A bell woke me, I reached out to turn off the alarm only to find... nothing, the clock I was aiming for wasn't there, and instead there was a wooden bedside cabinet with a drawer and a telephone on top of it. I raised myself up and realised I was in a strange room, a hotel room (?) The bell rang again; it was coming from the door.

"Come in?" I said realising that I'd need to get up and open the thing when it seemed to open on its own. A young girl, about nine years old, entered, she was wearing a French-maid's outfit — you know black top and skirt with several petticoats underneath, showing a mass of frills, a frilly apron and she was holding a tray in her arms, but as I looked closer I could see that the tray was fixed to her arms, she couldn't put it down as she was permanently holding it. She approached my bed and then went down on one knee, presenting the tray at the right height for me to eat from it.

"What is your name?" I asked her, but then saw she had a gag in her mouth, looking again I could see earplugs were also present so that she couldn't hear anything I said. A tag on her chest said 'Please Press'. I followed the instructions and my television turned itself on.

"Welcome to the Ropeville Hotel, Guests section. Your host Monsieur Pierre Mouton and his staff are pleased to greet you!" The screen showed a smiling man (Pierre Mouton?) surrounded by a group of young people between the ages of eight and sixteen. The screen then showed a girl dressed like the young girl currently kneeling in front of me, "Our waitresses will be pleased to serve you with a variety of foods from our kitchens, please refer to the room-service menu which you will find in the cabinet beside your bed; in there you will also find a communication device. It resembles a remote control. To continue this presentation use the video control panel section on the controller." The picture on the screen froze I realised that this was the interactive part of the presentation and so I looked into the cabinet and found the device, it seemed daunting but no doubt a six year old could work it — But there is never one around when you want one!

I pressed the play button and the action continued. The girl on the screen started to do a turn in place, "This is how our waitress are dressed, they are not talkative and are unable to hear anything, the only way they can tell if you are happy with their service is by the buttons on your remote control." Now a copy of the controller in my hand was shown on the screen two keys were high-lighted. "If you are happy with your waitress's service then press the star key, (*) this will reward her as soon as she returns to the kitchen; this is to prevent accidents while holding your food. However should there be any cause for complaints with your service, the coffee not hot enough, the orange juice being warm, or your hot meal only being warm then this is adequate cause and you can press the gate key (#). This will do two things; one will administer a punishment shock to your waitress and also inform myself." Pierre appeared again and bowed to the screen. I paused the action and then picked up the orange juice, it was deliciously cold. I then tried the coffee which — after the orange juice — seemed almost too hot. I could see the girl watching me fearfully I smiled at her and nodded, she relaxed and I pressed the star button.

I then restarted the video again. "The waitresses are, unfortunately, not allowed to cater to all your servicing needs as they are only here for a short term. We do have some outlets for those who wish to expand their interests, please press 057 on your remote to be passed to our public service department." I picked up a piece of toast and buttered it, eating it as the girl waited.

I drained the orange juice, feeling the coolness of it as it flowed down my throat, then ate another piece of toast. The coffee was just right as I sipped at it again... and then it struck me. WHY THE HELL WAS I HERE?

I picked up the remote and studied it again, there was an i button on it, I pressed it. The video paused and a window opened on the television. "You're through to information Sir, what is your problem?" The young woman asked. I looked around for a microphone when she spoke again. "If you just talk normally I'll hear you sir." She said.

"Where am I, and how did I get here?" I asked her.

"You are at the Ropeville hotel sir; I assume you arrived with the last set of inbound passengers." She said - which didn't help me at all.

"I don't recall making any such plans. Is there someone I can see?" I said, a slight touch of annoyance edging my voice.

"If you would please relax sir, it's sometimes disorientation to awake after the processing... Oh, ah yes sir. My apologies I didn't realise Sir, I'll have Doctor Elizabeth with you in a few minutes. Please forgive me Mr. Purple." She said and looked rather frightened as she said this.

I took a deep breath, and then for some reason I was calmer than I had been for some weeks, I sat back, "I'm sorry as well, I'm just slightly put out and you're doing your job. Thank you." I said to her she looked relieved and closed the screen.

