House of Dolls 4

by Harmon Cooper

  Kevin had already felt her mentally reach out to him a few times now, which was fine—his finger was always ready to trigger his Zero Ring.

  It wasn’t but a few minutes later that the teleporter appeared with a large man and woman, the two looking like they were twins aside from the woman’s square-shaped breasts. Both were muscled, and both wore the sleek clothing the security company had provided.

  “I thought I said to bring them one at a time,” Kevin said.

  “We always come together,” said the muscular male exemplar.

  “Sit down,” Sandy said as she approached them, and the man scoffed at her suggestion to sit on the floor.

  “I would do as she says,” Kevin said as he took a step toward the pair. Turquoise and Obsidian stood on the periphery, ready to pounce.

  “What’s this about?” the man asked.

  “The company has a new owner—me.”

  It was then that the man and the woman both noticed the owner had been shot, the scar-faced man lying on the floor with a gaping wound in his back.

  “Before you get upset,” Kevin said, “just know that I’m going to pay you twice what he was paying you. Does that sound fair?”

  “Twice?” the woman asked, glancing at her counterpart

  The teleporter appeared again, this time with a female whose hair reached all the way down to the back of her knees. It was braided, but Kevin could tell by the way it was moving that it had something to do with her power.

  “Sit,” Kevin said. Sandy stood directly to his right, narrowing her eyes on the new exemplar in the room.

  The woman looked at the two muscled twins, both of them nodding at her to follow Kevin’s orders while the woman whispered something to her. She did as she had been told, and as she sat on the ground her hair moved on its own to accommodate her.

  “I’m sure the three of you have assignments, but that will be changing as well. Yes, I believe it is time we do something a bit bigger, something a little grander.”

  Another man appeared, the guy dressed the same as the others with sinewy arms and legs. A wave of anger started to burn behind his eyes and as it did, Kevin waved his concern away. The man turned to his coworkers and then back to Kevin and Sandy, eventually taking a seat.

  By the time the teleporter was done, there were eight exemplars seated before Kevin, the teleporter standing behind them.

  “Now that everyone’s here, let me tell you more about what I’m planning to do. While it might not look like much, my little pleasure house has started to turn an incredible profit, so much so that I think I would like to expand. Maybe create a brand of sorts, like we do back in Centralia, perhaps even a franchise. I haven’t seen much of that here, but it is well-known that the people of the Western Province are less sophisticated when it comes to marketing than their counterpoints in Centralia. So I’m going to bring a little bit of that here.”

  “A brothel?” the exemplar named Chap asked.

  “Yes, it’s about time we treat sin as it should be treated—as a commodity, and a well-regulated one at that. Of course, it shouldn’t be very hard to figure out that doing this is going to bring me plenty of enemies, which is why I’ve hired all of you. If you weren’t here earlier, your salaries have now doubled. You will also be given access to healing capabilities if you are injured. We can work out the structure of our new little operation over the next week or so, but I think it’s safe to say that this is a good start. You all work for me now, we will expand, and as we do, there will be more avenues of revenue for the company, and through the company, for you.”

  Kevin turned to his cat girls, smiling warmly at them. “Allow me to introduce you to Turquoise and Obsidian. They have been with me from the start, and in a way, they are what has inspired this journey. You see, there was a time in my life when I was nobody, an absolute nothing, so pathetic that I tried to commit suicide. I was kidnapped from the hospital by these two, strangely enough, because they thought I was my brother. My late brother.”

  Kevin paused, letting this statement sink in, aware of the tone in which he had said it and what he had implied. “There are a few things that have happened since then, including the discovery of some incredible chemicals that could potentially change the world, but that’s not what matters right now. What matters right now, to me anyway, is gaining territory. And you, all of you, are going to help me do that. Anyone who objects may leave the room now, but once you step outside that door, you are my enemy—and if I or any of my associates ever see you again, we will treat you as such.”

  Kevin placed his hands behind his back waiting for someone to take him up on his offer. When no one did, he continued, “I know I may seem a bit unconventional, and perhaps this isn’t the way you are used to business being done around here, but things have changed. As you will soon learn, I take what I do very seriously. But I can also have fun. And since our enterprise has expanded as of today, I propose that we have a ceremony tomorrow night. I will bring the entertainment and, of course, pay for all of the catering. But after that, we need to get down to business, which will also involve checking in on our competition. So what do you say—are there any questions? Any concerns?”

  The female with the long hair raised her hand. “You said you would pay us double, correct?”

  “Yes, that is correct,” Kevin told her. “I believe we will work in a bonus structure as well, once we’ve had a chance to sort through the paperwork.”

  The woman nodded. “That’s all I needed to know.”

  “Great. Now, take the rest of the day off—aside from you, Chap. You’re with me. We will message you the location of tomorrow night’s ceremony. Do not bring a significant other; I will be providing the entertainment.”

  Chapter Nineteen: Devil and Meatloaf

  Roman awoke to the sound of footsteps in the hallway.

  He tightened his grip on both Coma’s and Celia’s seminude bodies. Celia placed her hand on his chest and looked up at him.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Just a noise,” he said.

