The Highest Bidder (ChristiexLeifang, HelenaxChristie ft. Hitomi)
Christie was hired by Leifang's family to serve at the Chinese heiress' bodyguard, but an offer from an unusual client causes the assassin to switch sides... Reviews and feedback are appreciated! (ChristiexLeifang) (ChristiexHitomi) (HelenaxChristie) (HelenaxLeifang)
Outfits – Leifang: DOA 5 Dress
Christie: DOA 5 Catsuit
Helena: Blue-and-gold longcoat
Hitomi: DOA 5 tank top, gloves and jeans
Leifang walked through the arena's entrance aisle with her bodyguard Christie behind her. The Tai Chi warrior nursed her neck as her face was covered with bruises. Her parents hired Christie feeling their young heiress needed protection, despite being disciplined in the martial art style. Leifang was partially against the assassin-for-hire being at her side at first, but realized it was because her parents feared for her safety against the dangers of the world.
Christie was a high-ranking assassin who served as a hired gun for many clients, even as protection to other high-class members of society in the past. Her parents knew through word of mouth the silver-haired Brit was at the top of her field and made sure to pay her handsomely for her services.
However, Christie wasn't the least bit overbearing to Leifang. She knew the young heiress could handle herself and only stepped in when it was necessary. When it came to it, the two of them could work well together in a fight. Still, Christie had more experience and was overall better skilled in combat than Leifang due to her profession. She even served as Leifang's sparring partner from time to time, thinking she could teach her a few things. For what it was worth, Christie's services had benefitted Leifang and her family. Christie never attempted to interfere with Leifang's social life either, and the heiress returned that kindness without getting too close with her bodyguard's privacy.
Their heels echoed throughout the caved aisle as they exited the arena. Leifang came out of a fairly even fight against the Ba Ji geisha Kokoro. The two girls saw each other as friendly rivals, loving to push each other whenever they can. Leifang wanted to check on Kokoro after her victory, but was ushered away by Christie per orders of Leifang's parents scared for their daughter's safety with her constant participations in the Dead or Alive tournaments. They felt she had nothing to prove coming from a wealthy family, even though Leifang was one of the oldest veterans of DOA, as she was among the first of female fighters who competed in the very first tournament years ago. Her parents wanted her to focus on her school studies, especially even more now since Leifang was a college freshman, but the allure of competition always had the heiress coming back.
Leifang looked back to the stoic Christie with a concerned look.
"Are you sure I can't go check on Kokoro-chan?" Leifang asked.
"I'm sorry, Miss Fang. Direct orders from your parents to escort you back home as soon as your fight was done." Christie said professionally.
Leifang faced forward and let out a tired groan. She was a little annoyed how strict her parents could be sometimes. But she felt Christie's hand on her shoulder, and looked at the Brit again.
"For what it's worth, Miss Fang… you were sharp put out there today." Christie said with a hint of support in her voice as she smiled.
"I'm impressed with how fluid your movements were." She added, before winking.
Leifang smiled back, loving how much of a mentor Christie was to her at times. Not to mention, the Brit was a bit of a flirt to the heiress without her parents knowing… and Leifang strangely liked, returning the teasing in kind. Maybe it was because of her bisexual curiosity, but she did think Christie was drop-dead sexy, especially in her current catsuit. Whether it was the look of Christie's curvaceous body, the patterns and colors of the suit blending well with each other, or how Christie carried herself in it (along with the front open showing Christie's smooth cleavage and blacked-laced bra), Leifang felt a little attraction to the assassin-for-hire. It didn't help Christie would sometimes accompany the Chinese girl's family to various parties as their escort, donning her tasty dark blue cocktail dress. Leifang loved how attractive Christie looked in it, even though she knew the Brit hid a knife under it just in case. The snake just assured it was for Leifang and her family's safety.
The ladies passed by a monitor replaying the end of the fight as Leifang victoriously posed, claiming how real Tai Chi Quan is done. Christie loved seeing how fit Leifang looked in her classic dress, as well as the soft skin the dress showed with Leifang's long legs, cheeks and thighs. The assassin secretly admitted to herself that the heiress was quite hot. Although Leifang still felt like she needed to check on Kokoro's condition, she was proud that her fans still took a liking to her spunky personality and fighting skill.
