Chapter 14

Master Carl awoke in the guest room of Rose House to the very pleasant sensation of someone kissing his face. “Sir?” Heather’s red hair was a halo around her face. “You asked me to wake you if you slept till seven.”

It took a few attempts to get his voice to work. The word “Coffee” came out as a croak the first time but he still got the message across. Heather had a large mug of the lifesaving liquid ready for him when he managed to sit up and swing his feet over the side of the bed. He did a quick triage and decided he would live if he could, somehow, make it to the shower.

Feeling human again, he stepped from the shower to be greeted by Heather again, this time she was holding a breakfast burrito. The egg, sausage, cheese and salsa delight was his favorite quick breakfast. Fifteen minutes later he was slipping into the driver’s seat of the Range Rover and was on his way north.

Across the top of the coastal hills that separate Silicon Valley from the ocean are a number of hiking trails and campgrounds. It is somewhat disorienting to be in the valley, surrounded by cutting edge technology companies and swarms of people, and then fifteen minutes later be surrounded by pine trees with almost no one else in sight. The meeting place was a high vista point just off of the road. If you walked fifty feet from the parking area a visitor could, on a clear day, see San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, San Jose and almost all of San Francisco Bay.

Carl parked on the far side of the parking lot away from the stunning view. He had almost switched cars, not wanting to give anyone a look at Lord Blackmon’s license plate, but the events had progress way too far for that. A picnic area with tables and shaded by the tall pines was there and so was Tom Craft. “I hope you remembered the sandwiches,” Carl said. Years before the two men had spent four months together in a small apartment monitoring a set of audio and video bugs. It had become the running joke.

“Hell no, just the beer,” the rail thin man replied.

Carl sat next to him, “Where are we?”

“The deal is done, you get what you wanted but only ... and I mean only if what you provide meets our requirements.”

“I will give you what we agreed to and nothing more. Don’t think you can squeeze us for anything beyond that. We don’t have it. If those terms are not working for your friends, the entire resource will disappear. And that is not me threatening anything. The window is closing and I can’t stop it. Clear?”

“Yea, clear. Just so you know, my ass is so far out on this ... I made this work based on two things. First was your old case files, they know you are a straight shooter, and second was my assurances. But I am not going to be around for all that long. If you don’t deliver, it is you that they will come for. You ... not me.”

“When and where?”

“Tomorrow, and where you requested.”

“Ok.”

Carl stood up to go but Tom touched his arm to stop him. “If ... when ... your information is confirmed, I am out. I can’t...”

Carl looked down then took the man’s hand and shook it. As he walked away he could not help but think it had been like shaking hands with a dead man.

One of the few times that the slaves of Rose House wore clothes was when they were exercising. As Carl stepped into the house he saw his slave Heather going through a series of stretches. She wore a white sports bra and matching stretchy shorts. Her back was to him and she had not heard him come in because of the earbuds she was using. Carl watched her perform three different types of splits and was amazed at her flexibility and athleticism.

She caught site of his reflection in the French doors and ripped the earbuds out of her ears, “Master! I am sorry I did not...”

Carl held up his hand, “It’s ok, I was ... enjoying the view. Do you know where Lord Blackmon might be?”

“Yes sir, he is in the garden working on... “The Clock” I think he called it.”

Carl smiled at her, “You are amazing and so much stronger than when you came here.”

“Yes sir, Page has pushed me to get back into shape. I feel so much better and am...”

“Happy?” Carl asked.

Heather shuddered for a moment, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, then she fell to her knees before Carl, “Sir, Page has taught me that some words should never be used by a slave, like future, fair and ... happy. We are to talk about safe, grateful and even content. Sir, I am grateful to have a master that has treated me well. I have grown stronger, both physically and mentally. I have...”

“Heather, stop. I am too drained to discuss Page’s philosophy today.” Carl walked over to what he had begun to think of as ‘his’ chair. “Come here.”

Heather stood and moved to the chair and, at Carl’s direction, climbed into his lap facing him. The sweaty white sports bra and shorts had become semi-transparent. Carl liked the effect and ran his hand over her fabric covered left nipple. “Do you know what Page did last night?”

Heather began squirming on his lap, “Only the dinner part and after that we were not allowed to come in, no matter what we heard. What happened?”

Carl used his other hand to squeeze her ass, “It was incredible. I was in her mouth when Lord Blackmon suggested we play a game he called Ping Pong. The object of the game was to make your opponent cum. He would tell Page how, for one minute, he wanted her to fuck me. He would say ass, pussy, mouth, and she would move across the room and do that. Then, after another minute, I would volley her back telling her how to fuck him. Things got creative when we told her to tit-fuck, hand job or lick ass. I lost when I came in her mouth, but he just moved behind her and pounded her ass until he came too. We laid her down and while one of us used her mouth again the other took a vibrator to her clit and made her cum over and over. One of us would get an idea but both had to try it. We would get soft and she did anything and everything to get us going again. We went at her for over two hours. Wow.”

