She could be seen walking in an area full of grass; there wasn’t a human presence.

  Her head and eyes scanned the clouds; the trees were flowing with Mother Nature's wind.

  Two kilometers away from her house, she stood amongst the grass of seclusion.

  But as she peers her eyes towards the clouds, she can faintly see from a distance an object with slight plasma propulsion.

  Ava raises her hand, palm steady as she places it above her eyes to focus on the ship before placing her hand down.

  The ship soon approaches Ava’s location, resembling a transport, as if six cars were stacked together.

  Gliding through the air with performative grace, it approached near the ground that Ava is on, with landing gears.

  As soon as it completed its landing, it stabilized its pressure; smoke could be seen engulfing the ship before the door opened, revealing a lean man with devoid eyes sporting a suit and white gloves.

  Ava stared at the man, in her off-shoulder velvet dress from NanoJasmine-07, and asked, “You are here to take me to the party, correct?” with eyes of certainty.

  The man in a sleek suit drooped his eyes even more with a reluctant nod. “Yes, that is the most obvious assumption. Your pickup ship is over here. Should we head inside, miss?”

  Ava nodded, and he walked straight to the shuttle, accompanied by the man. Before the two reached the shuttle’s back door, it began to close.

  From the inside, the hull was sleek and pristine; there were some edges and extrusions intended to make the inside more futuristic and modern, lacking the staleness of Sector 451, whilst carrying its comfortable and soothing properties.

  Noise could be heard from the outside; Ava looked at the windows and could deduce that the ionic thrusters were powering; she began to sit on one of the chairs, closing her seatbelt, fully locking herself to a chair.

  Ava could feel a massive amount of pull towards the sky; the ionic thrusters began to rotate, and the ship’s wings began to do their speed aerodynamics.

  The ship glided throughout the sky with enough speed as it slowly approached an altitude higher than the clouds.

  Ava could see the sky, mesmerized by how dark the space is and the greyness of its clouds in the presence of the sun during the afternoon.

  The ship soared throughout the sky with ionic thrusters, feeling as if it were pulling itself away from Ava’s home.

  She felt she was far away from her place, and she had intuited that it would take an hour of flight without traffic to arrive at the destination; the distance between her home place and destination felt like moving to another country above the soil.

  After all, the continent Ava was on resembled America in its size and places.

  The ship was suspended in the air, maintaining altitude level with advanced pressure technology to keep the environment nominal and safe, including the passenger on the seat who is wearing a seat belt.

  After a long while of idling inside the shuttle, a voice could be heard from the speakers with an announcement, “We are near our destination; prepare for landing."

  Ava's head tilted to the ears as she angled her head upward, and then the gravity began to tilt slightly.

  As the ship tilted, Ava could see from the side windows and could see a city with a variety of lights, and by the time she realized it, it was nighttime.

  The city was tall, the people were in suits, and everything there was golden but only artificiality; there was even a large fountain with water being sprayed upwards where water would go downward inside a ring of water, floating with floating drones with advanced sonic technology to keep suspended in the air as they flowed downward back to the fountain like bubbles.

  There were even holograms whose scanlines resembled a golden glow, the architecture was even sleeker, and the streets were not gold but silver; everything was glamorous and merry-go-round.

  People in suits, except those in blue-collar jobs, whose eyes are dry with blacks, walking around, eating burgers and stuff, while the display is glamorous; every building there is a workplace; there was even a building with a futuristic poster of a female with a dress whose hair is brown with silver cybernetic eyes.

  While a female with a diamond-like face shape in a platinum-golden dress could be seen sitting on a bench with silver, giving her the shoulder lean like supermodels.

  A drone could be seen, using its computer vision to scan the area with silver and golden plating.

  It was a lot like Las Vegas but grand in its majesty, with beam lights gracing the skies. Moments passed by when Ava would look towards a tower on the windows. Grand but colorful

  The man with sleek hair and a suit, whose eyes are devoid of life, said, “Welcome to the City of Gomorrah, where money and fashion are, and where all the deluxe things flow. A place where supermodels and the elites thrive to their greasy munch to their tight” with a robotic monotone voice.

  Ava could viscerally sense the glamour and majesty of the tower; its tower eclipsed the whole city.

  About 4 kilometers tall, with a spiral geometry around it, which had windows on it with golden lightning and a display featuring a vivid animation of a flowing substance of gold.

  The tallest building, dwarfing the multitude of nearby construction, is often prioritized by robots and construction workers, as if glamour and beauty are the only things holding the city together in its greed.

