by Dave Austin
"What is it?" I asked her while we waited.
"Strange. Her house is comfortable but, at the same time, she doesn't seem to live here. She is here to have someplace to go, even if she doesn't want it. Is her room like this too?"
"Yes, white walls, white ceiling, no photographs or anything that catches the eye. She has some makeup and a lamp and nothing else."
"Even stranger, don't you think? My room is all decorated. Hunters' posters, pictures from when I was little, all things that give it a sense of personality, that call attention to be my room." Maggie said, "I bet she has also had a bug out bag in case she needs to run away. I have that feeling."
"I do. It's there in that corner." Elisa said, coming out of nowhere with some muffins in a box on her right hand and orange juice on her left, "I don't like feeling trapped in a place. I don't tend to stay in one for long."
"Oh, Elisa, I'm sorry! I didn't want to..." Maggie started but Elisa didn't let her finish.
"It's okay. I understand. That's why I'm not a big fan of bringing people home." She said, paused, and sat on a cushioned chair in front of the couch, placing the food and juice on the crystal table. "Why do I hate the council? They destroyed my family. My adoptive mother, 20 years ago, saw something she shouldn't have seen. She was parking her car in a parking lot when she saw a murder and the worst mistake in her whole life was to report it. They broke into our house when it was just the two of us and dragged her by the hair. I hid under the bed just as she had told me. I heard their frantic steps, the agony in my mother's voice, her desperate screams and their husky voice as they told her to shut up. When she didn't, they hit her with the barrel of a gun in the temp. I still have nightmares with the click it made when her skull cracked from the over-strength they used. I need a break." She said and stood up.
She went to the window and opened it. She took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, from where she took a cigarette and asked Maggie to light it.
She blew a few breaths into the window, fogging it up, blowing out what was ravaging her heart. Her hand trembled as she held the cigarette. I had never seen her like this; so sensitive and vulnerable even though she was secure.
"You have all the time in the world," I told her and smiled without opening my mouth.
"It is better if I continue before I repent... My father was never the same after that. He filed a complaint, pressured the police, but most of them were either in the pocket of someone on the council or were too afraid to face them. The case died quickly. At the time I didn't know any of this. It wasn't until I became a Hunter that I started investigating, secretly, until I found out that she had seen a paid assassin hired only by council members for murders. I tried to find him, but it was too late. He died a few years ago in a skirmish with the police. I haven't found out who sent him yet, but I've never been this close. I can't give up. Do you understand now why I can't go with you?" She answered us.
She extinguished the cigarette with her fingers and threw it out the window. She stood there and watched as it fell.
"Elisa...We...We didn't know." Maggie said, her voice losing strength as the words came out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry," Kendra said like she was pulling a Band-Aid.
They both looked at me. They expected me to say the same as them, to apologize, to say that everything was fine. But no, I couldn't say it. I had seen what pursuing a target could do, what happened when desire and frustration blinded the person. I wasn't going to let her fall over the same precipice.
"If you know who my father was, you know what happened to him when he left everything behind to focus on a target. It's not healthy, Elisa. You can't walk away from everyone. Not establishing roots in a place. All for something that happened about 20 years ago that I understand hurts and that you want to find the culprits. But what does it matter if when you do it, you're not yourself anymore? I'm going to ask you one more time. Come with us tomorrow. Let others take care of the council attack. You may very well interrogate them later." I told her, hoping she would answer me, but she didn't. She looked intently at me, as if expecting me to add something, "I became a Hunter for fame, so that my surname wouldn't mean disappointment, but being here, working with all of you, has changed my perspective. My father fought for what he believed in and I admire him for it. When I was a child, I hated that he was never there but now I understand why. I have not seen my mother or brother in almost a month. The only problem is that he didn't know how to stop, he didn't surround himself with people who knew how to make him stop overdoing it. You have us. Here, now. Take a step back. Fall back. The world won't run away because you're after it, Elisa."
