Living in the Shadows: IC, Jan 8th-14th Options

[grendel]

20:03:27 Friday, 12 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

"Hey, not sure how you got this number, but if you're one of the party girls then tonight's your lucky night!" The voice on the other end of the line is husky and masculine, full of self-assurance. Mac's mind filled in the details of his face: a strong jaw and aquiline nose, a straightforward gaze with warm eyes, but a smile that could turn calculating. It was a face she'd seen dozens of times. Unconsciously her voice lightened, her tone and inflection becoming more feminine.

"I'm down to party, sugar," she replied. "I can go all night if the price is right."

An eager chuckle filled the line. "Well we'll see about that. Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way. Ask for Will Williamson. Can you make it by 2200?"

Mac fed the address into her commlink, a small measure of relief filling her when it spit out a destination only a dozen kilometers away, just north of the border between Tacoma and Downtown Seattle. "I'll see you then," she purred, closing the call.

[Vegas]

20:10:41 Friday, 12 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac closed the distance she put between her and the rest of the team quickly, Kovacs and Tristan turning their eyes expectedly towards her and she answered with a simple nod.

"I've got the in, but it's on an extremely accelerated timetable. Hotel Paradise in just under two hours from now. How do you want me to play this, I mean, what do we need from him to help us the most on the inside?"

She closed her eyes slowly, blinking away the fatigue that threatened to take hold, trying to remember the last time she pulled a night like this.

"He sounds a lot like your typical young party boy mixed with a healthy dose corporate arrogance." She shrugged slightly not knowing anything about "Will" beyond that. "It's not far from here, but I'm going to have to get ready."

She gestured to her jeans and t-shirt. "This isn't going to get me through his front door. It's your call guys, what do you need me to do?"

[grendel]

20:14:09 Friday, 12 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Tristan glances at Kovacs, who shrugs. "It is Friday night, after all."

Drift disappears into the back of the Roadmaster, then returns a minute later with a slim black case, slightly larger than a pack of Mac's cigarettes.

"It's a keycard copier," he explains in response to her look. "Switch the power on here and when the LED goes green swipe his corp ID, through. Shouldn't take more than thirty seconds. It'll give us a leg up on their access encryption. We can get the ID to Isomer an he can mickey up a couple more keycards that'll get us through the gate."

Mac hefted the unit before glancing at Kovacs. The tall samurai nodded. "Go get ready, I'll drive and cover you while you're inside."

[Vegas]

20:52:38 Friday, 12 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac opened her mouth to make a quip about how it wasn't going to be the kind of a party she could bring a date, but stopped herself short as she knew there was no way Kovacs would let her get near the place alone. She settled for a nod of acceptance before she made her way back to to her things, rummaging around and pulling out strategic pieces of clothing, makeup and specifically a small teal box setting each one on the cot in front of her. She tried to settle into an accelerated version of her old routines knowing she was working against the clock. Only this time was different and the stakes were higher, and yet she carefully placed her Browning and its holster beside her bag with no intention of bringing it along.

Adrenaline ran through her as she changed clothes, each piece she slipped on picked for a particular reason, with a specific effect in mind. The skirt was short, the silk halter the same one she had worn to lunch with Kovacs, the heels were high. She brushed out her hair and kept her makeup classic but defined. She needed to catch and keep her mark's attention for the evening, at least until she could get his security card. She dabbed on her favorite perfume and her ritual was complete and she found peace in that routine as an almost predatory smile curved her glossed lips.

Opting for an insurance policy outside of the assassin who would have her back, she turned her attention to the box of chips, street drugs and other dark novelties. She opened the box and hesitated for a moment before cherry picking a few things and tucking them into the small clutch beside the key card copier, her cigarettes and cherry gum. She slipped around her wrist and zipped closed. Straightening the hem of her skirt she walked back out to the group, the sound of her stilettos against concrete hiding the slightly excited breaths she took.

Sliding up along side Kovacs, she reached for her coat and turned her face towards him.

"Are you ready, or is there anything else we need to do before we go?"

[grendel]

20:57:26 Friday, 12 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs shook his head. "Nope, let's roll."

Tristan followed them over to the truck, looking unhappy but smart enough not to say anything about it.

