Chapter 15
I saw so much. My brother with the gun, Ron, my old friends, my family. Everyone I had ever known flash before my eyes, and I saw her. 11-7, she was there, smiling, - as well as she could. She never could smile like a human, it was more subtle than that. A brightness on her face, a sparkle in her eyes, a slight curve to the corner of her lips, and the tip of her tail flicking around. Her eyes shifted away from me to something behind me. I asked her what she was looking at, but she didn't respond, just kept looking behind me with that same smile. I turned around to look and see what she was looking at.
Beep... Beep... Beep... The sound of a heart rate monitor prodded my eardrums and roused me from sleep. My eyelids split apart gracing, me with the sight of a drab hospital room. The standard cheap landscape painting on the wall across from my bed screamed tacky at me, but the stainless steel medical equipment made me feel better. At least they didn't skimp on that.
I looked around the room. Sunlight filtered in through the blinds to my left, adding some natural light to the already well lit room. There was a tv in the corner but it wasn't on, and the room was empty. 11-7 isn't here? The heart rate monitor beeped faster. I rubbed my head. My entire body felt fine, but there was a dull pain that lingered. I tried to think through what happened, but my mind was foggy.
As I sat there trying to piece together events, the door to my room opened, and a familiar lanky finger slipped in: my manager. He had a paper coffee cup in hand, and I saw his eyebrows raise a centimeter above his spectacles as he looked down at me. "Hm. Good morning Mr. HIckey. I trust you were able to rest."
I rubbed my head. "Eugh, what happened?"
He walked over to a cheap floral fabric covered chair across from my bed and sat in it. "The painkillers must be clouding your mind. It seems I must remind you of what happened." He took a sip of whatever was in his coffee cup.
He told me the order of events, what had happened. The convoy, the attack, and that they found me on the street in the city I came from.
It helped set the order of events straight in my mind, but I was still confused. "Wait, so where am I now?"
Manny adjusted his spectacles and crossed his legs. "We flew you back to this hospital in city 4-47. The city you were supposed to be in already."
I remembered why we were in a convoy. "Flown? I thought that was dangerous?"
He sighed. "It was, but we are currently behind schedule. It was a risk I deemed necessary." I was about to complain, but he interrupted me. "I was hoping you could help set the record straight on what happened during the attack."
"The attack... Where's 11- er, my bodyguard? Is she alright?"
I saw his eyes squint from behind his glasses. "Unit 117 has been receiving care for her injuries. She should be back to her newly assigned duties within the day."
"Newly assigned? What does that mean?"
He set his coffee cup down on a small table by his chair and pressed his fingertips together. "We will be transferring Unit 117 to a base for reassignment. Due to her failure to protect you. I'm considering acquiring something stronger, more reliable for you in her absence. A muton perhaps."
I couldn't stop myself from reacting. "No!" Manny gave me a strange look. "I mean, you don't have to replace her. It wasn't her fault."
"I will take that under consideration. Now, shall we focus on my previous question. Unit 117's behavior was erratic when we found her. This is unsurprising, given she failed to prevent your capture. - She told us everything that happened, but she was under the influence of a large dose of combat grade painkillers. You, on the other hand, are on a low dose of civilian grade painkillers, so I'm hoping I can receive a more coherent picture." He took another sip from his coffee cup after he finished.
She told Advent everything? Shit, I fucking hope not. Manny's eyes were as cold and calculating as they always were. He could already know for a fact what happened, and this might be some kind of test. But, I was not gonna implicate myself in any illegal interactions with 11-7 even if she said something. I told him everything up to where I was captured, excluding the kiss and what I said to her before I left.
He sat in his chair and listened to me, responding once I stopped. "Yes, that is what Unit 117 said as well, minus the hysterics. Calling out enemy positions, and performing that well, is a commendable action Mr. Hickey. It's not something I would expect you to do." He cleared his throat and took a slow drink from his coffee. "To specify, it's not something you would do under normal circumstances."
I feigned ignorance and looked away. "I don't know what you mean."
"There is no need to become defensive, Mr. Hickey, - you did nothing wrong. I was speaking on my dislike of how unpredictable humans are. It makes them difficult to manage in my experience." He sighed. "Though in some cases, like this, you should be praised for not sitting idly by. It is an appreciable change in behavior."
I think he was trying to give me a compliment in an indirect way. "Uh, thanks."
He nodded. "It was a difficult situation to be presented with, and yet you involved yourself."
I thought back to some details of the attack, and things weren't adding up. "But why were there so many of the terrorists? I remember we were outnumbered from the start, and you mentioned you had trouble in the area before? Then you flew me here? Why didn't you do that in the first place? There should have been more guards."
He leaned back in his chair and was silent for a few moments, tipping his head toward the lights, which hid his eyes behind the glare reflected off of his glasses. "You're making connections that don't exist, Mr. Hickey. Speaking ill of Advent is unadvised, but you've been under a lot of stress, so I'll dismiss it. Once you've had a few days to recover, you'll process this better. As I said before, it was a risk to fly you here, but we took precautions. We did not anticipate such a large force attacking your convoy, which is why it was poorly staffed."
The way he worded his last sentence was strange. "So, did..."
His brow furrowed. "Moving on, I know you knew I would speak to you on this, but you should not have given yourself up so easily. You are much more valuable to us than Unit 117. We can clone soldiers, we cannot clone experience."
I sighed out of frustration. He listened to me about as well as I listened to him. "I told you there was no way I wasn't getting captured by them at that point."
"You could have blockaded yourself in the truck. A distress signal was activated as soon as the fighting started. We dispatched dropships to your location, they might have reached you in time."
"Yeah, or they might have blown me up with explosives trying to get into the truck in the meantime."
He frowned. "That could have happened. Many things could have happened." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his head with his free hand. "On the surface that action is an excellent example of Advent's goal of cooperation. So publicly you will be commended, but privately - do not do that again. Understand?"
I could tell this was non-negotiable, so I just agreed. "Yes, I understand."
He stopped rubbing his head and sighed. "Good." He was quiet for a few moments. "You and your bodyguard have a strong bond. I am again surprised that you would consider giving up your own life for Unit 117. You couldn't have known what the terrorists would have done to you." He threw that out into the air as his thin lips curled into a sly smile.
He was suspicious. "It was the only outcome that guaranteed someone would survive to tell Advent what happened." He kept looking at me with an expectant look on his face. I felt like he expected me to say more." - But, I trust her."
He leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his coffee. "See, was that so difficult to say Mr. Hickey? Do not mistake my intentions. It is a splendid development that you trust a - non-human earthling, or as you might say - an alien. Your loyalty to Advent hasn't come under question - yet, but you've never fully accepted all of our goals. It is understandable, given your background, but this is progress."
I hated seeing him so satisfied with himself. Always acting like he knew everything, when he didn't know what I was doing with 11-7 at all. "I trust her, but I don't trust you. Why did you put a tracker in my arm?"
I had succeeded in wiping the mild contentment on his face clean. "I was waiting for you to ask about that, if you were going to."
"Well, how 'bout it. You didn't even fucking tell me about it. It was just in my arm. Did you guys drug me up in my sleep or something."
He leaned forward on his knees. "You know the reason why we put one in you. It is for your protection in the event of a kidnapping."
"Oh yeah, sure helped me a lot. Especially after they removed it in 2 minutes."
He sighed. "It gave us a general direction to look in. Every piece of data is important and makes locating you take less time. I can understand how that would distress, and I know this will upset you, but in an effort to be more open with you, I will tell you this. We replaced the tracker in your arm."
I looked at the scar on my bicep. "You put another one in? While I was out?"
"Yes. As I said, it is for your protection. I can assure you its only purpose is to approximate your location. And, you are not a special case. This is standard procedure for all non-combatant Advent personnel."
