The click of the bathroom door echoed in the small apartment, the silence amplifying the frantic beat of his own heart. He hadn't even asked her name. Idiot. He paced the worn linoleum floor, a frown creasing his brow. He needed information, leverage. And he couldn't get either without knowing who she was.
The water running in the bathroom finally stopped. He waited, his muscles tense, until the door creaked open and she emerged, wrapped in a threadbare towel, her wet hair plastered to her face. "I, uh… I didn't get your name," he said, trying to sound casual, as if it were an afterthought.Her eyes, still wide and wary, met his. "Lena," she whispered."Lena," he repeated, testing the name on his tongue. He watched her, his gaze lingering on her delicate features, the vulnerability that clung to her like a shroud. "Tell me about yourself, Lena."Hesitantly, she began to speak. Her words were a litany of hardship, a bleak tapestry woven with threads of poverty, neglect, and desperation. She wasn't born in the slums. She'd once lived in a respectable, if modest, apartment with her mother. Her father, a mid-level programmer, had been their lifeline. But then the layoffs came, the tech bubble burst, and he spiraled into a deep depression, eventually succumbing to alcoholism. He became a ghost, a shell of the man he once was, his paycheck dwindling to nothing. Lena's mother, a kind, gentle woman, tried to hold things together, working double shifts as a waitress, but it was never enough. The apartment went first, then their meager savings. They were forced onto the streets, Lena watching her mother wither under the harsh glare of poverty, eventually succumbing to pneumonia, a death that could have been prevented with proper medical care.Lena had been on her own since she was sixteen. She'd learned to survive, to navigate the treacherous currents of the city's underbelly. She'd done things she wasn't proud of, things that made her stomach churn and her heart ache, but they were necessary. She'd learned to be invisible, to blend into the shadows, to become a ghost in her own life. She'd learned to trust no one.As she spoke, her voice grew stronger, the initial timidity replaced by a raw, almost defiant honesty. She wasn't asking for his pity. She was simply telling her story, laying bare the harsh realities of her existence.He listened, his expression unchanging, his eyes never leaving hers. He absorbed every detail, every nuance, every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. A strange feeling stirred within him. Not pity, not exactly. More like… a clinical curiosity. An interest in the mechanics of her brokenness, the intricate web of circumstances that had led her to this point.When she finally fell silent, her story hanging heavy in the air, he said, "I'm going to give you something, Lena." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Something that will change your life."Her eyes flickered with a spark of hope, quickly masked by suspicion. "But," he continued, his voice low and smooth, "it requires… loyalty."He watched her closely, his gaze intense, probing. "Prove it to me," he murmured, his hand already moving towards his belt. The buckle clicked open, the sound sharp in the confined space. He pulled his pants down, revealing himself.Lena's breath hitched, her eyes widening with a mixture of fear and something else… resignation? He didn't care. He didn't need her consent. He only needed her compliance.He didn't speak. He didn't need to. The unspoken command hung in the air, thick and suffocating. Lena, her face pale and drawn, sank to her knees before him.He closed his eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips, as she performed oral sex on him. The act was perfunctory, devoid of any genuine intimacy. He felt nothing, save for a cold, detached sense of power.As he neared his climax, he gripped her head, his fingers digging into her hair, forcing her face against his groin. Her muffled whimper was swallowed by the silence. He grunted, a harsh, guttural sound, and emptied himself into her face.A translucent blue screen flashed before his eyes.Reward: 200 Credits + 3000 Dollars