The Underloft didn't have windows, so the only way to tell it was night was the dimming of the corridor's fluorescent lights to a low, amber hum.
Vale's quarters had a steel bed, a rotary phone, and a bottle of lukewarm whiskey. He was sitting on the edge of the mattress, peeling off his mud-caked shirt, when the door hissed open.
Judging from the memories and the whole vibe of the place. The world he was in now was similar to earth in the 1960s.
But wasn't sure if back then, they had a lady waiting for them inside.
Ottina Bresch stood there. She had traded her tactical gear for a silk slip dress that looked out of place in a concrete bunker, but still had a Glock 17 holstered at her thigh. She was holding two glasses and a file.
"The Director thinks you're a miracle," she said, kicking the door shut with her heel. "The researchers think you're an anomaly. Me? I think you're a liar."
Vale didn't cover up. He let her eyes track the lean muscle of his torso and the strange, faint violet sigil pulsing just above his heart, a mark from his negotiation in the void. "A liar? About what, Ottina?"
"Nobody stares down a Class 3 and comes back with a steady pulse unless they've sold something," she stepped closer, the scent of jasmine and gunpowder following her. She set the glasses down and leaned against the desk, her eyes narrowing. "I've lost forty-two agents in three years. I've watched men eat their own hands because they caught a glimpse of a shadow. You? You're too calm. It's unnatural."
"It's called confidence," Vale said, standing up. He was taller than her, and as he stepped into her personal space, he felt the heat radiating off her.
Ottina didn't flinch. She reached out, her fingers pressing against the violet mark on his chest. It flared with a low light. She gasped, her breath hitching as a jolt of static jumped from his skin to hers.
Oh wait…
Vale then realized.
Were the original owner of this body and Ottina dating?!
Memories came rushing in.
"What... is that?" she whispered. Her pupils were blown wide.
The Warp usually destroyed humans, but because she was touching him, the energy was being filtered. To her, it felt like a concentrated shot of pure adrenaline and illicit pleasure.
"My insurance policy," Vale murmured. He gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him. "You want to know how I survived? I don't fear the dark, Ottina. I make it work for me."
Ottina's resolve shattered. The stress of the mission, the lingering terror of the tripod, and the magnetic pull of Vale's immunity culminated in a desperate, hungry need. She grabbed his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers.
The kiss was frantic, tasting of whiskey and desperation.
This feels wrong… it's this other dude's girl…
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER: OTTINA BRESCH DETECTED]
[COMPATIBILITY: HIGH]
[ACTIVATE 'STABILIZER' AURA?]
Vale didn't need the system to tell him what to do. He hoisted her onto the desk, sending the glasses shattering to the floor. Ottina wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands tearing at his belt.
"Make me forget," she hissed against his neck, her voice breaking. "Make me forget the things I've seen in the dark."
She's already shoving at his belt, impatient, metal buckle clattering. He helps until trousers and briefs are shoved down just far enough. His cock springs free, heavy and flushed dark, the head already slick.
But who am I to say no to something free? He's gone and here I am now. Let her not get sad.
She wraps her hand around him immediately, stroking once, twice, slow and firm, letting her thumb smear the bead of pre-cum over the slit until he groans against her throat.
He doesn't waste time being gentlemanly.
One hand fistdd in the back of her skirt, yanking it up around her waist. The other hooked into the crotch of her underwear and tears, lace rips with a soft, obscene sound.
She gasped, thighs parting wider on reflex, and he stepped between them, notched himself at her entrance without preamble.
She's soaked.
Dripping down the insides of her thighs, coating his fingers when he reached down to spread her open. He rubbed the head of his cock through her folds once, twice.
Teasing her clit until her hips buck and she sweared at him in a language that's half curse, half plea.
Then he thrusted.
One long, brutal slide, all the way in until his hips slammed against hers and she's stretched full around him, walls fluttering like they're trying to decide whether to welcome or strangle.
Her head fell back, mouth opened on a silent cry, he swallowed it with another kiss, swallowing the sound as he starts to move.
The desk creaked under them. Documents slid, scattering to the floor. A glass ashtray tipped and shattered somewhere unimportant.
Neither of them cared.
He fucked her like the building might be shelled in ten minutes. Each thrust punched a wet slap of skin on skin into the room, punctuated by her bitten-off moans and the low, animal growls he can't hold back.
Every thrust drove the shadows further away.
In the heat of the moment, the system chimed again:
[RELATIONSHIP BOND: OTTINA BRESCH ---LEVEL 1 [ESTABLISHED]
[REWARD: TACTICAL SYNC]
[EFFECT: WHEN WITHIN 10 METERS OF OTTINA, PERCEPTION AND RELOAD SPEED INCREASED BY 15%.]
The night in the Underloft was long, and the steel desk was unforgiving, but as Vale watched Ottina eventually drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.
***
Vale was dressed and drinking the whiskey straight when the rotary phone rang. He picked it up.
"Carro," Croon's voice crackled. "The Valdessans just crossed the Geller Pass. They've brought something called 'The Iron Maiden' with them. It's a Ferranti relic. We need you at the helipad in ten minutes."
Vale looked at Ottina, who was stirring, looking more refreshed than a woman in a secret bunker had any right to be.
"We're on our way, Director," Vale said.
[NEW OBJECTIVE: INTERCEPT THE IRON MAIDEN]
[DANGER LEVEL: HIGH]