Manipulator X Manipulator [08]

-- (Manipulator) --

- Have we met before? - asked the woman in the black dress.

- I doubt it, someone like you doesn't come out of a man's mind... - Replied the young man standing in front of her while holding a cocktail, a Tequila Sunrise, more precisely.

- Then you may leave, if I had no interest in meeting you before, I don't have it now. - interrupted the lady.

The handsome young man looked at her with his eyes open in confusion, but without making any apparent gesture. 

"Come on, this is not the time..." the woman thought.

- Thomas, they often tell me that I am a nuisance, however, they often tell me even more that I will not give up! - replied the man with a smile.

- And does not giving up work for you? - asked the woman in black.

- Eventually it will.

"Come on, don't be so cocky."

- Monique. - Replied the woman in black.

Thomas jumped in surprise, but then went on with his talk.

- Ah, see how that worked out? Let me buy you a drink, we're both finishing ours. Thomas, gestured to the bartender and ordered two more drinks. - What brings you here, business or pleasure? I mean, you're clearly not from this country.

- What do you need me for? - Said the woman in black as she fiddled with Thomas's shirt.

The man leaned toward her ear in a seductive gesture and gave her ear a soft, wet lick. The woman smiled and let out a breathy sigh in agitation. Thomas then gave her earlobe a little nibble as Monique squeezed her legs tightly together.

- For now. Business. - Thomas whispered in the woman's ear.

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Thomas sat on the couch in room 303 of the Royal Flush hotel, expectantly, as if waiting for something or someone to walk through the front door. Although it was a prestigious hotel, however, it was not uncommon for them to rent rooms for impromptu couples up for a good night of action.

Eventually, the latch light glowed green and in she went.

- I was starting to think you weren't going to make it. - Thomas said.

- I didn't want to come, actually. - Replied the woman as she closed the door and kicked her heels off her feet with relief on her face. - It was smart of you to use a different name, Tak. Although you picked one that starts with T, you lost points there.

The woman plopped down on the couch where Thomas was sitting, no, Tak.

- Nice to see you again, Annie. - Tak replied. - You liked that, didn't you?

Annie blushed and gave Tak an intense look.

- Maybe... Although I'm sure you did what you did because you were thinking about Monique, weren't you?

Now it was Tak who was blushing.

- So for now. Business... - Annie dropped the sentence in the air - What do you have for me?

Tak lifted his shoulders.

- I think you already know this, but there are people on the upper floors, in the VIP area of the casino that you caught the eye of. One of the men you spoke to on the first day. Do you remember if any of them from back then have spoken to you again?

Annie shook her head.

- Well, they're your ticket to the VIP area.

- And you've already ruined it for me. - Annie replied. - They saw you flirt with me, way more than anyone in the casino ever has.

- Then you can use that to your advantage. - Tak replied - Men just want more than an unattainable woman....

- A woman who is with someone they hate. - Interrupted Annie with anger on her face. - You guys make me sick. Even women are competition for you men.

Tak was speechless. His pride prevented him from affirming it, but his reason prevented him from denying it, that's human nature. The room was silent until Annie dared to utter the first words.

- At this rate, you're going to end up dead because of a vendetta and I'm going to end up dead after being exhibited as a trophy. - Annie pulled a pack of cigarettes from her handbag and lit one with a puff.

-But that's life, you live on risks, now we have to try to minimize them. If there's anything you haven't told us before, then it would be a good time for you to tell me about it as there's a good chance, I'll be walking into the lion's den today. According to Scotch, the gardener, Carlo Dimécci must on a business trip as he has not returned to the mansion or at best, is now attending to business from the casino. The Dimécci's partners' confidence in the Dimécci's has dropped quite a bit since the attack and thus, their income. 

Annie paused as she took another puff on her cigarette.

- Tak... I'm going in today. I'll need you to cover me with your ants," Annie said. - Keep them close to me but keep an eye on the surroundings. If you see anything strange send two of your ants right in front of me.

