Gizzy sat in her chair as the Gizzy bot sat similarly in the Arcade, legs crossed and cocky as Vicki stood in front of her. She smirked and began a dramatic slow clap.

“Bravo. Fantastic work."

“What does the symbol mean?” she asked.

“Oh, just a little something personal. But I assure you it got their attention. You just saved 3 girls lives, got me a name I can use, and disposed of a body without firing a shot, and nobody saw you leave. All they know is that someone paid well for 4 girls and then mystery man number 1 vanished with the money and the girls and no buyer. Mike sure as shit isn’t gonna mention he saw you and dropped a name, and nobody else knows you were even there. That’s a purist symbol. It’s the sign for the sect of Delmarian that thinks humans belong in slavery. If it’s a rival faction, they will suspect a turf war and assume someone killed the mystery man and stole the product and the money...

If that symbol is the faction I’m looking for, then it looks like a big fuck you middle finger from mystery man, who perhaps was a defector who stole product and killed a customer. Like a last day of work quitting dance. Either way, we get to see who gets pissed off and who doesn’t at the next council meeting. We have 2 purists members that will be very cross with one another and one of them will likely be very angry before even walking in. That tells us a lot of clues. The spray you used made the blood untraceable so they can’t tell who’s blood it is, but it was a LOT of arterial blood spray, so someone never made it home. Good work Vicki.

The 5 of them (Jack, Vicki, Vinn, Nicole and Hyde) gathered in the game room around the now very roomy looking table placement. Vicki sighed and looked worried.

“So does anyone know where Dee is? She asked.

“I thought she was supposed to be meeting up with you?” Nicole pondered.

“I never found her at the club.” she replied, as Hyde played concerned suddenly.

“That’s funny, because she was supposed to be meeting up with whoever loverboy was.” Hyde said with an annoyance in his tone. “So I assume she’s probably in bed with the new guy everyone seems to like so much.”

“Funny you mention that, I did find Claybourne at the club. He had no idea Dee was meeting someone, and he looked for her too. He would have called me if he found her.”

“So then who the hell is loverboy?” Jack inquired.

“Who cares?” Hyde barked. “Loverboy63, a high-tier member of her fanclub, donated a ton of money, and she went out to meet him. If it’s not Claybourne, then it’s some other random guy she ditched him for, for even more money. He's either lying or the real guy is setting him up, and I don't care which. I’m over her gold digging antics. I told her last night she needed to make a choice, and she made the choice, and it clearly wasn’t me, and apparently maybe, it wasn’t even the new guy. Why do we give a shit?” he sighed loudly as Jack glared back.

“Because it’s not like her to go off the grid. No phone contact, no social media activity. If she’s hooking up with fans…literally,” Jack said with raised eyebrows “Then that’s an issue I’m not getting involved with, but if whoever loverboy63 is, isn’t letting her leave or use her phone, then we have a problem I AM getting involved with.”

“Maybe Hyde just pissed her off so much she decided to turn off her phone and get away for a while.” Vinn shrugged.

“You think Dee is putting down her phone for any reason for more than an hour?” muttered Nicole? "And all her social media?"

“Yea, good point.” he nodded.

“I’m going to look for her.” Hyde said standing up “Alone.”

“Like hell you are, I’m going with you.” Jack said standing up too.

“Jack, with all due respect, you can look for Dee by yourself and make more progress than us teaming up. When I find her, I will have words with her that is just between the two of us. If someone has her captive, I'll kill him. If not, fuck them both.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’re doped up, pissed off and not thinking clearly and with your history of violence I don’t want you finding her with another man and losing your shit. I don’t know what you’re capable of, killing him, beating the hell out of her, but I know you won’t just walk away without Dee kicking and screaming on your shoulder.”

“How dare you presume to know me, Jack. If I have words to say to her, that is my right and my business and if me and loverboy63 settle that like men, you have no room to say shit. You’re a killer, Jack. If Vicki was fucking every man in town and left you without saying goodbye, you’d damn sure have words to tell her and a man’s body to dispose of, so don’t act like I’m the villain. If anyone follows me, you’ve started something I will finish promptly. Splitting up makes the most sense. Use your head, Jack. Wherever I look, go the other way and cover more ground. We’ll both check the sex room and the arcade, and at the bouncer junction, I’m going right, so you better choose another direction before we get there.” He said, angrily stomping to the door.

Dee sat in a dark room, mascara staining her cheeks and the edges of the cloth wrapped around her face and between her teeth. Hyde sat down in a chair, facing her and staring silently. He removed the gag and casually lit a cigar.

“Hyde, I’m sorry.” Dee sobbed lightly, keeping her calm as well as she could. “I understand I need help, I have a problem, and I’ve changed my mind.”

“Dee, it’s too late for that, and we both know you’re lying.”

