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Description

Warning: This story contains bondage, strong language, violence, minor alcohol consumption and drug use, and heavy sexual themes. Everyone depicted is over the age of 18.

Read at your own discretion.

    Desperate for a way out, Rei whipped out her phone. Her fingers blurred under the white light.
    T—; It’s me. ~M.
    Wasting no time, Rei began calling T’s number. For a tense four rings, Rei though she might have messed up the code, and T had cut ties. Then she heard the telltale click, the one sign that the other end of the line was active.
    “Keep this brief, Alpha.” T’s voice was gruff and hazy; the opposite of normal.
    “I certainly will, Centauri.”
    Static washed into her eardrums as the phone translated T’s sigh of relief.
    “You know you were supposed to text me when you wanted me to hit the alarms, right? Clearly you didn’t forget what texting was—“
    “I’m out of the building, T. No need to activate the fire alarms.”
    There was nothing but silence on the other end. Without being able to see his face, Rei could hardly imagine what was going through T’s mind right now.
    “Let’s just say the op went really, really far south, and I got out through alternative methods.”
    “Say hi to the emperor penguins for me while you’re down there. Did you at least get the data?”
    “Didn’t get the chance. Another operator snatched it before I could get my hands on it.”
    “ANOTHER WHAT?!” T shouted. The volume immediately dropped off as he started thinking out loud, mumbling various half-sentences about other groups as he ensured his information was correct.
    “It wasn’t one of those pricks from the Uptown Syndicate, was it? They’ve been having a stink with Revelations Limited for ages and—“
    “Nah, this girl was too professional. She… I don’t know— it’s almost like she was inhuman. Always three steps ahead, unrelenting and calculating in her actions. I’m trying to picture her in my mind and I’m coming up blank; I cannot even be sure if I’d remember what she sounds like if I heard her voice again. It was like I’d run headfirst into a ghost.”
    “Heh. Sounds like someone else I know.”
    “Flatterer.”
    “I’m being serious. I know all the pros on this side of the planet, and there’re only four people or so that could pull something like this off, especially on another operator and without alerting me in the planning process. Two are dead, the other’s a vegetable in prison, and I’m talking to the last one. Either we’ve got an amateur-savant here, or we’re dealing with a ghost.”
    T paused on the other end of the line, in the way he always did before he said something unpleasant.
    “…There is always the possibility that he’s starting up ag—“
    “No. No way. My mentor’s dead. His student’s are all dead. I saw to that myself.” Rei’s voice was different; colder, older, and more aloof. It broke through the voice changing implants with no difficulty at all. Rei surprised herself; she had not used that voice in a long time.
    “… If you say so, M,” T said, doing a best to strike a balance within himself. “Either way,” he finally said, voice once again professional, “we’ve failed this op and have nothing to show for it.”
    “Well not exactly nothing. I’ve got the head scientist, Rose, in my trunk.”
    “… You’re kidding.”
    “I wish. The other operator pulled both me and her from the building; she took a briefcase full of cash from the building too, but she left most of it for me.”
    “Shit.”
    Rei concurred with that synopsis, but said nothing.
    “We need to talk to the client. Let me make first contact and fill him in on the details, and we’ll need a plan of what exactly we’re going to do.”
    “I was thinking of offering the money as compensation for the failure, then offering to give him the scientist as an alternate way to the data.”
    “That’s… not actually that bad an idea. You sure you’re willing to part with the cash? By rights, you got it on an op, so it’s yours.”
    “Yeah, it’s useless to me anyway; it’s all paper money, and I’ve got no way to launder it to credit. Might as well use it.”
    “Alright. I’ll fill our client in and start arguing on our behalf, you start heading over. I’ll message when I’m done. If we’re lucky, we’ll all get something we like an part ways amicably.” T did not sound like he wanted to consider the other possibility as he hung up.
