Scarecrow and the Rainbow Solution

“Back before the war you would have considered me a reasonable person. Sure I liked to fight and fuck but I held down a job and was…..civilised. Then the war happened and everyone died, seemed to me like it was one big message to live your life as you wanted it before you were dust and every moral or qualm I had went out the window.”
Crim looked up from laying objects along the edge of the table and then stared at the young woman tied securely to the chair in front of her. News A Go Go glowered at her from behind the gag and wriggled again, testing the secure knots and only finding them getting tighter and tighter. Her captor smiled and picked up a long bladed knife from the table.
“My man and his friends have morals, they are in this war for the bigger picture even if me and Rainbow aren’t so bothered by the end results. If they were here they would probably reason with you before removing teeth or body parts. We’re on a clock here so I’m going straight to the torture phase, saves at least five minutes.”
Crimson removed the last object from News’ jacket and a smile crossed her face. It had been a random corridor on her way to the science lab that had seen her literally walk into News and a single Drac. Surprise had given her the edge and it had been a short step to a locked office to start this interesting little conversation. The pass card the other woman carried would open every door in the place and the radio was proving useful to track the enemy movements. So far Korse was on the other side of town being kept busy trying to round up the prisoners that had escaped into the city.
“Well what do we have here ? You’re carrying it around now ?”
News shook her head violently, the fear now radiating of her as Crimson twisted the capped needle in her hand. It was tempting, no doubt about it but also the prime bargaining chip and Crim reached forward to pull the gag away from her prisoners mouth.”
“A safeguard, I would never use it.”
“Sure you wouldn’t. I know you News, I know you’re a stone cold fucking killer like me.”
A sneer crossed News’ face as she stared at Crimson. They were opposites, one disciplined and relentless while the other was chaos and disorder. They did share the ability to kill without mercy to get what they wanted and now the rivalry between them had boiled down to its very basics.
“You can kill me it you wish but you’re already too late. We can produce the chemical in bulk supply from our laboratories. You can’t hunt it all down before the clock grinds to zero.”
Crimson nodded thoughtfully, the syringe still in her hand. Any hope she had been harbouring of getting the virus and using it was all the harder if they were producing it in multiple laboratories all over the damn city but she wasn’t about to admit defeat.
“All it takes is for me to release it outside and the city dies. Enclosed air space and all that.”
“You would die too.”
Crimson shrugged with a wry smile.
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy that thought.”
News stared at her, cataloguing the bad pallor and visible injuries. She was furious at being caught off guard, every part of her training had taught her to check corridors and travel in groups even in the safest of places but she had been hurrying and Korse had already been furious at the prison break as it was. She had expected Crimson to make a run for it, usually the woman was very good at self-preservation so this was unexpected and it annoyed her.
“Party Poison is already on his way here. Along with all your other friends. They will surrender to buy your freedom and then Korse will kill them.”
Crimson back handed her hard across the mouth, blood flying from News’ nose and hitting the wall in a spray. News gagged and shook her head as Crim pulled the cap from the syringe with her teeth. The words were a snarl, any sanity disappearing from the killjoy.
“You don’t say his name. Or theirs, they are a million times better than we will ever be. I got word out to them, they won’t be coming because I’m going to end this for them and make sure that you and Korse die just like Midnight did.”
“He betrayed you !”
“He was a human being. A fucked up shithead of a human being but still. You’re really forcing my hand here News.”
Crimson angled the needle only inches above the tied woman’s thigh and enjoyed the struggles as the terrified News again tried to break free. Time was wasting but Crim still needed to know the closest lab with the virus and the number of guards that she would need to get through in order to get to the weapon itself.
“Just tell me where and I will make it quick. Knife or laser, your choice. You dick me around or I think that you’re lying to me and I’m going to watch you dissolve. Believe me, I’d enjoy it and make a nice little video for Korse so he could see it too.”
“You wouldn’t !”
The needle dropped a little lower and News met Crimson’s eyes. Neither were willing to look away, the battle of wills was tantalising and neither were prepared to lose. Crimson was starting to feel the dead ache in her limbs again and wanted to be away to finish this before Party did indeed do something stupid. Rainbow would be on her way too, all of them and probably half the killjoy population so she wanted to end it now before they found their way inside. She continued to lower the needle until it pressed into the flesh, mere half a millimetre from entering the skin until New’s finally shouted and pulled back.
“Eastern Lab, Area four. It’s ten minutes north of here. My card will get you in if the guards don’t see you first.”
Crimson smiled and stepped back to enjoy the fury and shame radiating from News. There was no doubt she was being truthful, the baleful look was evidence enough that she had been caught out and knew it. The cap went back onto the needle and into the pocket of the Drac uniform. She also pocketed the second gun, knife and security pass before looking back at the bound weapon.
“This uniform gets me in plenty of places. You guys should try not to make them so…..uniform.”
“Just get it over with.”
Crimson held up the gun and paused, there was still one more question that needed and answer before it was time to move on and it was important. She would need to get the answer out to Party and Ghoul, there had been many debates on the matter that usually ended in some kind of perversity and, on one occasion, some very dodgy roleplay.
“Yeah but are you and Korse…y’know……fucking ?”
News went bright red and started to sputter causing Crimson to giggle and a fresh burst of pain from her busted ribs. To be honest no one was sure whether Korse was even human but it had been a question that everyone had been desperate to know the answer to.
“No ! You people are animals.”
“Shame.”
Crimson shrugged and put the gun to the other woman’s forehead. The force of the blast knocked the chair over and Crim double tapped the twitching corpse again just to be sure, it was enjoyable and necessary. There were many killjoys that had died in the torture chambers and labs of Battery City at that woman’s hands and now a small piece of revenge had been served. Given time it would have been longer and more painful.
The mask went back on as the stepped out into the corridor and back down the hall. Sirens were going off in the main building, only technicians left which seemed to signal that the fighting was heading her way. Crimson checked the map on the side of the wall by the exit and tried to orientate herself toward the Eastern lab. There was a fire blazing to the north and another south which impressed Crim given the limited number of prisoners that had escaped. Public service announcements were begging people to stay inside as the clock on the huge dome above registered two and a half hours left of the countdown.
Laser blasts nearby caused Crimson to shrink back, there was clearly something else going on and if it meant that a larger fight was needed then she really wasn’t sure that even a ten minute run was going to be easy. There was too little ammo to get in anything more than a skirmish. She watched silently as three brightly garbed figures ran by, whooping and shouting in excitement. More followed, then a band of dracs as the fighting broke out again.
There were no prisoners.
These were fighters.
Which meant Rainbow and Party had come to play.

Notes

Two chapters to go..................................