Small Glimpses
Leroy walked into his Boss' master bedroom; she had gotten home and finished taking a shower.
Leron pushed the door open, he didn't care if he was bothering his Boss, he had important news, also he was hoping to see some skin.
Gwen glowered at him as she whirled around, using her Mana to slam him into the wall.
"I should kill you for intruding on me!" Gwen snarled, "This better be good!"
"Boss, it's Michael Morningstar, he said he's interested in doing business with you, and Warden Morrg as well."
"They just line up for me don't they?" Gwen smirked. "Make sure you clear my schedule next week."
"Okay, uh, Boss, is there something you need?" Leroy asked.
"No, but you look like you need something," Gwen whispered, she let a small smile cross her face.
"What would I need?" Leroy asked, his Boss had an expression on her face he couldn't tell if it was good or bad, or what she wanted.
"This," she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips slid across his slowly. She ran her fingers through his hair.
She pushed him out of her bedroom and maneuvered them over to the bed, pushing him down into it.
"You found all the shipment codes didn't you?" Gwen asked, as she pulled away, leaving him breathless.
"You wanna talk work…at a time like this?!" Leroy panted. She kissed his neck, stroking his chest.
"Stealing is my greatest carnal pleasure. Sex isn't something men want from me."
"Oh come now, baby," Leroy drawled smoothly."I could give you a wonderful time."
"You're just a silly teen wanting to play grown up, but if you want to have a look then..." Gwen smiled, pulling off her nightgown.
Leroy recoiled. "Boss…don't feel I'm pressuring you…I uh...want us to have a good relationship."
"Not what you expected was it?" Gwen smirked.
Leroy felt his pulse return to normal. She'd shattered his little fantasy about her the moment he saw her without an ID mask. Still, she was an intriguing figure, she could have been smoking hot once, but he'd never seen so many scars on one person before.
"No, I uh…" he stammered. "Still want you, I can tell you were hot once, put the ID mask on, show me what you were."
"You're disturbed by my looks I know, but you won't be thinking about how I look after I'm through with you," Gwen whispered in his ear. She leaned down and kissed him.
Men were so easy to manipulate, after everything she'd been through in the Null Void, sex was meaningless to her, something she used to control men, let them think they gave you a good time and they'd do anything for you.
Kevin had been a part of the Dollars for six months; he'd regularly passed on reports to Julie Yamamoto, who passed them on to Ben. They had managed to disrupt some of their activities, but even with his insider information, he felt like the Plumbers could never keep up.
The corruption that ran rampant in the Plumbers sickened Kevin, but there was nothing he could really do about it. He didn't have enough information to take down Dantes, that was his main objective.
Kevin approached the door; he had the honor of guard duty. He'd heard Guinevere Dantes was manipulative, and her master tool was sex, he had to wonder how she'd not gotten pregnant by one of her many conquests, it was strange using that term, as conquests were usually associated with men having sex, but it was true, she was good at getting men into her bed, but everyone knew she had no close relationships, so they didn't ever claim she was "their girl".
He could hear loud moaning from inside the room, he pitied the poor saps that had guard duty often. He could tell that the sounds from her were fake but she was very good at pretending that she was enjoying what was going on.
"Oh baby, you're so good, I'll make you cum," Leroy groaned. Kevin felt sick, this kid was 17, she was twice his age! Was she insane?
"Just hurry, I need to…" She screamed.
"Someone give her an award!" he muttered. Kevin knew that what he heard was the most exaggerated scream in the history of screams. She knew how to lay it on thick. He wondered what she was like when she was with someone she actually had feelings for.
Still, he had to wonder why she'd never made a move on him; it couldn't be that she didn't find him attractive; he'd caught her staring at him for long moments when she thought he wasn't looking.
With her extensive knowledge, she no doubt knew that he was married, but she had flings with married guys in the Dollars, she'd ruined a few marriages, come to think of it, but he'd noticed that the wives were always the ones who were cheating on their husbands anyway.
It was all tactical, manipulation, keeping them in line. He needed to look past her promiscuous lifestyle and search for her real motivations behind running the galactic mafia and getting laid.
He did notice a small plaque hanging on the wall.
Cease what you are doing and gaze at me
Cease everything save for the thrumming of your heart
Theft, it is an especially sweet vice
More elegant than vandalism and more complex than simple robbery
A beautiful blend of secrets and crime and mischief and fear
Like dear Heathcliff, I am defined by my all consuming passion
Stealing is my greatest carnal pleasure, a pleasure for which I will risk my life
A sexy prison from which there is no escape
Why am I this way? Who can know? Who is the slave and who is the master? Do divine eyes fall upon me any longer? Or have they given up?
The rush of the theft allows me to forget all, and yet to distantly remember all as well
Run and speak not, hide and run not, when you've found me, punish me
When you've punished me, kill me, Save me
Little boy, there is nothing left to steal from you
You have long been an empty shell, just as I have
And so if you would gaze at me, cease what you are doing
Stop everything, save for the thrumming of your heart
Kevin frowned, sounded like something out of an anime, which one, he couldn't remember. He was thankful that it grew quiet. He heard the doorknob turn and saw her leave the room.
"Are you all right?" He asked, concerned.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she countered.
"You never seem happy."
Guinevere looked at him, "My life has been a series of unhappy events, so I'm not happy, but your concern for me is…sweet."
Kevin nodded, "Do you need anything?"
Guinevere turned to him, "Care to accompany me to a business party? I hate those things."
