Orpheus's Fallen Angel Ch. 09

"Well, Lin-Ling was a little shy, it being her first day here, so, being the gentleman I am, I gave her my shirt right after she and Soo gave me my happy ending." Sato boasts to Xhan before shifting to the blond Asian. "But if you ask me, honey, you have no reason not to show those mighty fine fun-bags since they have the cutest nipples in all of Little Tokyo."

"Thank you, Mr. Sato...I mean Sonny." Lin-Ling smiles, hiding her discomfort.

"Shall we get started?" Xhan gestures to the far end of the table, Sato usually sits.

Sato makes his way to his place at the table with Lin-Ling and Soo in tow as the twins prepare a cup of tea for him before walking to stand behind Xhan.

"We need to discuss the matter about those bikers wanting to attack us." One of the leaders speaks.

"Nothing to worry about, old man." Sato rudely interjects, kneeling down at the end of the table with Lin-Ling and Soo standing behind him. "I got my guys out there keeping watch. If those bikers sent foot in Little Tokyo, they'll get the full force of the Iron Dragons."

"An effort appreciated, Mr. Sato, but unnecessary." Xhan states. "No later than an hour ago, a small group of Unholy Riders were on their way to our community. They were intercepted and dealt with...by the Swan of Death."

Everyone goes silent for a moment.

"What? You all think that's the end of it?" Sato breaks the silence. "How many were there?"

"Twelve." Xhan answers.

"That was probably just a scouting party." Sato suggests. "The Unholy Riders are not just going to back off and those deaths go unavenged, they'll come back in greater numbers. Can your personal assassin kill them all? Can the Swan of Death fight a war by herself?"

"Are you so eager to fight in this war?" questions Xhan.

"Yes, we are, and it's about fucking time." Sato slams his palms on the table. "Ever since you took over Little Tokyo, the Iron Dragons have been your lapdogs, or...mall cops."

"Your gang was nothing more than bunch of loud-mouth punks before I came here." Xhan asserts. "Have you already forgotten what I did to your predecessor when he refused to cooperate?"

Sato scowls at the sensei silently.

"Forgive me, Sensei." Sato insincerely apologizes. "I should be...grateful for...your guidance in helping our humble community...and including me in your meetings."

"As well as for my generosity." Xhan gestures to the two masseuses behind him. "I want to reassure everyone that this situation with the Unholy Riders will be dealt with. And if war is to come, we know the Iron Dragons will fight to the last man to protect our community."

Sato nods his agreement.

"As for the Swan of Death in all this, she may not be able to fight a war, but she might be able to prevent one." Xhan encloses. "But whatever the outcome, we shall continue on with the meeting. Girls, you're dismissed."

The masseuses give farewell as they part from their valued customers and begin to leave.

"Hey, cute nipples." Sato says to Lin-Ling. "Stay nearby, I'll give you a lift home."

"Thanks, but I just live a few blocks from here." Lin-Ling replies.

"Who said anything about your home?" Sato grins.

Xhan waves to the twin with the tea pot over and whispers in her ear for a few seconds.

"Yes, Sensei." She says before placing the tea pot on the table.

The twins are the last to leave with the other females, one of them slides the divider shut, giving Xhan and the men their privacy. Realizing that he's thirty (and maybe a little dehydrated), Xhan holds up his tea cup, the gentlemen do the same in respect and drink their tea in unison.

Except Sato, who instead takes his flask from his back pocket. Sato notices the look of shock and contempt from the community leaders at the table and their elderly host.

"I don't like tea." Sato bluntly states in his defiant attitude before taking a swig.

* * * * * *

A man dressed in a tattered rain poncho and a plastic mask of a beaver with an eye patch and blue fur receives a hard kick in the chest by SpiderBat's boot, causing him to drop his nailed bat as he falls with the other Fiends lying on the pavement, unconscious or shoot.

"C'mon, there's more coming!" Moth yells.

SpiderBat and Moth runs like hell from the five downed Fiends they defeated, but are still in danger.

"If that was best the Fiends can throw at us, getting out of here gonna be snap." Moth says.

"Trust me, Moth, we haven't seen the best, or the worst, of the Fiends yet." SpiderBat retorts.

"Hey, with a team like us, we're gonna..." Moth is grabbed by his jacket by SpiderBat, pulled from their path and throw to the pavement, landing on his front. Moth quickly rolls to his back and draw his gun to SpiderBat, standing over him. "What the fuck, asshole!"

"Get this into your delusional brain," SpiderBat commands. "we are not a team or partners of any kind."

"Yeah, but you need me." Moth picks himself up. "You still want to know where Orpheus's girlfriend is, right? Isn't that why you're after me?"

