[fontsize][b]Risky Business[/b[[/fontsize]

[fontsize][b]Chapter 1: Beyond the Beef[/b][/fontsize]

Cold.

That was the only thing Cetea T'Zumo could feel as she hung upside down from a large chain wrapped around her ankles. She could not tell how long she had been in what appeared to be a freezer, but from the frost coating her body, it had been too long. Groaning, she felt her head ache from the blood that had been rushing to her brain, but as she tried to move her arms, she found that her entire body was wrapped in a sheet of plastic, and that movement was virtually impossible.

"This is bad... Very bad..." Cetea muttered to herself, her teeth chattering. She was having a hard time remembering what had happened, but now.... Now it wasn't important, she was likely to freeze to death before a memory could be recalled.

===

[i]One hour earlier...

Lobby of the Ultra Luxe Casino

New Vegas, Nevada, Post-War Wasteland[/i]

Cetea was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room of the Ultra Luxe casino and fine diner, waiting. She wore her usual ensemble of black, strap style boots, black leather slacks, a white long sleeved shirt rolled up at the wrists, a black, sleeveless leather jacket with straps to close it, and black, fingerless gloves. The only thing radically different about her appearance was that her skin was not light blue, but a pale white, and her facial structure was that of a Japanese-American. This appearance was completed with short, spiky black hair.

There were a few reasons why Cetea had been waiting for over three hours for someone to escort her to the owner of the casino. She had come to the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout in search of allies for a growing Assassin Order of Interferences, and her search had seemed futile in the beginning stages. There was nothing in the Mojave except death, and sand. This changed, however, once she arrived to New Vegas.

New Vegas, the crown jewel of the Mojave Wasteland, a city untouched during the nuclear war that scorched the earth, it was a city where power was an obvious currency, and those without it were quickly forgotten. Cetea had found one group of individuals that would suit the medical needs of the Order: The Followers of the Apocalypse. A faction of doctors who were dedicated to making the wasteland a better place for everyone. Although they faced intense scrutiny by most in the Mojave, making things better would eliminate the need for criminal vices that fueled the new world's economy.

Cetea, in the first stages of forming the alliance, met privately with the faction leader, Julie Farkas, a kind woman who worked with what little resources she had. Cetea had slowly broke her in to the revelation of the interference multiverse, and though she did not believe her at first. Once Cetea had shown her the advanced weapons of her own universe, she eventually believed her.

In the end, the two came to an agreement: Cetea would negotiate with all three of the New Vegas Strip's casinos and get them to supply the Followers with much needed supplies, and they would in turn assist the Assassin Order with any of their medical needs. It was a simple task, Cetea thought, and she had nothing to lose. She thought of how much Azumi would be impressed with her once she was finished, and she used that image as motivation to succeed.

Suddenly, Cetea was snapped out of her thoughts when a man in a tuxedo and white masquerade mask cleared his throat loudly. "Mortimer will see you now, miss." The man said, his tone sophisticated.

Nodding, Cetea sat up and followed the man as he lead her through the casino's bar section, then to the hotel reception. As they made a left into an elevator, Cetea began to think about how she would handle the negotiation. She then silently cursed herself for not planning that part out, and her feeling of nervousness began to intensify once the elevator door opened on the fifth floor. The man led Cetea once more to an elaborately designed door, and stood beside the door to open it for her. Cetea said a quick word of thanks before entering the hotel room.

The inside of Mortimer's room was extravagantly decorated, with richly colored silk lining the walls, and blood red wallpaper set with gold thorn patterns only served to hint that the owner of the room was fabulously wealthy. Sitting at a table in a pearl white kitchen was, as Cetea assumed, Mortimer, a man dressed in a tuxedo, top hat, and with a small waxed mustache. On the table were two plates, each with a slice of steak.

"Come, come, take a seat miss, I was told that you were sent by the Followers for... negotiations on a trade agreement, correct?" Said Mortimer, "I would be happy to work out an agreement with those delightful people. They a renowned supplier of various medical supplies, and one can never have too much of those."

Cetea took a seat across from Mortimer and looked down at her steak. She cut off a small piece and took a bite, mostly to be polite. Although the steak itself tasted better than anything she had ever eaten before. Quickly swallowing the bite, she cleared her throat. "Yes, yes.... I think we could think of a suitable agreement. I propose that the White Glove Society supply the Followers with a regular shipment of higher quality food than their radiated supplies, and they will in turn supply you with their medical supplies as well." Said Cetea, and she began to sweat slightly as Mortimer stared at her.

