Chapter 14:
Finn's expression told Drew something of how she looked. After a few days of round-the-clock care for her newest stepson, along with the vigil over his mother, she felt fifty, and now she thought she looked the part. No make-up, bloodshot, bleary eyes. Yeah, she was a mess, and hardly the sexy creature that would have had her husband drooling and wanting to grab her butt. "Chiang's fine," Drew murmured. She was deflecting, and they both knew it. As the woman who'd doctored on him much of his life, she well knew how the condition of the women who shared his life mattered to him. He had enough worry on his plate.
Of course, she knew better than to hide things from him as well, so when his first question of the day was for an honest assessment of Maja's chances, she gave him the unvarnished truth. "I don't know, Finn," Drew admitted. "I... It's not exactly a coma, but I can't seem to wake her either." Ultimately, Finn had decided that if his son survived in a condition to understand, Finn would do his best to tell Chiang who his mother was. He was saddened that he had failed to keep his word to Maja, but he would move forward as best he could.
Settling a comforting hand on either shoulder, Finn told his wife, "keep me posted... Keep looking in on her." Drew promised she would. Moving on, she said, "weren't you supposed to go to the club tonight." Finn flushed to his hair. He was being lent out. Nadia had told the others about Teri and Riley, and they'd all, collectively, decided that Finn should give the pair what they were asking for. Simone had as much as told him that if Sheila got to have a baby, then certainly Riley and Teri deserved it. And the pack of them had essentially cut him off to make sure it happened. "Going," Finn muttered.
Drew rolled her eyes. This was the man who could make getting laid seem like a chore. She was becoming a little concerned about the changes in his libido. There were moments where he seemed like a typically horny man, but there were stretches where he seemed wholly unenthusiastic about sex. Nadia owed her an analysis of the nano-machines in his bloodstream, but, as usual, she was finding a million other things to do that were more important. Drew was considering finding a doctor in Grid-Face Kingdom herself to do the honors–assuming she could nail Finn's feet down long enough to get the needed samples.
Leaving his beloved doctor behind, the King of Ooo headed out for his unlikely appointment. He'd kind of been ducking this for a while now out of a sense of terror at what it could lead to. The girls hardly saw the can of worms they were opening up with this gesture. They looked at it as rewarding loyal friends of the family who didn't have an ugly agenda. Finn couldn't help thinking of the buttload of women who were eyeing him up. In his late teens and early twenties, he'd often felt like an amusement park ride with a hundred screaming girls waiting in line to have a turn. He'd been holding them off for half his life. This felt a lot like opening the floodgates.
Climbing into the back of his ride, the King of Ooo gave his bodyguard directions as he settled behind the wheel. While Dahl drove, his lord went for a long walk through the knots and twists and turns of his worries. Finn found himself exploring all the things that kept him up at night. He'd had a couple of loyal mercenary friends searching for a cure for Maja's illness. He'd been thinking that her giving birth successfully sort of damped down the urgency, but this sudden strange turn had changed that thinking, ratcheting up his fears about what was going on there. On top of that, he had the mystery force in the east still stirring up crap. And now he had rumors and rumblings that maybe there was trouble in the no-man's land between Grid-Face Kingdom and the Tesla Barrier.
The peanuts were holding out. They were doing surprisingly well, in fact. Finn had expected to be fielding panicked calls from their leaders about the flood of humanity hitting them. Instead, he was getting silence. The Baron was ignoring polite inquiries, suggesting that maybe there wasn't a wave of people hitting him after all. So where did they all go? Piotr himself had seen the flood of people heading west. They hadn't gone back east, and they really couldn't go north or they'd be swimming in boiling water. So where'd they go? He had an unpleasant hunch that they were headed south and east, which would put them on a collision course for Lizard Kingdom. And from there, they could get boats and cross the sea into Purple Kingdom. Or they could head south into Laurel Kingdom. Those were all bad options. He needed to get a handle on that fast.
Arriving at Riley's club, Finn instructed his bodyguard to hang out in back, where he'd be out of sight. Heading inside, Finn stood in the doorway a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting. He was pleased to find the place packed, and the regular bartender back in his spot. His eyes flicked to the stage, where they locked with Pearl's, and he found himself flushing in a little embarrassment. He was here to bang Teri and get her preggers. Even knowing that Pearl shouldn't know about that, he was embarrassed.
