Waking Up Trouble (Part Three)
Posted on Sat Aug 22nd, 2020 @ 11:51am by Alden Loxley & Alison Bliss
Edited on on Wed Sep 23rd, 2020 @ 10:07am
Mission:
Sweet Emotion
Location: Beylix
Timeline: Few Days After Part Two
He hated that he stank, but the new look was essential for survival. Dirty face, and a repulsive patchwork long coat made from a fabric tarpaulin, a furry rabbit skin hood and some long dead, barely held-together leather. Alden's boots were filthy, sticky and coated in some nasty, undefinable mix of oils and the floppy hat on his head smelt of some long lost, rancid foodstuff.
They'd gone native. Bought and traded a few minor bits of crap - enough to scrounge rides with the lower forms of human life that inhabited the darker depths of the rubbish mountains and refuse valleys of Beylix. Landfill had never seemed so popular, though the calibre of those interested left a lot to be desired.
"I think," Alden told his current partner in trouble and nonrecyclable waste. "I found us a ride. He pointed at an unstable looking double-topped crest of mountainous detritus in the near distance and tried to look optimistic. "It's a hauler, but she'll trade us a cargo bay ride outta here for this, and some credits when we can get to a terminal." He held out the 'this' which was a surprisingly happy-looking ship part - a sensor regenerator - and Alden's lucky find, or super uncomfortable pillow, depending on your point of view.
"All we gotta do," he said with a spark of a grin. "Is get over there alive."
By now, Alison got used to the stench. As a trained companion, she was able to compartmentalize her emotions and disgust and box it away. The technique helped and by now, she blended in the people around and the planet very naturally. She had a hood that covered her hairs, now dyed into gray, with a facemask covering her lower face and opened welding goggles on her eyes. She had a leather jacket that was repaired so many times it looked like made of stitches and around her hips she had a skirt made of tarpaulin. The whole was completed with a two size too big safety boots.
She eyed the destination he mentioned and her hand, covered in a leather glove, went on the sensor regenerator before anyone could see it.
"Don't flash it like that. Someone might see it." She scolded him looking back at him. "I assume you have a plan, partner? Or you want us to just walk?"
Alison assessed that the distance in the straight line was about twelve, to fifteen kilometers and that was no counting the raising terrain. Raising because of piles of trash and other debris. At best difficult to navigate, at worse now knowing the proper route, they could cause a landslide and end up covered with the trash.
He shoved the regenerator back into the bag currently hugging his belly beneath the ungodly coat and grumbled something incoherent as she told him off, but Alden didn't argue. He rubbed a gloved hand across his nose and wished for the tenth time in as many minutes that he hadn't just traded his mask for information. It wasn't that bad, right? Well, it was, but the shemagh was swiftly pulled up across his nose and mouth again as he looked from the crap mountain to Alison.
"Course I have a plan," Alden said, voice and stance full of confidence. "I've got us a subterranean route," he added smugly, as if this was clearly the best thing ever.
Alison eyed him unconvinced. Problem was she had no alternative even if she knew there were going to be complications.
"Oh... good. Good." She said sarcastically before she continued on with her normal tone. "Did you trade your pistol already? Because you know that they are going to be waiting for us and will try to rob us?" She was almost sure that would happen.
A gloved hand overtly tapped the butt of his trusty Model B and Alden shook his head in mock disbelief. "Still here, still armed, and still not completely stupid," he said, a lopsided smile lessening the tough guy image some. "Do you trust me?" He asked, while quietly wondering if he trusted her enough to run with Plan A.
"No." Alison shook her head. "It is too early to call it a trust, but after what we've been through, I am going to give you benefit of the doubt in case I think you betrayed me." She made a pistol gesture aiming her right index finger at him. "The fact is I have no alternative, so let's go with your plan."
Alden slapped his right palm against his left pectoral and pulled mock dead face. "Ouch," he told her, clearly far from serious. "But hey, it's a good plan." He took a breath, and offloaded the detail.
"So, I traded that gravitic feeder vale for a couple of doppelgangers last night while you were sleeping," he explained. "They're us as far as our tails know, and they left at crazy o'clock this morning to head to a completely different freighter via an easier overland route. Should keep our friends off our backs long enough to make it through the garbage tunnels to our ride. If," he shrugged, "we get our butts moving now and we hightail it."
Alison made a theatrical gesture after-you.
"Age before beauty." She said and reached under layers of her clothes to double check if her pistol was still there. She hoped she wouldn't need it, but she was almost sure she would.
***
Alison walked through the tunnels and between mounds of garbage for a while now but still couldn't help but to admire how locals made it possible to traverse the debris. At first she was very suspicious of the trail, stepping carefully each time, but by now, she learned to appreciate the leg and hand rests, the intricate or sometimes crude supports. Then, as they were coming from round the corner, she spotted a trio of people blocking their route. She was almost sure they were waiting for them specifically. Question was, were they their pursuers, the people who sold Alden the navigation 'tip', or someone unrelated? Either way, her hand casually moved closer to her skirt covering the pistol. Since Alden was leading them, she let him talk to those guys.
