FOLLOWING THE LEAD
A super-heroine adventure by InterestingLife featuring SHURIKEN, based on an image by Exit-Zero (320).

DISCLAIMER : This story is a work of fiction. It may contain scenes of violence, sexual imagery and may depict scenes of non-consensual sexual activity, as well as torture and many other illegal activities. It is intended as literary entertainment only.
All characters used in this story are property of their respective owners.
This story is part of the continuity established by myself and my interpretations of the Exit-Zero universe, presented with his permission, and may not work in continuity with other stories. 

Direct any comments to : youngasuq@yahoo.ca

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Fall was just around the corner. The trees along the streets of Eve City in Hochimin district had started to change colour ever so slightly. Tali Yuei Sung, a young Vietnamese woman dressed in a flowery robe, brown hair blowing in the wind, was sitting comfortably in the park near her residence, reading a romance novel. Cars were driving slow down the street adjacent to the park while kids and teenagers ran around, making a fuss about everything. Every once in a while, the wind tossed up Tali's bleached blonde hair in her face, forcing her to toss it aside.

In the distance, Tali heard the all-too familiar sound a police siren. For a moment, she was tempted to get up and investigate. She hesitated : painful memories resurfaced, pinning her to the bench. She held back the emotion, knowing full well it wasn't hers. Just a reminder of the ordeal she had just been put through and from which she had miraculously come out alive. It was over now, at least as over as it could be given what had transpired. The sound of the siren gave her another reminder, one as somber as the other memories. She needed to visit the clinic later today; her appointment was at three in the afternoon. She was hoping for some good news. If it was bad, then, she would take the necessary next steps.

She eventually lifted herself from the bench, retrieved her purse and placed the book inside. Her eyes darted to a small, almost disc-like metallic object in there, a weapon of sorts, a trademark... Her strength, her weakness at the same time. 

She needed air before she got to the clinic. As she strutted around the park, her mind wandered to a much older memory, a prelude to more recent events.

***

"It's him!" Tali had said to the judge, pointing to the defendant.
"Are you certain, miss Sung?" had insisted the attorney speaking with her.
"Yes. He's the man who killed my mother."

The courtroom wasn't packed. The proceedings were not public. In the defendant's seat, a twenty-something black man in dreadlocks stared at the pulpit where the young witness, teenager of fourteen years old, pointed in his direction. He was furious. He had tried intimidating her but had failed. Luckily for her, he was bound to his chair and there were guards near him, otherwise he might have leapt over to strangle her, like he had her mother.

The district attorney, a middle aged caucasian, turned back to Max Crow, the defendant.

"So it I recap your entire statement... you entered your home around seven PM and you found this man - Max Crow, the defendant - with his hands wrapped around your mother's throat. You screamed and he looked back, then came at you. You ran outside where you ran into a neighbour - who previously identified the defendant as fleeing the scene. Is that correct?"
"Yes, sir..."

Tali was brave. Six months before that, coming home from soccer practice, she had chanced upon the murder of her mother, catching the criminal in the act. She would probably have been killed alongside her had her neighbour, Mr. Mooray, had not been present on the street at that time. With their combined testimonies, Max Crow had been identified, arrested, and was now facing a very long stint in jail. There were no more tears in Tali, only a need for justice and closure. And this was the last time she would have to face him. It was the attorney's promise. He had tried to intimidate her, casting evil glares in her direction. At first, fear had almost made her rescind her testimony, but stern words from her father had brought her back to her obligation to society, and more specifically to her mother.

The verdict had come hard on him - murder without premeditation, 20 years to life. He had attempted to appeal, but it had been denied. Max Crow was gone, but so was Tali's mother. Unable to pay the rent of their larger home, her father had moved them from the suburbs to a small apartment on the outskirts of Hochimin district, where she had spent the next few years, finishing high school, learning to live without a parent, and channeling her rage into something productive. College had brought its high and lows as Tali turned her interests to criminal justice, studying to become a lawyer in her own right. Failing grades had unfortunately prevented her ascension past the first year. She had spent a year exploring options, occupying dead end jobs in her district, from food clerk in a supermarket to window dresser in a department store. She had also played on the edge of danger, working as a barmaid in a strip club. Eventually, she had moved out of her father's place and into her own pad, really a one-room apartment in the block on the other side of the street.

