AMATEUR XXX STORIES

-

ALPHABETICAL SEX STORY LISTINGS:

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

SNDCSL07 hurt and Nicole even teared up

THE USUAL WARNINGS:

This is a work of fiction by a twisted mind. If you

are offended by graphic descriptions of natural and/or

unnatural sexual acts, if you are underage, or if this

type of material is illegal where you are, don't read

any further.

This is a fantasy. You will have to loosen your clench

on reality a little when you read it. This is a tale in

which physical acts and human responses are not limited

to, nor necessarily based in, reality. Some acts and

responses in this story may be physically impossible

and/or physiologically improbable.

Also, as is the case with most of the stories in this

newsgroup, all the women in this story are beautiful -

gorgeous, even. Gravity has not caused breasts to

droop nor have wrinkles creased unblemished faces. The

men (the leading men, at least) are hung like bulls.

They can get it up and keep it up often and at will.

In this special little fantasyland, there are no STDs,

morals, or unwanted pregnancies. Guilt is a four-

letter word. Most important of all, neither strength

of character, courage of convictions, nor moral belief

stand a chance against any erotic stimulus. This can

be as benign as an accidental glimpse of a bared ankle

or as stimulating as a whipping on the genitals.

For those of you who didn't understand the preceding

statements, GO AWAY!

This story is intended for the salacious entertainment

of consenting adults. Do not try to do any of the

things described in this story. You could injure

yourself or your partner, be arrested, or shot by her

father....

If you are under 18 years of age, GO AWAY! This story
will burn your eyeballs and fry your brain.

If material of a strong sexual nature is prohibited

where you are, GO AWAY!

By continuing, the reader accepts all responsibility

for any disgust, revulsion, jail sentences, or pleasure

that results from reading this story. If you don't, GO

AWAY!

You have been warned!

If you enjoy this story and feel the urge to post it on

a <free> site, at least give me (NightShade) credit for

it.

So, stick your tongue firmly in your cheek and enjoy

the story!....:)

NightShade











Sandcastles

by NightShade

Chapter 61

"Well, I see you finally found out the family secret,"

boomed Marion's voice from behind us.

I wheeled around and ended up on my butt, my knees

still shaky from trying to absorb too much information

at once.

"Hey, little brother, it's not that bad," she grinned

teasingly. "Of course, I've known about this little

room for years, so I can imagine it must be quite a

shock to you to imagine mom and Dad down here, doing,

well ..." Marion ended by sweeping her hand around to

include the various devices in the cavernous room.

Especially Mom! "How... How did you find out?"

Marion looked a little sheepish. "Just about the same

way I came down now. They left the door open one night

when they were, well, you know... I went looking for

Mom for something and found them down here. I was

about 13 or so. Life hasn't been the same since..."

she ended, somewhat wistfully. I belatedly noticed the

housewarming plant she was carrying.

"Did you ever...?" I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"... use this stuff?" She guffawed. "Once. Well,

kind of. mom and Daddy were away, you were out with

Mac somewhere. I had been obsessed with what I saw

down her. It was all I could think about, day and, uh,

well, night." My stoic sister actually blushed!

"Since I had the house to myself, I snuck down here and

tried some of the stuff out. It was hot. I pretended

I was imprisoned down here, typical teenage fantasy

stuff. Everything was OK until I jiggled something on

the stocks over there and couldn't get out. I was

completely naked by that time and totally exposed,

helpless."

"What happened then?" Nicole asked breathlessly. She

was totally wrapped up in this yarn Marion was

spinning. At least, I was sincerely hoping it was a

yarn. I mean, this was mom we were talking about...

Marion gave a wry grin, remembering. "Mom found me. I

had left the door ajar, and she knew I was down here.

I think she must have known I had found out about the

cellar. She wasn't mad at all. She didn't laugh at

me, either, when she found me trapped. She just said,

`That's my favorite one, too,' and, then brought me

upstairs. She never said another word about it."

I sat there on the cold stone floor, astounded at the

revelations I was hearing. All my childhood heroes,

not to mention my mother, were falling from their

pedestals and I was left speechless. I just sat on the

cold floor, gumming the air, looking like a fish with

my mouth opening and closing.

Marion continued her survey of the room, "I do like the

improvements you've made, though. It seems bigger,

too." It was kind of a question, but not really.

I looked around again, paying a bit more attention this

time. Ah, yes! Some of the equipment strategically

came in pairs, particularly the pieces I preferred to

use on them or the things that they liked me to use on

them. Most of those were newer than some of the

solitary units. Two stations, no waiting, if I knew my

impatient wenches. The various winches on the wall and

the wires that criss-crossed the ceiling were new, too.

The ropes were all fresh and the chains were shining.

I idly wondered who the Hell they had hired to do this

contracting job. And could he keep his mouth shut?

But that was a worry for another time.

Struggling up from my sitting position, I hugged Sally

first and then Nicole, reassuring them that this was a

good thing, even though I still didn't trust myself to

talk. I was still a little stunned about Mom. And

Marion. As we wound our way up the stairway to the

bedroom, I began to have serious doubts about having

moved back in with my sister. As unconventional as my

life appeared to be, adding my sister to the equation

was not something I wanted to even contemplate.

I shut the heavy door to this new family twist firmly

behind me.

We continued with the tour of the house, now with

Marion in tow. The third floor of our new home was

mine, or at least one end of it. Sally had made my new

office up there into a masterpiece, though I could also

see Nicole's touch here and there. Sure, it was way up

on the third floor and all. In fact, it was the only

room we used up on that level, but it was perfect. It

spanned the entire width of the back end of our wing of

the house. I could see Marion thinking about a similar

office on her wing.

Sally had completely knocked out the outside walls on

three sides and windowed them in floor to ceiling.

Walking into my office was like walking into a rooftop

paradise. I had a sweeping panoramic view overlooking

the manicured grounds all the way down to the river in

the back. I also had an unobstructed view of just over

60 to 70% of the rest of estate. The windows were made

out of that photo-gray glass that turns darker in

bright light, so I didn't even need blinds.

A beautiful blonde wood desk and matching chairs

completed the office furnishings Sally had provided,

together with some matching butter soft leather couches

and chairs gathered in a conversation grouping around a

small table in one of the far corners. Everything

else, all my files and the manly stuff that normally

cluttered up the floor around my desk, I could keep in

an adjoining workroom that had bookshelves and tables

and even a small bathroom. The main office was for

show. This was my `home court advantage.' This room

was for me, a wedding gift from Sally and Nicole. I

checked the invoices later. There was not a single

charge for this room, which was why it was such a

special surprise. They had been planning this for a

long time.

My girls, all four of them, had decided amongst

themselves that this office was to be my sanctuary.

They would come into it uninvited only in the direst

emergencies and, even then, under the threat of certain

punishment. It was a rule they wanted and that they

had insisted upon. Their reasoning was that I had

provided each of them a place of their own they could

escape to for sanctuary, quiet time or whatever. Sally

and Janey had their house and Nicole and Simone had

their apartment for quiet time. This office was to be

my space.

I wasn't sure I liked that arrangement, yet. It was

still too new and we were continually working out the

kinks of the changes in our relationship. The other

kind, too. I joked that that rule was just their way

of getting away from me. It was a poor joke. Sally

looked especially hurt and Nicole even teared up. Talk

about feeling like shit.

I was sitting in my chair later that afternoon,

enjoying the new smell of the carpets, expensive

leather and fresh paint. Sally knocked on the

doorsill.

"You like it, Master?"

My grin was couldn't get any bigger. "Yes, I do. Very

much. Thank you, again."

"I'm glad you like it." She stood silently, enjoying

watching me enjoy her gift to me. Then she continued,

"I brought this up for you. Where do you want it?"

"Where do I want what? I thought the movers had gotten

everything put away." I knew my office stuff was

complete. I had marked and sealed and numbered all the

boxes personally, then counted them at the new house

and checked the seals. Twice. old habit.

"This metal case," she said, holding it up higher for

me to see. "It's not Janey's, Nicole's or mine.

Simone said you'd know what to do with it. She got

kind of a strange look on her face when she saw it,

like she knew what it was but didn't want to remember."

She was holding a large aluminum briefcase, heavy by

the way she was standing. The one Mac had given me at

the wedding. Given back, more accurately. It slowly

came back to me where I had first seen it. Stinking,

dark, clouded memories of flashing knives, death, fire,

screams, empty men hurting Simone ...

I shook my head to clear it of those searing memories.

"Just put it there, by the door. I'll take care of

it."

It stayed where she put it for about an hour. I

couldn't bring myself to open it, but I couldn't get

that nagging feeling out of my head that it was somehow

important. I had ignored the damn thing long enough

and now that it was finally out in the open, I had to

deal with it.

I took it into the workroom and, using some of the

tools I had left over from my time at the agency, I

opened it. It was an expensive case and the locks were

more than a cut above average. But no problem for me

to open. I was a little worried that the case might

have been booby-trapped or something, but you really

only see that in the movies and spy novels. Right, and

they only used the X-Ray machine in the bomb-squad unit

to check the kids' candy at Halloween, too...

The lid popped open with a slight creak and the old
smell of musty air assaulted my nose. I lifted the top

up slowly, revealing the hidden contents. I wish I

hadn't.

What I found inside sickened me all over again. I had

more flashbacks of glinting knives, the stench of human

waste and acrid smoke. My knees felt a bit rubbery as

the contents brought back the memories of those

sleepless days of searching for and then finding

Simone, her hair stapled to a wooden post, her body

bearing ugly marks as well as the feces, piss and

ejaculates of dozens of men.

At first I thought the case was just stuffed full with

untidy bundles of money, thousands of dollars. Then I

saw the corner of a white square. Using the eraser end

of a pencil, I carefully lifted up the clumps of cash

covering it up.

The first thing I thought was that it was a stack of

family or vacation Polaroid snapshots. I was so in

denial. What I saw in the case, when I finally opened

my eyes and my mind, was a thick stack of photos of

girls and young women and surprisingly, one or two

boys. Donning a pair of latex gloves, I quickly sorted

through the pile of pictures and estimated that there

must have been about 30 or more different females

pictured in them, most of them in much the same shape I

had found Simone. A couple were actually in worse

shape, and I hadn't thought that that was possible.

My stomach finally revolted. I had to rush to the

bathroom, afterwards rinsing out my mouth to get rid of

the sour taste of bile. Not an auspicious initiation

of that room.

I laid out the several wads of money stuffed in the

case by denomination. It was mostly $20 bills,

probably the price they charged for the use of the

girls. I carefully bagged the cash in several large

Zip-Lok bags. The fingerprint people in the lab would

have a field day with all those clean prints on the

bills. All the time I was working on the contents,

carefully bagging the evidence, I didn't even realize I

had made the decision to take this to the agency. I

was running purely on instinct.

There was a vial of clear fluid in the case, stuffed

down along one side, semi-protected by being wrapped up

in an old rag along with a couple of syringes. It was

probably the drug they used on the girls to make them

easier to handle at first. There was no label, so it

went into another bag along with the two syringes. The

lab would figure out what it was, and, with any luck,

what company had made it. If it was rare enough or a

narcotic, they might even get a lead on the source.

Not surprisingly, there were no new needles. Only two

used ones, and I could actually see dried blood on

them. They obviously didn't care about blood-borne

diseases like hepatitis. Or AIDS, or a hundred other

minor medical maladies. I had a feeling that the girls
would have been used up way before anything like that

became a problem, and those bastards knew it. They

counted on it.

I was closing the case back up when I noticed a shadow

on the bottom of the case. There was an unusual bump

in the lining. I wasn't expecting anything to be

hidden in the case, so I hadn't looked that close. My

mistake. Running my fingers carefully around the edge

of the case, I finally found a discrete cut hidden
along the back seam of the lining material. I ripped

it open. I didn't give a shit about the damage, as

they wouldn't need it back. OK, so I was a little

pissed I'd missed it in the first place.

I stared at the exposed bottom of the case. I couldn't

believe it. It was a fucking notebook. The kind they

use in the labs, with numbered pages. We used to have

to use them in school. A dull, chewed up pencil was

jammed down the spine for safekeeping. I remember I

had done the same with my pencils so I wouldn't lose

them.

I stared at the damn thing for a long time. I knew- I

just knew I didn't want to know what was inside of it.

I had this horrible premonition, a burning feeling in

the pit of my stomach and it wasn't because I had just

vomited.

But I had to know. As repulsed as I was by the little

book, at the same time, I was irresistibly drawn to it.

Not just because it might have some useful information.

It was more than that. It was as if this briefcase and

particularly this little book were my future, my

destiny, in some mysterious way. And somehow, I knew

it. Not with my link, not any parapsychological stuff.

I just knew. In my gut.

I think I had known what it was, how bad it was going

to be for a long time, too. That's why I had shut the

existence of the battered briefcase out of my

consciousness until now. Even though I hadn't known

the little book was hidden in the bottom of the

briefcase, I couldn't bring myself to open the case.

And now I knew in the same way that this little book

would change my life. I mean, just think of everything

that could have happened that would have kept it from

me, for me not to have found it. All this time, it

could have been lost or forgotten, burned in the

building or trashed by looters only interested in the

cash. But here it was. Just sitting there in front of

me. Like a death sentence.

I eased open the cover, hoping I wasn't opening a

Pandora's Box.

The handwriting in the book was a childish print, the

letters large and laborious, the words short and

simple. I tried to think back to that night, to the

characters I had met, and killed, in the cellar.

I dismissed the buyer, the third man. This wasn't his

case. Then there was `Yellow Hat.' But he would have

either written with a girlish script or would not have

been able to write at all, probably the latter. He

would have beaten up the smarter kids and threatened

them to get them to do his homework. Yeah, he would

have done that, at least until he figured out that he

could bully most of the inner city teachers easier and

not have any homework at all.

That left just the bodyguard. And that made sense,

when I thought about it. Not too bright, but smart

enough to know that he had to write things down to

remember them, to get them right. And smart enough to

keep it a secret that he was keeping a journal of

sorts, a record of everything. As I skimmed through

it, this record was more than just a little

incriminating. Even this dummy knew it was a stupid

thing to do. Simone must have seen him writing in the

notebook when Yellow Hat wasn't there and realized what

it was. That was why she had known the case was

important. Not because of the pictures or the money,

but because of the incriminating history in this dog-

eared journal.

Important was an understatement. As the extent of what

I was reading sunk in I was filled with a tremendous

sense of dread. It was too horrible, too ghastly, too

God damned easy for the bastards to do this and get

away clean.

Yellow Hat and `Dumbo', as I had dubbed the author of

the book, subsisted at the lowest end of a long food

chain, an large organization of human flesh peddlers.

These two were the bottom-feeders, the lowest of the

low in a despicable network of white-slavers. But that

wasn't entirely true, if the Polaroids were any

indication. They didn't seem care what color the

victim was.

These people were the scum of the earth. Flotsam in

the septic tank. You get the idea. This pair took

delivery of various `goods' and delivered or bartered

them to others higher up the chain. They were

opportunistic and indiscriminate. Drugs, kids, video
tapes, money, or sealed envelopes - it made no

difference to them. They just picked up and delivered

and, if they could turn a little profit on the side, so

much the better. No one cared if the merchandise was a

little damaged. It was only going to get used up

anyway.

Dumbo, being the deliveryman, had written down

addresses, descriptions of cars, license plate numbers,

descriptions of the contacts, telephone numbers, dates,

amounts paid in and out, and what was picked up and

delivered. The level of detail in the list was

astounding and beyond incriminating.

I reined my excitement in as I read the list of names

of the victims. Simone's name was the last one on his

list. I stifled the urge to vomit again. As dead as

these two were, I didn't think that Simone's was the

last snatch the larger group would have made. It was

too well organized, too slick, too hidden. It either

existed completely hidden from the authorities, or it

was supported by them. I didn't even want to think

about the latter.

I kept reading, wondering all the while if there was

another reason why he had written everything down. I

didn't think he was keeping the log for blackmail. He

wasn't smart enough to pull that kind of a scheme off.

No, he wasn't trying to rat out his boss. Dumbo was

just trying to do a good job, the loyal oaf. He simply

didn't want to forget anything. The thin book was

organized more like a cheap daytimer, a calendar with

the important dates up front, a list of contacts along

with addresses and telephone numbers in the back, and

the directions to various places in the middle along

with other notes.

As I read more of the pages, I could better understand

the thought patterns of Dumbo. I was able to organize

what I learned and it was stunning. I had to sit down.

It was appalling. From the entries in the ledger,

there appeared to be at least two primary sources of

`goods' for this duo, two specific revenue streams.

Each source provided a different kind of merchandise,

but both were equally lucrative.

The first source, the one Yellow Hat obviously

preferred, was the simplest kind of snatch. This was

the type of crime they were most familiar with and it's

what they were probably doing when they were recruited

for the second, more complicated criminal activity.

The `easy' crimes were actually initiated by the

serendipitous procurers like the man that had picked up

Simone. Those were the non-descript men who took the

biggest risks. They appeared to be `cruisers,' never

in one place very long, as there were only vague

descriptions of their vans. The cash transactions

always occurred at deserted intersections. The

relatively small amounts paid for a snatch surprised

me. With the economic law of Supply and Demand at

work, what that meant was that there was a readily

available supply of young victims, keeping the price

low. I could see from his list of buyers that there

was a sickeningly strong demand for the kids, once they

had snatched one.

