Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
ARI
“Do I even want to know what is happening over there?” Aiden inquires as we walk into Ashton’s office.
In the corner of the room, Z is strapped face down on a table, mewling and humping incessantly as tears streak down his face. Bending over, I can see why. Beneath the table is a fleshlight with his cock peeking in and out as he tries to grind himself into the table.
Ashton turns and faces Z with what can only be categorized as a maniacal smile on his face. “Oh yeah, I’m testing out my paralytic lube.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, curious more than anything. What would be the purpose of the paralytic lube?
“Oh yeah. Z over here has his cock covered in the stuff. I am testing it out for a future idea. Picture this: the lube allows you to feel the smallest sensation, enough to turn you on and make you desire an orgasm. But the paralysis function of the lube prevents you from getting off. So you are in a constant state of distress and horniness.” Ashton says with a little too much glee, if you ask me.
Hmmm. “And what is the ultimate goal?” It can’t just be to give them endless blue balls.
“Denial is its own form of torture, Ari. You won’t believe what a man will give up for an orgasm that has been refused to him.
” Ashton licks his lips as he observes Z, who still hasn’t stopped debasing the table.
“I also want to compare how sexual denial impacts interrogation techniques compared to physical pain. It could have a massive impact on our future studies and open us up to more tools when we question people.”
Over the last couple of weeks, Aiden and I have been having what he likes to refer to as dates for torture. Spending time together in the morgue practicing with new weapons and honing our skills. Of which, I currently have none. So it’s not going particularly well, but I am embracing the chaos.
I’d like to say that Z tied to a table with paralytic lube is the wildest thing I’ve seen in the trenches of the morgue but truthfully it doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Aiden looks intrigued by the new batch as he walks over to Z’s table to get a closer look. “This formula seems to be working much better. When do you think this will be ready to use on the others?” he asks as he kneels next to the table, examining Z’s cock through the clear fleshlight.
“In the next month or so. I had a few earlier versions, but the penis never quite got working again, even after the lube was washed off.”
A muffled scream of distress comes from behind the gag as a wide-eyed Z on the table starts panicking at Ashton’s comment. Yeah, I would freak out too.
“Don’t you worry, Z. I think I fixed it.” He shrugs his shoulders and looks at me as if to say, well, what can you do?
“Are you planning on keeping him, Ashton?” Aiden asks, probably wondering if he will get a chance to torture Z a little.
“Yes, Z may whine a bit, but he likes being under my care. Don’t you, my pet?”
Despite the tears rolling down Z’s face, he is nodding his head furiously, and an almost moan-like sound comes out of him.
Well, okay then.
A long string of liquid hangs from the fleshlight, with a cup waiting to catch the release, preventing it from hitting the floor.
I quirk an eyebrow, and Ashton answers my unspoken question, “I want to be able to test any liquid that comes out of his penis to see if and how the lube affects sexual reproduction.”
Aiden clears his throat, thankfully changing the subject. “We were looking for the arrows for the bow. I wanted to teach Ari how to shoot.”
Ashton nods his head. “They should be in the storage room on the top shelf.” He gestures to the door adjacent to Z.
“Great.” Aiden slaps the fleshlight, causing Z to whimper, and walks over to the room to collect the arrows.
Ashton reaches for his clipboard to make a few notes, then gazes over, giving me a contemplative look. “So,” he clears his throat, “how are things going? You’ve been in the morgue a lot recently.”
Considering he was in charge of the research component for the morgue, he probably wanted to know how many more patients would die while I was practicing my new techniques with Aiden.
Which so far had been pretty hit or miss. But it wasn’t all my fault.
Well, of course, there was meatball guy. He went out in an acid bath… literally. I placed his foot in the bucket, and the man jumped in, carving fork still stuck in his balls and all. I think I can blame him for that one.
The woman last week, if you could call that hag a woman, accidentally bled out on the table after I kind of, sort of cut her carotid artery with a machete. Aiden is partially to blame for this one because he came up behind me and smacked me on the ass mid-swipe of the blade.
I punched him for that.
And the man yesterday had the unfortunate experience of dying by a medieval flail to the head. The spike and eyeball combo was brutal, but Aiden told me, ‘nice aim’ afterward, so he clearly wasn’t bothered by it.
This was more than likely—okay, it was for sure—messing with Ashton’s test results because we were supposed to be tracking how the patients’ muscle sensitivity increased over time as their pain receptors became more affected by the injections.
Well, with them now dead, that probably wasn’t the best data point.
“Yeah, the morgue feels good,” I venture, knowing it’s best to let him lead this conversation.
