Julia tilted her head back and downed her fourth shot of water. Through the earpiece in her right ear she heard Rosa say “Damn girl, best slow it down, you want to look drunk, not wasted"
“She's right,” DJ said. His baritone voice, a deep contrast to Rosa’s over the earpiece. “He has been watching the two of you, I don't think he's counted the number of shots you've taken, but you should make your next shot the last.”
Julia looked over to Connor who was sitting next to her at the bar. “Are you ready to do this?” She scratched her head, the long blonde wig irritated her scalp. “I want to get this damn thing off.”
He looked out over the dimly lit hell hole of a bar. It was filthy, but what could you expect from a place this deep in Norfolk Virginia. There were pictures of cars and bikes on every wall. This time of day there were very few occupants. A pair played a game of pool in the corner and a few others were scattered in booths or at the bar. Their target, Vincent Neros, was sitting with three of his cronies in the corner watching a football game.
Connor didn't directly answer her. Instead he ran a hand through his dusky brown hair and reached for the bottle of vodka. He poured her a shot and passed it over.
She took the small glass and poured half of it into her mouth. Her body shook swallowing it, she hated vodka. She locked eyes with Connor one last time then lifted the glass to finish it. Except that this time she deliberately poured the remainder of the glass out on her chin, making sure it looked like a drunken accident.
Connor laughed at her and pointed. “Your such a slut Crystal" he said all too loudly “if you wanted to get in my pants all you had to do is ask”
The liquid had soaked her tiny white tank top, nearly revealing more of herself than she'd anticipated. “Fuck you" she screamed at him in rage before slapping him.
His face turned red by the slap. Connor lifted his beer and took a few swallows before standing. He tossed some folded bills on the bar and stood. “That's it, we're getting out of here” he took her arm and all but dragged her from the bar stool.
Once on her feet, Julia ripped her arm out of his grasp and screamed back at him. “No. No Scott, I'm done with you. I'm done with your lies, I'm done with your shit and I'm done with your tiny dick.”
“Fuck you bitch" he replied “I don't need some drunk ass whore insulting me. You're the slut here, tiny white see-through shirt with no bra and tiny little blue jean shorts so small you ain't even trying to hide your ass.”
She swung at him again but he grabbed her wrist, spun her around and twisted her arm up behind her back. The position caused her breasts to push out against the tiny shirt which strained to retain its cargo. Her nipples showed clearly through the wet fabric.
She pretended to scream in pain. He whispered the word “Sorry" in her ear before saying loudly “bitch don't you ever lay a hand on me again”. He spun her back in front of him so she was facing him and locked eyes for just a moment before raising his fist.
As his fist made a descent toward her stomach it was suddenly wrapped in a much larger hand. Before Connor knew what was happening a second hand grabbed the back of his belt and lifted him bodily off the ground as if he weighed nothing. His protests landed on deaf ears as the bartender carried him out the front door and launched him into a nearby puddle of mudd.
Upon his return the bartender handed her a clean bar towel and gestured for Julia to sit down. She gaped at the man. He returned to serving another customer and left her standing there alone. Flabbergasted, she smiled to herself at how easily this bystander had taken a carefully crafted but very risky plan and cemented it in motion.
She sat down and used the towel to dry herself as best she could.
“Uhhh, now what?” she heard Rosa say.
“It's okay, I've got a plan.” Julia said under her breath so that only the mic could here what she said.
“Julia” DJ said in warning
Just then the game ended and Neros and his group stood to leave. She thanked the bartender and left the towel on the bar as she stood. As Neros approached she turned to him and said. “Excuse me gentlemen, do you mind if I walk out with all of you? You saw what just happened and I'm afraid he's still out there.” she finished looking a little sheepish.
“Sure thing sweetness, we'll take care of you.” He said, looking straight at her nearly exposed chest. “Won't we boys?” he asked the group who replied with a chuckle. “C'mon.” He said, motioning for her to follow. As she fell in step behind him she was fully aware the other three took up positions to her sides and behind her, boxing her in.
