Topic: S.E.C.T.O.R. - The

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-11-26 01:42 EST
S.E.C.T.O.R. Begins



"Shhhhh. Quiet."

"Y-yes, sir. I d-didn't mean to make any noise. I didn't s-see the can with its g-garbage." The metal can was still rolling to rest on the ally's brick pavers, rocking back and forth on its side.

"Don't talk," the voice whispered, "just give it to me." A head reached out from the darkness; the same darkness that hid the man with the deep, smooth, persuasive voice.

The young boy with tattered clothes and woolen cap reached deep into his pants pocket and pulled out a key of unusual size and shape. "This is the key she said to give to you, sir. She said to just make yourself at home and she'd be by for the rent. She said?"

"DON"T....talk," the command punctuated the cold, blackness of the night. Words came slow and succinct, "Speak again and I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to the ally rats."

A black-gloved hand reached out and grasped the lad's wrist in a vice-like grip; a second gloved hand plucked the key out of the young man's extended fingertips. The face of a man emerged from the shadows " a face that was impossibly handsome and perfectly deadly. "Tell your mistress to come whenever she wishes. She'll receive her payment.?

The pressure on the boy's wrist gradually relaxed, allowing the lad pull away and run out of the ally as fast as his ruffian legs could carry him.

Lord Talomar Longden faded into the shadows of WestEnd to claim the rundown brownstone that was about to become his gateway.

It would do.

Myllyanna Lotus

Date: 2005-11-26 16:51 EST
"You know how much I just love coming down here Sasha." Myllyanna could tell that the sarcastic draw on love was not missed by her acquaintance.

"But you understand the necessity." Sasha nodded and turned away to head into the other room. And it was true, Myllyanna did. Sasha was not welcome in very many places, but that was her own doing, or unmaking as she liked to put it. She would have burned this bridge long ago herself had Sasha lost any value. As it was the woman from the frozen tundra was an huge asset. One of the rare sources for an even more rare chemical. A powder ground from stone, dug from the very snow draped mountains Sasha once called home.

With a sigh Myllyanna ran her fingers across her forehead and walked to the shanty window. While the cheap glass was just thick enough to keep wind out, it was thin enough that the sound of a tumbling can drew attention from anyone near or awake.

She could hear Sasha talking in the other room, but she really didn't care to honestly listen. She just crossed her arms in front of her and leaned to the pane's frame, watched. She could make out the kid easily enough. He reminded her of a rabbit, a nervous rabbit. And where there was a nervous rabbit there was always a fox. Her upper lip curled as she hated the magic twisting that happened here. She was curious and couldn't make out a bloody detail or word, and even she couldn't see in those inky shadows.

Myllyanna pushed away from the window when Sasha re-entered the room. She had a metal tube in her hand about 2 inches long held out for Myllyanna to take. Mylly flashed a smile of thanks, the best she could muster. She didn't want to linger too long, and she still had another stop to make in this side of town. After slipping the tube in ribbing of her vest, she walked out the apartment door pulling a fine, thin furred coat about her and headed down the stairs. Shaking her hair with both hands, she paused to look outside before leaving the stairwell and small hall. She didn't feel like bumping into the boy or his friends. She didn't have the time for that now. The outter door closed with a soft swoosh and clunk behind her as she let the chilly night air greet her.

It was cold to Myllyanna at least, everything seemed chillier to her. Shoving her hands in her coat pockets, she listens to anything other then her own barely there steps across broken walks and stones. Her small chin up, her almond shaped eyes peer between scattered long bangs reading shop and bar signs. She smirks suddenly as she finds the pub she's looking for.

It has been a while since she's been in this dive, and that's putting it politely. She doesn't know if she should smile or scowl at the old memories it stirs up as she takes a seat at the end of the bar, keeping her eyes mostly on the door. She opened her coat just enough to let it slip from her shoulders, exposing her skin to the stale warm, recycled air of the pub and the neon light above the bar. The lights mix giving life to the red highlights of her black hair and caramel tinted skin. But the red hue helped hide the hint of red in her eyes as a sudden and unexpected mood of pure mischief took over her, wondering what chaos she could cause tonight.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-11-27 17:03 EST
The triangular shaped head of the key slid into the lock of the old brownstone residence.

From the outside, it was one of the least appealing buildings in the neighborhood, and perhaps that was why it had been vacant for so long. Perhaps that was also why the rent Lord Talomar had agreed to pay was so low. He would have paid a hundred times the asking rent, for this building had several very unique features. First, it was a story higher than all the other buildings in the neighborhood. From the top floor, one could observe much of the WestEnd area of Rhydin.

Second, it had a flat roof without gable or other obstruction. This would become very valuable to him, as one will soon see.

Third, and most important of all, it was one of the few buildings in all of WestEnd that gave one access to the underground tunnels and sewer system. Talomar had discovered this through the serendipitous meeting he had with one of the least desirable creatures that ever fell through the cracks of society in this rundown, seedy neighborhood that was a blight upon Rhydin.

For Talomar, that made it perfect.

The key turned and he stepped inside the musty smelling hallway. Talomar locked the door behind him and proceeded to the basement.

It was nearly time for the meeting.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-11-27 17:50 EST
Long legs took the Count down the steps two at a time. His black, silk cape billowed behind him as he descended. He wore black pants, boots that were shined to a mirror-like sheen, and a dark blue, silk shirt, opened at the neck. A silver chain was about his neck, and black leather gloves covered his large hands. He was a big man, but he moved as quickly as if he had traversed this route his entire life.

