Satyr Play 02 Pt. 02

Henry's smile slipped away. "Did she say how long Satyr's live?"

Nate shook his head. "She didn't know. I guess it's going to be a wait-and-see thing. If you age at the same rate as them or close to it, you get to keep your friends for that lifespan." Now it was Nate's turn to look a little sad.

"Shit," Henry sighed. "It's cool to think about getting to see the future, but without my friends?"

"I know. Not every discovery I've made about my new state of being has been welcome news," Nate sighed.

"The same for me. Almost none of it was welcome," Henry said. They were both quiet for a bit.

Nate suddenly grinned. "Listen to us pathetic losers! Boohoo! We're magic-infused miracles, surrounded by sexy, beautiful ladies who seem earnest in their desire for us to be happy!" Henry snorted in surprise and couldn't stop the smile from slipping onto his lips. Nate nodded to him. "That's better! Take it as it comes and make the best of every situation, I've always said!" he finished with a bark of laughter.

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Henry said, quoting his favorite movie but imitating Bogart poorly.

Nate gave a pained groan as he grimaced playfully. "Buddy, you've got to work on your impressions."

Henry shrugged with a grin. He liked being a buddy.

"Give me your cell number, and I'll give you mine. When you've spoken with your friends about it, we can arrange to meet at a club," Nate suggested, pulling out his new cell phone.

Henry saw it was the same model as his. "Hey, good choice," he said, gesturing with his phone.

Nate nodded, and they swapped numbers. "Hey, listen, I know you're an important CIO and all, so I'll get out of your hair for now, but give me a call if you want to hang out or just want to talk."

"Will do! Thanks!" Henry said. He stood and shook Nate's hand.

Nate moved to the door and opened it. He looked back at Henry with a mischievous grin. "Succubus," he said quietly, and the ceiling speaker squealed. He winced and laughed at Henry's flinch.

Shaking his head, Henry sat back down at his desk once Nate was gone. He tried to get his head back into the code spelunking, but he kept grinning as his thoughts returned to how much fun it would be to have Nate as a friend.

That made him think of his human friends, and his smile slowly faded. He pressed the intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Gable?"

"Could you come in here, please?" he asked. When Marisa appeared in the doorway, he pointed to the door jamb questioningly, and she understood. She activated the privacy rune, stepped inside, and closed the door.

"Nate told me that he's going to live a long time. He said that I might too," he began, holding her eyes with his.

"It's a possibility. We don't know the lifespan of a Satyr," she said gently.

"What about Sandy? Could I have altered her lifespan with the Wild Magic?" he asked nervously.

Marisa shook her head. "I seriously doubt it. She doesn't have a powerful magic scent, which would indicate a strong feed linkage. I'm surprised that her hair hasn't gone back to normal already. This proves she's connected but just enough to maintain minimal animation for her hair." She gave him a serious look. "You must prevent further exposure to additional Wild Magic."

Henry nodded vigorously. Having seen what happened with just a small drop, the thought of what would happen to Sandy with a larger sample terrified him.

"How are you feeling?" Marisa asked.

He saw she was giving him a concerned look. "I'm feeling fine. Back to normal. Well, as normal as I get," he said with a smile. He was glad to see her smile return.

"Are you and Nate going to hang out together?" she asked.

He nodded. "I think so. He has a large group of friends who go dancing a lot. I'm going to ask Sandy and her group to come along. Maybe you and Siobhan could join us?"

"I'd love to go dancing with you!" Marisa said. "Let me know when you plan to go."

Henry's PC pinged at him with an instant message from Eve Summerly from Accounting. He was working on automating some reports for her and needed to focus on that. He gave Marisa an apologetic smile, and she nodded and stood.

"I'll let you get back to it," she said with a nod.

"Thanks, Marisa!" he replied, returning her smile.

He sighed and read the message from Eve. The smile remained on his lips. He really did love his job.

He just hoped the craziness in his life that distracted him from this stuff would finally settle down or, better yet, leave him alone.

Chapter 32

Before she headed home, Marisa reminded him of his five PM meeting. He thanked her and made a quick note in the code... and a tweak here... before putting a bookmark in the file he was reviewing. He'd pick up from there in the morning.

