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Pitch Black is the second arc of The Underground series

Chapter 12 of 22

Beautifully Executed

It was doubtful anyone would recognize him. His light blue button-down shirt with thin vertical white stripes blended in with the seemingly hundreds of others like it, only the colors and style varied. His feet were not used to the comfort provided by the polished black shoes he wore, and the grey blazer he wore seemed like it was entirely too short.

The bass boomed to the beat of the hip-hop music's beat, making the whole establishment shake. The ambient, but predominate neon blue glow the club held gave everything and everyone a strange look. Some of the walls were lined with mirrors, and as he passed by, he had to do a double take. Alias looked into the mirror, hardly recognizing himself.

He lacked all the physical qualities that seemed to make Alias, well, Alias. Gone were his combat boots. Gone was his flack jacket, and black shirt. Gone was his traditional, and from what he understood, trademark trenchcoat. All this replaced with the contemporary look he was currently sporting. Alias was fairly certain that even Jenna would have to do a double take if he were to pass her. But it was common knowledge that sometimes the best place to hide was right out in the open.

Looking around, Alias studied the stereotypical club scene. Males and females of every color and species were packed onto the dance floor, which had turned into a rave. It wasn't much different from the scene that occurred nightly at Delirium or Club Xero. Girls would move their bodies to the beats provided by the music, passionately allowing their own paws to become their lover's paws on their bodies as they moved. Taking the physical cues, the guys would move in and begin to move their bodies in sync. It was an orgy of seduction and lust as they moved together so close there was no room for light to even pass through.

Alias wasn't much of a dancer; he always felt awkward like he was drawing attention to himself. Although he could remember what it was like moving in similar natural rhythms that one shared with a lover. Feeling someone so close that you felt their heart beat into your body gave a false sense of companionship, even if it was only for one song. However, it always ended the same; Alias going home alone. But that was a choice he made. He doubted too many girls would be impressed with the fact he was a contract killer. For their own protection and his, he kept the barrier and he would simply fade into a memory of some fox they danced with.

Looking around, he couldn't help but to notice the many lovely ladies who were dancing the night away. It wasn't that he wasn't interested. A lot of things had been taken from him, but typical male tendencies remained. Jenna was a constant reminder of why he shouldn't be close to anyone. This whole fucked up situation was a reminder of what happens when he got too close to people.

Contrary to all that he thought on the subject, Alias was in fact here to pick up a girl, or woman, whichever. He planned to get her to notice him, become interested in him, take him back to her place, and get some alone time with her. Only what he was after was not what the typical male tendencies sought after.

All around him, Alias passed by people reeking of wealth. This was not your typical college clubbing scene. Everyone here was someone in some way. They belonged here because of who they were. Selective as hell, Alias didn't even try to enter through the front door. If nothing else, his infiltration skills came in handy when getting into clubs that had a long line and a short list. It was a far cry from the clubs of The Underground where people like this wouldn't be caught dead.

Thinking back to when he first met Jenna, he knew he would have to pull off the slick, prince charming act; something he found not exactly a pleasant experience but necessary if he was going to get his lady friend alone. Taking a deep breath, as he did when prepping for any role he had to play, Alias looked at the Siberian Husky from afar. She wore a straight, but elegant white cocktail dress that complemented her white and grey fur colors. She was easily ten to fifteen years older than Alias himself, but he could play that to his advantage. People get lonely. Alias knew this better than anyone.

The black fox slid into the empty bar seat next to her, and pulled out his phone and pretended to be preoccupied with something.

"What can I get you tonight, sir?" The mouse bartender asked Alias politely.

"Scotch on rocks." Alias replied, not looking up. He remembered that prick of a weasel he made shit his pants in Delirium a few days ago, modeled his character after him. Out of the corner of his eye, Alias could see the husky looking over at him, then go back to her martini.

"The stock market," Alias scoffed loudly so he was heard, "what a fucking joke." He announced, snapping his phone shut. "Someday people are going to realize investors are the reasons companies collapse, quit blaming the higher ups for their own shortcomings."

"God, no kidding." Alias heard a voice next to him say.

Alias turned to her, grabbing his scotch the bartender slid in front of him. "Sounds like you've got a case of the fortune five-hundred blues."

The husky laughed. "Are you kidding me? It's been my life for years. And let me tell you," She explained, taking a sip of her drink, "the only thing that never changes is how much investors bitch about every little drop."

"You sound pretty hard core." Alias replied, swinging somewhat towards her in his chair, feeling his leg connect with hers ever so slightly. "What all are you into?"

"You name it, I've probably done it."

Alias raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "Is that so?"

"Oh yeah." She confirmed, her canine eyes starting to roam over Alias. "Males especially seem to be intimidated by a woman who's in control of things." She replied, her voice taking on a smooth and velvety tone as she brushed her red hair out of her face. "Do you have that problem?"

"Well," Alias replied, leaning in closer, "I think that as long as the result is mutually beneficial I don't have a problem taking orders. As long as we're both equally... satisfied in the end."

She let out a slight laugh and extended her paw. "Jenny."

Alias took her paw gently, but in a flattering way. "Aidan."

