The void seems to go on forever: black and shapeless. Within it she has lost all sense of her own form, leaving only consciousness that knows no distinction between that which lay in the recesses of her mind and the cold, amorphous expanse around her. Within this void, she has lost all sense of time, and her dreams blend seamlessly into her conscious world. When light finally breaks into the darkness, it's so jarring that she dry heaves. Were she not fed intravenously, she is certain the entirety of her stomach contents would be expelled.<br/><br/><span style="color: #ffa07a">“You know I hate doing this to you, dearest Crystal.”</span>Slater's voice cuts into the silence gently.<span style="color: #ffa07a">“But I must be certain you are telling the truth.”</span><br/><br/>Slowly becoming aware of her own body again, Crystal nods.<span style="color: #40bf00">“It's true... Scarlet escaped.”</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #ffa07a">“Your wound speaks otherwise, Crystal.”</span>Slater gestures at the slash she had claimed was inflicted by Viv. Leaning in, she whispers into Crystal's ear.<span style="color: #ffa07a">“You made one fatal error in your betrayal: my daughter's instinct is not one of restraint. If she did indeed escape on her own, you would not be among the living right now.”</span><br/><br/>Crystal shakes her head.<span style="color: #40bf00">“I told you. I fought her off--”</span><br/><br/>Slater makes a shushing sound as she caresses Crystal's cheek.<span style="color: #ffa07a">“No more lies, my child.”</span><br/><br/>As Slater begins to walk away, Crystal protests.<span style="color: #40bf00">“No, mistress... Please!”</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #ffa07a">“It pains me to see you like this, Crystal. They say before the war, sensory deprivation was used to break the most willful of men... but not before driving them to the brink of insanity.”</span>She pauses in the doorway.<span style="color: #ffa07a">“A terrifying prospect to lose one's mind... Wouldn't you agree?”</span><br/><br/>Crystal's scream is muffled by the loud clang of the sensory deprivation tank door being sealed.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>Tyler parks the war rig a few blocks up from the casino in the heart of Elko. What was once a small college town is now a seedy den of miscreants – an almost binary social strata consisting of drug pushers and the hapless denizens looking to score another fix. Those whose addictions have been sated wander the streets in a haze, like fish swimming in the midst of an oil spill, sluggishly waiting for the end. The rest skitter about like nervous insects, hoping to score a few hours of bliss by any means possible.<br/><br/>At first glance, it seems an odd location for a group such as the Fire Lilies. High-end courtesans typically avoid places like this. Then again, prostitution is only one arm of the organization. For a group that deals in information, having an operation near people who would trade it for a drug fix seems like a sensible business practice. With that in mind, maintaining a low profile seems prudent. Flipping his hood over his head, he makes his way to the casino entrance.<br/><br/>Inside, a line of people exchange goods for gambling chits used at the various tables inside. Those who make it big usually find themselves in a drug-induced stupor for the foreseeable future, courtesy of the casino's thriving drug business. It's a clever setup: the money from drug purchases goes back to the casino, so even on a large payout, the house never actually loses.<br/><br/>A gun check at the door prompts him to leave his weapons behind in a large barrel by the entrance. He leaves them all there, save for the battered assault rifle he took from the dead mercenary. He unloads that in front of the guard and walks it over to the exchange counter, trading it for a handful of chits. Moving into the gaming pit, he sits down at a poker game and watches the other players carefully. Their tells are read easily after only a few hands. As the hours progress, one by one, the other players go bust and Tyler sits with four times the chits as when he walked in. This catches the eye of one of the casino bosses, who regards him with suspicion when it becomes clear that he is no run-of-the-mill junkie.<br/><br/>“You're pretty sharp with the cards, friend.”<br/><br/>Tyler inclines his head and smiles. The pit boss stands over him and says, “Can we get you anything to make your stay more enjoyable? Refreshments?”<br/><br/>Tyler nods.<span style="color: #336666">“Now that you mention it, some company would be nice. Not the kind I saw outside when I was coming in, though. Some <span style="font-style: italic">quality</span> company – you follow?”</span><br/><br/>The pit boss' posture relaxes now that he knows the stranger won't simply cash out and leave. Gesturing for Tyler to follow, the pit boss says with a grin, “I know just what you mean. Follow me.”<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>The casino's luxury suite is more of a retrofitted office than a hotel room. The old office desk is even still there, only now it seems to be a place where guests come to act out perverse power fantasy scenarios. A suspicious hole in the wall – imperceptible to most, but obvious to Tyler's trained eyes – likely houses a camera that records the encounters within the room. It's uncertain just how much bare skin and bodily fluid the desk has seen over the years, but it's likely that it's at least equal to the mattress in the corner of the room. Looking over the room, it becomes clear that the term “luxury suite”  carries a different meaning depending on where one goes.