by C. W. Ashley
“You’re not, I don’t just fuck every soft-neck who offers you know, I’d never get anything done. You did good back there, I know a lot of mutants and humans alike who would have jumped in their cars and shot away at the first sight of one Krok, let alone two. Sil sees that too, for sure.” Clarissa explained.
Iggy felt the soothing reassurance of Clarissa’s words wash over him completely, all resentment and insecurity were gone. He gazed over Sil’s toned body in the dim light, his concern for her tiredness quickly being erased by his carnal desire for her. Running his hands all over her chest, he firmly gripped her breasts which drew out a very small whimper from her as she leaned into him fully. Pulling her face to his he once again attempted a human kiss. It was a little awkward but her tongue finally found the sensitivity and rhythm to follow Iggy’s lead as their mouths enveloped. Iggy pulled away momentarily, acknowledging the voice box.
“Uh Clarissa, you’re gonna still drive while we.... well, you know the voice box doesn’t have a mute function….” Iggy said sheepishly.
“Why the hell would I mute this? I’ve been curious to hear you two fuck around! Give Sil what she needs, Crasher. I know what I’m like when I wake up,” Clarissa said with a chirpy tone.
Iggy couldn’t help but chuckle and turned back to Sil to see the slightest of grins on her face; as if she picked up on the jist of what was being said. “Nishin…did…good,” Sil whispered to him before taking Iggy’s face into her hands and continuing the kiss, her technique improving every second. Pushing her back against the side window, Iggy realized the enormous loss of strength her body had, easily being able to lay her in the direction he wanted.
She’s eager. Hell, I am too. But she’s probably running on fumes by just being awake, neither of us has the strength to go all the way, especially not in the way she likes to.
“Sil, lay still, I want to try something okay?” Iggy said softly.
Sil nodded as Iggy arched his back and lowered his face to her waistline, noticing a few light battle scars he began to kiss them gently, a symbolic gesture for saving his life from the Kroks. His kissing became heavier and quicker, planting them on the way down to her hips, and then in the inside of her thighs. Her skin was smooth but strong, Iggy felt he could bite and it wouldn’t even leave a mark. But she was reacting to the sensitive affection small whispers of arousal resounding from her mouth.
As Iggy kissed closer and closer to her lower lips, Sil held her primary instincts back to jump into wild intercourse and surrendered to his lead. She went silent as he parted her hips wider and began to stimulate her more directly. This was completely new to her, but she let Iggy continue with his oral favors. Soft waves of indulgence throbbed through her body when his tongue made contact with her clitoris. Iggy’s tongue was soft, and his motions were gentle. Everything Sil knew about sex was being turned upside down, and she was starting to enjoy it.
“Ahhh...Nishin…mouth...nice.” she cooed.
Emulating the gentle approach, she placed one of her feet across his back as she spread herself wider, the gentle bumps of the moving car were causing a perfect level of mild vibration for maximum stimulation. Iggy began to turn his licks to laps, kissing to sucking as his confidence grew along with Sil’s moans of encouragement. Clarissa had to constantly refocus on the road as the sounds of the cunnilingus and arousal were causing the vampire to stir in her seat. Prickly heat gripping her from her lap as she drove. Iggy was aware of the effect on both of the women and he felt his sexual appetite fill his weakened body full of vigor.
Sil was now crooning at full volume, head back, chest forward and legs fully apart with her hips swirling in the motion set by Iggy’s head. Clarissa was panting as her body temperature cooked her alive in the driver’s seat, her acute hearing giving her the full blind detail of the carnal acts behind her. Iggy pulled her legs over his shoulders and brought his hands into the mix. One hand to assist his mouth in pleasuring the now-screaming werewolf the other to grip her breasts as her torso shuddered with the approaching climax. Her skin was so strong it was like groping chainmail, but Iggy found some extra sensitivity from her nipple, causing the pitch of her cries to jump an octave as the slow eruption of her orgasm hit her like a flak gun.
“Aaaaauuughhhhh!!!” Sil howled ecstatically while gripping Iggy’s hair so hard, he feared losing his scalp.
