It was a beautiful night. Clouds drifted lazily through the air above, obscuring the artificial rays from Luna-2 while shuttles zipped across the city skyline. Looking out the glass wall of the penthouse apartment, Ren sighed to himself. It was one of those rare nights where you could still see some stars, despite the numerous ad-projections trying to peddle their latest anti-aging treatment. Or the very best VR vacation … with happy ending’s of course.
“It’s all so pointless” Ren muttered under his breath, as he took another sip of the expensive whiskey.
He let the premium liquor sit in his mouth for a moment, his taste buds gratefully savoring the deep oaken flavor nuanced with hints of burnt wood. At least the whiskey was good. Ren could forgive a lot of things but cheap whiskey was definitely not one of them. Continuing to stare out the glass wall, Ren turned his sights from the beautiful skyline to the streets below.
Standing this high up in the sky-scraper, the loud cacophony of night life in the city was completely eliminated but his imagination was vivid enough to fill in the blanks. Swallowing the delicious whiskey, his eyes lazily roamed over the throng of people, fighting their way through the crowded sidewalks, on their way to their destinations.
Most of them were likely rushing to establishments specializing in fulfilling a myriad of fantasies, all in the hopes of escaping the drivel of modern life. Here and there he watched as people stepped into bars and VR cafes. He even spotted some seedy looking types hovering close to scantily dressed men and women as they flirted and pulled their marks away from the sidewalks and into dark alleys. It was a 50/50 chance if those poor souls made it back to the streets satisfied or not at all.
The streets themselves were filled with numerous vehicles moving at incredible speeds and following dizzy routes that seemed destined for collision.
Ren snorted in amusement at the thought. Of course the probability of a vehicular collision happening was so infinitely small as to be deemed impossible. This was because, the majority of the transportation vehicles in the city were controlled by the hive mind AI called the Transit Operations Management. Or [TOM], to friends.
‘Great guy really, but he could get long winded once inspiration struck,’ Ren thought to himself. A small smile crossed his lips as he brought the glass towards his mouth for another sip. Just then he heard movement behind him accompanied by the sound of ruffling bedsheets.
“Darling…as much as I am enjoying watching your silhouette, I paid for 24 hours of your time. And I need you to work your magic again” the lady lounging on the bed said coyly.
Turning around, Ren’s lip stretched into his most charming smile as he gulped down the remainder of the delicious whiskey. His eyes roved over her form and he enjoyed the hunger he saw reflected in her eyes.
She was an outstandingly beautiful woman in her early forties. Her face was perfectly framed with waves of curly black hair and her eyes were an amber so deep, it drew you in when she smiled at you. And right now, she wore a mischievous smile on her face as she let the sheets drop a little while beckoning Ren over with her perfectly manicured finger.
Maintaining eye contact, Ren walked up to the bed, gently placing the glass on the nightstand. The woman was practically shivering in anticipation at this point, as Ren leaned over and slowly kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and back, leaning into his kiss and trying to drag him fully into the bed.
“Punish me baby” she moaned loudly as her nails dug furrows into his back.
‘Dammit, I don't need more of her DNA on me.’ Ren internally swore as he skillfully escaped her embrace, grabbing both wrists firmly and locking them above her head. This just made her more excited as she locked her lips against his, eventually moaning in protest when he finally pulled away. Ren flipped her on her stomach, making sure to keep her hands pinned as he leaned in and kissed her just beneath her ear.
“Patience mon fleur … I need to give you a thorough massage first. You’ll get your dessert later,” he whispered, kissing and biting her ear lobes between every other word. Ren watched her playfully wiggle in his grasp before he planted a kiss on her neck and chuckled at the exasperated moan that escaped her lips.
“Fine! You tease!” She said breathily while arching her back towards him. “Just know I’ll be expecting lots and lots of dessert when you are done”
Ren chuckled at her response but his ear perked up as he picked up the tell-tale sound of the penthouse’s main door being opened, two floors below. His hearing was impeccable and he knew for a fact that his lover for the evening had no idea what was going on.
Not sure if it was one of the maids or security personnel going about their business, Ren decided to ignore it for now. Releasing her hands, Ren reached over and tossed the sheets off her back eliciting a quiet gasp as the cold air of the room caressed her naked form. Starting from her neck and going downwards, he planted gentle kisses tracing the curvature of her spine. Along the way, he reached out and grabbed the massage oil he had prepared earlier, and continued making his way downwards. By the time he made it to her feet, she was squirming.
“That tickles,” she giggled when he kissed her ankles.
Ren smiled and applied a generous amount of the massage oil to his hands, rubbing it together for an even coat. Standing at the foot of the bed, he picked up her left foot and applied pressure to the arch of her feet with his thumb, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from her. Over the next few minutes, he worked on releasing the tension in both of her feet and her sighs of contentment turned into moans of pleasure.
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Slowly working his way upwards, he paid special attention to all her muscle groups, working out knots with skillful hands. Ren was rubbing her lower back when he noticed the muffled conversation from the floors below was getting closer, but her moans had grown so loud that any chance she had of hearing the commotion was erased. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs, but there were more sets than he expected.
‘Oh? This just got more interesting’ Ren thought while increasing the pace of his administration on her.
