Complex Savior

Posted on Mon Dec 14th, 2020 @ 9:18pm by Kindra Graham & Jonas Bailey

Mission: Fortune & Glory
Location: Persephone
Timeline: six months ago

Kindra canceled her contracts and took the quickest transport available home to Persephone as soon as she saw the news. Walter Scott Buccleuch - dead at age seventy-nine . It was like witnessing a train hitting a dog on the tracks as it roars past, the horror too fast to properly get her head around. Survived by wife Margaret and son James. No mention of Kindra or her mother. Cremated, the funeral and interment on the Buccleuch estate done. Why so fast? Why hadn't Margaret contacted her?

A terse wave informed Kindra that Margret was staying at the family's townhouse in the city, not the Buccleuch estate.

Kindra dressed as she would to receive a formal client, in a floor-length maroon gown, her thick dark hair wound around her head in an elaborate braid, and arranged for her three trunks to be stored at the spaceport.

The hired car arrived outside the brownstone replica. Margaret herself opened the door and embraced Kindra with her usual warmth. "Mèi mei, how lovely to see you. Qǐngjìn (please come in)." She was dressed in an elegant black gown.

"Lǎo péngyǒu, nǐ kànqǐlái hěn yǒu jīngshén (dear friend, you look well)," replied Kindra, stretching the truth a bit. Margaret had aged and did not look well, though the care she'd taken in her appearance was obvious. Grief curled around her stomach and threatened to overwhelm, but Kindra's training held it back. Margaret would need her support. "How are you holding up?"

Margaret took her hand. "The parlor is so stuffy at this time of day, let's take a turn around the garden." With her fingers Margaret tapped, the parlor is bugged, against Kindra's palm.

In the walled garden, curtained with honeysuckle and clematis vines and awash in the scent of gardenia, heliotrope, and jasmine, Margaret blurted, "James killed Walter. Over… something Walter was investigating, related to your birth father, Kinmont Armstrong. I don't know the details."

"Shénme (what)?" She knew Walter and James often disagreed, especially regarding the rights of the outer planets and the Unifications war, but enough for James to kill his own father? "The news feed said the cause of death was congenital heart failure."

"Heart failure by way of a knife, congenital by way of his son stabbing him with it." Margaret's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She picked up a cortex screen from a bench and held it out to Kindra.

Kindra scanned the open document. "Walter's will? Jiàn tā de guǐ (Damnit)." Oh, this was bad. Kindra could be James' next victim.

"James hasn't seen it, yet. He'll be back from Londinium in a few days to meet with attorneys for the reading of the will." The tears that had lingered in Margaret's eyes began to fall, and she embraced Kindra tightly, then pushed her firmly away. "Walter wanted you to have this." Margaret handed Kindra a small box.

Kindra turned it over in her hand, recognizing the puzzle box Walter had kept in his desk on the Buccleuch estate. She had played with it when she was little. Kindra tucked it into a skirt pocket. "Will you be all right?"

"Long as I'm no threat to my son, I should be fine." Margaret looked away.

Her stepmother would be safer if Kindra was not here. Kindra called for another hired car to take her back to the spaceport.

* * *

Jonas didn't get into the city too often, but when he did, he made it count. He'd saved a few credits for indulging in some 'real' food. And now was the time to enjoy that. He'd had a nice steak, at least he thought it was steak, meal along with some backed sweet potato. While it hadn't been too fruitful for jobs or a quick income, Jonas had at least gotten a good meal. Now back at the spaceport and leaning against a utility junction, the big guy intently scanned the crowd. Jobs had been scarce the last few weeks...at least the jobs that he did. And extorting someone out of what little they had with them had gotten old.

* * *

The sun had long set when the hired car dropped Kindra at the spaceport, but she didn't notice the late hour until she strode through the entrance with her suitcase and faced the line of shipping company business counters. All but one was dark and unmanned. The young woman at the last cruise-ship counter was closing up and told her to come back tomorrow. According to Kindra's cortex hand-held, no registered ships were scheduled to take off that night or the next day. After some searching, Kindra found a self-service kiosk – no independent ships were advertising for passengers either.