Smiling to himself proudly for his achievement, he leaned over her to her face, bringing it level to his to see her pleasure-soaked expression. Staring deep into her glazed eyes he whispered, “Thank you.”
Sil breathed slow as her body began to power down and embrace much-needed sleep. She gripped Iggy’s face and gave him the most human, sensual kiss she had attempted thus far. Her eyes fixed on Iggy’s shocked eyes and said “Thank...you...Nishin…” before drifting back into slumber.
Before Iggy could fully process her unprecedented human response, the voice box crackled on with Clarissa’s panting voice.
“Crasher, if you want one standard of the money from this job, you better eat my pussy like that next time, got it?”
“Of course, Landlady I only aim to please,” Iggy said with an easy smile.
I wonder if -next time- will continue on after this job…
BEEEEPzzzzzBEEEPzzzBEEEP!
Iggy’s inner thoughts were wrecked by the alarming sound of his communicator ringing. The device was connected to the vehicle and the sound shot through the entire car on the loudspeaker, causing both Iggy and Clarissa to jump but with no reaction from a peacefully sleeping Sil.
Who the hell could this be? Only the Citadel has my signal…
“I think it’s Grady, though I don’t know why he’s calling your car…”
“You gave Grady my car’s signal? I’m trying to keep private.” Iggy stated in irritation.
“He...we paid for your car’s maintenance and all the upgrades including that trusty hook you are starting to love. Plus, I need a back-up form of communication with him on a long journey like this…Hello?” Clarissa responded as she answered the call, exhaling to cool her body down.
The communicator crackled with an unfamiliar voice.
“Am I speaking to Randall Gainsborough?” the voice said. Iggy’s gut jumped as his real name was casually uttered by the strange voice. It was a scratchy male voice that spoke with an academic citadel accent.
Iggy leaned into the voice box with morbid curiosity.
“Only a few people know me by that name, and I have no idea who you are,” Iggy said sternly.
“Forgive me, I was told you also go by the moniker ‘Ignition’? I’m afraid I don’t watch the derbies much these days for me to know all of the-”
“You still haven’t told me who you are!” Iggy shouted in paranoia.
“Apologies Mister Ignition, my name is Francis Nolan Hughes, I was the one you were delivering cargo to the other night, and I believe you’ve lost it?”
A broth of hot embarrassment simmered in Iggy’s face stirred and mixed by the bumps in the car as Clarissa took the Blockgain over the rugged off-road. Despite putting the cargo delivery and the incident behind him, he acknowledged his failure to do the job assigned to him, the job that he sought out. Nonetheless, he was a fugitive from the citadel and he had no desire to turn himself in, failure or not.
“I apologize, Mr. Hughes, I was attacked by bandits and barely managed to survive. I woke up after being injured and.... the strongbox of your cargo was gone,” Iggy explained as respectfully as he could. “I regret not being able to retain it but I’m…not returning to the Citadel.”
“It’s quite alright, I’ve been granted a free re-order from the company, and there was no great urgency for the delivery anyway. I’ve contacted you because there is something, I want to discuss with you, Mr. Ignition. Would you be able to visit me now?” Hughes responded.
“Sorry Frank, Ignition is on another driving job and we’ve had enough pointless detours already, no offense,” Clarissa bluntly parsed.
“I understand your concerns, but in this instance, I’m actually trying to lead you away from an ambush.”
“Explain!” Clarissa shouted, while her hands gripped the steering wheel with mild panic. Iggy pressed his face up to the shuttered windows, pointlessly trying to listen out for any assailants.
“The Citadel poachers, they already know you’re here in this zone, they called me to update that they would be apprehending you soon,” Hughes explained with slight urgency.
The poachers?! Now!?
Iggy started breathing quicker, hearing Clarissa’s fist slam the dashboard in anger.
“My bounty is only ten..twelve thousand? Why would poachers be after me this far out of zone?” Iggy questioned.
“Mr. Ignition, as of now your Citadel bounty is 224,000 standards, just enough for a lower end poacher to go out of his way,” Hughes responded.
“But all he did was lose some damn cargo? That don’t add up at all. He could have only jumped six figures by murder, and he ain't killed any Citizens.” Clarissa barked with hurried breaths.
