61 Days in River City
CHAPTER 15
DAY 61
Chenggong is Disappointed
Sonia and Vicky watched Chenggong closely. They were on the train out of River City and all was going well, but Chenggong was trying to hide something from them.
For his part, Chenggong was very disappointed. He’d been looking forward to this ever since he arrived in River City. It was one of the first things he set up, this train journey out. That is he bought the three tickets then daydreamed about it. He had heard that American infrastructure was way out of date and was looking forward to travelling on a real steam train, but this was a bog standard diesel. There were still some he could ride back home. He had. They were boring. He wanted to stick his head out the window and get covered in soot and worry about stray sparks in his eyes. He wanted to hear that distinct engine sound he’s only heard in films. He wanted to see cows swept out of the way by that thing on the front when they stayed on the line to discuss land rights with the train. And now he was in the huff and didn’t want to talk about it. In fact he didn’t want to talk about anything.
Vicky and Sonia were silently in agreement. Something was off and they needed to know about it. They each sat next to Chenggong and started to interrogate him.
”What’s the matter?” asked Vicky.
“Nowt.”
“Yes there is. What’s gone wrong now?”
Chenggonmg finally looked up, puzzled. “Nothin’. Why?”
“The way you’re behaving. Something’s up. What is it?”
“There’s nowt up. We’re leaving and nobody’s after us. I allowed for the train being late so everythin’s on time.”
Sonia added her concerns. “We don’t know what’s happening right now. We’ve just followed you here. Where are we going? What about Alicia? I don’t like this and I’ll blame you if she’s not dead tomorrow.”
That was something Chenggong could latch on to. “Today. Not tomorrow. It’s tomorrow now.”
“Stop changing the subject.” Vicky knew him well. “Answer the questions.”
Chenggong sighed and brought his mind to the present. “We’re goin’ to Midas City where we’ll disappear for a while, then catch a flight to New York. It’s all arranged. Nowt’s wrong. Stop worryin’.”
”Alicia?” demanded Sonia.
“She’ll be dead later today. It’s all settled.”
Sonia looked at Vicky in exasperation.
“Nothing’s a hundred per cent,” said Vicky, “but I’ll still back him in this. It’s not the sort of thing he gets wrong.”
Sonia stared at her, sat back in her seat and took the huff.
Chenggong sighed and started to slip back into his own huff.
Vicky saw her opportunity and went in for the kill, very gently.
”who were you talking to?”
Chenggong’s mind was on steam trains. “Sonia,” was the answer, without thought.
Vicky was still gentle and softly spoken. “No. I mean back in those alleys. You were taking texts and answering to the air.”
“Loki.”
Sonia became interested again. Vicky continued. “I don’t know anyone called Loki. Is he part of Wyrd?”
Chenggong was getting annoyed but her voice was so gentle and concerned he couldn’t get angry. Any way, he wanted a steam train. “No, the God Loki.”
“So that’s how you knew Freya was in that chariot. What’s Loki got to do with all this?
Chenggong suddenly realised what was happening. “You fucking bitch. You’re using The Voice on me.”
“You deserve it. Me and Sonia are involved as well and now we learn Loki’s involved? What’re you playing at.”
Chenggong started to rise, only to be pulled back down again by a hand on each arm.
“Tell us from the beginning. We’ve hours to go, so you have the time.”
Chenggong looked left and right at their faces and couldn’t think of a convincing lie, so he told the truth. All of it. Vicky was convinced.
“You’re Loki’s child?”
“Yes.”
“Why’d you want to do anything like that. Those Gods and Goddesses aren’t to be trusted. Hell’s bells, you told us to kill Divine because of that.”
“You don’t understand. I’m not the God Loki’s child. My Loki’s an egregore.”
”Oh yes? That’s an improvement is it?”
“Yes it is.” Chenggong was definite about that one.
Sonia interrupted to stop another argument. “Are you saying Loki contacts you by text?”
“Yes, why not?”
“It doesn’t seem right. Why doesn’t he manifest or whatever real Gods do?”
“You’ll have to ask him yourself. I can get you an audience if you like.”
“No thanks!” She didn’t like where this was going so she changed the subject. “So what was your Loki doing back there?”
“He’s got it in his head something catastrophic is goin’ to happen in a year’s time. He’s startin’ to protect himself. And us as well. He’s no use to anybody, including himself, if we’re not around.”
