The door to room 508 shut with a soft click as the latch slid into place. They were alone now, each member of the pair feeling totally in control. With a grin, Andrei began approaching his companion, slowly pressuring her to back up towards the bed. Not interested in indulging the man, Lilith stayed put and stared at him, her expression unreadable. It didn't take long for the negotiator to close the gap between them, his hand reaching for the porcelain skin of Lilith’s cheek.

“It’s so good to finally be alone. Now I can take care of you properly, my pet.” Something sinister flashed in the woman’s eyes as she smacked his hand away, his fingers never getting the chance to savor her soft skin. Before he could retort, Lilith grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled as she stepped aside, his body falling at the foot of the bed.

“I am [b]not[/b] a pet, you disgusting piece of filth. Why is it that you humans think you own everything?” The kumiho stood over him with her hands on her hips, her face contorted into a disdained scowl.

“You foolish whore, you’re going to regret that.” Andrei stood up, his brown eyes matching the danger found in Lilith’s golden orbs. She merely huffed in response, leaving her already breathless as the man suddenly tackled her. Her head smacked the ground and the fox spirit’s concentration was broken, her silver tails suddenly appearing splayed out behind her.

“What the hell? Wha-” Andrei never got to finish his question as Lilith hooked his arm and rolled their bodies so she was on top. Clenching her left hand over his throat, she leaned in close and snarled into his ear, “I’m going to enjoy killing you, but why don’t we play a little game first? Hmm?” The kumiho sat back up and smirked, “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to tear out your throat and we’ll see if you’re still able to scream when I rip your heart from your chest.” Her nails dug into his skin as she spoke, small droplets of blood squeezing their way to the surface.

~*~*~*~

In the other room, Maxim opened up the briefcase, his eyes widening at what he saw. The young man had seen large quantities of cocaine before, but the sight never became less beautiful to him. Bags upon bags of euphoria lay at his fingertips. Stick leaned in behind him, his hands shaking in anticipation, “Well? Open up a bag already.”

Rocket wasn't paying any attention to the other men in the room, his head leaned in close to the wall they shared with room 508. He may not have been smart, but his dedication was admirable. Listening for any signs of trouble, Rocket was always ready to do his job and protect Andrei. Besides, the woman might turn out to be screamer and the large man didn't mind having something to fantasize about that night.

Pavel, however, was not so placid. Peering over at the suitcase, the ambitious man immediately noticed something was off. While the two addicts were setting up to test the snowy powder, Pavel was focused on the bags. He’d seen blue bags before and he knew they meant the Solntsevskaya Brotherhood was involved. The woman’s story had sounded odd, but now he was convinced something was wrong. Without a word to the others, he stormed out of the room and began knocking on the adjacent door. Fearing Andrei’s wrath, Rocket quickly followed to stop his dark skinned companion.

~*~*~*~

Lilith’s head snapped towards the door as she heard a fierce knocking.

“Andrei, open the door! I need to talk to you!” The negotiator attempted to sit up upon hearing one of his guards, relief rushing through his body. The kumiho did not respond well to his movement and tightened her grip on his neck before pushing him back down.

“Ignore him,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “He’ll go away soon enough.” Had her hand not made breathing difficult, Andrei would have laughed. He thought she was foolish for attacking him before, but now he knew she was clueless. If he didn't answer, the men would know something was wrong. [i]This bitch sure is going to get it.[/i]

“Andrei? God damn it!” Pavel gave up knocking and gave the door a good, hard kick. Rocket was by his side now, brow furrowed slightly, “Is he not answering?”

“What the hell do you think? I’m not kicking down this door for a fucking workout. Now help me get in there before we get our asses fired.” Rocket didn't need elaboration to knew what being ‘fired’ meant and pushed the slightly smaller male out of the way, “I got it.”

Hearing the assault on the door, Lilith growled, “Just great.” Looking back to the man below her, she sighed, “Sorry, it looks like your time is up.” Andrei’s eyes widened in protest, but the fox ignored it, finally digging her fingers in with her full strength and grabbing hold of whatever lay beneath the skin. She yanked her hand back, frowning as the spray of blood got on her chest and arms.

