(no subject)
Part two of chapter one. I hate size limits.
And so the evening had dragged on. Theresa had watched the interplay between the pair carefully, noting it's extremes. They would be laughing together or gazing into each others' eyes one minute, the Aoi would be scowling and glaring at Silver the next. She was beginning to catalogue subjects and seeing how each reacted. Aoi was happy to talk about her 'business' as a street Sam along with her past assignments, whereas Silver would largely gloss over them. On the other hand, when Silver brought up sex (which seemed to be most of her conversation), Aoi would generally blush and pay careful attention to her drink.
The last one was a fascinating topic. Silver had supplied some remarkably explicit details and Aoi had always insisted they change the subject. The girl was happily working, living and sleeping with another woman, but seemed almost ready to deny it. She could not imagine what kept the couple together for the life of her.
"Well, this has been delightful," Silver began as they polished off their desserts, "But I can tell you two have a lot of catching up to do. I just need to freshen up and check a few reports, so I'll leave you to it." They nodded and she stood, drawing a number of stares as she sashayed away.
Theresa leaned back and drew out a cigarette. She lit up and took a long drag, letting a languid stream of smoke trail off. Aoi for her part watched as Silver departed, eyes not leaving her form until it had vanished from sight.
"Afraid she's going to do someone in the washroom?" Theresa asked. Aoi's scowl as she turned back showed that to be a distinct possibility. "You're so cute when you're grumpy," Theresa said with a grin.
Aoi shrugged. "I guess I worry too much," she replied.
Theresa nodded, and let another trail of smoke coil around the table. She looked off past where Silver had vanished. "Of course, I would do her on the washroom," she idly added.
Aoi blinked rapidly, flustered yet again. "You? I didn't think... Um..." she trailed off into silence.
Theresa returned a satisfied smirk. "On occaision, though I have no idea how you survive on girlsex alone."
Aoi shook her head. "It's not just that. We've been through a lot... Well, we understand each other."
"She didn't really seem that complex," Theresa replied with a shrug.
Aoi nodded. "This is just her partying. When it's down to business, she can be a whole different person."
"Speaking of business, you said this job was a follow-up."
Another nod. "I - well, we, really - brought in one of the architects of the Zone invasion not too long back." Her frown and distant gaze let Theresa know there was more to that one job, but she wouldn't find out what here and now. "So the coming objective is his superior."
"Fighting the good fight for the people back home?"
"Well..." Aoi trailed off, gazing out the window. Views across the river had fallen out of fashion a long time ago, and what few remained had been blacked out in the recent months. Nonetheless, Theresa could imagine what Aoi was seeing in her mind's eye. "I feel I should be doing so much more."
Zone patriotism never made sense to Theresa. She understood the appeal of living without laws - it was as if the world had caught up with her on that one. But she'd much rather do it in a bustling city than a rancid cesspit. She was a creature of comforts, and unless a major syndicate owned you, the Zone was sparse on comforts. Still, Rachel had been raised there, and the feeling might have carried over. Time to score some points. Solemn face.
"Not at all." Suddenly serious, Theresa took Aoi's hand in both of hers. "When I was over there, all I could do was pick off their troopers. And they never run out." Wouldn't be any fun if they had. "You, you're getting to the root of the problem, making a real difference."
Aoi looked up at her, eyes wide. "You mean that?" A nod. "Thank you." Theresa gently squeezed her hand, and felt the gesture returned. "Hopefully I can put all this madness behind me at last."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, this is probably going to be my last independant job. I've got a regular employer nowadays, and I want to focus on those duties."
Theresa sighed theatrically. "Such a loss to guns-for-hire everywhere. They all say you're one of the best on this area."
"Hardly." Well, it had been an outright lie... "I rarely get out of a job without some major trouble. And my last long-term went nowhere."
"Ooh, that was the, ah..." Theresa snapped her fingers, as if they would conjure a name from the air. "Heiress. Hunted. Big bounty."
"Midori Harihatu," she replied.
"Oh yeah!" Theresa slapped the table loudly. "I remember, she shows up in a fancy place with the bad boy industrialist, and next thing you know the Black Company's reduced his place to matchsticks."
Aoi nodded with a grimace. "I was in there, covering their retreat." Theresa winced in hollow sympathy, giving her hand what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze. "But I was the one who blew that."
"Never," came the reply. Theresa already knew the majority of this - many Bothans had died to bring her this information - but she was fascinated to hear Aoi's take on the events. "What could have happened?"