Christie opened the door to the locker room, allowing Leifang to enter in first, then closed it. Leifang rubbed her neck again, as she couldn't wait to take a shower. But the heiress felt Christie grab her arm and push her to the wall next to the door, holding her by her stomach.
Leifang softly groaned from her back pressing on the wall suddenly, as Christie smirked at her. The Brit locked the door in front of Leifang's view, then held her shoulders. After a tense moment of staring at each other, Christie suddenly thrusted her tongue into Leifang's mouth. The surprised heiress felt Christie quickly attack her mouth, but kissed back after a moment, closing her eyes as both girls moaned from the kiss. Leifang took the chance to wrap her arms around Christie's body, feeling her upper and lower back as well as the fabric of the silky catsuit. Christie felt Leifang's leg plant against the wall by her foot, then took to wrap around herself, caressing the soft skin with her gloved hand.
Leifang boldly sunk both hands down to immediately grab Christie's ass, getting a pleasurable moan out of the assassin, like she was complementing the heiress's boldness. That didn't stop Christie from dominating Leifang's tongue while their chests mashed and bodies grinded together. Christie felt Leifang's hands go through her short hair, sending an unusual shiver down the Brit's body. She loved it, though, to her surprise.
Leifang wrapped her arms around Christie's neck as her bodyguard dragged her off the wall by her waist, allowing the Tai Chi warrior to bend her leg behind her in a classic lady pose. Feeling satisfied tasting her princess's mouth, Christie broke the kiss, making both breathe heavily.
They stared at each other as Christie still smiled.
"You were beautiful out there." Christie said with a husky voice. "I couldn't take my eyes off you, Miss Fang."
"Christie…" Leifang said.
"Go take a shower." Christie reminded her. "Can't send the rich girl back to her parents smelling sweaty."
Leifang nodded and held Christie's arms for a few seconds longer, lost in Christie's steel eyes.
The Brit pushed Leifang gently to her locker and waited for the heiress to change out of her clothes. Leifang took a while to prepare a copy of her dress to wear afterwards, then undid her braids to loosen her hair. Christie turned around from the door with crossed arms to see Leifang in her beautifully, curvy glory with her hair behind her and her body wrapped in a towel.
"You skin looks so soft, my dear." Christie said advancing to Leifang.
She bent the front of the towel down to get a look at Leifang's nipples and smiled.
"And your tits look so delectable." She added with her sultry voice.
Leifang giggled, blushing a little while putting her fists on her chest nervously. She felt vulnerable… but safe around Christie. She worked up the courage to lift her head to meet Christie's eyes again and winked at her before made a kissing motion with her mouth. Christie took that as a sign to lean it and give the heiress one last, slow loving kiss with holding her head by the back of her neck. Christie broke the kiss with a soft smooching sound, leaving both ladies smiling at each other before Christie wiped the bottom of Leifang's lips with her thumb, ushering her to step into the shower.
Christie leaned on a nearby wall while steam emitted from the shower. The assassin crossed her arms before lifting a hand to rub her own lips with closed eyes.
"Not bad." She said to herself.
"She tastes pretty good. I love them young… but she's not my type." Christie kept muttering.
"I know I can do better than that little girl… I know I want you, my lady." Christie said as she rubbed her thighs together.
The though of whoever was on her mind made Christie rub her hands up and down her chest and body, making her sigh with sexual ecstasy. The lust of her true affectionate love drove her wild inside. Very few things made Christie feel alive: The adrenaline of chasing down a target… riding on the edge of death… The pleasure of killing a target, especially up close seeing their cowardice boil to the surface before taking their life with a smooth slit across the throat with her blade… And ravaging weaker lovers so easily. She was a womanizer, a cougar to both men and women, but she had a type. Christie didn't care about having a moral compass, just manipulating the lives of others for her own gain.
While lost in her lustful haze, Christie's phone vibrated next to her on a bench, breaking the serpent out of her thoughts. She picked up the device and smiled, seeing the ID of the caller.
"It's Christie…. Ahhh, how are you, my lady?" Christie flirted, as she leaned back on the wall crossing her arm under her chest, placing her elbow on her hand.
"Yesssss, she doesn't suspect a thing… Oh, you know I love them rich, but something about her is… young. Too young for my standards." She kept conversing.
