Sweet Venom Arc 03 Ch. 17

After about another forty-five minutes of travel on the gently humming train, they arrived at The Plaza. Nearly all of the remaining passengers were getting off here (which was a lot) and Oxyi had to duck and dodge quickly around the disembarking passengers, as she tried desperately but inconspicuously to keep up with Robin.

Apparently, her years of working in security were actually paying off here.. She kept a decent but steady distance behind him, not getting too close to look like she was tailing him. She knew when to change direction, when Robin seemed to start looking around. Even though not much of her work took her to The Plaza, she knew the layout well enough to lose sight of him for a few moments, walk down the parallel and side streets and meet back up with him, without drawing any attention to herself. She was wearing dark jeans and a long-sleeved black top, and of course her scarf to help obscure her face. All in all, she didn't think she really stood out, she thought, as she spied a glance of her reflection in a shop window.

Maybe I should become a PI...

So far, to her disappointment but ultimately not to her surprise, Oxyi's pursuit had taken her away from the office complexes. He seemed to be approaching the library, which did fill Oxyi with some hope for a moment - maybe he's lost his job. Maybe he's looking - But her hopes were quickly dashed; instead Robin went into the building a few doors down and across the street - 'Eastern Point Hotel and Breakfast.'

A hotel? Maybe he's meeting a client? She thought, ever keen to see the good in people.

But alas, that wasn't to be the case. Instead, this would turn out to be just the first of one of many extremely pricey stops today. She watched from across the street as Robin quickly brushed himself down, adjusted his suit in the window, then walked inside. A few minutes later she followed him inside, and ducked down into the lobby. She could see him off to the right, in a large dining hall. He was sitting alone, at a table close to the bar, laughing with one of the waitresses. She siddled over to one of the tables in the corner, and immediately lifted a menu up to her face. With her free hand, she fumbled about in her rucksack, and pulled out a small camera.

He seems to know that waitress VERY we- holy shit look at these prices!

Oxyi quickly scanned down the breakfast menu - it wasn't even an all-you-can-eat overpriced breakfast, every item on the menu was individually priced, and none of it was cheap. Who would spend five die on a fried breakfast?!

Robin would, apparently. Oxyi couldn't help but gawk at the amount of food that was brought over to his table, over the course of the next hour or so. Sausages, eggs, toast, bacon, croissants, cold cheeses and meats, and large glasses of iced coffee. Oxyi's stomach growled as she watched him devour the meal in front of him; never in her life had she seen so much, and so pristine food.

"I'll just have a coffee, please." Oxyi mumbled to a waiter, and her stomach growled in protest; that bowl of cereal had barely touched the sides. "No milk, please! Lots of sugar!"

As Oxyi sat and sipped at her overpriced coffee, she watched as the same five or six waitresses stopped at Robin's table, sometimes with more food and drinks, sometimes not. They would chat and laugh, she could see from his demeanour that Robin was laying it on thick, but all in all... He hadn't really done anything wrong. A slow-filling rage was starting to build in Oxyi's chest though, as she watched Robin mingle with these middle class, pretty girls with such ease, drinking down their figures and scoffing their food with glee.

I could have only dreamed of this sorta life back home.

She snapped a few photos, not that they contained anything particularly incriminating. Although, she couldn't quite figure out if she was relieved, or annoyed by that. Eventually Robin stood up from his table, and left a fat wad of cash behind as he did so. The waitresses all crooned and gushed as he left, giggling as one scooped down and started flicking through the pile of notes.

Heavy tipper. Nice. Oxyi thought dryly, as she made to follow him. She contemplated what she'd seen as she followed Robin back down the street.

It was all innocent enough. No harm in flirting with a few waitresses... Although even as she thought it, Oxyi blushed and cringed slightly. Maybe he just wanted something to eat before work... No! I need to stop giving this guy the benefit of the doubt. That breakfast must have cost him a small fortune.

As the morning drew on into the afternoon, what Oxyi saw only may not have concretely confirmed her suspicions, but it did make her more and more angry. She became more and more confident that Robin's entire persona was just that. He paraded around The Plaza, flashing his cash and spending it as he liked. He went into a high-end custom suit shop, and seemed to be in there for ages as Oxyi sat and watched him from a nearby bus stop. He was getting yet another custom-sized, made to order three-piece suit, in the most outrageous shade of magenta she'd ever seen.

