Broker

Chapter 206

A gentle breeze worked its way over the garden, touseling Ishtar's hair as it hung loosely around her shoulders. A few petals drifted past, carried by the wind. She rest her hands in her lap, Levi sitting next to her attentively as she waited. She could feel the sun beating against her neck, the light tingling within the tiny glittering particles in her skin. She kept her head up, her eyelids shut. The bandages were gone. She wondered for a moment what she looked like, sitting there in that wheelchair. A narcissistic thought, but it carried with it a spark of imagination that was tantalizing. She wanted her eyes back soon.

The glass slid open again and two sets of feet came out. Marta’s and a new sound, direct and even strides with a small hint of urgency to them. Restrained. She’s holding herself back. How interesting that someone’s mood or state of mind can be picked out by their footsteps. I should keep this in mind in the future, she thought. Her head turned towards the sound and her lips spread into an easy smile. She and Sonya had an agreement never to talk aloud about me, about Sonya’s role as Ishtar. It was dangerous for both of them. 

Ishtar kept her expression gentle and relaxed, She doesn’t know that we split. Let’s keep it that way. Time for a performance.

“...Sonya?” Carla’s voice had a slight tremble to it, breathless, almost awestruck.

“Chairwoman!” Ishtar said brightly, breaking into a winning smile, “It’s been a while. Do you like my new place?’ she raised her good hand and gestured around herself, “I’d give you the tour but, you know,” she trailed off and waved her hand in front of her eyes, “A blind tour guide is pretty sh-”

She was cut off by the sound of heels clacking against the ground and drawing rapidly near. Levi rose and let out a growl but before even the familiar could react, arms were wrapped around her neck. Lips pressed against hers. She was startled for a moment, a tension rising in her stomach that she didn’t quite comprehend but knew she had to put up a good act. She returned the kiss as best she could, keeping it soft and chaste. When their lips parted she felt a hand rise to her cheek and brush back her hair.

“From afar you were breathtaking but,” Carla said before swallowing hard, “You look terrible, darling.”

“Do I?” Ishtar asked, tilting her head towards the retreating heels of Marta and the sound of the door shutting. She turned her head back to Carla, “Marta’s very good with make-up, so I figured I would look at least presentable.”

Carla didn’t respond right away, she just held Ishtar’s face in her hands. What is she looking for?

“Your face, you look so… weary,” she said softly before sliding back and taking one of Ishtar’s hands, she kissed her knuckle, “I’m so sorry it took so long for me to come see you. I-”

Ishtar reached up and touched the woman’s face, exploring her features with her hands, she ran her thumb beneath the woman’s eyes and along her cheek. Her lips quirked into her best approximation of one of Sonya’s sardonic grins, “Speak for yourself, when was the last time you slept?” she asked.

Carla went quiet and Ishtar felt a bit of heat against her fingers. Blushing? Why isn’t she saying anything? Is she expecting me to say something? Their dynamic is… 

“Carla?” Ishtar asked, putting a bit of warning into her tone, “When did you last sleep?”@@novelbin@@

“Two hours, yesterday,” the woman muttered.

“Two hours?” Ishtar balked, “You’re lucky I don’t send you to bed right now!”

She felt the woman relax a little under the rebuke. If she had eyes, Ishtar would have rolled them. Masochists, I’ll never understand them, Ishtar thought irritably, Damn you Sonya and your ‘tastes’. She complained before pulling her hands away from the woman's face. Carla wilted a little at the lack of touch but said nothing, just staying where she was. Ishtar reached down and brushed against the collar the woman always wore, her fingers stopping over the gemstone. 

“You’re so quiet,” Carla commented, “Are you angry with me?”

I don’t feel anything for you either way,

“Of course not,” Ishtar said instead, “It has been a long few days. My body is… recovering still. It is going to take some time before I am able to heal fully.”

Carla hesitated for a moment, Ishtar could feel the woman looking around, examining her surroundings before she spoke; “Even with your other abilities?” she asked hesitantly.

Ishtar resisted the urge to frown, “I will be fine,” she reassured her, “Amos says he has a solution for my eyes and I have found some inroads towards fixing the damage done to my body. I will be back on my feet in no time.”