“On the contrary, he was recently reported for the murder of Corey Malkin and Abdul ‘Nails’ Sah. They were Citadel warehouse workers who moonlit as hunters in Folsom. This was apparently made possible by their floor supervisor, Joni Penoli,” Hughes revealed. “Nomad witnesses described the vehicle that attacked them as the ‘Dark Kill-Car’, later confirmed to be The Blockgain Chaser.”
The car was quiet for a few long seconds apart from the mild rumble of the drive.
Nails and Malkin were from the Citadel? How could I have known?
“So, they’ve been tracking us since those kills. They know our path?” Clarissa asked, slightly defeated.
“If my timing estimation is correct, you should be approaching some very large jagged rock formations and cliffs. I think they are called the Hangman’s Hills? The poachers are waiting for you there.” Hughes warned.
With a few sweeps of her eye, Clarissa silently acknowledged the described rocks in the distance. When Iggy heard no protest, he took the claim to be true, watching the sleeping Sil and thinking about how he was going to keep her alive.
"So…we can avoid this ambush by coming your way? How far is it?" Iggy asked, having to wonder Clarissa's reaction to this without seeing her face.
"If the stories I hear about your machine's speed hold true, then it shouldn't take you longer than an hour. Probably less." Hughes said with creeping enthusiasm.
"Why are you doing this? Just to talk to Ignition? Never thought to come to one of his groupie meet-and-greets in the pit?" Clarissa snickered.
"I see he keeps humorous company,” Hughes said flatly. “This is in regards to a possible family member: Alana Gainsborough”
Alana? I feel like I heard it before…
"I don’t know any family apart from my Grandpappy, Oren Gainsborough," Iggy said sourly.
"Well, then we might both learn something more about the family. I'm sending my home coordinates to your car. I hope you make the right decision." Hughes said before ending the call.
There was a click and then a buzz that faded out against the temperamental bumping of the car. Iggy and Clarissa considered the options to themselves quietly before speaking into the respective voice boxes.
"We will never survive an ambush, Clarissa. Poachers drive Citadel Interceptors.
Superchargers, reinforced plates, mounted weapons, deadly gadgets…." Iggy paused as he was haunted by the memory of 2 interceptors chasing down a tuned-up getaway car near the south gates in Athens. It was a horrifically efficient massacre; Iggy had no delusions about their abilities after that.
"With my experience and the Blockgain’s specs, my chances against one are about 50/50, but two or more…." Iggy said hesitantly before going silent.
"Okay, we are doing alright for time I guess," Clarissa said calmly. "I better get in the backseat; I don't want to catch the sunrise while driving." She slowed the car to a stop.
After climbing out of the car Iggy saw a few nasty cuts and bruises around the Landlady's arms and shoulders, with a fairly deep one right underneath her chin. She reassured him that while she couldn't grow body parts back while abstaining from blood her vampire healing was still incredibly quick for minor wounds. After sharing a quick full-tongued kiss with him, Clarissa inhaled a warning smell of the backseat, confirming the blood had dried.
Iggy returned to his driver's seat and promptly forgot all the pain and injuries he sustained just a few hours ago. He pressed the gas and felt his Blockgain growl to life beneath him. After hearing the approaching footsteps of what he could have sworn to be a pack of RaidLions, Iggy hit the gas westward leaving the unknown creatures and the Hangman Hills behind him.
Okay, Frank, let's see what you're about...and what you really know about...them.
Chapter 19: Surrogates
The detour led the Blockgain Chaser through a natural road that connected to a thick woodlands area. Trees were rarely seen in the Big Waste and almost never numerously enough to form a forest path like the one Iggy found himself navigating. The soil was firm but smooth, the bark of the trees was a very dark brown, and the leaves ranged from the colors of deep purple to bright red. Iggy had never seen anything like it. He was amazed at how beautiful some parts of the post-skirmish world could be outside of the Citadel.
