Conspiracies

For the followers of this story, sorry for the long wait! And for those who read Artemis's Capture, I apologize for slacking on the story, I am not ending it yet because I hope to go back to it in the future. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter!

*****

AJ stood outside of her apartment building on the snowy sidewalk, shivering and clutching an overly full backpack. The dark sky had a maroon tinge you could only see in the city at night. She watched nervously as cars drove by in the grey slush and messily salted roads. Little snowflakes settled on her head and shoulders as they slowly drifted from the sky.

Her hand squeezed at the strap of the backpack as she saw Oliver's Car pull up in front of her. As she took the handle of the door she hesitated. He had been throwing her into situations with no warning, only explaining when they got there. But this time she would be prepared. Even if it was just mentally, she knew she could do it.

It still terrified her, but she was finding him to be more predictable, and that did not bode well for Oliver. If she could see his patterns, she could use it to her advantage. Now that she wasn't drowning in uncertainty, she can focus on finding his weaknesses. No more pity parties.

When Oliver tapped on the window she huffed and got in the car. The first thing she noticed was his change of clothes. He was wearing a black shirt, black jeans, and the raggedy red flannel he lent her once. She had never seen him in anything other than a suit. Seeing him dressed so informally made her uneasy. She couldn't tell if it made him look more or less intimidating.

Oliver tossed her stuffed backpack in the backseat. As she adjusted herself, she found herself stepping on a large brown paper bag.

"Hey!" Oliver said. "Don't step on that. Give it to me." AJ shuffled herself to the side to pull up the heavy bag on her lap. Oliver leaned towards her and started to rustle through it. She peered in to see a chaotic pile of paperback books.

He started pulling the books out one by one, showing them to her. "Okay we got Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Shadow of the Hegemon, um, let's see..." he said, listing the books' names as he picked through them. "I read Ender's Shadow last night, that's a good one. Starts off slow but it gets really good."

They were all Orson Scott Card books. He not only had all of Ender's adventures, but some of his lesser known books she hadn't even known existed. "Oh, um," AJ began, confused and unsure of how to react.

Oliver put the books back in the bag and handed her Xenocide. "Look, I may be mean, but I'm not going to have you sit in silence in a car for eight hours."

AJ was excited, hugging the paper bag of books. She could get lost in these for days. But she knew he wasn't nice without some alternative motive. "Where did you get these?" she asked curiously. She was starting to feel more confident in herself after their strange experience earlier that day, so speaking her mind was a little easier. At this point, it couldn't hurt. If anything, that's how she might find any of his weaknesses.

Oliver shifted in his seat, putting the car in drive and onto the congested streets. "Just found them lying around. I read too, you know."

AJ nodded and brought her attention back to the books, digging through them to find the ones she had never read before. At the very bottom of the bag was a long receipt half crumpled. He had to have bought all of these yesterday. She didn't even know where he could've gotten some of these books.

She stuffed it back into the bottom of the bag, pretending she didn't see anything. In fact, she didn't want to know if he had really bought these for her. She didn't like when he paid her rent, she was independent. She never wanted to feel like she owed him anything, or that this would excuse to forgive his abusive behavior.

This had to be another trick. Calming her down before the storm hits. Conditioning her like an animal by using her passion of science fiction against her. Oliver was too wicked to be nice like this. It was a trap, he's plotting something. But whether or not it was a trap, she was happy to read them.

For hours AJ had been so absorbed in Xenocide, reading by the light of a small keychain flashlight, that she almost forgot she was in a car with the Devil himself. The only thing that tore her attention from the book was Oliver parking on the side of a dark gravel road.

AJ put the book on her lap and looked out the window. It was eerie how dark it could be outside of the city. They were no longer on the highway, instead on a skinny road in the woods. There was no light pollution, she could barely see three feet in front of her. "I'll be back," Oliver said as he got out of the car.

A small sense of panic struck her as he left. As frightened as she was of him, being alone out in the middle of nowhere was worse. This is what horror movies are made of. She clutched the book and slouched down in the seat, trying to hide in the darkness while running wild scenarios in her head. "What would Jack O'Neil do?" she asked to herself, thinking about all of the heroic characters from every tale she had ever read or watched. "What would Ender do? Or Fox Mulder?" If they weren't afraid of aliens and monsters, she could handle the dark.