"So, have you finalized our deal?... I know what this means… They'll understand, business is business… Of course, I've missed being by your side… Excellent. Then, I am yours to do with as you see fit. You know I am to please. Consider my services are now your property… Hm hm, I look forward to meeting you, dear." Christie said with a smile, hanging up with an evil chuckle.
"Sorry, Miss Fang… But it seems I've been bought out… Nothing personal."
Christie looked over to the steam, planning her next move.
A few minutes later
Leifang changed into her clean dress and was redoing her braids. She conversed with Christie about looking forward to spending the evening at home, even though she did have some homework to do. She figured life at home would be a lot more fun now that she and Christie were closer than before.
But after she was done gathering her things in her school bag, she turned around to get pinned on the wall again… this time by Christie's foot on her neck.
Leifang dropped her bags as her supplies spilled out after hitting the floor, making the heiress clutch Christie's heel, trying to alleviate some of the pressure. But Christie pushed her foot closer before Leifang had a chance to fight back, choking her softly.
"Christie… What… are you doing?" Leifang cried, holding Christie's leg.
"Making my move." Christie said coldly with a smile.
She pressed down on the heiress's neck, making her face turn red slowly as Leifang choked. Christie thought she could kill Leifang at that moment, but death was the last thing on her mind.
"Please… stop…" Leifang begged.
Christie's smile grew. This is what the sadistic serpent loved: Torturing the weaker prey, making them realize how helpless they really were.
"You're lucky I won't kill you now, Miss Fang. But I'm afraid this is a "good news, bad news" deal." Christie said.
"The good news is… you're not dying here." The assassin said, letting Leifang go. But the sudden release makes the Tai Chi princess falls to her hands and knees, as she nursed her throat while coughing and her face returned to normal color.
"The bad news…" Christie said, walking behind Leifang.
"My services no longer belong to you and your family. While you were showering, I received a call from another client… A wealthier client, I should add." Christie revealed.
This was all too much for Leifang to take in. Her mind was running a hundred miles a minute at all that had transpired. From Christie going from kissing her to damn near killing her was too much for her to process.
"Who…? Who cal-?" Leifang tried to ask before Christie pulled her up by her circled braids.
Leifang found herself on her feet before Christie immediately wrapped her arm around her throat and planted her other hand on her head. Leifang's body weakened quickly due to her exhaustion from the fight and the assault. Christie held a slightly angered expression choking Leifang while her prey struggled to break free. Leifang didn't last long as her vision started to darken.
"You'll meet them in time. Actually, they wanted to see you in person." Christie explained.
Leifang's body started to go limp as her eyes rolled back. Christie smiled when the heiress's hands dropped.
"That's it… sleeeeep. The worse is about to begin." Christie said, as she left a kiss on Leifang's head.
Christie slid down the wall, making the assassin and her unconscious prey sit down.
"Sweet dreams, dear. It's been fun." Christie whispered as Leifang's head tilted away from her.
Once the Brit got her strength back, she dragged the unconscious Chinese girl out of the locker room and through a back door of the stadium, where a dark van wan parked. She put Leifang into the back of the van and ziptied her hands together before driving the van away from the arena.
Later that night
The dark blue night sky rolled on with some stars out as the light shown into a dark study room through its large windows where a woman finished smoking her cigar and put out the bud on an ashtray, hearing the van pull up. The woman poured out some wine into a wineglass while she heard Christie dragging Leifang into her home.
After a couple minutes, Christie drug Leifang into the study room by her arm and the back of her neck as a groggy Leifang stumbled and hunched over. Christie threw Leifang in front of the woman, whose upper body was covered by the darkness, but her well-manicured feet was shown with the nails painted red. The figure wore sandals and leggings with the right leg crossed over her left.
The figure took a sip from her drink, then snapped her fingers and called for Christie's name.
She pointed her hand out of the dark and demanded Christie make Leifang kiss her foot, pointing at her right hanging foot.
"Yes, my lady." Christie obliged.
She grabbed the kneeling Chinese girl and snarled, "Come on… Obey your queen!"
Christie puckered Leifang's lips from squeezing her cheek together using her hand under Leifang's chin and pressed her face down on the figure's foot. Leifang's sounds muffled as her face met the foot. She tried to shake herself off, but Christie was too strong for her.
"That's enough." The figure ordered, and Christie let Leifang go.