"Keep 'em tracking while we're gone," instructed Kovacs. "I'll have a line open. As soon as I know a clearer return time I'll update you."

"Be careful," advised Tristan. The heavy diesel of the truck drowned out anything more he might have said, and Kovacs backed from the warehouse into the street. Silence filled the cab, and Mac shifted uncomfortably. Just a week ago what she was about to do would have seemed so familiar and boring, but now was subtly wrong, alien and out of focus. Not even her usual outfit was enough to settle her nerves, feeling ill-fitting and different. She glanced over at Kovacs, trying to read something in the mask-like set of his jaw. But his face betrayed nothing, and she knew better than to try and divine something from his inhumanly alert eyes.

After a moment, though, she felt his hand cover hers where it rested on the center console between the bucket seats, his long fingers curling about her palm in a gentle squeeze. She squeezed back, and felt her shoulders relax. The truck rolled on into the night.

21:51:49 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

It hardly qualified as paradise. The hotel was a squat, two story affair, arranged in a large U shape around a central parking lot. The office at one end rented rooms by the hour, payment deducted from a credstick slotted in an external reader before a keycard was slid through the armored slot in the plascrete structure. Mac had seen a hundred motels just like it, their rooms all uniformly anonymous and similar. She fidgeted, resisting the urge to check her make-up in the mirror of the visor one more time. She and Kovacs had been sitting in the parking lot for fifteen minutes already, watching and waiting.

Six minutes ago, a black Toyota Elite sedan pulled into the parking lot, incongruous in the neighborhood but not that out of place at a destination which was clearly designed for illicit rendezvous. The man who exited fit her mental image of Will Williamson well enough: early thirties, full head of carefully coiffed hair, expensive, well tailored suit. He didn't bother with the office, clearly a regular visitor, instead going directly to room 14.

Kovacs glanced at Mac. "Keep your commlink open. If you say my name I'll be through the door in ten seconds flat."

[Vegas]

21:58:22 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac nodded slightly, far too aware of what would happen if she did have to say his name. She closed her eyes to the instant flood of memories from the night they met, her mouth going dryer then it had been already.

“Let’s hope I don’t need you to play the knight in shining armor tonight.” Her voice was flat and distant with no trace of her usual playfulness or bravado. She drew a deep breath and let it go slowly through slightly pursed lips once, and then a second time.

Mac reached for her clutch, but instead of reaching for the door she opened her bag and plucked a small foil pack from its depths, tearing it open with her teeth before carefully removing its contents. She made sure the protective backing was in place of the hair-thin dermaplastic patch before she raised her hips up off the front seat slightly and slipped the patch between her skin and the hint of red and black lace beneath her skirt.

“My personal insurance policy,” She offered in explanation in the half-light that filled the truck’s interior.

“Now or never, right?” She glanced at the time before she reached for the door and stepped out into the parking lot. She pulled her coat around her against the chill of the night air, leaning back into open door of the cab. “Watch your back out here too, I’ll try to make it quick.”

She stepped away from the truck without another word and firmly shut the door as she made her way towards the front office instead of making a bee-line towards Room 14. She’d play the game by Will’s rules, for the time being anyway. Once she was inside the office, she brought her cold fingers to her lips as she carefully looked around the bleak space. The open line between her and Kovacs crackled slightly in her ear, reminding her just how awkward this situation was about to become. She managed a grim smirk as she stepped her way to the dirty, scratched ballistic-resistant plastic window where a kid who was barely her own age looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. She knocked against the plastic and feigned boredom by inspecting her nails.

“I’m looking for a Will Williamson?”

[grendel]

22:03:19 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

The greasy, overweight clerk barely visible through the scratched and stained glass gestured towards the row of rooms to Mac's right.

"Room 14, sweetmeat."

Mac smirked, turned, and made her way down the line of numbered doors until she could knock on the panel stenciled 14. After a few seconds, the door opened, giving her a close look at Will Williamson. He was simultaneously familiar and alien to her, the toned body beneath the bone pale collared shirt and expensive gray slacks was the product of a diligent regimen of diet and exercise, the smile that didn't reach his eyes the practiced gesture of corporate training. She'd seen a hundred just like him in her lifetime, each with a similar fake name, each paying in certified cred to share an hour or two with her in an equally run-down motel as this one.

