Page 21 of The Death Striker's Partner
“Alright, that’s enough of that.” Ezid has finally decided to stop watching and takes the lead over his officers. “I am Pit leader Ezid, andI’myouractualsuperior.” He addresses Hannah directly and with his tail pushes Morty’s shoulder so hewalks away. If Hannah has noticed the way the other humans now gossip about her, she doesn’t show it. Instead she casts me a sideways glance. I nod, confirming that Ezid is to be obeyed, and she straightens up to attention before him. “As Pit leader of the 21st, everyone here answers to me. So if you’ve finished baring your fangs at everyone, your earlier assessment was correct. You need a uniform and you need to start training. Though, combat training isn’t usually where we start.” He flashed me a curious look with his arms folded, and I didn’t even blink. It’s my prerogative how to train my partner, not his. Hannah said she wanted to hit something. I will give her what she needs. “Make sureat some pointto go through our policies and procedures. Give her the tour, the handbook, and see me later to agree what grunt work she can start with.”
Hannah has moved to stand beside me. I feel her heat radiating onto my scales, but I want more. I want Ezid to shuck off. I want to coil around her. I want to take her back to my nest and do to her what my biology demands of me. Instincts I never knew I had were snapping their jaws and trying to claw to the surface.
But instead, I push it all down and focus on anything and everythingotherthan her scent. Or how close she is to me. Or how she declared she would answer only to me. She practically stated for the whole pit that she is mine, and everyone else could shuck off. I swallow more saliva and absently coil my tail loosely around her feet. Not to touch her…but to guard her as mine.
“I shall.”
“My office is in the middle of the pit.” Ezid spoke to Hannah with a softer tone than he used with me. There is worry in his eyes, and I don’t like it. “You can come and see me with any questions or concerns you might have. Any time.” First Johnson says she will need more supportbecauseshe ismypartner, and now Ezid is making a point of telling her where she can find him if she has ‘questions or concerns’?
“Yes sir.” She salutes him, and bitterness starts to settle on my scales, when her hand presses with warm temptation against my left bicep. “But I’m sure Tumva has my back where that’s concerned.”
“Indeed.” I manage to say before carefully reaching down to hold her shoulder. “The uniform recs are this way.” I catch a curious look from Ezid as I walk Hannah away from him and towards the many hooks on a wooden wall with uniforms suspended for use.
We don’t talk outside of practical back and forth about her measurements and the fit of the kevlar body armour. I steal as many glances at her as I can, and was bereft when she stepped out of my sight to use a changing cubicle. When she emerged, however, my chest swelled with pride. She wore black boots, kevlar reinforced combat trousers, and a long-sleeved shirt with a utility belt to hold future approved weapons. She held a helmet in her hands and smiled up at me.
“How do I look?”
“You look like a Peacekeeper. Now, you simply need the training of one.”
“Oh, is that all?” She giggled and her ponytail swung behind her. “Alright, let’s go. And don’t kick my ass too badly.” Hannah laughed, snorted, and then pointed at me as she walked past me. “What’s the Ucfeni version of kicking? Since you don’t have legs. Tail whipping? Don’t whip my ass too badly.”
I swallow thickly. Irefuseto imagine what bringing my tail tip down with a teasing crack across her bottom or the backs of her thighs would feel like. Look like. What noise she’d make or if she’d ask me to do it again. I don’t think about it at all…
Chapter 19
A racy assignment
Hannah
I am looking forward to today. Work helps to keep my mind of the lack of contact with my sister, and every day I’m tempted to just call her anyway. I only resist because I know I could end up upsetting her even more than last time. No, I need to wait for her to call me. That way, she’s ready to talk to me about whatever has upset her. Even though it’s killing me being so out of touch with her, I have to trust that she was telling me the truth when she said Izule was taking care of her. Regardless how that makes me feel. Billie doesn’t see the point in lying, and she certainly wouldnt lie to me.
Our journey to the pit was routine for us now. Tumva is always ready before me and I can’t remember the last time I had my near black hair down. My ponytail is low and efficient, since I’ll be wearing a helmet when on duty anyway. Sometimes Tumva plays with it with the tip of his tail, twirling it, but always stops when I turn my head to look at him.
I’m so used to the harness on Tumva’s back and we even share idle chitchat on our way to work. Usually about my training or some of our morecolourfulcolleagues. Today I’m giddy because I’m getting my first assignment. Not a patrol, of course. Ezid hasn’t signed off on me being on the streets yet. Something about having to prove myself in combat first. I’ve completed all the paper work and theory tests now, so Tumvasays we’re getting an assignment based on analysing evidence. Sounds like a fancy way of saying we’re going to be doing paperwork all day, but at least it’s a start.
I no longer noticed when the other officers steered clear of us. We ignore them all as we head to the front desk to get my first assignment. Glorified paper work or not, I’m still looking forward to putting all the last two weeks of training to good use. I think i’m being very patient when Tumva accepts the assignment folder and decides to read through it before telling me what we’re going to be doing. I’m silent for a full five minutes before I start chewing my own lips and put my hands on my hips.
