Rising Into Consciousness / Duality
by E. R. Mills
Chapter 11:
Destruction and Seduction
Sexual Violence Disclaimer/Warning: There is a flashback scene in this part that contains some not-so-nice (to make a grand understatement) sexual violence. While it is by no means graphic, the understanding of what is going on is very much there. I tried to write it as tastefully as is possible with this type of subject matter, but if this might bother you too much, turn back now. If not, read on. Consider yourself warned.
Her workspace was a glorified janitor's closet. Mary was standing next to the dark-haired hacker and leaning casually against the doorframe.
"Sorry it's not so great, but we have limited space around here. It has all the appropriate connections though, so you should be fine. These are your instructions," the executive said as she handed Auset a manila envelope.
"Mm," she grunted and moved into the room to survey what she had to work with. The space was small, yes, but the equipment appeared to be up to par. At least she had that.
"Have fun, tiger," Mary added and then slipped away down the hall back towards her own office. Auset raised an amused black eyebrow at the comment and then went back to getting down to business.
As the minutes ticked by, Auset's fingers becoming a blur on the keyboard but as she worked tirelessly at her task, she began to notice something. Something that made her brain jump up and start to take notice of what she was actually doing. At first, Auset couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that bothered her about it. The work was mostly the routine cover-up crap that she usually did for the corrupt businesses Sera always seemed to have her working for. But there was something nagging at her conscience with this one. She hadn't been told what exactly it was that this company did, and admittedly she hadn't bothered to think about that.
Pharmatech. OK, look at the other companies they deal with. She scanned over the records. Blue eyes went pure ice as realization dawned on her. It was a pharmaceutical company, and they were selling tainted prescription drugs. And here she was, helping them cover their tracks.
Stunned and pissed off, the hacker leaned back in her chair and stared blankly at the monitor of the computer in front of her. How had she not seen that? Sera knew, the bastard KNEW that it was a company just like this one that had been responsible for her brother's death. Her anger flared. She slammed a balled fist down onto the surface of the desk in frustration over and over until it began to bleed. It was all she could do to prevent herself from storming out and then finding and killing the sonofabitch. She could not allow herself to get so caught up in the rage. There had only been three times in her life when she had allowed the anger to become so blinding that it was like a dark haze and then gone out and destroyed the people responsible. Logan's death, Cally's betrayal, and the incident in juvie....
Three months in, and not a day had gone by where Auset hadn't been harassed or attacked by Liz and her gang. She was wearing out and at that moment, wanted nothing more than to stand under cool currents of water in the shower. It wasn't the nicest facility, the floors were always grimy and the water rarely hot, but it still equaled clean. After her brief workout in the weight room (something she had never done before but was quickly becoming very fond of), Auset padded off to the shower room with a thread bare towel draped over one shoulder. There were three other girls there, none from Liz's gang, and so she decided that it would be relatively safe. The dark-haired girl stepped out of her jumpsuit and walked under a surprisingly warmish stream of water. Pleased by the uncommon temperature of the liquid, Auset allowed herself to get lost in its relaxing powers, leaning her head forward into the spray and closing her eyes while it soaked through her thick hair. Had Auset been in lockup for a longer period of time, she would have never allowed herself such a moment of unguarded distraction. As she would soon learn, it could be very dangerous.
She felt the hand grab her shoulder before she heard anyone approach. When Auset's eyes snapped open, the three girls who had been in the shower with her were gone, replaced by the maniacally grinning figure of Liz flanked by two of her cronies.
"All wet and no where to go," the leader snarled as she forced Auset to turn and face her, completely naked and vulnerable. The younger girl could barely speak from the shock of having been snuck up on and certainly didn't know what move to make. Liz narrowed her eyes and with a twitch of her head, the two other girls moved forward and took hold of Auset. They pinned her up against the cool tile wall, each of them grasping an arm and digging a knee up to hold her thighs back as well.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Auset finally managed to growl as she struggled against her captives. The situation was starting to register in her brain and it did not like the look of things at all.
