could scarcely believe what she was hearing. "He's a

lying piece of shit. Even if he knows something, it's not worth risking this

bastard stabbing us in the back. We're better off without him. Now let's

go." Iria began to head out again



	$again.



"No."



Iria stopped in her tracks. Had the order come from Yuri, she would have

spun in anger and restated her case. But the only feeling her ward's refusal

brought up was betrayal. "Kei?"



The look of disappointment Iria shot hurt Kei, but she firmed up her own

resolve. "Yuri's right. We can use his information, and given Zeiram's rate

of destruction, he has to be stopped quickly before he hits somewhere else.

You can't let personal feelings for Major Killgore get in the way of a sound

decision."



"I know him," Iria protested. "I'm telling you he can't be trusted."



"I just saved your life," Killgore reminded her.



"I didn't ask you to!"



"That settles it," Yuri announced. She had enough of Iria's irresponsible

attitude. It was painfully obvious the bounty hunter would never willingly

agree to work with Killgore, even if he held the cure for the intergalactic

plague. She had completely lost any objectivity in the matter. It would fall

to Yuri and Kei to hammer out the details of their alliance.



	$Sleeping arrangements and such.



The raven-haired woman turned to the taller man. "We'll share our

information with you. If yours turns out to be useful, and we're convinced

you won't get in our way, we'll figure out some kind of compromise to work

together for at least a while."



"You're an idiot!" Iria shouted.



"She's right," Kei insisted to Iria, beating Yuri to the sharp-tongued

retort that was on her lips.



"And you're being an idiot too."



Seeing how events were unfolding, Bob finally decided to give his opinion.

"As much as I despise Lance, and am dubious about what he has to offer, we

should at least hear him out. Getting Zeiram should take precedence over

personal issues."



	$For Iria, Zeiram _is_ a personal issue.



"You traitor!" Iria spat at her wrist computer. In many ways Bob's stance

was the worst of the lot. At least the bounty hunter could use their sixteen

year plus separation as a reason for Kei's disagreement, but Bob had been

with her the majority of her life, through the best and worst of times he

was always there. Especially during her marriage. He knew what Killgore had

done. He should have been the last one to take his side.



	$He's not exactly taking his side.



The bounty hunter looked away from Bob's terminal to see all eyes turned

towards her: the majority of Killgore's men regarding her like a rabid dog,

Cross with disdain, Killgore with a touch of sadness, Yuri with just a

slight hint of a smug grin, and Kei with one of expectation.



"To hell with all of you! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!" Burning

with rage, Iria tore the wrist computer from her arm, ripping the strap with

an audible tear as she hurled it to the ground. She stormed off, heading out

of the room and out of sight as quickly as she could.



	$But what about Bob?



All eyes followed Iria until she left. Kei was the first to react by

hurrying through the doorway after her. "I'll calm her down and make sure

she doesn't do anything rash." She rushed out in effort to catch up to her

one-time mentor.



"Make sure none of the men accidentally shoot her," Killgore told Cross as

the redhead left the room.



Cross gave him a quizzical glance. "Oh? Which 'one' are you referring to?"



Killgore's brows furrowed. "Actually, I meant both of them."



"Yes, so I assumed. But you had one in mind when you gave the order."



"Did I?" Killgore seemed to consider that. "Well now, why don't you and the

boys bet on it? Once our temporary agreement with the ladies is over, I'll

let you know who it was."



	$Putting my money on Iria.



Obeying his orders, Cross gave off an exasperated sigh that held the tired

familiarity of having been delivered far too many times in the presence of

his commander.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



"Iria, wait up!" Kei shouted as she kept trying to close the distance.

Things were looking bad. Very bad. Iria had moved so quickly that she had

already made her way outside the building and was heading to an open area

surrounding the building. The local law enforcement personnel had finally

summoned enough courage, and enough armored vehicles, to approach the

building again. However, upon seeing Iria and Kei leave the structure they

went back into standby mode.



Shouting at the top of her lungs, Kei shouted to the men, "It's okay! The

building's clear of all the bad guys!



	$What about the squad of them back there?



 We're done in there! You can go in

now!" And there hadn't even been any of the collateral damage she and Yuri

were usually responsible for.



	$Yeah, I'd noticed that.  At the very least the building should be on fire.



 A very good mission, for a change. Except they

hadn't nailed their real target, Zeiram. And now Iria was angry as hell at

her. Kei was going to have to move quickly to patch up the damage done to

their rekindled relationship, or it might be another eighteen years until

she saw Iria again.



Finally, Iria stopped in the middle of the largest open space, looking at

the sky expectantly. It only took a moment for Kei to see why as the small

outline of a ship appeared from the direction of the spaceport.



Kei caught up to Iria. Rather than confronting her face-to-face, she

remained directly behind several feet back, choosing to speak to her the

back of her head and allowing the bounty hunter the option of turning to

talk to her, "Iria, you can't do this."



Refusing to meet her gaze, Iria stated flatly, "I've worked on my own for

close to fifteen years now. I'll do just fine without you."



Every word hurt Kei worse than the thousand of curses others had used

against her by others. "Zeiram's dangerous. You can't tackle him alone.

Hell, it's going to be tough enough for just the three of us to handle him

as is."



	$Suggest tough enough for the three of us to handle him as it is.



"I killed him on my own once before." There wasn't the slightest hint of

doubt in Iria's voice as to her what course she was going to take.



"And he nearly killed you the last time you fought him, and that was after

Yuri and me got our butts kicked." Kei was beginning to panic. The Creeper V

was drawing nearer, easily identifiable now. Once Iria got on board, it

would all be over.



"We cannot team up with that... man!" Iria spat.



Kei decided to try a different approach. "Look, I know he's your ex-husband

and you've got a lot of hard feelings about him."



"I wish he was dead!"



Kei blanched slightly at the viciousness Iria was displaying. This was even

worse than the hatred she usually reserved for Zeiram. "Well, it's normal

for there to be a lot of animosity in these situations. But take a step back

and look at what's going on. Our luck gunning for Zeiram is absolute zero.

Lots of people are dying. We aren't getting any closer to stopping him, and

it might already be too late to help the people at Baltron. We haven't been

able to cut it alone. I think we can trust him enough use his help to stop

Zeiram. Once that's done, you'll never have to see him again."



"You don't understand what sort of a person he is. He can't be trusted."



The ship was starting to land, the roar of the engines making it difficult

to hear much of anything. Kei had to shout to be heard. "What did he do,

cheat on you? Treat you like an object instead of his wife? Kill someone

close to you?"



"Yes!" Iria spat, the rage as great as anything she had seen on anyone in

her life.



That struck Kei speechless. The last had been an offhand comment. She hadn't

been serious. And yet, it seemed that the wound of whoever had died was

still raw and fresh with the bounty hunter, as though it had happened hours

before instead of over a decade ago.



"How did it happen?"



The question made Iria's face contort, her anger abating ever so slightly.

"The details aren't important."



	$Details are everything.



Now Kei knew she was hiding something. There was little doubt Iria was

telling the truth about Killgore killing whoever it was she had been

referring to, at least from her perception, but the details were probably

very 'important.' She'd have to grill Bob about it later. From the earlier

exchange it was obvious there was little love lost between the mercenary and

the human-turned-computer intelligence as well, but it wasn't the out of

control anger Iria displayed. And Killgore didn't seem to hold the same

regard for his ex-wife that she felt for him, otherwise why would he have

saved her from certain death?



	$Because he needs her?



 There was a lot more information Kei needed,

but it would have to wait. Keeping Iria close by was more important. Both

for the mission and for Kei personally.



