Title: The Affairs of Wizards (pt 1 of 3): Not Friends, Not Benefits
Featuring: Desade
Date: March 12, 19, and 24 (244 vs. Chainz)
Location: New York and San Francisco

Sunday, March 12, 2011 8:47 PM Eastern
New York City, New York

"What do you mean it's gone?" the man in the blue suit shouted.

"It, uh..." The man opposite had his hands folded awkwardly, a goose egg over his left eye. His name was Michael Carmine â€" his friends called him Mickey â€" and this was not the best week of his life. "It seems like... while we were dealing with the fireâ€""

His name was Mr. Bronze, and he should have been a joke. He could be generously called five-foot-six, and he dressed like a clown, head-to-toe in vivid blue. Were it not for that scowl and his impassive, green-eyed stare, they may have even made Smurf jokes. "So while you were dealing with a distraction, you let a woman you're supposed to be watching out for just walk past the security desk?"

No one made any such jokes â€" in fact, they walked on eggshells around him.

"Mr. Bronze, sir..." Mickey paled, scooting backwards as far as the chair would allow. "She had a badge."

"Oh, she had a badge!" Bronze leaned back, a hand skimming over the short, slick hair that had earned him his name. He lifted that gaze to the other person in the room, a tall woman with dark hair and yin-yang, black and white eyes. "Well, he had a badge. We can't blame these guys, can we?"

"No, sir, it doesn't look like we can." The woman â€" at times called Cozen â€" nodded once. "Of course, that means I'm also a member of the FBI, the CIA, NSA, Parks and Wildlife, three different sheriff's departments, the University of Alabama athletics department, and the Friar's Club. Oh, and also the Dallas chapter of the Intergalactic House of Daleks."

Bronze leaned forward, his forearms on the desk. "Tell me, does she look like a Dalek to you?"

Mickey shifted uncomfortably under the two glares. "I don't know what that is..."

"I don't give a fuck what that is!" Bronze slammed the flat of his hand against the blotter. "Do you remember anything? Anything at all that can help us track down the people who did this to us?"

"I don't really remember a lot." Mickey scratched at the back of his neck. "They said we were drugged."

Cozen nodded, opening a yellow file folder. "MDMA, GHB, and flunitrazepam," she said, clinical and cold. "With some sildenafil citrate for taste." She passed the folder down to the man in the blue suit.

"So, basically, a nasty little cocktail of ecstasy and roofies," Bronze translated. "With a bit of Viagra in there so you're thinking with your dick." Small, slender hands plucked free a photograph, sliding it across. "And this was the waitress?"

"Chloe, yeah." Mickey nodded. "Like I told the cops, she's been working there for about a week, maybe longer. Brought coffee and Danishes every morning."

Bronze shared a look with the woman looming behind Mickey. "So they've been planning this for a while. All right, and the woman hereâ€"" He slid over a second 8x10", grainy security footage of a woman with her face turned from the camera. "You never saw her face, just let her by when she flashed the badge?"

"Yeah." Mickey shifted in the chair again, gnawing at his thumbnail. "I told you, I was talking to... to the delivery girl."

"Ah, yes, the delivery girl. The same one who delivered the package they say set off the smoke detectors. The one you can't match to any of the mug shots."

"To be fair, she only showed me, like, five photos. No ink, so I don't think it was the tatted-up chick."

Bronze leaned back against the desk, swallowing a sigh. "Let me get this straight. You got drugged by a waitress that you let in before the building opened, gawped at a delivery girl, and let someone go by the security desk without being checked by security. Then you let the girl just waltz upstairs with a package you didn't scan, which proceeded to set off the fire alarm, and in the ensuing chaos, you just lost them?"

"We think they might have left dressed as some of the firefightâ€""

"And on top of all of that... you don't know what a Dalek is."

"I don't see what that hasâ€"" Mickey sighed. "I told you, sir, I'll cooperate with whatever. I've looked at your picture book and I've answered your questions, but I'd like to go home if that's cool with you. We screwed up, yeah, and I'm sorry, butâ€""

At a subtle nod from Mr. Bronze, Cozen wrapped a strong arm around Mickey's throat. She yanked the man backwards, toppling his chair. Bronze stood, straightening his blazer as if they'd just completed a meeting. "Cozen," he said, gathering the photos before starting to the door. "Exterminate." In other circles, his smile might have been called polite.

He didn't look back, waiting patiently on the other side. Cozen emerged a few minutes later, using a moist towelette to clean her fingers. "Have someone clean up that mess, then I want you to go to Oakland," he told her. "We both know who did this. Bring back Golgotha, no matter what it takes."

The woman they used to call the Faceless Fighter nodded, turning her head slightly to the left in consideration. "No matter what?" she asked, a grin spreading across her lips.

"Don't kill them unless you have to." Bronze turned away smartly on heel and toe. "But make it hurt."

---

Seven days later.
San Francisco, California.

At first glance, the apartment could have served as a model. It was wide, spacious, and well lit, all hardwood and black marble, but it was also Spartan, entirely lacking in little personal touches. It had all the finest amenities â€" leather furniture, a big-screen plasma television, and a memory foam mattress â€" but there were no pictures, no artwork, and no garbage. There was nothing on the countertop, no clothing tossed haphazardly over the back of the sofa, and no magazines on the coffee table. It was all luxury without soul, all grandeur without heart. It looked occupied, not lived in.

However, just up the street in a storage container, you'd find those homey touches that were missing: cans of pastel paints sitting beside sleek metallics, impressionistic paintings alongside portraits that looked just old enough to fit, stacks of fashion magazines and off-roading ones alike. Given a couple hours, Kathryn Shaw could turn the place into whatever she needed it to be. For someone who made a living becoming the woman of every man's dreams, this workspace was well worth the obscenely high rent she paid for it.

None of that preparation mattered when the pounding came to her door at eleven at night. Kathryn was curled up in a recliner with her laptop across her knees, watching grainy hidden camera footage. A small memo pad laid open on the armrest beside her, and she scrawled across the page in some form of shorthand. Shaw paused, the eraser of her mechanical pencil against her plump lower lip. She didn't move and hardly dared to breathe. While she rarely brought conquests here (the place was too new), she had no idea who could be on the other side of that door or what kind of story she may have told them. For all she knew, they could think she was dead. Worse, they may have every intention of making sure that was the case.

So she waited, and it was the second knock that gave away the identity of her late night caller, and that was mostly because a shout came with it. "For fuck's sake, Shaw, I know it's your place and your light's on."

Kathryn sighed irritably. "Give me a minute," she called. "I'm not decent!" She quit the video program, closing the laptop. A quick glance around the apartment made sure there nothing incriminating, and she paced briskly to the door, cracking it open, chain still in place.

A surprisingly cheery grin on Amy Campbell's lips greeted her. "Since when are you ever decent?" the little redhead asked.

"Will you keep your voice down?" Shaw pleaded. "The guy in 11-G is new."

"Then you may want to let me in." Campbell took a swig from her bottle of water. "Unlessâ€"you're not fucking hiding him in there, are you?"

"Hiding who?" Shaw blinked. "Malcolm? No, why wouldâ€""

"Thenâ€"fuck, shit's salty." Amy made a face when she finished her drink, tossing the Aquafina bottle to the ground. "Then lemme in to prove it or 11-G is gonna have a noise complaint."

Kathryn waited a moment â€" perhaps a moment too long, as Amy shrugged her shoulders and stepped back. "Wait, wait," she said. "Fine, just... just a second, okay?" She shut the door long enough to pull the chain free. "Get in here before someone sees you, andâ€"" She stooped, snatching up the bottled water. "Don't leave a fucking mess, okay?"

"Like you're so worried about it. Just... just tell me where the fuck he is." As Amy growled, she threw a looping left that grazed Shaw's jaw. "You'd be the only one he'd tell, and â€" that fucking prick!" She blinked, shaking her head slightly. Her fist balled once again. "You'll start talking if you don't wanna get hit again. We're not friends, you and me..."

