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Chap. 76: (P)Reparations
Picking up the tuxedos and dresses required the group to split up again, but oddly after that morning's foursome, Alex felt safer about it, as if the girls had bonded quite as much as Robin finally getting what she wanted (and of course, he had wanted it too, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it). And that, somehow, that bonding had ensured a level of teamwork that would keep them safe if there was trouble. Not that he really expected any…
Though the number of people clad in black outfits despite the warm afternoon, each with a stylized red "R" on their outfit somewhere prominent was a tiny bit disconcerting.
Worse, as he and Kinta walked back toward the PMC to change, he was sure he caught several of them watching the pair. Casually, with no real signs of intent to do harm, but definitely keeping an eye.
"Shit," he swore as Alex and the younger man stepped into the elevator, "I forgot to actually make the call to Ariana. Shit, shit… oh, what time were the reservations?"
Kinta frowned, "Better get that done. And I think you said five-thirty?"
"Yeah, that sounds right. Five-thirty at the Scarred Corsola. I guess we can go to the Sea Dragon's Bounty for our… fun. Save time over going somewhere else to meet with Ariana."
Kinta swallowed, then nodded nervously as he swiped his key for the room next to Alex and Elle's, opposite Robin's, though she had definitely stayed with he and his first party member the night before.
"No, wait, hold on. Come on, use our bathroom. Might take a bit of help getting it on right, so it'll be easier if you just do it here. And I need to keep things quiet for that call, better to have empty rooms beside us."
"R- Right," the Nipponese teen muttered, then pulled his door closed. "I'll message Megu and tell her our room's the one they should change in, then."
"Cool. Alright, well… bathroom's there. May as well get a shower in while you can. You want to smell nice for… well. Whoever you're seeing tonight."
Kinta blushed, but didn't say anything as he turned away and all-but slammed the door to the comfortably spacious bathroom in the Pacific-style hotel.
The maître d' at the restaurant was rather snooty and annoyed by Alex's short-notice reservations, but when he had both promised a good tip and name-dropped Executive Ariana by telling the man they would be meeting her shortly after dinner, he'd suddenly become quite obsequious, bending over backward to promise 'the best table in the house, and the finest dining experience in all of Cerulean, no, all of Kanto', for the matron's 'honored guests'.
Alex rolled his eyes. He'd dealt with several people like that in his old life, his 'real' life. Dropping his father's name wasn't that big a deal, of course. Many people didn't even know Ward Shipping and Logistics was a company that existed, since they mostly dealt with the actual MegaCorps and were relatively small-time. But those that did know leant it a lot of weight, and his father himself had been even better at throwing names around.
He hated it… but he couldn't deny it was effective.
"One other thing, sir," Alex added as the man, who he imagined was fully kowtowing on the floor with the phone against his ear, finished adding their reservation for five or possibly six, "I've had an associate of mine recommend a woman named Angie to assist us. If she's working this evening, I would be most grateful if she attended to our needs."
"That- that can be arranged, Sir," the maître d', who had given his name as Michelle in something that sounded like some weird combination of a NorAfrikaans and European dialect, where it sounded more like 'me-shell', replied, "I believe she is scheduled off in the next hour, but if you wish for her specifically, we can persuade her to stay."
"That woul be excellent, thank you. We'll see you in a few hours."
"Of course, Sir, of course. I expect you'll enjoy your time with us, Sir."
Alex sighed as he hung up, then stopped pacing to sit at the foot of the recently-made, king-sized bed. The next conversation he was looking forward to even less, though he suspected that regardless of its outcome, no one related to it would be quite as rude as the restaurant's employee. It took him just a few moments using the Pokégear's search function to find the phone number for the Sea Dragon's Bounty and call the main reception desk.
"Thank you for calling the Sea Dragon's Bounty," a chipper, pleased-sounding feminine voice answered before the first ring had finished on his end, "How may I direct your call today? Would you like to make a reservation, or hear our hours of operation? Is there a specific courtesan you would like to spend some time with? Whatever your request, you can be sure we'll do our best to accommodate it, and make sure you leave very satisfied!"
It was definitely a rote, memorized speech, Alex was certain, but it was still delivered with a panache and openness that made him suspect the woman on the other end of the line genuinely believed it and enjoyed her job, too. Unusual, he thought, but maybe that was just the introvert in him projecting. Some, he knew, really did like talking to people, the weirdos. "Hello," he said after clearing his throat briefly, "My name is Alex Ward. I've been asked to set up a time to meet with… I'm not sure of her proper form of address, honestly. Mrs, Ms, Miss, or Executive…? Ariana, however, within the next day or two. We were hoping to meet with her tonight, and take her up on an offer she made to myself and my companions at your fine establishment."
