Rebel (The United Federation Marine Corps) (10 page)

Each of the four had his or her own escape route, but both Michi and the tall guy had the same initial first step.  The tall guy stopped to wordlessly shake Michi’s hand before he took off.  Michi followed and was on his tail as they jumped the alley to the roof of the next building.  Michi barely made it, falling down and rolling on the other roof, cursing her ungainly boots.  The tall guy turned to the right and was gone while Michi scrambled up to keep going straight to the next building over.

Below her and back at Kelli Mae’s building, she heard shouting and sirens.  She didn’t have much time. She wondered if she had twisted an ankle, so despite the urgency, she approached the edge of the building cautiously.  The next building was a story shorter than this one, and she had to make sure of where she landed.

The helmeted jack who appeared in front of her, climbing the fire escape, took her by surprise.  Instinctively, she flowed into her favorite roundhouse kick.  The jack saw it coming and tried to duck, but hanging on the fire escape limited him, and she caught him up high, knocking him off the ladder. 

Michi rushed forward and looked down.  Four or five meters below her, another jack was clinging with one hand to the ladder, the other holding the dangling jack Michi had just kicked.  The one still on the ladder looked up, hate in his eyes.  Michi knew he would shoot her if he could, but he needed both hands to hang on and keep his friend from plummeting to his death.  Michi briefly considered dropping something on them, but that would be a wasted gesture, and one that would cost her time.

She took a few steps back and launched herself over the alley.  Her ankle cried out, but she pushed beyond the pain and landed cleanly on the other side.  Maybe getting beat up by Seth was doing her some good.

She took a right and ran down the length of the building, dodging air conditioning units and running around a rooftop garden, then stepping up to the next building.  Somebody had already placed a rough steel grate between the two, so it was an easy transition.

These apartment buildings were part of Propitious Interstellar’s second expansion, constructed when they needed rooms for their workers.  The buildings were generally cheap and close together with fire codes only loosely followed.  Some buildings were connected to each other, others had ten foot alleys between them. By jumping, Michi was able to quickly move five buildings over.  She risked a glance behind her.  If two jacks had been climbing, others would be, too, and face-spoofer or not, Doug could not hide her from direct human vision.  Just as she reached her stairway down, she saw the first jack making it to the top of Kelli Mae’s building. He was a good 70 meters away, but Michi was clearly visible if he turned around.

Praying that the door was open, she yanked herself off-balance and almost fell inside just as the jack started to turn.  She didn’t know if he saw her.  She was supposed to stay as her redhead alter-ego, but the two kids and at least one jack had seen her bright red hair, so she turned her face-spoofer off and pulled out her overalls, struggling to get them over her stupid costume.  The boots almost got her killed.  She considered leaving them there, but walking around barefoot while in overalls would draw attention, and despite them being sprayed with a derma-barrier, she wasn’t confident that a forensic lab could not find some of her DNA if she left it to be found.

Calm down, calm down.  You’re just a worker going about her business, she kept telling herself.

She casually made her way down the stairs, too scared to use the elevator despite being several buildings away.  She nodded to an old lady at the building’s front door, holding it open for her.  Then she was out in the sunshine.  There were sirens, and overhead, a chopper came screaming up.  Michi resisted the urge to watch it and instead kept walking, trying not to look suspicious.  People had come out of the buildings to warily watch the commotion.  They had to be curious, but this was still a martial law situation, and no one wanted to be caught in any crossfire that might erupt.

Michi didn’t start to relax until she was on the tram heading home.  She hoped her three unnamed companions had made it out safely.  It had been close, but she thought they had gotten out in time.

That left the question as to how the jacks had responded so quickly.  They could have been spotted inside the building, she acknowledged, but Doug had been confident on blocking off anything inside.  And if he hadn’t that was still a very quick reaction.

No, there was only one logical explanation.  Cheri had been right in her suspicions.  There was a traitor within the WRP.

