I do not own anything from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. All rights and likenesses belong to Roald Dahl, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. No profit is being garnered from this work. We concluded the last round of Loompa Idol last night – The winner by far was a fantastic rendition of "Holiday" originally written by Green Day and sung to angsty perfection by out Loompa Idol – Smi-Li in charge of Security of the factory. Congratulations Smi-li! Sadly, Simon mysteriously disappeared after one too many "short" jokes and has not been heard from since. If you have seen him, please call (555)555-2121 as he left so quickly, he left his still-smoking shoes behind. – Stealth Phoenix

Warning: Adult content ahead – not for sensitive readers if matter of adult sexual practices offend you. You have been warned!

Chapter 25

Veronica felt warm and relaxed as she drifted slowly toward wakefulness. A wonderful languid sensation filled her limbs making it feel too good to move, and when she did it was in slow motion. She smiled and opened her eyes to see beautiful amethyst orbs staring warmly into her own.

Willy brushed a strand of hair from her face with one bare hand, smiling happily. Silently he leaned down to collect a warm slow kiss from her sleep flushed lips. She tipped her head back as invitation to continue farther and the kiss deepened. She wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders to draw him closer. While his perch was tentative, since the couch she was sleeping on was narrow, her grip ensured he wouldn't fall.

Willy boldly traced his lips over her jaw and down her throat – his petal soft lips lightly brushing the skin and his warm breath tickling her throat. She giggled lightly and he popped up with mock indignation on his face. "Laugh at me will you? I'll have to teach you a lesson."

He growled as he pounced, agile fingers quickly finding the ticklish spot on her ribs and arms, she shrieked with laughter, immediately launching her own counterattack. They fell off the couch with a thud, rolling around trying to get the advantage.

They fought, growing breathless with laughter. She mercilessly dug her fingers in the sensitive areas around his thighs and ribs making him squeak with uncontrollable giggles. His wide eyes were glittering with tears from laughing too hard and she grinned down at her position of advantage, straddling his abdomen to keep him from wiggling away. Willy gleefully retaliated by rolling her underneath him and keeping her hands pinned with his own. He leaned down and used his lips and tongue to attack her ticklish neck.

She alternately giggled wildly and gasped as the warm sensation fluttered from chest to somewhere much lower. Willy must have sensed the change as he changed his rather silly attack tickling her neck to something much more purposeful with a sharp nip. Veronica gasped only to let out her breath in a sharp whine as he soothed the spot with a long lick from that wonderful tongue.

She found herself writhing against him in delight and managed to free her hands to push the jacket off his shoulders and throw it out of the way. Willy grunted in surprise as her twitching knee brushed against a rapidly inflating portion of his anatomy – she heard this and this time made the movement much more deliberate, sliding her thigh against him with one long sensuous movement.

He groaned and his own hand reached up to gently brush against the side of her breast in an unmistakably possessive manner. She attacked his lips with her own as he continued his caress, the bare palm separated from her breast by the finest silk – but it still wasn't what he wanted. Leaning away slightly, he deftly unbuttoned the top two buttons to pull the material away and slide his hand inside. They both moaned at the intimate skin-on-skin contact. He unbuttoned the shirt to expose her to the cool air. His eyes darkened in arousal at the sight of her; face flushes, lips swollen, pale breasts tipped with rosy nipples inviting him to closer exploration.

Still he paused, looking to her for her permission to continue. A look of pleading twisting her features, she took his hand, placed a kiss on the palm and placed it on her exposed breast. Clear enough invitation. She gasped, spine bowing with unbelievable pleasure as his soft hand caressed her – playing with the hardened nipples. Willy showered her with attention, kissing her hot lips, lower body grinding irresistably against her sensative center, his hot breath teased her unbearably as he trailed down lap at the exposed skin. When she felt him take her nipple into the hot confines of his mouth and suck with light pressure, she went wild.

