by Jake Bible
When the ship was up and gone, Roak adjusted his suit, studied his surroundings, found the walking trail he needed, and began heading towards the main facilities of the ActivAri Villas resort.
It didn’t take long for security to arrive.
“Identification,” a guard said as three other heavily armed guards stood behind the woman. Her helmet was off and Roak could see she was Spilfleck, but the other guards had full helmets and tinted faceplates, so he had no idea what their races were.
Roak handed the lead guard his identification as resort guests walked past on other trails, their eyes intentionally averted. It would be unseemly to stare while official resort business was taking place. Especially if Roak turned out to be someone that didn’t belong. It was beneath the resort’s level of clientele to even glance at Roak and the guards.
“No implants, Mr. Scorp?” the guard asked Roak as she handed his identification back.
“I do not believe in modifications,” Roak replied in as snotty a voice as he could stomach to use.
“Weapons?” the guard asked.
Roak knew that she’d already had him scanned and knew exactly what weapons he had on him. It was a trick question, so Roak stayed quiet instead of answering.
“Weapons are not allowed on the premises,” the guard stated.
Roak still did not respond.
“I will have to detain you if you are carrying any weapons,” the guard pressed.
Roak put his hand in his trousers pocket and withdrew a small purse filled with chits. He cupped the purse in his palm and extended his hand to shake with the guard. She took his hand, shook it, and her features relaxed.
“I am glad you understand that our policies are only for the safety and security of our guests,” the guard said as her hand tucked the purse into a pocket on her vest. “We hope you enjoy your stay here at ActivAri Villas.”
“I’m sure I will,” Roak said.
He waited until the guards had turned and left before continuing down the trail.
18.
The ActivAri Villas resort was made up of a main building and many smaller clusters of buildings, as well as several private villas dotting the lush grounds. Guests could choose one of the villas, for an exorbitant fee, or they could stay in one of the suites in either the cluster buildings or in the main building.
Roak walked the grounds for a good three hours so he could get acquainted with the layout and also see what the differences between the clusters of buildings might be. It turned out that most clusters were segregated along racial lines. The Groshnels were with the Groshnels and the Cerviles were with the Cerviles. The only exception seemed to be humans. Roak saw a few in each of the cluster building areas, as well as a good amount at the main building.
Roak kept his eye out for a very tall, deep purple-skinned, human female with bright red hair. Once Roak realized she wasn’t at any of the cluster areas or the main building, he searched around the private villas. She was not hard to find.
However, she was hard to approach.
“Back off, slagger,” a Gwreq guard said as Roak walked to the small fence that surrounded an artificial grotto set next to one of the private villas. “She ain’t got no appointments today. Keep walking.”
There were three other Gwreq guards standing around the grotto. Zxixwell was sunbathing on a lounge chair by the pool, wearing nothing except an enormous pair of sunglasses. She didn’t even twitch as Roak turned his gaze on her then returned it to the Gwreq in front of him.
“Let Ms. Zxixwell know that a Mr. Scorp is here with something I believe she will be very interested in,” Roak said.
The Gwreq cocked his head and leaned down close to speak into Roak’s left ear.
“No,” he said softly then straightened back up.
“Don’t make me do this the hard way,” Roak said. “Ms. Zxixwell is going to want to see what I have.”
“Other than the two pistols on your ankles and the blades in your trousers?” the Gwreq laughed. It was like gravel falling across boulders that were tumbling down a mountainside. “Go. Away.”
“I’ll disarm if that makes you feel better,” Roak said as he crouched to remove the Blortas from their ankle holsters.
The Gwreq grabbed Roak by the back of the neck and lifted him into the air. It hurt like all the Hells, but Roak knew not to struggle or his neck would be snapped in a half-second.
“Did I say to disarm? No,” the Gwreq said, his face pressed almost right against Roak’s. “I said to go away.”
“What does he want, Cet?” Zxixwell called from her lounge.
