Chapter 10: The Trap Is Set

There was a soft knock at the door, bursting the bubble of my dream. "Good morning, Louise," Madeleine greeted, her voice muffled through the door, "breakfast is ready."

"Okay," I said groggily and rolled out of bed, stretching.

I had been dreaming about Susanne, being her slave again. It was a common dream I had. It played out in minute variants: sometimes I would be forced to be her slave, others I would crawl on my knees and beg her. A few, Susanne would be my slave, crawling before me. Regret stabbed through me. What would my life have been like if I had not been dominated by Susanne. Would I have married Kurt? Would I have had children, watched them proudly grow up. A Warlock stole your life, your dreams. Mark had already done irreparable damage to these womens' lives. I needed to stop him before he destroyed more.

My body was sore from spending most of yesterday in a car watching the Fitzsimmons house, gathering intelligence, as the military would say. And what I learned was daunting. When I arrived yesterday, Mark and his girlfriend, Mary were out of town, leaving behind two Thralls; the teenage Allison and Desiree Fitzsimmons. Yesterday, I had performed the Prayer of Zanah on the two women. When the time came, Mark would find his own slaves turned against him. Then, I had returned back to my car to watch. To wait.

Near 8 PM, Mark returned with a car full of naked women. There were five of them, all clearly Thralls of Mark. It was a setback. The best way to deal with a Warlock, particularly a male Warlock was to seduce him, or let him think he was seducing you. But, I found it was more satisfying, however, to turn his thralls against him. The prick deserved a little comeuppance. But five more Thralls would make that vastly harder. I would need to get the odds back in my favor before I could make my move. And if Mark kept adding to his harem, this could drag on for a while.

Maybe I should go the easy route and let Mark seduce me. It wouldn't be hard. Although I was fifty-one, I appeared as my attractive, eighteen year old self. I had the perky tits and tight ass of a teenager. One of the Gifts God gave me to fight Evil. I could let Mark seduce me, but that was too good for him. He deserved to be humiliated, to know fear. To know that when he came in my pussy that would be the end of all his fun! I had dealt with far worse Warlocks in the last thirty-years and Mark would not stand a chance.

God, I prayed silently, grant me the strength to save these women, grant me the courage to face this challenge, and grant me the guidance to see it quickly ended. In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

I felt better after praying, and got dressed. After breakfast, I could sit here in Madeleine's house, at her dining room table, and watch the Warlock, wait for my opening. Last night, thanks to God's Providence, Madeleine, out of the goodness of her heart, offered me a place to stay. I was parked on the street in front of her house when she walked up to the car with two cups of tea and asked if I need to talk. Sensing God's Providence, I said the first story that popped into my head. I suspected my husband was shacking up with Desiree and wanted proof. I flew all the way out from Chicago to confront him. Madeleine had a good heart and offered me her guest bedroom.

"There's a good view of that hussy's house from my breakfast nook," Madeleine had told me in a sexy, southern twang. "Doesn't that sound better than sittin' in your car, sugar?"

I left the bedroom, after dressing in a white skirt and red blouse, I headed for the kitchen. Madeleine was pouring a thermos of coffee and I paused to admire her fine rump beneath her business skirt. She was a fit looking, thirty-something, who was recently divorced. She had made a simple breakfast of yogurt sprinkled with granola for me and pointed to a fresh pot of coffee. She apologized, but she had to go to work early.

"You can stay as long as you need to, sugar," Madeleine said, her southern twang melting my cunt. "My husband was a no good horndog, too. That's why I kicked his ass to the curb." She gave me a comforting hug and kissed my forehead, I wished she kissed my lips, and headed out the door. She was off to her office job in a respectable looking skirt and blouse. I sighed in regret, watching that fine ass sway out of the kitchen. It was a shame she was straight. I gave her some subtle signs last night and she didn't bite, or even notice that I was flirting with her.

I missed staying with Sarai already, but I would preserver.

I looked out the window in time to see the Warlock, Mark jog by, naked save for a pair of running shoes. I winced. He was an overweight man, his fat jiggling as he ran. He must have wished for some powerful mind control to be so confident in jogging naked. I angrily stabbed at my yogurt with a spoon.

You won't be so confident for long, prick!