In the corner of the basement where the coal furnace stood, back behind the boiler and heating pipes, there was an old wooden door that hid the dumbwaiter. At one time it had been used to bring garbage down to the sewage system, and coal up to fuel the furnace.

Talomar stepped inside and descended.

When the dumbwaiter door opened he walked down a dark, stone tunnel that was nine feet tall and contained a narrow ledge walkway. Sewage water flowed in the central channel of the tunnel, and the silence was continually interrupted by the ever present echoes of dripping water. He traveled several hundred yards and found the predetermined meeting place " a juncture between tunnels. He was right on time.

"Rat," he called out.

"I'm here, sir," a squeaky-voiced response came from a dark recess.

Out stepped a tall, thin man in a tattered gray shirt and equally tattered gray pants with legs that came only to his calves. The man had a long, pointy nose, a recessed chin that augmented a significant overbite, large ears and a head that was bald at the crown. No one would disagree that Rat looked very much like his namesake.

Rat had once been a sailor " more precisely, a pirate. A wounded left arm that hung down at his side had ended his illustrious occupation. His new occupation became begging on the streets, and he gradually fell through the cracks of the community of beggers and lost souls " until he discovered the WestEnd sewer system.

Rat now knew that sewers better than anyone else in WestEnd, and that made him a very valuable man. Talomar recently discovered his unique talent and employed him. It was Rat who recommended the brownstone to the Count.

"Here's the key," Talomar said, while holding it out to him. "You understand what you are to do?"

"Yes, sir. Perfectly, sir."

"The building is now ours, so get your men together and begin at once."

"At once, sir. No delay for Lord Talomar." Rat began to turn to depart.

"Rat!" Talomar called out. "Fail in this and I'll roast your hide over a bed of hot coals. Understood??

Rat bowed and smiled his stupid rat smile. He departed into the shadows of the tunnels.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-11-27 18:09 EST
His work was over for the day and there was little else he could do but head back to the castle. He left the brownstone and walked the streets toward the livery where his carriage and driver were waiting. The smell of food emanating from the opened door of a pub reminded him that he has had nothing to eat since early morning. The trip back would be more satisfying if he had some food and drink in his stomach.

Talomar stepped inside and let his eyes adjust to the dark interior. He might have decided that not even starvation could justify him being seen inside such a pitiful excuse for a pub, but a woman seated at the end of the bar caught his eye.

There was something interesting about her, although he couldn't put his finger on precisely what that was. It was just a feeling, but it was enough to make him decide that perhaps it was time to meet one of his new neighbors.

He stared at her from behind, and her furred coat obediently fell from the chair to the floor. Talomar immediately picked it up and came to the lady's side. He gave and appropriate bow and held out her coat.

"Excuse me, milady, but is this yours" It was on the floor behind your chair." Eyes dark enough to be called "black? stared into her almond eyes and he smiled his most handsome smile.

Myllyanna Lotus

Date: 2005-11-28 17:02 EST
A million quick sharp remarks came to mind as she was startled lightly from her private thoughts. But words froze on her tongue that instead clicked on her cheek. And the side ways grin grew curling one side of her mouth only and just a bit as she looked at him.

"Yes, thank you. I didn't realize...." She leaned forward, away from the back of the chair, opening it to see if he would place it back. Of course she was watfching him, not apparising but more or less sizing, trying to gather that first impression. After all he didn't look like too much of the type that hung out here. Besides he didn't look all that bad in the neon nor did he look harmless.

"....with the body heat and lack of anything resembling fresh air in this place," she finished. It was true, her bare shoulders and arms had taken on a light glow from persperation. It also acted to release the faint lotus perfume in the air around her as she watched him, confidently not breaking her gaze::

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-12-04 22:07 EST
A knowing smile, or was it a knowing smirk; whatever, it accompanied a slight bow of his head as he placed the coat once again on the back of the woman's chair. He noticed the delicious scent radiating from her body, and the even more delicious perspiration coating her exposed flesh.

"The air in this place does indeed seem to be more than a bit stale. Let us hope the food does not follow the same pattern." He motioned to the man with the dark, slicked-back hair who was standing behind the bar chatting idly with another customer. "A menu, please."

He again looked at the woman who had caught his eye. She seemed as out of placed here as a linen napkin at a hobo's fire. "My name's Talomar Londgen. Mind if I sit with you?" He was already pulling a stool beside her.

Myllyanna Lotus

Date: 2005-12-18 13:31 EST
She openly measured him with her eyes moving down then up as she seemed to ponder the question.

"Talomar. I don't see why not, If you are brave enough to eat here, then you are brave enough for me." she gave a quick twist of a smile as she leaned back in her seat, motioning to a open spot next to her with a wave of a way to well manicured hand. That same hand went to pick up the lowball class in front of her, shaking it enough to clink and stir the melting ice inside.

"I guess in most polite circles it's my turn to tell you my name." Flashing one of her brightest smiles she extends her hand once more for him to take. "Myllyanna Sliver."

The menu slips in front of him in a slightly worn black binder. One can't tell if it's never used or just that plain old until opened really. The song changed in the background, it was one she had heard before and normally liked. She would have blocked everything out and ignore anyone else to listen to every word. But, she told herself it was a very strong but, she felt a draw to listen to what this dark horse just might have to say. She doubted some how that it would be the normal drivel or retarded pick up lines. The man before her smelt of strength and business. She liked it.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2005-12-24 20:34 EST
"Myllyanna Sliver. How nice to meet you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," he said with the full realization that a person sitting alone in this dive could hardly be doing anything of importance.