  In contrast to Sector 451, with its monoliths giving off the dreadful feeling of being an ant in a world of power and insignificance.

  The clouds were murky black as the moon shone from atop; both the tower and moon mixed to make a spectacular view of Babylon, not hiding from its excess.

  The ship continues to glide around the tower with a grand structure, and from a vantage point of the shuttle’s window, there were people partying, some ladies swimming inside the pool while beam lights are being beamed on the sky on a twirl.

  The juxtaposition of both skimpy ladies and well-dressed men gives off a jarring feel to Ava. The man who served as a flight attendant also joined Ava, looking out the window of the tower.

  “Don’t feel mistaken… This is the place where CEOs, celebrities, models, or influencers can be free."

  From this view, the ratio of males to females is higher; these men were in power.

  It began to glide around the tower before stabilizing its path toward the drop pad with males. After the tourist view, men with dark-blue blouses with a cap were holding a marshalling wand to assist the landing.

  It began to make its landing on the landing pod before turning its ionic thrusters down to zero, where the back door opens.

  Ava started to walk out of the shuttle. In front of Ava was Maya, as usual, in her white blouse with a black blazer, with her hands on her back, her hair in an updo, maintaining the neon streak.

  “You are quite late; I assume the puzzle was hard?” She said with an authoritative voice, with two men in suits accompanying her.

  Ava answered, “Yeah, the puzzle took a bit of time, and no, the puzzle was not hard—not at all."

  “I have encountered the same kind of puzzles before."

  Maya arched her head upward with a smile and then a teasing tone, "Well, if the puzzle has been delaying you, you could have asked me for a pick-up location and skipped the whole puzzle part."

  Her hands on her waist, as she turned around and began walking, both security men guarded both Ava and Maya down the landing pod of the penthouse.

  Ava, with her particular type of hair and dress, was quite the eye to reckon with; men looked at her, and their eyes cashed with money, with a smile showing their teeth.

  While others are distracted from seeing both of them.

  Maya led the way with Ava trailing behind. Maya looked back while walking straight, and she uttered the words, “Seeing you makes me feel mixed inside, Ava."

  Ava responded with a confused face, "Why? What part of me is sending you mixed signals of sorts?"

  Maya responded, “I don’t know…. I can’t tell.

  “You just can be a bit shallow, can't you?”

  “Well, you just can’t help yourself, I suppose."

  Ava became even a bit more confused. “Shallow? What do you mean by "shallow"? I don’t understand."

  Maya rolled her eyes, stopped, and started to stare at a female with silver hair and brown eyes being appreciated by a man whose hair was receding. Maya stared at her, to which Ava followed and was mesmerized.

  The female was tall with a voluptuous figure, with eyes that were as brown as the rarest dwarf star in the galaxy, fashioning a floral cocktail dress with lace extending to her neck. Her arms are equipped with lace extending to her elbow with black stilettos; she looked every bit as expensive as the females around.

  Maya then said, “But not as shallow and vapid as her; try to observe her, Ava," and then she disappeared from the scene by walking off.

  Ava just watched both the lady and the man mingling with people.

  As Ava looked at her, a mental analysis was performed between her and someone.

  “Why does she look like a person I know? I remember seeing her in magazines or posters when I am bored."

  “Gucci or Vogue or maybe other fashionable brands”

  “But why does something about her tingle?"

  Soon Maya appeared behind Ava’s screen with an agape mouth. “You have been wondering who that female is and why she gives me the off-putting vibes? "

  “Allow me to tell you," she sticks out her head, whispering to her ears, "a secret…" her hand touching her shoulders.

  “That female is Brianna Maddison, a former supermodel now hanging out with wealthy dudes."

  “I am sure that guy is enjoying himself with her, quite the power dynamic—correct?"

  Then Maya slid her hands around the shoulder as she whispered her words, “But what if I tell you… She is not just some gold digger?"

  “What if I tell you she is connected to the orphanage?”

  “Allow me to disclose this one, one BIG SECRET."

  “She sold her child for an egregious offer after she got pregnant, and that child would be named Thea. I am pretty sure you have seen her, the one with platinum hair."

  Ava’s eyes dropped, her neutral mouth gesture drooped low, and her hands weakened with inertia, appearing to flail.

  Ava stared in shock, her eyes observing her.

  Maya then whispered with a mocking tone, “And you know what she does with it? She just buys herself some fashionable lipstick, some anti-aging pills, dresses, and some nice sequin dresses with wraps."