"No, we're not." Kathi backpedaled, her hands up. She knuckled her lip to check for blood and came up dry. "But I told Lexi â€" I don't know where he'd go, and I mean it. So justâ€"just calm down, okay? We can talk this through. Malcolm betrayed me, too, Amy, and I've known him a lot longer than you have."

"Don't play that shit with me!" Amy raised her voice again, even shoved the other woman as she closed the door behind her, a hand lingering against the wood grain. "You know what, I don't wanna fuckin' talk about it, okay? Itâ€"why would he do that? You'd want it more than anyone." The next time she spoke, it was after inviting herself to sit down on the closest sofa. "I... he was supposed to be trustworthy. You had to suspect something..."

Shaw sighed, crossing to the kitchen to pitch Campbell's water bottle into a gleaming, stainless steel trashcan. The brunette might not have been as dressed up as she usually was, but even barefoot and in cargo shorts and a man's button-down shirt, Kathryn certainly presented a striking figure.

"I did, but I suspect everyone. It's part of the job." She grinned over her shoulder at the redhead on the sofa. "Can I get you anything? I have... well, I have sweet tea and crackers, basically."

"Why am I not surprised?" Amy glanced around the place. "Do you even live here? There's, like, wow â€" there's nothing in here."

"I'm decorating tomorrow." Kathryn shook her head, swiftly moving to change the subject. She took Campbell's non-answer as a no. "I don't know where your father is. I don't know why he did it, other than what he said. Maybe he's right."

"But... but fuckin'... I mean, everybody could've been happy. Al wouldn't have hurt anybody, and I would've â€" oh, man. I would've killed you or fucking Drusilla if you'd tried."

"Mm." Kathryn returned to the living room as Amy reached out for the memo pad, snatching it away. "Could you not touch everything? Do you think I'd do that if I was in your house?"

Amy's laughter was sudden, loud and a little bit jarring. "Yes! You did touch stuff..." The little redhead laughed again, rolling her neck along the back of the couch. One arm brushed Kathryn's leg accidentally. "Holy shit, soft. This place is ridiculous, and your outfit? Jesus, were you expecting someone or what?"

"This?" Kathryn shrugged a shoulder. "No, I was just laying around the apartment, trying to decide what to put in tomorrow. These are comfort clothes."

"They don't look like comfort clothes." Campbell didn't lift her head from the sofa. "They look like what you'd wear if you had a guy over and you wanted it to seem like you're dressed casual, but you still want him to check you out on the way to get a drink of water, you know?"

The brunette chuckled, folding the pad closed. She dropped it atop of the laptop, moving both out of reach of Amy's feet as they came down on the coffee. "The scary part is that I think I understood that."

"The scary part is that... it's hot in here, isn't it?" Amy wriggled like a caught fish as she worked her hoodie off. "Do you do that on purpose? Like make it warm so people want to take their clothes off?"

"Contrary to what Lexi might have told you, not everything I do is a calculated plot to make people want to fuck me."

"Good, because..." The little redhead waved a hand in Kathryn's general direction. "I think about that sometimes, and I have to... I'd be exhausted just from holding out my tits like that all day." She lurched forward, thrusting her shoulders back. "Doesn't that hurt your back?"

"Are you drunk?"

"No," Amy snapped. "Sober. And why the fuck would you even ask? I'm not an alcoholic, no matter what you people fucking think. You think you're so goddamn good all the time, like I'm some problem, when you've probably got some dude tied to your bed right now. You look like I interrupted something, boobs all... out there and shit, with your hair all messed up and that top all... with the boobs..."

"You people really justâ€"" Shaw growled, shooting to her feet. She threw open the double doors to her bedroom. "There, see? Empty. No man in there, no swing, no gimp tied to a rack. I don't have a new guy in here every day, you know."

"Just every other day, right?"

"I'm not going to have our thirteen-hundredth argument about how I'm a slut because I have a healthy sexual appetite, okay?" She combed her fingers through her hair. "What do you want, anyway? You want to search the place looking for your father? You want to have someone park out on the curb and keep an eye out?"

"Whoa!" Campbell lifted her hands. "Chill. I just... I have... I want to find him."

Shaw sighed. "Sorry. I'm just... the day before redecoration is a lot more work than you might think." She crossed back to the sofa, resting her elbows on the back of the thing. "Look, I understand you're upset. I do." She smiled â€" or, rather, she tried. "You sure I can't get you anything? I might be able to whip up some coffâ€""

"To sober me up, right? I told you I wasn't drinking, even if I kinda wish I was..." Amy twisted, leaning up to get closer. "G'head, check my breath. No trace ofâ€""

"No, that's okay." Kathryn leaned away. "I wouldn't accuse you of anything like that. I justâ€""

"Oh, come on! You probably trained yourself to smell that shit so you know when some fucking fat guy is drunk enough to make a pass, right?"

"What the hell has gotten into you? I can'tâ€""

"Dammit, Kathi! You haven't smelled it yet." Amy turned, kneeling on the couch. She grabbed the other woman by the back of the head to pull her closer.

Grace outside of the bedroom or the wrestling ring would never be Amy Campbell's forte, and what was just supposed to be close quarters for breathing became something closer still. Their lips touched; actually, it was more like Amy closed her mouth on Kathryn's plump, pillowy lips after making sure that she got a face full of her breath â€" which, for the record, did not smell of liquor.

Kathi's eyes shot wide as Amy held her in place, and they separated slowly, bit by bit. Campbell's smirk curled, almost dreamily. "Mm. You taste like strawberries," the little redhead mumbled.

Shaw breathed out, a long and shuddering sound. "Well. That was... that was unexpected."

"Yeah, I just..." Campbell didn't let go, her whisper brushing the other woman's lips. "â€"An accident, I guess." She wasn't even speaking complete sentences, her thumb skimming along the back of Shaw's head, at the hairline. "Things like that just sort ofâ€""

The second kiss was much less of an accident. Both women inhaled sharply, a shaky sound. It was Shaw's tongue that came out first, probing Campbell's lips, but Amy opened her mouth to accept it, moaning in the back of her throat.

"Ohhh, damn." The little redhead's whisper was almost a whine, her throat dry and her eyes afire. "I've wondered... wanted to know why so many..."

Shaw pulled back, her hands in Amy's hair. "We shouldn'tâ€"" Campbell's fingers splayed, sliding down, skidding across flesh. This time it was Kathi that bent down, whisper tickling the other woman's cheek. "A-Amyâ€""

"I thought your skin'd be all... I dunno. Not soft like this." Campbell mumbled, then met Kathryn's eyes, staring through dilated pupils as she let fingers trail back down her spine. "And don't you think that if you really thought we shouldn't, you wouldn't still be leaning close enough to make my heart beat like this."

"I, uhhh..." Shaw had played at reluctance many times â€" plenty of her marks liked the idea that they could make someone who looked like she did ache for them. But she didn't have to feign a little gasp when Campbell laid her slender hand on her sternum. "I just..."

"You just...?" Amy prompted, her eyebrows lifting. Her smile held a kind of lazy wickedness.

I just think there's something wrong with you, she thought, but knew it would be unwise to say so. "I just wasn't ex-PECTINGâ€""

Kathi's voice rose with the surprise of Amy's other hand slithering along her hip and then underneath to cup her thigh. The sudden yank lifted her foot off the ground, forcing her to straddle the couch.

"Oh, Jesus, Amy..." Shaw whined it in the back of her throat, arching her back. "I wish you knew what you were saying. I w-wish..."

"I know exactly what I'm saying," Campbell laughed like the whole thing was just a joke â€" a fun, funny moment between a couple of close girlfriends. Even though that wasn't the case, even when Shaw's did, Amy's expression never changed. "And it's not much, thanks to how close you got, but I'm perfectly aware. Whatever you're doing â€" whatever all of this is â€" it's working. That's what you want, right? I'm under the spell."

Kathryn blinked thickly, trying to keep her mind functioning even as Campbell guided her hand just to the left of the sternum "Spell?" she asked.