Why do I get the feeling it's not employers you're trying to impress? Oxyi thought as she snapped another photo.

Eventually, Robin paused his little spending spree and stopped for lunch at a classy little botanical cocktail bar. It was a pretty little place, with a metal set of stairs taking you up to the bar itself, which was on the first floor of the terrace building. Lush green vines and plants hung over the metal canopy outside. Inside, the bar was dimly lit, and had a cute but slightly smokey vibe to it. Robin went inside and sat at the bar. He was quick to order - or better to say - the pretty barmaids were quick to take his order - and before long he was devouring a huge slab of steak, and drinking a cocktail almost the same shade as the suit he'd just bought. Oxyi sat at the far end of the bar, sipping slowly on her mocktail and pretending to look like she was working on her phone, as she watched Robin order drink after drink. As he got more drunk, he got more bold, he sat on his stool, and started showing off his psyonics to the bar staff and the ladies around him, out for bottomless brunch. They all 'oohed' and 'ahhed' and laughed at the sparks and snowflakes that Robin made fall down upon their heads, and land delicately in their hair. He gestured for one of the ladies to hand him her drink, and with a few dramatic flicks of his hand, an ice cube materialised between his fingers, and he dropped it into the glass. The lady laughed as he rubbed the tip of his finger around the rim of her glass, leaving behind an icy-blue ring. Oxyi, however, was far from impressed.

Pfft. They think that's psyonics? That's nothing compared to what Diego can do.

He stayed there for a few hours, chatting, drinking, buying people's drinks, and flirting with seemingly anyone who would entertain him. Oxyi, by now, was starting to grow tired, and bored. She'd seen enough - unless Robin's incredibly important job was trying to pick up other women, this man was clearly a liar. And if he'd lied about leaving for work today, then Geralt was probably right - Robin didn't have a job. He was taking Venner for everything she had. If only Oxyi had proof. A few photos of Robin splashing the cash unfortunately didn't really prove... anything, except that he was a massive asshole. Oxyi sighed, and quickly left the bar. She stood outside the building for a few moments, scrolling back through the photos she'd taken, breathing in the alcohol-free air.

I need to talk to Venner. He's playing us. He's playing all of us. Seeth is gonna lose her shit. I just hope that Venner doesn't know what's going on; there's no way she'd pay for all this knowingly, is there?

As she thought, she suddenly caught sight of Robin's dirty-blonde hair whipping past her. She glanced up, and saw that Robin was quickly - if not a little unsteadily - making his way down the street, away from the central Plaza.

Seems like our little escapade isn't over yet. Where're you off to now?

Robin lead Oxyi down some long winding streets. They became less and less populated the deeper and further away from the centre they went. The street lights became few and far between, and the majority of them flickered or didn't work at all, plunging the streets into the shadows of the high-rise buildings around them. Oxyi's hand hovered over the pistol, which she always carried, strapped to her belt as she passed by a shady-looking man, grinning down at her from an alleyway.

Where the fuck is he taking me... Maybe I was right, maybe he is smuggling, after all...

Oxyi rounded the corner, and stopped in her tracks.

OH MY GOD, NO!

Oxyi's draw dropped as she watched Robin walk up to a brightly bedazzled building, with the words 'The Open d'Hore' curved above the entryway in large neon letters. A sleazy-looking lady in an extremely revealing slip walked up to him with a knowing and eager smile, and quickly guided him inside.

He's cheating on her. Oxyi stood in the middle of the street, wide eyed, seething with rage. The camera in her hands shook. The fucking cunt is CHEATING ON HER. HE'S TAKING ALL OF HIS WIFE'S MONEY, OUR 'SAVE DIEGO' MONEY, AND SPENDING IT ON FUCKING HOOKERS!

She was furious. How could he DO THAT? How could he do that to Robin?! And how had she not noticed it before? How had she not noticed Venner's tatted uniform, the worn shoes? That tired smile, and desperate plea in her eyes when Robin was blatantly dismissing her affections? It was all so obvious now. And Oxyi had no doubt in her mind now - Venner didn't know about any of this. There was no way that she was paying her husband to cheat her, not knowingly. She decided there and then that she'd confront Venner about everything she'd seen today.

It was too late to snap a picture now - Robin had long gone inside, and just when she finally would have had something on him, too! Oxyi was kicking herself. She had to try though, evidence or not. She wasn't going to let her friend be used like this any longer.

