Ultrahuman 01 - Ugly (21 page)

He had a knife, which placed him into the ‘no threat at all’ category, and suggested that he was definitely not a Tonaldo goon trying to trap her. No, this was a thug with a desire to steal wallets, and he had decided to pick on a middle-aged couple walking along Lake Path. He was not expecting resistance and, when he saw Cygnus drop to the ground a couple of yards from him, his eyes widened and he bolted in the opposite direction.

Penny sighed and prepared to give chase, but it was really not his night. Svetilo landed in front of him, reached out as he almost ran into her, and just pushed. He was probably lucky that Penny caught him or his landing would have been a lot more painful.

‘I hope you do not mind me butting in,’ the tall Russian said as Penny zip-tied the mugger’s wrists behind his back.

‘Saved me flying after him,’ Penny replied. ‘Thanks. I didn’t think you did patrols.’

‘I do not. I was looking for you.’

‘You were?’ The model was dressed in a very short, red dress, cut low at the front, and high-heeled sandals; not exactly hunting clothes, but then she had helped at a fire in similar clothes.

‘I wanted to talk. My apartment is not far…’

Talk… sure. She wanted to talk. Penny considered saying no immediately. Thermite was out there and she needed to find him, but Andrea’s words about Lena were playing through her head:
It’s not that terrible. Some nights I even enjoy it…

‘Let me drop this guy off at the local precinct,’ Penny said.

‘Of course,’ Svetilo replied, her smile broadening.

~~~

Lena let out a gasp and fell back onto the bed, breathing hard. ‘God but I miss this when you can’t visit,’ she gasped out. As her breathing steadied she added, ‘I wish I could have you here all the time.’

Andrea crawled up to lie beside her, putting an arm out to let the blonde snuggle. ‘You know I have other… friends I have to visit.’

‘You mean clients.’ There was a sour note in Lena’s voice.

‘All right, clients, but that’s not how I think of you.’ It was not a lie, exactly. There were no others and Lena was less a client and more an informant.

‘You don’t?’

‘No. Sometimes the money is icing. If your father wants to pay me to enjoy myself then who am I to decline? Do you think I’d stay all night if I didn’t enjoy your company?’ Which was, Andrea realised, also not a lie. ‘Anyway, your father would never allow it.’

Lena gave a grunt of displeasure. ‘He’s getting even more paranoid. I heard he’s bought a fucking
missile
!’

‘You’re kidding!’

‘Nope. A missile. Some sort of Ultra-seeking missile. I mean, how insane is that?’

Pushing aside her disquiet, Andrea diverted the subject. Keeping Lena unaware that she was being quietly pumped for information meant not appearing interested in the information she got. ‘Crazy… You know, the other reason for not moving in is I don’t want you taking me for granted. Familiarity breeds contempt. I want you
begging
for it.’

Lena looked up at her, eyes a little wide. ‘I will, you know? Beg. I’ll get down on my knees and beg you to make love to me if you want me to.’

‘Maybe next time,’ Andrea whispered.

~~~

Svetilo’s apartment was actually not that close; all the way across Downtown to Grant where some of the highest-priced apartments in the city were located. They landed on the balcony outside and Svetilo pressed her thumb to a panel by the window to unlock it.

‘That,’ Penny said, ‘is a clever idea.’

‘When people know your identity, some security is in order. Come in, “take the weight off,” as you say. Glass of wine?’

‘Sure, why not?’

Svetilo followed her through and slid the window closed. Penny heard the locks re-engage behind her and decided not to worry about that right now. She was sure she knew where the evening was heading. June would be with Red tonight so she would not miss Penny staying out. One little fling could not hurt…

‘I thought Russians drank vodka,’ Penny said as she took a seat. The room was big and open. There were two large, comfortable sofas, one facing a huge wall-mounted screen. Light came from three standard lamps which gave soft, moody lighting. Svetilo was getting the wine from a small kitchen area at the back and there were a couple of doors off the lounge which likely led to bedrooms.

‘We do, but I want you to be able to walk and talk.’ Penny giggled as the Russian handed her a glass and then sat down, not too close. ‘I have not asked: your hands are better?’

Holding up a hand, palm facing Svetilo, Penny said, ‘I heal faster than normal. Maybe two, three times faster.’

‘A useful talent in our line of work.’

