Chapter 8: Tidying Up the Details

Realizing now that The Device's victims could still remember what they had done under its influence, I made an effort to make amends with Francine. She, like Lucy, was deeply embarrassed by her actions but was equally ready to try again and reach the heights of pleasure she had experienced the first time. Once again I felt hypocritical making platitudes and half-truths while Francine confessed intimate details about her love life with past boyfriends and her husband. Freed of the guilt she had internalized, she stood and moved around her large, imposing desk. No male could have ever mistaken her intent. We adjourned to a locked conference room. Things progressed rapidly from that point, making lunch pass more swiftly than I would have wished.

I spent the afternoon in Brantwell's office in the bunker writing reports and arranging the lab to make things look like nothing had been removed. Volumes of reports Brantwell had derided in his diaries as false leads were catalogued and readied for shipment to the surface. As I left work that evening, I dropped my reports into George's box.

George stepped out of his office and asked me to come in and sit down. George complimented me on all the good work I'd done recently. I was immediately on guard. George only took the time to compliment people when he had something unpleasant to say to them.

George hid his thoughts behind a coffee mug for a second and then told me that I would receive another assignment tomorrow. Acting nonchalant, I said that one job was like the next, but that there was still more to do in the level I was working on. He seemed relieved that I was taking the news so well, but said that I was going to survey another area of the same sector. I agreed in a noncommittal way, still waiting for the bad news to hit. George made some small talk about sports but the interview was clearly over. I waited a polite amount of time and then excused myself.

That's when George dropped the other shoe, "Oh by the way, on Monday make sure you drop by the staging area to get your partners. They start at 8."

All the way home I stewed over this new development. I knew I was being set up, but which one partner would be the spy? Or would they both be spies? The thought that they were just two new workers never entered my mind. There had been something in the reports, even my carefully sanitized ones that had sparked someone's interest. And now I was being saddled with a keeper. My stomach soured as paranoia flooded my mind.

I pulled into my apartment's driveway. Lucy and her friend Andrea stood in the driveway chatting. I greeted them distractedly, walking to the stairs on autopilot. I almost didn't hear Lucy invite me over for dinner. Remembering my manners I quickly accepted, asking for just enough time to shower and change.

Twenty minutes later I was at Lucy's door, cleaned and changed. Lucy explained that she had invited Andrea over for dinner and a movie but that there was plenty of food for a third person. She hugged me, commenting that I looked like I could use a decent meal. Since I was wearing the necklace, more out of habit than any plan to use it, I saw through her ruse immediately.

Her plan was to stage a threesome with Andrea and me; something I was quite eager to take part in. Even though I had taken part in her tryst with Kaitlyn, I was surprised that Lucy's greatest desire was to explore her lesbian fantasies with her friend while I watched. Throughout dinner I explored their minds, setting controls and prompting impulses. I should have felt guilty but I didn't, rationalizing that I was just helping Lucy get what she wanted.