Chapter 7

Alex's Story:

The dazzling cacophony of headlights, lit billboards and streetlamps mirrored the turmoil that was going through my mind as I headed towards the airport. My entire life seemed to be a whirlwind of uncertainty now, especially given all the information Charlie had just told me, and his insistence that I leave immediately to go to Japan.

It wasn't that I didn't believe Charlie - far from it. In fact, his information was invaluable to me in my now borderline obsessive quest to stop Wilton Willis and the Rose Petals from continuing this abomination towards actresses in Hollywood. It was just that, well, all of this information was overwhelming in how quickly it had been dumped on me, and how I had to just react immediately to what was probably my best bet in at least taking the next step towards stopping them. I wasn't sure what Mr. Kyokota would tell me, but for me to have to travel half way around the world to see him, I knew that it would be very important.

Traffic was not too bad on the freeway, but as I continued to drive the 40 minutes or so towards the airport, my busy mind gave way to my suspicious nature as I glanced in the rearview mirror. About four cars back was a large black sedan, using it's high beams. It had been following me for about 10 miles now, always changing lanes whenever I did and yet always staying far enough back to keep me from making out it's passengers. But as I continued to drive and it stayed a safe distance there behind me, my radar and intuition started to grow louder and louder.

Glancing up as I passed under it, I saw the exit ramp sign for the airport. My eyes in the rearview watching the sedan, I saw the exit looming close up ahead, cars already turning off. The two lanes next to me were fairly empty, so as I grew within a 1/4 of a mile near the exit, I waited until the last possible minute to change lanes. Cutting swiftly through the darkened highway, I glanced up in the mirror and saw that the sedan was not behind me.

But my heart leaped into my throat a moment later as I was getting onto the off ramp as I saw the sedan cut off three other cars and swiftly change lanes. There was now only one car separating me and it as I continued off the ramp and towards the airport parking lot. My eyes began to flicker back and forth - from the road to the rearview and then back again, the sedan now visible enough that I could see at least two people's outlines in the front seat of the car. The chase it seemed, was on.

Taking a deep breath to compose myself, I couldn't shake the nagging warning that Charlie had given me - that it would just be a matter of WHEN before Willis' goons came after me, now that I knew as much as Charlie. For whatever reason, they had decided to let me live before. But now, it seemed that the well of my luck had run dry and it suddenly became very daunting, very necessary, for me to get on that flight to Japan.

Pulling up to the parking attendant, I smiled politely as I took the long term parking ticket and headed towards the parking garage at a now rather rapid speed for a parking lot. Up and down I went, deeper and deeper into the belly of the garage, trying desperately to find a spot near the bottom floor of the garage so that I could get inside the airport quickly.

But lady luck was not done with me yet - as I came near the end of the third floor level, I spotted a large SUV backing out of a spot, license plate reading simply "JOA". I felt a great sense of relief wash over to me as it pulled out and I pulled my car into it, wedged neatly between two massive earth crushing SUVs.

Stepping out of the car slowly, I paused for a second to listen for any approaching vehicles. I stood that way for probably 10 seconds before feeling it safe to move out of the shadows. Just as I stepped into the light of the dim orange bulbs that illuminated the garage, I saw the headlights of the sedan come cresting over the incline leading up to this level, it's speed suddenly picking up when the driver spotted me. I broke into a full on sprint as I bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time as I heard the slam of car doors behind me.

I reached the ground level quickly and walked into the busy rush of the airport, composing myself as I looked around for the gate I needed to board at. It was at terminal C, gate J, which was only a short distance away. I started heading that way, walking quickly but not too quickly so that I did not raise any suspicion. Panting to myself as I walked what now seemed like a very long distance, I could hear people say "Hey, watch it!" and "Get out of the way!" behind me as the sound of footfalls quickly became audible to me.