"You are a smart girl, and while I cannot completely agree with handing over five star meals for a few mere stim-paks, I can promise that our shipments will be.... Better, than what they are used to. For we are trying to push for a new type of meat.... At least some of us are, others are opposed to this plan." Said Mortimer, his tone slowly turning bitter. He seemed to forget about Cetea as he stared at the steak before him. Cetea remained silent, waiting for Mortimer to finish.

"Of course you do not know what I am talking about, but you have already tasted our newest dish. The meat of a human." Said Mortimer casually, and Cetea looked down at her steak with an expression of horror.

"You... What...?" Cetea mumbled, barely believing that she had just eaten a dead human. She then became aware that she was becoming steadily more light headed. "What...? What did you put in this....?" She mumbled, falling out of the chair as the world became blurry.

"I have drugged the meat, miss. Your allies will get their food, and you will serve a greater purpose." Said Mortimer, smiling, "We need a main course for the big meal tonight, where the White Glove Society will mark today as the day we return to cannibalism!"

Cetea, in a daze, brought up her Omni-Tool. "Request... Signal... Hotel Kilo... Two... Mess..age... 'Help....'" Cetea slurred, and the last thing she saw was a confirmation that the message was sent, then everything went black.

===

[i]The Ultra-Luxe Freezer[/i]

Cetea began to sway from side to side, trying to knock into a shelf of boxes. Her efforts were rewarded after several swings, and as she knocked into the shelf, it fell over, dragging the plastic sheet off of her body. Cetea sluggishly raised herself up the the chain on her ankles, and after a few moments of intense struggling, managed to slip her ankles through the chain, and she fall to cold floor with a thud.

Cetea shivered, slowly standing just as the freezer door began to open. She moved behind a stack of boxes as a man in a bloody chef apron came into the room. "What in the world...?" He muttered, confused, and as he passed Cetea's cover, she leaped out at him, tackling him to the ground and quickly grabbing his head. With a mighty twist, an audible snap confirmed that she had broken his neck, and Cetea dragged his body behind a set of boxes before leaving the freezer and shutting the door.

Having no idea where to go, Cetea turned into the kitchen, where the oven fire was slowly building up, the White Gloves had decided to cook her now, it seemed.

Cetea leaned against the wall, trying to think of her next course of action. It was simple, she needed to escape. With that goal in mind, Cetea turned into a hallway and walked towards the end that was illuminated by a lightbulb. She had no idea where to go, and she was not sure if she had jumped out of the freezer and into the frying pan.

===

[i]Two hours later

Lobby of the Ultra-Luxe Casino[/i]

Sitting at the circular bar, she realized she was probably being watched.

Going into three casinos, this one included, just to get information on the location of her subordinate trooper. It had taken a while, and she had had to finish her...work before she could go to it, but it was enough for now. She just hoped she could get her out and get back in--

No, no. Think clearly. One thing at a time, she's more important than who you work for. Don't let them control you.

Okay, status report. Full armor, visor polarized, sitting here. All signs lead here, the last of the casinos she hadn't tried.

Azumi kept her head lowered, listened, and waited. She had to see if she could find out anything.

Beside Azumi, two off duty waiters were conversing, the hustle and bustle of bar activity mostly disguising their voices.

"Did you hear about Mortimer's 'special dinner' tonight? He's said there's going to be a never before seen dish, something exotic." Said the first waiter, his tone sounded skeptical, he was obviously in a state of doubt.

"Yeah, if you ask me, he's probably going to push for cannibalism. We all know the Gloves ate human meat a while ago, and I have a feeling he's thinking now would be a good time to go back. Sick bastard is what that guy is, creeps me out." Said the second waiter, his tone carrying a twinge of annoyance.

===

[i]The Ultra-Luxe kitchens[/i]

Her right hand's ring finger was black.

Not just regular faded black, but pure dark black, a sign of frostbite.

Cetea didn't particularly care at the moment, she could bear the loss of a finger. Her biggest worry was being discovered and having the entire casino come after her. She kept her mind on thoughts of survival as she continued to walk down the hallway.

Suddenly, the sound of echoing footsteps sent made Cetea tense, and she quickly moved into a doorframe in the wall and waited. Just as soon as she did so, a man in a tuxedo carrying an M-16 rifle passed her, and thankfully, he did not notice her presence.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Cetea turned to look inside the room that she had hidden in, and she saw her pistol on the counter, silently thanking the Goddess for her fortune, she retrieved her gun and holstered it, before continuing up the passage.

===

It was an effort not to make her shoulders tense, not to show any emotion. Cannibalism. A "special dinner." PFC T'Zumo missing. She really, really hoped she was wrong, but had to work with the worst. The woman had heard that nobody but members could get into the Members Only area leading to the kitchens, where the meal was likely kept... but she had to find a way in, a way to lay low and get by the bouncers so they wouldn't fire on her. She wasn't about to endanger anyone to get through, and there was no way she was going to wear a dress to sneak in, not after having her job now.