Tak nodded as Annie continued her monologue.

- Just promise me one thing... As soon as I'm going to start, you're going to deactivate your [Hive Mind].

"Aren't I supposed to cover for you?" thought Tak.

- Annie, I understand what you're asking, but I can't help you in any way if I disable my ability. Is it that you want to die?

- Tak, just...trust me. - Annie swallowed dryly.

Tak nodded reluctantly.

- Fine, I'll leave the hotel back to the casino. - Annie hurriedly put on her heels. - It's been...8 minutes, okay, I don't want you to be seen as a stud.

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Annie had joined one of the poker tables. Perhaps the previous times she had been trying to gather information she hadn't done it in the best way. She hadn't blended in with the rest of the environment, she had been too uninvolved in the game to be a gambler and too uninvolved with people to be a prostitute. 

"Maybe the aura of mystery she had on the first day was what caught the attention of the VIPs but that was just the first impression."

The dealer dealt the cards and Annie took a look, it was a pair of black 5s. Not a very good hand, not a bad one. She called over to a waitress who offered her some crackers, took a couple and gave a small chip as a tip to the waitress as a thanks.

- You know, I can't figure you out yet. You've had good hands and you've won. You've had bad hands and you've won. And yet, it's not like you have much profit," said one player at the table.

- She's just a very conservative player, Phil," said another player.

Phil pondered the state of the betting a bit and paid to see the cards. The first three cards revealed yielded a rather beneficial result for Annie.

"Time to play."

- Phil. This hand is mine. - Annie said in a voice of certainty and without hesitation.

Most of the players at the poker table folded after seeing the 3 cards thrown down by the dealer. A 5 of hearts, an Ace of hearts and a K of hearts. Someone undoubtedly already had a pretty high play with that opening.

- See, Daniel? That's what I mean when I say I can't figure it out yet. There are at least 4 strong plays currently, but the potential plays are much more. 

- I'll make it easy for you then - said Annie impassively. - All in.

Silence fell on the table, the move was so shocking that it even attracted the attention of several gaming tables around them, dealer included. After a few mumbles and murmurs of deliberation, the only player left playing the hand with Annie, accepted the bet. Both players showed their hole cards. Annie with a pair of black 5s and Phil with a 4 and a 3 of hearts.

- I think it's over, girl.

- I think so too. - Annie replied with her head down.

As soon as the dealer went to deal the fourth card, Annie gave her opponent a macabre smile and muttered a few intelligible words. Phil hesitated for a second, put his hands to his mouth and stared at the upcoming card.

- 7 of clubs. - announced the dealer and Annie at the same time.

Phil relaxed a little when he saw that the fourth card did not turn the tables. Annie was still staring at the man.

-Phil! - Annie intoned, - 5 of diamonds!

Her opponent now stared at the dealer's hands as if expecting a trap. And the dealer announced the fifth and final card.

- 5 of diamonds! - announced the dealer and Annie at the same time.

- They fixed the game! - Phil got up from his chair with a hand that shook the table. - Give me my money back, I'll call casino security to check the cameras! Don't you know who I am? I'm the story, I'm the story, I'm the story!

Annie's twisted smile shut the man up for a moment.

"There it is, the fear."

And then fulfilled the activation condition of her ability, Annie used [Fearing].

- Phil, sit down, you've lost, it's over, calm down a bit. - Annie proclaimed in a soft, melodious voice.

The man seemed like a different person. His agitation and stress had spontaneously vanished, as if it had never existed. And he became docile.

Annie kept an eye on Tak a few game tables away who looked confused but intrigued by what had just happened, he looked like he was ready to jump into the action but had been forced not to do something so stupid.

"Okay, Phil... Now let's play: you harass me."

There was a discussion shortly after those events. The dealer claimed that he had not tampered with the cards in any way, that it had been a legal game; Phil, still claimed, that he had been robbed and that the dealer and the woman were working together; Annie, Annie was inwardly amused by the situation.

