The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“What’s up?” Amina asked, answering her phone.

“I’m not sure yet.” Anna replied, filling her in on what little she knew.

“Vargas?” Amina asked.

“Yes. Apparently a wounded Bunny said to call us. I sent them out of town because they are not safe in town.”

“We’ve heard something bad has been happening there, does it sound real?”

“Very.”

“What do you need?”

“Medical transport for two wounded. The Bunny is, I suspect, half gutted. The boy is having seizures from something like chloroform. The exact chemical is anyone’s guess.”

“Damn it, and Mindy just disappeared on us again. Do I have time bring Wil up to speed once I find him?”

“Didn’t sound like it.” Anna told her, “They said the teachers and the cops were part of it, and private security has basically locked down the town to outsiders. They can get out, but us going in would not be safe.”

“Be at the west lot of the mall by arcade 42 in fifteen minutes.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Jesus.” Simon muttered, looking at the man power reports. “Are we going to have anyone left?”

“Enough.” Anna answered grumpily from her desk. “I think.”

“Why didn’t I know I, we, whatever, had another business?” Simon asked.

“Because we wanted you to let things come out organically.” Anna answered. She was flipping pages as a distraction to his repeated questions concerning the BAU which has another few hundred women he apparently can control.

“And this would take how long?”

“Simon. Can we do this later please?”

“We aren’t going to make payroll in another month at this rate.” He groused.

“Ok, yes. I concealed the fact that you can sleep with a different woman every night for two years straight and still have some spare entertainment for fresh fun.” Anna admitted painfully. “I did it, I lied, can we move on now?”

“Ok.” Simon said, relenting.

“Kara and Jan assured me that payroll will not be an issue. The UCA at large will cover any and all expenses for our people they took. We also got the first seven from the latest crop for replacements after they basically stripped us bare to get enough people for Vargas. It is not our fault that we had a lot of people who could act as teachers.”

“True, they were salivating over that. We only have five left to cover all the shifts here until the others arrive in a few days. What are we going to do, bring James in to cover the place?”

“Fran knows how to schedule. Want to kick this place and the others over to her and James until we get a handle on Vargas?” Anna asked.

“Doesn’t he have enough going on? Now you want to give him three arcades in addition to baby-sitting Virginia.”

“He can bring Fran and Dara both. She needs to be made outdoor ready anyway. Vee can play games while James runs the counter and Fran takes the back.”

“What about Stewart?” Simon asked, thinking.

“Have him cover here during the day until James gets out of school?”

“That will work until after Christmas break anyway. He is scheduled to return to school after that.”

“We’ll know more in two months.” Anna replied.

“How are you doing Dara?” James asked. He had found her doing dishes.

“I am ok.” She answered without stopping her chores.

“How does it feel being able to talk about things?”

“It feels wrong. I know I should have died doing so, but I live.” She replied, turning to face him. “I have finally figured out what Virginia did. It is impossible of course, but she reassigned me. My controls are now identity locked to you. I belong to you and I know it. Even standing here my body desires to kneel and show my acceptance.”

“And that disturbs you?” He asked, thankful that Virginia was taking a lunch time nap. Thanks to his order, she wouldn’t wake until he was finished here. Fran was taking advantage of the break to soak in the hot tub for an hour during the day.

“Very much so. I can do nothing about it of course. And I am happy. I admit that. I would be happier if you would show me more attention of course, but that is common in my position. I rejoice inside even when you allow Virginia to run me by voice to service you. I crave having you in me. I occasionally think about escaping. Yet I can’t. Even if the thought fully formed and I succeeded, then I would be sad because I could no longer serve you as I desire.”

“That is unusually wordy for you. Had a lot of time to think?”

“Yes.”

“And you desire to serve?”

“Yes.”

“My friend Stewart is coming over sometime soon. He will probably arrive in the next few days, but it may be longer. He is my guest. You will offer him a blow job. If he accepts then you will give him one. He gets to play above your waist all he wants.”

“Yes sir.”

“I may send you home with him. If I do, how will you behave?”

“If I am sent with him, then when I am at his house, I am as his there as I am yours until and unless you show up or I am returned here.” Dara answered, sighing.

“Do I need to restrict you or send the remote with him?”

“There is no need. I shall serve him faithfully sir.”

“Are you surprised Virginia didn’t completely take your mind?”

“Very surprised, actually. I am also worried about myself. I find my mind wandering. Things that never occurred to me before do now. There are questions I never considered before.”

“I take it they never allowed you to stretch your mind?”

“No. The answers and the right things were always supplied to us. We only had to recognize the real situation and then choose to respond appropriately.”

“How does is it feel when you are obeying?”

“Feel? I do not understand the question.”

“What emotion do you experience if I tell you to open you shirt and bra for me?”

“It feels good.” Dara replied while unbuttoning her shirt.

“Not the right question then.” James said. He enjoyed watching her. To him, the female form was to be enjoyed and Dara had a very nice form worthy of much enjoyment. “Let’s try a different question. What went through your mind when I asked that question and why did you decide to act on a hypothetical question?”

“I understood the action you were asking about. I understood your interest in it. I enjoy knowing that you are thinking about me. You were, and apparently are, interested in the action you were asking about. Therefore I acted so that you could enjoy it, and with it, me.”

“Me enjoying you is that important to you?”

“Yes sir.”

“Do your shirt back up and come with me.” James ordered as he marveled at himself. A few months ago he was a virgin. Now he was blasé at a very beautiful woman opening her shirt for him in obvious and direct invitation. ‘What is wrong with you James.’ He asked himself.

“Yes sir.” Dara said, redressing as she followed.

“Make yourself comfortable.” James said, motioning her to a reclining chair in her room.

“Yes sir.” She replied, sitting down.

“I know this is cliché.” James said holding up a pendant. “However, I am going to hypnotize you.”

“Of course sir.”

“Aren’t you curious why?”

“Somewhat. However, I know that I will be told what I need to know. It is not my place to think of such things. It is my place to accept what happens with grace and poise.” Dara answered, perfectly serious. “I know you adjust me. This makes me better and that makes me better able to serve.”

“How old were you when they began messing with your head?”

“No one has ever messed with my head sir. I am of the current. I am not a rock or a shoal. It is not my place to make the deeper decisions that guide the current of life. A swimmer only swims.”

“And you are a swimmer?”