*

The pleasant aroma of fresh coffee and still-warm cakes gently wafted through the air, prompting a hungry rumble from the girls; lunch time was long overdue. Oxyi and Venner were sitting high up on an overhanging wall, munching away at their sandwiches and kicking their feet gently. Oxyi stared intently down onto her thermos of orange spicy soup, fidgeting slightly as she tried to figure out how to broach the subject of her husband's... infidelity with her. It had been nearly a week since Oxyi's little recon mission, and she still hadn't plucked up the courage to say anything to her friend. Venner didn't seem to notice Oxyi's fidgeting though, and was contentedly surveying the town square. It had been an easy morning for both of them so far; word of 'Lockblade' had spread thick and fast around the sector, and local crime had nose-dived to the point of practically being non-existent. Security work was still in demand though, and contracts for the two girls showed no signs of drying up just yet.

"What did Tivy make for you today?" Venner asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich and keenly observing the shops below.

"Oh, umm..." Oxyi fumbled briefly, twisting her flask around. The steel cylinder had the words 'Lion's soup' lovingly scribbled on the side, with a little smiley face in black ink. Very original, Tiv, Oxyi thought with a grin as she sniffed at the soup. "It smells spicy, maybe five spice again? She does a meeeeean five spice. Keeps you going, too." Oxyi laughed. "Remember patrolling that damned cargo freighter a couple months ago? Tivy's soup was the only thing keeping me warm on that bloody thing."

"We are never taking a contract from Syntax again. Even the contract handler was creepy." Venner grimaced as she took a large bite out of her sandwich.

"Did you see the way he was eyeing you up? Fucking wierdo. Couldn't take his beady little eyes off your hips." Oxyi shivered uncomfortably as she recalled.

"Yeah, only because he was too short to see anything higher up than that though." Venner laughed, and Oxyi choked back a giggle.

"Did you see that massive bald spot on the top of his head?"

"Oxyi, how could I not? His head was so shiny I could practically see myself in it!"

"Did you know he's starting putting 'female only' in his contracts now? Talk about a red flag."

"Gross. What did he say when we accepted the contract? Acceptable..." They both mimed in a low, grumbly voice, drumming their fingers together in a comically evil manner.

"Oh, god, Oxyi!" Venner laughed and wiped a tear away from her eye. "He definitely had the hots for you. I still swear, at the end of the contract, when you were leaning over him, shouting in his face 'cos he was trying to palm us off with less pay, that he was playing with himself under his desk."

"Venner!" Oxyi went bright red, trying to fight off both embarrassment, and the sandwich currently gurgling around in her stomach that was threatening to make a re-appearance. "Th-That is NOT something I want to think about!"

Venner chuckled evilly and took another bite of her lunch, satisfied with her ruffling of the lioness's metaphorical feathers.

"You're too easy sometimes, Oxyi. We need to find you a boyfriend, ASAP."

"Thanks, Venner." Oxyi replied, a little dryly. "But I'll have you know I'm doing just fine right now." The mention of boyfriends only made Oxyi's stomach drop further, as she thought again on how she was going to talk to Venner about Robin. Suddenly, all that good natured humour was replaced by a thick feeling of anxiety in her stomach. And Venner noticed.

"Oh, umm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Venner glanced down at her feet.

"Oh, no! I'm okay!" Oxyi replied quickly. "You didn't do anything wrong, I just... Venner, I need to talk to you about something."

"Umm, okay?" Venner replied, unsure as to where this was going. "Was it the 'boyfriend' bit? 'Cos if it's a 'girlfriend' you're after instead -"

"VENNER! NO! BOYFRIEND IS FINE!" Oxyi quickly interrupted, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks again. "This isn't about me, I need to talk about you."

"O-Oh, r-right." Venner looked uncomfortable now, and a little... hurt. "H-Have I done something wrong?"

"I..." Oxyi almost lost her confidence, almost changed the subject, looking at the genuine confusion and hurt in Venner's face, but she inhaled deeply and pushed those feelings down. We have to do this. "I noticed the withdrawal you made out of our savings account the other day."

Venner froze. Her eyes widened, the word 'guilty' all but plastered across her forehead. "A-A-A w-withdrawal?" Venner spluttered. "I'm so sorry, Oxyi, that must have been a mistake! I must have meant to d-deposit, but took the money out instead! I'm so silly, these contracts, they're just such long hours sometimes, I'm so tired by the time I get home!" Venner laughed nervously, and fumbled about with her phone. "How much was it? I'll deposit it back in right n-now."

