Chapter 39: Ray Dawn

Ray Dawn usually found nothing more relaxing than a lapdance.

Not today though.

He watched absentmindedly as Madam Rouge went about her routine. Her synthetic silk skirt felt pleasant enough against his groin and she was attractive enough but he preferred a woman with a little metal on her. Instead she had all smooth caramel skin, warm to the touch.

He swallowed down a repulsed shiver.

Madam Rouge slid back and forth to the slow beat of afro-pop music. Her braided neon hair glowed brightly and shook gently against her arched back.

Despite his disinterest, he was still half hard.

Her ferromatic perfume was having an effect on him, it was pure and pungent, not that cheap stuff low grade hookers sprayed on.

Just one or two visible augmentations and he would’ve been more engaged.

‘But I must commend her.’

Despite his stubbornness, she showed no signs of annoyance or frustration. Moreover she had put in more effort than he’d expected. She did her best to please him from within confines of what he had paid for. She tried everything from dirty talk to sticking her jugs in his face.

None of it worked too well.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop thinking about his recent shortcomings. His mind had on replay how that fool Shenko had been baited into Safaree’s schemes and how he’d been powerless to stop it.

Ray Dawn loathed nothing more than being powerless and having good tools taken away from him.

Madam Rouge suddenly clasped onto his knees, retractable steel nails flashed out her fingers biting into his flesh, drawing droplets of blood.

Ray Dawn wasn’t alarmed. He groaned instead at the cold feel of pure steel against his skin.

‘Why didn’t you show me the goods from the start?’

She had his full attention now. She dipped her ass into him with an increased intensity.

She’s working real hard to please you.

Because she wants you.

She’s attracted to you.

You’re the man.

Ray Dawn frowned as the thoughts echoed in the back of his mind. She was spamming subliminal waves at him. And she was quite good at it too. Stroking his ego to arouse him and making the subliminal messages seem like his own thoughts.

‘She could put many mages to shame with her wave control skills.’

The wave controls were an art few cybermages truly mastered. Many mages would implant subliminal thoughts that got lost within the horde of random thoughts generated by the subconscious every day. For an implanted thought to take root in the mind it had to be approved by the subconscious then up-voted into the targets core psyche. Only then could it become thought provoking.

But this is easier said than done because the subconscious was more emotion based than it was logic based. Yes, implanting thoughts that invoked emotion was the way to go but understanding emotional triggers was hard to accomplish when most people didn’t understand their own reasoning.

However there are a few cheat codes and perhaps no bigger cheat code than sex. There weren’t many acts as universally intimate and emotionally triggering as sex.

True some grew detached to the act but if one was one of the many who still got horny and felt pleasured by the act in any of its numerous variations. They were deeply invested into sex no matter what lies they told themselves.

Their dry humping wasn’t quite sex but it was close enough to invoke the same mental reactions for her wave controls to potentially take effect.

He sighed trying to imagine how many men and women had fallen for her charms not realizing they were being subliminally stimulated.

‘Using sex to emotionally control her customers.’

Not that horny men needed more than the thought of sex to be manipulated but her wave controls would compound their mentality toward obsessive behaviour and/or subservience.

‘No wonder she charges so much.’

Her operation was by no means ingenious. The league corporations did the same. Employed emotionally provoking subliminal ads to trigger customers into spending on their expensive products/services and convince them to keep coming back for more.

She threw him look over her shoulder, stared at him as if he was the only man in the world.

You’re making her horny.

You’re the man.

“Hmm,” she hummed out a moan.

She can feel you.

You’re the man.

He normally hated being subliminally invaded and was skilled enough in the wave controls to look her out his mind but he allowed it.

‘Just this once.’

Because it was doing the trick and he was as hard as a sick-stick.

She felt his eagerness and flung herself back into him, head resting on his shoulder. He whiffed in more of her ferromatic perfume. She ran her steel nails through his short dark hair, pressed her butt firm to his crotch and wriggled her hips in a circular motion.

He embraced her breasts, sank his fingers into their plushness and gently caressed them.

She kept moaning into his ear and he kept letting out unseemly grunts.