    Rei turned on the car and, pulling the automatic pistol out of the clothes pilled on the floor of the car, sheathed her weapon in the rear of her pants. She knew exactly where the meeting would take place, and could easily get there in less than twenty minutes. However, she wanted to give T as much time as possible, and so started driving around aimlessly for some time. She had to dodge around a couple of police checkpoints, but otherwise there was very little interference. She got a notice on the dashboard that she was driving too slowly twice. Rei smiled a little. She was lost in thought. Also considering this very well might be the last time she got to take in Synth City, Rei was subconsciously driving lethargically. Then her phone buzzed. She did not need to read it to know what it said, but her muscle memory took over and she looked anyway. The light hit her retinas, and told her what she already knew.
    M—; I’m done. ~T.
    “Well. Here goes everything.” Rei muttered to herself.
    Driving quickly but not recklessly, Rei made her way to an undeveloped lot in the industrial side of the city. This whole area was still somewhat rural, despite the urban sprawl; unsurprising, given the health risks of living next to the plethora of unbridled corporate sweathouses, unsanitary sanitation stations, and acid-quarries. Rei pulled up at one of the farthest corners of the industrial area: a warehouse dotted the last side, and a road stretched into nothingness beyond it. Rei was at the very edge of Synth City.
    She saw her client waiting for her there. He was a larger man, one who, while clearly physically strong, was well past his glory days. His limbs were extremely muscular, as if cut from stone itself, but only served to further accentuate his rotund stomach. His thin grey hair, trimmed into a tight military cut, might have been intimidating in his prime, but that effect had withered away, leaving only a shell behind. He wore an expensive white suit with a red vest, tailored to his body perfectly. The lit cigar in his mouth, the limousine, and the pair of android bodyguards only underscored the message of his appearance: ‘I am powerful enough to get what I want, and those who get in my way will regret it’.
    Rei got out of her car, and stood several meters away from her client. They watched each other for a while, saying nothing. Had the wind not been so stagnant, Rei might have though this to be a scene from a terrible neo-Western. Rei had sized up her opponent in a matter of moments and stood loosely, but she liked performing this stand off anyway; it complimented her sense of drama, and she liked humoring her clients into believing they had any chance against her. She did not have false confidence about her skill, but it did help her hustle them during negotiations. Finally, her client spoke.
    “So,” he said, unleashing putrid smoke into the air, “you’re the one T told me about?”
    “I am.”
    “He was quick to recommend you, you should know. Said you were the only one who could pull this sort of stunt off in this hemisphere. Now, I like T, he’s a smart kid, but now? I quite regret taking him up on his recommendation.”
    “I am sorry you feel that way.”
    The man took another drag on his cigar before continuing.
    “Are you not going to defend yourself?” Her client said, smoke trailing from his cigar as he gestured.
    “I trust T to have explained what happened. Anything I might say would just sound like an excuse.”
    The man snorted. “And you believe his story is enough to excuse you coming here empty handed?”
    “One way or another, I failed this mission. I was unable the data you requested in the form you requested it. The reality is that an unknown individual beat me to the punch and made off with the data before me. Those are the facts.”
    “Facts, she says,” her client spat. “I’ve spent enough time around both people and bulls to know what bullshit smells like. And your story reeks.” The man started pacing back and forth in front of the limousine, the smoke from the cigar doing an ancient and unconventional dance as his hands gestured wildly. “Who’s this individual? What was she doing before you ran into her? Where did she come from? When did she attack the building? Why does she want my data? How’d she figure out all of this without our knowledge?! But most importantly—”
    The man turned, and pointed straight to Rei with the pair of pudgy fingers holding his cigar before finishing his sentence.
    “You have no evidence to back any of your story up! I have no way of knowing you were anywhere near the Revelations Limited building tonight!” He shouted.
    Rei could only shrug.
    “I have no answers for your questions,” she said, honestly, “however, I do have some evidence that my story is true.”
    Rei circled around to the trunk of her car. Slowly opening it so that her client’s androids mistake her action for drawing a weapon, Rei helped Rose out. She slipped her hands under the bound head scientist’s shoulders and legs, and eased her onto her feet in the gravel lot. Rose squirmed frantically for a moment, moaning into her gag, but Rei whispered, “It’s okay, it’s me,” into her ear and she calmed down. When the bound, gagged, and blindfolded woman was standing on her own, Rei also withdrew the briefcase of money from the trunk while keeping her free hand on Rose’s waist. She then turned back to her client.
