Chapter 109

Tuesday

One day more. Another day another destiny.

Strasbourg

I woke slowly, basking in the comfortable warmth on my back and front. A slim arm lay draped over my body, its hand pressed against my chest. My arm was similarly draped over the body in front of me, a warm, firm breast pressed against my palm. I pressed my nose into her mass of hair, drew a deep breath, and sighed.

My life is good.

I heard the low noise of my girls getting my clothes ready for this morning's meeting. I knew Umber would have everything under control.

I smiled as I thought about Umber, the lowest of the low, a failed 'puppy', and now the head slave in a huge harem, second only to Karolina, my favourite. Umber wielded immense power, really and truly the power of life or death to any and all of the slaves beneath her. Yet she was just and compassionate. Merciful, where mercy was deserved; and terrible in her wrath when that too was deserved.

My girls loved her.

I loved her too.

Well, time to get up and start the day. Lights came on as I got up, Helen and Jill rose with me. Together we headed towards the shower.

Martinè

"Where's Captain Busch?" Elastic asked Phillip.

"Currently, the Captain is wandering round her training grounds. She left her hotel just before 4 am, I believe," he replied.

"Wants to see it in the dark, I suppose. Phillip, this one really is a keeper."

Elastic glanced at her calendar; she'd been doing that a lot recently. 'Tomorrow, ' she thought.

"OK, let's get some work done. I want you to go through each of the packs and signals as they arrive. For the first month or so, just put a sticky note on each giving your response, then pass them to me. If you don't think that you would know what to do, then note that as well. I'm not critiquing your work, but I do need to know what you are capable of, and if you share my attitudes. Remember, you are here to take work off me, not give me more."

"OK, Elastic."

"Did Gerry get away OK last night?" Elastic asked as she opened the first of many packs in her IN tray.

"Yes, she was driven up to Paris and caught the midnight train to St Pancras."

"Good."

"Errr ... Boss?"

Elastic glanced up at him, noting his nervousness, "It's OK, they're the Earl's slaves," she told him. Then, smiling, she waited for his response.

"Oh, OK."

A minute or so passed, then he looked up in shock. "SLAVES!" he exclaimed.

Elastic laughed. "Yeah, that was my reaction at first." She picked up her phone and dialled an internal number.

Phillip listened as she made her call.

"Hi, which of Paul's girls are in today?"

"Oh, good, please ask if she can come over, I've an Aide de Camp who needs smartening up a little." Elastic put down her phone and looked over at Phillip. "One of Paul's girls is coming over. She'll make a few new suits for you."

"But, Admiral, I can't afford..."

"I couldn't afford even one of her suits either. It's something that Paul does for us. You'll see."

Phillip picked up his mug of coffee and sat back in his seat. "Elastic, I've heard quite a few bits and pieces about the Earl, what's he really like?"

"Umm ... After Karen has finished with you go over and see Chiefy, she's his head of security. She used to be my senior Chief, she's a typical CPO. Have a chat with her, but even though she's a civvy now, don't try to patronise, or bullshit her, she'll cut you off at your knees if you try anything like that."

Elastic sipped her coffee while she thought.

"You've never had a good Chief take you under his wing, have you?" she asked.

Phillip shook his head, "No, I went straight from Dartmouth to a desk job in Whitehall. I've heard a number of more senior officers talk about 'their' Chiefs though. Do they really make that much of a difference?"

Elastic nodded. "The better your Chief is, the better you become. I had the best of all, I had Paul. He turned me from a complete fuck-up, into what I am now. I owe everything to him, absolutely everything."

Phillip watched Elastic as her eyes unfocused and she remembered things from the past.

They were both lost in their own thoughts. Elastic remembering the things Paul had taught her, and the things he'd done for her. Phillip thought about Elastic's reaction to talking about her Chief, and the way that other officers had spoken about their mentors. 'Now, ' thought Phillip, 'How do I get a good Chief to teach me?'

Both jumped when someone knocked on the office door.

"Enter!" called Elastic.

Karen came in and went straight to Elastic's desk, glancing at Phillip as she passed. "Mistress, you asked to see me?"

"Hi, Karen," Elastic rose as she spoke and went over to the informal area of her office. "Please take a seat. And how are you?"

"Thank you, Mistress. I am fine, I miss my Master though," Karen replied.

Elastic leant forward and placed her hand on Karen's, sympathising with her. "All of us who know him, miss him, Karen dearest."

They sat in silence for a moment, "Karen, I have a couple of favours to ask of you."

