Excellent chapter fine reminder of why this is one of my favorite ongoing stories on FA. I can see how Samantha wrangled away from the starring role, conflict is more interesting and while Nine is likable in an ultimate underdog way, he doesn't see the shades of grey in this story the way the Lioness does. Her inner thoughts on Lucky were especially interesting, was there some previous story with him to cause the tension between them? I might have missed it.

One other question though, with security out front of Aba's home how did Samantha escape after shooting her?

Keep up the great work, hope to see more chapters soon.

You flatter me... *blush* Hopefully I can post more frequently than five months apart.

As much as these past two fics have focused on Samantha, in my view the cast has rather quickly worked itself into an ensemble cast. I actually have two fics, one focusing on Groziny, the other focusing on Lucky, but they need work before I post them.

Samantha mentioned in A Simply Phone Call that she just doesn't like Lucky, a reason was not given. One joke aspect I had is, it's part Samantha (a cat) not like Lucky (a rodent.) But the main reason is, Lucky is just so utterly terrified of Samantha, and she hates that. She hates a micro looking at her as a monster instead of a person. There are other, deeper reasons, but that was that, and how worried she was about Nine, were the main reasons in this fic.

As far as her escaping Aba's home: a .38 isn't that loud. Standing in the back of the house, its possible that two men, sitting in a car at the street, talking to each other, wouldn't actually hear it. Calling the police was also meant to serve as a distraction: the local police and the feds wouldn't be coordinated, she could slip through the cracks if need be. But really, all she had to go out the back, hop the fence, and she would have been gone. Nothing fancy.

Thats an interesting point of view about Nine. Just interesting to see other's views on the whole setting, as I commented before, I never really saw either side as being in the right since both have done pretty terrible things to the other. Pretty obvious to see why the macros are pretty evil to the micros, but at the same time, the micros are essentially terrorists too. I kinda see both sides as the villains, although to me it feels like Samantha is definitely starting to go more and more towards a conflicted neutral than anyone else as the stories go on. I can see why he can also be seen as a likeable underdog... especially after having his mind messed with like that, I just thought he went a bit too far personally to be considered a good guy.

Hope you don't see this as trying to argue or anything, I'm not, just interesting to see since I don't recall anybody else commenting about how they feel about Nine's actions before, just on the story itself.

Actually that more or less is how I see it. While I agree with Nine's cause, he's become somewhat of a zealot,if you're not with the cause you're against it, simple as that. Which makes Samantha's viewpoint more interesting imo because it is more nuanced.

Perhaps "good guy" was the wrong word, I just find it easy to sympathize with him, given his people are casually tortured and murdered by the hundreds (thousands? Millions?) daily.

Interesting name. Was that referencing the Latin phrase or the firearm?

Anyway minor typos to fix, on page four you wrote “Dinner” when I think you meant to write “Diner” And on page five, paragraph four, you have this sentence: “She closed the revolver and, slipped it into her pocket.” Where you should remove the comma directly after the “and”. But I didn’t notice anything major and you could easily ignore these. So I’ll just move to my thoughts on the chapter.

I absolutely love chapter, it’s a great addition to the series as a whole and so far can only be topped by “ A Simple Phone Call”. In particular it was a treat to see how some micro other than nine acts around Samantha, and similarly how Samantha treats other micros. I honestly can’t remember the last time she’s actually interacted with another micro. Maybe I’ve missed some chapter somewhere.

It was interesting to hear that she hates lucky, along with every other rodent, and I can’t help but read into that. Samantha hates lucky, and lucky hates her in return, yet somehow lucky is the only micro either willing or capable of coming over to help? Is this simply a matter of logistics, as in no one else was close enough or available? Or worse, is the reader supposed to assume that relations with the other micros are even worse than what we have between Sami and Lucky. As in few others within the MLA can function at all around her? Though I do note a disconnect between Sami’s feelings and her actions, at least in this case.