“Yes sir. The current only needs so many swimmers to manage the drifters. That is why we exist. When it needs more, it arranges for more of us. I am of the deep swimmers. I serve the rocks, not the shoals. It has always been thus for my line. Generation upon generation we are given to one of the rocks. The contraries are allowed to drown when they fight the current. Only those who accept their place can hope to survive. I am proud to say my line has not had a contrary in five generations. I have always known the truth. In fact, I have always been favored for my quick mind and loyalty. I knew my place and understood how to serve even as I learned speech. My first words beyond mother were when I swore my first oath of training allegiance on my forty second moon.”

“So you are servant caste then?”

“I am not an enemy fisher. I am a disciple of the currents. I do not know why the mothers have allowed me to be placed here, but here I am so here I must be.”

“And you are mine now?”

“Yes sir. I am yours.”

“Then lie back and relax. I am going to hypnotize you. Do you want to know why?”

“If I need to know to better serve then I will be told. I am used to this. The mothers have many times laid buried instructions in me to be followed later. I assume that what you have done with me is a long trap. I am your instrument now, however. My mind and body are yours to use or command as you wish, need or desire.”

“I am going to make a few changes to you.”

“As you desire sir.” Dara said, relaxing and focusing on the pendant.

“Here is what I want you to do.” James told the entranced woman half an hour later. A part of him observed what he was doing. That part commented on how weird, yet normal this was. The conversation continued inside his head as he tweaked Dara’s crude response parameters with something more refined. Horror warred with fascination as he studied himself tweaking the person that Virginia gave him as a thank you for all he has done for her.

“Giving you those people will strip us bare, again, Jan.” Anna replied, looking at the latest request.

“Sorry, but you guys still have a few more proto teachers and we need them. This isn’t a money thing Anna. This is an ‘oh fuck’ thing.”

“I’ll have to use James and Stewart in addition to Simon to just keep the arcades open.” Anna replied in frustration at the ‘I’m sorry but I must insist’ tone of the woman on the phone. It didn’t help knowing that Jan would not be calling like this if she had any choice. “Pulling them out of school will draw attention and could make others notice that we have most of our people in Vargas.”

“That might not be worst outcome.” Cindy chimed in, reminding Anna that it was a conference call.

“And how is a whole town of MC’d, underage, sex slaves on the news going to help?” Anna asked in full sarcastic mode.

“Arie and Jeff brought me an idea. I ran it by Tamara who talked with a number of her contacts and clientele.”

“And I may strangle you if you drag this out for ten minutes.” Anna laughed.

“What if, instead of hiding, we advertise?”

“Oh that will go over well.” Anna quipped grimly. “While brothels are legal; well quasi legal or at least tolerated around here, there is this under-age thing to think about.”

“I made an odd discovery. Then I had Melinda check something and double check it.” Cindy said, suddenly very serious.

“And?”

“Vargas was never incorporated. It isn’t legally a city.”

“It isn’t?” Anna asked, stunned. “It’s on the map.”

“Vargas is actually a combination ranch and homestead.”

“Oh.” Anna mumbled, stunned.

“There are several sections, including a nice chunk of some hills.”

“Crap. I mean that’s um…”

“I did something without asking. I hope he doesn’t yell too much.” Cindy said and you could hear the grimace over the phone. “I discovered all this an hour ago. I had to act fast. I knew the search would raise flags. I had to do something.”

“Cindy?” Jan asked, confused.

“Arie’s, Jeff’s and Mary’s parents are among the signatories. Those three have access to the heirs of three more. We just rushed through a buy-out of the place. It is now officially Arie’s. Her parents were rich, filthy rich, and are nowhere to be found. It’s flimsy, but she owns it.”

“Holy shit.” Several people mumble in near unison.

“I need some help. I’m sorry that I had no time to run it up the ladder. If I had waited this could have bitten us on the ass.”

“While we were looking the other way.” Jan agreed.

“I had to commit to something. I had to have a way of buying us time. I created a fictitious company to keep the ball rolling. I had to think fast. I had no time. I was in. If I had left things alone and someone did end of day checks on what properties were looked at...” Cindy went on apologetically.

“What did you do Cindy?” Jan asked hesitantly.

“Everyone said to handle what came up.”

“Cindy?”

“UC Holdings.”

“There is no UC Holdings.”

“There needs to be. Very quickly. Tonight would be best.”

“And what does UC Holdings hold?” Anna asked, unable to decide between several overlapping reactions. Laughing, screaming, crying and laughing being high on the list, the latter repeat being hysterically of course.

“UC Holdings is written up as an asset holdings corporate umbrella for tax purposes.”

“I see.” Anna thinking, “You know, that might be a very good thing, a very good thing indeed.”

“How so?” Jan asked, puzzled.

“Cindy, do you have your cell phone on you?”

“Yes.”

“Expect a call soon. I’ll be right back.” Anna said putting the conference call on hold.

“Hi, I am looking for my sister.” Anna said after dialing a number from memory. “Her name is Mary Christian. Can you have her call me back please?”

Just over a minute later, Anna’s phone rang. She answered and heard a neutral-sounding voice. “Reason for call?”

“Sister Mary Christian please.” Anna replied as previously instructed. Anyone who actually gave a reason was treated as a potential threat.

“How can I help you?” Glorietta asked after a series of clicks.

“I, we, need your help. An issue was found today with the town of Vargas. Please contact Cindy, one of our on-site people there. She is in the management contact list and can explain better than I can.”

“I just got a note about title searches being done. Is this in relation to that?”

“Looks like Cindy was right. She said someone would pounce on this if she waited.”

“Mindy said you were the one to talk to if something business-ward came up while she was incommunicado. I assume this is business.”

“Yes.”

“One moment, something new coming in.” Glorietta said. Half a minute passed and then she returned. “Ok, looks like someone invented a UC Holdings, not very original, out of thin air. I take it you would like it to have substance before anyone else notices there are several sections that might be available.”

“You’ll need to contact Cindy for details, but yes.” Anna replied and then got curious. “Wait, you said Mindy said to contact me about business stuff?”

“She was most definitive on that. One of the boys if it was MC territory. You if it was business.”

“Weird. Surprising, and weird.”

“Not really surprising though. How do you want this handled?”

“Not sure. Cindy has an idea I guess. Can we just go with that for now?”

“No problem. I’ll have contact made shortly.”

“Thank you. I am sorry to have to use the number Mindy gave me, she said it was for emergencies only.”

“You did right. I don’t how she finds you kids, but she does a hell of a job. Don’t be surprised if Strategic Services tries to recruit you some time in the future.”

“I’m nobody from nowhere.”

“You’re effective and known. We don’t care about breeding or schooling. We care about results and capability. So far, even when you fail, you manage to land on your feet. Your failures have done well and that is the only measure we can depend on.”

“Thank you.”

“It won’t be long.” Glorietta said and the line went dead.