Veronica lunged at Willy, his face surprised and they fell backward with a thump as she straddled him once more, attacking his neck with lips and teeth, scraping against the baby soft skin and harsh stubble of his neck in her haste. He let out a strangled gurgle as she latched onto his ear and sucked – the sound inflaming her more. His breath left him in a high-pitched whine as her fingers unbuttoned the vest and shirt to caress the white flesh of his chest and toy with his own nipples - her cool hands against his overheated flesh. She felt his arousal beneath her twitch in anticipation and she ground down hard, her own slick flesh craving his.

Willy looked up at her in amazement, removing his hand to cup her face in a loving gesture. She stared back – he was beautiful like this. His cheeks were flushed, lips swollen from intense kisses, eyes unnaturally bright shuttered by heavy lids, hair falling around him in a dark seawreck of strands. God how she loved this man…

Those sweet lips parted, eyes glittering with passion…

BBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!

Veronica shot up with a startled scream. Her arms and legs were tangled in something and she fell to the ground with a thump – hitting head first. A strangled yelp and similar thud across the room informed her that Willy had met the same fate. Disoriented, she wondered for a moment how he had managed to jump all the way over there.

Then Veronica realized that she had been dreaming.

She sat up and saw the chair tipped over and Willy's slipper clad feet flailing as he twisted his body to escape the chair that had tipped over when the phone rang. His sleepy eyes told her that he had fallen asleep at his desk.

Willy knelt and scrabbled for the phone while she took a moment to collect herself – what an intense dream, she thought longingly. Why did it have to end?

"Wonka Industries. Yes, Doris? He is? Put him through please. Oh! Could you bring some coffee in for Ms. Carmichael and Hot Chocolate for me? Thanks!" Willy said. He looked at her and pointed to the phone by his face speaking silently "Cavenaugh"

Veronica ditched the blanket and staggered to the wingback seat next to the desk with stiff limbs – how long had she been out? Her body still felt confused between soul-shattering arousal, bone-jarring shock and irritation of being rudely jerked from such a pleasant dream.

Willy waited until she was seated before hitting the speaker, "Good afternoon Detective. How are you doing today?"

"I'm busy as hell Mr. Wonka. Is Ms. Carmichael there as well?" Cavenaugh's growly voice came across with an echo in the background. It sounded like he was shouting down a tin can.

"Yes, Hello Detective Cavenaugh," Veronica croaked, wishing desperately for something to drink to clear her throat.

"Okay kids, here's the update. Jake Manning rolled on Victor Brahm. He's been offered a deal from the public defender for his testimony. He'll be charges with Breaking and Entering – under the circumstances we can't make Assault stick. There's a chance that other victims may step forward once your case goes to court."

"What about the fire?" Veronica asked, fingers twisting against one another making her scars twinge painfully.

"It wasn't deliberately set, so he can't be charged with Arson."

"What's going on with Victor?" Willy asked, eyes intent on Veronica. She shuddered at the expression in them. He was very angry with the man.

"Not admitting to anything. In fact, he's claiming that Ms. Carmichael had been blackmailing him with Jake Manning as the go between." Cavenaugh said.

Veronica froze with horror even as the detective continued.

"Between you and me, that's a line of bullshit and everyone knows it. The idiot attempted to take out a restraining order as soon as he heard the news from some legal office in California. Fortunate for us he forgot about the time change. So the restraining order actually was filed the night after the fire a blowing holes in his claims to have taken it out months ago. What a tool!" His voice was thick with derision.

Veronica calmed enough to relay with shaking voice, "Victor contacted me through my brother's number this morning. I called the number back and got into a very strange conversation. I must say that with your information, that conversation makes a lot more sense."

Cavenaugh's voice sharpened with interest, "Really? What did he say?"

Willy broke in, alarmed by the greenish pallor on Veronica's face, "You can hear it for yourself. We recorded the conversation. Veronica invited me to listen in and I've got to say that although the conversation itself was quite mild, the tone was quite threatening."

"Would you be willing to give us the tape, Mr. Wonka?" Cavenaugh asked.

"If it gets him off Veronica's back – absolutely," Willy nodded – even though he was talking to a phone.