"I betrayed her trust. Let personal matters distract me, and dragged her into them."
Which Theresa could see nothing wrong with. Personal matters were all that mattered, after all. But someone paying for a bodyguard might disagree. Besides, this sounded juicy. "What was it, in the end?"
Aoi pulled back, gently sliding her hand from Theresa's grasp as she slowly shook her head. Theresa soon realized this was all she'd get on the subject and sighed. Still, if Aoi didn't want to talk about it, then Theresa wanted to find out more.
A subject change was due, though. "So then what's this regular job?"
"She hasn't told you yet?" Theresa blinked as Silver pressed against her back, leaning over and draping her arms down Theresa's front. "You will not believe this." Her voice was heavy, close to Theresa's ear and her perfume was vibrant and strong, almost overpowering.
She's flirting over her partner's employment. Can this person even be subtle?
The look on Aoi's face spoke volumes. Annoyed. Disapproving. Resigned? But not jealous. Interesting. Was her behaviour bringing out this petite scowl, and not the attention being lavished on another? Either Aoi welcomed other partners into their love life - no, she'd made her stance on that clear within minutes of their reunion. Then was it... Yes.
Silver didn't love her. And Aoi was resigned to that.
"I'm working as a sort of assistant-turned-valet these days. I still see a fair bit of action, but I travel and get paid better."
The implications all hit Theresa at once. A rocky patch? Did they fight? Something had changed, as they sounded so lovey-dovey talking about their early days.
"And? Tell her who it is!"
Still together though, and she was acting like everything was fine. But Theresa caught the signs that she knew Silver couldn't see. How long could she keep this up? Theresa knew that she would book at the first chance.
But you wouldn't have saved her.
And tonight. Big ticket, fancy place, big moment... No, not to strengthen their relationship. Aoi was here to-
"The Empress. I work for Shion Nys."
Damn. Almost onto it and I lost... Wait, what? "No," Theresa said almost automatically. The shock registered on her face and she blurted out another, louder "No!"
"Really," Silver breathed in her ear.
"Really? Our little," she paused, the word unsaid as she held a level hand to her shoulder, "With the great big," her hand shot up, indicating as far as she could reach.
"Sometimes, I don't believe it myself." Aoi positively beamed with pride. Silver released Theresa and circled the table, now resting a hand on Aoi's shoulder.
"But what could you do for the big, bad Empress? Do you know what she's capable of? You do know," she said, leaning over the table, "That she destroyed an entire Jinsei armored division because some trooper spilled her drink?"
Aoi chuckled, but Theresa couldn't fathom why.
"That's a kicker." Theresa nodded, largely to herself.
"Spends a fair deal of time with her too, just the two of them..." Silver cuddled Aoi from behind. "A girl could get jealous."
"You don't mean-"
"Evelyn!"
Huh. Theresa blinked as Aoi cut her off. Given the glare that was now boring it's way into I-bet-she-prefers-Eve's forehead, that was very much a no-go. Silverlyn just shrugged, Idly commenting "A girl can dream."
Theresa watched Aoi's face sour, and decided to interject. "She'd nuke the place if she heard that." She raised her glass to Aoi with a twinkle in her eye. "Right?"
Aoi turned back, her scowl vanishing. Before she could reply, a polite clearing of the throat announced the waiter's return, cheque in hand.
The trio rapidly took the hint. After much flurrying of cash, jackets and coats were collected and they wound their way outside.
"We never did go over the job," Theresa commented as they waited for the elevator.
The couple exchanged a brief look, and Aoi nodded. "Head back home with us. We can run over the details there, and at least put you up for the night."
Now that would be interesting.
-----
Panting heavily, eyes closed, Aoi rolled over onto her side and let her head hit the pillow. Beside her, Silver dropped back onto the bed with little more than a contented sigh and a smile. One arm reached idly over and played up and down her lover's back. Aoi reched aside and pulled the discarded sheet back onto the bed, yet Silver shrugged it off and lay bare.
They lay there, minutes passing in relative silence. Aoi curled herself up in the sheet and huddled up on her side. Slipping away, she was brought back by a chuckle from the other side of the bed.
"Wha?" She asked.
"Theresa," Silver simply said. "She likes you."
"I saved her life," came the reply.
Smiling, Silver shook her head. "I mean, she really likes you." The sheet stirred, and Aoi was looking back over at her. She rolled her head to face the petite girl. "I don't mind."
