Chapter 39

February 2^nd, 2007, Thursday

Donna

“So, traitor ... how long have you been working for Vanson and Saenz?”

Bethany stared at Donna like she’d grown a second head.

“I ... I don’t know ... what...”

“Quit lying,” Jason said, grabbing Bethany by the hair, tightening his grip and bringing tears to her eyes.

“What do you think Sebastien’s going to do when we report my suspicions to him?” Donna said.

“He ... he won’t... ‘‘

“Cunt, he’s going to examine your financials, everything, looking for proof,” Donna snarled. “I’m thinking he’ll find plenty of it.”

Bethany began to sob.

“Goddamn, I wish Nocturnia was here,” Donna murmured.

Ashley came over.

“Need some persuasive arguments, Milady?”

“Yes...”

“I got this...”

Ashley leaned down close to Bethany.

“Nocturnia told me all about her conversation with you. You don’t start talking, stop this crying shit, she’s going to cut off your breast, give it to ‘Llita to cook, then she’ll make you eat it...”

Bethany tried to pull away, to curl into a ball, but Jason and Donna’s hold on her made that difficult.

“Be a shame to lose breasts like yours,” Ashley said.

“I ... I ... do work for them...” Bethany sobbed. “I ... didn’t ... I didn’t love Sebastien ... not when I started ... but ... we were together so long ... I...”

“What are they paying you?” Donna asked.

“Let’s give her a minute, let her get herself under control,” Jason said, relaxing his grip on her hair. “Any Kleenex in this place?”

A half-hour later Donna said, “So ... what are they paying you?”

“They paid for everything...” Bethany replied. “They set me up in business, the money coming through shell companies. It all started when I was still in college. My family ... things went bad for them, financially. They were friends of Emil Vanson, not in Society although they played in private from time to time. Emil saw an opportunity and bailed them out. I was their collateral. Vanson paid for the rest of my education. Sometime between then and my graduation, Sebastien started making a name for himself.

“After graduation, House Vanson ordered me to put myself in Sebastien’s way ... everybody knows his preference in women. The House provided enough money for my start in the hospitality business, I have the training and I have a knack for it, and ... I made sure Sebastien found me fascinating. The rest just ... happened. I didn’t love Sebastien at first, I mean, God, he’s an arrogant prick who uses people like toilet paper ... but eventually I did fall for him. Everything was fine.

“Until he got serious about taking the thrones,” Bethany continued. “That’s when I got reminded of my obligations ... and of House Vanson’s ability to ruin my parents ... they have the evidence to send my folks to jail for some ... stuff.”

“What stuff?” Donna demanded.

“Does that stuff have anything to do with this, you and Sebastien?” Jason asked, waving Donna back.

“No...”

“Donna, let her keep her parents’ secrets,” Jason said.

“Yes Sir,” Donna replied. She fought the urge to smile. She was so proud of him.

“The stuff ... I won’t get specific, but there was a lot of shady financial doings,” Bethany said. “So, what now?”

“We can discuss that later,” Jason said. “We’re going to have to talk about it.”

Jason

“We have to tell Sebastien,” he said.

Around Jason were Donna, Abby, Lizzy, Yan, Susan, Jackie, and Lisa.

“Do you?” Jackie asked. “Not arguing the point, just asking.”

“How much do you hate these two assholes running Dallas? You could make sure Sebastien’s never a threat to them,” Yan said. “You could hold this over Bethany’s head, return her to Sebastien, blackmail her ... and in so doing ruin his chances forever. If he takes her back, even as a submissive house slut, she’s an anchor around his neck. His poor judgment in selecting her is going to be hard for him to shake. Might Vanson and Saenz be grateful?”

“I’m not sure she could keep her secret from him after it’s already been discovered by you,” Susan said. “She strikes me as the kind of person who can only keep it together so long as she believes she can’t be caught ... once she has been, she won’t be able to carry it off.”

“Well, there goes a potentially lucrative situation,” Yan said, chuckling.

“I could be wrong...” Susan said.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to bet on it,” Jason said.

“Look, no matter what you do from here,” Lisa said, “you own the bitch. You can out her to Society, you can tell Vanson and Saenz she spilled her guts and they’ll ruin her family ... you’ve got the cunt by the short hairs.”

“God, I really don’t want to be that person...” Jason said.

“I understand,” Jackie said. “But this is the game ... this is the world you live in ... while you don’t have to use the options, you damn well have to see them and consider them.”

“If we tell Sebastien all this, what’s his likely reaction?” Donna said.