The last thing she wanted â€" the last thing that would be healthy for Kathryn â€" was to have Amy labor under the assumption that this was something Shaw intended. The repercussions of such a thought â€" especially if it got back to Alexandra Pierce â€" would be nothing short of cataclysmic.

"Whatever you want to call itâ€"" Amy's breath caught in her chest, turning into a long moan as Shaw cupped her. "Whatever you're doing that makes this feel so damn good." Campbell laid a trail of feather-soft kisses up Kathi's jaw. "Don't tell me you don't feel it, too..."

Again, if she told the truth, sober, clear-headed Amy might have remembered â€" and not fondly. So she squeezed again, drawing another soft cry. "I feel it," Kathi insisted. "I do." But she didn't.

"Jesus," Amy sighed the word out, trying to force as much of them to touch as she could. "I love your perfume."

Shaw closed her eyes, trying to blot out the sensation of Amy's tongue on her earlobe. "Oh, God..." She tried to think of Malcolm, of Quinn, of Alex â€" of the bloody mess any of them would make her into for taking advantage, for... for despoiling the little redhead.

Campbell didn't budge. "Is that a good 'Oh God'?"

"It's..." Kathryn sighed. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"See, you keep saying that." Amy snickered again, her fingers playing along toned abdomen muscles. "But I figure if you were looking for conversation or a good chess opponent tonight, you would've put on a bra..."

Shaw pulled her close, desperate to keep that hand from rising further. "I hate bras." She tried to smile, mostly succeeding this time. "I paid a lot of money to make sure they'd stay up on their own." She swallowed, her tongue slipping out to wet her lips.

Campbell playfully nipped at the tip of that tongue. "And they did a great job, believe me. With the... they look... it's..." The redhead's forehead glistened with perspiration, and she leaned in again, bending back the other woman as she went for the neck. "There you go again trying to trick me with your words and your... your tits."

"Amy... we shouldn't beâ€""

"Again with the shouldn't?" She retreated enough that she could meet the other woman's gaze. Her pupils were like dinner plates.

"We shouldn't be doing this... ungh..." Shaw swallowed again as teeth worried her naked earlobe. "We shouldn't do it here is what I'm saying. The couch isn't really big enough for two â€" believe me, I've tried."

Amy raised an eyebrow, leaning back to drape her arms around Kathryn's neck. She stared blankly for a moment, wobbling slightly, before a grin touched her lips. "I get it," she said. "Sure. You pick the place."

"I hate to be a traditionalist..." Shaw guided the smaller woman to her feet, dodging another kiss in favor of a glancing one on the smaller woman's cheek. "But I do have a very comfortable bed."

Amy leaned harder on the other woman than Kathi let on, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of that dress shirt. "I bet you do."

Shaw part-walked and part-pulled Campbell into the bedroom, shoving the other woman onto the bed. She carefully unbuttoned her dress shirt, but didn't shrug it off completely.

"Oh, wow..." Amy splayed her fingers, swishing them over what must have been three-hundred-count cotton sheets. "I imagined you'd have satin."

"Only on rare occasions and for particular individuals. I hate sleeping on them."

Amy rubbed her cheek against them. "These are so soft. You have to tell me where you got them."

"If you remember later, sure." Kathi worked off the redhead's sneakers. "Scoot back."

Amy complied, wrapping her legs around Shaw's waist. She pulled her down into another kiss, and this time, Kathryn didn't fight it, their tongues warring. Campbell's hands lifted over her head.

"Oh, fucking fuuuck," Amy drew out the word. She arched up as Shaw teased a lick over her lips. A soft click resounded as a pair of furry, padded handcuffs snapped around her wrist. "Wait, what're you..." Her eyes shot wide as the brunette strung the cuffs through the rungs in the iron headboard, clasping the second around her other hand. "W-what... what's this?"

Shaw lifted her leg, swiveling to the side. "Lie still for a minute so I can think, would you?" She combed her hands through her hair, glancing back over her shoulder as Amy arched her back, straining to free herself. Unlike Campbell's breasts were all natural, they were also prominently in view.

"Kathiiiiii..." Amy whined.

Shaw snapped her eyes away quickly, taking a big, deep breath. "I'll... I'll be right back, okay? I just need to clear my head for just a second."

She ignored the plaintive, pitiable moan that followed her from the bedroom to the kitchen. "Fuck," she muttered, rinsing out a cup in the sink. "Fuck." She turned to the water cooler, but the spigot came back dry, and the third repetition of the word came from exertion as she struggled to change it out.

The first cup of water was warm, but she barely tasted it. The second she sipped at slower, trying to cool down. She needed to keep her head on straight. She needed to figure out what to do. She neededâ€"she needed to get off, actually. If she came, Amy wouldn't be so hard to resist. Her eyes strayed to her little black book (which was more like a little BlackBerry). It was eleven-thirty, which meant it was two-thirty on the East Coast, but she could find someone who'd be up and willing to talk her through it.

"Damnit, Shaw!" The shout was more like the Amy Campbell that Kathryn was used to. "You can't just... come the hell on, who does this?" She was growling, and the cuffs clanked loudly against the bed. If it weren't for the giggling fit that followed, she might have sounded like she was sobering up. "C'monnn, I can't even feel the sheets â€" this is just mean!"

Kathryn sighed, filling up her cup for a third time before heading back in. "I'm sorry about this," she said, and was surprised to mean it. "I just... I can't deal with this." She perched on the side of the bed. "There are quite a few people out there who would no joke kill me if I let... if we do anything. Your father for one, andâ€""

"So you really don't want to..." Campbell's mood dimmed momentarily. "How am I the only person on the planet you don't want to sleep with? How â€" you think you're so goddamn good, don't you? Like..." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Are you scared?" The second time, it was an outright laugh, and she stuck a leg out, hooking it under Kathryn's knee and pulling closer. She stretched as much as the cuffs would allow, tattoos bared by her tanktop as it rode up. "Afraid you might not be able to back up the talk? It's... it's okay..." She giggled again, wiggling her eyebrows, her lower lip caught mischievously between her teeth. "We can just cuddle. That shirt is so soft, and your skin, God..." she said. "Just c'mere."

Kathryn sighed, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. "I'm not sure you understand. Your dadâ€""

"I understand just fine, okay? Fuck my dad. He's not here â€" he abandoned me again. All I wanna do is lay next to you."

Shaw lowered her head. Stay calm, she reminded herself. Just stay calm. "I have fucked your dad, you know."

Amy's eyes clouded, but only for a moment. "Yeah, I know, you're Kathryn Shaw, Slut of the Universe." Her grin twisted, impish. "You're right. It'd be embarrassing if you couldn't last a minute. Why put your money where your mouth is? Or isn't, as the case may be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She snorted a laugh. "It means you're great at picking up stupid men who wanna get their dicks wet, but I've never seen any proof past that, and that's easy. It's just kinda cute to see you all worried, scared of touching someone who happens to be the only person who's ever called you out for being a whole lot of hype."

Campbell was too far gone to care who Shaw had been with. She barely remembered the events of a day ago with any clarity. She only knew what felt good â€" the sheets, the touches and kisses, even the fuzz on the cuffs that'd rendered made her helpless. She laughed again, easing back against the pillows to give her arms some rest. "Reputations are easy to get â€" I've got a million that aren't the least bit true. Not living up to the one you're proud of has gotta be a bitch."

Kathryn felt a chuckle burbling in the back of her throat. "You have no idea what you're talking about." She swilled the rest of her water. "I don't need to prove anything to you, Amy. I may prefer guys, but I was best friends withâ€""

"All I hear is talk." Amy pinched her toes against the tails of Shaw's borrowed shirt, pulling it aside so her other foot could touch the small of the woman's back. "Either back it up or get a new reputation. Might I suggest, 'The Girl Who Pussied Out'." Her nose wrinkled in another snicker. "Get it? Get it?"

The joke earned her a flat look as Kathryn touched the cup to the back of her neck, suddenly flushed.