“I just…I get a little out of control and make stupid mistakes and I need a man who knows when to take charge. I see that you aren’t willing to quit on us, and I wanna go home. You’re scaring me a little, I won’t say anything to the others. They won’t understand your point like I do. We can work things out, and you can keep me in my place when I get out of hand. No problem. Let's go home.” She said shakily.

“Dee, this isn’t a lesson I’m teaching you and I don’t believe a word you say anyway. You would turn me in the moment I let you go and rightfully so, because this is not me keeping you for myself, this is not me being possessive and claiming you for my own. This is me making you someone else’s problem and making a lot of money in the process. You fucked up, Dee, and there are consequences for what you do. It’s not punishment or lessons, or teachable moments of clarity. You cheated on the man you were with for over a year and broke his heart, and I was stupid enough to think you wouldn’t do that to me. I thought it was his weakness that drove you to find a better man, but I see that it’s just your nature, and Nathan was just…a weak man lured in by your charms..

I see that because I’ve become weaker, and I fell into the same trap. You use people for what you want, and you throw them away, and now you have made my life problematic. But there is a solution, Dee. You do need someone to control you and tame your toxic running, and sadly when I gave you a chance to come back to me, you made the decision that you didn’t want that to be me. There's no going back after this, is there? Whoever the highest bidder is, I guess can be your problem. I’m free of that burden now. You left me, you leave everyone. You won’t be leaving this one. Men who pay for humans don’t let them leave, so you should think very hard on the fact that you could have chosen me instead, and you chose yourself. You chose your gold digging nature. You said it yourself, and proved it that night. We cannot change who we are, and you are a whore for sale to the highest bidder, and now I’m giving you what you want…the highest bidder of all." he said, patting her head.

Now I will be keeping that money as payment for my pain and suffering, because what I am and cannot change is a monster, a predator who takes what is owed to me and tops the food chain. Nobody down here calls me Hyde. They still see me as The Kraken, and you know what, they’re right. I tried to change, I had a fresh start and a new life, every opportunity to do the right thing and be different, and you know what happened? I fucked up, and then you did. I had my Nicole, everything I wanted, and then we got stuck in here with you and things went to shit, because Dee, don’t you understand? Humans are toxic. You primates destroyed your own planet, and you ruined your own society so badly that most of you were thrilled to get away to a place where humans didn’t rule. You know you’re not capable of it. Even the Osirians know that, but they treat you like their children and their beloved pets. You’re a damn plague, like the bugs infesting this moon.

Humans are not equals, you are the animals. Vicious, out of control and in need of restraint and control, and this gilded, sugarcoated story the Osirians feed you like shit from a silver spoon, is only making you more spoiled. Being trapped with humans has showed me that I was always right. Not because some imaginary gods made us better, but because you just did not evolve right. I lost my Nicole because being stuck with you humans brought out the worst in me, the side I can't rid myself of no matter how hard I try, and it drove her away from me and towards Vinn. Maybe I could have been enough for her, but then you came along and tempted me, and my weakness, this façade of being one of the good guys that made me vulnerable and weak, broke me. You destroyed 2 innocent men with that allure of yours, and I even gave you the choice to walk away and avoid the mistake, I warned you that it was a mistake, and you stayed and begged for it."

“I’m still here, Hyde. Begging now. It’s not too late to fix me.” she pleaded.

“We can’t be fixed, Dee. You said it yourself, we’re not broken, we’re just the way we are. And frankly Nicole was never human, she was always more than that, and I was never good enough for her. I’m glad she found her Vinn, and he’s a better man than I can or ever will be. I deserve less than her, but I certainly deserve more than you. So you will be some poor bastard’s problem soon, and I do hope he handles you well. I wish you the best and I hope he knows exactly how to break you of your toxic ways and make you something better, but I doubt you can be fixed, and I wash my hands of that burden the moment the bidding is concluded. Humans need to learn to submit and accept their place, and I am simply too impatient to be your trainer. I am a soldier, a businessman, and with Gandalf dead and a vacuum of weak men struggling to replace him, this business needs a leader. We are what we are, and the two of us do not belong together. I do hope we both find what we need, but this world doesn’t always work that way. So…we had fun, but I’m officially breaking up with you.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Hyde, please, don’t throw this away. I just needed to understand, that’s all. I get it now. You were so close to changing and being so much more, you can do that for me. We can both fix each other. Don’t give up on us.” She sobbed, struggling to sound convincing through the fear and disbelief.

“Dee, you are not listening, and you need to listen very carefully now and stop arguing like you do every time you open your mouth to anyone.” He said, handing her a tablet. “I want you to write an email. I will be reading it thoroughly for code words and clues, so do not try anything stupid. You’re not clever enough to pull it off. Tell them that you left to be with Loverboy63, and you will visit again soon, tell them someone will be by to pick up your things, and that you found someone wealthy enough to give you what you wanted. And you don’t even technically have to lie, because whoever buys you will have deep pockets at the price I’m starting with. You are graduating to a better place, tell them that. Tell them all a personal goodbye, the real feelings you have, that you'll miss them, and the real feeling that you are sick of being stuck in a box with happy couples in love and stuck miserable with me. Tell them the truth about all of that. And then I will send someone to get your things.

