We Live In A Digital Age

Things started to calm down. There was a return to normalcy around the office and in the field. Juliet was back to doing her office duties while Hanson and Hunter dealt with the office as a whole. Hunter was taking it easier than normal. No one was sure if it was by his own volition or Hanson holding him back. That didn't stop him from going out and looking for new contracts. One caught his eye enough that he called a meeting in the afternoon.

Everyone was piled into the conference room waiting for the presentation to start. Juliet and Adam knew something was up when Hanson was the last one to show up. He looked around to find a viewing seat instead of a presenting seat. This quickly turned into a Hunter-based mission. The lights went down as the projector came up to a blue screen. "OK, this one is a strange one. We are doing information gathering and removal. We don't even have to go anywhere."

He flipped the projector to an image of a woman wearing a baggy hoodie and nothing else. She was covered enough that nothing was showing but something was up about her. "This is our main subject. Her name is Marissa, real name Vivianna, but she goes by PersonalSuccubus online." He flipped to another image where she was wearing much less than the hoodie. If you could consider what she had on as clothing at all. It was more like black strips that covered the absolute minimum while hugging her body. Adam squirmed in his chair trying not to make eye contact.

He flipped to the next slide to a rather official-looking document. "Marissa is a registered succubus. We know about her, we know where she is, we know everything except how she is draining the life of her viewers via the internet. Without that, no one can make a move on her to bring her in. Everyone will have their roles in this. Hanson has already been assigned monitoring. Adam, you'll be in charge of network traffic. You'll be working with the company as they copy all traffic to us. I'll be doing leg work bringing in materials as needed." He clapped his hands as he dismissed the meeting.

Hanson and Adam took their leave while Hunter began tearing down the room. Juliet sat in her seat watching as he started picking up his papers and pulling the USB drive from the projector. To get his attention, she let out a cough. He continued working while he spoke, "I didn't forget about you. Your role in this requires a bit more… secrecy. Follow me please."

He kept quiet on the short walk to his office. It was just down the stairs and down the hallway but once inside he shut the door. He took his seat, crossing his fingers, "You can say no to this if you want, but your role is to make friends with this woman."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Well, that's the problem. You would need to go undercover as a cam girl. You gain her attention, then you find out how she is draining the life out of her victims."

"A… cam girl?"

Now it hit why he was so quiet about it. He proposed this in the most professional manner that he could. "Again! You can say no. If you are uncomfortable with it, you don't have to."

"What happens if I say no?"

"We can find someone. We can hire someone to work as a mole and fulfill the role."

"And if I say yes?"

"Then I get to work. We can set up an area in the office, your apartment, my own home, where you will have privacy. That's my role, the leg work, is to set up an area for streaming and coaching through interactions to pull Marissa's attention."

This was outside of her comfort zone. Could she allow herself to be exposed to strangers for the sake of the job? If she declined, who would they get to take her place? She would have to be someone sexy to gain the attention of Marissa. Then that would mean Hunter would be…

Is this jealousy? This was not a pretty color for her. She had always been able to work in any condition thrown at her so far. Why was this so different? Her mind was lost in thought until Hunter pulled her back, "You don't have to have an answer now. We have a few days while we start getting things ordered and set up. Think it over."

She was dismissed from the office with her face still red. This was something else. She had worked to help seduce individuals before. Why was this job bothering her? The rest of the team spent their time getting their part ready. Adam was setting up his network monitoring while Hanson was on the phone working with the website host and the site owner. Hunter kept to his office. He was going over their inventory before making a rather large order for the missing materials. This wasn't looking like the prep work was going to be cheap. They needed some high-end stuff to create a small movie studio.

Juliet took the next day as a personal day for herself. No one asked any questions about it. They just left her to her own devices. Hunter sent her a text once to check on her and left it at that. He didn't want to push her in any direction.

Her day was spent doing research. She had herself in her comfortable chair at her small desk combing the internet with her laptop. The comfy purple pajamas helped her in her research. She was looking online at what it took to be a cam girl along with stories from current and former actors. She found a lot that went over how freeing it was to be financially independent because of the support of their community. But she wasn't looking for financial support.