Just as I finished the last slice of toast and the last sip of coffee the bell rang again. "Come in." I said in a normal voice and the door opened. I replaced the cup and gestured to the girl before me; she rose to her feet and turned. Pausing slightly as the shock of seeing Elizabeth in the doorway registered, she bobbed a curtsy to Elizabeth and then manoeuvred around her.

"Good morning Paul, and how are you feeling now?" Elizabeth asked me.

"How long?" I countered.

"I'm sorry Paul? What do you mean?" She asked me but there was no surprise on her face.

"Elizabeth I know you too well, now tell me how long have I been away from my house?" I ordered her.

She sat down unconcerned. "You forget Paul, I cannot be controlled by you, and in fact around here I'm the only person you'll fail to control." She paused for a moment before adding, "Apart from the waitresses of course." And she smiled.

I nodded, I knew it was a waste of time but I had to try. "So are you going to tell me?" I asked her quietly.

"What was the last thing you consciously remember?" She asked me.

It was the word consciously that I didn't like but I thought back, "Well I'd left Alice downstairs with Pauline, she actually pleased me with the way she responded. I did some paperwork and I had a quick word with Sharon."

I don't understand what you're saying Sharon, I haven't altered... well I know I was rough with Billie-Jo..." I said.

"Rough? You laid into her as if she was a dummy. You lost control! Why?" Sharon said.

I shook my head, "You're kidding! I had to show Alice that I can't be buggered about." I said... I think I might have raised my voice slightly.

"Paul she's scared already, just allow her to relax slightly and she'll be fine." Sharon tried to placate me, but I just didn't see it at the time.

"Really Sharon, tell me how many years experience do you have under your belt, I was training slaves when you were still in college." I said. A muted cough sounded from the doorway.

"Master Paul, Mistress Sharon. Please forgive my forwardness but I need to speak to Master Paul urgently." Pauline said her face showing concern.

"Yes very well, but then you'll help Doctor Sharon to pack; she'll be leaving after dinner!" I said glaring at Sharon.

"Very well master." Pauline said and led me to my bedroom.

"I don't have time to fuck you Pauline." I said blinking slightly at my coarse words.

"I think you need to relax master! I have to convince you of something." She said but there was something in her tone that I began to wonder about.

"And what is that Pauline?" I asked her a dark feeling starting to settle on my shoulders.

"Well I think..." She began and then there was a stabbing pain in my leg, I pushed out with my hand and struck her, or rather she moved just as my hand reached her. "This is for your own good Master." She said but the stance was Elizabeth and she was the last thing I saw as darkness took me.

"Why that ungrateful little..." I began to say but Elizabeth just sat there watching me. "Why did she do that?" I asked.

"We have been through this before Paul. You know how sometimes the work can pile up in your mind and overwhelm you... well it did! You were reverting back to your former person, the one to whom the job was everything and you were the one to do it. No matter who or what tried to stand in your way. The way you were before Sandra." Elizabeth said the name as if she understood.

Sandra had been the one who had caused me to question my work, her master had decided that he didn't want her but still wanted to make money out of her. He even showed his appreciation of my training to send me a videotape of her death, her screams haunted me... sometimes they still do. Until this day I don't know if they've ever found his body, I don't think the lions would tell anyone about the special food they received one night.

"But I changed, I swore I would never..." I started to say.

Elizabeth nodded, "I know, but a part of you still felt the need to exert itself. Do you think that the orphans are the only ones with multiple personalities inside them? We did as much as we could, but at the moment there's no guarantee that he won't emerge again in the near future. At the moment all that stood between him and you murdering Billie-Jo, Sharon or Alice was Pauline! She did what we expected her to do if you should require it. Again with her it was programmed in - she couldn't help herself as much as you couldn't stop yourself. We've told you this over the weeks that you've been here."

"WEEKS!... How many weeks?" I had to ask.

She looked down as if studying her notes, except she had none in her lap. "Three! It was difficult to start with, you were so far gone that we had to communicate directly to your subconscious, to do that you had to be unconscious, we had you under for two weeks and then the last week was bringing you back to... normal." Elizabeth said.

"But why didn't you just leave me awake? I could murder Pauline for doing this to me!" I was getting angry again I took a deep breath to calm myself — Where did that come from?

Elizabeth sat impassively watching me, "We've given you control over yourself, that's why you're remaining calm. We've already covered this while you were unconscious, you were resentful of Pauline at first but you've seen that she only did what was necessary. All I have to do now is to convince you." She smiled.

