Chapter 30:
Assaulting Midnight
Over the course of the day Nameless and the girls had gotten to know their three travelling companions.
Bruti and Linda were both laconic and spoke in short sentences, when they spoke at all. While in contrast Grant was garrulous and outgoing; when he wasn’t drilling regulations with Nameless he was telling stories about his work with the Aegis.
His personality was a far cry from the stern instructors at the academy, though Nameless never doubted the man’s role as his training officer.
As they traveled he constantly felt that he was being measured: Grant would be telling one of his stories and would turn to Nameless or occasionally one of the girls and casually ask what they would do in his place.
With each time it happened Nameless’s answers grew more confident as Grant was quick to tell him when he was right, or wrong, and if he was wrong then the patient man would walk him through the why of it instead of simply berating him.
Not wanting any more Lambda to suffer, they traveled until the sun began to disappear on the horizon. It was a warm night with no hint of rain, so they opted not to bother the occupants of the numerous farmhouses they passed and ask for shelter, instead they simply pitched their tents for a bit of privacy.
“Goodness! How can she stand that much sweetness?” Ophelia said.
With their camp set up she sat with Nina and Nameless, the three watching Bruti as she ate.
The Grizzly sat cross legged on the ground, a heavy clay jar with ‘Bruti’s Honey Pot’ scrawled across the face of it nestled against her groin. She was hunched over it and repeatedly dipping her massive paws in to scoop out the honey within.
The sticky goop was getting all over her face, but she was unconcerned with the mess as she placidly licked it off of her thick black claws.
She’d been at the jar for several minutes already and showed no sign of slowing down.
Munching on a cracker, Grant offered an explanation.
“Like I said, she just came out of hibernation, so she’ll be stuffing herself for the next week or so. Make sure you seal whatever food containers you brought with you, and don’t leave any of it in your tent.”
Without looking he held the rest of his cracker out, Bruti snatching it away with one sticky claw before it quickly found its way to her mouth.
“You’re joking.” Ophelia said with an incredulous expression.
He reached over and rubbed the back of the bear’s head, taking a moment to scratch at her ears.
Though she let out a murfling sound of appreciation at the attention, she didn’t stop eating.
“Don’t blame me if you wake up with a hungry Grizzly nuzzling through your leftovers. Oh and if you do, for your own safety don’t try to stop her.”
Nina’s snorted with a frown.
“Strange women in my tent should be more concerned about their own safety.”
Grant gave her an exasperated look.
“Fair enough, but all the same, she can’t help it. It’s her instinct to forage right now, so if you would kindly take a few precautions.” He directed the request to Nameless and Ophelia.
He had quickly learned that the two of them were more reasonable than the little red powerhouse.
“No midnight snacking. Gotcha.” Nameless nodded.
Nina crossed her arms and huffed.
Unfortunately, the three of them neglected to mention the ban on midnight meals to Erica and Milly, which led to a very awkward moment when night fell and they all sought their bedrolls.
As she had countless times before, Erica woke up late in the night and had a drink of Milly’s milk, the Minotaur sleepily holding her close to her breast as she fed.
But this time, shortly after the Katje had her fill and had dozed off again, they were all brought wide awake by a panicked low from the Minotaur.
When Nameless got their lantern going they all saw the Grizzly latched on to Milly’s exposed nipple, suckling hungrily in a bid to get at her milk as the cow watched in wide eyed panic, her hands held up next to Bruti’s head as she tried to figure out the best way to get the bear off of her.
She needn’t have bothered.
“Oh you mother-FUCKER!”
“Nina, wait!”
But Nameless was too slow to stop her, and Bruti roared in startled annoyance as she was torn off of Milly’s teat with a wet pop and bodily hurled out of the front of the tent to crash into the trees thirty feet away.
Fortunately a shirtless Grant scrambled out of his tent at the sudden disturbance and was able to intercede before his irate bond-mate could charge back at a naked and furious Gigas.
To say that he was embarrassed would be an understatement, though Linda kept laughing that odd laugh of hers, tears streaming down her face.
