Jezz and Edge Ch. 04

"More or less," said Garage. "There's an understanding between Billy the Boulevard and the Heights's powers-that-be. Billy polices himself and the authorities leave him alone."

Jezz twirled again, then sat on Garage's lap, her back to him, wriggling her bottom. "Remember. A single word and you'll need to have that strudel surgically removed. Now what's the problem with Billy?"

Garage continued. "The problem is a circus has set up shop along the Boulevard. A circus with a bad reputation. It seems that some people who attend this circus suddenly get an uncontrollable urge to *join* this circus."

"So?" said Jezz, her knees widening, her hands pressing between her thighs. Her voice was strained. "Is that every kid's dream? To join the circus?"

Mr. Garage took a bite of his food. "Oh, yes. This place does strudel right. Anyway, ordinarily I'd agree with you, Legs, but I wanted to find out for sure. Just curious, you know?"

Edge nodded. "Curiosity kills boredom. Nothing can kill curiosity."

"Right you are," said Garage. "Anyway, I sent in a team to check things out, see if they could see anything. I couldn't send them with their equipment, since we weren't supposed to be there, but still, they were a good team. I figured they could nose around quietly."

Jezz's hips were wriggling. She forced the words out. "Shocked to hear you were playing on the wrong side of the border. I'm assuming you haven't heard back from them. Almost certainly a mind-control situation. Got it. What's the pay?"

Garage named a figure.

Jezz writhed on his lap, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She shook her head.

Garage named a larger figure.

Jezz, her knees wider, body trembling, shook her head again.

Garage took another bite of his strudel, then wiped his mouth and stated another, much larger figure.

Jezz was silent for a moment. Then her head went back against Garage's chest and her hips began bucking. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Mr. Garage allowed himself a grin as Jezz writhed in helpless release on his lap. "This is the most enthusiastic you've ever been about a job, Legs."

*****

Jezz and Edge stood inside the big top. People streamed around them on their way inside.

Jezz shrugged. She'd had a non-stop blush since her public orgasm on Mr. Garage's lap but was determined to act as if nothing happened. "Looks like a normal circus so far, but something feels off."

Edge was holding a cotton candy in one hand and candied peanuts in the other. "Indeed. Society prepares the crime. The criminal commits it."

Jezz nodded. "Exactly. Wait, what?"

"Society prepares the-"

"Never mind," said Jezz. "You're still in fortune cookie mode."

"For-chun Koo Qui."

"Whatever," said Jezz. "I'm going this way. You check out those booths over there."

*****

Jezz followed the booths and kiosks, carefully scanning the crowds as well. There were no obvious dangers or threats.

Then she saw the monkey.

It was a cute monkey, dressed in a red vest and hat. He was eating a peanut. When the monkey saw Jezz, he dropped the peanut and doffed his hat. Then the tinny music from the organ grinder's music box sounded and the monkey started doing tricks.

Jezz watched politely for several seconds, then prepared to continue forward. She glanced at the organ grinder, however, and saw his eyes slide directly to the right side. The music stopped then, and the monkey ran into the makeshift passage. The same passage the organ grinder was looking at surreptitiously.

Nothing screamed 'trap' like a monkey dashing into a side-passage. Okay, many things screamed 'trap' louder than a monkey dashing into a side-passage, but whatever. Jezz decided to spring whatever trap was waiting for her.

*****

Edge made his way along the other side, observing the service booths. Perhaps there was more exotic foods to be found, such as caramel apples or pretzels.

Disappointed in the lack of interesting food kiosks, he walked briskly along the path. He sensed no menace from the gypsy fortune-teller and he had no desire to decorate his flesh with india ink. Then he noticed the tent of the portrait painter and he stopped.

This did not go unnoticed. The vendor of the tent, a blonde, barefoot woman in overalls with a blue streak of paint on her cheek, noticed Edge's pause and hailed him.

"Cheers, granddad," she said. "Do you fancy a portrait? I could knock one out for you in no time."

"I am unsure, young woman," said Edge. "Are you able to reproduce greatness as that which stands before you now?"

"It won't be easy with features as refined as yours, granddad, but I think I could bring out that eminence you have hovering just beneath the surface."

Edge nodded, pleased. Rarely did one find such wisdom in one so young. "Lead on, young woman. You display insight beyond your years."

