The scent of her skin was a heady combination of lavender and excitement as her calf slid along his back, her heel gliding softly against his ribs. Her body quivered as she felt his lips press to her inner thigh, his teeth scraping the skin as his tongue flickers against it. He tenses as her nails roll against his scalp, making his breath roll out in a shuddering rhythm against her skin, her legs closing against his cheeks before he slides further up against her, shoulders hooking her knees as he rises above her.
Their eyes meet, cheeks flush with mutual excitement as sweat glistens along the curve of his neck, the lines of her shoulder while his fingers grip her sides, thumbs stroking her hips. He lets out a shuddering breath as he strokes himself against her center, her own breath a whimpering moan as he prods against her entrance. He leans closer, bringing her knees higher as her hips roll up against him, pressing into her as his lips press to hers, their breath a single moment, a solitary moan of ecstatic intimacy.
The hand is cold and damp and a leather glove as it intrudes impolitely with a body jostling shake, a jarring separation from the feeling of intimacy and the sensual pleasure of the pair of lovers. It grips tighter, squeezing affectionately and shakes again, fingers stroking her cheek as her eyes flutter and skin immediately puckering at the cold air of the room.
The door is open, and with it a gentle snow dances through the air from the streetlamp lit world beyond. She can still taste the sweat, still feel the teeth on her thighs and the woman beneath her as Myra begins to recollect herself. Hand to the gloved grip on her shoulder, the voice breaking through the connection.
"-ou still with us?" Glancing up, she can see Nic's kind dark eyes through the haze as her mind works back from the experience. His features soften as he sees her see him, but his eyes betray his worry, "How long've you been down this time, My?"
The question, the tone, annoys her, "Non'vyurb..." Shakes her head, pulling her shoulder out of his hand as she stands wobbily, moving to cover her nudity before feeling the fabric of her shirt under her fingers, cotton pajamas on her thighs. "Business. None of your business." Chestnut eyes flash Nic a look, daring him to make it his business.
He holds up his hands in mock defeat, smiling weakly, "Just asking the question."
Myra rubs her eyes, running a hand through her hair, feeling the sweat and catching a snippet of memory before shaking her head, "Well, don't." Grabs the hairbrush from the counter of her small studio, turning around to the wall mirror and brushing out the short auburn hair, glancing at Nic out of the corner of her eye, "What are you doing here anyway?"
He sighs, a sound that makes her teeth clench, "We had plans tonight, remember?" His own eyes harden slightly, his arms crossing as his shoe taps the hard floor, "It's Bosco's birthday."
She swears inwardly, quickly checking the logs on her implant to see how long she actually was down for: 52 hours. Well, fuck she thinks. "Sorry.. work's been hectic lately."
Nic rolls his eyes, pursing his lips and clearly thinking about not saying what spits out of his mouth, "Cut the bullshit. We both know what you do for a living."
Myra turns on him, brush clenched in her fist as her temper flares, "The FUCK does that mean?"
He holds his hands up again, jaw clenched, "Nothing. Look, can we just go? Only a few hours left before Bosco's big day is over."
Her lip curls, drawing a deep and angry breath before turning back to the mirror, motioning towards the door, "Yeah, well. I gotta get ready. Give me ten minutes."
Nic nods in the corner of her eye, turning to leave with his head down and a barely hidden sigh before stopping, and putting his hand on her shoulder, his voice quiet, "I'm sorry, Mouse. Just.. I'm worried you won't come back one day."
Myra's turn to sigh, bringing the air in through her teeth before patting his hand, "I know, Nic. But it isn't that big a deal." She blinks into the mirror, staring at herself for a long moment as she tries to remember what she's supposed to look like, "I'm fine."
Nic turns and heads out, closing the door behind him as he zips up his jacket. She drops the hair brush and slips her wrist band on, the device projecting a keyboard for her as the implant projects the hud over her vision. Saving the link that was severed, and hesitating a moment. Glancing at the door with a guilty glance. Tapping the sequence to reactivate it, falling into the moaning passion play of the pair, their shared sensations rolling through her body before she taps the record function.
She slips out of their intimacy, leaving it on as background noise in her mind. She can feel her body shudder as she sets the loop in place, her skin prickle as the moment of their mutual climax rolls over her nervous system like background noise. Her cheeks flush and her lips smile, her body relaxing visibly as she begins to undress, finding some warm clothes and making sure she had all her usuals together.
Myra's hud rings 21:00:00 in Nic's car as it rolls down the long road into downtown. To keep the tension low, he's chosen an arrythmic choir of vocaloid singers warbling to electronic drums and guitars over a silence that could lead to conversation. Myra sits awkwardly in her seat, smiling lightly to herself while her brain tingles and her skin feels over warm beneath the thick jacket. In the bottom corner of her hud, her gps tracker shows her where they are in relation to the Lounge, and she turns off the music as they round one of the last corners.
