“Are you helping her?” asked Victor. “The woman that’s been attacking the company.”
Jaime Campos was silent for a long time. Finally, she looked up at him and met his gaze.
“I’m only helping myself,” she said. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Again, it sounds like she’s telling the truth.
Victor nodded slowly.
“Alright.” He turned and started toward the door.
“That’s it?” Jaime sounded surprised as she spoke. “You aren’t going to push it further? You’re an aura binder, right? You could use your nanites to strip the truth right out of me. To do whatever you wanted to me, for that matter.”
Victor sighed and shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I’ve got all I need.”
He stepped out into the yard and let Jaime close the door behind him. She was right. Even with his limited practice with the scarlet aura, he probably could have managed to toy with her emotions enough to get the full truth of her situation.
The idea of it made him feel nauseous and uncomfortable. Victor wasn’t willing to sink to that level. It was worse than taking advantage of people, worse than threatening or blackmail. It was a power that he wouldn’t let himself abuse like that.
I’m not like him, and I never will be.
CHAPTER 13
“He’s awake!”
Victor got a call from Kronenberg shortly after leaving Jaime’s house. He’d barely gotten half of a hello out before the voice on the other side bellowed the words excitedly into his ear.
“What?”
“Mike Sanchez,” said Kronenberg. “He just woke up. He’s heading north on Tempest Street.”
“I’m… not entirely sure where that is,” said Victor. “I still don’t know Undercliff that well.”
“Just open the link I emailed you,” said Kronenberg. “I’m hovering above him right now. If you follow my icon in the maps app, it should lead you right to him.”
“Alright, easy enough.”
“Don’t get too close. I won’t lose track of him as long as he stays outside. If he goes into a building, that’s where you come in.”
“Gotcha.” Victor hung up the phone and checked his email. The link Kronenberg sent let him open up his phone's map application, and on it was a blinking dot that he surmised to be his target.
Victor had to jog through the streets to gain ground on the dot. It stopped moving just as he closed the final stretch of distance. He looked up at the sky and saw Kronenberg’s drone body hovering above a building. Turning his eyes downward, he cringed at what he saw.
‘Heaven’s Gallery’? This guy left the hospital and headed straight to a strip club?
Victor waited for about a minute, hoping that his previously comatose target would have a change of heart and head somewhere else. His phone rang, and he tried not to sound too irritated as he answered.
“Hello?”
“Just act natural and head inside,” said Kronenberg. “You can even buy a lap dance for yourself if you need a way to blend in. I’ll have Monteiro reimburse you.”
Victor rolled his eyes, a gesture that was purely for his benefit over the phone.
“As if. Lucy would catch wind of it eventually, and there would be hell to pay. I’m just going to head in and confront him.”
“It’s not going to lead you anywhere,” said Kronenberg. “If this guy wanted to be helpful, he’d be on his way to the police station right now. Just watch him and bide your time. He’ll lead us to something we can use.”
Victor swore under his breath and hung up the phone. He crossed the street and headed for the entrance into Heaven’s Gallery. A bouncer stood outside, and a tiny part of him hoped that he would be carded and denied entrance.
The bouncer gave him the briefest of glances before waving him in. The place was dark, dank, and strangely inviting. Glitzy electronic music blared from speakers on either side of the room. The only areas with judicious amounts of light were the stage and directly behind the bar.
The floor felt sticky, even through his shoes, and the air stank of cigarette smoke. Victor’s attention, however, was pulled toward the girls.
“Ooh, looks like we got ourselves a young one.” A woman who looked like she’d stepped out of a Playboy cover traced a finger across Victor’s chest, shaking breasts that bulged out of a lingerie corset as she did.
“Hi,” said Victor. “I’m just… here looking for a friend.”
He scanned the room with his eyes. It was too dark to make out which of the silhouetted figures was Mike Sanchez. The woman stepped behind him, put a hand on each of his shoulders, and breathed onto his neck.
“Maybe I can keep you company until you find him?” she whispered.
Well, I should probably try to blend in.
Victor shrugged.
“Can you get me a drink?” He smiled at her and nodded his head toward the bar. “It’s my first time here. I think it would help me relax.”
“Of course, hun.” The woman disappeared in the direction of the bar. Victor slowly made his way toward one of the chairs on the side of the room, straining his eyes in an attempt to find Sanchez as he did.
It didn’t take long. There was one shadowed figure that stood out from the rest. He was speaking with someone near a door in the back of the room, and making large gestures with his arms.
He must be a regular here. It looks like he’s explaining where he’s been.
After a moment, the woman returned with his drink. She sat down in his lap and pushed it into his hand.
“What’s your name?” Her voice was soft and sensual.
“Victor,” he said. “Nice to meet you, uh…”
“Beatrix,” said the woman.
Victor did his best to look as though he was paying attention to her as he watched Sanchez over her shoulder. He’d finished talking to the person near the back door, who stepped aside and allowed him access.
“What’s in that room?”
“That’s where the real magic happens,” said Beatrix. “I’d love to take you in there, but I’m not sure if you could afford it.”
