These Violent Delights

Chapter 41: Hux Has a Cat?

Vicrul put his finger to his lips. "Shhhhh."

"No, you shhhhh."

He ignored his obnoxious charge for the day. Tried to, at least. But it was kind of hard when they were both smooshed into a small space, crouching amongst various stacked cargo boxes outside of the private sector that led to General Hux's quarters.

"Why haven't we just gone for it? They aren't looking."

"Because." Vicrul craned his neck around the corner, peering out of the small alcove where they were hiding. "We need to have patience."

She let out an agitated, hushed groan. "Just use your mind powers! This hiding and sneaking around is stupid when you're a Knight of fucking Ren."

"On the entire division?" came Vicrul's snippy whisper, whipping his head at her. "I'm not Master Ren. That is out of my abilities. Now, shut up."

She jolted back, eyes wide, and mouth popped open into a little o. "Whoa. You're mad."

"And you're observant. Be quiet."

"I don't think I've ever seen you mad. Usually, you're all quiet and weirdly calm," she hummed, an amused edge to her tone. "And sooo serious, and—"

"The moment they find unauthorized personnel outside of General Hux's quarters, hiding, they will send the entire platoon," he hissed, throwing her a stern glare. "So be quiet."

Vicrul let his glare linger on her before peeking his head around the wall again. Only one squad of soldiers were currently patrolling the corridor, but ten were still too many to get past without any trouble. On any other day, he wouldn't mind getting in a fight with some Stormtroopers, but the whole point of this was to get inside Hux's quarters without being detected. If the General found out after all this time that they'd been trailing him, it would give the pretentious fuck an opportunity to rid of anything he could potentially be hiding. That meant they had to wait until the next rotation, and more importantly, Miss Ren and that big mouth of hers would just have to—

"Or...what?"

Vicrul slowly looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Be quiet...." she started, tilting her head at him as a satisfied smile pulled at her lips, "...or what?"

Vicrul was quick to deliver a warning. "Keep up with the attitude, M421, and I'm locking you in your quarters until Master Ren arrives."

She ignored him. "I'm just curious how you would shut me up, is all. Because last time I checked, you can't put a finger on me..." she trailed off, watching him with a wicked gleam in her eyes, playing with the collar around her neck as she remained sitting on her knees, smiling prettily at him, innocently.

Vicrul knew that look. She was testing him. It was something he had seen her do with Master Ren time and time again. And now she was bored and trying to push her boundaries with him, too. Silly, silly girl. He repositioned to face her entirely, still on his knees as they hid behind the cargo. "What makes you think I can't touch you?"

She scoffed. "Touch her, and I won't hesitate to end your life," she said, lowering her voice to mimic Master Ren. "Or did you forget about that?"

"Of course I didn't forget about that." He looked her up and down. "But that was a long time ago. This is now."

Vicrul was satisfied watching her confidence waver. "But—"

"He was strictly referring to that night. He meant, engage in sexual activity with her, and I will end your life," he explained, voice still a strained whisper. "Last time I checked, keeping you quiet so you don't blow our cover isn't engaging in sexual activity."

"But—"

"And I can't help but wonder why you are antagonizing me now, of all times." Vicrul made a point to gesture around the tight area, their bodies merely inches apart. "It's almost like you want me to put my hands on you. No?"

"Me, want you?" She snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."

He arched a brow, a smirk playing on his lips. "You really want to do this right now?"

"Do what?" she crooned, a defiant gleam in her eyes. "There's nothing to discuss."

Vicrul leaned in so close, he could feel the heat radiating from her. "You can't lie to me. Even without the Force, I can read you like a book. A wide-open, filthy little book. I know what you thought about me on Canto Bight, and I watched you watch me on Hoth. And don't think I didn't know about that dream you had about me." He flicked his eyes up and down at her, loving how the color drained from her face. "Game over, Miss Ren."

"You fuck," she whispered, her anger plowing into him. "You looked inside my head."

Vicrul kept his voice light, taunting. "I did. Now drop the attitude. Unless you're seeking another punishment."

"You're bluffing," she said with a bitter scoff. "You can't punish me like that."

"No, but a spanking?" he retorted, lifting his palm between their bodies. "I'd be happy to oblige. I know you loved it when Master Ren bruised your backside."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You would never."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Kylo would fucking kill you."