"I'm not just gonna think it, my little bitch," Liz drawled as she took a step forward and ran her finger down one of the girl's pronounced cheek bones. "I'm gonna do. And you're gonna like it."
Now Auset was positive about what was going to happen. She had to make it stop. In a burst of pure fury, she twisted herself free from her captives and elbowed one in the gut and the other in the face. Having anticipated this, Liz lunged forward and landed a solid crack to Auset's jaw, which sent the girl falling back into the wall. The younger girl raised a hand up to the wounded body part and then drew it back to find blood streaming out of her nose and mouth. The waters still running out of the shower washed it away as fast as it re-accumulated.
The two girl's gathered themselves again and had Auset pinned against the wall once more. Her head and jaw were throbbing and her mind had kicked into panic mode. This was not happening....
The sandy blonde was looming mere inches from Auset's face now with a wickedly pleased look stretched across her features.
"I'm tired of your attitude. This will teach you not to mess with me ever again."
Liz punched her in the stomach then, effectively knocking all the wind out of the hacker, and the two girls tightened their grip.
And it began. Auset just closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on something other than the pain her jaw and stomach were in--and something other than what was happening to her right then. It wasn't real, it couldn't be. She could take care of herself, get rid of people like this. Vulnerability was something she took to as badly as she took to being victimized. And another cord snapped.
When Liz was finished with her awful business, she punched Auset in the face again and left her lying in the pool of water that had gathered on the floor of the room. Auset just lay there, curled in the fetal position and trembling slightly, watching her blood swirl around through the water that flowed in front of her face. She had no idea how long she was there for, slowly allowing the pure animal rage that was so much apart of her now build into a burning fury, when a guard came in and had her rushed to the infirmary.
The hacker spent the next four days in there, lying in a bed and staring expressionless up at the ceiling. The nurses and doctors took care of the physical wounds, the bruised eye, ribs and cracked jaw, and determined that no permanent harm had been done to her from the sexual attack. When the dark-haired girl would not speak or even respond to them, they assumed that she had gone into a state of shock and waited for it to run its course so they could question her about what had happened.
Auset wouldn't tell them though. She would take care of it on her own, because that's how it had to be. She needed to make sure that she could still take care of her own business and she had to make sure that Liz never touched her, or anyone else, ever again. Period.
When she was released from the infirmary and allowed back to her bunk, Auset wasted no time. Word had gotten around about what had happened. Liz and her crew just smirked at the quietly brooding girl and went about their business, positive that they would have no more trouble from her. Everyone else simply avoided eye contact. Auset's eyes had taken on a permanently deep and menacing glint that made the blue pools fairly radiate with burning anger.
That night, Auset snuck out of her bunk and soundlessly made her way over to where Liz was sleeping. She hovered over the girl's face and just stared at her for a timeless moment, letting the rage build into something very tangible and very motivating. It would be no fun, and very unsportsman-like, to attack her while she was sleeping. Auset decided to wait until exercise period the following day and thus quietly made her way back to her own bunk. She did not sleep that night.
Liz was sitting around a table with her group and talking boisterously when Auset came outside for the exercise period. It was a beautiful day, but that was all but lost on the determined hacker. Her eyes focused on one target and ushered the body towards it. As she passed by a small rack of freeweights, she lifted one barbell in her hand and continued on her way.
Liz raised her eyes from the group and saw the dark-haired girl who was headed her way. She sneered at her and remained seated, convinced that this problem was already well taken care of.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a bored tone.
"No," was all the reply she got before being completely knocked to the ground by the sudden impact of something metal and very heavy colliding with her face. Auset had swung the barbell around so that it connected squarely with the older girls jaw, and she reveled in the feel of bones crunching under the weight. Her smile broadened when she noticed the massive welt that formed on the side of Liz's face as she cowered on the ground. Every member of her gang stood paralyzed off to the side, not daring to approach the girl with the barbell clenched tightly in a strong fist. Auset growled down at Liz, dropped the weight, and then kicked the girl under the chin with all her force. The leader went sprawling backwards and knocked the backside of her head against a chair. She heaved and tried to crawl, but was overcome by the severe pain that wracked her body and just watched the blood sputter out of her mouth.