He locked up and walked down the hall into Camila's waiting room. Henry found it odd that Felix wasn't at his desk. He was always in before Camila and left only after she did. Still, Henry had a five PM meeting, which he would not be... he glanced at his phone.

SHIT! He was a minute late!

He knocked quickly, then pushed inside. "Sorry I'm late—"

The first thing that hit him was a wave of pheromones. He was almost instantly hard and stumbled a step or two into the room. What he saw shocked him completely!

Camila was pushed over the front of her desk, her dress in tatters, as a dark-haired naked man fucked her from behind. He was pulling at her hair violently and slapping her reddened ass. A second naked person, a red-haired woman, was doing her best to swallow the man's tongue as she frantically ground herself against the man's hip. She was also slapping Camila's other ass cheek cruelly.

Henry didn't hear the usual moans and groans from Camila. She was screaming and crying, but the couple paid her no heed. She bent her head around to look at him, and he saw tears running down her face.

"HENRY! GET HELP!" she cried as she slapped something on her desk. His ears popped with a sudden change in air pressure.

He staggered back as the two rapists turned to look at him with crazed looks in their eyes. Bouncing off the door jamb, Henry spun and raced down the hall. He heard the soft thump of feet hitting the carpet behind him.

"HELP!" he yelled, and almost instantly, the two security staff from the elevator lobby were racing toward him.

"Drop!" one yelled, and he instantly threw himself down to sprawl out on the floor as the two leapt over him. He heard a gun go off and a deep growl, then the sound of impacts. Silence followed. Henry turned and saw the guards zip-tying the unconscious naked couple. He tried to stand to run back to Camila, but a hand caught his shoulder. He looked up into Roy's concerned face.

"Camila—" Henry began, but Roy stopped him.

"Lad, I need you to go downstairs and wait for me in the lobby."

"But—"

"She called me upstairs. I'll deal with this. Please, Henry. Wait for me downstairs. Don't say anything to anyone. I'll take your statement of what you saw shortly."

He looked at the big redhead and nodded slowly. "Sure, okay. I'll be there." Roy helped him to his feet, and he walked to the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. He wobbled over to the guest chairs and dropped into one. His mind was spinning. Camila? Raped?!? It made no sense! She was a Succubus! He closed his eyes and tried to settle his thoughts.

He didn't see the woman who entered the building and headed straight for him.

-=-

Roy watched Henry leave and sighed. He didn't like doing it, but it was best for the lad not to know... yet.

He nodded to his men and noted one was sporting a bullet wound on his arm. It looked like a through and through. "Get some pictures of that and find the slug." He walked past and found Camila sitting on her couch with a blanket wrapped around her. Conscious of the camera recording his words and movements, he knelt at her feet. "We've caught the two rapists. How are you?"

"I was RAPED! How do you think I feel!" she screamed as she held his eyes. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I'm going to call the police—"

"Wait! Wait... just wait." Camila gasped.

Roy picked up the lingering scent of her pheromones. The vents were going full speed now, but she must have pushed hard to create enough to saturate the large room with enough to break past the agent's natural inhibitions to get them to a state of raw impulse. She must be exhausted.

Camila sighed. "They were NSA. We need to call the Director. He needs to deal with this. I don't want this all over the news, and I don't need my reputation sullied either."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"YES!" she snapped.

Roy stood and frowned. He looked towards her desk. "I'm taking the meeting recording for your protection."

She nodded, and he walked to the desk and entered a code on the keyboard to stop the cameras. He confirmed the file had been saved and saw the recording was complete. "Okay, we're clear."

She finally relaxed. "Good! How's Henry?" She wasn't faking the bruises, scratches, and exhaustion, but the victim attitude had been an act.

"Really shaken. I've asked Henry to wait for me down in the lobby," Roy said.

Camila looked at him in surprise. "The lobby? Why not in your office?"

"The lad's too bright, and there are too many screens linked to cameras. We must explain this to him carefully, not have him stumble upon it and get the wrong idea. By the way, one of mine was shot through the arm."

"Did you get pictures before he healed himself?" she asked, and Roy nodded. "I'm going to make the call," Camila said, moving to her desk. Roy remained in the office but stayed quiet as she navigated her way through the gauntlet of assistants until she was speaking to Director Yosman directly.