Playing it cool, he made his way towards the booths in the back, doing his best to ignore the woman dancing on the stage. No TV out front. He sure hoped things were getting better there. Jake had one thing right. Girls could cause all kinds of friction just because they felt like you insulted them. Finn had figured out fast–with help from Emeraude–that there wasn't a much bigger insult for a girl than, 'no thanks'. Shutting the door on the thumping music in the bar, Finn sat down in the lap-dance booth and waited. Teri was supposed to come down to meet him here, and he was supposed to do the deed.
"You always struck me as the type of man who spent his time in these places," announced Agent Princess. Finn's hands clenched into fists at the sound of Orzsebet's voice. His mind immediately went to the fact that people of all stripes seemed to be constantly threatening those he cared for. He had cut ties with Riley and Teri–for their own good. Mostly, he'd kept that promise to himself. The world's frenetic motion had brought them back into his life once more and gotten him to promise them something more precious than the gold that had once sat in his treehouse home. And here was Orzsebet to possibly take that away.
His eyes lit with menace as he regarded the pretty spy. The Agent Princess grimaced in fear at that ugly look, and a shiver went through her. No, it was silly to think that a year would make that much difference in how he felt about her. Though she hadn't been the one to harm his friends, she was getting a lot of the fallout. As if in acknowledgment of those thoughts, Finn growled, "what do you want, Orzsebet?" Softly, she said, "to give my report..." Striding up to him, she squatted at the edge of the stage, showing off her long, trim legs, encased in dark silk. "You asked me to find out some things for you," she said.
Seemingly unfazed by her sexuality, the big man growled, "I requested intelligence on my adversary, not harassment. You could just as easily have transmitted your report by radio or sent it by courier." Big words. She was fascinated by the way he handled something so simple as language. She'd heard all the stories about what Nadia the Grid Face Princess's nanites had done to his brain. She'd been hearing rumors about other things that those nano-bugs might have done to him. "What I learned was important enough to do this in person," she said by way of response.
Nodding, he said, "alright. Continue." Nothing at all. Not even a hint of anything. She might as well have been a lump of stone–or worse, a piece of shit. "The bandit lords in the east haven't turned away from their ambitions," she said. "There is a mystery-woman uniting them..." Frown deepening, Finn rumbled, "go on..." Reaching out, she stroked one of the minute scars on his right cheek–given to him by the assassin, Mee-Mow. "You should have let Mee-Mow kill her," said Orzsebet. "The world would have been a better place..." She meant Wildberry. Finn's blue eyes burned into her brown eyes, suggesting that this was a topic best left alone.
"The name, Orzsebet," Finn demanded? "I don't have a name," she said. "Yet. They call her the Bandit Princess. She is uniting the lords of the eastern wastes by force and guile. She wants to mount a campaign to conquer the east." "Damn," muttered Finn. He would likely be heading east. Again. Riley and Teri were going to be disappointed. Which brought him right back to where they'd started this unhappy conversation.
"Did you hurt Teri," he asked? It was out of the blue. The way he said it sent a shiver through her. She asked a counter-question, "why do you hate me?" She was daring rather a lot. "Do you remember what we talked about," Finn reminded her? They'd had a long chat the day he'd released her from her imprisonment. In grumpy tones, she replied, "you promised me death. I... why don't you like me? I'm... You like a lot of bad girls..."
His blue eyes never wavered. He wasn't a shy boy anymore, and she knew he was more than capable of carrying out his threat. He would kill her the moment he felt she'd crossed him. No more than that. Glancing away, she said, "I sent her a text... tricked her into going home... She'll be gone for hours." When he was supposed to be helping her conceive a baby. More to the point, he was going east, and he wouldn't be seeing any of his ladies while he was gone. He honestly wanted to slap Orzsebet. As she stood up to go, a better idea occurred to him.
"Stop," Finn growled. Orzsebet stopped right where she was. His eyes scanned her from head to toe. She was of an age with him–a middle aged woman playing games that she should have quit playing a long time ago. "Since you're here, you can entertain me," he growled. The Agent Princess goggled at him. "Did you hear me," Finn demanded? Orzsebet simply stared at him. Flicking the switch on the edge of the stage, the King of Ooo turned on the booth's music system. It was the same thumpin' beat that the system in the bar was playing. Sitting down, Finn told her, "entertain me. Do it now."
