Looks Can be Deceiving
by Mongoose750 (mongoose750@yahoo.com)
[Silkworms and Poison Geishas, along with DOOM and
COIL are creations of Steve Smith.]
Nancy Sousa, a high-ranking official of the Brazilian Democratic
Movement Party in the Brazilian government, was very popular among the elite
and common folk alike for being gracious and generous. Out of her vast fortune that she accumulated
over the years, she donated money to many organizations and needy causes. At one time, she even saved an orphanage
from closing its doors by paying the debt out of her own pocket. The orphanage, deeply grateful, changed
their name to "Nancy's Home for Wayward Children." The local and national media have said on several occasions that
Nancy could be the next "Santa Evita."
But looks can be deceiving.
The 5'7" Nancy, with shoulder-length raven-colored
hair, dark eyes, and a slim attractive figure, was also a deep cover DOOM
operative who was responsible for the death of hundreds of people, from
seemingly innocent citizens to select members of the Brazilian government,
either in the different political parties or her own. As often as she donated money to a worthwhile cause, she either
issued the "kill" order to her personal henchmen to carry it out or to make the
victim's death "accidental." On most
occasions, Nancy was happy to carry out the sanction herself. Using her attractive looks or clever
strategy, she had drawn many unsuspecting victims into a web from which no one
had ever escaped. Despite her
benevolent exterior, Nancy housed a sadistic streak. Before the "great ban" that happened several years ago that had
DOOM and COIL operatives leaving the country by order of the Brazilian
government, Nancy's favorite hobby was killing COIL operatives, of which she
had many kills to her credit.
However, Nancy was entrenched so deep, nobody, even DOOM
agents except for a few top officers knew of Nancy's affiliation. Knowing the playing field was now heavily
slanted in her favor, she started her plan to work behind the scenes, making
Brazil more "DOOM friendly," that is, prepare the way for DOOM operatives to
one day return and take over the country, and to eliminate those who opposed
them.
Knowledge of Nancy's true affiliation, her plans, and her
assassinations were eventually uncovered by Bliss, the chief of Brazilians for
an Independent Brazil, or BIB, while going through the files of a DOOM mission
chief who was recently sanctioned. As
she shared the news with other local intelligence groups, she found out Nancy
was as untouchable as she was deadly.
Along with many COIL agents, it appeared that anyone who opposed her
wound up dead. The other intelligence
agencies have sent operatives to investigate, only to end up with a dead agent,
and no one could figure out why.
Bliss, who was not willing to send out any barefoot
assassins on a mission only to end up in the morgue, thought hard to figure out
an answer, and to find a way to succeed where many had not. Finally, she came up with a solution. Instead of using her standard barefoot
assassin, she decided to use a "barefoot sniper" instead; one who would use a
more passive form of attack instead of confronting the enemy head on. Relying on the standard method would most likely
result in another dead agent, and one more notch in Nancy's belt.
The agent she sent for this task was a slim attractive
woman by the name of Leina, who stood 5'7" with long brown hair and olive
skin. At first glance, no one would
expect to see such a "skinny beanpole" on such a dangerous mission.
But then again, looks are deceiving.
Leina's lean frame was not mere skin and bones, but taut
muscle. Being well trained in the Wing
Shun, and Mantis Chuan styles of Kung Fu, along with some Jiu-Jitsu grappling
techniques, she was a formidable match for any opponent she would
encounter. A daily practice of yoga had
made her very flexible, and she was also schooled in the finer arts of
camouflage.
As much as she wanted to send at least two operatives, Bliss
resigned herself to the fact that it would be best to send one with strict
instructions to retreat if the mission goes south. She gave Leina orders to perform a full sanction, for this woman
was too dangerous a target to be left alive.
She would have to be subtle in this operation. Because of her popularity, Nancy had a strong pull with many
people in the Brazilian government; so if it came out that there was an failed
attempt on her life by one of Brazil's intelligence agencies, the end result
would be very messy indeed.
At Nancy's mansion, there's a large garden on her patio
that was almost like a small forest, full of flowers and trees; and every
morning like clockwork, Nancy strolled through her garden after breakfast to
stop to smell the roses and various types of flowers, some of them rare
hybrids. One particular large section
of her garden was filled with red flowers.
In her spare time, Nancy grew her flowers and small trees, and more than
once, the garden has been on the front pages of a few gardening magazines in
Brazil and worldwide. Whenever she was
asked what her secret was to growing such a beautiful garden, she would just
smile and say, "It's just the fertilizer."
