Neon Breath
Wanted to have a bit of fun with a cyberpunk experiment. Unsure of where I'll go with this by my interest in the genre is growing.
Night covered concrete in a sheet of black and blue broken up by street lamps and flickering signs. A large building broke through the darkness with lights flashing from the windows leading up to the top floor where a party was being held inside of a penthouse. Neon colors flowed through the air thick with a steam created by moving bodies gasping and sighing for more. Drinks were poured into glasses flowing like the blood of the party pumping to keep everyone moving. The scent was sweet with a tinge of something acrid and smokey coming from the heated pleasure of the people attending. Clothes were an option that many chose to remove. Pants, shirts, and belts were left strewn across the floor between the groups gathering in various corners to press together for a fiery heat that helped keep the particular miasma of the party running thick between them. A congregation of dancers met by the center where a long couch held a few people with their lips locked together while the music kept on shuddering in the air. Hands came out to touch a particular individual near the couch who moved and twisted about toward every touch with a smile on her flushed face. She was an amphibian with blue glistening hide that began to show more and more as people tugged her clothes off one article at a time. Her eyes were a neon pink that reflected the colors of some of the lights flashing nearby while her fingers were touched by the same color. Her clothes came off one by one as she turned and twisted toward the crowd gathering around her until she was only left with a metal band around her wrist. Wolves, tigers, elks and more in all genders with hands between legs to tug and rub whatever they had to offer. A rabbit proved to be the bravest among them, leaning back on the couch to reach up and grab her by the cheeks to tug her down to meet him for a kiss. Edra responded with a smile as she accepted the embrace of mouths, hands coming up to grab him in kind, tongue dipping deep into his mouth as she straddled his lap. Kisses were planted on her back, her legs and more in worship as she kept the kiss going until the rabbit's hands dropped to his sides and a line of drool slipped from the sides of their connected lips. She parted and breathed out to the air, little rabbit panting as she brought herself up before coming back down to let him inside. The heat of their connection urged the other's to start grabbing one another, bodies moving and grinding to pick up the pace. Beneath her, the rabbit spent himself inside of her soon enough but she only kept on grinding, leaning down to pass digits over his cheek while planting soft pecks along his lips while neon smoke coated his eyes.
The melding of bodies near the center, the moans, and the dancing had called the attention of the patron of the festivities. He was a large tiger with golden eyes and bright orange fur clawed with black. When Edra saw the suited tiger approaching, she gave the rabbit one last kiss on his and whispered something that made him shudder. She got up and turned as he brought a claw up to her chin. Edra only kept the same smile on her face, a hand coming up touch his wrist to feel up his arm before resting digits on his chest. The tiger sneered and offered his arm before walking away with Edra in tow.
Music and dull moans faded away behind doors leading down halls until they got to a private room lit only by a warm lamp overtop the bed. The window was a glass wall bright with the glow of the city below writhing in smog and neon. Once the door shut behind them, the tiger stepped in and began to strip. The tie came off first and was tossed to the side and the blazer he wore came after. He sat on the bed while unbuttoning his shirt. Edra followed and sat next to him with one strong leg brought up over the knee, leaning back with her sharp eyes taking in every detail of the tiger.
His voice came with a rumble as he removed his shirt, "You're a gem among the crowds, y'know? I saw you and I knew I had to have you. Figured you would have said no since you seemed to be in your element among the crowd."
That voice dripped with predatory hunger and a curiosity rumbling in bass tones. Edra chuckled, her voice serving as a softer tenor to contrast his rumbling, "I'm at my element when I'm enjoying myself. There were a lot of pouting faces in that crowd when they saw you taking me away but no one said a thing so I'm guessing you're important?"
The tiger raised a brow, a corner of his mouth quirked while he spoke, "You're kidding? You must truly be a slut to simply have gone with a stranger or you're kidding. I'm-"
"Adri Belevia. A CEO and head of this little corporate get-together." She said with a grin that flashed fangs.
He looked at her, small quirk of the mouth growing to a full of grin that matched her own, "Well, well...Playing the fool just to make me feel dumb. You're smarter than you seem and I appreciate that. Did I have you pegged wrong? Not looking for a position or cash?"
Edra laughed and placed a hand over his while shaking her head, "I already have a job and consider any cash you pay a donation...What I really want is tucked away beneath those pants. Everyone out there might've been a bit too drunk or drugged for my tastes. I need someone who can really dance with me, really experience everything with me while sober, or at least just tipsy enough not to be dull to what's happening. Of course, a bottle of something fancy might suit my tastes just fine."
Adri rumbled, "A woman with a hunger for cock and the finer things in life? We'll see why I should donate based on your performance. As for a bottle of something fancy, I'll be right back with that."