"What was your take on it Ms. Carmichael?"

Veronica thought hard for a moment – exhaustion had clouded most of the details of the conversation, but a few bright points poked out.

"He seemed to be leading up to something. I'm not sure what but there were a lot of strange references to my pay and supposed 'good times' that he apparently remembers more than I." she admitted.

"Hmmm… still it's something we can look into. I'm going to need both of you to come down and file a report today. Mr. Wonka, I understand you use a somewhat unconventional means of transport?"

"Yes?"

"I've been cleared to let you know that the heli-pad upstairs has authorized you to use it for landing – although you'll have to move it out of the way in case the chopper needs to leave or return."

"That is exceptionally courteous of you Detective. I appreciate that."

"You're welcome Mr. Wonka. I look forward to seeing you this afternoon. Good day!" he said, hanging up abruptly.

There was a knock on the office door and the small Oompa Loompa secretary, Doris wheeled in a cart with a coffee and hot chocolate service on it. She bowed and left as soon as it was safely delivered – not a word from her.

"Thank you Doris!" Willy called. He whispered to Veronica, "She's a little shy."

She grinned as she started to pour the thick liquid, the smell of rich dark chocolate filling her nose. The sensuous smell reminding her of her dream. She blushed at the thought and handed the mug over to Willy who raised an eyebrow.

"Something about hot chocolate bother you?" he asked, sipping from the ugly grey mug with a demented happy face on it.

The cup said 'Worlds Best Boss' on it.

Indeed he is, she thought with a purr, her mind taking a spectacular nose-dive into the gutter.

Willy waited, mildly concerned at the distant expression on Veronica's face as she stared at him. Her expression turned hungry and predatory with the light of longing in her eyes, and he resisted the impulse to clutch his collar around him like an offended maiden from the intensity.

"Veronica?" he asked, hiding a smirk. Not that he minded being the object of such a look, in fact it was raising a problem of his own behind the desk.

She still stared, then unconsciously licked her lips – making his problem jump with anticipation. Bad timing being what it was, he decided to cut the moment short with some drastic action…

He bit the large marshmallow floating in his mug in half and threw the dry half at her, bouncing it off her nose.

Veronica blinked and coughed, "Sorry. Lost in thought for a moment there. Did you say something?"

Willy grinned, it was nice to know that lustful thoughts were a two way street. "So what were you thinking about?"

She blushed furiously and stuffed several marshmallows in her mouth making her appear like a chipmunk before taking a swig of her coffee, effectively rendering herself unable to answer.

He smirked at her for a moment before returning to business. "It's almost three o'clock now. We could head down to the station to make our statements before heading down to the studio so I can see what you've been working on."

Veronica's eyes bulged as she gagged on the soggy marshmallows in her mouth, "Three o'clock!" she cried…or tried to. It sounded more like, "Rrree ra choke"

"Chew! Chew…now swallow…breath. Good!" Willy instructed amused at her reaction. He was glad she had gotten some sleep, even if it was more than the promised hour.

She gasped then scolded, "You were supposed to only let me sleep an hour! I'm never going to get done at this rate. Now a diversion downtown on top of everything else? Gah!"

Ignoring the hands thrown up in exasperation Willy replied soothingly, "Just calm down. It'll take about an hour to get the statements done and turn a copy of the tape over to Cavenaugh. Remember, I don't have to worry about rush hour traffic, we can head out as soon as you're ready."

He slipped off the smoking jacket and reached behind him to grab the spare coat he kept in his office. He took a moment to try and stretch the kinks out of his shoulders and neck – sleeping in a chair was not known for improving posture.

The crimson color set off his dark hair wonderfully even as it washed out his complexion. The contrast made him look even more dramatic. He sat down to take off the slippers and put on the heeled black boots he preferred. He looked up at Veronica, staring blankly at him.

'Hurry! Go grab your coat and bag. I'll wait for you." He said, making little shooing gestures in her direction.

