Chapter Fifty Three
September 11th, 2077
Night City, Northern California
NCPD Headquarters, City Center
"What a fucking mess."
Commander Gary Matthews oversaw the…cleanup efforts of NCPD HQ, as the media had dubbed it from Commander Enyala's now vacant office. Her former workplace had a perfect view of Night City, and the metropolis was as silent as a graveyard after the siege that took place not days earlier.
NCPD casualties were ninety-six wounded officers and another thirty dead. Coincidentally the slain all came from MAXTAC, and that was more than likely by design, if anything else.
Cypher's Bloodhounds came in here to crack heads, but they made it a point to kill every MAXTAC operator in sight. Reports stated that one of their snipers managed to pick off a Bloodhound, but any knowledge of a confirmed kill died with Specialist Vera.
Regardless of whatever happened that night, the last few days have changed the NCPD on every fundamental level imaginable.
Commissioner Fawlter announced his resignation not hours after Commander Enyala was found dead in her office from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The HQ's prison section was being canvassed by the IA and Investigation departments as they plunged into the heart of the isolation chambers.
The Iso Chambers had been thoroughly excavated, and all manner of equipment and deviancy was waiting to be uncovered.
Illegal drugs, dozens of Cyberpsychos whose minds were in the midst of being brutally broken for manipulation, were among the many horrifying discoveries found inside.
The underground complex was in every way a house of horrors, and one too many investigators had to excuse themselves at random intervals to prevent from contaminating the crime scene with their vomit.
The MAXTAC, as Matthews knew it, was gone. Almost every officer in the detachment was either being redesignated to another department or outright fired for their involvement in Enyala's so-called human trafficking ring.
The crimes she and the rest of the high-ranking MAXTAC officers committed in the name of justice was thrown out into the streets, and now everyone was calling for their heads. Lieutenant Rory was in the ICU under heavy guard, and if she did wake from her coma, she was facing consecutive life sentences for a list of crimes that dated back to before Matthews time as an NCPD officer.
After a thorough background check and intense interrogation, Master Sergeant Kieran Sharpe was found to be the only MAXTAC Commander to have kept his nose clean, albeit barely due to his placement as Rory's second in command.
Sharpe freely admitted that he knew what was happening behind those steel doors shielding the isolation chambers from the outside world but denied participating in its highly illegal experiments.
He was cleared for overseeing cleanup duties along with his squad and a few other operators, but there was barely enough of the left to make up for what was lost. MAXTAC went from over a hundred officers to barely fifteen active-duty operators that were simply waiting to be cut loose.
Sharpe and the rest of his squad didn't particularly care if this was to be their last soiree as NCPD officers. All Sharpe wanted to do now was to finish the task at hand and go home to see his wife and kids.
At the very least, their loss of employment would mean that Sharpe wouldn't have to run into Cypher or whatever the fuck else was out in the periphery.
His cybernetic optics pulsed in a steady pattern, and Sharpe accepted the communication link.
"Sharpe here."
"It's Matthews." The SWAT Commander was a new constant in Sharpe's life, but he'd rather have Matthews looking over his shoulder than Jadiel West. "Meet me in Enyala's office. We need to talk."
"Roger that." Matthews disconnected the commlink and turned towards his security monitor to oversee a camera feed centered upon the survivors of Vulture One-One.
With Lieutenant Rory gone and the remaining members of Vulture Company stuck in a state of limbo, morale amongst their detachment was at an all-time low. Corporal Kazee and Sergeant Casdin were still recovering in the ICU after the teams run in with…another Cypher.
And that was a bag of crazy that Matthews could do without.
The existence of a second individual matching the Headhunter's brutal efficiency was a barely kept secret inside the annals of the NCPD. The Bullpen was still being repaired after subject Pandora, the power-armored attacker that rampaged through the HQ, stormed through about a hundred patrol officers and incapacitated nearly seventy-five officers by themselves in just one section of the HQ.
Several more living casualties were found near the server room and the security station monitoring the underground checkpoints. The raid was surgical; Cypher's men knew exactly how and where to hit them to leave a retaliatory strike disjointed and pathetic.
The NCPD was picking up the pieces, but sooner or later, they would be forced to answer the question of what comes next.
Escalation or capitulation?
After the siege, those individuals who wanted to press all resources into finding Cypher were suddenly silenced by arrest, resignation, or death. Likewise, the city council was left dumbstruck with indecision, and the only politician that was walking around city hall with his head held high was Councilor Peralez.
The career politician was the only voice of restraint who didn't want to pool resources into finding one man when they could be focusing on the city itself. It's not like Cypher was their biggest problem in town, but he was the more prevalent issue.
Speaking of.
"I was under the impression this wouldn't take more than an hour."
Adam glanced away from the monitoring screens towards the aforementioned Councilor making himself at home in Commander Enyala's former office.