At almost the very same moment, Rocket kicked open the door, the wooden frame splintering under the pressure. The two men who stood outside looked at the scene in the hotel room with shock and disbelief. All four of them seemed frozen, unsure of what to do next. Andrei attempted to issue on order, but all that came out was a gurgling spurt of blood from his gaping neck. The horrible sound sprung them into action and within seconds, Lilith was on her feet, her tails bristling behind her. Rocket ran in first, his arms raised naturally after years of boxing. He swung at the woman’s head, his body pivoting to provide as much power as was held in his massive frame. The kumiho managed to put up her arm to block the punch, but was surprised when she was knocked backwards over Andrei’s body anyway. Not relenting, the large boxer walked over and grabbed Lilith’s arm, yanking her body up by the slender limb.

“Who are you?” Lilith kept her head hung, her dark hair falling in front of her face. He couldn't see the rage in her eyes or the slow smirk that stretched her mouth into a wicked snarl. The woman’s hands were suddenly engulfed in blue light, the eerie flames flickering wildly. She grabbed his arm that held her, the skin immediately blistering under the immense heat. Rocket cried out and Lilith used her other hand to cover his face, the screams growing louder as the room began to fill with the smell of seared flesh.

Stumbling backwards, the boxer covered his face with his hands and tried to find his way to the door, his eyes seared shut. Lilith simply pushed the crippled man aside, his body falling against the wall as she advanced towards a startled Pavel. The man pulled out his gun but the fox had closed the gap between them before he could fire a shot. Her flame-covered hand grabbed the gun and Pavel had no choice but to let go, the heat causing him to reflexively flinch away. Lilith tossed the weapon away, the metal steaming as it lay on the ground.

“You should have kept your hands off of me. Not that it would have saved your life…” With a cruel laugh, she put the backs of her hands together and stabbed into Pavel’s sternum, the tips of her fingers grabbing hold of his rib cage. Her muscles strained for a moment as he howled in pain before she finally managed to pry open the protective bone structure. Bones and ligaments popped, the immense pain dropping Pavel to his knees. Lilith sneered as the fire receded and she thrust her hand into the opening she had created. Her fingers easily found their way to his heart, the digits wrapping around the frantically beating organ before she twisted and yanked it free. The man’s lifeless body slumped to the ground and Lilith turned to face Andrei once more, taking a large bite out of the heart in her blood-soaked hand.

“You've been awfully quiet. Don’t worry, we won’t have to wait much longer. I just need to finish off the big guy.” The man’s eyes sent silent pleas, his body limp and his face pale from the loss of blood. Andrei wouldn't be conscious much longer and he was afraid the last thing he would see in this life was the mangled corpse that used to be Pavel. The kumiho quickly finished eating the blood-pumping organ as she stood over Rocket, the man’s cries now nothing but pained whimpers.

“You aren’t nearly as tough as you look, are you?” She nudged the bodyguard with her foot, and he swung wildly in response. Chuckling softly, Lilith shook her head, “Oh my, I guess there is some fight left in you after all. Guess we’ll have to change that.” Kneeling down beside the boxer, she grabbed one of his arms and pushed her palm against his shoulder, popping the joint out of place. Rocket’s cries began with renewed vigor, causing the kumiho to roll her eyes.

“You’re going to attract a lot of unwanted attention, you know that? Guess we better shut you up too.” The man reached to cover his throat with his good arm, thinking the woman meant to silence him like Andrei. Instead, Lilith stabbed her hand into his abdomen, striking just below the rib cage. Rocket’s body began seizing in protest as the woman’s arm snaked its way up to his heart. Blood oozed out of the opening as her entire forearm disappeared into the wound.

Just a couple minutes later, and Lilith had properly disposed of Rocket as well. Andrei was now in a daze, his vision cloudy and dark as he fought to stay conscious. Lilith kneeled beside him and leaned in close so he could see her, the lower half of her face now smeared with blood. She smiled and stroked his face almost lovingly, “Remember now, don’t make any noise.”