Chapter 11

Shannon in Dóchas Intelligence sent the Command Staff a message advising them that O’Toole and MacFarland had received threatening letters. The letters arrived by courier shortly after the office opened and were nearly identical. Each demanded that they immediately terminate their investigations into where Dale and Larry had sent the missing employees. If they did not, then they and their families would have a life-altering experience. This could be an accident, joining the missing women or, perhaps, an experience similar to Dale’s and Larry’s. The way the letters ended was puzzling as hadn’t been very long since Dale and Larry were released on bail then disappeared. The DA’s investigators didn’t have any leads, and in some respects, it was as if they had never existed.

Since their disappearance, the Intelligence department on Dóchas saw several attempts to remove Dale and Larry from select databases. Each time it was attempted their routine negated it. To them these attempts were evidence that others could generate the lists to flag records as corrupt. Based on what they could see it wasn’t clear why those generating lists were making multiple attempts to remove the names. Overall it seemed to be inviting an inquiry or software audit.

Shannon, Danny, Muireann and Jason met the Command Staff as they arrived in the Intelligence department on Dóchas. The look on their faces told the Command Staff that more had happened since the letters arrived.

“What is it?” asked Sarah.

“About 4 hours after the letters arrived, MacFarland received a package,” said Muireann. “It was quickly determined that the return address was fictitious. The bomb squad is currently examining the package, to make sure it is safe to open.”

“According to our bots everyone is in the office today.” said Shannon. “The combination of the letters and package has everyone on edge. Even the bots are uneasy, since they suggested that one of us stay linked with them at all times.”

“The bots are uneasy?” said Sally with a puzzle expression. “Star, what would make a bot uneasy?”

“Most likely, it is a reflection of those they are working with. Looking at the situation and the exchanges, it seems to indicate that they are anticipating us needing the information without the normal delay.”

“Can we set the link up so we can see and hear everything there, without them knowing?” asked Rusty. “I am concerned that an active link could inadvertently affect their actions.”

“Good point,” said Terry.

“Let’s do this, then,” said Shannon, “we will tell the bots that we will monitor the office’s activities. However, we don’t want to use our link with them, as we could inadvertently effect their actions.”

“To monitor the office,” said Jason, “we can either hook into their system, or we can use one of our monitors. Actually the office system is not very sophisticated, so we should use ours. We have a drone nearby, so why not add some of our sensors and give the drone control? The drone can then relay the data here, as soon as it is collected.”

Several of the Command Staff looked at one another, then Alison said, “That should work fine.”

The bots assisted in quickly placing the additional sensors. They came on-line just as the bomb squad determined that the package only contained two video recordings. James and Clarence decided that, since the whole office knew of the video recordings, they might as well watch them together.

The first video showed Dale and Larry attending a show at what appeared to be a sex club. This was based on the dress of the performers and others. As the video progressed, it was clear that they were both participants and observers. The scenes focused on either the performers or Dale and Larry. The servers, and except for brief moments the performers, were all naked. Each wore ankle cuffs, wrist cuffs, and a collar plus body jewelry. Some women wore breast halters made from small jewelry like chains or leather laces.

They had watched about half of the first video, when one investigator said, “Pause it for a moment.”

“Why?” asked another.

“I think several of those women are those in the photos of missing women we found on the raids. The other is that the only faces we are seeing are of the performers, Dale and Larry.”

Another said, “I noticed the women’s faces some time back and started noting the place on the recording.”

“They’ve set the two of them up,” said another.

“Very perceptive,” said Clarence. “From my perspective, right now it looks like Dale’s and Larry’s egos are being pumped up by the attention the performers are giving them. Based on what we know of this group, this is will likely become very painful for them. If the performers are the missing women, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them begin tormenting Dale and Larry.”

The pause gave the group time to organize their thoughts and refocus on what they needed from the video recording. Everyone began taking notes on items that stood out to them. The first recording was essentially a super X rated sex video. The second recording was possibly the most horrifying thing any of them had ever seen. From what they saw every man in the room could easily imagine the pain the two felt, and even the women had a good idea. Several thought about suggesting that they stop it, but realized that if they did they wouldn’t be able to evaluate it for clues.

