One Night 02 - Twelve to Two

I was suddenly aware of the fact that I had somehow learned the woman's full name. It was a strange feeling — not like trying to learn something for the first time but like recalling a fact so obvious that I'd always known it. But I didn't have time to analyze my situation.

In the past, what I'd done had been mostly instinct — sinking into someone's psyche and plucking at their emotions or subconscious thoughts like a harpist to change their tune as I'd pleased. Now, I had to consciously move into her mind with intent. I needed to overwrite her orders to kill me and replace them with something else, something... safer.

Think, man. I had no idea what was happening beyond the confines of my own head, but I had to act fast. From past experience, I knew that I was essentially sitting outside of time — thoughts moved so quickly that when I immersed myself this deeply in them what felt like minutes to me was maybe a few seconds for everyone else. Still, those few seconds could end with me receiving the pointy end of a sword through the chest, and I wasn't eager to experience that particular sensation.

How does this woman operate? I asked myself. How do you win her over? I concentrated as I pushed into her mind, ignoring the sudden pounding in my temples as I forced myself to seek a solution. Then, I halted abruptly. The wall of discipline that I'd run into earlier was still there, and I felt a chill run through me. It was a chill spasm of fear. I might be about to die. No one I'd ever encountered before had this kind of focus. Well, maybe one man, but he was most definitely an exception to the rule. Chiara's discipline was incredible and unwavering. Imagine a massive wall of concrete built of determination, will power and focus on a singular goal. That's what I found myself up against as I tried to move past the assassin's surface level thoughts and deeper into her mind. I simply couldn't — and if I couldn't get in I couldn't save myself. End of story.

Then, strangely, as I looked closer I realized that the wall wasn't impenetrable. At certain points what appeared to be rock-solid conviction now showed weaknesses, places where the concrete walls were softer than before. I focused for a moment, and realized what they were — Maria's words having an impact on the woman as my young lover tried to convince the assassin to stay her hand. Maria's words weren't enough on their own, but they gave me the opening I needed.

Thank you, I whispered silently, and dove at the nearest weak point, focusing my own will into a narrow-pointed battering ram. I poured my fear into the attack, using it to give me strength as I powered into Chiara's determination to fulfill her objective.

There was a second of a resistance. Then, the section of wall bent under my assault and popped like a bubble, sending me tumbling through. The pain in my head seemed to double as I breached the assassin's subconscious defenses, but I forced myself to ignore it. Instead I immersed myself in the mind of the Mob's hired killer.

The human mind is a kaleidoscope of thoughts, sensations, sights, smells, sounds and emotions — thousands of them every second. I felt as though I were being bathed in the brightly flashing lights of a hundred different dance clubs as each refraction of Chiara's kaleidoscope bounced past my mental senses. I felt myself physically wince. What I was seeing and feeling was a hundred times more powerful than anything I'd experienced before when I'd reached into the mind of another person. In the past, I'd never done much more than reach out and tweak a thought or feeling. What I was going to try now was on an entirely new magnitude of difficulty.

As I desperately searched for a way to save myself, I found myself latching onto tidbits of Chiara's personality. They drifted through the maelstrom of information and as they brushed past I learned more and more about the woman.

Chiara wasn't just some mercenary, I realized. She was Antonio's friend and confidante as well. But before the current of consciousness could drag me away with a stream of flowing mental data, I forced myself to focus.

Chiara is driven by loyalty, I thought. Loyalty to Antonio San Luca, to her contract and to herself. Once she decides to do something, it's nearly impossible to sway her from the path. I took the mental equivalent of a deep breath. My only option was laid bare before me. I had to create in Chiara a loyalty to me that was stronger than any of those previous ties... And I had no idea how to do it.

But before I could second guess myself, I dove into Chiara's mind and let myself go. I let the flow of sensations, thoughts and feelings carry me deeper into the woman's psyche. There was no light, but things seemed to grow darker as I drifted along. The current of information that carried me grew weaker as numerous small streams branched off, feeding the data to different parts of her mind, brain and identity. I didn't let myself follow them, instead sticking to the main river of thought until I found myself in a small, empty place that seemed...