Hopefully your new owner will let you keep them. Your career however as an internet whore is over. It’s poisoning your life, feeding your entitled sense of self deserving delusion that the world owes you and all you need to do is wiggle your ass and everything you want comes to you. How long would that last Dee? How many years could you keep degrading yourself and topping your last depravity for donations before a younger model becomes the new Dee? That is a short term career with hazardous effects and toxic feedback, and you are free of that now. In fact, Dee, because I care about you, I’m even filtering the bidding to the highest quality masters. Men of the caliber who don’t buy a human to torture and kill them, or eat their flesh, men who don’t want a disposable doll to destroy. These are men who value their things and take good care of them. You see? This is not revenge or punishment, and although it is good business, it’s also what you need. You just don’t realize it yet. In a game of livestock and wild game to be hunted, you will be a beloved house pet. That is the best thing a human can be.” He said, petting her head and handing her the tablet.

“How can you give me away? Did you ever love me?” she asked, this time with a degree of genuine truth in her voice.

“No. I liked you. You were fun. But you were always a replacement Nicole, just as I was her replacement, Vinn. Something to fill the void where something irreplaceable was lost unfairly, something that never quite satisfied the void or healed the pain. You were a beautiful distraction and a quality piece of ass, just as you advertise online. Everything you promised. And I’m not throwing you away, Dee, I’m selling you away. There is a difference. You may hate me thinking I’m discarding you to the trash, but I’m simply done trying to pretend you are Nicole, and you need help. I’m solving both of these problems and making a lot of money in the process, and with that money I can get out of that damn cursed house of ghosts and memories and never have to look at the man who was better than me, holding the copy of the woman I lost. I’m freeing us both from that haunted hell of a mansion. Maybe if you grow up and mature, you’ll learn to even be thankful for this some day. Write the damn letter, make it real, make it believable, and don’t try anything stupid that would get one of us killed. Because Dee, I forgive your betrayal…but I don’t forgive betrayal twice. Embrace your destiny, become something better, and stop struggling to remain broken. It would not be the first time I’ve killed someone I once cared for. Death is far less glamorous than destiny.” He said, coldly walking away.

Jack sat in his room, staring at the screen of his laptop and shaking his head.

“It’s obviously not her.” He said reading the letter. “Leaving her things to be picked up instead of coming down to get them? Not giving us an address or name of who she’s leaving to be with? Someone is forcing her hand.” He said, as Vicki paced.

“I agree. She walked into a trap, just like I told her she would one day, with her stupid fans and her trusting nature. Some stalker has her, and she’s not allowed to leave.”

"She is alive, though. The wording of this letter, it’s her writing. She did write this, she wrote it with a script to follow and a lie to tell, but it’s her wording and her feelings. Some of this is the truth, she’s alive and coherent. That means one of two things. Either this person is obsessed with her and keeping her as a pet, or they want money for her return. If they wanted her dead or tortured, it would just be silence and they would have done it. We can get her back, it’s just a question of when and how. Either a ransom exchange, or a tactical takedown, either way we are getting her back and the bastard who has her is going to pay for it, on the spot or shortly after.”

"There are so many fans, Jack. So many crazy people locked up and losing their sanity, thousands of followers, it could be anyone.” She said as a knock on the door diverted their attention. Hyde entered, looking rather cold inside after "searching" for her for hours.

“We’re gonna find her, Hyde.” Vicki assured.

“No, you won’t, because she doesn’t wanna be found.” He said, sighing and sitting in the tiny chair beside the desk, crackling under his weight. He rubbed his eye, pretending to not be wiping away a tear. “Jack, she left us. She left because of me, and I don’t even blame her. Think about it, Jack. She lost Nathan because she cheated on him with me, and then she cheated on me…and then cheated on the new guy within a week. She felt trapped in here. We all do, but she’s been trapped with the man she loved and blew it with, and the man she lost him for, who turned out to be a disappointment…me. I was a place filler Jack, you know that. I’m a bastard and an arrogant prick with a temper, and she traded an older mature man with a career, who accepted her, for my bullheaded brutal ass, and she knew she fucked up. I know because she told me, and because I’ve been there. I lost my Nicole for being like I am and not being Vinn. You think I don’t see them together and hate myself for what I am? I can’t be any better than this, and it’s not even good enough for Dee because I’m a jealous type and won't let her screw around and swap at parties. Dee needs a Silverback, an older, more stable man with money and maturity who will let her be her wild self and then be there when she comes back, and not me, coked out of my mind worried about her and telling hurtful things about her.