The engines died off as the ship set gently upon the ground. The landing

ramp began to deploy. There was no time left. Deciding to risk everything,

Kei said in an unwavering tone, "Me and Yuri are going to team up with

Killgore; it's the best course of action to take. But I would think that if

you really believe he's as untrustworthy as you say, you'd want to hang

around to watch our... my, back."



The landing ramp touched the ground softly, barely making a noise. Iria

didn't answer, didn't even cast a backward glance at Kei as she began

walking up the ramp, slowly but with a steady pace.



Kei could feel the tears behind her eyes, but she forced them to remain

where they were, unshed. Iria was a grown woman. She could take care of

herself and, despite her emotional state, might have known what was best for

her. Besides, maybe it was some form of justice that Iria should leave Kei

alone, similar to how Kei had abandoned her so many years ago.



"I won't let him take away someone important to me again." Finally Iria

turned around to look at Kei. More firmly, she stated, "I'll be waiting for

you up in orbit. I want to be there when he talks to you. I've gotten better

at telling when he's lying. And keep your guns handy. Be ready for anything.

Believe me, the moment he thinks you're a liability, he'll drop you faster

than you can blink."



Kei felt her mouth quivering, but still she refused to cry. She was

thirty-three years old. She was well beyond that sort of childish

blubbering. If she could withstand having her both lungs punctured without

crying, she could handle Iria's decision to remain with her.



'Thank you." It was all Kei could manage. It was all she needed to say.



Iria had had her fill of words as well as she boarded the ship alone and in



	$and she boarded the ship sounds better.



silence.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



"I can't believe there was no word of an attack on Baltron," Kei told her

partner as they moved through the linking tube and boarded Killgore's ship,

the 'Destiny'. It was a large spaceship, half again the size of the Lovely

Angel and very oval in shape. Two long tubes ran along the bottom, not quite

the length of the ship, attached by several pylons each. They were a couple

of additional engines that could increase the speed of the Destiny by three

times should the need arise, though Kei was fairly certain that would only

apply to deep space. She was certain they would break off in a planet's

gravity. Having to take transports down to the surface of the planet would

be a hassle, but sometimes that was the price one paid for additional speed.



	$Well, at least they have the Lovely Angel.



The surface itself was quite smooth, with only a giant antenna array on the

top that broke the symmetry of the vehicle. That seemed a bit peculiar as it

was much larger than should have been needed on a mercenary ship that was

outfitted for combat. Perhaps on a deep space information vessel or a luxury

freighter that could accommodate a thousand passengers it would have been

appropriate, but on the Destiny it was completely out of place.



The armor of the ship didn't look that impressive, and Kei couldn't see much

more than a couple of external missile batteries and a handful of medium

range laser canons.



	$Bet there's more tucked away.



 She'd give the Lovely Angel the clear edge in one-on-one

space combat. Not that she thought that would ever happen, Iria's protests

not withstanding. Still, it always paid to evaluate a potential enemy's

firepower.



"Maybe we guessed wrong about his next target, or maybe whoever was

controlling him realized he was being obvious about where he was going to

strike next and went for somewhere else." Yuri had made a similar assessment

to Kei's about their tentative allies ship.



"Maybe he went crazy, destroyed the spaceship, and is floating out in the

middle of nowhere destined to harm no one ever again." Kei tried to sound

hopeful, but didn't believe they'd be so lucky for an instant. They were

heading for Baltron at the moment, the three ships linked physically to one

another with the Destiny heading the course. It made the most sense since it

was the largest and had the most people. And that was where the trio of

women had agreed to meet Killgore and his people.



"We're keeping an ear out for any trouble. Muhgi will let us know if he

hears anything." Yuri paused for a moment, then decided to go for broke. "Do

you think Iria's calmed down at all?" Kei had told her of the conversation

on the planet and Iria's final relenting to at least hear what Killgore had

to say. The bounty hunter had boarded Destiny first from the linking conduit

that connected Creeper V on the opposite side of the ship.



The airlock to the Destiny opened and Kei and Yuri found two 'escorts'

waiting for them.



"Still living people on the ship. I'd have to give that a big affirmative,"

Kei said with a smile.



"What?" The smaller of the escorts asked.



	$Better than 'Huh?'



"Nevermind," Yuri said hastily as they boarded. The larger of the two men

was an above average looking fellow, and there was no mistaking the leering

look he gave Yuri, but he wasn't anywhere near as handsome as Killgore.



The raven-haired troubleshooter felt a smile spread across her face as she

thought of the suave mercenary. Definitely one handsome guy, and certainly

mature. A pity he might be a complete dirt bag if Iria was telling the

truth. Still, Yuri didn't care much for the bounty hunter when it came right

down to it, and Iria's judgment was certainly colored by the ruins of a

broken marriage. On the other hand, Killgore obviously carried no such

resentment, and had gone out of his way to save a woman that would have been

happy to place his life in jeopardy. Yuri wasn't sure what Killgore might

have seen in Iria that would have led him to marry her in the first place.

No, she was going to keep an eye open but reserve judgment on Killgore until

she got to know him better.



Kei held a mixture of the two feelings. Her head trusted Iria's judgment,

but her heart, or more properly her lust, made her want to think Killgore

wasn't all that bad.



	$I really don't understand this need for justifications.  Screw someone if

they look good enough, but don't marry them unless it's worht it.  There's

nothing wrond with sleeping with total scum for nothing but physical

pleasure.



 Certainly Iria was painting a worse picture than what

was really there, and at least over a decade had passed since the two were

married, Kei was sure of that for some reason. That was more than enough

time for any leopard to change its stripes, she told herself.



	$True, but the leopard has to want to.



 And people

tended to learn from their past mistakes, so why couldn't Killgore have

learned from his?



	<snip>





"Like I said, you stole it," Iria said in disgust.



One of the men took exception to that. He stood up, all six feet and three

inches of him, and approached the seated five two women.



	$Five two women sounds like there's either five of them or two, and you

couldn't make up your mind which.  It took me a while to figure out that it

was a height reference.  Suggest removing it.



 "I don't like your

tone, bitch."



	$Oh, come on.  He's got to have been coached before hand for some reason.

Not even the dumbest man in a professional outfit would start trouble with

people his commander is trying to make allies of.



Iria remained where she was, looking up at him in distaste. "I'm surprised.

If you're stupid enough to follow his orders, I assumed my insults would go

right over you head."



	$your



	<snip>





"Why didn't they just request the 3WA to help out?" Yuri asked.



The question made Killgore shift slightly in discomfort. "Let's just say YSC

would rather treat this as an internal matter."



"Their people are dying," Iria pointed out.



"YSC tends to think of their employees as resources rather than people. The

even goes for mercenaries like me," Killgore explained.



	$Shock!  Horror!  What bastards!



 "Once it was

determined that Zeiram was behind the attacks, we managed to uncover some

intelligence on the situation."



Nodding to one of the men that sat at a computer terminal, Killgore turned

and pointed to the holographic projector in the middle of the room. With a

flash an image appeared in the middle of the device. An exact replica of

Zeiram stood motionless in the center, though much smaller than the actual

being. The detail on the projection was impressive; even Iria would have

sworn it had been taken directly of the beast.



"We have evidence indicating that the Tormand Confederation is responsible

for resurrecting Zeiram and unleashing him on YSC properties. We're

uncertain exactly how they obtained him. Perhaps they somehow cloned him or

got their hands on the remains of the original and it regenerated on its

own, or if it's some kind of replica that just looks like the original. But

in any case, what we do know is that its power level appears identical to

the original monster that left a path of destruction in the Balphron Sector

of space."



"You got that right," Kei agreed.