While surprised, Milly was ultimately unharmed by the Grizzly’s invasive snacking and she was able to keep Nina’s anger in check until Volka smoothed the whole thing over with her calming aura.
They made a mental note to give the hungry bear a healthy portion of Minotaur milk before they bedded down in future, while Erica’s late night cream-cravings would simply have to go unfulfilled.
__________
While Nameless and company were dealing with the hungry bear, Rebecca fled through the streets, Carol’s package forgotten in her bag.
For what seemed like ages she simply ran under the harsh orange light of the grid above.
Over and over in her mind she saw the old lady’s face cave in and saw Carol’s indifference to it, and heard her supposed lover’s promise of death for the bunny girl.
Tumultuous feelings of grief and fear had spurred her on well past the point of exhaustion and she inevitably tripped over her own feet, stumbling to her knees with a startled cry.
She couldn’t get up.
She wasn’t hurt, at least not physically, but she couldn’t bring herself to stand.
It was near to midnight and the street was nearly empty, but one man stopped at the sight of the broken hearted Lapine sobbing on the ground.
“Hey there little missy, you alright then?”
She didn’t hear him at first, too trapped in her own mind, but he startled her when he tentatively laid his arm on her shoulder. A harsh scream tore free of her chest and she lashed out with one powerful foot, taking him in the stomach and sending him sprawling.
Her instinctual fear was quickly replaced with remorse when she realized that he was just trying to help.
“I-I’m so sorry!” She begged.
His only response was a painful groan, but her emotional turmoil and outright fear of the men in Carol’s employ had her running again before he had regained his feet.
Her headlong flight was cut short a second time a few minutes later when an intense buzzing noise surrounded her and she was suddenly gripped from either side and lifted off of her feet.
“Be at ease Rebecca! We have been searching for you for some time, you are safe. The queen-of-our-queen sent us to ensure it!”
Too stunned to even struggle in the grip of the two Hornets that now held her, Rebecca slumped and let them carry her away.
__________
Elsewhere a Hornet queen’s antennae were wiggling back and forth as she kept tabs on her hive, her eyes distant.
“Honey? They found her, she’s okay.”
Queen Oldeera hugged Cordelia from one side.
They were on the main floor of the hive, Hornets everywhere, along with Christine and Miranda Holt with her bond-mates.
After Rebecca’s hasty exit earlier Cordelia had sought out her sister to confirm her suspicions, then brought everything to Oldeera.
The Hornet queen wasted no time in ‘abducting’ Miranda Holt and her bond-mates from the local Aegis compound.
Together they had been waiting for news for several hours.
“Fuck! That’s a relief!” The brunette let out her breath explosively.
Oldeera squeezed her tighter.
“They’re bringing her in now.”
Miranda crossed her arms, still irritated at being flown into the hive against her will.
“And you’re absolutely certain that it was a trigger assembly?”
Cordelia swore and her Hornets glared at the grey-haired woman.
It had to be the fifth time she asked.
“Yes I’m sure! Christine!” Her voice came out in a whine as she whirled to face her sister.
Acting the part of the voice of reason, Christine stepped in and spoke in her defense.
“My sister has been helping me study since she was thirteen, and I trust her judgment. She isn’t one to make this kind of thing up, or jump to conclusions.”
She was wearing the full body beige overalls that were the ubiquitous uniform of the Algrade University students, the fabric tight across her breasts.
She had been brought to the hive in much the same way Miranda had, the Hornets snatching her even as she was on her way home from her last class.
Miranda sighed.
“Fine, fine, when your friend is brought in she can-”
“She’s here.” Oldeera interrupted.
Two Hornets burst into the building through the entrance above, a shell-shocked Lapine held between them.
Cordelia was at her side in seconds.
“Becks! Are you alright?!”
It took her several minutes to rouse the bunny out of her stupor, at which point the poor girl quickly became a sobbing mess as she tried to explain all of the truths that she had uncovered that evening.
“What? Becks, slow down, you aren’t making any sense! She shot someone?”
Miranda was suddenly taking the situation a lot more seriously.
The bunny nodded and gasped for breath.
“Like it was nothing. She said… she said, between a gun and money, she’d take the gun every time.” Her voice came out in a whimper as more tears fell.