"Oh, come on..."

"Just..." Shaw crawled slowly across the bed, hair falling messily across her face. "Don't write checks your ass can't cash, Amy."

"I don't." Campbell grinned lazily, running her foot up along the other woman's thigh. "Which is why I'm perfectly comfortable knowing I'd have the mighty Kathryn Shaw reduced to tears of joy long before she could even get a moan out of me. You prefer men because they're easier, like a quick snack. You couldn't get through the second course of a real meal, and I'm guessing that's why you never ply your trade on any women."

"Or... or I do it because I love the feeling of being full." Shaw's own grin was lopsided and feline. "No piece of rubber has ever felt quite right." She brushed her hand against the encroaching thigh as she neared, suddenly consumed with the need to touch something. "I once made a judge beg for me in her chambers. So don't think I'm some slouch here."

Amy slid her foot up Kathryn's side, toes snagging in the still-unbuttoned shirt. She forced it back, baring the tanned skin of one shoulder. "Well, I'm not one to brag, but â€" with all due respect to Her Honor â€" I'm not sure that's the same."

"In her chambers with the court reporter watching." Kathi let the shirt fall from her shoulders, exposing her torso. "I'm just saying I have skills."

"That's a good story, and some great... those... but I'm still not buying it. You're right, though â€" we shouldn't fool around. It's the only race between us I'd lose â€" you'd be past the finish line before I broke a sweat. Can you at least undo the damn handcuffs, though?"

Shaw straddled Amy then, reaching up to feather her fingers through her hair, then down her neck. "Who said anything about fooling around?" she asked. She circled her hips just once, drawing a stifled groan. "I can assure you, I don't fool around. Clumsy teenagers fool around in the back of a car; I... am an artist."

She reached across, plucking the key from its spot on the nightstand. "So this is what you want?"

"You know exactly what I want." The redhead's gaze could have started a fire. "C'mon, Kathi, you've gotta let me... I can't believe I'm about to beg, but please?"

Shaw stretched out, deliberately keeping herself just out of Campbell's reach. The cuffs opened with a very deliberate, definitive snap. The moment she was free, Amy swiveled over, spinning Kathryn down to the mattress. She licked down the brunette's torso. "You... are a tease."

"I am." Kathi nodded against the pillow, only dimly aware that her euphoria was far out of touch with where it should be.

"And a bit of a bitch," Amy planted her grin just below Shaw's navel.

"Uh-huh..."

Campbell took the zipper of Kathi's fly in her teeth, pulling it down. "Actually, come to think of it, you're kind of a cunt." A soft stream of air puffed from Amy's lips.

"I am, I am, mmmgod... oh, I am." Shaw arched up, her eyes slitting. She scissored her ankles behind the other woman's back.

Amy slid back up, her hand between them. She was all smiles and wide, mismatched eyes, planting a gentle peck on Kathryn's collarbone. "...one who's met her match." This time when they kissed, there were no reservations, no compunctions, and no inhibitions â€" it was hard, rough, and almost violent, lips and tongues and teeth.

The next fifty or so minutes went by just like that â€" by turns breathtaking and bruising, exhausting, exhilarating, and (for at least a little while) surprisingly sweet. When they finally passed out, they were both inordinately happy â€" Amy because she'd won the bet and Kathryn because Amy had won the bet. It was quite the picture, with Shaw hanging headfirst off the bed and Campbell on her stomach with her hand on the other woman's ass.

Neither heard the intruder break in, and they didn't stir with the whirr of the camera or the sudden brightness of the flash.

---

When she woke, Kathryn Shaw only remembered the end of the story.

She remembered writhing on expensive sheets. She remembered Amy crouched on hands and knees between her thighs. She remembered the full body tremor that claimed her, back arched and head tossed back. She was nearly vibrating at this point, her breath short and ragged. "Oh, Christ, Amy, oh God, oh fuck, oh shit..."

Amy stopped her ministrations, slithering up to touch her lips to the other woman's ear. "You need to relax. It's not a race."

"It... uhhh, it kind of is. And I've already lost."

Amy swept sweat-soaked hair clear of that glittering hazel gaze. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter," she whispered. "If you keep trying so hard, you're going to give yourself a heart attack. Stop being so tied up in being Kathryn Shaw and let yourself enjoy it, okay?"

"Okay," Shaw said, her squirming slowing. She nodded. "I can... I can do that."

"There we go," Campbell coached, pulling her head back. "Just breathe. Just breathe with me. In and out. In and out. In andâ€"" Her grin turned slightly wicked as she full-on assaulted the other woman, both hands and her mouth working at the same time.

It was the surprise that did it. Shaw's eyes flew open, and threw her head back, crying out in a high-pitched, breathless squeal.

It was that sensation â€" a tsunami of remembered ecstasy â€" that woke her up, a sudden start that nearly sent her bolt upright in bed.

"Nng..." There was a groan beside her. "It can't be morning yet."

Shaw didn't answer, easing herself onto the floor. She pulled the top sheet over the little redhead, who nestled her cheek against it with a dreamy smile and mumbled thanks.

Kathryn padded into the master bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. "Dammit," she hissed. "Dammit!" She pounded her fist into the marble counter, glaring at her reflection. "What the fuck happened?"

She remembered bits and pieces, mostly those last few seconds playing on a loop behind her eyelids. That was enough to be certain Alex would cut her into tiny pieces if she learned of it. Kathi leaned towards the mirror, running her fingers over her face. Think. She had to think. Would Amy remember? She was further gone, maybe she wouldn't have any idea what they'd done. So what would happen when she woke up in another woman's bed?

Shaw plastered a dismissive smirk to her lips. "Don't ask me why you were here," she practiced. "You came over here, ranting about what happened in New York, andâ€"" Then made me come so hard my knees are still wobbly. "â€"and then passed out. I think you might have been drinking."

She shook her head. No, she'd need a better story â€" a better reason. They'd been drugged â€" it was the only possible answer, really. Something in their food, probably, but most likely the water. Amy had that bottle when she came in, and Kathi only lost control after the trip to the kitchen. She tried to recall the face of the deliveryman, to figure out who might have done it, but she didn't have the time she'd need to put the pieces together, and her head fucking hurt.

But she had her story â€" simple, basic, believable, and, most conveniently, it was true. Unless she thought it was Kathryn that drugged her. Unless she thought it was a set-up, because even if Amy left her conscious, Lexi would be a good deal less kind.

"Stop it," she told herself. "Stop it. Just breathe." She tried to ignore how doubtful her reflection looked as she shuffled away, slithering back into bed as quietly as she could. The longer she could go without having that conversation, the better. When the redhead whimpered beside her, Shaw brushed her hand over her hip. "Go back to sleep."

"Mhm." The little redhead slowly rolled over, opening her eyes into little slits. She smiled wide when she saw Shaw, who'd been certain she'd fly off the handle â€" at least, until she saw Amy's eyes were still covered in the glossy haze of whatever they'd been dosed with.

Campbell even leaned forward to kiss her, skipping fingertips up the taller woman's arm. "'Cept I don't really wanna. Bed's so soft, and this skin's so much better..."

Kathryn smiled tremulously, lifting that hand to her lips. "Hi," she whispered, huskier than she intended. A dark part of her flashed to the ear-splitting shriek she'd unleashed when Amy brought her over; they'd likely never be able to touch again without those thoughts coning to mind. "I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling?"

"A little robbed." Campbell grinned lazily. "Like I won the bet but never quite got a prize for myself." She slid closer, cringing a little as her lips dragged across the brunette's shoulder. It was a motion that gave Shaw goosebumps. "And also sore."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kathi fought through the fog, her ego pricked by the thought that she hadn't been as fulfilling. "Guess I got a little carried away."

Amy's brows came up, a grin splitting her lips. "A little?" she teased. "I think your neighbor in 11-G probably has that noise complaint after all. Not that any man I've ever met would actually make it."

"Shut up! It wasn't like that."

"Are youâ€"are you blushing?"

