บท 31: Change of Pace

The sickly woman could be found sitting on the edge of a neon billboard. She'd long since left the Turbo Bar and the crew loitering it. Sasha almost begged Lei to visit again, followed by Lucy who grunted in agreement. It seems she'd have to visit again when she wasn't ready to end her life. When she was happy…or better yet…stable. Mentally stable.

RING RING RING

Lei's display window opened up, allowing for face cam. A bottle of alcohol in hand gave her the bright idea to take another swig. It numbed the pain. A few ring's went unanswered…a couple minutes…then there was a change. Meredith's lovely visage appeared and she seemed to be working on something. At a desk. Was she in an office?

"Drifter." Stout answered.

"Heyyyyy…I was…Uhhhh…oh…I was thinking about last time…didn't you…didn't you say…that there was an extra benefit?" Lei finally managed to say. Her words slurred a bit.

The tired woman was quite drunk. Maybe it was better to say…under the influence. Meredith stopped whatever she was doing and looked at the cam. The cold woman's eyes observed everything. Only then did she speak.

"Are you drunk?"

"Whattt? Nooo! Just had a teensy bit. Hahaha!"

Lei raised both her arms in the air, almost falling off the billboard. The bottle appeared on screen for just a moment. Meredith frowned at what she was seeing.

The bags under the eyes. Pale face. Slightly trembling limbs. The corpo woman could tell that the drifter was at a breaking point. Something must've happened recently, and it brought the merc back to her.

"I take it the heart sleeve is working as intended? Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Heart sleeve works great…but you…you tried to short me! Didn't you know that…that it was supposed to come with a breather?! Hmph. Well I have one now."

"Drifter, how else would I keep you coming back?" Stout cracked a smirk.

"It's Lei. Stop calling me Drifter!" Lei exclaimed like a child.

"Your merc name is Drifter. You are MY merc. So I call you Drifter."

"Hm? When did I become YOUR exclusive merc?"

"When you called me drunkenly. It's not like you recently did any jobs for other corporations. Anything less than that doesn't match up to me. Therefore you've been exclusively mine for a while now."

"What? This is NOT a drunk call." Lei immediately latched on to that single part. Ignoring the rest.

"Then why did you call me, Lei? You're drunk."

"...Because."

"Because…?"

"...Because I want my benefit."

"Is that all?" Meredith gazed at Lei's precious lips…for the umpteenth time. The sickly girl struggled for a moment, then finally spoke.

"And…because I want to see you." Loralei revealed.

Saying that to a corporate woman was extremely risky. Meredith knew this would give her leverage over the sickly girl…for a good amount of time. She would definitely take advantage. A knowing smile tugged at her lips. It disappeared immediately.

"Then why are you still sitting there? I'm at Millitech HQ. 63rd floor. This whole floor belongs to me. Find your own way up."

"Yes!"

"And Lei…"

"Hmm?"

"Don't make any big moves. At least in the city. Netwatch is observing you."

"...What." Lei grew serious.

"You made contact with the Voodoo Boys, and barely two days later, their corpses were discovered. Almost a hundred. You have a penchant for leaving a trail of death behind."

"You've…been watching me."

"Why wouldn't I? I always keep tabs on people who work for me."

"For some reason…that doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would."

"Hurry up. Clock's ticking."

BEEP

The call was cut. Lei took another swig of the alcoholic beverage before tossing it down. The bottle traveled right to the crackhead who'd been watching the entire time. He caught it and immediately started downing it.

Loralei flipped off the billboard, landed on an AC unit, flipped again and landed on top of a car. Both of her hands were raised as if performing for a judge. It was quite an impressive set of flips.

CLAP CLAP CLAP

The geeker ended up clapping for her. What a nice guy! She couldn't help but bow to him. Only then did she stumble toward her Kusanagi.

…

Meredith looked at her datapad. It was filled with information. She'd been working on a lot of things recently. More than usual. All because of that woman. That merc.

A slight smirk tugged at her lips before disappearing. Lei was able to take on jobs that most people would struggle to do. Having such a person in her pocket…It made the cold woman feel powerful.

