Warhawk's Amnesty - Ch. 17 - Uninvited Guests - Beta (Patreon)

An unyielding itch across his neck awoke Seb from his deep sleep. When he reached to scratch it, he felt something wet. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hand to see mucus stretched between his fingers.

The unwelcome surprise forced him out of his daze, startling him awake. He looked down at his chest and saw a head of white hair below his chin. He bent his neck to the side and sure enough, it was Eni. She was curled on top of his chest and had somehow managed to get underneath his blanket.

Wait… did something happen? Seb asked himself. No… I clearly remember her going to sleep in her bed and me sleeping on the couch.

After scanning the surrounding area, he was certain he was still on the futon in the living room. So, it wasn’t me, Seb told himself. Maybe she just got cold or something? Maybe it’s been a long time for her as well, and she wanted the company?

Seb leaned up just enough to see out of the front windows of the condo. The holograms that danced in the night were no longer on, allowing for the orange light of the morning’s sky box to shine through the window. It was enough indication for him that they’d slept through the night.

Seb rested his head back on the pillow while he contemplated how he wanted to handle the situation. Unfortunately, Eni’s warm breath and twitching on top of his body made it difficult for him to think of anything beneficial. She smelled sweet from the moonfruit syrup she’d eaten from the night prior. But it was when she shifted her feet, pinning his cock between her leg and his thigh, that he knew he was going to be in trouble. The longer he waited to wake her, the worse it was going to get.

“Hey Eni?” Seb whispered. “Are you awake?” When she didn’t respond, Seb reached up under the covers and rubbed her back. “Hey Eni…” His maneuver had the opposite effect as pracovi woman let out a soft moan and snuggled more into his neck and chest. Seb so wanted to give in and just leave her be, but he didn’t want to take any chances on something that could have him through inebriations.

“Eni,” Seb said in a stern tone. Her blue and green eyes shot open, and Eni pushed herself up from Seb’s chest.

“AH!” she screamed.

“AH!” Seb screamed back.

Eni growled and started swiping at Seb’s chest. He struggled to grab her hands as they threatened to puncture his skinsleeve.

“Eni stop it!”

“You said you weren’t a creep!”

As Seb grabbed her arms, she resorted to biting.

“Ow! Stop biting me! I didn’t do anything!”

“You’re the one who came into my room, you dirty pervert,” Eni said with a mouth full of Seb’s hand. “Get out of my house!”

“We’re not in your room, and you’re the one on top of me, dammit!”

Eni froze upon hearing Seb’s revelation. Her enormous eyes scoured the room before pulling her mouth off of Seb’s knuckle, sucking up her spit. She pushed herself upward, straddling Seb’s thigh.

“Oh… um… so it seems we are.”

Seb swallowed hard when she shifted herself upward. What she was pushing off of and holding onto was not just his thigh. “Yeah… and um… Eni?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you mind moving your hand?”

“Oh…” Eni said, looking down and yanking her hands up to her chest. Her cheeks shifted from a light purple to a bright red. “I… uh… I thought that was part of your thigh.”

“It wasn’t.”

As Eni unstraddled Seb and stood on the floor, her eyes never left the bulge in Seb’s suit. She walked backward, tripping over objects behind her as she made her way toward her bedroom. “I’m just going to get cleaned up, and maybe think about throwing myself off the roof out of embarrassment.”

Seb chuckled. “No reason for that. While I’m not a fan of getting attacked when I wake up, the company was nice.” Eni gave him a fake smile before disappearing into her bedroom. He couldn’t help but laugh at the whole situation, just hoped she would find it as funny as he did at a later date.

After putting on his clothes, Seb grabbed his cred sticks to throw in his pocket. He figured food would help reset things back on a level ground. As he walked to the edge of Eni’s bedroom, he could see her through the wall, sitting on her bed. Once he reached the edge of the wall, he knocked.

“I’m going to check out that nearby coffee shop I saw on the way over and grab some breakfast. Anything you want?”

“Um… just tell them you’re picking up an order for Eni. They’ll give you what I like.”

“Oh… I just realized. Will I even be able to get back up here?”

“Just call me when you get back to the door and I'll buzz you through the door and bring you up the elevator.”

“Sounds good, be back in a bit.”