Ray Dawn groaned a throaty sound, his hips jerked and he held her tight as an incomprehensible expression took hold of face.

He twitched a final time before all his strength drained from his body. He slumped back into the velvet couch, letting out a few hot breaths as Madam Rouge got to her feet, already fixing her outfit to leave.

She smiled at him. “Did you enjoy it baby?”

Ray Dawn shrugged weakly.

Her lips curved into a smile that wasn’t a smile and she looked down at him with an arrogance that said of course you did. He might’ve been offended if he hadn’t just spent a load in his pants.

‘Too hard to remain arrogant with soiled underwear.’

“Comeback soon okay,” she said.

Definitely, she’s worth the money.

She’s special, I should come back.

Hmm I’ll be back.

Yes back soon.

The foreign thoughts echoed in the back of his mind.

“I wondered why an agent trained to avoid predictable patterns of behaviour would frequent this place.” Ray Dawn said, sagged into the velvet couch. “I would’ve never imagined you wave controlled him to comeback.”

‘Must be how she hooks so many high profiled clients. But as an agent and cybermage, the fool should’ve realized.’

Perhaps he knew and still enjoyed it exactly like he had. He frowned at his own indiscipline. To know your being manipulated and allow it anyways, an illogical act by any stretch of the imagination.

Ray Dawn sighed profoundly. ‘One of the great mysteries of my life: why reason only returns after blowing load and never before.’

Madam Rouge’s face twitched but she suppressed her surprise with the professional calm of an experienced liar.

“You’re quite the joker,” she laughed it off. “I’m afraid I have to be off, my next client is waiting.”

She made haste for the exit.

She was within proximity so it only took a moment for Ray Dawn to hack into her chip and lay bare her entire history.

‘Oh she isn’t a rouge salesmage.’

That would’ve explained her possession of the wave control software. The software was reserved for cybermages and their watered down cousins the salesmage. They weren’t trained in all the mage controls like cybermages. Instead they were trained only to use wave controls, for the purpose of mastering the dark arts of subliminal advertising. All to maintain the monopoly the League of Five had on the economy.

‘She’s just a thief then.’

“Don’t insult my intelligence Madam Rouge or do you prefer Mahalia Simmons.”

Mahalia paused mid-stride.

“Formerly Sumiala Coleson before you changed your name and before that Sumiala Webster before you were divorced by tech mogul and part owner of WebTec, Ismiala Webster. Explains were you got the wave control software, a gift from ex-hubby or perhaps you stole it. Is that why he divorced you? Why you changed your name?”

Ray Dawn didn’t wait for her to reply.

“Illegal possession of patented corporate software is 10-15 years. More depending on how much you abused it and even more if your actions caused anyone mental trauma.”

Mahalia stood frozen for a long while then swirled back to him with the ferocity of a zoo minx. “Are you here to arrest me?” She barked with a defiant look.

Her retractable steel claws flashed out, each nail extended to its maximum length at 5cm long, glistening in the dim light of the lounge.

Ray Dawn waved a dismissive hand. “Do I look like I’m in the arresting mood?”

She sized up his drained figure with an inquisitive eye. “No, no you don’t.”

The tension pumped out of her like coolant from a droid’s cracked reservoir. Mahalia retracted her claws as a smile flicked onto her face. She swaggered back and planted herself beside him.

“Did you have some kind of deal in mind?” She said suggestively. Eyes slithered with cunning.

Ray Dawn shifted his gaze from her silk skirt pulled up dangerously high and raised one finger.

“Only one thing.” His tone turned frosty. “Where’s Carrasco?”

Mahalia frowned at the request but the struggling expression quickly faded off her face. He had her and they both knew it. If her more powerful customers got wind of what she was doing to them, they’d have her head.

Mahalia looked up, eyes half-lost as she consulted her virtual records.

“Oh that guy,” she said blinking the virtuality out her eyes. “He hasn’t been here in over two weeks.”

“Where did he go?”

“I don’t keep tabs on my customers. He’ll eventually show up though. He’s probably burning with urge to see me after so long.” She paused raised an eyebrow. “Unless of course he’s in some kind of danger. In my experience only that could overcome the compulsion I’ve trained into him.”