Myllyanna waved it away with a single motion of her hand, "Not a worry."

They spoke for some time, feeling each other out, measuring responses, evaluating lies and exploring possibilities. Their food was consumed without apparent poisoning, and they took their drinks to an empty booth tucked away in the far corner. Count Talomar finally got down to the type of business Myllyanna was expecting from someone of his caliber.

He sat next to her so that their conversation could be intimate. "I need a strong woman; one who is not going to get riled over the little things. When I saw you sitting here in this WestEnd dump, you looked like the type of woman who could handle herself in business," his hand moved to her leg, "...and in everything else."

"It takes something I haven't met yet or run into to rile me, Talomar. But you have my attention. Just how strong a woman are we talking about?" She set her glass down and watched him to try and read his face. It was an old habit that would never die no matter who she spoke to."

"Are you really that strong, Mylly' Do you think you could handle yourself in a business that might, at times," he smirked just slightly, 'stretch the limits of legality?"

She briefed a glance at his hand on her leg then back to his face. "You have no idea; but then again, have you ever met such a one before now?" The brow went up in a questioning bow. "And legality, well the law is just a guideline really."

Talomar moved in close and smiled, his hand holding her upper leg beneath the table, "Perhaps I've not met one as strong as you...and that's exactly what I'm looking for. You seem to be a woman who's not going to bend and break when confronted with danger and problems. I sense you can be flexible." He moved his hand higher on her leg.

Myllyanna chuckled and clicked her tongue against her teeth, and teasingly leaned closer to him, pushing her leg to his hand as she did, "Just spill it Talomar. What do you want?" she asked softly.

He looked around to make sure he would not be overheard. His actions where not meant to be totally lewd and flirtatious, but rather to give the impression that he and Mylly were nothing more than two people who were interested in what each other had to offer in the carnal realm. His hand moved to her inner thigh as he leaned his cheek against hers and whispered, "I have a little business. I'm the head of an organization called S.E.C.T.O.R.

She had heard of it, and a interested, greedy little gleam hit her eyes the second S.E.C.T.O.R. had hit her ear, and she spoke back to his, "And you need or should I say, you want someone to...." She paused to let him fill in the blank.

"Let me explain. S.E.C.T.O.R. stands for Space Equipment and Commodity Trading ORganization. Some of the commodities we trade are quite illegal. But then, that's where the money is, isn't it."

Myllyanna smiled, "So, you know what I do. We both know what sells." She placed her hand on top of his and pressed harder, "although my people noted yours are just a little different then mine. But if it's a job or deal you want, I'm willing to see what you'll offer."

"I need you to run the WestEnd operation. I'm having the brownstone reworked as we speak."

Myllyanna grinned and pulled lightly at his huge fingers, Let "me" run Your West End. I know I can get more reputation, and the connection I could gain through you wouldn't hurt a damn bit." She knew security wouldn't be a problem. "But what?s in it for you? Really?"

Talomar Longden laughed. "Oh, my dear, there is much money in slaves and drugs and weapons. I'll continue to draw my substantial cut as CEO of SECTOR, and you, Mylly dear, shall be a very wealthy woman." His hand moved between her legs, feeling the warmth of her body.

Her voice sounded like honey as she purred to his ear, "Make me more powerful, Talomar, and you have a deal. Power will get me all the money and all the things money can't buy."

"Power" If that is what you want, you will have it. What happens here in Rhydin is nothing. You'll be helping me control the space trading lanes. The power in doing that," he grinned, "is out of this world. Do you realize that I can make and break entire planets by influencing just where the trading lanes will run" It's not much different than the old days back on Earth when the railroad lines dictated which towns would be wealthy and which would be poor. You'll have more power than you ever dreamed."

Myllyanna actually licked her lips and set back. Now there was something she hadn't had the chance to even try. Possibilities ran wild in her mind. "I think you have yourself a Deal Mr. Longden."

Talomar smiled a most handsome smile that went beyond evil to totally alluring and seductive. He held out his hand to her. "I look forward to a most....stimulating relationship."

"I bet you do," she whispered, gave a wink and took his hand. "And so do I." Vixen was written all over her face.

He grinned as his other hand slowly released the warm area between her legs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the address of the brownstone. "Meet me there tomorrow night, and we'll start to make the transition."

She took the paper, looked it over before tucking it away in her vest. "I'll be there with bells on." She gave him those eyes and then laughed taking her cognac back up.

Talomar lifted his glass to hers, "A drink to a very profitable business."

"A very profitable business," she touched her glass to his, "and perhaps friendship to come."

He looked at her body and back to her lips...then her eyes, "Of that, my dear, I am certain.? He stood up, made a slow bow, and departed the pub.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-04-17 02:50 EST
As viewed from the outside, it was a tall brownstone with a flat roof; nothing very distinguishing about it " nothing at all. The only clue that a visitor would have that this brownstone is different from any of the others would be the locked steel door (made to look wooden) and a sign by the door that reads: ALL VISITORS " RING FOR ASSISTANCE

If a visitor were to press the button to ring for assistance, and if the door would open for them, upon entering they would find themselves in a small, dark hallway with a half dozen brass, wall mailboxes on one's right side, and a stairway that went to the second floor and stopped in a dead end.

The visitor would have to move forward down the short hallway to another door with another buzzer button. This door did not open in the normal hinged manner. It quickly slid to the side with a low hum. Stepping through the doorway would bring the visitor into the world of ultra high tech.

