"Umm, Boss, if you don't mind, can I ask something?"
Subordinate Woman glanced back down the tunnel behind them, trying to see a figure which was not there. Just empty stone ground stretching into darkness and the ever-present stale air that never quite moved properly this far underground.
Zack kept his eyes forward, navigating the winding path ahead while carrying his end of the box with steady hands. "What do you think," he said, "if she keeps living that kind of life, can she be happy in the future?"
Subordinate Woman blinked. She hadn't expected him to answer her unspoken question with one of his own. She thought about it for a genuine moment, turning the question over carefully in her mind.
"I... I don't think she can," she said meekly, her voice barely louder than the shuffle of their footsteps.
"And why not?"
Subordinate Woman looked down at her hands as she walked, still gripping the box. When she'd first arrived here, her skin had been milky white, smooth as fresh cream. Now it was rough in places, a few sore spots forming from all the hard carrying and rough treatment her body endured which she wasn't used to.
"Because beauty fades," she said quietly, the truth of it settling in her chest.
Zack nodded, "Right…. And if she keeps acting that way, sooner or later she'll hit a breaking point." He paused, adjusting his grip on the box. "Even if I lied to her face and made things sound fine, the moment something pushes her even a little, she'll slide straight back to her old ways. Telling a person the obvious doesn't help them. They have to reach the truth themselves."
He shifted the weight more evenly across his arms.
"I do like her but…. Sighhhh….. someone will come for her eventually, someone who could love her with all his heart. And if she's still living that life when they do arrive, it won't last. The only man who could stay with her would be someone exactly like her. Or she ends up alone."
His voice carried no judgment, just a flat weight of honest observation.
"Either way, her life stays stuck in the same rut. So let her find her own path."
Subordinate Woman walked quietly, processing everything he'd said. The words turned over in her head, connecting to things she'd felt but never quite put into words herself. She was still thinking when Zack glanced back at her.
She met his eyes and snapped to attention immediately, her back straightening.
"Yes, Boss!"
They kept moving through the tunnels without another word.
.
.
"NO, NO, NO! What do I do?! I forgot to cancel the order!"
A mature, tall fat woman paced frantically back and forth across the basement floor, her heavyset frame moving with agitated energy. She bit her nails down to nothing, the sound of her uneven footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
"I promised him I wouldn't take those weird energies anymore, but the next batch was coming today! AGH! How could I forget?! I just got together with him. If he finds out that the very next day something arrived, it's completely over!"
She stopped mid-pace, ran both hands through her hair in frustration, then started moving again.
"But thank god he went to princess meeting. I'll just tell them to take it back. I can't let anyone find out. But what if he somehow….KYAA!"
TAAKK. TAAAAKK.
A loud knock jolted her up, she looked at the door with happy eyes.
"They're here! Finally! They were late today, I thought they weren't coming!"
She rushed across the floor, nearly tripping over her own feet, and pulled the door open with both hands.
Zack looked at her. Something clicked in his memory immediately, recognition flashing across his mind, and before he could stop himself, the words came out.
"YOU'RE THE WOMAN WHO CUMMED MANY TIMES BY BIG GUY'S HANDS!!!!"
"GAH! What the…..who are you?! And how do you know about that, that dark history of mine?!"
Mature woman stumbled backward, her face going bright red, hands flying up in alarm.
Zack caught himself. He bowed his head immediately. "I'm sorry, Miss. I apologize. I was with the guy you spent that time with. He told me about it, and he also said you're a good woman."
He held the bow for a respectful moment, then straightened and carefully carried the box inside, setting it down on the floor with a solid thud.
HUFF. HUFF.
Subordinate Woman wheezed at the top of the stairs behind him, barely making it up with her half of the box. Her arms shook violently from the strain.
"Oh... is that so?"
Mature woman slowly gathered herself, her breathing evening out as the initial shock wore off.
Zack glanced around the basement. Just the three of them here. No one else. "That's true. But seeing you taking these things again, I have to say, you're not quite as good as he described."
"Hey! Don't be rude!" She straightened up sharply, indignation replacing embarrassment. "I am not taking them. I simply forgot to cancel the order. That is the truth."
Her voice went loud, needing him to believe it as much as she needed to believe it herself.
"Is that so."
