Fair Flight

by Baryski

Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans (Creed)

The two cloaked ponies observed the carnage around them. None dared walk the street that day. Anyone who trespassed before the Hooftail cleared their own dead was to be killed on sight. The two knew the real purpose for the caravan was to bait one of the operatives of TWOS. Minimal casualties were to be expected, all but the death of one of their specialists.

“Shame…” A tall, slender mare with a dark coat was the first to talk. In only one word, she managed to mock the dead and express her despise of a poorly executed plan. If it were for the planner to be still alive, the deadly venom addressed to him in that word would have most certainly killed him.

The colt besides her shared her disrespect, but didn’t express it as colorful as his counterpart. Whilst walking over one of the blasted giblets of a corpse, he observed. “This makes us look like a bunch of amateurs.” That was true, for them. Any of the specialists or elite would feel humiliated to be put on the same rank as this catastrophe. “ And, they didn't manage to catch the one responsible?”

“They weren’t,” The mare let out a loud chortle, playing around amidst the bodies before finally turning her attention back, “Come on Astra. You’ve known me that long, haven’t you?”

The bodies seemed to be taunting the both of them, one after another was turned over, more carefully on the colt’s part than the mare’s. Still they went through the guise of pretending to care, “Okay then,” Astra’s cold laugh continued on chilling the air, “What do you have then?”

“Two,” Astra finally removed his hood. It was hot, and smelled of death. The colt hated the sweat seeping into his greenish mane, he hated sweat period, “Quite an odd couple, I might say.”

“A couple? Since when is a squad only two, anyway?” At long last the colt had located the one body in this rubbish he cared about. The final member of their little clan was present for the meeting as the body was rolled over. The wounds were bad, but hardly anything Seal hadn’t been used to before. What did interest the stalwart pony were the little marks at the flank and neck. He even took the time to reach down and lick at them before spitting loudly.

It was obvious, yet the colt seemed to miss something the mare already knew. She reached a hoof and slapped him lightly across the face, with a devilish grin. “You always were slower, Astra. Look at the deaths. What do you see?” First, she pointed at the giblets, then at the lacerations on others, then at the debris covering another. Trying to make a point with Astra was hard, but as slow as he got it at first, his mind started rolling afterwards towards the same outcome.

Grabbing the hoof that s lapped him, brutally laying it down; Astra responded “I see several things the master isn't going to like.” At least you got that right, Raven thought. He examined the bodies close to him, before pronouncing himself again “Blade wounds, all vital shots, bullet holes, just as accurate, and Seal is dead, looks like a very effective poison. That's why I'm asking...” Yes, darling. There’s no way a either a Creed or a TWOS did this separately.

The mare slowly approached Seal’s body, looking at the dart marks that had killed him, and abruptly changing the subject “Tell me, since when do Creed and TWOS work together?” She never removed her hood. For a Master of Shadows, there was no greater dishonor than to fully reveal one’s head and let the one who saw it live to tell the tale

Displeased, the colt growled lightly. He didn’t like the looks of it. Two against fifty and a specialist and the odds were against them. “They don't... Since when would Creed try to take out Creed?” He was actually concerned that the recent termination of the Lore division was going to come back and haunt them. “Are are you saying there's a kill order out on Hooftail?”

“No. I'm saying somepony didn't do his job properly,” Raven made a show of kicking Seal sending small bits of dried blood onto both of them. You couldn’t make a point to a dead pony, but Raven hardly seemed to care about something like that, “Lore is out to get us.”

Lore, the lore? The one that was supposed to have been eliminated already, “No, there is no way. Lore is dead. I mean, I saw the master's body myself.” That was right, Astra hadn’t been in the actual kill, but he had come in later in order to help with the clean up and check. They had all died.

But, Raven hardly seemed to be interested in quibbling semantics. A shame, semantics were the best part of a poisoner’s job, “Did you see every body on that damn kill order?” She was determined to prove a point she already knew. Nothing was ever impossible, Astra, was well aware of that. Even if it was Lore, wasn’t this still a little much?

“No, but a good deal of them.” Astra had seen everypony at Creed HQ, leaving only three or four currently out on deep cover missions. He knew they were elite, but Hooftail had the element of surprise. None of them should have even realized what was happening before dieing. No pony ever expected to be betrayed from within.

“Of all the morons out there, he failed to kill the master's protegee. His daughter," Damn, that pony had been one of the ones on the deep cover list, hadn’t she? Everything Raven said easily matched up with the facts. Still, there had to be some flaw, some obvious glaring mistake. A Creed elite teaming up, and in only a group of two? This was a complete departure, “And now, that little brat teamed up with a TWOS operative. We can not have this.”