Auset watched it too, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Liz totally battered and beaten and hunched against the chair she had hit. The hacker leaned over so that her face was hovering just inches from Liz's and she used a tapered finger to remove a dab of blood from the girl's lip.
"Now," she rumbled, her contralto being put to good intimidating use. "I'm thinking that you'll never fuck with me again, am I right?"
Liz nodded her head with as much enthusiasm as she could afford.
"Good. And lay the fuck off everyone else here too, or I'll finish what I've started here."
The girl's eyes widened in fear and then rolled back into her head as she passed out. Auset grunted and stood upright again, using her hands to dust off the pants of her jumpsuit before simply turning and walking back into the building. Everyone who had witnessed the event just stood in shock, unwilling yet to move and not quite believing what they had just seen. It took a good five minutes before a guard noticed Liz's body sprawled on the ground in the pool of crimson that had gathered around her head.
It was later discovered that Liz had suffered from a broken jaw, concussion, broken nose, slightly fractured skull, and had lost partial vision in her left eye. The doctors said that had one more blow been dealt to her head, she might not have lived. She never lay a finger on Auset, or anyone else, ever again.
Auset was detained by guards and, after being knocked around a little, was thrown into a solitary confinement cell. She stayed there for the next month.
There was moisture starting to build up in Auset's eyes, but she steeled herself against the welling of emotion and prevented any tears from being shed. Not now. She could not afford to think about that. She had to focus on what she was going to do next. How was she supposed to break this contract without getting a contract put out on her life? She needed to find Sera. She needed to make him dissolve the contract and let her go. Auset shook her head. No, hell with that. I'll go anytime I want, I just want to let the asshole know that he's lost me once and for all. I'll deal with the consequences later.
But the smart thing to do would be to pretend that nothing was wrong. Make them think you're still doing the job, she mused, and get to him without anyone else knowing. Less chance of being messed with by a lackey, that way.
Auset forced herself to be calm. She stood and stretched before leaving the room and heading off down the hallway trying to look as unconcerned as possible. The hacker passed through a small room that contained a few cubicles where men and women were diligently working away at having their lives sucked from their bodies, and then came to a kitchen area. Mary was standing near the sink, emptying a mug of old coffee into the drain. The woman turned around and, upon noticing the entrance of the tall, dark hacker, she allowed a sly grin to crease her lips.
"Hey there. Hungry?" she asked sweetly.
Auset made a decision then. She could pull this off quietly, affecting only Sera and slipping away practically unnoticed, or she could go out with a bang and a flourish, taking out whoever she could along the way. The latter seemed more her style. Auset decided to play. She arched a smooth eyebrow, cocked an inviting half-grin and then replied,
"Yes, actually. I'm famished."
Reese pulled the Buick into the gravel driveway in front of the house and wished her brother and his girlfriend a good night. As Andy and Ione walked up the front steps, another car pulled up by the curb and a man got out of the back seat before it drove away. Reese froze. Her father must have just gotten off from work, judging by the police uniform he still wore, and he paused for a moment, eyeing the figure that stood just outside his son's car.
"What are you doin' here?" he asked, more confused than anything. Andrew and Ione had stopped and were standing now on the front porch, watching the scene unfold with nervous eyes.
"Dad. Hi. I was...just..." she faltered, searching for an explanation she hadn't thought she would need. "...visiting. I'm going now."
The older man stood still for a moment, his hazel eyes narrowed and searching the face of his troublesome daughter. He ran a large, work-worn hand through the thinning strands of light brown hair that crowned his head and then started to move across the barren lawn towards Reese.
"I didn't know you were plannin' on payin' us a visit."
"I was in the area. It was a last minute sort of thing. I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she half-whispered, eyes focused on the ground. The man grunted then and took notice of the other two bodies that stood on the porch.
"What's the whore doin' here?" he grumbled when he saw who was with Andrew. Both son and girlfriend flinched at this.
