“What?” 

“The police barracks in Bluelight sector has your fingerprint registered. Mex, our hacker, confirmed it, yesterday. Maybe your brother trusts you a bit too much. Maybe he’s just an idiot. Maybe the police are so drunk on stability that they can’t keep their files in order. I don’t care. The scale of weapon we need for our particular scenario is only found under police jurisdiction. We can’t make or steal such a thing, they aren’t in circulation. However, the high grade vault of Bluelight barracks… that is a toy shop.”

“Fuck you. That place is a fortress.” If I can find out who the mole is, we can get a message to Kaloaan. This is a chance to bite the Shark’s head off. He’s a fucking idiot. It would be easier to break into the corporate wall than the Bluelight barracks. 

“We’ll get you in there. You just need to open the door. You can kill yourself after that for all we care. As for the rest of you, it is called a Tectonic EMP. It’s no bigger than a laptop, but it has the electrical charge to destroy a reactor. This is what we need. When we succeed by using it on the Bansilin generator, this should cripple the corporate production, and there can be no legal or public announcement of it, because the factory shouldn’t exist. We have to act fast.” 

“You really hate yourself that much that you’re convincing them to commit mass suicide?” I ask. 

I feel hands on my shoulders, making my flinch. It’s the serpentine brown skinned girl. “You don’t worry about that, little rat.” 

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I hiss, turning to face her. 

Her tongue rolls out of her mouth. It’s way too long and split down the middle. That’s not natural. “You don’t like being touched?” She lays a hand on my chest. “Shame.” Her hair is braided tight on the sides and flowing free at the top. Her left ear is riddled with earrings, and her right is untouched. She leans in towards me. “We’re still allowed to kill you if your run.” 

I can’t stop a sideways smile. “You’ll kill me even if I stay, wont you?” 

“Of course, baby boy. We don’t like… loose ends.” She leans closer, snarling. 

Zorikan clears his throat. “Skarisa, Eresek, Oresek, Rieka, Deqar, Varan, Yuli, Kallix and myself will be heading in. Four AM sharp. Ready your nervous systems.” 

“Four?” I ask in disbelief. I’m drowned out by cheers and hollers. I don’t know what time it is, but it’s been night for a while already. Four can’t be more than a few hours away. I feel heavy. I haven’t slept since…

“Hey Deqar,” Skarisa shouts, draping her arms over me from behind. “Little rat is sleepy! You gotta fix him one of your speedballs.” 

“Eh?” Deqar asks, lifting his nose from the table. He blocks one nostril and snorts. 

“One of your speedballs!” 

“For him? Eh… I guess its a tradition at this point.” He hunches over, mixing powders and droppers together like a chemist. 

“Don’t give me no fucking speedball,” I spit. 

Skarisa’s seductive stroking switches in an instant, her arms lock, choking me from behind. The twins, Eresek and Oresek, both tall and blond with sharp goatees, grab my arms. I squirm and kick out, catching one of them in the head. He grunts, pinning both my legs under his weight. 

“Hold on! Hold on what the fuck is this?” I scream, thrashing. 

“Calm down, baby,” Skarisa says, kissing my forehead. She moves up, kissing my brow, then my nose, then my lips. She moves to the side, kissing my ear. 

“Fuck off me!” I shout, trying to kick free. 

She kisses my ear and whispers. “I’m Kaloaan’s mole. We’ll talk.” 

“What?” 

“Don’t try to relax!” Deqar shrieks. He ties a clumped yellow dough in plastic wrap and presses it into the back of a syringe. “It makes everything much worse.” He forces the needle into my exposed arm and presses it down. 

I scream. Fire rips through my bicep, up my chest and neck. My skin threatens to burn off. 

He slaps me twice across the face. “Alright, he’ll either be back to hundred or we’re tossing the body in acid.”

I’m upright, standing again. My hand shoots out, grabbing him by the neck. His eyes bulge as I squeeze. 

“Good stuff, right?” he croaks. 

I let him go. Skarisa just said that she was the mole. I turn to look at her. She has a pill pressed between the two ends of her forked tongue. She winks at me as she opens her mouth and swallows it, drawing her ridiculously tongue in like a fishing line. 

“Here,” Eresek presses something cool into my hand. A beer. “It will help your heart not explode.” 

I begin chugging. The cold fluid provides first aid to my neck. The burning in my muscles turns to a burning in my soul. 

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it,” grunts Varan. He’s stood on the table, precariously on a stack of crates. he’s fiddling with the lights. Suddenly, they turn from dim, flickering yellow to strobing flares of alternating colors. 

One second later a speaker erupts. Glitching, industrial thrash metal blasts into my ears. The sounds are harsh and distorted. The rhythms stutter and sprint. My head begins to move. Then my shoulders, arms and legs. 

I dance, kicking and splashing in the dirty water. 

The bass of the speaker makes ripples in the water that twirl with mine. 

Purple. Blue. Pink. Black. The light strobes. 

I’m on the table. Then the ceiling. 

Then I’ve fallen onto the watery floor. I’m being picked up. 

“Don’t break yourself, rookie,” Deqar says through his lockjaw, he sets me down at the end of the table. “Anybody want to take advantage of him, now’s your chance.” 

I squint, holding myself up by my forearms, as Deqar walks back down to the center. He embraces Eresek, who’s leaning against the wall, white t-shirt stained and splattered. They begin kissing.. Eresek grabs his ass, pushing him against the wall. 