"Ms. Villamor, this had better be damn important as I was about to speak with the President," the man barked.

"Your agents, Kaiba and Sparling, visited me this afternoon. They made some bold accusations about my company, myself, and one of my employees, and then they began with threats. They became physically abusive and finally raped me."

"That's preposterous! There is no way in hell these agents would have done such a thing! I don't know what game you're playing."

"GAME! This isn't a game! What they did to me WASN'T A GAME!" Camila roared, then took some deep breaths. "The meeting was recorded. Video. Audio." She cued up the recording to the spot where she'd pushed the agents beyond their ability to resist their impulses.

"So, it's to be blackmail from some fabricated evidence."

Camila pressed play. "You fucking whore! Yosman wants the software, and you'll give us what we want! Come here. I FUCKING SAID COME HERE!" There was the sound of a hand striking skin and Camila's cry of pain. She stopped the playback and looked to Roy, who nodded appreciatively at her acting.

They heard a choking sound of the director trying to contain his reaction. "What do you want?" the man said quietly, surprised and shaken by his recognition of Kaiba's voice.

"I want you to deal with them! I don't want this video to go public. I don't want to go to the police. I don't need my reputation marred by this! I want you to come here to take your people away. I want assurances from you that they'll receive punishment for their actions! I want an apology from you for what they did to me." Her voice broke a little on the last demand.

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Where are my agents?"

"Our in-house security managed to catch and secure them. One of my people was shot in the arm by your agent in the process. When can you be here?"

More silence, then quiet cursing. "I'll be there in ninety minutes."

"Thank you," Camila said and hung up. She looked to Roy. "Henry—"

Roy's cell vibrated, and he lifted it to his ear. "Roy." His expression went dark. "Shit! Tell everyone to back off! Nobody touches her!" He hung up and looked at Camila. "The one who helped me in the alley behind Sigrid's is in the lobby. She grabbed Henry, and now she's tossing my people around." He ran for the elevator.

He hoped she was still there when he arrived.

-=-

Mary walked in the front door of VRL and stood for a moment, watching the workers on their way home. It was the end of the day, after all. Mostly, they seemed happy. That could mean it was a nice place to work or that they were relieved to leave.

She spotted Henry on one of the guest chairs, resting his eyes. He didn't look happy. Maybe he'd learned one of VRL's dark secrets that drove a New York Detective to an early grave. She marched over to stand next to his chair and glared down at him. He still hadn't noticed her, but her frustration was bubbling to the surface.

Finally, she kicked his chair, and he yelled out in fright, wide eyes looking up at her in fear. His overreaction triggered a release of her nervous energy. She reached down, grabbed the front of his shirt, and hauled him to his feet. She pulled him in close to snarl in his face.

"What did you do to me?!?"

He looked around the lobby at the people stopping to gape at them. He looked back at her and shook his head. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She gave him a shake. "What happened to me?"

Henry tried leaning closer to whisper to her, but she shook him again. "Speak up!"

He was beginning to look a little panicked when she heard a voice behind her. "Step away from Mr. Gable." She glanced over her shoulder to see a couple of large men in dark suits. They had the bruiser aura about them of security goons.

"Piss off, I'm talking to him," she snapped.

"Last warning," the other security agent growled quietly. Additional agents were entering the lobby to shepherd the bystanders out the front door and to direct those exiting the elevators to leave by the rear entrance. Soon, they had the space to themselves.

"I said piss off!" She shoved Henry, and he dropped into the chair once more.

That was all the guards were waiting for. They jumped on her and quickly learned she wouldn't be a simple takedown. She was surprisingly strong!

Mary spent the afternoon at a boxing gym sparring with anyone willing to get into the ring with her. She threw very few punches but took them hour after hour until no one wanted to try to take her on. She'd worn out every opponent and left the gym feeling like she might ignite with the energy she contained. When she'd walked behind enemy lines, she felt like she was armed with atomic bombs.

She slammed the two men together and then shoved them to send them tumbling. Another guard leapt forward and landed a brutal right to her chin, but she just grinned and stepped inside his reach to hit him with a rapid series of rabbit punches to his ribs. He collapsed as one broke. Mary was caught in a flying tackle and crashed into the hard, polished stone floor. She drove her knee up into the man's crotch and hit him in the kidneys making him cry out. She shoved him aside, rolling to her knees, and was preparing to leap back to her feet when Henry dropped to his knees before her and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.

