The Amazing Tales of Wildcat Arrows (23 page)

"I rather assumed that, Cat." She smiled gently at him.

"At least for now. I know your family would have wanted you to always wear this and to pass it along to your children when the time came. I've kept it safe for you until now—but it is time to let it go."

He looked into her eyes.

Wildcat was telling her that she was all grown up. It was time to make her own choices and her own decisions. "I'll always stand by you; remember that." He sighed theatrically. "Even if it means keeping that ass of a stowaway on board."

She loved him so much for that!

He was… Well, he was Wildcat Arrows. And there wasn't another like him in the entire universe.

The man had watched over her and taken care of her for her whole life, simply because he had promised a dying woman—who was little more than a stranger to him—that he would.

Not many would have done it.

She would have been left alone in the world if not for him.

Oh, he was the worst kind of rogue!
A rogue with a heart
.

So he had raised her as his own sister. It had not been easy. As a free agent he had to fight for their survival over and over. Sometimes he
was
on the wrong side of the law.

She blinked back the moisture in her eyes. "Thank you, Cat. For everything."

"What the hell are you thanking me for?" He scoffed, brushing her gratitude aside. "Like you gave me a choice! Did you ever try to say no to a carrot-topped ankle-biter?"

"Wait a minute! You just said to save this for my
children
? Aren't you jumping the gun here a bit?"

"Not if experience with your family has taught me anything," he murmured half to himself.

"What did you say?"

"I said wear it and protect it. It stands for a beautiful legacy."

She could tell by his tone that passing on the gift had great meaning to him.

So it did to her too.

Her hand clasped tightly around the odd charm on the necklace.

"All right, I will keep it safe."

"Good." He mussed her already tousled hair. "Now go and give that scalawag exactly what he deserves."

She wagged her finger at him. "You can count on it!"

He laughed and his pastel eyes crinkled at the corners.

Lucky always thought that Wildcat's eyes had the most breath-taking color.
Beautiful
. What did they call that shade back on Earth? She couldn't remember, but they were utterly gorgeous.

Lucky sauntered off the bridge towards the 'android' who was waiting for her. Slick had some interesting times coming up aboard the Sugarbabe and she could hardly wait to experience them with him.

The man had the sweetest kisses—he just could not hide that.

No Masterstroke could ever kiss with such feeling.

Lucky sighed to herself as she imagined those sweet kisses all over her body.

Slick would have a hard time from her brother for a long while to come. Not that he didn't deserve it. At least her brother had allowed the stowaway to stay.

All things considered, Wildcat had taken it very well.

Had Lucky looked more closely at him she might have noticed that behind the laughter, there was the faintest hint of sadness in those 'utterly gorgeous' eyes.

Wildcat went to his favorite part of the ship.

At the very top, there was a small circular viewing bubble, belted with a railing.

Feet apart, he stood at the balustrade and looked out into
space. Much like a sailing captain of old.

The vastness of unending night combined perfectly with countless, brilliant stars. Always changing. Always the same.

He loved to come to the bubble and wax poetic; it soothed his outlaw hide. There was a separate peace in this place that could not be found anywhere else on the ship.

Best of all, when he came up here he was usually left alone.

That being said, he was not surprised to see the wavering, misty reflection in the duraglass in front of him. The diaphanous image was floating right behind his left shoulder.

Found again.

He sighed and rested his elbows on the railing. He did not turn around, choosing instead to speak directly to the duraglass.

"Why did you do it, Cloud?"

The air shimmered and the Auran materialized in his true form. Like the archangels of ancient depiction, he was terrifyingly beautiful.

The halo around him was so bright, so light, it almost blinded Wildcat. Long streamers of hair flowed out around him like gold-tinged strands of silvery moonlight.

Cloud gazed tranquilly upon him with eyes that were almost innocent in their purity.

Which was an odd dichotomy for an assassin, to be sure.

