Eseen held up to the door with her shoulder to prevent any possible barges and slid open the slit at eye level. She paused for a moment, surveying the situation outside the door of what she could see. Five men, all seemingly armed to the teeth and a dim look on their face that showed they were the lower henchmen of some kind. Not too bright, but it never took a rocket scientist to aim a gun at something moving and pull the trigger.
"What are you here for? The owner of this house does not wish to be disturbed." She stated coldly, her eyes narrowing as she tightened her grip on the Desert Eagle still in its holster.
"This is a raid. Step aside little lady and your head wont be scattered down the hallway." The one up front ordered in a deep, grunting voice. As he said this, the barrel of a shotgun was aimed directly at Eseen's face throug the hole. She stared it down for a few moments, actually considering the possibility of how much a shotgun blast to the face at point blank range would hurt.
"Hold on." She took a step back and shut the opening, pausing for a moment and planting a foot on the door for leverage.
There was a click of shifting metal and no hesitation of the gunshot rang out down the hallway and into the street outside. At the same time, she shoved herself down to the floor hard. There was no delay between the contents of the leader's chest cavity being sprayed on the men behind him and the flurry of bullets spraying through the door.
Even with the force of her self induced shove back, a shard managed to lodge itself into her right shoulder, sending a sharp sting up her neck, shortly after, the same pain shooting up from her thigh to her side and chest as a piece of shrapnel made its way into her upper right thigh. She hit the ground hard, sending another wave of pain through those areas from the impact. A gutteral scream could be heard over the gunfire, bullets spraying over and past her into the wall of the end of the hall.
With her uninjured arm, she slid the rifle out from behind her, cocking it and keeping it close until the gunfire had stopped. All the while managing to slide herself away from the door to take cover in another room. Once it had, she raised it and fired a quick burst on an angle to cover the door, which ripped through the vital organs of the men, killing most of them instantly.
As she stood up, using her rifle as a crutch, she spotted a single man standing there, injured, but still armed. She gave a slight smirk to him, almost in defiance for fear of death. She noted that most of the door had been shot out to a frame but knew even then it would be enough. He gave a same smirk and positioned his shotgun to lock on to her chest, knowing full well she couldn't avoid taking this fatal hit.
"You had to be difficult didn't y-" As he said this, the remainder of the door fell towards and around him due to the numerous holes in it to completely miss him. It wasn't this that interrupted him, however, it was the explosion which occured on impact with the ground that shattered his ankles and set his body ablaze that did.
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Reply: 20 - 35
Dhana NeNiero
Posted on: December 18th, 2006, 07:44:24
Guest User
She knew that whoever was outside the door wasn't here for pleasantaries, the guy's voice confirmed this. She also knew that Eseen woudl not hesitate to use violence, even if there was a diplomatic solution to be found.
As the first shot rang out, she screamed. It had not been intentional nor was it because she got hit. It was an instinct, the scream showing her sadness at the violence which ensued, drowning out her scream.
She spent the next few minutes trying to stay calm, to focus herself, knowing that when the gunfire ceased, there'd be injured, and maybe, a chance for her to help those who received injuries and find out what they really wanted.
The sound of the explosion made her jump. Guns, she could deal with, the amount of bullets flying through the air, she could also deal with. While the shootings were occuring, it gave an indication that there were survivors. The explosion though.. she doubted if anyone survived, but yet, stayed back where she was, not wanting to walk out into the open, just in case one of them had survived.
The hand ornament's crystal glowed a soft orange in her hand as she waited for any survivors to find her, uncertain if it would be Eseen, or if she had failed Eseen by listening to her, rather than protecting her in the gunfight.
Eseen took a few breaths, leaning against the wall, her uninjured shoulder causing a thud while she took the weight off her injured leg. She sighed and slid down the wall, pausing for a moment before reaching for the piece of door stuck in her thigh.
"It's fine Dhana you can come OUT!" She yelped from the pain that shot down her leg when she tore the shrapnel out. She placed her hand over the wound, placing pressure on it to stop the bleeding as it pooled on the floor beneath her. The pain seemed to throb under her hand with each quickened heartbeat thanks to the gunfight she started and finished.
"Look, Dhana. Whatever it was those guys were after, I'm certain you'll find it where the old man died. I know this type of neighbourhood, you don't move here unless you're hiding something." She stated calmly, looking down for a moment at the blood pooling around her. A certain feeling of giddyness came over her and a bead of sweat droped down to her chin. She looked up again at Dhana, her face now clearly perspiring as her body began going into shock from the loss of blood.