"C'mon in," gestured Will, stepping back to give Mac a path into the small room with its single queen bed.

[Vegas]

22:11:27 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac let her eyes rove across the small space before she accepted the invitation and stepped inside the room. She let her fingers trail over the expensive fabric of his shirt, feeling the muscle that was hidden beneath as she brushed past him. She casually slipped out of her coat, tucking her clutch inside a sleeve before tossing it on the small chair nearest to her, giving him a great view of her from behind that was filled with skin, a tight skirt and heels.

“So are you ready to party sugar?”

She purred as she looked back at Will from over one shoulder. She slowly turned to face him, casually looking up at him from beneath her lashes, carefully and methodically attempting to push all the right generic buttons with him until she figured out exactly e what he was into and then how quickly she could get out of there. Mac slipped into her old routine easily enough, feeling herself detach from herself and go into the headspace so she could get through the night ahead of her. The look on her face was adoring and happy on the surface as her mind was calculating all the ways she could get the upper hand on her mark without raising too many suspicions. She crossed the remaining distance between them and laid her hand against his chest as she continued to look up at him.

“Because I’m definitely ready to party and I think the two of us could have a lot of fun together.”

[grendel]

22:19:43 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac found Will's eyes on her, his gaze hungry yet cool.

"You can knock off that 'sugar, baby' sweet talk," he said in an even tone, closing the door. "You and I both know this is business. How much for an hour of your time?"

"Five hundred," replied Mac, effortlessly slipping from one persona to another in response to her john's statement. The slim corporate official rummaged through the pocket of his coat before coming out with a slim certified credstick which he tossed her way.

"Done. First, make me a drink. Jack and coke. Then get rid of those clothes so I can see what we're working with."

Mac felt the slow burn of anger start somewhere inside her, and she forced an even smile to her face, dipping her head in response to his demands in order to mask the dangerous emotions glittering in her eyes. Crossing the room to the tiny utility table, she popped the top on the can of soda, filling the glass half full before emptying two of the small shot bottles of Jack Daniels. Delivering the glass to Will's hand, she stepped back, reaching for the hem of her shirt.

"Wait," he instructed, swallowing a mouthful of drink. With his other hand, he flipped the trideo on, selecting a music station from the list featuring heavy house beats. Tossing the remote aside, he reclined on the bed.

"Make it a show."

[Vegas]

22:26:17 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac bit her tongue hard enough to nearly draw blood to keep herself from lashing out with a few choice words and in the same moment she silently cursed herself for not having something she could have slipped into his drink. A smirk ghosted on her lips for an instant at his choice of music for her expected striptease. She knew she would need more than just an hour with him to complete her task so she could continue to ply him with his choice of drinks and if she was lucky her own drugs of choice.

She tossed the credstick on top of her coat after she made no attempt to hide verifying the balance. In the corner of her vision she started her own countdown, ticking each second off. She closed her eyes for a moment and turned her back to the bed with a slow sway in her hips. She was no stranger to dancing for her clients, or dancing in the various clubs so she chose to lose herself to the music as she complied with Will's request. Mac took her time as she gave him the show he had asked for and removed her clothes, letting them pool at her feet until she stood at foot of the bed, clad in only her tall black heels.

She looked up towards him from beneath the veil of dark hair that fell around her face as her body continued to move with the music, moving herself along the edge of the bed until she danced just out of the reach of his fingertips. She played the game as well as the best of them, the cat and mouse, the push and pull of the power struggle.

"Do you approve of the merchandise?"

[grendel]

22:29:48 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

"Indeed, if the ride is as good as the show, then it's worth the price." Will eyed her up and down, lust readily apparent on his face. He reached out but Mac slid back, her hips still swaying to the beat. His eyes narrow, his lips curving again with that cold, hungry look. Sliding off the bed, he moved to stand in front of her.

"Undress me," he instructs, his voice level.

[Vegas]

22:43:19 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac closed the distance between them with a single step and brushed her body against his as he made his request. She bit her lip as she raised her hands to the simple collar of his dress shirt, nimble fingers making quick work of the button just below the collar. Her breath was steady as she stole quick glances up at Will’s face as her fingers worked lower, releasing each button slowly before her fingers glided across his skin, pushing the shirt open wider.