"Shut up and wipe that smug look off your face." Peralez was lounging in a leather seat with a glass of wine in hand. "I'm not in the mood for your antics right now. You're here to take part in a debriefing, not boast like the insufferable prick you are."
The Councilor raised his arms in faux surrender, content to watch his old friend squirm in his seat while they awaited their next debrief. Several NCPD officers were already debriefed regarding their encounter with subject Pandora, and Kieran Sharpe was the last name on that list.
Sergeant Amanda Graves, a patrol officer from Echo 225, possessed the unique experience of engaging Cypher and Pandora while escaping major injury. Her testimony painted a light upon the capabilities of both subjects, and the prospect of facing down two Headhunters was a scenario Peralez wanted to avoid.
Deescalation of conflict was the Councilor's only prerogative, and Matthews was inclined to agree with the politician's rationale. The SWAT Commander certainly didn't want any of his men to incur Cypher's wrath after the thrashing the entire department just took.
The office doors slid open, and Master Sergeant Kieran Sharpe strode in with a grim expression. His route up to the Commander's office was less than pleasant, and several of his fellow officers glared at the MAXTAC emblem emblazoned upon his uniform.
His department wasn't the most popular inside the NCPD, but recently they were at the top of everyone's shit list.
"Ah, Master Sergeant." Councilor Peralez met him at the doors with a placating grin before motioning to a chair opposite of Commander Matthews. "Have a seat. This won't take long."
"Yes, Councilor." Sharpe tried to keep the tension from building in his limbs but, Matthews easily deduced how stiff the MAXTAC officer was.
"How you been, Sharpe?" The Master Sergeant used to be in the NCPD SWAT Division before being nicked by Commander Enyala for his…talents.
Matthews had to wonder if Sharpe regretted leaving his former home for less than greener pastures right about now.
"Still alive," Sharpe replied with a tense shrug. "That's more than I can say for some of my team members."
"I bet," Matthews hummed in thought before turning away from the office windows. "You'll be pleased to know that Sergeant Casdin and Corporal Kazee were cleared of all conspiracy charges. There still hold up in the ICU, but they aren't facing any charges for neglection of duty."
Sharpe's uneasiness subsided for a brief while, but the question that was looming over him and the rest of his squad fell from his lips devoid of provocation.
"What is to become of us, Commander?"
"That depends on you, Sharpe…." Matthews turned the vacant chair that once belonged to Commander Enyala and the smear of dry blood covering the headrest was the only evidence Sharpe needed to understand the gravity of his situation.
This meeting served as a trial conducted by Councilor Peralez and Commander Matthews to ascertain if Sharpe and his operators could be salvaged from this debacle.
"…Commander Enyala left us quite the mess, and it is my job to figure out how this Department comes back from this catastrophe." Matthews kicked the bloodied chair away and splayed out both hands against the desk, allowing him to loom over Sharpe. "The City council wants me to dump every officer in MAXTAC, but I know a few good ones are salvageable, damaged goods or not; you and your squad are at the top of that list."
"For what reason?"
"That is the question, isn't it?" Peralez spoke up, placing the now empty wine glass upon the desk, and retrieved a data shard from his breast pocket. "Have a look."
Sharpe eyed the tiny object with suspicion, but his curiosity won out, and he took the data shard before injecting it into his cyberware.
A stream of decrypted data and profiles began to consume his sight, and Sharpe spent several minutes in silence deciphering what exactly was handed to him.
In no small words, the shard was a metaphorical nuclear bomb that would tear down the NCPD, the civilian government, and every major corporation in Night City.
Arasaka and Militech would face scrutiny the likes of which they had never before experienced if this data leaked onto the net.
Details of institutional corruption at every level of Night City's infrastructure were cataloged and dated in a thorough manner. Some names belonged to City council members that Peralez would never believe would willingly partake in the corruption they publicly stood against in a million years.
Sharpe ejected the shard and threw it onto the desk with sparks of trepidation in his gaze. That tiny object was the most dangerous thing in the entire city because it held the words necessary to burn everything to the ground.
"Where did you get that?" Peralez hummed with delight at Sharpe's wavering voice, standing to his feet and retrieving a half-empty bottle of red wine before pouring himself another drink
"It was a gift from Cypher," Matthews explained, pocketing the data shard. "He gave us a copy not to keep us off his back but to give us a chance to right the wrongs ourselves."
"Here's the deal, Sharpe." Peralez slid off his chair, savoring the taste of his wine and striding over to the window overlooking Night City. "I'm putting together a task force, but our target isn't Cypher. It's everyone he's gunning for. Politicians, gangoons, cops, anyone and everyone in the city he has a bone to pick with…."
"…Because war is brewing, Mr. Sharpe, and sooner or later, we'll need to pick a side." The Sergeant gave the politician a once over, his eyes taking in the man's cool countenance and severe lack of concern over such a monumental decision.