Killgore continued. "In regards to its abilities, it remains the same as

before, with no known weaknesses. However there is little doubt that this

time out, Zieram is being controlled by someone. The selective nature of its



	$Zeiram



targets clearly indicates that."



"How is he being controlled?" Iria asked.



	$Television remote.



A shrug of the shoulders was the only answer Killgore gave to that question.

"What we do know is who is controlling him." Another signal by the tall

mercenary changed the image from that of Zeiram to a normal-looking human

dressed in a plain white laboratory jacket. He had ebony skin, and his hair

had retreated until only a fringe remained along the sides. He was obviously

older, perhaps in his middle forties, and of average height. A slight paunch

made him look out of shape, despite the loose fitting coat he wore. He was

neither handsome nor ugly. His face was unremarkable in every way and could

belong to any one of a thousand people an individual would meet on any given

day.



Killgore gave a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Ladies, this is the

mastermind behind the Zeiram Project. One of the greatest minds involved in

bio-engineering: Professor Anton Scorphius."



The name made Yuri crease her forehead in concentration. "Scorphius? Isn't

that the name of one of the founders of YSC?"



"Slapatcha Scorphius. Anton is his younger brother," Killgore admitted.

"That's one of the reasons YSC has wanted to keep a lid on this. It would

look very bad to let everyone know that one of your company's founders

turned on you like a rabid dog."



Kei stared in disbelief at the image. "Why in the name of the five galaxies

would he want to work for a rival company that's so much smaller than his?

Did Slapatcha cut him out of his inheritance or something?"



Killgore shook his head. "No. Anton was well provided for by his brother,

not to mention the fact he made multi-millions in salary and stock options

as the head researcher in bio-engineering for YSC. His is one of the most

brilliant minds in this century, and they let him do whatever he wanted and

gave him whatever resources he needed when he worked for YSC."



"So if he was so rich, influential, and brilliant, why would he help destroy

what made him wealthy?" Yuri asked,.



	$Got tired of seeing employees treated like resources?



"We don't know," Killgore admitted. "But he was determined to do it. And in

secret too. You see, he didn't just quit YSC. He faked his death in a

shuttle explosion some four years ago. It was only recently someone with,

how shall we say, their eyes and ears open in TC passed on information that

made my employers aware of this fact a couple of months ago. They were still

in the process of deciding what to do with it when Zeiram began hitting

everything with a YSC symbol on it."



"Maybe he was kidnapped, then ended up being coerced or brainwashed while at

TC and is working for them against his will, " Yuri said. That seemed to

make the most sense to her.



"Intelligence indicates he is working of his own free will and quite

enthusiastically for them. And the data is reliable, so I have no reason to

believe otherwise. Now, here's Zeiram's current path of destruction"



	$destruction."



The holographic image changed to show the star filled arm of the galaxy they

were in. Red lines appeared, circling several of the areas around the stars.

"These are the operations Zeiram has struck so far, from the first target,

each subsequent one was the closest YSC base of operations in the area."



The trio of women counted the number of circled areas. Yuri was the first to

notice the discrepancy. "Hey, there's an extra  circle there before the



	$Yeah, and there's an extra space before circle.



space station."



Killgore shifted somewhat uncomfortably. "There was a, how shall we say,

sensitive operation in that area, one that the general public didn't need to

be aware of. R and D of some kind going on there. I didn't bother with the

details of it. They didn't seem relevant since Zeiram marched on without

pause and attacked his next target. He needs to be taken down now."



"Right," Iria said slowly, obviously suspicious.



"Why did Zeiram hit that Sarvgon mining operation?" Kei asked.



That made Killgore wince slightly. "Since we're being completely open with

one another, I'll tell you. Actually Sarvgon is owned by a shell

corporation. It's real owners are YSC. For reasons they didn't get into, and

frankly I didn't care about, they didn't bother giving me full disclosure as

to why they set up a shell corporation instead of owning the operation above

the table."



Kei and Yuri looked at each other. Yuri said, "I think I'm beginning to see

why YSC didn't want the 3WA on the case."



A nod of agreement came from Kei. They had run into more than a handful of

corrupt companies that felt they were above the law and did all sorts of

illegal things in the name of expansion and continued profits. But Zeiram

was the focus of the problem now, and was quickly seeing to it YSC didn't

have any profits or continued expansion for quite a few years to come.



"Do you know all of their off the table operations?" Yuri asked.



"They gave me a list, which I'm not at liberty to share with you, you

understand. Unless the next nearest target is on the list, then I'll mention

it. I hope you're willing to trust me on this."



Yuri shrugged and backed off, not willing to press that point. They had more

important matters at hand. They could come back to dealing with YSC's

illegal holdings after Zeiram was taken care of.



	$Or they could wait and not worry about it.



Iria did not feel so inclined. She gave her ex-husband a suspicious glance.

"So Anton goes over to work for a rival company in order to develop Zeiram

so that he can destroy his brother's company and everyone that works for it?

Is that the story you're feeding us?"



The wary tone at last seemed to break through Killgore's patience regarding

his former spouse's attitude towards him. "It's the truth, Iria. I've seen

the evidence myself and it all makes sense. YSC wants Zeiram stopped even

worse than you do and for obvious reasons. Anton Scorphius is behind this

for reasons no one other than he knows yet.



	$And possibly not even him, you know how those genius types are.  He may

have gotten 'which company do I work for?' turned around.



 I was hired to take care of the

problem because they regard it as an internal matter and don't want the

authorities poking around in their playpen. Besides, me and my outfit really

are the best at bringing down small scale problems like this. We've been

hired to completely destroy him and all of his remains. I have all the

information I need to get this job done, and YSC isn't going to hold back

any information to get the job done, not with how they're suffering. I

wouldn't place my men in any unnecessary danger.



	$Ah, but what about da gurls?



 Does that satisfy you?"



"It's bullshit, Lance," Iria stated flatly.



Ever so slightly Killgore's jaw seemed to twitch. Tension in the room

increased as his men began shifting uncomfortably. Only Cross seemed largely

unaffected, sending an irritated glare Iria's way and doing nothing else.



Then Killgore relaxed slightly. "Believe it or don't believe it, it's your

call. Now it's time to show me your goods."



	$Yeah... *pant* *pant*



The remark made Iria start to go for her gun when Kei placed a hand on top

of hers and reminded her mentor that he was referring about sharing their

information as part of the bargain. Reluctantly, Iria released her hold on

the butt of her pistol and left it in the holster. She did afford several

withering glares towards her ex-husband, making Kei very glad she had never

angered Iria anywhere near this badly. It was truly a disturbing thing to

bear witness to this level of anger from someone that had been so caring and

understanding towards her. Kei was certain she'd all but shrivel up if Iria

had ever looked at her that way.



That left Kei and Yuri to inform Killgore of what had happened. At the end

of the tale, he nodded in grim appraisal. "Pretty much what I had figured

out. Nice to hear the information seconded. Sounds like these commandos work

for TC and are covering Zeiram's tracks as best as they can."



"If so, it's been obvious they've been planning something like this for a

while," Yuri agreed.



	$Not necessarily.  I know that if I was a big mega corporation I'd have my

own secret force of elite commandos.



"It doesn't explain why they attacked Omicron 4. Zeiram hadn't hit there,

yet," Kei pointed out.



"Or why they deleted all of the information from the computer," Iria added,

casting an even more suspicious glare Killgore's way.



Killgore shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't pretend to know what TC's

actual plan is. Maybe it's just a trial run with Zeiram and they want to

show how effective he is. Maybe they really think they can cripple YSC with

just him and a few surgical strikes thrown into the mix to throw us off. Or

maybe Zeiram's gone into heat and is venting off how horny he is."