There were a lot of positives with it. She found multiple stories of couples who did it for fun as a project together. She found a few where the actor did it as a hobby in their free time to fill space. The negative still got through though. A few stories about how people were able to find them from a glimpse of a tree or the location of a street sign out an open window. The deeper she got into it, the more and more the online harassment got. Screenshots and photos were sent to people's parents with messages like "Proud of your daughter?"

Could she really do this? It was rough. But she also knew that on top of having professional security, she would have amazing support. She started having more questions about how this would work. Would they allow her to hide her face? Could she design her own setup? Would she have to do a fully nude show? Or could she get away with just something skimpy? She looked down at how comfy she was in her clothes already wondering if she could get away with this.

A good night's rest got her in the right mindset though. She had plenty of time to think it over and weigh her thoughts. In the end, it came down to that it was her job and she was OK with doing just that. She was going to treat it like any other job. Get in! Do her part! And get out! Simple! She had herself psyched up to take on anything! All she had to do was inform her boss that she was ready.

She came into work with her head high and a strut in her step. She kept herself hyped with her chin up. She walked into Hunter's office to find him not there. She had all this energy ready to go and it just drained from her body in an instant. She turned around looking down the hallway in both directions. The entire area was empty. No sounds, no movement. Just empty space. "Where is everyone?" she said to herself. Her reply came from Hanson's office, "We're in here."

Hunter and Hanson were both in there. Hanson at his desk, Hunter leaning back against the wall, "We were discussing the extra security measures we were going to take. What can we help you with?" She swallowed hard trying to get herself collected once again. She found the words in her mind but had issues getting them to her mouth, but they got there. "I've decided that I will help." Hunter pushed himself off of the wall, "OK, we can get planning later today. Just you and I."

She took her leave letting the two continue their own scheming. She did what she could to try and calm herself. She made a decision that was going to expose quite a bit of her to the world. But she knew that nothing bad would come to her. If anything, those two would be overprotective of her. The rest of her day was spent doing her normal tasks. The office was buzzing with some new people coming in and out. Looked like there was going to be some minor construction done.

It wasn't until the end of the day that she got to see Hunter again. He was pulled in every direction throughout the day until the very end. It wasn't until the lights were brought down that he could release himself from the office. Juliet kept herself sitting in the lobby as she waited. She knew better than to just leave. He said that he was going to talk to her later. He didn't say how much later it would be, but he was one to keep his word.

She caught him on his way to the garage. "Juliet, I'm surprised you stuck around." He beckoned her with him. The least he could do was give her a ride home. He kept quiet until they were out of the garage. He always kept their private conversations as private as he could. That meant off property and out of security cameras' eyes. Work was behind them but there was still more work to be done. Hunter started off this conversation, "So you decided to help. What pushed you over the edge?" She leaned her seat further back to sit lower, "It came down to that it's a job and I will do my part to help as I can."

He nodded as he let it go there. He turned a corner heading towards her apartment at a slower-than-normal pace, "What questions do you have? I'm sure there were a few."

"There were a lot."

She went over her thought process with him. She voiced her concerns with security and protecting her identity. He brought up the many cases of harassment she found from others online that did something like she was about to do. On top of that, there was her major concern about how exposed she was going to have to be for this to work. Hunter started with the security concerns.

"Hanson and I worked on that today and started getting things moving on that front. We are bringing in a local telecommunications company to install a new private line into the main office that will be limited to one room in the basement only. There we will have a quarantine room where we will host our own network equipment that will be used for monitoring and whatnot. Hanson and I both agreed that we could afford $400,000 from each of us for this upgrade to the building. We plan on using it again in the future should the need ever arise. It's going to have a server for storage, a robust firewall with strict rules, VPN and reverse proxy, and 100 megs of down and upload speeds. It's not going to be a small project. We need to get the room itself built first and it's going to be a top-level clearance-only space. Hanson, myself, and maybe Adam when he's working. But all traffic is going to go through that quarantine room so we can watch everything going on."

