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[MiniKitty]

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The LPI could kick down the door downstairs any time.

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Sunset in David's Hollow. Everything is showered in orange and red. Madeleine and I make our way to the Den, and I cannot help but notice how her hand sought mine the moment we left the Kay. She has these random moments where she seeks proximity like that. Even though her face usually reveals not much more than apathy, her body sometimes reveals what is going on in her mind. Quite helpful, really.

Coming back to the Den, I briefly say hello to everyone downstairs. Madeleine pulls my hand and leads me to the stairs.

We're going to fuck, so don't annoy us.

She says things like this without blushing. Not the slightest hint of shame. With that statement made, she pulls me up the stairs and leads me to the bedroom, then locks the door behind us. My PDA is beeping, so I walk over to the night stand and take a glance at it. A message from Damian? Let me have a quick read.


Huh, Damian wants me to add you and Kristoff to this comm channel. Let me do that qui-


I do not get to finish that sentence. Madeleine had already walked up next to me. She pushes me onto the bed, a bit too rough for my liking. We still wear our flight suits, and while she looks very pretty in it, peeling her out of something this tight would have been a lot easier while standing. But here we are, and she is taking the lead. At least, I assumed so.

She gets ontop of me and leans in for a kiss, with one hand at my neck and her other hand's fingers intertwining with mine. After a quick peck, she maneuvers her head closer to my ear. I expected her to nibble on it, but I was wrong.

We need to talk, Levan.

... right now?

Whispers only, yes. Now.

Uhm, okay!


I gulp. Suffice to say, my body expected this to go differently, and her being this close, sitting on my lower body and having her hand at my neck definitely does not help with keeping the blood in my head. Is this some kind of roleplay?

Levan, you know I love you. I would do a lot for you.
But this is something we need to think through first.

Uhm, what do you mean?

Getting in touch with your friend there.
Let me remind you that we are on Denver.
This is the LPI fortress. Their HQ is right up there.
The LPI could kick down the door downstairs any time.

She pecks my cheek as her hand moves up from my neck to my other cheek, caressing it. My free hand slides along her waist.


We are not doing anything illegal, Madeleine.

You're friends with the leader of a terrorist group.

Uh, friends is a bit of an, uhm, overstatement. I certainly like him, but we only had a little bit of small talk.

Which was enough for you to send him a lot of money.
And you trust him, and you want Kris to trust him.

Damian is a man of his word, Madeleine! The Xenos are the only unlawfuls in Liberty that actually want to change Liberty for the better. Rogues, Hackers, Junkers, those are all just idiots. The Rogues are murdering for entertainment, the Junkers are slavers and the Hackers only care for money. They are all slavers. The Xenos are not like them at all.

Levan, I know you idolize them because they fight slavery.
I get that. You were a slave. But now you are not.
Now you are a citizen of Liberty and stick to the law.
And hanging out with Xenos will get you in trouble.

It is for a good cause. Damian can help Kristoff. That is all I care for.

And you think he does it because he is benevolent?
Just because he likes you, maybe?
Nothing comes for free, Levan. He will want something.

If it costs me millions, I will give him millions.


She sits up. I can hear her sighing, and her face reveals a mix of fear and regret. Her eyes avoid mine.

He is the boss of a criminal organization, Levan.
I think he has all the money he needs.
Even your money might just be a crumb compared to a cake.
What if he, I don't know, wants me?

Why would he want you?


She sighs and grabs my hands while seeking my gaze. With a slow and steady guidance, my palms end up cupping her, uh, cups, and her hands press mine against them.


... I do not want to insult you, Madeleine, but he is against slavery. And if he wanted women, he would probably go for some that have, uhm, more.

It is just an example, love. You can't always pay in money.
These people will take from you what it dear to you.
They are extremists, they don't care for the law.
Normal rules and ethics don't apply for them.

They are humans like any other.

They are murderers.

So is anyone in space. So am I.

... you are different, Levan.

Am I, though?


She leans forward again, pressing her lips against mine. Her hands no longer hold mine and instead cup my jaw as she kisses me. I cannot help but wrap my arms around her back and pull her as close as possible to me. Our lips part, and once more she goes for my ear.

You don't care for politics.
You only care for Kristoff.

... Hey. I also care for you, Madeleine. And for Monique.

Not as much as you do for him.
When that Order agent showed up, you were ready to kill for Kristoff.
The Order might be a number too big for you, though.

What is one more terrorist group, huh?


I smirk at her. She did not appreciate the joke.

Levan... I know you love him, but...
You are getting into more and more trouble because of him.
First the Rebecca and then the Technocrats.
Their alien friends, and now the Order.
All of that just because of Kris.

I cannot help but feel how my slight smile turned into the opposite. Not because she said that, but because it is true. Something I am painfully aware of myself. Defending Kristoff, trying to help him, trying to get out of the Technomancy, trying to get him away from Harbinger. I was willing to shoot the leader of the Rheinland spooks without knowing who she was. He told me about Relevant wanting me dead. That Order agent surely would not hesitate to kill me if I was defending Kristoff. I know all this. I am painfully aware.

And what am I doing it for? For a man who turns more and more into a machine. Not just his body, but also his mind. Madeleine keeps asking me what it is that makes me so fanatic about Kristoff. It obviously is not the sex. And with him gone this often, there is barely any intimacy. It is not like it used to be. Sometimes neither of us knows what to say. What to do. I do not even know whether he still finds me attractive. For all I know, he might actually hate me for various reasons. For being the reason he lost an arm and an eye. For being the reason he lost three years of his life due to cryostasis. For being the reason his hypocritical technomancer family distrusts him. For being too dominant.

For not trusting his judgement.

The same way he does not trust mine.


Why am I bothering? The damage cannot be fixed, and I need to be more careful than ever in space. Not just Rogues and other scum, but also the Sentinels, the Technomancers and the Wild. This one nomad is still trying to reach out to me.

I have no idea. I have no idea why I still defend Kristoff. I cannot explain it. It might just be an instinct. Something I do not even think about.

I guess it does not matter.


I know that.

I do not want you to get hurt. And...
I do not want to get hurt.
I have come to enjoy what we have, Levan.
I love you. You make me feel things.
And I usually do not feel things.

With that, she wraps her arms around me and burrows her face against my neck. Something that probably looks weird from someone else's perspective, considering I am a head smaller than her. My hands brush up and down on her back as I keep her close like that.


How about a few days of Curacao?

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