"Yes," SpiderBat admits. "and the second we're out of danger, you're going to tell me. I'll even ask you very nicely."

"Even if I do spill," Moth backs away with his gun pointing up. "I know you're not gonna like the answers."

"Why don't you tell me right now?" SpiderBat steps towards Moth. "I'll decide if I like it or..."

"Is someone there?" A woman's frightened voice calls out.

"Who that is?!" A startled Moth calls back with his gun at the direction of the voice.

SpiderBat and Moth set their sights to a space-age carousel.

"Please help me." The unseen woman implores.

The super-vigilante and his non-partner cautiously approach the unlit carousel. As they pass the plastic rocket ships and robot horses of carousel, SpiderBat stops to examine some of the barb wire wrapped around the poles and the horses, stained with dried blood.

Moth continues ahead to the source of distress calls. To his pleasant surprise, he finds a woman on a pink and grey robot unicorn with her wrists and ankles tied. Moth gets closer as he examines the nicely slim body of the tied damsel-in-distress, wearing a hot pink high-cut, short-sleeved shirt and white panties tightly worn over her small heart-shaped ass. Moth also notices the scars, bruises and a few burn marks on her arms and legs, surmising that she's been tortured by the Fiends. The girl raises her head, showing her eyes blacken by her tear-stained makeup running down her face, uncovered by her perfectly trimmed above shoulder-length blond hair.

"Please help me." The girl begs.

"Hang on, honey." Moth tucks his gun and ejects his switchblade. "I'll get you off in a sec."

"Just hurry." She rushes. "They'll be back for me anytime now."

Moth moves to the head of the robot unicorn and begins cutting the white rope bounding her hands to keep her arms around the unicorn's neck.

"So, what's your name?" Moth shameless asks as if he's meeting her at a bar.

"Amber, Amber Carter."

After Moth successfully cuts through the rope, freeing Amber's hands, he moves on her feet, tied by the same rope under the unicorn's belly. He squats down and cuts the rope as he covertly inspects Amber's leg, not minding the scars.

"What happened to you? How'd you get here?" Moth asks.

"We took a wrong turn and...they lured us here." Amber tries to explain.

"Wait, 'we'?" Moth questions, cutting through the rope. "Who else is with you?"

"My sorority sisters." Amber answers, pushing herself up.

Amber slides herself off the plastic unicorn, which Moth is more than willing to help by taking hold of her hips to guide her off and help her stand on her weak legs.

"Sorority sisters, eh?" Moth slightly smiles as he removes his blue fleece coat and wraps it around Amber's shivering body. "Do you know where they are?"

"They're dead." Amber states with absolute despairs. "Those sick bastards killed them all." Amber tightens the coat to warn up. "Gina, Ruby, Darla, Andrea...oh god, Andrea. She was the first to die. It was horrible. But when they got Ruby..." Amber is suddenly silent. Her eyes widen with terror as she points pass Moth and screams. "IT'S ONE OF THEM!!!"

Moth quickly turns as he reaches for his gun to shoot whoever is sneaking up behind him. But as his gun is out and ready to fire, Moth sees SpiderBat standing near him.

"I'm getting tired of you pointing that at me." SpiderBat says.

"It's okay, Amber." Moth looks to Amber. "He's with me."

"Just keep him away from me." Amber presses herself to Moth. "I don't know if I can take any more of this."

"Don't worry, Amber." Moth assures. "I'm gonna get you outta here."

"How?" SpiderBat quarrels "The only way out is through the front gate and it must be guarded by at least a dozen Fiends now."

"Doesn't this place have a loading dock?" Amber speaks out.

"Yeah, it does." Moth recalls. "I think it leads to a back road to Whedon Street."

"So where is the loading dock?" SpiderBat questions.

"It's behind the Polar Bears of Pluto ride." Moth answers.

"That's on the other side of the park." SpiderBat says. "And it's probably guarded too."

"So, we'll have to fight our way through." Moth boldly raises his gun. "If you got a better idea, we'd like to hear it."

"Listen guys, I'll have sex with whoever gets me the fuck of here." Amber propositions.
"I like the way you negotiate." Moth wraps his arms Amber. "To sweeten the pot, I'll even buy dinner. You like Bronco Burger?"

SpiderBat watches Moth walks Amber off the carousel and waits until there's some space between them and the super-vigilante before following them.

* * * * * *

As a nun, Sister Felicity was taught to have her faith to overcome whatever dilemmas she would confront, however, her instructors probably had no idea of her current situation being forcibly stripped naked and coericed into flagging herself in view of the group of schoolgirls.