“Cindy.” Anna said at the next pause after rejoining the conference call.

“Yeah.”

“You will be contacted soon. Whatever it is you did today has already drawn attention so whatever you have now run with it. No time to try to make it better.”

“Damn, I had hoped I was being paranoid.”

“Sometimes paranoia pays.” Anna joked.

“In interest.” Someone joked and everyone laughed.

“Do you know how you want this setup?” Anna asked Cindy.

“More or less the way things really are.” Cindy answered more calmly than she felt as things became real for her. “Mindy owns UC holdings. Jan works for her. The arcades, the Dojos and town become partners or divisions. Wilhelm gets the bulk of the arcades with Amina and Kara as minority stake holders. Simon gets the few arcades and the BAU intact, with you Anna as one half owner. Jeff and Arie split UC Vargas right down the middle.”

“Table scraps and shared resources are your responsibility Cindy.” Anna added without hesitation.

“Agreed.” Jan agreed.

“Me?” Cindy asked.

“You’re the one that found the problem of ownership.” Anna told her. “You’re the one that found a solution. You’re already doing the job, this just makes it official.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You can.” Anna assured her. “Mindy told me what she did. You are her fall back heir. Now act like it.”

“Yes ma’am.” Cindy said with smile you could hear. “Since there isn’t really time to consult Wil with him in school, I’m getting started now.”

“Good luck.” Anna and Jan said in stereo.

“Thanks.” Cindy said, hanging up.

“Mindy seems to have gifted you with a lot of authority.” Jan observed.

“We reached an accommodation.”

“It sounds like it.” Jan replied.

“Truthfully there are times I like letting the boys take charge.”

“And times you just need to get the job done?” Jan asked.

“Yes.”

“It will get easier. Good day.” Jan told her before hanging up.

“Guide Tye.” James said to his guest as Dara closed the door behind him silently. “Thank you for coming over.”

“Changed your mind about this week’s pounding?” Guide Tye joked, taking the seat offered by the silent Dara. He was referring to James’ distaste for having Virginia prove week after week that she is a better fighter than he is. Not as much better as when they began perhaps, but history has both weight and leverage. He has the bruises to prove it. Guide Tye’s glance, however, said that his remarks were perfunctory. His attention was on Dara, and her miniskirt based outfit.

“No, not at all.” James replied as his guest settled. “This is about something else entirely.”

“Do tell?” He quipped, admiring the so far silent servant. “New chaperon?”

“Hardly. Guide Tye, this is Dara.”

“Hello Dara.” He said, offering his hand to shake.

“Hello sir.” She said softly after a glance at James and receiving a nod to proceed.

“I haven’t seen you before?”

“I am new. Would you like something to drink?”

“That would be nice. Do you happen to have tea?”

“Several Sir. Hot and cold. Do you have a preference?”

“Hot if you have water ready please. Something light.”

“Tea and biscuits, English style?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“You are welcome sir.” Dara said, still speaking softly as she went to the kitchen.

“What the hell?” Guide Tye asked, astonished. “Nice looking, in great shape it looks like, but what the hell? I thought the UCA didn’t do domestics.”

“She isn’t.”

“No offense, but have you actually looked at her? And speaking of females, where is Virginia? I thought she was always where you were.”

“Sleeping. I put her down for a nap.”

“You can do that?”

“I cheated. As you know, the protocols give me a large amount of leeway. I simply used them to tell her take a nap for a while. Fran and I both needed a break. She’s out back enjoying the hot tub.”

“And that?”

“That is Dara.”

“And?” Guide Tye asked as Dara returned with hot tea and some ginger cookies.

“It is an awkward subject.”

“If you aren’t a domestic then why are you here doing this?” Guide Tye asked Dara. She continued pouring his tea without interruption. Once done she straightened up and looked at James for permission to speak.

“I am not a domestic.” Dara answered awkwardly.

“And you are?”

“In truth I am a prisoner.” She answered after a nod from James to proceed.

“A prisoner?”

She didn’t continue until James motioned to her. “Yes.” She finally said.

“I don’t see any chains.”

“The chains are all in my mind sir. I have tried, but I cannot leave un-escorted. I also cannot leave without permission from my owner.”

“Owner? That doesn’t sound very prisoner like.”

“It is my reality.”

“You seem very well trained.”

“My former owners trained me well. I have been in training or in service to them as long as I can remember.” Dara answered. “Until I found I belonged my current owner that is.”

“You are aware that you are, as you put it, owned?”

“My line was made to serve the deeper currents. We serve the strategies of our owners and the tactics of our keepers.”

“Does it bother you?”

“I do not understand. Does what bother me?”

“Serving someone, not being free.”

“We are made to serve sir. Service is our life.”

“What do you do when you aren’t serving?”

“Service is life.” Dara replied, not really understanding the question.

“Milk and toast.” James said, breaking in.

“At once sir.” Dara replied, stepping away. She stopped and turned back. “Would you like jam, jelly or just butter sir?”

“Butter and something with berries.”

“At once sir.” She said, turning away once more.

“Who the hell is she?” Guide Tye demanded.

“That is Virginia’s torturer.”

“Oh. Oh hell. Did you strip all that away?”

“She is exactly as transferred. Nothing was changed except her ownership. The rest is as it was.”

“Someone needs to give that girl a few lessons in living a life.” He joked.

“Want to try?”

“What?”

“Want to try giving her those lessons?”

“If she is the one who did that to Virginia why would you want me to do it? She looks like a hell of a lot of fun as well. Why give that up?”

“I’m not giving her up. I am simply asking if you want...” James asked stumbling when Guide Tye talks right over him.

“That? I repeat. I thought you guys didn’t do domestics. I don’t know what she was before, but I know a domestic when I see one and that is a well behaved domestic. Her training is simply incredible. The awareness and the control in perfect balance like that is a bitch to do.”

“You think so?”

“Hell yes. She would cost someone a fortune.”

“You say she needs life lessons.”

“Yes.”

“Would you be willing to teach her?”

“Teach her?”

“She spoke the truth.” James informed him. “She knows no other life than servitude.”

“Who had her?”

“She was owned by WOL, the water of life. All we know at this point for sure is that they are enemies of IC and ICU both. They may also be our enemies. Despite what happened to Virginia though, they also may not. We don’t know enough about them to tell. We are limited in the utility of interrogating her outside her narrow disciplines and areas of expertise because that appears to be all she did. She has no outside references for us to use.”

“So you don’t even know if you are asking the right questions.” Guide Tye asked, glancing at the kitchen door. “Without some starting point, asking her questions won’t tell you anything because you can’t know what anything means to her.”