The way he spoke suggested that he might kill her on the spot. Shivering in fear, Ozsebet began to dance, twirling and twisting in the ugly formal dress she was wearing. She was jerky and awkward in her fear, but Finn didn't care. She liked to fuck with people. He was going to show her what it was like to be tormented. While she danced, he took out his pecker. She wasn't bad to look at. "Is that it," he demanded? Flushing in shame, the spy reached back and unzipped her dress. "Slowly," he commanded. Blushing to her hair, the princess slowly danced in front of him, while she shed her little black dress.
The King of Ooo said not a word about the knives she was strapped with. He said nothing at all about the recorder. Indeed, he took it and snapped it on. Now he was filming her as he ordered her around, commanding her to bend over and show him her ass. While she twisted and gyrated, the big man jerked his pole. She was down to her bra, panties, and stockings now. She found herself strangely turned on as he shouted at her, demanding that those come off too.
The princess pressed her plump knobs up against either side of the steel stripper-pole. Reaching back, she popped the catch on her bra. "You call that sexy," Finn cat-called. "I thought spies were sexy, Orzsebet. You're just dirty and cunty." Flushing, she cussed him. "Are you entertaining me, or what," he snarled?! Cursing him, she began to dance again, shaking those narrow hips and flashing her tits at him. As he watched and laughed at her, she latched onto the pole and hoisted herself aloft. Dropping the bra, she twirled around the pole, showing off her still-hard body.
Turned on by being ordered about and shouted at, the pretty princess found herself grinding her snatch against the hard surface of the pole as she wondered. Would he? He had the power to tear her literally limb-from-limb. Rumors from the palace suggested he still had the power to slip through time. He could kill her–or do anything else he wanted–and she had no hope of stopping him. It was turning her on because bondage-sex–being taken–was one of her strongest fantasies.
"Show me that ass," he commanded. Orzsebet bent over before him, spreading her long, lean legs. "You getting off, slut," growled the King? Her face went red hot, as she realized he could easily see the damp spot in her panties. "Do you play with it, cunt," he growled?! Her face whipped around. The King's face was red, as he shouted, "play with it! Entertain me!" The humiliated princess did just as he asked. She began to rub her hot pussy, sliding her hand down the front of her panties. Kneeling there on the stage in front of him, she gave him a good show. Finn stroked his pecker in time with her rapidly moving fingers. Just as she was about to get off, he shot off all over her, with some of it splashing her in the face and hair.
"Don't ever fucking play with my people again," he growled, as he threw a handful of coins on the stage. She felt humiliated–like she was no better than the cheap slut she'd lured away. As the Agent Princess stared at him in humiliation, he merely fastened his pants, turned, and walked out the door. Finn strode out of that place, ignoring Pearl's dirty looks and the worried look that Riley shot him. He went right out the door, dialing his bodyguard as he went. His driver was a little surprised to have him back so soon, but Finn was all business. He ordered his bodyguard to get him back to the palace as fast as possible. He had a trip to take.
As the car rolled out, Finn dialed up Teri, finding her at the apartment she shared with Riley. "Sorry I missed you, babe," the wood-nymph burbled. "I got called home..." "I know," Finn said. He outlined what Orzsebet had done. "That fucking bitch," growled the nymph. "I have to go out of town," Finn said. "I'll see the two of you when I get back." "Y-you're not...," she burbled? "Backing out," he replied? "No. A promise is a promise. Take care and watch out for each other..." Back in her apartment Teri flushed. He'd said it when he'd agreed to give her a child. She was a target now. She was making herself a target. She'd had no idea how true that was until tonight.
Returning home, Finn immediately threw himself into preparations to go east. He went to his closet, got out his sword, and lay it on the bed. That got followed by his defense shield and bubble generator. To the pile got added his radio. Then it was time to pack a suitcase. In his new role, choosing clothes to wear had become as important as choosing weapons. While he was at that, Ingrid and Lollipop came in.
"You were supposed to be servicing the two dancing girls," remarked Warrior Princess. Finn flushed–both for what 'servicing' implied and the way Ingrid made 'dancing girl' sound worse than plain old 'stripper'. Continuing to work, he replied, "Orzsebet dropped in to deliver some bad news. Those bad actors near Sakura's kingdom are still at it. They're getting organized." When Finn would have dropped a pile of his clothes into the suitcase, Lollipop pushed him out of the way. "Let her do it," said Ingrid. "You'd arrive looking like a rumpled mess..."