<br/><br/>“I'll send for your company.” The pit boss says with a grin and an outstretched palm. Tyler hands over his bucket of chits, not even thinking about the actual cost of the girl. Anything extra is to ensure that he not be disturbed for the time being.<br/><br/>A few minutes go by before a knock comes at the door. When he opens it, a girl clad in a familiar silken kimono steps past the threshold. Her hair flaxen and held in place with a pair of lacquered chopsticks, her frame lithe but muscular. With a practiced demeanor, she looks down bashfully and says softly, “Pardon me, sir. I was told that you were handsome, but I was not expecting you to be so...”<br/><br/>Tyler gives her a faint smile and gestures for her to enter. Closing the door after her, he locks it and watches as she steps over to the desk. “Shall we begin?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #336666">“I need your help with something.”</span><br/><br/>“Oh?” She coos, brushing her hand invitingly against the surface of the desk.<br/><br/><span style="color: #336666">“You're going to take me to the Desert Flower.”</span><br/><br/>Her facade changes immediately. Within an instant, she reaches up and pulls at one of the chopsticks in her hair, revealing a tiny stiletto. Rather than charging at him, she holds the blade up defensively and utters, “I was told about you... You're him.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #336666">“This doesn't have to get bloody...”</span>Tyler replies calmly, stepping towards her.<br/><br/>She takes a step back, inadvertently pressing herself closer to the wall. With his palms outstretched, Tyler advances, until he comes within a few feet of her. She continues to hold the stiletto up, nervously eyeballing him, until she swipes the blade at the air in front of her.<br/><br/>She swipes a few more times, watching in horror as Tyler's speed makes her attacks look as pathetic as a child's. It's right then that the door begins to rattle, distracting her long enough for him to seize her arm and wrench the blade free from her grasp. As three pit guards barrel inside the room, Tyler twists her arm behind her and holds the blade to her neck, shouting,<span style="color: #336666">“Back off!”</span><br/><br/>A moment of hesitation follows before the guards decide that three against one is good enough odds for a fight. They advance all at once. Tyler curses and tosses the woman aside, ducking a swing from the first guard before countering with a quick jab to the floating rib. Pushing the first guard aside, he blocks an attack from the second, then strikes him in the throat with the handle of the stiletto. In the same motion, he jabs the blade of the stiletto forward, stopping the third guard in his tracks as it comes inches from his face. Tyler lingers for a split-second, distracting the third guard with the blade before throwing a wicked haymaker to the man's jaw, knocking him out cold.<br/><br/>As the first guard begins to advance again, Tyler hurls the stiletto into the wall behind him, narrowly missing his head. The distraction is enough to set him up for Tyler's boot in his face, which sends him careening back into the desk and bruises his spine in the process.<br/><br/>As the second guard nearly gets his wind back, Tyler decks him across the temple and sends him crashing to the floor. The prostitute, meanwhile, has taken the opportunity to run. Rushing after her, he is greeted by the rest of the casino's security outside. As they rush up the stairs to fight him, Tyler kicks the first of them in the face, sending him toppling back into the men behind him like a row of dominoes. On the bottom floor, he spots the prostitute running for the exit. Tyler bounds over the railing, landing on a nearby gaming table, and rolls forward without losing momentum to take chase after her.<br/><br/>Grabbing a beer bottle from one of the patrons as he runs, he races past the gaming pit to the gun check at the front of the casino, and hurls the bottle into the face of the man guarding the barrel of weapons. Before the guard can recover from the blow, Tyler grabs him by the face and slams the back of his head into the wall, then grabs his weapons from the barrel and rushes outside.<br/><br/>The prostitute manages to clear a few blocks before Tyler finally comes within a reasonable distance of her. Taking careful aim, he fires a round into the back of the leg and sends her toppling to the ground. The gunshot is enough to startle the nearby denizens and send them running the other way. Running up to her, he grabs her by the hair and pulls her into a nearby alley, pressing the gun against her cheek and uttering in a terrifying tone,<span style="color: #336666">“You scream, you die.”</span><br/><br/>She whimpers, watching as Tyler peers around the corner and sees the casino guards flood the streets behind him. Dragging her to her feet, he covers her mouth with his hand and shoves the barrel of the gun into the small of her back. As they make their way down the alley and round another corner, he feels her go slack in his hands. Shock is beginning to set in.<br/><br/>Propping her up against a wall, he waits for the casino guards to pass before he slaps her cheek to bring her out of her shock-induced daze.