“To die, looks like, ma’am,” Cet said, his stone-skinned lips pulling apart in what passed as a smile for most Gwreqs.
“Is he armed?” Zxixwell asked.
“Yes, ma’am, he is,” Cet replied.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Scorp,” Cet answered.
“I don’t know any Scorp,” Zxixwell said, but waved her hand. “Let me meet him.”
Cet dropped Roak then grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him in close.
“You speak when spoken to. You move a muscle and I break you. You need to get something out of a pocket, you ask me to do it for you. Got that, Scorp?” Cet snarled.
“Mr. Scorp,” Roak replied.
“You joking with that shit?” Cet asked then shook his head. “You live through today and you best hit the tile tables, Scorp. Because surviving the next few minutes means you’re the luckiest son of a bitch in this galaxy.”
Roak nodded.
Cet let go of Roak’s shirt, made an exaggerated display of smoothing down the material, then took Roak by the shoulder and steered him towards the grotto.
Zxixwell didn’t move from her lounge chair as Cet approached with Roak in his grip. She stayed laid out, relaxed, beads of sweat dotting her deep purple skin. Roak had no idea if she was looking at him, looking elsewhere, or had her eyes closed behind the massive sunglasses. When Cet stopped a couple meters from the lounge chair, that was when she stirred.
“Bring him closer,” Zxixwell said and waved at Roak. “Come here, Mr. Scorp.”
“He is still armed, ma’am,” Cet said.
“Then do something about that,” Zxixwell said.
Roak allowed the pistols and blades to be taken by the other Gwreq guards, but he held Cet’s gaze the entire time the weapons were stripped from him. Then Cet stepped forward and opened Roak’s suit jacket. He began to reach inside, but was stopped by Zxixwell.
“Let him show me,” Zxixwell said. “I want the full performance. Mr. Scorp has obviously been rehearsing his entrance. Let’s not spoil it for him.”
“I don’t know what he has, ma’am,” Cet said. “I’d rather I take it from him first.”
“I know you would, Cet,” Zxixwell replied. “I appreciate that. But I believe Mr. Scorp here means me no harm.” She sat up and removed the sunglasses. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Scorp?”
Roak nodded as he stared at Zxixwell’s silver eyes. They were incredibly beautiful and Roak had to remind himself that he may need to kill the woman, if the circumstances called for her death. But those silver eyes were almost too much to bear…
“Enhanced,” Zxixwell said as Roak continued to stare. “Perks of my position with Tanji Corporation. Give me a moment.”
Zxixwell waved her right hand over her left wrist and a small holo interface came up. She swiped at two controls and the silver eyes dulled to gray. Roak blinked then grinned.
“Nice trick,” he said.
“Expensive trick,” Zxixwell said as she stood up from her lounge chair.
She held out a hand and a Gwreq guard brought her a towel.
“Not seeing other servants,” Roak said as he watched her dry the sweat from her body. Zxixwell watched him watch her the entire time. “Your bodyguards handle the cooking and cleaning too?”
“This is a resort, Mr. Scorp,” Zxixwell said, handing the towel back to the Gwreq guar
d when she was done. “Cooking and cleaning is included.”
She moved in close to Roak and Cet took a couple steps, but stopped as she raised a hand. Zxixwell looked Roak up and down and smiled wide. They were the same height and those gray eyes locked onto his once she was done sizing him up.
“You’ve seen combat,” she said. “A lot of combat. My company can take care of those scars for you.”
“Med pods have tried, but the scars are there to stay,” Roak said.
“Med pods,” Zxixwell scoffed then slid past Roak and walked towards the open double doors of the villa house. “Med pods are so last century, Mr. Scorp.” She paused at the doors and turned to Roak, who hadn’t followed. Cet’s body language said that would be a bad idea. “Have you heard of bloodletting, Mr. Scorp?”
“I’ve done some,” Roak said.
“No, I do not mean violence,” Zxixwell said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “I’m talking about an ancient Earth medical technique that was not only pointless, it was downright deadly.”