"Hey fellas," Alden said. "Just passing thr..."
He strolled right up to them, bold as brass, but for whatever reason, luck wasn't on Alden's side right now. Calm words and swagger didn't stop the middle man's fist from reaching immediately out and smacking him right in the gut. Alden sucked in an involuntary breath and reached for his gun. He hadn't even finished his sentence.
Alison was ready for this and as Alden bent from the punch, she was already pulling the gun from under her tarpaulin skirt. She spotted the guy on the right was raising a shotgun hidden behind his back. She quickly assessed the situation and lunged forward. She jumped on Alden's back and bounced off him with a kick sharing the momentum. She forced him on the ground to the right, and at the same time, she changed her own movement to the left.
BAM! The shotgun went off aimed at Alden but he was already on the ground because of Alison's actions and the buckshot rattled in the debris past them both, as Alison rolled on the left. She raised her pistol finally freed from under the tarpaulin and fired two bullets at the man with shotgun, hitting him right in the chest.
His pride hit him in the back of the heart about the same time as his body hit the floor, but mercifully the shotgun shell missed him completely. "Show-off," Alden muttered, his ego needing something at least to hold onto.
One down, he realised, as he lifted his head just enough to gauge the situation. Two still in play. Gut-punch was definitely first on his list, and even as he drew his gun, Alden was faster. The Model B was an old friend, ready to work if not keen to kill, and that worn grip sat comfortably in the pilot's hand as he angled it down and low.
Gut-punch called out in pain, hopped forward on his now injured leg and fired. The shot went wide as Alden, halfway back up to his feet, charged him hard from a crouched position. They both hit the greasy ground together, rolling awkwardly close against the other.
The last remaining attacker turned confused at bundled duo, ignoring Alison for a moment. She didn't ignore him. She pulled herself on the knee, aimed and as he turned at her, she put a bullet right in his head. The bullet went straight through splashing some debris with blood, which quickly mixed with the grime. Standing up, Alison aimed at Alden and the other guy, trying to find a good shot. But she just gave up, raised pistol overhead and fired three times.
"Enough!"
They both rolled sideways and froze, staring up at the blond mess of a female with the shotgun. Alden took that moment of surprise in his opponent to wrestle his own gun arm free and fire. He stood up, fired into the body on the floor one more time to be certain this guy wouldn't be a problem, them offered his partner a wry smile.
"See," Alden said, with a shrug, cricking his neck and shoulders to get back to comfy. "Told you, Ali. Good plan. Very safe."
Alison raised her eyebrow but because of the protective coverings on her face the gesture was lost in its significance.
"Cai Bu Shi." She said and quickly rifled through pockets of the dead, looting whatever little valuable they had. "I hope that your contact will not be as charming as those Chwen Joo."
He didn't need to see Ali's expression to know how she felt, and that was plenty fine. They were both still alive, which was all that really mattered right now.
"Me too," Alden admitted, the sense of foreboding working a icy hole in his belly. It was a dangerous place to be, and he didn't have any personal connections here in this place, so trust was really just a roll of an unseen dice. "But she's the only contact we've got. And these guys are likely just random thieves, right?" For sure they weren't the only ones using tunnels to traverse the long way around.
***
The rest of the way went more or less smooth. They ran into random folks but none was interested in a fight or even to come closer to talk for that matter. The long walk ended finally as they emerged from the tunnel on the top of a big pile of debris, a real mountain, hardened to a plateau with welded pieces. It created sort of a stable platform, upon which cropped various imitations of buildings in form of barracks and warehouses. Alison looked around carefully and then glanced at Alden.
"Now what?" She asked.
"Now," Alden said, with a grimace and a look of mildly embarrassed guilt. "Now I have to pay the nice lady who's going to get us off this landfill site and back up into the Black." He started to walk towards one of the warehouses, then turned around to beckon Alison to follow. "C'mon, it's okay, I made a deal." He winced, fidgeting awkwardly. "It was easy enough. She likes me."
Alison didn't know Alden all that long, but there was something in his voice that she found suspicious.
"Lead the way then." She simply said unsure if that was real impression or just residual annoyance from the previous fight.
As he led them into the warehouse, Alden gave a wolf whistle, that was returned by a mocha skinned lady in a leather flying jacket and military trousers. His type, he supposed, in a very wrong way. She stood at the base of a cargo ramp of a small shuttlecraft and her face was marred by a malevolent grin.
"Ah," said the pilot. "The entertainment's here, and you brought an audience."
Now however, Alison was sure there was something Alden forget to say openly. She was a companion long enough and a nympho to see things a mile away. This actually put her in a great mood.