“So he didn’t interfere with SureShot?”
“No. He’s not interested in that, except as entertainment. He created Viking and Shield Maiden in order to attract Freya, the real one, to the scene when Venus had manifested. He wants the two pantheons To communicate and combine forces. He’s got a job on his hands. They’re not known to cooperate amongst themselves, never mind between pantheons.”
Sonia was now firmly in the questioner’s seat. “So how did he create Shield Maiden and Viking then.”
“Don’t know.”
“Guess.” Vicky knew when Chenggong was procrastinating.
Chenggong gave her a stare, which she ignored. “I guess he created a series of mild charms back in the day…”
“When?”
“About the fifth century…”
Sonia interrupted again. “You said you just created him. How can he create anything back in the fifth century?”
“I created him old, naturally. He wouldn’t be Loki otherwise, would he?
“Okay. Go on.”
Well he created a lot of charms which gave the owners enough luck so they’d hang on to them and pass them down the line to their kids. There must’ve been a couple around River City and he activated them, turned the owners into Viking and Shield Maiden and they were programmed to create enough sexual tension when Freya was needed.”
“That sort of makes sense, I think,” said Vicky. “So two people in River City suddenly became super heroes?”
“Not quite. Two people, the charm bearers, created Shield Maiden and Viking out of their own minds. They probably have no idea what’s happening.”
Sonia was getting a headache. “So, these two charm bearers, whoever they are, create the two Vikings and continue their own lives as well? How do they do that?”
“I’m not quite sure but I’m certain Loki was directing them at the end, when they met while we were there.”
“You mean he wasn’t otherwise?”
“No, of course not. He only wanted them there for that one purpose. And it succeeded, so he’s happy. At least for now.”
“What happens to them now?” Sonia was curious.
“As far as I know, he’s finished with them. They’ll continue to exist as long as their charm bearers do.”
“Can’t he stop them now?”
“If I know him at all I’d say he wants to see what happens.”
“How do they manifest?”
“I think they manifest themselves when their charm bearers see something that moves them. Loki could’ve thought that meant seeing in the flesh, but there’s TV now. So they’re liable to appear whenever somethin’s on the news that worries a charm bearer enough.”
Now, just so I can understand this,” said Sonia, “Shield Maiden and Viking are their own characters. They’re not the charm bearers.”
“That’s right. They’ll probably never even know of one another.”
“And what about the luck?” Sonia wanted to know about that.
“Wha’d’ye mean?”
“When Loki was texting you complained about him relying on luck. You were rather concerned about that.”
“Oh that. It’s nowt. Forget it. Not relevant now.”
“You know, Sonia asks some very good questions. I’m too used to you and accept too much. Answer her.”
Chenggong took his time before answering. “It was Omega Girl. I didn’t know, but Loki did, that she distorts magick. She can make it random sometimes. And we relied on that magick axe to knock her out. Apparently that was a bit of luck. Loki didn’t actually know what would happen there. Things would’ve turned out very different if she was active all the way through.”
Sonia was new to this subject and wanted to know all about it at once. “But Gods are omnipotent, aren’t they?”
Chenggong looked surprised at the question. “No.”
“But they’re not Gods if they’re not.” Sonia was getting confused.
Vicky intervened. “Sonia, there are different types of Gods. Ours are definitely not omnipotent. They make mistakes. They get things wrong. They get jealous. They get angry. They’re not to be near. They’re not to be trusted.” She stared at Chenggong when she said that.
That silenced them and they spent the rest of the journey in silence. Chenggong went back to lamenting his steam train and Sonia went back to worrying about Alicia. Vicky went to sleep.
Mrs. Hanson Greets an Unexpected Visitor
Ms. Hanson and her entourage were ready as always the next morning. The events of the previous evening were not going to stop her doing her duty. Mr. Arksong had already briefed her that SureShot’s contract had been rescinded and that the events of yesterday were SureShot ensuring his reputation wouldn’t suffer. Ultimately, SureShot was now out of the equation and there was no need to worry on that score.
Mrs. Hanson ensured her protection was enhanced and visible to the public, or the parts of it required for political reasons were visible. She relied entirely on her enhanced unseen protection.
