Page 14 of Soulless Deeds

What kind of morons have such useless security measures?

My eyes were ready to roll when she saddled up to Echo’s booth and deposited the tray on his table, departing without encumbrance. Aster had her tongue shoved down some woman’s throat, and her glorified bodyguard was too busy grabbing ass to even notice the bomb that settled into his lap.

Complete fucking morons.

They were about to die, and they didn’t even know it.

VI

Echo

Aster led us down the basement stairs of Playhouse, weaving through dank corridors until we reached the allocated cell. We were called in by Sudo to deal with a new client who had come in requesting services we didn’t provide.

Vice was the syndicate renowned for fulfilling all your sexual desires, exploring another level of lust you never knew existed. Unfortunately, that meant we also attracted the absolute filth of society.

Many had misgivings about Serpents Row, not knowing we had our own set of rules—laws that were followed without any dissention. No children, no animals, no nasty, fucked up shit where people could take advantage of the weak and unsuspecting. We only dealt with consenting adults in this side of the city. If you followed our rules, your kink could be explored till your heart’s content.

With a steady flow of cash and an open mind, I’ll happily show you heaven.

Aster pitched her chin to the cell door before us, indicating for me to take command of the interrogation. She was in a stroppy mood, her snobby nose rising in the air, scowlaccentuated by her crimson-painted lips. She was still pissed at me about the whole Appleberry debacle. She shouldn’t have bothered. I was pissed at myself.

The Ludus had taken the untimely death of the ambassador as an aggressive threat and had gone into hiding, cutting off all access to the Caverns beneath the city as if biding their time to strike back. Which wouldn’t be an issue in itself if it was only the Ludus we were dealing with. However, with Khaos now a part of the mix, countless unknown variables were a part of the playing field, making Vice vulnerable for the first time in years.

My failure was a constant presence that contaminated every waking moment.I never fail.The mere thought of that waitress made me hard while imagining my hands wrapped around her throat and squeezing until the light faded from her eyes.

I’d also had no advancements in that department either. Honing in that frustration, I geared it towards the task at hand.

I pushed into the chamber, the barred door creaking at my entrance. Sparing Aster a cursory glance over my shoulder, I said, “Might want to lose that glower, Mistress, you have a few wrinkles pushing through.”

Her hand flew to her forehead, smoothing down the perfect skin. I released a cackle and shut the door in her unimpressed face. Anyone else would get a caning for a comment like that. Me? She knew that wouldn’t work.

Darkness enclosed the small rectangular tomb, and my senses were only spared for the man tied to the lone chair directly in the centre. His head lifted. Unable to see my approach, he knew I was there all the same. “Who’s there?” he asked, voice strained and shaky.

“The devil.”

The pathetic excuse of a man remained strapped to the chair, blood running from his nose as he fervently shook his head.

“Answer me,” I said, my Variant bouncing off the concrete walls to ricochet into his body.

He dry-retched from the impact. “What are you doing to me!? You VariantFREAK!”

I rubbed the muzzle of my pistol against my temple, his arrogance wearisome, giving me a headache. I needed a drink.

“Let me show you how much of a freak I can be,” I said, ready for it to be over. “My Variant gives me the ability to manipulate soundwaves lower than the limits of human audibility. Which means that although you can’t hear the range of frequency, you canfeelit.”

I began to circle him with threatening intent. “That sense of terror creeping over your body, that deep-seated feeling of dread… Yeah, that’s me.” The fucker began to tremble, which made a spark of happiness lick up my spine. “With just one word, I can make yourstomach turn.” He began to vomit, my gift causing his gut to spasm in knots. “With just one sentence, I can make yourheart beat out of rhythm.” His rib cage succinctly rose with short, shallow gasps, a new-found ache taking over his chest.

Stopping short in front of him, I raised the handgun to the centre of his forehead. “I don’t think you realise… With just one statement, I could destroyevery cell in your fucking body.”

That’s when that middle-aged nobody lost his absolute shit. A crying, snivelling mess, begging for his pathetic life by praying for salvation that would never come.

“Now, I won’t ask again. Tell me everything you know.”

The useless waste of a human squealed like a pig, and after confessing his darkest secrets, he gave me all the information I required. Names of his associates, the price tag for his fucked up desires and supposed locations to accommodate those needs.

It was a short list, which would soon be cleared. Or, more specifically, wiped and eradicated like the vermin they were.

And I was more than happy to start with him.

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