"Look, sorry I snapped at you," she lied, trying to alleviate the tension she felt and to bring Nic out of the sullen funk that had settled on him. "Work actually has been hectic lately; I've been needing to rack up as many hours as possible to save up for the twenty-third."
As soon as she apologized, he became visibly guilty, body almost shrinking as he nodded, "Okay, I get that." His voice is calm, strenly pushing ahead in spite of knowing he may only start something worse, "But you weren't working when I came in, we both know that."
Myra heaves an irritated sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "That really isn't any of your business, Nic." As he opens up his mouth to protest, she puts a finger up, almost over his lips, "I understand you guys worry, and maybe I get a little carried away, but it really isn't any thing, Nic."
Biting back his words a moment, fingers tapping at the console as he directs the car into its parking procedures, his voice quiet and full of worry when he finally speaks, "I wish you'd quit that job, Mouse."
Nodding and looking out the window, Myra nods, "I know you do, Nic." Cuffs his arm lightly with her hand, smiling as genuinely as she could manage while her other hand turned up the volume on the background stimulus to clear her mood, "But let's not fuck up Bosco's birthday by being bitchy with each other, okay?"
A stab of guilt through Nic's chest is visible as the console powers down, the seat belts releasing, "Yeah, okay." He glances at Myra in the half-light of the parking area, dark eyes glistening, "Can I say one more thing?"
Something in Myra hardens, her eyes narrowing as the hand nearest him clenches into a fist invisibly in the shadows, biting her lower lip a moment before speak through her clenched teeth, "Go ahead."
Sensing he's close to the edge with Myra, Nic presses on with a soft touch to her cheek with his fingers, thumb brushing over her cheekbone, his lips curled into a soft smile as his other hand pops the door to the driver's side, "Ally's already here."
Before she can respond, he's slipped from the car and closed the door, silencing for him her sudden wrathful vitriol. Her door pops open and Myra half jumps out of the car, turning to face him over the roof as he almost skips mirthfully away toward the elevator.
"Are you shitting me?" Her voice is mingled excitement and anger, though she isn't really angry. Nervous, and suddenly feeling very exposed in spite of two solid layers of clothes, but not angry. Almost excited, though she rationalizes that as the rush of chemicals storming her nervous system as the memory loops across her brain.
Myra hurries behind Nic, activating her interface and checking her danger zone for alcohol tonight; she always drinks when Ally's around.
The elevator opens and closes with a swish and a hum, the music a toneless muzak remake of a terrible classic that somehow manages to be both irritatingly energetic and droning at the same time, all the while lacking any form of words. On the ride, Myra half-glares at Nic, who does his best to pretend he's hiding a cheshire grin while his hands are jammed into his pockets.
Swish hum and the music is laid to rest by the dulcet tones of a mournful piano, played by someone who knows the keys intimately. The pair step into the Orchid Lounge to be greeted by the server node, her translucent blue features designed to appeal to the classy pervert. Her skirt short above stocking tops with a hint of garter belt, her blouse unbuttoned low enough to catch a glimpse of imaginary cleavage between breasts as perky as a kitten on hot sauce. She plays with her glasses as she smiles wide and chirps her words happily.
"Table for two?" Nic taps a sequence in his interface, and she nods setting her topknot bouncing, "I'm sorry, I should have noticed you have reservations." A grin that could launch a protection order as she turns and grabs two imaginary menus, "The rest of your party has already been seated. Please follow me."
As always, Myra can see Nic watching the greeter's rump swinging in the tiny skirt, as she elbows him lightly in the ribs, "It isn't true you know."
He chuckles, shrugging, "I know it isn't, but Reggie swears there's a clip glitch in the greeter here where her butt comes out of her skirt." His eyes continue to ogle the greeter's rear as they walk, and Myra wonders not for the first time what they must look like to people who don't have the implant.
Her thoughts cut short as her breath catches in her throat when they come within view of the table. Nic hadn't been joking, there she was. Red hair in delicate curls over her shoulders, blue eyes already catching Myra's own, rose red lips smiling lightly. A moment's hesitation, stopping in her tracks before she's sure she's been seen, Myra's foot slipping to turn and run.
"Alley cat!" Nic ruins Myra's escape by calling out to Alicia, waving his hand like a child for attention and double-timing towards the table, almost leaving Myra in a wake if he hadn't grabbed her by the elbow at the last, dragging her towards the woman in the dress blouse waving her glass of blue liqour at them.
