Chapter 2

A splitting headache crushed Karl's skull. He looked across at the wall clock and panicked.

"Shit. Shit. Shit," he gasped aloud as he registered that his daughters were due out of school at any moment.

Karl fumbled around for his car keys but realized he was far too intoxicated to even consider driving. After a few minutes of internal debate, he shuffled out of the house and knocked on Kathy's door. The woman looked a little perturbed at his condition, until she realized what was wrong.

"Are you drunk?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry. I had a couple earlier. I know I shouldn't ask this but do you think you could do me an enormous favour?"

It was a slim hope but Kathy readily agreed to pick up Hailey and Ruth from school. He trundled back to the house, ashamed that he'd allowed his self-indulgence to override his higher responsibilities and made a promise to put their needs first from that moment on.

Karl acknowledged that he could do nothing to bring Claire back and, painful as it was, he knew he had to persevere. It served nobody's interest if he came apart, lost his job, and was deemed unfit to care for his daughters. Being deprived of Claire would be intolerably hard but he couldn't face the prospect of inflicting the loss of their father on them also.

He phoned the school and informed them that Kathy would make the collection, then sat down to await their return. The suspense ended only when he heard the reassuring sound of a car pulling up across the road. Opening the front door, he ushered the girls and Kathy inside.

Hailey welcomed him with a fierce hug whilst Ruth stood morosely to one side, anxious to learn of any developments. As Kathy disappeared into the kitchen, Karl sat both girls down on the sofa and relayed a sanitized version of what the police had told him earlier that morning.

"Is ... Is she dead?" Hailey sobbed.

"We don't know that," Karl soothed, wishing he felt the same confidence that he forced into his voice. "She may have just had an accident."

"But ... But..."

"The police are still searching. We have to hold out hope."

"But if she's still alive, why doesn't she get in touch with us?" Hailey asked, completing the thought of a moment ago.

"She might be lost or injured. Maybe she hurt her head and is having trouble remembering," he suggested with increasing desperation.

Kathy wandered in from the kitchen.

"I've put some things in the oven from out of the freezer," she announced.

"Kathy, you've done more than I could ever expect," Karl praised. "I don't know how to thank you."

"I think you're going to need some help. Maybe get used to the idea that Claire might not be coming back."

"She is coming home," Hailey wailed, casting Kathy a hostile look. "Don't ever say that she isn't."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"I know what you meant. You think she's dead and that..."

"Hailey!" Karl snapped, raising his voice and cutting off the teenager's outburst.

"I just meant that until your mum returns, you'll need help finding a way to cope," Kathy rephrased.

"How are we going to get to school?" Ruth asked, her keen intelligence spotting an important issue that needed resolution.

Karl recognized that there was no way he could both drop off and collect the girls whilst still putting in the mandated hours at work. Despite the heavy costs involved, he knew he'd have to arrange for a taxi service to cover at least one leg of the journey.

"I could pick them up like I did today," Kathy offered.

"No," Karl protested. "There's no way I could expect you to do that. I'll order a taxi."

"That would cost a small fortune. I don't mind, really. I'd enjoy the distraction."

Karl looked at the woman suspiciously. They hardly knew her and he wondered why she'd offer such assistance.

"When I broke free from my husband, there was no one to help me resettle or teach me how to take charge of my life," Kathy told him. "It was hard at first, but in time I managed to turn myself around. Just the thought of what you guys are going through is incentive enough for me to make this offer."

Karl looked at her, utterly speechless.

"Please let me help," she begged. "When Claire comes back, you can find some way to repay me."

"Thank you," Karl whispered, unable to believe his good fortune in finding such a kind Samaritan in his midst.

"I'd better check on dinner," Kathy told him.

Karl nodded his acceptance as she headed back to the kitchen then sat down between his daughters to comfort them.

"Are we going to be okay Dad?" Hailey asked tearfully.

"You bet," he replied. "Just you wait and see."

Terry Mason, proprietor of the Birdcage Lounge, reached across his desk and picked up the internal phone.

"What you got for me Harry?"

"Matthias is here with the new girl."

"I'll be right down."

Mason grinned to himself. He loved seeing the new ones when they first arrived; before the ravages of the job destroyed what little remained of their shattered spirits. He stood and checked the clip on the pistol tucked into his waistband then headed along the long carpeted corridor and down the staircase to the main lounge.

Several of the adjacent rooms were already occupied even though it was still early afternoon, evidence that trade was picking up again after the series of police raids during the previous month. As usual, they'd found nothing; it was just another ruse to extort more protection money from him. He paid up like a good citizen but only after uncovering who'd decided to become greedy. When the time was ripe, Harry would pay the man a visit. Retribution would be swift and violent.

