...he and Mary are on the same page.

Grant, Olivia and Mel trailing behind him, emerges from the stairwell, panting slightly. Well, that was...a lot more of a climb than I expected, he thinks ruefully. Mel and Olivia are breathing hard as well. Guess we're all going to have to get used to doing without electricity soon... He heads to Penthouse B and knocks on the door.

The peephole darkens briefly, then the door clicks open. Jaz stands on the far side, ushering them in. "Grant! Welcome home, sir. How'd everything go?"

"Eh, ok, I guess," Grant says. He smiles at her. "So did you and Mary...?"

"Went great," she tells him with a grin. "We got the guns and then some."

"'And then some?' What's that mean?"

"Hmmm. I think I'll let Mary handle that question," Jaz says, eyes sparkling. "Come into the living room, though! The team here's done a whole lot of work!"

Grant follows her, Olivia closing and locking the door behind them. He finds the others lounging in the living room, but his attention is mostly drawn to the hole in the wall.

"Grant! You're back." Mary leaps to her feet, a smile breaking across her face as she sees him. She crosses to him quickly, and Grant's swept into her embrace. Her body feels warm and firm against his, and he feels a stirring within his groin, but he tamps it down, settling for hugging her more tightly. He is genuinely glad to see her. I was worried you might have been hurt... Now, though, that worry seems silly. It's Mary - she can handle herself.

"Looks like you all have been busy," he comments as he gives more perfunctory hugs to Amanda and Lily. Abby just nods warily from her place in the farthest chair. "Well done."

"Thank you," Amanda says, beaming at the praise. She looks a bit disheveled, now, but if anything more attractive for it. And she's certainly enthusiastic. "We've taken a quick look through the other apartment...should I give you the tour?"

"Lead on, I guess," he says with a laugh, and follows her through the ragged doorway and into his new domain.

The tour doesn't take long - the other apartment is mostly empty except for basic furnishings, and it's a mirror of this one - but it's still, somehow, overwhelming. The idea that all of this is theirs...which, Grant knows, really means his...is a bit much. It's more space than he ever imagined having in his life. Nicer space, too."So no luck on grabbing any women other than Lily?" Mary asks conversationally as they head back into the main apartment's kitchen.

"Uh, no. Sorry," Grant says.

"Only lesbian bimbo dumb enough to not look at her phone," Lily says with a self-deprecating laugh. Grant winces slightly, but the other women just chuckle.

"I did have...a lot of good conversations, though," he says. "People seemed to appreciate me checking in."

"That's great!" Mary exclaims. "We had a very successful run too. The guns are locked in this closet - " she raps a hall closet with a hefty padlock on it, " - and I've got the combination. Why don't we step into the bedroom and I'll give it to you, and you can give me the details of your day?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, I - I actually had something I wanted to ask you about, too," he says.

"Perfect. Amanda, will you take charge of figuring out dinner? We won't need it for a bit, but it wouldn't hurt to be ready." Amanda nods, and Mary pulls Grant into the main bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Suddenly alone with her, Grant fidgets awkwardly. "So. The combination...?"

"Oh, right. Yes, it's 22-10-36," Mary says brusquely. "And I don't want Abby knowing that, so keep it to yourself, huh?" Grant nods. "But that's...actually not what I wanted to talk to you about. I got a tip. And I...had an idea. About the future."

"I did, too," Grant says, leaning back against Amanda's dresser. "I, um. It's kind of messed up, but."

Mary peers at him, curious. "Tell me," she says softly.

"Well, it's - I just - I ran into that Noah guy again," Grant says with a sigh. "We got on ok, actually. I don't think he's going to...be a big problem. Not right now. But he...well, he wanted to swap girls while we sat around talking."

"Oh, sure," Mary says, unperturbed. "Classic fantasy. Did you?"

Grant hesitates, then nods, shamefaced. "Yeah. He...I asked Olivia to suck him off while his...while Cindy did me. Then we...came on Mel's face."

Mary actually laughs out loud at that. "Wow. Boy, I bet she loved that. She's been hanging off you like a lovesick puppy."