Kindra leaned against the wall to consider her predicament. She'd need to find a safe place to stay until she could get off planet. A place that James couldn't trace. Then her gaze fell on three rough-looking individuals, two men and a woman, she'd seen several times in the spaceport already. Kindra abruptly realized – they were following her.

Jonas had scrounged enough credits for the night, but not enough to get off the planet. He was walking through the spaceport, on his way home, when he saw three people that stood out as much as he did. The place was empty, or slowly getting that way, and they weren't hard to miss. Jonas paused a second as he noticed they had purpose in their gait and turned to see where they were heading. And there she was, a petite woman looking all elegant like she was just passing through. Jonas dropped his head and the words 'mind your own business' kept rolling through his mind. "Aw hell," he finally said, and put himself on an intercept course.

"Yúbèn de (foolish)," Kindra muttered to herself, she knew better. "Āiyā, Huàile (Shit, this is bad)." There was a security station in the spaceport… somewhere. The next floor down, maybe. Kindra tried to look as though she hadn't seen them and was just as preoccupied and distracted as she had been moments ago, and hurried away from her tail toward the stairs. She noticed another man - tall, big, and dark like her, his long hair in locks - coming toward her with a purposeful stride. His attention seemed to be on the people following her.

Stairs, Jonas thought to himself. She's putting herself right in a kill box. Fish in a barrel... Ideas went through his head in seconds. Everything from taking on the three pursuers one at a time to breaking them up. He quickly settled on one that might be a slight bit easier and hopefully catch them off guard enough to slow them. He needed to get between them at least. The big guy picked up the pace and turned his speed-walking into a jog. "Hey!" he called out to the petite woman. "I'm sorry, I promise I'll try to not do that again." He ran faster until he was between them and closer to her, but still within earshot of the pursuers. "But what's a big brother supposed to do when trash starts calling his little sister names?" Trust. That's what he hoped for. But trust wasn't typically something to be gained in mere seconds.

At the sight of tall, dark, and intimidating jogging toward her and calling out, Kindra slowed and came to a halt. The three following her also stopped. She should be terrified of this big, muscular man. Not many people would help a complete stranger, but she saw sincere concern in his face.

And layered in his words, she caught on to the clever ruse. "Ghuh-Ghuh (big brother), there you are!" Kindra called back, playing along as the younger sister and hurrying toward him. "You were right about hwen dan (jerk) kai tze (boyfriend). I'm so lucky to have a wei shan (really dangerous) brother to look after me."

She took the man's hand when he was close enough, to complete the brother and sister ploy, and glanced back at her pursuers. The three stared at them for a long moment, then turned and walked away.

Kindra released a long, relieved sigh, then looked up at her rescuer. "Thank you. If you hadn't come along when you did… If you hadn't helped me…" She shivered and again looked over her shoulder in the direction her would-be attackers had gone. "You probably saved my life."

He could tell she was still scared even though the two men and woman had gone off...shivering and looking back over shoulder. There was many a time he'd put the fear of god in people like that. Only he was getting paid. Then it struck him and he wondered if they were, too. They didn't look familiar, but then they may not have been from Persephone. He wondered...were they mercenaries, too?

"Huh, well I can't say how far they'd have gone," he commented. "But looked like you were about to run into some trouble. Nice pick-up and play there, too. Figured a brother and sister ruse would be easier than trying to take them all down and keep you safe. Name's Jonas. Did you know theirs?"

"No, I don't know who they were. I was yu bun duh (stupid), too distracted by trying to find a transport ship and not paying attention to my surroundings." She hadn't let go of his hand, so much larger than her own and still a source of reassurance. She needed help from someone she could trust, and though she wasn't sure she could trust Jonas, her instincts told her she was safe with him.

"My name is Kindra. I need to, uh, lay low for a day or two until I can get transport off planet. Would you consider a gig as my bodyguard? I'll pay you of course." She looked up at him, wide-eyed and hopeful, fully aware she had no right to ask.