She nearly cried of relief when she saw Oliver coming back to the car not long after, but with a long rectangular case. He put it in the trunk and got back in the car. "All good?" he said, seeing her shrunken in the seat. AJ nodded and they got back on the road to continue their long drive.

Now that the spell of the book had been broken, she noticed Oliver had been silently puffing cigarette after cigarette, flipping through radio channels. He grumbled to himself while stubbornly turning it off. It was too frustrating to sift through terrible country music and Christian gospels in hopes for something slightly enjoyable.

Oliver sighed, steering with his left arm with a cigarette drooping from his lips. He reached out with his right hand and brought it to AJ's breast. Even though it was over her sweater, it made her shudder. He managed to find her nipple over the fabric and gave it a hard pinch. She winced and twisted, attempting to avoid his attention.

"Hey, stay still. I'm driving."

This infuriated her. He was the one being reckless, messing with her while on the road. It definitely added a new kind of fear into the mix. Her eye twitched as she forced herself to stay still, more out of her concern for a car accident rather than Oliver's tormenting.

Oliver slid his hand down the neck of her sweater, palming and kneading at her breasts. She bit her lip, desperate to stay frozen and unaffected by his teasing. This was always how he got her, how he persuaded her body to give up to him. She just had to focus on something else.

Every time she managed to distract herself Oliver would give her nipple a sharp pinch, coaxing quiet whimpers from her lips. Her legs began to tighten, squeezing together while trying to suppress any feelings of lust rising in her.

Oliver looked over just for a second to see her, practically red in the face and cringing from battling against her body's shameful desires. His lip creeped into a sly smile, dropping his hand from inside her sweater only to move it to her thigh.

His fingers trailed underneath her skirt, just enough to lightly feel the warmth emanating from her pussy. "Cute," he said, removing his hand to take her wrist. "I'm bored. Amuse me."

He brought her hand to the front of his pants to feel his hardening cock over the tough jean fabric. AJ's stomach dropped. She knew he was big, but she could never gage his actual size when he was inside of her. Seeing the reality of it in her hand was cringe worthy. She dearly wished it was smaller.

"Well? Take it out," he said impatiently. AJ took a deep breath and focused. Otherwise she was going to jump out of the car or cause an accident, potentially both. She carefully unbuttoned his black jeans, pulling out his thick cock in her hand. "Don't just sit there," he scoffed, taking her hand and feeling his cock.

When she began stroking him without his guidance he let go. AJ gulped, trying to swallow her pride yet again. Nothing good ever came from her resisting, and if she did now, she would cause an accident.

She let her hand explore his cock, wrapping her hand around the length. This was not something she was good at. His cock thickened in her hand with each long stroke of her fingers, making him crave more. "Alright, suck me off."

AJ cringed at the crudeness of his demand. The way he talked to her made her feel so humiliated and dirty. But if she could make him come quickly it would be over sooner than later.

She unbuckled the seatbelt and leaned over the armrest, obediently bringing her tongue to the head of his cock. He leaned his seat back just an inch, enough to give her room to please him.

AJ was not shy this time. She knew there was only one way out of this, and she was going to do it right. Struggling and whining did nothing but make the process slower, and the added danger of driving urged her to complete the mission. It felt like she was diffusing a bomb with her mouth.

Oliver cupped the back of her head in his hand as she ran her tongue along his thick shaft. When she reached the tip, she swirled her tongue over it, reluctantly letting it slide between her rosy lips. Oliver's hand pushed her face closer, forcing his cock deep in her mouth.

She didn't resist or pull away. Instead she opened her throat, taking in as much as she could. Oliver grunted, delighted by her sudden obedience. Maybe he was doing something right. He didn't expect her to act so willingly, though after what happened earlier that afternoon, he wasn't sure of much with her anymore.

