I met up with my Weaver contact like usual. The runner had his face covered in a black bandana and took me to an abandoned section of the city ruins I'd never entered.

He stopped shortly after I followed him into a derelict Italian restaurant. It reminded me of one of those bistros where you'd see old-timey gangsters sit at the corner table and discuss family business.

"Stay," the runner turned and left me alone for the trade-off.

This was a different second location than the usual.

I didn't know the Weavers moved their headquarters!

Or had I, up until now, simply been deemed untrustworthy?

A few minutes later, after the runner departed, a woman greeted me from the shadows.

It was Mina.

It was always strange that she was always the one to come out and meet me.

"Glad to see those bums in the shipyard didn't cause you too much trouble," the tall redhead flashed me a smirk, then waved for me to follow her into the kitchen.

The shelves and pantry inside were long since scavenged, but all the pots and pans were still dangling over the dusty stovetops.

Mina led me down a partially lit hallway with no windows, then we took two more turns that eventually dead-ends at a broken vending machine.

She typed in the code S91D35, triggering the little lights on the keypad to blink.

I jolted when the wall opened up beside me.

Inside, was a tiny room, furnished with a crazy-ripped blond guard standing quietly with a sidearm and a semiautomatic.

"Ma'am," he curtly acknowledged Mina as she entered.

It was an elevator and I was dying to know where it led to!

The little cube sealed up and rocketed the three of us several stories below ground level.

I was dying to ask questions, but I decided it was best to play it cool next to Mina.

She was older, maybe thirty, with effortless copper locks and a cup size that had big blondy in the corner, struggling to keep his eyes facing forward.

If this had been a Citadel and I were aiming to gut this hideout, I'd choose this as my opening. Hardly anyone notices the scrawny girl with a wonky braid and bulky men's clothing.

The elevator dinged and came to a halt, then the doors slid open to a bright, spacious medical facility.

Holy Crap!

This place was fully staffed and way more advanced than any Citadel.

"This way," Mina chirped and tapped my shoulder.

The sterile gray hallways were swarming with doctors and nurses.

Creating this place was no small feat!

But man, did people need it!

After the wildfires, drought, famine, and water shortages, governments all over the world collapsed. Including all the networks supporting regular people in getting basic medical care.

The Weavers weren't as vast as some other rebel organizations, but they were coordinated, and the work they provided was essential for mending the little wounds that mattered.

I waved to people I didn't know and said hi even though most of them gawked at me like I was an unwelcome weirdo.

There was no hiding that I was in awe, yet all the integrated tech lining the walls made me feel small.

For every job the Weavers would hire me for, I'd go in deciding to give it my all, then I'd collect my earnings and go home disappointed that I couldn't do more to help.

As usual, I was out of the loop and expendable.

Mina guided me into a solemn section of the compound encased in black latticed walls, pulsing with purple light.

She looked up and a little purple light scanned her eyes. Then a dead serious door opened up into a dark room illuminated by a single purple glowing table.

There was a shape in the shadows on the opposite wall and I knew exactly who it was!

Mina glanced at me with a considerate dip of her chin, then exited the chamber.

The shadow stepped closer.

I planted my feet and kept my hands flat to my sides.

Only his face entered the light.

"Boss Man!" I almost bounced.

Teku relinquished a closed-lip half smile and invited me closer to the table.

These last few years he'd let his straight white hair grow out to his chin and had the tendency to slick it back, but today he wore it loose with the sides tucked casually behind his ears.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice," he kept his arms tucked under a long black trench coat.

"N'problem," I shined my teeth at him.

The room drastically contrasted his old office, or judging from this place, those facilities were just his satellite branches.

"For you, I don't doubt that," Teku activated a gossamer hologram of the nearest Citadel on the table just by looking at it. "But maybe we can present you with a challenge."

My stomach lurched at the sound of the skittering all around us.

Was it just me, or was the tech integrated into the walls in constant random motion?

My eyes dilated on the brightest light source. It wasn't an electric current. The entire room was crawling with little purple robot spiders of all shapes and sizes!

"We're planning a small liberation," Teku zoomed in on the Citadel's Rehabilitation Center, once again without the use of his hands.

He never lets me see all of him.

I think something happened to him in the chemical attacks.

Right after martial law kicked in, terrorists went into overdrive. Civilians who found themselves trapped inside the major cities had no choice but to scatter; however, not everyone made it out in time. People got sick and many of the survivors were physically altered.

It's why medicine and health care are one of the primary tenets of Teku's Weavers.

"We have operatives in place to make infiltration easy," Teku explained. "But the overall plan is three-prong. The east wing has proven near impenetrable. That's where you come in."