Dumbo's notebook supported my theory that this happened

more than anyone in authority either knew or admitted.

These cruisers were generally single men, opportunistic

vultures that prowled the vicinity of popular nighttime

events like ball games, concerts, state and county

fairs, and such. Anything that would attract young
people.

We've all seen them, too, their prey, those lone waifs

wandering aimlessly among the crowds, as they seemed to

be destined to do for life. There always seemed to be

at least one foolish young kid who would need to get

home, or who would strike out alone in anger or

rebellion. Or sometimes just to get away. It didn't

seem to matter to these cruisers if the straggler was

male or female, though they seemed to prefer girls.

Young and alone was enough to attract their attention.

Yellow Hat had several of these loners that would turn

up with a snatch on a fairly regular basis. It didn't

seem to be often enough for him to keep a regular place

to break the victims, like a safe house. On the other

hand, Yellow Hat may just have been a cheap son-of-a-

bitch and just didn't want the expenses of securing a

regular place. Either way could explain why they were

in the abandoned warehouse when I found them. Readily

accessible, quiet, and cheap.

The frequency of the abductions bothered me. According

to these books, this happened regularly. If this was

so organized and sinister, why wasn't there more of an

outcry? Or maybe there was, and nobody was listening?

Or perhaps no one had put together yet that this was an

orchestrated crime wave....

Once in the clutches of these two, the victims would be

rapidly debased and demoralized by the constant inhuman

treatment they were subjected to. No water to drink,

only piss. No food to eat, only shit. Constant sexual

abuse and humiliation. The victims had no way to rest,

no chance to regroup once they were handed off to

Yellow Hat, if their treatment of Simone was any

indication. The young kids probably went irreversibly

insane in short order, probably within two or three

days. Nothing they would have encountered before could

possible prepare them to resist this inhumanity. They

wouldn't be any problem to handle after that point, as

they would most likely be in a near-catatonic state.

The drug or whatever it was they injected into the

victims no doubt helped speed the process along.

Dumbo had kept a careful list of buyers of this kind of

merchandise, along with a simple preference of `boy' or

`girl' or `both.' Since these kids could turn up

missing at some point in time when they didn't return

home, I figured their life span was pretty short after

the snatch. I mean, how many missing kids could the

authorities simply discount as simple run-aways?

Someone was bound to report one missing, and insist the

kid hadn't run away, sooner or later. So this initial

process would have to be short and fast. There were

several buyers in Dumbo's book who were ready at the

drop of hat, opportunistic vultures. It appeared I had

located Simone just in time. Another hour or even less

and she would have been gone.

As horrible as this first scheme was, it was their

other source of material, and what that material was

and how it was so easily obtained, that filled me with

the greater dread, however. I had to get a grip on my

terror several times as it became clear to me that this

was, in fact, happening right here. In fact, unless I

missed my bet, I knew at least one person who was one

of their victims. Possibly more.

As I worked my way through the notebook, I recognized a

chillingly logical and frightening pattern emerging.

It gradually dawned on me that I had battled against

this same kind of organized evil once before. The

targets were different, but the tactics were the same.

I suspected the people were the same, too. There were

too many similarities, too many of the same quirks in

the organization, the recruitment methods. I had

witnessed the same insidious tendrils of slime winding

the hallways of more than one government, and not just

mine.

As it became apparent to me to what extent these

bastards had penetrated into the very fabric of our

society, and the level of sophistication needed to pull

off what these people were doing right under our noses,

I realized I didn't have the access in my home office

that I needed. I needed to be sure of my suspicions.

Fuck, I was sure. I needed to be positive.

Absolutely.

Instinctively, I wrote my report, just like I had been

trained so many years before. I never even gave a

thought that I was no longer an active agent, I just

wrote it up. On paper with a pen. I wasn't going to

trust the electronic media with this one, not with all

the hidden Internet connections and hackers out there.

The only safe way was hardcopy, one copy, and hand

delivered.

I got in my car and took it to the anonymous building

downtown. I hand-carried my report in through security

and placed it personally into the hands of the Analyst,

along with the briefcase, notebook, photos, money, and

drugs.

I also handed him a sealed envelope separately. It was

a game we had played since we had started working

together. I would do the field work on some project,

then try to do his job, too, by writing out what I

suspected the analysis would turn up. I was often

wrong, and it had pleased him to no end to `educate'

me, pointing out where I had gone wrong in my

assessments. I didn't like his attitude, but I did

listen to him. And I learned. I don't think he

realized that I hadn't been wrong very often towards

the end of my service.

This time, I had written a name on a piece of paper and

sealed it inside. I asked him to do his analysis

first, then see if he came to the same conclusion I

had, with respect to this one name. He grinned

confidently, knowing the rules of the game.

I didn't know if I wanted to be right or wrong.

Chapter 62

During the renovation of the new house, Sally had

suggested restoring the basketball court that I had

practiced on growing up. I had played endless games of

one-on-one with Mac on that old broken concrete slab

and it held many fond memories. It felt good to have

Janey and Simone using it now. They had chipped in

their own money to get a fancy backboard and a new hoop

and net. They got a book of rules that had the

specifications for the lines for the key and the

baseline and had painted the lines with professional

accuracy. Together with the new concrete slab, it

looked great when they were done.

Janey's friends from her old school were just a little

too far away to come over after school, but they made

up for it on Saturday and Sunday. We could count on a

serious depletion of the stores of soft drinks and

snacks by Monday morning. I never knew how she did it,

but Sally always had enough of what everyone wanted on

hand, no matter how many hungry kids showed up to play

or just hang out. She had a gift for that kind of

thing, the perfect hostess. Or she had a huge cache of

soda and snacks that I never found. I don't know

which.

Simone took a different tact. She knew most of the

kids from Janey's school, but since she was spending a

lot more of her time these days with Gertie and the

other scientists at the Agency and the rest of her time

at home reading, she decided she wanted her own set of

friends. Without telling us, she started attending the

local public school, the same one I had attended, on

her off time. She never registered as a student, she

just showed up for classes. She discovered that as

long as she didn't turn in a paper with her name on it,

no one cared that she wasn't on the class roster.

When we found out where she was going on those days

when she disappeared from the house, - we flat out

asked her - Nicole and I discussed it and decided to

let her do it on her own for as long as possible. I

did a little checking just to be sure she would be

safe, then kept an eye on her. A close eye.

My high school had changed a lot since I had gone

there, reflecting the changes in the neighborhood. It

had been a pretty decent school before forced bussing

policies had delivered some other out of district white

kids to it. When they started the bussing, the school

had gone to Hell in a hurry, which was the height of

irony. The reason my school had been selected to be

desegregated in the first place was because it was felt

that sending white kids to a `good' black school

wouldn't harm them as much academically as sending them

to a `poor' black school.

Fucking educators. No fucking brains. Give some

asshole a Ph.D. and all you get is a smart-ass. They

have never understood the community pride that goes

into a making an empty building into a good school.

You can't bus across community lines. You can't force

it, it has to happen naturally. There is too much

emotion involved. parents send their children to

schools, children they love, children they care about.

They send them with their neighbor's kids, kids they

know and have seen growing up. They want those schools

to be in the neighborhoods where they have chosen to

live. They like to know their children are not going

to be influenced or challenged by outside forces. Not

just yet, anyway. Let the kids mature, grow up first.

When Simone started attending the school, it was more

like I remembered it at the beginning. With the end of

the bussing, there were only local kids attending. Of

course, there was a little more of a racial mix in the

student population than when I had attended, so Simone

didn't stick out quite like Marion and I had. We had

been the only two white kids in the whole school. Talk

about sticking out!

Part of the area surrounding our property had been

renovated and rebuilt. Some of the worst abandoned

apartment buildings and most of the uninhabitable

places had been torn down and new condominiums and

apartments built. The dilapidated warehouses along the

riverfront in both directions from our property had

been demolished and large luxury homes now lined the

banks of the river.

Thorny had been one of the first to follow my father to

this dubious area and had built on a much smaller piece

of riverfront adjacent to ours. The common wall

between our properties had the only other opening

through the wall surrounding us, other than the main

gate. We had never locked that gate to Thorny's house.

There were still a lot of rent-controlled apartments

around, however. The city officials in this town had

either been too lazy or too stupid to intervene with

the natural selection taking place and the strange mix

that evolved seemed to work. The people living here

took obvious pride in their homes and stores. Lawns

were mowed in the summer, rusting wrecks were not

strewn about the streets. Block parties were common in

the summer and the local community social hall

maintained a regular schedule of well publicized events

to bring people together. Sure, there was the

occasional confrontation, but in general the people

knew and liked their neighbors. The ones who made the

effort necessary to meet them, anyway.

This was the neighborhood where Simone found the

players for her pickup games on our basketball court

during the week. Janey was usually home too late to

play, so this was Simone's time. Janey would enter in

if she was there, but found herself in the unusual

situation of being the outsider.

Simone made it known that our court was open to anyone

who wanted to play, male or female. Being out from

under the shadow of Janey allowed her to develop into

her own person. I found I liked that person very much.

Many others were attracted to her, as well, and the

games quickly came to be well attended. I noticed,

after watching for a couple of days, that one boy in

particular seemed to show up almost every time. Over

time, I noticed that when he picked players, he would

always pick Simone, and I thought I could see her eyes

shine a just bit brighter.

On the days when rain drove the kids off the court, the

game room, as it was now called, became the center of

the after school activity. I swore the kids would all

be deaf in a matter of months, as the only volume

settings they used seemed to be `Off" and `Max.'

Fortunately, Sally had had the foresight to insulate

that room extra well. I often wondered how she knew

how to prepare for these things, but, like most men, I

didn't have a snowball's chance of figuring it out.

She just knew. Sally had soundproofed the room so well

we only heard the occasional tsunami of sound crashing

down the hallway as the door opened and closed. As

rare as that was, it was still deafening.

One afternoon I heard a strangely familiar laugh mixed

into the roar of the video games. Not believing my

ears, I walked down the hallway and looked in through

the glass French doors. There, sitting surrounded by a

scraggly group of neighborhood ruffians was my darling

sister, Marion, the US Federal Judge. Her face flushed

with excitement, she was engrossed in one of the less

violent of the video games, intent on kicking the

stuffing out of her opponent. She was getting in some

good punches, too, which caused even more hoots and

hollers from the crowd.

Simone, one of the group crowded around watching,

glanced up as I watched through the door. I saw a

flicker of concern pass across her face, then she

slipped away and came out to me in the hall. I noticed

one young man's attention diverted from the action on

the wide-screen tv to watch her ass as she walked by

him. Ah, youth!

"Papa? Is everything OK? We're not being too loud are

we?"

I gave her a quick hug. "No. Everything is fine. I

just thought I heard Marion in there and thought I

would check. I didn't know we could join in, too. It

looks like fun." I was teasing her a little, but only

a little.

Simone got a look of horror on her face, then got

herself under control. "Uh, Papa, it's different with

Marion. She, uh, well, she's lived here longer and,

like, she knows most of these kids and uh, well, um,

you know...?"

I would have sworn she was uncomfortable with the

thought of my being in that room. I got the distinct

impression I wasn't welcome. Imagine! "Well, as long

as she isn't bothering you. Uh, I'm kind of busy today

anyway. Tell you what. You let me know when you want

me to play and we'll see if it will fit into my

schedule, OK?"

Simone's relief was palpable and so overwhelming that

she didn't realize I was teasing her. Then she got a

guilty look on her face.

"It's OK, Simone. Really." I gave her a light kiss on

the forehead. She hated when I did that, but she felt

so guilty, I got away with it. Ha!

I watched as she eased back into the room, part hostess

and part participant. I was quickly forgotten as she

approached that certain young man, her hips swinging

with just a touch more sass than before. He and I both

appreciated her efforts. She gave him a blinding smile

as she spoke with him in passing. He gave her a punch

in the arm. I could tell the kid needed help.

JT, as he was called, showed up at the backdoor one day

when Simone was in Washington with Gertie. Nicole, who

was working at home that day, showed him into my

office. He kind of stood there for a couple of

minutes, shuffling his feet nervously.

"What's up, JT?"

"Oh, uh, nothing, Mr. Sampson."

I waited. Nicole's smile as she walked away had been a

little too smug for this discussion to be about

`nothing.'

"Uh, Mr. Sampson? Can I ask you a question?" Damn, I

had only had to wait a couple of minutes. This must be

urgent!

"Sure. What's on your mind, JT?"

"Well, it's kind of personal. `Bout basketball. And,

uh, `bout girls."

Oh, shit!

He jumped right in. "Why is it, when I pick Simone for

my team, she plays hard to win, but when she picks the

teams, she never picks me? Then, when she guards me,

she's always, well, bumping and rubbing against me.

Not hard, with her elbows and stuff like she does with

the other guys, but, well, you know...?"

I knew. You could say one thing for the kid, he got

right to the point. None of this `I know a friend...'

stuff, or `there's this girl....'" Straight to the

point, him and Simone. OK.

I got up and took him out to the basketball court. On

the way by the kitchen I called Sally and Nicole out to

join us. Not surprisingly, they seemed to be dressed

and ready to play. These two were getting scary.

"Let's play some two-on-two. Why don't your pick one

of the women for your team, JT?"

He looked at me funny.

"Go ahead. Pick one for your team, JT." I felt like

drawing a map, sometimes.

He looked at the two women. I could tell he favored

Nicole. She looked a lot like Simone in her cut off T-

shirt and short-shorts. She had fixed her hair

different, too, so she looked more like her daughter.

I got a little distracted by her new look and realized

I could get used to that look in a hurry. She saw me

staring and was pleased at my response. Such simple

pleasures.

Nicole was also taller than Sally, but I think JT sort

of took a shine to her for other reasons. I thought I

saw Nicole `help' him look her over, as I saw her

nipples poking out through the thin material of her

shirt, which seemed to get tighter across her chest as

JT examined the two women. Sally was playing her part,

too, I understood, for once quite and demure and

standing to look shorted, if that were possible. That

was not like her at all.

"Her," he said, indicating Nicole.

She smiled brightly at him and we played a quick

basket. Sally held her own against him and I got a

couple of sharp elbows from Nicole. Not enough to

hurt, but enough that I knew she meant business. This

kid was important to her because he was important to

Simone. If I hadn't figured that out by then, which I

had, I would have during that basket.

When the basket was over, I held the ball. "Now let's

switch."

He looked puzzled, but kept quiet. I was going to like

this kid, I could tell.

This basket took much longer. Much. I nearly molested

Sally right there on the court. Hell, I did molest

her, and she loved it. JT's eyes bugged out as he

watched how closely I guarded the smaller blonde's

body, especially at where I put my hands. Nicole,

playing her part to perfection, nearly poked his eyes

out with her tits while she guarded him. She even

accidentally let her hands run over his crotch, several

times, in fact. I thought the kid would die from

embarrassment, but he kept trying to play and get the

ball to Sally. Finally, the ball went through the

hoop, and I held the ball again.

"Now, JT. I want you to think. Which way did you like

better? Playing with Nicole, or against her?"

He thought a minute. "We won when she was on my team."

"Did you really? You may have scored the basket, but

is that the real reason for this game?"

"Yeah, but, ..." I could almost see him blush when the

light went on. "You mean...? Simone wants...?"

I grinned at the dumbfounded - and severely embarrassed

boy. "Yeah, apparently she does." I shrugged. "Go

figure! But I would suggest that you ease into it

gently, and, speaking as her father, hardly at all.

And JT? Never, ever do more than what she lets you,

understand?"

He understood my implied threat.

"Would you want to try it again?" Nicole asked him

sexily. She giggled delightfully at his obvious

erection and discomfort. Sally and I glanced at each

other. From the size of the bulge in his shorts,

Simone had chosen very well, indeed.

It was a bizarre thing to watch, a mother teaching a

boy the proper technique to feel up her daughter.

Several `not so hard' and `no, like this' comments were

eventually replaced by a rippling laughter and some

serious gasps. Nicole kept looking over at me for

approval as she let the boy manhandle her. It was a

different feeling I wasn't sure I liked, but Nicole

seemed to be enjoying herself. I called a halt to the

lesson when I felt the boy had the general idea. I

figured Simone could teach him the rest of the game.

Or not. That was up to her.

When JT was gone, both of the women thanked me. Right

there under the basket. He shoots, he scores!

Simone came in a couple of days later, flushed from the

exertions of the game. "Did you have a talk with JT,

Papa?" It was almost an accusation, and her hands on

her hips didn't make her look all cuddly, either.

I nodded that I had.

She seemed to think about that for a minute. "Thanks,"

she said, finally.

I went back to my computer.

"I kind of like him. He's nice."

I looked back up at her. She was asking if I approved.

"I like him, too, Simmie. He reminds me a lot of Mac

when he was his age."

At the mention of Mac and JT being favorably compared,

she smiled proudly. I think Mac had just lost this

maiden's heart to another. I'm not sure if he would be

disappointed or relieved. I wasn't sure how I felt,

either.