The woman didn't miss a beat, though he was sure she'd let out a tiny gasp as he said his name, "Of course, Mr. Ward, if you prefer those pronouns. We'll be ecstatic to have you and your companions, of course. Ms. Conners generally prefers to be referred to in that manner when she is at the Sea Dragon's Bounty, as we are a public-facing organization. She would appreciate it personally, as would I, if you could refer to her in that manner outside of an invitation to speak less formally with her."
"Of course," Alex nodded despite being on an audio-only call, "As I said, I simply wasn't sure how to address her."
"Of course, Sir," the woman agreed cheerfully, "I am sure she would not have been offended by an honest lack of knowledge. At any rate, should I refer to you as Mr. Ward, or would you prefer a simple Sir?"
"Either is fine," Alex agreed.
"Excellent, Sir. You may call me Miss Cheong, or once we've met in person, I would probably be alright with being referred to by Hana, which is my given name. As you've no doubt surmised, Mr. Ward, I am as much a layer of defense for Ms. Conners from certain other organizations that operate within Cerulean City as I am the most public-facing of the Bounty's staff. As such, you may ask any questions you see fit, with the caveat that I may simply not be allowed to answer, either because I have been asked not to, or because the information is simply not for public knowledge, or because I am, in fact, sitting at a desk in a very public building where just anyone could overhear. I'm sure you understand."
"Absolutely," Alex nodded again, "Though the generosity with information is appreciated. I am alone for the moment, for what that's worth, though one of my companions is close by."
"Excellent. Ms. Conners would be pleased you feel safe enough to volunteer that information. Rest assured, no harm will come to you or yours while under Ms. Conner's personal attention. That being said, you and your friends and team said you wish to stop by this evening…? Would you be intending to take part in the bounty of, well, the Bounty, before you meet with Ms. Conners?"
"We- We had planned on that, yes," Alex replied, feeling himself blush slightly despite the woman clearly being quite comfortable working in a brothel. "I'm not sure in exactly what way."
"Of course," Cheong replied easily, "That's something most of our clientele decide only after being here for an hour or more. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but your party will be yourself, who identifies as a male and prefer female partners; one Elle Berkman, who is female and prefers male partners; A… Robin, no known last name, who presents as female and is openly bisexual; Sugimoto Megumi-san, who is female and prefers male partners, and Sugimoto Kinta-dono, for whom this would be his first direct experience, and prefers a female partner. Does that sound correct?"
"F- For the most part, yes," Alex admitted, somewhat shocked they had that much information on them already, even if Rocket was indeed keeping tabs on them. Did they have listening devices everywhere? "Elle- Elle may be somewhat open to female relations as well. I'm not sure on Megumi, but… there's a chance there, also. Pretty sure Kinta's straight."
"Of course, Mr. Ward. I'll just update that… our people are excellent at preparing a sort of short-list of candidates, and of course we do specialize in meeting whatever a client's desires are. We'll be sure to accommodate Mr. Sugimoto's first experience with someone who knows what they're doing as well, unless you or his sister have a different request…?"
"No, that- that sounds good. I'll speak with Megumi about it when I can, but I think she'll agree that experience would be, um, good."
"Excellent. And will all five of you be meeting with Ms. Cooper this evening?"
"I don't- I don't know for sure," Alex replied, "but I imagine not. They were rather… put off, by the actions of some of your people a few days ago. I think they'd just like to take the offered apology and leave it at that, without getting too close."
"Of course," Miss Cheong agreed at once, "I'll note that down… and, done. Very well, Mr. Ward, is there anything else I can do for you? Anything special you'd like me to try and arrange? Oh, and approximately what time can we expect for you to arrive? Just a loose estimate will be enough, you understand."
He swallowed. This would be a make-or-break, if they were laying a trap. But he didn't really have a reason, or at least couldn't think of one that wasn't idiotic, for not giving her the information. "I… am not entirely sure. We have reservations for dinner at the Scarred Corsola at five-thirty…"
"Ah, perfect. It's a fine establishment, I quite enjoy it. Try the Corsola-battered fries, they are delicious. Let's see, that would put you at approximately seven to be finished, and it's a twenty minute walk, or ten by rickshaw… we'll anticipate six-thirty to eight in the evening, shall we?"