Her head bobbed up and down, finding a rhythm that made it bearable for her to take. Her lips sealed around his cock, her tongue rubbing along the length that was sliding in her mouth. Oliver's hand tightened on the steering wheel as her throat squeezed around him. His eye twitched as he kept his eyes on the road, feeling himself on the edge of bursting in AJ's mouth.

He let out a low groan and pushed her head down on his cock with his free hand, filling her mouth and shooting his warm fluids down her throat. AJ wanted to pull herself away, spit it out and hop out of the car. But she knew if she struggled, she might end up hitting the steering wheel or shifting the gears underneath her stomach.

She relaxed, not fighting his grip on the back of her scalp and trying to swallow the fluid pooling in her mouth. When his orgasm reached its completion, he moved his hand away, letting her free. But she didn't cease her sucking and swallowing until he gave her permission to stop.

"Look at you, being such a good girl," he teased.

AJ fell back in the seat, coughing and wiping the milky substance from her lips while Oliver put his cock back in his pants, fumbling with one hand to adjust himself.

She was becoming more unpredictable, more submissive. He didn't expect her to adapt so quickly. Maybe she was finally accepting her position, or even genuinely enjoying herself more than he previously believed. He thought it would've taken him a lot more time to break her.

AJ's head leaned back, the taste of Oliver still strong on her tongue. She did it. Without struggling and trying to defy him it seemed to go pretty quick and painlessly. Now he could go back to ignoring her, and she could focus on suppressing the heat that was forming in her lower belly.

She could start using this to her advantage, she just didn't know how at the moment. She just needed to lower his guard more and she could strike like a copperhead. She could take him down once and for all. Though she lacked any plan, she knew she would figure out something. He had strength, but she had wit.

Hours went by in the car, though now both of them were smoking. As much as AJ wanted to read, the small flashlight she had been reading by had gone out, leaving them in complete darkness other than the car's headlights.

They must've been in nowhere land, because the stars were so bright, she thought she could see the faint cloud of the milky way above her. Instead of the few stars you could see in the city, there was an ocean of them painting the sky.

They exited the highway through another small town and down another winding country road. Thankfully this time they stopped in front of a motel.

AJ stretched her cramped legs when they got out of the car. Her whole body was sore. She looked at the dimly lit two story motel. The only bright light came from two lamps at each side of the lobby doors.

A faded sign hung crooked off the roof, reading 'Black Bear Motel' in peeling green paint. AJ followed Oliver into the Lobby, more scared of being alone out here than with him. This is one of the few times she was glad he was strong.

Oliver walked straight to the front desk, checking in with a young man wearing a shirt with a cartoon bear and the motel's name. The room was littered with taxidermy animals hung on the wall and neatly set on the tables.

This was not like any hotel you'd find in the city. She leaned down at two stuffed rabbits on a wood bench, each with small deer racks on their little heads.

"Hey," Oliver said behind him, breaking her attention from the eerie jackalopes. AJ scampered behind him and walked to one of the ground level rooms. It looked like there was only ten of them in total, both upstairs and down combined.

He ushered her in the room, leaving her there alone. She turned on the lights and cringed. All of the furniture was made out of warped wood and more taxidermy animals hung on the walls. The rest of the room was decorated with bears. The sheets, the pillowcases and framed pictures.

She had not spent much time outside of the city, so this was very strange to her. The decorations made her extremely uneasy. Sleeping among the bodies of dead animals, stuffed or not, was not something she wanted, or ever thought she'd have to do. It felt like their glass eyeballs were staring at her.

Oliver came back and pushed past her, carrying their bags and the long rectangular case he acquired during their drive. "Jeez, what's with you?" he said as she gawked at the interior decorator's strange taste. "Never been to a motel before?" he asked while dropping their belongings on the carpeted floor.

"Not like this."

Oliver snorted. "We're not in the city anymore. Get used to it." He sat down on the bed and picked up her backpack, unzipping and shuffling through it.

"Hey!" she said, reaching to grab her back from him. Oliver turned, keeping it out of reach. He pulled out a VHS tape and looked at the label. It didn't say anything, just a small doodle of a Christmas tree in red ink.

"What's this?" he asked, holding it up but not letting her take it. Again, acting like nothing but a bully.