The reception area was pure opulence. There were two receptionists behind a counter of dark wood finished with a high sheen. Behind them were two elevators with etched brass doors. The elevators went down to the basement and sub-basement floors, the latter used to store "commodities". The elevators also carried one six stories up to the roof, where ships would come and go in the night hours. In between were offices.

This was the Rhydin headquarters of S.E.C.T.O.R. ? the Space Equipment and Commodity Trade Organization.

The penthouse office belonged to Talomar Longden, the CEO and President of the trade organization. From that office Talomar was the visionary, coordinating the trade of just over 230 planets in Quad 2 of the Galaxy.

If the current trade negotiations succeeded, it would give him rights in Quad 3.

He would make sure the negotiations were successful.

JewellRavenlock

Date: 2006-04-20 17:39 EST
She who was surely welcome at Longden's castle at most anytime did not go there to seek her inquiry. Rather, on a bright and sunny afternoon she trampled through the streets of WestEnd.

She was in a disguise of sorts, not wearing the sundress and sandals that such a beautiful day called for. Rather, Jewell was in tailored black pants with shined boots poking out beneath, buttoned up white three-quarter-inch blouse and black sunglasses to cover grey eyes. Black curls were tied back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. She looked like a professional.

She was visiting the Count's place of business and would not go under dressed on such an occasion.

She stopped before a particular brownstone, eyeing it before giving a curt little nod to no one. She rang for assistance as the signed instructed and waited to be admitted. Occasionally, fingers strayed to her pocket where a small piece of paper resided with two words written in her flowing script: ysalamiri and Myrkr.

Gaida

Date: 2006-04-21 18:41 EST
Gaida was just hanging up the phone when the buzzer went off, indicating someone at the door. She looked at the monitor and saw a very professional looking woman standing outside. The woman looked somewhat familiar but she couldn't place her. Gaida pushed the button that released the electro-mechanical locking mechanism and slowly swung the door open so that the woman could enter.

Upon stepping inside, the woman would hear a pleasant, almost sultry, woman's voice in the hallway speaker saying:

"Please continue straight down the all. A door will open for you."

It was Gaida's voice. She had recorded that message and several others when she was first hired two weeks before. It was her first decent job since being on this planet and she was being very careful not to do anything wrong. Count Longden had personally given her the job after they had met and talked for a while at the Red Dragon Inn. For the most part, the job was rather boring " answering phones, filing, sending messages " the usual stuff.

Occasionally someone would come to the door. The Count had given her instructions to watch for people who would come to the door and be careful who she would admit. She didn't want to disappoint him and compromise security, even with the two guards that stood off to the side with blasters and body armor.

As the visitor made her way down the short hallway, a heavy steel door slide opened with the hum of hydraulics.

Greeting the visitor was the smiling face of Ms. Gaida Serin.

"Good afternoon, ma"am, and welcome to S.E.C.T.O.R. How may I help you today??

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-04-30 11:54 EST
Before Jewell could reply, Count Longden came around a corner to the front desk, intending to speak to Gaida.

"Jewell! What a pleasant surprise. Is this for business or pleasure?"

JewellRavenlock

Date: 2006-04-30 12:37 EST
Jewell didn't hesitate a moment in stepping inside the building. She was actually rather pleased to be admitted so easily; she would have been slightly put out if she had not been.

Heels clicked as she walked down the short hallway, guided by that purely feminine voice. She greeted the woman who matched the voice with a pleasant smile. She opened her mouth to request a meeting with the Count when said Count came into view and greeted her.

"Count Longden," she inclined her head to him with a smile that betrayed the one she had given Gaida a moment before as somewhat affected. "Unfortunately, I'm visiting for business though it is a pleasure to see you."

Merrick

Date: 2006-05-16 20:18 EST
THE WEAPON TRADE

Maria guided the little white mare down the back streets of WestEnd, her gaze continuing the scan the roads, she knew this part of Rhy-Din wasn't the safest in the city, remembering Marcus lived near here and she was heading for Talomar's place of business. She could feel her heart racing as she reined in the little mare outside the old brownstone. She had been here many times before with Talomar, but still she hesitated as she slowly dismounted, feeling her lover so very close, but still weary that Talomar may be close as she tethered the little horse near her lovers carriage and headed for the door, tugging his sweater up a little more against her throat. She would need to pick up her jacket on the way back to the hotel as she reached for the door handle feeling her shoulder protest at the movement as she pushed into the main entrance pausing to look around her and reached for the buzzer to the brownstone's inner door.

The female voice came over the intercom: "Who is it, and do you have an appointment?"

Maria blinked at the voice, she didn't remember Talomar having a woman working for him, "Maria Copperfield," she answered using the old last name automatically from being in the city once more, "and no," she answered, looking back over her shoulder for a minute considering turning back but held her ground as she turned back to the door.

"Ms. Copperfield. You may enter."

There was a buzz and the door latch clicked and the door slid open. Inside was the opulent reception area of S.E.C.T.O.R. A woman of extraordinary beauty was sitting behind the reception desk.

Maria stepped into the room, her arms crossing over her chest hands disappearing in Merrick's thick warm sweater as she looked around her as she entered then glanced at Tal's new receptionist, wondering where Merrick was and waited for some sort of instruction.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Copperfield, and welcome to S.E.C.T.O.R. I've heard so much about you. I'm Christine Nishiyama. How may I help you?"

Maria smiled just slightly, "Actually I'm looking for Merrick, if he's not terribly busy," she answered softly.