Little did they know how right she was, for hidden in that garden, or
rather buried, were the bodies of two former husbands, several lovers, many
COIL agents, DOOM agents who failed in their missions, a few "fired" employees,
and a few bodies of people she killed just because she didn't like them, got a
little too close to the truth, or "just for kicks."
On this morning, like many others before, Nancy strolled
in her bathrobe and slippers to each section of her garden to admire and sniff
her flowers. She walked over to the
large area of red flowers and sniffed and admired them as usual.
But once again, looks can be deceiving.
The initial attack didn't come when Nancy checked her red
flowers, but when she turned her back to go on to the next batch of
flowers. A slender arm snaked around
Nancy's neck, meeting the other arm to join it in a rear naked choke. Before Nancy could react, she was jerked off
her feet into the vast cluster of red flowers she admired just moments
earlier. To prevent Nancy from getting
any possible leverage to break the hold, Leina slammed her down to the ground
on her stomach, taking care to lock her legs around Nancy's in a wrestling move
called a grapevine.
To prepare for her attack, Leina via research, have read
that Nancy visited her garden every morning.
Upon finding out what types of trees and flowers she had in her garden,
Leina dressed appropriately. She wore a
tank top and a nylon cap for her head the same color as the red flowers, along
with a short skirt the same color as the soil the flowers were planted in. She topped this off with matching red
hose. Normally Leina would leave her
feet bare like most barefoot assassins, but she thought in this case her large
feet might have given her away uncovered.
Once she prepared herself, late at night she snuck into the mansion
grounds, found the garden, particularly the area with red flowers, settled
herself in, and waited. Previous agents
have broke in and tried to approach their target where security was the
highest. Instead of going to Nancy, she
did the opposite with waiting for Nancy to come to her, like a sniper would
do. Later that morning, her patience
was rewarded.
Nancy's struggles were growing more feeble by the minute
as she was losing consciousness, but with each minute also brought the
possibility of a guard or one of the hired help coming by to check on her. It was time to end this quick. Leina tensed her arms and jerked Nancy's
head sharply to the right. Nancy's
struggles ceased and she became still.
Leina raised up and rested by a nearby tree. Despite the fact she just completed her
primary mission, it seemed like a bit of a letdown. This was the infamous Nancy Sousa, the butcher of hundreds of
people, and she took her out just like that?
She had a harder time breaking into the place. How could she-
Leina stopped her train of thought. Something was - wrong, out of place. The hairs on the back of her neck stood
up. She quickly glanced around the immediate
area where she was at, but she saw nothing.
But then Leina knew in this business that looks could be deceiving.
Leina sensed it again, that occurrence of something
different. Not wasting any time, she
dove forward and rolled to the left.
She rolled over a few flowers, but her impulsive move paid off. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red
foot strike the tree where she was at a few seconds earlier. Bliss' suspicions were confirmed. She had a theory that the reason Nancy was
hard to kill and responsible for having so many others killed was because she
had a Silkworm bodyguard at her beck and call who was always hidden in the
background.
Quickly, Leina mentally went through what she'd been
taught about Silkworms, which sadly, was not comprehensive. Unfortunately the intelligence reports on
them was not complete, relying on what was mentioned in statements by those few
COIL agents who survived their attack, and a few unbacked rumors. What she did know for sure was they were an
organization of freelance female assassins loyal to no one except to the party
who paid them. Each one was an expert
of the more exotic martial arts, many of them involving yoga, and uncanny in
the art of camouflage. Like the
barefoot assassins, they took a more holistic approach to dispatching their
victims, preferring to kill by hand, although a few of their number have been
known to use poison placed on their person.
An unusual feature about Silkworms were they were all composed of women,
widows in particular, over the age of forty.
It's not publicly known where Silkworms were trained, but since a
majority that they knew of were of Indian decent, it's theorized that their
headquarters could be in India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Wherever they came from, they were highly
respected and feared, a hidden factor not to be trifled with.
Although they are independent, Silkworms were used frequently
by DOOM operatives, as bodyguards, and usually to sanction COIL agents. Only the more experienced COIL agents have
made it through an encounter with a Silkworm alive to tell the tale. Concerning barefoot assassins, previous
encounters with Silkworms had been successful, but just barely. The first encounter a barefoot assassin had
with a Silkworm, was after she sanctioned her intended target. After she completed the sanction, the
assassin suddenly received a blow on her right arm, numbing it. Despite the blow, the assassin retaliated
instinctively with a back kick and a bone crushing leg scissors to dispatch her
opponent. After she made it back to
headquarters, she was told if that blow went six inches the other way, she
would've either been dead or paralyzed long enough for the Silkworm to finish
the job. The only saving grace the
barefoot assassin had that saved her life was before the blow to her arm she
"saw the wall move."