It was a very surreal experience, moving fast without really moving. With all the new airport restrictions, any sort of suspicious behavior would likely get you detained and hauled in, regardless of if you were really a threat or not. Because of this, what would have normally been a full on sprinting foot race was now a sort of delicate ballet, wherein the people after me also knew the rules and protocols for airport behavior and ALSO didn't want to bring attention to themselves. So we moved like that, me side stepping around people and they simply shoving them out of the way. I didn't dare look back to see who they were, but I knew they were very very close behind.

Approaching the terminal, I fished in my pocket for my ticket as I stepped into the line for screening. There were about a dozen people in front of me, all moving very slowly as each one of their carry-on bags was checked and the world was (supposedly) being saved from terrorists. A young couple stepped in line behind me, actually cutting off my pursuers just in time as they too stepped into line behind me. This was going to be tricky.

I stole a glance at them in a nearby advertisement, it's reflection showing to me two large men in black suits and black ties, their muscles giving their frame a rather top heavy appearance. One was not unlike the big burly Hispanic guys I used to work with what seemed like a life time ago at Jose's shipping place, and suddenly an idea dawned on me.

As I finally reached the security check point, I followed the directions of the bored looking employees doing the checking, spreading my legs here, taking off my shoes there as they checked and confirmed that I was not a terrorist.

"Luggage?" one of them, a large black woman with a curled bun of hair on her head, held in place with hairspray.

"I don't have any," I said, careful to watch their reaction. "I just got a call that a business associate of mine is deathly ill in Tokyo and he needs me to take over his job. I literally left about an hour ago to get here,"

The woman arched an eyebrow at me and scowled slightly, unsure about my response.

"When are you coming back?"

"Oh, in a week or so," I said breezily, trying to seem pleasant and genuine about my lie, despite the fact that I could almost feel the men behind me breathing on my neck.

The woman glanced at her co-worker, who gave an apathetic shrug.

"Alright, go on through," she said with a sigh. I guess security wasn't that tough after all.

Walking through the metal detector, I saw the armed guards standing by. One of them eyed me a little bit - probably because of my size - but his expression didn't change. I approached him.

"Excuse me, but do you see those two men there? They were saying something in Arabic earlier and I'm not exactly sure who to tell about it. Something about a jihad maybe? I don't know," I said to him. The soldier's expression changed quickly as he walked through the metal detector, his gun lowered as he shoved through the young couple and stood in front of the two men.

"You two, come with me," he said, the gun near their chest. I watched as they studied me, their cold eyes filled with rage as the Hispanic one tried to explain that whatever the soldier thought they did, it was a mistake.

I turned back around and started heading towards the gate as I could now hear a loud din of noise behind me, the men trying to explain themselves. I stole another glance back when I heard a loud bunch of screaming, the soldier reaching into the man's shirt and pulling out a hand gun - a gun that had to have been meant for me. People scattered and screamed everywhere as half a dozen other soldiers seemed to come out of nowhere, all pointing guns at the men and telling them to get down on the floor, to which they grudingly obliged.

Handing the girl at the counter my ticket, she smiled at me as I walked down the hall and onto the plane. Finding my seat, I gave a huge sigh of relief at having narrowly averted that crisis. Reaching into my pocket, my hand trembling, it suddenly dawned on me to call Katherine, Charlie and the rest of them and tell them what had just happened. They probably weren't safe.

Dialing Charlie's office, the phone rang and rang and rang. After the 10th ring, I hung up, starting to feel a little uneasy about why he wasn't there to answer. My fear only magnified when I tried to call Katherine.

"The cellular customer you are trying to reach is not available at the moment..."

"Fuck!" I muttered to myself, startling the 40 something housewife sitting next to me. I smiled at her in apology and was about to start dialing Katherine again when the head stewardess came on the loudspeaker.

"We are about to begin takeoff, so please turn off all electronic devices, laptops and cell phones until the pilot turns on the no seatbelts sign. Thank you!"

Staring at the cell phone in my hand, the woman next to me now eyeing me warily, I had no choice but to turn it off. It would only be a few hours before I could turn it back again, I tried to convince myself, and I'm sure everything was just fine with them and all the people at Charlie's office.

As the plane started to move however, I couldn't put to rest one thing - my heart, which was continuing to pumply madly in my chest.