A promotion. Immediately after the Biotechnica job, she'd been promoted. After the next job, she may be promoted again. With Drifter slashing her laser blade through most obstacles…Stout could see herself running all of Millitech. Or being incredibly close to doing so.

Meredith needed to find even better payouts for the merc. Trying to outdo herself each time was mandatory. That was the only way to keep Lei willing to do jobs…at least…that was what she'd initially thought. This drunk call…it meant that the sickly girl was thinking about her a lot.

'I can use this.' The woman thought happily.

TAP TAP TAP

A light knock sounded from the window. Meredith turned to see a gloved hand waving. Lei was standing on the wall…seeming to defy gravity. How in the fuck…they were on the 63rd floor!

The wheels on her chair moved closer to the window. As soon as she opened it, Lei's figure disappeared with a red afterimage. The cold woman didn't reveal any change of expression, instead closing the window.

"This room is so biiiiiig…" Lei exclaimed. Turning back to the room, Meredith found the drunk merc sitting on the desk.

"Did you really climb up the side of the building?"

"Ummm…no? I ran. Why would I climb? Pfft hahaha!" Lei giggled.

"Siiigh. Take the stairs or the elevator next time."

"Uh, hello? Security check? I would've had to put away all my gear! No way."

"You're registered under my name. Nobody would stop you."

"Really…that's neat."

"Convenient…is it not? Any Millitech operatives that scan you in Night City will leave you alone."

"Mmmm…" Lei hummed absentmindedly. Her gaze burned a hole into the woman's head.

"You need to do a better job at hiding your desires." Meredith commented.

"I'm very good at that actually. I just see no reason to do so…especially right now."

"Yes, yes. Your extra benefit, right?"

"Mmhmm." Lei nodded.

The corpo woman rolled her chair back to the desk. Sitting directly in front of Lei who's legs dangled from the edge. After undoing a few buttons on her uniform, Meredith leaned back into the chair.

"Strip."

"........"

"All of it. Take off the gear."

"Right…right here?" Lei commented, the alcohol lowering her aversion to it.

"Right on the desk."

".................."

"Now."

Lei rolled her eyes before taking it off with a giggle. The boots were gone first. Then the chest armor…then the cloak…then the shin guards and arm guards…and finally the pants. Weapons too, of course.

Now dressed in only a white crop top shirt and red panties, she lay on the desk. Curled up like a cat. Meredith looked at the almost nude girl on her desk. Her hand caressed Lei's soft leg, slowly tracing the curves up to the petite breasts.

She then grabbed a handful of Loralei's round supple ass. The other hand rested on the desk. Her gaze was directed to the sickly girl's nail polish. Black on the fingers and toes. Quite pretty. It matched well with how Lei naturally appeared.

"You look tired…" Meredith commented.

"Mnnn." Loralei hummed lazily. Her empty grey eyes were slightly closed.

"This city…it's getting to you. Isn't it."

"Mnnn."

"It always does…I have another job for you, Lei."

"Of course you do." Lei mewled with a roll of her eyes.

"Stop rolling your eyes. It's annoying." Meredith's tone was cold.

"...Make me."

Both of them locked eyes for a moment. Lei could feel the hand wandering her body. It felt good. Warm. That was when another hand landed on her face.

Stout's other hand caressed Lei's cheek, tracing the jawline and chin. Her thumb eventually rubbed against those pretty lips. Something the woman had wanted to explore for a while now. Her thumb pressed harder against them…until Lei opened her mouth slightly.

Accepting the invitation, Meredith's thumb disappeared behind those lips. Every detail of the girl's tongue was explored. It was warm…soft…and wet. Lei played with the hot corpo lady's finger, her tongue giving it plenty of love.

That wasn't all. Meredith's other hand slid under the red panties and stopped on the heat between Loralei's legs. Her fingers immediately started to play with the little kitty.

"Mmm!" Lei's hips immediately bucked up into the air.

"You need a change of pace…so I'm sending you to Las Vegas."