Binding Foxgirls II

by Simon Archer

  “I guess that’s true,” Cindra relented, staring out across the pool and looking uncannily like a younger version of her mother. “I just wish it weren’t. I’ve come to really like Clem and Lin.”

  “Me too,” I murmured, following her gaze.

  “God, that sound’s annoying,” she snapped almost out of the blue, and it took me a minute to realize that she was talking about the drones.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I guess I’m just kind of used to it since there are always drones around on the north side.”

  “I mean, I am, too. I live with you, remember?” she reminded me. “I’m just not used to it down here. It makes me uncomfortable. Plus, most of the drones over there are service drones, not military.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “I just find it so peaceful out here. I’ll try to remember that you guys still think of this stuff as threatening, not protective.”

  “It’ll just take time,” Cindra said. “For some more than others. Hil already seems just fine with everything.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I chuckled. “She’s a good kid.”

  “Yeah, she is,” Cindra said, smiling slightly. “I just hope she doesn’t get any reason to change. When she attacked that binder, it was so shocking… like she was turning into Avil and me instead of being that sweet little kid we always knew. Then, when we took over, she went back to just being a kid again. I don’t want that to change.”

  “Well, I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said, reaching out and squeezing her hand tightly. She returned the gesture and turned to look into my eyes.

  “Thank you, Nic,” she said, almost in a whisper. “For everything.”

  “Anytime,” I said, staring right back at her. She was so beautiful, and I felt our bond deepen just from this conversation. It seemed like we were destined to just keep on growing closer forever and ever. Every time I thought our souls couldn’t grow any tighter together, I was proven wrong. And I couldn’t be happier to be wrong.

  “Want to take a swim?” she asked. I nodded, and with a final glance at the door to make sure no one besides me was watching, she pulled up her t-shirt over her head and stripped down, walking over to the pool.

  I ogled for a minute. As usual, I was unable to believe my luck, and then I followed suit, leaving my own clothing in a pile on the ground next to hers.

  Cindra dipped her toes into the pool first and then leaped in the deep end. I walked over to the side of the pool. She reached up a hand for me, and I bent down to grasp it.

  “Come in, it’s warm,” she grinned, and in one swift motion pulled me down after her.

  The pool was deep, deeper than I’d expected. Given my height, it was rare I could be fully submerged, but I was here, and then some.

  I opened my eyes underwater to look over at Cindra. She was even more beautiful underwater, the hazy, wavy lens accentuating her every curve.

  She stared right back at me, and reached out her hands again, both of them this time. I intertwined my fingers with her, clasping her hands close to mine.

  We stayed under for as long as we could before coming up for air. Once she’d caught her breath, Cindra grinned at me and took off across the L-shaped pool.

  “Catch me if you can,” she taunted.

  I watched her for a minute, taking in the view, and then took off after her. We followed each other around the L a few times, clutching and tickling each other each time one of us caught up to the other. No one came outside to bother us, so it was just us and the sounds of the water lapping up against our bodies, the ocean far away, and of course, the drones, an ever-present reminder of what was to come.

  But for now, I didn’t have a care in the world. Other than Cindra, that is.

  On our final lap around the pool, I caught up to her right around where she’d pulled me in and pulled her close to me, her body right up against mine.

  I pressed my lips against hers, hard, and she melted up against my chest, returning the kiss. We both closed our eyes and leaned into each other, the surrounding water, a bit wavy from the force of our race, lapped up against our arms.

  Our legs kicked below the surface, keeping us afloat, and it was like we were playing footsie with each other in the pool, our feet and limbs kicking up against each other gently but playfully.

  It felt amazing to be with her this way. We were always together because of our bond, but when we were together physically, too, it was like fireworks going off inside the spirit world, our bodies wrapping together just as tightly as our souls.

  Without breaking the kiss, I swung Cindra around and pressed her up against the side of the pool, so that she was leaning across the deck. Then, I leaned down and pressed my lips between her legs. She groaned immediately and bent back across the deck, proving once again just hope flexible she was.

  I loosened her up with my fingers as I continued to kiss her down there. She groaned again, softer this time, clearly trying to keep things low so as not to draw attention from the others, though the house was so large that I doubted they would here.

  It didn’t take long for her to come. I was an expert at this point. She arched her back even more somehow and cried out, louder this time, her legs and midsection shaking at my touch.

  When she’d recovered, I pulled her all the way back down into the pool and pulled her close to me, running my hands through her hair.

  Slowly, she reached down beneath the water and stroked my dick, and I felt myself harden immediately, not that I wasn’t already pretty hard just from the sight of her.

  She nestled her head against the side of my neck as she continued her work, running her hand and fingers up and down my shaft, quickly and furiously.

  It felt so good that I had trouble continuing to paddle with my legs in the deep end of the pool, but Cindra kept us afloat.

  Right when I was about to blow my load, I gently pulled her off of me and pressed her up against the side of the pool again, this time, so she was still in the water up to her breasts.