  “Heh… I guess if you want to be fashionable and expensive, you are going to have to stoop that low."

  Ava then slowly looked at Maya and asked, “Where is your proof? And why is she here?”

  Maya then steps back, where she moves in front of Ava, and says with her petite figure, “She is not the only figure involved with Genesis Innovation; a couple of socialites had sold their child for an advantage."

  “I don’t know how your company accrued a lot of money, but it just seems less far-fetched to me that the research behind your work got its funding to get its babies."

  "Rather, they are bent on accruing a lot of children at their eugenics cost."

  “And guess what? A lot of the socialites are also here, too; the models here are just for decorations."

  Ava listened before staring at the lady smooching with the man shamelessly. The man’s hands were possessive around the waist of a female, and the female seemed to be smiling, arching upward, as if he was breathing on her porcelain-fair skin.

  As Ava focused her senses, she could hear, “Very good…” from the male, with a slow giggle from the lady.

  Ava explored around the penthouse, the strippers, and the powerful figures being decadent.

  “This isn’t some normal penthouse party; this is a party of the most degenerate individuals."

  Maya then began to walk and said, “Follow me," and they would encounter two models in luxurious bikinis touching Henry on his couch, the black-haired escort leaning her head on Henry’s shoulder while he was in his unbuttoned shirt, chugging a drink with sheer pleasure.

  "Ahahahahahahahah," he screamed with joy as the two ladies cozied up to him.

  Ava arrived and saw the whole scene; her face was filled with disgust, clenching her hands into fists.

  Her defiant behavior was exuding secretly through her clenched hands, so it was being noticed.

  Ava said, "Well, if it isn’t Mr. Moneybags, enjoying himself with a few bankrupt females who are using their beauty for a small tip of cash in their hands."

  “You seem to put together a charity of degraded individuals over yourself."

  Henry looked straight, unfazed, at Ava’s eyes; he looked at her with indifference. "Oh, don’t worry, ladies, we have this stuck-up cold princess in our midst," he said while cozying up with the two ladies.

  As Henry placed his wine on the table with a smile, “So, the daddy issue girl finally arrives; it takes so long to solve the puzzle… A mathematical puzzle created by a few computer scientists, from random to perfect, with my icon on it.

  “Hehehehehe, how does it feel to be the smartest in that app and then come here and have nothing to do but watch me flirt with two? "

  “Sexy babes?”

  “Feels like a rush of dopamine, amirite, babes? ”

  Henry shouldered the blonde-haired female with green eyes, whose bikini was black fabric with stitches around her cleavage. The lady answered, "Oh, you are definitely right, Mr. Playboy." She definitely slid her hand through his chest until reaching the unbuttoned blouse.

  "Oh, you are good; just look at how hot you are, and the fact that you are big in money makes my breasts perk even more."

  “Try to prove this nobody wrong," she said, using her thumbs and hand and pointing at Ava, "by giving me a bunch of cash and inserting it into my breast," and she shook her breast towards Henry with a smile, causing Ava’s face to flinch and her hands to clench—completely annoyed.

  Henry laughed, "Ahahahahahahaha," and so did the black-haired model.

  Ava’s face turned to rage; she began to make her steps, hands clenched as she began to approach her.

  Ava, with rage in her eyes, begins to make her way as she raises her fist, about to throw a punch at the blonde-haired female flirting with Henry.

  The blonde-haired head turned around, where a small smile would make a slight arc in her smile as she instinctively held Henry.

  Henry then loudened his voice the moment Ava was about to swing a fist at her, "Wooo-ooohhh," and both men grabbed Ava’s shoulder, restraining her.

  Henry held the blonde on his shoulder with a hand on his shoulder and then teased Ava, “Oh no, what happened? Did the cold princess just miss her attack? "

  Henry leaned his head forward, “Ahhhhhh haahaaa," with his two arms shouldering two models, his face flashed with laughter.

  Ava grits her teeth as she is being restrained by two men in suits with sunglasses, forcing her to kneel as she looks straight up at the person on the couch; her face shows bitterness and rage, "Arghhhhhhhh."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Henry then turned his head towards the Black female on her arm. “Hold on, Xia, let me take care of this."

  Henry stood from his couch; he then made a swing punch to Ava’s cheeks. After punching her, he then said, “There, now he is calmer; let’s get back to fun. Girls”

  Ava, after getting punched by Henry, makes an effort to calm herself as she breathes in and out while being restrained by two men in suits.