"That… sounds good, yes," Alex agreed, wondering if he hadn't just given them a prime window to ambush the group the moment they walked through the door, much as Rocket seemed to have already done to Megumi once.
"Alright then, Mr. Ward. I'll still be here at that time, I actually just arrived for my normal workday, so I'll definitely be here when you arrive. I look forward to meeting you in person. I've heard a lot about you and your companions."
"I… see. Well, um.. alright. I'll see you in a few hours, Miss Cheong."
"Enjoy your day, Sir," she chirped, then the line went dead.
He sighed, and stood up, stretched, and started dressing. He could hear the ladies down the hall, but thankfully they seemed to know what was going on without being told, for the trio of laughing women who'd woken him up with a triple blowjob that morning seamlessly moved into Robin's disused room to continue a mostly-muffled, giggling conversation as they, no doubt, began the hours-long process of getting ready for a night out on the town. "Shit… we both started changing too soon," Alex chuckled to himself.
"Wow," Elle exhaled, "that dress looks amazing on you, Robin! And I love the bigger tits! It's so unfair you can change shape like that!"
"Thanks," the Combinant grinned, "Took me about twenty minutes while I was showering to get them the right size, shape, and firmness. Sorry I took so long, Megumi."
"Don't worry about it," the dark-haired beauty replied, still brushing out her own very wet hair, "And Elle's right, you fill that out super well. I'm a bit jealous, too."
"Don't sell your own outfit short, though," Elle reminded the tallest of the three, "that hanfu or whatever its called is gorgeous, and the colors really suit you with that hair and your eyes. Alex will love it."
Megumi blushed, looking away from the other two women in the large mirror that sat on the desk of the PMC room. All three girls were in it, Megumi at the desk itself on the lone chair, with Elle and Robin behind her on the bed, helping each other touch-up makeup or get their hair just so. The blonde had kept her pigtails, though they were lower and only gathered at her shoulders to help highlight a keyhole at the back of her dress. Robin had gone for a more drastic change, darkening the pink of her hair a few shades and lengthening it four or five inches so it hung to her mid-back in several layered up-turns that flared out almost like waves at the tips.
"Let's face it," Robin said with a giggle, "All three of us are just gonna slay tonight. Alex won't be able to hide the boner, and he won't be the only one. Not sure I'm just gonna be sticking with him, though. I heard someone at lunch talking about the Bounty, and it's… big. There's a few dance halls, like clubs… you can get all sorts of chems this world has, and of course lots and lots of private rooms, dance stages, anything you could think of. Private dances, public ones, gangbangs, gang-'mon-bangs… really, they say they can do anything."
Elle blushed, "Not sure I'm ready for another guy… if I ever will be. But I wouldn't mind trying something else out. As long as he doesn't care, of course."
Megumi and Robin, both a bit older if only arguably more mature, shared a knowing look, "You've got it for him pretty hard, huh," the Nipponese girl asked softly.
Elle sighed, and nodded, as a wide smile broke out over her face, "Why wouldn't I? I'm lucky as fuck I ran into him so early. He's amazing. Strong, brave, skilled… in several ways. And that dick, fuck… getting wet just thinking about it."
"Heh," Robin chuckled, "Damn, now I am, too. Stop it- for now. I'm gonna bone whoever I want, though. Now that Alex has given me his, I want to give someone my dick, too. Not sure if I'll do a 'mon or a human first, but I'm definitely doing both if we've got time. Can't believe we're getting an 'all expenses paid' apology, though. I heard this place is… a lot. Like, the best of the best, and the prices match. Something about all the 'mon and girls being willing participants instead of drugged-up indentured servants seems to speak to a certain clientele I guess."
"Speaking of tonight," Megumi added after a lull in the conversation, "I… I don't think I'm staying. I'll go out with you all, and of course Kinta needs to- to do his part for the plan, but I'm a bit nervous about staying there overnight. Or even just… you know, being defenseless."
Robin leaned forward to rest a hand on the taller woman's bare shoulder, her expression grave too in the mirror, "I get it, I really do. If that's what you want, none of us will think worse of you, for sure. They do let you bring your Pokémon, though, I checked. If you start trouble you get your ass kicked by every other 'mon there, but they allow clients to bring them to give them some fun too, apparently. So you'd have your team to protect you."
