Edge: Killer's Breed

"Please, I'm not a … I have to get to the doctor. My sister's sick. Please let me go. There are a lot of girls like that in Parkersburg."

"You don't fool me!" The man had ceased pleading and his voice was a snarl. "You been getting more than a couple of bucks from all the others and you ain't prepared to put out for less. But you're gonna do it, sister. I'm goin' off to fight a war for you and least you can do is show a little appreciation."

There was the harsh sound of material being tom apart and the woman screamed, the sound becoming a muffled sob.

Hedges spun on his heels and went into the alley on the run, eyes trying to pierce the inky blackness. Then he saw them, their position marked by the milky whiteness of the woman's naked upper body from which the bodice of her dress had been ripped. The uniformed man was bending down before her, one hand over her mouth and pressing her head back against the wall of the stage depot while the other fumbled to rip free the remainder of the dress. As Hedges slackened his pace to creep up behind the attacker, the man lowered his head, mouth opening to engulf the woman's erect nipple.

The rending of material sounded again and the tattered remains of the woman's dress fell to a crumpled heap around her feet and she shook her head free of the grip and screamed in pain as the man's teeth sank into her breast. Hedges fist traveled no more than twelve inches but behind it was every ounce of power he could summon and as the knuckles sank into the area of the man's kidneys his mouth came wide in a silent scream and every nerve in his body was numbed, releasing his grip on the woman. As she flattened herself against the wall, seeming to want to press herself through it, the man half turned, but never completed the movement as the same fist which had landed the first blow, smashed into his jaw at the end of a swinging uppercut. He was lifted two inches clear of the ground and came down unconscious so that his knees buckled, his pelvis swiveled and neck twisted, corkscrewing him into an untidy heap in front of the near-naked woman.

Hedges glanced down at him and saw him as merely another faceless soldier with no badges of rank. Then he looked at the woman and saw that, in fact, she was no more than a girl, trembling and afraid and for several moments too deeply shocked to attempt to conceal her slim, almost fragile figure from his gaze. Then, when she did try, she found her hands and arms only adequate to hide the firm half spheres of her young breasts. She pressed her slender legs tightly together and began to quake again as she dug fingers into the soft flesh of her shoulders.

"I've already had the offer and turned it down," Hedges said and tried to form his features into a gentle smile. Then he rolled the unconscious man over with his foot and stooped to pick up the tattered dress. "You'll catch cold," he said softly as he handed it to her.

She seemed reluctant to take it, and when she did it was almost a snatching movement and she held it tightly to her, like a child with a favorite toy.

"He made a mess of it, miss," Hedges said. "It won't cover you much better than you're hiding yourself." He looked down at the man. "Got an idea." He bent down and unbuttoned the tunic, then the belt on the pants. The man wasn't very tall, but he was fat and it was awkward trying to get the clothes off under his dead weight. But Hedges' well-honed muscles served him well and within a minute the unconscious man was down to his grubby underwear. Hedges grinned at the girl as he held out the uniform. "You won't exactly be the best dressed lady in Parkersburg, miss, but they'll keep out the cold and protect your modesty until you get home."

Again she hesitated before reaching out to him and once more she clasped the garments tightly against her body, making no move to put them on. Hedges sighed and turned his back towards her. There was silence for several moments, then there were some scuffling sounds and he smiled, knowing she was putting on the uniform.

"It's all right now," she said at length and when he turned to look at her he had to suppress a guffaw. Two girls with her build could have got inside the tunic and the pants cuffs had been folded up twice to clear the ground. She had to have a hand under the tunic to hold the pants up. "I'm very grateful to you, Mr..."

"Hedges," he answered, touching his cap. "Joe Hedges. Not mister anymore. Lieutenant."

"My name's Jeannie Fisher," she said softly. "I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

"You didn't," he answered. "I ought to apologize for his behavior. He's in the same army I am."

"I'm glad you're not all like him. Thank you again. I must get to the doctor now."

"I'll take you," Hedges said quickly.

She shook her head. "You've done enough. It's not far." She smiled now, the expression lighting her dark eyes and showing rows of white teeth between full lips. "I'm hardly likely to attract any more of that kind of attention, dressed like this."