Chapter 20

Michi and Tamara sat on the couch, focused on Michi’s manifesto.  The signal wavered once or twice as the broadcast company tried to regain control over the feed, but whoever was hacking it was able to keep the clip running.

Michi knew it was her on the holo, but with the different face and voice, it was easy to feel it was someone else, a stranger.  That somehow enabled her to really look at it, to analyze it. 

The obvious, in-your-face aspect was that Tamara and Cheri had been right.  She, the redhead Michi, looked great.  Michi didn’t know if the holo had been brushed up or not, but the outfit, the face Doug had given her, even her earnest but intense voice created an image of a strong, capable woman, with the emphasis on
woman
.  When she had put on the top, in particular, she thought it too small, but on the holo, it emphasized her curves and femininity.  Michi rarely felt feminine anymore after she outgrew her dance partners, and she liked the feeling.

As the holo came on, Tamara had exclaimed, “Balls, girl, you look pure dead hot,” and for once, Michi accepted that. 

The boots, the ones she hated, worked well, too.  They took away from the camouflage bammers that clung to her legs and ass and gave her a more military air.  With the handgun hanging from her waist, she looked decidedly warrior-like.  She decided she liked the look, even if she was going to have to work on the boots’ utility.

The Marine standing beside her looked deflated. The small flinch he’d made when Michi had said “abusing” had been edited out. It was hard to look tough when naked, and with his head hanging down, he simply looked defeated.

Then there was Kelli Mae.  Michi knew that her family had been contacted and informed that it would be
best
for everyone if she did not volunteer that it was her in the holo.  Sitting on the bed in back of Michi, head down, she was the perfect picture of an abused woman. The sobs that wracked her body showed up perfectly on the holo, and even knowing the truth, Michi felt a twinge of pity for the poor, abused girl. 

Of course, the abuse was at the hands of Michi and her three companions. Kelli Mae had done nothing wrong other than fall in love, and what she had gone through was at the hands of Cheri and Michi.  Michi did feel guilty about that, but it was for the greater good, right?”

“Stars above, we’ve got to watch that again,” Tamara said as the holo faded it.  She hit the playback, and the two roommates re-watched it, pausing it a couple of times to point out details.

“Powerful stuff, that,” Tamara said, serious for once.  “I think it’s a glove to the face of the Federation.  I just hope it rallies, the people for Saturday.”

“Do you think it will?” Michi asked.

“Well, it will sure rally the male population and more than a few of the female, girl,” she said, the irreverent Tamara back as she punched Michi in the arm.  “They may not understand the cause, but they’ll follow you, looking like that.”

They watched the replay several times, and when they switched back to the live feed, a response was already being aired.  The company, of course, decried the act of “terrorism.”  A Marine spokesman issued a statement asserting that the so-called abuse was a case of consenting adults, and a chagrined-looking Thane Regent was trotted out where he insisted that he had been with his girlfriend. 

When a reporter asked for the name of the girlfriend, the spokesman stepped back in and said for privacy reasons, they could not reveal that.  Michi had half-expected the Marines to release Kelli Mae’s name, but the organization’s arcane sense of honor evidently got in the way of that.  And by not releasing her name, it made their statement seem like a cover-up.  They were telling the truth, Michi knew, but they certainly seemed guilty.

Despite an almost disastrous conclusion, the mission looked to be a success.  The real test was on Saturday, though.  Would the people rally to the cause?  Without massive public support, anything they did was just pissing in the wind.

Chapter 21

“Feelin’ better?” Seth asked as Michi came through the door.

“Oh, yeah, much better,” she said, for a moment forgetting that she had called in sick the day before.

She was glad to get back.  With two more days before the planned rally, she had pent up nervous energy, and a session with Seth seemed like the perfect antidote.

She stripped to her unitard, left her Clodders and outerwear on the counter, and got on the mat where without warming up, Seth was on her.  Fifteen sweaty minutes later, Seth released his kimura lock and slid away to sit while Michi caught her breath.