"Well, that's - that's the thing," Grant says uneasily. He can't really believe he's about to say this, but... "Neither of them were really happy with what I asked them to do, exactly. Olivia didn't particularly enjoy blowing Noah, and Mel didn't like him cumming on her...though she said she did when it was me...but they were both really happy to do what I asked them to. And it got me thinking...with all these women being claimed..." He bites his lip. "You said it before - haves and have-nots, right? Well, I was thinking...if I control a lot of women...then I could...could..." He swallows. "Could...distribute them. When I need help. From men."

Mary's breath catches. "You're...you're talking about turning some of your women into whores. Or slaves."

Grant shifts, looking down at the floor, shamefaced. "I - I know. It's fucking awful, but...I keep thinking about what you said, and the way Noah was eyeing Mel and Olivia, and I just thought...well, it was - "

"Grant, that's brilliant." Grant looks up, startled, and sees Mary's eyes shining at him as she beams with pride. "Grant, that's - that's such a great idea, you - " She takes a deep breath. "You can do this. We're gonna do it with you, Grant." She laughs breathlessly, pupils dilated, delighted by the idea. "We're gonna change the world!"

Grant's facade cracks, and something blooms, yearning toward her, wanting her approval desperately. "You think I can do this? Really?" he asks.

"Do I think you can - " Mary lets out a laugh and suddenly lunges toward him, seizing his face with her hands. She presses her lips to his and he opens his mouth in surprise and pleasure, kissing her back as her hot, **** tongue quests into his mouth, trying to pull him deeper. He moans into Mary's lips as she tightens her grip on his head and his hands rise, unbidden, to seize her, one hand going to her waist as the other tangles itself in her fine black hair, pulling her more firmly to him. Mary moans and presses her body against his, her breasts full and hot against his chest, her crotch grinding against his thigh, and Grant feels himself spring to painful hardness at the scent, taste, feel of her. This woman he's known for years as a friend, once as a crush, suddenly here, suddenly melting in his hands.

She pulls back, panting breathlessly, eyes shining. "Grant," she hisses, grinning almost ferally. "You're going to be a king in this new world."

Something comes over him at those words, that clear and unambiguous declaration of belief, the shining adoration in her eyes, and he lets out a growl that doesn't even sound like him. Pulling her to him, he kisses her again, his hands frantically seeking the hem of her tank top, and when he finds it he yanks and fumbles it over her head. Mary tosses it aside and scrabbles at his shirt, returning the favor before kissing him deeply. Her plain white bra goes next, and Mary gasps in ecstasy as Grant descends, like a starving man, down her neck, kissing her every few inches until he finds her full, lush breasts under his lips. He plants kisses all around them as Mary coos in pleasure, then gasps again as he finds a light brown nipple and captures it with his mouth. She moans as his tongue plays over it and then, when he lets go to breathe for a moment, suddenly pulls back sharply from him.

Chest heaving, neck flushed, Mary stares at Grant as they both catch their breath for a second. Then, without breaking eye contact, she seizes the waistband of her sweats and pulls them and her sensible panties off in one swift motion, standing naked before him as she tosses them away.

Grant aches for her, his body aflame and his erection throbbing as his eyes travel ravenously up and down her flesh. Every part of her seems perfect: her long black hair, her full breasts above a narrow, tapered waist, the slight curve of her hips and ass, the small patch of black hair in the cleft between her thighs. Mary's gaze is roving over his body, too, and he sees it linger for a second on what must be his visible erection. A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth momentarily, but she twitches her gaze back to his eyes, a flicker of uncertainty betraying her. "Do you...do you like my body, Grant?"

For answer he lets out another growl, and this time it's he that strides to her, crushing her mouth with his as one hand seizes her ass, pulling her to him. Mary moans as his hands rove over her body, but he needs more, and she gasps as he pushes her back and she half-stumbles, half-falls to the bed. She spreads her legs, breathing hard, as he wrestles his pants off, freeing his cock. Her eyes are wide, dark, and eager, and she pulls her legs back toward her head, clutching her knees as she prepares to receive him. "Fuck me, Grant," she whispers as he climbs onto the bed over her. He's barely in control of himself as he seizes his cock and teases her entrance, gasping at the slick warmth that coats her. "Fuck me, please. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck meeeeOH." Mary's head lolls backward as Grant obeys, sliding himself into her warm, wet cunt with a groan of pleasure. She wraps around him so tightly, fits him so perfectly, that for a second it's all he can do not to cum right there. But, determined to make it last, he flexes his hips. "Ah!" Mary gasps as he fucks her once, then: "Ooh!" as he thrusts again. Then she wraps her arms and legs around him, clinging tightly to his naked body as he begins to pump, driving into her yielding, silken cunt with a strength born of desire and pride both. Mary moans as he fucks her relentlessly, her wordless groans giving way, as she adjusts, to a steady litany of whimpered praise and desire. "Yes! Yes! Fuck me, Grant! Take me, master! Use me, lord! Fuck me! Fuck me! Pleeeaaase..."