"Lord Merrick?" The woman looked surprised. "Please have a seat, Ms. Copperfield. I'll see if he's available." Nishiyama's voice was low and muffled as she placed several calls and spoke in soft, secretive tones. Finally she smiled and said, "He'll be right with you, Ms. Copperfield."

Maria moved to one of the empty chairs sitting down quietly, rubbing at her shoulder through the sweater and her blouse, before sitting back and folding her hands in her lap and waiting patiently, She longed to see him, business had kept them apart too long this trip.

Merrick suddenly appeared in the reception area and saw Maria sitting there. "Maria! What a wonderful surprise! What are you doing here" Is anything wrong??

Maria looked up at her lover and smiled softly shaking her head, but she had the feeling he would be able to smell her blood, "Nothings wrong," she answered as she stood, "I just had to see you," she answered softly, her bright dark eyes meeting his blue, "forgive me for interrupting you."

"My love, you are never an interruption. I'm glad you came. In fact, I have thought of bringing you hear before but I hesitate out of fear of boring you and also because of...well, you know who. Come, I want to show you something." He led her to an elevator. The door quickly hummed open. He pressed a button that was not labeled. In fact, none of the buttons on the elevator consol had a label.

Maria fallowed him at his side, her fingers moving to curl into his as they stepped into the elevator, "I could never be bored when I am with you my love," she answered softly.

As soon as the doors closed and then began to descend he pulled her into him and kissed her deeply, his tongue hungry for her mouth. "I've missed you so much, Maria," he said and then kissed her again.

She quickly returned the kiss, sinking into his arms, her hands sliding around him, resting on his shoulder blades as her tongue invaded his mouth before she slowly broke the kiss, "I have missed you too my love," she whispered softly, nuzzling against his neck, trailing her lips over his skin.

The door opened all too quickly to a sub-basement level. It looked dark and dirty. Large cooling and heating pipes were everywhere. Steam was coming out in different places. Electrical conduit was running overhead in massive cables. The floor was cement. "Come with me," he whispered.

Maria glanced out at the room he had brought her to, a bit of a nervous edge entering the back of her mind but she trusted Merrick with all her heart as she nodded and let him take the lead once more as she again let her hand slip into his.

He took her hand and brought her to a staging area deep underground. Inside a rather large hall were crates stacked up high. They walked through aisles of crates and he stopped. "From here on until the end of the row are ours. I don't deal in slaves or drugs anymore." He pulled a crate down and set it on the floor. With beyond mortal strength he pulled the top off. Inside was a large stainless steel cylinder with various attachments and lights, and things Rhydin has never seen before. "It's a plasma cannon, Maria. A weapon that could destroy an entire neighborhood with one blast."

Maria blinked, looking at the weapon, shocked that anything existed that could cause that much destruction. "It looks harmless," she answered softly her eyes scanning the weapon, weary to get any closer to it if it was that dangerous.

He grinned as he admired it and ran a hand over the sleek four-foot long cylinder. "I purchased eighty of these babies. I'm in the midst of sending them to an army on another planet. I'll quadruple my investment." He put the crate top back on and lifted the 300 pound crate to the top of the stack. "We're wealthy, Maria. This shipment is scheduled to leave in three nights."

She blinked at his words and looked up at him, still getting use to the idea of becoming his wife and sharing in his fortunes. She slowly smiled and nodded, "Its going to be hard to get use to the idea of having money at all," she muttered softly.

He walked her back a few steps until she had her back the crates. "We will have all the money we'll ever need," he say as he slid his hands down her sides to her waist. "I've missed you," he whispered.

Maria smiled softly as she leaned back against those crates and smiled up at him, "I've missed you too," she answered softly, shifting under his touch before moving to kiss him softly before looking up at him once more, "I love you," she muttered softly.

Tara Rynieyn

Date: 2006-05-24 15:50 EST
This was her second attempt at traveling by day and so far it was going as planned.

The miserable shadow-obscured carriage driver who never said a word to her nor she to him, kept the carriage moving at a steady pace so that she didn't get knocked around inside and she kept herself busy by filing her nails behind the darkest curtains money could buy. Talomar's money. Which was the best kind of money to have because it wasn't yours. And that was just fine and dandy with her.

It was tempting to look outside to see what the Day actually looked like but she'd be seeing it soon enough and besides she had something else to keep her occupied. The boy in front of her. She looked to him.

"You've had a good life, yes?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yes and I intend to continue on having a good life! You're a psycho, lady!" he screamed behind the gag which had somehow gotten loose during the ride.

She clicked her tongue against the back of her fangs and reached forward to fix it. "Tut...tut...let's not be nasty, we're almost there. I want you to look yer best. Musn't get ourselves all up in a huff now."

The boy struggled and screamed some more and she shook her head. She had seen this type of behavior before in unwilling captives countless times. They almost always put up a fight until you stuffed them in a box or a cage that was built with a small animal in mind, certainly not meant for a human, and after a day or two of being shaped like a pretzel like the best of circus contortionists, they caved. This boy in particular wasn't slated to be put in a box so she would have to use her powers of persuasion and the art of a good conversationalist to get him to calm down before they reached the West End or her surprise would be ruined.

"My family lives here, you know," she said and gestured to the curtained windhole.

The boy glared at her. She shrugged. "Yeah, I know, it is very difficult being a filthy rich socialiate, wife to one of the most successful men to ever live in Rhy'Din and be a Captain of The Bloods. I honestly don't know how I manage but I do because I'm Tara and well, there only ever will be one of those," she said with a chuckle.