The purpose of the recordings was brought home about half way through the second, when a masked woman came into view. She was speaking to Larry and Dale, “You two don’t understand why you are here, do you?”

With tears streaming down their faces both Larry and Dale shook their heads, no.

Speaking softly, she continued, “We welcomed you into our group. As a part of our welcome, we advised you about how careful we must be, as society members, to ensure that the public remained unaware of us. You pledged yourselves to abide by those rules. All of our actions are very carefully taken, so we avoid public exposure. One reason we welcomed you into our group was because your companies filled a need we had in dealing with the new electronic databases monitoring identities. Even so, many council members had apprehensions about admitting you into our society. They put those apprehensions aside, because of the capabilities you brought us with your software and access to government identity and institutional databases. The change to electronic databases made it difficult for us to continue recruiting staff for our resorts, farms or to be sold to others, and remain undetected. Your software and its access to those databases solved that problem. Now, thanks to your stupidity, we have a much bigger problem. Even before this some council members were concerned by the way Dale changed once he began using our facilities and staff. His harsh treatment of the staff and residents in the playpen has caused a decline in availability for the rest of us. The injuries Dale inflicted on a member caused numerous problems. Fortunately the council was able to resolve everything to the family’s satisfaction. It is unfortunate that we didn’t deal with you then. Your most recent series of bungling actions has brought both of you to Mr. MacFarland’s attention. This has the potential of causing us a much more serious problem. They haven’t discovered the link between you and ourselves, yet. Nor have they fully made the connection to what they call the ‘lodge incident’, but it is reasonable to expect them to. Your use of our security company to track the women you wanted to be your next company sluts has resulted in additional issues. The incident after the convention has the potential to draw even more attention toward us. Now there is the incident at your estate along with the evidence you left available at your companies and the estate. The combination poses a risk well beyond the value either of you give us. It will only be a matter of time before MacFarland’s staff makes the connections all because of your egos. Your bumbling has caused us to launch a plan that carries great risk for all of us, but it is one we must do because not initiating it presents us with a dismal future.

“Dale, you are the weak link and you’ve shown that by the extreme cruelty you inflict on others. Larry, your weakness is that you went along with his poor decisions. So the council has decided that the two of you will be the stars in several videos. In them you will be tormented by many of those you enslaved. They will have access to everything they need, so they can be just as kind to you as you were to them and others. You will now learn what the other side of pain is like.”

The rest of the second video showed multiple short scenes of the performers torturing both Dale and Larry. As the woman had said, they subjected to a variety of painful tortures. Each time, they screamed and begged for relief. For each torment, there seemed to be a different set of performers. It was clear that the video had been edited, because both Dale and Larry looked as if some time passed between each segment. Even so as the video progressed, both men looked more and more haggard.

Near the end of the video Larry and Dale were shown outside suspended over an open hole supported by hooks under their armpits. Their bodies looked raw from the abuse they had endured. A bar between the pins in their ankles held their feet shoulder width apart. Chains connected the pins in their wrists to their ankles. Wires from black pads on their knees, groin, stomach, chest and shoulders led to a connector behind their head. Several people wearing long robes and masks could be seen watching.

After some sand was shoveled into the holes, they were lowered into them. As soon as they touched bottom, several naked women began shoveling sand into the holes as others added water which appeared to be hot. When they stopped adding sand, the view shifted to look down into the hole. The sand covered the men up to their neck. Two bottles were placed on the sand with tubes near the men’s mouth. The view then shifted to show to round disks being placed to cove the openings.

In the last scene a masked woman faced the camera; in the background was a wide walkway with two round shinny steel disks in the middle some distance apart. She said, “Those who interfere with The Society always disappear to receive their punishment. Usually after some adjustments to their bodies, nearly all are given a job to serve as special staff at one of The Society’s resorts. The severity of their transgressions determines their role. What you’ve just seen is a punishment that is seldom used. The pads provide a means to stimulate them which occurs each time the cover is stepped on. The sands is laced with glass shards. The hot wet sand will slowly settle and cool.