“Do you still have the parcel?” Kala asked.
Cordelia shot the Amazon a glare, but unslung the bag from the limp bunny’s shoulder and handed it off to the troubled warrior.
While her bond-mate tried to get more information out of Rebecca, Kala located the box in question, holding it as if it were a live serpent before gingerly opening it in front of the mechanist student.
It took Christine mere seconds to identify each of the parts.
Cordelia had been right.
Once Rebecca had composed herself somewhat, Miranda sat her down and took her hands in hers.
“I’m sorry kiddo, you gotta be beat, but I have to ask some questions. You up for that?”
The Lapine sniffled, but nodded.
“Alright then, do you know how many were in the warehouse?”
She sniffled again, the baker girl holding her from one side, her arms reassuringly tight around her friend.
“Maybe thirty or forty people work there? I don’t know, I’ve never counted. I just wanted to talk to Carol.”
Miranda’s cheek twitched, betraying her agitation as she looked to Jan, her Wolfen partner.
With Jezebel the Gripau clinging to her back, the Wolfen whistled low.
“Shit, if even half that number are armed we need to go in full force, this could get messy.”
“My hive is ready to act, just say the word.” Oldeera’s voice was grave.
The operative shook her head.
“Not yet, we need more information, we need to know what kind of weapons they have. Ten men with flamers could stop any raid we launch cold. Above all else, we need backup, because if this woman is who I think she is, than that kind of firepower is a distinct possibility.”
Kala’s eyes lit up.
“You think she is the one who torched the warehouse in Oakridge?”
Still looking at the Lapine, Miranda tilted her head to one side questioningly.
“Physical description fits. Dark hair, big tits?”
“Yes.” Rebecca whispered.
The operative patted her knee kindly as her eyes softened.
“It’s going to be alright kiddo. I know that doesn’t mean much right now, but you’re safe. You sure nobody saw you?”
“No, they were all looking at C-Carol.”
Miranda’s eyes narrowed as she measured the bunny’s mental state, the poor girl still looked ready to fold in on herself, and being surrounded by strangers certainly wasn’t helping matters.
“Okay, and the woman that she ki- that she was meeting with, had you ever seen her before?”
“No, Carol talked about her a lot though, at least I think it was her. She called her an old b-bitch and said she was her silent partner.”
“I would bet my left nut that was Anika Gardner.” Jan observed seriously.
“Who?” Cordelia asked.
Miranda ran her hands through her hair.
“Old money. Her family has been here since the founding. We’ve been looking into her, heard a rumour that she was funding all of the arms trafficking in the city. The spider at the center of the web, though we can’t find anything to prove it.”
“Guess there’s a new spider.” Jan snorted.
Miranda didn’t miss the way Rebecca flinched at the oblique reference to her lying lover.
“B-Bethany.” The Lapine blurted.
“What?”
“The old woman kept calling her that: Bethany.”
Miranda nodded with satisfaction.
“And that brings it full circle! Bethany Sinclair. Former owner of a warehouse in Oakridge, now a heap of ash, and supposedly deceased for the last eight years, according to her citizenship papers. Clever bitch was using her real name as an alias.”
Once again she saw the Lapine flinch, and she sighed.
“Alright, I have enough to send up the chain.” Once again the normally gruff woman softened her demeanor for the traumatized bunny; “When’s the last time you ate anything kiddo? You’re looking rather peakèd.”
“I’m not hungry.”
The reply was automatic, and immediately belied by a faint gurgle from the Lapine’s knotted stomach.
“I’ll get you something.” Christine offered before turning to head to the hive’s kitchen while Cordelia hugged Rebecca from the side again.
Seeing that the two sisters Lapine’s best interest at heart, Miranda turned to the Hornet queen.
“I need you to get a message to Commander Dawn Morrow at the Bastion, tell her everything we know.”
The Hornet nodded.
“My sweets know every Undine in the city. I’ll have one or more of them here within the hour.”
Miranda ran a hand through her hair as she looked to her grim-faced bond-mates.
“The challenge for us then is finding a way of infiltrating this operation. Without setting off any alarm bells.”