Sister Felicity finds her faith tested ever more as she is descends the stairs of St. Vincent's, wearing only her wimple, her shoes and the handcuffs around her waists behind her, with Lady J firmly holding her arm.

As much as she tries to find the faith to endure the pain and humiliation inflected on her, the nude nun can't even prevent her exposed body from shivering from the cold night air.

"Isn't it enough that you had me flog myself in front of Father Daniel and the girls?" Sister Felicity inquires. "And in a house of God no less?"

"Oh, far from it, dear Sister." Lady J yanks the nun close to her.

Lady J guides Sister Felicity to her limo, where Mr. Bruun opens the door for her.

"Mr. Bruun, take us back to the playhouse. I have a new sex slave to break in." Lady J hands her duffel bag to her driver.

After Mr. Bruun obtains the duffel bag from his employer, Lady J forces Sister Felicity inside, head first. Pushed in, the nun falls across the seating with her head on Angel's lap. Lady J climbs in and shuts the door as Sister Felicity tries to stand up, only to be cruelly pushed off the seating by Lady J and crash on the spacious floor.

"You remember Sister Felicity, don't you, slave?" Lady J moves next to Angel.

Sister Felicity manages to sit herself up and looks up at the bound and ball-gagged Angel. The blond slave and the nun-slave say nothing.

"Unfortunately, your boyfriend busted out with one of the girls working at the church before I got there." Lady J apprises Angel. "Her name's Cupcake, a real slutty girl. She's probably at some sleazy hotel with Orpheus, giving him one of her famous blowjobs. Don't you agree, Sister?"

Sister Felicity silently shifts to Lady J for a moment before shifting back to Angel.

"He's determined to find you, Angel." An insubordinate Sister Felicity says. "He must love you very much if he's willing to go to this much trouble."

A swift backhanded slap from Lady J knocks the naked nun back to the floor on her side.

"You insolent bitch." Lady J sneers. "I don't know why Father Milton included you in our plan, but I intend to fix that mistake."

"Which plan?" Sister Felicity lifts her head. "The original plan, or the other plan that seems to be falling apart?" Sister Felicity rolls herself on her knees to kneel. "You can do whatever you want to with us, punish us with your perverted devices until your sadistic heart's contain, but it will not help you with the situation with Orpheus."

Lady J sits back and pulls back her reddish-brown hair as she processes with what the handcuffed Sister said. Her hand finds its way to Angel's thigh.

"You're right, Sister." Lady J agrees. "As long as he's out there making trouble, none of us are safe." Lady J takes Angel's chin to force her to look at her mistress. "Your ex is getting to be a real pain in the cunt, and not the kind of pain I like." Lady J takes out her cell phone. "I wouldn't call this desperate times, but we're definitely getting there."

The driver's side door open, Mr. Bruun enters to sit behind the wheel.

"Change of plans, Mr. Bruun." Lady J dials. "Take us to the Huntrix."

* * * * * *

Since his getaway from Garbus, Orpheus has been running and jumping off rooftops non-stop. After a landing roll on the roof of a one-story commercial building, Orpheus hears the sounds of motorcycles and runs to the front, where he jumps off and turns in mid-air to grab the edge, stopping his momentum as he plants his feet on the wall. After a second of hanging, Orpheus simultaneously lets go and pushes himself from the wall as he lands on the sidewalk under him.

Orpheus takes a breath as he stands up and pulls down his googles. Walking across Adamson Street, Orpheus sees a huge numbers of bikers through the chain-link fence, scattered throughout the wide lot of the Bullethead, the private club of the Unholy Riders. As he nears the open gate, three Unholy Riders are standing guard in an unwelcoming demeanor.

"Members only, pal." A huskie biker with a long black goatee steps in Orpheus way with his palm out.

"I need to speak with the Arch-Blasphemer." Orpheus declares.

"He's in a meeting." The biker surly informs.

"Fine, I'll wait at the club then." Orpheus side-steps to walk away.

The biker steps in Orpheus's way. "Sorry, but it's invitation only."

"Well, you better invite me then." Orpheus inimically retorts.

The biker puts his hand below Orpheus's shoulder. "You got three seconds to turn around and walk your ass outta here."

"And you got a third of that time to get your hand off me." Orpheus warns.

"Pork chop, back off!" yells the approaching Gemini. "He's Rembrandt's nephew. I'll take care of it."

Pork chop backs away from Orpheus, allowing him to proceed to the club.

"Next time." Pork chop says.

Orpheus doesn't bother to reply as he walks to Gemini.

"Are you trying to get your ass kicked?" Gemini inquires.

"I don't like people getting into my face." Orpheus notices the blood-stained gauze taped to Gemini's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

"Cochise is dead." Gemini mourns. "Brick, Highway, Irish Larry, Other Larry, Tread mark. They're all dead."