“If this gets out,” No, Astra was not going to be humiliated by one operative and a rogue Creed. He had worked too hard to be beaten by an upstart. Dust drifted into the air along with more dried blood as he stomped at the ground, “No, all we have to do is kill them. Neither of them can be that good.”

“There’s more to it,” Raven still had more to go, Astra could only imagine the smug looks she was giving under that hood. There were a few moments when he desperately wanted to paralyze her with a toxin for a few hours just so that he could rip off that hood along with her smug smile, “You might enjoy this part. Guess what. The two are actually involved.”

Madness, sheer and utter lunacy! “You sure your eyes aren't going? The protege of Lore, involved?” Astra nearly choked on his own laughter trying desperately to take Raven seriously, but it just seemed like a complete farce, “Creed don't do that.”

“I know what I saw.” Once again, he felt like she was looking down on him. Damn I want to tear that hood off of her and show her that bravado is useless. It would be easy, too. He could do whatever he wanted to her. No, back to the task at hand.

“Then she's fallen quite a ways. Just makes it easier, though, doesn't it?” He put the thought of having his way with the mare on the back burner for now. He replaced it with the image of holding the TWOS operative hostage. Ropes holding her taught, watching as her precious partner is killed in front of her. Forced to do...I really need to get laid.

“Easier? Complicated? Who knows?” No no no, the image that he had built up wasn’t going to go away so easily. It was fun, it was...okay, it was a little disturbing, but there was nothing wrong with enjoying what you do.

“Think about it, how much fun it will be to take the other mare,” Take her like...No, bad thoughts. He tried to come back from the idea, at least long enough to explain the full scope of the plan, “We can slaughter that Lore right in front of her.” And then, I could make you gasp on top of...No, wrong direction again, “I'm sure I can come up with a suitably painful poison for her.” And, a nice aphrodisiac for you. Begging would be something to hear out of that mouth of yours.

“Remember. We made a mistake once by underestimating her. Let us not repeat that.” Why not, you’re already underestimating what I’m going to do to you when...She’s looking, can she read minds? No, that was just silly. There was no way Raven knew what was going on in his mind at that moment, or the several issues of Playpony he intended to put to shame when these two were finally disposed of.

“You have a better plan?”

This question annoyed Astra for a second Of course I… have no idea, for once. The master will have our coats if we screw up again. We’re between the Lore protégé and our own. Think, Raven, think. “Not yet. We need to consult the master regarding this. Simple kill orders won't do.”

“He really isn't going to be happy.” No hay, Sherlock? Do you think I like it? Raven was so annoyed at Astra she couldn’t even think properly. Yet, he is quite good looking. If I slipped an amnesiac in his drink tonight I bet he’ll be quite a colt toy in bed. No Raven, snap out of it. Yet, you don’t have to remove your cloak for a one night stand, do you?

“He hasn't got a choice. If it weren't for the poor idiot to come with the trap, he'd be dead.” The bravado she was making held. It was only normal, she had fooled smarter. But the thought of seeing Astra’s cape on the floor was more and more persistent.

“You might want to check that attitude. Unless you want to find your head separated from your body. I don't think the master will take too kindly to insinuating his incompetence.” Lecture me one more time, and I might just have to discipline you… my way. I’m going to enjoy it more than you ever will. The thoughts were strange for her training, yet the lust was getting more and more unbearable.

“His incompetence brought him his death. I don't care that he was the master's favorite. It doesn't make any difference. He's dead.” Instinctively, Raven moved away from the body and approached Astra, slowly touching his cape. She could feel by his shivering he was having dirty thoughts as well. This gave her quite a neat idea. Nopony would know if they both kept their mouths shut.

The colt sighed as her hoof touched him, as if releasing him from a great burden, his frown still making him look concerned with the problem at hoof. “Creed against Creed. This war just got a lot more troublesome. Let's just get this done before more members die.”

Raven moves in for a kiss on the lips, sliding one of her hooves along his back. Nopony is watching, right? Who said Creed don’t know how to have fun never got laid with one and lived to tell the tale. “It's going to get messy before it's over.”

Buck it, she’s begging for it anyway. All other thoughts and plans would have to wait for now. Astra pulled in tighter, embracing his counterpart and at the same time silently pulling out a tiny needle. He didn’t want distracting thoughts for a rare opportunity like this, poking first himself and then her lightly. The feelings were instant, the normal thoughts almost instantly subdued by his darker desires. He couldn’t handle it anymore, he was going to finally rip off that smug hood.

I’ve always secretly wanted to see what kind of a face you would make. No distractions tonight. They can die tomorrow.