  Ava was panting hard, and Henry was busy smooching with the body and lips of a curvy model with black hair, whose eyes were grey. Henry and the black-haired female engaged in a passionate kiss before Henry plucked her lips away from the lady's before laying his head on the headrest of his couch.

  Henry then arched his head and looked at Ava. "Oh, my bad. Hopefully, my punch doesn’t ruin that pretty, perfect face of yours; it was to set you straight."

  Henry then bent his spine to use his hands to grab a wine, which he got, and then poured it into a glass—he drank it, chugging it with spills ruining the upper part of his unbuttoned blouse.

  Ava grinned, her teeth and eyes straight, completely restrained by the strength of the two males in suits, completely sitting in her velvet dress, by the augmented muscles of two males.

  Henry disrespectfully disengages his arms with the two beautiful ladies, placing his hands on his knees.

  “So… Here is what I can see. This part was facilitated by me and my second in command; you know who she is."

  Ava grinned as she was kneeling on the floor facing him. “Get to the point, you scum! ”

  Henry drank his glass of wine, his eyes closed, his mouth drooping as he shook his head. “That is not how you treat your superiors, darling…”

  “I am not approving of this behavior." His mouth was of performative sadness; in here, he felt like a spoiled rich teenager enjoying his time while being witty.

  “Tsk tsk tsk…”

  “Ask a proper question, I like, lest I go ahead and play with my baddest of b*tches." Henry places his mouth on the blonde-haired female's neck. “You really know how to dress the part, though. I like you. I want to, like, bang and give our child to that generation because I hate to care for some child that I didn’t bring to the world."

  The blonde-haired female laughed; she placed her hand on her belly. “I know, right! Look at the stitches around my bikini; they are masking the skin; I just can’t help."

  “But imagine if I reveal them…”

  Ava grinned her teeth, completely restrained like a voyeur watcher, her eyes staring at Henry with two models in agony—she could only seethe.

  Ava felt so humiliated; it could be seen from her face, “Grrrrrrrr….. Aghhhhh," in muffled tones.

  Ava began to control herself; she stared down in shame before looking up and asking, “Why did you host this party?”

  Henry was busy playing with the stitches on the blonde hair’s bikini, stitches tingling as he made out with the tongue of that model, completely distracted so that he couldn’t hear Ava’s words.

  Ava then loudens her voice, “Answer me, why did you host this party and invite these people?" completely pausing Henry with his smooching, so he slowly pushed the model to the side of the couch, completely dazzling her. Her blonde hair was ruffled as she placed her arm above the couch.

  “Oooo, I can’t believe that f*cker… held some wine inside his mouth and kissed me with it. Heheehehe."

  Henry’s head goes back and forth as he looks at Ava. “To have a party and celebrate, of course, giving them a place for them to dance, for contributing to the glory of the place you work in."

  “Aka, the machine world adoption center.”

  Ava could only grumble as she looked up at Henry on his couch with two ladies completely enjoying themselves near him.

  Henry then proceeded to say, “I have a proposition though…” he said with a drunken straightforwardness.

  Ava sneered with anger in her face, pushing her forward while restrained, “What proposition?! Bullshit! I am not working for you! Ever!”

  Ava uses the abilities of her biology to hack the security robots, but her mind could only see a 16-bit laughing face being spammed in her mind the moment she connected to their systems.

  Henry tightens his arm around the model with black hair and grey eyes, whose cheekbones are more prominent than Ava's, enjoying her presence while ignoring Ava’s bursts and the blonde-haired female who has a rounder jawline.

  Ava was so humiliated that she began to show a faint simmer of vulnerability. “Why? Why did Maya set me up?"

  Unfortunately, Maya couldn’t be seen anywhere near their presence.

  Ava then screamed, "MAYA, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!”

  “MAYA!!!” to which Henry would only smile devilishly. Two ladies were confused; the black-haired one asked, “What’s her problem?” having no idea what she just did, to which the blonde-haired one answered, "Oh, it’s just a girl moment that we all have to outgrow, heh."

  The blond-haired fellow arched her head on the couch and completely dozed off.

  Maya arrived, where she coldly grabbed her wolf-cut hair, pulling backward with force; her eyes were serious, and she began to explain, "Oh, you know why. I set you up—it's purely business. Anyway, what my boss is from the help of your cybernetics.

  “Lest I use the data I have and expose the children’s identities and the nature of Genesis Innovation, ending your journey or whatever it is you are doing there, and there would be no time for you and Father's work. We will put you as the whistleblower, and you will be hunted."

