To thine own self
by Ainzfern
11
Katze stood silently in the middle of his dimly-lit apartment, a satchel slung over one shoulder; as he cast his gaze around one final time to ensure he hadn't missed anything. On either side of the main door, two of Iason Mink's heavily built, uniformed and grim-faced security officers waited patiently for him to finish his final visual inspection of the small and Spartan place that he had called home for the last few years.
He had actually spent the night, or indeed what had been left of it, as Raoul Am's guest. Raoul's Furniture, Mika, had efficiently and without comment or even visible reaction, prepared the apartment's guest room for him, and Katze had fallen into the soft deep bed almost gratefully. For an instant, he'd wondered if he would actually be able to really rest on such a soft mattress, having become so used to sleeping on his sofa, but almost as that thought had crossed his mind the events of the night had simply caught up with him and he'd not so much drifted asleep as promptly passed out .
He'd known nothing more until, some hours after dawn, Mika had gently shaken him awake, proffered a cup of tea and informed him that Master Am had been required to attend an appointment with his team at the Bio-Lab, and had offered Katze the use of the apartment and his driver until he returned.
Although he had immediately risen and arranged for Raoul's driver to take him back to his apartment in lower Midas accompanied - without choice - by Iason's security men; in all honesty, Katze had been tempted to just stay in bed, using that time to ponder everything that had occurred, not the least of which was the apparently irrevocably altered dynamic between him and Raoul Am. In one night, in one single moment, Katze's perception of the Blondie had been profoundly changed. Last night, Raoul had willingly put himself in danger to protect Katze from harm. He hadn't thought about it, he hadn't planned it, it had happened on instinct. Raoul had told Katze himself, as they had stood together on the balcony overlooking the silent city... he cared.
Now, still standing silently in his soon to be ex-apartment, Katze frowned deeply, his thoughts oddly racing even though outwardly he showed very little indication of his inner turmoil. Raoul had taken a bullet to the shoulder because he cared about a mongrel. Some part of the Blondie had bonded to Katze now, had been imprinted by him on an emotional level. The proof of this fact had been clearly evident to Katze the moment Raoul had shoved him to the floor in Partia.
Oddly, Raoul's own words to Katze, spoken so many months ago when they had first escorted Iason Mink to Katze's safe-house where Riki had been secreted away, returned to him now.
'So much changed in so short a time.'
And it was true. Up until that moment in Partia, Katze had still held doubts about Raoul Am; still had felt that Raoul's gestures towards him were more affectation than affection.
He didn't anymore. His emotional reserve, so long practiced that it had become almost a natural part of his personal armor, had developed a significant crack. There was a space inside of him now, in the place that held his heart... a small and hopeful area had formed there, waiting for Raoul Am to take up residence.
It was an odd feeling, Katze thought, idly rubbing his sternum with one hand; almost painful somehow, in a wistful kind of way. However, he gave himself a kind of mental shake and set his shoulders once more; there would be time enough to think about that later.
Plenty of time, he hoped.
Right now, he still had a task ahead of him.
Strange, Katze thought as he shifted the satchel on his shoulder slightly, that he wasn't actually that sad at all to be leaving the apartment.
One place was much the same as any other, he supposed. This small apartment in lower Midas, just outside the edge of Ceres, had served its purpose. But it had been compromised now. An enemy of Katze's now knew its location, thus prudence and common sense dictated he must leave it. Immediately. This was not such a stretch as one might imagine. Katze was a methodical creature, and had put plans in place years ago. He had several non-descript residences in various different locations throughout Tanagura, either purchased outright or on long-term lease; that he could easily move into.
Katze smiled slightly, amusement rippling through him briefly. Several of them, including the pleasant and spacious apartment in Upper Midas that he was intending go to, were actually leased out in Iason Mink's name, ironically enough; although he assumed the Elite leader was not actually aware of the fact. Although the money used to secure the places was Katze's, it had made sense back then, when he had first arranged his series of 'bolt-holes', to utilize his existing connection with Iason to ensure that he secured the properties without any delay, and that no-one was inclined to question why they were wanted.
Sighing, Katze ran one hand through his hair. He supposed he would have to tell Iason about that, although he couldn't say that that he was looking forward to doing so. He'd taken a liberty by using Iason's name without his permission, he knew that. And yes, it might have been some years ago, but Elites were very good at back-dating grudges. Plus, God knew the man was most likely already thoroughly furious that Katze's employment of Riki had managed to bring such danger into their own home.
Katze winced slightly, nodding to himself. He'd already pulled the primary hard-drives from his computer terminals; leaving the secondary ones in place merely so that the terminals could run looping system scans to give the appearance that Katze was still working on them.
