(or, What Happens When List Members Get Silly)
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There were six of them and only one of him, but he made short work of it.
In three minutes flat, two of the ninjas lay dead, two bleeding and
screaming, the other two fled. He brushed the dust from his immaculate grey suit, frowning at the blood on the sleeve. He'd have to get it cleaned right away, before he met Serena that night. And he'd have to have a chat with the evil drug lord who had ordered the ninja attack. Oh, he knew who was behind this, and he knew just what to do about it. Most men would have been dead, but he was not any man. He was Al A. Scorpio.
by Michael Hardy
Ginkgo was busy playing computer games and tickling her cats, but she could always be depended on when the call came to kick some evil drug lord butt. Grabbing her faithful sidearm, a .44 Special revolver with a cybernetic interface and laser sights, shrugging on her trusty shabby black sweater, she raced off into the night in her speedy 81 VW Rabbit-truck. Slamming through the side of the evil drug lord's house in her speedy VW, she leaped out the driver's side door already shooting. One baddie went down, then two, and three, and four and five, and then it was time to reload as she hurled herself behind a nearby wet bar. "I shoulda brought an AK-47," she muttered, as sounds of reinforcements came from the hallway beyond. Snatching out a laptop, she sent out a call for her own reinforcements, hoping that Ceit had her stealth-jet all fueled up and ready to go. Things weren't looking so good for Ginkgo Aleo, but she knew she'd hold out as long as she could and take a lot of the baddies with her, at least.
by Ginkgo
GreyCeit melted into the shadows, her epee loosely gripped in her strong fingers. BlackCeit strapped herself into her stealth jet and activated the VapourCool engines. The jet rocketed up to 10,000ft in a puff of moisture and no noise in 6.7 seconds. Set to hover, she watched from her vantage point high above with her macrobinoculars. GreyCeit slipped bonelessly around a corner and with a fluid lunge, impaled several baddies at once. She elegantly shook the red blood off her delicate blade and slunk back into her place of concealment. Ginkgo Aleo popped her head up for a bit of reconnaissance and spotted GreyCeit's eyes in the shadows. She motioned her over to her enclave. "Wanna drink?" GreyCeit's eyes narrowed, then crinkled into a grin...she silently nodded assent and flitted from shadow to shadow until she was sitting back to back with her comrade.
by Ceit
Sarah Anna Quarius had been hanging around all day back at the loft. Watching the phone impatiently, what a drag it was here. Where was Al A. Scorpio? She knew she should have provided Gingko Aleo more back up to go into that house. Or at least a grenade launcher. Serena would have her ass if she screwed this up. One more thing to drag her name down. She idly tightened the thigh high black boots again. Never know when you might need to run. Why is the only thing she can think of is tomorrow's entry in that damn online journal. She knew that she'd be in over her head when she started it, but she never knew how deep it would get. Such an addiction. She wondered when she'd be pulled out of here. The witness protection program sure wasn't what it was cracked up to be. So much for incognito lately. Boredom overcame her. Time to do some more snooping. Slipping her headphones on, her breathing softened. Every word was so clear in the room across the street. Who is Frederico? What the heck are those numbers he keeps reciting on the phone. It's a code. Pulling her hair back, scribbling furiously she wrote down the numbers. Damn why did she have to be so stupid. The answer was right there, so easy to see. Suddenly the door was kicked in. Who the hell knew she was here? There was no where to go, the masked gunmen were swarming into the loft from every direction it seemed. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She slipped under the desk as silently as possible. I'm doomed, I'm doomed. That pure thought pounded in her brain. No Scorpio or Leo to save her ass now. Time to pray to the gods to save one unlucky Quarius.
by Sarah
Dreama Thetaurus was as stubborn as her name suggested. Though Sarah Anna Quarius had said that she'd be fine, that she was just going to wait around at the loft until something happened, Dreama wasn't so sure. Having already seen the two halves of Ceit pressed into action to save Ginkgo Aleo, something told Dreama to check up on Quarius. As she neared the loft, she heard a commotion and gunfire. "Oh no," she thought, "I'm too late. Well, then again, maybe not." Praying that it wouldn't give way beneath her, she climbed the bougainvillea-laced trellis that covered the front of the building. Leaping deftly onto the terrace, Thetaurus grabbed the sawed off shotgun from her backpack and kicked the door open. The sound startled the intruding gunmen and gave Quarius the half-second she needed to scurry from under the desk and duck behind the sofa and out of the line of fire. Blast, blast, blast, and three of the gunmen were out of commission. The two remaining were closing in on Quarius from both sides, trapping her behind the sofa like a rat. "Sarah, heads up!" Thetaurus slid her handy .44 to Quarius, watching it slip between the approaching gunman's legs. In surprise, he turned, only to catch a face full of lead, as Quarius quickly dispatched his partner with a torrent of anger-laced fire. "Let's get out of here." Thetaurus went over to help Quarius from her hiding spot. "Let me just grab these numbers," Sarah mumbled as she took up the notebook. "You wouldn't believe what I overheard on the surveillance." "Well, let's get it to Serena. This may be just what we need to save Scorpio."