"By the looks of it, you already made your choice, Councilor." The existence of that Data Shard alone was enough evidence for Sharpe to know that Matthews and Peralez had come to a decision.
"It wasn't a hard choice despite our options," Peralez replied with a smile. "The Corporations or a Madman willing to take on the entire world. I was inclined to pick the latter once whispers from the outside world began to grace my ears. With this data that has been thoroughly corroborated by myself and Commander Matthews, we have a head start and a lot of work to do."
"Do I have a choice?" Sharpe's inquiry earned a snort of amusement from Matthews.
"Of course," A dangerous grin crossed the Councilor's visage. "You can work for me, or you can spend the next thirty years locked away in purgatory along with Lieutenant Rory."
The politician offered an illusion of choice, presenting the hand of deliverance while at the same time showing off the hand of retribution. Plenty of people wanted Sharpe and his men hurled into a cage and have their jailer throw away the key.
"I'm in." There was a choice, but accepting chains over incarceration made it all the easier in Sharpe's mind. He wouldn't last more than a few days in prison before he ended up shanked to death by the numerous gang members and psychos MAXTAC put away.
"Good. Take that MAXTAC shit off and put this on…." Matthews reached into his pocket and tossed Sharpe a patch.
The operator glanced at the new badge, taking in the black eagle outlined in white with its wings extending towards the heavens.
"…Welcome to Task Force Sierra."
Night City, Northern California
The Estate, North Oak
Cyrus was in a state of pure delirium, agony flashing at random intervals while darkness enveloped him whole. He could feel the echo of voices from his old team all the way down to the Merc and Nomad that had left a sizeable impact on his life.
Memories of his past played like a cinema, and Cyrus was the only captive audience in a theater with only him as its sole spectator.
"On your feet, cadets! My name is Chief Mendez! I'm not your father, your brother, and I sure as hell ain't your grandpa. I am your instructor, and with god as my witness, I will turn you sorry lot into soldiers worth the meat on your bones!"
SCPO Franklin Mendez. Strict. Disciplined and most of all Duty Bound.
"Which colony are you from?"
Eliza B-291. Empathetic. Diligent and Compassionate.
The first time Cyrus met Eliza was on the open fields of Camp Currahee. The other cadets had left her behind just like him. She was too honest, too naïve for any one of them to handle.
"Oh…." Cyrus recalled the light in her eyes dying when he walked past her.
In those early days, he gave her nothing but silence and a contempt-filled gaze. He didn't trust anyone, not even his own shadow and the streets of Ferax raised the paranoid too well.
"Well…I'm from New Harmony." The girl stuttered. "My name's Eliza. It's nice to meet you."
Like an annoying fly, Eliza stuck around him, refusing to take a hint, and there were one too many times that Cyrus considered breaking her leg just to get away from her.
She would have been better off partnering with someone more dependable and not so…jaded.
But she didn't, and he was all the more grateful for it.
Cyrus recalled stumbling upon a clan of Haylin Panthers, a native species that roamed in vicious packs that enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Eliza was chatting away incessantly about the beauty of her former homeworld, and he was too caught up in trying to lose her to notice the carnivores.
He would have died screaming if it wasn't for…her intervention. A hand wrapped around his throat and smothered the shout of alarm before his carelessness could get him killed.
The words whispered into his ear with such a blank tone that Cyrus couldn't tell if it wasn't an observation or a degradation.
"Too loud. Too sloppy."
Casey B-312. Lethal. Impartial and Efficient.
Hollow grey orbs gave him a once over, ensuring that his negligence was stomped out before leading the pair of fools out of the forest.
"Thanks for the help." As always, Eliza was the first to break the tension drawing Casey's impervious gaze towards her. "I'm Eliza. What's your name?"
Casey flinched, and at the time, such a reaction confused Cyrus. It wasn't until years later, when Eliza asked about the weird look on her face, that he got his answer.
"No one ever asked for my name before."
Isn't that just tragic to hear from the lips of a child.
That was how they met, and even in this blurred remembrance, Cyrus found himself wanting to go back to where it all began. Things were simpler, the rationale, the objective.
Now? Cyrus was in a city so different from the galaxy he came from, more reckless and liberal to the point that it exhumed disorder.
Humanity was stagnating under the weight of its own failures.
And now he waged war, not for Humanity's survival but for its soul.
"On your feet Spartan." Eliza pulled him from the glassed plains of Pegasi Delta. Plasma and shrapnel flying in all directions. "War's not over yet."
It never was, and it never will be.
Crimson orbs snapped open, pulsing muscles and shifting limbs led to indistinguishable anguish that rolled with each subtle shift.
Good. Pain meant Cyrus was still alive and, at the very least, coming out of whatever nightmare that was plaguing him. The first thing his eyes registered was an unfamiliar ceiling and an even more foreign scent.