“That is only part of it. Virginia locked ownership to me. I own her. I don’t mean just control. I mean I own her, completely and totally. She is mine. She is also scared half out of her mind. More nights than not she tries to crawl into my bed to be held. It gets tense because sometimes Virginia growls until Dara leaves or until Dara submits to being a verbal puppet for Virginia.”

“Cat fight. Those get ugly.”

“Truly. Especially when she feels desperate. Which is why I asked.”

“Do I want to try that?”

“Yes. And before you ask, yes she is energetic. She is very skilled in the sexual arts. Sadly, she is not so skilled in the social arts. In addition, I think I know why she is getting desperate.”

“Ok, why?”

“I think I have too much authority and being here exposed to that authority all the time is too much.”

“I don’t understand.”

“In the dojo, everything you’ve shown has been built from building blocks. Turn this, deflect that, do it in such a way as it opens them to a heavy strike. If you get lucky you get more than one heavy strike. Those heavy strikes are however, tiring. Try to use just or use them all the time and you exhaust yourself.” James replied thinking carefully as he spoke. “I think authority for her is like that. I am total authority. I can’t be debated, can’t be thought about, I just am. I think me issuing orders to her all the time is like constantly using heavy strikes. It works, but you and your target both get punch drunk in a hurry.”

“For this situation however, she is the only one getting punch drunk.”

“Not really. For me it is different. For my part I am worried about hurting her. When I am frustrated or angry her body reacts. I think the whipsaw is tearing her apart. My instructions can change things faster than she can keep track.”

“She can’t settle because she can’t repeat anything.” Guide Tye said as understanding dawned.

“I’ll be right back.” James said, getting up. “Wait here. I need to get something. You can ask her questions if you like. Reassure yourself.”

“Sure.” Guide Tye said, watching James dart upstairs just before Dara returned from the kitchen.

“Sir?” Dara asked as she set toast, jelly and a large glass of milk on the coffee table.

“He said he would be right back. He had to go get something.”

“Oh. Ok.” Dara said, smiling at him. “Would you like a blow job while you wait?” She asked, still smiling.

“Umm, what?”

“You are a guest and guests need to be entertained.”

“Umm. I don’t umm, expect…”

“It is not a problem sir.” Dara explained as she knelt. “My makers and owners were quite specific about manners and how to treat guests. I assure you I am quite skilled.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I know sir.” She said, working on his belt. “I am offering.”

“Did James put you up to this?”

“Do you mean did he say to?” She asked, as his fly spread and his body had its own things to say. “Of course not sir. You are a work guest not part of his family. I would not consider not offering. It would be rude not to.” She said. Her fingers stroked him erect as she bent over.

“Oh my gahh…” Guide Tye mumbled as Dara’s tongue started in.

“Nice isn’t she.” James asked what seemed like a moment later, startling Guide Tye. “Now you understand part of my problem. I can’t really socialize her with her like this. And trying to fix this with Virginia around is pointless.”

“What the?” Guide Tye asked panting as he stared at Dara who still had him fully mouthed. She had, however stopped in mid movement. Her eyes had been alive before but had become empty. The oddest part however was the collar around her throat and the leash attached to it.

“This is the offer. I can send her with you. You can have this all you want.”

“This is …”

“A lot. I know. Ligatio Exerceo custos Dara. Do you understand?”

She nodded her head without letting Guide Tye’s erection out of her mouth. “Yes, I thought you would.” James chuckled.

“Here take this.” James said, holding out Dara’s leash.

“Umm, ok.”

“I am going to have her resume. Let her work. The moment you pop she will look up at you. When she does, she will see the leash in your hand. That will trigger a control state. While she is in that state, I will give her the parameters I want her to have and you as well. When I am done she will resume and swallow. The difference is that she will be unaware anything has changed. You will be her keeper, the person who runs her life day to day.”

“Keeper?”

“Yeah, I said that. I know I seem blasé, but I have had beautiful women in my bed every night for a while now. My view is getting jaded. Anyway, we can talk later.” He said. At his signal, Dara resumed.

“Oh my god.” Guide Tye said what seemed like five seconds to him, but what was five minutes according to the clock and James’ snack.

“Maintain eye contact.” James reminded him before speaking to Dara. “Neo Custos Ligatio Dara. Here is your new keeper. Be good to him and obey him in all things save those I have ordered. You will play his girlfriend, a role he will guide you in playing. Until he says otherwise, each night before bed when you two are alone you will put your collar on with the leash attached. You will then hand your leash to him and assume control state. He will use that time to adjust you. You will have no conscious or unconscious knowledge or awareness of changes he makes to you. If specific orders are given for an action, that action will be carried out as though it were your own idea. Guide Tye, anything specific?”

“No.” He gasped, still staring.

“One last thing Dara. Once you resume you will swallow and apologize for not undressing. You will then undress and mount him. You will remain on him until he has fondled both your breasts, suckled both nipples and explored your butt. When he releases you after that you will become aware he is your keeper. Do you obey?”

Dara nodded.

“I thought so.” James laughed. “Here we go.”

Dara resumed.

“She’s ...” Guide Tye mumbled as Dara gave a heartfelt apology and striped right there. He was so engrossed that he failed to notice Virginia on the stairs watching with a grin. The longer it went on, the bigger her grin got until laughter finally spilled out when Dara was released.

“Energetic?” James laughed along with Virginia. “For now you will need to use the leash to set her boundaries when you go somewhere. After a while she should adjust.”

“I, umm.” He mumbled, embarrassed when he finally noticed Virginia and Fran on the stairs.

“Don’t fret.” Fran laughed. “We’ve been wondering what we were going to do with her.”

“Seriously?” Guide Tye finally managed to ask.

“Fran, would you and Virginia please put Dara’s stuff in a couple of boxes for her? I left an envelope on her bed thinking I was sending her up. Would you please bring that as well?”

“And take our time?” Fran asked as Virginia stared at Dara, giggling.

“Please.”

“Have fun before fun has you.” Virginia chirped, bird-like, as she ran upstairs like a small child.

“Dara.” James said.

“Yes sir.” She answered, sounding in some way less stressed.

“Do you know who he is?” James asked, pointing to Guide Tye. He had finally leaned back in his chair and dropped her leash.

“He is my keeper.”

“Who am I?”

“You are my owner of course.”

“Would you like to mount me before you leave?”

“Yes.”

“What do you say?”

“Please.”

“Ok. Come over here and show me.”

“Yes sir.” Dara said, moving to James. Moments later she was eagerly, if gently, opening his pants and stroking him erect. Soon she had him ready. She moved slightly back, silently asking him to adjust his position for her.