Walking out, as usual, she met Mr. Arksong, as usual, and he walked her to the limo, not as usual. This time she had super protection as well. Specifically Omega Girl directly in front of her while she walked to the car, ensuring any sniper wouldn’t have a direct line on her. Getting Omega Girl there was an impressive publicity stunt triumph for the team and Mrs Hanson would ensure they were suitably rewarded. Her own extra tall security detail was positioned on each side as well as behind her.
Three steps from the limo there was a flash and the limo lurched to the road side, it’s tyres blown out. What sounded like guns on either side ensured Mrs. Hanson couldn’t move sideways.
Omega Girl stayed where she was desperately searching for the threat. Mrs. Hanson was effectively protected. Some of her security detail turned and tried to open the doors back into the apartment block, but they were locked or jammed. They were all stuck out there without knowing where the attack would come from. They stood still, the security and Omega Girl on high alert scanning the area, trying to determine where the enemy was.
Clive, her head security protector, turned and saw Ms. Hanson there looking angry. He blinked and she wasn’t there. Then the noise came, a sort of crunch and squelch. Omega Girl and her security all turned at the noise and they saw two bodies on the ground, both headless and both surrounded by blood and brains. Omega Girl, her rear covered in gore, looked up and saw nothing. Extending her vision she saw no aeroplanes or flying machines of any sort. Flying up she saw nothing untoward on the way up and nothing on the roof either, except the security detail who reported nothing had happened there.
DAY 62
The Heroes Make Progress
“What do you mean it’s harmless?” asked Hannah to Eugene. “They were carrying it and using it and we’re lucky we got it. One of them must’ve dropped it during our last fight. It must do something. It smells of something. I don’t know what though.”
“It does nothing. It’s no’ even mace, despite the label.”
Sunbeam approached. She was exhausted after their training. Sanguine and Splash followed, still debating the spate of jewellery heists they were investigating.
“What happened to you?” Tina asked, staring at the massive bruise on Hannah’s leg.
“Someone took a pot shot at me but his aim wasn’t all that good. I’d have just gotten a flesh wound if it wasn’t for my suit anyway.”
“Ye assume tae much,” interjected Eugene. “What if his aim was accurate?”
“What? Why would anyone do that?”
“Tae see if your suit would stop a bullet without killing ye if it didnae.”
“I never thought of that. How would we tell?”
“We cannae, but we can infer.”
He received puzzled stares.
“I mean, if ’twas just someone trying tae murder ye, what would happen afterwards?”
“I’d have caught him. I did look but found no trace. I can’t even tell exactly where he was shooting from.”
“So he was prepared ’n’ wanted tae get away, which implies a certain degree of professionalism. He knew ye would be straight after him. That implies he thought it possible ye wouldnae be hurt.”
“But what about a sniper, a good one I mean?”
“A good sniper, a professional, trying to kill ye wouldnae hae missed like that.”
“That’s not a hundred percent.”
“Nae, but it’s a lot more than fifty percent.”
Things were getting a little heated so Tina tried to change the subject.
“What were you arguing about just now? Maybe we can help?”
Hannah explained.
Tina stared at the VMace. “So those two were carrying and using this and it does nothing?”
“We assume so. One of them must’ve dropped it. We found it at the backroom of the shop where we fought last. They’re slippery and we need every bit of information we can get about them. We’ve got some parts of their uniforms which turned out to be cosplay ones. That’s why they were splitting so often.”
“They were wearing cheap copies? They couldn’t have been serious.”
“They’re deadly serious, believe me. We’re worried they only need them for a short while and didn’t have the time to get proper ones made.”
“What’s it smell like then?”
Hannah shuddered. “Nothing like the smell that fake Pinnacle hit me with. And that fake Shield Maiden.”
“What?”
“Those two we were telling you about. They hit us with some sort of smell bomb to disrupt my senses when I was tracking them. It worked. They added a siren as well, which didn’t help.”
“I’ve heard of Shield Maiden. Nobody knows much about her. Why do you think yours was a fake?”
“Because they had a fake Pinnacle and I saw enough to describe the other one. We’ve identikits of the real one and mine is definitely not her. Mine’s smaller for one and has a different face entirely.”
Frasier interrupted. “I’ve had that sample Venus collected analysed. She did a good job there just getting th’ sample while th’ reek hadnae dispersed.”
“Am I going to like the answer?”
“Nae. It’s nae a hundred percent, but th’ chemical analysis fits Rectum’s reek.”
“What? We never saw her around when it was all going on.”
