Page 104 of Eat. Prey. Love.
“Exactly. Now, are you ready for some real fun?” I ask, my voice low and dangerous. “Because I’m ready to fuck some shit up and ruin people’s lives.”
“I was born ready,” Renard responds, the excitement palpable in his voice. “Chaos is one of my favorite states. Where are Midori’s accommodations?”
Pointing down the lane, I grin as we head for the fanciest fucking place in the entire set-up. I can’t help but relish the thought of the pandemonium that will ensue once these assholes discover the mess we’re about to make. The pranks are juvenile, but effective.
It’s not about the acts themselves—it’s about sending a message about what we will tolerate and what is off-limits.
“Let’s make sure they never forget this lesson,” I say, determination lacing my words. Renard nods, his own resolve is as unwavering as mine.
“Nobody messes with ourpetite lapin.”
The scent of decadence hits me as we push open the door to the headmistress’s quarters. My eyes roam over the gilded edges of furniture, the silk drapery that pools on the floor like liquid gold. Renard whistles low under his breath, a sound that vibrates with both admiration and disgust.
“I wonder how many scholarships for less fortunate preds could be funded by just one of these vases?” he muses, his fingers hovering inches from a porcelain monstrosity.
“Too many,” I mutter, my claws itching to shred the opulence to tatters. But we aren’t here for destruction—not the physical kind at least. “Time to get to work.”
Renard grins, and it’s all teeth and no mercy. “After you, Fitz.”
I lead the way, slipping through her private sanctuary. Heading for the device I spy on the table, I grin.My fingers dance across her tablet, a few swipes and taps granting us full access to her digital life thanks to the back doors I installed earlier. It’ll take her weeks to untangle the web of destruction I’m weaving. Her inboxes will be full of spam and phishing and dating site requests that will make it impossible to do anything. Personal information will be leaked all over the dark web, allowing anyone who wants it to wreak havoc on her finances and image.
The thought is so delicious it makes my cock twitch.
“Remember, subtlety is key. We don’t want any of them to be able to point the finger at us or our girl,” I remind Renard. We’re both cut from similar cloth and vengeance is an art form to us. Mine isusually bloody, but having him along helps keep me focused on non-maiming methods of revenge.
“Of course,” he replies, but there’s a twinkle in his eye that says otherwise. We reset her alarm to blare at odd hours, invert the controls of her smart home system, and program her coffee maker to spew out only decaf. Even her entertainment systems get scrambled with incorrect playlists full of screaming garbage and porn—which may or may not upset her, but it sure makes me snicker.
Petty? Absolutely. Satisfying? Even more so.
“Done with the basics,” I say, a smirk curling my lips. “What else can we do?”
We slip through the corridors to her office. The room has a scholarly clutter to it, books piled high and papers strewn about. It feels fake, though, especially since we know she spends very little time on campus. This room is for show, but I bet we can still create damage from it.
“We make it look like a poltergeist hit her,” Renard suggests, already at work dislodging pages from their bindings. “Even if she doesn’t use this room, fixing it to look used will take time and effort.”
“An absolute nightmare of mess coming up,” I say, setting up a loop of error messages on her computer that will mock her relentlessly. I can almost hear her frustrated groans, the sweet music of retribution filling my ears. Any calls to tech support will go unanswered by me, and the other IT people she has working here won’t ever be able to undo my genius coding.
“Calendars are cleared, deadlines... adjusted,” Renard reports, a laugh hidden within the words as he works on the laptop on the other side of the desk.
How that woman is supposed to be working withnoneof her devices on her person is beyond me—but we know she’s not actually running anything in this damn place.
“Good.” I feel the thrill of the hunt, the predator within savoring the distress we sow.
“Time for Asani’s place,” Renard declares once we’ve finished, his silhouette a dark specter against the backdrop of Midori’s disrupted academia.
“My dear cousin won’t know what hit him.” I say as we leave the ostentatious dwelling.
Ren and I walk down the lane again, keeping our posture casual as we head for the building I know contains my trecherous relative’s bachleor pad. Felix and I have been there before, but this time, the intent is less about finding clues than fucking up his universe thoroughly enough to make him want to leave this place.
I don’t waste any time when we get to his door. The lock clicks quickly, a sound sweeter than a siren’s song. Asani’s door swings open, revealing the gross jungle swinger motif that makes me want to barf yet again. It’s a stark contrast to Midori’s over-the-top opulence, but Asani’s shit is easily as expensive, it’s just selected to look like a slimy 70s lair instead of a fancy hotel. Renard wrinkles his nose in disgust as we slip in, making me muffle a laugh.
“Computer systems first,” I mutter as we head inside. Once I find a laptop, I look for a place to sit that doesn’t make me worry about catching something. After I’m settled, my fingers dance across the keyboard with vicious intent. I implant a virus that will cascade through his files, corrupting data beyond recovery. His plans, his work, everything he has on here—it all evaporates into digital oblivion.
Fitz-1, Slimy Chucklefuck Cousin-0.
“Isn’t this a bit... excessive?” Renard hesitates, watching as the screen flickers erratically. “You seem to be doing more to his system than Midori’s,mon ami. I’m not certain, of course, because this is your area ofexpertise…”
“Excessive?” I scoff, my voice low and dangerous. “This is the tiger whose lies nearly buried Felix six feet under.” My twin spent half a decade alone, drowning in whiskey and guilt because of Asani’s deceit on Bloodstone. “He deserves worse—and he will get it eventually, but for now, this gives me the satisfaction of ruining every bit of his life that I can like he did my twin.”