I was breathless when I returned form my jog and my romp with Anastasia, who lived across the street. When I awoke this morning, I decided I need to get in better shape for Mary. She was such a beautiful creature she deserved a man that at least tried to not be an overweight slob. After yesterday's naked walk through the hotel and drive back to South Hill, I found I liked the freedom of going nude, so I set off jogging, my dick flapping in the wind.

It was an interesting experience. I was stopped three times by Puyallup Police officers once by a Pierce County Sheriff deputy. I had thought long and hard how I wanted to handle the police, so I was ready. I gave each cop two, simple orders: "I am Mark Glassner and whatever I am doing is perfectly legal, and anyone who approaches you and says 'I serve Mark Glassner' or 'I am Mary Sullivan, ' do what they say without question." Each cop would then apologize for bothering me and walk back to their cars and drive off.

On my jog, passing cars honked at me and insults were hurled as they sped by. I didn't mind. They were lesser men and women, mere ants cursing their betters. Other joggers would cross the street or bolt the other way while pulling out cell phones to call 911 on me. I did catch up to one pretty woman in her late twenties, with a round ass covered in tight, black leggings and a pink, Lycra tanktop that fit her like a second skin. Her name was Anastasia and I invited her to join the Naked Jogging Club. She was more than happy to be the first recruit. Needless to say, jogging was a lot easier when a woman's beautiful, naked ass jiggled and bounced in front of me. When we reached her house, across the street from the Fitzsimmons, I fucked Anastasia in the kitchen while her husband showered upstairs.

When I walked into my house, Desiree was leading the sluts and Mary in some type of aerobics. Apparently, Mary wanted to make sure the girls kept their bodies nice and tight. Naturally, the exercise devolved into an orgy for an hour, a better way to get some cardio I thought. Everyone was covered in fluids and sweat, so showers were in order. Mary and I went first, as befitted our station.

"You going to see that friend today, the real estate broker?" I asked her as she washed my back.

"Yeah, Alice," Mary answered.

"Alice, huh, is she cute?"

"Yes," Mary answered playfully. "And happily married, so stay away." Mary emphasized her point by poking me in the back.

"Sure, Mare," I told her. "There are plenty of women in the world for me to fuck."

"Good," Mary said. "Anyways, I had an idea were we could build out mansion at."

"Oh yeah, where at?" I asked.

"Behind the house at the end of the cul-de-sac is a large field that they started to build a housing development in. We could bulldoze that last house and extend the road and build back there. It has a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier from back there, and the Puyallup Valley."

"Okay," I said with a nod. Mary was an artist and had far more appreciation for atheistic then I did. "I trust your judgment, Mare." She beamed at me, turning around so I could wash her back.

"So, are you really going to rob a bank?" Mary asked as I scrubbed her back with a loofah.

"Yeah," I said. "I've always kinda wanted to. I think I'll take Violet along with me."

Mary turned around so I could start washing her front. "Oh, you want to get more of her tight cunt," she said with wry smile.

I couldn't deny that her tight, teenage cunt was a bonus. "No, there's an Amber Alert out for her," I said, as I started washing her flat stomach. I wanted to start with her small, perky breasts, but the I decided to tease her a bit. "I called her mother before I went jogging when I saw the alert on the news, but it might be a few days before the police aren't actively looking for her." I paused. "And me."

Mary nodded. "Well, you are the only one of us that could talk your way out of any problems."

"You could've had the same power," I pointed out. I looked at her and asked, "Why didn't you? I meant to ask but then the Devil gave me that gem and..."

Mary thought for a moment, then finally answered, "I didn't want the responsibility of that much power." She swallowed. "You can do a lot of harm, Mark. Hell, you have done a lot of harm, and some of that was at my request." There was a pregnant pause. "I mean, don't you ever feel guilty for what we do to the sluts?"

"No," I said without hesitation. "When I got these powers, I told myself I was above such petty concerns. I only felt guilt for what I did to you." I said. "Shit, I still feel guilty."

Mary rubbed my arm. "I forgave you," she said, and leaned in to kiss me. It made me feel a little better. "But how do you stop feeling guilt?"

"You just need to tell yourself your better than all the rest of them," I told her. "We are better than other people, than the sluts. We're special, and they're not."

"That's it?"