Simone kissed me on my cheek and skipped off to her

room. Her daughterly kiss left me with a strange

feeling in my chest. I decided I liked it, kind of.

This parenting thing had its rewards.

Janey was commuting to school and seemed to have come

to terms with having to use her Mom's old car to do it.

I knew we had overcome a major hurdle when I heard the

`thump-thump' of a new stereo system and saw her

detailing the car with an old toothbrush. She had just

waxed it for the third time in two weeks and was

getting all that white waxy build-up out of the cracks

between the chrome and the paint.

Her cheerleading career was at its zenith. She had

been elected as the head cheerleader and was taking

those responsibilities very seriously. She had decided

that the whole process of selecting the girls for the

squad needed to be overhauled to allow for more

participation from groups outside the `in' crowd. I

figured that idea would be blown out of the water, but,

as usual, I underestimated Janey's capabilities.

She knew the opposition she would face with that

suggestion. She lobbied and politicked the idea into

reality. Next year's squad would be made up of kids

from several of the more identifiable factions in the

school, from the `geeks,' to the 4-H-ers, to the wall-

flowers and other wanna-bes that normally just stood on

the sidelines. Attendance at the games, by both kids

and parents was way up already over previous years, and

the team wasn't doing that great. People just felt

like they were a part of the school again.

Sally had mentioned that Janey would be home later than

usual on Mondays and Wednesdays. She would be stopping

by Amud and Bala's house on the way home to continue

her `education' in their culture. That practice soon

expanded to Monday through Thursday. Janey was really

serious about all of this.

While she was extremely popular with a wide range of

kids at school, Janey didn't date anymore, and soon

stopped going to parties that weren't at our house. A

lot of that was because of homework - she still

maintained her high grades - but she just seemed to

have lost interest in the social whirl. Sally didn't

seem to be concerned but I confronted Janey about it

one afternoon.

She got this puzzled look on her face, like, why should

I be worried? When I explained that I was concerned

that her lack of interest in boys and dating might have

been a result of what had happened earlier, she

solemnly nodded. She then proceeded to explain that

she still liked boys - she called them `men' - but that

the boys at her school were just too juvenile. She was

looking for more maturity, among other things. I

figured I'd better stop while I was ahead. I wasn't

sure I wanted to know what `other' things she was

looking for.

I immediately cornered Sally. Had she talked with

Janey about this? Did she think Janey's expectations

were too high? Was she OK with all of this?

Sally, too, patiently answered my questions, just a bit

amused at my fatherly concerns, even if they were

belated. Janey was growing up, she said, and it wasn't

unusual for a young girl to shun social contacts with

kids her own age, especially when forced to meet life

head-on as Janey had been. Some girls matured much

faster than boys and felt uncomfortable with them. She

trusted Janey. In other words, butt out. But thanks!

The Saturday basketball games were played with a

different crowd of kids. These were the kids from the

other school, mostly Janey's friends. Simone hung

around the edges, but it was clear none of the other

week-day kids showed up, not even JT. It was probably

for the better, but it didn't sit right, watching her

just stand there. It wasn't Janey's fault, either.

She kept pulling her in and including her, but it was

just not a good fit.

After the second week of watching this awkwardness, I

grabbed Nicole and - not THAT way, Geez! Anyway, I

located Nicole and walked with her out to the garage.

I caught Simone's eye on the way by the basketball

court and motioned her to follow us out towards the

garages. We opened up Simone's bay and stood staring

at the jumble of boxes and crates.

"Well, it isn't going to build itself! What do you say

we get busy?"

Two squeals of delight were my answer. I knew they had

both devoured the instruction manual in the first three

or four weeks. Simone had been amazed at the technical

aspects of the task while Nicole had found two minor

errors in the specifications. I just shook my head. I

hadn't read it. Being a guy, I knew the manual was

only there if I couldn't figure it out on my own. When

all else fails, read the directions, right?

Before we began doing anything, Nicole, who naturally

took charge of this task, had us inventory and inspect

each and every piece. Several of the larger pieces

were hauled down to a specialist's shop she knew of and

each piece was tested for stress fractures along the

seams and welds. Surprisingly, only three parts failed

the extra inspection, all of them non-critical but

nonetheless, sent back for replacement. As Nicole

said, this was her daughter's car we were building, not

just some hunk of metal. I agreed.

That was how Saturday became the day for Nicole, Simone

and I to work on the car. It was a unique experience,

working that closely with a beautiful woman willing to

do anything to please you, even when covered in grease.

It became expected that at least once, but usually more

often I would ease myself into Nicole's willing and

waiting cunt or asshole or mouth. When that would

happen, Simone would slip out of the garage, discretely

timing her return until after we had completed our

screwing around. Usually she came back with soft

drinks for the three of us. Only once, when I was

unzipping for the fourth time, did she roll her eyes.

But she was grinning as she left, her Mom's satisfied

and lustful moans escorting her out the door.

That car was taking forever to build. Thank goodness!

Sunday's were family days. At home. Sally and Nicole

would fix light snacks and have them available in the

big family room above the entryway. Marion would join

us almost every Sunday, and soon, other friends began

dropping by. Amud informed me that Sally and Nicole

had quietly urged he and Bala to make this a regular

thing, something he and his wife seemed eager to do.

Mac, CeCe and Beth would drop by when he was in town.

I was pleased that he seemed relaxed in the old house

and in general with his new relationship. The tone of

those days, even when he was there, was quiet and

relaxed with good food and good conversation. Good

friends are a great treasure.

Janey and Simone would often use the opportunity of

Sunday to cuddle with me, not sexually, but as

daughters. Janey in particular seemed to need to just

be close. She would be quiet as she curled up next to

me in one of the huge pillows, attentively following

the conversations that swirled around us. Simone would

occasionally snuggle up on the other side, unless Mac

was there. In that event, she would usually be

tormenting that poor man somehow. Even though JT was

in the picture now, I don't think she could help

herself. Instinct, I guess.

I had given Nicole the Bugatti as a wedding gift. I

had thought it was something she would like, but I was

wrong. She loved it. Adored it. She showed her

appreciation to me over and over and over. And over.

I mean, it's not that we had that much more sex than

normal, well, we did, but then we had more sex than

normal before I gave her the car. It's not that she

did any thing different when we made love, either. I

guess it's that she just did it with more feeling or

something. Attitude, maybe? It's hard to explain, so

I'll leave it at that.

She drove the car back and forth to her work at the

Rosen's clinic. She didn't work there every day, and

she began to look forward to those days she could

drive. I drove with her once to The Guild after she

had become familiar with the car and the road. She had

found back roads almost the entire way that wound

through the countryside.

I had never been as terrified of dying in my life as I

was on that ride. I was certain I would not see

tomorrow. It's not that she was careless or a poor

driver. Just the opposite. She drove that little

racer to the limits of its capacity for the conditions

of the road. And beyond. She and the machine became

one living, breathing beast. She owned the fucking

road.

I thought perhaps she was driving this way to impress

me, but she confessed that she had actually backed off

for my benefit. This was the first time for her to

drive with two people in the car and the weight

distribution was unfamiliar. It was more familiar to

her on the way home, and I swear I almost wet myself as

we flew on the road by the quarry.

I forced myself to ride with her as often as I could.

I didn't have a death wish, I just liked to deal with

my fears head-on, although that's probably not the best

term to use in this case. `Head-on' was the last thing

I wanted. A ride with Nicole driving the sports car

made me glad to be alive, especially when it was over.

It made me want to kiss the ground after we arrived at

our destination. I did on several occasions.

Sally, of course, was predictably envious, in her own

quiet way. She understood the attachment Nicole had

for that particular car, but still, the specialness of

that gift to her co-wife certainly stuck in her craw.

She sulked around the house for a couple of weeks until

I innocently suggested she go shopping with Nicole over

at The Guild for the afternoon. Just an easy

afternoon, two women out for a casual drive to go

shopping. She was ashen and pale when I saw her later

that evening, and she never said another word about the

car. She never rode with Nicole again voluntarily,

either.

I treated Sally and Nicole differently. They had asked

me to. Still, I knew that I had to be careful and

maintain a reasonable balance. I was spending a lot of

time with Nicole for various reasons, and I knew, even

though Sally wasn't keeping score, that I needed to do

something for her. Hell, I needed to be with her, too.

I was stumped for a solution. Then I had an idea.

And, yes, this one actually worked out OK!

For Sally's birthday I gave her a small gold box. The

box held an engraved golden plaque, about the size of a

business card. The words on the plaque read `1:00-2:00

M-F.' Her disappointment was palpable but was only

slightly greater than her befuddlement. She didn't

understand what I meant, why I would give this to her

as a gift. I didn't elaborate, just asked her to show

up tomorrow at 1:00. So, on that first day, at 1:00

sharp, she came to me in the office. She was stark

naked, and more than a little upset, thinking I just

wanted to have sex with her. Well, I did, but that

wasn't the point.

I explained to her that what I had wanted to give her

was a special time everyday that was just hers, for

whatever she wanted. I told her why, that I missed her

and that I wanted to be with her, but that this time

was for her mostly. Sure, we could have sex, too, but

if she wanted to talk, to shop, to cuddle, to play

basketball, or to take a nap then that's what we would

do. I only made two requirements, it had to be

something she wanted to do and it had to be with me.

When she realized what her gift really was, she too,

showed me her appreciation over and over and over. And

over.

All in all, it was a pretty satisfying time.

Even the shopping. Ok, almost.

Chapter 63

I was riding with Nicole in the Buggatti, scared out of

my mind as usual, when I suddenly found my face pressed

up against the windscreen. Nicole was transfixed,

staring blankly out the windshield, gripping the

steering wheel with both hands in a death's grip. Her

foot was still jammed on the brake, the finely tuned

engine idling smoothly under the hood.

I heard the birds chirping, replacing the whistling

wind and my not infrequent screams of terror.

Then I felt it.

Nicole turned to me, eyes wide. I wasn't sure if she

was terrified or overjoyed. Or something else.

"Master." Not a question. Not spoken. It took me a

moment to realize what had happened. It was over the

link.

Nicole had found her connection.

As quickly as it was there, it was gone. We sat there

for a while, trying to reconnect, looking for the key.

We drove back to the beginning of the skid marks on the

pavement, thinking it might have been that particular

spot in the road, like a nexus in the warp of time and

space. Hey, after all the things we had tried before,

there was nothing weird we wouldn't consider.

I worried, as the link faded, that Nicole would be

disappointed. Well, I have never figured women out

yet, and I was so wrong this time, it amazed even me.

She was ecstatic. She was thrilled. Overjoyed. And

grateful. Very, very grateful. We would have to wash

off the hood of the car. Again.

Sally knew instantly what had happened as soon as we

walked in the door. She took one look at Nicole, gave

a little squeak and the two collided in a joyous,

bouncing hug, dancing around the kitchen in happiness.

Hell, I knew it was important to Nicole. I just didn't

have a clue how much it meant to her. Or Sally.

We continued to drive together after that, Sally

insistent upon it now, hopeful that we would connect

again. Sally and Nicole, unbeknownst to me, had spent

hours trying to connect on their own. Failing, they

had concluded that if it were going to happen, it would

have to be with me. My link was stronger and different

than Sally's and it was growing stronger almost daily.

I think we tried had too hard, and, after that one

blip, we tried even harder. Then, as I thought back,

reconstructing the event, I noticed that neither one of

us had been seeking the link at that particular point

in time. I had been scared shitless, my usual

condition in the passenger seat. Nicole had been

totally focused on her driving, the roads being

slightly slick.

One afternoon I turned to Nicole, pale and sweating

from fear. "Nicole, I want you to take me to the

Rosen's. As fast as you can. Take the route by the

quarry."

"Yes, Master. Should I point out that you do not

particularly like that road? It has many corners."

"I know. I need to get to clinic. Fast."

The concern in my voice convinced her I was serious.

The slight quiver of terror at what I was about to

experience helped convince her. I know they say that

fear of the unknown is a powerful motivator. I would

have taken that fear any day over the certain terror I

knew I was going to experience on that road. Sharp

corners, no fences, sheer drop-offs into the black

waters 50 feet below. It was the stuff of nightmares

and I had just volunteered to do it at top speed.

Nicole drove like a woman possessed. She thought I was

ill or needed to be at the clinic. I only hoped I

wouldn't need to be in one by the time the ride was

over. I hoped that the link wouldn't kick in on a

sharp corner. I hoped that I was right. We were

getting desperate, and desperate times call for

desperate measures, so I've heard.

The way I figured it was that Nicole's mind was such a

flurry of thoughts going in a million ways at once that

there was just too much interference for the link to

work normally. I know it didn't make sense with her

being so smart and all and she couldn't link, but

Simone could and she was presumably even smarter than

her mother. But I had my theory about that, too,

having to do with Simone's trauma and stuff.

If I was right, driving was the one thing that Nicole

loved, maybe even more than me. It totally absorbed

her, involving all of her faculties, skill and

cognitive processes. By clearing her mind of other

extraneous thoughts, it might also allow us to link,

for that part of her mind to come through.

It happened on a slow corner, thank God. It was the

second turn of a four turn combination and she had down-

shifted in preparation of accelerating us through the

last two turns. I had been prepared for the link when

it came, so I noticed before she did. When she did

sense it, she again slammed on the brakes, almost

sending us sailing out into the quarry. Against my

better judgement, I yelled across the link, "Drive,

Nicole, Drive!"

I could tell when she figured it out, what I was doing.

The burst of sunshine over the link was blinding,

growing stronger the more she focused on her driving.

I felt her bemusement, Shit, she was laughing at me, as

she sensed the pureness of my terror. She could not

comprehend the feelings I had at not being in control

of the vehicle, at having to trust her skill. Not that

I didn't trust her driving. It's just that I had to,

and it scared the living fuck out of me.

We made it to the Rosen's clinic in record time, then

turned around and came back faster yet. We stayed

linked most of the time, only occasionally losing

touch. The more we connected, the easier it seemed to

be for her, the more she was able to do it at will.

Granted, she was still new at this, but if I knew

Nicole, she would be totally focused on this until she

had mastered it completely. She had wanted this for so

long she was not going to let this go ever again.

Sally felt Nicole for the first time that night. They

shared an orgasm so intense, that both of them were

flopping around on the mattress. Janey and Simone had

felt it as well and they all had a good cry over it.

Happy tears, but they still left wet spots on the

sheets.

It was a few weeks after the race to the Rosen's that I

got a call from a nearby law enforcement officer.

Apparently several officers had clocked an antique

foreign-made sports car-type vehicle they thought was

registered to me travelling at excessive speed. It was

an area Nicole had to drive through to get from our

house to the Rosen's Clinic. He asked me if I knew

anything about it.

"Who was driving it officer?"

"Uh, we don't really know, Mr. Sampson. Our, uh,

officers couldn't apprehend the driver. In fact, we

could only get close enough to catch a couple of the

numbers on the plate. We think it's your vehicle. But

we're not positive."

"The driver wouldn't stop?"

"Well, uh, it's kind of embarrassing, sir. We aren't

sure the driver even knew we were there. Those roads

are awfully tight and twisting. The cruisers we drive

couldn't keep up with that little car." He really did

sound apologetic. And embarrassed.

"Oh, I see." I thanked him and rang off.

I confronted Nicole with this conversation. Her blas‚

attitude about it bothered me.

"But Nicole, they can take away your license if you get

caught!"

"License? What license? I don't have a license! I

don't need to take a stinking driver's test. I KNOW

how to drive!"

She was emphatic. I was shocked, even though, by now,

I shouldn't have been. So I made her a deal.

Actually, I intended that it be more of a threat. I

told her that any cop that caught her got to spend the

evening with her in the dungeon. Doing whatever. And

she paid all the fines and court costs with her own

money.

Nicole thought I was bluffing. She said I was too

jealous to go through with that. That was a big

mistake, challenging me like that. Later I realized

that she thought of it as a win-win type of situation

and that she had suckered me into it. She got to drive

like a bat out of Hell with my permission and, if she

got caught, she got to have a session in the dungeon,

again with my permission. I realized too late I had

been the one who had made a mistake, but being the kind

of guy I am, I felt I had to keep my word. So I

decided to make matters worse. Of course!

I hauled her up to the bedroom and told her to dress in

her canary yellow bikini, the one she had been

tormenting all the high school boys with around the

pool all summer. The one that was hardly there. It's

small even by French standards, and you have to

remember that they go topless on most of their beaches.

While she was changing, I went down to the dungeon and

got a few items. She sashayed down the stairs when she

had changed. She was excited and it was clearly

visible. The minx has removed the lining of the suit

at some point this summer and it was as good as

transparent. I hated to think what it would be like

when it was wet.

I called her over to me and fastened a thick collar

around her neck. This was not her normal slave collar.

This one was the kind you see in the BDSM catalogues,

with studs and chrome rings and a thick buckle. It was

designed for show, and definitely gave a clear

impression of the submissive inclination of wearer and

what kind of sex he/she enjoyed. To this I attached a

heavy chrome leash. This was for show as well. I let

the leash hang down between her barely covered tits.

