The Ballad of Decker Crane Ch. 04

"Son of a bitch," he said. Shortly after that, he muffled his own cry in her hair.

He didn't move, his heart pounding against hers. She shivered in his arms. She could see him in her mind. His dark hair was straight, the planes of his face strong and so handsome it was unsettling, a set jaw and a scar on his lip the only thing interrupting his masculine beauty. Graceful and watchful. He was intimidating. Frightening, really.

But if Decker and the other men did what he said they would, she and her sister and the rest of her house could go home. Then Persya would do her best to forget all of this had ever happened. 


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(Decker)

Decker walked through the familiar red door, although it was closed today. He'd contacted Cochrain, the source untraceable, and claimed to be Mr. Seaben, an Ogdash jeweler. The Ogdash in the inner system were famously wealthy. Cochrain had checked his credentials, of course, Bai capturing and redirecting the inquiry.

It was convenient that Cochrain had arranged for technology to blur his buyers' features and hide their voices, although not surprising. Buying a woman as a sex slave was an entirely illegal transaction, even on the frontier planets. It didn't mean it didn't happen. It meant people were careful. And they were very expensive. Decker was dressed in fine Prime clothing that still fit and wearing jewelry. It had been tricky not to let the woman see him.

Preparations had been fast, two days and nights, all of them working under pressure, having to double up. But it was a job and they knew their work. Decker had always been talented at thieving and killing.

"Mr. Seaben," Cochrain said, walking to shake his hand. "A pleasure."

"I heard you had some rare jewels, Mr. Cochrain," Decker said, giving himself a slight Prime accent, gloves on his hands to hide the callouses. "I do like pretty things."

"And I'm sure you know rare jewels can be quite pricey. Come have a drink and we'll go into the viewing room."

When they arrived, there were about thirty men milling about, the center with curtains covering an area. Everywhere he went, he was feeding visuals that went back to Bai. Cochrain's house was shielded, but there wasn't a system Bai couldn't hack.

He predicted that Cochrain would show off the women first and then get to the painful part of their price.

"I believe we are all here," Cochrain said, speaking into a small mic. "As you know, at one time, long ago, Prime System was much smaller, only newly settled. Genetic material brought on the ship from the old world was stored on a small terraformed moon named Pedige."

Everyone looked as the curtains began to pull back on automation, but the center was still dark, impossible to see. Music was being pumped in overhead. A big show.

"When they determined that it was no longer necessary, Prime authorities intended to destroy the genetic material in storage. But a ruling family in Prime, the Cromwells, bought the moon and the genetic material before that was illegal and started a genetic experiment that has lasted for generations. Their goal has been to create the perfect consorts. The women are genetically engineered for outstanding beauty and intelligence, as well as sexual responsiveness. Only the wealthiest men in Prime System choose from seven of them, born every twenty years. They are all colorings, all shapes and sizes. They are innocent, gentlemen, raised in a house with other women where they're educated and trained in the sexual arts. None of them have ever even met a man." Cochrain gestured, a flourish. "They cannot see you. They cannot hear you. Gentlemen, I give you the Pedigean consorts."

The center area lit. There were five pods there, upright. There were two missing. Dammit. There were also more guards than they'd counted on. Cochrain had brought some in from outside. The ring on his left finger vibrated twice. Bai was working on it. Every job had its challenges.

Inside the five pods were five naked women. They were each standing or they were sitting on a small ledge provided. Some of them had their hands resting on the reinforced glass, trying to see out. A man came close to one, looking at her breasts, coming around and staring at her ass, her eyes looking past him.

They were each of them ridiculously beautiful. Each one was different, all exotic and graceful. None of them was Decker's woman, with her dark golden-red hair and her hourglass figure, lush round breasts and hips, her neat face. He liked her the best of all of them, easily.

"The women are twenty-five thousand dakas each. The first to make a payment secures his choice."

Even at that price, they didn't last long. Decker saw men several approach different pods. One pulled out a pad and made a transfer, nodding to Cochrain. In front of the man was a tiny Pedigean consort, fragile, fine features and short blonde curly hair. Huge eyes and a full mouth, a delicate and square jaw. High tits and round hips. She looked terrified.

Another man made a transfer, a tall woman with dark skin and dark slanted eyes and a beautiful ass and belly, long grace and sculptural, and she looked more mad than anything. Spirited like Persya. A third went, a woman with a cap of black silky hair that moved on its own and high cheekbones. The fourth to go was a quiet-looking beauty with long brown curly hair that floated around her a little, freckles and her cheeks flushed. The last one was a round brown-skinned woman with long black straight hair that brushed her butt.

"Mr. Seaben. The offerings don't suit you?" a voice said.

Cochrain was beside him, the oily bastard. He'd snuck around, Decker tracking him.

"I was told you had more," Decker said.

"Ah. I see. Yes, I have two more perfect gems. They're being sold separately. Please allow Gene to escort you. Their auction will begin soon."