If it has been in me this whole time, and I didn't even know, perhaps it is harmless. I let it slide. "Fine, whatever, but I hope you won't lie to me about this stuff in the future."
He nodded once. "Of course Mr. Hickey. You have my word."
I was certain he'd never be completely truthful with me. But I had to get whatever I could out of him. "That's great to hear... So, did you know my brother was still alive?"
He seemed unfazed by my question and answered without skipping a beat. "We have heard reports of his existence. Soldiers giving reports of a man who fit your description, but we had no physical evidence. Pictures, or film."
He knew, I shouldn't be surprised. "Why didn't you tell me if you knew something?"
"It would have caused unnecessary stress. Humans are emotional - unpredictable creatures. As I said, the reports had no physical evidence. It was better for you to know he was dead. If you have seen him, then I will assume it is true, and he is alive."
"I'm an adult Manny. It should be me who decides whether to worry about my brother coming to kidnap me. I don't need you keeping information like that hidden from me because you think I can't handle it. There are things I know you can't tell me, but come on. I have a right to know whether or not someone may try to kill me."
He put his long fingers up to his bare chin and rubbed it. "You speak from emotion, but perhaps you have a point Mr. Hickey. I will be more forthcoming with important information pertaining to you in the future. But, you may not like..."
Some commotion interrupted Manny in the hallway. It sounded like a group of people talking. The sound of their voices got closer and closer to my door and stayed outside of it. Someone knocked at the door and pushed it open.
Two people walked in. One was in a grey suit, with a white dress shirt and a red floral tie. His face was chimp-like. He had large ears adorning the sides of his head that held up a pair of metal framed glasses. The short grey hair on the top of his head looked well maintained. That other man wore a darker suit with a blue dress shirt and a dark grey tie. His head was taller than the other man's, with a similar professional cut. It was parted to the side and accompanied with long sideburns. Despite the youthful brown color it had, his face looked much older than the man in glasses. Baggy eyes and crow's feet made this man look eternally tired.
The man in glasses spoke first. "Is he awake?"
Manny nodded. "Awake, and almost recovered."
I looked over at Manny. "Who are these guys?"
Manny gestured to the man in glasses. "This is Mayor Collins of city 4-47, and the man next to him is his secretary Mr. Mcgill. The Mayor was one of the people who requested your services in this city."
Mayor Collins smiled. "I am. - It's good to see you're recovering."
A mayor? I raised an eyebrow. "Right, and you just walked in ten minutes after I woke up?"
Mr. Mcgill spoke up and gestured to me. "You have a right to be suspicious, but the Mayor here has been visiting to check up on your condition over the last few days." His voice was dry sounding, like he needed to clear his throat, but couldn't.
"I looked over at Manny. "I've been out for a few days?" He nodded in response.
The Mayor spoke again. "I will not lie to you Lucas... Can I call you Lucas."
"Sure."
"Part of the reason for my frequent visits is for the publicity, but I felt partially responsible for your unfortunate situation, since it happened in transit to our fair city. Now that you're awake, I wanted to apologise for your inadequate protection. Had I known, I would have provided some of our city's garrison for the trip." My natural instinct would be to question anyone's motive. But, judging from the dirty look Manny shot this guy, I got the feeling he was speaking off the cuff; or what he was saying was genuine.
"Thanks, I'm still recovering. What did you hire me to do?"
He looked surprised by my question. "It was for a video to promote tourism to the city."
That's a dumb thing to promote. "Tourism? But, there is virtually no travel allowed between cities for civilians."
He nodded. "That is true. I was working out legislation with Advent to make travel between a few cities in this sector easier for civilians, but that will be difficult to push after this happened."
If that were true, that might be a step towards making things feel like they used to around here. "That sounds interesting, I'm sorry about that."
He nodded. "Not to bore you with details. This wasn't your fault. But now that you're awake, I have a big favor to ask of you. Did your manager speak to you about this yet?"
Manny responded. "I was about to before you arrived."
The mayor seemed pleased by this, a subtle smirk betraying his thoughts. "People are nervous right now, Lucas. These terrorist attacks have everyone on edge, and after you were attacked in transit here, it has only gotten worse. I know you've only just woken up, but I would appreciate it if you could attend a press conference with me."
I was tired and not feeling up to doing anything today. "Why should I?"
'You are popular in this city, and people are anxious to know if you're ok. - They're scared. If you appeared on television, it would be a show of strength on your part and quell their fears. I know this is asking for a lot, that's why it's a favor. A favor I fully intend on repaying you for."
A favor huh, that might be useful, and the publicity for me would be nice. Thinking about how pissed my brother would be if he saw me out in public so soon after being kidnapped encouraged me too. "Alright, I'll go. But, what would I do?"
He clasped his hands together and smiled. Mr. McGill looked happy as well. "You wouldn't have to do anything. I wouldn't expect you to answer any questions in your condition." He looked at Mr. McGill. "Get everything set up, I'm thinking the conference room at city hall will work."
Mr. Mcgill nodded. "I'll get it done." He looked at me. "It's been a pleasure Lucas, I wish you a speedy recovery and I'm sure we'll meet again." He walked out the door.
I looked at the mayor. "What time would we do this?"
He looked at his phone on his wrist. "I was thinking later in the afternoon, to give you some time to wake up and get ready. Would that work for you?"
I nodded. "That should be enough time. I'm already feeling better."
"Good. I'll see you at the press conference then. I'll send the details to your manager once we work them out. Thank you for agreeing to it. This entire ordeal has been a PR nightmare for me and my tourism bill. I hope we can change some minds and abate some concerns today. Have a good morning." I simply responded with a thumbs up, and he left the room in the same manner Mr. McGill did.
Manny looked over at me. "I am surprised you did not need to be convinced." He spoke with mild enthusiasm in his voice.
I shrugged. "After what my brother did to me, I'll do whatever it takes to make him look bad."
He could tell I meant that, and a tight-lipped smile formed on his face. "If that is your sentiment, I can find much work for you in that regard."
He never seems to understand I have limits. "Good, maybe not anything right off the bat. I need time to recover. And, in moderation once I've recovered. I am an actor after all; I still like being in movies and shows. It's been a while since I've done anything like that."
His smile faded away. "I see. I'll do what I can."
"Did you want to talk more about what I saw when I was captured?"
He shook his head. "No, I've heard what I needed to from you Mr. Hickey. You'll be going to an Advent base in this city tomorrow to fill out a report like usual. You'd normally do it today, but I feel the press conference is more important to focus on. I'll leave you to rest until the press conference." He stood up and grabbed his coffee cup.
As he walked towards the door I had to ask him about 11-7 again. "So, when will my bodyguard be back on duty?"
He turned his head to face me, and I saw his reptilian eyes squint behind his darkened specs. His response didn't come right away; he looked at me for a few moments. "We will pick her up on the way to the press conference. You don't need to worry in the meantime. There are guards posted outside your door." I went to respond, but he slid out the door.
I did not like the way he was looking at me. I might have pushed my luck a little.
0-
I laid in that room for hours. Doctors and nurses came in one after the other and asked about my condition. After a while, they had me back on my feet and ready to go. I had some bruises here and there, including one on my face where that one bitch punched me, but no permanent damage, thank god. Manny picked me up in a limo, with some guy I'd never met being the driver. We arrived at some Advent base where they were keeping 11-7.
She slithered out of the base, holding a plasma rifle. Her head moved around, examining the area, and stopped on me. I saw recognition in her eyes, but she didn't react to seeing me through the open window of the limo. I stepped out and held the door open for her and she slithered past me into the limo without a word. Too many eyes on both of us. I understood why, but she didn't even hint that she missed me. It was strange, but probably for the best. I still couldn't help but worry that I might have pissed her off. The drugs probably had her off her rocker during the battle; I wondered if she remembered anything.