Aoi blinked and rolled back, resting her head once more. "It's not like that," she muttered.
"Really, I don't." She twirled a few long, black strands of hair around her finger. "Actually, I think it would be good for you."
"I am not hearing this."
Silver chuckled once more. "You two get along so well. And I really think she could help you relax a lot."
Aoi groaned. "Not now. We've got work in the morning."
"Think about it."
"Go to sleep."
Silver glanced briefly away to the doorway, then leaned back once more. She listened as Aoi's breathing softened, then closed her eyes and gently slipped off to sleep.
In the doorway, Theresa watched, waiting. The couple were well and truly out by now, and with their flatmates away, that meant the apartment was hers. Yet all that mattered lay before her.
We can't just kill her. Aoi's feelings are too strong. It would poison her against us.
"But I do have to tear them apart." Theresa's eyes wandered over their prostate forms. "She's controlling my Aoi. But only because Aoi wants to be with her."
Change that, and she's yours.
Theresa nodded. She took a cautious, silent step into the room. Seeing no response from either, she wound her way around the room to approach from Aoi's side. "Turn them against one another. It is not enough that we succeed," and here her eyes fell once more on Silver, "Others must also fail."
Vidal. He makes sense of the world.
She squatted down, peering in close to Aoi. "Oh, I don't want things to make sense. Just to be mine."
Gently, silently, she leaned forwards, puckering up. Her lips delicately brushed Aoi's, parting after the briefest contact. As she pulled back, as she made her way out of their innermost sanctum, she knew she saw a smile cross the Japanese girl's face.
Theresa thought of Aoi in delight.
-----
A frigid gust passed over her back, making Theresa question her decision to join this mission for the thousandth time. Not that it would lack action, not that the company was bad, not that the pay was a let-down, but simply that she had to spend so long waiting. Theresa hated waiting, especially with such a perfect vantage point and a high-powered anti-material rifle cradled in her hands.
It was obscene. An electromagnetic rail accelerator loaded with a magazine of HEAP ammunition, propelled at astounding velocities and producing the sort of impact that could scatter lightweight military cyberdroids across half the city. And linked up to smartgun goggles that could let her hit a pigeon from across the river. Uncountable civilians spread out before her, unprotected, unaware... And she had to wait.
We'll have plenty to shoot at soon.
And besides, the company was good. At particular points across the city, Aoi and Silver lay in wait with identical rifles - no, these were too much to be just rifles - identical killers by their sides. Each was in their own 'work clothes,' and even Theresa had put aside her favourite fashions for the occaision.
Gray was her colour, sky gray blending into endless concrete rooftops such as the one she lay upon. Gunmetal ribbing and piping wrapped around strategic parts of her body - obtensiously for added support and protection, although she also loved what they did in emphasising her figure. Aoi had stuck with rugged synthleathers, looking like some biker's kid of indeterminate gender. And Silver...
The blonde had geared up in a half-shell composite plate and ballistic mesh outfit done in a mottled gray-blue-black urban cammo scheme. Even on her ridiculous propotions, it managed to look military and professional. So did the woman beneath, for that matter. Through the briefing and gearing up, she had kept a stern, determined attitude and hadn't thrown out a single come on. Maybe Aoi was right and there was more to her than plastic and smut.
Her earpiece cut in, and Aoi - no, Gem spoke in her ear. Codenames were the order of the day, and these two seemed well used to theirs. "Ten minutes to firing," was the report. "Tech support is online."
'Tech support' was their rental hacker, tapped into the communications of the three spinners that were just now leaving the local Jinsei erection. Her job - Theresa had a hard time imagining a man getting involved at this point - would be to let the trio know which spinner would be carrying Mario Musikiya, Jinsei dignitary and wanted man. Their job was to create a disturbance that would get their com chatter going. Theresa liked her disturbance.
"Good to be working with you," Evelyn-Silver-Kami replied. The name was an odd one; she wondered for whole seconds what had inspired the choice.
"Welcome to the party!" Theresa called back. She'd gone with 'Foxhound' on a whim, and was liking the feel of it so far.
"Witchcraft here," came the surprisingly light voice. Theresa blinked on surprise. "Tap is live, chatter is minimal, all are-"
"You're a kid," she blurted out.
"What? I am not!" came the distinctly childish outburst. Theresa could swear she heard Gem giggling on the far end of the line.
"Cut the chatter," Kami cut in. Cool and professional. Also, no fun. "Continue your report."