	$Maybe, but if so, wouldn't it be constantly molesting itself?  I seem to

recall that it's asexual.



The last comment brought a chortle to one of his men.



The laugh seemed to lighten Killgore's mood. "What I do know is I'm going to

bring Zeiram down, and I'll confess I could use the help you guys could

provide. What say we work together and toast his ass for good? There's no

way he can stand up to all of us."



"Not a chance!" Iria snapped.



"Lot of good you've done on your own," Cross added in an amused tone.



"What he's offering does sound good," Kei admitted. She saw Yuri nod her

head in agreement as well.



	$And that's before they discuss sleeping arrangements.



Iria couldn't believe what she was hearing. "He's a lying through his

teeth!"



The attitude Iria was displaying continued to wear upon Yuri. "We don't know

that. So far everything he's said has checked out. Even the stuff that

overlapped our information, and remember, he gave his first. He couldn't

possibly have changed his story to match ours like that. He sounds

legitimate, and we could use the help. Since neither you nor my partner want

me to contact 3WA headquarters for reinforcements, this is the only way we

can get the added firepower we need to take Zeiram out. And Cross is right.

In case you hadn't noticed, we haven't been doing too good on our own."



"We're batting 0 for 2 so far, Iria." Kei hoped her mentor would see past

her anger. Kei was determined to have Killgore assist them, though she would

be keeping one eye open on him at all times. Well, she would do that anyway

since he was so damn handsome, but she would be watching for any shifty

things he might be up to while checking him out. He wouldn't be the first

pretty face that turned out to be rotten underneath.



	$All things considered, I doubt that he is a changed man. One possibility

would be a touching heart to heart to heart with Iria in which all is

forgiven and he is really an okay guy.  The other, more likely possibility,

is that she'll get to shoot him in some touching scene.  Or variations on

that.



Seeing the look of determination upon Yuri, and more importantly, Kei's,

face, Iria let off a snarl of, "This is a mistake," and stormed out of the

room.



Killgore gave a sad glance at her departing form and let out a wistful sigh,

but said nothing to try to prevent her from leaving.



"It's settled then." Yuri rose to her feet and drew near Killgore. "Our

ships will stay hooked up to yours via standard conduct beams. Not that we

don't trust you, but I think it would be in the best interest in all

involved if we didn't have direct link ups to our master computers."



	$Bob might catch the computer equivilent of a vd.



"Definitely," Killgore agreed. He turned to his men in the room. "Listen up.

As of this moment we're partners with these three ladies for the duration of

this mission. They are to be treated with the same respect that you would

treat me. Should I hear someone addressing them with even a hint of

disrespect, even if they are not around, you'll have to deal with me, and we

all know taking Zeiram on in single combat would be preferable to that.



	$Heh, the only thing he'll to is turn them over to the ladies.



 We

will share any and all information with them, and you will help them in any

way so long as it does not jeopardize the mission or the unit. Do I make

myself clear?"



"Yes sir," all of the men said crisply.



Both of the women had to admit, they were rather well organized for a

mercenary company.



	$Except for the one asshole.  He's either a plant or really out of

character.



 Apart from the idiot who had taken a swipe at Iria, they

had been obedient and professional. Not quite to military standards, but

then very few mercenaries were. Many former military personnel switched to

mercenary outfits for the more lax standards that tended to be employed in

such units.



Working with Killgore and his company wouldn't be much of a problem, at

least on the surface. And certainly they had worked with mercenaries before

as the situation warranted, so that was nothing new to them. Still, the duo

were paying very close attention in case Iria was correct, and Killgore

couldn't be trusted. For the moment, they needed to ally themselves with

him. It seemed to be the only way they were going to make any headway on

this unofficial case that had fallen upon their shoulders.



Killgore continued giving orders. "We'll maintain our heading to Baltron. So

far there haven't been any signals that the YSC holdings have come under

attack, and if Zeiram took a straight course from his last objective, he

should have arrived there already. That means it's not too late. It's

conceivable he has ship problems and could still strike at any time. We have

to be prepared for the worst." He turned to his new allies. "My crew will

continue preparing.



	$AKA writing their wills.



 I recommend you two do the same."



Kei and Yuri nodded in agreement. Both exited the room and began a slow walk

back to their ship, discussing what future course to take with their new

partners.



They were halfway to their destination when Killgore approached them,

hurrying down the corridor from the direction they had just come from. He

came to a stop before them, not a hint of being out of breath from his run.

It showed an impressive endurance despite his mass. Both Yuri and Kei

reacted to his approach by smiling pleasantly, then shooting dangerous looks

similar to what one dog would do to another for trying to grab the same

bone.



	$The growls weren't even out of place.



"I wonder if you could take a moment so that we could talk. About...

personal matters." Killgore directed his question at Kei.



	$Kei: Got that not so fresh feeling?



Yuri looked as crestfallen as Kei looked pleased at being the center of his

attention.



"It's about Iria."



That doused Kei's mood somewhat and served to make Yuri happier. "I'll meet

you back at the ship." Yuri left Kei to have her talk in private.



Despite the fact she wasn't the topic of the conversation, Kei maintained

her pleasant demeanor. The man was devilishly handsome and it wouldn't do to

appear to be a jealous shrew. "What did you want to know about Iria?"



	$Killgore: Why exactly does she like to be called snugglebunny?



Killgore shook his head. "Well, it's not exactly Iria I wanted to talk

about, at least not in the sense you mean."



That perked Kei's curiosity. "Oh?"



Again he unleashed his whiplash smile. "I don't know what Iria's told you

about me, but I just wanted to let you know what really happened between us.

I don't want you thinking I'm as bad as she's probably claiming, though I

fully admit to not being perfect either back when we were married."



	$Of course, he's perfect _now_...



For a moment, Kei considered informing him that Iria had said precious

little about their previous relationship, but reconsidered. Why not let him

spill his guts about what had happened? There were always two sides to a

story, though he would probably put as good a spin on it as Iria put bad.



Killgore shifted slightly in obvious discomfort. "I was pretty young when we

were married. Still a real hot shot that thought he was capable of taking on

the universe and coming out on top. When I met Iria, I thought she was the

woman of my dreams. Tough. Independent. Capable. A real wildcat in the

sack."



	$Meyow!



That made Kei squirm slightly. She didn't like thinking of her mentor in

those sorts of terms. There was also a tad hint of jealousy that the bounty

hunter had managed to get married to a real hunk of man while Kei had yet to

find anyone that came close to being Mr. Right. True, while it hadn't worked

out in the end, it was still more success than Kei had.



	$Oh, I dunno, I'm sure Kei has nailed way more guys than Iria.



After a moment to think about the past, Killgore continued. "Anyway, I admit

that after we got married, things didn't turn out to be the perfect image we



had both built up in our minds. Now, I won't deny I made my share of

mistake, but she did too. She was never able to accept her own

responsibility for our marriage breaking up, like I did mine, eventually."



That made sense. Kei admitted to herself that Iria did have a tendency to be

stubborn, and Killgore was admitting he had been wrong. It was increasing

his standing in her eyes.



There was a bit of sadness in Killgore's eyes. "We were too young, and more

importantly, too inexperienced to deal with how our marriage was breaking

up. Towards the end we were hurting each other more than loving. In

hindsight, I think maybe it just wasn't meant to be. I'm not sorry we were

married, there were too many good times for that, I'm just sorry things

turned out the way they did. I don't know what Iria told you, but I think

what I just told you was closer to the truth.



	$Oh, yeah, of course.