0-
The drive to city hall didn't take long. The building looked a lot more modernized than the city hall in my city. Course I appreciated the stonework on it, as opposed to the glass and steel box we were parked outside. Manny led me and 11-7 through the many hallways inside the building to the press room.
We had arrived early, as planned, so all the rows of metal chairs for use by the press sat empty. The room itself had a professional decor: rippled fabric walls, an elevated stage, and all the sound equipment we'd need. They set a nice wooden table up on the stage with name tags marking where people would sit. Behind the desk sat two flagpoles. One had Advent's banner on it, and the other had the flag of our sector on it. The flags weren't stretched out, so only a little yellow and red and the tip of the eagle's wing could be seen on the sector's flag. A combination of some local banners of the old government, that was standard procedure when Advent took over. They grouped everything into sectors. No countries, states, or counties anymore, just cities and sectors. Our banner looked good. Some of the other sectors have ones that made it clear Advent wasn't great at graphic design. Course they only need the one logo that they plaster on everything.
Manny gestured to the table. "This is where we will sit when the conference starts, but it's not where we will be waiting."
He led us through a door by the stage, down a hallway to a sitting room. There were plenty of floral fabric chairs available, reminiscent of the one in the hospital I was at. The decor was similar, professional, modern, and cheap. Dull colored wallpaper, LED lighting, and some lamps on tables. I assumed the mayor would show up soon. As I went inside, 11-7 stayed outside of the room and said nothing to me. I hope she isn't mad at me. I sat in silence with Manny until the mayor showed up and greeted Manny and I.
He smiled and sat down in a chair next to Manny, wearing the same grey suit and red tie. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. You're looking much better, Lucas. I'm likin the tan suit, it - suits you."
Manny leaned back and his lips curled slightly downwards. "I think a black suit would be more appropriate for a press conference." It wasn't the first time he's made his dislike of my tan suit known, and it wouldn't be the last. I loved getting compliments on it when he was in earshot.
The mayor chuckled. "The only times I wear black suits are funerals and weddings. It's important to stand out in the public's eye."
Manny Adjusted his spectacles and crossed his long legs. "It is business casual at best, and not professional. His image should appear professional."
The mayor scratched his chin for a few seconds before he responded. "Being professional is important for some positions, but it doesn't make you relatable to the average person."
Manny went to respond, but stopped himself. "You are correct." He looked at me and back at the mayor. "But this discussion serves no purpose; his wardrobe is his decision. But, I believe Mr. Hickey will come to see things my way some day. For now, it is a minor complaint."
I looked over at the mayor. Eager to get off the topic of my clothes. "What time does the conference start?" I thought about calling him Mayor, but I wasn't sure what he wanted to be referred to as.
Mayor Collins looked at his phone on his wrist. "I'd say we have another 12 minutes before journalists finish filling those seats. Security is active, and my aide has everything organized. We can chat some more if you'd like, or we could go out early. I like to leave them waiting, gives the yellow press time to think of better questions."
I shrugged. "Guess we'd better wait then."
We chatted for about half an hour, and I found the mayor to be amiable. It was rare to find a regular person who didn't seem like they had something to hide, much less a politician. But, after talking to him I got the sense he displayed his true intentions in private. As we walked back to the press conference room, I'd soon find out how he presented himself in public.
They introduced Mayor Collins to some applause, and then Manny and I were. We took our seats at the table. Manny sat in between me and the mayor.
The Mayor gestured to the crowd. "Citizens of city 47, I will not sugarcoat our problems. These are turbulent times, but the problems we face are not unique. These are the same problems that many other cities are facing; within sector 4, and outside of it. I know that most of the questions I will receive tonight will dig into what I plan to do for this city and I am prepared to answer them." He took a long pause and took a drink from the water bottle on the table. "I am putting forth a bill to the Advent Congress to request that our city's garrison limit be increased substantially. This extra manpower will be deployed in the outposts our city controls and be used to increase patrols outside of the city." People started clapping, and he waited until they were done.
"The supply roads are the lifeblood of Advent, and it is our duty to ensure our assigned portion is protected. Not just for the benefit of our city, but for the benefit of the other cities around us." He cleared his throat and continued. "We will have to work together in order to combat this menace. I will speak to the other cities in our immediate area, those being: cities 25, 44, 48, and 53, in order to establish a joint defense effort to protect our agricultural zones and natural resource harvesting infrastructure."
He gestured to me, which caught me off guard. "Our negligence has allowed people like Actor Lucas Hickey to be harmed by these subversive elements. He escaped with his life, but not everyone was so lucky. The patrol that was ambushed sustained heavy losses, and our hearts go out to the brave men and women that gave their lives that day." He paused for a moment and bowed his head in reverence. "We won't forget them, but our focus should be on solutions. Mr. Hickey's actions that day are an example of what we all should strive for. He involved himself in the situation and assisted Advent personnel. Even going so far as to be captured in the stead of Advent personnel. This, more than anything, is what we should focus on. Cooperation between us and Advent is the only way we will take care of this problem, and others."
I didn't enjoy being someone else's talking point, but if it gets the terrorists killed, I don't care.
"I'll finish by saying thank you to everyone who came to this conference, and that we will only get through these trying times together." Applause followed his final sentence. "- I will start taking questions now."
All at once the room full of calm reporters turned into rows of hand waves and shouts.
The mayor didn't react to the commotion; he surveyed the room like a hawk, looking for something to ambush. He pointed at someone in the front row. "You miss, what is your question?"
"Thank you, Mayor. What will happen to your tourism bill because of this? Are you planning to cancel it?"
He smiled. "Great question. Some modifications will have to be made to it, in the interest of public safety. We don't want to bring terrorists inside our walls. I will still push it through congress, and I'm sure the cities that have signed it will agree with me. Rest assured, I will fulfill my campaign promise of allowing civilian travel between cities again, similar to how it was in the past..."
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That's how it went for the next 15 minutes or so. Question after question - after question. He answered them all well, or at least he seemed to have an answer for all of them. I tuned out what they were saying; it didn't interest me. As I retreated into my mind, a thought surfaced. What were my feelings for my brother now? He was alive; I hadn't killed him. But he was the leader of a terrorist cell. He ordered people to torture me and throw me on the street. After all this time... I'd felt horrible. I agonized over what I had done; and to repay my guilt, he almost killed me himself.
Hearing some man say my name took me out of my thoughts. "...Lucas Hickey's Health and wellbeing? We can see he's alive, but how is he?"
I looked at Manny, and he waved his hand in a nonchalant way. Implying I should speak for myself. The man that asked the question was wearing a blue vest and dress pants, standard attire for a journalist. I looked at him and answered truthfully. "I am still recovering from what happened, but I am feeling better. Good enough to attend a press conference, anyway." I chuckled after saying that. The journalist seemed satisfied with my answer.
The mayor called on a different journalist. "You didn't mention city 50 in your opening speech. They are close to our city, so why not include them on the defense bill?" City 50 is my city, wonder why this dude is mentioning it.
The Mayor adjusted his tie and furrowed his brow to an almost unnoticeable degree. "Mayor Maria Park is uncooperative every time I try to get cooperation between cities with new legislation. I will still try nonetheless, but I don't expect her to jump on anything I put out."
He answered more questions, things I didn't care about. I had more important things to think about. I was mad at my brother. Maybe, on some level, I understood why, but that didn't justify his actions. All that time I spent feeling bad about him was a waste. Fuck him for trying to force me to do shit. Sure, I am owned by Advent, but they've never overstepped their bounds. They never tortured me or threatened to kill me. Advent has done nothing but help and provide for me. Not for free, but who does anything for free these days. Maybe my weariness towards them was misplaced, maybe all the shit my parents filled my head with was wrong. Hell, maybe Ron, the old geezer, doesn't know any better. They're relics from the old world. The invasion might have been violent, but they might have changed. My brother sure did... You know what; I don't give a fuck, I'm just gonna try my hardest to make him look bad starting now. I'd really like to piss him off. He might even regret what he did to me.