She turned her head and spat which was the tradition when mentioning the cursed, toxic planet that Earth had become.
“Nope,” Roak said. “I’m not one for ancient Earth history.” Roak spat as well.
“A shame,” Zxixwell said as she stood straight and went inside the house. “Come along, Mr. Scorp.”
Roak looked at Cet and Cet nodded. Roak walked to the house and through the open doors.
Inside the house, it was shaded and cool, the smell of flowers and sweet fruits permeating the air. Roak was certain the scents were piped in through the vents, but he could be wrong. Fresh anything wasn’t his expertise.
Zxixwell was nowhere to be seen and Roak stopped a couple meters inside the house. Cet gave him a shove and he continued walking from the entryway to a large sitting parlor. Cet indicated for him to take a seat on a chair that was facing a large picture window. Roak knew exactly where Zxixwell would sit when she joined him.
Roak wasn’t disappointed when Zxixwell came into the parlor wearing a sundress that came down mid-thigh and sat on the small couch directly in front of the picture window. The backlighting made it hard for Roak to see Zxixwell’s facial features. The backlighting did reveal that the sundress was all Zxixwell was wearing.
“Do you know what else I can do, Mr. Scorp?” Zxixwell asked, bringing the same holo interface up from her wrist.
She made some adjustments and a second later, Roak felt himself growing restless. He wanted to move from the chair and sit next to Zxixwell. Then he wanted to take her in his arms and do some very awful things to her body. Very awful things.
Then the feeling was gone and Roak felt incredible shame for even thinking about doing those awful things to her. Zxixwell sat there smiling.
“Pheromonal control pores,” Zxixwell said. “My personal design. No one in the Tanji Corporation becomes CEO without having fought their way to the top. We do not recruit from the outside, Mr. Scorp, which means that whatever you have brought me will have to be beyond incredible to get my attention.”
“Then why invite me into your house?” Roak asked.
“Speak when spoken to,” Cet snapped.
“Cet? We’re having a conversation,” Zxixwell said.
“Sorry, ma’am,” Cet apologized.
“You can leave us,” Zxixwell said. “Mr. Scorp will behave himself, right, Mr. Scorp?”
“Seems to me that how I behave is up to you and your pores,” Roak said then turned and looked at Cet. “Nothing to worry about, Cet.”
Cet turned and left the parlor without a reply.
Zxixwell patted the couch and held out her hand. Roak stood up, crossed to the couch, removed the jar from his suit jacket, handed it to her, then took a seat on the couch next to her.
“It’s very…yellow,” Zxixwell said.
“So’s the rest of the specimen,” Roak said.
“There’s more of…this?” Zxixwell asked, turning the jar this way and that as she studied the bit of Yellow Eyes. “Help me out here, Mr. Scorp. What am I looking at?”
“The tip of a hand. Or arm. The tip of something,” Roak said and laughed as he relaxed into the back of the couch. His nonchalance caught Zxixwell’s attention and she smiled at him before returning her eyes to the jar.
“Is the something a being? Sentient?” Zxixwell asked.
“Yes and yes,” Roak said.
“I do not know the species,” Zxixwell said and her features darkened. Roak could see she was troubled by the lack of knowledge of what was held in the jar. “Where did you find this?”
“Around,” Roak said.
“I will have it analyzed,” Zxixwell said and a Gwreq guard appeared without her saying a word. The guard took the jar when Zxixwell offered it to him then left. Zxixwell turned her focus to Roak. “What will I find when the analysis comes back, Mr. Scorp?”
“You’ll find tissue that can heal instantly and is nearly impervious to harm,” Roak said. “Except for cutting. Apparently, you can cut the being. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to bring you that.”
“Impervious to harm? Interesting,” Zxixwell said. “And why should I care about that?”
“From what I’ve heard, Tanji Corporation is exactly the company that can take a specimen like that and turn it into something functional for all to use,” Roak said and held up a hand as Zxixwell started to object. “For the right price, of course.”