"Please don't call her that." Andrew said, trying to muster up a self-confidence he didn't quite feel.
"That's what she is, so I can call her that if I want," their father growled. Reese could tell he was carefully working himself into a fit of rage. It wasn't uncommon, though it was probably a record for even him in how quickly it would come to this.
"Dad, please..." she started, reaching out a hand to his arm but having the effort thwarted when he jerked it away.
"You will address me as sir, or so-help-me I will tan your hide. Jist because you aint livin' in my house no more, ungrateful little bitch, doesn't mean that you aint my daughter. You show me some respect!" At this he raised his now fisted hand and made to strike Reese. Anticipating the move, however, Reese ducked out of the way and took a few steps back.
"Da--sir, please...just--" she began but her father scowled, red-faced, and moved towards her again.
"I want that whore away from this house RIGHT NOW!" he screamed to Andy. "And you," this being directed at Reese again. "I'm gonna take you inside and TEACH you some respect! All those years of supporting you, feeding you, and you repay me by running off to the God-damnded city!"
Reese turned and motioned for Ione to come off the porch.
"You can come with me, but we need to get out of here," the blonde whispered frantically into Ione's ear. As her father made a move to grab her, Andy shouted to his sister,
"Go! I'll stay here and meet you later. Just go!"
Reese ducked out of the way again and pushed Ione into a run. They bolted into the alleyway and were soon far enough away to slow down and breathe.
"I can't believe...he's still...I'm so sorry Ione," Reese managed to gasp out as she tried to catch her breath. The other girl shook her head.
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault. There was nothing else to do but get out of there, I just wish Andy would have come with us."
"I know, but he's always been just as stubborn as me about facing dad when he gets like this." She paused here and gazed sadly at the ground. "It always resulted in us getting a pretty good beating, but we did it anyway. Thought maybe we could talk some sense into him. I see he's still in the habit."
"I offer to let him stay at my house, but he always insists on sticking around. I just wanna scream every time when the next day he's got a black eye or something," Ione half-whispered. Reese pulled her into a hug and smiled sadly.
"I used to be the same way. I just hope Andy gets out like I did." The blonde paused and looked around. "You can come stay with me at the motel tonight if you want, and tomorrow morning we'll go pick up Andy and go to your appointment."
Ione nodded and grinned weakly. The two continued on down the alleyway in the direction of the motel, silent as they lost themselves in their own thoughts.
The next morning, as Ione was taking a shower and Reese was poking restlessly around the room, the writer decided to make a quick phone call. With everything that had happened, she'd almost forgotten to check and make sure everything was OK with Auset. Of course, she had never really forgotten so much as she'd just been distracted. The image of the dark-haired hacker always seemed to be rooted in her mind somehow. At this point, when she gave it some thought, all Reese really wanted to do was curl up next to Auset like they had done those few times before and get some much-needed rest. She wondered briefly if Auset could possibly be thinking the same thing.
In any case, she picked up the phone and dialed the number for Auset's cell phone.
"Hello?" the distinctive, low and smooth voice came over the line. Reese was suddenly made aware of how much she'd missed that sound.
"Auset, it's Reese."
"Yeah, I know that." The smile was evident in her tone. Reese chuckled.
"I, ah, wanted to call and make sure everything was OK with you. And to let you know that I'll be back at ou--your apartment late tonight."
"All right. Everything's...fine...here. I should be done by tomorrow if all goes according to plan. Is everything kosher with you?"
"Yeah, well...mostly. Things are..." she blew air through her bangs. "...complicated. I'll tell you about it when we're both back if ya want."
"All right. Sounds good."
"I'll see you soon then? Um...g'bye. Be well," Reese got out awkwardly.
"You too. See ya."
Auset closed her phone and looked back up at the smiling figure of Mary, who was leaning elegantly against the counter in the small kitchen area.
"Who was that?" she inquired curiously.
