| "Chapter 6" |
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Address unknown~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Janni's eyes adjust quickly to the darkness of the room. It's a den or office and smells nauseatingly like cigars. She shrugs to herself as just when she thinks that about the cigars she spots a humidor on the bar. She wanders around the room viewing certain items, picking them up, as if trying to know her victim more intimately. Just as she replaces an item she hears the latch on the door opening so retreats into a dark corner behind the desk to remain unseen. A man & woman enter and the man walks to the bar and pours himself what looks like scotch. He looks somewhat annoyed as she says, "Master, this girl warns you shouldn't venture from home as you are now in grave danger." Janni admires her as she moves fluidly across the floor to her pillow beside a large, leather wingback chair and kneels. The man moves to his chair and sits. He runs his fingers through her long, silky black hair. "Little one...you look especially beautiful today for your Master...thank you" he says as his hand brushes down her back then to the front to squeeze one of her breasts. She watches him move her clothing aside to expose a breast then grabs at the nipple ring and pulls and twists hard. Janni winces as she watches and almost moves forward but decides to wait. He pulls her up off her knees by her nipple and screams in her face, "You will respond when spoken to slut, I said thank you! You also are not in a place to "warn" me of anything. Do you understand?" "As you wish, Master"...the word forced as she doesn't feel subservient to him since he stole her from her real Master. Cecil stole more than just a slave from Morpheus...he stole his dignity and even his lair along with the staff. He banished Morpheus for no reason other than greed. He made false accusations, turned all Morpheus' friends against him, killed numerous mortals leaving planted evidence leading to Morpheus. Morpheus and Cecil had been friends for centuries and Cecil had always been jealous of Morpheus since he was born into money and was also very good looking and attracted women by the score. Cecil had seen enough and did something about it. Morpheus now sits in an alleyway between buildings in the seedier part of the city thinking how he will seek revenge. Luckily he was able to acquire funds from his accounts before they were closed by Cecil. He has determined the best way to retrieve everything is to kill Cecil. He has just enough to pay Janni for her services. Janni watches, waiting for the right opportunity. She's not worried about the slave after seeing how he treats her...she probably won't get in the way, in fact, may prove helpful. She moves slightly to allow her face into the light just as the slave looks in her direction and crosses her lips with her finger in a "shushing" motion. The slave glances at Cecil then back at Janni and nods. "Master, may this girl speak?" He glares at her stating, "What is it?" The slave cozies up to him just as Janni sneaks from the shadows behind his chair. "This girl wishes to apologize for her behavior Master...what can this one do to appease her Master?" A large grin appears on the girl's face as she sees Janni approach Cecil from behind...totally oblivious as all his attention is now on the slave. Janni motions to the girl to move. Then wastes no time as she simultaneously stakes Cecil in the heart with one hand, and slices through his neck, severing his head, with the other hand. She retrieves her dagger, waves her hand and the body flies quickly into the large fireplace as flames erupt. She looks at the slave stating, "I don't fuck around". Janni continues to talk to the slave as she watches the body burn entirely to ashes and the ashes float up into the chimney to dissipate never to be reincarnated. She picks up the severed head to show proof of her kill to Morpheus, smiles at the girl and tells her, "If I were you, I'd clean this mess up before your rightful Master gets home", then jumps out the same window she originally entered. At the old cottage~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Suzanne opens the door she steps back into the shadows allowing for the strange woman to come in. Trevor steps out of the shadow to stand between her and Suzanne. "So... I understand you have a package for Miss Dark. Unfortunately, as a safety precaution, I was employed to screen the courier to determine the safety of the package and courier. So, if you dont mind miss... please take a seat inside." Faoland steps inside and removes her gloves, but leaves her jacket on. The briefcase never leaves her possession. ""So, what is it exactly that you are delivering to Lady Dark?" Looking directly into Trevors eyes, Faoland answers his questions without hesitation. ”I'm sorry, sir. I am unable to answer that. I never know