I turned her around and fastened a pair of heavy-duty

handcuffs on her wrists, fastening them behind her

back. Then I slipped a light cloak over her shoulders,

snapping it closed at the neck.

I put her in my car and drove her down to the police

station. After a quiet word with the Sargent, I made

the same proposition to the officers. Unofficially, of

course. If they caught her, they got her. At this

point I removed her cloak. As she was standing right

there beside me, as beautiful as ever, taunting them

with her confidence, you can imagine the excitement the

wager caused.

While we were there, the Sargent warned his officers

that before any prizes, as he referred to Nicole, were

awarded, a thorough investigation would be held to

ensure that everything had been done by the book. No

traps, no excessive chases, no reckless driving, no

danger to the public. Only then would the winner get

the prize. He turned to Nicole and asked if she agreed

with this.

"But, of course! It is the same way in France!" she

said with more than a touch of national pride, then

gently kissed his stunned face. As we left the

spellbound audience, she turned to the officers and in

a heavy French, and very sexy accent said, "Let ze bes'

man..." then noticing she also had the attention of all

of the female officers, "...or woman ween!" Her head

held high, emphasizing her tits, she made one complete

circuit of the squad room to give them all a good look.

Then, with a strange look at me, we left.

There was a lot of cheering in the squad room as we

left that morning. All in all, a weird briefing, but

one that managed to hold everyone's interest.

I think it turned her on, being bound and exhibited

like that in front of a crowd. She knew it wasn't

meant to be humiliating or degrading to her, like it

had been before. More of a challenge. I know she was

excited on the ride back. It was the first time she

had ever had sex in a car. The Buggatti was too small

and cramped inside. We normally just leaned her over

the hood and had sex on the car, not in it. I had left

the handcuff keys in the dungeon. We couldn't wait

until we got home.

As far as I know, Nicole never got caught. I wasn't

sure how I felt about the prospect of another man
having at her for a night, but the way she drove, I

didn't think I had too much to worry about. I did

notice she added a sophisticated radar detector and a

police band radio to the minimal equipment in the car.

(Author's note: I have been informed by a reliable

source that a challenge of this nature would never be

allowed in any police force, regardless if the force

was urban or rural. I debated taking the scene out,

but I kept it in, reasoning that this is, after all, a

fantasy. I did feel, however, that the learned

objection should be noted, even if I ignored it.)

Nicole strode into my office one fine afternoon. It

was a glorious day outside, the birds were singing and

I could smell the flowers from the garden. Nicole

tended to be outwardly more aggressive than Sally, but

her stride that day was even more forceful than normal.

Her hair was mussed, unusual for her. Her eyes were

smiling, glittering, smoldering points of happiness.

Very calmly she closed all the folders on my desk, then

moved them to the credenza. She carefully took my

phone, blotter and pencil set and set them next to the

folders. I sat there in my chair with a bemused smile

on my face, watching her carefully urgent movements, my

interrupted work now neatly put away. She knew from

prior discussions that I did not like the things on my

desk moved. Not at all. So, whatever the occasion,

this must be serious for her to do this. The clock and

desk lamp were placed on the floor. The desktop was

completely bare.

She turned to face me, a strange smile on her face.

"Lawrence. I need you. Now."

With that she lifted me out of my chair by grabbing the

front of my shirt. She pulled it open - we'd find most

of the buttons later - and proceeded to strip me. Of

course, I responded in kind. I took her right there on

top of my desk. I mean, she'd gone to all that

trouble, after all.

Later, much later, I asked what brought this on. I

wanted know so I could make it happen again, if I

could.

She smiled tiredly. It had taken a lot of effort on

both our parts to work out her tensions. "It is the

car, Master. And this link thing. I love driving so.

It excites me, it becomes a part of me as I fly down

the macadam. Now when I drive, I can feel that touch

of you deep inside me, especially down there where you

have planted yourself so well just now. It drives me

wild, Master. This energy has been building, this

lusty need in me for some time. Today, with the top

down, the wind in my face and the gendarmes in

pursuit... Oh Lawrence, it was perfect! I think I wet

myself from the excitement."

God Damn! The fucking car made her horny! Extremely.

She lay quietly under me, her face relaxed, just a

little of the flaming ember left glowing in her eyes.

She sighed. "I apologize to you, Master, oh my lover,

my glorious lover, and will accept whatever punishment

you give me for making these demands on you and for

interrupting your work. But please, do not take the

car...." She tapered off, slightly worried now that

her need was sated.

I eased out of her and sat back down in my office

chair, pulling her to her knees between mine. I

grasped her head tenderly with my hands and eased her

face towards my groin. There was no resistance as she

swallowed my re-hardened cock. I moved her head up and

down to let her know she could move, then let her take

over.

I talked to her as she worked on my stiffness. "Well,

Nicole, for interrupting my work, I pronounce a

sentence of 15 kisses, like the one you are giving me

now, to be delivered on my demand," I intoned in my

most serious voice.

She giggled around my prick, a truly astounding

sensation.

"As for your making these horrid demands of your

Master, for that offense, I sentence you to driving the

car for at least one hour everyday or until you are so

horny we must repeat the cure."

It took her a moment to be sure I was not angry with

her.

"Now, as for moving the things on my desk, I am going

to spank you when you have finished with the first

kiss."

We both knew that that wouldn't be a punishment either

and she threw herself into the blowjob. When I finally

ejaculated my cum down her throat, she hugged me

fiercely to her.

I disengaged from the embrace and positioned her over

my knee. As I gazed down at her fabulous ass, I

realized it had been a while since our last session.

We had all been so busy with the new routines and other

things that some of the important things had been

ignored. No more. I started slowly, using my bare

hand. I didn't often get the chance to deal with her

luscious ass and I relished each and every stinging

blow. I don't know how long I swatted her, but each

cheek was a deeply flushed shade of red by the time I

was finished. I had felt, both with our link and my

other senses, that Nicole had climaxed two or three

times during the spanking.

I myself had risen to the challenge again, so I bent

her over my still bare desk, her lovely breasts smashed

against the smooth blonde wood. Standing up behind

her, I slowly penetrated her nether hole, savoring the

hot moist suction of her talented rear end.

We finished one more time, slowly.

Like an obedient slave, she dutifully drove the car as

often as she could until she was so horny she would

have to jump me. I began waiting for her in the

garage. I didn't want her to walk off any of that

wonderful excitement.

I couldn't wait to collect those 14 remaining kisses.

They would be special ones, I knew.

Chapter 64

It was 1:15 and Sally wasn't here yet. She hadn't

missed a minute of our special time together since the

day we had started having it, so naturally, I was

concerned. I wandered down through the house, looking

for her in the various rooms as I passed them. I heard

voices when I finally reached the main floor and I

followed the sounds to the kitchen.

I immediately sensed that something important was going

on, as Sally and Nicole were doing their alternate

sentence thing. The third person at the table, a woman

I didn't know, but who looked vaguely familiar, watched

their performance with a bemused smile on her face.

Their coordinated sentences were still disconcerting to

me, even now. I don't know that they sensed how

disorienting it was to other people. Or if they did,

if they even cared.

Sally looked up at me when I entered the kitchen, then

over at the clock. She realized what time it was, but

she didn't seem too upset. I wasn't sure I liked that.

I grabbed a cup of coffee, topped up their cups with

the pot and joined the ladies at the table. Nicole had

sent me a sense over the link, blasted it actually, as

she was still getting used to the `volume control',

that I was welcome to join. Sally's link asked me to

stay as well.

As soon as I sat down, both my wives moved over to

flank me. It wasn't defensive on their part, it was

just the position they normally took, one on each side.

What was curious was that, in their psychic mode, their

actions were mirror images of each other, down to the

position of their hands in their laps.

"Larry, this is Jerome's mother, Diane Turner." They

used the synchronized talking to introduce the other

woman at the table. But I didn't make the connection

immediately.

Jerome?

"That's Simone's friend. You know him as `JT'."

Ah-ha! Mama bear here to protect her cub. I sent a

probing finger of my link out to this new person and

was not surprised by the suspicious thoughts I found.

What did surprise me was that her honest curiosity

about us, the three of us, was even stronger than her

suspicions. She had great faith in her boy, that he

could handle himself. She was here to find out what

kind of people would be influencing him. Particularly

me.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Turner. JT is a fine

boy." God, did that sound as lame as it seemed?

Diane sat across from us, considering her first words

to me. She had apparently been here a while, or at

least long enough to have gotten the idea that our

lifestyle and marital relationship were not normal.

"Are you Simone's father?" Her tone was accusatory,

almost bitter. I let it pass.

"She calls me `Papa,' but I am not her father."

"Oh. What about the cheerleader?"

"Cheerle-... Oh, you mean Janey? No, she is Sally's

daughter, not mine. But she calls me `Dad.'"

Diane had a look of disbelief on her face. "So. Are

you at least married to one of these women? I don't

see any rings." She glanced pointedly at our hands.

I saw a glance pass between Sally and Nicole, then

watched as their hands stole silently under the hem of

the shirts they were wearing. Together they lifted up

the fabric to expose their piercings in their left

nipples. Following their example, I unbuttoned my

shirt and moved the left panel aside to show Diane my

rings as well.

The tall black woman didn't get it right away, then she

saw the letters they were wearing and the letters I was

wearing.

"Shit!" slipped out before she stopped herself. She

paused before she continued.

"I was worried about the kind of weird rich people that

might be influencing Jerome up here. Now don't take it

wrong, I don't mind you being rich, especially if you

worked for it. Sally here assures me that you do,

though I'll be damned if I can figure out when you've

got the time..." She looked pointedly at Sally and

Nicole, "...or the energy."

She seemed to stop herself from continuing down that

path. Smiling ruefully at us, she apologized, "I'm

sorry I said that. It's just that, well, you," and she

pointed her chin right at me, "represent everything

that is wrong with the stereotypical black man." She

raised her hands to prevent us from jumping all over

that statement.

"You work hard, you stay home, you are raising not one,

but two children and neither one of them is yours. You

are not promiscuous, ignoring the fact that you have

two wives. At least you're honest enough to marry them

both, not leave them in the lurch." She gave an

exasperated sigh. "Do you know how many of the single

black mothers in this community alone would kill for a

man like you?"

I assumed the question was rhetorical, so I didn't

answer, but just in case I hadn't caught on, two very

sharp sets of fingernails suddenly and simultaneously

dug into both my legs, both sets dangerously close to

the holy land. I nearly farted with the effort to not

squeal like a stuck pig, and that started the two women

to giggling as they sensed it over the link and then

having to suppress the laughter. Served them right.

She continued as if she didn't notice, "I guess I

really can't complain. My Jerome, JT's dad, was killed

in action. And since Simone has been spending time

with him, JT has come out of the shell he had built

around him after his Dad died. I was worried about

him, he was so withdrawn, not doing well in school. I

was worried about the gangs getting to him, now that he

was missing a father figure.

"Simone changed all that. He has even started cleaning

his room without me asking him. He is taking special

care with his clothing and hygiene. Especially his

hygiene. And his grades! He has never done so well in

school. I mean, he was always the smartest kid in the

class, but now? It's like she is challenging him to do

his best."

She paused. I knew what was coming. I felt Sally and

Nicole's grips tighten on my leg again, encouraging me

to be quiet. Geez, give me some credit, will you?

"That's why I'm really here, I guess. I'm so happy for

him, but at the same time, now I'm even more scared

than before. I guess I just needed to know where the

girl was coming from, what kind of a family, if she

could be counted on not to screw with his head and dump

him." She looked at us, her relief evident. "You

might be crazy and weird, but you're not cruel.

Somehow, I know I can trust you to do right by my boy."

Sally and Nicole's grips on my groin relaxed and I

could feel the tension flowing out of them. They

hadn't been sure of the outcome of this meeting and,

somehow, that made me feel a little better. They were

mortal, after all.

Diane stayed a while longer, actually daring to examine

Nicole's rings at close range after a bit. She told

how her husband had been killed while stationed

overseas. He had been a Major in a Special Forces

unit. She had never been told how or where, only that

it had been in action, and that he had died serving his

country. JT had taken his Dad's death hard, but had

never cried that she knew of. He just kept it bottled

up inside.

She left with an invitation to dinner the following

week. It was going to be a special night, with JT and

Simone hosting. She asked if that meant they would be

cooking, as well. When Sally said it did, Diane just

rolled her eyes and said, "I'll bet you $10 we have

hotdogs and beans. That's all he knows how to fix."

I walked out to the basketball court to check the

action a couple of days later. What I found was not

exactly the action I expected. The ball was sitting in

mid-court, and three couples were there as well, two on

the baseline and one at the top of the key. While

there was a lot of activity, none of them were actively

looking for the basketball. I cleared my throat, and

six teens separated guiltily, caught, thank God only

figuratively, with their pants down.

I decided to establish some ground rules of my own.

"JT, what's going on?" I asked him specifically, thus

making him responsible.

"We, uh , she, uh ..."

I stopped him right there and pulled him off to the

side. "First, JT, and as you get older you'll

understand this better, but first, JT, never, ever

blame the woman. It won't work."

He looked back at me with a solemn face, taking my

statement as wisdom from the ages. God! This kid has

got to lighten up!

I continued in a more serious vein, but more in keeping

with his attitude. "JT, as a man, be a man. Take the

responsibility, take charge. And right or wrong, take

the blame. Understand?" I raised my eyebrows at him,

trying to get him to lighten up.

He nodded, still unsure.

"Now then, I'll ask you again, what's going on out

here?"

He looked around, then over at Simone, who had wandered

up to us. He grinned, "We, uh, I was resting, sir!"

I laughed. "Well, just don't rest too long, OK?"

The six of them grinned back, the message understood.

From then on I kept the window to my office open

whenever Simone had the kids over. I couldn't see the

court from there, so I wasn't spying on them. I kept

it open so I could hear the `boing-boing' of the

basketball as it was occasionally dribbled between the

rest periods. What can I say, hormones were raging.

Sally popped up to my office and informed me it was

time to dress for dinner. I grumbled at her, as I was

puzzling my way through a complex international

financial transaction that nagged at me. Something was

just too sweet with the deal and I wanted to make sure

my clients wouldn't be left holding an empty bag if I

recommended it to them. I could feel I was almost at

the point of seeing the catch, and I wasn't ready to

eat dinner.

"Now, Master!" came her voice again from the doorway.

Something in her exasperated tone cut through the fog

in my brain and I gave her my full attention. God, was

I glad I did. Sally was wearing an outfit I hadn't

seen before. I guess it could best be described as a

formal loincloth. And a necklace, her jeweled collar.

I idly wondered how she had gotten it out of the safe,

but in a rare flash of brilliance for me, I determined

it was best if I didn't know how she had figured out

the combination to my safe. It would only frustrate

me, and right now I was once again totally besotted

with her beauty.

She noticed me staring at her nakedness and she

blushed, both from the joy my attentions still brought

her and her frustration at having yet another delay in

getting me dressed for dinner. She finally got me to

our bedroom and into a similarly brief covering, now

completely inadequate given the aroused state my cock

was in. It looked more like a window awning with a

single support than a loincloth, and Sally and Nicole

got a severe case of the giggles as they escorted me

down to the dining room.

As we entered the rarely used formal dining room, I

noticed that all the stops had been pulled out for the

evening. Candles, the good china, my family's silver

service, and the good linen napkins with the

monogrammed silver rings. The large square table was

set for 11 people. Sally and Nicole guided me to our

places facing the door, bursting out in fits of

laughter as it became obvious that the head of my prick

was going to poke out above the level of the table.

Unless something could be done, there would be 12 for

dinner.

Nicole, I might add, was similarly attired, her

loincloth as brief as Sally's. Her collar was also in

place. She had added a pair of high heels to her

outfit that lifted her butt nicely. With all the

visual stimulation around me, there was no chance in

Hell I was going to relax anytime soon. I thought

Sally or Nicole would take the initiative and relieve

the stress, so to speak, but neither left her place at

my side. The four of us waited for the other guests to

join us.

I heard Janey's voice first. She was in `polite' mode,

I could tell. Not nervous, not scared, just on her

best behavior. Whoever was with her, the guest was

bound to be important. Then Marion's voice chimed in,

again trying to reassure whoever was with them by her

tone. She had practiced that tone on me all through

our growing up and beyond and she did it well. I was

curious about who was coming in with them when it

suddenly hit me.

JT's Mom! Debby, or Dana, no. Diane. Suddenly

panicked, I stared at my stubbornly erect member,

trying to will it into submission. I guess you know

that didn't work. As I heard them coming closer I got

more desperate. I grabbed the linen napkin from in

front of me and tried to yank the silver napkin ring

off the damn napkin. Like a chinese finger puzzle, the

harder I pulled on it, the more it stuck, until it gave

with a sadistic suddenness. The cloth I was hoping to

cover myself with sailed out into the middle of the

table, clearly out of my reach and too far away to get

to without totally exposing myself to the group just

now entering the dining room.

The silver ring, on the other hand, took another route

to complete my humiliation. It flipped up into the

air, glinting and gleaming in the soft candlelight.

The flashes of light from the spinning ring managed to

catch everyone's attention, and six pairs of eyes

watched the ring, in agonizingly slow motion, from my

perspective, anyway, descend into my lap, landing

squarely on the head of my cock, crowning my prick with

a crown of softly gleaming silver.