Seb left the condo and made his way outside. The neighborhood had a different vibe without all the neon signs lit up. It felt rather homie with kids playing in the street, neighbors conversing in outdoor seating, and passersby offering morning greetings. It was a refreshing reprieve from the chaos of the last week.

The coffee shop was dealing with the morning rush, with the line almost near the door. While normally waiting in a queue would cause Seb frustration, the atmosphere made him smile. He wasn’t waiting to eat the same old slop he’d had for the thousandth time. He wasn’t worried about someone cutting in line because they were the person that would punch your teeth in because you confronted them. It was just a normal, boring coffee shop, and that was good enough.

Once the line cleared, a woman with red hair greeted Seb and pointed animal ears. It surprised him to see a human hybrid working in a coffee shop, given the expensive costs of the gene therapy. Maybe it’s just cosmetic? he wondered.

“Hi, welcome!” the cashier said, full of glee. “What can I get ya?”

“Hello, I’ll try the sunrise breakfast sandwich with double meat and that pick-me-up smoothie.”

“Okay great, is that all?”

“Oh, and I was told to pick up Eni’s usual?”

“Ooo, you’re a friend of Eni?”

“Yeah,” Seb said, smiling. “I guess you could say that.”

“Good for her,” the cashier said with a wink. “It’s good to hear she’s getting out a bit more. I swear all she does is work.”

“Are you two friends?’

“Oh no, Eni’s just a regular. She’ll come down and work down here when she’s feeling a bit cramped. She also orders from us quite often, so we’ll send one of the boys to run food up to her condo every so often.”

“I can definitely see the convenience. It would probably be pretty dangerous for me to live so close to a place where I loved the food.”

“Tell me about it. I gained like ten pounds once I started working here.”

“Well, you look great.”

“Aw, thank you. That’s sweet of you to say. You just made my day.”

Seb inserted his cred chip once the cashier rang up the total. Once he paid, she turned around and prepared some of the order before setting it on the counter. A separate barista brought the drinks from a different station behind the counter.

“Here’s your order,” the cashier said, sliding the bags and containers across the counter. “Tell Eni we said we miss her.”

“I will,” Seb said, picking up the order. He rushed across the street and waited at the door to be let in. After a sequence of clicks, the door opened and Seb made his way back up the elevator and into Eni’s apartment.

He set the food on the counter temporarily before grabbing the nearby trashcan and clearing the table of all the old food and cans. With the table cleared, he placed the food on opposite sides just in time to hear the soft tap of Eni’s footsteps. She had changed into black cargo pants, with a high red g-string paired with a black-and-red crop top.

Seb pulled out a chair for her, the measure eliciting the first genuine smile he’d received from her so far that day. With her taken care of, he pulled out his food, sat across from her, and dug in. As he ate, he noticed she hadn’t touched her food. She was just sitting there, pulling on the end of her ears.

“Is everything okay?” Seb asked, putting his food down. “Did they get your order wrong or something?”

“No… it’s not that,” Eni said, looking up at Seb with pinched eyes. “Ugh… this is such a pain in the ass.”

“What?”

“I need to tell you something. Something very personal because of what happened earlier today. Got it?”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Eni. I’m okay with what happened this morning. We can call it an accident.”

“That’s the thing, though. It wasn’t an accident… well… it was, and it wasn’t.”

“Okay now I am confused.”

“Will you just shut up and listen!” Eni shouted. Realizing her sudden outburst, she shoved her head into her hands, leaning over the table. “Sorry… this is just the last thing I wanted to have to explain to someone else. No one else knows this about me.”

Seb reached his hand out and placed it on the edge of Eni’s arm. “Like I said when we first met. You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Eni nodded, slid her hands over her face, and took in a deep breath. “I uh… I have lucid dreams and I sleep walk.”

“So you’re having very vivid dreams that combine with you moving unnaturally?”

“In short, yes. It’s one reason why I’ve been so good at virtual holonet running. When most holonet runners go into that sphere, it’s akin to being asleep and having a virtual dream. Most of the time, people perceive it as things moving in slow motion even though it’s happening in milliseconds. However, because of my condition, everything moves rather quickly. It allows me to accomplish runs in shorter amounts of time or move at speeds close to that of a virtual intelligence.”

“That sounds like a good thing then.”