He had no doubt that Iason would want the hard-drive data pulled and delivered to him as soon as possible. The information contained within them, particularly the data that would indicate the recent security breach by United Industries, would be a vital key to tracking down whoever had sent the assassins after him and Riki. Obviously, United had managed to pick themselves up a hacker that was at least as good as Riki or himself. Almost absently, Katze wondered if the unknown technical wiz might be interested in a job. Certainly once Iason got through with his current employers, he or she would be in the market for a new career.
Huffing a soft chuckle, Katze turned towards his desk, mentally reviewing his actions so far.
Most of his clothes were still in his wardrobe, his toiletries left where they sat in the ensuite. What little food he had was still in the freezer and his beer was left in the refrigerator. Even his ashtrays were left full. There was nothing overtly altered here that would give cause for any intruders to think that Katze had left the place for good. Hopefully any future agents of United would simply wait, in vain, for him to return.
He had already contacted his 'lieutenants' via coded messages prior to removing the hard-drives. With a few terse words, had informed them of what had occurred and instructed them to also immediately move location for the time being, to keep their heads down and their standard operations 'low-key' until further notice from him.
They would understand. They were, after all, professional criminals.
As he shifted his weight to move towards his security escort, Katze's eye were caught by the chess board, still sitting in its designated place on the edge of his desk.
Now a tiny whisper of disappointment entered his chest. He'd have to leave the game here. Oh, he could recreate the moves on another board, that wasn't the issue. It was foolish and even rather irrational, he knew, but this board was the original one. For some reason, that mattered to him. He had to face the fact that it was the single item in his former living space that he was sad to leave behind. Moving slowly, almost unconsciously, he approached the board and reached out with one hand, letting it hover over the pieces.
He'd been winning, too. Katze smiled slightly. He was two moves ahead now, not too shabby when playing against a master of the game such as Raoul Am. Once again, almost acting without conscious thought, Katze carefully closed his fingers over the King. Slowly, quite delicately, he tipped it over, laying it gently on its side.
Forfeit... a check-mate neatly handed over.
As he turned and walked out of his apartment, Katze simply could not express why he had just done that.
All he knew for certain was that it seemed entirely appropriate.
It really was rather pleasant to be back here at Iason Mink's beautiful private apartment, Chey Neeson mused as he happily accepted a glass of vintage red wine from Iason's young Furniture, Dane; especially out here on the sun-warmed balcony, engaged in conversation with two people whom he genuinely held in high regard.
They were a fascinating couple, Iason and Riki, Chey had to admit that. At first glance one was immediately struck by the sheer disparity between the men. Iason, so tall and elegant and, at times, magnificently aloof; pale as the dawn and impossibly beautiful as all Elites were. He seemed so self contained, so self assured, that it might almost seem impossible to consider the notion that he needed, or even desired, the life-long company of another person. Especially someone like young Riki... smaller of stature, attractive certainly, with his dark eyes and tanned complexion. But so endearingly imperfect, so animated and gregarious, his face alive with every emotion that was felt.
Chey sipped his wine, even as he listened to Riki recounting the events of the previous night. Behind his glass, he rather artfully concealed a whimsically delighted little grin as the truth of the matter occurred to him.
They had balance, this pair. Each of them was the complimenting part of the other.
Certainly there was a strong physical attraction there. Chey wasn't stupid. Or blind. The sexual electricity that crackled between Iason and Riki whenever they so much as caught each other's gazes was remarkably powerful. But it was more than just that. There was a depth of affection between them that almost made Chey feel a little envious. It was clearly evident in a myriad of subtle ways, quite obvious to Chey's sharp eyes.
The way they unconsciously mirrored each other's positions when they interacted with each other, the way their expressions had softened and their eyes had brightened when Iason first entered the penthouse with Chey right beside him to find Riki there waiting for them. The way they radiated contentment, even now, with Iason sitting beside Riki on the bench just outside the glass doors that opened onto the balcony. The Elite seemed totally relaxed, one arm resting along the back of the bench, his long fingers just brushing Riki's shoulder.
Chey knew their history now, of course, and he had to admit that, initially, the facts had shocked him quite deeply. But, he had now come to realize that they hardly mattered. Not anymore. For this rather striking pair, it was the present that was important, not the past.
Pulling his focus fully back to his hosts, Chey leaned sideways slightly, setting his glass down on the small table beside his own seat.
"So... a quick and brutal fight with unknown assailants, then a high-speed race to rescue your friends, all whilst wearing your pajamas," he winked at Riki's smirking face, his eyes warm. "You certainly know how to pack an evening full of incident, don't you?"
Riki shifted a little, leaning slightly towards Iason. "Well, it wasn't exactly my idea, Chey," he snorted softly.
"Indeed not," Chey sobered a little. "I am very relieved to know that you're all right, my boy."
Iason's hand gently squeezed Riki's shoulder as the younger man nodded. "So am I," he grinned ruefully. "Aside from a couple of bruises, I got through it just fine."