Veronica stood and stretched as well, raising her arms over her head and making a high pitched grunt of satisfaction as she felt several vertebra in her back snap into alignment. "Back in a jiff," she said turning to leave. She quickly reached the Wonkavator and left for her room to grab her things.

Willy was frozen, watching her depart. The stretch had thrown her outline into stark relief – the hem raising to show a stretch of pale silky skin at her stomach, breast with their pointy nipples pressing against the fabric in a mouth-watering way. The noise she made had him throbbing uncomfortably again and the closed-eye look of sheer relief was beautiful on her worn face. He waited until she had closed the door to his office before looking sadly down at his strained lap.

She's trying to kill us, Bob moaned.

"But in the most pleasant way possible," Willy said, concentrating on his tried and true remedy to deflate his problem. It was a solution he'd had to use quite frequently lately. The visual of skinny wrinkled Prodnose in flagrante delicto with a fat pasty Slugworth was overkill, but worked like a charm leaving behind only the faint hint of nausea.

"Ew!" he muttered, zipping the boots and standing to fasten the coat. He quickly retrieved the recorder and plugged it into the computer to download the file for his own purposes. He e-mailed a copy to Tupik-Ra for good measure. No sense taking chances. Victor wasn't defeated, but was unknowingly wounded and therefore dangerous.

He'd seen this type of man before. Not content with what meager talents given to him, he collected the talents from others toward his own purposes using his supervisory position to threaten those who would come forward. Victor was especially dangerous due to the twisted length he was going through to avoid blame coming back in his direction.

Willy was familiar with the scenario since he had gone through a version of it himself when he was just starting in the business. Slugworth had hired him as a teen to work in his shop under the guise of teaching him the business. It had taken less than two weeks before Willy quit in disgust at having his work passed off as Slugworth's and being threatened to keep quiet about it. Willy could only imagine the added pressure of being sexually harassed on top of it.

Nose wrinkled in disgust at human leeches everywhere, he gulped the hot chocolate, trying to wash the foul taste out of his mouth at the thought. Willy grabbed his favorite hat and plunked it on his head.

He pressed the intercom button on his phone, "Doris, Ms. Carmichael and I are going to the Metropolitan Police department to make a statement. Could you have Tupik-Ra draft up a restraining order against one Victor Brahm on the behalf of Ms. Carmichael? Oh – and ask him to contact Det. Cavenaugh to follow up with the file I sent him via e-mail. Thanks Doris! You're a peach!"

--

Doris raised one eyebrow in the outer office at her employer's voice. She smiled at being compared to a soft fuzzy fruit that bruised easily – strange outlanders!

--

They returned to the factory a few hours later. Both felt filthy and exasperated with the chaos of the legal system.

The flight over had been uneventful, but descending into the chaotic mess of the front desk to check in had taxed Willy severely.

Clad in his eye-encompassing black goggle sunglasses, he felt trapped. Sitting stiffly next to a serenely drugged man with a tattooed shaved scalp proclaiming him to be a strong supporter of Manchester United, he had to restrain himself from flinching every time someone approached. The man would snort and shift sending a waft of B.O. and vomit scented air toward Willy who, disgusted, in turn would lean further and further toward Veronica seated next to him until he was practically in her lap.

Veronica noted his discomfort and did her level best to be supportive – holding his double-latex clad hand in her cold clammy one. Upon entering the building, Will had shaken his head and applied another set of gloves over his existing ones. Wishing he had yet another set for her, she had been discomforted by the leering faces lining the wall across from them – a row of men who had been picked up for solicitation of prostitution. Many of the men were either blank faced or openly embarrassed to be there – the others were matter-of-fact with their perceived offense and regarded her with the frankly appraising stare of a meat-processor at beef auction.

It was a relief when Cavenaugh appeared and escorted them to one of the small interview rooms. They had given their statements in short order, and Willy turned over the tape to Cavenaugh's custody. Little less than half an hour after they had been called in, they were done.