  Maya then whispered her cold words, “Or who knows, something worse will happen; maybe decommissioned?”

  Ava began to worry; her face turned from a burst of cries into sadness before turning into a brush of coldness. “Okay—I will, but what about these people? Why invite them?"

  Henry looked at Maya, nodding to her, and Maya explained, “So you will understand what you are up against, or you will understand the depravity of the people… You should up your game, Ava." Maya then coldly pulled her hair down five times, completely bullying her.

  Henry then teased, “Pretty sure these are the people your pops has been indirectly dealing with behind the shadows when it comes to the ridiculous acquisition of a child like you."

  Ava then aggressively attacked Henry and screamed, “Don’t you dare ever MENTION my father, you sleazy tw*t!" but was stopped by two men with their augmented strength as she crumbled on the ground—more humiliated than ever.

  Maya walked straight to Ava, whose hair was held by two men, and slapped her, reddening it slightly before it slowly turned back to its pristine skin.

  Ava began to falter; she looked straight at Maya to engage her system, but was completely foiled when the connection was spoofed through honeypot technology.

  Ava began to feel hopeless; they had studied her and had improved upon that design, creating even more noise in her mind.

  Ava grinned her teeth as she looked up at Maya, and she began to open a voice interface in her mind to contact rescue or assistance for her father, for the attacker robot in the vanity.

  Maya soon pulled a pistol, reloading it as she pressed it to her head. "Talk. You will agree to this, Ava. This isn’t personal, but I will do what I do." Maya pressed the barrel, and it felt like a venomous weight just pressed on her temple. “Come on."

  The two ladies watched, and they were scared, while Henry seemed unbothered.

  Ava bit her teeth, her eyes closed, her panic turned to resignation, “Fine… Fine, I will comply!”

  Ava opened her eyes. “What do you want with my cybernetics?”

  Henry then steadied himself before answering with a professional tone, “I want your expertise, Ava. I could offer you a million credits or something if you could assist me with cybernetic research with success."

  Ava turned in confusion. “Huh, I don’t understand. Aren't the workers in your corporation capable?”

  Henry then answered, "Yeah, but they aren’t capable of fixing some of the bugs in the machine."

  Henry then answered, "Yet you are the only one here who is deeply involved with cybernetics; you breathe it in, you do, Ava."

  Maya contributes to the exchanges, withholding the pistol from her temple, her hand on her waist.

  “Our raid on the research facility was thwarted by someone; we made some deals and gained exclusive data on the children and their biology, especially their relatives."

  Ava listened and asked, “Who could that thwarter be?" She proceeded to entertain the conversation.

  Ava answered, "It's Cassandra, one of the people Veronica used to admire back in the day, aka the legendary femme fatale."

  “Took down my teammates, sparing only me."

  Ava asked with curiosity, “But why?”

  Maya answered, “We don’t know either."

  Henry commented, “Wait, Cassandra, I have heard pieces about her; she was quite a star back in the day. I heard she retired."

  “Oh, now that I think about it, I do hear of her, but according to the network, she is lying low now! ” He loudens his voice, where other patrons would catch wind of before returning to their neutral state.

  “Ahahahahahah”

  Maya used her pistol and aimed at the floor next to Ava before pressing the handle, silencing Henry.

  “That’s not relevant, sir."

  “We tried to access data on her, but we only know her name. She had connections that allowed her information to be obscured, but it is only known amongst the upper echelons of elites."

  “Only rumors of her legendary status”

  Ava could only hold her mouth, trying not to contribute anything that could lead to her endangerment.

  Ava then began to speak, “The date she traded you with is filtered… Then, with clarity in her speech,

  Maya responded, “Correct, we only have information on who is behind Project Cybergenesis."

  Henry then looked straight at Ava with a proposal in mind: “How about this? You help me, and I will use my power to bust those kids out of that research facility and give them the life they deserve."

  “Only if, and if only, the cybernetic project I am working on would—oh, ahem, I mean our laboratory secret project—succeed."

  Ava was breathing in and out; her oxygen was panting, “Secret project… Cybernetic project? What do you mean?”

  Henry’s smile became twisted. “Help my transition to becoming the ultimate cyborg." His eyes began to reveal their manicness, and his smile began to reveal its twistedness.

  Ava begrudgingly accepted. She looked at Maya. “You can stop trying to intimidate me with the gun now. I swear I will work with others in this whole cybernetic project; just free the kids—please."

  Ava then asked, “How long will this project take?”

  Maya answered, “How long will the project take to finish? About two years, but with your help, it would take only 8 months."

