[Mercy Merchant]

Elaine seems lost in thought.  "Yes.  I am sure that you are right.  It is only that I do not have any other place to go to.  I suppose that I could stay at a hotel or something.  I do have some funds of my own, but they will not be enough to keep this place up.  Actually, I do not really know if I would want to.  Lots of sadness here, you know.  I have only really felt alive and happy for the past few days.  I think I ought to let the staff know as well, do you think?"

>>I will get people on digging up anything on what Howard is doing.  It would appear that he is afraid of what the people might find out this weekend.  You will let me know what you can about the astral situation when you know anything, yes?<<

[Irn0rchid]

"Well, why don't you pack as if you're not going to come back and then we can figure out what you should do from there? You probably shouldn't say anything to the staff yet though in case they report back to Howard..."

<<What do you think? Should we let her crash at our place while we figure out what she's going to do? And any word back from the mage? I'd like to have this job closed out before we leave and potentially lose access.>>

[Mercy Merchant]

Elaine nods.  "I can do that.  I do worry about not telling the staff.  If you think these men might hurt me, I do not want them to hurt my staff, either.  I have to tell them something."

>>I have heard from him.  He is in the area and is doing something and says he will report to us within a couple of hours.  I gather we are going to stay the night?  If so, we should try to act normally, just in case some of the staff do report to Howard.<<

Robin smiles and says, "It would be smart to pack, but I think we need to spend the night and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary.  Rachel and I would like to invite you to our place for a few days.  It is not nearly as nice as here, but it does have a room you can use while we figure out if a hotel is a better choice."

[Irn0rchid]

"Okay, I guess we should stay tonight, but be ready to leave if we need to. There's almost a week till whoever it is is supposed to come, but I don't trust Howard. Once we're actually gone, then I think it would be safe to tell the staff. If we go tomorrow that still gives them a couple days to do whatever they need to."

<<Let me know as soon as he reports in. When we do leave tomorrow it might be prudent to ransack his office for information in case he tries to come after us or Elaine once this pottery deal concludes.>>

Making an effort to calm down a bit in the face of the comments from Elaine and Robin, Rose stops trying to get them to leave immediately. "Once we get packed, I think there's some levels calling our name," she grins.

[Mercy Merchant]

The others agree and all three of you go up to pack.  When you have your clothes in the bags you brought them in, Robin opens a small store bag and holds up a slinky negligee.  "I got this for you to wear.  Don't know if you would like something like this, but I think it will look great on you, and even better pooled on the floor at your feet.  Would you want to wear it tonight?" 

[Irn0rchid]

Returning to her room with Robin to pack, Rose gets everything ready to go but takes care to leave her purse open so the Kanmushi can still carry out the final inventory of the hidden room. Gasping a bit in surprise when Robin holds up the garment, she expresses her dismay, "That's too small, isn't it? It's not going to cover anything! Why not just have me go naked?!"

[Mercy Merchant]

"Because taking it off you is part of the fun.  You will look great in this.  And out of it.  Now, let's go do some levelling and get our minds off this crap for an hour or two."

[Irn0rchid]

"Well if this is going to be our last night here, might as well make it memorable. Both of them keep trying to get me to do more stuff, so lets see if I can surprise them. Hopefully the staff is all done for the night now..." Telling Robin to go on ahead while she finishes arranging her things, Rose waits for her to leave the room and then tentatively strips down and puts on the negligee. Looking at herself in the mirror, she can see why Robin would buy it for her. although it doesn't hide much, what it does conceal creates an aura of mystery that makes the whole effect more enticing. Grinning to herself she heads out into the hall but as she approaches the trid room her nervousness sets back in. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself and walks through the doorway, heading to the couch without looking at either Robin or Elaine, and carefully sitting down on the couch to avoid actually exposing anything. Picking up the controller she activates her character and then, after the other two don't shortly follow suit, asks, "What? Lets go."

[Mercy Merchant]

Monday  11 June 2075  2000  Elaine's House


The other two do not immediately respond then Robin almost whispers, "Well, that is not exactly what I meant, dear, but I think that you can agree that it is perfect for you.  What do you think, Elaine?"

"My God!  It is just too perfect."  She carefully puts her controller down and reaches a hand over to stroke your side.  Placing a hand on your face, she turns your head to face her and kisses you.  "I have quite forgotten what it was were going to do."

Robin gives some sort of throaty comment of agreement as she reaches over and removes the controller from your hands.  She begins to touch you and not even your steel resolve can resist the two of them.  The pace of love making tonight is slow and passionate rather than all motion and frenzy, but it is nice nevertheless.

[Irn0rchid]

Rose tries to maintain the show of being interested in the game but the attentions of the two other women quickly overwhelm her resolve. The next few hours are a nice break from having to worry about how the current situation is going to resolve and they eventually all end up in Elaine's bedroom, exhausted. Rose's last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were about how she was going to explain the truth to Elaine.

Waking up in the morning, Rose is immediately back in business mode. She checks for any updates from Ni Ni and then nudges Robin and messages her, <<Any word from the mage?>>

[Mercy Merchant]

Tuesday  12 June 2075  0430  Elaine's House


>>Ugh.  How can you be awake so early?  I am still feeling everything we did last night.  Let me look.........................yes, he left a note.  No astral security that he can detect and he included a link to send his money for the job.  So, what, when, and how do we tell Elaine anything?  I rather like her as a person and certainly like having sex with her.  I will feel such a heel if we just continue to lie to her until it is too late and she finds out on her own.  Ideas?<<

[Irn0rchid]

<<Too much to worry about to sleep in. Good news about the lack of astral security. How much did you agree to pay him? As for Elaine, I'm thinking that when we leave here I'll give her the truth in the car. That way if it goes poorly we can drop her off wherever she wants before showing her our house in case she ends up getting vindictive. How does that sound?>> She also shoots a message to Ni Ni with the update, <<No apparent astral security. Your contractor shouldn't have any issues.>>

[Mercy Merchant]

Robin lifts her head so that you can see her nod, then she scoots in closer to Elaine and begins kissing her awake, to which Elaine responds.  The two of them begin touching and kissing and Elaine moves an arm to include you and pulls you in close if you like. 

Surprisingly, or maybe not so, Ni Ni seems to be awake and alert.  >>Fantastic news.  I will pass that on and move the timetable to tonight.  What are your plans for extricating yourself?<<

[Irn0rchid]

Before joining the activities of the other two, Rose quickly responds to No Ni, <<I'm going to drive away? Is there something I'm missing? The house should be totally vacant tonight unless Howard returns.>>

[Mercy Merchant]

>>I was just hoping you had a plan.  Come see me tomorrow if you can.  I will have your payment ready, plus a good bonus for a job well done.  My best time will be at 1400.<<

A couple of hours will pass pleasantly.  OK, more than just pleasantly.  Afterwards, the three of you shower and dress before going down to eat.  Elaine stops in the living room and looks around.  She finally shakes her head and motions at the furnishings..  "You know, I was wondering if I could really leave all of this.  The furnishings, the house, the money.  But I see no problem leaving.  It was all a sham.  Sham marriage, sham life, sham friends.  Well, at least until you two.  I know that we have not really spent the whole week together, but I want to pay you anyway.  I want us to part as friends and want you to know that these have been the best days of my life."  She raises her hands.  "I don't want to hear anything about how you are only doing it for the money, because I don't really think you are.  Or at least not anymore.  So, I have no car and could use a lift.  If you really meant it, I could use a couple of days at your place to get my head used to the fact of being alone and then I promise to let you have your lives back.  What do you say?"