"I've calmed down a lot over the years. I've had time to live with past

regrets and see some of the things I've done wrong. I feel bad about what I

did to Iria, and wouldn't mind making some measure of peace with her, or at

least have her believe that I'm sorry about the things I did to screw things

up between us. I really hope she'll at least believe I'm sincere when I say

I'm sorry. Really, I'm not the monster she seems to have built up in her

mind over the last fifteen years or so, no matter what she might claim."



It was an interesting story, and to Kei's trained ears carried the ring of

truth to them. She could see it all in her mind's eye as circumstances

beyond the two lovers' control tore them apart . But there was still one

question that nagged at her. "Iria said you murdered someone."



	$Killgore: Murder is such a strong word...



That made Killgore's brows furrow, and for a moment, he appeared angry at

the accusation. Releasing a pent up breath, he looked up at the gunmetal

gray ceiling of the ship, obviously trying to regain his composure. After

several seconds that seemed to stretch into an eternity, he began speaking

again. "Devon Nermani. I should have realized that's what's really bothering

her."



Kei listened to every change, from the inflection of his voice, to the way

he held himself gauging his reaction. "You did kill him, didn't you?"



	$Weird comma usage there.  voice to the way...held himself, gauging



A sort of intensity seemed to suddenly possess Killgore. He set his

shoulders, as though preparing himself for a long journey. "She didn't tell

you any specifics about the situation, did she?"



"She was real closed mouthed about it," Kei admitted.



For a moment it appeared Killgore would say nothing. But then he seemed to

come to some sort of decision. With obvious reluctance, he began the tale.

"Devon Nermani was a young kid that met Iria and me about a month into our

wedding. He was eighteen or so when he and Iria kind of latched on to one

another. He wanted to be a bounty hunter, and Iria decided to take him under

her wing so he could get his license.



	$Ah, a great place to be.  You're closest to the breast when you're under

the wing.



She always treated him like he was her

younger brother, or kid almost. It was sort of an odd thing, I always

thought. Just seemed weird, all things considered. Why would she want some

kid along when she was all but a newlywed?"



Kei mentally ticked off the years, Iria and Devon's respective ages at the

time, and realized why the bounty hunter might have been so eager to accept

someone new to train as a bounty hunter at that time. Suddenly, Kei felt a

wave of guilt unexpectedly wash over her, even if it was something she could

not have possibly anticipated. Still, it did little to assuage her feelings.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she focused once again on

Killgore's tale.



"I never cared much for the kid myself. Iria might have viewed him as a

younger brother, but he sure didn't look at her the same way, let me tell

you. She might not have realized it, but I sure did, and I let him know it.

Me and Devon never got along. Not from the first time we met, but Iria

didn't seem to mind that much. She just ignored my wishes and thought I was

being stupid for acting jealous. Since I wasn't about to help the little

Casanova, she ended up spending as much private time as she could training

him, which didn't help our young marriage. Not at all."



	$Heh.  Considering that he's still speaking in the next paragraph, delete

that last quotation mark.



"He didn't have much talent. Even with the intensive personal training she

gave him, he was never in me and Iria's league. But she wouldn't hear of me

saying otherwise, and kept getting pissed over me telling her the way things

were. She's damn stubborn when she wants to be, believe you and me.



	$Ah, speaking.  But still.  Either 'believe you, me.' or 'between you and

me.'



 Anyway,

he managed to squeak by with a license, and then he starts riding along with

us and getting more in the way than helping a lot of the time. Trying to act

like a hot shot and screwing up miserably. Between that and some other

stuff, our marriage really started to show signs of  the strain. And then



	$Extra space.



the shit really hit the fan.



"We were on an assignment in Cassadra System looking for some bountyhead

with a big time price on his skull. Real dangerous mook. It turns out when

we run him down, he'd just acquired some nasty bio-virus that could wipe out

an entire city's population in less than twenty-four hours. And of course

Devon, that little numbnuts, got separated from us, got caught, and ended up

having his butt loaded up with the stuff. Bastard was going to release good

ole' Devvy into the city to use as a distraction while he got away in the

ensuing melee. I ran into Devon just when he was about to reach the city, I

guess the kid was trying to get to a hospital before he croaked, not that it

wasn't too late anyway. I couldn't let him enter it and wipe out the

millions of innocent people there, so I did what any responsible person

would have done.



	$Coincidently, just what a jealous husband would have done.



"I put several rounds into him and burned the body at long range before he

could infect anyone else."



To someone less experienced than Kei, that reaction might have elicited

disgust or sorrow, but as Killgore had laid out the situation, he had taken

the only option available to him. In Kei's time with the 3WA she had

witnessed an entire planet consumed by a bio-virus, and it hadn't a pretty

sight. And it hadn't been her fault either. Someone other than her must have

blown the containment unit on the bio-virus that had somehow ended up

getting released when the main reactor to the place blew up during the

fight.



	$Yeah, that time it was probably Yuri.



 They were just lucky they had made it off the planet alive.



At that point in the tale, Killgore seemed to soften a little.

"Unfortunately, what I didn't know at the time was that Iria had snagged the

cure for the bio-virus off the scientist guys that created it. But since my

communicator was busted, I didn't know.



	$Was it, now?



 She got there just in time to watch

me toast the kid's body. She never forgave me for that. We got divorced

right afterwards and never saw each other again until today. And that pretty

much sums up everything."



	<snip>



"Oh, my resources are much more impressive. Believe me, that's what everyone

always says," Kei quickly assured him. It was Yuri's own bad luck that she

couldn't be here to defend herself.



Further discussion was interrupted by Kei''s earring. "Are you getting back



	$Kei's



on the ship or not?"



Had Yuri been present, Kei probably would have responded by snapping at her,

but she wasn't, and getting annoyed at the earring seemed inappropriate for

some reason. Instead, Kei looked at Killgore and considered the situation.

It might have been a bit egotistical for him to say it so bluntly, but his

resources definitely appeared impressive to her well-trained eye, and she

had appraised many men of their assets over the years. Certainly, Killgore

gave every indication of wanting to explore the possible potential a

personal alliance, even a temporary one, could make.



But no, it would be best to take her time concerning the delicate matter.

Just so long as Yuri didn't try a similar investigation upon Killgore. "I'll

be over in a minute." She hit a tiny button that automatically turned off

the communicator from any further transmissions. Had she not and Yuri

interrupted a second time, Kei would have been considerably less pleased

with the situation than she was at present.



Killgore appeared unfazed by Kei's declaration. "I look forward for the

opportunity to talk to you again and what see measures we might take to

further out cause." He bowed, then headed back towards the command center of



	$our cause, I believe.



the ship once again.



Lingering behind for a moment, Kei made another careful visual examination

of their new partner. Definitely one of the nicest assets she had seen in

some time, with the emphasis on the 'ass'. She would have to investigate it

more thoroughly should an opportunity present itself later, as she hoped it

would.



With a wistful sigh, Kei headed back to her ship. The walk seemed to take

forever.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



"Still no word of problems coming from Baltron," Yuri announced as Kei

finally made her way to the bridge of the Lovely Angel.



That puzzled Kei, causing her to momentarily tear her thoughts away from

possible future 'partnerships.' "And we were so sure he would hit there to."



"Maybe tall, dark, and ugly is onto us?" Yuri said.



"Or Scorphius, you mean."



"Do you think Killgore's on the up and up? And I'm not referring to certain

parts of his anatomy," Yuri said pensively.



"I know what you meant." Or Kei thought she did. Did Yuri suspect Killgore

had hit on her? She wasn't sure, but her raven-haired partner was a superior

detective. Yuri might have picked up on the heat Killgore had been sending

Kei's way. It was difficult to say.



"So?"