“I managed tae contact her ’n’ she says, wi’ proof, she was elsewhere. She was suspicious at my questions and refused tae say anything else. Ye know what she’s like. And her reek can be manufactured, especially if you hae a sample.”
Tina interjected, “Rectum? Who’s Rectum?”
“She’s one of us, if you can believe it. She’s a hero who works with Heroin on their own. They don’t fit in anywhere else.”
“Rectum and Heroin? And they’re on our side?”
“Specifically The Rectum Wretch and The Heroin Heroine. Catchy huh?”
“What do they do? Spank their petals?” Tina was curious.
“Spank their petals? What’s that?” So was Gwen.
Janika shuddered. “Spanking petals is nothing to joke about. Please stop referring to it.”
There wasn’t any response to that and a silence fell until Tina remembered what had started all this off in the first place.
“To get back to the start, what’s that VMace smell like then?”
“Hannah shrugged and sprayed some into the air towards the group. Tina sniffed and said, “It’s definitely not perfume, but that’s all…”
She looked around at the sudden thud. Gwen was on her knees with her hands squeezing her own neck, looking as if she was trying to choke herself. She was making little squeaking noises as she tried to breath.
“Git her out o’ here quick,” shouted Eugene.
They carried her out to a bed out of range of the VMace where she received emergency medical treatment.
“Well, now, we ken what ’twas for,” Eugene eventually said. “They were prepared for vampires.”
“But did they expect Sanguine to attack them? She’s new. How did they know she was here? And how did they know a defence? Do we know one?”
“A defence against vampires? Nae, we dinnae. But we dae now. I’ll make sure Sanguine can counter this in future.”
“If she recovers.” Hannah was worried. Gwen looked seriously ill.
“She’ll recover,” answered Eugene. “She’s tough. And remember, that stuff was marked ‘mace’. That implies it was only meant to incapacitate her.”
It was at that point the VMace degraded instantaneously into worthless dust. Shelf life means shelf life in Faeryfaye’s world.
DAY 63
The Day of the Assassin
The whole group, Hannah, Janika and Tina were at Gwen’s bedside the next day. Gwen was feeling a lot better and wanted to get up and out, but Eugene had vetoed that for the present. Gwen was complaining.
“That’s better,” said Janika, after a particularly virulent swearfest. “We were worried about you, you know, but it looks like you’re well on the mend now.”
Gwen was about to riposte when Eugene entered. “The doctor says you’re ready to go, Gwen, as long as you take care of yourself for the next couple of days.”
Gwen was about to reply when he went on. “And I’ve something for you, Hannah.” He went to a screen and navigated to a channel. It was that Motorcycle Maid again.
“Oh no, not her again,” Hannah complained. “Can’t we just ignore her?”
“Nae this time. Watch this.”
He started the recording in the middle of the show, where Pinnacle was standing on a rooftop. The view was extremely enlarged.
“Hey, that’s where that sniper shot me…” Her words cut off when Pinnacle was shot and went down. The recording showed her behaving professionally by darting here and there, after she rose again, while obviously trying to pinpoint where the shot came from. Eventually she gave up looking and raced off to investigate some probable locations.
“She’s checking out all the places that shot could’ve come from, but there are a lot of them and she fails,” Motorcycle Maid informed her followers. “But that’s not what this is all about folks. There’s a deeper mystery here. Did you see it?”
“What?” muttered Hannah as she was now drawn into the show like the others. Except Eugene. He’d already seen it.
“Look at this people,” said the head in the motorcycle helmet.
The camera shot was repeated, showing the shot in extreme slow motion. It showed the bullet ricocheting off Pinnacle to end up in the brickwork. This took up a few dramatic minutes and minutes full of drama attract viewers. Motorcycle Maid knew how to milk an audience.
“The point is, people, that bullet should have wounded Pinnacle, but it obviously didn’t. Is she bullet proof?” She went on to answer her own question. “I don’t know, but look at these old clips of Pinnacle in action.
Those clips showed Pinnacle in a bad light. There were a number of short clips each showing Pinnacle being hit and succumbing to the blows. Fortunately there were blows and not bullets. Pinnacle was shown, in a number of clips, with blood dripping from her mouth and nose, these not being covered by her uniform.
