Heartthrob

Cinna explained, in short order, the sequence of events that had led to his current appearance in Khetnep's office.

The executive, one... Philip, maybe? Did his name even matter if he was truly dead? Phil Doe had swaggered into the main floor lounge, immediately waving around a massive wad of cash to make up for what was very likely a notably small, or gross, penis. This was standard fare in La Scission, and other establishments like it, so of course he was immediately flocked by workers looking for a fat commission from his fatter stack of bills.

Spent some time getting lap dances, doing body shots, looking-but-not-touching (except not really following the last half of that), and then finally was raring to go. Everything was going as planned.

He was incredibly sloshed at this point, inundated with donor blood cocktails and the occasional cheeky bump of coke off the nearest prostitute's associated genitalia. Camilla and Cinna had been his selection for the evening - the best of many different worlds - and so they had coaxed him up to the expensive luxury rooms. Things had been going just as expected, exactly as anticipated... and then, the hallway?

He had run into a girl who looked awfully familiar, who seemed to be a new member of Khetnep's employ, being held close by a woman who Camilla later remarked was "so obviously Eastern she may as well have had the ERFS flag tattooed on her cheek". That wasn't strange in and of itself: it was an open secret in Vitus that there were more Easterners here than the populace at large would ever consider, and those Easterners - Wayward or otherwise - oftentimes found themselves mingling with Vitus's criminal element simply as a convenience.

Of course, 'literally Esper James' was way more difficult to sweep under the rug than some random Wayward who had decided to go native and screw the locals.

Camilla and Cinna had both tried to move Phil away as fast as possible, and frankly, they'd done a pretty good job - not before he could thoroughly piss Esper James off so badly that Camilla could smell the adrenaline releasing into her blood, and the fresh black blood from her literally biting her tongue. Still, they got away without outright conflict, and Phil soon forgot the matter.

Of course, he stumbled into an occupied room on purpose, hearing two feminine voices on the other side of the door and imagining himself on the set of a porno. Unfortunately for him, and the women he quickly referred to as 'dykes', he didn't realize the gravity of the situation of entering unannounced and uninvited into someone else's fun. Pornography is a fantasy, and it's when the fantasy becomes indistinguishable from reality, that it truly-

It was here where Khetnep put up a hand and began rushing Cinna along - this little story had gone for far too long already.

Cinna acquiesced, skimming over the exact details as he regaled the assembled women with the story's finale: Phil had said the wrong thing to the wrong people, and one of them - a woman with long, silken brown hair - had caved his face in like an old soda can. The crunch it had made had been worse than anything Cinna had heard echoing from the red rooms, but it had happened so fast he hadn't had time to vomit.

"And, ahh, yeah..." Cinna fidgeted nervously now, thankful in the utmost for how warm Khetnep kept the place. Purity, Esthrielle, and EJ were absolutely bewildered, each woman some varying degree of aghast, awestruck, and amused.

Esthrielle was, frankly, proud - to know that Zofia had had such fury and power buried just below the surface? It was good that it had been unearthed here and now, outside of a life-or-death situation... good that she hadn't been forced into this out in the field. Now, she could focus on training herself even harder, and concentrating this sudden rage and drive towards their enemy - and do it without the mother abbess manipulating her into it, or using it for her own gain.

Purity, alternatively, was fucking shocked. The entire sequence of events had happened purely out of coincidence - purely circumstantial circumstances - and yet, it felt almost planned. Even worse, of course, was that Zofia... Zofia, the sweet and gentle art school wannabe, who had been drafted unwillingly into the role of a killer... was, apparently, more than cut out for ending lives. What the fuck.

It always seemed to be the quiet ones, eh?

EJ, however, was simply dazed. Her head was spinning... Zofi had killed someone? Cinna, the kind boy (it felt wrong to consider such an effete, lithe creature a 'man') they'd met at the bathhouse, was here? They had killed a Tsang executive, and were looking for clearance to give him an acid bath in the tub and wash him down the drain?!

Mother fucker that was a lot. A whole fucking lot to have happen in such a short time... and hearing Cinna regale them with the sequence of events, even leaving out the minor details of it all, kindled the furnace in EJ's chest that had roared and raged when she had run into 'Phil' in the hallway.

Suddenly, it was all very truly real. Sure, she had... Had killed people before. Two of them, in acts of desperation and passion and momentary insanity and panic... but those weren't true deaths! A ghoul's claws and fangs couldn't permanently end a life in Vitus, and even the man she had shot back in Kehler Complex had only been temporarily killed - silver bullet or not, it hadn't pierced his brain, just his sternum. Frankly, an argument could be made that Purity was the one who had actually killed him, stabbing him while he was gurgling and dying on the floor.

Khetnep, unlike the other three women, seemed almost entirely unfazed by this epic saga of lust, violence, and corporate death. If nothing else, she seemed to harbour a tiny spark of approval for Zofi's decisive action. While the trio before her was still dazed and processing what the doorframe dweller had just told them, she leapt right in without any further delay.