Teku's purple eyes started to glow as a fluffy purple tarantula lugged a little crate onto the table.

The robot spiders weren't new. I'd catch glimpses of them at his other offices. But I had no idea he had this many! He must have invented some kind of tech to communicate with them telepathically.

The purple tarantula popped open the latch on the box and then scurried off into the darkness.

Teku eased his pale face over the open lid, bidding me to inspect the contents.

I froze.

Then it dawned on me that the table was fabricated from thick overlapping black and purple spiderwebs.

"Don't worry," Teku continued, keeping his tall lanky body hidden within the shadows. "I gave them special protocols to abide by whenever they're in your presence. They're strictly forbidden from going anywhere near your hair."

I forced my lungs to operate and took a giant step forward.

Inside the box sat a pair of open-finger gloves.

"I know cyber hacking isn't your specialty," Teku stood beside me.

He smelled like soap and freshly laundered cotton.

Meanwhile, I couldn't recall the last time I'd come across a bar of deodorant.

"These will give you the highest level of Citadel clearance," the edges of Teku's mouth drooped when I reached out to pick up the gloves. "But it will only get you so far."

"Once the doors stop opening," I tried to hide the tremble in my hands as I peered closer into the three-dimensional holographic blueprint. "I guess I'll have to switch over and start opening them manually."

"Yes," Teku forced a smile and scrunched his eyes. "Your objective will be to access the control room and release all the prisoners."

My eyes meandered off toward the rhythmic pulsing webs on the walls and flooring.

They're not so scary when the fibers blink and shimmer.

All the twinkling purple reminded me of the Halloween lights people used to hang up in their yards.

Another oversized slender spider dangled down from the ceiling, delivering us a little USB drive.

This was the first time Teku ever allowed his robot spiders to come this close to me.

Weird... the shape of the lights made them look like derpy cartoons.

Did he do that on purpose, or was it just the way the diodes had to be wired?

"I need you to insert this into any port in the Control Room," Teku's eyes flared brighter, and the spider put down the device and then crawled back up its long slender cord.

"It contains a virus that will simultaneously wipe the prisoner bios and overwrite the information onto service records of high-ranking Citadel officials."

"That'll throw a wrench in their crank," I fought the urge to nudge him with my elbow like I would with Big Larry.

Teku and I met shortly before The Fall, and when we finally crossed paths again two years later... everything was different.

"That all, Boss Man?" I swung my eyes up at him.

"A second crew led by Mina will enter after security is focused on the prison break," Teku withdrew his face into the shadows and then continued. "They'll be disguised as Suppression Agents and will upload a virus to monitor the entire secure internal Citadel network."

I always made a point to show respect while talking with him in front of his subordinates, but these solo meetings always made me nervous.

He once insisted that I call him by his first name, but that was way back in the days before he commanded an army.

The last thing I wanted was to disappoint him.

"You can exit on your own," Teku's hologram highlighted Mina's team's intended path inside the Citadel. "Or regroup and withdraw with her unit."

It made sense he'd selected someone like Mina to be his highest-ranking lieutenant. She was mature, and classy, and radiated honor. Plus, she could savvy herself well in a bloody-knuckled fistfight.

She was the perfect choice for a trusted confidant.

"Prolly safer for all parties that I get out of everyone's hair as soon as possible," I let out an anxious giggle.

Teku got quiet and then turned away.

It was completely unlike him.

Then he turned to me but persisted in concealing his face within the shadows.

"Do you think I'm scary?"

The question caught me off guard, but I opted to be honest. "Yeah, of course!"

Teku's eyes expanded and got paler.

"Look at this place!" I waved my hands around at the fantastically high-tech chamber. "I can't even comprehend the clandestine cogs that went into action in order to construct this fortress, let alone run it!"

"And Mina!" I was rambling and I couldn't help it. "The way she's got your back, it's no joke the level of respect she and the others have for you! To be honest, it's all overwhelming. I get that I'm way below clearance, but every time I come in for a job it's freaky how out of the loop I am."

It felt good, finally getting this all off my chest.

"Man," I caught my breath. "Ya know how they say, be careful what you wish for? No doubt, if you clued me on even a fraction of the serious shit your Weavers get into I'd be in way over my head–"

Teku kissed me out of nowhere!

I freaked and froze and my tummy got all bubbly.

Suddenly, the purple light of Teku's eyes fluttered, and he pulled away in panic.

No, you don't!

I leaped at him, throwing my arms around his neck, and kissed him back!

I don't know what's happening, but I want it!

We stood there kissing in the dim warbling purple light.