"Sure," Kevin tried to shake off the awkwardness of the last fifteen minutes and followed her out to the car. He sat next to her in the backseat.
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Depends on the question," Guinevere gazed at him.
"Do you have a husband?" Kevin asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Does he know you're cheating on him?" Surely her husband would be jealous and angry with her.
"Yes, but he doesn't know me anymore. I haven't seen him in a long time."
"I pity him," Kevin muttered.
"He's a good man, but he wouldn't support what I'm doing," she sighed. "I give these imbeciles my body, but my heart and love will always belong to him."'
"Funny way of showing the guy you love him," Kevin smirked.
"You don't have the right to judge me!" she screamed, she slammed him back against the door with her Mana.
She's an Anodite, I'll make note of that, he thought to himself. He also noticed that she lost her temper when he talked about her husband, she apparently had feelings for him still, he would find this husband and enlist his help in stopping her.
"Easy, easy, didn't mean anything by it, just making an observation," Kevin raised his hands in surrender.
"I love my husband more than anything, but I won't let him get involved in all this."
"What is all this?" Kevin pried, hoping to get more information out of her.
"None of your business!" she snapped. "I'm sorry; it's just, when I'm with you I…"
"Are you hitting on me? I'm married!"
"Your wife is dead, Levin, I know that the reason you joined the Dollars, besides the fact that you're still a Plumber, is so that you could look for her." He visibly paled; she stroked his cheek as if comforting a child.
"You look nervous."
Kevin gulped. "Are you going to kill me?"
"No," she smiled at him. "I'm keeping you around because it pleases me too, forget your wife, she's gone. You and I could have something special."
"You're wrong about Gwen, she's not dead, she's stronger than that."
"I don't want to talk about her anymore, besides, we're here. Walk me in, would you?"
He forced himself to smile. He took her hand and led her in. She greeted various people, discussed business with some and chatted with others. Kevin was so bored. He spotted Charmcaster and she walked over to him.
"What are you doing here? You're far too broke to be here."
"I'm escorting her," he gestured to Guinevere Dantes. "I've heard of her, heard she's rich, you score with her or something? Heard you gave up Plumbers work."
"Not exactly, but I do work for the Dollars," Kevin felt ill at ease with Charmcaster, she'd tried to date him, shortly after Gwen was put in the Null Void, but he insisted he was still married, she'd given up, but would occasionally flirt with him. He had noticed Hope's apparent joy when Gwen was out of the picture. He suspected that she had something to do with it, but he could never get any proof. Still, he had to play nice because he was undercover.
Kevin had to wonder what Dantes would do to him since she knew he was undercover, he was certain she'd run him around in circles, but why keep him alive? What pleased her about him, besides an obvious physical attraction?
"Tell her I want in on the Dollars, she has plenty of legitimate business, and I heard she loans out huge amounts of money like it's nothing, put in a good word for me."
"I'll try, but I make no promises," Kevin told her. He walked back to his boss. He could see a strange smile, like triumph.
"That was Charmcaster, what did she want?" Guinevere asked.
"She said she wants in with the Dollars, wants a loan too," Kevin informed her.
"Good, good, I was hoping she'd come to me for that."
"Why would you have anything to do with her?" Kevin asked, curious.
"For my own personal reasons," she smiled knowingly. "Tell her I'll see her." Suddenly a song came on. Kevin recognized it; it was the song he and Gwen had danced to at the dump on her prom night.
"Dance with me, Kevin," Guinevere whispered in his ear.
"What?" he asked; very surprised. He'd just had a verbal fight with her, and now she wanted to dance with him as if nothing had happened.
"Dance with me," she repeated. He took her hand and they began to dance. Gwen reveled in his warmth, enjoying being close to him again. She'd missed him so much, she'd been upset by their argument because she'd been using sex as a weapon, it was meaningless to her, she'd dethatched her emotions from the act, and hoped she could have a relationship with her other persona, but that was obviously not going to happen.
"This song brings back memories," Kevin whispered.
"I know," Gwen whispered. "Do you?" Kevin was suspicious; could she possibly be talking about him? No, that was absurd.
"What did you say?" he demanded, shaking her.
"Don't. Do. That." Gwen pushed his hands away; he pulled her closer, leaned in and glared at her.
"You tell me what's going on!" Kevin snarled.
"Kevin, shut up!" Guinevere retorted. She suddenly kissed him, silencing his angry tirade.
Kevin was startled, beyond surprised, normally, his Boss' flings were done in private, but there was no interaction outside of a tryst in her bedroom. She didn't kiss anyone unless sex was involved.
"Stop it, I got a wife!" he pushed her away.
"You should enjoy yourself, she will never know, she's dead after all." Guinevere sounded bitter, could she be…jealous? Envious of a dead woman she'd never met?
"Like I'd ever betray my wife for someone like you!" he snarled angrily.
"Abashed the Devil stood, And felt how awful goodness is, and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely; saw, and pined His loss." Gwen turned away, composing herself.
She shook her head, "My business is done, let's go home." He walked her out to the car, and drove her back to her house.
He walked her in and she left the room. Leroy suddenly approached him. "Listen, Levin, the Boss wanted me to give her something, but I got other work I need to do," he handed Kevin a flash drive.
"Don't lose this, it's important to the plan." "Okay, I'll give it to her," he watched Leroy leave and ducked into the office. He approached her laptop; finally, he was going to get the answers he was looking for.