Finn flushed, but he let Ingrid drag him aside as Lollipop went in the closet and fished out the special case she'd bought for his weapons and equipment. Holding up her phone, the Warrior Princess said, "you summoned me..." After admonishing her to take it easy since she'd only just given birth to Arnold, their son. "I'm gonna' be gone," he said, "and I still have loose ends to tie..." "You need me working...," she replied. "Lollipop can be your go-between," he said. "Take it easy. Get good rest." Moving beyond the emotion, she asked, "what needs doing?"
Finn had a list of them. First and foremost was the ongoing problems in Wildberry Kingdom. "Borrow troops from 'Letta," he said. "Get that shut-down. I want anybody who crossed the line put to death. There's no place on Ooo for cannibals." He had been a little slow with that as much out of fear of what he would find as lack of resources. Now it was time to be done with it. "It shall be done, my King," declared Warrior Princess.
Moving on, the King said, "I need work on the castle to move along. Bonnie's stalling the work..." Ingrid rolled her eyes. The gum-person wouldn't have been her choice for First-Minister. "I need the castle and its infrastructure finished," Finn said. "There's a budget for the alien defense. I've made you responsible for it. Hurletta will give you what you need. Shoko is working on a critical piece of it. You'll have to go to Abeiuwa and negotiate for her death-metal to use for fuel." The proud princess clearly didn't understand what that was about, but she nodded anyway.
Finn motioned for Lollipop to come over. When she was within reach, he slipped his arms around both women and drew them close. Kissing Ingrid, he said, "there are forces moving against us. Again. Still. Be careful." To Lollipop, he said, "thanks for taking care of me, baby." Kissing both women, he turned and headed back to his bags. He never looked back, knowing he would find Lollipop crying.
Heading down the back-stairs, he ran into Simone. "Going somewhere," she asked? Blushing, he replied, "was going to call. Trouble in the east. Have Patrick look in on Teri and Riley from time to time. There's trouble brewing..." Simone looked stricken. A little of his irritation showed as he reminded her, "you guys involved them in this..." Calming himself, he gave her a quick peck on the lips, then breezed past her, bound for his car.
Back upstairs, Ingrid turned to her 'legs' and said, "time to get busy. Go get a bag packed for yourself. We'll leave tomorrow morning. No babies. Leave them with the physician." Glaring at the pushy wench, Lollipop grated, "this isn't my first show. Do try and keep up, Ghost-Face..." Ingrid smiled. This could be entertaining.
The two women separated, with Lollipop going back to the quarters she often shared with Cherry–when the gangster girl was home. She wasn't today. Finn wasn't shy about telling his girls to put in work in support of family goals. Cherry was likely pursuing some piece of Finn's grand plan. Sitting down in front of their TV, the former model composed a message for the family doctor, and set it aside. Heading into the bath, she scrubbed the makeup off her face and took a good, long look.
Having become somewhat emotionally attached/dependent, Cherry had been hinting that Lollipop should try the cloning formula. After all, what fun was being immortal alone? Lollipop had been resisting the idea. Part of it–a lot of it–was fear. What would Bonnie say? Another piece was fear of the unknown. It felt somehow wrong to do what Cherry was doing. She was clearly tempted. When she was forced to confront strands of gray hair or crows-feet near her eyes, she was more than tempted. She was a model! That made her vanity incarnate! She hated the idea of growing old. It was crazy and contradictory, but there it was. Shaking off the doubts and confusion, the slim woman picked up a pair of scissors.
She'd grown out her hair because she'd been busy as fuck during the Lich War. There just hadn't been time to go to a salon for the latest sassy hairstyle. She'd kept the long hair because Finn liked it, and she liked the feel of him running his fingers through it. Unfortunately, it didn't work well with what she was about to do. Taking a thick rope of hair in her hands, the thin woman began cutting. As she worked, she thought a lot about where she was in life. She'd been hinting at Finn about another baby. She wanted a set like Cherry had–a girl and two strapping boys to look after her. Finn had been stonewalling.
She didn't understand why. They were doing a lot of the work, and he loved kids. Cherry had been suggesting she just do it. She had ultimate control. Finn trusted them to be taking the pill. All she had to do was 'slip up' taking the pill, and she'd be a mother for the third time. They weren't getting younger after all. It was very tempting, especially since they'd voted to let Riley and Teri do it. Trouble was, there was still too much going on, and it hardly seemed fair to Strudel who still hadn't had a chance. Knowing that she wasn't solving anything, the slim candy person got in bed, curled up, and went to sleep. They'd be in it come morning.
Yup. Lent out for stud-service. The man is whipped. And Orzsebet's been put in her place.