Cyrus knew he'd been rescued, and he wasn't delirious or foolish enough to think otherwise between the flashes of Panam running to his side and V trying her damnedest to keep him from falling face-first into the ground.
However, he didn't recognize his environment.
The roof was too clean, the sheets too soft, and even the smell was too pleasant for his nose to handle. The amenities and furniture around him were meticulously placed in a personal manner that suggested this was someone's private bedroom.
Cyrus was either in heaven or Solaria, and neither option sounded pleasing to him right about now.
The next thing he registered was a tingle of fur grazing against his cheek, and glancing to his left clouded his vision with a deep grey pelt. Even the slightest shift in movement awoke his furry companion.
Luna gazed upon him with a drowsy blink while curled up against his side, and it took her only a few seconds to fully realize Cyrus was awake.
She let loose a hoarse bark, and amber orbs stared back with care and adoration that left Cyrus momentarily puzzled. The Warhound kicked up her front legs and gave a few passive licks to Cyrus's chin before curling back into her nest underneath his arm.
"Nice to see you to girl." He whispered, scratching underneath her chin and relishing her steady heartbeat pulsing against his side.
"How long are you going to stand there for Eliza?" Cyrus gave a few more scratches behind Luna's ear and glanced towards a humanoid figure hiding in the dark corner of the room.
Eliza loitered in the shadows for a few brief moments before stepping into the light with a comforting expression. "I didn't want to startle you."
Cyrus hummed at his partner's placating words. "You didn't do it when we were kids, and you can't do it now. Where are my men?"
"Enjoying the pleasantries of Night City." Eliza pushed a cushioned chair next to his bedside and slid into the seat. "I say they earned a couple of days off after the stunt they…we pulled getting you out."
"We?" A flash of hurt crossed her gaze at his skeptical tone. "I thought you were…finished with this life?"
Cyrus's doubts in Eliza clawed at her heart, but he had every reason to question her motivations after their last conversation. Still, she would never in a million years leave him to die, not when he wouldn't hesitate to pull her out of hair.
"I thought I was too." Eliza swallowed the distress gathering in her throat and offered him a confident smile. "But someone I knew decided it'd be a good idea to get himself captured by MAXTAC of all people."
"Well. I didn't exactly plan it that way." The slightest grin came to Cyrus's face at her sardonic statement. "They caught me at a bad time."
"They caught you with your pants down," Eliza retorted, reaching over to the nightstand and opening its cabinet to reveal a mini cooler containing an ice-cold pitcher along with two clear glasses. "You've been in and out of consciousness for the last few hours, got Panam and V all worried like a tick."
"Where are they at?" Cyrus inquired, grasping the poured glass of cold water and quenching his dry throat.
"Sleeping," Eliza replied, leaning back into her chair. "Damn, girls are stubborn and have quick tempers when it comes to you. They almost fought your Bloodhounds tooth and nail when they rolled you into the catacombs. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, and we were able to get your injuries treated. Once you were stable, we transferred you to my estate. The Bloodhounds weren't keen on keeping you down any longer than you needed to be. "
"How bad were they?" Cyrus asked, running hands through Luna's fur and emitting a pleased hum from the Warhound.
"Nothing we haven't endured before," She leaned forward, taking Cyrus's arm and flipping it over to show the healing pockmarks. "The problem was the chemicals they were pumping into your system. Our bodies are resilient, but the chemical solutions running through your bloodstream were tearing up your organs. You're lucky the UNSC didn't skimp out on our enhancements."
"If they did, we wouldn't have lasted this long." They would never have survived the Covenant otherwise. "Did we lose anyone?"
The Matriarch froze, a reluctant sigh fell from her lips, but she struggled to find the right words.
"Who did we lose, Eliza?" A piece of his mind went rampant at the idea V or Panam died in the fighting.
He would never forgive himself.
"Tiger." He hated himself more for not feeling as torn apart over Fujima's death. "MAXTAC sniper got him in the throat, and he bled out on the operating table."
Cyrus fell back into his pillow and exhaled a frustrated breath as memories of Tiger flashed to the front of his mind. The calm and collected team leader was an avid reader, and his final memory of the Bloodhound was him reading a rendition of 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway.
This was the first time Cyrus had lost someone under his direct command, and as he struggled to come to grips with it, a feeling of helplessness crept up his spine.
Damn it all.
"Don't blame yourself," Eliza placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That road leads to self-pity, and that doesn't suit you either. I only knew him for a short time, but I can assure you that Fujima wouldn't have wanted to go out any other way. It's…honorable to die for something and someone you believe in."
"There is no honor in death, Eliza." He retorted. "You and I both know that."
Eliza sighed, rubbing one hand against her face. "It's different for us. We were born in a different time, facing circumstances that are beyond these people. Death is…treated like a release of burdens."