"After we get out of here... I can't protect you anymore..." She said almost frantically between breaths as it quickened and while she reached for the pouch on her left arm. "My employer's dead... I have to move on... You've gotta make your own way..."
She was relieved to hear Eseen was ok, but acted and appeared almost out of nowhere when she realised Eseen was injured.
While she wanted to ignore the scene that greeted her, it was imposible to do so and it showed as she felt the blood drain out of her face. What she was looking at was a mascare, a, in her eyes, unecessary bloodbath.
The moment she saw Eseen, she ignored the bodies she knew she could not safe, instead, knelt down next to Eseen. She didn't bother asking how bad things were, they were bad and Eseen seemed to have lost a great deal of blood.
"A hospital would be the best option"
She informed Eseen as her jewelled hand moved over Eseen's leg, her energy flowing through the crystal to stop the bleeding and start the healing process.
"I'll get his stuff when you're stable again"
Her voice had an eery calmness to it that Eseen would not have expected given the circumstances. She had figured that the men were after something belonging to her father, could pretty much guess what it was exactly and knew that it would only be a matter of time until the next lot got send in, though when, she didn't know.
As Eseen spoke again, she looked at the woman completly suprised at her words, having forgotten that Eseen was a fixer and that the problem between her and the ship's pilot had been mainly her job occupation. What came as a real suprise was that her employer had died.
"Who was your employer?"
She asked, looking confused whilst ignoring what it was Eseen was telling her.
"I'll be fine once I can stop the bl-" She stopped mid sentence as Dhana began working on the healing part. Her hand over her chest fiddled around with the pouch for a bit before pulling out an unmarked syringe and popped the cap off and gave Dhana a quick reassuring smile. "Thanks..."
She reached out her arm and jammed the syringe into her chest to inject adrenaline directly into her heart. After she had done that, she pulled it out and her arms fell to her side while she tried to relax and adrenaline began pumping through her body to increase blood pressure. Her breathing began to slow, while deeper, it was less rapid and the cold sweat she felt began subsiding, replaced with the feeling of anemia.
"He was the old man down there," She finally spoke up after some time. Her eyes opened and she looked Dhana in the eye. "I'm probably gonna need a blood transfusion, but I think I can make my own way there..."
She smiled back at Eseen, glad the bleeding was under control now, though averted her eyes quickly as Eseen plunged the needle into herself, before continuing to focus her energy into the deviced to keep healing her.
"Hmm.. "
She mumbled, so Eseen knew who had hired her. How unusual that was for a fixer to meet their employer face to face, she didn't know.
As Eseen looked into her eyes, she looked back, assuring Eseen that things would be ok through her look.
"You're not well enough to go anywhere"
She assured Eseen, believing that Eseen would not make it to the hospital, and given the fact that she had been hired to protect Dhana, there was a chance that at least one dangerous person didn't realise that she was no longer protecting Dhana.
"Stay a while, get your strength up. Then give me a moment to check dad's stuff and see if he hasn't left some form of payment for you, ok?"
calmly, she now continued to let the glow eminating from her hand flow over the wound, healing it further and returning strength to Eseen as it took strength from her.
Eseen grabbed Dhana's hand and firmly moved it away from her mostly healed wound. She propped herself against the wall properly and stood up awkwardly, refusing any further help from the girl.
"Look, I appreciate the help, I really do. But I've gotten myself out of more dire situations before." She shuffled around a bit and pulled something out of her arm pouch again, wrapping it around her neck. "Get what you need and make your way to the space port. I can keep any tracks off you and I'll hopefully be there to see you off when our smuggler gets back."
She turned around and hobbled over to the doorway, using her rifle as a make shift walking stick to get her there. Before she took a step out, she raised a hand slightly, giving it a little flick to motion her farewell.
At that point, another shot could be heard, the bullet hitting her square in the chest. She flinched slightly, the only sound she made was a quiet 'omph' , raised her weapon and ended the life of her attacker with her Desert Eagle, a few drops of blood spattering on the ground before she attempted to continue on.
She rolled her eyes at Eseen's refusal of help, but let it go. If Eseen didn't want to be taken care of, she wasn't going to make her.
"I'll do that, but I'd really rather prefer if you'd stay with me"
She told Eseen, watching the woman struggle to make it out of the room. She jumped at the additional gunfire, but unlike last time, didn't scream.
Her father's words came back to her you must keep the Fixer safe No, Eseen had refused her help, she could not offer the same help now.
Equally, she could not let her keep going like she was. She had been badly injured, lost too much blood and, by the sounds of things, they were not yet out of danger.