"I see... or rather I don't. So what are you going to do now?" I asked her.

"Well I was going to offer you a short job." She said. I gave her a sharp look but she seemed serious.

"I already have a commission... and I think I have to get back to her." I said, "After all I've already lost a lot of time and she might not be where I want her to be." I added.

"I knew you were going to be like that and so..." Elizabeth picked up the controller and tapped in a string of numbers. On the television a picture appeared, it was from one of my cameras in the basement. Billie-Jo was in a wheel chair, exercising away. Alice was also exercising away, and her movements were fluid and exact almost as if she'd been training for months. In the corner of the basement I could see George, a training dummy, looking slightly the worse for wear. Elizabeth pressed a few more buttons and the view changed showing Pauline dictating the pace of the routine that Alice was following.

"As you can see everything is proceeding to your script, the girls have had no problems and also there has been a bonus." Elizabeth paused before proceeding. "Our record division has borrowed your audio track of Alice reading that first book, they did some slight alterations and it's been a best seller. Your stay here is being partly paid from your royalties." She handed me a credit card, "This will allow you to shop and live in town, should you need to go there." It was the same card I had the last time, it seems I was in Ropeville. "There's also another thing you can have. It would make it easier for us to trace you while you're in town. It's a chip, and we've started putting it into our main people and the orphans." She added

I shook my head, "I don't think so! You see I prefer my freedom too much to allow myself to be tagged like a dog. Anyway I thought I couldn't return to Ropeville?" I phrased the statement as a question.

Elizabeth nodded, "That's true. Your talent does give the council some problems. Which is why you've been placed here, now do you want to hear my proposal?" she said.

I sighed; I didn't want to be cooped up in this room all day. A part of me needed — no craved actually — to go outside. "Alright Elizabeth, what's this small job? Not teaching a class again?" I asked her.

She smiled, "Well almost, you understand that this hotel is special? You're in the guest section, there is also a client section..." She paused in thought as if trying to find an explanation. "You remember a story you were told some time ago?" I tried to think back.

"About a princess taken from home and tortured before being rescued by the king on a noble steed?" I asked finally.

Elizabeth nodded, "Well sometimes the clients are unaware of their parents' plans and in those cases the hotel sends out a team to kidnap the client. They are brought in unconscious and undergo a physical before we carry on with the fantasy." Again she paused. "But there comes a time when the teams have to change, sometimes they get things slightly wrong. Last week one team botched a pickup; their client suffered a broken arm. He is now recovering in the guest section at the hotel's expense along with the bill for his treatment."

"How did it occur?" I asked my interest rising at this problem.

Elizabeth didn't answer me in words, but she again pressed a series of buttons on the remote control

"Another day, another victim!" The speaker was a youngish man, about 25.

"Stay alert Alan." Admonished a woman seated across from him, they were seated in a van, it had no window but there were three chairs, two were occupied by the people already mention and an third which resembled a dentist chair, but with visible straps.

"Why? These things are all mapped out, we might as well just send out an invitation to the victim and let it come in on its own." Alan was saying.

"You know as well as the rest of us. It's a surprise; we jump in extract the client and then pull out!" The woman said this calmly as if she'd been going over a well worn script. In fact she looked bored as well.

"5 minutes from primary site." The voice came from off camera

"Okay, make sure the target is alone." The woman said and pulled a ski-mask over her face, the man, Alan, did the same.

The movement of the van continued and then stopped, "Nuts, he's got company!" The unseen voice said.

"Who?" The woman asked.

"From the file it's... friend D... no check that... check... its friend B." There seemed to be some confusion in the voice.

"Come on Chris! Which one is it?" The woman asked, sounding sharp now.

"Okay, okay it's B, had his head turned when I tried to check him!" The voice, Chris's, tried to defend itself.

"Just try to keep it together, where's the expected split?" The woman was all business now.

"Ellan and... No, Erin and Michigan." Obviously the voice was going through its files.

"Okay, get us there!" The scene rocked slightly as the vehicle started off.

"Shit!" Chris said.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked sharply.

"I think he spotted us." Chris said.

"Are you sure?"