I’m left with the impression that her hating rodents, hating lucky, is something private that she just deals with as opposed an active character trait. Something instinctual, as hinted at by the fact Lucky makes her hungry. While she never seems to go out of her way to appear less intimidating, and Lucky still fears saying the wrong thing will get him killed, the adorable scene near the end makes it seem like they can get along.

Ah, but then we have the infiltration scene and the interaction with Aba. Seeing Samantha in action, in her element as a stealth based fighter, was just brilliant. The way she snuck past the alarm system, waiting until Aba disabled it to enter the house herself, that was wonderfully told, just as epic as the other scraps of action seen in this series. And it’s made even more so by the fact the narration never designates it as cleaver or impressive, Samantha is just that experienced. Bravo, sir. I smiled just as wide figuring why Sami would wait outside the door as I did when she boldly proclaimed “I have to go out and kill someone.”

But then we get to see Aba …

I can’t fault you for a lack of consistency, she’s just as … I’d like to say “Incompetent” but that’s not really the case. She’s just as … ineffectual as she was in her last attempt at getting into Sami’s head. Right from the start I was thinking to myself ‘No, Sami can’t fall for this’. There was no way Sami could be that stupid, she had to be acting. Just playing up the shakes and jitters, pretending to fall for Aba’s attempts at manipulation so Sami could get the information on Nine out of her.

Samantha showed far more competence than Aba in every respect, to the point where it almost insults your character. Perhaps I’m not being entirely fair in my judgment, for just as every sequel will inevitably be compared to the original, I cannot think of Aba without comparing her to other manipulatory characters I’ve seen in Media. From Shawn Spencer on “Psyche” to Jane from “The Mentalist” to the main characters in “Lie to Me” … all of which are a tad difficult to measure up to. But the thing is, Sami measures up. And so does Nine. So I can’t justify cutting Aba any slack.

An example of what I’m talking about, take one scene from “The Mentalist” where Jane addresses a large group of suspects and cheerily asks:

(
“Would the murderer please raise your hand”

Everyone looks around to see if someone would do so, more out of curiosity than anything else, save for one man in the far back.

Expectedly, no one raises their hand. Everyone in the area then looks to Jane as if he were an idiot, but Jane, smiling a goofy grin, moves out into the crowd and points out one person.

“You’ve got your killer right here” he proclaims to the police and suspects alike. When questioned, he explains “Everyone here was looking around to see if someone was going to raise their hand. Everyone but you. Because you already know who the killer is, don’t you.”
)

And these sort of things happen all the time, tricks that work because they come completely out of left field. Tricks that people can’t see through because they don’t make any sense, until it’s explained. Tricks on par with waiting behind a patio door so you can sneak past the alarm system during the one moment when Aba had to turn it off.

Aba trying to make Sami turn herself in and live out the rest of her life in piece … she makes the same mistakes she did last time, she doesn’t shut up. Not once does she stop talking, or ask Sami a question that she doesn’t already have an answer for. She’s trying to lead the conversation, to control every little aspect of who says what, all while never giving herself an ounce of leeway. She can’t conceive of ever being wrong about someone, so she doesn’t prepare for the possibility. I can’t help but think that if Jane were in this situation, he would been outside the house and running down the street right after Sami turned away to dial the phone. The lioness called the police and /reported a shooting/ … how is someone with the training to see into people’s minds supposed to ignore what’s happening right in front of them based off of nothing more than old files and supposition?

I couldn’t believe Aba for a moment, the entire time I was reading I kept saying to myself “Sami can’t fall for this, she has to the playing that rabbit”

Then I get to the ending … And all is forgiven.

Concerning the plot, looking at this chapter as a whole, I wouldn’t change a thing. It flows together perfectly, it has just the right length, just the right character development, and Aba remains consistent with her first appearance. Bravo, good sir, Bravo.

The gun caliber is a reference to Latin saying, so really the title could refer to either. I would say the Latin phrase specifically though. Samantha has made it pretty clear she will go to war for Nine’s sake. And thank you for the grammar and edits. Did those things first.

