Pariah #1: New Arrival: Perils of Azure City

by Void

  Every now and then I would be interrupted by the stirring of one of the men I had knocked out earlier and I would leave Tyrone’s shattered form to briefly guide each man back to unconsciousness. Each passing moment brought me back from the torrid place I had slipped to and I felt increasingly empowered by the venting of my frustrations.

  By the time I was done with Tyrone I felt like I had mostly regained my composure and somewhat purged the last effects of my exposure to the aria.

  I stared down at Tyrone’s bloody form as he wheezed and shook on the ground.

  Perhaps I went too far. Would I have gone this far had he not violated me? Probably not… But I was still careful to avoid doing anything that would inflict lasting harm or put his life at risk, as I always am. Had I not been careful to avoid lasting damage to his henchmen, I knew I would have likely reached Tyrone before he managed to switch on the aria. I resented the need to hold back in both instances but I understood it would be crossing a line.

  Tyrone had not known as much as I might have hoped. He had been the second in charge of this site and only knew what was needed for him to know. On top of that I wasn’t in a position to take my time and methodically draw out all of Tyrone’s knowledge like I would have liked to – instead having to settle for extracting key pieces of information.

  It wasn’t much, but it would suffice.

  I left Tyrone in a heap and retrieved my cloak, wrapping it tightly about myself and pulling up the hood. I took comfort from the feel of concealing myself and adding another layer to shroud my body - feeling more like a hunter again.

  Satisfied that Tyrone and his crew were going to be out for a while, I headed up the stairs to finish my sweep of the depot.

  I knew what I would find in the old managerial offices; Tyrone had made it clear to me. The offices had been converted into a holding cell for the girls that they brought back. Cheap mattresses littered the floor and as many as a dozen young women lay drugged on them. They were at varying states of sedation, with some of them even hooked up to a drip or being fed some kind of gas through oxygen masks. Many were naked, the rest were dressed down to their underwear, and all showed signs that they had been abused. They mewled and groaned in their stupor, clearly having been well worked on by Tyrone and his people. In their state, some of the girls lay pleasuring themselves while others had found each other and were engaging in lascivious communes, pawing at each other and sating their mutual lusts.

  About all the room the aria played continuously through similar lights and speakers as were in the loading bay. It looked like it had been playing in here the whole time, looping continuously, and these girls had been exposed to it for as long as they had been held here.

  A control panel at the doorway acted as a master switch for the aria, much like the one I had already seen, and I rested my hand on it as I took in the sight of the office, letting my eyes drift across the writhing bodies.

  These poor girls.

  I had nearly lost my mind after minutes of being exposed to the aria – these girls had been up here for days while they were continuously worked on by the men downstairs. Was it any wonder the girls that went through this process came out as slaves? It would be a long road back for these girls, if there even was a way to come back from this.

  My heart skipped a beat as I considered that Lenny and Tyrone would have brought me up here. They would have taken my indoctrination to the next level, having their way with me over and over while I lay drugged and helpless. With the aria playing around me and the girls moaning on the office floor, my thoughts of what would have happened to me up here swept around my mind in a lurid fantasy.

  Some of the closest girls beckoned to me, reaching out their hands and plaintively calling for me to join them. They looked to me with subservient, lust-filled eyes; offering themselves to me as much as wishing for me to offer myself to them.

  I had never in my life considered being with a woman, but after all that had happened, and was currently happening, I found myself curious what it might be like - just like I was morbidly curious what would have become of me had I not broken free of the aria’s thrall.

  I let my mind wander for a moment longer before I heaved down on the switch and ended the aria’s tune. Simple white lights flickered to life in its place, seeming harsh in the room as they showed it all in stark reality. It was met with cries of discomfort as many of the girls called for the sweet embrace of the aria to be returned to them, not wanting their sensual dream to end.