Bliss' order for a full sanction on Nancy was simple
enough, in theory. However, her orders
regarding the Silkworm were quite different; she wanted the assassin taken
alive if possible. It was to that end
that Leina became the first barefoot assassin specifically trained to combat
Silkworms. As she scrambled for cover,
she knew that acknowledging her mission and being able to fulfill it completely
could be two different things.
Encounters with Silkworms were pretty much a survival of the fittest,
kill or be killed deal; no room for discussion. The fellow assassins Leina had talked to about their encounters
were just thankful they made it out alive after tangling with these women. There was no doubt about it; Leina's
assignment had now became more difficult.
"Well done my lady, you have succeeded where many have failed,"
said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere. "You have defeated my mistress. But even though she is no more, I feel duty
bound to avenge her. So enjoy your
victory in the remaining moments of life you have left on this earth."
Leina couldn't locate where the voice was coming from,
but though it was irrelevant at that point, she couldn't help wondering what
the Silkworm meant by the term "mistress."
Did she mean her employer or something more? She remembered from her files that Silkworms were rumored to be
notoriously bisexual, often seducing many of their victims before finishing
them.
Perhaps that was the small edge we Barefoot Assassins
have over Silkworms; our singleness of purpose, Leina thought. We just go and accomplish our mission; not
waste time fooling around.
"If you surrender yourself, I promise I'll make it quick,
perhaps pleasurable," the voice said from the flowers and the trees.
Leina deducted the Silkworm's voice to have a subtle
Indian accent. Other than that, she
couldn't figure out why her nemesis was speaking. Surely she didn't expect her to talk back! The Silkworm couldn't expect her to make
such an obvious error. Even rookies
know better!
Leina stepped forward, her red-hosed foot landing on the
soft soil of the garden when suddenly she saw it; a sudden disturbance out of
the corner of her eye. With only a
split second to act, she ducked and rolled away as a blow, perhaps a chop
whizzed over her head, disrupting the leaves.
It would have likely disrupted her head if the blow landed. When she looked up, she saw nothing but
flowers and trees. Soft laughter
floated through the air.
"Come now, let's make it sporting," the voice said. "Please, at least strike back; let's make
this a battle."
I would if I could find you, you old harpy, Leina
thought as she barely avoided a follow up blow. She scrambled and hid behind a tree to regain her bearings and
try to come up with a battle plan. A
moments' thought made Leina realize the Silkworm was not addressing her to get
her to reveal where she was, but to cover up what she was doing. If the Silkworm knew where she was, this
battle would have been long over. Both
assailants were expertly camouflaged, but the Silkworm probably knew this large
garden like the back of her hand while Leina only had a brief acquaintance with
it. Leina concluded that for her to
have a chance to take on the older assassin, she'll have to bring this fight
into the open where they could see each other clearly. But how can she do that? She can't wait for someone as dangerous as a
Silkworm to strike her first, that could be fatal.
"When all else fails, go back to the basics," one of
Leina's teachers said to her once.
"Your basic plan is to be invisible until your target arrives, then you
strike."
Leina remembered her teacher leading her to a large glass
enclosed terrarium. She pointed to a
long green object on a twig that at first appeared to be a twig.
"At first glance, the praying mantis appears to be a
rather fearsome predator on its own, which it is, but that's not its biggest
weapon. The mantis' biggest weapon is
its patience. Not just waiting for its
next meal, but studying its prey's moves as it comes closer, while it also
takes the time to become one with its surroundings. It's not just the matter of being the same color as the plant,
though that helps. It's the manner of being
the plant," the instructor continued.
She then took a small container that contained a few houseflies and
shook a couple of them into the terrarium.
After she had done so, she motioned to Leina to pull up a chair and
watch.
At first it seemed like an eternity, but it was only
eight minutes as the fly buzzed around, checking out different plants and
landing for a moment on others.
Finally, the fly flew by within two inches of the mantis, who in a
lightning stroke plucked it from the air and started to feast on its new meal.
"You, Leina, are the mantis who lies in wait for its
victim. It's not just the matter of
blending in, wearing the same color as your surroundings; you could be a black
dot on a white field and still be hidden.
It's narrowing your focus to such an extent that almost nothing else
exists in the world but you and your target.
Then when your quarry comes close, then you strike."
Leina realized that she had gone at this all-wrong, being
placed on the defensive. It was now
time for the Silkworm to play her game.
She stopped where she was and sat down on her knees, a move that seemed
contrary to her present situation. She
then became very still, slowing herself down, breathing evenly. She directed her eyes straightforward, not
darting them back and forth. She
started shutting out as much of the outside world as possible; the only thing
that mattered was the Silkworm coming to her.