"Hmph. Yeah, okay Cinna, you've got my permission - wash him out. Use the good stuff from the basement, too - and then you and Camilla have the rest of your shift as PTO. Wouldn't be good to have you seen by patrons, though, so... Iunno, do whatever you two do when you're free. Go get pegged or something."

Khetnep snickered, shutting those great golden eyes and spreading a Cheshire smile across her lips; Cinna, by contrast, was completely shocked - too shocked, in fact, to refute the accusation of getting pegged.

"W-Wait, really...? PTO? And... And we're not in troubl-" Khetnep raised her right hand once more, lazily opening her left eye to stare like a well-fed housecat into Cinna's worry-wracked face.

"Yes, Cinna, PTO. Full rate. I'm not mad - you and Camilla did your best to dissuade him from walking into his own death. You tried to keep him out of trouble, and he ignored you willingly. Plus? I'm glad that our guests are already getting into the bloodlust. Cinna, hey... You have contacts in the Revenants, right? You used to run with them before the Kehler Complex cell got quashed?" Her smile became more of a mischievous grin, the expression made by a predator who knows her prey is cornered.

Cinna swallowed hard. He nodded after a moment, face falling to a portrait of grim remorse. His gaze fell in turn, now focused on the plush shag carpet of the office, not daring to meet Khetnep's lazy feline look.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Yeah. I... used to be an informant for them. Once Eddy's crew... er, once Kehler went up in smoke, I didn't know anyone in any other cells, and... damn, Khetnep, it's winter. I couldn't be out on the street any more, you know? The money I made from solo work, before I met Camilla... I couldn't..."

Another hammer blow to EJ's temple, the mention of Kehler being destroyed - and Eddy's crew with it - was enough to draw a despairing exclamation from the blonde. She was desperate to know more - to grill Cinna like a hibachi for every ounce of info he could provide - but she held her tongue adamantly. There would be time for that later. However...

...the knowledge that Kehler was gone, and Eddy's group with it? It was true, EJ had barely known them - they'd played one game of Wayfinder together, for one session, and even now EJ couldn't remember everyone's name. However, she could remember their faces: Eddy, his green-haired girlfriend, the two nearly-identical brothers... and Kell. Kell, who had sheltered EJ and Purity, who had risked herself to ferry them out of Kehler and to the factory to find refuge. Kell, who was still an enigma in EJ's mind, but who had always seemed nearly prophetic in her knowledge of her enemy.

They were dead. Truly dead. Gone forever, without any chance to come back; no amount of time in the cold-wombs could revive a pile of ash. They had been some of the only people in the last thirty fucking years who had made EJ feel like she had something resembling friends, even if they had only known one another briefly - and now, they were gone. And it was Tsang's fault.

Tsang couldn't fucking stop taking everything from her, could it? Her life... her freedom, her sense of self, her individuality, her self esteem, her creativity, her dignity, her loved ones, her happiness... her death. Tsang had taken just about everything that made her her, and... and they wouldn't stop until they took her, too.

The furnace grew that much hotter. It wasn't just hot, really - it was blazing. It was a conflagration. It was a pyre, now, for those would-be friends she'd never be able to see ever again - and the life she would never again be able to live. There would never be a chance for her to be a simple private citizen again, or ever lead a quiet life. She was like a fox with a prized, flawless pelt - and Tsang's hounds would hunt her doggedly until she was dead, taking every scrap of joy from her that they could as they went.

She thought of Purity. Of Esthrielle. Of the way Judas had treated them, both of them. Of the way they had all suffered at Tsang's hands. It was far from an entirely new thought, admittedly - but that didn't mean it was any less potent. It didn't make their pain any less painful.

"EJ," Purity whispered, "C'mere. Come here, babe... let me hold you..." EJ became aware, then, that she was trembling. Her fingers had arched and flexed, emphasizing the sharp claws at their very tips; her neck was bulging with restrained effort, and every muscle on her body felt as taut as a snare drum's springs. Her hair tickled at her tailbone through the thin PVC of her outfit, wild and unbound and wavy as ever.

Purity held an open stance, arms spread just enough that the ghoulette could slip into her embrace. EJ did as she was told, taking the offered contact without question and with only a measure of hesitation; once their arms were around one another, she pressed her face into Purity's chest, shutting her eyes tight and trying to draw every ounce of comfort she could from her pink-haired lover. The scent of Purity's true life was almost a perfume; the scent of her skin and blood and gentle, lingering sweat was exactly what EJ needed. Esper James breathed deeply.

She felt another body press in from behind, and the scent of silicone and machine lubricant and another warm body entered the bouquet. EJ took her right arm from Purity and offered it around her back to pull Est in as close as she could, making a sandwich of herself with the two other women as the bread. Est said nothing; instead, she leaned her head down and nuzzled into EJ's neck, placing a soft kiss on the petite girl's still-trembling flesh.