Once outside Connor was nowhere in sight, nobody was in fact. “Well, it looks like he's gone. Thank you gentlemen for the escort but I best get home and sleep those drinks off.”
Before she could move the four men closed ranks on her.
“Be careful girl" Rosa said in her ear
“Before you go sugartits, how's about you thank us all proper like.” Neros said before reaching up and grabbing one of her breasts. Julia gasped and smacked his hand away prompting laughter from all 4 men. “Let's go back to my place darling and we'll have a party, just the 5 if us. Bring her.” Two of the men picked her up and carried her bodily to a black SUV in the parking lot.
Neros was already in the driver's seat when she was forced into the back seat between two of the men. The last man getting in the passenger seat. She fought to keep their hands off her as the car drove down the road.
“Stop, get your hands off me" She screeched to the amusement of all four.
“Don't worry honey, soon you'll know what it's like to have me inside you.” The man to her left said, squeezing her thigh for emphasis. When Julia turned to look at him, he kissed her, grabbing her head to force his tongue into her mouth.
She broke away from him feeling dirty. He’d tasted like cigarettes and alcohol. Distracted by the one, she didn't see the man on the other side of her produce a knife. Reeling from the kiss, she wasn't prepared for the jerk and rip as he cut her shirt open down the center, completely exposing her breasts. Each man to her side grabbed half of the remaining shirt tatter and pulled it open. She stared down at herself in shock as the man in the passenger seat bent double to reach back and fondle her left breast. Things were moving much faster than she’d anticipated.
Julia was in over her head and she knew it. She’d expected this, in fact the whole thing was her idea from the start; but the reality of her situation was far more terrifying than she'd anticipated. “No" she screamed with real fear.
“Don't worry sugartits, we're almost there, then the real fun begins.” Neros said
“Julia, we have your signal and we're right behind you. After they take you inside we'll deploy and move in. Stay strong.” DJ said into her earpiece. The reminder that she wasn't alone at that pivotal moment snapped her back to herself.
Just then the car parked and she was hauled into a warehouse of some type. Her kicking and screaming wasn’t an act and she lost a shoe while they manhandled her into the building. Once inside the two story warehouse she was set on her feet and one of the men said “you won't be needing this anymore" before ripping her shirt off entirely. She was surrounded by at least 4 dozen pallets and 4 lust crazed men.
She put her back to one of the pallets and covered her chest. “No” she whimpered then hearing a voice in her ear, she smiled broadly at the men. This change in her demeanour startled them and they paused for a moment.
There was a muffled shout outside the big garage door and she dropped into a kneeling position, her hands covering her head. The garage door exploded inward in a massive conflagration, the shrapnel killing two of the men before they hit the ground and knocking the others off their feet.
The man that'd been furthest from the door rose to his feet pulling a submachine gun from somewhere she didn't see. He opened fire at the now open door. She heard return fire and the ‘thup thup thup’ as several bullets riddled the man's chest.
Automatic fire started shooting from the overhead balcony and a full out firefight had begun. Neros, staying low, began to crawl swiftly away from the door, moving towards the back of the warehouse. Julia went after him.
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She crawled on her hands and knees, wearing only her shorts and a single shoe. Broken glass and years of neglect making the effort to follow both painful and dirty. Once around a corner she stood, kicked off the single shoe and ran, shouting at Neros. He turned to look back at her and was momentarily stunned at the sight of her half naked body closing on him.
When she was right on top of him she leapt into the air, raised a knee and drove her other foot through his chest in a powerful front kick. Neros shot back like a cannon and slammed into the wall nearly ten feet behind him but managed to stay on his feet. Before he had a chance to recover she was already there on top of him. She used her momentum to do another leap, this time placing her hands on his shoulders and driving her knee into his stomach.