by Dreama
Might as well write the check, Michael T. Sagit-Tarius concluded, and quickly scribbled the payment in the log. The mechanic was the only one he could trust to keep quiet, but sometimes he really wondered if financing Al A. Scorpio's life was worth it. It had started nobly enough. Sagit-Tarius had wanted to use some of his fortune giving back to the society he had inherited it from, and Al Schroeder had been the perfect way to do it. A few hundred thousand here, another few hundred thousand there, and Al Schroeder was Al A. Scorpio, crimefighter with an arsenal of high-tech tools. No guns, no explosives, that was too savage. But the stealth car. The silent helicopter. The computer from which he hacked into every crime agency's database. The secret underground headquarters -- those all came out of Sagit-Tarius's wealth. And it wasn't like Scorpio hadn't been effective. He had broken up drug rings, prevented murders, even once averted a planned assassination of a Senator. All of that was good. But there were other things that weren't so good. The women. The tailored suits and parties. The constant repairs that had to be paid for because Scorpio insisted on driving recklessly even when he wasn't on an emergency run. Maybe Scorpio thought he was millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, but it was Sagit-Tarius' fortune, not his own, that financed everything. Mostly, the women. The first one, Ginkgo Aleo, had been fine. Scorpio needed a partner, someone to bail him out occasionally, someone to share the legwork. Paying for her tracking devices, clothes she needed to work undercover, her own set of tools, that had been fine. Even the lavish lifestyle ... if he could pay Scorpio's way, he supposed he could do the same for Aleo. But all the others ... yes, they had proven valuable in a few cases, but Sagit-Tarius's wealth wasn't boundless. And it seemed that Scorpio added a new one every few weeks. And too, there were the troubling questions. Scorpio had been working on a couple of cases far too long without making any progress. The man was good, so why did some things seem beyond him? Did he maybe have one or two friends that he shouldn't? Not for the first time, Sagit-Tarius considered pulling the plug on the whole operation. But he knew he wouldn't. No, the work was still important, still worth the excess. And besides .. it wasn't like Scorpio was the only one guilty of excess. Or having a friend or two he shouldn't.
by Michael Hardy
Ginkgo Aleo was grateful to see Ceit Agemini arrive. Tossing back a couple raspberry margaritas with GreyCeit, she asked, "Did you bring it?" GreyCeit nodded and handed over a bulging black bag. Aleo began emptying the bag, draping ammo belts over herself and checking the Vulcan Gatling GreyCeit had brought. "Well, we may as well get back to work," said Aleo, rising. "Yeah, might as well," agreed GreyCeit, "these chips are stale." The two leaped out from behind the wetbar, Aleo spraying the room with bullets as GreyCeit skewered the baddies Aleo missed in her enthusiasm like shishkebobs. "You really enjoy that, don't you," commented GreyCeit as Aleo repeatedly sprayed the glass trophy cases on one wall with bullets, reducing the wall and forest behind it to rubble. Aleo grinned sheepishly, "Sorry--Vulcan Gatlings just bring out the kid in me. Alright, let's go clean out the rest of this rat hole and see if we can't find where they stash the money--Sagit-Tarius has been grumbling about our expenses again." "Ok, but let me finish off the baddies--I'd love another margarita before we leave and you make them better than I do," said GreyCeit, hoping she'd distracted Aleo from any further displays of the incorrect use of automatic weapons. Aleo had just finished mixing the drinks when GreyCeit appeared beside her, delicately wiping blood off her blade. "Ah," GreyCeit sighed as she sipped her raspberry margarita, "I can see why you like these so much. I found the safe." Aleo smiled and pulled some C-4 and a timer from her pocket. Carrying their drinks with them, GreyCeit led Aleo back to where the safe was in the evil drug lord's bedroom. "You know, one of these days you're going to blow your ass off, carrying that stuff around in your pockets," GreyCeit commented, "You're not going to use too much again and blow the contents of the safe to Kingdom Come as well like you did last time, are you?" Aleo pouted a bit, mumbling, "These stasis containers are perfectly safe, and last time all the safe contained was drugs so it wasn't any big loss," as she set the charge. Retreating into the other room, they finished their drinks as Aleo detonated the C-4. The opened safe revealed stack upon stack of illicit drug money, about 20 million dollars worth. "Oh yeah, this outta sweeten Sagit-Tarius a bit," murmured GreyCeit. "And I didn't blow the whole house up, now, did I?" Aleo added peevishly, eyeing the mirrored ceiling thoughtfully. "No, you may not shoot up the ceiling. We have work to do," admonished GreyCeit as she began emptying the safe. Aleo let out a long-suffering sigh and began helping her, wistfully glancing up at the ceiling from time to time. On the way home, Ceit Agemini--her twin halves now reunited--let Aleo fly the stealth jet to make up for not letting her use up all her ammo earlier--a decision she came to regret after the third "rollercoaster" maneuver Aleo pulled. "Stall maneuvers at Mach 6 do too qualify as 'erratic driving'," muttered Agemini. "No, we don't stall until our speed falls well below Mach 6," argued Aleo. Agemini wisely refrained from continuing the discussion, leaning back and sighing. With Aleo flying, even at Mach 6, it would be a long ride home.
