Canyons of Steel - Nobody Guns For My Family Pt. 7

Derrik Stewart stood at the edge of the grave as the gathering began to leave. He didn't move an inch. Maxine had been with his family since he was 13. She'd been like an aunt to him, much more than just a secretarial assistant. All the memories began to come back to him as he stood in the lonely graveyard in Sussex. He didn't even look to the woman who also stood solemnly. When she spoke, it was one of the few times he nearly jumped. His guard was down. He wasn't wearing his other mask.

"I apologize if I startled you, Sir," she said in a pleasant voice. "But Maxine was rather dear to me." Derrik studied her for a moment, and then he realized all too well. This red haired, bespeckled woman could very well have been a younger version of Maxine. "She was my older sister. We wrote back and forth a great deal. She told me about all of the things she encountered while working for your parents, and with you."

"Everything?" he asked quietly. Normally, he would have considered the next statement to be something of blackmail. But he already knew two of the Wollcott sisters. Both were honourable, even if one was an assassin. He smiled slightly at this thought. "Yes, well... Maxine was a very special woman."

"Indeed," she replied with a light chuckle and then coughed and excused herself. "My apologies, Mr. Stewart. My name is Eleanor Wollcott. It was because of Maxine, that I took a great interest in diplomatic relations."

"Really?" Derrik said with a charming smile. "What kind of work do you do, if I might ask?"

"I am in charge of diplomatic visits to the different consulates around the world," she replied in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Rather dull work. I have often wished to find something much more challenging." She looked to Derrik with a knowing smile. And the CEO of Stewart Industries smirked and shook his head. He knew that look all too well. Which ever mask he was wearing.

"I believe I can offer you a job, Miss Wollcott," he said with a soft, yet firm voice. "But there are some rigors. And some dangers to the job."

"I'll make certain that the dangers are minimal." The voice seemed to come from the newly errected tombstone. And Derrik narrowed his eyes, recognizing it instantly. "My younger sister will not fail. Nor will I fail her, like I did my older sister." The cloaking field Marianne Wollcott wore was cut and her form shimmered into place. Derrik noted the tear marks on her shoulders, the patches marking her as an assassin with the Sisterhood now gone. Obviously she'd escaped with some gear.

"Marianne," Eleanor seemed to gasp as her older sister materialized. She began to step forward, halted by a calm hand from Derrik.

"How can we trust you?" Derrik stated more than asked.

"The Sisterhood struck out at you," she said almost glaring at Derrik. "And my sister paid the ultimate price. I won't let that happen again."

"We all take risks," Derrik said as it seemed a shadow passed over him. "Maxine knew the risks of the job she held. You don't expect any of us to stay hidden away in the dark, never to come out of our rooms in fear of death, do you? If we did that, then we aren't living." He could tell the words were starting to sink in, her face seemed drawn and tired. "Eleanor will work for me, in the same capacity that Maxine did. She'll be a part of my family. And she'll still be a part of yours." He offered his arm to Eleanor, who took it without question. The shadow that covered Derrik seemed to draw away from him. "I hope that you will learn from the choices you make, Miss Wollcott. I hope that the choices you face, will be similar to mine."

"You hope I make the same choices?" she shot back in a scoffing manner.

"No," Derrik replied as he lead Eleanor to his waiting car. "I hope your choices are better than mine."

Canyons of Steel - Nobody Guns For My Family Pt. 6

Marianne quietly followed the black clad man as he traced his steps through the hallways of the office tower. Her only real concern was her sister's safety, and every now and then she would remind Mannequin about that. It was finally sinking in. He would stop, inspecting the area carefully as they would prepare to move. Wordlessly, he would motion for her to follow, his own movements quiet and careful. Marianne Wollcott knew this man could be a valuable ally, or an incredibly dangerous enemy. She began to consider his words from before about leaving the Sisterhood.

Mannequin stopped suddenly, his entire body tensed. His suit was connected to the central secuirty grid, which allowed him to directly see any warnings immediately. Something came up on the comms. He turned his attention to Sister White, who followed him closely. Even through the tinted eye holes, Marianne could tell what was wrong. Her heart began to beat faster as she believed the worst. "Where is she?" was the only thing she asked.

"We have to be cautious."

"Fuck cautious," she spat back in a venomous rage. "This is my sister I'm talking about. You know something. I don't care about any of the rumours I've heard about you, if you don't tell me, I will thrash you around this room until you tell me."