"Eseen, wait up"
She called, quickly making her way over to the injured woman. Without touching her, she stood beside her, unaware that the first shot had hit Eseen.
"If this is about money, I'll find a way to pay whatever he was paying you"
She assured her.
"I still need your protection. I need someone who understands violence and can act on that understanding"
She admitted. She hated violence, would not use such, and knew that she was easy prey because of it. Even her father had known that, which was, in part, why he hired Eseen to look after her. Her alternate motive was simple. She didn't think Eseen would make it to the hospital in one piece.
Eseen paused as Dhana rushed to her side. She turned to face her with gritted teeth, not out of anger but of pain from the wound to her chest which she was now pressing her left hand against. She was quite aware gunshot wounds tended to be fatal, but was also aware she was still on her feet, so the bullet must not have hit anything vital.
"Dhana, you don't understand. I'm a Fixer, I need money to live off. I can't go and be a good samaritan to help people that need help." She almost faultered to her knees while she became a little more dizzy and found it that extra bit hard to breath. "If it's any consolation, you should be safe if you stay out of sight of me. But you're on your own."
She turned away again and continued on down the street. The nearest hospital would be at most a few blocks away, regardless of her injuries, she was sure she could make it before the lack of blood finished her off or she suffocated from the blood filling her lungs.
She just stared in disbelieve at Eseen. She hadn't asked for aid from her, she had offered to pay for Eseen's protection, yet, in the delusional state that Eseen seemed to be in, she had gotten Dhana's offer wrong.
Looking at her, she wondered what to do. Honour her fathers dying wish and force her presence on Eseen, or collect her fathers works and get the hell out of this place.
In the end, she did what came natural to her, covering the few metres between her and Eseen, she moved infront of her and, rather than putting a hand on Eseen's shoulder, took one look at her before stretching out her jewelled hand.
"Fine, be like that."
She told Eseen as a bright glow emitted from her hand, a small light flowing over her own body before focusing into the crystal and making a warm light flow over Eseen. The feeling of wellness that Eseen should be experiencing would not last, of that Dhana was sure, but at least, it would give her the additional strength to make it to the hospital. It might even heal some of the injuries Eseen had sustained.
"If you want to get paid for your last job, come and seek me out"
Her voice sounded strong as she broke the contact between the light, before stepping out of Eseen's way to give her the chance to get to the hospital. She inhaled deeply, before exhaling again. While her voice was strong, her body was not. In order to help Eseen, she had shared her life-force with her, weakening herself considerably.
"Take care"
She whispered as she turned away to walk back to the house they had left, her mind filled with too many problems to notice if it was safe or not.
Eseen, already on the verge of collapse only had the energy to turn to face Dhana while she closed the gap between her. She knew her reflexes would have kicked in to avoid anything especially due to the callous look Dhana held on her face, she was unsure what intentions were behind using the device. Even with alarm bells ringing in her head of possible danger, she still stood there, unreacting while the girl raised what seemed like a weapon at her, knowing she had full intention to use it but also aware that whatever was to come, she could do nothing to prevent it.
Surprise overtook the Fixer when the glow consumed her and she quickly felt vitality returning to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while the warmth flowed through her, slowly standing up straight. The pain was still there from her wounds, but she knew now that making it to the hospital would not be a problem. In fact, she felt she could almost jog there. It wasn't until she opened her eyes and saw the fatigue on Dhana's face that she fully comprehended what had transpired.
"Thankyou..." The words uttered from Eseen's mouth finally escaped into the atmosphere after a few seconds of contemplating a reaction. After Dhana bid her farewell, she quickly stepped forward and placed her hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Dhana, wait..."
She paused for a moment, trying to run the possible words to say to this girl while she made sure they were facing each other. Her mouth opened for a brief moment as something came to her mind, feeling that a simple word of gratitude didn't seem enough but closed again shortly after. After a few more moments contemplating, something in her eyes changed as she made her decision.
The Fixer, without warning, took another step forward to close the gap between the two entirely. She raised her hand to Dhana's cheek and leant down slightly to match height while she closed her eyes just as slowly as she was leaning in. It was obvious Eseen was completely unsure of herself, but seemed to get one thing right as her lips parted and head tilted to the side just before locking lips with Dhana for a slow and passionate kiss partly out of gratitude, partly out of her growing feelings for the girl.
As Eseen asked her to wait, she turned around looking as tired as she felt. Eseen wasn't the only one now who was in need of rest, but she was determined to gather her father's paperwork before she got the needed rest.
A hint of hope showed in her eyes as Eseen covered the distance between them. Could it be that the fixer had come to realise that they needed to be together?