There was another reason for her to want to get away from his influence and his inquiries into her personal life. Not long after her failed stint at college, she had found herself on the receiving end of a hostage situation during a daylight robbery in a convenience store. Two would-be thugs had taken her and another girl hostage in their van. They had driven them to a desolate area, forcing them out of the vehicle and making them strip. But just as the caused seemed lost, a lady dressed in a fancy pink and white suit, masked, had emerged upon the scene, throwing disks around, and had taken out the villains. Introducing herself as Ricochet, she had then apprehended the criminals and taken the girls to safety. This chance rescue had completely changed Tali's life and given her a new purpose. As she saw more heroines burst on the scene, Tali knew she had to be part of it. Perhaps her failure in law school meant she was destined for a greater, grander purpose. She finally ended up working in a food production company, suffering the daily grind, living below her means and saving as much money as she could. She sacrificed her social life for training, her every waking hour devoted to her mission.

Almost a year to the day after her kidnapping, Shuriken made her way onto the streets of Hochimin district in Eve City, vowing to make life better for its citizens and to hunt crime wherever it showed.

***

"This is nuts, Max!"
"Shut up and run!"

It wasn't like Max Crow really had a choice in the matter. An opportunity had presented itself to him and he had seized it. Now, speeding along the perimeter wall of the prison, he was dragging along his own ball-and-chain, his cellmate, Gary Jung. They'd been sharing the cell for the past 3 years in the maximum security wing of the Eve City Penitentiary. There were only two things on Max's mind, and the first one was escape. Some kind of glitch in the security system had left his door unlocked. There was no way he would not take the chance. He was not scheduled to be released until at fourteen more years, and he didn't count on his behavior since his incarceration helping his case any. He had gotten into more fights in here than out there, and had landed a few people in the prison clinic. Max Crow had no qualms about violence; he had learned his lesson about killing, though.

Gary Jung was not as hardened a criminal as Max was. He had accidentally killed the son of an important man in town and his sentence had been exemplary. Paired with Max, he had quickly become his lackey and go-to-guy. Gary was resourceful to an extent, but breaking out of jail, that was another matter entirely. Gary might have gotten marks for good behavior, and he only had seven more years before he was eligible for parole. Now, chasing after his cellmate, escaping despite his best logic, he was shooting himself in the foot. But he had learned quickly not to disagree with Max Crow.

"We're almost free," mumbled Max as he looked over the wall and down into the ocean below. 

The prison was south of the city, in a remote area, bordering the water.

"But... Max... how are we gonna get down?"

It was a difficult climb at best; they needed to get over a railing with barbed wires, and then it was a sixty foot drop to jagged rocks below. Luckily, Max had anticipated the situation, having observed the layout of the prison for many years, as well as discussing with many inmates. He knew something was up : there had been no guards in his path up until now. He turned to his cellmate.

"Look, Gary, are you gonna stop complaining or am I gonna have to hurt you?"

Gary was intimidated, but the prospect of the fall was equally disturbing.

"All I'm saying is... what's the plan?"

Max looked around, hoping his hunch was right. He examined the links in the fence and spotted the weakness. 

"Here man, look!"

There was a section of the fence that was cut; Max leaned in and started pulling the metal wires away, creating an opening that gave them access to the sheer surface of the wall. It was still an impractical climb, but at least, they didn't have to climb over the wiring.

"I'm escaping, whatever else happens. I'm done with this stinking place. You can come along or try to go back, and hopefully not get shot."

Max Crow took a deep breath. Sixty feet of dead drop were between him and freedom. He was in all the way. Whatever else happened, this would be hist last moments in the prison. And once he was out, he would turn his attention to the second thing on his mind : Tali Yuei Sung, the girl who had sent him here in the first place, and he would get his revenge on her. And she would die.

***

Shuriken was on the prowl. Max Crow's escape (along with that of his cellmate) was front page news. She had a personal stake in this one. On some level, he was responsible for her becoming the vigilante protector of Hochimin district. He was her top priority now.

The previous night, right after learning the news about his escape, she had dreamt of him - of finding him, confronting him, beating him down and taking him back to justice. She'd also had a second dream, one not as pleasant. Perhaps it had been inspired by the recent public humiliations of some of her fellow heroine crimefighters. She hadn't personally witnessed the assaults in Gateway park or even the violence on the Beach front a little later, but there had been some pictures taken, and she had seen them. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. She'd dreamt of being subdued and taken down - and then of what came next in the logical progression of the assault.

Still, they were just dreams, and Max Crow was a real threat. Finding him, though, that was another matter entirely. Luckily, she'd made friends with a nice young gentlemen Tali had met in her first year of law school, a young student eager to impress everyone. She had hooked up with him on the previous night, as her normal self, and had managed to get him to talk about Crow. It wasn't that hard to do, besides all the flirting. Her friend, Diego, was aware she'd testified against him six years ago; news of his escape was sure to be of concern to her. They'd hung out a a café in The Scene district.