He watched her for a moment, contemplating his next action. She was a highly trained assassin, but he had his own fighting skills that have been honed over the years. "You will follow me. I know where she is. Lower level. Bay 3. Stay close to me." Marianne narrowed her eyes and finally nodded affirmation. Together they worked their way through the hallways of the office tower, avoiding meeting any of the other assassins that had come. Mannequin knew that if they were to meet any of the other Sisters they would have to be dealt with, and Sister White might deal with them with extreme prejudice. He'd hoped to avoid this. Slowly, they wound their way to the lower level.

Marianne gasped as she took in the scene. Maxine's body lay motionless on the floor. The woman known as Sister White cried in anguish. Her sister, her true sister, lay dead on the floor. Marianne rushed to her body, hoping that some life might be found, hoping that she could save her. Mannequin merely watched. His demeanor could have been taken as heartless, cold and emotionless. But behind the mask that hid his features, he was seething with rage. The only indication that such an emotion was present came from his fists as he clenched them hard.

"Well, well," a cool voice said from the shadows. "After the incident in Ohio, I had always wondered if in fact you were going to show your true colours, Sister White."

"You murderer," Marianne hissed as she rose to her feet. The serrated edge blade was drawn quickly, a sign of what Marianne Wollcott planned on doing.

"Ha!" the woman replied as she stepped into the dim light. Her blade had already been drawn. "Murderer. Yes, I've seen the things you have done in your own past, Marianne," she stated, using Marianne's real name. A sign that she was suddenly no longer thought of as a Sister. "When you join the Sisterhood, you cut all ties you had to the outside world. That includes family. But you always had a weakness for family. You always had a weakness for morals. You were much like Operative Violet Rose, and Omega Six." She brandished the blade in front of her, glaring at Marianne.

"Anything I have ever done in my own past," Marianne said, her voice a low hiss. "I will re-enact upon you now." She jumped forward, anger and rage her guiding force as all her energy was focused on her former Sister. The other assassin was ready, and lept toward Marianne. No need for the shadows, no need for deception. This would be glorious. To bad they both seemed to forget Mannequin was still there.

Marianne was reminded as a black clad open palm pushed her back. He raised his arm, the nanites hardening to that of steel as it blocked the blade from the other Sister. Mannequin quickly glanced to Marianne as he forcibly pushed back the attacker. "Stand down." He turned back to the Sister and began his own assault, as well guided punches pushed her further back toward the wall. Just when she thought she might lose consciousness, Mannequin grasped the neckline of her tunic roughly. "Crawl back to the Sisterhood and tell them you failed. Because I will not allow you to shed any more blood this night." He reached out to a door that they stood beside and opened it. It lead to the stairwell. And while Mannequin thought for a moment of tossing her down the remaining flight of stairs with great force, he merely shoved her limp form through the door. She stumbled as her dazed eyes tried to guide flailing hands toward the railing, and failed. She fell down the few steps, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the landing.

Mannequin closed the door and locked it securely before he turned his attention back to Marianne. "Leave. Now!" he demanded. "There is nothing more you can do today. For now, this fight is over."

Marianne Wollcott rose to her feet, her breath haggard as she glared at Mannequin. "And now what? I still want my revenge."

"You will have it in time. But not now."

The words were simple. And Marianne knew now was not the time to argue. Mannequin had his wits about him, and he would be a difficult opponent should she attempt to ignore his warnings. She would have her revenge, but not today.

The Power of the Puppy

It's amazing how a small animal can pretty much slow down the progress of any work area. Such was the case this morning when I came into work. I wasn't expecting a Border Collie puppy to be hanging around as we got the paper ready and out the door to the post office. But there he was, the puppy yet to be named. For sake of argument, I'll call him Lil Guy.

He was amazingly shy at first, with so many people around, but as time wore on, he became much more comfortable in his new, yet temporary surroundings, and soon took to adventure around the back area. Lil Guy was one of three puppies born in Hawarden, and Susan had been helping to find them a home for some time. Well, Lil Guy was here on this morning to be introduced to his new home. But as Susan said, you can get attached to the puppy so easily. If I hadn't been living in an apartment...

Needless to say, a Border Collie needs to be in a home where he or she will have lots of room to run. They are very social animals, and love being around people. I had a border collie/husky/wolf cross, and that dog was very social. But she also needed a lot of space to run. And a Border Collie has that natural herding instinct that's bred into them. Lil Guy has a sister two years older that has taken quite easily, with a little bit of time and training, to helping herd cattle. I don't think anything will be different with Lil Guy.

Until next time...

...keep 'em flyin'.