Domestic Disturbance *HF* Chapter 3

By Gene


Malachi shook his head. "The guy is just a major dick. Always out there watching me. Looking at me. And he's got this fucking attitude. I keep expecting to see him playing with himself under his kilt. He's just fucking creepy."

Gene sighed. "Watch your mouth. You may be mad, but that's no reason to lose it, okay? Now you've been doing this three weeks. Are you really that miserable?"

"Yes."

Gene shrugged. "Okay. If you drop this job and we give those sheep back, you've got to find something else to do. Maybe work for another neighbor, or a shop in town."

Alice shook her head. "Not another neighbor. If you leave McConnell, you'll have to do something in town because he'll look bad in front of the other neighbors. He'll lose face and come calling."

Gene scratched at his beard. "Hadn't thought about that. Good point."

Alice smiled. "Living in a small town makes you aware of these things."

Gene smiled back. "Yeah, and you care. I never have. It's why we're a team."

Malachi made a face. "Blech. Please."

Gene looked at his son. "So what are you going to do?"

"Anything but work for that sheep-molesting piece of crap again, I hate him," Malachi said.

"Hey! I told you to watch that mouth!" Gene said. "Okay, tomorrow we'll head out early, take the sheep back to him, then go to town and see if we can line up something else."

"Fine. I'm heading back to my place. Goodnight." Malachi rose and headed for the door.

"Goodnight!" Alice said. "Check on the horses on your way over!"

"Goodnight!" Gene said.

***

"Good mornin' Mr. Pembleton. Tis a surprise to see you! Come to help the lad with the herd today?" McConnell's grin was broad, but his eyes were shifty.

"Morning, Mr. McConnell. No, I have some sad news. My son is looking at another trade and won't have time for shepherding anymore. Out of fairness, I've returned the sheep and goat that were part of our agreement."

McConnell eyed the animals, then looked back at Gene, ignoring Malachi, who never left his horse. "Thank you. Tis a shame the lad didn't like things here. But this is the break of a contract, and should be taken up with the Clan."

"What?" Gene said. "I didn't form a contract with the Clan, only with you. And I'm of Clan Pembleton, you're McConnell, it shouldn't make a difference."

McConnell smiled. "But it does, sir. You've returned the sheep, but you're taking the boy. He was providing labor for me, which affects the whole Clan. Now the labor's gone. That affects the Clan. This may cost you more than those sheep."

Gene's temper flared. "Look. The deal was, three sheep and a goat in exchange for a summer of labor from my son. He's out, you have the sheep and goat back, and you still got three weeks of work out of him. I'd say if anyone is ahead in the deal, it's you. Talk to your Clan if you want. I'm leaving the livestock here and that should be the end of it." He handed McConnel the ends of the leashes for the animals and mounted his horse. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience," he said.

McConnell smiled. "Aye. Good day to you then."

***
When Malachi and Gene returned home, it was nearly dark. They were tired but satisfied, and their saddle bags carried a fresh load of supplies from town, including a new dress for Alice the two of them had picked out. As they approached the house, Gene straightened in his saddle.

"What is it?" Malachi asked, looking around.

"Something..." Gene said. "Something's wrong. Do you see anything? Check the auras."

Malachi squinted. "No...wait...nothing new. But people were here before. Two men and maybe a woman."

Gene nudged his horse's flanks and urged it forward while drawing the Claymore from the sheath on his back. "Hyah!"

The two quickly closed the distance two the house, Gene jumping down from the horse, sword drawn, while Malachi vaulted off of his horse's back and onto the ground.

"Alice!" Gene shouted, running to the door.

"I'm over here!" Alice said, coming out of Malachi's house. "It's all right."

Gene and Malachi ran to her. "Something seemed strange," Gene said. "We thought there was trouble." Gene looked at her, spotting blood on her sleeves and the bottom of her dress. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

Alice smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. There was trouble. Two thugs saying they were from the McConnell Clan stopped by this afternoon to complain about the breach of contract we had with them. I argued with them and they didn't take it too kindly. They decided an afternoon of fun with me might make up the difference for them. I didn't like that. They were big guys, but slow and untrained. I broke the nose of one right away, broke the shin of another, but the big dummies kept coming, so I discouraged them with these."

She flicked her wrists and straightened out her arms quickly. There was a zipping sound and two metal darts attached to thin chains appeared in her hands.

"They really didn't like these. I didn't kill them, but scared them pretty good. Now I have to clean the bloodstains out of this dress, damn it!"

Gene hugged her. "Nice. All those hours of training paid off, huh?"

"Sure did, the assholes. So what's the deal?"

"Well, our boy is going into the leather business. Saddles, clothing, you name it, he's going to help make it. He's even interested."

"It's pretty cool," Malachi said. "I didn't know how much they made out of leather here. Even buckets and cups."

"What about the Clan?" Alice asked.

Gene made a face. "Looks like we'll have to settle things with them before too long, and it won't be sheep."

Alice shook her head. "We never get a break."

Gene smiled. "Yeah, we do. We just had a two year break studying at the Shao Lin Temple."

Alice shrugged. "Pff. YEah, where we got to push ourselves to our mental and physical limit and you two got to walk on spear heads covered with rice paper."

"We learned balance!" Gene argued.

"And came home with bloody feet every night for a month! Look, whatever, what do you want to do next?"

"Take a trip," Gene said.

"A trip?" Alice asked. "Where the hell are we going to go now?"

"Spain. Toledo, Spain. There are two places in this world at this time where you can get a good sword. Japan and Spain. I don't like Japan, and in Spain at least we can get some paella. I'm sick to death of barley and bad meat."

"What about your Claymore?" Malachi asked. "And your sword back home?"

Gene sheathed his sword. "The Claymore was fun to get because it's authentic and the sword is just so damned big. But a big sword isn't necessarily good. For every swing you make with a Claymore, a person with a smaller weapon can get inside your swing range and hit you twice. Plus my swords at home are Oriental. We're trying to fit in here. It's conceivable that I might have a Spanish sword, not a Chinese or Japanese one."

Alice sighed. "Fine. So we're going to Spain. Ring power?"

"Of course," Gene said. "The horses can't get us there, boats are too slow, and the airport won't be here for another 275 years. We'll go in the morning."

End Part 3

Gene
Original and Longest-Running Editor
White Bastard/King's Pawn--HellFire Club
Knight of the Long-Necked Bottle
Forbidden by Law to Eat Onion Rings
Selectively Sterile
Wielder of Unbridled Contempt for Humanity
Clearest Colon this side of the Milky Way
Messiest Underwear this side of the Milky Way
Certified Bastard-Training Specialist
K, your neck is looking overloaded... Let me take some weight off it!