Requiem of Saints/Progression

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

She came awake gradually, slowly becoming aware of the room around her. Nights after heavy drinking usually left her groggy and slow, and this morning was no different from her past binges.

She felt the heavy arm slung over her waist and the brush of his breath across the back of her neck. Now that she was more sober, Kate felt a rush of anger that killed some of the fog in her head. She wanted to turn around and shove Ryu out of her bed and scream at him again, but logic stopped her. She was hurt and angry, but not surprised. There was a lot she simply accepted about him – she’d known walking into the relationship that Ryu had a problem with monogamy. It had been five months, and that had to be some kind of record for him. If she was still feeling mean later, she’d ask him.

Kate sighed and rubbed her eyes, and the movement made Ryu stir a little behind her. He mumbled something and pulled her closer, nuzzling her hair, and she allowed herself a few moments of being cuddled.

Her cellphone broke the interlude, vibrating its way across her dresser to land in a pile of discarded clothing. Kate carefully disengaged herself from Ryu and the bed, grinning as he grumbled something and tried to tighten his grip on her. Once standing, she crossed over and retrieved her phone, flipping it open to see what she’d missed.

Her smile faded into a frown. Jose, one of the few contacts that had stuck with her since Ramone’s death, had called. Jose was in with the Warriors, and had known Ramone ‘from back in the day’; he was offering Kate free info in tracking Ramone’s killer, and she was grateful for the help. He hadn’t had anything since September, though, which only piqued her curiosity further.

Kate started pulling on some clothing as she listened to the voicemail, pausing when reaching for her bra halfway through the recitation.

A lead. A true, honest to God lead.

She abandoned her search for normal clothing and got into her jumpsuit. She would deal with Ryu later.

---

Cap Au Diable was full of natural caverns, as much of the Isles were, which lent to convenient hidey-holes for the various criminal organizations that made their home there. Kate had ventured into some of them, but not even a third of what the Cap boasted. She crouched on an overlook, taking a few moments to focus on what she needed to do.

Jose had found that a rather disgruntled agent of Longbow had wanted to score some extra bucks, and had decided to sell what he knew on the open market. Interestingly enough (Jose had said with obvious heat), some of the info he was willing to parcel out dealt with some of Longbow’s less heroic operations.

“If ever there was a time, Katie,” Jose had said, “to see if they’re guilty, this is it.” Kate had taken that advice to heart. She’d missed out on the sale, but not in discovering who’d been the highest bidder. Why the Tsoo would want it ranged out of Kate’s knowledge, but she didn’t care. She’d wade through anyone to get her hands on the rogue agent.

As prepared as she could be, Kate eased her way down the rocky cliffside towards the location of the Tsoo’s temporary lair. Clearing her mind and focusing on the task at hand, she skulked towards the entrance and slipped into the cave.

Damp, dank and dark, it was like a hundred other places dotting the landscape. Moving silently over uneven terrain, she listened carefully to the ambient noises of the cave as she wove deeper through the tunnels. The voices of random Tsoo soldiers – not the most wary of look-outs – echoed well through the underground. She pinpointed many of them, and easily took them out.

It wasn’t long before she came upon the leader of the pack of Tsoo, conversing with the smug Longbow traitor. From the bits and pieces Kate could hear as she slinked towards them, the rogue was bragging about some of the more offensive things Longbow had done in the Isles. Her progress was steady until she heard the man recite something about a warehouse and “a big, useless Mexican.”

Biting her lip, she stopped and clenched her fists, willing herself to calm down. Blake, of all people, had mentioned how stupid it was to fight angry. People got sloppy when enraged, and Kate couldn’t afford to be sloppy now. She took a breath and relaxed her hands, then continued towards the small knot of men.

“. . . so I’ll get my money soon?” The rogue agent asked impatiently, checking his watch.

“Of course. Our courier should be arriving soon. We are not ones to renege on business transactions, Mr. Bell.” The Tsoo sounded polite and scornful in the same breath; at another time, Kate would be impressed.