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are?" Teku whispered next to my lips.

It felt good to once again be wrapped in his arms.

"I've been failing at this over and over," Teku's cadence hinted he was trying to beg for forgiveness, but I had no idea why he felt the need to apologize.

"I thought hiring you would make this easier," Teku pressed his forehead to mine. "But coming clean meant admitting I had ulterior motives and diminishing your achievements."

"I'm sorry," Teku relaxed his grip on my shoulders. "I only wanted to be close to you."

"You're all kinds of dumb," I smooshed my nose against his. "Why do you think I gave the Weavers permanent discount pricing?"

Teku let out a light, hissing giggle through his teeth.

"I know you don't like spiders but you've never even winced at me," the light in Teku's eyes shimmered like amethysts dangling in an afternoon window. "I never knew if you were sunny and cheerful on purpose to hide your inner disgust or if you really just liked me."

"Like you?" I stuck out my tongue. "You're like the coolest guy I know. Yeah, regular spiders give me the heebie-jeebies, but your arachno-bots aren't so bad when they get bright and keep their distance. And what's up with your eyes?"

Teku folded his lips between his teeth, then let out a sigh.

"Did I say som–?"

Teku pulled back and let me go. Then he removed his jacket as the light from his spiders and the webbing surged to full brightness, disinfecting the room of all shadows.

For the first time, I could see his whole body.

He was human and still lanky, but he had an extra pair of arms extending his torso. His exposed pale skin had patches of matte black and little protruding barbs.

Then we stepped to the webbed wall and climbed up as easily as one of his little robotic minions.

This was the coolest shit EVER!

"Aella," Teku returned to me, but he didn't yet make physical contact. "I don't make robots."

I didn't comprehend.

"Spiders flock to me and change over time when they're near me."

My spine compressed and a cold, tingly ripple expanded across my skin.

I turned left and focused on a well-fed house spider clinging to the nearest wall.

It was real and modified with organic lights!

"Over the years, I've learned how to make adjustments to make them appear more friendly," Teku kept his distance. His eyes flashed and all the spiders skittered away. "I didn't know how to tell you."

There were stories after the chemical attack about how some folks got more than sick and the insidious cocktail mutated a select few into monsters.

This was why the Weavers prioritized healing people over seizing raw power.

"When you say flock..?" My eyes zipped around the empty purple room.

"It's not all at once," Teku threw his palms up and dared to take one step closer. "And my spiders would never allow a wild one to get near you!"

Come to think of it... I've been sleeping outside in the dirt most nights these days and not once could I recall ever encountering an unwelcome eight-legged visitor.

"They do what you say?" I eased in a half step toward him.

"Yes," Teku reached out and extended one of his four hands. "I don't force them. At least not on purpose, except when it comes to their behavior around you."

I touched his fingers and I remembered why I missed him.

"I mad-mph-" Teku tumbled down when I pounced and sealed his lips with my own.

Teku was the same, no matter how The Fall had reshaped him.

"It wasn't my intention to make you feel left out," Teku laid beneath me, unraveling my long braid with his upper hands while the other two hugged my waist. "I wasn't certain to what degree you wanted to be included with the Weavers."

He tasted like apricots and cinnamon, or maybe that was just what he had for breakfast.

"You're the one all the communities call when they're in need of water and supplies," Teku held me tight. "It wouldn't be fair to hog you all to myself."

He wasn't making sense, but his neck smelled delicious!

"There are plenty of crews who do the same things as me," I prodded my tongue along his earlobe. "I just do little odd jobs, quick in and outs."

Teku's breath hitched, then he reared his head back and let out a long boisterous chortle. "Are you aware they call you the Rainmaker?"

"What's the stuff I do gotta do with the weather?"

He laughed again and then nuzzled his face into mine.

"It means my generals used to beg daily for permission to send you on more missions," Teku tried his best to clarify. "The only method to rein them in was to designate you a Huntsman rank."

None of this computed, but I was content to focus on figuring out how to get him naked.

"It means you're our best operative!" He raised my chin and looked me in the eye. "My Generals would burn you out in a week with all the piddly day-to-day back-and-forth errands."

"Oh.." I still didn't get it, but I think it meant he saw me more than a lowbie gofer.

Though, at the moment, all I was interested in was locating a zipper or belt buckle.

"I can..." Teku mumbled between breathy kisses, "Read you..."

I straddled his hips and stretched his long-sleeved turtleneck up over his head.

There were symmetrical black rubbery patches stretched over large portions of his waxen skin.

"In on..." Teku shuddered when my fingers stayed down his smooth abdominals. "Any mission you want..."

