SS3 -CH2-

Walking into the basement Gus couldn’t recognize it at all.

What’d once been a second living room and office with several window wells was now more of a dark pit.

A large computer setup in the corner dominated the room. Six monitors, a massive tower that whirred softly, and what looked like almost a racing chair on wheels.

Several bookshelves, a laptop station, a work bench, and a couch were what filled out the rest of the room.

It felt rather empty considering it’d once been a living room.

“Uh,” Gus said eloquently as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

The large black racing chair turned slightly, revealing Serafina sitting in it.

“Oh, hello Gustavus,” Serafina said.

Serafina wasn’t human. She was a unique form of a Spirit of Knowledge. One that dealt with electronics and information.

Or to be more precise, everything that was the age of the internet.

She looked rather normal from the outside to most people. The first sign of any oddness to her for most people would be her personality.

Her face was dominated by huge, glowing blue eyes that had a pair of glasses parked in front of them.

Her pale skin and seemed almost luminescent in the dim light of her screens. Her short black hair was pulled back in a ponytail that was tight, but not as tight as she used to make it. It’d loosened up some and it softened the look of her face.

“Sera,” Gus said, walking over to her. “Look like you uh… took over the basement.”

“Yes, it serves my purposes quite well,” Serafina confirmed, reaching up and pushing at the bridge of her nose, moving her glasses up. “Chloe and I share the bedroom together. Separate beds. Twin beds, before you ask.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Gus muttered, walking over to her.

Does she think I’m a horn-dog or something?

“Oh. Alright,” Serafina said. “We can push them together when you finalize my or Chloe’s contract. Or use your bedroom. Patricia didn’t seem concerned either way. She did remind me I’d be going after Janelle, which I don’t think is quite fair since she’s not even here yet.”

Feeling he was rapidly becoming out of his depth Gus stuck his hands in his pocket and came to a stop next to Serafina’s desk.

She was staring up at him through her glasses, the faint glow of the screens partially reflecting back against her lenses.

“There’s no reason for us to wait for her when she’s not here. You can contract finish Chloe, then me, and Janelle when she gets back,” Serafina said with clear annoyance.

“I don’t really… go against whatever Trish decides for any of that, Sera,” Gus said being direct and honest. “She dictates all of those… activities. Melody gave her those responsibilities and I think she’s done wonderfully with it so far.

“And while maybe it pushes the dates out a bit, I’d bet it’ll turn out better in the long run.”

Serafina frowned at that, her mouth turning up in a partial grimace.

Then she sighed, turned her chair back to her computer and grabbed her mouse.

“As you wish, Gustavus,” Serafina murmured. “I’m allowed to be disappointed, but I’m not angry about it.”

“That’s… very fair and reasonable, actually,” Gus admitted. Then he reached over and laid a hand to Serafina’s back. “Hey, we picked up a case today. Campbell and Campbell are hiring us to find someone.”

“Oh? Fantastic. I’ve been so bored I was starting to break into websites just to test their security,” Serafina murmured, turning back to him again. “Melody thinks we can make money that way as well and it’s fun for me.”

“Yeah. I… yeah. I could see that. As to the case, we’ve been hired to find a persona by the name of ‘Retribution’. The only alias I got was for him or her I guess was ‘Angel of Retribution’. Kat seemed to think the Fed had some leads on them,” said Gus, holding Serafina’s eyes with his own.

Serafina however, was a statue.

She stared at him as if he were suddenly a different person and shouting at her in a foreign language. One that consisted of burps for vowels.

Clearing her throat Serafina clicked her tongue.

“I see. The… Angel of Retribution. Retribution himself. I… I really can’t see this going very well for us if we do find him,” whispered Serafina. “He ah… he’s… I’ve heard stories from my family. We pass down stories as I’m sure you know.

“In most of those stories hes very… direct. Very black and white. With him or not. There is no ground between and… and maybe we should just not have anything to do with him.”

“Not really a choice I’m afraid. We’ve been hired to find him, so we can bring back the Originator,” added Gus. “Melody promised me a much deeper explanation but that has to wait. She’s on the phone with her dad and that conversation seems rather heated at the moment.”

