Something Brewing

Back at Riverlye HQ.

“Welcome back!” Instructor Cala applauded as Phesx and Teon finally returned with a van from the HQ. Matías's corpse was brought out in the open with a transparent bag keeping the smell from spreading. The same was for the other traitors, but these were all put together in a large black plastic bag, carried on a large cart behind Matías.

Clap, clap. However, although Cala praised them, and other Artistas clapped for them, they weren’t well-welcomed. The other Artistas had long returned with a lot of things to talk about. Teon wore a tired, down expression, while Phesx silently walked along.

Imán was at the side. His suppressed, heavy breathing was audible everywhere, but nearly everyone’s focus was on Phesx and Teon to notice it. Only Phesx, who looked at Imán for a while as he delivered the corpse, looked at Imán.

Phesx ignored anything else and walked to Pheli with Teon behind him, grabbing his right sleeve, which was bloody and slightly torn, like the rest of his sleeves. Phesx placed his hand behind Teon’s lower back before passing her to Layo, who grabbed the chick and brought her away.

Pheli looked at him up front, holding his hands before also bringing him away to get him clean and washed. She wouldn’t sleep with the odor of somber death in the same bed.

… Half an hour later. Phesx returned to the workshop, with Pheli cleaning him in a bathtub. It had integrated pipes with shampoo, just like dispensers, somewhat looking like it was Phesx’s filth that made the shampoo, but there was just a simple infrastructure for easier access.

Pheli washed Phesx in this bathtub, keeping the water warm, letting it cool off a few seconds before heating it up again. Meanwhile, Phesx just laid back and enjoyed her touch. She scrubbed his body, massaged his limbs, fingers, toes, ears, nose, face…

At some point, Phesx closed his eyes in delight. The bathtub had a pleasant, chemical aroma, but the one from Pheli made him engrossed. He opened his eyes and muttered, “I will request a fast entry to become an Instructor. It should be enough with this mission reward.”

“Good. You will need it with Imán growing angry with you, maybe for the rest of his life,” Pheli said. She finished cleaning his lower body, treating him gently before looking up at him as her hands went to his hair again. “Maybe until both of you kill each other.”

“Mm,” Phesx lightly hummed. Feeling his neck relaxing. Pheli closed her mouth to his right ear before lightly pressing her lips near his tragus. The sensation was tender and full of warmth. The noise she cutely and playfully sounded made him unnoticeably tremble from within, like his neck would break off into bubbles to join the rest below.

“Why do you want to be an Instructor this fast? I know it isn’t just for me,” Pheli said, taking her shirt off. Her collar became wet and warm after just a few minutes in the private booth in the bathrooms. She knelt with a straight back before the bathtub, baring her torso.

Phesx looked at her. He tried to hide his heartbeat under the water, but even new Artistas could hear its hard thumping from the farthest extreme of the bathrooms. He blinked as Pheli got in, standing beside his back before sliding below him.

“I guess it could be a ‘promise’ being kept for… some,” Phesx said. Pheli delicately held his shoulders with her hands, lightly grasping him. Her body supported his in the bathtub. “Oh, I see. Is it from Preut, I presume?”

“Yeah, him,” Phesx spoke dreamily. Pheli smooched the back of his head, not minding the unaesthetic appearance from his wounds. She caressed his wet hair endearingly. Her fingers went to his temples before rubbing the sides of his head.

“One step at a time,” Pheli whispered. “For now, we are only enjoying ourselves. Shhh, listen to my voice, my words are all for you.”

Pheli’s lips protruded forth. Then, she began talking to him, caressing his body and smooching him, making licking sounds, and saying more tender things into his ears.

… The next day, after exiting the main workshop, Phesx left a sleeping Pheli inside, dressing her up a little and locking the workshop on his way out. Then, he went to see Emer.

The entrance was closed, but it opened just after Phesx came to a halt in front of it. Emer was there, eating a slice of hot pizza, with some cheese hanging from his mouth and the slice. Emer was looking at him without surprise from beginning to now.

Phesx walked inside and fell to the ground, spinning halfway through to land on his back. Emer continued eating with his right arm folded on his small but tall desk. After silence prevailed for a few seconds, and Phesx came up with the best intention and was about to say something, the entrance slowly closed.

This stopped Phesx from continuing, but he didn’t give the thought away. He just waited. Once the door was closed, Phesx heard Emer say, “That lass, Teon. Hm. Why don’t you fraternize more with her, huh? You shouldn’t cast her away like you do with the others.”