He got up and walked out of the room leaving the frog to her own devices. She stayed seated with one leg crossed over the other, waiting until his heavy steps were nothing more than a distant thumping before she got off of the bed and began to fish through the drawers nearby, checking the nightstand first before fishing through the closet. Edra found a bag and emptied it to find a datapad. She picked up the small tablet and tapped on the clear display, bright colors coming to life to show that it was locked. A few hours with it or less depending on who was operating it could crack the pad or a careful extraction of a chip could give whoever needed it what they wanted.
The door opened and she turned to see the tiger standing there in only his trousers with a small frown on his face holding two bottles. With a sigh, he shook his head, "I figured that you were trying to get something out of me but I also thought that you were above thievery. What is it you're after, my bank account? Pathetic. If you wanted money so badly you should have asked."
Edra smiled, "I already told you, I have a job and I don't need your money. This little personal device is just something extra on the job. I'm looking for something else that I have in my sights."
Adri snorted and pointed a bottle at her, "A beating and a lesson in hubris?" The amphibian raised her hand and the band around her wrist began to glow. Pink light shifted in various sided shapes, gathering at her hand until a revolver had formed made of glitching light sizzling with heat. In response, the tiger raised his paws, "If...If you just tell me what it is that you want then I could get it. Very easily. No need to resort to violence. We can work something out."
She lowered her gun for just a second with a tilt of her head, "Hm? Is that so? Good to know! Now, I really think that next time something like this happens you should probably get paid employees instead of cheap labor. A security firm backed by a union maybe instead of a shitty private military that treats their stock like beasts of burden?"
The tiger muttered, "I'll keep that in mind. Now, could you tell me what you want so we can get this over with?"
"Your life," Edra said with a small smile.
His eyes grew wide for a moment before they narrowed and he snarled in defiance. He threw a bottle but Edra simply tilted her body to the side and brought up the neon gun in the air. She didn't need to pull back the hammer but it felt nice, it added flavor and it gave her time to line up the shot just right before she fired. The holo-gun jerked back but the bullet flew straight through the tiger's chest. Adri stopped in his tracks, claws coming up to the wound to clutch it while he crumpled to the ground.
"CEO of a tech company. Making drugs on the side. Muscling in on the wrong territory apparently." She then put another bullet through his skull, the beat of the music outside covering the dull pop from the light constructed gun. Edra sighed and flicked her hand to let the gun fade away while she muttered, "Not that I care. I'm just doing a job."
The frog hummed as she stepped to the door to lock it just in case while she let the cold wash of a life taken pass over her. It never got easier but she would rather bite through it than become numb. Edra brought her hand up and a knife appeared made of the same material as the gun. She squeezed on the hilt to make sure she had a good handle before she cut a circle through the glass before popped it out and carefully bringing it inside rather than letting it fall to the ground level. A cool wind rushed inside making her regret her fun on the dancefloor. If only the tiger had insisted on fucking her first instead of getting drinks then maybe she would have been satisfied. The bunny had been cute but not enough to sate her needs.
With a sigh, she fished through the late CEO's closet until she found a coat that could at least cover her body. With that and the datapad in hand, she stepped toward the opening in the glass and looked toward the building across from them. She breathed out, eyes focusing on the roof, body growing hotter and hotter by the second until her form began to crackle and splinter. Like arcing neon lightning she shot out of the window and up the other building until she was at the roof and herself again.
She choked out and coughed, slapping her chest to calm her heart, "Fuck...I hate it. Never going to get used to it. Thankfully it isn't something I have to do a lot of." Shaking her head, she walked to a small dip on the roof where she found a briefcase hidden underneath a piece of slate. She popped it open and set the datapad in it before coming up to place a digit on her ear. Edra waited for a second or two before speaking, "The job is done. Tiger's gone. Personal datapad in the briefcase. Nobody knew who I was or who you all were."
A voice on the other line came, rich and woody, "Good. Ever thought about a permanent position with us. We could use more than just an assassin and you're qualified for a lot."
She smiled just a bit while looking up at the smog covering the stars, "Nah. I prefer working as a contractor. Sucks ass for taxes but if the pay is good enough then it doesn't matter. Besides, if I keep myself loose like this then I can have all the fun I want so long as my fun doesn't break contract."
The voice sighed, "And I'm glad about that last bit. No fires were started this time, correct?"
"Yup, as per contract mx," Edra said with a grin.
They blew out a breath, "Good. Now then. If you really don't have any intention of working with us full time...Then I suppose I could offer you another contract for next week. Tense negotiations, that sound good?"
Edra hummed, "Sure, I could get behind that. Just don't set me up with anything small time or boring and I'll be glad to do it."
"Perfect. Then I will see you again next week. Oh yes, and as always, our company is not affiliated with you in any way."
"Of course." She answered.
With that, the call cut and she brought her digit off her ear. Sighing, she looked over the building with flashing lights, watching the street below as the police arrived as quickly as they could to try and salvage their corporate interest. If it were a domestic case then they would either never have shown up or been fashionably late. Before they arrived at the room, she started down one of the fire escapes on the building. Darting down to the street below while wondering what she was going to do with the new cash in her account.
Either way, the night had just begun.