[note: A Vulcan Gatling is an aircraft-mounted gun of the sort that you
might see Arnold carrying around.]
[loose end: One of the legions of Scorpio's flunkies picked up Aleo's
speedy VW and drove it to the mechanic for her, and then delivered it
back to base.]
Tashita N. Aries was stretched out naked on her balcony, taking a languid drag off her cigarette. She glanced at her sleek black laptop, thinking she heard its familiar chime notifying her that there were new messages. No such luck. She took one last hit off her ciggie and smashed it down in one fluid motion. "Damn," she muttered, "What's taking him so long?" Tashita gathered her long braids up into a bun and began searching for her clothes. Finding them, she slipped expertly into a tight black PVC bodysuit, complete with 3 inch stiletto boots. She freshened her makeup and coloured her lips red. Glancing in the mirror, she smiled slowly at her reflection. She was hot, and she knew it. Footsteps came from the direction of the elevator. "I bet that's him," she snorted. A knock was heard. "Who is it?" she sang out. "It's me," answered the voice. Tashita opened the door quickly and passionately kissed the man standing behind it. "Michael," she purred, "What took so long?" "I had business to do for Scorpio," Sagit-Tarius answered. "But I'm all yours now, baby." "Ahh, Scorpio," Tashita said. "Well, come in, honey. Let's get you loosened up." She turned her back on him and closed the door, an evil smirk on her face.
by Tasha
Scorpio's meeting with Serena went well, as did his meeting with Michael T. Sagit-Taurus. Having finished his journal entry, he retired to his exercise room. There he devoted himself to the two hours of daily exercise---both physical and mental--that maintained him at his peak. The other people who worked with him (he didn't think of them as subordinates, but full partners) each had their role. Ginkgo Aleo was the armaments expert (she never met a gun she didn't like). Michael T. Sagit-Taurus bankrolled them as well as keeping them appraised of the world of high finance, and was a useful contact there. (Although sometimes he worried about Michael, too inclined to let a pretty woman lead him astray...). Ceit A Gemini,the mystical twins was/were both an expert pilot and a samurai par excellence, deadly with a blade. Sarah Anna Quarius was the wiretapping/communications expert, as well as being very good in a scrape. Dreama Thetaurus was second only to Ginkgo ALeo with a gun, especially her sawed-off shotgun, and was an even better tracker and reconnaissance expert. There were others, many others. But he maintained his field leader status, second in command only to Serena, by maintaining a well-disciplined mind and body. He never used a gun, but merely relied on his own body. A gun can misfire, or run out of bullets, but your body is always with you...if you master it. He ran through his jeet kune do martial arts routines. He did several sensory exercises, sharpening his awareness of his senses, a self-hypnosis routine that let down the perceptual barriers and filters the mind puts up for itself. (He understood that some autistic children also couldn't filter out senses as well as others could, would hear things too loudly, see lights too brightly. But in his case it was controlled, and that was the key.) He fell deep into a yoga meditative trance. He tried to banish all thoughts of Tashita N. Aries, despite memories of the fling...how long ago? But they had both been so young, and had delved into TANTRIC yoga then... He banished such thoughts and entered a meditative trance, turning off his mind. Then at a prearranged time, he brought the mind back in focus, running through mathematical problems in his head, using lateral thinking on problems selected at random. Yet he kept on thinking about Mike. A financial wizard, he bankrolled them all. Yet his heart was blind, and too easily led astray. If something happened there...who would bankroll Zodiac Inc.? Who would supply all their armaments, their planes, their cars? Who would keep Ginkgo Aleo perpetually supplied with raspberry margaritas? Zodiac Inc. was an independent organization, hired by Serena Zodiac, who was their contact with the Company. She couldn't officially bankroll them full-time without opening their methods up to Congressional investigation and review, although she could hire them temporarily on a piecemeal basis, and give them information and direction. And if Al A. Scorpio was right, Tashita N. Aries had one or two Congressmen in her pocket. That would mean the end of Zodiac Inc. If only one could find her journal! Where she wrote down every detail of her cunning schemes... Thinking of these things were the sort of thing that made Al the natural leader here. That, plus having read every Doc Savage paperback, every Shadow paperback ever printed, as well as having watched every MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE rerun....it gave him the juvenile mindset that was perfect for what was essentially a cross between James Bond and Cops'n' Robbers. There was the signal. Aleo and Agemini were back, plus Quarius and Thetaurus. He would be especially interested in what Quarius overhead in the surveillance.