He was like most of the suits who paid her for sex, his needs and wants in the bedroom an extension of his power in the boardroom. Men like him who liked to show their control, make their demands of the girls who came to their rooms. Will was going to make this easy for her, asking her to undress him. Once she came across his keycard, likely in the pocket of the grey slacks he wore, she’d be sure to lift it and set it aside for when either she was left alone as he cleaned up, or she could swipe the card without getting caught. The thought caused a slight smile that pulled at the corners of her lips as she pulled the tails of his shirt from his pants.

She could feel his eyes on her, watching each move she made, anticipating each touch or brush of her fingers with that same expression of need that he had when she danced for him. She sank to her knees before him, fingers deftly unbuckling the strip of soft Italian leather at his waist, pulling it from the loops of his slacks and tossing it onto the bed beside them. She placed her hands at Will’s waist, running them down over his hips and the expensive grey fabric that made up his pockets trying to discern if her bounty was contained in either of them. She brushed her forehead against the muscles of his thigh before she brought her fingers back to the waistband of his pants.

Mac worked painfully slowly, teasing whenever she had the opportunity as she started with the button and moved to the zipper, peeling back the expensive material from his hips and guiding it to the floor. Almost instantly she felt his hands in her hair, pressing down against the top of her head as he stepped carefully out of his clothes. She used the moment of setting his pants aside to palm the contents of his pockets and tucking them out of sight for her to get her hands on later.

She rose up fully on her knees before him, using his hips as leverage as she pushed him back towards the bed until he was seated on the edge. Mac snaked her body up between his legs, her breath hot and moist against the sensitive skin of his inner thigh. Her hands reached up and pushed his dress shirt off his shoulders, trapping his arms in the sleeves for a moment, letting her bratty streak get a little of the better of her as she showed him he wasn't the only one with control. She let his arms go the moment she saw his eyes darken and a sadistic smile of warning play across his lips.

She finished her task with a little more speed and mild curiosity, her eyes appraising every inch of him as she worked. Once they were both stripped bare, she sat back on her heels at this feet and licked her lips slowly.

"So tell me, what games do you want to play."

[grendel]

22:57:33 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Will tangled his hand in Mac's hair, pulling her up on her knees.

"The kind of games where you use your mouth for something other than talking," he replied, a dark eagerness to his face. He showed no signs of having noticed her slipping his keycard beneath her clutch while taking off his clothes, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief, once more finding herself on familiar territory. Reaching in to the slim black bag, she pulled an unlubricated condom out and unwrapped it. These were the best to use when giving head. Trapping the tip of the condom in her lips, she used her mouth to roll it on, a smooth practiced motion that brought a groan to Will's lips. As with her earlier dance, Mac teased him, drawing out the pleasure. If she had any hope of success, she had to ensure that afterwards he was tired enough to miss her copying his ID and replacing it.

As Will's fingers gripped a fistful of her hair, she thought about Kovacs, about the last time they shared each other's bodies. She remembered his hard grip on her flesh, the calluses of his left hand almost as unyielding as the smooth synthetic of his right. She could see the silent energy in his eyes, and feel the trade between them, how seamlessly he had taken control as she had surrendered it. Her body shivered at the memory, moisture growing between her thighs. Despite his clearly athletic nature and careful fitness regimen, Will was a pale substitute for the lover that waited for her outside.

[Vegas]

23:08:01 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Mac squeezed her eyes shut while her mouth continued to work, shutting down that train of thought before it got her in trouble. With each stroke of her mouth she felt her walls going back up, the cold detachment well practiced from five years in countless hotel rooms like this one with men just like Will.

The constant bass track that continued to fill the room was now accented with Will’s increasing sounds of pleasure and enjoyment and an occasional, but hardly authentic one of her own just to keep encouraging him along. She had to give the guy credit on his stamina as she relentlessly brought him to the edge of his release and backing off just enough to get him to tighten his grip in her hair and force her back down until she picked up again.