As Alicia smiles at them, Myra dodges the eye contact noticing Big Bart at the bar, talking jauntily with Daniel over a beer and a whiskey respectively. Bart notices the attention, and his moon-of-a-head splits in a happy smile as he elbows Daniel's attention towards Myra, waving while Daniel slides his hand across his hair, slicking down the slicked back hair as if the quick jostel had somehow damaged his coifed semi-pompadour.
Nic slid Myra into the booth before him, pressing her into the semi-circular space between Alicia and him, grinning like a jackass the entire time, "So, Mouse has been looking forward to seeing you tonight, Alley cat."
Myra imagines herself putting her fist to his grinning teeth, but settles for a quick elbow to the ribs, "He didn't even tell me you'd be here."
She smiles, always calm and cool as a spring no matter what storms beat around her, taking a sip from her almost radiant blue drink before speaking, "Well, I'm glad. We all know you would've skipped out if you knew I'd be here."
Myra blushes deep, lips opening to argue but unable to find the right words when she is mercifully interrupted by Bart slapping his gorilla hands down onto the table top, giving Nic a start, "You owe me a drink, buddy!" As Nic makes to speak, Bart grabs his shoulder and half-drags him from the seat and to the floor, with a chuckling wink at Myra he puts a big palm to the back of Nic's back and begins to urge him gently to where Daniel is rolling his eyes and drowning his faux ennui in whiskey.
Myra looks over at Alicia sheepishly, feet shuffling under the table as the young woman slides a rocks glass half-filled with clear tequila, no ice, across the table to Myra, "See? Peace offering." Alicia's voice is smooth and sweet like honey on a summer day.
Myra nods, taking the glass in both hands and staring at it a long moment before pulling in a chest full of air and speaking quietly, "L-look.. it's not like I'm avoiding you as much.."
Alicia nods understandingly, "It's just that you try not to be where you know I'm going to be."
Myra squirms at that, prompting Alicia to lay a hand on her shoulder softly, making her skin pimple even through the jacket Myra's trying in vain to shrink into, "I just.. I don't know.." Looking at Alicia evenly, gripping the glass to keep her hands from shaking, "What happened last time?"
Her hand pulls away, a ripple in the calm waters of her eyes as she looks down to her own glass, sipping it lightly, "I just missed you, is all."
Myra slips half the tequila down her throat, holding in the cough as her eyes water, feeling the heavy burn spread through her chest as her stomach protests the sudden invasion, threatening to upend but staying its place. She opens her interface and lets the server know she needs some pizza bread with extra garlic. A little alert on her hud flashes red, letting her know that that swimming in her vision is a sudden increase of blood alcohol levels. She taps out the alert, disabling it for the night as Alicia sits in silence, both of them trying to find the right words to say.
Nic flumps into the seat next to Myra, Daniel sliding in next to Alicia and slipping his arm around her waist as Bart swings a chair between his legs at the outside of the table, smiling warmly. Myra almost misses Daniel's arm at first, but seeing it sends a shiver or recognition through her. She lets the tequila hide her feelings beneath a haze of flushed cheeks and a clenched stomach, tapping out an order for another as Nic sings tunelessly to the piano music, making up the words as he goes.
Myra jabs his ribs with her elbow as Daniel leans in and nips at Alicia's ear, Bart boisterously and noisily ordering a round of Glenlivet for the table. Pressed almost against Alicia, Myra can imagines she feels Daniel's fingers brush her elbow, and she pulls her hands between her knees heaving in a deep and uncomfortable breath.
She can't hear their conversation as she taps at her interface below the table, turning down the music in the Lounge and checking in at home, making sure the heat is on and getting a pot of coffee started. Myra wants to cry, but knows that's only going to ruin the night for everyone else, so she sits quietly, chewing her bottom lip and responding slurredly to questions as the next tequila quickly disappears. The pizza bread, little triangles of flat bread with mozzarella and olive oil and pepperoni seasoning, is quickly vanquished as her stomach gurgles and churns in complaint at the tequila occupation.
Nic seems worried, but she shrugs off his questions as Bart and Daniel talk about the latest movies, or how much Bart lost at the track this week. Alicia jabs Daniel over Bart's smiling lament, asking him to rig one of his races for the poor man-giant. Daniel visibly flushes, near enraged until he realizes the joke and calms and sips his whiskey letting the joke roll off without comment.
As the hour nears midnight, Bart makes sure everyone's Glenlivet is still set in the right place; in front and just to the left of them. He takes a box out of his pocket and drops a sugar cube into each rocks glass solemnly as everyone falls silent. Even Myra stops fiddling with her interface and puts her hands on the table, scooting slightly closer to Nic if only to be further from Daniel/Alicia.