  The kind of aid these girls were going to need next was not the kind I could render, but I could at least bring this nightmare to an end. I stepped about the office looking for a girl who might still have some strength. I came to a beautiful brunette who couldn’t have been any older than twenty – probably a student at Azure University – and I knelt down at her side. I guessed she had probably been in this place for the least time, perhaps only brought in today, and she wasn’t hooked up to a drip or oxygen mask like some of the other girls.

  She stirred as she noticed my presence, reaching out a hand to try and protect herself, ‘No… please…’

  ‘Hey, it’s okay,’ I said, trying my best to sound reassuring and warm, ‘I’m not with them, understand? They’re gone; they’re never going to touch you again,’ I pulled down my hood and looked her in the eye, ‘I’m here to help you. You’re going to be okay now, do you understand?’

  She looked back at me, her confusion slowly receding as understanding crept across her face. Tears welled in her eyes and her lips started to tremble.

  ‘Hey now, I need you to be brave, alright? What’s your name?’

  Her eyes searched mine as she continued to struggle with her emotions, ‘…Tracy.’

  ‘Tracy, that’s a nice name. Okay Tracy, my name is Pariah, and I’m going to help you out of this. But I need your help, okay?’

  She gave a slight nod, still holding herself together.

  ‘Alright, you’re going to be the hero, Tracy,’ I said as I pressed Tyrone’s smartphone into her hands, ‘I need you to phone the police. Tell them we are at the old Harrington Depot in Gallowgate. Tell them what happened to you and that they need to come get you all. You’ll save everyone – and then you’ll all go home. Can you do that for me, Tracy?’

  She nodded her head again, this time with more conviction, ‘I can do that.’

  I smiled at her, ‘Okay then,’ I stood to leave and she shot a hand out to grab my own.

  ‘You’re leaving?’ she asked, an edge of panic in her voice.

  I put my hand over hers and gave it a firm squeeze, ‘I’m only going to be out of sight, Tracy. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here; I’ll still be watching over you all.’

  She gave a small smile of her own and released me, ‘Okay…’

  I turned away from her and walked back to the exit, pulling my hood back up as I prepared to return to the loading bay.

  ‘Pariah,’ Tracy called after me, causing me to stop and turn my head back to her. ‘Thank you.’

  I gave the girl one last smile before I left her to dial the police. She was thanking me and I felt like I owed her an apology. If I had found this place sooner, if I had gotten to Underhaven before now, or if I had spent more time on this case; none of this would have happened to her. As it was, I had very nearly failed to save her – I had almost joined her.

  I made a silent promise to Tracy and all the girls in that place that I would do better.

  Barely ten minutes later I was sat on top of the same rooftop I had launched my assault from, looking out over the depot. I had used my telekinesis to carry me up in what was a very slow and difficult form of flight, leaping into the air and then drifting upwards in an envelope of blue force. I was concealed as I had been the last time I was up there and I watched as the first police cruisers pulled up at the entrance to the depot.

  I had been sure to drag all of Tyrone’s men to the centre of the loading area and leave them suitably incapacitated so as not to be a
danger to the police when they appeared. I also made sure that the contents of the crates in the loading bay were clearly visible so as to leave no doubt as to what the police officers were walking in to.

  It didn’t take long for them to radio it in, and then came a small convoy of ambulances and police vans. More and more started to arrive, securing the area and cordoning it off while the girls were guided outside and led to the back of the ambulances. Statements were taken, aid was given, and the girls were gradually sent off in the ambulances, probably headed to the Western Saint’s Hospital.

  I watched as Tracy was led to the back of a police van to speak with a young, handsome detective, and she seemed to give a good account of herself as she answered his questions. For his part the detective seemed respectful and sympathetic as he intently dealt with her. He looked genuinely shaken by what he was learning had transpired - and I could relate to that.

  It reminded me that as bad as Azure can be, it is still filled with good folk. The response from the emergency services had been quality and it encouraged me that Azure could still be wrestled back from the hold of evil men – even forlorn places like Gallowgate.