<span style="color: #336666">“Hey!”</span><br/><br/>She momentarily wakes, but her eyelids flutter and she begins to look woozy. Taking off his backpack, he pulls out a roll of bandages impregnated with a hemostatic agent and begins to wrap them tightly around her wound. The clotting material burns, causing her to let out a yelp that he is quick to stifle with his free hand. But the pain is enough to jar her out of her daze; when he is finished wrapping the bullet wound, she's almost fully lucid.<span style="color: #336666">“Listen...”</span>Tyler whispers as he dons his backpack again.<span style="color: #336666">“No more fucking around. You're gonna take me to Slater or you die right here.”</span><br/><br/>Her face curling in anger, she shakes her head and replies, “You think she won't hear about this? By the time you reach where she is now, she'll be long gone.”<br/><br/>Tyler looks at her coldly and presses the Glock to her head.<span style="color: #336666">“Too bad for you...”</span><br/><br/>“Wait!” She cries out as his finger begins to press on the trigger. “Just... hold on, okay?”<br/><br/>Keeping the gun pointed at her, Tyler waits. She sighs and says, “I know someone who might be able to find her...”<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>As they approach the tiny white house about a mile outside of town, Tyler drags his hostage out of the war rig and heads to the door on foot. Holding onto her comparatively tiny arm, he pushes her to the front door and presses the Glock against the base of her skull.<span style="color: #336666">“You first.”</span><br/><br/>With an aggravated sigh, she opens the door a quarter of an inch and stops to untie the wire that leads to a trigger trap behind the door. Opening it the rest of the way, she heads inside, revealing a shotgun tied to a chair behind the door. Removing the weapon, he takes it with him as he follows the prostitute to a flight of stairs. “She's through there.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #336666">“You first.”</span><br/><br/>“You shot me, remember? In the leg? I'm not doing stairs for a while.” She replies snarkily.<br/><br/><span style="color: #336666">“You want another?”</span>He gestures with his gun.<br/><br/>With a sigh, she begins to slowly limp down the stairs to the basement, hitting the light switch on the wall. The room flickers with a series of florescent lights, illuminating a single sealed door at the far end. He gestures for the prostitute to open the door, which she does with a bit of effort. Beyond is a single capsule the size of a coffin, connected to an IV with a bag of dextrose and a slow drip of saline. Putting his weapon away, he opens the capsule to reveal a naked woman inside, who throws her hands up at the light.<br/><br/>“Crystal?” The prostitute asks. “Can you hear me?”<br/><br/>The woman squints, trying to make out the face before her.<span style="color: #40bf00">“Jessa?”</span><br/><br/>“Yes!” The prostitute replies with a look of relief. “Are you okay?”<br/><br/>The tone is one of concern beyond mere friendship or affiliation – one of genuine affection. As Jessa leans in and embraces the naked woman in the capsule, Tyler begins to realize that he's been played.<span style="color: #336666">“All right, that's enough.”</span>Grabbing Jessa by the shoulder, he shoves her back onto the floor.<span style="color: #336666">“I should kill you right now for lying to me.”</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #40bf00">“She didn't lie to you...”</span>Crystal protests weakly.<span style="color: #40bf00">“She didn't...”</span><br/><br/>Tyler turns his attention to the naked woman, pointing the shotgun at her.<span style="color: #336666">“Start talking.”</span><br/><br/>She blinks, trying to adjust to the light and get her bearings. For a moment, she's not sure whether she's really there, or if she's simply dreaming.<span style="color: #40bf00">“I knew you'd come looking for Slater... I just had to hold out... had to stay... strong...”</span><br/><br/>Tyler glances at Jessa.<span style="color: #336666">“She better start making sense real soon.”</span><br/><br/>“Crystal let Vivian escape.” Jessa explains. “She knew Slater would try to break her... try to get her to confess her betrayal. Nobody lasts forever in those capsules. It would only be a matter of time before that happened and she'd be dead. So she sent me to wait for you. She knew that you'd try to find one of us and get to Slater that way.”<br/><br/>Tyler scratches his head.<span style="color: #336666">“Then why run? Why the ruse?”</span><br/><br/>“You're hell bent on revenge.” Jessa remarks. “You wouldn't have believed me if I told you. I had to make it look like you were getting what you wanted the only way a thug like you knows how.”<br/><br/>Tyler ignores the obvious insult and asks,<span style="color: #336666">“So why free Vivian?”</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #40bf00">“Slater wants her to be the next Desert Flower... but that job is mine. Vivian wants nothing to do with succeeding Slater. That suits me fine. I'd rather have her in my pocket than as an enemy.”</span><br/><br/>Jessa looks at Tyler. “Satisfied?”<br/><br/>Gritting his teeth, he lowers the shotgun.<span style="color: #336666">“Let's say I believe you. You gonna help me track the bitch down?”</span><br/><br/>Crystal smirks.<span style="color: #40bf00">“Got a change of clothes in that bag?”</span>