    “This is Rose Hayes, the head scientist on Project: SENTIENCE. She lives on site in the Revelations Limited building, and, as a precautionary measure, as evidenced by the diary she keeps on her tablet, she always keeps the data drive for Project: SENTIENCE taped to her back. I’d rather not remove her gag, but her testimony would match mine if she were willing to tell the truth.”
    “I know who Rose Hayes is,” the man said, the cigar in between his teeth, “That is certainly her.”
    “There are several others who could place me at the scene as well, although I would rather them not. However, this is all posturing anyway. You still cannot know for certain if I tried to acquire the data”.
    Rei tossed the briefcase toward her client. It landed some distance away, and neither of the androids defensive mechanisms activated.
    “There was a woman from the NID at the building tonight as well. She had this briefcase, and was planning on giving it to Rose. There is a little less, since the other operator took some, but please, accept it as an apology for failing to acquire the data properly”.
    The man flicked his fingers toward the briefcase, an LED lighting up in his eye as he did so. One of the androids sprung into action at the command, unclasping the briefcase and revealing the money within.
    “Furthermore,” Rei continued as the android inspected the case, “I will also offer to extract the data from Rose herself, and send it to you free of charge.” Rose squirmed in Rei’s hand, worried. “However, it would be time consuming, and I would have to be the one to extract it. That’s non-negotiable.”
    “Hmmm” the man said, rubbing his chin with the cigar still between his fingers, “this is all certainly very convincing. It’s not what I wanted, but I’m still making a tidy profit anyway. I will pay you a quarter of what I promised—“
    “Half,” Rei interjected.
    “A third,” her client continued, “and we can consider this business concluded.”
    He started climbing into the back of his limousine, with one of the androids opening the door for him when he stopped and snapped his fingers.
    “Oh! And execute Miss Hayes. I would rather not have loose ends,” the man commanded.
    “It will be done,” Rei said stoically. Rose squirmed and struggled against her bonds, quickly becoming scared.
    “Perhaps we will work again in the future.” The man’s androids closed the limousine door, gathered up the briefcase, and walked around to the limo’s driver and passenger seats. Rei sighed with relief as the limousine drove away. Rei just stood and watched, a bound Rose standing next to her, desperate to get free. Rei calmly removed the blindfold. Tears welled up in Rose’s eyes.
    “No screaming, okay? I just want to talk.” Rei said, her comforting voice back. She did not need to put up a brave face this time; Rei knew exactly what she had to do. Rei removed the gag as kindly as she could.
    “Are you going to-to-to kill me? P-Please… y-you don’t have to do this…” Rose begged desperately.
    “What did I tell you about questions you don’t want answered?” Rei teased morbidly, before quickly backtracking into her extremely comforting voice. “He decided our business was concluded before he told me to. Besides, killing costs extra, and he isn’t paying me enough.” Not to mention I took a job to keep her safe, Rei thought.
     Rose slammed into Rei, trying her best to embrace her despite the fact her arms were bound.
    “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” The young woman seemed to be crying, but for a different reason than before.
    “Hey, hey now!” Rei said, accepting her embrace. “No crying. Today’s been scary enough for you. Now turn around, let me get you out of these binds.”
    The smaller woman did as she was told. Rose did her best to hold back the tears, but she was overcome with emotion. Once she was free, she hugged Rei properly, her head nuzzling the top of her breast.
    “This again? What’s the matter?” Rei asked confusedly.
    “That’s twice you saved my life. I owe you everything.” Rose said, her earnestness turning Rei’s heart into putty.
    “What are you talking about? Saving your life?”
    “Back on the roof, I would never have been able to get out of those bindings on my own, but you brought me back into reality and helped me escape; and this time, you could have taken my life but chose not to! That’s twice!”
    “It was in my own selfish interests the first time, and I directly caused the last. If anything I should be apologizing to you. No one should have to go through this sort of thing.”
    Rose was not listening. She might have heard Rei’s words, but she already had her own narrative as to what happened, and nothing could turn you away from it.
    “At the very least, let me take you back to the Revelations Limited building so you can go home. I’m sorry you had to get caught up in this.”
    Rose shook her head.