"Venner, please don't lie to me." Oxyi said, as reassuringly as she could. "I've also noticed that the amount you've been sending into our account has been less and less recently. I wanted to ask, are you struggling for money?" Oxyi was trying to keep the conversation open, trying to get Venner to admit herself that something was going on. But Venner, instead of confiding in her friend, suddenly grew very defensive.

"Oxyi I don't really think it's any of your business what I do with my money." Venner snapped. "I offered to pay into that account. And if I decide to stop, that's completely my business."

"Venner -" Oxyi tried to interrupt, but the rat wasn't having any of it.

"- Now, I'll pay you back what I accidentally withdrew, and then you can stop prying your big pink nose into places it doesn't belong."

"Venner, I need you to be honest with me." Oxyi raised her voice slightly. "I can't help you, if you don't tell me."

"Help me?!" Venner forced a laugh. "What the fuck to you mean? I'm a security consultant, you think I don't know how to look after my own money?!"

"Look at you, Venner! You clearly don't know how to look after it!" Oxyi snapped, gesturing to her clothes. "Look at your uniform! It's frayed, it's losing its colour from how many times you've worn and washed it, I can see the rips and tears you've had to stitch up from here! Do you even own another uniform?! Your shoes are falling apart -" Venner curled her feet away subconsciously at Oxyi's remark - "and I've never seen you EVER buy anything for yourself! I even bought you that sandwich!"

"Take it fucking back then." Venner muttered, and slammed her sandwich down next to Oxyi.

"No, Venner, I don't - will you please help me here?!" Oxyi pleaded. "I know what Robin's doing -"

"Robin? What does any of this have to do with him?" Venner glared, but her confidence waned at the motion of his name.

"Last week, when I had that time off, I followed him -"

"YOU FOLLOWED HIM?!" Venner blurted out in disbelief. "YOU STALKED MY HUSBAND?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"He doesn't have a job, Venner!" Oxyi cried out. "It's all a facade, and a lie! When he left the flat, he announced to everyone in the fucking block he was off to work. Made a big fucking deal about bragging about it to us as he left. But I followed him, all day, and do you know what he did, Venner? He went out and ate a big fancy breakfast, and bought a new fancy suit, then went to this fancy little cocktail bar and drank himself silly! And that was before he -" Oxyi suddenly stopped, choking on her words.

"Before he what?" Venner snapped, glaring down at the floor.

"Before h-he went off to this other pub, and tried his luck. But he got kicked out, barkeep wouldn't serve him. He was too drunk." Oxyi lied. She just couldn't bring herself to tell Venner that her husband had cheated on her. "He was throwing all this money around, paying for people's food and drinks, and he was tipping the waitresses very generously... But I'm guessing you already know about that, don't you?"

Venner didn't say anything. Her hands were shaking in her lap, and a tear escaped down her cheek.

"Has he had a job since we even got here?" Oxyi pressed gently.

Venner shook her head, then suddenly started to cry. She shoved her face in her hands and sobbed. Oxyi sighed sadly, shuffled over and placed her arm around her friend.

"H-He k-kept saying that he was t-trying..." Venner sobbed. "That he had interviews, but that the j-job market was really bad right now... He said he needed the suits to keep up h-his image, to be impressive in his interviews. I-I knew he was going out d-drinking, but it's so disheartening for him being rejected by all these companies, and he said the prices of everything were going up, his train fare was getting more and more expensive, and h-he just needed a little more..." Venner sniffed, wiping her nose in her sleeve.

"Venner... Trust me. The man I watched go around the complex and nearly drink himself into a coma looked anything but disheartened. He's just using you."

"N-No, you don't understand! If I don't give him the money, he-he'll have to go back to smuggling, and I can't let him do that!" Venner all but wailed. "And I owe him!"

"Venner, you owe him nothing." Oxyi stated firmly, but the rat shook her head.

"It's my fault, Oxyi! Remember, on Barru X, the DA had him... that was because of me! I knew there were some shady deals going on in my sector, and they were getting close to the DA borders. I reported it! They investigated. R-Robin had never worked so close to Barru X before, I had absolutely no idea he would be involved, but they caught him! Oxyi, my husband went to prison BECAUSE OF ME!"

A fresh wave of tears rolled down Venner's face. Oxyi wrapped her over arm around the rat, and cuddled her gently.