Negotiations

Hawk carried the naked Valerie and propped her up against a pillar so she was in a sitting position. He tied a rope around her waist, immobilizing her. Valerie didn't resist - her hands and feet were already tied, and she was tired from being tied up and from the sex. She had no energy left to resist. He did the same for the **** Anya, positioning her against another nearby pillar so she and Valerie were face to face.

A few minutes later, Anya stirred awake. She tried to move her hands and feet with no success. She looked down, turning red upon seeing her naked body. "What the hell?", she said, her expression a mix of confusion and embarrassment.

She looked around, finding Valerie in the exact same situation as her. "What's going on?", she said, confused.

"I don't know either.", replied Valerie, truthfully.

"Both of you need to talk.", a voice said, addressing both of them. It was Hawk.

Anya let out a surprised yelp as she saw Hawk. "You did this?!", she said, anger in her voice. "Why, you..."

"I'm sorry.", replied Hawk. "But it was the only way I could get you two to talk to each other."

"What do you mean?", asked Valerie and Anya in unison, equally puzzled.

"Look at both of you! You're the two best agents in this damn place! Instead of tearing each other down, you should be working together, for god's sake!"

Valerie was stunned by what Hawk had just said. She didn't expect him to put her, a novice, in the same tier as Anya, a living legend in the trade. And was he putting his own neck on the line for her?

"You're way out of line, Hawk.", said Anya. "I'll have your head for this."

"That's the problem! You form grudges against people - people who you should be mentoring! You wanted to humiliate an agent who did what - save an innocent over capturing a criminal. Look at yourself!", said Hawk, his voice full of passion. Valerie could tell he had been holding this in for a long time.

"You could be her mentor, give her the tools to be as good as you were. Instead, you try to strip her naked and demote her using a rigged game. For fuck's sake.", finished Hawk.

Despite her current state, Valerie felt almost warm inside. She could tell that despite his tendency to...take advantage of her, Hawk cared about her. She would have hugged him, if not for the fact that he had stripped and restrained her.

Anya was silent, at a loss for words. Valerie could tell that his words had affected her. After a long silence, she said "There's still the matter of the winner of the contest."

"What were the rules again? The contest ends when one competitor is naked, or unable to compete. The way I see it, you're both equally naked and unable to compete. I'd say this is a draw."

Valerie and Anya looked at each other. They both sighed - he was right. They both murmured their acceptance of the result, secretly happy it was only a draw.