"So, Aidan," Jenny continued, "what brings you here tonight?"

Alias shrugged. "Well, I was here with a friend who's in town, then he found a nice feline he seemed more interested in. So, I'm just kind of chilling here."

"What? No cat girl for you?" Jenny asked, taking the olive from her drink and slowly placing it into her mouth.

"I mean yeah, the girls here are nice to look at, but that's all they are. I'd just like something more than a pretty face." Alias said, total bullshit spilling from his mouth.

"You have no idea. It pisses me off when we can't be taken seriously in the corporate world because they all think you're just a walking pair of tits and ass."

Alias looked over at her, scowling. "Wait a second." He said in a pretend astonished tone. "Jenny Ursprung?"

"Very good." She replied, smiling a sexy smile. "Next time we'll work on your name."

"Jesus, I didn't even realize!" Alias replied, in a flabbergasted tone. "You were just on the cover of Financial Gazette." Alias smiled and let out a confused laugh. "What are you doing here of all places?"

"What?" She asked. "I may be an executive of a corporation, but that doesn't mean I don't have a fun side."

"So it seems. Just didn't expect to find a private security executive here tonight. I figured StormRaven would take up most of your time." Alias replied, trying his hardest to sound like what he thought guys sounded like when they tried to make a move. "I'm sorry, I hardly recognized you out of your suit."

"Aw, you don't like my dress?" She asked.

"That, I did not say." Alias corrected her, confidently. "Simple, straight cocktail dress. Not only does it hug your body in all the right ways, but your fur color is accented by it, making it extremely hard to look away." Alias let out a nervous laugh and raised a paw to dismiss the topic. "Wow, maybe I have had too much to drink. I'll shut up, I'm sorry."

However, Jenny shot him a catty smile. "I never said I wasn't enjoying it. I myself haven't ever been into anything flashy. Just not my style." The attractive husky brushed her elegant auburn hair back behind her ears. "As for StormRaven, sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting a bunch of three year olds. So naturally, I like to release my stress. The real question is which do you prefer; my suit or this dress?"

Alias let out a slight laugh. "Well, if you're asking me, the most simple beauties are the most profound. At least in my experiences they are. Don't get me wrong," Alias continued, "but I'm surprised this seat was empty. Please don't tell me you're hear alone."

Jenny leaned in, her eye narrowed as if she was stalking her prey, he could smell the gin on her breath. "Well, I came here alone. I don't plan on leaving that way."

"Any chance I can help you out with that?" Alias asked, letting a smile creep over his muzzle.

"Play your cards right, you might be able to see how different I look out of this dress."

And with that comment, Alias knew he was in. As long as he didn't totally fuck up and say he was a communist or that females don't belong in the work force, then he should be all right. Her being drunk off her tail helped the situation as well. The information he had gotten from Plaz Preston had led Alias to Jenny Ursprung, the first of the three partial owners of this Waverly Hill place. He hadn't told Jenna what he was doing tonight. She had been so visibly shaken after Preston's interrogation, Alias figured sometimes ignorance was bliss. Besides, if Alias had to do what he was fairly sure he was going to have to do tonight, he'd rather Jenna not know about that either. This time, he wasn't talking about interrogations. Something quite different in fact. All he had to do was make her believe he thought she was the only girl in the club. Alias would make her feel like no other female mattered to him and that she was the living end. How hard could it be? Males did it all the time.

It's why we're such bastards. Alias thought to himself. Maybe it was his natural male tendencies coming out; lying his ass off to get a girl in bed.

It's only a job...

As it happened, it didn't take much after that. They left the club together, and Alias hailed a cab. He couldn't even tell the cabby where she lived before he could feel Jenny's teeth nipping at his neck as she straddled his lap. The gin was so heavily ingrained in her breath, Alias could hardly breathe as she pressed her lips against his. Her paws gripped his shirt in a tight death grip, forcing Alias to her. Maybe what Alias had told her was a little too right.

He thanked God she was already drunk, as Alias wasn't exactly willing to do as much in return for her. He needed in her apartment, and this was the most logical way. Hopefully, he would find a way out of the inevitable end if he continued down this path, but Alias was willing to sleep with Jenny if he had to. However, willing and wanting were two different things.

The husky nearly dragged Alias by his collar to her pent house on the top floor of her apartment, the whole time hardly breaking her lip-lock. Alias couldn't help but be a little impressed. She was more aggressive with him than he was with most of his targets.

"It's just you and me now, Aidan..." Jenny whispered to him seductively as they entered her dark penthouse, tongue running sensually over Alias's neck.

Alias let out a deep sigh. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, Jenna."

Suddenly, Alias felt her break away from him. Jenny looked back at him, looking a little confused.

She laughed a little nervously. "What'd you just call me?"

Alias scowled, he wasn't sure what he had done wrong. He shook his head. "I just said I've been waiting for this, Jenny."

"Oh," She relied, as a drunken smile came back to her face, "thought you said something else."

Alias dismissed the thought after Jenny began unbuttoning his shirt, her attention now focusing on his chest and abdomen. She directed Alias back to the master bedroom, where she playfully shoved Alias back on to her bed. Jenny crawled on all fours on top of him where she hovered, hair falling down into Alias's face.