Witchcraft gave a petite "Hmmph!" as she collected her thoughts. "Anyway, all is on schedule. I'm isolating their response teams, bit it looks like they could have two more spinners at any of the crash sites within five minutes."
"Keep us posted," Kami replied. Theresa could imagine the blonde glaring daggers at her, trying to be taken seriously while falling out of her gown.
"Will do," Witchcraft replied, and signed off.
"Gem?" Kami asked softly.
"Trust me, she's good."
"You two adopting her?" Theresa needled. The response was immediate, Aoi's fit of laughter busting out over the channel. The mood was infectious, and soon enough Theresa was cackling madly with her, position be damned.
"Alright, settle down," Kami interjected, although the amusement was clear even in her voice.
"But seriously. Gonna be mommies?" Theresa couldn't help but needle.
"Oh, not for a long time," Kami replied nonchalantly. "I'm still too young to be tied down.
The silence that followed was just long enough to be uncomfortable. At length, Gem came over with "Tighten it. Targets due any second."
Theresa understood clerly; Kami had all but stated 'I refuse to take our relationship seriously.' And yet Gem remained devoted to the woman, despite what was no doubt constant emotional abuse like that. What was the hold this Evelyn had over her? Is that why Rachel had vanished?
Had Evelyn remade her?
It clicked. Everything came together. Not long after she first appeared in the Zone, oh so soon after Rachel's disappearance, Aoi had been sighted with a particular blonde stripper. Eve -clearly sociopathic, Theresa decided, given her shifting personality - had somehow taken a hold of Rachel and remade her, physically and mentally, after... What?
She hit a snag. How had this forceful, unpredictable, lively woman been so quashed into the submissive girl that Theresa had met? What had started it off? Some kind of opportunity had presented itself to Evelyn, allowed that vile, manipulative witch to control Aoi.
Only we should be allowed to control her.
"I have visual!" Came the excited gasp from Gem.
Snapped back to reality, Theresa hastily scanned the sky. Sure enough, the elongated luxury spinner was zooming towards her. Armour-plated by all reports, with sophisticated jamming and electronic countermeasures topped off with an all-leather interior and auto-serving minibar. Sleek, jet black and tearing straight into her sights.
A burst of chatter erupted in her ear, headed up by Witchcraft's shrill call. "You're spotted, they're going evasive."
All of a sudden the spinner yanked itself hard around. Many fine drinks would be spilled onboard. Theresa acted on impulse, squeezing the trigger on her monstrous companion. The sound was hollow, like a sonic boom in a tin can, but neatly drowned out by the roaring eruption from the spinner's fromt end. She basked in the glorious fireball that signalled the demise of its fuel cells and watched as it began its lazy plunge to the courtyard below. Glass shattered upon its impact with the transparent shelter, raining fragments onto terrified shoppers who scattered from the path of the vehicle's descent. It plowed more than landed, tearing up artfully laid tiles before coming to a crumpled rest in amongst a stand of benches and bushes on the middle of the plaza.
Theresa exhaled. "Foxhound, firing," she barked out a little too late. For now, the crash was still. The passenger compartment would be so full of safeties that the chance of loosing their quarry to the impact was virtually nil. Of course, it would take some time to extract him from such a wreck.
"Kami, firing." Theresa waited anxiously for the final report.
"Gem fir- Damn! Target has slipped away!"
"Don't worry," Came Witchcraft's report. "Chatter indicates target is down at the Washington Galleries."
Which was her. Somehow, she knew she'd win the jackpot. Now to make them proud. "Foxhound confirms. Wreck in sight, no movement."
"We're moving," Was Kami's report. "Keep them pinned down until we can arrive for extraction."
'Pinned down' sounded dull. She had several minutes to keep them occupied, and they had wound up on an open area with plenty of escape routes. Already there was movement around the wreck - a driver had miraculously survived and clambered out, and now what looked like on-sight security was trickling out. She glanced at the small assortment of firearms she had at the ready, but they paled in comparison to her monster.
A wicked thought sprang to mind. She sighted and fired, sending a high-explosive round from an anti-cyberdroid rifle careening at unimaginable velocities toward the unsuspecting driver.
She gaped at the result. Naught that was recognizable remained beyond a fine red mist. "Oh my god," she mouthed. "They explode."
A fearsome grin crossed her face as she sighted on one of the rent-a-cops, already running for cover. Not that it would help.