“Is that so?” Victor chewed his lip.
I have to follow Sanchez, no matter what. As long as I don’t take advantage of her, it should be fine.
Victor bound his scarlet aura, watching as the woman took on a bright red glow that only he could see. Beatrix took a sharp breath and then pulled in a little closer to her.
“Hmm…” she mused. “You are a cute one, though. I bet you’d show me a good time if I brought you back there.”
“Of course,” said Victor. “Trust me, we will have some fun.”
Beatrix frowned.
“Maybe half price?” She shook her head. “We are running a business here, after all.”
Victor gritted his teeth and rebound his Scarlet aura, intensifying the strength of it.
Let’s hope this doesn’t do anything permanent.
Beatrix let out a sharp gasp. She shifted her position on Victor’s lap, straddling him and grinding her crotch against his leg.
“I’m… on fire,” she whispered. “Please.”
“Just bring me into the backroom, and I’ll take care of you.”
Beatrix jumped to her feet and practically dragged Victor along with her toward the door. The guard raised an eyebrow as they approached, but made no move to stop them as she pulled him through the doorway.
The room on the other side was lined with smaller chambers on either side, each one with a long curtain for a door, almost like dressing rooms. Only one of them was currently shut.
That has to be where Sanchez is. I just have to listen for him to leave, and then I can follow again.
Beatrix pulled him into the curtained chamber across from the one Sanchez was in and sat him down a leather couch. It was only then that Victor saw her face, and the desperate, horny need contained in her eyes.
“Hey, hold on.” Victor tried to push her back a
s she began ripping off his pants. “Let’s talk for a minute, fir—”
Beatrix leaned in and kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth and tossing herself into his lap. Victor felt his body responding, against his better judgment.
This could get complicated.
CHAPTER 14
“Hold on, I just… need a minute.”
Victor leaned back on the couch, trying to put some space between himself and Beatrix. She was eager almost to the point of being cartoonish, a sexy female version of Pepe Le Pew.
“You don’t seem like you need a minute,” whispered Beatrix. She slipped her hand between Victor’s legs and gave his cock a sensual squeeze. It was rock hard and betraying him to the enemy.
I can use the scarlet aura to change her emotions, make her angry instead of horny!
Victor began focusing his awareness on flaring a different emotion in Beatrix, who was struggling to unzip his pants. He bound his scarlet aura, and instantly saw the result.
“Oh god!” Beatrix let out a shaky, lustful moan. “I need you!”
“You’re not, uh, mad, or anything?”
Beatrix answered the question by fishing his cock out of his pants and rubbing her lips across it.
“Jesus!” Victor shuddered as pleasure coursed through him. Beatrix knew exactly what she was doing, and it felt insanely nice.
“I’ve never felt like this before!” said Beatrix. “I… I need you inside me!”
“Hold on, just hold on a second!” Victor moved to stand up, but with surprising strength, Beatrix pushed him back down. She wrapped her lips around his cock and began sucking on it as though she was underwater and it was providing her with air.
“Oh… wow!” Victor stared down at her wide-eyed. His experience with blowjobs was, admittedly, mostly limited to what he’d done over the past few days. Even so, he was pretty sure that Beatrix’s skill far outstripped any ordinary woman.
If I’m going to get back to following Sanchez, I need to get by Beatrix first.
Beatrix bobbed her head up and down, swirling complex patterns with her tongue along the sensitive flesh of Victor’s cock. She popped her lips off it and began sliding her way into position to straddle him.
“Hold on, we need to use a…” Victor trailed off as Beatrix produced something from her bra. “…condom.”
She slipped it over his hard shaft and unrolled it with ease. Her movements were fast, in the manner of someone doing a job they’ve long since mastered. Beatrix pulled her panties aside and lowered herself onto him.
Victor gasped. She was dripping wet. Even on their horniest days, his encounters with Ella had involved more build up and intimacy. Beatrix began rocking back and forth on him as though attempting to ride a bucking bronco.
“Oh fuck, yeah!” yelled Beatrix. “You’re so big and so hard!”
“Shhhh…” said Victor. “Do you want everyone in the place to hear us?”
She let out an even louder moan as though in answer and pushed her big breasts into his face. He smiled at the idea of all of the strip club patron’s listening to one of their sexy starlets getting fucked hard. Victor’s hands found their way to her waist, and he began bouncing her up and down on his shaft.
“Oh…” The word slipped out of his mouth, half in surprise and half in delight. Beatrix was a gorgeous stripper, and he was fucking her. The very idea would have seemed like a fantasy to him a few days ago.
Victor felt the lips of her pussy rubbing up and down his cock with every movement she made. She was wet and warm, and feeling her from the inside was infinitely more satisfying than just looking at her body.
The leather couch squeaked underneath them as they fucked. Victor slipped his hand into her bra and ran his fingers across her nipples. The room was dark enough to make it hard to see the details, but it didn’t matter.
“Fuck!” Beatrix came down hard onto his cock, taking every inch of it deep inside her. Victor realized that she’d reached her climax, and felt conflicted.