It was a lot. It also explained the various people coming in and out throughout the day. New contractors that would be building a room in the basement. Well, more like sectioning off an already existing space. But it would have a very specific use.

"While I'm sure the technical and logistical aspect is fascinating to you, I'm sure you would rather know where you will be set up. I have some good news about that." He shifted around in his seat as he got a bit more comfortable. "You get to pick where you will be comfortable. We can set up there."

"Even if it was my apartment?"

"Yeah, we can do that if that's what you want."

She took a second to pause, "What if I said your place? For security."

This didn't seem to catch him off guard. In fact, he had an answer for it, "That was brought up and I do have a room in my basement that currently doesn't serve a purpose. If you would like, we can set up a studio there and have the network equipment in the next room." There was already a plan in place! Does he have her apartment bugged? This was an exact situation that she asked herself while trying to figure out if she would even be able to assist.

It didn't matter. There were many more questions to go over and all of them worked in her favor. No, she would not have to show more skin than what she was comfortable with. No, no one else would be watching her other than her fan base. Hanson and Hunter were strictly on network and leg work. Their communications coach, as they called her, would be the only person in the room with her while she performed, giving advice and guiding her through some of the psychology tricks to hook people and build her fanbase. There was a strict NDA signed just as a safety net. The person they hired had worked with contractors like them before so they were aware of what they were dealing with.

It was weeks before everything was set up and installed. The construction in the building was completed rather quickly with the networking equipment installed the next day and running the day after. Hunter spent his time at home getting the basement rigged. The studio room was soundproofed, painted, and furniture was brought in. A simple bed, comfy chair, beanbag, dresser with drawers, and a mid-tier computer with a camera that can see into space.

Maybe that's an exaggeration but it is 4k at 60 frames per second. With the dedicated computer and internet, every frame will make it out to her audience. Juliet got a lot of input on this. She got to pick the furniture, the colors, the bedding, and the sheets for it. This was going to be a safe place where she could work with no distractions and minimal risk.

Hunter would send updates to her at the end of the day before he went to bed with the progress. The small room quickly became a second bedroom of sorts. From the angle of the camera, it looked just like that. From the rest of the room, it was quickly turning into their base of operations. The camera was pointed towards the normal section of the room but behind the scenes was something else. Two monitors were on the desk and a TV on the wall. The TV on the wall was dimmed to not show or reflect on any surface beyond the desk. The coach could give instructions on the screen by typing them out and share the live feed of the chat so she could react and interact.

The monitors were set up to watch the feed, stream the feed, and have a private chat connected to Hanson as he watched the traffic go through their office and to Hunter's phone if they needed something brought down. A small shelf was installed on the door with a sliding section so that even Hunter would not need to enter the room. It would keep the immersion that she was the only one there. A quick break could be called if a discussion was needed and the stream paused.

There were procedures put in place with a few dry runs to make sure that they would work. At the office, the network traffic for the stream came in live but the stream out was delayed by 30 seconds in case it needed to be cut for any reason. There were two kill switches installed. One in the studio and the other at the office. If the coach noticed anything she could cut it. If Hanson noticed anything he could do the same. All of this was done to protect those involved. Juliet was made aware of these failsafes to ensure that she knew the lengths and precautions.

Then came her role in this ordeal. Her collar was charmed into a black choker to make it less conspicuous. It still held the same power as before with some lighter restrictions. She could tug on it to adjust it, play with it, and get her fingers under it to be flirty. It still could not be removed under her own power. If she pulled it to where it could be removed, it would activate. Some things would never change.

But! She was given a much lighter restriction on her powers. She could change her body, hair, and face to what she wanted. This would give her a disguise online. She just had to remember what she had chosen. Her hair could change every now and again as though she dyed it, cut it, or got extensions. It would give her some variety and allow for community engagement. It floored her how much thought was put into this.