"Okay!" I yanked off my shirt and tussled with my sports bra. "But how 'bout we do that tomorrow?"

Does the hard stuff come off or is that just the natural him? How much of him is textured?

I couldn't wait to find out!

Teku had several of his arms on my legs, but his entire face was outright petrified.

I'd googled him later that night after we met. He was a prodigy genius in college long before he was a teenager.

From the panic in his eyes when I finally got my bra off, I suspected maybe he'd never had the chance to be alone with a lady. Maybe, back then, he'd operated on the thought that there'd be time for dating later, after his career got established. Then the world fell apart and his body turned into something else.

Well, you've got four hands now and you're going to put them all over me!

I pulled him upright and sat on his lap, then guided him to touch me wherever he wanted. His fingers would pause when they encountered a rough scar, and he hovered a safe distance from the fresh stitches speckling my ribs.

Bit by bit, we finally found ourselves naked and exploring one another inside a giant black nest of webs constructed by his minions. He stopped trembling and started squeezing tighter. Plus, I was dying to experience all twenty of his fingers!

We continued necking and grinding until I braved reaching down his center.

Teku's breath was fast, but he leaned back and let me get a visual on what I desired.

There was a rubbery fold that opened and unfurled something that was a vivid shade of purple.

He was definitely human enough to work with!

I touched it and he made the cutest noises.

Nothing about him was scary.

For years, he was the only one I could think about and the fella no other man could live up to.

And now he was here, with me, and I had no idea how to keep the real me from spooking him back into the shadows.

"You're trying to hold back," Teku called me out like my inner thoughts were being broadcasted in stereo.

I bit my lip and my ears got hot.

"I... can be a little all-in..." I shied my eyes and unconsciously tried to squirm away. "When I want something... I've been told, it can be a bit of a turn off..."

Teku squinted as he chuckled through his teeth. Then, for the first time, one of his palms cupped my rear, and it made me squeak. "I've seen the videos of you in action!"

My cheeks went bright red!

"When you fight!" He corrected himself with a snicker. "You're like a cyclone on the battlefield."

I laughed and swatted away a happy tear.

"I don't wanna scare you and mess it up."

"I've been terrified of the same since our first meeting," Teku confided.

"Then The Fall and this happened..." Teku spread open all four of his arms. "When I found out you were still alive, I was so ecstatic but then this... and the Weavers... I knew it was hopeless, but I couldn't bring myself to give up. I thought if I could keep giving you assignments, maybe... maybe one day..."

I launched my arms over his shoulders and kissed him once again, then leaned back, pulling his weight on top of me.

It was everything I could do, barring posting up a neon sign and arrows. Thankfully, Teku took the blatant hint, leaned in, and entered.

He was better than I imagined, but oddly quiet.

"Teku," I touched his face. "Look at me."

His eyes were bright and rippling but the strain in his neck and his gaping mouth suggested that all of his composure had been completely levied.

I moved one of his hands to my chest, then maneuvered the others like a naughty game of twister.

Teku blinked and shook himself out of his trance, bewildered by my peculiar preoccupations.

"You're really liking this?!" Teku arched his brow.

I nodded big with a stupid grin.

"I mean, you were handsome before," I tucked into a mischievous shrug. "The only thing that could make this better is if a tad more of you was doubled."

Teku's eyes blazed and he nipped at my face, "You cheeky little-!"

He lunged and embraced me, this time repositioning his grip on the anatomy he desired.

I wrapped my legs around him, and he pressed me into the cushioned web flooring.

One of his fingers traced the rigid peak of my chest while several others swooped in under my back. To my delight, he let himself be saturated in disorder and filled the air with breathy little grunts.

I was immersed in his arms. Each taking turns caressing me, tempting me, swirling my senses, and driving me to gasp.

"Teku," I panted next to his earlobe.

"What?" He gulped for air.

"Is there a way we could go a little lower?"

I pulled my nose to his and darted my eyes up and down while nudging my chin in the same direction.

Teku stared blankly at me for a second and then his lips parted into a long, wily smile.

All of a sudden, the webbing holding up my back went slack, whomping us backward and leaving us hanging head down, flat against another vertical wall of smooth webbing.

We snickered at one another, and Teku employed his innate adhesion to keep us secure.

"Aella," Teku held me tenderly within his four lanky black and white arms. "Before you, my life had a very specific trajectory with bullet points and color-coded contingency plans, and then you came along and flipped everything topsy-turvy.

He pressed his face to mine and steadied his heaving breaths.

"The first day my life ever made sense was when I was in freefall, tangled right beside you."

The End