As he told the story one hand had slipped inside the sports bra and was pulling and squeezing the nipple while the other hand had moved to the front and was rubbing her pussy through the thin shorts. Heather leaned down and grabbed his cock through his pants, he was hard again. Her shorts were thin enough that he found her clit and scrapped his fingernail across it through the material and Heather arched her back and came. He pushed her off of his lap and onto the floor. Putting her on her knees, Carl pulled the sports bra up over her head but not off of her arms. They were pinned behind her back by the stretchy material making an impromptu armbinder. He next pulled her shorts down to her knees binding her legs together with the shorts. He lowered his pants then pushed her over so that her face was on the floor. In one motion he drove his hard cock into her pussy and began pounding her from behind. It did not take long for him to cum but he kept moving until he was too soft to remain inside of the redheaded slave. She had cum twice from the rough fucking and was panting hard. Carl moved around and lifted her up by her bra/binding until she faced his soiled dick and she began sucking their combined juices off.

She was looking up at him when he asked “Do you know how I got hard for the third round?” Heather shook her head no. “It was when Lord Blackmon suggested that the next time we did the tag team thing, that the slave needed to be you.”

No city in the world has weather like San Francisco. Not only can a visitor be cold in the summer and hot in the winter, but sometimes you can be both in the same day. The marine layer can roll in and cover the city, limiting the view to a few hundred feet, and then a few minutes later the fog can retreat and The Golden Gate Bridge emerges as if from a giant wave.

The law firm had two large conference rooms with beautiful views of the Bay and the Bridge. On this day one of those conference rooms was occupied. In the smaller conference room three men were reviewing four documents. The oldest one, Lucius Stone, attorney-at-law read every page and made a small tick mark in the corner of each just to be sure he had not miss a page. “Per my understanding, these will be sufficient.”

The man sitting to Lucius’s left looked angry, “I have never had to prepare these without knowing why. But I have been told that knowing why is the last thing I want.”

Supervisory Special Agent Theodore Branch had been given one responsibility in this mess. He had to shepherd U.S Attorney Mark Orlind through this process. “Mark, how hard do you want to squeeze this pimple? Listen to me ... the only thing you will get for your troubles is pain, puss and pockmarks that you will carry around the rest of your life.”

The white haired man at the other end of the table looked at the FBI man from over his glasses, “Why does every member of law enforcement have to act like they are twelve years old?” He then turned towards Mark, “Look, I do not know much more than you do, but I can guess some of it. My clients have something that the shadowy servants of our government want very badly and are willing to look the other way in regards to the means it was obtained. That is where you and these agreements come in.”

Mark pointed at the white haired man, “But Lucius, what if...”

The agent across the table cut in, “No ... there is no ‘what if.’ At some point in time someone is going to tell us if the material was delivered and as advertised, then we are to proceed and I will tell you and you will sign the immunity deals. That is all you get.”

Lucius stood up, “I need to speak to my clients and tell them we are ready to proceed.” With that he walked out the door leaving the two other men glaring at each other.

“One of the reasons I use Lucius is that he often is willing to take his fees in ... barter.” The east side of the private office had sliding doors that connected it with the next room. While the color schemes matched, browns and grays, the decor and the flooring did not. There was no carpet in adjoining room and the St. Andrew’s cross was not very functional for conducting the business of the firm. Neither was the heavy wooden chair festooned with straps that sat against the back wall. The occupant of the chair squirmed in discomfort as the rigid iron helmet she wore restricted sight, sound and fresh air.

Master Carl stood back as Lord Blackmon and Madame Carronade approached the slave that was strapped down and helmeted. Carl could see that this was not a young girl but a middle aged woman. Her tits were a little saggy and her legs where thicker. He also could see she had been marked by a whip or cane over most of her body.

“Those look fresh,” Lord Blackmon said. “How did Lucius do that here without disturbing the whole office?”

“Oh no, that was not Lucius.” Madame Carronade said. “That is his wife’s work. Her name is Barbara, or just Barb. It is a fitting nickname because she is the true sadists in the family. She has a thing for women in their 30’s or 40’s.” She ran her finger along a weal running across the bound slave’s thighs. “I don’t see any cuts or burns here. This slave is relatively fresh. Lucius brings them to the office to let them rest, for a blowjob once in a while and for use by his clients. If he doesn’t Barb breaks them down very quickly.”