"My life has taken on new meaning."
And so the evening had dragged on. Theresa had watched the interplay between the pair carefully, noting it's extremes. They would be laughing together or gazing into each others' eyes one minute, the Aoi would be scowling and glaring at Silver the next. She was beginning to catalogue subjects and seeing how each reacted. Aoi was happy to talk about her 'business' as a street Sam along with her past assignments, whereas Silver would largely gloss over them. On the other hand, when Silver brought up sex (which seemed to be most of her conversation), Aoi would generally blush and pay careful attention to her drink.
The last one was a fascinating topic. Silver had supplied some remarkably explicit details and Aoi had always insisted they change the subject. The girl was happily working, living and sleeping with another woman, but seemed almost ready to deny it. She could not imagine what kept the couple together for the life of her.
"Well, this has been delightful," Silver began as they polished off their desserts, "But I can tell you two have a lot of catching up to do. I just need to freshen up and check a few reports, so I'll leave you to it." They nodded and she stood, drawing a number of stares as she sashayed away.
Theresa leaned back and drew out a cigarette. She lit up and took a long drag, letting a languid stream of smoke trail off. Aoi for her part watched as Silver departed, eyes not leaving her form until it had vanished from sight.
"Afraid she's going to do someone in the washroom?" Theresa asked. Aoi's scowl as she turned back showed that to be a distinct possibility. "You're so cute when you're grumpy," Theresa said with a grin.
Aoi shrugged. "I guess I worry too much," she replied.
Theresa nodded, and let another trail of smoke coil around the table. She looked off past where Silver had vanished. "Of course, I would do her on the washroom," she idly added.
Aoi blinked rapidly, flustered yet again. "You? I didn't think... Um..." she trailed off into silence.
Theresa returned a satisfied smirk. "On occaision, though I have no idea how you survive on girlsex alone."
Aoi shook her head. "It's not just that. We've been through a lot... Well, we understand each other."
"She didn't really seem that complex," Theresa replied with a shrug.
Aoi nodded. "This is just her partying. When it's down to business, she can be a whole different person."
"Speaking of business, you said this job was a follow-up."
Another nod. "I - well, we, really - brought in one of the architects of the Zone invasion not too long back." Her frown and distant gaze let Theresa know there was more to that one job, but she wouldn't find out what here and now. "So the coming objective is his superior."
"Fighting the good fight for the people back home?"
"Well..." Aoi trailed off, gazing out the window. Views across the river had fallen out of fashion a long time ago, and what few remained had been blacked out in the recent months. Nonetheless, Theresa could imagine what Aoi was seeing in her mind's eye. "I feel I should be doing so much more."
Zone patriotism never made sense to Theresa. She understood the appeal of living without laws - it was as if the world had caught up with her on that one. But she'd much rather do it in a bustling city than a rancid cesspit. She was a creature of comforts, and unless a major syndicate owned you, the Zone was sparse on comforts. Still, Rachel had been raised there, and the feeling might have carried over. Time to score some points. Solemn face.
"Not at all." Suddenly serious, Theresa took Aoi's hand in both of hers. "When I was over there, all I could do was pick off their troopers. And they never run out." Wouldn't be any fun if they had. "You, you're getting to the root of the problem, making a real difference."
Aoi looked up at her, eyes wide. "You mean that?" A nod. "Thank you." Theresa gently squeezed her hand, and felt the gesture returned. "Hopefully I can put all this madness behind me at last."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, this is probably going to be my last independant job. I've got a regular employer nowadays, and I want to focus on those duties."
Theresa sighed theatrically. "Such a loss to guns-for-hire everywhere. They all say you're one of the best on this area."
"Hardly." Well, it had been an outright lie... "I rarely get out of a job without some major trouble. And my last long-term went nowhere."
"Ooh, that was the, ah..." Theresa snapped her fingers, as if they would conjure a name from the air. "Heiress. Hunted. Big bounty."
"Midori Harihatu," she replied.
"Oh yeah!" Theresa slapped the table loudly. "I remember, she shows up in a fancy place with the bad boy industrialist, and next thing you know the Black Company's reduced his place to matchsticks."
Aoi nodded with a grimace. "I was in there, covering their retreat." Theresa winced in hollow sympathy, giving her hand what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze. "But I was the one who blew that."
"Never," came the reply. Theresa already knew the majority of this - many Bothans had died to bring her this information - but she was fascinated to hear Aoi's take on the events. "What could have happened?"