"I know all of that. I know that my whole life, since I was 10 years old, has been guided by my thirst for revenge. But it seems too late to stop, don't you think?" Elisa asked me. She then sat once again on the chair in front of us.
"You can stop whenever you want. I want you to stop now. Tomorrow I hope to see you at the party. If you're not there I'll know that you let revenge win."
"James..." Maggie said, rubbing her hand on my leg.
"No, Maggie. She has to understand that we're a group. That we can have different opinions, argue, but when one of us needs the others, we’re there."
Elisa got up without saying anything and walked into a closet that stood by her knees. She opened it and took out an old bottle of wine and a bottle of whiskey.
"Well, no matter what happens tomorrow... We might as well enjoy tonight. I don't think we will have time after that."
The cork leaped to the ground and the drink surplus flowed down the bottle, dripping to the floor. The red mixed with the brown until the area around where the liquid had fell gained a dark red color. She put the bottles on the crystal table and went into the kitchen to get glass cups.
We ended the night drinking and laughing. Stories were shared, some getting laughs and other silence moments, breaks for thinking and hugs. Maggie told us that her mother had died when she was still very young. A brain aneurysm blew up overnight and left her lying in the bathroom. She fell, hit her head on the toilet and finally lay down on the marble floor from which she only left when the paramedics arrived. Her voice remained monotoned, and her eyes were on the whiskey cup with two ice rocks that she stirred.
Kendra confessed that she was very close to following the same path as her sister. Apparently, when she was a teenager, she was involved in shoplifting and street fighting. She became attached to a leather whip she used to impose respect and her taste remained unchanged. Her father controlled the empire and Lipa, being the older sister, attended some of his meetings and was in contact with a few tradesmen. Kendra also told us that she was annoyed that she would not be given a chance and that was why she took her frustration out on others.
"What made you want to be a Hunter?" Maggie asked.
"One time, when I was with 3 older boys, one of them had the idea of robbing a convenience store. We just wanted gummies, potatoes and alcohol. We were young and stupid." Kendra said, between drinking breaks, "The robbery didn't go well. We had the misfortune of going to a store where a Hunter was doing some shopping. When we realized that it was too late, and instead of running away together, they tripped me up and left me on the floor to buy time. I still tried to escape but the Hunter had already grabbed my leg and from there I didn't leave. I thought he was going to arrest me, that as soon as he knew my name, he would use me as an advantage against my family but, instead, he became thoughtful and asked me what I wanted for my future. No one had ever asked me that before."
"Are you what you wanted to be?" Elisa asked her, her head already resting on the chair.
"It's a good question. At the time I told him that I wanted to be a good person, that I didn't want to have to run away from everything and everyone like my family always did. My mother did it. When she realized that my father was not going to stop, she ran away and didn't take us with her. She left a letter behind saying that she could not take us, or we would never have peace.
Funny, we never had it anyway. Now I'm a Hunter and I like it. I like to know that I am doing good, that I am compensating for all the harm my family has done and still does. But at the end of the day, they are still family. I still believe Lipa will open her eyes."
"Your sister is not exactly the most reasonable person in the world, Kendra. I've seen her start a fight just because she wanted to." Elisa replied, "But by the way, what did the Hunter say to you?".
"He told me that I could be whatever I wanted and that being a Hunter wasn't as bad as I might have been led to think. And, look, here I am. I took the admissions exams, went to the academy, trained and that was it. My father didn't stop me, but I noticed him looking at me with these eyes, as if I wasn't worth it and I wasn't family anymore. Do you understand?"
"That sucks." Elisa said, for lack of better words, "It seems to me that the three of us had a rough childhood. Maybe that's why we get along so well."
"Maybe." I said and drank directly from the bottle, "We shouldn't be drinking, should we?" I added, already feeling the head spinning and the colors sparkling. "We may not have many other chances, huh?" I added.