‘Uh-huh, but you didn’t get me up here to drink wine and discuss my healing.’

‘No. I have a job coming up. A shoot in Miami. One week in a warmer climate. Bikinis, lingerie, some not-quite-nudes, nothing overly risqué. I am going to invite June to come as we need some more girls and I think it would be a big stepping stone for her.’

‘Okay. Yes, I’m sure she’ll jump at it… but shouldn’t you be telling her this?’

‘I would also like it if you were to come.’

‘What?!’ Penny gave her a confused grin. ‘I’m not a model.’

‘You have the looks. I would not ask, but the shoot is for a calendar. The profits are to go to charity. It will be good publicity, and for a good cause. The more famous bodies we can get on it, the better.’ She grinned. ‘I would ask your friend, Twilight? I think she is too protective of her identity, however.’

‘Not really her scene. She doesn’t court public opinion. Neither do I, to be honest, but I recognise that it’s useful… You know what, I’ll ask her. She might surprise me. And I’d need to arrange holiday. I have a day job. Since it’s a charity thing… I’ll do it if June will.’

‘Otlichno!’ Svetilo raised her glass in salute. ‘It will be fun, I promise.’ She took a drink of wine and Penny followed suit, grinning.

‘You know, I thought you got me up here with ulterior motives, not to discuss modelling jobs.’

The Russian’s eyes brightened noticeably as she leaned closer. Her hand found Penny’s thigh, and slid up to her hip where her fingers circled. ‘I did have ulterior motive, but I wanted business out of the way first.’

Penny’s breathing quickened. Svetilo’s glowing eyes were inches from hers and she could feel the woman’s breath on her face. She licked her lips, waiting for the kiss she knew was coming…

The window exploded inward and Penny heard someone yell something in a language she did not understand. The voice sounded metallic and, as Svetilo twisted away to face the attacker, Penny saw a large, robotic figure standing in the shattered remains of the window. There was a bullet-shaped head, an armoured body, all of it painted red with a yellow hammer and sickle design stencilled on the chest. There seemed to be gun barrels mounted over the forearms and one of them flared with light. Penny felt something akin to ants crawling over her skin, and Svetilo let out a shriek. Penny glanced at her and could not immediately figure out what was wrong. Then she noticed that the Russian’s eyes were just blue; the glow had gone.

More Russian burst from the speakers on the robot. No, Penny decided this was likely a man in a suit, and he was raising his arms to fire again. She dived across Svetilo, fairly sure that their attacker had somehow neutralised the woman’s powers. Bullets ploughed into Penny’s back, a couple of them hard enough to leave bruises. As the impacts stopped to allow the man to take stock, she turned and threw her, now empty, wine glass at him and, to her surprise, a pulse of energy leapt from her palm. It hit his right shoulder and appeared to surprise him as much as it had her, but it did nothing to the suit or the man within it.

He raised his arms again, but now he was concentrating on Penny, and she was moving. Balling her fist, she leapt forward and let out a scream as she swung at him. There was an almighty clang as her fist slammed into his chest plate, leaving a dent in the surface, and he staggered back onto the balcony, falling against the railing where he flopped about like a clockwork toy. Penny stepped closer, raising her fist again, but he seemed to be down.

‘Who the Hell is this?’ she called back into the room.

Svetilo appeared beside her, still looking weak. ‘Pulya. He works for the SOP. They must have caught American spy to have him come here. They will not risk armour if they cannot get it back.’ Her accent was thicker when she was distracted. ‘They give you new toy, Alexander. This power draining is new, yes?’

‘Da!’ he snapped, his right arm rising to aim at her.

Penny’s boot lashed out, hitting his arm at the elbow joint. There was a shriek of electronically distorted pain as the arm broke like a twig, and then silence.

‘Alexander never did know when to give up,’ Svetilo said, her breathing sounding laboured.

‘He didn’t hit you, did he?’ Penny asked quickly.

‘No. That is not the way I wanted to have you lying over me tonight, but it was most effective. I will call UID. Watch him in case he comes round.’

Penny glared down at the fallen would-be assassin and gave his armoured boot a kick. It did not look like she was getting laid tonight after all. ‘Should’ve broken your damn neck,’ she muttered. ‘Russian prick.’

26
^th
October.