“Now that you know they are being punished, there is no reason to continue the investigation into these two idiots and the ‘lodge incident’. If it continues, then many of those involved, including their families, will learn what is like to be a special staff member. An alternatively it might be the victim of a horrific accident. Note that our special staff are often made available to The Society’s members to be used in any manner they choose, with no restrictions. If it ends in death then it must be slow and painful. Now it’s your choice. Some are hoping you ignore this and continue, as they are looking forward to having their way with you and your families. See you soon.”

The threats at end of the video caused an uproar. Everyone was shocked by the audacity of the masked woman’s statement. This was a much bolder threat than the letters had indicated. The video clearly showed that the group would deal harshly with any who appeared to stand in their way. It was as if the ‘flesh peddlers’ were saying they were exempt from the legal system, and could do whatever they pleased.

A woman said, “I think the punishment Dale and Larry received was much more severe than they would have had received in our legal system, or even at the hands of the inmates. In some ways, the punishment reminded me of things I have seen alluded to in literature.”

“James and Clarence,” said another investigator, “I don’t agree with how it was done, and you may want to transfer me after I make my next comment. I think they got less than they deserved. The two of them have personally sentenced more than a 100 people that we know of, to a life of servitude or worse. Beyond that, they enabled many more to disappear.”

“I know many of you feel the same way,” said James. “The comments I heard seemed personal rather than professional opinions. Because they are personal opinions, I see no reason to make staff changes now.”

“I don’t understand how the last scene was punishment or torture,” said one of the newer investigators.

Clarence said, “In some ways it has the same effect as crucifixion, but takes longer. The constant vibration caused by stepping on the covers will pack the sand down. With time, this will make breathing more difficult. The wet sand has two other effects. As it cools it will draw the heat away from them so before long they will be shivering. Any movement aggravates the cuts and other wounds on their bodies, which will be compounded by the glass shards. Feeding them will increase the pressure on their gut as they can’t relieve their bowels, which again will hamper their breathing.”

“So they slowly suffocate?”

“Yes, they could, but hypothermia is very likely as well,” said Clarence. “Hypothermia will make them sleepy, so the electrical stimulation is likely done to keep them from sleeping. They could live quite a while, but it will not be pleasant.”

MacFarland said, “We will have counselors available. If you have difficulty coping with what you saw, talk to someone, don’t bottle it up. You may find it more comforting to vent with your fellow workers. Please don’t let them, or these films, cause you any sleepless nights.”

Clarence said, “Now, let’s focus on the videos. There are several aspects to these. First, they gave us some information that I don’t think we had before, or at least they made connections that we hadn’t figured out yet. Second, I think the threats were specifically directed at James, myself and our families. Third, did you notice that the performers did everything with little or no instruction? So, the recordings will provide no evidence that the masked observers caused any harm to Dale and Larry, except that they did not intervene. Could it be that the “councilors” were letting the performers rid themselves of their anger? If they lost their anger, would they be more compliant sex toys? Some psychologist may think that that is possible.”

“I agree with Clarence about the councilor’s participation, which I presume were those wearing robes and masks,” said James. “I don’t think any councilor actively participated in abusing either one. Based on what I remember of the film, about the only charges that could be brought would be conspiracy and aiding in the commission of a crime. Conspiracy will be difficult to prove without one of them testifying. As for the performers, it would be difficult to avoid charging them, especially since they seemed to participate willingly.”

The staffs comments had released some of their anger. It was clear to everyone that no-one would hesitate in taking the councilors out, if need be. The discussion turned to what should be done about security for the staff and office. It was soon clear there was not much that could be done and not inhibit their work. They agreed to avoid working solo and to work in at least pairs at all times. Traveling would be done in pairs as well. The office would be manned 24 hours a day to answer the phone as they were to check in every couple of hours.

After discussing the security changes, they turned their focus back to the content of the videos. With Marie and Trudy writing on white boards, they began to list things they remembered and noted while watching the videos. Listing the key events and their sequence on the boards was completed just before the duplicates of the videos arrived. James and Clarence took the originals and placed them in the safe while everyone watched.