"So, am I going to be safe?" she had inquired.
"Of course you are... listen, Tali, everyone's up in arms about this. They'll get him within the week, I promise."
"Still... any leads you heard of?"

Diego hadn't heard much, but he knew that Max had not been seen at all. There had been some potential sightings of his former cellmate, Gary Jung, in the Downtown markets earlier in the day. He knew this because he had inquired on her behalf. He even gave her the location where the sighting had taken place. She had thanked him with the promise of more dates and a peck on the cheek.

The place where Gary Jung had been supposedly spotted was a low-rent housing complex, with some rooms payable on a daily or weekly basis. The downtown markets were host to an impressive quantity of retail stores and outlets, while the main street housed more reputable commerces and restaurants. The backstreets, however, were a perfect place for someone to lay low, yet have access to an impressive amount of resources. It was past midnight when Shuriken dropped in the alley just beside the building. A homeless looked up and saw the heroine rise to her feet, her impressive stature only enhanced by the costume she wore. Black boots. Exposed legs, with an equipment strap on her right hip. Short camouflage-styled grey and white hot pants. Her top was a strapless corset with a lace in-between her breasts, and had a frontal transparent flap going down to below her crotch. She wore grey knee pads and bracers. A black choker around her neck was complemented by the large eye mask which covered down to her cheeks. Blonde beached hair topped it off.

She stared at the homeless man, tossing twenty dollars in his direction. She gave him the description of Gary Jung. After giving himself an eyeful on the heroine, the homeless man confirmed seeing the individual in the vicinity, inside the building. Shuriken thanked him and ran up the wall (using a support cable she had previouly set up) to examine her paths into the designated building.

There was no point in trying to look up the names on the registry. There was no way Gary Jung would have used his real name, and people paid for privacy in places like this. But there was another way to get his more exact location, and it involved a bit of gadgetry. Shuriken had become expert at saving money; every paycheck that came in was calculated down to the penny. It was why she had moved to such a small and cheap apartment. She most often got food from her father's place so she didn't have to pay. She didn't have a cellphone or even internet; she got her clothes second hand for either free or pocket change. All her savings were spent on her her equipment and career. She had practiced throwing items for months and had become an expert at it - perhaps it was because she had been rescued by the famous Ricochet, and had been inspired. Regardless, she readied the miniaturized microphones, and threw them at the various windows of the building. Each had its own frequency.

She started tuning into the sounds coming from the various apartments, switching from one frequency to the next, listening in on the sounds, hoping to hear something that would send her in the right direction. The next part was the waiting, hoping for a break.

Three hours into her stakeout, she had heard it all. A couple arguing; the television in the background for an infomercial about life insurance; sounds of something being eaten; somone obviously masturbating; yet another couple fucking; more sex; a baby crying and its mother coming to its rescue; some kind of weird sounds resembling a chicken. And conversations. Lots and lots of boring conversations about everything.

Then, the phone call. Words that finally broke the spell.

"Yeah... it's me..." the male voiced had said.

Silence. Someone speaking on the other end.

"Yeah, I know it's been a while... I was wondering if you could hook me up... been really down and I could use some relaxation..."

A drug order, or a prostitute, Shuriken thought.

"Half an hour... Okay..."

He gave the adress and told them to ask for Barry in 304. It was her best lead so far, and she was getting impatient. She went about her business first, collecting all of the microphones she had spread across the windows : those things weren't cheap, after all, and she couldn't waste any money. She waited for the delivery to come : it was weed. She preferred it that way : dealing with a second person would have been a pain. She allowed him to start consuming. She prepared her signature weapon and connected a very small explosive charge on it, aiming for the window of room 304. Taking a chance, she tossed the shuriken at the glass; it exploded on impact and she leapt in after it.

Gary Jung was minding his own business, enjoying the drugs he had just ordered, when the window to his small room exploded in fragments. He shrieked, but his confusion was compounded when the lithe form of a woman clad in a powerful but sexy costume jumped in. Before he could even realize what was happening, a circular blade was against his neck.

"Holy crap!" he yelled.

He saw her smiling face, hidden behind the mask and blonde hair. She stared at him with much intensity. The drugs in his system had started to dull his senses. To him, she was ten feet tall, some kind of angel from heaven sent to punish him. His second thought was to reflect on how strong the drugs seemed to be.

"I... woh... who are you?"
"Name's Shuriken, Gary Jung..."
"Wow! You know my name?"

He was high. There was no doubt about it.

"I know all about scumbags," she replied, pressing the blade against his neck. "And I have only one question for you : where is Max Crow?"

In truth, while Gary was an escaped criminal, she had no personal qualms with him. She was happy to call the police on him once she escaped. She had only one objective in mind.