"Please, Mary! I can tell you everything you need to know, but it has to be in private!" he pleaded quickly into her ear.

With an explosive snort, she pushed him away, her anger and frustration not ready to be swayed by sweet words. He tumbled into the chairs to clock his head against a sharp metal corner, gashing the back of his scalp. He winced and touched the area and saw blood on his hand.

She got to her feet and gestured for the next opponent to give her a try, but they all just stood back.

"Fucking cowards!" she raged.

"No, just well disciplined," the large redhead she'd met before said as he strode through their midst to reach Henry. He pressed a handkerchief to Henry's wound and moved Henry's hand to hold it in place. Then he stood to face the woman who bested his crew.

"Did you come here to beat people up, or is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

She glared at him as frustration surged within her. "Detective Harmon is dead. Something terrified him so much he couldn't live with it. Something involving VRL. Now he's dead." She was surprised to see the sadness appear in the big man's eyes. He was genuinely sorry to hear about Harmon.

"It wasn't VRL. We can talk, but not here. I don't even know your name. I'm Roy. Roy Duncan."

Mary was still jittery from the energy she'd absorbed. She was going to have to watch her intake from now on. She suddenly wanted to be... elsewhere.

She looked to Henry, who was giving her a sad look of his own. Enough. "You want answers? Ask him. He seems to know everything." She turned and walked away.

The guards between her and the front door stiffened and looked past her, presumably to their leader. Then they parted, and she pushed through the door and walked into the crisp night air.

She'd find Henry at a quieter location and get her answers from him then.

-=-

Roy looked at Henry and caught a few of his crew eyeing the bloody handkerchief. So, the story had gotten out. He sighed. "Come on, Henry. Let's get that taken care of." He wiped the drops up on the corner of the chair.

They left the lobby to enter the security office and the small infirmary. Roy closed the door and locked it as Henry watched nervously.

"We need to seal the cut. Head wounds bleed too much. I'll do the honors, which means I have to change," Roy explained.

Henry nodded and relaxed again.

"I... evolved with the last time I did this, so please remain calm." Henry nodded again, though his eyes did widen.

Roy replaced Henry's hand with his own on the cloth. "Ready?"

"Yes."

Roy dropped his glamor, and the room became so much smaller. Before Henry could react, Roy yanked the handkerchief away roughly, breaking the scab, and blood surged up again. Roy's tongue pressed against the wound, and he licked Henry's head and hair clean of the blood. Two more licks and the wound closed.

He popped the bloody fabric into his maw of sharp teeth and quickly chewed while rolling and squeezing it with his long tongue. Soon, the entire cloth was light pink from the blood Roy was swallowing. He spat the shredded remains into the trash, then grabbed the countertop as the energy rushed through his cells. He managed to stay conscious, but just barely. Once he was stable again, he swapped back to his Human disguise.

Tingling madly, Roy looked to Henry and struggled to contain his snort. The young man's hair was wet from wolf spit and was sticking up all over the place.

Henry moved to the small sink, wet his hair, and ran his fingers through it.

"How is Camila? I don't understand how that happened to her," he said in anguish.

Roy looked at Henry's innocent confusion and despair and sighed. "Let's go talk in my office."

Once they were behind Roy's door, he began. "You know the two Camila was meeting with were NSA agents?" Henry nodded. "Camila discussed potential outcomes of the meeting with me in advance. What you saw upstairs, what you played your part in, was staged for a camera in Camila's office. The recording will be used to prevent the NSA from acting against VRS, Camila, and you."

Henry was watching Roy in shock. Staging a rape? True, it made more sense than a Succubus falling victim to it, but still, it stretched his credulity to its limits. "How?"

"When the questions and demands began to get aggressive Camila saw how to use the agent's personalities against them. She released pheromones to amplify their natural inclinations," Roy explained.

Henry rocked back in his chair. He recalled the overwhelming power of her pheromones when he first entered. How excited he became and how quickly.

"I watched from here to keep an eye on her, ready to send the two guards from upstairs into the room if Camila lost control."