“He’ll dump her like a tub of rancid yogurt,” Yan chuckled. “The servants talk, so he can’t even bring her back and torture her fat ass. Word would get out and while yeah, he might pick up some support for giving her what she deserves, he’ll lose more from people believing he’s soft and is going easy on her.”

“Yeah,” Donna said. “Their relationship was solid and deep ... before she fucked up.”

“Is there a way we could call the mainland from here? Pretty sure our cell phones won’t cut it from inside this panic room,” Jason said.

Parker

“Well this is a fucking shitshow,” he said, looking at the bodies lined up on the beach, covered with sheets.

“Tod, let the folks in the house and guest lodge know we’re going to need some more time.”

“On it,” Tod replied, jogging up the path.

“How sure are we that’s all of them?” Nocturnia said, gesturing toward their prisoners. They were sitting under the trees, bound, and separated far enough from each other that they couldn’t talk among themselves.

“Not so sure that I’ll order Pika and his crew to stop looking,” Parker replied. “If there are any stragglers – and to be clear I don’t think there are – I have faith they can find them.”

“Enough faith you don’t send anyone else out looking?” Vincent said.

“Exactly,” Parker replied. “I am sorry for your losses...”

“They died doing their jobs, and House Plum Blossom will honor them,” Vincent said. “I am sorry for those you lost.”

“Well, I trust both our Houses will honor all our losses. How soon will your family doctor be here?”

“Next fifteen or twenty minutes,” Vincent replied. “I am not looking forward to my conversation with Madam Gao ... but whatever happens, it will be infinitely preferable to what would happen if I don’t call her promptly. I should go tend to that.”

“Yeah ... we’ve got some calls of our own to make ... so goddamn glad they’re going to be encrypted...”

Jason

“Fuuuuuuck...”

“Yeah,” Donna said. “Ready to give her the news?”

“No, but we’re going to anyway.”

A few minutes later, Bethany was on her knees in front of them.

“Bethany...” Jason said. “You and Sebastien are done.”

“I expected that, Sir.”

“He’s given you to us permanently, or you can use your safeword and leave Society. If he sees you take a position with any other House ever, he’ll expose you and your connections to House Vanson.”

“But that would mean they’d ruin my family...”

“Yeah,” Jason said, irritated at the interruption. “ He’s going to buy you out of your joint business ventures with him ... but...”

“If you go your own way,” Yan said, “he’ll buy you out for pennies on the dollar, and you’ll accept that price, or he’ll expose you.”

Bethany tightened her lips and tears flowed down her cheeks.

“If you stay with us, a total power exchange,” Yan continued, “you will give us those business interests, and he’ll pay what they’re worth.”

Bethany’s body shook with her quiet sobs.

“If you stay with us,” Donna said, “you’ll be using your talents for our benefit. To the outside world you’ll be the same businesswomen you’ve always been ... but you will. Be. Our. Property.”

“Literally and figuratively,” Abby said. “You will spend the rest of your life serving our House.”

“You will be treated as well as your behavior deserves,” Lizzy said. “Seriously step out of line and the consequences will be bad ... very bad.”

“You will be, until I say differently,” Jason said, “the lowest piece of shit in this House. You don’t have to answer to anyone but me, my spouses, concubine, your trainer, and Otter. We’ll turn you over to Nocturnia if you fail us.

“So, take your time, think it over. You can walk away. You’ll be much poorer but free. Or you can stay.”

“Thank you, Sir ... I will think about it.”

Bethany got up and headed toward the bathrooms.

Jason started to tremble.

“Calm down, you did fine, husband,” Yan said. “Relax ... you’re about to become more wealthy and acquire a hell of a financial manager.”

“You ... you really think so?”

“Jason,” Lisa said, climbing over the couch and sliding down behind him to hold him, “she’s not going to leave Society. She’s got too much emotionally invested in the game. She’s staying in, and she’ll enjoy it a lot more now that she doesn’t have to pretend to be something she really isn’t.”

“I agree,” Susan said. “In my opinion, for her this TPE thing isn’t slavery, it’s freedom.”

“I need a fucking drink...” Jason muttered.

Donna’s fingers snapped and in moment their bartender arrived with a snifter of Grand Marnier.

“Thank you, Ryley,” Jason said, taking his drink.

“Most welcome, Sir.”

He sipped it.

“I’m also ... goddamn it, what’s happening outside?”

“They’ll tell us when they’re through,” Donna said. “Tod said they’re cleaning up. That could take a while.”

Parker

“Sue, what have you got for me?”