The fact that she hadn't released his hand yet, hadn't escaped the big guy. She must be really scared, he thought to himself. But an offer of a job, even if it was just for a couple of days, meant an income. "Yeah, I can do that, I can be your bodyguard for a day or two while you lay low. I might have a couple of ideas about that, too. But we should probably get you out of the open first."

"Yes, of course." Getting out of the open, that made sense. Kindra managed to let go of Jonas' hand, less frightened now that he'd agreed to be her protector, and grabbed the handle of her suitcase.

She walked beside him, at a fast pace to keep up with his long legs. Jonas had already demonstrated that he was not only physically intimidating, but intelligent also. "I've never hired a bodyguard before. So, uh, tell me if I'm doing it wrong. Where are we going?"

"Nah," he said, "you're doing it just fine. I'm used to being hired different ways by different people. As far as where we're going, out of the spaceport first. Too open, too clean. Plus I don't know it as well as I know other parts. I've got a couple little places that I use to," he paused, "to get away from the rest of the world without interruptions. One is between here and the Eavesdown Docks. The other is in the Docks area. We'll be at the one between." He turned to look at Kindra and size her up. "You might stand out a bit too much at Eavesdown."

As they kept pace and headed toward an exit, Jonas spoke. "So if I'm gonna be your bodyguard, I need to know a little bit. Like, what kind of hired guns am I protecting you from? The expensive kind or the local yokel kind?"

"It's complicated. I have reason to believe my stepbrother wants me dead." Kindra swallowed. Saying that out loud made it more real. "I don't expect hired guns, at least I don't think so. It's more like, well, I'm pretty sure that if I go to any of my usual places, a hotel clerk or club manager will simply lock me in a room until James returns from Londinium to collect me. That between place you mentioned sounds perfect, but I'll need protection from… the kind of opportunistic locals we just encountered."

They left the spaceport via an exit she'd never used before. "You said I stand out. I am a companion. Should I change clothes? Wear a disguise?"

"Well we'll just have to keep you out of your usual places around here for a couple of days. I can handle opportunistic locals, though," said Jonas. "They can be pretty intimidating, as you've seen, but they're not as rough as I am. But I don't think you'll need to change for the between place. Only if we need to go on into the Docks area."

"So, Companion, huh." Jonas' bluntness and straight shooting honesty was about to kick-in. "I've met quite a few Companions, but none of 'em were as pretty as you." They continued walking down the side of the road and away from the spaceport. It may have appeared that Jonas was wandering, but he had a specific destination in mind. It would, after all be a long walk to his safehouse.

Pretty… Kindra glanced up to see that Jonas' expression matched his tone. His comment surprised her, delivered not as a compliment, not as flirtation, but almost like a tactical evaluation. If she were not so nervous, walking with Jonas in this unfamiliar place, she might have laughed. "I can't say I've met many bodyguards. But I have observed that you are quite an attractive man as well as physically impressive," said Kindra, returning his candor with her own.

"Quite a few? Now I'm curious." Kindra resisted asking if he'd contracted with companions. "Have you been a companion's bodyguard before?"

Jonas nodded at Kindra's straightforward assessment of him. "Yep, quite a few. Just met, mind you, not know. And no, I haven't been a Companion's bodyguard before. You're the first. Not quite sure what it'll be like, though."

"Makes me think of a melodramatic cortex vid I saw once. Man says, we're just too pretty for God to let us die." Kindra laughed nervously, eyes darting around the street as they walked, not knowing what she was even looking for. "I'm hoping our time together is uneventful and non-violent. I guess if anyone takes an interest in us, maybe it's a blending-in advantage that you look like you could be my brother or paramour, and not my bodyguard."

"What kind of place are we going to, Jonas? Is it much further?"

Jonas chuckled at her remark about the cortex vid as they walked. "I have feeling we could play-up either one of those for the advantage that blending-in would give. As far as where we're going, it's just up the road. Third building on your left. A guy I've used before runs a little shuttle-type business. Shuttles people around the city, I mean. He's mute, though. So no worries about anyone finding out. He'll drop us off in the alley of my safehouse. Only about a four or five minute ride. You can lay low there for however long you need."