"No!"

Campbell puffed a soft, flattered laugh. "Wow, I made Kathryn Shaw blush." The thumb of her other hand described lazy circles on the brunette's hip.

"Yeah, yeah. Live it up. Is there anyone who expected you tonight that will be missing you?"

"I... weird, I honestly don't remember. I don't even know when I got here. Aside from your reaction, things're a little foggy. Guess all the unfinished business has me a little distracted." She pulled away a trembling hand, balling it into a fist. "I'm... sorry. Resting tremors, they..." Her smile came back to life, a little sad. "I doubt you ever dreamed of sleeping with a sick girl."

"...sick?"

"It's not contagious." The little redhead changed the subject with a forced laugh and nip at Kathryn's shoulder. "Aaaaanyway... you said something about preferring men? Something about needing dicks or sex toys or some garbage like that, but you seemed pretty okay with not involving either of those things. I... wow, these sheets are amazing. I expected you to have velvetâ€"" She didn't realize she was repeating her words from hours before. "But yeah, I was gonna say... I think I might know someone willing to help you practice not needing those extras."

Dealing with Amy Campbell often meant processing a lot of information in a short amount of time. Right then, not enough of Kathryn's synapses were firing for her to respond in any kind of reasonable fashion. "Uh... what?"

"I said that you seemed pretty okay with... with just these." Amy waggled three fingers in a perversion of the Girl Scout salute. "And..." She swept Shaw's tawny hair off one shoulder. "I was hoping to give some more pointers."

Kathryn laughed, pressing her lips to the inside of Campbell's wrist. "You just want to get off."

"Juuuuust a bit," Amy flashed that mad little, impish smirk again, bringing to mind the moment she'd induced the scream. "I thought that much was obvious." One hand trailed down her own neck and the other curled over Shaw's hip and slipped down further. "Certainly seems like you're still okay with it..."

Kathi reached down, moving Amy's hand aside. "I am," she said heatedly, her breath labored. "Just..."

"I swear, if you come at me with another 'shouldn't' after we woke up half the neighborhood..."

"No, nothing like that! I just... I woke you up before because I was going to get some water. You don't mind if Iâ€""

"Hydration's a decent enough excuse. Just don't be gone long."

Shaw slithered to her feet, snatching up her dress shirt. "You want something?"

"Water would be fabulous," she said, eyes half-lidded, lower lip between her teeth as she arched her back. "I'm so stealing your sheets when I leave."

Kathi darted into the kitchen, considering her options as she stared at the water cooler she was positive had been laced with something. Near as she could tell, she was screwed no matter what she did. If Amy was dosed again, she'd pass out afterwards, and wouldn't that be a more considerate fate than letting her embarrass herself further? Besides, it wasn't like they hadn't already fooled around.

She nodded to herself, filling a pair of Dixie cups. Another dose was the only choice she had, if you took the long view. If she went back there and let Amy sober up, her ego would be a problem, and she'd already be in a bad mood when she sobered up and realized what happened. It wasn't like anyone would see the fine line between "I took advantage of you when you were high" and "I made you high to take advantage of you". She was going to get blamed for this â€" she knew it and whoever drugged their water knew it. The least she could do was try to have some fun, right?

"Bet you never thought I'd thank you for this, did you?" Kathi murmured. She may have added a name to the end of that question, but there was no one was around to hear it.

She downed the first full cup of water, refilling it before she returned to the bedroom, pausing in the doorway to smile at the other woman. "Did you miss me?" she purred.

Campbell turned her head to the side, favoring Shaw with a wide, looping grin. "You know, I give you a lot of hell, but sweet Christ you look great tonight. Even with clothes on."

"Well, I'm sure we can fix that," Kathi said, downing her second glass. She felt then what Amy had been talking about â€" the softness of the sheets, the way the memory foam mattress held her in place. "God, Amy..." A little moan caught in her throat as she crawled across the bed. "I used to... I didn't get it. Didn't get whyâ€"" Shaw extended the paper cup, and she'd swear there was an actual spark when their hands touched. "Now I know."

Amy drained the cup in one gulp, her eyes never straying from Kathryn's. She crinkled the paper cup up and tossed it aside.

"You missed a drop right about..." She closed her mouth on Campbell's lips, coaxing the other woman down to the bed. "Mmmgodâ€"" She said it like it was one syllable. "You're so fucking sexy."

"Anyone could feel sexy when â€" ohhh â€" when they've got you leaning over them like this." The new dose kicked in quickly, redoubling Amy's smile as she nipped at Shaw's lips, pulling her down by the shirtfront. "I don't know why I didn't, uhâ€"why I never... fucking let me tear it off!" She pouted as her hands were knocked aside.

"Uh-uh." Kathryn shook her head, the shirt falling from her shoulders. "This is a keepsake. A souvenir." She slid her hands beneath Campbell's tanktop, pulling her upright. "Damn, I want to kiss every tattoo you have."

"That's a lot of kissing."

"You're complaining? Always wanted to get one..." Her lips touched the intricate designs along Amy's collarbone. "Fuck, you smell like..." Her mind was whirling, unable to focus on anything for long. "Get that fucking shirt off â€" I need to..."

"What you need to do is take it off for me. It's only fair. Then you can do whatever you want. If I knew where my phone was, I'd even get the camera..."

Manicured nails dug into tattooed flesh as she pushed the redhead's t-shirt up inch by inch. "Whatever I want?" The breathy whisper drew gooseflesh, words spoken in between nips and licks.

"Whatever. You. Want." Amy grinned, wriggling to the side, and Shaw lunged for the exposed hollow of her throat, eliciting a strangled moan. "Though so help me, if you leave me hanging again..." She scanned the bedside table, her drug-addled mind stealing her attention. "Have you seen it?"

"Seen what?"

"My phoâ€"" Campbell's hands knotted in the bedsheets as Kathi's kisses slipped lower, crossing over her collarbone. "My phone..."

"Not really worried about that right now."

"I'm serious!" She pushed Kathryn away â€" albeit not very far. "I wanna remember the look on â€" wow, your tongue is justâ€""

Shaw's forehead briefly touched Amy's shoulder. "I know where mine is," she sighed, scooting back. "I can get it."

"Oh, no..." Campbell's legs tightened. "You're not going anywhere. Not right now."

Kathi took her wrist, drawing those three fingers together with a smile that promised evil intentions. "I'll be thirty seconds. You can count if you want."

"I just may. God, you really are a bitch, you know."

"I know," Shaw said, rising unsteadily. "I'll make it worth every moment, promise." She teetered drunkenly as she raced across the room, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. The collision with the doorframe would leave a mark later, but it drew just giggles then, and it only took a moment for her to locate her BlackBerry. She spent another trying to figure out how to turn on the video camera as she jogged back.

"Told you it wouldn't take me that long."

"That was thirty-three."

"It was not!"

Amy grinned. "You're pretty gullible for somebody who lies for a living, you know."

"And you..." Shaw ran her hand through her hair. "Are gonna pay for that."

"Heard that all before." The redhead shifted on the bed, leaning back. "Now, c'mon..."

"Okay, I think I've got it."

"So it's running?"

"Yeah, I think so. Justâ€""

"Well, move your fucking hand, bitch."

What followed would rank among both women's greatest regrets for a long, long time.

---

"Seventeen! Mama drama's got to go, dad..."

The song ("Seventeen" from Repo! The Genetic Opera) blared nearby, pulling Amy Campbell from the depths of her fevered dream.

"Seventeen! Nothing's gonna bring her back..."

"Nng," she whined, rolling towards the nightstand to find the alarm clock to make the racket stop. It took her a moment to realize there was no snooze button to be found.

"Seventeen! Experiment with something living..."

"Hang on, hang on..." She flopped onto her back, groaning again. "What the hell is so fuckingâ€"" She chanced a look at the window, but thick curtains prevented her from seeing enough light to gauge the time. She figured it couldn't be that late.

"Seventeen! 'Cause I'm sweeter than sixteen!"