"A friend. Any juice around?" As Mary reached inside the small refrigerator that was on her left and produced a bottle of orange juice, Auset's previous train of thought was suddenly derailed by the woman who had called. She had the sudden and rather disconcerting desire to get home and snuggle up with Reese. Just thinking about it made her more comfortable. But there are games afoot, she forced herself to consider, and I need to concentrate. There will be plenty of time later to think about the attractive blonde who will be waiting for you back home and...damnit! "Thanks," Auset offered as she accepted the drink and took a healthy swig. Mary's eyes followed the movement as Auset brought the tip of the bottle to her lips and drank thirstily from it, throat muscles contracting with each swallow and showing off the fine toning to the hacker's sleek neck. Auset placed the now half-empty bottle on the counter and wiped her mouth clean of any left over liquid with her tongue.
"Making progress?" The executive asked, trying desperately to keep her voice level. She was supposed to be in control of this particular situation. Sera had warned her that the woman was very intelligent, sharp and slick--not one to be played with absently. She needed to focus, keep her eye open for any sign that the hacker had caught on to what she was actually doing and for what company. Sera wanted Auset to go nuts, though who knew why, when she discovered what this company did. He'd said that it had something to do with "testing" the woman, but frankly Mary did not care. She was carrying out orders and was bound and determined to have fun doing it.
"Yes, I should be finished soon. Wasn't that tricky," Auset deadpanned. Her cool blue eyes casually picked up the tiny signals the other woman was unconsciously giving off. The subtle twitch of her fingers against the fabric of her pants, the way her eyes flicked from one spot on the hacker's own body to another, the way Mary bit her lip a little when trying to affect a relaxed pose. It was not lost on Auset and she smiled inwardly. She was winning this fight already.
The tall, dark-haired hacker moved with casual grace and closed the distance between her and the other woman. Mary swallowed hard and kept her face as unemotional as was possible in a last-ditch effort to stay in relative control of the situation. Auset was having none of it. The taller woman stood not five inches from the executive and as she spoke, lowered her voice to a velvety rumble for maximum effect.
"Want to take a look at my work?"
Mary blinked and her throat went dry. She flicked her equally as dry tongue across parched lips to try and bring moisture back to them.
"I would...love...to," she managed to half-whisper. Auset flashed a seductive half-grin and made to close the remaining distance between their faces when she made a sudden detour and walked back towards the door. When Mary failed to follow her immediately, the hacker turned and regarded her with an amused expression.
"Coming?" Auset inquired nonchalantly.
"God yes," the other woman muttered absently and forced her body to follow the taller woman who was leading the way back to her work area. Auset had, in fact, nearly finished the work as she was supposed to. There were only a few small details yet that needed attending to, but those would wait until this business was finished with first. When Auset closed the door to the room behind them, Mary was having difficulty forcing herself to keep from jumping the hacker right then. Auset merely motioned with a small twitch of her head toward the computer's monitor, where all of the information regarding what progress she had made was displayed. Mary tried to shake the distraction from her mind and concentrated on reviewing the stats. She had to make sure the woman hadn't done anything to botch their operations on purpose. From the looks of it, however, Auset had done what she was supposed to do, and had done it quite well. Perhaps, Mary considered, the woman was as hard as everyone made her out to be and what this company did would no longer bother her. Maybe Sera was wrong....
"Everything looks up to par," Mary addressed the hacker over her shoulder as she continued to scan the display. Auset stood with her arms crossed over her chest and watched with cool satisfaction as Mary leaned over to examine the monitor. How could she go about this? Have to consider the best tactics that would truly mess with this woman's mind, Auset mused. She strode forward until there was only a foot of space between the two women and leaned forward over Mary's shoulder a little.
"I still have some odds and ends to take care of." The smooth contralto vibrated right in Mary's ear and she nearly fell over from the sensations it caused. "I should be leaving by tonight."
Mary spun around at the comment so that she now stood face to face with the tall hacker.
"Surely you'll at least stay until tomorrow," she said without thinking and then winced when realization it.
"No. I need to get back, and the work will be finished soon." Here Auset paused and let their close proximity to one another truly sink in for the other woman. Mary swallowed hard again and her nostrils flared.