As I was scheming, an opportunity presented itself. A darker woman from the crowd asked a question to the Mayor. "Advent has given us little information about this recent terrorist attack. Could you give a statement on what you think the terrorists' hoped to accomplish with this?"
He cleared his throat, and started to answer. My anger had reached its boiling point. I'll make my brother wish he had killed me. I stood up and interjected myself. "I'll tell you why they did it!" All eyes were on me. I didn't even bother to look for Manny or the Mayor's approval; I was addressing the crowd now.
"When they dumped me on the side of the road, they wanted to show that Advent doesn't have things under control. That act was supposed to make people scared, and make you believe Advent can't protect you. They tried to scare me too, that's why they didn't kill me. But fuck them, I'm not scared of them or their lies." I paused and looked into the many cameras in the back. "And I'm still standing on my own two feet."
"Anarchists like this have bought into all the xenophobic conspiracy theory drivel that Anti-Advent agitators like to preach. Things as absurd as Advent melting people into goo, or what Advent Burgers are made out of. These terrorists want to go out and play freedom fighters, but all they do is cause property damage, attack innocent civilians, and steal Advent supplies. All they're doing is making life harder for us. What do they do when they think they're striking at Advent? They capture me: an actor. I'm not a politician, or a scientist, or anyone important." I paused for a moment and tried to lighten the mood some. "Some people even say I'm not that good of an actor." I heard a few chuckles from the crowd in response.
"But they kidnapped and tortured me anyway, just for being a public figure. These people are no different from common bandits. They're just extremists who can't accept that the world has moved on from their bullshit. They don't know anything other than intimidation, and so these thugs will try to scare us into submission. We shouldn't be afraid of them; Advent has control of the situation, Advent will always have control. I trust Advent will deal with them soon enough. But, like the mayor said before -" I gestured to the Mayor and looked in his direction while I did. Both he and Manny had enormous grins on their faces. Manny's was more subtle, as usual.
I faced the crowd again. "We should be working together with Advent to create our brighter future, and if you see any suspicious activity, you can report it to the Advent Terrorist Hotline. If we all do our part -" I looked into the cameras at the back and imagined my brother watching this. "movements like this won't last long." As I sat down, the room erupted into applause, only slightly more than I had heard when the Mayor gave his opening speech.
"I hope that answered your question." The mayor said to that journalist, chuckling after.
She nodded and looked at me. "It did."
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The rest of the press conference was less exciting and was over after some time. No one asked me any more questions, and before I knew it I was back in the sitting room with Manny and the Mayor.
Mayor Collins laughed from the chair next to me. "Ha, that was really somethin Lucas."
I took a sip of my water bottle. "You're sure I wasn't stepping on your toes?"
"Well, you were, and normally I would mind. But, you saved me the trouble of having to answer that, and who better than the guy they kidnapped, huh."
Manny spoke up across from us. "I can appreciate your enthusiasm Mr. Hickey, and most of what you said, but in the future don't speak about events until Advent has collected the relevant information."
I shrugged. "Speaking of which, do I still have to give my statement tomorrow?"
He sighed. "Yes, you do. We need details, not emotion." He looked at his phone on his arm. "It is becoming late, you should be taken to your hotel room soon."
The Mayor Spoke up. "Hold on. May I have a drink with Lucas before he leaves?"
He looked at his phone again, and towards me. "If that is what Mr. Hickey wishes, I can prepare for his stay without his presence."
The mayor had been a chill dude so far, and he looked like he was younger than Ron, so I figured I could have a few laughs with him. "Sure, why not."
"Then I wish you a good evening, Mr. Hickey. A driver will be here to pick you up later."
"Thanks." He nodded and strode out of the room.
It was just me and the Mayor now. 11-7 was still outside the room. "What do you like? Brandy, bourbon, gin, or - tequila?" The Mayor asked.
I shrugged and chuckled. "I'm not too picky when it comes to free booze."
He smiled and laughed. "I'm the same way." He tapped on his phone. "Bring over a bottle of bourbon."
I started the small talk. "I've never been in a press conference before, I've only done interviews."
"You could've fooled me. I know your manager would call that little speech you gave unprofessional, but the people love to see emotion. It makes you more convincing, it grabs people's attention. People want the visceral. There are too many politicians today that have the charisma of a dead fish, or worse - a robot." He chortled. "I'd like to think I have the charisma of a live fish on most days."
I laughed at his joke. "I mean, your opening speech was good. I don't think a fish could have written it."
"You think so? I'd take the compliment, but my speech writers wrote most of that speech. I used to do them myself, but I don't have the time anymore. Pushing through all these bills to congress takes a lot of time, and I spend most of that time schmoozing with the senators so they'll pass it."
"That sounds like it sucks."
He nodded. "It does sometimes, but having the ability to make change, and really help people keeps me in. I'd never make it as a senator, but as mayor I can help the little people, and that's a good feeling."
"It's good to enjoy what you do." As I finished that sentence a man in a suit pushed a silver cart into the room that had a bottle filled with caramel colored liquid and two glasses on it. The mayor opened the bottle and poured a small amount into each glass, as the man who brought the cart in took a bow and left the room.
We each took a sip from our glasses. "Thanks for the drink, Mr. Mayor. I don't think I've ever shared a drink with a politician before."
He chuckled. "Please, call me Eli, having conversations can be cumbersome when we're using titles."
"Alright."
"I can't say I've ever shared a drink with an actor before."
I swirled the bourbon in my glass. "You've seen any of the stuff I was in?"
He shook his head and took a drink. "I've seen your recent interview, but I watch little tv these days. When times get difficult, I get busier."
"I can Imagine." I sipped my drink.
He stared at his glass, holding it in front of his face to examine the liquid inside. "I liked what you had to say in your speech. It wasn't polished, but it was charged, a call to action."
"I had to say something, after everything that happened to me. Those terrorists will not intimidate me." I took a drink. "Like I said in my speech, fuck them."
He chuckled. "I can drink to that." He took a drink with me. "- I've had to deal with people like that ever since I became mayor of this city. Even before Advent arrived."
That was surprising. "Wait, so you were mayor before Advent came here?"
"I was." He looked into his drink. "I can still remember what it was like when I started. I was young - well, I was younger. It was chaotic times, even back then. Thought I was gonna change the world." He sighed and took a drink. "The world changed alright, it didn't need my help."
I scratched my head. "I thought Advent deposed the old political class?"
"Oh, they did, for the most part, but they kept some of us around. - The ones that cooperated with Advent during the invasion, anyway."
I didn't respond, but he must have noticed my expression. "I can see you are surprised. You shouldn't be. By the time Advent marched on my city, the war was over at that point. Anyone left fighting when I surrendered was fighting as a matter of principle, not because they thought they could win. With the national guard stationed here, we might have been able to hold out for a week at best. I had what some would call a tough decision, but for me the choice was obvious. We surrendered, and they passed us by, leaving a token force to watch us in their wake. My decision saved the lives of everyone in this city."
A pragmatic decision, but probably not popular when he made it. Not that the other choice was much of an option. "Why are you telling me this?"
"A lot of what you said in your speech stood out to me. Especially the part where you said the terrorists couldn't move on from the past. - Those people fighting back then are the same people still fighting today. In some cases they are actually the same people, veterans from the war. People lashing out at whatever they can point their rage at lack the perspective to make these kinds of tough decisions."
From what I had seen of my brother, I saw his point. "I agree."