He flashed her a brilliant smile. "Then I would die a satisfied man."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't," Vicrul shot back. "You're just mad I called you out for not hating me."

"Just because I thought about you doesn't mean I like you!" she whisper-yelled, using agitated strokes of her hands in the narrow space between them. "Besides, it's not my fault. I'm not the one that invited you in either time."

"No. But you didn't want me to leave, did you?" Vicrul waited a moment for a response but decided he didn't need one. "Never mind. Don't waste your breath with a lie. I already know you enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Master Ren especially enjoyed it."

"I know he did. He loved showing you what you can't have. He's psycho." She broke eye contact, proceeding to mutter under her breath. "That man is going to be the death of me."

As charged silence expanded between them, Vicrul watched an array of emotions unfold on her face. Agitation, tension, embarrassment...but all he could think about were those fucking sounds she was making that night. He cleared his throat. "Miss Ren." He waited for her to make eye contact to continue, dropping his voice to an even lower pitch. "Did you know it was considered natural to be exposed while mating in the primitive era? It was also ordinary to have multiple sexual partners. Sometimes at the same time."

She swallowed, pulling his attention to her delicate throat. "Well," she whispered, wetting her lips, "we aren't in the primitive era, are we?"

The tension between them was dense, palpable. "No," he said with effort. "No, we are not."

She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to put as much distance between them as possible within their cramped position. "Stop looking at me like that."

"As you wish, Miss Ren."

"Stop saying that."

"As you wish, Mi—"

Kitten flashed a hand out and covered his mouth. She leaned in, and a waft of honey and sweet blossoms flooded his nostrils. "You want me to drop the attitude? Then stop instigating me, Vicrul," she said, with a soft yet threatening tone. "I will always outmatch you. In wit, in attitude, and in resiliency to maintain that attitude. I have all the patience and time in the world when it comes to pissing you off. Do you understand?"

"Mhm," came his non-committal response. The moment she let go of him, he lashed out to grab both her wrists.

She thrashed against him. "Hey!"

"Stop fighting, and listen to me," he demanded, Force-compelling her to stay still. "You might be a fierce component when it comes to wit, and I will never argue with you that you aren't a giant bloody brat capable of pissing me off. But I am stronger than you are," he asserted, twisting his fingers around her wrist. "I possess more power than you ever will. And while you are used to weak men like your old companions, I, personally, can subdue you with my pinky finger. So, Miss Ren, I advise you to stop instigating me."

She pushed into him again, her lip curling over her teeth. "Let go."

He tightened his grasp. "Well?"

"Fine," she said with acidic reluctance. "Now, let go of me."

With one last look, Vicrul dropped her wrists. "I'm not going anywhere, and you're not going anywhere, so we might as well stop going for each other's throats." He held out his hand for her to shake. "Truce?"

She didn't respond right away, eyeing him with a look that could kill. But after a few moments, she caved, grabbing his hand to give him a firm squeeze. "Truce."

"Good," Vicrul said with a nod, trying to ignore the spike of arousal in his veins after being so close to her. After holding her wrists in his hands. After imagining her sprawled out across his lap, moaning and coming undone at his touch...

He shook his head. Focus. Throwing a quick glance around the corner, he saw that the 'troopers had left, leaving two commanding officers standing idle at the end of the corridor as they waited for the next unit on rotation. Vicrul stood up quickly, knowing he only had a narrow window of time to approach them. After he strapped his scythe to his back, he pointed a finger at M421.

"Stay here and be quiet."

She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. And thank the heavens for that, he thought as he emerged from their concealed position. As he approached the First Order officials, the sound of his boots caught their attention. Overly confident, as always, they turned around with weapons raised, stances relaxed.

"What do you think you're doing here?" came the haughty question from the bold one on the left.

Vicrul wanted to say, snapping your necks for fun, but unfortunately, he didn't have time to dispose of their bodies right now. He waved his hand in front of their helmets. "You won't remember seeing me."

They spoke in sync. "I won't remember seeing you."

"General Hux requires you and the incoming squad to patrol Hangar Six."

"General Hux requires me and the incoming squad to patrol Hangar Six."

"Great." He gave them a parting nod of his head. "Now fuck off."