    “I can’t go back to my job now. Not after this.”
    “What? My client did not me to interrogate you, so why not?!”
    “Don’t you know who that was? I could tell just from his voice. That was G. C. Anthony, the current Chief Executive Officer of Revelations LLC.”
    “Seriously?!” Rei said exasperatedly. She paused for a moment, before revealing an inconsistency in her head. “Wait, why would the head of Revelations Limited want me to steal your data? He could just ask you for it.”
    “No. He could ask, but I would not and could not give it to him,” Rose said, shaking her head. “Revelations Limited was only there to protect Project: SENTIENCE. Only a high-ranking official from the New International Doctrine themselves would be allowed to access those files, and they had to contact me directly.”
    Rose stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, the whole plan was quite clever. He could steal my data right out from under my nose, but still has the tools to access it by being in the same location. And by using you, he distances himself from the whole affair.”
    “Either way,” Rose said after a pause, “the result is the same.” Rei had seen Rose at her lowest; the utter defeat on her face when the dark figure had stolen the drive from her, and again before Rei had revealed her intentions. Somehow, even though she was more composed, Rose looked even more defeated now. “ G.C. Anthony has a reputation of ‘firing’ troublesome employees…and they often wind up dead a couple days later. If he even has the slightest suspicion I recognized him…” Rose stopped herself. She did not need to finish the sentence for Rei to understand.
    “I can never go back to my lab. I can never get my things from my apartment. I might never be able to see my family again.” Rose ran her hand through her auburn hair. “I… I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
    “You could come live with me,” Rei blurted without realizing it. Embarrassed by her eagerness to keep Rose in her life, she jammed her left hand into the pocket of her cargo pants and started scratching her neck. “I mean, it’s a small apartment, and there’s no obligation to stay. Figure you might need a place to crash as you get back on your feet.”
    “A-Are you sure?” Rose confirmed; it seemed that she was just as flustered by this as Rei was. “I mean, I know it can’t be easy, and—“
    Rei cut her off by turning to the car and beckoning her with free hand.

  “C’mon. After today, I think we both deserve a nice long rest.”

Description

Warning: This story contains bondage, strong language, violence, minor alcohol consumption and drug use, and heavy sexual themes. Everyone depicted is over the age of 18.

Read at your own discretion.

    Desperate for a way out, Rei whipped out her phone. Her fingers blurred under the white light.
    T—; It’s me. ~M.
    Wasting no time, Rei began calling T’s number. For a tense four rings, Rei though she might have messed up the code, and T had cut ties. Then she heard the telltale click, the one sign that the other end of the line was active.
    “Keep this brief, Alpha.” T’s voice was gruff and hazy; the opposite of normal.
    “I certainly will, Centauri.”
    Static washed into her eardrums as the phone translated T’s sigh of relief.
    “You know you were supposed to text me when you wanted me to hit the alarms, right? Clearly you didn’t forget what texting was—“
    “I’m out of the building, T. No need to activate the fire alarms.”
    There was nothing but silence on the other end. Without being able to see his face, Rei could hardly imagine what was going through T’s mind right now.
    “Let’s just say the op went really, really far south, and I got out through alternative methods.”
    “Say hi to the emperor penguins for me while you’re down there. Did you at least get the data?”
    “Didn’t get the chance. Another operator snatched it before I could get my hands on it.”
    “ANOTHER WHAT?!” T shouted. The volume immediately dropped off as he started thinking out loud, mumbling various half-sentences about other groups as he ensured his information was correct.
    “It wasn’t one of those pricks from the Uptown Syndicate, was it? They’ve been having a stink with Revelations Limited for ages and—“
    “Nah, this girl was too professional. She… I don’t know— it’s almost like she was inhuman. Always three steps ahead, unrelenting and calculating in her actions. I’m trying to picture her in my mind and I’m coming up blank; I cannot even be sure if I’d remember what she sounds like if I heard her voice again. It was like I’d run headfirst into a ghost.”
    “Heh. Sounds like someone else I know.”
    “Flatterer.”