  It was a telling blow on Underhaven. They had lost all of the product that they had been holding at the depot as well as the girls, not to mention the loss of fifteen of their men. Even worse for them, the ACPD would be on to them now in a way they never had before. They had people for questioning, girls to testify, and copious amounts of contraband to impound. There was enough in the depot to prosecute Tyrone and his people as well as to crack open the investigation into Underhaven.

  I had left it all to the police on a silver platter and they didn’t disappoint me. Life was about to get much harder for Underhaven - the fire I saw in the eyes of the young detective assured me of that.

  It pleased me to see such human decency and care from the people who were now seeing to the girls, and for the first time since I came to Azure I felt a heartening sense of kinship with the ACPD.

  They would still struggle to find Underhaven and pin the ringleaders down, and if Crow was right about the kinds of people working for the sleazy organisation then they would have a hard time managing that threat - but they had me for all of that. It was enough to know they would be ready and waiting to do their bit when I made my move.

  I was far from finished with Underhaven. Tonight was just the beginning; a hopefully crippling blow to let them know that I was coming for them. Tonight let them know that their time was now limited – that they were no longer untouchable. Let them run scared in the knowledge that they were being stalked in the very same darkness they once used to hunt innocents.

  Tyrone had given me all I needed to escalate things. I now knew where to find their other safe house in Gallowgate, and I knew where I would find the boss of their Gallowgate operations. On top of that I knew where a large amount of their drug supplies were coming from and Tyrone confirmed that Underhaven was, unsurprisingly, based in the Honeypot district. The meetings for the different branches of Underhaven convened at Club Surrender, and it seemed that the red mistress chaired the meetings as the representative of their true leader.

  I had many leads, many ways to begin destroying Underhaven – even if they now knew I was coming for them – and I was committed to seeing this through.

  But for tonight, I was done. My previous encounters had taken it out of me and the sun would soon be coming up. I needed to head home and get some much needed rest – hopefully not thinking about the perverse fantasies that Lenny had awoken me to.

  I stood vigil over the crime scene until the last of the girls was taken away safely before finally creeping away into the remains of the night.

  My journey home took me nearly an hour as I navigated my way around the Azure rooftops. I left Gallowgate behind me and entered the marginally nicer district of Old Town. Once the beating heart at the centre of the emergent city, it was now a forgotten obscurity of cheap residential areas and markets. The place had undeniable character which attracted me to it – but more than that, it was central to the parts of the city that most needed attention like mine. As well as that, the warren-like nature of the Old Town made it perfect for me to quickly and invisibly make my way to and from my home.

  I made a final jump between rooftops, using my telekinesis to help me leap that little bit further, and landed on the top of my building. I was situated in a studio apartment – with skylight access – sat just above an old café.

  Casting one last look about me, I disengaged the locks of the skylight and dropped into my apartment. It was nice to be back in a familiar space. My clothes were littered about my bedroom, with the rest of the apartment dominated by the painting apparatus I used in my day job. Canvas paintings lay strewn about my living area, with a half-finished painting of a cat still awaiting my return in its easel sat facing my double windows, which looked out onto the Azure skyline.

  I reached up with my mind and closed my skylight behind me with a flick of force before I stumbled up to my bedroom. I opened up the built in closet by my bed to reveal a surprisingly expansive walk-in wardrobe that was filled with the heavy black cases I used to transport my serious equipment. Two replacement outfits hung either side of the wardrobe, nearly hidden among the regular clothing that they shared the rack with.

  Hardly the elaborate, awe inspiring headquarters that Kamura often joked about getting - but it got me through it.

  I didn’t bother turning on the lights; I just started lazily climbing out of my cloths. Letting my cloak pool around my feet, I pulled down the zip on my bodysuit and peeled the tight material off my body, finally getting the chance to let the skin of my legs and arms breathe. Dressed down to my underwear I turned out of the wardrobe and strolled over to my bed, pulling the restrictive fabric of the sports bra over my head as I walked and let it drop haphazardly to the floor before I collapsed into my bed topless.