We were all stunned by what had happened and were

silent, staring at that damned napkin ring/crown.

Sally and Nicole, again in unison, started shaking

silently, their lovely tits jiggling enticingly.

Watching those lovely orbs quaking was not helping my

situation at all.

"You know, I've always wondered what to do with those

damn rings after you take the napkin out. I never

thought of doing that, but I'll bet my Jerome would

have loved it."

Five pairs of eyes swiveled from staring at my cock to

staring at this unruffled woman who had just defused a

humiliating situation. Then we all laughed, wiping

tears from our eyes. Nicole or Sally, I couldn't tell

which one, surreptitiously lifted the ring from its

awkward perch during the laughter and placed it on the

table next to my place setting.

Marion, Janey and JT's mom finished entering the room

and sat at our left. Conversation was admittedly a bit

less stilted and formal after that, and I could tell I

was going to take a lot of ribbing for a long time.

Simone slipped in and out of the room, serving wine and

bringing in the salad and the soup. There was still no

sign of the other guests or of JT, but Simone did not

show any concern about the late arrivals. She also

showed no sign of having heard the ruckus earlier. I

admired her calm demeanor. She was growing up to be a

confident and accomplished young lady.

I watched Diane watching her. She didn't do it openly,

but her attention was never very far away from Simone.

Several times I caught a pleased smile teasing the

corners of her mouth, as if Simone had just satisfied

yet another of the myriad unnamed requirements on some

sort of checklist. The common thought is that men are

the competitive sex, but it's nothing compared to what

women put each other through. men will accept best

effort. Women have to be perfect.

Mac's unmistakable voice came booming into the room and

I knew the last guests had arrived. I could tell he

was nervous about something even before he entered the

dining area. He was always about 10 decibels too loud

when he was like that and he was really loud now.

Mac entered first, ahead of CeCe and Beth. The two

women stayed out of sight around the corner of the

door, hesitant to come in. Mac was dressed just like I

was. Barefoot and an inadequate loincloth was all he

was wearing, other than the championship ring he had

just won. Somehow his team had pulled it off, winning

everything they had to. Even with that effort it had

taken a lot of luck, too. The other teams in the

league had just folded at the end of the season,

allowing Mac's team to slip into the wild card slot.

Against all the odds, they won.

Mac saw how Sally, Nicole and I were dressed and

grinned widely, obviously relieved. He waved merrily

at us and then did something very uncharacteristic for

him. He turned towards the door and snapped his

fingers in a commanding way. It was odd, as he was so

gentle and deferential with CeCe, but here he was,

ordering her into the room with a snap of his fingers.

Beth entered first, her head bowed, her perky breasts
bobbing as she tread lightly into the room. As she

approached Mac, she stole a glance up at him, and I

felt a deep devotion to him over the link. She didn't

mind that she was nearly naked, nor did she even know

that Sally and Nicole were wearing the same attire as

she. She just knew that this was what Mac wanted and

that he was pleased with her.

Oddly, Beth had a leash in her hands. With a gentle

tug, she urged CeCe into the room. CeCe was not

dressed like the other three. She had quite a bit more

on, but was even more exposed. The tight leather

corset and the single glove binding her arms behind her

back didn't cover any of her beauty. Or the marks of a

recent whipping.

CeCe entered and sat opposite Sally. Their eyes met

and I felt Sally questioning her silently. I didn't

think Sally's link with CeCe was that strong that she

could sense her. Sally probably could have with Nicole

because of our relationship, but to be honest I wasn't

sure about that either. I touched lightly on CeCe and

found her very calm, happy and very aroused.

I looked over at Sally and relayed what I had found.

She relaxed perceptibly with the news. I honestly

think she hadn't known that CeCe was going to show up

in severe bondage like this. Leave it to Mac to

surprise her.

As was usually the case with Mac present, he presumed

we were all there to hear of his latest exploits on the

sports field. Usually he was correct. He had a way of

telling the stories that made every other player on the

team the hero. To hear him tell it, he was no more

important to their stunning turnaround than the batboy.

It was an endearing quality, but on this particular

evening, there was a hitch. JT's mom was present. It

was obvious from her polite, but brutal dissection of

his first sentence that she was not going to sit

quietly and listen to him monopolize the conversation

with silly sports stories.

Diane deftly turned the conversation to other topics,

leaving Mac a bit stunned at first, and then challenged

to participate in the current conversation. It was the

first time I had ever heard his political views aired

in public, although he and I had had many conversations

about them. Mostly I teased him as he realized that

his early liberal beliefs were slowly, but surely blown

to smithereens. As he came to realize that all the

fucking programs those idiot liberal politicians

implemented did nothing to help him or the vast

majority of other minorities in the `hood, he began to

see that those programs were the very thing that kept

most minorities from getting out of their poverty and

ignorance. His own success had come about because he

had helped himself, no one else. He had not benefited

from one single program instituted by the government.

Granted, he was talented in sports, but he had also

worked harder than anyone else I had ever known to hone

those God-given skills.

Now that he was actually making some money, Mac was

even more apoplectic about the cost of those worthless

social programs. He hadn't realized how heavily he was

going to be taxed and he resented that the only ones

that would benefit from his taxes were the politicians.

Them, and those very few people who actually needed the

kind of handouts the programs gave them.

JT and Simone wheeled in a large serving cart in the

middle of the conversation and began serving us dinner.

Diane had a smug look on her face when the entr‚e was

revealed. Franks and Beans, although her first bite

wiped the smugness from her face. I guess we should

have warned her that Simone had kind of a heavy hand

with the chili peppers and other hot spices. We

usually had to use the asbestos toilet paper after she

cooked for us. After tonight, with all these beans,

we'd probably have to avoid open flames, as well.

JT didn't get a good look at Mac until he put Mac's

plate in front of him. What with trying not to spill

anything and with four naked ladies literally shoving

their tits in his face, he had not really bothered to

take a look at anybody's faces. The look on his face

when he realized who was sitting there was priceless.

As was Diane's. She had apparently known of the hero

status her son placed on this man. It may have been

the 25 posters of Mac that wallpapered his room or the

incessant recitation of his lifetime statistics, but a

Mom just knows these things, I guess.

Suddenly, the reason behind Diane's controlling

behavior became clear to me. While her son was a

talented athlete, she wanted him to see his hero as

more than one dimensional. She wanted him to see that

while Mac might be destined for the Hall of Fame, there

were other sides to him, too. I smiled as I wondered

if she had realized that one of those sides was kinky.

I had a feeling that that might have been a bit of a

surprise, but to give her credit, she didn't blink an

eye when she saw his pecker dangling well below his

loincloth. OK, she did stare at it with a look of

longing disbelief, but she didn't blink. Not once....

And to give JT credit, when he realized his hero was

going to be sitting at the same table, he never gave

the eight bare boobs around the table another glance.

I guess hero worship beats hormones. He barely paid

attention to Simone, a fact that did not sit well at

first with the young lady. After several attempts to

get his face to rotate even a few degrees in her

direction, all unsuccessful, she finally rolled her

eyes at her mother. Nicole consolingly laid a gentle

hand on her daughter's hand and gave it a few maternal

pats. It didn't help, but by that time Simone had

resigned herself to losing this one to Mac. I just

wondered which of the two, JT or Mac, would be paying

for it later.

After a surprisingly sports-free dinner, a rarity with

Mac in attendance, the ladies adjourned to do whatever

ladies do after dinner. I have always suspected that

women want guys to think that it is a drudgery to do

the dishes and clean up, but having it done myself more

than once, there isn't that much to it. And, no, I did

more than paper plates and plastic forks... I really

think that they just want to get us out of earshot so

they can talk. For my part, I was hoping to hear all

about what they talked about from Sally and Nicole.

JT, Mac and I retired to the family room at the top of

the grand entryway. Mac had put an arm around JT's

shoulder when he started to wander away to leave Mac

and I alone. I thought the buttons would burst off his

shirt as his chest swelled with pride at being included

by Mac. When the ladies were done talking, they would

join us before everyone went home. Simone slipped in

once to offer us an after dinner drink, but Mac

declined for all of us, saying he didn't want anything

that might detract from the enjoyment of the wonderful

meal. Leave it to Mac to say just the right thing and

get off the hook.

I was dying to know about him, Beth and CeCe and what

was going on with their relationship, but I didn't

think it would be right to ask about them in front of

JT. If Mac and I had been alone, I would have bugged

the shit out of him, but now I didn't feel I could.

With Diane not there to steer the conversation, I

figured Mac would revert to his normal self. Again, he

surprised me.

Mac started asking JT about himself, how he had met

Simone, what he wanted to do, how much time he spent

with Simone, how his grades were, what he thought of

Simone, did he like sports, did he like Simone.... You

get the picture. I kept waiting for him to ask the

poor kid if he had scored yet, but he held back from

going that far. JT held his own, though, answering

each question with quiet assurance and seriousness. I

could see Mac trying hard not to like the kid, but it

didn't work. By the time the women joined us, Mac had

resigned himself to being replaced by JT in Simone's

life, as if there was anything he could have done about

it, or would have done if he could have. Simone had

picked JT out of the herd and had picked well.

There was considerably less tension in the family room

with all of us there. Apparently the women's talk had

gone well, too, as Diane left the conversation alone.

She seemed relaxed, laughing with the rest of us as

Marion and Mac enthralled us with stories of the old
neighborhood from when we were growing up. Simone

curled up in JT's lap, somehow making their total body

contact seem chaste. I could only tell he was bothered

by their closeness because of the sweat on his

forehead, but then, teenaged girls always have that

effect on teenaged boys. Especially when they are in

such close proximity.

It was a most enjoyable, if uneventful evening. I was

sorry to see it end.

It was a few days later when Simone came up to me as I

was doing one of my favorite things. I was sitting at

the dinner table, the every day table, resting after

one of Sally's delicious dinners. I was enjoying

watching the show Sally and Nicole put on as they

finished cleaning up after dinner. Tonight's

entertainment was particularly nice as Nicole didn't

normally get to help out too much as she was working

more and more at the Clinic. She seemed to enjoy being

included in the domestic chores from time to time. It

let her feel a part of the everyday household.

I liked to watch Sally work in the kitchen as it always

entailed much bending over and stretching. I realized

early on that she enjoyed me watching and usually

seemed to take much longer cleaning up, with a lot of

bending over and reaching up on her tiptoes on those

times I watched. Getting to watch Nicole was a special

treat, as she was still not used to my lustful

observations of her. It was in pure contrast to her

blatant invitations to look at her when she was dressed

in her finery. Now that she was wearing her slave

clothing, which hid absolutely nothing, she seemed to

blush with each bend or stretch. It was very becoming

on her, this appearance of innocence.

Whenever Nicole helped out in the kitchen, Sally took

advantage of her height and had her stretching, for my

pleasure, to reach many unnecessary items. Although it

was obvious Nicole had caught on to her antics, she

went along with them willingly, but blushing profusely.

And very prettily.

"Papa, do you have any prophylactics?" Simone had come

up behind me and stood beside me as I was absorbed in

the kitchen ballet. At first, I didn't realize I had

heard what she had asked me. Whether it was the

uncommon use of the proper term for a rubber, or

whether it was because she asked me in plain hearing of

her mother and Sally, I don't know. What I do know is

it took me a couple of heartbeats to comprehend what

she had asked, and the implications of it. Try as I

might, I just couldn't convince myself that she and JT

were going to have a water balloon fight.

I could hear the sudden silence in the kitchen area as

two sets of curious ears tuned into what was bound to

be an interesting conversation.

"Are you doing a science project, Simone?" Hey, I

could always hope.

She looked blank for a minute, about like what I must

have looked like a second before. The she blushed.

Stuttering, and obviously now uncomfortable, she took

the easy way out. "Uh, yeah, I guess." I guess, my

ass.

"I think I could rustle up one..." I paused, "...or

two. Would that be enough?" I asked innocently.

"Uh, I was thinking more like a case. Or two,"

replying in kind.

I heard a muffled gasp, followed shortly thereafter by

the sound of breaking crockery as it hit the tiled

floor. I didn't see what happened as I was looking at

Simone. I assumed that Nicole had dropped them, but I

was wrong. Sally had been handing the plates to Nicole

and had pulled her hands away to cover her mouth to

stifle her laughter, in the process dropping the plates

before Nicole even had a chance to reach for them. I

could see both women were now fighting the laughter

that threatened to burst out.

Her hand over her mouth hadn't worked to keep quiet and

now, in addition, they had to be careful not to step on

the shards of glass with their bare feet. The kitchen

floor was now covered in a minefield of ceramic

shrapnel. Nicole was in no better shape than Sally, as

she was holding her sides and crying, too. Simone

didn't understand what it was that she had said that

was so funny and looked at me curiously.

"Well, Simmie, I think I could find a few more for you

when you need them." I paused and took her hand.

"Just be careful, OK? I don't want you to get hurt."

I pulled her into me and kissed her forehead. "Or JT,

either."

Imagine the color of beets and you would have a good

idea of the color of the young girl. I can't imagine

how kids ever think their parents are that dumb, that

we wouldn't figure it out. But then, I think back on

just how dumb my parents were while I was in High

School and I guess it was just my turn. Simone did

manage to turn and walk away with dignity, which is

more than I can say for the two women who were now

howling in the kitchen area.

Grabbing a broom and dustpan, I went in to rescue my

two damsels in distress.

Chapter 65

The phone rang. Picking it up, I hoped it wasn't

anyone important.

"Sampson? Get your fucking ass down here. Now!"

It wasn't.

I looked over at the clock. It was just 12:55. It was

too close to Sally's time. She was more important. In

fact, she was just coming to the door. I looked up at

her and smiled. Fuck this telephone shit. Our times

together were becoming too precious. I never knew what

she was going to come up with, but I think I liked the

`nothing' days the best. We often just sat quietly

holding each other, not talking, not petting, just

being. Doin' nothin'.

"I'll be there at 2:30." Sally heard me and smiled at

the timing.

"Now, Sampson." I suppose I should have told him I

didn't like to be ordered around, especially by someone

in his position. It tended to make me angry. I was

already well on my way to pissed off.

"2:30, asshole!" I told him, again.

He changed his tone, and I finally recognized that what

I was hearing wasn't arrogance, but fear. Out of

control fear. "Look. It's not me, sir. But the

directors are going to be really pissed if they have to

wait that long."

Now my curiosity was piqued. "Directors? As in

plural?"

"Yeah, butt face. Ours, the FBI's, the CIA's, and

another guy that has those three spooked out of their

shorts. Believe me, they don't want to sit in there

and drink coffee with that guy for an hour and a half."

"No shit?"

"No shit! Now get a move on!"

"OK. I'll leave as soon as I can get away." We both

knew I had no intention of leaving any sooner than I

had said before. Let the bastards be a bit

uncomfortable. It still beat a long night living with

the rats...

"Now, you motherfucker...." I heard as I hung up the

phone. I smiled up at Sally and went to her with my

arms open. I had a bad feeling I was going to need all

the love and support I could get my hands on. Sally

must have sensed my need for her comfort and love. It

was a `nothing' day.

I think she wondered why I cried when 2:00 came.

I got to the anonymous building downtown at 2:20. I

waited outside the door, in clear view of the security

cameras for 15 minutes. It was too much hassle for

them to come out and get me, then have to get cycled

back in. Sometimes things work in your favor.

By the time I got through security it was 2:45. I

walked into the conference room and sat down. Four

government suits stared back at me. Well, three,

anyway. The fourth one was too expensive to be

government issue, which meant only the government could

have afforded it.

One of the men I knew better than the others because I

had worked for him, prior. I knew two of the others as

they were in the news occasionally, political

appointments and congressional hearings. The fourth

man looked familiar, as if I had seen him somewhere.

It was more like I had sensed his presence somewhere,

like a dullness or deadness on the fringes of my

consciousness. Or like a disease. I decided didn't

like him. When I looked at him, I had a foreboding

sense I was looking at myself in 10 years time. It

scared the shit out of me. Not that I would be alive

in 10 years, but what I would become.

FBI started in. "Where the Hell did you get this

evidence?" The briefcase and its contents were on the

table.

I told them the story, starting with Sally's

involvement with Gary. I told them about finding

Nicole and taking her and Simone into my home and into

my protection. Since they had my report on Gary's

demise and my part in it, I left that out. I related

that Simone had had difficulties adjusting to the new

situation and run away. I said I had traced her - I

didn't say how - to the warehouse and rescued her.

"But that was months ago, Sampson! Do you realize how

much time you've wasted?" I didn't want them to know

how frightened I had been of dealing with that

briefcase. I had successfully forgotten about that

particular ugliness until we moved and it showed up.

Like a bad penny. But this FBI guy was a real asshole.

And he was scared, too.

"Well, I figured you were still sifting the evidence

you got from that child molester's house you had under

observation for all those years," I shot back. The FBI

had taken public credit for putting away Gary, when it

had been handed to them on a silver platter. That kind

of positive PR meant billions of dollars in increased

funding.

"Fuck you!"

I didn't answer.

"Why did you wait so long, son?" CIA was more

intelligent, smoother. Still an asshole.