“Teon? Hm. You spoke better of my Pheli. What’s up with Teon?” Phesx Caolia asked, looking at the ceiling still. Emer finished his slice before speaking with a semi full mouth, “Nothing with her. Nothing with everyone. Nobody’s special. Well, you do have something special as your entire body is, but that makes you special not.”

“Just treat her. You might see,” Emer fluently said. Only then did Phesx feel the old man’s awfully roughened voice, hoarse and somewhat dragged-along because of exhaustion, talked so much. He didn’t say anything and just continued to let the moment carry on, enjoying it, too.

Although he’d prefer all silence until he feels drowsy, where closing his eyes only helped rest, not sleep. Phesx thought for a moment before continuing the conversation, “I have a lot of work to do now, so might as well bring Teon with me, alright.”

“She’s also quite liked in the circle, and by every Instructor. Including that Mel, hm?” Emer bluntly expressed. Phesx blinked before awkwardly saying, “I guess.”

“No, that bad?” Emer asked, but it was more like he was debating with himself. Then, he said, “Kid, you, not caring of others’ business, is fine, perfect even. But not knowing it despite how close they are… are you asking to lose the game? You’d be killed before you know it. Besides, it’ll be the greatest help you will have in the future, if you have one. Whether you believe it now or not.”

“Mn, intel gathering?” Phesx asked, crossing his arms and still looking at the ceiling. Emer shook his head. His voice became a little heavy, “Mm, no. You know how to read hearts, you just selfishly keep it to yourself. Even more, you never share it or experience its fruit. How do you expect to continue like that?”

“Mn, sir,” Phesx respectfully asked. “Did you come back in time to tell me a mysterious beast of unimaginable power resides hidden within my bo-”

Plop. Phesx’s face was attacked by an empty pizza box that was licked clean. Phesx was hit. Emer exclaimed in disgust, “No one will ever see you as a person if you keep talking like that!”

“Hmph,” Phesx didn’t care and just harrumphed. Emer sighed, shaking his head before finishing the rest of the first pizza box of the day. A few minutes later, Phesx finally turned his head to look at the oldie and asked, “Hey, fart of all olds. Would you help me with something?”

Emer suddenly choked in crackles of laughter, spitting some pizza from his lips. Then, he continued biting the slice in his mouth while turning to look at Phesx. His eyes glanced at the piles of boxes at the back before returning them to the boy, soon a young man. “…”

… The same day, a few hours later. Phesx presented himself to the administration zone to claim his reward. He walked in, with Artistas whose colleagues he directly went against in the mission waiting there for him to show up. But despite their glances, he did not look at them and only walked forward, arrived at a desk, and claimed his reward. He wanted to become an instructor. As someone not even a year, let alone 3, as an Artista, that proved difficult to allow.

Regardless, Phesx was told to wait for a response from the HQ, but he wouldn’t have to wait that long. After he left the zone, everyone looked at him with the same dissatisfaction. But now, they were only observers. Who dared to go against an Instructor? Not because of status, but capabilities… and power.

. . .

Days went by, by, and by. 3 months passed since Phesx went to kill Matías in a traitor-chasing mission. Since then, he has been very busy, even asking for a leave from his other jobs, but still got paid each week.

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With the 110,000 credits from the mission, receiving only that extra ‘opportunity’ with no other benefit, Phesx made another 300,000 credits. During these months, besides experimenting with Pheli, trying to find the next step towards a better, improved Comet, Phesx created his own weapons and ammunition with Pheli’s melters, buying components from her dark market sellers.

She was practically his wealthy mommy, although only correlating to having connections. Emer might be a great mentor, but he did nothing to aid Phesx in his crafting or weapons’ making. On the other hand, while Mel mentored Pheli, and Phesx was personally guided by 4 such Instructors, he was never close to either of them.

Relying on his woman’s connections, Phesx built a rifle to his liking, with the model he used in Preut, but with a butt and handle around the trigger and to the sides to suit his needs. Furthermore, it had an extended magazine and a heat-retardant barrel-muzzle.

For his submachine gun, it had less power and accuracy but faster bullet speed. It was a small improvement that could only be so worth it, but Phesx wanted it. Then, he finally built his medium pistol. It took the most time to build, as the dark market had little to no components of these, and Phesx had to keep his expenses super tight, safe from greedy merchants.