Megumi blushed, "I… I haven't, uh, with a Pokémon yet, though. I'm not sure if I want to. So I… I don't know how I'd feel about taking them out if I was, you know, in the middle of things."
"That's alright," Elle shrugged, "You're more than welcome to just come back. I might even join you, or Alex might, after we meet with Ariana. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely want more dick… and being offered some free is great, I'll take 'em up on it, sure. Might even try some humanussy for real. But I-"
"If you just want pussy, ask," Robin giggled, "You know I'd put out for you too, cutie."
"Sure," Elle grinned, leaning over to nudge her new friend's shoulder with her own, "And we will, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer, you know? Gotta try it out."
"I get that, too," Robin laughed, "so I'm probably only gonna dance for like, an hour or so before I just make my way to the private rooms or however they have it set up. I wanna fuck for hours before we meet with Ariana."
"Slut," Elle giggled.
"Damned straight, and damned bi, too," Robin laughed, "probably fucking damned pan, 'cause let's be real, there's not much I don't get off to. Anyway, Megumi, I mean it. If you don't wanna stay the night or get your rocks off, that's cool. Just be safe coming back, alright? We'll call you a rickshaw or something, some big Machamp to keep you safe. One of the League ones, not one of Rocket's."
"That… that would probably help, yeah," Megumi sighed, "Sorry. I know you guys might need the backup, and if you think it's gonna come to a fight I'll stay of course, I just… after they grabbed me, I…"
"Seriously, it's cool," Elle told her firmly, "We both get it. I don't think they're going to attack us, though. They want information, not just us. It's not even our bodies. They don't need another hottie, they probably have thousands and thousands already. Would they take us and put us to work? Sure. But let's also be real about this: We're more useful to them free and passing on information than just as some piece of meat to fuck clients and earn them money. I'm sure that's why that whole show of yelling at the Grunts in the park was put on. They want us alive, healthy, and free… no matter what the Grunts might think. We'll be fine, tonight. We're more useful as long as we can pretend at least sort of successfully to be on their side. It's all about presenting the right face. You being nervous about it honestly makes the rest of us more believable, because it means at least some of us are having second thoughts instead of suddenly all-aboard, you know?"
"I guess. Still, if you do need help…"
"We'll call," Elle promised, "But we're supposed to be having fun. I know GF says it's all safe, but are you two bringing protection? I'm not getting knocked up tonight, though I might later. Diseases are safe enough, but…"
"I'm a hundred percent sure that you aren't getting knocked up tonight no matter what," Robin laughed, "because every person that walks into that building is chemically sterilized within five minutes. Literally something in the air they spray you with as you walk through the security. You don't get impregnated at the Bounty without Ariana's express permission, and she supposedly doesn't give it lightly. Like people pay millions for the privilege if you just want to buy it for bragging rights, or whatever. And again, like you said babe, they don't gain anything by slowing us down with a baby. Even if they think they could manipulate it in some way, which I guess is possible, or use it against us legally in some way, it's not worth the work for them, I think. No guarantee it'd work anyway, because what if we just didn't care and had it terminated? That's totally a thing here too, after all."
"There's also just the chance that Ariana really did mean it when she was pissed at the Grunts," Elle pointed out.
That got snorts of amusement from both of the older women, and she grinned, "Yeah, I didn't think so either, just thought I should mention it. Anyway, so I'm keeping my team handy for sure tonight. Don't drink much. Maybe not anything. I know that's part of the whole experience, but… well, you don't want to be impaired. And you will never know if it's just a drink. Not in a place like this."
"Right," Robin scowled, "I hadn't thought of that, actually. Okay, so no drinking. I can't really get drunk easily anyway, I think. Something about being a Combinant makes it harder, at least when half of me's a Pokémon. Maybe their innate poison resistance, or just their physiology. I'll keep an eye out anyway, though, good thinking. Anyway, I'm… about ready. You two almost done? It's almost five."
"Yeah, just a couple more touches," Megumi nodded as she leaned into the mirror a bit to assist in applying some mascara, "and I'll be good."
"Heh, I'm not sure if I'm gonna wear panties or not," Elle giggled. "Might just be easier not to. The dress is a bit short, but… do I really care?"
"Probably not," Robin grinned, "And you know I'm not wearing any anyway. I hate those things, it's one of the reasons I don't like even wearing pants. Just chafe, but it's better with than without for those. Anyway, yeah… let's go meet up with the boys, shall we? Time to par-tay!"