But the Brit felt the Chinese victim was being disrespectful and soccerball kicked Leifang in the stomach. Leifang groaned, feeling her body and knees lift off the ground then fall back down, coughing and bringing her elbows close to the injured spot.
"Don't be disrespectful, brat!" Christie yelled.
Christie then walked to Leifang's head and made her cheek plant on the ground as the assassin stepped her heel on Leifang's head, applying pressure to her cranium. Leifang groaned from feeling Christie's heel press on her head as Christie stood with her hand on her hip.
"Well? Greet her, Miss Fang!" Christie ordered.
"But… I don't know… who she is." Leifang said weakly.
Christie pressed her heel down even more, applying more pressure. Leifang's voice rose in volume before the figure spoke up.
"Christie… let her go. No need to be so harsh on her. Not until after she sees me."
Christie looked at the darkened figure and saw a nod. Christie pressed on Leifang's head a little more before she got off. The assassin stood behind Leifang with crossed arms as the figure set her glass on the small roundtable next to her chair. Leifang finally gathered enough energy to get on her knees with her hands still binded in front of her.
"What… why are you doing this?" Leifang begged.
"I thought we were friends." She said weakly, finally realizing whose voice was in the dark.
The figure smiled from the shadows before getting up and grabbing Leifang's head to place an swift and accurate knee into the Chinese heiress's head. Leifang fell back, holding her head, groaning from the force of the quick strike... Then the figure stepped out of the dark to reveal herself…
Helena Douglas. Her blue-and-gold longcoat flowed out of the darkness and she stepped over, then sat on Leifang's body.
"Surprise, dear. Didn't see this coming, did you?" Helena mocked, crossing her arms in superiority.
"Why would I be friends with a spoiled child like you? Sure, you're a talented fighter… but you're nothing compared to me!" Helena revealed.
Helena grabbed the ziptie bind of Leifang's hands, but Leifang tried to struggle free. They struggled for control before Helena pulled the hands down to raise her other hand and slap Leifang hard and fast. Leifang yelped from the hit. Helena smiled from the heiress's cry and slapped her again. Helena did this a few times, bruising Leifang's cheek until a slight shade of red was left imprinted. Helena felt so good inside asserting her superiority over the young Tai Chi warrior.
Helena looks up and gives an order to Christie after slapping Leifang a few times.
"Christie, go get her friend!"
The serpent assassin nodded with a smile and goes around the corner where an arched opening was. While Helena "disciplined" Leifang some more, Christie drug a weakened and hunched Hitomi to the other ladies and threw her next to the high-class women.
Leifang saw Hitomi hit the ground near the big windows, seeing her friend panting rapidly. Leifang noticed Hitomi's arm had needle marks on her arm. Hitomi looked sweaty, too. Her face was a mess, like she had barely got any sleep. Her face looked defeated, the karateka's eyes had bags under them and her pupils were dilated. Hitomi was, in a word, a wreck.
"Did you give her the injection?" Helena asked.
"Just now, before I threw her out here." Christie replied.
Helena smiled and nodded. "Good work, Christie."
Christie nodded back with a hand on her hip.
Leifang was concerned for her friend's well-being. She had no idea Hitomi was in a worse situation than her.
"What happened to her?!" She asked. "What did you do to her?!"
"Oh, your white knight." Helena said, mocking Hitomi's state.
"A new experiment I wanted to test for DOATEC's studies. Hitomi was a good subject for us, so we kidnapped and inoculated her periodically. We injected her with some heroin and a new aphrodisiac my team made. To our surprise, it didn't kill her. It'll be perfect for selling DOA girls we don't need anymore to strip clubs, as long as I get a share of the profits in return." Helena explained.
"Plus…" Helena continued, making Leifang face her.
"If you didn't figure it out, I'm the one who purchased Christie's contract. She is now property of DOATEC, and moi." She explained as she saw Christie walk beside her, allowing Helena to take her hand.
"My service only goes to the highest bidder, Miss Fang." Christie joined in. "And there's no one richer than my lady."
Helena smiled and got off Leifang when Christie helped her up. Leifang watched as the European ladies watched to the front of the chair Helena was in. Christie let Helena's hands go and kneeled on one knee in front of the Aristocrat, with her head down and hand on the ground.
"Miss Douglas… I am honored to be by your side again." Christie said devotedly.