"I betrayed her trust. Let personal matters distract me, and dragged her into them."
Which Theresa could see nothing wrong with. Personal matters were all that mattered, after all. But someone paying for a bodyguard might disagree. Besides, this sounded juicy. "What was it, in the end?"
Aoi pulled back, gently sliding her hand from Theresa's grasp as she slowly shook her head. Theresa soon realized this was all she'd get on the subject and sighed. Still, if Aoi didn't want to talk about it, then Theresa wanted to find out more.
A subject change was due, though. "So then what's this regular job?"
"She hasn't told you yet?" Theresa blinked as Silver pressed against her back, leaning over and draping her arms down Theresa's front. "You will not believe this." Her voice was heavy, close to Theresa's ear and her perfume was vibrant and strong, almost overpowering.
She's flirting over her partner's employment. Can this person even be subtle?
The look on Aoi's face spoke volumes. Annoyed. Disapproving. Resigned? But not jealous. Interesting. Was her behaviour bringing out this petite scowl, and not the attention being lavished on another? Either Aoi welcomed other partners into their love life - no, she'd made her stance on that clear within minutes of their reunion. Then was it... Yes.
Silver didn't love her. And Aoi was resigned to that.
"I'm working as a sort of assistant-turned-valet these days. I still see a fair bit of action, but I travel and get paid better."
The implications all hit Theresa at once. A rocky patch? Did they fight? Something had changed, as they sounded so lovey-dovey talking about their early days.
"And? Tell her who it is!"
Still together though, and she was acting like everything was fine. But Theresa caught the signs that she knew Silver couldn't see. How long could she keep this up? Theresa knew that she would book at the first chance.
But you wouldn't have saved her.
And tonight. Big ticket, fancy place, big moment... No, not to strengthen their relationship. Aoi was here to-
"The Empress. I work for Shion Nys."
Damn. Almost onto it and I lost... Wait, what? "No," Theresa said almost automatically. The shock registered on her face and she blurted out another, louder "No!"
"Really," Silver breathed in her ear.
"Really? Our little," she paused, the word unsaid as she held a level hand to her shoulder, "With the great big," her hand shot up, indicating as far as she could reach.
"Sometimes, I don't believe it myself." Aoi positively beamed with pride. Silver released Theresa and circled the table, now resting a hand on Aoi's shoulder.
"But what could you do for the big, bad Empress? Do you know what she's capable of? You do know," she said, leaning over the table, "That she destroyed an entire Jinsei armored division because some trooper spilled her drink?"
Aoi chuckled, but Theresa couldn't fathom why.
"That's a kicker." Theresa nodded, largely to herself.
"Spends a fair deal of time with her too, just the two of them..." Silver cuddled Aoi from behind. "A girl could get jealous."
"You don't mean-"
"Evelyn!"
Huh. Theresa blinked as Aoi cut her off. Given the glare that was now boring it's way into I-bet-she-prefers-Eve's forehead, that was very much a no-go. Silverlyn just shrugged, Idly commenting "A girl can dream."
Theresa watched Aoi's face sour, and decided to interject. "She'd nuke the place if she heard that." She raised her glass to Aoi with a twinkle in her eye. "Right?"
Aoi turned back, her scowl vanishing. Before she could reply, a polite clearing of the throat announced the waiter's return, cheque in hand.
The trio rapidly took the hint. After much flurrying of cash, jackets and coats were collected and they wound their way outside.
"We never did go over the job," Theresa commented as they waited for the elevator.
The couple exchanged a brief look, and Aoi nodded. "Head back home with us. We can run over the details there, and at least put you up for the night."
Now that would be interesting.
-----
Panting heavily, eyes closed, Aoi rolled over onto her side and let her head hit the pillow. Beside her, Silver dropped back onto the bed with little more than a contented sigh and a smile. One arm reached idly over and played up and down her lover's back. Aoi reched aside and pulled the discarded sheet back onto the bed, yet Silver shrugged it off and lay bare.
They lay there, minutes passing in relative silence. Aoi curled herself up in the sheet and huddled up on her side. Slipping away, she was brought back by a chuckle from the other side of the bed.
"Wha?" She asked.
"Theresa," Silver simply said. "She likes you."
"I saved her life," came the reply.
Smiling, Silver shook her head. "I mean, she really likes you." The sheet stirred, and Aoi was looking back over at her. She rolled her head to face the petite girl. "I don't mind."