Ashton narrows his eyes. “Feels good. Okay, right. Does that mean we will be seeing more of you here?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, Aiden has been teaching me some things. I think he needs an assistant. Someone to keep him in line.”
Aiden chooses that moment to walk out of the closet and lets out an evil-sounding laugh. “Sure, someone to keep me in line. Ari, if anyone needs to be on a leash, it’s you. Even Bosco is better behaved.”
“Hey! I resent that. At least I don’t spray my horny fluids all over the goddamn bodies.”
Aiden gives me a look because we both know that I’m lying. Carving-fork meatball man was proof of that, but he doesn’t correct me in front of Ashton. Almost like it’s a secret we share between us.
“Horny fluids or not,” Ashton says, “Bosco leaves them alive for me to test. So, how about we try more of that? If the assistant kills the patients, instead of, you know, assisting, they become a liability.
“So either fix your shit, or I am going to be your teacher until you learn to control yourself.”
I flex my fingers and ball them into fists before taking a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll try my best, but I don’t make any promises.”
Aiden gestures for the door, and we leave without saying goodbye.
I hesitate as I turn to leave. “Before I go, has there been any update on Brodie’s death? Do they have any leads?”
Ashton barely throws me a glance over his shoulder. “No.”
Frustration bubbles up inside of me. If The Order can’t come up with any answers soon, I will hunt the goddamn answers down myself. Fuck relying on others to do the work for me.
I give Z one last look, but he isn’t watching me; he is gazing over at Ashton with what I can only interpret as longing.
Poor bastard.
I catch up to Aiden as he walks back into the morgue. Patient 6069 is still tied up to the wall, a projector image displayed of a target covering his body. The bullseye is obviously the man’s limp dick.
“The keys to good aim in archery are the anchor and the release,” Aiden says as he sets down the extra arrows before turning toward me.
I walk over to Aiden before pausing his lesson. “Do you think Ashton meant what he said? Will he not let you train me?”
Aiden rolls his eyes. “Ari, I would literally slit the man’s neck if he tried to do that.
Whether he likes it or not, I am going to be his boss one day.
If you would like to kill every piece of trash in each of the storage cabinets today, go ahead.
We can always find more scum to fill our patient roster.
Now”—he nocks the bow—“can we get focused?”
The man on the wall is surely about to die from my poor aim, but that seems to be a him problem. Aiden mentioned something about him blackmailing women for sex, and when that didn’t work, he resorted to drugging them. So, he was for sure dying.
Aiden hands me the bow and arrow and comes up behind me, his body dwarfing mine as he adjusts my grip.
He kicks my feet a little further apart and nudges my left foot forward to adjust my stance.
Bending, he reaches for the arrow, grabbing it over my grip, and with his other hand anchors the bow over mine.
He bends over so his mouth is next to my ear, and I can hear his soft breaths. “You ready to practice, little venom?” Aiden nips the top of my ear, bringing me back to focus.
I nod as I aim the arrow. Aiden adjusts the aim a little by putting some pressure on my drawn arm with his and lifting it a little so that my arm is parallel to the ground.
He whispers softly, “Release when you’re ready.”
Okay, who knew archery was so erotic?
I have to take a few breaths to regain my focus. Aiden is a distraction; I swear that is why people end up dead. He should take the blame from Ashton, not me.
Focus, you’re aiming for cock. With one final breath, I release the arrow and follow through.
The arrow slices through the man’s thigh and lands close to his groin, which elicits loud screaming. Well, it would be loud if not for the gag.
“Good girl, venom.”
I shiver at those words. That’s so hot.
I turn to him and look up at him. “Well, not the cock, but pretty close for my first time.”
Aiden laughs. “Don’t worry, we will make you good enough that you can aim for his tip and slice it right off.”
The man on the wall flails and screams, but the rope holds him in place. “How long will that take?” I muse as I grab another arrow.
Aiden shrugs. “Depends. Probably several times and a few dead bodies.”
I guess that makes sense. It’s not like I was going to walk in here and become the female death cupid.
Oh, there’s an idea. Pink nightie, heart slippers, bows in my hair to go with my bow and arrow. Well, maybe red to match the blood splatter. You know what? Both.
A death cupid with fashion. Aim for the heart but hit the cock. I think Ashton would approve of that motto since it would keep them alive.
I could create different personas with each new weapon I mastered. Bring some color to this silver meat locker.
“I want to try again. Too bad his cock isn’t larger. It would give me more to aim for.” Aiden chuckles at that as he steps up behind me again.
“Venom, if you need me to give him a little blue pill before you aim, you just let me know.”
I wonder if I could get arrows with heart-shaped blades.
Shopping tomorrow, for sure.