Rachael's Story:

My first indication that something was wrong was the sound of a gunshot. Turning quickly on my heel, I saw the upstairs floor where Charlie's office was located light up brilliantly for a second at the same moment another shot was fired. The sound reverberated through the air, causing me to stop in my tracks for just a moment, staring up at the building in shock.

Instinct took over then and I suddenly found myself running - running hard and running fast, away from Charlie's office. I knew that whatever help I could have offered him would have been not enough, and that by going back I was putting myself in grave danger. Trees and parked cars flew by in the night as I ran on pure adrenaline, searching desperately in my mind what to do next. My body however, was telling me to go to my car and get the hell out of there, and within a few moments I found myself standing in front of it, 2 blocks away from Charlie's, completely out of breath.

My hand shaking so bad that I dropped the keys, I fumbled to open the door on my Acura RSX, finally getting the key in as I climbed inside, starting the engine a moment later. Without looking behind me, I floored it in reverse, only to be startled out of my daze when I hit a sign post, bending it in two. I cringed at the site of it, the metal gleaming from the red of my taillights, but rather than stopping I simply put the car into drive and pulled out, driving as fast as I could to get away.

Why I ran, I will never be sure. True, I was scared out of my mind, especially with the warning that Charlie gave and how things had gotten so bad so quickly. But there was something else, some force telling me that it was important for me to put as much distance between Charlie and myself as possible - not for my own safety but strangely (and this brought an odd sense of calmness to me) for the safety of other people. It was somehow important that I not be seen leaving; that Willis' people who were after me not find me very easily. I clung to this thought as I headed out into the hills to my house, a 30 minute drive away. I probably broke all sorts of traffic laws getting there, but the further I got, the better I felt.

Pulling into my driveway, I was relieved to see that my house appeared just as I had left it. There were no vehicles waiting omniously outside and all the lights that had been on when I left were still on now. With a bit of hesitation, I opened the front door and let it swing wide open, my heart thudding as I searched the shadows of my downstairs hall for boogey men.

After waiting for a minute or two and nothing appearing, I stepped inside slowly, shutting and double bolting the door behind me. Walking over to the wall, I armed the security system - something I hadn't really cared about when I bought this house, but now was thankful to have. The alarm set, I nearly jumped out of my skin as my cat, Beau, sauntered in lazily, curious to see why the front door had been open. Scooping him up in my arms, I hugged him tightly before walking upstairs to my bedroom and shutting the door.

In my room, I felt comforted and safe, but still unsure about the fate of everyone else involved this night. Picking up the phone, I held it to my ear as the dial tone buzzed, thinking about calling Charlie's office, but then thought better of it - the phone was probably tapped - before putting the receiver back down.

Sitting on my bed with my knees pulled to my chest, I felt anxious and scared about what to do next. I trusted Alex though, and I knew that as soon as he knew what was going on, he would call and let me know.

Kirsten's Story:

After a few hours of sleep, Natalie woke up slowly. She lifted her head off the bed beside me and smiled, sliding off the mattress, her small feet hitting the floor as I lazily pushed the covers back off myself.

Standing up, Natalie reached down and scooped up her clothes, getting dressed as she smiled at me, her mind still obviously in a daze from the hours of pleasure we had given each other.

"I hate to do this Kirsten, because I know how shitty it seems, but I really have to get back. I have an early day tomorrow and, well, your hotel is pretty far from my apartment.

I sat up on the bed, the covers falling down to my naked waist as I brushed my blonde hair out of my eye. I wanted Natalie to stay, but armed with the knowledge that Eliza was just one room over, it was probably for the best that she left. I was surprised to find myself conflicted and somewhat dreading ending tonight's experiences by going back to Eliza. The pursuit of Natalie had been almost as fun and erotic as the actual act of making love to her, and going back to Eliza now seemed just... dull.

