Chapter 26 – Deals
Gray became friends with the soldiers as soon as he brought them the first round of beer. Before long he had a group of energetic young men and women sitting around the table and gossiping him about all the military affairs. They spoke about low wages, the lost battle with the Haigen Forces on the marshes, and even some private secrets of their superiors. Gray had to push them a little to turn the conversation about Atena.
“She just went above the rules,” a shaggy-haired military soldier said, swallowing down an entire mug. “In the military there are rules.”
“Pissed off a commander?” Gray asked.
“Oh no, pissed off the big guys,” he grinned. “You don’t piss off the big guys.”
Gray waited for a better explanation, but the soldier went on to fill another beer. It was the short soldier beside Gray who spoke.
“The culture here is a bit different sir. You see them?” he pointed at a group of soldiers sitting at the corner table. Gray had given them their beers too, but they took it more silently. “They are sons of nobles or military commanders who joined the military because of powerful backing. And they prefer to remain on the top ranks.”
Gray saw Ruthcroft among them. The bastard had a cunning smile.
“Even when we do good, we let them take the high ranks. Because that’s the way it works. But that girl Atena had different ideas.”
Gray’s eyes moved to Atena. She was sitting on the corner table, all alone, sipping a bowl of porridge.
No friends huh? Why aren’t I surprised?
“So she wanted to go to the top? Was that too wrong?”
“Not wrong according to us, but according to them.”
“Hey Vincent,” the tanned muscular girl with two cups of beer snapped at the guy beside Gray. “Mouth zipped.”
“Oh, nothing to worry about,” Gray smiled. “I’m not the type to gossip around.”
“Sorry sir, military rules.”
Gray decided not to probe further. Nobles mingling in the military dining quarters was already a weird sight, and Gray had to buy beer for everyone who looked at him strangely.
The evening bell rang in the distance, and the chatter of the soldiers died down. One by one started leaving the room.
“Evening patrol,” Vincent grumbled. “I hate it.”
Gray’s eyes moved to Ruthcroft, and he gave a nod as he left the room.
“Alright soldiers,” Gray stood up. “I have a little errand to run. Sip up the rest of the beer and forget I was ever here.”
The soldiers were more than grateful for that, so Gray left, making sure not to mingle too much.
ÕÕÕÕ
There were four soldiers in the room including Ruthcroft. Two guys including the one who got punched in the street, and one girl with heavily tattooed arms and a crew cut.
“Who’s he?” She spat.
“A noble who is going to enjoy the party,” Gray patted his pockets and let the pouch of coins shuffle. “Don’t mind me, continue what you are doing.”
The girl looked at Ruthcroft, and he gave a slight nod before looking at Gray. “She’ll come in shortly.”
Gray positioned himself in a chair beside the shadows. Sure enough, before the seconds ticked he heard footsteps on the corridor. The front door opened, and Atena stepped in dressed in her military uniform.
“Any problem?” she asked, stepping around and looking around the room. When her eyes met Ruthcroft, she roughly added. “Sir.”
“A lot of people saw your work on the streets today,” the tattooed girl spoke. “In the streets, they call you a warrior angel. But locating those goons was a team mission. And we worked on getting the information.”
“I did what I was ordered to by the commander.”
“No, no,” Ruthcroft leaned back on his seat. “In here there is a way of doing things. The smaller guys gather the papers and then let the big men take care of it.”
“And then take credit? We all worked on that mission together. And I was following orders.”
“So you don’t regret your actions?”
“No, I don’t sir. I was following orders.”
“Well then, I believe you can follow your new orders,” Ruthcroft threw a piece of paper at her. Gray only caught the gleaming red seal at the bottom. “From now on I will be your superior officer. And I have a new order for you. Right now. Take off your clothes.”
Oh, so that’s how it is? Gray had to admire Ruthcroft. They weren’t much different. He was using money, and Ruthcroft was using his dear daddy’s influence.
The two guys and the girl grinned, while Atena looked at the paper furiously, her eyes remaining steady.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Ruthcroft snapped. “Take off your clothes soldier.”
Atena looked at him, her eyes defiant. “I need to talk-”
“Didn’t you see the seal of my father?”
That stopped her. There was still a moment of hesitation, but despite the grins of the others, Atena started to strip. It was long. Very long. And Andria used to take a long time to strip even her little chemise Gray had sometimes torn it off from the edges, but Atena took longer than Andria. First, she removed her harness, then the belts and weapons, and finally her clothes.
And it took ages.
But when she was done, she stood bare before them all, completely naked. She had a well-toned body despite being a soldier. All the nice curves, a little bush, average breasts, but of course, abs. Her body definitely said she did a lot of exercises.
The tattooed girl whistled and immediately walked towards her. “Wow, aren’t you nice?”
“I can’t believe you are doing this,” Atena spoke through gritted teeth. “You are a girl.”
“Who likes girls.”
She kissed her, something that looked like two female athletes wrestling. She groped Atena’s breasts while forcibly kissing her, and the other two soldiers already were brushing their hands over their cocks.
“So that’s what it is then?” Gray turned to Ruthcroft. “A gangrape?”
“Oh no, we aren’t animals,” Ruthcroft leaned back on his seat. “Besides, if we were to do something like that my father would hang me. Think of this as…intimidation. I let the boys grope her around, tell her to blow them off a couple of times, and we keep doing this for a couple of days every evening to see how far she’ll resist.”
Gray looked at the girl. She was gritting her teeth and enduring it all. Even when the female soldier was sucking her breast harder than Gray used to suck Lyla’s. Normally it was a sight that would turn him on, but he had other plans.
“Alright boys,” he jumped from his seat and cracked his neck. “I’ll take charge from here.”
“What?” Ruthcroft snapped.
“What?” The tattoo girl turned. “Get the fuck out asshole.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t talk to me like that,” Gray was beside her in an instant, and before she could swat him off he touched her crotch, and then let the magic seep in. It was a little trick he had learned. Montrea’s daughter was his last experiment.
The tattooed woman’s face changed, going from anger to confusion to a blush.
When she was silent Gray turned.
“New rules,” he grabbed the pouch of coins. “I own the girl, and you all can fuck off.”