Cavenaugh was just in the process of escorting Willy and Veronica out when a man in handcuffs with wild eyes broke away from the two escorting officers. He started running down the aisle of desks toward them – screaming incoherently. Cavenaugh swore and dove forward to tackle the man as Willy shoved Veronica out of the way. He pivoted neatly and used his leg to sweep the feet from under the man, causing him to stagger into Cavenaugh who caught him with a roar.

"Hey! You're the candy man! You're the candy man!" the hysterical man was shrieking at ear-splitting volumes. Willy winced and fastidiously plucked a bit of lint off of his black pants, "Indeed I am."

"Gimme one of those tickets, Candy Man! I need one of them golden tickets!"

The restraining officers led him away still screaming and Veronica and the beleaguered Chocolatier raced to the roof and hurried outside. Willy threw open the door and sucked in a deep lung-full of the cold clean air – trying to rinse the smell of rancid humanity out of his nostrils.

"That was disgusting!' Veronica exclaimed wishing again she had a set of gloves like Willy. Everything seemed like it was coated with grease. She longed for the clean sterility of the factory.

"Let's just get out of here before anyone figures out we're here," he said fervently, clicking off the alarm with a cheerful little chirp and practically diving inside to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the station house.

As they lifted off, Veronica embraced him from behind, offering what comfort she could.

"Thank you, Willy. I know that was extraordinarily difficult for you." She whispered into the back of his coat, pressing her cheek to his warmth.

She felt gloved hands holding her own, "You're worth it."

They were soon airborne and they had returned to the factory in silence.

Veronica parted from Willy as soon as the Wonkavator returned to its tracks. "Are you coming down to the studio? I really should be getting back to work."

Willy nodded as they came to a stop. The doors opened and Charlie stood waiting for them.

"How did it go? What's going on?" Charlie asked. Veronica noted that his wrists and ankles stuck out the lengths of his shirt and pants. Poor kid was going through yet another growth spurt.

"They police took our statement. Apparently Veronica's ex-employer is planning to countersue for blackmail. We've got it covered though," Willy said confidently, stepping out and heading down the hall toward the studio.

Veronica shucked her coat in short order, the warmth of the factory seeping in to chase out the lingering chill in her bones. She draped the garment over her arm and trotted to keep up with the Chocolatier and his apprentice.

Willy shot a glance up and down the corridor and leaned back to stage-whisper, "Charlie, are we in the clear?"

Charlie, understanding what he meant shook his dark head and replied, "No. We've also got a problem with the fudge pipe again. It's still leaking all over the Chocolate room like rain. Mum and Dad swear it isn't as bad as it used to be, but it's still making everything inside our house sticky and messy."

Veronica reflected that with the holes in the roof of the ramshackle Bucket home, anything falling from the sky was going to leave a mess inside. She winced in sympathy.

Willy sighed in exasperation, "Okay – so not cleared to talk and we've got a bigger mess to handle." He paused suddenly in the corridor almost making Charlie and Veronica crash into him. Veronica grabbed Charlie to keep from falling and the two wobbled dangerously.

"Okay, new plan." Willy announced, missing the near-tumble. "Veronica, I'm afraid I'm going to have to catch up with you at another time. Charlie – you grab Ori-Vil and meet me in the Chocolate room – I'm heading for the master cut-off. Things just haven't worked right since that Gloop child got stuck in the pipe, no matter how often we replaced the gaskets. I'm afraid the whole thing will have to go this time."

They stopped just outside her studio and Willy turned to Veronica sadly, "Another time, then."

To Charlie's delight and Veronica's embarrassment, Willy collected a quick kiss before running down the hall back to the Wonkavator.

Charlie grinned at the self-conscious woman, "Looks like he likes you."

Veronica blushed even more and Charlie felt delighted to have elicited that kind of reaction. It was about time that Veronica admitted that she liked the Chocolatier back. He grinned cheekily at her.

"Indeed. Charlie – don't you have someone you're supposed to be looking for?" she grumbled, fighting to get her blush under control as she pushed open the studio door.

Charlie's laughter was her only response.