Finally Grant can stand it no longer, and with a cry of ecstasy he rams his cock home in her and lets his orgasm take him, mind blanking out as his body shakes, his core squeezing and pulsing as he pumps his seed into Mary. She moans as he paints her cunt with his cum, then - as the climax leaves him and he collapses slightly - reaches up to pull him close, kissing him hungrily as they lie together, still nude, sweat-soaked and entwined. He can feel her vaginal walls clamping down, trying to pull more cum from him, and he moans as they kiss, overly sensitive. As the kiss finishes and his now limp cock slips from Mary's cunt, he lets himself fall sideways to land next to her on Amanda's bed. Mary snuggles up next to him, pressing her naked flesh to his as he wraps an arm around her. "Mmmm," she sighs. "Thank you, master."

"Thank me? I should be thanking you," he says with a breathless laugh. But Mary shakes her head earnestly.

"No," she insists. "Thank you. You've got a whole harem of willing women out there now...and you chose me to fuck. I feel really, really lucky." She sighs contentedly, stroking a hand across his chest idly. "I'd always wondered what you were like in bed...now I know."

"Not sure I, uh. Would've been quite like that before," Grant admits with a little laugh.

"Mmmm. You should've been," Mary says with a little smile. "Even before, plenty of women wanted to be, well. Manhandled a bit. You could've had all the pussy you wanted...but I'm glad that this new world has given you the confidence you needed."

"You really think I can do this?" he asks quietly. "Take charge...?"

"If that's what you want to do, I know you will," Mary says firmly. "That idea you had - it really is smart. And it will work, I think. You can do this. And I'll be right by your side, every step of the way. Or, I guess..." She leans down and places a gentle kiss on his shiny cock. "Under you, I guess. Willingly supporting your ideas and taking your cock."

Grant feels a surge of lust at the way she says these words - so casual, but so committed - and his hand tightens on her ass. But it's too soon to do anything else, now. Mary glances up at him with a smile.

"And besides," she says. "While Jaz and I were out, I learned about an opportunity..."

Grant's mind races as he pulls his pants back on, going over everything Mary has told him. It's a lot to take in...made harder by her insistence on occasionally suckling his cock in between portions of her narrative. But while he's overwhelmed and conflicted, the dominant feeling is one of excitement. This could be it - we could really pull this off. The story of how Mary and Jaz got the guns was unsettling, at first. But it sounds like the girl they traded away was a real jerk, and given what the world is like out there Grant finds it hard to feel that bad about it. More to the point, it's too exciting a prospect. The trade worked - a girl for guns. Mary was right. There's a new finite resource out there. And now they know about a goldmine.

"The only question," Mary had murmured as she idly licked his shaft, head in his lap, "is what the ratio should be. Claimed and 'distributed' to unclaimed, I mean...pretty high, I'd think. We need to control the unclaimed ones...and the scarcity will help. Claimed women can be spies and messengers, too."

It was Machiavellian, the way she thought. It was also pretty hot. Grant smiles as he buttons his pants and pulls his shirt back on.

Just then, there's a knock at the door. "What is it?" he calls, and to his surprise, it opens.

"Sorry to interrupt," Amanda says as she steps in. Grant flushes slightly, but if Amanda's perturbed by the sight of Mary, lying nude on Amanda's bed looking contented and well-fucked, she doesn't show it. "It's just...I thought you'd want to know if anything might happen soon."

They probably did hear us... Grant realizes with a wince. I guess they know what happened. He nods to Amanda. "What's up?"

She clears her throat, looking faintly embarrassed. "Well, Grant, it's...Steven. My husband." She shuffles awkwardly. "It looks like he's about a block away, so...I expect he'll be home soon."