“You seem fine, considerin’ your health.”

“Oh, like I said, I’m better, and it really wasn’t much.”

“Good to know.  Your health is number one, am I right?”

“Yeah, right,” Michi said, wondering at the direction Seth was taking.  He never seemed too concerned about her health before.

“What did you think about that holo yesterday, the one where that Marine was called out for abusing that poor lass?” he said, switching topics.

“Uh, it was disgusting,” she said, the response she had decided upon in case anyone asked her.

“Yeah, Marines are always chasin’ pussy, you know.  Gets them in more trouble.  But that woman in the holo, she was something else, am I right?”

“I . . . I guess so,” she got out.

“A redhead, too.  Not many around here, and I always was partial to redheads.  And she was a big girl.  I like that.  Nice big tits.”

Despite herself, Michi started to color.  “I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Oh, of course not.  Excuse me if I was a little crude there.  Just statin’ facts,” Seth went on.  “’Sides, there are lots of big, strong women around.  Like you, for example.

“You know, I had a visit from the jacks about two months ago.  Remember the jack who got himself kilt in that drug deal?”

“I think so,” Michi said, trying not to let her rising apprehension show.

“Well, first, they wanted to know where I was when he got zeroed.  Seems, that as a discharged Marine and someone who knows his way in a fight, they thought I might be a suspect.  Luckily, I had an alibi, so then they asked me for my opinion.  I looked at the holos, and I told them it had to be a big, strong man who zeroed the guy.  His neck was broken, and from one hit.  No other damage.”

“Yeah, a strong guy, that makes sense.”

“But I been thinkin’, why only a guy?  A big strong girl could do it, too, like that girl on the holo, ’specially one who knew some fightin’ means, and ’specially if she was wearin’ heavy boots.  I don’t think she could do it with a punch, but maybe a kick, like the roundhouse you like to throw.  A good kick, with boots, iffen she got lucky, that could do it.”

Seth broke his gaze on her to stare at Michi’s Clodders where she had left them on the counter.

“You got sometin’ to tell me?” he asked.

Michi wanted to leave, but she tried to sound casual as she replied, “No.  You might be right, but I wouldn’t know.”

“Do you think I’m a huddy, girl?  ’Cause I’m a MacPruitt and not one of you high-side Clan families?  I may not be as good-speakin’ as you, I may not be as educated, but I can see what’s in front of my own eyes.”

Michi said nothing, staring down at her hands.

“I did some research.  Your fiancé was that indentured who was killed.  As they say, in the cop holos, you’ve got the motive.  You wear those Clodders, and I’m thinking that with your roundhouse and your strength, iffen you caught some jack unawares, you could possibly break his neck.  But most of all, I’ve been all over you on this mat.  I’ve had my hands on you.  I know your body.  I know that little dark spot on your hip.  When they changed your face in editin’, they forgot one thing.  That, good cousin, was you on the holo.  Deny it if you can.”

Michi wanted to deny it.  She wanted to jump up and run out. 

Instead, she meekly asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Me?  What are
you
goin’ to do is the real question.  Are you here to get some revenge?  If you are, you’re wasting your time.”

For a moment, Michi had hoped she could enlist Seth as an ally.  But he was rejecting her.

“I’m sorry, I thought I could . . . I just don’t know.”

“Look, girl, I knew that was you on the holo, but I was guessing about the jack.  You got lucky, damn lucky with that.  You try that amateur shit with the Marines here, you’re going to get crushed.”

Michi shuddered, thinking of the ass-whipping she and Tamara had received.

“You are too, too, First Family, all right and proper, all by the rules.  You don’t have the killer instinct.”

“I do so,” she protested.

“No, you don’t.  What did I do when we first fought here?”

“You know what you did,” she bristled.  “You hit me, well, down there.”

“Damn, you can’t even say it, can you?  I hit your freakin’ fud, girl.  Smack in your pussy.  And what did you do about it?  Nothin’.  Then in the crucifix, what’d I do?”