After the glasses are each prepared and placed, Bart takes one in his hand and everyone follows suit, raising the glasses above the table and high enough they can see the sugar melting in the light.
A moment of silence punctuated by the piano keys, before they raise their voice in a chorus, "To Bosco!" then slam the old liqour down and let the heat and thickness wash through them. Alicia gives the worst face, with Nic taking a close second, while Daniel and Bart barely seem to notice it. Myra almost vomits, but she attributes that more to the tequila already parked in her stomach.
A long breath passes between them in silence, before Nic chimes in through a stymied cough, "Shit Bosco had the most fucked taste in booze."
Bart cuffs the back of Nic's head half playfully, jostling him in his seat with a laugh, "Heathen, that's a damn fine scotch."
Daniel manages a chuckle at that, leaning forward slowly and measuring a glance at Myra, "Haven't seen you in a while, everything been okay?" His voice is calm and disinterested, prompting Myra to wonder if Alicia didn't dare him to ask.
She shrugs, tapping out a sequence in her interface for a blood cleaner to be ready when she gets home, "Yeah, just been working a lot." Looks down, poking at the small cup of marinara sauce idly with a finger, "Besides, haven't really been feeling social lately."
Nic chimes in, his voice almost a self-congratulating chirp as he puts his arm around her neck and pulls her into an awkward one-sided hug, "That's why you keep me around isn't it, Mouse? To drag you back into the real world?" He half-heartedly tousles her hair with a faux noogie, to her continued irritation as she tries to push his arm from her head.
"Sure," her voice is choked and her stomach gurgles angrily as she wriggles, "That and to get me into the Peacock when I want." She chuckles as his arm slacks, squeezing free as it's his turn to blush, giving her an evil eye as Daniel and Bart both cock their heads towards him.
Almost in unison, Bart a second before Daniel, "The Peacock?" Daniel gives Nic a once-over appraising glance, measuring his reaction while Bart roars a gleeful laugh out.
Nic seems to almost shrink as Bart pokes him in the chest with a meaty finger, "You're a cock-waver, Nicky boy?" Cuffs his arm good, a little too hard but in fine jest as he thumps Nic into Myra into Alicia and almost into Daniel. "I thought your cheeks looked extra pinchable today, that's adorable!"
Nic lets out a laugh, shrugging as Daniel lets out a little laugh, "I can see it, though I'm surprised you didn't tell us."
Nic blushes lightly, nudging Myra softly, "Well, I was trying to keep it a secret, but I needed Mouse here to get me the izzy." With this, all eyes turned to Myra and it was her turn to glow beet red, once again trying to will herself small enough to hide in her jacket.
Alicia is the first to speak, her voice still calm but Myra can hear disappointment in it, "You've got an izzy, Mouse?"
Before Myra can answer, Bart cuffs Nic's back roughly, almost knocking him into the table bodily, "That's a good one, Nicky boy! Our little Mouse with one of those!"
Daniel breathes in a long breath, smiling, "And Nic a stripper. I do believe the two of them have been cahooting."
Everyone has a laugh, Nic playing it off as an elaborate prank and Myra going back to her interface, the red in her cheeks refusing to leave as Alicia's eyes seem to bore into her. The rest of the night passes in the longest blur Myra can remember, hazed by tequila and old scotch while Nic and Bart chatter, Daniel chiming in while Alicia soothes any drunken tempers rising, and Myra plays games on her hud.
By closing time, Nic is half stumbling and Bart's on the floor. Daniel tips the staff well, in part to make sure they take good care of the man-mountain while he sleeps. He and Alicia get up together, and he guides her out towards the elevator, hand resting on her ass in a way that seems it shouldn't be as heart breaking as it is to Myra. Alicia, for her part, glances back at Myra on the way out, the look in her eyes stormy and tumultuous, and Myra flashes hot with shame.
She and Nic make it to his car, and she taps in the two destinations of her house then his. After what he did, she figures a night sleeping in his car in the snow might do him some good. If it doesn't, it will do her some good knowing he slept for shit.
On the drive, he rolls in his seat and looks at her, eyes swinging awkwardly and his lips parted in a smile she can only describe as challenged, his voice slow and even, if slurred, "You'ere a reel bish tonight, chu know'at?" He pokes her arm on the third try, only jabbing her breast once in the attempts, "Wa's yur probbim?"
Almost sober, and recognizing how utterly blasted he is, she takes in a deep breath and stares daggers at him a moment, before letting her eyes fall to her hands.