Zack walked slowly around the space, his eyes taking in the details. Old furniture pushed against the walls. Boxes stacked in corners. The air down here felt heavy, unused.
"Hard to be convinced, considering how you launched yourself at Big Guy just a few days ago. That was quite a sight." He smirked faintly.
"GAH! Please, don't bring up past events." Her voice dropped, losing most of its defensive energy. "I respect that man. Because of him, I was able to see what I was actually missing."
She took a breath trying to make it steady.
"I just got together with my husband. Big Guy told me that my happiness was closer than I realized, and he was right. So, I left all of it behind. I want to live a normal life."
She straightened and bowed her head toward the box.
"Please. Take it back."
Her large chest stretched the fabric of her clothes as she bowed low.
Behind them, Subordinate Woman finally gave up entirely. She sank to her knees on the cold floor, shed a few quiet tears of pain, and stared at her red, swollen hands.
"Hmm. Fine, fine. I'll stop teasing you." Zack turned back toward the box. "But first I need to look inside. Can you open it for me?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Big Guy wanted to check these things too. But why are you all so concerned about them? They're good products with bad side effects. Sure, I get that, but I don't understand why they deserve so much attention."
She walked over to the box anyway and started working the latches.
CLINK. CLANK. TK!
The lid came open with a hiss of released pressure.
Inside sat a large glass cylinder, filled to the brim with a thick, swirling blueish-black energy, looking like it was alive. It pressed slowly against the glass from the inside as if testing the boundaries.
Mature woman's eyes locked onto it. Her face suddenly went slack. Her pupils dilated. Her hand moved before she seemed to realize what she was doing. She reached in, picked up the cylinder with trembling fingers, turned it upright, then SWISSSS, cracked the seal open just slightly. She fit the attached mouthpiece to her lips and inhaled deeply.
"AAHH!! This is great….."
"SHIITT!!!"
She yanked herself backward, stumbling hard into the wall behind her.
Zack moved fast, stepping in and sealing the cylinder shut with firm pressure. A trace of the energy caught him too as he reached in. A dull, sluggish heaviness immediately spread across his body, sinking into his muscles.
GRR. This stuff is no joke.
"I can't control myself around it. Sigh….."
Mature woman dropped to the floor and sat there heavily, pressing her palms against her forehead and rubbing slow circles. Her face twisted with frustration.
"This is the worst."
Subordinate Woman crept closer on her knees, curiosity overcoming exhaustion, and peered at the cylinder in Zack's hands. "What... is this exactly?"
Mature woman exhaled through her nose. "It's a new product. Made using some kind of energy that started showing up in the underground markets a few weeks back. I only came across it recently, but the first time I accidentally inhaled some, I couldn't stop."
She rubbed her face with both hands.
"It's expensive. Hard to get. And it..." She shook her head slowly. "It makes your whole body feel alive. Your energy goes through the roof, your libido spikes, you feel like you could take on the whole world."
A humorless laugh escaped her mouth.
"Honestly, it's better than anything else out there. But it's not worth it." She looked up at Zack. "I don't think it's worth your time to investigate either. What are you planning?"
Subordinate Woman's eyes drifted toward the cylinder with a small, curious glint sparking in them. Then she immediately shook her head hard, stepping back firmly from the dangerous object.
Bad girl…
She folded her hands properly in front of herself and stood well away from the box.
"I have my own plans," Zack said. "But first, I need your help getting into the main office. I need the list of people receiving these shipments. Help me get it."
He paused, then held out his hand toward her on the floor.
"In return, I'll cure you. Whatever remnants of this energy are still sitting inside your body, I'll pull them out. You'll be able to live your normal life without worrying about losing control every time you're near this stuff."
Mature woman stared at his outstretched hand for a long moment. Her eyes moved from his hand to his face, searching.
"You can actually do that?" She didn't sound doubtful, just genuinely surprised. "Well. I won't ask how."
She thought for a brief second, weighing the offer, then made up her mind.
"My husband isn't home right now, so I suppose I could go on a small adventure." She raised one eyebrow. "But we don't know each other when we are inside. I'll only help to a point. The rest is on you. I want no real connection to whatever you're doing."
She reached up and took his hand firmly.
"Deal."
TAAP.
Zack pulled her to her feet in one smooth motion.