She was on autopilot now until she could make him come or he decided to change the game. IT freed her to think about the more important things, like just when would be the most opportune time to copy the card or if she thought he would even leave her alone. Formulating a plan in her head to manage either outcome Mac drew her nails down the tops of his thighs, eliciting a welcomed sharp draw of breath that escaped in a hiss from his lips. She had him where she wanted, and she’d just lightly have to push a little further to end their escapade on a high note, at least for him.

In the corner of her vision, the clock continued to countdown second by painfully slow second.

[grendel]

23:16:47 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

Will stepped back and used his grip in Mac's hair to push her face down onto the bed. He was behind her and inside her immediately, his hips slamming into hers with bruising force. She grunted as he pulled back on her hair, using his grip as leverage. She dug her fingers into the bed covers, the armor of her soul disconnecting her from what her body was feeling. She used her body, though, tilting her hips up and squeezing down with her muscles to speed the process. He didn't last long, six or seven minutes at most before she felt him tense, a long guttural groan spilling from his lips as he spent himself inside her.

Mac felt him stagger back a step, and watched from the corner of her eye as he ran a hand through his hair. She let herself relax against the bed, feigning satisfaction. Will ignored her for the most part, taking another swig of the drink she'd mixed for him and rooting through his jacket for a packet of cigarettes. Tapping one out, he lit it with an expensive looking designer lighter before stepping into the bathroom. Mac snaked off the bed quickly, diving for her clutch while keeping watch on the bathroom door. She heard him start to urinate, and used the sound to mask her movements. Retrieving the flat case Drift had given her, she slid Will's ID out from its protective plastic covering and slid it through the strip reader. A pale green LED flickered to life, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Quickly she replaced both the plastic cover and the ID in Will's pants pocket.

[Vegas]

23:37:28 Friday, 12 January 2063 - Hotel Paradise, 7120 Richardson Way, Downtown, Seattle

By the time Will stepped back out of the bathroom, Mac was already on her feet, slipping back into her silk top and gathering her things. The look on his face was something akin to surprise to see her still standing there, and that was enough motivation for Mac to grab her coat, her clutch and her cred while making a bee-line for the door. The less time she needed to spend in his presence and the sooner she could get cleaned up, the better.

She didn’t pause as she stepped outside into the chill night air. Never looked back towards the door to room 14. Her heels clicked on the asphalt as she walked quickly towards the opposite end of the parking lot. She heard the locks on the truck disengage as she approached, pulling the door open and climbing up into the passenger seat without so much as a glance in Kovacs direction. She opened her clutch, pawing through the small space to pull out the card copier and offered it over to him while staring out the front windscreen.

Everything in her head was upside down and backwards. She hadn’t felt this way in overfive years, since Wayne had been responsible for turning her out to The Stable’s clientele. Mac delt with the torrent of emotions she was feeling the only way she knew how, by shutting down and shutting out everything around her and right now that included the one person sitting beside her who could without knowing it, make everything “okay” again in her head. But it wasn’t even close to the right time to even ask that of him, to beg him to make her hurt, to feel. Instead she sat stone faced and silent in the front seat of the truck as the pair pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the surface streets.

They were about halfway back to the warehouse when Mac finally spoke, her voice both soft and distant, it sounded foreign even to her own ears.

“I’d like to get cleaned up before we get back. Somewhere I can grab a shower.”

She knew however, no amount of hot water and soap would remove the way she felt at that moment.

[grendel]

00:02:28 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

"Sure," said Kovacs, his voice full of a cool calmness that did little to settle Mac's nerves. The truck changed course, taking an exit off he freeway. She didn't even know where they were in between the hotel and the warehouse, lost in her own thoughts. The ambient road noise insulated her from reality, drawing thick curtains about her. It wasn't until the motion of the truck ceased that she emerged from the dark concave spiral of her mind. Numbly she stepped out of the truck and followed Kovacs to a bank of elevators. They exited on the fourth floor, turning right down the hall. It wasn't until after Kovcas keyed in a code to the door and showed her inside that Mac paused to wonder where they were.

The tall samurai shrugged out of his coat, tossing it on the couch amidst a cloud of dust. "Wait here."