Her head hurts, throbbing like a marching band at a rave, and she isn't sure if it's from the hangover or from crying herself to sleep. Either way, Myra hates it. She tosses back three pain killers and chases it with a splash of tequila, then pours herself a cup of coffee. Adding sugar and a bit of cream, she surveys her small squalid studio before taking a sip.
Myra almost drops the cup as the bitterness hits her, the harrowing burnt taste that clings even to the roof of her mouth, flavors her every breath as she dumps the cup into the sink, remembering that she'd had the coffee prepped hours ago. She checks her hud for the exact time out of habit; thirteen hours forty-seven minutes. She vomits into the sink, tasting the tequila and some garlic as she does.
A quick mouth wash break, a second brushing of her teeth, and a new pot of coffee later, she sets the coffee next to the interface node, and activates it. Her small one room apartment disappears in the projection of her beach-front condo, the smell of sea-water in the air and the breeze cool off the water, in spite of the warm setting sun. She picks up the coffee and looks out into the sea, noticing the red sails and the kids playing down the beach and relaxes visibly.
"Sallycat?" Myra's voice is more confident now, her posture a bit more upright as she slips the sweet and light coffee. At her call, the node projects a female figure, reminiscient of Alicia in almost every way, except she's wearing cat ears and a kimono.
She smiles warmly, her eyes approximating affection almost enough to make Myra's heart hurt, "Yes, Mouse?" Her hands are folded, and she stands in the point that Myra knows the node is in, but her presence is comforting.
Myra sips her coffee, smiling to herself, "Connect me with the office?"
Sallycat nods and tilts her head, closing her eyes a moment, "You are connected, Mouse. ARR office node 772 requires verbal confirmation; shall I fascilitate?"
Myra rubs the bridge of her nose, hating when the office computer makes Sallycat speak, "Please."
A flicker, and Sallycat is a nondescript man in a nondescript suit with a nondescript facial expression, making him the most boring thing she had ever encountered. She made a tick on her hud, marking that this was the 296th most boring thing she had encountered.
"M(eye)r(ah) Collette Duvall; level 3 monitor; employee number 92a467v. In the last seven days, you have: filed 3 anomalies, and logged 64 working hours. You have been working without vacation for 468 days; it is advised you take a vacation."
Tapping her feet as it plays the same basic message it always plays, "It's M(ee)ra, not M(eye)r(ah). I acknowledge that I've been working 468 days if you acknowledge I've corrected you on how to pronounce my name for at least 70% of those days."
"Would you like to request time off? You have accrued hours, and your the amount of accrued time places you on request priority."
Sipping her coffee and narrowing her eyes at the projection, "Override. Logging in, disconnect." The man nods in the most nondescript fashion possible and flickers away, replaced by Sallycat again, who beams lightly at Myra.
"How would you like to start today, Mouse?" She motions to the chair by the node, which Myra promptly takes and settles back into, closing her eyes a moment before looking up at Sallycat.
"At six hour intervals, drop my connections and make me take a break, okay?"
"Of course, Mouse. I'm here to help." Sallycat smiles and in spite of her being just a program, Myra feels something approaching calm.
"I need a triple avatar, each logging observation separately and three distinct channels." She stands up as she says it, the chair splitting into three and her sitting in each one, reclined and relaxed.
"Mouse, you know Arivada Procedures advises against multiple connections, not to mention it isn't good for you to spread yourself so thin." Sallycat is now holding a clipboard as she sorts available channels, "Will you be overriding this warning again, Mouse?"
Myra chuckles, nodding, "You know me too well, don't you, Sallycat?" Moving around the chairs slowly, she glances up at the girl in the cat ears, "What do we have today?"
Nods, tapping several times on the clipboard with a pen, "Well, taking user preferences into account, we have a two channel background noise running while one on foreground, all being recorded in case the avatars show signs of distress."
Myra waves her hand, "I know that, but what are the channels?"
Motioning to one of the avatars, "One is a business meeting currently running three connections; two registered and one covert."
Myra nods, chuckling as she touches the avatar's head, "Okay, so someone's being monitored by the feds, what else?"
Sallycat indicates the second avatar with the pen, "We have a shared experience birth, where the participants are using sense-mods."
Avoiding touching that one, Myra winces visibly, "Oh god ouch." Glancing at the third one, "And this one?"
Sallycat appears to check the clipboard closely before speaking, "In chair three, we have a woman performing a sense-modded interaction via Integrated Sensory Interface."
Myra's eyes light up with a chuckle, touching the avatar on the forehead softly, "Oh? We've got an izzy running? How many people are involved?"
Sallycat glances again at the clipboard, seeming to think about her answer a moment, "One, Mouse."
Myra's eyes narrow, pursing her lips, "What do you mean one? We don't pick up local frequencies, just person-to-person. Recount."