Elisa said, "Are you afraid of getting a headache too big for tomorrow?" She said, teasing me, and smiling until a dimple appeared on her right cheek.
"Funny. I can handle my drink." I answered her and sipped another drink.
Two hours went by before we carried the fun into the room. The memory of how we got there was blurry, but as soon as my back landed on the mattress, the rest stopped mattering. I had no hands for so much places to put them. The right went down Kendra's butt, the biggest of the three, while the left was busy with Maggie's tits. None of us were dressed anymore, although I didn't even remember getting naked. Kendra sat on my face until her fluid flowed down my lips and soaked my chin. Someone's hands, which I didn't even realize entirely who belonged to, but which were soft, grabbed my length and moved upward and downward, along with the tongue of someone else on my head.
I couldn't even keep my eyes open anymore. The alcohol had left me with no strength and my eyes became too sensitive to the room's light that was above me. Pleasure raced through my body. I relaxed and let them slurp me in, getting lost in the confines of my body. And, I felt them, their hands touching every corner of my body, their tits swinging in my face and leaning against my belly, someone taking one of my hands and putting it in their dampness. There was nothing beautiful in what we did except for the feelings that they had for me and the appreciation for each other. At that moment I felt like the king of the world, capable of everything, capable of defeating any beast along our path. I would do it with them beside me.
One of them, probably Kendra, seemed to be her due to her hair, sat on me. Her moans grew until they drowned out the hail that was falling outside. Even with my eyes half closed I could see her silhouette; her tits bouncing, following the movements of her body. Someone behind her slapped her ass while telling her to go faster. I wanted to speak but couldn't. I had a boob in my mouth and my teeth scraped off the nipple and bit the skin. Whoever it was pressured my chest and leaned down until I bit harder. Their moans merged to create a symphony of their own, some more acute, some deeper, all of them expressing pleasure. Kendra scratched my chest before she got up and gave way to the person behind her.
Despite the alcohol in my blood my shaft did not go down. I grabbed the person's hands and made her lie on top of me. Her chest against mine, panting, warm breath on my neck and ear, and my hands on her ass, until it was bruised with my fingertips. Till I couldn't hold it any longer and finished inside her. It seemed to me to have lasted half an hour but maybe it lasted longer or less. I could only see flashing lights spinning around me and my body still processing what had happened. My diaphragm went up and down and I was still leaking from my dick. Suddenly, someone put it in her mouth and licked it until there was nothing left.
I don't remember much more. I fell asleep shortly after. Naked, sweaty, with them beside me, my mind blank for the first time in a long time.
Chapter XVII
We woke up the next day, still together, in Elisa's bed, naked, warm and with massive headaches.
I knew we shouldn't have drunk. It was the big day and there we were, powerless even to get up or unwilling to do it. A sharp buzzing sound had taken over my head and the chirping of the birds outside did not help, neither did the child on the swing nor the rest playing catch-up. I heard them say that his time was up and now it was someone else's turn, but he didn't seem inclined to leave. He asked for two more minutes and no one opposed. I thought I'd get up and stare out the window, but the glass was dull.
I had Elisa's leg on top of my right leg, Kendra's hand on my crotch and Maggie's hand, who was further away from me, on my chest.
I never would have thought my life would reach such fate before, but I had been graced with three beautiful women on my team who were willing to fight alongside me. I didn't want to wake them up, but I couldn't move if I didn't do it. All I had to do was move one hand and it would trigger a chain reaction. Fortunately, I didn't have to. My mobile phone, on top of Elisa's desk in the opposite corner of the bed, started ringing. It stopped. It rang again. Same old ringtone. One by one they woke up, stretching, and lying on me again, elongating their arms over my body. Truth be told, for me, I would remain there all day. Maybe even more than one. I liked the warmth, the tranquility and the trouble-free life. But still, the world depended on us. That night would change everything, and we would be in the epicenter.