“You could pose as a customer. It is a tool store right?” Jezebel said with one dainty finger on her chin.
Miranda reached out and stroked her damp green hair for a moment before shaking her head.
“No dice baby, she may have been half-blind when we raided her warehouse, but the men with her weren’t, we can’t risk them recognizing me. And given the fact that they used Tenebrae in the past, we can’t trust them not to snatch up any monsters that we send in to poke around.”
Thought they spoke quietly, Rebecca had excellent hearing, and her stomach flipped on itself at what she heard.
“T-Tenebrae?” She gasped; “Car- Bethany created… Tenebrae?”
Miranda winced at their carelessness, having been too distracted to remember how good Lapine hearing was.
She looked to the bunny, but despite the horror in her eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to her.
“Not directly, but I’m afraid so kiddo. This woman is seriously bad news and she keeps even worse company.”
She left out the part involving Evadne and Jonathan, since it was privileged information and would only add to the Lapine’s already troubled mind.
But while Rebecca’s mind was troubled, something else had taken root in it.
Anger.
Genuine rage that beat her other feelings into submission.
Messing with lost-tech was bad enough, but turning a monster girl into Tenebrae was the most despicable thing a human could do.
The fire that had started in her belly quickly spread and her back straightened as she stood from the circular couch to face the operative.
She took a moment to draw her forearm across her face to wipe away the last of her tears before setting her jaw.
“I’ll do it.”
Miranda’s eyes narrowed, but it was Cordelia that responded, having stood when the bunny did.
“Do what?”
“I’ll find out whatever you need to know.”
The brunette’s eyes boggled.
“Absolutely not!”
The senior Aegis operative shook her head in tandem with the baker.
“Miss Rebecca, while we appreciate the offer, I’m not comfortable sending a civilian into-”
“Who else could find out what you need to know?” The bunny demanded.
The people in the hive went silent, surprised at her vehemence.
She drew in a deep breath to steady her nerve before she pressed her point.
“Carol trusts me. Or at least she has no reason not to. I’m just a courier to her.” Her throat closed momentarily when she realized how true the statement was, but she swallowed and quickly continued on; “And besides, if I don’t show up, or just suddenly disappear, then she’ll definitely know that something is up, right?”
“She… has a point.” The Wolfen murmured.
Her bond-mate frowned, but didn’t say anything for a long time, simply staring at Rebecca, measuring her resolve.
“You do understand that if you make one misstep, one mistake, this women or one of her cohorts will very likely kill you?” She said seriously.
“I… I understand that. But someone has to stop her, and if not me, then who?”
Miranda’s answer was as immediate as it was blunt.
“Trained operatives who are fully prepared for the kind of undercover work that you are proposing.”
The bunny’s lip trembled as she yet again felt the sting of rejection from the Aegis, but she raised her chin and set her jaw.
“Are any of them sleeping with your prime suspect?”
The operative opened her mouth to argue, only to close it helplessly.
But Cordelia had been holding her tongue for long enough.
“No way!” She leaned in and shifted forwards a bit, placing herself between Rebecca and the Aegis; “Becks, you can’t be serious, this is way too dangerous! Please, just let them-”
“I know!” The Lapine interrupted her sharply; “I was there when she told her men that if I found out what they were doing she’d kill me!”
“Then why are you doing this?!”
“Because she isn’t going to find out! I’ll play the stupid little bunny, I’ll even fuck her again if I have to! I will do whatever it takes to keep her from hurting anyone else!”
Cordelia released Rebecca’s shoulder, her hands balling into fists as she held them to her chest.
The Lapine’s determination continued to surprise her.
“Arlight, enough.” Miranda said; “If we are going to do this, IF. It isn’t happening tonight. Or even tomorrow.”
“But-”
“But nothing, I can’t authorize something like this alone, I’ll need to contact the council. And you need food and a decent night’s sleep, and after that we would still need time to prep you.”
Rebecca voiced her objection again, pressing past Cordelia to stand before the grey-haired woman and state the obvious.
“But she’ll know something is wrong!”
Miranda smiled with one side of her mouth and shook her head.