Swallowing hard past a lump in her throat, Serafina lifted a hand up partially to her mouth then let it drop down into her lap.

“The Originator. Retribution. And… and of course that means the Silent One,” Serafina proposed.

“Yeah, his name came up, too. Wanna tell me about all three? I’m a little clueless on this one,” Gus admitted. “You throw any Para in front of me and I can figure it out. Work it and turn it around. But all of this… mumbo jumbo seems way beyond me.”

“It’s the story of creation,” Serafina said, no longer looking at Gus. She was staring through his belt buckle now as if he weren’t even there. That she saw nothing at all. Shaking her head she took in a shuddering breath. “The Originator made… everything. He and his Angels presided over the universe and all its planes. Everything.

“Then the Silent One came and battled him. For control, for dominances. For the universe.”

Gus was listening intently. This was something he’d never heard before, nor did he honestly quite believe his ears.

There were a slew of different religions out there. Too many different beliefs, and actual confirmations of what were minor gods, deities, and demi-gods, to count in fact. Gus couldn’t quite believe that there really was a single origination story with all that happening in the back of his mind.

“And?” Gus finally prompted.

“The Silent One won,” Serafina shrugged her shoulders. “He’s been our absent god ever since.”

“He just won,” Gus repeated, feeling like there was a lot being unsaid there.

“I mean, I’m sure something more happened, Gustavus, but it isn’t as if I know. I can only repeat the stories that were repeated to me. I’m sorry,” apologized Serafina. “As for the Angels… as far as I know most of them left with the Originator. Retribution stayed behind. For reasons I don’t know.

“But he stayed behind and waged a war against the Silent One. A war thats been ongoing ever since with no end. Every now and then he’ll pop up in a story or two. Razing a city. Destroying something. Or simply eliminating a threat.”

“Razing a city. As in… murdering an entire city?” Gus asked.

“Yes. Retribution is… he’s Retribution. There is no mercy in him. Only penalties and crimes,” Serafina murmured softly. “And we’ve been hired to find him.”

Clicking his tongue Gus realized it didn’t actually matter whether or not Retribution was a good guy or a bad guy.

If the Silent One was the reason the world seemed to get worse every year, than the answer was to remove him. That meant getting the Originator back.

And that means finding Retribution.

“Well? Think you can fit your pretty self into the web and pop the Fed database open for me? See what they have on him?” Gus asked, moving the hand on Serafina’s back to her chair. He had the impression she was going to turn in a second.

“Ha, of course I can,” Serafina said, spinning her chair hard back to her computer. “ That’s easier than cracking into a grocery store at this point. Especially since I’m responsible for what little security the Fed has. Really, Gustavus, you’ll need to give me something harder than that to challenge me.”

Smirking, Gus laid his hand to the top of Serafina’s head, resting his forearm against her chair.

“Oh? Something that’ll challenge you? Find out who my mother’s parents are,” declared Gus. “You do that and I’ll give you anything you damn well want.”

Serafina made no noise to signify she’d heard him. She was already busily working her way through several different screens. Typing in credentials and passwords with her left hand.

Thirty seconds after he’d asked for her help, she sat back in her chair again.

“And in. I mean really, it’s not as if I hid the backdoor credentials. They’re their and listed as third party vendor assistance but someone should still check them,” said Serafina. She didn’t turn toward him as she spoke. She just stared at the main screen, his hand resting atop her head.

“Great. Look into Retribution for me, see what you can find out,” Gus murmured giving Serafina a pat on the head. “I’m going to go check in on Melody and see if she’s done yet.”

“Alright. Don’t forget to feed Chloe. She was waiting for you from the last message I got from her,” Serafina reminded him, her hands moving back to her keyboard and mouse.

Damn. That’s right. I did promise to feed her.

Realizing he’d be better off taking care of Chloe now rather than later, Gus headed over to the bedroom.

Tapping on it twice he stood there.

“Just go inside. She already heard you in here talking. Either she’s ready for you or she’s not and wants you to go in and be surprised,” Serafina said as her fingers continued to assault her keyboard.