“Are you going to behave?” James asked, holding a hand up stopping her.

“Of course sir.”

“Whose are you?”

“I am yours of course sir.”

“I am sending you with him. Does that bother you?”

“Of course not sir.”

“You may sit in my lap. You may not mount me until I say.”

“Yes sir.” Dara said, sitting with his erection just touching her. She said nothing when James reached up to play with her breasts. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly when he suckled her.

“Now.” James said and Dara shifted position. She enveloped him and then leaned forward, pivoting her hips to drive him in.

“The next time you visit.” James said as Dara rocked with a soft moaning sound. “I am going to hand you a name tag. It will be a test controlled by your subconscious. If you pin it to just your shirt and not through your breast, then we can have sex again. Otherwise, you will be punished. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir, of course sir.” She sighed contentedly as she rocked harder and harder until they both grunted nearly as one.

“You should hand your keeper back your leash.” James said after he recovers his breath.

“Of course sir.” Dara said in a dreamy voice. She rose from him. Gathering her leash, Dara knelt in front of Guide Tye holding it up as an offering to him.

“If you would like a quick shower we have one for the hot tub and we have one upstairs. Take her with you and it can be full service.” James told him as he fastened his pants back up and resettled himself in the chair.

“Seriously?” Guide Tye asked, still staring.

“By your command.” Dara dead panned, stunning James and leaving Guide Tye laughing.

“I use the leash when taking her?” Guide Tye asked after he finished laughing. The reality of the situation was finally beginning to set in.

“For now.” James confirmed. “Once you are in your car you can unclip the leash and she will be puppy like. Once you are in your house, reattach it. Tell her that is now home and then remove the collar. She will stay there. Once she is accustomed to you and your routine, she can travel with you without the need for external markers.”

“Is he serous?” Guide Tye asked Fran who was bringing a suit case down stairs.

“Very.”

“And I am supposed to?”

“Hopefully you will. I am personally hoping that you can civilize her to some degree.”

“Get dressed Dara.” Guide Tye ordered as he re-buttoned his pants. “We are leaving.”

“Yes sir.” She replied happily. She quickly redressed in her uniform.

“This is going to take some getting used to.” He muttered.

“It does.” James agreed. Guide Tye left carrying the luggage with Dara trailing behind on her leash.

“How did I do?” James asked a full minute after the door closed.

“As close to perfect as we could hope for. He needs to get laid more and she needs to learn to function in society.” Fran replied.

“How do you take it?”

“Take what?”

“Knowing you are here to keep me sated, that it is your job?”

“Believe it or not.” Fran said, chuckling. “I don’t mind the sex.”

“Is that what you wanted Virginia?” James asked, put off by Fran’s open frankness.

“Ess. Aank oo.”

“I don’t understand, but I will assume you have a plan.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Fran said with a smile. “Gotta get the scent of Dara off of you somehow.”

“Yes I can easily stage this stuff through the BAU, Jan.” Anna answered the latest inquiry about hiding their sources of technology from governments and alliance members alike.

“That would help. We normally hide what we need easily. We have never needed more than one updated pod every few years besides the one we keep with each arcade. Even the beds we put in Wil’s fort were primarily built from stored parts or things we used to disguise our real purchases.”

“I get it. Mindy gave me a very wide view of what she is doing. I also want to say thank you for sticking with us. I know you are getting short, your contract is almost up.”

“This has nothing to do with contracts Anna.” Jan replied with more emotion than she really intended, surprising herself. “This has to do with humanity. Preventing things like this is a large part of why we exist and dealing with what we can’t prevent is most of the rest. The simple numbers coming out of Vargas rive my soul.”

“Mine to.” Anna replied, frowning. “And we need more people, a lot more people.”

“I just got a call you might be interested.”

“You did?”

“Yes. An old acquaintance of Mindy’s tried to reach her. The call was forwarded to me. His name is Mark and he is a former prince of ICU. A good one. Mindy kept him out of the mess.”

“Umm.”

“Like I said, he is a good one. He grew a conscious on his own and helped her. The government doesn’t know about him.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know you are thinking about wiretaps. Don’t worry. Our phones use a form of VOIP with scrambling and most of our major outlets run hubs for our own internal onion system. It does reach out to the real one in some places which is why data transfers take so much time between phones.”

“Ok. I hadn’t even thought to ask the question, thanks. Go ahead then.”

“I had intended to send him to the fort or the UCBJ. Instead, I am having him look over reports until I can bring him here to Vargas and use him for triage. He can help us spot the real problems.” Jan explained.

“He’s that good with MC? And he’s not evil?”

“He really is a good guy. Mindy has him listed as an emergency contact if it all goes to hell.”

“Then Dara?”

“Couldn’t, not for that. The alliance doesn’t know about him. Mindy would get in trouble if they ever discovered who he really is. In this case, I will handle him as an outside consultant. I’m going to ask you to use contacts in the BAU to get some papers for him. Whoever is local in DC will know who to contact.”

“How good of papers?”

“The best, spare no expense. Let them think he is from out of the country and we are hiding him while we make use of him. Let them draw their own conclusions from that.”

“Send the packet. I will have someone take care of it. Better yet. I’ll have Sandra from the Diamond Dojo in DC contact Tigwin. That’ll also let them know we are pulling out all the stops.”

“Sounds good. Now for the odd news.”

“Odd?”

“I heard Guide Tye has a new assistant, a very loyal and dedicated assistant.”

“You could say that. Virginia indicated it is another part of her plan so James began learning to apply some of his implanted skills and used hypnosis to set the stage for her to be run by Guide Tye.”

“Any idea what her goal is?”

“None. But Guide Tye is having the time of his life. He’s been using her to teach those delicate choke and other holds to knock someone out. Apparently one his students about had a stroke when she critiqued his technique by informing him he would leave bruises that might identify him, after she woke up that is.”

“I wish I could have seen that on tape.”

“Me to. So what’s this odd news?”

“We have a single female. Twenty-eight years old. Stands five six. We have no idea where she really came from. We have no idea who she is.”

“We don’t have anyone, you have them all.”

“I’m thinking James. He already has an escort. His mother more or less accepts what is happening so far. His father is here liaising with the military. How about we bring his mother here and use her for a teacher or den mother or some such. Then we stage girls and women through James’ place.”

“Are things that bad?”

“The only reason we haven’t already stripped every single arcade and dojo is it would destroy us and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“I’ll speak to his mother. Is there a reason you can’t put this mystery woman with Sarah in Simon’s tree fort?”

“I’ll have the file on your desk in an hour.”

“Ominous.”