Sallycat looks to the ceiling, tapping the pen on the clipboard while she thinks, taking long enough for Myra to start to worry about a system lock-up, but not long enough to attempt to fix it, "Correction: Error. There is only one Source Code. User count still compiling."
Myra rubs the bridge of her nose. This is a glitch, but this could be a glitch on her end, if Sallycat is making these kinds of mistakes, "There's got to be a Source Code per user; minimum two. Recount."
"Compiling." Sallycat's clipboard is gone now, her hands at her sides as she devotes more memory to the task.
"Goddammit." Myra walks around to the node, checking the system for any potential viruses that could be setting up a glitch on this end when Sallycat snaps out of it.
"Compiling complete: Error. User count appears to exceed statistical probability. Source Code equals one."
Pursing her lips, Myra watches Sallycat shrug after she utters the last phrase, pulling back out the clipboard as Myra walks over to the offending avatar and sliding into her seat, "Okay, let's see what you see."
The familiar sensation of falling a moment, then of flying as the connection lifts her up, slipping into an observation queue for a moment then the excited rush as the connection links. Myra taps at her interface, keeping her connection light and filtered to avoid sensory overload, sliding in as she catches the flow of energy. A single woman, floating in the ether, no sign of company or location.
"Sallycat, is this all of it? There's no local environment." Slipping in closer, letting the chem response stimulated by the ISI wash against her: excitement and being touched positively everywhere, mingled with something; suffocation. "Give me a vitals icon, now."
Myra can feel Sallycat operating in the background, almost instantly bringing up a metric of the woman's vital signs, oxygen levels low and heart rate high, endorphins and adrenaline spiking. Myra swears under her breath, tapping at the interface as she chews her bottom lip absently.
"How's the second source's incription being done?" She taps, isolating the individual serial numbers that define users, and only the girl comes up, with a tag marking her as the receiver of the connection, not the sender. Myra's eyes narrow, "How the fuck do you get a call from nothing?"
Sallycat's voice chimes in her ear, "Tracks for automated callers and viral connections is negative, Mouse." The woman's heart skips a beat, fluttering wildly.
"Disconnect her." Myra's voice is hard as she tries to trace the signal, to look for the root of it.
"You do not have the authorization to interfere with calls, Mouse."
Blinking hard, Myra can feel sweat beading on her forehead as she shivers, body shaking, "Goddammit, she's drowning! Disconnect!" Her fingers dance wildly over the interface.
Sallycat's voice is soft but calm, a near perfect imitation of her inspiration's calm-the-fuck-down voice, "Mouse, if you break the connection you risk voiding your employment contract."
Myra can feel her head spin in the direction where Sallycat should be, the writhing dying woman still in full view, "I DON'T CARE." She scatters several tracers into the ether, setting them to track an origin to all signals, "Just do it!"
A half second ticks away like a millenium before the girl disappears, her vitals spiking but O2 levels rising as her sense-mod begins to allow her to breathe again, "It's done, Mouse. Logging the glitch and filing the disconnect."
Shaking her head as she stands from the seat, the tendrils of some lingering fear flickering in the back of her mind, a discomforting notion that someone's made an untracable virus that can use people's own implants to kill them. She chuckles nervously at the thought as she feels the subconscious buzz of a call. Fast, but in the age of light speed, she shouldn't be surprised they call to reprimand her immediately.
Tapping just behind her ear, her voice hard and terse as she rubs her eyes absently, "Go ahead and yell at me, but it had to be done."
The voice on the other side is calm and soft, "I'm not calling to yell, Mouse.. I need to talk to you." Myra drops the coffee as she lifts it, hearing it clatter to the floor before realizing the heat on her leg where it splashed her. Alicia.
Myra's voice breaks as she speaks, tapping the interface to give Sallycat the command to log her for a break and to shut down the suite, "Ally? But.. Wha-When? What's going on?"
For the first time in years, Alicia's voice is small, "Now, if you have the time. I'm outside your door." Myra's heart jumps terrifiedly, her skin feeling suddenly clammy as she wipes the coffee from her legs, disconnecting her own sense-mod from the node and seeing her tiny filthy den once again.
She moves quickly to the door, leg already feeling the coffee dry stickily to her calf as she opens the door, kicking her jacket behind it, "Yeah, sure, I'm sorry come in, Alley Cat." She waves Alicia in as she taps the call off.
Alicia is dressed in a close fitting black jacket, her copper hair aflame in the early morning sun as it falls in loose curls over her shoulders, "Hey, Mouse?" She's wearing well-tailored jeans under heavy boots built for the snow as she moves in, looking up and down Myra's small wiry frame.
