This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere. It contains heterosexual and lesbian sexual activity.
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The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between actual persons, living or dead (or just confused) is entirely coincidental. Please do not copy/redistribute the story, in part or in total, without the author's permission.
This story takes place in the entirely fictional city of Springfield, California, so don't go looking for it on a map. And in my little fictional world, there are no unwanted pregnancies or STD's, except as plot driving devices. The author encourages the practice of safe-sex. Finally, as the name implies, this is part of an ongoing series. It would benefit the reader greatly to examine the earlier stories for background information and descriptions.
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Jane was sitting by herself, trying very hard to get some food down before the night's activities. She could barely tie her shoes without having an emotional crisis, but she was supposed to go out into the world on her first "mission" to gather information. She felt good that she was going to have some "muscle" in the form of Chris, who wasn't in on the tracking party due to his lack of stealth. He actually had a really great nose when morphed out, but he was also a little slow on the trail. But Chris was as good in a fight as anyone in the Strays, and Red wasn't going to leave Jane unprotected. Mindy was getting pulled into the hunting party, so it would be Jane, Chris, Robbie and Anya that night.
"Hey Jane," Mindy said, plopping down beside the younger woman.
"Howdy," Jane replied, concentrating on her sandwich.
Mindy just stared at her friend for a moment. "So, still mad at me?"
Jane looked over at her, obviously confused. "Why would I be mad at you?"
"For being a bitch yesterday."
"I told you, you weren't . . . I'm okay. I'm just . . . scared about tonight."
Mindy went to tussle Jane's hair, but those magical braids temporarily moved away. Then Jane relaxed and Mindy was able to play with it a bit. "So," Mindy said slyly, "why don't you tell me about you and Red?"
Jane almost choked on her sandwich, and she was blushing furiously. "I . . . uh . . . uhm . . . what?"
"Please," Mindy started, "I heard all about the kiss, and apparently you've been 'sleeping' in her room. No one's really crashed with Red in a year since . . . ."
"Natasha," Jane said wistfully.
"So she told you about Nat?" asked Anya as the tall beauty sauntered over and sat down with the other two girls. "Good."
"Why 'good'?" Jane asked.
"It means Red likes you enough and trusts you enough to open up to, and she trusts you not to freak," said Talia, joining the group.
Mindy scooted over until she was sitting behind Jane, moving her hair out of the way and rubbing the young woman's shoulders. "I'm assuming that . . . certain things went on in Red's room?"
Jane blushed even more than anyone thought humanly possible. "Yes," she whispered, barely audible even to those closest to her.
Talia and Anya each took one of her hands and both were smiling like Cheshire cats.
"So," said Talia, "how was it?"
As the minutes ticked away, the girls got Jane to open up a bit about her foray into sexual activity. They were courteous enough not to demand the gory details, but got her to talk about her fears and insecurities, while also getting details about how good it had made Jane feel. The young woman had been intimate with another woman and, for the first time in her life, she had felt special and cared for.
When Red finally wandered over, all the girls were chuckling and Jane's blushing face was buried in her hands.
"Oh, don't tell me you've started in on her already?!?" Red said exasperatedly.
The group of girls stood up. "Hey, you started in on her first," Mindy pointed out, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh God," said the very embarrassed Jane. "I . . . I . . ."
"We'll leave you two alone for a moment," Talia said, giving Red a hug.
"I'll get Chris and Robbie and meet you in the staging area," Anya said to Jane.
"I'll talk to you in a few minutes," Mindy added, looking at Red.
When they were momentarily alone, Red walked over and gripped Jane's hands softly, giving her a brief but warm kiss. "I hope they weren't too hard on you," she said.
"No, they were . . . nice."
"Still scared about tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Don't be," Red said, trying to sound soothing. "Go to the shelters and shanty towns. Find out what you can, and don't get into any fights. Let Anya help. She has . . . ways of getting people to talk," Red said with a laugh. "If something comes up, listen to Robbie and Chris."
"But won't you need Anya?"
"We're moving out into the suburbs now, and she doesn't move fast enough to keep up. She can do more good with you tonight." Red moved her arms around Jane, taking the girl's hands with them and pinning them behind Jane's back while Red kissed her again. "And be safe."
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A few hours later . . .
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"Christ, these guys are everywhere!" Robbie said after Jane and Anya reported what they had learned from their most recent set of "interviews." They had spent a long time sifting between incoherent, insane and/or drunken ramblings, but had gotten more and more information about the hellspawn and the drug that they were selling.
The veteran members of the team were convinced the drug, sold in powder form and inhaled, was magical in nature, highly addictive and hallucinogenic and slowly drove its users insane. The hellspawn were targeting low-income users, the homeless . . . anyone who wouldn't be missed, and they were selling it cheap. That led Robbie to believe that money wasn't the object. And the hellspawn had been all over town apparently, preying on the weak and the desperate.