"Girls, the night was good, but we have to get up.” I said, sighing, thinking that I had become the person who put work before leisure and pleasure. Maybe I wasn't as different from my father as I thought and perhaps it wasn't that bad.
As soon as the blankets rolled down onto our legs, a stream of cold crept up on my body.
I got up and covered them up again. I answered the call and heard Ashen's voice on the other side. He, too, sounded somewhat drowsy, his voice a little more hoarse than usual, accompanied by Gordon's yawns in the background. He must have noticed that I wasn't 100%, but he didn't comment. He just took a deep breath before asking me,
"Are you ready for today?"
"Hello." I answered, my voice dragging itself to the other side of the line, "I have to be, don't I?"
"You better be, James." Ashen said, before pausing and gulping, "We can't afford to make mistakes. But, moving on, did Elisa take good care of you? I assume she arrived in time to help all of you."
"She was the usual Elisa. But we had extra help against the monster." I was saying when he interrupted me.
"Foxel, right? I never thought he'd actually show up. But what matters is that you're okay. Now get over here. It's still early, but we need to review the plan. I'm telling you again, we can't make mistakes. All eyes are on us, you know? It's okay if you're a little nervous."
"A little, yeah. It's not every day you get to wear a classy suit." I said, hiding the fact that I was genuinely anxious.
It was my first serious mission as a Hunter and it really had to be something so important. Not even a few months ago I was in the academy and my only concern was to study each weapon's flaws and virtues.
"This is no time for jokes, James. But since you mentioned it, the suit's ready. I took the liberty of asking for a few extras, but we'll talk about it. Hurry up." He said and ended the call.
I let my shoulders fall beside my body and yawned. My head still hurt, and my eyelids closed like blinds being shoved down. I looked at the bed; they were still lying there, with only their heads outside the sheets, and their silhouette lines went from one end of the bed to the other. I picked up my white T-shirt, black sweater and black boxers that were on the floor and shook them before I put them on. No sign of my pants. I went up to Elisa and kissed her forehead, also shaking her arm until she woke up.
"What is it? I want to sleep," she said to me in her husky voice, turning to the other side and pretending to snore.
"Ashen's
waiting for us."
"Let him wait then." she answered with her eyes still closed, stretching her hand and resting it on Maggie's hip, who was in the other end of the bed.
I realized right there that to get them out of bed, I'd have to take control of the situation. I did what anyone else would do. I pulled the sheets down and watched them squirm, whining, as they opened their eyes and tried to understand what was happening.
"Rise and shine. The sun's coming up and Ashen and Gordon are waiting for us to review the plan."
"Can't they wait?" Maggie asked, stretching out, the voice coming out like a lengthy whisper.
"Yeah, yeah, I bet they can. Just a few more minutes." Kendra added, "You were right, James. It wasn't a good idea for us to drink last night."
"Don't tell me." I replied, sarcastically and looking back at both sides of the bed and even under the sheet for my pants, "Damn, where the hell are my pants?"
"You don't remember half of what happened last night, do you?" Elisa asked, followed by a giggle.
"Not really. I remember us being in bed, the three of us, the sensations..."
"Yes, the sensations..." Maggie repeated, making quotations in the air as she repeated the word.
Kendra and Elisa laughed. I tried, for a brief moment, to play pissed off, but I ended up laughing too.
"We took your pants off while we were still in the living room." Kendra answered, "Where you were drinking straight from the bottle." She added and winked at me.
Oh, shit. Fuck. I was no longer old enough to drink too much. I should have known my limits and not overstepped them. But part of me needed a few moments of a blank brain. I needed to have fun, realize that there was not only more to it than just running around, fighting and secrets, but also having the notion that it was for those fun moments that I was fighting. To have more days, to create more memories and to give others the chance to do so too. It wasn't the fame or the money that moved me anymore, it was something above, something I couldn't achieve just by wanting it, something I had to fight for. Recognition would come with the effort.