French toast casserole

So morning came, and we had room service. Bring us a French toast casserole, which, if you haven't had it,  is delicious! We went over our plan for the day; I made sure everyone understood their part, and we split up to try and dig for more information. 

We had identified an area where we could surveil the industrial area we identified as belonging to Apol-Lyon Inc. Madison and Ashley were sent there to surveil and potentially follow Artyom to try and learn his habits and potentially find a weakness we could exploit. 

Tessa and I went back to the cyber cafe to do more research on Apol-Lyon cash flow, employees that were registered there, and anything else we could find on the web about them. 

We would all keep in touch throughout the day, and Madison and Ashley had strict orders to stay safe and not do anything rash without me. 

Tessa and I discovered various sources of funding going to Apol-Lyon Inc., some legit, some not. We also found a disturbing number of engineers and physics employees that were on their payroll. 

We started to run into a wall after that, so I tried to think about what else we could do. I called a contact I had at the Pittsburgh Institute of Technology, and after signing a non-disclosure agreement and wiring her 5 grand for her troubles, I sent all the schematics and aquasitions to see if she could figure out what they were building or what could be built out of the materials and plans. She said she would get back with me as soon as she could. 

Around 10 a.m., I had gotten a text from Madison stating that Artyom had arrived at the facility and was allowed inside. They continued to stake the place out, hoping to see him leave so we could see what he did outside the facility. At 7 p.m. that evening, he finally left, and Madison and Ashley followed him. He ended up going to a strip club, which he spent almost 2 hours at before going home to his apartment.

So we knew where he lived, and possibly that he had a weakness for strippers. 

The evening was pretty uneventful; we didn't have any more moves and were stuck until one of our plans gave us more information. Food, sex, sleep.

The next day was mostly focused on following Artyom and informing Murphy Grainger about what had happened and our ongoing plan. Madison and Ashley had once again followed Artyom to the same strip joint and then back to his home. We had all decided to turn in early, hoping that would signal progress for tomorrow. 

I called Jen like I do every night, but this time I spent a few hours talking to her because it was our anniversary. She understood why this mission was important to see through, but she missed me. She sent me some nudes and a few lingerie outfits that she had gotten while I was gone. She also reminded me that Allison has continued to bug her about seeing me socially. I assured her I would take care of things when this case was over. 

The next day, we discussed a plan to take advantage of Artyom's taste for strippers. This was the first day we did not track Artyom's whereabouts.  Madison and Ashley went shopping and ended up at the Wet Kitty Strip Club. 

Ashley, being the most voluptuous of my girls, was the obvious choice to play a stripper. Madison played her convincing girlfriend. They met with the owner, and after a bit of negotiation and acting Ashley or Dolly as she was going by (she picked out a rhinestone get-up and she certainly had the chest for the comparison), she added a big, blond wig and looked better than Dolly Parton did when she started her career. She was hired on a probationary period.

They hung around until Artyom showed up and acted normal; there had already been talk among the girls and customers about the new striper and her girlfriend at the bar. While Artyom didn't approach them, he did inquire about Dolly and when she would have her first day, which, of course, was tomorrow. 

We also got some good news from my contact at PIT and she sent me a spreadsheet of likely devices that Apol-Lyon Inc. could be making and even some of the few that were unlikely.  There were some more fringe things, like diving rebreathers, but the two that stuck out to me as being possible were an advanced hydrogen generator that would provide massive amounts of power or a hydrogen-powered bomb. One was not good; the other was terrifying. Madison and I notified Captain Geomonty of the situation, and I notified Murphy Grainger. To her credit, Mrs. Grainger only wanted to vomit after I mentioned that it could be a hydrogen bomb that was being created. I assured her that we were in touch with the captain and that we would not rest until we were able to either take Apol-Lyon down or confirm that it no longer had the ability to harm people. 

That night I spent some extra time with Ashley; she was going to have to do some things she didn't want to, but would, not only for me but for the good of everyone around. We spent a lot of time cuddling and fondling each other. We talked a bit about how this would affect our relationship, and I assured her it wouldn't. I also told her how brave and selfless she was for doing this. After some passionate sex, we fell asleep in each other's arms. Tessa and Madison sneaked into bed after we fell asleep...