As Jas and I disembark from his car, we are confronted by an abomination of garish neon situated by the junction of the road. A long line of women, both young and old raucously stand in queue outside the premises, their entry barred by the gold plated double doors. A scarred middle aged woman, most likely a Valkyrie veteran in a white blouse and brown slacks, stands on guard by the door, playing the role of face control. There is an undercurrent of suppressed physicality and violence seething just beneath the crowd, rooted in barely restrained lust and over inflated egos. Presiding over the ensemble is the flamboyant, lighted up bill board advertising the place.

CLUB LOVELESS

The grey walls of the Inner Citadel loom over Jas and I as we make our way towards Loveless, banners fluttering indifferently from the fortifications. Got to admit, the club had hit the jackpot when it came to location. The place is just down the road from the Inner Citadel's entrance, making it a convenient entertainment spot for wealthy, horny women.

"What does going to the local meat market have to do with due diligence?" I ask Jas in a mildly exasperated tone.

"Madam's one of my contacts." Jas explains, "A lot of news from the Inner Citadel winds up in Club Loveless. Loose lips and all that."

"Fair enough." I shrug, letting Jas lead the way. He is the senior operative after all. Though I suspect his choice of informants has been influenced by other less professional concerns.

As we approach the crowd, it shuffles forward as the face control lets in a group of rowdy young women into the club. Jas leads me past the queue, women observing us with a combination of curiosity and annoyance, and we wind up in front of the face control who lifts an eyebrow at our presence.

"Talent goes in through the back." the face control says disinterestedly, "Though I doubt you guys will be able to stay here for long."

"We're not the talent." I pipe up irritably. The face control just rolls her eyes at me and Jas pats me on the arm, signalling me to quieten down. Behind us, I sense eyes sizing the pair of us up lustily.

"We're here to see Madam." Jas says politely, "Could you let us through?"

"Mmm." the face control rumbles in faux consideration, "Nah. Lots of people want to see Madam. You guys can head to the back of the queue and wait your turn."

"The queue stretches down the road." I point out.

"Just as my friend says." Jas picks up the thread smoothly, "I'm a close friend of Madam. We won't inconvenience her for long."

As Jas pleads with the face control, I take the opportunity to give her a more thorough look over. As expected, she's a veteran. I can see the unit tattoo on her neck just under the open collar of her blouse. No bulwark deployment device. Again, not a surprise if I am reading the tattoo correctly.

"Everyone is Madam's friend." face control sneers scornfully at Jas, "You guys can wait in line, like Madam's other friends. Though I wouldn't bother. Ugly mugs like yours couldn't scratch out a living here anyway."

"Shit!" I curse suddenly as I feel someone pinching my butt. I look back accusingly but the women behind me turn away while stifling their laughter. Jas looks worriedly at me and squeezes down hard on my shoulder.

"Please. Just call her." Jas pleads with the face control to no avail.

"Get. Lost." face control snorts, to the low sniggering of the women behind us. Jas sighs in defeat and begins to leave the queue, gesturing at me to follow. I instead keep my eyes pinned on the face control.

"Why are you giving in to this piece of shit?" I ask Jas in full view of everyone and his face goes as white as a sheet of paper.

"Look here -" the face control snarls, popping her knuckles threateningly. But I cut her off before she can say anything more.

"Shut it." I command, "Rapefugee." The face control blanches the moment she hears my words. I drive home the point by delivering a backhand across her face. The women behind us quieten down, eagerly looking on. Jas looks aghast at what I'm doing, but holds his peace.

The rapefugee staggers backwards and brings her fists up, ready to throw down. I counter by shoving my Auxilia badge straight into her face.

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"No." rapefugee whispers, the fight going right out of her.

"Jas." I say while keeping my eyes on the rapefugee, "Call the militia. We have an illegal alien on the loose that needs transport to the camp."

"You can't prove anything!" the rapefugee shouts in panic while Jas tugs at my sleeve in consternation.

I harshly grab the rapefugee by her blouse and tear it off, revealing her bare upper body to the entire world. I then grab her roughly by the neck and shove the tattoo under the illumination of a streetlight.

"Have fun being sent back to the Coalition." I sneer, "Jas, why aren't you calling the militia!"

"The Leader allowed me in!" the rapefugee yells, "I have the right to be here!" I slap her again on the face to shut her up.

"Who gave you the right to work, huh?" I yell, "Do rapefugees have the right to work? You know what happens to rapefugees who breach the conditions of safe asylum?"

A number of Valkyries standing in the queue gather around me and the rapefugee, their deployment earrings blazing with power. The rapefugee looks up at them hopefully and begins to get back up to her feet. But she is roughly pushed back to the ground by the Valkyries, contempt all over their faces.

