The piece of blue cotton hit the ground and Mimick grabbed her hand to help her into the tub. Roxelle dipped her body into the steaming water. Her body quickly adjusted to the toasty temperature but she still couldn’t relax. Fragmented memories of the night kept flashing across her mind.
Mimick sat down next to the oval tub and started to untie Roxelle’s braids.
“Go under,” he whispered and Roxelle obeyed his command.
Mimick used his metal hand to rub the top of her scalp and tried to get the flesh, bone and insides out. Roxelle emerged with a soapy face. Mimick used the dry sponge to wipe away the bubbles. Roxelle didn’t like to be pampered, but she was enjoying this.
Mimick dunked the sponge in the water and slowly ran it over her shoulders and neck. He brushed Roxelle’s earlobe, sending shockwaves up and down her spine. She arched her back and ground her teeth.
Mimick moved to her back and Roxelle leaned forward to make it easier for him. He worked in circular patterns and made her flesh sizzle in anticipation.
He softly said, “What are we going to do now? We needed Jazemore.”
His words brought Roxelle back to reality. “I don’t know. It would be foolish to go into this heist without a BREAKER. No, that wouldn’t work at all.”
Mimick teasingly worked the sponge across her collarbone before diving into the valley in between her breasts. His forearm brushed over her tightening nipple and Roxelle pushed her lips together to hide a smile. His warm breath hit the inside of her ear as he leaned in to clean her belly.
He whispered to her, “It will work out. Every time something has happened, we fix it. This plan has been in place for a long time. Every time someone dropped out, a replacement was found. We’ll get past this.”
His words soothed her scarred psyche. Mimick set down the sponge and squeezed some lavender-scented shampoo into his hand. He dug into the unbraided mess of hair. His artificial fingernails scratched along her scalp and Roxelle closed her eyes.
He continued to work the shampoo in as Roxelle tried to control her urges. Her head buzzed in anticipation as Mimick pushed her head under. He swirled his hands around to get out the shampoo. Roxelle came back up and gasped for air.
Mimick leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I’ll re-braid it once it dries.” He playfully bit her earlobe.
“Ummm,” Roxelle uttered as she turned to meet his kiss.
Roxelle’s entire body was on fire as their lips met. Mimick cupped the side of her face and lightly thumbed her lips in between kisses. She almost forgot about the events of the night as Mimick whisked her away to a land of romance.
She couldn’t take it anymore and jumped out of the tub. She ripped Mimick’s clothes off and pushed him onto his back. He sat up quickly and put his hand on her right shoulder. He forced Roxelle onto her back, an unusual position for her.
Normally, she would have slapped his hand away, thrown him down and taken what she wanted. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was enjoying herself right now. Mimick’s warm tongue danced over her chest and Roxelle’s nipples hardened.
He kissed down to her bellybutton and Roxelle let out a loud moan.
She screamed, “I want you right now.” She pulled him up to her face and he kissed her passionately and raked his fingernails down the back of her thighs.
Roxelle couldn’t it take anymore and grabbed both of his ass cheeks and pulled him in. She writhed upon entry and couldn’t remember a hotter experience with Mimick. He started slowly and increased the speed after Roxelle begged him to.
She gripped the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. She had spent so much time trying to keep emotions out of sex that she never would have imagined it could be this intense. She almost uttered a phrase during the throes of passion, but caught herself at the last second.
The only words she managed to get out were, “Don’t you stop.”
Her head felt like it was going to pop off and her body convulsed in passion. The fire started in her head and filtered throughout the rest of her body. The tingling fire concentrated in between her legs as Mimick exploded inside of her.
“Oh fuuuuuck,” she screamed and sucked on Mimick’s neck as she quivered beneath him.
Her entire body felt like waves of ice and fire were cascading from the top of her head all the way to her toes. She collapsed on her back, leaving a distinct hickey on Mimick’s neck. He fell on top of her and Roxelle wanted to say something again before she stopped short.