The sounds of muffled laughter seeped into the room from the hallway and moments later, Ren heard the bedroom door open as a tall man in a pinned striped suit stumbled inside with two women snuggled up on either side of him. The threesome took a couple steps into the room before the man’s eyes widened in surprise as he finally made sense of the sounds coming from the bed. Ren watched the man’s expression flicker between confusion and surprise, before settling on anger.
“Stacy!!! What is the meaning of this?” he bellowed in outrage once he noticed the undressed state of his wife. The veins on his head were bulging and his face was getting more red by the second.
Ren stopped his massage, stepping aside and giving Stacy the chance to cover up or provide an explanation if she so wished. Surprisingly, she did neither. Instead she moved into a seated position and picked her drink off the floor before responding back to the man.
“Adam, it's exactly what it looks like.” she replied coldly while glancing at the ladies standing awkwardly beside her husband. “And I could ask you the same question”.
“... Touche” he gritted out while staring at his wife for a few seconds more. Ren couldn’t help but snicker at the absurdity of this clown show. Apparently Adam took offense to this because he turned his frosty gaze towards him and growled out:
“The hell are you laughing at? This is funny to you?” Adam barked furiously. “I think I will have to make an —” he suddenly stopped as he began spurting blood from his neck. Two more daggers flew through the air and lodged themselves into the eye and neck of the women standing on either side of him.
“Argh!!!” Stacy screamed as she struggled to back away from Ren. “Please don’t kill me. I promise I won't say anything. I don't even know your name!” She pleaded while her husband lay on the floor drowning in his own blood. Tears and snot streamed down her lovely face as she curled into herself, her muscles tense in absolute fright.
Ignoring her whimpers, Ren reached over and cupped her face firmly in his hand, shaking his head in disappointment at the trembling mess she had become in a few seconds. He reached up, making her gasp in pain as he plucked a few strands of her curly black hair. These would make for a nice new offering for his growing collection. But first, he had business to take care of.
Pocketing the strands, Ren threw Stacy back on the bed and walked up to the dying Adam to retrieve his favorite knife. It was a large blade, about 8 inches long, with a wicked edge that tapered into a sharp point on one side and a serrated edge on the other.
Holding the hilt of the knife, Ren made sure to twist and nick the dying man’s carotid arteries on the way out. No sense in leaving loose ends. Humming in pleasure at having the golden hilted blade in his hands once again, Ren wiped it clean using a spare rag while murmuring sweet praises to it for a job well done. All the while Stacy kept sobbing behind him on the bed, begging him to just go away.
Suddenly, Ren found himself flying through the air and crashing into a dresser, as a loud buzzing sound accompanied the sound of broken furniture. He had managed to turn slightly in the air while being thrown forward by the unexpected force, so he had a clear view of Stacy’s outstretched hands gripping the source of the attack.
She must have grabbed the pulse pistol from the bedside safe while he was momentarily distracted caressing his prized Knife. This must have been the first time she used the weapon on another person because she stood frozen, a mixture of horror and surprise on her face. Horror at what she had done and surprise that Ren wasn’t dead.
Stupid.
She should have continued emptying the magazine to confirm the kill. Unfortunately for her, Ren was not exactly human. Of course he had flesh and blood but they were made of engineered components, and their main function was to make other humans comfortable around him. In his opinion, his best attribute was hidden underneath his handsome facade, where an even more gorgeous core existed. The core was a miracle of modern science and it housed a 25th century military grade Artificial Intelligence that made Ren well, Ren.
Ren tsked in irritation at such a waste of an attack as he extracted himself from the broken pieces of furniture he was buried under. If she was going to attack, why not go with the classics? There was a lovely letter opener within easy reach that Stacy could have used. It wasn’t the sharpest blade in the room, but it was an exquisite piece of craftsmanship and it was screaming for some attention. It would have been just as useless as the pulse pistol, but Ren would have respected her more for it. As it was, she had just sealed her fate. She would be dying tonight.
Sighing in disappointment, Ren reached into his pockets and reluctantly pulled out the black strands of her hair he had pocketed earlier, letting it drop to the floor. As the strands drifted towards the rich mahogany floor, Ren rushed towards Stacy dodging two more shots before grabbing her by the neck and disarming her. She was kicking furiously and trying to dig her fingers into his hands while he tilted his head to the side looking at the emotions in her eyes. He always wondered why fear was always the predominant emotion for humans in these situations.
While he understood the emotion, and could easily emulate it, he didn't see why she bothered with it at this moment since she must know the inevitability of what came next. Ren Increased the pressure of his hands and felt her neck snap. He then stabbed her through the eyes to confirm the kill. She wouldn’t be telling anybody anything.
Ren let her drop to the floor and then began cleaning and re-positioning the bodies. Once that was done, he retrieved the lesser daggers he had thrown during the brief engagement and planted new weapons to confuse the crime scene investigators about the exact series of events that occurred in the room. Perhaps they would suspect the prostitutes beside Adam were his accomplices in the man’s murder. Of course this would only hold up for the preliminary findings. With current technology, it wouldn't be long before that theory was thrown out the window.
But Ren didn't mind. That was the whole point of this mission. His orders were to neutralize Adam, the CEO of a Special Weapons Contracting firm, and make a statement with his death. Everyone else was just collateral damage.