Leina heard the Silkworm continue her taunts, but she ignored them.
For a short while, Leina saw nothing but the surrounding
trees and flowers. Suddenly she saw
some movement that seemed a little out of place. As she focused, she saw the source of movement was a red-clad
leg, and then she looked up a little to see the body of her opponent. She appeared to be slightly confused,
wondering where her foe had gone. Leina
did nothing but wait for her to venture closer. Finally, the Silkworm wandered within two feet in front of
her. Then Leina struck.
She lunged with both hands extended, pushing the Silkworm
out of the garden and into the open on the walkway. The Silkworm with ease regained her balance, but by that time, it
was too late to regain her cover. Leina
jumped out of the garden to face her.
Finally, they met each other face-to-face, Silkworm v.s. Barefoot
Assassin. Both were garbed in red; the
Silkworm wore a red silk tank top catsuit that was skin tight from her top all
the way down to her hosed feet. Like
Leina, she also wore a red cap, except it was also silk. Leina wondered for a moment how much time it
took the Silkworm to put the outfit on.
The Silkworm stood the same height as her, and her body was just as
tautly muscled if not more so. As if by
an unheard signal, both women pulled down their hoods. The long black hair of the Silkworm tumbled
down over her shoulders, as did Leina's on her own. The Silkworm's face and arms was the color of dark chocolate, and
very attractive. She looked Leina over
for a moment, then spoke.
"My, what a pretty thing you are!" She said.
"Since we're fighting on such intimate terms, we may as well introduce
ourselves. My name is Diya."
"I'm Leina," the Barefoot Assassin said, seeing no need
to keep up any false pretenses regarding her identity.
"You're not COIL; I can sense a COIL agent a mile
away. Who are you with? One of the independent agencies or
freelance?"
"Neither, I'm with the Brazilian government, Brazilians
for an Independent Brazil."
The Silkworm's eyes widened. "I never heard of them.
What's their purpose?"
"To keep Brazil and South America free of interference
from outside agencies, DOOM and COIL in particular," Leina replied.
"With no plans to "take over the world?' Interesting. And what is your connection with them?"
"I am a Barefoot Assassin, trained to take out those who
will not willingly comply with our orders to stay out of our country."
Diya appeared fascinated. "A Barefoot Assassin!
Well that's one thing we have in common," she said, gesturing with her
hand to Leina's feet and her own.
"Shoes are nasty things, I kicked the habit years ago. You can't perform a kill properly with them. Tell me, I'm curious, are there many of
them, and are they all like you, these "Barefoot Assassins?'"
"There are many of us, but they're not like me. Most of them attack directly. For this task, I have been specially
trained," Leina said.
"Specially trained?
For this mission?" Diya looked
at Leina's face, then her eyes widened in realization. She started to laugh. "I should be flattered, I never would have
expected an agency to train an agent just to fight people like me, they never
bothered before. Your boss, he is very
wise."
"She is very wise," Leina corrected.
"Oh, well that makes sense. I don't expect too many males to be bright enough to figure out
something like that. Then again, you
have been the only one to pull off a successful assassination of my
mistress. I was making my rounds in the
previous section when you struck. Very
well done. Tell me, what will you do
now, since your mission is completed?"
"My primary mission was to sanction your employer. My secondary mission is to take you into
custody."
"To take me into custody?" Diya said questionably.
"I think you have that backwards.
You're supposed to sanction me, and then take my mistress into custody."
"Nope, those were my orders."
"I don't understand, I'm a hired hand, I don't know any
of DOOM's plans, nor do I know of what my mistress was planning to do; what
would that accomplish? No matter, it's
not relevant right now anyway. Of
course you know I'm going to resist arrest."
"Yes, I know," Leina said.
"Well, we might as well get started. Pity, many years from now, you would have
made an excellent Silkworm."
As they faced off, Leina settled into a fighting stance
while Diya moved forward, moving more like she was dancing instead of
fighting. Her motion was fluid, flowing
from one movement to the next, like she was boneless, like an amoeba. To Leina, the beauty and gracefulness in
Diya's movements reminded her of the way a cobra would mesmerize its prey
before it strikes. In a moment, she
would find out how right she was.
In almost the blink of an eye, Diya struck, firing a
right knife hand stab towards Leina's throat.
As Leina blocked the blow, she discovered it was a feint, covering up
for Diya's second blow, a knife hand blow headed for her solar plexus. As she parried the second blow (barely), she
suddenly jerked her head to the left, barely avoiding a left kick to the
head. Not deterred by her missed blows,
Diya placed the ball of her left foot down, following up by performing a
spinning back kick with her right foot.