Decker followed the guy, relieved the other two weren't sold yet, Bai receiving his feed. The more consorts they stole, the more would be left over to split as profit. They wanted all of them if they could get them. The women were valuable.

He went through a doorway and then stopped, seeing them. Son of a bitch. Fucking hell.

They were together in a pod that was slightly larger. Each was in a frilly dress. One of the two girls had a familiar hair color, that distinctive shade. That had to be her sister, Bryn. The other girl had striking coloring, dark skin and blue eyes, silky black hair. Both the girls were scared, sitting together next to each other.

Decker felt a wave as he sat with the other men in a circle around the girls, all of them shielded. A man raised his finger, making the first bid. A second raised his hand.

Every one of these fuckers would be dead in a few moments, and as far as Decker was concerned, that wasn't a bad thing. Bastards. Kay was about to create chaos in the main hall, as well, to take care of those guards. He could be a little indiscriminate in killing. Generous. Cochrain had created a convenient way for them to separate out the women and they didn't have to worry about them getting hurt in the pods.

When it was time, Decker reached and put on his face mask. Hell, they'd already had those. He didn't mind this part at all, not with what was happening here. Pulling out the gas canister, he tugged the ring, tossing it, adding a bunch all at once to his previous personal body count, already high.

Walking to the pod in the subsequent ugly and loud mayhem of men dying badly, frothing and vomiting, he used the bastio cutter, something they still had because it was so useful. It had a tiny safron blade, the hardest substance in the system, and there wasn't anything it couldn't get through.

The gas cleared, fast-acting and fast-dissipating. He made the opening big enough for himself. He didn't want to have to coax them out.

Throwing his shoulder against it, he entered the pod, the girls both screaming and scrambling.

He caught the sister, Bryn, yanked her to himself. He did the first thing, hitting his shoulder with his hand. He'd been faceless. The shielding dropped. Her eyes were huge, looking at him, forgetting to even cry.

He kept his voice calm. "I know. I look strange because I'm a man. I'm Decker. Your sister sent me to come get you to safety. You're Bryn?"

"Yes." She relaxed into him and turned. "Adya. It's a man. Come on. He's here to rescue us."

Adya came without hesitation. These were girls who had been raised to trust adults. His woman hadn't told him this, fuck. These ones needed to go back where they'd come from. There were no little ones in the frontier. It was too dangerous for them. He'd barely even met one before, not since he'd been one.

He had done plenty of things that were nasty and not right and downright evil for profit or fun or because he was a raw son of a bitch, but he hadn't ever hurt a child. That made him better than every single one of the men dying in this room, bad as he was. He slapped his shielding back on. He didn't want to get caught by the cameras on the way out. Fuck, he was practically doing a good deed, freeing them.

Lifting on on each side, he moved fast. "Hold on to me. Close your eyes."

"He's strong," Adya cried.

Bryn nodded under his neck, her hands around it. They clung to him.

A big bald guy came out of nowhere, unaccounted for. Squatting to shit. Sneaking out to fuck one of the whores. They hadn't had enough men to ensure their retreat properly. Luck was luck. It didn't matter. It was going to be who was faster. Decker dropped the hand that had been around Adya, who didn't move, wrapped around him like a vine, drew his pistol, and fired. The other man's shot went wild as he spun away.

The girls let out long sounds that pressed on his eardrums, one on each side, profoundly piercing, both of them clinging. They were screaming like sirens in his ears. Kay was there, thank fuck, looking startled and taking the one named Adya from him, which made them go quiet.

But now there were whores coming out to look all around, and all of them were screaming almost as high because it was some kind of thing with females. Decker hadn't ever been around them when they were agitated before. Persya hadn't screamed like that except with the brikens and he hadn't been close up for that. His ears were ringing.

They clambered into the air transport Kay had brought. Bai was piloting. Decker and Kay turned, covering their backs as it rose, but nobody followed. He was glad to leave behind the shrieks that began to float out from behind the front doors as he imagined whores began to find the bodies, which would be gruesome.

"Nobody said two of them were girls," Kay said.

Well, she hadn't said they weren't children. "I didn't know either. Did you get Cochrain?"

Kay shook his head, the girl still on him.

Well, Cochrain was going to be a problem, but they'd known he might get away, considering how few of them there'd been to do the job. Bai would lay a trail that would lead Cochrain on a chase that would end in nothing while they hid the women under his nose, next door.

The women they'd freed up were in the back, huddled into each other in a clump. Decker had gotten simple clothing, crude drawstring pants and button shirts from town in the smallest sizes they had. He got the pile and tossed it on them.

Bai leaned forward, looking at the women as they rose to dress. Making his choice, Decker imagined. They noticed his attention and stared back at him. His eyes ranged over them.

"You," Bai said, gesturing at one. "Come here, honey."