Aoi blinked and rolled back, resting her head once more. "It's not like that," she muttered.
"Really, I don't." She twirled a few long, black strands of hair around her finger. "Actually, I think it would be good for you."
"I am not hearing this."
Silver chuckled once more. "You two get along so well. And I really think she could help you relax a lot."
Aoi groaned. "Not now. We've got work in the morning."
"Think about it."
"Go to sleep."
Silver glanced briefly away to the doorway, then leaned back once more. She listened as Aoi's breathing softened, then closed her eyes and gently slipped off to sleep.
In the doorway, Theresa watched, waiting. The couple were well and truly out by now, and with their flatmates away, that meant the apartment was hers. Yet all that mattered lay before her.
We can't just kill her. Aoi's feelings are too strong. It would poison her against us.
"But I do have to tear them apart." Theresa's eyes wandered over their prostate forms. "She's controlling my Aoi. But only because Aoi wants to be with her."
Change that, and she's yours.
Theresa nodded. She took a cautious, silent step into the room. Seeing no response from either, she wound her way around the room to approach from Aoi's side. "Turn them against one another. It is not enough that we succeed," and here her eyes fell once more on Silver, "Others must also fail."
Vidal. He makes sense of the world.
She squatted down, peering in close to Aoi. "Oh, I don't want things to make sense. Just to be mine."
Gently, silently, she leaned forwards, puckering up. Her lips delicately brushed Aoi's, parting after the briefest contact. As she pulled back, as she made her way out of their innermost sanctum, she knew she saw a smile cross the Japanese girl's face.
Theresa thought of Aoi in delight.
-----
A frigid gust passed over her back, making Theresa question her decision to join this mission for the thousandth time. Not that it would lack action, not that the company was bad, not that the pay was a let-down, but simply that she had to spend so long waiting. Theresa hated waiting, especially with such a perfect vantage point and a high-powered anti-material rifle cradled in her hands.
It was obscene. An electromagnetic rail accelerator loaded with a magazine of HEAP ammunition, propelled at astounding velocities and producing the sort of impact that could scatter lightweight military cyberdroids across half the city. And linked up to smartgun goggles that could let her hit a pigeon from across the river. Uncountable civilians spread out before her, unprotected, unaware... And she had to wait.
We'll have plenty to shoot at soon.
And besides, the company was good. At particular points across the city, Aoi and Silver lay in wait with identical rifles - no, these were too much to be just rifles - identical killers by their sides. Each was in their own 'work clothes,' and even Theresa had put aside her favourite fashions for the occaision.
Gray was her colour, sky gray blending into endless concrete rooftops such as the one she lay upon. Gunmetal ribbing and piping wrapped around strategic parts of her body - obtensiously for added support and protection, although she also loved what they did in emphasising her figure. Aoi had stuck with rugged synthleathers, looking like some biker's kid of indeterminate gender. And Silver...
The blonde had geared up in a half-shell composite plate and ballistic mesh outfit done in a mottled gray-blue-black urban cammo scheme. Even on her ridiculous propotions, it managed to look military and professional. So did the woman beneath, for that matter. Through the briefing and gearing up, she had kept a stern, determined attitude and hadn't thrown out a single come on. Maybe Aoi was right and there was more to her than plastic and smut.
Her earpiece cut in, and Aoi - no, Gem spoke in her ear. Codenames were the order of the day, and these two seemed well used to theirs. "Ten minutes to firing," was the report. "Tech support is online."
'Tech support' was their rental hacker, tapped into the communications of the three spinners that were just now leaving the local Jinsei erection. Her job - Theresa had a hard time imagining a man getting involved at this point - would be to let the trio know which spinner would be carrying Mario Musikiya, Jinsei dignitary and wanted man. Their job was to create a disturbance that would get their com chatter going. Theresa liked her disturbance.
"Good to be working with you," Evelyn-Silver-Kami replied. The name was an odd one; she wondered for whole seconds what had inspired the choice.
"Welcome to the party!" Theresa called back. She'd gone with 'Foxhound' on a whim, and was liking the feel of it so far.
"Witchcraft here," came the surprisingly light voice. Theresa blinked on surprise. "Tap is live, chatter is minimal, all are-"
"You're a kid," she blurted out.
"What? I am not!" came the distinctly childish outburst. Theresa could swear she heard Gem giggling on the far end of the line.
"Cut the chatter," Kami cut in. Cool and professional. Also, no fun. "Continue your report."