what my deliveries are specifically...other than I make sure my clients understand that I do not carry anything illegal. They sign a statement acknowledging that the contents are completely within legal limits.” "Can you tell me where you are delivering the package from?" ”I'm not at liberty to reveal anything about my delivery. The contents I carry are between the client and the recipient. Usually they work out the details of the delivery between them, prior to me actually making the delivery. Unfortunately, I see now, that isn't the case this time. I assumed all along that I had been talking to the Lady Dark when I called. “ Faoland looked directly at the shivering Suzanne seeing that she didn’t even remotely resemble what she’d been told of Vilona Dark. "Why is it so important that you deliver to Miss Dark personally? Is it dangerous?" ”I'm a courier. My business is to deliver things...all over the globe. My clients contact me and tell me where to deliver whatever they are shipping. I'm well known for my excellent service...and I've never disappointed my client. They pay for my personal delivery...and when I complete my task, the recipient must call to confirm that they have received all that was sent...and that everything is in good order. That's when I get paid...after the verification. So, you see, sir, if I don't deliver personally to the Lady Dark, then I cannot be paid. And is what dangerous? My job? Me? The contents?” *Faoland smirks and then reveals a slight smile.* Please feel free to check my credentials, sir. I come highly recommended.” She reaches into her purse and produces her business card and a security clearance badge that Trevor recognized from the few times he had dealings with international trade companies. He turned and winked at Suzanne. Suzanne gave a sigh of relief and looked from Trevor to Faoland. She stood and approached the table where they were seated. As Suzanne stepped forward she had the feeling that everything had suddenly changed to slow motion. Trevor and Faoland appeared to be frozen in time. She herself could not move, but she saw a blur of movement come into the room. She saw a shadowy figure on the porch, through the window. Then she saw it just inside the door, and then instantly standing next to Faoland. Suzanne gasped with fright as everything changed back to normal time. Vilona’s gaze was steady on Suzanne as she stepped forward from Faoland’s side and put her fingertips under Suzanne’s chin. “SSSHH now, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ll knock next time my child.” Faoland and Trevor both jumped with a start and exclaimed they didn’t hear her enter. Without a word, or looking back at either of them, she took Suzanne by the arm and led her to the kitchen table. “Sit my dear, I’ll get some tea. I know I promised to give you a few days, but I so wanted to meet your cousin. You talk about him non stop and I think it only right that I meet someone so important. I am curious who this extraordinary woman is though. Is she Trevor’s wife?” Suzanne swallowed hard then looked down at the table. “No Mistress, she’s a courier. She’s here to deliver a package for you. I’m sorry I’ve hid that fact. I was afraid. Please don’t be angry with me.” Suzanne’s eyes pleaded with Vilona not to be displeased with her. Vilona looked from Suzanne to the woman and Trevor. Vilona’s eyes could see that both were human and could hear Trevor’s heartbeat was a good deal faster than the woman’s. It would appear that she was not afraid and Trevor was caught off guard. ”I seemed to have startled you young man, I’m sorry. I think Suzanne has coffee here somewhere. You don’t really look like the tea sort. And you miss? You look like the strong coffee type as well.” For a moment Vilona held Faoland’s gaze. Suzanne stood and held her hand out towards her guests. “Mistress this is Faoland Cawthorne. She says she has a package for you, and yes, this is my cousin Trevor.” Vilona continued to look at Faoland. She didn’t blink or turn away. This woman had such confidence and there was something in the way she returned Vilona’s look. There was a shimmer of recognition in her gaze. Did she know Vilona? Or was it something else? Vilona could not read minds, but she could tell about people. She knew when she was affecting a person in her presence and when they were ignoring her, but this woman wasn’t being affected. Nor was she ignoring her. She…yes that’s it…quietly Vilona stepped up to Faoland and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “You know what I am, don’t you dear?” Vilona stepped back to look her directly in the eye. A smile slowly spread across Faoland’s face, and without a word, she nodded and opened the briefcase. Bringing out the silver box, she placed it in Vilona’s hands. Trevor looked at Suzanne and Suzanne looked at him, both were bewildered and stood silent to see where this would lead… |