"I think he's being mostly truthful with us." At least that was Kei

assessment, but she was prepared to admit her judgment might have been

affected somewhat by Killgore's attempt to pick her up.



"So you think he's holding back on us too?" Yuri tried to press her partner

for a straight answer.



"I'd be surprised if he wasn't, even if only to protect his employers. After

all, if they get crushed, he doesn't get paid." Kei did not want to admit

it, but that was the most likely scenario. Still, maybe their paranoia was

justified. It was a common fact that to have lasted as long in their

business as they had, paranoia was sometimes the only thing that kept a

woman alive.



	$Or a man.



Yuri found herself pleased in having her suspicions confirmed by her

partner, especially since things had been so strained between them of late.

Luckily, events were happening fast enough that their disagreement was

temporarily pushed to the side so they could function as a team. Especially

since Kei had taken Yuri's side against Iria for a change. "I thought so

too. But I think he is serious about nailing Zeiram. And he did save Iria's

life. I think he's reliable enough."



"And he's a total fox," Kei added.



"I didn't say that." Yuri's voice was full of righteous indignation.



"But you thought it."



"Hell, yeah." Yuri's voice was full of righteous indignation. "I noticed you

checking him out too."



"He's hard not to notice. And a gal's got needs that require fulfilling. I

think he could fulfill them quite nicely."



	$Maybe: 'full-fill' them quite nicely."  Heh, he's probably small.



Yuri's voice dropped low, a conspiratorial whisper. "Even though he's Iria's

ex? He's practically your stepfather."



"He is not!" Kei blustered.



"Of course he isn't." Yuri went from incredulous to innocent in a heartbeat,

which made Kei feel all the more uncomfortable.



Groundwork laid for undermining Kei's desires to hit on Killgore, Yuri

announced she was leaving the bridge to take care of some things. With any

luck Kei would now hesitate about hitting on Killgore. Hopefully at least

long enough for Yuri to hit on him first. Actually, given how loose Kei

tended to be, the raven-haired troubleshooter was amazed she hadn't tried to

jump in the sack with Killgore already. Really, the woman almost never

showed restraint when some attractive guy caught her eye. Her idea of

'taking time and letting a relationship evolve' usually consisted of two

whole dates before hitting the sheets and engaging in a round of the

horizontal bop.



It was Yuri's turn for some action, and she had thought she caught Killgore

checking her out once or twice. Ordinarily, she would have exhibited more

restraint, but like Kei, her luck with the opposite sex had been absolutely

terrible for a while. A long while. Yuri would be happy to go for broke for

a change. She just hoped Killgore was being honest with them. She would hate

to sleep with the guy and then have to kill him. It had happened before, and

it depressed her to no end the last few times, but it was always a risk in

their line or work, and she loved the job too much to give it up for any



	$Suggest breaking into a new line.  work.  Besides, she loved the



man. Sometimes you just had to take chances and hope they paid off.



A full minute passed before Kei was convinced Yuri had departed the bridge

for good. Once she was certain, her hands went to the links to their

communication system. They might not have been willing to allow a direct

linkup to 'The Destiny', but the one to Creeper V was still there. "Hey,



	$If you're going to leave 'The Destiny' like that, shouldn't 'Creeper V' be

in quotes too?



Bob."



It took only a moment for him to answer. "Yes, Kei?



His voice was cheerful, reassuring Kei she had caught him at a good time.

She could rely on him to give a straight answer. Or at least she hoped he

would. "Can you tell me what really happened between Iria and Eugene?"



"Got to you already, did he?"



How quickly things could change with a single question. Bob's voice had gone

flat, carrying the exact same disapproving tone he had used on Kei when she

had done something wrong growing up on Myce. It was disturbing how quickly

the redhead felt ashamed of herself. It was practically a reflex, and she

had not even done anything wrong... yet. "He has not."



"You called him Eugene."



Oops. "Well, he prefers to be called that." Even if it did sound rather

nerdish to Kei.



Bob paused for a moment. He wondered if he did tell the truth would Kei

bother listening, or would she do what she wanted like she usually did when

she had been growing up? That was the sort of character trait Bob thought

would never leave the girl; it was too ingrained into her personality.

Perhaps in the end it didn't matter. Kei was an adult now, having fully

blossomed into a woman some time ago, and had to deal with the valleys life

dealt her was well as the high points.



	$And the problems with men those caused.



 "Do remember that even though I don't

bear as much malice toward him as Iria does, I still don't like him."



"Point taken." Kei was eager to hear things from Bob's point of view. She

hoped it didn't clash too much with the picture Killgore had painted of his

checkered past. If it did, she would deal with it when it came up. But until

then she was going to live with her hopes.



	$Or die with them.



"I'm going to be perfectly blunt here, which means you might not like

hearing some of the things I'm going to tell you. Don't say I didn't warn

you."



That caught Kei slightly off-guard. It wasn't like Bob to be this cautious.

"Okay. I want to hear it."



Bob let out an audible sigh before summoning the resolve to begin. "As much

as Iria tries to tell you she was calm and understanding after you left, the

truth of the matter was, she was a basketcase. She worried about you

constantly and blamed herself for raising you too harshly and driving you

away. You might not have been her child by blood, but she thought of you as

such. She felt very betrayed."



"Oh." Now Kei suddenly understood what Bob had meant about not wanting to

hear the truth. Guilt affected Kei anew, almost as bad as the guilt she had

felt over not getting in touch with Iria for over a decade and a half.



"Don't get me wrong," Bob quickly clarified. "Now she's fine, and has been

so for years. But back then your sudden departure left an emotional void in

Iria, even if she'll never admit it to this day. It was also at that time

that Lance Eugene Killgore entered her life.



"He was a hotshot bounty hunter that crossed paths with Iria on a case about

three months after you left. I wasn't with her when they actually first met,

due to what she had to go through to follow her targets, but she confided

all but the most lurid of details with me. Basically, they brought in a

bunch of dangerous bountyheads together. During the course of the mission,

he saved her life first at great risk to his own, and she returned the

favor. Unfortunately, Iria let the heat of the moment, and Killgore's own

suave nature, seduce her.



"By the time she got back to me, she claimed she was deeply in love with the

guy, and him with her. I didn't like him from the first time we met, and I

could tell he felt the same way about me. I tried to get along with him,

really, but he reminded me way too much of a lot of other characters I'd

gotten to know in my previous life's line of work. They're all smooth talk

and good looks, but when push comes to shove, their egos won't let fidelity

stick around. There were other things that felt wrong about him as well, and

most of them proved to be right by the end.



"To Iria, he mostly did all right during the courtship phase of their

relationship, but after they were married, things started to go downhill,

and she quickly discovered marrying a man does not change his basic nature.

Within weeks he was hitting on other women the moment Iria was out of sight,

and the cases they went on he was always happy to use too much force to

bring the bounty in. Sometimes they deserved it, but mostly he was just

ruthless. He spent a lot more than they made and they ended up to their ears

in debt pretty quick. Fights started to break out, and truthfully, Lance

didn't make more than a token effort to patch things up. He'd just leave and

not come back for days on end. Iria was sort of a wreck at the time too, and

didn't exactly make working things through too easy. Still, Lance was the

one that was responsible for nearly all of the crap they went through, make

no mistake about that. "



"So when did Devon figure into things?" Kei asked.



The question caught Bob off-guard. "Iria told you about Devon?"



"Actually Killgore did."



	$Actually,



"That's a surprise," Bob reluctantly admitted. "Though I'm sure he only told

you his version of events. Let me tell you the whole thing. Devon was a

young kid that wanted to be a bounty hunter. Iria took him under her wing.

No matter what Iria or Lance might tell you, the real reason she helped him

so much was that he was nearly a dead ringer of a younger version of Gren."