  “Why does it have to be this long? Isn't conventional technology created within days or months, unless you are considering research?"

  Henry answered, “Correct, Ava, I don’t want engineers who just build cybernetics for others; I want someone who breathes the new world to do it for me."

  “Help me ascend to godhood! And I will make miracles unlike and make me the HANDSOME HOTTEST POWERFUL MAN ON THE PLANET!” He began to laugh with manicness in his eyes, his true nature finally revealed.

  The two ladies then begin to cozy up with Henry, cuddling him and giving him kisses as if they are enamored with the Playboy’s grandiosity.

  “Wow, Henry, you have such an ambition; it’s making me go crazy for you." The blonde-haired woman touches his chest with her hand.

  Henry then abrasively said, “Of course I am; I am the life of this party, and I am about to be the life of the whole planet soon!”

  “I am as charming as I allow you to think of my ambition."

  The blonde-haired female touched his chest; she slowly sauntered her head and bit it. "Mmmmmmm, I like that."

  The blonde-haired female said, “When you do open up, though, do tell me about this secret project of yours."

  Both of them flirted with each other, each lady on the coach doing their escort role.

  Maya then looked at the security guard, raised her pistol up in the sky, and pressed the handle, revealing the true nature of the pistol. “This isn’t really a real pistol, by the way; it’s a fake one that fires energy that feels heavy and loud," she said as she rolled it and threw it in the pool.

  Where one of the girls in the pool would swim to it only to take possession and start roleplaying, “Hey friends, look what I got! A pistol, bang, bang, bang!”

  Ava was finally released; she bit her teeth, and her eyes were straight as she walked off from Henry’s proximity, as he was busy flirting with the models. She began to approach the silver-haired lady, cozying up with the man.

  Maya then grabbed her shoulder and disclosed, “Don’t do anything reckless; control yourself."

  Ava listened and nodded before recomposing herself; she walked towards the lady without anger but with curiosity. “Hey, I want to ask something about you, Brianna."

  Brianna’s head turned, responding with cliché disdain, "Huh, who gives you the right to ask me that question… psst."

  Ava then began to speak with awkwardness, “I do. Do you have any idea about the child you gave birth to?”

  Brianna used her hand and then disrespectfully swiped her hand off the air of Ava’s face. “Go away! You are nobody; I don’t want anything to do with you. Even if I have a child, I wouldn’t even talk about it."

  “It’s nothing, not even relevant."

  “Stop sticking your nose in things that are of lesser matter."

  Brianna held Tarik’s arm. “Come on, Tarik, let’s get out of here."

  He followed her, making a forceful gesture a few steps away from Brianna’s arm; soon, Tarik became angry that Brianna was forcing him.

  “Alright, what is it this time? You are acting out of place, you dumb bitch!” he said to Brianna, where he was ready to lash out.

  Ava’s head shakes, and she says, “This is about Thea, Brianna. I want to know your involvement with her."

  Tarik then condescendingly locked into Ava, “Be quiet, you dumb bloke," before realizing how mesmerizing Ava is with her velvet dress and her figure and face.

  Tarik then begins to speak, “Ohhhhh, is this your friend Brianna? Did you bring another bitch to entertain me and satisfy me with a new Gucci bag or a sequin dress?"

  Tarik begins to grip his hand on Brianna’s waist with possession, making her cling to his side while staring at Ava with vanity.

  Ava then looked at him with a slightly seductive smile, "Sorry, sugar, but my business is with this lady alone, unless of course you are willing to help me."

  Ava’s seductive face turned to robotic indifference. “You are of no interest."

  Tarik was incensed from the umbrage that he forcefully held Brianna’s waist away from Ava and then walked off with a bitter tone on his face.

  Brianna followed along.

  Ava watched with hopelessness as she returned near Henry’s vicinity and forcefully took wine, pouring it into a glass and drinking it.

  She drank two wines, feeling disappointment, ignoring the glorious and octane nature of the party in the penthouse of the largest tower.

  “That was an unpleasant experience. I forgot to keep in mind that this whole party is unpleasant with their filthy relatives or parents."

  “I thought people sold their child because of hopelessness."

  Henry answered with a dismissive tone, “Don’t complain; you are also one of them."

  Ava got angered, so she pointed at him and said, “Yeah, except I am one of the kids, you spoiled, compensating snot!”

