Resistance is Futile

Chapter 3

By the second in person meeting, Vox had written up the plans in a more chronicled order to ensure that they had some semblance of a time line. The goal was to get a few properties under Val for clubs, which he would outfit with his tech, and they would split the profits 60/40. Since most of the work would be done on Val's end, Vox had agreed to the smaller portion with the idea that in a few years they would renegotiate if it held up. It wasn't like Hell didn't already have a bunch of clubs, but none of them seemed to market themselves right. For instance, Vox couldn't even remember the last time he'd been in one, and he definitely didn't know who owned them. To start this off, he'd gotten a few suggestions for real estate and he was going to meet up with his new partner to look at them. Going over the paperwork again, the car pulled to a stop with the barest jerk and the door swung open. He looked up just in time to watch Val slide in.

He had to admit he was a bit shocked at Val's attire today, considering it wasn't something he thought he'd wear. The man was lacking the large red coat he'd seen him in constantly, and instead was dressed in a pant suit. Brown and skin tight at the top with the extravagant flare at the bottom, a large gold chain belt, and a pure white button up shirt that wasn't buttoned all the way. The small glimpse of skin at the top would have gotten most going, since everything else seemed almost modest. While his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows on all four arms, showing the ease from his black hands to the soft purple-gray on (presumably) the rest of him. He was still wearing his trademark heart glasses, and that large ruff was still perfectly prominent to compliment the outfit. The moth stretched out a bit in the car and glanced at him. "So, where are we going?"

"There's a few buildings I want to check out to see if the space is usable at all. They're basically abandoned and it wouldn't be hard to get our hands on them. With a couple of renovations, we could make a profit from them easily." Val was silent but for a small grunt. An undignified sound, but it was so very Val. The car pulled off and they shot toward the other side of town. The first location was far, but if the space was viable, it'd be worth the trip. According to his math, at least. The two sat in silence for the drive, Val staring out a nearby window.

"You're super distracted today." He spoke before he could think about it, but it garnered a slight head tilt from his partner. "Anything we can talk about? Sitting in stale silence like this has never been my cup of tea." Not the silence had been bad, which was a bit off putting for him. He did normally hate silence when there was another person around, but with Val that wasn't quite the case.

"I just got a new contract yesterday, and I'm thinking about how best to go about it." Vox nodded and then paused. "Contract"? Like another business partner? Was Val going around on him like that? Not that he'd blame the man; the more business partners he had the more opportunity for him. Val glanced over at him and a knowing smile up turned those lips for a toothy grin. "Oh honey, don't worry, you're the only one that matters." Unnecessarily flirtatious and completely relaxed; it was a surprising breath of fresh air. "When I say contract like that, it means I signed on a new whore. I found a pretty little spider the other day and I've been a bit relentless with him. Yesterday, he finally consented and bent to me, and now he's mine." There was something about the way Val worded things that left something to the imagination. It was simple, straight forward, and inherently sexual. Must come with the territory.

"So, he's going to be another street walker, just like everyone else. Big whoop." Vox waved his hand to wave off the subject, but the scoff of laughter had him jumping. He stared at Val as the man broke out in a fit of laughter that had him gasping for air.

"Just another street walker! Yeah right! No, no, no, he's going to be so much more than that, Voxxy." That was new. "When I say he's pretty, I mean he's sellable pretty. Sure, I might have him walk on the off day, if I'm low, or he's in trouble, but this boy's got the goods to sell in a different way. With all of our plans, he's gonna be a good face for a few of them. I can't be on everything, sugar, and trust me when I say he's going to clean up well. He's weak willed, which will help break him, and the drugs will help." The moth turned his attention back to the window, and the reflection Vox could see the distant expression on Val's face. "Biggest benefit of using a junkie, honey, is that they're easy to control if you can get the right stuff. I know exactly what I'm going to show off most about this boy, and trust me when I say the public won't be able to resist him." Val's unusually long tongue parted his lips with a lick that Vox watched a bit too closely. Tearing his eyes away from his partner, he thought about the benefits of having such an apparently pretty creature under their thumb. If Val could get the street rat looking even half as good as Val himself looked, than it'd be a worth while investment to market him heavily beside the pimp. After all, that's what business was all about, making the most money with what you already had, and Val already had this kid apparently.