Karen laughed, "I will do anything I possibly can for a friend of my Master, you know that, Mistress."

Elastic smiled and nodded, "Yes, I do. But he," Elastic pointed at Phillip, "Doesn't."

"Please ask your favours, Mistress, though I hope that one of them is to make him a properly fitting suit."

The two women looked at Phillip, Elastic smiling, while Karen frowned in concentration. Phillip self-consciously pulled and tugged at his jacket.

"It's not that bad," he said defensively.

Elastic just sniggered while Karen openly glared at him.

"Yes, that is one of the things I wanted," Elastic agreed, but then she became serious. "But there is something else, something that I cannot explain to him, only you, or one of your sisters can."

Karen nodded, "Why am I a slave?"

Elastic nodded in agreement.

Phillip looked embarrassed.

"Then have someone take him to see Chiefy, please."

"Of course, Mistress. He hasn't met my Master yet, has he?"

"No, and he wants to know something about him before the Earl returns."

Karen nodded her understanding.

Elastic turned to her aide, "Phillip, go with Karen, she'll measure you for some new suits. She is world-class at what she does, so just do what she says, OK?"

"Yes, Admiral," Phillip replied.

"Phillip, you can speak freely in front of Paul's slaves," Elastic told him kindly.

"OK, Elastic."

"And there is something that you really must understand," Elastic pointed at Karen's collar, "All of Paul's slaves wear a collar. They are proud of their collar, no, let me rephrase that, they are prouder of their collars, than your Dad was when you graduated from Dartmouth. I really mean that. They have all been offered their freedom, and more than once too. They have all asked Paul to collar them. All of them."

Phillip looked at his boss, she was deadly serious.

"Are they all gold-coloured?" Phillip asked.

Both Elastic and Karen laughed.

"Phillip, Karen's collar is 22-carat gold, and that piece of Amber has an insect trapped in it. Together they're worth nearly a quarter of a million pounds."

Phillip gasped.

"Now, if you see a girl wearing a gold collar, then she is one of Paul's special girls. They have direct access to him. If you wanted to see him, it might take a week or more. Paul's gold collar girls can wake him in the middle of the night and speak to him. You really are much lower than them in the food chain. Don't be too concerned about that though, I'm lower than them too." Elastic finished with a smile.

Phillip nodded. "Will I have much to do with the errr ... girls?" he asked.

"Phillip, part of our primary purpose in being here is to provide protection for Paul."

"But, I thought he had left the service?" Phillip asked.

"Yes, he has. Initially it was make work to get me away from the other officers, more for their protection than mine. But then he started getting richer than Bill Gates and the police started trying to kill him."

Elastic stopped his queries with a gesture.

"I'll explain everything in a few days. There are five women here, we call them the Coven; they are Paul's General staff in his battle against the corrupt police forces in the UK. You'll meet them, you'll also take lessons from them, and you'll take lessons from Madam Li. She'll teach you unarmed combat."

Phillip puffed up in pride. "I'm already a black belt, third dan, in Karate. I instructed at Dartmouth."

Karen laughed, Elastic shook her head.

"Oh boy. Phillip, whatever you do, DONT TELL Madam Li that you're a Karate expert. Not while both Em and Elise are away anyway.

"Who are Em and Elise?" Phillip asked.

Elastic looked at him, how on Earth had he lived in the Chateau for nearly a week without knowing who Paul and his girls were?

"Em is our doctor; she is also wears a Gold Collar. Elise is currently a nurse. But she's to finish her medical training and qualify as a doctor as soon as the Earl can arrange it." Elastic replied. "Normally they'd be the ones patching you up after one of Madam Li's apprentices finished beating the living crap out of you. They're very good."

"Who, Em and Elise, or the apprentices?" Phillip asked nervously.

"All of them," answered Karen.

"Oh," said Phillip.

Karen stood, "Come, sir, let me take some measurements."

Phillip stood and followed this strange woman.

"Phillip!" called Elastic, "You might want to remember that Karen also holds two university chairs. She's Professor of Fashion and Design at the Sorbonne and Professor of Clothing Design and Manufacturing at King's, London."

Phillip's eyes opened wide when he heard that. "Nothing but the best for the Earl," he whispered to himself.

"Our Master encourages his girls to become the best that we are able. Do you know Geraldine Le Baron, who now plays with the Screaming Monkeys?"

Phillip nodded.

"My Master has just freed her so she and Thrash are free to marry." Karen turned to look at her charge, "If you let him, my Master will help bring out the best in you too."