She wore a permanent smile and rubbed his stubbly face. He turned to the side and his rough chin teased her breasts. Roxelle had never used foreplay in the past because she thought it was a waste of time. She didn’t think that way anymore.
Her mind started to return to reality and she wondered how she would explain the murder to the gang.
9
Whitney sat at the table in the meeting room at the Buzzed Being with most of the downtrodden crew. The door flew open and Marlowe Reed rushed in and took a seat at the table. He slapped the wooden tabletop.
“Did you all hear about Jazemore?” Marlowe held his palms up.
Roxelle answered. “Yes, we heard. I was there. I watched her chest explode. I hope to the stars I see that son of a bitch again.”
Glint walked around the table while everyone else sat at the circular table. He said, “It’s a great shame, it really is. However, we need to focus on getting a new BREAKER or this mission is over before it starts.”
Marlowe started talking and Whitney still couldn’t get over the fact that his mouth was in his throat. “Anybody know anybody? I know that sounds stupid, but what can we do?”
Roxelle rubbed her thick eyebrows. “We’ve already recruited all the safe beings we possibly could, let alone BREAKERS.”
Whitney asked, “What’s a BREAKER?”
Mimick said, “A code BREAKER. More like a code modifier. It’s just someone who can alter software programs when necessary.”
Trent said, “Like a hacker. I thought all of you were advanced beings. None of you have the knowledge.”
Glint said, “The term knowledge is power was never more apt than on this planet. Everything is run by coded software. If we let all beings obtain that much knowledge, they would take over the planet.” It was strange to hear Glint talking about the beings like they were a lower form of life than him. “There is a certain amount of code a being can hold in their brain before said being can alter almost every program on this planet. You can steal code, but it’s very dangerous.”
Oswell put his feet up on the table. “With my luck, I’ll get tested in two days.”
Whitney asked, “Tested for what?”
Oswell replied, “Beings get randomly tested to see how much coding knowledge we hold. If you are over a certain percentage.”
Glint chimed in, “Thirty-six percent.”
Oswell continued, “Thank you. If you are tested and they detect you are over that amount.” He paused for a few moments, “You don’t want to be over that amount.”
Trent said, “Come on. You gotta tell me what happens.”
Boggle Rigby stood up and went to get some energy water from the silver pitcher on the counter. “Don’t sugarcoat it. You will probably die if you get caught with that much code in your system.”
Whitney let out a half-laugh. “That’s crazy. How do they test you to find out how much coding knowledge you have?”
Boggle stopped behind Whitney on the way back and shoved her wrist in front of the human’s face. “We have trackers inside our wrists.” She pointed to the exact spot. “All of us do, except for Glint. They just scan that and it tells them the percentage we carry.”
Trent said, “Huh, that’s strange as all get up. So, it’s automatic death if you have over thirty-six percent?”
Harrins Lowry spoke in a purr. “You can pay a fine. Or at least you can try to pay the fine. The only two that could pay the fine and live would be Roxelle and Glint. The rest of us would suffer the lethal i
njection on day five.”
Whitney asked, “Day five? What do you mean by day five?”
Harrins played with the bright red fingernail polish on her claw. “The authorities give you five days to pay the fine. Merely a formality I would think. If you don’t have the money on day one, I don’t think a quick collection from your friends would cover it. Looks like this mission is over.”
Glint stopped playing with his long mustache and put his hands on the back of Whitney’s chair. “I know someone. At least, I think I know someone. Give me a day. Give me one day and I think I might be able to find us a BREAKER. I just need one day.” He hurried out of the room and slammed the door shut.
Roxelle said, “What the hell was that? Where does he think he is going to find a BREAKER right now? There’s no chance he comes back with someone who knows coding. It was all set. Our plan is falling apart now.” Whitney could sense the desperation in her voice.