"I knew you would, you've met them, seen them up close. Survival is always the goal Lucas. As the world changes we must change with it. That doesn't mean we have to change the way the world wants us to, but we must adapt nonetheless. That is what being human is all about. But, I digress."
I chuckled. "You're a lot more opinionated than I thought you'd be."
He waved his hand. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not like most other politicians. Most are as sterile and devoid of personality as you'd expect."
"I can believe it. I imagine you've had to do a lot of adapting since Advent arrived."
He took a drink. "I have. The gene mods Advent has provided me help, but I'm not a young man anymore. I'm just as much a relic as those terrorists. We came from the same world. I came from a government that doesn't exist anymore into one that was freshly built."
My thoughts laid heavily on my past and the decisions I'd made along the way. "We've all had to adapt. I'm just happy I ended up where I did."
He nodded. "I am too. I can still make a difference in people's lives even if it is just the ones living in this city."
He offered his glass to me, and I clinked mine against his. "To adapting in our prospective fields." We both finished what was left in our glasses.
Eli filled up our glasses again and sat back down. After a brief period of silence, he asked a question that caught me off guard. "Have you ever thought about a career in politics?"
"I, uh, can't say I have. Sounds like a lot of bullshit, and I probably am not qualified for it."
He chuckled. "No one ever is qualified before they start. Politics has always been something you've learned as you went. The hard part is getting elected. Once you get that far, you can lean on your advisors for the skills you don't have."
I started to get suspicious of his intentions now. "I'm sure, but why do you ask?"
"I can see you have potential, at least with winning over crowds. That is an important skill for the position." I looked at him with more suspicion to call him on his bullshit. "Honest, I think you have potential. You're a skeptical man, so I know that's not enough for you. The whole truth is I'd ask that question to anyone with any potential from your city. You heard what I said in my speech. Mayor Maria Park is an asshole, and she never wants to work with me on anything. She even refused to join in on my tourism bill. Said it would bring in more terrorism, even though the requirement to travel is a good social credit score."
The thought of having any sort of political power was appealing, but all the extra shit you would have to do. "I don't know about that. I don't know anything about how to run like a campaign, or how to fucking manage a whole damn city."
"I have resources to run campaigns, and assuming you got in - well, we could help each other out. Politics is a dangerous game, assuming you're the one playing it and not Advent..." He must have noticed my lack of enthusiasm. "But I can tell you're not interested. - Don't worry about it, I'm just making conversation."
I shrugged. "It's cool. I've just never thought about it before."
"This has been a thought-provoking conversation. It's been a long time since I talked about my pre-Advent days. You got me to reminisce." He paused and took a drink from his glass. "I don't want to be the only one reminiscing. So, what is your story? How'd you get into acting?"
"Well, it's not that special. Once I started working for Advent, they directed what I was doing. They gave me smaller roles for practice, and it just went from there. I could tell you about some of my roles. You might find that interesting..."
-0
We shot the shit for another half hour before we ran out of stuff to talk about. Ending on talks about the Mayor's tourism video which I was interested in helping him with. Anything to restore a sense of normalcy was something good to work towards. He told me he'd contact me when they decided to shoot it. The moon was high in the night sky and I was getting tired. As I left, the mayor told me his personal phone number. I put it into my phone, and he told me I could call in that favor whenever, and he'd try to help me within reason.
The ride to the hotel with 11-7 was surreal. It was almost like she was ignoring me. She didn't say a word, or bat an eye in my direction. I hope she's ok. Maybe she's pissed about what I did. It would be a toss up between the kiss or me allowing the terrorists to capture me. She could be angry about both. But surely she'd show some of that. When I looked into her eye's I saw an absence of emotion, no hint of what she was thinking.
Did Advent do something to her? Fuck. if she revealed anything to them there's no telling what they could have done to her. They might have scrambled her brain. My heart beat against my chest. It quickened as I got my room key from the receptionist. - We went into the elevator in the lobby. Neither of us spoke. As we walked down the hall, all I could hear was my heartbeat and her breathing. I'd have to say something when we got back to the room, we'd been separated for so long, I was obligated to. I wanted to say something, but dread creeped in through my pores and clutched my chest. Room 269, we had arrived. I waved my room key in front of the door and the lock clicked. The door opened, and I walked in.
There were two beds, both queen sized. The decor and overall quality of the room was nice, but not luxurious. Plain white sheets on the beds, pillows, blankets. A desk with a chair next to a dresser that was across from both beds that had a tv on it. The carpet was brown, with a hexagon pattern on it, and matched the color of the drapes covering the single window in the room. Tan colored walls accented the brown-colored carpet and furniture.
The door closed with a bang, but I didn't turn to face her yet. I took a deep breath and spoke as I turned to face her. "I can explain, if..."
I didn't get to finish what I was going to say. 11-7's red eyes were wet, and her gun was on the ground. As I wondered if she could cry or not, she slithered forward and ambushed me with an embrace. Wrapping her arms around my back and curling her long neck around the back of my head. I returned the gesture, and didn't know what to say. She leaned back and lifted me off the ground with her muscular tail.
She started babbling from behind my head. Her voice was saturated with emotion. "I'm so happy you're alright. I thought I would never see you again. It was just like a movie I saw a few weeks ago. I believed the terrorists killed you. Advent wouldn't let me into your room while you were recovering. They tested me for compromisation I wasn't certain I would pass. I'm so happy." She squeezed me tighter in her arms, lowering me to the ground so she could coil around me. "I'm so ecstatic, so happy you survived and are here now."
I guess there was nothing to worry about. I felt my eyes start to water too; she got me. Fuck. "- I didn't think I was gonna make it. I'm happy you're ok. What do you mean they tested you for compromisation?"
She pulled her head back and smiled. "You are watering in face like me." She blinked her eyes a few times. "It is a test they said trigger words to me and presented abstract imagery to get a rise out of me. I did not crack. It was because I thought of you. I had to see you again."
"Did they hurt you?"
She shook her head. "No, it is standard procedure. The test is given out periodically."
"Oh, well. I'm glad you're ok too. I mean I patched you up in the truck, but a shotgun blast to the gut is no joke."
I saw a spark in her eyes. She uncoiled from me and stopped hugging me. "That wasn't the only thing you did."
Oh, shit. Before I had time to explain myself, I felt something smack into the side of my face. It caught me off guard so much I lost my balance and fell to the floor. She had slapped me and landed it squarely on my cheek. I rubbed the part she hit, which stung. "Ow, if you'd just let me explain."
She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. "There is no explaining what you did. You kissed me, and after I had told you this was a problem I was enduring..."
I stayed sitting on the ground and interrupted her. "I didn't know if I was gonna come back from that alright. I hadn't told you that I liked you before or shown that to you. I didn't want to leave that unfulfilled when I was captured."
She snorted and looked away. "You shouldn't have given yourself to them, idiot."
I was a little irked by her ungratefulness. "It was the only way to ensure you would be safe. There were no guarantees I'd have made it out, even if you died. You could have died for nothing, don't you realize that?"
She focused on me with slitted pupils as her tongue flicked out aggressively. "It would not have been for nothing. I would have laid my life down to prevent your capture without a second thought. That - is - my purpose."
She said the same thing in the truck and I couldn't stand it. That willingness to lay her life down for someone else, even for some asshole like me. It was something I admired about her, a genuine sort of selflessness, but she takes it too far. It was infuriating, and I'd tell her this a thousand times, if one of those times it got through that thick snake skull of hers. I stood up. "Your life has value! You're not just some faceless cannon fodder, who - who can be tossed aside like a spent clip. Whatever Advent, or anyone else told you, doesn't matter. Forget it." I pointed at myself. "- I care about you, - your life has value to me. Not just your combat experience either." I pointed at her. "I like you. I would have endured any pain just to know I had a chance of seeing you again." I took a moment to breathe."