by Al Schroeder
Michael turned to Tashita. "Hey, baby, got a smoke?" She was in mid-stretch, paused, and contorted her limber body to pick up her gold cigarette case and lighter. She turned to him, opening the elegant case. "Thanks, baby." He took a cigarette out and she leaned seductively to light it. He took several drags before he spoke again. "Mm.. before I forget: I've heard that Iko Akanseru is very displeased at what you've been doing." Leaning back, she tossed her head and let out a mocking laugh. "That old goat? I haven't heard from her in over 3 years. Come out of hiding from that crickety old temple, has she?" Michael furrowed his brow. "This is serious. You know she's got a great deal of supporters and I have a feeling she's angry about how you've applied the skills she's taught you." She waved her had, dismissingly. "I wouldn't worry about her. She hasn't left the shrine in years, definitely no threat to us." Sagit-Tarius sighed. "I suppose you know her best, baby." "Trust me." She raised her eyebrows. "Now.. tell me all about my ex-lover and what kind of business you're doing for him."
by Iko
Tashita walked slinkily over to the bar, not sure whether he was watching. She opened the bottle of Gentleman Jack that she had set out earlier, his favorite, stealing a glance over her shoulder. She was momentarily disappointed to see his closed eyes, but then she turned back to the bar and felt a sudden rush of fear. She had thoughtlessly left the notepad out! If he saw that, she'd be ruined! Now relieved that he wasn't watching, she quickly stashed it behind the bar. Damn! Better not make that mistake again. Composing herself, catching her breath and hoping her face wasn't flushed, she took him his drink and settled on the sofa across from him with her own. He opened his eyes then, and sipped absently at the drink. She watched him for a moment, noting his wandering eyes and troubled expression, wondering if she dare speak. Sometimes, he seemed pleased when she took an interest in his life, other times it just seemed to agitate him, and right now she wasn't sure what reaction she was likely to get. Finally, she decided to risk it -- the silence was beoming oppressive. Draining her drink, she paused a moment to gather her thoughts and whispered, "Darling? What's wrong?" He turned his eyes to her then, really seeing her for the first time since he had arrived. She steeled herself in case he was angry, but then he offered a wan smile and she relaxed. "Oh, it's nothing. It's Scorpio. You know." She nodded, unsure what to say. She did know, knew how angry he could be after paying a new batch of Scorpio's expenses. "He's recruited a new one." She nodded again, knowing what that meant.A new sidekick, a new beautiful woman to spend money on, to spend time with. Who might or might not become a valuable addition to a team that Sagit-Tarius had never intended to create. She had been one of them once, a long time ago. "Don't think about him. Just be with me tonight." She walked over to him and knelt over him, her knees resting on the seat of the chair, and bent to kiss him slowly, settling her body across his thighs. He relaxed into the kiss for a moment, then pulled away. "No." Stunned by his rejection, unsure what to do, Tashita stayed where she was, searching his face. After a moment he nudged her. "No ... please. There's more." She climbed off of him now, moving back to the sofa. And now her sense of rejection, her unfulfilled lust, mixed with fear ... "more" could mean ... no, no it couldn't, Tashita you're just being paranoid, she thought. He couldn't know. Sagit-Tarius closed his eyes again, and drained his own drink. "Yes, more. Someone ... someone knows about us." "Us? But ... how could ... " He waved his hand impatiently. "No, not you and me ... Scorpio. Scorpio, Aleo, the whole thing. And intends to destroy us." Tashita struggled to keep her expression under control. But she found herself wordless. "I don't know who. I'm pretty sure it's not anyone on the team. But ... damn him and those girls ... somebody said something somewhere along the line, and now we're all in danger. You say not to worry about Akanseru, but ... " Damn you Scorpio, he thought. This was supposed to have been a one-man operation, or two people at most. The more people who know, the more people who might slip. He had known when he started that Scorpio would make some powerful enemies, if he did his job right. That was the whole reason for the secret headquarters, the double identity. But there it was, right after he had sent the checks out today. An e-mail message, sent to his secret address, the one only nine people in the world should have known. He kept his other thought to himself ... his worry that Scorpio was dirty, that Scorpio himself might have been the one. He had no evidence of that, just a nagging suspicion. "I need another drink,:" she said abruptly, standing. "Bring me one?" He handed her his empty glass and closed his eyes again, his fingers steepled in front of him. Tashita went to the bar, making sure the notepad was hidden well.