Oswell took his feet off the table and looked up as he spoke. “It’s a motherfriggin shame. We were going to have our own planet. I’m beyond tired of working for someone else. We were finally going to be free.”
Boggle sipped on the clear energy drink in a plastic cup. “Nothing is over. We can find someone or one of us can do it.”
Harrins kept working on her manicured claws and didn’t look up. “That’s a death wish.”
Boggle argued, “I know we don’t have a firm date set and that we could probably pull this off if we tried tomorrow or the next day. If one of us steals the coding knowledge, we’ll be leaving in less than three days. What are the chances they test one of us during that time?”
Marlowe said, “For me. One hundred percent. I’ll get the notification to be tested right after I steal it. I know I would get caught.”
Roxelle said, “You scared bitch.”
Marlowe lowered his tone. “No offense to our great leader and all, but Roxelle, you are probably the only one who would be able to pay the fine.”
Roxelle shook her head. “I would have nothing left if I had to pay that fine. I’d lose my house and everything I have.”
Whitney interjected. “But what difference does it make? Are you taking that stuff with you? You have an entire planet waiting for you to pillage.”
Roxelle said, “The problem is that they take the code back from a being once they are released. So if anything happened and I did get busted, we would be right back at square one anyhow. The way plans have been getting messed up lately, I can’t take that chance.”
Mimick folded his metal arms over his chest and sat back. “I suppose we are reliant on Glint to magically find us a new BREAKER.”
Boggle offered, “What if I scour the bars in the city and try to find someone who knows code?”
Mimick said, “If they are drinking in a bar, they probably don’t know code.”
Boggle said, “Not true. Jazemore loved drinking in bars so there goes that theory.”
“Jazemore was one of a kind. Maybe that’s why it’s going to be so difficult to replace her.” Mimick scratched his stubbly face.
“Oh, what could have been,” Harrins lamented.
“So that’s that then. Thanks for getting my hopes up.” Oswell got up and put his duster on.
Roxelle looked up at the ceiling and spoke. “I never wanted it to be like this. We all should try to track down a BREAKER that would be willing to risk death for a hefty reward. Right now, we don’t have anyone. Anyone? Anyone?”
“What about her?” Oswell asked and pointed at Whitney.
10
“What about me?” Whitney asked defensively.
Boggle said, “Wouldn’t work. They don’t have implants in their wrists. They’d have no way to absorb the knowledge.”
Marlowe Reed stood up. “Wait just a damn minute now. Whitney, let me see your armScreen.”
Whitney pulled the rectangular patch of dead skin to the side. Marlowe’s long, skinny silver finger pointed to the corner of the device. He said, “Right there. She has the plug in.”
Roxelle said, “But how is she going to get to a codeCenter? I don’t think you can just break a window and get in.”
Mimick said, “No. That would be stupid. However, we do know someone who could get her into the building.”
All eyes shifted to Oswell. The dark reddish man with no hair held his hands out and shook his head. “I can’t do that. I would be getting a lethal injection if they find out I gave my key to someone so they could steal code. I’d be an accessory.”
Roxelle said, “Not if your keys were stolen. I know that key is just a swipe card and those little suckers can get stolen quite easily.”
Oswell set his duster on the back of his seat and sat back down at the table. “Even if I could get her in, why would she want to risk an early death for this?”
Everyone turned their attention to Whitney. “How much is the fine?”
Boggle and Marlowe spoke over each other. “1.5 million trolodytes.”
Whitney looked at her Screen and found the account total. <37,847 Td> “I don’t quite have that in the account.”
Harrins said, “But the authorities aren’t going to test you. Long as you don’t get caught during the theft, you’re golden.”
Roxelle added, “And if you do get caught, either Glint or I will bail you out. You really have nothing to lose.”
“But if I get busted, we are back at the same spot, like you said,” she spoke to Roxelle.