With all of this, Phesx’s accumulated 1,072,200 credits over these 3 months went down to 7,200 credits. Indeed, he had bought that void exoskeletal arm, and he did it just at the end of the 10th month. He ordered it based on his needs for one of his arms, which he matched with a few top-notch outfits Pheli specifically picked for him. Phesx didn’t hesitate to use all that money to buy what she got for him.

Additionally, Phesx went on many, many missions that didn’t pay well but helped cover for his weapon making’s expenses. Especially for the medium pistol. Pheli and Phesx ideated a plan. He’d get to know more of Lýmoca besides their circle’s stories and Pheli’s intimate storytelling.

Talks after talking about life in bed were magnificent, especially with Pheli’s soft, seemingly uncaring voice. Always a muse for Phesx to sleep, whether he felt tired, was injured, or not.

To Phesx, the circle became a little detached and cold towards him, all except for Layo, Teon, and Pheli. It was no secret that only the most beautiful women in the circle still treated him as one of their own, when they went to lagj parties in the outskirts or atop some random skyscraper. This gained him a bit of extra discontent from the others.

Phesx appreciated it, though, realizing the importance of… having allies. But it was still not something significant, not for him. Not for now.

Phesx brought Teon along each time, even when they went to Túacan and Pheli couldn’t follow them. Pheli’s job and idea was to bring Phesx as much as possible to everywhere in Lýmoca to help him in understanding the country’s territory.

At least 1 mission per state, but it went better than expected. With Phesx visiting most of the states for 3 missions, with Túacan only 2. Only a few states weren’t in the list, including Proteros. Regardless, Phesx always brought Teon, showing each other a few moves and comprehensions.

They didn’t talk much, as Teon wasn’t so talkative with only males around, and Phesx simply liked the silence of it all. In a way, surprisingly so, they connected well with each other. Pheli also organized many more missions for their circle.

It was obvious why she was doing so, but despite knowing the reason, the others wouldn’t say no to their leader just because of her little lover. Meanwhile, Phesx took some quick 1-group or team missions outside the circle, moving everywhere around Sargonde. It was a state right in the middle from a ‘crossing’ between the west to the rest of the country.

Unfortunately, the government wasn’t advertising efforts with smoke. As time passed, even after the first week, Riverlye saw a wide activity in their state, and so was in others. However, whoever they were, national guard or state police officers, they asked for Riverlye in Sargonde.

Then, in other states, they asked for the respective predominant lagj secret organization. It was, indeed, not a joke. And as weeks passed, there was a time Artistas couldn’t attend parties in the outskirts of the cities, be it Sargonde or near any branches in other states.

Lýmoca’s police was never too large, but placing a few watchful eyes around each ‘known’ club to attend SAs, the so-called named special agents by the netizens of the world, was enough to put their identities at risk.

It was a bit of a blow to some lagj secret organizations, but nothing that they couldn’t grow out of. The people were somewhat excited, expectant, though. What if something sparked out of nowhere, and they saw a gunfight nearby?

Thus, even though the lagjs stopped attending, at least for most, more civilians went to those places. The more days passed with such patrols checking certain places in the outskirts of every city, it would be divulged on the internet and flooded by new clientele.

At one point, the netizens saw the pattern, and on purpose or not, they helped the police forces know of more places like these. At first, they used the internet’s social media to find them before using their methods to learn of other places, including those that weren’t made for partying.

After 2 months, Riverlye not only heard about lagjs branches being discovered and uprooted from the map, they also suffered some losses on the other side of Lýmoca. But they were completely safe in Sargonde, at least for now.

Either way, that was a problem for the higher ups, and Phesx wasn’t even an Instructor yet, much less a year-old Artista. He continued doing his stuff.

The best missions, no matter how boring, were when Pheli went out with him. Teon and Phesx became closer, but nothing compared to one’s love. Besides, Teon was more calm and relaxed around Phesx, but she was also now… a little cute and a trapped small animal in impenetrable black eyes.

Phesx prepared, waiting to be answered about his reward. Nothing had come out after 3 months, and from the 10th to the 11th month, anyone could tell Sargonde grew tense. Bit by bit, more Instructors went out in missions, and not all returned. A few no longer appeared.

Lýmoca was seeing more police activity during the nights, and national guard units showed from the morning to the night. For the first time in 200 years, the country saw the force barely anyone in the populace knew about. It was slowly being unearthed that they only had 1 small headquarters in each state, smaller than the smallest kindergartens.