The carriage hit a bump and the boy wound up on his side. She tilted her body so she could look into his eyes and smile again. "Are you comfy' Wouldn't want yer muscles to atrophy enroute, you know. Maybe you shouldn't sit like that. Here, allow me," she said and making a fist, quickly splayed her fingers out at him causing him to pop right back up.

The boy blinked. He then growled. She reached up to fix her earring.

"Do I look okay, do you think"," she said, fingering the very expensive dress she had on while staring at him. "I'm going to visit my husband at work and I want to make him drool. Do you think he'll be pleased, my Talomar" Hmm' Say...what?s the matter with you? Cat got yer tongue?"

It had been years since she had helped bind a slave's wrists together, much less do it on her own, so when the boy, who was really a middle-aged man that Tara viewed as a veritable child compared to her own age, lunged forward and got his hands around her throat, she couldn't help but wonder if Brutin—who was probably on Gor right now, drinking paga and getting serviced by some naked, severely in heat slavegirl— was shaking his head in dismay at her.

It was an error, yes, but not an egregious one. It would be rectified shortly. She put her hand over the boy's face as he tried to choke her and squeezed until the pressure in his head became too much to bear upon his skull and he fell back in exhaustion and pain. She leaned forward again to take the gag out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" she asked with a blank expression.

"What do you want with me!" he groaned, the fight starting to go out of him.

It was always interesting to watch that, too. An amateur couldn't spot it but she could because she had seen with her waking eyes how slaves promised to unleash all holy hell down upon their captors would have their spirits broken by the second or third day of being in captivity with no means of escape, leaving their threats at the door, unchecked, unchallenged.

Of course this boy had only been in her clutches for a few hours but she had made it rather clear that he was going to go along with what she had in mind or the consequences for his refusal would be dire indeed.

"Humans are ruled by two emotions, son," she said and produced a clove cigarette out of thin air which she then lit by way of her finger touched lightly against the end of it. She inhaled the sweet smoke and exhaled it right into his face. He coughed and waved his now free hands all around to clear the air.

"Pain and pleasure. Did you know that?"

"No," the boy said, his arms crossed, his body slumped, his heart pumping a mile a minute.

"Well, they are. I always say this but no one ever listens to me. Maybe I should write a book. Anyhoo, I'm a bit of a human researcher, you could say. I've spent a long time watching them in the wild, recording their habits, memorizing their behaviors, and I've come to this conclusion through centuries of doing this. Now if I had asked you to go with me three hours ago when you were drawing water from that well and I had not been coming up out of it, you would have told me to go to hell. Would you not?"

The boy grumbled and narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing in my well anyway?"

"That's neither here nor there. Answer the question," she said, her eyes situated on the area where his heart should be and as she gazed at it he could feel his heart thumping all the more. His eyes widened.

"Yes! Stop that!" he cried, pressing his hand to his heart with a frown. She looked away, extinguished the cigarette on her tongue, and his heartbeat returned to normal.

"See" You had no motivation to come with me at that point in time but if you recall when I took you by the hair, marched you into your home, and showed you that your wife and baby girl were hanging by their feet on that rafter over my three very hungry rottweilers, you were ready to do whatever it took to see that they remained safe, no?"

The boy sighed. "Yeah."

"So there you have it. You were ruled by the emotion of pain then just as you would have been ruled by the emotion of pleasure had you come with me if I had done this at night after you had a few drinks and promised to take you back to my bed, eh?"

"Lady I wouldn't sleep with you if you were...."

She growled and backhanded him. He flew back against the seat. She continued.

"You would have come with me just as you would any other willing young female, son, because you're a man and as a man you have certain needs. You think with your penis and not your brain. It's a fact, why you don't know this is troublesome but I suppose in an hour or two it really won't matter what you know or don't know. Your penis has no wife, boy. It only knows what it wants and that's to get happy. Doesn't matter how it gets happy, only that it does. Understand" Don't deny it, there's nothing to be ashamed about and really, if you think about it, you lucked out."

"How's that?" the boy said, glaring anew.

"Well...I thought you might ask that," she said with a grin and moving to the seat next to him, put her arm around him. "If I had come to you at night, you would not still be sucking oxygen as you are now but would be laying in some gutter somewhere, gasping for air, and dying a slow death because I'm very very impolite at night, you see, and seeing as I did not do that and you and I are here, now, sitting in my husband's carriage bound for a very bad part of town, and you're still alive, I'd say you made out pretty good. Don't you agree?"

"What are you going to do with my wife and child?" he asked, glancing askance to her, his body tensing.

"Do with them, son' What do you mean what am I going to 'do' with them?" she asked, giving his shoulder a little squeeze.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! They have nothing to do with this! Let them go!" he snarled, between his teeth and looked her straight in the eye.

She frowned. "Oh you wound me, son. Do you honestly think that I would have anything further to do with yer wife an' child after I am through with you here today?"

"You tied them up didn't you!"

"Yes, but as I already explained to you that was only a means to an end. Now that I have achieved that end I really don't see the point in giving them another thought. Why do you?"

"Because I love them, that's why! Do you understand the concept of love"!"

She tapped her finger against her bottom lip for a few seconds and thought on this. "Love, you say?"

"Love! L O V E! Even you must love someone, ya crazy bitch!"