Karen led him on, deeper into the Chateau.

Strasbourg

Jill came to help me with my suit. She ensured that my tie was neat and straight, and my shirt wrinkle-free. Then she held up my jacket so I could easily slip my arms in. She then started loading my pockets.

She slipped a wicked little knife into an ankle sheath, my sling into a tiny, almost invisible, pocket over my right buttock. A small cloth bag of marbles into my left hand pocket, tissues into my right. Other than that, I wasn't armed. Everything else I might carry was in my briefcase. This looked just like one of Sasha's 'shit-hot lawyer' thin briefcases. But it had been polished to an eye-watering shine.

I would, of course, be taking Melissa. Umber would accompany me as my secretary. Both girls looked very smart, in their business suits. These were obviously made by Karen.

We were now ready to go. We had twenty-five minutes to do a five minute walk. I kissed my girls goodbye, which took up nearly all of our spare time, and then we hurried out of the hotel.

The bank's offices were on the first, second and third floors of this building and the one to its right. There were two shops on the ground floors, one a florist, the other a stationer. The bank's faded blue door opened as we approached and we were ushered inside.

Madam Rennie was waiting for me in the boardroom. A drinks trolley was against one wall.

"Viscount, can I offer you a drink?" she asked, gesturing to the loaded trolley.

"A coffee would be nice," I replied, ignoring the numerous bottles on the trolley.

She clapped her hands and a maid entered with a tray. The next few moments were spent getting our drinks.

Madam Rennie had obviously been as well-briefed on me as I had on her. My coffee was served in a mug, a bone china mug, but a mug never-the-less.

As we sat she glanced at my girls, "You must be Melissa, and you must be Umber. I am sure your master is proud of both of you," she said with a smile.

Melissa remained watchful, her eyes sweeping the room, only Umber nodded, her head held high and proud.

"Your girls do you credit, Viscount."

"Thank you, Madam, and you are right, I am proud of them, all of them," I replied.

Madam Rennie's eyes unfocused for a moment, remembering things, or people, from long ago.

"You want to buy my bank, Viscount," she said, looking me directly in the eye. Her gaze was firm, but a smile teased around the corners of her mouth.

Cumbria

Sir Gerald settled in to his chair. A stack of briefing papers topped his IN tray. He wanted as much forward information as possible before he left for America. Just in case the impossible happened and he wasn't able to return to this comfortable life he now led.

Sir Gerald knew he was being paranoid, but was he being paranoid enough?

The third pack made him sit up straight. It was a report and analysis document on the Tower Hamlets massacre a few weeks ago. What made him blanch though was a single old photo, and one of the conclusions.

Throughout the individual reports, one common fact has emerged. In all cases but one, (the pub shooting incident) all of the assailants were said to be young women or girls. In all cases, these young women performed acts of outstanding strength, agility and savagery...

The author detailed some of the more horrific examples, but Sir Gerald skipped over these. He'd read enough in the main body of the report.

... Only one organisation has been reported that supplies assassins who fit most of the descriptions provided by those witnesses willing to talk to the Metropolitan Police Service. This organisation, commonly called 'The Troop, ' or 'The Dancers, ' consists of between 30 to 50 females, reportedly between the ages of 10 to 25. They are all outstanding gymnasts, but their primary training is in combat, armed and unarmed. They are thought to be responsible for at least 45 deaths, and an unknown number of 'punishment' assaults. Their leader and trainer, Madam Hong (aka Madam Fo, Madam Li and The Chinese Lady) is said to have escaped from communist China in the early 50's. She quickly built up a reputation as an assassin. She is also thought to have taken orphans into her charge, quickly building up the nucleus of what is now thought to be the premier 'assassin-for-hire' squad in the world. Madam Hong's last known photograph is attached in Appendix C.

Sir Gerald had idly flipped to the specified appendix; the photo was the third one in there. And he blanched. It was her, Madam Li, the one he'd so cavalierly dismissed. He'd sent six men into an area guarded by highly trained, and feared, people, any one of whom could, reportedly, defeat all of his own men. This could be a disaster.

Sir Gerald sat back and thought. So far, neither he nor the Bastard Baron had resorted to all out war. They'd both used low-key actions against each other. This was, primarily, to stop their actions being noted in the wider community, and thus bringing reprisals down on all of them. If the Bastard Baron wasn't killed in Strasbourg, it was quite likely that he'd bring the war back to Cumbria, and bring it up close and personal. Sir Gerald, while not a coward, didn't want to face an angry Special Forces warrior, especially one with the friends and resources of the Bastard Baron.