Jack, when I last spoke to Dee, we did not shake hands and hug it out. I was truthful, but not gentle with my words. Neither was she. She hates this place, and she hates me, and she’s correct in both. The only thing she wants less than coming back to the prison where she lost her greatest love, is coming back to the piece of shit monster she lost him for and knowing I will be tempted to either tell her to stay or say something in anger that drives her out faster. I’ve been closer to her than you have, Jack…at least I assume I have. You never know with her, I just doubt you would have stooped to the level of cheating we seem to default to here.”

"She doesn’t have to come back here, but I need to see her in person and ask her some questions alone where she feels safe to answer. After that, I’ll accept that this is her doing and none of my business. But right now my gut says something is wrong, and you may be a killer, but you’re not a tactician like me. Our instincts are honed different, and I’m telling you, something is wrong.” Jack said with suspicion.

"I sincerely hope you are wrong, Jack. I believe you are, and your protective nature may be making you paranoid. I have to believe she’s moved on some something better. Can I tell you a secret, Jack?” he asked, looking at Vicki as if to leave. She made her way out of the room.

“I’ve saved up a lot of money. A lot of gambling and some stocks, with a few…inside hints from shady people I know. They money may be a bit dirty, but we all are in this world, and it was saved up to buy Evee a real home some day. When she left me, I thought maybe it would be enough for Dee. Now she’s gone, and I’m still here in this haunted house of ghost exes, and I cannot wait to get out. I’m staying long enough to make sure this situation with Dee concludes in a good way, and then I’m never coming back, and you’ll never have to see my hairy ass again. I’ll be out of all your lives for good, and you don’t have to even nod in passing if you see me in public. I was never one of this clan, I am the ghost of the man who tried to kill half of you, and the bastard that made all your lives complicated, and you all put up with me for Nicole’s sake. She’s moved on, Dee has moved on, I shouldn’t be here.” Hyde said, half truthfully.

“I hope you don’t want me to lie and say, no Hyde, we love you, don’t go. You make everyone here nervous and paranoid, and I don’t know how much of that is our memory of Kraken or our current impression of Hyde, but I don’t disagree with the conclusion. Your severity and your feelings I can’t confirm or deny, but you never wanted to be part of this clan and as long as you never do, you never will be. Seeing Nicole with Vinn can’t be healthy, especially after losing Dee and having nobody else to even serve as a distraction fling. But right now I still believe there is foul play at hand and your mission as a soldier is to finish the job here. So you better stay until this is concluded, and after that, I’ll gladly hold the door for you as you walk away. I never liked you, I certainly never liked your predecessor, but we need the manpower right now to figure out this situation, and you owe it to Dee to make sure she’s safe. So you’re mostly right, now man up and finish the mission.”

“Oh Jack, I assure you with all honesty, I intend to finish the mission before I leave. I have some words to say to the man who Dee is leaving us for, and I WILL have my final say.”

“Either way, I don’t like this.”

Vinn’s eyes grew larger.

“You’re right, I don’t like this.” He said, looking at the test results as he sat with Gizzy in the makeshift doctor's office/confessional/therapy room.

“Your blood is ideal. I can’t help that. Vicki needs about a liter of healthy human blood per day to function normally, double that ideally if she is injured or bleeding out, or very physically active. That is about what it takes to kill a human being, Your blood, however, is 4 times as nutrient rich as human blood, and you could probably lose 6 liters of it and be fine. Hell, you lost almost 7 liters during the Fupar match and ended up fine.”

“Yea, I didn't feel very fine. So if she gets hungry, I’m just the ideal snack? Isn't she venomous?”

"Well yes, but with a strong immunity you should be fine. We could even microdose you to build an immunity to it." Gizzy shrugged.

"Yea, I'm good, let's just not test that out."

“Delmarians are just more nutrient dense creatures; blame your gods for that. She could also just take a 6 ounce bite from your muscle tissue, but I would highly suggest the first option. It’s only if the powdered stuff run out, or she needs a significant fix in a hurry.

“Great. I’m the group dairy cow.”

“Hey, look at it this way. You have 2 good-looking women now thirsting after you and your fancy fluids.”

“Yea, that’s not…really the same thing. Like at all. Nor does it make me feel better."

“I also highly suggest you either take a vial from a vain or just cut yourself and let her drink that way, I remind you her bite is technically nonlethal but until your immunity builds it’s gonna suck...no pun intended. Granted, a guy your size with strong will won’t suffer much risk, but you’ll feel dizzy as hell and you might black out. She’s not actually a vampire in the strictest sense; she has a reflection, silver does nothing to her, she can’t turn into a bat or fly. She’s a human with mutated cancer-killing bug DNA. She’s a bugpire. The bugs have some nasty venom, so does she."