Amy rolled onto her stomach, stretching one hand out to snag the cuff of her jeans and pull them onto the bed with her. "Yeah, yeah â€" just a damn second," she growled as the song repeated, rooting in the pocket for her iPhone.

She'd already swept her thumb across the face before she got it out and to her ear. "Hullo?" she asked groggily. Why was she so fucking tired?

"She lives!" the teen on other end of the line exclaimed. "Was beginning to worry, seriously."

"Quinn?" asked Amy. "What'sâ€"did something happen?"

"Other than you no-showing picking me up after school, you mean?"

"What are you talking about? That's not untilâ€"" She pulled the phone from her ear, squinting at the face. Somehow the phone thought it was almost 3:30 in the afternoon.

"Did you forget we had a half-day for parent visits?" the girl asked. "I've been out since one."

"Fuck, sorry. I must'veâ€""

"Where are you, anyway? I tried the condo, and Mom said she didn't know. Dan's office said you hadn't been by today either. Everything okay?"

"I'm in bed," Amy said. "I never hear the house phone anyâ€"" She stretched, reaching out with her free arm. Just as it smacked against bare skin, Campbell felt the strain of a shackle around one ankle. The combination of those sensations made her eyes fly open. "â€"I... I've gotta go." Her voice slipped into a whimper when she saw what lied beside her. "N-nothing's wrong. I just... I've got some... some work. 'Kayloveyoubye."

The phone slipped out of her hand while she stared at the body, falling back to the floor. "What the..." She tested the strength of the cuff around her ankle with a hard yank, then clambered across the pillows, nearly falling off the bed herself in an attempt to distance herself from the only other person in the room. "...what the fuck. What the fucking fuck. What the FUCK?!" she roared, striking out at the woman beside her, sending Kathryn Shaw â€" at least, that's damn sure who it looked like â€" scrambling to get out of bed, apparently having just woken up herself. "What did you do?!"

"What do you mean what did I do? I fuckingâ€"" Shaw snatched at the sheet to cover herself. "This is my apartment! Whatâ€"why the fuck are you in my bed!"

Kathryn's state of undress only made matters worse, as it made Amy aware of two important facts. First, that her pants were on the floor, wadded up in the ball where she'd cast them, and, secondly, that her ankle was cuffed to the bed â€" which meant the shackle had been put there after she'd removed them.

"Holy fuck, my head." Shaw rolled to her side, picking up her watch from the nightstand. "How the fuck is it three in the afternoon?" She glared over her shoulder. "What kind of shit are you trying to pull?"

"This isn't fucking funny."

"Do I look like I'm joking? I was supposed toâ€"" Shaw sat up, releasing the sheet to put her back to the redhead. "The last thing I remember was... was..." Her head drooped. "Oh, God. Oh... oh, God. I think weâ€"did we?"

"That's not possible."

Shaw glanced over her shoulder. "Well, do you remember anything else that would explain why you're not wearing pants and I'm topless?" She picked up her shirt from the floor, shrugging it on. "I had an appointâ€"" she began, trying to stand. "Oh, wow..." She toppled back to sit on the bed. "Christ, my head is pounding."

"I don't remember shit, but I know there's no way we..." Amy groaned, scrubbing at her eyes. "What the fuck? No. There's no way. What did... where the fuck was I last?"

"I don't know. You came over and you were mad, and then... I remember I thought you were high or drunk or something. You were..." She swallowed, trying to stand again, this time leaning heavily on the nightstand. "Had you taken anything?" She looked over her shoulder. "Alcohol, maybe a little pot?"

"No. I almost drank, but... I didn't, did I?" Amy combed fingers through scruffy hair. "No. Did... There's no way we... No. No matter what I might've done, I'd never. That just doesn't explain... Where the fuck is my shirt? What did you do to me?"

"I didn't do shit to you." Shaw located her shorts, balled together with a black tee. "I was... the last thing I remember, I was in the living room, working on some notes for my redecoration and you... you were really bent up about what happened with Malcolm." She chucked the shirt to the other woman with a sigh. "I don't know everything that happened after that. I swear I don't. I remember a lot of skin, and I don'tâ€""

"Don't even joke about that shit. There's no way." Amy disappeared under the covers for a moment, reemerging with her shirt on. She pulled her jeans back onto the bed, but roared again when she came up short of rolling out. "Why did you cuff my fucking leg? You had to have knocked me out cold to get my pants off, and I don't know what your game is here, butâ€""

"Why do you keep insisting I did it? I'm just as confused here as you are."

"Yeah, like you haven't ever faked that shit before. Will you just give me the fucking key?" She didn't quite say please, but came close.

"Should be on the nightstand."

"Well, it's not."

"I always put it in the same place, okay?"

Amy made a show of peering over the nightstand. "Well, I don't see it, but I don't have the best angle since my foot is fucking chained to the bed!"

"I don't know... feel around for it. Maybe it's on the bed somewhere."

"This is fucking ridicuâ€"what the hell is this?" She yanked a pink BlackBerry out of the mess of sheets. "Yours, I assume?"

"Give me that." Shaw's expression hardened, reaching for the phone. "That's gotâ€"just give it to me."

Amy swiped her index finger over the face. "What, does this have, like, Steve Jobs' number or some shit?"

"Just give it to me!"

"Give me the key."

"I don't haveâ€""

"Looks like you missed a call. What kind of name is Nico Victoria anyway?"

Kathryn lunged across the bed, but Amy fended her off with just one hand. "I don't know where the key is!" Shaw wailed. "What will it take for you to believe me? Want me to take a drug test?"

"You obviously remember more than I do, and only one of us is cuffed to the goddamned bed."

"Which seems like a smart move if I was the one who did it, considering what you're planning to do the second you're uncuffed."

"Maim you? Yeah. Just find me the key or use whatever lockpicking you know from opening safes at the houses of rich dudes you roofâ€"" Amy's eyes widened. "Roofies! You stupid cunt â€" you did it, didn't you?!"

"No, dammit! I don't remember anything more than flashes. Bits and pieces."

"Which are coming awfully conveniently if you ask me. So here's what I'm gonna do. You're going to get me out of this fucking shackle or I am going to pitch your phone across the room, and whatever you're so keen on protecting â€" which I honestly can't be bothered to look for â€" goes bye-bye."

"There should... maybe, usually, on days I can remember what day of the week it is, I keep a spare in the kitchen. In case a guyâ€""

"Really don't want to know." She gestured with her eyebrows. "Go. And so help me, if you leave me here..."

"I won't. Just... please. Some of the information on that phone isn't backed up anywhere, and it's not just guys' phone numbers." She pushed to her feet, walking unsteadily as she hurried to the kitchen. Sure enough, it took just a moment of searching to find that the spare key was in the drawer with the silverware. "Okay!" she called. "Okay, okay! I've got it! I've got it, justâ€""

Amy was on the bed, thumbing aimlessly through the pictures. "What is this â€" you've got pictures of some kid in here? Are there guys that go for that? That's fucked up." She looked up to find Shaw scowling at her. "Oh, don't give me that look."

"Give my back my phone, Amy."

"The key first."

"I don't trust you not to break it anyway."

"I don't trust you not to leave me here chained to the bed."

"We both toss into the middle at the same time. Okay? On three."

They both counted to three, and they both tossed their possession into the bed. Kathryn scrambled to pick up the BlackBerry, and Amy the key.

"You should call Lexi," Shaw said. "She's connecting through, what, Munich, right? If someone drugged both of us, she's at risk, too. And Quinn. Did you have anything new in the refrigerator? You know what, even betterâ€"throw it all out. Everything. Take your first check from GCW, buy everything fresh, by hand, yourself. You never know what theyâ€""

Campbell unlocked with the speed of determination, and she circled the bed, little fists balled. Shaw scrunched up in the corner between the bed and the nightstand. "No, Amy, don't... c'mon, don't do this. You don'tâ€"I didn't do it!"

"What do you remember. You tell me all of it."