"Well of course I love someone. For example, I love my husband, Talomar, he's a Count, you'll meet him soon enough. An' our child, his name is Marius, you won't be meeting him I'm afraid. Then there's all my friends...I love them too but is it really necessary to list them all, we might be here all day..."

"Oh shut up!"

She blinked. "You are rude," she said and took hold of his nose.

"Gah!"

"I do not like rude people. Like impoverished unproductive members of society, I have no use for them."

The boy began to slap at her hand and tug on it in order to get his nose free when the carriage door opened and they both stopped to look at it. She spoke first. Of course.

"Move!" she said and shoved him out of the carriage, onto the ground. She then got her black umbrella and opening it, stepped out into the light for the first time in many years. She squinted at the brightness of it and used her foot to nudge the man on the ground toward the door.

"Here we are. S.E.C.T.O.R. This is my husband's business, he tells me. No, no, no, now don't bother to get up. You won't be needing your legs anymore," she said and attached a leash to the studded dog collar she had placed around his throat earlier.

If she had had more time she may have used a more sophisticated collar but she didn't have that available when she had first spotted the man, coming up out of his well, and could only use what was on her person at the time, which was one of her dog's collars. She had brought four rottweilers with her and only three had stuck around. The fourth one took off after a rabbit it saw and she was left holding his collar in her hand. It simply had to be put to good use after that and the man that was laying on the ground, kicking and screaming, was the next likely choice to put it on.

She made a quick examination of the brownstone's facade and then went to knock on the door when she spied an interesting looking box. To the modern day observer it was an intercom but to one like Tara who was perpetually in the dark ages, it was just an interesting looking box with buttons on it.

She ran her fingers over the box and sniffed at it.

"Hmm," she said, tilting her head. "What a curious thing."

"It's an intercom you moron!" the man, who was obviously used to such things, said to her from the ground.

"An intercom' Whatever in the multiverse is that?"

"You press a button, speak your peace, someone on the other side hears it, and they buzz you in," he said and started to laugh. Though his very life was in mortal danger he found humor in this situation. The woman bested him, she did, she tied up his wife and child and kidnapped him all on her own but when it came to getting through a door, she was clueless and he couldn't believe he was helping her. "And if you're wondering why I'm doing this, it's out of pleasurable motivation, because you are the dumbest woman I ever met," he said.

She looked down and then kicked him in the rib. He cried out in pain. "Am I?"

He clutched his side, continuing to laugh, and nodded. "Yes, you are."

"Well, we shall jus' see if you feel the same once you meet my husband," she said and began to rapidly press the buttons on the intercom while speaking in a series of tongues the man on the ground had never heard before in his life. "I do hope I remember to ask ye before ye lose consciousness," she said, reverting back to Common, after abusing the intercom unmercifully. She may have even broke it. She didn't care.

He stared at her in abject fascination. "You are the devil in the flesh," he whispered, suddenly finding the situation to be as serious as it first was and no longer funny.

She slid her eyes down to him, grinned and shook her head. "Nay but I was his lover once...he came to me in the form of a slaver named Daemon Flagg and while I realize that name may be foreign to you, many 'round here knew him almost as well as I did and you better hope that He doesn't show up. Or you'll learn a whole new gamut of emotions you never thought possible, you pitiful, ungrateful, little prick."

The man on the ground started to scream again for help and all Tara Rynieyn-Longden could think about was getting through the opposite side of the door so she could be with her Talomar.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-05-25 12:32 EST
A hidden camera hummed as motion detectors picked up people at the front door.

The camera hummed as it adjusted its angle, field of view, and focus.

A voice came over the intercom.

"Countess, what a pleasant surprise." The receptionist had never seen the Countess before, but everyone in S.E.C.T.O.R. had been trained to know her by sight. They were commited to her protection - at the cost of their lives.

The metallic sound of a latch moving and the door swung open.

"Please enter, Countess. And bring your guest. You're husband has already been notified of your vist."

Tara Rynieyn

Date: 2006-05-25 14:18 EST
All around there was the sound of humming and not knowing where it was coming from her eyes expanded rapidly.

Then there was a woman's voice (but no body to go with it), the latch sound and the door opening. For some reason she gasped and fell back.

"Hello," she said softly to the door and curtsied, thinking that the woman and the door were one in the same. "You dun have to call me Countess, my name is Tara, an' that'll do jus' fine. What is yers?" she said, suddenly shy and introverted.

The man on the ground shook his head. "Tara" Is that your name" Yeah, well, the door isn't talking to you, that was the intercom. Remember" We spoke about this?"

"Oh hushup!" she cried and kicked the man in the rib again, hating the fact that he knew more about what was going on than she did.

"Ow! I'm just trying to help you!"

"No you isn't! Now come on, we have work to do!"

She hauled the man over the threshold, passing the door she believed to be an invisible person and smiled again. "Thank you for letting my husband know," she said, standing there in the middle of the entranceway.

"Honeysuckle?" she called out, her eyes moving all around as if expecting him to pop out of thin air. "I'm sorry to bother you at work but I had to see you. Where are you? I can't see you, can't feel you...Talomar."

She frowned.

This was a strange place with strange boxes with buttons and furniture that looked like it came from a different time or place. Afraid to touch anything or move, she stood there feeling out of her element, and tightened her hold on the man's leash, waiting for her husband to appear.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-05-26 19:16 EST
She did not have to wait long for the time would have been measured in seconds. The voice came from behind her.

"And to what do I owe this wonderful surprise?"

The Count stood there in a grey and black military uniform which made him look even larger and more distinguish than usual. His long black hair draped down over half his face, and on his hip was something he never wore at the Inn " a plasma blaster that was capable of major destruction.

