Marco was holding tight to the guard rails in his room as the sudden drop nearly shook him off his feet. Nevertheless, the pod's gyroscope had maintained their orientation as the pill sized vehicle dropped deep into Jenna's body. As Jenna had closed her mouth to swallow, a terrifying darkness had enveloped the ship and just as the last rays of light were blocked out by lips, the darkness was pushed back by a glow emitted from the outer walls of the pod. Marco was replaying the images of the past few minutes again and again in his head. He was awestruck thinking about what was happening to him, the trip he was taking was a common one for many people now, thanks to his efforts. For him however, it was like flying to the moon, something he now intended to do, just to see if his comparison was correct.
Even with the pod lights on the glow seemed to melt into a distant blackness as a final drop landed the pod within the confines of Jenna's stomach. He doubted he would ever encounter such an all-encompassing darkness as the darkness he was confronted with now. From the meager ilumination that lighted the immediate area, he could barely make out slight ripples on the ground. The darkness was complete as his sight failed to even make out the entrance they had fallen from, all he could see was a black sky, devoid of any feature save for the utter lack of light. No stars existed in this universe.
A harsh knock on the door broke his reverie. Turning the ceiling opaque as he turned to answer the door, he wondered if such darkness existed within the man who stood on the other side.
**************************
"The pod has been entering the stomach cavity with a much successfulness," reported a short, thickly moustached man with a clipboard.
"Vee vill be monitoring de zituation vrom dis control room with de zattelite dat vill track de pod, den when Madam arrives at de ground level again, ve vill update Madam vith de progress" said another man, with an equally thick moustache.
"Yes, we will be staying and controlling everything until you are arriving. You will be hearing from us if there is anything that is discomfiting, but do not be worrying as we will be very caring in our monitoring," said Moustachio 1.
"Where does Marco get these guys," thought Jenna as she nodded to the two technicians and slipped on a tiny earpiece that would enable her to hear the reports from the technicians, as well as a different report, one that would be directly from Marco. Without the knowledge of any of his men, and certainly without drawing any attention from Lee's quarter, Marco had installed an emergency channel which was broadcast directly to Jenna's reciever. Just a safety measure, he had told her. It was one that she fully agreed with.
**************************
"Mr Cortez, I have to thank you for your hospitality and understanding in carrying out my request," said Lee from behind the bartop, as Marco walked out to meet him.
"It was my pleasure, Mr Xiang, though I have to admit, I am still very curious about your reasons," replied Marco as he took the seat across from Lee at a small table in the middle of the room. The central hub of the transport pod was filled with soft ambient light and the ceiling had been darkened. Sinking back into the soft black leather, Marco posed his question with a slight apprehensiveness, a touch of nerves that flashed by his face, to be quickly replaced with Marco's trademark smile.
"Ah, all that shall be explained shortly, but tell me first, would you like a drink before we begin?" Lee continued nonchanlantly.
Gazing at the strange man who was playing host in his capsule, Marco gestured to an 18 year old aged Scotch, held fast by a bottle holder on a shelf beside the bar.
"I've always been one for a Scotch with business," he said, watching the surprisingly young Regional Operations Manager of the Millenarian Corporation walk over with the bottle and two glasses in hand.
"Personally I prefer vodka, but I that has to do with my upbringing in Vladivostok," said Lee, pouring two out to pegs of the golden brown liquor before taking a seat at the table.
"There, whisky was a rare commodity, but we could always find bootleg vodka...which tasted similar to the rice wines of my hometown, " Lee said raising his glass.
"Salut," he cheered before downing his peg.
"Salut," echoed Marco, clinking his glass and taking a sip.
"Ah, very good fire," Lee commented as he placed his glass down and proceeded to fill it up with another peg.
"Anyway, living in the cold Russian city taught me something as a young man," Lee said, giving Marco a look that was obviously aimed to elicit a response from Marco.
"What did it teach you, Mr Xiang?" asked Marco, staring back at Lee's unnering gaze.
"It taught me about survival, about how to pawn a weak hand for a stronger one and most importantly, it taught me the importance of timing," Lee continued, his face a mask of contemplation, though his eyes betrayed his true concentration. Marco could feel the man sizing him up, though he could not be sure why. Somehow he felt he was about to find out.
"I'm sure you have aquired similar knowledge Mr Cortez, if not, you would have to be a very lucky man to be sitting here today," he continued in the absence of a reply.
