Author's note: Kudos to bikoukumori, for spending his holidays polishing my notched chrome fantasies.
Also please note that this chapter contains barely any sex. If you want to see the characters develop, dive right in. If you're here to get some "inspiration", I have to point you to either the previous or the next chapter.
As always, there's only adults in this story, and this time an AI was harmed.
#4 Catfight
"Are you sure you're comfortable with that? No one's forcing you to." The nurse looked at me, concern on her face.
"Believe me, the sooner I'm able to work without headaches, the better. I love how you treat your patients, but I'm thoroughly sick of being a guinea pig."
Both statements came from the bottom of my heart. Nurse Chambers, the woman observing my preparations for my first log-in since my nearly fatal brush with Cat almost five months ago, was wonderful, caring to my every need. Since regaining consciousness after my near-fatal encounter, I've been constantly horny.
The shrinks treating me babbled something of "post-traumatic stress relief" and told me it would regulate itself eventually but somehow I knew they had no clue what I was going through. My whole body was hyper-sensitive, the sensation of my sports bra brushing against my nipples alone was causing my snatch to drip and God beware if I wasn't careful when brushing the insides of my thighs. Thankfully, Richard did his utmost to fuck me senseless whenever he visited me and Nurse Chambers happened to stumble in on one such occasion. It took Richard only the mildest of admonishments and the promise of a quiet raise to get her to join us and, from then on, she sneaked into my room when on night duty to help "relieve" my tensions.
Nevertheless, I was sick and tired of being treated like a demented seven-year-old by the doctors overseeing my recovery. I was sick of the diagnostic WiFi antenna monitoring my brain activity jutting out of my implant jack like some grotesque metal finger. And I wanted to find out who did all this to me and have him - or her or it - pay dearly for nearly killing me. Any moment I wasn't busy with Nurse Chambers or the wonderfully smooth, gold-encased vibrator Richard
gave me "to keep me occupied while he's occupied," I replayed the incident. I remembered every little detail; every touch, every breath, every syllable spoken. But without 'Net access, I would never find out who or what this Cat was.
"I think we should postpone this at least another week." Nurse Chambers leaned forward, gently prying the Mindlink plug from my fingers. I realized I must have stared off into space. I shook my head. Bad idea.
The sudden movement instigated a little bout of vertigo and I swayed precariously on my chair. Nurse Chambers's hands caught me, steadying me, her face only a couple of inches away from mine. Looking into her eyes made me remember the first night we spent together, her gaze concerned even though I had my first two fingers up in her snatch to the second digit and was pumping her
for all I was worth. I sighed and pulled her into a crushing hug, burying my face between her ample breasts.
"No, really. I NEED to do this. Now. But thanks for your concern." With a brittle smile, I looked up to her and offered my lips for her to kiss.
She gave her head a barely perceptible shake and whispered, "Not here."
"Goddamnit, I need something to get my mind off my pussy for at least once," I snapped, nearly as angry at me as I was with her.
"Focus on the task ahead. Aren't you afraid that she might come back?" Of course I told her about Cat. What choice did I have? She wanted to know what caused me to shoot upright in the middle of the night, screaming. So I told her. I even told her how much the experience had turned me on, back then. Now, just thinking about Cat gave me the willies.
"This deck is combat-worthy, isn't it," I asked, pointing at the nondescript rectangle in front of us.
"The doctors weren't pleased that you had Mr. Squier cart it here but yes, that's a fully functional combat rig, without hardware motion blockers, as per your request. If the docs had any say in the matter, you'd be taking your baby steps on a dampened school system, to avoid any danger to your brain."
"Yeah, and knowing my luck, she's already aiting. This time, I'm taking no chances."
Sighing, I unclipped the diagnostics antenna from my earlobe and gingerly removed the plug from the implant jack. By now I was so used to the weight of that thing that my head felt oddly lopsided without it. Then I reclaimed the Mindlink plug and brought it up to to my implant.
"Be so kind and have a kidney dish ready. You'll never know," I quipped, smiling grimly. With a loud clicking, the plug slid into my jack.
***
"Welcome. I will guide you through first-time setup of your avatar," the system voice purred.
"Skip setup. Use memory bank Beta for initialization data instead."
"Acknowledged. Downloading avatar info now."
The deck crunched some data and, a moment later, it rebooted. My avatar was ready, a carbon-copy of myself, wearing a midnight-black business suit, interlaced with angrily pulsing red neon threads. I reached into the front pocket of my jacket, produced a pair of chromed shades and slipped them over my eyes. The solid walls of the setup chamber turned smoky, affording me a wider
view of the surrounding systems. The architecture of Mindlink's neuro-clinic was a mess. A million places where a hostile avatar could hide. But at least I would have early warning of anyone approaching.
"Vi! You're back!"
A nanosecond later, she tackled me off my feet and smothered my face with kisses. Where the fuck did she come from? In a tangle of limbs we went down.
Instead of crashing harshly to the metal-plated floor, we landed on soft grass, warm rays of sunlight caressing the inky fabric of my suit. I struggled to keep her hands from ripping my clothes off. Seeing no other way, I pulled my knee up and slammed it into her stomach.