Oswell excitedly said, “Not with your plug in. She has a physical one. Instead of an intelligent laser delivering the information to a tracking device, this plugs right in. If you get caught, just spit into the opening and they won’t be able to drain the code out of you.”
Boggle said, “Now we have a plan. We ride again.”
Mimick countered. “I’m not entirely sure she’s agreed to anything yet.”
The attention shifted back to Whitney. Perspiration started to form on her forehead. She turned to Trent who shook his head slowly.
Harrins purred, “Don’t listen to him. You get to destroy Soro Exxo with us after the heist. You can have your own paradise to live out the rest of your days. You’re not just doing it for us.”
Whitney turned her eyes to Roxelle. “And you promise to bail me out if anything happens?”
The purple-fleshed being nodded in agreeance. “You have my word.”
Whitney scanned the room. “I guess I’ll do it.”
A collective sigh of relief filled the room and the serious faces soon shifted to smiles.
Whitney and Trent got back to their rental home after a hoverCab ride back in silence. She could tell Trent was pissed but she didn’t want to engage him.
He lashed out at her. “We have a son to think about, you know?”
“I do know. We have to make this happen. Don’t you see? Are we getting picked up by Ozzie on this planet?”
“I don’t know. He did give a way to reach him on our armScreens.”
Whitney went into the bedroom to get the food pills and Trent followed her. “Trent. We’re stranded here unless we hitch a ride on the diamond heist express. That is our only option. If I don’t do this, we are going to be here until our money runs out. Then we will become basically slaves like the rest of the beings on this planet.”
Trent popped a pill in his mouth and grabbed a bottle of water off the night stand. He downed the pill and wiped his mouth with his hand. “We would be able to figure something out. We always do. If you get caught, the heist could still go down and you’ll be dead. You want me to raise Lancelot as a single dad, is that what this is?”
Whitney took the water bottle from his hand and took her meal. “What are you even talking about? You think this is some great plan to abandon my son who I miss worse than anything? You’re talking crazy right now and you need to settle down. This will make us an indispensable part of the team. Just being watchdogs, they could easily replace us if necessary. I’m going to steal this code, but we still hav
e to think about how we can derail this plan.”
Trent paced back and forth, stopping occasionally. “That’s what I am talking about. Why are you trying to help? The plan was dead in the water and Soro Exxo was safe. But you stepped up and did something stupid.”
A fire started to burn in her chest and she looked at some reptilian scales forming over her hand. She wasn’t sure if she could shift into a dragon with the armScreen, but this was good to know. She took several deep breaths and her hand returned to normal. “They weren’t going to give up if I didn’t do it. They would have made another plan and destroyed the ghosts of Soro Exxo. You’ve met the crew. They sounded like they were ready to give up, but we are going to have to stop them at another point.”
“Such as?” Trent held his arms up.
Whitney opened the dresser drawer and contemplated which outfit to wear. They were all spandex suits, just different color patterns. “I was thinking we do something to get them caught during the heist.”
“Wouldn’t we get caught too? They said if you get busted for stealing, it’s the death penalty.”
Whitney pulled out a bright blue suit with an orange stripe down the side. “I’m still trying to figure out a way that we would escape and they would get busted.”
“Well you better hurry up. Time is a tick-tocking away.” He tapped his left wrist with his right index finger.
“You need to settle yourself right now. Those energy supplements in the food pills really have you on edge.” She peeled off her gray suit and threw it in the corner of the room.
“How can’t you be on edge right now?”
Whitney slipped into a thin robe and shrugged her shoulders. She walked to the living room and Trent followed her. “Look, we are going to do our damnedest to make sure this doesn’t go down, but that’s all we can do. The pregnancy taught me that if I worry about something, or I don’t obsess over it, the same outcome will be reached. Maybe I’ve reached a stage of Zen philosophy. C’est la vie.”
“You’re all over the place with your Latin and Zen phrases. I just don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you. That’s all. You’re my everything.”
Cosmic Diamonds (Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventures Book 4) Page 7