by Michael Hardy
The drug lords had hired her when she was just another starving artist trying to make ends meet. They had offered to finance her career and to provide her with a studio, supplies, and exclusive one woman shows all over the world. The catch was that the paint she used for some of her work would be laced with drugs. Once the paintings were sold through the proper channels, the canvases were cut into one inch sections and resold on the street for illicit drug use. The drug users would lick the paint on each particular piece of the canvas to get high. The result of the high was so extraordinary that the druggie always wanted more and the druggie became addicted. The Virgin had struggled for years to build a career as an artist. At first she was hesitant to join the drug lords, but she wanted more than anything to have a career in the art world. She had been bought by the drug lords. Some how she justified all this in her head by telling herself that her paintings were what people really wanted and that people were addicted to her wonderful talent, not the drug laced paint. Besides she was living the good life now and living in the fast lane. All she had to do was to produce a few paintings each month. The Virgin had just learned that Scorpio and his partners were getting a little too close for comfort. They knew of the drug lords and were closing in on the operation. The one thing that Scorpio's group hadn't figured out yet was how the drugs were smuggled and how they were distributed. The Virgin tried to push the thought of Scorpio out of her mind and concentrate on her painting. She knew that Tashita had the code names to give her. The paintings that had the drug laced paint were all given code names so that the drug dealers would know which paintings to buy. The Virgin hoped Tashita would call soon with the codes... The new show of the Virgin's latest paintings was only two days away. The Virgin began to contemplate the idea of retiring after this show. People were being careless and she knew it was only a matter of time before the whole operation was discovered...
by Carol
Ginkgo Aleo and Ceit Agemini burst into the main residence complex, each carrying a margarita. Agemini looked a little green around the gills. "I am never, EVER letting you fly my jet again!" she said to Aleo vehemently, if a little shakily, punctuating her words with wild gestures of her margarita. Aleo just grinned evilly and held up one finger. "Et la!...that's for being such a sourpuss back there at the druglord's house." Agemini just grinned ruefully back, "Point taken." as she unfastened the thin blade at her side. They dumped their kit on the scarred table in the centre of the barren room and started cleaning and repairing their weapons. Once that task was completed, they racked their equipment on their mannequins...the other mannequins in the room were empty. "Hmm...I guess the other members of the team haven't returned yet. At least they haven't cleaned up." said Aleo. A red light mounted up above the door began to flash. "Hey, the others must have returned, let's go and see what's up." said Agemini. A klaxon began to sound. "Sounds heavy, let's go!" The intrepid (and slightly intoxicated) duo dashed out the door and headed for the main briefing room.
by Ceit
Order, order, order.... there was so little of it these days, Lisa Navirgo mused. Not much serenity, either, come to think of it. She wondered how she'd ever gotten herself in with Scorpio and his crew, such the shy, quiet type that she was. A research librarian in her everyday life, she was also an integral part of the Zodiac Corporations's behind the scenes team. Oh if her librarian employers only knew what she was reading about on that little laptop she brought in each day and typed away on whenever there were no patrons needing her assistance. As far as they could tell, she was making another attempt at getting a novel published. She'd explained away the small antenna lead taped over the top of her laptop's LCD as an antenna for the FM tuner card she'd had installed a few months ago; no one suspected it was her cellular uplink. There wasn't a piece of information Lisa Navirgo couldn't find, if she put her mind to it: the price of tea in China, the latest additions to the FBI's witness protection program, the truth behind all the scandals and conspiracy theories. If knowledge was power, she was one of the world's most powerful people! The thought made her laugh, and an older man reading at one of the reference tables looked up, surprised. She smiled and he smiled back and returned to his reading. The the single earphone she wore was purportedly so she could listen to Chopin on her favorite classical station. Occasionally someone came along and asked if they could listen, and with a tap of the F13 key (that no one seemed to give a second thought), her audio feed from Zodiac was replaced with an MP3 of Chopin's Nocturne No. 3 in B major, or Debussy's Arabesque, on piano and flute. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. When she'd first signed on with the Corporation, she'd been a quite concerned about being tracked and putting her library patrons in jeopardy. Sagit-Tarius put her mind at ease when he'd first talked to her on the laptop that had appeared in her mailbox just a few days after she'd met Scorpio, with a simple sticky note that said "a gift from the heavens." He explained how it was impossible to track: even if it had been built with a traceable P3 chip (of course not, it was a Xeon!), the uplink with its frequency constantly modulated using fractal mathematics would foil any attempted trace. It was mid afternoon on a sunny day, and the library was quiet. Having a moment of free time, she did a little self-indulgent web surfing on the Times' site, and noticed in the Arts section that Carol Avirgo was having another show in two days. She loved Avirgo's work, and had always felt a kinship to her, what with the similarity in their last names, but no matter how she tried, she could never manage to purchase any of Carol's pieces on her reference librarian salary. Sure, Sagit-Tarius paid her well, but she couldn't go flashing that kind of money around without making _someone_ suspicous. Instead, she had most of it donated anonymously to Make-A-Wish and various no-kill pet shelters, and kept just a small bit to keep her in the latest software, sci-fi novels, and imported oriental rose tea. Still, she really wanted one of Avirgo's paintings, and she decided it wouldn't hurt to try again. Now if only she could find someone to go with her... she hated going to social functions alone. Picking up the phone, she dialed 9 for an outside line, and waited for a second dial tone...