He'd have to get reinforcements to Strasbourg as soon as possible. But first, he had a phone call to make.

Martinè

Phillip sat facing Chiefy, he was dumbfounded at what he heard. Yet he believed it, every word. Even though it sounded like a story straight out of Boys Own Magazine, he believed it all.

Chiefy sat watching him. She'd given this talk a number of times now, the last time to Eric and Joan. But this young man seemed different, he was young, a freshly-promoted Lieutenant. And she thought that he'd been given that promotion early so he could take up the position as Elastic's ADC.

On a hunch, she leaned forward. "What did they order you to do?" she asked.

Still distracted he answered without thinking, "They ordered me to find any dirt on the Admiral that I could. If I couldn't find anything that they could use against her, well, I was to make some up."

Chiefy sat back, it was just as she'd suspected. "Does the Admiral know?" she demanded.

He nodded, "Yes, I told her a few days ago."

"Good," Chiefy smiled. "Now I need to make a few calls and see about getting you a chief of your own."

"What!" Phillip cried out.

Chiefy nodded, "Yes, I think I know who would be best for you. Let me make a few calls. We'll see what a few days will bring."

"But ... but ... what about the Admiral?" Phillip stuttered.

Now Chiefy laughed out loud, "Do you think that there's anything that goes on here that Elastic doesn't know about? Anyway, she's already asked me to have a look for you. She really knows what a good CPO can do for a young officer. Now you go back and tell Elastic that I'm on the job."

With a smile, Chiefy dismissed her young visitor. "They'll let almost anyone become an officer now-a-days," she muttered to herself, all the while knowing that she too had been raw and impressionable once upon a time.

Strasbourg

"Yes," I replied.

"Why?" she asked.

I thought for a few moments, "As you know, I already have a number of various companies operating throughout the UK and Europe. I sometimes need to find capitalisation for various projects that I want to run. The Parisian northern estates rebuild is an example. I could, of course, use my own funds. However having a few billion pounds liquidity is more useful. I can use those funds to project influence, to improve my chances of winning contracts, to assist me in all sorts of ways."

I took a sip of my coffee.

"With my own bank, I can approach the international lenders directly, I can also lend between my companies more easily, and I can finance large projects and keep the interest and profits all within my own companies."

She nodded slightly, "Will you put your own money into this bank?"

"Yes," I replied.

"How much?"

"Five billion pounds sterling to start with, then annually, transaction amounts between five and ten billion pounds, depending on cash flow and future plans."

"You have future plans?" she asked.

"Ohhh yes," I answered.

We smiled together.

"Your proposal has interested my chief accountant. He begged me to sell to you. I think that you'll wake up this dozing little bank and make it a powerhouse again." She smiled at me, "I do hope so. Yes, Viscount, I'll sell you my bank. Your people have already given me reassurances that the bank's staff will be treated properly. For some of them, this is all they have known." She gestured around us.

"Madam..."

"Call me Eva," she said, laying a warm hand on mine.

"Eva, you must call me Paul."

Her smile gave it away.

Damn, damn, damn. I'm going to find the girl who started this 'Yes Sir' thing, though I expect that every one of them would own up to being the culprit.

"Yes Sir," she replied, before bursting out in a hearty laugh.

I smiled wryly. Caught out again.

London

"What's the latest status on the police chiefs, Karolina?" asked Sasha, the phone handset warm against her ear.

"All of the invited officers have processed their boarding cards on-line. I'm not expecting any problems there, Mistress."

"Karolina," said Sasha, "How many times have I told you to call me Sasha?"

"1,322," replied Karolina smugly. "I've been counting."

Sasha sighed down the phone. "Karolina, you're my best friend, you're my lover's best friend, please call me by my name."

"Oh, my Mistress, if only it were that simple. I can call you Sasha now, but when you and my Master marry, then it would be unforgiveable for me to be so informal. It is better that I don't get into bad habits. A single, simple, mistake can cost a slave girl her life."

Karolina listened to Sasha stifle a little cry.

"Then my lover and I will have to talk about setting some rules or orders which mean that you can be informal with us, my dearest friend. And keep you safe in the knowledge that a simple mistake won't cost you so dearly."

"That might set a dangerous precedent for the other slaves, Mistress."

"Your Master has set precedents before. And they have all turned out to be good ideas. I'm sure that he'll think of some way to satisfy everyone, a way that the other owners would start copying too," Sasha finished with a laugh.