Jerome had the man toss John into an empty cell. The boy had been easy enough to capture. Afterwards he’d taken him to a secure location. The slavers owned several sets of warehouses and even an office building downtown. Still, all there meat had been in one location and thanks to the boy in front of them it was all gone.

“I suppose I deserve this.” Jerome mused while lighting a cigar.

“Everything was going well. I grew lax and my men grew sloppy. To think, one loose boy and I lose an entire shipment.” Jerome chuckled then it turned to a deep belly laugh.

It was very bitter sounding and John could see it didn’t reach his eyes, “Well it isn’t enough to cripple me…… But I’ve lost a good chunk of profit and now it seems I’ve got another thorn in my side as well.” He flicked his cigar in John’s direction, spraying him with ash, “Thanks to you now not only do I have to worry about the cops but this Gene Starwind bastard and his band of flunkies.” The man took a deep drag, he exhaled and looked at the smoke thoughtfully.

“I wonder where he acquired a Ctarl Ctarl? Perhaps I should give Hojoma the go ahead. It’d better to make this girl into a friend than to keep her as an enemy.”

John continued to say nothing.

“You’ll be in a belly soon enough.” Jerome told him quietly, “I talked to a survivor once, oh the story he told me! It’s quite a terrible way to die you know. Your first threat isn’t in their belly but their mouth. Those Ctarl Ctarl’s fangs…… God damn are they sharp! Sharper than most knives or so I’ve heard……… Look at me when I’m talking to you kid! That’s better. Now, you see, some Ctarl Ctarl like to swallow their prey whole, some don’t. Some like the taste of blood so they’ll bite deep into the chest or groin. Not enough to kill you, only enough to add a tangy bit of flavor to the meal.”

John didn’t respond but he started shaking slightly. Enjoying the response he was getting Jerome continued.

“The throat is pretty tight, I hope you aren’t claustrophobic. I imagine it probably feels like squeezing through a mouse hole. You can break some bones on the way down if the pressures too much. Then you finally land in the stomach. Hell on earth my friend. You’ll be bathed from head to toe in some of the most powerful stomach acid in the galaxy. A Ctarl Ctarl belly could dispose of you in the time it would take yours to break down a hamburger. If you’re lucky you’ll faint from lack of oxygen or overwhelming pain.”

John was crying now.

“That’s the fate that awaits you for messing around in my affairs. I’m not even selling you. I’m giving you to one of my new hires. Thanks to you Sara is dead so it seems only fitting you get devoured by her predecessor. She was quite an expensive bounty hunter. Her working name is the ‘insatiable beast’, a loving nickname she acquired from her prey.”

John narrowed his eyes, “She’s a bounty hunter?” he finally spoke up, confused.

Bounty hunters were supposed to hunt down pirates and slavers, not team up with them.

“Why yes, she is, but she’s also a Ctarl Ctarl and doesn’t feel bound by human laws or morals.” Jerome took another puff on his cigar and peered at his watch, “You know, I should really be greeting her soon. She should be arriving in the spaceport within the hour. I’ll send someone by to get you ‘ready’ for this evening.” Jerome turned and left.

John hadn’t stopped shaking. This only reaffirmed his beliefs that all Ctarl Ctarl were monsters.

………………………………………………………

“Well there’s not much we can do, I’m sure he’s fine though.” Gene tried to assure Jim.

Jim knew Gene was probably right, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to John. He’d disappeared from view yesterday when He and Aisha had been attacked by the two sibling Kei pirates.

“Well it seems like they’re a little pissed about the ware houses, we’re all going to have to stay alert for a while. They might come after us again. Hey Mel, how about we sleep together? You know what they say, safety in numbers!”

“Oh? Okay.” Melfina obviously not picking up on Gene’s true intent.

“No.” Suzuka dashed Gene’s hopes as she took another sip of tea, “We can all sleep in our own beds. Gene’s just horny.”

Gene’s face turned to the color of his hair.

………………………………………………………..

“So you’re sure you don’t want him?”

“No, I think it’s time for my daughter to start eating live meat.” The sleek one eyed bounty hunter placed a hand on her young daughter’s shoulder.

Her daughter looked back at her mother, unsure, “But mom what if it kicks and fights back? I won’t possibly be able to swallow it.”

“You’re my daughter, you’ll be able to handle it.” The bounty hunter assured her.

Jerome frowned, he was disappointed that his latest Ctarl Ctarl employee had brought her family but it couldn’t be helped. It was understandable though. She’d be living here for quite some time. He looked over his latest hire. She was thin and wiry, more so than the usual Ctarl Ctarl. She was clad in a skin tight black body suit and had an eye patch over her left eye which she’d apparently lost during a mission. Her daughter couldn’t have looked more different. She wasn’t fat but had a tiny bit of a belly which was normal for most races but uncommon for Ctarl Ctarl. She also didn’t seem to have her mother’s grace nor her ruthlessness.

“But what if it starts crying? I don’t think I’ll be able to-“

“Connie, enough, you will eat him and that is that!” It was the end of the discussion.

“Well!” Jerome broke in, “Why don’t you two get settled and you come and see me when you’re ready? I’ll tell you about your first mission and will whip up dinner for your daughter.”

Soon John would be converted into nothing more but a few calories and his latest Ctarl Ctarl would get Gene Starwind out of his hair. Things would soon be made right……… If only he could figure out where Hojoma had disappeared to.

………………………………………………..

Jim yawned and stretched out on Aisha’s bed. They’d just finished watching a movie in Aisha’s room. Starwind and Hawkings didn’t use to have so many rooms but a couple good jobs landed them enough money to pay off a bit of there debt to Fred and make a few additions for their new crew members.

Jim yawned and fell back on Aisha’s bed, “Man that movie was terrible.”

“You should see some Ctarl Ctarl movies, they’re much better.”

“Oh yeah?”

Much to Jim’s surprise he found Aisha to be something of a Ctarl Ctarl film buff. By the time she had finished she found Jim was snoring softly.

“Nyagh?! You feel asleep?!!!” Sighing Aisha got up and turned off the lights she slid into bed and, instead of carrying Jim back to his room, let him slip under the covers with her.

She hugged the little Terran and drifted off into sleep.

Aisha was completely unaware when, a few hours later, two cat like eyes gleamed as they roamed over her body.

Jerome might have been the Hojoma’s boss but he’d be damned if he let the man control his love life. He was surprised to see the human next to his future wife to be. ‘hmmmm, I suppose she must like breakfast in bed’ he reasoned. That would stop when he made her his. He didn’t want a lazy mate.

“Hojoma has come for you my sweet….. Ahhh, you’re much prettier than Sarah.” The Ctarl Ctarl whispered as he advanced.

He knew that all he had to do was speak to her to get her to switch sides. She was a Ctarl Ctarl after all.