Michi thought back, then remembered his driving his crotch in her face before letting her up.

“You pushed your . . . your . . .
balls
in my face,” she almost shouted.

“And what did you do about it?”

“Nothing!  What could I do about it?  You had me in a crucifix!”

“Bullshit!  You can always do something.  You could have bitten me, taken a chunk out of my knob!” he said, his voice rising in emphasis.

“You . . . you wanted me to bite your dick?”

“No, I wanted you to try.  I wanted to see where your spirit was.  You weren’t gonna succeed, but I wanted to see you resort to what you could.  But no, that would get you disqualified from an MMA match?  And you’d never do that, am I right?  Let me tell you, girl, that won’t cut it in a fight with a Marine.  He’ll do everythin’ he can to win, and there are no rules.  Even Saint Lysander, he’s resorted to some underhanded shit despite what the Marine propaganda machine would lead you to believe.”

“You mean that commander they talk about on the newsfeeds?”

“Yeah, that commander.  Captain Ryck Lysander, hero of the Corps.”

“You know him?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.  We went to boot together, and served in the fleet.  I even broke his arm once.  He’s an arrogant bastard, I can tell you.”

“You broke his arm?  Why?” she asked, curiosity overtaking her anxiety for a moment.

“Call it payback.  But forget him.  Any Marine’s gonna fight dirty if that’s what it takes.  You can’t play by no fuckin’ rules if you want to survive.  And you, cousin dear, don’t have it in you. 

“Look, I love MMA.  It pulled me up and gave me my shot at a better life.  It got me into the Marines, before I screwed that up.  It pays my bills now.  But it’s a freakin’ sport, not battle.  And until you get that there are no rules in a fight, you are gonna get crushed.”

“What about you?” Michi asked excitedly.  “Why don’t you join us?”

“Join you?  Fat fuckin’ chance of that!” he said with a snort.

“Why not?  You don’t like the Marines, I can tell.  You can’t support the company.  Who do you support?”

“I support me.  I always have.  I’m Clan, but not Clan.  None of us MacPruitts matter squat to the rest of you.  I joined the Marines, but I never fit in.  The company doesn’t want much to do with me, neither.  I’ll just make my own way like I always do.”

“But this is your chance to hit back.  What about that commander?  Get back at him.  Get back at the Marines, at least,” she continued.

Seth leaned forward and grabbed her wrist, bending her arm back.

“The Marine Corps and me may have not parted on the best of terms, but that was my fault.  The day I pinned on my sergeant’s chevrons was the second best day of my life.  I just couldn’t play by the rules until it was too late.  And Captain Lysander?  He’s an arrogant asshole, but he’s a good Marine, and I respect him.  I don’t like him, but I would follow him into combat.  No matter what, no matter what silly-arse games you play with the company, be sure of one thing—I will never lift my hand against another Marine.”

He let go of her arm, and she brought it back to her lap, rubbing it to restore the circulation he’d cut off.

“What about me?  What are you going to do?”

“I ain’t gonna do nothing.  I don’t care what you do, and I won’t stop you from getting yourself zeroed, ’cause that’s exactly what’s gonna happen iffen you try and play by the rules against the Marines.”

She sat there, looking at Seth.  She didn’t understand him, but she could sense his conviction.

“Can I at least keep coming to your dojo?” she quietly asked.  

“I don’t think so, Michiko.  You need to forget about MMA as a sport.”

“But you can help me with that.”

“Yeah, I could.  But I won’t.  I won’t stand in your way, but I ain’t gonna help you, neither.  And when you fail, I don’t want them to trace you back to me.  I don’t got no dog in this fight.

“I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Michi sighed, then slowly stood up.  She picked up her outer clothes on the counter, and with one look back at Seth sitting on the mat, she turned and opened the door.

“Go with God, cousin,” she heard him say without his usual sarcasm as the door closed behind her.