*****

Jezz found herself in a small tent, with several folding chairs sitting in rows before a small stage. The monkey was sitting in a front-row seat.

Jezz didn't sit down. A dark-haired, exotic woman entered. She wore a glittering tiara. Her warm mocha skin contrasted exotically with the pink circus outfit she wore. It was sleeveless, with a short, wide skirt that required only a slight lean forward to reveal her pantied bottom. Fishnet stockings and sparkly high heels completed the outfit. She held up a large placard reading 'Ivan Steele- the World's Strongest Man!' and walked across the front of the stage, her hips rolling erotically.

Jezz's eyes narrowed as she watched the girly fluff in pink cross the stage. She was pretty sure she was looking at agent Valencia Vaughn, leader of the team Garage had sent in. Before she could speak to the fluff, though, Ivan entered the stage.

The large, baldheaded man with the truly impressive handlebar mustache ignored Jezz as stepped up to the barbell. He powdered his hands, then leaned down and grasped the barbell.

Jezz ignored the strongman and concentrated on Valencia. The exotic pink fluff was off to the side of the stage, her gloved hands pointing toward Ivan. Her big, bright smile was as empty as her eyes.

Ivan grasped the barbell and brought it to his chest. He struggled with the weight for a moment, then pushed the barbell straight up. The effort required to keep the barbell aloft was obvious. Sweat broke out on the strongman's brow. The scent of his musk filled the tent.

Jezz filled her lungs with the scent, surprised at how good he smelled, how powerful his scent was. There was a depth to it, a dominant masculinity. She breathed it in again.

Her nipples were hard.

It was that which set off the alarm bells. One who trained under Master Edge was not going to become overwhelmed by some guy picking up a barbell. An outside agent was acting on her.

Jezz looked to the pink fluff, but she remained next to the stage, smiling brightly, her assets on display for anyone with eyes. It wasn't her.

Jezz's eyes snapped back to Ivan. He was looking directly at Jezz now. And smiling.

Jezz looked down at her hard nipples pressing against her top, then looked back at Ivan. She grinned and feigned a big yawn.

Ivan's face colored at the mockery. He dropped the barbell back to his chest, then to the floor. He stared at Val and breathed in, causing his upper torso to swell in a manner that made Ivan look even bigger. Then he growled the type of growl that emerges when one wants to let someone nearby know that things are going badly for them.

Jezz knew the type. He would lumber around and beat his chest for a minute or two to work himself up, but sooner or later he'd get there. Since waiting for that to happen seemed like a bad idea, Jezz decided to use the element of surprise. She sprinted forward and leaped at him, catching him squarely in the midsection with the blade of her foot.

Ivan huffed, but seemed otherwise unimpressed. He reached out to grab her, but Jezz danced back a step, then dropped and whirled, striking his knee with her heel.

She might as well have kicked a tree. Ivan winced slightly, then roared and brought up a mighty foot. Jezz rolled away just as he stomped the floor where she had been a moment before.

Jezz reassessed. Ivan was big, strong and could take a hit. She was going to have to cheat.

She glanced around the room. She had little to use against the strongman outside of an aluminum chair or the monkey. Jezz grabbed a chair and brought it down with full force against his big bald head.

There was a loud ringing thump. Ivan paused for a second and looked at the chair in Jezz's hand. There was a rounded dent in the seat of the chair.

Jezz looked at the chair, then at Ivan. Outside of a trickle of blood running from Ivan's forehead down the bridge of his nose, the strongman appeared unaffected.

Jezz dropped the chair. Okay, *now* she was going to have to cheat. She stepped forward, pivoted her hips and aimed a powerful kick for Ivan's balls.

Unfortunately the strongman was too experienced a fighter to leave that area open. His arms crossed low, blocking the kick and trapping Jezz's foot as well. Ivan grabbed Jezz by the front of her shirt, then lifted her in the air. He shook her several times, then tossed her into the row of chairs with a clatter.

Dazed, Jezz sat up and waited for her head to clear. Although he was relatively unhurt, the fight had worked Ivan to the point where his powerful musk had filled the tent. Jezz knew intellectually that she had to fight Ivan, but her lungs were saturated with his pheromones and her body was responding to his proximity. She was a wet mess.

"Ha!" said Ivan. "You think you can take down Ivan that easy! You are too pretty to fight like this! Come with Ivan and we make the beast with two backs."