“Good, good . . .” Bell said in a distracted manner, idly looking around the cavern they stood in. “The sooner I can get back to Paragon, the happier I’ll be.”

“And richer,” a second Tsoo soldier laughed. All three men chuckled, and Kate decided the moment was as good as it was ever likely to get.

The leader went down with a startled noise, dropping heavily as Kate’s hands struck his spine. The second started after her, agile and strong but no match for the woman. She took him down just as Bell was trying to make a break for it – a flick of a hand sent one of her knives at the man. The blade nicked his leg, and with a yelp Bell paused to clutch at the superficial wound.

Kate closed the distance and grabbed at his shoulder, forcing him against the craggy cavern wall. He gasped in pain and stared at her, and Kate had the satisfaction of seeing recognition – and fear – make his eyes go wide.

“Name.” She demanded, force harsh and muffled behind her mask, fingers hard on his arm.

He sputtered for a moment before supplying, “Bell. R.J. Bell.”

“Mr. Bell. What is it you were saying about a Mexican?”

“Nothing!”

She stared at him, watching as sweat beaded on his forehead. Jerking him forward by the jacket, she propelled him in front of her. “Before your business partners start showing up, I want you to stop lying to me and tell me what happened.”

Bell stumbled but started walking, hands held up in front of him. “De La Hoya, right? Your partner? He was shot down in a warehouse, along with several accomplices.”

“I know.” She stated coldly, giving him another push as they entered the tunnel that lead to the exit.

“They were criminals!”

“I know.”

Bell went silent as they walked. As they rounded a bend in the tunnel, a pair of the Tsoo look-outs spotted them and charged in. So close to some answers, Kate dropped them brutally, and chased down Bell as he attempted to make his egress a second time. She slammed him face-first into the rocks, after knocking him down, and for good measure stomped on one of his hands until something broke.

“Who ordered it?” she growled in his face, after most of Bell’s anguished screams quieted into whimpers.

“O-on t-this disc . . .” he choked, gesturing to the breast pocket of his jacket. Kate roughly opened the jacket and dug her hand in for the thing. She secured it in one of her belt’s pouches, then hauled Bell to his feet.

She again pushed him along, patiently letting his limping gait lead the way out. Bell was rambling now, running off the names of various Longbow agents, disavowing any knowledge of their strike against Kate’s Saints, essentially saying whatever he could to save his own ass. Kate recognized the tactic and dismissed it, but made mental notes of the names he was babbling. It was enough that she had empirical proof that Longbow had done the deed. The how and why she could discern later.

They finally emerged from the cave into midmorning sun. Bell had calmed, cradling his broken hand to his chest, wiping blood from his face. Kate kept her attention on the man, although she was looking over the ocean’s horizon in front of them.

“W-what . . . What are you going to do with me, Ross?” he bravely asked, his posture now more like a man who worked for Longbow, and not the spineless snitch he was. Her eyes darted to him, and without pause her hand shot out and caught him by the throat. He put up an admirable struggle, but Kate would not be deterred as she dragged him down the beach to the water.

She threw him into the surf, and he rolled once and tried to get to his knees. A swift kick to his face dropped him onto his back, and before he had another opportunity to get up, she was on him. Gloved hands around his throat, she held him under as he kicked and tried to buck her smaller frame from his. As panic took him over, he struggled all the more furiously, but Kate would not budge and would not ease her grip.

The beautiful, aquamarine water of Cap Au Diable’s beaches were often used as a selling point for real estate brochures. If one could ignore the Circle of Thorns’ mages, demons and the occasional troupe of thugs, the island would be very pretty. Now, however, those clear waters allowed R.J. Bell to see the merciless face of his killer, who did not even ease off him when his fighting ceased and his eyes went dull.

Kate eventually stood, knees creaking as she pulled herself erect. The gentle waves broke over her shins as she again stared over the horizon, the sun climbing its way up the sky. She didn’t look back as she walked away, leaving Bell’s body to the scavengers and elements of the picturesque beach.