Chapter 46: Dutch Collection

I couldn't really justify the time to sit in on another collection. I had Rachel to worry about and I really needed to finish off the plans for putting in place a proper account management function now that Brian was no longer around. Tricia and Eva seemed quite able to get on with it, anyway. After all it was their job.

I did take some time out to see how things were progressing with Brian's family though. Rick took me into one wing of the Prep Centre where from the viewing corridor we were looking into not harsh prison cells but a comfortable living area that looked like a small apartment. There were bright colours, comfortable furniture, books on the table, CD's and a stereo. Ella, her mother and her aunt were al lounging in chairs around the room. They all wore similar smock like dresses that hung from their collars, flowing loosely and stopping well above their knees. The dresses were in bright, pastel colours, pink Ella, pale yellow for Alice, pale blue for for Carol. The women were all smiling but didn't appear to be doing anything. "It's every bit as secure as the other rooms," said Rick, "but the occupants have complete freedom inside their area. Here, here comes Beth now."

A door opened on the far side and Beth appeared. She looked happy, tanned, and relaxed. She'd obviously just come from the shower. She had one towel wrapped tightly around her body and another around her head. She shook the second towel loose and sat on a chair, rubbing at her hair with the towel. I could see that she was still wearing her collar but apart from that there was no sign of any restraints.

She dropped the other towel, leaving her almost naked. All she wore was the briefest of thongs, simple, white, and barely covering her at all.

"This is all very pleasant, Rick," I said, "but I'm not sure what's going on."

Rick, taking his usual irritating pleasure in holding out for the least bit of dramatic effect, pulled a small control box from his pocket with a flourish. "This," he said, "provides a radio signal to a tiny receiver that is held in Rachel's vulva by that thong. It can pulse on demand or deliver low frequency stimulation to the girl's clitoris. It's possible to induce and maintain high levels of sexual arousal. Watch." He pressed a button.

At once, Beth stopped what she was doing turned towards the panel we were standing behind and said in a clear voice. "Oh, yes, please. I want you to." Rick pressed another button and Beth soon appeared to be highly aroused, laying down on the couch, stroking her own body, clutching at her groin, panting and keening with desire. Rick let the effect continue for a while, until he pressed the button again and almost at once, Beth's arousal could be seen to diminish. She sat up catching her breath, staring wistfully towards the screen. "Thank you," she said. "More?" She looked at the panel for a few moments but could see that nothing further was coming. With a disappointed look she sank back down on the couch and picked up a magazine. As she was leafing through it I could see it was one set or pornographic pictures after another. She seemed to study some of the pictures intently. She had completely forgotten that, apart from the thong, she was naked.

"Well," I said, "I think I understand what I saw but I'm not sure what it means. Why doesn't she just take that thong off?"

"Why should she want to? Then she wouldn't get what she wants most of all; sexual stimulation. It delivers frequent bouts of stimulation at irregular intervals, keeping her in a slightly aroused state. From that point any further stimulus creates a state of rapid arousal. If we brought one of the guards in for instance, she would be desperate for sexual activity to raise herself up from the background level of arousal delivered by the thong."

"And how do you stop them all just going at each other? If they can get each others stimulation don't they lose the need for the thong?"

"Unapproved sexual activity is non-conformant behaviour. We turn off their thong. The choice is between low level but regular, almost continuous arousal coupled with satisfaction when approved or occasional satisfaction but without the background of arousal. So far they've all chosen the former."

I had to admit it looked promising but I still thought that carrying on with my current plans looked like the better start for Rachel. Rick's methods could, however, have us offering a much better service to those who were looking to acquire slaves as sexual playthings. "How come you hadn't developed this before?" I asked.

"We didn't have the problem before, really. Don't forget when we've been collecting for stock we haven't had to worry about the results of training. As long as the girls were saleable for something then we weren't too worried what the outcome of orientation was. If they were damaged by the process it just meant that they fetched a lower price. Actually, thinking about it that might have been some of Brian's problem. There had been a few cases of 'difficult' girls over the last year."

"Well it sounds like you needed to rethink the orientation approach anyway."

Rick nodded, thoughtfully. "Yeah," he said, "that's pretty much what Freddie said. But not quite in those words."

I was still working at the Prep Centre later when Eva and Tricia came in, pleased as anything and giggling like girls. "We've come up with a new Clegg Enterprises product," Eva announced as she came into my office. "You'll never guess what it is."

"You're right," I said. I've never been much good at guessing games. "Does it involve your Dutch project?"

"Oh yes," said Tricia. "Absolutely!"

"And this wonderful idea is?" I asked.

"Tinned slaves!" Tricia and Eva blurted out together, collapsing on the office couch with a peal of laughter.

Harry, disturbed by the noise, came to see what was going on.

"Come and see," said Eva and led the way out to the delivery bay. There was one of the standard Clegg white vans. Behind, it was towing a caravan. "There" said Eva, pointing to the caravan, "two tinned slaves. Probably well stewed in their own juice by now."

Harry and I walked across to the van and climbed inside. The muffled grunts of two gagged women told us that Eva and Tricia had been successful. Eva climbed in behind us and lifted up the cushions of the bench seat that ran across the caravan's large front window. In the base of the seat, wedged in between piles of clothes and boxes was a bikini-clad, bound and gagged girl. She looked panic stricken, her eyes wide in terror, evidently attempting to scream behind her gag. "Greetje Van Bruijn," Eva announced, "who was so friendly as to invite Tricia into her van for a cup of tea. Unfortunately Tricia popped a little something in her cup and she ended up in there. All we had to do then was to wait for Femke to get back from the hospital."

"And she is where?" Harry asked.

Eva and Tricia were enjoying the theatrics. "Ta — da!" Tricia said as she pulled open the door of the caravan's bath cabinet. Sat inside on the chemical closet was Femke Toos, the Dutch nurse. Still wearing her white uniform dress she'd been trussed up with strips of cloth, torn I guessed from clothes found in the caravan. Her mouth was well stuffed with a cloth gag. She'd lost her cap in her struggles and it lay on the floor near her feet, but that was all she had managed to dislodge. I reached forward and pulled off the identity badge that she wore pinned to her dress, "Ward Nurse : F Toos," it said. Well, she was going to be working in some different wards from now on.