Chapter 8: An Unfortunate Discovery

"Freddie, can you come down to Prep Reception for a minute, There's something I'd like you to look at." Connie Mbazu's voice seemed tense, Freddie thought.

As he stepped out of his office, Sarah bustling along behind him, Freddie was concerned. The Norfolk pick up had been hastily organised and whatever was concerning Connie almost certainly meant trouble.

Prep Reception, where the new arrivals first started to realise the nature of the organisation whose hands they had fallen into, was the usual scene of barely contained panic, terror and distress. As Freddie arrived the eyes of the latest group of captives swung toward him and Sarah.

Sarah knew from her own experiences what they were feeling now. 'Another one! How many of these people are there? And none of them wear masks. Don't they care that I'll recognise them? What does that say about my fate?"

All five of the girls were there. There was the normal disarray. The tape that had silenced of all five had been changed for the heavy rubber ball gags that were used as standard for the first few days in the Centre and the girls were all either whimpering, groaning in discomfort or grunting angrily as they rolled around on the floor of the room.

Connie's people had started stripping two of them. Madeleine and Celia were almost naked. The first step for new arrivals was always to cut their clothes from them. They'd had a long debate, Freddie remembered, when they changed the procedure from forcing the girls to strip. Some had thought that the new way stamped the authority of the Centre on the girls more quickly, others that the old way got the girls used to taking orders sooner. There had been a lot of argument about the change. It hadn't made any difference, as it turned out, and this way was certainly quicker.

Madeleine and Celia were laying on the tattered remnants of their clothes, their dresses sliced through from hem to neck, bras and panties cut away as well. Madeleine, her knees and ankles still taped together as they had been for her journey to the centre, was trying to wriggle away from beside where Freddie was standing. Freddie looked down, almost compassionately, she really should save her effort, was his first thought. But then, as he saw the way her breasts jiggled with her struggling, perhaps she shouldn't.

Connie was standing beside the helpless Penny who was laid on the floor still with much of the tape that Reg has used to bind her in place.

"Problem?" said Freddie.

"Possibly," said Connie, pursing her lips. "It depends on what you think about this." As she said it she took hold of Penny's heavily lacquered hair and pulled. A wig came away in her hands, showing a shaved scalp beneath. She pulled open Penny's blouse and sliced through the strip of cloth that joined the cups of her bra. As the bra fell open, two wads of padding fell away revealing a flat, male, chest beneath.

Freddie looked down at where the skirt of Penny's shirt-waister had already been unbuttoned to the waist. "I suppose I don't have to ask what you found under there," he said, sounding depressed.

Connie gave a resigned look. "Rather more than you'd normally expect beneath the skirt of one of our guests," she said.

"All right," said Freddie. He thought for a moment. 'Penny' looked backwards and forwards between Freddie and Connie. He didn't look any less distressed than the rest of the collection from Norfolk. Freddie came to a decision. "Just sort him out with the others and then we'll all have a chat about what to do about the customer. I'll get the team together."

Freddie was fuming as he headed back towards his office. This was just the sort of thing that happened when you did things in a hurry. He was going to talk to Harry and Rick, and they weren't going to enjoy it one bit.