"It's ok Natalie, I totally understand. Though I can't say I won't miss you," I said with a smile. Natalie looked at me, now just slipping on her shoes as she zipped up her jacket. Her expression and face had changed - it was as if getting dressed had also returned her to her normal life, where what we had done was not in her everyday plans. I hoped secretly that she would see it as something more and perhaps even want to do it again (by initiating it herself of course), rather than just calling it a one time experience.

"I uhh... enjoyed spending the evening with you Kirsten," Natalie said hesitantly, her small hands opening and closing nervously in her gloved hands as she stood at the foot of the bed. Even under what seemed like a dozen pairs of clothes, Natalie's amazing beauty and radiance still shown through. And my feelings for her now were really something that had caught me off guard - my heart seemed to break a little bit at the thought of her leaving. But I knew she had to go, so I made do the best I could and climbed off the bed towards her, my body still warm and sticky from feeling her lying next to me.

"Me too Natalie. Now, you weren't going to leave without giving me a kiss were you?" I said huskily, stepping closer to her. Natalie instinctively stepped backwards, conflicted by her emotions, but she stopped after just one step, her eyes searching the room nervously as I drew closer to her, wrapping my bare arms around the soft feel of her jacket.

I decided that if Natalie wasn't going to take the lead, I would have to do it myself. My breasts pressing into her chest, I held her tightly as I licked my lips, tilting my head ever so slightly as our lips made contact once again.

Natalie breathed a soft sigh into my mouth as I gently pressed my lips to hers, keeping the kiss soft and passionate, even though I wanted nothing more than for her to be dominating and kiss me back with a fierce fire. We remained lip-locked for a few moments, until Natalie finally broke the kiss, licking her bottom lip of a drop of my saliva, closing her mouth slowly as she swallowed.

"By... bye Kirsten," Natalie said, turning her head suddenly towards the door and opening it in a quick motion, stepping out into the hall. Because I was nude, I didn't want to step out to follow her (I was brave but not that brave... the last thing I needed was some tourist snapping a picture of my naked body), pressing the cold wood of the door against my now erect nipples as I watched her go. Natalie walked quickly towards the elevator and pushed the button to go down.

She turned back to look at me and smiled weakly as I waved, before she stepped onto the elevator and vanished from my sight. With a sigh, I shut the door behind me and leaned back against it, surprised to find tears suddenly starting to form in my eyes. I wiped at them with the back of my hand, laughing at myself for being so emotional over Natalie.

She's gone girl, I told myself. Now pull yourself together, you have a job to do.

I exhaled loudly and padded over to my suitcase, pulling out a silk robe I had gotten a long time ago while on set in Japan. It was a little tattered and torn (from one too many lovers tearing it off my body) but it still felt comforting, especially amongst my emotional turmoil, to slip it on. The silk was soft against my skin as I knotted the belt around my waist, stepping over to the mirror to fix my hair.

Grabbing my room key from my jeans that still lay discarded on the floor, I composed myself as best I could in the mirror, trying to push Natalie from my thoughts and opened the door to the room. Glancing down the hall, it was empty, so I shut the door behind me quietly, the lock clicking into place, and stepped next door to Eliza's room.

Knocking on the door gently, the door suddenly flew open and Eliza grabbed me forcefully by the shoulders, yanking me into the room so fast that I almost tripped on my own feet. She slammed the door behind me and shoved me hard against the wall, burying her mouth on top of mine in a deep, soul searching kiss. I simply stood there, still a bit startled and let her tongue dig and explore within my mouth. She finally broke the kiss, her chest heaving and her eyes filled with lust.

"That was so fucking hot Kiki, you have no idea," Eliza said, thrusting her mouth back on me again as she lifted my arms up and held them over my head, pressing her body against mine. I glanced down at her for the first time and noticed that she was not wearing any panties - in fact, the only piece of clothing she had on was a man's shirt that stopped just above her hips.

We continued to kiss like that for a few minutes, Eliza's busy hands sliding down to the front of my robe as she squeezed my breasts hard, her palms grazing over my nipples. She was the first to break the kiss again though, and this time grabbed my hand and pulled me with her towards the inner part of the room.