"It wasn't part of my mission."

"I don't understand. Was this an official mission?" he

asked, turning to my old director.

He shook his head, then looked at me. "If I may?" he

asked.

I nodded.

"Mr. Sampson's mission, as he had been trained to

defined it, was to recover the young girl. Our agents

are trained to be focused, mission specific. I'm

surprised he brought out the case at all, to be

truthful. It shows a break in his training." He

looked at me with a raised eyebrow. That look had

ended more than one career, and they had been damned

good agents.

"It wasn't entirely voluntary, Sir, as I recall. I

remember I couldn't find the door, I remember my head

kept turning to face the corner this case was hidden
in. The girl later told me she was tugging my ear,

turning me so I would find it. This was her find, not

mine."

"That would be Miss Le Brech, the young girl, right?

Dr. Schwartz has said some very nice things about her."

"Yes. Simone. She is my stepdaughter now. She wasn't

at that time."

"Very nice for you, I'm sure. Can we get back to the

fucking point?" Mr. FBI again. "You're telling me

that you didn't have any idea what was in the case? I

find that hard to believe!"

I shrugged. Fuck him. But something wasn't right.

Suddenly, the stench of panic in the room made sense.

"God damn it! You bastards didn't have a clue. Even

after I handed you that guy's house and all those

tapes, all the pictures and the dead fucking bodies.

I'm right, aren't I? You're all sitting here chewing

on my ass because I'm the only one who has any god damn

fucking clue what's going on. Oh, God help us!"

I looked at them accusingly, demanding a response.

Finally the scary one nodded.

"What the press, what no one outside of a very, very

small circle knows is that the funerals that were

televised were almost all staged. No one had missed

those 34 girls. No one had ever reported them gone.

No one."

"What about..." I stopped myself. I had taken the

tapes and photos of Miki. But she was only one.

"What you uncovered has shaken the foundations of the

law enforcement community to its very core. That such

a massive and hideous crime could have been committed

in the very heart of one of the safest major

communities in the country and never been noticed,

is... is..." Spooky couldn't finish.

"Sampson, you're being reactivated." My old director,

quietly.

"Fuck you." I wasn't about to let this get dumped on

my lap.

"This isn't a request."

"You can't... You wouldn't..." I saw the set of his

face. "Oh, shit! As what?"

"As a Free Agent."

"This isn't fucking baseball. What the Hell is a

`free' agent."

Spooky took over. "Well, we're not really sure,

exactly. Currently, you're the only one there is.

You'll have just this case. That's it. Take what you

need, from anybody here. You will have our full,

unquestioning support. Do what you need to do. Just

wrap it up. Quietly. Quickly. And let us know when

you're done." Spooky shrugged. He couldn't say

anymore. I didn't think they would want any written

reports. I also knew without them saying, that there

would be complete deniability if anything went wrong.

Hell, what was I thinking, `if'....

I stared at Spooky for a long minute. Then I looked at

them all, one by one. To their credit, each one looked

me in the eye. They knew they had just made me the

judge, jury and executioner of tens, maybe hundreds of

men and women. 007 in spades. A license to kill.

"I've been known to make a bit of a mess," I stated.

Understated, actually. I think I almost got a smile

out of my old director, but I wasn't trying to make a

joke.

"There won't be any problems. Just not too many

civilians, if it can be helped." That was Mr. Tact

from the FBI again. I think he was actually trying to

make me feel better.

I stood, towering over him. "I have NEVER involved

civilians, you mother fucker. I don't burn children in

farmhouses or communes and I don't break down fucking

doors of unarmed civilian's homes and steal little

children at gunpoint. And if you say one more fucking

word, YOU will be the first casualty in this war you

are asking me to wage. Quietly and quickly. Do you

fucking understand me, you incompetent asshole?" I was

a little miffed.

After several minutes of silence I packed up the

evidence in the briefcase and started out the door.

The meeting was over. All except the...

"Mr. Sampson, a moment, please?" I was surprised. It

wasn't my old director.

We waited while the other three men left. I turned to

face the spook. He apparently was my new boss.

He looked at me for a minute, measuring me. "This is

hard for you, isn't it." It wasn't a question. He

said it softly. He knew from experience.

"I look at it the other way. It's too easy."

He was silent, agreeing with me. "I'm sorry it has to

be this way. No publicity, no bodies, no noise.

That's the main reason we chose you. You don't burn

kids or break down doors. You don't like it. But

you'll do the job, and do it right.

"You have to understand. There are too many cities in

this country where the police departments are hanging

on to their credibility and their respectability by

their fingernails. A crime of this magnitude, at this

point in time, making them look totally incompetent,

unable to protect the populace, would be the last straw

for too many of the marginal departments. And

honestly, we're not sure that some of them haven't been

compromised, and are involved in this in some way. But

we don't know. We just fucking don't know.

"I don't have to tell you that if word of this got out,

neither the states nor the Feds would be able to

contain the rapid spread of violence and anarchy.

Needless to say, don't expect any help from the

locals."

"What help can I expect?"

"You will have complete and total access to every piece

of information I get. I get it all." This guy was

beginning to scare even me. No one had that kind of

access.

"How do I contact you?"

"Your contact will be the Analyst you have used up

until now. We thought it would be easier that way.

Besides, as a result of reading your report and doing

his own analysis, his security clearance is now as high

as it gets. He, or someone like him, will be on the

other end of your phone 24/7." He paused. "That was a

good piece of analysis, by the way."

I somehow knew that was high praise coming from him.

"Other support?"

"Clean up will be on demand. Just tell him where.

Then get out. You are never to come back here again.

He has your equipment, computer, phone, all the usual

toys. Anything else you need, just ask him."

I nodded my head.

"No other questions, Mr. Sampson?"

"Not that I can think of."

"You don't want to know who I am?"

I looked at him for a moment. "Not really. I don't

think so, no."

He smiled sadly. "I know what you mean." He thought a

moment. "What tipped you off? What made you make the

link with that particular group?"

The memory of the dark basement under Gary's house

flooded over me again. I had known then, I just hadn't

pieced it together yet. "The graves. I'd seen them

before. Over there."

He nodded. There was no substitute for fieldwork. We

left the room together. The Analyst waylaid me before

I could say anything else to him and he slipped out, a

shadow.

"Holy Shit, man! You hit the fucking jackpot! Do you

know how high my clearance is now? Would you like to

read the President's e-mail? Launch a missile? Damn,

this is so scary, it's cool!"

He was having so much fun with his new toys I decided

not to slug him. That `fucking jackpot' had cost

countless lives. I was going to have the unpleasant

task of trying to account for them, somehow. I

listened carefully while he rhapsodized over the

features of the new hardware that was already installed

in his now ultra secure office. Looking around, even I

was impressed.

I'll say one thing, this spook guy didn't mess around.

Chapter 66

I was busy in the cellar of the new house going through

those old photos Gary had taken of Sally. I had stored

them down there in one of the many empty spaces onf the

cavernous cellar. This time, though, as I went through

them I wasn't looking at Sally. I was looking at the

faces of the men and women who had been with her. They

hadn't been important to me before, but now, if I was

right, they were part of a group of professionals who

had stuck together, all there at the beginning. I

believed that at least the core group of them had known

or known of each other in their former lives in

espionage and they would tend to stick together now.

These people would have been the `true believers,' the

fanatics who wouldn't care how they hurt America, as

long as they hurt her. Their politicians had long ago

realized the error of their system and moved on. The

tool they created with those fucking policies, these

trained agents, remained to fight blindly on. It was

all they knew, and all they believed in, now that their

own system had collapsed.

I was down in the files because there was this niggling

suspicion that I had seen one of the men before. It

wasn't a strong feeling, but it drove me into the

basement to these archives. It still sickened me to

look at the way Sally had been used.

I figured, with the time lag and all, that Sally had

been one of the early experiments for this group of

kidnappers and murderers. That was why Gary took his

time with her, seducing her into bondage slowly over a

period of months. They were feeling their way, how

much they could get away with, how far they could push

her. They may not have even had the conscious thought

of doing anything organized as yet. That would explain

them allowing the photographs of themselves.

My theory was that the photos of themselves had been a

careless mistake, which meant they probably hadn't

started routinely killing the women and girls yet.

This was just a lark, humiliating the rich American

women, abusing them and making them beg for it. The

killing would come later. You don't take incriminating

pictures of yourself having bondage sex with someone

who you intended to murder or snuff.

The photos they took were also thorough. I could

attach a face to every body or part of a body in the

photos. Even the photographer took a self-portrait in

the mirror. I was surprised. It was a woman. I spent

a long time looking at that hard-edged face. I suppose

you could have called her pretty once, but I was

repulsed by the hollowness of her eyes. Unless I

missed my guess, she was the brains behind this. A

heartless bitch. I studied her carefully. I wanted to

make sure I would know her if I ever saw her.

It was probably the photos that started it. They

discovered how easily they could sell them and make

money. From there they just took the path of least

resistance, filling the sordid demands for more and

more graphic and violent pictures. I hoped it was an

accident, the one death that started it all. With this

group, though, I didn't think so. It had gotten to

that point too quickly.

I was working intently on the files, so I didn't hear

Janey and Simone come into the room next door. Sally

and Nicole had discovered the access to the dungeon

from our bedroom. They had taken the next step and had

converted an even larger part of the basement into a

`dungeon' that could hold all of our equipment. They

didn't want everyone traipsing through our bedroom to

get here, so they provided access to the dungeon from

the other parts of the basement as well.

With two to four `slaves' to deal with at any one time,

we needed multiples of most of the specialty devices

and, even with the huge space they had created, it felt

crowded at times. Most of the bigger pieces were on

rollers and were stored in another part of the room.

The girls had rolled a couple of pieces into the

dungeon and were setting up for a session before I

heard them talking.

"Gosh, Simmie, it's great that you agreed to help me.

I really need the practice," Janey said. That was the

first I heard them speaking.

"Uh, yeah, OK. Just remember you agreed to, uh, you

know..."

Janey giggled. "Yeah, I remember. Where did you get

that huge thing anyway?"

I moved to stand in the doorway between the two rooms.

Janey was facing me and grinned as she saw me. Simone

had her back turned to me and wouldn't have seen me

anyway. Janey had just finished putting a blindfold

over her eyes. Simone was fidgeting, shifting

nervously from foot to foot. Not wanting to spy on

their session, I reached out to Simone with my link,

and asked her if it was alright for me to stay and

watch. I saw her relax and could feel her approval,

even without her sending back a positive `Yes' over the

link. She also asked me not to let Janey know that she

knew I was there. This could be interesting.

Simone answered Janey's question. "It's one of Aunt

Marion's toys. She has me use it on her sometimes."

"You sure it will fit? It's awfully big"

"It will fit."

"Are you sure? How can you know? I'd think it would

tear you in two!"

"It's the same size as JT's, if you must know."

"God! Really? Oh! So, that means you two are, are,

doing it?"

Simone actually blushed. "Yeah. For a while now. But

he's been at that advanced placement summer school at

the university for a couple of weeks and, well, I miss

him and his, umm, thing. I almost suspect that Papa

arranged for him to `win' that scholarship."

Damn, that kid was smart. I had used two dummy

corporations to set up that scholarship for JT. And

she still figured it out.

"You think Dad's trying to keep you two apart?"

"Oh, no! I know Papa likes him. Very much so.

Remember, I was supposed to go to that course, too,

before JT even knew about the award. Then I couldn't

go because of the stuff with Gertie. It`s a great

opportunity for JT even if I have to go without being

fucked by him for a while."

"My, my, JT seems to have progressed a lot in that

department." As Janey and Simone talked, Janey had

been preparing Simone. After slipping off her robe,

leaving her nude and blindfolded, she had tied her

wrists and ankles to a large upright stand. Simone was

secured in an `X' shape with all of her considerable

charms exposed. Janey had made sure I had a total view

of all of Simone's lovely features. Like I said, they

were considerable.

"Yes, he has done quite well for a virgin. I will have

to ask Papa for another case of condoms soon."

"Another case? Geez, you're only supposed to use one

at a time, Simmie. Besides, you're on the pill aren't

you?"

"I know to use just one. Don't be silly. JT is so

concerned about me not getting pregnant that he insists

on using one. He is so cute that way, taking the

responsibility for protection that I haven't had the

heart to tell him I am on the pill. Besides, he is so

anxious to please me, he does it five or six times."

"A day?"

"In a row! It is wonderful, Janey. I had no idea.

But surely, you and Papa have done it that often, no?

He is so virile and strong." Simone knew Janey and I

had never had sex, so I wondered what was going on.

Uncharacteristically, Janey didn't pick up on her

teasing.

Janey got very still for a minute, then, looking

directly up at me, answered Simone in a very serious

tone. "Dad and I have never done it, Simmie." She

hurried to explain. "I know, I know. We tease each

other a lot, and he could if he wanted to. At least, I

think he could. I'm not so sure now.

"I know mom told you and Nicki about our agreement that

he could, well, have sex with me. But he never has.

For a while I thought he didn't like me, or that he was

afraid that mom would get mad or something. But I

realized later that the purpose of the whole agreement

was for me to get over what that boy did to me, and for

me to want to have sex and to like it.

"Dad is really smart. He teased me into liking myself

again. God, he was awful. He made me play with myself

in front of him and mom once. It was so embarrassing,

but I could tell he was turned on watching me and that

made me feel, well, special, kind of. In a weird sort

of way. He treated me just the same as Mom, most of

the times when we did family things or bondage stuff,

only he didn't make love to me. He has licked me and

touched me all over and he drove me up the wall with

those crazy toys from the Rosen Clinic.

"If his objective was to make me want to have sex, he

succeeded." Janey smiled over at me when she said

this. "In fact, more than he knows. But, well, to

answer your question, so far I can only imagine what it

will be like to be with a man. Some day and with the

right man. But I'm happy for you and JT."

She stopped her seriousness, in part because Simone was

grinning. "So, how did you get JT to finally do it?

He was so shy and all." I guess she was going to try

and turn the tables on her.

Now it was Simone's turn to be silent for a moment. "I

think Papa had a lot to do with that, too. As much as

I tried, I couldn't get JT to look at me hardly. I

knew he liked me, he kept coming over and was always

hanging around me. But he would get all embarrassed

and flustered then run away somewhere. Then he came up

to the house and talked to Papa one afternoon while I

was gone. You remember they told us about the

basketball game with Mama and Sally?"

"Yeah, that was funny. I think your mom kind of liked

teaching him."

"I was kind of upset with Mama for that. JT said he

thought she was going to rape him or something, then

realized she was just playing. But she did get him

started, so I guess I forgive her. The first time he

grabbed my boobies in a basketball game I think I had

an orgasm. I couldn't do anything but stand there and

quiver. He was so worried he had hurt me or done

something wrong. He had tried to be so smooth.

"I let him help me over to the side of the court. Oh,

Janey, I was shameless. I leaned into him, then held

on to him, rubbing my chest all over his. He could

have had me then and there, I was so horny. I could

feel his hardness against my tummy and it made me all

tingly. I moved my leg between his and pressed it up

against his cock. Then I moved it back and forth.

"He groaned and then pulled away, ashamed because he

had spurt his stuff in his pants. I wouldn't let him

go. I was so amazed when he didn't get soft."

"So what happened? How did you get him to screw you?"

"It took much planning on my part. It was fun, too. I

didn't let Mama near him again, because I wanted to

teach him. I wanted to learn, too. Don't

misunderstand, Mama didn't mean to interfere, I just

wanted to do it myself."

"And....?" Janey said, impatiently.

"Well, we played a lot of basketball. He got better at

touching me. He got very good, in fact. He seemed to

like my butt. I don't know why. Anyway, I spent a lot

of time backing into him with it, feeling his hard cock

pressing up between us. Then there was the kissing,

and he could hold both my ass cheeks in his big hands.

I thought he would rub them raw some days.

"Then one day I let my hand touch his cock. It was so

cute. He froze stiff, with his tongue in my mouth and

his hands on my butt. He gave a little groan and then

tried to suck my tonsils out. God, it was exciting. I

wanted to taste it, him, so I slipped my finger into

his shorts and found the gooey wet stuff. When I put

my finger in my mouth, he ran away. I was afraid I had

done something to offend him. He said later that he

had been so upset because he wanted to put his cock

where my finger was. I asked him if he still wanted

to. He cried when I licked him. I like how he tasted.

He even kissed me after. I was surprised, but very

pleased.

"Next, I let him take off my shirt. He liked it when I

wore a bra, so he could take that off, too. Tittie

fucking was the next step. He got so excited when he

would come in my mouth that way that he would squeeze

my boobies really hard. They would be sore for days.

It was wonderful. I could just roll over in bed and

remember his big hands on them.

"Once, when he saw the marks he had made with his

fingers, he was so sorry. He kissed them to make them

feel better. Boy, did that work! With only a little

encouragement from me, he was soon finding his way down

to my slit. That took a lot of practice, to get him to

do it right. I even shaved off the hairs to tease him.

It drove him wild when he saw me bare like a little

girl. Papa is right, it is better that way, with the

woman shaved.

"Anyway, from there we went to the sixty-nine position.