Right. I'm not sure how I knew, but something told me that this was the spot for me to do my work. I paused for a moment, wondering what exactly to do. Then, I realized that everything here was made of thoughts and intentions anyway.

It doesn't matter what I do, I thought. What matters is what I think I do. With that epiphany, I went to work.

Loyalty stemmed from friendship and respect, so I used those as my building blocks. I planted a seed. Then, I made it grow. In bare seconds, I nurtured to maturity emotions that usually took months or years to foster. For a moment, I was almost afraid of my own power. Then, everything clicked into place and I didn't feel afraid anymore. I didn't feel anything. I just knew, somehow, that I'd done it.

My eyes fluttered open as I slid out of Chiara's mind. The thousands of sensations, thoughts and feelings that I had sensed rushing through the woman's brain were suddenly gone and in their place I was slammed by the tidal wave of my own incoming data stream. In a split second, all of the input that my body had been ignoring rushed through my consciousness. I physically staggered a step back, instinctively raising my hands to defend myself. Then, after a single excruciating instant there was a sudden clarity.

Everything blinked back into focus. First, I registered sound, a scream — Maria's voice beside me. Then, I registered an image — the dark-haired Chiara charging me with vicious speed, sword and knife in each hand raised to attack. And finally, another sound in the periphery of my consciousness...

Ding.

I spent a fraction of a second wondering why on earth the elevator door would be opening behind us. Then, the crew of men we'd left in the Palace One lobby opened fire.

12:17 AM

I saw the instant Chiara's loyalty changed. Confusion flashed across her face, then her eyes flickered over my shoulder and a mask of determination fixed itself across her features instead. She was still not certain exactly what was going on — nor was I, to be quite clear — but the more relevant threat needed to be dealt with first. Blades still in hand, she bounded forward and lowered her shoulders, tackling Maria and me to the floor together.

My body hit the concrete as a spray of bullets ricocheted off the walls around us, missiles buzzing like angry hornets. My skull exploded with pain as I smacked down gracelessly and the rush of blood through my head pounded with earsplitting intensity. I gasped for breath as my vision flickered red, only now, apparently, paying the price for my deep dive into Chiara's unconscious. Maria cried out in surprise as she hit the floor. I realized she had probably expected the assassin to kill me rather than saving both of us.

As Maria and I lay sprawled on the floor, stunned, the second gorgeous Italian woman somersaulted to her feet and rushed our attackers. Groaning, I flopped over onto my stomach to watch. If any one of those men got past Chiara then Maria and I would have to beat a hasty retreat.

I needn't have worried. There were six men, each one a powerfully-built specimen in dark blue military fatigues with a gun in his hands and a large, straight-bladed knife at his hip. Not one of them touched Chiara.

The woman moved like quicksilver, her attack fluid, swift and deadly. The first man went down with a grunt, the assassin's sword thrust deep into his stomach as she slid under the chest-high blaze of gunfire, her body armor throwing up sparks as she skidded across the concrete. The rest of our assailants didn't even have time to leave the elevator as the black-bladed sword spattered blood across the wood-paneled walls and plush carpeting on the interior. In the enclosed space, their numbers worked against them and in a dozen seconds of frantic movement and shouts of pain Chiara cooly executed the remaining soldiers.

There was a thud as the last body hit the floor and then Chiara turned back to face us. Maria had risen to her hands and knees and stared in horror at the carnage.

I didn't have the energy to be shocked at the bloodshed. I could barely even see straight. My head hurt. It felt like my skull was being used as an anvil by a bunch of medieval metalworkers. Or maybe someone was pounding red hot nails into my brain, that would explain it.

"Freelancers," Chiara spoke, her voice clipped and precise as she cooly wiped the bloody blade clean on one of the corpses and sheathed it. She stalked over to me before reaching down and grabbing my hand. "Antonio put a price on your head that guaranteed most major players in the City will be on their way to find you." She hauled me to my feet with very little visible effort, muscles bunching in her legs and arms.