She looked ahead to the house Jonas indicated. In her experience, mute did not mean unable to communicate, but it was still a safety measure. "That sounds perfect. I'll need to arrange transport off planet, preferably on an independent ship. And once we have a moment to relax, I'd like to talk about what I should be paying you." She was trusting him with her life, that was reason enough to believe he would quote her a fair sum.

"I have limited access to the cortex at the house," he said. "But it should be enough to figure out transport. Can't be too careful what with folks that can track electronic stuff. But we'll definitely have some time to relax and get a bite to eat. Then we can talk business. Oh, there's a regular bunk, bathroom, kitchenette, and a small living room. But I've got a better bed and bathroom hidden behind a wall in the back. You can have that one."

When Jonas said he had a safehouse, she had pictured something much simpler, a room in a seedy hotel, maybe. What he described sounded much more civilized, and safe. "Everything I could need. Thank you."

As they neared the shop, Jonas' friend appeared in the doorway. He watched as the big guy and little woman approached. He saw Jonas make some gestures with his hands to indicate that the two of them would need transport to his usual spot. A sly grin crossed his face as he nodded. Jonas just let him go on thinking what he was thinking. Plausible deniability.

He turned to face Kindra and put his back to his friend as he went to get a car ready. "He thinks I've contracted with you for the night and need a quiet place," said Jonas. "We'll let him keep on thinking that. Makes things a little safer for him and you."

"That does make sense, a logical and effective misdirection." Interesting. Kindra wondered how often Jonas had contracted with companions and brought them to this safe house. Playing a role, making an impression, was something she could do. Kindra raised an eyebrow. "If there's anything I… we should do, while he's watching, to solidify his thinking… let me know."

Jonas grinned and chuckled a little. "I like the way you think, solidify the misdirection." He put his arm around her waist and directed her towards where the car was pulling up. His buddy, the driver, could be clearly seen through the window. And that meant that he could clearly see the two of them.

Kindra laid her hand over Jonas' arm, accepting the casual embrace. If Jonas was really her client, Kindra's behavior toward him would be guided by their contract. But since he wasn't and they hadn't planned this ruse in advance, she was following his lead. Kindra put her suitcase into the car first, then winked at the driver and slid into the back seat, taking Jonas' hand and pulling him in after her. Kindra sidled against him and whispered into his ear, "You think your friend's convinced?"

Jonas looked to the front as the squat little man turned around and grinned. He nodded curtly towards the big guy and removed a little mirror he kept around to keep an eye on his customers. Jonas smiled widely and turned to whisper in Kindra's ear, "Yeah, I think he bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Nice job." Jonas nuzzled up a little closer to Kindra for the quick ride to the safehouse.

That was easier than she'd expected. Kindra's curiosity was peaked. She shifted slightly in her seat to face Jonas so that the driver would not be able to read her lips in the rearview and whispered close to his ear. "Do you bring women to your safe house often?"

"Often enough to have created a pattern that usually doesn't get questioned," he whispered back to her. "Mostly as a cover, but sometimes for pleasure. First time I've had one over for safety and job reasons, though."

Huh. She had already concluded that Jonas had no shortage of pleasurable company when he wanted. It didn't take much imagination to extrapolate what the driver thought they were up to in the back seat. "Maybe I should look a little more… disheveled." Kindra's hair was still styled neatly up. She removed pins and undid her long braid so that her curls fell loose around her shoulders, then smudged her lipstick with her palm. As the driver brought the car to a stop, she snuggled against Jonas again.

Jonas smiled and slowly nodded in agreement. He watched as the Companion disheveled herself a little more and smudged her lipstick. This girl was good. He fully expected that she was also good at her other job, too. When the car stopped and she snuggled, Jonas snuggled a little closer, too. He purposely forgot about getting out to further the ruse.

The driver looked to the backseat, smiled and shook his head. Jonas was almost predictable when he had a woman in the back with him. He reached back and patted the back of the front passenger seat to get their attention and let them know they'd arrived.