Looking back to the Spirit of Knowledge in the corner as she worked at her keyboard, Gus had to wonder about her and why she was here.

He didn’t know her that well.

Liked her well enough, but didn’t really know her.

Melody had just claimed her and moved on without much of a word about it.

In this case though, Serafina was right. Chloe had likely already heard him talking and had already gotten ready, or wanted him to come in.

Not to surprise her, but to likely be surprised.

Chloe hadn’t done much to hide the fact that she thirsted for his blood, and lusted for him in the bed.

Opening the door, Gus stepped in the bedroom.

The two twin beds were set to one wall, with two night stands. Each side of the room had a dresser. Off to one side was a walk-in closet and a bathroom that had a shower as well.

He’d briefly considered trying to take the basement as an office space but Melody had assured him he could use her own office as his if he needed it.

Under a dark black sheet was Chloe. Her arms, upper chest, and shoulders were all nude and outside of the cover. It was barely draped over her breasts at all.

Her bright blond hair was only lightly curled right now, apparently she’d straightened it again recently. It was all a little messy and laying around her head in small waves. Sky blue eyes were watching him with her blonde brows drawn in over the top of them. The smattering of freckles across her cheeks and on the bridge of her nose were a sharp contrast to the fact she was the palest vampire Gus had ever seen.

Glaring at Gus from her bed, her arms folded in front of herself, she was clearly unhappy.

“You ruined it, Sera!” Chloe yelled.

“I made it easier for you. Now he knows you wanted him to see you like that, and that you want to feed nude from him,” Serafina called back. “You’re welcome.”

For the first time in a very long time, Gus watched as Chloe became a deep and dark red color. Her face such a bright red that he wondered if she was even breathing.

“Shut… shut the door,” Chloe grumbled, pointing with one hand.

Feed in the nude, huh? Well, that’s not so bad. Not the first time I’ve heard of it, either.

Must be a thing I guess.

Closing the door behind himself Gus started to roll up his left arm’s sleeve.

“It’s fine. Doesn’t bother me,” assured Gus. “You wanting to be nude that is.”

“It doesn’t?” Chloe asked, sounding somewhat surprise.

“Ah, no. Considering you’re going to be the next contract celebration, which means I’ll be seeing a lot of you in the nude,” Gus said coming over to the side of her bed. Sitting down on corner he put his back to the wall and then held his arm out to her. “Would you like to do the honors?”

He knew for a fact she had a blade in her nightstand drawer. He’d seen it the last time he was looking for her UV cream.

“I… suppose that’s a good point. You’ll be doing more than just seeing me in the nude, I hope though,” Chloe groused, leaning over and opening the drawer and reaching inside.

“That’s the plan, Miss Wain,” Gus said with a smirk, unable to help himself. “Though you might have wished I’d thrown you in the backseat after all. Trisha is quite demanding.”

“Hmph, we’ll see about that,” Chloe grumbled coming back toward Gus. Then she snuggled up into his side, took his arm, and pulled laid the tip of a blade to his flesh.

Moving it fractionally she cut along the exact spot she always fed from him at. Blood began to well up immediately.

“Oh, it smells wonderful. I’m so hungry. No movies or tv this time. I just want to enjoy it,” Chloe said, kicking off the sheet and then grabbing Gus’s arm. Pulling it up to her mouth she began to drink from him directly.

Completely naked.

There was a chime from his pocket signaling he’d just gotten a text message.

Getting comfortable since it seemed like Chloe really wanted to sip at him today, Gus pulled out his phone.

Unlocking it he found the message app and flicked it open.

It was a new text form a number he didn’t know.

Tapping it open he read the contents.

Gus I’m terribly disappointed in you!

I went through all the trouble of going state’s evidence, turning everything over, and joining the Fed, just to find you’ve left!

That’s terribly rude!

On top of all that, you apparently have a harem and are all bound to a contractor.

Do you know how hard it’s going to be to convince your contractor to take me on without a color?

Hmph.

Dinner, tomorrow, same restaurant as last time. I already booked reservations.