"Two people controlled by my ability arguing with each other, at this rate I'm going to go crazy."

- Impossible! Then how did you...? - Phil interrupted.

- Let me continue. However, we recognize that it is suspicious how the lady here seemed to know all about the cards that were about to be played.

Phil (still controlled by Annie) nodded.

- Miss, if you would be so kind, could you explain how you knew what cards were going to be played next?

- You see, sir, it's pure probability, but... the truth is that I have a kind of gift. I can see the future. - Annie whispered this last to the guard.

The guard didn't flinch at this comment, although Annie sensed he was tired of having to deal with things like that.

- I'm sorry, sir, but the casino will withhold the lady's winnings for this hand. You will be compensated for the inconvenience. - said the guard.

Phil waved his hand in displeasure, the guard turned to Annie.

- For your part, Miss, you will have to accompany me, my companions would love to hear about this gift of yours.

Annie reluctantly nodded and followed the security guard's back, putting up resistance would only make the situation more dangerous, eventually they left behind Phil who was yelling at the croupier (both still controlled by Annie),

"Since you insist, I'll escort you to the exact place I want to go."

The table shut down operations for about 30 minutes while they checked the cameras on the upper floors, by that time most people had left the area, only the dealer, a fairly level security guard, Phil and Annie remained.

The security guard mumbled a few words indistinguishable to Annie over his intercom and prepared to deliver the verdict. Before he could announce a word, Annie motioned to Tak who understood the situation and left the table where he was before the next hand began.

- Sir, we have reviewed the cameras thoroughly and determined that there was no cheating in the hand you two played... - said the security guard.

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Tak got up from the poker table and pretending to go to the bathroom, on the way he took the opportunity to briefly watch the discussion that had formed at the table where Annie was playing.

- This rookie must have cheated! How could she possibly know everything that was going to happen next!!!?

- Sir, calm down, we're... - The guard stopped talking and put his hand to the intercom.

- Besides, he won with a poker - a poker! Do you know what the odds are of drawing a...?

Tak pushed past the discussion, quickly exchanged the chips and before he was stopped or anything, hurried out of the casino with the money and ran to one of the side walls looking for security cameras along the way. 

"Clear."

When he was safe, he looked down at the floor and saw a trail of ants.

"Sorry, pals, you'll have to detour out of the way to your colony for a moment."

Tak activated a very fine [En], he was still recomposing himself from the training with Monique, the real one, fortunately, he was able to keep the strength long enough for about 20 ants to enter his range, then he activated his ability and directed them 10 towards the back wall of the casino and 10 towards the inside of the casino, some looking for the elevator and others looking for Annie. Tak closed his eyes and concentrated on the ants he had sent towards Annie. A sea of sensations came over Tak again, he could barely make out Annie's silhouette, but he was sure it was her as she was behind another silhouette even thicker and more intimidating than her. He hurried his ants and 3 of them managed to travel the path from the woman's feet to her back. Tak felt hot and a choking sensation, short of breath from the tight black dress the woman was wearing. To avoid collapsing, Tak quickly directed the 3 ants over the dress, then opened his eyes.

He walked a little way to the back of the casino to verify that his ants were on the move.

"All in order."

She then headed to the room she had rented for a night to get a little more peace and quiet.

He closed his eyes once again and did a quick scan of the state of his scouts. At first Tak felt shivering, his mouth dried quickly and his temperature began to drop, he was losing his balance a little, it was as if his center of gravity was not where it should be, they were all 10 on the back wall, on their way to the VIP area but ready to move up or down if necessary; Of the 7 ants he had sent on the way to the elevator, one had not made it, the rest were scattered, hidden in the cracks, waiting for the moment when the door opened and the guard who had escorted Annie out of the elevator. The last 3 gave her a warm, burning sensation, her temperature rose to a little above normal but she couldn't say she had a fever, it felt like a day at the beach, like the luxury of a break in a coastal landscape.

