WSIM24B Chapter 5
Taylor wasn't a cadet. Why would a secretary - the Dean's secretary - live in a student dormitory?
The Colonel, the Major, and the Professor were just using me for sex. Carina was nicer to me, and a better fuck, but she was still on the other side. I wasn't going to learn anything from them unless they slipped up. I certainly couldn't search their offices, or the Colonel's apartment.
Taylor was probably going to be my best lead. But I needed all the information I could get, and for now, that meant the three cadets.
They showed up at the Lion in fine form. Sonya, the curly brunette, was trying to play it cool, while Rachel, the bright-eyed blonde, had a huge smile on her face. Their shy friend Ness trailed them with her head down. Lori rolled her eyes, but she came over to serve us.
Sonya ordered an expensive cocktail. She grinned at me. "You're buying, right?"
- "As long as my money lasts - which may not be long, at this rate."
Rachel asked for a super-sweet concoction for herself, and a simple mixed drink for Ness. "In a tall glass, please. With extra ice." The blonde turned to me. "Ness is a bit of a lightweight."
- "That's alright." I said, as Lori went to get our drinks.
- "She likes you." said Sonya, watching Lori walk away. "You get some o' that?"
I had to restrain a laugh. These female cadets were every bit as filthy as their male counterparts at AFOTA. I wondered if Fournier would have hit it off with Ness.
- "I invited you out tonight because I have some questions about the Academy."
- "Why? You writing a book?" said Sonya, with a little cackle.
- "Ooh! I'd like to be in it." said Rachel. "Well... the steamy parts, anyway."
With a drink in their hands, the girls were prepared to cooperate. I asked about their classes and their profs. I didn't know many of the names they mentioned. They gave Professor Cable a 7 out of 10, which was pretty good, considering that they rated only one person as an 8. There were quite a few fives, and several lower than that.
Once I had them talking, it was easy to steer them onto other topics. I was particularly interested in the conditions in their dormitories.
- "Planning to sneak in?" said Sonya. "We could help with that."
Despite the jokes and innuendo, they did tell me a great deal. There were five identical residences for cadets. They were all identical five storey buildings, with fifty cadets to a floor. Shower and laundry facilities were in the basement, along with a weight room and training spaces.
1,250 cadets, then, spread evenly between five dormitories.
- "Is there much rivalry between the residences?"
- "Nah." said Sonya. "They've got us in these intramural houses, regardless of which rez you live in. Rachel and I are roommates, so we're in the same 'House'', but Ness is in a different one, even though she lives on the same floor as we do."
- "That's odd." I said. The houses at AFOTA were all based on your residence, to build team spirit, and to foster competition between the rezzes. It was a pretty big deal. The system made it easy to form large groups or small teams based on where you bunked. Why had the Women's Academy chosen to do it so differently?
We covered a few more mundane topics, such as food, before I asked them about the dropout rate.
- "No big deal." said Rachel. "There's always a few just before and just after the first mid-terms."
- "You can usually tell who's going to flunk out." said Sonya.
- "Are there many who drop out late in the year?"
Sonya made a face. "That would be nuts. Who'd do that?" The other girls agreed with her; even Ness nodded. They also agreed that I owed them another drink.
I let them choose the topics from then on, as long as they were mostly about WAFOTA, and not my sexual preferences. Lori had a few other customers to deal with, but she occasionally checked in on us, to see if we needed more drinks. She wasn't hovering, though, which I appreciated.
Eventually, the cadets realized that they weren't going to get much more from me.
- "Seriously, Mayne?" said Sonya. "You sure you don't want to go out with us for a bit? You don't know what you're missing."
- "Platonic." I repeated, for about the sixth time.
- "Plato doesn't have to come with us."
- "Maybe another time."
- "Ooh." said Rachel. "That was a pretty definite 'maybe'."
- "We'll let you know next time we get out." said Sonya, as she stood up. "Give the waitress a good one. Maybe think of us while you're doing her."
With three drinks under their belts, the cadets took off for some of their usual haunts.
- "You were pretty well-behaved." said Lori.
- "That was the plan." I said.
- "Not even a little tempted?"
- "A little." I admitted. Okay, a lot. But I had a non-fraternization order, plus a date with Lori. I wasn't going to mess up my prospects.
I had a little more to think about. Why did Taylor go into a dormitory, unless she lived there? And why would she live there? Why weren't the cadets organized by residence? Where were all of the late dropouts that Major Renfro had noted? And where was Colonel Jay getting the funds to buy couches, not to mention pay for her body sculpting?
I sipped another Matilda's and finished off the last pot of coffee while I waited for Lori to say goodbye to her last customers, and then close up. She didn't rush it, but she did repeatedly look over at me with a big smile on her face.
- "You look pretty pleased with yourself." I said.
- "Why wouldn't I be? My secret agent man turned down three horny cadets to stay with me. That makes me feel good."
I held her hand as I walked her home. She played coy, then, insisting that she needed a shower in order to 'freshen up'. I waited, patiently, until I heard the water stop. I counted to twenty, then went in. I dried her with her towel, then carried her into her bedroom, and tossed her on her bed. I ate her pussy until she begged me to stop.
Did I think of Sonya and Rachel? A little. Not that much, though - I had better things to do.
***
Lori made me breakfast, and then outlined her plans for the day. She took me to the aviary in the Ninth District - I couldn't very well tell her that I'd been there the day before, with Taylor. Then we had fancy coffees at a little cafe - her treat. She wouldn't let me pay.
We had a nice late morning, early afternoon date. She was obviously hoping for a romantic dinner, followed by some energetic bedroom gymnastics, but I had work to do. Lori took it well, especially now that she knew I was involved in an investigation. By this time, she also knew that I would be coming by to see her regularly.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening staking out the Liao Residence. I wasted quite a few hours, but I did see a few interesting things. Taylor entered the rez at 1900, and didn't come out again - unless she used another exit. But I also saw Major Lean's secretary enter the building. Coincidence?
Back at my own apartment complex, I deliberately got into a chat with the head custodian, a guy named Seve. We were eventually joined by one of the ladies who also lived there. She was a cleaner at one of the rezzes. I asked a few questions, and listened attentively. I learned that all of the occupants of our little complex were support staff workers.
- "How is it that they just happened to have four apartments available for the bodyguards?" I asked. "You'd think that those room would have been occupied."
- "They were." said the custodian. "Until a few months ago, when they all moved out."
- "Who were they?"
- "Support staff. They were told to find new places to live - or new jobs. Their choice."
- "I'm sorry." I said automatically. "I had no idea."
- "Wasn't your fault." said Seve.
***
On Monday morning, I escorted Colonel Jay to her office. She didn't say a thing. I winked at Taylor as we entered.
When the Colonel disappeared into her inner sanctum, I strolled over to Taylor's desk. I came up behind her, leaned over, and smelled her hair. Then I gently kissed her cheek.
She went rigid.
- "Thank you for Saturday." I said. "I had a wonderful weekend."
Taylor was slightly freaked out. Did she know about the Colonel's surveillance cameras? Or was it something more innocent?