"Well, if you consider sitting inside a tablet sized container surrounded by a lake of caustic acid, buried within another person's body with no hope of escape being lucky, I guess I'd have to agree with you," remarked Marco with a slight smile. Still, his mind was already working out possible meanings to each of the man's sentences. Marco did not consider himself lucky, despite anything Lee had to say about it. He was just painfully aware of every situation facing him.
"Ah, but she is a beautiful woman, this person you are speaking of. Tell me Mr Cortez, is she important to you?" said Lee, taking a swallow of whisky.
"She must be important or else you would not be here would you Mr Cortez," Lee continued without waiting for Marco's answer.
"Perhaps," said Marco, his nerves sharpening along with the tension in the room.
"And perhaps we should move our discussion back to the terms of our agreement now," he continued, his voice steely as he stared Lee down.
"But you fail to see Mr Cortez, we are discussing our agreement. You may consider this a preamble. You see, we have been watching you for the past two years Mr Cortez. Especially your endeavours in our part of the world. Naturally, we are interested in your progress," Lee elaborated.
"Just as your empire has expanded, ours is slowly losing ground to new competitors, forcing us to consider other...alternatives," he continued.
"And that is why you have come to me, correct?" Marco spoke up, taking another sip of the whiskey. He was starting to feel very hot and he put the glass down, loosening his tie as the air became even stuffier.
"Yes, but I'm afraid, we are not here to sign an agreement," Lee said finally.
"What are you saying?" Marco replied, quickly pressing the button on his cuff that activated the emergency channel to Jenna.
"You are starting to feel very warm right now Mr Cortez. Is that not true? Well, dont worry about answering, let me tell you why," Lee continued, getting out of his chair.
"You asked earlier about the reason for my request. Let me tell you, oh please Mr Cortez, do not get up, I assure you it would be pointless," admonished Lee as Marco struggled to find strength to get up.
"I slipped a rather potent sedative into your glass, though I'm sure you've already figured that out. Why? Well, it is simple. You may consider this a hostile takeover. Look at your establishment, your facilities. Yet, only you and this woman of yours run the show. Do you realise how dangerous it is to not diversify your power base?" said Lee.
"It is difficult to take down a man of your position and power. Now you are going to lose it all. That, Mr Cortez, is the reason for my request. You are without any aid now and after I get rid of you, my agent will remove this pod..forcibly. With the two of you out of the way, my company will buy over the rest of your subordinates and appropriate your properties. It is only most unfortunate that we do not have your knowledge of how to hack into the matter converters. Perhaps you will share that secret with me? I could give you a quick and painless end in return," Lee continued, a sinister grin playing on his face as he watched the helpless man slump in his chair.
"You bastard, I will never" replied Marco, his voice a feeble whisper.
"Oh I assure you Mr Cortez, you will or else you will suffer the pain of being eaten alive in a lake of acid. Surely, you would rather spare yourself that indignity," Lee retorted.
"Bastard..Jenna..I hope you're listening, you're gonna have to get me out of this one quick, like I said, wait for my cue and then I'm going to need you to slam your stomach okay," Marco muttered quickly under his breath as Lee dragged his limp body out of the chair.
*****************
Jenna was surprised to hear the communicator flipped on as she stood in the lift with the four bodyguards. Masking her reactions, she heard Lee's entire monologue and was even more surprised at how Marco had accurately predicted the threat to his life. But even he had not expected Lee's vile plan to dispose of him and then eliminate Jenna. Keeping herself calm, she went through the pattern that Marco had laid out for her if they were to find themselves threatened. The first step would be to isolate herself from the bodyguards. Although Marco trusted his men, he had explicitly stated that Jenna should expect no help from them. Jenna wasn't about to disregard the warning, now she would have to find a way to get herself out of their site. Thankfully, they had yet to leave the building. Her private car was still on the lot, that would be her objective for now.
"...Jenna..I hope you're listening....wait for my cue," she heard Marco, barely making out his voice but getting the gist of his message.
"I've got you boss, just be careful," she wished him silently, turning to the guards.
"Hey guys, I'm so sorry, but I've left my passport back in the office. I'll be right back, go ahead and secure the limo please," she told the four guards.
"I'm afraid we can't let you go alone Mam, Mr Cortez gave us strict orders to have our eyes on you," replied one of Marco's men.
"That's alright Sven, I understand, but I'll only be a minute. Please, go to the cars and I will join you soon," Jenna replied unflinchingly.