It was the delicate blonde beauty with the short curly hair, just pulling on a shirt. She froze, her eyes getting huge, and then she shook her head, looking scared again.

"Now, girl," Bai said, his voice edging on threat.

She hesitated. Her voice was low. "What are you going to do to me?"

Only one of these women would ask that, fuck. Decker shook his head.

Bai looked surprised. "Just come here," he finally said. He opened his hand to her.

Staring at him, she came forward, reaching out and taking it as he drew her closer slowly, just like that. As gentle and ignorant as Persya.

"Don't worry, honey. You're safe now," Bai said, his voice soft, lying to her, his big hand going to her waist. "What's your name?"

"Dawine," she said, her eyes taking in everything about him, as well. "You rescued us?"

"Sure. I'm Bai. Come sit with me."

By the time they arrived, the weight on the air transport was more evenly distributed. Women were perched in various places, a chorus of pretty voices and pretty faces. Just like Persya, it was like they didn't know the danger they'd been in, or were still in. It wasn't the ugliness he'd thought it might be, that was for sure, but it was also strange.

Bai was entirely wrapped up in Dawine, who looked excited and pleased, her eyes flashing at him and her cheeks flushed and looking virginal, which Decker didn't doubt she was. Bai would be fucking her tonight whether she wanted it or not, but she didn't know that. The important thing was that Bai had forgotten Decker's woman.

Bryn, her sister, was awake, her body tense, but her head was in that same spot, under his chin to the side, her breath tickling on every exhale. Decker didn't move her, not wanting to risk her screaming like that again. Adya, the other girl, had face-planted on Kay's big chest. She was asleep, her mouth open and her hand in his. While Decker was watching, Kay looked down at her face and frowned a little.

Girls. Well, it was a good thing they'd planned on returning them for the reward. He couldn't ever have sold them, fuck's sake. That was way too far on the wrong side of wrong, and he was an evil man. Some men should just be put down.

Decker had hardly gotten down off the transport before his woman was there, her cheeks flushed. She was crying, reaching for her little sister and petting her. Bryn made a strangled sound and left him, going to her. They sat straight down on the floor, his woman holding the girl and rocking. They molded into a single being, looking like a younger and older version of each other.

Then there were women everywhere, their higher feminine sounds and their scents, greeting each other, touching each other and crying tears, their hands linking and petting one another. They quieted as they came into his cabin, looking around and exploring.

Bai walked to Dawine and offered his hand again. His eyes held hers and then shifted to one of the rooms. "Will you come to my bed tonight?"

Decker's brows went up. Dawine's cheeks flushed pink, several of the women grouping and glancing. One of them laughed low. Dawine glanced at them and frowned lightly, looking back at Bai. She bit her lip.

"I swear you're safe with me, honey," Bai said. "I give you my word."

And that was all she needed. She relaxed. Reaching, she took his hand, that easy. The door closed behind them.

"Son of a bitch," Kay said. "Where am I going to sleep?"

Decker led the rest of them into the next room. There were pads and blankets and pillows on the floor, all he had, and a bathroom, same as all the rooms, with a bathtub. Kay, behind him, deposited the dark-haired girl. The four other women came in, finding spots.

"I'm Chione. Thank you," the dark skinned, dark-haired tall one said.

"I'm Yenna," the one with the cap of silky hair said, gesturing to the other two. "This is Lily and that's Grace. Thank you for what you did."

He nodded and he and Kay got themselves out of there. He got Kay a bedroll, who put it on the floor, muttering. Decker's storage room was full.

"You want a drink?" Decker said.

Kay nodded, going to the bar and pouring. They both leaned against it.

His woman came out of his room where she'd brought the girl and approached them, hesitating.

Decker frowned down at her. "What do you want?"

"You did what you promised, Decker. You saved them. I'm grateful. Thank you." Those eyes were almost swimming.

Decker's eyes swept her. "Come here." When she got closer, he reached and tilted her chin. She was a beauty. "What's your name, girl?" It seemed like a good time to get it out of her.

Those eyes dropped, pretty dark eyes. "Persya," she said, and she was shy with him now, a surge going through him. She glanced up at him and his eyes followed her as she went back into the room, closing the door.

Persya. It was a pretty name and it suited her. Decker threw down his drink, Kay doing the same. But when Kay walked to his bedroll, the girl, Adya, was passed out on it.

"Get up, girl," Kay said, standing over her. "Go sleep in there."

The girl didn't respond.

"Get up," he said, leaning down and pushing at her shoulder.

Nothing.

"Fuck," Kay muttered. He lay down on his back with his arms crossed, turning his head. "I get a room tomorrow, Deck. With a door that locks."

"Sure."

But when Decker went into his room, ready to get the reward he'd seen in the woman's eyes--Persya--he found her curled up with her sister on his bed, both of them asleep, still wrapped around each other on the far side. He frowned and lay down on his back, putting his hands on his chest.

Hell, Decker had a door and locks and it hadn't made any difference at all.