The big toe of Diya's foot brushed against Leina's forehead as she jerked
out of the way, and fell into a roll to get some distance from her foe. As she raised from her roll, Diya with a
sneer on her face, leapt towards her.
Rolling away further, she saw Diya's feet land on the ground, one each
placed where her head and midsection would've been if she stayed there.
Leina rose to her feet, feeling a little wary, and a
little winded, while her opponent wasn't even breathing hard. She could see why no one had been able to
lay a hand on Nancy for so long. Quickly recapping the last skirmish, she
realized that any one of the blows and kicks by themselves would have killed or
debilitated her if they made contact.
According to her files, Silkworms were experts at close infighting and grappling. No records had been made of their standard
hand-to-hand combat. Apparently, Diya
figured Leina was expecting more of a close encounter, hence the unexpected
attack. Suddenly Leina realized that on
the garden pathway she stood on, her back was to the mansion. Being careful not to lose sight of Diya, she
took a quick glance to see if any of Nancy's servants were coming. This brought a laugh from Diya.
"Do not be concerned about anyone coming, my young
Leina," Diya said. "My mistress gave
strict instructions to her staff that no one with the exception of myself may
enter the gardens except in case of an extreme emergency; so it's just you and
me."
"You know, DOOM will not be pleased when they find out
you failed to protect one of their major deep cover operatives," Leina
replied. "They have zero tolerance for
failure."
Diya laughed again.
"My guild is one of the most feared assassins in the world. Even our fellow sisters-in-arms, the Poison
Geishas pause when they hear our name.
Those fools know better than to threaten a Silkworm!" She said.
Leina quickly remembered a story she was told of a DOOM
administrator who hired a Poison Geisha for an assignment, yet he would
continually belittle and threaten her like he would the rest of his crew. The Poison Geisha completed her assignment
as requested, and then tendered her resignation with the severed head of her
employer. That was just with a Poison
Geisha; Leina could only imagine what would happen if someone raised the ire of
an angry Silkworm.
"It's been so long since I had such sport," Diya
continued. "Very few people have
blocked my Cobra's Bite. The last
person to do that was a COIL agent. She
blocked the first two blows of the same combination I gave you. But alas, the kick got her, and I had no one
to play with. So come, let us continue
our little dance."
And the two fighters engaged again in combat. Diya resumed her attack with the same speed
and intensity as before, again putting Leina on the defensive. Her forearms were starting to feel sore from
blocking Diya's blows and kicks. The
Silkworm was wickedly strong, and if she managed to weaken her defenses, she'd
be helpless to stop a lethal blow.
Diya on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of
her life. Through her attack, she wore
a malicious grin on her face. To add
further insult to injury, she reminisced about a few of her previous conquests;
how she broke the back of a COIL agent, made a failed DOOM agent die a long,
agonizing death by delivering a blow that gave him symptoms similar to a
cardiac arrest, broke the neck of an intelligence agent so cleanly, it was
almost decapitated, and so on. She also
expounded on what she called her more "intimate" kills.
Leina wondered if the truth was that Diya talked her
victims to death. Finally, she saw her
first opening, and threw a left punch at Diya's stomach. Diya just smiled, and then suddenly hit
Leina's stomach with the palm of her right hand. The blow knocked Leina off her feet and sent her sprawling. She tumbled back into a fighting position,
expecting a follow up to the attack, but instead, the Silkworm stood where she
was, laughing once more.
"I thank you for giving me such great sport, young
Leina," Diya said. "If these other
Barefoot Assassins fight as well as you, they will be a formidable force
indeed. But I'm afraid the time has
come to end our little dance. Again,
it's a shame, you would have been a great Silkworm."
Leina stood and looked Diya directly in the eye and said,
"You may be a Silkworm, but I am a Mantis!"
"A mantis, eh?
Well soon it'll be irrelevant what you're called when you'll be nothing
but a broken, bleeding body!"
And with that, Diya again lunged at Leina, delivering a
potentially deadly flying side kick.
She parried the kick, then pivoted to face the Silkworm as she landed. After analyzing Diya's fighting style during
the last two skirmishes, the Barefoot Assassin decided to go on the offensive
this time. She fired a series of chain
punches - rapid-fire vertical punches - at Diya. Although Diya was able to deflect them, she was too off balance
to do anything else to counter.
Finally, she managed to spin around to Leina's right side and used her
momentum to throw a back fist strike with her right hand to Leina's head. Leina blocked it, then grasped Diya's wrist
to attempt a wrist lock. What she ended
up doing was keeping Diya's other hand at bay as the Silkworm was aiming her
Cobra's Bite at Leina's face. Leina
didn't know where Diya was targeting specifically, but she didn't want to find
out firsthand.