"Fucking off, sir."

Vicrul watched, satisfied, as the two officers sauntered away from him, their minds on autopilot. He turned around with haste, returning to the cargo to retrieve his helmet and his bratty companion. Breezing past her position, he quietly told her to come out, and she sprang up to eagerly fall into step with him.

"So, how much farther?" she whispered excitedly.

"Right through those blast doors, up ahead." Vicrul looked over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed. They weren't; not only was nobody around, but it was also hauntingly silent in this part of the ship. Their footsteps reverberated off the metallic walls like a heartbeat, breathing life into the otherwise sterile, unforgiving corridor. All of the Finalizer was like this, but something about this hallway seemed even colder, more mechanical. Almost like General Hux's presence alone had an impact on its negative energy. It was so unsettling, Vicrul was relieved when they finally reached his doors. Kitten stepped forward and tried to push them open, but he gently tugged her away.

"These are different from your doors," Vicrul murmured. "Watch out."

She stepped back, eyeing him curiously. He approached the control panel embedded into the wall to assess the system safeguarding his chambers. It was a simple framework, requiring only a passcode to enter the room...and that was it. Not even a retina scanner or facial recognition technology. Vicrul almost laughed. Either the man believed he was truly untouchable, or he put all of his faith in his Stormtroopers to keep him safe. Either way, his lack of concern for his safety was comical. Bringing his gloved fingers to the controls, Vicrul typed in the code he pulled from Hux's mind the day after the explosion on Batuu.

"M-I-L-L-I-C-E-N-T," he spelled aloud, entering each letter with a firm press.

Beside him, Kitten laughed out loud. "Oh my gods, Millicent?" Another cackle. "General Hux's passcode to get into his quarters is his cat's name?"

"Hux has a cat?" he asked, distracted as a low whirring noise emanated from the control panel. A few beeps later, the doors cracked open.

Kitten was just a blur as she ran past him. "Yesss! Time to fuck shit up!"

Vicrul let out a deep breath as he followed her. After he entered and set down his scythe and mask, the doors shut behind him and trapped him inside a massive, monochromatic room. The entire layout was wide open, with the kitchen bleeding into the dining room which connected seamlessly with the living area. The seemingly-brand new sofa was the only thing to distinguish the two spaces, and the furniture was all the same gunmetal gray color. There was just one chair situated at his small, circular dining table and two seats accompanying the sofa that looked like they'd never been sat in either.

"Holy fuck, this is creepy," M421 muttered, twirling around in the center of his living area. "It looks like nobody lives here. Are you sure this is his room?"

"Mhm." Vicrul walked toward the center of the room. He frowned. It was true—the place looked completely sterile and obsessively clean, almost as though it was a museum and not a room for a living, breathing person. With another thorough sweep of the area, his eyes locked on a door to the right. "The bedroom," he said, pointing his chin toward the door. "Let's go."

He let her lead the way. Punching the control panel with her fist, she opened the door and walked through. And immediately sank to her knees. "Oh my gods, aren't you just darling?" The orange, striped cat meowed in response, and Kitten gushed, scratching behind its ears. "Yes, yes, you are. You are so cute, way too cute to be Hux's cat. I'm going to take you back to my room to meet Ani. You will love him! He's a bit of an asshole, but I blame that on the Supreme Leader, you know, since—"

Vicrul nudged her with his boot. "Miss Ren."

She looked up at him with an offended expression that said how dare you interrupt my conversation with the cat? "What?"

"We don't have much time. Go misplace or rearrange something. Make it subtle enough where he won't be suspicious, but something important enough to drive him insane."

She immediately sprang to her feet. "Ooooh, say less," she trilled, excited eyes scanning the room. "I'll check out the refresher. You dig around in here?"

With a wave of his hand, she took off as Millicent followed her every move. Vicrul gave a look around, studying his surroundings. Like Hux's main living area, his bedroom was impeccably neat with the same dark, metallic walls and dark accent hues. He had a small bed with two side tables and a deep nook area that offered a vast view of the galaxy. He veered to the right, starting in his closet. One side of it had a clothes rack, housing rows and rows of identical, perfectly pressed uniforms, while right in front of him was a black, sleek dresser featuring twelve different drawers.