"No, he pointed in our direction, but it could have been towards something else." {I whispered slightly "No, Abort it, change vehicles and try later!"}

"Okay, let's carry on!" The woman decided. {I shook my head aware of Elizabeth watching me.}

The scene jumped as the vehicle stopped, again Chris's voice spoke, "Yep, target's in sight, saying goodbye to friend B. should turn right and then down an alley towards home." There was a pause, "Shit he's turned left... Why the hell is he doing that?" {"He's spotted you again, he's wise to you!" I muttered.}

The woman pulled out a map. "Okay, he's gone left... could be heading for his girlfriend's house on Washington."

"Okay, hold tight, I'm starting off... SHIT!" Chris said.

"What's up now?" The woman asked.

"He's just looked around the corner as we started off, he's running to the right again, I'm sure he's seen us!" Chris said — rather redundantly I thought.

"Make for the other end of the alley." The woman ordered and this time the sound of the van accelerating could be heard. Inside the van the two started loading their dart guns.

"We're here, disembark and deploy." The woman said as a small light came on, this time the screen split and I realised that both trapper's had cameras on their headgear somewhere.

"Where the hell is he, we should have seen him by... there he is, firing first dart... , got him, just as he jumped. Am I good or what?" Alan was crowing away. But on the screen the boy had managed to snag a fire escape ladder and was half-way up before the drug took effect.

"Get the medical kit; we've got an alpha red situation." The woman said as the boy fell heavily to the ground. One camera closed in to show that the boy's arm was twisted in the wrong direction.

The camera shook from side to side, "FUCK, the shit's gonna hit the fan now!" The woman said as she felt for a pulse.

Elizabeth looked at me, "Well, what was your opinion?" She asked me.

I shook my head, "First the boy was expecting something to happen! You should check that his parents hadn't mentioned anything as he was too alert, and watching for the slightest thing out of place." Elizabeth looked at me with her mouth open.

"We didn't notice that, we were too wrapped up in the situation as the boy dropped." She admitted.

"Secondly, when that person, Chris, thought they'd been spotted they should have pulled out and either changed vehicles or scrubbed for the day. They could have tried later. Thirdly Alan was being too cocky, too sure of himself. He should have been shut down! He fired his weapon too soon; he should have waited to see what the target was going to do." I said.

Elizabeth nodded, "That was what the panel said. It was that teams' 8th pickup in seven days, and they were suffering slightly from overwork." She said.

"Okay then so you knew what was wrong, why do you need me?" I asked her.

"You picked up on the boy knowing what was going to happen, I heard your comments during the tape. This is what we want you to do, study the teams, make suggestions. I mean it is your area of expertise after all. You are valuable to us." Elizabeth said.

"And what happens when I'm no longer valuable?" I asked her.

She smiled, "I doubt if you'll ever be that Paul! Will you help us?" She asked.

I sighed, "Why not?"

My first task was a simple one, I knocked on a door — it was only three doors away from my room — "Come in?" a boy's voice said and the door opened. I smiled at the boy lying in the bed.

"Hello Bobby, are you keeping busy?" I said in a friendly voice.

"Yeah its great here... did you know they're naked under those dresses?" He said with a smile.

I laughed, "Yes, and they blush so prettily don't they?" I said, "Now Bobby, my name is Paul and I going to have to take some details, you're Bobby Hamilton and you are how old?"

"I'm eleven, well eleven and 4 months." Bobby said with the importance of age.

"Alright Bobby, now do you know where you are and how you got here?" I said making a note on a clipboard I was carrying — although my questions and his answers were being recorded by a team nearby.

"Well the old guy on the TV said something about Ropeville Hotel, so I suppose I'm there and I think those people who kidnapped me brought me here."

I nodded wincing inside at the old guy part, "Very good, that was some nifty footwork you showed, how did you spot the van?" I asked casually.

"Oh that was simple, Mom told me not to worry as she and dad had arranged something special for me." He said brightly

"Really, did she tell you what it was?" I asked.

"Oh no, it was a surprise! But it made me keep my eyes open and I'd seen the van a few days before. So when I convinced Mike to let me walk with him I pointed the van out to him and made a joke on how I was going to be kidnapped by the people in it. Then I noticed the same van when we split so I dodged into an alley, then when the van drove away I went to run home, but I saw the van at the end of the alley so I jumped for the fire escape, then I fell asleep. When I woke up I was here." He finished smiling.