As I mentioned to Kusanagi, the main reason is that Lucky so obviously shows that he is terrified of Samantha, it’s frustrating for her. Most other micros put on a brave face when dealing with a macro. Even Nine is a bit frightened of Samantha, especially after “One Death,” but he doesn’t outright show it. Lucky just can’t help it. Lucky… basically treats Samantha like a monster, and it upsets her, because she is trying really hard to be nice, but it just doesn’t work. And yeah, there is a bit of instinctual thing of her being hungry for rats. Just a silly little thing I wanted to throw in, but I sometimes like to exploit racial (speciesal?) tension. I think you’re half right: she has a private hatred for rodents that s instinctual, and Lucky makes her hungry, but she also hates how he treats her, even if he doesn’t mean to offend her.

As far as her choosing Lucky: for me it was I didn’t want to introduce some random micro, and I want to develop Lucky more. The original idea for Lucky, which is how I wrote him in “A Simple Phone Call,” is much different than how he’s getting portrayed now, and I am much, much happier with his present characterization. I want to use him more, develop him more. In universe though: aside from Nine, pretty much every micro in the MLA despises Samantha as the enemy. Lucky is terrified of Samantha, but doesn’t really “hate” her, and Lucky also loves Nine very deeply, and he will tolerate Samantha’s looming presence. Pragmatically, Lucky is also knowledgeable about anatomy and poisons, hence he was able to check Nine’s pulse and breathing, and confirm that Nine hadn’t been poisoned. Hopefully the scene at the end gives a little hope for them in the future. I certainly wouldn’t mind them developing a genuine, if strained, relationship.

As far as Aba, I’ve never been happy with her. Aba is based on my archetype, “Oqiky,” who is a manipulator at heart. Sometimes I am very happy with how she is portrayed, other times, I can’t get her right. But I was also purposely portraying Aba a certain way.

For one, Aba did believe she had won when they were driving, and this was delivering the coup-de-grace. Samantha was actually pretty shaken up by their conversation. But more to the point, Aba just flat out cannot understand that Samantha loves Nine as a person. She just is incapable of comprehending that Samantha genuinely, truly loves Nine. Aba calls the micros dolls because that’s how she sees them, and she just can’t understand that someone would love the micros as people, let alone sell their soul to avenge a doll.

I understand your example, but it kinda strikes me as Hollywood psychology. Aba offering Samantha immunity for her crimes and a fat paycheck was actually pretty logical. How many crime bosses have been put away because one of his underlings made a deal with the government? Aba just can’t understand Samantha would throw her soul and salvation away for a doll. And, that example, wouldn’t the murderer be smart enough to do what everyone else is doing?

Also, Aba just enjoys talking. Keep in mind, this encounter is taking place maybe five or six hours since their last encounter. Aba can’t really read up on Samantha, devise new strategies, etc. I would like to do prequel stories where Aba isn’t dealing with Samantha, who, for these two encounters, was not going to deal with any shit. Really, Aba dug her own grave: she screwed with Nine, that meant that Samantha was not going to be taking any shit Mind tricks and games just weren’t going to work on her during these time.

(Geez, I feel bad for commenting on other's replies rather than making my own, but I just wanted to comment on this part)

"In universe though: aside from Nine, pretty much every micro in the MLA despises Samantha as the enemy."

To be honest, I had absolutely no idea, I assumed the MLA at least was neutral about her because of how much Nine likes her and how many times she has helped him, had no idea the MLA actually despised her. Is this the first time you mentioned this, or did I miss it in a previous story? Seems like a somewhat important thing. I am actually a little surprised how practically every micro appears to hate every macro (not without some justification, especially the many that are against micros, but still). Samantha is said to not be the only micro sympathizer as mentioned in One Death, yet it seems like there is not a single micro that would ever not hate ANY macro, not even one of the most loyal macros the MLA has got. Even Nine was described as only loving Samantha because he deludes himself into seeing her as a freakishly tall micro instead of accepting her as a macro.