I glitch away. 

I can see Rieka, Varan and a skinny bald kid with metal weights tattooed across his face and head. They’re dancing. Thrashing their bodies up and down to the violent rhythms and pushing against each other. I move with them. I jump and kick, throwing my torso up and down. I smash into Varan and he pushes me away in sync. The skinny bald kid matches my force, meeting me chest to chest. I stumble left, knocking into Rieka. She shoulders me, but I stop moving. 

She glitters. Her eyes sparkle in the switching lights. They look as if they glow. Her skin seems so soft I could tear through it. 

I don’t even realize that I’m leaning into her. 

She catches me by the shoulders. “How’s the speedball?” 

“Do you want to fuck?” I ask, slumping into her. My drool drapes over her shoulder. My boner presses into her thigh. The contact sends a jolt through my spine. A moan escapes my mouth. 

“No. Deqar might though,” she laughs, pushing me off. 

I fall, flat on my back in the water. 

I just lie there for a moment. The grimy water lapping at my ears creates a strange sensation with the pounding bass and strobing lights. 

This is amazing. 

How does one feel this good all the time? 

Deqar is a wizard. 

Fuck. Why does the water feel so good? 

We’re supposed to go on a heist or some shit? A robbery? 

The barracks? 

Wow. I can feel the bass in my skull. My shoulder doesn’t even hurt. No headache. No fucking headache. 

Someone is on top of me. 

I try to make out who it is against the flashing lights. 

“Well, you’re happy to see me!” 

Skarisa. She grins with her snake eyes, looking down at me like prey. Her forked tongue rolls out of her mouth and lands on my lips. She leans forward, moving my boner up alongside her. 

I grab her, pulling her against me and kissing her. God. I’m twitching with pleasure. I can literally feel her vibration. 

Her tongue slides into my mouth, curious and ambitious, sliding around. My hand is on her neck. On her tits. Where did this gorgeous woman appear from? Where the fuck am I? 

“Fuck me,” she whispers, rolling over onto her back. 

I’m on my knees. Drool drips down my chin. My heart grinds at my ribcage. I pull my pants down as she pulls hers off. I lean forward, lifting her legs over my shoulders. I fold her in half, forearms clasping her head, and slide in. 

I grunt. 

She shrieks. “Oh, god! Fuck, Kallix! Fuck me, Kallix!” 

“Yeah,” I breath, ravaging into her. She’s turned into a goddess. Golden gowns and galactic staff. I’m fucking her in a quasar. My seed will sow planets. 

She grips my neck and leans in. “Do you remember what I said?” she whispers. “Agh! Don’t stop!” she shrieks. 

My eyes dilate. “Wh…” 

She holds a hand over my mouth, and moans. 

Why is she…? Right. She said she was Kaloaan’s mole. I didn’t hallucinate that. I nod slowly, still fucking her like a dog. 

“Good. I’ve already informed Kaloaan. You just need to go with the flow. Get them deep in there and get out of the way when things get messy. Kaloaan knows what’s coming, he’ll be ready. So long as you don’t fuck it up. Keep everything moving streamlined,” she whispered into my ear between cries. 

I glance over my shoulder. All the Swifters are preoccupied with arguments, competitions, drugs, dancing and rituals. I nod again. 

“Good, now you’re going to do what I say for as long as you’re here so that you don’t fuck up what we’ve achieved. This is going to be crucial to stopping him. Can you do that? Can you do whatever I say?” 

I nod again, my face turning red and sweaty. 

“Good. Now cum.” 

“Huh?” 

Pushes me off her then shoots down. She swallows my dick in it’s entirety. I feel it slide over her tongue, hit the back of her mouth, then glide into her throat. I feel her gag reflex hitch. 

There is an eruption. Somewhere in space, but still visible through telescope. I’m making a noise that I didn’t think possible. I sound like a badger being kicked. 

She’s drinking it. 

I empty my DNA and she licks her lips. “I’m watching. Don’t fuck it up.” She stands, does her pants up, and walks away. 

I tremble in the water for a moment. I don’t know how much time has passed until I sit up. 

The raging lights and blaring music is tearing my brain apart. I want to stand, but my blood is too fast. My legs twitch, making ripples in the muck. I feel the bass gyrate my soul. 

I’m crashing. 

Already? 

I will myself to stand, but instead I melt, splattering against the wall behind me. I’m ooze. I’m literally ooze, dissolving into the water. 

Something slaps me across the face. I hope its not a dick. 

Nope. Just Varan’s clammy hand. 

He yanks me up by the armpits. His face is a Picasso with fiery orange hair. “Get off me… carrot,” I slur. 

His smile is gargantuan. His eyes are beams. Wasn’t he half dead a minute ago? 

The ginger noodle shoves something up my nose. 

I swing. 

He ducks. 

Holy shit I can move my hands. 

I snort and feel the burn claw down the back of my throat. 

“You back, scarecrow?” he asks, grin gargantuan.

I roar and punch the wall. “I am going to fuck the prime minister! Now. Right fucking now. Where is she?” 

“Yeah! That’s what I like to hear!” Deqar hollers from across the hall, still taking backshots from Eresek. 

But then there is darkness. I smacks into me, wrapping around my head, squeezing my eyes. 

“What the fu-”