The chairwoman let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good,” she said, resting her hands on Ishtar’s lap, “Maybe its because you’re tired, but you seem different today,” Carla said, “Maybe I’m tired.”

“You are tired,” Ishtar shot back, “How bad is it?”

Carla forced out a laugh, “I suppose you’re right,” she said and then let out a sigh, “It’s bad, Sonya, really bad. The entire international community wants a war, even the US is ready to send troops to Mississippi. Heroes are on edge and Villains are running rampant, they were emboldened by the prison break,” she reached up and squeezed Ishtar’s hands, “Was that- I mean- I shouldn’t ask, right?” she murmured.

“It was that or lose millions more,” Ishtar said quietly, “A choice was made.”

Carla rested her head against the back of Ishtar’s hands, “I know, it worked according to Black Lotus, but nobody’s going to thank you for it,” she said. Ishtar felt lips on her knuckles and restrained the urge to shiver, the woman practically worshipped Sonya. To someone who respected only pride and strength like herself, it was… unsettling. She did not want her subordinates to treat her this way.

She swallowed back her thoughts and pressed for more information, “So the war hasn’t broken out yet?”

“It’s almost inevitable at this point, everyone’s shouting but nobody really wants it to happen, even after Tokyo. Liberty could do it again for all we know, blow up the south or something. We’ve sent ultimatums to her, demanding that she step down and surrender. At the very least offering a war crimes trial rather than throwing troops and heroes at her, or at least come to the negotiating table to see what can be done,” Carla said, “She even responded this time with conditions about talks.”

That was a surprise. Ishtar raised her eyebrows, “She responded?”

“Yes,” Carla said and she felt the woman look up at her, “What she’s asking for is completely unreasonable.”

“What does she want?”

She hesitated and squeezed Ishtar’s hands again, “She wants the talks to be held in Alabama, close to her territory. She wants you to be there so she can see you, she’s claiming that you’re lying about her people attacking you,” she began while fidgeting with Ishtar’s fingers.

“Surprising, I would have expected her to take credit,” Ishtar commented.

“Me too,” Carla said before clearing her throat, “She um, she also wants a certain high profile supervillain to be there,” she trailed off awkwardly, “Ishtar.”

Ishtar barked out a cold laugh, “Really now?” she chortled, “How interesting! I wonder what her angle is. It smells like a trap to me,” she said thoughtfully, “That’s hilarious.”

“You think it's funny?” Carla blurted, “Sonya, this is beyond serious. If we can get her to sit down to talk, maybe we can avoid at least a war. There has to be some kind of hope that level of violence can be avoided,” she insisted, “What’s gotten into you?”

Ah, I seem to have made a mistake. Would Sonya not have found the situation amusing? Yes, she would have, she frowned, But she would have measured the response, given the circumstances, I went too far.

“Your whole way of talking is weird too,” Carla said, pulling her hands away, “You’re so formal, it’s cold. The way you’re sitting, how calm you are, just… everything. It doesn’t sit right with me.  I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. It’s like you’re a completely different person right now!”

Ishtar was taken aback, Observant. Though a romantic partner would be more attentive to small details,

“Sonya?” Carla said hesitantly, “Did you just-”

Troublesome. I suppose the game is over.

“Sonya?”

Ishtar turned to face the woman, her expression cold even with her eyes shut. Her lips set in a line, her hands in her lap and her jaw set. She said nothing as she heard the woman take a few hesitant steps backwards.

“...Sonya?’ Carla croaked.

Ishtar let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Y-You aren’t Sonya,” Carla stammered, “Who are you? What did you do with Sonya?”

It sounded like the woman was about to cry. She heard the click of something and sniffed the air. Levi growled and she lowered her hand to stall the hound. Ishtar tilted her head to the right and spoke in quiet warning, “Whatever that is, put it down, you’re upsetting Levi. Chairwoman.”

“N-not until you tell me who you are!” she half-sobbed half-shouted.

Ishtar’s voice was a blade of ice, a heavy hammer, and a fiery biblical testament all in one. Blood curdling and final in a way that elicited imaginings of a headsman's axe.

“You know my name, Chairwoman.”

Something heavy clattered to the ground and Levi darted forward. He returned to Ishtar and placed the weight in her lap. Ishtar wrapped her fingers around it and smiled, “You were given this after your predecessor died,” Ishtar murmured, running her fingers along the guns length, “They told you to keep it with you at all times. You never thought that you would have to draw it here of all places.”