  It was my turn to paddle now. I reached down and spread her legs wide, and she wrapped them around my midsection. Then I thrust myself inside her, slowly at first, but then faster and faster. She continued to groan, but I couldn’t make out any words. She was too pleased with what I was doing to her, and I was more than happy to oblige.

  I came after some time, filling her up. Somehow it was even better in the pool. But then again, it was always better every single time, even though it was difficult for me to imagine how we could ever top this.

  We stayed there in the pool for a little while, pressed up against the side of the deep end, holding each other.

  “We should go inside,” she murmured at long last, and I could feel the heat of her breath against my chest where she was resting her head. “Check on Malthe and the others.”

  “Yeah, I kind of want to see what’s going on in the holonews for myself,” I said, but neither of us moved. Neither of us wanted to move.

  Finally, Cindra forced herself up and out of the pool and grabbed two towels from one of the tables, handing one over to me.

  “Thanks,” I said, following her onto the patio and drying myself off. Then we dressed and headed inside.

  8

  Cindra pulled open the sliding glass door, and we walked in through the back of the house to the kitchen, and then the front living room, where Clem, Lin, Kira, Kinley, and Avil were all scrunched together on the couch, staring intently at the holovision. Hil was snoring quietly, sprawled across a love seat in the corner.

  Cindra sat down on another loveseat perpendicular to the couch and patted the other side of the cushion, indicating for me to join her. I did.

  The others didn’t register our presence at first, continuing to watch the news broadcast. When we sat down, Lin nearly jumped out of her skin since she was the one nearest to us on the couch.

  “Oh, I didn’t hear you come in,
” she gasped, clutching her chest.

  “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, knowing everyone was pretty on edge, especially down here. “We should’ve announced ourselves.”

  Lin waved away my apology. “No, it’s okay. How was your swim?” Her eyes drifted up to our wet hair.

  “Very nice,” Cindra said, grinning slyly at me.

  I just nodded. “How’s it goin’ in here?” I asked, turning my attention to the holovision.

  “The whole world’s gone mad,” Clem grunted.

  He wasn’t wrong. There was practically a region-wide parade going on across the whole north side of the city. There was music and confetti and brawlers running about the street shirtless, covered in bruises.

  “Good thing most of the foxgirls came back to live down here when we took over,” I said with a grimace. Most of them had chosen to return to their families when they realized that it was no longer financial suicide to do so.

  “No kidding,” Avil said. “I wouldn’t wanna be stuck in the middle of that shit.”

  “Anything bad happen?” Cindra asked, her tone worried. “Other than the obvious, I mean.”

  “There’ve been a few deaths.” Lin crossed her arms tightly around her small frame. “People are going wild. There’s been some alcohol poisoning, traffic accidents, fights breaking out, that kind of stuff.”

  “Well, that’s cheery,” Cindra said, her voice flat and sarcastic.

  “Yup,” Avil said sardonically, her lips popping at the end of the word.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t try to go back tonight,” Lin said. “We could get a hotel in the suburbs or something. I don’t want to drive through all that.”

  “You can stay here,” Avil said, almost dismissively. “We’ve got like a million rooms.”

  “Oh, thank you, I didn’t want to invite ourselves,” Lin said sheepishly.

  Avil waved away the concern. “No problem.” Her eyes never left the holovision.

  Cindra and I exchanged a look. It would be easier to evade Clem and Lin this way when I went to look at the tunnels, anyway.

  “That might not be a bad idea,” I admitted.

  “Sure, we can head back home tomorrow,” Cindra agreed, and Kira and Kinley nodded, both watching us carefully. I slapped my hands on my thighs and tried not to sound too interested for fear of drawing Clem’s interest even more.

  “So, where’s Malthe?”

  “He’s upstairs,” Avil said, pointing lazily in the direction of the sleek metal staircase winding up to the next level. “Third floor, second door on the left.”

  “Cool,” I said. “I’ll go check on him. See if he needs any food or water or anything. Anybody else want something?”

  “I’ll take some water,” Lin said, looking up at me.

  “Sure thing.” I smiled down at her. “Anyone else?”

  “I’m good, man,” Clem said, rubbing his stomach. “Totally stuffed.”

  Cindra reached out and squeezed my hand. “I’ll take some water, too,”

  “No problem,” I said, returning the gesture before making my way over to the staircase.

  The staircase was in the center of the great house and stood in an open area overlooking all of its floors. There were balconies that also served as hallways on all five. It really was a cool set-up. Clem had done well here.

  I exited the stairwell on the third floor and walked to the left until I found the right room. The entire place was pristine, and I passed a couple of cleaning bots working on the place while everyone wound down for the night.

  When I got to the right room, I knocked.

  “Who is it?” Malthe called out gruffly.

  “It’s me, Nic,” I said softly, not wanting to wake Cindra’s parents if they were nearby.

  “Oh, okay, come in,” he whispered, matching my tone, and pushed open the door.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” I asked, shutting the door behind me after I stepped in.