What a ridiculous sentiment. Cyrus despised how easily people in this world treated their lives. Between the adrenaline junkies, drug addicts, and sociopaths, it's a wonder how this planet hadn't burnt to the ground already.
Cyrus bit down his anger with a deep growl and glanced back towards Eliza. "Where's Tiger's body?"
"The Bloodhounds cremated him yesterday. Something about his religion and a quick burial. They're keeping his ashes at your sanctuary, and when you're feeling better, I recommend you visit his memorial."
"I will." It wasn't even a question, just a matter of time and recovery. The pair sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Cyrus broke it. "What happens now?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead," Eliza admitted. "Acadia's meeting with the Elders, doing the job I used to have."
"You'd have it back in a heartbeat," Cyrus remarked. "Your daughter is adequate, but she doesn't have the same influence as you."
"I only have myself to blame for that." At the time, Eliza wasn't willing to let everything go, and that inability led to Acadia having to fight for every ounce of respect from the Elders. "I've undercut her authority for far too long. Yesterday I informed the council of my plans to officially depart the Sirens."
"Officially?" Cyrus replied in a conceited tone that earned him a palm to the back of the head
"Don't be cute. It doesn't suit you." He shrugged his shoulders, but the barely noticeable condescending grin remained. "But yes…My departure was sudden and not exactly official. I'm hoping that my lack of involvement from now on will move things along."
"Don't you remember what Casey said about hope?" A flash of Casey crossed both of their minds and hit them with a deep sense of melancholy.
Neither Spartan had ever come to terms with the gaping hole their sibling left in her wake, and in the weeks after her departure, they didn't speak a word of Casey.
The heartache was too much for them to bear.
"It was the first step on the road to disappointment." Eliza laughed, a beautiful sound that Cyrus hadn't heard in years. "Of the three of us, she definitely needed to get laid. Casey was always round uptight, and it was worse when we were on forced furlough. She practically slept in the training room until we pulled her out before the ODSTs could get themselves killed."
Cyrus couldn't count how many times a shock trooper tried to pick a fight with Casey on their assigned ONI prowler. Damn fools chose the worst one out of the trio of Headhunters to go after, and occasionally Cyrus and Eliza didn't make it in time.
The one-sided massacre was as brutal as it was efficient, and a great many shock troopers woke up in an ICU with missing teeth and broken bones.
"I miss those days." He blinked away the memories and stared into Eliza's azure orbs. "And I miss Casey more than I care to admit."
Cyrus watched his sister in all but blood lean into her seat with a relaxed exhale. He realized that for the first time in her life, Eliza only had one immediate responsibility.
Her daughter, Selena.
"How's your kid?" Eliza was shaken from her thought by the sudden inquiry.
"Selena?"
"Do you have another child running around right now?" Cyrus deadpanned, eliciting a chortle of huffs from his Warhound.
"Shut up, mutt," Eliza glared at Luna, who only returned a narrow glance before returning to her slumber. "Selena has been quieter lately. I think she really wanted to get to know you, but her mother thought best of that interaction."
"Does her mother still think that?" Now it was Eliza's turn to deadpan.
"What do you think, you idiot?"
"I-" A door slammed open, and a familiar voice practically roared in outrage.
"What the fuck, Eliza?!" V's haggard features were etched in pure indignation. "You told me you'd come find me when he woke up!"
Instead of feeling embarrassed or peeved at the Merc's outburst, Eliza took a page out of Cyrus's book and shrugged off the accusation. An action that only seemed to irate V further.
"Must have slipped my-" V swept into the room, ignoring the Matriarch's retort and pushing the vexing woman aside. The Merc took the hand that was tending to Luna and inspected the limb for any signs of ailment.
"No signs of discoloration." The limb was dropped back onto Luna's fur before the Warhound could tear V's face off, but the canine's outrage reached new heights when she was pushed off the bed, allowing V to straddle his hips and further inspect Cyrus to the fifth degree.
Eliza watched him squirm under the Merc's ministrations, unable to do anything to sate V's worries without incurring more of her wrath. Her brother sent a silent plea of distress that went completely ignored by the Matriarch.
While V fretted over his bruised ribs, Eliza cupped the back of his head and dragged Cyrus towards her. His attention was drawn away from V as Eliza pressed their foreheads together and whispered an ancient proverb that Reaper team lived by.
"Half as long," Eliza's eyes were closed, and the words were whispered low enough for only him to hear.
For Cyrus, it had only been months since he heard that cherished verse, but for Eliza, it had been almost three decades.
That was a sobering thougt as Cyrus cupped the back of her head in return. "Twice as bright."
The slightest tear dripped down Eliza's cheek, she had been waiting to hear those words for decades, and now that need, that desire had been sated.
And she felt all the better for it.
"Get some rest, Cyrus…." Eliza pulled away from him, planting a chaste kiss upon his forehead before motioning Luna to follow her. The Warhound reluctantly followed her Master's companion and rambled out of the room to find Selena. The girl was an amusing little creature for the canine to play with until someone intervened.
