Chương 74: Chapter 73 - The Job

Paulina had already taken off her armor, sitting at the counter where the poisoned cups were arranged. Atzi took off her own armor, followed by untying the rope around her tail. She groaned when she let it loose, and then sprawled across the warm stone couch. The pleasant heat permeated her scales, like a warm bath. She didn't want to talk with Paulina. Which was easy, because she suddenly felt very comfortable... very tired... she could just doze off...

"Don't fall asleep, idiot."

"Mrghf... I wasn't, I wasn't..." Paulina didn't reply.

"When we finish I gotta buy one of these... big rock sofas..."

"If you don't fuck up and get us killed."

"I won't!" Atzi said in a whiny voice. She suddenly realized she was a little too loud, immediately clamping her mouth shut Paulina glared at her. The burn scars down her face quivered.

"So... uh... what you gonna spend your share on?" Maybe talking about good things will make her less mad. Paulina turned away from Atzi, putting her legs up on the counter.

"Don't fall asleep," she repeated.

"I'm not gonna, sheesh." Atzi sprawled out more, staring at the ceiling. Gods, this is boring! Why couldn't I be stuck in here with Cory instead? Actually, why couldn't she? Cory could do this job as well as Paulina could. If not better. She's needed for the lock or something, but wouldn't it be easier if she was in here to do it? V could replace Paulina with her and it'd be perfect.... or replace me. Hm. Maybe I shouldn't mention it. She thought about Fence's job, too. Gathering the loot at the end.

Keeping lookout. A lot of money for not much work. Easiest part of it all. Atzi sat up, stretching.

"Why do you think it had to be us? I mean, V picking us. They've got other people by now." Paulina didn't answer, like she was ignoring her. When Atzi thought she wasn't going to answer at all, Paulina finally said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well... it just doesn't make enough sense. Cory, yeah, they need Cory. Can't be easy finding that good a blood mage who'll stick to the plan. Aelia's probably got some important part too, but Fence? I could do that part easy. Probably got a dozen people working for them who could." Paulina turned around and stood up. She walked over to Atzi, and glared down at her. Atzi shrunk a little. Paulina's voice was an angry whisper.

"Yeah. Why do they need you? Why are you on this job?"

"W-well... I've been good on a lot of other... I got the codewords pretty well, didn't I?" Paulina scowled.

"You're the entire reason this thing went to shit the first time. You should feel lucky V didn't kill you." The spite in her voice was so heavy, Atzi could feel the weight of it in every word.

"That wasn't luck. I hid really- I mean, maybe they knew it was, you know, a lot of things happened then, the magic wasn't set to the right time, and..." Atzi rubbed her wounds on her back absentmindedly.

"You. Are responsible. For every shitty thing that has ever happened to me since that day. Don't blame others when you're the reason. The reason why bad shit happens to them."

"I-I'm not, I helped-" Atzi looked away.

"Forget it."

"No, don't fucking forget it!" Paulina seethed, even as she kept her voice low.

"That's exactly your fucking problem. You want to forget about all the shit you've done. You don't want to take responsibility for your Saintess-damned actions." She pounded a fist against the stone couch next to Atzi's head.

"You aren't worth the shit-stained air you breathe." Atzi wanted to yell back at her. But look at how many times I died recently. Whose fault was that? I knew how to not die and I still did it. Does everything reset the moment I die, or does it happen after? Did the whole city get killed every time because I was too dumb to live?

"That's right, fucking stew in it." Paulina returned to her stool. Atzi thought better than trying to talk to her after that. Later, the Saintess warned her that the hour was almost up. She quickly started getting suited in her armor. Paulina stared at her for a moment, before doing the same herself. The next pair of guards fetched them soon after. They headed out, to return to the small patrol around and around. They had to do a few rounds at first, just to make sure the guards in the break room had time to drink.

When they hit the start of the hall leading down to the breakroom, and thus out of sight of the other rotation of guards, Atzi whispered, "Now." They walked quickly to the break room, entering it to find two guards collapsed, one against the counter and the other on the couch. Paulina took the underarms of the one against the counter, hoisting him up. Atzi grabbed his legs, and together they lifted. He was heavy, but they had to move quickly. They made their way behind the couch and dropped him off.

Then they grabbed the next one and heaved him on top, before covering them with a blanket. If anyone checked it would be the most obvious thing in the world, so they just had to hope the guards didn't look behind the couch. They didn't have time for a better plan. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. They rushed back out of the break room. The rows of lockboxes formed hallways.

Only at one point in the patrol would the two sets of guards circling around be visible to each other. They rejoined the rotation with only the smallest hitch in their step. Across the hall, the other guards patrolling looked their way - but didn't say anything. - Internally, Atzi asked, "How long has it been?"

"Twenty seven minutes and eighteen- nineteen seconds," the Saintess replied. Atzi groaned lightly. She felt like she was going to die stomping around and around in the heavy armor. How do they do it all the time? She stumbled, arm knocking against a lockbox. The sound reverberated down the row of boxes, echoing through the room. Atzi winced. Paulina's helmet made a clunking noise as she looked down on her. Panting, Atzi pushing herself back up.

She turned to look down the hall, hoping the other guards wouldn't approach. This time, they did. They asked another codeword - meant for asking if there were serious issues. Atzi quickly countered with the correct phrase in response - meaning no intervention needed. That seemed to mollify the guards, and regular patrol resumed. Paulina didn't say anything. But Atzi somehow knew the woman was glaring at her underneath her helmet. - The Saintess finally gave the word.