Kei let that information sink in. "Oh, geez. No wonder she tried to hard to

keep him around."



"Exactly. Unfortunately, outside of his appearance, the kid was no Gren. He

lacked hunter instincts and made lots of basic mistakes. He was completely

wrong for the job. It was obvious he'd get his butt killed within the first

year of being a hunter. That was the one thing Lance and I agreed on. We

both tried telling Iria, but she wouldn't hear of it. She had this whole

thing built up in her mind that this was her chance to do for Gren what he

did for her. And since you were out of the picture, Devon was her best shot

at doing that."



The admonishment made Kei feel worse than ever. "I didn't know it hit her

that hard."



"You would have if you had at least tried to stay in touch." There was

barely a hint of forgiveness in Bob's voice. Apparently that had been a sore

spot for him as well. "But since you didn't, you couldn't have known. And so

things turned out the way they did. Devon got his bounty hunter's license,

much to mine and Lance's irritation. His personality wasn't the least bit

like Gren's either. He was kind of an annoying snot. He was no Lance, but

still a pest. Worse, he had this huge crush on Iria, and knew her marriage

to Lance was on the rocks, so he took stupid risks in an attempt to impress

her. Two months after he first got his license, it finally happened.



"There was a case with an infamous terrorist that had this large mark on his

head. Well, Devon took it upon himself to strut his stuff by bringing this

guy in personally. It turned out the guy was dealing with a bio-virus.

Somehow that idiot kid got the bio-virus loaded into him and panicked by

heading to the nearest city for a cure, nevermind the fact all he would do

was end up killing everyone there. Iria and Lance tried to stop Devon and

save the city. Iria managed to get her hands on the cure for him, but it was

too late. Lance found him first and killed him. I hate to admit it, but

without Lance knowing Iria had the cure with her and she was on the way, he

did the right thing. Still, Iria never forgave him for that. She was almost

angry enough to kill him on the spot. She emptied her gun at his feet. God

knows why he didn't try to shoot back. I didn't think he had the ability to

show that much consideration for her, even if she was his wife. After that,

she got a divorce as quick as possible and that was the last they ever saw

of one another. Until today."



"Until today," Kei repeated, letting all of the information sink in. That

certainly painted a different picture from the one Killgore had told her.



	$Not too different.  Not to me, anyway.



She didn't want to believe it, but she found herself admitting it made sense

given the emotions the mercenary and the bounty hunter felt for one another.

And she had so wanted to believe him too. He was just so damn handsome. And

he knew how to talk to a woman. Even his body language radiated sensuality,

and she had met damn few men in her lifetime who could pull that one off.



"It's been a long time. Maybe he's changed?" Kei hoped it didn't sound like

she was grasping at something... anything.



"A Tallarien can't change the number of his appendages, Kei. He's still the

same bastard he was before. I could tell that from the moment I laid eyes on

him."



It was probably the truth. However, Kei was reluctant to back off. Damn it,

she wanted him bad. "Maybe you're right. I need to think about this." She

cut off the comm-link to Bob and began thinking about her situation and

trying to prevent her more base instincts from overriding her common sense.



It was proving a harder task than even she would have thought possible.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Lance Eugene Killgore heard the voice of one of his subordinates from the

hallway outside his quarters drift through the closed door. It was a deep,

rumbling one that sounded like a ten ton tank rolling across a gravel

highway. Probably Phalanx, his heavy weapons man. He was a seven foot, four

hundred and fifty kilogram mass of drug enhanced muscle with a cybernetic

reinforced skeletal structure. The man was capable of handling three

quarters of a ton of firepower and had been called upon to do so on more

than one occasion. He made a darn good quiche as well.



	$Oddly enough, they frequently do.  It takes one huge mother to make a

sissy food and not get mocked.



Killgore could barely make out Phalanx's "Hey, those are the Major's

quarters. You can't go in there."



Ah, he was wondering when she would show up.



	$Who, Yuri?



 Killgore rose to his feet and

moved toward the door in order to greet his visitor. He knew she would be

dropping by for a personal visit once she had the opportunity, and knew they

wouldn't be interrupted by one of the other women. Lesser men might have

professed to be confused by the opposite sex, but Killgore was not a lesser

man. He knew the female of the species almost as well as he knew himself.

Women were so predictable.



The sound of a seven foot and four hundred and fifty kilogram mass of drug

enhanced muscle with a cybernetic reinforced skeletal structure hitting the

metal of the deck came from outside the room.



His ex-wife was the most predictable of them all.



Knowing she would enter before he could make it to the door, Killgore chose

to wait in the center of the room. He placed his hands behind his back and

planted one of his patented whiplash grins on his face, the kind that had

caught Iria in the first place all those years ago. As angry as she was with

him, even with all they had gone through, she wouldn't be completely immune

to his charm. It was impossible.



The door opened and Iria stomped in. Killgore greeted her in the way he had

nearly every morning they had been married. "Hey there, Sunshi-"



The side of a pistol impacted solidly with the side of his face, the dull

thud of the metal meeting flesh sounding louder than Killgore's own

greeting. The force of the blow snapped his head back for a split second and

made his eyes open in shock. Perhaps she wasn't as predictable as he had

originally thought. In hindsight, Iria had been the woman that had managed

to give him the most surprises in his life. It had been one of her most

appealing traits, as well as one of the most annoying.



Bringing his head back around to its original position, he discovered the

cold metal of the barrel of the pistol delicately caress the bottom of his

jaw. Despite that gentleness in the move, the woman holding the firearm was

in anything but a delicate mood.



A threat that was voiced in a way that had more in common with a feral snarl

than words escaped from Iria's lips. "I swear to you, if you even look in

Kei's direction again I will blow your fucking head off!"



	$It'd sound more menacing with a period insted of an exclamation mark.



"Nice to see you too." The words were partially muted by the unrelenting

steel placed against his jaw.



This time Iria spoke clearly in an almost calm voice that was more cause

than ever for alarm. "I'm not kidding, Eugene. I won't let you hurt her one

tenth of the way you hurt me. I'll kill you, even if I have to shoot my way

through this pack of rats you have following at your heels. I'll kill every

one of them to get to you. Do you understand me?"



	$But it won't work, you see.  Killing them wouldn't bother him at all,

except maybe as an annoyance.



"I understand perfectly." Which was the truth, though whether he would cave

into her demands was something else altogether. Generally, Lance Eugene

Killgore reacted negatively to threats, even from former spouses. It was

evidently something Iria had forgotten over the intervening years.



The barrel remained where it was. "I know you're lying to us. I just don't

know how much you're holding back. Rest assured, if I find out it's too

much, you won't like the consequences."



Despite the pistol pressed against his jaw, Killgore was relaxed. He rolled

his eyes at the statement. "Really, Iria, this sort of heavy handed tactic

is beneath you."



"Using it on you, it's an indulgence."



Even Killgore was somewhat taken aback by the viciousness in her voice. He

hadn't thought she would remain this angry with him for so long. None of the

other women in his life ever had. Of course, he hadn't married any of them.



	$Just goes to show you.



He decided he really didn't like the surprises Iria was capable of

unleashing on him.



Slowly, the bounty hunter withdrew the weapon, leaving a cautious eye on

Killgore in case he tried anything. "I meant what I said. Don't test me."



"Oh, I definitely believe you." And that was the complete truth. Her

attitude was something to definitely factor into every future equation that

came up during this alliance.



She was halfway to the door when she turned and said, "By the way, Cross is

gay and has the hots for you."



	$Heh, figures.  Considering that he's bishonen and all.