"Max?... I don't know... look, jerk almost killed me..."
"Then you won't mind telling me everything you know about his whereabouts?"

He was intimidated by her presence, but mostly, he was oblivious to the information she needed.

"I don't know anything. When we hit the jagged rocks, we went our separate ways."
"You shared a cell with him, Gary... surely you guys talked about stuff. What you would when you got out."

Gary searched his memory for the information. He had no real loyalty to Max Crow. He'd had no intention of escaping in the first place.

"Look, lady, all Max ever talked about was escaping and revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yeah. He kept saying he was gonna get the girl that had put him in there. Some kind of asian chick. She'd be about twenty now, he said."

Shuriken was flabberghasted. She had never even thought of it. But while she was looking for Max Crow, he was now looking for her. It meant she knew where he would go next. And it scared the hell out of her. She hurriedly retreated out from where she had come, not even bothering to call the police on Gary Jung. She needed to get to her bike, back to Hochimin district, back to her father's home.

That's where Max would be.

***

Shuriken made it back within half an hour, parking her tuned up vehicle in its secret garage before heading up the side of the building to her father's apartment. It would be easy for Max to find their home in the suburbs and to realize they were no longer there. It would be as easy for him to follow her father's trail here. Finding her, however, would prove more hazardous because she had been more careful when renting out her place. It wasn't registered under her real name. However, if Max made her father talk, if he broke him, then he would know. There were items in her apartment which she did not want him to find, elements that might connect her two lives.

She arrived at the window to the living room. Everything seemed quiet. Her father was not home, apparently. She opened the latch which she had engineered for just this purpose, pulling open the window, and climbed in as quietly as possible. Once inside, she crouched down and listened. She didn't hear a sound. She was probably early, or he had already been here. There were no signs of a struggle so perhaps the former was right. She made her way discreetly out of the living room and into the kitchen, then moved on the bathroom and, finally, the two bedrooms. Since she'd moved out, her father had kept all the furniture as is. She pushed open the door to her own room.

There was no warning, but her instincts kicked in. The item - a lampshade - smashed upon her forearms instead of her head, and she quickly backed away into the corridor. As she recovered from the hit, she stared at the imposing form of her enemy - the man who had killed her mother - Max Crow. He looked as mean and evil as the last time she had seen his face, six years ago in the courtroom - his set jaw, black curly braided hair, a strong curly beard. Fear set in, memories of the promises he had managed to make on her. She had grown much since then but, seeing him in her father's home brought back all the pain and anger from that period.

Max Crow was staring at her with a dark but confused look, until clarity came to his mind.

"Gary ratted me out, hey! Bastard!"

It suddenly dawned on Shuriken that Max didn't recognize her. She had grown so much since then. She had become a woman, athletic and strong; her hair was bleached now, a large contrast from the black of before. Her costume too completely altered any perception he might have had about the weak and frail girl image he had cultivated in his memory. Unless he actually unmasked her and examined her traits in detail, there was a fair chance he would not know who she was. She intended to play that to her advantage as much as she could.

"Gary's a snitch, Max... you know that."

They stared each other down, both defiant, both ready to take this fight to the next step.

"I'll deal with you, then, I'll deal with him..."

Max lunged at Shuriken in the tight corridor. His punches were strong; she dodged them by redirecting them into the walls; the cheap stuco broke in several places upon impact. She was able to kick him in the gut, gaining some distance from him so she could use her trademark weapon. She managed to throw one of the shurikens and it made a cut in his arm. She was now in the living room. He raced up to her, grabbing her around the waist, slamming her into the wall. She sent her elbow onto his chin, and he released his grip. She jumped over the couch and onto the glass table in the middle of the room, drawing another shuriken at him. It made another cut on his arm as he intercepted the attack.

"Stand still, you little slut!"

He lifted the light couch and flipped it over to her. She jumped over it and back, landing against the television set. The couch shattered the glass table as it went back down on its head. He darted in her direction; she jumped left as his fist ended up shattering the television screen. Max was not undone and kept at it. Shuriken backed away into the kitchen, deflecting hits. She opened the door to the fridge to set an obstacle between them, but he slammed it back on her, sending her back into the corridor. She went left, back towards her own room. He followed her in.

They were both panting heavily from the fight and the exhaustion.

"Damn it, girl!" he said. "I'd heard about you heroines in jail, but I never dreamed I'd get a chance to take it out on one of you."
"I'm the last one you'll ever have to fight, Max. You're going back to jail."
"I don't think so."