They just needed to slip back in the break room, to pretend to be the guards who were just in there. It would be the hardest part of the night, the timeframe the narrowest possible for reaching the room without being caught. First they would need to cross the regular patrol down the central hall, before doubling back to the break room faster and without being caught. They crossed. Atzi nodded to Paulina, and they rushed back, crouching even in the heavy armor. Just don't mess this up.

For once, don't get yourself and everyone else killed. Atzi snuck back with Paulina, and- She was exhausted. Boots heavy. No tail to balance her out. -tripped. She pushed her arms forward, trying to catch herself. The weight of the armor caused her arms to buckle, and she collapsed on her side. The heavy thud was too loud, like it could be heard throughout the entire city. Atzi wasn't one for prayer, but in that moment, she thought, Water, please. The thumping of the other guards' boots sped up.

They were coming to check. Atzi tried covering. Another exchange of codewords. But it didn't matter if they bought it. It was impossible to sneak into the break room now. And the bank guards would notice nobody was in there as soon as they entered.

"... We need to adjust." Atzi said to Paulina quietly as the guards opened their way to the breakroom.

"I fucking knew you'd fuck up. But you're right." Paulina took off her gauntlet and reached into her armor, drawing up the last of the poison. She handed a vial to Atzi. Atzi took off a gauntlet of her own to handle it. They left the two discarded pieces quietly against the floor. They approached the other two guards from behind. It was easier to not be heard when they didn't have to worry about also not being seen. Atzi dipped her claws directly into the poison. Better to not waste it.

If I can just get in through a gap, a single scratch should be enough. They were just a few feet away when one of the guards turned around, seeing Atzi's exposed claw. They shouted. There was no codeword needed. It would draw down the pair from upstairs, too. Atzi pierced forward with her claws, trying to dig into a joint. The strike clacked uselessly against the guard's shoulder plate. The pair of guards unhinged axes from their armor's legs. Atzi was already trying to move out of the way, to avoid their strikes.

But she was still tired and too heavily armored. They swept out with their weapons in a flurry of lethal strikes. One of the edges swiped against her open palm, cutting a nasty gash through her scales. Paulina simply splashed the contents of her vial forward. It coated the guard further away from Atzi, and he dropped to the floor. The other guard was distracted for a split second. Atzi ignored the pain in her claw as she stabbed forward again.

This time, she struck- -just as an axe smashed against the armor in her stomach, shattering it and drawing a line across her belly. She watched the guard collapse in front of her, and then her own intestines spill out.

"Ahh..." She dropped to her knees.

"W-wait..." She looked up to Paulina, just as armored figures ran down the ramp. The guards from upstairs.

"C-can we... call the others in?" Atzi's guts splayed uselessly against the floor. Paulina grunted.

"No way to reach them. Either they're on their way, or we're dead." With that, Paulina charged at the two guards. She dodged a strike. Then another. For a moment, Atzi started to think Paulina might be able to pull this off. Then one caught her in the side. And the next through her neck. Her head popped out of her helmet, rolling in front of Atzi. Staring up at her. Atzi tore her eyes away, looking at the approaching guards. She shakily held a claw up.

"I surrender. I'm a... personal guest of the Serpent, she'll pay a ransom if you leave me alive." The guards still had their weapons drawn.

"C'mon... I can't fight back, look at me! You win, alright?" One of them said, "Not paid to take prisoners." He kicked her. She fell over on the ground. Atzi groaned in pain.

"You're... p-paid to secure the bank, though, right? A-and I got in, and you d-don't know how... I can explain... if you just... leave me alive..." The guard responded by lifting his heavy boot, and crushing Atzi's head like a plump bug. - Atzi screamed in the void.

"Who in the hells does that to someone?" Even as she was in pain, she still raged.

"Psychopathic guards! Why kill me there?"

"... Is that not normal?" the Saintess asked.

"Murdering someone surrendering on the ground? No, it's not."

"I see."

"Guards are such…" Atzi groaned.

"I hate them." The Saintess tilted her head to the side.

"Is there something that makes guards worthy of hate?"

"Yeah. They do whatever they can get away with. As soon as they see you breaking any rule, they start thinking about what they can get out of you." Atzi sighed.

"Usually they just take any money you've got, but those guys didn't even want money, they just... love murdering people, bunch of psychos." She gagged as she remembered the feeling of her own head being crushed.

"Sometimes they just make up rules to screw you over, too. You can say someone's loitering if they've been hanging around somewhere for a few minutes, stuff like that."

"But did you not kill someone before? What makes it different?" Atzi paused. Even her thoughts felt like they stopped for a moment, as she remembered the sensation. How stupidly easy, almost anticlimatic it had been.

"Th-that's... he was trying to kill me. And... I didn't... mean to..." One moment she struck with her dagger, and the next he was dead.

"L-like... if they'd killed me in the fight there, that's one thing. But they weren't in danger at that point, they were just killing me for the fun of it. So it's not the same."

"I see." The Saintess nodded.

"So killing is okay as part of a fight."

"Well." Atzi pushed the thoughts out of her mind, shrugging.

"I guess, if you're in danger, yeah. If you're just punching each other and one guy pulls out a sword, that's pretty bad."

"... So complicated."

"Yeah..." The Saintess faded away to darkness once more.