"Perhaps I could persuade you to stick around for a little while," the executive practically whispered. Auset raised a sardonic eyebrow at her and grinned ever so slightly.
"Perhaps," she growled. Mary began to move her face forward, thinking to kiss the taller woman, but Auset put her hand out and thrust a forefinger into the woman's chest, effectively shoving her backwards a step. Mary blinked in surprise but managed only to make a quiet grunting noise. Before she could form a coherent word, the hacker acted again and roughly pushed Mary back onto the desk, next to the computer, so that she was practically lying down. Auset lowered herself a little so that she hovered just above the other woman's prone form, using her arms to prop herself up. Her blue eyes took on a feral glint, mouth bending into a predatory smile. Mary opened her mouth to speak again, but Auset laid a finger across her lips and silenced her. Mary was overwhelmed by the intense, primal energy being radiated by the woman who held her, pinned to the desk's surface. She closed her eyes briefly before braving the savage glare of the sapphire pools that seemed to bore into her skull.
Auset tilted her head slightly then, as if considering whether to kiss the woman or to bite her head off. The two emotions that each action entailed seemed so close....
But suddenly, as the dark-haired woman was ready to pounce, a new emotion washed through her tense body. It came around a blind corner really, and succeeded in completely derailing Auset's train of thought. It was...panic? accompanied with fear...that crashed over her like a tidal wave, knocking her senses to the floor and then rushing back out to sea to leave her off balanced and ready to topple over in its wake.
She backed off an inch from the woman beneath her, who was still staring wide-eyed at her with a look of lust mingled with fear. What the hell had happened? Auset wondered. The hacker stood upright then and took a few unsteady steps back. Mary finally realized that something had gone wrong and she sat up, frustrated and eyeing Auset with uncertainty.
"Auset?" she questioned, totally baffled by the turn of events. Auset just brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed her temples. The rush of emotion had left her feeling drained almost, and anxious...for what she didn't know yet. At the second utterance of her name, she looked back to the woman still perched on the desk.
"I...uh...I'm sorry, what did you say?" she managed.
"I said, are you all right? You just went pale as ghost."
"Yeah, yeah," Auset muttered, trying to shake the unsettling feelings from her head. "I'm fine." An image came to mind then, one of Reese, and though it was certainly not unwelcome, she wasn't rightly sure where it had come from. But quite abruptly she felt as though she needed to see her again. Right then. Quickly. "I just need to finished this up, then I'll be going," she finished dumbly. Mary left the desk and stood again, leveling a confused stare at the dark-haired hacker before her. This was definitely not what she had expected. It had come so close....
"O...K," she said, unsure. "I'll be in my office, if you...need anything."
And then Mary exited the small room, feeling confused and not a little bit frustrated. Auset just stared at the wall for a moment, the muscles of her forehead bunching in thought.
What is wrong with you? she scolded herself. It's not exactly like you to get cold feet with something like this. Seduce and destroy, you know the drill. So what in the world happened? Get it together, Auset, get it together.
She straightened herself and then went back to the computer and punched in some lines of code. Auset had made everything look as though she'd done exactly what she was supposed to do and then tacked on a special surprise at the end that was untraceable. The nit-wits wouldn't notice it until the shit had hit the proverbial fan. She smiled, quite pleased with herself, and relished the thought of all the really nasty things that would happen to this company now. And then she pondered how nice it would be to personally take care of some of that nasty stuff. To take out physically on those responsible what she was picturing in her mind. The image of Reese made its presence known again, however, and Auset decided that it was time to get home. She wasn't sure why, but always having been one to trust her gut instincts and knowing them to be mostly accurate, who was she to question?
Auset moved with casual grace out of the room and down the long, narrow hallway that lead to the front foyer of the building. She turned before hitting the main doors and entered Mary's office, where the woman, caught off guard, snapped her head up and to attention from its previous position in her hands.
"What is it?" she grumbled.
"I'm done. I'm leaving," Auset stated flatly. Mary, taken aback for a moment, paused briefly before soaking up the hacker's words and replying to them with all she could think of to say.