"I'll go change into something more... comfortable." She purred, moving away from him. Alias watched as Jenny walked away slowly, slightly stumbling, to her bathroom where she shut the door behind her.

Alias quickly shot up, off the bed. Finally having time to take in his surroundings, Alias appraised the apartment. It was quite lavish, having almost a Greek Villa décor to it. The blood money from StormRaven must really pay well these days. Not to mention if she was on the Shadow Player's payroll then she must be making money paw over fist.

He quietly moved from her room, peeking out into the hallway where he noticed the glow of a computer monitor from what appeared to be her study. Hoping it wasn't password protected, Alias slipped into the office/library, as there were many books that lined the shelves. The fox interrupted the swimming digital fish of her screen saver and felt his spirits rise. As it happened, it didn't look like Alias would be here much longer. Her email was already pulled up, offering a wealth of information into the life of one Jenny Ursprung. His eyes darted along the subject lines of the individual emails. He sighed as Alias knew, now more than ever, would be a wonderful time to have Jenna with him. Not that he couldn't manipulate computers, but she actually was quite awesome when it came to that. Very nice to have in a pinch.

Alias's ears pricked up as he thought he heard something from down the hall. He rose slightly off the desk chair, looking through the glass door to the hallway outside. Standing for a moment in silence, he heard nothing else. Assuming it could very well have been from above them, or perhaps noisy neighbors below them, Alias went back to work.

His keen eyes evaluated every subject line from the hundreds of emails she had saved. Alias tried to balance between moving quickly and not missing anything. Page by page he worked through the masses of electronic mail, until he saw a line that didn't match up like the rest.

Fr: Ian Miles

Re: Deployment Coordination

Most of the lines Alias had been reading were either forwards, or what looked like casual mail. Clearly, this was a personal account and her SRS business email was probably at her office. Just judging by how Plaz Preston had been talking, this whole Waverly operation seemed to be off book.

Clicking on the message Alias followed along the lines, reading quietly to himself.

Jenny,

You just need to relax. These guys volunteered for this. StormRaven may be their job, but this is a decision they made. Besides, you already told me these guys are the best you've got. Since this isn't a SRS job it's best if we don't know where Waverly Hill is; it gives us both deniability. Not that we'll need it, but it's always a nice feeling. All I'm saying is that if you keep a record of their deployment grid, you have a record of this happening. Probably best if you didn't. Rob's the only one that's been there, so he can deal with all that. Even if I was a doctor like him, I doubt I'd ever work at a place like that. Then again, Openshaw is the most successful of us all. It's damn near poetic, don't you think? The last two relics from all of that. Honestly, I'll be a little relieved when all this is through. At least we'll both be taken care of when the shit really hits the fan.

I'll be in touch,

Ian

Jenny Ursprung, Ian Miles, and Rob Openshaw. It clearly was the three partial owners of Waverly Hill before this Shadow Player had taken control of everything. Alias quickly jotted down this Ian guy's email account. He could be traced that way. Hopefully, he would lead him to whoever Rob Openshaw was. Hopefully it would be that simple and-

The fur stood on end as he heard the crackle of a hammer being drawn back on a pistol. Looking up, Alias realized he had been so engulfed in the message, he hadn't heard Jenny quietly enter the room. She stood there before him, pink silk robe pulled loosely around her; her face grimaced in rage.

"Who the hell are you?" She snarled, pointing what Alias speculated was a .38 in his direction.

Alias took in a calm breath. "Does that really matter anymore?" He asked, knowing that this wasn't something he could debate his ass out of. He was busted, plain and simple.

"You're the sick fuck who did those things to that Preston guy, aren't you?" She growled.

Alias leaned forward slightly, moving his paws down closer to his lap behind the desk. "That's only because he wouldn't tell me what I needed to know... I'm not here to hurt you. I've got what I need."

Jenny scoffed. "You really think I believe you, you fucking bastard!"

"Whatever it is you're protecting, it's not worth it." Alias tried to talk her down. She could potentially be very useful, especially if he had to go up against a SRS team. "And it's surely not worth shooting me over."

"Who are you? OCB?"

Alias scowled. "What?" He asked confused, trying to mentally identify the acronym. "Who's that?"

"Enough of this!" Jenny screamed, pointing the gun at Alias.

"Don't do it..." He warned her leaning back in the seat.

The husky didn't listen. Raising her pistol she pulled back the slide, and a bullet entered the chamber.

Several loud gunshots echoed throughout the penthouse, flashes like a strobe light filled the room. Jenny stood still for a second, then keeled backwards; little dark red patches growing over her pink silk robe.

Alias looked down at the desk, looking at four holes where the .45 slugs forced their way through the wood; Jenny in their trajectory across the room. Standing up, Alias raised his leg and fixed the leg of his pants where he had strapped an ankle holster. A gun was like a condom to him, he'd rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. Looking down at the shameful waste of Jenny's beautiful body, he shook his head, walking out of the penthouse.

Alias wished he hadn't had a use for either of them tonight.