“No. She won’t. Because we are going to come up with a plausible lie, and we are going to drill it into your mind to the point that you believe it too. Though again, that is assuming we receive the go-ahead from the council.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head slightly as she considered the prospect of sending an untrained Lapine into such danger.
When she again looked to measure Rebecca’s resolve she barked out a sharp laugh.
“The hardest part for you is probably going to be your ears.”
“My- wait, what?”
“Rebecca, your ears have been flat to your head since the Hornets brought you in.”
She blinked rapidly, realizing that the Aegis woman was right.
It took a bit of effort but she managed to straighten them most of the way back to normal, struggling to mentally override her own body’s natural response to stress.
Miranda nodded.
“Better, but still needs work. Simple things like this can give you away instantly. It’s just the kind of thing undercover operatives train to repress.”
The bunny swallowed as she focused more on her ears than she probably had since she had them pierced. It flew in the face of her every instinct, like exposing your belly to a predator, but she managed to straighten them completely.
Then, at a hidden gesture from her bond-mate, the Amazon sharply clapped her hands together and Rebecca’s ears went flat to her head again when she flinched.
“And now you are dead.” Miranda said bluntly.
“I’m trying!”
The operative held her hands up placatingly, but Cordelia stepped in then.
Having determined that there was no talking Rebecca out of her current course of action, she had decided the only thing to do was help her in any way she could.
“What if she had a reason to be nervous?”
Miranda pursed his lips.
“What do you have in mind?”
“A few weeks ago I was mugged. Well, more like poorly threatened by a scared kid, but whatever.” Her eyes flickered to the Hornets around her; “So what if she was attacked? It would explain away any nerves or jumpiness.”
The operative’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened in surprise.
“That… might work. No, actually, that would definitely work. And it would also explain her brief absence; the lawkeepers would take you into protective custody while they contacted the Aegis.” She scratched at her chin for a moment, then gave a decisive nod; “Alright, you were attacked while passing through part of the slums on your route, by a pair of women who looked just like us.”
Despite the seriousness of what she was attempting to do, the Lapine had to suppress a giggle at her words.
“It’s not enough though.” Cordelia said slowly.
“What do you mean?” The Aegis operative asked with a puzzled frown.
The baker stepped in front of Rebecca, her head tilted to one side.
“She needs proof.”
The Lapine blinked.
“Proof? What pro-”
She was cut off when Cordelia drew her arm back and her fist made contact with the bunny’s face.
Several things happened at once.
The Aegis operative, quick as a whip, seized the brunette and pulled her away while the others let out startled exclamations.
“Cordelia!” Christine gasped, dropping the plate of neatly sliced carrots she had just brought in from the kitchen.
“Honey!” Oldeera likewise cried out.
Meanwhile Rebecca stumbled back as her hands cradled her cheek.
“Sonofabitch that hurt!”
“Like I said: proof.” Cordelia said smugly as she shook out her hand.
“That wasn’t necessary!” The operative said severely.
She had the sense to release her though when she saw Hornets bristling all around them.
Rubbing at her jaw and wiping surprised tears from her eyes, Rebecca surprised them with a short laugh that quickly diffused the tension in the room.
“No, it’s fine, she’s right. Look!”
Standing up straight again she indicated her ears with her thumb, both quite firmly flat to her head.
The operative drew in a deep breath, before letting it out explosively and shaking her head with a chuckle.
“You got spunk kiddo. Let me see?”
With her hands she gently cupped the bunny’s face and tilted it to one side, examining the rapidly reddening mark just under her eye.
Rebecca heart nearly stopped when she locked eyes for the first time with Miranda’s steely greys.
“That was a hell of a hook Queen Loskins, this’ll be a proper shiner by morning. Though I would strongly advise you to avoid physically assaulting monster girls in front of the Aegis in future.”
“Duly noted.” She responded drily before turning to one of her Hornets; “Can you get us some ice please lovey?”
“At once my queen.” With a buzz she flew past the flummoxed Christine towards the hive’s kitchen.
“Alright, now that your cover is established it’s past time I found out whether or not we’re going to use it, here’s hoping you didn’t get decked for nothing.”