‘Okay,’ June said as she examined the damage to Penny’s costume, ‘I can fix this. It’s not too bad and the material is designed to reknit…’

‘Good,’ Penny said, adding a sigh of relief for good measure and adjusting her glasses to see what June was doing better. ‘He was using armour-piercing bullets, would you believe?’

‘And your skin still stopped them?’

‘Uh-huh. Stressed the suit fabric though.’

‘So I see.’ June took a gun-like tool from her sewing kit, pinched one of the small holes closed, and began moving the wide muzzle over the plastic. ‘The question is: what were you doing in Dom’s apartment when this guy attacked her?’

Penny had rehearsed this one a couple of times in her head and hoped the answer was going to come out sounding confident and casual. ‘I was discussing a job, actually.’ She was not sure she had managed confident
or
casual, but June decided to bite.

‘A job?’

‘I should probably let her tell you, but she’s going to invite you to do a calendar shoot with her in Miami. And it’s a charity thing, and she wants me to do it too. And I said I would, if you would.’

June let go of the pinch, her head darting around to look at Penny. The plastic was closed, but looked kind of wrinkled. June continued running the gun over it and Penny saw the fabric relaxing back into shape.

‘A Miami calendar shoot with Dom?’ June said.

‘Bikinis, lingerie, and some tasteful nudes she said. A week’s shooting.’

‘That would… I mean a prestigious photo shoot like that with Dom…’

‘And maybe some more big names.’

‘Like Cygnus? You know she’s trying to get into your panties, right?’

‘That thought had occurred to me, yes. We can protect each other’s virtue.’

June turned back to the suit. Happy with the first repair, she pinched the next hole shut and started working on it. ‘Dom likes riding crops, it’s not your virtue I’m worried about, it’s your ass.’

~~~

‘A week in Miami with Dom?’ Bobby said, one eyebrow rising.

‘Uh-huh, for a charity calendar.’

He smirked, stepped forward, and swept her legs. She landed on her back with a thud. ‘Get used to that position. Legs a little wider maybe.’

She swung her legs out wider, twisted, applied a little upward force, and did a semi-aerobatic Arab spring back onto her feet.

‘Like that, yes,’ Bobby said, grinning.

‘You don’t sound like you’d mind that much if I
did
go to bed with her.’

‘I am not possessive, gatinha.’ He moved in, feinted right, and then was not too surprised when she blocked his kick on the right side. He was a little more surprised when her counter actually caught him on the side, forcing him to roll away from her. ‘You are getting
much
better at this. You did not hit this Pulya like that, did you?’

‘Uh, no.’

‘Then why do you hold back with me?’

‘Bobby, I put a dent in his chest plate when I hit him. I shattered his arm, through armour, in five places, with a kick. I am
not
going hit you full power.
Ever.
’

‘That, gatinha, is the lesson I hoped you learned from your little encounter with Pulya.’ He darted in, throwing quick jabs at her face. ‘You have great power.’ Pressing forward, he threw a punch at her chest and then drove a knee into her stomach as she blocked it. His elbow swung at her jaw, but she pushed out, planting her hands on his chest and tossing him ten feet across the room. He landed on his feet, a gust of wind stabilising him. His eyes flicked over her, watching her stance. ‘You must never lose your temper with a normal and strike them too hard.’

Penny grinned at him. ‘Yeah. Believe me, the dent taught me that one.’

27
^th
October.

‘A missile?’ Penny said, not quite believing what she was hearing.

‘That’s what Lena told me while you were entertaining Svetilo,’ Twilight replied.

‘I wasn’t entertaining…’

Twilight held up a hand. ‘What you do to get laid isn’t my concern. I was getting busy with a gangster’s daughter to find out about this. I did some research and there’s something called a Night Lance. Morgan-Gorman makes them. It’s an autonomous, self-guiding missile, with radar, signal homing, and something that lets it lock onto Ultras. They can fire it from a man-portable, reusable launcher, which means they can use it anywhere.’

‘And you think it’s meant for me?’

Twilight shrugged. ‘They don’t need a high explosive warhead to kill me.’

Penny grunted. ‘What kind of load do they carry?’

‘There’s a non-lethal warhead. The UID uses it for captures. Explodes into some sort of sticky netting. I doubt they got one with that. The two most probable are a basic high explosive, and a self-forging projectile system. That last one’s meant to punch through tank armour.’