Witchcraft gave a petite "Hmmph!" as she collected her thoughts. "Anyway, all is on schedule. I'm isolating their response teams, bit it looks like they could have two more spinners at any of the crash sites within five minutes."
"Keep us posted," Kami replied. Theresa could imagine the blonde glaring daggers at her, trying to be taken seriously while falling out of her gown.
"Will do," Witchcraft replied, and signed off.
"Gem?" Kami asked softly.
"Trust me, she's good."
"You two adopting her?" Theresa needled. The response was immediate, Aoi's fit of laughter busting out over the channel. The mood was infectious, and soon enough Theresa was cackling madly with her, position be damned.
"Alright, settle down," Kami interjected, although the amusement was clear even in her voice.
"But seriously. Gonna be mommies?" Theresa couldn't help but needle.
"Oh, not for a long time," Kami replied nonchalantly. "I'm still too young to be tied down.
The silence that followed was just long enough to be uncomfortable. At length, Gem came over with "Tighten it. Targets due any second."
Theresa understood clerly; Kami had all but stated 'I refuse to take our relationship seriously.' And yet Gem remained devoted to the woman, despite what was no doubt constant emotional abuse like that. What was the hold this Evelyn had over her? Is that why Rachel had vanished?
Had Evelyn remade her?
It clicked. Everything came together. Not long after she first appeared in the Zone, oh so soon after Rachel's disappearance, Aoi had been sighted with a particular blonde stripper. Eve -clearly sociopathic, Theresa decided, given her shifting personality - had somehow taken a hold of Rachel and remade her, physically and mentally, after... What?
She hit a snag. How had this forceful, unpredictable, lively woman been so quashed into the submissive girl that Theresa had met? What had started it off? Some kind of opportunity had presented itself to Evelyn, allowed that vile, manipulative witch to control Aoi.
Only we should be allowed to control her.
"I have visual!" Came the excited gasp from Gem.
Snapped back to reality, Theresa hastily scanned the sky. Sure enough, the elongated luxury spinner was zooming towards her. Armour-plated by all reports, with sophisticated jamming and electronic countermeasures topped off with an all-leather interior and auto-serving minibar. Sleek, jet black and tearing straight into her sights.
A burst of chatter erupted in her ear, headed up by Witchcraft's shrill call. "You're spotted, they're going evasive."
All of a sudden the spinner yanked itself hard around. Many fine drinks would be spilled onboard. Theresa acted on impulse, squeezing the trigger on her monstrous companion. The sound was hollow, like a sonic boom in a tin can, but neatly drowned out by the roaring eruption from the spinner's fromt end. She basked in the glorious fireball that signalled the demise of its fuel cells and watched as it began its lazy plunge to the courtyard below. Glass shattered upon its impact with the transparent shelter, raining fragments onto terrified shoppers who scattered from the path of the vehicle's descent. It plowed more than landed, tearing up artfully laid tiles before coming to a crumpled rest in amongst a stand of benches and bushes on the middle of the plaza.
Theresa exhaled. "Foxhound, firing," she barked out a little too late. For now, the crash was still. The passenger compartment would be so full of safeties that the chance of loosing their quarry to the impact was virtually nil. Of course, it would take some time to extract him from such a wreck.
"Kami, firing." Theresa waited anxiously for the final report.
"Gem fir- Damn! Target has slipped away!"
"Don't worry," Came Witchcraft's report. "Chatter indicates target is down at the Washington Galleries."
Which was her. Somehow, she knew she'd win the jackpot. Now to make them proud. "Foxhound confirms. Wreck in sight, no movement."
"We're moving," Was Kami's report. "Keep them pinned down until we can arrive for extraction."
'Pinned down' sounded dull. She had several minutes to keep them occupied, and they had wound up on an open area with plenty of escape routes. Already there was movement around the wreck - a driver had miraculously survived and clambered out, and now what looked like on-sight security was trickling out. She glanced at the small assortment of firearms she had at the ready, but they paled in comparison to her monster.
A wicked thought sprang to mind. She sighted and fired, sending a high-explosive round from an anti-cyberdroid rifle careening at unimaginable velocities toward the unsuspecting driver.
She gaped at the result. Naught that was recognizable remained beyond a fine red mist. "Oh my god," she mouthed. "They explode."
A fearsome grin crossed her face as she sighted on one of the rent-a-cops, already running for cover. Not that it would help.
"My life has taken on new meaning."