“It is while I am working. However, it causes… complications when I sleep. It tends to happen when I am stressed or feeling a potent emotion. The dreams will become very vivid and then I have a tendency to sleepwalk. It’s normally not a big deal because I am just walking around the apartment by myself, but since you’re crashing over, this is something you probably need to be aware of.”

“You’re not going to stab me while I am sleeping, are you?”

“No! Nothing like that! But it tends to be more physical.”

“Physical?”

Eni placed her forehead on the table. “I’ve had situations in the past with former partners where I'd dream about doing things with them and wake up in the middle of it.”

Seb couldn’t contain his laughter. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be laughing. I’m just thinking about how happy I’d be if I was the guy.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“What really? How could that ever be a bad thing?”

“I’ve been with some real jerks.”

Seb settled down and cleared his throat, seeing how much it affected Eni. “I’m sorry to hear that. So, what should I do if I notice it in the future?”

“I come out of it rather quickly. Just pinch me or say my name like you did this morning.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Eni leaned up and smiled. “Thanks for being cool about it.”

Seb smiled and nodded before the pair resumed eating their breakfast. However, while Seb finished up his meal, something was scratching at the back of Seb’s mind. The more he thought about Eni’s explanations and what happened this morning, he was jumping to some serious conclusions. Unfortunately, it dug at him too much that he couldn’t help himself but to ask.

“Eni?

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a question about your sleepy dream thing?”

Eni slowly looked up at him with piercing eyes. “What.”

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything. So, you were lucid dreaming last night, and you ended up on top of me—”

Eni cut him off before he could finish his thought. “This is a fast pass to ending up on the curb Seb.”

“All right,” Seb said with a wide grin. “Forget I said anything.” Eni glared at Seb while he tried to suppress his laughter. He had a pretty confident guess to what she was dreaming about.

The two finished their breakfast and Eni gave Seb her thanks for picking up the meal. After they finished, Eni went back to her room and started working on making contact with the ACR. In the meantime, Seb held onto his promise of paying for his stay.

He started with the loose trash, picking up the empty bottles, cans, and plastic containers loosely left throughout the room. He bundled it all up and threw it away in the garbage that opened in the far back wall. It was a convenience Seb was thankful for, so he didn't have to make consistent trips up and down the floors.

After disinfecting all the surfaces, he unloaded and loaded the dishwasher before turning to the laundry. With Eni’s permission, he sorted and started a load of laundry. By the time he finished with all of his tasks, it was nearly midafternoon. There was more he could do, like sweep the floors he was confident hadn’t been swept in weeks. But figured he could leave that for another day. For now, he wanted that shower.

It was like standing in a torrential downpour of hot water thanks to the strong water pressure and rain like spout built into the ceiling. It was so relaxing, Seb thought about just laying down and taking a nap. If it wasn’t for the concern of drowning, he probably would have. When he finished, he realized he forgot a towel.

“Hey Eni?” Seb called out into the other room.

“Yeah?”

“Where are the towels?”

“Hang on, let me grab you one.”

Seb waited for Eni, facing away from the doorway inside the steamed up glass shower. He caught her gaze through the reflection of the surrounding glass walls as she set the towel on the floating bathroom sink.

“I left it on the sink for you,” Eni said.

“Thank you!”

When Seb exited the shower, he walked over the tile floor headed for the sink. He grabbed the towel and dried himself off, doing his best not to look behind him. He could feel Eni’s eyes watching his every move.

Knowing this, he decided to put on a bit of a show. He spent the next few minutes stretching his lean body, exaggerating each move. Even though she was keeping herself hidden, Seb could still see part of her reflection in the mirror. It wasn’t until he reached for his skinsleeve and clothes that she disappeared from view. He wanted to push it further, by explaining that he needed to wash his skinsleeve suit, leaving him just with a towel. However, his plans were interrupted by a warning alarm that rang throughout the house.

“Seb, get in here!” Eni shouted.

Seb hobbled on one leg, hurrying to get his skinsleeve on. After falling, and getting it clamped up, he sprinted into Eni’s bedroom. He’d yet to go in there out of respect for her privacy, but was still surprised at her setup.

Nearly a dozen terminals lined the wall with holographic screens. Many were filled with video feeds, chatrooms, and the closest had lines of code. On the far wall were four server 48u server racks, all completely filled with various hardware that were lighting up like a broken traffic light.