"Yes. He told me I can watch." She confirmed. "If you don't mind though, I think we should take a bath first, unless you plan something really nasty for him." Alison took off the goggles exposing her blue eyes that reflected her utter amusement.
The pilot chuckled. "Clean for preference," she agreed. "At least to start with..." She didn't offer a handshake, the state of the two individuals before them pretty stinky and rancid at this point. "Captain Yansa Orson," she introduced herself, for Alison's benefit, and she led them into the shuttle. "My ship's in orbit," Yansa noted. "You can wash up there."
***
The bath, although basic and short, made Alison appreciate Orson very much. Dressed in borrowed clothes from her, she had a moment alone with her, to know her better. To say that the black captain had a thing for Alden, was an overstatement. There was an infatuation there so compressed, so sexual-based, and so very kinky that Alison was wondering where that came from. She somehow couldn't phantom where Alden could meet Orson. But she didn't have enough time to ask about it. Precedence took questions allowing Alison to assess if the captain was trustworthy.
"Oh, there he is... my little sweet Alden." Orson said standing up and almost forgetting about Alison's existence when Alden came into the room. "Oh, look at you... you are all so handsome. And all so mine." She said softly, like a kitten at the sight of her favorite mouse.
Alison canted her head and gave Alden a long look accompanied with amused grin.
Awesome, thought Alden, as he walked out from his short shower to find both women sizing him up like he was prize cattle for sale. It wasn't exactly warm in the captain's room, and he rolled his eyes at Orson's welcome. She was right, he was hers, at least for a few moments until his debt was paid, but why the gorram hells had he agreed to this?
"Temporarily yours," Alden heard himself say. "Real temporary."
"Lose the towel," Orson told him with an authoratitive wave of her hand, and Alden, with zero shame left, dropped said tiny towel to the ground and stood before them both now, absolutely butt naked.
He stood, as proudly as he could muster, chin up, eyes locked on Alison's own as she grinned. Oh, this was no doubt going to be emotionally painful, Alden told himself, but short-lived and necessary. Half an hour or so of humiliation paid for this voyage and them both to be home free and away from Beylix.
Alison amusement became even more apparent. She crossed her legs and waited for what was going to happen.
Orson moaned and walked toward the cupboard sitting against the wall.
"Perrrrfect." She commented with all the lewdness in her voice, opened the cupboard and she pulled out two things. A set of chains and a ball-gag.
Alison had enough restraint to keep her face unchanged as Orson approached Alden.
Alden, however, visibly winced. His history with Orson was still private, but strongly suspected that he was going to be coerced into explaining at least some of it once this was all over. And even with that passive, goodnatured look of happiness on her face, Alison's presence was still unnecessarily unfair. He sighed, and kept his gaze neutral.
"Now..." Orson started. "Get on your four." She pointed at the loops on the floor that now Alison realized what they were for. "I am going to chain you nicely... and then gag you before I whoop your ass, for being such a bad boy making me fly all the way here for you." She said softly and gave Alden a playful slap.
This was the moment his expression broke, as the reality kicked him a hell of a lot harder than Orson's palm hitting his backside. But the sooner it was done, the sooner they were home free and flying friendlier skies, so Alden closed his eyes, faked a smile and got down on the floor. He felt the cuffs bit into his skin as Orson pulled the chains as tight as she wanted them, and let his gaze bore into Alison's own.
She owed him, he figured, seriously big time for this Go Shi.
Alison held Alden's gaze and on her lips appeared amused grin, very lecherous and amused grin. Then the first slap reverberated in the room. Then another and another. Alison observed all this with a perverse pleasure, seeing as Orson was becoming bolder and firmer as she spanked naked, gagged and chained Alden. Alison had a proper training in those darker fetishes too and she could see that there was less of experience and more of passion in this. Orson obviously enjoyed it but didn't do that too often.
The ordeal lasted several minutes, leaving Alden properly marked and Alison extremely amused, that she barely could keep a straight face. Though she had to admit it, it also had her quite aroused. In the pause that came, Orson stepped away and walk slowly toward the cupboard.
"Now, that were my first ten minutes." She said triumphantly and reached into the cupboard. "I'll be enjoying remaining twenty minutes even more." She said pulling out a strap on and licking it. "Do you know what pegging is, my sweetie?" She asked aloud Alden knowing he couldn't really verbalize any answer, coming back to Alden and waving with the harness.
Face scrunched up in a mixture of silent humiliation and very real pain, Alden didn't make a sound beyond a ragged exhale of breath about his gag. There wasn't anything he could say, even if he'd wanted to and they gorram well both knew that.
One day. One Fine Day. Payback would be his. But right now, all he could do was rattle the chains, pay the dues he owed and visually offer up his best grimace. Taking one for the team had only felt as erotically awkward as this once before, and Alden consoled himself with one thought.
At least they weren't asking him to reveal any Independent secrets this time.