He lunged at her, fists flying left and right. He was strong, but she was fast, and none one his strikes actually inflicted much damage. Unfortunately for Shuriken, dodging in a confined space proved hazardous. She bumped her foot on the side of her bed while attempting to retreat; a sharp pain shot against her leg, just enough to destabilize her for a moment. It was all Max Crow needed. His fist connected with her chest with force, pushing the air out of her. His other fist then smacked her in the chin; she fell back onto her bed, momentarily stunned. He jumped on top of her and grabbed her throat, choking her.

She managed to reach for one of her shurikens and sliced the same arm she had previously injured. Although he cried out in pain, it only led him to punch her again, in the gut this time, then grab the wrist with the hand she held the weapon in. He twisted her wrist, making her drop the weapon. Droplets of blood spilled from his arm onto her and her old bed as he kept draining the life out of her, like he had her mother. With his full weight on top of her, she was barely able to move; she tried kicking him with her knees but he was actually able to use his own powerful legs to spread hers apart. He collapsed on her, and she felt crotch come rest against her own. The sensation made her nauseate, especially when she realized he was turned on.

Suddenly, before she was going to pass out, he released the grip around her neck. As disoriented as she was, she tried to get free, but he held her down with his right arm; his left arm grabbed the pillow just beside them and he tore the pillow casing off the pillow itself. Still pinning her under his weight, he pulled one of her arms to him, using  the pillow case as a restraint and tying it around her wrist. He then passed the pillow around the exposed bed post, pulling her other arm and tying it securely. She struggled against it, of course, which only earned her more violence. With her hands tied above her head, Max was able to get off from her, and move her completely onto the bed. He was panting as much as she was.

Despite not having fully recovered, Shuriken tried to unwrap her hands and free herself. Max Crow finally pulled out a knife from his boot and placed it against her neck.

"Damnit, bitch... that was quite a workout. Tougher than most of the guys in prison..."

She stopped struggling once the knife went to rest above her breasts. This gave them both ample time to recover. He looked her over as he recuperated, also checking the three cuts on his left arm. They were not deep, but they stung like hell. His eyes then perused the heroine's athletic form. Her costume, revealing as it was, left him with a strange sensation, something unfamiliar, something he had not experienced in many years. Perhaps it was the adrenaline as well. He looked back at her defiant face, and the mood almost want. Almost. He saw the exposed pillow on the ground and tossed it on her face.

"Better," he said.

Shuriken was not saying much now. She was afraid he might recognize her voice. Blinded by the pillow over her face, she waited for him to act. She felt the cold blade against her exposed belly skin, gliding up and down. It slid to the side straps of her hot pants; the blade glided under the ropes and cut them off.

"No!"

She yelled under the pillow, her words barely muffled. She felt a hard pressure on her face and the knife point against her gut. She froze again.

"Not another fucking word, slut..."

She quieted down. She felt him pull her hot panties and underwear aside. His warm hand then went to caress in-between her legs. She fought back the reflex to pull them together. She coud still feel the cold metal of the blade against her gut. She then heard the shuffling of clothes and felt him get on top of her. She couldn't let him do that, she started panicking, just before the cold metal reminded her of her predicament. She felt his hardness against her sex. For a moment, she was reminded of a rescue over a year ago, Ricochet swooping in... but there was no rescue here. He pushed hard into her; she held back the scream as she heard him grunt and pant, entering her with force, the blade now resting on the pillow above her neck.

"Fuck..." he simply said.

He was in her. Raping her. She was livid, unable to fight back, terrorized with fear. There had been no signs of sexual trauma on her mother, she remembered. But what about her corpse? How would they find her? Would her father come upon her violated and dead body? He had been locked up in prison for six years, with his only potential release other inmates... he didn't seem the type to swing that way. Six years of frustration, denied by a teenage girl, now a woman. No wonder he was so angry, she said to herself, realizing as quickly that she was not responsible for his actions - even if she was now the victim.

He didn't last long. She didn't know if she was thankful or not for it. She felt his release inside her; warm and sticky; it made her want to puke. She then realized he was done with her. He would simply kill her. It would be over. She couldn't cry about it, though. She just waited as he pulled himself off of her.

"Fuck... that's the best fuck in the universe I just got..."

He was off of her. The blade was nowhere near. It was time to act, but her muscles refused to respond. Fear had set in. Her mother's murderer had just defeated her, raped her. An entire year of training wasted, two months of active duty meaning nothing in the long run.

Suddenly, he said something she did not expect to hear, and she didn't know how to take it.

"Fuck this! You're coming with me."

She was too stunned to realize what was happening. He wrapped her in the blankets on her bed, keeping the pillow on her face. She tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. Before long, he was dragging her out of there. She fought against it for a moment, but the stress of her situation, the exhaustion from the fight and her nerves giving out all led to her passing out after she was put in the trunk of a vehicle.