The two struggled briefly, then Diya suddenly relaxed,
making Leina lose her balance falling forward.
Diya grasped Leina's right hand as she fell back, bending her back in a
amazing show of flexibility. Placing
the other hand on the ground, Diya used it for support as she wrapped her legs
around Leina's right arm. This time, it
was Leina's turn to spin as she twirled herself, a little frantically to break
the hold. If she was successful, Diya
would've executed a textbook armlock, and most likely would've exercised the
full potential of that hold by dislocating her arm.
As she backed away to check her arm and ready herself for
Diya's next attack, Leina's mind was racing for a new strategy. She knew her best chance to defeat Diya
would be in a close quarters struggle, which unfortunately was the Silkworm's
forte. A quick flex of her arm told her
that there was no damage done by Diya's attempted hold. It also gave her an idea that could work if
she pulled it off just right.
Springing back to her feet, Diya stalked Leina, who was
shaking her arm like it was injured.
Instead of executing a leap, the Silkworm charged the Barefoot Assassin,
tackling Leina to the ground like a defensive end downing a quarterback. Pinning Leina's left arm with her right, she
rose up her right hand to perform a final Cobra's Bite to land a deathblow, now
that her prey was impaired.
But looks can be deceiving.
For Leina, this was literally now or never. As Diya started to deliver the blow, Leina's
"hurt" arm suddenly came to life, striking the Silkworm on the side of the neck
with a karate chop.
Diya's eyes widened and her mouth moaned "Ohhh," as she
fell forward. "Excelll.."
Leina guessed she was attempting to say "Excellent" as
she lost consciousness.
Rolling Diya's body off hers, Leina knew she couldn't
waste any time with what she had to do next.
Running to her hiding place, she grabbed a small red nylon bag and
pulled out a pair of wrist restraints.
She heard about some Silkworms possessing the ability to slip out of
standard handcuffs, so she brought a pair especially made to be "escape
proof." She slapped them around Diya's
wrists, and used some red rope to tie up her ankles. As an afterthought, she took some cloth and gagged her just in
case she planned to yell for help, try to bite her, or talk her ear off some
more.
Her immediate work done, she sat by Diya and rested,
allowing herself to breathe deeply for what seemed like the first time in a
long while. She was starting to wonder
why she signed up for this assignment in the first place. She would rather face a squad of DOOM agents
than deal with this Silkworm again. She
remembered back at headquarters there were some fellow Barefoot Assassins who
were being specifically trained to fight Poison Geishas. She didn't envy them at all. After her brief period of rest, Leina threw
the Silkworm over her shoulder. She
felt heavier than she appeared. The next
task was to get out of the facility the same way she got in. She wasn't worried; compared to her "dance"
with Diya, sneaking out would be a piece of cake. She took a final glance around, making sure she had everything,
and that Nancy's body was in the right position for her "accident," she started
to make her way out of the garden and the mansion grounds.
*****
The drive back to headquarters was relatively uneventful,
aside from the occasional grunt and sounds of mild surprise by Diya when she
saw something interesting (Leina decided to take Diya's gag off when they got
to her car. Now that she was defeated, Leina didn't expect the Silkworm to tell
any more war stories). Otherwise, the trip was silent.
The walk into headquarters was a different story as Leina
was the recipient of arched eyebrows, hushed whispers, and a few high fives
from fellow agents as she walked down the halls with her captive in tow. A live Silkworm in captivity was a rare
sight indeed, and even the most seasoned Barefoot Assassin couldn't help but
pause and observe the occasion.
Diya soon found herself sitting in a office with Leina
and a six foot blonde-haired woman who was dressed in a navy blue paramilitary
uniform with the legs of her pants cut mid-calf, exposing her muscular bare
legs and feet. As she did as when she first arrived, Diya continued to look
around in wonder.
"When Leina said you were "Barefoot Assassins,' I thought
she was just referring to the operatives on the field," she said. "From what I see, even the secretaries don't
wear shoes."
"As I have said many times on occasion ' Diya, is
it?" The blonde said, "shoes are overrated.
Here, it's not just a mission prerogative, it's a lifestyle. In fact, some of our agents have gotten rid
of every pair of shoes they own.
Myself, I only wear a pair on special occasions, and each time I have to
dig in my closet to find them. Granted,
the other intelligence agencies call us names like the Portuguese Hillbillies,
Brazilian Hippies, and my personal favorite, the Amazon Flintstones, but they
don't argue with our success rate, which is almost perfect. We believe, the same as Silkworms do, that
the best weapon is your own body, which you can "upgrade' and leave few marks
on your victim. By the way, my name is
Bliss."
