"Kurt, a word.", with a gesture you called the colonel from Dogtown to you.

Surprised that you were out in public, Jago flinched. He immediately retreated into the shadows, leaving Bennett to deal with your whims.

"The colonel asked for privacy.", stepping uneasily from one foot to the other, Bennett blocked the way.

Bored, you looked up at him. And yawned.

"Out of the way.", you said coolly.

A shadow crossed the white face he had had inserted in place of the real skin.

"He said-!"

"Are you denying me entrance? Me?", with a deadly glare shimmering in the (E/C) of your eyes you lowered your head and looked at him through knitted eyebrows.

Bennett flinched.

LI-...", he threw a glance over his shoulder. "He has matters to attend to."

Bored, you willed your eyes, leaned to the side to see past the huge bodyguard and let out a sharp whistle. The light flickered.

Irritated, Kurt raised his head in the VIP area of the Black Sapphire. He had been engrossed in work, as he so often was. Next to him sat a stranger and a woman. You recognised the third guest: the head of the NCPD.

You had to smile in amusement. It was funny how fake some snakes were in this city.

Although Dogtown had been giving hell to every cop who had dared to enter the area since the beginning, the leadership had gone into the net like fish. You knew from a bit of snooping around that Kurt had negotiated a deal with the police department.

The highest ranks were allowed to dine, drink and gamble at half price in the Black Sapphire in exchange for the fact that no cops showed up in the neighbourhood and no one looked into murders or crimes.

And there were invitations to exclusive parties. Of course, that didn't stop debts from piling up. The commissioner had a knack for gambling away money. And not too little of it.

Your eyes met.

With a gesture, you called him to you. He briefly apologised, got up from the table and left the guests with alcohol and small cakes.

The food at Black Sapphire was excellent, so good that the sight of the miniature cakes gave you a craving. Pastries filled with real fruit were a rarity. But they were available here, and not in short supply.

This was not least because, in addition to smuggling weapons, Kurt also had a knack for obtaining luxury goods.

He had a deal with a Spanish gangster clan from Andalusia over on the European continent. They supplied him with mandarins and peaches. The grapes came from Bordeaux, France and at certain times of the year the Germans from the infamous "old land" supplied the highest quality cherries.

All illegal, of course.

In return, they received a lot of money and even more weapons from him.

"You're here.", a hint of surprise hovered in his voice as he placed a hand on your cheek.

Your eyes were still glued to the pastries. The Commissioner took a bite out of an eclair, glazed with dark chocolate and decorated with air-dried rose petals and cherries. You swallowed hard.

"I want one of those.", you murmured, pointing at the French delicacy.

He glanced over his shoulder, snapping his fingers. Jago understood the order, disappeared into the shadows and hurried to the kitchen.

Kurt would never give you one of the pastries that were on the table in front of the guests. His Lady Sapphire always got her own food that no one else had touched before. Except maybe the chef and himself.

"That's not why you're here though.", he realised soberly, but couldn't help smiling.

You sighed wearily.

Your stomach growled. For the first time in months, you weren't just tired, you also felt hungry. Or rather appetite, the desire to eat something.

In the short time that Myers had been dead, your body had changed. Survival mode was switched off. Now you felt strangely normal.

Jago returned with a black plate containing three different types of éclair, one with roses and cherries, one with white chocolate and nuts and your favourite.

Kurt took the plate from his hand and indicated with a nod that both Jago and Bennett should take care of the guests.

Amused, you gave Bennett a grin as he walked past you. He had probably been a little too confident. In the end, you had got what you asked for.

"I spoke to So Mi.", you said, reaching for the first éclair with your fingertips.

The smell of chocolate filled your nose. It was still warm. The head chef had probably made it especially fresh because he was afraid of the rumours about what had happened to the old one after he had served you cold food.

"What did she say?", he asked.

You bit into the pastry, chocolate filling your mouth, spilling over your lips while a soft filling melted your senses.

Kurt immediately caught the chocolate that ran down your chin with his thumbs and licked it off.

You chuckled.

"You can have more if you want~!", you purred with a seductive smile, cleaning your lips with the tip of your tongue.

A growl got stuck in his throat. His grip on the plate tightened.

"What did So Mi say?", he asked to change the subject.

You smiled. Of course he didn't want to take you up on the offer or he would lose control in front of all the guests. As the rest of the eclair disappeared into your mouth, you licked your fingertips clean.

"She has reached the core, the cocoon is open.", you said and took the second piece. "But it's encrypted. With an access code."

His jaw twitched.

"More searching.", he growled. "Like a needle in a haystack."

You savoured the taste of chocolate and fruit mingling on your tongue. A sigh escaped you.

"I'd like something like this for the party.", you mumbled.

"I'll tell Jago. But back to our problem."

You shrugged.

"There's no problem, my dearest Colonel.", you replied with a smile. "Songbird supposedly knows someone who worked for Militech. A Netrunner... colleague. She refuses to call it friendship."

Scepticism appeared in the white of his Kiroshi eyes.

"And if she's bullshitting?", he asked.

Again you shrugged.

"It doesn't cost anything to ask. Besides, she has no reason to lie to me."

"She has every reason."

You took the last piece of pastry off the plate.

"Not any more. We've come to an agreement."

He sucked in a sharp breath.

"On what terms?", he asked.

You winked at him.

"You had your rendezvous with Myers. Now don't get jealous that I'm getting on well with Songbird.", you licked your lips one last time. "Aurore and Aymeric Cassel. French Netrunner twins. Be a dear and look into them for me~?"