Mac glanced around at the layer of dust on the surface of everything a cleaning bot couldn't reach, the impersonal anonymous decorations, and generic furnishings. The sound of running water reached her ears, and she looked down the hallway to see Kovacs emerge and rummage through a narrow closet before withdrawing a towel and washcloth. She remained still, a numbness gripping her. When he returned, he took her hand and wordlessly led her down the hall.

The bathroom was small, but had a full bath, one that was filled with steaming water. She turned to look at Kovacs, who gave a slight shake of his head. Moving slowly but surely he undressed her, removing her top and her skirt. The raw feelings of vulnerability rushed back in on her, and she began to shiver uncontrollably. Kovacs slipped his arms around her, his hands warm against her skin. Mac took a shaky breath, steading herself. With his help, she stepped into the water, gasping at the heat. Slowly, she sank into the bath, giving herself time to adjust. Hugging her knees to herself, she rested her head on them.

Kneeling next to the tub, Kovacs soaked the washcloth before adding a swirl of body wash. With slow, gentle sweeps he carefully washed Mac's skin.

[Vegas]

00:07:47 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

It was the simple act of gentile kindness that broke her. Being used, even being physically hurt she could handle, occasionally enjoyed even. But someone genuinely caring for her with no ulterior motive however was too much. Mac squeezed her eyes shut tightly against the floodgates that threatened to open as Kovacs carefully brushed her hair off her shoulders as the warm water cascaded down her back.

In her head she was screaming, but her voice was just above a whisper in the near silence of the small room.

"Stop, please. I... Can't."

She shook her head against her knees as she felt Kovacs pull his hand away from her back. When she finally lifted her head and managed to look at the street sam, her eyes spoke volumes while her lips never moved.

[grendel]

00:09:28 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs rocked back on his heels as Mac stared at him, his face unreadable. He had never mastered the delicate interplay of relationships. He knew that he frustrated any woman who'd ever made the effort, and although he could be friends as well as friends with benefits, there was never a long term option. It just wasn't in his nature. But for all that there was something about this girl that pulled at him, something irresistible about her broken beauty, her damaged soul an echo to his own. He'd heard silent, bitter laughter in his head as he listed all the cliche things about them. And yet he'd gone back for her, again and again. Broken his rules for her. Equipped her. Started to train her. Consciously or not, he'd begun to arm her with the abilities and gear necessary to survive a life with him.

Reaching out, he closed the human circuit with her again, the synthetic of his right arm cool against her warm skin. He tilted her face up to him, leaning in close until he was breathing into her mouth. He could feel her body alternating between tension and surrender, the conflict raging through her.

"I have washed away all that was before," he whispered, his eyes holding hers, a fierce possession in his gaze. "I have wiped clean everything before this moment. Now you are only for me. Now you belong to me."

[Vegas]

00:11:56 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

Despite the heat of the water that surrounded her, it felt nearly ice cold in comparison to the heat that burned through Mac’s body at that very instant. She held his gaze for what felt like an eternity as nineteen years of experience was trying to convince her that this was a bad idea. Even Kovacs himself had told her when they met that there would come a time that she couldn’t trust him, yet she knew that he wasn’t saying these things to toy with her emotions. Somehow this unlikely pair filled in each other's voids, satisfied their needs in ways no other could. Her breathing slowed, her fear causing it to release irregularly, stuttered against his lips.

Mac finally closed her eyes and found herself nodding her acceptance, crossing the line into territory she had never found herself in before. Admitting that her life was no longer just her alone, that with him was where she wanted to be, no matter the cost.

She leaned into him, fusing their mouths together with a hunger she hadn’t felt before. The spark of energy that passed between them threatened to burn through every inch of darkness that consumed her.

[grendel]

00:33:09 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs drew Mac too him, never breaking the kiss. Her hands slid beneath his clothes as she writhed against him, hunger moaning loud in the soft silence of the room. He was abruptly naked, only dimly aware of having shed his clothes at some point, and Mac sat astride his lap, lowering herself onto him with a soft exhalation. Their bodies coiled together, a desperate tenderness suffusing the air. Her eyes, dark and luminous in the half-light, swallowed his gaze, unspoken words hanging in space around them as her hips rocked in time with his. Mac grappled herself to Kovacs, winding her arms about him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. A strange intimacy filled him, a sense of rightness about them, about how their bodies fit together, about how their lives intertwined.