Now, more were being built, with approximately 10 in each small state, which weren’t many. As for the rest, it was only known that at least double were being built. Furthermore, the special police forces had to aid in protecting the construction of all these.

It was boring, tedious, and frankly insulting, but they still got paid. As this happened, the president of Lýmoca announced the integration of a series of reforms planned out for the stabilization and support to national security and their enforcers.

From here and there, there and here, Lýmoca was clearly welcoming something never seen before. Of course, such reforms would have to first be approved, and that might very well not even happen. Either way, none of that mattered for lagjs, who were also hiding, in the move…

… boink- bonk- boink- creak creak creak creak…

“Ah… gff- aah!” Pheli’s melted body lied on a small study room they rented after ample consideration, in the sheets of a floorbed. After all, they shouldn’t have too much activity in the ordinary world, showing up in hotels and stuff. And if they had to drive 2 hours to get to his home, although a pleasant ride in the Myertha, it would be nuts to continue like that for a lengthier period of time.

Pheli sweated from every inch of her body, hugging Phesx’s neck and butt with her arms and legs respectively. Her eyelids semi narrowed, and her teeth trembled as Phesx strongly held her. Her limbs went limp after a while, but he still bit her neck as she palpitated everywhere with tenderness.

“Ha- gulp- caggh…” Pheli recuperated her breath after a while, feeling his hands go under her back to caress her, comforting her overly stimulated body. Pheli smiled and cupped his cheeks, smiling so immensely beautifully with grace at his face.

“You’re so sticky inside, filling me~,” Pheli’s eyes narrowed a little, turning playful. Phesx embarrassingly grinned, no longer taken so much aback by such straightforward speech. He eskimo kissed her for a while before accommodating himself a little better. He also cleared his throat, preparing to spend some time like this.

Pheli comfortably hugged his neck and threw her head backwards into the bed to let his impenetrable black eyes devour her neck. Phesx couldn’t help smooching it, simply connecting his lips to her soft, vulnerable body. She had no scars, just like Phesx.

After many months using yellow and green medicine, anything Phesx had before dissipated, let alone Pheli, who is a few years older in Riverlye and age, more experienced in the secret world.

“Mmf,” Pheli contentedly exclaimed as Phesx softly returned their mouths to engaging. The slow motions, ardent passion, and emboldened emotions behind their lascivious kissing painted it peaceful and simply loving.

Closed eyes, stretching, arching necks, slightly dancing shoulders, and the artificial morning light hanging from their ceiling could enamor the eyes.

Beep- bep. Phesx and Pheli softly separated their lips, letting their saliva, meat, and skin draw each other out before staring at their phones, with hers placed atop his on a desk’s corner.

“Mwah,” Phesx smooched her lips with a peck, just as Pheli protruded her lips fully forward. He stood up naked and checked his phone while Pheli blushed, looking downwards with her left index and middle fingers on her chin. She felt mirthful, just mirthful.

Phesx read his phone screen and frowned. Pheli remained lying on their floorbed, turning her head with slightly knitted eyebrows, “What is it?”

Phesx Caolia looked back at her and threw her her phone before saying, looking down again, “Something unexpected.”

Pheli read the notice from her phone screen as well, frowning deeper this time. Phesx muttered something while staring vacantly ahead, “Irregular.”

… Dressing up and leaving their ‘little house’, the Phe's went directly to where they were called upon, the Head’s study. There, they saw a line of Artistas on each side of the hallways before turning to the Head’s study. And there he was, with a crazed, combed white hair, tall, and muscular but somewhat slender old man.

“Fox, Snow. Good,” the Head nodded at them before turning around to walk back into his study. Phesx and Pheli exchanged a brief glance before following suit. The entrance didn’t close behind them, but inside were the 4 renown Instructors. Cala, Mel, José, and Bael.

They stood at the side, with 2 chairs in front of the Head’s desk. The Head sit down and offered, gesturing at the chairs, “Sit. We have a lot to discuss.”

Phesx remained silent and unresponsive for 2 seconds, looking around with his eyes before nodding. He walked ahead without looking back at Pheli and sat on the left. Pheli followed him afterwards, sitting on his right…

“Phesx, do you know from where does the ‘lye’ come in ‘Riverlye’?” The Head questioned, intertwining his hands with both elbows atop the desk. Phesx shook his head, while Pheli remained silent, unresponsive. She would watch Phesx decide.

…