    “I’m being serious. I know all the pros on this side of the planet, and there’re only four people or so that could pull something like this off, especially on another operator and without alerting me in the planning process. Two are dead, the other’s a vegetable in prison, and I’m talking to the last one. Either we’ve got an amateur-savant here, or we’re dealing with a ghost.”
    T paused on the other end of the line, in the way he always did before he said something unpleasant.
    “…There is always the possibility that he’s starting up ag—“
    “No. No way. My mentor’s dead. His student’s are all dead. I saw to that myself.” Rei’s voice was different; colder, older, and more aloof. It broke through the voice changing implants with no difficulty at all. Rei surprised herself; she had not used that voice in a long time.
    “… If you say so, M,” T said, doing a best to strike a balance within himself. “Either way,” he finally said, voice once again professional, “we’ve failed this op and have nothing to show for it.”
    “Well not exactly nothing. I’ve got the head scientist, Rose, in my trunk.”
    “… You’re kidding.”
    “I wish. The other operator pulled both me and her from the building; she took a briefcase full of cash from the building too, but she left most of it for me.”
    “Shit.”
    Rei concurred with that synopsis, but said nothing.
    “We need to talk to the client. Let me make first contact and fill him in on the details, and we’ll need a plan of what exactly we’re going to do.”
    “I was thinking of offering the money as compensation for the failure, then offering to give him the scientist as an alternate way to the data.”
    “That’s… not actually that bad an idea. You sure you’re willing to part with the cash? By rights, you got it on an op, so it’s yours.”
    “Yeah, it’s useless to me anyway; it’s all paper money, and I’ve got no way to launder it to credit. Might as well use it.”
    “Alright. I’ll fill our client in and start arguing on our behalf, you start heading over. I’ll message when I’m done. If we’re lucky, we’ll all get something we like an part ways amicably.” T did not sound like he wanted to consider the other possibility as he hung up.
    Rei turned on the car and, pulling the automatic pistol out of the clothes pilled on the floor of the car, sheathed her weapon in the rear of her pants. She knew exactly where the meeting would take place, and could easily get there in less than twenty minutes. However, she wanted to give T as much time as possible, and so started driving around aimlessly for some time. She had to dodge around a couple of police checkpoints, but otherwise there was very little interference. She got a notice on the dashboard that she was driving too slowly twice. Rei smiled a little. She was lost in thought. Also considering this very well might be the last time she got to take in Synth City, Rei was subconsciously driving lethargically. Then her phone buzzed. She did not need to read it to know what it said, but her muscle memory took over and she looked anyway. The light hit her retinas, and told her what she already knew.
    M—; I’m done. ~T.
    “Well. Here goes everything.” Rei muttered to herself.
    Driving quickly but not recklessly, Rei made her way to an undeveloped lot in the industrial side of the city. This whole area was still somewhat rural, despite the urban sprawl; unsurprising, given the health risks of living next to the plethora of unbridled corporate sweathouses, unsanitary sanitation stations, and acid-quarries. Rei pulled up at one of the farthest corners of the industrial area: a warehouse dotted the last side, and a road stretched into nothingness beyond it. Rei was at the very edge of Synth City.
    She saw her client waiting for her there. He was a larger man, one who, while clearly physically strong, was well past his glory days. His limbs were extremely muscular, as if cut from stone itself, but only served to further accentuate his rotund stomach. His thin grey hair, trimmed into a tight military cut, might have been intimidating in his prime, but that effect had withered away, leaving only a shell behind. He wore an expensive white suit with a red vest, tailored to his body perfectly. The lit cigar in his mouth, the limousine, and the pair of android bodyguards only underscored the message of his appearance: ‘I am powerful enough to get what I want, and those who get in my way will regret it’.
    Rei got out of her car, and stood several meters away from her client. They watched each other for a while, saying nothing. Had the wind not been so stagnant, Rei might have though this to be a scene from a terrible neo-Western. Rei had sized up her opponent in a matter of moments and stood loosely, but she liked performing this stand off anyway; it complimented her sense of drama, and she liked humoring her clients into believing they had any chance against her. She did not have false confidence about her skill, but it did help her hustle them during negotiations. Finally, her client spoke.
    “So,” he said, unleashing putrid smoke into the air, “you’re the one T told me about?”
    “I am.”