"What? Did you go up against the Iron Dragons?" Orpheus asks.

"No, we weren't even near Little Tokyo." Gemini answers. "We were attacked...by a ninja."

"A ninja? As in one?"

"She just came out of nowhere and took us all out. And she was so fucking fast."

"'She'? You mean you faced off with the Swan of Death? You're lucky to be alive."

"Yeah, well that ninja bitch's luck is about to run out. We're gathering Unholy Riders from the neighboring chapters to mount another attack. Soon, we'll have enough guys to stampede through Little Tokyo and kill Sensei Xhan, the Swan, the Iron Dragons and anyone who gets in our way."

"You're gonna start a war."

"We're already at war!" an infuriated Gemini yells. "Those yellow bastards killed my man, and your uncle. Don't you care about that?"

"The Iron Dragons had nothing to do with the attack on Rembrandt." Orpheus informs.

"Who then?"

Orpheus is hesitant to explain. "This guy called Moth. He's been chasing me all over town. He must have found out I used to work at the tattoo parlor and went there to get to me. I didn't even suspect him until I spotted two of idiot friends there."

"Why's he after you for?" Gemini asks. "Does it have something to do with that girl you're looking for?"

"Yeah. I've been getting into some trouble in my search."

"Trouble that caused all this." Gemini steps closer to Orpheus. "If the UR find out about your part in this, you're gonna have a major problem."

"Or a solution." Orpheus's face lights up before striding to the Bullethead, making his way pass the other bikers.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Gemini follows.

"I need to talk to the Arch-Blasphemer." Orpheus answers.

"He's meeting with the other Blasphemers." Gemini hurries to Orpheus's side. "What do you plan to tell them?"

"The truth." Orpheus answers. "And a way to stop this war so no more lives are lost."

"How exactly?" Gemini doubtingly inquires.

"I'll give them Moth." Orpheus explains. "When I tell them Moth was the one who killed Rembrandt, they'll want him."

"How's that gonna square things with Little Tokyo?"

"That's the tricky part. If the AB will listen to reason, the Unholy Riders could give Moth to the Iron Dragons for them to kill as a gesture of peace. That could end the war."

"Yeah, 'could'. Do you even have this Moth guy?"

"I got a guy looking for him. I just need the UR to hold off on the attack while talk to Sensei Xhan."

"You're gonna talk to Sensei Xhan?"

"I have a few friends in Little Tokyo, hopefully one of them give me an audience with him."

"Assuming the Iron Dragons will let you in."

"Let me worry about that."

Orpheus and Gemini come near to the concrete steps leading to the metal double-doors of the Bullethead, guarded by two armed Unholy Riders. Before Orpheus can take the first step, Gemini stops him with her hand on his chest.

"Look, Orpheus. What you're doing is noble. Crazy, stupid and suicidal, but noble." Gemini says. "But this isn't your fight."

"Rembrandt was all the family I had left, and even though I was never a member, I still have friends here in the UR." Orpheus justifies, ascending the steps. "Brick one time let me ride his bike and I knew Other Larry when he was a prospect, and I know Cochise and I won't exactly friends but he hated the Steelheads just as much as I."

"Your plan seems to rely on the UR's top brass pulling back." Gemini states. "You think you can convince them?"

"I have to try." Orpheus replies. "The Dude once told me the first casualty of war is the truth. Maybe the first casualty of the truth is war."

"I think you're going to need me to vouch for you." Suggests Gemini.

"By the way, how did you figure it was the Iron Dragons that killed Rembrandt?" Orpheus questions, halfway up the stairs.

Before Gemini could answer, the load sound of a ruckus is heard behind the double-doors, followed by screaming and gunfire. The double-doors are flung open from a large man flying backward and falling onto the stairs. As Gemini scampers backwards to avoid the plummeting man, Orpheus leaps back and swiftly perches himself on the steel stair rail, grabbing the rail to prevent from sliding down as the falling man crashes on the steps.

Starting with the boots and visually working his sight down, Orpheus deduces the fallen man to be a biker, one of the high-ranking Unholy Riders before spotting his vest. But as he proceeds farther up hoping to find a familiar face, he only finds a severed neck spraying blood onto the pavement. Wide eyed by shock, Orpheus notices the label of the headless biker's vest under the UR patch: ARCH-BLASPHEMER.

Silence fall upon the bikers close enough to witness, spreading fast to the rest of the lot. But that silence is ceased as the Swan of Death emerges from the doors. With speed and grace, the Swan thrusts her sword through the back of one the bikers at the doors in a second before swiftly slashing the chest of the other biker a second later.