***

In six years, Max Crow had never imagined anything like this. He was certain his escape had been pre-meditated. The lock on his cell failing, no guards in his path, the opening in the wired fence... someone had managed to get him to safety. So far, though, that person had not manifested themselves.

Hellbent on revenge, he had looked into the whereabouts of Tali Yuei Singh, only to run into one of these heroines he had heard about. Taking her down had taken everything he had. The subsequent fuck had been completely unplanned, just something that had happened as a spur of the moment inspiration. He'd barely lasted a minute. Too much tension, he thought to himself. For whatever reason, he had then taken her along, back to his temporary hiding place, an abandoned storage warehouse in the harbor. Somewhat inspired, he had unceremoniously tossed her in the middle of the room, unwrapped the blankets from around her and proceeded to tear the rest of her suit, the top half, off - just to get a better view of her assets. She had barely resisted. His next instinct had been to tie her up to some kind of pulley and metal harness hanging from the ceiling, something designed to haul around crates, one arm at each end of the harness. He had then lifted her up so she would be on tiptoes, taking a few moments to contemplate his handiwork.

After a few moments, he had noticed her stare, the way her eyes threw daggers at him. It had unsettled him so had found a blindfold and placed it over her mask. He had expected more bravado from her, to be honest, if not at least more resistance. Her compliance was making his job easy, that was true, but it also made him pensive.

He left her as an ornament while he returned to the bunk he had set up for himself, resting on it for a few moments, letting his mind wander to six years ago, and a murder he was wishing he'd never committed.

Shuriken had said nothing since he had unwrapped her and tied her up. It was now less the humiliation and fear that had come from his prior assault; it was more calculated now. In a way, despite being blind-folded, she was glad he had not made the connection. She could not risk exposure, even if it meant she would let him have her way with her body. She scarcely had a choice at this point. She had heard the stories of other heroines being captured and violated... this was her time, she supposed. It seemed inevitable. She was fighting back the urge to puke all her guts to the floor, although she didn't really know why.

Eventually, Max got up and looked at her from across the room. He made up his mind and started stripping. From this distance, she could not hear what he was doing. He walked closer to her, thinking of what he had done not too long ago. He wanted more. All the rage... all the frustration... she needed to know it. She needed to feel it.

"Name's Max Crow," he said.

She jerked up as his words reached her ears.

"What do they call you?"

She didn't answer. He walked up behind her and slapped her ass, hard. She still went quiet.

"Don't want to talk... fine... I don't need you to talk..."

He was hard again. The sight of her exposed form, helpless, was a real turn-on. He reached for her right leg, raising it to the side, controlling her movements. He set himself against her sex, his hard dick near the entrance; he wrapped the left hand around her body and grabbed her breast.

"I've been in prison for six years now... that's a long time..."

He felt her shiver under his touch; he wondered if she was getting excited or it was just cold. Either way, it didn't matter.

"There's this girl who put me in here... name`s Tali Yuei Sung... testified against me in court..."

He rubbed the tip of his cock against her sex; she moaned from the sensation, feeling guilty for the pleasure it promised her mind.

"I've been thinking a lot about what I was gonna do to her. Six years... she's an adult now, a real flesh and blood woman... lives somewhere in Hochimin district, from what people say. That was her old place we met..."

He kneaded her breast for a second, then slid his hand down her side to her thighs.

"Now, my first thoughts about her were I was gonna kill her - then maybe her dad, just for heck... thing is, when you're in jail, all you got is time to think... Found a lot of imaginative ways to make her afraid, then to kill her..."

His confession ached in Shuriken's heart. She was biting her lips to prevent herself from speaking. This was taking all her effort and focus to remain silent and not give away her secret.

"Truth is, though... with all the revenge I was planning, I never thought of this one."

He brought his left hand up to her neck and squeezed.

"So I'm thinking... I'll practice on you first... see how it works... you know, get some experience before I do the deed..."

He pulled her down onto his shaft; his teasing and his words had done the trick, making her ready to receive him. She moaned as her sex wrapped around his. This was his real triumph : his first assault had been brief, sloppy and unpremeditated. This one was reasoned, violent. He was in perfect control as he started pounding into her, ready to take whatever he wanted. No tears would form in Shuriken's eyes. Only a gut-wrenching feeling, the same she had been feeling before. Her emotions swelled up to the surface, fear mostly, as she heard him start swearing behind her back.

"Oh! Fuck... Tali... I'm fucking you good Tali!"

He knew. Her life was over. He would rape her and kill her. She started screaming, but the shouts were mixed horror and pleasure, what her body refused to deny him that her mind could not accept. And he kept on swearing.