  The feeling of my soft pillows on my face reminded me that I still wore my adhesive mask. I reached up to gingerly peel it off my face before flinging it into my open wardrobe and closing the doors after it with a wave of my hand.

  The sun was starting to rise and my apartment was lit in the dull hues of morning twilight as I prepared to drift off to sleep. I toyed with the idea of taking a shower and brushing my teeth to cleanse myself of my earlier experiences, but found that I was too tired, and instead resolved to do it when I awoke. I swore I could still taste Lenny’s cock on my tongue and the cloying taste of his cum at the back of my throat.

  It was an unpleasant thought, serving to remind of me where tonight had gone – and where it nearly went. As bad as the memory was, I found it still sent a tingling down to my crotch as my body remembered the experience right along with my mind. I squirmed slightly in the bed, having to resist the urge to touch myself, and I guided my mind away from the past – setting it instead on the future.

  Letting out a loud sigh, I wrapped myself in my covers and allowed myself to think of all the ways that I would punish Underhaven if I could. I held the thought for a moment before letting the notion go and trying to content myself that simply stopping them and protecting the girls was enough.

  As I drifted off to sleep, I found myself wondering about the fiery eyed detective who had seen to Tracy. It was a nice thought to end my day on.

  Compassion.

  Epilogue

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘Yes, Shade confirmed it for me twenty minutes ago.’

  ‘Ah… did anyone get out?’

  ‘Malone wasn’t there at the time, so he wasn’t taken in, and it seems like one of the men got away… Lenny Finch, I believe.’

  ‘I see, and Shade is speaking to Finch now?

  ‘Yes, Mr. Drake’

  ‘Good… I’ll be interested to hear what comes of that. How bad is it?’

  ‘…’

  ‘Ms. Weaver? How bad is it?’

  ‘It is nothing we cannot recover from. We will miss the use of the site more tha
n the loss of what was currently there – but there are plenty other sites we could use.’

  ‘I’m well aware of that, Ms. Weaver, but I still don’t know how bad our loss is at the depot. Tell me, please.’

  ‘It is hard to give a precise answer at this time…’

  ‘Try.’

  ‘…Perhaps ninety-five in lost product… a further eleven in lost equipment… The value on the girls is debatable; there were thirteen in all… and of course we lost fifteen men. Added to that, I don’t know what the knock-on effects will be with the police involvement… It will probably effect future sales.’

  ‘I see… I’ll be honest, Ms. Weaver, I’m not delighted about this. Lohman and Thane will both be displeased – to say nothing of all the small fish that will need appeasing.’

  ‘Of course, Mr. Drake.’

  ‘Then again… I suppose they are all more beholden to us than we are to them, wouldn’t you agree?’

  ‘I would.’

  ‘We did expect this, I suppose. There was always going to be growing pains… Actually… it’s quite exciting, isn’t it?’

  ‘Sir?’

  ‘A serious game is afoot here, Ms Weaver; we might be in the fight for our lives. It has been quite some time since we had to get up off our thrones and lock horns with a worthy opponent. There is the chance here to forge ourselves into something stronger… A battle that will end us or see us ascend even higher… A battle with an angel, no less.’

  ‘You’re being dramatic, sir. The damage done here is entirely short term. We are in no danger and the Pariah is no angel – merely a foolish girl playing games in the night.’

  ‘I like games in the night… Come to that, so do you; you love games in the night, Ms. Weaver. You can’t fool me, I know you’re excited too.’

  ‘Perhaps.’

  ‘Hah! You minx! Regardless, I’m intrigued by where this is headed. We have been challenged, and there is a threat here that we need to respond to before it gets any worse. The Pariah scares the people on the street and she has proven herself against others… She seems quite tenacious, don’t you think?’