"I will act as your charge… Your gun… knife… whatever weapon you desire. I am your instrument of destruction now. I promise, no one will stop you from your goals now." Christie vowed.
Helena placed a hand on Christie's shoulder, bending over to give Christie a perfect view of that wonderful cleavage.
"I know you'll be a perfect servant to me, Christie. Together, we will bring value back to my family name. Now rise, my assassin." Helena said with a smile, signaling for Christie stand up.
Christie rose with her own smile and Helena stood at an angle trailing her finger down Christie's cleavage to the Brit's delight, feeling Helena's smooth finger on her skin and Helena even peeled a part of the suit's opening away, enticed seeing more of Christie's bra. Christie leaned it to whisper in Helena's ear and Helena nodded before letting go of the silver-haired serpent's suit and let Christie guide her back to the stunned Leifang, allowing Helena to sit back down on her prey, making the Chinese girl jump with her fists close to her chin, nervously waiting for Helena's next move.
Helena saw Christie strut over to Hitomi before looking down at Leifang, and forces her to see the serpent approaching her friend planting her hand down on the side of Leifang's face. Leifang grunted feeling Helena's hand, feeling extra pressure added as Helena put her other hand over her own making her look at the karateka and assassin without any chance of escape.
Hitomit continued to pant quickly as she felt Christie turn her onto her side, making one arm stretch out and the other lying near her stomach. The assassin's gloved hand moved Hitomi's hair covering her face behind her before wrapping her arm behind Hitomi's neck. Leifang watched in horror seeing Christie leaving small kisses on Hitomi's neck, then cheek. Christie whispered hopeless nothings into the brunette's ear, teasing she was going to devour her in front of her best friend, before biting it and licking her cheek lightly chuckling.
Leifang struggled under Helena's hands, begging for Christie to stop. Helena kept her in place while Christie turned Hitomi's head to softly capture her bottom lip, meshing and biting it roughly to soft moans from Hitomi. Christie kept going, peeling her own lip under the panting karateka's, loving the soft feel, before repeatedly kissing Hitomi, going deeper with each kiss. She also slid more of her tongue into Hitomi's mouth slightly, teasing the brunette's hot body about attacking her tongue. Christie felt it wasn't that much fun, since she would want Hitomi to squirm under her against her will, but Hitomi was in no condition to do so.
But Christie loved feeling up Hitomi's fit body, as she pulled down part of Hitomi's top to reveal her black sports bra. Leifang begged some more as Christie grabbed Hitomi's covered breast while continuing to kiss her victim's neck and cheek. Hitomi let out slight moans feeling the Brit's grip on her mound, moving it around slightly. Helena enjoyed seeing Christie have fun with her victim while Leifang was distraught, hopeless in helping her friend.
Christie continued to have her fun letting go of Hitomi's mound to slide it in her top again to fondle her other breast, making Hitomi cry out another soft moan. Leifang and Helena saw Christie's hand move inside Hitomi's top, even seeing the other half of her sports bra when Christie moved it down with her wrist, until the assassin's hand moved back up covering it again while she wrapped her leg around both of the karateka's.
Christie continues to taste Hitomi letting out chuckles of enjoyment, as Hitomi weakly moves her outstretched hand out.
"Lei… Lei… hellllllp. Hellllp… meeeeee." She panted. Hitomi's eyes widened, then shut as she pants rapidly from Christie's hand unzipping the front of her jeans and puts her hand down it to feel her underwear.
"Stop! Stop it!" Leifang cries. "I can't watch anymore of this!" Leifang says as she shuts her eyes.
Helena smirks, saying, "Very well."
"Christie… put her to sleep." She ordered.
Leifang's eyes open again as Christie lifts her head up obliges her boss, turning Hitomi onto her stomach. Christie slowly slithers her arms around Hitomi's head and applies pressure slowly, choking Hitomi like she did to the Chinese heiress before.
"Please! Don't kill her!" Leifang cries.
"Oh, we won't." Helena assures her.
"We've got more tests to run on her… Maybe we'll even have you join, so you two can be together again." She adds before chuckling.
Hitomit softly chokes from Christie's sleeper, as the assassin dreamed of how many victims she killed with the exact position she had on the karateka. As much as she wanted to snuff out the brunette's life, having a toy like Hitomi was just as fun. Christie whispered how many people had died in her position to Hitomi, and that the German should be lucky they weren't naked, otherwise Christie would be thrusting her favorite plastic toy inside Hitomi's ass right now, wanting to hear the younger girl's screams.