“Do you get it now people? It must be her uniform that’s bullet proof. That’s the only possible explanation.” Motorcycle Maid removed her helmet and smiled at the camera. Her sparkling blue eyes stared down the camera directly into Hannah’s eyes, making Hannah desperately uneasy and desperately attracted at the same time. The feeling didn’t last long but it served to hook Hannah further into the story.
“That, people, begs a number of questions, doesn’t it?” Motorcycle Maid used a lot of questions in her prose. She found it kept her viewers engaged. “For instance, what about those cutouts? Yes they’re sexy and artistic, but really? What would have happened if that sniper had targeted one of those, or that part of her face that’s naked? I’ll tell you. We would be mourning the loss of another hero right now.
So, why are those cutouts there? And why doesn’t she have a full face mask? Is she really so vain?
Hannah became annoyed at this woman all over again.
That woman continued. “We should also ask ourselves where she gets such a uniform, shouldn’t we? I’ve checked and I can’t find any manufacturer in the whole wide world that can manufacture such a uniform.
“And what about the other heroes? Do all their uniforms resist bullets? They’re not saying, so, do we have to verify that? How do we do that? If it’s true, there’s a secret manufacturer making them. Is that manufacturer here in River City? I can’t find one and neither can the city officials. I know because I asked them. And this is important, people. Know why? Because that secret manufacturer is manufacturing uniforms without paying any taxes, that’s why. Is this another reason your taxes are so high? And if that’s true then those uniforms must cost a fortune. That’s obvious, isn’t it? So how do the heroes pay for them? How much do the heroes get paid? Are they paying their taxes?”
Eugene switched it off there.
“She’s just creating drama now. This’ll get her good ratings.”
Hannah interrupted. “How did she know where to point the camera? That’s just too coincidental.”
“Good question, Hannah. I think you’re right. But how can we check? She’s well within the law here. And it’s accurate as well. That’s usually a good point in a court of law.”
“What? We just ignore her? How does she get these scoops?”
“Yes, we ignore her. But maybe we can follow her? I mean tae say, if she gets scoops like the ones she’s been getting, it’ll make our jobs easier just tae follow her to the bad guys, don’t you think?”
Hannah smiled. “Now you’re talking. When do we start?”
“When we’re ready. It’s not illegal to follow a reporter, but others have already tried to follow her and failed. We just hae to be clever about it.”
Hannah smiled in anticipation.
New York
Chenggong took them to their New York apartment where he dropped his bag and immediately left again. He was going to get them all new phones. Both Chenggong and Vicky checked on the train and detected nothing, but you never know, so they left them and their other possessions in the various transports they took, just in case. After all, they’d just been active in River City and there are a lot of people there who’d think it nothing to put a tracer on them.
As soon as Chenggong left, Vicky went straight to his bag and opened it carefully. She had noticed some sort of object in there he was careful not to let them see. She found it. It was a jar of Emeril’s Big Easy coffee.
“Is that what Pearl left him?” asked Sonia.
“No, it’s a different one, but he really does seem to like it and he’s being considerate to me by not letting me see it.” Vicky’s voice choked. “I didn’t know he could be so caring,” she added while Sonia looked on, not wanting to say anything. She knew Vicky was in love with Pearl and was distraught over her death despite how she behaved.
“I need to let him know…” started Vicky without finishing.
Later, Sonia stared at the little piles of what looked like rubbish in various corners of their New York apartment. And they were in every room. They were small and didn’t intrude, but she still couldn’t process what they were. Chenggong called them his pixie defences and Vicky just accepted it? Eventually Sonia asked Vicky why Chenggong was the only one she knew who did this. Apparently Chenggong, for some reason Vicky didn’t know yet, attracted pixies like some people attract mosquitoes. These were his defences.
This was something else to ponder, she thought, while she shifted her attention to watch Chenggong and Vicky in bed together. They didn’t bother with closing doors. She still felt nothing as she watched their cavorting. They’d been active for about half an hour so far and didn’t look close to ending their rut. Chenggong was on top now, his cock pumping rhythmically.
There was a knock on the door and Sonia went to answer it. Well, the other two weren’t available right at that moment. She peeked through the peephole and saw a smiling woman with blonde hair. Nothing in her hands and nowhere obvious to conceal a weapon either. Not a threat at all. Nobody knew they were here anyway so there wasn’t a possibility of a threat. She opened the door and the blonde woman looked at her and giggled.
Sonia said, “What…” when a gun barrel was shoved into her mouth as soon as she opened it.