"OK."
Before the executive could think to do anything else, Auset's body disappeared from her doorway as quickly as it had materialized. Mary slumped back in her chair and shook her head in bemusement.
"Sera's gonna be pissed," she said aloud to herself. The man in question appeared then at her door, leaning casually against the jam and leveling a steely glare at her. His eyes were darker than usual, betraying the rage that boiled just beneath the surface. His voice when he spoke, however, was calm and cool.
"Well, that went splendidly, now didn't it?" he asked sarcastically and moved further into the room. "Thanks for sticking to the plan."
"I tried," Mary sputtered, growing more nervous by the moment. "It was going fine, but all of the sudden she just sort of stopped and insisted on leaving."
"I noticed. And since you failed to do your job properly, I'll just go take care of this myself." Here Sera turned and made to walk out of the room, but just before doing so he half-looked over his shoulder and went on. "Don't think there won't be consequences for you too." And then he was gone as well, leaving only the faint smell of power lingering in the air around a very befuddled Mary.
Auset was packing her things when the door to the room she was staying in opened. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.
"Hello, Sera."
"I swear...." he chuckled. "Leaving so soon?"
"Yes. I'm finished with the job, so now I go," she answered and continued packing up laptop supplies and depositing them in her carrying case. Sera walked up behind her and placed a large, warm hand on one of her shoulders. She stopped, back rigid, and narrowed her eyes.
"I don't think you're quite finished." Auset turned and faced Sera. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills, each unwilling to step down first. "You're not stupid, Auset, you must know what this job was about by now." Still Auset said nothing, only continued to glare maliciously at him. "You must have found out what it is that this company does! And I'm sure it rung a few bells for you too," he said happily.
"You fuck," was all she growled.
"Certainly. But I must say I'm disappointed in you. The Auset I know would already be carrying out plans to disembowel half the execs of that company." He drew a rough finger across her jawbone. "I see that fire in your eyes, but there's no follow-through. What happened, you going soft?"
Auset laughed at that; a deep, throaty chuckle filled with angry amusement. Then, in one quick movement, Auset brought her hand up and gripped Sera's wandering finger in an iron grip. He flinched slightly but continued smiling.
"Didn't think so," he finished. Auset let go of his finger then and tossed his hand away from her.
"I need to go, Sera. Don't get in my way," the hacker growled. Sera pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.
"This isn't finished."
"What isn't finished?" Auset snapped, tossing a hapless t-shirt into her suitcase. "You make this sound like some epic battle."
"Well..." he started, chuckling, and then went on. "I'm not finished with you, with your training. You can be the best, Auset. You're already my best pupil."
"And how does setting me up to help out a company that you know is just like the one that killed my brother help in my 'training'? Tell me that!"
"I just wanted to make sure you could stay focused. Whether it be focused on getting the job done or on killing every one of those sons-a-bitches," he said, his voice low and deep. He positioned himself so that they were standing with their faces all of an inch apart.
"How does that work?" she asked, unwilling to back down from his attempt at intimidation.
"You've got the fire, Auset. I just wanted to see it in action again."
She stared into his deep brown eyes for a long minute, trying to figure out what exactly this man was really about. When he'd first started teaching her, when he'd taken her in after everything had gone so terribly, she had thought the world of him. Revered him, respected him, wanted nothing more than to make him proud. Now he'd turned her insane ex-girlfriend on her, and Reese...God, the woman's apartment had been burned down because of it...and he had set her up to help out a corrupt pharmaceutical company. That he had put her life in danger more than once was small compared to the fact that it had severely endangered Reese's safety. No, that was going to far.
"It's over Sera. As soon as my contract is up, I'm done. Done with you," she stated and then zipped up her suitcases and hefted them on her shoulders. Sera clenched his jaw and continued staring hard at her. But as she moved around him and out the door, he did not move. He just remained fixed to the spot and stared unseeing at the far wall.
"It is far from over," he said in a low rumble. "Far from it."
Chapter 12
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