by Lisana
Renee DeCancer heard her phone ringing and she dropped the book she was reading. Reminding herself that she must remember to check the Caller I.D. before she picked up the dreaded thing. WHO was calling her now? She didn't socialize anymore after the incident. Everyone knew that. Her phone had stopped ringing a long time ago. Nobody ever thought to invite her anywhere now. Nobody cared for her opinions anymore. She was a has-been. A Relic of Older Times. Taking a chance, she picked up the telephone even though she didn't recognize the number. When she heard Lisa Navirgo's voice, she visibly relaxed. Renee considered her one of very few friends. Meeting Lisa at the library about a year ago was a Good Thing. She was such a wonderful person....so helpful too in locating those hard-to-find books and a great conversationalist when she could be torn away from that laptop. When Lisa asked her to accompany her to the art show for Carol Avirgo, her heart skipped a beat. Did Lisa realize what she was asking? Did she KNOW anything about Avirgo that would put her at danger? Or worse, did Lisa realize how much Renee really knew? Not knowing how to refuse without raising suspicion, Renee accepted. After hanging up the phone, Renee slowly sank into her chair. Holding her head in her hands, her mind raced wondering what Carol would say to her. If she even recognized her that is. After all that time and the confusion, she may not. What was going to happen at that art show.....
by Renee
Lyn De'Geminii frowned slightly as she looked around the empty office. Michael had been so out of sorts when he left, muttering over the accounts, and then leaving without so much as a word of goodbye. It was that Scorpio person again, but there were others that also kept him secretive and grim, and she didn't like it. It had always been this way, ever since he'd taken her in after her parents death - he regarded her with fondness, but kept her shut out of so much of his life. He still regarded her as a child to be protected, and had not noticed that she was no longer the traumatized girl who had arrived on his doorstep years ago. She did not think he should have so many worries - he had always protected her from worries, and wasn't it time she did the same for him? A few months ago, she had begun these foraging trips into his office while he was away, looking for clues to that secret world he wouldn't let her into. Oh, of course he'd be angry if he knew, and she didn't want to face his anger, but it was for his own good - if she could find a way to make him smile again, it would be worth it. She riffled through the checkbook...Scorpio, always this Scorpio person. She didn't like him, although they'd never done more than exchange hellos. She was always sent away, feeling his eyes follow her up the stairs. She did not know why Michael invested so much money or energy to him, but she didn't trust him. Looking over his appointment book, she saw the T circled in red.. another person she was not allowed to know of, another one she didn't trust, who kept his gaze looking past her into the distance. Why had he stormed out to go see "T", and what was it about? A thought crossed her mind, and she was frightened at the boldness of it. He would be so angry if she did it, if he knew she'd even thought about it. She shivered, but then threw off her fear. It was for his sake....for their sake. So he could return to the quiet, lovely life he'd created for her. Shaking only slightly, she picked up the phone...