You owe me.

By the end of the message Gus knew exactly who had sent him it.

Dunyasha, the vampire coven leader he’d managed to turn to working with the Fed.

Well that’s rather direct.

I’ll have to-

A second message popped into view, moving the original upward.

I’ve reached out to Melody and confirmed the dinner date as well. She said it wasn’t a problem and apologized for your behavior.

I like her. See you tomorrow.

Closing his eyes, Gus rested his head against the wall and thumbed the power button on his phone, locking it.

It was honestly the last thing he wanted to do but he figured Melody had a plan.

That or she wanted something from Dunyasha. Which meant she’d use Gus accordingly.

He didn’t think she’d allow any funny business with Dunyasha, or encourage any for that matter, for which he was thankful. But he still didn’t much like being used as bait for something like this.

Pushing his phone back into his pocket Gus looked down to the naked vampire at his side. She was nuzzling his arm as she drank from him. Her lips and tongue pulling at his flesh and coercing more blood to flow then normal.

Certainly not how I envisioned my life to be.

Then again, never thought I’d make it out of the desert, let alone get back stateside and have a career.

Gus thought on that for several seconds.

Or a wife… I guess.

Several wives.

Actually, I have… seven?

Yes, seven.

Gus’ phone vibrated once more, pulling his attention away from his thoughts.

Lifting his phone up he looked to the screen and unlocked it.

A new message had arrived. Though this one was from Janelle.

Raising his eyebrows, Gus tapped it open.

I’m coming home the day after tomorrow. A little earlier than we originally expected, but I’m quite excited for it.

That and it’ll be nice to retire. Never thought much of being a home-maker but I think I can handle this.

Melody seems to think we’ll constantly be busy however, working case to case.

I think it’ll be more like what I’m used to. One thing to worry about at a time, a lot of dickering around, and hurry up and wait.

I’ll use this time to practice all the skills I’ll need to be an effective home-maker for you.

After all, you’re my clan now. My family.

And I really can’t wait to introduce you to a number of rituals you’ll need to observe with me. This’ll occur before the “contract festival” as Mel calls it.

For you and I alone.

Look forward to it, Gus.

I’m going to be a very generous clan head for you.

At the bottom of the message was an attached picture.

Tapping it, and hoping it wasn’t anything like the things Mel sent him, Gus was surprised.

It was somehow worse than any of those.

Janelle was standing in front of a mirror in a beautiful business type of suit, her uniform piled up at her feet in a pre-arranged pile. 

Her ash-blond hair was loose and the short length hanging down past her ghostly purple eyes. She was chewing at her lower lip with one side of her mouth, her beautiful features looking straight into the camera.

Her free hand was pulling the top of her blouse down and revealing just a bit of skin, but not enough to actually show anything.

Gus couldn’t deny there was a sensuality to the well thought out and planned photograph.

He liked it quite a bit.

“Ah, so you’re more into the teasing and subtle overtures, than the direct ‘stick it in here’ pictures that Melody sends. I understand. I shall endeavor to provide you with some of those,” Indali said in the dark corner of his mind she always dwelt now. “After you take me to the range, fire me a lot, take me back, break me down, and clean me, that is. And you’re doing that tonight, by the way. We haven’t gone shooting in a day or two. That and I picked up the mail today. All the needed permits to carry me around as a civilian have been met. You’re putting back on your holster, and wearing me around again.”

Puffing his cheeks out at the thought, Gus couldn’t pretend his life was anything like it used to be anymore.

And he didn’t care.

When he was being honest with himself, he enjoyed his life.

“Alright. Fine. I’ll grab the holster and get you back where you belong. And I’m going to leave you in pieces overnight, tonight. Put you together in the morning. You’re too needy sometimes if I put you back together too quickly,” Gus sent back. The last time he’d taken her out, fired her, and cleaned her, she’d gotten incredibly needy and sappy. To the point that she’d shown up in her projection and demanded to be in his presence.

Indali needed a little time as a cooldown before he put her back together, he’d learned.

“Wonderful. I look forward to it. Thank you for learning my needs.”