Her head bowed reverently to the Captain, though his back was turned to him she knew he would see her reflection in the window. " As you order, Sir."
The heart beneath her breast pounded against Laran's ribs as she exitted the office and back to the lift that would take her to the city streets. She had proven to herself, and hopefully to Captain Xilen, that she would do anything he asked of her. He had been the one to inspire her, got her out of her shell and was giving her the ability and oportunity to explore who she truly was. A woman strong, confident, powerful, not so unlike Xilen. She knew without a doubt that one day he would hold the reigns of power and she would stand behind him through it all.
Dark hair whipped around her face as she stepped onto the street and Laran pulled the collar of her jacket tighter around her neck. In her mind she was examining all the information on Grand Admiral Mysta'ria'nuruodo, and already a plan was forming in her cunning brain.
She began to walk the length of the street, south, the direction of her apartment that had been set up for her by the C.E.D.F. It was well rumored through the House Nuruodo that the Grand Admiral was not a happily married man. He had a penthouse set up for himself not far from the C.E.D.F. headquarters. Most nights would find him there, in the embraces of women other than his wife.
Which gave her a way in.
She had to move quickly, and as soon as Laran had unlocked her appartment she was removing her jacket and the sheathed dagger hidden beneath it. Her blouse and slacks were next and in a matter of minutes she was admiring herself in the full length mirror. Sleezy see through top that showed the lace of her bra beneath, a skirt so short it barely covered the curves of her buttocks, knee high boots that served to elongate her already long and slender legs.
Her crimson eyes looked down at the ring in her hand and she held it up to the light between her thumb and index finger a moment before slipping it onto her finger. She was leaving her apartment moments later, the long dark coat covering her for the short walk to the complex where the Grand Admiral slept.
Laran came up to the back of the building, where a secret entrance would take her to a lift that would go only to one floor in the appartment complex. There was a utility box near the maintenance entrance where she easily disconnected the alarms and security cameras in the lift and in the penthouse. The access codes Captain Xilen had provided were exact and in second she was riding the lift. She took a calming breath, and readied herself. The lift doors opened directly into the penthouse, and the Grand Admiral was surprised to say the least when she stepped into his appartment.
" How did you get in here?" Mysta'ria'nuruodo demanded of her.
A lusty smile formed on her ruby painted lips and she opened her coat, allowing him a long look at her voluptuous figure. " Madame Lixas sends her regard."
The look in his eyes as she dropped the coat to the ground beneath her said it all. The name of the Madame of the brothel he frequently used seemed to place him at ease. " She does, does she?"
" You don't trust me?" With a sultry chuckle, Laran was moving slowly toward him. She stopped a foot in front of him, her fingers dancing up his arm. " Doesn't matter to me. I get paid either way."
He grabbed at her wrist, painfully, and lifted her hand off his arm. " Maybe I should give the Madame a call, just to verify you are who you say you are."
" You're hurting me," She said calmy, never loosing that seductive smile. Her other hand reached out, her thumb rubbing against the ring on her middle finger, and she bushed her palm against the exposed skin of his neck.
The tiny needle she had flipped down with her thumb pricked into his skin, quickly, like the sting of an insect. Mysta'ria'nuruodo's eyes widened in a moments shock and his hand flew up to his neck. The tiny speck of blood on his palm was enough to set him off. " Careless whore!" His hand curled up into a tight fist, backhanding her across the face. His other hand still tight on her wrist prevented her from falling completely to the floor, but the blow still drove her to her knees.
He picked her up roughly by the arm and held her to his seething face. " Your ring cut me."
Her face, already starting to swell from the blow, had lost all signs of any games. " Did more than that."
Mysta'ria'nuruodo blinked a few times, the organic sedative that the pin had been laced with was starting to numb his brain activity. " What- what have you done to me whore?"
The grips on her arms weakened and she yanked herself free, causing the Grand Admiral to stumble backward. " Whore?" Her weight shifted to her the balls of her feet and she spun suddenly, delivering a solid round house kick to his chest. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.
Laran stared down at him a moment, her fingers tentatively touching the sore spot on her face. She had never been hit before, had never sported a bruise and no doubt she would have one by morning. Her hands were shaking slightly as she dragged the Admiral to his bedroom and layed him on his back on the mattress. She turned on the holonet screen on his wall, letting the local news play through the room. A small grin turned up her lips as she heard mention of a murder of a University professor early that day.
Turning her attention back to the slumbering Admiral, she opened the drawer to his night stand and took out one of his cigars and lighter. As the flame licked at the end of this cigar, Laran sat in a chair next to the bed. She took a long drag of the cigar, letting the bitter smoke dance over her tongue and into her lungs a moment before exhaling. Her hand stopped shaking and she stood.
Moving quickly out of the bedroom she grabbed a bottle of wine from the liquor cabinet and went back to the bedroom. The seal broke over the bed, the alcohol spilling onto the prone Admiral and his mattress. She poured a little more over him, about half the bottle, before setting the bottle on the nighstand. Taking one last puff from the cigar she situated the cigar in the Admiral's hand, jumping back slightly as the alcohol on him suddenly flared up and consumed him.
The heat from the flames warmed her, but only for a brief second. She turned and left the penthouse, grabbing her jacket as she left.