Myra's voice is nervous as she closes the door, feeling a terrible chill she can't place immediately, "Yeah what's up?"
Alicia points down, half at the floor and half at Myra's legs, "You are in your underwear."
Myra feels her skin flash hot and red as she all but leaps behind the closet door, scrambling for something quick to wear, "Ohmygodahmsosorrie."
Alicia chuckles, the sound coming out in a wave of relief that makes it sound like the first humor she's felt in some time, "It's okay Mouse, I've seen you in less."
Myra freezes, the memory not helping her feeling of being flustered or her search for clothes a moment before her hand grips pajama pants, lying atop one of her old tees. Wiggling them on while trying not to come out from behind the door, almost falling twice, she mutters slightly under her breath as Alicia makes her tour of the small studio.
Coming from behind the door, "So you needed to talk, Alley Cat?" Myra tries to be nonchalant, but the quiver in her voice and the flush in her cheeks give her away, while Alicia seems cut from porcelain, except for those eyes that seem so full of storms today.
Alicia nods, "Yeah. That thing Nic said last night, that wasn't a joke was it?"
Myra's breath catches in her throat, damning Nic in her mind before she speaks, "Well, I don't know if you can call anything Nic says a joke, per se." She manages a weak chuckle followed by a hesitant shrug.
Alicia smiles warmly, "You always were terrible at hiding things, Mouse." She walks around, tracing the node with a gloved finger before slipping off her gloves, stuffing them lightly in her pockets.
Shrugs, kicking something on the floor before remembering the spilt coffee and grabbing a towel, "Not everything." Her voice is small and quiet, eyes to the floor as she drops down and begins swabbing up the sugary drink.
Looking out the window, folding her arms almost as if she were hugging herself, Alicia responds, her voice sad and distant, "Thank you, by the way. I'm sorry-"
"Don't be," Myra interrupts, eyes already blurry and needing a subject change, "What's going on though? You never come here."
Alicia nods, "The izzy. You have one, don't you?"
Myra freezes. She knew the question was coming, but was hoping Alicia would be too embarrassed to ask, "Yeah."
Alicia stiffens, sucking in a slow breath, "You didn't.. you know.. record us, did you?"
Myra flashes hot a moment, first embarrassed then rising from her stomach was a sense of something else. Offended? Insulted? Put upon? She couldn't place it, but it rankled something deep in her subconscious.
She stands bolt up, tossing the cup towards the sink and missing it, sending it clattering down the counter in a too-loud gesture, "No. It doesn't work that way, anyways, but no. I don't have any evidence you ever slummed with me." Myra's voice is hard and edged and the moment she speaks she regrets it.
The redhead freezes in her place, drawing in a deep warbling breath, "That's.. that's not.." Her voice is breaking, her breathing becoming erratic as her shoulders begin to tense then shake, and Myra steps behind her and hugs her tight, trying not to let her own heart break as she takes in the scent of Alicia's hair.
"I know. I didn't mean to snap," Myra half-lies, her chest aching to burst as she squeezes too hard and feels her own tears stinging her eyes, closing them to keep from crying. "You know how I get." Feeling Alicia so close, her body shaking as she cries quietly, Myra can feel her skin prickle along her arms, "No. The izzy can only record interactions made through it, not real world stuff."
Alicia nods, sniffling against her fingers as she puts an arm on Myra's arm and pulling the hug tighter, squeezing her arm lightly, "I'm sorry, Mouse. I just.. I had to ask." Before Myra can respond, she half-turns in the hug and kisses the top of her chestnut head, sending a shock through Myra's body, "I love you, Mouse."
Myra squeezes one more time and pulls away reluctantly, taking several short breaths followed by a deep inhale, gathering herself before she speaks, her voice calm but small, "I love you too, Al.. Alley Cat."
The two stand in silence for a long moment, Alicia looking at the floor while Myra kicks a few things from the middle of the room. The node begins to blink softly, and it takes Myra an uncustomary several seconds to notice the gentle white winking.
Myra almost thanks whatever divines are listening for the easy escape, "That's work, Alley Cat. Had some weird shit happen right before.. well.. this weird shit." She half-heartedly chuckles, taking Alicia's elbow and guiding her to the door.
Alicia nods, rubbing the tears from her cheek, "Okay, but I want to apologize for this.. drinks on Saturday?"
Myra smiles, patting Alicia's back lightly, "We'll see, okay? I really need to take this connection."
Alicia nods, standing in the doorway for a second before smiling warmly at Myra, "Bosco would be very proud of you, you know that?"
Myra beams a second, blushing brightly before nodding and shooing Alicia off, "Go go! I'm supposed to be working." She closes the door as Alicia turns away and then reactivates the suite of the interface again, the room falling away to blue and beach and Sallycat.