"If I keep doing this and thinking like this I'm going to end up getting addicted to this girl. Remember what Daven said, she's dangerous, anyone who can take someone down like that like she did before, is indeed dangerous."

The elevator stopped and the two passengers descended onto a floor that was anything but a security room. Surely Annie was aware that they were not taking her to a place full of surveillance screens and compromised personnel, if anything, they would be taking her to a place full of surveillance cameras. The ants left the elevator as quickly as possible, none were left behind, she didn't remember exactly the floor number she spied last time, as far as Tak was concerned, she didn't even remember ever seeing the floor number, still, with many more ants, concentrated in one place she could see the VIP area more clearly, Tak opened his eyes for a moment and ran for pen and paper from a nearby desk.

"It would be a good idea to make a map of this."

By the time he closed his eyes again the people he was following had moved far enough away that he couldn't make out distinctive features. Still, he could see them better than he could see them with 3 ants. The Manipulator was going through the corridors through his scout ants drawing the map of the floor they were on and sporadically shifting his concentration to the ants near Annie so he wouldn't miss any conversations.

- W-Where are we going? - the short-haired girl asked.

The guard did not answer her back.

- How far away is the surveillance room? - Annie asked, feigning fear in her voice.

- We're almost there, Miss. - Replied the guy slowing his pace.

Tak moved the ants towards Annie's shoulder, who turned her gaze towards them and then let out a smile.

"You're not alone."

A sense of worry came over Tak.

"No... You are alone! I'm too far away to help you!"

Tak's eyes widened in fright. For a moment the thought crossed his mind to run out to help Annie, reinforce his body with [Ten] go in there and beat everyone up. But even if he wanted to, he had no strength, no energy, not enough nen to do it, he couldn't even hold his [Hive Mind] for much longer.

"It would be stupid to launch a direct attack without knowing if there I might meet another stupidly powerful guy like Nightshot...".

The manipulator closed his eyes and dropped down, concentrating once more on the ants mapping the floor and signaling the ones outside the casino to move to the outer wall closest to Annie and the guard. 

Then, he shifted his perspective once more. The path felt eternal to Tak who felt and saw distances from an insect's point of view. However, he could tell that the layout of the betting rooms was quite similar, if not the same as the floor he had explored last time. A voice abruptly brought Tak out of his analysis.

- We are here. Please come in, Miss. - Said the guard politely indicating the door.

It once again read Sweet Bets. Tak felt the ants mapping the place, they were far away from the room where Annie was going to enter. They were going at ant pace, the other 3 were going at human pace.

"I have to trust her..."

Tak sent as fast as he could all the ants infiltrating the floor to the same location.

- Sir... - Annie was still pretending - sir, sir, this is....

- Please come in, miss. - The guard opened the door.

Annie swallowed dryly as Tak sensed the woman's nervousness. 

"Is it possible she wasn't faking?"

Annie took a few steps forward and the guard closed and locked the door behind her leaving her with 3 men in a room. 

- See, I told you I'd find the woman," said the voice Tak identified as the first voice from that occasion. It was a man with a rather large, rectangular-shaped head, sporting a bushy, well-cut mustache and eyebrows, and wearing a classic buttoned vest with a prominent belly protruding from it.

The other two men did nothing more than to check the young woman over and over again, from top to bottom.

- Good job. - Said a voice unfamiliar to Tak, a tall man who was sitting cross-legged wearing small, straight-framed khaki glasses that matched his cream-colored shirt and brown pants. Tak couldn't help but notice that he also had resting on his legs a wooden cane with rather nice carvings, everywhere you looked, the man would be considered a man of class.

- A pleasure, my Lord Dimecci. - replied the first subject cheerfully.

Annie did her best to contain her surprise at meeting Carlo Dimecci in person. Or at least someone related to him. Tak did not notice the man, he had all his efforts dedicated to move the ants and not faint to exhaustion in the attempt.