Think about it in retrospect, that's a whole lot of useful material to fuel drama for later stories. I keep picturing what happens when the micros win and Samantha has no where else to live other than micro settlements.

Don’t feel bad about commenting on someone else’s thing. Really, it’s perfectly alright.

I’ve always written it that there were certain micros within the MLA, either equal or succeeding Nine’s rank and position, who despise Samantha and also give Nine heat for his association with her. I’ve changed it, and this is now the normal feelings. The power disparity between micros and macros is really the driving force for this. Samantha is 5’3”, and weighs a little over a hundred pounds. Even if she were a civilian without her military training, she could still crush hundreds of micros without breaking a sweat. Even the child in “One Death” was going to kill the micro without even realizing it. It was shown that Samantha, using two fingers, can knock Nine across a table, which was a horrifying realization for him. So I really can’t imagine the micros by and large accepting Samantha under any circumstances.

Nine does delude himself, but he does love Samantha very dearly, and perhaps with time his love for her will evolve. If I can do something that’s not too cheesy, I would like if his black and white view of things started to change to shades of grey. I think Arbon has mentioned he has characters, in his canon, who are macro children but know how to treat micros with respect and kindness. That would certainly help Nine’s view of macros. And Lucky’s feeling for Samantha can certainly have the potential to change, now that she’s the giver of peanut butter, and I would adore writing the three of them more. But for the most part, it is hopefully clear just how much horrible stuff Samantha is going through, the feelings of isolation and emotional exile.

Yeah, I can see why if Nine never thought about what Samantha could do to him before if she didn't care about him before she hit him in One Death it would be a pretty big shock to him, but if feels a bit extreme that every micro pretty much hates every macro just over their potential strength over them. I mean, I know its not the same level as knocking you across the table with one finger, but plenty of people in real life have friends who had some crazy karate/military/whatever training that could easily kill them in a flash. Being scared of an unknown macro's potential strength is justified, but it seems a bit extreme to hate even the ones who have displayed sympathy towards the micros just because its possible for them to kill them easily, especially since the ones that symphatise with them can use said strength to help them like Samantha does.

I think it might be equal parts terrifying strength and size, along with the fact that so far Samantha is something of an anomaly. While not every Macro has been outright murderous and sadistic to micros, the ones that haven't seem rather apathetic on the issue. They might not approve of the wholesale murder, but they don't look at micros as equal either. The one friendly macro is sure to be looked at with suspicion and distrust, especially when it seems aside from 9 they have limited contact with her. Though that's just my take on it.

I don't think the micro/macro relationship is comparable to anything in real life. A black belt in karate is still only human sized. When someone sees their friend, who happens to be a black belt, they still see their friend. When Lucky looks at Samantha, he sees an avalanche, not a person. It’s also that, this present generation of micros, has been living with the fear their whole life. When the micros have their own state, and they can live without the constant fear of being exterminated, the next generation can mellow out. “Just Another Job,” the fic with Ty, showed that the micros aren’t exactly eager to let macros into their ranks, but it’s not just Nine who can have a friendly relationship with them.

And, as Kusanagi says: Samantha is an anomaly. Grey, the psychopath that’s popped up in a few fics, is also an anomaly. Most macros think about micros in the same way that the average person thinks about a cow that gets slaughtered to make a Big Mac, which is, not all that much. Passivity probably pisses the micros off even more, because then it’s like they’re below the macro’s notice. They want the macros to know they even exist.

But hope is not lost, and I would love to continue to develop Lucky, Samantha, Nine, and even someone like Groziny, Grey, or Aba in prequels. Lucky growing more comfortable around Samantha, but never being as friendly as Nine is. Nine starting to understand not all macros are monsters, and recognizing Samantha as one. And, at some points, I would really like to show the inner workings of the MLA.

Great Chapter! It was worth the wait!

Can't Wait to see the next one!