“Ishtar,” Carla breathed, “But you- Sonya-”

“Sonya’s mental strain was far more significant than you realize,” Ishtar said, “I have been around for quite some time. Chairwoman. You maintained a borderline ignorance of the situation, with the two of you never openly speaking of me, but you knew.”

“I knew Ishtar was a role she played,” Carla said sharply, “Not… this.”

Ishtar frowned, “This isn’t her fault, and I would advise you to be more careful in how you speak about it around her if you know what’s good for you, Chairwoman.

“You… promised?” Carla asked.

“Yes,” Ishtar said, her tone thick with chilly warning, “And you of all people should know what that means. I have all of her abilities, for both good and ill.”

There was a long pause, a silence that seemed to stretch out as the woman’s hasty breathing slowed. Finally, though, she stepped forwards and stopped in front of Ishtar. Ishtar tilted her head up with a frown. Her fingers wrapped around the gun in her lap. This woman. I knew she was too sensitive, if she tried to hurt Sonya’s body I will- she felt a hand touch her cheek, it was… warm. Ishtar cleared her throat and the woman knelt back down to where she had been throughout the earlier part of the conversation.

“I’m sorry,” Carla said with surprising sincerity, “I don’t… fully understand this.”

Ishtar scowled, “What is there to misunderstand?” she demanded, “Sonya threw her morals and what amounts to her soul aside in order to save you people,” Ishtar growled, “The pressure of a world on her shoulders, visions of an apocalypse, nightmares every night, the ramifications of her actions on her psyche,” Ishtar tilted her head, “Something had to give.”

“Then you’re still her, in a way.”

Ishtar turned her head away, “Barely, I am my own person for the most part now. I share memories with her, we talk, I observe. I prefer to avoid social entanglements so she remains at the fore.”

Carla’s hand froze, “Then why are you out now?’

“Because Tokyo was a blow too far,” Ishtar said, “She’s… recovering.”

The woman rested her head in Ishtar’s lap again and Ishtar felt something wet and hot drip down the back of her hand. “I should have been there more for her,” Carla croaked, the grief thick in her voice. Ishtar wondered what it must feel like to feel that way, it sounded painful. She tried to imagine failing Sonya so completely that silly girl was gone forever. Perhaps perspective is necessary, she thought as something welled up in her chest, a choking feeling that made her hair stand on end. It hurt. It ached. She hated that feeling. It was agony. 

Ishtar raised her good hand hesitantly and rested it on Carla’s head, “You-” she began before clearing her throat, “Sonya will recover. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

She felt the woman sit up and look at her, “You sound more like a big sister than a split personality. You two are so… different.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Ishtar said with a small smile, “Have you calmed down?”

Carla sniffed, “Y-yes, I think so.”

“Then take your gun, I don’t want it,” Ishtar said flatly and pointed to the heavy weapon in her lap. She felt Carla snatch it up, heard a click of the saftey re-engaging and the shuffle of her putting it away. Ishtar shook her head, “You’re lucky Marta wasn’t watching. Though I suppose your reaction was… understandable.”

“I’m sorry,” Carla said mutely, “I thought you were a shapeshifter or something. The thought of kissing someone wearing her face like that was… it was too much.”

Ishtar snorted, “Far be it from me to judge you for a slip that didn’t do any harm,” Ishtar pointed out with a shrug, “I would ask that going forward, now that you know, you refrain from kissing me when I am in control. I reciprocated to keep up the act for your benefit but I don’t particularly enjoy physical affection.”

“...oh, oh my gosh,” Carla wheezed, “I’m so sorry.”

“And stop apologizing, I hate that,” Ishtar grumbled, “You’re the leader of the organization I nominally oppose, show some backbone, girl.”

“You’re a hard woman,” Carla said with a weak laugh.

“I’m a supervillain, a proper one,” Ishtar said flatly, “That comes with a certain level of pride and decorum.”

“I see,” Carla said quietly, “So what now?”

“Well,” Ishtar said thoughtfully and broke into a smile she imagined might have looked significantly less sinister with Sonya behind it, “Why don’t you tell me about this invitation Liberty so graciously extended.”