"Yeah," I answered. She sighed, and hugged me tightly and her body shook and I realized she was crying. I froze. I didn't know what to do, what to say. I didn't have a lot of experience comforting crying women. I just squeezed her back, stroking her wet hair. "I ... uh. We can..." I cleared my throat, "We can let the sluts go. Just say the word, Mare. We don't need them. I don't need them. We just need each other."

"I ... I can't," Mary sobbed. "There's this voice, whispering to me, telling me its wrong. But my body, my pussy, is telling me its so very right."

"So, which voice do you want to listen too?"

She sobbed, "My pussy." Mary relaxed in my arms, tension fleeing her body. "Make love to me, Mark. Make me forget."

Her lips were passion on mine, her tongue writhing in my mouth. Her wet body pressed against me, soft and firm. My cock hardened between us and my hands roamed her sleek body. I felt her plump ass, kneading a cheek between my hands, while my other hand found a firm breast and hard nipple. Her groin rubbed against me, seeking for my hard cock. Her soft hands ran down my back, across my side and found my hard cock and guided it to her wet vulva. We moaned together as my cock slid inside her, agonizingly slow. Our nerves were on fire with passion for each other and our hips found a slow, steady rhythm.

"My stallion," Mary moaned, "my handsome stallion, fuck me harder! I need it!"

I gripped her hips and started thrusting hard. Mary groaned and clawed my back. "My sweet filly!" I panted. "You're all I need."

"Give me your cum!" she ordered wantonly. "Oh, I need it! Warm and sticky! My pussy needs it!"

"Here it comes, Mare!" I gasped and unloaded into my love; one, two, three powerful jets of semen. Mary's cunt convulsed about my cock, squeezing it with a velvety warmth and she gasped as her passion overtook her.

Mary clung to me in the shower, her face pressed against my chest, my cock growing soft inside her pussy. We didn't say a word, we just enjoyed the warm water spraying over us and enjoyed the comfort of each other. Holding my love, being held by her. This was all I really needed. The sluts, the women I made fuck me, they were just fun, just pleasant diversions. This is what was real, what mattered. Somehow, Mary had become my whole world in just a short time. I would have gladly stayed like this forever, but the hot water heater had other ideas.

Mary seemed in a better mood when we slipped out of the cold shower. She grabbed a towel and playfully dried me off. She then insisted on shaving me and only managed to nick me three times. She giggled each time, tearing a piece of toilet and sticking them to the cuts. From guest bathroom we could here a lot of shrieks and giggles as the sluts were forced to take cold showers.

"The mansion is definitely going to need some heavy duty water heaters," I told Mare as we checked in on the sluts. "Like a hotel."

Mary nodded, watching Korina shivering in the shower as she quickly washed her body.

As Mary and I prepared to leave to run our errands, we left instructions for the sluts. Xiu, Fiona, and Korina needed clothes, so I sent them out with Desiree to buy some. They had to wear Desiree's old clothes that didn't fit any of them well and no one was happy about that. Allison was charged with cleaning the house. She seemed disappointed, probably because she'd been cooped up in the house all weekend. So, I promised I would spend some one on one time with her when I returned and that brightened her up. Violet was wearing the same pink dress she wore yesterday, and I decided to take her clothes shopping after I robbed a bank or three.

"Be careful," Mary ordered, kissing me. "Do you have your crystal?"

Friday night, when Mary had made her Pact, the Devil had surprised us with a crystal, saying, "If you are ever in trouble, hold this crystal and say, 'Lilith, appear before me.' " Mary and I were both worried about what it meant and I decided to keep the crystal with me. When I went jogging this morning, I was clutching it in my bare hand.

"Yeah, it's right here," I said, pulling it out of my jean pocket for a moment, and showing it to her. Mary relaxed. "I love you, Mare."

"Love you, too, hun."

I was on my third cup of coffee as I boredly watched the Fitzsimmons house. Nothing had happened since Mark returned from his jog. The disgusting pervert had returned with a naked woman, took her inside the house across the street and left there fifteen minutes later with a smile on his face. The poor woman was married and I saw her kiss her husband goodbye from the open doorway in a loose dressing gown.

Did Mark make the husband watch? Did the pervert get off on making the man watch the women he loved get violated before him. Mark made Desiree's husband, Brandon, watch him defile her. Fucking Warlocks. My fingers slipped under my skirt. The woman across the street was quite beautiful. I bet Mark fucked her, bent over a table. I moaned, slowly rubbing my clit in delicious circles. Her husband was sitting in the corner, looking sad and pathetic while his wife howled and moaned like a whore for Mark.