- It's... - Annie made a shy gesture - Are you Mr. Carlo Dimécci?

The third man in the room looked up at the woman. If I had to guess, he'd probably be a bodyguard.

- Do you need me to be? - Replied the man with the cane.

- Sorry. I recently had an altercation with a competitor at a poker table and would like to receive the money I won legally. - Annie replied.

The man with the cane raised an eyebrow in astonishment and then exchanged a few whispers with each of the men separately, never taking his eyes off the woman's. After a couple of minutes of secret discussion, the third man opened a door located on the opposite side from where Annie entered and from it three men and three women dressed quite elegantly did not wait.

The man with the mustache rose to his desk.

- Once everyone has bought their cards, I will start today's session number 12. Do any of you have any quick cards to play? - The man paused, observing the faces of all the guests now seated in different chairs.

Tak noticed how the surface of his 3 ants were wobbling, Annie was getting stressed by the uncertainty.

"Trust her."

Tak hurried his ants before it was too late.

- Since no one has any fast cards to play, let's start the auction.

As soon as those words were announced there was a rapid gibbering intelligible to Tak, it was too loud for his ants, his eardrums were vibrating like drums and he felt his head spinning constantly. After a while, the feeling subsided and he was able to concentrate again, the voices were becoming more and more spaced out and the screaming had stopped altogether. Then Tak could see what was happening.

- 30 minutes - announced the man with paddle number 4, putting a card on the table.

- 30 minutes, 30 seconds - announced a woman with paddle number 3, while repeating the same process.

- 31 minutes - man with paddle 6.

- 31 minutes, 10 seconds - woman with paddle 7.

- 33 minutes - raised paddle number 2 the man who looked like a bodyguard.

- Well, this is a surprise, the boy dared to participate. - announced the man with the moustache and belly mockingly.

- At this rate he's going to rebel against me. - laughed the man with the cane and raised paddle number 1 - 40 minutes.

Silence ensued until the woman with the 7 dared to play her cards again only to be drawn into a fight between the men with paddle 1 and 2.

- 53 minutes, 12 seconds. - announced the man with the 2

- 53 minutes, 13 seconds. - replied the woman with paddle 7

- 53 minutes, 15 seconds! - shouted the man with the 2

- 55 minutes. - said the man with the 1 with a smile.

Annie was impatient.

- 5... - The woman pretended to raise her paddle and met the wild stare of the man with the number 2. - I withdraw.

- 60 minutes. - said the man with the 2

- We crossed the hour line! - announced the man with the mustache.

Tak could no longer keep his composure, all his ants had come into the room so Tak released the ones on the outside walls, he didn't see much use for them other than leaving him without power. 

"I thought... it would be faster."

Tak opened his eyes and took a glass of lemonade in one sip to collect himself. He closed his eyes once more.

- Awarded! Batch 12, 110 minutes to the man with the 1. Don't overdo it with the time.

"How did you...?" Tak was confused. He made sure to mount two more ants on Annie once more and released the rest.

The man with number 2 squeaked and the rest of the staff stayed in the room as if they were waiting for something else. On the other hand, the man with the cane jumped out of his chair quickly to Annie, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and curtsied, then he led the way to the back door and they headed out that way.

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"Great, I just got whored against my will!"

The hallway had dim lighting that bordered on the line between hot and scary.

"I guess that's the exact vibe this place gives off."

Annie stopped admiring the hallway for a moment and concentrated on her back so she could feel Tak's ants. There were the tingles camouflaged between her black dress, which she certainly found convenient to hide the crawling insects.

In the hallway apart from Annie and what she believed to be Carlo Dimécci were escorted by 4 men the size of gorillas, 2 in front and 2 behind. Logically, the security was for VIP protection, she had just been assigned to be just another slave. Through the narrow corridor, the constant ticking of a clock could be heard, marking the elapsed seconds, to remind people that time was passing. The time they gambled was passing.