"If I tell you everything, you're going to hit me."

"If you don't, I'll do a hell of a lot worse."

"It's like I said. You came over, angry with Malcolm. You were... maybe not high, but flighty. I... you hit on me."

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie?"

"Why would I hit on you? Just... just keep talking. I'll pick the bullshit apart later."

Shaw sighed, balling her hands in her lap. "You're going to beat the shit out of me anyway, so either you can shut up or you can just do it now."

Amy grabbed the brunette by the collar. "Oh, you have no idea how tempted I am right now. But... just go on."

"Fine. You came in, threw your fucking water on the ground like you'd grown up in a barn. After you hit on me, I... I got you to go into the bedroom." She lifted her eyes defiantly. "That's when things get fuzzy. I was going to cuff you. Call... I don't know. Donnie. Quinn. Maybe even an ambulance."

"Howâ€"whatever, just tell me everything you remember. We've gotta..." Campbell pulled her jeans on, still looming over the other woman. "There's gotta be some way to piece this together, to figure out where you got me..."

The fire dimmed in Shaw's eyes, replaced by something smaller, almost pitiable. "Can I get up? Or at least sit on the bed?" she asked. "I promise not to run or whatever, but I'm still a little light-headed here, and this isn't really conducive toâ€""

"Yeah. Maybe the bedroom isn't the best place to have this conversation anyway. I don't know what kind of diseases those sheets have."

"Why the fuck do you always do that?" Shaw lifted her hands as if she was sure Amy would hit her at any moment. "I'm just as fucked by this as you are. If weâ€"if it did happen, Lexi might be mad at you for a while, but I'm the one who's going to the hospital."

"It did. Not. HAPPEN. I 'do that' because I don't fucking like you, and I don't like you because of shit like this. You always have a game. Unless you remember, how the fuck would we know? I certainly don't remember a goddamned thing. Why should we even think it's possiâ€""

"Why shouldn't we?" Kathryn perched on the bed, as far away as she figured Amy would let her. "Okay, so, yes, I tricked you into going to the bedroom, cuffed your hands over your head. And then I... well, then I went out in the kitchen for my phone. I got a drink of water, and then you made some noise â€" not a sex noise, but a... I think there was shouting. Shouldn't be a surprise, right? This is you we're talking about."

"And you cuffed me because...?"

She sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. "Because you wouldn't take no for an answer. Because it meant you couldn't fight back? I don't know why, really. But I did. Then I came back into the room, and... this is where things get hazy. I remember... talking? Like we were â€" I don't know. But what I remember the most â€" what makes me sure we had sex â€" is coming. I remember an orgasm like you... like you wouldn't believe. Mind-blowing, psyche-shredding, screaming at the top of my lungs. That's what I remember, Amy. That's the truth."

For a long time, the redhead just stared. Her eyes were already glassy, but tears were finally forming. Where her face had been bright red, it quickly became pale. She didn't have memories, but there was certainly soreness that would have fit with Shaw's story. Her wrists hurt, among other things. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Amy. We were both drugged, but I should have controlled the situation better. I should have... I don't know what I should have done. But I swear to you, I will find out who did this, and I will make them pay."

"I... no," Campbell wanted to keep the other woman conscious to figure out what really happened, so she guided her punch into the drywall. "Fuckâ€"" It hadn't been the best idea, and her knuckles swelled almost immediately. "We... you're either making it up or you've got it wrong. I'll... I'll check my phone, see if there's any text or call or something from last night where I can place myself. If... you do the same. It can't be that."

"Yeah, I can do that. Did you need anything? We shouldn't eat anything in the apartment, and water only from the tap, okay? No takeout, no restaurants, nothing where we don't see it prepared ourselves."

"Just check your phone."

"Yeah. Sure. I can... I'm going to move over here to the table. Let me know if you find anything."

"Any other time, I'd want to know what you're hiding. But we'll put a pin in that for now."

"Way to go out on a limb trusting me." Shaw drifted to the vanity mirror, flicking her phone on. "I have the missed call from Nicoâ€""

"Still a fucking stupid name."

She continued, unperturbed by the interruption. "He didn't leave a message, but I was supposed to meet with him this morning andâ€""

"Still don't care."

"Fine, whatever. No new emails, no text messages. Checking to see if I have any new files. I don't remember bringing the thing back here, so maybe there's something."

Amy looked ready to toss her phone â€" or maybe just herself â€" out the nearest window. "Text from Quinn at noon, text from..." When she saw the message she'd made Alex send every day she was gone to say goodnight, her breath caught in her chest. "Text f-from Al..." She sighed. "Nothing else. Looks like I ass-dialed a bunch of randomness at some point, but no other outgoing."

"You need to stop blaming yourself. Believe me, if you were drugged enough to... to do that with me, you weren't in control of yourself, and you're not to blame."

"Shut up. Just... shut the fuck up."

"I have... oh, fuck. There's a..." Kathryn worried at her lower lip. "There's a video."

"Bullshit."

The brunette stood. "I don't have my headphones, but I can plug it into my laptop. But there's aâ€"yeah, recorded last night, close to four in the morning. I don't..." She swallowed. "Do you want toâ€""

"It's probably some triumphant speech you recorded after you got me out cold," Amy shrugged, though her voice quivered. "Go ahead."

"Laptop's in the, uh... in the front room. I've done sex tapes before, and, I mean, I record things forâ€"anyway. I usually remember them."

Amy shoved her in the shoulder, albeit not as hard as she might have ten minutes earlier. "This isn't a joke."

"I know, it's just... I'm going to shut up now."

"Probably a good idea." The little redhead dumped herself into the sofa. "Just play the fucking video."

Shaw opened the laptop, plugging the phone into a USB cord that dripped from the back. "Here goes."

They both braced themselves.

* * *

"So it's running?"
"Yeah, I think so. Justâ€""
"Well, move your fucking hand, bitch."

A tanned, slender hand dropped away from the camera's lens, revealing a shirtless Amy Campbell propped up by the pillows. "Hi," she giggled, waggling her fingers in a wave. A beat passed, and she reached out, nudging the other woman's leg. "Say hello, dumbass."

"Hello, dumbass." The camera moved in a lolling, vertigo-inducing loop to an off-center shot of Shaw's face, her pupils so wide they dwarfed her irises. "Ignore her, she's just being a bitch."

"I am not!" Campbell grabbed the camera, forcibly turning it. That close, her dilated pupils were just as unmistakable. "I'm not being a bitch. Sheeeee is being a bitch. She's jealous that I won the bet."

"Yeah, but I got off and you didn't, so, uh, who's the winner again?" The shot lurched like a drunken sailboat as Shaw turned on the memory foam bed, lying back to drape herself across Amy's thigh. "As I was saying... I'm Kathi."

She tipped the camera up to catch Campbell's lop-sided grin. "And I'm Amy."

"And I'm recording this as video evidence of what I'm about to doâ€""

"â€"What I am about to do, you meanâ€""

"To, uh..." Kathryn tilted her head back, grinning up. "What was I trying to say?"

Amy pushed her hair behind her ear, bending to kiss the supine woman, cupping along her breasts. "You never stood a fucking chance, you know," she said, nipping at Shaw's lower lip. "Mm, strawberries..."

The camera slipped from Kathi's grip, lying on the pillow as the two women scuffled on the bed. Suddenly, Kathi's face appeared in the lens, too close. Her eyes were lidded, her brow wrinkled. "Oh, fuuuck," she panted, drawing out the word.

Amy appeared over her shoulder, biting her earlobe. "Not aâ€""

* * *

The laptop shut with a bang, startling Kathryn away from the image. "Amy, what are you...?"

"I..." Amy gagged. "I..." She touched a hand to the side of her face to make certain she was still alive. "You're... we... Jesus Christ."

"We... yeah. I mean, we didn'tâ€"it's not like we were in control."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" She clamped a hand to her lips, running for the kitchen sink. "I can't believe Iâ€"that I... with you."