I started fucking my fingers slowly in and out of my cunt. The woman would be a whore for Mark. That's what he did. Degrade women. Turning them into his cumbuckets. I bit my lip, imaging the woman's breasts. They looked like a nice pair beneath that silk robe. With hard nipples. And her mouth, moaning wantonly. She should put that mouth to better use. I came, picturing the woman between my thighs, her fingers fucking into my pussy while Mark looked on, looking sad and pathetic while his whore pleasured me. I licked my fingers clean and went back to watching.

Nothing else had happened for two more hours, when the garage doors slid open. The silver Mustang pulled out first. I could just make out Mark and a teenage girl as the Mustang roared down the street, followed quickly by one of the red-heads in a maroon convertible Volkswagen Eos. I rushed outside to follow her. This might be my only chance to catch Marks number one woman alone. I got into the black BMW 7-series I borrowed from Brandon and fumbled at the keys. Mary roared off up the street, driving almost as fast as Mark had, and a third car, a white BMW driven by Desiree and crowded with three other women pulled out onto the street.

The Eos was gone, but there was a red-head in the second car. Maybe she was Mary? Probably not, Mary was likely the one driving her own car. I made the decision to follow four ladies. Maybe I could get the opportunity to perform the Prayer of Zanah on one of them, or all of them, and get the odds back in my favor. I waited for the white BMW to pass and pulled out behind it, my heart thumping in excitement.

I kept glancing at Violet's coltish legs peaking out underneath her pink skirt as I drove my Mustang out of the housing development onto Shaw Road. I placed a hand on her thigh, sliding up under her skirt and Violet beamed at me, her face flush with excitement.

"Thank you for letting me come with you, Master," she said in a cheerful soprano.

She was a cute fifteen year old. Her brown hair was pulled into two pigtails over her ears, tied off with pink ribbons. Her breasts were small and shapely and her body slim with youth beneath the conservative dress she wore. That dress would definitely not do, my sluts needed to show the world just how whorish they were.

"You ever sucked a dick, Violet?" I asked.

Violet shook her head, blushing. She was a virgin before I fucked her in the elevator yesterday. Her hands reached out and she gently rubbed my cock, feeling it harden in my pants. "W-would you like me, to Master?" she nervously asked.

"Definitely," I answered.

There was a metallic rasp as she slowly drew my zipper down and then her warm, delicate hand reached into my pants and pulled out my hard cock. She bent down, her breath warm on my cock as she slowly ran her hand up and down on my dick. She tentatively stuck out her tongue, licking up the shaft and brushing the sensitive head.

"Just like that," I told her. "Use more pressure, yeah that's good." Her tongue felt amazing as she lapped at my cock. "Stroke the shaft and cup the balls." I wince as she squeezed a ball. "Gently with the balls."

"Sorry, Master," she apologized.

"Now, suck the tip into your mouth, be careful with your teeth," I told her. "You can brush the cock with them, just don't bite hard. Ohh, yeah that's nice. Keep doing that with your tongue." She had the head of my cock in her mouth and was swirling her tongue around it. "Suck it like a lolipop. Oh fuck that's good. And see how much you can fit in your mouth."

She was bobbing her head now, moving slowly down until my cock brushed the back of her throat and then rising up. It wasn't the best blowjob I ever had, but knowing it was her first added a certain spice to her uncertainty. She was sucking harder and I watched as her right hand drifted over to her thighs and slip up under her dress to start fingering her cunt. Horny little slut.

She was turning into a great slut. I was proud of her, and stroked her brown hair. "I'm gonna cum, slut," I told her. "So don't be surprised. Try to swallow what you can." And then I erupted into her mouth, semen spilling out the corners of her lips. She tried to pull away, but I held her down. When I was finished, I let her sit up.

She was breathing hard, cum smeared across her lips and tears ran down her face. "Was it good?" she asked, wiping at her tears.

"It was great!" I told her, kissing her forehead. "You're turning into a good, little slut. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, Master," she said, smiling happily, still masturbating. When she came on her fingers, I pulled them to my mouth and sucked her juices off her digits. She had a light, barely spicy flavor.