“What’s the hold up? What are we doing? Warrants? Cataloguing the rec? I’m drawing the line at polishing everyone’s helmet.” I had to smirk at my own joke, and expected Tumva to grin in that silent way that he does when he finds me funny but doesn’t comment. But he’s too consumed with what he’s reading. “Tumva? Ear-erm-Thelia to Tumva? What’s our assignment?”
“…” Tumva doesn’t answer and I got bored of waiting. For Billie I have all the patience in the world. Two worlds, it would seem. But I really don’t have it in me to stand silently while my sponsor stares at the folder. I open my mouth to start sassing him about being tight lipped, when he shuts the folder and turns back to the assignment desk. “We can’t take this assignment. Give us another.” He pushes it towards the Ucfeni working the assignment desk. Like us he’s wearing black kevlar, but unlike us, he is smirking his scaly ass off. Officer Felec handed out the assignments, and was a
“No can do.” He chuckled at Tumva with such a wide grin I could see his membranes connecting his jaws together. He resembled a python, with his colouration, but was smirking like a fox. “You know you don’t get to pick the assignments. You’re pit side while you have an apprentice who isn’t patrol ready. Youthereforeget whatever assignment you’re given that your littlehuman is approved to help with.” Felec sniggered and pushed the folder back towards Tumva.
I think if Tumva had been any other Ucfeni, this would have been a victory to be relished for Felec. Putting down his colleague and taking pleasure in putting him down. But because this was Tumva, he soon realised he wasn’t in such a lofty position. Tumva hissed and leaned forward an inch, just an inch, and Felec swung back against the wall. Having a Death Stalker hissing at you appeared to make one slime one’s self.
It’s hilarious when this happens. Tumva lets so much of their prejudice crap slide off his scales, but every now and then I see them push him too far and he gives them that dark predatory look that makes them cower from him. I smirk and fold my arms with my left hip jutted to one side.That will teach Felec for being a jerk.Tumva stops hissing and glances his unfathomable eyes down at me, regarding my grin, before calming himself.
“Fine.” Tumva grumbles and holds the offensive folder down by his side. “Officer Hannah, we are going to digital evidence room.” I nod, not seeing what the big deal was, but any and all officers in ear shot start to snigger. Tumva grimaces and leads the way. I follow behind and cast my brown eyes around us to take in the reaction of our colleagues. What’s so bad about this assignment? Why is it so funny that we’ve been assigned to the digital evidence room?
Tumva enters the security code for the door to open and inside it looks like any other computer room. On the left and right sides of the dimly lit room are small brown plastic boxes that look similar to old fashioned video cassettes, but they are square in shape and have a single black ring of film in the middle. On the far wall is a large computer with a wide screen. Facing it is a desk with two spiral stools. We approach the computer and I raise a brow when Tumva pulls a black curtain across the middle of the room to block us from sight of the door.
“So what are we doing?” I ask and take a seat. Tumva as more reluctant and hesitates before coiling his thick black tail around the stool. He lowers to sit on it and pushes the folder towards me. I wait for him to say something. Anything. Instead he’s avoiding my gaze and using the keyboard to log into the computer with his officer credentials. “…okay…?” I shrug and eye the folder. This assignment must be a doozy if Tumva didn’t want us to do it and everyone is amused that we’ve been assigned it. My mind is whirring with the possibilities. This is where the digital evidence is stored.Oh no. Please don’t be something nasty like watching someone being tortured or raped. I get that evidence from those kinds of recordings help to convict the bad guy, but I’m not ready for anything like that.Nervously I open the folder and prepare myself for the worst. It took me a moment to realise what I was looking at. “…Tumva?” I ask without taking my eyes off the photograph. “…why am I looking at at an Ucfeni and a human having sex?”
Tumva groans, propping his elbows on the desk and hanging his face into his right palm. I smirk, relieved this assignment isn’t as morbid as I first feared. The picture in the file is of an Ucfeni with the same black and white banding as a sea snake, with the legs of a human woman with long blonde hair wrapped around their hips. He’s mounting her against a tree with his left hand holding her ass in place and his right fondling her left breast. His face is pressed to her neck and her face is fixed in a euphoric expression. “Tumva? Whatexactlyis our assignment?” I’m grinning and struggling to contain my amusement. Mainly because I can see how uncomfortable Tumva is. He hasn’t looked me in the eye since he was handed the assignment folder and even now, he refuses to look at me.
“Xeno-pornography has been on the rise over the last few years-” I snort. On the rise he says. “-and tapes like the one confiscated last night can analysed to expose both theparticipants,and the venue being used. We should be able to use that information to find out who’s making the recordings and arrest them as well.”
“So isallpornography illegal on Thelia?” Some places on Earth allowed it, and others didn’t, after all.