The weeks flew by as the work continued. During the day, Juliet kept to her duties while at night she would meet with her coach on how to interact with her audience. Hunter kept working away in his basement. Hanson kept things going at the office as the new install happened. Everything was coming together. The site agreed to funnel all raw traffic to the office location for evaluation for both Juliet's and Marissa's streams. When something was happening, they would know.

The day came. Juliet's first show was scheduled. Her account was created and set up with a username. She was as ready as she was going to be. She flipped her hair turning the plain brown to a golden blonde that dropped to her hips. Her bangs covered half her face which shaped itself to soft features. She shortened her body to a petite stature to enhance her features. Having a smaller body made everything else look bigger by comparison. She ran her choices by Hunter before finalizing them with a photo to remember what she had picked. She could go off of a picture a lot better than memory. Unless it was someone else's memory. That was just a succubus trait. As her first show was about to begin Hunter approached her to give words of encouragement, "There's a lot of expectations on you and I know it can be hard. But we know you are the best for the job and you'll surpass anything we set before you. Ms. Mistress, the show is yours!"

Juliet let her instinct take over once the camera was on. She rolled with her viewers with a simple introduction before working the crowd with her coach's assistance. The outfit for this one was very conservative. This was the first stream. No sense in giving it all away at the start. As everything went on she showed a bit more skin. Her sweater was cast aside for her more alluring tank top. Her bra was visible underneath and the straps were showing on her shoulders. The jeans were tight on her to accentuate those curves she worked hard on crafting.

It was only a few hours but a few tips rolled in, some people followed her, and all in all, it was smooth. The camera shut off, they got the all-clear, and she turned herself back into her normal self she carried around the office. The exhaustion hit her like a brick. She fell forward on the bed burying her face into the blanket while groaning. Her coach gave her words of encouragement that if she kept it up, she'd be grabbing the eyes of everyone.

Hunter came in to get a quick recap of what happened. With nothing major to report, the project was cleared to continue. Hanson would be looking over the traffic in more depth as they cleaned it up.

"Juliet, you made $44.31 in tips. Well done." He gave her a simple congratulations on what could be considered a successful job. She rolled around on the bed as she worked the nerves off of her, "I didn't think it would be this stressful! The chat, the comments, interacting with a crowd I can't see, and gauging their reaction. This is a lot harder than I imagined."

"But you nailed it and got paid for it."

"Got paid for it?"

"Yeah, the tips are yours. You earned them."

This was the first time she heard about this part of the deal. Any tips earned from her shows were given to her. Consider it a bonus or incentive but she worked for it, she earned it. Hunter, Hanson, and her coach were all background players. They were all getting paid for the job itself, not for the performance. The money was Juliet's, fair and square.

The plan for tomorrow was no show, but to review in private the show they did and begin with tactics on improving. Their coach would review and come back with ideas and tricks for next time. For now, though, it's a job well done. Juliet was taken home by Hunter in an odd silence. She was the one who broke it with her question, "You keep asking how I'm doing with this but you haven't told me how you're doing with this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your secret girlfriend is flirting with strangers on the internet. Most people would have some issues with that."

He nodded as he got her point, "In case you have not noticed, I am not like most people. I understand what you're doing and why you're doing it."

She didn't know what she expected. He was who he was, a man of work and dedication to himself and his employees. During working hours, she was the employee, and off hours they were themselves and the couple they agreed to be. Once work was done they could be themselves. Except tonight. It was already late and they still had to be up in the morning for their review.

Hunter dropped Juliet off giving her more reassurance that she did a great job. She got inside her normal environment much later than expected. It was dark as the sun was already hidden behind the other buildings. One light flipped on bringing life to the place as she began to overanalyze herself and her show. Thoughts started racing through her head about everything she said, and how she acted. It had become so unlike her to be her succubus self that it was awkward to play it back in her head. And to think that a drove of strangers were watching her and doing who knows what behind the keyboard. Was Hunter watching as well? Was he observing?! She knew Hanson was looking at the network for something but was Hunter watching her show?

It only made her head race faster. Even a shower didn't help her calm down. She did what she could but she could not bring herself back to normal. It was hours before she burnt herself out enough that she could sleep. Tomorrow was another day.