by Lynda
Sagit-Tarius left Tashita about midnight. She was the one he would turn to for advice, for comfort, for passion, when he needed those things. But right now, he didn't want anyone's company. He walked aimlessly, mulling over everything that was happening. His whole secret operation seemed on the verge of crashing down, and it could end with all of them dead. He had to find out who his enemy was, and fast. As he always did on reflection, he gradually lost his anger at Scorpio for the women. It was true, every single one of them was valuable. It was easy to look at their beauty, their sensuality, and conclude that Scorpio wanted to surround himself with a harem. Especially when the bills came due, seemingly always more than before. Earlier, before the car repair bills, before the threatening e-mail, Scorpio had told him of his new recruit, and Sagit-Tarius's anger always flared on hearing such news, and then burned away. Because truly, they all had proven invaluable. Tashita was the only one who had ever left the team. A few had died, yes, this was a dangerous business, and they knew that when they signed on. But she was the only one who had ever chosen to stop. He remembered that day two years ago, when she had told him the bullets and the constant need for alertness were wearing her down. That was the night they had become lovers, something he could never tell anyone. She had been Scorpio's once, and Sagit-Tarius was afraid that if Scorpio ever found out, the resentment and anger that might result would weaken Zodiac, Inc. Or maybe destroy it altogether. He wondered then if maybe that was why he suspected Scorpio of being a traitor. Could it be that somewhere in his subconscious, Sagit-Tarius thought that getting rid of Al Schroeder and finding a new Scorpio would be safer? He didn't think that was what he was thinking, but the subconscious can be a funny thing. He sometimes wondered how Scorpio found them. Lisa Navirgo was a librarian. How did Scorpio intuit that the shy, quietly pretty girl would have any desire to undertake the dangerous life he offered her? And Ceit. That one mystified him. That ability she had to spilt herself into two, that wasn't one of Sagit-Tarius's technological investments. That was something she already had, and no one understood just what exactly it was. Sagit-Tarius had been a skeptic about both magic and extraterrestrial visitors before meeting her, but damned if could think of any earthly way she accomplished that feat. He made a mental note to commend her. She'd scored $20 million in dirty money earlier that day and planned to turn it over tomorrow. That would help, a lot. He had no qualms about taking the money ... it was being turned from illicit profit for predators into grist for the team that would shut the predators down. And that could only be good. Sagit-Tarius despised drug peddlers. It was his brother's death from an overdose that had first spurred him to create Zodiac, Inc. His brother had been Serena's husband, long ago. Serena's role in all of this had changed over the years. At first, Sagit-Tarius had thought she would be the Scorpio. And although she was no slouch in a fight, she lacked the nerve for a career of it. She had stepped back into the shadows, preferring to oversee the team from a place of safety. And Sagit-Tarius bore her no grudge for that, it was no life for anyone who wanted to see old age. And she proved to be a brilliant strategist, so he had recurited Schroeder to take over the field work. The only thing he could really object to about the team was that the girls used guns. Sagit-Tarius had wanted Scorpio to be more dignified than that, and Scorpio himself was. He dispatched enemies with his fists, with his feet, sometimes with a blade, but never with a crass shower of bullets. Still, even that, Sagit-Tarius could understand. Guns turned his stomach, but the enemies used them, and his own team shouldn't be hobbled by his idiosyncracies. And dead is dead, after all, whatever the method. His mouth tasted of stale cigarettes, a taste he hated. He had smoked a couple with Tashita because they were handy, but he longed for his pipe. He had left it at home though, so he stepped into a convenience store to buy a drink. A plain Pepsi Cola would wash away the aftertaste without clouding his thoughts. Everyone seemed like a possible enemy. Was the clerk staring at him just a little too long? Was the heavyset woman lingering over the first-aid supplies stealing surreptitious glances his way? You're being stupid, Michael, he thought. They have no clue who you are. Back outside, he pulled his leather jacket a little tighter against the cold, zipping it halfway. He drank the soda quickly so he could throw the bottle away and stuff his bare hands in his pockets. Think, Michael. What do you know and what can you only guess at? Fact: The Ninjas Scorpio had fought yesterday were part of the Mr. X's army. Scorpio knew a lot of the drug ring's workings, but he hadn't managed to identify the ringleader yet, so Sagit-Tarius would think of him as Mr. X for now. Fact: The e-mail had come to the address that only a few people were supposed to know. It was a simple list ... the code names of all the team members, and their real names. The words "I know. I will avenge." No signature. Sender name masked. IP trace to a dead-end. Everything else was speculation. Did this come from Mr. X? Unknown. Did it come from one of the powerful crime figures Scorpio had put out of business over the past eight years? Unknown. And whoever it was, how did they know? Had someone on the team let too much slip? Unlikely ... they were all pros. Had someone turned traitor? Sagit-Tarius didn't want to believe that. But there didn't seem to be any other answer. He was suddenly washed over with regrets. If this had happened a few years ago, it wouldn't have mattered so much. Then it was just Scorpio, Serena and himself. None with anyone who would care if they were lost. But now he had Lyn to protect ... Tashita could take care of herself, but Lyn ... Lyn's not a little girl anymore, he thought suddenly, and just as suddenly willed the thought away. One more fact. He would have to tell Serena. And soon. And that was a meeting he was dreading.
by Michael Hardy
Viviane A. Nother Scorpio (aka. A.N. Scorpio) was dancing her soul out to the techno beat filling the room. She could feel all her vital organs pumping together with the beat while sweat dripped along the neck of her perfect neck. Her black supplex short dress glued to her pale white skin, completely wet delineating her pettite but softly curved body. Her first night at the City and after waiting hours for her contact to show up at the meeting place, she gave up. She had been recruited for a secret mission which she had no idea what it was all about and wondered who is this guy. They had talked on the phone, but she believed that couldn't be the Big Boss. She suspected the Big Boss was Al. A. Scorpio but there was no way to know it just yet.And she had to know everything about Al A. Scorpio while keeping undercover working for them.Could he be any relative? Could he know something about all the money the Scorpio family left her which disappeared suddenly from the bank a few hours later she received the news she was a rich girl now? She set the thoughts away from her mind, it was time to have some fun. There will be plenty of time later to plan her steps carefully once she gets told what she must do as a recruit. She isn't a hurry, if they really want to contact her they will find a way. They always find. The organization seems to have highly technological resources to keep tracking anyone they think may have some value and serve their purposes. A hip-hop song started playing, sounding like run DMC. Better go over to the bar, ask for a double Rum Collins and enjoy the music before real action starts...