I need to go after Sanchez… But I can’t just walk around in this state, at least not without looking like a pervert.
Beatrix slipped off his cock, pulled the condom off of it, and immediately went back to sucking. Victor melted back into the leather couch and let her work.
She started off slower this time, looking up at him as she teased his shaft with her tongue and lips. It was torture, and it felt a bit like she was taking revenge for Victor’s use of his aura on her.
“I don’t have a lot of time!” said Victor. “Please, just do your thing!”
“Do what thing?” Beatrix sounded pleased with herself. She slowly slipped her tongue up along the underside of his shaft, as though she was enjoying a popsicle.
“You know what thing.” Victor coughed, feeling suddenly embarrassed.
“Say it,” whispered Beatrix. “Tell me what you want me to do with my slutty lips, and my whore mouth.”
“Suck my cock,” said Victor, through gritted teeth. “I want you to suck my cock.”
Beatrix began sucking with a different kind of intensity. She watched him with her eyes and relied on her lips to dole out pleasure, keeping a tight seal over his rod as she bobbed her head back and forth.
It was unreal. One of her hands held onto his arm, lending a bit of forcefulness to the act. It felt as though she was perpetrating a heist, stealing his cum.
Victor put a hand on the back of her head, feeling the styling products in her hair, and then gave it to her. He came hard, pushing his hips forward and letting his cock probe into the back of Beatrix’s throat. It wasn’t a problem for her, and she sucked down his seed like the experienced whore she was.
What the hell did I just do?
“I… have to go.” Victor fumbled with his pants as he pushed through the chamber’s curtain.
“Come by and see me again sometime, Victor,” cooed Beatrix.
The curtain to the partition Mike Sanchez had been in was open, and the backroom was otherwise empty. Victor swore under his breath and hurried back out into the main area. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out to find a text from Kronenberg.
“Hurry up. He’s on the move again, headed for the outskirts of the city. With one of the strippers.”
“Damn it!” Victor hurried to the door and ran out into the street, cursing out loud.
CHAPTER 15
Victor rushed through the streets of Undercliff City, doing his best to avoid crashing into people as he followed the blinking dot on his phone’s map. The sun was setting over the western horizon, and the evening rush of people getting out of work only made the task more challenging.
It’s her. Night Angel must have known he’d go to the strip club, and recaptured him while he was in the backroom.
The reasoning fit well enough given the information Victor had, but something about it seemed off. He frowned and sped up, almost colliding with a woman walking her dog as he ran down the sidewalk.
He headed toward the edge of the city, into the section of the outskirts nearest to the looming cliffs on the west side, which cast dark shadows over the buildings within range. The shops slowly became more and more rundown as he went further out of the city’s core until both sides of the street reflected the abandonment and economic destitution that Undercliff City had been known by for so long.
Even the road looked dirtier. The pavement sagged down into potholes at regular intervals, most of which looked as though they’d been ignored for years.
Victor drew closer to where the dot was on his map, and his phone began ringing. He slowed as he turned around the corner of a building endorsed by graffiti and answered it.
“Where the fuck are you?” Lucy’s voice was sharp, authoritative, and utterly terrifying to Victor.
“I, uh, went out to get some air,” he said. The lie sounded pathetic even as it left his mouth.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Victor,” said Lucy. “I don’t care whose idea it was. If you and Krone
nberg aren’t back on the 13th floor in fifteen minutes, there will be hell to pay.”
“Uh, sorry, I can’t hear you!” Victor made a lame attempt at simulating cellular feedback with his voice. “The.. service.. really bad…”
He hung up the phone and peered around the corner at his target. Mike Sanchez was walking toward an abandoned, rundown corner store. In front of him was Night Angel, dressed in a long overcoat, sunglasses, and a baseball cap.
Something mechanical hummed behind Victor. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see Kronenberg dropping down next to him in drone form.
“I take it Lucy gave you an earful as well?” he asked. Victor nodded.
“Yeah. But she’ll let it go if we manage to pull this off.”
“We have already managed to pull ‘this’ off,” said Kronenberg. “Come on, we have to get back to headquarters.”
Victor shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I can’t leave. Not now. She’s controlling him again.”
“Does it matter? Mike Sanchez, bless his heart, is not exactly a star citizen.”
“Of course it matters!” Victor gritted his teeth. “He might be a disgusting sleazebag, but this isn’t about him. Night Angel isn’t going to stop doing what she’s doing. Innocent people will get dragged into it if we don’t do something.”
“We followed her back here, and given enough time, we can narrow it down to a few potential suspects just based off the photos I’ve snapped.” Kronenberg zoomed in to hover right in front of Victor’s face. “Don’t do this.”
Victor sighed.
He doesn’t understand.
“You go. If things go south here, get Lucy and get help.”
Kronenberg hovered in place for a moment and then took off to the sky. Victor slowly flexed his fist and then broke from cover, jogging toward the door he’d seen Sanchez and Night Angel head in through.
He paused before pushing the door open. There was no doorknob in the handle, and it swung freely when Victor placed his hand on it. He took a deep breath and then stepped through.
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