I swayed on my feet, blinking dazedly. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but suddenly all the blood rushed to my head and I collapsed. There was no warning. My legs simply gave out beneath me and my vision faded into darkness until there was just a tiny window far away through which I could watch as Maria and Chiara hauled me through the darkened parking garage.

My head lolled to one side and I saw my silver Jaguar was finished, its flanks pockmarked with bullet holes and its windows shattered. Ouch, I internally winced.

I felt myself sliding into the backseat of a black car, Maria getting in after me so my head rested in her lap. Her thighs made for a nice pillow, and I felt myself falling down into sleep as the engine rumbled to life and we rolled out of the parking garage. I was dimly aware of police sirens in the distance as we joined the flow of traffic away from the Palace One hotel.

12:45 AM

What felt like mere seconds later, my eyes opened as I felt us come to a stop. My vision was a little better, but my head still felt like it had been split by an angry lumberjack. The women were speaking in hushed Italian as they grabbed me under the arms and hauled me to my feet. I was unsteady as they practically dragged me into an alley between two tall, dark buildings and then into a shadowy doorway.

Chiara punched a code into the keypad on the handle and then shoved the door open. As I passed through the entryway I saw that the door was thick steel, heavy and secure-looking. Then I was in a bedroom and being laid out. My shirt was removed and the two women were bending over me, rolling me this way and that as they tried to figure out why my body had gone limp as a rag doll. They were speaking in English again, perhaps for my benefit, but the words were coming from far away.

"—should be fine!" Chiara's voice was a frustrated snarl. "No physical injury except for a few bruises. Doesn't seem like he has a concussion. I can't tell what's wrong."

Maria's tone was soothing, but worried. "Go see what you can find out about my father's plan. I'll stay here with him and keep trying to get him up."

The older woman said nothing but she left, closing the door behind her. Suddenly, something clicked into place. A rush of adrenaline shot through me and I sat up, momentarily ignoring the spike of pain in my cranium.

Maria gasped as I gripped her hand tightly. "Chiara is your father's favorite assassin," I managed to get out through a throat that felt like it was coated in sandpaper. "The one you said was coming for me!"

The beautiful young woman nodded, her eyebrows coming together for a moment. "Yes," she murmured. "And I still don't know why she hasn't followed her orders to kill you." She put a hand on my chest and pushed me gently down into the bed.

I know why, I replied silently, but then immediately second-guessed the thought. Do I even, though? I worried. I honestly had no idea what I had done inside of Chiara's mind. Everything had been instinctual. It was as if my brain had gone into survival mode and done what was necessary to save me, kind of like when mothers lift trucks off of their injured children. But explaining everything to Maria felt like too much energy. So instead I just let myself wonder what would happen now that I had a crime lord's pet assassin on my leash.

The rush of thoughts that threatened to invade my head flipped a switch, and I suddenly winced and sighed out a gasp of pain. The pounding in my head returned in all its fury, but at the same time I heard something strange — it was a moan that some far corner of my mind identified as a sound of female pleasure. My eyes flicked to Maria.

The busty brunette had a hand to her chest, breasts rising and falling as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Her eyes were wide and I saw that her pupils were dilated and her cheeks were flushed. As I watched, the 22-year-old glanced over her shoulder at the closed door where Chiara had just departed. Before I could say anything, she climbed onto the bed, straddling my legs and letting her body slide sinuously over mine as she sensuously crawled up the mattress toward me.

I felt the smooth red materials of her dress dragging over my skin, tingling and giving me goosebumps. "Maria," I started to say. "What are you—?" but before I could finish she lunged forward and grasped my head in her hands, pressing her palms hard to my temples and capturing my words in her sweet, soft mouth.

I groaned and involuntary deepened the kiss, reaching up and placing my hands on her back, pulling her pliant young body down against mine. Her round breasts moulded themselves against my bare chest and I could feel her hard nipples pressing through the thin fabric. She moaned again, one hand sliding down my body and between my legs. Weakened as I was, I was unable to resist as she slowly began to tease me with her fingers, gently massaging and toying with my slowly-growing length.