“Hello Robyn.” James said, answering the door. He was surprised to see his former chaperon doing personal delivery service from Vargas.

“Hello again.” She said without embarrassment.

“Long time no see.” He said, motioning her and the woman with her in.

“This is seven one one.” Robyn said without preamble after the door closed.

“Seven one one?” Fran asked.

“This is going to be weird. That and her age are all we really know about her, and we are less than certain of her age.”

“And you want me to run her through all this?” Fran asked unhappily holding up a folder.

“We learned one additional thing. She likes to have the same controller on successive days.” Robyn supplied. “And like the file says, ‘She obeys males’, and likes it.”

“What do you need?” James asked. “I mean what could I possibly do that you can’t?”

“What you can do is concentrate on her.” Robyn replied. “We can’t. Someone fucked up the census in Vargas, it has the weirdest population skew I’ve ever seen. Our first numbers were over two females to every male, the reality is insane.”

“Damn.”

“And more under twenty-eights than we even suspected. As for Seven one one here. For now, just be a teen. Enjoy, she likes that. She is at her most interactive when whoever she considers herself to be with is base line carnally the happiest.”

“Um…”

“I know you have some nonviolent fantasies, indulge them. She is easy to hypnotize, though there is some debate that she really enters a trance, or exits it. Opinions are divided. The general feeling is yes because she has responded to post hypnotic orders without showing any awareness she was about to.”

“This is part of what they meant when they said my life would never be the same, isn’t it?”

“More than you know.” Fran and Robyn said in near perfect stereo and then burst out laughing.

“Ok Seven one one, let’s get a look at you.” James said to the silent woman. He didn’t understand why Robyn was suppressing a smile and a laugh as he spoke.

“At once sir.” She said softly as she efficiently disrobed. A moment later Seven one one stood nude, at attention and looking straight ahead.

“Natural red head.” James said as calmly as he could. “Five six. Bright green eyes. Tall rectangular face. Likes being inspected.”

“She likes more than that.” Robyn joked. “You forgot thirty-six D and athletic build. On a serious note, the longer she stays with one person, the more interactive she gets. The more attention you pay, the more interactive she gets as well.”

“Which is why she is here. You’re out of man power, literally given that population skew. Plus, you already know I can work with limitations. Besides, I have a chaperone that can watch for any of the signs you are really on the lookout for.”

“Sorry. Now like I said, go be a teenager.”

“You will respond to Seven.” James ordered the nude woman as Robyn let herself out.

“I am Seven.”

“With me Seven.” James said going upstairs to his room. “Don’t forget your clothes.”

“I’ll keep Virginia busy as long as I can.” Fran said, handing him the folder while heading to the game room where Virginia waited.

“Ok Seven.” James said putting the folder down and motioning her take a seat. “Would you like to have sex?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to have sex?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I am supposed to and I like doing what I am supposed to do.” Seven answered with complete seriousness. James was shocked, even though he knew it was coming.

“If you desire sex with me then you will have to earn it.” He told her after setting on a plan to accomplish the goals given in the folder. The goals were to force her to become interactive without requiring sex and to gain some idea of who she was and where she was from. Her accent gave nothing away since it drifted toward matching the last person she had sex with.

“I can do that. Where do we begin?” She asked.

“I am going to hypnotize you.”

“Ok.”

“While you are in a trance I am going to give you some parameters to obey.”

“Just tell me and I will be happy to obey you.”

“I know, but this is the way I want it.”

“Ok.”

“How are you Sarah?” Simon asked when he arrived home late after a long day at the arcade. To his surprise, she was up and waiting for him in the living room.

“Your parents are not home. They are at a late dinner.” Sarah said somewhat awkwardly.

“Ok.” Simon said, taking a seat since she obviously wanted to talk.

“Do your parents know?”

“Do my parents know what?” Simon asked, confused.

“What you do?” Sarah asked softly. “What you really do?”

“Umm…”

“I have been watching. I have noticed that they do not seem to.”

“Seem to what?”

“Notice. They do not seem to notice what you really do. Did you arrange that?”

“No. I had nothing to do with that. Mindy and Anna did that. I did not know they had until they told me.”

“Aren’t you in charge of Mindy and Anna?”

“In some ways, yes, but in others ways, no.”

“Is it hard?”

“Is what hard?”

“Living two lives. One life is what the mute minded world sees, and the other one is what you really live.”

“Are you asking if you really are free?” Simon asked, beginning to understand.

“Yes.”

“Yes you are. If you decide you want to leave, you can anytime. That was part of the reason for offering the tree fort in the yard. That way, if you decided you wanted to go, then you would not feel trapped in a house. Do you feel trapped? Do you want to go?”

“Trapped, yes, but not by you, by me.”

“If you want your own place then I can grab you a bundle of money. That way you can select it yourself or we can arrange other housing.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“It’s late Sarah. I’m tired, really tired. We are being nice to you because you were a victim.”

“No I wasn’t.” Sarah said with firmness. “I wronged Misty. I got her... raped is the wrong word but I do not know another. I have served a nine year sentence. I am free, yet I do not feel free.”

“You keep waiting for the trap to spring?”

“Yes.”

“There is no trap. However, the help we are offering is not forever. You will need to get back on your own two feet eventually.”

“I know. Can I work in your arcades?”

“You are not really the age we recruit.” Simon said, grimacing. “You also don’t need that in your life. I think you’ve already performed too much sexual service in your life.”

“Not work that way. Not doing that work. Doing work work.” Sarah laughed. “I know you are short on people. I can do shifts at the counter. I can run the register. If I can sleep in a back room then I can cover many shifts in many arcades. I like your fort. I like it here. I really like it here. I think I like it here too much. I think I may like it enough that I may never decide I want to leave.”

“Do you remember James?”

“Yes. The damaged girl is with him.”

“Yes. James has a friend named Stewart. Stewart is not in school right now. He is running arcade 42 in the mornings. His shift starts at eight. I am leaving at seven. If you are serious then be ready to go at seven and I can have you dropped off. Then he can show you how to do the morning routine.”

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome.” Simon said before heading off to bed. “We’ll see how it goes from there.”

“Thank you.” Sarah said softly to his back.

“Have you figured out what she means yet?” James asked Fran. She was carrying on a conversation in sign language with Virginia. It was far too fast for him to keep up with.

“Working on it.” Fran groused as mighty hand waves indicated that she had misunderstood Virginia yet again. “The one thing I get is control.”

“I have control. Whoever has her has control. She wakes up with you and you have control.” James joked, staring at Seven in a deep trance in the recliner in his room. The previous few days had driven him nuts as Virginia kept pushing him to acquire more and more direct control of Seven who already happily obeyed any and all orders.