They sat like that in silence for a few moments, the only sounds in the office being breathing, cloth-against-cloth, and the lounge crooner Khetnep had thrown onto her personal speaker. Eventually, however, Khetnep did speak up - though not without offering the women ample time to lean upon one another.

"Hey... Girls. This is gonna sound really fucking shitty, but... it's best you get used to this sort of thing. I dunno if you knew anyone at Kehler, or if you knew Eddy and his people, or anything like that... but. It's a cruel reality, and it's better to face it now and know that this is the way things are, rather than any other way." Khetnep's tone had softened in an uncharacteristic tone of sympathy, even her volume having been lowered to a tactful hum. She tutted once, pausing for a second, then continuing.

"Tsang kills people. Indiscriminately. There were innocents in Kehler - and there have been innocents in every other housing complex that's been firebombed, raided, gassed, et cetera. This isn't a conflict between two parties with both sides minimizing collateral, you know? It sucks. It's fucking shitty. But... if something isn't done?" She sighed deeply, pensively, letting her question linger heavily in the air like a piano suspended by rope.

"Tsang will keep killing people. Things will get worse for everyone - everyone. Everyone but them. I'm one woman - sure, I run a criminal empire of sorts, but... I mean, hell, it's like if the mob took on an entire nation. We've gotta try, and... I won't say I don't do anything already, but it's obvious things are getting worse. So. Let's... Phew. Let's remember that this is the way things are gonna be this whole time - and they'll only get worse unless something happens."

She leaned back in her chair, then, a pensive queen upon her throne contemplating a war on all sides. Another deep inhale, another sigh, and another final statement. "Bluntly? The killing won't stop until it's done - all of it."

This last declaration was more weighty than a tonne of bricks, and twice as crushing. It felt a bit self evident, that the killing wouldn't stop until the war stopped, but... perhaps, the simplest truths were sometimes the ones most worth stating. Esper James gulped down her fractured emotions, shifting gently to let her lovers know she wanted to be free. They acquiesced, and once they did, the blonde turned to face her soon-to-be-superior.

"Y-Yeah. Tsang will... will keep killing people, until either no one is left to kill, or until Tsang isn't around to kill anyone. I... I understand, Khetnep. I'm, ah... I'm ready for January."

January. When her training would start. When she'd start to learn how to actually fight against Tsang - how to strike out against the fucking corporate regime that had pressed its knee into Vitus's neck with impunity. When she'd... she'd start actually being able to, for what felt like the first time, reach out and take control of her life.

Khetnep smiled in response, though it was far from the smug, cocksure smirk she often employed. Frankly, it was tinged with sadness, and pity, and an unspoken sympathy that made EJ's eyes sting to even see in the gaze of another.

"Me too, Esper James. I'm... excited to see your performance. Now, all four of you - get out of my office. Not to shoo you away, but I'm seeing a girlfriend in a little bit, and I gotta make sure my mood isn't too heavy to put her over my desk. Capisce?"

That was enough of a tonal shift to lighten the lingering gloom in the office; Cinna snickered, Purity rolled her eyes and smiled from ear to ear, and Esthrielle couldn't suppress a bashful grin. EJ, too, chuckled; she shook her head at the announcement of Khetnep's imminent liaison, and gave her a single affirmative nod.

"Yeah. Okay, yeah, let's... Let's go back to our room. We've gotta chat with Lulu and Zofi about a lot of shit... or, honestly? Maybe let's just watch a movie, yeah? A movie sounds really good right now..." A movie did sound damn good. The quartet shuffled out one by one; Cinna said something to the trio of lovers about catching up later before rushing down the hall, leaving EJ and her girlfriends to their own devices. They made their way slowly, EJ and Purity flanking Est to keep up their image of a Jane with her evening entertainment, none of them in any particular rush to make their way back to the room.

As they walked, EJ began to think about something else Cinna had mentioned: Lucretia and Zofia had apparently been in a pretty compromising position when they were interrupted. Allegedly. But... Wow, shit, had that been all it took? A little alone time, and Lulu had finally made her move on the brown-haired beauty?

There was a sort of pride that bloomed in Esper James's chest at the thought of it: Lucretia taking the initiative and going for it, getting the desired response, and almost sealing the deal. Furthermore? Zofia had been so indignant, so full of rage and distress at having her big moment interrupted, she had fucking killed that guy in two punches. As Cinna had told it, she hadn't even hesitated - instead, she rushed him head-on and turned his outsides into insides faster than a person could blink.

Fu-hu-huck. EJ couldn't help but beam at her imagined portrayal of the events; she'd need to say something to both of them once they met up again. She wouldn't have to wait long, either; bringing her focus back on the world around her, she and her babygirls had already made it back to their door.

Purity made sure to knock, so as not to end up just like that slob that was about to paint their tub with his liquefied remains.