"DON, ENOUGH!" Jas roars angrily before managing to get his temper under control, "We are here to see Madam, not make an arrest for the militia. Understood?"

"That's up to her." I prod the rapefugee with the tip of my shoe, staring at her meaningfully.

"I'm here already. What a ruckus you lot have caused." a light, feminine voice takes me by surprise. A slim, handsome woman wearing her smart purple suit with silver highlights walks up to the rapefugee and gently helps the criminal back up.

"Go in and take a break." the newcomer compassionately says to the rapefugee before speaking to Jas, "Your friend is certainly zealous in carrying out his duties."

"Ah, Madam!" Jas exclaims, "Apologies for the disturbance."

The sharp but pretty features of Madam furrow briefly before gracing Jas with a smile, "None needed. Thank you for restraining your friend. You needed to see me, right?"

"Yes. Yes." Jas nods in relief at Madam's response to the disturbance.

"Come on in then." Madam courteously invites us into the club, her ponytail of auburn hair swaying as she moves, "Both of you can wait in one of the VIP rooms while I get my employee sorted out."

As Madam leads the way, the rapefugee gives me a vicious glare and I respond by waggling my badge in her face once more. Madam tightens her embrace of the rapefugee and quickens the pace, her mouth spread in a tight, thin line.

.....

"Don ..." Jas begins as the two of us cool our heels on the leather couch of the VIP room, the scent of stale booze and tobacco literally everywhere.

"I'm not sorry. I'm not remorseful. I would do it again." I reply before Jas can complete what he wants to say, "We've had this argument before. I haven't changed my mind and you can't make me."

"Alright, fine. I get it. You won't change." Jas accepts what I say with a kind of sadness, "I just want to ask though, how did you know she was an asylum seeker?"

"You for real?" I look up boggle eyed, "You're the one who supposed to be down with current affairs and everything." I speak carefully in euphemisms, aware that Madam is probably listening in on us right now.

"Humor your captain." Jas answers flatly.

"The uprising, the rise of the Coalition?" I begin, "That's more than current affairs, its something everyone knows."

"The Coalition was beaten." Jas replies, "There was a big push back by the Leader a few years ago."

"Not everywhere." I explain, "Coalition is still going strong in the Greater Bay Megacity and North Arcology. That rapefugee had the unit tattoo of the Golden Harvest Lancers. Getting the picture now?"

"Golden Harvest Lancers." Jas muses, "That's an elite unit from North Arcology."

"Used to be an elite unit." I elaborate, "They were wiped out by the Coalition rebels in the arcology itself. A few members managed to flee the purge. Our rapefugee is one of those survivors."

"Stop calling her that." Jas reprimands, "Its disrespectful. Though I get your meaning. Its strange that the Leader failed to take North Arcology though. I would have though it would have been easy with the Citadel's military superiority over the Coalition."

"Its not so simple." I shake my head, surprised at how ignorant Jas is about stuff outside of the Citadel, "North Arcology is fortified, even more so than the Citadel itself. You will need to commit several front line Valkyrie and Auxilia units to even stand a chance of breaching the armored shell."

"That's an exaggeration." Jas denies.

"No its not." I say, "Valks have been trying on and off to crack North Arcology. Every time the same thing happens. They get shot down by 'that'."

"No way." Jas blurts out, paying attention now, "What about the Fallen? Wouldn't they be all over North Arcology if 'that' was deployed?"

"That's the other thing." I tap the sofa for emphasis, "Fallen never spawn around North Arcology. Ever. No one knows why."

Jas folds his arms, thinking about what I said, "What about laying siege? Surely the Coalition will have to risk a breakout sooner or later?"

"Why?" I ask, "Its an arcology Jas. Its completely self-sufficient. Yeah, the surrounding land is held by the Leader, but the Coalition just goes about shooting stuff up and retreats back to base just before the hammer falls. The official maps may show the territory under the Leader's control, but the arcology itself is really off doing its own thing. The rape, sorry, refugees can forget about being repatriated. Probably forever."

"That's wrong! What about the rightful government of North Arcology?" Jas shouts, "How come I haven't heard about any government in exile?"

The door of the VIP room opens and Madam comes in with a tray bearing a bottle and several shot glasses. She sets the glasses out with an experienced hand while answering Jas's question for me.

"Because they are all dead. Sal told me that all the leaders were shot in the street when the Coalition seized power." a flicker of emotion on Madam's face which quickly passes, "The arcology was locked down and no one could escape."

"Now then, I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about that." Madam smiles warmly at Jas while pointedly ignoring me.

"How can Madam be of service, brother in law?"