His luminescent eyes often reminded Wildcat of multicolored opals rimmed by deep purple. Pastel flashes of color swirled within the pale irises: pinks, yellows, light blues, wisps of pastel green and amethyst. Cloud's mood was constantly reflected by the intensity and vibrancy of those streaks of flashing color.

It was said that Aurans could see patterns—strange patterns—in the workings of the cosmos.

In the workings of intelligent life.

Some held that Aurans could actually 'read' the flux point at the cusp of all change. Such tales are often invented, though; born from fancy and nothing else. Like so much about the Aurans, it was nothing but speculation.

From the very first time they had met, a strange bond had formed between Wildcat and Cloud. The assassin had become a lethal guardian of sorts; he rarely left Wildcat's side. He was his best, silent friend.

The Auran had saved his life on many an occasion.

Wildcat had saved Cloud once. A long, long time ago…

Wildcat always wondered if Cloud had somehow foreseen the incident.

Could that be why he still travelled with him?

There was no way of knowing. Communication between them was purely interpretive. Cloud showed him images—it was up to Wildcat to decipher them.

The Auran had been a part of the Sugarbabe's crew for a long time. He was fiercely protective of them all—even that birdbrain SpinDrift.

Which would seem like something warm and cuddly…

If not for the part about him being a dreaded twilight assassin.

Wildcat had no doubt that Cloud saw him as an Auran brother. He stood by his side in battles, looked out for him, and—on occasion—nudged and ribbed him.

So his recent behavior was puzzling.

In the event that the Auran didn't understand him, he repeated his question. "Why did you do it, Cloud?"

An image of Lucky formed in front of him. She was staring out of the main viewscreen, wide-eyed and searching.

Wildcat furrowed his brow. "You did it for Lucky? I don't understand."

Cloud's nostrils flared slightly as if he was frustrated at the communication barrier. A series of images began to assault Wildcat in rapid sequence. It was akin to someone verbally stating their case with a forceful argument.

…
Wildcat incarcerated on Cretion… Lucky crying… SpinDrift trying to comfort Lucky… Clugot staring morosely at maps of sector after sector… the entire crew searching for him in vain… tears falling down from the sky… Cloud leaving the ship to hunt him down
…

He hadn't realized how much his absence had affected them.

More images followed:

Cloud slipping unseen into Big Gun's stronghold… A shadow covering the Heart of the Merchandiser…

"I already know you took it. It was you that passed it into Lucky's hand on Dumfug 8."

An image of Cloud doing just that confirmed Wildcat's assessment.

"I know you didn't want the jewel; you've never shown much interest in treasure. So why did you suddenly want this particular stone? And why did you take it on the very day I broke out of prison?"

An image of Slick wavered before his face.

"What does he have to do with this?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes, frustrated. This was obviously something he felt strongly about—if only he could get Wildcat to understand it.

Cloud pockets the jewel and in its place scratches the telltale arrow marks that were later discovered by Heiner… he dons a cloak and appears at various points establishing a trail…

"Okay; you purposely led them to me. I get that. Why did you do it?"

The image of Slick wavered before his face again.

It was quickly followed by the same image of Lucky crying after he disappeared into the Cretion mines.

Wildcat tried to sort it out, but he couldn't come to any conclusion. "I don't understand, Cloud. I'm sorry."

A dark haze formed over the Auran's head, indicating he was not happy. It was not something one generally wanted to see over a twilight assassin's head.

"Try again. Use other images. I'm just not getting it."

Heiner contacting Lucky… SpinDrift and Lucky following the trail to Slide…

"You left the arrow marks so that Big Gun would somehow connect me to the heist. Big Gun hired Lucky because he figured it would lead to me, a fact that you counted on. You then left the clue regarding Slide because you wanted Lucky and SpinDrift to go there. Once there, they found the chip that led them to Dumfug 8—"

Another image of Slick interrupted him.

Wildcat stroked his jaw. "Okay, that's where they picked up Slick, who put together the next piece of the puzzle with the skekzin fiber. So then we all meet up on Dumfug 8 and I still don't understand why we had to go through all of this…"

…
Big Gun talking to Slick
…

"Yeah, that did bother me. Whatnot created the Masterstrokes. Go figure. Big Gun had to know, though, that Slick wasn't one of their masterpieces." Wildcat paused. "I'm thinking they know each other—is that what you're thinking?"