  The beautiful doll he had imbued with what he recalled of his wife’s persona, the softer side of Roman, nuzzled her head against his chest.

  Coma sat up, his combat doll in her mask as always, topless, and Roman slowly lowered his hand until it rested on her opposite thigh.

  His combat doll turned to look at him, and as she did Roman slowly withdrew his life force from Celia.

  “Something is different about you,” Coma said as he carefully placed Celia to the side.

  “You think?”

  She nodded. “What is it that you want?”

  “Come again?”

  “What is it that you want, Roman?”

  “If I had the answer to that question, I wouldn’t be here in the Western Province.”

  Coma smirked. “Yes, you would. They would have arrested you if you hadn’t come.”

  “I would have given them hell.”

  He placed his feet on the floor. Coma lay down in his lap, looking up at him with her red eyes, the side of her mask lightly grazing his bare stomach.

  “Are you okay?” she asked as she reached her hand up to his chin, sliding her fingers against his skin.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. The noise just woke me up.”

  Roman drew his hand up her waist, slowly circling his finger around her nipple. As he did, a message came in from an anonymous source, the same source Catherine had been using earlier.

  Good morning. I’m just checking to see if we are meeting today.

  Roman frowned.

  “What is it now?”

  “I seem to constantly get myself into situations that could have been avoided had I not somehow put my dick in the equation,” Roman told her in a rare moment of self-reflection.

  “I guess that’s one way to put it.”

  “There are many ways to put it. But what can I say? It really is who I am, at least at the moment.”

  “Does it make you happy? All the
se women?”

  “How did you know what this was about?”

  “A hunch.”

  “I don’t know. I prefer being around women than men, and I enjoy being intimate with women. Maybe it’s like a form of communication with me. It clearly guides who I form friendships with; there’s no denying that.”

  “And what do you want from me?”

  Roman looked down at her, realizing he was currently cupping her right breast.

  “Sorry,” he said as he pulled his hand away. Coma stopped him, returning his hand to where it had just been.

  “It’s fine.”

  “I don’t know what I want from you. I think I came into this assuming Celia and I would have whatever a ‘normal relationship’ is. But a lot has changed, and she’s so much like the real Celia that sometimes it frightens me. Other times it bores me. Not that Celia was ever boring, not that the, um, current Celia is boring. Does this make sense? Maybe I shouldn’t be speaking about it. Fuck, I sound like an idiot. I suppose I feel like moving on. Maybe that’s a better way to describe it. And being in a monogamous relationship with Celia the doll doesn’t make me feel like I’m moving on—it makes me feel like I’m regressing.”

  “I wouldn’t tell her that,” Coma said. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “What do you want from me?” Roman asked her, turning the question around.

  “I don’t really have a preference,” she said. “Having a sexual relationship doesn’t benefit me in any way, nor do I experience the same sensations you experience. I do like watching people; maybe you will let me watch some of your future encounters instead of deactivating me. I find them interesting.”

  Roman smiled at her. “I never took you for a voyeur.”

  “Maybe it’s the mask,” she said as she finally sat up, bringing her small ass into Roman's lap. Her face was inches away from his now, Roman holding her closely as he simply stared at her.

  “I’ve really missed you,” he finally said. “I was going crazy over the last month. I’m so glad you couldn’t see me.”

  “I’m sure you were,” she said.

  “Sometimes I would just talk to the two of you as if you are both alive; I even made fun of myself in Casper’s voice.” He nodded over to the dresser, where Casper was deactivated and lying on her side.

  “I’m here now,” Coma said.

  She kissed Roman’s neck, and he hugged her for a moment. As he did, he fired off a message to Catherine, letting her know he wasn’t going to be back in Centralia for a while.

  Roman was glad Ava had canceled his ability to teleport back.

  That would keep him out of trouble, whether it be trying to break up with Catherine or helping Nadine in her sticky situation.

  Maybe it was a good thing after all, the distance.

  “Don’t go just yet,” Coma said as Roman started to move her off him.

  “I thought you don’t feel anything,” he told her.

  “It feels nice to be next to you. Does that count?”

  “Sure, and sorry if what I said was insensitive.” He hugged her again, lightly running his fingers along her body.

  Eventually, Roman got out of bed and dressed quickly, Coma doing the same. Once they were both dressed, he gave power to Casper and Celia, and the two dolls came alive.

  “Did I miss something?” Celia asked, fluttering her eyes open.

  “Just me getting dressed,” Roman said.

  The redheaded doll sat up, covering her chest with the blanket.

  “Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me you have an assignment for me today,” Casper said. “I’m getting so goddamn bored here in the West!”

  The tiny doll took a running leap off the nightstand and made it to Roman’s pants. She climbed up his clothing and arrived at his shirt pocket.

  “It’s not really up to me,” Roman told her, patting her on the head with his finger.

  “First of all—and I feel like we’ve been over this before—do not pat me on the head.” She kicked Roman with her heel. “Second, there must be something for me to do. Anything!”