Carl raised his eyebrows, “How many?”

“I have supplied them with about six a year for the past few years, but I doubt I am their only supplier. They are raw slaves from the auctions or courts without our usual training. Barb is ... wasteful of the material and it would be inefficient to provide them with one from the training house.” A whimper escaped from the iron hood.

Carl turned when he heard a noise behind him and recognized the paralegal corporate slave that had shown them into the office a few moments before. Behind her was Randy pushing a large upright box on a dolly through the door, and behind him was a beautiful Asian girl in a simple black dress and flats.

“Randy, please come in here and bring Toni with you. I am going to ask you two to wait in here for a little while.” Madame Carronade showed Randy where to stow the box then led Toni to a spot in the corner to kneel. As Randy was getting situated on a bench, she pushed a button on the wall and the doors between the dungeon and the office closed with a soft sigh. “The room has a white noise machine to mask any conversation when the door is closed.”

Two chairs were situated in front of the large desk and while Lord Blackmon and Madame Carronade sat, Carl paced, looking at the items on the shelves or out the window. It was by mutual agreement that they would not discuss anything of substance while in the offices. There really was not much they could discuss. The dice had been thrown; they were just waiting to see what numbers came up.

Lord Blackmon slowly twirled his cane between his hands, an activity that was becoming a habit when he was lost in thought. He was dressed in a light gray business suit that looked remarkably similar to the darker one Carl was wearing, not a surprise considering that had been made by the same tailor.

Considering how upset Madame Carronade had been the day before, she was now remarkably calm. Carl was struck again by how elegant and sexy the woman was. She wore her silver hair in a tight ‘business bun’ on the back of her head with a gold pin through it. While her hair was all business, the rest of her outfit was about power. She wore a tailored tunic of a dark, heavy material pulled snug across her large pale breasts by three fine gold chains about two inches long. She wore nothing underneath so the entire length of her cleavage was visible behind the chains. Her pale skin was highlighted by the dark cloth and the chains pushed against the skin of her breasts in a most intriguing way. Her slacks were made of the same material and disappeared into black riding boots.

A soft knock preceded the door being opened by the woman in the corporate slave collar. “Can I get anyone something to drink?” When all three declined she turned to retreat back out but was met by Lucius pushing his way in. He was leading two other men. Madame Carronade, Lucius normal client, stood and introduced Lord Blackmon and Carl. He had met Lord Blackmon some time before when they were working on the financing and acquisition of the Nimitz Hotel. Carl took the lawyers hand and had his normal reaction when touching a lawyer; he immediately wanted to wash it.

Lucius stepped aside, “Let me introduce Tom Craft, I believe you know Master Carl. This is Madame Carronade and Lord Blackmon.” Tom’s eyes went up at the mention of ‘Master Carl, ‘ but quickly recovered and shook the hands of the others.

The attorney indicated the last man that had stepped through the door. While Tom Craft was sickly thin and balding, this man was overweight and with thick curly hair. And while Tom was somewhat frumpy, this man wore an understated suit that clearly had been tailored for him. “Our other guest has ... declined to identify himself by name, only that he is leading the investigation into the intellectual property thefts.” He did not speak and one was inclined to shake his hand.

Carl had survived working undercover by being able to size people up quickly. “You are not DOJ or FBI, we often called them the ‘cheap suit squad.’ Not military or at least you have not been for a while, no high and tight hair. No academy or school ring to connect you with school chums, no flag or party pin or you would be White House, a polymer wedding ring and no watch means you pass through a lot of metal detectors. I see no CIA swagger so ... NSA?” The mystery guest did not rise to the bait.

Lucius took charge of the meeting. “Ok, I have examined the documents that were prepared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and they are in order. So that nothing is left out let me state for the record that the documents are immunity agreements that cover all previous acts up to this date. They are in the legal names of Lord Blackmon, Madame Carronade, Master Carl, and Randy Hoffman. The U.S. Attorney is waiting in another office to sign the documents when Mr. Craft and ... guest is satisfied with the information you are providing. Is that how everyone understands what we are going?” Everyone agreed.

“Where is Randy Hoffman?” Tom Craft asked. “We need everyone, including Mr. Hoffman, to sign the Espionage Act non-disclosure.”

“He is with our other assets. We have explained the situation and he is in agreement with everything. He will be made available at the proper time.” Carl said. “Have you arranged transportation like I requested?”

“Yes, there is a van in the parking garage waiting. We are curious why you asked for a van. Do you have that many documents to hand over?”