Unsure of the answer to the question, she looked up at Eseen who by now had her eyes closed. She blinked a few times before realising what was about to happen, and returning the kiss suprising herself as she did so.
As she broke of the kiss, she looked at Eseen with a new respect for her. Dumbfounded as she was about this turn of events, she nonetheless admired Eseen for having had the courage to display her feelings this openly, especially given that Eseen had always come across as shy when it came to anything even remotely sexual.
"That was... " She was about to say unexpected, but at the last second, changed her mind. ".. nice"
After Dhana broke the kiss, Eseen stood there motionless for a few moments with her eyes still shut. It was the words she spoke that snapped her out of the semi-trance she was in, her eyes shooting open while she pulled back awkwardly. The look in her eyes was of confusion while the deep crimson blush easily visible in the poorly lit street was a sign of embaressment. It was clear that what she had just done was out of her own character and she was questioning her own actions.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have.." She paused, breaking eye contact with Dhana before she spoke up again. This time, her words seemed to be strung together while she frantically tried to come up with an explaination. Even after this, she was still in denial, trying to come up with something to say which would excuse herself or brush it off. "I'm not thinking straight I guess probably lost more blood than I thought and I didn't realise I don't know what I was thinking I probably should... Wait, what..?"
Eseen made eye contact with Dhana again as it slowly sank in about what really went down and she finally comprehended what was said. She knew she was losing it, first she was having strange feelings towards this girl and seemingly before she knew it, they were making out. By her own doing. It made no sense and she was trying to figure out why. They were both women and from what she knew, that type of thing just didn't happen. On top of that...
"That was..." She looked down, raising a hand up to touch her own lips curiously while her face went a deeper shade of red, if that was even possible. Eseen was about to mimic Dhana's comment on it, right before another thought came to the forefront of her mind. It was just as the girl had said, but it was slightly more. "... It was... My first kiss..."
She couldn't help but smile at Eseen's reaction. Her father had mentioned that Eseen had reasons of her own to stay with Dhana and Dhana couldn't help but feel that perhaps, what just happened was part of that reason.
A calmness flowed through her, which she hoped would pass over to Eseen. In her opinion, if the only way to be true to yourself was to loose blood, then Eseen might need to do that more often, not that she wanted her in any danger, even less now than before.
She reached out to hug Eseen as Eseen admitted to this being her first kiss, unsure of what to say at that revelation before realising that they were still standing in the middle of the street. She let go of Eseen then.
"You need to get to the hospital"
She informed her gently, knowing that Eseen's strength would not hold for long. They would figure out what had happened once she was better, at least, that was what Dhana promised herself.
Eseen accepted the hug from Dhana, but took it just as awkward as she felt. Even though she suddenly had a feeling of calm wash over her, it didn't help comfort her from the distracting thoughts running through her head. On top of that, the moment of strength Dhana had given her was wearing off. It was made aware to her the amount of blood she lost was far greater than expected, the only thing keeping her on her feet was the combination of adrenaline, whatever Dhana had given her and pure will power. Even then it became increasingly obvious of how little effect it had on her state.
"Yes... I should..." She finally admitted, hesitantly turning away to walk off. After a few steps, she paused, looking back slightly to give a last word. "I guess I'll see you..."
She held that stance for a few moments almost longingly before turning back to limp down the street. On her way, she managed to scribble a few notes down on seperate pieced of paper kept on her person, the first one being shoved in her pocket, the second held tightly in her hand. It contained the injuried described briefly of what she was aware she had suffered. Something which would be great help in treating her quickly. By the time she made it to the front door, her mind was swimming and vision already fading, ending up with her blacking out and collapsing just in front of the desk in the foyer.
She assured Eseen watching as she left. If Eseen didn't find her again, she would make certain that she found Eseen instead.
Once she was out of view, Dhana returned to her father's home, trying her best not to feel sick at the sight of the dead bodies she encountered on the way to where she had left him and the paperwork.
It didn't take her long to gather the paperwork he had left for her, though instead of leaving now and finding a saver place for herself, she fell asleep on the floor of the library, the documents still in her hands, exhausted from the previous events.
Some time later, she awoke, taking a few minutes to go over what had happened and where she was before waking up completly and realising that staying where she was would most likely proof fatal.
With that thougth in mind, she put the documents in the bag she had found earlier and, looking once more at her father, appologised to him for not giving him any burial of sorts before leaving the place.
Unaware of the fact that there were wanted posters of her near the spaceport she made her way towards it and towards where she hoped to meet Kalia and Eseen again.
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