Chapter 69: Conference Call

Tricia's downfall caused some consternation in the organisation for a while. Nobody likes to see a colleague suddenly taken out like that. On the other hand most people seemed to have had a belly full of having their ears bent by Tricia's constant, "Why won't they let me lead a collection?" so the general view was that she had it coming to her.

Harry and Rick were pretty nervous in case Freddie came gunning for them too. After all it had been Harry's call, in the end to give Tricia the lead on that job and Rick's team had done the intelligence gathering. In the end I guess, Freddie decided that it was better to have them in place worrying about things than to try to change things around.

I saw Tricia after they'd been working on her for only a few days. She was being put through her paces down in one of the training rooms. The combination of the drugs and the mistreatment she was going through had taken its toll already. Anatoly had said he intended to use her as a housemaid at their summer dacha. Freddie had thought she should be delivered in a state where she was fully equipped to perform her required role as well as having no recollection of her work for his business. She'd been put into a maid's uniform, black dress, white apron and cap. Her trainer was sitting in an armchair while Tricia served him a drink. I looked in on them. Tricia didn't respond to my arrival. Her blank look and the dribble of drool from the corner of her slack mouth provided all the evidence that was needed of the ruthlessness of the way in which she was being prepared for Kustenky. Freddie had warned that there might be some damage. As far as I could see, it was more a question of whether she'd even be able to function in the limited way that we'd promised. From the way she looked it was surprising that she could manage to walk and hold a tray. I found it pretty distressing to see her like that, but I still didn't think that there was much I could have done about it, once Freddie (and, presumably, Elly) had decided to cut their losses over her. I was just glad that it hadn't involved Sukie or Rachel. That would have been a harder call to make.

Freddie was busy. He and Elly had been talking together a lot. It was obvious from what Elly had said that she wasn't happy with how things were going with the business. I'd mentioned the conversation that I had had with Steve and we'd agreed that I'd follow that up if I got a chance. Then Freddie told me that he and Elly had agreed on moving things forward with Anatoly. I sat in on a telephone conference with the two of them, Anatoly and Constanza.

Constanza kicked things off. "Things seem to have been a bit difficult for you lately, Freddie," she began. "I mean the business with Lady M and now poor Alana. Not what I'd have thought from your operation."

"I think you'll find," Clegg said slowly, "that there have been rather fewer problems with my operation than with yours, Constanza dear. Let's see, there was that concert pianist whose fingers you managed to break during the collection process and I seem to recall that there was a religious sect that was not so happy with the idea of receiving a new priestess that was only almost a virgin. This is a risky business, Constanza, we all make mistakes."

"Hmm," cut in Anatoly. "If you two can avoid the bickering we might get a little further. Let me explain my current thinking. You two run perfectly adequate collection and preparation operations." It sounded as though Anatoly almost heard Clegg's grin of satisfaction and I could imagine Constanza's querulously raised eyebrow. "At least most of the time, that is. Constanza, your expertise is in Europe, you don't understand the UK. Clegg, you are as proficient in the UK as Constanza is in mainland Europe. I'd like the two of you to work together. The areas that my organisation covers have a great appetite for product from western Europe. It's not practical for me to source it myself — Clegg you know how conspicuous some of my team would look in London - but I would like to have some reliable partners, people I can work with on a continuing basis."

"I'm not sure, Anatoly," Constanza began. "We're not in a volume business, any more than Clegg is. You've seen the sort of work we do. Most of it is custom collection to order."

"That's very much the way for us too, Anatoly," Clegg agreed. "Almost all of what we are doing is very specific these days. We've turned off the old operations that picked up girls on spec. I don't think we'd be very well set up to fill the cages of some Georgian sex camp."

I watched Elly wince. She wasn't always comfortable with Clegg's prejudices about foreigners.

"I think, Freddie," Anatoly came back in measured tones, "that you have a rather out of date view of my clients. We are not talking about high volume but high quality. There's a lot of money here and a great interest in acquiring 'toys' as my clients call them."

"Toys?" said Clegg.

"Yes, it's rather a different product from what you've been used to supplying. I sometimes think that the Europeans have lost all subtlety, your barbarian origins are reasserting themselves. The approach to slave owning there is often so brutal. Constanza, tell me, do you ever take product back for resale?"

"You know we don't, Anatoly. It's too often damaged. We leave the resale market for others. If we've picked it and prepped it we can speak for it. Otherwise, someone else can take the risk."

Clegg joined in. "She's right Anatoly. It's a costly business, looking for new collections all the time, but most of the customers can't be relied on to keep them in anything like original condition."

"Well," said Anatoly, "I understand that. But why is it? I'll tell you. It's because your customers are brutes. And Clegg, you must know the Kushtian's are the worst." Clegg grunted. "Now, my client base is rather different. They are looking for something that they can care for and enjoy. It's a very good life for those that are purchased. They lose their freedom, of course, but apart from that they have a very comfortable life. They have a rather unique relationship with their new owners and we retain a continuing interest in their well being. The owners all understand that they must not mistreat their toys — the consequences for that are unfortunate for the owner. But on the other side the owner is provided with a sexually delightful companion. We find that requests are often for more mature women than is the case in other sectors. Forty plus year olds seem to be highly desired and well suited to the role of toys."