“Nothing in life is free,” Zxixwell said. “And nothing worth having is cheap.”
“You got anything to drink?” Roak asked.
“We are not at the refreshment stage of our relationship, Mr. Scorp,” Zxixwell said. “If I find your specimen of interest, how much are you looking for? I can say that I do not usually pay credits to strangers that walk in off the greenspace while I’m on vacation, but there is something about you that has me thinking that kicking you out would be a waste of an…opportunity.”
She basically undressed Roak with her eyes as she made that statement.
“Ten million,” Roak said. “Chits, not credits.”
Zxixwell burst into laughter.
“Ten million chits?” She laughed harder, one hand going to her belly and the other grabbing Roak by the shoulder as she doubled over.
“Ma’am?” Cet called from the other room.
“I’m fine,” she replied, wiping her eyes and taking her hand from Roak’s shoulder as she leaned back. “Thank you, Cet.”
“I’ll take fifteen million, if ten is too funny to deal with,” Roak said.
The mirth slid from Zxixwell’s face like a dropped mask.
“Don’t fuck with me, Mr. Scorp,” she said, her features just short of terrifying.
Roak drew back.
Zxixwell’s eyes widened then a smile returned.
“Sorry,” she said as she played with her wrist interface. Her facial features returned to normal in Roak’s eyes. “Had the intimidation setting turned up on my negotiation protocol. Apologies.”
“Is any of this real?” Roak asked, nodding at her body.
“It is certainly not imaginary,” Zxixwell said. “I’ll show you how real I am later.”
“I didn’t come here for that,” Roak said.
“Tough,” Zxixwell replied. “I’m on vacation and I came to Ballyway exactly for that. But, instead of going through a string of pleasure boys, you arrived at my doorstep. Now, if you do not find me attractive…”
“I think you know that’s not the issue,” Roak said.
“Good,” Zxixwell said and stood up. She offered Roak her hand. “We’ll leave the price chat for later once the results come back. For now, would you care to join me in my bedroom? I need to shower first since the sun got me all sweaty. I hope that is alright.”
“That’s fine,” Roak said and took her hand.
19.
Roak was shocked that Zxixwell actually meant a shower. Not a steam stall, but a
full-on, running water shower. He knew some beings used them, but the extravagance of it was almost more than Roak could handle. And he could handle a lot.
Roak’s shock turned to instant pleasure the moment Zxixwell pulled him into the shower and the hot stream of water cascaded over their naked bodies. He pretty much forgot that there was a beautiful naked woman wrapping herself around him. The water was pure joy.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Zxixwell said as she kissed his neck then his cheek then his mouth. They stayed that way for a long while until Zxixwell pulled back and laughed. “You aren’t half bad, Mr. Scorp.”
Roak grinned at her and felt that desire to do awful things to her body rise. Zxixwell smirked then dialed down the pheromones. The awful part went away and Roak only wanted to do things to her. Lots of things.
He spun her around and he pressed her body against the stall wall. Roak was on her, in her, his arms wrapped around her front, pulling her to him, bringing them closer than if they were a single body.
Zxixwell was vocal. She had no problem expressing her pleasure. And her disappointment. Roak listened attentively and made sure the woman was happy at all times. They remained in the water shower until Cet interrupted them with a gravelly clearing of his throat.
“Your conference comm, ma’am,” Cet said then left.
Roak paused, but Zxixwell slapped his ass hard to keep him going. It was another ten minutes before Zxixwell slipped from the shower and dried off while Roak remained.
“Enjoy it,” Zxixwell said. “I’ll be at least an hour on the comm. Vacations are never truly vacations when you are CEO of a megacorporation.”
“Board meeting?” Roak asked as he used the shower for its original intended purpose and began to soap up.
“R&D,” Zxixwell said. “The results from the tests of your specimen should be done soon. Maybe I’ll mention them to my team.”
“Nothing to mention until you pay me,” Roak said, ducking his head under the water and marveling at the feeling of suds running down his neck, his chest, his entire body.
