Bane

“Bane, look,” Elena says. She points to the screen on the wall of the tavern. She’s been anxiously awaiting this moment and from the looks of it, it’s finally here. A news reporter stands outside a government building on Earth while a man is being led from the premises in handcuffs. “Is that Commissioner Daniels?” And then seconds later, “Yes! That’s Daniels.” I take another bite of my dinner at the same time that she leans over to kiss my cheek. “Finally!”

It’s hard to hear the reporter over the buzz of the tavern but from the looks of it, the story not only spread, but action is being taken because of it.

“Great news.” I look at her and smile. Her face is alight with happiness, a pleasant pink hue giving her an extra glow in the warm tavern. She pulls out her device and places it on the table next to her plate of food. Instead of eating, her fingers flick over the screen until she finds what she’s looking for.

“Here it is,” she says, pointing to the screen. “Written by my father.” She crosses her hands over her chest. “I guess it was a good idea after all to get in touch with him, let him know I was alright.”

“It was. Though your short death seemed to shake him…in a good way. Helped him open his eyes to what he was taking for granted.”

“Yeah, and this is his first step in making it up to me.” She looks down at the article again and I watch as her eyes flick back and forth as she reads the words, taking it all in.

“What does it say?” I finally ask when she’s been quiet too long.

“Commissioner Daniels was not only relieved of his position but he is also being investigated to see if he committed any punishable crimes.” She continues looking through the article. “They are planning on forming new parties to revise the contents of the treaty. It looks like they’re looking at possible surrogate options as well as compatibility matching, kind of like on-line dating but on-line mating? Well, that’s interesting. The biggest difference is that it’s all by choice, no more sneaking women off in the night and holding them in a facility against their will. I mean, we need to come up with something because Earth still needs the resources and Kosmora still needs a way to reproduce.” She shrugs her shoulders and takes a bite of her dinner.

“I’m glad,” I say. “What does it say about Phantom? Or, Chualhi as you know him.”

“For now, they haven’t found him. But they’re looking,” she says quickly, knowing what a sore spot he is for me. “It’s only a matter of time before they find him.”

I nod my head. “I know. I just hate thinking of him out there, free, living his life after everything he has done.”

“I know, but in the end, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” She winks at me and then continues eating.

I smile and lean over to kiss her. “I like it when you talk like that.”

“Well, then…you’re going to get what’s coming to you too.” We both laugh and kiss again. Only a short kiss but it still makes my blood pump a little faster whenever our lips meet. Now I’m eager to finish our dinner and get back to our place where we can be alone. Well, not completely alone. It’s technically Vruzzy’s place and they all stay down in the basement, but it feels like we’re all alone when we’re upstairs.

“We better stop kissing until we get home,” she says. “I’m so horny lately I’m about to let you take me over this table with the whole tavern watching.”

My eyes widen and then I can’t help but laugh. “I like pregnant Elena. Her sexual cravings are insatiable.”

“It could be the pregnancy, or it could just be you. Face it, you’re dead sexy, handsome.”

I smile and push my plate away. “You ready to go?”

“Yes,” she says, putting her device in her bag.

“I’ll pay, you head out to the car.”

“You ordered one?” she asks.

“Yes, it’s snowing again.”

“I don’t mind walking in the snow.”

“And it’s really cold,” I add.

She smiles, understanding that I’ve been overly protective lately and there’s nothing she can do to change it.

“Alright. I’ll wait for you outside.” She wraps her coat around her and pulls the front door open. There’s a huge gust of wind and snow that assaults the warmth of the tavern until the door closes again, locking all of the elements outside.

We’ve been in the Fliden District for little over a week now. Elena is happy here which makes me happy here. Truthfully, I’d go wherever she wanted as long as I could be with her.

I wait for the bartender to walk over so I can pay. When he finally does, I hand him my money and turn my head back to draw attention to our table, letting him know what was ours. I’m just turning back to look at him when my eyes catch hold of someone sitting all alone in the darkest corner of the tavern.