Ivan was an idiot. Jezz rolled to her feet. Then she took a step forward, snatched the monkey from the seat where he still sat and threw him at Ivan's face.

Ivan roared as he tried to swat the angry, scrambling simian off his face. The monkey screeched and leaped just in time, causing the huge strongman to smack himself in the face. And while he was doing that, Jezz stepped forward and kicked him in the balls.

The strongman's eyes bulged and he made a high-pitched gurgling sound. Then he cupped his heavy testicles and dropped to his knees.

Val, long lashes fluttering, stood with her hand covering her mouth in apparent shock.

Jezz wanted to get the agent out of there, but she wasn't sure how deep Val was and didn't know how long Ivan was out of action. She'd have to come back for her later. Jezz moved past the circus girl and moved deeper into the big top.

*****

Edge entered the booth of Vivian van Gogh.

The blonde painter moved to her easel and indicated for Edge to sit on the chair. "Get comfortable, sir. This won't take long. You'll soon have a memorable portrait."

Edge moved to the chair and sat down. He watched as the woman's paint brush flew over the canvas.

As promised, a full portrait of Edge emerged.

Edge nodded in satisfaction. The woman appeared to be every bit as good as she said. "An excellent reproduction," he said. "It will be perfect for my apprentice to look at and meditate."

Vivian smiled. "Perhaps," she said, "or perhaps not. Allow me a minute or two to add a few final touches."

Edge shifted slightly to allow the painter woman a better angle for assessing his obviously strong presence and physical character. An outside observer might have thought he was striking a pose, but Edge knew that a true artist would understand his actions.

*****

Jezz made her way through the entrance that Ivan had come from. She followed the hallway around until she found herself back out in the main common area. She followed that to the back of the tent. She realized she was on the far side of the circus now, near the back exit of the big top, where the performers apparently entered. Jezz decided that warranted investigation.

She slipped through the back of the big top and made her way straight back to another tent that was smaller than the big top, but larger than the surrounding storage tents. Not seeing anyone in the immediate area, Jezz entered the tent.

It appeared to be a supply tent for the performers. There were racks of costumes everywhere, with only a small pathway down the center to what appeared to be a changing area. The tent appeared to be empty, but Jezz knew better. She made her way down the center aisle until she found herself in the center changing area. Then she waited.

It didn't take long. Two female mimes attacked silently, striking from opposite sides. Jezz shifted his stance slightly, avoiding one lunging kick while re-directing the other. The two mimes whirled with follow-up attacks, both of which were handled by Jezz. Jezz took on a battle stance, but both mimes disappeared into the surrounding racks of clothes.

Odd. Jezz glanced around, but they were nowhere to be seen and Jezz wasn't going to give them the advantage by moving through a maze to find them. "C'mon out and play, guys," she said out loud into the silent tent. "We can do unspeakable things to each other. Unspeakable...ha! See what I did there?"

She was answered only by silence.

Jezz sensed rather than heard the next attack. She whirled and ducked just in time to avoid another pair of mimes attempting to attack her from behind. The pair attempted to strike her simultaneously, but Jezz blocked their blows easily. There was a brief exchange, and then the pair of mimes disappeared into the maze of clothing racks as well.

Jezz shook her head in irritation. "C'mon, guys. Why can't we just get along. No need to give me the silent treatment. Silent treatment...ha!"

Playing hide-and-seek didn't appeal to her and Jezz was getting tired of the silent, phantom attacks, so when the next attack came, she immediately went into action. A pair of the mimes came at her from behind, one kicking high, one kicking low. Jezz leaped and pivoted, causing both attempted kicks to miss. Still elevated, Jezz twisted and drove the blade of her foot into a mime's stomach, causing her to exhale and bend over, breathless and hurt. Jezz landed lightly on her feet, then whirled and struck the other mime, knocking her back several steps.

Their shadow attacks disrupted, the other pair of mimes leaped into the area and engaged as well. The four mimes were surprisingly disciplined and fought well as a team. It was a silent battle, going back and forth across the center changing area, the only sounds being the thuds and grunts of blows landing to strong effect.

Jezz blocked, weaved and struck. She could easily have defeated any single one of them, but they worked together well as a team and Jezz respected their ability. But it was soon apparent that the battle mimes had no chance of taking down Jezz and she was about to gain the advantage.

