Crossover Earth '98
BURNING AMBITION
MICHAEL SURBROOK
*BEEP*
Carlos Pochtli hit the button to his intercom.
"Yes?"
*Boss? Kayli's back.*
"I understand."
Sitting back in his chair, Carlos began to count softly under his breath. One - two - three - four - five - six...
Without so much as a knock, the door to his office flew open. Kayli stood there, her white armor and black bodysuit streaked with dust and dirt. Carlo's noticed with interest the sizable discoloration that marked the left side of her jaw.
Slamming the door behind her, Kayli stomped her way across Carlos' office, before stopping and leaning heavily on his desk. "Trevor Hamilton," she snarled, "is a fool!"
"What did he do, Kayli?"
"Do? He did nothing!" Kayli's brows furred and her tail lashed the air violently. "His hired help turned on me! Me! I had that fight won!" Kayli punctuated her comments by shaking one white-gloved fist.
Carlos sighed; he'd been given a rundown on what had happened in Concho by one of his men who had accompanied Kayli. Hamilton's indecision had cost him his office building, his takeover attempt, a great deal of money and Megaman's life.
"Trevor was an accountant in my organization.," Carlos replied calmly. "After I retired and my lieutenants split the organization up amongst them, he worked his way up the ranks. I always suspected that he was a twit."
"Well then," Kayli gave her employer a predatory smile. "I should get rid of him for you. For free even."
Carlos smiled. "I'm sure you would my dear, but Trevor's lack of spine doesn't directly affect me. And I'm not willing to do the head of his organization the favor of eliminating him."
"Hurrrr..." Kayli almost pouted at the news, an expression Carlos found priceless.
"I did everything I was supposed to," she said. "I took out the leader of the opposition and was going to clear the street of anyone trying to cause trouble when Megaman hit me from behind." She gestured loosely at the dark purple-black bruise that marred her jawline. "I did exactly what you asked me to do."
Nodding in agreement, Carlos spoke. "That you did. I cannot count Trevor's failure to use you properly as your failure. In the future, I believe I will avoid contracts for you which require you to take close direction. I think you are quite capable of providing your own direction, given a desired outcome."
Pausing, he reached down to pull a briefcase from behind his desk. "As a sign of my confidence in you, I will pay you in full for the contract you just fulfilled." He opened the case to reveal bundles of paper money. Kayli's eyes went wide as she hesitantly traced one finger over the stacks of twenties, fifties and hundreds.
"For me?" she breathed.
"For you," Carlos answered. "If you wish, my people can deposit this for you in an account you can access from machines throughout the world. For now, take some time to read the news, familiarize yourself with our culture, such as it is. I will have another contract for you soon."
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Rolling on her back, Kayli stared at the scattered patches of bright blue sky visible through the thick clusters of green leaves sprouting from the tree behind her. It had been several days since she'd returned from the town of Concho and still her jaw hurt. Her forearms too. Megaman many not have been very smart but he had been strong. His one blind-side punch had nearly been enough to take her head off.
Come to think of it, the other man she'd fought had been fairly powerful as well. He had been fast and strong, and had certainly absorbed several of her blows easily enough, but his fighting skill had lacked and she'd finished him off fairly quickly.
Kayli yawned and ran her hands through her hair. It wasn't like she hadn't fought people like that before. Hell, a kizin was about as strong as she was and the m'larrne were often as fast. She tangled with them any number of times, Kayli had the scars to prove it. The worst one ran across her back, from the upper right shoulder to her lower left side, courtesy of a m'larrne swordswoman swinging a sword as long as she was tall. And when you consider the fact that the average m'larrne stood well over six foot, that was saying something.
It was just that neither of them had been real fighters, real warriors... she wanted to test her skill against those who were properly trained in how to fight, who knew more than just brawling.
Venting her frustrations with an explosive sigh, Kayli rolled over on her side and reached for the beer cooler. Pulling another can of Lonestar free, she flipped though the small stack of paperbacks she'd brought with her. Carlos had wanted her to grow more familiar with the local culture, but she'd grown bored with the TV and the newspapers. Most of it concerned events she nether knew - or cared - about. One of Carlos' soldiers had lent her several cheap paperback novels however, and she'd been greedily devouring them ever since. She found that she could easily identify with the main character, a cybernetically-enhanced street warrior who regularly reduced her opponents to so much wreckage, and the books had enough blood, guns, fights and sex to keep anyone's interest. Besides, how could one resist books with titles like Both Guns Blazing, Carnival of Carnage and Things to do in Hong Kong When You're Dead?
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Walking through the tall grass that marked the back pasture, Mark Gore kept a look out for a certain gray-skinned engine of destruction. Kayli the Destroyer, that was what the others were calling her. In Mark's opinion, it was quite a fitting name.
He'd heard about how she'd just trashed Megaman, not to mention pounding some nameless meta into the street. He'd seen some of the news footage too, although most of it was a blur due to the speed at which Kayli and her opponent had been moving at the time. There was a nice shot of her blowing a hole in Megaman... it was a pity that that piece of tape was never going to make the 6 o'clock news...
Mark found his quarry standing under a tree, dressed in a weight-lifter's bikini like the one's all the fitness babes wore on TV. It was white, and made a marked contrast to her gray skin.
At the moment, Kayli was standing with her back to him, taking deep breaths and slowly flexing her shoulders. He watched the muscles ripple across her back with interest as she worked her shoulders in a circular motion, the underlying muscle and bone standing out in sharp relief. Turning to one side, Kayli performed a deliberate series of circular motions with her arms, each breath clearly audible. Mark stood quietly, watching her perform her kata. He'd never actually seen her practice, and found the surprise performance fascinating.
Pausing, Kayli suddenly snapped a quick series of kicks, her knee nearly touching her forehead. Punches followed, each a blur, then a series of blocks, and then Kayli returned to breathing, flexing the muscles of her well-defined torso until she quivered with the strain. Mark just gaped. Kayli was not exactly what one would call 'babe' material, the gray skin and tail saw to that, but her phenomenally well-cut physique tended to inspire a touch of lust in most of Carlos' soldiers, Mark included. He spent a moment wondering if her breasts were as firm as they looked and if she was fully 'human' as the Doc had said.
"Ahem."
"Enh?" Mark blinked, caught in the middle of a private fantasy. "Oh, Kayli! Looking good there! Nice to see Concho didn't leave any lasting impression!"
Kayli shrugged, her tail twitching idily. "Does Carlos have another job for me?"
"Job?" Mark shook his head, "No, no. But I thought you might be interested in this, one of the boys gave it to me."
He handed her a sheet of paper. Kayli glanced down and read the message with visibly growing interest. When she was done she looked up and smiled. "Really? Is this for real? When does it start?"
"A couple of weeks. Don't worry, I think Carlos will be happy to let you attend." Mark grinned. If things worked out, she was going to make him a lot of money... a lot of money.
Looking for a challenge? Well, so are we. We're the best of the best, and we'll be meeting for a secret martial arts tournament in May. If you've been disappointed in your sparring partners, then we'll be glad to put you in your place. This special event will be a full contact tournament.