Cloud smiled at him.

"Yet, he didn't set Slick up to be on my ship—
you did that
. Even if he is a spy for Whatnot, that doesn't explain
you
put him on my ship. Did you pull some event strings so that I couldn't refuse to have him stay onboard? That is what you did, isn't it, Cloud? It seems to me now that this entire escapade was geared directly to that one outcome."

An image of Cloud handing him an award for outstanding thinking wavered before him…

"Very funny. So why do you want him onboard?"

Lucky smiling and laughing… hands on her hips ordering Slick about with maniacal glee… Slick laughing with her…

Wildcat sucked in his breath. "She was always lonely when I left. I didn't know that. You did this for her… But how did you know they would even like each other?"

Cloud just smiled mysteriously.

"For an assassin, you're awfully soft-hearted."

Cloud cocked his head to the side and gave him a hooded look that clearly said 'think so?'

It was akin to equating a cuddly family pet with a pit viper.

"Hmm. Perhaps not. All of this is fine and dandy, Cloud, but you should have consulted with me first."

…
WildCat in the Orzon prison, locked away
…

"Well, okay, maybe you couldn't. You had no way of knowing if I'd make it back. As far as I can figure, you set this plan in motion long after you left the ship to go looking for me." Wildcat took a deep breath. "I suppose it was your way of looking out for her."

…
Heiner telling Big Gun of Wildcat's known whereabouts… Big Gun contacting Cretion to speak to the warden
…

Wildcat chuckled. "Nice. You used their own resources to get the warden riled up. I wondered why he didn't try to pursue me more aggressively on Cretion. He probably wanted me to disappear from the planet after Big Gun contacted him."

…
Slick on the bridge… Wildcat watching him ambivalently
…

"That's right; I don't know how I feel about it. I certainly don't trust him. For all I know he is working for Big Gun."

Cloud shrugged, unconcerned.

"Easy for you to say."

…
Wildcat and Lucky holding hands, walking… Slick coming up to them… Wildcat releasing her hand
…

"I get the point. I have to let go."

Wildcat and Lucky holding hands, walking… Slick coming up to them… Wildcat releasing her hand…

"Quit nagging. I know it had to be done."

The Auran chuckled. A low, soft rasp.

"Issue taken, okay? But next time you get it into to your assassin brain to pull something like this—" He jabbed his finger into the Auran's broad chest. "
Ask
me, first."

Grinning, Cloud shrugged, noncommittal as usual.

Wildcat suspected that Cloud sometimes pretended to not understand him; especially when he disagreed with him.

Wildcat shook his head; yet, he was smiling. He had to admire the sheer complexity of the convoluted plot. It was worthy of an assassin. "Go on, get out of here. I need to let this all sink in."

Cloud bowed slightly then disappeared in a whiff of smoke.

Wildcat sauntered over to the center of the bubble chamber where an island stood. Leaning over, he punched a secret code into a hidden panel on its side.

A small door popped open.

Carefully, he reached inside and extracted a dusty glass bottle and an etched crystal glass.

Wasting no time, he expertly uncorked the bottle and poured out a measure. Sniffing the bouquet, he gazed out of the duraglass enclosure.

Stars filled the heavens
… An old poetic thought. There was not much call for poetry these days.

There was no discernable market for it.

As he watched, several million light years ago a star in a far system went nova. The light pulses faintly registered on his sights.

What Cloud had done might be a mistake. Only time would tell.

Then again, maybe the Auran knew what he was doing.

Nevertheless, good intentions were never a guarantee against disaster. Wildcat knew that better than anyone.

Certain mistakes turned out to be so much more serious than others…

And there were so many kinds of mistakes.

Some were gargantuan, cataclysmic, epoch.

Others were of a different nature—Small, personal, devastating.