Chapter 5

"I'm afraid the news isn't good," said the doctor.

Denise and Kevin sat in his office across the desk from the specialist.

"What is it doctor?"

"Mineena has a form of kidney disease called Polycystic Kidney Disease or PKD for short. Cysts or growths develop on the kidneys and impair the kidneys ability to cleanse the blood."

They had thought at first the girl was anemic, but when she didn't respond to treatment they had brought her to the clinic where a number of tests had finally revealed the condition.

"What do we do?" asked Denise.

"Dialysis will be necessary. Mineena will be hooked to a machine which will clean the blood of impurities and then return the blood to her body. She will require three treatments a week. Each treatment will last from three to four hours. Without the treatments she will sicken and die."

"How long will she need the treatments?"

"Chances are until she's old enough for a transplant. At least for another two to three years."

"Can I give her one of my kidneys?" asked the model/mother.

"Probably. Family members are always the best donors. You or your husband would be primary candidates."

"But until then?"

"Until then she can lead a normal life with the exception of diet and the dialysis."

"Doc, we have no insurance," injected Kevin.

The physician seemed taken aback. "Well, the treatments are expensive. If your income is low enough you may be eligible for some form of assistance."

The two looked at each other, hope quickly fading from their eyes.

Later that night with Mineena in bed, the two at last had a chance to discuss their daughter's condition and what they would/could do about it.

"Kevin, those treatments are going to cost thousands every month."

"Yeah, I know and what's worse the kind of assistance we're eligible for is just a drop in the bucket compared to the costs."

"Then what..."

"I don't know, Honey. All I know is that Mineena needs those treatments and, somehow, we've got to get them for her."

"I'll... I'll do the Rogue feature. I swore to myself after that Ladies Man fiasco that I'd never do anything like that again, but... well, we just don't seem to have a choice."

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

"And maybe worse. Max said Rogue is definitely several steps down from Ladies Man which wasn't exactly a prestigious magazine."

"How about I go with you."

"Yes, I'd like that. With you there I'd know I was safe."

"Okay, it's settled then. You call Max and have him set it up. but make sure they know I'll be coming too and see if Max can negotiate a higher price."

Several days later they met Max at the Rogue corporate headquarters, at least that's what it was called. The building was a converted warehouse with some office cubicles set up on one end, darkroom on the other with the shooting studio in the middle. Denise noticed as soon as they entered that the studio had two sets, one a bedroom with dresser mirror, bed, etc. and the other a dungeon complete with torches, racks, chains and various implements of torture. Even with Kevin at her side, chills ran up her spine.

The editor/manager of the magazine was not there, but an assistant, a Mike Collins greeted them and made the introductions. There would be four other models, three men and a woman. Max asked if Denise was sure she wanted to go through with the shoot, but she reassured him she was okay with it, even though every nerve in her body was shouting to turn and run.

The male actors were young, large and muscular, two of them rather handsome in a beefcake sort of way, the third wore a leather mask and tights while the woman looked to be five to ten years Denise's senior. This woman was no model. She had perhaps been an attractive woman at one time, but the years and lifestyle of an S&M dominatrix had hardened her facial features, etching deep lines around mouth and eyes.

Max, knowing that Kevin would be staying for the shoot, excused himself and left. The photographer, a Lance Dubois did not seem pleased with the fact that Kevin would be staying and observing the shoot.

"There's a chair over there," he indicated. "Just stay out of our way."

"No problem," replied Kevin taking the seat.

A couple more adjustments to his lights and all was ready.

"Now, may I call you Denise?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay, Denise. Have you done any S&M shoots before?"

"No, never."

"Well, the premise of the feature is pretty simple. The first set is your bedroom. We'll start with you getting ready for bed; a couple of shots of you slipping on your nighty and looking sleepy. Then in come Dave and Larry. We'll pose you looking startled, then scared. They'll rip off the nighty, throw you on the bed and rape you." Denise, looked over to Kevin. The photographer saw the glance and recognized Denise's unease. "Now don't worry, it's all staged. All the sex is simulated but I will expect some expressions of fear and pain from you."

"All... all right," she replied, only a bit less fearful.

"Then we switch to the dungeon set where Olivia will torture you -- all simulated, of course. Another round of rape joined by Bill and Olivia and we end with them dumping you back in your bed."

"Wow, I've done a lot of shoots," she said, "but never anything like this."

"You'll do fine. What we need besides your body is your facial expressions. You've got to make us believe you're scared and in real pain."

"The being scared part shouldn't be hard at all," she laughed nervously.

"Have you done nudes before?"

"Uh, yes. Once."

"It's okay if you're self conscious. Any woman being forced to take off her clothes would be. Just don't let it overpower the fear and pain."

"I understand."