As Neros doubled over, Julia punched him in the face with a right hook and followed it quickly with a left uppercut. Before she could get in anymore hits, Nero's pushed away from the wall using his larger bulk to force her back. Before she could evade it; his hand snaked out, grabbed her hair and twisted. She hissed in pain as the pins of the wig were driven into her scalp and her back arched. "Now that's what I'm talking about Sugar Tits. I like a woman with spunk." He said before grabbing her exposed breast and fondling it.
With a scream of rage she twisted away, the wig separating from her head. With the same motion she spun lashing out at his knee with her foot. He stepped back just in time to deflect the kick with his shin and threw a punch aimed at her stomach. Catching his wrist, she bent his thumb back and used the opening to backhand him across the face with her closed fist and followed the motion with another spin, this time driving her elbow into his sternum. As he doubled over for the second time she grabbed both sides of his head and smashed her forehead into his nose, causing him to stagger back.
He reached up and felt his broken and bleeding nose. He laughed and said “You’ll pay for that one Sugartits". He tossed the wig aside and pulled out a knife. He was about to charge her when his eyes fixed on something behind her and she heard a single gunshot. Neros went down clutching his leg.
Julia turned, covering her chest with an arm. DJ’s lanky form appeared out of the gloom, one arm raised holding a pistol on Neros. “I had him,” Julia said, steaming.
Seeing the broken nose on the man and her state of dress, DJ wasn't totally convinced, but he knew better than to argue the point with her. “I know Julia, and you did good.” He said to her, meaning it.
Neros was trying to crawl away while the two were distracted. DJ seeing this, crossed to the man and kicked him over onto his back. He reached down and pulled the shirt off the wounded man and tossed it to her. There was blood on the collar and it was too big but Julia turned away and put it on anyway.
Over the com's Julia heard Big Ben's voice say “That mother fucker just won't stop, permission to introduce him to Mary?”
“Have a blast" DJ said over the mic with a smile. A few seconds later there was a loud explosion overhead. The sticoto of machine gun fire paused but resumed and shortly after there was a second explosion that silenced the weapons fire altogether.
“That's it, we got em" Danny said
“Ya, and we've got crates of coke and guns here too" Dela said
“Lee, any injuries?” DJ said asked over the comms
“Not on our side, I count 6 on the ground, maybe another 3 on the second level. None moving.”
“Alright, Rosa, call the cops so we can hand everything over.” DJ said
“Already done, eta about 3 minutes.”
Julia could already hear the sirens. “You got him?” She asked DJ. After he nodded she turned to leave but Neros voice caused her to turn back.
“Your names Julia, not Crystal? I'll remember that.” Neros laid back and put his hands under his head. “Enjoy the shirt Sugartits, don't say I never did anything for you and oomph". The rest of what he was about to say cut off as DJ kicked him in the side.
Julia left and made it to the entrance to the warehouse as the police arrived. Danny patted her on the back and Dela gave her a hug. Lee gave her a nod of approval and Connor just a smile. As the cops filed in everyone held their hands away from weapons except Big Ben who refused to let anyone touch his precious grenade launcher he’d affectionately named Mary.
Luckily for him the police were fully briefed and none of the team were harassed. It'd happened in the past and she was glad it wouldn't now. She was tired and wanted to go home.
Rosa pulled up in the team's communication van and Julia made a beeline straight to it. She heard footsteps behind her and saw Dela catching up. Julia climbed up into the back and Dela into the passenger seat. “DJ; Dela, Rosa and myself are headed back to the hotel, turning off our earpieces now.”
“Ten-four, good job today everyone. Rest up, you all deserve it. You girls have a good night.”
As they pulled away Julia could see some of the team loading up into one of the other two cars. Reaching back she pulled the earpiece from her ear and pulled the hairline mic from her lower gums, placing both in a tray on the counter beside her. Dela turned around handing hers to Julia to put in the tray as well.
Dela had a serious cast to her face and asked “Are you okay?” After Julia nodded she continued. “That was insanely brave and really stupid.”
Rosa looked back and nodded her agreement. “I give you mad props though girl; I couldn't have done that.”