“Oh.” Fran said in a whisper after something was repeated with a different emphasis. “She means involuntary control.”

“Involuntary? Isn’t that over kill?”

“Two words.” Fran said, obviously quoting. “Voice puppet.”

“That’s great. Exactly what I definitely don’t need. Virginia, give me a word, just one word to tell me what you are trying to do.”

“Five.” Fran said puzzled. “She gave five words, and they make no sense.”

“What are they?” James asked, resigned to more games. Virginia was after something, but like her work breaking Dara, no one had any idea what it was or how she knew what to do.

“Death. Portable. Bed. Surprise. Herself.”

“Great. Phonemic charades again.” James groused, thinking. “Die. Cot. Who knows. Vee?”

“Die cot something Vee?” Fran said to Virginia who looked both happy and annoyed.

“Oh.” James said when Virginia pantomimed surprise. “Which makes Vee, me. Dichotomy?”

“I think so.” Fran said for the grinning Virginia. “Oh great, more words. Window. Mind. Closed.”

“Dichotomy of a closed window in the mind. Do you mean there is something Seven isn’t allowed to see or talk to, Virginia?” James asked.

“I guess so.” Fran said when Virginia tossed James a name tag.

“Are you serious?” James demanded angrily.

“Mirror. Needs. Window.” Fran translated as more sign language flowed. Virginia suddenly ran upstairs. “I see. The mirror needs to be a window. Break it. Break the behavioral mirror. Make her see herself instead of the inserted reflection.”

“Given what I’ve seen that will be extreme.” James said, looking down. He felt ashamed at what he would have to do to Seven to achieve what Virginia wanted.

“Yes.”

“No.” He refused.

“James.” Fran said looking at him closely.

“Hep her.” Virginia said, coming back downstairs.

“I … I can’t.”

“Peez.” Virginia said putting a neck tie for his suit around his neck so she was holding both ends.

“Vee?”

“Stop. Kneel. Stae. Gewd gurl. Dink.” Virginia said slowly just above a whisper while staring at him.

“Oh crap.” James muttered as he recognized what she meant. She wanted him to tame Seven. Tame her the same way he once did Virginia herself.

“Why? Why would I do that to her?”

“Mind. Vue. Mirr. Box.” Virginia said, stepping away from him to mime being trapped in a box made of mirrors. As she kept it up, he slowly understood what Virginia was saying. Seven was trapped in a box in her mind seeing only her own reflection, hearing only her own words. Even further, she still felt everything that happened to her body despite this.

“She is trapped in her own mind? Are you sure?”

Virginia nodded and then turned to Fran. “Ice cream?”

“You want to go get ice cream now?” Fran asked.

“Us go.” Virginia said in a chipper tone as she headed for the door.

“You don’t want to have us here while he works?”

“Need.” Virginia said as her hands flew with additional sign language.

“How far do I push this Vee? How sure are you?” James asked.

“She says ‘trust me’ very emphatically.” Fran answered for Virginia. “She’s too uptight and hyper to even sign talk now.”

“Go away now.” James ordered not only them, but his stomach and his morals.

“Anna.” James said. He was sad, angry and panting hours later when she answered.

“James?” She asked, concerned because he sounded different.

“Get someone over here. Now. Her name is Sabine.”

“Her? Her who? Oh, you found out her name? How?”

“Anna!”

“I’m on my way.” She said, finally understanding.

“What have we got?” Anna asked staring at the nude woman lying where Dara had been sleeping until she was sent with Guide Tye.

“It took me a long time but I thought I finally understood what Virginia was saying.” James explained as he obviously debated how to say something. “I didn’t initially, but I was close enough to discover it.”

“Ok.”

“Seven.” James said in another tone. “Stand at attention. Remain there until I release you.”

“Yes sir.” She responded mechanically

“After I found out what was actually happening I thought about intus, since that is more the sort of overlay I am used to thinking in terms of. After a while, however, I had to shift toward ex modicus. I still don’t get the Latin hang up, but whatever.”

“I take it someone has been doing a lot of extracurricular homework.” Anna joked.

“You’re in my head. I know that. I have to do what I am doing with Virginia, I get that.” James said. “I am not, however, an object. I am a person. That seems to be the point of the UCA. What I had to remember though is that people like Seven here are objects to the competition.”

“Ok.” Anna repeated.

“Seven here was a puzzle from the moment she was dropped off. On top of that, Virginia reacted weirdly to her. Vee kept insisting I take more and more direct control. She was specific that I take physical control only.”

“Physical?”

“Physical.” James confirmed. “She was insisting and exhausting herself by insisting on that. I played along since it kept her involved. Then three hours ago happened.”

“Where is Virginia, James?”

“Asleep in my room.” He answered as something about his mood and demeanor finally began leaking from him. “She will stay asleep until I wake her. I’ve learned enough about the controls to do that.”

“I see.”

“And you are about to see much more.” James said. He sounded mad, but not really at Anna. “More than I wanted to.”

“Please then, proceed.”

“Attencio Seven. Orindus ex modica, ex diliculo praebeo incumbo nitor intus excitio modo.” James said in rolling words. It was a steady stream of phonemes. Anna could barely pick the word spacing out of what sounded more like running water than speech.

“What the fuck?” Anna whispered in shock as she recognized parts of it.

“You think I don’t study?” James laughed.

“Wow, but that isn’t the right context.”

“Not for us.”

“Theirs? You cracked their contexts?”

“No cracking really. Mindy’s codes are based on one idea, us as people. Theirs are not.” James explained. “Mindy’s are also insanely more complex. Based on my notes, ours incorporate at least seven distinct languages, not all of which are Indo-European. Theirs appear to be simple Latin and a few bits of greek mixed together with a Germanic-Brittany structure. That’s not exact, but as close as I can find words for.”

“But how?”

“Once you subtract humanity from your thinking, it was simple.” James explained. “It won’t work for all of them. All their markets have their own dictionary I believe. That much was obvious based on the notes I have been able to find. Notice Seven’s face is no longer quite blank even though her body is.”

“I see.” Anna said, staring at Seven. The difference was subtle, but present. It showed as only a few lines, but tension now framed her face just below the surface. Her body, on the other hand, was relaxed. It looked ready and, if anything, expectant.

“What have you done?”

“Be ready for some yelling.”

“Yelling?”

“And a lot of it I expect.” James laughed.

“Why?”

“Seven. Quin ex modo excito.” James said formally.

“What the heck?” Seven said. Her eyes darted around although her head held still. “Where the hell?” More realization came into her eyes.