The ODST stood, thanking the bartender without buying anything for his information, then walking out the front door, worried, looking around through her blank face mask. Something had to be here to help her sneak in. Anything, before "dinner time."

As soon as Azumi had left the casino, a woman in a white lab coat and large glasses walked up the steps towards her. Once she noticed Azumi's armor, she gave her a quizzical look.

"Never seen armor like that before, wait.... You look like that grand master of some Assassin Order." The woman stared at Azumi for a moment, before gasping.

"You [i]do[/i] look like her! I thought that the picture that woman showed me looked unbelievable, it being a hologram and all. That tech is way too advanced for this place... Anyway, why were you in the Ultra-Luxe looking like that? I don't think they let people eat there if they're not all dressed up."

Azumi listened a bit...then motioned for the woman to walk with her, starting to walk away from the Ultra-Luxe as she was followed. "I take it Cetea spoke with you," she said flatly, keeping her voice devoid of emotion as she tried to get away from any cameras that could watch her. "I think she might be tonight's main course. I need a way in there, undetected. Who do you work with, and do you have anything I can use?"

The woman looked alarmed, "You mean... They're going back to cannibalism? This is bad...." She then went silent, thinking. "They might keep her in the kitchens.... But that area is closely guarded, you need to be an honorary member to in... Unless you [i]sneak[/i] in" She then looked back at Azumi and pulled a small black radio looking device out from inside of her jacket, with a light strap meant to go around her wrist.

"I'm with the Followers of the Apocalypse, and you can use this Stealth-Boy to sneak past the guards. Press this little button here... And you get 10 minutes of invisibility." She then held out the Stealth-Boy, "good luck."

Azumi nodded, taking the device and strapping it to her wrist. She started off... but stopped a moment, looking back. "Call me Huntress, by the way. And in case of the worst... see about making sure a team is standing by to help pick her up."

With that, she want on, approaching the Ultra-Luxe....and flickered out of sight.

===

[i]The Ultra-Luxe Kitchens[/i]

Cetea had reached the end of the hallway, where a ladder stood. Cautiously climbing it slowly, she slowly moved her head up at the top, where she saw four men with flamethrowers torching four individual carcasses of Brahmin. Cetea gulped slowly, before slowly climbing up and onto the top floor, keeping her back to the wall, she sidled along tensely, wincing every time one of the men looked like they would turn and see her. Thankfully, she managed to make it into another hallway, where a door awaited her at the end of the hallway. Her hopes restored, Cetea moved slightly faster down the hallway.

Then she felt the world bob and grow blurry.

"No... Nonononono...." Cetea muttered, and she felt her legs slowly shake with each step, before finally buckling once she reached the door. As Cetea fell, she desperately reached for the door, only to find the handle too high.

Letting her arm fall to the ground, she slowly closed her eyes, resigning to unconsciousness.

===

[i]Ultra-Luxe Lobby[/i]

Slipping through the lobby was easy, relatively speaking. Nobody was really actively looking for her. She sidled by a man with a submachine gun, back to the wall... and saw him pause a moment, looking in her direction.

[u]Eight minutes.[/u]

He shrugged, looking away, out to the patrons of various social classes again.

She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding very slowly, quietly, before continuing on. Plenty of time. Finally she was ins--

[i]Great[/i]. The woman looked around. Count them fast... Eleven people in suit and masks, a few with the same rifles as guards inside the room...and a single door, leading to the kitchens. Crouch, slink along, making sure not to make a sound... and she reached for the door, looking back... she waited a short while longer as they milled around.

[u]Five minutes.[/u]

Okay, she'd waited long enough. They weren't looking at the kitchen. No time for her paranoia. Looking back to the handle, she pushed it down, opening the door as slowly, carefully as she could...

It was with all her will that she kept from saying it in a loud voice, keeping to a whisper. "Ah, sh**."

Once Azumi had begun to slowly open the door, a few White Glove members that had been enjoying their dinner couldn't help but gaze curiously as the door to the kitchen opened with nobody visibly there. The whispers that spread throughout the tables soon grew louder, and soon, a woman in a sparkling white dress left her place at the reception counter and entered the diner area.

"What is going on--" She began, before stopping once she saw what everyone was looking at. "Somebody is using a Stealth-Boy to enter the kitchen!" She shouted, and two men who were guarding the entryway into the diner entered the area, approaching the kitchen door.