"That's a pleasant name. So tell me Bliss, I've noticed
the curious looks your agents have given me; am I the first Silkworm your
agents have encountered?"
"No, you're the first Silkworm we captured. Our previous encounters had occurred after
my agents already sanctioned their primary targets. Unfortunately, those encounters didn't leave the possibility for
negotiation. As it is, my agents
considered themselves lucky to make it out alive. My regrets to your fallen comrades."
"It's the nature of the business, my fellow Silkworms
understood that," Diya replied.
"So how long have you been Ms. Sousa's bodyguard?" Bliss asked.
"About two years after she married her second
husband. Not long after I arrived, she
told me she . . .. tired of him. After
I "took care of it,' she kept me on the payroll ever since, until now, anyway."
"Geez, why couldn't she divorce him like everybody
else?" Leina said.
"My mistress was not a kind woman," Diya said. "If something or someone got in her way for
whatever reason, she would remove it. A
COIL agent, a political rival, a fellow DOOM agent with a different agenda were
potential victims. Sometimes she'd find
an innocent person to kill just for the pleasure. Before you ask, I was chiefly her bodyguard. She preferred to kill her victims
herself. Even I at times was shocked by
her bloodlust, and I'm an assassin."
Bliss sat on the edge of the desk. "Well now I don't regret giving the sanction
order," she said.
"So why am I here?
As I told your agent, I don't know what DOOM is planning, nor do I aim
to betray my fellow Silkworms. If you
plan on executing me, go ahead."
Bliss laughed.
"Diya, I don't want to execute you, I want to hire you."
Diya's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I beg your pardon?"
Diya said.
"You Silkworms are freelance, correct? Well I want to hire your services," Bliss
said.
Diya was more confused.
"With all these available agents, why do you want to hire me? If they're anything like the one who just
captured me, they should be quite capable of accomplishing their mission," she
said. "Plus, I work alone."
"Oh, I'm not asking you to work with them, I'm asking you
to teach them."
"Wha?"
"Most of us who operate in the intelligence community
have heard about the reputation and the abilities of the Silkworms," Bliss
continued. "Your skills in up close
hand to hand combat are deadly, though from what I found out from Leina, your
stand up skills are rather fearsome as well.
Your skills in camouflage are legendary, almost bordering on uncanny,
and as a woman over forty myself, you ladies are proof that us "older' women
can still be powerful and effective."
"How old are you?"
Diya asked.
"I'm forty-three and proud of it. And you?"
"I'm only a little older than you at forty-seven. I'm considered one of the "kids' in my
guild."
Leina was a little stunned at the fact that she was
involved in an life and death struggle with someone old enough to be her
mother, yet in much better shape than most people her age. That was remarkable.
"So I teach your assassins what I know. What does that consist of, and who are they
fighting? As I told you, I will not
turn on my fellow Silkworms. Plus,
what's in it for me?" Diya asked.
"First, I just want you to teach them your fighting
skills, none of the "intimate' stuff your group is also known for. We don't specialize in seduction, we just
sanction our target and come home.
Second, we fight those groups who oppose our previous order to leave our
country. That includes DOOM, COIL, and
any other covert agencies who don't benefit us. Third, we do not have any plans to fight your guild or make an
invasion on your guild's headquarters, wherever that is. Actually, any Silkworms or Poison Geisha we
encounter will be given the same offer as you.
We will pay you at least what you were paid by your previous employer,"
Bliss said.
"And if I refuse?"
"We have a nice cozy cell waiting for you. I'm sorry, but you are responsible for
killing some of our operatives in our sister agencies. Being able to give you this offer was a
tricky business in of itself. In fact,
they think I can't do it. But since we
have a few things in common, I think otherwise. Besides, I think you'll like the opportunity. You'll get to share your skills to students
who'll look up to you."
Diya was silent for a moment, then said, "You have
presented me with a rather interesting offer.
May I think about it for five minutes or so before I give you a
decision?"
"Sure," Bliss said as she and Leina went out the office
door. After she closed the door, she
turned and said to Leina, "That was a great job you've done today. To my knowledge, no one has ever captured a
Silkworm alive, plus you sanctioned a very dangerous threat to the country's
security. Eventually we'll send some
people to make sure her death looked like an "accident.' Again, good job."
"Thank you Bliss," Leina said. "Mam, may I choose a code name?"
In Bliss's organization, the choice of a code name was an
option. Some agents gave themselves a
code name for various reasons or given a name by their comrades while others
were content just using their real name.