"I want you to eat my pussy like you did Natalie," Eliza whispered to me as she flopped down onto the bed, her legs spreading immediately. I would be lying if I didn't say that Eliza's actions had turned me on, but after the roller coaster of emotions I encountered dealing with Natalie, sex was not exactly the one thing I really seemed to want. Still though, looking down at Eliza's neatly shaved bush, a few drops of moisture visible on her outer lips even in the dim light of the room, was an incredible turn on. Besides, I thought to myself, I could use a good orgasm myself.

I smiled as I walked towards Eliza, taking off my robe almost as quickly as I had put it on. My eyes scanned around the room as I looked at all the video equipment Eliza had set up. True to her word, there were television monitors and video cameras aimed at the wall, the screens showing a surprisingly good picture of the inside of my room. From the three monitors, I could see that Eliza had a perfect view of the action that had taken place on the bed. No wonder she was so turned on.

Turning my attention back to her, I dropped slowly to my knees as I placed my hands on her thighs. Stroking my palms up and down, Eliza shuddered a little at my touch.

"Yeah... that's it Kiki... make your mistress feel good..." Eliza said, her throat choked with lust. I scooted closer to her pussy on the bed and placed my fingers against her outer lips. Pulling them apart, I inhaled sharply at the scent of her womanhood and arousal, a familiar and pleasure inducing odor that always seemed to bring back a rush of memories and feelings towards her. Who needed Natalie when I had Eliza right here?

I rallied my mind around that thought as I slid my tongue out from my mouth, letting the tip touch against Eliza's wet box, my taste buds already registering her arousal to my brain and body. I pressed my face deeper into her pussy and lapped my tongue like a cat all around the outside of her, determined to make her feel really good.

Tracing a finger around her opening in a small semi-circle, I touched the hood of her clit with my fingertip, rubbing it gently back and forth as I breathed a small stream of air over it, her hips jerking slightly at the added sensation. I felt her hand slide down and stroke my hair, brushing a few strands away from my face as she laid back on the bed, totally relaxed at my attention to her sex.

Wedging my tongue deeper inside of her, I licked around her inner walls, gathering drop after drop of moisture into my mouth. Her taste was sweet today, a delicious tartness to it that made me want as much as I could get. I began to work faster on her pussy, my finger now rubbing her clit furiously as she moaned in pleasure.

I took one of her labia lips in between my lips and sucked on it gently, nibbling against it with my teeth as my tongue roamed and moved around her opening, plunging in and out of her twat like a cock, the tip wild like a live wire. More of her juices started to flow outward onto my face and lips and as I sucked them down, I started to feel my mind wander a bit - not from the task at hand, but for the first time into something of a fantasy.

I imagined Eliza not to be Eliza, but instead Natalie - her lithe body and small, firm hips and thighs spread lewdly for me on the bed as I ate her out. "Natalie" cried out louder and louder for me to keep eating her out, as my mind raced through mental images of Natalie's beautiful face twisted into a look of pleasure as I ate her out. This just encouraged me more, urging me on to lick and eat as much of her pussy as possible.

Though part of me knew that it was really just Eliza on the bed, the mere idea of it being Natalie once again seemed to turn my body on like never before. I felt my skin grow flush and the dampness between my legs increase dramatically, leaving a small wet spot on the floor beneath me. My desire and lust also seemed to have increased, for now I was tonguing Eliza's pussy like I had never done before. Her hips were jerking up and down on the bed as she cried out my name, her hands grasping the sheets tightly.

I could see Natalie's body shuddering and trembling on the bed, see her lift her head and lock eyes with me, those pretty brown eyes of hers staring at me and wanting only me, a small bit of perspiration on her forehead as she breathed rapidly, trying desperately to quench the fire in her body and reach orgasm.

My tongue now battering "Natalie"'s clit back and forth, my fingers furiously fucking in and out of her pussy as I raised myself up so I could have a better angle at which to fuck "Natalie" with, I felt her body tense up beneath me, her pussy spasming around my fingers as the walls contracted and she came.