Nocturnia wiped sweat from her forehead with a bloody rag.

“They’re all pathetically eager to talk. Didn’t feed any of them cues, they all have the same story.”

“What about that?” Parker pointed to the bloody rag.

“One of them confessed and then got mouthy,” Nocturnia replied, “so I beat the fuck out of her.”

“So ... their stories match. What’s the story?”

“Somebody in House Maxwell let it leak that Mistress Maxwell was sending presents to our kids, and those presents were being delivered here. With the prices on the kids’ heads, this bunch decided they could make some easy money. They’re all merc-wannabes, none of them good enough to get in with any reputable private military contractors. Dangerous, but not overly so.”

“They have any idea what we’re going to do with them?”

“No ... they’re pretty sure they’ll be handed over to the cops. One prick offered to come to work for us if we didn’t have him arrested.”

“How sea-worthy is their ship?”

“Cameron says the controls are ruined so she’s gonna need a tow, but they’ve got some zodiacs that can do the job.”

“Pretty soon we’re going to have another boat arriving, legitimately from Maxwell ... we need to get this shit cleaned up and out of sight.”

“I want the job,” Nocturnia said.

“You got it and I never want to know what you do.”

In a little under thirty minutes, with some hard work, the little cargo ship – a converted surplus LCM-8 landing craft named ‘Tracie’ – was loaded with bodies and the prisoners. Tow lines were attached and a pair of Zodiac Medline-9’s began to pull it out toward international waters.

Parker stood on the little dock and gave a single wave to Nocturnia where she stood next to the bridge of the Tracie.

“Sometimes I can’t believe we willingly put our cocks anywhere near that woman,” Tod said from behind him.

“Yeah ... but come on, hardly the first psycho you’ve ever had in your bed...” Parker replied.

“True ... I wonder if the kids know just how crazy their game master and fuck-buddy is...”

“Oh, they know ... they also know she’d die before betraying them or failing to protect them,” Parker said.

“Kind of like having a rabid honey badger on a leash though...” Tod said.

“Oh, she’s not that bad. Seems I remember a girl ... what was her name...”

“Diana...”

“Yeah ... now she was a rabid honey badger and you didn’t have any leash on her at all.”

“Shut up, man,” Tod replied, grinning. “The sex was great...”

“She tried to kill you on three different occasions and robbed you blind...”

“Worth every scar and every penny...” Tod said. “It’s about time we give the all-clear.”

Jason

“Sir...” Parker said, “I am sorry we kept you in the bunker so long. I felt it best we get things squared away before the real shipment from Mistress Maxwell showed up.”

“That’s smart,” Jason agreed. “Could you clean it up so no one would know?”

“Yes Sir ... House Plum Blossom’s doctor is seeing to the wounded. The dead ... the dead and the prisoners are being taken out into international waters. Sue ... Nocturnia ... is dealing with them.”

“How many? Who’s injured? Who did we lose?” Jason asked, fighting to hold himself together.

“Fourteen injured, most of them bullet wounds of varying severity. We’ll know more once the doctor’s through with them. Most of them are from the house staff. Of our people ... Consuela’s seriously injured. Took one through her chest, punctured her lung. Drag is dead.”

Yan begin crying.

“All in all we’re confident there were twelve attackers, plus a crew of three on their boat, and we’ve accounted for them all. How many were wounded or dead doesn’t matter.

“Here’s how and why they showed up...”

“Jason ... I am so sorry...” Kari Maxwell said. “I didn’t think about this potentially endangering all of you...”

“Mistress Maxwell ... Kari ... don’t blame yourself. You had a nice idea, faithful members of your staff talked about it because there shouldn’t be any reason for them not to.”

Jason shook his head slowly.

“Shit happens. None of us hold any ill will toward you or any of your people.”

“Jason ... people are dead...”

“Yes they are ... and you aren’t to blame. House Nelson is to blame and sooner or later they’ll pay.”

“I am so sorry ... how can I make this right?”

“Kari, there’s nothing to make right. Plum Blossom is handling informing any family that needs notifying, they’ll be taken care of ... it’s ... well, it’s not okay, but none of it is on you.”

“You know she’s going to go overboard about this,” Yan muttered behind him and he waved her to silence.

“I just wanted you to know what happened. If you’re planning any further surprises...” and I really hope you aren’t, he thought, “use the number I gave you and talk with Parker about it. You can surprise us all you like, but don’t surprise our security.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do...”

“Kari, we appreciate the thought ... I need to go now, talk with parents and such, but I wanted to call you first.”

After more of the same, he finally was able to hang up.