  Henry bit his teeth before calming himself. “Hmmm, but you are lucky, aren’t you? Unlike those kids, you get to experience normalcy and flex your abilities to be able to garner recognition, while your siblings…" He lifted his finger and gestured with two fingers to make a point gun

  “Are just doing their time suffering as lab rats! Shame on you! You didn’t get to experience the crushing reality of those people!”

  “Don’t play morality with me; as a matter of fact, I say both you and I are blessed. I have my riches and power given, and you get to exercise your ability in the social environment rather than a research laboratory."

  “Hehehehehe, one card for another."

  Ava’s face began to blush with redness; she held her clenched hands before admitting with resignation, with eyes closed and head looking down, "Yeah, I am a lucky one; I get to experience normalcy with privileges other than my dear fellows who are suffering in the organization."

  Ava's tears begin to pour from their eyes. “I could have suffered with them…. But instead, I live a life of normalcy; just don’t disseminate the leaked information. I want to save them."

  Henry’s face was empathetic with a dismissive response, “Stop weeping, we are at a party, you know the deal, just use your super cool robot powers for once, and I will make miracles," ending with a hand flipping towards her direction while cozying up with two models.

  Maya, while nearby just surveying the party, nodded, and Ava asked, “So what do we do then?”

  Henry makes a smile towards Ava, “Just enjoy the party, hang out with anyone you like here, reveal the fruits, pasta, or whatever munch you have, and delight yourself to the fullest!”

  Ava contrived a smile, walking away and starting to mingle with the relatives of the kids and random socialites connected to them somehow.

  She nodded her head, gracing the social environment with a glass in her hand, learning nothing of value.

  Her eyes looked down, where she was reminded of Beatrice, but she could clearly see how rotten the people and conversations would be about the gossip of other people.

  The idea that the children they sold or were somewhat indirectly involved with never crossed their minds.

  Ava would be amongst socialites; as she stood there talking with a man in a tuxedo, making small talk with her, she would look out at the sky, and her eyes would widen at a sudden, enigmatic realization.

  Ava then looked at the man and apologized fervently, “My apologies; it was nice talking to you, but I have to go do something. I might have forgotten something."

  The man said, "Okay."

  Ava asked herself and her mind, “What did I learn?" Her mind went through a recursion, and she became stuck and overwhelmed.

  “Everyone here is as sick as Henry," she ruminates in her mind, reaching the same simple conclusion she would have thought of.

  “I hate them… Every single one of them!” she cried out in her thoughts.

  “This party in the most empty penthouse feels like an artificiality."

  “I hate this. I want to leave."

  Ava watched the people who were partying in the penthouse hosted by Henry; her dark off-shoulder velvet dress alongside her wolf haircut would observe the irony of wealth and aristocracy in its pure decadent manner. The jarring nature of the party was enough to overwhelm her senses.

  Ava then walked back to Henry’s proximity, and she looked at the two models who were cozying up to Henry.

  She looked at the female and asked the blonde-haired one, “What is your name? ”

  The blonde girl tilted her face, her hair tousled around the couch, answering Ava’s question, “Dana, my name is Dana. Do your best to remember that she had a calculated, amused smile on her face.

  Ava looked straight at Dana with a nod. “Alright… I think I will."

  “Have you ever had a child before?”

  Dana responded shamelessly, giggling with spasms like in her head, "Psst, I am not as dumb as these people are; I always have a contraceptive, ahahaha."

  She then looked at Henry as her hand touched Henry’s side neck. "Right, babe?”

  Henry smiled as he continued to caress the blonde fondly with sexual implications.

  Ava then looked straight at the black-haired escort with grey eyes. “What about you?”

  She aggressively responded, “Huh, me? I got nothing on me, girl!”

  “As Dana said, I use contraceptives too. And I am still the baddest of them all."

  Henry smirked as his arm shouldered Xia’s shoulder. “That’s right, this is the baddest of us all here in this coach, hahahaha."

  Henry makes an arc in his smile while shouldering with two ladies, “You are trying too hard, Ava; just drop it and enjoy the party."

  Ava got angry. “What am I supposed to do at this party then?!! There is nothing but filthy people like you!”

  Henry looked at Ava, and then he turned to Maya. “There is a buffet here, right? Show her."

  Maya nodded, where she pointed her hand to the buffet.

  Maya would then begin to elaborate with her speech, “We have carbonara, pizza, cookies, lasagna, pineapple juice, bolognese, and many others; we also have some of the most expensive ones."

  Maya continues to list a bunch of stuff, saying, “Especially with crabs whose shells have been removed with butter sauce," igniting Ava’s face with excitement, and she took off inside the penthouse.

