Chapter 14

The cops pushed their way up to Nancy and demanded, "OK, you little bitch, where is our money?"

Nancy was feeling her oats since she knew that help was so close by. "Go fuck yourself, you whore to slaves!"

The cop was staggered by that statement. No insult could have cut her more. She raised her baton to hit Nancy in the arm or shoulder with the intent of breaking a bone. She didn't want to hit Nancy in the head and render her unconscious so that she could not feel the beating that the cop planed to administer.

Nancy didn't wait and screamed out a call for help. Almost before she had closed her mouth, the three men had arrived to her rescue. Unfortunately for the men, the policewomen had received some training in the use of their batons, so they would not be the pushover that the men expected. However, the cop directly threatening Nancy did turn at the warning from another cop that fresh meat had arrived.

This gave Nancy an opening and she grabbed up a skillet full of hot grease. This she poured down the back of the cop who had threatened her. The cop screamed and fainted from the pain. Nancy didn't hesitate and threw the hot skillet at the cop facing George. The skillet hit, but not in the cop's head where it had been aimed. It hit her in the back between her shoulder blades and caused an extremely painful injury.

She screamed, but she had more reason for screaming when George pulled his pistol and put four bullets into her chest. She didn't die right away, but she was well on the way.

The example set by Nancy inspired the other workers in the kitchen. Mavis picked up a cleaver and struck one of the cops in the side of the neck. This severed the carotid artery and the juggler vein on that side. Naturally, the woman collapsed from the shock and loss of blood.

Both Otto and Joseph were also using their guns now, but they had to be careful not to shoot one of the workers. The kitchen was so crowded that the cops could not act together, and this put them at a fatal disadvantage. With bullets flying and knives and cleavers swinging right and left, the cops were all put out of action in about three minutes.

Strangely, no sound escaped the kitchen and none of the patrons or the owner, who acted as hostess during the evening rush, had any idea of what was taking place in the kitchen. All of the cops were dead. Nancy had even used a cleaver to chop off the head of the woman who had threatened her, so there were none left alive but the three men, Nancy, and the five women in the kitchen.

"Helen, go fetch Ima from the cash register." Helen, the chief waitress, did as she was told, and soon there were six restaurant employees in the kitchen.

Nancy said, "This has been a disaster that I had not intended. OK, girls, you know that you are dead, and very painfully so, if the cops catch you. I was here to offer you the chance of getting a good man of your own, but the situation has changed beyond repair. You will all have to flee with us to save yourselves, and you are now a part of the rebellion against the cops and other authorities." Four of the women began to cry, and the other two had a blank look on their faces. "OK, now listen to me, either you buck up or you die—it's your choice!

"George, all of these women have a Segway for transportation, so we can take all of them away from here with a minimum of trouble if I can just get them to pay attention to me. Please let me run things, because they are not used to taking orders from a man."

"Sure, Honey, go ahead. You are doing a great job, so far."

"Honey, where did that come from?" they both asked themselves in the moment after George had said it. They would have to wait to discuss it later.

She directed the women to gather their belongings and meet her in the back alley with their Segways ready to leave the restaurant. Chloe raised her hand, and, when recognized, asked, "What about our pay for today?"

"Honey, there's no way you can collect that and stay out of the clutches of the cops. You're just gonna have to write it off as lost. When you come with us, you won't need money anymore, anyway.

"But how will I pay my rent and utility bill!?!"

"Trust me, Chloe, you're covered on that. Just relax and do what I said.

"Well, I just don't know what I should do."

"Chloe, we are leaving. You can do whatever you want to do. I am through arguing with you."

With that, Nancy ushered everybody but Chloe out of the kitchen. Chloe was left wringing her hands and mumbling to herself. The workers stopped off at their lockers and picked up their purses and a few other things before heading for the employees' parking lot to fetch their Segways.

They gathered in the alley and Nancy led the way. The three men followed to keep the women moving in the proper direction. They arrived at the building that was the home base and the women were instructed to drive their Segways inside. Once there, they were ushered to the freight elevator, and they headed for the top floor.

When they arrived, Nancy led them to an empty room that must have been used as a conference room, though it was totally bare at this time. "OK, girls, park yourselves against that wall and sit down on the floor if you want to. We have several things to get clear, and that may take a while, so get comfortable.

"First, the good news. I have found some husband-material for you. Notice that I did not say slave. What we have here is the opportunity for you to get involved in an old fashioned marriage style relationship with total equality between the sexes. None of you have ever had a slave, and you aren't going to get one now, but what you will get is a man who will love you for yourself because he wants to, not because he has to. The choice will be mutual. You both have to agree to the mating or it's all off. It'll be up to you to make it work.

"Now, the bad news. You know how the cops treat people who cross them, and they are going to be royally pissed at you because six of their people died tonight. So what if they deserved to die, that is beside the point. What is to the point is that they are dead and you are responsible! Think about that. You will get the shit beaten out of you as soon as you are arrested, and the beatings will continue until you are convicted in a court. You and I both know that you will be found guilty, and when that happens, you will receive another beating. You will start praying for an early execution date so you can stop the beatings. You will live until that date, the cops will make sure of that, but you still will be beaten as much as you can stand just short of killing you. On your execution date, you will be injected with a chemical mix that will cause you pain like you have never felt before, and you will wish to return to the beatings. The pain will last for not less than half an hour, and maybe as long as two hours, depending on how strong you are.

Now you know the choice being offered to you. I hope you are as smart as I think you are and will make the right choice. If you waver, think of Chloe and the agony that she must be feeling by now. OK, now it's up to you. Any of you who want to chance the tender mercies of the police are welcome to walk out right now. But, I'll tell you this, if you walk out, there's no way you are coming back. Think about it! You have 15 minutes to make up your minds. I sincerely hope that you make the right choice because I love you all."

There was a long pause while the women considered what Nancy had said. None of them doubted that she had told the unvarnished truth about what would happen if they were caught by the police. They had no other place to go. They were stuck in Phoenix because they did not have the travel permits to go anywhere else. The cops would pick them up as soon as they applied for the permit. And, if the cops picked them up, the beatings would start!

The alternative was to associate with a man without having complete control over him. Could they do that? None of them had ever had a slave, so they really didn't know from personal experience what that was like. Nancy said that the men would stay with them because they wanted to, not because they had to, but could they depend on that? Who knew, but it was the best offer they had. They had all visited a brothel at least once, so they knew how uninspiring a union with a slave could be, but could the coupling with a non-slave be any better. There was only one way to find out. By the time the 15 minutes were up, all of the women had chosen the lesser of the two evils.