I groaned suddenly as I felt a rush of blood leave my head and travel south, swelling my shaft under her skilled hands. Then, inexplicably, I realized that some of my pain had gone with it. My skull no longer had two dozen fiery nails stuck in it, just a baker's dozen. What? I wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time I didn't want any of this to stop.

Maria obviously didn't either. She pulled back from the kiss and sat up suddenly, her hourglass body suddenly silhouetted above me. Then, in a single motion, she grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled the thing over her head. It was a move I'd seen before, back in my hotel room, but somehow I was even more desperate for her body now than I had been less than two hours before.

The young woman's eyes were burning with wanton desire as she gazed down at me, her dark hair tumbling down over her shoulders and framing her entrancing features. She looked almost mad with lust, her lips parted as she stared down at me.

The situation was so surreal that I almost demanded of her what was going on, but I suddenly noticed something in the corner of my consciousness. A tiny parcel of my mind had reached out without my noticing and latched onto Maria's psyche. As I watched, it pulsed and shot another jolt of lust through the woman's body. Before I could wonder at my ability manifesting itself outside my conscious control, Maria bent down and kissed me again.

I could almost feel the pent-up need in her body as she undulated on top of me, grinding her hips against mine and teasing my rapidly-hardening cock. Even as she did, I could feel the pain melting away from my head, the splitting headache fading as my body surged with matching arousal. I didn't question it, instead, I growled and wrapped my fingers in her hair, pulling her mouth hard against mine.

Good, a primal part of me snarled triumphantly. This is how things should be. Another pulse of power from that unattended part of my consciousness into Maria and I felt the woman stiffen then relax, almost as though a miniature climax had electrified her senses.

Maria pulled back once more and stared down at me with eyes that were practically glazed-over with desire. "We're safe now..." she murmured, leaning down to kiss my neck.

I shivered at the soft touch of her lips.

"And I'm ready to serve you... Master..." The young woman's voice was a seductive purr that shot a spike of lust straight down my body and into my cock. My shaft stiffened as another pint of blood flowed down below, and I felt my thoughts crystalizing as the pain faded even further into the distance. I wanted to wonder what was going on, why my pain was going away, but through the fog of lust I stopped caring. All that mattered was what was happening right now.

Maria trailed kisses down my body, her lips caressing my chest and down my stomach until she reached my belt. Then, flashing me a single, fiery glance, she practically ripped the belt away and unzipped my dark slacks. Her hands dove beneath the fabric, freeing my rock hard length. Without a second's hesitation, she bent her head and swallowed me whole.

My head tipped back and I groaned as a spasm of pleasure rippled through me. Her soft, plush lips wrapped around my girth as her tongue gently flickered around the broad helm of my prick. As I raised my eyelids to watch, her cheeks hollowed lewdly and I could see the bulge of my shaft as she swallowed me completely. I felt myself hit the back of her throat and then the sensation of her throat relaxing and allowing me full access. I raised my hips slightly, my sizable length sheathing itself completely in her volcanically hot and willing mouth.

"Oh fuck..." I groaned, gasping as the gorgeous goddess slowly pulled back, her pink lips massaging my length as she went. Her dark brown eyes darted up to meet mine and I saw they were sex-glazed and totally devoted. I shivered at the feeling of raw power that surged through me.

Maria began to bob up and down on my cock, impaling her mouth on my length with moans of wanton enthusiasm. I felt every vibration shudder through me, the sensation indescribably erotic. The woman's heavy breasts brushed against my thighs as she moved, and I saw one hand dart between her legs to begin playing with her own clit. The other hand wrapped around my cock and began to jack me off, her mouth changing focus to suck solely on the sensitive tip. I felt her tongue swirl around the head and then grunted as she sucked hard, begging me to fill her with my cum. My balls began to feel heavy, tightening as I grew more and more turned on.

"What the fuck?!" The sound of a voice startled me out of the moment. My head turned so fast I nearly got whiplash. Standing in the now-open doorway was Chiara, a gun in her hand. She had stripped out of her black body armor and now wore a pair of dark yoga pants and a dark tee shirt that tented at her sizable breasts. Her eyes darted from my face to Maria and back, they were wide and obviously shocked. "I heard noises and I came run—"