With additional copies, they decided to split into several teams with each team assigned an aspect to focus on as they reviewed the video again. Several of the investigators had earlier noted spots on it they wanted to go back to and examine closer. They thought they might be able to identify some of the people in the scenes from the information they had collected. Others had noted items in the background of the final scene that they thought would help them determine where the final scene had taken place. They were looking for clues that would add to the information they already had, and hopefully some identities.

The Intelligence department and Command Staff on Dóchas were puzzled as to the true purpose of the video recordings. Many felt there was a hidden agenda in them. The initial effect was clear, as it had obviously incited MacFarland’s and O’Toole’s groups. Was it meant solely as a warning? Or did the ‘flesh peddlers’ think the videos would lead the investigators away from their initial purpose? It did provide the investigators with more evidence regarding Larry, Dale, and (presumably) the ‘flesh peddlers’ organization. Together, they analyzed what the videos represented, and how they possibly fitted in with all the information they had. Their analysis showed several possible explanations, other than those mentioned by Clarence, for sending the videos. They finally concluded that the most likely purpose was to derail the investigation by creating confusion. It was obvious that the videos were a strong warning to drop the investigation, or someone would get hurt. The targets appeared to be James, Clarence, and their families in particular.

The warning aspect was confirmed later in the day, when both James and Clarence received special delivery letters. The letters explicitly told them again to quietly end the investigation, and the consequences of not doing as asked. The letters were explicit in describing what was in store for their families if they disregarded the response. As a first step, their families would be taken to one of their clinics where their bodies would be enhanced until they were walking wet dreams. Once the physical enhancements were complete, their conditioning would begin. When it was complete, they would be obsessed with participating in any sexual activity to the point they thought of little else. With their new appearance, they would be sought after by many. That, combined with their extreme focus on frequently experiencing sexual euphoria, would ensure that they would be well used sex objects.

The letters promised James and Clarence that if they failed to drop the investigation, they would disappear. Before being placed in a members only dungeon, they would have the opportunity to engage in non-stop sex with their families. After that they would watch their family begin filling their role as wanton sex toys. The women would be placed in the resort’s playpen where they would be available for use by the members and their guests. After spending a several weeks in the playpen, the council would decide where to place them. It could be to continue in the playpen or some where else perhaps a brothel. If sold, they would bring an excellent price on the world market, especially in the Middle East or Africa. Once it became known that they were once the women of US government officials the price would go up dramatically. Meanwhile James and Clarence would learn the meaning of pain as dungeon toys. The constant pain would become a way of life with death being a hopeless dream. There were many ways to make the pain last much longer than what Dale and Larry had experienced.

James and Clarence were furious, and it took several hours before they calmed down enough to even discuss the issue between them. They talked for a long time about their choices, before deciding not to tell anyone about the letters, except for the four paralegals they worked closely with. They were very concerned for their families but didn’t know how they could ensure their security. When they looked again at the letters, they found they had disintegrated; only a small pile of dust remained. They were upset with themselves, in that they didn’t photograph the letters right after they were received.

At home that evening, each brought up the security issue with their families. They told them in general terms about the videos and the threat they had received that day. While they felt this was an indication that these people were little desperate, they were very concerned. They proposed having a security detail accompany them whenever they went out. The women were against it. While the threats scared them, they felt that it wasn’t enough to have a detail with them all the time. Both families spent most of the evening discussing the issue. James and Clarence were insistent that something had to be done, or they risked disappearing forever.

Sue proposed that they take an extended vacation. They would let it be known they were going one place but in reality go to a different resort. If they used false IDs and minimized their contact, they would be able to travel unnoticed. The two families could go together and keep in contact via anonymous e-mails and prepaid instant messenger accounts. The security detail could then focus on watching the house, while everyone was led to believe they were in seclusion. An alternative would be to have decoys take their places at home. While they all felt finding suitable decoys was a long shot, it would certainly do a better job in covering their disappearance. Both James and Clarence liked the alternative their families had proposed, but were concerned about finding someone who looked similar enough to take their place.

The next day, James and Clarence approached the paralegals with the idea of finding someone to stand in for their families for several weeks. The paralegals took the question as a request of them and declined. Trudy said, “We don’t look enough like Sue or Irene, much less your daughters. Besides how would you cover our absences?”