The lounge was busy with early finishers grabbing an overpriced beer before heading home. They eyed up the several scantily clad young women that invited company and the prospect of a few minutes of expensive passion upstairs.

He walked around the bar into the back room where Harry stood with two more of his men, guarding a tall, dark skinned man with a leering grin and continually shifting eyes.

"Must be the best job in the world working here," Matthias chuckled as he observed the goings-on in the adjacent room through the one-way glass.

Mason guessed that the man originated from the Arcadian Islands, thousands of kilometres east of the Saragosan coast, like many of his slaver brethren.

"You get used to it," Mason replied nonchalantly. "What've you got for me?"

"Nothing but the best for you Mason, my man," he extolled.

The girl beside him was nothing short of breathtaking. Standing just a few centimetres short of Matthias, her long bleached blonde hair seemed to fall forever. Her slim and exquisitely toned body stood gracefully in the flowing white gown that covered, but barely concealed her magnificent beauty. Her ample bosom filled out the garment delightfully; her prominent nipples clearly discernible through the diaphanous fabric. Words failed Mason as he looked upon the high cheek bones, full lips, and languid eyes. She stared back at him and smiled placidly, evidence of the cocktail of mind altering drugs that doubtless flowed through her bloodstream.

"This is Candy," Matthias boasted. "Got her recently and thought of you."

Matthias was Mason's major supplier of girls for his establishment. He never inquired where the slaver appropriated his merchandise but suspected many were abducted from the various pleasure craft that ferried the idle rich between the Elysian coast and Saragosan peninsula. The women would be doped with hypnotics to the point that they hardly remembered their names, becoming merely docile and compliant captives to be bent to the will of those that controlled them.

Mason usually beat the slaver down to a bargain-basement price but realized that a discovery of this magnitude necessitated a different negotiating strategy. The girl was far beyond anything he currently owned, perhaps more suited to the up-market escort trade than the insufferable reprobates that his club catered to.

"Nice," Mason agreed, trying fervently to mask the eager anticipation from his voice.

"Nice," Matthias mimicked, rubbing his hands in glee. "Are you going to make me a 'nice' fat offer then?"

Mason usually produced the initial bid around which they both would haggle. Knowing that he couldn't afford to pay a realistic price, his only hope was that the slaver didn't fully appreciate her true value.

"How much?"

Matthias guffawed, identifying the break from procedure and realizing its significance.

"You want her," Matthias teased. "I can tell."

"I want her," Mason echoed, grinning to try to lull the man into complacency.

Observing Matthias consider his price, his heart beat heavily with excitement. He desperately hoped the slaver wouldn't request what was beyond his means to provide.

"Fifteen thousand," Matthias demanded.

It took all Mason's self-control not to dance ecstatically around the room but he forced a scowl and counter-offered ten. After much shouting and cursing, Matthias eventually accepted twelve thousand dollars for a girl that was probably worth fifty.

"Where on earth did you get her?" Mason asked out of curiosity as they concluded the transaction.

"I ain't going to tell you. All I'll say is that this is nearly one hundred percent profit for me," the slaver boasted.

The words gave Mason pause as low overheads usually signified either a local source or a hidden complication.

"This isn't going to come back and bite me, is it Matthias?"

"I swear, my man. There's no bulletin out on her. You're free to use her as you wish."

"I believe you," Mason conceded. "If there's any more like her, you be sure to call me."

"If I find any more like her, I'll be opening up in competition, my friend."

Mason nodded at Harry, the signal that the meeting was over. As a parting gesture, Matthias handed over a small bag containing several unlabelled silver canisters.

"Are you handing out free booze with every purchase now?" Mason jested.

"This is for the girl. I used a different drug on her. I thought you might want to test it out."

Mason considered chastening the man for complicating the girl's handling but, still elated with his bargain, decided to let it pass.

"And when I run out?"

"I can obtain a supply ... For a price."

"Don't push your luck."

The slaver took the hint and hastily disappeared with his bounty.

Mason led the compliant girl out into the lounge. Loud music blared throughout the room and the smell of sweat and cheap liquor hung lazily in the air. He led Candy towards Sierra, a glitzy dark haired woman that sat perched on a tall stool beside the bar. After five years, she'd reached the point that men tended to choose others over her. In her time, Sierra had been one of his best and he'd been unwilling to dispose of her. Instead, he charged her with looking after the welfare of the other girls and helping new recruits adjust to the tiring demands that would inevitably be placed upon them.