Phantom.

My first thought is Elena, wondering if Phantom has some of his cronies outside. But he’s on the run, trying to save himself. He’s on his own, I’m sure of it.

The bartender says an amount but I don’t hear him, not really. I’m too busy trying to decide what to do next.

“Actually, two mugs of ale,” I say. I reach into my pocket to take out extra money and set it on the bar. After a moment, he hands them over and I grip them tightly. As I walk back toward Phantom, I’m considering the options as well as this situation. He’s dangerous, always has been, always will be. I’ll never forget what he did to me, but now my concern is for Elena. The last thing I want is for her to feel like she needs to be on the lookout for him for the rest of her life.

“I’d say I’m surprised to see you, but that would be a lie.” I set the drink down on the table and push it in front of him. The ale inside swirls around, almost spilling out onto the table. I sit down across from him and take a long drink. Elena’s waiting for me outside and I’d much rather go home with her than sit at the table with him. This better not take too long.

“We have a long history, you and I,” Phantom says. He doesn’t raise his mug at first, only glares at me across the table. “But this might be the first time you’ve betrayed me.”

I shouldn’t be surprised. Regardless of how he has treated me over the years, he’s only worried about himself.

“Well, you can understand why. It is my baby.” I take another drink hopeful that soon enough, he’ll join me.

“It’s because of me that you got out of that prison,” he says smugly.

“It’s because of you that I went to prison in the first place. I think that makes us even. And it’s not as if you did it out of your own good will. You were ready to kill me if things didn’t work out the way you wanted them to. Don’t make yourself out to be something you’re not.”

He struggles to hide his growing impatience. “Regardless, you understand we have a problem. We had an agreement, you went back on it.”

“Why don’t we just agree to let it go?” He’s finally moved his hand to the handle of the mug and is at least contemplating taking a drink. His finger slowly traces up the side, making a line in the condensation.

“I don’t think so, Bane.”

“Then what do you propose?” I ask, pushing my mug off to the side of the table so I can lean forward on my elbows. In the back of my mind I know I’ve kept Elena waiting out in the car for too long. I just hope she doesn’t come in to investigate what is taking me so long.

“You work for me again…as a way to repay me. And then we can leave everything else in the past.”

I let his words sink in for a moment. I open my mouth to say something but before I can, he adds, “I wouldn’t want to have to give away Elena’s location. Let’s face it, regardless of what is going on in our governments, there are a lot of people interested in what is happening with her right now. If you’re not careful, she could end up as a test subject again.”

My throat is suddenly dry, my pulse starting to race. To hide the fact that I’m flexing my fingers into fists, I rub them over my face, resigning myself for what’s to come.

“Okay, Phantom, Let’s drink to it.” I lift my mug and down the last sip. Finally, he lifts his mug and takes a long drink. It only takes seconds for the poison to start to take effect. His eyes grow large in his head as he looks at me, accusingly. It fades quickly though, because in the next few moments, his breathing becomes labored and he struggles to swallow. It’s a quick acting poison and one that is easily hidden. When he is eventually found, they’ll assume he had a reaction to something he ate, or even choked on a piece of food.

“I’ll admit, I wasn’t completely set on following through with the poison. But…then you threatened my girl, and no one is going to put her in danger ever again, especially not you.”

With that, I stand up and walk toward the door. When I finally push it open and walk outside, the snow is still falling and Elena is sitting inside of the warm car waiting at the curb.

“Sorry about that,” I say, climbing inside and enjoying the immediate warmth. “I ran into an old friend.”

“Oh, that must have been nice,” she says.

“It was. And it gave me some closure, from the old days, you know?”

“Yes. I’m glad for you.” She leans over for a kiss and I’m glad to see that making her wait hasn’t dulled her desires in the least. “Well, are you ready? To go home?”

“Yes, let’s go home.”

I press the button and the driverless car starts moving toward our new home on Guffinhoss Row.