Chapter 17: The Senator Pays Crane a Visit

Crane looked up from his desk. "Sarah," he said mildly; "Please try to keep your voice down, would you?"

"Oh god, Master!" she exclaimed. "Please let me use my hands! Please."

"Am I going to have to gag you again?"

She quieted.

Crane's cellphone rang.

Perhaps Jeffrey found the source of the problem.

He was hardly able to hear the young man's voice through the static.

"Crane! Can you hear me?"

"Just barely, Jeffrey. Did you find where the problem is?"

"Yeah. The storm last night. It knocked down the tower. The dish is on the ground."

"That's why I couldn't get the mainland."

"Right. And the Net either--if you tried to."

"How badly is it damaged? When can you get the phones working?"

"No really serious damage. Sand took most of the impact. I'll need a couple of males from the shop, though, to put the tower back and fix the cables. I think we should set the tower in concrete."

"I'll see to it. Where should they meet you?"

"In the shop, Crane. There's nothing I can do here until the dish is back in place."

The moment that Crane disconnected, the phone rang again.

"Crane here."

It was Nina. The static was less and her voice clearer than Jeff's had been. "Master Crane, there's a Senator... uh, Aylesworth here. He insists on coming up to see you."

"It's O.K., Nina. Send him up. Oh, pick a couple of males from the shop to help Jeff fix these phones. Find someone who has done wiring and someone who's laid concrete."

"Jesus! Wiring and concrete? Those two don't exactly go together. Oops! I'm sorry, Master Crane." She paused. "I'll try to find one of each."

"By the way, the Senator's name is Ellsworth."

"Oh. Well, he has a southern accent. That's why I got it wrong. Should I have a guard accompany him?"

"No. Just give him directions to my office. I don't... " Crane stopped.

The Senator is a snoop. On his way up here, he's liable to look in every unlocked room.

"Change that, Nina. Send a guard up with him."

I wonder why Ellsworth wants to see me? He's a chiseler. The auction's this afternoon. He probably has in mind some way to cheat it.

"Master?" Sarah said. "Do I have to stay like this when that Master Ellsworth comes up? This is awfully embarrassing, sitting on this vibrator. He'll hear it."

"Yes you do, Sarah. Don't interrupt when Ellsworth is in here, either."

"Even if your alarm goes off?"

"Yes. Now please be quiet."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened, and the Senator stepped in.

He paused for a moment when he saw Sarah sitting on the wooden chair that stood facing Crane's desk between the two leather covered chairs. He walked to the one on Crane's left and sat in it.

"I'd like this to be private, Crane," he said.

"Anything we say here will be, Ellsworth," Crane replied. "Sarah won't say anything about what occurs in here. She's my personal slave."

"Yet, someday you may allow her to leave the island, Crane. I insist that you send her from the room."

Interesting. Ellsworth has something illegal in mind. Something he doesn't want known in the States.

Crane opened his left bottom drawer and retrieved his espresso tazita.

"Sarah," he said. "You can get up now. Turn off the vibrator. Take it and this into your room. By the time Master Ellsworth and I are done, I expect you to have this half full. Understand?"

"Half full?!" Sarah gasped, her face turning red "I-I don't know if I can do that!"

Crane paused a moment to emphasize his words. "Use the vibrator. Come as often as you want. I want it half-full. You'll get a whipping if you don't."

The two men watched the blushing girl until she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Ellsworth is a cool customer. He didn't make a single comment when Sarah got off the vibrator.

"All right, Ellsworth. What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Crane, you're from Puerto Rico and as such, you're a citizen of the United States. I am one of your nation's lawmakers. Kindly call me properly--by my title of Senator..."

Crane sat back in his chair.

"Cut the bullshit, Ellsworth," he said. "On this island you're just another client. Your importance to me is nothing more than the source of some of my income."

The Senator gave Crane one of his cold stares. Crane smiled.

I suppose the old fart intimidates people with those beady-eyes. He's big, but badly out of shape. I wonder if he'll try to strong-arm me?

"I have powerful contacts, Crane," the Senator said, grimly. "You may think that being out of the jurisdiction of the United States that you have immunity. You don't. You're playing a risky game on this island, and I could destroy all you've built up here over the five years that you've been here."

"Look Ellsworth, if you don't get down to telling me why you're here wasting my time, I won't even bother to have my men throw you out. I'll do it myself."

Ellsworth stared, his face stony. Finally, he said, "Crane, you'll find that I'm easy to deal with if you cooperate with me. If you don't, I can do more than make your operation here difficult. Think about it."