"Hey Mason," she gushed. "Who've you got here?"

She eyed Candy appreciatively, reaching out and running her finger tenderly down the blonde's forearm. "You're so pretty," Sierra cooed as she openly admired the latest addition to the flock.

Mason could sense the eager expectation in Sierra's eyes. She doted on all the girls and he allowed her to express her bisexual nature with them whenever they were not otherwise engaged.

"This is Candy," he told her. "Why don't you show her around and get her settled in?"

"Candy? That's such a sweet name." Sierra giggled at her own pun then led the blonde off the floor. The men in the bar area stared hungrily at the new arrival and Mason predicted that she'd soon be an extremely popular attraction.

"Let's see if we can get her working by tomorrow night," Mason suggested hopefully.

"Okay Mason," Sierra simpered.

He handed the flasks to one of his men and told him to stack them with the bottles of Hypnol that he used on the other girls. Wishing for half a dozen girls of the same calibre as Candy, he dreamed that one day he could rid himself of this establishment and migrate to the coast where the clientele were far more discerning and infinitely richer.

After providing the nickel tour, Sierra led Candy up to the small room that she called her own. It housed little more than a metal framed bed and a tatty dressing table over which an assortment of nick-knacks were randomly scattered. A faint odour of cheap perfume tainted the air. They sat down on the thin mattress; the frame creaked noisily under their combined weight.

"You okay?" Sierra asked, eyeing Candy sympathetically. From experience, she knew how disoriented the girl felt with the dramatic change in circumstances and the high level of hypnotics in her system.

"I ... I think so," Candy answered hesitantly. "I feel a bit lost ... As though I'm supposed to be somewhere, but I can't remember where."

"That'll pass in time," Sierra assured her. "Soon you'll start to feel right at home here, just part of one big happy family."

"What happens now?"

"Once you're settled and rested, I'll take you down to the lounge and introduce you to some of the guys. They'll love you, I can tell that straight away."

"They will?"

"Encourage them to buy you a few drinks, chat sweetly if they want to, then bring them upstairs and give them a nice time."

"Okay."

"You know what that means don't you?"

"They'll want to have sex with me."

"You're a fast learner."

"Matthias told me that I'd need to do that."

"What else did he tell you?"

"That I needed to do what Mason tells me, take my medication, and be nice to everybody."

"That's right sweetie. You do all those things and you're going to get on great."

Candy looked pensive as she tried to absorb the information. Sierra took the opportunity to place her arm around her slim waist and pull her closer.

"You're really pretty," Sierra told her.

"Thanks," Candy replied.

"I'll bet you're tired. Why don't you lie down?"

Candy thought for a moment then allowed Sierra to lift the thin garment over her head, leaving her attired in just skimpy underwear. She stretched out over the covers and watched as Sierra disrobed and crawled beside her.

"I'll keep you company," Sierra offered, her heart beating hard in sheer anticipation. She wrapped an arm around the nervous girl whilst her free hand passed gently over bare skin, tenderly caressing up one smooth thigh and down the next. Her eyes fixated on the rise and fall of the blonde's chest and the shape of her perfectly formed breasts. Blowing gently into her ear, Sierra whispered endearments as her fingers explored. Candy smiled serenely, not protesting as their lips came together and they kissed.

After sliding the girl's panties down her tanned legs, Sierra surveyed the younger woman. Her fingers set to work, teasing her sensitive flesh and bestowing pleasure upon the supine beauty. The girl's hips bucked as Sierra's fingers delved between the dewy petals of her shaven sex. When Sierra's tongue lapped at her stiff nipples, Candy sighed euphorically as passion bubbled up from deep within. She groaned as her orgasm fed some innate hunger, leaving her sated but still deeply needful. She sat up and hugged Sierra passionately, kissing her appreciatively as the echoes of her climax slowly diminished. Pushing Sierra gently onto her back, she fell upon her breast, feeding ravenously on her succulent nub whilst her fingers foraged between the woman's expectant thighs.

"You've done this before," Sierra gasped as Candy expertly infused her with delight. Two fingers insinuated deep inside her, pressing up against a sensitive cluster of nerves along the front of her vaginal wall. Her legs parted to allow the girl greater access and her mind soon exploded as the first of a series of intense orgasms rippled through her body.

Sierra stirred with Candy nestled between her legs, lapping up her copious emissions and driving her upwards once more. The girl's active tongue described intricate patterns over her sex, never settling on a specific rhythm for more than a few seconds. When the slick digit coursed around the rim of her anus, she squealed in perverse pleasure.