Lord Blackmon stepped up, “Let us be clear about the situation. Mr. Craft asked Master Carl to investigate ... something. In the process two things became clear. The first was that there was criminal activity going on and second that in the process of obtaining the information the four of us might be exposed to prosecution. None of us are directly or indirectly involved in the criminal conspiracy that is your focus. We have requested that, in exchanged for the information you seek we are granted immunity from any and all prosecution, period. Lucius, is that what we have in the documents currently held by the U.S Attorney in the other room?”

The gray haired lawyer nodded, “Yes, that is correct.”

“So, the only thing we need to do is deliver the information to Mr. Craft and friend. Correct?”

For the first time Tom Craft’s companion spoke up, “It is my job to determine if the information is what you claim.”

Carl furrowed his brow, “No threats?”

“None needed. You know what would happen if I think you are playing us for fools or are directly involved or have compromised the situation.” He had a high pitched voice that was a little disconcerting coming from such a large man. “What I find interesting is that Mr. Craft’s request resulted in four very different people being linked together in this. I will not bore you with what I know about each of you, but you have collectively thrust your head in the lion’s mouth. Why?”

For the first time Madame Carronade spoke up, “Sir, you deal in betrayal and distrust. It is hard for you to recognize anything that does not tear people apart, break promises or compromise loyalties. Not everyone operates or thinks that way.”

The large man thrust his hands in his pockets, “Am I getting lectured about morals from a slaver?”

The elegant mistress stepped close to the man and placed her face just an inch from his. Her voice was low and full of emotion, “Yes, you are, and let that be my commentary on what I think of public servants like you.”

Tom Craft stepped in between the two, “Let’s not get off track. Can you give us what you have?” Carl noted that the portly man took a step back. Madame Carronade never did.

Carl took the lead, “Tom came to me with nothing more than a hunch. He had heard of a poker game that was more than what it seemed. He asked me to look into it and to see if there was anything to the report. The original plan was for me to go undercover using Tom’s contact to get into the game. That is all you know to this point, correct?”

“As far as I know you never did.” Tom said.

“So, let me take you further. If I had done it your way I could not trust that my activities would not be leaked. You had already told me that there was a leak in your organization. So I did not wait for your introduction. The day after we met, I went to the hotel as myself, registered as myself and got into the poker room under my own name. I will provide you with my complete report but the most relevant thing is that I saw someone there that I knew. It was a member of Madame Carronade’s staff. I had very strong information that she would not be involved in a scheme like this so I approached her with a request for help.”

Madame Carronade had stepped back and was leaning against the desk, “My staff member was not operating with my knowledge or consent. He also had one of my slaves with him, again without my knowledge. But because he worked for me, and had one of my products with him, it could seem to an outsider that I was involved. I took action and secured him and the slave. When I interviewed the slave she had a very interesting story to tell.”

Lord Blackmon picked it up, “The slave had a very strong background in computers and was tasked with breaking into the system of her future master and give ‘the government’ access to it. She was told that when her assignment was completed she would be extracted and released from slavery. She had been tricked into thinking that she was going to be a government spy.”

“We, the three of us, discussed this revelation and thought that sounded like a very effective system to steal secrets. I have access to the national database on slaves that includes their backgrounds like those with computer experience or education. Lord Blackmon used his computer mojo and sorted through the data and found some possible patterns of slave purchases that fit that profile. So, item one we are providing is Master Carl’s report and that research.” Madame Carronade handed Tom a flash drive. “Your people can use this as a beginning place. I am sure it will mean much more to you than to us.”

Tom looked at the small object in his hand, “Is that it? You wanted immunity in exchange...”

“No, there is more,” the unnamed man said. “Did you interrogate the employee?”

“No.” Madame Carronade’s face hardened. “I wanted to rip him to pieces very slowly but Lord Blackmon and Master Carl said no. He is our second bargaining chip. He has been kept isolated and knows nothing of why he has been detained.”

Lucius spoke up, “That is one reason the immunity deal is vital. He was unlawfully detained and those involved could be charged with a crime. Do you want these three or the resource of someone on the inside?”

For the first time the large man smiled, “Ok, that is something that we can work with. If you deliver him to us intact we have a...”

“Not so fast.” Carl held up his hand. “We have more. You see, the slave I saw at the poker game was being trained to spy for the government. I think you will be impressed with her and her preparations. I have no illusion of telling you your business but you still have a chance to place her in the organization. If you can flip the employee that set her up you have a chance to see even further into who and what they are doing. It also needs to be very clear that we know nothing past what we are giving you. We do not have other names or information past here. We did not ask them for any names. We represent no intel breach or further avenue of inquiry.”