"Denise changed into the negligee, a black diaphanous bra and panty set with a matching see-through robe. They set up as Lance had indicated and the shoot began. After several shots of Denise preparing for bed, the two male models entered wearing streets clothes. Denise tried her best to project the fear which Lance was looking for but it was obvious he was not pleased. They moved on to the two stripping her naked in a series of photos and then to the bed where again, Lance reshot several times but was still not satisfied.

"You don't look like a woman being raped. Your face and body is beautiful, but your expression should be one of terror. I'm not seeing that."

"I'll try again," she suggested.

But even after several more tries, it was obvious the shoot was not going well. Lance called a break and tried talking with Denise to impress upon her what he wanted. She indicated she would try harder, but when they resumed her performance was still not up to what Lance wanted. He suggested another break and talked privately with the assistant editor who shook his head in agreement.

Denise and Kevin were sharing a private moment, Kevin trying to give her some encouragement when Mike, the assistant editor approached him.

"Could I have a talk with you, in private?" he suggested.

"Of course," replied Kevin, a bit puzzled but following as the two went back into one of the offices.

"Look, your wife is a beautiful woman, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, but she's used to modeling outfits or cosmetics or whatever where all she has to do is look beautiful. Here she has to act and it's obvious that she's not very good at it. I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel the shoot. We'll just have to find someone else."

"No, wait," exclaimed Kevin. "Look, Denise... we both need this shoot really badly. Our daughter just entered dialysis and we need this money for her treatments."

"I'd like to help you out, I really would, but she's just not believable. Lance is right. There's no real fear, no real pain in her face. Without that the feature falls flat. I'm afraid we're just going to have to..."

"No, wait," exclaimed the almost panicked husband, "there has to be a way!"

"Well, we could... naw, you'd never go for it."

"What? What do you mean?"

"A couple of times we've run into this same problem, the girl just can't make it seem real. so we..."

"What? So you did what?"

"Well, we gave her a little something. Nothing dangerous or anything like that. Just a little cocktail that made her fearful and just woozy enough so she couldn't resist. Then we made it real."

"What do you mean you made it real?"

"No more simulations. We let the guys and Olivia have their way with her, for real."

"My god, you don't expect me to..."

"Of course not. I told you you'd never go for it. Shouldn't have even mentioned it. I'll just go back to the set and call off the shoot."

"No, you can't do that!"

"What choice do I have? Like I say your wife is beautiful but she just can't make it real for the camera."

"No, no, no! If I were to say yes, you'd guarantee she wouldn't really be hurt.?"

"Not seriously, no. But all of those models out there are real S&M practitioners. They won't injure her, but they will rough her up a bit. And the sex... that will be real too."

"Oh, my God! I can't agree to..."

"See, I told you. I'm going to call off the shoot," said Mike walking toward the door.

"No, wait!... okay! But, how do I convince her?"

"Maybe impress upon her how badly you need the money, that it's for your little girl."

"I... yeah... okay."

"You sure? Because once we give her the drugs Olivia and the rest aren't going to stop until..."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand... Okay, let's do it!"

A slow grin spread across the face of the assistant editor. He had used this approach successfully before. Denise would make another fine and sweet sacrifice in the name of financial exigency.

"All right, here's what I want you to do," said Mike.

A couple of minutes later Mike and Kevin reentered the studio. Kevin smiled and walked over to Denise who stood to one side, a worried look on her face.

"Kevin, I don't know whether I can do this," she whispered. "Lance keeps telling me that I'm not convincing and..."

"It's okay, baby," responded Kevin offering her a soft drink. "Just relax and have a soda. Mike and I have come up with a plan that should make things a lot more realistic."

"Oh?" she said, taking a long drink of the soda.

"Yeah, see you know it's not real and so that's what's coming through. Mike says the only way to get real fear and pain is to give you something to really fear, giving you real pain."

"What are you talking about, Kevin?" she said, unease creeping into her voice.

"Just finish your soda and I'll explain." Denise finished the bottle and set it down. "Honey, the only way you collect the check is to complete the shoot to their satisfaction. If they don't like what they see, they can let you go and we get nothing."

"I know. I'm really trying..."

"Of course you are but it's just not working. So Mike has asked me to step out for a while and let Olivia and the guys show you what S&M is really all about."

A worried look swept across her face. "Kevin! You don't mean... ?"

"Hey, it'll be all right. Just go with the flow and in a couple of hours..."

The drug was already beginning to take effect. The fear Denise was feeling now was real and intense. She was almost crying as she reached out to her husband. "Kevin, I don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can, Baby. Remember, we need the money for Mineena's dialysis."

"But..."

"It's all right. Just go with Larry here."

"Denise was quickly falling under the influence of the drug. She was now extremely fearful, but her mind had gone fuzzy and she felt weak, too weak to resist as Larry took her firmly by the arms and led her away.

"Kevin, I... I don't want to... do this," she cried, trying unsuccessfully to break from Larry's grip.

"See you after while," smiled Kevin, now beginning to wonder himself if this was such a good idea. He paused at the door to look back and see the negligee torn from his wife and Denise slapped across the face twice.