"Hey, I'll have you know that way more people than you have cheated on someone with me. It's just that I... usually remember it. And that I don't usually actually get off. I think Phillip was theâ€""

Campbell pitched a mug across the room. "Fucking shutâ€"" She staggered away from the sink. "I have toâ€"I'm gonna just... go." She patted her pockets for her phone and wallet, shambling for the door. "Just... please don'tâ€""

"My lips are sealed." The door banged closed, and Kathryn sat back in her chair. "Well, that was... different." She stood, gathering a broom for the mess. She looked back over her shoulder at the computer, then peered at the door before she sat again, pulling the laptop in front of her.

Amy could barely stand â€" could barely think of a reason why she could. She ruffled a hand through her hair, gathering it into a loose, messy tail as she reached her car. She wouldn't look back.

She was already dialing her phone when she slipped behind the wheel. A bright-voiced receptionist answered on the second ring.

"Mulholland and Associates, how may I direct your call?"

"I need to talk to Dan," Campbell said, wrestling with her seatbelt.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mulholland is at lunch right now. I can take a message and he'll be sure to give you a call back right when he returns."

"Yeah, fine." Amy peered at her reflection in the rearview. "Tell him I want to talk to him."

"And who may I say is calling?"

"Jesus Christ, it's Amy. As in his only client? As in the person who signs the checks that go to your salary? As in I was there two days ago for fuck's sake and it says, 'Amy' on the caller ID so you fucking know it's me."

The receptionist was nonplussed; she was either the most professional secretary Campbell had ever come across or the stupidest woman on the planet. "All right, and what is this regarding?"

"Tell him I want to know whether PRIME's offer to fly me out to Abu Dhabi for ReVolution is still on the table. I can be back in time for WorldWide, and I want to go. Just..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just make sure he doesn't make a big fucking deal about it."

"All right." The plastic smile was audible in the woman's voice. "I'll be sure to pass on that message. You have a lovely day."

The car's tires squealed against the pavement as Campbell pulled out of the lot. "Not working out so far," she muttered.

---

Three days later, Amy Campbell handed over her dog-eared passport to the ticket agent. The gentlemen scanned the document, smiling a smile that wasn't nearly as tired as it probably should have been. "Great, well, US Airways Flight 700 to Philadelphia and then Frankfurt leaves from Gate 34. You have a great flight."

Amy grunted her thanks, picking up her coffee cup and turned to trudge that way. Leaning against a pillar in a skirt-suit just on the edge of risqué, stood Kathryn Shaw. "Fancy meeting you here," she positively cooed.

"Jesus Christ, it's five in the morning." Campbell cast her eyes heavenward. "What the fuck are you doing here? How did you even know I'd be on this flight?"

"It's the only flight that'd get you to Abu Dhabi to make a nine o'clock belltime tomorrow. And certain people at Danny's agency still owe me a favor."

"You're not coming with me."

Kathi flashed the grin that'd earned her so much pull with the male demographic (coincidentally, it was the one that Amy wanted to punch the most) as she produced her own boarding pass. "Little bit too late for that one. C'mon, there's a fantastic deli by the gate. You'll love the curried chicken sandwich with mango chutney."

"You really, really don't want to fuck around with me right now, Kathryn," Campbell growled. "I'm likely to tell someone you've got a bomb shoved in yourâ€""

The brunette was past master at the subtle art of manipulation, and she drifted slowly away as Amy spoke, forcing her to follow far enough that their conversation wouldn't be overheard. "And let you claim this was all my fault?" she said, and somehow her smile never looked fake. "No, I'll be going with you, thanks. Consider me there to make sure no one else tells Lexi our deep, dark secret."

"I wasn't going toâ€"" Amy cut herself off with a small, frustrated sigh, taking her place in the security line behind the brunette. "Not everybody is like you, you know."

"I've found that people are more like me than they'd like to admit."

She sighed again, scratching at her neck. "Fine. Stay, then. If you want to take a twenty-six hour trip, I can't stop you. Just don't talk to me. We're not friends, and I'm stressed enough as it is, okay?"

"Jesus, don't tell me you're scared of flying, too."

Amy took a single, stabbing stride closer, lowering her voice to hiss at Shaw's back. "Don't fucking push me, okay? I'm flying halfway around the world to see a woman who's done nothing to deserve any of thisâ€""

Shaw turned slightly, one brow coming up. "Now, come on â€" this is Lexi Pierce we're talking about here."

"Seriously, this is what you're gonna do? I've got a fucking middle seat to Philly, and as if that wasn't irritating enough, now you--" Amy shot a sidelong glance to a bored-looking TSA agent, lowering her voice further. "Now you're going out of your way to make me hit you?"

Kathi raised both hands, edging away slightly. "All right, all right... it was just an observation." She slid her Louis Vuitton suitcase onto the conveyor belt and slipped off her pumps, stepping through the metal detector. "Hi," she greeted the man in the white uniform warmly.

"Good morning, ma'am." He waved her through politely and with no more hassle than an appreciative stare he tried to make surreptitious, but she had to have seen. "Have a good trip."

"You have a great day, officer." Her words came out a bit breathy, in that way that Amy knew meant Shaw was fishing â€" not that anyone else ever seemed to notice.

The brunette certainly put a little bit more saunter into her steps, and Campbell had to swallow her grimace as she took her place in the queue, already preparing for the more extensive search her piercings inevitably required.

"Klein's is up around the corner by the gate," Kathi said, already moving that way. "I'll meet you there?"

"What're you--damnit! Shaw, don't--"

"Ma'am," the screener cautioned. "I'm gonna have to ask you to--"

Amy took a long sigh, nodding as she stretched her arms to the side for the wand check. At least she got through without the invasive check, depositing her luggage by a lonely chair as she waited for boarding to be called. It was ten minutes later when she saw Shaw again, straightening her blouse as she stepped out of the ladies' room. "Did you have the chicken?" Kathi asked mildly, perching in the seat beside her. "Tell me you at least had the chicken."

"Not hungry." Amy looked up from her phone only briefly. "What the fuck were you--you know, I don't want to know."

The ladies room door opened slowly, a man in a gate agent's uniform slipping out. He hastily tucked his shirt in as he hurried across the concourse. This early, the place was desolate enough that no one saw him. Briefly, he stopped and turned, as if he were going to say something to the two women. Shaw met his gaze with a sharp brow and a slow, deliberate cross of her legs.

"Did you--" Amy looked around, leaning over to hiss her question. "Did you fuck the gate agent?"

"Only a little."

"I swear to God, I'm gonna have to lead you around on a leash."

That drew Shaw's glittering gaze to the side, and Amy got the same brow arch. It didn't make her feel any more comfortable. "I just meant--" the little redhead stammered. "You know what? Don't talk to me. Just don't--"

"I am afraid of flying," Kathryn said after a long moment. "Not terribly, but when you've been through what some of us have, you have reason. I wanted to take the edge off."

"You make me embarrassed to have ovaries."

"Then you don't want the free first class upgrade?" She slipped two new boarding passes out of her pocket. "All the way through to Abu Dhabi?"

"...I don't have to sit in the middle?"

Shaw laughed, a rich sound like the splash of good bourbon into a heavy-bottomed glass. "I'll give you the one with the empty seat next to it." She extended the pass, her brow arched. "I told you, Amy, we're on the same side."

"Don't think this means I like you any more." Campbell snatched the pass from the other woman's hand. "I still think you're gross."

"I still think you're stuck-up."

"And you have to watch the door every time I go to obsessively wash my hands."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to the men's room." Amy flipped pages in her magazine, suppressing a shudder. "No way am I stepping foot in that women's room ever again."

Kathi laughed again, and this time, Campbell was able to ignore her for the most part. She couldn't focus on the words, though, as she came to a distinctly unsettling revelation: for all her faults, for all her reprehensible traits, Kathryn was right. They were in this together. Shaw was her only ally left, and probably her only chance for keeping her relationship with Alexandra afloat.

And if that wasn't a commentary on exactly how fucked everything was, she didn't know what was.
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