We made a quick stop at Dick's Sporting Goods at the South Hill Mall where I grabbed a bunch of duffle bags. I was so excited to rob a bank, I didn't even spend the time to give the cashier a nice fucking. I needed to remember to go back to Dick's and look Ambrosia up. With a name like that, I hoped her pussy tasted wonderful.

I pulled onto highway 512 towards, heading west to Parkland and the Bank of America that screwed me over two years ago. When my debit card got stolen and my accounts emptied, I filed a claim. But the branch manager, an asshole named Ted, dicked around with appeals process and I barely recovered half of my money. I had to crash on a friends couch for two months while I got back on my feat.

As I raced down 512, Violet got to practice her blowjobs some more. This time, she didn't pull away as I came in her mouth.

I followed Mark's thralls towards a mall and parked near them and discreetly followed the four women through the parking lot. The only one I knew was Desiree, who I had imprinted last night. The other three women were dressed in ill-fighting clothes. There was a black-haired women with short hair and a blue eyes, a strawberry-blond that might be Mark's girlfriend, Mary, and a short, Asian woman

Please God, I prayed, give me the opportunity to save these women. Then I followed them into the mall. I just needed to be patient and be careful and God would grant me the opportunities I needed.

They led me to a clothing store, Old Navy, and I realized why they were here. The three new Thralls in the ill-fitting clothes had arrived naked last night. Wherever Mark had found these women, he didn't bother to bring any of their clothes. I browsed the clothing racks and watched the women out of the corners of my eyes as they spread out across the store.

"Hi, welcome to Old Navy," a nasally pitched, effeminate voice asked me. I turned to see a slim young man whose nametag read, "Gabe."

I blinked in surprise. He had a faint, blue-black aura about him. Mark must have been here and given him a minor order. The aura was fading and would probably be gone in another week or so. He was not under any lasting commands or had suffered any personality changes

"I'm fine," I told him.

One of the girls, the red-head, was heading for the changing room and I pushed past Gabe, grabbing the first shirt off the rack. Gabe protested, but I ignored him. I reached the changing area in the back but not before the red-head closed the door. Shoot. Thinking quickly, I knocked on the door.

"Yes," she answered.

"Hi, I'm Louise with Old Navy and I just need to talk to you."

The red-head opened the door, frowning at me. I moved quickly, shoving my hand over her mouth and pushing her back into the changing room. I shoved my hand down her loose-fitting jeans and found her hairy pussy. She struggled and tried to bite my hand covering her mouth. My finger found her cunt and wiggled in, fingerfucking her hard and fast. Being transformed into a sex slave by a Warlock usually left the woman incapable of resisting a sexually assault.

Not this woman, however.

My face stung as she slapped me and I had to pull my hand away to block the second blow. She started to scream so I silenced her the only way I could, kissing her hard while I pinned one of her arms to the wall. She still had one hand free and clawed at my hair, trying to pull me off her lips. My thumb found her clit, rubbing in small, fast circles and she stiffened in my arms. Her cunt was getting wet as her body began to react to my stimulation.

I could feel the resistance fleeing her body. The hand pulling at my hair relaxed its grip, the tension in her body slowly bleeding away. Her lips, tightly closed at first, relaxed and I shoved my tongue into her mouth, tasting the mint of toothpaste. Her hips started to shift as the pleasure from her pussy slowly spread throughout her body.

She surrendered to me.

Her lips were hot on mine she kissed me back, her hips writhed on my hand. Her hand gripped my hair, pulling me tight against her as she moaned into my mouth. I let go her other arm and she wrapped it around me, caressing my back through my blouse. I slipped that hand up her shirt and found a large breast, gently caressing and squeezing her soft, firmness. I found her aerola and gently circled her nipple before I finally rolled the turgid nub between my fingers.

The red-headed shuddered in my arms as her orgasm began to roll through her body. Without thinking, my hand that was groping her breast slid down to my own, wet pussy and coated my finger with my juices. Still fingering her, extending the orgasm, I quickly drew the Mark of Qayin on her forehead with my juices and prayed, "Zanah!"

One down. Two to go.

I pulled the Mustang into the parking lot of the Parkland Bank of America, a brick building on Pacific Avenue and told Violet to wait in the car. With an excited jaunt in my step, I walked into the bank. There was a short line of customers queuing to deal with the bank tellers, a few more sitting at desks, talking to loan officers, and one fat security guard.