A scowl. She didn't have any time to lose, bending down, trying to pick up the woman in a carry with one arm over her shoulder, ignoring the cold due to her own internal heat modifiers for the outfit. "Stay with me, woman..." she whispered, looking to the men with guns around her. She just hoped she could get out of this in one piece, given her equipment was useless now.

The men leveled their machine guns at Azumi as the woman stepped between them, her arms crossed. She gasped slightly when the still invisible Azumi lifted up another woman who appeared to have blue skin and a tentacle like hair style. Shaking her head slightly, she scowled in Azumi's direction. "What is the meaning of this? Who is that woman and why does she look so... Strange?" She snapped.

As Azumi lifted Cetea up, she slowly woke. She could not see the still invisible ODST, but she recognised her voice. "Azumi... You came...." Cetea muttered, her eyes half open.

She whispered for her to hush. No reason to waste her strength talking. "You!" Still invisible, she could have been talking to anyone in the room. "Let us pass, or we'll start blowing heads off! I mean it!"

The woman laughed coldly, "I highly doubt that. Why should I not have you killed for trespassing?" She said, but she had no desire to actually do so, but she wanted to know exactly why there was a half dead woman and another woman around the kitchens. She had a lingering fear of the worst, but she pushed those worries away.

Cetea was listening in on the conversation, and knew she needed to speak. "Mortimer... Wanted... Cook me..." Said Cetea weakly.

"Cook you? Preposterous!" The woman shouted, her tone panicky. Mortimer was always rumored to have been fond of human flesh. But to think he would abduct somebody and have them cooked? It was simply too much to believe. But... Mortimer planned to have a private dinner tonight, and the woman feared that the unfortunate woman before them was related to it.

"You don't sound too sure," the invisible ODST said.

[u]Four minutes.[/u]

Okay, timetable, right. "How about this? I go and talk to Mortimer, bring my friend here with me. We'll figure out about his dinner, and see what exactly this main course was going to be, even if he has to have it beaten out of him. If nothing else, we can get you guys a refund if he made you pay. You're the customers, and the customers are always right, right? So you deserve to know what you're eating. Or [i]who[/i]. Deal?"

The woman instantly shook her head, to launch an investigation would only make the rumors of White Glove cannibalism resurface, and it had taken the Society many years to lose that reputation. It would be better for her to just ban these two as trouble makers, but also give them whatever they needed to silence them.

"I am not going to embarrass this proper society with an unneeded investigation on our most trusted member. You two are barred from entering our casino for life." The woman then waved the two men off before approaching the invisible ODST.

"I will give you anything, [i]anything[/i], if you keep quiet about this mess. I will also privately investigate Mortimer, he will not be removed from the Society, but he will be barred from planning private dinners." The woman whispered slowly, having to swallow her pride.

A smirk. She had about three minutes left of this thing. Best to just take the deal for now. "Fine, but one more thing." She had an idea, a way to use this to her advantage, but had to say it fast and move. "Shipments of food, real, good food, no human meat, nothing irradiated if you can help it at all, are to be sent to the Followers of the Apocalypse. If this has a catch to it, the whole Wasteland will know all about Mortimer."

The woman pursed her lips, she was not a fond of the Followers, but Azumi's threat left her with little choice in the matter. "....Deal. Now get out." She whispered, before furiously turning and walking away, her heels clicking.

Cetea smiled slightly, "Always... Good negotiator..." She muttered, struggling to stay upright.

Azumi nodded, walking out extremely quickly, passing the bouncers on her way out, again shushing her charge softly as she went, passing the startled patrons in the lobby before kicking open the door out.

Seconds, seconds left.... and she turned the corner, out of sight as the door closed.

The device cut out, and she was made visible once more. Luckily, given she was only visible away from them, nobody could tell what she looked like. And Cetea had her disguise. So it would be relatively simple to check in there every so often. The soldier looked around for that Follower as she backed into an alley, looking out, but keeping a hold on Cetea. "Come on, come on..."

Luckily for the two women, the Follower returned with two men in similar coats, one carried a stretcher, while the other carried a bag of medical supplies. Once they saw Azumi and Cetea in the alley, they immediately rushed over to them.

"Put her on the stretcher!" The female Follower ordered, and she took the bag of supplies as the two men held up the stretcher.

Azumi nodded, picking Cetea up bridal style, then putting her down on the stretcher. "You'll be alright, PFC. Just stay with me." She looked to the others. "We doing this here, or somewhere else? I'll run with you."

"We'll take her back to the Fort." Said the female Follower, and she ran with the two men down the Strip, who were careful not to drop Cetea. The group recieved several stares from the occasional passerby, but nobody tried to impede their progress.

[fontsize][b]End Chapter[/b][/fontsize]