Killgore gave a haughty smile that made Iria's brows furrow in irritation.

"Of course he does. How else do you think I could keep a Samisdat assassin

on my payroll? Sometimes I even flirt back with him to keep him around. He's

really one of the best. Almost as good as me."



	$Ah, nifty.  He'll go down relatively quickly.



"Still a master of using the people around you," Iria spat with disdain as

she backed towards the door again.



Just as she was about to exit, Killgore rubbed his jaw and calmly stated,

"You know, if I didn't still care for you, you wouldn't be leaving this room

alive for what you just did."



A baleful glare met him in response to his statement. "And if you had done

anything in our time together that made me still care for you, I wouldn't

have come here at all."



Without another word she exited the room. Less than ten seconds later,

another person entered the compartment.



"I saw someone knocked out Phalanx out in the hall and decided to check on

you." Cross looked at the reddish swelling that had formed on the right side

of Killgore's face. It seemed to be growing larger by the second. He went up

and gently examined it with his fingertips. "That little tart did that to

you, eh? Shows you should exercise better judgment when you stick that piece

of yours in other people's business. Want me to kill her?"



	$Or try, as the case would/will be.



"Don't be absurd," Killgore snorted. "We need her and the others. I can take

a little heat from my ex-wife. If push comes to shove, I'll be the one to

put her in her place."



Cross gave a high-pitched snort. "As usual, you underestimate what a woman

scorned can do to a man. I used to be the same way. One of these days I'll

show you the scars I got when I learned that painful lesson."



	$Or at least Cross hopes that he'll get to show him.



This was a day full of surprises. "You managed to get a woman angry at you?"



	$Yeah, he stole her boyfriend.



That made Cross chuckle. "Not that way, Major. And rest assured, you're far

better at that sort of thing than I'll ever be."



	$Yeah, nobody pisses em off like Killgore.



 Killgore's adjutant

suddenly turned serious. "Don't go out of your way to make her angry. She's

not completely rational when dealing with you, which makes her

unpredictable."



Killgore rubbed his sore face. "You've got that right."



xxxxxxxxxxxx



Iria returned to the bridge of her ship, letting loose a string of curses

that would have made Bob blush if he still had a face. Instead, he changed

the interior of the ship's lighting to red to match his mood. "I take it

your little talk with Lance didn't go along as well as planned? Should I get

ready to target his ship?" Bob was only half joking about the latter

question.



Iria picked up a box of ammunition and threw it against one of the sides of

the ship, barely missing a portable tracking unit that had been left lying

on a table.



	$Good thing it wasn't mercury fulminate loads.



 "That BASTARD!"



A quick quip came to Bob, but he refrained from voicing it.



	$Oh?  What?  Oh my god, he killed Nermani?  That bastard?



 Now was not the

time for humor. "He's not going to back off?"



It took several moments for Iria to regain enough control over her temper to

speak coherently. "Who the hell can tell with him?! But I swear to god I

will kill him if he tries anything with her. I mean anything!"



This was bad, though Bob couldn't blame her. He didn't want untrustworthy



	$the untrustworthy



lech getting near Kei either. Back when the redhead had grilled him about

Killgore, Bob had considered lying to her about just how bad Iria's

ex-husband was, but he had never felt comfortable with lying, especially to

those he cared about. Besides, Killgore was plenty bad enough on his own

without Bob making things up. But sometimes those sorts of men drew certain

kinds of women to them like moths to a flame. It was difficult to say if Kei

was one of those danger seekers, but she had tried very hard to defend

Killgore from Bob's assessment of the man. That seemed to point the

direction that the redhead was leaning toward. Bob still hadn't told Iria

about that little detail, or their conversation at all. There was no telling

how she would react if she thought Kei was seriously interested in the

mercenary, but it would probably involve excessive amounts of bloodshed and

violence.



	$Yay!  Fanservice!



Her strength leaving her, Iria slumped down in the pilot's chair, desperate

to figure out what to do. They were in an alliance with Lance, thanks to his

smooth talking Kei and Yuri into believing he was trustworthy. They were

being stupid in not listening to Iria. She knew Killgore. He would betray

them when it became convent, but unfortunately she had no way to prove it.

They had to terminate the agreement, which she could not get the others to

do unless she could prove her ex-husband was holding out on them. If she had

a little evidence, then she might be able to convince the others to end this

ridiculous farce, and they could get down to the serious business of hunting

Zeiram down.



And then there was the whole issue concerning Kei. Unless Iria was terribly

mistaken, her former ward had been looking Killgore over. And she was

certain Yuri was. Regardless of the friction she and the raven-haired

troubleshooter were suffering from, there was no way Iria would wish

Killgore on any woman. Or man, for that matter. But Kei was the bounty

hunter's first concern. She had to get her former ward away from him. Iria

knew the redhead well enough that if she tired ordering her away from



	$tried



Killgore, there was a good chance she would accuse Iria of meddling in her

affairs and fool around with him just to be defiant.



Certainly Lance was capable of seducing just about any woman if he put his

mind to it, Iria could personally attest to that. The years had been very

kind to the man, and he was just as suave and handsome as he was when they

had first met. She might have despised the very sight of him, but she could

admit on a purely ascetic level that he remained physically attractive. But

Kei didn't know the real him, and Iria would do whatever it took to prevent

her from finding out. But exactly what could she do to protect her former

ward without it being obvious that was what she was doing?



And then it came to her. Of course. That would be the perfect excuse to get

Kei out of harm's way, as well as obtaining evidence that would end their

partnership with her hated former lover. How could she have been so foolish

as to not come up with it before?



"Bob, I have an idea. We're going to send her back home to see Mikael and

have him slice some information for us. If there's dirt to dig up on

Killgore and prove he's full of shit, Mikael can find it."



Bob considered that. The plan sounded workable, and it made sense. Even if

Iria wasn't concerned for Kei's well-being, it was a good course of action

to take. "True. But do you think you can convince Kei to take a side-trip to

Myce for that?"



"She might not be happy about it," Iria admitted. "But it's a reasonable

request and it'll get her out of harm's way. Both her and Yuri know there's

no way in hell I'll let Lance out of my sight. And I'll just tell Kei I

trust her more than Yuri to get this important information we need. Besides,

you know Mikael."



	$He'll hump anything that walks?



Bob chuckled at that. "Too true. Put an attractive woman like Kei in front

of him, and he'll walk on water to charm them. Even if it wasn't you asking,

he'd do just about anything to impress someone like Kei."



That brought a smile to Iria's face. She had not considered that initially.

Ordinarily she would not approve of the way Bob was referring to Mikael, but

since this was Kei they were talking about, that changed everything. Yes,

Kei meeting Mikael might prove a very good thing indeed. It could

potentially solve three problems that had been plaguing Iria. Two recent

ones and another she had accepted a few months ago.



Yes. It was time for Kei to go back and visit the old homestead.



	$Meanwhile, back at the ranch.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



About time I got to finishing this up. Sorry for the delay, but with the

holidays and other projects grabbing my attention, I just haven't had the

time. Haven't even had the chance to play the new game I got for Christmas.



	$Oh?  What'd you get?



Hopefully will get to the next chapter much sooner, since I should be

getting a week off in late January that I intend to use on catching up on

some of my backlog of work.



	$Yeah, I really should have had this out sooner.  3/4s of it has been done

for a while, but as far as finishing it...  Ah, well.  Enjoy.



	Waiting for the next chapter.



-Ragun P. Moody

 ICQ# 37606443





"It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's,

not its, if you mean it is.  If you don't, it's

its.  Then too, it's hers.  It isn't her's.  It

isn't our's either.  It's ours, and likewise

yours and theirs."

       -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News









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