She was frozen. Nothing moved, except for her tongue, which was flicking out furiously. It seemed like she didn't know how to react. Her hood was extended as wide as I had seen it. "Why?" she whimpered.
She had asked me the same thing in the truck. Did she really not remember, or could she just not believe it? - As many times as it takes, I will make her understand. "I love you. I love everything about you. Your banter, your smile, your eyes. God, they're so gorgeous I could stare into them all day. You're so courageous, you've never run from a fight. You'd do anything to help someone. I couldn't imagine my life without you at this point. I didn't want to." I sighed. Every cynical fiber of my being was telling me to not say it, but I did anyway. "I - need you."
Her eyes widened, and she stared at me in disbelief. I couldn't tell what she was thinking anymore. This conversation was too intense for me, especially so soon out of the hospital. She slithered towards me, removing the gap between us. Her eyes were squinted.
I felt nervous now that she was this close to me and not saying anything. But, that was standard behavior for her. "I uh, - uh. What more do you want me to say? Your scales are shiny, looking fit - looking good. I don't know." She was studying me and didn't look satisfied.
Her head moved down to my eye level, and she looked into my eyes. "Are you gonna..." Our lips met, and she kept staring at me. It wasn't a kiss. She just bumped her lips into mine and pulled back.
It was unceremonious, but it still got a reaction out of me. Blood ran into my cheeks. "Come on, what is up with you? I have no clue what you want." I gestured to her as I spoke.
She stared at me for a few moments longer and smiled. I saw satisfaction in her eyes. "You aren't lying to me. This isn't some kind of trick." The way she spoke made that sound like a conclusion rather than a question.
I rubbed the back of my head. "Of course not. I mean, I never did like aliens, not 'til I met you. That's not something I'd lie about. - This is as inconvenient for me as it is for you."
She chortled. "You see me as inconvenient?"
"That's not what I meant. I..."
She interrupted me. "I know what you meant." Her eyes drifted away from me to the bland landscape painting between the two beds. "We lead dangerous lives, Lucas. More than I believed at first. - When you are young, you feel invincible. Like you could fight against a whole army and come out uninjured." She clasped her hands together and looked down at the floor. "It required a bullet wound to the abdomen for me to realize that is not true."
The scar from her wound was visible. Scales had been removed by the buckshot, and what replaced them now was a patch of yellowish skin. "What are you saying?"
She looked at me and rubbed her arm with the other hand. "I am saying what you said before, the explanation. I don't want to leave anything unsaid or undone."
I wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Okay?"
"Because we could die, there is no reason to not try adventurous activities, given that I can pass the tests without failing. Perhaps I am - taking a page - out of your willingness to do spontaneous actions."
She tried to do an idiom, not quite right, but she's getting better. Still didn't know where she was going with this. "Uh huh. Like what."
She tapped her claws together and looked away. "Hmmm. Oh, I'm not sure. Mmm. Something like copulation maybe - with you. As an example - of what we could do." She played it off like she was aloof.
Woah. Did she really just say that? "Umm..."
She looked back at me with a renewed intensity in her eyes. A hunger. "But, I want to do it on my terms, not be compelled to do it. - On more than one occasion during our interactions, I have been compelled to do things to you. But, if I choose before anything happens it is my choice, yes."
Oh dear. "Uhh, I guess."
"I'll only engage in the copulation if you want to. - However, from what I have learned through observation about you I know what your answer will be." A smug smile spread across her lips.
I didn't know what to say. Her offer was tantalizing, but she said it in such an unromantic way. This felt more like a business deal. It wasn't how I expected this to go, but nothing ever has been. I gave her the same treatment. "Ok, uh - sure."
She squinted her eyes. "A yes, spoken like that. No reaction?"
I chuckled. "Well, you don't just go up to someone and say: Hello human beep boop, would you like to do the coitus? - There's more to it than that."
She looked confused. "I did not say beep boop, human, or coitus." She paused for a moment, and put her hands on her hips. "Alright Lucas, how would you do it? Since you are an expert."
Jeez, no need to hurt my pride. I decided to have a little fun with this. "Well, that would depend on the location. If we were in a bar in the south. I might stride up to you like this." I walked up to her like I was a cowboy, and leaned on the dresser next to her. "He thar darlin. What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this."
She cocked her head. "Is this the acting you do? - You are such an idiot."
"Not a fan of cowboys, ok. I'll try the love struck man from old France." I cleared my throat. "Giv me your 'and." I grabbed her hand and got on one knee. "Oh, mon chéri. Your ies are like se bu-tiful red moon of a lunar eklips. I woud launch myself into deep space jus to look at sem better."
She snorted. "Is this going anywhere?"
"Alright, I get it. Just me then." I stood up, still holding her hand, and looked deep into her eyes. "11-7, you are the most, beautiful - radiant creature I have ever laid my eyes on." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Would you like to share my bed tonight, - and fuck in it."
Confusion spread across her face. "I do not understand. My answer is yes, but your question was the same as mine, but with more words behind it."
"Yeah, that's the fluff, it makes it better. You know, get you in the mood for the - copulation."
She flicked her tongue at me. "I don't need that. I can do it now. Speaking with you has been in my thoughts all day. It was hard to pretend I didn't care about you when we were around everyone."
"You've seen movies with this in it. Isn't this what you want?"
She paused for a moment, and her hood tightened up. I seemed to have caught her in an act. "It is, but I don't understand it."
"That's fine. We can take it slow. Come sit with me on the bed." I led her over to the queen bed closest to the door and sat down on it. She sat on it like she would sit on a chair, leaving the rest of her snakelike body sprawled out on the floor.
She looked like she got an idea. "Oh, is this the part where we make out with our tongues?"
"Yeah, uh that's a good place to... "
She grabbed me by the shoulders and forced our faces together. My lips squished against hers. Her tongue had parted my lips and was trying to force its way past my teeth. Against my better judgement I opened my mouth and let her in. I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of throat fucking me with her 20 ft long bifurcated tongue, she coiled it around my tongue. She breathed through her mouth, sucking the air out of my lungs. While she was capable of filling my entire mouth with tongue, the best I could do was touch the inside of hers.
As we were kissing. I felt her four fingered hand move up my thigh and rest on my dick. She gave my groin a gentle squeeze. I remembered my dreams. The ones where I got molested and jumped.
She stopped kissing me and looked concerned. "Are you ok? Did I hurt you?"
"No, it's just. I've had bad dreams about this. I thought I had forgotten about them, but I guess not."
"Lucas, we don't..."
"I'll be fine. - You won't bite me on the neck when we're done here, will you?"
She smiled. "I'm your bodyguard. It is my job to make sure nothing happens to you. But if you want an honest answer." She leaned in close to my neck and whispered. "I make no promises." I felt her nibble on it with her lips, which made me shudder. She pulled her head back.
I hated how much that just turned me on. "We should, uh. Get you out of that armor."
She didn't say anything as she undid the clasps on her gauntlets and threw them by the door. It was strange to see her pull off her helmet. I'd seen her wearing it so much that she looked kinda bald without that pointy thing on her head, which made me chuckle. The rest of the armor came off in two pieces as she undid even more clasps under her shoulder pads. The front and back of her armor fell onto the bed with a dull thud. She slid them off and onto the floor.
This wasn't my first time seeing her naked, but not seeing nipples on her breasts was uncanny. "Oh, right. I forgot you didn't have nipples."
Her smile faded and she snorted. "This again? Are nipples essential to the copulation process?" She looked down at her breasts.
I shook my head. "No, just forget I said anything. They are perfect just the way they are, like the rest of you." Nice save.