by Viviane
"We knew this day would come, Michael." Serena leaned back in the chair, thoughtful. Sagit-Tarius had laid out all he knew for her, and she had taken it better than he had expected. She gazed into the distance for ten full minutes while he sat, silent, watching her. "You know who it sounds like," she said at last. And suddenly he did know. The simple style of the e-mail. The warning before striking. "You don't think ... " She nodded, gravely. "I'm not certain. But I think it's the most likely possibility, yes." "So ... what do we do?" She mulled this over a moment. "We have to let the team know. I'll call them together at Tactical in two hours and brief them. After that ... I don't know. Quarius has been doing surveillance work, we can cover what she's learned there too, and see if any of it fits together." Sagit-Tarius frowned. "But that will tip off the traitor that we know." She nodded. "Whoever it is already contacted us. Whoever it is already knows we know. And the rest of them need to." "I'm afraid ... they will begin to suspect one another. This could get ugly." She nodded again. "Yes. But they are professionals. We have to trust them to not act rashly. They're better off if they know." "Yes. I'll meet you at Tactical in two hours." He started to rise, stopped when she smiled at him. "No love. You haven't slept in two days. Go home. Sleep. Take care of Lyn. I'll handle the briefing, and then we'll decide where to go from there." Sagit-Tarius sighed. He knew she was right, he was exhausted. And worried about Lyn. "One more thing," she said as he rose from the chair. "If it is who I think ... Tashita was the one who cracked that case, the one who knows the most about it. She needs to be at the briefing. She may be in danger too. And she may know something that will help put a quick end to this." "Yes. I'll call her, you call the others." "OK. And I will call you later today, Maybe we'll know more by then." With that, he left, looking forward to sleep than he had cared to admit.
by Michael Hardy
Ginkgo Aleo was feeling her oats after having consumed a rather alarming amount of raspberry margaritas. "While it's true that I'd be dead now if it wasn't for you," she grumbled to Ceit Agemini, "I found it rather annoying that Sagit-Tarius acted as if you were single-handedly responsible for bringing him that 20 million dollars from the evil drug lord. "What's more," Aleo went on, pulling stacks of money from her shirt and placing them in her purse in her locker, "I find it quite insulting how Sagit-Tarius tends to view us as some sort of harem for Scorpio rather than valuable members of the team. I don't think he really appreciates how lucky he is to have all of us working for him. Did you know that I overheard him the other day referring to us as 'Scorpio's babes'?" "I have to agree with you on that," replied Agemini, pulling stacks of money out of her shirt and placing them in her bag in her locker, "Sagit-Tarius does seem to have an attitude problem. However, you have to admit that when you charge off like that without your usual arsenal, you're not likely to get much credit when I have to pull your butt out of the fire--you're lucky he didn't chew your ass off. What were you thinking, anyway?" "I know, and I really am sorry. I'd been obsessing on a new game when Scorpio called and I guess my brain just had a fatal error. Perhaps I'm starting to rely too heavily on you always being there to back me up," Aleo said, hugging Agemini. "Alright, alright, it's ok--let's not get all sentimental here, ok?" Agemini quickly responded, straightening her shirt. "Come on, let's blow this joint and hang out at your place--I need to get some more Anti-Allergy pills and Anti-Drunk pills from that Evil Scientist husband of yours anyway. Maybe we can all think of some way to deal with Sagit-Tarius--he has been rather overstepping his bounds as Mastermind Financial Backer lately...."
by Ginkgo
While she waited for the group to open their mouths to say something after her briefing, Sarah 'Quarius saw her bank of lights flashing on her surveillance tapes. She lept up and ran over to the control board. The Virgin had communicated!!! But with who? She slipped on her headphones to shield out the group discussion that had started. Her mouth dropped open. Could it be? One of us? She wheeled around in her chair, slowly slipped off her headphones and raised her finger to point at the one who's voice was on the tape. "YOU!" she proclaimed, singling out Tashita N. Aries. "Passing codes to drug lords? What the hell is all this about?", Sarah demanded to know. Now it seemed Ms. Aries was up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
by Sarah
All this insanity started when someone signed a post with their name and astrological sign, to which Al responded and signed, "Al, a Scorpio". Feel free to join in. It is currently hosted on the rpgamers list: to subscribe go to http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/rpgamers.
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Text © 1999 the individual writers, page © 1999 Jade Leaves Designs