"I need to speak with all the staff in the back right now!" I hollered loudly. Confused, the staff led me back into the bank by the vault and gathered about me. "Who's the manager?"

Ted turned out to still be the manager. It couldn't be more perfect. I told him to open the vault. "There's a time lock," Ted protested.

"I'll wait," I said. I grabbed a buxom, honey-blonde teller and pulled her next to me. "Ted, open the vault and everyone else go back to your jobs and ignore everything Ted and I do. Except for you, Monica," I told the buxom teller. "Let's see what you look like naked."

She flushed, and untied the decorative scarf around her neck that partially covered the cleavage revealed by her low-cut, blue blouse. Her large tits were supported by a lacy, black bra which came off next. Her tits were still perky with youth and her light pink aerola's were large, with fat nipples jutting proudly out. As she unzipped her black skirt I hefted one her tit, feeling the plump firmness of her breast. She shivered as I rubbed her aerola.

"I'm going to fuck you hard, whore," I told her, "and you're going to love every minute of it."

Monica flushed and licked her lips as she peeled off her pantyhose and black panties. Her bush was a darker brown, neatly trimmed and her pussy lips were large and protruded out past her pubes. I bent her over a table, ran my hand through her cunt, feeling her getting wet at my touch. I stuck a finger inside her pussy and she wiggled her hips in pleasure. I coated my finger with her juices and then shoved it up her ass.

I fucked my finger in a few times then pulled it out of her ass and replaced it with my cock. She gasped in surprise and then growled in pleasure as my cock slowly sank into the warm tightness of her ass. "Oh my god!" she gasped. "That's amazing!"

"You've never been fucked up the ass before," I asked, plumbing her bowels with hard thrusts.

"No," she panted. "My husband he always wants to, but I thought it would hurt!"

"What a bad wife," I said, slapping her ass. "You let me fuck your ass and not your husband

"I am," she moaned. "I'm such a bad wife. He always wants me to give him blowjobs, too, but I always say no."

"From now on, bitch, you do what ever filthy things your husband wants," I growled, rubbing my hand down her back. "And do it with a smile on your whorish face!"

"Yes," she panted. "I'll be a good wife from now on." Her orgasm rolled through her body, ass clenching on my cock.

I grabbed her purse and pulled out her cell phone, flipping through her address book while I fucked her slowly. "What's your husband's name?" I asked. "Jonathon," she answered, breathless. I found her husband and gave him a ring.

"Hey, cutiepie," Jonathon answered.

"This is Mark," I said. "I'm with your wife. I've been counseling her." I put the phone on speaker and sit it on the table. "Say hi to your husband."

A look of panic crossed Monica's face. "Hi, sweetie," she said, trying to sound casual as I started fucking her ass hard again.

"What kind of counseling," Jonathon asked, sounding concerned.

"Your wife tells me she's had problems doing certain things in the bedroom," I said. Monica bit her lip to stifle a moan. "But, I've helped your wife understand that its her duty to do whatever perverted things her husbands wants. Right, Monica?"

"Yeah, Jonathon," Monica panted, her voice was thick with excitement as my cock reamed her ass. "I'm going to let you fuck my ass, or I'll give you blowjobs."

"Really?" he asked, sounding excited.

"Y-yeah, sweetie!" Monica gasped and then clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle another moan.

"Man, Mark, how can I repay," Jonathon said, excited.

"Your wife's already covered the payment," I told him, enjoying his wife's ass on my cock.

"I love you, cutiepie," Jonathon said.

"Oh, I love you, too, Jonathon," Monica whispered and then she started to moan, her ass clenching on my cock. She quickly slapped her hand over her lips and as she came on my cock. Her other hand fumbled to hang up the phone. "I'm such a bad wife!" she moaned as her orgasm continued to ripple through her body. "Such a terrible wife!"

My balls boiled and I shot my cum up her ass as her body shook. I gritted my teeth as I enjoyed her tight ass and my pleasure coursing through my body. Breathing hard, I pulled out of her ass. Monica continued shaking, her face in her hands and I realized she was crying. Guilt stabbed through me, and I beat it back down. You're above guilt, Mark. She's just an ant.