And a clearly descript man in a clearly well-tailored suit with a mildly impatient look on his face; altogether different from the usual Arivada interface.
She blinks, poking the projection lightly, "Whoa, what sequence is this, Sallycat?"
Before the program can answer, a man's voice sends Myra almost to the ceiling, "Miss Duvall, I'm not an interface. My name is Alexander Drummond, with Arivada Monitor Oversight."
She pulls her hand back like he is suddenly a rattle snake, smiling weakly a moment before regaining her composure, "OH! Sorry about that, Mr. Drummond, haven't spoken to real live one since I got hired."
He nods, chuckling fakely as he taps at his own interface, "Be that as it may, Miss Duvall, you are registered as having forced a disconnect on a monitored call earlier today. I need to have immediate access to all logs regarding this call."
She groans, nodding and sitting in the chair slowly, "Okay, but be gentle okay? Last time you guys did an info dump on me, I couldn't remember how to make coffee." She chuckles, leaning back and closing her eyes, tapping at her interface instinctively to bring up the exact time stamp and the logs.
"This will only take a moment, Myra." The feeling is of the whole experience in reverse and increased speed, as if someone having life breathed back into their body by the ether itself. It really is only a moment, and her eyes flutter open, body tingling.
Drummond taps the interface again, narrowing his eyes, "Are you running any programs to conceal a call source, Myra?"
Shakes her head as the sensation ebbs, looking over at Sallycat, "No, and you can check her logs, I had her run several checks for source; she said there wasn't one." Smirks, shrugging with a chuckle, "But I mean, that's not possible."
Drummond looks up, tapping at his interface lightly, "You are hereby placed on leave, until further notice. You've accrued more than enough vacation time to see you through until we've investigated the incident, but we suggest you go offline for a few weeks to make sure this isn't an aggressive hack job."
She narrows her eyes, sitting up in the chair, "Why am I being put on leave? I saved that girl's life!"
Drummond nods, cycling something in his hud that she can't see, "That is what it looks like. You also could have set up the whole incident in order to create that appearance, so an investigation is necessary."
Rubbing her eyes, and leaning on her knees, "So, how much of my node gets shut down because of this crap?"
He glances at her, smiling lightly, "Oh, you aren't being disabled, Myra. Just put on leave. Means no logging work hours. You paid for your node, so you are free to use it, just no logging monitor hours until we've contacted you. Your.." Drummond glances at Sallycat and raises an eyebrow, "companion will tag any inappropriate use and let us know if you are doing monitoring, so just take it easy."
Drummond flickers out as Myra swears under her breath, chucking a towel through Sallycat, "Traitor, you'd tell them in an instant wouldn't you?" Sallycat flickers as it passes through, her features almost apologetic, as Myra has an idea dance across the surface of her mind.
Daniel.
Myra pushes the thought of his hand around Alicia's side out of her mind, glancing at Sallycat before turning off the suite with a tap of the node, grumbling at having to call him. She reaches for her coffee and swears softly as she remembers the reason her legs feel tacky, tapping out Daniel's name and pulling him out of her phone book, looking at the number for a long moment before sighing.
It rings once, and she glances at the ceiling. Twice, and Myra rubs her eyes, beginning to pace softly. Three times, and already her nerves are screaming for her to hang up. Midway into the fourth ring, the signal comes to life.
"What can I do for you, Myra?" His voice is detached and distracted, distant and uninvolved. She's not sure if he's unhappy to hear from her, or just indifferent.
"Um.. hey Danny boy, how's tricks?" She fails whole-heartedly to be nonchalant once again, growling in her mind at her lack of subtlety.
He pauses, a long moment when all she can hear is his breath, "Seriously. What can I do for you, Myra. You've never called me in seventeen months of knowing each other, so obviously this isn't a social call." His voice is still unperturbed, calm and methodic and almost selecting each syllable individually.
She shrugs, "Fine, I was wondering if you could hack my node and disable the logging protocols on it." She smirks, folding her arms in a small triumph at the sudden silence on the other end.
Quiet for a moment, and then, "Why do you need your logging protocols disabled?" His voice is terse, almost paternal, "Alicia would kill me if I helped you do something stupid."
Thinking a step ahead, she nodded, smiling, "I'm researching a couple new sense-mod protocols, but I don't want Arivada having access to the plans." She smiles as she pours herself a congratulatory cup of coffee.
He pauses another moment, "Really. And would this be able to be used with the aud-mod we use?" His voice betrays a sense of excitement; his vocaloid band uses sense-mod in their performances, and a new form of sense-mod could give them an edge.