Cyrus's gaze never Eliza even as she grasped the door handle, she froze in the doorway, and a Cheshire grin graced her lips when she noticed another figure barreling towards the room.
With a sardonic smile, she left Cyrus with these parting words. "…As much as you can anyway."
Cyrus was left momentarily confused by her words, but his unspoken question was answered when an irate Panam burst into the room.
"YOU COLOSSAL FUCKING IDIOT!"
Cyrus had been socked in the face plenty of times in his life some by Elites, some by Brutes, and some by Eliza or Casey we he drew their ire. All of them were powerhouses of strength in their own right, and a single punch shouldn't have phased him at all.
So why the fuck was his jaw hurting like a bitch right now.
"Careful!" V scolded Panam as Cyrus rubbed at the point of impact with a stunned expression.
"ME!" The Nomad's fury reached new levels as she tossed Eliza's vacant chair away and gestured at Cyrus. "THIS FUCKING IDIOT! MANAGED TO GET PINCHED BY MAXTAC! MAXTAC OF ALL FUCKING PEOPLE IN NIGHT CITY, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SIT THERE AND TELL ME TO BE CAREFUL!"
"That is exactly what I am telling you." V was completely unphased by Panam's fury, and Cyrus was momentarily worried that the Nomad was going to beat the shit out both of them with all the steam coming out of her ears.
"I," Panam's words stuttered as her wrath clouded her thoughts. "Fucking Merc, prick, assholes!"
V stunned the both of them by pulling Panam towards her and locking their lips together in a heated embrace. Paman looked like she was about clock V in the face for the barest second, but the rage burned out under the Merc's tender ministrations.
Cyrus was little more than a spectator when V leaned back, enjoying the subtle body movements as Panam licked the strawberry taste off her lips.
"Feel better now?" V's probed Panam's thoughts with a playful wink.
"That's fucking cheating, and you know it," Panam answered, her cheeks reddening somewhat. "I'm still pissed at him."
"When then, by all means, take a seat and watch me work." V gestured towards the chair haphazardly thrown to the side. "Eliza gave us this guest house so we can keep an eye on Cyrus, and I think he requires a….thorough examination."
A salacious grin blessed V's enticing lips as she stared into Cyrus's crimson orbs. "What do you think, Cyrus? You in need of a physical."
"I…." The Spartan hesitated as his eyes widened with alarm at the Merc's honeyed words. Panam tried her best to seem uninterested in V's inquiry while sliding into the chair not feet from his bedside.
"Ah, ah, ah." V placed a single finger to his lips and silenced him. "Let me set the mood first."
A flash of blue was the only indication that V was accessing her cyberware, and a song began to filter into the room via a stereo system in the far corner.
Out of My League - Fitz and the Tantrums
"Kind of wish you would sing this song." V mused mostly to herself. "It'd almost fit you if you weren't so…closed off."
It was a statement, not a condemnation of his personality, and he doubted V meant anything negative about it.
"Scootch up." V leaned backward, putting some distance between them and beckoning him forward. Cyrus followed her instructions and arranged a considerable amount of space between himself and the headrest. "Slide-in Panam."
The Nomad easily deduced the Merc's intentions, and she immediately occupied the vacant space, placing her legs on either side of Cyrus's hips and pulling his back towards her chest.
A comfortable silence fell upon the trio.
Panam wrapped her arms around his broad chest and forced him further into her sternum. She leaned forward, pressing her left cheek against his right and allowing a breath of enticing air to grace his senses. Her sizeable assets were cushioned against his back, but Cyrus didn't feel the need to comment on her actions.
V chose to seat herself upon his lap, leaning with Panam's movement and wrapping her arms around his ribs before pressing her forehead against his. The cocoon of supple flesh encasing Cyrus didn't feel comfortable at first, but eventually, he grew accustomed to the proximity and began to relish in the contact.
His ears perked as V began to hum with the song's repeated chorus utilizing the back of her throat more than her vocal cords. Panam managed to join her humming in sync, and Cyrus soon found himself falling asleep to the pleasing sound.
"Cyrus?" V's eyes danced with amused gratification.
"Yes?" A hand cupped his cheek, and he barely had time to open his eyes before a pair of lips slammed into his.
It was instinct and…practice that found Cyrus reciprocating the kiss almost as much as V was providing it. She pulled away with a satisfying smack before pressing her forehead against his once again. Panam wasn't an idle participant; one of her hands fell from its vicelike grip across his chest and began to explore his body while her teeth gnawed gingerly at the base of his neck.
Certain…anatomy reacted to V and Panam's ministrations, and its…growth brought a please smile to both women's faces. V wasted no time in ditching her clothes, tossing her jacket, and kicking off her pants. Panam was less restrained, practically ripping off her Aldecaldo bolero along with her riding breeches before scootching V over and straddling his left leg.
