Showers always found the marks he thought he’d forgotten about. Scratches, bites, bruises, they all added up. Before he ended up with Vixen he never really thought about abusive relationships, least of all that he’d end up in one. Sex is a weapon to her. She used it to draw him in and make him fall deeply in lust for her, but now it was a punishment at the same time. Rough didn’t begin to describe it, she enjoyed causing him pain. She’d broken ribs before, concussion was common, and hell drawing blood was just foreplay to her. He was trapped in an abusive cycle of sex and crime. Together they were a great team, robbing high security jobs all across the verse and success was always rewarded with good times. And she could make him feel real good. But failures lead to violent angry sex. Where she wanted to hurt and him and she wanted him to enjoy it. Wisp knew he was stuck in a bad place and part of him wanted to get the hell away from it, but another part wasn’t ready to go. Part of him loved her and part of him hated her. He stood in the shower inspecting the fresh injuries. They’d been on a job to break into a business mans safe but the intelligence had been wrong. Just as he was breaking the safe a detail of guards appeared that they had no idea about. A secret trip had been triggered leaving them well up the creak. Luckily the two of them had managed to get out but he knew what was coming. The shower water turned red as it passed over his back. He winced as hot water ran through the deep gouges left by her nails and teeth. His chest bruises ranging from old yellows to fresh purples from her games. She was outside getting ready for the meeting with the client. He could tell that Vixen was going to kill the man who’d given them the job; she often did that. If she didn’t agree with a price or if things hadn’t gone as planned or if she simply felt they weren’t appreciative enough she’d kill them. That was another thing Wisp hated about her. She had no respect for life. She took as much notice shooting an innocent person as she did tying her shoe laces. People got in her way, he’d watched countless times as she’d turned on people they were working with to increase her profits. The only reason she hadn’t killed him was because of the sick and twisted love she had for him. Wisp couldn’t even begin to understand it. “Wisp don’t spend all Gorram day in that shower we have to meet the client soon.” She called from the next room. She was impatient for her money and the kill, then It’d be back to the ship for more sex. Wisp didn’t know if it would be the heaven or hell kind yet. But they were yin and yang; you couldn’t have one half without the other. Wisp got out and dried himself, taking extra care with his wounds and applying healing cream. He began to dress strapping much more munitions to his frame than he ever used to before. Pistols, grenades and knives were part of his daily uniform now, he never knew when Vixen might turn an every day scenario into a fight for his life. And today had every indication of going very south very quickly. Just Twenty years old and fighting for his life. How time had flown since his escape from the Ariel Youth Academy in his bid for freedom. He hadn’t gotten very free so far. A year after escaping and he was kidnapped by Vankeetsen for nearly two years. Six months on the run before bumping into Vixen and then the last year had been spent being a criminal dating a violent Sociopath. Great job Wisp. He stepped out of the tiny bathroom on their shuttle to find Vixen strapping into her own set of weapons. She wore her standard cat suit as she did on most jobs which showed off her worst weapons-her curves. Still after all the craziness that he knew about she still stirred his primal urges up into frenzy. Nasty hot. “About time hot stuff” She leant in and placed a long, luscious kiss on his lips “We’re meeting him in a cafeteria on the far side of the station. I plan on expressing my discontent about that Gosa intelligence he sold off on us.” “Lets not start a gun brawl today. Graf station is full of people going about their business who don’t wanna get shot” “Sure honey. I’ll try not to kill him” The meeting was taking place on a Deep Space transfer habitat known as Graf Station. It was a simple refuelling stop between the outer worlds and the core and saw a lot of trade passing through every day. Perfect for exchange of illegal or illicit materials. The streets were lined with shops and vendors of all kinds peddling their wares on those passing through. People from all walks of life strolled through these halls looking, laughing, living. He missed the lives they all lead, he had no desire to keep playing this game with Vixen but he loved her too much to walk away. Maybe if he stayed and tried she would change, he could fix her. The meeting was in an open intersection of the station which boasted a number of café’s and restaurants. Wisp took a look around at the innocent scene which he knew would descend into a battlefield in a few minutes. The client was sat sipping coffee in one of the booths in the nearest café. Wisp and Vixen walked over taking note of the bodyguards sitting on three of the nearby tables trying to look inconspicuous like wolves in sheep clothing. Their attempt was more like weightlifters wearing dresses they stood out that much but small time clients meant small time muscle.

Vixen approached the informer all swagger and hips drawing the attention of every red blooded male in the vicinity. The muscle didn’t try to hide their looks, they didn’t even try to hide the drooling. Wisp wasn’t surprised as their combined IQ wouldn’t have been enough to tie a shoe lace. One advantage of Vixens sex hungry approach was that Wisp was barely noticed allowing him the freedom to stand beside the booth as Vixen slid into it with poise and grace. She extracted a cigarette from somewhere in her skin tight suit and lit it sucking the filter with the raw appeal to make a shepherd question his calling. After taking a deep inhale she looked at the client:

“You didn’t give us all the information.”