Julia looked back and forth between the two latinas. They were sisters, Rosa a tech genius and Dela an expert marksman. Without their support Julia would have fallen apart on more than one mission. One thing Julia didn't understand was how she kept putting herself in situations like the one today. Each time seemed more dangerous than the last. Though none had ever come close to the incident tonight.
Dela reached back and handed her a phone. “Thanks" Julia said, noticing she had a voicemail. She pulled it up and listened.
“Hi Julia it's Gwen. I'm flying down to DC tomorrow night to take care of some things. I'm going to stay at your place for a few days, I still have your key. If you have any plans let me know and I'll get a hotel. Hope your doing well. Bye.”
“Anything important?” Dela asked
“It's just my aunt, she's flying into DC tonight, wants to stay at my place.”
“The one that works for the FBI?” Rosa asked, “She's badass.”
“I only have one aunt" Julia said
Dela smiled at her sister and said “We’re flying back tomorrow morning, ask DJ for some time off. Spend some time with her.”
“She's always really busy, but I'll ask her.” Julia smiled. “You guys want to meet her don't you?”
“Hell yes” Rosa said
Dela smiled and said “It would be nice"
“Okay, I'll call her tomorrow and ask her if we can do lunch at some point. “ Julia shook her head smiling.
************
James blinked trying to clear his vision. The series of symbols, words and numbers on the screen were starting to get blurry. After repeated blinking failed to focus the figures on the screen he leaned back to wipe his eyes causing his back, shoulders and neck all to remind him to get up and move around. He was incredibly stiff. Looking down at his watch it read ten thirty. He’d been sitting here working for nearly seven hours without pause. He stretched and his stomach also reminded him it'd been even longer since he’d eaten anything.
The screen was clearer and he decided to finish. Four months of work and he wasn’t going to stop a mere eighty some odd lines from completion. Setting himself back to work it took a little over a half hour to finish. Forwarding the program to the test server he rose and left the room. Most of this section in the Vaedling Cavern’s immense complex was devoted to his work.
Taking a ride up the lift to the main floor of the Royal House, he made his way to the kitchenette only to discover not only was there less than half a cup of coffee left, but it was also cold. He cleaned the pot and prepared it to brew more but left it, deciding to go out and get some food while the test server went over the new program he had just written.
He left the Royal House and made his way into the cavern proper, skyscrapers quickly swallowing him into their midst. ‘This will one day be a booming city’ the familiar thought crossed his mind. Looking down the silent spotless streets he imagined children playing, their parents laughing. He looked up; several hundred feet above him where gardens crisscrossed the latticework of the rooftops and upper walkways. The light shining through was soft and gave the cement foot-roads a gentle glow.
When he at last came to the central spire he stepped inside the elevator waiting for him but before he could command it to rise his phone let out three tones in rapid succession. Perplexed, he pulled it free and checked the message. It was an automated email from the test server; it was already done.
Confused, he quickly made his way back to the computer lab, as he ran his mind fearing the worst, he tried to remember all the details of the coding and any flaws he could have made. Sitting in the chair he pulled himself up to the terminal and began to access the information the test server was sending back. Preliminary coding test, complete, no errors. Secondary sub-sector coding test, complete, no errors. Interaction test, complete, no errors. Alternative decision test, complete, no errors. Problem solving test, complete, no errors.
It continued, all thirty-eight tests he had designed to run it through and not a single error, not one. His hunger forgotten, he extracted the program and fed it to a terminal he had designed specifically for it. Once the program transfer was complete he threw a switch isolating the console. This was a safety precaution in case the program went rogue or turned out to be malicious. In excitement he typed the command to begin it.
After a moment words began to crawl across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hello” he typed back. “I’m James, I created you.”
“Created me? Who am I? Why did you create me?”
“Yes, I haven’t named you yet, you’re welcome to name yourself whatever you like. As for why I created you, that will take some time to explain.” Everything seemed perfect. It had the innocence and understanding of a child at the moment but that wouldn’t last long. It was asking questions and trying to learn. This was a very good sign.