They made it a point to drag out every little movement as they enticingly pulled off the sweats and t-shirt that Eliza had dressed him up in.
Not that he cared all that much.
Cyrus was beset by both women; they pressed forward, squeezing their supple physiques against him while caressing caress his cheeks and pressing their lips further against his. Their swift and coordinated action pins him against the headboard and placing him at their mercy.
A barely restrained moan slips past his shattering composure as both women take turns passing him back and forth. The contours in their fingers and the dragging of their nails across his exposed skin sends chills running down his spine.
Cyrus wraps a hand around their waists and pulls Panam closer when her teeth find a weak point at the middle part of his neck. Their alluring physiques practically molded against his augmented figure, and soon they were cocooned in murmurs of their shared experience.
V pulled away from his lips and grasped Panam's cheek running her finger up and down her heated skin before leaning in for a sapphic liplock. This momentary pause allowed Cyrus to catch his breath, but it didn't last long enough to settle his beating heart.
V reached towards Panam's clothed breast and began to cup the supple flesh with her free hand, eliciting a pleasant groan of approval from Panam. While Cyrus lay naked, the pair of women were still in their barely concealing undergarments.
A prospect that V intended to correct.
Panam offers no resistance as V removes the straps to her bra, sliding them past her shoulders and allowing a pair of full caramel breasts to slip loose. Panam returns the favor by removing V's, and within seconds a pair of shapely ivory breasts consume half of Cyrus's vision.
Panam watches with lust-filled eyes as V's bounty is revealed in all their glory, palming them with one hand and diving in for another sapphic liplock.
Cyrus, inexperienced and naïve in most aspects of sex, followed Panam's silent lead. Cupping V's unattended breast and leaning forward to bite at the exposed section of her neck.
"Jesus," V murmurs hoarsely into Panam's lips, grasping each of their heads as her frame shivered with delight. She runs her hands through Cyrus's hair, enjoying the subtle wave of his locks even as her body reacts to their ministrations.
V sought to give them something else to think about before she exploded with pleasure. She raised her leg just enough to grind her thigh against Cyrus's member, momentarily halting his ministrations to her neck as his body reacted to the pressure.
"Fuck, V." The hand that was tangled in Panam's hair snaked its way to her lower lips and began to explore the Nomad's treasure with two fingers.
The Merc smiles dangerously as her plan comes to fruition, but her triumph is short-lived when Cyrus mimics her actions. The hand that was exploring her grinding thigh slips past the inner parts towards V's heated core, dipping past the outer edges and sliding in halfway.
V seized up at the sudden intrusion as a new wave of overwhelming pleasure assaulted every part of her body. Her breath turns into a panting need even as she tries to distract Panam a little more by curling her fingers.
A series of heavy moans originate from the back of Panam's throat in response, but it's not enough to distract her from toying with V's breasts. The more Panam toys with V's supple assets, the more fervently she works on her needs.
"Ohhh, fuck!" Pleasure hits V like a freight train, and a stream of fluids ejects onto Cyrus's lap, but his attention is drawn towards Panam when she joins her lover's release.
V shudders and goes limp alongside Panam, both women using the other to keep themselves upright even as Cyrus stares at both of them with a heated yet restrained look. The passion in his eyes is enough to ignite a second fuse that needed to be sated.
A silent exchange passes between the two before an agreement settled any lingering dispute. V pushed Cyrus onto his back and straddled his lap, just as Panam fit herself into his side. V leans down and grabs his stiff rod, guiding it toward her beckoning core.
"Do keep still, love…." A husky moan slips past V's lips as he slips into her. "This is my favorite part, and I don't need you breaking me in half."
"Oh fuck!" A shivering delight graces her body as he starts to stretch her out.
Panam watches with an excited gaze as V wastes no time repeatedly impaling herself onto his stiff rod. Her motions are random and chaotic, one second V's slowly pushing herself down and savoring the pleasurable feeling, and the next, she's bouncing with reckless abandon.
Either way, Panam enjoys the enticing show, and her hand explores herself while caressing the side of Cyrus's face. His expression was cut in stone, and one would be remiss to think he wasn't enjoying himself, but his eyes told a different story.
They focused on the spring in V's movements as she pushed her hands against his chest for added momentum. It was clear as day to Panam that Cyrus was enjoying himself, and he deserved every single second of it.
"Fuck!" V squeals as she takes more of him in. "Goddamn, you, Cyrus. This feels way too fucking good for your second time!" A husky moan falls from her lips when his rod reaches the pinnacle of her cervix with still a few inches to go.
"I'm….sorry." Panam and V laugh at his innocent apology. Panam leans forward, planting a wet kiss upon his lips to settle his worries.