When they finally arrived at the assigned room the security guards searched Annie to make sure she didn't have any dangerous items for the VIP, snatched her heels and completely split the heel, then threw what was left of the shoes into the room. 

"You better be watching this, Tak, if I ever think you lost control of the ants I'll kill you for leaving me alone."

When they finished the search, the guards looked at the VIP who nodded in a quick, almost imperceptible gesture. And they proceeded to tear Annie's dress completely. The young woman had to fight her instincts to activate her Nen, if any of them 5 ever became a nen user, it would be over. Likewise she restrained herself from doing so when she sensed that, although they were primitive, they were on a work day, it obviously gave them pleasure to be in control, however, they could not afford to lose control in front of the VIP who fed them. Annie was left kneeling on the floor, covering her pride with scraps of the dress she had until recently, she looked up and the guards were gone, the room was secured and the man with the cane was watching her from above with a depraved expression.

"Ah...that was why." Annie clenched her fist in helplessness. "The time will come."

The man took her by the arm and lifted her up. Annie jumped to her feet to hide the man's lack of strength.

- Earlier you asked me if I was Carlo Dimecci - the man said as he desperately licked Annie's neck. - Is it wrong if I am?

Annie sobbed.

- Well yes, yes I am – the man laughed - I guess you're lucky, you found and met the one you were looking for, the real one.

"You have no idea how lucky I am" Annie held back an impish laugh.

Annie soon caught on and looked around for Tak's ants, she saw them on the floor scurrying their way to the head of the bed.

"Well, that's enough, you idiot, you've seen enough!" 

Annie blushed. Carlo on his side was thrilled to see the woman's reaction and started in with rougher touches. He threw her on the bed and started kissing and squeezing her thighs hard, then he went desperately up to the intersection between her pelvis and leg and kissed her hard. That made Annie feel good just for a moment. 

-Hey, hey, stop it! - sobbed Annie.

Carlo was more excited to hear that.

Annie sat back up, stopped lying down and before Carlo could put his mouth anywhere else, she grabbed his jaw with both hands and pulled him up, leaving them face to face. Carlo was surprised to see that, Annie feigned a kiss, Carlo lowered his head slightly, sighed and then looked up again. Finally, his eyes connected with Annie's thin lips, then with her gaze, then... he slapped her mercilessly and Annie fell back down on the bed again.

- Do you think I came here to waste my time with you?!? - Carlo shouted - Be thankful it will only be this and not something worse, if it had been the woman with the number 7 would have mutilated you once she was done!

"I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him".

Carlo grabbed her knees and began to spread her legs. Annie turned her head in the direction of the headboard and swatted the ants away with a single swat, not really stopping to check how many had fallen.

"I told you you weren't supposed to see this."

Carlo was taken aback by that reaction of Annie's and was about to give her another blow.

- Carlo Dimecci. - Annie muttered to herself. - How many times have you done this?

Annie applied all the strength she had on the leg that Carlo was trying to lift and applied a very thin layer of [Ten], she didn't want to wake up that monster's nen by chance, then she moved the leg with an arc pushing the man to one side. Carlo lost his balance, it was a clean hit to the chin, his head was still spinning, and his hearing was barely good enough to understand that he was being spoken to.

Annie this time was not smiling, her expression was rock solid, still naked, she stood up and walked towards Carlo releasing a viscous [Ren] full of rage, it was the representation of revenge and retaliation, Annie's bloodlust made the decor of the room wobble, every step towards the mobster was a weight closing Carlo's throat. Eventually, Annie stood in front of him and concentrated with [Ko] her vicious nen on his right fist.

- Carlo Dimecci. Today was the last day. I hope you enjoyed it, come back soon to the Royal Flush casino. - Annie said in a melodious voice.

He threw a right straight at the frightened face of the mafioso. Carlo thrust his face and brought his hands towards him. Annie stopped a few inches from the man's arms and activated [Fearing].

- You are my slave now.