Knowing that the code name jazz was something used largely in spy
movies, she didn't place a big emphasis on it.
"Why sure, what would you like to be called?" Bliss said.
"I think I'd like to go by the name "Red Mantis,'" Leina
replied.
"After what you've done today, that sounds like a good
one. I hereby dub thee "Red Mantis,'"
Bliss said with a smile and a mock bow.
"So "Red Mantis,' how does it feel catching your first Silkworm?"
"Sore and exhausted.
After this is over, I just want to go home, soak in a long bath, and do
nothing for the rest of the day."
"After we're finished here, go ahead and do that. You can give me your report tomorrow. Now
let's see what Diya has decided."
They reentered the office, where Diya was studying a
figurine on Bliss's desk.
"So what's the verdict?"
Bliss asked.
"I decided I will accept your offer to teach your
agents," Diya said. "I do request that
I am able to collect my things back at my former employer's mansion."
"That shouldn't be a problem; we'll just have to come up
with a story to give the hired help on your sudden "disappearance.'"
"That shouldn't be hard, none of the underlings even know
I existed," Diya laughed. "It worked
better that way. Since this is a formal
contract of sorts, you also have my word as a Silkworm that I won't seek
vengeance for the death of my former mistress.
As well as our skills, we also are people of our word."
"I thought as much.
I also must tell you that right now, while you're not a prisoner, you're
not permitted to leave the country, for obvious reasons, of course. That may change in time."
"I expected that, but I found I like Brazil even more
than my home country of India. Less
crowded and more pleasant of a climate."
"There's also of course, the usual papers that you'll
have to sign as a government employee and such, but you're used to that. But let me be the first to welcome you as an
instructor of our Barefoot Assassins," Bliss said, offering her hand.
"Thank you," Diya replied, giving her hand a firm
shake. "One more request; I would like
to speak to Leina in private please."
Bliss looked to Leina, who shrugged. "I'll go and get myself a drink of water;
I'll be back in a few minutes," she said as she closed the door.
Leina walked back towards Diya a little tentatively.
"You have nothing to fear from me child, we're working on
the same side now, eh?" Diya said.
"Yeah," Leina said.
"I had a few questions to ask you Leina," Diya said. "The first one is how were you able to
counter my attacks? After I attacked
you the first time, it was almost like you knew what I was going to do."
"I was taught, particularly with you in mind, to closely
examine an opponent's fight patterns, so I can come up with a more appropriate
defense or attack. Your style was
rather different, whatever that was."
"Oh that was the "Spitting Cobra,' one of my guild's own
disciplines. We have a few other
fighting styles of our own, but I always used this one because it was the most
effective and I like it. This was the
only time it didn't work for me. Your teacher
is to be commended."
"Thank you, I'll tell her," Leina said as she headed
towards the door.
"One more thing," Diya said, stopping Leina in her
tracks. "About this deal your boss was
going to make with me, why didn't you just tell me? It would've saved us a whole lot of trouble."
"What? But you
were trying to kill me!"
"Well yes, after I discovered your presence, but you
could've told me your demands once we were out in the open. I may be an assassin, but I'm also a
businesswoman as well, and I always keep an open ear for any possible
"business' opportunities, especially after my current business was -
terminated. Starting off by saying I'm
under arrest is not the best way to start business negotiations. It's not like my former employer was in a
position to beat your offer."
Leina, who originally felt great about her
accomplishments now felt rather dumb.
All that fighting, nearly getting her head kicked off, arm dislocated,
and not to forget certain death, could have circumvented all that with a simple
business negotiation after she sanctioned her primary target.
"But we were about to face off, and you talked about
having our little "dance,' and avenging your mistress, and, and," Leina
sputtered, trying to come up with a viable defense.
"Let me tell you a little something about us freelance assassins," Diya said, already sounding like a teacher speaking to her pupil. "Unemployment is as deadly an opponent as your biggest foe. You're government sanctioned, so you may not have been aware of that. You can have all of the deadliest skills in the world, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't find work. Try to keep that in mind the next time you plan to hire another Silkworm, Poison Geisha, or whatever independent entity is out there. It'll save you a whole lot of trouble, and probably more than that. Still, that was a good workout though. Good fighters are hard to find."
"But you looked so determined," Leina replied, "You
didn't look like you were willing to listen to a negotiation."
Diya laughed. "My
Leina, of course I didn't look like it, I thought you were going to try to kill
me or place me in custody.
In "business matters,' you should remember the same basic lesson you
learned when you were taught camouflage."
"What's that?"
"Looks can be deceiving."
For comments, suggestions, or story ideas, send e-mail to shrewsberry@juno.com.