JT could eat me for hours, and stay hard the whole

time. It was amazing, but I still wanted him to fuck

me. He wouldn't until he had protection. He couldn't

ask his Mom, so I asked Papa. We've been doing it ever

since, almost everyday, and it is wonderful. He is a

good lover. But I don't want to marry him."

I think she said that last part for my benefit. She

had just described the total debauchery of a young
innocent lad, then basically said it was a science

project. I wondered how JT felt about her. Janie must

have been thinking along the same lines.

"How does JT feel about you?"

"We have discussed this. He likes the sex, but knows

this is not love. We are very good friends, sex is

something we both like. But he is not the man for me.

And I am not the woman for him. I am too strong, and

he is strong, too, like Papa. He needs someone like

Mama. I will talk to Papa. Maybe he will let JT come

to stay with us for a while, to learn from him. And

his Mom, too. She's hot! Do you think Papa would like

JT's Mom?"

"God, Simmie, don't you think he's got enough with our

two Moms? And, yeah, she is hot. I saw her when she

came to pick JT up once and she was just wearing shorts

and a t-shirt. I hadn't realized how built she was.

Good luck talking mom and Nicole into sharing him with

another woman. But I think you're right. JT could

learn from Dad. Maybe it would get Dad out of his

mood. Have you noticed how serious he has been

lately?"

She was still looking at me while she worked on Simone.

I hadn't meant to let this secret agent stuff affect

them at home, but it obviously had. I know it affected

me. Killing people, even bad people who deserve it, is

nasty business. I don't know about other people, but I

died a little with each one. And looking at the

pictures, I was looking at a task that would mean a lot

more killing. I was astounded at the number of

different partners who had had Sally during her time

with Gary. Some of them may have been clients. But

most of the men, and women had had that hard-edged look

I knew so well. Jaded, aloof, as if they were dead

inside emotionally. There were close to 50 different

faces, and those were only the ones in the pictures.

How many others were there who hadn't been with Sally

during the startup?

Simone got really quiet. She was uneasy about the

question and Janey knew she knew something.

"Come on, Simmie. What do you know?"

"I- I- can't say. Just that Papa is working again."

She paused, "I don't think he likes what he is going to

do."

"Huh? What do you mean? He has always worked. For

that financial thingy. Building shopping centers like

The Guild and stuff. And if he doesn't like it, why

does he do it?"

"It's called a Real Estate Venture Capital Investment

Corporation, not a `thingy.' Geez, Janey. Anyway,

he's not doing that anymore right now. He's working

for the government again, with Gertie. And I, well, I

can't say anymore."

"Come on, Sim. Give. Pleeeeese," Janey begged. But

no matter how much she wheedled, and she was good,

Simone wouldn't say anymore.

"Tell me what you and Bala have been doing, Janey. You

have been over there a lot, lately." Simone was trying

to change the subject. I thought that was a good idea.

"I don't know that I should, since you're keeping

secrets from me," she giggled. "But what the heck. I

guess I can be the bigger person."

"You are the bigger person - OUCH!" Simone yelped as

Janey smacked her on the bare bottom with her hand for

her smart remark. "OK, OK, I'm sorry!"

They laughed together, their differences put aside.

While they had been talking, Janey had been working on

Simone, wrapping what looked to be fishing line all

over her body, from her head to toes. The line wasn't

too tight so as to cut off circulation, but it still

looked like Simone was wearing a quilted skin made of

small patches of triangles and squares.

Janey told Simone what she had been learning from Bala.

"I like to help Bala prepare for her special times with

Amud. They are so in love. I was brushing her hair

one night and watched as she carefully took each hair

from her brush and put it in a special drawer. There

wasn't very much in there. I asked her what it was

for, keeping her hair like that. I thought it was

religious or something.

"Bala told me that the hair was every woman's dream.

She seemed quite surprised I didn't know about it, then

realized again that I hadn't grown up in her culture.

She seemed shy about telling me, but finally did.

"The hair is saved for a special occasion. So special

that most women never get to have one. While this is

not reserved for the royalty, it is an event called the

`Queen's Tears.' When the drawer is full of the

woman's hair, a servant comes in and weaves the hair

into long thin strands. Then, on that special night,

the strands of hair are wrapped around the woman kind

of like I have done to you with Dad's fishing line."

Janey glanced over at me and shrugged in a belated

apology. I wondered where she had gotten the fishing

line. I didn't think she even knew what a sporting

goods store was.

"Then," as she finished an intricate weave on Simone's

breasts that kept me staring and aroused, "another

woman, one with a special title, uses a light whip and

teases the bound woman to unimaginable heights of

ecstasy, according to Bala." Janey sounded

disbelieving and wistful at the same time.

Janey picked up a light crop and swished it a couple of

times. "I need the practice. I have used the whip on

Bala a couple of times and, although she says she

enjoyed it, I could tell I didn't please her. It

wasn't quite right. I just can't seem to sense what or

where the next step is." She stepped up to the spread-

eagled girl. "I hope you can help me, Simone. I want

to give Bala a special gift for her birthday next

week."

"As long as I get fucked," Simone replied. Her crude

language told me that she was already being affected by

the entire process. Her level of arousal was high and

climbing.

I stopped short suddenly as I recognized a familiar

pattern. Only he had used chicken wire and it was so

tight I was afraid the patches of raised skin on my

arms would burst. It was in one of those middle

African countries, one of those `Dictator of the Month'

countries. The government had switched in the middle

of an operation and so had the guy I was working with.

All of a sudden this bastard pulls out a cannon and

points it at my head. We had been having lunch and

discussing the next phase of the operation.

Apparently, the coupe had taken place at 12:30. So,

one minute we were having chicken salad, the next I was

in the chicken coop, with my arms fastened to the arms

of a chair with chicken wire.

I don't know what he was trying to prove, other than to

look good for his new bosses and proving to them he was

really on their side, but to be honest I didn't care

and didn't want to stick around to find out what his

particular reasons were. All I cared about what that

he had forgotten to tie my feet. He died.

But the experience of that never left me. I had just

never found a good excuse to use it on anyone else.

What I knew was that each of those puffy patches of

skin on Simone was now in a highly sensitive state.

What I had experienced was extreme pain, the

constrictions pulled so tightly that it nearly cut off

all blood flow. Tied less tightly, as the fishing line

was, the blood was allowed to flow into each patch, but

less able to flow out. This accentuated the puffiness

of the patches and was particularly notable on the soft

tissues of her breasts. Simone's nipples were rock

hard and very large.

I knew immediately that Janey faced two problems by

practicing on Simone. One was Simone herself. I knew

Simone was stronger on the link than Janey. Almost as

strong as myself, in many ways. I sensed that Simone

was actually guiding Janey with her own link, having

her use the crop on her for her own immediate

gratification. I didn't think that was the purpose of

this particular exercise. But what finally helped me

decide to step in was Simone's attitude. It wasn't

that she was making fun of Janey or anything, it's that

she wasn't being submissive to her. For someone tied

up and blindfolded, she was quite demanding.

The other problem that Janey faced was with herself.

She just couldn't see the `lights' that she needed to

see so she could do it correctly. I could see them.

God, Simone was practically glowing. I could tell

Simone was directing her to push enough of the lights

together so she could cum. I had discovered that by

stirring up the lights, keeping them moving and apart

was extremely arousing for the woman. Whipping too

hard extinguished a light. The object was to keep

things stirred up.

Janey was having a hard time of it. I stepped up

behind her quietly and focused on her link. That was

when I sensed Simone was really playing with her. I

stopped that by putting a shield around Janey. Simone

knew I had blocked her and suddenly she wasn't so

demanding. I think she was a little scared, too.

Good.

I `asked' Janey over the link if I could help her and

she indicated I could. I hadn't tried this before or

anything like it, but I let myself slip into Janey. I

wanted to `see' through her eyes and maybe show her

what to look for.

I was totally unprepared for the cacophony I sexuality

I encountered in her mind. It was no wonder she

couldn't focus with all this arousal. Everything she

touched, felt, saw, tasted or smelled was associated in

some way with sex. Or with her sexual nature. Sally

had understated it when she said that she and Janey

were sexual beings. I couldn't imagine being so

constantly bombarded. It was amazing she could get

anything done other that masturbation.

I felt her recoil in fear. I thought I had gone too

far, but she assured me she was alright. What I had

not realized was that I would not be the only one

experiencing this sharing. She was amazed at the

silence of my mind, where I was. Everything she looked

for was there, it was just deadened, or repressed.

That was her word for it. I preferred to think of it

as keeping things under control.

I opened her eyes to the lights dancing around Simone.

At first she didn't understand what they were for, as

they were always there. She had seen them before, but

then, she had always seen them. Sort of. Like air, I

guess. It's always there and you just take if for

granted. So even though she saw them, she never really

saw them.

Now she did. I showed her how to move them around. I

showed her how to keep them all together, but not

touching. The lights seemed to grow, to feed on each

other. Janey learned quickly, and soon I was able to

pull back out of her mind. I watched her deftly and

surely put Simone in a state of mind that had her

babbling incoherent sounds and grunts.

The Queen's Tears required that the woman be one stoke

shy of unconsciousness and without orgasm. Then the

King would enter the room and enter the Queen. The

legend had it that the effect on the Queen would last

for years, leaving her a submissive and willing wife
for the King. Given that many of the Queens had been

surgically altered to prevent their arousal, this long

lasting effect was commonly attributed to be a myth.

After watching Simone, I wasn't sure. I left before

Janey used the strap-on artificial JT on her.

Chapter 67

I wandered upstairs, leaving the two teens in the

dungeon. I needed to find Sally or Nicole or both.

Watching the two girls had been extremely arousing and

I needed relief.

I was attacked in the kitchen. Both women had been

experiencing Simone's arousal with her through their

links. Both were very aroused and very frustrated.

Simone had still not cum and thus these two were in

almost as aroused a state as the poor girl in the

dungeon.

It was brutal but satisfying for all of us. I took

Sally first, nailing her against the kitchen wall.

Nicole was pressed up tight behind me, touching both of

us, urging both of us to finish together. And quickly.

I let Sally almost get to her climax, then I pulled out

of her. Her cry of anguish almost made me rethink and

let her finish, but her co-wife deserved a little of

this, too.

I took Nicole bent over the kitchen table. Again, I

wasn't gentle and she didn't complain. Sweat was

pouring off of both of us by this time, adding to the

slippery sliding of our bodies. Nicole would grunt

each time I pounded into her. I briefly wondered where

Sally was, and saw her collapsed in a puddle on the

floor. She looked as if she had just slid down the

wall when I wasn't supporting her on my prick anymore.

Her eyes were open and she watched in amazement as I

pounded into Nicole.

Just as Nicole's grunts began to turn into a continuous

howl of cumming, I pulled out of her. It was a

different kind of howl now, and as a very base level,

it pleased me.

I took them both to our bedroom and tied them side by

side on the bed, their hands over their heads, their

legs spread. I then proceeded to fuck first one, then

the other, always to the point of climax, but not

beyond. Somehow I knew that neither of them should

finish before Simone did. They knew, too, deep down,

but that didn't make it any easier for them.

When Janey finally let Simone climax, I thought the

house would come down. I was between fucks, letting

one of them cool down to the point where I could fuck

into her again when both of them went rigid. I quickly

released them and they sandwiched me between them as

they came, holding me and each other tightly. I

thought it would be over in a while, but it wasn't.

Simone kept cumming and cumming in the dungeon, pushing

Janey, Nicole and Sally over as well. Janey had

discovered the beneficial effect of being on the other

end of the strap-on, and was fucking the living shit

out of Simone, as Simone described it later. In hushed

and reverent tones.

As the tsunami subsided and the aftershocks faded away,

Sally looked at me and said simply, "We want that,

too." I felt Nicole's head nodding her eager assent on

my shoulder. I was unsure if Janey would do Sally, but

I felt sure I could convince her to do Nicole. If

Simone watched, and Janey helped, I figured that I

could have Simone do Sally.

Simone and Janey slipped upstairs to their bedroom a

little time later, with Janey supporting and almost

carrying the drained teenager. However, Simone

couldn't have been all that tired as we soon felt Janey

thrashing over the link as Simone repeatedly expressed

her appreciation for giving her the experience of the

Queen's Tears. With all that noise coming over the

link, Sally and Nicole decided it would be a good idea

just to stay in bed for the rest of the day.

I didn't object.

We had played so hard the day before and most of the

night that I was surprised to wake up alone the next

morning. My two minxes had been so aggressive sexually

that I had to finally restrain them with the ropes

before we could get some sleep. They had released

themselves sometime before I woke up and were now

nowhere to be found.

I found the four of them in the kitchen. After the

events of the day before, I didn't expect to see such

long faces. Simone was nervous, but was still

subservient to Janey. She was kneeling by her chair

and would continually look up to see if there was

anything she needed or wanted.

Nicole was scared. Whatever it was, she was

frightened. Sally was shaken as well, but had a better

grip on her emotions. Janey was the only one who was

calm and quiet. But something was wrong.

I looked at Janey and suddenly, I knew. "Janey,..." I

began.

"We're FAMILY, Dad. You shouldn't make decisions like

that without talking to us about it."

Wait a minute! How did this get to be my fault?

"Janey, you shouldn't have told them. I didn't exactly

`tell' you, did I?"

"That doesn't make any difference. What were you going

to do? Give us all a kiss good-bye and go off and get

yourself killed?"

This was worse than I thought. "I am going to try very

hard not to get killed. Shit, Janey, how much did you

tell them?"

"Almost everything, Papa," chimed in Simone.

Three sets of eyes wheeled on the girl. "What!

There's more?" cried Nicole.

"She didn't tell them why you're going to do this,"

Simone said quietly, her head down. I saw a tear

escape from the corner of her eye and slip sadly down

her cheek. My heart ached for her, accepting the blame

for my actions. But she was wrong. Yes, I was doing

if for her. And Miki. And Sally and Janey and Nicole.

And the 33 other lost souls that were buried in Gary's

basement along with Miki. And the countless others who

had not yet been discovered. And so on. And so on.

We were all crying when I was done. Janey hadn't

realized my doing this was not up for debate or

discussion. I think she was sufficiently chastised by

the time we were done. I had not tried to hide this

from them. I was trying to protect them, and they all

understood a little of the weight I had been

shouldering for the past several weeks.

I think what made Janey realize her mistake was when

Sally quietly asked her if she felt better knowing or

if she had felt better yesterday, before she had known.

Sally's question implied that, whether or not she knew

what was going on, I was going to do it. It was a

lesson in growing up she needed to learn. Sometimes it

isn't good to know everything. Just trust the one you

love to do the right thing.

Then Sally got down to business and took charge. I was

charged with getting Nicole and Simone proficient in

handguns, as I had done with the two of them after the

gun accident earlier. I thought Nicole was going to

protest, but went along with the training. She was a

pretty good shot and preferred the heavier pieces.

When I commented she might be more comfortable with a

lighter gun, she retorted that if she had to use it,

she didn't want to be comfortable. She wanted the

bastard to be dead.

Simone shied away from the guns. Sure, she went

through the training and was a decent shot, but her

heart wasn't in it. The she saw a rifle I had down in

the basement firing range. It was an old 30.06 with a

hell of kick. Simone fell in love with the idea of not

letting the bastards get close. I set her up with a

smaller 9mm rifle with a long barrel and scoped it with

one of the specialty scopes from the agency. It used

an infra-red laser that was invisible to the naked eye

but that could be seen though the scope. It worked in

any light, and, in case the batteries went dead, it was

also a decent scope by itself.

Simone was a dead shot with her rifle. There wasn't a

spot on the grounds she couldn't hit from at least one

window in the house. Gertie got her a silencer from

somewhere when she found out from Simone what was going

on. I thought it a strange gift for a young girl and

told her so. I was politely told to mind my own

business.

Sally had a discrete early warning system installed on

the grounds. I didn't even want to know where she got

the high tech and classified stuff that was being

installed at an alarming rate in and around the house.

I do know it made me feel better that they felt better

about doing something.

Somewhere in all of this chaos, Janey, Simone and

Nicole disappeared into the dungeon for Janey to

practice the Queen's Tears one more time. I had

anticipated that Janey would use a strap-on as she had

with Simone, so I was a bit unprepared when the two

teens carried a nearly catatonic Nicole up to my office

and deposited her on the desk. Then they turned and

left, to take care of their own selfish needs, no

doubt.

I could see from the swirling of the lights that Nicole

was about to explode. Janey had learned well. In

fact, I had never seen Nicole in this state before. In

truth, I had never seen any woman in this state. The

lights just swirled and swirled around. There was a

little ebb and flow, but I knew that they wouldn't

diminish. If nothing was done, Nicole would slowly,

but surely, go crazy. Her mind was totally focused on

her satisfaction and would remain there. If

satisfaction was withheld, she would go nuts, to use a

highly technical term.

I stood looking at the quivering woman silently. Sally

slipped in quietly dressed in her coat and carrying her

purse.

"I'm taking the girls away for the weekend, Larry," was

all she said. I nodded agreement, not realizing until

later that it was only Tuesday.

Believe me, we needed the time. Nicole needed a lot of

satisfaction.

Something happened in our relationship after that.