He approached his wife and placed a kiss upon her lips. "I'm so happy to see you, not to mention that I'm quite astonished for it is still daylight. Has my love become a master of the day also?"

Before she could respond he looked down at the young man on the ground. "And who do we have here?" he questioned with an voice that sounded rightfully ominous. "What cockroach have you brought here to S.E.C.T.O.R. Am I correct to assume he's to be exterminated" Or, should I place him with the rest of the cockroaches that are infesting the lowest levels?"

Tara Rynieyn

Date: 2006-05-26 21:14 EST
She turned around and in her excitement to see the love of her Unlife, she dropped the man-on-the-ground's leash and fell forward into her husband's arms.

"Oh! I am so glad you showed up! I thought I would be standing here forever," she said and looked up at him, her head tilting back, her eyes clouding over with desire. His presence affected her so deeply it was a wonder she was able to function otherwise without him.

He looked absolutely strapping in that military uniform she was now investigating with her little fingers and nose. Never had she seen him wear such a garment before and what was with that blaster"

"I used an umbrella. It's strange, yes, but I simply had to see you. I couldn't be away from you for one more second," she explained, pawing at him like a cat in heat.

She would have been happy to stay like this forever, in his arms, kissing him, and telling him all the dirty little fantasies she had about him had he not mentioned that boy on the floor. In her excitement she had actually forgotten about him.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, he isn't a cockroach but yer lunch. Ya see, he's the reason why I came here today," she said with a warm, loving smile. "I got to thinking tha' you must be so hungry, workin up an appetite with all the work you do, an' I didn't want you to starve because then I'd be remiss in muh wifely duties an' I can't very well have that. People would talk. I'd jus' die!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes and squeezed.

In a last ditch effort the man on the ground tried to appeal to Tal's sense of humanity, not knowing her husband had very little of it in him.

"The little redhead is nuts! Please, man, untie me. I got a wife, a child, both of whom love me very much and I would like to go set them free. She hogtied them up in my house! And she did something in my well! I just know it!" he cried in despair.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "He's delirious. I dun know what he's goin on about...his well. Anyhoo, I know he hasn't been bottled but I picked him out special an' I do hope you like him, sweetie."

"Bottled"!" the man said with surprise.

"Yes, bottled!" she shot back, annoyed. "You dun expect us to keep you mortals layin 'round the house in yer flesh an' bones do ya. Oh, for the love of gumdrops, do be quiet. Yer givin me a headache an' muh husband is a vera busy man! He dun need to hear yer belly-achin!"

"HELP! HELP!" the man continued, writhing around on the floor. She had not broken his legs so she wondered why he didn't just stand up, make a run for it, do something to try and change the situation he found himself in.

"Yanno, if help is whacha want, you should nuh be screamin 'Help' but 'Fire'. They teach that to girls in self-defense classes. Nobody ain't gonna come runnin if you yell out help but they sure as hell show up in droves if there's a burnin buildin to be seen. Weird, huh?"

She gestured to the terrified man, looking to her husband. "Shall I get him started or do you want to be the one to put him out of his misery?"

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-05-28 17:00 EST
He

Tara Rynieyn

Date: 2006-05-28 19:08 EST
Watching her husband work the man on the leash like he was a marionette on a string was, enlightening, to say the least.

She knew Talomar had some devil in him, didn't all vampire" But the introduction of the collar was quite unexpected and she looked as if the rose-colored glasses she had been wearing all this time had just been shattered into a million little rose-colored pieces.

Images from a time best forgotten came soaring back to the forefront of an ancient mind. Naked strips of flesh covered in thick, golden chains. Terrified screams and the sounds of the utmost pain and despair. Big men with long lashes, making all the girls cry. She shuddered in remembrance and yet she felt guilty for doing so. Something about what was transpiring before her made her feel as if she should have seen this coming, or had known about it but for some reason didn't. It made no sense.

Talomar was no furrier afterall. He did not just sit behind a big desk, signing his name on important trade documentation all day and rubbing elbows with the society elite like she had boasted to all her friends.

Yesterday, he was her hero, he was mystifying and charismatic, he was wealthy, and charming, and all the things little princesses that lived in high built towers dreamed about marrying one day.

Today, right now, he became one of them.

Sure, there were rumors she had heard that her husband dabbled in the flesh-trade but she ignored them as she did long ago when people used to call her Boss a rapist. Even the time that Jewel had told her of Talomar's plan to abduct Charna, she later dismissed as nervous hysteria.

All this time she had thought she was the one that was the worst, having done terrible things in her life she knew one day would come back to haunt her and that she may very well have to show her husband a thing or two about how to enslave people and make them scream.

But now, watching him so composed and at home with the jargon of the trade as he was, she knew she had been dead wrong.

"Technology...aye, my lord," she said in a daze, blinking.

And then she was in his arms and staring up at him in quiet terror. Just what exactly was he going to show her"

She didn't think she wanted to know but was smart enough not to utter a complaint. If this was to be her re-education, then who better to show her than her husband, right"

A forced, eager smile, and a gentle touch to his lips later and she was looking up those dark, scary stairs leading to the upper levels of the brownstone.

Was this where she would finally put all the rumors to rest and learn the true nature of Talomar's "business?" Or would she just come to find out that she had been right all along and that upstairs there were just a multitude of fur coats and somehow her husband had gotten ahold of a collar and knowing her past, was just having some fun in an effort to impress her?