"Ohhhh KIIIKKKIIIII!!!!!!" "Natalie" yelled out, her hips thrusting once more off the bed, hard, as she landed on her back, her body quivering as a flood of her female juices splashed out of her body and onto my face. I licked them up lovingly, happy to have given "Natalie" another orgasm. My mind was in a dreamy sort of state now, one filled with soft lighting and beautiful music as I imagined Natalie catching her breath on the bed in front of me, totally devoted and aroused by me and only me.

But my vision faded rather rapidly and I felt my heart sink as Eliza lifted her head off the bed and smiled at me weakly, her shirt now bunched up at the base of her breasts.

"My God Kirsten, that was the most amazing orgasm of my life," Eliza said, her face red with exhaustion.

"Thanks," I said, hoping my voice was not too glum. Guilt suddenly racked me as I began to understand for the first time the power of sexual fantasies. I felt bad that I had imagined the half nude girl in front of me to be Natalie, not Eliza, but if my guilt was strong at all, it certainly didn't show.

Eliza sat up on the bed and took me by the hand, lifting me to my feet. She glanced down my body and saw my aroused pussy lips before her face. Licking her lips in anticipation, she spoke softly.

"Now I need to make my Kiki feel just as good as she made me feel," she said, running her long finger over my now really wet pussy, her finger coated in my juices. She looked up at me innocently as she slid her finger into her mouth, sucking on it lewdly as her cheeks hollowed in.

"Mmmm... tastes good. But I want more," Eliza said sexily.

She grabbed me by the ass and pulled my hips closer to her face. Brushing her hair out of her face, Eliza opened her mouth slightly and was just inches away from my snatch when all of a sudden, her cell phone rang on the bedside table.

She paused for a moment, her mouth hovering just fractions of an inch now away from my pussy as she stared at me, contemplating on whether or not to answer it. I had never seen Eliza take a call on that cell phone, so whoever it was must have been important.

As the phone continued to ring, Eliza bowed her head in front of me and sighed, reluctantly getting up. I watched her ass sway as she walked towards the bed stand quickly, picking up the phone.

"What?" she said into it, spreading her legs wide for me on the bed as I sat down next to her. I could hear a male voice on the other line, but it was garbled slightly and all I could understand came from what Eliza said.

"They did what? Are you sure?" she said, then paused to listen for a moment.

"Jesus, this is going to be all sorts of damage control isn't it. Well, have you picked them all up yet?"

Another pause. Eliza's facial expression changed from sultry vixen to one of frustrated employee, her brow furrowing at what was being said.

"Alright, fine. Yes, I'll come back there. No, everything went fine here... we got just what we needed,"

Eliza looked over at me.

"Yes, I'll tell her. God, this whole situation is such a mess. I don't know why you didn't just kill that mother fucker in the first place,"

The voice on the other end said something, which Eliza scoffed at.

"I'm hanging up now. Bye," she said into the phone as she clicked it off before tossing it on the bed.

"Who... who was that?" I said to her, putting my hand on her thigh to try and calm her down. She flinched away from me and stood up.

"Where are my pants," she said, walking around the room looking for them.

"What's going on Eliza?" I asked, watching her as she fumed in anger.

She turned on her heel suddenly and looked at me. In that moment, the mask of anger and frustration on her face was frightening, so much so that I felt goosebumps on my skin. But her expression changed quickly after that into a softer one as she rushed over to me.

"Oh I'm sorry Kiki, but I have to leave and go back to LA. There's been some trouble with the Rose Petals,"

"What? But you just got here!" I said to her, grabbing her hand. I was suddenly feeling very lonely.

"I know that sweetie but when they say jump, I have to say how high. I wish I could tell you more but you know how it is. Let's just say that a lot of people may not live to see tomorrow if I don't get back and help straighten things out," Eliza said, her eyes studying my face as she tried to mother me and make me understand her having to leave. It wasn't working.

"Then I'll just come back with you. Mission accomplished here, right?"

"No, you need to stay here Kiki," Eliza said. "There's still work to do,"

"What?" I said, suddenly growing a little angry. "I already seduced her - that was the deal,"