  “You could stay here with Celia and pick up around the house,” Coma suggested.

  “Oh, fuck the fuck off,” Casper said, sticking her tongue out at Roman’s combat doll.

  “What do you think they would like for breakfast today?” Celia asked, interrupting Casper before she could continue. “The kitchen is fully stocked. I wish I had my recipe book, though. There were some great dishes in there.”

  “I can find out,” Roman said as he exited his room.

  The smell of a strong breakfast tea met his nostrils. As he walked down the hallway, he heard footsteps behind him, Coma a bit closer to him than she normally was.

  “I wanted to wake you up,” Jess said as he came into view, “but I didn’t want to go in there and see something my eyes couldn’t unsee.”

  “You could have knocked,” Roman told her as he took a seat at the main table, where Ava was already enjoying a cup of tea and a slice of fruit. Miranda, the telepath, was resting on the couch at the opposite side of the room, a book over her chest.

  “She was up all night,” Jess explained. “Something about telepaths having issues going to sleep.”

  “I wouldn’t wish telepathy on anyone,” Roman said under his breath.

  Celia ended up making scrambled eggs with sausage and toast. The smell woke Miranda, who joined Ava, Jess, and Roman at the table for breakfast.

  While the two women who worked for the Centralian Intelligence Agency weren’t exactly nice to Roman, they had become a bit more cordial. He could still sense some tension between the three of them, but it was less than it had been a day ago. Roman liked to think this was because of his performance last night, which Ava just so happened to be picking apart as they ate.

  “So there are some things we should have done differently,” she said after going through some of the details of the report she had filed with Rafner. “For one, we need to move faster next time. If you and Coma are meant to be our initial assault team, you should be prepared for anything and able to act accordingly.”

  “I lifted a wall…”

  “It’s amazing the building is still standing after what you did to it—at least the top few floors,” his former teacher said. “I trained you better than this. Well, our training was never completed, but at least I tried to teach you as much as I could about situational awareness. Since you have taken to killing quickly, which can prove beneficial, it is important that you not only kill the right people but also know who to spare. Now, in our scenario last night, there was really no one we needed to spare. We were told to bring Kevin down; if the man had been Kevin, we would have done exactly as we had been ordered to do. But still, situational awareness.”

  “Will do,” Roman said.

  He didn’t feel like he was being berated by Ava. Truth be told, Roman missed their training sessions, and he knew there was more he could have learned from her.

  He didn’t like the smirk Jess was giving him, but he knew not to engage.

  “And we’re going to speak to Devil next, right?” Miranda asked, the telepath clearly not giving two shits about what Ava had been saying.

  Roman didn’t know how much the telepath knew about their relationship, and he was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to pry into Ava’s head, but he had a sense from the way she had changed the course of the conversation that she knew more than she was letting on.

  “Yes, after breakfast. We know where he is staying, and as we discussed yesterday, it may be best to pay him a visit,” Ava said. “Perhaps he will be more persuaded to tell us useful information if there is a telepath involved.”

  “And who is on this mission exactly?” Roman asked.

  “Since we’re not planning to do anything aside from a bit of interrogation, you and Miranda should be able to handle it. Unfortunately, I have to go over to the Western Province garrison a few kilometers away from here to mee
t with their intelligence agency about what happened last night. Nothing to be concerned about, but this is generally how we operate.”

  “And what about me?” Jess asked.

  “You should go with them as well. I was planning to bring you to the garrison with me, but it will be, in your words, ‘boring as shit.’”

  Jess nodded, happy she’d been given a better assignment.

  “Should I bring Coma?” Roman asked.

  “I don’t think you’ll be needing her, considering you’re just going for answers.”

  Roman nodded.

  “Let’s see what we can uncover today, people,” Ava said, smiling at the small team of exemplars. “While I would love to have dealt with Kevin Blackbook by the end of the night, I’m aware that probably won’t be the case. Let’s see what we can get from Devil, and I will also follow up with the agents at the garrison. Hopefully, we’ll be able to shake loose a lead. If not, we may have to start hitting the streets.”

  “That’s my specialty,” Jess said.

  “No, it’s not,” Miranda said with a snort. “Your specialty is becoming the street.”

  Roman, Miranda, and Jess slowly began to descend from the sky, eventually landing alongside a teleporter in front of a three-story brownstone. It was a bit warmer than Roman was used to for this time of year, and unlike in Centralia, there was absolutely no breeze at the moment.

  Roman took a quick look around to see a man asleep on the stoop in front of the brownstone, a bottle of wine still in his hand, a wet stain on the front of his slacks.

  The teleporter nodded at them, and as she rose into the air, her form started to slowly pixelate, eventually turning to glitter and wisping away.

  “Fancy,” Jess said as she turned to the drunk man. “I’m sorry, but do you want to see something funny?”

  “By all means,” Roman told her.

  “We really don’t have time for this,” Miranda started to say.

  “Relax, it will only take a second.”

  Jess approached the drunk man. She kicked his wine bottle away, instantly morphing into the exact same wine bottle and taking its place.