“All right, honey, don’t you fret,” was what Sonia heard. “Just stay nice and quiet and no funny tricks.”
Sonia’s attacker giggled again and advanced into the room by pushing the gun barrel forwards, slamming the door closed after her. Sonia was forced to step backwards until her back was hard against a wall. She tried hard to assess what was happening but it was so unexpected and so fast she had no chance. She desperately tried to get her brain in gear so she could do something.
“Now honey,” the giggly voice said. “Just point to where Lord Chenggong is.”
Sonia pointed to the wrong room.
The girl giggled and her eyes sparkled.
“Ooh, you are good, aren’t you. I would’ve sworn you were telling the truth there. But you aren’t, are you?”
Sonia didn’t know how she knew that. She was very good at lying in all circumstances. This girl must be enhanced, which shouldn’t be able to work against her.
The girl settled it by shouting, “Lord Chenggong. Where are you?” in a screech loud enough to wake the neighbours.
There was a grumbling and a muttering from the bedroom and, eventually, Lord Chenggong appeared, his nakedness pointing the way. Vicky was behind him. Directly behind him. No one could shoot her without shooting Chenggong first.
“Hi Zoey,” he said when he saw her. “Put that gun down and stop frightening Sonia. That’s not nice.”
Zoey giggled and took the gun away.
“I didn’t know you had friends over. She took me by surprise and I had to protect my payment.”
Chenggong quickly and gently took Sonia’s arm to stop her doing something drastic.
“OK, Zoey. Sonia and Vicky are here and that’s all. I do have your payment ready for tomorrow and you can have it now if you like for a small discount.”
She giggled while Sonia and Vicky looked on in silence and amazement.
Chenggong’s erection had gone, proving he was a grower, not a shower.
“Oh no, Lord Chenggong. It’ll cost you more to go back to River City just to pay us. This way you save all that cash. I’ll not charge you extra for this help though. Think of it as a good will gesture.”
Chenggong sighed.
“OK then. A good will gesture it is. This is something new for you now isn’t it?”
Chenggong had gone to his suitcase, the one he had with him when he returned with the phones, and brought it out. Opening it everyone saw it was full of cash.
Another giggle.
“We’ve learnt all about good will gestures now. We use them all the time. The profit increase is high.”
She took the proffered suitcase.
Zoey looked at him hopefully. “Do I count it now or can I join you and I’ll count it later?”
Chenggong smiled.
“Not this time Zoey. Sorry but I do have things to do.”
Another giggle came from the big titted blonde wearing high stilettos.
“I think your things have you to do, Lord Chenggong.”
She counted the money extremely quickly but no one was in any doubt it was counted accurately.
“One more item before I leave,” she said. “We checked out your rooms and removed the things that others will find useful, as ordered. We found this in Vicky’s and Sonia’s rooms.”
Before she could hand it over, Vicky protested, “But we’ve had no indication anyone was in there.”
“Yes, your systems were very clever. It took us a while to get round them. But someone else was also there and didn’t trip them.”
She handed over a piece of paper and a bullet.
“The bullet was used as a weight to hold the paper down and was left after the kill.”
Vicky and Sonia read the word on the paper. It said ‘Impressive’.
“That’s from SureShot,” said Chenggong, looking over their shoulders.
“But that means…” started Sonia. She didn’t finish the sentence. They all knew what it meant.
Zoey left after that, her stilettos echoing on the corridor floor, the suitcase trundling behind on its little wheels. Chenggong had overspent his budget, again, so couldn’t afford even a reasonable hotel. Hence the uncarpeted floors.
“You know,” observed Vicky, “I didn’t think they would survive all that well in the real world. Obviously I was wrong. What was the money for?”
“Well, I had to get Mrs. Hanson to stand still in a certain prelocated area. They helped me do that.”
Sonia was interested now.
“They set off those firecrackers and punctured the limo’s tyres? I was going to ask how you managed that. You contracted out then.”
“Yes. They’re really good at what they do and they know their own worth. Even so, I don’t recommend using them unless it’s impossible to do any other way.”
“How did they do it then?” asked Sonia. “We looked at that area specifically but couldn’t see any way it could be done.”
Chenggong sighed.
“I don’t know. Part of their fee is mission accomplished without any questions.”
Sonia was still curious. “How can Wyrd afford this? That payment was a fortune for that work.”
