12-06-2024, 12:58 PM
[[Continued from A Day Off and A Little Day Drinking]]
The afternoon had been productive enough. She had some new leads on keeping herself safe, and some new ideas spinning in her head. Nesrin abandoned her plans for exploring the Brotherhood today; after a couple of drinks with her new friends at the Apothecary, she’d headed back to the condo. She replied to Wicked’s message on route, then slipped the phone back in her pocket. She had no idea what he meant by his “rockstar” but she intended to find out. She knew what Wicked looked like, and she knew where Nox lived, so discovering who Wicked really was wouldn’t be so hard. A little ready and waiting leverage wouldn’t hurt their relationship any, especially for when the power’s suggestive hold ran out. Assuming it did. She wasn’t entirely sure why he was still so amenable.
Not the first time I’ve been someone’s dirty little secret
Now laid out comfortably on the owner’s queen-size, she checked in with business. Though it was a wrench in her wider plans, the Emissary’s key had to be her priority, but it wasn’t the only plate she had spinning. She’d received an appointment for the paternity test – that was another deadline to think about, and another thing to protect. And Zar said his family was growing restless over the Custody’s blockade of their enquiries, which probably meant they were going to start trying to pull her strings rather than leaving her to her own devices in Moscow. But the Asquiths had always been easy to deal with. They saw what they wanted to see.
It was a note Bode received on the auction that rearranged her immediate plans. She responded promptly, and then checked the time and got up.
The tequila from earlier still made her feel warm inside, which only deepened the smirk on her lips as she began cleaning the suite out of evidence. That thrill of risk was already inside, made heady by the alcohol. By the time she was done no one would ever know there’d been a cuckoo in the nest. The residents weren’t actually due back yet, but now she’d burnt her bridges with m’Antinomian she couldn’t know for sure one of them wouldn’t find her here. Her route had been circumspect, and she’d still been wearing the mute mask for some of it, but she’d come back here the night of the hacker party.
Security glanced up in the building's foyer. He was adorably sweet on her – he always looked up that way, and Nesrin always adored such people. They made her lifestyle so much easier. She gave him the smile that lit her face up, and lingered a little as he asked about the garment bag slung over her arm.
“Just drycleaning,” she laughed. “House-keeping doesn’t pay so well as all that.”
She reached into her pocket, fingers closed around the Hello Kitty badge, then slipped the pin into his lapel with a grin. He’d wanted to ask about that before, and the way her expression twinkled into mischief said there was a story to be heard. He laughed, a little bemused, but accepted the silly gift. “But I should take you out some time,” she added, tapping the badge where it now rested against his chest with a flirtatious laugh. It was a heated promise, one she knew he’d wait on, at least for a little while. Truthfully he was cute enough for some fun, but circumstances being what they were now, she wasn’t coming back.
The badge was left as a message, but not for the doorman. If the Emissary sent anyone, they’d know she’d been here. And that they’d been too slow. They’d already missed her.
Out on the street she shifted the garment bag over her arm – a little souvenir, and something she’d need for tonight. Hidden inside, the dress was red.
The afternoon had been productive enough. She had some new leads on keeping herself safe, and some new ideas spinning in her head. Nesrin abandoned her plans for exploring the Brotherhood today; after a couple of drinks with her new friends at the Apothecary, she’d headed back to the condo. She replied to Wicked’s message on route, then slipped the phone back in her pocket. She had no idea what he meant by his “rockstar” but she intended to find out. She knew what Wicked looked like, and she knew where Nox lived, so discovering who Wicked really was wouldn’t be so hard. A little ready and waiting leverage wouldn’t hurt their relationship any, especially for when the power’s suggestive hold ran out. Assuming it did. She wasn’t entirely sure why he was still so amenable.
Not the first time I’ve been someone’s dirty little secret
Now laid out comfortably on the owner’s queen-size, she checked in with business. Though it was a wrench in her wider plans, the Emissary’s key had to be her priority, but it wasn’t the only plate she had spinning. She’d received an appointment for the paternity test – that was another deadline to think about, and another thing to protect. And Zar said his family was growing restless over the Custody’s blockade of their enquiries, which probably meant they were going to start trying to pull her strings rather than leaving her to her own devices in Moscow. But the Asquiths had always been easy to deal with. They saw what they wanted to see.
It was a note Bode received on the auction that rearranged her immediate plans. She responded promptly, and then checked the time and got up.
The tequila from earlier still made her feel warm inside, which only deepened the smirk on her lips as she began cleaning the suite out of evidence. That thrill of risk was already inside, made heady by the alcohol. By the time she was done no one would ever know there’d been a cuckoo in the nest. The residents weren’t actually due back yet, but now she’d burnt her bridges with m’Antinomian she couldn’t know for sure one of them wouldn’t find her here. Her route had been circumspect, and she’d still been wearing the mute mask for some of it, but she’d come back here the night of the hacker party.
Security glanced up in the building's foyer. He was adorably sweet on her – he always looked up that way, and Nesrin always adored such people. They made her lifestyle so much easier. She gave him the smile that lit her face up, and lingered a little as he asked about the garment bag slung over her arm.
“Just drycleaning,” she laughed. “House-keeping doesn’t pay so well as all that.”
She reached into her pocket, fingers closed around the Hello Kitty badge, then slipped the pin into his lapel with a grin. He’d wanted to ask about that before, and the way her expression twinkled into mischief said there was a story to be heard. He laughed, a little bemused, but accepted the silly gift. “But I should take you out some time,” she added, tapping the badge where it now rested against his chest with a flirtatious laugh. It was a heated promise, one she knew he’d wait on, at least for a little while. Truthfully he was cute enough for some fun, but circumstances being what they were now, she wasn’t coming back.
The badge was left as a message, but not for the doorman. If the Emissary sent anyone, they’d know she’d been here. And that they’d been too slow. They’d already missed her.
Out on the street she shifted the garment bag over her arm – a little souvenir, and something she’d need for tonight. Hidden inside, the dress was red.
![[Image: Nesrin-Banner-.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Nesrin-Banner-.jpg)