Eni expanded one of the video feeds which showed several men dressed in all black suits, cutting through the building's backdoor.

“Who are they?” Seb asked.

“No idea, but they’re either here for you or me. My guess is the latter.”

“What should we do?”

Eni was typing furiously on one of her terminals. When she hit enter, all the screens went black. Sparks and fire shot out from the nearby server racks.

“This house has been compromised. We have about two minutes before everything goes up in smoke.”

“This apartment is wired to explode?” Seb shouted.

“Of course, it’s part of the fail-safe protocols. Grab your shit and let's go.”

Seb turned around and rushed back to the bathroom, putting on the rest of his clothes. When he was finished, he ran into the living room, picking up his holster and bag before joining Eni near the elevator. She was now carrying a small backpack and shoulder holsters that strapped around her back. Attached to one side were several spare batteries and on the other was a folded sub-machine gun that was clipped underneath her arm. The same video feed that was on her monitor was now being projected on her WICI.

“Fuck… they’re already inside,” Eni said. “There’s a group out front guarding the entrance and a group on the side of the building guarding the fire escape. Time for plan d.”

“What’s plan d?” Seb asked.

“Garbage chute.” Eni said, walking past Seb. Without hesitation, Eni unshouldered her bag, opened the chute, and threw it down. The pack rattled all the way down the ten floors of the building.

“Are you kidding me, Eni? We’re ten floors up.”

“What, are you scared?” she asked with an evil grin. “Don’t worry about it. One reason I chose this building was because of this chute design. After about three floors, it starts to curve. Just think of it as a really large slide.”

Before Seb could offer any rebuttal, Eni let go of the edge and fell down, laughing maniacally. Seb cursed, taking off his bag and throwing it down the chute. He turned around, stepping in feet first, and shimmied his body from side to side.

When gravity took hold, Seb yanked his arms to his chest and crossed his legs. Like Eni said, it was just like a slide. His feet kicked his bag out of the end as his momentum jettisoned him from the rectangular pipe. He wasn’t sure what he landed in, only that he was certain he was going to need another shower. However, he was thankful it was soft enough to cushion his fall.

“Grab your shit and follow me,” Eni whispered before climbing over the edge of the garbage can.

Seb followed her and they both sprinted as fast as they could while crouched over. When they reached the street over, they straightened up and hastened down the sidewalk. When they were far enough away, Eni pulled up her WICI and, with a few inputs, initiated an explosion that shattered the windows behind them. Seb turned to see smoke and flames rising to the roof of the station while civilians scurried away screaming.”

“God dammit, Eni, what did you get me into?” Seb shouted after catching back up to her.

“Probably just a rival runner who finally found my hideyhole,” Eni said, shrugging. “Don’t worry. It only happens once every few years. Just bad luck on your part for being around when it did.”

“Why would a rival be trying to kill you?”

“For the clout, obviously. There’s an underground galactic leaderboard for the top holonet hackers. The higher you place, the higher pay you can demand, and the better jobs you’re offered. Most of the ones in the top twenty are two-bit sellouts to the corps, though. Offing the competition is the fastest way to climb.”

“A heads up about this would have been nice.”

“How was I supposed to know? And if I hadn’t offered you a place to stay, you wouldn’t have been involved, anyway.”

“That’s… a good point.”

“Come on, these things happen. I had contingency plans in place. That’s why my clients hire me in the first place.”

“Is this going to put us behind schedule?”

“Absolutely not. I put out my feelers this morning. All we need to do now is sit back and wait.”

“That’s good. So, what do we do now?”

“I’ll get us a place to stay. Somewhere far enough away from here. I’ll need to vet my other safe houses to see if they have compromised any of the other ones.”

“Any place you want to go?”

Eni tapped the bottom of her chin. “Have you been to Corporate Plaza? There’s some luxury hotels there and some shopping we can do.”

“How can you be thinking about shopping now? Your apartment just blew up?”

“Shit happens. You can’t let it ruin a beautiful day. Besides, we both need some spare clothes and toiletries.”

“I wish I had your optimism,” Seb chuckled. “This feels like one more fuck you from the universe with the week I’ve been having.”

“Maybe, but we’ve got a plan and we’re still breathing. That has to count for something.”

“I guess you’re right. Well, I won’t let myself be the beacon of despair. So, I’ll follow you.”

“Good. I know the perfect place for us.”