Chenggong looked embarrassed and started to back away, as if he had forgotten something in the kitchen. Vicky stopped him with a hand on his back.
“That’s a good question,” Vicky said. “How did you manage to afford it?”
Chenggong went red. “Well, I couldn’t get authorisation for that, especially after what I paid them last year, so I got it elsewhere.”
“You’re not stopping there.” Vicky was determined.
“Well, I couldn’t work out how to do it, so I has to pay them, didn’t I?”
“You’re not a politician and I’m not a reporter. Answer the fucking question.”
“OK. I stole it. A few jewellery shops, that’s all. And I didn’t harm anyone either.” This was said proudly, as if a difficult lesson was well and truly learnt. “I had to knock off a few because the fences only pay ten percent of the proper worth. Crooks the lot of them.” Chenggong was angry at the crooks.
“Why didn’t you pay them off in jewels?”
“Because their rate is five percent.”
Vicky laughed, grabbed Chenggong’s cock and directed him back to the bedroom.
“Come on Lord Chenggong,” she said. “Let’s discuss this complex of yours to be a member of the aristocracy. I’m sure there’s a name for it.”
Sonia eventually turned on the TV and searched for more information on the assassination. She eventually found a report on cable which repeated what she knew. One of the mind control victims had jumped from her high window and dived head first towards Mrs. Hanson, steering herself with skydiving techniques. She hit Mrs Hanson’s head head on, crushing both their skulls in the process.
Sonia felt guilt about this. That woman was a victim, but Chenggong had confirmed she was incurable and would have led a meaningless life obeying anyone who ordered her. Her only option was to become a slave of one particular person, which was what was going to happen to the others. They were all incurable, their original identities gone. They were, in essence, meat robots or meatbots she told herself.
Chenggong had saved five of the thirteen in total. Only one was now guaranteed to be totally cured while the other four had an excellent prognosis of total recovery. Chenggong had used one of the incurables as an assassin. Sonia’s recovering conscience debated with her about this. She didn’t know what to think. It spoilt her elation.
Then came a small titbit of information that puzzled the authorities and was new to Sonia. Around the wrist of the unfortunate assassin was a rubber band with the words, ‘Happy Birthday Alicia, Love From Sonia’ on it. Nobody knew what that meant or if it was relevant, but Sonia did and it warmed her deep in her returning soul.
The Franchise would also know exactly what that message meant and that was good. They would now be looking for her hard, but they also had their own troubles with a viscous civil war happening inside their organisation and a possible split from Three Fingers.
She looked back at the two lovers who, again, hadn’t bothered to close the door. Chenggong was now looking frustrated and ecstatic at the same time. Somehow Vicky had flipped them and she was on top, controlling the action.
Periodically her hand went to his perineum and she pressed her finger in hard. Sonia assumed this was to push back his orgasm, but she also knew he was in perfect control of that anyway. She suddenly realised it was a power play in their dynamic.
The noises they made were animalistic. As Sonia watched, Vicky seemed to move out of herself while her pumping action increased and Chenggong’s eyes rolled back as he came, hard. Vicky emitted a funny high pitched series of squeaks she hadn’t heard her make before, and Sonia had seen Vicky in action a number of times. Then it was over and Vicky collapsed on top of Chenggong, who just lay there.
Eventually he put his arms around her and held her tight. Vicky slid off and lay on her side in his arms. They didn’t talk, just lay there with their eyes closed.
Sonia’s emotions were going overtime, well, overtime for her atrophied emotions, and she realised she wanted something from this action.
She removed her clothes and approached the bed nervously, never having done this before except when under Franchise orders.
In what appeared to be his sleep, Chenggong smiled and moved apart from Vicky. Sonia accepted the invitation and carefully climbed over Vicky to the invited space between them. It was the wet spot.
With her back to Chenggong she let Vicky lay her head on her arm and held her tight. Vicky’s arm wound itself around her and Chenggongy moved forward and big spooned her. She found herself happy for the first time since her teens.
It was then she decided to accept Vicky’s group’s offer and move to Europe to finish off her cure and let them study her.
For a few minutes Sonia worried about what Chenggong would think of her decision, but his attitude let her know this was no problem. She assumed the information gleaned about her would be shared. But that worry slowly disappeared as her brain succumbed to peaceful, dreamless, refreshing sleep.