She smiled again, but still looked confused. "I will never understand your fascination with my venom glands. Beyond that they mimic your species female's attachments."
I chuckled. "Shhh, just go with it. Now where did we leave off?"
11-7 didn't understand that was a rhetorical question. "I had grabbed your genitals while we were kissing."
"Right, let's, uh try that again."
We were locked in a kiss again, and this time, as she rubbed my shaft through my tan dress pants with her palm, I did not get scared. It felt like she understood that touching me there would provoke an appropriate reaction, but it was clear she did not know what she was doing. Her forwardness emboldened me, so I slid it over the scaled plates on her abdomen, up to one of her breasts. I cupped it with my hand and gave it a hesitant squeeze. It was firm, but had some give to it. It made sense, considering she'd have to have some muscle over the glands to generate the pressure to expel the venom from them.
She stopped kissing me and pulled her head back. "Why are you stimulating one of my venom glands?"
Still holding her breast, embarrassment set in. "I, uh. You don't like it?"
"I did not say that, but if you squeeze it enough, it will force the venom into the secondary glands in my head and give me a headache. Then I will have to expel it, but I did not bring my bucket."
I let go. "Sorry, maybe we should move on."
She chortled and gave me a sly look. "Are you certain you know what you are doing?"
"I mean kinda. I've only done this like one or two other times, and I was drunk both of those times, and I'm pretty sure she wasn't an alien."
"Hmmm, your old girlfriend - Claire?" I didn't detect any mischievousness from her bringing it up. She seemed genuinely curious.
I sighed. "Yeah, but let's not talk about her. This is about you and me right now. So, what do you want to do?"
She smiled. "We should skip to the good part." She slithered onto the bed until she was laying against the pillows on the headboard. Using her tail, she pulled me over to her until I was kneeling above her torso.
It was at this point I realized how massive she really was. Her torso and tail were wider than my body, and while our heads were of a similar size, her hood made her look even bigger. A feeling of inadequacy and that I was way out of my league crept in. She was a big girl, and I didn't know what to do with her. My eyes darted over to the door. It still wasn't too late to run off, but I got the feeling if I tried that she wouldn't let me leave. I pushed those feelings aside. Not only did I really like 11-7, but I realized doing this would piss off my brother and Advent. Which only made me want it more.
I started massaging her torso to buy some time to think about what to do next. I still didn't know where her reproductive organs were.
Her body was firm, there was a small layer of soft tissue, but underneath that was pure muscle. As I kneaded her flesh, she made these grumbling noises. I hadn't heard anything like that before in my life, so I wasn't sure what it meant until she sighed with delight. Guess she was enjoying it.
I worked my way down, getting closer and closer to her hips. She grabbed one of my arms with her tail and I stopped. I looked up at her to see her hood was contracted and she wasn't looking at me. "Please, don't look at my scar."
That was out of nowhere. "What, why?"
She still didn't meet my eyes. "It's ugly, I don't want you to be disgusted by it."
I didn't realize she was insecure about that. I looked at the scar on her right shoulder, the one she had gotten at the train station. It had grown scales back along the edges, but some of that orange skin was still visible underneath. I chuckled. "I'd have to be very shallow for a scar to scare me off at this point." She looked at me with uncertainty in her reptilian eyes. "I mean it, I love you and your scars."
"Thank you."
"I don't mean to spoil the mood but..." I am going to have to be blunt about this. "Uh, where is your pussy?"
"My - cat?"
I rubbed my eyes. "No, your vagina, your cloaca, reproductive organs. Copulation port. Whatever the hell you want to call it."
Her pupils widened a little. "Oh, that. You were getting closer to it on your own, so I thought you knew. You've almost reached it, keep going."
I did as she asked. I kept massaging and working my way down. As I got closer to her hips, she got warmer and warmer. Once I pressed down on what I assumed was her waist, she squirmed. "Y-you found it." I thought she would be hesitant, and she had been acting that way until now. Her eagerness flicked on like a switch after I touched her, and she undid my belt with her tail and ripped it off me in like two seconds.
"Woah, let me get my bearings first." She snorted in response, but said nothing. I looked at the area I had touched before. It looked softer than the scaled plates around it. I remembered that scientist guy said it would look more familiar, but it was too much to hope she'd just have a vagina like a human. I had never seen that area look like this before. It was engorged, and the scaled plates around it were being pushed up. Judging by the fact it was swollen, it probably only appeared when she was aroused. It looked like a wide slit, not a long one, so all my experience just got thrown out the window. I thought about how I should go about touching her because I could not see inside of it or anything on the outside besides the opening, which glistened from the lights above us. I held my hand just above it and felt the intense heat radiating off of it.
I felt her tail coil around my leg. "Are you planning on staring at me all night?"
Her voice took me out of my silent contemplation. "Sorry, I'm just trying to figure out what to do. Have you, uh. Sorry, this is gonna be a weird question. Have you ever touched yourself down there?"
She looked confused. "No, why would I?"
I don't know what I was expecting, but shit. She doesn't even know what to do. Fuck it, if this is honestly her first time being touched there, maybe she'll be so sensitive it won't matter if I get it perfect. "Ok, you trust me, right?"
She nodded. "Yes." I could tell from her expression she was screaming: get on with it, in her mind, but I was playing it safe.
I placed my hands down on her, and moved them to spread it apart. I heard her suppress a moan. The inside tissue of her entrance was a pale yellow color, and it looked inviting. Observations over.
Using my pointer finger, I rubbed the outside of her opening as carefully as I could. Her tail tightened around my leg, and her tongue was flicking out at a quickened pace. So I think she was enjoying it, but I felt like I was defusing a bomb. Each lap around her outside folds with my finger caused 11-7 to squirm more and more. She grumbled as I worked, which excited me now that I knew what that meant. Her opening engorged more and gave off even more heat. As I pressed against it with my finger pad I could feel her pulse through it. I had done this long enough, and she seemed ready, so I slid my finger inside of her. It felt like I had stuck it inside of a velvety oven. I felt around for a moment, and she squeaked. I didn't even know she could make such a girly sound. Then something slammed into my chest and knocked me off the bed.
My vision darkened as I heaved for air. I think she knocked the fucking wind out of me. Her head poked over the edge of the bed and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I am so very sorry Lucas, are you alright."
"Yeah." I weezed. "I'll need a second." I focused on my breathing for a minute until I could stand up.
11-7 hugged me. "That was not on purpose I swear."
"Oh, so you don't want me to stop?" I joked.
Understanding that I was still ready to go, she pulled me back onto the bed. That's me alright, can take a lick and keep on ticking. I wasn't a pussy, and I wasn't gonna stop at this point. We were back to me kneeling over her sex, and she pulled my suit jacket off, which reminded me I was still fully clothed. As she tossed it aside, I loosened my tie and threw it next to my jaket. I worked on unbuttoning my shirt, but I must have been taking too long because she ripped it off of me, using her claws
"Hey, that was a nice shirt."
She snickered. "You have more, I've seen them." She took her time to observe my bare chest. "Mmm, you are handsome, for someone who doesn't have any scales."
"Yeah, I'm also not a snake, and I don't have a hood."
"No, you have a hood." She reached up and caressed my ears with her fingers. "They are small and not impressive, but you do."
"Thanks, now I'm insecure about my ears."
She flicked her tongue at me with affection. "I told you before, I think they are cute, like your face." She pulled me forward, off of my knees, into another kiss. As I lay on her, she unbuttoned my pants with her tail and pulled them off in one smooth motion by wrapping her tail around my waist and pulling down. That action sent my pants sailing through the air, taking my underwear with them. My partially erect member rubbed against her warm, sleek abdominal scales.
Being this close to someone else was enough to get me to exclaim something. "Fuck. It's been too long."
"What are you meaning?" She asked with a faux innocent look on her face as she grinded against me.