The client was a short balding man somewhere in his forties. He wore a cheap suit that had obviously been taken in poorly to accommodate his diminished stature. He smelt of an overpowering cologne that must have been equal parts alcohol and fragrance, probably labelled as something like ‘sex panther’. He had a tall coffee in front of him that sat cold, he knew something had gone wrong and he was nervous. He had every reason to be.

“I gave you everything I had! I spoke to one of the guys guards he gave me the whole set-up!” His voice was nasal and whiny. Obviously spoilt as a child by his mother. Wisp would have put a platinum he had a breast fixation. “Anything that happened wasn’t my fault! I couldn’t have known!”

Vixen took another long drag. “Be that as it may. The job was for a set of documents for yourself and the cash in the safe was ours. And a considerable amount it was supposed to be.” She went to take another drag but then stopped and took it away. The client was staring at her lips. Full red and plump, some of that red was probably Wisps blood mixed with her lipstick. “But the job didn’t go down that way. Due to your oversight we were lucky to get out of there in one piece. So we’re out a considerable number of bullets and we haven’t been paid.”

“I don’t have the kind of money to pay what you two charge! Its not my fault you bungled the job-“

“BUNGLED THE JOB?” Vixen snapped. Her body posture changed, no longer was she laid across the seat like a chaise long she was sat straight leering over the table bearing her teeth. The muscle suddenly made to jump up but Wisp withdrew a long silenced pistol and motioned for them to remain seated. They were clever enough to obey; Wisp was surprised. “Listen you Fat cào! We did not bungle the Gorram job! You bungled the information so you’re going to pay us our dues and you’re going to thank whatever petty god you pray to that my Lover asked me not to kill you.”

“I can’t pay! I got nothing! I had a deal riding on those documents without them I can barely cover my business interests”

“If you’ve got no liquid I want deeds to your offices until you do pay”

“I can’t do that! That’s everything I have!”

“You should have thought of that before you got Professionals on board. Deeds now”

The man’s world was falling apart. Sweat was dripping off of him. He looked down at his drink as if lost in thought. Wisp saw it though; he was making a signal to the muscle. This job was spiralling way south way quick. Wisp was about to pop the three guys in a motion but Vixen got there first.

She was not as precise as Wisp was going to be.

Vixen grabbed one of the machine pistols strapped to her chest and released a five second burst into the table of bodyguards. Blood flew everywhere, glass shattered, screams erupted from all around them as people flung themselves to the ground. Wisp followed where the paths of the excess bullets would have flown. He knew the bullets that didn’t hit the guards would have gone into civilians and...oh god. It was a kid. Young boy no more than ten years old covered in blood. It looked like he took one in the chest. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

“I want all the money in all your accounts transferred to this one here.” Wisp was drawn back to the coffee table to see Vixen now with the fat man grabbed by the collar with one hand and the pistol up against his temple. She was pointing down to a pad on the table with bank details.

“Vixen” Wisp managed to whisper “You shot a kid.”

She looked up with irritation in her eyes “What are you on about?”

“You Shot a Gorram Kid!” Wisp now said with anger.

“Saved him a life of misery. Probably would have turned into a rapist anyway. Now” She looked back at the client “Retina! Fingerprint! Or I add your name to that kids in the list of fatalities.”

Wisp looked on in total and utter shock. Vixen was cold and heartless but she had never stooped so far before. How could life mean so little to her? That was a kid. Somebody’s son. He was probably their whole world, taken away in a moment of violent greed that had nothing to do with him. Wisp couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, couldn’t even begin to comprehend the atrocity he’d just become part of. Luckily for him some of the stations guards appeared and started firing stunners at him. A good opportunity to run on instinct so he didn’t have to deal with the sin and nausea building in his mind.

His pistol disappeared and Wisp threw four grenades in quick succession, first flashbangs then smoke. He rolled away to the right and pulled his own stunner from his back, enough blood had been spilt for one day.

“Thankyou for your payment” Wisp heard Vixen say before a sound of gunfire erupted from her and the clients body fell to the ground. She’d killed him anyway. She was going to kill him one day. Maybe it would be today? She headed for cover back to the left where they’d come from. The smoke began to clear and the guards became visible across the intersection firing from cover positions. Wisp fired high and wide to keep the guards down, Vixen aimed long blasts directly into the flimsy cover they were hiding behind. Blood flew and body’s fell.

“Wisp get the hell over here and lets go” She shouted over the crackles and screams. Wisp sat fixed in place. He looked to his left and saw Vixen encircled in violence and lust, and to the right was the unknown. “Wisp what the hell are you waiting for?” He looked at her with pain in his eyes. “Goodbye Valerie” Pure shock and horror filled her face “No” She cried as her voice cracked and her face fell “You can’t, you wouldn’t” Wisp turned to his right and never looked back as tears streamed down his cheeks. “NOOOO!” This time she screamed her voice raw “Come back! I swear I will kill every last person here if you leave me. I will make them suffer and die. I love you, you can’t leave me.” Wisp didn’t see but she was sobbing dark mascara tears. She fired wildly as she cried weeping over and over “Don’t leave me, Don't leave me” Wisp heard her screams and cries as her entered the nearest ship he could find and disappeared into the black.