"It's just my Christmas stuff. Give it back!" she whined, angered by his childish teasing.

"Oh so you like that kind of shit. What is it, like the Christmas Story? Or let me guess, you're a Rudolph person. Oh, or maybe some depraved holiday porn?"

AJ replied only with a huff, crossing her arms and sitting on the other side of the bed. Oliver smirked and inspected the tape again. He was slightly surprised she bought into the whole Christmas spirit thing. She didn't seem like that kind of person to him.

Now curious, he walked to the deep TV and popped the tape into the VHS player. He fast-forwarded through the commercials that had been taped until they reached the opening. He pressed play and gave AJ a look that could only be read as, 'you're serious?'

AJ ignored him and locked her eyes on the screen, slouching into the lumpy pillows behind her. Like hell she was going to skip the single festive thing she did for her lonely holidays.

Oliver shrugged and gave a smile, patting the top of the TV and sitting on the side of the bed. He could deal with this. Watching an X-files episode wasn't the worst Christmas themed thing to watch. Especially a haunted house episode. You can't go wrong there.

AJ grabbed a pillow and clutched it to her chest, intensely focused on Fox Mulder's undying faith and Scully's incessant denial. She almost didn't notice Oliver kicking his shoes off and setting the rectangular case on the bed.

She looked over curiously to see what was inside. It could be a body. No, too small. Alien body? Fat chance. When she saw it was a large scoped rifle she nearly jumped from the bed. She clutched the pillow tighter, fighting off the urge to run off into the woods far, far away from him and his gun.

"Never seen a Springfield before?" he said casually, adjusting and tightening the scope.

"No. No I have not," she replied nervously.

Without looking up from the rifle, peering through the scope he said, "It's not for you." He put it down and turned to her. "Unless you try and run away. I can see quite far with this thing, and I doubt you're a good hiker. But I have other ways of finding you as well."

AJ looked at him with wide eyes, the pillow squeezed in her arms now misshapen and clumped. Oliver snorted and carefully put the Springfield back in its case. He leaned closer to her on the bed and gently put two fingers on the back of her neck.

"Feel this?" he asked.

AJ gasped and put her hand on her neck. "What is it? What did you do?" she squeaked, trying to feel for something out of the ordinary.

"I put an alien chip in your body. I can track you anywhere on this planet at all times. The US government will know your every step and every breath. You'll never escape as long as you live."

AJ's eyelids nearly snapped back inside her skull. How could he have done this? She continued to feel the back of her neck for any lumps or irregularities, wracking her brain for any possibility they had cut her open without her even knowing. Maybe that's why they went to Crystal's mansion. She suspected horrible things happened in those dozens of rooms.

"Don't even try to take it out. If you do it releases a poison that will kill you instantly."

"Oh my god," she said in a shaky voice. "Really? Are you serious?"

Oliver scoffed. "No, you idiot." He patted the bed next to him, gesturing her to sit closer. When she did nothing but continue to crush the pillow in half, he snapped his fingers and demanded, "Get over here."

AJ scooted to the center of the bed, sitting on her ankles just close enough to Oliver as she had to. Oliver pulled out a leather collar, the sight of it instantly causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. He leaned over and wrapped it around her neck, yanking her closer to buckle it.

When It was securely around her neck he let go. She pulled back quickly, now more angry than frightened. He talked to her like she was a pet, and again he was dressing her up like on too. She hated that. He already takes advantage of her, why does he need to humiliate her too? It seemed his appetite was impossible to satisfy. He always needed more.

Oliver pushed her on her back, trapping her between two long arms. "So little bird, are you going to do what I tell you?"

AJ didn't answer but gave a look that clearly stated she would not be defeated by him. The corner of Oliver's lips creeped into a devilish smirk. He liked her attempt at defying him. It made breaking her only more satisfying.

"Fine. It doesn't matter anyway," he said playfully, inspiring fear that was slowly starting to extinguish her bravery.

Oliver pulled her sweater up to her neck, exposing her tight waist and perky breasts. With one hand keeping her sweater up at her neck, he used his other to feel the curve of her waist and ribcage, caressing her smooth skin against his palm.