“Where the hell am I?” Seven screamed. “What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you people? What have you done with me?”

“Why can’t I move? What the hell have you done to me? I’m going to kill you sons of bitches for this when I get loose.” Seven went on screaming as best she could. However, she couldn’t take a deep breath, move her head, or indeed anything except her eyes. Her tirade lasted several minutes before she finally started winding down.

“I, for one, am a bitch straight up.” Anna said, interrupting Seven when she finally began repeating herself. “And what I need you to do is tell me the last thing you remember.”

“Why the fuck should I tell you anything bitch? You’re holding me prisoner.”

“You are in point of fact not a prisoner.” Anna answered. “Were you capable of moving on your own we would happily let you walk out of here.”

“Moving on my own?” Seven asked as she finally admitted to herself that her body was not responding beyond letting her speak. The look on her face spoke volumes about how that felt.

“Yes. We know you were kidnapped. We do not know when or where.”

“What?”

“As far as we know your name is Sabine. Is that correct?” James asked.

“Yes.” Sabine answered as she was haunted by her body wanting to approach him. It spilled desire for him across her awareness. “What is happening?”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

“We are evacuating.”

“Evacuating?”

“Yes. Downtown is flooding and the slums are expected to become a lake.”

“Evacuation from where?”

“New Orleans of course.” Sabine answered flatly. “Don’t you watch the news?”

“If you are referring to Katrina, that was years ago.” James told her gently.

“Nonsense. Every channel is carrying it. Turn on the news.”

“Seven. Sit down.” James ordered. “On the bed not the chair.”

“Yes sir.” Seven said, much to Sabine’s shock. She heard herself reply, felt herself move, and experienced herself in the second person while it happened.

“What the hell?” Sabine asked. “Was that me? You tell me to sit down and I do but I can’t do it on my own.”

“We have a lot discuss.” Anna replied, frowning.

“Would you like Fran to join you Anna?” James asked. “I am quite sure Sabine would be much happier without a male in here.”

“I would appreciate Fran. Please don’t wake Virginia yet.”

“No problem. Seven, put on the sun dress and resume the seat.”

“Yes sir.” Seven replied, much to Sabine’s disgust. James left the room.

“What the hell is happening?” Sabine asked while Seven was dressing.

“I know this is a lot to take in.” Anna sympathized. “What I have to tell you is the truth however, as much as we know.”

“So this is real?” Sabine asked as she watched herself dress in the mirror.

“Yes. I am afraid it is very real.”

“Am I supposed to feel rescued?”

“No.” Anna replied to Sabine as Seven sat back down. “I wouldn’t in your position.”

“If it has been so long why don’t I remember any of it?”

“You don’t want to. Further, it would be hard on you if not outright bad for you.”

“Why?”

“You have spent the last few years as a brain-washed sex slave.” Ann answered sadly. “As you have noticed and are becoming resigned to, your body is no longer your own.”

“I noticed.” Sabine replied, grimacing. “It’s impossible, or I would have said it was yesterday. Yesterday? How does it work? Am I a prisoner?”

“No.” Fran said, entering. “You have been upgraded from sex toy to patient.”

“Upgraded?”

“Ess.” Virginia said, entering behind Fran. “Mir box boken. No moor mime.”

“Vee?” Anna asked surprised. James wasn’t supposed to wake her yet.

“Va Gin ya.” Virginia said to Anna with a sound half way between a sigh and a growl.

“She only lets James call her that.” Fran laughed.

“Ok, Virginia?”

“Listen.” Virginia said as she started signing at high speed to Fran.

“Sabine.” Fran said, looking at her. “You are free on the inside but owned on the outside. James has been working on reaching the real you.”

“Has he?” She asked, scared at how hungrily her body reacted to just the name, how much it suddenly wanted him. “He has been?”

“Yes.” Anna replied. “When you were handed to us, that was all you wanted. You would cheerfully serve any male you woke up with.”

“I what?”

“Party … Favor.” Virginia said slowly and resumed signing.

“The people who kidnapped you turned you into a human party favor. Where did they get you exactly?”

“We were turned back from the crescent city crossing.” Sabine answered, frowning. “A bunch of us found a man with a temporary ferry upriver. He agreed to take us across. The last thing I remember was feeling safe as we started across the river. I felt lucky someone had run a temporary barge line across the river to help the evacuation.”

“We’ll look into that.” Anna promised. “There may be others. We’ll also need a description of the operator as well as a list of as many people as you can remember that were on board.”

“Are you going to let me go?”

“Ess.” Virginia interjected.

“Who are you people?”

“We are a branch of the UCA.”

“Oh my god.” Sabine whispered as fear lit her face. “I’ve heard rumors. Everyone has heard the rumors. They’re true?”

“Mostly.” Anna confirmed.

“Oh wow.” Sabine whispered, blinking. “Why am I so tired all of a sudden?”

“One moment.” Fran said as Virginia began signing again. “Virginia says not to worry. James can bring you back. Now that we know more it will be easier.”

“Easier?” Sabine asked, yawning.

“James doesn’t like the part of him that found you. He doesn’t like doing what it takes.”

“So it is no accident that I feel like kneeling or spreading my legs?”

“None.” Fran confirmed. “Virginia said you were in there. No one besides James believed her. No one else had the time to research or check. We have a large disaster in Vargas we are stuck with.”

“I know that word. That place. I’ve heard it before.” Sabine panted as her body began relaxing.

“Can you tell us where?” Fran asked.

“It echoes, like a memory, something I overheard I think.” Sabine said staring to nothingness with unfocused eyes. “It feels like a lair or a trap. Something about nearly ready.”

“Does the echo feel old?” Anna asked.

“Yes. I fell asleep on the ferry from relief when I got warm. I heard it in the middle. Someone said Vargas was almost ready. One more step, one last stage. Then darkness and I am here.”

“You can relax now Sabine.” James said, rejoining them. “Just lay back and relax.”

“Am I coming back?”

“Yes. You have my word. I will bring you back.”

“I feel like I want you.” She whispered.

“That’s just your body. It will pass in time.” James said as her eyes slid closed.

“How did you know, Virginia?” Anna asked as Seven’s breathing steadied while Sabine slipped away.

“We’ve been asking her that for over a week.” Fran replied.

“Any idea what we are looking at?”

“I think they are working on reverse engineering the UCA protocols.” James stated flatly. “The work on her is very different than Dara or what I’ve read from Vargas. It reminds me of what I know of ours. Not strongly, but somewhat. I think IC or ICU have more survivors than anyone suspected.”

“And they are trying to understand us so they can fight us.” Anna stated flatly.