"Tali... I'm fucking you good... you're mine, bitch... all you made me suffer in jail..."

He slapped the back of her head as he continued to ram up into her, controlling her sway, making sure to maximize his own pleasure.

"How 'bout I take your ass, Tali... uh? You'd like that, slut..."
"No! Stop... please!"

He didn't carry out his threat - at least not yet. He kept bouncing her up and down, using the leeway of the chain to keep the motion going. He kept ignoring her words, her pleas.

"Maybe I make you pregnant, Tali... uh...what do you think of that? Having my child..."

Shuriken was all screamed out, her throat parched, her breath exhausted from the rhythm he imposed upon her. And he kept going at it, minutes in, showing no signs of stopping, dominating her in every way, mind and body. There were no words now, from either of them. It was just a cacophony of sounds of all kind, moans, pants, grunts, yelps, echoed in the open halls of the warehouse.

Mercifully, Max Crow was done. He held nothing in as he fired once more into her, this time enjoying every bit of orgasm each spurt provided him. All Shuriken could do was wait for him to done, and hope there was nothing more in store for her - other than her imminent demise.

"You might want to put some pants on, Mr. Crow."

Max Crow was backing off from his victim when the voice - it carried a very heavy slavic accent - reached him. He reached for a weapon - he was naked. As he prepared to make a dash for his stuff, he saw the three individuals. Two of them wore the same type of clothing, some kind of dark armored pants, their massive chests exposed. They wore black face masks with red shiny eyes. The man in the middle wore of a two-piece suit of grey cloth, and a hat of the same color. He presented himself well, clean shaven, a small round face.

Shuriken, of course, heard the voice but couldn't identify it. The blindfold still prevented her from seeing anything.

"Who... are you?" asked Crow, attempting to cover himself.
"Pants, Mr. Crow... Pants first."

He complied, walking over to his clothing and getting dressed under the careful watch of the two bodyguards - at least, that's what they seemed to be.

"I take it you had time to enjoy the platitudes," said the grey-suited man with the slavic accent.
"Platitudes?" he asked.

The man pointed to the bound heroine.

"Oh... uh.. yeah..."
"Good. Then you no longer have need of her..."
"But, I thought..."

The man interjected.

"Stop thinking with your dick, Mr. Crow, and start thinking with your head."

It took a moment for Max to understand, but his eyes widened as he did.

"You're responsible for getting me out."
"Yes, and you are starting to reason. That is good. Getting of all that sexual tension out of the way really helps the mind focus, no?"
"You didn't give me your name..."

He bowed ceremoniously before him.

"The name I use for encounters such as these is Mr. Fox."

Max shook his head, checking the guards out, then looking back at the heroine.

"What about her?"
"What about her?" simply replied Mr. Fox. "You said you were done with her. You don't intend to keep her as a pet, no?"
"Well... uh... no."
"Good."

Mr. Fox moved to a small metal table with two chairs. He sent one of the guards towards the heroine and kept the other one near him. Mr. Crow saw the guard set himself on watch just behind the bound girl; he reluctantly joined Mr. Fox at the table.

"All right, so you you're here... wadda ya want?"
"To offer you a job, Mr. Crow."
"Really. Doing what? Grunt work."
"Yes. At first, at least. I work for someone very important in this city, and he has uses for people like you."
"I'll bite... what's the task?"

Mr. Fox looked towards the heroine.

"Before that, Mr. Crow, a few questions for you."
"Lay it on me?"
"Did you unmask her?"
"No... something about her eyes... I didn't like them."
"Good. Never unmask an heroine. That is the first rule of the job."
"Face is not the interesting part," he giggled, then saw Mr. Fox was not amused. "Sorry..."
"You are rude, but that is understandable, given who you are."
"Is there a second rule?" he asked.
"Never kill a heroine."

From this distance, Shuriken could listen in on their conversation. This was gold. Af first, she had feared that, being privy to what they were saying, her death sentence was doubled. But this affirmation from the second man - Mr. Fox, was it? - might mean she would survive. But would they lock her up? And who was this important person in the city? So many great questions and no way to get the answers...

"I... ok. Why not?" inquired Crow.
"Escalation. They are aware of it, so it is no problem if this one hears."

He knows I'm listening in, so this is also for my benefit, Shuriken realized.

"Kill one of them, they kill one of us. It is that simple. Death breeds death."
"What about...?"
"Sex? Rape? Violation? Torture? There are no rules against that. They are free to do it to us, should they so choose."

Shuriken was liking Mr. Fox less and less.