    “He was quick to recommend you, you should know. Said you were the only one who could pull this sort of stunt off in this hemisphere. Now, I like T, he’s a smart kid, but now? I quite regret taking him up on his recommendation.”
    “I am sorry you feel that way.”
    The man took another drag on his cigar before continuing.
    “Are you not going to defend yourself?” Her client said, smoke trailing from his cigar as he gestured.
    “I trust T to have explained what happened. Anything I might say would just sound like an excuse.”
    The man snorted. “And you believe his story is enough to excuse you coming here empty handed?”
    “One way or another, I failed this mission. I was unable the data you requested in the form you requested it. The reality is that an unknown individual beat me to the punch and made off with the data before me. Those are the facts.”
    “Facts, she says,” her client spat. “I’ve spent enough time around both people and bulls to know what bullshit smells like. And your story reeks.” The man started pacing back and forth in front of the limousine, the smoke from the cigar doing an ancient and unconventional dance as his hands gestured wildly. “Who’s this individual? What was she doing before you ran into her? Where did she come from? When did she attack the building? Why does she want my data? How’d she figure out all of this without our knowledge?! But most importantly—”
    The man turned, and pointed straight to Rei with the pair of pudgy fingers holding his cigar before finishing his sentence.
    “You have no evidence to back any of your story up! I have no way of knowing you were anywhere near the Revelations Limited building tonight!” He shouted.
    Rei could only shrug.
    “I have no answers for your questions,” she said, honestly, “however, I do have some evidence that my story is true.”
    Rei circled around to the trunk of her car. Slowly opening it so that her client’s androids mistake her action for drawing a weapon, Rei helped Rose out. She slipped her hands under the bound head scientist’s shoulders and legs, and eased her onto her feet in the gravel lot. Rose squirmed frantically for a moment, moaning into her gag, but Rei whispered, “It’s okay, it’s me,” into her ear and she calmed down. When the bound, gagged, and blindfolded woman was standing on her own, Rei also withdrew the briefcase of money from the trunk while keeping her free hand on Rose’s waist. She then turned back to her client.
    “This is Rose Hayes, the head scientist on Project: SENTIENCE. She lives on site in the Revelations Limited building, and, as a precautionary measure, as evidenced by the diary she keeps on her tablet, she always keeps the data drive for Project: SENTIENCE taped to her back. I’d rather not remove her gag, but her testimony would match mine if she were willing to tell the truth.”
    “I know who Rose Hayes is,” the man said, the cigar in between his teeth, “That is certainly her.”
    “There are several others who could place me at the scene as well, although I would rather them not. However, this is all posturing anyway. You still cannot know for certain if I tried to acquire the data”.
    Rei tossed the briefcase toward her client. It landed some distance away, and neither of the androids defensive mechanisms activated.
    “There was a woman from the NID at the building tonight as well. She had this briefcase, and was planning on giving it to Rose. There is a little less, since the other operator took some, but please, accept it as an apology for failing to acquire the data properly”.
    The man flicked his fingers toward the briefcase, an LED lighting up in his eye as he did so. One of the androids sprung into action at the command, unclasping the briefcase and revealing the money within.
    “Furthermore,” Rei continued as the android inspected the case, “I will also offer to extract the data from Rose herself, and send it to you free of charge.” Rose squirmed in Rei’s hand, worried. “However, it would be time consuming, and I would have to be the one to extract it. That’s non-negotiable.”
    “Hmmm” the man said, rubbing his chin with the cigar still between his fingers, “this is all certainly very convincing. It’s not what I wanted, but I’m still making a tidy profit anyway. I will pay you a quarter of what I promised—“
    “Half,” Rei interjected.
    “A third,” her client continued, “and we can consider this business concluded.”
    He started climbing into the back of his limousine, with one of the androids opening the door for him when he stopped and snapped his fingers.
    “Oh! And execute Miss Hayes. I would rather not have loose ends,” the man commanded.
    “It will be done,” Rei said stoically. Rose squirmed and struggled against her bonds, quickly becoming scared.