"I will accompany Ms. Baxter," said the chinese attendant. Jenna knew full well what would happen if she were left alone with the woman. Time was running out though, she could not hear much going on and she was starting to fear the worse. But before she could save Marco, she'd have to save herself.
*******************
"Alright Mr Cortez, this is your last chance to reveal the source of your technology, if you refuse, I will open this hatch and Ms Baxter will have her first meal of the day. Your choice," said Lee, as he stood over Marco at the door of the pod.
Slumped across the doorway, Marco felt paralysed, his entire torso and legs incapacitated. All he could do was move his fingers and toes. Hopefully, that would be enough. Looking up at the Chinaman whose hand was on the door release hatch, he started to feel a very real fear building in his chest.
"God I hope Jenna is paying attention," he thought.
"Mr Cortez, I know you can talk. This drug does not paralyse your tongue, so speak up or I will kick you out the door just to prove you can scream," Lee said, his voice taking on a hard edge.
Opening the pod door, Lee pressed his foot against Marco, threatening to roll him out into the darkness. Marco remained silent. He could hear the anger in Lee's voice as he said, "Have it your way then fool."
"NOW JENNA!" Marco shouted just as he got the wind knocked out of him. Lee's kick had nearly pushed him out the door, but he had counted on the man needing a couple to get him to double over and fit through the tight opening.
"JENNA!" he shouted again as Lee wound up for another hard slam to the gut. This time however, a sudden rumble shook the pod and it was all Marco could do to stay plank straight against the doorway while taking the force of another kick. Lee however, was not so lucky. The momentum of his thrust, along with the sudden shake pushed him forward against the doorway, making him trip over Marco's outstretched form.
"Again!" Marco cried out, as Lee tripped over his bruised body. The entire pod seemed to shake with a second tremor. Lying ramrod straight against the doorway, Marco took another hit as Lee stumbled against him and tripped out the door.
*********************
"Madam, ve ave noticed a very strange occurence in de ships systems, de door of de pod vessel haz been opened manually," came the voice of Mustachio 2, as Jenna walked down the corridor and into the office, Lee's assassin following close behind.
"Yes, we are noticing this and we are trying to be ascertaining the reasoning behind this occuring, but Mr Boss is not answering our questionings," Mustachio 1 continued.
"Madam, ve advise you to please come back to de laboratory. Also, ve advise you to please not move suddenly until de communications are restored thank you," said Mustachio 2.
"I'm on my way," said Jenna as she turned to face the woman standing behind her desk.
"We have to go back to the lab, the technicians reported a breach in the pod," Jenna said to her, making no move to get around the desk.
"That will not be necessary, I shall secure the pod" said the woman, brandishing a long, sharp blade.
"Actually, I'd rather go back to the lab," said Jenna scrambling to her feet.
The assassin leapt over the desk just as Jenna backed away, the silver glint of the assassin's blade barely missing her neck. Undaunted, the woman charged toward Jenna, striking hard at her. It was all Jenna could do to dodge the attacks, as the black haired beauty struck at her again and again. Backing away further, she found herself pressed against a wooden cupboard, the one she stored her various selections of tea in.
"NOW JENNA!" she heard Marco shout in her ear.
"Shit," she muttered, as the assassin's blade whizzed towards her. Quickly, she pulled open one of the cupboard doors, putting the solid wood between her face and the incoming knife.
"Raa!" shouted the assassin as the blade stuck fast in the wood. Leaving it there, she whirled around the makeshift sheild and struck Jenna hard in the stomach with her fist.
"JENNA!" Marco shouted again. But Jenna could barely react as the the assassin punched her again, this time striking her left cheek.
"Again!" she heard Marco cry out before another punch hit her in the gut.
The force of the punch forced her to retreat, her arms held up against the barrage of attacks coming from in front. Stumbling back while shielding herself against the crazed assassin, Jenna suddenly had a flash of brilliance. She kicked out at Lee's assassin, striking true and pushing her away for a moment. That was just enough time for Jenna to turn and run back to the edge of her desk, where she slammed her palm against the side. She never thought she'd have to use it, let alone that it would work, but a soft buzzing sound filled the air and when it stopped, the only sound in the room was the sound of her panting breaths.
*****************
Event Log
TIME: 1025
DATE: 14/9
DESCRIPTION: Authorised organic form targeted and reduced. Reduction 98.5%.
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Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
just a continuation of the entrepreneur storyline, a bit slow but I promise things will get heated up in the coming chapters..