A Requiem Eternal

Chapter 31 - Severance

Kate's phone vibrated for what was probably the fiftieth time. The display said it was her boss again. She played with it and twirled it on the kitchen table while she took another drink of vodka. He was calling her constantly probably trying to find out if she was coming back to work. She didn't have the courage to face the world yet or to talk to anyone, especially him. She just wanted to be numb, to cry and then be numb again. It was the cycle she'd kept up for days. And it was working. She couldn't remember how many days of that and reading Sara's grimoire.

A terrible thought began to wade its way through to her alcohol sloshed brain. New Haven wasn't too far from Boston. She'd better call him or risk him stopping by the house. She was in no condition or mood to speak to him in person.

"I changed my mind, Steve. I'm keeping the story," Kate slurred.

Steve laughed.

"No source, huh?"

"No at least not before deadline."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that Kate. But I can't say I'm not surprised. I'll Fed Ex your last check and your belongings from the office tomorrow."

Call ended.

Job ended.

Career ended?

Vodka was still there. Kate smiled. She took another big drink and passed out at the kitchen table.

***

Steve Mac poured himself a drink. He always kept some scotch on hand in his office for these occasions. He really didn't like firing people sometimes, especially when he had no choice. He knew Kate was a good person and a good writer. It seemed to him she was going through some hard times at home and they were seeping into her work life. He knew she had just gotten divorced. That had to be hard. Working, going through a divorce and trying to raise a teenage daughter alone. Still, he couldn't let her incompetence, temporary or not, affect the bottom line of the company he was in charge of.

He sat back in his chair and decided to take a look at her computer. He hopped on the network and found the link to her computer was still there. Maybe there was an email or some clue as to what was going on with her. He rifled through her files until he stumbled across the piece she was talking about.

"Inside the Children of Psyon" He read aloud, shaking his head. He began to read. He meant to only read the opening but found he couldn't stop. It wasn't complete, but she was right. It was an incredible story. If it were true, they would really be telling the world something mind-blowing and boosting sales and readership if they made into a series of articles. Steve knew he'd need an original and new completed take on it. Then it wouldn't really be stealing. He picked up the phone and called an intern.

"Hey Josh, I need a new writer, pronto. Can ya send me in someone good for an interview?"

"Yeah, I know what time it is. It's time to do that thing. You know the one I don't pay you a great salary for but you were hoping someday you might make money at it," he laughed.

"About an hour? Why so long? Is it a chick? Yeah? Figures. Alright-- I'll be here."

When she walked into the office, Steve couldn't believe his luck at being alone with such a striking woman. He would definitely reward that intern. Her long deep auburn hair, her full young hiked up breasts made him think instantly,

"Yeah fire crotch...you got the job."

"Hi, Lily Eiffel," the young woman said, extending her hand across his desk.

"Hi Lily, Steve Mac."

He said reaching out to grasp her hand for a brisk handshake.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. You must be pretty hungry."

"What?" Lily said.

"Sorry, I mean...you are eager to prove yourself?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"I've got a strange and off-beat story I need investigated and covered. You up for it?"

"Depends on what it is," Lily said.

"Smart lady, I like that. You'll need a bit of street smarts for this one. It's about an underground community of psi vampires. You'll have to infiltrate them and do some interviews. And you'll have to get one of them to come out as a source. I can't run it without that."

"And where'd you hear about this?" Lily asked, leaning forward onto his desk appearing engrossed in what he was telling her.

Steve appreciated the flash of cleavage for a moment then snapped out of it.

"It's been making the rounds for a while now, but no one has gotten a source to talk. I bet you could get them to," Steve smiled lasciviously.

She smirked looking into his eyes.

"Steve, you were so right...I am hungry."

Lily didn't move her position on his desk. But instead of her cleavage, he finally saw her eyes. Blinding violet threads of light trailed out of them. On sight of them, he couldn't move. They reached out to him. Why couldn't he move out of his chair or close his damn eyes? She walked around his desk and sat on his lap, gripping his throat while she spoke to him.

"Getting a clue why no one has talked yet?"

"Wait, I know you. Your name isn't Lily."

"I knew you would remember me, once you shut the hell up."

He vaguely remembered her name from a piece he investigated years ago as a young reporter. She was one of them? He couldn't believe there was one on top of him. And she...Oh she liked it rough. He felt his groin growing into a stiff mound. How he wished he could move so he could undo his pants and give it to her. His last conscious thought was wondering what her beautiful face would look like when she came for him.

She felt a warm and wet release underneath her. The young woman stood up and slapped him hard.

"Ah, you disgusting sack of shit."

***

Instant rage led her to raise him from his chair with one hand lifting him high until his feet no longer touched the floor while he gasped for air. The threads of light from her eyes connected with his. They multiplied into pulsing ropes of chromatic tubes in which his energy flowed to her, robbing him of the strength and energy to fight her. Still, he managed to laugh before she released his limp body back to his black leather executives' office chair. He was amused with reliving the past and more so that she had no choice but to see his deeds as well. She saw visions of all the terrified underlings he bullied. He harassed them into silence through numerous instances of office politics. Deeds which catapulted him up the office food chain until achieving a position of power.

His laugh soon turned into incoherent mumbling, his face, frozen in a lecherous smile. And though he no longer had control of any of his faculties, his crotch maintained its stiff condition.

Finally accomplishing a vacant stare from him, she stood in front of him and thought how appropriate it was, leaving him this way. Walking out of the skyscraper, she almost wished she could see the paramedics' reactions when they were called to the scene. His essence so perverted and vile still pulsed through her mind and body. It had made her forget to read him fully.

"It doesn't matter," she thought. It was done. Even if she had endured the most distasteful feeding one could ever imagine, she took a man who misused his power over others and brought him to his knees. A new charge and pleasure she would revel in, eventually.