"Thank you for playing," said Jezz, "but your lack of communication skills are starting to make me feel boxed in. Boxed in...ha! See what I did there?"

The mimes resumed their attacks with renewed ferocity. Apparently they despised mime humor.

It was a strange, silent back-and-forth battle. Something was off. The mimes didn't seem to be attacking to hurt her. They were attacking to make her react, it seemed, rather than to injure.

Jezz finally paused, dropping her stance, inviting an attack. Rather than move in, however, the battle mimes melted back into the shadows. Then Jezz realized that another figure had entered the immediate area.

It was not a mime, however. It was a clown. The clown was in full clown regalia- a red clown suit, oversized shoes, red hair. It was a female clown, and she was unbuttoning the top of her clown suit, revealing surprisingly lush cleavage. There was a gold coin hanging from a chain nestled at the top of her breasts. A pretty, glittering coin.

The clown leaned closer, making sure Jezz's eyes remained locked on the coin. "There you go," purred the clown. *"Watch the pretty coin of gold, and you will do what you are told. You are relaxed, and now you'll find, your body and your will are mine."*

Jezz's eyes glazed over, her facial features relaxing.

The clown continued, her voice seemingly amplified by the amulet. *"Watch the pretty coin of gold; I've got your will and your soul. You are relaxed, you love my bust; and now your body is full of lust."*

Jezz continued gazing at the amulet nestled in the clown's impressive cleavage. Then, almost casually, she struck the clown in her mid-section, knocking the breath out of her. The clown dropped to her knees, clutching her middle, gasping for air.

The clown looked stunned. "How?! You should be deeply under my power by now!"

Jezz smiled. "Two reasons. Reason number one is mental discipline on a level you can't understand with the right training."

The clown looked unconvinced. She said, "And the other reason?"

"The other reason is that I hate fucking clowns," said Jezz. Her hand flashed forward, snatching the gold coin amulet from between the clown's lush cleavage.

"Hey!" said the clown.

Jezz glared at her and held the gold coin directly in front of the clown's face. "Watch the pretty coin of gold and you will do what you are told. You've lost this fight, that's how it goes, so you will now remove your clothes."

The clown rolled her eyes. "Very funny. That's not how the power works."

Jezz grinned. "I know," she said. Then her hands flew as she shredded the clown's outfit in seconds, leaving a very naked woman in a red wig and clown shoes. Jezz then interrogated the naked ex-hypno-clown.

*****

Jezz made her way back into the big top. It was time to wrap up this case.

It didn't take her long to find her target. Ringmistress Lady Morganna, head of the Circus DeFay. Lady Morganna stood in the center ring, preparing for the show that was scheduled to start shortly. The ringmistress was six feet tall and made taller by custom-made thigh-high leather stiletto boots. A short, tight leather skirt hugged her hips, with a few inches of fishnet visible between the bottom hem of the skirt and the top of the boots. A black and white corset put her ample cleavage on display, framed by a red master of ceremonies jacket. A black cape with yellow inlay hung from her shoulders. Her top hat was deep red, with a black band above the brim. She wore a black choker and her black-gloved hands held a riding crop.

Three women dressed in revealing sparkly circus outfits stood close to Lady Morganna, smiling blankly and waving at the crowd. Wolf-whistles sounded as the circus bimbos performed their sole duty, which was to be pretty. Jezz recognized one as Valencia, lead agent of the team Garage had sent in, and she recognized another as Kendra, the commando agent. She didn't recognize the third bimbo.

Lady Morganna watched as Jezz made her way into the center of the ring. She waited until Jezz stood before her to speak.

"So you're the one who's been stirring up so much chaos around my circus," said the ringmistress. "You and that old man."

"That old man is my sensei," said Jezz. "You ran into him?"

Morganna's face darkened. "Yes, he's around. You wouldn't believe what he did to my art mage."

Jezz sighed. "If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, yes, I'd believe it. He's pretty vigorous. Swelling bellies is sort of a trophy thing to him."

"For fuck's sake! He put her out of action for months, you know. Her gift doesn't work while she's pregnant."

Jezz shrugged. "To the victor goes the spoils, yada yada. It's what he does."

Lady Morganna put her hand on her waist and cocked a hip. "And what's he going to do when I turn you into a piece of blank fluff, smiling for the audience and looking pretty? And in your case, working a back tent on your knees?"

Jezz shrugged again. "He'd say I was yours by right of victory."