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Story Tales - Fiction & Fantasyw w w .drgonzo.org The Badger Tale³ (Target Prof ile) by RG June 2010

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The Badger - (from an ongoing short story series and

novel in progress by dr.gonzo,  Redress of Grievances , 

experimental story development):

“Tyranny needs us to be Silent”

“Time for a wake up call, Mr. Paladin Payne. As a world

class assassin, you should know that. The badger is

determined to expose the enthroned government that hides

behind the pretext of our democratic republic,” she

whispered to him in the hush of darkness. “Courage of 

conviction is vital in urban vigilance!”

……Scarlet Badger Paladin Payne and Mala Terminus were professionals in a

league all their own. There were very few members in their

exclusive club. To join, you couldn’t inherit it, buy your

way in or get elected to membership. Later, Scarlet would

lament as to who really knew their really names. Paladin has

several aliases. Mala sometimes was called the Black 

Widow. Usually by those who were about to die. More

affectionately, Paladin sometimes called her Panda. Scarlet

thought her real name might be Pandora. Who knows?

“Well yeah, so much for that,” Panda advised him and

took up protective surveillance around them. Paladin

Payne’s Amazon partner stood ready for a fight. “We need

to vacate the Tokyo Airport ASAP. We’re drawing

attention.” She nodded to him and their eyes leveled. “Over

your right shoulder at five o’clock. They look Russian.”

By this time, Scarlet Badger, rogue warrior and lone

resistance fighter, had since become well inebriated. The

drug in her coffee rendered her exceptionally compliant.

Scarlet slumped into a comatose state.

What makes you think they’re Russian?” Payne put his

eyes back on Scarlet, his newly acquired quarry. He didn’t

turn to look away. Yet, he knew they were being watched

and sensed the danger. “Maybe they just work for the

Russians. Hired guns.”

“Well, darling,” she huffed as he teased her. “It’s that

post-Berlin wall attitude, you know. Kinda of a loser

smugness. Just can’t accept the American way, you know.

Anxious stance, hesitant looks, pissed off Slavic gazes. Furtive

eyeballs jerking in wide sockets. And, the standard issue

KGB-like black leather jacket. My god, who dresses these

thugs? Hair cut’s typical. Shoes and trouser too.”

“Please tell me you’re not teaching a human diversity

course back at the Agency this month.” Payne rolled his eyes.

“Stay alert. Their numbers have doubled.”

“Don’t give me that politically correct nonsense,” Mala

snarled as she propped up Scarlet. “Let’s get sleeping booty

here on that plane. Yep, there’s a few more.”

The three of them headed straight for the restricted customs

area. Through a set of double doors, they disappeared into the

cavernous storage area. With precision, doors opened

automatically and personnel waited. Two Japanese intelligence

officers, dressed as customs officials, greeted them. Along

with a representative of the U.S. Embassy disguised as an

airline pilot for a major airline. Their charade was afoot.

Regardless though, they were followed. Their tail slipped in

close behind them in spite of countermeasures.

“Get her on my plane. Time to split up,” Payne instructed,

as another Embassy employee materialized. She had a striking

resemblance to Scarlet. “Have a nice trip.”

“Nothing like melodrama, my dear,” Mala said to him.

(Artwork courtesy: Dr.Gonzo1 @ Daz3d Artzone.Com)

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 “On your left my dear,” Mala warned him. “Where the

hell’re these guys coming from? I count six. Geez-us, they all

look like cutouts of each other.”

“Yep, I think they multiply. We’ll hold’em off until the

plane is ready at the last minute.” Paladin pulled his Desert

Eagle pistol from his shoulder holster. The gun was expertly

muffled to Agency specifications. Well-built, sleek and

streamlined to his personal necessities. He’d always liked the

.357 magnum version of the Israeli design. “Our embassy

friends will distract the others with our decoy.”

“Meanwhile, JIA gets her on the plane. Good luck to them

for doing that. Yes, I’m being sarcastic. This is what you get

when you hack a Russian computer network. That results in a

major shutdown of the Trans-Siberian Pipeline. Plus, she

keeps babbling some nonsense.” Mala stared eye to eye with

Payne. “And, you’re name keeps coming up. We’ll talk about

that later, huh? Nod yes, my dear. Good, very good.”

Mala Terminus jerked out her Walther 9mm P-5 pistol.

Her body moved with such stealth and swiftness that normal

visualization would’ve been inadequate. Like his, her gun was

equipped for subsonic use. Silent, quick and deadly. For a

moment, she visually compared their firearms.

“Hmm, yours is bigger than mine, my dear.” She hoisted a

hefty smirk at him. “Is there a correlation to the size of allyour equipment? Wait, I already know the answer.”

“You never complained before. Would you please pay

attention? Watch your right.” He playfully cautioned her. “Six

of them and two of us for one of her.”

“I like the odds,” Mala taunted him further. “Except for

her. That scarlet hussy. Badgers’ll breed with anybody. You

can’t trust’em. They’re loners and misfits,” she mumbled. “As

to the bad guys, they’re outmatched by us.”

“A bit hostile today, my dearest,” he teased back. “Badgers

are fierce and self-reliant. This one needs our protection. So,

into the catacombs of this giant storage area.” Paladin led their

stalkers into the complex maze of accumulated airport travel

gear. “Here they come. Time for hide and seek.”

“Typical over-confident thug tactics,” Mala cursed in a

hushed whisper. “You want me to handle this?”

“Don’t spoil the fun, dear,” he answered. “Duck!”

“What the flock?” She uttered.

“I got the three to the left,” he told her.

“We’ll see who finishes first,” she taunted him.

Red-orange flashes animated the gloomy interior. Grey

smoky billows wafted to the distant ceiling. Spent casings

clanked to the concrete flooring. Smells of gunpowder

teased the nostrils in faint disregard for life. Muffled gunfire

from handguns ripped through the maze. Bullets tore

luggage and ripped open cases. Cameras shattered and

toiletries spilled. But, he and she were quicker than blazing

projectiles. To say they were special held only a superficial

ring to the sound. They were beyond that and akin to an

association with another dimension.

In a matter of seconds, they retaliated with a viciousness

that betrayed the perception of human civility. A rare

glimpse could be surmised in the subsequent torrential

killing spree. Among the opposing forces, heads popped

open like ripe melons struck by a sledge hammer. Precise

placement of bullet to brain penetration ended the onslaught

of the first three assailants. A fourth had his throat cut so

deeply, he’d nearly been decapitated. The fifth and sixth

submitted to death by a combination of knife wounds and

bullet holes. The blood letting ended as quickly as it started.“Thanks for your help, darling,” she poked at him. “I

think I got four of them. Can we go now?”

“You’re welcome. Yes, my dear. Sure, let’s go.”

(Art Work Courtesy Daz3D Artzone @ DrGonzo1)

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