Iggy described the scenery to Clarissa who took the time to dream about her future outside Folsom. She mentioned to Iggy she may invest in a rural hideout in an area as beautiful as the one he was illustrating. For the next 30 minutes, Iggy, Clarissa and the deeply slumbering Sil felt their most relaxed in the whole journey so far. But as the trees became scarcer and the road more defined Iggy found himself in an area even more alien to him than the last; a pre-skirmish countryside.
Few had seen this much lush grass outside of a pre-skirmish history journal. To popular knowledge, the toxic air of the waste had destroyed or deformed nearly all organic plant-life, so neatly manicured fields of green-yellow, dotted with daisies and bushes seemed impossible to the average Wastelander or Citizen. Clarissa couldn’t see the beauty around her but she could smell the air. It was clean and delicious, almost soothing to breathe in, which she and Iggy did in gulps.
“Where are we, Crasher?” Clarissa asked with a voice full of wonder.
Before Iggy could even attempt to describe his current surroundings, the harsh buzz of the communicator ring cut through the relaxing moment. Iggy answered it immediately. “Ah I see you now, your vehicle truly is a marvel, and I’m not even a motor enthusiast. You built her yourself at the Blockgain junkyard in Athens, correct?” asked the voice of Hughes.
“Yes, I did, well mostly...are we in the right place?” Iggy responded.
“Yes, carry along the small road right, you’ll see my house. The fields are quite beautiful, aren’t they?” Hughes asked.
Clarissa spoke up while Iggy mused on their surroundings, a slight concern in her voice. “Hughes, do you have a garage or shelter for us to park in?”
“Ah yes to block the sunlight, yes I have an old barn you can park at the side which connects to my house, Ms. LaVaye,” Hughes said with calm reassurance.
Clarissa almost jumped out of her seat with shock and leaned forward into the voice box curiously. “How the...that’s my...how!?” she stammered. Iggy turned around in confusion at the unfamiliar name.
“Ahem, Clarissa LaVaye, am I pronouncing it correctly? I know you often go by the ‘Landlady’ or the ‘Fangs of Folsom’ but I never found nicknames fitting on a lady,” Hughes said with slight amusement.
Before Clarissa had a chance to respond, Iggy told Hughes they would be approaching soon and ended the call. “I don’t trust this at all, as wide as my reputation might be. My family name is not public knowledge. Who the hell is this person?”
Clarissa asked.
“I don’t know, I also don’t know how he knew where I built my car, that’s not public knowledge either. Everything about this place and this person doesn’t sit right with me either. But we have to find out more,” Iggy said.
“Ammo check, Crasher. How many rounds do you have left in that hand cannon?” Clarissa asked.
“Uh, three, I think. Yours?” Iggy asked.
“One clip left in my pistol, fifteen, and one in the hole. Rifle has four. This guy sounds pretty old and he sounds like he lives alone but I don’t want to take any chances, especially in daylight. Keep your head on a swivel,” Clarissa ordered.
“I won’t take any chances,” Iggy confirmed as he spotted the house which was hidden behind a small hill on a corner.
Much like the surrounding area, the house looked like an ancient oil painting. A moderately sized cottage, hand-built with cream-colored bricks and chocolate brown roof tiles. The structure was surrounded by high grass and a multitude of colorful flowers and vines that Iggy had never seen before. The ‘barn’ connected to the house was tiny. Iggy struggled to think of what type of animals would be kept inside and for what purpose, as he drove closer to the entrance.
He parked inside the red-brown structure and honked his horn once to announce his arrival. Before he could get a good look at the mostly wooden interior, an automated shutter began to close behind him and the space around the Blockgain was covered in pure darkness. Iggy gulped audibly as he pulled back the hammer on his revolver, hearing the click in chorus with Clarissa doing the same with her own firearms. Once the shutter closed Iggy confirmed they were out of the sun and they both stepped out.
“This is no barn, Crasher. I can’t smell the traces of any animal shit. This is a workshop.” Clarissa said while scanning the place with her darkness-attuned vision. Iggy turned about a few times, his human vision not being able to make out anything more than shapes and it was frustrating him.
“Is Sil still sleeping?” he asked in a whisper.
“She is, but leave the doors unlocked. If she hears something important enough to wake up, then we will probably need her help,” Clarissa whispered back.