"Fight, Hitomi-chan!" Leifang cried out. "Don't give up!"
But Hitomi quickly faded as her eyes closed and her hands stopped moving from Christie's grip. Leifang watched as Christie let go, dropping Hitomi's head on the carpet ground. The Brit sat up with her hands on her hips, satisfied by her work. She got up after she done admiring what she did, then walked to the other two ladies. She saw Helena beckon her with a "Come Hither" posture with her finger and the silver-haired woman obliged with her hands still on her hips.
Christie stood over Leifang's face and Helena pointed down for the serpent. Christie smiled and lowered herself to Leifang's shaking head… until the assassin's butt covered her mouth. Leifang muffled in protest as Helena moved back a bit to give her serpent servant some room. Helena loved seeing Christie's hips grind on Leifang, temporarily entranced by her assassin's movements.
Christie looked over her shoulder and mocked her former client.
"Losing your breath, Miss Fang? Don't worry, as my lady said… we'll take good care of you and your friend. After all, you two are just little girls to superior women like us."
Helena nodded, saying, "Let's face it, these children are nothing to European beauties like us, Christie. Thank you for coming back to me."
"It was the best choice I could've made, my lady." Christie said to Helena. "Ditching Donovan was the right move. I'm glad we can move on from our past."
Helena smiled and traces a finger down Christie's cleavage again. "Welcome back, babe." Helena said uncharacteristically.
Christie smiled back as Helena took a look at Christie's chest, wanting to taste that supple skin of the Brit. She also trailed her finger along the outline of Christie's bra, sliding her hand down Christie's breast to move down her side onto her leg while the blonde's other hand cupped Christie's cheek. Helena trailed her finger on the logo on Christie's leg with a smile.
"Serpent"…" She read.
"Christie… my sexy… seductive… pet serpent assassin… We'll be unstoppable to anyone who stands before us." Helena declared with love in her voice for Christie.
Christie nodded, keeping her smile as Helena moved her hand back up to peel open one side of Christie's opening, seeing more of her bra once again.
"Don't worry about undressing yourself… I'll be the one to help out of this suit." Helena said with a wink.
"My lady…" Christie said with a husky voice, leaning down a little and hooking the center of her opening to show more of her chest.
"I'll be your Prince Charming whenever you want. I'll go to the ends of the earth for you, my queen."
Helena smiled widely and cupped Christie's face with both hands, pulling her in for a loving kiss filled with tongue. Helena leaned further on her knees as Christie held her sides as both European beauties moaned loudly, tangling tongues like their lives depended on it.
As for Leifang, she could feel herself getting lightheaded as her fidgeting underneath the women making out slowed down. In fact, the makeout made Christie grind on the Chinese heiress's face some more out of the sheer pleasure she had kissing her former archenemy. Helena and Christie's lips kept colliding, letting out sighs and moans of their newfound love of superiority. Their aim to become a superpower the likes the world had never seen had them united to overthrow any obstacle in their way and bury their former grudge with each other.
In the weeks following, they kept inoculating Hitomi with their drugs and started the same process on Leifang. They figured the Chinese and German girls were a packaged deal, so they made them suffer together. One night, Christie ravaged Hitomi's mouth out of sheer enjoyment on her client's bed with Hitomi's futile attempts to push her off as Christie held her head, dominating the helpless German's mouth. The karateka was still drugged up like before, as Helena injected Leifang with those same drugs as the experiments continued in the French blonde's bedroom.
Helena even left her own kisses on Leifang's neck and cheek for being a good test subject before giving in to seeing what Christie was doing and gave Leifang her own dominated kiss to the Chinese girl's discomfort. But the college girls paled in comparison to how much of a thrill Helena and Christie had making out with each other. Together, they were going to make DOATEC's business boom with their new branch of supplying failed fighters to the strip club circuit.
Helena even fantasized of opening her own club with all the fighters they could capture and drug for themselves, and even trade them off with other club owners in an endless cycle that could gross lots of money and entertainment for the European beauties. But for now, they would have to enjoy watching the girls they would trade off to in those other clubs as their entertainment before opening their own establishment.