  Ava rushed to it, where she started picking food from the buffet and then eating at the table, where she began chewing on them.

  Henry glanced at Ava, smiling, and said, “The bait should keep her distracted… Now the game begins,” chillaxing with two ladies.

  Henry then asked Maya, “So we finally got Ava on our side now? Fully, not just as a trophy but as a worthy ally. Now, what should I do now, especially with the denizens?”

  He glanced at the people partying in the penthouse.

  Maya answered, “Hmm, let’s see. We brought them here to gain an upper hand or insight regarding them. She spoke to them, but they didn’t provide anything of value."

  Henry then touched his lapel. “It’s expected, Maya. Of course, they won’t like her probing around; they are in public, trying to maintain a face."

  “Though I do enjoy when a perfect girl gets a little tinge of carnality…. There is almost a reward factor to that."

  Eventually, Henry stood up; he looked straight at the two females. “Stay there; I am just going to do a little mingling." Dana and Xia nodded with a robotic smile, but they were relentless in having Henry on their side.

  They stood up and made their way to his proximity, but Maya blocked them with her hand. “Do you hear my superior’s words? Stay put!”

  The two ladies make a disgruntled face.

  Henry approached the lady with an elite air. Brianna looked at him; her eyes were of interest and lust, while Tarik glanced at Brianna, noticing her looking at Henry.

  Henry asked politely, “Excuse me, is your name Brianna? Could I trouble you for a bit?" With a calculated smile, he reached out his open palm, his other hand on his back. Maya, who was blocking two ladies, said, “Just wait," with a stern attitude on her face.

  Brianna giggles, even appreciating how prominent his cheekbones and the hunter-like nature of his brown eyes are while still maintaining youthfulness. Soon, Brianna would go macroscopic, appreciating his frame, which is 6 feet tall with fair skin and sleek hair.

  Henry pulls out his charming smile and a hand, emphasizing his softness. “Now, now, don’t be shy—do you want to hang out with me for a while? As for your partner, I can trade two ladies for you."

  Brianna blushed as she clasped her hand at the level of her waist, where she said, “Of course, anything to be with you, darling."

  Tarik listened and answered, “Brianna! What are you doing? Wait—Henry, you are going to give me two ladies for this one? That’s ridiculous."

  Henry’s face turned to indifferent shallowness, proclaiming, “See for yourself."

  Henry then turned, signaling Maya, who was blocking the two ladies, that she should stop blocking them, and when she said, "Go," both escorts began to move.

  Two ladies in their unique luxurious swimsuits: one had black hair with grey irises, and one was a blonde with a round jawline. They both had very model-like bodies.

  The man’s eyes cashed with money, and she was completely distracted for a second. Soon, the two ladies began to touch the man, their hands touching his. “Hey, mister, want to hang out with the two of us? ” Dana asked while the two ladies escorted the man away.

  Tarik answered, "Ooohhh, of course, please do; I will be so happy to accompany the two of you."

  “Brianna, it’s nice knowing you, but I will go ahead and enjoy my new distractions."

  Leaving the two alone

  Henry walked with Brianna, Brianna giggling, “Ohhhh, you are so full of cash and power that you hosted a party because you wanted to."

  Henry said, "Ohohoho, of course."

  Henry then touched her waist, his grip tightening, and whispered, “Though if someone were to accidentally have a child with you, especially if that man is rich, what would you do?”

  Brianna pondered, her eyes rolling, “If I were to accidentally have a child with someone… Huh, no way, I don’t fit the requirements to be a proper parent—no way, that is inconceivable."

  “I do have a few trivial memories of giving my child a sum of money. I think it was an orphanage, but I was a parent. Accidental pregnancy, babe."

  “Why do you ask?”

  Henry smiled and answered, “I am just a guy who wears contraceptives, of course… I have to prepare contingencies in case I get loose with you, because I can’t help myself with you around me."

  Brianna smiled and tilted her head. “Oh, I see you are hungry for me. Why don’t we stave it off, but only if you get me what I want?"

  Henry answered with an arrogant, calculated tone, “With pleasure."

  Leaving Ava with her eating habits, using the glucose she gains, and thinking about her stuff.

  Ava felt disappointed; she returned to her house after hours of spending wastefully at the party to feel even more lonely and crushed and, worst of all, empty.

  Her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling—pondering the nature of her existential crisis, feeling powerless and outsmarted, and even violated.

  As she lay there powerless, all she could do was stare at the ceiling reflecting her abyss before shutting her eyes.