  The room was a small, dark office. The walls were painted navy blue, and the floor was covered in black carpet. There was just a simple black desk propped against the wall, with nothing but Malthe’s devices on it. Clearly, he hadn’t had a chance to mess the whole place up yet. His office was a total disaster, like a tornado and a tsunami had simultaneously hit the place.

  “Not terrible, I guess,” he said. “Still nothing on Beaufort or the members of Parliament or anything like that. But I’ve got some other stuff.”

  “Really?” I asked, surprised and excited. “What?”

  I wasn’t used to actually getting any info on any of these strange, anonymous people. Even just a morsel of intel would be a victory. I lowered down on my haunches next to Malthe’s desk so that I could converse with him better.

  “Take a swim?” he asked, laughing a bit and staring at my hair.

  “Oh, yeah,” I said, my hand instinctively shooting up to press down some stray strands of mousy brown hair.

  “You might wanna dry that before going down into the tunnels,” he quipped. “It could get pretty cold down there.”

  “Oh yeah, whatever,” I said dismissively, wanting to get to the point. “Okay, what did you find?”

  “Oh, right!” Malthe turned to me, his eyes gleaming and his hands almost trembling with excitement. “I think I found the signal. For the burner phones, I mean.”

  “You did?” I asked, even more surprised now. “That was just one of our theories. You mean it’s true? These guys are using burner phones to communicate with people on the surface?”

  “Seems like it,” Malthe explained, speaking excitedly with his hands. “Like I said, old phones like these don’t operate on the same frequency as our digital communication devices. Now that I know what to look for, it almost jumped out at me.”

  “So basically, these people have gone by completely undetected just because we’re so reliant on a specific kind of tech.” I shook my head incredulously. “Unbelievable.”

  “I know,” Malthe said. “It’s ingenious, really. They’ve been hiding right under our noses this whole time.”

  “That’s comforting,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. But Malthe just seemed excited and interested in the whole thing, engrossed by this strange new… or was it old, really?... use of technology.

  “So basically, I just scanned a whole bunch of old radio frequencies,” he continued, but I cut him off.

  “What? Radio?” I asked, confused by this unfamiliar word.

  “That’s what they used to call airwaves and shit that they used to communicate and broadcast shows and stuff,” he explained. “It’s a cool kind of tech, really, even if it is outdated. Anyway, so I searched for all these frequencies to see if anyone was using them, and for the first few, there was nothing. But then, there’s this one.”

  Malthe pulled up his laptop and displayed a map of the whole island of Termina. There were little red dots all over the place, peppering the screen.

  “What are those?” I asked, pointing at a particularly dense cluster on the north side.

  “That’s from this morning.” Malthe zoomed in on the area. Sure enough, I recognized that block all too well.

  “That’s Parliament!” I exclaimed. “This was this morning?”

  “Yep,” he said, nodding.

  “All at the same time?” I asked.

  “No.” Malthe shook his head. “That’s the other thing. They weren’t at the same time. First was the Prime Minister, then Oris, then Gersen, then everyone else in the new Parliament, one after another.”

  “But what does that mean?” I asked. “That the calls are staggered like that, I mean.”

  “I think it means it’s the same person on the other line each time,” Malthe said. “That’s all I can figure, at least. Otherwise, they’d be happening at the same time.”

  “So it’s just one employee, calling every single member of Parliament and… what? Threatening them? Something else?” I asked, thinking aloud again.

  “I dunno,” Malthe said, shru
gging. “No way to tell.”

  “You can’t listen in on the calls?” I asked, surprised. Malthe could always listen in on calls he found.

  “How could I listen in?” he asked. “Like I said, I don’t have this kind of technology. I mean, I could try to make a device that can do it, but that’ll take a while.”

  “So you can detect the calls, but you can’t hear them?” I asked for clarification. “How does that work?”

  “Well, I can access the frequency from this kind of tech,” Malthe said, knocking his knuckles softly against the side of his bulky computer, “so I can see when it’s being used, but actually intercepting and, most importantly, deciphering the signals into actual calls? I’m not even sure that’s possible with this kind of old technology unless I tapped one of the burner phones manually, and even then, I’d only be able to listen to future calls, not old ones. These things don’t leave digital records like our current systems.”

  “Oh,” I said, a bit deflated as I turned back to the map.

  “Sorry,” Malthe said. “I wish I could give you more.”

  I shook my head. “No, you’ve given me plenty. It’s not your fault you can’t listen in on the calls. So, what’re all these other dots?”

  “These are other calls within the same time frame I input,” he said. “I’m able to see them by clueing into this old radio frequency. I can tell when a call was placed the same way people used to be able to use satellites and stuff like that to see when things were being broadcast, but not necessarily view or listen to the content. So the signal is there forever, or at least the imprint of it is. It’s the content itself that doesn’t last. I looked for any calls made this year since there aren’t that many on a weekly or even monthly basis. These other calls are other ones made on old burner phones like these on this frequency in the past year.”

  “Any more recently, other than the ones this morning?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Malthe said, nodding. He zoomed out and then in again on the map, this time in the financial district where TelCorp and the other binding corps were. There were a few dots scattered about.