Nicole had been submissive before, and was, as far as I

could tell, in love with me. As I was in love with

her. But now, after that experience, she became

devoted to me. It is a subtle difference, I know, but

she was now absolutely unquestioning when I asked her

for something or to do something. There was an anxious

willingness to her that hadn't been there before.

Nicole and Simone took Sally down shortly after they

returned, the same night Janey went over to Amud and

Bala's. Again, they left me to deal with a highly

charged woman. The two of them went back to their

apartment for the week, cleaning it out for sale.

Nicole didn't need or want to keep it anymore.

Sally turned out to be needier than Nicole had been.

And more demanding. I sort of liked the sexual

aggression she began to exhibit. Not that she was

dominating, just very demanding. We spent most of our

long weekend in the dungeon using some of the equipment

I had shied away from. Nothing was too severe for her,

it seemed. The tighter the bondage, the stiffer the

whip, the tighter the clamps the more she begged for

more. And more.

Sally was a mass of bruises and welts by the time the

other three returned. I had used the most judicious

use of force I could, but Sally had craved no limits.

Nothing was broken, but I was seriously shaken by her

tolerance of what I had done to her. I was dreading

the reunion as my brutality would be evident to them.

Nicole embraced Sally tightly in the doorway, causing I

can only imagine how much pain to the injured Sally.

They clung to each other silently, then Nicole came

over to me and knelt at my feet. Sally quietly joined

her, the two of them holding each other's hands as they

knelt there. No words were spoken, but they were

telling me by their actions that there were no

recriminations. They were mine, totally. Absolutely.

No questions.

It was scary.

What was even scarier was Amud and Bala's next visit.

It was obvious they were shaken by the experience Janey

had given Bala, but I had not realized how much I had

given Janey when I `helped' her out.

Bala stayed on her knees, her head to the floor the

entire visit. While she had a very nice ass that I had

always enjoyed looking at, I did miss her face. OK,

just a little. But it was unusual for her to be so

quiet. She never left Amud's side, leaving him to do

all the explaining.

"Janey has been given a very special gift," he began.

"She told us how you `opened her eyes' to the lights,

but even then, she would have had to have the ability

within her to begin with. We do not wish to diminish

your part of this great gift, but my loving Bala is

insistent on bestowing the title of `Yama' on the young
girl."

He looked questioningly down at his bowing wife.

"Never before has one so young received this title.

These women, most treasured and so few, have always

been older, much older by decades. So it has been

since the beginnings of our people. But there can be

no question. Yama Janey has the gift of the Queen's

Tears."

He looked at me seriously. "You must realize what this

means to my people. There has not been a Yama in

generations. Women have collected their hair for

centuries, lately in the faint hope a Yama would

appear. There will be great rejoicing in my country,

and the neighboring kingdoms."

"Do you expect Janey to go over there?" I asked him.

"It is beyond hope that such a thing would happen. My

beloved and myself cannot ourselves return to our own

country, so how will Janey go? But it will bring hope

to women who have never given up hoping. A Yama

exists. That is all they need to know. Most of them

could never afford the ceremony anyway. But now, it is

possible."

"The ceremony is expensive?" I asked stupidly.

Amud looked at me like a slow child, then down at Bala.

"Yama Janey has given me a gift more precious than my

life. What price could I refuse her? Whatever I have

is hers." Thinking on my own experience with Sally and

Nicole, I had to admit, he had a point.

Janey and Simone entered the family room at that point.

It was the only time Bala moved from her devoted

position beside Amud all night. Bala embraced the

surprised Janey fiercely, putting more emotion into

that one hug than Janey was prepared for. Then, as

Amud explained again the honor being bestowed on her,

Bala presented her with an amulet that was to be worn

in typical mideastern fashion with the stone at the

center of her forehead.

Janey was about to refuse the gift until Amud explained

that the amulet was not a gift. It was the symbol of a

Yama. There were only three known to exist. This

particular one had belonged to Bala's family, a great-

great-great-grandaunt or something. The stones were

expected to be passed along regardless of family
lineage whenever a woman with the gift was discovered.

Nothing, not war, not politics, not boundaries, was to

stop the presenting of the amulet.

With a maturity far beyond her years, Janey graciously

accepted the adornment. Solemnly she fit it over her

head. The stone nestled softly between her eyes on her

forehead. I know it sounds weird, but standing there

wearing that stone like a crown, she looked like a

queen. I had the sudden vision of my Janey standing in

some far away land, not coming home every night and it

felt like a vise had my heart in its grasp. I had to

blink several times as my eyes kept watering for some

reason.

Allergies, I guess.

Chapter 67

The next week another local girl went missing. Again,

it was quiet and if they hadn't been looking for it,

she would have gone completely unnoticed. As it was,

this poor girl was only missed because she had made a

regular volunteer Saturday at the animal shelter. Once

a month, like clockwork. When she didn't show up,

someone asked a question, then a report was filed. And

forgotten. Almost.

An hour later, I was standing in Gertie's office. As I

looked around, I noticed there had been some subtle and

some not so subtle changes lately. There was a new

picture on her desk of a large young woman and a

painfully bent young man. They were happy. The

picture was in a silver frame with a soft blue velvet

ribbon draped artfully over it. The ribbon didn't

detract from the frame or the photo, but highlighted

the colors of the woman's dress, making her seem

somehow attractive. I recognized Simone's delicate

touch.

I heard her clear her throat behind me. It took me as

second before I realized Gertie was in the same room

with me and my eyes weren't watering. No perfume! I

spun, astounded. I was even more amazed at the

transformation in her. Make no mistake, she was still

a large, large woman. But she looked somehow less

formidable. Almost feminine, if I could be so bold. I

stared, speechless.

"Close your mouth, Mr. Sampson. As nice as it is to

have you silent, I assume you are here for a reason?"

Good old Gertie. "I, uh, yes. We have to talk."

"Is this official? I got word of your activation.

Congratulations. I think." She, better than most

people, knew what this was going to do to me. My only

hope was that she could patch me back up after. Again.

"No, Gertie, this isn't official."

"Can it wait? I have an appointment."

"At this hour?" She blushed. Then I noticed the make-

up, lightly applied. The fresh lipstick, artfully

done. Simone had been very busy, in deed! Gertrude

Schwartz, MD had a date or my name wasn't Lawrence

Sampson.

"Can it wait? Please?" She was pleading with me.

This was unprecedented!

I shook my head.

Sighing, she picked up the telephone. She dialed a

four-digit extension. Oh-ho! A local boy, an intra

office romance. She turned her back to me for a brief

and mostly whispered conversation. I didn't try to

hear.

She turned back to me, put her massive capable hands

flat on the desk and lowered herself into her chair.

"I remember a fable from grade school," I started. "A

kindhearted woman is out for a walk on a cold winter's

day. She comes across a snake in the path, cold,

freezing, dying. Her heart goes out to the dying

snake. She picks it up, slips it inside her coat, and

hurries home. Over the next several days she would

feed and cuddle the snake, and eventually the snake

recovered. One day following, as the woman picked up

the snake and kissed him gently, the snake bit her on

the neck. The venom rushed to her brain, and the

kindhearted woman fell to the ground, dying. As she

lay there, she gasped out to the snake, `Why? Why did

you bite me?' The snake replied, `Because I'm a snake.

What did you expect?'"

Gertie sat there puzzled, then started to get up. She

looked angry. I held up my hands, a plea for time.

She sat back down, but she glared.

"The American people have long held the medical

profession in the highest esteem, and rightly so.

Years ago, family physicians made house calls,

delivered countless babies in bedrooms, saved countless

lives from sickness and pretty much wiped out serious

diseases. We owe our health and our lives to your

profession. We have been trained over the past

generations to trust our doctors implicitly, without

question. We tell our doctors everything, from Aunt

Peg's lumbago to crazy Uncle Willie's wooden leg. We

tell them when our family grows, when someone dies, and

how it happens.

"The doctors moved from visiting us to us visiting

them. It made sense, it was more efficient. They

could help more of us, and there were certainly more of

us that needed help. The population was exploding.

The doctors needed hospitals. Hospitals cost money to

run. Insurance companies were formed to cover the

costs of the medical care. Medicine became a

business."

Gertie was getting madder, now. This was her

profession and she didn't like where this was headed.

But I needed her to hear this. She had no idea where I

was headed. I held up my hands for patience once more.

I didn't think it would work again. She was pissed. .

"Businesses run on information. The information we

entrust to hospitals is total, absolute. They know

where we live, where we work, how much money we make,

how we are going to pay, credit card numbers, social

security numbers, telephone numbers. They know the

size of our families and who to contact in case of

emergency. In short, the hospital databases contain

all the information you would need to determine if you

could safely make a person disappear."

"Mr. Sampson! That's quite enough. Those databases

are secure!"

"Are they, now? Suppose a person worked for a

government agency in a sensitive position. The FBI

runs a security check on that person to the level

appropriate to the position. You know that. And even

with those measures, some of that secure information

still gets out.

"Now suppose a group of people skilled in the art of

subversion and seduction was suddenly out of a job.

Their government no longer needed them. They immigrate

to another country whose people welcomed them with open

arms. These kindhearted people just wanted to help

these unfortunate souls.

"The immigrants are industrious, but this is not their

country, not their culture, not their landsmen, not

their laws. Some of them gravitate to the shadier side

of the law where they are more comfortable, where there

is less competition. Probably by accident, one of them

meets or picks up a stray girl. They take her in.

Things happen, she panics, tries to get away. An

unfortunate trip, a fall, she dies. No one misses her.

No one cares. She vanishes.

"A seed is planted. They've seen other girls like her.

On the streets, in the malls. But who to take? Who

has no one to care? Who will no one miss?

"Then one day, one of them has an illness, requires

hospitalization. They are astounded at all of the

personal information they need to provide to the

hospital for admittance. Where does all the

information go? What is it for? Does everybody have

to provide it? You can imagine the questions.

"Remember, Gertie, these are people skilled in

subverting and recruiting others to do their bidding,

even to the point of convincing someone into betraying

their own country. One day the pieces fall together.

A pretty young girl approaches a bored middle-aged

married man. She seduces him. The next day, he is

presented with the photographic evidence. His life is

ruined if his wife/family/church ever found out. But

they don't want money. In fact, they want to give him

some. Just give us the name of that young person who

was here last weekend. Oh, her address and telephone

number, too.

"He does, and he is hooked. They probably don't even

want the data on the first person they ask for. What

they are after comes later, after he has lost all

conscience about what he is doing. Nothing happened to

the woman after all, and it is always women they ask

about. He knows because they make sure he found out

that nothing happened to her.

"They begin looking for certain types of women. He may

even do a search on the database for them. They look

for divorced or single women, 18-40 years old, one

child is OK as long as it is a girl. Credit checks are

run, at hospital expense, of course. Bank balances,

savings accounts, it's all available.

"Then a certain young woman is targeted. Younger, well-

off, single, lonely, recently divorced, and horny. She

meets a tall, dark, handsome man who sweeps her off her

feet. He's probably in town on business. It may take

a week, a month, a year, but he convinces her to move

to his town with him. He has a new job for her, better

pay. Or maybe he moves her out of country, the

Bahamas, far away from familiar people. Then she

disappears. Gone."

"Oh God! Angela!" Gertie gasped, pale now.

"What?" I hadn't quite finished before she interrupted

me, but it was obvious she wasn't upset with me now. I

don't recall her ever calling me `Angela'.

"Angela, a secretary who used to work here. Just

divorced, she had sold her house, and got a large cash

settlement from her ex. She met this guy, all sudden

like. He was here on business. He said he lived in

Cincinnati, wanted her to move. He got her a great job

at his company. We had a party for her, but at the

last minute he had to cancel. We never met him. Then,

later, when we tried to send her some of her personal

stuff.... The new company didn't know anything about

her. Or him." She broke down. "Oh God! Oh God!"

I let her cry. There was more I had to tell her.

"Another woman, older, divorced or widowed, well off.

A kid or two. Another guy, or maybe the same one. A

real seduction, she falls in love. Romance for the

first time in her life ever. Funds begin to disappear,

siphoned off at an alarming rate. Cars, jewelry, gifts

she can't afford. When the money is gone, so is he.

"Another woman, this one with elderly parents. Another

seduction. This man meets the family. Probably poses

as an insurance salesman or has a relative who is one.

Gives them a great deal on a huge term life insurance

policy for the mom and dad. parents have a tragic

accident on Christmas. There's an investigation, the

daughter is cleared. The insurance pays out millions,

tax-free. Since the boyfriend is there, supportive,

loving, before all of this happened, he couldn't

possibly be after her money, could he? She, he and the

money disappear together."

"Ok, Ok. You've convinced me. But why?"

"That bothered me, too. None of the tapes, none of the

photos turned up here in the States. None of that crap

had been sold to the agents who look for this stuff.

Then it hit me. Gertie, do you know how many people in

this world hate Americans? I mean, really hate us?

With loathing, with deep dark jealousy, angry at

everything American? I'll tell you. Billions.

"Oh, it may not be the first thing they think of when

they get up in the morning, but at some point in the

day, they will come across some reminder of the

difference between them and us. A plane will fly

overhead, a boat or car speed by, they will glimpse a

old episode of `Dallas' on the community TV.

Something. And they will be reminded, again and again

of how much they hate us.

"Now, Gertie, imagine giving those billions of people

the opportunity to see soft white American bitches

being humiliated, being beaten, to hear them screaming,

begging, to see them bleed. To see them die, horrible,

painful deaths. How much would they pay? Now feed

that perversion slowly over time. They would be like

junkies and would need more and more, ever more

horrible and graphic. Or give those men the

opportunity to fuck a real American cunt, pink and

tender. Fuck it to death. Don't worry about the

damage, they're cheap. There's more where it came

from. Tell me. How much would they pay for a piece of

revenge?"

Gertie was weeping openly now. "Why? Why are you

telling me this? What am I supposed to do?"

I paused. "In the hospital, with Simone, you asked her

for one name. Just one. You wanted revenge. You felt

what I do now. You feel that way again, now, don't

you?"

I paused letting her think. "Simone couldn't give you

a name. I can. Do you still want it?"

Gertie stared at me, in anguish. I knew that

particular torment she was in.

"He is involved?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Gertie, you know me better than that."

She nodded.

"I... I..." She took a deep breath.

I thought she was going to ask me for the name.

"I can't do it."

I stood and walked towards the door. Just as I reached

it, she said, softly, almost to herself, "I'm sorry I'm

so weak, Larry. I - I just can't."

Without turning, I replied, "It isn't you who is weak,

Gertie, because you can't do this. I'm the one who is

weak, because I can."

The Analyst had confirmed the name I had put in the

envelope when I had handed him the briefcase. He was

involved, and had been for years. Dumbo had identified

him by what he wore - a white lab coat with a red
carnation. I knew his name.

I picked him up from his home one night later that

week. He wasn't expecting me, but then, if he had

been, he wouldn't have been sound asleep. He would

have been out of the country, if he was smart. I left

his wife and children asleep in their beds.

Carl Anderson, Assistant Hospital Administrator, did

not enjoy the last three days of his life. He spent

them screaming, strapped to the bottom of a 3-ton

counterweight of a freight elevator in a 12-story

apartment building. I visited him on the second day,

after he had been riding the bottom of that heavy

weight in the terrifying darkness of the elevator

shaft. As I hung there by my harness, riding up and

down with him, he told me everything I wanted to know,

everything he knew or thought he knew. He probably

even made stuff up, just for me.

He had been so helpful I left a light on at the bottom

of the shaft so he could see the floor rushing up at

him as the balance plunged down, lifting the elevator

higher and higher. When would someone push the button

to top floor? When would the weight crash down on

those closely spaced heavy iron I-beams down below?

Sometimes shedding a little light on something can be

more terrifying than being in the dark. Apparently

Carl Anderson thought so. He went insane before night

fell. I was almost disappointed he wasn't with it for

the grand finale.

Two elderly women returned from the country late Sunday

evening. They had won yet another free weekend in that

lovely spa upstate. The younger woman pushed her older
sister onto the freight elevator, the wheelchair

gliding smoothly over the worn wooden slats. She

pushed the button to their floor, the penthouse. The

elevator rose smoothly, then it stopped short of the

12th floor with a lurch. The doors opened and she

noticed they were about three inches too low.

For a moment she was frustrated as it was Sunday and

the building superintendent wouldn't be there until

Monday morning. Then she remembered what that nice

repairman had told her to do when this happened. It

had happened before, in fact, several times a couple of

years ago. Dutifully, she pushed the button to close

the doors, sent the car down four floors, then back up,

just like the nice man had shown her. The third time

she did this, the elevator arrived at their floor with

only a fraction of an inch difference in the floor

heights. The younger woman knew that by tomorrow even

that little difference would be gone. Smiling, the

ambulatory woman was able to push her sister up over

the small inconvenience and into their apartment.

I died a little when I saw the lights on the twelfth

floor come on. But this was just the first of many,

many free weekends in the country for those two nice

old ladies, and I knew I would die a little more each

time they came home. I reached for the special cell

phone I had for these occasions. I dialed the number I

had memorized and gave the pre-arranged signal.

"Clean up."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The End, for now.