"Which is, I understand, a lot more than could be said for the assailants who broke in on you," Chey murmured. His gaze shifted to Iason. "Were you able to get anything of use out of the one still in Midas Hospital?" Peripherally, he saw Riki also turn to Iason, his dark eyes full of intense interest.
Iason nodded slowly. "He was hired by a group of men that he believed were representing United Industries. No names, of course, but he was willing to provide quite accurate descriptions of most of the individuals along with the location of where they actually met when they were hired."
"Useful place to start, then," Chey mused, one hand lifting to rub his chin thoughtfully. "Can I prevail upon you to forward that information to General Grace's people?"
Iason smiled slightly and inclined his head. "Of course."
"Master Iason?" Dane's light voice came from the open balcony door, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Master Raoul is on the video link for you."
Iason nodded. "Thank you Dane." He rose gracefully to his feet. "If you will pardon me?" he said to Chey softly, "I won't be a moment."
"No rush," Chey picked up his wine again and sat back comfortably as Iason strode inside. "So, Riki," he began once Iason was out of earshot, "how is he, really?" He jerked his chin in the direction Iason had gone.
"Shaken." Riki lifted his shoulders. "He doesn't show it much, but I can tell."
"Well, you're closer. It's quite easy to see the signs on someone you love." Chey shook his head and sighed deeply. "Plus, for a man like Iason, the very notion that someone has dared to invade his private home..." he left it hanging.
"Yeah," Riki bit his lower lip for a moment. "In all honesty, I'm really hoping that this vid call from Raoul means that he and Katze will be here shortly."
"Oh?" Chey looked closely at the younger man, noting his tension. "Why's that?"
Riki shrugged. "Ah... It's just that Katze has had a pretty tough run these last few weeks and I know that Iason is still fairly pissed off." He grimaced, shaking his head. "It's not a nice thing to say, but I'm thinking, or at least hoping, that the fact you're here will stop Iason from flying off the handle at him."
"I see," Chey nodded, understanding Riki's concern and feeling a touch of empathy for him at the same time. Never an easy place, he told himself silently, caught in the middle. "Well, Iason may very well surprise you."
"That's true," Riki straightened slightly, his good humor returning again. "He has every day that I've shared with him so far."
Chey chuckled, pleased by the candor of Riki's comment. "That's rather a dear thing to say."
"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Riki smirked at him.
"Oh, my lips are sealed." Chey turned slightly as he heard Iason step out on the balcony once more. "Everything all right?" he asked as the Blondie resumed his seat next to Riki and picked up his glass.
"Yes," Iason glanced briefly at Riki. "Raoul and Katze will be here shortly. Apparently Katze has been quite busy this morning."
"Really?" Riki tilted his head. "Doing what?"
Iason's rich mouth quirked into an odd little half-smile. "He has already relocated his base of operations to a new apartment in Upper Midas, not too far from Eos, as a matter of fact. In addition, he has removed the primary hard-drives from his original computer terminals and uploaded the transcripts direct to my personal terminal at Jupiter Tower. It only took me a moment to log in remotely and grant access to my chief of security." His flawless face became grimly satisfied for a moment. "Mace will know what to do with the information."
"Whoa," Riki's eyes widened. "Katze doesn't mess around, does he?"
Chey noted that Iason's eyes narrowed slightly. "Fortunately," the Elite replied flatly.
Riki's dark eyes grew very serious. "Listen, Iason..."
Iason held up one hand, and Chey was vaguely amused to hear the tiniest touch of exasperation in the Blondie's voice when he spoke. "Riki, I am very aware of your concerns. I have given due consideration to what you said to me at Eos Med-Centre last night and, I will confess, I feel you have a legitimate point."
"You do?" Riki smiled slightly.
Shaking his head, Iason relaxed once more. "I have no intention of taking Katze to task over this matter. At least, not anymore. Naturally, I will still need to speak to him, to ensure that he has proper measures in place to secure the market for the time being, but in truth I am genuinely relieved that he was not harmed."
"Uh huh." Riki's expression spoke volumes. "Y'know, it might even be nice if you mentioned that to him."
"We shall see." Iason's tone was slightly lofty.
Unable to help it, Chey began to chuckle. He smothered it quickly enough with another sip of wine, merely raising an eyebrow when Iason and Riki both shot him vaguely suspicious looks. Settling back, he began to talk about his last visit to Hepstra, smoothing past the previous little 'moment' with the consummate skills of a true politician.
Still, privately he was still tickled by what he'd just seen, and in an almost charmed way.
Those little 'domestic moments', he mused to himself. They were the same the whole universe over, even when perfectly haughty Elite Blondies were involved.
To thine own self – chapter 10 << >> To thine own self – chapter 12