"All right... no killing them. I don't kill for fun anyways."
"Excellent... there is one last thing to adress before we can discuss the rest of the affair, Mr. Crow?"
"Spill it."

The ex-con was getting impatient. Mr. Fox was a sleazy manipulator, and Crow knew he was being reigned in - not that he really had a choice. The two goons could easily take him out, that much he had figured out. And whoever had the resources to get him out of jail surely had the means to get him back in, if they so desired. Still, there was no reason to be gallant in defeat.

"We know you harbor a grudge for the girl who put you in jail."
"Tali Yuei Sung."
"Yes, we know all about it. You were very vocal in prison - I think the entire population knew what you planned to do to her."

This is it, Shuriken reasoned, cold fear setting in. He'll tell them about them about me - how he defeated me, raped me, and how he'll kill me and finally get his revenge.

"Essentially, Mr. Crow.. we need you to let go."
"What?" he quipped.
"We need you to abandon this need for revenge, to move past your history and to embrace the future."
"But I..."

Mr. Fox made himself very clear, his dark stare plunging into Max Crow's.

"Consider this... as a vengeful person, you are a liability. You cease and desist any vendetta against Tali Yuei Sung right now... or it ends now."

What was Crow to do, Shuriken asked herself. It was then that another truth came to her mind. While he was raping her, he was calling her name - Tali's name. He was raping Tali by proxy. He didn't know it was her. He was exacting his revenge on her, because he was deprived of the possibility of getting to her. She felt both relieved and traumatized by the sudden shock. She barely heard Crow's words.

"I... I don't... I mean..."
"Mr. Crow. You went against her, you ended up facing one of the heroines of Eve City. You defeated her, took her here, raped her... you've had your revenge. She has been humiliated - in Tali's name. It ends now!"

It took another moment for Crow to finally cave in. He reflected on it, recalling how he had bested the heroines in Tali's old home, how he had violated her once in the girl's old bed, and finally how he had executed a premeditated action right here, taking charge... he actually felt the tension drop, and not just from his sexual release. He was free. There were requirements to his freedom, but he was finally free.

"You know what, Mr. Fox.. you're right."
"I know I am. You will swear to it?"
"I swear on it... I'm done with Tali Yuei Sung. I never want to hear that name again. Time to move on..."

Mr. Fox was pleased to hear it. He got up.

"Well then, Mr. Crow. Gather your affairs. We are leaving."
"Where are we going?"
"I think it's best not to talk about that here..."

He pointed to the suspended heroine. She knew what he meant. They still had to deal with her. Mr. Fox moved in her direction, standing in front of her. Gently, he caressed one of her breasts. She shivered, holding back the reflex to kick him.

"My dear Shuriken, we have read up on you. You are doing impressive work in Hochimin, keeping the streets safe. We urge you to keep at it - your business serves our business, in the end. And do not worry yourself anymore about Max Crow. He has bested you once - I would hate to think you would want a repeat of what transpired here, no?"
"What do you want of me?" she replied, finding some strength inside her.
"Nothing... were we to want something, we would simply take it."

Suddenly, she collapsed on the floor, released from the heavy chain above her head. The metal harness dragged her down to the floor; she almost bumped her head on it. She heard them leaving. Max Crow called out to her as he was walking away.

"Best fuck I ever had Shuriken... got your name now... gonna put you in my little black book."

Everything in her told her to retaliate in kind, to throw in some quip, but her heart was no longer in it. It would be hard to enough to get out of these restraints, let alone get home without being seen.

***

Tali entered the clinic in silence. There wasn't anyone waiting in line. Besides, she had an appointment. It made her sad to be here. She walked up to the clerk.

"Yes?"
"Hi. Tali Sung. I have an appointment with doctor Sally Nguyen."
"Let me check."

There was indeed an appointment. The clerk walked her down the hall and into the doctor's office. The forty-year old medical professional rose and greeted her, then both sat back down.

"You're here..." the doctor said.
"I am... so... how do we go about it?"
"Are you certain this is what you want, Tali?"

The heroine in civilian clothing placed one hand on her belly. There was no way she could carry on the pregnancy. A last parting gift from the worst villain of her life. She was sad, because it wasn't the foetus' fault. But she had a purpose, a mission - and caring for a child, let alone the child of her rapist, was too much for her to bear. She would forgive herself, in time.

"Doctor, this isn't what I want, but it is what it has to be."

Doctor Sally Nguyen didn't argue. It was her choice, after all, as long as she was here.

"We'll help you through every step of the process, Tali."
"I know..."
"There's still one thing missing from the file... the name of the father... for reference only."
"Unknown," she replied. "I was raped."

No other words were exchanged, and doctor Nguyen took Tali out of the room to get it done.

THE END