She breathed and a satisfied smile formed on her face. “I’ve never talked to anyone about what I do to my customers it feels refreshing to spill it out.”

Ray Dawn didn’t care. “He spent a considerable amount of time here. He must’ve mentioned destinations, safe houses, friends, did he leave you a contact number or anything.”

She held her chin high. “Despite my use of wave controls I keep it strictly business. No private talk.”

“Footage of your sessions with him.”

“My clients pay for privacy. The only cameras I have are at the entrance.”

“Give me something or I’m making calls,” Ray Dawn snapped.

She glared at him and looked thoughtful for a moment. Her eyes flickered with realization.

“Oh, oh he’s subscribed to my virtual channel. He pays to watch whenever I stream. Does that help?”

He sighed. ‘She’s milking her clients for everything they have.’

“Hmm. I might be able to track his IP if you can keep him online long enough.”

She smirked. “Oh that won’t be a problem.”

“When’s your next stream?”

“Whenever you want baby,” she said sweetly, fluttered her neon eyelashes at him.

Blood rushed into his crotch but his face remained impassive. “Wait for my call.”

She raised an eyebrow. “So were cool?”

“Yes.” Ray Dawn waved his hand weakly. “Do you need me to threaten you? Tell you not to run because I’ll find you and whatnot?”

“No need.” She manufactured a smile. “I just com-linked the local ward councillor who linked your boss and it would seem you have quite the reputation. Not someone to be messed with.”

“Just rumours I’m sure. Do what I want and I’ll let you be.”

“Don’t worry I will.” She leaned closer, giving him a look. “I feel like we should seal this with a handshake or something.”

He was about to offer his hand but she had already apprehended his groin, stroking him with great care.

“There’s no need for that.”

He lied and felt his position of strength weaken.

She rolled her eyes and intruded his mind.

‘No need to play hard to get. I know you want me.’

She wasn’t as covert this time but it was still a turn on. The intimacy of having her whisper sweet nothings into his mind was quite arousing.

She unbuckled his pants and dipped her head.

It probably wasn’t the wisest idea to let a chick he’d just blackmailed near his cock. Not to mention she’d bared her claws at him just a few minutes ago but it was funny how insignificant that seemed in that moment as she went down on him.

Mahalia sucked and slurped. His previous mess and her saliva mixed in a sloppy lubricant. She bobbed her head for a good while before she came up for air.

She attacked his neck, nibbled at him and said.

“There’s some guy who've being bothering my workers—”

“Are you negotiating?” Ray Dawn hissed, a slight menace in his voice.

“I would never,” she said innocently. Placated him with a sensual kiss and climbed atop him.

Her head tilted, eyes quivered and lips parted as if she wanted to feel every inch of him as he penetrated her. She shivered and let out a breathless moan when she took it all in.

He helped her out her top and sank his face into her breasts and diligently suckled on them.

She pushed him down and rocked her hips. Slow at first, then faster and faster, her moans perfectly in sync with each thrust.

She still lacked the love making precision of a cyborg but she made it up for it with momentum and her wave controls.

‘I just want you to have a talk with them. Make them know this is your turf now.’

A thought suddenly echoed in the back his mind. It very much felt like she was trying to use him. And he knew better than to get involved.

Despite how she downplayed it he knew the guys she mentioned weren’t just some guys.

‘Probably a gang trying to shake her down.’

Big shots gravitated to her whore house which meant big spenders preferred her establishment. Not to mention how loyally frequent they visited her place. This made the Rouge Lounge prime real estate for gangs in the same business.

'And not all gangs are as they seem.’

Some had the backing of corporations. Such gangs were used to hurt other companies or move in on start-up businesses like hers.

Moreover she was probing him. Testing the limits of what she could squeeze out of him. And he wouldn’t fall for it. He wouldn’t get involved.

Mahalia met his gaze, an expectant look on her face, as if the sun wouldn’t rise tomorrow if he said no to her.

‘Will you do it baby?’

“Yes,” he grunted between ragged breaths, helpless under the pleasure of her whipping hips.

Why it was so hard to say no during sex remained one of the greatest mysteries of his life.