Mature Content Warning: Not much, besides a little naughty imagery.

Author's Notes: This is the short update for today. I mentioned it when I updated Origin ARS, but due to recent illness and a lack of recent updates, I have decided to update both stories with short updates every day for the next three days (Wednesday to Friday) I am doing this to make up for recent lack of updates.

Also, those of you who have been waiting for Freelance Saga 5 to be released can find it at Smashwords, and soon it will be on Amazon.

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Chapter16.1: A Hard Morning

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Dawn was still a few hours away, but Scott could not sleep. He could not help but remain awake after sending in his report. Life of late had been hectic, but fun. However, something that had happened earlier still bothered him.

Alexis was his girlfriend in name and by contract. She had gone through a small altercation with Eina earlier, and he had mostly stayed out of it. Any smart man would have, as he had known that it was not really an argument about him. He was only an object in their little war of words, a convenient plot point for the story of their tense and energetic first meeting as it were.

He had gone to see Eina, and had already decided to speak with Alexis in the morning to see how she fared. The problem was that he was concerned about her. She was a sweet girl, but she had a few personality quirks due to her heritage that caused her to occasionally act in an odd way.

The more he thought about her condition, the more he wanted to speak with her. The problem was that it was already late, and she would probably be asleep.

Scott considered the problem for a few minutes then frowned. “Screw it.”

He sent a message to Alexis, but did not expect to have her respond until morning. He asked her how she was doing and if she would like to get together tomorrow afternoon. Their dungeon exploration date was over, but that did not mean that they could not simply spend a little time together. They needed to be on good terms, after all.

Several minutes passed and he turned over in his bed. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he received a message.

<<< Message >>>

... ... I don’t know.

>>

Scott was uncertain about that sort of answer. Was she mad? She was probably mad. He messaged her back.

<<< Message >>>

Just the two of us?

>>

Another minute passed before the next message arrived. Scott’s left eyebrow rose upward.

<<< Message >>>

If you really want to see me, come over now...

>>

Before he could answer she sent another message.

<<< Message >>>

Alone...

>>

Another message popped up immediately afterward.

<<< Message >>>

You better not be tired...

>>

Scott tilted his head to the side. Her request sounded suspiciously like a booty call. What was going through her mind? He shrugged then sent her back a message. He would meet her as soon as he could.

Another message arrived from Alexis not long after, followed by a digital rendering of what she was currently wearing.

She was wearing nothing but a pair of high heels and a petulant expression. The message said “Hurry.”

The hunter stared at the three dimensional rendering of his so-called girlfriend for a moment. His eyes widened considerably then he hopped to his feet. Any thoughts of going back to bed completely evaporated. He had to go do a little morale boosting with his contractually significant other.

He did not need to tell anyone that he was leaving since technically, they were going with him. He wore them on his arm after all. However, after he made his way over to the transit point used exclusively by the research institute and picked a destination, he received an image from Pirouette. It was a bright red question mark.

Scott thought about how to respond to her quickly then shrugged. He focused on his link to the dark elf and then vividly recalled the image of Alexis in all her glory.

He laughed a little when she sent back an image of her face with an extremely cheerful smile, and the number two. She wanted to go too, it seemed.

Scott was not certain how to let her down easy, as Alexis wanted him to come alone. He eventually decided on an image of himself walking a lonely road at night. He must walk his path alone.

The image of Pirouette appeared in his mind. This time it was her in all of her glory. The imagined Pirouette had an expression that pretty much said, “Oh, really?”

The hunter sent back an image of a naked Pirouette kneeling on a table. Her arms tied behind her back, her ankles tied together, and an apple in her mouth. She immediately sent back an image of her face with a confused expression.

Scott resent the kneeling pirouette image through their link then imagined Alexis naked in a tub of milk while holding up a bowl of cereal. It took a moment, but Pirouette finally got the meaning that he was trying to convey. She was a sexy dinner sort of dish, but what he was going out for was an early breakfast.

Pirouette sent back an image of her sighing then faded from his consciousness. She had accepted that he had another girl to attend to alone at the moment.

Scott walked through the transit point that he had set then made his way through several others. It was said that America was the city that never slept. It was as true now as it had always been. The streets were slightly less crowded, but they were still thick with random people living their random lives.

He sent a message to Alexis to let her know that he had made it back to town and would be at her apartment soon. She did not answer back, but he kept walking.

Eventually he made it through the overcrowded streets and worked his way over to the high-grade living space that Alexis lived in. Once he got inside, he walked to the elevator and was immediately met by the hidden security he had dealt with before.

He told them his business then waited while they contacted Alexis to see if her visitor was truly expected at that time of day. At a normal hour of the day, he would have been allowed to go straight up to her floor, but at the current hour there was extra security in place.

Several minutes passed before the on duty guards called weapons up from their MISS units and casually gestured toward Scott. The lead guard said, “The mistress is obviously asleep as she has not answered. Please leave the premises.”

“Seriously?” asked Scott. He had gone out of his way to meet her, and she was asleep? They could have just met up in the afternoon instead.

High powered anti-nightmare rifles swung in his direction. Yes, they were serious.

“Fine...” Scott had no desire to cause a scene.

He left the tower then headed off to find the proper transit point to start his journey back to the institute. He was halfway back to the institute before Alexis sent him a message.

<<< Message >>>

Sorry, fell asleep... Come back?

>>

Scott was tempted to answer, but there was a possibility that she was playing with him. He doubted that she wanted to jerk him around. It was either late, or quite early, if you wished to look at it that way. In the end, he chose not to respond to her.

He received two more messages before he arrived back at the institute. The first one asked if he got the last one. The second one was another racy photo followed by a sad face.

It was hard for Scott, in many ways, but he did not answer her. Some might think that he was a jerk for doing that. However, he did not see it that way. She just happened to fall asleep the moment that he arrived at her apartment building? It was possible, but the entire event reeked of trying to manipulate him.

The tired, and overly horny, hunter made his way back to his room then flopped down on his bed. He would contact her later in the day, but for now Alexis would just have to be naked and sad. She had either fallen asleep then felt bad about it, or she had purposefully jerked him around. Either way, Scott no longer had the energy to care.

***