Mac gasped, her body trembling in his grasp as passion overwhelmed her. The feeling stole away his own control, and he crushed her to him as he rode out the wave of pleasure. For long moments neither moved nor spoke, their bodies warm in the coolness of the room, each breathing the energy of the other.

[Vegas]

00:39:41 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac was in no hurry to move from Kovacs' embrace, to return to the cold starkness of the warehouse, half convinced everything they just shared would evaporate the moment they stepped outside the walls of the apartment. She finally raised her head from his shoulder long enough to catch the look on his face for an instant before she brushed her lips softly against his with a coy smile.

She forced herself to untangle her arms from around him, knowing that she was only delaying their inevitable return to the rest of the team. Reluctantly she started to get dressed, wishing she had brought a change of clothes instead of having to put back on what she had picked out for Will.

She ran her hands through her hair as she watched Kovacs get dressed himself. She stepped back up in front of him when he was finished, entwining the fingers of her right hand with his left as she looked up at him.

"Thank you for being worth breaking all the rules for."

[grendel]

00:44:29 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 6082 Davidson Blvd Apt 4D, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs lifted Mac's hand with his, drawing them closer and rotating it so he could press his lips to the back of it.

"Some things are worth it."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile that encompassed all the troubles that beset them ever since they came into each other's lives. Then, with a last shrug to settle his coat, he led her from the apartment and back into the night. The chill air embraced them, the wind carrying faint flakes of snow that didn't last the trip to the ground. Mac shivered and wrapped Kovacs' arm around her. He made room in his coat for her as they walked, and turned up the heat in the truck as soon as they were settled in the cab. The steady hum of the tires and the drone of the engine pulled Mac's fatigue to the surface, and she found herself almost drifting asleep as they headed back to the warehouse.

01:02:11 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Tristan sat at the network console as they pulled into the warehouse, casually munching his way through a bag of shrimp chips.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," he smiled at Kovacs. The tall samurai shook his head, his face devoid of expression. Once again Mac was impressed by how effortless was the silent communication between them. She wanted to stay and talk, to be part of the interplay, to flirt with them both, but her body ached with an emotional exhaustion. She pulled the slim black card reader from her purse and set it next to Tristan before glancing up at Kovacs and tilting her head towards the cots ranked in the back of the warehouse. He nodded.

[Vegas]

04:51:46 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

When she got back to the cots, Mac had just enough energy to pull on a pair of leggings under her skirt and that was about it, she didn’t have it in her to change out of the rest of her clothes. She was asleep almost the moment after she pulled her long coat over her as a blanket and curled up the best that she could on the cot.

Sleep came easily but it came fitfully, new ambient noise and lights, subconsciously being aware of others in the building and nearby kept her from reaching the deep sleep her body and mind craved. It didn’t help that she was still trying to process everything that had happened in the hours prior, her mind blazing through the highs and lows and rationalizing just why she had accepted Kovacs’ claim on their relationship, and on her.

Forcing herself to quiet the thoughts in her head, she settled for the short stretches she could manage, tossing and turning in between each cycle until her body refused to cooperate and she realized a few hours was all she was going to manage. Resigning herself to operating on limited sleep, she got up and finished changing out of the clothes from the night before, trading the silk of her shirt for one of well-worn cotton. Cementing the change in her situation, for leaving her past behind, she grabbed the Kydex holster from where it was nestled in her bag and padded out to the network consoles as quietly as her bare feet would allow to see who was on overwatch at this early hour.

[grendel]

05:02:26 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac's breath plumed in the chill morning air, the concrete floor of the warehouse icy against her feet. The cold woke her, rubbing away the last of the sleep but leaving the dull ache of fatigue behind. She rubbed her hands together, blowing on them to warm her fingers some. Oddly, though, the network station stood empty, the holodisplays spooling past with overhead views of the interior and exterior of the warehouse. Mac's hand goes to the butt of the pistol nestled against her side, and she scans around suspiciously. The sliding door of the Roadmaster cams open on silent rails, and Drift motions her over.

"Didn't mean to alarm you," he apologizes as she climbs aboard. "I prefer running the network from here."

Mac shrugs, curling into the bench seat adjacent to the rigger's command chair.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asks.