    “Perhaps we will work again in the future.” The man’s androids closed the limousine door, gathered up the briefcase, and walked around to the limo’s driver and passenger seats. Rei sighed with relief as the limousine drove away. Rei just stood and watched, a bound Rose standing next to her, desperate to get free. Rei calmly removed the blindfold. Tears welled up in Rose’s eyes.
    “No screaming, okay? I just want to talk.” Rei said, her comforting voice back. She did not need to put up a brave face this time; Rei knew exactly what she had to do. Rei removed the gag as kindly as she could.
    “Are you going to-to-to kill me? P-Please… y-you don’t have to do this…” Rose begged desperately.
    “What did I tell you about questions you don’t want answered?” Rei teased morbidly, before quickly backtracking into her extremely comforting voice. “He decided our business was concluded before he told me to. Besides, killing costs extra, and he isn’t paying me enough.” Not to mention I took a job to keep her safe, Rei thought.
     Rose slammed into Rei, trying her best to embrace her despite the fact her arms were bound.
    “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” The young woman seemed to be crying, but for a different reason than before.
    “Hey, hey now!” Rei said, accepting her embrace. “No crying. Today’s been scary enough for you. Now turn around, let me get you out of these binds.”
    The smaller woman did as she was told. Rose did her best to hold back the tears, but she was overcome with emotion. Once she was free, she hugged Rei properly, her head nuzzling the top of her breast.
    “This again? What’s the matter?” Rei asked confusedly.
    “That’s twice you saved my life. I owe you everything.” Rose said, her earnestness turning Rei’s heart into putty.
    “What are you talking about? Saving your life?”
    “Back on the roof, I would never have been able to get out of those bindings on my own, but you brought me back into reality and helped me escape; and this time, you could have taken my life but chose not to! That’s twice!”
    “It was in my own selfish interests the first time, and I directly caused the last. If anything I should be apologizing to you. No one should have to go through this sort of thing.”
    Rose was not listening. She might have heard Rei’s words, but she already had her own narrative as to what happened, and nothing could turn you away from it.
    “At the very least, let me take you back to the Revelations Limited building so you can go home. I’m sorry you had to get caught up in this.”
    Rose shook her head.
    “I can’t go back to my job now. Not after this.”
    “What? My client did not me to interrogate you, so why not?!”
    “Don’t you know who that was? I could tell just from his voice. That was G. C. Anthony, the current Chief Executive Officer of Revelations LLC.”
    “Seriously?!” Rei said exasperatedly. She paused for a moment, before revealing an inconsistency in her head. “Wait, why would the head of Revelations Limited want me to steal your data? He could just ask you for it.”
    “No. He could ask, but I would not and could not give it to him,” Rose said, shaking her head. “Revelations Limited was only there to protect Project: SENTIENCE. Only a high-ranking official from the New International Doctrine themselves would be allowed to access those files, and they had to contact me directly.”
    Rose stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, the whole plan was quite clever. He could steal my data right out from under my nose, but still has the tools to access it by being in the same location. And by using you, he distances himself from the whole affair.”
    “Either way,” Rose said after a pause, “the result is the same.” Rei had seen Rose at her lowest; the utter defeat on her face when the dark figure had stolen the drive from her, and again before Rei had revealed her intentions. Somehow, even though she was more composed, Rose looked even more defeated now. “ G.C. Anthony has a reputation of ‘firing’ troublesome employees…and they often wind up dead a couple days later. If he even has the slightest suspicion I recognized him…” Rose stopped herself. She did not need to finish the sentence for Rei to understand.
    “I can never go back to my lab. I can never get my things from my apartment. I might never be able to see my family again.” Rose ran her hand through her auburn hair. “I… I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
    “You could come live with me,” Rei blurted without realizing it. Embarrassed by her eagerness to keep Rose in her life, she jammed her left hand into the pocket of her cargo pants and started scratching her neck. “I mean, it’s a small apartment, and there’s no obligation to stay. Figure you might need a place to crash as you get back on your feet.”
    “A-Are you sure?” Rose confirmed; it seemed that she was just as flustered by this as Rei was. “I mean, I know it can’t be easy, and—“
    Rei cut her off by turning to the car and beckoning her with free hand.

  “C’mon. After today, I think we both deserve a nice long rest.”