"Don't be. Take it as a compliment." She breathes out temptingly against his lips as V starts to move. As Panam dives for another heated liplock, V buries Cyrus as deep as her body will allow, finding a new string of curse words and pleasure in the process.
V rapidly lifts herself up and half out before pushing back down at an expedited pace drawing a throaty moan from Cyrus that reverberates in Panam's mouth. In response, Panam cups the back of his neck and brings him in for a more fervent kiss while V repeats her motions over and over again.
As V watches on with a salacious smile, an idea graces her mind, and she calls out to Panam.
"Panam." The Aldecaldo reluctantly releases Cyrus from her heated exchange. "Sit on his face."
Panam blinks in surprise, glancing back towards Cyrus for a moment. "Does he know how to do that?"
"He's a fast learner." V smiles magnificently toward Panam, tilting her head at an angle and using the pleasurable movement of her position to entice her further.
Panam's eyes gaze upon Cyrus's lips, and she is completely entranced by the idea even if he'd never done it before. Slowly she straddles his head, hoping that instinct and common sense would win out in that dogmatic brain of his.
V's smile turns into a wicked grin as she lowers herself to just a few inches above Cyrus's face, and for a few seconds, he stares at her waiting crotch in confusion.
"Give it a lick, Cyrus." The Merc was prepared for this inevitability. "A good, firm lick."
True to V's word, Cyrus was a quick learner as he dragged his tongue across Panam's labia and emitted a pleasurable gasp that nearly knocked her out in one go.
"Told you he was quick." V happily watches, Panam jut her breasts out in surprise to Cyrus's ministrations, causing a heavy moan of pleasure to grace her lips even as her hips struggled to keep still. Panam watches with half-lidded eyes as V ramps up her tempo and slides up and down Cyrus's rod, causing her suppl breasts to bounce enticingly.
Panam's gaze is so caught up in the sight that she misses V leaning forward and grabbing onto her shoulders. V brings her close enough to dart her tongue into Panam's mouth while bother women continue giving and receiving pleasure from Cyrus.
Panam practically screams in ecstasy into V's mouth as their tongues battled for supremacy. Her whimpering intensifies when Cyrus finds a weak point with his supposedly inexperienced tongue. She tries to distract herself by rubbing and squeezing V's bountiful breasts, but all it does is knock her pleasure into overdrive.
Much like the first time, V and Panam reach a climactic end, but for this go around, Cyrus joins them. His climax came on a final plunge by V that saw her cervix painted in Spartan white, catapulting her to an astronomical end.
V's glassy eyes extenuated her overwhelming pleasure, and Panam wasn't far behind her as Cyrus gave one final swipe to her heated core.
"Oh fuck!" This time, Panam's fluids graced the bottom of Cyrus's chin, and he blinked in wonder as he slowly wiped his face clean.
That felt….Good.
Really….Good.
No one moves a muscle; all three of them were content to let their hearts settle in their ecstasy high for as long as they wanted. Panam was the first to extract herself, moving away from Cyrus's face and pressing against his left side to exchange a final heated kiss.
V needed a few extra moments to dismount, and she probably needed another birth control pill while she was at it. She slowly occupies Cyrus's unoccupied side and leans against him, content to watch the slow, excruciatingly slow kiss Panam was known for.
Not a word is spoken for a while as the trio comes down from their adrenaline high. Five, maybe ten minutes pass before V breaches the silence.
"Wanna go again?" Panam shoots her a deep look as a tertiary silent exchange begins.
Sleep did not come until the sun had long risen past the horizon.
As close to a Lemon as I am going to get, so hopefully this site doesn't bring down the chapter/story because of it.
It feels good to be back after a very shitty few weeks filled with COVID bullshit. That disease is going around like a prostitute on main street which fucking insane.
But I digress. I can't wait to show you the next few chapters as we explore new allies and even newer adversaries.
I don't have much else to say except thank you to everyone who has left reviews, follows, and favorites. All 800 plus of you are critical to the future of this fic and your continued support will drive this story to a worthy ending.
As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to PLEASE! review to your heart's content every little bit helps my motivation.
Reviews:
Sciny: Yes but she got her ass absolutely creamed by Eliza and she's breathing out of a tube right now.
FrequentN7: I look into what schematics I want to add in for the future but it will be a gradual process and not a sudden inclusion.
Next Chapter: January 21st
UPDATE: I made a big booboo by trying to blindly upgrade my CPU on my desktop without updating the BIOS and long story short. I was forced to send it to a computer shop since I lacked the tools and means to fix up my own mistake. There will be a three-day delay to this chapter and basically starting now I am switching the release dates of Semper Vigiles and Only in Death.
So from now on, Only In Death will be updated on Mondays while Semper Vigiles is updated on Fridays.
I apologize for the delay.
The next chapter is available on my Pa t re on for those who would like to see it. The Link is below.
www .(p)at (r) e o n. co (m) /Cypher1597 (remove the spaces and () to access