"Hehe. Fine." She dusted herself off and looked at the cylinder. Her nose twitched just slightly before she forced her eyes away from it with visible effort. "We'll need a reason to show up at the main office. Damaging the cylinder is basically impossible. You'd need a serious energy user to even dent it. And emptying it is out of the question."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Each cylinder has its own markings, issue date, batch details. We can't swap it with an old empty one either. They'd know immediately."
"Don't worry about that," Zack said calmly. "I'll absorb it."
"HUH?!" Subordinate Woman spun toward him, eyes going wide. "Boss, you can't be serious…."
"Even if you could manage it," Mature woman cut in, less panicked but still looking at him with clear curiosity, "it's impossible to finish something like that in a single day or maybe even a week. There's far too much for one person to handle."
"I can finish it," Zack said simply. "But afterward I'll likely be unconscious for a while, and... a little different than usual." He looked at both of them directly. "So keep the room clear until I come around on my own."
Mature woman shrugged. "Fine…. Do whatever you want. I don't particularly care."
She got up and dragged two old chairs from the corner of the basement, their legs scraping across the floor, and set them out before dropping into one heavily.
"How are you going to do it?" she asked, watching him with plain curiosity written across her features.
"Just close your eyes." He glanced at Subordinate Woman. "And you, go wait outside."
Subordinate Woman opened her mouth to protest, closed it when she saw his expression, then reluctantly turned and made her way up to the door.
CREEAK.
The door groaned shut behind her.
Mature woman closed her eyes and sat properly in her chair, hands resting in her lap. She had spoken like none of this bothered her, but a small bead of sweat traced its way down the side of her face.
"Relax," Zack said quietly. "And gather some basic energy tools from your house armory."
He listed a few specific names. She nodded without opening her eyes, already knowing where each item was kept.
"Good. Now, whatever happens, keep your eyes closed. Take a slow, deep breath."
She breathed in through her nose. Let it out slowly through her mouth. Her shoulders dropped slightly, tension releasing.
Zack brought out his energy globe and began. Carefully, methodically, he started drawing the strange energy out from deep inside her body, pulling it through unseen channels and feeding it into the waiting globe. Blueish-grey tendrils moved in thin, slow ribbons, and mixed in with them came faint threads of other colors. Other energies she'd accumulated without knowing, without understanding what they were doing to her.
Mature woman felt it immediately. The heaviness she'd been carrying for weeks, the tight, restless pressure that had lived in her chest and made sleep difficult, started to ease. Her body felt very light. Her breathing slowed all on its own, falling into a natural rhythm she'd forgotten existed. The knot behind her eyes loosened. The tension in her jaw released.
She felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Actually, genuinely relaxed. The sensation pulled at her so strongly that staying awake became nearly impossible. Her head drooped just slightly forward. A small, relieved smile settled on her lips without her thinking about it.
She sat there on the edge of sleep, peaceful in a way that had nothing to do with the cylinder or any substance. Just... peace.
A few minutes passed in comfortable silence.
"It's done. You'll be fine now." Zack's voice came quickly. "Wait outside."
"Ah!"
Mature woman opened her eyes and blinked several times, adjusting to her new felt feeling. She stood up slowly, testing her legs, and took a step. Then another. Her feet felt like they barely touched the ground. She moved in a light, floaty daze toward the door, not asking any questions, not needing to understand the mechanics of what had just happened.
CREEAK. TAK.
She stepped outside into the narrow hallway and found Subordinate Woman waiting right there looking at her curiously.
"Phewww."
Mature woman let out a long breath and smiled with genuine relief. "Your Boss is something else."
"Umm, yes, he really is." Subordinate Woman smiled back warmly, her face lighting up. Then her eyes slid sideways toward the door.
She pressed her ear a little closer to the wood.
Mature woman watched her for a moment, amused at her antics.
Then, without saying a word, she leaned in and pressed her own ear against the door too.
If we're going to be sneaky, we may as well do it together.
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END OF CHAPTER
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AUTHOR BLABBERING
Hey there—hope you're all keeping healthy as the seasons change. Our long-time "friends" like colds and flu may try to visit us again, but don't worry. Humanity has grown stronger over the years, achieving incredible things in medicine and science.
So take care of yourself, stay safe, and stay healthy.
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