"- It's been too long since I've felt this way about someone."
She batted her lustful eyes at me. "I'm so honored Lucas, but you must stop talking now." She flipped me over on my back and held me against her body with a loose hug. Her tail wormed its way up my thigh and to my dick. It wasn't at full mast so I think she was confused as to what my dick was.
I grunted as she poked and prodded it with her tail and flipped it over a few times. Her head was over my shoulder and she was staring at it with intensity. The same intensity I saw in her eyes when she was battling terrorists. She spoke up. "Is this your..."
"Yeah, it is."
That was all the encouragement she needed to continue. She rubbed her tail up against the side of my cock. The feeling of warm scales caused me to gasp. Her tail coiled around it and she rubbed against my glans. The bottom of her tail was not smooth, it had texture to it, which simulated me more than I expected to. I bucked into her coils and grunted again. She looked at me through the corner of her eye and grinned. From her expression, I could tell she figured out what I liked.
Now that I was fully erect, her tail stopped rubbing me, and she changed strategies; moving her coiled tail up and down on my dick instead of rubbing it. She moved at a slow pace and kept looking back at my face for a reaction. I smiled back at her; I was happy to let her do her thing. Her tail slapped against my pelvis as she pumped. She had found the rhythm I enjoyed the most. It felt so good I started going along with the rhythm, bucking against her tail at regular intervals. The smooth, warm texture of her scales was driving me wild. I wasn't thinking anymore; I was just enjoying the moment. That familiar warm pressure was building up inside my groin, but before I could expel it, she released me. Out into the open air.
She looked pleased. "That must be sufficient." A passion I had not seen before had ignited her eyes. "Now - copulate with me."
She didn't have to tell me twice. I scrambled over to her hips. Her slit was still engorged, but I hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure about this? I don't mean to brag, but my dick is bigger than my finger."
I saw a hint of uncertainty in her otherwise eager expression. "I won't hit you with my tail this time, I praw-miz."
"Alright." I steadied myself over her entrance and eased my way in. As soon as I pushed past the folds of skin on the outside, she fucking hissed at me. It freaked me out, so I almost backed out, but she grabbed my arms and pushed on my back with her tail to force me into her. I pushed through the fear and moved forward. Her insides felt like paradise. I felt smooth ridges inside of her, like there were rings of muscle in addition to the muscle around the opening squeezing me. That intense heat surrounded my member. She wasn't this hot on the outside. I didn't know she could get this warm. Every inch deeper I went made her hiss louder until I bottomed out inside her.
Her hiss faded away, and her body relaxed. She let go of my arms. "Are you good?"
She focused on my face. "Yesss, keep going."
Her tail had relaxed, but held its position behind my back. I pulled back as slow as I could to test the waters. She grumbled in response and moaned. The further I moved out, the more I realized her sex was pulling me back in. The muscles inside squeezed around my cock and created a sucking sensation. What the fuck did that scientist do to them? Is this what they were like before he modified them because this felt a hundred times better than any of the times I fucked Claire. It was a struggle to not start plowing her like a cornfield in April, but I held off because I wanted to last longer than half a minute so she could enjoy this as much as I was.
I gripped the sides of her body with my calves and thrusted back in. She tensed up again, but didn't grab me this time. I worked myself into a steady rhythm, forcing my hips against hers. It was a strange sensation; she felt amazing, but I was slamming into a tube of pure muscle. Her body did not cushion me as I rammed into it over and over again.
11-7 seemed to enjoy herself. I looked up at her to see she was writhing around. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth and she was trying to focus on me. To have reduced her to such a mess filled me with confidence. I quickened my thrusts. She removed her tail from behind me and slid it under herself. Using it to push off the bed and into me, matching my pace.
It was almost comical where I found myself now. A month ago, the thought of being within 100 feet of an alien would have disgusted me, but here I was sharing the closest form of intimacy possible with one. God, what would my parents, or anyone else I cared about, think. Ironic that she had more of a personality than some people I knew, including Claire. I should have died yesterday, I should have died a long time ago, and yet I am still alive indulging in some alien snake pussy, snussy maybe. Nah, that'd never catch on. Nothing else mattered. In this moment it was just me and her, and my troubles disappeared.
We slapped against each other like dogs in heat. The whole time I was fighting desperately to contain myself, but it was a losing battle. I wasn't sure how far along she was until she said something to me.
She focused on me and spoke with a strange amount of clarity. "Release your genetic material inside me. I know you want to." She sounded sultry.
Her smug grin told me everything I needed to know. I wanted to hold on a little longer, but well, she gave me a request. It would be impolite to refuse it. I pounded into her furiously until I sent myself over the edge. As my cock was milked for all it was worth by her powerful muscles, she wrapped her tail around my waist and forced me against her body, pushing my member deep inside of her. We both moaned in unison and my body went limp. I laid my head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat as we both breathed heavily.
I looked up at her from her venom glands. "H-how was - it."
Her eyes darted to look at mine. She uttered one word in between her breaths. "More."
I didn't quite understand what she said. "What'd - you say?"
The ecstasy wore off from her eyes and they became more focused. "More."
I heard it clearly that time, and now I was feeling like I wasn't the one in control. "Uh, I mean..."
Her tail was still coiled around me, and she used it to flip me around onto the bed. Now she was on top of me. She caressed my face with one of her hands and leaned forward to kiss me. She was trying to butter me up, but I didn't know if I could make it another round with her 500 lb ass on top of me. I couldn't believe I hadn't even pulled out yet, and she wanted to have another go. Something compelled me to say yes against my better judgement. Not that it was any mystery what was compelling me. "Sure, I guess I could go for round two." What's the worst that could happen?
I didn't have to say anything else; she began grinding on me again like a fucking belt sander. I wasn't even involving myself; I didn't have any energy left. This was all her, and she apparently had enough stamina to keep this going for the both of us. We were both hot from all this physical exertion. Beads of sweat dripped off of her and onto me as she rode my dick. Her tail was coiled around my legs, binding them together. With every slap, she pushed me further and further into the bed. I thanked god that the headboard was one of those that were attached to the wall because if it wasn't, the next room over would probably think there was someone getting beaten to death in our room.
My pelvis started to hurt from her incessant pounding. She was going to break me if I didn't do something. She grunted, grumbled, and made all sorts of weird sounds that egged me on. Painful as it was, I was ashamed to admit I was harder than I'd ever been. Moving in and out of her, as her venom glands bounced around near my face, was wonderful. If I was to die tonight because of viper sex, so be it, there were worse fates. But I wasn't going out with a whimper. Mustering what strength I could, I moved my arms and made a plan. As she came back down and forced my dick inside of her, I wrapped my arms around her and held on for dear life as she pounded me into a mixture of oblivion and bliss.
It was like riding that damn mechanical bull in my hometown, except if I fell off it would hurt a hell of a lot more, and I would get grinded into dust. I thought of that time I rode on it to impress a girl and face planted while What a Wonderful World played on the jukebox. It had been such a long time since that day, I wondered what she was up to now. I could almost hear that song playing again as I tried to not fall off 11-7. I came, over and over, and over again. Over time, her pace slowed to a halt until her tail slipped off of me and she rolled over in the bed.
Stars danced at the edge of my vision. My body screamed at me in pain, and I could barely think. I could move, but not much. My bones didn't feel broken, but I could only hope no one would be able to notice the damage tomorrow. I thought about saying something to 11-7, but what would I say? Gee thanks, that was superb, and probably the best fuck I've ever had in my life, or will ever have. I didn't even have the strength to roll over and look at her. Despite the pain I couldn't help but smile like a dork. That was everything I could have wanted and more. As my consciousness faded away to dreamland, the last line in that song played in my head. And I think to myself what a wonderful world.